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\\ PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE:

COMPREHENDING
“THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE,
_. THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, — -
‘AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES, ©

er h AND

COMMERCE.

NUMBER LXXXL
\ For FEBRUARY 1805. .
a EMBELLISHED AND. ILLUSTRATED WITH THE FOLLOWING

ENGRAVIN GS:

oe 1. A Portrait of Dr. Hurron; engraved by Kies, from
' a Likeness painted by Miss Byrne.

$02. The Peramdles nasuta; engraved by Lowey. ©

ey 3- The Peramiles obesula ; also engraved by Lownzy.

BY ALEXANDER TILL OCH,

MEMBER < OF THE ROYAL Ubied ACADEMY, &c. &e, &.

es
Mt Muononary

“LONDON: 2 Re ,
Printed ty R. 7 auier and Co, Biack=Horse- Court, Peet Street,
VOLS APOR A. TILLOCH ¢ x 1 SAS
‘ , And sold by Messrs-Ricuannson; Canes and Davies; Tona- at
Ke
man, Hunst, Rees, and Onme ; Symonps; Murray; Heer Cl
rex; Veuwor and Hoop; Hatnine; London: Bint and {ss
Brapevre, Edinburgh 5 By han and Qasp. and D. Nevin, |
Glasgow ; ang Gripen and Hopces, Dublin. .

MSL Fn Te
ain) ew ab

ENGRAVINGS. | eS,
Volume XX. is illustrated with a Quarto Plate to illustrate the —

Anatomy of the Rhinoceros—A Quarto Plate of an improved Malt
Kiln—An Astronomical Chart, exhibiting the Path of the new
Planet—A Quarto Plate of Fossil Teeth of the Rhinogeros: en-_
graved by Ler—A Plate relating to the Principles of Pump-work ;
‘engraved by Lowry—Mr. Knicut's improved Woucr'’s Appa-
ratus—A Quarto Plate. to illustrate Mr. Martiy’s Paper on the

Principles of Pump-Work—Mr. Sreevens’s Instrument for —
equalizing the Efflux and Pressyre of non-elastic Fluids—A View

of a Water-Spout, taken from Natare,

Sg $e

On the roth of March will be published, in Royal Quarto, Price,

Two Guineas in Roards, ;
ESIGNS for COTTAGES, COTTAGE FARMS, and
RURAL BUILDINGS; including ENTRANCE GATES
and LODGES. : recat i
By JOSEPH GANDY, Architect, A. R.A.

This Work will prove very useful to Gentlemen who-build upon

their Estates, and to Architects and Surveyors ;. as it containg a
_ great variety of Plans for Country Buildings, designed in a style of -
uncon:mon beauty, and possessing all the advantages of commo-
dious and economical interior arrangement. Each Plate is accom

panied with a Ground Plan, Estimate, and Descriptions, in Letters

press, The principal Subjects are:
‘Single Cottages for Husband- | Hunting Villas.

men and Labourers. -| Country Houses.
Double and treble ditto. Baths,

Corn, Dairy, apd Grazing | Green-houses.

Farms, Entrance Gates. ;
Mills. . Lodges and Toll Gatés.
Manufactories and Work- | Bridges.

shops. Inns and Public-houses.
Stables, A Village, &c. &c. &e.

' London: Printed for Joyx Harpine, 36, St. James's-street,

Where may be had, ahd te

1. Garrard’s Plates, descriptive of Improved British Cattle
folio: plai | :. 6d.: tolo ; ; yt
lio: plain, 2]. 12s. 6d.; coloured, 5]. 5s. Pe
2, Culley’s Observations on Live Stock; containing Hints ‘or

choosing and improving the best Breeds of the most use!ul kinds

of Domestic Animals. | A new Edition, with Plates. Price 6s.

3- Lord Dundonald’s ‘Treatise on the Nature and Application
of the different sorts of Manures. A new Edition, 4to, Price
ros. 6d. Serr:

Also a variety of other New Publications relating to Aericnl- >
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genera},

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\PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE:
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THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE,
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AGRICULTU RE, MANUFACTURES,
AND |

* COMMERCE.
=— SS a
NUMBER LXXXII.

For “MARCH 1805.
aed ILLUSTRATED WITH THE FOLLOWING ENGRAVINGS, _

iy BY LOWRY:

x, Mr. Rawtinson’s improved Mill for gtinding Oil Colours ; ;
and an improved Mill for grinding Indigo, or other dry {
Colours. : ne mA

2. Mr. Harpy’s improved Method of Banking the Balance of gS
_ a Time-keeper. te RNS

——————

BY ALEXANDER TILLOCH,

ONORARY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY, &c. &c. &c,

LONDON:
Printed ly R. Taylor and Co. 38, Shoe Lane, Flect Street,

3 : FOR A. TILLOCH : 2
; And sold by Messrs. Ricuarpson; Cavett and Davirs; Lone- A
NPQe oman, Huxsr, Rees, and Orme; Symonvs; Murray; Hicu-{\
Ley; Vexnor and Hoop; Harvina; London: Bert and WN
_ Braprute, Edinburgh; Brasu and Reip, and D. Nevin, g&
Glasgow; and Gitssert and Hopces, Dublin. ie

EEF TR

. ENGRAVINGS. »

Vol. XVITL. is illustrated with a Head of the late Joan Doz-
LonD, F.R.S. Inventor of the Achromatic Telescope: engraved

_ by Mackenzie from an original Portrait in’ the Possession of the.

Family—A_ new Fish called the Bichir, found in the Nile: en-,
graved by Lowry—A quarto Plate containing Plans and Repre~

sentations of the Buildines and Apparatus employed by Mr. J..C..
Curwen in Steaming’ Potatoes for the Use of Cattlh—The Rev.

Micuaget Warp’s Method of adjusting HapLey’s Sextant, so as’

to take Back as correctly as Fore Observations ; and to measure

— Angles of 150, 160, or 170 Degrees, as accurately as Angles of

39, 49, or 50 Degrees—A Quarto Plate containing an “accurate
Representation of Mr. Ropert Harx’s Expanding Crane—Mr.

Georce Russex's improved Water Bucket for drawing Water.

from deep Wells—~A_ Plate containing Improvements made in.
Clock-work, by Mr. Massey—Another Plate on the same Subject.

Vol, XIX. is illustrated with a Likeness’ of the Princess DasH-.
Kor, lately Directress of the Imperial Academy of Sciences at.
St. Petersburgh—Mr. Bow xer’s improved Churn—The Orbits of
the two new Planets, by Laranps—M. Tincry’s. Furnace for.

dissolving Copal for the. Purpose of making Varnish———-Mr.

. Wricur’s Apparatus to prevent Conduit Pipes from being
burst by Water Freezing in them—Mr. Hv ary’s Method of cutting

Screws in the common Turning Lathe—A Portrait of M. Deva- ~
METHERIEe, Editor of the Journal de Physigue—Figures to illus-. —

_ trate a Paper on the Mensuration of Timber, by Mr, Farey—
Representations of some cutious Ornitholites found avWestena Nova.
—Skeleton of the one-horned Rhinoceros.—Diagrams to illustrate
a Paper on the Velocity of calorificRays emitted by the Sun.

Volume XX. is illustrated with a Quarto Plate to illustrate the

Anatomy of the Rhinoceros—A Quarto Plate of an improved Malt

Kiln—An Astronomical Chart, exhibiting the Path of the new ay

Planet—A Quarto Plate of Fossil Teeth of the Rhinoceros: en-
_graved by Lee—A Plate relating to the Principles of Pump-work :

engraved by Lowry—Mr. Knicut’s improved Woutr’s Appa-.

ratus—A Quarto Plate to illustrate Mr. Martin’s Paper on the -

Principles of Pump-Work—Mr. Sreeyens's Instrument for |
equalizing the Efflux and Pressure of non-elastic Fluids—A View . _

of a Water-Spout, taken from Nature.

Vol. XXI, is illustrated with a Portrait of Dr. Hurrow; en=
graved by Kyicut, from a Likeness painted by Miss ByRNE—~
The Perameles nasuta; engtaved by Lowax—The Parameles obe=

sula; also engraved by Lowny.

vy i

» cy
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ite Seen ai ES tae: ¥

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. NUMBER LXXXIV.
For MAY 1805. — cel

- YLLUSTRATED WITH THE FOLLOWING ENGRAVINGS, ©
eS Nene _ BY, LOWRY: : “Ng
+, The Chevalier Epetcranrz’s Safety-Valve for Steam Engine J
e ‘Boilers (Described in our last Number). CARRY
Ne a2, A 4to plate, containing magnified Representations of the Pa-\\
& \ rasitic Plant which causes the Blight in Corn, engraved by
| SE} Permission of the Rt. Hon. Sir Joseru Bawxs, P.R.S. fromg
‘the original drawings.—(Another 4to Plate on this subject, S#
executed in the same superior Style with the one now given, Ry)
was intended for the present Number, but in consequence off Ali g
the indisposition of Mr. Lowry, it must be deferred for a}
ey =. futere Number.) . ; AS
Ww *,* A Constant Reaper will find the Electrometer he wantsy ) ny
~~. described in our rith Vol. Page 251.

BY ALEXANDER TILLOCH,

HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY, Kc. &c, 8c.
Satara Se Bit pk te ; ‘

ie LONDON:

Printed by R. Taylor and Co., 38, Shoe Lane, Fleet Street;
) | _FOR A: TILLOCH : Shek,
& And sold by Messrs. Ricuarpson; Caperi and Davies; Lonc-,
“man, Hurst, Rees, and Orme; Symonps; Murray; Hieu-
/aey¥; Vernor and Hoop; Haxnine; London: Beir and\
Braprure, Edinburgh; Brasu and Rein, and D. Nevin, ARS
. Glasgow; and Girgerr and Hopes, Dublin. ay Ny

Giz; + TRE Eo Ape BD Sg 77, . Saye
1G Sy, AEA ids » ae F it ,

a . > eet

WORKS lately published by Lowomas, Hurst, Rexs, and

Oxme, Paternoster-row.

‘ i. ~ al

xy SERIES of ENGRAVINGS to illustrate the ILIAD and ODYSSEY -

i of HOMER; from the compositions of John Flaxman, R.A. sculptor
to the King. New editions with additional plates, price 2]. 2s. each. boards, .

For this edition of the Odyssey, new engravings have been made, under
the designer’s inspection, and are now published im England, for the first _
time; it is to be observed, that the Italian, French,' and German editions
are copies from this, the original work. ;

For the accommodation of those who purchased the former edition cf
the Iliad, the additional plates for chat work will be sold separately, price
tos. 6d. atipsass

*,% These works altogether consist of 75 prints (eleven of which are
from new designs) representing in regular succession the stories of the
iad and the Odyssey, with descriptions of their subjects, and extracts from
Pope’s translation upon each plate. The dresses, habits, armour, imp!e-
ments of war, furniture, &c. are all of classical authority. é

2. MADOC, a poem, in two parts, by Robert Southey. With four yi-
gnettes, in one yclume, price 2]. 2s. boards, ; }

3- The LAY of the LAS¥ MINSTREL, a poem, by Walter Scott, Esq.
In quarto, 11. §s. boards. ate

4. The ENGLISH DRAMA; ora Collection of Pl»ys of the most cele- -
brated authors: with critical and biographical essays, and an historical in-
quiry into the drama and the stage. ‘The first volume, ciown octavo, -
price ros. 6d. and reyal octavo, price 18s. boards.

5. POEMS and PLAYS, by William Righardson, AM. Professor of
Humanity in the University of Glasgow. A new edition, in two volumes _
fool-cap octavo, witha portrait of the author, 19s. 6d. in boaids.

6 NAVAL and MILiTARY MEMOIRS of GREAT BRITAIN, from
1727 to 1783, by Robert Beatson, Esq. LL.D. author of the Political Index
to the Histories of Great Britain and Ireland. The second edition, with a
continuation, in six volumes, octavo, 31. 3s. boards. : P aE

++ For high charact-rs of this work see the Monthly Review, Feb. and
March, 1791, and’the Critical Review, April and May, 1791. ~ wore

7. MEMOIRS of MARMONTEL, written by himself ; containing his:
literary and political life, and anecdotes of the principal characters of
the x8th century, including Voltaire, Rousseau, D’Alembert, Diderct,
Cardinal Maury, Madame Pompadour, the Duke de Choiseul, the Mare-

chal de R-chelien. the Marechal de Saxe, Cardinal Bernis, Lord Albe-

marle, the Prince of Kaunitz, Duke of Brunswick, Calonne, Necker, the
Comte D’ Artois, the late Queen of France, the King of Sweden, &c. &¢.
In 4 vols. 12m0, price il. 1s. in boards, :

8. ADELINE MOWBRAY; or the Mother and Daughter, a tale, by
Mrs. Opie. the second edition, in 3 vols. 12mo0. 138. 6d. boards. _ ;

«« We opened with great pleasure a new nove, from the entertaining
pen of Mrs. Opie, a lady whose uncommon talents do honour to her sex
and. couutry. She displayed ia her pathetic tale of « The Father and ~
Daughter,” a power of werking upon the passions we think udrivalled
(perhaps with the single exception of Mrs. Inchbald) by any writer of the”
present day, nor has <he faijed to affect her readers with many heart-rend-
ing scenes in the work before us,.’’—-Critica! Review, Feb. 1805.——See
also the Literary Journal, Feb. 1805. Eat, 5; dah a

9. The PRINCIPLES of MORAL SCIENCE, hy Robert Forsyth, Esq.
‘Advocate. The first volume. In octavo, 10s, 6d. boards. :

yo. SERMONS, by Sir Henry Moncreiff Wellwood, Part.D.D. and .
F_R.S. Edin, one of the ministers of St. Cuthbert’s, Edinburgh ; and See”
nior Chaplain in Ordinary in Scotland to his Royal Highness the Prince of
Wales. Gctavo, 8s. 6d. boards.

ry. POPULAR EVIDENCES of NATURAL RELIGION and CHRISTI- -
ANITY, by the Rev. Thomas Watson, Octavo, 30s. 6d. boards,

Mary Byrne pinx ; C Eraght scalp

CHARLES HUTTON, L.LD.
Tf R J I Pe & Y Cdinburgh,and of te
/
Lily (0. vophicad S OCterL€d of Lf, alo Ww Vneriea,

nad’ Lrofefeor of : ete Se im Ihe
Vy Z ns Malta ty. Veademy, Leobecah 2

THE
PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE:

COMPREHENDING

THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE,
THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS,

AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES,
AND

COMMERCE.

a
BY ALEXANDER TILLOCH,
MONORARY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY, KCy &e. &c.

er ee re EE

%¢ Nec aranearum sané textus ideo melior quia ex se fila gignunt, nec noster
vilior ‘quia ex alienis libamus ut apes.” Just. Lips, Monit. Polit. lib. i. cap. 1.

PEER ae
VOL. XXL “fying

LONDON:
Printed by R. Taylor and Co., Black-Horse-Court, Fleet=street :

And sold by Messrs. Ricuarpson; Capert and Davies; Loneman,
Hurst, Rees, and Orme; SymMonps; Murray; Hicuier;
Vxrnor and Hoop; Harpinc; London: Brrr and
Braprure, Edinburgh; Brasu and Rep, and
D. Navin, Glasgow; and Gitasxr
and Hopces, Dublin.

1805,

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‘ ‘

CONTENTS

OF THE

TIWENTY-FIRST...VOLUME.

1. ON the present State of Husbandry in Bengal. By a

sina now residing in that Country....... Page 3
I, Analytical Experiments and Observations on Lac.
by Cuarves Hatcnert,,Bsq. FLR.S. oo. 6.6... 12
IIT. Some Account of the Trade of Siam ............ 22
IV. Account of the Self-immolation of the two Widows of
Ameer Jung, the late Regent of Tanjore .......... 26
V. Memoir on a new Genus of Mammalia with Pouches,
named Perameles. By ¥.. GuOFFROY .........-. 28

VI. Memoir on the Tinctorial Properties of the Denais of
Commerson, a Shrub of the Family of the Rubiacee. Ex-
tracted ‘from the Flora of Madagascar. By Avorn pu
Perir-Tnovans. Read in the Prench National Institute

VII. Observations on the Change of some of the proximate
Principles of Vegetables tale Bitumen; with analytical
Experiments on a a peculiar Substance which is found with
the Bovey Coal. By Cuanrus Harcurrt, Esq. P.R.S.

VIII. On the Use of Green Vitriol, or Sulphate of Iroit,

as a Manure; and on the Efficacy of paring and burning

depending partly on Oxide of Iron. By Grorcr. Pears
son, M.D. Honorary Meiater of the Board of Agri-

culture, F. R. ei CAD COE ines eas a Seba a pdlam & are 52
IX. Biographical Anecdotes of CHAancrs Hourros, D.LLD,

Me AAT. i chcpsah Bert inci sla Dak ae Salary if ae aces g2
X. On Pithing CE ay eee . 67

Xf. Memoir on the Natural History of the Coca-nut Rie,
and the Areca-nut Tree; the Cultivation of them accord-
ing to the Methods af the Hindoos; their Productions,
and their Utility in the Arts, and for the Purposes of
‘domestic Economy, By M, Le Goux DE Fratx, an
Officer of Engineers, and Member of the Asiatic Suciet ly
of Caléulia, 0s. Bike Chas Wats tints setae aes 77

XII. Experiments to ascertain whether there exists any
Affinity betwixt Carbon and Clay, Lime and Siler, se-
pur ately ar as Compounds united with the Oxide of Iron
forming Tron Ores and Iron Stones, By avi MusHer,

Usq. of the Calder Iron-Works ., 2... .- es eee snes 80
XIII. Proceedings of Learned and Econ romical Sqcieties 87
XIV. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles ......+. 88

XV. On the. Means mast proper to be resorted to for exe
Vol, 21, No. 84, May 1805. a tinguishing

’ CONTENTS.

tinguishing accidental Fires in Ships. By ALEXANDER
Tintoca. Read before the Askesian Society in December
0. Mithyy ie ees RN RL dado (au eee 97
XVI. Memoir on the Natural History of the Coco-nut Tree
and the Areca-nut Tree; the Cultivation of them accord-
ing to the Methods of the Hindoos ; their Productions,
and their Utility in the Arts and for the Purposes of do-
mestic Economy. By M. Lx Govux pr Frarx, an Officer

of Engineers, and Memler of the Asiatic Society at Cal-

CULO pata iste poets ee SWRI Siniss Dic\ een SRiis oles = 110
XVII. Experiments on preserving Potaioes. By J. Dr
Lancey, Esq. of the Island of Guernsey ........ 117
XVIII. Processes for preparing Lake from Madder. By
Sir i. C, ENGLEVIELD, —BOMt case sian + Se cea 118
XIX. A new Process for separating Gold and Silver from
the Uaser Wietals: .% Jo A wae tra, 5, « pave cers wes
XX. Twenty-first Communication from Dr. THORNTON,
relative to Pneumatic Medicine ........0-0+000: 126
XXII. Communication from Mr. Ince, Surgeon, relative to
Pretmatic Wed icine 7 asses, sap = o>. 0 sie oes pert Tass!

XXII. Eatract of a Memeir on the Temperature of the Water
of the Sea, loth at the Surface and at different Depths,
along the Shores and at a Distance from the Coast. By
M. F. Peron, Naturalist on the French Expedition to
News otha a. 5 ote sete ety e ches ee ogee an ener 129

XXIII. An Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites; with Re-
marks on some of the other Sulphurets of Iron. By
Cuantes HATCHETT, (PSQtel: Ge. o. neel- fe yer 133

XXIV. Observations on the Change of some of the proximate
Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen; with analytical
Experiments on a peculiar Substance which is found with
the Bovey Coal. By Cuantes HatcHett, Esg. F.R.S.

147

XXV. Experiments and Reflections of Dr. Joacu1m Car-
RADORI DE Prato on the apparent Repulsion between
some Kinds of Fluids observed by DRAPARNAUD....154

XXVI. A new Electricai Phenomenon. Communicated by
i CONT ASOAENE sa esa tte et PEE eek «ie Oe

XXVIT. Wricurr on measuring the Meridian—WRIicGHT,
Wren and Wiuk1ins on an Universal Measure—J. Bar-
TisTA Porta on the Reflection of Heat, Cold and Sound
TROTR CONCEDE LVET OPS Tae sae tars tenia He ee 163

XXVIIL. A new Process for rendering Platina malleable.
By ALEXANDER TittocH. Read before the Askesian
Society in the Session 1804-5 .. 0.2.0... ec cee 175

XXIX. Description of an improved Mill for grinding

Painters’

CONTENTS.

Painters’ Colours. By Mr. James Raw .inson, of

a SO AORTIC TCS TAOE CC oe iN A ar eee 176
XXX. Improved Mill for grinding Indigo, or ether dry
etapa te SE SY) SO Ne A A a 180

XXXI. 4 new and most accurate Method of Banking the
Balance of a Time-keeper. By Mr. W. Harpy, of

IO nec toe ie fee came oe ete stern y 181
XXXII. Proceedings of Learned and Economical Societies
183

XXXII. Intelligence and Miscelluheoiis Articles .... 183
XXXIV. An Account of the Aériat Voyage under taken at
Petersburgh on the 30th of January 1804. Read before the
Academy of Sciences by the Academician SACHAROF 193
XXXV. A brief Account of the Mineral Productions of
Shropshire. By JosEru PryMury, 4. MM. Archdeacon
of Salop, and Honorary Member of the Board of Agricul-

PER eg ee alec snl ss eee! once «ghee seein aN afebaate & 201
XXXVI. On Metallic Sulphurets. By Professor Proust
208

XXXVIT. An Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites; with
Remarks on some of the other Sulphur ets of Iron. By
Onances Harcuerr, sg. BR! Sel ee 213

XXXVIII.. Account of an Aérostatic Voyage performed by
M. Guy-Lussac, on the 29th of Fructidor, Year 19;
and read in the National Institute, Vendemiaire oth,
oa ee MERE, tS eo al A Ak te a ee 220

XXXIX. On disclosing the Process of Manufactories . . 228

XL. An Essay on Medical Entomolog sy: By F. Cuav-

METON, Physician to the Army voy. bp 6. cee 230
XLI. On the Use made of Zinc in China in regard to Coin.
RP fer =, WY PGR iy th sied w Sinica + Mayne whe, wd wg 249
XLII. On the Use of the Amianthus in China. By B. G.
eee Our ROL ORR 6 Okt MATL ttt ne Ra a a 243

XLIM. On the Property ascribed to Quicklime of increasing
the Force of Gunpowder. By M. LemAtsTre, Inspector~
General of Gunpowder and Saltpetre ............ 245

XLIV. Description of an improved Drawlack Lock for
House Doors, invented by Mr. Wittiam Butuock, of
Perils ech CR PTL SUN, SNR NS OUTER AT AE 248

XLV. Description of a Screw Press with an expanding
Power. By Mr. Wirtiam Bow ter; of ER:
SAME aes Te ae eV eee ty ee ey dae 249

XLVI. Geographical and Topographical Inprovements pro-
posed by Joun CwURCHMAN, Esq. Me mber of the bn-

perial Academy of Sciences at St. Peterslurgh...... 251
XLVII. Description of a Safety Vulve, containing a Vacuum
Valve in the same Hole of the Boiler .... ..'954

: “XLV TI. An

CONTENTS.

XLVIUL. An Account of the Tea Tree. By YRepEentcr
PIGOU, Esq. ..0cessccssesc est ser tess ees bee ae 256
XLIX. An Account of the Hindu Method of cultivating
the Sugar Cane, and manufacturing the Sugar and Jagary
in the Rajahmundry District ; interspersed with such Re-
marks as tend to pout out the great Benefit that might le
expected from increasing this Branch of Agriculture, and
improving the Quality of the Sugar; also the Process ols
served by the Natives of the Ganjam District. By Dr.
WirttaAM RoxBurGu .....-. is, dha TAS okay vie «2 264
L. A brief Statement of some Particulars relative to the
Sinking, @c. of William-Pit, near the Sea-shore, at
Bransty, Whitehaven, the Property of Lord Viscount

LOWTHER: <i .c See eS ee Eo 975
LI. Proceedings of Lec rned and Economical Societies .. 277
LI. Intelligence and Miscellancous WAT RIES Voce cs gee 279

LUI. Essay on the Phanomena of the Electrophorus ; with
an Attempt ta reconcile them with the Principles of the
Franklinian Theory. By Samvurt Woops, Esq. Read
befare the Ashesian Society in the Session 1803-4 .. 289

LIV. A brief Account of the Mineral Productions of Shrop-
shire. By Josepu PurmMuny, 4..W. Archdeacon of Salop,
and Honorary Memler of the Board of Agriculture 304

LY. Extract fram a Work, published by Professor Proust,
entitled Researches on the Tinning af Copper, on Tin
Vessels, and glazed Pottery; published at Madrid
aC eel Game erg BIA MiG oe

LVI. A short Account of the Cause of the Disease in Corn,
called by Farmers the Blight, the Mildew, and the Rust.
By the Rt. Hon. Sir Josnen Banxs, Bart, RoBi? Ak.

320

LVIT. On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal. By the
late ANTHONY LAMBERT, Esg.... 2.2... 0.00+05 $27
LVUT. 2d Essay on Medical Entomology. By F.Cuav-
METON, Physician to the ArMY ..ccce se ce eens 344
LIX. 4 new, easy, and cheap Method of separating Copper
from Silver. By M.GOETLING..~.... ee ee 352

LX. Short Account of Travels between the ‘Iropics, by
Messrs. HumbBotpr and BONPLAND, in 1799, 1800,
1801, 1802, 1803, ad 1801. By J. C, DELAME+
PAPURG RDS) 2m on oes eareee she a 0\Slb Wie ake a eke ges ‘oie teeiel SR

LX1. On the Formation of Mater ly Compression ; with
Reflections on the Nature of the Electric Spark. Read
before the National Institute by M. Bror ...,.... 362

LXIf. Notices respecting New Books .. 0... 0400+ rs ite

LXILl. Proceedings of Learned Societies... 0004+ . 365

LXIV. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles ,....,. 367

JHE

THE

PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE,

I, On the present State of Husbandry in Bengal. By a

Gentleman now residing in that Country *.

Tue regular succession of periodical rains, followed by a
mild winter, which exempt from frost, is almost as free from
rain; and this succeeded by great heat, refreshened occa-
sionally by showers of rain and hail, affords its proper sea-
son for every production of tropical and temperate climates.
Few are altogether unknown in Bengal. Those which ac-
tually engage the industry of the husbandmen are numerous
and varied. Of these, rice is the most important. Corn in
every country is the first object of agriculture, as the prin-
cipal food of the inhabitants ; in this, where animal food is
seldom used, it is especially important.

The natural seasons of rice are ascertained from the pro-
gress of wild rice. It sows itself in the first month of the
winter; vegetates with the early moisture at the approach
of the rains ; ripens during that period ; and drops its seed
with the con:mencement of the winter.

A culture calculated to conform to this progress is prac-
tised in some districts. The rice is sown in low situations-
when nearly desiccated; the soil hardening above the seed
gives no passage to early showers; the erain vegetates at
the approach of the rains, and ripens in that season, earlier
or later, according as the field is overflown to a less or greater
depth. :

This method is bad, as it exposes the seed to injury
during a long period in which it should remain inert: the
practice is not frequent. Common husbandry sows the
rice at the season when it should naturally veeetate, to
gather a crop in the rains; it also withholds sced till the
second month of that season, and reaps the harvest in the

* From the Asiatic Annual Register for 1802.

Vol. 21. No, 81. Feb. 1808. A2 beginning

2 On the present State

beginning of winter: and the rice of this harvest is esteemed
the best; not being liable to early decay.

In low, situations, where the progress of desiccation is
slow, and on the shelving banks of Jakes which retain
moisture till the return of the rains, a singular cultivation
‘sows rice ai the end of the rains, and, by frequent trans-
planting and irrigation, forces it to maturity im the hot sea-
son: and in situations nearly similar, sows in the cold sea-
son for an early harvest, obtained’ by a similar method at
the commencement of the rains. ‘

In almost every plant the culture, in proportion as it is
more generally diffused, induces numerous varieties. But
the several seasons of cultivation, added to the influence of
soil and climate, have multiplied the different species of
rice to an endless variety, branching from the first obvious
distinction of awned and,awnless rice. The several species
and diversities, variously adapted to every circumstance of
soil, climate and season, might exercise the judgment of
sagacious cultivators: the selection of the most suitable
kinds is not neglected by the husbandmen. There‘is room,
however, for great improvement, from the future light to
be thrown on this subject by the ebservations of enlight-
ened farmers. é

Other corn is more limited in its varieties and its culture.
Of wheat and barley, few sorts are distinguished. All sown
at the commencement of the winter, and reaped at the be-
ginning of the hot season.

A great variety of different sorts of pulse finds its place in
the occupations of husbandry. No season is without its
appropriate species: but most sorts are sown or ripen in
the winter. They constitute a valuable article in husbandry,
as thriving on the poorest soils, and requiring little culture.

Millet and other small grains, though bearing a very
low price, as the food of the poorest classes, are not un-
important: several of these grains, restricted to no season,
and vegetating rapidly, are useful, as they occupy an in-
terval after a tardy harvest, which would not permit the
usual course of husbandry. Maize, which may be placed
in this second class of eorn, is less cultivated in Bengal than
i Most countries where it is acclimated. For common
food, inferior .o white corn, it has not a preference above
mullet ‘to compensate the greater labour of its culture.

The universal and vast consumption of vegetable oils is
supplied by the extensive cultivation of mustard, linseed,
sesamc, palmachristi, &c. The first occupy the winter
4cason ; the sesame ripens in the rains.

4 Among

Pe ee ae oe ee Pee ol ny REL Tt a NRA Cw rN Ty

of Husbandry in Bengal.

- Ainong the most important of the productions of Bengal,
rich in proportion to the land they occupy, valuable in com-
merce and manufactures, are tobacco, sugar, indigo, cotton,
mu >crry, and poppy. Most of these require land solely
appropriated to the respective culture of each; they would
here deserve full notice, with some other articles, if we
were not in this place limited to a general review of the
usual course of husbandry, and the implements and me-
thods it employs. .

The arts and habits of one country elucidate those of
another. The native of the North may deem every thing
novel m India; but if he have visited the southern king-
toms of Europe, he will find much similarity to notice.

_ The plough, the spade of Bengal, and the coarse substi-

tute for the harrow, will remind him of similar implements
in Spain. Cattle treading out the corn from the ear, will
recall the same practice in the south of Europe : where, also,
he has already remarked the want of barns and of inclosures;
the disuse of horses for the plough ; the business of domestic
economy conducted in the open air; and the dairy supplied
with the milk of buffaloes.

The plough is drawn by a single yoke of oxen, guided
by the ploughman himself. Two or.three pair of oxen as-
signed to each plough, relieve cach other until the daily
task be completed. Several ploughs in succession deepen
the same furrows, or rather scratch the surface; for the
plough wants a contrivance for turning the earth, and the
share has neither width nor depth to stir a new soil. A
second ploughing crosses the first, and a third is sometimes
given diagonally to the preceding. These frequently re-
peated, and followed by the substitute for the harrow, pul-
verize the surface, and prepare it for the reception of seed.
The field must be watched for several days, to defend the
seed from the depredations of numerous flocks of birds.
This is commonly the occupation of children, stationed to
seare the birds from the fresh sown field.

After the plant has risen, the rapid growth of weeds de-
mands frequent weedings, particularly in the rainy season.
For, few indigenous herbs vegetating in the dry season,
weeding is little, if at all required for plants which are.
cultivated in the absence of rain. Viewing the labours of
the weeders, the eye is not easily reconciled to see them
sitting to their work. The short-handled spud, which they
use for a hoe, permits no other posture: but however fa-
miliar that posture may be to the Indian, his labour is not
employed to advantage in this mode of weeding.

AS The

oe.

6 “On the present State

The hook (for the scythe is unknown) reaps every har-
vest. In this also much unnecessary labour is employed ;
not merely from the want of a more expeditious implement,
but from the practice of selecting the ripest plants, which,
taught by the harvest of different plants ripening succes-
sively, the Indian extends to the harvest of a simple crop.
Yet such is the contradictions of custom, that while the
peasant returns frequently to one field to gather the plants
as they ripen, he suffers another to stand long after the
greatest part of the crop has passed the point of maturity.
He justifies his practice upon circumstances which render
it impracticable to enter these fields to select the ripe plants
without damaging the rest; and upon the inferiority of crops
which mix with ripe corn a considerable proportion not
fully npened. Though his excuse be not groundless, his
loss is considerable, by the grain which drops before the
harvest in so great a quantity, that if the field remain un-
sown it will afford a crop by no means contemptible *.

The practice of stacking corn intended to be reserved for
seed, or for a late sale, is very unusual. The husk which
covers rice preserves it so perfectly, that, for this grain, the
practice would be superfluous: and the management of rice
serving for the type of their whole husbandry, it is neglected
by the peasants for other corn. A careless stack which waits
the peasant’s leisure to thrash it out serves for a convenient
disposition, rather than as a defence from the inclemencies
of weather. With the first opportunity his cattle tread
out the corn, or his staff thrashes the smaller seeds. The
grain is winnowed in the wind, and stored in jars of un-
baked earth, in baskets, or in twisted grass formed into the
shape of baskets.

The want of roads, which, indeed, could not possibly be
provided to give access to every field, in every season, does
not leave it in the option of the farmer to bring home all
his harvests by cattle; but the general disuse of cattle in
circumstances which would permit this mode of transport,
is among the facts which show a great disproportion be-
tween the population and the husbandry.

* Of this, instances are frequent: the remarkable result of one instance
deserves to be mentioned. An early inundation covered a very extensive
tract before the rice had been sown: the landlord remitted the rents, but
claimed the spontaneous crop; and he profited by the accommodation,
realising from this harvest a greater amount than che rents he remitted ;
although, tn addition to the common expenses, he was at considerable

cost to watch the crop, and was probably defrauded of a large proportion

of the harvest.
Irrigation

aM Mee See ee

ce ae a aart

,
of Husbandry in Bengal.

Irrigation is Jess neglected than facility of transport. In
the management of forced rice, dains retain the water on
extensive plains, or reserve it m Jakes, to water lower lands
as occasion requires. For either purpose much skill is ex-
erted in regulating the supplies of water. For the same
culture, ridges surrounding the field retain water raised by
the simple contrivance of a curved canoe swinging trom a
pole. In other situations ridges are also raised round the
field, both to separate lands and to regulate the water on
considerable tracts. In some provinces water raised by
cattle, or by hand, from wells, supply the deficiencies of
rain. Each of these, being within their compass, is the
undertaking of the peasants themselves. More considerable
works, not less necessary, are much neglected. Reservoirs,
water-courses, and dykes, are more generally in a progress
of decay than of improvement.

The succession of crops,’ which engages so much the at-
tention of enlightened cultivators in Europe, and on which
principally rests the success of a well-conducted husbandry,
is not understood in India. A course extending beyond
the year has never been dreamt of by a Bengal farmer: in
the succession of crops within the year, he is guided to no.

choice of an article adapted to restore the land impoverished i
by aformer crop. His attention being fixed on white corn,

other cultivation only employs the intervals of leisure which
the seasons of white corn allow to the land and to labour;
with an exception however to sugar, silk, and other valuable
productions, to which corn is secondary ; but which, grown
on appropriate lands, belong not to the consideration of the
course of crops. In this, which is not regulated by any
better consideration than convenience of time, it would be”
superfluous to specify the different courses which occur in
practice: as little would it tend to any useful purpose to
develope the various combinations of different articles grown.
together on the same field, or in the stubble of a former
harvest, or sown for a future crop before the preceding
harvest be gathered. —

A competent notion may be formed of this practice by
conceiving a farmer eager to obtain the utmost possible pro-
duce from his land, without any consideration for the im-
poverishment of the soil; able to command, at any season,
some article suited to the time, and not content to use his
field so soon as the harvest makes room for succession, but
anticipating the vacancy, or obtaining a crop of quick ve-
getation during the first progress of a slower plant.

{t may be judged that his avidity disappoints itself, both

A4 as

: On the present State

as the several articles deprive each other of the nourishment
which would have afforded a more abundant crop of either
separately, and as the land impoverished makes bad returns
-for the labour and seed. In most situations the land racked
in this husbandry soon requires time to recruit ; the Indian
allows it a lay, but never a fallow. This would be well
judged, if the management of stock gave to the lay all the
benefit which belongs to this method, and if the inefficacy
of the plough, which must be preceded by the spade, did
not greatly increase the expense of opening old lays.

The abuse of dung, employed for fuel instead of heing
applied to manure, must have concealed from the husband-
man the benefit of well managed stock: else, in his pracs
tice of pasturing his cattle in the stubble of his harvest, and
in fields of which the crop has failed, he could not omit
to notice the advantage of a farm well stocked. For want
of perceiving this benefit, the cattle for labour and subsist-
ence are mostly pastured on small commons, or other pas-
turage, intermixed with arable lands, or fed at home on
straw or cut grass; and the cattle for breeding, and for the
dairy, are grazed in numerous herds on the forests and
downs. Wherever fed, the dung is carefully collected for ©
fuel.

Cultivation suffering very considerably by the trespasses,
of cattle, through the wilful neglect of the herdsmen, it is,
a matter of surprise that inclosures are so much neglected,
For a reason already mentioned cattle cannot be left ag
night unattended: but, in the present practice, buffaloes
only are grazed at mght; cows and oxen are pastured in,
the day. For these, inclosures would be valuable. and even,
for buffaloes would not be useless; and the farmer would
be well rewarded by suffering the cattle to ferttlize all his
arable Jands, instead of restricting the use of manure to
sugar-cane, mulberry, tobacco, poppy, &c.

Few Jands unassisted are sufficiently fertile to raise these
productions ; the husbandman has yielded to the necessity
of manuring for them. On the management of it little oc-
curs for particular notice in this place, except to mention,
that khully, or oil-cake, is occasionally used as manure for
the sugar-cane. A course of experiments would be requi-
site to ascertain whether the methods actually employed be
better suited to the soil and chmate, than others which
might be or have been suggested from the practice of other
countries, or from the varying practice of different parts of
Bengal.

For a similar reason the consideration of other produce.

(Cf

of Husbandry in Bengal. 9

(of which the culture is now general, or which might be
generally diffused, as cotton, indigo, arnotto, madder,) may «
also be deferred. Enough has been said to show that hus-
bandry in Bengal admits of much improvement; or, rather,
that the art is im its infancy.

‘An ignorant husbandry, which exhausts the land, neg-
lecting the obvious means of maintaining its fertility, and
of reaping immediate profit from the operations which
might restore it; rude implements, inadequate to the pur-
pose for which they are formed, and requirmg much super-
tluous labour; this again ill divided, and of consequence
employed disadvantageously, call for aniendment.

The simple tools which the Indian employs in every art
are so coarse, and apparently so inadequate, that it creates
surprise he should ever effect his undertaking ;_ but the long
continuance of feeble efforts accomplishes (and mostly well)
what, compared to the means, appears impracticable: ha-
bituated to observe his success, we cannot cease to wonder
at the simplicity of his process, contrasting it to the me-
chanism employed in Europe. But it is not necessary that
the complicated models of Europe should be copied in India.
A passion for the contrivances of ingenuity has adopted in-
tricate machinery for simple operations. The economy of
labour in many cases justifies the practice, whether an ef-
fect be produced at a smaller expense, or more be performed
at proportionate expense, but with Jess labour. In Bengal
the value of money, and the cheapness of labour, would
render it absurd to propose costly machinery; but is n@
ebjection to simple improvements, which, adding little te
the cost of the implements, would fit them to perform,
more effectually, and with less labour, the object under-
taken. The plough is among the implements which stand
most in need of such improvements.

The readiness with which he can turn, from the occupa-
tion in which he-has been accustomed, to another branch
of the same art, or to a new occupation, is characteristic
of the Indian. The success of his earliest efforts, in a novel
employment, is daily remarked with surprise. It is not so
much a proof of ingenuity and ready conception, as the
effect of slow and patient imitation, assisting a versatile
habit necessarily acquired where the division of labou- is
unperfect; and though its performance may surpass ex-
pectation, it must ever fall short of the expeditious and
finished performances of the expert mechanic, whose skill
is formed by constant practice in a more circumscribed oc-
pupation,

The

10 Present State of Husbandry in Bengal.

The want of capital, employed in manufactures and agri»

culture, prevents, in Bengal, the division of labour. Every
manufacturer, every artist, working for his*own account,
conducts the whole process of bis art from the formation of
his tools to the sale of his production. Unable to wait the
market, or anticipate its demand, he can only follow his
regular occupation as immediately called to it by the wants
ot his neighbours. In the intervals he must apply to some
other employment in immediate request ; and the labours
of agriculture, ever wanted, are the general resource. The
mechanic, finding himself as fully competent as the constant
cultivator to the management of common husbandry, is
not discouraged from undertaking it at his own risk. Every
labourer, every artizan, who has frequent occasion to reeur
to the labours of the field, becomes a tenant. Such farmers
are ill qualified to plan or conduct a well judged course of
husbandry, and are idly employed, to the great waste of
useful time, in carrying to market the paltry produce of their
petty farms.
If Bengal had a capital in the hand of enterprising pro-
prictors, who employed it im husbandry, manufactures, and
niternal commerce, these arts would be improved; and,
with greater and better productions from the same labour,
the situation of the labourers would be less precarious and
more affluent, although the greatest part of the profit might
rest with the owners of the capital. ef

Capital is certainly not less deficient to the internal com-
merce of Bengal than to manufactures and agriculture. The
small capitals now employed require large returns, Blessed
as Bengal is, beyond any country, with an extensive internal
navigation, the want of roads (though a great evil) would
not sufficiently account for the very limited intercourse of
commerce at present existing. But the large profits which
small, capitals reqyire, explain the want of intercourse.
This conspires with the deficiency of capital in manufac-
tures and husbandry: to depress Bengal; for m> agri-
culture particularly, which is the basis of prosperity to a
country, the want of capital is a bar to all improvement.
Under a system of government which neither drained its
wealth nor curbed rational enterprise, Bengal:could not fail
. fo sevive; the employment of capital in husbandry would
introduce large farms, and from these would flow every
improvement wanted; and which must naturally extend
from husbandry into every branch of arts‘and commerce.

Without capital and enterprise, improvement can never.
be obtained. Precept will never inculcate a better hus-

2 bandry

‘Present State of Husbandry in Bengal. , 11

bandry on the humble unenlightened -peasant. It could
not, without example, generally engage a wealthier and
‘better informed class. Positive institutions would be of as
little avail. The legislator cannot direct the judgment of
his subjects ; his business is only to be cayeful lest his re-
gulations * disturb them in the pursuit of their true in-
terests.

In Bengal, where the revenue of the state has had the
form of land-rent, the management of finances has a more
immediate influence on agriculture than any other part of
the administration. The system which has been adopted,
of withdrawing from direct interference with the occupants,
and leaving them to tenant from landlords, wiil contribute,
more than any of the remediary ¢ regulations which have
been promulgated, to abuses and evils which had rendered
the situation of the cultivator precarious. But not yet hay-
ing produced its effect, it requires us-to review the systen
of finances, under which abuses had grown, and placed the
occupant in a precarious situation, as discouraging te agri-
culture as any circumstance yet noticed; for without an
ascertained: interest for a sufficient period, no person could
have an inducement to venture a capital in husbandry.

* A strong instance of such ill-advised institutions occurs in a lecal
regulation, which prohibited farms exceeding fifty begehs.

+ Regulations on this and other subjects have copied too closely the
notions and forms of European nations. Though they have been framed
by persons well informed of the customs and prejudices of the natives, a
predilection for the maxime of European societies has introduced rules,
which, if not incompatible with the disposition of the Indian, have at
least been pressed with too eager haste, not allowing time to the natives
to accommodate themselves co new forms and to innovating maxims.
The provisions of new laws, not easily apprehended by the natives, are
to them the more obscure, being framed in a foreign language, fiom
which translations cannot assimilate to the idiom of their own tongue.
Hence the best intentions have not yet projiced guod effects, The
people have received no material relief, no considerable benefit; the only
summers is, that their understs.dings are confounded, and their minds

armed. '

“ IL, Analytical

ae SAS

If. Analytical Experiments and Observations on ‘Lae.
By Cuantes Harcuetr, Esq. F.R.S.

{Continued from our last volume, p. 358. ]

§ Il.
Analytical Experiments on Stick, Seed, and Shell Lae.

Linc, when placed on a red-hot iron, at first contracts,
and then melts, emitting a thick smoke, of a peculiar but
rather pleasant odour; after which, a light spongy coal
remains,

Distillation of Stick Eac.

100 grains of the best stick lac, separated as much as
possible from the twigs, were put into a glass retort, to
which a double tubulated receiver and hydro-pneumatic
apparatus were adapted. Distillation was then gradually
performed, with an open fire, until. the bottom of the
retort became red hot.

The products thus obtained were, Grains.
i. Water slightly acid - - - 10.
2. Thick brown butyraceous oil - - 59.
3. Spongy coal © - - bind ori 13.50

4. Asmall portion of carbonate of ammonia, with
a mixture of carbonic acid, carbonated hy-
drogen, and hydrogen gas, which may he
estimated at’ - - - ~ 17.50

100.
Seed Lac.
100 grains of very pure seed Jac were distilled in a similar
manner, and afforded,

i. Acidulated water - - - 6.

2. Butyraceous oil -s - 61.

3. Spongy coal , - - - - a
4. Mixed gas nearly as before, but without am-

monia, amounting by estimation to - 26.

100.

Shell Lac.
100 grains of shell lac, treated as above, yielded,

1. Acidulated water - = t 6.
2. Butyraceous oil - Ps i 65.
8. Spongy coal - - “i act 7.50
4. Mixed pas, amounting by estimation to < 21.50
100.
‘The

Experiments and Olservations on Lac. i3

The coal of the shell Jac, by incineration, afforded about
ene grain of ashes, which contained a muriate, probably
ef soda, and a little iron, with some particles of sand,
which may be regarded as extraneous.

Analysis of Stick Lac.

A. 200 grains of stick lac, picked and reduced to powder,
were digested in a pint and a half of boiling distilled water
during 12 hours. The liquor was transparent, and of a
beautiful deep red; this was decanted into another vessel,
and the operation was repeated, with fresh portions of wa-
ter, until it ceased to be tinged: the lac then appeared of a
pale yellowish-brown colour.

The whole of the aqueous solution being evaporated, left
a deep red substance, which possessed the general proper-
ties of vegetable extract, and weighed 18 grains.

B. The dried lac was digested for 48 hours, without heat,
in eighteen ounces of alcohol; and the clear tincture being
cautiously decanted, different portions of alcohol were
added, and the digestion was repeated, until the alcohol
ceased to produce any effect.

The whole of the solutions in alcohol were then poured
into distilled water, which was heated, and an attempt was
made to separate the precipitated substance by filtration ;
but, as this did not succeed, on account of the filter
speedily becoming clogged, the whole was subjected to
gentle distillation ; by which a brownish-yellow resin was
obtained, amounting in weight to 136 grains.

C. The remainder of the lac was again digested in boil-
ing distilled water ; by which 2 grains of the colouring ex-
tract were obtained.

D. The residuum was then digested with one ounce of
muriatic acid diluted with two ounces of water, which, by
boiling, became of a bright pale red, but changed to purple,
when saturated with a solution of carbonate of potash.

A floceulent precipitate was thus obtained, which pos-
sessed the characters of precipitated vegetable gluten com-
bined with some of the colouring extract ; this, whien com-
pletely dried, weighed 11 grains.

E. There new remained 25 grains, which evidently con-
sisted of a sort of wax, mixed with small parts of twigs
and other extraneous substances.

A part of the wax was separated by heat aud pressure in a
piece of linen; and another portion \as separated by di-
gestion in olive oil, which assumed the consistency of an
unguent, ,

; The

“

Experiments and Observations on Lae.

The residuum was then boiled with lixivium of potash,
and became tinged with purple, in consequence of some
of the colouring extract which had not been dissolved by

ihe preceding operations.

The undissolved part, now consisting only of the extra-
neous vegetable and other substances, weighed 13 grains ;
so that the wax, with a small portion of the colouring ex-

tract, may be estimated at 12 grains.

By the above process, 200 grains of stick lac affurded,

ot Colouring extract - -

B. Resin - - "
D. Vegetable gluten - -

Grains.

- il

x, § Wax, with a little colouring extract, about 12

Extraneous substances -

Analysis of Seed Lac.

= 13

200 grains of very pure seed lac were subjected to opera-

tions very similar to those which have been described, and

afforded,

Colouring extract - ms t
Resin i a ty ty
Vegetable gluten = - -
W a x ‘ — = - =

Analysis of, Shell Lac.

Grains.
- 5
177
- 4
he 9

195.

A. 500 grains of this substance were first treated with

boiling distilled water, as above-mentioned, and yielded

of extract only 2.50 grains.

B. The 497.50 grains which remained, were then di-
gested with different portions of cold alcohol, until this
ceased to produce any effect ; the resin which was thus

separated amounted to 403.50 grains.

C. As the shell lac had not been reduced into powder,
but only into small fragments, these were become white
and elastic, and, when dry, were brittle, and of a pale
brown colour ; the whole then weighed’94 grains.

D. These 94 grains were digested in diluted muriatie
acid ; and the acid, being afterwards saturated with solu-
tion of carbonate of potash, afforded a flocculent precipi-
tate (resembling that obtained from solutions of vegetable

gluten), which, when dry, weighed 5 grains:

E. Alcohol

—

Experiments and Observations on Lac. 15

E. Alcohol acted but feebly on the residuum ; it was
therefore put into a matress, with three ounces of acetic
acid, and was suffered to digest without heat during six

_ days, the vessel being at times gently shaken; the acid thus

assuined a pale brown colour, and was very turbid. The
whole was then added to half a pint of alcohol, and was
digested in a sand-bath ; by which a brownish tincture was
formed, and at the same time a quantity of a whitish floc-
culent substance was deposited, which, being collected,
well washed with alcohol on a filter, and dried, weighed

- 20 grains.

This substance was white, light, and flaky, and, when
rubbed by the nail, it became glossy, like wax; it also

-easily melted, was absorbed by heated paper, and, when

placed on a coal or hot iron, emitted.a smoke, the odour
of which very much resembled that of wax, or rather
spermaceti, |

F. The solution formed by acetic acid and alcohol being
filtrated, was poured into distilled water, which immediately
became milky ; and, being heated, the greater part of the
resin which had been dissolved assumed a curdy form, and
was partly separated by a filter, and partly by distilling off
the hquor ; this portion ofresin amounted to 51 grains.

G. The filtrated liquor, from which this resin had been
separated, was saturated with a solution of carbonate of
potash ; and, being heated, a second precipitate of gluten
was obtained, which, when well dried, weighed 9 grains.

he 500 grains of shell Jac thus yielded, Grains.

A. Extract > -. - 2.50

Bs} Resin = eas elie aca. 5

e } Vegetable gluten - - 14,

c» Wax - be = 20.
491.

- The mode of analysis adopted for the shell lac, must un-
doubtedly appear less simple than that which was employed
for seed and stick lac; but, upon the whole, it was attended
with advantages ; for the shell lac being in small fragments,
and not in the state of a powder, considerably facilitated
the decantation of the solution in alcohol from the resi-
duum ; and although, in this last, a portion of the resin
was poplasted from the action of the alcohol, by being
enveloped in the gluten and wax, yet, by the assistance of
acetic acid, the remainder of the resin, as well as the who

; 0

16 Experiments and Observations on Lac.

of the gluten, were dissolved ; the wax was obtained in a
pure state, and a separation of the resin from the gluten
was afterwards easily effected by the method which has
been described. As therefore acetic acid is capable of
dissolving resin, gluten, and many other of the vegetable
principles, it certainly may be regarded as a very useful
solvent in the analysis of bodies appertaining to the vege-
table kingdom.

From the results of the preceding analyses it appears, that
the different kinds of lac consist of four substances, namely,
extract, resin, gluten, and wax, the separate properties of
which shall now be more fully considered.

Properties of the colouring Extract of Lac.

1. When dry it is of a deep red colour, approaching to
purplish crimson.

g. Being put on a red-hot iron it emits much smoke,
with a smell somewhat resembling burned animal matter,
and leaves a very bulky and porous coal.

3. Water, when digested with it in a boiling heat, par
tially dissolves it; but the residuum was found to be abs.
solutely insoluble in water.

4. Alcohol acts but slowly on it, and, in a digesting
heat, dissolves less than water. The colour of the solution
is also not so beautiful; and a considerable part of the re-
siduum left by alcohol was, when digested with water,
found to be soluble, although this was not the case when
the residuum left by water was treated with alcohol.

5. It is insoluble in sulphuric ether, excepting a very
small portion of resin, which appeared to be accidentally
mixed with it.

6. Sulphuric acid readily dissolves it, and forms a deep
brownish-red solution, which, being diluted with water,
and saturated with potash, soda, or ammonia, becomes
changed to a deep reddish-purple.

7. Muriatic acid dissolves only a part: the solution is of
the colour of port wine, and, by the alkalis, is changed to
a deep reddish-purple.

g. Nitric acid speedily dissolves it: the solution is yel-
Jow, and rather turbid; but the red colour is not restored
by the alkalis, for these only deepen the yellow colours.
This nitric solution did not afford any trace of oxalic acid.

g. Acetic acid dissolves it with great ease, and forms a
deep brownish-red solution.

10. Acetous acid does not dissolve it quiteso. readily,

put the solution is ef a brighter red. Both of the abovey
“hs when

ce oe

Experiments and Observations on Lac: ij

when saturated with alkalis, are changed to a deep reddish-
purple.

11. The lixivia of potash, soda, and ammonia, act power-
fully on this substance, and almost immediately form per-
fect solutions, of a beautiful deep purple colour.

12. Pure alumina, put into the aqueous solution, does
not immediately produce any effect; but, upon the addition
of a few drops of muriatic acid, the colouring matter
speedily combines with the alumina, and a beautiful lake
is formed.

13. Muriate of tin produces a fine crimson precipitate
when added to the aqueous solution.

i4, A similar coloured precipitate is also formed by the
addition of solution of isinglass.

These properties of the colouring substance of lac, espe-
cially its partial solubility im water and in alcohol, and its
insolubility in ether, together with the precipitates formed
by alumina and muriate of tin, indicate that this substance is
vegetable extract, perhaps slightly animalizéd by the coccus.

The effects which it produced ou gelatin, also demon-
strate the presence of tannin; but ihis very probably was
afforded by the small portions of vegetable bodies, from
which the stick lac can seldom be completely separated.

Properties of the Resin of Lac.

This substance is of a brownish-yellow colour; and,
when put on a red-hot iron, it emits much smoke, with a
pe¢uliar sweet odour, and leaves a spongy coal.

tis completely soluble in alcohol, ether, acetic acid,
nitric acid, and the lixivia of potash and soda.

Water precipitates it from alcohol, ether, acetic acid,
and partially from nitric acid; and it possesses the other
general characters of a true resin.

Properties of the Gluten of Lac.

It has been already observed, that when small pieces of
shell lac have been repeatedly digested in cold alcohol, they
become white, bulky, and elastic. By drying, these pieces
become brownish and brittle; the elasticity is also destroyed
by boiling water, exactly.as when the gluten of wheat is
thus treated.

If the pieces of shell lac, after the digestion in alcohol,
be digested with dilutcd muriatic acid, or with acetic acid,
the greater part of the gluten! is dissolved, and may be

recipitated in a white flaky state, by alkalis; but, if these last
he added to excess, and heat be applied, then the glutinaus.
substance is redissolved, and may be precipitated by acids.

Vol, 21. No. 81. Feb. 1805. 2B

18. Experiments and Oiservations on Lac.

Tf the pieces of shell lac, after digestion in aleohoi, be’
treated with alkaline lixivia, then the whole is dissolved,
and forms a turbid solution. But when acids are employed,
the chief part of the gluten is alone acted upon, and a con-
siderable residuum: is left, consisting of the wax, some of
the resin, and a portion of gluten, which has been protected
from the action of the acid-by the two former substances. |

The above properties indicate a great resemblance between
this substance and the gluten of wheat; I therefore have
called it gluten, but at a future time I intend to subject it
to a more accurate examination.

Properties of the Wax of Lae, Ye

If shell lac be long and repeatedly digested in boiling
mitric acid, the whole is dissolved, excepting the wax, which
floats on the surface of the hquor, like oil, amd, when cold,
may be collected; or it may be more easily obtained in a
pure state, by digesting the residuam left by alcohol. in
boilmg nitric aed. sir9

The wax thus obtained, when pure, is pale yellowish
white, and (unlike bees-wax) is devoid ef tenacity, and is
extremely brittle.

It melts at a much lower temperature than that of boiling
water, burns with a bright flame, and emits an odour some-
what resembling that of spermaceti.

Water does not act upon it, neither does cold alcohol ;
but this last, wher boiled, partially dissolves it, and, upor
cooling, deposits the greater part ; a small portion, how-
ever, remains in solution, and may be precipitated by water.

Sulphuric ether, when heated, also disselves it; but,
upon cooling, nearly the whole is deposited.

Lixiviam of potash, when boiled with the wax, forms
milky solution ; but the chief part of the wax floats on the
surface, in the state of white flecculi, and appears to be
converted into a soap of difficult solubility; it is no longer
inflammable, and, with water, forms a turbid solution,
from which, as well as from the solution in potash, the
wax may he precipitated by acids.

Ammonia, when heated, also dissolves a small portion of
the wax, and forms a solution very similar to the former.

Nitric and muriatic acids do not seem to act upon the
wax : the effects of sulphuric acid have nct been examined.

When the properties of this substance are compared with
those of bees-wax, a difference will be perceived ; and, on
the contrary, the most striking analogy is evident between
the wax of lac and the myrtle wax which is obtained from

the Myrica cerifera.
- a : An

’ Experiments and Observations on Lac. 19

An account of the latter substance has been published
by Dr. Bostock, of Liverpool, in Nicholson’s Journal,
with comparative Experiments and Observations on Bees-
Wax, Spermaceti, Adipecire, and the crystalline Matter
of biliary Calculi*. (

The properties of the myrtle wax, as described in Dr.
Bostock’s valuable paper, so perfectly coincide with those ;
which I have observed in the wax of lac, that I cannot but
consider them as almost the same substance; indeed I
think they may be regarded as absolutely identical, if some
allowance be made for the slight modifications which have
been produced by the different mode of their formation.

From the preceding experiments and analyses we find,
that the varicties of lac consist of the four substances which
have been described ; namely, extractive colouring matter,
resin, gluten, and a peculiar kind of wax. Resin is the
predominant substance; but this, as well as the other in-
gredients, is liable, in a certain degree, to variation in re-
spect to quantity.

According to the analyses which have been described, one
hundred parts of each variety of lac yielded as follows.

Stick Lac. Grains.
Resin - - - 68.
Colouring extract - - 10.
Wax - - - 6.
Gluten - . - 5.50
Extraneous substances - 6.50
96.0
Seed Lac.
Resin “ - - 88.50
Colouringextract - - 2.50
Wax - - - 4.50
Gluten - -- - 2.
97.50
Shell Lac.
Resin - - - 90.90
Colouring extract - me OO
Wax - - - 4.
Gluten - - - 2.80
98.20

* Nicholson's Journal for March 1803, p. 129.

" Be The

(20 Experiments and: Observations on Lac.

The proportions of the substances which compose the
varieties of lac, must however be subject to very consider-
able variations ; and we ought therefore only to consider
these analyses ina general point of view. Hence we should
state, that Jac consists principally of resin, mixed with
certain proportions of a peculiar kind of wax, of gluten,
and of colouring extract. .

The relative quantity of the two latter ingredients very
considerably affects the characters of the lacs; for instance,
we may observe that the glutinous substance, when present
in shell Jac in a more than usual proportion, probably pro-
duces the defect observed in some kinds of sealing-wax,
which, when heated and burned, become blackened by
particles of coal; for the gluten affords much of this sub-
stance, and does not melt like the resin and wax. From
what has been stated, therefore, lac may be denominated a
cero-résin, mixed with gluten and colouring extract.

” § IL.
General Remarks.

From the whole of the experiments which have been re-
lated, it appears, that although lac is indisputably the pro-

duction of insects, yet it possesses few of the characters of

animal substances; and that the greater part of its agere-
gate properties, as well as of its component ingredients, are
such as more immediately appertain to vegetable bodies.

Lac, or gum lac, as itis popularly, but improperly, called,
is certainly a very useful substance ; and the natives of
India furnish full proofs of this, by the many purposes to
which they apply it.

According to Mr. Kerr it is made by them into rings,
beads, and other female ornaments.

When formed into sealing-wax, it is employed as a
japan, and is likewise manufactured into different coloured
varnishes.

The colouring part is formed into. lakes for painters: a
sort of Spanish wool for the ladies is also prepared with it 5
and as a dyeing material it is in very general use.

The resinous part is even employed to form grindstones,
by melting it, and mixing with it about three parts of sand.
For making polishing grindstones, the sand is sifted through
fine muslin ; but those which are employed by the lapi-
daries are formed with powder of corundum, called by
them Corune*. %,

* Philosophical Transactions 1781, p. 380.

But

ee Ss eee

———

Experiments and Observations on Lac. 21

But in addition to all the above uses to which it ts ap-
plied in India, as well as to those which cause it to be in
request in Europe, Mr. Wilkins’s Hindi ink occupies a
conspicuous place, not merely on account of its use as an
ink, but because it teaches us to prepare an aqueous solu-
tion of lac, which probably will be found of very extensive
utility.

This solution of lac in water may be advantageously em-=
ployed as a sort of varnish, which is equal in durability
and other qualities to those prepared with alcohol; whilst,
by the saving of this liquid, it is infinitely cheaper.

.I do not mean, however, to assert that it will answer
equally well in all cases, but only that it may be employed
in many. It will be found likewise of great use as a vehicle
for colours; for, when dry, it is not easily affected by
damp, or even by water.

With a solution of this kind I have mixed various co-
lours, such as vermilion, fine lake, indigo, Prussian blue,
sap green, and gamboge; and it is remarkable, that al-
though the two last are of a gummy nature, and the others
had been previously mixed with gum (being cakes of the
patent water-colours), yet, when dried upon paper, they
could not be removed with a moistened sponge, until the
surface of the paper itself was rubbed off.

In many arts and manufactures, therefore, the solutions
of lac may be found of much utility; for, like mucilage,
they may be diluted with water, and yet, when dry, are
jittle if at all affected by it*.

We find, from the experiments on lac, that this substance
is soluble in the alkalis, and in some of the acids. But
this fact (considering that resin is the principal ingredient
of lac) is in opposition to the generally received opinion of
chemists ; namely, that acids and alkalis do not act upon
resinous bodies. Some experiments, however, which I

* The alkaline solutions of lac are evidently of a saponaccous nature,
and, like other soaps, may be decomposed by acids. The entire sub-
stance of lac is not however completely dissolved, as appears from the
rurbidness of the liquors. Three of the four ingredients; namely, the
resin, the gluten, and the coiouring cxtract, appear to be in perfect so-

tution ; whilst the wax is only partially combined with the alkali, and

forms that imperfectly soluble saponaceous compound which has been
formerly mentioned, and which remains suspended, and disturbs the
transparcucy of the solution,

From various circumstances, it does not seem improbable that the
long sought for, but hitherto undiscovered vehicle employed by the cele-
brated painters of the Venetian School, may have been some kind of
resinous solution, prepared by means of borax, or by the alkalis,

B3 have

’

22 ‘Account of the Trade of Siam.

have made on various resins, gum-resins, and balsams, fully
establish that these substances are powerfully acted upon by
the alkalis, and by some of the acids, so as to be completely
dissolved, and rendered soluble in water.

It will be a very wide and curious field of inquiry, to
discover what changes are thus produced in these bodies,
especially by nitric acid. Each substance must form the
subject of a separate investigation ; and there cannot be a
doubt but that much will be learned respecting their nature
and properties, which hitherto have been so little examined
by chemists. 04

The alkaline solutions of resin may be found useful in
some of the arts; for many colours, especially those which
are metallic, when dissolved in acids, may be precipitated,
combined with resin} by adding the former to the alkaline
solutions of the latter. I have made some experiments of
this kind with success ; .and perhaps’ these processes might
prove useful to dyers and manufacturers of colours. It is
probable also, that medicine may derive advantages from
some of this extensive series of alkaline and acid solutions
of the resinous substances. }

III. Some Account of the Trade of Siam*.

Tue English know so little of this place and its trade,
that it will require a particular description, as the traffic
may be much improved, particularly for the import and
consumption of British manufactures, such as broad cloths,
cutlery, ironmongery, jewelry, and toys.

The Portuguese have principally enjoyed the trade and
profits of this place. There have been some speculations
madé by British merchants from Calcutta, and which al-
ways turned out to advantage.

~The Menam (the chief river), by which ships enter Siam,
discharges itself into the gulph of Siam, and is rendered dif-
ficult of access on account of a bar, to cross which it is ne-
cessary to have a pilot.

The winter here is dry, and the summer wet, occasioned
by the different monsoons, which act here as in the bay of
Bengal, viz. the north-easterly monsoon bringing in dry,
and the south-westerly monsoon bringing in heavy clouds,

‘thick weather, and rain,

* From the Mariner’s Directory and Guide to the Trade and Nuviga-
tion of the Indian and China Scas.
The

Account of the Trade of Siam. 2S

The southerly monsoon is therefore the season for ships
to go to Siam, as it is a fair wind to cross the bar; and-the
northerly monsoon to leave the bar, and proceed to India
through the straits of Malacca,

Bankasoy, situated on the river near the bar, is the prin-
cipal place of trade; and the king is the chief merchant, for
his revenues are paid in elephants’ teeth, sapan, and aquilla
wood, ‘This is the best part of the Malay coast for pro-

curing that exquisite sauce called ballichong, which the
fasten epicures so much seck, value, and regale upon: it
is made of a composition of dried shrimps, pepper, salt,
seaweed, &c. &c. beaten together to the consistence of a
tough paste; and then packed in jars for sale, uge, or ex-
portation.

Siam, near the shores, (the only places where Europeans
have access to,) is very unhealthy. The land seems to be
formed by the mud descending from the mountains; to
which mud, and tie overflowings of the river, the soil owes
its fertility ; for in the higher places, and parts remote from
the inundation, al] is dried and burnt up. by the sun soon
after the periodical rains are over.

The arts have been in more, repute, and better attended
to formerly, than at ihe present time. Few travellers will
emit noticing the many casts at this place, both of statues
and cannon, of an immense calibre and length, as well as
many other curiosities, many of them in gold.

The mountains produce diamonds of an excellent water,
(little if at all interior to those of Golconda, though not
so large,) sapphires, rubies, and agates.

They have tin of a very fine quality, of which they make
tutanag; steel, iron, lead, and gold: they have copper
also of a fine quality, but not in great plenty.

The low grounds produce rice in great quantities; and
on the higher grounds, that are not inundated, they raise
wheat. They have many medicinal plants and gums, oil
of jessamine, sack, benzoin, crystal, emery, antimony,
cotton, wood, oil, varnish, cinnamon, cassia buds, and
iron-wood, which is much used by the natives, Malays,
and Chinese, as anchors for their vessels. They have also
great quantity of white betel nut, which is exported to

hina, by the junks and Portuguese ships, which have en-
joyed almost uninterruptedly the whole trade of this place,
and the coast of Cochin-China, from the Ridang islands te
Macao.

They have also the fruits known in India, as well as the

s B4 durian,

24 Account of the Trade of Siam.

durian, mangostein, and tamarind, which are remarkable
for thriving here. .

The animals are horses, oxen, buffaloes, sheep and goats,
tgers, elephants, rbinoceroses, decr, and some hares. _

There is poultry in great abundance, with peacocks, pi<
geons, partridges, snipes, parrots, and many other birds.

They have insects and verinin, as peculiar to other parts
of India.

The sea yields them excellent fish of all kinds, particu-
larly flounders, which are dried and exported to all the
eastern ports; and they have extraordinary fine lobsters,
ema'l turtles, and oysters. Here too are very fine river fish,
particulagly the beatie (or cockup), silver eels of a very large
size, and mangoe fish, so much esteemed in Calcutta.

From the humidity of the soil, it is almost unnecessary
to observe, that the chief disorders to which Europeans are
subject, are fluxes, dysenteries, fevers, and agues. Ps,

No private merchant here. dare trade in tin, tutanag,
elephants’ teeth, lead, or sapan wood, without leave from
the king; which permission is seldom granted, as he mo-
nopolizes these articles to himself, and pays in them for
any goods he purchases, at the highest prices they will
bring at most markets in India.

The following are the general prices for elephants’ teeth
from the king in payment:

g teeth to the pecul, equal to 120 ticalls.

3do - do. - 112
4do. - do. - 104
5 do <= do. - 96
6 du," 2 do. -— 88
7 do. - do. - 80
8 do. = do. - 72
Q'do. = do. - 64
10 do. - do. - 56
11 do. - do, - 48
12-do. - do. = 40
13 do. to 20 or 30 do. Ce

thus falling eight ticalls in each pecul, as the number of
teeth increases. But if you purchase with ready money,
instead of receiving them in barter (or payment) for goods,
you will buy each quality eight ticalls per pecul cheaper
than the above prices; and still lower if you have permis-

sion to trade with the Christians, or private merchants.
In purchasing sapan wood, it is customary to allow, five
eattics per pecul for loss of weight; and as cach draft is
2 weighed

Account of the Trade of Siam. 38

weighed by the large or five pecul dotchin, you are allowed
525 catties; which, if it is the first sort, should not be
more than 16 to 18 pieces: second sort runs 22 to 94 pieces;
and as the number of pieces increase the price falls in pro-
portion. ,

After you have settled with the ministers what part of
your cargo the king is to have, (which is commonly called
a present, unless he asks particularly to buy any thing,)
some of the principal merchants of the place are called to
value them; and as they are valued you are paid by the
King, as a present, in the fore-mentioned goods at the
highest prices they will bear.

It may not be deemed superfluous here to observe, that a
complaisant behaviour and a cheerfulness of disposition are
absolutely necessary, particularly if you have, as all traders
must have, a point to carry. Presents, as they are called,
but in grosser language bribes, properly applied, give the
officers of government and the people in power the true tone
and relish to serve you, as you_ will have frequent occa-
sion to call upon them in their official capacities.

Every application for a permit to purchase any descrip-
tion of goods costs 104 ticalls: this permit only serves for
one house, and one time of weighing; so that ‘if you are
about receiving any quantity of goods of the same quality
from different merchants, agree with them to send it all to
one house, and make one day for weighing off the whole in
the merchant’s name at whose house it is weighed. This
mode will save the expense of a multiplicity of permits, and
quicken dispatch. Upon each of these weighing days you
must have three of the king’s writers; the first and second
shabunder, and the linguist: to each of these, daily, you
pay one-quarter ticall ; but it will be your interest to give
them some trifling presents.

Elephants’ teeth, tin, sapan wood, and lead, purchased
from the king, are free of all customs; but if bought from
private merchants, they pay as follows :

Elephants’ teeth (any sort) 4 ticalls per pecul.

Tin - - 2 ditto per bhar.
Sapan wood - 4 ditto per 100 pecul.
Lead - - 2 mace per bhar.

If from any part of India, (as Bengal, the Coromandel,
Malabar, or Guzerat coasts, Bombay, Surat, &c.) you
pay the following customs before you sail:

Measurage, if above 3 fathoms, or 18 feet beam, to the

king - = - 10 ticalls,

Te the barcola, or first shabunder + 10 .

26 Self-immolatién of the two-Widows of Ameer Jung,

To the second shabunder - wc! eh Or, tarde
For your arrival at the bar - Thos MOR go ee
_ To pilots and entrance = i
' To pass the two tobangoes, or chee a gS
houses, each - - - 104 ih
To each permit & ithe sielitsee 104 '
Toa permit io measure. - = alOL
To a permit to open your bales, - 12
To a permit for leave to sell - 103.
And on going away, to each of the two
tobangoes - ay - 20

At the place where they insist on your landing your guns,
20 ticalls; with some other charges which are trifling.

The duties upon your imports are eight per cent.; except
dates, kissmisses, almonds, and some other trifles which
are excused.

Vessels from Malacca, Palamban , Banca, Batavia,
Tringano, Campodia, Cochin China, and ‘their coasts, pay
neither duties nor customs on their goods; they only pay »

For registering inwards - - 14 ticalls.
Two permits to pass the tobangoes, each 104

Tf the vessel has no goods, she will pay 1 ticall per covid
(of 141 inches) for her breadth of beam ; but if she has
trade, she pays 2 ticalls per covid.

I would advise all vessels from India, going to Siam, to
take a fresh port clearance from Malacca; as the great in-
dulgences she will enjoy, and the saving in : the measuremerst
and charges, must appear obvious.

IV. Account of the Self-immolation of the two Widows of
Ameer Jung, the late Regent of Tanjore*.

AA regent died on the 19th of April 1802, about ten
o'clock a.m. The moment he expired, two of his wives
adorned themselves with their jewels and richest clothes,
entered the apartment in which the body was laid, and,
after three prostrations, sat down by it; and announced to
the whole court, which had assembled around it, their de-
termination to devote themselves to the flames.

The youngest of the women was the regular wife, and
about twenty years of age, and without children; the oth
‘ was a wile of inferior tank, aged twenty-six, having one

* From the Asiatic Annual Register for 1892:

~ ehiild,

the late Regent of Tanjore. . °7

child, a daughter four years old. The fathers and brothers
of both were present in the assembly ; they made use of the
most pressing and affecting entreaties to avert them from
their purpose, but without success.

_ The British resident at Tanjore, having been apprised of
the intention of these ladies, and not being able to be per-
sonally present at the residence of the late regent, had sent
his hircarrah to the spot, with orders to use every possible
effort, short of absolute force, to prevent the horrid sacri-
fice. When the relations of the ladies found their entreaties
of no avail to induce them to relinquish their purpose, the
hircarrah was sent for; but his threats of the displeasure of
government had only a temporary and feeble effect. The
Mahratta chiefs observed, that the Company had never in-
terfered in their religious institutions and ceremonies ; that
the sacrifice in question was by no means uncommon in
Tanjore; that it was highly proper to use every art of per-
suasion and entreaty to induce the women to relinquish
their resolution; but, if they persisted in it, force ought
not to be used to restrain them. The women laughed at
the menaces of the hircarrah, when he told them that their
fathers and brothers would be exposed to the displeasure of
government. The younger widow observed, that it was not
the custoin of the English government to punish one person
for the act of another; and pointing to her father, who had
actually thrown himself at her feet in an agony of grief,
asked the hircarrah if he thought anv other inducement
could alter her resolution when the afilictios of her father
failed to move it. The young brother of the other widow
went into the women’s apartments and returned with his
sister’s child in his arms, which he Jaid at her feet; but
such was the resolution of these astonishing women, that
not a single expression of regret, not a sigh or tear could
be drawn from them. Any one of these weaknesses would
have disqualified them from burning with the body; and
the efforts of the relations were strenuously and constantly
directed to excite them, but in vain. “Jn answer to an ob-
servation of the hircarrah, that if the late rezent had been
aware of their intention he would have forbidden it, they
said they had formed their resolution a year before, and
communicated it to him; who, after several ineffectual at-
tempts to dissuade them, had consented to it.

The hircarrah, however, determined to protract the per-
formance of the obsequies, if possible, until the arrival of
the resident. The women waited with patience until seven
in the evening, taking no other refreshment than a i

3 ete

28 On anew Genus of Mammalia.

hetel occasionally. They then sent for the hircarrah, and
told bim that they suspected the cause of the delay, and were
resolved, if the procession did not immediately set out, to
kill themselves before him. Their relatives now gave up the
-pomt in despair. The other chiefs, who had taken no part _
hitherto, now interfered, and said they had a right to be in-
dulged, and should not be restrained. The hircarrah re-

tired, and the procession set out. The younger and regular
wife mounied the pile on which the body of the deceased
recent had been placed, and they were consumed together.
The fate of the other, who was not entitled to this distine-

tion, was, in appearance, more dreadful. A pit eight feet

deep, and six in diameter, had been dug a few yards distant

from the pile; it was filled with combustible matter, and

fire set to it. When the flames were at the fiercest,

fire was applied to the pile im which the young widow and

the body of the regent had been enclosed. The other, un-_
supported, walked thrice round the pit, and, after making
obeisance to the pile, threw herself into the midst of the

flames, and was no more heard or seen!

V. Memoir on a new Genus of Mammalia with Pouches,
named Perameles. By E, GEorrroy*.

I HE animals with pouches which first engaged the at-
ention of naturalists are, as is well known, natives of
America. They are carnivorous animals, which easily catch
their prey by means of their long canine teeth, and divide
it by employing their molar teeth, which, are laterally com-
pressed and terminated by three points. Like the apes of
the same country, they can make use of their hind feet as
a hand, the thumb being at the same distance from the
other toes, and suspend themselves by means of their long
wail, which is naked and covered with scales. They are
more particularly characterized also by being the only mam-
malia which have ten incisor teeth in the upper jaw and
eight in the lower,

Linnzus mentions these animals under the name of the
didelpha, _'This denomination, by expressing that they are
provided with two matrices, has the advantage of bringing
to remembrance one of the most remarkable facts of their
organization, the existence of a pouch under the belly of
the females, where the gestation begun in the real matrix is
in some imeasure completed. F , d

* Brom Anualesdu Musewn National d’ Histoire Naiwelle, no. 19- .

og The

7 , 4 Seg) Sept e Bees 1 ea
a adi ie RRR ea
t 1 . » sa! ™ -

On a new Genus of Mammaiia. 29

® The cenus of the didelpha was scarcely established when
new animals with pouches were discovered in the Indian

‘Archipelago; but at first they were described only in a

vague manner. {ft was however known that the females
had their dugs inclosed in a bag, and m consequence of
this circumstance naturalists did not hesitate to comprehend
these new quadrupeds among the didelpha. It was not till
a long time after, that it was known that the marsupials of
India differed from those of the new world by important
organs, such as those of mastication, digestion, motion,
and prehension; but they were then so accustomed to de-
note them by the same generic name, that they hesitated

“to make any change; and, as through respect for a usage

introduced contrary to rules, they had retained in the genus
of the didelpha species which were anomalous; they
found themselves encouraged after the important discovery
of the kanguroos to rank among the latter the didelpha,
though they were very remote from it. Ina word, as if
after so much confusion it had been allowed to venture on
any thing, Gmelin admitted into the same genus a qua-
drumanus fully known as such, which my illustrious master
Daubenton published under the name of the Tarsier.

In the year 4, I conceived the idea of enabling naturalists

to estimate with some precision the distance there is be-

tween these different animals, and, in a dissertation which
appeared in the gth volume of the Magazin Encyclopétigue,
I submitted to a sort of revision the Jast labour of Gmelin
in regard to the genus of the didelpha.

My first care was to bring this genus to its primitive state.
T left none in it but the animals with bags, of America, to
which al] the characters without exception assigned, by
Linneus are applicable. This groupe, deducting three
animals, which are placed there under a double. point of
view, will be carried to nine species by my future publica-
tions. “n .

I then proposed to form, under the name of phalanger, a
genus of the marsupials of the Archipelago of India, which
have the upper jaw armed with incisor and canine teeth
like the carnivorous animals, and in the lower jaw of which,
however, there is found only that system of dentition which
characterizes the rodentia. Fourteen species, of which
almost the half are yet unpublished, unite the characteristic
traits of these two great orders, with this difference, that
seven of them are endowed with the faculty of leaping froin
tree to tree, and of flying by means of membranes extended
on their flanks; while fhe other seven, unprovided “ig

‘ these

STR POT epee peer ah ail

30 Cn anew Genus of Mammalia.

these membranes, have nothing to facilitate their existence
on trees but their tail, with which they can lay hold of any
thing, like the didelpha, and which is naked either entirely
or in part. )

The kanguroos, so remarkable by. the disproportion of
their extremities, the want of canine teeth and the thumb
of the hind feet, formed my third genus; and the fourth
was composed of the daysures, on which I wrote a paper
printed in the third volume of that work.

I flattered myself with the idea that the order of the mar=
supials, which I proposed to establish, would be confined
to these four genera. They form a direct and very natural:
series. By means of the daysures and the didelpha this
scries was connected with the carnivorous animals, and by
the phalangers and the kanguroos it was blended in some
measure with the numerous species of the rodentia. There
was no interruption, no gap, whether we consider in general
the organs of mastication and digestion in particular, or
attend only to the organs of motion and prehension. But
this result, which was so striking that I thought it at the
time worthy of remark, was susceptible of being changed
by the discovery of a new family; nature, properly speak-
ing, being unacquainted either with continued series or
chains in one single direction. Two new genera indeed have
destroyed the whole simplicity of this combination. The
first is that of the phasvolomes, the characters of which [
have already traced out*, and the second is the new genus,
which I now announce under the name of the perameles
(Llaireau a poche).

I. Description of the Genus.

The perameles are animals which on the first view have
2 pretty near resemblance to the didelpha, but their head is
longer and the muzzle much slenderer. They are far also
from participating in the habits of these mammalia, and
fram being able to live on the summits of the largest trees.
Their whole economy indicates that they live on the earth :-
as in the badger, their nose is elongated, their hair stiff,
and their feet terminate in large claws almost straight ; there
is no doubt therefore that they dig for themselves holes, and
they do it perhaps with more dexterity than any other
animal, as they have no reason to apprehend either that
their claws will break or be detached, an advantage for
which they are indebted to the form of the last phalangium

* Annales du Museum d’ Histoire Naturelle, vols ii. p. 364.

Pe eee

- he

Ona new Genus of Mammalia. 3%

of the toes, which, like that of the sloth, pangolin, and
myrmecophagi, is cleft at the free extremity.
It needs excite no surprise that I should here employ the
last character among the number of those which may serve
for the determination of the genera, if we recollect the
result to which my colleague, Dumeril, was conducted by
his learned researches in regard to the diffcrent configura-
tions of the unguical bone. It is indeed natural that this
small bone which terminates the fingers, and serves as 4
mould to the corneous matter with which they are covered,
should contribute more than all the other parts of the hand
to those determinations of animals which are founded on
touching.

The feet of the perameles, remarkable by the conforma-
tion of the last plralangium, are distinguished also by the
combination and numerical arrangement of the fingers in
the fore feet: the three middle fingers only can rest on the
ground while the animal is walking ; those on the sides are
so short that they exist only in rudiments, and they are
perceived behind the fect only, under the form of'a spur.

The hind feet have a great analogy to those of the kan-

roo; the fourth finger is the longest and the largest ; the
second and third are united and enveloped under common
integuments. They are distinguished, however, by their
claws, which are free; these two fingers are besides shorter
and slenderer than the last or the fifth. The character by
which the feet of the perameles differ however from those
of the kanguroos, is the presence of a thumb, which
really exists though it is very short. Jt is neediess, no
doubt, to add that this thumb has no nail, since it is one
of the distinguishing attributes of all the marsupials.

The organs of mastication appear also in the new family
of the perameles, im an order which has never yet presented
itself to observation. The canine and molar tecth have
indeed a resemblance, in regard to their number, form, and
arrangement, to those of the daysures and the didelpha ;
that is to say, the perameles have four long canine teeth and
twenty-eight molar. But the case is not the same im re-
gard to the incisors ; for if there be ten in the upper jaw,
as in the didelpha, the order is different. The last incisor
on each side is very much ‘separated both from those of:
the same kind before and from the canine tooth behind ;
and this incisor has besides the form, and discharges the
office, of a second canine tooth : it is implanted however in
the intermaxillary or incisive bone: moreoyer in the lower
jaw there are only six tecth; a curious anomaly, since this

; 4 13

Ey tt NO eae” oe a

32 On a new Genus of Mammalia,

is the first time that the combination of ten and six incisora
has been met with among the mammalia; the last incisor
below is a little broader than the rest, and is half divided
by a small groove. of aaah tau)

All the marsupials are able, more or less, to assist them-
selves readily with their tail: on the other hand it does
not appear that the perameles can employ theirs for any
thing; it is too short, is covered with short hair, and is
destitute of the faculty of prehension. ame 7 |

Their muzzle, which is much too long, gives them an
air exceedingly stupid; but this dismal and disagreeable
physiognomy is compensated. by the lightness. of, their
motions, and the gracefulness of their gait, since they have
the posterior extremities twice as long as those before. I
have already remarked that the form of their hind feet has
some analogy to that of the kanguroos. This. dispropor-
tion between the paws gives them a greater similarity : it is
indeed so great that I have no doubt that they possess the
. Meaus as well as the latter of raising themselves on their
hind legs, aud of using them to take leaps almost. as ex-
icnsive. |

In the last place, it is probable that the organs of genera-
tion of the perameles, while they exhibit that pees ae of
form which characterizes all the marsupials, might have
afforded some generical differences, but I had no oppor-
tunity of examining them. /

These considerations, however, on which I have here
enlarged, seem to me to require the establishment ofa new
family of the perameles, in the natural order between the
didelpha and the kanguroos.

Description of the Species.

This genus hitherto bas been composed of two species ;
that published by Dr. Shaw, under the name of didelphis
obesula, and another which is new, and to which I have
given the name of nasuta.

I. Perameles nasu(a. (Plate J.) . The length of the
muzzle‘aud nose of this pcramele forms its principal cha-
racter ; measured from the extremity of the lips to the root
of the tail, its lengih is 0:45 metre; its: head 0-11 metre,
and its tai] 9°16 metre: its anterior extremities are 0°18

Metre, and its posterior 6°16 metre.

Its last incisor, the canine tooth, and the first molar,
instead of being contiguous, are very much scparated from
gach other, and hence the great length of the muzzle.
The cutting molars are lobed and have three points; those

Ona new Genus of Mammalia. 33

in the bottom of the mouth, with a broader base and a flat
crown, do not seem to have been used: they are furrowed
transversally, so that their crown 1s rough, with several
small points, which are the summits of these molar teeth.
This observation might give reason to suspect that the
~ Perameles nasuta does not supply, like the daysures and the
didelpha, the want of flesh by a vegetable regimen, but
that this marsupial contents itself with insects; and indeed
there is reason to suppose that it forms of them its principal
nourishment, its muzzle being too long to fit it with any
advantage for combat : its fore feet, which render it so easy
for it to dig up the earth when searching for its food, ap-
peared to me to be a proof of it.

The ears of the Perameles nasuta, however, are short and
oblong, and its eyes are very small. Its hair is moderately
thick, more abundant and stiffer on the shoulder, mixed a
little with some very thick, and abundance of silky hair, ash-
coloured at the root, and fawn-colour or black at the points;
the general tint above is of a bright brown colour: the
whole lower part of the body is white, and the claws are
yellowish ; the tail may be sufficiently strong to contribute
in the same manner as that of the kanguroos to progressive
motion; it is besides of a more decided tint, brown in-
clining to maroon above, and below of a chesnut colour.

2. Perameles obesula. (Plate II.) Though I do not
observe that this animal is in any manner fatter than
others of the same genus, | have retained the trivial name
given to it by Dr. Shaw. in my opinion we cannot be
too cautious in changing a denomination consecrated by
usage.

I was acquainted long ago, by means of the Naturalist’s
Miscellany, with the figure of the didelphis obesula, but I in
vain endeavoured to determine its relations. I set out on this
research neither by the way of analogy, since this species be-
longed to none of my genera of the order of the marsupials,
nor by the description of Dr. Shaw, since he qualifies the
teeth only by the epithet of numerous. I however presumed
that this might be the type of a new family; and, under this
persnasion, knowing that the olicsula formed part of the
collection of Dr. Hunter, I wrote to England, to Mr.
Parkinson, for the information I wished to obtain. I re-
ceived in return the drawing trom which the annexed figure
was engraved. ,

It was thereforé only when I saw the first peramele of
which I have spoken, that I was able to supply, by con-
jecture, the ideas which were still wanting, and to ascribe

Vol, 21. No. 81. Feb. 1805. C to

34. On a new Genus of Mammalia.

to the obesula the teeth of the nasuta. I do not think that
T have been more deceived by analogy on this occasion than
before. The organs of motion are too perfectly similar in
the two perameles for the organs of mastication not to be
the same. The relation which always exists between them
is well known. ; pate
The olesula, in the proportions of its body, resembles the

preceding. The only difference is, that its head is shorter,
and, if I can trust the drawing now before me, a little

more arched; the ears are broader, and entirely rounded ;
the bair is also mixed with some of a silky texture, which
is blackish at the extremity ; the colour in generalis yellow,
inclining to russet, and the belly is white.

‘ Lrefer to this species, but with some doubt, an indi-
vidual in the collection of the Museum of Natural History,
which was brought also from New Holland. It came to
me in.a2 bad state of preservation, without the tail and some
of the toes: it is more than double the size of the obesula.
It resembles it in its rounded ears, its short muzzle, and
the colour of the hair, which inclines, however, a little
more to brown ; its head also is not so much arched.

I caused the cranium to be engraved, that it might be

compared with that of the naswta.. The difference in their
proportions is striking: the last of the incisors above is
much nearer that which precedes it, and the first molars
are perfectly triangular and contiguous. Those in the
bottom of the mouth have their erown very much worn,
which might give reason to bclieve that this peramele is
more carnivorous than the other. The last incisor below
is scarcely lobed; the interval which separates it from the
eanine tooth has only the thickness of one tooth, &c. all
characters by which the cranium differs from that of the
Perameles nasuta. + .

Explanation of the Plates.

A, the cranium of the Perameles nasuta. B, a hind,

foot. C, a fore foot. D, extremity of the lower jaw.
FE, extremity of the upper.

’ “a VI. Memoir

7
.

hah mata rel iA ACA A RS iets at

[ 35 J

VI. Memoir on the Tinctorial Properties of the Danais of
~ Commerson, a Shrub of the Family of the Rubiacie, Ex-
tracted from the Floraof Madagascar. By Auserr pu
Prrir-THovars. Read in the French National Institute*.

Boranxi, like all the other physical sciences, may be
considered under two points of view. Inthe first, we ex-
amine in plants those things which are perceptible to the
senses; and, by comparing the differences observed, deduce
the means of distinguishing them with certainty from cach
other. In the second, we endeavour to discover the
qualities by which they may be useful to man :—the one is
pure botany, the other is the application of botany. Most
people who have devoted themselves exclusively to one
branch of knowledge, or who haye uot had an opportunity
of acquiring any, being accustomed tu judge superficially,
value only the second, and consider the first as almost en-
tirely useless. It ought, however, to he considered as the
. foundation of the second; for as it alone establishes, as we
may say, the state of a vegetable, it is by it that we can
be assured what plants are capable of giving us that assist-
ance for which we may have occasion. The moment,
therefore, that the theoretic botanist seems to attend least to
the wants of society, 1s very often that when he is about
to apnounce an important discovery. Being enabled by an
exact synonymy to consult all the books which have been
written on the object he examines, he takes advantage of
the knowledge of all nations and all periods. In the
second place, if the vegetable he examines have escaped the
researches of his predecessors, observation enables him to ,
find out the purpose for which it may be employed. The
‘science which he cultivates affords him still another mean

* From the Fournal de Physique. Brumaire, an 13,
+-This is the third memoir of M, du Petitc-Yhouars read in the In-
stitute since his return, Jn the first, afcer a short view of a voyage of
tet years to the isles of France, Bourbon, and Madagascar, entirely de-
vored to the natural sciences, and particularly botany, he gives a brief
description of the deserts of Tristan d’Acngna, which are litle fre-
guented by navigators. The second is an essay on germination, and the
natural relations of the Cycas. This interesting memoir forms part of a
first number, which the author has published, and which is to be fol-
lowed by twelve more, destined to make kncwn the new, or little known,
genera which he had an opportunity of observing ; and which are to be
accompanied with dissertations, in the manner of the present one, on in-
teresting points of vegetable physiology. ‘This first number contains also
the description and figures of nine plants, which M. du Petic-] houars
considers as forming new genera.
C2 of

On the Tinctorial Properties of

of interrogating naturc; it is the examination of affinities,
or the study of natural families; for observation has taught,
that, in general, plants which have an external resemblance
in their organization, retain it in the immediate principles
of which they are composed. The natural classification,
therefore, may give reason for conjecturing the virtues of
a new plant, but, unfortunatcly, the labour which could
give us any certainty in this respect has not been carried
to a sufficient length :—to bring it to perfection would re-
quire the complete union of a thorough knowledge of bo-
tany and chemistry. Hitherto, therefore, the senses of
taste and smell have been almost the only guides for disco-
vering in several families, exceedingly natural, one common
principle. In the umbelliferous plants, for example, it is
traced from plants the most wholesome aud the most com-
monly used for food, such as the carrot, to those which are
aromatic, as fennel, ard even to poisonous plants, such as
hemlock ; ove observes in all these plants a particular taste,
more or less striking, and which is found in its highest
degree in those species accounted poisonous. It even ap-
pears that the observation of it is sometimes more certain
than the common classifications. ft is thus that the dagacia
could not by these means be separated from the umbelli-
ferous plants, when by its fruit it was referred te them only
with doubtfulness : we must therefore hope that botanists
will be able to discover a substance common to: all these
plants, an umbelliferous principle. In a word, there exists
one equally striking in the leguminous plants, from which
it passes also, but more rarely, from those that are fit to be
eaten to those which are poisonous, when it exists in its state
of greatest concentration.

But there are several other families which seem to be
equally natural, and in which it is difficult to discover a
common principle: of this kind are the rubiaceous plants of
Jussieu.. The signal services derived from a small number
of the plants which they comprehend are of a nature so
different that it is dificult to deduce a general induction for
the rest. Of this kind is madder, the root of which possesses
a dyeing quality in so emincnt a degree; coffee, the berries
of which are so useful ; and, in the last place, cinchona, ren-
dered so valuable by the febrifuge qualities of its bark,
Though all the plants comprehended in this family have a
greater affinity to each other than they have to any other
of the vegetable kingdom, it'appears itself to be composed
of particular groupes or species of sub-tamilies, and each of
the plants J haye-mentioned-imay be considered asthe type

the Danais of Commerson. 37

of one of them. It may be readily seen, that the other
plants which accompany each of them, either as belonging
to the same genus or as its neighbour, participate more or
less in the quality on account. of which it is emploved.
Thus it has been found that almost al] the steftate of Ray
are tinctorial; almost all the seeds of the neighbouring
genera of the coffee shrub, sufficiently large to be torrified
with advantage, appear to be of the same nature. The case
is the same with cinchona. I have seen the bark of a
beautiful massenda of the Isle of France employed as a
febrifuge by a physician, one of my friends.

These qualities also are seen to pass trom one groupe to
another. It is thus that the Indians extract the beautiful
red colour of the chailliver, which, according to Adanson,
was a hedyotis, and which Roxburgh has described as an
oldenlandia. ‘They extract also a red colour from the royoc
or morinda. The cinchonas themselves have given colours.
Some of their particular properties have been found also in
shrubs which had a very distant relation to them. The
psychotria emetica approaches near to some of those which
have been found to be emetic. The antirhea of Commerson,
er wood of the losteau, participates in the anti-dysenteric
quality of the jast-mentioned plant. In a word, according
to Geertner and several others, a kind of coffee has been ex-
tracted from the seeds of the aparine.

Other properties less extensive in one groupe have others
analogous to them in another. Thus the pretty species of
the mussenda, which Commerson named, after his country-
man, Lalandia stelliflora, has a relation to the asperula
odorata. Its dried leaves, like those of that plant, acquire
an agreeable odour, on which account they are put among
knen: on the ether hand, the fetid and cadaverous odour
of the peederia is found in the serissa of Jussieu, or the
dysoda of Loureiro, and in the fruit of some kinds of py-
rostria.

However vague these indications may be, they may serve
as guides in experiments ; and though one cannot previously
assert that a rubiaceous plant possesses any of its properties,

one will not be surprised to find them in it. When I was

in Madagascar, in 1795, I saw without astonishment the
natives of the country extract, from the root of a rubiaceous
plant, the red dye they employed for the cloth which
they wore of thread, made from the tafia palm. 1 readily
knew it to be a creeping shryb, common in the elevated
places of the Isle of France.

‘ C3 On

2° On the Tinctorial Properties of
On my return to the Isle of France, T proposed to make

some experiments in regard to the utility it might be in gv
a

ing an intense and fixed colour ; but having no apparatus,
and being unprovided with books which might point out

the process I ought to follow, I could only make a few.

trials, which convinced me of its utility, but they were not
sufficient to indicate the method of using it. They exhibited
one phenomenon which was very remarkable ; it is not how-
ever peculiar to this plant, for it is found in another ve-
getable, but which has so little relation to the one in ques-
tion, and exhibits it in a part so different, that the confor-
mity itself is still another singularity. But before I describe
it I must speak of the plant.

It has been described by Commerson, and is found in
his herbals. This naturalist, whose premature death was
sensibly felt by all those who cultivate the sciences, besides
his knowledge, had a particular instinct in the application of
names. Observing that this plant was dicecous by abor-
tion, so that the stamina seemed to be choked by the
pistil, he compared it to the Danaides, which put to death
their husbands, and thence gave it the name of Danais ;
he was not able to procure any of its fruit. The fruit being
the important character of this family, it was impossible
for him to determine its place with precision, and Jussieu
and Lamarck united it to the pederia. The latter, in his
Dictionary, calls it the odoriferous danais, because its flowers,
according to the remark of de Court, are exceedingly odori-
ferous, and of a beautiful orange colour. These two na-
turalists having afterwards procured some of its fruit, found
that they had two cells, each containing several seeds, and
consequently that it differed from the pederia, which had
only two. Having an opportunity of seeing them in all
their states, I observed the same thing; and finding also
that the seeds were bordered by a membranous circle, I con-
sidered it as a species of cinchona: but it appears that there
are several peculiar characters in the internal construction of
the capsule, and its manner of opening, which renders it
necessary to restore the genus of Commerson, and this is

confirmed by the difference of appearance; but it’ ought to.

be placed between the mussenda and the cinchona, and
very near to the latter. I discovered four species which be-
long to this genus; the present is the only one which I
found to possess the tinctorial quality ; a description of
them here would be misplaced, they will form part of my
Flora. I shall at present confine myself to an account of

the

‘sthe Danais of Commerson. 39

’ the few experiments which I made, to point out the route
to some one more successful who may Le able to deter-
mine the means of employing it.

Having pulled up the roots of this plant, I was much
surprised to see them of an orange colour, inclining rather
to yellow than to red: the rind was pulpy and succulent.
Having cleaned them, I put some pieces of it into spirit or
rack extracted from the sugar of the country, which in a
little time became charged with a tincture of a very pure
vellow. When it appeared to me that it had extracted all it
could, I poured it into a saucer ; the pieces of the root were
then of a beautiful red colour: having poured more rack
over them, some more particles of yellow were extracted,
but it became still redder, and this colour continued un-
alterable, though I suffered the liquor to remain over them
several days. What I poured into the saucer having eva-
porated, the residuum was of a very beautiful yellow colour.
For want of other means, I contented myself with rubbing
it over paper. Being desirous to try whether a pigment
proper for water colours could be extracted from it, I
mixed it with gum arabic : it spread very well on the paper;
I tasted also the extract, it had the bitterness of cinchona
in such a degree as gave me reason to hope that it may be
rendered of utility in this point of view.

Having tried this root with spirit of wine, I put some of
it fresh into pure water. By ebullition the water became
charged in like manner with the yellow colouring principle,
which it extracted entirely: the root also assumed a red
colour, which could no Jonger be attacked by water. One
of my friends had given me a small quantity of a solution
of tin in the nitric acid; I poured a few drops of it into
the liquor I had obtained, and they precipitated all the
colouring parts suspended in it. Having decanted the
water, the residuum was of a beautiful yellow colour; I
hoped I should obtain from it a kind of Dutch pink; I
therefore poured more water oyer it to wash it, hut the water,
_ though cold, took up all the colour: nothing then re-
mained at the bottom of the yessel but oxide of tin exceed-
ingly white. lecatns i

I learned at Madagascar that the process employed by,
the natives, and probably from time immemorial, to obtain
a red colour, is to boil the root with ashes: I thence pre-
sumed that alkalis were its solycnt, but at that time I was
unable to procureany ; I contented myself, therefore, with
boiling it in alum ; the two colours were then perceptible ;
the yellow appeared first, anil then the red: at: first bey
R C4 ittle

Ew Se ee Ee ER AE ETT RCE) ee te

40 Observations on the Change of

dittle mixed, but afterwards combined, which formed the
colour of a fawn’s belly, exceedingly beautiful. These were
al! the experiments T was able to make. They are suffi-
cient to show the relation between this plant and the car-
thamus: its flowers give in Jike manner a yellow colour ;
and the beautiful red which they produce betomes purer in
proportion as it is separated. I wish I could present results
more satisfactory ; but, being bufieted by circumstances, I
was seldom able to carry my plans into execution ; and in
regard to many other objects I have nothing left but regret :
but I easily console myself when I reflect, that I shall be
exceedingly happy if I can publish what I have left of ten
years’ observations made in a field almost new.

Since this memoir was written, having had an opportu-
nity of observing the asperula tinctoria, I remarked that its
roots exhibit the same colour as those of the danais. Hav-
ing put them into spirit of wine they gave also a yellow
colour, but not so pure as that of the dunais. I obtained
the same thing from the rubia tinctorum; and I have since
learned that it had been observed that these plants give two
colours, according as they are treated, which still tends to
confirm the analogy I have announced.

— ———

VII. Observations on the Change of some of the proximate
Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen ; with analytical
Experiments on a peculiar Substance which is found
with the Bovey Coal. By Cuantes Harcnerr, Esq.
FP. Rws.4

§ I.

Onz of the most instructive and important parts of geo-
logy, is the study of the spontaneous alicrations by which
bodies formerly appertaining to the organized kingdoms of
nature have, after the loss of the vital principle, become
gradually converted into fossil substances.

In some cases this conversion has been so complete as to
destroy all traces of previous organic arrangement ; but in
others the original texture and form have been more or
Jess preserved, although the substances retaining this. tex-
ture, and exhibiting these forms, are often decidedly of a
mineral nature. Some, however, of these extraneous fossils
fas they are called) retain part of their original substance or
principles, whilst others can only be regarded as casts or
linpressions.

* From the Transactions of the Royal Suciety of Londen for a
sae’ ‘Tom

ab) gidl OS ey eae
Si paca OC a i ae

some of the Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen. 41

From the animal kingdom we may select, as examples,
the fossil ivory, which retains its cartilage * ;' the bones in
the Gibraltar rock, consisting of little more than the earthy
part or phosphate of lime; the shells forming the luma-
chella of Bleyberg, which still possess the lustre and irides-
cence of their original nacre; and the shells found at Hord-
well in Hampshire, and im Picardy, which are chiefly por-
cellaneous, but more or less calcined; also the fossil echini
and others so commonly found in the limestone, chalk,
and calcareous grit of this island, which, although they
retain their original figure, are entirely, or at least exter-
nally, formed of calcareons spar, imcrusting a nucleus of
flint or chalcedony. And if, in addition to these, we may
be allowed to regard the more recent limestone and chalk
strata as having been principally or partly formed from the
detritus of aniinal exuviz, we shall possess a complete series
of gradations, commencing with animal substances ana-
gous in properties to those which are recent, and termi-
nating in bodies decidedly mineral, in which all vestiges of
organization have been completely destroyed:

The vegetable kingdom has likewise produced many in-
stances not less remarkable ; and it is worthy of notice, that
animal petrifactions are commonly of a calcareous nature,
while, on the contrary, the vegetable pcetrifactions are ge-
nerally siliceous ¢.

It is not, however, my intention here to enter into a
minute discussion concerning the formation of these ex-
traneous fossils ; I shall theretore proceed to consider other
equally or perhaps more important changes, which orga-
nized bodies, especially vegetables, appear to have suffered
(after the extinction of the principle of life), by being long
buried in earthy strata, and by being thus exposed to the
effects of mineral agents.

§ Il.

The principal object I have in view is to adduce some
additional proofs that the bituminous substances are derived
trom the organized kingdoms of nature, and especially
from vegetable bodies ; for although many circumstances
seem to lead to the opinion that the animal kingdom has in
some measure contributed to the partial formation of bitu~
men, yet the proofs are by no means so numerous, nor so

* f have also found the cartilage perfeét in the teeth of the
mammoth, ‘

+ Pyrites, ochraceous jron'ore, and fahlertz, are also occasionally
found in the {usu of vegetable bodies.

positive,

42 Observations on the Change of

positive, as those which indicate the vegetable kingdom to
have been the grand source from which the bitumens have
been derived. But this opinion (founded upon very strong
presumptive evidence), although generally adopted, is how-
ever questioned by some persons; and I shal! therefore
bring forward a few additional facts, which will, I flatter
myself, contribute to demonstrate, that bitumen has been,
and is actually and immediately formed from the resin, and
perhaps from some of the other juices of vegetables.

The chemical characters of the pure or unmixed bitumens,
such as naptha, petroleum, mineral tar, and asphaltum, are,
in certain respects, so different from those of the resins and
other inspissated juices of recent vegetables, that, had the
former never occurred but in a separate and unmixed state,
no positive inference could have been drawn, from. their
properties in proof of their vegetable origin. Fortunately,
however, they have been more frequently found under cir-
cumstances which have strongly indicated the source from
whence they have been derived; and much information has
been acquired from observations made on the varieties of
turf, bituminous wood, and pit coal, on the nature of their
surrounding strata, on the vestiges of animal and vegetable
bodies'which accompany them, and on various other local
facts, all of which tend considerably to elucidate the history
of their formation, and to throw light upon this interesting
part of geology. eae

Some instances have already been mentioned which
show that fossil animal substances form a series, com-
mencing with such as are’ searccly different from those
which are recent, and terminating in productions which
have totally lost all traces of organization. is wath

Similar instances are afforded by the vegetable kingdom ;
hui, without entering into a minute detail of every grada-
tion, I shall only cite three examples in this island, namely,

1. The submarine forest at Sutton, on the coast of Lin-
colnshire, the timber of which has not suffered any very
apparent change in its vegetable characters *.

2. The strata of bituminous wood (called Bovey coal)
found at Bovev, in Devon; which exhibits a series ‘of ora-
dations, from the most ‘perfect Jigneous’ texture, ‘toa sub-
stance nearly approaching the chatacters ‘of pit ‘coal, ‘and,
on that account, distinguished by the name’ of'stene coal: »

3. And lastly, the varieties of pit coal, so+ abundant in

, * Account of asubmaring,Forest on the East Coast of “England, by
Dr. Correa de Serra, Phil. Trans. for 1799, .p. 145:

many

some of the Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen. 43

many parts of this country, in which almost every appear-
ance of vegetable origin has been destroyed.

The three examples abovementioned appear to form the
extremities and centre of the series; but as, from some local.
circumstances, the process of carbonization and formation
of bitumen has not taken place in the first instance, and
as these effects have proceeded to the ultimate degree in the
last, it seems most proper that we should seek for informa-
tion, and for positive evidence, in the second example,
which appears to be the mean point, exhibiting effects of
natural operations, by which bitumen and coal have been
imperfectly and partially formed, without the absolute ob-
literation of the original vegetable characters; and, although
I have selected the Bovey coal as an example, because it is
found in this country, we must recollect that similar sub-
stances, or strata of bituminous wood, are found in many
parts of our globe; so that the example which has been
more immediately chosen 1s neither rare nor partial *,

The nature, however, of the various kinds of bituminous
wood may in some respects be different: but this I have
not as yet had the means of ascertaining ; 1 shall therefore
only state the facts resulting from experiments made on
Bovey coal, and more especially on a peculiar bituminous
substance with which it is accompanied. But, before I enter
into these particulars, it will be proper to mention a very
remarkable schistus with which I was, some months since,
favoured by the right honourable Sir Joseph Banks.

§ II.

This schistus was found by Sir Joseph, in the course of
his tour through Iceland, near Reykum, one of the great
spouting hot springs, distant about twenty-four English
miles from Hatnifiord ; but circumstances did not. permit
him to ascertain the extent of the stratum.

The singularity of this substance is, that a great part of
it consists of leaves, which are evidently those of the alder,
interposed between the different lamellz. I do not mean
mere impressions Of leaves, such as are frequently found in
many of the slates, but the real substance, in an apparently
half-charred state, retaining distinctly the form of the leaves
and the arrangement of the fibres. .

The schistus is light, brittle, of easy exfoliation; in the.
transverse fracture earthy, and of a pale-brown colour ; but,

* Strata of bituminous wood are found. in various parts of France, itt
the Vicinity of Cologne, in Hesse, Bohemia, Saxony, Ttaly, and especi-
ally in ‘Iccland, where it is known under the name of surturbrand.

when

4a ~~ Olservations on the Change of

when longitudinally divided, the whole surface constantly:
presents a series of the Jeaves which have been mentioned,
uniformly spread, and commonly of a light gray on the
upper surface, and of a dark brown on the other ; the fibres»
on the light gray surface being generally of a blackish-
brown, which is also the colour assumed by the schistus
when reduced to powder.

The leaves appeared to be in the state of charcoal, by being
extremely brittle, by the blackish brown colour, by defla-
grating with nitre, by the manner ot burning, and by form-
img carbonic acid. I was, however, soon convinced that
the substance of these leaves was not complete charcoal,
but might more properly be regarded as vegetable matter in
am incipient state of carbonization, which, although pos-
sessed of many of the apparent properties of charcoal, still
retained a small portion of some of the other principles of
the original vegetable.

My suspicion was excited, partly by the odour produced
during combustion, which rather more resembled that of
wood than that of charcoal, and partly by the brown solu
tion formed by digesting the powder of the unburned
schistus in boiling distilled water; for by various tests |
ascertained that the substance thus dissolved was not of a
mineral nature. In order, however, fully to satisfy myself
m this respect, I digested 250 grains of the pulverized
sehistus with six ounces of water. A ’

The liquor was, as before, of a dark brown colour.

}+ bad but little flavour.

Prussiate of potash, muriate of barytes, and solution of
isinglass, did not produce any effect; nitrate of silver formed
a very faint cloud; sulphate of iron was slowly precipitated,
of a dark brownish colour; and muriate of tin produced a
white precipitate.

A portion of the solution, by long exposure to the air,
was partially decomposed ; and a quantity of a brown sub-
stance was deposited, which could not again be dissolved
in water. ‘

Another portion was also evaporated to dryness, and
afforded a similar brown substance, which was only par-
tially soluble in water; and the residuum, in both of the
ahove cases, was found to be insoluble im alcohol and in
ether.

W hen burned it emitted smoke with the odour of vege-
table matter. J

250 grains of the schistus afforded about three grains of
the above substance ; and, when the properties of the

: aqueous

Wes Pe Cee ee te
has EPs tr) va Bsr YE a TIEN, 0 ya ee}
e Shin sae bein NR kes lcs Sa toy Se 4 x ad ist
ail Oe eo . 4
" ' :

some of the Principles of Vegetubles into Bitumen. 45

aqueous solution are considered, such as its partial deeom-
position, and the depesit which it yielded by exposure to
air, and by evaporatiun; the insolubility of this deposit
when again digested with water, alcohol, or ether; the
smoke and odour which it yielded when burned 3 and the
precipitates formed by the addition of sulphate of iron and
muriate of tin to its solution; when these properties, I say,
are considered, there seems much reason to conclude, that
the substance dissolved b water was vegetable extract,
which had apparently suffered some degree of modification,
but not sufficient to annul the more prominent characteristic
properties of that substance.

The powder of the schistus which had been employed in

preceding experiment, was afterwards digested in al-
cohol during two days ; and a pale yellow tincture was thus
formed, which, by cvaporation, left about one grain of a yel-
low transparent substance, possessing the properties of resin.

Tt appears, therefore, that a substance very analogous to
vegetable extract, and a small portion of resin, remain in-
herent in the leaves of this remarkable schistus.

As solution of isinglass did not produce any effect, there
was reason to conclude that the aqueous solution above-
inentioned did not contain any tannin; but, as the tannin
might be combined with the alumina of the schistus, I di-
gested a portion of it in muriatic acid, which, after filtra—
tion, was evaporated almost to dryness, leaving, however,
the acid in a slight excess. This was diluted with water,
and afforded a blue precipitate with prussiate of potash, a
yellowish precipitate with ammonia, and a white precipitate
with muriate of tin, but not any with solution of isinglass.
The tannin which might have been contained in the recent
vegetable appears therefore to have been dissipated er de-
composed, with the greater part of the other vegetable
principles, excepting the woody fibre reduced to the state of
an imperfect coal, and the small portions of extract and
resin which have been mentioned.

Previous to having made the analysis, I had an idea that
this schistus might be a lamellated incrustation, formed b
the tufa of the hot springs; but, according to Mr. Kiap-
noth’s analysis*, the tufa of Geyser is composed of,

Silica - - 98

Alumina - - 1.50

Iron - - - 50
100.

* Beitrdge, Zweiter band, p. 109.

46 Olservaiions on the Change of

It is therefore very different from the schistus, the com-
ponent ingredients of which were ascertained by the follow-

ing analysis.

_ Analysis of the Schistus from Iceland * .

A. 250 grains, by distillation, yielded water, which, in
the latter part of the process, became slightly acid and
turbid, = 42.50 grains. ‘

B. The heat was gradually increased, until the bulb of
the retort was completely red hot. During the increase of
the heat, a thick brown oily bitumen came over, which
weighed 7.50 grains ; it was attended with a copious pro-
duction of hydrogen, carbonated hydrogen, and carbonic
acid, the whole of which may be estimated at 23.75
grains.

C. The residuum was black, like charcoal, and weighed
176.25 grains ; but; being exposed to a strong red heat in
a crucibie of platina, it burned with a faint Jambent flame,
and was at length reduced to a pale brown earthy powder,
which weighed 122 grains; so that 54.25 grains were
consumed.

D. The 122 grains were mixed with 240 of pure potash 3.

and, as some particles of charcoal remained, 50 grains of
nitre were added, and the whole was strongly heated,
during half an hour, in a silver crucible. The mass was
then dissolved in distilled water ; and muriatic acid being
added to excess, the liquor was evaporated to dryness, and
was again digested with muriatic acid much diluted; a
quantity of pure silica then remained, which, after having
been exposed to a red heat, weighed 98 grains.

E. The liquor from which the silica had been separated
was evaporated nearly to dryness, and added to boiling lixi-
vium of potash; after the boiling had been continued for
about one hour, the liquor was filtrated, and a quantity of
oxide of iron was collected, which amounted to 6 grains.

F. Solution of muriate of ammonia was added to the
preceding filtrated liquor ; and the whole being then heated,
a copious precipitate of alumina was obtained, which, after
having been made red hot, weighed 15 grains.

Carbonate of soda caused the preceding liquor (after the
separation of alumina) to become slightly turbid, bat not
any precipitate could be collected.

* The remaining specimens are now in the British Museum, and in
the collection af the Right Honourable Charles Greville.
? By

b/ ,

some of the Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen. 43

By this analysis, 250 grains of the schistus afforded,
aby \ , Grains.
Water tioviasext pos9o8 er WAY nee. 50
Thick brown oily bitumen RB 7-50
Mixed gas (by computation) } ‘ { 23:75
c.

Charcoal (by computation) 54.25 :
Silica - - - = MOD 98

Oxide of iron = - E. 6 ‘
Alumina - - - F. 15
247.

But the water and vegctable matter must be regarded as ex-
traneous ; and if they are deducted, the real composition of
the schistus is nearly as follows.

Silica - - 82.30

Alumina = - - 12.61

Oxide of iron -

99.91
Tt evidently, therefore, belongs to the family of argillaceous
schistus, although the proportion of silica is more consi-
derable than has been found in those hitherto subjected to
chemical analysis.

This schistus has not been noticed by von Troil, nor by
any of those who have written concerning Iceland ; for the
slate which was sent to Professor Bergmann by the former,
and which is mentioned by the latter in one of his letters,
is there expressly stated to be the conrmon aluminous slate
containing impressions*.

. § IV.

From the experiments which have been related, we find
that the. leaves contained in the Iceland schistus, although
they are apparently reduced almost to the state of charcoal,
nevertheless retain some part of their original proximate
principles; namely, extract and resin. This, of itself, is

® Letters on Iccland, by Uno von Troil, p. 355.

Mr. Faujas St. Fond has, however, described.a schistus nearly simi-
lar, which is found near Roche-Seauve, in the Vivarais. The stratum
vextends about two leagues; and the only difference is, that, according
to Mr. St. Fond, the schistus at Roche-Seauve is of the nature of marle,
or, as he terins it, argillo-calcarcous, whereas this of Iceland is undoubt-
edly argillaceous. From Mr. St. Fonds account, it does not appear
that the vegetable leaves contained in the schistus of Roche-Seauve: have
been chemically examined. £ssai de Geologie, par B, Faujas St. Fond,
tome i, pp. 128 and 134.

: 3 undoubtedly:

4s Observations on the Change of

undoubtedly a remarkable fact ; but if it were unsupported
by any other, the only inference would be, that the schistus
was most probably of very recent formation, and had been
produced under peculiar circumstances.

I was desirous, therefore, to discover some similar cases
which might serve as additional corroborative proofs of the
gradual alterations by which vegetable bodies become
changed, so as at length to be regarded as forming part of
the mineral kingdom; and from the reasons which have
been stated in the commencement of this paper, as well as
from a certaim similarity in the external characters of tlie
substance composing the leaves abovementioned with those
of the Bovey coal, [was induced to make this last also a
subject of chemical inquiry,

In the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1760*,
some remarks on the Bovey coal, and an account of the
strata, are stated, in a letter frem the Rev. Dr. Milles to
the Earl of Macclesfield. The object, indeed, of the author
was to establish that this and similar substances are not of
vegetable but of mineral origin; and, to prove this, he
adduces a great number of cases, most of which, however,
im the present state of natural history and of chemistry, muss

be regarded as proving the contrary; whilst others, men- -
tioned by him, such as the Kimmeridge or Kimendge coal, -

are nothing more than bituminous slates, and of course are
of a very different nature.

Dr. Milles’s account of the varieties of the Bovey coal,
and of the state of the pits at that time, appears to be very
accurate ; and for the ‘present state, or at least such as it
was in 1796, I shall beg leave to refer to a paper of niine,
published in the fourth volume of the Transactions of the
Linnean Society ¢ 3 for, as this is more immediately a che-
mical investigation, I wish to avoid, as much as possible,
entering into any minute detail of geological circumstances.

It may however be proper to observe, that the Bovey coal
is found in strata, corresponding im almost eycry particular
with those of the surturbrand in Iccland described by ven
Troilt and by Professor Bergmann§. The different
strata of both these substances are likewise similar, being
composed of wood or trunks of trees, which have com=
pletely lost their cylindrical form, and are perfectly flattened,

+ Observations on bituminous Substances, p. 138.—See also Parkin-
son's Organic Remains of a former World, vol. i. p. 126-

+ Von Troil’s Letters, p. 42. .

§ Opuscula Bergmanni, tom. iil. De Protuctis Pclcanits, p. 239.

2 as

Dae SNe <1 OO TT
; on “ae

Pe ene ane aN ye UF mT ASIN ANS NC SNES
some of the Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen. 49

as if they had been subjected to an immense degree of
pressure *. ;

’ The Boyey coal is commonly of a chocolate-brown, and
sometimes almost black. The quality and texture of it are
various in different strata: from some of these it is obtained
in the form of straight flat pieces, three or four feet in
length, resembling boards, and is therefore called Board
coal. Others have an oblique, wavy, and undulating tex-
ture, and, as Dr. Milles obseryes, have a strong resemblance
to the roots of-trees, from which, most probably, this sort
has in a great measure been formed.

Some kinds also appear to be’ more or Jess intermixed
with earth ; but that which produces the most powerful and
lasting fire is called stone coal: itis black, with a glossy
fracture ; has little or none of the vegetable texture ; is more
solid and compact than the others, being almost as heavy
as some of the pit coals, the nature of which it seems very
nearly to approach.

lor chemical examination I selected some of the coal

* Bergmann, in the dissertation above quoted, accurately describes this
appearance of the surturbrand, and then says, “* Que autem immanis
requiritur vis, ut truncus cylindyicus ita complanetur? Noxne antea
particularwm nexus putredinis quodam gradu fuerit relaxatus? Certe, nisi
compages quodammodo mutatur, quodlibet pondus incumbens huic effec-
twieritimpar. Ceterim idem observatur phenomenon iz omni schisto
argillaceo,’ This is certainly a very curious fact; and the learned Pro-
fessor, with his usual acuttness, rejects the idea that mere weight can
have been the cause. As a further proof also, he afterwards observes,
** Orthoceratit2, que in strato calcareo conicam fisuram perfecté servant,
in-schisto planum fere triangulare compressione efficiunt. \dem valet de
piscibus, conchis, insectisque petrefactis.” And again, “ Observatu
guoque dignum est, quod fdem reperiatur effecius, quamvts stratum cal-
careum sub schisto colloratum sit, et maja t ideo pondere comprimente onustum.”
DeProductis Volcaniis, p. 240. It is evident, therefore, that weight
alone has not produced this effect ; and Bergmann’s idea, that the soli-
dity of the vegerable bodies may have undergone sone previous change,
in the manner of incipient putrefaction, by mvisture, and by becoming
heated in the mass, must be allowed to be very probable. But bodies
such as shells could not be thus affected ; and therefore they must have
been exposéd to some mechanical effect peculiar to argillaceous strata ;
which effect, however, from the circumstance, which have been adduced,
evidently could not have resulted from the mere pressure of the super-
incumbent strata. To me, therefore, it seems not very improbable that,
together with a certain change in the solidity of vegetable todies, pro-
duced in the manner imagined by Bergmann, and, together with some
degree of superincumbent pressure, a teal and powerful mechanical action
has been exerted, by the contraction of the argillaceous strata, in conse-
quence of desiccation; this, I believe, has not hitherto been much con-
sidered ; but I am inclined, from many circumstances, to atiribute to it a
very great degree of power.

Vol. 21. No. 81. Fel. 1805. D which

" Olserbabdons on the Schone: of

which had a wavy texture, and rather a glossy fracture; yt

quality of this sort being apparently intermediate be

the others, as it retains completely the marks of its wane
table origin, while, at the same time, it possesses every
perfect character of this species of coal.

A. 200 grains of the aia coal, by distillation, yielded,

Grains.
1. Water, which soon came over acid, and after-
wards turbid, by the mixture of some bitumen 60
2. Thick brown oily bitumen = - - - - 91
3. Charcoal - - as - 90
4. Mixed gas, consisting of branes:
carbonated hydrogen, and caboni baimate at 29
acid,
200.

The charcoal, in appearance, perfectly resembled that
which 1s made ons recent vegetables. By incineration,
about 4 grains of yellowish ashes were left, w hich consisted
of alumina, iron, and silica, derived most probably from
some small portion of the clay strata which accompany the
Bovey coal. But it is very remarkable, that neither the
ashes obtained from the charcoal of the Bovey coal, nor
those obtained from the leaves of the Iceland schistus,
afforded the smallest trace of alkali*.

B. 200 grains of the Bovey coal, reduced to powder,
were digested in boiling distilled water, which was after-
wards filtrated and examined ; but I could not discover any
signs of extract, or of any ‘otter substance.

“C. 200 grains were next digested with six ounces of
alcohol, in a very low degree of heat, during five days. A
vellowish-brown tincture was thus formed, ‘which, by eva-
poration, afforded a deep brown substance, possessing all
the properties of resin, being insolubie in water, but soluble
in alcoho} and in ether; ; italso speedily melted when placed
on ared hot iron, burned with much flame, and emitted a
fragraut odour, totally unlike the very unpleasant smell}
produced by burning she coal itself, or by burning any of
the common bituminous substances. The quantity, how-
ever, which could be extracted from 200 grains of the coal,

* This, as far as retates to the Bovey coal, has been also noticed by
Dre Milles. Pint. Trans. vol. ii. p> ss53- But wood, however long
submerged, is not deprived of alkali, unless it kas more or less been con-
verted inio coal; for L have, since the reading of this Paper, made some
experiments on the wood of the submerged forest at Sutton, on the coast
of Lincolnshire, and have found it to contain Mpa Ds

"
‘

some of the Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen. 51

by alcohol, was but small, as it did not exceed 3 grains.
But this small quantity was sufficient to prove, that although
the Bovey coal does not contain any vegetable extract, like
the schistus formerly mentioned, yet the whole of the
proximate principles of the original vegetable have not been
entirely changed ; as a small portion of true resin, not con-
verted into bitumen, still remains inherent in the coal, al-
though the bituminous part is by much the most prevalent,
and causes the fetid odour which attends the combustion of
this substance.

Upon a comparison of the general external characters of
the Bovey coal with those of the substance which forms
the leaves contained in the Iceland schistus, a very great
resemblance will be observed; and this is further confirmed
by the similarity of the products obtained from each of them
in the preceding experiments, with the single exception that
the leaves contain some vegetable extract, which I could
not discover in the Bovey coal. They agree however in
every other respect ; as they both consist of woody fibre in
a state of semicarbonization, impregnated with bitumen,
and a small portion of resin, perfectly similar to that which
is contained in many recent vegetable bodies ; and thus it
seems, that as the woody fibre, in these cases, still retains
some part of its vegetable characters, and is but partially and
imperfectly converted into coal, so, in like manner, some
of the other vegetable principles have only suffered a partial
change. Undoubtedly there is every reason to believe that,
next to the woody fibre, resin is the substance which, in
vegetables passing to the fossil state, most powerfully resists
any alteration ; and that, when this is at length effected, it
is more immediately the substance from which bitumen is
produced. The instances which haye been mentioned cor-
roborate this opinion ; tor the vegetable extract in one of
them, and more especially the resin which was discovered
in both, must be regarded as part of those principles of the
original vegetables which have remained, after some other
portions of the same have been modified into bitumen,

The smallness of the quantity .of resin obtained in hoth
the preceding cases by no means invalidates the proof of
the above opinion ; but, as an additional confirmation of it,
I shall now give an account of a very singular substance,
which is found with the Bovey coal. ,

[ To be continued. }

De VIII. On

lla yin’ Male HMI ail a CA Eau RA te ee el UN i cl ee
p

C92

VIII. On the Use of Green Vitriol, or Sulphate of Irom;
as a Manure; and on the Efficacy of paring and burning
depending partly on Oxide of Iron. By GrorcE PEaR-
son, M.D. Honorary Member of the Board of Agri-
culture, FLR.S, €c. Ge. Ge.*

I TAKE leave to lay before this honourable Board an ac
count of a substance as a manure which I find, on exa-
mination, is one of the things hitherto universally believed
to be a poison to vegetables. Having ascertained that this
substance is what is commonly known by the name of vi-
triol of iron (the sulphate of iron of the chemists), invete-
rate opinion prevented me for some time from accepting
the testimony of it as a manure; but feeling the weight of
the respectable evidence by whom it was attested, after
consideration I perceived that the fact in question was not
at variance with established principles of vegetable philo-
sophy, as I shall, Ithink, make appear in this communi-
cation. -

My friend John Williams Willaume, esq. of Tingrith,
in Bedfordshire, having desired his brother, Charles Dy-
moke Willaume, esq. to ask my opinion of a saline sub-
stance collected from peat, which has been used with pro-
fitable consequences as a manure in his neighbourhood, I
proposed a set of queries to Mr. John W. Willaume, the
answers to which, in the two following copied letters, com-
prehend the evidence I have to offer.

Letter No. I.—To Dr. Pearson, from C. D. Willaume,

Esq.
MY DEAR SIR,

I received the inclosed last Saturday, and hope the an-+
swers to your queries will-be satisfactory, and tend to elu-
cidate’this curious subject. Though the answers under the
article dust only relate to your queries, yet my brother has
thought proper to advert to the ashes, which you coriceive
to be a caput mortuum ; but which have been used as, and
have been supposed to be, a beneficial manure from time
immemorial. I have reserved a piece of the peat from which
the ashes are produced, and if you would wish to analyse it,
I will send it you. Favour me with the result of your fu-
ture inquiries on this subject; and I am,

My dear sir, yours very sincerely,
Walham Green, ‘, C.D. WiLLAUME.
Aug. 24, 1801. 4 ied

* A communication to the Board of Agriculture.
Nae LETTER

ich sieieiaall ~~ J ‘aru *

On the Use of Green Vitriol-as a Manure. 53

Lerrer No. 11.—From John W. Willaume, Esq. to
“ C. D. Willaume, Esq.

Queries proposed by Dr. Pearson,

1. How long has the salt of peat been used ?

2. How much per acre is laid on? ms

3. On what kind of lands?

4. The effects of it on vegetation ?

5. Whether it is mixed with dung manure, or lime ?

6. In what parts of the country has it been employed ?

7. Any other facts which can be collected relative to the
ase of this substance?

In answering the above queries, I shall divide the subject
into three articles; 1st, The peat considered as an object cf
fuel: 2d, The ashes: 3d, The salt of peat, or dust: the
two last as objects of manure,

1. Peat.

The peat, which is found after the removal of the turf
er exterior surface to about a spade’s depth, has long been
known as an article of fuel. It is, however, used only by
cottagers, who burn it on a brick hearth : it has been re-
jected from the parlour, the kitchen, the brewhouse, &c.
as being injurious to grates, and to all sorts of vessels put
on it; it cannot he employed in the roasting of meat, as it
will impart a disagrecable taste ; and it is destructive of all
sorts of furniture by the effluvia which it emits, or by the
dust or ashes which may chance to be blown from it. If
these disagreeable consequences could be obviated, it might
be made an article of general consumption as a substitute
for coal, much to the adyantage of the seller and consumer ;
it is dug out in the form of a brick to a certain depth, well
known to the common labourer. Thisdepth must be care-
fully attended to, lest you should cut out the staple, in
which case it would never be retrieved; but, this cireum-
stance attended to, it will grow again to its former state in
the space of fifteen years. “Thus the whole moor is divided
into proper portions, and periodically cut once in fifteen
years.

2. Ashes.

The turf or surface, and such parts of the peat as do not
appear to be of the best quality, are laid up in considera-
ble heaps and reduced to ashes by the action of fire, The
ashes are red,

* Ds Answer

54 On the Use of Green Vitriol of Iron,
Answer to Queries. big a

1. The ashes have been long known as a manure, and
the demand is on the increase.

2. The quantity usually laid on an acre, by spreading or
sowing it, is fifty bushels, either on grass or arable land.

3. It is laid on hot Jand. By hot land we understand
sandy, gravelly, chalky soils of a dry nature, such as are
burnt up on the long continuance of hot weather. It is
most commonly used for grasses; but is in considerable
esteem as a manure for oats or barley, on land of the na-
ture abovementioned,

4, The vegetable effect is surprising, inasmuch as it will
double or treble a crop of any new sown grass, such as tre-
foil, &c. Ihave seen the benefits arising from it on old
pasture land much overgrown with moss, which it effec-
tually destroys, and produces in its stead white or Dutch
clover. You may trace to an inch the cessation and re-
commencement of this manure. It is observable, that mear
the fire-heaps, as far as the wind can carry the lighter parts
of the ashes, the production of clover is sure to be abun-
dant: it is equally favourable to the growth of barley or
oats.

5. Jt is not mixed with lime, or any other manure.

6. These ashes are bought by a set of higglers, who carry
them in bags loaded on asses to a considerable distance,
where they are known to be in great repute; they must
come excessively dear to the consumer by this mode of con-
veyance. The farmers in the vicinity send for them in
wagons, particularly Mr. Brumiger, near Sundon, in Bed-
fordshire, a considerable and intelligent farmer, who in-
creases his consumption every year, both for his grass and
arable land.

3. The Salt of Peat, or Dust.

Answer to Queries.—}. The dust or gray saline substance
is produced by beating the earth containing this salt to a
powder; it is found in particular spots, not universally, the
earth not being equally impregnated with it im all places :
it has not been known as a manure above six years ; but oa
trial greatly increases in reputation and demand.

2. Fifty bushels are the proper quantity per acre. This
should not be exceeded, for it it be laid on in too great
abundance it may prove extremely deleterious.

3, It is used for cold lands. *By cold lands we under- —

stand clayey, or any wet grounds. Ti,
4. It will much improye the vegetation of sowed. grasses

and

or Sulphate of Iron, as a Manure. 53

and old pasture, and is equally favourable to the production
of corn; the ground, whether grass or arable, being of a
cold nature.

5. It is not mixed with lime, or any other substance.

6. The dust is likewise bought by the higglers, and carried
to great distances. The nearer farmers likewise “send for
the dust in waggons, particularly Mr. Anstie, of Dunstable
Houghton, and Mr. Smith, of Sundon, who hold this ma-
nure in great esteem.

Tingrith, Yours, &e. ;
Aug. 19, 1801. J. W. WILLAUME.

Dr. Peanson’s Experiments, Observations, and Remarks,
on the Substance called Salt of Peat, or Dust.

1. It isa blackish gray, coarse, and rather heavy pow-
der. Has no smell; tastes strongly styptic 5 readily dis-
solves in the mouth; did not deliquesce on exposure to
the air.

2, Dissolves in four times its weight of water of the tem-
perature of sixty degrees of Fahrenheit, and in twice its
weight of boiling hot water, giving a pale green coloured
solution, with a trifling sediment, which is imsoluble in
muriatic acid.

3. To the solution (2) I added a little liquid prnssiate of
vegetable alkali in a perfectly neutral state, which occa-
sioned immediately a most abundant precipitation of prus-
siate of iron; and this test was added gradually, till noe
further precipitation took place.

4. Into the decanted and filtrated fluid °(3) was poured
liquid caustic volatile alkali, but without inducing any
change. ;

5. Into the same fluid (3) was poured liquid carbonate
of vegetable alkali, which produced a sgareely perceivable
cloudy appearance.

6. Into the solution (3) was dropped the aqueous solution
of muriate of baryt, which occasioned imme:liately a milky
appearance.

7. To the solution (3) I added the oxalic acid, and tur-
bidness ensued. :

g. A little of the powdery substance, called the salt of

peat, with concentrated sulphuric acid, produced no emis-
sion of fumes, nor smell.

9. The solution (2) with muriate of baryt, immediately
grew aos i a white 4s cream.

The solution (2) with carbonate of potash, deposited
“a Da a Very

On the Use of Green Vitriol of Iron,

a very copious greenish sediment; and the same effect en
sued with caustic volatile alkali. :

11. The solution (2) with oxalic acid, gave instantly a
very turbid blueish green precipitation.

‘The preceding experiments manifested that .the peat salt
consists of sulphate of iron, vulgarly called green vitriol of
iron, mixed with a very minute proportion of siliceous
earth, and of lime united either to sulphuric acid or to car-
bonic acid. But the presence of the earths magnesia and
argil; the uncombirel alkalis; the uncombined acids ;
are by these experiments excluded. In short, the salt of
peat is almost pure sulphate of iron.

REMARKS,

i. The salt of peat is, I apprehend, deposited by evapo=
rations which run over the moors where it 1s found; and
hence I should expect many of such waters to be strongly
impregnated with it, and in many parts the soil to be tinged
red and yellow by ochre. Very likely * on inquiry mach
iron pyrites will be found on or near the moors.

2. The quantity spread on land is said to be fifty bushels
per acre, which I estimate at 2,250 pounds avoirdupoise ;
oR will give near seven ounces and a half per square yard,
If a larger quantity be applied, it is observed it will prove
extremely deleterious. ‘This is true also of every other ma+
nure, such as lime, alkaline salts, marine salt; nay, of the
dung of animals; for if they be used in certain quantities
they poison plants instead of promoting their growth. This
is equally true in the antmal kingdom; for there is not an
article taken as food, or as seasoning, which is not a poison
if taken in certain quantities. A human creature may be
poisoned or alimented by beef or pudding, according to the
quantity of them taken into the stomach. He may be poi-
soned or have digestion greatly assisted by salt or pepper,
according to their quantity. Jn brief, the vulgar notion of
the term poissw ig erroneous: for by it is conceived that
substances so called are in their nature positively destruc-
tive of life; but the truth is, that the most virulent poisons
are, 1n all reason and fact, only deleterious according to the
quantity applied. White arsenic, swallowed in the quantity
of ten grains or less, will destroy life; but in the quantity

_ * « This is,” says Mr. Willaume, “ exactly the fact. This sul-
phate of iron, the salt of pear, during the heat of the summer is fre-
quently found in a crystallized state, very white, and crackling under
the feet; but is deliquescent in that form, and turns to its former dark
eslour when the air becomes moist.""-—Note by Mr. 7. W. Willaume.

or Sulphate of Iron, as a Manure. 37

of one-sixteenth of a grain, it is as harmless as a glass of
wine; and further, in that dose 1s a remedy for inveterate
agues,

From these considerations I conclude, that there is ne
admissible contradictory evidence to the testimonies for the
fertilizing effect of sulphate of iron, unless by such con-
travening evidence the quantity stated to be used exceed
fifty bushels per acre; it being an established fact, that in
certain proportions this metallic salt is a poison to plants.

This discovery of Mr. Willaume will, 7 think, give new
light, so as to explain fully the rationale of the improve-
ment of land by the burnt earth and ashes from paring and
burning. It is usual to account for the effects of this pro-
cess, by referring to supposed alkaline or other salts; but.
of these there is no evidence; nay, on trial I have not de-
tected them, or at least not in any efficient quantity; but
this I know, that such earth and ashes contain oxide of
iron, and as J suspect of manganese ; which irom the ana-
lysis, and the effect of salt of peat, must now be admitted
into the class of manures. This very communication of
Mr. Willaume affords ‘evidence of the truth of this conjec-
ture; for the ashes of the peat which affords the salt ¢* have |
been long known asa manure, and the demand is on the in-

_¢erease :”’ of course, these ashes contain an unusual quantity
of oxide of iron. A consequence of this reasoning 1s, that
the burnt earth of soils will, ceteris paribus, fertilize in pro-
portion to the oxide of iron it contains. Accordingly, the
ashes of the peat, says Mr. Willaume, have a surprising
effect ; they ‘ will double or treble a crop of any new sown
grass, such as trefoil, &c.”: they are so beneficial, that, in
spite of the expence, they are carried in bags by higglers to
great distances, It would be extending this paper beyond
the proposed limits, to reason at greater length,and to make
a further induction of facts; therefore I will close with as-
serting, that the more I contemplate the facts in. Mr. Wile.
laume’s letter, the more evidence I perceive for the truth,
that metallic salts and metallic oxides in general, and salts
and oxides of iron in particular, are manures, if applied in
proper doses.

Ido not think it is within the design of this paper to
make observations on the answers to the 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th;
and 6th queries, except once for all, desiring that it may be
understood that [ consider the salt of peat, and the ashes of
peat, as operating in promoting vegetation analogous te
seasoning, or condiments, taken with the food of animals ;

_ that is, analagous to mustard, cinnamon, ginger, &c. which
; ° are

58 On the Use of Green Vitriol of Iron,

are not of themselves at all or necessarily nutritious, but
contribute to render other things nutritious by exciting the
action of the stomach and other organs of digestion and as~
similation. I have no doubt of the truth of the proposi-
tion, that no living thing, neither plant nor animal, can
grow and live in a state of visible action without constant

supplies of matter which has been alive; in other words,

hving animals and vegetables can only live on dead animals
and dead vegetables. No plant nor animal has ever been
known by experience, nor in the nature of things does it
seem reasonable, that they can be nourished by mere water
and pure air, as some persons have asserted,

I shall make a very few remarks on the other two sub-
stances which are the subject of Mr. Wallauine’s letter.

2. The Peat.

The peat is a dense mass of vegetable matter for a certain
depth, partly in a dead and partly in a living state, with
which is mixed more or less earth, and in burning it affords
so much empyreumatic oi] as to give a disagreeable taste to

roasted provisions; hence, as we are told, it has been re- .

jected from the kitchen. This fuel affords a vast quantity
ef what the chemists call lignic acid; hence it is rejected
also from the parlour, as very destructive to the grates. |
beg to suggest that this lignic acid might be saved im burn-
ing the peat as fuel, and be used for various purposes in
manufactures ; and the charred peat may be used in place
of charcoal of wood. Probably, too, other useful products
will be found, on examining the matters more accurately
which are afforded by distillation.

3. Ashes.

Tf the peat were mere vegetable matter, the ashes afforded
hy it would be as trifling as those of wood; but some parts
of the mocr contain so much earth and oxide of iron as

~ to Jeave behind, on burning, a considerable quantity of in-

combustible matter; and such kind of peat, we are told, is
not used as fuel; but, after burning, the residuary matter
is an efficacious manure, much more so than 1s commonly
afforded by paring and burning. The ashes are more red
and more fertilizing than ashes of common turf, because
they contain more iron.

The spontaneous springing up of white clover, in Jand
manured’ with these ashes, is similar to the spontaneous
growth of this plant on heath Jand which has been covered
with lime to destroy all its present vegetation ; and this fact

4 00 shows

a oe

ae a

seared

aria.

Aerie dln va,

oe ae” OP Rosato yew See eel be
Pate eel ee » :

or Sulphate of Iron, as a Manure. 59

shows that probably these are seeds buried in the earth for
many ages, which yet remain alive, but do not grow until
exposed to the stimuli of air, water, calorific, and lifeless
animal or vegetable matter.

APPENDIX,

The following facts, lately discovered by most respectable
chemists, appear to be worth adding to the preceding me-
moir, as they serve to show that other salts, besides sulphate
of iron, and certain earths, may be employed advantageously

as manures, although, like iron, they have heen esteemed
deleterious to plants.

1. Ashes of Pit Coal are a good Manure for Grass.

My much valued friend, the Rev. Wm. Gregor,. of
Grampound, on examination of the ashes of coal from Li-
verpool, found them to contain both sulphate of magnesia -
and sulphate of lime, especially the former, salt. I appre-
hend that these ashes also contain oxide of iron, or perhaps
sulphate of iron. These ashes, says Mr. Gregor, skeaded *
over grass apparently produced good effects notwithstand-
ing the sulphate of magnesia, which I was well assured they
contained. (Sce Nicholson’s Journal, vol. v. p. 225.)

_ From this observation of Mr. Gregor, it seems he is
aware of the prevailing popular opinion, that ‘sulphate of
magnesia is not fayourable to vegetation; and to reconcile
his fact with the unfriendly nature of magnesia to plants, as
discovered by Mr. Tennant, he observes that the effects of
sulphate of magnesia may be very different from those of
Magnesia and carbonate of magnesia. J apprehend it is the
magnesia (calcined magnesia) only which this learned che-
mist found hurtful to vegetables, as the discovery was made
on the examination of Noitingly lime, which the farmers
near Doncaster employ as a manure, while they reject the
lime of their own neighbourhood.. In the latter Mr. Ten-
Nant met with magnesia, and in the former none. (See

the account of this important discovery in the Philosophical
Transactions.)

2. The Earth from Ashes called Cinis, is a durable and ef-
Jicacious Manure: by Professor Mircui.y, of New York,
one of the Representatives in Congress. Addressed to Dr.
PEARSON.
Dr. Mitchill, in a letter addressed to me on cinis, or
earth found in the ashes of wood, has made some observa-

. © From 2xedaw. t
ions

vere Soe:

60 On the Use of Green Vitriol of Iron,

tions relative to the preceding memoir, which scem worthy
of notice.

s¢ Ashes of wood contain very commonly sulphate of
potash, also phosphoric acid, besides other well known
salts ; but after these salts are separated by lixiviation, there
remains a peculiar earth and a small proportion of iron,
This earth differs from lime, baryt, magnesia, strontian, or
any other known species of earth. I would call it cénis, for

entiful, common, and important as it is, science has not

ignified it with a name. To judge of the excellence of ©

this earth as a manure, after all the salts are extracted from
soap-boilers’ ashes, the earth sells for ten cents the bushel ;
and, notwithstanding this high price, it is not unusual for
the farmer to pay for the article twelve months beforehand.
When ploughed into steril ground, at twelve loads per
acre, it produces great crops of wheat, clover, and other
sorts of grass and grain, and its fertilizing operation will
last twenty years. Although some of the other ingredients
of the ashes left after lixiviation may prove beneficial, yet
the effects are chiefly from the cinis, or new named earth.
s¢ This earth, which is so prized in America as a manure,
was esteemed of old in Asia as an ingredient in a cement :
among the antient Syrians it was one of the materials form-
ing the plaster of their walls; and, as it holds an interme-
diate place between lime and potash, it can easily be con-
ceived how it may act both as a cement and a manure. It
js to be hoped chemists will turn their attention to this im-
portant subject,” (See Tilloch’s Philosophical Magazine,
vol. vii. p. 273, for the whole of this interesting letter.)

3. Several metallic Salts promote Vegetation, shown by the
Experiments of Professor Barton, of Philadelphia.
Letter from BENsAMin SmitH Barton, M.D. Professor

of Medicine in the College of Philadelphia, to Dr. PEar-

* son, containing Experiments with metallic Sobutions to
determine their Effects on Plants,

SIR, Philadelphia, Oct. 28, 1802.

In the Annals of Medicine for the year 1801, you inform
us that you have lately read a paper at the Board of Agri-

culture *¢ containing an account of the effects of a saline’

body collected from peat as a most powerful manure, which
turns out to be sulphate of iron; a substance, you. remark,
hitherto considered to be a poison to plants.” This piece
of intelligence gave me much satisfaction. I have, for some

years, been engaged in an extensive series of experiments
relative

Ser ey

or Sulphate of Iron, as a Manure. Gi

telaiive to the effects of various stimulating articles, such
as camphor, &c. upon vegetables; and on the absorption
of certain powerful mineral substances inte the organic sys
tem of vegetables. In numerous instances I have subjected
‘the stems and leaves of plants, young and old, large and
small, tothe influence of the sulphates of iron and copper.
I have found that both of these metallic salts are very
greedily absorbed by vegetables, insomuch that I have de-
tected the presence of iron in the vessels of a branch of mul-
berry, at the height of five or six fect above the place of im-
mersion, in a solution of the sulphate of this metal. A full
account of my experiments | design to communicate to the
public in two memoirs. Permit me to observe in the mean-
while, that the sulphate of iron applied to vegetables in the
manner J have mentioned ‘is only (to use your own words)
a poison, like almost every thing else, from the over-dose.”
In several of my experiments the branches of vegetables that
were placed in vessels containing solutions of the sulphate
of iron and copper, lived longer and exhibited more signs
of vigour than similar branches that were placed in equal
quantities of simple water. It is true, that in many other
experiments these metallic salts proved fatal to my plants 3
but this was when I employed too large a dose. In like
manner I had found, several years ago*, that camphor,
by greatly stimulating, often kills vegetables; and yet, when
properly dosed, this is a very wholesome stimulant to plants..
{ had aiso found that large doses of nitre (which is unques-
tionably a powerful stimulant, both with respect to animals
and vegetables) produce an appearance like genuine gan-
grene in the leaves of vegetables; and yct it 1s certain that
nitre, when it is judiciously dosed, may be made to greatly
assist the healthy vegetation of plants.

Excuse the liberty J have taken in troubling you with
these few loose hints, and permit me to subscribe myself,

Sir, your very humble and obedient servant, &c.

To Dr. Pearson. BrnJaAMIN SMITH Barton.

4. Sulphate of Iron in the Peat of Russia, found by
Professor Robinson. ‘

Something else besides vegetable matter is necessary to
form peat or black moss of the moors. ‘The smell of burn-
ing peat is different from that of vegetable matter. Peat
ashes, says the professor, always contain a very great pro-

* See Transactions of the American Philosophical Society, vol. iv.
nO. 27.
-

portion

‘

62 Biographical Anecdotes of

portion of ifon: he has seen three piaces in Russia where
there is superficial peat moss, and in all of them the vitriol
is so abundant as to effloresce. In particular, on a moor
near St. Petersburgh, the clods show the vitriol (sulphate
of iron) every morning when the dew has evaporated. Ac+
cording to this learned professor’s observation, the sulphate
of iron in pit coal may be accounted for in the following
manner :—‘* Peat mosses form very regular strata, lying,
indeed, on the surface ; but if any operation of nature should
cover this with a deep load of other matter, it would be
compressed and rendered very solid; and, remaining for ages
im that situation, might ripen into a substance very like pit
coal. (See the Medical and Chirurgical Review for No-
vember 1803.)

5. Mr. Anstey’s Testimony of the Use of Peat Dust and
Peat Ashes.

SIR, Houghton Regis, Dec. 3, 1801.
I received yours, dated the 18th of November last, in
which you requested me to inform you what experiment I
had made from the turf dust taken from Tingrith Moor.
I have made use of the ashes and dust near thirty years, and
I frequently lay on from eighty to a hundred bushels per
acre. Our land is dry, and very thin stapled, owing to
the chalk rock laying so very near the surface: it encourages
vegetation in moist warm weather; but when hot and dry,
the reverse. We never:mix any other manure with it. It
eosts about fourpence per bushel, including all expenses.
We chiefly spread it on our seed grass, clover, &c.
Iam, sir, your humble servant,
Jos, ANSTEY.

1X. Biographical Anecdotes of Cuartes Hutton, LL.D.

FER.S

Turs gentleman, so much distinguished by his abilities,
isa native of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, where he was born
about the year 1737. At an early age he was placed at a
school in that town, where he soon made a rapid progress ;

and about the cightcenth year of his age, having lost his

parents, who, though in the humbler ranks of life, were
aiways respectable, he endeavoured to. provide for him-
self by commencing country school-master. | His first
establishment in this line was at the village of Jesmond,
about

Py Te ee Pee ae
hid noite, Miah led Tia Colaib

Charles Hutton, L.L.D. F.R.S. 63

about two miles from Newcastle, where he remained some
years ; during which he improved himself by close study,
reading all the mathematical and other books he was able
to purchase.

About the year 1760, Mr. Hutton removed to Newcastle,
where he had a better opportunity of displaying his talents
to advantage, and where he ay extraordinary proofs of
the progress he had made, by the solution of several curious

and difficult questions in various periodical publications ;

and particularly in the Ladies’ Diary, in his own name, and
in Martin’s Magazine of Sciences, under the signature of
Tonthu, being the letters of his name transposed. The
first of Mr. Hutton’s separate publications was a little work
on arithmetic, for the use of schools, first printed at New-
castle in 1764. It has already gone through ten large
editions ; and in printing the first, to supply the want of
proper mathematical types, which at that time could not
be procured in Newcastle, Mr. Hutton was obliged to cut
with a pen-knife, on the reversed end of old types, many
of the algebraical characters used in the vulgar fractions
and other parts of the work,

Mr. Hutton employed his evenings in composing a large
work on mensuration, which came out in quarto numbers,
the Jast of them in the year 1770. It was printed at New-
castle. This work met with a very favourable reception,
and a second edition, with improvements, was published at
London in 1788, large octavo. Mr. Hutton soon gave
another proof of his genius and industry, by a republication
of all the useful parts of the Ladies’ Diaries, from the com-
mencement in 1704 to that of 1773. This work was given
to the public, in parts or numbers, quarterly, beginning in
July 1771,-and ending in July 1775, forming altogether
five volumes, viz. two volumes of the poetical parts, and
three of the mathematical. ‘These extracts were accom-
panied with numerous notes and illustrations, which sup-
plied the defects in the original solution of the questions.
Each number contained also a few sheets of new mathema-
tical correspondence, of original essays, questions, &c.
making one volume, in which. the contributions of the
editor himself made a considerable portion, but under
various fictitious names. About the years 1771 and 1772,
Mr. Hutton was employed by the magistrates of Newcastle
to make an accurate survey of the town and county of New-
eastle-upon-Tyne, which he did with great ec: rectness.
This plan was soon after engraved and published in a map
epnsisting of two very large sheets, with an abridged

account

, its Bas = teal Gr
64 Biographical Anecdctes of —

account of the history, trade, and population of that
lace. ‘

The old bridge of Newcastle being borne down by a very
high flood on the 17th ot November 1771, which raised
the waters in the river about mime feet higher than the usual
spring tides,—this accident gave rise to so many absurd
notions among the people sm regard to the arches of bridges,
that Mr. Hutton conceived that 2 demonstration of the re-
lation between the more essential parts of bridges might be
of great utility to such architects and builders as might

‘have mathematical knowledve sufficient to enable them to
comprchend the theory of arches. In a few months, there
fore, he composed, and published at Neweastle, a very
learned and useful little book, entitled ‘ The Principles of
Bridges, &c.,” 1772, Svo. As this tract had been out of
print for many years, the author was induced, in conse-
quence of being consulted on the project of a new bridge
for the improvement of the port of London, to give a new
edition of it. This edition, as the author thought, was
very illiberally and unfairly attacked in the Monthly Re-
view for March 1802; and he consequently wrote a very
able and masterly reply to the reviewer, which was pub-
lished in the Monthly Magazine for August the same year.

About this period the health of Mr. John Lodge Cowley,
professor of mathematics at Woolwich, having so much
declined that he could no longer attend the duties of his
office, the master-general and principal officers of the Board
of Ordnance, came to the resolution of permitting him to
retire. Eis successor was to be appointed by competition ;
and the gentlemen made choice of to examine the candi-
dates were the ablest mathematicians that could be found,
viz. the Rev. Dr. Horsley, now bishop of St. Asaph, the
Rey. Dr. Maskelyne, astronomer Royal, Colonel Watson,
chief engineer in the service of the East India Company,
and Mr. Landen, well known by his publications on ma-
thematical subjects. ‘Fhe candidates were in number seven
or eight; but Mr. Hutton, who had repaired to London
for the purpose of competing on this occasion, was the
person whom the examiners thought it their duty more
particularly to recommend, on account of the very able
manner in which he had answered all the proposed
questions. :

_ In consequence of the advantage which Mr. Hutton ac-
quired by his new situation at Woolwich, he entered upon
a new and severe course of study, with a view of qualifying

himself better for the important task he had undertaken,
1 and

Charles Hutton, L.L.D. F.R.S. 65

and for the execution of some new works which be had
projected.

The first publication which he engaged in after this
period was the Ladies’ Diary, to which for many years
he had been an useful contributor. On his arrival in Lon-
don, he was informed of the death of the last compiler,
and a few days after the future managerment of this fa-
vourite work was confided to his judgment and industry, by
the Stationers’ Company, with increased enioluments.

for several years after his settling at Woolwich, Mr.
Hutton employed part of his time in writing accounts of
mathematical and philosophical books for the reviews pub-
lished monthly in London. The same year that he removed
to Woolwich he was elected a fellow of the Royal Society,
to the Transactions of which he was afterwards a valuable
contributor. The first of his papers published in that work
was “ A new and general method of finding simple, ahd
quickly converging series, by which the proportion of the
diameter of the circle to its circumference may be easily
computed to a great number of figures,” printed in the
Transactions for 1776. The second was «© A demonstration
of two remarkable theorems mentioned in a former article
of the Transactions,” published also in the same year, 1776. -
The next was a paper, in the year 1778, “ On the force of
fired gun-powder, and the initial velocities of cannon-balls,
determined by experiments; from which is also deduced the
relation of the initial velocity to the weight of the shot, and
the quantity of the charge of the powder.” This papet
contains the account and calculation of a great number of
curious experiments with cannon- balls, made at Woolwich,
in the year 1775, by the author and other ingenious gen-
tlemen ; and so sensible were the Society of the value of
this communication, that Mr. Hutton was honoured with
the prize medal of that year. Soon after, he was elected
one of the cotincil, and appointed Latin secretary for con-
ducting the foreign correspondence, vacated by the election
of Mr. Maty to the reading secretaryship.

In the Transactions of the same year appeared “ An ac-
count of the calculations made from the survey and mea-
sures taken at Schehalliea, in order to ascertain the mean
density of the earth.” The determination of the mean
density of the earth was an important problem proposed
by the Society, and the survey and measurements for this
purpose were taken at the hill of Schehallien, in Perth-

shire, in the years 1774, 1775, and 1776, by the direc»

tion, and partly under the inspection, of Dr. Maskelyne,
Vol. 21. No. $1. Fel). 1805. E the

diate ay os

Te Oe ee ee iy Oe Pa Pee te ?

66 Biographical Anecdotes of Charles Hutton. L.L.D.

the astronomer royal; after which the Society entrusted 6
Mr. Hutton the important charge of making the calcula-
tions, and drawing the proper conclusions from them.
The result was, that the mean density of the earth was
found to be in proportion to that of the hill of Schehallien,
as 9 to 5, so that when the actual density of the hil} shall
be ascertained, the real density of the earth will m some
measure be determined. by

The year following, Dr. Hatton gave another paper, as
supplement to the preceding, which contained * Calcula-
tions to determine at what point in the side of the hill its
attraction will be greatest.”” The next communication,
which was in the year 1780, was a long tract on cubic
equations, and this was followed, in 1783, by “* A project
for a new division of the quadrant.” This was the last of
his communications to the Transactions, as, it seems, a stop
was put to his usefulness in this way by a misunderstanding
between him, and the Society, in consequence ef whieh he
resigned his office in the year 1784. t

Soon after, that is im 1786, Dr. Hutton published a
volume of mathematical and philosophical tracts, im quarto,
containing a number of curious papers, which would pro-
bably have appeared in the Philosophical Transactions had
not the before-mentioned misunderstanding taken place.
One of these tracts consists of “ New experiments in
artillery for determining the foree of fired gun-powder ;
the initial velocity of cannon-balls ; the ranges of pieces of
cannon at different elevations; the resistance of the air to
projectiles ; the effect of different lengths ef cannon, and
of differeut quantities of powder,” &c. These experiments
were made in the years 1783, 1784, aud 1785.

Besides these, Dr. Hutton has given to the public several
other useful and ingenious works on mathematical subjects ;
as, in 1781, a folio volume, containing ‘*Tables of the pro-
ducts-and. pewers of numbers,” published by order of the
Commissioners of Longitude :—In 1785, “ Mathematical
tables of the common hyperbolic and logistic logarithms: ;
also sines, tangents, and secants, versed sines, both natural
and logarithmic, with several other tables.usefulin mathema-
tical calculations; to which is prefixed an original history of
the discoveries and: writings relating to these subjects ;”
a.second edition of this work was printed in 1794:—In
1786, ** ‘Fhe compendious measurer; being a brief yet
comprehensive treatise on mensuration and practical ge-
ometry ; with an introduction to decimal and duodecimal
arithmetic, adapted to practice and the use»of schools.’”

’ This

aii Pavan Sow, en ee Se ee
aT : , ;

On Pithing Cattle. 67

‘

This is chiefly an abridgment of his large work on mensu-
ration, and has since gone through several editions :—In
1787, in one volume 8vo, ** Elements of conic sections,
with select exercises in various branches of military mathe-
matics and philosophy, for the use of the Royal Military
Academy, Woolwich.” This volume, which consists
chiefly of practical exercises for the use of the cadets at the
Academy, was ordered to be printed by the Duke of
Richmond, then master-general of the ordnance; and on
this occasion Dr. Hutton had the honour of being pre-
sented to the king, and of kissing his majesty’s hand.

In 1796, Dr. Hutton published, in two large volumes, in
quarto, his ‘* Mathematical and philosophical dictionary,”
an useful and laborious work, replete with curious and
original matter. It has been said that one article alone in
it, namely, that on algebra, occupied no less than two

_ years of the author’s time, in reading all the treatises on the
same subject to collect the materials and arrange them.

In 1798 appeared, «* A new course of mathematics,”’
in two volumes, composed, and more especially designed, .

~ for the use of the gentlemen cadets in the Royal Military
Academy, Woolwich. In this work the author has con-
densed into two octavo volumes, of a middling size, a
great variety of useful matter, and the subjects, though
mostly elementary, are treated in a novel manner, with great
neatness, precision, and even elegance.

In 1799 our author had the honour of being presented
with a'diploma of Doctor of Laws by the University of
Edinburgh, and he has since been elected honorary. mem-
ber of several learned academies and societies both in
Europe and America. :

X. On Pithing Cattle*.

Tue method of killing cattle by dividing the spinal mar-
row, with a view to lessen or prevent entirely the suffering
of the animal, was introduced at Mr. Mellish’s slaughtering-
houses by the laudable perseverance of Lord Somerville
and other members of the Board of Agriculture, and Mr.
Mellish found the flesh of the beasts so killed equally good,
if not better, than the flesh of those slaughtered in the usual
way. And as the operation is performed quietly, and with-
out alarm to the animal, all bruises are avoided, .and such

' * From Plymley's General view of the Agriculture of Shropshire.
E2 are

ee EET POC UE he Tr ea enn ra toe D gee ee eNOS 2/8) ATG IR

68 On Pithing Cattle,

are not very uncommon in forcing them into a proper posi-
tion to receive the stroke when. they are to be knocked
down. A butcher at Wisbech practised this mode severak
years ago, from the representations made to him by captain
Clarkson, of the navy, who had seen them so slaughtered
for the use of our flect when at Jamaica. After this person’s
death, Mr. Smith, a butcher of the same place, adopted the
same method, and im the year 1796 E procured, by favour:
of Mr. Clarkson (whose mame accords so well with any
question of humanity), the following account, which he had.
from Mr. Simith.—** Mr. Smith: intormed me, that he kills.
all his bullocks by striking theny in the spinal marrow. | If
a line were drawn from ear-root to ear-root (at about am
inch and half distance from the horns), and the centre of this
line were found, this centre would be the place where the
Knife should enter. The kuife is not in the form of a
dagyer, nor is it thrast iu with any force. It is rather larger
than a common penknife, but the blade is permanently fixed,
to the handle. “Fhe handle is taken into the hand, and the
forefinger goes down it towards the point, merely to direct
it. The person using the kiife takes hold of one ear of
the beast with his left hand, aad with the right he strikes it
with the knife. Tn the same instant the bullock drops, and
is out of sensation of any pain. Le informs me, that it is
not once im a thousand times that any person misses the
right place; perhaps an apprentice may at the beginning,
bat the rule is so certain that it may be said hardly ever
to fail, and if if should fail, the knife is at any rate so near
the proper place, that by the least alteration of the position
(without even taking it out) it jimds its way. In this case
there would hardly be the pain of two seconds. I was,
obliged to leave Wisbech before the kiling-day, or I would:
have seen this method practised. Tf tatkhed to Smith’s ap-
prentice, who assured me that he bad uo difficulty. in find-
ing the proper spot, ane) that the beast drops instantly.
Though Sanith kills in this manner, no other butcher of
Wisbech follows the examole. He says, however, that
the practice obtains pretty universally on the Lincolnshire
bank of the Hunrber, as at Barton and several other places.
Calves, sheep, pigs, &e. are killed by Smith in the same
manner. I saw three sheep that had been skinned, and
were banging up in his shop, which had been killed by his
apprentice in this way. [ie showed me the small hole on
the back of the head,.or neck, which the knife had made.”’
Plausitle, however, as these experiments are, [believe
now that they proceeded upou a mistaken paasiples or:
rather,

_ be TE ee PORTE NTS Ie | POM he, ee
f e ‘ ’ , »

On Pithing Catile. 69

rather, that the operation did not accord with the principle,
so far as tenderness towards the animal is concerned : for
though a beast is managed completely by this mode, it is
not so certain that his sense of feeling is destroyed. The
contrary indeed seems proved by the meritorious pains taken
by Mr. Du Gard, of the Shrewsbury Infirmary, who has
shown im the following communication, that though the
spinal marrow was divided, the nerves that supplied the or-
gans of respiration and most of the senses were uninjured.
Mr. Du Gard’s experiments were communicated to Mr.
Everard Home, of London, and by him, through sir Joseph
Banks, to the Board. Mr. Home afterwards sent lord
Carrington the valuable paper that follows Mr. Du Gard’s,

» an which he has suggested a mode of performing the ope-
ration which would answer completely, could we be sure
of having operators sufficiently skilful. We may the less
regret the difficulty in getting new modes established, when
we thus see the superiority of an old custom under very
improbable circumstances; and if well-imeant reformers
wanted any additional motives to care and circuimspection,
a very forcible one is furnished in the instance of the time
and trouble taken to introduce this operation, and which,
as it has been hitherto practised, is the very reverse of what
was intended.

Observations and Experiments on Pithing Catile. By
Tuomas Du Garp. '

** The subject of slaughtering cattle by puncturing the
medulla spinatis, with a view of superseding the method
generally practised in England, has lately engaged the at-
tention of the Agricultural Board, and been strongly recom-
mended by them. .

* It is, | believe, universal in Portugal and other parts of
the continent, as well as in some of our West India islands,
but is only of late introduction into this country.

* Pain and action are so generally joined, that we mea-
sure the degree of pain by the loudness of the cries and
violence of the consequent ‘exertion; and therefore con-
clude, on seving two animals killed, that the ene which
‘makes scarcely a struggle, though it may continue to breathe,
suffers less than that which is more violently convulsed and
strugvles till life is exhausted. R

«ft appears, however, that there may be acute pain
without exertion, perhaps as certainly as there is action
without pain ; even distortions that at the first glance would

E3 seem

PE ee Oey ie eee Sar > nn ee aera

70 On Pithing Cattle.

seem to proceed from pain, are not always really accom-
panied with sensation.

** To constitute pain, there must be a communication
between the injured organ and the brain. -

© The heart of a viper pulsates after being taken out of
the body ; and that pulsation is increased if it be goaded
with a pin. Limbs suddenly separated from the human
body sometimes start and twitch for afew moments. The
viper cannot be said to feel pain on its heart being pricked
with a pin: nor would any man who saw his own finger
contract from electricity or heat, after it was cut off, fancy
_ a suffered pain. The pain in both instances is in the part
only from whence the separation took place.

‘€ Perception, and the power of exertion, are derived
from the brain in the skull and back-bone. That part
which lies in the skull seems principally to supply our
senses and appetites with nervous energy ; and that part
which lies in the spine, and is called marrow, is more par-
ticularly appropriated to the action of the large locomotive
muscles.

‘© An injury to the skull not sufficient immediately to
take away life, often leaves the patient with the power of
moving his limbs, though without any feeling or perception,
lying in a profound apoplectic sleep.

** On the contrary, an injury to the spine leaves the
power of perception perfect, though the limbs are immove-
able; but as life depends more on the functions of the
brain and of the lungs, than on the spinal marrow and its
dependent, locomotive muscles, the animal feels and lives
longer on its sustaining a given injury in the spinal marrow
than on a fracture or concussion of the head*.

“a3. B:

* That perception may remain in the head, and respiration be conti-
nued after the division of the medulla spinalis, will be evident to any one
who consults the anatomy of those parts.

In the human subject, the par vagum, or eighth pair of nerves, arises
from the corpora olivaria of the medulla oblongata, and passes out of the
cranium through the foramena lacera into the neck, thorax, and abdomen,
sending off branches to the tongue, larynx, pharynx, lungs, and abdomi-
nal viscera.

Cuvier, in his Lecons @’ Anatomie compariée, after stating the course of
this nerve in the human subject, observes also, ,

*« Dans les mammiferes.

“« Cette distribution du nerf vague ¢toit a-peu-prés la méme dans quatre
ou cing espéces de mammiféres sur lesquéls nous avons fait des reckerches
a cet égard. Le veax seul nous a offert une particularité que nous avons
indiquée a l’article du nerf facial ; mais les anastomoses avec le grand
sympathique, les nerfs récurrens, les plexus cardiaques et pulmonaires ne

nous

On Pitlung Cattle. 71

* J. B. fell in the summer ef 1801 from a load of hay ;
he was bled, and brought to the infirmary at Shrewsbury,
which, being my residence, gave me hourly opportunities
of examining him: he complained of great pain in the upper
and back part of kis neck, bet-of none lewer- down: he had
not the power of using the least motion with any of his
timbs. His arms, body, and degs, were all quite msen-
sible to any pain or feeling from pricking or pinching, and
therefore all sensation below the injured part of the spine
was destroyed. In this state he languished a week, being
apparently in full possession of the feclings and faculties of
his mind, and of his senses of hearing, sight, smell, and
taste. He took food for two or three days, though the power
of retaining or. protruding his evacuations was lost- On
examining the neck after death, the second cervical vertebra
was found fractured.

** On reflecting on this case it occurred to me, that a
dumb animal, if reduced to the state of this poor man,
would not have the power of expressing the pain it endured,
for J. B. had great pain above the injured part, though all
power of moving, as well as feeling, was destroyed below ;
and in the brute creation, we judge of pain by the muscu-
dar efforts of the animal. I therefore, by means of a dagger,
punctered the spinal marrow of a cow according to the new
method of slaughtering, and having divided it as much as
possible after she fell, reduced her 40 the same state as the
poor man whose case I have related. The animal breathed
with freedom, and perception in the head continued, as
was evinced by the eyelids closing on the approach of my
hand, tll the butcher struck a blew near the horns, when
her breathing ceased, and the cye became fixed with imme-
diate death.

« In all the experiments T have hitherto tried, the ani-
mal has suddenly dropped, and has been slightly convulsed,
but has not died immediately. in sheep, after puncturing
the medulla spinalis in the new way, I have seen their eyes
close and open on the approach and withdrawing of my
hand, for twenty times successively, and the pupil as muck
contracted as in health, till I was anxious to terminate their
misery by having the blood-vessels of the threat divided.

nous ont présenté de diflérence que dans le nombre des filets, ce qui peut
dépendre de l'addresse du prosesteur des espéces que nous avons dessé-
quees sont le chien, le raton, le covbon, le porc-épic.””

I have examined the head and neck of a sheep killed by the puncture,
and found the par vagum uninjured. :
: E4 Trom

ae ee i Os

(2 On Pithing Cattle.

From the loss of blood their eyes have then soon’ become
dilated and insensible. eerie outed amsacnr!
** In the old method of slaughtering, a concussion, of
the brain takes place, and therefore the power of feeling Is
destroyed, The animal drops, and although convulsions:
take place generally longer and more violent than when the
spinal marrow is divided, yet there is, 1 think, reason to:
hcheve that the animal suffers less pain.

*¢ The immediate consequence of the blow is the dilata+
t'on of the pupil of the eve, without ary expression of cons
siousness or fear on the approach of the hand. ee

** Jn this state of insensibility, which in man would be
called apoplexy, or extreme stupor, the blood is always
drawn off by the butcher cutting the throaf, and the animal
cies without the Jeast sign of feeling or uneasy faintness.

‘© In severe epilepsy the brain suffers. a temporary sus-
pension of power, in many respects very sunilar, to the
concussion of the brain from a blew, only that the convul-
sions and expressions of pain scem greater; yet the patients
uniformly agree, that they do not recollect any pain; the
season 1s Obvious, the discas¢ 1s a suspension of the power
of feeling. te

‘* From all these cireumstanees F conclude that the new
method of slaughtering cattle is more paintul than. the old.
The puncture of the medulla spinalis docs not destroy feel-
ing, though it renders the body quicscent ;-and, in this state
the animal both endures pain at the punctured. part, and
suflcrs, asit were, a sccond death, from the pain andifamt-
ness from. loss of blood in cutting the throat,, which. is
practised im both methods.’””

—-

Copy of a Lether from Everany Wome, Esq. to Lord
CARKINGTON.. .
‘* MY LORD,

ns
*© T iad the honowr of presenting to your lordship,

through sir Joseph Banks, some experiments and obser-
vations made by a surgeon at Shrewsbury, to show that the
mode adopted in this country, of killing animals by wound-

ng the spinal marrow, is less humane thaw the more com--

mon one of knecking them down, mr
** [ have, at your lordship’s request, repcated these expe-
riments, and find the results agree with those of the author
of the paper in every respect ; but the want of success
appears to arise entirely from the opcration.having been
peflormed ina very mmperiect manner, ;
Ge On:

On Pithing Cattle. 73

«- On Thursday the 15th of July 1802, the following
experiment was made at Mr. Giblet’s, in Bond-street: A
very fine ox was pithed, as it is termed, by Benjamin Bar-
tholomew, who. has performed this operation more than
twenty different times, and is considered to be very expert
in the modeof doing it. I begged that he would take some
pains, soas to do it in the most effectual manner.

«* ‘The instrument he used was in the shape of a brick-
layer’s trowel, made sharp at the point, and having a guard
at the shoulder, to prevent the blade from being buried in
the neck.

«© He plunged it, with great dexterity, into.the canal
containing the spinal marrow, and the animal instantly
dropped, but the breathing continued, the motions of the
eye and eye-lids were perfect, and the whole face lost no
part of its animation,

*< This being ascertained by observation for ten minutes,
and the animal not being sufficiently quiet to admit of the
throat being cut, it was knocked on the head, and every
appearance of animation m the countenance immediately

_ceased, and the breathing stopped.

«* The spinal marrow was afterwards examined: it was
found completely divided, but too low in the neck, the
wound having been made one inch and a half below the
erigin of the nerves that sapply the diaphragm.

‘¢ That a division of this part of the spinal marrow does
not deprive an animal of life, has been known to anato-
mists for many years; and the causes of its faijure cannot
be better explained than by extracting an account of some
experiments made by Mr. Cruickshank, in the year 1776,
at which I was present, and gave my assistance. They
are published in the 83th pat nt of the Philosophical
Transactions.

** Experiment V1. April t9, 1776-—I divided the spinal
marrow of a dog, between the last vertebra of the neck and
first of the back. The muscles of the trunk of the body,
but particularly those of the hind legs, appeared instantly
relaxed ; the legs continucd supple, like those of an animal
killed by electricity. The heart, on performing the opera-
tion, ceased for a stroke or two, then went on slow and
full, and in about a quarter of an hour after the pulse was.
160 in a minute. Respiration was performed by means of
the diaphragm only, which acted very strongly for some:
hours. ‘The operation was performed about a quarter of at
hour before twelve at noon; about four in the afternoon
the pulse was ninety only ina minute, and the heat of =

body

74 On Pithing Cattle.

body exceedingly abated, the diaphragm acting stronvly,
but irregularly. About seven in the evening the pulse was
not above- twenty in a minute, the diaphragm acting
strongly, but in repeated jerks. Between twelve at night
and one in the morning the dog was still alive: respiration
was very slow, hut the diaphragm still acted with consi-
derable torce. Early in the morning he was found dead.

This operation I performed from the suggestion of Mr.
_ Hunter. He had observed in the human subject,’ that

when the neck was broke at the lower part (in which cases
the spinal marrow is torn through), the patient lived for
some days, breathing by the diaphragm. This experiment
showed that dividing the spinal marrow at this place, on the
neck, if below the origin of the phrenic nerves, would not
for many hours alter destroy the animal; 1t was preparatory
to the following experiment. ni dasa

«© Experiment VIL. April 26.—I divided the par vagum

~ and intercostal nerves, on both sides, in a dog. Soon

atter, I performed on the same animal the operation of the
last experiment, and the same symptoms took place. His
respirations were five in a minute, and more regular than
in Experiment JIJ.; the pulse beat 80 in a minute. Five
minutes after, I found the'pulse 120 in a minute, respiration
unaltered; at the end of tcn minutes, the pulse*had again
sunk to §0 in a minute, respiration as before; at the end
of fifteen minutes, the pulse was again 120, respiration
not altered. The operation was performed avout two im
the afternoon, at Mr. Hunter’s in Jermyn-street. | At three-
quarters of an hour after five, the respirations were in-
creased to fifteen in a minute; the pulse beating 80 in the
same time, and very regularly: the breathing seemed so
free, that he had the appearance of a dog asleep. At a
quarter before eight, the pulse beat 80, respirations being

» ten ina minute. «At three-quarters of an hour after ten, re-

spiration. was eight in a minute, the pulse beating 60. The
animal heat was exceedingly abated: I applied heat to the
chest, he breathed stronger, and raised his head a little, as
if awaking from sleep. At balf after twelve Mr. Hunter
saw him ; the breathing was strong, and twelve in a mi-
nute, the heart beating forty-eight in the same time, slow,
but not feeble. He shut his eyelids when they were
touched ; shut his mouth on its being opened; he raised

‘his head a little, but as he had not the use of the muscles

which fix the chest, he did it with a jerk. Mr. Hunter
saw him again between four and five o’clock in the morn-
ing ; his respirations were then five in a minute, the heart
é beating

Pee ER Pe We) a a ai eee a .

On Pithing Cattle. 75

beating exe¢edingly slow and weak. We suppose he died
about six in the morning, having survived the operation
sixteen hours. This experiment I made from the suggestion
of Mr. Hunter, with a view to obviate the objections raised
against the reasoning drawn from the three first experi-
ments. It was urged, that though by these experiments I
had deprived the thoracic and abdominal viscera of their
ordinary connexion with the brain, yet, as the intercostals
communicated with all the spinal nerves, some influence
might be derived from the brain in this way. This expe-
riment removed also the spinal nerves, and consequently

‘this objection.

** As I found by the two last experiments that dividing

the spinal marrow in the lower part of the neck did not

immediately kill, although instant death was universally
known to be the consequence of dividing it in the upper
part of the neck, I expressed my surprise to Mr. Hunter,
that the spinal marrow should, according to modern theory,
be so irritable in the one place, and so much less so in the
other. ,

“* Hetold me, that from the time he first observed that.
men who had the spinal marrow destroyed in the lower part
of the neck lived some days after it, he had established an
opinion, that animals who had the spinal marrow wounded
in the upper part of the neck did not die from the mere
wound, but that in dividing it so high we destroyed all the
nerves of the muscles of respiration, and reduced the animal
to the state of one hanged ; whereas, in dividing it lower,
we still left the phrenic nerves, and allowed the animal
to breathe by his diaphragm. If this opinion be well-
founded, though dividing the spinal marrow in the lower
part of the neck does not kill instantly, whilst the phrenic
nerves are untouched, yet, if I divide the phrenic nerves
first, and then divide the spinal marrow in the lower part of
the neck, the consequence, I said, will be the same as if I
had divided it in the upper part.

«© Faxperiment V1I1.—By detaching the scapule of a dog
frgm the spine and partly from the'ribs, ] got at the axillary
plexus of nerves on both sides from behind. 1 separated
the arteries and veins from the nerves, and passed a ligature
under the yerveS close to the spme. I thought I could
discern the phrenic nerves, and imstantly divided two con-
siderable nerves going off from each plexus. The action of
the diaphragm seemed to cease, and the abdominal muscles
‘became fixed, as if they had been arrested in expiration,
the belly appearing contracted. His respirations were aa

about

As er et eee ee Pe ee i
: le te '

76 On Pithing Cattle.

about twenty-five in a minute, the pulse beating a hundred
and twenty. As I was noi willing to trust the experment
to the possibility of having divided only one of the phrenics
(which I afterwards found was, really. the case), and some
different nerve instead of the other, atter carefully attending
to the present symptoms I divided all the nerves of the
axillary of each side. The ribs were now more elevated in
respiration than before ; respirations were increased to forty
in a minute, the pulse still beating a hundred and twenty
in the same time. Finding that respiration went on very
easily without the diaphragm, in about a quarter of an hour
after dividing the axillary plexus of each side I divided the
spinal marrow as in Experiment VI. The whole animal
took the alarm; all the flexor muscles of the body seemed
to contract, and instantly to relax again: he died as sud-
denly as if the spinal marrow had been divided im the upper
part of the neck. - wesien de

<¢ Having explained the causes of failure in the present
mode of pithing animals, it becomes necessary to state, that
when the operation is properly performed, its success is
complete. Of this I will mention the following istances :

<< A small horse was killed in this manner, that a cast
might be made of its muscles in their natural state of action.
The animal was allowed to stand upoma pedestal, and the
operation was performed by Mr. Hunter, with a large awl:
the breathing ceased instantaneously, and the animal was
so completely dead as to be supported by the assistants,
without making the slightest struggles and was fixed im
the position in which he stood, without ever coming to the
ground *.

«« A dog was killed so instantaneously im the same way,
by Mr. Hunter, that Mr. Clift, the conservator of the
Hunterian Museum, who held the legs, and did not see the
awh introduced, was waiting till the animal should struggle,
and had no knowledge of any thing having been done, ull
he was told to let go, and was surprised to find that the
animal was completely dead.

“ In thee operations the instrument was small, and 4li-
rected by the skill of an anatomist upwards.into the cavity
of the skull, soas to divide the medullary substance above
the origin of the nerves which supply the diaphragm.

«‘ By adopting this method of performing the operation
of pithing cattle, it will be attended with the same success.”

* The cast of this horse has a place in the Hantesian Muscum

Liha d

XI. Memoir on the Natural History of the Coco-nut Tree
and the Areca-nnt Tree; the Cultivation of them accord-
ing to the Methods oy the Hindoos ; their Productions,
and their Utility in the Arts and for the Purposes of du-
mestic Economy. By M. Lr Goux pr Fratx, an Officer
of Engineers, and Member of the Asiatic Society at Cal-
cutta. ;

[Continued from our last volume, Pp: 332-1]

ye usual product of one coco-nut tree in India, a
country where provisions of every kind are extremely low,
is about six shillings per annum. This produce is no doubt
eonsiderable. There is no tree’ in any part of the world
which in this respect is equal to it, if we reflect on the small
space which the coco-nut tree occupies: if it be considered
also that various kinds of leguminous and gramincous
plants, and even fruit-trees, can be cultivated under its
shelter; that it scarcely requires any care or expense; and
that all its parts are useful, as will be shown in this memoir-

It is well known that the fibrous covering of the coco-
nut is converted into good ropes, which are useful in na-
vigation, and for various purposes on shore. Cables for
anchors made of this substance are much better than those
made ot hemp. They are exceedingly elastic, stretch with-
out straining the vessel, and scarcely ever break ; inappre-
ciable advantages, which are not possessed by those of hemp-
They are also lighter, and never rot, in consequence of their
being soaked with sea water. They never, like those of
hemp, exhale damp miasmata, exceedingly hurtful to the
crews of ships who sleep on the same deck where these
ropes are kept when ships are under sail. To all these
advantages must be added, that ropes made of the kaer*
float like wood, that they are much easier managed, and
run better in the pulleys during nautical manceuvres.

The utility of the second covering of the coco-nut is so
well known in Europe that it is needless for me to speak
of it here. oma

The palms of this tree, when entire, are employed to make
mats for sleeping upon. When split through the middle,
according to the length of the foot-stalk, they are wove
into mats for covering sheds and houses. The use of these
mats, even for the largest edifices, is general on the coast of
Malabar. Such roofs are more agrecable than those made

« © The name given by the Hindoos to the fibrous covering of the-coco-

aut, :
4 of

78 - Natural History of the Coco-nut Tree

of straw. Thcy do not attract rats and reptiles like the
latter; and they are lighter, equally strong and durable,
and much less exposed to danger im the case of fire. If
fire happen to fall on a roof of this kind, which consists
of two leaves placed one over the other, it can burn only a
small surface, and is prevented from spreading for want of
aliment. It may therefore be said that the coco-nut tree,which
in the fields defends the wearied Indian by its shade from
the scorching rays of the sun, protects the peaceful farmer
in the night trom the long and heavy rains of the monsoons.

The liquor of the coco-nut, when it is yet tender, is an
agreeable and cooling beverage; its kernel, when newly
formed, is sweet, and exceedingly pleasant to the taste.
Both of them are salutary to persons afflicted with the
scurvy. It would be dangerous, after long sea voyages,
to make immediate use of them: instead of being beneficial,
they would produce pernicious consequences.

When the coco-nut has attained to maturity, it detaches
itself from its stalk and falls spontaneously; but its fall,
might be dangerous, and to prevent accidents the bunch 1s
cut by the chana some days sooner than the period/at which.
it attains to complete maturity. When the nut is rasped
with a circular-teethed piece of iron, there 1s extracted from
ita kind of milk or emulsion, by mixing with it a small
quantity of boiling water and then straining it through a
piece of thin cloth in thé same manner as those do who
extract milk of almonds. .

This emulsion is employed for different purposes: it is
used for preparing saloop and sago. When put into coffee,
instead of cream, it gives it an exquisite taste: that of our
almonds produces néarly the same effect... This emulsion is
employed also in the art of painting chintzes; to remove
stains of the colours, and scour the cloth after the colours
have been applied. The milk of the coco-nut, though
gily, effervesces with an acid extract of that plant called
by the Hindoos colechi, and the acid then precipitates it
into a grayish lime, which. becomes of a rich violet colour
by the addition. of fixed alkali; it is with this colour that
cotton cloth and chintzes are dyed. When this emulsion
is mixed with quicklime the alkali becomes: rose-coloured..
It is by these means that the Hindoos, prepare the rose-co-
loured lime which they use with betel. pprress

The dyers employ this milk with great advantage for
silk, cotton, and woollen stuffs, which they dye black. It
prevents that colour, which is generally caustie, from burn-
ing the stuffs, and the dye becomes darker and more beau~

3 tiful.

alles PT eS eR TON Lar ete ad, EN eee
oh

and the Areca-nut Tree. a)

‘tifal. ' I suppose that emulsion of almonds would produce

the same effect as that of the coco-nut; our black stuffs
then would not be burnt, as is generally the case: this ob-
servation may be of use to dyers.

If the milk of the coco-nat be concentrated by ebullition
over a moderate fire, a sweet oil, agreeable and fit for the
table when fresh, is obtained from it. The physicians of
the country compose with this emulsion a gentle purgative,
which is not nauseous: it produces no cholic or violent
pain. Jt is administered in cases of plethora, gonorrhea,
and other diseases ; it is also an excellent vermifuge. It is
composed of half a pint of emulsion in which three or four
heads of garlic have been dissolved, by boiling over a slow
fire, to the consistence of marmelade: it is giyen to the
patient fasting, while warm, with the addition of a little
sugar.

The oil of this nut is extracted by pressure; it is fit only
for being burnt in lamps; it is of a drying quality, a little
acrid, white, and so light that it becomes fixed even in the
torrid zone; when burnt it gives a clear bright flame with-
out exhaling any odour or smoke. It ts emrptoyed by rich
people and in the houses of the Europeans in preference to
any other kind. The substance from which this oil has
been squeezed is given to beasts of burden mixed with their
forage ; this food when given to cows and goats increases
the quantity of their milk.

Such are the properties and different uses made of this
palm. If the wood could be employed for building or for
domestic pusposes, it might justly be said that the coco-
nut tree alone would be sufficient for the use of man. It
is, however, a useful vegetable production, a valuable gift

_of Providence to.the peacetul inhabitants of that fine country

where it has been placed.
_ It was the coco-nut tree. which gave the Hindoos the
first idea of inventing the allegory and ingenious fable

of the pheenix, as may be seen in the fifth chapter of the

Poronia, one of the commentaries of the vades, a sacred
book of these-people, which contains the principles of their
xeligion, the history of the country, their sciences, and in

op all their knowledge, as well as the practical know-

due of all the arts which are cultivated init. |

_.. The coco-nut tree does not renew the buds of its flowers
after an interyal of two months, but in April, a period at

which the year of the Hindoos commences, it is produced
enly from its fruit, which, are their children, This is a
emer actly

eS ee oA Ee) ey ae oe ee a VOT Lee P

80 On the Affinities of

actly the idea which the antients had of the phoenix; that. is
to say, that it nouvished and reproduced itself. It is seen
in the Indian mythology that these people deified the coco-
nut tree in the same manner as many other trees and small
vegetables ; useful animals, such as the ox; the sea, and all
rivers. The Egyptians and all the neighbouring nations
adopted the mythology and fables, as well as the arts and
sciences, of these people, as is fully proved by researches
made for more than half a century: the Egyptians, the
Tyrians, and the Greeks deified therefore, like the Hindoos,
animals, useful vegetables, and rivers. Hence the ox be-
came the god apis, and the date-tree the phoenix.

[To be continued. ]

XII. Experiments to ascertain whether there exists any
Affinity betwixt Carbon and Clay, Lime and Silex, se-
parately or as Compounds united with the Oxide of Iron

orming Iron Ores and Iron Stones. By Davin Musnet,
Esq. of the Cader Tron-Works.

[Continued from our last volume, p. 235.]

3d, Siliceous Ironstone.

Tue varieties of this ironstone are in general much poorer
in iron than the common qualities of ironstone: from 15
to 25 per cent. seem to be the medium contents in metal.
Some specimens have been obtained as high as 35 per cent.
and 38 per cent. At first sight this class of tronstones re-
semble sandstone; but, upon minute examination, there
appear other characteristic features, of which density is al-
ways one, to distinguish them from each other.

The varieties of this class are, like the arvillaceous and
ealeareous, found both in balls and in regular strata, and
subject to the same general rule, i. e, the thicker the band
or stratum, the less metal will be found in a given quantity
of the ore. Siliceous ball ironstone is geverally rich in
iron, and is commonly found with a fracture more or less
granulated resembling a coarse variety of freestone. What
distinguishes it from sandstone is the calcareous earth that
is found in the state of chalk, and which appears in some
measure to be the seat or bond of union of each individual
granule of ore.
~ "The poorer varieties of siliceous ore are sometimes —
2 rom

pee ap | Oe | des a! 2 Shklar! Shae
Ree Seen RRM Tat cee et

different Earths for Carbon. Bl

from 2 to 4 feet in thickness; they are either called hard-
eeking freestone, or water-whin, or dyke metal; and have
seldom been suspected of containing iron. Almost every
variety I have examined has contained a portion of calca-
reous earth, either in the state of chalk, spar, or crystal.
This circumstance, added to density, leads always to a
strong suspicion of iron being contained in quantity.

The ironstone subjected to the following experiments is
found in an irregular stratum from 4 to 8 inches thick. A
bed of coal is immediately below it, and a carbonaceous
ironstone 14 inches thick is incumbent to it. '

Its appearance is like gray freestone or sandstone, but
much more compact and heavy. Its surface is entirely co-
vered with large plates of mica, and interspersed with calca-
reous earth. Its specific gravity is — 3:41.

Exp. 1. 400 grains of raw siliceous ironstone,

8 of carbon, or 1-50th.

The fusion of this mixture yielded a very glass crystal-
lized in feathered radii upon the surface. The fracture was
finely prismatic, and the lustre of some of the shades un-
commonly luminous and decp. Towards the bottom two
cavities of a pearly white colour were found; and imme-
diately below, in one similar, a metallic spherule which
weighed 54 grains. Equal to 1°375 per cent. from, raw
Irotistone.

Exp. Il. 400 grains of raw ironstone,

10 of charcoal, or 1-40th.

A complete fusion was also obtained in this experiment.
The surface of the glass, however, in place of being shining
and crystallized, as in No. T., was dull, black, and covered
with an enamel of oxide usual in these experiments, but of
an unusual thickness. The fracture was prismatic and
wavy. A metallic spherule was’ obtained which weighed
104 grains. Equal to 2625 per cent,

Exp. Il. 400 grains of raw ironstone,
20 of carbon, or 1-20th.

This experiment was also completely reduced, though
under appearances somewhat different from No. I, and II.
When the cover was taken off, after redness had ceased,
the surface of the glass was found semi-spherical. In half
a minute part of the convex was removed: at the time a
slight explosion was heard, accompanied with a flash of
sparkling light blue flame. Beneath, the glass was found of a
variety of brown and blue colours. Their fragment displayed
a dark amber considerably transparent.. A neat smooth

Wot. 21. No. 81. Feb. 1805. F skinned

RN ee ee
i . ‘: . . ‘
_ wet :

82 On the Affinities of

skinned button of metal was obtained, which was found to
weigh 17 grains, and equal to 44 per cent. ,
Exp. 1V. 400 grains of raw ironstone,
a. 4g of carbon.” ee

The result of the fusion of this compound was a shining
pearly coloured glass. A’ minute hollow sphere of glass
in cooling reared itself upon the surface: this was quite
transparent, and became immediately filled with a smoky
blue vapour. {ft then burst with a fine flash of light, as
happened in the former experiment.

The metallic product consisted of one button of white
cast iron and five carburated globules, weighing in all 32
grains; and equal to 8 percent. A large portion of char-
coal remained untaken up, and symptoms of general in-
fusibility were evident from the nature of the glass. To
correct this, and by the effects of the addition of calcareous
to siliceous ironstone, the following experiment was made:

Exp. V. 400 grains of raw ironstone,

40 of charcoal,
140 of chalk.

The reduction of this mixture was complete. The whole
of the charcoal had disappeared and a dark green glass ob-
tained, which in thin fragments possessed a little transpa-
rency. <A metallic button and a few small globules were
obtained, which weighed 70 grains, equal to 174 per cent.

Increase of metal in consequence of the addition of chalk

«38 grains, or 94 per cent. ;

_ Exp. VI. 400 grains of raw ironstone,

| 50 of charcoal, or 1-8th.
140 of chalk.

The result of this experiment was a very perfect fusion,
A wavy green glass whitish upon the surface was obtained,
and possessed of more transparency than the former. The
whole of the charcoal had disappeared, and there was found
revived a button of crude iron weighing 96 grains: equal
to 24 per cent. |
_. Exp. VIL. 400 grains of raw ironstone, ,

60° of charcoal, nearly 1-7th.

This mixture was exposed to a heat of 160° Wedgewood.
The result was a rough blackish gray honeyeombed mass,
covered with globules of bright cast iron. A large propor-
tion of charcoal remained untaken up. The whole mass.
had sunk, but had not entered into fusion. Ser

The same experiment was repeated with 250 grains of
chalk. Only 18 per cent. of iron was reviyed.. A consi-

LE}

. . derable

different Earths for Carton. 83

derable portion of the mixed formed a kind of infusible ’
carburate, which always betokens an excess of calcareous

earth. '
Recapitulation of the Experiments with raw siliceous
Tronstone.
: per cent.
Exp. I. 1-50th carbon yielded of metal 51 grs. or 1°375
I]. 1-40th ditto 104 or 2°625
III. 1-20th __—_ ditto 17 or 4°250
IV. 1-10th _ ditto 33 |: ors
V. 1-10th & 140 ers. chalk 70 or 174
VI, 1-8th yielded ditto 96 or 24
VII. 1-7th fusion became imperfect both with

and without the addition of calcareous earth.

The same ironstone was found to lose 284 per cent. in
roasting. Its colour was now changed to brownish red;
the mica had assumed several prismatic shades, and resem-
bled small metallic plates tarnished by a slight degree of
oxygenation. The following are the results of experiments
made with the ironstone in this state upon 400 grains of
matter,

£xp.I. 1-50th carbon yielded no metal.

II. 1-40th ditto ditto per cent.
Ill. 31-30th ditto 7 grains of metal, or 1°75
IV. 1-20th ditto 19 ditto 4°75

V. 1-10th ditto 43 ditto 10°75
VI. 1-8th ditto 72 ditto ‘18°
VIL. 1-5th ditto infusible.

VIII. 1-8thchalk150ditto 119 grs. of metal, or 29°75
IX. 1-5th ditto infusible.

From a review and comparison of these experiments,
made with the natural productions of our mines and similar
compounds artificially compared, we may perceive a very
strict analogy. The following abstract or table may be
compared with one in the last yolume of this work,
p. 137. |

iy Fg Table

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Uniformly

Beene

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ae yee? +e as EA fe : . a

different Earths for Carbon. as

Uniformly we find that argillaceous ore lets fall its first por-
tion of metal with the smallest quantity of carbon; or, what
amounts to the same thing, with equal portions of carbon
it yields a greater produce in metal than the siliceous iron-
stone. On the contrary, we find that the calcareous ores
require a greater dose of carbon to separate the first portions
of iron; or, what is similar, with equal portions of carbon
Jess metal is revived from the ores of this class than from
any of the other two; with this limitation, however, that
calcareous ironstones in ganeral never become infusible,
even with a very high proportion of carbon, until nearly
the whole metallic contents become revived. This, by a
strict examination of the tables, will not be found applicable
to the argillaceous and siliceous, one-half of the metallic
contents of which are either not separated or not revived.

The general results of these experiments are sufficient to
establish an operation of affinity directly betwixt carbon,
clay, and silex, in temperatures of fusion, or approaching
thereto. They are also sufficient to establish the operation
of a principle still more powerful, when these enter into the
composition of ores of iron and become subjected to the
heat of the assay furnace. Under these circumstances we
find calcareous earth, the affinity of which for carbon, by
fusing them together, could not be detected by any altera-
tion of colour or combination, operating as a stimulus to
the well known affinity that exists between iron and carbon,
and by its simple agency alone doubling the produce from
an argillaceous or siliceous ore. In some of these experi-
ments we find the result accompanied by a small portion
of iron, and a large proportion of the carbonaceous matter
originally mtroduced, If the same experiment is repeated
with the addition of 1-3d or 1-4th of calcareous earth, the
charcoal will be no longer found, the metallic contents will
be considerably increased, and the glass, from being black
and spongy, will exhibit a mass of uniform colour, density,
and comparative transparency.

As numerous experiments have formerly been given to
point out the effect which the addition of calcareous earth
has in reviving the metallic produce from an ore, the fol-
Jowing experiments will prove its secreting powers in the
early stages of separation.

* £xrp.J. [took a quantity of the same oxide of iron used
in former experiments upon this subject; I weighed
200 grains,
and added 1-10th part of charcoaldust, or - 20
F3 The

“s

86 On the Affinities of different Earths for Carlon.

The result ofthis was a well shaped button of iron which
weighed 58 grains; equal to 29 per cent. da i e
. Exp. I. The same oxide hia aabes 200 grains.
Charcoal 1-10th, or = 907°"
icdyeo'Chalk onethalé 20 aymenras 1997 =
+ This mixture was carefully and completely fused. A po-
lished looking button of metal was found weighing 35
grains; equal to 174 per cent: being 23 grains, or 11+
per cent. less than Exp. I, and inexplicable upon any other
grounds than in consequence of the introduction of calca-
reous earth. a) we

Exp. I, Oxide same as formerly seth erains.
Charcoal 1-loth =~ - » ae anaes spel
Chalk 1-4th, or ° - 50

The result by fusion yielded a perfect button of metal
weighing 43 grains: equal to 214 per cent. In this expe-
rimeut the chalk being less than in former by one-half, the
metallic product increased 8 grains, or 4 percent.

Exp. \V. Oxide as formerly - - 200 grains.
Chareoal 1-10th - - 20
Chalk 1-8th ' - 2 |

A metallic button was obtained from the fusion of this
mixture, and found to weigh 49 grains: equal to 941 per
cent: Im this experiment the quantity of calcareous earth
“was reduced to'1-8th, and tlie revived metal approached to,
within nine grains of Exp. J. er OFF

Recapitulation.

Exp.1. Oxide and 1-10th of charcoal yielded 58 grains
of metal, or 29 per cent. wish

Exp. U1. Oxide and 1-10t of charcoal, and’100 grains

of chalk; 35 grains of metal, or 174 per cent.

Exp. Ill. Oxide and 1-i0th of charcoal, and 50 grains

JF of chalk, 43’ grains of metal, or 214 per cent.

Exp.1V. Oxide and 1-10th of charcoal, and 25 grains

of chalk, 49 grains of metal, or 241 per cent.

The comparative effects of clay and sand used in a similar
manner were proved by the following ° cae

Exp. V. Oxide the same as formerly — - 200 grains.
‘Carbon 1-10th ==) = (2) BO

Dried Cornwall clay ~~~" = ~~: 100
The result was a metallic button possessed of a smooth
olished surface weighing 42 grains, or 21 per cent.
This experiment was twice repeated, and the results were
43 grains, or 214 per cent.; and 42 grains, or 21 per cent.

. Spring Wheat. my
Exp. Vi. Oxide ofiron - =~ 200 grains, |

Carbon 1-10th | - r nhnohBOa
Cornwall clay vitrified in 166°
of Wedgewood | - 100

A very black glass was obtained by the fusion: of this
mixture, and a metallic button.which weighed 54, grains :
equal to 27 per cent. Again fused, and yielded 52 grains,
or 26 percent, _ | + asta

Exp. VII. Oxide of iron, +. + 200 grains.

48 Charcoal. 1-1loth - 20°

™ . Pure sand - - 190.

The result from this mixture was a prismatic coloured

lass partially crystallized in. radii upon the surface, The

metallic button weighed 47 grains: equal to 234 per cent.
This experiment was twice repeated, and the results were
the same as the former, and 43% grains or 212 per cent.
From these experiments it appears most evident that the
effects of the carbonaceous matter at a certain stage of se-
paration are more extensive with clay and sand than with
lime; and still more so when fused with oxide alone than
in addition with any of these earths ;. though vitrified Corn-
wall clay nearly approaches the same standard.

XIlt. Proceedings of Learned and Economical Societies.

SPRING WHEAT.

Tue Board of Agriculture having received information,
from various districts, of the benefit arising from the cul-
tivation of spring wheat ; and it appearing to the Board that,
at the present period, it may be particularly useful to pro-
mote that object, have resolved to offer the following pre-
miums :

_ To the person who shall, in the spring of 1805, culti-
yate the greatest number of acres of spring wheat, not less
than twenty, fifty guineas ; or a piece of plate of that value.

- Accounts, verified by certificates, to be produced on or
before, the first Tuesday in February 1806. It is required
that the soil, quality of seed, sorts of wheat, time of sow-
ing, produce, and value of the crop, and the etfects of any
distemper which may attack the plants, be reported.

_ For the next greatest quantity, thirty guineas ; ora piece
of plate of that value.

For the next greatest quantity, twenty guineas; or a
piece of plate of that valuc.

BA So. The

—

eS yyy . a) gs ata i et cf nud Lite. Ceaked wy ae

88 Voyages and Travels.

The Board has been informed, that the true spring wheat
may be sown successfully so late as the end of April. Se-
veral correspondents on the subject of the last harvest ob-
served, that the spring wheat had escaped the mildew in
parts of the country where the autumnal had not, and
yielded better.

To the person who shall report to the Board the result of
the most satisfactory experiments on spring wheat, which
shall ascertain the soil, the sort of wheat, the time of sow-
ing, the produce, and value, the comparative advantages
of this and common wheat, and any other circumstances
useful to be known, a piece of plate of the value of twenty

ounds.

To be produced on or before the first Tuesday in April
1807. ,

XIV. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles.
VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.

x St. Petersburgh, Doc. 31s
Exsrracr of a letter from Capt. Licut. von Kreusenstern,
commander of the ships Nadeshda and Neva, to the acade-
mician Schubert, dated the Harbour of St. Peter and St.
Paul, in Kamtschatka, Aug. 8, 1804.

** On the 4th of February we left the island of St. Ca-
therine and the coast of Brazil; on the 25th we discovered
Staten Land; and on the 25th of March doubled Cape
Horn. After entering the Great South Sea, or Pacific Ocean;
we had stormy and cloudy weather, in consequence of
which the two ships were separated, and did not meet till
six weeks after, when they arrived at the Marquesas: on
the 6th of May we saw Hocd’s island and some other
islands to the north-west of the Marquesas ; on the day fol-
lowing we anchored at the island Nukatera in the harbour
of Anna Maria, a bay called by the natives Tayo Hoae.
Three days atter, that is on the 10th of May, the other ship
the Neva entered also, alter having cruised three davs
around Easter Island in search of us. In this island we
discovered an excellent harbour, never before known,
which bas deep water close to the shore, and is so sheltered
by the land that vessels can lie in calm water during the
most boisterous winds. The inhabitants behaved exceed-
ingly well, showed us every mark of attention, and the
good understanding between us was never interrupted. The
island, however, supplicd only wood, fresh water, coco-

nuts,

leila ees ee la eee fete Ce ee oe ee. ON
ue ; alte 6 s Ly VP Umbo tw
Sh ;

Palladium, 89

nuts, bananas, and some bread-fruit, In regard to pro-
visions, we could with difficulty procure six swine, because
the inhabitants had only a few themselves,

‘On the 18th of May we left this island; and on the 25th
crossed the equator in the 129th degree of west longitude.

*€ On the 7th of June we discovered the island Owhyhee,
celebrated by the death of Capt, Cook, which is the
southernmost and largest of the Sandwich islands, We
sailed three days along the coast in order to procure fresh
water from the inhabitants ; but there is so great want of it
in this island, and the inhabitants were so well supplied
with iron articles, that they brought us only a sow, which
they would not barter but for a cloke of the finest cloth. I
therefore found myself under the necessity, on the 10th of ©
June, of bearing away for Kamtschatka, especially as the
slightest symptom of the scurvy or of any other disease had
not manifested itself among the people, though they had
lived so long on salt meat. The Neva remained some time
longer at the Sandwich Isles. |

“© On the 11th of July we saw the coast of Kamtschatka,
and on the afternoon of the 14th anchored in the harbour
of St. Peter and St. Paul, thirty-four days after our depar-
ture from Owhyhee, and somewhat more than five months
after we had left the coast of Brazil. The whole crew were
in perfect health, and the rich lading destined for Kamt-.
schatka was found in the best condition. Soon after our
arrival the whole country experienced the beneficent con-
sequences of this voyage. At our arrival, wretched brandy
cost 20 roubles the can; at present the best is sold for 8;
sugar cost 34 roubles the pound; at present it costs 1}
rouble ; and other articles in the same proportion. Ona
proposal miade by the worthy governor, General Koschelef,
a subscription was opened for establishing a lazaretto and
hospital, which in half an hour amounted to above 4000
soubles. I hope to be ready in ten days to put to sea, in
order to convey our ambassador to Japan and then to bring
him back hither. I shall then proceed to China, and .
thence perhaps return through the eastern passage to
Europe.”

Intelligence has since been received that the Nadeshda
sailed from Kamstchatka to Japan va the 28th of August. .

PALLADIUM.

We hear that Dr. Wollaston was the person who origi-
nally supplied Mrs. Foster with the palladium for ae.
He gave a paper in the last yolume of the Philosophical

Transactions,

Pee a ee RE eh ee es
Hes ce. a D
ss

90 Ori ginal Viiecine Pock Institution.

Tratisactions *, describing the other new ‘metal, which he
named rhodium, and showing that palladium might be got
from crude platina. He had some years ago purchase
a considerable quantity of platina with a yiew to.make it
malleable. In the course of his experiments he found out
the palladium; but observing that there were yet many phe-
nomena which could not be explained, he wished to secure
his claim to the discovery without directing the attention
6f chemists to a subject he desired to investigate more fully,
He afterwards’ detected the other new metal, rhodium, , the
presence of which mknown body ‘was one cause of the dif-
ficulties which presented themselves. Having now fi nally
completed the analysis of crude platina, we. understand he
intends to give a detailed account of its composition, and
of such properties of the new metals as he has since, been
led: to observe. et. a eabhumaaintele
oni ORIGINAL ‘VACCINE POCK INSTITUTION: |
_ At the quarterly court held-on the 29th January, -a cri-
tical ‘examination of Mr. Goldson’s second pamphlet was
read by Dr! Pearson. “Weare sorry our limits do not admit
of our laying before our readers more than the concluding
remark of Dri Pearson, which was as follows : ae
«Dr. Pearson repeats his proposal 'to Mr. Goldson, of
coming himself, or deputirie two friends to’ the Vaccine
Pock' Institution, to decide the qhestioned facts by, experi-
ments,‘ and lay'the issue before the public. In the ‘mean
time Dr. Pearson, in the name of the institution in general,
and'his own ‘in particular, returns his acknowledgement to
Mr. Goldson for provoking the investigation of a subject
which isso much waited to obtain precision in practice,
which has been checked hitherto by so many pretenders to
knowledve’of the subject, and who would wish it to be
believed that ‘the history of vaccine inoculation was ex-
hausted ‘by’ the’ publication of half a dozen instances of
inoculated cases on the promulgation of the new practice,
Drv Pearson willingly concedes to Mr. Goldson, that a test
of security is wanted for many of those who-have been or
shall be inoculated, because a criterion has been wanting
to guide’ practitioners, and determine whether constitu-
tional affection ‘was produced or not; and that, admitting
that even all the adverse cases published are cases of small-
pox after cow-pock, which does not appear to-be the truth,
they will only serve to regulate practice in future; for the

‘

* Scé Philosophical Magazine, vol. xix.

yp immense

Natural History. “gi

jmmense mass of evidence in favour of unsusceptibility of
small-pox after the cow-pock demonstrates that the faihures
are more reasonably to he imputed to deceptions. and defi-
ciency of knowledge, than to exceptions to the law of the
animal economy, that the vaccina produces unsusceptibility
of the small-pox.”
ENCOURAGEMENT OF LITERATURE AND SCIENCE.

The emperor of Russia, while he attends to the prosperity
of the people whom he governs. seems anxious to promote,
by'his' patronage, the cause of scence every where, as being
beneficial to'the general interests of mankind.

- Among’ recent instances -of his) manificence in this re-
spect we have to record the following +

A prize question on gun-shot wounds having been pro-
posed by the Royal College of Surgeons, Mrv Chevallier,
surgeon, gained the medal, as'the author of the best disser-
tation. The Emperor Alexander, in consequence, hestowed
ow hun a diamond ring of cousiderable value*.

Dr: Thornton, author of the Temple of Flora and Philo-
sophy of Botany, a work now publishing,’ has’ also been
presented with a diamond ring frou the Emperor of Russia,
accompanied with the following letter : SC Eales

<¢ His Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia*having,
with much satisfaction, examined into the contents of your
splendid, elaborate, and useful botanical work, has directed
me to transmit to you the ring herewith sent, as a mark of
his benevolence, and a proof of his regard for every thing
which is of public utility.

<< NOVOSSILZOFF,
<< Pres. of the Imper. Acad.”

We have likewise learnt that the author of the Costumes
of, Russia has received a testimony of the mumificence of
the same potentate.

NATURAL HISTORY.

~ Count von Hoffmansegg, known by his travels through
Portugal for improving natural history, obtained leave some
years ago from the Prince regent of Portugal to send to
Brazil a person named Sicber, _ well experienced in the
science of natural history and in collecting the productions
of nature, for the purpose of obtaining a series of observa-
tions in regard to that extensive country. Sieber proceeded,

* Mr, Chevallier was also appointed, surgeon extraordinary to his
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.

under

vc lh ae Sah? et SIRT: Corse ec le aia a a ola CT Bae ie hs ats oa!

92 Natural History.

under the protection of the governor Count dos Arcos, ta
Para, where he has remained above a year. In a letter Jately
received from him, he gives the following testimonies re- |
specting the ayapana (eupatorium, ayapana, Ventenat and
Willdenew), which confirm the healing powers ascribed to
that plant*, and render it more worthy the attention of
physicians, as we have already obtained from the neigh-
bourhood of the same district, ipecacuanha, quassia, and
cantharides ; the last of which are become indispensable in
medicine. ,
Para in Brazil, June 12th, 1804~

In regard to the celcbrated plant ayapana, which is sard
to be an antidote to all poisons, I have made two experi-
ments on myself. A soldier brought me a brown catter-
pillar covered with hair, an inch in length and intermixed
with small prickles. I took it from the leaf into my hand,
upon which the soldier cried out, “ For God’s sake take
eare, the caterpillar is poisonous.”’ His exelamation how-
ever was too late: I received three pricks in the middle
finger of the right hand, the finger appeared red, swelled,
and became exceedingly painful. In a quarter of an hour
the redness and swelling extended over the whole arm, and
as far as the elbow, so that in half an hour I could seareely
move it; I recollected the ayapana, sent for it, ms
the juice, and applied it temy arm with some of the bruised
plant: in two or three minutes the pain decreased ; in halt
an heur I was able to bend my arm, and the next day [
recovered the perfect use ot it, The pricks in my finger,
however, retained a dull pain for two days, but at the end
of that time it went off.

The second trial was more disagreeable. A small scolo-
pendra stung or bit me, while asleep in the night-time, im
the forehead above the right eye; I immediately waked and
searched for the animal, which T found next day and
killed. As I could not in the night-time proenre the plant,
the poison before next morning had made a considerable
progress; after applying the ayapana, the pain and inflam-
mation went off; suppuration, however, I was not able to
prevent ; a cormeous excrescence of above an ineh in Fength
arose on my forehead, and as I could not put on my hat I
was obliged to remain four days in the house : the sear will»
still be apparent when ] return.

My assistant was bitten in the woods in the right foot ;
at first he knew nothing of it, and felt no bad consequences *
* Sce Philoss, hicali Magazine, vol. xiii,

4 tll

Astronomy. Ming
till the evening of the following day, at which time he
could not put on his shoe : after using the ayapana the in-
flammation and swelling subsided ; it was not, however,
possible to prevent suppuration. I was obliged to open
the place, but in six days his foot was well.

This beneficent plant must, where possible, be employed
immediately after being bitten or pricked : its speedy action
may then be traced ; if applied jater it removes the heat and
swelling, and counteracts the effects of the poison, but
connot prevent suppuration.

ASTRONOMY.

If astronomers are very anxious to determine the orbits
of the planets lately discovered, their principal object is te
ascertain their route, in order that they may be able to find
them again when bad weather, or any other cause, has pro-
duced a long interruption of observations. This has been
the case in regard to the new planet discovered by M. Har-
ding: for a month we have not been able to see it; and it
svould have been impossible to find it again, in consequence
of the great faintness of its light, had not its position been
previously known. “This observation succeeded on the 20th
and 21si of December: it is the more important, as the
planet is in that situation most favourable for determining
its position from the sun. It has now passed over the
twelfth part of its orbit; at the time of my preceding re-
searches it had made only half that progress. These new
elements, then, deserve more confidence. They, however,
differ little from the former; for I have found nothing te
be changed in the mean distance and in the revolution,
which is four years four months, almost equal to that of
the other two planets, Ceres and Pallas. But I have in-
creased the eccentricity by a 70th part, so that it is deter-
mined that this new planet has the greatest eccentricity
of all the planets known: the perihelion has been advanced
to 24 minutes; the node and inclination have changed only
a very few minutes.

The effect of this great eccentricity is so sensible, that
the time employed by the planet to pass over the first part
of its orbit, the middle of which is occupied by its aphe-
lion, is the double of that necessary for completing the
second half. In like manner, its greatest distance from
the sun is almost double the least distance: in absolute
measures the ‘difference between these two distances is 45
millions of leagues, or equal to one and a third of the di-
stance of the earth from the sun. “i

of Valcanves.

‘The planet is approaching the sun; and will not pass.its
perihelion tll the 15th_of February. This circumstance
affords some bope that we shall still be able to observe it. I
have therefore thought it might be useful and agreeable to
astronomers to give the followang ephemerides with the new
elements :

Elements. .
Ascending mode 9+ 0 = 6 1719.06" 0”
Inchhation - - 1S 52
Perihelion in 1805 =. 59 49 33
Epoch (31 Dec. 1804, at noon) 42 17 23
Eccentricity ~ = - 0°25096
Larger semi-axis (= | = 2°657
Revolution Saheb 1582 days.
Ephemerides.
Longitud>. Latitude.
1804. Dec. 91 - 0° 43’, +, 9° 40'S.
31 soit Oded 8@ sgt aa -*
1805. Jan. 8 - 7-439 m1 059 3758
16 =) ER (18 686 Qe 57
93) ooiee 14588 = a0! 10,
31 -) 18 ; 27 =O 0]
Feb. 8 : 2945 28) )= 9 59
15. = 26 8) = 9. 58
BurcKHARDT,
Dec 25, 1804. Member of the Institute.
VOLCANOES,

Naples, Nov. 24, 1fo4.

Last night Vesuvius, which had been pretty tranquil for
some weeks, suddenly began to excite attention, A smart
shock of an earthquake was first felt ; a column of flame
of an astonishing height then issued from the craters
and this was followed by an abundant discharge of lava,
which in three hours flowed beyond the boundaries to which
that thrown up by the volcano three months ago had pro-
eceded. The inhabitants of the mountain were thrown into
the utmost consternation, and most of them fled with what-
ever they could carry with them, The greatest danger seemed
to threaten the town of Torre del Greco, for the current of
Java ran_directly towards it; but. it, has not yet reached it;
and this day the discharge of the lava, has perceptibly de-
creased. ‘The court is now at Portici, an elegant seat be-
longing to the king at the foot of Mount Vesuvius, .and is

resolved to remain there unless the danger beeomes greater. -

LIST

—

List of Patents for new Inventiyns. 95

LIST OF PATENTS FOR NEW INVENTIONS,
Which have passed the Signet Office frum Dec. 24, 1804,
to Jan. 24, 1805. »

To Thomas Hamilton Keddie, of Duke-street, Grosvenor-
square, in the county of Middlesex, sadler, for a cartouch-
box or receptacle for cartridges of gunpowder or gunpowder
and ball for charging. musquetry or artillery, or any other
description of fire-arms.

To John Heppenstall, of Doncaster, in the county of
York, machine-maker and engineer, for certain improve-
ments im shivering, and preparing hemp, flax, and sub-
stitutes for hemp and flax, previous to the operation of
spinning.

To John Robert Lucas, of Charlton-House, in the county
of Somerset, Esq. for an improvemeht in the art or method
of making, spreading, or fattening shect-glass, commonly
called German sheet-glass, er any other spread glass re-
quiring a polished surtace.

To Samuel Chitney, of Newmarket, in the county of
Suffolk, rider, for certain improvements upon bitts of
bridles.

To John Jones, of the city of Chester, chymist, fora
liquor for printing or dyeing of cotton, linen, or woollen.

To William Lester, of Piccadilly, in the county of Mid-
dlesex, engineer, for certain improvements on an engine or
machine for separating corn sceds and pulse from the straw.

To William Hackwood the younger, of Shelton, in the
county of Stafford, potter, fora method of making win-
dows and lights upon new principles.

To Edward Shorter, of New Crane, Wapping, in the
county of Middlesex, mechauic, for certain mechanical
apparatus, by which the raising of ballast is rendered more
easy, cheap, and expeditions, and which may also be ap-
plied to other useful purposes.

To Simeon Thompson, of Red Cross Wharf, Upper
Thames-street, in the city of London, coal-merchant, for
a bushel or bushels and other measures upon a new con-
struction for measuring coals, grain, seed, and other dry
measurable commoditics.

To John Ball, of the city of Norwich, engineer, for cer-
tain improvements in a machine for thrashing corn and
pulse. .

To Edward Thunder, of Brighthelmstone, in the county
of Sussex, for an improved mode or method of keeping in
tune certain musical instruments called piano fortes,
grand piano fortes, harpsichords, spinets, and other
stringed instruments.

METEOR-

96 : Meieorology. . :
a eee +
METEOROLOGICAL TABLE “pag:
By Mr. Carzy, of THE STRAND,
For February 1805.
| Thermometer. . Soap
» GRE - Oa 3 af
‘Daveokthe Ss 2 6. | Heightof |= 8 3
bei : 2 § \om the Barons 338 Weather.
“> | \zapcoumenttnees. (bee 30
oe = : A oa : i‘
Jan. 27 28°), 29°! 29° 10° |Fair Ra
98 | 29 1°30 7 |Cloudy
ou 29 | 34 | 32 ~ 6 {Fair
30) 32 | 36 | 83 o> jRain
31; 33 | 34 | 29 - 0. |Snow and rain
Feb. 1] 28 | 30 | 27 6 {Cloudy
9) 21 | 34] 31 1. | Eas
3] 29 | 37 | 34 10 |Fair
4| 35 | 41 | 46 0 |Rain |
& 16 | 46 | 34 | 28°95 0 [Stormy |
6.29 | 35 | 32 | 29°82 6 |Fai
7,92 | 41 | 40 “90 _~ Showery
of 42 | 49 4 47 65 | 8 1Fau
9) 49 | 5a | 49 82 10 |F
10} 49 | 55 | 46 72 7
tl| 44 | 44 | 35 “70 oO. |Rain
19) 35 | 39 | 30 “91 16 {Cloudy
13} 30 | 39 | 28 | 30°20 18 |Fair
14} 298 | 38 }| 34} 29°99 15 {Fair
15),33 | 38 | 34 | 30°04 18. |Cloady ‘
E6| 32 | 42°] 30 07, 29 «|\Fair
17) 27 | 38 | 32 | 20°85 18 {Fair
18; 32 | 39 | 30 “SQ ¥9 {Fair
1g| 28 | 40 | 30 “92 22 | Fair
20) 27 | 41] 39 } 30°00 10) |Fair
21; 39 | 49 | 48 | 29°69 4 |Rain
22| 41.| 48 | 40 ‘78 Il |Fair ;
23| 41 | 49 } 44 | 30°04 21 [air
24 46 | 48} 40 | 29°78 | * 0, {Rain
25 38 | 47 | 44 76 18 (fair

N. B. The barometer’s height is taken at noon.
ns en ee +

[en sy

XV. On the Means most proper to le resorted to for ex-
tinguishing accidental Fires in Ships. By ALEXANDER
Tittocn. Read before the Askesian Society in December
1801.

I, is impossible for human imagination to conceive any
calamity more horrid and distressing than that of a ship on
Jire;—a species of accident to which vessels are much ex-
posed, owing to the combustible nature of the materials of
which they are constructed, and which, unhappily, too
often baiiles every effort to subdue it.

To discover some means by which those on board, in
such circumstances, may extinguish the flames efficaciously
and speedily, has long been a desideratum ; for experience
has but too fully proved, that buckets and fire-engines, with
water, the methods heretofore resorted to, are not effectual.
To point out such means as are calculated to arrest the pro-
gress of the devouring flames will not be thought an useless
labour; nor will they be the less valued for being simple,
and, in almost every case likely to occur, perfectly within
the reach of the people. That the efficacy of the means to
be proposed may be established on incontrovertible prine
ciples, it may be of some use to examine, previously, what.
takes place in deflagrations of the kind to which we allude.
This inquiry will also probably lead us to a knowledge of
the cause why the methods usually employed prove inade~
quate to the end proposed.

The laws and operations of nature are extremely simple,
and, if we attend to what she points out, we cannot be
misled.

For maintaining the common process of combustion,
certain conditions are indispensable.

1. A substance or substances capable of undergoing a
chemical decomposition, and of entering, wholly or par-
tially, into new combinations when circumstances favour
the process.

Such are wood, tar, hemp, &c.

2. The presence of some other substance which, by its
decomposition, may furnish a principle or principles capa-

ble of entering into union with those of the combustible
substances, thereby liberating caloric or the matter of heat,
which, with the light also fiberated. constitutes the most
striking phenomena in combustion.

Atmospheric air is such a substance.

It is a fact well known, that the atmosphere consists of
Vol. 21. No. 82. Marchig05. G two

98 On the Means most proper to be resorted to

two distinct substances dissolved in caloric or heat, whicli.

forms a third ingredient. The two first are oxygen and
azote.

The azote is in such strong chemical union with the ca-
loric, in which it is dissolved, that in no common process
of combustion is the union destroyed: or, in other words,
that portion of the heat of the atmosphere which is united
to the azote is never liberated to exercise its action in form-
ing new combinations *.

It is otherwise, however, with the portion of heat united —

to the oxygenous part of the atmosphere. These two have
so weak an affinity for each other, that a little increase of
temperature is all that is necessary to determine their sepa-

ration, if substances to which the oxygen can unite itself,

be present. In proportion as the oxygen joins itself to these
substances, the heat thus liberated raises the temperature of
other portions of them to that point which determines their
union with oxygen ; thus more air becomes speedily decom-
posed, and all the phenomena of combustion are rendered
more and more conspicuous, till complete deflagration pre-
cludes all possibility of checking the progress.

What office does water perform when employed for the
purpose of checking the progress of a fire? It extinguishes
the flame by cutting off the communication between the burn-
ing body and the air which maintains the combustion. But
this it can do only in certain cases.

Water is known to consist of two substances, oxygen,
and hydrogen. The former, as has already been noticed, is
an ingredient also in atmospheric air, and is that substance
which unites itself to the burning body in every case of com-
bustion: the latter is the base of hydrogen gas or inflam-
mable air. .

Water, like atmospheric air, may be decomposed by pre-
senting to it, under certain circumstances, substances for
which either of its constituent principles has a stronger
-affinity than the two have for each other.

When a fire has got to such a height that water cannot
be thrown on it in sufficient quantity to imterpose itself as
a wall of separation between the burning materials and the
atmosphere, but is itself instantly converted into vapour and
decomposed,—in that case, instead of extinguishing, it adds

* Ire must be here observed, however, that this remark should be
taken with some limitation : modern chemistry is in some measure forced

to suppose that the azote goes to the formation of alkalis when they:

result from the combustion; in which case the caloric may be supposed
to exercise some action; but that affects not our general argument,

———

For extinguishing accidental Fires in Ships. 99

to ihe deflagration. Its oxygen joins the combustible ma-
terials, while its hydrogen, disengaged in the form of in-
flammable air, mixes with the atmospheric air present, and
inflames almost as quickly as it is liberated.

A ship in such a case becomes filled with flames, even in
those places where, before, there was no fire; and it may
truly be said, these parts are set on fire BY WATER!

But water has been thé only means hitherto employed to
extinguish fires; and if this is not te be used, what other
method can we resort to? |

The question is answered in part by what we have stated
respecting water when it succeeds in any case in extinguish-
ing fire. Cut off ail communication between the burning
body or bodies and the atmosphere.

The presence of air, we have already obseryed, is indis-
pensably requisite to maintain combustion.

This fact has been long known, and it appears wonderful
that advantage was never taken of it to extinguish fire in
ships ; especially when it is considered that their structure
is such that, had this been one of the principal objects in
view in the building of them, they could not possibly have
been better constructed to enable us to take advantage of
this law of nature.

If a glass jar be inverted over a burning taper in such a
manner as to bile the mouth of the jar into contact with
the table on which the taper stands, the flame soon grows
janguid, and in a little time we see it expire altogether.
The oxygenous part of the atmosphere has been decom-
posed, and having, by that decomposition, given up all its
oxygen to the combustible body, the proccss ceases of itself,
not for want of fuel, but for want of a fresh portion of oxy-
genous air to be decomposed. If this experiment be per-
formed over water, its ascent in the jar, as every one knows,
will prove that a portion of the air has disappeared ; its ox-
ygen having become concrete in the burning body, or as-
sumed a less volume in the new products formed, viz. car-
tonic acid gas and water ; and that portion of its caloric not
necessary to the formation of the acid gas having been libe-
rated.

The larger the flame of the taper compared with the quan-
tity of air; or, in other words, the smaller the quantity of
air compared with the size of the burning body, the sooner
does the process of combustion cease. It is on this princi-
ple that a common extinguisher puts out a candle.

These simple facts furnish us with sufficient data on which
to found a rational and infallible method for extinguishing

hed G2 fire

100 On the Means most proper to be resorted to

fire on board a ship. If the fire cannot be got at; and in-
stantly extinguished with a bucket or two of water, no time
should be wasted in fruitless attempts to reach the spot;
for during all this time the prime auxiliary, the most for-
midable ingredient in the conflagration, viz. the atmo-
spheric air, is allowed to pour itself upon the burning ma-
terials and to furnish the very essence of the flame,—tor the
Jire IS FURNISHED BY THE AIR, and not by the wood, tar,
e.; a fact too well established to be insisted on here. In-
stead of suffering this to take place, all hands should be
called up; the ports, hatches, &c. should be shut, and every
one set to work to stop up with oakum, tallow, pitch, (any
thing,) every chink and crevice all over the vessel. She
would thus literally become a large extinguisher; and it
would be just as rational to insist that a man could live de-
prived of fresh air, as to assert that fire can continue to
burn in the interior of a ship when every possibility of a
fresh supply of air is thus cut off.

Such 1s the general principle that ought to direct the pro-
ceedings of the officers and crew on every emergency of this
kind. They ought all to be drilled to the business, that
every one may know the particular station and specific duty
allotted to him in case of such an accident taking place.
This would be an antidote against that confusion and in-
subordination which almost always take place in cases of
fire. The means are so infallibly certain im their effect,
that not only the officers, but a great number of the men
would have full confidence in the issue of their exertions ;
this would insure firmness, and the unruly would be as ef-
fectually kept in order as on any common occasion.

The general principle we have stated to be, the cutting
off every possibility of a fresh supply of atmospheric air
gctting into the interior of the ship. But a still further ad-
vantage may be taken of the natural laws before examined,
so as to hasten the destruction of the whole air contained in
the ship, and to render it unfit for maintaining combustion.
We have already brought to recollection, that the larger the
mass cf burning materials compared with the quantity of
air present, the sooner will the fire extinguish itself: this is
a truth that cannot be too forcibly impressed on the minds
both of the officers and crews; for, however fiercely the
fire may be raging below, the sooner will it be extinguished
if they can only succeed in making every thing air-tight
above decks and round the ship (as the ports, scuttles, scup-
pers, windows, &c.): the full conviction of this truth will

prevent them from relaxing in their exertions, and wonder-
, fully

for extinguishing accidental Fires in Ships. 101

Tully conduce to their ultimate safety. ‘This is no small
advantage that results from the law of nature now under
considertion ; but a further use ought still to be made of it.
If a number of fires le made between decks, by setting fire
to pitch and other inflammable substances in pots, stew-
pans, &c., before closing down the hatches and making
every thing air-tight, the sooner will the air left in the vessel
be deprived of its oxygen, and the combustion of course be
terminated. .

Thus we see that FIRES MAY BE EMPLOYED TO EX-
TINGUISH FIRE; and the more there are of them, the
sooner will all of them, as well as the prime fire, be ex-
tinguished. This is the more necessary because, if all the
air in the interior of the vessel must expend itself in the
prime fire, a hole may possibly be the consequence, and
there fresh air would rush in to maintain the flame; but a
number of fires in different parts of the vessel would quickly
destroy all the air, and render that accident impossible, In
short, if the people be once made thoroughly masters of
their duty in such cases, they need not fear even to kindle
fires on the bare boards for the purpose of extinguishing one
where they cannot reach it; for the exclusion of fresh air
will soon.arrest the progress of the flames.

If fears (groundless fears) should be entertained that such
fires would increase the danger, candles may be employed
with considerable effect. A good sized candle consumes
about a gallon of air in one minute of time: several hun-
dreds of them lighted between decks, before closing all up,
would contribute not a little to exhaust the oxygen of the
atmosphere. In short, proper receptacles for fires, to be
employed for this express purpose, should constitute a part
of the outfit of every ship, especially those of the royal navy
and East India company, If such arrangements were made
a part of the system (they surely ought to be so), any fire
below decks might be extinguished in less than half an hour.

It need hardly be remarked here, that in this case, as in
every case of danger, the toe should be opposed with firm-
ness from post to post. If the fire breaks out in the hold,
the first stand should be made on the lower deck. It ought
instantly, and with deliberation, to be cleared, fore and aft,
that not a chink or crevice may escape observation. Every
opening, the pumps among others, ought to be closed, and
the slices and men to be at their stations. This search
ought to be a close one; for the escape of smoke ought not
to be held as the only criterion of a seam being open. Where
air is rushing in, smoke cannot come out; for two streams

G3 cannot,

102 On the Means most proper to le resorted to.

cannot, at one and the same time, blow in opposite direc-
tions through the same aperture: therefore every seam should
be examined; nor will it'be difficult to do so, when it is
considered in what a close and substantial manner ships are
built.

While this is going on in the deck immediately above
the fire, the officers and men on the next deck above should
be preparing every thing for a second barrier to the ingress
of air; and so of the third deck: and each, before quitting
their own deck, should light the extinguishing fires before
recommended. Similar fires should, 1f possible, be mtro-
duced under the lower deck, the sooner to exhaust the air
in the hold.

If these means be cooly and deliberately pursued, when a
ship is on fire below or between decks the flames may be as
effectually extinguished as a burning candle when an extin-
guisher is put over it; the ship, as we have already said, is
in fact converted into an extinguisher ; nor is she less so om
account of the combustible nature of the materials of which
she is constructed: for @ cone MADE OF PAPER extinguishes
a candle as effectually as one made of metal. A fact of
which any one may easily satisfy himself by making the
experiment.

To discover when the conflagration is subdued, the test
of acandle should he employed. For this purpose there
ought to be a few places in each deck that can be opened
when necessary. Into one of these introduce a lantern and
candle, taking care instantly to close the hole again. If
the candle, after remaining a few minutes below, is found,
on being drawn up, to have been extinguished, it may be
concluded that all is safe, and that the air left is unfit for
maintaining combustion. The people-will then feel cheer-
ful; nor will they be impatient to open the decks when in-
formed that, though'the fire is out, some articles may have
attained such a high temperature, that the access of fresh
air might occasion a new deflagration. Even when, by the
test of a candle, it is found that all the air is destroyed, the
precautions should be continued for a number of hours.

(It will occur from, what has been stated, that if there be
any particular part of a ship where fires are supposed to ori-
ginate oftener than in any other, that part ought to be in-
sulated, as it were, in the building of the vessel; that is,
every part of it, all round, ought to be caulked up so as to
make that room or apartment air-tight, that, when an acci-
dent occurs, no more might be necessary than to close the
door or entrance, and caulk it up.) i aban

for extinguishing accidental Fires in Ships. 103

In the preceding remarks we have pointed out the prin-
ciples that ought to be kept constantly in view in every at-
tempt to extinguish fire on board a ship. That we might
not interrupt the connection we purposely avoided men-
tioning another mean which it might be advisable to pro-
vide against such accidents, and which depends on the same
principles. The methods already laid down, if followed up
with firmness, cannot fail to answer the purpose intended ;
but what we are going to mention would prove a most
powerful auxiliary.

We have already noticed that the presence of oxygen in
combination with caloric is an indispensable requisite in the
process of combustion, and that atmospheric air contains
these two ingredients in such a state of combination, and
therefore serves to maintain combustion by giving up its
oxygen to the combustible body, in consequence, of which
its caloric is liberated. It follows from this, that the sub-
stitution of any gas for atmospheric air, or the introduction
of any gas into the interior of the ship, to displace the whole
or a part of the atmospheric air contained in it, would hasten
the extinction of the flames, provided the gas so substituted
for air be one that cannot be decomposed by the action of
the fire.

It ought to be a gas that can be easily procured, and also
one specifically heavier than atmospheric air, that it may
descend, get below the common air, take its place in the
vessel, and thus be certain (when a sufficient quantity ig
introduced) to reach the place on fire, and interpose itself as
a wall of separation between the burning materials and the
atmosphere.

Carbonic acid gas, or fixed air, is well calculated for this
purpose. It can be procured even on board a ship with
little trouble (if the proper requisites have been provided),
and at a small expense. It is considerably heavier than
common air, and extinguishes flame in a moment.

All that is necessary to insure a supply of any quantity
in avery few minutes is, that each ship should be furnished
with a certain stock of common oil of vitriol, (vinegar or
any other acid would answer, but would be more expensive,)
and a quantity of common chalk or unburnt lime.

The sulphuric acid or oil of vitriol is an article of a much
less dangerous nature, with respect to accidents, than is
vulgarly believed. Compared with gunpowder, which means
are found to keep safe, even in a ship, it may be considered
as perfectly harmless. Indeed, it ought to be put on board
in a diluted state; and, in that case, would produce no

G4 more

104 On the Means most proper to be resorted to

more mischief, should a vessel of it by accident be broken
or spilt, than as much strong vinegar. No good objection
can therefore be offered against its use on the score of its
being dangerous.
. The chalk should be in powder, either in a dry state or
diffused in water, and the vessels containing it should be
so disposed and arranged in regard to those containing the
diluted oil of vitriol, that, without needing to huat for and
arrange them in the hour of danger, (when the hurry and
alarm might make it impossible to get at them, or to make
a proper use of them when found,) no more might be ne-
cessary than to turn a cock, somewhere near the cabin,
under the immediate eye of the commander or some inte]-
ligent officer. to allow the acid to convey itself through
Jeaden pipes into the vessels containing the chalk or lime-
stone.

The moment the sulphuric acid comes in contact with
the chalk, the Jatter will be decomposed and part with the
carbonic acid, one of its constituent principles, which will
escape in the gaseous form, while the lime, its other prin-
ciple, wil] remain united to the sulphuric acid.

All the articles connected with this process should be
made of lead, or lined with it, as the sulphuric acid exer-~
cises little or no action on that metal, which renders it pre-
ferable to every other material for the purpose.

The ways in which the parts of such an apparatus might
be arranged to advantage are so various, that to insist on
any one in particular is unnecessary. The principle of the
arrangement is all that need be noticed here. The vessel
or vessels containing the acid must be in a higher situation
than those containing the chalk or unburnt lime. The
latter may be in the hold, or in any situation lower than the
former ; and pipes af communication, that can be opened or
shut at pleasure by turning a cock, as already mentioned,
must pass from the vessels containing the acid to those in
which the chalk is.

The Jatter, if in the hold, should have perforated covers,
that the fixed air, when liberated from the limestone or
chalk by the action of the sulphuric acid, may have a free
escape. If above any of the decks, a hose or tube should
pass from their tops down to the hold and lower decks for
the liberated gas to descend through. These tubes should
be secured from injury by covering them with planks, or
casing them at the time of their fitting up.

Such an apparatus as is here recommended would be found
much more simple than it can possibly appear to be fram a

description,

for extinguishing accidental Fires in Ships. 105

*. .
description, nor can any fire-engine that has ever yet been

‘constructed be compared with it in point of simplicity.

Still less will fire-engines bear comparison in point of effi-
cacy; for the gas that may be liberated by this simple ap-
paratus will imfallibly extinguish flames, but the water
thrown by a fire-engine seldom succeeds in doing so, and
often, as we have before proved on physical principles, in-
creases their fury *.

With a view to the application of the means for extin-
guishing fires which we have pointed out, care ought to
be taken in future in the construction of ships, to fill up,
at the decks, all the seams and joinings between the side
timbers, that an air-tight line of division may reach from
the decks even to the outside planks, to prevent all passage
of air behind the linings. But I shall not insist longer on
this. The principles I have laid down are sufficiently ob-
vious, and the only wonder is, that they have not been re-
sorted to before this time as a safeguard against fires below
and between decks. ,

As the minor details are perfectly obvious, and cannot

fail to present themselves to the minds of those in whose

department it may lie to give efficacy to the plan we have

roposed, it would be carrying the present paper to an un-
necessary length to enter into them. There is one point,
however, that must not be overlooked, being connected
with the safety of the people :—

After the fire has been extinguished by the means that
have been recommended, the air which remains in the inte-
rior of the vessel will be found as unfit for maintaining ani-
mal life as for maintaining combustion. It would instantly
suffocate those who should descend into it ; and consists of
two non-respirable gases, azotic gas and fixed air. It would

be unsafe, therefore, to venture down till after the vessel

has been ventilated by opening the ports from the outside
of the ship, and by means of bellows and leathern hose
thrown down into the hold. Jn short, any or all the ways
now employed for ventilating ships may be employed to re-
move the foul air, and make it safe for the people to go down.

* It is possible that in some cases a vessel may not be able to afford
room for a sufficiency of these materials to furnish a quantity of fixed
air equal in volume to her hold, and there may be other objections to
taking so large a supply which have not occurred to me; but as in a case
of fire it may be necessary to stave the rum and brandy on board, as much

of vitriol and chalk should always be provided as would furnish a
stratum of fixed air able to rise a few inches at least over any spirits that
tay thus be stayed into the hold.

106 Onthe Means most proper to be resoried to.

To determine when the air is sufficiently renewed to ad-
mit of this, a lantern with a burning candle should pre-
viously be let down at the end of a string. If, after being
allowed to remain below for some time, it come up unex-
tinguished, the people may venture down,—and so from
deck = deck till they have got every part completely ven-
tilated.

In the preceding observations I have confined myself to
fires which may happen below or between decks; but as
accidents (though this is perhaps less to be apprehended)
may also take place above decks, or below the quarter-deck;
&c., where the same means cannot be employed tor extin-
guishing them as in the former case, it may not be thought
superfluous to offer a few hints for subduing them when
they occur.

It is obvious that the means adapted to accidents below
are inapplicable to such as may happen above decks; but

it is equally obvious, that, whatever method may be resorted ,

to, it must agree in principle with the former. 4 wall of
separation must be interposed Letween the burning materials
and the atmosphere, or the flames cannot be extinguished.

Water, we have already seen, can but seldom be applied
with effect for this purpose ; and the experience of ages has
only served to furnish evidence that it ought not to be trusted
to.. By its great volatility and its extreme liquidity (even
if it could not be decomposed, and so add to the conflagra-
tion, as it has already been proved to do,) it is but little
fitted to remain on the places where its presence might be
serviceable.

Some other matters, therefore, ought to be provided, that
may, when employed, be able to serve as an effectual co-
vering to the burning materials, or to the subjacent parts of
the vessel, to prevent the fire from penetrating downwards.
They ought to be such as can be met with in every port,
and at the cheapest rate: such are sand, or mould, or clay.

The first is perhaps the best, because it can be moistened
with water in a moment; though the last, if means could be

insured for speedily converting it into a kind of soft pap or —

uddle, would answer better for throwing upon such burn-
ing parts as may be vertical or over head, ,
Every ship carries some ballast, or might carry as much
as would be necessary for the end in view. A part of the
ballast ought to be sand or clay, in bags or in small casks,
and these ought to be so disposed in the hold, that, in the
4 case

ee eee ee ——

——— =. a eee

for extinguishing accidental Fires in Ships. 107

ease of a fire above decks, they may be easily got at, and
taken up. A number of buckets should also be provided
that the people may not be without the means of hoisting
up the sand, &c. even when the rigging takes fire and pre-
vents them from employing a tackle for that purpose.

The sand, as brought up, should be thrown upon the
burning materials, especially on those on the deck. Where-
ever it rests it will mstantly extinguish the flames by pre-
venting the access of atmospheric air. In tact, the whole
deck, especially near the spot on fire, should be covered
with sand to the depth of three inches, which will be much
more easily accomplished than at first may appear possible ;
for the people have only to begin at the side of the fire next
to them, covering the deck before them with sand, and
spreading it with shovels,—thus making a road for them-
selves to advance upon, still covering more of the deck es
. they advance; an advantage that cannot be commanded by
the use of mere water. By these means, even where the
deck has been absolutely on fire, the flames will be so effec-
tually extinguished that the people may instantly walk over
the place with perfect safety.

This will enable them to gain upon the fire, and with
mops (especially if a clay puddle instead of water be em-
ployed) to dash out the flames on such parts of the sides
(under the quarter-deck for instance) or over head as may
have caught fire. Let it be particularly observed, that if
means can be found to enable the people (sand, &c., would
enable them) to advance on the flames, in that case mops
with water, or rather water mixed with clay or sand, applied
directly to the burning wood, &c., beginning at the part on
fire immediately next to them, and proceeding step by step,
will extinguish flame better than water thrown from a fire-
hy ‘The reason is obvious: water so thrown on runs
off by the most direct course it can find, and will not stop
to spread itself over prominences or to penetrate into inter-
stices ; but when daslied on by means of mops, it has no
choice, but must apply itself where it is intended it should.
~ Ido not mean by this that a fire-engine ought in no case
to be employed; but when resorted to, its jet should be di-
rected forward further than the people can yet advance, and
never in such a manner as to wash away the bed of sand
from the decks, or the coating of sand or clay that has been
bee by mops to the uprights and parts over head. And
the moment the people can advance to apply mops, the en-

ine should be stopt.

In mopping, the process should go on from the lower

parts

108 On the Means most proper to le resorted to

parts upwards ; there will then be the least waste of labour,
and consequently the greater chance of success: for when
a contrary mode is followed (which is always more or less
the case with water thrown on by an engine) the parts ex-
tinguished are again rekindled by the flames ascending from
the lower parts, and which therefore ought first to be sub-
dued.

Clay or sand is recommended to be applied with the water
employed in mopping, that a kind of incrustation may le
formed wherever the mops are applied; but in attending to
this, the uniform continuity of the bed of sand, distributed
and still distributing on the deck, must be carefully main-

tained ; for this is the chief ultimate security that the men ~

have tor saving the hull of the vessel, and consequently their
own lives.

The red-hot balls employed by the garrison of Gibraltar
to destroy the Spanish floating batteries, were carried from
the furnaces to the bastions zm wooden barrows with only a
layer of sand interposed; and this was found sufficient to
prevent the balls, though in a high state of incandescence,
from setting fire to the wood. A fact so notorious renders
it perfectly unnecessary to insist further on the efficacy of
sand on the upper deck to prevent the descent of the fire
from above.

As to the rigging, there appears but little hope of any
means being ever devised to secure it effectually from the
effects of a fire above decks, and perhaps the least evil will
result from clearing it away in such a case, and getting it
overboard as fast as possible. I shall, however, venture to

int at one improvement. The hull is sheathed with copper
as a guard against the worm.—Would there be any thing
absurd in sheathing the masts with copper to preserve them
from fire? I think not: and the expense would be no ob-
ject *. In that case an iron or copper chain (composed of
very long links to make it require the less weight of metal)
should accompany each main-stay, to secure the masts in
any case when the other rigging might be destroyed by fire.
The chains, of course, would require to be Jess tight than
the stays, that they might only act in case of the other being
destroyed.

All the upper works ought to be covered with sheet cop-
per to secure the side timbers from being set on fire by any

* This could be done without increasing the weight of the masts; for
the copper would add so considerably to: their strength, that they might
be made much smaller than at present. ;

accident

for extinguishing accidental Fires in Ships. 109

accident that may happen above the upper deck. This
would effectually answer the end intended; for as to those
parts where cross tumbers of any kind join the side, and
where consequently the fire might communicate, they could
individually be extinguished in succession, by the means we
have pointed out, with much less trouble than if all the
upper works were exposed to the accident. ’
But, though we recommend sheet copper as a covering
for the upper works, which surely ought to be as well se-
cured against fire as the lower are agaist the worm and
against water, even if this improvement be not adopted, the
means we have pointed out (wet sand, wet mould, and wet
clay,) should be provided to enable the people to extinguish
the parts in detail till they master the fire; which in many
_ cases they will be able to accomplish when the application
__ of water would not be of the smallest avail. TI need hardly
add, that when any part of the cargo consists of articles
that will of themselves, by the aid of an increased tempera-
ture, furnish a sufficient supply of oxygen to maintain com-
bustion without the aid ef atruospheric air, (as for instance
saltpetre,) such part of the cargo should be disposed low in
the hold, and should, if possible, be cut off from all com-
munication with the other parts of the lading, that, should
_ afire happen, there may be the less chance of its being
» communicated to that part of the cargo. Tor this purpose
__ a part of the hold should be set aside, and ought to be
boarded up, caulked, and covered with sheet copper. If
_ that cannot be done, a false flooring should be laid in above
that part of the cargo, which should be covered over with
_ coarse matting of any kind: over the matting there ought
to be a layer of sand or earth of two or three inches in thick-
ness, and over the sand another cover of matting, to pre-
vent it from being displaced by the stowing of the rest of
the cargo.

But whether such arrangements are practicable respect-
ing the oxygenous parts of the cargo or not, the other ge-
eral precautions ought to be strictly enjoined, and the
_ people should be appointed and trained to their respective
_ hae in case of fire: books of instructions should also be
seeeeusely distributed among the officers and crews, and
instructions ought to be drawn up in a manner so
plain and simple that no one may be at a loss to know what
ws necessary to le done, whether he understand the scientific
principles on which they are founded or not. But the better
the crew in general, and the officers in particular, under-

i ; stand

* as

110 Natural History of the Coco-nut Tree

stand the science of extinguishing fires, the more effectual
will their endeavours be in every case.

Though in this.essay I have taken no notice of cases of
spontaneous ignition, the principles recommended are equally
applicable to these as to other cases of fire. Even when the
exciting cause of the combustion may be in the cargo itself,
it cannot be maintained without the access of atmospheric
air.

XVI. Memoir on the Natural History of the Coco-nut Tree
and the Areca-nut Tree; the Cultivation of them accord-
ing to the Methods of the Hindoos ; their Productions,
and their Utility in the Arts and for the Purposes of do-
meslic Economy. By M.Le Govux ps Fiatx, an Officer
of Engineers, and Member of the Asiatic Society at Cal-
cutiad. —

[Concluded from p. 80.}

Tue areca-tree is that beautiful palm which Linnzus has so
judiciously characterized by giving it the name of catechu,
because its ligneous nut furnishes cackow by means of an
easy preparation. ‘This fact, though contradicted by a
great number of authors, is no less certain; and I propose
to prove it in the course of this paper.

This tree is called pakmarow in almost all the languages
of the peninsula; in the Hindostanee, the modern idiom of
that antient country, it is denominated sovparz, which sig-
nifies the areca-tree.

Though this palm is not so extensively useful in all its
parts as the coco-nut tree, it is no less necessary to the
Hindoos and the inhabitants of that vast part of the world
ealled the East Indies, who all employ themselves in the
cultivation of it.

The areca-tree, without having-the beauty and port of
the coco-nut tree, is of an elegant and agreeable form. It
always rises vertically, and nothing is able to derange its
direction. It is attacked by no insects: they are all kept —
at a distance by the sourness of its juice and of its gum. —
Its stem is somewhat thicker in the middle, but slender,
smooth, and perfectly well proportioned in all its parts.

Its foliage presents an agreeable spectacle by the regular
arrangement of its palms, which are known in botany by —
the name of spadix, to characterize their form, and in ge-
neral that of the branches of this family. The palms in
mi eine

and the Areca-nut Tree. 1li

the centre of the crown of the areca-nut tree, to the number
of seven or eight, stand erect, while the rest, being five
in number, incline, rounding themselves by a slight curva-
ture, and by their union form a kind of elegant crown.
The leayes of the areca-nut tree, as long as they vegetate,
are of a rich and brilliant green colour; the eye can behold
them without being fatigued: as they grow old they assume
successively an orange colour, which, though it contrasts’
with the brilliant green of the other leaves, does not offend
the sight.

‘This palm exhibits, as a distinguishing character, very
small flowers of a pale apple green colour, with a sweet
and agreeable odour, moncecous, disposed in a panicle in-
closed in a very thin spath or sheath like that of the coco-
nut tree, which differs from it only by its thickness, and by

the other being fibrous. Each of these flowers consists of

a calyx half a line in length, with three acute and coria-
_- ceous points; a corolla of three petals perfectly similar to
the calyx. The male flowers have six and sometimes nine
stamina not projecting, and the female an upper ovarium
furnished with three styles. The male are placed along
small twigs proceeding from a common pedicle which form
_ ~ the panicle. They are parted from each other in groups of
five or six; in these intervals is the group of female flowers
consisting of from nine to ten. The fruit are all set before

___ the spath opens.

; It is seen by this exact description that most naturalists
are deceived, or at least have implicitly believed and mutu-
ally copied each other, instead of making observations be-
fore they wrote. I shall make known the rest of their
errors as circumstances furnish me with an opportunity.
These facts, though apparently of little importance in re-

rd to a vegetable which we do not possess, are, however,
interesting to botany; and this consideration alone has in-
duced me to indulge in this kind of critique, for which |
hope I shall be forgiven, as it tends to promote truth.

_ The areca-nut tree, as well as all the other palms, are re-
produced only by the fruit: to thrive, it requires good soil,
and this is a character which distinguishes the coco-nut tree

from vegetables of this family; it needs less watering, but

it requires much more air, and the full enjoyment of the

_ rays of the sun, without which its vegetation would only

ie ish. ;

Some plants which I cultivated in a large garden, and

beneath which L caused animals to be interred, produced

much more than usual; yet this increase of fecundity did

: not

112 Natural History of the Coco-nut Tree

not seem to hurt or exhaust them. JI shall here observe,
that I obtained the same results in the cultivation of orange
and lemon trees, vegetables which we have naturalized im
our climates.

The areca-nuts are planted in beds, with their husk or
fibrous covering, one by one, in holes five or six inches in
depth, and at the distance of twelve or fourteen inches in
every direction. The plantation is slightly watered.

On the twenty-ninth or thirtieth day the germ issues from
the earth: in form it is similar to that of the coco-nut, but
it differs from it by its hardness, and by an acrid or your
taste.

They are generally transplanted in a year or fifteen
months: they may be removed without danger even im
the seventh year, because they are exceedingly lively, and
expand very slowly. Their total duration, however, 1s only
fifty or sixty years; they never go beyond the seventieth.:
Of all the palms it is the shortest lived. This forms a con~-
trast with the slowness of its vegetation, and particularly
with the hardness of its wood, which is surpassed only by
that of the sindi, called by Linnzus lontarus. This palm
has given its name to the river which separates Hindostan
from Persia, and which, copying the Greeks, we have dis-
fizured by the denomination of the Indus.

As the palms of the areca-tree are not above eight or nine
feet long, they can give only a shade of a moderate extent,
and which it would appear could not hurt the plants cultivated
in the same ground ; but experience proves that this shade,
though it cover only a small surface, is hurtful, and would
certainly occasion the destruction of the most of those ve-
getables over which it extends; neither men nor animals
ever remain under its immediate shelter, especially daring
the strong heats. Its foliage is so thick that the sun’s rays
can never penetrate it; the rain water, therefore, which falls
on its palms is thrown off; they form a real parapluie.

Though this tree be one of the most beautiful ornaments
of gardens, there are few worse neighbours: it attracts all
the adjacent juices; and herbs, as already said, cannot ve-
getate under its shade. The different kinds of banana, how-
ever, called commonly the Indian fig, known im botany
under the name of musa, thrive when planted in the same
soil, provided they are not brought too near to the areca-nut
tree. I shall add, that I saw at Nigambo, a maritime town
in the island of Ceylon, an immense orchard of areca-trees,
among which were cultivated coffee shrubs which appeared
to me to thrive, as they were exceedingly beautiful.

_and the Areca-nut Tree. 113

An orchard of areca-trees, between which the Hindoos
almost always plant bananas, exhibits a charming and de-
lightful prospect. To form a just idea of such a spectacle,
it must be seen.

The areca-nut, of which we make no use, might, in
my opinion, become an advantageous object of exchange
in some of the African markets. This fruit might be ren-
dered useful also in Europe in regard to the arts, as I shall
hereafter show.

The leaves of this palm are fit only for being burnt. The
ashes which arise from them produce good manure when
mixed with the dung of sheep or of cows. They give also
by lixiviation a kind of soda, employed for bleaching raw
silk. This manure is used with great advantage in the cul-
tivation of the avi/, or plant which produces indigo.

The timk, which is exceedingly straight, is employed |
for rafters to sheds and houses which have pent roofs ; it is
also split into excellent laths, which are very strong, and
never liable to be pierced by worms. A pectoral and anti-
scorbutic decoction is extracted from the flowers.

The nut or fruit is of different sizes, and of an oval form,
spherical or turbinated, according to the species to which it
belongs. The largest nuts do not exceed the size of a large
pigeon’s egg. The bunches generally contain a hundred
and fifty; and when the number rises to two hundred and
fifty, which is sometimes the case, they are thinned from
time to time for the use of persons who set no value on
these nuts unless when they are fresh.

The areca-tree begins to produce fruit in its seventh
year; but it is never in full bearing till the age of ten.
Vigorous trees give annually six, seven, and sometimes ten
bunches. _ .

- The Hindoos, ag well as all the people of Asia from

Arabia to China, make a general use of the areca-nut along

with the leaves of betel, which by some nations is called

tamloul, and by the Moguls pane. This aromatic plant is

60 well known that it is needless to describe it: I shall

therefore confine myself to giving some details respecting
its use, aud the properties ascribed io it.

- Betel acts a distinguished part in all companies: at
courts as well as in the towns, and even in the most
wretched hovels, to be deprived of it would to the Indians
be a misfortune. At all visits betel is served up ; and when
_ friends imeet they mutually offer to each other this drug.

The Hindoos cousider it as a great uncivility to speak to a
_ person of dignity or consideration without chewing this
>, Vol. 21. No. 62. March 1805, H mixture ;

114, Natural History of the Coco-nut Tree

mixture: it is composed of the betel leaves, areca cut very
thin, a little lime spread over the leaves, cardamom, fine
spiceries, and cachou, rolled up in small cornets in a leaf
of betel. The [ndians ascribe to this preparation, which
gives to the saliva and lips a very bright rose colour, the
property of allaying hunger, per fuming the breath by cor-
recting the humours of the breast and stomach, and of fa-
cilitatmg digestion. This mastication, in theif opinion,
prevents also perspiration, or speedily restores it; preserves
from megrim and pains of the head ; strengthens the gums,
and secures the teeth from rottenness: ina word, it Inspires
gaiety, removes spasms and attacks of the nerves, prevents
suppression of the menses, and maintains the tone of the
fibres. According to my experience, all these ideas are well
founded. ‘

That substance which we call cachow and the Indians
catecambé, of which the Portuguese have nrade catecambré,
a word adopted by all the Europeans, though corrupted, is
the inspissated juice of the areca-nut. Naturalists have
entertained a variety of opinions on this object of naturat
history. In speaking of this drug, which has many pro-
perties with which we are unacquaimted, I shall endeavour
to remove all uncertainty by making known the process for
preparing it, and the manner in which the Hindoos extract
that concrete juice of the areca known under the name of
cachou. The process, as I saw it practised in different parts
of the peninsula of India, in Ceylon, and even in Pegu,
where immense quantities of it are made, is as follows :

The arcca-nuts, very fresh, are cut into three or four
small pieces with a kind of shears named katipak, which
signifies the areca-knife: they are then put into a very
large glazed earthen-ware pot, as a copper vessel would be
dangerous, and one of iron would give to the cachou a black
colour and a ferruginous taste. About a third of the quan-
tity of water which the pot is capable of containing 13 put
into it: this water is as much impregnated with selenite as
possible, and about twelve or fifteen “pounds of the bark of
the kutai babala, a prickly plant of the family of the mi-
mosa and genus of the acacia, is infused in it over a mode-
rate fire for twenty-four hours. From this trée the Indians
extract a gum similar to that known in Europe under the
name of gum arabic. A shrub of the same kind is culti-
vated in the gardens in the south of France, and is so well
known that it is needless to describe it.

As soon as the pieces of areca have been thrown into the
pot it is covered, and the cover is luted with clay or ee

A ter

and the Areca-nut Tree. 115

After strong ebullition of two hours, the fire is lessened till
it 1s nearly extinguished, and it is then kept at that degree
for five or six hours. When the pot is completely cold, it
is unluted, and the areca is taken out with a large shovel
pierced with holes; after which it is suffered to drain on a
hurdle of bamboo. The Hindoos in this operation use only
utensils of wood, on account of the sour quality of this nut.
When the pieces have been well drained, they are exposed
to thesun. This kind of areca, which the inhabitants of
the upper part of Hindostan, where this palm is not found,
call chikui-soupari, that is to say, gummy areca, is preferred
in the use of betel to the raw nut.

The whole aqueous part is evaporated over a slow fire till
the juice is inspissated to the consistence of an extract, and
till 1t has such adhesion that it can be held in the hand. It
is then taken out to be formed, by kneading, into small
pieces as large as the fist, which are dried in the shade that
they may not crack and break.

These pieces in several of the dialects of Hindostan are
called batai, a word to which is joined that of cambe; so
that the whole signifies a Jump of the juice of the areca.

The catecambre, to use the expression generally employed
by the Europeans, though faulty, receives a preparation at
Goa, Batavia, and Macao, which we endeavour to imitate.
The Portuguese call it cachoudé, from which we have made
the word cachou. It is obtained in these places by com-
bining the catecambre with a propertional quantity of sugar,
cinnamon, coco-nut milk, musk, and sometimes a very
small quantity of essence of roses. ,

This paste of the cachoudé is of a black colour, and has a
sweet perfume: it is formed into square tablets of different
sizes, and is a very important object of commerce to the
town of Goa. The European women, habituated to the
use of betel, and the Mogols, prefer it to crude cachou or
eatecambre. The Hindoos make no use of it: they employ
only the latter, after having purified it with the betel, either
as a topic or internally.

Catecambre is useful in many arts, and even in medicine,
in which it is employed on various occasions.

The condensed juice of the areca inspissated with gum-
hen, furnishes a very good resin, which the fishermen em-
ploy for the preservation of their nets and fishing-lines. It
‘preserves wood from worms.

It is used with astonishing success for burns, against
apthe, and in general all Sind of ulcers and fungous ex-
erescences ; in a word, for deafness, by diluting it with
human milk, which is ie i into the ears. The ss

4 : 2 oO

116 Jatural History of the Coco-nut Tree, Be.

of this remedy has been proved to me by repeated experi-
ments. Ina word, all the medical properties of this sub-
stance, when taken internally, are so well known to the
Europeans that it is needless to enumerate them. The
Hindoos, who ascribe to it the same virtues, apply it to the
same purpose. :

Arusts who paint cotton cloth, and dyers, employ it
with great advantage for several purposes relative to their
arts. The former use it as the base of the composition of
a gum varnish, which they apply to those parts of the cloth
which are not to be painted. To explain this process it is:
necessary to observe, that the painters of chintz do not use
blocks for imprinting the colours ; they are applied with a
brush, er the cloth receives the red and blue colours by im-
mersion ; a method of working very different from that of
the Europeans, and of which we have no idea. I am con-
vinced of what T advance, either by visiting our manutac-
tories, or reading the works which treat of this art in our
country, and which speak of the processes used in India.
I have examined in particular the Annales des Arts et des
Manufactures *, where it is said ‘* that the Indians apply
the. red colour, by immersing the cloth first in a mordant,
&c.”” This is not correct ; for this colour is always applied,
as [ have said, by immersion, and warm. It is very sur-
prising that we should have ideas so incorrect on the me-
thods and processes used in the arts by these people, for
more than three centuries that we have had an opportunity
of being better acquainted with them.

It is with the catecambre also that they compose the
mordant which fixes on cloth the gold and silver leaf ap-
plied to it. This kind of chintz is made at Mazulipatnam ;
and it is impossible to describe the richness, elegance, and
strength of this work. These cloths may be washed with-
out hurt to the gilding, in the same manner as the other
Indian stuffs are washed without injuring the brilliancy of
the colours. This art is valuable, and we have not at-
tempted to imitate it. The dyers extract also from the cate-
cambre, combined with the juice of other plants, lilac mor-
doré, puce, and maroon colours, which are employed for
dyeing silk, woollen, and cotton stuffs.

It is employed with such success in the art of tanning,

‘that in five days leather is perfectly tanned and prepared.
The English, for some years past, bring it from India for
*their tanneries: they use it with great advantage in order
to sunmplify their labour and to improve theirleather.

* No. 370

XVII. Ex-.

{ 117 J

XVII. Experiments on preserving Potatoes. By J. Dr
| Lancer, Esq. of the Island of Guernsey *.

Puaziy in March 1803, I observed my winter’s stock of
potatoes, which I had dug in October 1802, sprouted from
the mildness of the weather in this island: it occurred to
me, that, by putting them under ground, vegetation might
be retarded. I accordingly took indiscriminately from my
pile about three dozen, and in my court-yard dug a hole
two feet and a half deep, under the protection of a south-
west wall, where the rays of the sun prevail for a few mi-.
nutes only during the day at any season of the year; then,
with three pantiles, one at bottom, I Jaid. most of the po-
tatoes in the hole, and placcd the other two tiles over them
in farm of the roof of a house: they not containing all, I
threw the remainder carelessly into the hole (having no great
confidence in my experiment), covering the place over to its
usual Jevel. Business calling me from home during part
of the summer, I neglected looking after my small deposit:
but, on the 2ist of January 1804, nearly eleven months
after covering them, I had the curiosity to examine them;
when, to my astonishment, | found them (two or three
excepted, which were perforated by the ground-worm,
though firm) all perfectly sound, without. having in the
least vegetated, and in every respect fit for the purpose of
sets ane the use of the table, as I have boiled a few, and
found them similar in taste and flavour to new potatoes. [
further pledge mysclf that they were perfectly firm. I have
still some of them by me, for the inspection, of my friends,
who all agree with me that they are so.

_ Guernsey, J. De Lancry.
Jan. 24, 1804.

SIR, .
‘LT wave received the favour of your letter of the 7th inst.
eonveying the thanks of the society, for my experiments in
the preservation of potatoes, which is highly gratifying to
my feelings. [avail myself of the opportunity of a friend
- going to London, to send* three of the potatoes as a con-
firmation of their being fit for sets, as they are actually
sprouting. I have still a few left, which I shall plant.
The potatoes | send, I pledge myself to. you are of the
growth of 1502, when I first dug them out of the ground ;
neither have they been under the ground since January 21,

* From Transactions of the Society of Arts, &c. 1804. "
H 3 1804,

118 Processes for preparing Lake from Madder.

1804, but lain in acloset. I have buried some others of
the last year’s growth, with a few carrots and parsnips, in
a similar manner to my former experiments, the result of
which I shall make known to the society.
Guernsey, [remain, sir,

May 17, 1804. Your obedient servant, |

J. DE Lancer.
Charles Taylor, Esq. ,

The above potatoes were examined before a committee
of the society on the 30th of July 1804, and found to be
in a state fit for vegetation.

Cures Tay_or, Secretary.

XVIII. Processes for preparing Lake from Madder. By
Sir H. C. ENGLEFIELD, Bart.*

‘bien want of a durable red colour, which should possess
something of the depth and transparency of the lakes made
from cochineal, first induced me to try whether the madder
root, which is well known to furnish a dye less subject to
change by exposure to air than any other vegetable colour,
except indigo, might not produce something of the colour
I wanted.

Several of the most eminent painters of this country have,
for some time, been in the habit of using madder lakes in
oil pictures ; but the colours they possessed under this name
were either a yellowish red, nearly of the hue of brickdust,
or a pale pink opake, and without clearness or depth of
tint, and quite unfit to be used in water-coloured drawing,
which was the principal object of my search.

My first attempts were to repeat the process given by
Mareraf in the memoirs of the Academy of Berlin; but
the colour produced by this mode was of a pale red, and
very opake, although the eminent author of the process
states the colour he produced to be that of ‘ /e sang en-
flammé,” which probably means a deep blood colour. It
may, however, be observed, that colours prepared with a
basis of alumine will appear much deeper when ground in
oil than they do in the lump, the oil rendering the alumine
‘nearly transparent. This advantage is, however, lost in
water colours. On examining the residuum of the madder

® From Transactions of the Society of Arts, &c. 1804. The society
voted their gold medal to sir H. C. Englefield for this communication.

root,

Processes for preparing Lake from Madder. 119

root, after it had been treated in Margraf’s method, it
_ appeared tinged with so rich a red, that it was obvious that
by far the greater part of the colour still remained in it,
and that the most powerful and beautiful part. To extract
this, several ineffectual trials were made, which it would
be useless to enter into; but, on attentively examining the
appearances which took place on infusing the madder in
water, I began to suspect that the red colouring matter was
very little, if at all, soluble in water, and that it was only
mechanically mixed with the water when poured on the
Toot, and suspended in it by the mucilage,; with which the
root abounds.

. A very small quantity, therefore, can be obtained by any
infusion or decoction, as the greater part sinks down on
the root, or remains with it on the sieve, or in the bag,
through which the infusion or decoction is passed to render
it clear. I therefore was induced to try whether, by some
merely mechanical means, I could not separate the colour-
ing matter from the fibrous part of the root. In this at-
tempt my success was fully tqual to my hopes; and, after
several trials, I consider the process I am now about to
describe, as the most perfect ] have been able to discover,

Process 1.

Enclose two ounces, troy weight, of the finest Dutch
madder,; known in commerce by the name of crop madder, -
in a bag capable of containing three or four times that
quantity, and made of strong and‘fine calico. Put it into
a large marble or porcelain mortar, and pour on it about
a pint of cold soft water. The Thames water, when filtered,
is as good as can be used; it being very nearly as pure as
distilled water, at least when taken up a very little way
above London. With a marble or porcelain pestle, press
the bag strongly in every direction, and, as it were, rub and

ound it as much as can be done without endangering the

ag. The water will very soon be loaded with the colour-
ing matter, so as to be quite opake and muddy. Pour off
the water, and add another pint of fresh water to the root,
agitating and triturating it in the manner before described ;
and repeat the operation till the water comes off the root
very slightly tinged. About five pints of water, if well agi-
tated and rubbed, will extract from the root nearly the
whole of its colour; and if the residual root be taken out
_ of the bag and dried, it will be found to weigh not more

than five drachms apothecaries weight; its colour will be a
kind of light nankeen, ‘or cinnamon, ard it will have en-
i) H4 tirely

120 = Processes _for preparing Lake from Madder..

tirely lost the peculiar odour of the root, and only retain a:
faint woody smell.
The water loaded with the colouring matter must be
put into an earthen or well tinned copper, or, what is still
better, a silver vessel, (for the use of iron must be carefully
avoided through the whole,) and heated till it just boils.
It must then be poured into a large earthen or porcelain
bason, and an ounce troy weight of alum dissolved in about
a pint of boiling soft water must be poured into it, and
stirred until it is thoroughly mixed. About an ounce and
a half of a saturated solution of mild vegetable alkali should
be gently poured in, stirring the whole well all the time.
A considerable effervescence will take place, and an immer
diate precipitation of the colour. The whole should be
suffered to stand till cold; and the clear yellow. hquor may
then be poured off from the red precipitate. A quart of
boiling soft water should a@ain be poured on it, and well
stirred. When cool, the colour may be separated from the
liquor by filtration through paper in the usual way 3 and
boiling water should be poured on it in the filter till it
passes through of a light straw colour, and quite free from
any alkaline taste. The colour may now be gently dried;
and when quite dry it will be found to weigh half an ounce ;
just a fourth part of the weight of the madder employed. .
By analysis, this colour possesses rather more than 40
per cent. of alumine. If less than an ounce: of alum be
employed with two ounces of madder, the colour will be
rather deeper; but if less than three quarters of an ounce
be used, the whole of the colouring matter will not be coms
bined with alumine. On the whole, I consider the pro-
portion of an ounce of alum to two ounces of madder, as
the best.

Process 2.

If, when the solution of alum is added to the water
loaded with the colouring matter of the root, the whole be
suffered to stand, without the addition of the alkali, a con-
siderable precipitation will\take place, which will be of a
dark dull red. Fhe remaining liquor, if again heated, will,
by the addition of the alkali, produce a rose-coloured pre-
cipitate of a beautiful tint, but wanting in force and depth
of tone.

This is the process recommended by Mr. Watt, in his
Essay on Madder, in the Annales de Chymie, tome 7; and
this Jatter colour is what may, perhaps with propriety, be
called maddzr lake. But, although the lighter red may be

. excellent

Processes for preparing Lake from Madder. 121

excellent for many purposes, yet I consider the colour pro-
duced by the union of the two colouring matters, as given
in the first process, as far preferable for general use, being
of a very beautiful hue when used thin, and possessing un-
rivalled depth and richness either in oil or water, when laid
on in greater body. ’
If but half an ounce of alum be added to the two ounces
of the root, the first precipitate will be nearly similar to:
that when an ounce is employed; but the second, or lake
precipitate, will be less in quantity, and of a deeper
and richer tint. In this case the whole of the colouring
Matter, as before observed, is certain!y not combined with
the alumine; for, on adding more alum to the remaining
hiquor, a precipitate is obtained of a light purplish red.) In
this process, -when two ounces of madder and an ounce of
alum are.used, the first precipitate has about 90 per cent.
of alumine, and the second, or lake precipitate, about 53
per cent.; but these proportions will vary a little in repetis
tions of the process.
Process 3. >

If the madder, instead of being washed and_-triturated
with cold water, as directed in the Yoregoing process, be
treated in exactly the same manner with boiling water, the
colour obtained will be rather darker, but scarcely of so
ood a tint; and the residuum of the root, however care-
fully pressed and washed, will retain a strong purplish hue ;
a full proof that some valuable colour is retained in it, pro-
bably fixed in the woody fibre by the action of heat. Mr,
Waitt, in his excellent Treatise on Madder above mentioned,
observes, that cold water extracts the colour better than hot
water; and I have reason to suspect that a portion of that
colouring matter, which produces the bright red pigment,
distinguished before by the name of madder lake, remains
attached to the root when acted on by boiling water.

Process 4.

If to two ounces of madder a pint of cold water be
added, and the whole be suffered to stand for a few days
(three or four days) in a wide-mouthed bottle, lightly
corked, in a temperature of between 50° and 60°, and often
shaken ; a slight fermentation will take place, the infusion
will acquire a vinous smell, and the mucilaginons part of
the root will be in a great degree destroyed, and its yellow
colour much lessened. If the whole be then poured into a
ealico bag, and the liquor be suffered to drain away without
pressure, and then the root remaining in the bag be heated

; with

122 = Processes for preparing Lake from Madder.

with cold water, &c. exactly as directed in the first process
the red colouring matter will quit the root with much greater
ease than before fermentation. It will also be equal in quan-
tity to that afforded by the first process, but of a much»
lighter red. This difference of tint appears to be owing to
a destruction of a part of the lake by the fermentation of
the root; for if the colours from the fermented root be ob-
tained separate, as in Process 2, the first precipitate will
_not sensibly differ from that obtained from the unfermented’
madder, but the second, or lake, will be of a very light
pink. This process, then, is not to be recommended.

Spanish and Smyrna Madders.

Spanish madder affords a colour of rather a deeper tone
than the Dutch madder, but it does not appear to be of so
pure a red as the Zealand crop madder.

The Smyrna madder is a very valuable root. The colour
produced from it by Process 1, is of a deeper and richer tint
than any I have obtained from the Dutch madder, The
quantity produced from two ounces is only three drachms
twenty-four grains: but this is not to be wondered at; for
as this madder is imjrted in the entire root in a dry state,

_and the crop madder of Zealand consists principally of the
bark, in which probably the greatest part of the colouring
substance resides, there is every reason to think that the
Smyrna madder really contains a greater proportion of co-
lour than the Zealand in equal weights of the entire root.

The products of Process 2, prove that the lake of the
Smyrma madder is more abundant im quantity and of a
richer tone than that of the Dutch root; for, from two ounces
of Dutch madder the first precipitate was two drachms, and
the lake was two drachms and forty-eight grains; where-
as, from two ounces of the Smyrna root the first precipitate
was one drachm and twenty-four grains, and the lake was
two drachms and twenty-four grains. The proportion of
the lake to the other colour is therefore much higher in the
Smyrna than in the Dutch root.

Fresh Madder.

The colour may be prepared from the recent root; and
it will be of a quality equal, if not superior, to any other.
The difficulty of procuring the fresh root has prevented me
from making as many experiments on it as T° could have
wished. I procured, however, a small quantity of the best
roots packed in moss from Holland, and the following
process answered perfectly well.

Eight

—__ *—™

Processes for preparing Lake from Madder. 123

_ Eight ounces of the root, having been first well washed
and cleaned from dirt of all kinds, were broken into small
pieces, and pounded in a bell-metal mortar, with a wooden
pestle, till reduced into an uniform’ paste. This paste being
inclosed in a calico bag, was washed and triturated, as de-
scribed in the first process, with cold water. About five
pints seemed to have extracted nearly the whole of the co-
lour. To the water thus loaded with colour, and boiled as
before, one ounce of alum, dissolved in a pint of boiling
water, was added, and the alkali poured on the whole till
the taste of the mixture was just perceptibly alkaline. The
colour thus obtained, when dry, was of a very beautiful
quality.
The success of this experiment, which was twice re-
peated with the same result, has led me to hope that it is
not impossible that the mode of obtaining the colour from

_the fresh root here described, may be productive of advan-

tages for more extensive use than I had in view when first [

’ attempted to obtain a pigment from madder. Many tracts

of land in this country are as well adapted to the growth of
this valuable article as the soil of Holland can ke; and-the
cultivation of it, which has more than once been attempted
to a considerable extent, has been laid aside, principally
from the expense attendant on the erection of drying-houses
and-mills, and the great expense and nicety requisite for
conducting the process of drying. But should the colour
prepared in the mode just described be found to answer the
purposes of the dyers and calico-printers, the process is so
easy, and the apparatus required for it so little expensive,
that it might be in the power of any grower of the root to
extract the colour: besides which, another great advantage
would be obtained ; the colour thus separated from the root
tay be kept any length of time without danger of spoiling,
rag its carriage would be only one-fourth of that of the
root. Iam, moreover, thoroughly inclined to believe, that
in the present mode of using the root, a very considerable
part of the colour is left in it by the dyers ; and, should this
oa to be the case, an advantaye much greater than any

itherto adveried to may arise trom the process‘here recom-
mended.

Should it be attempted to obtain the colour from the fresh
root, on an extensive scale, I should recommend that the
root be first reduced to as uniform a pulp as possible, by
grinding or pounding, To this purpose it is probable that
the cider-mill would answer perfectly well; and its extreme
simplicity is a great recommendation. For the purpose of
’ trituration,

124 = Processes for preparing Lake from Madder.

trituration, bags of woollen, such as are used in the oil-mills,
would probably answer as well as calico, and they would
be much cheaper and more durable. A large vat, with’
stampers, would be easily constructed, by thuse who are
conversant in mechanics, for the holding them and pressing
them in water; and when the colour was boiled and preci-
pitated, the flues of the boilers might easily be formed into
convenient drying-tables, without any additional expense of

fuel. The part of the process which I] consider as of the

- greatest importance, and as being the essential advantage of
my methods over all those which have come to my know-
ledge, is the trituration or pressing of the root in water ;
and I believe that the colouring matter of the root has not
been hitherto considered as so nearly insoluble in water as
I have reason to think it is.

It were much to be wished that in the present advanced
state of chemistry some skilful analyser would investigate

the properties of this very useful root, in which perhaps it
will be found that there are three, if not four, different co=
Jouring substances. Such are the processes and views,
which I have thought it not improper to submit to the con
sideration of the Society of Arts, &c.

T have only now to describe the specimens which aecom-
pany this paper ; assuring the society that they have been
all prepared by my own hands entirely, and that I am
therefore responsible for their having been produced by the
processes stated, without the addition of any foreign matter
whatever, excepting the*cake ground up with gum, and
the bladder of oil-colour, which were prepared from the
colour which I gave him, by Mr. Newman, of Soho-square,
whose skill and fidelity are too well known to need any tes-
timony in their favour.

It may be proper to add, that all the colours produced
from the Dutch madder were prepared from the same parcel
of crop niadder, in order that the differences in them might
proceed from the processes, and not from a variation in the
qualities of the root, which, in different specimens, will
produce different shades of colour under the same mode of
treatment.

1. Dutch madder, treated by Process Ist.

0 Ditto s) FI 8 aR .. Process 2d.

SPDitto 84. VN So Procersiade

As Ditto! AOS Eosel ou. ‘Pregese4ths

5. Dutch madder, two eunces; alum, half an ounce ;

treated by Process 2. dy

~ 6. Dutch

Separation of Gold and Silver from the laser Metals. 1925

6. Dutch madder, two ounces; alum, one ounce; fer-
mented two days, and then treated by Process 2.
7. Produce of Process 1s ground in gum by Mr. Newman.
8. Produce of Process 1, ground in oil by Mr. Newman.
S—1. Smyrna madder, by Process 1.

ee A TELON cee oe ete eee Process 2.
So. Dittman aie .. Process 3.
See a ee Bite Rea os SEU Process 4.

Certificates accompanied the foregoing description, from
Mr. Cotman and Mr. Munn, testifying the merits of slr
H. Englefield’s madder lakes, as water-colours; and also
from Messrs. West, Trumbull, Opie, Turner, Daniel, and
Hoppner, speaking greatly in its favour, where it has been
tried in oil-colours.

XIX. A new Process for separating Gold and Silver from
: the baser Metals *.

Hiruerro this process has always been, as far as I have
understood it, attended with considerable difficulty in the
execution ; but, by that which I am about to describe, is
done with exact certainty. It was discovered and commu-
Micated to me by a gentleman in this neighbourhood. The
process consists in mixing noi less than two parts of pow-
dered manganese with the impure or compound metal
which should be previously flattened or spread out so as
expose as large a surface as possible, and broken or cut
into small picces for the convenience of putting the whole
into a crucible, which then is ta be kept in a sufficient heat
for a short time. On removing the whole from the fire, and
allowing it to cool, the mixture isfound to be converted into
a brownish powder, which powder or oxide is then to be
mixed with an equal proportion of powdered glass, and
then submitted in a crucible to a sufficient heat, so as to
fuse the whole; when the perfect metals are found at the
bottom: in a state of extreme purity; a circumstance of no
small importance to the artist and the chemist; the latter
ef whom will find no difficulty in separating the one from
the other with so little trouble compared with the usual
ocesses, that | have no doubt it will always be practised
in preference to the cupel.

. * Extracted from a Communication by Dr. William Dyce, of Aber-
deen, inserted in the twenty-second volume of the Transactions of the

Society of Arts, &c. ‘ %
ed 1 XX. Twenty-

{[ 326 J

XX. Twenty-first Communication from Dr. THORNTON,
relative to Pneumatic Medicine.

March 15, 1805.
No. 1, Hinde Street, Manchester Squares

To Mr. Tilloch.
DEAR SIR,

HAVE the honour to inclose you the following remarka-
ble case cured by the inhalation of vital air. '

A Deviation from the common Course of Nature.

Mary Tame, xt. 16, residing at No. 17, East-strect,
when fourtecn years of age, instead of being regular im the
usual way, had a copious discharge of blood from both
breasts. These discharges, for nearly the space of two
years after, came on regularly once a fortnight, or three
weeks, attended with violent pains in the baek and loins,
and continued the regular period of three days. The quan-
tity of blood so discharged was about the same as under the
usual circumstances. It distilled gradually from the nip-
ples as milk from an overloaded breast, but without pain.
\t this period the face appeared turgid with blood. I wit-
nessed myself this discharge of blood from the breasts, and
have no doubt of the reality of so extraordinary a pheno-
menon. Having first invited the blood from the superior
to the inferior parts by aloetic cathartics, I next ordered the
inhalation of vital air with tonics; and this phenomenon
has not again occurred, it is now four months.

Observations on this Case by Dr. Thornton.

1. Each part of the body obeys its adapted stimulus
learned from experience. Thusthe eye is stimulated by hght,
the ear by sound, the stomach by food; and the most dif-
fusible stimulus is the oxygen in the arterial blood. Thus,
if the liquid in the bladder escape into the cavity of the
abdomen, it excites the highest derangement, although a
proper stimulus to that reservoir. Thus, if water, or even
milk, be injected into the veins in a small portion, accord-
me to the quantity. is the derangement of the frame; and if
jalap or emetic tartar be injected into the circulation, each
will be determined to the respective organs, as though they
had been received into the stomach and bowels. Thus tt
is, that rhubarb and aloes stimulate the lower parts of the
intestinal tube, especially the rectum, inviting the blood to
the aorta descendens.

2. The

Twenty-first Communication from Dr. Thornton, 127

- 2, The blood, being then properly propelled throughout
the whole frame, whose energies, were increased by bark,

-serpentaria, myrrh, and afterwards stecl,—every organ re-

sumed its proper functions, and the aberration ceased.

s. Mr. Morton*, a gentleman whose.mind rises much
superior te the delight of low persons, has certainly mis-
understood the science of pneumatic medicine when he at-

tempted to hold it forth to ridicule on the stage. To wipe

away, as far as my voice reaches, the*odiwm he would
attach to the practice, I shall beg leave to refer the philo-
sophic world to what I published th the year 1799.—Vide

Philosophy of Medicine, vol. i. p. 545, fourth edition.

Dr. Brown’s golden Maxim.

« As the most healthy state of man is occasioned not by
the operation of any one, or of a few exciting powers, but
by the united operation of them all; so neither is its re-esta-
blishment to be effected but by the same wnited operation
of all the*remedies, the last of which come to be the ordi-
nary means of the support of the healthy state.”

Upon this principle, my practice is, im all asthenic dis-
eases requiring more than the usnal routine, to endeavour
for the stomach to be braced and strengthened by bark,
myrrh, steel, or zinc; the blood improved, and hence
the whole vascular system, by the inhalation of vital air ;
the mind to be exalted with ihe hopes and novelty of cure;
a generous mode of living enforced ; and thus every energy
of the frame to be roused mto action. But the public mind
has been Jong poisened by the doctrines of specifics ; and as
*‘ what is good for every thing is good for nothing,” for
quackery advertises the same specifics for every disease, so
no credit will be given by many to ahe healing powers of
the constitution, and Jess to those means which act on the
constitrtion, and thus on a variety of diseases of the same
class: but in the issue, “ truth and science will prevail :”
aud as constitutions are differently affected by the same
means, hence the neccssity of discrimination in the practi-
tioner, and hence our prophecy, that the extinction of
quachery i8-at no great distance in an enlightened age.
Steering is very simple; move the rudder ever so little to

the right or left, and the ship turns in a contrary direction ;

put it straight, and the ship moves ‘straight: but God has
so connected mankind, that even the conduct of this simple
* The wit aimed at by Mr, Morton, in his School of Reform, is by

the introduction of one Dr, OXYGEN; who gives his patient, by mistake,
instead of a certificate of Cures, the bilis of Mortality!

process

128 Communication from Mr. Ince.

process requires some experience: and it will be found to
be the same with engraving, writing, tuning of instruments,
hair-dressing, and physic.”

4. So far, therefore, is the application of vital air from
deserving to be branded on the stage as quackery, that it
most perfectly accords with the Brunonian system, now
almost universally received.

5. Perhaps of all remedies for the cure of diseases, when
properly administered, this is the most harmless and effi-
cacious. Some have occasicnally had recourse to it for five
years past, and one gentleman, in an cbstinate disease,
daily, for six months.

6. I shall conclude, therefore, these remarks with saying,
that however it may be estimated by Mr. Morton and
others, the philosophic world will, I am sure, wish to ,
see this remedy continued; and I shall content myself
with their approbation, and a consciousness of the integrity
of my own motives.

XXI. Communication from Mr. Ince, Surgeon, relative to
Pneumatic Medicine. .
: March 15, 1805.
No. 29, York Buildings, New Road.

To Mr. Tilloch.
SIR,

i woutp thank you to insert the following cure in your
“Magazine.

A Case of Ulcerations in the Leg, cured ly Vital Air.

Mrs. Mead, eet. 45, living at Kinsbray, near Edgware,
had five large ulcers in the left leg, which extended along
the calf to the ancle, and had resisted every attempt made
to cure them for two years. She was advised by Dr. Thorn-
ton to inhale the vital air, and place herself under my ma-
nagement. He ordered her bark, steel, with myrrh, as
medicine, and the common unguents were employed to
the ulcers, and occasionally a weak solution of oxygenated
silver. The ulcers in a few days, from an ichorous dis-
charge, put on an healthy appearance, and the cure of the
ulcerations was perfected in less than three weeks. Her
limb has since remained sound; it is now upwards of six
months, and her health is completely re-established.

I have the honour to be, sir,
Your obedient humble servant,
Henry Rozenrt Ince.

XXII. Ex

L 129 |

XXIL. Extract of a Memvir on the Temperature of the Water
of the Sea, both at the Surface and at different Depths,
along the Shores and at a Distance from the Coast. By
M. F. Psron, Naturalist on the French Expedition to
New Holland*.

O: all the experiments in: natural philosophy,” says
M. Peron, * there are few the results of which are more
interesting and more curieus than those which form the
subject of this memoir. The meteorolovist must derive from
them valuable data in regard to atmospheric observations
in the middle of the ocean: they may furnish to the natu-
ralist knowledge indispensably necessary in regard to the
habitation of the different tribes of marine animals; and
the geologue and philosopher will find in them the most
certain facts in regard to the propagation of heat in the
middle of the seas, and of the physical state of the interior
parts of the globe, the deepest excavations of which cam
scarcely go beyond the surface. In a word, there is no
science which may not derive benefit from the results of
experiments of this kind. How much then ought we to
be surprised that they have hitherto excited so little atten-
tion |” ;

Proceeding then to an account of the observations which
may be made at the surface of the sea, and which he him-
self pursued from lat. 49° north to lat. 44° south, repeating
them four times a day,—at six in the mornive, at noon, at
six in the evening, and at midnight, —M. Peron deduces
from them the following results :—* The temperature of
the surface of the sea, colder at noon than the atmosphere,
and warmer at midnight, is nearly in equilibrium with that
of the morning and evenwg, in such a manner, however,
that the mean term of a given number of observations is
more considerable for the water of the sea.”

By a very happy application of these first results M. Peron
easily proves, that the supposed heating of the waves is a
mistake of sensation produced by the more considerable

8ooling in a given time of the atmosphere than of the

waves. The proof he has adduced seems to beas simple
5 it is incontestable. This prejudice, which is as old as
Anistotle, and which the incomplete experiments of Forster
and. Irving did not admit of being entirely rejected, not-
withstanding the supposition of a principle contrary to

ae * Feom.the Journal de Physique: Brumaive, an 13,
Vol.21. No. 82. March 1805. I those

130 Memoir on the Temperature of

those advanced by sound philosophy, will in future be erts
tircly proscribed ; and M. Peron substitutes in its stead this
consequence of the experiments which he made on this
subject.

The relative temperature of the water of the sea increases
during its agitation, but its absolute temperature always de-
creases,

The second section of M. Peron’s memoir contains an
account of experiments which may be made at great depths.
The author here establishes a great distinction between ex-
periments of this kind made along the coasts, and those re-
peated in the open sea at a great distance from the conti-
nents and large islands. From his examination of experi-
ments of the first kind, those made along the coasts by
Saussure and Marsigii in the Mediterranean ; by Donati in
the Adriatic ; and by himself in the sea which washes the
western coast of New Holland, it results that, ceteris pa-
gilus, the temperature of the sea along the coasts is greater
vat equal depths than in the middle of the ocean; that it
scems to increase as one approaches the shores; and that
these writers themselyes furnish objections against the uni-
form temperature of 10°, which has hitherto been admitted
as the mean temperature of the interior part of the globe
either in its solid or liquid part.

For the above experiments, and those about to be men-
tioned, M. Peron employed an apparatus, invented by him-
self, which appears indeed to be superior to all those hi-«
therto employed for the same purpose. By arranging suc-
cessively around his thermometer a stratum of air, glass,
charcoal, wood, tallow, and resin, he was able to unite
under a very small volume all those bodies which are the
worst conductors of caloric, and in such an order, that this
property of being a bad conductor necessarily became still
less; M. Peron having set out from this principle, that
caloric, as well as electricity, can with the greater difficulty
penetrate a stratum of a given thickness, as the bodies
which compose it are more different in their nature. This
part of the author’s labour has been universally approved.

The author then proceeds to the temperature of the sea
at great depths :—‘* We have now arrived,” says he, *¢ at
the third and ninth part of the experiments which might be
attempted on the heat of the sea water. It is also the most
delicate and the most interesting, in consequence of the va-
Juable data it may furnish us in regard to the internal phy-
sical state of the globe at depths which cannot be reached
in the solid part.” He then gives the result of the experi-

ments

eet.

—

the lVater of the Sea. 131

ments which he made successively in the neighbourhood of
the equator at the depth of 300, 500, 1200, and 2144 feet.

This consequence, which no doubt is new and very in-
teresting, results, namely, that the temperature of the water
of the sea decreases in proportion to the depth. The dif-
ference obtained by M. Peron in his last observation at the
dept) of 2144 feet, was 19° of Reaumur between the tem-
perature of the surface and that at this depth.

Flaving given the result of his particular observations,
the auther examines the experiments of the same kind
which were made before. < If we except,” says he, “ the
celebrated traveller whose return has excited universal joy
among all the friends of science, and who attended also to
this object, but whose results and apparatus I am still un-
acquainted with*, three persons only have made accurate
observations in the open sea on the temperature of the wa-
ters, viz. Irving, Forster, and myself. By a very uncom-
mon accident, our experiments were repeated at three of the
most opposite points of the globe. By Irving, during the
voyage of the honourabie Mr. Phipps, afterwards lord Mul-
graye, to the North Pole; in the expedition of captain Cook
to the South Pole, they werecontinued by Forster to the 64th
degree south, beyond which no navigator had been able to
advance; and I myself, placed, as 1 may say, between these
extremes, made all my experiments in the neighbourhood
of the equator. It would certainly be difficult to find any
other fact in physics where so many points of comparison
can be enumerated; and yet we shall find the results of
these different experiments reproduced,every where analo-
gous to those which I shall here exhibit.”

In Forster’s experiments, indeed, we find that the tem-
perature of the sea decreases successively from the 16th of
Reaumur to the term zero of the same thermometer, and
it continually decreases the greater the depth. The inge-

‘mious experiments of Dr. Irving reproduce the same results
with still more interest, since at the depth of 3,900 feet he

obtained two degrees below zero of Reaumutr’s scale.
M. Peron then takes a rapid view of the very incomplete
experiments of Elis, Wallis, Bradley, and Baldh, and the

-- anonymous ones collected by Kirwan: he is satisfied with

observing, that they all concur to confirm the principal re-

-sults-of his own experiments, and those of Forster and Ir-

ying. He concludes with a general view of the same re-

* Mr. Humboldt was still at Bourdeaux,
2 sults,

132 On the Temperature of the Water of the Sea.

sults, and of the geological consequences which may bé
deduced from them.

The temperature of the sea water decreases according to
the depth. All the results of the observations hitherto made
on this point, concur in proving that the deepest guiphs of
the sea, as well as the sunmmits of the highest mountains,
are continually covered with ice, even under the equator:
whence it must necessarily follow that a very small number.
of animals and vegetables can live there, if any exist at all.
** Analogous results have proved,”’ continues the author,
* that a similar cooling existed at great depths in the prin-
cipal lakes of Swisserland and Italy. The observations of
Georgi, Gmelin, Pallas, Ledyard, and Patrin, in Siberia,
and those of that accurate observer Saussure, prove that
the case in regard to the bosom of the earth has always been
the same when experiments have been made at the bottom
of mines. Similar results were obtained in America by
Shaw, Mackenzie, Umfreville, and Robson. Onght not so
many facts united to leave us in some uncertainty in regard
to this theory, so generally admitted, of an interior central
fire which maintains a uniform and constant temperature
of 10° in the whole mass of our globe, whether solid or
liquid? Shall we not one day be obliged to recur to this old’
principle, so natural, and so agreeable besides to all the phe-
nomena which daily take place before our eyes? The only
source of the heat of our globe is that great luminary by
which it is enlightened: without it, without the salutary
influence of its rays, the whole of our earth, soon congealed
in every point, would be only an inert mass of ice. ‘Phe
history of the winter of these polar regions would then be
that of the whole planet.”

However singular this last consequence of, M. Peron may
appear, however contrary it may be to our present ideas in
regard to the internal state of our globe, it must be allowed
that the facts collected by this naturalist in support of his
opinion are so numerous, and there prevails so much agree-
ment in all the results obtained by observers, so different in.
so many different places, and at periods so distant, and
with apparatus so little susceptible of comparison, that no
objection can be made to it by the respectable body before
whom it is laid.

In the last place, the experiments of M. Humboldt, en-
tirely analogous to those of M. de Peron, to whom the Prus-
sian traveller was eager to pay a publiétribute of praise, give
it a new degree of weight. :

‘© This

ee om Sh

Analysis of the magnetical Pyrite’. 133

** This consequence of M. Peron,” say the commission-
ers of the Institute, “ appears to us the more probable, as
it now proves the origin of those mountains of ice which
in the polar regions have bitherto impeded the progress of
the European navigators: it makes us readily comprehend
how masses of ice, detached from the depths of the sea to
float at the surface, can constitute in these regions project-
ing mountains of ice which simple congelation could never
effect under that form.”

This ingenious theory, therefore, of an interior central
fire maintaining a uniform temperature of about 10 degrees
throughout the whole mass, whether solid or liquid, of our
globe, experiences at present the fate reserved, soon or late,
for almost all human theories. The calculations of Leib-
nitz, who first conevived it; the eloquence of Buffon, who
decided his triumph, ought however, it would seem, to
have secured to it a ionger and more peaceable existence.

We shall terminate this extract with the opinion given
on this subject by the commissioners of the Institute charged
to give in a report upon it. “© The memoir of M. Peron,”
say they, “ seems to us to deserve great attention from phi-
Josophers : it is written with method, precision, and clear-
ness. The experiments, of which the author gives an ac-
count, seem to have been made with that care and attention
which are capable of ensuring the exactness of the results
which: they have furnished. We are therefore of opinion
that this memoir deserves the approbation and even the
praises of the class, and that it ought to be printed among
those des Savans Etrangers. We will venture to add, that
this is not the only claim) of M. Peron to the gratitude of
all those who are tond of the sciences; his labaurs during
his voyage will considerably tend to enlarge the boundaries
of the natural sciences.”

TRE ir ty Ware aie) cj
XXII. An Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites; with Re-
marks on some of the other Sulphurets of Iron. By’
Cuarnres Harcnurr, Esq. F,R,S.*

bed a ae

O, the various metallic sulphurets which constitute ong
of the grand divisions of ores, none appear to be so univers
sally dispersed throughout the globe as the sulphuret of

* From the Transations of the Royal Society of London for 1804.
I3 ivon,

134 Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites.

iron, commonly called martial pyrites; for the species and
varieties of this are found at all depths, and in all climates
and soils, whether antient, or of alluvial and recent formas
tion. It is remarkable also, that, under certain circum-
stances, this sulphuret is daily produced in the humid way ;
an instance of which, a few years back, I had the honour,
in conjunction with Mr. Wiseman, to lay before this so-
ciety *; and although, in regard to pecuniary value, the
pyrites of iron may be considered as comparatively insig~
nificant, yet there is every reason to believe, that in the
operations of nature it is a substance of very considerable
importance,
§ Il.

The species and varieties of martia! pyrites are in gencrak
so well known, and have been so frequently and accurately:
described, as to figure, lustre, colour, and other external
characters, that it would be totally superfluous here to give
any detailed account of them. One of the species, however,
merits peculiar notice, as possessing the remarkable property:
of strong magnetic polarity ; and, although it has been de-~
scribed by modern mineralogists t+. it does not appear to
have been as yet subjected to any regular chemical exa-
mination; so that, whether it be a sulphuret of iron imhe-
rently endowed with the magnetical property, ora sulphuret
in which particles of the ordinary maonetical iron ore are
simply but minutely interspersed, has to this time remained
undecided.

This species is known by the name of magnetical pyrites,
and is called by the Germans magnet-kies, or ferrums mine-
ralisatum magnetico-pyritaceum.

It is mast frequently of the colour of bronze, passing
to a pale cupreous red.

The lustre is metallic. wine

The fracture is unequal, and commonly coarse-grained,
but sometimes imperfectly conchoidal.
' The fragments are amorphous.

‘The trace is yellowish gray, with some metallic lustre

It is not very hard; but, when struck with steel, sparks
are produced, although with some difficulty. ’

It is brittle, and is easily broken.

This pyrites has been hitherto found only in some parts
of Norway, Silesia, Bavaria, and especially at Geier, Met-

* Transactions of the Royal Society of London for 1798, p+ 567.
+ Kirwan, vol. ii. p- 79. Widenmann, p. 792. Emmerling, 2d edit.
teme ii, p. 286, Karsten, p. 48. Brochant, tome ii. p. 232.
fersdorf,

Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites. 135

fersdorf, and Breitenbrunn in Saxony ; but, having received
some specimens from the right honourable Charles Gre-
ville, F.R.S., I was struck with their resemblance to the
pyrites of Breitenbrunn, which happened at that time to be
in my possession ; and, upon trial, J found that they were
magnetical, and agreed with the latter in every particular,
Their magnetic power was such as strongly to affect a well-
poised needle of about three inches in length; a piece of
the pyrites, nearly two inches square, acted upon the needle
at the distance of four inches.

The powder (which is blackish gray, with but little me-
tallic lustre) is immediately taken up by-a common mag-
net; but the pyrites does not act thus on the powder, nor
On iron filings, unless it has been placed for some time be-
tween magnetical bars; then, indeed, it acts powerfully,
turns the needle completely round, attracts and takes up
iron filings, and seems permanently to retain this addition
to its original power.

In the specimens which I obtained, the north pole was
generally the strongest.

This pyrites was found in Wales, about the year 1798,
by the honourable Robert Greville, F.R.S., who sent the
specimens above described to his brother the right honoura-
ble Charles Greville, with the following account: .

«© Tt is found in great abundance in Caernarvonshire,
near the base of the mountain called Moel Elion, or pro-
bably with more accuracy Moel iia, and opposite to the
mountain called Mynydd Mawr, These mountains form
the entrance into a little close valley, which leads to Cy-
wellin lake, ncar Snowdon, a little beyond the hamlet of
Bettws.

_ The vein appears to be some vards in depth and
breadth, and seems to run from north ta south, as it is
found on Mynydd Mawr, which is across the narrow val-
Jey, and opposite to Moel Aélia,”

Mr. Robert Greville, in another part of his letter, states
that copper ore has been worked in several of the adjacent
places, and that, many years ago, captain Williams, of
Glan yr Avon, employed some miners at the place where
this pyrites is found, but the undertaking proved unpro-
ductive. Yellow copper ore is certainly in the vicinity ;

for some portions of it were adhering to the specimens
hich-have been mentioned; and I shall here observe, that

e stone. which accompanies the magnetical pyrites is a
variety of the lapis ollaris, or pot-stone, of a pale grayish
green, containing smooth pan crystals of common A

4 ;

136 Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites.
§ TIT,

From the appearance of those parts of the magnetical py
rites which have been exposed to the weather, it seems to
be liable to oxidizement, but not to vitriolization.

The specific gravity, at temperature 65° of Fahrenheit,
is 4518.) y |

When exposed to the blowpipe, it emits a sulphureous
odour, and melts into a globule nearly black, which is at-
tracted by the magnet. :

500 grains, in coarse powder, were exposed, in a smalk
earthen retort, to a red heat, during three hours. By this
operation the weight of the powder was very little dimi-
nished; neither was there any appearance of sulphur in
the receiver, which, however, smelt strongly of sulphareous
acid,

500 grains of the same were put into a flat porcelain cru-
cible, which was kept in a red heat, under a muffle, during
four hours. The powder then appeared of a dark gray, with
a tinge of deep red, and weighed 432°50 grains. ‘The loss
was therefore 67°50 = 13°50 per cent.; but, upon examin-
ing the residuum, J found that only part of the sulphur had
been thus separated

The magnetical pyrites, when digested in dilute sulphurie
acid, is partially dissolved, with httie effervescence, although
there is a very perceptible odour of sulphuretted hydrogen.

The solution is of a very pale green colour.

Pure ammonia produced a dark green precipitate, tending
to black; and prussiate of potash formed a very pale blue
precipitate, or rather a white precipitate mingled with a
small portion of blue. The whole of the latter, however,
by exposure to the air, gradually assumed the usual inten-
sity of Prussian blue; and the blackish green precipitath,
formed by ammonia, became gradually ochraccous. These
effects, therefore, fully prove, that the iron in the solution
was, for the greater part, at the minimum of oxidizement,
so as to formthe green sulphate and white prussiate of iron *;
and, consequently, that the iron of the magnetical pyrites is’
either quite, or very nearly, in the state of perfect metal.

This pyrites, when treated with nitric acid of the specific
gravity of 1-38, diluted with an equal quantity of water, is
at first but little affected; but, when heat is applied, it is,
dissolved with much effervescence, and discharge of nitrous
gas: the cffervescence, however, is by no means so violent

* Réchevehes cur Ie Bleu de Prusse, par M. Proust. Avnales de Chimie,
tome Xxliis p.85. :

as.

Analysts of the magnetical Pyrites. 137

as when the common pyrites are treated in a similar man-
ner. It is also worthy of notice, that if the digestion be
not of too long duration, a considerable quantity of sul-
phur, in substance, is separated; whilst, on the contrary,
scarcely any can be obtamed from the common pyrites,
when treated in a similar manner; although I shall soon
have occasion to prove that the real quantity of sulphur is
much more considerable in the latter than in the former.

‘As soon as muriatic acid is poured on the powder of the
magnetical pyrites a slight effervescence is produced, which
becomes violently increased by the application of heat; a
quantity of vas is discharged, which, by its odour, by its
jnflammability, by the colour of the flame, by the deposi-
tion of sulphur when burned, and by other properties, was
proved to be sulpburetted hydrogen.

During the digestion sulphur was deposited, which so
enveloped a small part of the pyrites as to protect it from
the further action of the acid.

The solution was of a pale yellowish green colour. With
prussiate of potash it afforded a pale blue precipitate, or
rather a white precipitate mixed with blue; and with am-
monia it formed a dark blackish-green precipitate, which

ually became ochraceous; so that these efiects corro-
orated the conclusions which were founded on the pro-
perties of the sulphuric solution, namely, that the iron con-
tained in the pyrites is almost, if not quite, i the metallic
state.
Other experiments were made; but, as they merely con-

‘firm the above observations, I shall proceed to give an ac- .

count of the analysis.
: § IV.
Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites.

A. 100 grains, reduced to a fine powder, were digested,
with two ounces of muriatic acid, in a glass matrass placed
ima sand-bath. The effects already described took place,
and a pale yellowish green solution was formed. The resi-

was then again digested with two parts of muriatic
mixed with one of nitric acid ; and a quantity of pure
yhur was obtained, which, being dried, weighed 14

grains.

. ls The acid in which the residuum had been digested was

led to the first muriatic solution; some nitrie acid was
ured in, to promote the oxidizement of the iron, and
thereby to facilitate the precipitation of it byammonia, which
POP) . was

138 Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites.

was added after the liquor had been boiled for a considera=,
ble time. The precipitate thus obtained was boiled with
lixivium of potash; it was then edulcorated, dried, made,
red-hot with wax in-a covered porcelain crucible, was com-
pictely taken up by a magnet, and, being weighed, amounted
to 80 grains.

C. The lixivium of potash was examined by muriate of
ammonia, hut no alumina was obtained.

D, To the filtrated liquor from which the iron had been

precipitated by ammonia, muriate of barytes was added
‘until it ceased to produce any precipitate: this was then
digested with some very dilute muriatic acid ; was collected,
washed, and, after exposure to a low red heat fora few
minutes in a crucible of platina, weighed 155 grains. If,
therefore, the quantity of sulphur converted into sulphuric
acid by the preceding operations, and precipitated by ba-
rytes, be calculated according to the accurate experiments
of Mr. Chenevix, these 155 grains of sulphate of barytes
will denote nearly 22°50 of sulphur; so that, with the addi-
tion of the 14 grains previously obtained in substance, the
total quantity will amount to 36°50.

E. Moreover, from what has been stated it appears that
the iron which was obtaimed in the form of black oxide
weighed 80 grains; and, by adding these 80 grains to the
36°50 of sulphur, an increase of weight is found = 16°50.
This was evidently owing to the oxidizement of tbe iron,
which, in the magnetical pyrites, exists quite, or very nearly,
in the metallic state, but, by the operations of the analysis,
had received this addition. ‘The real quantity of iron must,
on this account, be estimated at 63+50.

190 grains, therefore, of the magnetical pyrites yielded

Sulphur { si etsy 36°50 grains.
Jron. « -E.. =>) '68750

————

100°

This analysis was repeated in a similar manner, excepting
that the whole was digested in nitric acid until the sul-
phur was entirely converted into sulphuric acid. To the
liquor which remained after the separation of the iron by
ammonia, muriate of barytes was added, as before, and
formed a precipitate which weighed 245 grains. Now, as
the sulphuric acid in sulphate of barytes is estimated by
*Mr. Chenevix at 23°5 per cent., and the sulphur which 1s

y required

Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites. 189

required to form the sulphuric acid contained in 100 parts
of sulphate of barytes at 14°5 *, it follows, that 245 grains
of dry sulphate of barytes contain sulphuric acid equal, very
nearly, to 36 grains of sulphur; so that the two analyses
corroborate each other. The proportion of sulphur in the
magnetical pyrites may therefore be stated at 36°50, or in-
deed at 37 per cent. if some small allowance be made for
the occasional presence of earthy particles; a minute por-
tion of quartz having been found, by the last analysis, after
the complete acidification of the sulphur,

The increase produced, by the operations of the analysis,
in the weight of the iron, arose, as I have already remarked,
from the addition of oxygen; for the iron, as obtained by
the analysis, was in the state of black oxide; but in this,
and indeed in all pyrites, it undoubtedly exists very nearly,
or quite, in the state of perfect metal. Now the black oxide
of iron, called protoxide by Dr. Thomson t, has been proved
by Lavoisier and Proust to consist of 100 parts of metallic
iron combined with 37 of oxygen, thus forming 137 of
black oxide: the exact proportion of oxygen is therefore
27 per cent., and 80 grains of this oxide must contain 21°6
of oxygen. But, in the above analyses of the magnetical
pyrites, the increase of weight did not amount to more
than 16-5; and we may therefore conclude that, in all
probability, a quantity of oxygen = 5°1 was previously
combined with some part, or with the general mass, of the
iron in the pyrites. A small part of the above-mentioned
increase of weight must likewise have arisen from another
cause ; for, although the true proportions of the black oxide
of iron are 27 of oxygen and 73 of iron, (so that 100 parts
of the latter absorb 37 of the former,) yet, in actual prac-
tice, it is difficult to obtain it exactly in this state, and there
is commonly a small excess of weight: this I have repeat-
edly observed in many experiments, some of which were
purposely made. When, for instance, 100 parts of fine iron
wire were dissolved in muriatic acid, and afterwards preci-
pitated by ammonia, edulcorated, dried, and made red-hot
with a small quantity of wax in a covered porcelain cruci-
ble, the weight, instead of 137, usually amounted to 139
or 140. ‘The quantity of wax empl»yed certainly did not
afford a ponderable quantity of coal or other residuum ; but
the real cause of the increase of weight appears tu be the

air, which can scarcely be completely excluded, and which,

| * Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, vol. Vili, p. 240.
+ System of Chemistry, zd edition, vol, i. p. 147.
after

140 Analysis of the magneticul Pyrites.

after the wax is burned, combines with the superficial part
of the oxide, and converts a portion of it into the red or
peroxide; so that the surface in the crucible appears brown
when compared with the interior.

To this cause, therefore, I am inclined also to attribute
a small part of the increase observed in the weight of the
iron obtained by the preceding analyses.

§ Vv.

Before I make any observations on the nature of the sul-
phuret which has been proved to constitute the magnetical
pyrites, it may be proper to state some comparative analyses
which I have made of several of the common pyrites ; and,
as the method employed was precisely the same as that
which has been described, all that secims to be requisite is
to give an account of the results.

In each analysis the whole of the sulphur was conyerted
‘into sulphuric acid, which was precipitated by barytes; and,
in the selection of the specimens, great attention was paid
to takeMthe internal parts of the fragments, and not to make
use of any which exhibited an appearance of decomposition,
or of extraneous substances.

The iron was, .as before, reduced to the state of black
oxide; and the addition of weight in each separate analysis —
corresponded, within a few fractional parts, with the pro-
portion of oxygen requisite to form into black oxide a given
quantity of metallic iron, equal to that which in each pyrites
was ascertained to be the real proportion, by deducting the
quantity of sulphur from the otal quantity of each pyrites.

The iron, therefore, in these is completely metallic, and
as such Is stated in the following results,

No.1. Pyrites in the form of dodecaedronsy Sulphur 52°15
with pentagonal faces. - - [ron 47°85

Specific gravity 4830.

100:

Sulphur 52°50
No. 2. Pyrites in the form of striated cubes. J Iron 47°50

100:

No. 3. Pyrites in,the form of smooth po-

lished cubes, found in the lapis ae ane

Tron 47°30

100°

which accompanies the magnetical
pytites. | - - - -
Specific gravity 4831.

No. 4.

Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites. 141
Sulphur 53-60

‘No. 4. Radiated pyrites. = ra JIron 46-40
- Specific gravity 4698. oe
100°

+ : Sulphur 54°34
No. 5. A smaller variety of radiated pyrites.} Iron 4.566
Specific gravity 4775. bee hwi

; 100°

Considering the difference in the figure, lustre, and co-
lour of these pyrites, I expected to have found a much
greater difference in the proportions of their component in-
gredients ; but, as the results are the average of several ex-
perunents, I have not any reason to doubt their accuracy,

_ The pyrites crystallized in regular figures, such as cubes

and dodecaedrons, according to the above analyses, contain
less sulphur and more iron than the radiated pyrites, and -
perhaps than others which are not regularly crystallized.
This difference, however, is not considerable; for the do-
decaedral pyrites, which afforded the smallest quantity of
sulphur of any of the regularly crystallized pyrites, yielded
§2°15; and the radiated pyrites, No. 5, gave 54°34: the
_ difference, therefore, is only 2°19. So that the mean pro-
portion of sulphur in all the pyrites which were examined
is 53°24 per cent.; and, taking the proportion of sulphur
im the magnetical pyrites at 36°50 or 37, the difference
between this and the mean of the common pyrites will be
16°74 or 16°24. The magnetical pyrites, therefore, is quite
distinct, as a. sulphuret of iron, from the common martial
pyrites; and in the following observations I shall prove
that a sulphuret consisting of the proportions last men-
tioned has till now been unknown as a product of nature.
§ VI.

Although pyrites is one of the most common of mineral
substances, yet the discovery of its real nature is compara-
tively of a late date; for it appears that even Agricola
_ “(whose knowledge of mineral bodies was certainly great,
considering the state of science in his time) was not ae-
quainted with its characteristic ingredient, :amely, iron.
i Ricarling to Henckel, this was first.noticed by our coun-
man Martin Lister, a member of this learned society,
_ who says, “ Pyrites purus putus ferri metallum est.”
From the time of Henckel, pyrites seems little to have

attracted ‘the notice of chemists, until Mr. Proust, the
learned

242 Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites.

learned professor of chemistry at Madrid, published two
memoirs, in which he states that there are two sulphurets
.ef iron, the one being artificial and the other natural. The
first is the sulphuret which is formed in laboratories, by
adding sulphur to red-hot iron, or by exposing both of them
to heat in a retort. This is distinguished from the second
sulphuret (which is the common martial pyrites) by its easy
solubility tn acids, especially in muriatic acid, by the form-
‘ation of sulphuretted hydrogen gas during the solution of
the su!phuret in the last-named acid, by its colour, and by
its inferior density.

According to Mr. Proust, the first or artificial sulphuret
is composed of 60 parts of sulphur, combined with 100
parts of iron; whilst the second sulphuret, or common py-
‘rites, consists of 90 parts of sulphur and 100 Of iron.

He moreover observes, that the sulphur of the first sul-
shuret is difficultly separated ; but that the excess which is
iti the second sulphuret, or common pyrites, is easily ex-
pelled, and is that portion which is obtained by distillation,
the residutim being then reduced to the state of the first sul-
phuret *. 100 parts, therefore, of this substance, are com-
posed of 62°50 of iron and 37°50 of sulphur; and 100 parts
of common pyrites are, according to this statemrent, com-
posed of 52°64 of iron and 47°36 of sulphur.

These proportions Mr. Proust considers as the minimum
and maximum of the sulphurets of iron. For the latter he

‘ajlows some variation; but the composition of the former
he regards as fixed by the invariable law of proportions f ;
although he observes, that it has not as yet been discovered
in the mineral kingdom ¢.

In support of these assertions Mr. Proust states,

1. That the pyrites found near Soria, when distilled in
a retort heated to redness, afforded nearly 20 per cent. of
sulphur.

2. That the residuum of the above distillation had lost
the external characters and chemical properties of pyrites,
and had assumed those of the artificial sulphuret of iron.

* Journal de Physique, tome liti. p. 89, and tome liv. p. 89, From
>. 91 and 92 of tome liv. it is evident that the author does not mean to
assert that the first sulphuret contains 60 per cent. of sulphur; but that
100 parts of iron are combined with 60 of sulphur, and form 160 of the
sulphuret. In‘ like manner, when 90 of sulphur are united with too
of iron, a substance analogous to common pyrites is formed, which weighs _
190 grains or parts. : na :
+ ‘Yournal de Physique, tome liii. p. 90. ‘
+ La regne minéral, jusqu'ici, ne novs a point. encore présenté le
fer sulfuré au minimum.”’"— Journal de Pdysique, tome liv. p. 93.

3. That

Anulysis of the magnetical Pyrites. 143,

© 3. That when to this residuum a quantity of sulphur was
added, and the whole was distilled in a degree of heat not
too great, the 20 per cent. of sulphur, which had been se-
parated by the first distillation, was by this again restored ;
and the mass in the retort thus recovered nearly the original
colour, lustre, and chemical properties of the pyrites.

- 4. That, by adding sulphur to iron filings, or fine iron
wire, heated to a low red in a retort, a compound is ob-
tained, in which the proportion of sulphur amounts only
to about 20 or 30 parts; but, if this compound is again
treated with sulphur in a red heat, a sulphuret is formed,
which is readily dissolved in acids, and plentifully affords
sulphuretted hydrogen gas.

This is the real minimum of the sulphurets of iron, fixed
by the invariable law of proportions (according to Mr.
Proust) at 59 or 60 of sulphur and 100 of iron, the former
being (as I have already observed) in the proportion of
.37°50 per cent.

5. and lastly, That when this sulphuret is again mixed
‘and distilled with sulphur, (due attention being paid to the
degree of heat,) the product is found to have assumed most
of the chemical and external properties of the natural com-
mon pyrites, density alone being excepted.’

' The application of the above observations to the principal
| subject of the present paper is sufficiently obvious; for,
‘when it is considered that the magnetical pyrites is so dif-
ferent from the common .pyrites in colour, hardness, solu-
bility in sulphuric acid, and more especially in_ muriatic
acid, with the copious production of sulphuretted hydrogen

‘

._ This substance agreed, in all the properties which have
been noticed, with the magnetical pyrites ; and the precipi-
’ tates obtained by adding prussiate of potash, and ammonia,
to the muriatic and sulphuric solutions, were sisi
milar.

144 Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites.

milar, The speciiic gravity was 4390, whilst (as T havé
already remarked) that of the megneiical pyrites is 4518.
§ VII.

So far, therefore, a3 can be proved by similarity in. che-
mical properties and analysis, the magnetical pyrites is in-
disputably'a natural sulphuret, completely the same with
that which till now has been only known as an artificial
product ; hut, that the mind may be perfectly satisfied, an-
other question must be solved, namely, How far do they
accord in receiving and retaining the property of mag-
netism ? Common pyrites do not appear to affect the mag-
netic needle; or, if some of them shghtly act by attraction,
(which, however, [ never could perceive, nor recollect to
have read in works expressly relating to magnetism,) yet
they do not possess, nor appear capable of acquiring, any
magnetic polarity. As, therefore, the iron of pyrites ts un-
doubtedly in the metallic state, and in a considerable pro-
portion, the destruction of this characteristic property of
metallic iron must be ascribed to the other ingredient—
sulphur. : :

But we have lately seen, that a natural combination of
iron with 36°50 or 37 per cent. of sulphur, is in possession
of all the properties supposed hitherto to appertain (im any
marked degree) almost exclusively to the well known mag-
netic iron ore; and that the combination alluded to is strictly
chemical, and not (as at first might have been imagined)
amixture of particles of magnetic iron ore with common
pyrites *. ,

This is certainly very remarkable; and it induced me to
examine the effects produced by sulphur on the capacity of
metallic iron for receiving and retaining the magnetic pro-
perties. I therefore prepared some sulphuret of iron by
adding a large quantity of sulphur to fine iron wire in a
moderate red heat. . eto
~ The internal colour and lustre of the product were not
very unlike those of the magnetical pyrites; and, after the
mass had been placed during a few hours between mag-
netical bars, I found that it peer so strong a degree
of polarity as to attract or repel the needle completely round
upon its pivot ;.and, although several weeks have elapsed

* This has ben sufficiently proved by the facts which have becn
stated; [ shall however add, that upon digesting a mixture of the powder
ef common’ pyrites and iron filiags in muriatic acid, I only obtained hy-
@rogen gas, exactly as if 1 had employed the iron filings without the
pyrites. .

since

Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites. 145

since it has been removed from the magnetical bars, it stil!
retains its power with little diminution ; like the magnetical
pyrites, however, in its natural state, it is not sufficiently
powerful to attract and take up iron filings.

But this sulphuret did not contain so much sulphur as
the magnetical pyrites; I therefore mixed some of it, reduced
to powder, with a Jarge quantity of sulphur, and subjected
it to distillation in a retort, which was at length heated until
the intire bulb became red.

_ The sulphuret by this operation had assumed very much
the appearance of the powder of common pyrites in respect
to colour; but in its chemical properties, such as solubility
im muriatic acid, with the production of sulphuretted hy-
drogen gas, as well as in the nature of the precipitates it
afforded with prussiate of potash and with ammonia, it
perfectly resembled the magnetical pyrites. Moreover, by
analysis, it was found to consist of 35 parts of sulphur and
65 of iron; and although (being in a pulverulent state) its
power, as to receiving and retaining the magnetic property,
could not so easily be examined, yet, by being powerfully
attracted by the magnet, with some other circumstances,
there was every reason to conclude that in this respect also
it was not inferior.

- Another portion of sulphuret was formed as above de-
scribed ; it was placed between magnetical bars, and, in like
manner, received and retained the magnetic power.

It is certain, therefore, that when a quantity of sulphur
equal to 35 or 37 per cent. is combined with iron, it not
only does not prevent the iron from receiving the magnetic
fluid, but enables it to retain it, so that the mass acts in
every respect as a permanent magnet.

Black oxide of iron, by one operation, does not appear

. to combine with sulphur so readily as iron filings ; a second

operation, however, converts it into a sulphuret, very much,
resembling that which has just been described, including
the chemical as well as the magnetical properties; but un-
doubtedly by these processes it is progressively converted,
perfectly or very nearly, into the metallic state. '
Tron combined with a larger proportion of oxygen, such
as the fine gray specular iron from Sweden, will not form
a sbberret by the direct application of sulphur in one ope-
ration ; although it becomes of a dark brown colour, partly
iridescent, and is moderately attracted by a magnet.
» 50 grains of the magnetical pyrites, reduced to powder,
and mixed with three times the weight of sulphur, were
distilled in a retort until the bulb became moderately red-hot.
Vol. 21. No. 82. March 1805. K Atter

146 Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites.

After the distillation the pyrites weighed 54°50; conse-
quently, the addition of sulphur was g per cent., making
the total = 45°50 or 46 per cent. The powder was become
greenish yellow, very like that of the common pyrites; it
did not aiford any sulphuretted hydrogen when digested in
muriatic acid; but it nevertheless was partially dissolved,
and the solution, when examined »by prussiate of potash,
and by ammonia, was not, different from that of the crude
magnetical pyrites. : :

The powder, which. had been distilled with sulphur, and
which had thus received an addition of 9 per cent. to its
original quantity, was still capable of being completely
taken up by a magnet, 1

From the whole of the experiments which have been re-
lated, it is therefore evident, that iron, when combined with
aconsiderable proportion of sulphur, is not only still capable
of receiving the magnetic property, but is also thereby ena-
bled to retain it, and thus, as [ have already remarked, be-
comes a compicte magnet; and it is not a little curious, that
iron combined, as above stated, with 45 or 46 per cent. of
sulphur, is capable of being taken up by a magnet, whilst
iron combined with 52 per cent. or more of sulphur, (al-
though likewise in the metallic state,) does not sensibl
affect the magnetic needle; and hence, small as the differ-
ence may appear, there 13 reason to conclude that the capa-
city of iron for magnetic action is destroyed by a certain
proportion of sulphur, the effects of which, although little
if at all sensible at 46 per cent., are yet néarly or quite ab-
solute, in this destraction of magnetic influence, before it
amounts to 52. But what the exact intermediate propor
tion of sulphur may be which is adequate to produce this
eflect, I have not as yet determined by actual experiment.

As carbon acts on soft iron, (which, although it most
readily receives the magnetic influence, is unable to retain
it so as to become a magnet without the addition of a cer-
tain proportion of carbon, by which it is rendered hard and
brittle, or, in other words, is converted into steel,) so, in
like manner, does sulphur seem to act; for it has been
proved, by the preceeding experiments, that the brittle mass
formed by the union of a certain proportion of this sub-
stance with iron, whether by nature or by art, becomes ca--
pable of retaining the magnetic virtue, and of acting as a
complete magnet. ‘sa
This remarkable coincidence in the cffects produced on
iron by carbon and sulphur, induced me to try the effects
of phosphorus; and miy hope of success was increased by

the

ORK oe

Change of Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen. 1417

the remark of Mr. Pelletier, who says, that ‘* the phos-
phuret of iron is attracted by the magnet *;”’ and therefore,
although certain bodies may be thus attracted, without
being capable of actually. becoming permanent magnets,
I was desirous to examine what might be the power, in this
respect, of phosphuret of iron.

I therefore prepared a quantity of phosphuret of iron in
the direct way, viz. by adding phosphorus, cut into small
pieces, to fine iron wire made moderately red-hot im a cru-
cible.. The usual phenomena took place, such as the bril-
liant white flame, and the rapid melting of the iron, which,
when cold, was white, with a striated grain, extremely
brittle, hard, and completely converted into a phosphuret.
The fragments of this were powerfully attracted by a mag-
net; and, after I had placed two or three of the largest
pieces, during a few hours, between magnetical bars, I had
the pleasure to find that these had become powerful mag-
nets, which not only attracted or repelled the needle com-
pletely round, but were able to take up iron filings, and

“small pieces, about half an inch in length, of fine harpsi-

chord wire; and, although they have now been removed
from the magnetical bars more than three weeks, I cannot
discover any diminution of the power which had thus been
communicated to them.

The three inflammable substances, carbon, sulphur, and
phosphorus, which, by their chemical effects on iron, in
many respects resemble each other, have now therefore been
proved alike to possess the property of enabling iron to re-
tain the power of magnetism: but | shall consider this more
fully in the following section. :

[To be continued. }

XXIV. Observations on the Change of some of the proximate
Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen; with analytical
Experiments on a peculiar Substance which ts foun with

» the Bovey Coal. By Cuances Harcnerr, £sq. P.R.S,

[Continued from page 51. ]

Wis gv.

4 /
om Mittrs, in his remarks on the Bovey coal, (which

1 have several times had occasion to notice in the course of
this paper,) states, that ‘* amongst the clay, but adhering

* «Le phosphure de fer est attirable 4 Vaimant.” Annales de Coimte,.
fome xiii. p. 154+

Kk 2 to

148 Olservations on the Change of

to the coal, are found lumps of a bright yellow loam, ex~
tremely light, and so saturated with petroleum, that they
burn like sealing-wax, emitting a very agreeable and aro-~
matic scent *.”

This substance I also observed when I visited the Bovey
coal-pits in 1794 and 1796. At that time, however, it was:
scarce, and I could only procure one small specimen, which
is now in the British Museum ; but from a cursory exa~
mination of it, I was convinced that it was a peculiar bitu-
minous substance, and not loam impregnated with petro=
leum, as Dr. Milles had supposed. I could not then con-
veniently make a regular analysis of it, and therefore con-
tented myself with briefly describing it in a note annexed
to my paper on bituminous substances f.

Lately, however, my friend John Sheldon, esq. of Exe-
ter, F.R.S., obligingly sent me several pieces of it, toge-
ther with specimens of the different kinds of Bovey coal

which have been mentioned ; and thus I was enabled fully .

io ascertain its real nature and properties.

Description of the Bitumen from Bovey.

It accompanies the Bovey coal in the manner already de-

scribed, and is found in masses of a moderate size.

The colour is pale brownish ochraceous yellow.

The fracture is imperfectly conchoidal. ;

It appears earthy externally, but when broken exhibits
a slight degree of vitreous lustre. servis de

The fragments are irregularly angular, and completely
opaque at the edges.

It is extremely brittle.

It does not apparently becotne softened when held for
some time in the hand, but emits a faint resinous odour.

The specific gravity at temperature 65° of Fahrenheit ig
1°135.

Some specimens have dark spots, slightly approaching in
colour and lustre to asphaltum; and small portions of the
Bovey coal are commonly interspersed in the larger masses

‘

of this bitumen. . babs
When placed on a heated iron, it immediately melts,

smokes much, burns with a bright flame, and yields a very

fragrant odour, like some of the sweet-scented resins, but

which at last becomes slightly tainted with that of as<—

phaltum. ;

—igyht,
* Philosophical Transactions, vol. li. p. 536. TS

+ Transactions of the Linnean Scciety, vol. iv. p. 139-

‘The

ba gin

—

some of the Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen. 149

The melted mass, when cold, is black, very brittle, and
‘breaks with a glossy fracture.

Experiments,
A. 100 grains of this bitumen, when distilled until the
bulb of the retort became red-hot, afforded, . Grains.
1, Water slightly acid - - - 3

2. Thick brown oily bitumen, very similar to that
which was obtained from the Bovey coal, but pos-
sessing slightly the odour of vegetable tar - 45

3. Light spongy coal - - - 23

4. Mixed gas, composed of hydrogen, carbonated —
hydrogen, and carbonic acid, (by computation,) _ 29

The coal yielded about three grains and a half of ashes,
which consisted of alumina, iron, and silica, with a trace
of lime, ee

B. The bitumen was not affected by being long digested
in boiling distilled water.

C. By digesting 100 grains in lixiviam of pure potash, 2
brown solution was formed; this was saturated with mu-
Fiatic acid, and a brown resinous precipitate was obtained,
which weighed 21 grains.

D. A portion was digested in nitric acid: at first much
nitrous gas was evolved, and, after the digestion had been
continued for nearly 48 hours, a part was dissolved, and
formed an orange-coloured solution, which did not yield
any precipitate when saturated by the alkalis or by lime ;
the colour only became more deep, and, by evaporation, a
yellow viscid substance was obtained, which was soluble in
water. The above nitric solution possessed every property
of those nitric solutions of resinous substances which I have
mentioned in a former paper.

E. The benzoic and succjnic acids were not obtained from
this substance by any of the methods usually emploved.

F, Alcohol almost immediately began to act upon this
bitumen; and, being added at different times, gradually
dissolved a considerable part of it. The solution was red-
dish brown, and had a resinous odoyr; by the addition of ©
water it became milky, and, by evaporation, afforded a dark
brown substance which had every property of resin, whilst
the residuum teft by the alcohol possessed those properties
which characterize asphaltum.

Tlie following analysis was then made to discover the
proportions of the component ingredients.

* Philosophical Transac ions for 1804, p. 19%.

K 4 Analysis

150 Olservations on the Change of

Analysis of the Bitumen from Bovey.

A. 109 grains, reduced to a fine powder, were digested,
during 48 hours, with six ounces of alcohol, the vessel
being placed in sand moderately warmed: A deep reddish
brown tincture was thus obtamed; and the operdtion was
again twice repeated, with other portions of the same men-
struum, until it ceased to act upon the residuum.

The whole of the spirituous solution (which had been
cautiously decanted) was then subjected to a very gradual
distillation in an alembic, and yielded a brown fragrant resin
which weighed 55 grains. .

B. The residuum, which could not be dissolved by al-
cohol, was digested in boiling distilled water; but this did
not act upon it; the whole was therefore collected on a
filter, was gradually dried, without heat, by mere exposure
to the air, and then weighed 44 grains. 25

These 44 grains consisted of a light, porous, pale brown
substance, which, being melted, formed a black, shining,
brittle mass. It burned with the odour of asphaltum, but
rather less disagreeable, owing most: probably to a small
portion of the resin which had not been completely ex-
tracted by the alcohol. It was insoluble in. water and in
alcohol, but was readily dissolved by heated fat oils; and
in every other particular was found to possess the properties
of asphaltum. aR

The 44 grains of asphaltum, when bumed, left a resi-
duum, which weighed 3 grains, and consisted of alumina,
silica, and iron. oe?

By this analysis it appears that the bitumen which ac-
companies the Bovey coal is a peculiar and hitherto un-
known substance, which is partly in the state of vegetable
resin, and partly in that of the bitumen called asphaltum,
the resin being in the largest proportion; as 100 grains of
the above-mentioned substance aftorded, Saws -

Resin. = Ba’ ores Sts
Asphaltum - 41
" Earthy residuum & 263 tniauny
99.29 Ago
eel 3)

Thus we have an instance of ‘a’ substance being found
under circumstances which constitute a fossil, although
the characters of it appertain partly to the vegetable and
partly to the mineral kingdom.

§ VI.

fos Sap

some of the Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen. 151
§ Viv

The powerful action which alcohol exerts on most of the
resins may justly be regarded as forming a marked distinc-
tion between those substances and the bitumens. But, as
some of the bitumens are acted upon by alcohol im a slight
degree, I was desirous to ascertain whether a small portion
of resin was contained in any of these; or, if that was not
the case, I wished to determine the nature of the substance
which could be separated, although very sparingly, by this
menstruum. J therefore made the followiug comparative
experiments on the soft hrown clastic bitumen from Derby-
shire; on the genuine asphaltum ; on very pure cannel coal ;
and on the common pit coal. ‘

100 grains of each were digested with three ounces of
alcohol, in matrasses placed in warm sand, during five days,
some alcohol being occasionally added, to supply the loss
eaused by evaporation. After the above-mentioned period
had elapsed, the liquid contained in each matrass was poured
into separate vessels, ,

1. The aleohol which had been digested on the elastic
bitumen was not tinged, nor, when spontaneously evapo-
‘rated, did it leave any film or stain on the glass,
2. From asphaltum the alcohol had extracted a yellow
tincture, which, in some situations, appeared of a pale olive
-colour, and, being spontaneously evaporated, a thick brown
liquid was deposited, in small drops, on the glass; these
drops did not become hard after two months, and possessed
the odour, and every other property, of petroleum. The
asphaltum had lost in weight about one grain and a balf.

3. The eannel coal had communicated a pale yellow tint to
the alcohol, which, in the manner above described, was as-
certained to be caused by petroleum; but, from the smail-
ness of the quantity, the weight could not be determined.

© 4, The alcohol which had been digested on pit coal had
pot assumed any colour; but, by spontancous evaporation *,
¥t left a film on the glass, which, by its odour, was also
_ found to be petroleum. ,
* By these experiments we find that the action of alcohol
on hee biti is very slight; and that the small portion
which may thus be extracted from some of thein is petro-
Jeum. In these, the process of bituminization (if [ may be
allowed to employ such a term) appears to have been comn-
pleted, whilst in the Bovey coal, and especially in the sub-
> * Spontaneous evaporation, by exporure to the air, was employed in
these experiments for reasons which must be sufficicnily obvicus.

K4 StInce

159 Observations on the Change of

stance which accompanies it, nature seems to have per-
formed only the half of her work, and, from some unknown
cause, to have stopped in the middle of her operations.
But, by this circumstance, much light is thrown on the
history of bituminous substances; and the opinion, that
they owe their origin to the organized kingdoms of na-
ture, especially to that of vegetables, which hitherto has
been supported only by presumptive proofs, seems now, in
a great measure, to be confirmed, although the causes which
operate these changes on vegetable bodies are as yet undis-
covered.

Many facts indicate, that time alone does not reduce ani-
mal or vegetable bodies to the state of fossils. In this coun-
try, there are numerous examples of large quantities of tim-
ber (even whole forests) which have been submerged. prior
to any tradition, and which nevertheless completely retain
their ligneous characters *. Other local causes and agents
must therefore have been required to form the varieties of
coal and other bituminous substances. In some instances
(as in the formation of Bovey coal) these causes seem to
have acted partially and imperfectly, whilst, in the forma-
tion of the greater part of the pit coals, their operation has
been extensive and complete, di

_ In the pit coals, the mineral characters predominate, and
the principal vestige of their real origin seems to be bitu-.
men; for the presence of carbon in the state of oxide can+
not alone be considered as decisive.

Bitumen, therefore, with the exuyie and impressions so
commonly found in the accompanying strata, must be more
immediately regarded as the proofs in favour of the origin
of pit coal from organized bodies; and, considering the
general facts which have been long observed, together with |
those lately adduced respecting the Bovey coal, and the sub-
stance which is found with it, we seem now to have al-
most unquestionable evidence that bitumen has essentially
been produced by the modification of some of the proximate ”

principles of vegetables, and especially resin. on ,
Modern chemistry had ‘comparatively made but a small
progress when the illustrious Bergmann published his Disser-
tation entitled Producta Ignis subterranei chemice considerata;
for at that time the extent and power of chemical action in
the humid way were very imperfectly understood. In that
* Phil. Trans. for January 1671. Phil. Trans. vol. xix. p. 526.
oid. vol, xxii. p. 980. Ibid. vol. xaili, p. 1073. Ibid. vol. xxvii.
p. 298. Ibid. for 1799. p. 145. : ah ‘
' part,

some of the Prineiples of Vegetables into Bitumen. 153

part, however, of the above work where he speaks of the
fossil wood of Iceland, called swrturlrand, he evidently ap-
pears doubtful how far volcanic fire may have acted upon
it; although he conceives that, in the formation of it, there
has been some connection with yolcanic operations. His
words are: «* Quid de ligno fossili Islandize sentiendum sit,
gnaro in loco natali contemplatori decidendum redinquimus.
Interea, ut cum vyulcani operationibus nexum credamus,
plures suadent rationes, quamvis hucusque modum ignore-
mus, quo situm texturamque adquisiverunt hiec strata.”
It certainly was very natural that Bergmann should enter-
tain this opinion in respect to the surturbrand; and it is
remarkable that the leaves contained in the schistus lately
described are’of the same nature, and are found in the same
country. The leaves also described by Mr. St. Fond are.
likewise found in a country which, according to him, was
formerly volcanic. Were these shbstanees, there fore, never
found but in countries which either actually are or were vol-
canic, we should be almost compelled to believe, with the
Swedish professor, that the operations of subterraneous fires
have been concerned in the formation of these bodies, or
rather in the conversion of them-into their present state.
. But similar substances are found in countries where not
the smallest vestige of voleanic effects can be discovered, and
Devonshire most undoubtedly is such; yet, nev ertheless,
the Bovey coal is there found similar to the surturbrand
in most of the external, and, from experiments which [
made some vears ago, I believe I may say, chemical proper-
ties ; to which must be added, that ‘both these substances
perfectly resemble each other by forming regular strata *.
Moreover, the half charred appearance eof Bovey coal, and
of surturbrand, cannot be adduced as any proof that the ori-
ginal vegetable bodies have been exposed to the partial ef-
fects of subtcrraneous fire; for at this time we know that
the oxidizement of substances is performed at least as fre-
quently: dnd as effectually by the humid as by the dry way.
It would therefore be superfluous here to enter into an ela-
borate discussion to prove that coal and bitumen, with
quch greater probability, have been formed without the
intervention of fire; and I am the less inclined to say more
upon'this: subject, as I have already published sonie’ consi~
erations on it in a former paper f.

* Transactions of the Linnean Society, vol. iv. p.138. Von Trvil’s
Liters, p.42 Opuscula Rergmanni, rome iii. Pp. 23%
+ Transactions of the Linpean Society, vol iv. pp agz, &¢.

Before

154 On the apparent Repulsion

Before I conclude, I must bee leave to observe, that as
the substance which is found with the Bovey coal is, mm
every respect, so totally different from any of the bitumens
hitherto discovered, it seems proper that it should receive
some specific name ; and, as it has been proved to consist
partly of a resin and partly of a bituminous substanee, Tam
induced to call it retinasphalium*, a name by which a fall
definition of its nature is conveved.

I have lately seen, in No. 85 of the Journal des Minds;
p.77, an account of a peculiar combustible fossil, found
near Helbra, in the county of Mansfield, and described by
Mr. Voight, im his Versuch einer Geschichte der Steinkohle,
der Braunkohle, &c. p. 188. This substance is of an ash-
coloured gray, passing to grayish white; it is found in a
bed of bituminous vewetable earth, which has apparently
been produced by the decomposition of fossil wood. The
purest specimens are in the form of nodules: the fracture 1 1S
earthy ; it is opaque, soft, brittle, and is very light. “When
applied to. the flame of a candle, it burns and melts like
sealing-wax, at the same time diffusing an odour which is
not disagreeable. This substance appears to accord in sq
any properties with the retinasphaltan 1 of Bovey, that I
cannot but suspect it to be of .a similar nature; and I have
little doubt that, by a chemical examination, it will be found
to consist partly of resin and partly of bitumen.

XXV. Experiments and Reflections of Dr. ghey Bed CarR-
RApORT DE Pravro ow the apparent Repulsion between
some Kinds of Fluids observed ty DRAPARNAUD f.

Taz observations which M. Draparnaup published in
the Annales de Chimiet are not new, and the conse-
quences which he Aeiisecs from them are false. Several
years ago § I observed that fluids are impedled: others on
the surface of the water; and I have proved) that these re-
pulsious are only apparent, and are owing inerely to the
different degrees of attraction which these fluids” experience
from the surface of the water. I have several times 1 ain dif

% From przim, resin; and aésparrog, bitumen. 2

+ Annales de Chimie, No. 152. y

+ Meémoie sur les Mouvemens que certains Fluides regoivent par le
Cont: ag d'autres Fiuides, an 11, no. 1

§ Giornale Pisic Medic, di Payia Sane Ann. Chim. di Pavia; Opus-
colt Scelti di Milano.

ferent

detween some Kinds of Fluids. 155

ferent’ journals *, and particularly in my answers to Pre-
vost t, and in some letters written to profes sor Brugnatelli,
insisted on the real explanation of the phenomena of this
kind; proving; by decisive experiments, that these move-
ments, thought to be the effect of a repulsive power, arise
xll from the same principle, that 1s to say, the atéraction of
surface; whence it results, that one fluid being attracted
more than another, retires from the surface on which it
had extended itself, and obeys its own cohesion or force of
aggregation, and concentrates itself.

I have lately resumed this subject, and have exhibited it
in a clearer point of view, in the Transactions of the Italian
Society of the Sciences, proving, with the greatest rigour, that
it is the attraction of the surface which gives rise to the pre-
tended repulsions of some fluids on the surface of fluids,
and of some fluids on the surface of solids.

Professor Brugnatelli, extending my experiments on the
attraction of surface, spoke of the repulsions recently ob-
served by M. Draparnaud; for he remarked, that several
fluids thrown in drops on the smooth surface of solids repel
il, spirit of wine, oil of turpentine, and ether ft.

M. Draparnaud says that alcohol or spirit of wine expels
water and other liquids from the bottom of vessels, because

there is a continual emission of subtle particles, which,

forming an atmosphere, produce the removal of the water,
as Prevost said of odoriferous atmospheres: and, according
to him, all volatile bodies are capable of doing the same at
the common temperature of the atmosphere, since he is of
opinion that they act mechanically, that is to say, by means
of the impulsion of their emanations.

But I shall beg leave to oppose to him some facts, and
some reasoning to throw light on this truth. Water, in-
eed, retires from the surface of the vessel to which spirit
of wine is applied; but it is not true that it is expelled ity
repulsive force. It is equally false, that the space abandoued
ay aoe when the experiment is made, 1 is perfectly dry,
as M. Draparnaud says; but the water is succeeded bya
ae stratum of spirit of wine, which soon evaporates

ater, as’ well as the other fluids, adduced by Draparnaud,
‘retire, because they are obliged to give up the surface to the
spirit of wine, which has a greater attraction for it than
they, and seizes on it with more cnergy : iehag & thus aban-

L °

. Giorn. Italiani et Journal de Physique ; Annales de Chimie.
Ann. Chim. di Pavia, tom. xix; Annales de Chimie, nov 143.
t Ann, di Chin. di Pavia, tom. xviii.

doned

156 - On the apparent Repulsion

doned to themselves, they become concentrated. A drop
or two of spirit of wine, indeed, poured, in a gentle tem-

erature, on a porcelain dish for example, is seen to extend
itself, and to cover the said surface like varnish; which is
not the case on pouring out a drop or two of water, because
it has not the same attraction of surface. The integrant
moleculz of the water, which have more affinity of agere~
gation or cohesion, than of attraction for the surface of the
supposed body, do not become flat, or dilate in the same
manner.

It is so true, that spirit of wine or alcohol attaches itself
more strougly than water to the surface of vessels, that if
a drop or two of this fluid be thrown on a porcelain dish 5
and if, after it has extended itself, forming as it were a
disk, some drops of water be thrown on it, and forced to
take the place occupied by the spirit of wine ; it will be seen
that the water, not being able to detach the alcohol, will be
obliged to pass over it, and the alcohol will remain always
fixed at the surface of the dish.

But I can produce an easy experiment, which is directly
opposite to the opinion of Draparnaud. I fixed, in the
middle of a porcelain saucer, a smal] ball of soft wax, and
formed in it a cavity with the head of a large pin. I then
poured into the saucer such a quantity of water as to rise
above the edges of the cavity, but not to enter it. The
vessel being thus prepared, 1 dipped a reed of straw in the

spirit of wine, and removed a drop of the fluid to the cavity
of the ball in such a manner that it was filled with it. In
this manner, a drop of spirit of wine remained surrounded
by water almost in contact with it, and continued also below
the level of the water, Tt 1s certain that, if spirit of wine
were capable of exercising an expansive force by means of
the particles it emanates, it must have produced i it in this
case; but I saw no movement of repulsion in the water
which was around the drop of alcohol. The water always
remained tranquil and motionless, qs if it had been close
to a fluid not of a volatile nature,
' But when the water had risen above the sides of the: itn
cavity of soft wax, it rushed into it to come to a level; and
I saw the small bodies which floated on the surface of the
water remove from the said cavity, while the water rushed
into it. This is a proof that spirit of wine, like other oily
fluids, has the faculty of spreading itself over the surface of
the water before it becomes mixed with it.
[have indeed observed, that spirit of wine applied to the
surface of water contained in a dish, on which is spread
ous

letween some Kinds of Fluids, 157

out a drop of oil, expels it, assuming its place, and obliges
it to concentrate itself. Jn like manner, if a little cotton
dipped in spirit of wine, or a drop of that fluid, be applied
to the surface of water on which float small! bits of gold or
silver leaf, they are seen to recede. ‘These small bodies re-
cede also sometimes from the surface of the water where
they are placed, on the approach of a small bit of cotton
well dipped in spirit of wine: but they do so faintly, and
not with that velocity as when a little cotton dipped in
ether* is applied ; because spirit of wine, both in the fluid
state and state of vapour, on being applied to the surface of
the water, has the property of diffusing itself over it like
oily substances.

But if a drop of the milky juice of the tithymalus be

reviously applied to the surface of the water, and if small
Lies of gold or silver leaf be thrown over it, and if it be
then touched as usual] with a little cotton dipped in spirit of
wine, or if a drop or two of the same fluid be poured over
it, the supernatant small bits of metal will not be seen to
exhibit the same phzenomena as before, because the spirit of
wine traverses the surface of the water occupied by another
fluid, which has a greater attraction for it. The case is the
same when there is applied to the surface of the water any
fluid exceedingly volatile and oily, when it has been pre-
occupied by the juice of the tithymalus ; but this juice, as
soon as it touches the surface of the water, expels from it
all the oils most volatile, and the most odoriferous, and
obliges them to concentrate themselves at the extremities of
the vessel under the form of small globules.

If these repulsions are occasioned by the impetuous efflux
of volatile and odoriferous erianations, why has the milky
juice of the tithymalus, which is neither volatile nor odori-
ferous, the faculty of expelling from the surface of water
the most volatile and most odoriferous fluids? However,
if a drop of spirit of wine be placed gently in the middle ot
a dish, and the vessel be then moistened with water in such
a manner that the water shall approach only within the
distance of two lines of the said drop, it will be seen, before
it dilates, to exercise a repulsion on the water which sur-
rounds it, chiefly when it approaches near to it; and, in
my opinion, this effect is owing to the vapours of the spirit
of wine, which act at a distance; not because the water is

,
* See my answers to Prevost, in which it is seen that ethér is a fluid
which approaches nearer than spirit of wine to the nature of oils.
4+ Memoir on Attraction of Surface, in vol. xi, of the Transactions ef
the Italian Society of the Sciences.

expelled

158 On the apparent Repulsion

expelled by a mechanical movement, but because, in
striking the surface of the dish, they extend themselves
over it, and displace the water. If it then happen that the
drop of spirit of wine begins to touch the surrounding water,
an agitation is immediately seen to arise, by which the
water is repelled with great vivacity, and the drop of spirit
of winc, animated with a new expansive force, bursts its
limits, extends itself, and makes the water fly before it.
The case is the same nearly with a small bit of camphor.
If a small bit of this substance be placed in a pretty large
dish, and covered with water to the height of a hne, in
such g manner that the bit of camphor may touch the bot-

tom of the dish, the water will be seen in a kind of contest,

around the camphor, and the water will seem to be kept at
a distance by an expansive force. All this in my opinion
is the effect of the attraction of surface of the spirit of
wine and of the oil of the camphor for the water. The
oil of camphor, indeed, excited to dilate itself by the at-

traction of the surface of the water, evaporates with asto- «

nishing speed, and in a little time is consumed, The case
is the same with spirit of wine and oil of camphor; they
rush on the water, extending themselves over its surface with
astonishing speed ; whence arises a dispersion of the water,
and adhesion of the spirit of wine to the bottom of the
vessel. The.accelerated evaporation of these fluids can be
ascribed to no other cause than to this force; that is to
say, the attraction of surface, by which the cohesion of the
integrant parts is overcome, and consequently the expansive
force of the small volatile parts which compose these fluids
is increased; but I have sufficiently explained, in another
‘place, all these phenomena in. regard to the movements of
camphor on water*.

A drop of volatile alkali or ammonia, says Draparnaud,
does not expel water from the bottom of a vessel like spirit
of wine, because ammonia has a great affinity for water.
But cannot the same be said of spirit of wine? This re-
pulston, however, ought to take place when the water sur-
rounds a drép of ammonia, as near as possible, but without
touching it; which is not the case. aa

A drop of ammonia in the middle of a stratum of spirit of
wine does not expel it, and does not form the circle of
recession ; but a drop of spirit of wine in the middle of a
. * The Medico-Physical Journal of Pavia, Ann. Chimydi Pavia:
Opusc. scelti di Milano, and im some letters addressed ro professor Brug-
patlli, Ann. Chim. di Pavia; and Memoir on Attraction of Surface,
vol. xis of the Italian Society.

1 : stratum

~~) =o

between sume Kinds of Fluids. 159

stratum of ammonia expels it around, and forms a circle.
This shows, according to Draparnaud, that the expansive
force of spirit of wine is greater than that of ammonia.

But I remark that ammonia has no attraction of snrface,
or at least very little with the bottom of vessels, and, on

‘the contrary, that alcohol has a great deal. If a drop of.

ammonia be poured on a porcelain saucer, or ona piece of
glass, and one of spirit of wine, the former remains con-
centrated, and the other dilates itself. YFhis is the reason
why spirit of wine expels ammonia on the bottom of vessels,
and that ammonia does not expel spitit of wine.

Moreover, if the expulsion of the ammonia depended on
the mechanical impression of the emanatious of the spirit

_of wine, it ought scarcely to manifest itself for the force

of the emanations of the spirit of wine ouyht to be weak-
ened by. the force of the emanations of the ammonia, but
it manifests itself with the same promptitude as that of
water. It is observed also, that some fluids almost equally
volatile and odoriferous expel each other when applied sin
Succession to the same surface. For example, essential oil
of turpentine expels naptha, and ether expels esscniial oil
of turpentine. : .

If the opposite forces destroved each other, how could
this happen? But the case is so, because essential oi! of
turpentine has more attraction of surface than naptha, and
ether more than essential oil of turpeatine.

But there is one observation of Draparnaud which de-
serves to be discussed. He has remarked that ammonia
‘expels oil from the surface of vessels, though it expels nei-
ther water nor spirit of wine. I have remarked also, that
the approach alone of a drop ef ammonia to the surface of
oil, manifests there an evident commotion, as if it- were
breathed upon. It appears then that the emanations of
ammonia render themselves by these means manifest to the
sight, that is to say, in consequence of the expulsive force
or mechanical shock of the oil.

- Ido not pretend, nor have ever pretended, that there
‘ean be no emanations of volatile bodies capable of render-
ing theinselves sensible to the sight in this sense, but only
to show that several phznomena which are considered as
the effects of repulsion, occasioned by the expansion of
volatile bodies, do not depend ion that canse, but are the
effects of attraction of surface,- and iat there are no
means of rendering the ensanations. of odoriferous bodies
sensible to the sight, as Benceict Prevost thinks. But be-

fore

160 On the apparent Repulsion

fore we decide in regard to the effect of ammonia, let ug
pay attention to the following remarkable observations.

Throw small bits of gold or silver leaf on the surface of
oil contained in a goblet, and then bring near to it a drop
of ammonia, a commotion will be observed in the surface
of the oil, and in the small bits of metallic leat which float
on it: if the drop of ammonia be applied to the surface of
the oil, the small bodies will fly still more, and the fluid
will be seen to spread itself over the surface of the oil in the
most visible manner, while it produces in it an agitation.

If this operation be performed on water, that is to say, if
after throwing on the surface of water contained.in a similar
vessel very light bodies, such for example as bits of metallic
leaf or raspings of cork, a drop of ammonia be brought
near or applied, no movement will take place. The same
thing will happen. if spirit of wine, or any other fluid, not
oily; be used in the place of water; but 1f instead of these
stipernatant bodies there be on the water a drop or two of
oil, the latter will experience a commotion. On the drop
of ammonia being brought near, in a perpendicular direc-
tion, to the oil which floats on the water, if the oil be en-
tirely in the form of a drop, it causes it to dilate, and if it
be spread over the surface of the water, it divides and is
dispersed. If an orange skin be squeezed over the surtace
of the water, and if a drop of ammonia be then applied, a
slight agitation will be manifested in all the oily points with
which the surface of the water is interspersed.

It appears then from these experiments, that ammonia
renders sensible to the sight the emanations on oil, not by
mechanical impulse, but by a physical action, because it
does not manifest itself on other fluids. :

It is beyond all doubt that the shock or expansive force
of ammoniacal emanations ought to act without distinction
on alt bodies, and communicate to them all the same im-
pulse when they can easily move; and a drop of ammonia
brought near to the surface of spirit of wine ought to pro-
duce in it a commotion equal to that which it communi-
eates to the oil, because it is equally light, and may be also
Hiehter than oil. [have found also that ammonia applied
to the smoke of a candle, which bends itself on the least
breath of air, docs not make it move im the least. The effect
of the ammonia on the oil cannot therefore be ascribed to a
mechanical action.

But the following is a proof which admits of no reply :—
If raspings of cork be thrown upon water, and if a drop of

ammonia

between some Kinds of Fluids. 161

ammonia be then brought near, no movement is produced ;
if a few more raspings of cork be rubbed with the fingers
dipped in oil, and then thrown on the surface of the water, in
another glass, on approaching another drop of ammonia, all
these small parts will move in a wonderful manner. If the
farina of wheat be thrown into another glass of water, the
approach of a drop of ammonia will not cause these small
molecule to move ; but if the farina of almonds, which is
oily, be thrown into the water, it will cause them to move,
and precipitate them in an instant to the bottom. The same
experiment repeated a thousand ways, will always confirm
my conclusion, that is to say, that the action of ammonia
is rendered sensible only on oils, and on all oily matters,
or matters imbibed with oil.

I think then I have proved that the repulsion exercised
by ammonia over oil is not the effect of the force of its va-
pours or emanations ; and I am of opinion that it ought to
be ascribed to the attraction of surface possessed by the
ammonia in the state of fluid, as well as of vapour, with
oil itself, together with a chemical attraction which results
from the changes which the oil undergoes when exposed
to the effluvia of ammonia. This phenomenon, in my
opinion, may be explained like that of a drop of spirit of
wine exposed in the middle of a stratum of, water, that is
to say, that the repulsive force which ammonia seems to
exercise over oil, arises from the expansion of the ammonia,
or from its vapours on oil by means of the attraction of
surface.

If a drop of ammonia, indeed, be thrown on the bottom

of a vessel, and if a very little oil be poured around it in
such a manner as to surround the drop of ammonia, if the
oil be extended with the finger, and ammonia be applied,
the oil will be seen to recede ; but when it touches it, the
drop of ammonia will then break its limits, extend itself
over the oil, and disperse with surprising velocity.
' The antients would have ascribed it to an antipathy be-
tween the ammonia and the oil ; but these chimerical ideas
have been banished by the light of experimental philosophy.
It does not appear that now the repulsions between the dif-
ferent fluids can be maintained, since I have established the
Jaws of the attraction of surface, which I have observed *.

* See my Memoir on the Attraction of Surface, Joc. cit.

Vol. 91, No. 82. March i805. j a XXXVI. 4

{, 162 J

XXVI. A new. Electricai Phenomena. Conmnniatd iy
a Correspondent. ‘
To the Editor of the Philosophical Magazine.
SIR, ;

Tue following remarkable result in electricity occurred
some time since. If you think it worthy of insertion in *
your excellent publication, it is at your service. -
Having accidentally placed a shilling between the ball of
my discharger and the coating of a charged jar, I was sur-
prised to fiud, on making the discharge, that the shilling
adhered to the side of the jar. Imagining that this effect
might have proceeded from,some foreign matter lodged be-
tween the shilling and the coating, I removed it, and care-
fully wiped both. On repeating the experiment the effect
was the same as before. That part of the coating where
piece was taken from sometimes had a small hole in it,
with a bur protruding outwards, something similar to that
produced on a card through which a small j. jar is discharged.
fat frst imagined this effect to have been an amalgamation,
or rather a fasion, of the two metals. Repeating t the expe-
riment with two pieces instead of one, they both adhered
a$ before, as did likewise three and four. Trying it with
five, tl they felt. The jar that was ‘made use of for these ex-
periments did not contain more’ than a quart; and not
haying a.much farger one at hand, I cannot tell what the
effect would have been had J used one four or five times as /
big. ‘The sae experiment béing repeated with gold, brass, |
copper, &c., the result was. the’ same. I cannot however
reconcile the idea of amalgamation or fusion taking place
i the experiments with the two and three pieces, &e., and

aim, therefore totally at a loss to account for this strange F
phenomenon. Some of your correspondents may, perhaps,
Sir, offer some theory on this curious experiment, which I ‘
should:be very happy to see, being but'a young and i PB f
perienced electrician. > vie ‘
Tam, Sir, } ait ae rf

ee * j

Your obedient servant, “epee | Hi

» he

* -

Pc ap LETTER

[63> j

LETTER V.

XXVII. Wricut on measuring the. Meridian—-W n1GHT,
Wren and Witkrss on an Universal Measure—J.Bar-
-qista Porta on the Reflection of Heat, Cold and Sound
from concave, Mirrors.

Ego sané non minoris zstimo, imd multS magis admiror, ‘inventorem
lyre primum, quam vel centenos artifices alios, qui, sequentibus sacu-
lis, professionem istam ad summam perfectionem deduxerunt.

»GALIL E&I Syst. Cosa, ed. 1699- P- 388.

SIR, : .

Is addition to my four communications, on the invention
of the telescope, &¢., I intended to have offered you some
reflections on the adoption and execution of the methods
lately taken in France, for establishing a natural standard
of weights and measures. But, after a good deal of
thought, and a careful perusal of the Report of the Com-
missioners in the Mémoires de Institut for 1799; the sub-
ject appears to me to present such ample scope for mere
opinion, that J find it would be impossible for me to state
my doubts, without exciting controversy. Those doubts
arose in my mind, upon reading the third Dialogue m
Galileo's Systema Cosmicum 3 Jurin’s annotations on. the
4th chapter of the Geographia Generalis of Varenius ; and
the 20th proposition of the 3d book of the Principia,
edition second ; not to mention the late correction .of the
admeasurements of Maupertuis &c. by M. Swanberg and
other Swedish astronomers, which I have not seen.
Having no wish to propagate my scepticism, or to render
it incurable by contestation, [shall content myself with
offering you the two following extracts; leaving you and
your intelligent readers to compare them with the Report

mentioned, and to draw your own conclusions. It
will also be amusing to bring that elaborate Report into
comparison with the performances of ingenious individuals
on the same ‘subject ; for example, with W hitehurst’s At-
tempt towards obtaining invariable Measures, London
1788; Essai sur les Poids et les Mesures, pat M. Ber-
~ thoud*, Paris 1792; and Sir G. Shuckburgh’s Memoir on
Weights and Measures, in the Philosophical Transactions
for 1798. It has been said, that our great individual,
Johnson, did more for the English language, than some

»™ Author of a copious, and, as I am told, a very good, book on clock-
and watch-work, lately published at Paris, in 3 Vols, gto.

ak L2 foreign

164 right Fc. on an Universal Measure ;

foreign academies for the languages which they were esta-
blished to improve.

The first extract 1 have to offer is taken from the 88th
and sgth pages of Certain Errors in Navigation detecte¢
and corrected, by Edw. Wright, a work to which that
science owes many of its best improvements. This book
was first printed in the year 1599, but ‘* written thany
vears before*.”.. The second edition, in which I have also
read the following passage, appeared in 1610, and the third,
from which I now transcribe it, in 1657. Of the value of
this now almost forgotten work, we may judge from
Halley’s recommendation of it, near a century after it was
first published, as a book well deserving the perusal: of

all such as desigu to use the seat.” Mr. Wright 1s chiefly’

known as the inventor of the true construction of what is
¢alled Mercator’s, but which bettcr deserves the name of
Ptolemy’s, chart}. His genius, however, was not con-
fined to mathematical speculations; for it appears, from a
Latin paper,, preserved at Cambridge, and quoted by Dr.
Hution§, that right was the first undertaker of the canal
called The New River, to which a great part of London
owes that abundant supply of water, which excites the ad-
miration of strangers. But the learned gentleman ts mis-
taken in reckoning among /Vright’s works, the Haven-
finding Ast, which he only translated from the Dutch.
This appcars from the dedication of a copy now before me,
printed in 1599; from which we also learn that our coun-
tryman, Robert Norman, had, some years before, disco-
vered the magnetic dip. In 1593 and the following year,
right, by observing the greatest and least heights of the
pole-star, with a brass quadrant of six feet radius, deter-
mined the true latitude of London to be 51° 32’, instead of
54° 45’, which it had till then been reckoned. This was a
wonderful performance, at a time when instruments were
so imperfect, and when the refraction had been but just de-
tected by Tycho; and was by no means fully ascertained ;
for that noble astronomer was much mistaken with regard
to its quantity |}. On ¢his occasion, I hope to be exensed

* See Dr. Futons Mathim. and Philos. Diction, article Wright. -

+ Seethe Bhseellanca Curipsa. Vol. it px'20.; also, Hudgson's System
of the Mathematics, printed in 1722, vol. i. p, 254 oh .

+ See the preface to the Errors m Navigation, and the ‘ Plat of all the
World,” at the end of the 3d edition. l :

§ Dictionary, art. Wiivhe.

§ Fede ovo cas, Opera Posthuma, pp. §%70.5 Wolf, Elem. Astron,:
4§ 346- 359. Blair's rhist, of Geogr p. 16g: ’

: 1 for

‘Porta, on the Reflection of Cold ec. 165

for adding, that the latitude of Paris was not settled seventy
years after /¥right had ascertained that of London. For
MM. Auxout (to whom, or to Kirch, the invention of the mi-
crometer is ascribed by those who are ignorant of the ante-
rior claim of our Gascoigne*), in a letter to Louis XIV.
in 1664, says, ‘* Mais, Sire, c'est un malheur, &c. But,
Sire, the misfortune is, that there is not in Paris, nor, as
far as I know, in your whole kingdom, an instrument on
which I could depend, in taking the exact height of the
polet.” Thus, Sir, your ingenious correspondent, the
Rev. Mr. Toplist, appears to be perfectly in the right,
when he alledges that, if our neighbours have lately over-
taken, for I would gladly hope they have not yet distanced,
us in the race of science, it can only be because they are
publicly encouraged and supported in their arduous pursuits,
and we are wolf. But of this more, perhaps, on some future
occasion. It is high time to come to the immediate ob-

ject of this letter.

__ The marginal title of this curious passage of Wright is,
*“ A most exact way to find the quantitie of the earth’s
semidiameter.”—The paragraph itself is as follows : ‘* This
angle” (the Dip of the Horizon, owing to the elevation of
the observer’s eye above the surface of the sea) ‘may other-
wise be found, the quantitie of the earth’s scmidiameter
being first known, which is to be done divers waics 3 but
they may be all reduced to two beads or kinds, whereof the
first requireth the certain. measure of some arch of the Me-
ridian to be first given, which is also divers waies to be
performed. But the best and perfectest way of all others
(viz. of exactly measuring the size of the whole earth) is
to observe so exactly as is. possible the Summer solstitiall
Altitude of the Sun at two places, so farr distant asunder,
and lying so neer North and South each from other, with
so direct and faire a way betweene them as conveniently
anay be chosen. Suppose, for example, Portsmouth and

- Barwick, or some other place in the furthest parts of Scot-

dand ; for the further these places are each from other, the
more perfectly may this businesse be performed. Then
measure, end plat down so truly.as is possible, all the way
betweene those two places, with all the turnings and wind-
ings, ascenis and descents that are therein; out of which
,

* See Phil. Trans. no. 25 29.3 Saverien, Dict. Univ. de Math. et
de Phys, act. Micrometre. Harris's Lex. Tech. art. Micrometir.

t See Asivon. de M. De la Lande, v& 2+ p. 842. ede 1.

t Sce ovr xxth vol. p, 25.

L3 the

166 Hivight Sc. on an Universal Measure;

the arch of the great circle, or shortest distance ‘betwixt’
them, together with the angle of declination thereof from
the true meridian line truly found by observation at either
‘of those’ places, may most exactly be knowne : whereby’
(with belpe of the doctrine of right angled sphericall tri-
augles) the difference of the latitudes of those two places,
in miles and furlongs, &c. may easily appeare ; which com~=
pared with the difference of the latitudes of the same places,
found by observation of the Sun, in degrees and minutes,
&e. will shew how many miles and furlongs answer to one
or more degrees of the meridian: and so the whole circum~
ference, diameter and semidiameter of the earth, will easily
and more truly be found, then any other way yet used for
this purpose. But meanes convenient for the triall hereof
have hitherto been wanting, and so I must omit it, till
some better opportunity, if any shall befall hereafter, by
the bounty of any such as are of more ability to bear the
charge hereof. 13

“¢ Yet besides our purpose now in hand, this would bee
the best ground that can be, both for the making and con-
tinuing of a Standard, and all other measures thereon de-
pending at a certainty forever; insomuch that although all

the Standards, weights and measures in the world were lost, :

they might,-notwithstanding, upon record of such obser-
vation and’ means, as heré we have mentioned, be again
restored much more perfectly, then by the ordinary way of
beginning all our measures from a barly grain taken out of
the midst of the Ear, whereof there is no such certain de-
terminate bignesse that can be set down, but that they may
be something greater in one Ear then another ; neither can
there be any certain rule or reason given how to know
which Ear to chuse rather then other for this purpose.
And if any error be committed herein, though insensible
(which cannot be avoided) yet in going about to make
other greater measures by often taking this least, and so
proceeding a minimis ad maxima*, so often as you take
your first or Jeast measure, so often doe you increase and
multiply your error; which though at first it seem very
smal and scarcely perceivable, yet commeth at the last to
be very notorious and intollerable... But the other way I
here speak of, taking the length of all England, or of the
whole Iland, for our first measure, and out of it by subdi-
vision, dividing all the rest, although wee may erre some-
thing, m taking the length hereof (which notwithstanding,

* From the least to the gréatest.

I dare

Porta, on the Reflection of Cold &c. 167

I dare undertake, may be so handled, that it shall not be
so much as the thousand part of the whole distance between
the two places, before mentioned) yet because we proceed
a maximis ad minima, so still dividing, and the more di-
minishing this error, the further we proceed ; it will in the
end, when we come to our ordinary measures most in use,
become very insensible, and not worth the regarding.” _
A’“ natural standard, or universal measure”’ is the only
subject of my next extract, which is taken from pages 191
and 192 of the Rev. Dr. Wilkins’s “‘ Essay towards a real
Character, and a philosophical Language*.”?. This work was
printed in 1668, in which year the Doctor was appointed
Bishop of Chester, but written some time beiore ; for the
truly learned and ingenious author, in his dedication to
Lord Brouncker, President of the Royal Society, says that
when it “ was done in writing, and the impression of it
well nigh finished, it happened (among many other better
things) to be burnt in the late dreadful fire,’ (in 1666)
*¢ by which all that was printed, excepting only two copies,,
and a great part of the unprinted original, was destroyed.”
«© Measures of magnitude,” says Dr. Wilkins, © do com-
prehend both those of length, and of superficies or area,
together with those of solidity, both comprehended in that
which is adjoined, viz. the word capactry, hold, contain.
The several nations of the world do not more differ in their
languages, than in the yarious kinds and proportions of
these measures. And it is not without great difficulty, that

* From La Vie de M. Leibuitz, prefixed to that great man’s Fssars de
Theodicée, by the Chev. de Faucourt, Amst. 1747, p. tor. we learn that
the celebrated Dr. Hook was delighted with this work of Wilkins; but
that M. Lerbaitz was not very well pleased with it ; having had a plan of
his own, for a real or universal character, expressive of all languages,
but which never appeared. In the same place, we are told of a well
written anonymous paper, on the same subject, which appeared’ in, the
year 1720, inthe 2d vol. of the Yournal Litcraire. Some other attempts
bive been made; the last, I believe, by my ingenious friend Dr. Fumes

Anderson, iv the Manchester Transactions, I think, or in his miscellany,
1¢ Bee, printed at Edinburgh, or perhaps in both. It seems probable,
at the idea was suggested to Dr. Wilkins by ¢ the art of short-hand,
which,” as he says in his dedication, ‘ is in its kind an ingenious device,
~ and of considerable usefulness, applicable to any language, much gwon-
dered at by travellers, that have seen the experience of it in England :
and yet though it be above three score years, since it was first invented,
tis not to this day (for ought I can learn) brought into common practice ©
in any other nation,” Mr. Locke also expressed his surprise, many years
afterwards, iv his tract on education, that short-hand had never come
into use on the continent ; in some parts of which, however, it is now
almost as much practised as it 1s in this island; though it be no where
cultivated so much as it deserves.

L.4 the

168 ‘Wright &c. on an Universal Measure ;

the measures observed by all those different nations, who
trafic together, are reduced to that which is commonly
known and received by any one of them; which labour
would be much abbreviated if they were all of them fixed
to anv one certain standard; to which purpose, it were most
desirable to find out some natural standard, or universal
measure, which hath been esteemed by learned men as one
of the desiderata in philosophy. If this could be done in
longitude, the other measures might be easily fixed from
thence. '

‘* This was heretofore aimed at and endeavoured after in
all those various measures derived from natural things,
though none of them do sufficiently answer this end. As
for that of a barley-corn, which is made the common
ground and original of the rest, the magnitude and weight
of it may be so various in several times and places, as will
render it incapable of serving for this purpose ; which is
true likewise of those other measures, an inch, palm, span,
cubit, fathom, a foot, pace &c.; none of which can be de-
termined to any sufficient certainty.

*¢ Some have conceived that this might be better done
by subdividing a degree upon the earth; but there would
be so much difficulty and uncertainty in this way as would
render it unpracticable. Others have thought it might be
derived from the quicksilver experiment; but the unequal
gravity and thickness of the atmosphere, together with the
various tempers of air in several places and seasons, would
expose that also to much uncertainty *. ,

“«¢ The most probable way for the effecting of this, is that
which was first suggested by Dr. Christopher Wren, namely,
by vibration of a pendulum; time itself being a natural
measure, depending upon a revolution of the heaven or the
earth, which is supposed to be every where equal and uni-
form. If any way could be found out to make longitude +
commensurable to time, this might be the foundation of 4
natural standard ; in order to which, Par.

** Let there be a solid ball, exactly round, of some of the
heaviest metals; let there pe a string to hang it upon, the

* Since Bishop Wilkins wrote the above, Halley, Condaminé, Godin,
and others, have ascertained that, at and near the equator, there is little
or no variation in the height of the barometer, except during hurricanes,
See Philos, Trans. No, 110; and Templeman's Extracts from the Mem.
del’ Acad, R. des Sp. 312,

+ The learned author, by longitude means length; for longitude,
when it signifies an arch of the equator, between the first meridian and
any other, may be said (loosely not mathematically) to be commensura-
ble to time; since 45 degrees of longitude answer to.an hour, &c.

smallest,

Porta, on the Reflection of Cold &c. 169

smallest, limberest, and least subject to retch: let this ball
be suspended by this string, being extended to such a length,
that the space of every vibration may be equal to a second
minute of time, the string being, by frequent trials, either
lengthened or shortened, till it attain to this equality: these
vibrations should be the smallest, that can last a suflicient
space of time, to afford a considerable number of them,
either 6 or 500 at least; for which end, its passing an arch
of five or six degrees, at the first, may be sufficient. The
pendulum being so ordered as to have every one of its vi-
brations equal to a second minute of time, which is to be
adjusted with much care and exactness; then measure the
jength of this string trom its place of suspension to-the
centre of the ball ; which measure must be taken as it hangs
free in its perpendicular posture, and not otherwise, because
of stretching: which being done, there are given these two
lengths, viz. of the string, and of the radius of the hall, to
which a third proportional must be found out; which must
be, as the length of the string from the point of suspension
to the centre of the ball, is to the radius of the ball, so must
the said radius be to this third: which being so found, let
two-fifths of this third proportional be set off from the
centre downwards, and that will give the measure desired.
And this (according to the discovery and observation of
those two excellent persons, the Lord Viscount Brouncker,
President of the Royal Society, and M. Huygens, a worthy
member of it) will prove to be 38 Rhinland inches, or,
which is all one, 39 inches and a quarter, according to our
London standard.

« Let this /ength therefore be called the standard ; let
one tenth of it be called a foot; one tenth of a foot, an
inch; one tenth of an inch, a line. And so upward, ten.
standards should be a perch; ten perches a furlong; ten
furlongs a nule; ten miles a league, &c.

«© And so for measures of capacity: the cubical content
of this standard may be called the bushel ; the tenth part of
the bushel, the peck; the tenth part of a peck, a quart;
and the tenth of that, a pint, &c. And so for as many
other measures upwards as shall be thought expedient for
use,

** As for measures of weight; Jet this cubical content of
distilled rain water be the hundred; the tenth part of that,
astone; the tenth part of a stone, a pound; the tenth part
of a pound, an ounce; the tenth of an ounce, a dram; the
tenth of a dram, a scruple; the tenth of a scruple, a grain,
&c. And so upwards; ten of these cubical measures may
2 be

4170 Wright Sc. on an Universal Measure ;

be called a thousand, and ten of these thousands. may be
called a tun, &c. j he banat: od

‘«s As for the measures of money, “tis requisite:that they
should be determined by the different quantities of those
two natural metals which are the most usual: materials of it,
viz. gold and silver, considered im their purty without any
allay. A cube of this standard of either of these metals
may be called a thousand, or a talent, of each; the tenth
part of this weight, a hundred; the tenth of a hundred, a
pound ; the tenth of a pound, an angel; the tenth of an
angel, a shilling ; the tenth of a shilling, a penny 5) the tenth
of a penny, a farthing. aiag sh

<¢ 1 mention these particulars, not out of any hope or
expectation that the world will ever make use of t jem, but
only to show the possibility of reducing all measures to one
determined certainty.”—Thus far bishop Vidkins. »

The above extracts contain, as far.as I know, the earliest
sketches of the ingenious methods therein proposed ; and
eur neglect of such suggestions of our own countrymen, has
been very properly rewarded by our obliging neighbours,
who) as in other instances, have done our nation the honour
to,adoptiand combine them, without distressing our modesty
by ian acknowledgment. I have no room or time, at pre«
sent, to expatiate on this becoming and characteristic exer-
cise of politeness. But I cannot dismiss the subject, with+
out adding a few explanatory remarks, which historical
justice Seems to require. vetou

I apprehend that few philosophers in this country, and
_ still fewer on the continent, know to whom they really are
indebted for the proposal of a subdivision of the meridian
as an universal standard, or the application of the seconds
pendalum to the same valuable purpose. To say nothing
here of the Comparative merits of these methods, or of the
combination of beth, I believe the following passage from
the French Eneyclopedie, contams the generally received
opinions on this. matter.» “ Mouton, astronome de Lyon,
&c.* Thatis, “ Mouton, an astronomer of Lyons, pro-

ed as ati universal measure, a geometrical foot, virgula
eometrica, of which a degree of the earth” (meridian)
<¢ contained 600,000; and to preserve the length of it to
perpetuity, he remarked that a pendulum of this length
ynade 39594 vibrations in half an hour: Olserv. Diametro-

rum; 1670, p. 433. Picard proposed a similar idea in ~

1672.00 M. Huygens, who, in 1656, had conceived the
® Encyelope die methodique. Maibematiques, axt. Mesure, p. 388... rs
/ application

Th
Aga

‘'

Porta, on the Reflection of Cold Se. 171

application of the pendulum to clocks, spake of it, in like
manner: «Horolog. Oscillat. 1673, parti. p. 7, and part iv.
p- 1515 and the Royal Society of London proposed to adopt
it.” The learned Encyclopedists then go on to mention
the similar proposal of Amontons in 1703, and others of a
later date, particularly that of M. Condamine, who in 1747
very philosophically recommended the equatorial pendulum,
as preferable to all others, for an universal standard.
MM. Berthoud, in his late excellent piece above quoted, as-
signs the same date (1673) to the proposal of Huygens, in
p- 151; and, in the title of his 2d article, which is “¢ Moyens
@etallir, &c. A way to establish an universal and perpetual
measure, by a pendulum, proposed by Huygens in 1673.”
“Thus it appears that Wright proposed the derivation of
an universal standard from the mensuration of the meridian
in 1599, and Mozton not till 1670; and that Sir Chris-
topher Wren recommended the pendulum some years before
1668; Mouton in 1670; and Huygens not till 1673.
How many years before 1668*, I cannot say; for Sir Chris-
Hg did not publish any of his numerous discoveries him-
. self; but many of them were recorded or epitomized in the
Philosophical Transactions, and in the works of /Vallis and
others. Not having the early volumes of the Transactions
at hand, [have séarched in vain for Sir Christopher's pro-
posal, now in question, throughout the first seven volumes
of the old Abridgement, which for want of a good index
(for it has several bad ones) is mere “ confusion worse
confounded.” ~~ ’ Hes, .
Thus the mere date of Wilkins’s « Real Character,” though
Spl ‘carries /Vren’s claim decisively beyond those of
| Mouton and Huygens. 1 may add, as the book, is
before me, that Dr. Sprat includes, in a catalogue of the
original discoveries of /Vren, “a natural standard of méa-
sure from the pendulum ;” for he says ¢¢ it was never before
attempted ¢.””. Dr. Derham is equally explicit in favour of
Wien. His words are: (The pendulum) ‘to be, as Sir
ristopher Wren first proposed; a perpetual and universal
“Measure and standard, to which all lengths may be reduced,
by which they may be judged of in all ages and coun-

Spt!

* T might say dcfore 1666, when Wilkins’s first impression was burnt.
- 4 Sprat’s Hist. of the R. Society, pp. 247. 314, edit. 2d, 1703. This
history contains scarcely any dates; but in his 120th page the author says
he was interrupted in writing it by the plague in London‘in 1665, and
the fire in 1666. Dr. Hutson says, in his art. Wrex, that Sprat brings
down the Society’s Transactions to 1665, when it had existed about
twenty years, though only about five with a charter. :

$id. 7 tries.

172 Wright €3c. on an Universal Measure;

tries. For, as our Royal Society, M. Huygens and Moun-
tonus have proposed, after Sir Christopher Wren, this ho-
rary toot, or tripedal length, which vibrateth seconds, will
fit all ages and places. But then respect must be had to the
centre of oscillation, which you have an account of in
M. Huygens’s aforesaid book De Horol. Oscill.’’—§ pub-
Nished at Paris 1673*.” Now Wilkins, Sprat, and Der
ham, (who wrote his ‘ Artificial Clock-maker in his juve-
nile yearst”’) were cotemporaries of Huygens, Wren, and
Mouton, and appear to be very impartial, dispassionate
writers. Their testimonies, therefore, added to the date of
Wilkins’s book, establish, beyond all doubt, Wren’s right
to be remembered, as the first proposer of the pendulum for
an.universal standard. Huygens’s discoveries on the pen-
dulum, were numerous and important; but assuredly this
was not one of them. The truth is, that that justly distin-
guished Hollander and his cotemporaries, especially in this
country, (which, according to Leibnitz {, thea enjoyed its
Augustan age,) made so many discoveries about the same
time, and often on the same subjects, that their claims are
apt to be confounded, when, as in this case, they are per-
fectly distinct. ,

But, as we must not love our countrymen and their fame
better than truth, I think it my duty to add, for the in-
formation of persons unacquainted with the history of the
mathematics, that Wilkins, who, in the foregoing extract,
secommends the decimal division of weights and measures,
was by no means the first who made this most wise and
muportant proposition. John Muller, commonly called
Regiomontanus, or rather his master Purbach, actually in-
troduced that division of the integer when they transformed
the tables of Sines from the sexagesimal to the decimal] scale
about the middle of the fifteenth century: so far is this ar-
rangement from being recommended by novelty to those
hight minds whe make fhis the god of their idolatry ! These
megenious German mathematicians were followed, at a con-
siderable interval of years, by our no less ingenious, but
now forgotten, countrymen, Buckley and Recorde; and
afterwards by the famous French philosopher Ramus, But
Simon Stevin, master of mathematics to the renowned
prince Maurice of Nassau, and inspector of the dykes of
Holland, was.the first European who generally applied de-

* Artif. Clock-maker, pp. 10%. rq. edit. 4.. printed in 1759.

+ Preface to the 3d and gth editions,

% Lett, a@ M. Abbe Conti, in Recueil de Pieces, sur la Philos. ke.
tom. i p. 76. edit. 2.

cimals

u
<

Porta, on ihe Reflection of Cold 8c. 173

cimtals to measures in his Practical Geometry, published
early in the seventeenth century *. | say the first European ;
for, according to father Noel, the decimal division of weights
and measures has long been established in China R
Iam, &c.
2):

P.S. Having little prospect of addressing you again for
some time, I shall take the liberty to subjoin a short extract
trom the Magia Naturalis of J. Baptista Porta, first pub-
lished in the year.1594. Though I have proved in my
former letters, { believe to general satisfaction, that this
jearned Italian did not invent the telescope, I by no means
insinuated that he was destitute of’ original genius. This
work shows the contrary, and that he both encouraged and
practised physical experiments with great success; for his
Magia contains nothing of what we now call magic, but
the name, and somwhat of the legendary spirit.

** Calorem,<frigus et vocem speculo concavo reflectere.

* Si quis candelam in loco, ubi spectabilis res locari

_debet, apposuerit, accedet candela per aerem usque ad ocu-

los, ut illos calore et lumine offendet. Hoc autem mira-
bilius erit, ut calor, ita frigus reflectitur, si eo loco nix ob-
jiciatur, si oculum tetigerit, quia sensibilis, etiam frigus
percipiet. Sed res admirabilior est, quod idem speculum,
non solum calorem et frigus, sed vocem refringet, atque
echi officio fungitur; reflectitur enim vox a polita, tersaque
speculi superficie, rectius et integrius, quam a quovis pa-
mete.” (J. B. Porte, Mag. Nat. lib.17. cap. 4. edit.
Rothomagi (Rowen) 1650, p. 557.) The literal translation
of this passage (which it will be remembered was written
before the thermometer was invented) is as follows :

** To refiect heat, cold, and the voice, from a concave

“* If any one put a candle in the situation where a thing
‘be viewed ought to be placed, the candle will come,
through the air, to the eyes, so as to offend them with light
and heat. But it is more wonderful, that as heat is reflected,
80 is cold, if snow be exposed in that pes and touch the
fey this organ, because sensible, will also perceive cold.
+ er maa still more wonderful, that the same specu-
lum will not only reverberate heat and cold, but the voice,

% Obseru. Mathem. Phys. in India et China, Sactis. c. vii. p. T04e

; 2 See Stone's Mathem. Diction. art. Telescope. P|

Wi 4 a

RED “sReP ote t tT Pte 1p

‘

174 Wright &c. on an Universal Measure.

and produce the effect of an echo; for the voice is reflected,
trom the polished and smooth surface of the speculum, more
directly and entirely than from any wall.”

The reflection of heat from a concave mirror is acknow-
ledged to be of very remote antiquity. Not so what is called
the reflection of cold. This discovery seems to be generally
ascribed to one of oue cotemporaries on the continent: with
what justice the foregoing extract shows. The experiment,
indeed, was successtully repeated, seventy years after Porta
had put it in print, by the Academy del Cumento ; it being
the ninth of their Collection of Experiments, published at
Florence in 1666. The reflection of sound from concave
mirrors, is also a very old discovery. This was most pro-
bably the principle of the talking brazen head, which po-
pular tradition, in the southern part of this island, ascribes
to Roger Bacon, in the northern, to Michael Scot, and in
foreign countries, to other cunning men. It. was no doubt
the true secret of\ the enchanted head in Don Quixote, and
of the 88th of the Century of Inventions, published, almost
150 years ago, by the Marquis of Worcester, who was un-
fortunately regarded by most of his cotemporaries as little
superior, in sobriety of mind, to the knight of La Mancha.

Though I have no time for further remarks, J cannot help
asking, Whether, if it be true, as it very probably is, that
cold is the mere privation or abstraction of heat, the ex-
pression “ reflection of cold,” be not an absurdity, both
im grammar and physics? | Is it not like ascribing a positeve
effect to a mere negation? or like saying, that al/ things
were made by nothing ? Perhaps the best answer which
could be made to these queries would be to say, “That:as we
are entirely ignorant of the intimate essences: of things, it
cannot be expected that our language should always: apply
with strict propriety to phenomena which depend on those
unknown intimate essences. For physics, I apprehend, are
as far from being a science, strictly so called, im the present
period, as when Locke, above a century ago, gave his rea+
sons for ‘* suspecting that Natural Philosophy was not ca-
pable of beine made a science.” See § 10. ch. 12. bs 4.:0f
the Essay on Human Understanding, a work which: de-
serves the serious attention of such of our present,experi-
ménters as are fond of being called philosophers and men
of science. ae Uicere dei.

a. &

at Te eral

[ 175 ]
XXVIII. 4 new Process for rendering Platina malleable.

~ By Avexanper Tiniocu. Read before the Askesian
* Society in the Session 1804-5.

Tue methods hitherto employed for bringing this metal
into a malleable state, may be comprehended under one ar
other of the three following processes. :

1. To dissolve the crude platina in nitro-muriatic acid,
precipitate by muriate of ammonia, wash and dry.the preci-
pitate, and then expose it, mixed with arsenic, to such a
degree of heat as may volatilize the latter, leaving the pla-
tina in a spungy form; which, by gentle hammering, and
repeated exposures to a high degree of heat, is at length
rendered solid and malleable. . hort Bian

2. To mix the pure precipitate with twice its weight of
mercury, and bring the whole into the state of an amalgam,

_ which 1s then moulded into the form of bars, and by ex-
posure to heat freed from the mercury,.and then ham-
mered, gently at first, into a solid form.

3. To expose the precipitate per se in a crucible to suvli
a heat as may agglutinate the particles, which are then
brought into closer union by gently pressing, and: at last
hammering the mass. .

I purposely avoid a more minute detail of these pro-

- cesses, as they must be well known to all the members of
this society ; and will be in a great measure superseded by
my new process, which is as follows.

Dissolve, precipitate, and wash the platina in the usual
manner; and then, instead of mixing it with a volatile me-
tal, or exposing it per: se to heat in an earthen crucible, en-
velope the precipitate (previously heated to drive off the ad-
hering ammonia) in a piece of platina, already malleable, and
spread out by means ot a flatting-mill. Nothing more is then
necessary ,but to expose repeatedly the malleable platina,and its
contents, to asufiicient temperature, and hammering between
each exposure, till the whole is brought into a. compact state.

+ The best way to inclose the precipitate inthe malleable
tina is, by rolling up*the latter into the form of a tube,
ing this with the precipitate, well rammed in, and then

‘closing the ends, by hammering them in, before exposure

, When a sufficient heat is obtained, apply the hammer at

first only on the side where the malleable platina overlaps.
not all round the tube, By this means its capacity is les-
sened, and the contents are soon welded, and brought into
union with the tube, after which it may be worked into
the form of a bar, or any other shape wanted.
. ’ XXIX. De-

XXIX. Description of an improved Mill for grinding
Painters’ Colours. By Mr. James Rawurnson, of
Derly*. |

SIR,

T wave herewith sent a model. of a machine for grinding
paint, hoping that the Society for the Encouragement of
Arts, &c. may not think their time entirely lost in exa-
mining if it has any merit; and if they should be of opi-
nion that it has sufficient merit to recommend it to the
public, it cannot fail of receiving that attention, from the
sanction of their approbation, which my recommendation
could not procure for it.

The hitherto very unmechanical, inconvenient, and highly
injurious method of grinding poisonous and noxious colours,
led me first to imagine a better might easily be contrived
for that purpose. It must be obvious to every person, that
the method hitherto adopted of grinding colours on an ho-
rizontal marble slab, with a small pebble muller, requires
the body of the person who grinds to bend over that slab,
and consequently his head ; which causes him constantly to
inhale the noxious and poisonous volatile parts of the paint,
which is not unfrequently ground with oil saturated with
litharge of lead; and if we may judge from the very un-
healthy appearance of these men, accustomed to much co-
lour-grinding, it should seem the bad effects of this em-
ployment require a speedy remedy.

The machine, of which I now send the society a model,
has not ouly the advantage of being an effectual remedy of
this extensive and severe evil to recommend it, but it grinds
the colour much easier, much finer, and much quicker,
than any method hitherto adopted. Having occasion for a
considerable quantity of colour-grinding in the profession
in which [ am-engaged, and that in the finest state possi-
ble, and having made use of this machine for several years,
and being more and more convinced of its utility, I thought
it my duty to present it to the Society of Arts, hoping that
it might not be altogether unworthy of their attention, The
roller of the machine that I use is sixteen inches and a half
in diameter, and four inches and a half in breadth. The
eoncave muller that it works against, covers one-third of
that roller: it is therefore evident, that with this machine

* From Transactions of the Soctcty of Arts, dc. 1804.—The silver medal
of the Society and ten guineas were vored te the author for this commu
Rication.

I have

P P f

Tiproved Mill for grinding Painters’ Colours. 177

T have seventy-iwo square inches of the concave marble

muller in constant work on the paint, and that I can bring
: the paint much oftener under this muller in a given space
of time, than I could by the usual method with the pebble
muller, which is seldom more than four inches in diameter,
and consequently has scarcely sixteen square inches at work
on the paint, when my concave muller has seventy-two.
I do not mean to say that a roller, the size of that which L
now use, is the largest which might be employed; for truly
I believe that a roller two feet in diameter, with a concave
muller in proportion, would not be hard work for a man ;
and then the advantage to the public would be still further
increased.

This machine will be found equally useful for the colours
ground in water, as for those ground in oils; and I doubt
not but the great importance of this simple machine will
be very soon generally experienced in all manufactories
| where colours are used. The labour necessary with this
machine, in grinding colours exceedingly fine, is very easy.
It is useless to enter into any minute description in this
. place, as a bare inspection of the machine must sufficiently
- explain itself. }

To the colourman it would evidently be an essential saving
of labour, and consequently of expense, which will proba-
bly have some weight as a recommendation ; and the ad-
vantages to the colour-grinder have been already stated.

I am, sir, your very obedient servant,
JameEs RAWLINSON.

Charles Taylor, Esq.
SIR,

I was duly favoured with your letter of the 3d instant ;
and in reply to the questions that the’ committee have pro-
eval 1 haye made a rough sketch of the machine, with
etters of reference, as supposing this may better explain
the process. Plate 1V. fig. 1. A is the roller or cylinder
made of any kind of marble: black marble is esteemed the
best, because it is the hardest, and takes the best polish.
Bis the concave muller covering one-third of the roller,
and of the same kind of marble, and is fixed in a wooden
frame l, which is hung to the frame E at ii. , C is a piece
of iron, about an inch broad, to keep the muller steady,
and is fixed to the frame with a joint at f. The small
- binding-screw, with the fly-nut, that passes through the

centre of the iron plate atc, is for the purpose of ‘a ing
_ more pressure on the muller, if required, as well as to tee

Vol. 21. No. 82. March 1805. M it

178 Description of an improved Mill

it steady. Dis a taker-off, made of a clock-spring abouf
half an inch broad, and fixed similar to a frame saw in art
iron frame k, in an inchined position to the roller, and turn~
ing on pivots at dd. G isa slide-board to draw out occa-
sionally, to clean, &e. if any particles of paint should falk
from the roller, and which also forms itself for the plate H,
to catch the colour on as it falls from the taker-off. Fis a
drawer, for the purpose of containing curriers shavings,
which are the best things for cleaning paint mills. E is the
frame.

Previous to the colour being applied to the mill, I should
recommend it to be finely pulverized in a mortar, covered
in the manner of the chemists when they levigate poisonous
drugs *. This process of dry-grinding 1s equally necessary
for the marble slab now in use; after which it should be
nixed with oil or water, and with a spatula or palette-knife
put on the roller, near to the top of the concave niuller, and
the roller turned round, which takes the colour under the
muller without any difficulty, and very few turns of the
roller spread it equally over its surface. When it is per-
ceived sufficiently fine for the purpose required, it is very
easily taken off by means of the taker-off described, which
must be held against the roller, and the roller turned the
reverse way, which cleans it very quick and very com-
pletely; and the muller will only require to be cleaned
when you desist, or change the colour. It is then turned
back, being hung on pinions to the frame at 77, and’cleaned
with a palette-knife or spatula very’conveniently. After-
wards, a handful of curriers shavings held on the roller,
with two or three revolutions, cleans it effectually; and
there is less waste with this machine than with any marble
slab.

As to the quantity ground at once on this mill, it must
be regulated by the state of fineness to which it is required
to be ground. If it is wanted to be very fine, a smaller
quantity must be put on the roller at a time; and as to time
requisite for grinding a given quantity of colour, this will
also depend on the state of fineness to which it is ground.
I have observed that my colour-grinder has ground. the
quantity of colour which used to serve him-per day, with
this machine, in three hours, and, as he said, with ease.

* Or rather in an improved mill, used at Manchester by Mr. Charles
Taylor, for grinding indigo in a dry state, of which I have annexed a

drawing, and reference, to render the whole business of colour-grinding
complete,

4 The

for grinding Painters’ Colours. 179

- The colour also was much more to my satisfaction than in

the former way, and attended with less waste.

Ihave mentioned the pulverizing the colours in a covered
mortar, which would prevent waste, and prevent the dust
and finest parts of noxious colours from being injurious to
the grinder. In some manufactories, where large quantities
of colours, prepared from lead, copper, and arsenic, are
used, this precaution is particularly neccssary.. I do not
inean to say that my machine is intended to supersede the
paint mill now in use for coarse common colours. It is
intended for no such purpose ; but to supersede the use of
the very awkward and unmechanical marble slab now in
use, and on which all the colours for china manufactories,
coach-painters, japanners, and colour-imanufacturers for
artists, &c. &c. are now ground.

Several of the colour- manufacturers haye expressed to me
their great want of such a machine; and that I had no de-
sire of troubling the public with a machine that would not
answer, is evident, from my having used it several years
before I presumed to recommend it to their attention.
Being therefore now completely convinced of its utility,
and hoping that it might relieve a number of my tellow-
creatures from a dangerous employment, I have ventured to
commit it to the protection of the Society of Arts, hoping,
through their means, to see its ultimate success. And,
further to give the society the most complete assurance in
my power, I have annexed the opinion of avery ingenious
and mechanical friend of mine, who has frequently scen it
work. If any other questions should occur to the commit-
tee, that may be in my power to explain, I,shall gladly do so.

I am, sir, your most obedient servant,

James RAWLINSON.
Charles Taylor, Esq.

P.S. When the colour is ground, I recommend the fol-
lowing mode of tying it up in bladders, in preference to the
usual method. Instead of drawing the neck of the bladder
close, in the act of tying it insert a slender cylindrical stick,
and bind the bladder ¢lose around:it. This, when dry, will
form a tube or pipe, through which, when the stick is with-
drawn, the golour may be squeezed as wanted, and the neck
Aeaincctoed by replacing the stick. This is not only @
neater and much more cleanly mode than the usual one of
perforating the bladder, and stopping the hole with a nail,
or more commonly leaying it open, to the prejudice of the

a M 2 colour ;
i.

rat

}

180 Improved Mili for grinding Indigo, &c.

colour; but the bladder, being uninjured, may be used res
peatedly for fresh quantities of colour.

N. B. The barre! of a quill may be tied, in place of the
stick, into the neck of the bladder, with its closed end out-
wards, which will keep the colour secure in travelling, and
when used, the end of the quill being cut off, it may after-
wards be closed-by a stick.

XXX. Lnproved Mill for grinding Indigo, or ether dry
Colours *.

Prare tv. fiz. 2. E represents a mortar made of marble
or hard stone: one made in the common way will answer.

M, a muller or grinder, nearly m the form of a pear, in
the upper part of which an iron axis is firmly fixed, which
axis, at the parts NN, turns in grooves or slits, cut in two
pieces of oak projecting horizontally from a wall, and when
the axis is at work, are secured in the grooves by i iron pins,
O00.

P, the handle, which forms a part of the axis, and by
which the grinder is worked.

O, the wall in which the oak pieces NN are fixed.

KR, a weight, which may occasionally be added, if more
power is wanted.

Fig. 3. shows the muller or grinder, with its axis sepa-
rate from the other raachinery: its bottom should be made
to fit the mortar.

S is a groove cut through the stone.

On grinding indigo, or such substance, in a dry: state, im
this umil, the ‘muller being placed in the mortar, and se-
rg a the oak preces by “the pins, the indigo to be ground

s thrown above the muller into the mortar ; on turnmg the
ences of the axis, the mdigo in lumps falls. into the wroove
eut through the vine, and is from thence drawn under
the action of the muller, and propelled to its outer edge
within the mortar, from whence the coarser particles again
fall ito the groove of the muller, and are again ground
under it; which operation is continued till the whole of it
is eround to an impalpable powder: the muller is then easily
removed, and the colour taken out, -

5 A wash cover, in two halves, wih a hole for the axis,
is usually placed upon the mortar, during the operation, to
prevent-any loss to the colour, or bad effect to the operator.

#* From: Transa tins of the So.itty of Arts, &e. for 1804.

XXXII. 4

Bee te
>
oa

|
:

Ex IBiiJ

XXX. 4 new and most accurate Method of Banking the
Balance of a Time-keeper. By Ar. W. Uarny, of
Islington *,

SIR, P

T isis letter is accompanied with a drawing, a description,
and a medel, of 4 more perfect mode of banking the balance
of a time-keeper, than any that has yet appeared ; and its
application to a time-keeper is a matter of such real im-
portance, that the most accurate, without this most neces-
sary appendage, is liable to such derangement, that from
the most trivial cause it is in one moment rendered useless.

To preserve the good qualities of the time-keeper, on
which often the strength, the wealth, the grandeur, and
safety of this great empire depend, | deem it necessary that
my invention should be laid before the Society of Arts, as
the means of its being more generally known; and I hope
that I show proper respect to the society, when I assure you
that I do not offer any crude idea, neither could I think of
giving you any trouble until I had fully verified the utility
of my contrivance by several years’ trial, As I can produce
the testimony of some of the most eminent watchmakers
in favour of my invention, I look forward with some degree
of confidence, in expectation of obtaining the approbation
of the society.

It was at first imagined that a banking to a watch with
a free escapement was quite unnecessary, as the limits of
banking were so great as to admit of almost twice 360,’ or
720 degrees ; but on trial the balance was frequently found
to exceed this quantity, and that a very slight motion given
to the time-keeper (particularly when the axis of the balance
became the axis of that motion) was sufficient to alter the
strength and figure of the pendulum spring, and position of
the picces in respect of the balance wheel, so as to change
the rate of tlie time-keeper; and, what was worse, beaine
a new adjustment af the balance, to accommodate i{sclf to
the changes made in the spring, and other parts connected
with it. Hence it became necessary that some means shduld
be used to stop the balance at certain limits beyond its na-
tural arch of vibration; and various attempts have heen made
to effect it. One way is, by a moveable piece on the axis
of the balance, which banks against a pin, yet so as to suffer

* From Transactions of the Swiety of Arts, &c. for 04 — A hounty of
thirry gifingas was vored to Mr. Hardy by the Society for this commun-

cation,
; M 3 the

iso Method of Banking the Balance of a Time-keeper.

the balance to vibrate more than 360 degrees. Another
method is to have a piece moveable on a centre in one of
the arms of the balance, and applying itself as a tangent to
the pendulum spring, which passes through a hole in the
piece. It has also a knee, which almost touches the plate,
and just passes free of a pin placed init. But when the
balance vibrates so as to approach its utmost limits, the ac-
tion of the spring, while in a state of unwinding, throws
the piece outward, so as to fall in the way of the : pin, and
stop the balance from proceeding further. Another mode
is by a straight spring, screwed upon the plate, having a
hook at the end of it, into which a pin placed in the balance
strikes, when, as before, the pendulum spring, in unwind~-
ing, touches the straight spring, and moves }t a little out-
wards. There is also a w ay of banking by means of a bolt,
which is thrown back by the pendulum spring, and made to
fall in the way of a pin placed in the rim of the balance.
These are the principal modes of banking now in use, and
they do not differ materially from one another j in principle.
But the weight and friction of so many pieces on so delicate
an organ as that of a pendulum spring, are perbaps nearly
as hurtful to the time- keeper as the injury it may sustain
when it is left without any banking whatever.
I am, sir, your most obedient servant,

WitityaAm Harpy.
Charles Taylor, Esq.

In figures 1 and 2 (Plate III.) the same letters are placed,
to signify the same things. AA is the balance to which
the pendulum spring is fastened in the usual way. In one
of the crosses of the balance is placed a pin P, which stands
a little way above its surface; and when the balance. is

caused to vibrate a complete circle, the’ pin in ifs motion
will describe the dotted circle POO, and just pass clear of
the inside of a projection formed on a cock B, which is
fastened on the plate by means of a screw. At about one-
fourth of a turn of the pendulum spring, reckoned from its
stud E, is placed a very delicate tapering piece of steel S,
having a small hole in it, through which the pendulum
spring passes ; and it is fastened to it by means of a pin,
and stands perpendicular to the curve of the spring. Let
the balance be at rest, as represented in fig. 1, the banking-
pin at P, and the banking-piece at 5. Suppose the balance
is made to vibrate from P towards O, when P arrives at the
banking-piece s, it will pass it without touching because
iis extremity s lies wholly within the circle traced out by

the

Economical Society of Leipsic at Dresden, Fe. 183

the banking-pin. But when the banking-pin P has arrived
at O, the banking-piece s will have advanced to ¢, by the
pendulum spring winding itself up into the figure repre-
sented by the dotted curve; and when the banking-pin P
(aow at Q) returns back to P, and passes on from P towards
Q, to approach B, and so complete the other half-arch of
its vibration, before P can arrive at the banking-cock B,
the pendulum spring will have unwound itself into the
firure described by the dotted curve, and the banking-piece s
will have advanced into the position at 7, just touching the
banking-cock. Its extremity 7; however, being thrown
beyond the dotted circle, must necessarily fall in the way
of the banking-pin, which arrives there al wost at the same
moment, and is opposed by it, without the slightest shock
to the pendulum spring. The model renders any further
explanation unnecessary.

Witttam Harpy.

eee ee
? XXXII. Proceedings of Learned Societies.

ECONOMICAL SOCIETY OF LEIPSIC AT DRESDEN.

Onxa request by Count von Reisch, this society has pro-
posed the two following prize questions :
*" Ist, To determine the means, established by experiment,
: of extirpating from fields of oats and barley the wild radish
{Raphanus Raphanistrum), with instances of these means
proving successful. The prize is 5 Fredericks of gold.
ad, To invent a handmill of a simple construction, easy
to be moved, and which will not cost more than forty
rix-dollars. The inventor must send a model and scale.
The prize is 8 Fredericks of gold. The papers, written in
the German language, must be transmitted with a sealed
device to the secretary of the society at Dresden, before the
end of April 1805.

* an
XXXII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles,

ORIGINAL VACCINE POCK INSTITUTION,
No. 44, Broad-street, Golden-square,

Quarterly Court,

% Tue following Resolutions, on the authority of a public
institution, must serve to tranquillize many families dis-
turbed by prevailing ill-founded reports ; and the notice of

M 4 the

164; |! Original Vaccine Pock Institution.

the privilege of letters to and from the establishment miust
be especially acceptable, .

Among the resolutions were the following :

1. Resolved, That it appears from the numerous reports
that have been transmitted or attested by the members of
the medical establishment from abroad, from our own)
country, and from their own experience, that the propor
tion of failures in the cow-pock inocuiation to give secu
rity against the small-pox, which haye been published,
does not amount to more than 50 .out of 250,000 yacci-
nated persons.

2. Resolved, That it does not appear on examination of
the published reports of these failures, and the investigation
of many of them by the medical establishment of this insti-
tution, that TEN haye been substantiated by admissible and
adequate evidence.

3. Resolved, That it seems more than probable, that all
or many of even the admitted of failure, according to the
evidence produced, are liable to be deceptions, on the same
grounds as in the asserted cases of the occurrences of the
small pox, subsequent to the small pox.

4. Resolyed, That, considering that the cow pock inocu
Jation has been the practice of producing an affection which
practitioners in the first instances in general had not preyi-
ously seen, and the history of which was so little known
and considering the greater deceptions than in the small
pox inoculation-to which practitioners are exposed, it was
to have been expected that a much greater proportion of
supposed failures would have occurred.

5. Resolved, That it does not appear that a single instance
has occurred of the small pox, subsequent to the cow pock,
during more than five years practice at this institution; for,
on inquiry, two instances which were said to be such were
found to be inadmissible cases: viz. one of. them on ac-
count of the supposed cow pock preceding being only a
local affection; and in the other, that it was only proved that
there was a local affection from the yariolous inoculation:

6. Resolved, That the numerous instances of exposure of
vaccinated persons to the small pox since the commence-
ment of the practice in January in 1799, and likewise of
repeated re-inoculation with small pox matter at this insti-
tution, and which have been communicated, establish the
fact, that a person who has really gone through the cow
pock is incapable of the small pox, on as firm ground as
the fact of variolous imoculation giving security against the
smal] pox. us

7. Re-

Original Vaccine Pock Institution. 185

7. Resolved, That considering the novelty of the practice
of vaccine inoculation, and that it has not been performed
in many instances, after such a mode as might give the
greatest chance of security ; it is advisable to take precau-
tionary measures with many who haye been inoculated, or
who shall undergo the practice in future. 1

8. Resolved, That the tests of patients who have been
inoculated being secure, are, exposure to effluvia and con-
tact with persons in the small pox; inoculation with small
pox matter, and re-inoculation with vaccine matter. But,
for reasons set forth in a memoir read at the quarterly meet-
ing by Dr. Pearson, the repetition of re-inoculation with
vaccine matter is a preferable test ; for it does not appear,
from abundant evidence brought forward by the experience
of Dr, Pearson, that a person who has gone through the
cow pock is susceptible of it a second time.

9. Resolved, That such practitioners as are desirous of
seeing proofs of the proposition last stated, that a second
inoculation for the cow pock is an equally decisive test of
the question of the susceptibility of a vaccinated person to

‘take the small pox as inoculation with variolous matter, be

invited to attend at the institution, for that purpose.

10..Resolved, That although it is probable, from the
amount of the deaths by the small pox in the bills of mor-
tality in two preceding years, viz. in 1803, of 1202; and
in 1804, of 622, that the proportion of deaths by that
disease has been diminished by vaccine inoculation ; yet’ it
does not appear justifiable to draw this conclusion positive-
ly at present—because, in former years, previously to the
new practice, even a still smaller proportion occurred by
smnall pox, viz. in 1795, there were 1040; in 1797, there
were only 522; and in 1799, there were 1111: therefore
that it will require at least five successive years of vaccine
practice to draw a just inference.

11. Resolved, That Dr. Pearson be requested to allow
the memoir on the state of the practice of vaccination, and
on the conduct of it, to be printed, in order to quiet the
minds of many families disturbed by the late unfavourable
reports, .

12. Resolved, That the medical establishment continue
their practice of registering their observations, as the most
likely means to reduce to certainty the vaccine practice as a
prophylactic of the small pox.

43. Resolved, That although the conduct of this institu-
tion, under the economical management of the treasurers,
Thomas Payne and John [eaviside, Esqrs. and the trustees,
. Win,

186 Metallic Nature of Ochroit, &&c.

Wm. Bosville, Wm. Noble, and Charles Bingy, Esqrs.
has been such, that the subscriptions hitherto have been
sufficient to defray the expenses, without requesting addi-
tional aid from the present supporters; yet, to accomplish
the objects of the institution to their full extent, it will be
requisite that further contributions he requested from the
public, and that the present subscribers particularly be re-
spectfully solicited to use their interest for that purpose.

The number inoculated since the last report amounts to
2337.

Subscribers of ten guineas are Life Governors; of two
guineas annually are Electors, and of one guinea annually
are Governors.

_ All persons, with or without letters of recommendation,
are admitted for inoculation every Tuesday and Friday, at
one o’clock.

Subscriptions will be thankfully received by Messrs.
Devaynes and Co. Pall Mall, and-by Mr. Sancho, at the
institution.

Note—Provincial subscribers and correspondents are in~

- formed, that permission has been liberally granted by their
Lordships the Postmasters-general for letters to come and re-
turn postage free, provided they are addressed to Mr. San-
cho, Secretary to the, Original Vaccine Pock Institution,
Broad-sireet, Golden-square,*and are sent under cover to
Francis Freeling, Esq. General Post Office, with this in-
dorsement—** On the business of the Broad-street Vaccine
Institution.”

By order, Witi1am Sancuo, Seeretary,

METALLIC NATURE OF OCHROIT.

M. Gehlen, .of Berlin, bas received from Messrs. His
singer and Berzelius, a memoir on the analysis of the
ochroit of Klaproth. They consider the new substance
contained in this fossil as a metallic oxide, and they. give
to the metal the name of Cerium, from the planet Ceres.
They have, however, judged of the nature of it only from
the phenomena of the oxidation exhibited by the substance,
for hitherto they have not been able to obtain it in a me+
tallic state.

CHARACTERS OF PURE NICKEL.

M. Richter is employed in examining the nature of
nickel. In its state of purity, this metal 1s exceedingly
malleable; it is also almost as brilliant as silver, and more
‘susceptible of attraction by the magnet than iron, He ase
serts,

’ :

Galvanism, 187

serts, that in the purest state in which it has been hitherto
obtained it contains still a great deal of copper. M. Rich-
ter has discovered a sure method of freeing it from that
metal,

Purified oxides of nickel are of a much livelier green co-
lour than common oxides, and their solution in ammonia
is of a very pale blue colour,

—

ALKALINE METALLIC SOLUTIONS PRECIPITATED BY
OTHER METALS, AND BY PHOSPHORUS.

Klaproth has found that solutions of metallic oxides in
alkalies are as easily precipitated in the metallic state, by
other metals soluble in the same salts, as also by phospho-
Tus, as acid metallic solutions are. He makes a very inge-
nious application to analysis of tin ores, according to a
method which he ipdicates in his (Beitraege) collections,
In this process, tungsten is separated by zine from tung-
state of ammonia, under the ferm of black flakes.

DECOMPOSITION, BY BOILING WATER, OF SUCCINATE OF
IRON OXIDATED AT A MINIMUM.

Bucholz, in examining M. Gehlen’s method of separat-
ing iron and manganese by the help of succinate of potash,
has found that succinate of iron, oxidated at a minimum, is
entirely decomposed by boiling it with distilled water, so
that the water dissolves the acid with an inappreciable
quantity of oxide. The same chemist is employed in exa-
mining uranium and its combinations.

GALVANISM,

Brugnatelli, in a letter to M. van Mons, says, Volta is

| - still employed on electricity. He has lately constructed
| different piles, composed merely of saline substances of a
f different nature, with solutions of which he impregnated
disks of bone.
; I have lately, adds he, gilt in a complete manner two
large silver medals, by bringing them into communication,
by means of a steel wire, with the negative pole of a Vol-
taic pile, and a po them, one after the other, immersed
in ammoniuret o gold newly made and well saturated*,

* The result here detailed reminds me of one somewhat similar,
which took place during some experiments performed some years ayo
atthe Askesian rooms. Some gold leaf was put loose upon a new picce
pf copper coin, which was then brought into the circuit of the pile; a

part of the gold was inflamed, and other portions adhered to the surface
of the copper as completely as if they had been attached by any common
gilding process. Evrr.

NEW

iss New Metal in Platina.— Astronomy.

NEW METAL IN PLATINA.

I have seen with pleasure, says Brugnatelli, in a letter ta
the same, that Fourcroy and Vanquelin have found a new
metal in platina. I must observe that I obtained separately
a long time ago the substance which gives colour to solu-
tions of platina. I enlarged, by eight or ten parts of water,
the solution of that crude metal, and added to it a solution
of muriate of ammonia. The mixture at first did not be-
come turbid, but after some minutes, the sides and bottom
of the jar were covered with the red matter in shining
molecule, and similar to that of which I send you a spe-
clnen.

ASTRONOMY.

M. Harding, of Lilienthal, near Bremen, has discovered
a new planet, to which he has given the name of Juno.
While comparing with the heavens the fifty thousand stars
observed -by Messrs. Lalande, he saw one of the eighth
magnitude, which appeared to him to have a motion of its
own. He observed it several days, and soon found that it
was a planet.

On the 5th of September, its right ascension was 1° 52’,

Tts north declination 0° 11’. —

M. Burckhardt observed it on the 23d of September, at
359° 7’, and 4° 6’, and thence concluded that the duration
of its revolution is five years and a half,

Its inclination is 21°.

Its excentricity.1s a quarter of its radius. .

its mean distance from the sun is three times that of
the earth, that is to say, it 1s about a hundred millions of
leagues ; it is consequently a little farther distant from the
sun than Ceres and Pallas, which are only ninety-six mil-
‘lions of leagues.

* Its diameter has not yet been measured, but it appears
hike a star of the eighth magnitude.

Its size appears nearly equal to that of Ceres, or of thepla~
net discovered by Piazzi. As astronomers daily observe if,
more precise elements of it maybe obtained. Junois the 12th
planet discovered within a small number of years. Her-
schel discovered Uranus, aid its six satellites ; he discovered
* also two new satellites to Saturn; Piazzi discovered Ceres;
Qlbers discovered Pallas ; and Harding has discovered June,

M. Piazzi, the astronomer, of Palermo, in a Ietter to
M. Delalande, says, that he has observed in the fixed stars
a change of one, two, aud three secends, according to the

ea situation

Geology. 189

situation of the earth in its orbit. This effect of the annual
parallax, respecting which astronomers have disputed so
much for a century past, is an interesting fact: it thence
follows that the distance of the stars is not seyen millions
of millions of leagues.

GEOLOGY.

The following authentic account of an ascent to the
summit of one of the highest mountains in the Tyrol, has
becy published in the Vienna court gazette :—** For some
years past, doctor Gebhard has been employed in exploring
the Tyrol in all directions by the order of his royal highness
the archduke John, who exeris himself with so much zea}
and makes so many sacrifices to promote the good of his
country. One of the most interesting consequences of this
measure, which promises to furnish abundance of matter
to geology, botany, mineralogy, and natural history in ge-
neral, is the late ascent to the summit of the Orteler, the
highest mountain in the Tyrol, which is covered with eter-
nal snow and ice.’ By his highness’s orders, Dr. Gebhard
proceeded to Glurus im the Vintschgau, and thence exa-
mined all the valleys which obtain their water from the
Orteler, in order to ascertain the most favourable point for
ascending the mountain ; but he began to doubt of the pos-
sibility of accomplishing this enterprise, when a hunter of
chamois goats, from the village of Passayer, a man. habi-
tuated to the dangers of these precipices, oflered to become
his guide. Dr, Gebhard added to him as companions two
boors from the Ziller valley, who had attended him during
his excursions among the mountains, and one of whom
possessed sufficient knowledge to observe two bazometers
which they carried with them.

About two o’clock in the morning, September 27, they
set out from Drofui, and between 10 and 11 reached the
very summit of the mountain, But they could scarcely
remain here four minutes. These they employed in ob-
serving the barometer; and about eight in the evening
returned to Drofui half benumbed, and, at first, deprived
of the power of speech. Without resting more than the
above four minutes, they had wandered during seventeen
hours over rocks, snow, and ice, in many places at the
hazard of their lives. Both the barometers observed on the
summit were exceedingly good, and agreed. Corresponding
observations were made at Mals. The height of the moun-
tain above Mals is therefore known, but the elevation of
Mals above the sea has not yet been calculated. It may

however

196 Botany.
however be estimated, that the summit of the Orteler is at
least 19,200 Paris feet above the level of the Mediterranean.

His royal highness has caused huts and places of shelter
to be erected below and above the glaciers, roads to be cut
out in the rocks, and ropes to be extended along them, in
order to open a safe passage for the friends of geology, and
those tond of the sublime beauties of nature, to the summit
6f 2 mountain, next to Montblanc, the highest im Europe.

The ingenious and profound researches by which Cuvier

was able to discover and restore entirely the fossil skeletons
of several animals found in the quarries of Montmartre, and
of whichan alogous ones exist, are well known. The riethod
by which he effected this restoration has been confirmred int a
striking manner, by the discovery he has: made of a skeleton
of the « opossum, an animal the genus of which 1s now cor-
fined exclusively to America. All the bones of this skeleton,
and those in particular by which it is characterized in the
most striking manner, were not at first discovered in the
stone ; but the relations which M. Cuvier knew to exist
between the different organs, and which he calls the xoo/o-
gical laws, enabled him to judge from what he saw of what
he did not see. Such is the certainty of these relations,
that M. Cuvier was able to predict, that in searching further
in the quarry the two characteristic bones of this species,
those which serve to support the edges of the bag in-which
the opossum carrics its young, would be found. Experience
confirmed what theory had foreseen.

This fact is no less curious than embarrassing to the
geologues. M. Cuvier observes, that it entirely overturns
almost all their systems in regard to fossil animals :—

« Hitherto,” says he, °¢ they would see in the fossil bones
of the Norih the animals of Asia only. They allowed, also,
that the animals of Asia had passed over to America, and
had been there buried, at least in the north; but it would
seem that the American genera never quitted- their native -
soil, and that they never extended to those countries which
form at present the old continent. ae his is the second proof
I have discovered of the contrary.’

BOTANY.

E. Rudge, Esq. F.R.S. and F.L.S. is about to publish
in a few days the first fasciculus of a splendid work, en-
titled Plantarum Guiance Rariorum Icones et Descriptiones
hactenus inedite. The plants from which the figures are
taken, formed a part of that superb collection of natural
history consigned by order of the french Government from

Cayenne

}

Tnundation of the Tyber —Mechanics. r9t

Cayenne to the National Museum at Paris, and which was
captured on ts passage by two British privateers, in Sep-
tember 1803. It will comprise upwards of one hundred
new plants.

- METHOD IN WHICH SNAILS BREATHE.

T am ignorant, says Giobert, whether yeu know, that ac
cording to the experiments of Spallarizani, it appears to be
proved, that snails absorb oxygen, not only by other organs
than the lungs, but also through their shells, and that this
absorption continues some time after their death: even
when the shell of a snail has been freed from the animal it
contained, it seems to continue to absorb oxygen.

INUNDATION OF THE TYBER. ’

A letter from Rome, dated February 21, says, Andrew
Vinci, hydraulic engineer, has published the result of his
observations on the last inundation of the Tyber; whence
it appears that the waters rose this year forty-two Romam
palms above their usual level, and, on the whole, higher
than in all the inundations which have before taken place.
Monsignor Naro, president of the department of waters,
has ordered that an inscription shall be placed on the shore
to transmit to posterity the remembrance of this terrible
inundation. The greatest remembered was that of the year
1750: the one this year exceeded it by four palms. On
the 31st of January the water covered all the neighbouring
plains, penetrated to all the lower parts of the eity, and in-
undated a great portion of them: the Rue de la Cours, the

laces Nayone and De la Rotonde, the church in the latter,
and all the adjacent quarters, were covered with water: in
that of the Jews, the water rose to the first stories. The
waters did not retire within their usual bed till the day of
the Purification of the Virgin.

MECHANICS.

_M. Regnier, an ingenious mechanist, has invented a me-
ridian which may be placed in the window of an apartment.
It is so constructed that it may rernain exposed to the open
air without any covering. It consists of a quadrant fur-

» nished with a lens, and a plate of brass in the plane of the

meridian with a black horse-hair, which when it breaks lets
go the catch of a hammer which strikes on a bell. When
the faintest ray of the sun appears, the hair crisps and
breaks: a ray Jess brilliant than that which makes the
shadow on 4 sun-dial appear distinctly, is sufficient for this
Purpose, and the mechanism is sufficiently strong to strike
noon on a large bell.

METEORO-

192 Meteorology.
METEOROLOGICAL TABLE
By Mr. Carey, oF THE STRAND,
For March 1805.

Thermometer. oe
: > : AS b as
: oO oy bre Height of }%& 2 3
ye ag Be] § 135 |che aes 32.8 | Weather.
SB rads 4. "OS iF Inches. | => Eh
25 <I Wa Ss,
oo = aat
Feb. 26} 44°] 51°} 44° "82 33° |Fair
27| 43 | SI | 43 “60 7 |Cloudy
28| 44 | 49 | 36 “46 27~=«|Fair,with wind
March 1) 36 | 42 | 37 “50 24 |Hail showers
2) 33 |. 42 | 37 "95 7 |Fair, snow in
, the night ;
3| 37 | 46 | 44 | 30°14 22 «(|Fair
4| 47} 541 45 ‘01 25 {Small rain
5| 46 | 52 | 37 | 29°92 42’ |Fair
6} 38 | 51 | 37 | 30°00 42 |Fair
7} 37 | 43 | 36} 22 23 |Cloudy
g| 35 | 42 | 32 | 29°98 32 |Fair ;
9| 30 | 39} 33 “66 17. «‘|Fair
10} 32 | 40 | 32 "52 30. |Fair
#1] 30 | 47 | 38 ‘90 33 {Fair
121 49 | 59 | 49 “98 35 |Fair
33) 48 | 60 | 49 | 30°03 51 |Fair
141 49 | 59 | 48 | 29°70 40 |Fair
15] 44 | 53 | 40 "84 33 {Cloudy
16| 38 | 53 | 44 "93 27 |Fair un a} |
17} 45 | 54 | 44 "82 42 |Fair
18} 46 | 47 | 42 “98 16 {Rain
19} 38 | 51 | 44 | 30°18 55 |Fair
201 40 | 43 | 40 "10 6 {Rain
21} 39 | 47 | 40 05 25 |Fair
22} 40 | 46 | 41 | 29°93 20 «={Fair
23; 38 | 47 | 40 } 30°05 31 {Fair
24) 38 | 47 | 43 “20 25 Fair
25 31 | 37 | 34 “Ol “$4 |Fair

26, 32 | 48 | 34 | 29°86. 30. }Fair

N. B. The barometer’s height is taken at noon,
riz

|
i

{ 193 J

XXXIV. An Account of the Aérial Voyage undertaken at
Petersburgh om the 30th of January 1804. Read before
the Academy of Sciences by the Academician SACHAROF.

Hornerro aérial voyages have been undertaken merely
for the gratification of the public. Since the invention of
balloons, no learned society, or man of science, has under-
taken such excursions in order to make physical observa-
tions. Men eminent for their scientific acquirements sel-
dom embark in them merely on account of the advantage
resulting from them. They always represent them as more
dangerous than they are in reality, in order to excite greater
admiration of their intrepidity, and by these easy means to
prevent others from acquiring the same celebrity. The Impe-
rial Academy of Sciences at Petersburgh, considering the
advantages which might result from an aérial excursion of
this kind, resolved to cause one to be undertaken for the
purpose of making scientific researches. The principal
object of this voyage was to ascertain exactly the physical
state of the atmosphere, and the component parts of it, at
different determinate heights. The academy had entertained
an opinion, that the experiments made by De Luc, Saus-
sure, Humboldt and others, on mountains, must give other
results than those made in the open air; that this difference
might arise from the attraction of the earth and the decom-
position of organized bodies; and that by these means the
Jaw which accurately determines the height of the atmo-
sphere might perhaps be found. The academy afterwards
requested the academician Lowitz, who undertook to make
the proposed experiments in the atmosphere, to confer on
this subject with professor Robertson. Mr. Robertson de-
clared he would consider it as a particular honour to be of
any service to the academy in this respect ; that he would
with pleasure accompany this philosopher; and that the
balloon he had constructed at Petersburgh was at the ser-
vice of the academy for that purpose: he only requested
that the academy would defray the expense which would
arise from filling the balloon with hydrogen gas. The aca-
demy thanked Mr. Robertson for the zeal he had manifested,
and set apart a certain sum for carrying this aérial voyage
into effect. While preparations were making for this ex-
cursion, and while the aéronauts were waiting for a favoura-
ble wind, Mr. Lowitz fell sick, and the president, Nicolai
Nikolayevitsch Novossilzof, proposed to. me to supply his
place. As this proposal showed that particular confidence

Vul. 21. No. 83. April is05. N was

ig4 Account of the Aérial Voyage

was placed in me, I embraced it with pleasure; and, after
the accomplishment of the excursion, I now have the ho-
nour of laying before the academy the following account of
the experiments and observations I made.

The experiments proposed by the academy, which were
to be made at the greatest distance from the earth, have

- been already described by several aéronauts, but have been
either doubted or entirely rejected: as for example, the
faster or slower evaporation of fluids; the decrease or in-
crease of the magnetic force ; the inclination of the mag-
netic needle; the increase of the power in the solar rays to
excite heat; the greater faitness of the colours produced
by the prism ; the existence or non-existence of the electric
matter; some observations on ‘the influence and changes
which the rarification of the air occasions in the human
body ; the flying of birds; the filling with air, flasks ex-
hausted by Torricelli’s method, at each fall of an inch in
the barometer ; and some other chemical and philosophical
experiments.

The instruments I carried with me for these experiments
were:

ist, Twelve flasks in a box with a lid.

2d, A barometer and thermometer.

3d, A thermometer.

4th, Two electrometers, with sealing-wax and sulphur.

5th, A compass and magnetic needle.

6th, A watch that beat seconds.

7th, A bell.

sth, A speaking-trumpet.

gth, A prism of crystal.

10th, Unslaked lime, and some other things for che-
mical and philosophical experiments.

But as no means have hitherto been found of ascertain-
ing with certainty over what part of the earth a balloon is
hovering, and to what quarter it is driven by the wind,
especially when there are clouds below it, by which means
terrestrial objects cannot be seen, and where the aéronaut_
in his car (where he is not sensible of the motion of the
balloon) cannot discover the direction of it for want of fixed
objects of comparison, I employed the two following me-
thods to ascertain to which side it was impelled by the wind:

1st, I fixed perpendicularly, in an aperture made in the
bottom of the car, an achromatic telescope, which showed
me very distinctly those terrestrial objects over which the
balloon happened to be, and to which side it directed its
course. 2d, I laid together, cross-wise, two sheets of black

paper ;

— |.
i
+

undertaken at Petersburgh. 195

paper; that is to say, I bound together two surfaces at right
angles, fastened them with thread, and suspended it from
the car with a piece of packthread. This light body showed
me, as will be hereafter mentioned, better than I could have
believed, all the variations in the direction of the balloon ;
on which account I shall call it the way-wiser.

The balloon was filled with hydrogen gas in the Garden
of the first corps of Cadets, whence it ascended in the pre-
sence of a great many persons of distinction, the members
of the Academy of Sciences, and various men of science.
The decomposition of the water was effected by sulphuric
acid and iron filings, mostly from cast iron. The che-
mical apparatus consisted of twenty-five vessels, from each
of which a tin-plate tube was conveyed to atub. For se-
parating the carbonic acid gas, unslaked lime was thrown
into water. ~Into each vessel were put three pood of iron
filings with fifteen pood ofwater, and three pood of sul-
phuric acid were poured over them. The balloon began to
be filled at eleven in the morning; and, though the opera-
tion was completed at four in the afternoon, the experi-
ments to serve as a point of comparison with those made
in the higher regions of the atmosphere retarded our voyage
till a late period. The balloon contained 9000 cubic feet of
hydrogen gas.

Pood* Pounds

It weighed, with its whole apparatus - 5 2
Mr. Robertson and myself - - 8 10
The instruments and other apparatus for expe-

riments - - - - 1 id
Clothing - - - - O 184
Bottles with water and provisions - - O 214
Ballast taken in - - - - 2 30

Total of the weight = - 18 3

The balloon, which in order to try its strength was first
filled with common air, was thirty English feet in diameter,
and perfectly round ; but in the air, as it was not entirely
filled with hydrogen gas, but sufficiently so for the voyage,
it appeared to be elongated.

The wind was north-east, and favourable for our purpose;
but, that [ might ascertain the direction of it more accu-

stately, we let off a small balloon before our departure at

about seyen o’clock. At first it was driven by the north-

* A pood is about forty pounds,

N@2 east
.

196 Account of the Aerial Voyage

east wind towards the land side; but when it ‘rose to a
greater height it appeared to change its direction, and pro-
ceed straight towards the sea. Nevertheless wé did not sus-
pend our aérial voyage ; but, having put into the car every
necessary, placed ourselves in it. But as one of the most
important experiments in my opinion was to collect air in
the exhausted flasks which I took with me, at different
heights, at each fall of an inch in the barometer, which
rendered a gradual and slow ascent of the balloon necessary,
we added so much ballast to that already taken in, after we
had seated ourselves in the car, that the balloon was not
able to raise us up. About fifteen minutes after seven,
when the barometer stood at 30 inches English, and the
thermometer indicated 19 degrees of heat, we threw out a
handful of the ballast, which consisted of sand. The bal-
loon immediately begin very slowly to rise, but sunk down
again over the Neva after it had attained to a considerable
height. The’ reason of this, in all probability, was, that
the balloon had been surrounded by a very warm atmo-
sphere at the earth, by which means the gas in it occupied
more space, and was the cause of its greater lightness; but
at a height where the air, particularly over the Neva, was
colder, where the matter of heat was absorbed by the wa-
tery vapours which arose, and where the hydrogen gas, on
cooling, contracted, by which the balloon became smaller
and heavier in regard to the more rarified air, it must ne-
cessarily lose some of its power to ascend, and consequently
fall a little. But after a small quantity of ballast was thrown
out, the balloon again rose. The telescope, fixed in the
bottom of the car, clearly showed me the places over which
we were. The balloon, according to appearance, took its
direction towards the land side. About 31 minutes after
seven, when the barometer had fallen to 29 inches, and the
thermometer indicated 18 degrees of heat, I filled the first
flask with air; the second I filled at 37 minutes past seven,
the barometer being at 28 inches, and the thermometer at
17 degrees of heat. TI filled the third flask at 42 minutes
past seven, at which time the barometer stood at 27 inches,
and the thermometer had fallen to 15 degrees. At this
time, or at this height, I experienced a heaviness in my
cars, but in conversing [ heard as well as before. During
the continuation of our voyage the balloon turned*roun
several times. This always took place gradually, slowly,
and almost mnperceptibly. The direct motion of the bal-
Toon during a perfect calm, and when there is no apparent
motion in ibe air, is not perceptible, In consequence of

, the

undertaken at Peterslurgh. 107

the fog I could not see distant objects, such as Lake La-
doga, Cronstadt, &c. I here threw out the paper way-
wiser I had made; by means of which I observed, not only
here, but during the rest of the voyage, that it showed
much quicker than the barometer, the direction and also
the sinking and nsing of the balloon; for as soon as the
balloon fell, the way-wiser, as it was much lighter than the
balloon, and found more resistance in falling, flew up and
rose almost up to it, so that it was mecessary to pull it
down when the balloon rose: it was below suspended from
the thread in a diagonal direction, and followed us in such a
manner, that a person habituated to such observations could
easily determine with a compass, from the position of the
way-wiser, the true direction of the balloon. As we found
ourselves, with a north-east wind, over the islands at the
mouth of the Neva, Mr. Robertson was afraid, In conse-
quence of the changed direction of the small balloon which
was let of from the Garden of the Cadets, that the wind
might drive us out to sea ; for it is well known that in the
atmosphere there are several currents of air which have a
contrary course, and which in all probability produced the
before-mentioned cruciform turning of the balloon. Not
being accustomed to tbis cruciform movement, I was not
able, by the way-wiser, to determine the real direction of
the balloon, and on this account Mr. Robertson suffered to
escape a considerable quantity of gas; on which we again
fell till the barometer stood at 29 inches, about 50 minutes
past seven. r
At this height the heaviness in my ears went off, and I
experienced in them no more heaviness. Having continued
our voyage along the coast a good way behind Katerinenhof,
we began again, on my earnest request, to ascend. About
25 minutes past eight the barometer stood at 26 inches, and
the heat was equal to 144 degrees. Here I filled the fourth
flask with air. About 31 minutes»past eight we found our-
selves over the water, at a height where the barometer stood
at 25 inches, and the heat had decreased to 13 degrees.
At this height we could see the circles produved iy the
water by the fall of some bottles which J threw down, The
north-east wind still appeared to be favourable to us, and
about 45 minutes past eight we found ourselves entirely
over the terra firma. Here we could see at one view the
Newski islands at the mouth of the Yamelianofka, and the
whole of that river. As we were now at a distance from
the sea, and Mr. Robertson saw no further danger, he be-
gan to throw out his ballast, of which little renamed, im
N 3 order

See

198 Account of the Aerial Voyage

order to rise as high as possible; so that at about 9 minutes
after nine the barometer had fallen to 24 inches, and the
thermometer indicated 9 degrees. Here I filled the sixth
flask with air. About 20 minutes past nine we were at a
height where the barometer stood at 23 incl:2s, and the
heat was 6} degrees. At this height I filled the seventh
flask with air, and suffered to escape two canary birds and
adove. One of the canary birds, when let loose from the
cage, would not fly; but when thrown into the air, it fell
down with precipitation. The dove also, when thrown
from the car, flew down almost in a curved line to a village
that lay below us. When we had thrown out almost the
whole of our ballast, with a view to rise to as great a height
as possible, I threw out my great coat and the remains of
my supper, which I had eaten with the greatest appetite,
some uecessaries for my experiments which I had carried
with me, and also some instruments; on which we began
to ascend. I here made an experiment on the power of
hearing by means of the bell ; which I also threw down, as
I did not observe any perceptible difference, in consequence
perhaps of the air not being perceptibly more rarified. About
30 minutes past nine the barometer had fallen to 22 inches,
and the thermometer indicated 41 degrees of heat. I now
filled the eighth flask with air. Before this I suffered the
other dove to escape, or rather threw it from the car, as it
sat on the edge of it and would not fly away. For two or
three minutes it flew around the car at the distance of thirty
fathoms, and again perched upon it. I then took it in
my hand, without its making any resistance or showing
the least fear, and threw it down; but it flew violently
round in a circular manner, cither because it was not able
to rise, or because it saw no objects before it. At this
height I made experiments on the electric matter and the
magnet; but in consequence of the instruments, and par-
ticularly the dipping needle, being deranged by throwing
out the ballast, and the lateness of the hour, I was not able
to make any others.

At this height we saw the sun, but only one half; and
on account of the thick fog which took place, I cannot say
whether the other half was concealed by the horizon or by
acloud. The earth, covered with this fog, seemed to be
involved in a smoke-coloured atmosphere, through which
objects could not be clearly distinguished by the help of the
telescope.

At this height the effect of the electric matter was per-
ceptible; for when sealing-wax was rubbed with a piece of

cloth,

‘

fy
‘s

undertaken at Petersburgh. 199

eloth, it put in motion Bennet’s electrometer. But as the
magrietic needle which I took with me for the purpose of
examining the inclination was spoilt, I was desirous of try-
ing whether the magnetic power had as much influence over
iron as at the earth. With this view I placed a common
magnetic needle on a pin, and, to my great astonishment,
saw the north pole of it rise considerably, while the south
pole sunk down, making.an angle of eight or ten degrees.
I repeated this several times; and, to be more certain, I
gave the needle to Mr. Robertson, that he might make the
same experiment. The result, however, was always the
same. ‘lhe magnetic needle, which 1 have still in my pos-
session, stands at present horizontal. Experiments in re-
gard to the attraction of the magnetic needle, and some
others, 1 was not able to make. At this height I did not
experience the smallest change in regard to myself, except
that my ears seemed, as it were, benumbed.. My pulse
beat as on the earth,’ that is, 82 times in a minute; and
my breathing was neither accelerated nor impeded, that is
to say, I breathed 22 times in a minute. In a word, I
was exceedingly tranquil and cheerful, and experienced no
change or uneasiness. At that time there were white clouds
at a great height over us, but the heavens in general were
clear and bright; yet though the sky was so clear I could
observe no stars. I now proposed to Mr. Robertson to
continue our voyage the whole night, in order that we
might see the sun rise, and to make some other experiments;
but ignorance of the local situation of the country, the al-
most total consumption of our ballast, and the continual,
though slow, sinking of the balloon, prevented him from
acceding to my proposal. While we were flying’ over se-
veral villages and rivers, I took my speaking-trumpet, and,
directing 1t towards the earth, called out as Joud as I could.
Contrary to expectation, I heard, after a considerable in-
terval, my words clearly and distinctly repeated by an echo.
I then called out again; and each time the echo repeated my
words. I observed that the sound was reverberated in ten
seconds ; but I could not remark the height of the baro-
meter, because we had begun to make preparations for de-
scending to the earth: and to effect this as slowly as possi-
ble, for the sake of security, we tied all our instruments
and warm clothing into a bundle and let it down, together
with the anchor, by a rope. The balloon, which was driven
by the wind with considerable force, and wich fell with great
rapidity, was so light when the bundle touched the earth,

- that it drew up the rope, and endeavoured again to ascend.

4 In

200. Aérial Voyage undertaken at Petersburgh.

In the mean time Mr. Robertson gradually suffered the gas
to escape, and the balloon descended slowly, and touched
the earth so softly, that we did not experience the least
shock ; though the contrary is for the most part the case
when balloons are suffered to descend, and in consequence
of the violence with which they touch the earth great danger
is experienced. We descended safe to the earth, at 45 mi-
nutes past ten, on the estate of counsellor Demidof, in a
field almost opposite to his house; and his boors and servants
assisted us to arrange and pack up the balloon. By the
bundle being dragged on the earth, the greater part of the
instruments were spoilt. Of the eight flasks filled with air
brought from the atmosphere, four only were fit for bemg
subjected to experiment; namely, numbers 1, 4, 6, and 7 ;
but I did not venture to examine them. In the rest, after
the necks were inverted under the quicksilver, none of the
latter ascended ; from which it appears that they were not
sufficiently stopped.

The aérial voyage, set on foot by the academy, being thus
ended, though I made experiments on the electric matter
and the maguet, filled the flasks with air at different heights,
made observations on myself and on the direction of the bal-
loon during my voyage, I must confess that I am not able
from these first experiments to draw any certain conclu-
sions ; because the small height to which the ballogn rose,
contrary to my wish ; the consumption of the ballast by the
balloon’s twice rising; the lateness of the time; the short
duration of the voyage, and other circumstances, were the
p:incipal causes which prevented me from making all the
experiments appointed by the academy, and trom making
them with that accuracy which is necessary to deduce from
them any well founded physical conclusions.

But I hope I shail have an opportunity of repeating all
these experiments with greater accuracy. For, since I have
experienced the nature of a voyage of this kind, I have no
doubt that I shall be able to direct a balloon; to make ob-
servations in general on the filling of one, which may be
— use to the aeronaut during his voyage in the air;
and to make some improyement in the method of throwing
out ballast, or lightening the balloon; and in making expe-
riments. But on this subject I shall have the honour of
giving the academy further information.

XXXV. 4

[ 201 }

XXXV. 4 brief Account of the Mineral Productions of

Shropshire. By Josep Prymugy, 4. M. Archdeacon
of Salop, and Honorary Member of the Board of Agricul-

ture*.

"Tere are mines of lead ore, of a good quality, on the
western side of this county, which have been very produc-
tive. The bog mine, in the parish of Wentnor, and the
white grit mine, in the parishes of Shelve and Worthen,
adjoin the Stiperstones: they are high hills, with bare and
ragged summits, resembling the ruins of walls and castles ;
they are a ‘* granulated quartz, much harder than common
sandstone, but apparently not stratified ¢.”". The bog mine
has been worked to the depth of 150 yards; a solid Jump
of pure ore of 800]b. has been gotten up there: the vein is
in some parts three feet thick, and generally bedded in white
spar. One ton of this ore will run 15 ewt. of lead, besides
slag. Dr. Townson says, “ these mines are in argillaceous
schistus, and produce galena lead ore ¢, sometimes spatous §
Jead ore, and blende||.”” The ores at the white grit mine
are the common galena and the steel-grained ores ; some-
times the white spatous ore, and considerable quantity of
black jack ||. The ores from this mine are not smelted se-
parately ; they differ much in their product, and little ex-
periment has been made to ascertain it. I have been in-
formed that they produce from 10 to 13 cwt. of lead, be-
sides slags, from a ton of ore, and rarely more§. At Snail-
bach, in the neighbourhood of the same hills, but nearer
Shrewsbury, lead has been gotten for a long time. “ The
vein was in some parts four yards wide. The vein-stones
are heavy spar, mixt with calcareous spar and quartz. The
ore here is the common galena and the steel-grained, and
sometimes the white spatous ore **,”” It has been * worked

* From Plymley’s General View of the Agriculture of Shropshire.

+ Dr. Townson.

¢ This is lead mineralized by sulphur, and is the most common lead
ore. It is sometimes called potters’ lead ore.

§ This terin is not in Nicholson’s Dictionary, or in the octavo edition
of Kirwan: it means lead ore crystallized in the form of spar.

| Tracts and Observations in Nat. Hist. &c. p. 154.

q Mr. Pennant, in his Welsh Tour, vol. i. p. 44.7, says, * the lamel-
lated, or common kind of lead ore, usually named porters’ ore, yields
from 14 to 163 cwt. of lead from 20 cwt. of the ores but the last produce
Js rare.”

?* Dr. Townson’s Tracis, &c. p. 183.

‘

Or? ing Sea

202 A brief Account of the

to the depth of 180 yards. The matrix of the ore is cry-
stallized quartz and carbonate of lime. The ore is, 1. Sul:
phoret ot lead, both galena and steel ore, which latter con-
tains silver: 2. Carbonate of Jead, crystallized: 3. Red lead
ore*: 4. Blende, or black jack +.’’ Lead ore has been met
with in many other places in this part of the county. As
far west as Llanymynach lead is found in small quantities,
and copper, which the Romans are supposed to have worked
to a greatextent. Tools, judged to be Roman, have been
found in these mines, and some of them are preserved in
the library of Shrewsbury free-school. In this hill the lead
is met with in bellies of ore; that is, a'small string leads
often to a body of ore about four or five yards in diameter,
but from which there is no vein issues that may lead the
miner to the other bodies of ore remaining in the hill. Ca-
Jamine, also, is here met with. The rock at Pimhill is
strongly tinctured with copper. Symptoms both of copper
and Jead appear also in the Cardington hills, many miles
south-east of the spot we are speaking of, and not very far
south of the centre of the county. ‘ Lead is also found at
Shipton, in the road from Wenlock to Ludlow, but never
yet in sufficient quantities to reward the adventurers .”
Full as far north of the centre, it is reported, in a MS. his-
tory of Bradford North (A.D. 1740), that ‘“* Henry Teni-
son, esq. got copper ore in his estate about Red Castle;
but it lay so deep that it turned to little account: and I be-
lieve we may apply the following paragraph, from the same
MS., to many adventures in mining m this aud other
counties ; for the author proceeds to say, that ‘* the Rev.
Mr. Snelson expected to find this hidden treasure at Weston,
but had his labour for his pains, and his expense for his
trouble.”

Coal of an excellent quality is gotten on the eastern side
of the county, particularly in the parishes of Wellington,
Lilleshall, Wrockwardinc, Wombridge §, Stirchley, Daw-

ley,

* Mr. Aikin says this ore was discovered in these mines by Raspe, a
German. Mr. Nicholson, in his Chemical Dictionary, 1795, remarks
that this ore had not then been found, except at Catharineburgh, in Si-
beria. I do not know that these two red lead ores have been ascertained
to be precisely the same, or that any difference between them has been
discovered.

+ Vide Aikin’s Tour, p. 203.

+ Mr. William Reynolds.

§ In this parish Mr. W. Reynolds, about ten years ago, put in prac-
tice an idea he had conceived some years before, of uncovering the strata
of ironstone and coal which lay near the surface, so as to get the whole ef

6 the

es ©

7
:

a a |

Mineral Productions of Shropshire. 203

ley, Little Wenlock, Madeley, Barrow, Benthall >» and
Broseley, and which « promise a lasting and plentiful
supply * for the great iron manufactures in that neigh-
bourhood, for domestic use, and as an export to other
counties by the river Severn, on or near the sides of which
they lie.” South of these works, and on the other side of
Bridgenorth from them, coal appears again. It may be
found in most parts of the hundred of Stottesden ; but the
roads in general are an obstruction to its being removed.
South again of these, and of the Clee hills, are very valua-
ble coal-works, in some of which the canal, or kennel coal,
is found. Mr. Pennant, in his Voyage to the Hebrides,
remarks, that the name is probably candle coal, from giving
a light that supersedes, in poorer houses, the use of candles;
and the bishop of Llandaff, in his Chemical Essays, has the
same idea, supported by the circumstance, that in the
northern counties candles are called cannels. The south-
west parts of this county have not yet been proved to con-
tain coal; and the inhabitants purchase, at a great expense
of land carriage, coal from the Clee hills, or from collieries
in the west parts of Shropshire: such there are west and
south -west of Shrewsbury. Again, on the west and north-
west borders of the county, coal of a good quality is gotten.
Out of fifteen hundreds, the following large proportion of
ten are known to produce coal: viz. Oswestry, Ford,
Shrewsbury, Bradford South, Brimstry, Wenlock, Cun-
dover, Munslow, Overs, and Stottesden. Mr. William
Reynolds has favoured me with the following lists of strata
in five different collieries im the eastern district. His name
will add an interest and value to the communication in the
opinion of all those who have the pleasure of knowing hin.

Strata in Lightmoor Wimsey Pit.

Yds. Fr. Tp.

A good loam, and mixed soil s -' 600

Pale blue clunch ~ = - 14600

Dark gray rock, not very strong ~ - 5 00

Sky blue clunch - a a “ ree ae
Three stinking coals, divided by pale blue earth,

two inches between each - Fk hk a

the strata of ironstone and coal, clay, &c. to a certain depth; when, in
the old method, large quantities both of ironstone and coal were unavoid-
ably lost, and which never afterwards would be of any use to the pro-
prietor or occupier of the mines. This method is now followed in ouher
works, where the strata lie sufficiently near the surface.

* Edw. Harries, esq.

Strong

204 A brief Account of the

Strong clod mingled, pale blue and red -
Brown rock, called the stinking coal rock, -
Three stinking coals, divided by pale blue earth,
four or five inches between each - -
Blue clunch - = - -
Red clunch, pale ‘

Rough rock, so called from being full of dark

brown hard pebbles and ironstone
Bind, a pale blue clod - - -
Stone clod, ditto, in which lies a bed of iron-
stone called ballstone - - -

. Black slate ~ - - -
Coal called top coal, exceeding good fuel —-
Top coal tough, a dark blue earth, and a very

heaving measure - - -
Clod called the foot coal - - -
Slumbs, black slaty earth, and a heaving mea-
sure = - - -
Coal called the three-quarter coal - -
Rotch, dark gray hard rock . -
Coal called the double coal - ~
Dark gray clod, will fire from its own nature
Coal called yard coal - - .
Black, a black slate coal and rock mixed | -
Clod, a pale white, in which lies a bed of iron-
stone called - - - -
Flan, a dark slate - - -
Coal called upper fiint coal - ~ -
Upper flint, a dark gray rock - -
Pinny measure; a pale blue clod, in which hes
a large quantity of small balls of ironstone
called pennystone - - -

Stinking coals ; three beds divided by three or-

four inches of dark brown earth - -
Pale blue clod - - - -
Coal called the silk coal - - -
Clunch, of a dark blue - - -
Coal called the silk coal, divided by a few

inches of gray earth - - -
Clunch of a dark blue, with coal in the middle,

seventeen inches thick: the coal is called -

silk coal - - - -
Coal called the two foot coal (feet) - -

“r= © 09 mete OO oo - OWN

Lintseed earth ; dark brown, a very shuttle measure O

A black slate - - - -

is DS to O

Fr, In.
0 0
120
0 O
9.10
0 0
0 0
Oo O
0 O
1,, 0
1 O
1 O
1 O
0 O
270
29 0
0 0O
0. Oo
Oo oO
1656
0 Oo
0 66
1 36
Tio
1-6
ti f9
GLuFD
1 ‘2
1 6
146
110
2 0
iene
OG

a i

Mineral Productions of Shropshire. 205
Yds. Ft. In.
Coal called the best coal es - - 0:1. 6
Black bass, or slate - - - 0 0 6
Coal called the middle coal - - 0 2 9
Dark brown stony clod - - - io. 6
Coal called clod coal - - - GG leis
Clod, of a pale blue - - - se Bee
Coal tose little flint coal - - ‘ On en a
Little flint; a rock of a dark gray, med Ww be
pebbles and ironstone - * de) atte
$54. 1b. 04

Die earth, a pale blue hard clunch: this mea-

sure continues the same to the depth of more

than ~ - - - 100 O QO
So far I have proved on the rise of the work, How much

deeper it is, we know not.

Strata at Wombridge, at the Pit next the Engine.
Yds. Ft. In.

Earth and catbrain, of various thicknesses - 4
Top rock - - - -
Bind bass - - - -
Bind - - - -
Ballstone and earth - - z
Short earth - - - -
Top coal bass - - - ~
Top coal . - - -
Top coal and pronanape - -
Slums : -
Foot coal ~ - -
Three-quarter coal - - -
Rock - - -
Double coal "as - - -
Double coal poundstone - - -
Yellow stone, earth and stone - -
Yard coal - - - -
Yard coal poundstone - - -

uiest-neck - - - -
Blue flatstone, earth and stone - -
Pitcher basses - : - -
Flint coal rack - - - -
Flint coal roof - - -
Flint coal - - -

1
mM Owe COPNOSHKOOCOOHKOANRON
—mOnmne Kee eB CORK CH DOK RK HOY OWMWOrKOS

Strata

AVOADMSOSCOOHORHOASGCSSCHSFASSD

A brief Account of the
Strata in Madeley Field.

Yds. Fr. fn

Suppose the soil, clay or sand, may be, in ge-

neral, about - - - 8 0
Stinking coal rock - - - Te
Ditto cled, hlueish-gray - - - a
First stinking coal - - - 0 2
A tough pricking - - - 0 0
Second stinking coal = - - 0 0
A strong clod, darker than the first = - - 3°°O0
Freestone rock, containing plum-puddingstone 7 O
A clod much like the first. - « ~ To
Top coal - - - - Si
Basses or blacks : - - Ae 1 2
Blackstone, earth and ironstone = 2) we Oo 1
Bottom coal - - Bh Stipe 1 Oo
Great flint and ironstone - - - Seine
Prenny measure and ditto - - - 2 0
Third stinking coal - - - Oo 1
Pricking “ = - - 0 0
Upper chunchés - - = 3 0
Sill coal or big coal . - - 0 O
Two foot rock . ~ - 6:26
Two foot coal . - - - OA
Lower clunches - - - - CAN |
Little ganey coal - - - - Oo 1
Pricking - - - - ive
Ganey stane - - é oo
Ganey coal < - - — ee
A clunch St - ao - 2 0
Best coal - ~ - - Po
A bass - - = 0 O
Middle coal, or randles - - = 0 2
A clod - - _ 0 Oo
Clod coal. - - - =) |, {Oe
Pricking - - - + = 0 Oo
Clod coal, poundstone zt - - ee
The hard-man, with little flint coal—ironstone

in it - - = - 0, 2
Little flint coal - - * 0 2
Little flint coal, rock with crawstone in it, and

its measure a little coal for a pricking half

inch thick - - - - Ya. 0

67... Que!

—.

Underneath

OSA OCOMMSCKHROOCAHAOCOOSDRONOWTDOOSCARESOCOCGCOCOCARQAQA

Mineral Productions of Shropshire. 207

Underneath is a clayey earth called die earth, of an un-
known thickness.

N.B. This measure is found to consist of stratifications,
and appears to have been lifted up like the upper measures ;
and though this circumstance is not perceived at first, or
when it 1s exposed to the day, yet, on sinking some yards
into it, it is very perceptible.

Strata in Slaneys Dawley Deep Work.

:
|
:
’

<4
Qu
n
eo]
co
—
oS
a

Blue clunchy stiff bard stuff as OS
Red ditto, very strong - - -
Hard, very hard white rock - ~
Mingled red and white strong stuff - = -
Very hard white rock - - -
Rock, red and white, hard - “
Ditto, very hard and white, with spar -
» Hard white rock - - =.
Yellowish stuff, called the callimancha earth
~ White rock - - - -
pungled red and white, and grayish stuff -
Ss - - -

_—
AQOeSEnaneawrOw SCH SDADDDODW

Soil and loose rock : - - 3. 2° 0
Yellow, blue, and red stuff, with stones - Si Pg
White clunch, with pieces of white rock - 10 0 O
Gray rock - = - - PA) POUG
Yellow cloddy stuff - - - 1 Ra
White clunch, or rocky stuff - - 3 0 0
Gray rock - - - - ee
White clunchy stuff - - s TUES
White rock - - - - 0 1 6
Pitchy rock - - - 1420
Bass and coal = - - 0 0 6
Blue tough stuff ~ - a OG) TS
Coal - - = - Oey 65
Blue clunchy stuff - - - 6 0 5
Red ditto ditto - - - 2 0 0
Blue ditto ditto - = - 1 0
Red ditto ditto - e- - 2 2
Blue ditto ditto - - - 9 2
Coal - - - - 0 O
Blue clunch - - - - 0 2
Fleece of white rock (casing) - - 0
Blue clunchy hard stuff - ~ - 1
Cowal - - - 2

]

COeSOeTROCHeKYWPWOoOWhOHMO

Stone clod * ° a ;

—_
=
°o
=
R
S
3

208 - On Metallic Sulphurets.

Yds. Ft, In.
Tronstone, supposed the logs - Yo
Clod - - - - 2 Soh ht
Coal, mixed with rock - - - or Fy oO
Flint coal, or bottom coal - - - e139
116 0 3

We see then, that in the first-mentioned coal pit, no coal
was found within much less than 30 yards of the surface, and
that then three small layers of bad coal only were gotten :
that after sinking near 24 yards deeper, three other layers,
of the same coal were procured, but that the first vei of
good coal lay 92 yards beneath the surface: that this vein
was 4 feet thick : that none of the veins appear to have been
more than 5 feet thick: and that in 154 yards, and more,
regularly worked, or above 254, taking in the whole expe-
riment, 13 yards 2 feet of coal were found. In the second
pit specified, the coal appears to have been met with in little
more than 21 yards from the surface. One of the veins
proved 6 feet thick; and in sinking somewhat less than 44
yards, above 7 yards thickness of coal was discovered. In
the third pit specified, the sulphureous or bad coal was met
with in 16 yards from the surface, and good coal in less
than 28 yards; no vein exceeded 3 feet; and the aggregate
in almost 68 yards was not quite nine yards of coal. In
the fourth pit specified, the first unmixed coal was 50 yards
from the surface; and in sinking above 116 yards, it does
not appear that here was any vein thicker than 2 feet; and
the aggregate of unmixed coal measured only 5 feet 2 inches
in thickness,

[ To be continued. ]

XXXVI. On Metallic Sulphurets. By Professor Proust *,

Merats, says Berthollet, may combine in proportions
exceedingly various with sulphur; and the combinations
they thus form have different properties, according to their

roportions, &c. Considering the generality with which
Betholtet establishes this opinion, there is reason to be
astonished that he should have neglected to lay before the
reader the facts on which it seems to rest. Silver, mercury,
platina, copper, antimony, arsenic, lead, tin, bismuth, &e.

* From Journal de Physique. !
do.

On Metallic Sulphurets. 209

do not, however, afford one example of variable sulphura-
tions. Iron, hitherto, is the only metal which appears
capable of being sulphurated in two proportions, and these,
instead of having any thing variable, are on the contrary
constant and fixed, as are those of its oxidation.

*¢ J am in opposition to Proust, who pretends that sul-
phur has been fixed for iron, by the invariable law of pro-
portions, at 60 per cent.”’

This result, however, is as certain as invariable, what-
ever be the number of times the trial is made: he himself
gave this opinion, to which Berthollet refuses his assent.

He says, ‘* Pyrites may contain a variable surplus, as far
as twenty parts and more, &c.”’

I cannot discover a similar variation*. Iron is either at
60, or at 90, or 100. The first sulphuret is that which we
usually make in our laboratories, for the decomposition of
water; and the second is pyrites itself. In a word, the
case with sulphuration of this metal is the same as with
oxidation. _ The principle which presides at one of these
combinations, presides certainly at the other ; and if neither
nature nor art exhibit to us any where intermediate states
between these terms, we ought not to be forward to admit
variable sulphurations.

“¢ If heat can more easily expel this sulphur, considered
as foreign, this is a common property, &c.”’ :

Sulphur separated from iron by the action of fire cannot
be qualified with the name of foreign, because it is a neces-
sary element of a combination, which a high temperature
destroys, to reduce it to another which can support it.
The sulphur which we extract by distillation, from an argil,
a sulphate, a stony concretion, &c. is foreign to their es-
sence, but the same cannot be said of a pyrites. If I
made use of these expressions, it was contrary to my in-
tention. ‘

* This chemist admits that black copper is sulphuret
dissolved by copper. This solution exhibits in reality suc~
cessive proportions of sulphur and copper, &c.”

This manner of speaking, employed by Berthollet, ought
to excite surprise: it tends to throw obscurity on distinc+
tions which are however clear. When sulphur is prepared
in acopper crucible, a sulphuret of 28 per cent. is obtained,
and copper holding in solution variable quantities of that
sulphuret: the latter may be separated from the copper

* Fournal de Physique, p. 90. vol. liv.
Vol. 21. No. 83, April iso5. O without

mar. e

210 On Metallic Sulphurets.

without decomposing it. Is this then a simple solution of
sulphur in copper? No one will suppose it.

“* He pretends that a dose of sulphur invariably fixed by
nature, attaches itself to antimony, and that man can nei-~
ther increase nor diminish it. He fixes this proportion at
25 per cent.”

It is not I, but nature, or whatever power you will,
which places a barrier between it and the efforts of: every
chemist who might propose to make sulphuret of antimony
beyond or within this proportion: I have not therefore
assigned it any law of my invention; I have only verified
it. I haye followed this precept, which Berthollet himself
traces out to us in his profound work. When a substance,
therefore, says he, combines with another, we must deter-
mine the proportions, examine the properties, &c. Such
indeed has been the constant object of the efforts of che-
mists since the time when they found that this determina~
tion was one of the most important bases of the history of
combinations, and of the science of analysis. No one,
however, will doubt, that nature cannot abandon her com-
pounds to the chance of the variable proportions, which
Berthollet has chosen as the basis of his system but it is
no less true, that in proportion as the sphere of sulphurets
extends, we do not see that the new facts which each day
accumulates are of a nature to strengthen it.

«¢ He has however found sulphurets of antimony which
had an excess of sulphur. Sulphurets of copper, of lead;
&c., are also found mixed with a like excess.” But if it
can be taken away without changing their appearance, with-
out taking any thing from the characters and qualities
which distinvuish these sulphurets, I shall say that this
sulphur is foreign to them. The same thing cannot be
said of a pyrites, from which has been taken the sul-
phur, which makes the difference between sulphuret at a
minimum, and that at a maximum. That there should be
sulphur mixed with sulphurets, without making part of
their constitution, is not surprising. We see it every day
mixed in the same manner with argil, alum, sulphate of
lime, &e.

«‘ He has combined oxide of antimony with different
proportions of sulphuret, and he had mixtures which may
be represented by this formula: oxide + 1 4+ 2 4 8, &c.
of sulphuret of antimony: Has it not thereby formed real
combinations? &c.”’

I shall reply to this, that solutions begun, or which have

nos

On Metallic Sulphurets. a1)

hot reached the term of saturation of which they are
thought to be capable, ought to be considered otherwise
than terminated combinations ; but to elucidate my idea, I
have denoted these solutions as I should denote those of
sugar and water: it is water + 1 + 2 + 3,.&c. of sugar.

I cannot see, indeed, that one can form clearer ideas of
the solutions of sulphuret of antimony in its oxide. All
chemists have hitherto thought that this glass, this liver,
this crocus, were sulphurated oxides. The object of my
labour was to undeceive us on this point; to show that it
was necessary to renounce these sulphurated oxides, which
we admit only on hearsay, in order to receive in their stead,
anew kind of combination, no doubt, but which is fully
proved to exist. This combination indeed is repugnant to
the ideas of Berthollet: he endeavours to place it in the
family of the oxides simply sulphurated ; but it is no less
certain that it exists such as I have announced it, and that
it has over that of sulphurated oxides, whose existence is
now destroyed, the advantage of giving us the most na-
tural solution of those thousand-and-one antimonial pro-
blems, the ridiculous nomenclature of ‘which maintamed
the confusion of our ideas, and covered the history of an-
timony with profound obscurity. Berthollet adds, repeat-
ing my expressions: ‘I do not see how this saves the
oxides of that metal from the suspicion of being able to
unite with sulphur in all doses, and without regard to the
invariable laws of proportion ; but he must however admit,
that these laws are not invariable, and must limit,his apo-
thegm, in regard to the proportions of the sulphuret of an-
timony with its oxide.”

This paragraph requires that I should divide my answer
into two parts. Iwill then first observe, that Berthollet,
by introducing here the solution of sulphur in an oxide,
when the question is merely that of a sulphuret, changes
his subject: for the solution of sulphur, and that of the sul-
phuret, in the same excipient, are no more comparable
than those of sulphur and sulphuric acid in the same
liquor.

I will next say in reply, that not only the solubility of a
metallic sulphuret im its oxide saves the latter from the
suspicion of being able to unite with sulphur in all doses,
which among us, the old disciples of Macquer, Rouelle, &c.,
was an error difficult to be eradicated ; but it saves it also
from another, which it is of no less importance to explain,
that of dissolving a metal, and in all sorts of proportions,
since indeed it.exists as such in crocus an@ruby. TI shail

O2 therefore

212 On Metallic Sulphurets.

therefore beg Berthollet to make himself for a moment
author of the doctrine which he combats, and ask him
what he would think of a chemist, who, for the good of
the contrary hypothesis, should employ himself in arran-
ging on one side all the considerations which he could de-
duce from the metal which ought to throw light on the
nature of livers of antimony, to arrange then, exclusively,
the latter,, on the sulphur they contain? Why, would he
say, are you silent in regard to that metal which lies close
to sulphur, and which can so well remove whatever is diffi-
eult to be conceived in the solution of the latter by an
oxide? Each of us then resuming the hypothesis he de-
fends, I will answer the objection of Berthollet, by begging ~
him not to forget, that if in the crocus there is sulphur in
all doses, it is to saturate this sulphur that there is metal
also found in all doses. This is what has obliged me not
to range in the same line the sulphurated oxides of anti-
mony, if any remain, with oxides holding in solution sul-
phuret, which will hereafter supply their place.

In regard to the nature of these combinations, the aspect
under which I have presented them is far from furnishing
limits to my apothegm, to deduce from it arguments
against the law of proportions. He cought to have deter-
mined, that oxide of antimony may attain the term of its
saturation by dissolving sulphuret, and thus to have disco-
vered, that he cannot thence adduce an appearance and
characters which warrant the constancy of this saturation, as
generally happens to all the combinations which range them-
selves under the law of proportions. If the case with an
oxide, in the power it has of dissolving, were the same as
that of an acid which retains its liquidity, nothing would
be easier than to resolve the question, and I should have
employed myself on it. But when an oxide of antimony,
to which is added a little sulphuret, has assumed the colour
and transparency we,require in it, we stop it there, without
paying attention to the weight and measure, because it is
in this state that we wish tohaye it. Thisis glass of antimony ;
a new dose of sulphuret makes it crocus ; a greater makes it
hepar, and so on; that is to say, the old chemists, without
paying regard to a theory, the knowledge of which was re
served for posterity, broke down the solution of sulphuret in
its oxide, and extracted from the crucible, as one may say,
each of the fractions to fill the repositories of medicine with
their livers, their magisteries, their rubies, and their diapho-
retics,, from Basil Valentine down to Lemery. Such, in:
my opinion, is the whole history of antimony. To a pound

Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites. 213

of potash, add an ounce of arsenic, it will not be saturated ;

if you add two and a third, the case will be the same, and
so on: but ull the point of this saturation be discovered, [
must repeat to them, your arsenical potash hitherto has
been nothing but potash + 1 + 2 + 3 of arsenic ; but as
I have not yet had time to verity whether the combination
will obey, as there is ro reason to doubt, the law of ‘rela-
tions, we must not be too urgent to deduce from them con-
clusions. To conclude, these are results so variable, that
they annihilate your laws of proportion, and render your
apothegms illusory. Besides, Berthollet is too just not to
allow, that the series of the numbers by which T have en-

‘deavoured to represent the solutions ‘of sulphuret of anti-

mony in. its oxide, has not the least relation with what I
have hitherto called proportion in combinations.

XXXVII, dn Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites; with
Remarks on some of the other Sulphurets of Iron. By
Cuarces Harcuerr, Esq. F.R.S.

{Concluded fom p. 147.]
§ VIIL.

Bao the whole which has been stated we find,

1, That the substance called magnetical pyrites, which
has hitherto been found only in Saxony and a few other
places, is also a British mineral, and that, in Caernarvon-
shire, it forms a yein of considerable extent, breadth, and
depth.

2. That the component ingredients of it are sulphur and
metallic iron ; the former being in the proportion of 36-50
or 37, and the latter about 63-50 or 63,

3. That the chemical and other properties of this sub-
stance are very different from those of the common martial
pyrites, which, however, are also composed of sulphur and
ron, varying in proportion, from 52°15 to 54°34 of sul-
phur, and from 47°84 to 45°66 of metallic iran: the dif-
ference between the common pyrites which were examined
being therefore 2°19, and the mean proportions amounting
to 53°24 of sulphur, and 46°75 of iron; consequently, the
difference between the relative proportions, in the composi-
tion of the maguetical pyrites and of the common pyrites,
is nearly 16°74 or 16°24,

4, That, as the magnetical pyrites agrees in analytical

O 3 results,

214 Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites,

results, as well as in atl chemical and other properties, with
that sulphuret of iron which hitherto has been only known
as an artificial product, there is no doubt but that it is iden-
tically the same ; and we may conclude that its proportions
are most probably subjected to a certain Jaw, (as Mr. Proust
has observed in the case of the artificial sulphuret,) which
law, under certain circumstances, and especially during the
natural formation of this substance in the humid way, may
be supposed to act in an almost invariable manner.

5. That in the formation of common martial pyrites
there is a deviation from this law, and that sulphur becomes
the predominant ingredient, which is variable in quantity,
but which, by the present experiments, has not been found
to exceed 54°34 per cent.; a proportion, however, that pos-
sibly may be surpassed in other pyrites which have not as
yet been chenaically examined,

6. That iron, when combined naturally or artificially
with 36°50 or 37 of sulphur, is not only still capable of
receiving the magnetic fluid, but is also rendered capable
of retaining it, so as to become in every respect a perma-
nent magnet; and the same may, in a great measure, be
inferred respecting iron which has been artificially com-
bined with 45:50 per cent. of sulphur. :

7. That, beyond this proportion of 45°50 or 46 per cent.
of sulphur, (in the natural common pyrites,) all suscepti-
bility of the magnetic influence appears to be destroyed 5
and, although the precise proportion which is capable of
producing this effect, has not as yet been determined by
actual experiment, it is certain that the limits are between
45°50and 52°15; unless some unknown alteration has taken
place in the state of the sulphur, or of the iron, in the com-
mon martial pyrites.

8. That, as carbon, when combined in a certain propor-
tion with iron, (forming steel,) enables it to become a per-
manent magnet, and as a certain proportion of sulphur
communicates the same quality to iron, so also were found
to be the effects of phosphorus; for the phosphuret of iron,
in this respect, was by much the most powerful, at least
when considered comparatively with sulphuret of iron.

g. and lastly, That as carbon, sulphur, and phosphorus,
produce, by their union with iron, many chemical effects of
much similarity, so do each of them, when combined with
that metal in certain proportions, not only permit it to re-
ceive, but also give it the peculiar power of retaining, the mag-
netical properties ; aud thus henceforth, in addition to that
carburet of iron called steel, certain sulphurets and phos-

1 phurets

Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites. 215

phurets of iron may be regarded as bodies peculiarly sus-
ceptible of strong magnetical impregnation.

Having thus, for the greater perspicuity, reduced the
principal facts of this paper into a concise order, I shall
now make some general observations.

It‘ is undoubtedly not a little singular, that a substance
like the magnetical pyrites, which, although not common,
has been long known to mineralogists, should not hitherto
have been chemically examined, especially as mineralogical
authors have mentioned the analysis of it as a desideratuu).
The result of this which I have attempted, proves that it is
really deserving of notice; for thus we have ascertained,
that the sulphuret of iron hitherto known only as an arti-
ficial product, is also formed by nature, and that the com-
position of this last agrees with those proportions of the
artificial sulphuret which have beea stated by Mr. Proust.

But from this sulphuret or magnetical pyrites I have
not, by analysis, as yet been able to discover any regular
or immediate gradations into the common pyrites ; for the
Jeast proportion of sulphur in these amounted to 52°15, and
the greatest proportion to 54°34; so that, between the mag-
netical and the common pyrites, the difference is considera-
ble, in the proportions of their component substances, as
well as in their physical and chemical properties ; whilst
the difference which I have hitherto been able to detect in
the proportions of some of the common pyrites, (very dis-
similar in figure, Instre, colour, and hardness,) has only
amounted to 2°19. ,

Mr. Proust, in a general way, considers common pyrites
to differ from the first sulphuret, or that composed of 60
parts of sulphur and 100 of iron, (= 37°50 per cent.) by
containing a further addition of half the above quantity of
sulphur, or 90 parts of sulphur and 100 of iron, (= 47°36
per cent.;) but this opinion he appears to have formed in
consequence of results obtained by synthetical experiments
made in the dry way. Now, when we consider how dith-
cult it is to regulate the high degrees of temperature, and
what a numerous chain of alterations in the relative order
of affinities most commonly result from alterations in these
degrees of heat, it seems to me that we cannot rely, with
absolute certainty, on synthetical experiments made in the
above way, unless they are corrected, atid contrasted with
analytical experiments made on the same substances. But
it does not appear, from the two memoirs published by
Mr. Proust, to which I have so frequently alluded, that
that gentleman did more, in respect to analysis, than distik

O4 the

eae eg

216 Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites.

the cubic and dodecaedral pyrites found near Soria,’ from
which he obtained about 20 per cent. of sulphur; and,
having observed that the residuum possessed the properties
of the sulphuret which has been commonly prepared in las
boratories, he concluded that the sulphur obtained from the
pyrites is the excess of that proportion which is requisite to
form the sulphuret, the proportions of which, therefore, he
by synthesis ascertained to be, as I have above stated, =
37°50 of sulphur, and 62°50 of iron, or 60 of sulphur com-
bined with 100 of iron; and lastly, having formed 318
grains of this sulphuret from 200 grains of iron filings, he
distilled the sulphuret with an additional quantity of sul-
phur in an inferior degree of heat, and obtained 378 grains
of a substance which, excepting density, was similar to the
common martial pyrites *.

It is however to be regretted, that Mr. Proust did not
make a regular analysis of the pyrites of Soria, and of the
residuum after distillation; for (unless these pyrites are very
different from those which I have examined) he would most
probably have found the proportion of sulphur greater than
that which he has assigned to natural pyrites m general.
This, at least, there is great reason to suppose, if we allow
that most or all of the pyrites have been formed in the humid
way, by which, we may conceive, a larger proportion of
sulphur may be introduced into the compound than can
take place in high degrees of temperature. And this opi-
nion is corroborated by the results of my analyses; for, in-
stead of finding the general proportions to be 47°36 of sul-
phur and 52°64 of iron, the mean result of these analyses
1s very nearly the reverse, being 53°24 of sulphur and 46°76
of iron. :

_ Mr. Proust 1s also of opinion, that the pyrites which
contain the smallest quantity of sulphur are those which
are,most liable to vitriolization ; and, on the contrary, that
those which contain the largest proportion, are the least
affected by the air or weather t+. This opinion of the learned
professor by no means accords with such observations as I
have been able to make; for the cubic, dodecaedral, and
other regularly crystallized pyrites are liable to oxidizement,
so as to become what are called hepatic iron ores, but not
to vitriolization ; whilst the radiated pyrites (at least those
of this country) are by much the most subject to the latter
effect; and therefore, as the results of the preceding ana-

* Fournal de Physique, tome liv. p. 92
$+ Lid. tome li. p. gre

lyses.

Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites. 217

lyses show that the crystallized pyrites contain less sulphur
than the radiated pyrites, I might be induced to adopt the
contrary opinion. But I am inclined to attribute the effect
of vitriolization observed in -some of the pyrites, not so
much to the proportion, as to the state of the sulphur in
the compound; for I much'suspect that a predisposition to
vitriolization in these pyrites is produced by a small portion
of oxygen being previously combined with a part, or with
the general mass of the sulphur, at the time of the original
formation'of these substances, so that the state of the sul-
phur is tending to that of oxide, and thus the accession of
a further addition of oxygen becames facilitated. We have
an example of similar effects in phosphorus, when (as is
- commonly said) it is half burned, for the purpose of pre-
paring the phosphorus bottles ; and the propensity to vitriol-
ization, observed in many of the half roasted sulphureous
‘ores, appears to me to arise from this cause, rather than
from the mere diminution of the original proportion of
sulphur, or the actual immediate conversion of part of it
into sulphuric acid; nevertheless, I offer this opimion, at
present, only as a probable conjecture, which may be in-.
vestigated by future experiments and observations.

~ The magnetical properties of the sulphuret of iron, which
forms the principal subject of this paper, must be regarded
as a remarkable fact; for f have not. found, in the various
publications on magnetism which I have had the means of
consulting, even the most remote hint, that iron, when
combined with sulphur, is possessed of the power of receir-
ing and retaining the magnetic fluid; and, judging by the
properties of common pyrites, we might have supposed that
sulphur annihilated this power in iron, as indeed seems to
have been the opinion of mineralogists, who have never
enumerated magnetical attraction amongst the physical
properties of those bodies ; and, although Werner, Widen-
mann, Emmerling, and Brochant, have arranged the may-
netical pyrites with the sulphurets of iron, yet the mag-
netical property could not with certainty be stated as inhé-
rent in the sulphuret ; for, at that time, this substanoe had
not been subjected to a regular chemical analysis, and the
magnetical property might therefore be suspected: to arise
from interspersed particles of the common magnetical iron
ore. This probably has been the opinion of the abbé Haiiy;
for, in his extensive Treatise on Mineralogy, lately pub-
lished, I cannot find any mention made ‘of the magnetical
pyrites, either amongst the sulphurets or amongst the other
ores of iron. . .

. ~ *
2h Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites.
In the mineral kingdom a great variety of substances,

and eyen some of the gems, exert a feeble ‘degree of attrac-
tion on the magnetic needle, and sometimes also acquire a
slight degree of polarity *; but, as this wonderful property
has only “been observed conspicuously powerful in one spe-
cies of iron ore, this has been always emphatically called
the magnet t, and is said to consist of metallic iron com-
bined with from 10 to 20 per cent. of oxygen.

From the facts, however, which have been recently stated,
we now find that there is another natural substance, appa-
rently very different from the magnet in chemical composi-
tion, but nevertheless approaching very nearly to it in
power, which is found in several parts of our globe, and
particularly in a province of this kingdom, where it consti-
tutes a vein, running north and south, of considerable ex-
tent, and several yards in width and thickness.

From the experiments also which have been made on the
artificial preparation of this substance, we find that it is
capable of receiving the magnetic properties when the pro-
portion of sulphur amounts to 37 per cent., and is still
powerfully attracted when 3 much larger quantity of sulphur
is present. There is, however, some point at which all
these effecis cease ; and this point appears to be when the
sulphur is in some proportion between 45 or 46 and 52 per
cent. The pieced experiments have also proved, that
iron, when combined with phosphorus, likewise possesses
the power of becoming a magnet to a very remarkable de-
eree 3, and, by the similarity, | in this respect, of the carburet
of iron oried steel, to the above sulphuret and phosphuret,
a very remarkable analogy j is established between the effects
produced on trou by carbon, sulphur, and phosphorus.

Carbon, when combined in a very large proportion with
iron, forms the carburet of that metal called plumbago ; a
brittle substance, insoluble in muriatic acid, and destitute
of magnetical properties, But smaller proportions of car-
bon, with the same metal, constitute the various carburets
included between black cast iron and soft cast steel {; bodies

which

* Cavallo on Magnetism, p. 73.

+ Ina future paper it is my intention to give an account of some com-
parative analyses of the varieues of this substance.

t <¢ When the carbon excceds, the compound is carburet of iron, or
plumbago ; when the iron exceeds, the compound is steel, or cast iron,

in various states, according to the proportion, All these compounds may

be voli d as subcarburets of iron.”’— Thomson’s System of Chemis-
try, vol. 1. 145.
Mr. Mushet: in the following table, exhibits the proportion of char-
coat
a

Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites. 219

which are more or less brittle, soluble in muriatic acid, and
more or less susceptible of magnetical impregnation, some
of them form the most powerful magnets hitherto discovered,

Sulphur, in like manner, combines with iron in a large
proportion, forming the common pyrites, which are brittle,
almost or quite insoluble in muriatic acid, and devoid of
magnetical properties. Sulphur, in smaller proportions,
forms sulphurets, which are also brittle, but are soluble
in muriatic acid, and strongly susceptible of magnetical
impregnation.

Phosphorus also, when combined with iron, makes it
brittle, and enables it powerfully to receive and retain the
mragnetical properties; so that, considering the great simi-
larity which prevails in other respects, it may not seem rash
to conclude, that phosphorus, (like carbon and sulphur,)
when combined with iron in a very large proportion, may
form a substance incapable of becoming magnetical, al-
though, in smaller proportions (as we have seen,) it con-
stitutes compounds which are not only capable of receiving
but also of retaining the magnetical properties, even so far
as, in some cases, to scem likely to form magnets of great
power; and, speaking generally of the carburets, sulphu-
rets, and phosphurets of iron, I have no doubt but that
by accurate experiments we shall find that a certain propor-
tion of the ingredients of each constitutes a maximym in
the magnetical power of these three bodies. When this
maximum has been ascertained, jt would be proper to com-
pare the relative magnetical power of steel (which hitherto
has alone been aeatoved to form artificial magnets) with
that of sulphuret and phosphuret of iron; each being first
examined in the form of a single mass or bar of equal
weight, and afterwards in the state of compound magnets,
formed, like the large horse-shoe magnets, by the separate

coal which disappeared during the conversion of iron to the different va-
rieties of subcarburet known in commerce,

** Charcoal absorbed. Result.

t-1z0dth = - Soft cast steel.

r-roodth - - Common cast stee!,

1-goth - - The same, but harder,

r-soth - = The same; too hard for drawing,

1-25th - = Whire cast iron.

y-20th 2 Mottled cast iron.

y-1:th eer. Black cast iron.
# When the carbon aniounts to avout 1-6o0th of the whole mass, the hard-
ness is at the maximum.”—~Thomson, vol, i. p. 1663 and Phil. Mag.

vol. xill. pp- 142 and 148,
arrangement

¢
220 Account of an Aérostatic Voyage.

arrangement of an equal number of bars of the same sube
stance in a box of brass.

The effects of the above compound magnets should then
be tried against others composed of bars of the three dif-
ferent substances, various in number and in the mode of
arrangement; and, lastly, it would be interesting to make
a series of experiments on chemical compounds, formed by
uniting different proportions of carbon, sulphur, and phos-
phorus, with one and the same mass of iron. These qua-
druple compounds, which, according to the modern che-
mical nomenclature, may be called carburo-sulphuro-phos-
phurets, or phasphuro-sulphuro-carburets, &c. of iron, are
as yet unknown as to their chemical properties, and may
also, by the investigation of their magnetical properties,
afford some curious results. At any rate, an unexplored
field of extensive research appears to be opened, which pos-
sibly may furnish important additions to the history of mag-
netism, a branch of science which of late years has been
but little angmented, and which, amidst the present rapid
progress of human knowledge, remains immersed in con
siderable obscurity.

= me

XXXVIIL. Account of an Aérostatic Voyage performed by
M, Guy-Lussac, on the 29th of Fructidor, Year 12;
and read in the National Institute, Vendemiaire 9th,
Year, 13*,

Tu author, after giving an account of the instruments

he took with him for his observations, and the changes

which he introduced in them in consequence of the obser-
vations made during his first voyage, says: All our instru-
ments being ready, the day of my departure was fixed for
the 29th of Fructidor. I, indeed, ascended that day from
the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, at 40 minutes past
nine, the barometer being at 76°525 centimetres, the hy-

_grometer at 575°, and the thermometer at 27°75°. M. Bou-

vard, who makes meteorological observations every day at
the observatory of Paris, thought the atmosphere full of
vapours, but without clouds. Scarcely had I risen a thou-
sand metres when I indeed saw a light vapour dispersed
throughout the whole atmosphere below me, and through
which I observed distant objects confusedly.

* From the Journal de Physique.

When

Account of an Aérostatic Foyage. 22%
Yas

_ When I reached the height of 3032 metres, or 1555 toises,
I began to make my horizontal needle oscillate, and I ob-
tained 20 oscillations in 83”, while at the earth, under the
same circumstances, 83°33” would have been necessary for
the same number *. Though my balloon was affected by the
rotary motion which I experienced im my first voyage, the
motion of the needle allowed me to count twenty, thirty,
anu even forty oscillations.

At the height of 3863 metres, or 19,821 toises, I found
that the inclination of my needle, taking a mean of the am-
plitude of the oscillations, was sensibly 31°, as at the earth.
A great deal of time and patience was necessary to make
this observation, because, though carried away by the mass
of the atmosphere, J felt a light wind, which continually
deranged the compass; and, after several fruitless attempts,
I was obliged to renounce making any more observations.
T am of opinion, however, that the observation I here pre-
sent deserves some confidence.

Some time after I wished to observe the dipping needle ;
the following was the result :—The dryness, favoured by
the action of the sun in a rarefied air, was so great, that the
compass was so far deranged as to make the metallic circle
on which the divisions were traced out to bend, and
become warped. The motions of the needle could not be~
performed with the same freedom ; but, independently of
this disappointment, [I remarked that it was very difficult
to observe the declination of the needle with this apparatus.
It happened, indeed, that when | placetl the compass in
such a manner as to make the shadow of a horizontal thread,
which served as a style, coincide with a fixed line, the mo-
tion I gave the compass communicated one to the needle}
and, when the latter had attained nearly to a state of rest,
the shadow of the stvle no longer coincided with the fixed
line. It was still necessary to put the compass into a ho-
rizontal position ; and during the time which this operation
required, every thing was again deranged. Without per-
sisting to make observations in which I could place no con-
fidence, I gave them up entirely; and, free from every other
care, | directed the whole of my attention to the oscillations
of the horizcntal needle. -I am, however, convinced, in
acknowledging the faults of my compass, that it is possible

~ * Though I here indicate hundredth parts of a second, it may be rea-
ily conceived that L was not able to observe fractions so smail; but

they were given to me by division, becfuse at the earth I made com-
only thirty oscillations which reqhired 126°5””. :

to
ot em

922 Account of an Aérostatic Voyages

to employ one fitter for the purpose, which would deter
mine the declination with more precision. I shall observes
that to attempt this experiment I had let down other needles,
separately, in linen bags to the distance of fifteen metres
below the car.

That the whole of the results I obtained may be better
seen at one view, I have collected them in a table added to
the end of this memoir; and they are such as they occurred
to me, with the corresponding indications of the barometer,
the thermometer, and the hygrometer. The heights were
ealculated, according to the formula of Laplace, by M. Gou-
illy, engineer of bridges and causeways, who was so kind
as to take this trouble. As the barometer did not sensibly
vary on the day of my ascent, from ten o’clock till three,
to calculate the different heights at which I made observa-
tions, we took the height of the barometer, 76°568 centi-
metres, which was the height at the earth at three o’clock 3
a height which, agreeably to the observations made by
M. Bouvard at the observatory, is greater by 0°43 milli-
metres than that observed at the moment of our departure.
The heights of the barometer in the atmosphere were re-
duced to those which would have been indicated by a baro-
meter at a constant level placed under the same circum-
‘stances, and for each height was taken the mean between
the observations of two barometers. The temperature at
the earth, having varied between ten and three o’clock, it
was supposed constant and equal at 30°75° of the centi-+
grade thermometer.

If we now cast our eyes on the table it will be seen that
the temperature follows an irregular law in regard to the
eorresponding heights ; which no doubt arises from this,—
that, having made observations sometimes in ascending and
sometimes in descending, the thermometer must have fol-
lowed these variations too slowly. But if we consider only
the degrees of the thermometer which form a decreasing
series, we shall finda more regular law. Thus the tempe+
rature at the earth being 27°75, and at the height of 3691
metres 8°5", if we divide the difference of the heights by
that of the temperatures we shall first obtam 191°7 metres,
or 98°3 toises, of elevation for each lowering of tempera
ture. Performing the same operation for the temperatures
5*25° and 0-5, as well as for those of 0:0° and — 9°5°, we
shall find in both cases 241°6 metres, or 72°6 toises of ele-
vation for each degree of lowering in the temperament,
which seems to indicate, that towards the surface of the
earth the heat follows a less decreasing law than in thé

upper

Account of an Aérostatic Voyage. 923

upper parts of the atmosphere, and at greater heights it
follows a decreasing arithmetical progression. If we sup-
pose that from the surface of the earth, where the thermo-
meter was at 3°75°, to the height of 6977 metres, or 3580
toises, where it fell to — 9°5°, the heat decreased as the
heights increased, an elevation of 173°3 metres, or 88°9
toises, will correspond to each degree of the lowering of
temperature.

The hygrometer had a very remarkable progress. At
the surface of the earth it was onlv 575°, while at the height
of 3030 metres it marked 62°. From this point it conti-
nually fell till the height of 5267 metres, where it indicated
only 27°5°, and thence to the height of 6884 metres it gra-
dually rose to 34°5°. If we wish trom these results to deter-
mine the Jaw of the quantity of water dissolved in the air
at different elevations, it is evident that attention must be
paid to the temperature, and by adding this consideration
it will be seen that it follows an exceedingly decreasing pro-

gression.

If we now consider the magnetic oscillations, it will be
remarked, that the time for ten oscillations, made at dif-
ferent heights, is sometimes above and sometimes below
that of 42°16”, which they require at the earth. Taking a_
mean of all these oscillations made in the atmosphere, ten
oscillations will require 42°20’, a quantity which differs
very little from the preceding; but if we consider only the
Jast observations made at greater heights, the time for ten
oscillations would be a little below 42°16”, which would
indicate, on the other hand, that the magnetic force has a
little increased. Without wishing to 'draw any consequence
from this slight apparent increase, which may arise from the
errors committed in experiments of this kind, I must con-
elude that the results | have presented confirm and extend
the fact observed by M. Biot and myself, and which, like
universal gravitation, proves that the magnetie force does
not experience any sensible variation at the greatest heights
to which we can attain.

» The consequence we have deduced from our experiments
may appear a little too precipitate to those who reflect that
we were not able to make experiments on the inclination of
the magnetic needle. But it it be recollected that the force
Which makesa horizontal needle oscillate, necessarily de-
comes on the intensity and direction of the magnetic torce

self, and that it is represented by the cosine of the angle
of the inclination of the latter force, no one can help con-
éluding with us, that, since the horizontal force did not

“7 vary
.

224. Account of an Aérostatic Voyage.

vary, the magnetic force ought not to have varied either;
unless we choose to suppose that the magnetic force could
vary exactly 1 in a contrary direction, and i the same ratio,
as the cosine of its inclination; which is in no manner pro-
bable. We should have edited: in support of our conclu-

sion, the experiment of the inclination made at the height

of 3863 metres, or 1982 toises, which proves that at this
height the inclination did not vary in a sensible, manner.
‘When we reached the height of 4511 metres, I presented
to a small magnetic needle, and in the direction of the mag-
nétic force, the lower extremity of akey. The needle was
attracted, and then repelled by the other extremity of the
key, w hich I made to descend in a direction parallel to it-
self. The same experiment, repeated at 6107 metres, was
attended with the same success; a new and ‘very evident
proof of the action of terrestrial magnetism.

At the height of 6561 metres, or 3353 toises, I opened
one of my two glass balloons, and at that of 6636 metres,
or 3405 toises, I opened the second: the air entered into
both with a hissing noise. At length, at 11 minutes after
three o’clock, the balloon being completely full, and havmg
no more than 15 kilogrammes of ballast, [ resolved to de-
scend. The thermometer was then at 9°5° below the tem-
perature of melting ice, and the barometer at 32°88 centi-
metres; which gives for my greatest elevation above Paris
6977°37 metres, or 3579°9 toises 3 or 7016 metres, that i 185
3600 toises above the level of the sea.

Though well clothed, I began to feel cold, especially in
the hands, which I was obliged to keep exposed to the air.
My respiration was sensibly confined, but I was still far
from experiencing any uneasiness so disagreeable as to
oblige me to descend. My pulse and respiration were very
much accelerated: breathing, therefore, very frequently in
very dry air, it need excite no surprise that my throat
should be so dry as to make it painful for me to swallow
bread. Before I set out I had a slight head-ache, arising
from the fatigue of the preceding day, and being up all
night, and it continued the whole day without its appearing
to increase. These are all the inconveniences [ experienced.

A phenomenon which struck me at this height was to
see clouds above me, and at a distance which appeared to
be considerable. In our first ascent the clouds were not
sustained at a greater height than 1169 metres, or 600 toises 5
and above, the heavens were exceedingly pure. The colour of
them in the zenith was even so intense that it might be com-*
pared to Prussian blue; but in the last voyage I could not —
see clouds bclow me. The sky was much filled with va-

pours, —

Account of an Aérostatic Voyage. 225

pours, and its colour dull. , It is, perhaps, needless to ob-
serye, that the wind on the day of our first ascent was north-
north-east, and that on the last it was south-west.

As soon as I perceived that I began to descend, I thought
only of moderating the descent of the balloon, and render-
ing it exceedingly slow. At 45 minutes past three my
anchor touched the earth, and became fixed; which gives
34’ for the time of my descent. The inhabitants of a small
neighbouring village soon ran up to me; and while some of
them took pleasure in drawing towards them the balloon,
by pulling the rope to which the anchor was fixed, others,
placed below the car, waited with impatience till they could
reach it with their hands, in order to deposit it on the earth.
My descent then took place without the least shock or acci-
dent; and I do not think that there could be one more for-
tunate. The small village at which I descended is called
Saint-Gourgon : it is six leagues north-west from Rouen.

When J arrived at Paris, my first care was to analyse the

_air Thad brought back. All the experiments were made at
the Polytechnic School, under the inspection of Messrs.
Thenard and Gresset; and I depended as much on their
judgment as on my own. We observed, in turn, the divi-
sions of the eudiometer without communicating with each
other; and we did not write them down till we perfectly
agreed. The balloon, the air of which was introduced at
the height of 6636-5 metres, or 3405 toises, was opened
under water, and we all judged that it had filled at least the
half of its capacity ; which proves that the balloon had weil

reserved its vacuum, and that no foreign air had entered
at- We intended to weigh the quantity of air which re-
mained in the balloon to compare its capacity ; but, as we

_ could not at that time find what was necessary, and being
very impatient to ascertain the nature of the air contained
in it, we could not make the experiment. We first ein-
ployed Volta’s eudiometer, and analysed it comparatively
with atmospheric air collected in the court before the Poly-
technic School. The comparative analysis of these two airs
is as follows :

Analysis of Air collected at the
Height of 6636 Metres.

. Analysis of the Atmospheric Air.

al ., Lap. 1. Measures. Exp. I. Measures.
_4Atmospheric air 9 ht hs Bee - - ot Ms ah
|Hydrogen gas - - - 2 [Hydrogen gas . oe
tesiduum after combustion - 304!Residuum = - - - 3:05
4 — Oo
. Exp. il. Measures. Exp. I. Measures.
Atmospheric air - = "'S_) {Air - - ee
“WHydrogen gas - + - 2 J|Hydrogengas - - - 2
: iduum PRs, as 3°05 |Residuum - - - 3-04

“Vol. 21. No. 83. April 1805. P At

eon: |

226 Account of an Aérostatic Voyage.

At the same time a measure of very pure oxygen gas re-
quired 2°04 measures of hydrogen gas; and as this result
differed only 0-01 from that found by experiments made on
avery large scale, and with a great deal of care, on the
composition of water, it appears that great confidence may
be placed in our results. They prove, then, that atmo-
spheric air, and air taken at the height of 6636°5 metres,
are exactly the same, and that they contain each 0:2149 of
oxygen. In analysimg the last air by bydro-sulphuret of
potash, we found 0°2163 of oxygen. J cannot present the
result of the comparative experiment made on atmospheric
air, because we were not able to collect it; but the propor-
tion of oxygen I have indicated is still-a little greater than
that given by the combustion of hydrogen gas, and it is
comprehended between the limits of the variations which
have been found for the composition of the atmosphere at
the surface of the earth, and which have not prevented us
from considering it as constant.

The identity of the analyses of the two airs made by hy-
drogen gas proves directly, that the air I brought back con-
tained none of the latter gas. I, however, still ascertained
in it, by burning with the two airs, a quantity of hydro-
gen gas, smaller than that which would have been neces-
sary to absorb the whole of the oxygen gas; for I saw that
‘the residuums of the combustion of the two airs with hy-
drogen gas were exactly the same.

Saussure junior found also, by making use of nitrous gas,
that air collected on the Col-du-Geant contained, within a
hundredth part, as much oxygen as that of the plain; and
his father confirmed the presence of the carbonic acid on
the summit of Mont Blanc. Besides, the experiments of
Messrs. Cavendish, Macartney, Berthollet, and Davy, have
confirmed the identity of the composition of the atmosphere
over all the surface of the earth. We may therefore con-
clude, in general, that the constitution of the atmosphere
is the same from the surface of the earth to the greatest
‘heights to which it is possible to attain.

Such are the two principal results of my last voyage.
M. Biot and myself confirmed the fact we observed in re-
gard to the sensible permanence of the intensity of the mag-
netic force as one recedes from the surface of the earth ; and
_ [ think, also, I have proved that the proportions of oxygen
and azote, which constitute the atmosphere, do not sensibly
vary in very extensive limits. There still remain a great
many things to be cleared up in regard to the atmosphere,
and we wish the facts we have collected may prove suffi-
ciently interesting to the Institute to induce it to make us
continue our experiments. ABLE

227

* Account of an Aérostatic Voyage.

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XXXIX.

‘

[ 228 J
XXXIX. On disclosing the Process of Manufactories.
To Mr. Tilloch.

SIR, Newcastle, Feb. 17, 2805.

Peaarr me to entreat the attention of some of your nu-
merous correspondents towards a question which must
certainly be interesting ta every manufacturer, but of which
no regular discussion has yet been offered :—“ Is it proper
or improper to lay before the public a ful] and impartial
statement of the various processes of our manufactories ?”
¥ shall state such reasons as have offered themselves to me
why they should be displayed; but I am principally anxious
to receive further information on a subject that appears to
me peculiarly interesting.—The first argument I shall
adduce is that of Mr. Boyle, as quoted by Dr. Johnson in
the 201st number of the Rambler. * The excellency of
manufactures, and the facility of Jabour, would be much
promoted if the various expedients and contrivances which
lie concealed in private hands were by reciprocal communi-
cation made generally known; for there are few operations
that are not performed by one or another with some pecu-
liar advantages, which though singly of little importance,
would by conjunction and concurrence open new inlets to
_ knowledge, and give new powers to dilizence.”—The second
is the very considerable improvements that have taken place
in the few manufactories which have yet been under the
influence of chemical inquiry ; thus realizing, but on a very
extensive scale, the suggestions of Mr. Boyle: so far,
therefore, as we are to be guided on the one hand by ex-
perience, and on the other by the influence of scientific
inquiry, on liberal display, will the argument be in our
favour.—In the third place, I would observe, that as many
very valuable discoveries are owing to chanee, those with
whom they originate are frequently, perhaps, incapable of)
improving them to the extent they would admit of in the
hands of men of science ; and thus by a spirit of monopoly,
preclude even themselves from the advantageous cultivation
of such diseoveries, merely lest others might enjoy them also.
If, again, we consider the rapid progress that has been made.
of late years in every department of useful and practical
knowledge, we must attribute it entirely to those liberal
communications that have been made by men whose atten-
tion has been immediately directed to the promotion and
; wnproyement of every thing valuable to the public. Again,
The profits of every business depend on the regularity and
marys & j knowledge

‘’

‘
‘

ee
. ' .

On disclosing the Process of Manufactories. 299

knowledge with which it is conducted: but how is the last”
to be enjoyed without resources to apply to? and how much
more easily would it be obtained if seience could regulate
and simplify the combinations of the manufacturer !—To
these may be added, that if to accomplish by every thing
employed its utmost possible use, may, if even to draw
advantage from the very waste: and refuse of every manu-
factory be a favourite principle with the conductors of each,
to take the most accurate and powerful mean to effect it
ought certainly to be as strong an object with. them. Is it
not also obvious, that to discard all mystery and quackery,
and fairly to disclose each process, is to invite the attention
of men of science and research to extend any advantage
gained by chance or otherwise, and discover yet greater
powers of utility, in the various substances employed ?—
The origin, progress, present state, and hints for the im-
provement of our “ arts of life,”” would certainly be worthy
the contemplation of our most able chymists, and are sub-
jects that have appeared of such importance to a neigh-
ouring nation, that many of their most eminent men have
been employed in such a work; and sdme volumes of the
Encyclopédie Méthodique are dedicated to such infor-
mation, with plates too, in many cases, displaying even
the most minute work-too!ls employed in each. ,
The history and detail of manufactories conducted in
each place, ought, I presume, to forma principal object
with the writers of local histories ; yet very few of these
entlemen are enabled to obtain such accounts as they can
epend on, from the selfish and monopolizing spirit of ma-
nufacturers in general.

To these various advantages an objection may be offered,
that display is placing objects of taxation in the hands,of
ministers.—Be it so.—Display will make it easier to collect
the tax ;—will make it more certain, and, it may be, less
oppressive. If to these be added the above advantages, it
may fairly be presumed that discovery, which may lead to
improvement, is the most advantageous track to be pursued.
—But, my dear Sir, I beg your pardon: on this subject I do
not mean to offer my own opinion, so much as to solicit

information from that of others.
I am truly yours,

erate a Joun CLENNEL.

P.S. How far literary pursuits are compatible with the
duties of the commercial man, or the manufacturer, seems
a question so completely eer in the affirmative, sage

2 irst

230 On Medical Entomology.

first volume of the Manchester Memoirs, by Mr. Henry,
in the second yolume of the same work by Dr. Barnes, and
in the hundredth number of the Lounger, that the above
paper assumes the principle as being fully established.

XL. An Essay on Medical Entomology. By ¥. Cuau-
METON, Physician to the Army*.

In his tam parvis tamque nullis que ratio? quanta vis? PLin.

Wary we cast our eyes on the immense quantity of yo-
lumes which have entomology for their object, one is in-
clined to believe that insects have been sufficiently consi-
dered under every point of view. Naturalists, philosophers,
and physicians, seem to have united their efforts to give a
most complete history of them. Some have endeayoured
to trace out their elegant forms and varied shades, and
others have carefully studied and described their wonderful
metamorphoses. The latter have exhibited the interesting
view of their habits and manners, and have presented us
with some of them as models ; the former have acquired
more right to the public gratitude, by pointing out those
insects which it 1s necessary to destroy, either because they
contain a poisonous liquor, or on account of the destruction
which they occasion. It must indeed be confessed, that
useless and hurtful insects are far more numerous than those
from which society derives real advantages. We must not,
however, forget, that the class of insects furnishes us with
honey, silk, cochineal, &c., and that medicine obtains
from it efficacious aid against human infirmities. Tt is
under the latter point of view that I propose, in this essay,
do examine entomology.
The antients were satisfied with distributing insects into
different groupes, according to the diversity of their resi-,
dence ; and as they did not assign precise characters to the
species they described, it is very difficult, and often impos-
sible, to form exact ideas of them.
_ It was not till towards the middle of the sixteenth cen-
tury that the learned Conrad Gesner endeavoured to clear
up the confusion which prevailed in zoology ; and his la-
bours have been a fruitful mine to his successors. Aldro-
vandus, Swammerdam, Ray, and Lister, followed worthily
in his steps ; but it was reserved to the immortal Linnzeus

* From the Fournal de Piysique, Fructidor, an 12. ;
to

’

= he a

Qn Medical Entomology. 231

te place entomology, as well as all the other branches of
natural history, on an unshaken base. Attempts have been
made, but in vain, to correct, reform, or improve his me-

thod, or to establish an opposite one. This frail structure

broke to pieces against the sublime monument raised by the

celebrated naturalist of Sweden.

Among the entomologists who have modified the system
of Linnxus, Geoffroy perhaps is the only one who can be
excused, probably because he has the least deviated from it.
He thought it necessary to unite the neuroptera and the
hymenoptera under the name of tetraptera, with naked
wings, and he founded one of his principal divisions on the
number of the joints of the tarsi. In reading his work,
which is valuable on many accounts, it was regretted that
specific names were not found in it. Fourcroy has com-"
pletely supplied this deficiency in his excellent Parisian
Entomology. ) |
_ Olivier introduced some modifications in the system of
Linneus, and added to it an order, the orthoptera, which
it might have done very well without.

_ Fabricius has struck out a new route, and asserted that it
is the only real one. To hear him, one might say that na-
ture has revealed to him her most secret mysteries. His
classification, which is founded on the organs of manduca-
‘tion, requires that one should be always provided with a
good microscope and a compass, to observe and measure
the number, figure, proportion, and situation of all the
parts of the mouth of insects, which in several circum-
‘stances it would even be ridiculous to attempt. The insur-
mountable difficulties which almost always accompany this
method, are, however, only its least fault. There are seen
in it, at every step, forced relations; and winged insects
are confounded in a strange manner with the aptera.

Though Latreille has still increased the difliculties with

which entomology has been filled by Fabricius, one cannot
refuse to this modest naturalist the tribute of homage due to
his knowledge, and desire to communicate it.
_ It would be superfluous to accumulate proofs to show the
infinite distance which separates Linnzeus from those who
have pursued the same career. I should be afraid that the
comparison would be injurious to him. Filled with admi-
ration for this great man, [I shall follow, with religious re-
spect, the plan he has traced out.

Insects are small animals, which are indebted for their
name to the divisions or rings of which their bodies are
composed, At the anterior part of the head they have two

P4 articulate d

932 On Medical Entomology.

articulated filaments, endowed with great mobility and ex-
squisite sensibility: they are called antenne. hs

The greater part of insects are winged ; and in this case
they have always six legs attached to their breast or thorax,
and are subject to metamorphoses. Among the aptera
there are some which have several hundreds of legs affixed
to the whole length of their bodies, and they are not subject
to transformation. \

Insects respire by means of vessels with elastic sides,
named trachee@, which open outwardly by holes called
stigmata, placed on the sides of their bodies, and which,
according to Dumeril, may at the same time be the organs
of smell.

They have no interior skeleton. Their skin, which per-
forms the functions of it, 1s generally hard, coreous, and
serves as a point of attachment to the muscles, which are
often very strong. by bers

They have no real heart, nor apparent vascular system.
The different parts of their bodies are moistened by a whitish
serous matter, the temperature of which is equal to that of
the medium wherein they reside.

The presence or absence of wings, their number and tex-
ture, furnish simple and precise characters, by the help of
which the class of insects is naturally divided into seven
orders. :

The first order contains the insects which have four
wings, the lower two of which, thin and transparent, are
covered by the upper ones, thick and strong, which envelop
them like’a sheath : on this account they have been called
elytra, and the insects which bear them are distinguished
by the name of coleoptera.

The second order comprehends insects with four wings,
the two upper ones of which, short and semi-coriaceous, are
covered by their interior edge, while the elytra of the
coleoptera are merely brought together, and form a longi-
tudinal suture at their point of contact. These insects have
no jaws, and their beak is turned back on the breast... They
are called hemiptera. ind Hy

In the third order are ranged insects the four wings of
which are coloured by scaly dust, and which have a trunk
of greater or less length folded back in a spiral form.
On account of the shining tints with which these insects
are generally ornamented, they are distinguished by the
name of lepidoptera. a

The insects’ comprehended in the fourth order have four
naked reticulated wings, and no sting in the anus: a

aye

On Medical Entomology. 233

have several traits of resemblance with the newroptera, and
are distinguished by the name of hymenoptera. .
The sixth order is composed of the diptera, or insects
with two wings.
The seventh order contains the aptera, or insects without
wings. be
FIRST ORDER.

COLEOPTERA.

Scarabeus—The Beetle.-—Of the numerous species of
this genus, those are most useful which live in dunghills
and feed on excrements. Of this kind are the fimetarius,
the séercorarius, the pilularius, and conspurcatus. If eight
ounces of these insects be digested in a pound of laurel oil,
there will be obtained an ointment, or oil of beetles, the use
of which is recommended in the treatment of sprains and
contusions. If the virtues of this preparation be not en-
tirely imaginary, I think they are very little superior to
those of oil of laurel, the inutility of which is now univer-
sally admitted.

CocetnEtta—The Lady-bird.—These small insects are
distinguished by the form of their body, which is bemi-
spherical. Their thorax, as well as their elytra, which are
smooth, is ornamented with beautiful colours, and often
spotted or striped. Their antennz are truncated, and termi-
nated by a solid mass. They are less apparent than the
maxillary feelers.

It is pretended that several species of coccinella, and
particularly those with seven points, are a specific for the
toothache. [t is.sufficient, it is said, ‘to bruise the insect
between the fingers, and to touch with them the gums and
tooth of the patient. What is most wonderful is, that the
fingers retain their anti-odontalgic property. Does not
this ridiculous process bring to remembrance the cure of the
king’s-evil by the simple touch of kings and emperors, the
magnetism of Mesmer, the metallic tractors of Perkins, and
other juggling tricks, which are a disgrace to the noblest of
sciences ?

_ CurysomELa—Chrysomela.—The same virtue is ascribed
to some of the Chrysomele, and particularly that of the

poplar, but with as little foundation. ,
~Curcorio—The HWeevil.—We were acquainted with
this insect only from its ravages (C. /rwmentarius, grana-
rius, paraplecticus), till Ranieri-Gerbi published a very
verbose and turgid description of a new species, to which
he gave the title of Curculio anti-odontalgicus. ‘Yhe thistle
which

234 On Medical Entomology.

which nourishes this valuable insect was not forgotten by
the doctor.

To say that this discovery has given birth to, and served
as a hasis fer, every thing written on the odontalgic pro-

erty of the coccinellw, chrysomele, weevils, and beetles,
1s sufhcient to show the value that ought to be attached
to if.

Mrtor—Meloc.—-The insects which constitute this
genus have moniliform antenne, the last joint of which is
ovoid: the thorax is rounded; the elytra are soft and flexible ;
the head is bent and gibbous, and the claws double.

The Metor ProscaraBeus and the MELOE MAIALIS
are both of a blackish blue colour. The latter has the
edge of tle segments of the abdomen of a copper colour.
Both have the elytra short, and-without wings. The an-
tennz of the males are swelled in the middle, and irregu-
larly bent. These insects, which are seen creeping in the
spring-time among the grass, feed chiefly on ranunculuses
and hellebore, and diffuse over all their articulations, when
touched, a yellow fetid oil. They were considered by the
antients as infallible remedies for the hydrophobia. They
have even been much extolled by some of the moderns *.
Unfortunately the praises so liberally bestowed upon it have
not been justified by experience ; and notwithstanding the
multitude of recipes which have been boasted of for the cure
of the bite of a mad dog, we scarcely know the means of
palliating the dreadful symptoms of this horrid malady.

In consequence of the irritating quality possessed by the
proscarabea and the may-bug, a place has been assigned to
them in the materia medica. They are employed with suc-
cess as rubefaciento; they might even be made a substitute,
though a weak one, for the interesting species of which I
am about to speak, in cases when it is impossible to pro-
cure the latter. Z

Metor vesicarorius, Lytra vesicaroria Fabr.,
CANTHARIS VESICATORIA, the cantharides of the shops,
Geoff. These valuable insects are known by the superb
golden green colour with which they are ornamented.
Their elytra are of the same length as the body, and their
antenn are black and filiform. Cantharides live in great
bodies in the warm and temperate regions, on ash, willows,
&c. They diffuse to a great distance a strong and disagree-

* Selle Handbuch der Med. prax. Andry des vers. This author relates
the history of a child six years of age, who having swallowed a meloe
whole, bruised in brandy, died by an inflammation of the secreting and
excreting organs of urine, ‘ '

able

On Medical Entomology. 235

able odour. It is in the month of June, the period when
they copulate, that they are collected, by shaking the trees
on which they exist. They are killed by the fumes of vi-
negar; and, after being dried in the sun, are preserved in
glass or earthen jars well closed.

We have a multitude of treatises on cantharides*, and
yet there is no good analysis of these insects. Thouvenel
has touched on this subject in a memoir on the nature of
animal substances used in medicine, which would be a
master-piece if the illustrious author had completed the in-

.teresting view he has so well sketched out. It results from
his experiments, thatan ounce of cantharides, treated in
Succession with water, alcohol, and ether, furnish three
gros of a reddish yellow and very bitter extract, and give,
by distillation, an acid liquor; twelve grains of an oily yel-
low matter, which seems to be the colouring principle of
these insects ; sixty grains of a concrete, oily, ceraccous,
green substance, of an acrid savour, on which the odour of
the cantharides seems to depend, and which is the principal
Seat of their virtues; in the last place, the half of their
weight consists of a solid parenchyme, insoluble in water
and alcoho! fF.

Cantharides are employed in medicine under different
forms. Hippocrates administered three or four for a dose,
after being deprived of their heads, feet, and Wilds, as not

being of much efficacy. Cantharides whole are a medicine
not very certain, the action of which varies according to the

uality of the juices contained in the stomach. It is there-
fore infinitely better to reduce them to an impalpable pow-
der, and to give the patient at first only one grain, and ad-
here to that dose, or repeat it as found necessary, as recom-

mended by Werlhof. ,

__ The spirituous tincture of cantharides may be rendered

more or less active, according as it is prepared with pure al-
cohol, or mixed with an equal quantity of water. In the first
case, the liquor contains only the grecn caustic oleo-ceraceous
matter; in the second process there is obtatned an alco-
holico-aqueous solution, less energetic than the preceding

7 :

in the ratio of the extract found dissolved in it. -

td By Alexander, Greenfield, Linneus, Jager, Rumpe!, Baldinger,
Forster, Trelles, Guillor, &c. "

T It is observed that dried and whole cantharides are frequently de-
voured by a kind of mite or acarus, which feeds on their parenchyme

» without touching the breast or the wings, in which the vesicant property

chiefly risides. See Les Instruct. de M. Parmenter, among those pub-
Bished by the Council of Health of the Armics. ie
It

936 On Medical Entomology:

It is to cantharides that the vesicatory or blistering plaster
is indebted for its properties. It is astonishing that a com-
position, in which the greater portion of the cantharides is
enveloped and rendered inert by fat and resinous bodies,
has not been long ago renounced. Being an enemy to all
polypharmie mixtures, I am satisfied with disposing, im the
form of plaster, a certain quantity of good Jeaven, which
I besprinkle more or less with cantharides, according to the
indication I wish to fulfil; and | take care to rub strongly
the part on which I intend to apply this topic, after having
moistened it with strong vinegar. This method is un-
doubtedly the best ; nothing in it is useless; and I prefer it
to blistering plaster, from which it differs only in its great
simplicity.

Is it possible to read the enumeration of panaceas, poly-
chrest remedies, specifics, &c. with which the materia
medicas and pharmacopeeias are filled, without exclaiming
ironically, with the immortal Rousseau, That it is entirely
malicious in men to be sick? Let us, however, confess,
that there really exist noble remedies. There are three
which I could mention ; and cantharides certainly are among
the number. To prove it, nothing is necessary but to take
a cursory view of the different cases in which the application
of them is requisite. To proceed with order in this exa-
mination [ shall take as my guide the Nosographie Philoso-
phique; and I shall frequently invoke the testimony of its
celebrated author, whom I have always seen to unite pre-
cept with example.

The immense series of human infirmities commences
with fevers; and the angiotenic, or inflanimatory, occupy
the first place.. The regular course which nature follows in
the development, progress, and termination of these fevers,
announces a beneficent effort, which tends to remove some
obstacle and restore interrupted equilibrium. We must be
cautious, therefore, of perverting this salutary movement,
and recollect that, if fever, under certain circumstances, 18
a mean of cure, it is chiefly to angiotenic fevers that this
prerogative belongs. The pretended success, I had almost
said the miracles, ascribed to Galen, Botal, Sydenham, and
Brown, in consequence of copious evacuations of blood from
their patients, do not impose on me, and I am far from ap-
proving, with Cullen, the conduct of Pringle, who caused
bleeding to be succeeded by vesicatories, notwithstanding

the fatal examples which ought to have made him pro- *

scribe this destructive treatment. ri
The

eee

On Medical-Eutomology. 237,

The course,of the, meningo-gastric or simple, bilious
fevers 18 also subject to a regular order. . The best charac-
terized are dissipated by diluting and acidulous beverages
preceded by an emetic (antimoniated tartrite of potash).

_ The case is not altogether the same with adeno-menin-
pian fevers, mucous or pituitous. Being produced by debi-

itating causes, they do not leave to nature strength neces-,
sary to re-act properly; which gives riseyto frequent anoma-
lies, tou complications more or less fatal; in a word, to an
inextricable variety of symptoms, which are renewed inde-
finitely, notwithstanding the best combined assistance. It
was to remedy these accidents that Plenciz*, Sarconne t+,
Roederer, and Wegler{, employed vesicatories, which are
not indicated in simple adeno-meningian fevers.

The principal distinguishing signs of adynamic or putrid
fevers are weakness and dejectton. A manifest tendency to
decomposition is observed in the bodies of individuals at-
tacked by them. To reanimate a machine, the springs of
which seem to have lost their action, speedy recourse must
be had to tonics, and those must be chosen the energy of
which is irrevocably confirmed. It is on this account that
vesicatories, either fixed or changed, as circumstances may
require, and seconded by vinous, alcoholic, and campho-
rated potions, perfectly answer the purpose proposed, and
deserve, in every respect, the preference generally granted
to them. a

The extreme danger which accompanies ataxic fevers
would be sufficient to authorise the denomination of ma-
lignant, by which, they have long been distinguished, were
this term less ambiguous, and did it not furnish arms to the
detractors of medicine §. It is no longer, indeed, a simple
prostration of etree The disorder is net confined to
weakening the vital principle and troubling some of its
functions. It is immediately to the brain that ataxic fevers
“any their fatal influence. Ought we then to be astonished
at the alarming phenomena which succeed each other with
prodigious rapidity, and against which the resources of art
often fail ? ye long as the least hope exists, vesicatories
are the sacred anchor, which one ought to trust to for a
safe arrival in port. It will be proper to join with them
some auxiliary means, but none can be substituted in their

i, .

: * Acta et Obs. Medica, Prag. 1783.

+ Storia ragion de’ mali, &¢e. Napo:i 1764.

t Tract. de morbo mucoso, Goetting. 1753.

§ Jo batezzo di maligao .
Ogni mal che non intendo. Mexage.et. be oe

238 On Medical Entomology.

stead: they are even the surest touchstone for distinguish-.
ing and measuring the vitality of our organs. Sing

The yellow fever of America exhibits numerous relations
with the jail and hospital fever, which is itself a complica-
tion of adynamic with ataxic fever*. In both, many pa-
tients have been indebted for their lives to vesicatories ap-
plicd to the head, breast, abdomen, and limbs.

The eruption of the parotids in adynamic and ataxic fe-
vers has been commonly considered as a metastasis, which
must be favoured. Bang and Pinel think, on the other
hand, that these tumors are almost always fatal, as they
determine a sort of congestion towards the head. They
endeavoured, therefore, to prevent or to dissipate them.
Though the Danish, physician employed several internal
and external remedies, it may be easily perceived that vesi-~ »
catories contributed, in a powerful manner, to the success
he obtained.

The pernicious intermittent and remittent fevers, so well.
described by Torti and Alibert, have been classed among
the ataxic by Pinel, who sees in their’ periodicity nothing
but a generic character. Among the numerous varieties of
these fevers the comatose is the only one which J have ob-
served several times. The application of vesicatories at the
moment of attack, lessened considerably the soporific state
of three patients, and disposed them to take cinchona, to
which they were indebted for their cure. The fourth was
tess fortunate: the coma, which produced a sudden exa-.
cerbation. of a simple tertian fever, of which he had been

“ill ten days, approached near to a catalepsy, since the limbs
preserved'very exactly the situation which I gave to them.
I applied large vesicatories to the thighs, and sinapisms to
the soles of the feet. Neither of them made scarcely any
impression; which destroyed all hope of my being able to
ad iinister cinchona, and consequently to save the patient,
There was not, indeed, the slightest remission ;' the sym-
ptoms, instead of being mitigated, became more and more
alarming, and in twenty-seven hours after the attack ter-
minated in death. The lateral yentricles of the brain were
distended by a great quantity of coagulated lymph.

The plague announces itself, like ataxic fever, by a pro-
found lesion of sensibility: it would not even be distin-
guished from it, did not filthy exanthemata and frightful
contagion impose on ita special type. It is, however, cer-

* An Outline of the History and Cure of the Fever, &c. by R. Jack- °
son, Edin. 1798. P
tain,

On Medical Entomology. 239

tain, that the plague may be considered as a very severe
ataxic fever complicated with an affection of the glandular
system. It is indebted to this double character for the de-
nomination of adeno-nervous. It is here in particular that
the organs which have fallen into a state of stupor and in-
sensibility must be strongly excited. With what prompti-
tude ought we not then to have recourse to vesicatorics,
sinapisms, and friction, with alcoholic solution of cantha-
rides or with ammonia!

Ought we’ to unite phlegmasiz with angiotenic fevers,
or establish between them an immense line of demarcation,
by placing them in different classes, as Pinel has done?
The fear of losing sight of the principal object prevents me
from discussing this interesting question, which does not
appear to have been fully resolved.

To form an exact idea of phlegmasiz, it is essential to
fix our examination on those which attack the surface of
the body, and the progress of which can therefore be very
easily observed.

The prodigious quantity of nerves which spread them-
selves in the tissue of the skin communicate to it extreme
delicacy, and such sensibility, that the slightest touch can
excite in it the sweet emotions of pleasure or the acute sen-
sations of pain. The nervous fibres, irritated by any cause,
soon re-act on the ramifications of the sanguine and lymph-
atic vessels with which they are interwoven, and determine
a considerable afflux of these-two fluids. Do we net see
all the symptoms which characterize inflammation succcs-
sively develop themselves in erysipelas? and does ‘not the
action of yesicatories effect in a few hours what erysipelas
effects more slowly : pain, redness, heat, tension, and ac-
cumulation of limpid seresity beneath the epidermis? Do
not these effects announce a salutary effort of nature in the
erysipelas as in angiotenic fevers? and ought they not to
render the practitioner very circumspect in regard to the use
of topics, and particularly repercussives? Do they not throw
light also on the use of vesicatories, and prove the utility, and
often the indispensable necessity, of attracting to the surface
a phlegmasia which threatens an important organ? ‘This
simple, and, as I may say, mechanical explanation is
founded on multiplied and incontestable facts. [t embraces
almost the whole of the doctrine of epispastics and con-
sequently frees me from the necessity of entering into

longer details om the employment of them in phlegmasixe..

tf the small-pox always passed. regularly through te t

perio a

4 On Medical Entomology.

periods they would be attended,with no danger, and, in the
severest cases, would leave nothing behind them but a slight
alteration in the features; but the adynamic and ataxic
symptoms, which frequently render them complex, con-
vert them into so destructive a malady, that they often re-
sist the most active and best administered medicines. Ino-
culation had much lessened the ravages of this destructive
scourge, and the immortal discovery of Jenner will extir-
pate the last roots of them.

The distinguishing signs of peripneumony and pleurisy
are so uncertain that they have been doubted by some cele-
brated physicians *; they have been so often belied by ca-
daverous autopsia, my own experience has so many times
proved their insufficiency, and the principles of the treat-
ment are so identic, that [ consider these two affections as
inseparable, and I unite them, after the example of Cul-
len +, under the name of pnewmonia. .

In acute rheumatism nature 1s endowed with great energy,
which it is sufficient to moderate by diluents and severe
diet in order to obtain a speedy and happy termination. On
the other hand, in chronic rheumatism the re-action is
very weak; the limbs are in such an inert state that it is
necessary to combat it by tonics given internally, and, ap-
plicd to the suffering parts: vesicatories, and friction with
alcoholic solution of cantharides, have justly acquired the
pre-eminence. The same means have sometimes produced
excellent effects in white swellings of the joints, which
often baffle the art of surgery.

Hemorrhages occupy the third class, and are distinguished
into active and passive. Vesicatories are rarely indicated in
either ; and it is allowed to employ them only as revulsives
in certain cases of obstinate hemoptysia.

Of all diseases neuroses are those which present to the
philosophic physician the most afflicting spectacle, and that
most worthy of his meditation. He rejects with disdain
hypotheses more or less ingenious, and the arguments more
or less captious, of the subtle metaphysician enlightened
by the flambeau of analysis; he seeks only in the nervous
system for the source of our mental faculties, since a slight
wound of the organ of the brain is sufficient to render the
mildest man furious, and to plunge the man of genius into

the most deplorable state of idiotism.

* Morgagni De Sed. et Caus. Morb, Sarcone Istor. ragion. de” mali

essem. a Napoli.
_ $ Synops, nosol. Method. Scie 2

On Medical Entomology. 241

The first order of the neuroses consists chiefly of those
moral affections which under the naine of vesani@ torment
the patients and excite despair in the physician. Spasms
are classed after vesaniz. The prognostic of them is equally
fatal, and the cure equally doubtful. We are acquainted
with no remedy for epilepsy, and tetanus kills almost all
those whom it attacks *. Means, however, have been found
to cure the tetanus of wounds arising from the sudden sup-
pression of the puriform flux, by calling back suppuration
by multiplied incisions, the affusion of warm oil of turpen-
line, cupping, or the application of vesicatories to the
wound fF. ;

Besides the universal empire which the nerves have over -
the animal economy, they exercise a particular influence
on each function, which may be singly altered; and these
local anomalies constitute the third order of the neuroses.

One of the finest attributes of the nervous system is,
Without contradiction, that of presiding over the act of re-
production. I shall not here trace out a list of the pre-
tended aphrodisiacs, the remembrance of which I could
wish to efface. It will be sufficient for me to observe that
cantharides form the principal ingredient.

The premature death of Lucretius is ascribed by his bio-
graphers to an amorous philtre. The learned Paré relates,
that a courtesan, having given a raygout, besprinkled with
cantharides, to a young man she had invited to sup with
her, he soon after experienced symptoms which terminated:
in his death.

In comatose affections, which form the fourth order of
the neuroses, nature is oppressed but not exhausted. The
object, then, is to remove the obstacles which oppose the
development of the vital forces. Can the utility of can-
tharides in these critical circumstances be doubted, in which
real too often succeeds apparent death ?

- Among the diseases of the lymphatic system, dropsies
are those alone which allow: the use of cantharides; but
they must be administered with circumspection. Fre-
deric II. king of Prussia, being attacked with the hydro-
thorax, of which he died after eleven months suffering,
experienced some relief from the application of a vesicatory
tothe arm. Several examples attest in favour of alcoholic
solution of cantharides, in the dose of six drops, in anasarca

* Henrteloup Précis sur le Tetanos des Adultes, Avert.
+ Heurteloup ut supra, p. 34.

Vol. 21, No. §3. Apri/ 1805, Q and

242 Use made of Zinc in China in regard to Coin,

and ascites. I have hastened the cure of the latter by mul-
tiplied:friction on the abdomen with the same solution.

Me vor cicnornu—Mylabris cichorii Fabr.; Mylabre de
la chicorcé Cuy.—Its colour is black. ‘The head and breast
are velvety. The antennz become larger towards the end ;
and the elytra are marked with three yellow bands. It
appears that it was this insect, very common in the East,
which the antients employed as a yesicatory*: it is still
applied to this purpose in China.

[To be continued. }

XLI. On the Use made of Zinc in China in regard to Coin.
By B. G. Sacef.

Pine: known in China and India under the name of éz-
tenag, is employed there not only for alloying with other
metals, but also by itself for making coin, as I have had
occasion to ascertain, by trying a piece given to me by
M. de Tersan. This coin was of the size of a franc, but
not so thick. The centre exhibits a square hole three lines
in diameter. On the two opposite sides there are Tartar cha-
racters. The two other sides have none. The reverse of
this piece exhibits Chinese characters on the four faces of
the square. ,

Having attempted to cut this piece with a pair of scissars,
it broke: its fracture exhibited the colour and metallic fa-
cets of zinc: it showed alsa, like zine cast into thin plates,
a line which separates in two the plate of that metal.
‘This stroke or line arises from the colour occupied bythe
centre of the cast zinc. This fracture of the coined zinc of
China makes known that this semi-metal has been cast in
order to be converted into money; for when the grain is
‘compressed by the gradual’ pressure of the roller it ceases
to be brittle, and exhibits no longer any grain. Zine re-
duced to plates ceases also to emit the creaking noise of
tin when an attempt is made to break it. This semi-metal,
instead of breaking by the pressure of the roller, becomes
more ductile the thinner the plates to which it is reduced,

The zinc of which this Chinese coin is made 1s exceedingly
pure, and burns with the greatest activity at a degree of fire
proper for fusing it and bringing it to a red heat: itis guf-

* Jmperati, Linnezus, and Spielman. :
4+ From Yournal de Physique, Fractidor, an 12.
“s ficient

On the Use of the Amianthus in China: 243

ficient to bring it into contact with the air by removing the
oxide or white calx with which it is covered.

The Chinese make a square hole in the centre of their
coin, in order to file theni on a packthread : by this precau=
tion they prevent that infidelity too common in their com-
merce.

Having tried the silver which the Chinese employ for
their jewellery, I found it to consist of one half copper.

XLII. On the Use of ihe Amianthus in Chind. By
B. G. Sace*.

Tax antients, according to Pliny, made incombustible
cloth of the amianthus. In the library of the Vatican there
is shown a handkerchief said to be made of this cloth. As
to the moderns, I do not know that they make any use of
the amianthus; but I saw; twenty years ago,’ paper made
of this fossil flax by M. Levrier de Lisle, proprietor of the
paper manufactory of Montargis. This paper, of which I
‘still have a sheet, has cohesion enough, bui it is not so
smooth as paper made of hemp. _ It does not yield under the
pen, and, if the ink is well gummed, one may write on it
with ease and neatness. This paper placed on burning coals
is not destroyed: it assumes there a bright gray colour,
which arises from the size being charred. The characters
traced out with ink on amianthus paper appear red after
they have been thus exposed to the fire. If niucilage of
gum adraganth had been used ingtead of size to reduce into
paste the amianthus which has been subjected to the mill,
the paper resulting from this process would have more co-
hesion, and be more proper for resisting the action of the
fire. It is to be wished that M. Levrier de Lisle had been
encouraged ; for paper of amianthus might be of great utility
for preserving deeds, as it resists the activity of the fire,
from which they would be completely protected were they
“put into cases made of amianthus pasteboard.
- The Chinese know, as well as we do, that the most vio-
-lent fire is necessary to vitrify it, and that it does yot be-
come altered in a common fire: they therefore pa gt it
for making furnaces. One which I saw represegted a cy-
linder nine inches in height and six in diameter: towards
_ the middle was a circular projection destined to support the

* From Fournal de Physique, Fructidor, an 22.

- QO2 grate :

944 On the Use of the Amianthus in China.

grate: there were two doors to the ash-hole. This fur-
nace was supported by a kind of round dish with octa-
gonal edges, and raised on four small cubes. These edges
were ornamented with a design exceedingly simple: it con-
sisted of a continued seties of circles, with sniall elevated
points in the centre. ; . .

The outside and inside of this furnace were as smooth as
a card: its fracture was like that of pasteboard. M. de
Tersan, in whose possession [ saw the remains of this fur-
nace, said to me therefore, ** I do not know how the Chi-
nese can make furnaces of pasteboard to withstand fire.”
Having examined a fragment of this furnace, I found that
it was entirely amianthus. But in what manner are the
Chinese able to give it cohesion? ‘There is reason to pre-
sume that they know, as well as we do, that mucilage of
gum adraganth bas the property of giving body to stony
molecule, and of contracting with them such union that
even fire is not able to destroy it. We have a proof of this _
in the cakes of ponderous spar, or sulphate of barytes, which
form the Bologna phosphorus, after it has been calcined
for several hours among coals, which destroy neither its
form nor its sohdity. ;

To form these cakes the ponderous spar is pulverized,
and sifted through a silk sieve: it is then formed into a.
paste, wich mucilage of gum adraganth, and made into balls,
which being flaitened are converted into cakes.

The amianthus, of which the Chinese furnaces are made,
has been reduced to small parcels in a mill, and then mixed
with a mucilage to form a paste. This paste the Chinese
imtroduce into moulds, the form and polish of which it as-
sumes, whilst its outside plainly exhibits the parcels of
which it is composed. This furnace is of a gray colour
inclining to red: it unites solidity to lightness, and becomes
white by fire. In examining some Chinese productions
I saw a kind of stuff resembling our drugget: its woof is
only slips of paper. This stuff has pliability and strength,
as may be easily. perceived. As the Chinese haye the art
of making sheets of paper eighteen feet in length, it is not
astonishing to sce stuffs of this kind in pieces like the silk
stuffs made in other countries.

<LIH. On |

XLIII. On the Property ascribed to Quicklime of increasing,
_ the Force of Gunpowder. By M. Lematstre, Inspector-
General of Gunpowder and Saltpetre*.

Tune was published, about eighteen months ago, in the
first volume of the Bibliotheque Physico-Economique, a note
announcing that Dr. Baini, a physician of Fojano in Tus-
cany, had found means to increase the strength of gun-
powder one third, by adding three gros of pulverized quick-
Jime to each pound of powder. It was asserted that the
superiority of this gunpowder was attested by the Tuscan
hunters. :

This assertion has been again brought forward in the
same journal, and in a manner still more decisive. An
anonymous subscriber, in a letter to the editor, enters into
some details calculated to excite the attention of those em-
ploved in the manufactory of gunpowder to this subject.

The first notice of this circumstance had engaged my at-
tention a year before; but in trials carefully made with
Regnier’s spring proof, the best then known, I did not
obtain a satisfactory result: I even observed an inferiority
im the charges mixed with quicklime in the proportion
above indicated. Ra

On account of certain circumstances I was obliged to
defer any further experiments at that time, till the letter
before mentioned induced me to resume the subject, and
sige my experiments all the extent possible, which I could
easily do at Lafere, the place of my residence. As we have
here a school of artillery, I engaged captam Charbonel,
commandant of the sixth regiment of light artillery, in gar-
rison here, to take a share im these trials along with me.
Of eight pounds of very dry gunpowder, from the same
barrel, four pounds were exposed for six days on the floor
of.a magazine in the polygon where we made our trials.
The half of the remaining four pounds was mixed, as ex-
actly as possible, with about a forty-third part of its weight t
of very fresh quicklime, speedily pulverized and sifted, in
order to preserve it from the action of the air, always a little
damp. ©

* From the Bibsiotheque Physico-Economique, January 1805+

+ No. I. Vendemiaire, an 13. p. 42.
{ This proportion is that of three gros per pound of powder, as before
ied.

03 The

246 On the Property ascribed to Quicklime

The half of the four pounds which had been exposed
to moisture was also mixed with the same quantity of
quicklime.

-Our intention in regard ta these different preparations of

gunpowder was to ascertain whether the presence of quick-.

lime added to its strength’ either as a fourth component
part, and by a chemical action, or as an absorbent, by
taking from the powder the humidity it might contain,
which appeared to us much more probable. This we
hoped to discover, on the one hand, by the comparative
employment of the dry and pure powder, and of the dry
powder mixed with quicklime: on the other, by the pure
damp powder, and the same powder mixed with quick-
lime.

We used for our experiments an old brass mortar which
had formerly served for trying common gunpowder. It was
7 inches 6 points in diameter, and had a cylindric chamber
the charge of which was three ounces, and the globe 60
pounds. .

The charges were weighed with the greatest exactness:
the mortar, being pointed at an elevation of 45 degrees, was
directed each time with such regularity that it deviated very
little from the Ime of firmg, The mean ranges given at
each time of firing were as follows :
Toises. Feet.
Dry and pure g¢tnpowder - ~~ : 1293 2
Dry powder mixed with quicklime - layed

Difference iy

Pure damp powder - - ~ - 119° "a
Damp powder mixed with quicklime - 107. 2

Difference lS

Not contented with these trials, we were desirous of re-
peating those | had made, eighteen months before, with
Regnier’s spring proof; and every thing was arranged for
that purpose ; when, on the first discharge with fine hunting
gunpowder, or that from one of our powder manufactories,
the spring broke, and consequently rendered the proof un-
serviceable. This accident, which took place when the
spring was compressed to the 28th degree, as announced by
the index, gives reason to suppose that it would have been

much

—_—

of increasing the Force of Gunpowder. 247

much more so by this powder had it not broken, and fur-
nishes a new proof of the superiority of the French gun-
powder to the English, which, when tried several times by
the same proof, gave only from 15 to 18 degrees.

Though the results of these proofs seem to indicate that
in both cases the presence of the quicklime hurt the strength.
of the gunpowder, we are far from wishing to employ them
to refute what has beea announced on this subject. We
are of opinion that it 1s too much connected with the public
and private interest to be combated by our proofs alone,
whatever care may have been employed in making them.
We do not know whether we have omitted in these trials
any circumstances necessary for obtaining the favourable
results of Dr. Baini; but we are certain that we followed
exactly the proportions and processes indicated in the notes
before mentioned.

We therefore request all those to whom this point is of
importance, and it must be so, no doubt, to a great num-
ber, to repeat and vary these trials, as we propose to do, in
order that we may attain, if possible, to the results of the
two philosophers here quoted, and to induce them to give
some further details in regard to their experiments, by the
help of which we may attain to the proposed end: they
seem to be too much animated with a desire to promote the
public good, to refuse it *.

_ These proofs induced me to try others, to ascertain whe-
ther the whole quantity of the charge of cannon, supposing
it inflames entirely before it issues from the piece, is neces-
sary for producing the greatest effect; and if it would not be
possible, without hurting that effect, to substitute for the

* We think it our duty to quote here a passage from the numerous
additions which M. Bornot, captain of artillery, had made to his trans-
lation of Heary’s Manual of Chemistry:

“<M. Griffith has confirmed, by a great number of experiments, that
@ mixture of gunpowder and quicklime, well dried and pulverized, in
the proportion of two parts of gunpowder and one of quicklime, produced
as much effect on blocks of granite as three parts of powder. A mixture
‘in equal parts makes also an explosion, and may serve to establish the
cdmmunication between the match and the charge, which is already a
considerable saving. Dr. Baini has found means to increase a third the
force of Lhe ap by adding to it three gros of pulverized quicklime
per pound. Ir is sufficient to stir the whole in a vessel until the surface
no longer appears white.”—Nore of the French editor,

or O4 nucleus,

‘

248 Description of an improved Drawback Lock.

nucleus, or centre of the charges, a solid body*, avacuity
or vessel filled with any liquid. Some trials made with a
six-pounder gave us results capable of. exciting attention,
and which will induce me soon to resume them.

4
XLIV. Description of an improved Drawback Lock for

~ House Doors, jnvented by Mr. WittiamM BuLiocg, of
Portland-street +.

SIR,

HAVE herewith sent, for the inspection of. the society,
an improved drawback lock for house doors, &c. which
improvement is in latching the door; for itis well known,
particularly in damp weather, that the air drawing through
it rusts the head or bevel of the bolt, by which means it
requires great force to shut the door, and occasions a dis+
agreeable noise, besides shaking the building.

It has frequently happened that the house has been ex-
posed to robbery from the door being left unlatched, when
supposed to be fast. This improvement removes all those
inconveniences, as it lets the bolt shoot into the staple
immediately when the door closes, but not before; and the
reliever works so very easy, that the door is made fast with
one twenty-fourth part of the force required with locks upon
the common construction,

By an experiment with the lock sent herewith, it will be
proved that two ounces added to the reliever, will shoot
the lock with more ease than three pounds will do applied
to the bevel bolt ; and if the lock is rusty, the advantage
will be much more in favour of the new method. I flatter
myself it will be of great utility to the public, as its con-
struction is simple-and cheap. © It may be added to any old
lock, as may be seen from that now sent. It may be ad-
vantageously applied to French windows and glass doors,
as it prevents the door from being strained, or the glass
broke, by the force applied to shut them. I have fixed
several locks upon this new principle, which answer well ;

* This, it is said, is already practised, with advantage, by some Ger,

man miners. ,
i From Transactions of the Society of Arts, &c. vol. xix.—A bounty

pf fifteen guineas was voted to Mr. Bullock for this communication.

Description of a Screw Press: 249

and if the invention meets with the approbation of the so-
ciety, 1 hope to be rewarded according to its merit. —
Iremain, with respect, sir,
Your mest obedient servant,

Mr. Charles Taylor. Wiciiam BuLLocK.

Description of Mr. William Bullock’s improved Drawback
Lock. (Plate V. Figs i.) ,

A, is the new iron latch here affixed to an old common
drawback house lock.

B, an iron pin at one end of the latch, on which pin itis
moveable.

C, a projecting part of the latch, which, when the
common spring bolt D of the lock is drawn back, in the
usual manner, is forced into the nick on its higher part at
E, by the spring F, underneath the latch.

The bolt D then remains within the lock, until, on closing
the door, the reliever G gently presses on the lock box,
fixed in the common way on the door cheek ; which pressure
draws the projecting part C out of the nick E, and permits
the end of the bolt D, by the force of the spring G, to slide
jnto the Jock box, and fasten the door.

XLV. Description of a Screw Press with an expanding
Power. “By Mr, Wiriiam Bowtsr, of Finsbury-
Street *.

SIR,

HE screw- and spring-press which I have the honour to
pioent to the inspection and for the approbation of the
society for the Encouragement of Arts, &c. will, I trust,
' be found in a superior degree adapted to the purpose of
pressing bodies in general, but more particularly cheeses
ples, linen, &c. because such things require a firm and
an unrelaxing pressure :—and this is a peculiar adyantage
‘incident to this machine; for after it is set, or the spring
- serewed well up, it will be found, that as the article
pressed shrinks from it, so the spring, owing to its peculiar
ding power, gradually follows the object of its pres-
e, and hence continues to maintain an uniform and

—* From Transactions of the Soviety of Arts, &c. vol. xxi.—A bounty
of ten guineas was voted to the author by the society.

equal

250 Description of a Screw Press.

equal action on the body on which it is placed. This, in’
cheese-making, will be tound peculiarly advantageous ; for —
it is from this very cause of want of sufficient pressing that
cheeses are frequently so very bad. Were the curd entirely
separated from the impure and contaminating mixture: of
the whey, which must he effected by the regular action of
this machine, we should always have the cheese firm and
wholesome; and, I have not a doubt, the press will be
found equally useful in all other cases, and answer every
purpose, even beyoud expectation, to which it is adapted.
I have the honour to be, &c. ‘
WILLIAM Bowler.
Charles Taylor, Esq.

Reference to the Engraving of Mr. IVilliam Bowler’s
Screw Press. Plate V.. Fig. 2.

AA, the two upright sides, or frames of the press.

_ B, the cross piece which connects them at the top, haying
a hole in its centre, for the screw.

€, a strong block of wood, into which the two sides of’
the press are firmly morticed. ter

D, the box, in which the article to be pressed is placed,
This box has anumber of holes in its bottom, through
which the liquid matter when pressed out passes, and is dis-
charged from the mouth of the spout E, a small hollow
being left under the box, to allow its passage to. the spout,
A loose wooden cover fits into the box D, and upon it is
fastened a stout piece of timber IF, and an iron plate G, for
the point of the screw of the press to act upon.

H, the male screw of the press, working in a female .
screw, in the centre of the strong cross piece [, which cross
piece slides up and down in grooves within the two sides of
the frame, one of which grooves is shown in the plate, and

about half the leneth of the side piece,

K, the upper part of the iron serew, an which the handle
1, which moves it, is placed upon a square. The iron of
the screw is only wormed about halfits lencth.

M, 2 strong spiral spring, made of iron wire, or iror
rod, placed in the centre of the cross pieces B and I; this
spring presses downwards against the cross piece I, forcii aa
it as low down as the side grooves will permit, Phe taal
screw H lies within the circle of this spiral ; and, when tl
screw is turned, passes through the female screw below ity.
and acts upon the iron plate G, under which the matter to
be pressed ts placed, by continuing to turn the screw, » As

iis

Geographical and Topographical Improvements. ©5%

ft meets with resistance at the point G, it gradually forces
back the cross piece 1, by means of the female screw within
it, and compresses the spiral into a small space, between
the two cross pieces, in which state it remains, tll the
article which is pressed in the box begins to give out a part
of its contents. The spiral sprmg M, compressed as above
mentioned, then begins to expand, and exerts a continued
re-action upon the cross piece I, on the male screw H,
the iron plate of which covers the article under pressure.
Fig. 3, is the male screw, separated from the other parts,
to show how fer the thread or worm extends upon it.

XLVI. Geographical and Topographical Improvements pro-
posed ly Joun Cuurcaman, Esq, Member of the Im-
perial Academy of Sciences at St. Petersburgh*.

a
I REQUEST you to lay the following essay on the improver
ment of geography before the Society for the Encourage-
ment of Arts; and, in so doing, you will much oblige
; Your most obedient servant,

Joun CHURCHMAN,

Charles Taylor, Esq.

Ir appears to be a matter of much importance to the
people of any country, at all times, whether in war or
peace, to possess a complete knowledge of its surface. Jn
war, such knowledge is absolutely necessary for defence ;
in peace, for improving the country to the best advantage.
__ Now, since geography may be improved, an easy and
accurate method to Jay down maps of mountainous coun
ape and hilly estates will perhaps prove useful, as it will
show at a single view the true shape and comparative height
of the ground without the art of painting.

__As mountains are apt to eclipse each other, a perspective
view is seldom very extensive, the rules of which {all short
of giving an accurate idea of any hilly country; because
such a view, though strictly true in one particular place,

‘not so in any other, The,altitudes of mountains appear

proportion to the distance from the eye, and no rule in
gemeiry has been found sufficient to determine distances
trom any single station. Neither cau a bird’s-eye view of

estate ascertain the depth of valleys or the height of
ountains. But the method here proposed will be found

* From Tiansactions of the Swiety of Aris, &c. Vol. xxii.

1 equally

252 Geographical and Topographical Improvements,

equally capable of giving the true shape of any ground above

or below water. It may be successfully applied to sea charts,

and will prevent much confusion, arising from the tedious

method of distinguishing soundings by a multitude of

figures. ih
Explanation.

Suppose a full description is required of any island in the
ocean. First, let an accurate map be laid down in the com-
mon way; and let the perpendicular height between the
highest point of Jand and the ocean be divided into any
number of equal parts. Suppose these equal divisions are
100, 200, 300, 400 feet above the low-water mark. From
the diferent points of these several divisions let horizontal
lines be run with a good theodolite, and spirit-level an-
nexed, all round the island. If the work‘is well done, each
line will end where it began; and if the bearings and di-
stances of these several lines are truly laid down on the
map, the crooked courses of them will clearly show the
shape.of the ground over which they pass. For example:
if any horizontal line passes by the side of a steep hill, it
will incline towards the ocean, or approach the next hori-
zontal line below it. When the same line crosses a stream
of running water or a valley, it will naturally bend up the
side of the said stream until it can cross it without losing

‘the level; or, in other words, it will bend towards the centre

of the island. Hence, by a little practice, the shape of the
several horizontal lines on the map will give as clear an
idea to the mind of the shape of any country over which
they pass, as a sight of the country itself can conyey to the
eye. But to obtain a mathematical and true knowledge of
the altitude and declivity of any part of the country, we
have the following proposition :

As the perpendicular height of any one horizontal line
above another is to the radius, so is the horizontal di-
stance between the horizontal lines measured on the map
at any particular place, to the co-tangent of declivity at
that place. :

Note: If the horizontal distance between any two hori-
zontal lines on the map is equal to the perpendicular height
of any horizontal line above amother, the angle of altitude,
or declivity, of any hill will be 45 degrees.

The present improvement, which I believe to be entirely
new, will be found to possess the following advantages :

ist. Military men are well acquainted with the many
advantages always to be gained from the exact representa
tion of high grounds, By this method we are able-to give

the

Geographical and Topographical Improvemenis. 253

the angle of altitude, the angle of declivity, and perpendi-
cular height of eyery hill; likewise the comparative height
of different hills, the best route by which the high grounds
may be gradually ascended, and where heavy burthens can
be drawn up with most ease.
adly. Experience has sufficiently shown that the inhabi-
tants of low grounds are subject to different kinds of sick-
ness, from which those living at places elevated to a certain
degree are exempt. A map on this improved plan will point
out the most proper situation for building dwelling-houses.
Tt will be useful in botany, in discovering or cultivating
some kinds of plants which flourish best at particular di-
stances aboye the level of the ocean, Jt will trace the line
of vegetation on the sides of lofty mountains whose tops
are covered with eternal snow.
3dly. Some high lands are known to produce good grain,
while low lands afford grass more abundantly; but most
grounds produce good grass over which a moderate quan-
tity of running water is conveyed. A plan of any country
in this way will show all the ground that can be irrigated ;
where water-works may be erected ; where navigable canals
may be cut; and where highways and rail-roads may be
laid out on the best and most level ground.
4thly. The subterraneous treasures of the mineral and
fossil kingdoms are generally found in strata; and, if they
are not truly horizontal, they make a certain angle with
the horizon. A map on this projection may enable the
‘mineralogist to follow any one stratum at places even far
Maistant from each other.
? : PROBLEM.
To find the true declivity of any piece of ground in any
‘map laid down on the principles of the present plans

Bi: Example ist, for D. See Plate V1.

As the perpendicular height, 4 feet - 60206
Is to radius, 90° i - - 10°00000
~ So is the horizontal distance, 4 feet - 60206

ot a 10°60206

1 “To'the co-tangent of the declivity, 45° - 10-00000

aE Example 2d, for B.

_ As the perpendicular height, @feet - 60206

$ to radius, gue fa - - 10°00000
. » So-is the horizontal distanee, 8 feet + 90309 —

ae »§ 10°90309
To the co-tangent of the declivity, 26° 34’ 10°30103

sa Lxample

PO fae

a52 Description of a Safety Valvé:
; Example 3d, for C. ;

As the perpendicular apts 4 feet - 60206
~ Is to radius, 90° - - 10°00000
So is the horizontal distances 18 fee - 1°25527

1425527

To the co-tangent of the declivity, 12° 32” 10°65321

The annexed survey, Plate VI. of a small lake and arti-
ficial mountain in the garden of his excellency count de
Strogonoff, near St. Petersburgh, has been closed by the
tables of the difference of latitude and departure as follows:

N. S. Bs W.

N. 30 E. Qu 29 — 2 ot —
N. 35 E. 2 i:6.| = r! | |
N. 75 E. 2 *& |. — lg | — a
N. 55 E. 2 1] — V6} —
N. 45 E. 3 21) — Q°1 —
N.52 W.] 2 2 | — ne 1°6

N. 39 W.| 3 5 | — — | 25
S. 56 W.| 12 at 67) | —= |} OO” '
S. 60 E. 7 il Soe ee — q

10°2 | 1072 | 14:0 | 14:0

XLVII. Description of a Safety Valve, containing a Vacuum
Valve in the same Hole of the Boiler*

7s large boilers or coppers, where ollie fluids are in-_
closed a safety valve is generally used to prevent’ theit
bursting, from an unexpected excessive force of the elasti¢
steam, “and, besides, a vacuum valve, to prevent their being
comipressed or crushed by the weight of external air, in the
case of a sudden condensation of the vapours. These two
valves are commonly fitted in two. different holes in the
boiler; but as a more simple, and consequently more eligi«
ble method, seems to be that of joining them together, T
tuke the liberty to submit to the Society for the Encourages
ment of Arts, &e. the MONE contrivance for that } pure

ose:
al, Plate VIL. fig. 1, is acommon conical safety valvey

* From Transactions ef the Socicty of Arts, 8c. Vol. xxii.-The silver
oxi of the society was voted to the author for this communication,

Description of a Safety Valve. 255

fixed in the boiler cd, having four openings, ii, which are
represented in a plan view'in fig. 2. ef is the metallic rod,
bearing the weight KK, with which the safety valve is
loaded, and extendiug itself under that valve to f: gh is
the vacuum valve, consisting in a plane circular plate, with
a brass tube sliding along the rod, and pressed by a spiral
spring to the safety valve ad (against which it has been
well ground in making it), closing in that situation the
openings Zi.

Such being the construction of the whole, it is evident,
that when the elasticity of the steam increases, the two
valves, joined together, with the holes iz shut, make but
one, opposing to the elasticity of the steam an united re-
sistance, which is regulated by the weight kk, im the com-
mon way; but, on the contrary, when by condensation of
the vapours a vacuum is produced, the external air in press-
ing through 77, upon the vacuum valve gf, forces it down,
and opens to itself a passage into the boiler.

The valve g/ may easily be made conical, like the other,
if that form should be preferred; but in different trials {
have found planes, if well turned and ground together, join
as perfectiy as can be desired, being pressed by the united
elasticity of the spring and the steam. .
- Fig. 3 is the same contrivance adapted to a new kind of
safety valve or piston, which, though I originally intended
it for the use of Papin’s digesters of a new construction *,
has been, in a larger size, applied by me even to steam en-
gines, and is described in the Pinlosophical Magazine of
December 1803 t.

I have lately begun, and shalj pursue, a set of experi-
ments, with the intention of regulating by this safety piston
the quantity of admitted air to fire-grates, and to effect by
that means a new mode of regulating the fire, and the elas~

wre’ ;
® Nicholson’s Journal, March 1804.

+ The description of this contrivance being already published. jt would,
be superfluous to repeat it. 1 only beg leave to add the following prac-
oa :—A metallic piston, if well turned and fitted into a cy~
inder of exactly the same kind of metal, will probably have the same
se of eXpansion, especially if hollow, and consequently will not in-
‘crease its friction in any increased degree of temperature. But as in
-practice the cylinder is commonlysexposed to a lower temperature than
the piston, heated by the steam, a little increase of triction will take place
by an increase of heat. ‘Vo prevent the effect of this, I have found it
: to employ for the piston a metal of somewhat less expansive powers
than the cylinder; and the expansion of red copper being to that of brass
Nearly as 10 to rt, J prefer making the piston of the former metal when
the cylinder is made of brass. : te
? ticity

’

Tae Chinese all agree there is but one sort or species of

256 Account of the Tea Tree. . *
ticity of steam in boilers, with less expenditure of fuel and
of force than usual ; of which ideaahintis given in the work
and place above mentioned. The result of these researches
I shall at some future period do myself the honour of com-
municating to the society. bet

4% ~

XLVILEL. An Account of the Tea Tree. By FREDERICK
Picou, Esq.* —

the tea tree ; and that the difference in tea arises from the
soil and manner of curing f.

Chow-qua, who has been eight times in the bohea coun-
try, and who has remained there from four to six months
each time, says, that many people, among their tea leaves,
especially at Ankoy, near Amoy, put leaves of other trees ;
but that of these there are but two or three trees the leaves
of which will serve that purpose; and they may easily be
known, especially when opened by hot water, because they
are not indented as tea leaves are. ;

He says, that bohea may be cured as hyson, and hyson ~
as bohea, and so of all other sorts; but that experience
has shown, the teas are cured as best suits the qualities
they have from the soils where they grow; so that bohea
will make bad hyson, and hyson, though very dear in the
country where it grows, bad bohea. However, in the pro-
vince of Tokyen, which may be called the Bohea province, —
there has since a few years some tea been made after the ©
hyson manner, which has been sold at Canton as such.

The bohea country, in the province of Tokyen, is very:
hilly, and since some years greatly enlarged ; the length of
it is four or five days journey, or as much again as it for- |
merly was. The extent of the soil that produces the best
bohea tea is not more than 40 li, or about 12 miles; in —
circumference it is from 100 to 120 li. Not only the hills
in this country are planted with tea trees, but the valleys
also ; the hills, however, are reckoned to produce the best —
tea; on them grow congo, peko, and sonchong, im the 4
valleys or flat parts of the country bohea. As to the true —
souchong, the whole placegdoes not yield three peculs; |

a He pets
io hk
a

| ©® From the Asiatic Annual Register for 1802. 3

+ This fact is further confirmed by Lord Macartney and Sir George
Staunton, who in their journey from Pekin to Canton passed through
the centre of the tea country. —See Macariney’s Embassy to China, vol. iii.

page 296. + d p i
ie 8 Youngshaw 4
na

Account of the Tea Tree. 257

Youngshaw says, not more than 30 catty. The value of it
on the spot is 1+ or two tales the catty, about ten or twelve
shillings the pound. What is sold to Europeans for
souchong is only the first sort of congo, and the congo they
buy is only the first sort of bohea. Upon a hill planted
with tea trees, one only shall produce leaves good enough
to be called souchong, and of those only the best and
youngest are taken; the others make congo of the several
sorts, and bohea.

There are four or five gatherings of bohea tea in a year,
according to the demand there is for it, but three or at
most four gatherings are reckoned proper ; the others only
hurt the next year’s crop. Of souchong there can be but
one gathering, viz. of the first and youngest leaves ; all
others make inferior tea.

The first gathering is called tow-tchune, the second eurl,
or gee-tchune, the third san-tchune. If the first. leaves
are not gathered, they grow large and rank, and are not
supplied f the second leaves, which oniy come in their
room or place, and soon. ;

The first gathering is reckoned fat or oily, the second
less so, the third hardly at allso, yet the leaves look young.
The first gathering is from about the middle of April to the
end of May, the second from about the middle of June to
the middle of July, the third from about the beginning of
August to the latter end of September. Tea is never
agen in winter. ‘The first gathering or leaf, when

rought to Canton, commonly stands the merchants in
11+ tales the pecul
the 2d 11 or less
the 3d 9

The method of curing bohea tea of these three growths is,
according to Chow-qua, thus:

When the leaves are gathered, they are put into large flat
baskets to dry, and these are put on shelves or planks, in
the air or wind, or in the sun, if not too intense, from
morning until noon, at which time the leaves begin to
throw out a smell; then they are tatched * ; this is done by
throwing each time about half a catty of leaves into the
tatche, and stirring them quick with the hand twice, the
tatche being very hot, sot then taking them out with a
small short broom, if the hand is not sufficient. When
taken out, the leaves are again put into the large flat baskets,
and there rubbed by men’s hands to roll them ; after which

* Tatche is a flat pan of cast iron.

Vol. 21. No, 83. April 1805. R they

253 Account of the Tea Tree.

they are tatched in larger quantities, and over a cooler of
slower fire, and then put into baskets over a charcoal fires
as is practised on some occasions at Canton. When the
tea is fired enough, which a person of skill directs, it is
spread on a table, and picked or separated from the too
large leaves, yellow leaves, unrolled, broken or bad leaves.

Youngshaw says, bohea tea is gathered, sunned in
baskets, rolled with the hand, and then tatched ; which
completes it. ge

Anothen says it is gathered, then put in sieves or baskets,
about a catty in cach, and those put in the air till the leaves
wither or give, after which they are put into a close place
out of the air, to prevent their growing red, until the even-
ing, or for some hours; the smell then comes out of
them. They are after this tatched a little, them rolled, and
then tatched again ; and about half a catty is tatched at one
time.

Congo, says Chow-qua, is tatehed twice, as is souchong 5
but Youngshaw says souchong and congo are not tatched,
but only fired two or three times. The latter is most pro~
bable, but yet the former may be true; for as tatehing
seems to give the green colour to the leaves of the tea trees,
so we may observe something of that greenness in the
leaves of congo and souchong teas. Youngshaw further
says, that the leaves of souchong, congo, hyson, and fine
singlo trees are beat with flat sticks or bamboos, after they
have been withered by the sun or air, and have acquired
toughness enough to keep them from breaking, to force out
of them a raw or harsh smell.

Souchong is made from the leaves of trees three years
old, and where the soil is very good; of older, when not
so good, congo is made. he leaves of older trees make
bohea. The tea.trees last many years. When tea trees
grow old and die, that is, when the bodies of the trees fail,
the roots produce new sprouts.

Peko is made from the leaves of trees three years old, and
from the tenderest of them, gathered “just after they have,

been in bloom, when the small leaves that grow between
reo)

the two first that have appeared, and which altogether make

a sprig, are downy and white, and resemble yoang bair or

down. ‘Trees of four, five, and six years old may still
make peko; but after that they degenerate into bohea if
they grow on the plains, and into congo if they grow on
the hills.
Lintsessin seems to be made from very young leaves rolled
up, and stalks of the tree; the leaves are gathered before
they

Account of the Tea Tree. 2359

they are full blown: this tea is never tatched, but only fired.
Were the leaves suffered to remain on the trees until they
were blown, they might be cured as peko, if longer, as
eongo and bohea. This tea is in no esteem with the
Chinese; it is only cured to please the sight; the leaves are
gathered too young to have any flavour.

Tea trees are not manured, but the ground on which they-

grow is kept very clean and free from weeds. Tea is not
gathered by the single leaf, but often by sprigs. Tea in
general is gathered by men ; however, women and children
also gather tea. Tea is gathered from morning till night,
when the dew is on the leaves as well as when it is off.

Ho-ping tea is so called from the country where It grows,
which 1s twelve easy days journey from Canton. This tea
is cured after the manner of bohea, only in a more careless
or slovenly way, on account of its little value, and with
wood instead of charcoal fire, which is not so proper, and
adds to the natural bad smell the tea has from the soil where
it grows.

Leoo-ching (or Lootsia), the name of a place eight days
journey from Canton: it may produce about 1000 peculs
of teain a year. ‘This tea is cured as bohea, or as green, as
the market requires, but is most commonly made to imitate
singlo, which suits it best. ,

Honan tea grows opposite to Canton; itis cured in April
or May for the Canton market, that is, for the use of the
inhabitants of Canton, especially the women, and not for
foreigners. There is but little of it, about 200 peculs.
The worst sort of it remains flat and looks yellow : it is
tatched once to dry it, but not roiled, and is worth three
candarines the catty. The best sort is tatched once, and
rolled with the hand, and tatched again; it is werth twelve
eandarines the catty. These teas are not, like the bohea,
after they are tatched, put overa charcoal fire. The water
‘of Honan tea is reddish.

Ankoy tea is so called from the country that produces it,
which is about twenty-four days journey from Canton.
When gathered, the leaves are put into flat baskets to dry
like the bohea; they are then tatched, and afterwards rubbed
with hands and feet to roll them, then put in the sun to
dry, and sold for three or four candarines the catty. If
this tea is intended for Europeans, it is packed in large
baskets, like bohea baskets, and those are heated by a
charcoal fire in a hot-house, as is often practised in Canton.
Bohea tea is sometimes sent to Ankoy, to be there mixed
with that country tea, and then forwarded to Canton. =~

; ‘Re ) The

260 Account of the Tea Tree.

The worst sort of Ankoy is not tatched; but Ankoy
congo, as it is called, is cured with care, like good bohea
or congo: this sort is generally packed in small chests.
There 1s also Ankoy-peka; but the smell of all these teas
is much inferior to those of the bohea country. However,
_Ankoy congo of the first sort 1s generally dearer at Canton
than the inferior growths of bohea.

As tatching the tea makes it sweat, as the Chinese term
it, or throw out an oil, the tatche in time becomes dirty,
and must be washed.

If bohea is tatched only twice, it will be reckoned slovenly
cured, and the water of the tea will not be green, but yel-
low ; so that fine bohea tea must be cured as congo: the
coarse is not so much regarded.

The ordinary tea used by common people in tea countries
is passed through boiling water before it 1s tatched, not-
withstanding which it remains very strong and bitter. This,
father Lefebure says, he has often seen. Tea is also some-
times kept in the steam of boiling water, which is called by
some authors a vapour bath.

Singlo and hyson teas are cured in the following manner:
when the leaves are gathered, they are directly tatched, and
then very much fithed by men’s hands to rol] them, after
which they are spread to divide them, for the leaves in
rolling are apt to stick together; they are then tatched very
dry, and afterwards spread on tables to be picked; this is
done by girls or women, who, according to their skill, can
pick from one to four catty each day. Then they are tatched
again, and afterwards tossed in flat baskets to clear them
from dust ; they are then again spread on tables and picked,
and then tatched for a fourth time, and laid in parcels,
which parcels are again tatched by ten catties at a time,
and when done put hot into baskets for the purpose, where
they are kept till it suits the owner to pack them in chests
or tubs, before which the teais again tatched, and then put
hot into the chests or tubs, and pressed in them by hand.
When the tea is hot it does not break, which it is apt to do.
when it is cold. Singlo tea being more dusty than hyson
tea, it is twice tossed in baskets, hyson only once.

It appears that it is necessary to tatche these teas when-
ever they_contract any moisture; so that if the seller is
obliged to keep his tea any time, especially in damp wea-
ther, he must tatche it to give it a crispness before he can
gull it.

It is to be observed that the quantity of leaves tatched
increases with the times of tatching; at first only half

(a)

2 OF;

Account of the Tea Tree. 261

or three quarters of a catty of leaves are put into the
tatches.

Tunkey singlo tea is the best, which is owing to the soil:
it grows near the hyson country. Ordinary singlo tea is
neither so often tatched or picked as the above described.

There are two gatherings of the singlo tea, the first in
April and May, the second in June; each gathering is
divided into three or more sorts ; the leaves of the first are
large, fine, fat, and clean; of this sort there may be col-
lected from a pecul, from 40 to 55 catties, usually 45. The
second sort is picked next, and what then remains is the
third or worst sort.

Tunkey, like other singlo tea, is made into two or three
sorts ; the best is sometimes sold for hyson of an inferior
growth.

Of hyson there are also two gatherings, and each gather-
ing is distinguished into two or more sorts; but as great
care is taken in gathering it, 60 catties may be chosen from
one pecul, when only 45 catties can be chosen from singlo.

Hyson-skin, as it is called, has its name from being
compared to the skin or peel of the hyson tea, a sort of
cover to it, consequently not so good; it consists of the
largest leaves, unhandsome leaves, bad coloured and flat
leaves, that are amongst the hyson tea. This tea is known
in London by the name of bloom tea.

Gomi (or Gobee) and QOotsien, are also leaves picked
from the hyson leaves. Those called gomi are small and
very much twisted, so that they appear like bits of wire.
The ootsien are more like little balls.

There are many different growths of singlo and hyson
teas, and also some difference in the manner of curing
them, according to the skill or fancy of the curer: this
occasions difference of quality in the teas, as does also a
good or bad season. A rainy season, for instance, makes
the leaves yellow: a cold season nips the trees, and makes
the leaves poor.

Bing tea is so called from the man who first made that
tea. It grows four days journey from the hyson country.
The leaves of bing are long and thin, those of singlo are
short and thick.

The tricks in tea are innumerable. In the bohea country
when tea is dear (and probably they use the same method
in all tea countries), they gather the coarse old leaves, pass
them through boiling water, then cure them as other leaves
are cured ; after which they pound them, and mix them
with other teas, putting five or six catties of this tea dust to
ninety-five catties of tea,

R3 7

262 Account of the Tea Tree.
To make lohea tea green.

For this purpose coarse Ankoy tea is generally taken:
the leaves should be large. (Ankoy is no other than the
tea tree from the bohea country propagated at Ankoy.)
Take ten catty of this tree, spread it, and sweat the leaves
by throwing water over them, either hot or cold, or tea
water. When the leaves are a Jittle opened and somewhat

dry put them into a hot tatche, together with a small quan-.

tity of powdered chico, a fat stone, and tatche them well,
then sift the tea, and it is done. If it happens not to be
green enough tatche it again. It is the frequent tatching
that gives the green colour to the tea leaves.

- To make green bohea.

First water it to open the leaves, then put them in the
sun to dry a little, then tatche them once, and proceed to
_cure them as bohea leaves, over a charcoal fire. This is
seldom done, because it is seldom worth doing, green tea
being generally the dearest: moreover, green tea does not
make so good bohea as bohea does green.

Ho-ping tea, already described, and which is of the
bohea kind, after beimg cured as bohea, is sometimes
altered to green, and becomes like the leoo-ching before
mentioned, and is sold at Canton to foreigners for singlo.

It is to be observed, that all these worked-up teas, as
they may be called, and teas of improper growths, are more
commonly mixed with true teas for the Europe market than
sold separate by themselves; so that the proportions in
which they are mixed make combinations without end.
The differences fo be observed in teas arise from the soils.
The methods of curing owing to the skill of the curer,
sometimes to his caprice; neglect in the curing; using bad

- fires; wood, and that green, instead of charcoal; some-
times straw or broom for bad teas; and to the seasons,
which should not be too wet or too dry, too cold or too
hot. The Chinese also sell at Canton all sorts of old teas
for new, after they have prepared them for that purpose,
either by tatching or firmg, and mixing them with new
teas.

Clean singlo tea is called Pi-cha, or skin tea. A custony
formerly prevailed to put 15 or 18 catties of very bad singlo
tea into the middle of a chest, which was covered oun alt
sides by good tea; and this was done by the means of four
pieces of board nailed to each other, making four sides, or
a well for the chest, whereon good tea was spread, and also
within two inches of the top, was drawn out. The good
tea was called pi-cha, or the skin er covering to the bad,

which

Account of the Tea Tree. 263

which the Chinese called the belly.. This method of pack-
ing singlo tea has long since been discontinued.

‘The bohea country is about twenty-five easy days journey
from Canton. The singlo about forty. The hyson much
the same.

Bohea usually comes to Canton at the

_cost of - - - 9 to 11 tales the pecul.
Singlo and second hyson -' 14to18
Hyson - - - 30 to 38

Congo, peko, and souchong, very various. ;

To these prices must be added the charges of warehouse-
soom, packing, the duties on exportation, and the seller’s
profit, in a country where money is often 2 per cent. per
mionth, and seldom less than 20 per cent. per annum.

Bohea, Voo-yee, the name of the country.

Congo, or Cong-foo, great or much care or trouble in_
the making or gathering the leaves.

Peko, Pé-how, white first leaf.

Souchong, Sé-ow-chong, small good thing.

Le-oo-ching, the name of a place,

Ho-ping, ditto. ;

Ho-nan, ditto,

Ankoy, ditto.

Song-lo, ditto.

Hyson, He-Tchune, name of the first crop of this tea.

Bing-min, name of the man who first made this tea.

Estimate of the quantity of tea made in China in a year,
taken 1-17 56.

Singlo - - 50,000 peculs,

Hyson - - 4,000

Lock-ann, small baskets 20,000 not exported, Bohea sort,
Mo-i-shan = - 2,000 not exported.

Bing-tea - - 2,000

Phow-ge tea - 2,000 lumps, Bohea sort,

Bohea, including Congo,
Peko, and Souchong 120,000 to 130,000
Ankoy, Bohea, and Green

sorts - - 50,000
Openg - - 15,000
Ing-aan - - 400 Bohea sort,
Cow-low, made either in
Bohea or Singlo - 2,000
Loot-sien - 9,000 true sort,
279,400

R4 Loot-sien,

264 Account of the Hindu Method

Loot-sien, true sort, is what really grows in the Loot-
sien country. Some tea is planted near Loot-sien that
passes for that tea, and that is the case in all the countries.

Besides the teas before enumerated, many other teas are
planted, as in the Honan country, &c. the quantities they
produce cannot be easily ascertained; but upon the whole,
it is reckoned, that in ten parts, not above three are ex-
ported.

In one hundred Chinese, it is reckoned forty only can
afford to drink tea; the others drink water only. Many,
when they have boiled their rice, put water into the tatche
in which the rice was boiled, to which some grains always
adhere; the water loosens them, and is browned by the
rice: that water they drink instead of tea,

The tea sent into Tartary is mostly green, perhaps in the
proportion of seven to two. .

Old bohea is reckoned good by the Chinese; in a fever

- they use it to cause perspiration, and put into it a black or
coarse sugar, with a little ginger.

Old hyson, one or two cups made strong, removes ob-
structions in the stomach, caused by over-eating or indi-
gestion. It is to be used if a weight is felt some hours after
eating, and it will remoye it.

XLIX. An Account of the Hindu Method of cultivating
the Sugar Cane, and manufacturing the Sugar and Jagary
in the Rajahmundry District ; interspersed with such Re-
marks as tend to point out the great Benefit that might be

*, expected from increasing this Branch of Agriculture, and

improving the Quality of the Sugar; also the Process ob-

served by the Natives of the Ganjam District. By Dr.

WILLIAM RoxpurGH*.

No pursuit is more pleasing to the benevolent mind than
such ag tendg to add a new source of happiness to men.
Amongst the natives of India, the transitions from one
stage of improvement to another are so exceedingly slow,
as scarcely to deserve the name, except it be the few who
have benefited by the example of Europeans: they naturally
possess a strong disinclination at departing from the beaten
path established from time immemorial: however, when
they see a certain prospect of gain, with little additional

* From the Asiatic Annual Register for 1802.
trouble,

|
|

of cultivating the Sugar Cane. 265

trouble, they have frequently been known to adopt our

_ practices. We ourselves ought more generally to keep in

ipa’ ao :
view, and to instil into their minds, this maxim, that every

new proposition, merely on account of its novelty, must
not be rejected, otherwise our knowledge would no longer
be progressive, and every kind of improvement must cease.

At a period like the present, when the importation of
East India sugar has become so much an object of import-
ance to Great Britain, in consequence of the present state of
some of the best of the West India sugar islands, every in-
quiry that may tend to open new sources from whence that
wholesome commodity can be procured at the cheapest rate,
is of national importance.

I believe there are few districts in the company’s exten-
sive possessions where there will not be found large tracts
of land fit for the culture of sugar cane; but I know, from
experience, the introduction of a new branch of agriculture
amongst the natives to be attended with infinite trouble;
therefore where we find a province or district in which the
culture of the cane and making of sugar have been in prac-
tice from time immemorial, there we may expect, without

_ much exertion, to be able to increase the culture, and im-

prove, if necessary, the quality.

In the northern provinces, as well as in Bengal, Cadapahy
&c. large quantities of sugar and jagary are made; it is
only in the Rajahmundry and Ganjaim districts of these
northern provinces where the cane is cultivated for making
sugars. J will confine my observations to the first, where
I have resided between ten and eleven years.

This branch of agriculture, in the above-mentioned sircar,
is chiefly carried on in the Peddapore and Pettapore, along
the banks of the Elyseram river, which, though small, has
a constant flow of water in it the whole year round, suffi-
ciently large, not only to water the sugar plantations during
the drycst seasons, but also a great variety of other produc-
tions, such as paddy, ginger, turmerick, yams, chillies, &e.
This stream of water, during the dryest season, renders the
Jands adjoining to this river of more value, I presume, than
almost any other in India, and particularly fit tor the growth
of sugar cane,

By the bye, permit me to observe, that of all the parts of
India that I have seen, this seems the best suited tor the

_eulture of the mulberry and rearing silk-worms, as well on
4 . * « P ~~ ~
account of the cheapness of labour, and the general abun-

dance of provisions for the natives, as for the soil, climate,
and situation.

But

266 Account of the Hindu Method

But to return to the culture of sugar: in these two ze-
mindaries from 350 to 700 vissums, or from 700 to 1400
acres of land (the vissum being two acres) is annually em-
ployed for the rearing sugar cane, more or less, according
to the demand for the sugar; for they could and would
with pleasure, if they were certain of a market, grow and
manufacture more than ten times the usual quantity; for
it is very profitable, and there is abundance of very proper
land: all they want is a certain market for their sugar.

Besides the above-mentioned, a third more may be made
on the Delta of the Godavary.

From the same spot they do not attempt to rear a second
crop oftener than every third or fourth year; the cane im-
poverishes it so much, that it must rest, or be employed
during the two or three intermediate years for the growth
of such plants as are found to improve the soil, of which
the Indian farmer is a perfect judge: they find the legumi-
- nous tribe the best for that purpose. ) :

The method of cultivating the cane and manufacturing
the sugar by the natives hereabouts is, like all other works,
exceedingly simple; the whole apparatus, a few pairs of
buffaloes or bullocks excepted, does not amount to more
than a few (15 or 20) pagodas ; as many thousand pounds
.4s generally, I believe, necessary to set out the West India
planter. — :

The soil that suits the cane best in this climate, is a rich
vegetable earth, which, on exposure to the air, readily
crumbles down into a very fine mould: it is also necessary
for it to be of such a level as allows of its being watered
from the river by simply damming it up, (which almost the
whole of the land adjoining to this river admits of,) and yet
so high as to be easily drained during heavy rains. Such
a soil, and_in such a situation, having been well melio+
rated by various crops of leguminous plants, or fallowing,
for two or three years, is slightly manured, or has had for
some time cattle pent in it: a favourite manure for the
cane with the Hindu farmer, is the rotten straw of green
and black pessaloo (phaseolus nungo max). During the
months of Apri] and May, it is repeatedly ploughed with
the common Hindu plough, which soon brings this loose—
rich soil into very excellent order. About the end of May
and beginning of June the rains generally set in, in frequent
-heavy showers: now is the time to plant the cane: but
should the rains hold back, the prepared ficld is watered,
flooded from the river, and while perfectly wet, like soft
miud, whether from rain or the river, the cane is planted.

}

The

of cultivating the Sugar Cane. 267

The method is most simple :—Labourers, with baskets of
the cuttings, of one or two joints each, arrange themselves
along one side of the field; they walk side by side, in as
straight a line as their eye and Aba See enable them,.
dropping the sets at the distance of about eighteen inches
asunder in the rows, and about four feet row from row:
other Jabourers follow, and with the foot press the set about
two inches into the soft mud-like soil, which, with a sweep
or two with the sole of the foot, they most easily and readily
cover: nothing more isdone. If the weather is moderately
showery, till the young shoots are some two or three inches
high, the earth is then loosened, for a few inches round
them, with a small weeding iron, something like a carpen-
ter’s chisel: should the season prove dry, the field is occa-.
sionally watered from the river, continuing to weed, and to
keep the ground loose round the stools. In August, two
or three months from the time of planting, small trenches
are cut through the field at short distances, and so contrived
as to serve to drain off the water, should the season prove
too wet for the canes; which is often the case, and would
render their juices weak and unprofitable : the farmer there-
fore never fails to have his field plentifully and judiciously
intersected with drains, while the cane is small, and before
the usual time for the violent rains. Should the season
prove too dry, these trenches serve to conduct the water
from the river the more readily through the field, and also.
to drain off what does not soak into the earth in the course
of a few hours ; for they say, if water is permitted to remain
in the field for a greater Jength of time, the cane would suffer

by it, so that they reckon these drains indispensably neces-

sary; and upon their being well contrived depend, in a
great measure, their future hopes of profit. Immediately
after the field is trenched, the canes are all propped: this is
an operation I do not remember to have seen mentioned
by any writer on this subject, and is probably peculiar to
these parts. It is done as follows:

The canes are now about three feet high, and generally
from three to six from each set that has taken root, and
form what we may call the stool; the lower leaves of each
eane are first carefully wrapped up round it, so as to cover
it completely in every part; a small strong bamboo (or two),
eight or ten feet long, is then stuck into the earth, in the
middle of each stool, and the canes thereof tied to it; this
secures them in an erect position, and gives the air free ac~
cess round every part. As the canes advance in size, they
continue wrapping them round with the lower leaves, as

they

268 | Account of the Hindu Méthod

they begin to wither, and to tie them to the prop bamboos
higher up, during which time, if the weather is wet, they
keep the drains open ; and if a drought prevails they water
them occasionally from the river, cleaning and loosening
the ground every five or six weeks. Tying the leaves so
carefully round every part of the canes, they say, prevents
them from cracking or splitting by the heat of the sun,
helps to render the juice richer, and prevents their branch-
ing out round the sides: it is certain you never see a branchy
cane here.

In January and February the canes are ready to cut,
which is about nine months from the time of planting ; of
course, I need not describe it. Their height, when stand-
ing in the field, will now be from eight to ten feet (foliage
included), and the naked cane from an inch to an inch and
a quarter in diameter.

A mill or two, or even more, according to the extent of
the field, is erected, when wanted, in the open air, gene-
rally under the shade of large miangoe trees, of which there
are great abundance hereabout: the mill is small, exceed-
ingly simple, aud at the same time efficacious. The juice,
as fast as expressed, Js received in common earthen pots,
strained, and put into boilers, which are, in general, of an
oval form, composed of ill-made thick plates of country
iron riveted together.

These boilers hold from 80 to 100 gallons ; in each they
put from 24 to 30 gallons of: the strained juice; the boiler
is placed over a draft-furnace, which makes the fire burn
with great violence, being supplied with a strong draft of
air through a large subterranean passage, which also serves
for an ash-hole. At first the fire is moderate, but as the
scum is taken off, a point they are not very nice about in
these parts, as they Jook up to quantity more than quality,
the fire is by degrees increased, so as to make the liquor
boil very smartly: nothing whatever is added to help the
scum to rise, or the sugar to gain, except when the planter
wants a small quantity for his own or a friend’s use: in
this case they add about 10 or 12 pints of sweet milk to
every 24 or 30-gallons, or boiler of juice, which no doubt
improves the quality of the sugar; the scum, with this ad-
dition, comes up more abundantly, and is more carefully
removed,

The liquor is never here removed into a second boiler,
but is in the same boiled down to a proper consistence,
which they guess at by the eye and by the touch; the fire
js then withdrawn, and in the same vessel suffered a eh

a little

of cultivating the Sugar Cane. 269

a little: when it becomes pretty thick they stir it about
_with stirring-sticks for some time, till it begins to take the
form of sugar; it is then taken out and put on mats made
of the leaves of the palmira tree (borassus flabelliformis),
where the stirring is continued till it is cold: it is then put
up in pots, baskets, &c, tilla merchant appears to buy it.

The Hindu name of this sugar is pansadarry; its colour
is often fairer than most of the raw sugars made in our
West India islands, but it is of a clammy, unctuous nature,
absorbing much moisture during wet weather, sometimes
sufficient to melt a great deal of it, if not carefully stowed
in some very dry place where smoke has access to It.

Many of the planters prefer that sort of sugar which they
eall bellum, and Europeans jagary, because it keeps well
during the wet weather if kept from the wet. It generally
bears a lower price; yet they say this disadvantage is often
overbalanced by their being able to keep it, with only a
trifling wastage, till a market offers, particularly when the
planter has not an immediate market for his sugar; besides,
canes of inferior quality answer for jagary when unfit for
sugar.

The process observed for making jagary differs from the
above described, in having a quantity of quicklime thrown
into the boiler with the cane juice; about a spoonful and a
half to every six or seven callie of juice, or nine or ten
spoonfuls in the boiler. Here they do not remove the
scum, but let it mix with the liquor, and, when of a proper
consistence, about four or five ounces of Gingeley oil (oil
of the seeds of sesamum orientale,) are added to each boiler
of liquor, now ready to be removed from the fire, and ver
well mixed with it: it is then poured into shallow pits dug
in the ground ; they are generally about three feet long, one
and a half broad, and three inches deep, with a mat laid
at the bottom, which is slightly strewed with quicklime ;
in a short time the iiquor incorporates into a firm solid
mass; these large cakes they wrap up in dry leaves, and
put by for sale.

Their jagary is of a darker colour than their sugar, and
contains more impurities, owing to the careless manner in
which they prepare it, by allowing all the scum to reunite
with the liquor.

The half vissum, or one acre of sugar cane, in a tolerable
season, yields about ten candy of the above-mentioned
Sugar, or rather more if made into jagary: each candy
weighs about 5001b., and is worth on the:spot, trom 16 to

24 rupees, according to the demand. . In the West Indies,

the

270 Account of the Hindu Method

the acre (so far as my information goes, and it is chiefly
from Mr. Beckford’s History of Jamaica,) yields from 14
to 20 cwt. of their raw sugar, worth on the island about
201, currency: here the produce is more than double, but,
on account of its inferior quality, and the low price it bears
on the spot, the produce does not yield a great deal more
money than in the West Indies: however, as here labour
is incomparably cheaper, the Indian planter must make
much larger profits.

The situation of all the sugar lands hereabout is exactly
alike, being the middle of an extensive plain, adjoining to

the aforementioned river; the soil in all is also much alike,
so that the produce is nearly equal in all, when no unfa-
vourable circumstances happen: this is further proved by
the quantity of sugar a measure of juice will yield: here it
is almost always, except ina very rainy season, or in laid
down or wormy canes, about one-sixth part; that is, every
six pounds, or three quarts of juice, yield one pound of
sugar. In Jamaica, Mr. Beckford says, that, on an ave-
rage, 1800 gallons of juice may be reckoned to yield an
hogshead of sugar, weight 16 cwt., which is, within a trifle,
one of suyar from eight of juice: this proves our juice to be
one-fourth part richer than theirs. From the above calcu-
Jations it is evident that our lands hereabout are better
adapted for this species of culture than the Jands in Jamaica :
for here they not only yield a larger crop of canes, but the
juice thereof is also richer ; and were our planters here to
bring the molasses, &c. inte account, employed in‘ the
West Indies for the distillation of rum, their profits would
be still greater; for at present such refuse they give to their
cattle, or let their labourers carry away, or use as they
think proper; and, by being so employed, I have no doubt
but it 1s productive of more real good than if converted into
ardent spirits: let it continue to be so employed, is my sin-
cere wish; for the longer they are ignorant how to convert
whats at present wholesome into a poison, the better it is
for them; they have already too many ways of furnishing
themselves with spirits, particularly near the residence of
Europeans,

Here the canes, while growing, seem also subject to
fewer accidents than in the West Indies. I will mention
them briefly.

ist. A very wet season Is the worst; it injures the canes
greatly, rendering them of a’reddish colour, yielding a poot
unprofitable juice: here they reckon the small heavy pale
yellow canes the best.

2d. Storms,

of cultivating the Sugar Cane. $7i

- 2d. Storms, unless they are very violent, do no great
harm, because the canes are propped; however, if they are
once laid down, which sometimes happens, they become
branchy and thin, yielding a poor watery juice.

3d. The worm is another evil, which generally visits them

every few years. A beetle deposits its eggs in the young

cane; the caterpillars of these remain in the cane, living on
its medullary parts, till they are ready to be metamorphosed
into the chrysalis state. Sometimes this evil is so great as

to injure a sixth or an eighth part of the field: but, what

is worse, the disease is commonly general when it happens,
few fields escaping.

4th. The flowering is the last accident they reckon upon,
although it scarcely deserves the name; for it rarely hap-
pens, and never but to a very small proportion of some very
few fields: those canes that flower have very little juice
left, and it is by no means so sweet as that of the rest.

Say the average quantity of land employed for the growth
of sugar canes in these parts, the zemindaries of Peddapore
aud Pettapore, independent of what is made on or about
the islands formed by the mouths of the Godavary, is 550
vissums, equal to 110 acres, and to produce at tie rate of
10 candy, or about 44 cwt., equal to 24 hogsheads per
acre: the whole produce in hogsheads will annually be
27,500 of 18 cwt. each, which is fully one-fourth part of
sugar produced in the island of Jamaica; and I know well,
that the quantity might, with advantage to government, FE
was going to say,—but that must be left to be determined
hereatter,—I will therefore say, with advantage to the ze-
mindar, farmer, and labourer, be increased to any extent.
All the security the planter wants, is a strict adherence to
the agreement he makes with the zemindar for the land,
and a certain market for his sugar, at even the lowest price
stated. { observe that the farmer would require to have the
agreement he makes for the rent of the land strictly adhered
to, because the zemindar raises his demand if the crop is-

ood; so that he will often, in a favourable season, make
armers of all denominations pay probably a fourth more
than the original agreement. Such injustice they are
obliged to put up with, as custom has rendered it common,
and they have no idea of applying for redress ; yet it na
doubt damps the spirit of dustry, and prevents the soil
from any further improvement than the bountiful hand of
Nature has bestowed on it, which, in these parts, is great
indeed.

The planters in these parts very rarely také a second, or

what

272 Account of the Hindu Method

what they call carsy crop, from the same field; they say he
is either a very poor or a very Jazy farmer that does, be-
cause those canes yield Jess juice, and of an inferior quality,
than plant canes: however, poverty obliges some to do so.
This carsy crop is cut and manufactured in November,
which is a busy season in the paddy fields, &c. as this. is
the time for reaping the coarse or early paddy and natcheny,
and for sowing various sorts of smallgrain, consequently
attending to the sugar works at that time of the year is in-
convenient : besides, the rains are frequent during this
month, which is another very great drawback attending
this crop. The grand sugar crop fortunately happens during
that time of the year (February, March, and April) when
there is scarce any other sort of work in the field : conse-
quently both humanity and policy plead in favour of an ex-
tended scaie to this, or such other branches of agriculture
as employ the labourers at a season when there is little or
nothing else to do. :

{ could never learn that any one had ever depended on a
third crop from the same field; for they say, if the second
is so much inferior to the first, a third must be still worse ;
here bands are, or rather were, so numerous, and labour
so cheap, that they find it much more profitable to plant
every year.

In the Ganjam district, about Aska and Barampore, the
natives make most excellent sugar and sugar-candy, but in
small quantities. The sugar is in loaves, of a large grain,
and often as perfectly white as what is called in England
single refined sugar, and the sugar-candy is superior to any
thing of the kind I ever saw.

Mr. Alex. Anderson, surgeon of the Madras establish-

“ment, when with the committee of circuit up there, was
so obliging as to send me avery particular account of the
method they follow in manufacturing their sugar and sugar-
candy, of which the following is a copy :

Extract of a Letter from Alexander Anderson, Esq. Sur-
geon of the Madras Establishment.

Method of preparing the Sugar in the Ganjam District.

«© After the cane is ready, it is cut in pieces of a foot or
eighteen inches long, and on the same day it is cut, these
pieces are put into a wooden mill, which is turned round by
bullocks; on one side of the mill is a small hole sufficient
to let the juice pass through, which is received in an
earthen pot placed for the purpose. The juice is then

strained

of cultivating the Sugar Cane. 273

strained into other pots, containing about 24 quarts, and
to each pot of juice is added about three ounces of quick-
lime. It is then boiled for a considerable time, till, on
taking out a little, and rubbing it between the fingers, it
has a waxy feel, when it is taken off the fire, and put into
smaller pots with mouths six inches in diameter. The mass

_may now be kept in this state for six or eight months or

miore, and it is necessary at any rate to do so for a month
or six weeks. Wen the process is intended to be conti-
nued, a small hole ismade in the bottom, through which .
the syrup drains off. It is then taken out of these pots and
put into shallow bamboo baskets, that any remaining syrup
may exude ; after which it is put in a cloth, and the syrup
is squeezed through the cloth, adding a little water to it
occasionally, that it may be more perfectly removed ; the
sugar is then dissolved in water, and boiled a second time
in wide-mouthed pots, containing only three seers, with
not too fierce a fire, adding from time to time a little milk
‘and water, and stirring it frequently; which is used by these
people to clarify it, instead of eggs, which their religion
forbids them to touch. The scum is removed as itis thrown
up, and when it resumes the waxy feel on rubbing a little
of it between the fingers, the process is finished, and the
sugar put into small ‘wide-mouthed pots to cool and cry-
stallize ; after which a small hole is bored for the purpose
of draining off any little quantity of syrup that may still
exude. The outside of the pots are now covered with cow-
dung, and, for the purpose of making the sugar white, or
manoring any syrup or blackish appearance, the creeping
vine, called in the Hindu panicha-dub, and in Telingas
necty-nas, growing in tanks and marshy places. It is put
on the top of the sugar in the pots, and renewed every day.
for five or six days: should the sugar, on taking it out of
the pots, be blackish, .or less pure towards the bottom of
the loaf, being set upon this plant and renewed daily, will
effectually remove that appearance. If it is wrapped ina
wet cloth, and renewed twice a day, the sugar will also be-
come white; it must be then thoroughly dried, and kept
for use.

«* To make sugar-candy,: the sugar must be again dis-
solved in water, and boiled in the same manner as before,
adding milk to it, insmall quantities ; the proportion three
seer of sugar and half a seer of milk, with water to dissolve

the sugar. It is then put into other wide-mouthed pots,

with but three seer in each pot, putting thin slices of
- Vol, 21. No. 83. April 1805. S$ bamboo,

274 Hindu Method of cultivating the Sugar Cané.

bamboo, or some dried date leaves, which prevents the
sugar, as it candies, from running into large lumps.

“© Here we see a very superior sugar, and sugar-candy
of the first quality, manufactured in a simple but tedious
‘manner, and at a most trifling expense ; 3 a few earthen pots
are the only vessels or boilers they require: but it is not to
be imagined that such would succeed if the work was ear-
ried on to any great extent. The iron boilers employed
hereabout might be laid aside for those of copper, or of cast
iron, from Europe, or not, as they like themselves, for it
seems of no great consequence: but by having a greater
number of them to- pass through and be well clarified in,
would render unnecessary the second process mentioned by
Dr. Anderson, which, on account of its tediousness, must
become very inconvenient ; consequently, all that seems, to
be wanted to render the sugars made thereabouts fit for any
market, isa boiler, or two or three more in each set, with
wooden coolers, instead of losing time to let it cool in the’
boiler, as is the practice here at’ present, the addition of
some quicklime, and probably alum, to the cane juice, and
the subsequent claying of it in conical pots, as is done in
the West Indies; for which process the natives of the
Ganjam district substitute moist conserya for covering the
sugar in the pots with, and wrapping the loaves, when
not sufficiently white, in wet cloths, to extract the
molasses.

‘* The rate of freight from India to England being so very
high, renders it the more necessary to make the sugars for.
that market of a good quality, w hich can be done here at
infinite Jess expense than in the West India islands, where
pan | is so exceedingly high.

‘ If the sugar cane can be cultivated with so much ease,
ea to such perfection, in this climate (which is consider-
ably hotter than the West Indies), by simply burying the set
about two inches in the level ploughed field, by which prac-
tice the superficial or horizontal roots nrust ‘be near the sur-
face, of course subject to great heats; I say, if this practice
succeeds so well here, it may be presumed it would succeed
equally well, if not better, in the West Indies, where the
heats are never so great, of course the superficial roots of the
cane less subject to be scorched.

°° The present practice of digging large square holes to.
put the sets in, is, I am told, exceedingly laborious, and
does not stand the planter in less than lol. per acre, which is
nearly double the whole expense of cultivating, from a to

. ast,

Particulars of the Sinking, 8c. of William-Pit. 975

last, an acre of canes, and manufacturing the sugar, in this
district. Should the British legislature deem it proper to
emancipate the slaves on those islands, the planter there
may then be obliged to cultivate and plant his lands in the
manner practised here, or as potatoes are planted with the
plough in the fields in England ; and there is scarce a doubt
but that they would in either way succeed fully as well as
by planting in holes.

_ * Should political motives prevent the importation of
East India sugars into England, it is even then of infinite
importance to the Company’s territories to have the qualities
of their sugars improved, so as to render unnecessary the
importation of those of China and Batavia, large sums
being annually thrown into those places for this commodity ;
while we, at the same time, possess every advantage for
making this necessary article of the best quality, to the full
in as high a degree as either the Chinese or Dutch : besides
our OWN wants, we have every reason to imagine, that we
might soon be able to supply the Malabar coast, Persia,
and Arabia, with Sugars ; whereas, at present, they are
chiefly supplied from China and Batavia.”

L. A brief Statement of some Particulars relative to the
Sinking, €8c. of William-Pit, near the Sea-shore, at
Bransty, Whitehaven, the Property of Lord Viscount
LowrHerR. — \

Ox Saturday the 23d of March, they got the main band
seam of coal, about 11 feet thick (on the same day, coals
were shipped at the North Wall) of very excellent quality,
and at about 92 fathoms from the surface to ihe bottom of
it. The coal lies immediately. under an excellent reef of
very hard white post, or freestone ; containing little water. -
A considerable quantity of hydrogen gas (gencrally termed
inflammable air) issues from it: but, from an excellent
ventilation of atmospheric air, from the surface, improved
by the rarefaction of a large fire or lamp, the inflammable
matter is happily carricd off.
In sinking through different posts of this freestone,
several very strong seeds of such gas vented through the
‘joints of the stone, which, when lighted by a candle, burnt
yery violently, and exploded to a arge flame of fire; and
would have continued so, if suffered. In pricking one of
these seeds, the noise resembled that of 4 great waterfall ;
? 2 and

276 Particulars of the Sinking, Bec. of William-Pit.

and the strength of the inflammable air made the water fly
up the pit for several yards.

This pit commands a most extensive field of coal, in
three different workable seams (see following thicknesses).
and when opened out, even by a consumption, from this

it alone, of a thousand waggons per week (a quantity that
1s capable of being far exceeded), will last for a great
number of years; almost incalculable; a circumstance of
the greatest consequence to the possessor and the public in
general.

The diameter of the pit is 15 feet; hollow, and formed
into three divisions ; two for drawing coals at the same in-
stant of time, and one for pumping water.

The regular sinking of this pit was only begun in May
last; and, in 46 weeks, it has been sunk 92 fathoms,
although eight weeks of that time were occupied in walling
the pit sides with freestone and other casual things ; so that
only 38 weeks were employed regularly in sinking for the
above distance; besides passing through from 20 to 30
fathoms of white post, and other metals almost equally hard.

The same sinkers, 20 in number (except one or two),
have begun and ended the undertaking. The regularity,
sobriety, and good order, that have throughout prevailed
amongst them (so highly creditable to themselves) are un-
precedented in this quarter; for every man has uniformly
been ready for his work, at the time appointed, viz. to be
6 hours on, in 24; divided into 4 sets.

In addition to liberal prices having been paid them for
their labour, as a further incitement to industry, four dif-
ferent premiums, of 161. 20]. 241. and 40]. were promised
them, for sinking given distances in given time; the three
last of which they have fully acquired, and received; and,
as a proof of their having used their best endeavours, Lord
Lowther has generously promised to pay the first also,
when the pit is down ; particularly as that fell short under
unfavourable circumstances; unusually hard metals, and
very heavy water intervening.

Before a stop crib and tight length could be got to collect
it, and keep it from the bottom, the water was equal to 60
gallons a minute; all of which was drawn to the surface
by tubs, and filled with pails by the sinkers. Yet, not-
withstanding the rapidity of the motion, from the first to
the last, scarcely the most trivial accident has been sustain-
ed by any of the people employed, The pit is clothed
with wood from the top to the bottom, and is, in every
part, as complete as it is possible to be made.

A very

Academy of Sciences at Berlin. 1 O77

A very extensive pumping engine is preparing for’ the
lowest seams, connecting with the other extensive col-
lieries, being the lowest level of all the collieries belonging
to Lord Lowther ; also machines for drawing the coals.

William-Pit is situtated about seven or eight hundred
yards from the ships, and a waggon-road is preparing,
which in several places is raising above the old surtace 12
or 14 feet, in order to keep on the level line of the North
Wall, or shipping place. When completed, one horse
will convey two or three waggons at the same time; and,
in addition to the convenience, will form a very handsome
ornament.

Tn putting down this pit, the sinkers have filled into
tubs, which have been drawn to the furnace by two gin-
wheels‘and horses,

555803 tubs of metal at 40 gallons each,

121,432 tubs of water at 60 ditto ditto,
exclusive of such water as hath been drawn from the tight
tub, by engines and other means.

Depth of the most workable Seams.
ft.in.
At about 72 fathoms, the Bannock-band Seam 7 8 thick.
92 do. Main-band Seam . . . . 110
Purposed to be continued down to 137 do. Low
st Maat a al that ais MAG ah Sah hae Me a ABT
The vessel which took in the first coals from William-
Pit is called the Lady Mount Stewart, Hugh Fergusson
master, belonging to Bangor, in Belfast Lough, Ireland.
The weather was very fine; numbers of people were
assembled upon and near the North Wall; and this first

shipment of coals, from William-Pit, was announced by
a discharge of cannon.

LI. Proceedings of Learned Societies.
/
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AT BERLIN.

«ve following papers were read in this Society in the
course of the half-year, beginning-in July and ending De-
cember, 1804.

July 5th, Examination of some essential points in regard
to aqueous solutions, together with observations on the
same subject. By protessor Bernoulli.

12th, Heieniches in regard to the principle of the beauti-
ful, and its application to music. By the director Casullon.

igth, Gencral considerations on the gharacter of the
$3 English

O78) oy Academy of Sciences at Berlin.

English and the French Jiterature during the reign of Louis
XIV. By professor Ancillon junior.

26th, On the atmosphere, and its influence on the organism
and diseases of the human body. By Hufeland.

Aug. 2d, Account of some late astronomical discoveries
and inenvatiGiies with intelligence from his own astrono-
mical correspondence, and observations made at the obser-
vatory ny 1803. By professor Bode.

gth, A public sitting. Discourse on the occasion by the
director Merian. Ad Borussiam de regis die natali. Ode
by professor Spalding. On the real and apparent course of
the two new planets Ceres and Pallas, and their connection
with each other, illustrated by drawings and a model, by
professor Bode. Historical memoir on the town and castle
of Copenick, by Erman. On the induence of the atmo-
sphere and local situation on the life, health, and physical
character of the inhabitants. By Huteland.

Sept. 13th, Reflections on determinism and its two ex-
tremes. By Ancillon.

20th, Memoir on the Roman highways in the Alps, to
serve as a supplement to the Essay of a History of the Alps,
in three volumes, 1790 and 1791. By the abbé Denina.

27th, On an improved corstruction of the percussion
machine. By professor Fischer.

Oct. 4th, On the resistance of the air, first memoir. By
professor Burja.

J1th, On the influence of the physical part of man on the
intellect, and of the latter on the former. By Klein.

1sth, Examination of the question, Are there triphthongs
in the French | lanouage ? By Bastide.

25th, Short account of a curious experiment lately made
in France to enflame a sponge by compression of the air.
By professor Fischer.

“Nov. Ist, Observations on philosophical unbelief, second
part. By Nicolai.

13th, Observations on some points of the Grecian chro-
nology. By Trembley.

ged, First, Chemical examination of topases; 2d, Ex-
amination of some fossil elephant’s teeth by fluorie acid.
By Klaproth.

29th, On some points which occur in trigonometrical
measurement. By Tralles. —

Dec. 6th, On philosophical unbelief, third part. By
Nicolai. /

13th, On the temple of Solomon. By Hirt.

20th, On the effects of galyanism. By Hufeland.

SOCIETY

Muriate of Soda. 279

SOCIETY OF THE FRIENDS OF THE SCIENCES AT WARSAW.

This society has charged two of its members, Messrs.
Carteau and Stacio, to undertake a mineralogical tour to the
Carpathian mountains. Another member of the same
society has already explored the eastern part of these moun-
tains, in order to collect observations in mineralogy, ge-
ology, and oryctognosy. He is now engaged in a like
tour through the mountains of Interior Austria, from which
he will proceed to Upper Italy and the Swiss Alps. On _
his return he will go on a similar tour to the Caucasian
mountains.

FRENCH NATIONAL INSTITUTE. ~*~

The medal founded by M. de Lalande for the best work
on astronomy, was adjudged by the Institute, in the sitting
of the 15th, to M. Harding, who discovered a new planet
at Lilienthal, near Bremen, on the 5th of Sept. last. This
able astronomer has been invited to Gottingen to take the
direction of the observatory become celebrated by the ob-
servations of Tobias Mayer.

———___4

LIT. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles.

PRODUCTION OF MURIATE OF SODA BY THE GALVANIC
DECOMPOSITION OF WATER.

ga philosophical readers will agree with us in opinion,
that the following interesting communication promises to
lead to most important consequences :

To Mr. Tilloch.
R\STR: Cambridge, April 23, 1805.

“ T take this opportunity of laying before the public,
through the medium of your Magazine, if you think it
worthy a place in that work, the following experiment:

© T took about a pint of distilled water, and decomposed
one half of it by means of galvanism ; the other half I
evaporated, and [ found to remain at the bottom of the glass
a small quantity of salt, which upon examination proved
to be muriate of soda, or common salt.—What induced me
to try the experiment was this: I knew that when water
was decomposed by means of galvanism, the water near one
of the wires had alkaline, while that near the other had
acid properties, This being the case, I inferred, that if an
alkali and an acid were really produced, I should by decom-
posing a large quantity of water obtain a small quantity of

$4 some

280 Voyages and Travels.

some kind of neutral salt—as was actually the case on trying
the experiment. The salt could not have been contained
in the water before I made the experiment, because I used
every precaution to have it free from impurities. I even
took the trouble to repeat the experiment, though a tedious
one, and I again obtained the same result.

«* Should you think the above worthy of being laid be-
fore the public, J shall send you some more experiments
which I am now trying on galvanism, together with some
remarks on this; and which, I hope, will throw some
light upon the subject. In the mean time I remain

*‘ Yours, &c. &c.
6° 'W. PEEL.”

«* P.S. A friend of mine just informs me that he has
tried my experiment, and has succeeded in procuring the
salt *,”

VOYAGES AND TRAVELS.

Thomas Jefferson, Esq. President of the United States
of America, writes to M. Faujas-Saint-Fond as follows :

*¢ A journey undertaken for the purpose of making dis-
coveries in this country, will probably procure us some new
information in regard to the megalonix and other animals,
either lost or now existing. The immediate object of it is
to explore the river Missouri as far as its source; then to
visit the nearest river situated to the west, and to descend
thence to the Pacific Ocean; to give at the same time an
exact geography of that interesting channel of communica~-
tion across our continent. The labours and dangers of this
journey ; the strength of body and mind it requires ; the
knowledge of the manners of the savages, and the address
to manage them, which are necessary, exclude from this
enterprise men who have not applied to the sciences, and
whose habits are not suited to a kind of life so active and

* We shall be glad to receive from Mr. Peel the communications
which he has encouraged us to hope fur. His interesting experiments
may, perhaps, lead to some knowledge of the composition of soda, and
the base of muriatic acid, discoveries which could nor fail to prove
highly useful. We would suggest to Mr. Peel. that he may perhaps
add to the interest of his investigation if he woud take the trouble also
to compose from its elements, hydrogen and oxygen, the water to be
made use of in one of his experiments. In this case, from the difficulty
of hitting exactly the due proportion of the two gases, it is probable the
water so obtained would prove acidulous (we have never seen’ it other-
wise in this experiment): if so, it might be advisable to neutralise,
with great care, the free acid, employing, for this purpose some other
alkali than soda, or some simple earth; after which the water should be
distilled from the neutral salt. —Eprr,

perilous.

Voyages and Travels. 281

perilous. Captain Lewis, to whom I have intrusted it,
possesses all the knowledge in anatomy requiste to fulfil
that part; and though he is not absolutely a regular bo-
ianist, zoologist or mineralogist, he has observed so exactly
the natural productions of this country, that he will not
lose his time in noting down things’ with which we are
already acquainted. He will attend to those only which
are new in that part of the world. In particular, he will
give us an account of its animals. ‘This expedition, con-
sisting of about twelve persons, will probably return about
the end of 1805.

“ T hope to be able next summer to send other travellers
towards the principal branches of the Missisipi and the
Missouri, the Red River to Arcansa, Padoruas, and the
river Missisipi itself. The objects of these expeditions will
be the same as those of that intrusted to Captain Lewis.
They will require the same space of time, that is to say,
two years. Several of these rivers extend 1000 or 1200
miles inland, reckoning from their sources, and into regions
which have never been visited by white men. It would
give me great pleasure if these travels should procure us
materials tor enlarging the boundaries of our knowledge,
and give to our elder brethren in science a tribute of
our gratitude for the information they have communicated
to us.

Dr. Goldfuss, of Erlangen, will set out in the course of
the present spring, on his travels in Africa; the expenses
of which will be defrayed by the King of Prussia. He will
remain a year at the Cape, and in the two following years
will endeavour to penetrate as far as possibfe into the
country, both on the eastern and western coast.

The Russian ships now on a voyage of discovery, of which
some account has already been given in the Philosophical
Magazine, have sailed from Kamtckatka in order to pro-
ceed to Japan.

An embassy is about to be sent by the Russian govern-
ment to China. The choice of the persons who are to com-
pose it is completed. Among those who are to accompany
Count Golofkin in this mission are Schubert, the astrono-
mer ; General Suchtelen, as historiographer ; and Ruttoftsky,
as botanist and landscape painter. Mr. Schubert’s son, an
‘officer of engineers, forms also a part of the ambassador’s
suite. Great advantages, both in a commercial and _scien-
tific point of view, are expected from this embassy.

ANTIQUITIES.

282 Antiquities—Botany, Geology, &c.

ANTIQUITIES.

Last year some workmen, by command of the Neapoli-
tan government, and particularly at the desire of the secre-
tary “Seratti, began to clear away the rubbish around the
antient temple of Pastum. In the course of this year the
digging will be completed, and a description of all the re-
mains of antiquity which have been discovered will be pub-
lished. The well-known antique vase of Parian marble,
the raised work of which represents Bacchus in his infantine
state delivered by Mercury to a nymph to be educated, one,
of the most beautiful pieces of this kind, the work of
Salpion the Athenian, which formerly served as a baptismal
font in the cathedral of Gaetta, has been conveyed to the
king’s museum at Naples.

M. Petrini, who set on foot some researches at his own
expense in the neighbourhood of Ostia, has found a sitting
figure of the Tyber, which the Papal government has pur-
chased from him for 7000 sequins.

BOTANY, GEOLOGY, &c.

The collection of plants and library of the late professor
Wahl, of Copenhagen, will, in consequence of a resolu-
tion of his Danish Majesty, be given to the botanical gar-
den. The most important manuscripts he has left behind
him aré a Systema Vegetalilium, in which all the plants
known to him are described in systematic order, with
their distrnguishing characters; the third part of his work
Ecloge Americane, ready for the press, and of which the
plates are engraven ; his lecturess on zoology ; the botanical
terms of art and different branches of botany ; also several
drawings and scattered observations on the Danish and
Norvegian zoology.

According to letters from M. Humboldt at Paris, to a
friend at Berlin, he is at present employed in the following
four works: A physical description of the equinoctial
regions ; a Flora of ‘the same; the astronomical observa-
tions and measurements made during his travels between
the tropics; and conjointly with Gay- Lussac, some treatises
on endiometry and the constitution of the atmosphere.
The last, it is probable, will appear in French, the rest
in German. He will soon undertake a tour to Italy with
Gay-Lussac, and afterwards another to the most northern
point of Norway.

7 FORMATION

Formation of Water by Compression, &c. 283

FORMATION OF WATER BY COMPRESSION.

In the late sitting of the National Institute, M. Biot
read a paper on the formation of water by compression
alone. It is known that water is composed of two kinds
of gas, oxygen and hydrogen, which may be combined to-
_ gether by means of the electric spark. M. Biot has suc-
ceeded in making this combination, independent of elec-
tricity, and in rapidly compressing a mixture of the two
kinds of gas, inclosed in an air-pump. The compression,
by bringing the particles of gas into intimate union, makes
them throw out a quantity of heat sufficient to set them en
fire. Some precautions must be taken im repeating this
experiment, as it cannot be tried without danger. Out of
three experiments which M. Biot made, there were two in
which the tube of brass, which forms the pump, and the
pump itse'f, which was of iron, were burst by the foree of
the explosion.

GALVANIC EXPERIMENTS.

‘Giobert, in a letter to M. van Mons, says, “I am at
present employed on valvanic electricity. .I do not admit
the decomposition of water by the fluid of the pile. For, if
it be pretended that the fluid transmits hydrogen from the
ene tube to the other, why not admit also that it transmits
oxygen? And in this case, the gases come from the pile, and
are not formed at the extremity of the wire where they are
disengaged. In this case, the decomposition of waier is
effected in the pile, by means of the zinc ;_ and this cireum-
stance may be classed among the chemical phenomena best
known. It can be easily ascertained that the gases may cir-
culate along the wires of communication of the pile, by
impregnating the interposed pieces with pure ammonia,
and immersing the wires, and particularly thatot the nega-
tive pole, in a solution of alum, which will be immediately
precipitated by the ammonia, which will be conducted by
the wire. In some experiments, 1 caused even indigo to
circulate, by impregnating the pasteboard disks with a so-
lution of that substance in sulphuric acid.

_ I found that the fluid of the pile burns atmospheric air,
giving birth to the nitric acid. It burns also a mixture of
iydrogen gas and oxygen. I believe that it decomposes
carbonic acid. In some experiments, I saw that gas en-
tirely disappear. The gas detonates, but [ cannot yet de-
termine whether it be in consequence of the gascous oxide
of carbon which is formed,

VOLCANOES.

284 - Valeanoes,~ Ether by Fluoric Acid.

VOLCANOES.

Among the many curious facts which the celebrated
Humboldt collected in the course of his travels, one of the
most surprising is that which he lately communicated to
the National Institute. Several of the volcanoes in the
Andes throw up, from time to time, a muddy substance
mixed with large quantities of fresh water; and what de-
serves to be particularly remarked is, an astonishing number
of fish. The volcano of Imbaburn, near the town of Ibarra,
threw up ence such a quantity that the putrid effluvia pro-
ceeding from them produced diseases. This phenomenon,
however, is not singular. The most remarkable circum-
stance is, that the fish are not injured. Their bodies appear
to be very soft, but do not seem to have been exposed to a

reat heat. The Indians assert that fish still alive are found
at the bottom of the mountain. These animals are ejected
sometimes from the crater of the volcano and sometimes
from lateral apertures ; but they always come from the height
of from twelve to thirteen hundred toises above the level of»
the plains. Humbolit is of opinion that these fish are bred
in Jakes in the interior of the crater. As fish of the same
kind are found in the rivers and streams which flow at the
bottom of the mountain, this circumstance Is a strong con-
firmation of this opinion. They are the only animals in
the kingdom of Quito which live at the height of 1400
toises. This species are entirely new to naturalists. Hum-
boldt has assigned to them a place in the system, and calls
them Pimelodus Cyclopum ; that is, thrown up by the Cy-
clops, a denomination which refers to their origin. The
will be found in the first number of his Zoological Obser-
vations, which will soon appear.

ETHER BY FLUORIC ACID,

M. Gehler, in a letter to M. van Mons, says, “Since my
Jast on the formation of ether by fluoric acid, I have made
an experiment which gave me very singular results. I
subjected to distillation in a proper apparatus, 15 ounces of
fluoric spar brought to a red heat, and pulverised with a
mixture of 10 ounces of pure alcohol, and as much sul-
phuric acid, of 1°S60. [ distillel the whole to dryness. I
obtained a large quantity of gas, which by the smell might
have been taken for phospborated hydrogen gas, and which ,
burned with a blue flame, emitting some vapours of fluoric
acid. The distilled liquid was rectified, making only the
half to. pass over, and mixed with an equal volume of

water.

Astronomy .—Ayapana. 285

water. It did not become hot, remained perfectly clear,

and floated on the water, without decreasing sensibly in

quantity. It was consequently ether. As this liquid had
a very acid odour and taste, I added to it a diluted solution
of caustic soda, till the acid was saturated ; in consequence
of which, the ether, by the large quantity of silex which
was separated, formed itself into a consistent jelly. It is
singular, that the water did notdecompose this combination,
while it separated so easily the silex of the fluoric acid*,

The jelly was put into a retort, and distilled to dryness.
The distilled fluid had a smell approaching near to that of
sulphuric ether, and weighed 0°720; but its taste was bit-
ter, and very much analogous to that of bitter almonds,
though much weaker. I shall repeat this experiment, with
the necessary precautions, to remove all suspicion that the
sulphuric acid may have had an influence on the formation
of the ether; and I confess that this suspicion, in my ex-
periment, is not without foundation, considering the small
space, in regard to its great weight, occupied by the fluated
lime in the mixture of alcohol and sulphuric acid.

ASTRONOMY.

March 24, 1805.

There appeared, a few days ago, on the sun, a large spot
with two nuclei, which [ observed nine degrees to the north
of the solar equator. It differs little from the spots which

- enabled me to determine the time of the sun’s rotation, in

the Memoirs of the Academy for 1776; and it seems to me
to confirm the discovery [ then made, by proving that there
are in the sun points where large spots are formed, rather
thaninothers. They are perhaps mountains, which attract
and retain the scoriz of that immense furnacet. The —
parallel, which is at nine degrees south from the solar
equator, is the most fertile in large spots. These spots,
with two nuclei, which have appeared at different periods,
seem to me to destroy the system of volcanoes proposed by
Dr. Herschel: there cannot be two voleanoes so near sub-
Sisting without mixture, and always separated by a line of
light. DELALANDE.
. AYAPANA,

Bory de St. Vincent, in his Voyage aux principales Iles

des Mers d’ Afrique, relates that the captain of a Danish

* The substance separated by water from the fluate.of silex is a ter-
tulous fate of that earth, and the remaining liquid is fluate strongly

-acidulous.— Note of M. van Mons.

+ Till we read this, we believed that all modern philosophers had given
Up the idea of the sup being a mass of fire! Epi.

ship,

286 On the Reflection of Cold.

ship, in the year 1798, first brought this plant from Brazil
to the Isle of France, as a panacea. It was immediately
used against all kinds of diseases, and he extols its wonder-
ful effects, that it removes consumption of the lungs, and
that it was employed in the Isle of France as the surest
means against the bite of serpents; yet it is known that no
serpents are to be found in either of the Mascarhenas.
«¢ All errors,”’ says Bory, ‘ continue only for atime. This
quackery also has ceased; the ayapana is as little a panacea
as the German ‘ Forget me not.’ Bory himself took the
infusion of thirty leaves, for a catarrh, without the least
effect. People in the Isle de France remember the ayapana
only to laugh at the follies related of this plant, and the
charlatan who introduced it is forgotten.’”> 3

ON A LETTER IN OUR LAST NUMPER.
SIR,
In your Jast number, page 174, I used too strong a
word, when I said that the Academy del Cimento had
successfully repeated Baptista Porta’s experiment on the

reflection of cold. The fact is, that, not having had the .

Essays of that body at hand, I quoted from memory. But,
as I have since met with the book, perhaps the best way
of correcting the mistake, will be to subjoin their own
brief account of the experiment.

<¢ We were willing, say they, to try if a concave glass
set before a mass of 500lb. of ice made any sensible reper-
cussion of cold, upon a very nice thermometer of 400
degrees, placed in its focus. The truth is, it immediately
began to subside; but, by reason of the nearness of the
ice, *twas doubtful whether the direct or reflected rays of
cold were more efficacious. Upon this account, we thought
of covering the glass, and (whatever be the cause) the
spirit of wine did indeed ‘presently begin to rise. For all
this, we dare not be positive, but there might be some
other cause thereof, besides the want of reflection from the
glass ; since we were deficient in making all the trials ne-
cessary to clear the experiment.’”’—See the 9th ‘ Experi-
ment of Natural Freezing,” at page 103, of the Essays of
Natural Experiments, made in the Academy del Cimento,
published in 1667, and translated by Richard Waller, F.R.S.
London 1684. Yours, &c. *D.

INGENUITY OF THE SPIDER.

T. A. Knight, Esq. of Herefordshire, has, in a treatise
on the culture of the apple and pear, introduced the follow-
ing anecdote concerning this curious animal :—‘ I have

frequently

Malleable Platina.—Lectures. 287

frequently placed a spider on a small upright stick, whose
base was surrounded by water, to observe its most singular
mode of escape. After having discovered that the ordinary
means of retreat are cut off, it ascends the point of the
stick, and, standing nearly on its head, ejects its web, which
the wind readily carries to some contiguous object. Along
this the sagacious insect effects his escape, not, however,
till it has previously ascertained, by several exertions of its
whole strength, that its web is properly attached at the
opposite end. I do not know that this instance of the
sagacity of the spider has been noticed by any entomological
writer ; and I insert it here, in consequence of having seen
in some periodical publication, a very erroneous account of
the origin of the spider’s threads which are observed to pass
from one tree or bush to another in dewy mornings.”

MALLEABLE PLATINA.

Our chemicai readers will be gratified to be informed that
this valuable and useful article can now be procured at a
price that will put it im their power to employ it in utensils
for various delicate purposes. The following articles, made
of pure platina, may be had of Mr. Carey, mathematica!
instrument maker, No. 182, in the Strand.

Crucibles of varions sizes, with or without covers, at
17s. 6d. per ounce, with a small addition for workman-
ship.—Evaporators, about 5 inches diameter, weighing be-
tween 3 and 4 ounces, at the same price.—Wire of various
sizes, and lamiated platina, at 16s.—Bars of malleable
platina unmanufactured at 15s. per ounce. Other articles
may be made in a short time, according to order, by fur-
nishing Mr. Carey with a drawing or correct description.

LECTURES ON PHYSIC AND CHEMISTRY.

On Monday, June 3d, a Course of Lectures on Physic
and Chemistry will recommence at the Laboratory in Whit-
comb-street, Leicester-square, at the usual morning hours,
viz. the Materia Medica and Therapeuticks, at a quarter
before eight; the Practice of Physic, at half after eight ;
and the Chemisiry, at a quarter after nine; by George
Pearson, M.D. F.R.S. Sentor Physician to St. George’s
Hospital, of the College of Physicians, &c. &c.

Note.—The Practice of Vaccination will be taught at the
Institution in Broad-street, Golden-square, and an ac-
count will be given of the practice on the patients in St.
George’s Hospital, as usual, every Saturday morning, at
nine o’clock.

Proposals may be had at St. George’s Hospital, and at
52, Leicester-square.

28s Meteorology.
METEOROLOGICAL TABLE |
By Mr. Carey, ofr THE STRAND,
For April 1805.

33°| 29-92 | 16° |Cloudy
3

30°11 gr |Fair
“05 20 =|Cloudy
29°90 24 |Showery
°85 20 «Fair
“78 33 |Fair
"98 51 |Fair
-98 52 |Fair
"42 o {Rain
“Az 7 |Stormy g
“73. g {Rain
30°21 31 |Fair
34, | 97 \Pawrs? ?
33 41 {Fair y
Wee 34 {Fair
29°93 51 |Fair 5
77 65 |Fair
"62 55 -\Fair
"44 44 {Fair
"49 37 |Showery
“50 30 |Cloudy
*80 26 |Showery
"05 42 |Fair
30°05 52 |Fair
“19 50 |Fair
“18 65 |Fair

06 39 {Fair *
29°99 29 {Fair

“47 51 |Cloudy

*34 20 \Hail showers

{
WN. B. The barometer’s height is taken at noon.

———

‘i 989 ]

LIII. Essay on the Phenomena of the Electrophorus ; with
an Attempt to reconcile them with the Principles of the
Franklinian Theory. By SamuEL Woops, Esq. Read

. before the Askesian Society in the Session 1803-4.

In the paper which during the last sessions I submitted

to the society *, I endeavoured to offer a general view of the

phznomena occasioned by the passage or accumulation of
the electric fluid, arranging and comparing them with cer-
tain propositions which appeared to me to combine and in-
clude the leading principles of what is usually termed the
Franklinian theory of negative and positive electricity. In
this essay an examination into the appearances exhibited
by the electrophorus was purposely omitted, both because
the experiments recited by different observers were not
erfectly consistent with each other, and involved the sub-
ject in considerable obscurity, and because the singularity

' of those appearances, in which all concurred, seemed to

merit and demand a. separate investigation: the present

attempt, therefore, to collect, arrange, and explain them,
may be deemed a supplement to the former paper.

The electrophorus is an instrument invented by an Italian
philosopher, M. Volta, of Como, and consists of three
parts ; of two plates and an electric substance.

1st, The inferior plate ; which at first was made of glass,
but is now usually of metal or wood, covered with tinfoil,
of a circular form, and carefully freed from points or edges.

ed, The electric substance; which may be constructed
of glass, or varnish laid on the inferior plate, or sealing
wax, or sulphur, or mixed substances yielding the negative
electricity. Resinous electrics are best adapted for this pur-
pose, because they are less rapidly affected by the humidity
of the air, and retain their electricity much longer than glass.

This substance most commonly is made to adhere to the

surface of the plate; but it is much more convenient to

have an independent cake, capable of entire separation.

_ * See Philosophical Magazine, vol. xvii. p. 97. 4

+ The composition is usually equal parts of resin, shell-lac, and sul-
phur. M. Cavallo recommends the second sort of sealing-wax: others
prefer a coating of sealing-wax dissolved in spirits of wine, or resin dis-
solved in oil of turpentine. The one I use is a cake about half an inch
in thickness and twelve in diameter, made principally of shell-lac, with
a small portion of Venice turpentine to assist its fusion, which is effected
in an earthen vessel over a slow fire or sand heat, and then poured into
an iron hoop resting upon a perfectly flat surface. This has the advan
tage of being very tough, and not easily broken.

Vo}. 21. No. 84. May 1605. T' 3d, An-

290 On the Phenomena of the Electrophorus.

_ 3d, Another plate of a circular form; made either of
brass or of wood, or even pasteboard covered with tinfoil:
this should be nearly of the same size, but rather smaller
than the inferior plate, and must be furnished with a glass
insulating handle, which by means of a brass or wooden
socket is screwed into its centre.

For the sake of perspicuity it will be desirable to adopt
some short and appropriate appellation to distinguish each
of these parts from the others without eircumlocution, as
they must frequently recur m the course of our inquiry ;
and it will not perhaps be easy to improve the nomencla-
ture of professor Robison in the Supplement to the Ency-
clopedia Britannieaz __

1. The inferior plate, which constitutes the bottom or
support of the rest, and which in my apparatus is a flat
brass plate, 12 inches in diameter, made to serew upon @
glass insulating stand, we shall denominate—the sole.

2. The electric substance to be excited,—the cake.

3. The superior plate, 40 inches in diameter, with a glass
handle attached, for the purpose of imposing it upon and
removing it fronr the cake,—the cover.

To each of these plates asmall wire is made to screw in,
adapted to suspend a pair of pith balls, by which means
the state of both sole and cover may be ascertained at the
same time, and in favourable circumstances very minute
changes may be detected.

The most obvious phenomena exhibited by this instru-
ment are the followimg:

The cake in contact with the sole must be excited by
friction, either with new flannel or dry warm silk, pre-
viously taking eare to make the surface of the cake as dry
as possible: then, by means of its insulating handle, impose
the cover; then offer a conductor to the cover, and aspark
will pass between them; after which if the cover be elevated
or removed, by the extremity of its glass handle, from the
electric cake, it will yield a strong spark to any conducting
body. If the cover be replaced, a communication afforded.
with the ground, by touching it with the finger or other-
wise,:and again separating it, a second spark may be ob-
tained. And this process, with fresh excitation, may be re-
peated for shours, if the apparatus be kept perfectly free
from dust and moisture: and if these sparks be given to
-the knob of a jar, it will become charged with positive elec-
tricity.

It is evident, however, that these indications are not suf-
ficiently decisive to furnish an accurate knowledge of the
— different

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On the Phenomena of the Electrophorius. 293

’ These experiments are the result of my own observation,
and, I flatter myself, may be depended upon: they have all
been repeated more than once; and indeed a considerable
degree of care is requisite in ascertaining the kind of elec-
tricity indicated by the divergency of pith balls, as a stronger
electricity in glass or wax will frequently attract a weaker
of the same sort in these light bodies. I have found it most
convenient to apply an excited stick of wax and glass alter-
nately to the plate at some distance from the electrometer,
and never to rest satisfied till beth of these tests concurred
in their results. By the use of two similar electrometers I
have had great advantage in perceiving the changes produced
im each of the, metallic parts: and perhaps it may be in
some measure owing to the employment of only one clec-
trometer in experiments upon this instrument that so much
uncertainty has prevailed, as [ do not recollect to have met
with any account where the state of sole and cover were
ascertained by the same means and at the same rime.

I now proceed to offer a general view of the observations
I have met with on this subject.

The general result given by Adams (Essay on Electricity,
p- 358,) is the following:

‘¢ By examining with pith balls it appears,

“1, That the cover acquires a weak positive electricity
when imposed on excited cake. (See preceding experiment,
No. 7.)

In order to account fer these appearances he offers the
following considerations :

<< The cake may be conceived to consist of several hori-
zontal strata, so that the upper stratum, when excited, is
insulated by tbe inferior strata. Now, insulated electrics
produce the opposite electricity on bodies brought within
the sphere of their action; i.e, insulated and excited glass
produces negative, aad wax positive, electricity on other
insulated bodies: therefore the surface of the electrophorus
cake should produce positive electricity in the cover, eon~
formably to experience.” But as it is not very obvious how
the electricity should become stronger by removal out of the
sphere of action of the excited electric, he adds: *¢ electric
bodies do not put the fluid in that degree af motion which
is necessary to produce the td or exhibit the phenomena.

P 3 of

29% On the Phenomena of the Electrophorus.

of attraction and repulsion, while they are in contact with
conducting substances ; which ts the reason why the upper
plate, i.e. the cover, exhibits no signs of electricity while
3t remains in contact with the under one, though they be-
come sensible the instant it is removed trom it.”

If any one can understand or apply this confusion of
ideas to elucidate the point in question, he must possess a
Jarger portion of skill than I can pretend to claim. M.
Cavallo observes, (Complete Treatise, vol. 11. p. 55.) that
if the cake be accurately insulated, the cover acquires 86
little electricity that it can only be detected by the electro-
meter. ‘This, however, as the editor of the Encyclopedia
Britannica observes, is manifestly untrue; and it is diffi-
cult to imagine how so great a mistake should have oc-
curred. oh

Qther experiments mentioned by M. Cavallo accord
with \No. 1, 4, and 5, in imposing the cover, the sole
electrometer before diverging with negative electricity closes,
but again becomes negative. Comparing this with No. 9,
it will appear to be correct, but not to represent the whole
truth. In the results of No. 12 and 13, I am also con-
firmed by Cavallo. The theory of this author is comprised
in a short compass, and, I believe, is not far wide from the
truth: it does not, however, include the whole of the phe-
nomena, and requires a more detailed application. He says,
“* the action of these places depends upon a principle long
ago discovered, viz. the power of an excited electric to
induce a contrary electricity in a body brought within its
sphere of action. The metal plate therefore, when set upon
the excited electric, acquires a contrary electricity by giving
its electric fluid to the hand or other conductor, which
touches it when set upon a plate electrified positive, or ac-
quiring an additional quantity from the hand when upon a
plate clectrified negative.” _It is not, however, true, that a
conductor in contact with an excited electric exhibits, while
in contact, signs of the opposite electricity. The general
appearances are thus recited and arranged in the Supplement
to the Encyclopedia Britannica, article Electricity.

** 1. If the sole has been insulated during the congela-
tion of the electric (7. e. where the cake is melted into the
sole and permanently annexed to it,) till all is cold and
hard, the whole is found negatively electric, and the finger
draws a spark from it, especially from the sole. If allowed
to remain in this siteation its electricity grows gradually
weaker, and at last disappears; but it may be again excited
by friction, Ifthe cover be now imposed by its insulating

; handle,

On the Phenomena of the Electrophorus. 295

handle, but without touching the cover, and again sepa-
rated from the cake, no electricity whatever is observed in
the cover.”

Observation.—This last remark is not true, as will be
seen by reference to experiments No, 9 and 10: it is true,
indeed, that the electricity is seldom strong enough to yield
2 spark.

«© 9, But if the cover be touched while on the cake, a
sharp pungent spark is obtained from it; and if at\the same
time the sole be touched with the thumb, a very sensible
shock is felt in the finger and thumb. (See No. 12 and 15.)

<¢ 3. After this the electrophorus appears quite inactive,
and is said to be dead, neither sole nor cover giving any
sign of electricity.” (See No. 15.)

This state of death or neutrality lasts, however, but a
short time, especially in the cover, which soon occasions
the pith balls to diverge negatively.

«© 4. When the cover is raised to some distance from the
cake (keeping it parallel therewith), if it be touched while
in this situation a smart spark flies to some distance be-
tween #t and the finger; more remarkably from the upper
side, and still more from its edge; which will even throw
off sparks into the air if it be not rounded off. As this di-
minishes the desired effects, it is proper to have the edge so
rounded. This. spark is not so sharp as the former, and
resembles that from any electrified conductor.” (See
No. 13.)

Some importance seems attached to the preservation of
a parallel direction in elevating the cover; but I have never
found any diminution of effect by removing the cover late-
rally, or in any other direction: I may remark, that the
sensation occasioned by the passage of the spark is too in-
distinct to enable the operator to judge satisfactorily of the
quality or kind of electricity.

«5. The electricity of the cover when thus raised is of
the opposite kind to that of the cake, or positive. (See
No. 13.)

“« 6. The electricity of the cover while lying on the cake,
is the same with that of the cake, or negative. (See No. 9,
41, and 14.)

“<7. The appearances recited under the propositions num-
bered 2, 3, 4, may be repeated for a long time without any
sensible diminution of their vivacity. The instrument has
been known to retain its power undiminished even for
months. This makes it a sort of magazine of electricity,
and we can take off the electricity of the cake and of the

oS (ne | cover

206 On the Phenomena of the Electrophorus.

cover as charges for separate jars; the cover when raised
charging like - the prime conductor of an ordinary electrical
machine, and when set on the cake charging it like the
rubber. This caused the inventor, M. Volta, to give it
the name of electropkorus.

«8, If the sole be insulated before the cover is imposed,
the spark obtained from the cover is not of that cutting kind
that it was before; but the same shock will be felt if both
cake and cover be touched together.”

I understand this to imply, that when insulated the elec-
tricity of the cover becomes positive, or, instead of receiv-
ing a spark from the finger, yields one to it: if this be
meant, it is contrary to fact. (See No. 9, in table of expe*
riments.) If the sole be not insulated, the cover after im-
posing becomes weakly positive, (see No! 7,) and the spark
between the cover and finger is scarcely perceptible.

«9, If the cover be raised to a considerable beight, the
sole will be found electrical, and its electricity is that of
the cake, and not the same as the cover. (See No. 10.)

** 10. After touching both sole and cover, if the cover
be raised and again set down without touching it while —_
the whole is again inactive.

separated, the sole having the electricity of the cake.
~ ‘e 19, If both sole and cover be made inactive when se-
parate, they both show the opposite to the-electricity of the
cake when joined.”

I have sometimes observed each plate when thus situated
assume the same electricity as the cake, but never both of
them the opposite state.

These are the material facts upon this subject stated in
the Supplement to the Encyclopeedia Britannica, which is
followed by an ingenious attempt to account for them in
conformity to the principles of the Z/pinian theory. Some
of the data appear to me to be assumed without sufficient

proof: but as in my former paper, to which this is a supe —

plement, I declined the consideration of that theory, and
confined myself to what ts called the Franklinian hypothesis,
I shall pursue the same course on the present occasion,
especially us the theory above alluded to is involved ina
great deal of mathematical and algebraical formule ; and I
cannot pretend to have studied it with sufficient attention
to do justice to the reasoning brought forward in its sup-
port, or represent with perspicuity the paphitdtions which

it offers,
I shall

pepe Sa Sal = a!

On the Phenomena of the Electrophorus. 207

- I shall close my account of the phenomena with the ex”
periments of Mr. Morgan, which I have reserved for the
last place, because it appears to me that in general his theory
to explain them is the most intelligible of any. }

«© Let the cover be placed upon the excited cake, con-
necting the cover at the same time, by any conducting suh-
stance, with the ground : let the connection with the ground
be suddenly broken, and the cover raised by its glass handle.

“1. A spark will strike to any conducting body brought
near the cover. (See No. 13.)

** 2. The cover will always be in the opposite state to the
excited cake,”’ 2. e. while removed. (See No. 13.)

In the msulated electrophorus a pith ball electrometer
attached to the sole.

«© 1. After the hand has been laid on the cover in con-
tact with the sole, not the least signs of electricity are dis-
coverable on the removal of the cover; 7. e. m the sole.

*¢ 3. The cover is then only charged when the commu-
nication between itself and the sole is continued io the
ground: the sole electrometer does not separate till the
coyer is raised: remove the cover and the pith balls di-
verge; replace the cover undischarged, they instantly close,
but when the cover is discharged and then replaced, the di-
vergence is continued.”

This is not consistent with experiments No. 9, 10, 11.

In attempting the explanation of these phsenomena it is
necessary to keepin mind that the effects are of a compound
nature, combining the double operation of an electric, both
excited and charged: it will therefore be desirable to con-
sider the appearances scparately of charged and excited elec-
trics; and im the investigation of the first of these I avail
myself of the observations of Mr. Milner,—in the second,
of Mr. Morgan.

«© 1, Leta plate of crown glass be placed between two
circular plates of brass rounded at the edges, and let the
whole be insulated; the lower plate on a glass stand, with
a brass chain to connect it, when wanted, with the table:
Jet another insulated stem be appended to the upper plate.
In the last place, bend a piece of brass wire into such a
shape that it may stand perpendicularly on the upper plate +
and let the upper extremity of this wire be formed into a
hook, that it may at any time be removed by a silk string
without destroying the insulation of the plate.”

Olservation,—It is obvious that this disposition of the

apparatus

398 On the Phenomena of the Electrophorus.

apparatus is conformable to that of an electrophorus: the
‘glass representing the electric cake, and the upper and
ity rer plate the cover and sole, all in their natural state.

‘* 9, The glass being thas furnished with a metallic coat-
ing en each side,’and havi ing 2 proper communication with
the ground, will admit of being charged ; and both coatings

may be separated and examined apart without destroying
the msulation of either.

«© 3. The apparatus being thus disposed, communicate a
strong charge to the glass by means of the bent wire; then
remove the charging wire and the chain connected with the
jower plate. On the approach of a finger to the upper coat-
ing a smali spark will. pass, and the same will happen to
the under coating. This effeet cannet be produced twice
by two succeeding applications to the same coating; but
in a favourable state of the atmosphere may be repeated
some hundred times, by alternate applications to the two
coatings, till the charge of the glass 1 is gradually exhausted.

‘‘ 4, Let the glass be again fully charged; touch the
upper coating with the finger, and then, by i its insulating
stem, separate it from the upper and positive surface of the
glass: this coating will then be found negative; 2. e. oppo-
site to the side of the glass with which it was m contact.
This effect, on repetition, gradually diminishes; but on
touching the coatings alternately two or three times, the
negative power of the coating when separated is greatly in-
creased, so as to yield strong negative sparks. The same
circumstances will happen to the under coating ; substituting,
however, the positive for the negative effects.

66 5. Each surface of the charged ¢ olass therefore, In cons
sequence of a momentary imterr uption of the insulation, has
the power of producing a contrary eicctricity in the coating
in contact with it: more electrical matter must have passed
away from the upper coating at the time of touching it than
the same coating could receive from the upper surface of
the glass, and therefore the upper coating, by losing some
ef its natural quantity, becomes negative : : ‘more electri¢
matter must m the same manner have been added to the
under coating, which becomes positive. The greatest de-
gree of this influential power will be produced im either coat-
ing by taking care at the same time to bring the opposite
coating imto ‘a like state of influential electricity.

“© 6. The glass being well charged, let a bent wire in the.
form of a staple be brought into contact-with the upper
and lower coating at the same time: by this a discharge
will be effected, but the equilibriam will be only in part

restored ;

On the Phenomena of the Electrophorus. £99

testored; for a considerable degree of attraction may be
observed between the upper coating and the glass, which
is frequently strong enough to lift a piece of plate glass
weighing ten ounces. Neither coating will now show the
least external sign of electricity when in contact with the
glass; but on separation, carefully preserving the insula-
tion, the upper coating is strongly negative, the under po-
sitive. Let both coatings be restored to their natural state
by contact with a conductor, and then replace the glass
between them: if the upper coating be touched and sepa-
rated it will give no spark, but on touching the coatings
alternately several times it will give a weak spark; and this
may be repeated several times by only touching the uppet
coating. On a second application of the bent wire te
both coatings, a second though much shighter discharge
is perceptible, and the coatings are brought into the same
electrical state as immediately after the first discharge.
This may frequently be repeated, and a considerable
number of strong negative sparks taken from the coating
when separated from the positive surface of the glass. If
the glass in replacing it between the coatings be reversed,
the electrical powers of both coatings will be changed by
the next application of the discharging-wire, and a succes-
sion of strong positive sparks obtained from the negative
‘surface of the glass. :

<7. Hence jt may be inferred that the charged glass was
not restored to its natural state by the completion of the
circuit, but that it had acquired a degree of permanent elec*
tricity.

* g. The whole quantity of clectric matter added to the

“glass in charging it, is evidently distinguishable into two
parts: the first part, by far the most considerable, is readily
communicated along the bent wire from one surface to the
other; the second part appears more permanent, and re-
mains still united with the glass. It appears, theretore,
from the preceding experiments that professor Volta’s elec-
trophorus is in reality a resinous plate charged with perma-
nent electricity by friction.”

I should observe, that the above account of Mr. Milner’s
investigation is extracted from the Encyclopedia Britannica;
but, though marked with inverted commas, is not precisely
in the language of the ingenious author ; the whole, extend-
ing to a very considerable length, has been condensed and
abridged, but, I trust, without any misrepresentation of
meaning. Let us now proceed to Mr. Morgan’s examina-
tion of an excited substance, :

“© Let

300 On the Phenomena.of the Electrophorus.

<¢ Let a cushion be prepared with a metallic covering
at the back, and insulated by a glass stem; then excite the
cylinder by means of this cushion, pursuant to the common
method: no electrical signs will be discovered while the
insulation is complete. Stop the motion of the cylinder,
placing the finger in contact with the cushion ; then remove
the cushion from the excited cylinder, and it will give a
spark: return it to the cylinder, and on removal it will re-
peatedly give a spark without any additional friction, at-
tended by the same circumstances as have been described
to take place in the electrophorus: now, by substituting a
glass. plate for the cylinder, and supposing the cushion to
coyer that plate, you form an electrophorus, without one
circumstance of diversity from the common cylinder,
Again, if after exciting the electrophorus you remove the
cover and apply a number of metallic pomts connected with
the ground to the excited surface, and afterwards replace
the cover, no more sparks can be obtained without a fresh
excitation. This is precisely similar to what is observed in
working the cylinder; for as soon as the excited part passes
the cushion, and is exposed to the action of a multitude of
points, it is rendered incapable of producing electrical signs
till it again comes into contact with the cushion.”

It is obvious that the phenomena described, both with
respect to charges and excited electrics, bear a striking si-
milarity (as indeed might be expected) to those of the elec-
trophorus. We will now endeavour to explain the process’
detailed in the tabke of phenomena.

I agree with Mr. Morgan that the general principle to
avhich these phenomena ought to be referred is an increase
or diminution of attractive force between the particles of
bodies and particles of the electric fluid; or, in other words,
an alteration of the capacity of bodies for the electric fluid,
in consequence either of excitation or contact with an ex-
cited substance. Jf I were asked-for the cause of this
change of capacity, I should freely confess my ignorance ;
for I cannot easily suppose a chemical change to be pro-
duced, or any new arrangement of the parts created, by the
mere contact of bodies. It will be necessary to recollect,
what I believe was satisfactorily shown in my former paper,
that the divergence of pith balls can only be depended upon
as indicating a disposition to receive or to part with a por-
tion of the electric fluid, or perhaps more properly an in-
ereased or diminished attraction for it, and ought not to
be considered as any criterion of the absolute capacity of

bodies. ‘3
When

| On'the Pheenomena of the Electrophorus. 301

~ When the cake jis excited by friction, a change in its
capacity may be conceived to take place, and it acquires
through its whole substance a stronger attraction for the
electric fluid than it had before, and of course will become
disposed to receive an additional quantity. The sole is
placed on an msulated stand, which, when the cake is im-
posed, participates in the disposition to receive; and the
pith balt electrometer attached to it diverges with negative
electricity. But it not only partakes of the character of the
cake; the capacity of the sole thus in contact with the ex-
cited substance is augmented; and it does not merely operate
as a conductor to convey the fluid to the cake, but obtains
for itself, from contiguous bodies floating in the atmosphere,
more than in its separate state it is capable of holding. On
the removal of the cake, therefore, carefully avoiding to de-
stroy the insulation of the sole, the attractive force of the
sole is diminished. It is left ina plus or positive state, is
disposed to part with its superfluous quantity, and the balls
diverge with positive electricity.

While the excited cake remains imposed, and the sole
electrometer indicates the negative electricity, a conductor
is offered to the excited surface. The attraction of the cake
becomes strongest on the upper side, because any supply is
obtained with more facility by the opening of a communi-
cation with the universal store diffused in the ground. The
sole electrometer closes, therefore, on account of the dimi-
nished activity of force on the under surface; and when the
communication is complete, by the contact of the conduct-
ing substance, the sole acquires the same state, i. e. posi-
tive, and for the same reasons as when the cake is removed.
On withdrawing the hand, or other conductor, the forme
state is restored.

When the sole is not insulated it is difficult, and fre-
quently impracticable, to ascertain its state of electricity.
The cover imposed by its insulating handle appears by its
electrometer to be slightly positive; and the sole, by its at-
traction for the pith balis attached to the cover, indicates a
negative state. [am ata loss to explain this circumstance,
tinless it be supposed that the foree of attraction is princi-
pally exerted downwards in consequence of its uninterrupted
communication with the ground: that the activity of the
upper surface is soon neutralized by the imposition of the
cover; aud that the cover is. brought into the state of the
sole when insulated and the cover imposed, 7. e. diverges
with positive electricity ; but in consequence of its increased
eapacity, arising frem its contact with the excited electric,
It

302 On the Phenomena of the Blecttophoruss

it does not show the whole amount of its superfluous aequi-
sition till removed, when the positive divergence greatly
increases.

When the sole is insulated with the excited cake imposed,
the electrometer diverges as im the former instance, with
negative electricity. Now impose the cover, and the elec-
trometer connected with it indicates the negative electricity
strongly, because the attraction is most eager and powerful
at the upper or excited surface: the sole electrometer gra-
dually closes; sometimes, however, continuing negative for
some time, and then opens with positive electricity. This
is precisely the state described by Mr. Brook in the act
of charging a iar, both sides indicating a similar electricity:
the negative of the cover appears much stronger than the
positive of the sole, and, by making a cotemporaneous com-
munication between the cover and sole, a sensation is felt
in the thumb and finger resembling a shock. I am not,
however, satisfied that any actual charge takes place in these
circumstances: a charged insulated jar cannot be deprived
of its charge without offering a conductor to each side; but
im this case the shock is prevented by touching either the
sole or the cover separately when a spark passes; and, on
completing the circuit, another spark, but no shock-like
sensation: the ferce of attraction being directed to the upper
surface, of course produces a disposition to receive the fluid,
or the negative state: the attractive force being diminished
at the sole releases a portion of the fluid which is disposed
to escape, and produces the positive state. The sole and
cover being thus differently disposed, one’ to receive and
the other to part with, if at the same moment the thumb
be presented to one side and the finger to the other, a double
spark will pass, and must occasion the sensation of a shock.
‘The cover remains imposed, and in a negative state: on its
removal it changes aud becomes positive; for, having had
its capacity enlarged by contact with the excited electric,
it holds, when that contact is removed, a superabundant
quantity: the attraction of the cake is redirected down-
wards, and the sole electrometer again becomes negative.
Replace the cover, preserving its insulation, and the states
are again reversed upon the same principles. Let a con-
ductor be now brought in contact with the cover; the sole
electrometer continues positive, and a spark passes between |
the cover and the conducting substance; and so greedy is
the cover of the electric fluid, that the positive state is some-
times super-induced slightly ; the cover, by its communi-
cation with the, ground, has rapidly obtained all the fluid

3 its

———

On the Phenomena of the Electrophorus. 303

its increased capacity will enable it to hold: on its removal
it yields to the hand the superfluous quantity it had pre-
viously obtained ; and thus the process may be repeated til!
the surface of the electric becomes so much neutralized that
its capacity is not increased by the contact. On the removal
of the cover the sole electrometer becomes negative, and
will receive a, spark: and if, after the process above de-
scribed he so often repeated that the cover will not any
longer give a spark on removal; if the sole and cover be
touched together, the attraction to the upper surface is re-
stored in nearly its former vigour, and the cover on removal
again yields positive sparks to a conductor.

Whenever the sole or cover is touched, the electrometer
im either will of course become neutral, because the fluid is
abstracted or supplied with the utmost facility, and its di-
stinctive characters are lost in the general mass of circula-
tion.

There are two objections to the foregoing theory which
seem to require some solution, .

1. When the cake, in consequence of excitation, acquires
an increased attraction for the, electric fluid, why is it not
sooner rendered inert by the sipply it may obtain by the
contact of its surface with the particles floating in the at-
mosphere?

2. The transitions from the negative to the positive states,

and vice versd, are so rapid, that they can hardly be recon-

ciled to the opportunities of supply or abstraction offered by
a dry atmosphere.

In the first case, a moist state of the weather, or a room
abounding with dust, will, in fact, rapidly destroy the eflect
of excitation: in a dry atmosphere it may be supposed that
the uniform diffusion of the fluid is so much disturbed by
friction that the interior particles are a long time before the

librium is restored, in consequence of the very slow and
difficult transmission of the fluid through the pores of elec-
tric substances.

In the second.case, these transitions may be effected with-
eut any material alteration in the absolute quantity of the
fluid brought into action by a change of capacity or attrac-
tive force only.

I confide in the experienced candor and indulgence of
the society to excuse the imperfections they wilh undoubt-
édly detect; but, as my object is the attainment of truth,
I shall be satisfied with the hope, that if my paper does not
produce conviction it will excite inquiry.

LIV. A Lrief

[ 304 J

LIV. A brief Account of the Mineral Productions of Shrop-
shire. By Jospru Piymtsy, A.M. Archdeacon of Salop,
and Honorary Member of the Board of Agriculture.

[Continued from p. 208. ]

Ds. Townson, in his Tracts, p. 166, has given the strata
of two cther pits in this district, and has added to the col-
liers’ names for the different measures his own definition of
each. He observes, that “ annually about 260,000 tons of
coal are raised in this district ;” a very Jarge proportion of
which are consumed in the adjacent iron-works, I presume ;
for I have understood, that in the Ketley iron-works they use
at least six ton of coal out of every seven they raise. What I
have called the collieries of the eastern district, comprehend
pits on both sides the river Severn, The veins of coal in
this district are equal in thickness, I believe, to most in
this county, but very inferior to those of the Staffordshire
works, from 15 to 20 miles east of these, where, I have
been told, there is a bed of coal measuring 13 yards, or
more. The next coal-works to be mentioned are those of
the Clee Hill, from 20 to 30 miles south of those we have
been describing *. Collieries, indeed, are now working at
Billingsley, connecting them, in some measure, by their
situation: and again, west of the eastern coal district, pits
have been lately sunk with success. [Iam indebted to Dr.
‘Fownson’s Tracts, before quoted, for the following lists of
the strata in two of the Clee Hill collieries.

Strata found in sinking the deep Pit in the Southern Part

of the Hil. Yds. Fr.
Earth and sandstone rock. - - - 1oe Ls
Basalt, called here Jewstone - - - - 64: 14
Sandstone rock, bind, clunch, and coal roof; dry
clays - - - - - 23.10
The great coal - - - - 2 0
Coal bottom and ironstone roof: these aredryclays 1 1
Tronstone measure, a dry clay = - = USpe ih Pig
Three-quarter coal - - ~ - oO 14
€lumper, hard dry clay - - - 2.0
Smith’s coal - - - - i 124
The smith coal bottom; dry clay down to the
four feet coal rock ~ - 0. 2
; Rog TW

* A coal pit is now (1802) worked on the summit of the Brown Clee
Hill, within the encampment,
The

Mineral Productions of Shropshire. 305

The strata in the water pit, which is about a quarter of a

mile to the north-east of the preceding, are: Yds. Ft.
Basalt, here called Jewstone - - ae cm
Brown and white clunch, dry clay - - 6 0
Red rock, a yellowish sandstone - - 9 0
Bind and clunch, dry clays - - - 9 0
Pinny ironstone measure, dry clay - - i 30
Clunch, dry clay - - - - 3 0
Brown rock, a yellowish sandstone - - 6 0
Tuff (plastic clay) and sand ~ 5 1 0
Black bind, a dry clay - - ee Fee
Rock, very coarse sandstone - - - 5,..0
Strong clay - “ = ‘ = 1 0
Horse-flesh earth, a variegated red and white marl 6 0
Gray rock, sandstone - - - - 6 0
Bind, a dry clay - - - - 2 0
Great coal rock, whitish sandstone - . 6 0
Coal roof, dry clay > - - : 3.0
The great coal - - - - 2 0)
Coal bottom pounsin*, a dry clay . - Lt
Tronstone roof and measure, a dry clay - ti gel
Three-quarter coal, and bass - - - D2
Clumper, a hard dry clay - - 4.9 St
Smith coal, and clod in it - - - Tie
Strong clunch, dry clay - - - 2 0
Flan and bass, hard dry clay - - “ Oo 2
Strong clunch, dry clay - . - 3.0
Four-foot coal, and bass - - > A
Strong brown clunch, dry clay - - EO
Sunk into the four-foot coal rock - - 3 1

_
oo
“tT
i)

In the first of these Clee Hill pits, then, we find the first
strata of coal 98 yards below the surface ; that the thickest
vein is 6 feet; and that the aggregate of coal in 107 yards
1 foot, is 12 feet 6 inches. In the second pit they must
sink 116 yards before coal is found, the vein of which is
also 6 feet thick; and the other veins, which are not pure
coal, measure in the aggregate 10 feet ; so that in 137 yards
there are only 16 feet of coals, and of these only six that are
unmixed. Of the collieries in the west and north-west ex-
tremity of the county, the most considerable were those of

* « Poundstone is probably meant by this word, as itis the earth or
stone lying immediately under the coal, and which, when it-is a rock,
gccasions the colliers to pound or break their tools.” —Mr. William Rey-

nolds.
Vol. 21. No. 84. May 1805. U Llwvn

306 A brief Account of the

Llwyn y Main and Trevor Claudd, which appear to be nearly
exhausted ; but other collieries have been lately opened be-
tween Oswestry and Chirk Bridge. The colliers describe these
veins as diverging rays from an ideal centre, marked here by
the part of the horizon where the sun appears from eight to
ten o’clock in the morning. To this ideal centre the Rua-
bon collieries dip from north-west to east on the north side
the Dee. The Chirk collieries, from west to east on the
south side the Dee, and between that river and the Ceiriog ;
and again, the Pen y bryn collieries, lately begun to be
worked, and the only work of the three in Shropshire, dips
from west to east on the south side the Ceiriog. These
veins range up against a ridge of lime rocks that run from
north to south-west. Those near Ruabon, as well as those
on the south side the Ceiriog, are a strong bituminous coal,
with the baking quality of the Newcastle coal, yielding a
strong heat, but no bad smell, except the top coal. The
veins between the Dee and Ceiriog are a lighter coal, burn-
ing more quickly, and the ashes are white. This difference
is supposed, by the colliers, to arise from the less weight of
water that is over these veins. Mr. Arthur Davies, of Os-
westry, has favoured me with the following list of the strata
in the engine-pit at Chirk Bank coal-work, and which is

the deepest pit he has sunk. Yds. Ft. in.
Gravel - = hae = a 194? QO €:
Red clay = + 2 - 4 0 0
Delph > - - - - 20 0
Fine sandstone - “ - 8 0 O
Tender coak - = - < Oo 1 6
Clunch - ~ z - - 01 6
Blue bind - + -. - 4 0 0
Freestone rock - - = =" 5 Ouse @
Coal - 4 = = j Wipes Wan 8!
Clunch and ironstone - - - Cah pod 2
Blue bind, with ironstone - - -' 14 0 0
Black shale - - - - 2 0 0
Coal - - - - Zz. Dy
Gray rock and clunch = - - 1 1-6
Coal - =F = - 2 F O
Clunch 5 ~ - - 100
Dark gray rock - - ~ - 5 0 0
Blue tind Pa Na ss ‘ ps 9 0 O
Gray stone mixed with ironstone - - 3.¢@ 0
Coal « - she - Quy PD

102 “oS

Mineral Productions of Shropshire. 307

- We find then, in this pit, a vein of 7 feet thick, 1 foot
thicker than any mentioned in the other Shropshire coal-
works; and that in little more than 102 yards, 7 yards and
3 inches of coal are met with. Having given these speci-
mens of the strata in the collieries on the east, south, and
north-west borders of the county, I shall conclude with
those in one of the deepest pits at Welbatch, the works
there being the most considerable of what may be called
the central collieries of this county.

Yds. Ft. In.
Clay - sini - =~ 2) 0.0
Blue clod - = - - 1000
Brown rock - - - - BOO
Red measures - - - - 9 0 0
Gray rock ~ - - - 100
Red measures - - - - 2 0 0
Red clod - - - - 2 00
Coal - - - - 0 Oo g
Blue clunch - - + - 2 OD
Dark brown rock - - - 200
Gray rock - - - - 2 0 0
Light blue clod - - - - 400
Coal - - - - 0 K-90
Blue clunch - - - - 200
Gray rock - - - - I J) 06
Blue clod - - - - 9 0 O
Coal - _ - - 0 2 0

52 ek 1S

We see, then, that in near 53 yards there is only 1 yard
9 inches of coal, and no vein thicker than 2 feet ; but pro-
bably there are veins of more substance, whenever it shall
be thought expedient to sink these pits deeper.

This county is also well supplied with lime, and in ge-
neral the limestone is at no great distance from coal. It
differs in colour, and in the quantity of flour or powder that
it yields when slacked. The lime-works at Lilleshal are
very considerable. There is plenty of limestone near the
Wrekin and Coalbrook Dale; and it extends from Benthall
Edge, (on the opposite side the Severn to Coalbrook Dale,)
near to Wenlock, called there Wenlock Edge; and so,
south-west, pointing towards Ludlow, it forms a ridge of
rock, somewhat perpendicular on the north-west side. It
is worked in various parts, and yields a large quantity of
white powder, though these properties degenerate as it ex-

U2 tends

308° A brief Account of the

tends south, till it becomes too argillaceous to be very valuae
ble. Lime is found also in the Clee hills; ina small de-
gree in the south-west district; in many places south of
Shrewsbury, but of a brown colour, and less pulverizing
quality. West of Shrewsbury, it is gotten in considerable
quantities in the parishes of Cardiston and Alberbury; and
at Porth y wain and Llanymynach, on the west confines, is
a hill of limestone of an excellent quality. At the east end
of the Wrekin, and at some other lime-works, is a red lime
that will set very hard in water. Mr. Smeaton discovered
that lime, with a certain proportion of clay and iron, did:
best under water. And the colour of the lime here spoken
of indicates its having these component parts. Much of
the limestone of this county is near the surface; but near
Leebotwood, about nine miles south of Shrewsbury, it is
covered by 20 yards of argillaceous strata *.”? ¢¢ Limestone
is also found near Caughley, under 20 yards of argillaceous
and sandstone strata. {t is a yard thick, but not worked ft.”
Ironstone is found in the neighbourhood of Wellington,
Coalbrook Dale, ard Broseley. In and near the Clee hills
it is also met with; and Dr. Fownson has taken notice of
a species of ironstone in the Llwyn y main colliery, near
Oswestry, which he ascertained to be a mixture of spatous
‘iron ore and the conmion argillaceous ironstone. He ob-
serves, that the best iron and steel, viz. those of Styria, are
made of spatous iron ore ; and therefore he judges that this
may be found very valuable. Mr. William Reynolds in-
forms me there is a very good stratum of spatous iron ore
found at Billingsley, but that it is not worked.

This county is also well supplied with building stone ;
and its north district, which could be but little noticed for
the subterraneous treasures we have been speaking of, stands
pre-eminent for its quarry at Grinsell, seven miles north of
Shrewsbury, where 1s a white sandstone, superior, perhaps,
to any in the kingdom: the top rock lies in thin strata ;
the bed is 20 yards thick. ‘There is plenty, also, of good
rcd sandstone in the neighbourhood. The same may be
said of the east side of the county; and near Bridgnorth
beds of red sandstone are found under white sandstone ;
and again, beds of white sandstone under the red. This
appears a singular division and alteration of the cements.
Iron particles give their colour to the red stoné; and-it is
on this account, probably, that the weather has more in-

* Dr. Townson’s Essays, p. 187.
# Mr. Walltain Reynolds.

fluence

Mineral Productions of Shropshire. 309

fluence on it than on the white stone, the iron absorbing so
much air as to lose its tenacious quality.

Further south, sandstone prevails; and. Dr. Townson
found at Orton Bank a stratum of the Bath and Portland
stone between strata of common limestone.

In the west district is a siliceous grit, hard to work, but
very good to build with; but the gencral stone is argilla-
ceous. That nearest the surface is but in part indurated,
and becomes friable, under a slight pressure, when exposed:
to the vicissitudes of weather. Very good stone slates, for
covering roofs, are met with in the parish of Bettus, on the
south-west confines of the county. And there is very good
flag-stone in Corndon Hill, west of Bishop’s Castle. In
Swinny Mountain, near Oswestry, is a superior white sand-
stone, which works very well. Bowden quarry, in the
hundred of Munslow, contains also very good white sand-
stone ; and at Soudley, in the parish of Eaton, and fran-
chises of Wenlock, is a very good stone-flag for floors.
This brings us near some hills which have not hitherto been
much mentioned, viz. the Lawley, and Caerdoc, or Caer
Caradoc.

South of the Lawley is a ridge of useful coarse grit, or
sandstone, of a yellowish white. But the Lawley is in part
formed of a kind of granite, probably what mincralogists
call secondary granite ; but a greater part of the hill is com-
posed of what forms the basis of what has been lately called
toadstone, which, though wanting no explanation to a
mineralogist, it may be well to give some popular idea to,
by saying, it is entirely distinct from sandstone, limestone,
or slate, and approaches the nearest, in outward appearance,
to a basaltic rock, though probably very different iu reality.
The stone of the Caerdoc is chert and granulated quartz ;
and in some places the toadstone appears, which having, in
part, lost its glands, becomes cellular, and which may have

iven rise to the opinion of its being lava. The Ponsert
ill partakes of the nature of the Caerdoc and Lawley.
T am indebted to a conversation with Dr. Townson tor
whatever is scientific in the account of these two hills ; and
amore minute account of them, and of other hills in this
county, will be found in his volume of Tracts, before quoted.
Mr. William Reynolds informs me, that a part of the
Caerdoc, towards the north-west end, contains the pista-
chio green actinolite of Dr. Townson, unbedded in what
he calls a gray whack, and which actinolite, on examina-
tion, has been found to contain so much iron as to become
strongly magnetic on exposure to heat, and the containing

U 3 bed

310 A brief Account of the

bed forms a black glass. Mr. Aikin, in his Tour, p. 201,
mentions the Longmount to be composed, so far as his
observations extended, of a very shivery kind of schistus.
It certainly presents that appearance on its east side, near
the Strettons. But Dr. Townson says, the nature of the
rock, in general, is ** compound sandstone, 7. e. a stone
which, instead of being formed of grains of quartz, 1s
formed of grains, or very minute fragments, of other kinds.
of stone. These, here, seem to be of an argillaceous and
jaspideous nature, mixed with a few grains of feldspar*.””
The Wrekin is chiefly composed, I believe, of a reddish
chert. Mr. William Reynolds informs me, that prodigious
masses of granulated quartz are imbedded in it, and much
feldspar, and that a quantity of red mica is also found at
the south-west end of the hill. The Stiper stones are a
granulated quartz ; and they are perhaps the highest ground
in Shropshire, except the hills near Oswestry, and those
are a coarse grained sandstone. Near the Cardington hills
Mr. William Reynolds found a quartz ¢ that he thought as
good, or better, than the Carreg china of Caernarvonshire,
which is exported for the use of the English potteries. He
has since found a granulated quartz, in the Wrekin and
Arcail hills, which seems likely to answer the same purpose
for the pottery, and which has the convenience of being
near established potteries, and a navigable river. With the
same advantages, that near Cardington would be very valua-
ble, as there is a steatitic clay there, which was Jong used
in the Caughley china-works, at a considerable expense of
land carriage. Pitchford, about seven miles south-east of
Shrewsbury, is‘a red sandstone, approaching the surface in
many places, and from which exudes a mineral pitch. The
same substance is gathered from a well in the neighbour-
hood, and in some quantity in warm weather; but in winter
very little is seen floating on the water. From the rock is
extracted an oil called Betton’s British oil. The experiment
was first tried at Brosely (at a place still called the Pitch-
yard), about fourscore years ago, or more, and an account
of which was published in No. 228 of the Philosophical
Transactions: from near that period the Pitchford rock has
been gotten for that purpose, and sometimes 20 ton, or
more, used in a year, for which the manufacturer paid 5s.
per ton. It was carried from thence to Shrewsbury, where
the oil was procured by distillation; but the process is kept -

* Tracts, &c. p. 186.
+ The fist species, second family of the-siliceous genus of Kirwan.
secret ;

Mineral Productions of Shropshire. 3il

secret: a patent was obtained for the discovery by the late

_Mr. Betton; but his right to a patent was disallowed, by

the decision of a court of law, some time after. The oil
was used only medicinally, and has probably many of the
properties of what is called Friar’s balsam, and in quality and
appearance has a near resemblance to oi) of amber, and is
often sold as such. When the manufacture was carried on
in its greatest extent, I have understood that a considerable
quantity of the oil was exported, and principally to Ger-
many. It is still to be bought in Shrewsbury, from the
preparer. It is also from a rock of red sandstone that the
fossil tar spring, near Coalbrook Dale, issues. Mr. Aikin
relates in his book, before quoted, p. 194, that this ‘ spring
was cut into by driving a level im search of coal; that the
quantity that issued at first was to the amount of three or
four barrels per day; but that, at present (1797), there sel-
dom flowed more than half a barrel in the same period.”
And in 1799 Dr. Townson states the produce at only 30
gallons per week (now, 1802, it is about half that quantity),
though, he imagines, other fissures, filled with the same
substance, may be found, if there were a greater demand for
it. The oil distilled from this tar exactly resembles Betton’s
British oil, and is used as a solvent for caowtchouc, (com-
monly known by the name of elastic gum, or Indian rubber, )
which is now used as a varnish for cloth, and is particu-
Jarly applicable to balloons. Near Jackfield, on the south
side the river Severn, is carried on the manufaeture of coal
tar, for which lord Dundonald formerly obtained a patent.
In coaking the coal, which is here done in close vessels,
they obtain the volatile products which are raised in vapour
by the heat of the operation of coaking, and condensed in
a chamber covered with lead plates, over which water is
constantly running. These products are a water and an
oil; the former of which contains a portion of volatile al-
kali, and the latter is boiled down to the consistence of tar
or pitch. The oil which is caught during the boiling down
is used as a solvent for resin, and forms an excellent varnish
for ships, or any wood-work exposed to weather. The
MS. account of Bradford North mentions a salt spring at
Smeithmore, in the lordship of Longford ; and Dr. Town-
son states several springs of salt water to have been found
in the neighbourhood of the tar spring; and that in the
parish of Broseley, on the opposite side of the Severn, salt
1s said to have been made formerly from water taken out
of pits still called the Salt-house Pits. At the Lyth, in the
parish of Cundoyer, is a _ the soil of which is ities

4 natec

$19 On the Mineral Productions of Shropshire.

nated with salt; and there is no doubt but this commodity
could be gotten in this county, though its proximity to the
extensive and established salt-works of Cheshire may pre-
vent any profit from an adventure of this kind. At Kingley
Wick, about two miles west of Lilleshall Hill, is a ¢* spring
of salt water that yields 4 or 5000 gallons in the 24 hours.
Tt is an impure brine, but was formerly used: the salt pans
and buildings are still remaining. It flows out of a reddish

sandstone rock, which rests upon a reddish chert, like that of

the Wrekin*. And at Admaston, near Wellington, only two
railes from Kingley Wick, there is a salt medical spring, cha-
lybeate and hepatic. There are two springs: the one contain-
ing carbonated iron and lime, selenite and sea salt; the
other, hepatic air, aérated lime, selenite, and sea saltt. The
MS. history of Bradford hundred, betore quoted, says, ‘* at
Moreton Say is a mineral water that purges those who drink
it.” There is also a well, not far from the parsonage-house,
that 1 am pleased to record, as it was fenced in under the
directions of the late archdeacon Clive, and which conti-
nued to partake of the care and consideration he had for the
things, as well as the persons around him. Dr. Darwin
informs me that this spring is valuable as a strong chaly-
beate, but that it has no other peculiar qualities. ‘There is
a spring near Ludlow that contains a very little fixed air,
some magnesia, a little lime, and a good deal of sea salt.
lis strength is irregular as a medicine; it is sometimes about
as active as sea water, I am told, but frequently weaker.

* This brine is now used for the making of soda at a work established
at Wormbridge, on the banks of the canal there, as will be seen by the
following note, which is one of many favours I haye received from Mr.
Dugard, of the Salop Infirmary.

“© At Wormbridge, near Wellington, as well as at several other col-
lieries in the neighbourhood, martial pyrites are found in considerable
quantities. After being cleared from the coal (sulphureous coal) in which
they are found, the lumps, which are perhaps from twelve to fourteen
pounds weight each, are disposed in loose heaps, upon a bed, or large
area, paved with bricks, and inclining from the circumference to the
centre, to allow the water, with which the whole is repeatedly sprinkled,
ultimately 10 flow into a large reservoir which is constructed at this place.
The pyiites are thus exposed to the ection of the air, as well as frequent
waterings; the decomposition of them, produced by this process, forms
sulphate ef iron (martial vitriol) in considerable quantities, and was a
few years ago evaporated and crystallized, and allowed to be, by the con-
sumers, as pure a salt of iron as eny ever made in Great Britain. The
demand for it was greater than the work,. in its infant state, could sup-
ply. It is now no longer carried on as a vitriol manufactory, but the acid
obtained from the pyrites is wholly consumed in getting the soda from
rock salt and the brine of Kingley Wick.

4+ Yownson’s Tracts, ps 179.

A pint

On the Tinniag of Copper, We. 313

A pint is a usual dose; but very large quantities have been
drunk without any fatal effects.

Between Welbatch and Pulley Common are two wells,
called Hanley or Boothby Spa. The water of both is weak:
the one contains sea salt, muriated lime, magnesia, and
selenite; the other has, with these ingredients, a chaly-
beate. Near Sherlot Common, in the neighbourhood of
Wenlock, is a strony chalybeate water. On Prolley Moor,
near the western side of the Longmynd, is a spring that
contains a small proportion of selenite and of sea salt; but
muriated lime is the principal ingredient. It shows nowp-
pearance of iron with the usual test. I shall conclude this
section with an account of Sutton Spa, near Shrewsbury ;
for the whole of which I am indebted to Dr. Evans; and if
an obligation becomes lighter by being divided, I doubt not
but the readers of the arucle will readily joi in sharing its
weight.

[ To be continued. ]

LV. Extract froma HWork, published by Professor Proust,
entitled Researches on the Tinning of Copper, on Tin
Vessels, and glazed Pottery; published at Madrid
1803 *.

‘Daz author, in the introduction, says, that the motives
which induced him to undertake this labour were the doubts
spread abroad, two years before, among the public in re-
gard to the salybrity of tinned copper, and the accounts of
the disagreeable accidents arising trom vessels badly glazed.
Government, always attentive to every thing that can tend
to calm the public mind, had recourse on this subject to
sound chemistry; the only tribunal competent to banish
doubts of this xind. Two problems were presented to the
author to he resolved :

Ist, Js the use of zinc advantageous or not, for tinning
and for tin vessels ?

2d, Can tinning, in consequence of the lead it contains,
and sometimes in Jarge quantities, expose the health of the
public to the same dangers as glazing of a bad quality?

The author divides his work into three chapters, and each
chapter into several paragraphs.

he first part, which may be considered as historical, is

divided into four paragraphs.

In the first the author mentions the project which was

* From the Journal de Paysique, Frimaire, an 13.
presented

314 On the Tinning of Copper,»

presented by M. Malouin to the Academy of Sciences at
Paris in 1741, in rezard to the employment of zinc for tin-
ning iron and copper: the advantages he promised himself
were only illusory, and his expectations have not been-con-
firmed by time.

The second paragraph contains an account of a paper on
tinning, presented to the same academy by J. B. Kemerlin
jn 1742. One may see there the examination of it by
Messrs. Hellot and Geoffroy, who entertained an opinion
contrary to the assertions of the author.

The same year the academy charged Hellot and Geoffroy
to examine the alloys of zinc proper for making vessels.
The inconveniences pointed out by the two academicians,
as well as by many others, were verified by Proust; and all
of them are inclined to proscribe such alloys. Having made
a mixture of equal parts of lead and zinc, similar to that
examined by the two commissioners, he obtained an alloy
of a paste-like consistence, as easy to be cut with a knife
as cheese, and difficult to be cast. M. Pierre Blanco, a
very ingenious pewterer, seconded the labours of Proust.
The first time he poured the alloy into the mould, it did not
run sufficiently to fill it. He tried it a second time ; and,
when he thought he could draw it from the mould, it fell
into pieces, as they had no cohesion. Being desirous to
procure a piece well or ill moulded, he found himself obliged,
at the third time, to cool his mould in cold water, and to
employ double the time necessary to cast a piece of the
same size with common alloys: the vessel obtained broke
short, and was filled with defects which could not be re-
medied. A pound of alloy was employed, and the article
weighed only nine ounces. The whole of the residuum was
mere Joss. The same article acquired in a month a dark
colour, and at the end of six months was covered with
oxide; inconveniences which do not take place in vessels
of common tin. The author still continues to make se-
veral practical objections, to which no one has given an
answer.

It is seen, therefore, that alloys of zinc are not so advan-
tageous as some have imagined; and those who propose
them have neither consulted chemistry nor practice. Before
they were presented to government for its sanction, it was
necessary to subject these alloys to the test of chemical
agents: and this the author has not omitted.

ist, A plate of the alloy in question being brought into
contact with vinegar, the latter contracted a very disagreea-
ble metallic taste at the end of a day: on thethird day,

without

on Tin Vessels, and glazed Pottery. B15

without being sweet, astringent, or bitter, it occasioned in
the throat a very uneasy and disgusting sensation, and no
doubt a small dose of it would have excited vomiting.

2d, A plate of the same alloy, of four inches’ surface,
boiled half an hour in vinegar, lost 16 grains of its weight.

‘3d, Vinegar being boiled in a vessel tinned with the
same alloy, acquired the same taste as No. 1.

4th, A plate of the same alloy, exposed cold in distilled
vinegar, exhibited the same phenomena as No. 1 and 3.
This solution, when attentively examined, did not exhibit
an atom of tin.

All these facts, which confirm those of the French aca-
demicians, prove that zinc is a metal exceedingly soluble
in vinegar, very easily altered, and that solutions of it hav-
ing been found noxious, it ought to be proscribed from our
kitchens.

The subject of the third paragraph is the project of
M. Doucet, who in 1778 presented to the Academy of Sci-
ences at Paris a bar and pan made with a mixture of his
invention. It was examined by Macquer and Montigni,
who made a report on it. These two chemists, having

more experience than Hellot and Geoffroy, analysed it che-
mically, and, having soon found that it had its inconveni-
ences, it was rejected. —-

The alloy of Chartier, and the project of Lafolie, shared
the same fate, as is seen by the report of the commissioners,
and by the labours of the abbé Monges and of Bayen.

The alloy of M. Buschaendorf, of Leipsic, presented in
1802, and described in the Annales des Arts et Manufac-
tures, forms the subject of the last paragraph. © Proust sub-
jected it to the sane experiments as the preceding: he
proves that it is attended with the same inconveniences,
without having any of the qualities announced by Buschaen-
dorf.

Part II.

On the old Method of Tinning.

This part consists of ten paragraphs. M. Malouin,
while he proposes his mixture, does not condemn the old,
but he mentions the dangers to whieh people are exposed
by this kind of tinning. _Kemerlin, Hellot, Geoffroy,
Doucet, Chartier, Lafolie, Buschaendorf, and others, have
done no more: but no one has hitherto proved the reality
of these supposed dangers ; and what is still more astonish-
‘ing is, to see the inactivity of the chemists of Europe in
realising or exploding a fact which is so interesting to so-

ciely.

316 On the Tinning of Copper,

ciety. To decide the question in a peremptory manner, it
was necessary to undertake a sevies of experiments which
had before been neglected. To succeed :n them it was pre-
viously necessary to examine the properties of some metals
and oxides; and there are nine paragraphs emploved in the
examination of iron, antimony, mercury, lead, and zinc.
This examination was requisite to answer all the objections
which he proposed to resolve in the third part of this work.

PAR. ALT.
This part is divided into five paragraphs.
PARAGRAPH I.
Experiments made on the old Method of Tinning.

Five plates of copper, each a foot square, were tinned,
all the necessary precautions being taken. The object of
the author was to ascertain the quantity of alloy they would
take one with another.

The first took

144 grains.

The second -; 178
The third - 200
The fourth - 208
The fifth - 230

The quantity of tinning which copper can take is exceed-
ingly variable, and not subject to calculation: the alteration
ot the copper by tinning being in all points the same, the
variations in the weight must necessarily depend on the
more or less exact manner in which the workman removes
the superfluous tinning; and one might be induced to be-
lieve that the artist has it in his power to give a tinnin
more or less abundant; but the tinning not alloyed with
the copper ought not to be considered in the same manner
asthat which is alloyed. The author has proved, in gene-
ral, that good tinning takes a grain of tin per square inch.

ParaGRarH ITI.

On the Duration and Causes of the Destruction of Tinning.

Tinning with pure tin has a silver white colour, and, in
contact with vapours capable of attacking it, assumes a yel-
lowish tint. That made with one-third, one-fourth, or
one-half of lead, like the old tinning, has more brilliancy,
and may be easily distinguished from the former.

The causes which destroy tinning are friction, caloric,
-and acids: the effects of all these causes vary according to
an infinite number of circumstances, which are determined
by the author as exactly as possible, and have taught him,

that,

on Tin Vessels, and glazed Pottery. 347

that, even supposing alloy to be made with one-haif lead,
no individual can swallow per day 1-20th grain of that
metal ; a quantity inappreciable in its effects, since we daily
_ swallow a hundred times more when we eat game, without
being incommoded by it. From these facts, and many
others, it results, that if vessels of tinned copper occasion
illness, they ought rather to be ascribed to the want of tin-
ning than: to the latter.

ParaGrapH III.
Of Tinning considered as soluble in alimentary Acids.

Eight saucepans, each capable of containing twenty
ounces of water, were tinned with the following afloys:
The Ist, with pure tin.
2d, with tin having 0°05 of lead.

3d, - - 0°10
4th, - - 0°15
SiNs.:,° 2 - 0°20
6th, - - 0°25
(i ee 0°30

Sth, with equal parts of tin and Jead.

Tinning with pure lead was impossible.

Info each of these pans there was put a pound of red
wine vinegar, which was boiled till jt was half consumed.
The vinegar of each pan was poured into a glass vessel, and
suffered to remain at rest for twenty-four hours. The vi-
negar was then poured off, and the precipitates were well
washed: each portion of vinegar was mixed with an equal
quantity of distilled water; equal parts of each were put
into the vessels, and three rows were formed of eight vessels
each., The vessels of the first and second rows contained
vinegar ; those of the third, sediments. Nearly four ounces
of the sulphate of potash were poured into each vessel of
the first row, and into those of the second and third row
about four ounces of hydro-sulphurated water. In the first
Tow no precipitate was observed, consequently there was
no lead: in the vessels of the second row there was ob-
served a slight chestnut-coloured sediment, which indicated
the existence of tin. The sediments of the third row did
not change colour, whence it was concluded that there did
not exist in them any metallic substances. The vinegar,
then, boiled in the tinned pans did not dissolve lead, but
only a very small quantity of tin.

The sediments of the third row were, for the most part,
composed of tartar and sulphate of lime. These two salts,

3 in

318 On the Tinning of Copper,

in precipitating, might have carried with them a little lead ;
but they did not contain an atom of it. ;

The same experiments being repeated with very strong
white wine vinegar, which was boiled till three parts of it
were consumed, confirmed the preceding facts ; with this
only difference, that the tinning assumed the colour of lead,
and readily yielded to the friction of the finger, coming off
in the form of a gray powder, which was nothing else than
very fine particles of lead. This phenomenon was more
remarkable in the pan No. 8, though the quantity of that
powder did not weigh half a grain. These facts were the
less remarkable the nearer to the pan No. 13 so that with a
little practice one might judge by these means of the quan-
tity of lead and tin contained in tinning.

The vinegar formed zones of a very beautiful colour on
the tinning of the pan No. 1. These facts may still serve
to enable one to distinguish the quality of tinning. These
experiments evidently prove that lead, which is very soluble
in vinegar, loses that property when alloyed with tin. This
is agreeable to chemical facts already known; for tin is
more oxidable and soluble than lead, and the latter is pre-
cipitated from its solutions by tin, and this is the cause of
the presence of the gray powder above mentioned ; for vi-
negar, indeed, dissolves immediately a few particles of the
lead in the tinning, but it is afterwards precipitated by the
tin, and forms gray dust. All these facts, and many others
explained by the author, prove that tinning, the half even
of which is lead, cannot be dangerous in domestic purposes ;
and that, to be hurtful to the health by the contact of ali-
mentary acids, it would be necessary that the pans should
be pure lead, or tinned with that metal only, which is im-
possible.

PARAGRAPH IV.

On Tin Fessels.

It was necessary to examine the action of vegetable acids
on vessels of tin. For this purpose the author caused the
following vessels to be made :

Ist, Pure tin.
2d, Tin having - 0:05 of lead.

3d, Ditto - - 0:10
4th, Ditto - - 015
5th, Ditto - - 0:20
6th, Ditto = - - 0°25
Ith, Ditto - - 0°30
sth, Ditto - - 0°50

gth, Of pure lead,
All

on Tin Vessel, and glaxed Pottery. 319

All these vessels were filled with boiling vinegar, which
was left in them three days. The vinegar of the first eight
vessels being subjected to the examination of re-agents, did
not give the least signs of the existence of lead, but of some
particles of tin. The vinegar in the ninth vessel was much
saturated with-lead.

The same experiments, repeated at three other times,
with vinegar of greater or less strength, exhibited the same
phenomena. In these cases it was observed that the first
eight vessels had assumed the colour of lead, and exhibited
the same phenomena as those indicated in regard to tinning
in the preceding paragraph.

The author, after supporting his observations by those of
Bayen and those of Vauquelin, deduces this consequence :
Tin alloyed with lead is harder than when it is pure, and
less susceptible of suffering its particles to be mixed with
aliments. What have we to fear from such vessels? Small
particles which may be detached by the fork or the knife ?
Such fears are groundless. Let us apply, then, to vessels
of tin, in regard to their use, what we have said of tinning,
that the fears entertained in regard to the employment of it
are not proved by any facts well authenticated; and if the
art of the pewterer is susceptible of improvement, either in
regard to health cr practice, it cannot be expected from
mixtures which have always been rejected by sound che-
mistry. Besides, we know several other mixtures which
might be tried before we have recourse to a metal so solu-
duble, and so difficult to be worked, as zinc.

Let us now form a parallel of the alloys we have exa-
mined, with those used by the pewterers.

Pure tin forms the first quality, which they employ for
the best utensils and those most esteemed.

The second kind of mixture contains an eighth of lead,
and serves for making common vessels.

The third kind contains 0°15 of lead, and is employed
for drinking-vessels. t

The first kind, which is the most common, contains 0°20
of lead; and is employed for making ink-stands and other
small articles.

From what has been said it may be seen, that if pewterers
employ sometimes for common vessels the fourth kind of
mixture, the public can be exposed to no danger. The
antients, who made so much use of tin vessels, have left
us'no certain facts which prove that the use of them was
contrary to health, and medicine never proscribed them.

[To be continued. ]

LVI. A

. { 320 }

LVI. A short Account of the Cause of the Disease in Corn,
called by Farmers the Blight, the Mildew, and the Rust.
By the Rt. Hon. Sir Josepu Banks, Bart. K.B. P.R.S.*

Borastsrs have Jong known that the Blight in Corn ts
occasioned by the growth of a minute parasitic fungus or
mushroom on the leaves, stems, and glumes of the living

lant. Felice Fontana published in the year 1767 an ela-
ee account of this mischicyous weed}, with micro-
scopic figures, which give a tolerable idea of its form; more
modern botanists f have given figures both of corn and of
grass affected by it, but have not used high magnifying
powers in their researches,

Agriculturists do not appear to-have paid, on this head,
sufficient attention to the discoveries of their fellow-la-
bourers in the field of nature; for though scarce any English
writer of note on the subject of rural economy has failed to
state his opinion of the origin of this evil, no one of them
has yet attributed it to the real cause,,unless Mr. Kirby's
excellent papers on some diseases of corn, published in the
Transactions of the Linnean Society, are considered as agri-
cultural essays.

On this account it has been deemed expedient to offer to
the consideration of farmers, engravings of this destructive
plant, made from the drawings of the accurate and inge-
nious Mr. Bauer, botanical painter to his majesty, accom-
panied with his explanation, from whence i is presumed
an attentive reader will be able to form a correct idca of the
facts intended to be represented, and a just opinion whether
or not they are, asis presumed to be the case, correct and
satisfactory.

In order, however, to render Mr. Bauer’s explanation
More easv to be understood, it is necessary to premise,
that the striped appearance of the surface of a straw, which

© Copied, by permission, from the publication of the president of the
Royal Society, with additional notes by the author, who has also kindly
entrusted us with the original drawings, made by Mr. Bauer, of Kew,
for the purpose of enabling our engraver, Mr. Lowry, to do complete
justice to the merits of the originals. The time necessary for executing
them in that masterly style in which we wish to present them to the
public, puts it out of our power to give more than one of them with our
present Number. The other we hope to be able to give with our next.
—EbitT.—

+ Osservazioni sopra la Ruggine del Grano. Lucca, 1757, 8vo.

t Sowerby’s Bnglish Fuogi, vol. ii. tab, 140, Wheat, tab, 139, Poa
aquatica.

may

on the Blight in Corn. 321

may be seen with a common magnifying glass, is caused
by alternate longitudinal partitions of the bark, the one
imperforate, and the other furnished with one or two rows
of pores or mouths, shut in dry, open in wet weather,
and well calculated to imbibe fluid whenever the straw is
damp*.

By these pores, which exist also on the leaves and
glumes, it is presumed that the seeds of the fungus gain
admission, and at the bottom of the hollows to which they
lead (see Plate V and VI. fig. 1. 2.), they germinate and push
their minute roots, no doubt (though these have not yet
been traced), into the cellular texture beyond the bark, where
they draw their nourishment, by intercepting the sap that
was intended by nature for the nutriment of the gram; the
corn of course becomes shrivelled in proportion as the fungi
are more or less numerous on the plant; and as the kernel
only is abstracted from the grain, while the cortical part
remains undiminished, the proportion of flowr to bran in
blighted corn, is always reduced in the same degree as the
corn is made light. Some corn of this year’s crop will not
yield a stone of flour from a sack of wheat ; and it is not
impossible that in some cases the corn has been so com-
pletely robbed of its flour by the fungus, that if the propri-
etor should choose to incur the expense of thrashing and
grinding it, bran would be the produce, with scarce an atom
of flour for each grain.

Every species of corn, properly so called, is subject to
the blight ; but it is observable that spring corn- is less
damaged by it than winter, and rye less than wheat, pro-
bably because it is ripe and cut down before the fungus has
had time to increase in any large degree.—Tull says that
«¢ white cone or bearded wheat, which hath its straw like
arush full of pith, is less subject to blight than Lammas
wheat, which ripens a week later.” See page 74. The
spring wheat of Lincolnshire was not in the least shrivelled
this year, though the straw was in some degree infected :

* Pores or mouths similar to these are placed by nature on the surface of
the leaves, branches, and stems, of all perfect plants, a provision intended
no doubt to compensate, in some measure, the want of loco-motion in ve-
getables. A plant cannot when thirsty go to the brook and drink, but it
can open innumerable orifices for the reception of every degree of moisture,
which either fallsin the shape of rain and of dew, or is separated from the
mass of water always held in solution by the atmosphere ; it seldom happens
in the driest season, that the night does not afford some refreshment cf this
kind, to restore the moisture that has been exhausted by the heats of the
preceding day. :

Vol. 21, No, 84, May 1805, X the

322 Sir Joseph Banks

the millers allowed that it was the best sample brought to
market. Barley was in some places considerably spotted ;
but as the whole of the stem of that grain is naturally en-
veloped in the hose or basis of the leaf, the fungus can in
no case gain admittance to the straw : it is however to be
observed that barley rises from the flail lighter this year
than was expected from the appearance of the crop when
gathered in.

Though diligent enquiry was made during the last
autumn, no information of importance relative to the origin
or the progress of the blight could be obtained : this 1s net
to be wondered at ; for, as no one of the persons applied to
had any knowledge of the real cause of the malady, none
of them could direct their curiosity in a proper channel}.
Now that its nature and cause have been explained, we
may reasonably expect that a few years will produce an
interesting collection of facts and observations, and we
may hope that some progress will be made towards the
very desirable attainment of either a preventive or a cure.

It seems probable that the leaf is first infected in the
spring, or early in the summer, before the corn sheots up
into straw, and that the fungus 1s then of am orange co-
lour*; after the straw has become yellow, the fungus
assumes a deep chocolate brown: each individual is so
small that every pore on a straw will produce from 20 to
40 fungi, as may be seen in the plates, and every one of
these will no doubt produce at least 100 seeds ; if then one
of these seeds tillows out into the number of plants that
appear at the bottom of a pore in Plate V and VJ. fig. 1, 2.
how incaleulably large must the increase be! A few diseased
plants scattered over a field must very speedily infect a whole
neighbourhood ; for the seeds of fungi are not much heavier
than air, as every one who has trod upon a ripe puff-ball
must have observed, by secing the dust, among which is its
seed, rise up and float on before him.

How long it is before this fungus arrives at puberty, and
scatters its seeds in the wind, can only be. guessed at by
the analovy of others; probably the period of a generation
is short, possibly not more than a week in a hot season: if
so, how frequently in the latter end of the summer must

* The abl:é Tessier, in his Traité des maladies des Grains, tells us, that in
France this disease first shows itself in minute spots of a dirty white colour
on the leaves and stems, which spots extend themselves by degrees, and in
time change to yellow, and throw offa dry orange-coloured powder, pp. 201.
§$40.—Additivial note of the Author,

the

on the Blight in Corn. 323

the air be loaded as it were with this animated dust, ready,
whenever a gentle breeze, accompanied with humidity,
shall give the signal, to intrude itself into the pores of
thousands of acres of corn! Providence, however, careful
ef the creatures it has created, has benevolently provided
against the too extensive multiplication of any species of
being: was it otherwise, the minute plants and animals,
enemies against which man has the fewest means of de-
fence, would increase to an inordinate extent : this; how=
ever, can in no case happen, unless many predisposing
causes afford their combined assistance. But for this wise
and beneficent provision, the plague of slugs, the plague of
mice, the plagues of grubs, wire-worms, chafers, and
many other creatures whose power of multiplying is count-
less as the sands of the sea, would, long before this time,

: ae
have driven mankind, and all the larger animals, from the

face of the earth.

Though all old persons who have concerned themselves
im agriculture remember the blight in corn many years, yet
some have supposed that of late years it has materially in-
creased ; this however does not seem to be the case. Tull,
in his Horsehoeing Husbandry, p. 74, tells us, that the
year 1725 “* was a year of blight the like of which was
never before heard of, and which he hopes. may never
happen again ;””. yet the average price of wheat in the year
1726, when the harvest of 1725 was at market, was only
86s. 4d. and the average of the five years of which it makes
the first, 37s. 7d.—1797 was also a year of great blight ;
the price of wheat in 1798 was 49s, 1d. and the average of
the five years, from 1795 to 1799, 63s. 5d.*

The climate of the British Isles is not the only one that
is liable to the blight in corn ; it happens occasionally in
every part of Europe, and probably in all countries where
corn is grown. Italy is very subject to it, and the last har-
vest of Sicily has been materially hurt by it. Specimens
received from the colony of New South Wales show that

* The scarcity of the year 1801 was in part occasioned by a mildew which
in many places attacked the plants of wheat on the south-east side only, but it
was principally owing to the very wet harvest of 1800. ‘The deficiency of
wheat at that harvest wasfound, on a very accurate calculation, somewhat to
exceed one-fourth ; but wheat was not the only grain that failed ; all others,
and potatoes also, were materially deficient. "his year the wheat is probably
somewhat more damaged than it was in 1800, and barley somewhat less than
an average crop. Every other article of agricultural food.is abundant, aad
,otatoes one of the largest crops that has been known; but for these bless-
tngs on the labour of man, wheat must before this time have reached an
exorbitant price-reddditivnal nole of the Author.

X 2 considerable

324 Sir Joseph Banks

considerable mischief was done to the wheat crop there in
the year 1803 by a parasitic plant, very sumilar to the
English one.

Tt has been long admitted by farmers, though scarcely
credited by botanists, that wheat in the neighbourhood of
a barberry bush seldom escapes the blight. The village of
Rollesby in Norfolk, where barberries abound, and wheat
seldom succeeds, is called by the opprobrious appellation of
Mildew Rollesby. Some observing men have of late attri-
buted this very perplexing effect to thie farina of the flowers
of the barberry, which is in truth yellow, and resembles in
some degree the appearance of the rust, or what is presumed
to be the blight in its early state.

It is, however, notorious to all botanical observers, that
the leaves of the barberry are very subject to the attack of a
yellow parasitic fungus, larger, but otherwise much resem-
bling the rust in corn.

Is it not more than possible that the parasitic fungus of
the barberry and that of wheat are one and the same species,
and that the seed is transferred from the barberry to the
corn? Misletoe, the parasitic plant with which we are the
best acquainted, delights most to grow on the apple and
hawthorn, but it flourishes occasionally on trees widely
differing in their nature from both of these: in the Home
Park, at Windsor, misletoe may be seen in abundance on
the lime trees planted there in avenues. HH this conjecture
is founded, another year will not pass without its being
confirmed by the observations of inquisitive and sagacious
farmers.

It would be presumptuous to offer any remedy for a ma-
lady, the progress of which is so little understood : con-
jectures, however, founded on the origin here assigned to
it, may be hazarded without offence.

It is believed * to begin early in the spring, and first to
appear ou the, leaves of wheat in the form of rust, or
orange-coloured powder ; at this season, the fungus will,
in all probability, require as many weeks for its progress
from infancy to. puberty as it does days during thé heats
of autumn ; but a very few plants of wheat, thus infected,
are quite sufficient, if the fangus is permitted to ripen its
seed, to spread the malady over a feld, or indeed over a.
whule parish.

The chocolate-coloured blight is little observed till the

* This, though believed, is not dogmatically asserted, because Fontana, -
the best writer on the subject, asserts that the yellow and the dark coloured
blight are different species of fungi.

corm

——

on the Blight in Corn, 325

corn is approaching very nearly to ripeness ; it appears then
in the field in spots, which increase very rapidly in size, and
are in calm weather somewhat circular, as if the disease took
its origin from a central position.

May it not happen, then, that the fungus is brought
into the field in a few stalks of infected straw uncorrupted
among the mass of dung laid in the ground at the time of
sowing? It must be confessed, however, that the clover
lays, on which no dung from the yard was used, were as
much infected Jast autumn as the manured crops. The
immense multiplication of the disease in the last season,
seems however to account for this; as the air was no doubt
frequently charged with seed for miles together, and depo-
sited it indiscriminately on all sorts of crops.

It cannot however be an expensive precaution to search
diligently in the spring for young plants of wheat infected
with the disease, and carefully to extirpate them, as well as
all grasses, for several are subject to this or a similar ma-
lady, which has the appearance of orange-coloured or of
black stripes on their leaves, or on their straw 3 and if ex-
perience shall prove that uncorrupted straw can carry the
disease with it into the field, it will cost the farmer but
little precaution to prevent any mixture of fresh straw
from being carried out with his rotten dung to the wheat
field.

In a year Jike the present, that offers so fair an oppor-
tunity, it will be useful to observe attentively whether
cattle in the straw-yard thrive better or worse on blighted
than on healthy straw. That blighted straw, retaining on
it the fungi that have robbed the corn of its flour, has in
it more nutritious matter than clean straw which has
yielded a crop of plump grain, cannot be doubted; the

uestion is, whether this nutriment in the form of fungi
dikes, or can be made to agree as well with the stomachs of
the animals that consume it, as it would do in that of straw
and corn.

It cannot be improper in this place to remark, that al-
though the seeds of wheat are rendered, by the exhausting
power of the fungus, so lean and shrivelled that scarce any
flour fit for the manufacture of bread can be obtained by
grinding them, these very seeds will, except, perhaps, in
the very worst cases*, answer the purpose of seed corn as
well as the fairest and plumpest sample that can be ob-

* Eighty grains of the most blighted wheat of the last year, that could be
obtained, were sown in pots in the hot-house; of these, seventy-two pro-
duced healthy plants,—a loss of ten per cent. only.

x3 tained,

326 Sir Joseph Banks on the Blight in Corn.

tained, and in some respects better; for as a att of
much blighted corn will contain one-third at least more
grains in ‘number than a bushel of plump corn, three bushels
of such corn will go as far i in sowing land, as four bushels
of large grain.

The use of the flour of corn in furthering the process of
vegetation, is to nourish the minute plant from the time of
its developement ull its roots are able to attract food from
the manured earth ; for this purpose one-tenth of the con-
tents of a grain of wood wheat is more than sufficient. The.
quantity of flour in wheat has been increased by culture
and management calculated to improve ifs qualities for the
benefit of mankind, in the same proportion as the pulp
of apples and pears has been increased, by the same means,
above what is found on the wildings ‘and crabs in the
hedges.

Tt is customary to set aside or to purchase for seed corn,
the boldest and plumpest samples that can be obtained ;
that is, those that contain the most flour ;_ but this is unne-
cessary waste of human subsistence 5 the smallest grains,
such as are sifted out before the wheat is carried to market,
and either consumed in the farmer’s family, or given to his
poultry, will be found by experience to answer the purpose
of propagating the sort trom whence they sprung, as effec-
tually as the largest.

Every ear of wheat is composed of a number of cups,
placed alternately on each side of the straw ; the lower ones,
contain, according to circumstances, three or four grams,
nearly equal in size ; but towards the top of the ear, where
the quantity of nutriment is diminished by the more ample
supply of those cups that are nearer the root, the third or
fourth grain in a cup 1s frequently defrauded of its propor-
tion, and becomes shrivelled and small. These small
grains, which are rejected by the miller, because they do
not contain flour enough for his purpose, have nevertheless
an smple abundance for all purposes of vegetation, and
as fully partake of the sap (or blood, as we should call it
in animals) of the kind which produced them, as the
fairest and fullest grain that can be obtained from the bot-
toms of the low cr cups by the was steful process of beating
the sheay es ;

Explanation of the Drawings.
Fig. 1. (Plate VI.) A piece of the infected wheat straw—-
natural size: at @ the leaf-sheath is brcken and removed,
to show the straw which is not infected under i hee

8 Fig. 2.

On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal. 327

Fig. 2. (Plate V.) A highly magnified representation of
the parasitic plant which infects the wheat: a in a young
state; J full grown; ¢ are two plants bursting and shedding
their seeds when under water in the microscope; d two
plants burst-in a dry state; e seems to be abortive; f seeds
in a dry state ; g a small part of the bottom of a pore with
some of the parasitic fungi growing upon it.

Fig. 3. A part of the straw of fig. 1. magnified.

Fig. 4. Part of fig. 3. at a b more magnified.

Fig. 5. Part of a straw similar to fig. 3. but in its green
state, and before the parasitic plant is quite ripe.

Fig. 6. A small part of the same, more magnified.

Fig. 7. (Plate VI.) A highly magnified transverse cutting
of the straw, corresponding with fig. 4. showing the inser-
tion of the parasite in the bark of the straw.

Fig. 8. A longitudinal cutting of the same; magnified
to the same degree.

Fig. y. A small piece of the epidermis of a straw, show-
ing the large pores which receive the seed of the parasite ;
the smaller spots observable on the epidermis, are the bases
of hairs that grow on the plant of the wheat whilst ycung,
but which fall off when it ripens, magnified to the sane
degree as the preceding figures.

LVII. On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal, By the late

AntTuony Lampert, Esq.*
To treat fully of objects so important, and of such mag-
nitude, would require a range of information and accuracy
of detail, which can anly be expected from great practical
experience, aided by the most liberal communications from
the public offices- of government, in their commercial, re-
venue, and marine departments. The records of the custom-
house are in most countries, except Bengal, open to the
inspection of individuals; but this source of information
being inaccessible to us, the amount of forcign trade must
be assumed from other data.

Although Bengal possesses a considerable extent of sea
coast, (from the Subunreecka to the! Rajoo river, about
340 miles,) she has but few good harhours ; her situation,
nevertheless, is well adapted for foreign commerce. Occu-
pying an intermediate station in that, vast portion of the

* From the Asiatic Annual Register for 1803.

Wed slabe

328 On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal.

globe usually denominated the East Indies, her access is
rendered easy to the remotest shores of Africa, Asia, and
America.

On the west, and contiguous to Bengal, lies the great
peninsula of Hindustan. To the numerous ports and set-
tlements on both coasts of this peninsula, particularly the
coast of Coromandel, Bengal carries on a constant, exten-
sive,. and profitable commerce, which may properly be
called her home, or coasting trade. On the east she bor-
ders on Assam, and touches the dominions of Ava. The
former she supplies exclusively with salt; and from the
latter receives all her teak timber for ship building and do-
mestic use. The bay of Bengal, embracing the west end
of Sumatra, and washing the coast of Malaya, affords a
direct communication through the straits of Malacca to
China and the eastern isles, where the opium, saltpetre,
and piece goods of Bengal are always in great demand.
With the Persian and Arabian gulfs, as well as the eastern
coast of Africa, Bengal Jikewise maintains commercial in-
tercourse, though many obstacles have in late years super
vened, to impede her commerce in that quarter.

Calcutta, the political and commercial capiial of British
India, as well as the emporium of Bengal, is situated on
the Houghly river, or western branch of the Ganges, about
100 miles from the sea, and accessible to ships of all sizes
at all seasons. From Calcutta, foreign imports are trans-
ported with great facility by the Ganges and its subsidiary
streams to the northern nations of Hindustan; and the
consumption and exports of Calcutta are readily supplied
through the numerous rivers which intersect Bengal in
every direction, and to which her prosperity has been
ascribed, not only as they facilitate communication and
conveyance, but likewise as they contribute to the fertility
of her soil.

The elegant villas that adorn the banks of the Houghly,
and the southern aspect of Calcutta, impress the mind of
a stranger, on his approach, with high ideas of the opulence
of this great city; but the shipping that crowd the port
point out to him the true source of its splendor. Nume-
rous, and magnificent houses, erected within a few years,
are undoubted proofs of prosperity, and the great population
and extent of the place (still rapidly increasing), with the
busy and animated operations of the harbour, indicate an
active and thriving commerce. I am happy to yield my
unqualified assent to this observation; and it is with no
small degree of national pride, that I can safely ascribe, in

7 : a great

On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal. 329

a great measure, these beneficial effects to the spirited exer-
tions of British merchants resident in India. Exclusive of
the company’s exports, it is to their individual efforts that
Bengal owes her shipping and her commerce.

In tracing the rise and progress of the maritime trade of
Bengal, since it fell under the sway of Great Britain, I
cannot, for want of materials, extend my researches further
back than the year 1773. The accompanying abstract,
compiled from the port list of arrivals and departures, will
show the number and the tonnage of vessels which have
imported and cleared out from Calcutta, or the river
Houghly, for the years 1773, 1783, 1791, 1792, 1793, and
1794, distinguishing the nations to which they belong, or
whose colours they assume: and annexed thereto will be
found a statement for the years 1783 and 1793, showing
the different ports from whence the ships of those years
arrived, and those to which they were bound.

My intention in compiling this abstract is to show the
rapid increase of the maritime commerce of Bengal since
the year 1783; and more especially the increase of the
country trade, or that which is carried on to and from ports
in India. I shall confine my observations principally to
the years 1783 and 1793: the former, the first year of peace
after the American war; and the latter, the year when the
present war commenced, intelligence of which reached
Bengal on the 4th of June.

In 1773, the reader will perceive that only 160 sail of
vessels entered the port, whose aggregate burthen was 44,497
tons; and no more than 108 vessels, carrying 33,470 tons,
cleared out: of the former, 102 sail, burthen 28,872 tons,
were country ships, under English colours; and of the
Jatter 95 sail, burthen 25,080 tons, were of the same de-
scription. Ten years afterwards, at the close of the Ame-
rican war, we find the tonnage inward increased to 64,510
tons, on 149 vessels ; and the departures were 114 sail, car-
rying 49,225 tons. But this increase was only apparent;
for, the war having detained an unusual number of the
company’s ships in India, it will be perceived that they
constitute a large proportion of the arrivals and departures
of that year, many of them being employed in carrying
stores to the different presidencies, and in the coasting
tirade: to these must be added transports and men of war.
The country shipping under English colours, which arrived
and sailed in 1788, only amounts to 128 sail, carrying
44,865 tons; whereas in 1773 their numbers were 190,
and burthen 53,952 tons; which exhibits a decline of this

tonnage,

330 On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal.

tonnage, in consequence of the war, in the proportion of
one-fifth nearly ; and we are persuaded that the captures
made by the enemy during that unfortunate contest, might
be stated at a much larger proportion.

Our fleets in India, in that disastrous period, although
numerous, powerful, and well appointed, afforded but little
protection to the commerce of the country. Not a single
frigate, in my recollection, was ever detached as a convoy
to merchant ships in the country trade: nay, I have heard
it frequently asserted, that ships ‘of w ar, sailing from Bengal
to join the fleet on the coast of Coromandel, have rejected
all applications for protection to merdhanitrien pursuing the
same voyage; notwithstanding they were laden wi ith grain
for the supply of our armies in the Carnatie, where famine
was then raging with all its horrors. I am not competent
to say how far ‘the detention of a frigate a few days, for the
purpose of aconvoy, might have been i injurious to the public
service; but the merchants here, in the loss of property,
and the famished inhabitants of the coast, in the privation
of food, felt severely this attention to trade, and com-
plained ‘bitterly on the oceasion. Nor did they fail to ob-
serve, that, for other services, that which did not appear
to them of any importance to the public welfare, but under-
taken solely for the purpose of acquiring prize money, fri-
gates and sloops of war were readily detached. Smarting
under repeated and heavy losses, they could neither perceive
the utility nor applaud the zeal which prompted the aid of
a frigate and sloop of war to assist this government in the .
reduction of the defenceless Dutch factory at Chinsurah
in 1781, the capture of which afterwards furnished a subject
of so much litigation.

The daring activity of M. Suffrein at this juneture made
a striking impression. No change of monsoon induced
him to quit the bay of Bengal ; and during the absence of
our ficet, in their annual visit to Bombay for refitment, and
to avoid the storms that prevail at the autumnal equinox, he
swept the seas, destroyed our trade, and imtercepted the
supplies from this to the other presidencies. A ship of the
line and two frigates, which he stationed off the Sand Heads,
or entrance into the Houghly, at one time nearly shut up
the port, at another made many valuable captares, carrying
back an ample supply of all sorts of provisions and stores,
which neither his own resources, nor those of his allies,
could have furnished. From the abundance of Bengal both
friends and foes drew their supplies; and, however much
the loss of what fell imto the enemy’s hands might have

been

On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal. 331

been regretted, it was a fortunate circumstance, that, during
the whole of that war, from a succession of favourable crops,
the great exports of grain created no enhancement of price;
or, at least, not greater than is experienced in the ordinary
fluctuations of the market.

We shall pass over the years 1791 and 1792 without
further observation, than to remark, that from 1783 to
1791, the general trade of Bengal had increased from
113,735 tons, the total of arrivals and departures in the
former year, to 244,035 tons of shipping, which imported
and cleared out in the latter; and that the English country
shipping, which cleared in and out, had risen from 128
sail, carrying 44,865 tons, to 575 sail, burthen 175,407
tons; by which it appears that the country trade, in the
course of only eight years, had multiplied near four-fold.
The effect of this astonishing increase of maritime trade on
the general prosperity of the country, will be readily per-
ceived and admitted.

I come now to the vear 1793, when the present war ori-
ginated, which soon after the commencement here became
ruinous in the extreme to the trade of this country. Intel-
Jigence of hostilities reached us in June, when the only
English ship of force in India was the Minerva frigate:
she left the Indian seas in the month of February 1794,
and, until the arrival of commodore Newcombe off the
Mauritius i May following, the whole of the British com-
merce and possessions in this quarter of the globe was
without the protection of a single ship belonging to the
British navy. Thirteen sail of frigates and_ privateers,
which sailed from the Mauritius, captured, besides two
Indiamen, numbers of the most valuable ships in the
country trade; and would speedily have annihilated our
commerce, and shut up every port in India belonging to
us and our allies, had they not been checked by the vigour
of the supreme government. Our present governor-gene-
ral, with a promptitude and decision which does honour to
his administration, equipped and dispatched a squadron from
Bengal, consisting of three armed Indiamen and a country
ship, strengthened by a detachment of artillery and troops
from the garrison, which captured two of the enemy’s pri-
vateers, and repulsed au attack made by their grand arma-
ment under M. Renaud; obliging him soon after to retum
to the Mauritius, without eflecting any further mischief
than the capiure of the Pigot Indiaman. Some notice of
these circumstances seemed necessary to explain the sudden
decline of trade in 1794: that any commerce was conti-
. nued,

332 On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal.

nued, is due to the exertions of the supreme government
for its protection.

In 1793, we find the tonnage inward and outward to
consist of 757 vessels, burthens 291,190 tons; and of these
575 were English country ships, carrying 209,279 tons.
In 1794, the total of arrivals and departures was reduced to
44] sail, burthen 163,484 tons; of which 286 were English
country ships, carrying 96,321 tons; so that the general
trade of the port, since the commencement of the present
war, has decreased 127,706 tons, and the Indian trade on
British ships 112,948 tons, being a declension of more than
one-half of the country trade.

The documents from which the foregoing statements
have been drawn, are, as we have already mentioned, the
port lists of arrivals and departures, which are registered in
the master attendant’s office, and may be received as accu-
rate, so far as they extend, with respect to number. But
we cannot say so much as to, tonnage, for there being no
tonnage duties paid here, the ships are never measured, and
their burthen is of course estimated, or taken from the in-
formation of the commander. Nor does this list exhibit
such vessels as are piloted by native pilots or by their own
commanders, which is the case with the native craft, or
vessels belonging to and navigated by natives from the
northern circars on the coast of Coromandel.

It is also much the practice with native commanders of
other vessels outward bound to save the pilotage charged

by the company’s pilots, which, on ships drawing much '

. water, falls very heavy, particularly on vessels sailing under
foreign colours. To estimate, therefore, the maritime com-
merce of Bengal from these documents, particularly the
exports, would be to undervalue it greatly. We lament
the want of better materials; but taking them as an occa-
sional guide, and referring to such other sources of informa-
tion as we have been able to procure, we shall attempt to
form some general idea of its magnitude, and the channels
through which it flows.

The exports to Europe and to the United States of Ame-
riea, in importance and extent constitute by far the most
considerable portion of the commerce of Bengal. They
may be comprised under the general heads of cotton and
silk wrought and unwrought, sugar, drugs, and dyes, in-
cluding indigo and saltpetre. As the medium adopted for
the remittance of the surplus revenues of these provinces,
the company’s investment occupies the greatest share in
this trade, being unquestionably the most valuable.

On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal. 333

In No. 15 of the Appendix to the Report of the Com-
mittee of Accounts, published by the court of directors in
February 1793, we find an account of the prime cost of
all the cargoes purchased by the company in India for five
years, from 1786 to 1791 inclusive. We shall only state
the last year’s investment for Bengal, or that provided for
1790-1, as we believe it has rather been increased since that
period ; and we shall adopt that as the present amount of
the company’s exports from Bengal, being 99,11,598 cur--
rent rupees, or 1,06,00,109 current rupees, including com-
mercial charges at 6,88,511 current rupees. The private
trade Jaden on the company’s ships by individuals is esti-
mated by the directors, on an ayerage of three years prior
to 1793, at 300 tons, and valued in England at 6941. per
ton, making 208,2001., the prime cost of which may be
taken, on a conjectural estimate, at 15 lacks of current
rupees ; to this must be added the value of goods Jaden on
the privileged tonnage of the commanders and officers of

- the company’s ships. Fifty tons are allowed to each ship
of 755 tons and upwards ; and a further privileze of 30 tons
is allowed, provided no goods ordered to be laden on the
company account are refused. We will suppose that 50
tons only are occupied; and, estimating the number of

_ ships on an average of 15 per annum, give us 750 tons for
the whole privileged tonnage. It is to be remarked, that
all the ships which arrive at Bengal generally fill up their
privilege at this place, although they may be afterwards
destined to Madras, Bencoolen, or other ports in India;
and as the company have lately increased their tonnage to
this port, we presume the number of tons we have allowed
for privilege is less than what is really occupied*. This
tonnage we value at 3000 current rupees per ton, making

_ 224 lack of current rupees, or about 15,0001. for each ship.
_ Had we estimated the value of privileged tonnage at

20,0001. per ship, we should probably have approached
nearer to the truth; for it is the medium by which the
captains and officers remit home the proceeds of their out-

ard adventures; and those who have no adventures sell
Bbcic privilege to others.

“ Fourteen company’s ships sailed from Bengal in the season 1743-4 ff
Madras, Bencoolen, and Europe, and three on a cruise for the pror-c-
tion of trade. In 1794-5 the number dispatched was twenty-thr¢, in-
cluding those ships that were aia as cruizers, and exclusiv of six
Small ships not in the regular line of the service, which were set out to
be laden with sugar.
bn It

334 On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal.

It is curious to observe the various modes by which com-
merce is pursued, and the expedients which are adopted for
mutual advantage. For some years past it has not been the
practice with the captains and officers of the company’s
ships to fill up their own privileged tonnage, or but a por-
tion of it; and yet they convert it into a profitable and safe
remittance for the proceeds of their adventures to this coun-
try. Little skilled in Indian goods, and of course liable to
imposition, they have wisely abandoned the homeward ad-
venture to merchants resident in Bengal, who fill up their
privilege, reccive their money, and grant bills, at the rate
of 2s. 4d. to 2s. Gd. tor the current rupee. In the exchange
is included freight and insurance, and it depends on the
value remitted per ton, whether the freight 1s dear or cheap. |
The less the merchant draws for, the cheaper he obtams
his freight; for the exchange may at least be reckoned 20
per cent. beyond par, which of course becomes a charge
for freight and insurance. The bills are paid from the pro-
ceeds of the goods, and if the ship is lost, the obligation
of payment 1s void.

In estimating the value of exports to Europe and America
on foreign ships, we shall form our calculation from the
tonnage cleared out in the last three years, 1792, 1793, and
1794. It may be objected to this estimate, that two of the
years we have selected being a period of war, neutral ton-
nage under foreign flags would be increased. This, no~
doubt, has some influence; but the war having involved —
every nation in Europe, except the Danes and Swedes, al-
though we have had an increase of Danish ships in conse-
quence thereof, other foreign tonnage has declined in a
greater proportion. Taking, then, the departures of foreign
ships for Europe and America in 1792, we find them to
consist of

Tons Bal
7 Ships under French colours - - 2,410
1 Dutch ditto - . - - 200
4 Danish ditto - - - 2,300
3 Portuguese ditto - - - 1,400
1 Imperial ditto =" + - 730
5 Genoese ditto - - - 2,280
i6 American ditto - - - 4,302
a
13,622
\ *
\ For

On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal. 335

? a For 1793. ‘Tons Bur.

3 Ships under French colours - - 2,000
6 Danish ditto - - - 3,150
1 Portuguese ditto - - - 370
5 Genoese ditto “ - - 2,900
21 American ditto - - - 6,297
14.717

For i794.

14 Ships under Danish colours - - 7,600
3 Portuguese ditto - - - 1,400
6 American * ditto - - = 1,550

10,550

The medium of the three years gives 12,963 tons; but
as many of the ships under foreign colours from Europe
and America, touch at intermediate ports im India, and are
therefore recorded as arriving from or sailing to an Indian
port, they must be added to the ships which made a direct
voyage. In the years before mentioned, these departures
were as follows:

In 1792, 27 vessels, carrying - 6,880 tons.
1793, 28 ditto - - 9,555
1744, 11 ditto - - 2,200

18,635

‘The medium is 6,2114 tons per annum.
The proportion of the cargoes of these ships intended for
the Europe market, it would be impossible to ascertain :
we shall estimate it at one-sixth of the medium for three
_years, or 1,6352, which, added to the direct tonnage, gives
13,998* tons.
__ As a considerable portion of tonnage is occupied by gruff
oods, we cannot estimate it higher than 1000 current ru-
pees, or 1001, per ton: even at this rate the whole value
will amount to current rupees. 1,39,98,833,54, to which
adding the exports on the company’s ships, the total of
goods, exported to Europe and America amounts by this
computation to two crores, eighty-three lacks, forty-eight
thousand nine hundred and forty-two current rupees, five

* The American tonnage declined this year, from a yery general ap-
prehension that prevailed here, of the United States becoming a party in
the present war.

~ 4

annas,

336 On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal.

annas, four pice, or 2,834,894,48]. 4s. 8d. The Dutch
company, whose trade from Bengal was formerly so consi-
derable, that, within our recollection, their exports to Eu-
rope exceeded forty lacks per annum, have not, to our
knowledge, provided any investment for Europe for several
years past ; we must therefore exclude them for the present
from our estimate of Europe exports, and proceed to the
country trade.

“That branch of it which first claims our attention, is the
intercourse with our settlements, and the different ports on
the coast of Coromandel in its greatest extent, including
the Northern Circars, and reckoning from Point Palmiras
to Cape Comorin; which we have already denominated the
home trade.

This trade, as will be perceived from the port lists, gives
employ to the greatest portion of our home tonnage; and
is important, not only for its nature and extent, but for the
constant resource which it affords to our shipping, of mo-
derate freights, on grain, when other employments fail, or
at intervals when they must otherwise remain idle.

The principal articles of export to Madras and the coast
of Coromandel are grain and pulse, sugar, saltpetre, mo-
lasses, ginger, long pepper, clarified butter, oil, silk wrought
and unwrought, muslins, spirits, provisions, &c.

In the year 1793, 234 ships, burthen 84,045 tons, cleared
out for the coast of Coromandel; and of this tonnage we
suppose that 1,0334 tons were filled by goods intended for
Europe, and 80,000 tons at least were occupied by grain
and pulse; which, valued on a medium at two and a half
current rupees per bag of two bazar maunds, or 164]b.
avoirdupois, when shipped, and 13 bags to the ton, amounts
to 26 lacks of rapecs. Other exports to this coast on ship-
ping owned by European traders, are estimated at 8 lacks,
making in the whole 34 lacks of current rupees. But the
advantages of this trate must not be appreciated by the
value of the goods when shipped, but their value when
sold; for the freight of grain is nearly equal to the cost ;
and, if we take the sales, on a medium of five current ru-
pees per bac, or allow for freight and charges two and a
half current rupees, we find it to be a trade which pays to
the European shipping of India near twenty-seven lacks of
current rupees per annum. To this must be added the ex-
ports on donies and native craft, or vessels belonging to
and wholly navigated by natives of India. Before the pro-
hibition of foreign salt their number was very considerable,
particularly trom the Northern Circars; but that measure
ie depriying

On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal. 337

depriving them of a freight of salt to Bengal, and haying
nothing to substitute but money for iheir purchases, it ope-
rated for many years as a severe check on this branch of
trade. A more liberal policy was adopted by lord Corn-
wallis, by drawing part of the annual supply of salt from
the coast, which, with many other advantages, afforded
considerable encouragement both to native and European
shipping. Since that period this trade has begun to revive,
and we may now rate the tonnage of vessels belonging to
and navigated by natives, which annually visit Bengal, from
_all quarters, including the Maldivian vessels, and those
from the coast of Malabar and Muscat, at. 10,000 tons.
Their exports are principally grain and pulse, with some
coarse sugar, long pepper, ginger, and silk and cotton piece
goods, which may be estimated at about five lacks of cur-
rent rupees ; and, added to the exports for this coast on
ships navigated by or belonging to Europeans, make 39
lacks of current rupecs.

After the Coromandel trade, we place that to the east-
ward, and China; and, were our scale of precedence deter-
mined by the capital it employs, exclusive of shipping, or,
in other words, by the value of its exports only, it would
stand next in rank to that of Europe: but we cannot hold
any branch of trade which requires a capital. of fifty-five
lacks uf rupees, and an outlay of twelye months, to give
employment to 11,000 tons of shipping, equal to that which
employs 84,000 tons on a capital of thirty-four lacks only,
and which returns the outlay in eight or ten weeks.

The grand article which supports the eastern trade is
opium. This fascinating drug has ever been in great re-
quest. amongst al] eastern nations, but more particularly
among the Malays. In its oblivious fume (for they gene-

tally smoke it) they find refuge from every care and anxicty ;
and, when the evils of life press beyond their powers of
endurance, taken in another form, it excites the devoicd
wretch to deeds of horror and destruction.

Amongst this sanguinary people, all ranks and ages, who
have the means of procuring it, use opium without restraint;
and the Chinese, notwithstanding it is prohibited by their
Jaws under severe penalties, appear to be equally fond of the
drug. It was formerly difficult to import opium into China,
and the quantity sold there was trifling; but, in defiance of
prohibitory laws, the consumption of China cannot now be
rated at less than half the quantity exported from Bengal.

By the company’s sales for the year 1793-4, it appears
that 4,520 chests of Patna opium were delivered to the

Vol. 21. No. 84, May 1805. Y Dutch

338 On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal.

Dutch and Danes, and 450 chests were sold, and produced
28,87,780 sicca rupees; besides which 700 chests sent, on
the company’s account, to Bencoolen and Prince of Wales’s
Island. These 1,150:chests, valued at the medium rate of
the sales of Patna opium, amount to 6,36,668,12 sicca ru-
pees. To this must be added about 500 chests annually
imported from Oude, which, estimated at 500 rupees per
chest, makes the whole amount to 32,74,448 sicca rupees,
or 37,98,359 current rupees. Nearly the whole of this is.
exported to the eastern islands and China; or, if we deduct
two lacks for home consumption (which we know to
be principally supplied by smuggled opium), and allow
98,358 10 8 rupees for occasional exports to the coast of
Coromandel and Malabar, we shall not over-rate the value
of this article exported to the eastward, in stating it at 35
lacks of current rupees. Besides opium, our traders carry
to the eastward and China, grain, saltpetre, gunpowder,
iron, fire-arms, cotton, wool, silk, and cotton piece goods,
&c.; of the latter, including what goes to Manilla and Ba~
tavia, the value is considerable; not less, in our opinion,
than ten lacks of rupees. If I estimate all other articles at
five lacks, the exports amount to fifty-five lacks; and TI do
not conceive my assumption of the value of eastern exports
will be found overcharged.

Next to the eastern trade I place that to Bombay and the
ports on the Malabar coast, including Surat, which, in the
year 1793, occupied 51 vessels, carrying 28,100 tons. Of
this tonnage, [ think, no less than 25,000 tons consisted
of grain and pulse, which, taken at the former valuation of
two and a half current rupees per bag, gives 8,12,500 cur-
rent rupees. Other articles of export to these marts consist
principally of sugar, raw silk, some silk and cotton piece
goods, saltpe're, ginger, long pepper, sacking (called gun-
nies), hempen rope, &c., which do not exceed five or six
lacks of rupees; and the whole exports may be reckoned at
14 lacks of current rupees.

To the gulfs of Arabia and Persia, Bengal sends grain,
sugar, silk and cotton piece goods, &c. This trade was
formerly so considerable, that the annual returns were esti-
mated at thirty lacks of rupees; but, owing to the anarehy
which has prevailed in Persia since the death of Kherim
Khan, the successor of Nadir Shah, and in Egypt, since the
overthrow of Ali Bey, with a variety of other causes, it has

. greatly declined of late years *; and including the eastern coast
of

* It has been confidently asserted that the trade to Sucz wis shut up

On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal. 339

#f Africa, the Maldives, and Mauritius, we cannot esti-
mate the exports at more than eight lacks of rupees. -

Notwithstanding the large quantity of teak timber annu-
ally imported from Pegne, the balance of trade is much in
favour of Bengal. Her exports to the dominions of the
king of Ava, including Arracan, consist chiefly of silk and
cotton piece goods, fire-arms, iron, nails, naval and mili-+
tary stores, and a varicty of European goods ; which may
be estimated at about six lacks of current rupees.

It remains to be noticed, the supplies to the new settle-
ment on the Andamans, occasional cargoes to the colonies
at Port Jackson, in New Holland, and expeditions to the
north-west coast of America and Kamschatka: these can-
not be rated beyond two Jacks per annum.

Combining all the exports by sca under the heads to
which we have referred them, they appear as follow :

Curr. Rupees.
Europe and America - - 2,83,48,942 54
Madras and coast of Coromandel - - 39,00,000

Eastern islands, Malay coast, and China — - 55,00,000

Bombay, Surat, and other ports on the Malabar

coast - = = = 14,00,000
Gulfs of Persia, to Arabia, eastern coast of
_ Africa, Maldives and Mauritius - - 8,800,000
Pegue and Arracan - - - 6,00,000
Andamans, Port Jackson, and north-west coast

of America - - - - 2,00,006

— — ——_—— _

4,07,48,042 54

To this sum should be added exports by land to the De-
can, Thibet, Nepaul, and the various nations that surround
Bengal ; hut of these, although considerable, we can form
no computation. We know, however, that in the year
1791 there was exported from Benares alone, to the Decan
and Mahratta states, above a lack of maunds of sugar by
inland traders, and the quantities of raw and wrought silks,
and piece goods, with a variety of European goods, which
are annually purchased by inland merchants, amount to a
considerable sum; probably not less than an eighth part of

by the Porte in consequence of representations made by our ambassador
to the Ottoman government, at the instance of the court of directors. A
measure so injurious to Bengal we caunot attribute to those who are
hound to cherish and support rer; policy and humanity would prompt a
different conduct. We must therefore suppose the prohibition arose from
the natural jealousy of the Turkish government,

Y2 ; the

340 On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal.

the exports by sea. Was I, therefore, to rate the whole
annual exporté of Bengal, by sea and land, at four millions
and a half of pounds sterling, J should, in my own opi-
nion, form a moderate estimate of their value.

Imperfect as the materials are from which I have drawn
my computation of the export trade of Bengal, I am sorry
to confess, that I am without any guide whatsoever to di-
rect me in forming the most distant idea of the amount of
imports. Had I even access to the records of the custom-
house, they would afford very unsatisfactory grounds from
which any conclusions could be drawn.

The company’s tmports pay no duty. Some of the fo-
reign ships discharge their cargoes at Serampore, which of
course pay no duty to the company, and do not appear on
the books of the custom-house; and smuggling is a plant
which rears its head in every climate. 1 shall not, there-
fore, hazard any estimates on this head, for all that I could
offer would be only vague conjecture. Since the abolition
of government customs, no duties have been levied at Cal-
cutta on exports. _ Foreign and inland imports pay four per
cent. ad vabren with an exception to indigo, and to silk
and cotton piece goods of the produce of the country; the
former paying no duty, and the latter only two per cent.
The dutics on liquors are fixed at so much per dozen, or
gallon. A new regulation, I am informed, is about to take
place, which frees inland imports from all duty, and im-
poses two and a half per cent. on all imports by sea, and
the same on exports. This regulation will increase the port
duties, without being unfavourable to the trade of the coun-
try, inasmuch as the whole consumption of inland produce
in Calcutta is thereby liberated ; for we cannot estimate the
impost on goods exported, including even the advanced
price, or the profits of the intermediate merchant, who buys
from the manufacturer or inland trader, and sells to the
foreign exporter at a sum equal to the amount of the present
duties on inland tmports into Calcutta, which comprehend
as well the consumpiton of the place as the exports there-
from.

Provided the different articles of import and export be
precisely enumerated at the custom-house, and this source
of information is accessible, the regulation will afford to
future speculators on this subject some better data than we
possess tor estimating the amount of the trade of Bengal.

The imports of Bengal may be classed under the same
general heads into which we have divided the exports. From
Europe she receives metals of all sorts, wrought and un-

wrought,

On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal. 34]

wrought, woollens of various kinds, naval and military
stores of every description, gold and silver coin and bul-
lion; and almost every article of the produce of Europe,
which people in affluent circumstances there consume, is
imported for the use of the European inhabitants.

The returns from Madras and the coast of Coromandel
consist of salt, red wood, some fine long cloth, izarees,
and chintg, and occasional speculations of European goods,
or the produce of other countries previously imported there.
The balance due to Bengal is either absorbed by drafts or
bills on this government, drawn by the Madras presidency,
01 is remitted in specie.

From the eastern islands and Malay coast are received
pepper, tin, wax, dammer, brimstone, gold dust, specie,

etel-nut, spices, benzoin, &c.: from China, tutenag,
sugar-candy, tea, alum, dammer, porcelain, and lackered
ware, and a variety of manufactured goods: and from Ma-
nilla, indigo of a very fine quality, (which is re-exported to
Europe,) sugar, japan wood, and specie. The balance of
this trade, meaning the whole eastern commerce, is gene-
rally paid into the company’s treasury at Canton for bills
on the court of directors, (which are negotiated here,
and, whilst the exchange was at 5s. Gd. for the Spanish
dollar, formed an advantageous remittance,) or it is ab-
sorbed by bills granted by the traders to this government,
and payable to the supercargoes in China.

The Malabar coast pays her purchases with sandal wood,
coyar rope, pepper, some cardamums, and occasional car-
goes of cotton wool: the balance is remitted by bills, or

‘sunk in the annual supplies which Bengal furnishes to the

presidency ef Bombay.

_ From Pegue are brought teak timber, tin, wax, elephants’
teeth, lac, &c. The gulfs make their returns in coffee,
specie, brimstone, dates, and some other articles of incon-
siderable value. And the Maldives and eastern coast of
Africa supply cowries and coyar.

2 Abstract

On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal.

342

i od : " 2)

bb 'E91) Lo |——— |——

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Ports

343

On the Maritime Commerce of Bengal.

LEGTIGIL8E [eIO:7,

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[344 j it 0

LVI. An Essay on Medical Entomology. By ¥. Cusv-
METON, Physician to the Army.
{Continued from p. 242. ]

ORDER Il.
HEMIPTERA.

Coceus—Gall Insect.—The female, says Cuvier, has the
form of a buckler firmly attached to the stems and leaves
of plants, and lives on the juice, which it, extracts by a
long beak it Inserts into them. It has six short feet, and
two short and cylindric antennz: it has no wings. The
male, in the state of larva, has almost the same form as
the temale ; but it is metamorphosed into a very small in-
sect with two long wings, ldne filiform antenne, and
six smooth eyes, without any apparent beak. When the
female has been fecundated, she becomes considerably
larger. The eggs which she lays remain under her body,
which afterwards becomes dry and serves as a shelter to the
eggs, and for some tnne to the young after they have been
hatched. The latter issue from an indentation in the poste-
rior part of the body of their mother, and run about some
time on the tree before they become fixed.

Coccus ILicis— Kermes.—This gall insect lives on a kind
of green oak which grows in Spain, Portugal, and the south
of France (Quercus coccifera). The female, which in April
¥s not larger than a grain of millet, acquires by fecundation
such a size, that in the month of June she is almost as
large as a juniper berry, which she pretty nearly resembles
in shape and colour, At this last period, when the female
loses life by communicating it, the follicles formed by her
body and eggs are torn off by means of the nails. To pre-
vent the latter from being hatched they are besprinkled with
good vinegar, and dried in the open air.

With the juice expressed from these follicles is prepared
what are called graines d'écarlate and syrup. of kermes,
which is employed as an astringent, stimulant, and aphro-
- disiac,

It will be sufficient to enumerate the different substances
which enter into the preparation of alkermes, to show how
little foundation there is for its great reputation. Notwith-
standing the successive reforms which this electuary has
experienced since the time of Megsue, it could not lose the
impression of that Arabic polypharmacy with which, during
a long series of ages, medicme was infected, and from
which it is not yet totally freed. . ,

N72 , 3 Pastils-

On Medical Entomology. 245

Pastils of alkermes deserve as little confidence, arid! must
also be rejected.

Kermes furnish to the arts a red of a good colour, but
less brilliant than that of cochineal. The latter is an msect
of the same genus (Coccus cacti), which» is produced ‘in
America on a kind of cactus called nopal (Cactus coccinel-
liferus). The female is oval, and retains traces of the seg~
ments of her body. A decoction of these insects, nixed
with a nitro-muriatic solution of tin, produces scarlet;
alone, they dye crimson.

Stisser, Lister, and Struve, have extolled cochineal in
affections of the urinary passages 5 yet its medicinal quali-
ties are very uncertain, and, in my opinion, it ought to be
applied only to dyeing *.

Another kind of coccus produces gum lac. This, also,
medicine may give up to dyeing, which derives from it 2
beautiful red colour.

ORDER IIf.

LEPIDOPTERA.

PHaLzna— Moth.—The phalene are distinguished from
the butterfly and sphynx by their antenne decreasing trom
the base to the summit, and by their flying abroad chiefly
in the night.

Puarana (Bompyx) Mort—The larva of this species is
known generally under the improper denomination of silk
worm. A great deal has been written on the method of
producing and rendering useful the valuable tissue which
forms the tomb it constructs for itsclf: Chaussier has che-
mically examined the phalena of the wnulberry tree, and
has extracted from it, by means of alcohol, an acid (the
bombic) pretty well concentrated, with which. the materia
medica might be enriched. I consider all acids as capable
of furnishing powerful. succour to medicine; and, in my
opinion, none of them ought to be neglected.

Bonnet, Bergman, and Sauvages have found acid pro-
erties in the laryse of several other lepidoptere. It would
e of importance to repeat their experiments, and make ap

application of them, to the art of healing.

: elaine oe a

é oo } 9, TAYMENOPTERA. |

~, Cuxtrs—Cynips.--The mouth of these: insects is fur-
nished with jaws, and unprovided with a trunk. They: have

* Jn general it appears that aJl insects introduced into the anima! eco-
— . . *
momy carry their action chiefly to the urinary organs,

a smajJ]

346 On Medical Entomology.

a small head, and long thin antennz of thirteen or fifteen
articulations. The wings large, and almost without ribs.
The thorax, as it were gibbous. The abdomen compressed
on the sides and sharp below, where it contains, between
two scaly lamine, a sting bent in a spiral form, and which
issues only when the insect wishes to deposit its eggs under
the epidermis of a plant. Its prick occasions a protube-
rance called gall, which always increases, and in which the
larva lives till the time of its metamorphosis*. It then
gnaws through its prison, and the place where it issues is
marked by a hole with which the gall is pierced: some-
times, however, the larva dies before that period, or is not
able to form for itself a passage; in that case the gall re-
mains without being perforated.

Cynres Quercus—Gall Fly.—The oak affords nourish-
ment to several kinds of cynips, which all prick it in cer-
tain parts; such as the branches, flowers, leaves, and foot-
stalks. The species which attack the latter part have a
black body, whitish legs, and brown thighs. It produces
the large round gall full of tubercles, a decoction of which,
mixed with a solution of the sulphate of iron, composes ink,
and almost all black colours.

The gall (called commonly the gall-nut) was formerly
considered as an excellent remedy; and I consider as very
blameable the forgetfulness to which it appears to’be at -
present condemned. It has a great analogy indeed to cin-
chona; and if it cannot, in certain circumstances, supply
its place, there are others in which it is superior. Hippo-
crates employed it externally against affections of the ma-
trix, and Galen cured intermittent fevers by administering
it in doses of a gros.

The external and internal use of gall-nuts is indicated in
asthenic diseases of the lymphatic and cellular systems, in
some mucous fluxes too abundant,'such as blennorrhea and
leucorrhea. Itis a powerful auxiliary for keeping in con-
tiguity parts which have been divided.

The gall nut of the oak, by simple infusion im water,
deposits crystals disposed in the form of a sun, of a gray
colour, and an acid styptic taste. It is gallic acid, which
retains the properties of the substance that furnished it.
Boiling alcohol dissolves equal parts of that acid; cold, it
dissolves a fourth. The gallic alcohol which results from
it ought, in my opinion, to surpass in virtue all the pre-
parations of gall: nuts-hitherto employed.

* Cuvier Tab. Elem, del Hist. Nat, des Animaus.

Crnirs

On Medical Entomology. 347

Cynips Ros®.—The cynips of ‘the rose tree is black ;
its abdomen and feet are red: the excrescence which gives
rise to its larva is spongy, reticulated, and formed of yellow
and red filaments. It is known under the name‘of moss
of the rose tree, or ledesuar. [i is astonishing that illus-
trious physicians have ascribed diuretic, somnifcrous, and ‘~
even ante-hydrophobic properties to. this substance, oittiahe
has no odour*.

‘Curysts—Chryside.—The beautiful colours with which
the bodies of all these insects are ornamented, justify the
name of golden wasp which has been given to them. They
have jaws, but no trunk; their tongue is small and oval;
their antenne are filiform, ‘and composed of twelve atticula=
uons, the first of which is longer than the rest: their sting
is enveloped i in a scaly covering , and serves the insect only
for depositing its cggs in the small cells which it forms in
the mortar of walls exposed to the south.

Cynips 1¢n1va—Blue and red Chryside. CuvierThe '
head and breast cf this species are blue, changing to golden
green; the abdomen is red, changing to gold colour, and
terminated by four indentations.

It has been proposed to employ this insect, dried and
pulverized, or digested in alcohol, in the same manner and
the same diseases as cantharides. Beiris recommends it in
particular in paralytic aifections.

- Arts—The Bee.—The mouth of bees is furnished with
jaws, and a trunk, with which they extract the juice from
flowers: their antennez are filiform. The females and
miales have their anus armed with a retractile sting, which
inflicts a painful wound.

» APIs MELLIFICA—The domestic Bee. Geoff. called im-
properly the Honey Bee—While the farmer is employed
only in increasing the product of bees, the philosopher
observes them in “their solitary retreats; and after having
studied the manners given them by nature! he collects
them into colonies, in order to appreciate the modifications
they have experienced from the hand of man. He con-
structs for them transparent habitations, which permit him
to contemplate their admirable labours, and the police
which prevails among them. These details, equally calcu-
lated to interest and excite curiosity, do not fall within my
province; and I must confine myself to distinguish the

* The only quality that can be distinguished in them is the astrin-
gency common to them with many other vegetable matters.
‘ ‘

domestic

348 ; On Medicat Entomology.

domestic fee from the ether species of the sme genus. It
is well known that a hive contains bees of three kinds:
_ . Ist, The queen or mother is smaller and longer than the

males: her wings do not extend to the extremity of the
hody: the latter is of a bright brown colour above, and of a
beautiful yellow below. She has neither palettes nor brushes
gm the Iegs: her trunk is very short and very delicate.

ed, The males or drones have long wings, a short trunk,
no palettes on theirlegs, and nosting. The only use of them
seems to be to fecundate the queen. This important func-
tion is searcely discharged when they are expelled, or mas-
sacred without mercy. Yet bees are quoted as a pertect
model of food government *. x

3d, Bees without sex, which are called working bees,
Because, indeed, the whole labour of the hive belongs ex-
clusively to them, are distinguished by their smaller size,
and their long pointed trunk, moveable in every direction.
Their paws resemble brushes; the posterior ones are hol-
Jewed out in the spoon form. It is by means of this
conformation that they are able to dive into the corolla of
flowers, suck the nectar from them, and load themselves
with poilen td convert it ito honey and wax. The latter
forms the basis of the combs, the surface of which exhibits
an assemblage of a multitude of cells arranged with won-
derful art and astonishing symmetry. A part of these cells
or alveolz is destined ta receive the honey, and the mother
bee deposits in the rest the hope of a new generation.

Most medicines are distinguished by a dark colour, a
nanscous odour, and a detestable taste. The patient shud-
ders at the bare view of the disgusting beverage which he
is ordered to swallow to the very dregs; and, if the danger
is not urgent, he refuses to purchase health at that price.
Manna and senna enter into the composition of the purga-
tives most generally employed. The odour which exhales
from them often produces spasms and other accidents in
persons of a nervous constitution. I knew a young man
to whom this odour gave frequent stools; and I rarely pre-
pare these medicines myself without experiencing nausea,
sometimes followed by vomiting. Hippocrates, two thou-
' sand years ago, recommended some remedy less energetic,
and more agrecable to the patient, in the room of one more

* It appears much more probable that these drones die naturally after
having discharged the function for which they are destined; for it is the
common fate of a!l male insects to die after they have engendered.

efficacious

*
On Medical Entomology. ~ B49

efiicacious which excited his aversion. Honey possesses
the double advantage of flattermg the taste and producing
excellent etiects. If it does not occupy one of the first
places in the amateria medica, it is probably because it has
an agreeable savour, and is very common. There are few
diseases, indeed, in which honey is countcr-mdicated. In
Many it acts as a powerful palliative, and in many others it
produces a radical cure. Affections of the urinary passages
and those of the organs of respiration are the cases, how-

ever, in which the use of it is crowned with the happiest

success. Last winter I had several instances of pnimonary
catarrh, and honey was always the principal means of cure.
I had also to treat a dyspnea, and three cases of phthisis in
the highest degree. One of the patients affected with the
latter ascribed his malady to cinchona, of which he had been
made to take more than twelve ounces. All of them were
indebted, in a great measure, for their cyre, to honey. 1
advised them to eat it with their bread; and I caused them
to put it into their common beverage, which was an infu-
sion of the roots of the polygcla wmara. The anti-phthisical
properties of this plant have been placed beyond deubt by
a physician as estimable for his talents as for his virtues*.
I wished to try this treatment on a phthisicky patient in the
second degree, who had been imprudently moved about from
hospital to hospital for a considerable time. Honey and
polygala both failed, aud the patient soon sunk under the
disease. I also had the misfortune to see fall a sacrifice a
captain of the 48th regiment of mfantry, attacked with a
phthisis laryngea+, the fatal termmation of which ought
chiefly to be ascribed to different treatments with hyper-
oxygenated muriate of mercury. Can Van Swieten be par-
<ioned for having put into the hands of ignorance a terrible
poison, to which thousands daily fa] victims? ‘Water in
which honey is dissolved is called simple hydromel. If this
mixture be subjected to vinous fermentation, the result ig
vinous hydromel, ‘The first is proper in angiotenic fevers
and phlegmasia ; the second is indicated in particular in
adynaimic diseases.

Honey boiled with half its weight of white wine vinegar
constitutes simple oxymel, the utility of which in meninge-
gastric fevers, and phlegmasice complicated with adynamic
symptoms, has been proved by long experience. If vinegar

* Mar. Medic. indigene, par I. F. Coste et P. R. Willemet, couronnée
en 1776 par l’Acad. de Lyon.
+ Pbtbisis Sipbillitica, Satay. Nos.

; a. or
B50 -» .. -- Gn Medical Entomology.

of squills be substituted for common vinegar, thete will be
‘formed oxymel of squills, which ought to be considered as
an excellent hydragogue. J cured, in the hospital of Berg-
op-Zoom, several persons attacked with anasarca and partial
dropsies just beginning, and many cedematous affections,
by preseribing for them daily nothing but one or two ounces
ot oxymel of squills in two pounds of the infusion of ab-
synthium and a chopin of good wine, of which the patient
took alternately a glass full every hour. Being persuaded
that the best remedies to succeed require to be seconded by
a good regimen, I did every thing in my power to prevent
the hydropical patients from gratifying their appetite, which
is often voracious. Their quantity of bread never exceeded
twelve ounces; and the only food I allowed them to add to

_ it was eggs, carrots, ricc, turnips, and prunes. I could
have wished: to allow them a little animal food, such as veal
or chicken ; but, having at my disposal nothing except beef
of an indifferent quality, L was obliged to interdict them
from flesh meat altogether.

Honey, whether emploved in its natural state or formed
into the different preparations before mentioned, must be
chosen exceedingly white, firm, and granulated. That of
Narbonne possesses all these qualities. The Gatinois fur-
nishes some also, which is very good. The use of yellow

figuid honey is confined to lotions and cataplasms.

I have said nothing of electuaries, confections, conserves,
opiates, &c., of which honey is often one of the ingredi-
ents, and sometimes the base. The bare mention of elec-
tuary suggests theriac, orvietan, mithridate, double catho-
licum, &c.: and one cannot help being véxed to see these
whimsical compositions still make so conspicuous a figure
in the lists of pharmaceutical remedies. ‘>

Though wax seems exclusively devoted to the arts, some
celebrated physicians have, in certain circumstances, ad-
ministered it with success. Jacobi found it very useful in
convulsive cough, hematuria, and dysen‘-;y. It 1s above
all in the last disease that the efficacy of it, used internally
and under the form of injection, has been confirmed by
Diemerbroek, Valleriola, and Pringle. Soap serves as a
medium for making of it pills or an aqueous solution.

In certain cases the too speedy union of the lips of a
wound or the edges of an ulcer must be retarded, because
it may be followed by disagreeable consequences: at other
times it is necessary to oppose the contraction of the muscles,
which continually tend to contract or shut a natural aper-
ture. Sponge prepared with wax would not fulfil these
; 8 indications

On Medical Entomology. 351

indications but with extreme difficulty and extraordinary
slowness, because our humours, both in the sound state
and when degenerated into pus, have too weak an action
on the wax. This inconvenience has been avoided by a
very simple process, which perfectly answers the proposed
end. A sponge.is dipped in water in such a manner as to
be completely soaked: it is then compressed as much as
possible in every direction with a picce of packthread. If
the latter be taken away at the end of a certain time, it is
observed that the sponge retains the form given to it by the
compression ; but the slightest humidity is sufficient to
make it resume its natur 1 volume; and in this consists
the merit of this preparation, which was published as new
a few years ago, though long known, and though employed
with great success by I. F. Morand, surgeon.

Cerates are indebted for their consistence and name to
wax; it is wax which gives to ointments and plasters that
apparent homogeneity and smoothness which is sought for.
Desault was so tully convinced of the danger which accom-
panies the applicatien of greasy substances to the surface of
the body, that he almost entirely proscribed the use of these
topics. I have attended too little the lectures of Desault
to be well acquainted with his general method of treating
external diseases ; but I have. had for colleagues in the army
several of his. pupils, who applied in- abundance aqueous
solution of acetite of lead (vegeto-mineral water of Goulard)
to all wounds, ulcers, and tumours. T congratulate myself
that I have not imitated them, and that I followed the wise
counsels of my learned Mecawnas*, who recommends the
substitution of muriate of soda for acetite of lead. This
metallic salt, indeed, participates in all the faults so justly
ascribed to fat bodies. Like them it forms a stratum im-
permeable to the excrementitious fluids, and gives besides
to the orifice of the exhaling vesscls an astriction which
fnay occasion a-fatal metastasis, or mortal tetanus.

* Heurteloup.

{ To be continued.]

LIX. 4

eevee 558: F

Liss 4 new, easy, and cheap Method of separating Copper
from Silver. By M, Goxr.inc*. nist.

x : ,
E our methods. are known for separating copper from
stlver, in all-of which the alloy is dissolved in the nitric
acid. As the price of ibis acid is high, M. Goetling, in
place of it, employs sulphuric acid, which 1s much cheaper.
His process, which has fully answered his expectation, i$
as follows:

The proportion of silver in the alloy is first_to be ascer-
tained by the touch, or in any other way. For each part
‘of silver one part of sulphuric acid, and for each part of
copper three and three-fifth parts of the same acid, are to
be taken. The acid, diluted with half its weight of water,
is to be poured into the matrass on the alloy, reduced to
small pieces. An addition of one part more of the acid to
every sixteen parts of the. alloy facilitates the solution.
Place the matrass in a sand heat, and bring the contents to
4 state of ebullition. If care be taken to stir it frequently,
with a glass rod, the alloy will be broken down and con-
verted into a sulphate in two or three hours. It will be-
come thick, and sometimes hard. While still hot, six or
eight times its weight of boiling water is to be added to it,
aud the heat to be continued for some time. By this means
the sulphate will be dissolved, and a great part of the sul-
phate of silver will be precipitated. When the whole is
found to be completely dissolved, a clean plate of copper,
or a few pieces of clean copper money tied loosely in a
coarse cloth, is suspended in the fluid, and the boiling 1s
continued for some hours, by which mcans all the suiphate
of silver is decomposed, and the metal separated in a me-
tallic form.

To ascertain when the separation is complete, a small
quantity of the solution is taken out and tried, by adding a
few drops of a solution of muriate of soda. If a curdly
precipitate is formed, it is a proof that some of the silver
stil remains im it; in which case the boiling must be con-
tinued.

When a complete separation is effected, the clear solution
is to be decanted off with care, and the precipitate washed.
To ascertain that all adhering sulphate of copper is removed,
drop into the water last poured off from the precipitate a
few drops of liquid ammonia. If any of that sulphate be

* From Taschen Buch fur Skeidekunstler, &c. 1804,
still

Account of Travels between the Tropics. 353

still present, the ammonia will produce a blue colour in the
water. The silver, if not wished to be kept as a powder,
may be melted with from a fourth to a half of its weight of
' nitrate of potash.

The liquid sulphate of copper decanted from the precipi-
tate, as also the water employed in washing it, may after-
wards be evaporated in a copper bason, and, by crystalliza-
tion, a quantity of blue vitriol equivalent to the cost of the
acid will be obtained.

Should some parts of the alloy, by accident, have re-
mained undissolved, they may be separated by decantation,
and reserved for the next repetition of the process.

LX. Short Account of Travels between the Tropics, by
Messrs. Humpoitpt and BoneLanD, in 1799, 1800,
1801, 1802, 1803, and 1804. By J. C. Detame-

' THERIE*,

Tre interest which the learned world so justly takes in
the travels of Messrs. Humboldt and Bonpland, as well as
my friendship for them, impose on me the agreeable obli-
gation of giving an abstract of what I have been able to
learn respecting them, either from their public and private
correspondence, or from the memoirs read in the Institute.
This account will be short, but correct.

After making physical researches for eight years in Ger-
many, Poland, England, France, Swisserland, and Italy,
M. Humboldt came to Paris in 1798, where the Museum
of Natural History afforded him an opportunity of making
a voyage round the world with:captain Baudin. When on
the point of setting out for Havre, with Alexander-Aimé
Goujou Bonpland, a pupil of the School of Medicine and
Garden of Plants, the war which recommenced with Austria,
_ and the want of funds, induced the Directory to put off the
voyage of Baudin till a more favourable occasion. M. Hum-
boldt, who since 1792 had conceived the design of under-
taking, at his own expense, a voyage to the tropics, in order
to promote the physical sciences, resolved then to accom-

any the men of science who were destined for Egypt. The
Bavile of Aboukir having interrupted all direct communi-
eation with Alexandria, his plan was to take advantage of
a Swedish frigate which was to carry the consul Seziolde-

* From Journal de Physique, Thermidor, an 12.
Vol. 21. No. 84. May 1805. Z brant

354 Account of Travels between the Tropics.

brant to Algiers, to accompany the caravan thence'to Mecca,
and to preceed to India by Egypt and the Persian Gulph -
but the war, which broke out in an unexpected manner
in the month of October 1798, between France and the
Barbary powers, and the troubles in the East, prevented,
M. Humboldt fronr setting out from Marseilles, where he:
waited to no purpose for two months. Impatient at this
new delay, but always firm in the project of joing the
expedition in Egypt, he set out for Spain, hoping he should
he able to proceed more easily under the Spanish flag from
Carthagena to Algiers or Tunis. He took the road to Ma-
drid through Montpellier, Perpignan, Barcelona, and Va-_
lentia; but the news from the East became every day more
distressing. The war there was carried on with unexampled
fury, and he was at length obliged to renounce the design
of going through Egypt to Indostan. A happy concurrence
of circumstances soon indemnified M. Humboldt for this
delay. In the month of March 1799, the court of Madrid
granted him full permission to proceed to the Spanish colo-
nies in both the Americas, in order to make such researches
as might be useful to the sciences. His catholic majesty even
deigned to show particular interest for the success of this
expedition; and M. Humboldt, after residing some months
at Madrid and Aranjues, set out from Europe in June 1799,
accompanied by his friend Bonpland, who unites an exten~-
sive knowledge of botany and zoology to that indefatigable
zeal and love for the sciences which induce men to submit
with indifference to evefy kind of hardship.

With this friend M, Humboldt travelled for five years,
at his own expense, between the tropics, passing over, by
sea and land, nearly 9000 leagues. These two travellers,
provided with recommendations from the court of Spain,
embarked in the Pigarro frigate, at Corunna, for the Ca-
naries. They touched at the island of Graciosa, near Lan-
cerotta, and at Teneriff, where they ascended to the crater of
the peak, in order to analyse the atmospheric air, and make
aeological obseryations on the basaltes and porphyritic schist
of Africa. Inthe month of July they arrived at the port of
©umana, in the gulph of Cariaco, a part of South America
celebrated by the labours. and misfortunes of the indefatiga-
ble Loflarg. In the eourse of 1799 and 1800 they visited
the coast of Paria, the Indian missions of Chaymas, and
the province of New Andalusia, one of the hottest, but at
the same time healthiest, countries in the world, though
convulsed by dreadful and frequent earthquakes. They
traversed the provinces of New Barcelona, Venezuela, and
Spanish

Account of Travels between the Tropics. 355

Spanish Guyana. After determining the longitude of Cu-
mana, Caraccas, and several other points by observations
of the satellites of Jupiter; after collecting plants on the
summits of Caripe and Silla de Avila, crowned by Befaria,
they set out for the capital of Caraccas in February 1800,
and the beautiful valleys of Aragua, where the large lake
of Valentia calls to remembrance that of Geneva, but em-
bellished by the majestic vegetation of the tropics.

From Pr adgaelle they proceeded south, penetrating
from the coast of the sea of the Antilles as far as the houn-
daries of Brazil towards the equator. They first traversed
the immense plains of Calabozo, Apure, and Lower Ore-
noko; the Llanos, deserts similar to those of Africa, where
by the reverberation of the heat, but under the shade, Reau-
mur’s thermometer rises to 33° or 37°, and where the
scorching soil, for more than 2000 leagues, differs in its
level only five inches. The sand, similar to the horizon at
sea, exhibits every where the most curious phenomena of
refraction and elevation. Without any vegetation, in the
dry months it affords shelter to the crocodile and the torpid
boa, ‘

The want of water, the heat of the sun, and the dust
raised by the scorching winds, harass in turns the traveller,
who directs himself and mule by the course of the stars, or
by some scattered trunks of the mauritia and embothrium
which are discovered every three or four leagues.

At St. Fernando d’Apure, in the province of Varinas,
Messrs. Humboldt and Bonpland began a laborious navyi-
gation of nearly 500 nautical leagues. in canoes, during
which they made a chart of the country by the help of
timekeepers, the satellites, and lunar distances. They de-
scended the river Apure, which falls into the Orenoko in
the. latitude of seven degrees. Having escaped from the
danger of imminent shipwreck near the island of Pana-
numa, they ascended the latter river as far as the mouth of
the Rio Guaviare, passing the famous cataracts of Atures
and Maypure, where the cavern of /\tatuipe contains mum-
mies of a nation destroyed by the war of the Caribs and
Maravitains. From the movth of the Rio Guaviare, which
descends from the Andes of New Granada, and which fa-
ther Gumilla erroneously teok for the sources of the Ore-
noko, they quitted the latter and ascended the small rivers
Atabapo, Tuamini, and Temi.

Irom the mission of Javita they proceeded by land to the
sources of the Guginia, which the Europeans cdll the Rio
Negro, and which Condamine, who saw it only at its

7,2 mouth

356 Account of Travels letween the Tropics.

mouth in the river Amazon, calls a fresh water sea. Thirty
Indians carried their canoes through bushy trees of hevea,
lecythis, and the laurus cinnamomoides, to’ Cano Pimichin.
By this small stream our travellers proceeded to the Rio Ne-
gro, which they descended as far as the small fortress of San
Carlos, which has been erroneously believed to be situated
under the equator, and as far as the frontiers of the Grand
Para, the captainry-veneral of Brazil. A eanal from Temi
to Pimichin, which on account of the level nature of the
ground is very practicable, would form an intericr com-
munication between the province of Caraccas and the ca-
pital of Para much shorter than that of Casquiare. By this
canal also, such is the astonishing disposition of the rivers
in this new continent, one might descend in a eanoe from
Rio Guallaga, within three days journey of Lima, or the
South Sea, by the river Amazon and Rio Negro, as far as
the mouths of the Orenoko opposite to Trinidad, a navi-
gation of nearly 2000 leagues. The misunderstanding which
prevailed then between the courts of Madrid and Lisbon
prevented M. Humboldt from carrying his operations be-
yond St. Gabriel de Jas Cochuellas, in the captainry-general
of Great Para.

La Condamine and Maldonado having determineda stro-
nomically the mouth of the Rio Negro, this obstacle was
less sensible, and it remained to fix a part more unknown,
which is the arm of the Orenoko called Casquiare, form-
ing the communication between the Orenoko and the river
Amazon, and respecting the existence of which there have
been so many disputes for fifty years past. To execute this
labour, Messrs. Humboldt and Bonpland aseended from the
Spanish fortress of St. Carlos along the Rio Negro and the
Casquiare to the Orenoko, and on the Jatter to the mission
of Esmeraldo, near the volcano Duida, or as far as the sources
of that river. ak

The Guaica Indians, a very white, small, and almost
pigmy race of men, but exceedingly warlike, who inhabit
the country to the east of the Pasimoni ; and the Guajaribes,
of a dark copper colour, extremely ferocious, and still an-
thropophagi, render fruitless every attempt to reach the
sources of the Orenoko, which the maps of Caulin, though
in other respects meritorious, place in a longitude much too
far east.

From the mission of Esmeralda, an assemblage of huts.
situated in the most remote and most solitary corner of this
Indian world, our travellers descended, with the assistance
of the floods, 340 leagues ; that is to say, the whole of the

7 Orenoko,

Account of Travels between the Tropics. 387

Orenoko, as far as towards its mouths at St. Thomas de la
Nueva Guyana or Angostura, passing a second time the
cataracts, to the south of which the two historiographers of
these countries, father Gumilla and Caulin, never penetrated.

In the course of this Jong and painful navigation, the
want of food and shelter; the nocturnal rains; living in
the woods ; the mosquitoes, and a multitude of other sting-
ing and venomous insects; the impossibility of cooling
themselyes by the bath, on account of the ferocity of the
crocodile and of the small carib fish; together with the
miasmata of a hot and damp climate, exposed our trayellers
to continual suffering. They returned from the Orenoko to
Barcelona and Cumana by the plains of Cari and the mis-
sions of the Carib Indians, a very extraordinary race of
men, and, next to the Patagonians, the tallest and most
robust perhaps in the world.

After a stay of some months on the coast, they proceeded
to the Havannah by the south of St. Domingo and Jamaica.
This navigation, performed when the season was far ad-
vanced, was both long and dangerous, the vessel having,
been in great danger of being lost on the bank of Vibora,
the position of which M. Humboldt determined by the
timekeeper. He staid in the island of Cuba three months,
during which time he employed himself on the longitude
of the Havannah, and the construction of a new kind of
stove in the sugar-houses, which was speedily and gene-
rally adopted. When on the point of setting out for La
Vera Cruz, intending to proceed by the way of Mexico
and Acapulco to the Philippines, and thence, if possible,
by Bombay, Bussorah, and Aleppo, to Constantinople,
false intelligence respecting the voyage of captain Baudin
alarmed him, and induced him to alter his plan. The
American papers announced that. this navigator would set
out from France for Buenos- Ayres, and that after doubling
Cape Horn he would proceed along the ceasts of Chili and
Peru.

M. Humboldt, at the time of his departure from Paris
in 1798, had promised to the Museum and to captain Bau-
din, that in whatever part of the world he might be, he
would endeavour to join the French expedition as soon as
he should hear of its having been set on foot. He flattered
himself that his researches and those of Bonpland would be
more useful to the progress of the sciences if they united
their labours to those of the men of science who were to
accompany captain Bausin. ‘These considerations induced
M. Humboldt to send his manuscripts of the years 1799

Z 3 and

358 Account of Travels between the Tropics.

and 1800 directly to Europe, and to freight a small galliot
in the port of Batabano to proceed to Carthagena in the
Indies, and thence, as soon as possible, by the-isthmus of
Panama to the South Sea. He hoped to find captain Baudin
at Guyaquil or at Lima, and to visit New Holland and the
islands of the Pacific Ocean, so interesting in a moral point
of view, and by the richness of their vegetation.

It appeared to him imprudent to expose the manuscripts
and collections already formed to the dangers of this long
navigation. The manuscripts, respecting the fate of which
M. Humboldt remained in painful uncertainty for three
years, till his arrival at Philadelphia, were saved; but a
third of the collections were Jost at sea by shipwreck: for-
tunately this loss, and that of some insects from the Ore-
noko and Rio Negro, extended only to duplicates; but
this shipwreck proved fatal to a friend to whom M. Hum-
boldt had intrusted his plants and insects, Fray Juan Gon-
gales, a Franciscan, a young man of great courage and ac-
tivity, who had penetrated in this unknown world from
Spanish Guyana much farther than any other European.

M. Humboldt set out from Batabano in March 1801,
coasting along the south side of the island of Cuba, and
determining astronomically several points in that group of
small isles called the King’s Gardens, and the approaches
io the port of Trinidad. A navigation which ought to haye
been only thirteen or fifteen days, was prolonged by cur-
rents beyond a month. The galliot was carried by them
too far east, beyond the mouths of the Atracto. They
touched at Rio Sinu, where no botanist had ever searched
for plants; but they found it difficult to land at Carthagena,
on account of the violence of the breakers of St. Martha.
The galliot had almost gone to pieces near Giant’s Point ;
they were obliged to save themselves towards the shore in
order to anchor; and this disappointment gave M. Hum-
boldt an opportunity of observing the eclipse of the moon
on the 2d of March 1801. Unfortunately they learned on
this coast that the season for navigating the South Sea from
Panama to Guyaquil was already too far advanced: it was
necessary to give up the design of crossing the isthmus 3
and the desire of secing the celebrated Mutis, and exa-
mining his immense treasures in natural history, induced
M. Humboldt to spend some weeks in the forests of Tur-
baco, ornarvenied with gustavia, toluifera, anacardium ca-
racoli, and the Cavanillesca of the Peruvian botanists ; and ~
to ascend in thirty-five days the beautiful and majestic river
of the Magdalen, of which he sketched out a chart, though

tormented

Account of Travels letwéen the Tropics. 355

tormented by the mosquitdes, while Bonpiand studied the
vegetation, rich in heliconia, psychostria, melastoma, my-
rodia, and dychotria emetica, the root of which is the tpe-
eacuanha of Carthagena. oad

Having landed at Honda, our travellers proceeded on
mules, the only way of traveling in South America, and
by frightful roads throngh forests of oaks, me/astoma andl
cinchena, to Santa Fé de Bagota, the capital of the kingdom
of New Grenada, situated in a beautiful plain 1360 toises
above the level of the sea, and, in consequence of a perpe-
tual spring temperature, abounding in the wheat of Europe
and the sesamum of Asia. The super collections of Mutis;
the grand and sublime cataract of Tequendama, 98 toiscs
or 588 feet in’ height; the mines of Mariquita, St. Ana,
and Zipaguira; the natural bndge of Icononzo, two de-
tached rocks which by means of an earthquake have been
disposed in such a manner as to support a third ; occupicd
the attention of our travellers at Santa Fé till September
1801.

Though the rainy season had now rendered the roads al-
most impassable, they set out for Quito; they re-descended
by Fusagasuga, in the valley of Magdalena, and passed the
Andes of Quindiu, where the snowy pyramid of Tolina rises
amidst forests of styrax passiflora in trees, Lambusa, and
wax palms. For thirteen days they were obliged to drag
themselves through horrid mud, and to sleep, as on the

Orenoko, under the bare heavens, in woods where they saw
no vestiges of man. When they arrived, bare-footed and
drenched with continual rain, in the valley of the river
Cauca, they stopped at Cathago and Buga, and procecded
along the province of Choco, the country of platina, which
is found between rolled fragments of basaltes, filled with
olivin and augite, green rock (the grunstein of Werner),
and fossil wood.
They ascended by Caloto and Quilichao, where gold is
_ washed, to Popayan, visited by Bouguer when he returned
to France, and situated at the bottom of the snowy volca-
noes of Puracé and Sotara, one of the most picturesque
situations and in the most delightful climate of the uni-
verse, where Reaumur’s thermometer stands constantly be-
tween 17 and 19 degrees. When they had reached, with
auch difficulty, the crater of the voleano of Puracé, filled
with boiling water, which from the midst of the snow
throws up, with a horrid roariyg, vapours of sniphurated
hydrogen, ‘our travellers passed from Popayan by the steep
Z4 cordilleras

360 Account of Travels between the Tropic.

cordilleras of Almaguer a Parto, avoiding the contagious
air of the valley of Patia.

From Pasto, a town situated at the bottom of a burning
volcano, they traversed by Guachucal the high plateau of
the province of Pastos, separated from the Pacific Ocean
by the Andes of the volcano of Chili and Cumbal, and
celebrated by its great fertility in wheat and the erytroxy-
lon Peruvianum, called cocoa. At length, after a journey
of four months on mules, they arrived at the towns of
Ibarra and Quito. This long passage through the cordillera
of the high Andes, at a season which rendered the roads
impassable, and during which they were exposed to rains
which continued seven or eight hours a day, encumbered
with a great number of instruments and voluminous collec-
tions, would have been almost impossible, without the ge-
nerous and kind assistance of M. Mendiunetta, viceroy of
Santa Fé, and the baron de Carondelet, president of Quito,
who, being equally zealous for the progress of science,
caused the roads and the most dangerous bridges to be re-
paired on a route of 450 leagues in length.

Messrs. Humboldt and Bonpland arrived on the 6th of
January 1802 at Ounto, a capital celebrated in the annals
of astronomy by the labours of La Condamine, Bouguer,
Godin, and Don Jorge-Juan and Ulloa; justly celebrated
also by the great amiableness of its inhabitants and their
happy disposition for the arts. Our travellers continued
their geological and botanical researches for eight or nine
months in the kingdom of Quito ; a country rendered per-
haps the most interesting in the world by the colossal
height of its snowy summits ; the activity of its voleanoes,
which in turns throw up flames, rocks, mud, and hydro-
sulphureous water; the frequency of its earthquakes, one
of which, on the 7th of February 1797, swallowed up in
a few seconds nearly 40,000 inhabitants ; its vegetation ;
the remains of Peruvian architecture; and, above all, the
manners of its antient inhabitants.

After two fruitless attempts, they succeeded in twice
ascending to the crater of the volcano of Pinchinca, where
they made experiments on the analysis of the air; its elec-
tric charge, magnetism, hygroscopy, electricity, and the
temperature of boiling water. La Condamine saw the same
crater, which he very properly compares to the chaos of
the poets; but he was there without instruments, and could
remain only some minutes.

In his time this immense mouth, hollowed out in basaltic

porphyry,

Account of Travels between the Tropics. 361

porphyry, was cooled and filled with snow: our travellers
found it again on fire; and this intelligence was distressing
to the town of Quito, which is distant only about four or
five thousand toises. Here M. Humboldt was in danger
of losing his life. Being alone with an Indian, who was
as little acquainted with the crater as himself, and walking
over a fissure concealed by a thin stratum of congealed snow,
he had almost fallen into it.

Our travellers, during their stay in the kingdom of Quito,
made several excursions toe the snowy mountains of Anti-
sana, Cotopaxi, Tunguragua, and Chimborazo, which is
the highest summit of our earth, and which the French
academicians measured only by approximation. They exa-
mined in particular the geognostic part of the cordillera of
the Andes, respecting which nothing has yet been published
in Europe; mineralogy, as we may say, being newer than the
voyage of La Condamine, whose universal genius and in-
credible activity embraced every thing else that could be
interesting to the sciences. The trigonometrical and baro-
metrical measurements of M. Humboldt have proved that
some of these volcanoes, and especially that of Tunguragua,
have become considerably lower since 1753; a result which
accords with what the inhabitants of Pelileo and the plains
of Tapia have observed.

M. Humboldt found that all these large masses were
the work of crystallization. << Every thing I have seen,”
says he in a letter to Delametherie, ‘in these regions,
where the highest elevations of the wlobe are situated, have
confirmed me more and more in the grand idea that you
threw out in your Theory of the Earth, the most complete
work we have on that subject, in regard to the formation of
mountains. All the masses of which they consist have
united according to their affinities by the laws of attraction,
and have formed these elevations, more or Jess considerable
in different parts on the surface of the earth, by the laws of
general crystallization. There can remain no doubt in this
respect to the trayeller who considers without prejudice
these large masses. You will see in our relations that there
is not one of the objects you treat of which we have not en-
deavoured to improve by our labours.”

In all these excursions, begun in January 1802, our travel-
Jers were accompanied by M. Charles Montufar, son of the
marquis de Selvalegre, of Quito, an individual zealous for the
progress of the sciences, and who caused to be reconstructed,
at his own expense, the pyramids of Sarouguier, the boun-
daries of the celebrated base of the French and Spanish aca-

demicians,

362 On the Formation of Water by Compression:

demicians. This interesting young man, having accom-
panied M. Humboldt during the rest of hts expedition to
Peru and the kingdom of Mexico, proceeded with him to
Europe. The efforts of these three travellers were so much
favoured by circumstances, that they reached the greatest
heights to which man had rer attained in these iiountains.
On the volcano of Antisana they carried instruments 2200,
and on Chimborazo June 23, 1802, 3360 fect higher than
Condamine and Bouguer did on Corazon. T hey ascended to
the height of 3036 toises above the level of the Pacifie
Ocean, “where the blood issued from their eyes, lips, and
gums, and where they experienced a cold not indicated by
the Pierwiometer! but which arose from the little calorie
disengaged during the inspiration of air so much rarefied.

A fissure eighty toises in depth and of great breadth pre-:
vented them from reaching the top of Chimborazo when
they were distant from it only about 224 toises.

[To be continued, ]

LXJ. On the Formation of Water by Compression; with
Reflections on the Nature of the Efectric Spark. Read.
before the National Institute ly M. Bior.

Sinus time ago, conversing with M. Berthollct on the
nature and properties of heat, I told him I was convinced
that the combination of hy drogen gas and oxygen gas might
be determined without the aid of ‘electricity, merely by the
effect of very rapid compression. This result appeared to
me to be so immediate a consequence of the observations
already made on heat disengaged from air by compression,
that I thought it superfluous “to assure nyself of it. But,
having afterwards spoken of it to M. Laplace, he was so
much interested in this object as to induce me to verify it,
I therefore made the experiment, and it completely suc-
ceeded,

I took the barrel of an air-gun the breech of which was
closed by a piece of very thick glass, in order that I might
observe the light disengaged, as usual, by compression. The
barrel was of iron, and was fiirnighed on the side with a
cock for introducing the gas, and its lower extremity to-
wards the piston was : Surrounded by a cylinder of lead, suf-
ficiently heavy to accelerate the fall and render the com-
pression more rapid. This apparatus was first tried by in-
troducing atmospheric air; but though we darkened the
apartment no sensible light was perceived, because, in ali

probability,

On the Formation of Water ly Compression. 363

probability, the violent motion necessary to compress with
rapidity prevented us from seeing into the interior of the
tube in a manner sufficiently direct to observe the fugitive
light disengaged by the manifest compression, and which
iu other experiments I had inyself seen.

After this trial we introduced into the tube a mixture of
hydrogen and oxygen gas; gave a stroke with the piston,
and there immediately appeared a bright flash. A strong
detonation took place. The glass bottom was driven out ;
the copper ring by which it was screwed fast was broken ;
and the person who held the barrel had his hand slightly
burnt and bruised by the force of the explosion.

We renewed the experiment, substituting for the glass
- bottom one of copper, made of one piece, and screwed in.
Having then introduced into the barrel a new mixture of
the two gases, an explosion similar to the smart crack of
a whip was heard on the first stroke of the piston; but a
second stroke given to the new gas made it detonate, and
broke the barrel, or rather tore it, with a violent explosion.

After these phenomena no doubt could remain in regard
to the combination of these two gases, since it is known it
is that which produces the detonation by the immense quan-
tity of heat disengaged when they pass to the liquid state:
a heat which is sufficient to reduce them immediately into
vapour, and to give them in that state an excessive dilata-
tion. Wedid not then think it necessary to repeat any
more this experiment, which is not free from danger.
~The theory of these phenomena is exceedingly simple.
A rapid compression forces the gas to abandon a very large
quantity of heat, which, as it cannot be immediately diss1-
pated, raises their temperature for a moment, and in that
state of compression is sufficient to inflame them.

We find therefore in the two gases all the elements ne-
cessary for combining them, independently of the elcctric
spark or external fire; and it is not improbable tbat all the
gaseous combinations which require an elevation of tempe-
rature might be formed in the same manner without any
foreign agent,

This idehitty of results suggested an idea which J submit
to the opinion of philgsophers, It is known, and M. Ber-
thollet has shown in his Statique Chimique, that electricity
in traversing bodies produces in their molecule a real com-
pression. This effect is produced with prodigious velocity,
as may be proved by a variety of experiments ; but, as elec-
tricity has a similar velocity, it is impossible that it should
not disengage light from the air, since we are able to dis-

: engage

364 On the Formation of Water by Compression.

engage it by a compression much less rapid. We are thus
led to see in the electric spark a result purely mechanical.

If we now compare what takes place in the compressing-
pump and Voita’s eudiometer, the analogy is complete:
only in the first case we are obliged to confine the air, be-
cause the velocity which we can give to the piston is li-
mited; whereas in employing electricity the particles are
compressed with a velocity so great, that they can never
recede with so much speed as to withdraw themselves from
its effort. The compression then, and also the disengage-
ment of light, or the spark, which is the consequence of it,
may take place as al in the open air. But this effect is
local; and if the gases, not being susceptible of combining,
should return, after each explosion, to their primitive di-
mensions, they avould immediately resume_in that state of
dijatation all the heat at first disengaged from them, so that
no lasting change could be effected in their-constitution :
and this serves to explain why no alteration has been ob-
served in pure and unmixed gases when subjected to the
action of the electric spark.

This light which electricity disengages from gases by
compression would stil] be disengaged trom those most ra-
refied, and in consequence of its extreme velocity it ought
to disengage it even trom vapours, if the experiment were
made under a receiver or in the Torricellian vacuum ; for we
can never form a perfect vacuum with our machines, and
even in the barometric tube there is always mercury in 4
state of vapour. This vapour, though highly ratefied, still
contains a very large quantity of caloric, which electricity
in its passage ought to disengage by compression ; but the
instantaneous increase of elasticity which thence results
cannot become sensible, on account of the little density of
the medium ; whereas it becomes sensible in denser air, as
seen in that instrument called Kinnersley’s thermometer,

These considerations seem to me to indicate that the
phenomenon called the electric spark arises from the light
disengaged from the air by compression during the passage
of electricity ; so that this phenomenon is merely mecha-
nical, and has nothing in it electric. Such is the idea
which [ submit to philosophers. If true, it tends to dimi-
nish considerably the number of the hypotheses already
formed, and which might be formed on the nature of elec-
tricity. For this reason I thought it my duty to present it
to their reflections; but I beg them to be persuaded that I
shal] attach no more importance to it than what they them-
selves shall give to it.

LXIT; No-

peroga’' sy

LXII. Notices respecting New Books.

T+ has often been remarked. as a singular circumstance,
that during the last half century, while the practice of
mechanics and the structure and operation of machines
have received so many and such valuable improvements in
this country, we have only had one treatise (that by Emer-
son) into which we can look for information both on the
theory and the actual construction of machinery. Mr.
Gregory, of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, has
endeavoured to supply the deficiency just adverted to, and
has now in the press a General Treatise of Mechanics,
which is intended to be comprised in two volumes octavo.
The first volume will be devoted chiefly to the theory, and
will be divided into five books, under the several heads
of Statics, Dynamics, Hydrostatics, Hydrodynamics, and
Pneumatics. The second volume will be chiefly appropri-
ated to the description of machinery, and will commence
with some practical remarks on the application, improve-
ment, and simplification of mechanical contrivances; on
friction, the stiffness of ropes, the energy of different first
movers, &c. And these will be followed by accounts, ar-
ranged alphabetically, of about one hundred of the most
curious, useful, and important machines. In this latter
part Mr. Gregory has been promised the assistance of some
celebrated civil engimeers; and the alphabetical arrange-
ment (the only unfinished part of the work) will be com-

leted in the course of the month of July, when he hopes
he shall have received the communications of these gentle-
men, or of any others who may favour him with descrip-
tions of new and useful machines. The work is intended
to be published before the end of the present year.

LXNIUI. Proceedings of Learned Societies.
ROYAL SOCIETY OF LONDON.

Tur Transactions of the Society for 1805, Part I., have
just appeared. This Part contains :—The Croonian Lec-
ture on muscular Motion. By Anthony Carlisle, Esq.
F.R.S.—Experiments for ascertaining how fap Telescopes
will enable us to determine very small Angles, and to di-
stinguish the real from the spurious Diameters of cclestial
and terrestrial Objects: with an Application of the Result

366 Academy of Seiences at Lisbon.

of these Experiments to a Series of Observations on the
Nature and Magnitude of Mr. Harding’s lately discovered
Star. By William Herschel, LL.D. F.R.S.—An Essay
on the Cohesion of Fluids. By Thomas Young, M.D.
For. Sec. R.S.—Coneerning the State in which the true
Sap of Trees is deposited during Winter. In a Letter from
Thomas Andrew Knight, Esq. to the Right Hon. Sir Jo-
seph Banks, Bart, K.B. P.R.S.—On the Action of Platina
and Mercury upon each other. By Richard Chenevix, Esq.
F.R.S. M.R.I.A, &c.—An Investigation of all the Changes
of the variable Star in Sobieski’s Shield, from Five Years’
Observations, exhibiting its proportional illuminated Parts,
and its Irregularities of Rotation ; with Conjectures respect-
ing unenlightened heavenly Bodies. By Edward Pigott,
Esq. In a Letter to the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks,
K.B. P.R.S.—An Account of some analytical Experiments
en a mineral Production from Devonshire, consisting prin-
eipally of Alumine and Water. By Humphry Davy, Esq.
F.R.S. Professor of Chemistry in the Royal Institutton.—
Experiments on Wootz. By Mr. David Mushet. Commu-
nicated by the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, K.B. PRS
—Aprenp1x.—Meteorological Journal kept at the Apart-
ments of the Royal Society, by Order of the President and
Council.
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AT LISBON.

This society proposed the following subjects for prizes on
the 18th of January last:

ist, The subjects proposed by the class of natural history
are: the natural history and physical description of any
province or considerable district of Portugal, or of any part
of the Portuguese foreign possessions; also an economical
description of the same kind.

In the department of agriculture, a particular prize is of-
fered for a popular introduction, grounded on experience,
to the improvement of agriculture in Portugal, written for
agriculturists. ;

Another prize is proposed by a member of the academy,
for an account of the physical and moral causes of the
neglect of agriculture in Portugal, and of the most effectual
means of applying a remedy ; also a description of the pre-

sent state of the breeding of shcep in Alentejo, and the-

cause of the increase.or decrease of these animals since the

middle of the 18th century; with an account of the most
common diseases among sheep.

In the department of medicine: an account of the sym-

1 ptoms

Naturat History.—Vossit Bones. 367

ptoms of the yellow fever; the most effectual remedies hi-
therto discovered, for that disease ; and the best preserva-
tives. ,

2d, The Class of the Mathematical Sciences requires an
application of analytical calculation to political economy
in short and clear formule.

In mechanics ; a complete theory of the balance, and its
different forms: and for hydraulics, a plan of a canal, in
order to employ the water of any river in Portugal for wa-
tering the fields properly ; with an exact calculation of the
level.

3d, The Class of Literature : a history of the Portuguese
export trade from the foundation of the monarchy to the
present period.

Also a philosophical grammar of the Portuguese lan-
guage.

And in poetry: a tragedy and a comedy in verse or in
prose.

In national jurisprudence: an account of the nature and
political effect of the old Fore, or laws of commerce.

The common prize, which may be competed for by fo-
reigners in the languages of Europe most generally used, is
a gold medal of the value of 50,000 reis. . The prize for the
philosophical grammar of the Portuguese language is double.

ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AT COPENHAGEN.

On the 1st of March professor Bygge read in this society
a letter from lieutenant Von Ohlsen, employed in the astro-
nomical and geographical measurement of Iceland, contain-
ing an accurate description of the two remarkable hot springs
in Iceland, the Geisser and Stork, the latter of which broke
out in the year 1784, and spouted up to the height of 300
feet.

LXIV. Inielligence and Miscellaneous Articles.

NATURAL HISTORY.—FOSSIL BONES.

Eatien has. published in.the Annals of the Museum of
Natural History some curious researches in regard to the
Megalonix and Megatherium, two large fossil animals, of
the size of the ox and rhinoceros, no animals analogous to
which now exist. M. Cuvier has determined the genus to
which they ought to be referred.

Tle

368 Natural History.—Fossil Bones.

He has accomplished this by his usual method, attending.
to the relations which exist between the different parts of
the skeleton of each genus of animals; relations which
are not eventual, but which, on the contrary, are connected
with the whole of the organization; since from them re-
sult the animal’s mode of life, its strength or its weakness,
its agility or slowness ;- in a word, its whole nature, which
is thus entirely impressed on the smallest of its bones.

The fragments of the megalonix hitherto discovered
consist of some bones of the thighs or legs, and several
phalanges, of which complete toes can be formed. These
bones have been found in America, and we are indebted
for the first publication of them to Mr. Jefferson, president
of the United States, who thought he saw in them an ani-
mal of the genus of the lion. Cuvier now proves that
these remains belong to an animal of the genus of the
sloth. .

He first proves it by the first fossil phalangium, which form-
ed the extremity of the toe of a megalonix. This phalangium,
examined successively on its six faces, exhibits six faces of
the sloth, and excludes all other genera. The other pha-
langes of the same toe examined in the same manner, each
i particular and independently of the rest, were also the
phalanges of the sloth. These phalanges, when examined
in their articulations, and the relation of their length, ex-
hibit all the modifications by which this genus of animals
is characterized.

From the perfect agreement of all these modifications,
one may no doubt conclude, with Cuvier, that the toe
formed by these phalanges was the toe of a sloth.

The phalanges of the second toe, when examined in like
manner, lead to the same consequence. The insertion of
these toes in the bone of the foot, the form of the facets
where they are applied, and the remaining bones, al! equally
prove the same truth.

If one attend to this inevitable connexion of all the parts
of animals, and their reciprocal dependence, it will not be
necessary to see the other bones of the megalonix, to be
sensible that the same conclusions ought to be admitted in
regard to them. But Cuvier has had the advantage of
being able to remove even the smallest scruple, by inspect-
ing a fossil tooth of the megalonix brought from America
by M. Palisot-Beauvois. This tooth is a tooth of the sloth ;
and this proof is equal to all the rest, since the teeth, by
their influence on the system of nutrition, furnish the

surest characters for the classification of antmals.
What

Natural History.—Fossil Bones. 369

. o . -
before proved in regard to the megatherium. The remains

of that animal found in Paraguay, show that it must have
been of the size of the rhinoceros. An entire skeleton of
it is preserved in the cabinet of Madrid. M. Cuvier, em-
ploying the same method and form of reasoning in regard
to these bones, as those applied to the bones of the mega-
lonix, establishes, with the same force of argument, that the
megatherium oughtto be placed also in the genus of the sloth.

These two large species, therefore, which have disap-
peared from the surface of the earth, were herbivorous, and
it is difficult to conjecture by what causes they were anni-
hilated. The neighbouring species, which still exist, are
composed of animals much smaller.

What Cuvier has proved in regard to the megalonix, he

The captain-general Ernouf, commandant of Guada-
loupe, has written a letter to M. Faujas Saint Fond, dated:
21st Messidor last, in which he communicates to him some
observations of natural history, and among others the fol-
lowing note:

<¢ Your son must have informed you, on his arrival in
France, of the tour I made in the island, and that I visited
the famous Céte du Mole, where are found bodies of the
Caribs, enveloped in masses of petrified madrepore. I en-
couraged an active and intelligent individual, with a view
of procuring some of these remarkable skeletons. The
one in the best preservation I destine for the Museum of
Natural History. I have given some negroes, who are
stone-cutters, to the person who presides over this labour,
which is attended with great difficulty in the execution :
‘Ist, because these bones of the Caribs adhere to a bed of
madrepores exceedingly hard, and which can be attacked
only with the chisel; 2nd, Because the sea at every full tide
covers the place where they are. I however hope to accom-
plish my end.

‘¢ These human remains are of a large size; the mass
which must be extracted with them is about eight feet in
length, and two and a half broad, and will weigh about
3000 pounds, but it can be easily transported by sea.

*¢ Opinions are divided in regard to their origin: some
say that a great battle was fought in this place between the
natives of the island and those of another; others assert,
that a fleet of piroguas perished in this spot, where the
sea indeed breaks with great violence when the wind 1s
strong; in the last place, others presume that it was the
burying-place of the natives of the country, and that the
=~ Vol. 21. No. 84. May 1805. Aa sea

370 Antiquities.

sea may have encroached upon it; but all these ate mierc
conjectures.

ANTIQUITIES.

M. Kaelder, who is on a tour through the Crimea at
the expense of the Emperor of Russia, in a letter dated
August 1804, at Sympheropol, says, That he has disco-
yered several curious old inscriptions of the temple of
Apollo, at Olbia, without which several antient coins
could not have been ascribed to that city. He had found
above 200 old and scarce coins of that district, among
which was a very beautiful gold one of Oibia, the oldest of
all the known coins belonging to this country; also, a
beautiful gold figure of a syren, and a gold ear-ring, of ex-
cellent workmanship, both of Olbia, &c. This celebrated
amtiquary was expected to return to Petersburgh about the
end of Jast year. :

Some time ago, a peasant of the Veltschanskoi district,
in the Ukraine, found, not far from the village of Schikai-
lof, in ploughing a field, a copper vessel, covered with
great deal of rust, and of a form not used by the inhabi-
tants of that district. This vessel contained a great num-
ber of antient Roman silver coins, of the size of a silver
piece of ten copecs. The weight of the vessel was two
pounds and a half, and that of the coins eleven. The lat-
ter, when cleaned, exhibited heads of Trajan, Vitellius,
Nero, Anthony, and some of the early Roman emperors.
The discovery of Roman coins in a district into which the
Roman arms never penetrated, must appear as extraordinary
as that of French coins of the fifteenth and sixteenth cen-
turies, found the same year in the Ukraine, not far from
Pultawa. But this circumstance may be explained, perhaps,
by supposing that among the Poles who were expelled from
their possessions about the middle of the seventeenth cen-
tury, by the Cossacs of Lesser Russia, there were rich
amateurs of antiquities, who had collected the above coins,
and, in consequence of the disturbed state of the country,
were obliged to bury them in the earth. The appearance
of French coins in the Ukraine may be more easily com-
prehended, when it is recullected that Henry III. of France
was in possession, for a short time, of the throne of Po-
land, and resided in that turbulent kingdom. It is very
probable that a great many French coins were carried to
Poland by his numerous followers, and that they were de-
posited by them in the places where they were found; a
conjecture still further strengthened by many of them being

inscribed

Vaccination. — Botany .— Death. 371

inscribed with the name of that prince, and none of them
being older than the short period during which the prince
of Anjou sat on the throne of Poland.

VACCINATION.

A letter from Copenhagen, dated April 27th, says,
** The King has received with great satisfaction the last re-
port of the commission for the vaccine inoculation, and at
the saine time resolved, that their labours shall be continued.
He has given orders also, that the clergy, at baptisms, and
on other proper occasions, shall recommend to parents to
have their children inoculated, and that all medical men,
when they establish themselves in business, shall enter into
an engagement to promote vaccination as much as possible.
According to a general estimate made in the report, 480
pieces of glass, with vaccine matter, have in the course
of last year been distributed; namely, 230 to different
places in Denmark; 117 to Norway ; 39 to the Duchies ;
30 to Iceland; 30 to Greenland; 4 to China; 8 to the
East Iudies, and the rest to Sweden. In Copenhagen,
during the last year, 1007 persons were inoculated; and in
the whole kingdom 79853; making altogether a total of
28966 inoculated in the threc last years, since the intro-
duction of this practice,

BOTANY.

In honour of Count Alexis Razumofsky, of Mosco,
Professor Sprengel, of Halle, has given the name of Ra-
zumovia to a genus of plants belonging to the Syngenesia
Polygamia eequalis flosculosa; aud which stands next to the
Lupatorium and Piqueria. Its generic characters are :

Calyx imbricatus, biflorus, squamis cariosis laxis.

Rec. nudum.

Papp. 0.

Sem. teretia, elandulosa.

The species is Raxuwmovia paniculata.

M. Sprengel obtained it, by means of a friend, from the
herbal of Sir Joseph Banks.

DEATH.

Professor Vahl, who dicd at Copenhagen on the 10th of
December last, was born at Bergen, in Norway, on the
soth of October, 1749. In the vear 1766 he left the
school of Bergen, and entered at the university of Copen-
bagen, where he studied a year. From 1767 to 1769 he

7 Aag? resided

372 > List of Patents.

resided in Norway, with the celebrated naturalist Professor
Strom, and studied five years at Upsal, under Linnzus,
whose friendship he had obtained. On his return to Co-
penhagen, in 1779, he became lecturer at the botanical
garden, and in 1783 undertook, by command of the
King; a’ tour through Holland, France, Spain, Barbary,
Italy, Swisserland, and England. When he returned in
1785, he was nominated Professor, and appointed to su-
perintend the publication of the Flora Danicu. To qualify
himself for discharging with more advantage this important
task, he explored the coasts and mountains of Norway, as
tar.as Wardoe. In the years 1799 and 1809 he undertook
another tour, at the expense of government, to Holland
and Paris, where he met with a most favourable reception,
The French Directory made him a present of that scarce
work Plantes du Roi, which had been destined for him by
the celebrated Malherbes, in the time of Louis XVI.
When he returned from this tour, he was appointed Pro-
fessor of Botany, and obtained the management of the bo-
tanical garden belonging to the university. For some years
Madame Buonaparte sent him, in a most flattering manner,
ihe numbers of the Jardin de Malmaison, as they were
pablished, and those of Redouté’s Liliacées. Though Pro-
fessor Vahl had devoted himself to botany, he did not
neglect the other departments of natural history. He had
a share in the Zoologia Danica, and the Icones of Ascanius,
director of mines. Cuvier received from him contributions
towards his History of the red-blooded animals, and Fabri-
cius towards his History. of insects. During his travels he
collected a considerable herbal, which, by the abundant
contributions of his friends in every part of the world, in-
crcased to an uncommon magnitude, and was scarcely
equalled by any, on account of the -ultitude of plants,
and their proper arrangement. He had an extensive know-
ledge of bibliography, and the history of literature, had
read much, and with great diligence. His last work, Enu-
meratio Plantarum, was interrupted by his death.
LIST OF PATENTS FOR NEW INVENTIONS.
(Continued fiom p. 95.]

James Fullarton, surgeon in the navy, fora diving-ma-
chine or apparatus, upon an improved construction, appli-
cable to various useful purposes.

Christopher Perkins, of Stockton, in the county of
Durham, builder; for a machine for thrashing corn and
pulse.

r4 James

List of Patents. 373

James Ryan, of Doonane, in the Queen’s county, Ire-
land,’ engineer to the undertakers of the grand canal,s for
sundry tools, implements, or apparatus, for boring the
earth for coal, and all kinds of minerals and subterraneous
substances, by which the different strata may be.cut out in
a cheap and expeditious manner, in cores or cylinders, from
one inch to twenty inches and upwards in length, and from
two inches to twenty inches and upwards in diameter, so
as to be taken up entire at any depth that has hitherto Been
bored; by which, not only the quality of such mincrals
and substances, but also the declination or dip of the strata,
can be. ascertained beyond a possibility of mistake; and
which tools, implements, or apparatus, are also adyan-
tageously applicable to the purpose of sinking for wells,
and giving vent to subterraneous water in bogs, and dnaenis
ing mines and grounds, and ventilating pits, and other
beneficial purposes.

Charles Coe, of the parish of St. Mary W hitechapel,
in the county of Middlesex, baker; fora flue upon an im-
proved construction, applicable to the heating of ovens, or
any other thing that requires an uniform heat.

William Martin, of Houghton Pans, in the county of
Northumberland, rope-maker; for a mode of fastening
shoes to the feet of men, women, and children.

George Dodd, of Gicat Ormond- street, in the county.
of Middlesex, engincer ; for improvements on the Royal
York gun-lock, other gun-locks, and the locks’ of all de-
scription of fire-arms.

John Robert Irving, of the city of Edinburgh, advocate,
and Isabel Lovi, of the city of Edinburgh aforesaid, w orker
in glass ; for an improved apparatus for determining the
specific gravity of fluid bodies, and the relation that their
weight hears to a given measure.

John Baptiste Denize, of West-street, Somers s Town, in
the county of Middlesex, chemist ; for a mode of procuring
a greater quantity of resinous, bitumieb us, and oily sub-
stances from various articles. ;

Archibald Blair, of Bayford, in the county of Lerts,
Esquire; for a method of retaining cotton and other elastic
substances when pressed by means of wrappers.

William Bell, of the town of Derby, engineer; for an
improved method of manufacturing blanks or aeulde for
knife, razor, and scissar blades, and various other edged
tools, and of forks, files, and nails.

Thomas Jones, of Bilstone, in the county of Stafford,
japanner; for compositions for the purpose of making

v3 Aa3 trays,

374 List of Patents.

trays, wéiters, and various other articles, and new modes
or methods of manufacturing the same, that is to say, by
presses and stamps.

Richard Brandon, the elder, of Lucas-street, in the pa-
rish of St. Mary Rotherhithe, in the county of Surrey ;
for a composition from British herbs and plants for the cure
of the evil, scrophula, scurvy, leprosy, gout, and rheu-
matism, and which he has denominated and called Bran-
don’s British Constitutional Pills, and Liquid and Botanic
Ointment, and which in upwards of 3000 cases has been
attended with the most unparalleled success in the course
of the last nine months.

Jonathan Hornblower, of the borough of Penryn, in
the county of Cornwall, engineer; for a steam-wheel or
engine for raising water, and for other useful purposes, in
arts and manufactures, by means of steam. :

Stuart Arnold, of Wakeficld, in the county of York,
gentleman ; for a chimney safe-guard, for the preservation
of houses and buildings from fire, robbery, and foul air.

George Alexander Bond, of Hatton Garden in the pa-
trish of St. Andrew Holborn, in the county of Middlesex,
gentleman ; for certain improvements in the construction
of clocks and other time-pieces, whereby they are rendered
of much greater utility and service both by sea‘and land than
any heretofore made use of. ‘ . :

Job Rider, of Belfast, in the county of Antrim, in that
part of the united kingdom called Ireland, clock and
watch-maker; for certain improvements on the steam-
engine, rb aaa

Willis Earle, of Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster,
merchant ;. for improvements in the mode of constructing
and working steam-engines. \ :

Sir George Wright, of Ray Lodge, in the county of
Essex, baronet; for an instrument or machine for cutting
out of solid stone, wood, or other materials, pillars and
tubes, either cylindrical or conical, with great saving of
labour and materials, aid Sih idl

METEORO-

Meteorology. 375
METEOROLOGICAL TABLE
By Mr. Carey, oF THE STRAND,
For May 1805.

Thermometer. aan.
Pete ofthe Pe Height of EE:
Mich 23 the Barom.| 3°. = Weather.
a) Inches. Sy a
°F oo
=) Ase
April 26} 42° 29°54 29° |Cloudy
27| 40 67 30 |Cloudy
28| 35 i 19 |Cloudy
29) 34 *30 9 |Rain and snow
307 38 “64 47 |Fair
May 1} 41 "59 42 |Pair
2| 40 “50 31 |Fair
3) 42 *58 32 jFair
4| 43 °78 54 |Fair
5| 47 *87 43 |Fair
6| 47 ‘97 37 Hair
7\ 52 “87 25 |Showery
8} 50 “48 o {Rain
9} 40 "70 35 {Fair
10} 49 "52 35- |Showery
11] 49 +29 40 |Stormy
12} 45 “53 37. |Showery
13] 49 30°04 60 {Fair
14| 47 “10 4) |Fair
15] 46 29°79 28 {Cloudy
16| 49 “75 39 {Fair
17t 52 "89 25 |Cloudy
18] 52 ‘98 29 |Cloudy
19} 55 “92 25 |Cloudy
20| 54 30°01 26 |Cloudy
21} 50 iemaacr ay. 35 |Fair
22| 56 29°79 40 {Fair
23) 46 -80 2 |Fair
4) 44 "95 58 |Fair
25) 51 06 53 |Pair
26) 49 "95 39 |Fair

N. B. The barometer’s height is taken at noon,

INDEX tro VOL. XXI.

ACADEMY of Sciences, Ber-
lin, 277; Lisbon, 365; Co-
penhagen, 366

Aérial voyage from Petersburgh,
1933 from Paris, 220

Agriculture. State of, in Ben-
gal, 1; sulphate of iron a
manure,

5
Agriculture. Board of, 87

Alcohol extracts petroleum from
asphaltum and coal, 151
Alfaline nietallic sotuticns. On,
187
Amianthus. Paper and furnaces
made of, 243
Amonuret of gold precipitated
on silver by Galvanism, 187
Analysis of lac, 123 of schistus
from Iceland, 46; of Bovey
coal, 50, 1483 of magnetical
pyrites, 133,213 3 of bitumen
from Bovey, 1503 of atmo-

sphere, 223
Anderson on preparing sugar,

272

Antiquitirs, 282, 369

Areca-nut tree. On the, 77,110
4rgil. Affinity of, for carbon,
80
Arnold’s patent, 374
Ashestus. Uses of, 243
Ashes of peat, a manure, 52; of
pit coal, 59
Asphalium contains petroleum,
154
Astronomy, ,
Atmospheric air analysed, 223
Ayapana an antidote to poisons,

92; denied, 285
Balance of a time-keeper. On
banking, 181

93, 188, 191, 285.

Bail’s patent, 95
Ballast, Patent for raising, 95
Balloon, air. Ascent with, 193,

220
Banks (Sir ¥.) on blight in corn,
320
Barometric experiments, 196,
227

Barion (Dr.) on the use of me-
tallic salts in vegetation, 60
Bell’s patent, 373
Bengal. State of husbandry in, 1
Beagal, Maritime commerce of,
EY |

Bits of bridles. Patent for, 95
Biography, 62
Biot’s formation of water by
compression, 288, 362
Bitumen. Fatchet on, 40, 147
Blair’s patent, 373
Blighi in corn. On, 320
Board of Agriculture. Premiums

offered by, '87
Books. New, 365, 367
Bond’s patent, 374

Bonpland’s travels, 353
Boring the earth, Patent for, 372
Gotanical intelligence, 190, 371

Bowler’ s screw-press, 249
Brandon’s patent, 373
Bullock’s lock, 248

Cartouch boxes. Patent for, 95

Cachou or Catecambe. Its uses,
and how extracted, 114.
Carbon, Affinities of, for clay,
lime, silex, 80

Carey’s meteorological table, 96,
192, 288, 375

Cattle. New method of killing,
67

186
Chaumeton

Cerium, a new metal,

INDEX.

Chaumeion on medical entomo-

logy, 230, 344
Chifney’s patent, 95
China. Russian embassy to, 281
Chinese coin, 242
‘Churchman’s plan of surveying,

25
Clennel on the secrets of manu-
factories, 288
Cloth. Anincombustible, 243

Coa!. On the Bovey, 48, 147;
strata of pits, 203, 304; yields
petroleum, rg

Coal pit. Account of sinking
the William, 216

Coco-nut irces Nat. hist. of, 77,

110

Coe’s patent, 373

Cold reflected from a concave
mirror, Nig

Colour-mill. A new, 176

Commerce, maritime. Of Bengal,

psig 327

Copper. On tinning, 3133 to
separate from silver, age

Corn. On blight in, 320

Cora. Machine for thrashing,

372

Cruickshank’s experiments on

dividing the spinal marrow,
73

Customs. Singular, 26
Danais. Tinctorial properties of,
35

Deafness. A cure for, 115

Death, 371

Delametherie’s account of Hum-

boldt’s travels, 353

De Lancey on preserving pota-
tocs, 1l7

Denzxie's patent, 373

De Prato on the apparent re-

— pulsion between fluids; 154
Diving machine. Patent, 372
Dodd's patent, 373
Dyeing, On plants used in, 36 ;
_ patent for, 95

374

Earl:’s patent,

377

Earth. The annual parallax of,

189
Earthen ware. On glazed, 313
Economical Society of Leipsic, 183
Edel:rantz’s safety-valve, 254
Llectrical phenomenon. A new,

162
Electricity, Biot cn, 363; new

experiments on, by Libes

Electrophorus. On the, 289
LEngl-fela’s preparation of lake,

118
Entomolugy. On, 2395 344
Fires in ships. Oo extinguish-

ing, 97
£laiz on the coco-nut tree, 7?

110
Flax spinning. Patent, 95
flue. Patent, 373

Fluids. On the apparent repul-

sion of, 154
Fluoric ether, On, 204
Fossils, On the formation of, 40
Fossil animals,.. . 490, 367

Lr ach National Institute, 279
fullarton’s patent, 272

Furnaces made of amianthus,

243
Galvanism. Gilding effected by,
187; mariate of soda pro-
duced by, 279; Giobert on,
hs 288
Gard on pithing cattle, 69
Geographical improvement, 25 1
Geoffrcy on mammalia, 28
Geological remarks, 40, 189, 201
Gilding silver. Hint for a new
method, 187
Gluten of lac, 134,29
Glass, sheet. Patent for flatten-
ings 9
Gold. New way of refining, 125
Gum adracanth resists fire,. 244
Gun-lock. Patent, 373
Gunpowder, Effects of quicklime
Se 245
Guy-Lussac’s aérial voyage, 220

Hackwood’s patent, 95
Hand-mill.

378
Hond mill. A prize, 183
Hatchett on lac, 12 3 on bitumen,
40; on magnetical pyrites,
133, 213

Harding's new planet, 93, 188
Hardy's method of banking the
balance of a time-keeper, 181

Heimp-spinning patent, 95
Heppenstall’s patent, 95
Home on pithing cattle, 72
FHornblower’s patent, 374
Humbolde’s travels, 353
Husbandry. State of, in Ben-

gal, I
Hutton (Dr.) Biographical anec-

dotes of, 62

Instance of,
j 26
Ince on pneumatic medicine,
128
Incembustible paper and cloth,
243
Indian, East, method of culti-

Immolation, self- .

vating the sugarcane, 2064
Indio mill. Improved, 180
Luundation of the Tyber, 191

Oxide of, useful as ma-
So

dron.
nure, 523 Mushet on,

Frving’s patent, 373
Fefferson’s letter to Saint-Fond,
280
Fones’s patent, 953 373
Juno. A new planet, 1d8
Keddic’s patent, 95
Lc. Experiments on, 12
Lake. To prepare, from mad-
ery 118

Lem/ert on maritime commerce
of Bengal, 327
Learned Societies, 87, 183, 2775

RL,
Lemaistre on mixing lime with
gunpowder, 245

Lester’s patent, 95
Lime. Affinity of, for carbon,

INDEX.

Lime, quick. Effects of on gun
powder, 245
Literature encouraged by the

emperor of Russia, gt
Lock. Improved, 248
Lucas’s patent, 95
Madder. Lake from, 118

Magnetical pyrites analysed, 133,

213
Magnetic experiments with a bal-
loon, 195, 223

Magnetism promoted by carbon,
sulphur, and phosphorus, 147,
219 9
Mammalia.Ona new genus of, 28 :

Manufactories’ On disclosing ,
the processes of, 288 §
Manure for land. On, 52

Maritime commerce of Bengal,

Be!
Martin’s patent, 373
Measure. Ona universal, 164 —
Measures, Patent for, 95

Medical entomology. On, 230,344
Medicine, pneumatic. On, 126,
128
On measuring the, ©
163
Meridian striking instrument, 191
f

Meridian.

Mvetal. A new, 186

Metallic salts promote vegeta- —
tion, 60

Metallic solutions. On precipi- —
tating,

Metallic sulphurets. Oa,
Metals. To separate, from gold
and silver, 125
Metecrology,, 96, 192, 288, 375 |
Mildew in corn. On,
Mineralocy of Shropshire, 20fy

Mushet on tron, &c.
Musical instruments.
tuning,

Natural history, 367
Nickel. Character of pure, 1
Nikolsyevitsch’s aerial voyage, |

TN DEX.

Ochroit contains a new metal,

186
Orteler, mount, Ascent to the
summit of, 189

Palladium dikcavared by Dr.
Wollaston, 89
Paper. An incombustible, 243
Parallax, annual, ot the earths
188

Patents. New, 95.372
Pearson (it. George) on the
use of sulphate of iron as

manure, 52
Peat ashes a manure, 52
Peel on Galvanism, 279

Pendulum first proposed for a
natural measure by sir Chris-
topher Wren, 168

Pcrameles, a new genus of mam-
malia, 28

Perkins's patent, 272

Peron on temperature of sea
water, 129

Petit-Thouars on Danais, 35

Phosphorus promotes magnetism
in iron, 1473 Precipitates al-
kaline metallic solutions, 187;
makes iron brittle, 219

Petroleum extracted from as-
phaltum and coal, 151

Pit coul. On, 48, 147, 151, 203,

304
Pigment. A new, 119
Pigou on the tea tree, 256
Pihing cattle. On, 67
Planet. A new, 183

Platina. New metals found in,
89, go, 1885 rendered mal-
leable,

175
Plymly’s mineralogy of Bhraps
shire, 201, 304
Pneumatic medicine. On, 126,
128

Porta on reflecting cold from

a concave mirror, 173
Potatoes. To preserve, 117
Pottery. On glazed, 313
Printing or dycing patent, — 95

Prize questions, &c. 87,183, 365

379

Proust on sulphurets; 208, 215 ;

on tinning, 313
Publications. New, 365
Pyrites. Analyses of, 133, 213

Quicklime, Effects of, on gun-
powder, 245

Rawilinson’s colour-mill, 156
Refining of gold and filver. New
process for, 1255 352

Repulsion between fluids. The
doctrine of, contested, 154
Resin from lac, 13, 17

Rice. On the culture of, I
Rider’s patent, 374.
Robertson’s aérial voyage from

Petersburgh, 193
Robinscn on peat, 61
Roxburgh on the culture of the

sugar cane, 264
Royal Soctety, 369
Rust in corn. On, 320
Ryan's patent, 372
Safety-valve. New, 254

Sage on zinc, 2423 on ami-
anthus,

243
Salts promote vegetation, €o
Screw-press. A new, 249

Sea. Ou temperature of, 12g
Seed, stick, and shell lac. On, 12
Seeds. Patent for separating,
from straw, 5
S:lf immo!ation. Instance of, 26
Ships. Oa extinguishing acci-
dental fires in, 97
Shorter’s patent, 95
Shropshire. Mineralogy of, 201,
304

Sheet glass, Patent for flattening,

Shoes. Patent for fastening, 373
Siam. On the trade of, 22
Silex, Affinity of, for carbon,
82

New ways of refining,
} 125, 352
Slaughtering cattle. On, 6g
Snails absorb oxygen,

Silver.

Ss oetety

380

Society of the Friends of Science,
Warsaw, 279

Sound reflected from a concave
mirror, 173

Spider. Ingenuity of the, 286

Specific gravities of fluids. Pa-
tent for determining, 373

Spring wheat, a premium, 87

Stratu of coal-pits described,

203
Steam-engines. Patent, 374
Steam-wheel. Patent, 374

Succinate of iron decomposed by

boiling water, 186
Sugar cane. Hindoo method of
, -eultivating, 264
Sulphate of iron used as manure,

52
Salphurets, metallic, Ov, 133,
208, 213

Tea Tree. Account of, 256
Temperature of the sea, 129 ; of

high regions, 227
Thomp:on’s patent, O57
Thornton on pneumatic medi-

cine, 126
Thrashing machine, Patent, 95
Thrashing machine, 372
Thunder’s patent, 95

Tilloch on extinguishing acci-’

dental fires in ships, 97; on
making platina malleable, 175
Time-kecpers... Improvement in,

INDEX.

Travels to promote science, 2/9
280, 281, 353
Tyéer. Inundation of the, 191

Ulcers cured by inhaling oxygen
gas, 128

Vaccination.
Fegctation. Oxide of iron, sul-
phate, and other salts, pro-

mote, 52
Fesuvius. Eruption of, 94
Voyages, $8

Folcanoes. On,
Water of the sea. On tempera-
ture of, 129
Water formed by uniting oxy-
gen and hydrogen mechani-

cally, 288, 362
Wax from lac, 13,18
Wheat, a premium, 87
Wilkins on an universal measure,

ae 167

Windows. Patent, 95
Woods on the electrophorus,

289

Wollaston’s discovery of palla- .

dium, 89; of rhodium, go
Wren (Six Christopher) first pro-
posed deriving a measure from
the pendulum, 168
Wright on measuring the me-
ridian, 1643 ona universal

181 measure, 166
Tin vessels. On, 318 Wright's patent, a4
Tinning of copper, 313'
Topographical improvement, 251 Zinc employed for coin in China,
Trade of Siam, 22 2423 on alloys of, 313
Travels, 88 Zoglogy, 28
END OF THE TWENTY-FIRST VOLUME.
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TOUR in AMERICA, in 17938, 1799, and 18:0; exhibiting Sketches ‘ia
of Society and Manners, and a particular Accou t of the American 4
_ System of Agriculture. "
By RICHARD PARKINSON, Jate of Baltimore, ‘author: ‘Of “ The Expe- 3
rienced Farmer,” &c.
London: printed for J. Harding, No. 36, St. Jomes’ s-street 5. and

J. Murray, No, 32, Fleet-street. pe
*,* These yolumes abound with information calculated to interest in.a :
great degree the political arithmetician, and the agr iculturist, as wellas the”
general reader; while the facts disclosed respecting the practice of emi-

.gration, and the situation of the emigrants from Europe, _ merit the atten~ ;

tive consideration of every Englishman. ° : é Cte,

ORGANIC REMAINS OF A FORMER WORLD. : / i on

This day is published, price two guineas, volume the fir ty ogntelnies the n
Vegetable Kingdom,’ .

N Examination of the Mineralized Remains of Vegetab: es and Ani-
mals of the ANTEDILUVIAN WECRLD, generally termed EX.
TRANEOUS FOSSILS; ilfustrated by coloured plates ‘
: : By JAMES PARKINSON. - ‘ : Ws
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Finsbury- ~square. : Shad ah
In the press, by the fame author, | rea a
OBSERVATIONS on the GOUT, with Remarks on the tbpibal: apatinn , :
tion of Cold Water, and the other means recommended for the cure et that oes
disease. ' j

This day. is , publiched, in two yolumes 8vo. price 16s. in ‘cide. the fifth.
edition, corrected and improved, of:
N INTRODUCTION to NATURAL PHILOSOPHY ; illus ssh ag
with twenty-six copper-plates. ;
By WILLIAM NICHOLSON.
ah Printed for J. JOHNSON, in St. Pani’s Church yard.

tM
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High For the. Contents of No. ge see the: middle of the last sheet,
from ae III. to the end, a fr AS, .

Ter Os. ee “THEATRE OF ANATOMY,

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“The ER iaitine of Lectures on Anatomy, Physiology and r

a Surgery, will commence on Saturday, the 8th of June, at Two
ue oi, .0'Clock i in the Afternoon, and will be continued on Monday the ©

a.” "10th, and every subsequent Morning at Seven, Sundays cai
MRK 8s. (he Mr. BROOKES.

monstrated. on recent Subjects, and further illustrated by Pre-

IN these Tanke the Structure of the Human Body: will be de-

parations, and the Functions of the different Organe will be ex-

plained.
The Surgical Operations are performed, and every Part of Sur-
_ gery so elucidated, as may best tend to complete the Operating

Surgeon.

_ will be taught practically.

Gentlemen zealous in the pursuit of Zoology will meet with un-

The Art of Injecting, and of making Anatomical Preparations, 3

---- gommon opportunities of prosecuting their researches in Compara-

Aa tye Anatomy.
Surgeons in the Army and Navy may be assisted in. renewing
their Anatomical Knowledge, and every possible attention will be
_ paid to their Accommodation as well as Instruction.

Anatomical Conversaziones will be held Weekly, when the dif-
ferent Subjects treated of will be discussed familiarly, and the Stu-
_ dents’ views forwarded.. To these none but Fupite can be ad-
“mitted.

pacious Apartments, thoroughly ventilated, and ‘replete with
every Convenience, will be open at five o’Clock in the Morning,
_' for the-purposes of Dissecting and Injecting, where Mr. Brookes

- as they appear on Dissection.
“An extensive Museum, containing Preparations illustrative of

every Part of the Human Body, and its Diseases, is attached to
i the Theatre, to which Students will have occasional admittance.
_____ Gentlemen inclined to support this Medical School by contributing
__ preternatural or morbid Parts, Subjects in Natural History, &c,
(individually of little value to the possessors,) may have the plea-

attends to direct the Students, and demonstrate the various Parte

sure of seeing them preserved, arranged, and registered with the -

-_ mames of the Donors. .

_ tions, are counteracted by an Antiseptic Process, the result of
_ Experiments made by Mr. Brookes on Human Subjects, at Paris,
g ~ in the year 1782; the account of which was delivered to the Royal

_since been, so far improved, that the florid colour of the Muscles is
“- _ preserved, and even heightened.
~~ Pupils may be accommodated in the House. .
he Gentlemen established in Practice, desirous of renewing their
a _ Anatomical Knowledge, may be camino sx with an Apart-.
ie _ BRO, to Dissect i in auntie

fw ~The inconyeniences usually attending Anatomical Investiga- |

—-

Society, and read on the 17th of June 1784. This method has »

Vot. ai. — Magarine. rises , 1808

CONTENTS of NUMBER ‘XXXII.

‘ . \ XXXIV. An Account ofthe Aétal Voyage ‘undertaken at Sg

i } AiPetersburgh,’ ‘on the zoth of January'1804. Read Bbéfore the » \\

aa i Acatemy Gf Sciences by the Academician Sacnanor = — tg3 I

« MXXV. All tief Account “of the! Mitieral ‘Productions of eli |
Shropshire. By Joseru’Peymiey; AciMi Archdeacon of ARS
Nc Salop, and Honorary Member of the Board of Agriculture

> WN XXXVE.Oh Metallic Sulpburets. By Professor Proust

ay SX RVEL An Analysis-of the magnetical Pyrites; with Re-

" % 3 Mmdtkeonsome of the: other a of Iron. By CuArtezs

Ru ie es Higewerr, Esq. ERS.
SS < XXXVI. Account ofen ABrostatic. Vaytee cidoaes by

M. Guy-Lussac, of the 29th of :Fructidor,, Year 12; and
ay read in the National Institute, Vendemiaire- oth; Near 13

XXXIX, On disclosing the Process of: ‘Manufactories =)

t ee. KEV An "Essay on ‘Medical Ratha: ane eis

we eee Rhysicign to. the ert 2
1 MLE On eve made of Zinc ini Chihai in fepara to siti

AF; Bo Gi Sac
XLIL. On. ibe Wee ut the Paatanther in: China: By
Nis B.G. Sace
XLIIE On the Property aieribal to Quickie of in-
creasing the Force of Gunpowder. By’ M, Lemarstrp,
Inspevtor-General of Gunpowder and Saltpetre -
suily XLIV. Description of an improved Drawback Lock for
e eM House Doors, invented obs Mr. Wititam Bouioces of
i%) tee Portland-street
Se XLV. Description ef a Screw- Press with an petting !
S\Power. By Mr. Witutam Bowrer,'of Finsbury-street 249 WS
‘Aly XLVI. Geographical’ and Topographical Improvements rN ]
{ proposed: by Jonn Crorcuman, Esq. Metnber of the Im- Bly
& es Academy of Sciences’at St, Petersburgh © . = 251 Pal
XMEYit..-Deseription ‘of: a Safety Valve containing a Va- Mites
\euum alve i in the same Hole'of the Builer - ;
Ay tl, An Account of the Tea ‘Tree. By Freperick
6,7 Bag, rg * ‘
: XLIX. An sAcaodat of ‘the Fedo Method of onllivadtie
cf the Sugar?Cane; -andmanvfacturing’ the Sugar and Jagary
S& in the Rajahmundry District ; interspersed with such Remarks
‘yas tend to’point out ‘the great Benefit that might be expected
pei from: increasing this’ Branch of ‘Agricultdré, and improving
if St the Quality of the-Sipar's also the’ Pydcess observed by the
iu gt Natives of the Canes District. ed Dr. Wretram Rox,
V4.2 BURGH {
= L. A brief Statement of some Particulars felative to the p
wSinking, &c. of William-Pit; near the Sea-Shore, at Bransty, F
iq Whitehaven, the Property of ord Viscount LowTHER’ | : \
' LI. Proceedings of earned and Economical Societies = 277 Bi ,
¥
vi

LI: Imelligence’ and “Miseellaneous Articles:—Production’ of hi Ne

“sz Muriate of Soda by the Galvanic eigecilclise of Water—Voy- KX

A \ ages and ‘Travels—Botany, Geology, &c.—Fortnation of Water by’ Si
peeing iri st Japalgon tila &c. &e, ht

TAYLOR AND €Q. PRINTERS 38, SHOE LAME, FLEET STREET.

This Day is published, in Octavo, with an Engraving, Price 2s,
SHORT ACCOUNT of the DISEASE in CORN, called °
by Farmers, the Bhghi, the Mildew, and the Rust,

By Six JOSEPH BANKS, Bakr.

London: Printed for Jouw Harpine, 36, St. James's-street.

Where may be had,

z. Culley’s Observations on Live Stock; with Directions fon -
choosing and improving the best Breeds of Domestic Animals,
With Plates. 8vo. New Edition. Price 6s.

2. Garrard’s Plates, desciiptive of the Improved Breeds of British.
“Cattle. Folio.

3. Gandy's Cottages and Farm Buildings. Royal Quarto, with -
43 Plates; price 21. 2s. Dedicated, with permission, to Thomas
Hope, Esq.

4. Earl of Diundonald’s Treatise on the Nature and Application:

of the different Sorts of Manures. A new Edition, 4to. Price
ros. 6d.

5. A Catalogue of Books on Agriculture and Rural Affairs.

RATIONAL RECREATIONS.

This Day were published, the Fourth Edition, corrected, in Fout
Volumes, Octavo, illustrated with 63 Copperplates, Price 28s.
in boards,

ATIONAL: RECREATIONS ; $ or, WinkorR ey sniy
AMUSEMENTS: in which the Principles of Numbers and
.of Experimental Philosophy and Chemistry are applied to a Series
of Easy, Entertaining, and Instructive Experiments, among which >
are all those commonly performed with Cards.

BY WILLIAM HOOPER, M.D.

Tt may be proper to explain to those Persons who are yet unac-
quainted with this valuable and interesting Work, that it contains :
r. Recreations in Arithmetic and Mechanics.
2, Recreations in Optics, Chromatics, and Acoustics.
. 3. Recreations in Pneumatics, Hydrology, and Pyrotechnics,
4. Recreations in Electricity and Magnetism.
5- Miscellaneous Recreations, including those on Cards.

The whole rendered easy and familiar to the meanest capacity. 4

Printed for RICHARD PHILLIPS, No, 6, Bridge- sz ah
Wierkitars; 5 and si be had of all Booksellers,

Philosophical Mag
I aL Pe NP a Nop = Eo Ne OES
ES 7g SS "35 Jay, = ssp LF 3 Sst? 3 Sane
S peg 27 =
i ee TS of NUM
\W8e XV. On the Means most proper to be resorted to for ex-
e\\\tinguishing accidental Fires in Ships. By Anexanper Tin- _
Jtocu. Read before the Askesian Society in December 1801~
thee © XVI. Memoir on the Natural History of the Coco-nut Tree,
‘il '5 and the Areca-nut Tree; the Cultivation of them according
« w= to the Methods of the Hindoos ; their Productions, and their —
; AN Utility in the Arts, and for the Purposes of domestic Economy.
ep By M. Le Govux pe Fraix, an Officer of Engineers, and
tiwag Member of the Asiatic Society at Calcutta oe

xt
805.
ede me |

“aut ae
aS

SN
1
3 XVII. Experiments on preserving Potatoes. By J. Dz
MU Lancer, Esq. of the Island of Guernsey * sat
XVIII. Processes for preparing Lake from Madders By
es mo H.C. Encveriexp, Bart. Sees :
oS iN XIX, A new Process for separating Gold and Silver from
sz; the baser Metals - - - v1
ly) WX XXX. Twenty-first Communication from Dr. THornron,
“relative to Pneumatic Medicine _, as oh =
XXI. Communication from Mr. Ice, Surgeon, relative
ito Pneumatic Medicine - - i
vey XXII. Extract of a Memoir on the Temperature of the
v5 Water of the Sea, both at the Surface and at different Depths, —
“’Galong the Shores and at a Distance from the Coast. By —
IAN\M. F, Peron, Naturalist on the French Expedition to New
: IN Holland - iim - Son
Rely ~=XXIII. An Analysis of the magnetical Pyrites; with Re-
"ii Wei, marks on some of the other Sulphurets of Iron. By Cuaittes
ek Harcuerr, Esq. F.R.S. - ao SS Sime
: AS XXIV. Observations on the Change of some of the proxi-
‘ AN mate Principles of Vegetables into Bitumen; with analytical
ity Experiments on a peculiar Substance which is found with the
\j's% Bovey Coal. By Cuarres Harcuert; Esq. F.RsSi.0 eo
‘3 XXV. Experiments and Reflections of Dr. Joacuim Car-
RADORI DE Prato on the apparent Repulsion between some
‘Kinds of Fluids observed by DRAPARNAUD * = =.
XXVI. A-new Electrical Phanomenon. Communicated
Mf by a Correspondent Sat - -
%& XXVU. Wricur on measuring the Meridian—WricHT, _
Wren, and Witkins, om an universal Measure—J. Bap>
2 SN Tista Poxta, on the Reflection of Heat, Cold, and Sound,
3 from concave Mirrors - - ae
“ati XXVIII. A new Process for rendering Platina malleable, |
ji, #4 By Avexanver Tittocn. Read before the Askesiam So-
(eS ciety in the Session 1804-5 m4 - eS asiek
SOeQ XXIX. Description of an improved Mill for grinding -
z SS Painters’ Colours, .By Mr. James Rawsinson, of Derby 176
. i) XXX. Improved Mill for grinding Indigo, or otherdry — §
W858 Colours - - thst _ 180 &
XX XI. A new and most accurate Method of Banking the —

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TAYLOR AND COQ. PRINTERS, 38, SHOE LANE; FLEEP STREET os Me

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