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Evinburgh 
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, 


EXHIBITING 
A VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY ; 


CHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, BOTANY, 


IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, 
GEOGRAPHY, 


ZOOLOGY, COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, PRACTICAL MECHANICS, 


NAVIGATION, STATISTICS, ANTIQUITIES, AND THE FINE AND USEFUL ARTS. 


CONDUCTED BY 


DAVID BREWSTER, LL.D. . 


F.R.S. LOND. SEC. R.S. EDIN. F.S.S.A. 


HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL IRISH ACADEMY; MEMBER OF THE ROYAL SWEDISH 
ACADEMY OF SCIENCES ; AND OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SCIENCES OF DENMARK, &o, &c. 


VOL. III. 
APRIL—OCTOBER. 


WILLIAM BLACKWOOD, EDINBURGH : 
AND T. CADELL, LONDON. 


M.DCCCO.XXV. 


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CONTENTS 


OF THE 


EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
No. V. ; 


Page 
ArT. I. Abstract of Experiments on the Consolidation of the Strata of the 
_ Earth, made by Str JamEs HALL, Bart. F. R.S. Lond. and Edin., with 
Notices of his former Writings on Geological Subjects, - - 1 
II. Qn some Phenomena of Vertical and of Lateral Mirage, observed at King 
George’s Bastion, Leith. An Extract of a Letter to the Editor, from 
HENRY HoME BLACKADDER, Esq. Surgeon, Med. Staff, H.P. - 13 
III. Account of the Circumstances connected with the Discovery of the Fossil 
Elk in the Isle of Man, which prove that this Animal is not Antediluvian, 
as many Naturalists and Antiquaries have supposed. By SamMuEL Hr1B- 
BERT, M. D. F.R.S. E. and M.G.S. Secretary to the Society. of Scot- 
tish Antiquaries, - - - = = = 15 
IV. Observations relative to the Fossil Elk of the Isle of Mann; being the 
Abstract of a Letter from H. R. Oswap, Esq. F.S.S. A. &c. addressed 
to the Lorp BisHop oF SopOR AND Mann, in Reply to certain Queries 
instituted by Professor BUCKLAND relative to the circumstances under 
which the Fossil Elk is discovered, = - - - 28 
V. An Account of the Frontier between Ava and the Part of Bengal adjacent 
to the Karnaphuli River. By Francis Haminton, M. D. F.R.S. and 
F. A. S. Lond. and Edin. Communicated by the Author, - 32 
VI. Account of an Improvement on the ‘* Odometer,” which, without increas- 
ing its size, multiplies its power upwards of One Hundred Fold. By 
JamMEs HunTER, Esq. of Thurston, F.R.S. E. Communicated by the 
Author, > 5 6d ‘ 3 ‘ 44 
VII. On a Singular Detached Block of Stone occupying the summit of a Hill 
at Dunkeld. By Joun MacCuxtocu, M.D. F.R.S. F.L.S. and 
M. G.S. Chemist to the Board of Ordnance, and Professor of Chemistry 


in Addiscombe College. Communicated by the Author, - 46 
VIII. Notice of some of the Rarer Atmospherical Phenomena observed in 1824. 
Communicated by the Author, - - - 49 


IX. On the Regular Composition of Crystallized Bodies By WILLIAM 
HArpincER, Esq. F.R.S. Edin, Communicated by the Author.— 


(Continued from Vol. II. p. 93.) 3 - - - 985) 


il CONTENTS. 


Page 
X. Facts relating to the Formation of Dew. By GEORGE Harvey, Esq: 
F.R.S. Lond. & Edin. Communicated by the Author, . 69 
XI. Astronomical Observations made at the Observatory of Paramatta in 1824. 
Communicated by his Excellency Sir THomas BrisBANE, K.C.B. 
F.R.S. Lond. & Edin. - - - - - 72 
XII. Account of a Stickleback that was found with a Leech alive in its Intes- — 


tines, July 1818. By Mr Jonn RamaGE, Aberdeen. Communicated 

by the Author, - - - - = - 74 
XIII. Observations on the Temperature of Springs, Wells, and Mines in Corn- 

wall. By Joun Davy,.M. D. F.R.S. Communicated by the Author, 75 
XXIV. Observations on the Flints of Warwickshire. By EDWARD GRIMES, 

Esq. R. N. Communicated by THomas ALLAN, Esq. - sa i 
XV. Observations on the Habits of the Hyena. By Ropert Knox, M.D. 

F. R.S. E. Lecturer on Anatomy and Physiology, and Conservator of the 

Museum of the Royal College of re a Communicated by the Au- 


thor, - - 80 
XVI. Account of the Eeplodien of Oil Gas which took place at ¢ Hainisarph) on 
: the 23d March 1825, with Observations on the Safety of Gas, - 83 


XVII. Description of a Machine applied to a Gig, for Measuring Distances. 

By WiL11am EDGEWORTH, = C. E. and M. R. I. A. Communicat- 

ed by the Author, - - ‘s 93 
XVIII. A Description of Fan-Gate Sluices, Ewesitel and Candasien by Mr 

J. BLANKEN, Jun. Counsellor of State, Inspector-General of Public 

Works in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. By Dr G. Mout, Professor 

of Natural Philosophy in the spar of Utrecht. Communicated sf 

the Author, - - = 95 
XIX. Table of the Rise of the Tide at Hobart Ronis; Van Diemen" s Land, 

in April and May 1622, and January 1823. Communicated by his Ex- 


cellency Sir THomas Brisbane, K.C. B. F. R.S. L. & E. &e. 100 
XX. On the Application of the Expansive Power of Liquids to produce a Reci- 
procating Rectilinear Motion. In a Letter to the Editor, - 101 


X XI. Additional. Observations on Leslie’s Photometer, &c. By WILLIAM 
RitcuiE, A. M. Rector of the Academy at Tain. In a Letter to Dr 
BREWSTER, - - = 2, = = 104 

XXII. Account of a Remarkable Explosion of Gas in a Well near Leith Fort 
By Mz Joun CoLpsTREeAM. Ina Letter to Dr BREWSTER, - 108 

XXIII. Notice of a Remarkable Variety of Boracite. By W1i~L1am Hat- 
DINGER, Esq. F. R. S. E. Communicated by the Author, - 110 

XXIV. On a Dike of Serpentine cutting through Sandstone in the County of 
Forfar. By CHarites LYELL, Esq. Secretary to the Geological Society 
of London, F.L.S. Communicated by the Author. With a Plate, 112 

XXV. Notice of a Remarkable Occurrence of Serpentine at the Junction of 
Sienite with the Dolomite of the Tyrol. By J. F. W. HERSCHEL, Sec. 

R. S. Lond. and F. R. S. Edin. Communicated by the Author, 126 

X XVI. Notice of the remains of an Animal resembling the Scandinavian Elk, re- 
cently discovered in the Isle of Man; with Suggestions on the Importance 
of distinguishing this Anima). from the Fossil Irish Elk. In a Letter to 
Dr BrewsTER, from SAMUEL H1pBert, M. D. F.R.S. E. and M. G. S. 
Secretary to the Society of Scottish Antiquaries, - - 129 


CONTENTS. ill 


Page 
XXVII. Notice of Mr Christie’s Discoveries respecting the Effect of Rotation 
on the Magnetic Forces, - - - - - 135 
XXVIII. Analysis of a Mica from Cornwall. By EDwarD Turner, M. D, 
F. R.S. E. &c. Lecturer on Chemistry, and Fellow of the Royal College 
of Physicians, Edinburgh. Communicated by the Author, - 137 


XXIX. ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS, - - - 143 
1. Conybeare on the Plesiosaurus. 2. Discovery of the Megalosaurus. 
3. Gigantic Fossil Coral. 4. Enormous Orang-Outang found in Su- 
matra. 5. Aranéa Domestica, possessed of a Natural Diving Bell to 
assist it in Crossing Water. 6. Mode of Catching Fish by Diving, pe- 
culiar to the Gulf of Patrasso. 7. Rapidity of the Effects of the Poison 
of some of the New Holland Snakes. 8. On Changing the Residence 

of Fishes. 9. Structure of the Hind-Foot of the Walrus, 143-—146 


XXX. DECISIONS ON DISPUTED INVENTIONS AND DISCo- 
: VERIES, ° - - - 146 

1. The Rediscovery of the Comet of Encke due to Mr Rumker, and not to 

Mr Dunlop. 2. Fhe Composite Structure of the Bipyramidal Sulphate 

of Potash not discovered by Mr Brooke. 3. The apparent Immobility 

of Spectral Impressions ; their Singleness by Distorted Vision ; and the 
Reference of the Phenomena of Vision to Voluntary Muscular Action, 

first discovered and proposed by Dr Wells, and not by Mr Charles Bell. 

4. Professor Leslie’s Hygrometer, invented by the late Dr James Hut- 


ton, - - - - . - 146—149 
XXXI. HISTORY OF MECHANICAL INVENTIONS AND PRO- 

CESSES IN THE USEFUL ARTS, - : 149 

1. British Invention and Discovery Association, - - ib. 

2. Mr Bryce’s Stomach or Moveable Branch Syphon, - - ib. 


3. Mr Shiells’ Triangle for Elevating the Jet of Fire Engines, - 150 
4, Account of an improved Hydropneumatic Lamp, which can be con- 

structed at a small expence. By Wit~1am Dyce, M.D. F.R.S. Ed. 151 
5. On the Use of Granite for Railways. In a Letter from Jonn Gipp, 


Esq. Civil Engineer, to JouN Roxison, Esq. F. R. S. E. : 152 
6. Description of a Single Valve Sluice, invented by Ropert Tom, 
Esq. Rothsay, - - - - - es Br 
7. Description of a Chain Sluice, invented by RopERT THom, Esq. 
Rothesay, “ = - = - - - 155 
8. Description of a Breathing-Pump, invented by WitL1am Van Hov- 
TEN, Junior, Rotterdam, - . - - 156 
9. Professor Amici’s Improved Camera Lucidas, - = 157 
XXXII. ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS AND MEMOIRS, 159 
1. The English Flora. By Sir James Epwarp Smiru, President of 
the Linnean Society. 2 vols. 8vo. - - - - ib. 


II; On the Effects of the Density of Air on the Rates of Chronometers. 
By GEorGE Harvey, Esq. F. R.S.E., &c. From the Philosophical 
Transactions for 1824, Part IT. - - - - 170 


iY CONTENTS. 


; Page 

XXXIII. PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES, - - - 175 
Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, - - ib 
XXXIV. SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE, - - 176 


I. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 
AsTRONOoMY.—l. Pastorff on the Solar Spots and Clouds. 2. Comet seen 
on the Sun’s Disk. 3. Singular Appearances in the Comet of 1824. 
4. Encke’s Hyperbolical Elements of the Comet of 1824. 5. Comet of 1824 
discovered at Paramatta. 6G. Sir Thomas Brisbane’s Catalogue of the Stars 
in the Southern Hemisphere. 7. Mr Herschel and Mr South on Double 
Stars. 8. Miss Caroline Herschel’s Catalogue of Stars. = 176—178 
Optics.—9. Lateral refraction. 10. Mr Dunlop’s Reflecting Speculum, 178 
Macnetism.—11. Effects of Temperature on the Magnetic Forces. 12. J)i- 
urnal Variation of the Terrestrial Magnetic Intensity. 13. Influence of 
Copper on the Oscillations of Magnetic Needles. 14. Effect of Copper in 
Motion on a Magnetic Needle, | - - - - 178, 179 
METEOROLOGY.—15. Daniell’s Improvement on the Barometer. 16. Hy- 
grometric Properties of Insoluble Compounds. 17. Highest and Lowest 
Temperature on the Earth’s Surface. 18. Remarkable Auroral Arch on the 
19th March. 19. Bosson’s Observations on Waterspouts, - 179—181 


Il. CHEMISTRY. 


20. Cold Produced by the Combination of Metals. 21. Refrigerating Salt. 
22. On the Pectic or Coagulating Acid. 23. Iodine in Mineral Waters, 181, 182 


Ill. NATURAL HISTORY. 
MINERALOGY.—24. Apatite in Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh. 25. Withamite. 
26. School of Mines in Cornwall, = = - - 182, 183 
Botany.—Codium tomentosum, and Targionia hypophylla. 28. Tricho- 
manes elegans, - - - - - - - 183 
ZooLocy.—29. Say’s American Entomology. 30. Annals of the Lyceum of 
Natural History of New York. 31> American Fauna, - - 184 


IV. GENERAL SCIENCE. 

32. Remarkable Dissection of a Female Mummy. 33. Discoveries in Nova 
Zembla. 34. Hazel Nuts found ina singular state at a great depth. 365. 
The Menai Bridge, near Bangor, Carnarvonshire. 36. Number of Steam- 
Engines in Glasgow and its neighbourhood in April 1825. 37. Number of 
Steam Boats on the Clyde in 1825. 38. Poisonous Effects of White Bread 
upon Dogs. 39. The Goitre cured by Subcarbonate of Soda. 40. Artificial 


Production of Pearls, B me ; = s 185—187 
XXXV. List of Patents for New Inventions, Sealed in England from 
October 7, 1824, to January 1, 1825, - - 188 


XXXVI. List of Patents granted in Scotland since March 7, 1825, - 189 
XXXVII. Celestial Phenomena, from July 1, to September 1, 1825, calculated 
for the Meridian of Edinburgh. By Mr GrorcE INNES, Aber- 
deen, - - = 5 = : 190 
XXXVIII. Register of the Barometer, Thermometer, and Rain-Gage, kept 
at Canaan Cottage. By ALEx. ADIE, Esq. F.R.S.E. - 192 
‘ 4 


CONTENTS 


OF THE 


EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 
No. VI. 


Page 
Art. I. On the Limits of the Retina in the Eye of the Sepia Loligo, one of 


the Cephalopodous Mollusca. By Ropert Knox, M.D.F.R.S.E,4 

Lecturer on Anatomy and Physiology, and Conservator of the Museum of 

the Royal College of Surgeons. Communicated by the Author, 193 
II. An Account of the Frontier between the Southern part of Bengal and the 

Kingdom of Ava. By FRANcIs HAMILTON, M.D. F.R.S. and F. A.S. 


Lond. and Edin. Communicated by the Author, - - 201 
III. On the Quartz District in the neighbourhood of Loch Ness. By GEORGE 
ANDERSON, Esq. F. R.S. E, &c. Inverness, - - - 212 


IV. On the Genus Calymperes of Swartz!and Syrrhopodon of Schwaegrichen, 
of the Order Musci. By W. J. Hooker, LL. D.F.R.S. &c.&c. Regius 
Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow, and R. K. GREVILLE, 
LL. D. F, R. S. E. &c. &c. Communicated by the Authors, 218 
V. Some Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France, collected part- 
ly from Observation, partly from a free Communication with the Inhabit- 
ants of various ranks. Written during a Residence in that Country 
for the use of a Friend in Britain. By HENRY Homer BLACKADDER, 
Esq. Surgeon, - ~ - - - 227 
VI. Account of the Specific Gravity of several Minerals. By Witt1am 
HAIDINGER, Esq. F. R. S, E. Communicated by the Author.—(Con- 


tinued from Vol. Il. p. 74.) = = 4 ,, 241 
VII. Botanical Letters from J. J. Roussrau to M. Gowan, Professor of Bo- 
tany at Montpellier. Communicated by Dr HooKER, - 246 


VIII. On the Construction of Meteorological Instruments, so as to register their 
Indications during the absence of the Observer at any given Instant, or 
at successive intervals of Time, - - - - 251 
1X. Observations on the Gulf-Stream, in crossing it from Halifax to Bermuda, 
and from Bermuda to Halifax, in his Majesty’s Ship Jaseur, in 1821. 
Communicated by J. D. Boswaxt, Esq. R. N. F.R.S. £. 256 
X. On Lithion-Mica. By Epwanp Turner, M.D. B.R.S. E. Lecturer 
on Chemistry, and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh. 
Communicated by the Author, - - : - 261 


il CONTENTS. 


Page 
XI. Observations on the Presence of the Waters of the Gulf-Stream on the 
Coasts of Europe, in January 1822. By EpwaRrD SaBInE, Esq. F. R.S. 
Be L.S.. &e. &Co - - = = of Y 270 
XII. On the Depression of the Horizon of the Sea over the Gulf-Stream. By 
EpwWarpb SanInE, Esq. FR. S. F.L.S. &c. &e. “ - 274 
XIII. On the Effects of Heat and Motion. Ina Letter to Dr BREWSTER 
from M. SEGUIN, ainé “ - ~ e = 276 


XIV. Observations on the apparent Distances and Positions of 389 Double and 
Triple Stars. By J. F. W. HERSCHEL, Esq. Sec. R.S. Lond. and 
F.R.S. Edin., and James Soutu, Esq. F.R.S. Lond. & Edina, . 281 

XV. On some Remarkable Affections of the Retina, as exhibited in its insen- 

"sibility to indirect Impressions, and to the Impressions of attenuated Light. 
By Davip BrewsTen, LL.D. F.R. S. Lond., and Sec. R. $8. Edin. 288 

XVI. On the Action of Poisons on the Vegetable Kingdom, By Mr F. Manr- 
CET, - - - - - - - - 293 

XVII. On Two Newly determined Species of the Genus Gypsum-haloide of 
the System of Mohs. By Wittiam Hartpincer, Esq. ¥.R. 5. E. 
Communicated by the Author, - - - 302 

XVIIL. On the Composition of the Minerals described in the preceding Paper. 

By Epwarp TuRNER, M.D. F.R.S.E. &c. Lecturer on Chemistry, 
and. Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh. Communicat- 
ed by the Author, - * . - - - 306 

XX. On the Chemical Characters of Zinc Ores, examined in the manner of 
Berzelins, by means of the Blow-Pipe, by M. Nits NORDENSKIOLD of 
Abo, - : - - - - : 310 

XX. Account of a Meteorological Phenomenon which was observed at the 
Summit of Ben-Nevis on the 27th June last. By the Rev Mr JoHn 
Macvicar, Dundee. Ina Letter to Dr Brewster, a - 312 

XXI. Description of Edingtonite, a New Mineral Species. By WiLL1am 
HaipincEr, Esq. F.R.S. E. With an Analysis by EpwarD TURNER, 

M. D. F. R. S. E. &c. Lecturer on Chemistry, and Fellow of the Royal 


College of Physicians, Edinburgh. Communicated by the Author, 316 

XXII. Description of a New Hygrometer, depending on the Affinity of Acids 
. for Water. By Professor AUG. DE LA RIVE, = uJ 820 

XXILL. On the Locality of Acmite. By N..B. MoLiEr, Esq. of Porsgrund, 

Norway, . - - - - - - 326 
XXIV. Account of Two newly-discovered Mineral Species. By Professor 

J. J. Berzevius, M.D. F,R-S. Lond, and Edin., &c. &e. - 327 
XXV. On some new Localities of rare Minerals. By Professor J. J. BER- - 

ZELIUS, M.D, F. R.S. Lond. and Edin., &c. &c. - - 332 
XXVI. ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS, - - - 334 

1. Chlamyphorus truncatus, - - - - ib. 

2. New and gigantic species of the genus Cephalopterus, of Dumeril, 337 

3. Two new Genera of Reptiles proposed, - - - 339 

4, Bilobites, . E “ rs s u 2 ib. 


XXVIEL HISTORY OF MECHANICAL INVENTIONS AND PRO- 
CESSES IN THE USEFUL ARTS, - : 340 
1, Method of giving the Epicycloidal Form to the Teeth of Wheels. By 
Prrenr LEcouny’, Esq. Midshipman, R. N. in a Letter to the Editor, ib. 


CONTENTS: ik 


Page 
2. Description of a Single Weather Sluice, invented by RopERT THom, 
Esq. Rothesay, NETS - - - - - 343 
3. On coarse Paint made with Potatoes, - : - 345 
4. Method of preventing the Fracture of Glass Chimneys, - 346 
5. Description of Griebel’s Portable Night Clock, - - ib. 
6. Description of M. Allard’s Universal Bevel, = - - ib. 
7. Method of consuming the Smoke of Steam-Boiler Furnaces. By Mr 
G. CHAPMAN, ~ - - 7. = 347 
8. Menstruum for biting in on Steel Plates for Fine Engravings. By 
Mr EpmuND TURREL, < ~ ss y ib. 
9. Description of Lenormand’s New Chronometer, - = we G45 
10. On the Construction of Chimneys, - - - . 349 
ll. M. Ventau’s Gigantic Meteorological Eolian Harp, - - ib. 
12. Natural Lamp by Incandescence, - - - - 390 
13. Oil for Chronometers, Clocks, and Delicate Wheel-work, - ib. 


Cr 
~ 


XXVIII. ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS AND MEMOIRS, 2 


1. On the Transverse Strain and Strength of Materials. By Mr Earon 
HODGKINSON, - - - 5 = = ib. 

II. On the Gold Mines of North Carolina. By DENIsoN OLMSTED, 
Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy in the University of North Ca- : 
rolina, . - - - - - - 358 


XXIX. NOTICES OF RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOTANICAL 
WORKS, - - - - 364 


Great Britain.—Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Prodromus 
Flore Nepalensis. Botanical Magazine, No. 456, January 1825. No. 
459, Aprils Botanical Register for December, No. 118. No. 119, Ja- 
nuary 1825. Hooker’s Exotic Flora, Part 19, February 1825. Part 
20, March. - - - - - - 365—367 


™’ 
XXX. SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE, - = 367 


I, NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 


AsTRONOMy.—l. Comet of July and August 1824, discovered at Paramatta. 
2. Comet of September 1824, discovered at Paramatta. 3. New Comet of 
1825. 4. Longitude and Latitude of Paraniatta. 5. Action of the Moon 
on the Earth’s Atmosphere. 6. Lunar Eclipse of 31st May, observed at 


Bushy Heath, - - - - - - 367, 368 
Oprics.—7. Light produced during the Crystallization of Benzoic Acid. 
8. Iridescence of Clouds, - - - - - 368, 369 


ELEcTRiciTy.—9. Remarkable Electricity of Oxalate of Lime. 10. Electricity 
developed in Capillary Attraction. 11. Electricity developed in Solutions and 
Mixtures. 12. Electrical Gale, 369—371. 

Macnetism.—13. Mr Babbage and Mr Herschel on the Magnetism develop- 
ed during Rotation. 14. On the Magnetism imparted to Iron Bodies by 
Rotation. 15. Mr Christie’s New Experiments on the Magnetism produc- 
ed by Rotation. - . = . = 371, 372 

METEOROLOGY.—16. Remarkable Hailstones with Pyritic Nuclei. - 37% 


iv CONTENTS. 


+f 
Il. CHEMISTRY. 
17: On a Compound of Carbon of Hydrogen with remarkable properties. 373 


Page 


% Ill. NATURAL HISTORY. 
BOTANY.—18. Overland Arctic Expedition. 19. Plantes rares du Jardin de 
Genéve, par Aug. Pyramus de Candolle, &c. - - 374—377 
IVs GENERAL SCIENCE. 
20. Lieut. Kotzebue’s recent voyage of Discovery. 21. Steam-boat Enterpriee 


for India, - - - . - 377 
XXXI. List of Patents for New Inventions, sealed in England since 

January 1, 1825. - - : ~ 378 

XXXII. List of Patents granted in Sonttaita since June 16, 1825, ~ 379 


XX XIII. Celestial Phenomena, from October 1, 1825 to January 1, 1826, cal- 
culated for the Meridian of Edinburgh. By Mr GrorGE INNES, 


Aberdeen, - - . - “ 380 
XXXIV. Register of the Barometer, Thermometer, and Rain-Gage, kept 
at Canaan Cottage. By ALEX. ADIE, Esq. F. R.S.E. 384 
INDEX, - - - . - 385 
Description of Phites in i Vol. it, 2 2 iF 2 é 388 
This day is Published, 


With Twenty-four Explanatory Engravings, 12mo. 7s. 6d. 


THE CENTURY OF INVENTIONS 


OF THE 


MARQUIS OF WORCESTER, 


From the Original MSS., with Historical and Explanatory Notes, and a 
Biographical Memoir, by CHARLES F. PARTINGTON, of the Lon- 
don Institution. 


PRINTED FOR JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET, 
LONDON. 


THE 


EDINBURGH 
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 


Arr. 1.—Abstract of Experiments on the Consolidation of the 
Strata of the Earth, made by Sir James Haut, Bart. 
F.R.S. Lond. and Edin., with Notices of his former Writ- 

- ings on Geological Subjects. 


We have great pleasure in presenting mae readers with an ab- 
stract of a paper lately read to the Royal Society of Edinburgh 
by Sir James Hall, on the consolidation of the strata of the 
earth; and we recommend their attention to this notice with the 
more earnestness, because the volume in which the paper will be 
published at length, may perhaps not appear for some time, 
and is, moreover, by its nature, little calculated for that rapid 
and extensive circulation which the ardour of modern curiosi- 
ty demands. 

Sir James Hall is well known to the scientific world as a 
strenuous supporter of the Huttonian Theory, and as the 
philosopher who has most successfully attempted to rest the 
science of geology on the basis of experiment. As his disco- 
veries, however, have been published at long intervals, and in 
a form not very accessible to the generality of readers, we con- 
ceive we shall be rendering a service to science, by giving a 
brief sketch of the principal results to which those investi- 
gations of our ingenious countryman have led. 

Early in 1790, not long after Dr Hutton had announced 
his Theory of the Earth, Sir James Hall, who had declared 

VOL. 111. NO. 1. JULY 1825. A 


2 Sir James Hall on the Consolidation of the Strata. © 


himself friendly to the new doctrines, came forward to grapple 
with one of the most formidable difficulties which were urged 
against them. In the History of the Royal Society, Vol. iu. 
p. 8. Edinburgh Transactions, there is given a short abstract 
of two papers on the formation of granite. _It is to be regret- 
ted, that these papers should not have been given at length. 
The abstract, however, is sufficiently curious, and well de- 
serving of the attention of any experimentalist, who may be 
engaged in attempts to imitate nature in the formation of crys- 
tallised rocks. We have only room for a short extract :— 

“In granites, which contain quartz and feldspar, it fre- 
quently occurs, that the feldspar is seen with the form of its 
crystals distinctly defined, whilst the quartz is a confused and 
irregular mass, being almost universally moulded on the crys- 
tals of feldspar. Now, were it true that all granite is for med 
by fusion, the very contrary, it would seem, saaeet always to 
take place, as feldspar is very easily melted, and quartz resists 
the greatest efforts of heat that have hitherto been applied 
to it. 

‘© The difficulty is thus obviated: It is well known, that 
when quartz and feldspar are pounded and mixed together, 
the mixture may, with difficulty, be melted and run intoa 
kind of glass,. the feldspar serving as a flux to the quartz. 
The same may be stated in another way, by considering the 
feldspar, when melted, as a fluid, in which, asa menstruum, the 
quartz is dissolved ; and in this view we may expect, by ana- 
logy, that phenomena, similar to those of the solution of salt 
in water, should take place. Now it is certain, that when ex- 
cessive cold is applied to the salt water, the water is frozen to 
the exclusion of the salt, the ice obtained yielding fresh water 
when melted, and the salt, when the experiment is pushed te 
the utmost, separating from it in the form of sand. Why 
should not the same thing happen in the solution of quartz in 
liquid feldspar, when the mass is allowed to cool below the 
point of congelation of the menstruum? The feldspar may 
crystallise separately from the quartz, as we have seen pure 
ice formed separately from the salt; in both cases, the conge- 
lation of the solvent being simultancous to that of the dissolved 


Sir James Hall on the Conzolidation of the Strata. 3 


substance. Hence the crystals may mutually interfere with 
each others forms, and we may as naturally expect to see quartz 
moulded on crystals of feldspar, as the reverse.” 

Sir James then discusses the question, as to the effects of 
slow cooling, in preventing the return of the fused substance 
to a state of glass—and then advances the following very in- 
genious views, which are incapable of abridgement. 

“If quartz, mica, feldspar, schorl, garnet, &c. happen to 
be melted together, the most fusible substance of them all may 
be considered as the menstruum in which all the rest are dis- 
solved, and we may suppose, that these various dissolved: sub- 
stances may differ amongst themselves im their properties of 
solution, as salts differ from one another, so that some of them 
may be more soluble, when very much heated, than when it 
is comparatively cold, and others may be as soluble in it, when 
little warmer than its point of congelation, as when raised to a 
much higher temperature. If then we say, for example, that 
the congealing point of thesolventis 1000 degrees of Fahrenheit, 
and if the solution is at the temperature of 2000, we may con- 
ceive one portion of the matter dissolved as held by the sim- 
ple dissolving power of the menstruum, and another portion as 
held by means of its elevated temperature. When, therefore, 
a mass of this kind is allowed to cool very slowly, as we may 
suppose must be the case with liquid granite in the bowels of 
the earth, those substances held in solution by the heat of the 
solvent, will first separate, and, being formed in a liquid, will 
assume their crystalline forms with perfect regularity ; where- 
asthose substances, which were held by the menstruum, simply 
as a fluid, will not separate till the congelation of the solvent 
itself takes place, when the crystals of the various substances 
will intermix and confound the regularity of form, which each 
would have assumed, if left to itself. In this manner, one of 
the most common kinds of granite will be produced, consisting 
of perfect crystals of schorl, mica, or garnet, inclosed ina 
confused mass of quartz and schorl.” 

These theoretical views, whether just or otherwise, it must be 
admitted, are highly curious and philosophical, and are well de- 
serving of being put to those experimental tests, which no man 
knows better how to devise than Sir James himself: And as 


4 Sir James Hall on the Consolidation of the Strata. 


very slow cooling, or, which is the same thing, a perfect com- 
mand of the nicest regulation of high heats, is indispensable to 
their success, we are rejoiced to hear that he has invented an 
instrument, which, we are told, accomplishes this great desi- 
deratum completely. We look very anxiously, therefore, to 
his publishing some account of it, even though he should not 
have any very decisive results, as to its power of producing 
imitations of crystallised rocks. Such an instrument, on many 
other accounts, is a desideratum in practical chemistry, and the 
scientific world are entitled to be put in possession of it forth- 
with. 

In the Edinburgh Transactions for 1798 (vol. v. p. 23.) 
was given an account of a series of experiments, completely es- 
tablishing the identity of whinstone and lava. By this ana- 
logy the most important aid was afforded to the Huttonian 
Theory. 

It had been stated, that, whinstone, like the granite above 
mentioned, when melted and allowed to cool again, always 
became glass, and did not return to stone as Dr Hutton’s 
Theory required. Sir James Hall, however, conceived that 
nature would operate in this case by slow degrees, and that the 
temperature of the melted stone, when occurringin vast quanti- 
ties, would be gradually, and not suddenly reduced. He ima- 
gined that the effect of this would be, to allow the fused mass 
to remain for a sufficient length of time, during its descent 
through the various stages of heat, in that particular pitch of 
temperature required by its nature for its assuming a crystal- 
line texture. His experiments fully proved the justice of these 
ingenious ideas ; and we believe there is, in consequence, now 
but one opinion as to the igneous origin of the whole of this 
class of rocks. 

The most formidable objection, however, to the Huttonian 
Theory still remained, until Sir James Hall removed it by 
the same philosophical line of inquiry. Dr Hutton had as- 
serted, that calcareous rocks, like every other, .had been sub- 
jected to the action of heat. But it was well known that 
when heat was applied to this class of rocks, the carbonic 
acid was driven off in the shape of gas, and the remaining 
quicklime became infusible. Dr Hutton, indeed, had answer- 


Sir James Hall on the Consolidation of the Strata. 5 


ed this, by suggesting that the pressure of the superincumbent 
ocean was sufficient to confine the carbonic acid, and to cause 
it to act as a flux on the quicklime. This theory, however 
ingenious, was so abundantly gratuitous, that it by no means 
satisfied even his own disciples. During his lifetime he dis- 
couraged the experimental investigation of the subject; but 
no sooner was all delicacy on the subject at an end by Dr 
Hutton’s death, than Sir James Hall ‘commenced a series of 
experiments, which in the end set the question completely at 
rest. He ascertained, by numerous experiments, that carbo- 
nate of lime might readily be fused when exposed to heat, if it 
were at the same time under a pressure not greater than Dr 
Hutton’s Theory required, or about a mile and a half of sea. 
These experiments, in which the subject is treated in a very 
masterly way, will be found in the sixth volume of the Edin-- 
burgh Transactions. Inthe words of Mr Playfair, it may be 
truly said of them, “that, independently of all theory, they have 
narrowed the circle of prejudice and error.” 

So far Sir James had confined himself to the illustration 
of doctrines purely Huttonian; but we should be doing 
injustice to his sagacity and originality, were we to omit 
stating that he by no means followed Dr Hutton in all 
his ideas. On the contrary, he always considered Dr Hut- 
ton’s explanation of the formation of valleys, and of the pre- 
sent appearance of the earth’s surface generally, as quite 
incomplete. To account for these by the diwrnal action 
of the elements, he thought altogether untenable. Sir 
James’s theory, which is at once bold and original, is 
published in the Edinburgh Transactions for 1812, vol. vii. 
p- 139, 169, in two papers “‘ on the Revolutions of the Earth’s 
Surface,” to which we call the attention of our readers. Val- 
leys he conceives to have been formed at various times by a 
succession of heaves from below, which could not fail-to rend 
and dislocate the solid crust of the globe in a thousand 
shapes, and to leave it as to the general features, m the rug- 
ged and irregular form it at present retains, an appearance 
totally inexplicable upon any view of diurnal action. But as 
it must be admitted that most mountains, valleys, plains, 
lakes, and other parts of the earth’s surface, are evidently 


6 Sir James Hall on the Consolidation of the Strata. 


no longer in the precise state which they would have been left 
im by those violent heaves alluded to, he was led to inquire what 
other causes could be supposed to have reduced them to their 
present appearance. It was not long before he saw that a vast 
and overwhelming torrent or debacle (perhaps many more than 
one) must have passed over all those parts of the globe which 
he had an opportunity of examining. A little further reflection 
made it also evident to him, thatif the Huttonian Theory were 
supposed to be true, such waves beeame a necessary conse- 
quence. Forif great masses of strata be suddenly elevated to the 
surface from the bottom of a deep sea, waves proportionate 
in size must be produced, which, in their transient, but over- 
whelming course, would produce all the well known pheno- 
mena of a diluvian character. Professor Buckland’s recent 
speculations on the same subject form a valuable addition to 
this most interesting theory. 

The consolidation of sandstone was another very knotty 
point amongst the geologists—no theorist of either party, as 
far as we know, having attempted to account for it by any ra- 
tional hypothesis.. The present paper, which we shall now 
proceed to analyse, goes far to supply this deficiency. 

Sir James Hall commences by some general observations 6n 
the nature of geological inquiries, and on the spirit in which 
experiments should be conducted, which have for their object 
to advance the boundaries of this science. These remarks we 
recommend strongly to any one engaged in similar pursuits ; 
and we must be permitted to say, that the time is now surely 
come when it is incumbent on the supporters of the agucous 
doctrine to show, experimentally, that their theory is equally 
capable of representing artificially the rocks which we see in 
nature, so many of which the Huttonians have successfully 
imitated. . 

Our author proceeds to say, it had often been urged, 
and apparently with good reason, against this branch of 
the Huttonian Theory, that no amount of heat applied 
to loose sand, gravel, or shingle, would occasion the parts 
to consolidate into a compact stone. And as all his ex- 
perience led to the same conclusion, he saw that, unless, 
along with heat, some flux were introduced amongst. the 


Sir James Hall on the Consolidation of the Strata. 7 


materials, no agglutination of the particles would take place. 
A striking circumstance, which he describes as occurring near 
Dunglass in East Lothian, having suggested to him the idea 
that the salt of the ocean might possibly have been the agent 
in causing the requisite degree of fusion, he instituted a se- 
ries of experiments, the details of which he now brings before 
the Society. By these he shows, that this material, under va- 
rious modifications, is fully adequate to explain the consolida- 
tion of the strata, and perhaps many other effects which we 
see on the surface of the Earth. 

His success, from the first, was such as to promise the most 
satisfactory results ; but various circumstances occurred to re- 


tard his progress. 


*€ Whoever,” he judiciously remarks, “ has had any experience in the 
prosecution of new subjects of experimental inquiry, knows that, owing 
to his ignorance of the requisite adjustment of the proportions of the ingre- 
dients, and of other similar arrangements, he must depend, in a great de- 
gree, upon chance for the success of his first results, and that he must 
often submit to spend much time and labour upon a subject, even after it 
has been made out to his own satisfaction, before he has acquired sufficient 
command over its details to answer for the result of any particular expe- 
riment, so as to be able to produce it with confidence to the public.”— 


pp. 5, 6. 


The scene alluded to as having first excited Sir James’ at- 
tention to this subject was on the borders of Lammermuir, 
“¢ where 


“© A set of horizontal beds occur, consisting of a loose assemblage of 
rounded stones, intermixed with sand and gravel, which bear every ap- 
pearance of having been deposited by water, and which, as to their general 
history, seem to have undergone no change since the overwhelming, 
though transient, agitations of water, of which I have frequently had 
occasion to speak in this Society. 

‘Tn the summer of 1812, as I was returning from visiting the granitic 
range which occurs in the water of Fasnet, in the hills of Lammermuir, 
and riding down the little valley of Aikengaw, which deeply indents this 
loose collection of gravel and shingle, about two miles above the village of 
Oldhamstocks, and at the distance of eight or ten miles from the sea, I was 
struck with astonishment on seeing one of these gravel banks, formed, as 
above described, of perfectly loose materials, traversed vertically by a dyke, 
which, in its middle, consisted of whinstone, and was flanked by solid 
conglomerate ; but this solidity abated gradually till the conglutination of 
the rounded masses diminishing by degrees, the state of loose shingle and 


‘8 Sir James Hall on the Consolidation of the Strata. 


gravel was entirely restored on both sides. The agglutinated mass adja- 
cent to the dyke bore no resemblance to the result of calcareous petrifac- 
tion ; scarcely ever gave effervescence with acid; and, by its gradual ter- 
mination, differed from any whinstone-dyke I have seen to penetrate the 
strata ; for, in the ordinary case, the termination of the crystallite against 
the adjoining aggregate through which it passes, is almost always quite 
abrupt. 

“ About a hundred yards higher up the valley of Aikengaw, there eccurs 
an agglutination similar to the last, though without any whin-dyke, and 
sufficiently strong to resist the elements, by which the surrounding mat- 
ters had been washed away, leaving the pudding-stone, or agglutinated 
shingle, to stand up by itself, in a manner remarkable enough to have at- 
tracted the notice of the peasantry as something supernatural, since they 
have bestowed upon it the name of the Fairy’s Castle. 

‘* Farther up the stream, other agglutinations occur frequently, as we 
could see in little narrow glens cutting through the mass ; and higher still, 
they are so numerous as to meet and convert the whole into one unbroken 
mass of pudding-stone, occupying all that is exposed to view. 

«These very remarkable, and, to meat least, novel appearances, were the 
first which suggested the idea, that the consolidation not only of this class 
of conglomerates, but of sandstone in general, had been occasioned by the 
influence of some substance in a gaseous or aériform state, driven by heat 
into the interstices between the loose particles of sand and gravel, where it 
had acted as a fiux on the contiguous parts. On considering what this 
penetrating substance might be, and from whence it could have come, the 
following circumstance presented itself to my recollection at the moment, 
and promised to afford some assistance to these conjectures. 

‘* A few miles lower down the valley in which the above facts were ob- 
served, at the distance of more than a mile from the sea, and between two 
and three hundred feet perpendicularly above it, there occurs a crag of 
sandstone, in which a numerous succession of strata are distinctly visible. 
Several of these beds have yielded much to the action of the air, and, in 
dry weather, exhibit a considerable white efflorescence, which has com- 
pletely the taste of common salt ; and so remarkable is this circumstance, 
that the rock has acquired, in the country, the name of Salt-Heugh. 

‘* Here, then, it immediately occurred to me, was probably the source of 
an abundant supply of the elastic substance or fumigator, whose action as 
a flux had been pointed out by the agglutinations in Aikengaw above de- 
scribed. 

“* T conceived, that, if there were at the bottom of the sea a bed of sand 
and gravel, drenched with brine of full saturation, and that heat were ap- 
plied to it from beneath, according to Dr Hutton’s hypothesis, the first ef- 
fect would be, to drive the water from the lowest portion of the sand, and 
to convert the salt which remained amongst it, together with the sand, in« 
to a dry cake. During this operation, or until the cake became quite dry, 
the absorption of latent heat would prevent the temperature from surpass~ 


Sir James Hall on the Consolidation of the Strata. 9 


ing the:boiling point of brine. But no sooner was this dryness accom- 
plished, than, I imagined, the temperature of the mass would begin to rise 
above that pitch ; the portion of it next the fire would gradually acquire a 
red-heat ; that then the salt, being made by the heat in part to assume an 
elastic form, would be sent in fumes through the dry cake just described, 
and thus, by partially melting the contiguous particles, produce an agglu- 
tination. 

** Such being my theoretical views, no time was lost in submitting 
them to the test of experiment. Taking it for granted that a quantity of 
sea-salt must frequently be formed and deposited, along with sand and 
gravel, at the bottom of the ocean, (in the manner I shall have occasion to 
describe at another stage of this paper), where the water has been collect- 
ed by its superior specific gravity, in the form of brine, I proceeded to 
make the following experiments :— 

“« Dry salt was placed along with sand, sometimes in a separate layer, 
at the bottom of the crucible, and sometimes mixed throughout the expe- 
riment: the whole was then exposed to heat from below. I found that 
the salt was invariably sent in fumes through the loose mass, and by its 
action produced solid stone in a manner completely satisfactory, as illustra« 
tive of the facts in Aikengaw; and so as to give a good explanation of the 
production of sandstone in general. 

“* These artificial stones are of various degrees of durability and hard- 
ness ;—some of them do not stand exposure to the elements, and crumble 
when immersed in water ;—some resist exposure for years ;—others are 
so soft as not to preserve their form for any length of time ;—while some 
bear to be dressed by the chisel ; and, it may be remarked generally, that, 
as far as the results of my experiments have been compared with natural 
sandstone, the same boundless variety exists in both cases. A striking in- 
stance of this resemblance occurs in the case of the Salt-heugh, the sand- 
stone of which, wheu immersed in water, crumbles down, exactly in the 
same manner as those results of my experiments which taste much of 
salt. ; 

“ The fumes of the salt, no doubt, act, in all these cases, as a flux on the 
siliceous matter, and thus cement the adjacent particles together. The So- 
ciety are, doubtless, well aware of the power of salt fumes in glazing pot- 
tery ; and the analogy, I conceive, is complete. It is the application alone 
that is new. 

** So far the results were satisfactory. But it next occurred, that it 
might be plausibly objected, that the presence of the superincumbent cool 
ocean would interfere with the process, on the principles of latent heat. 
To put this to the test, I proceeded to expose a quantity of sand, covered 
to the depth of several inches with common salt-water, to the heat of a 
furnace, and, as the liquid boiled away, replenished it from time to time 
by additions from the sea. Of course it gradually approached to a state of 
brine. But this proved a very tedious operation, requiring a continued 
ebullition, during three weeks, without ceasing, before it became suffi- 


10 ~—- Sir James Hall on the Consolidation of the Strata. 


ciently saturated with salt by the discharge of the fresh-water; and I 
thought it much easier, and no less satisfactory, to employ brine from the 
first, formed at once by loading the water with as much salt as it could 
dissolve, amounting to about one-third of its weight. 

« The vessels employed in these early experiments, were the. large black- 
lead crucibles used by the brass-founders. I filled the vessel, which was 
18 inches high and 10 broad, nearly to the brim with brine of full satura- 
tion, the lower portion being occupied, to the depth of about 15 inches, 
with loose sand from the sea-sbore, and thoroughly drenched with the 
brine. In order to have a view of the progress of the experiment, I placed 
an earthen-ware tube, about the size and shape of a gun-barrel, closed at 
bottom, and open at the top, in a vertical position, having its lower extre- 
mity immersed in the sand, and reaching to within about an inch of the 
bottom of the pot, while the other end rese a foot above the eee of the 
brine, and could be looked into without inconvenience. 

‘* After a great number of experiments, furnishing an unbounded va- 
riety of results, I at length obtained a confirmation of the main object in 
view. I observed that the bottom of the porcelain barrel, and of course 
the sand in which it rested, became red-hot, whilst the brine, which, dur- 
ing the experiment, had been constantly replenished from a separate ves- 
sel, continued merely in a state of ebullition: the upper portion of the 
sand, drenched with the liquid, remained permanently quite loose, = the 
lower portion of the sand had formed itself into a solid cake. 

** On allowing the whole to cool, after it had been exposed to a high 
heat for many hours, and breaking up the mass, I was delighted to find 
the result, occupying the lower part of the pot, possessed of all the quali- 
ties of a perfect sandstone, as may be seen in the specimens now presented 
to the Society. Whenever the heat was not maintained so long, the sand- 
stone which resulted was less perfect in its structure, tasted strongly of 
salt, and sometimes erumbled to sand when placed in water. 

“ Many of these early experiments were accomplished with tolerable 
success. But still the result was somewhat precarious, and could not be 
announced with the confidence that I felt in presenting my former experi- 
ments to this Society. 

“‘ The cause of this uncertainty I traced to the chemical operation of 
the salt, acting as a flux upon the poreelain vessels employed. This very 
action, I was well aware, was the main agent and cause of our success, 
when kept within proper bounds ; but, on being allowed to pass these li- 
mits, and to act on the containing vessel as well as on the experiment, it 
destroyed the vessel, and converted the whole into a confused mass of slag. 

«* After numberless unsuccessful attempts, and after returning again 
and again to the charge, with an imterval sometimes of years, I at last met 
with a quality in some of the materials to me altogether unlooked for, by 
means of which may be obtained successful results, with scarcely any risk 
of failure. 

‘© F found that the action of the salt upon the substances of the eucibles 

4 


Sir James Hall on the Consolidation of the Strata. ll 


of clay, did not exert itself in the same manner upon iron; but that a 
large vessel of cast-iron, 18 inches deep by 10 wide, and a common gun- 
barrel welded up at the breech, and open at the top, enabled me to work 
with the heat of melting gold, without injuring the vessels, and at any 
time to produce a perfect freestone ; thus satisfying our theoretical expec- 


tations. 

«© Similar results, in all respects, were produced by exposing pure pound- 
ed quartz to the action of the salt fumes,—and also when gravel, or any 
other mass of loose materials, was used instead of sand.” pp. 6—12. 


Sir James next proceeds to show, that if this theory of 
the consolidation of sandstone be admitted as sound, there is 
an adequate supply of salt to be looked for in nature, or at 
least of brine, which is nearly the same thing. He conceives, 
that in the Mediterranean, and other similar seas, where there is 
a greater evaporation from the surface than supply of fresh 
water by the rivers, rains, &c., the sea, at the bottom, will 
gradually approach to a state of brine. And even, without 
entering into any such theoretical explanation of how this sup- 
ply of salt is formed, he thinks it sufficient that there are known 
‘to exist in the world many large districts of rock-salt, lakes 
and rivers of salt water, and numerous brine-springs in this 
and other countries. 

It was objected, as Sir James tells us, to his Theory, by a mem- 
ber of the Royal Society, that the influence of the superincum- 
bent ocean would, in all cases, counteract, by its coolness, the 
effect of the heat, and prevent the formation of stone: but these 
experiments most distinctly prove, that this effect, however 
probable it certainly was, would not take place, since it was easy, 
by means of his device of the gun-barrel, to look into the heart 
of the experiment, and discover the red-hot sand under the 
water, while, at the same time, the temperature of the brine 
on the top was so low that the hand could be plunged into it 
without injury. But whenever the same experiment was tried 
with fresh water instead of brine, no exertion of heat ever pro- 
duced a red heat. Nothing, certainly, in the history of chemi- 
cal experiment, is more satisfactory than this ; and the ex- 
treme simplicity of the contrivance by which so important a 
fact has been established, instead of diminishing, only adds to 
our admiration of that ingenuity which seems always to 


12 Sir James Hall on the Consolidation of the Strata. 


come to the assistance of some men just at the moment of 
need. 

Sir James.concludes his Paper by adverting to some other 
speculations which are not yet fully matured, but which he is 
in hopes, ere long, to lay before the public. “ A simple al- 
lusion to one or two of these,” he says, “ may perhaps be re- 
ceived with indulgence.” 


“ I conceive, that salt, in the state of fumes, and urged by a powerful 
heat, possibly also modified by pressure, or perhaps combined with other 
substances, may have penetrated a great variety of rocks, acting as a 
flux on some, as in basalt, granite, &c. ; agglutinating others, as in the case 
of sandstone, pudding-stone, &c. ; softening others, as in the case of contort- 
ed strata of greywacke. In many cases, too, I conceive that these fumes 
may have had the power of carrying along with them various other mate- 
rials, such as metals in a sublimed state, which would in this way be in- 
troduced into rents, veins, and cavities, or may even have entered into the 
solid mass of the rocks, which I imagine these fumes may have had power 
to penetrate. I have already tried some experiments in pursuit of these 
ideas. Salt, for instance, has been mixed with oxide of iron, reduced to 
fine powder, and then exposed to heat along with quartzose sand. The 
iron, I found, was borne up along with the salt fumes. The sandstone, 
formed in this way, was deeply stained with iron, and other most curious 
appearances presented themselves. 

‘* Every one who has seen a sandstone quarry, must have noticed evi- 
dent traces of iron, the rock being stained in a great variety of ways ; 
sometimes in parallel layers,—sometimes in concentric circles, or rather in 
portions of concentric spheres, like the coats of an onion,—and, generally 
speaking, disposed in a way not accountable by deposition from water. 
All these appearances I would account for, by supposing the rock, either 
at the moment of its agglutination into sandstone, or at some subsequent 
period, to have been penetrated by the fumes of salt, charged with iron, 
also in a state of vapour. 

“*T may mention one very curious result of my experiments with salt 
and iron, acting upon sand, namely, that, upon breaking up the specimen 
of artificial sandstone, an appearance often presents itself of incipient ery- 
stallisation, if I may use this term ; a number of large, shining, parallel 
faces pervade the whole mass, and, by holding the specimen at the proper 
angle to the light, this appearance becomes very obvious. What the na- 
ture of these crystals is, I have not investigated ; but as they very much 
resemble what we see in different kinds of sandstone, I am of opinion that 
they hold out a fair expectation, of our being able to produce many of the 
crystalline appearances with which we are familiar in nature. 

** Common sea-salt, such as I have used, ‘as is well known, is not pure 
muriate of soda; and, in my experiments, I have mixed various other 

1 


Mr Blackadder on Vertical and Lateral Mirage. 1% 


substances with it. In Nature, we must suppose that various contaminat- 
ing substances would in like manner occur, to diversify the phenomena ; 
and, accordingly, we do find a boundless variety, in the aspect not only of 
sandstone, but of almost every kind of rock ; and I am by no means with- 
out expectation, that, in the course of time, we shall be able to imitate in 
our laboratory as many of these varieties as we choose to exhibit. 

T have long been engaged also in a series of experiments on the forma- 
tion of Crystallites, the name by which, as I have before stated, every 
erystallised rock might, perhaps, be usefully distinguished in contradis- 
tinction to Aggregates, or those formed of fragments. This great object 
in experimental geology, I hope to accomplish by means of an instrument 
which I have long had in use, for the regulation of high heats, a descrip- 
tion of which may probably soon be laid before the Society, together with 
some further results in support of the Huttonian Theory of the Earth.” — 
pp. 15, 16. 


We again repeat our earnest solicitation to Sir James Hall 
to make this inyention known to the public. There is, we be: 
lieve, at this moment, more than one chemist on the Conti- 
nent,* if not in this country, engaged in the formation of crys- 
tals in imitation of nature; and as we know that the regula- 
tion of high heats is by far the most difficult part of the pro- 
cess, we trust that Sir James may be induced to lend the as- 
sistance of this valuable instrument to a subject which, it 
may be fairly presumed, he has as sincerely at heart as any man 
in the field. “ 

Sir James Hall stands so high as an experimental geologist, 
if we may be allowed the expression, and his authority is now 
a-days so often quoted, that we think a reprint of all his pa- 

“pers, in a separate form, would be gratefully received by the 
scientific world. 


Arr. [I.—On some Phenomena of Vertical and of La- 
teral Mirage, observed at King George's Bastion, Leith. 
An Extract of a Letter to the Editor, from Henry Home 
BuiackappeEr, Esq. Surgeon, Med. Staff, H. P. 


Cross along the sea shore, to the north-east of the new Docks 
at Leith, there is an extensive bulwark, the central part of 
which is named King George’s Bastion. This bulwark is 


* See this Journal, vol. i. p. 375, and vol. ii. p. 129. 


14 Mr Blackadder on Vertical and Lateral Mirage. 


formed of huge blocks of cut sand-stone, and was intended 
both as a protection against the sea, and, if need should be, 
against the attacks of an enemy. When the weather is favour- 
able, this bulwark affords an opportunity of witnessing most 
of the interesting phenomena, connected with what has been 
termed unusual atmospheric refraction. Near the centre of 
the range there is a solid stone tower, and from this to the 
eastern extremity, the appearances are observed to most ad- 
vantage. 

From the tower eastward, the bulwark forms a sireiae 
line to the distance of about 498 feet. It is eight feet in 
height, on the side next to the land, and has a foot-way up- 
wards of two feet in breadth, and about three feet from the 
ground. At the top, the parapet is three feet wide, and has a 
slight inclination towards the sea. 

When the weather is favourable, and that is not of rare oc- 
currence, the top of the parapet has the appearance of a mir- 
ror, or rather of asheet of ice, and, if in this state, another 
person stands or walks upon it, at a little distance, an mverted | 
image is seen under him. If, while standing on the foot-way, 
another person stands on it aiso, but at some distance, with his 
face turned towards the sea, his image will appear oppo- 
site to him, giving the appearance of two persons talking, 
or saluting each other. If again, when standing on the foot- 
‘way, and looking in a direction from the tower, another per- 
son crosses the eastern extremity of the bulwark, passing 
through the water-gate, either to or from the sea, there is pro- 
duced the appearance of two persons moving in opposite di- 
rections—constituting what has been termed a lateral mirage— 
first one is seen moving past, and then the other in an oppo- 
site direction, with some interval between them. In looking 
over the parapet, distant objects are seen variously modified, 
the mountains converted into immense bridges, &e. 

On going to the eastern extremity of the bulwark, and di- 
recting the eye towards the tower, the latter appears curious- 
ly modified, part of it being as it were cut off, and brought 
down, so as to form another small and elegant tower, in the 
form of certain sepulchral monuments. See Plate I. Fig. 13: 


a 
4 K Balalough 


The Ancient Lakes now obluterated of the Isle 
| of Man as they subststed wm the vear 1656. ; 


WwW 


Published by W. Blackwoad 1825. 


Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 15 


At other times, it bears an exact resemblance to un ancient al- 
tar, the fire of which seems to burn with great intensity. At 
some distance beyond the tower, there is seen the chimney-top 
of a house for boiling pitch, or other purposes connected with 
the docks. When smoke issues from that chimney, the ap- 
pearance represented in Fig. 14 was produced. The black 

waved lines under the ouplighad a rapid vibratery motion, 
while the motion of that which represents the fire of the altar, 
was exactly similar (excepting in colour) to the flame of a 
. Strong fire. * 

The accompanying outlines will render the above descrip- 
tion sufficiently intelligible. Some hygrometrical and thermo- 
metrical observations, connected with this subject, may be 
brought forward on a future occasion. 


Art. III.—Account of the Circumstances connected with the 
Discovery of the Fossil Elkin the Isle of Man, which prove 
that this Animal is not Antediluvian, as many Naturalists 
and Antiquaries have cae By Samvet Hussert, 
M. D. F. R. S. E. and M.G. 8. Secretary to the Society 
of Scottish Antiquaries. 


Ture are few subjects in Natural History more interesting 
than the circumstances connected with the discovery of those 
Fossil Animals, the several races of which are either foreign 
to the country and climate in which they are at present found, 
or have become wholly extinct. In reference to this curi- 
ous investigation, the Irish Elk attracts no small share of atten- 
tion. ‘lhe zoologist inquires, whether animals of the same 
kind are still to be found on the surface of the globe, or have 
‘completely disappeared :—if the latter supposition be enter- 
tained, the antiquary proposes a question, at what era races of 
them might have existed? while the geologist contents him- 
self with a solution of the great difficulty, whether their ex- 


* A full detail of the principles, on which the phenomena of Vertical 
and Lateral Mirage depend, will be found in the Edinburgh Encyclopa- 
dia, ArT1cLE Optics, vol. xv- p- 617. 


16 Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 


tinction is not referable to a period so long prior to all histo- 
rical records, as to claim for them an antediluvian origin. The 
last question is the one that I shall at present consider. 

The first British naturalist who attracted the attention of 
philosophers to the Fossil Elk, was Sir Thomas Molyneux, 
who, in the year 1726, described it with far more accuracy 
than had been done before. He pronounced it to be of the 
genus Cervinum, or deer kind, and of the sort that carries 
broad or palmed horns, bearing a greater affinity to the buck 
or fallow-deer, than to the stag or rein-deer, which has round 
horns, branched without a palm. * He also observed, that the 
Trish elks were gregarious like the elks of Sweden, or the 
rein-deer of the Northern countries of Europe ;—drawing this 
conclusion from the statement of a Mr Osborne, who, while 
he was trenching an orchard, found three heads and sets of 
horns in the compass of one acre of land. The same philoso- 
pher again remarked, that these animals were discovered from 
five to ten feet under ground, im a sort of marl. . 

These are the leading circumstances, with which we have 
been long acquainted, relative to the discovery of the Fossil 
Elk, and they are almost sufficient for any geologist to draw 
from them the conclusion, that the -race of this animal, so far 
from being antediluvian, has either been but recently extinct, 
or even yet exists. + And, infact, this was the very conclusion 
to which Sir Thomas Molyneux arrived, though he failed in 
his task of endeavouring to identify the Irish elk with the 
American moose-deer. 

Still, there has not for a century been wanting geologists, 


“ An accurate representation, by Mr Burman of Douglas, of a fine head 
of the Elk, in his possession, was sent to Alexander Seton, Esq. an able 
Antiquary, who has obligingly permitted it to be engraved. (See Plate II, 
Fig. 1.) The dimensions to which the letters in the figure refer, are 
stated as follows: “‘ From A to B, 6 feet 11 inches; from B to C, 5 feet 
two inches; from D to E, 2 feet 6 inches; from F to G, 1 foot 2 inches ; 
from H to I,1 foot 74 inches; from N to O, 5 feet. Circumference at 
L K, 72 inches ; circumference at the root C, 11 inches.” 

+ Dr Knox was led to entertain this opinion, from different sourees of 
observation, namely, from the anatomical structure of the animal, and its 
state of preservation. 


—eEO 


Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 17 


who, in opposition to this plain statement of facts, have sup- 
posed that these Fossil remains were indicative of animals 
which had been destroyed by the universal deluge. Hence 
the transportation or drifting of their bones by an over- 
. whelming torrent, into such insular tracts as Ireland and the 
Isle of Man. And, since the discovery of the bones in the 
Hyena Cave of Kirkdale, a similar conjecture has been hazard- 
ed by Professor Buckland, * though, from some subsequent 
cofiversation with Mr Weaver, he now seems inclined to re- 
consider the subject. 

After these remarks, I shall proceed to describe the geolo- 
gical circumstances connected with the earthy deposits in which 
the elk is found. 

A southerly, and far most considerable, portion of the Isle 
of Man is diversified by irregular mountainous ranges of clay 
slate, and micaceous schist. In this extensive district it has 
been affirmed that no remains of the elk are to be found ; but 
that they only occur in the extensive flat on the north of the is- 
land, named the Curragh, which is characterized by a thick 
deposit of clay, marl, sand, and gravel. This is, however, a 
mistake. About a mile to to the north-west of the Tynwald 
Hill, at a short distance from the Peel River, there is a low 
marshy piece of ground from which large quantities of shell 
marl have been procured for the purposes of manure; and in 
this marl numerous bones of the elk have been observed in an 
imbedded state. But in the course of describing this site 
more particularly, I shall advert, in a very general manner, 
to the origin of the calcareous deposit in which these interest- 
img relics have been found. 

There are several evident indications in the vicinity of the 
Tynwald Hill of some very ancient lakes having been formed 
in the low sites of this westerly part of the island, the over- 
flow from which was discharged into the sea by the channel 
that now forms the bed of the Peel River. The tributary 
torrents by which these lakes were supplied, had carried with 
them the disintegrated materials of the rocks among whic!: they 


* Reliquie Diluviane, page 180. 
VOL. {1J. NO. 1. JULY 1825. B 


18 Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 


flowed, and, in the course of ages, had succeeded by this 
accumulation of earthy matter in excluding the water from 
these hollows, as well as in changing the course, or narrowing 
the bed of the river by which these lakes communicated with 
each other, and with the sea on the west. But another cause 
besides this will be found in most instances to have assisted in 
levelling the land, and as no one has more clearly explained 
this cause than Dr MacCulloch,* it would be an injustice to him 
not to giye it in his own words. ‘‘ Many fresh water shells,” 
he observes, ‘* breed in lakes, and even in the shallowest and 
smallest pools ; and as their death and reproduction is very 
rapid in many cases, a considerable addition of solid matter is 
made to that which is brought in from the rocks and soil 
which the feeding waters act on in their courses. Such sheils, 
therefore, produce calcareous beds, which are never, or rarely 
at least, uch consolidated, but are known by the name of 
marl. This marl also varies in character, as the shells may 
have disappeared entirely, or it may be further intermixed 
with the clay or the sand introduced by the rivers.” 

The shell marl, which is accumulated in the low sites of 
ground near the Peel River, is of a milk-white colour, also, 
when dried, very light and porous. All the shelly parts are in 
such a comminuted state, and so mixed up with clay or sand, 
that I could not find a specimen in which the organic structure 
of the animals to which the marl owes its origin was preserv- 
ed. The bones of the elk are said to be found about six to 
ten feet deep in this marl, and mixed along with them, particu- 
larly in the more superficial strata, are the remains of nume- 
rous aquatic plants, as of willows, ferns, reeds, &c. indicative 
of the ancient marshes which succeeded to the levelling of the 
land, and to which the elks appear to have resorted. In the 
upper beds the calcareous matter gradually lessens, showing 
that the gradual extinction of the race of fresh water shells 
kept pace with the fillmg up of the lake. A stratum of sand, 
the pure and nearly unmixed debris of the neighbouring hills, 


* Article Organic Remarns in Dr Brewster's Encyclopedia, vol. xv- 
p- 726 - 


Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 19 


is superjacent to the shell marl, while a comparatively modern 
bed of peat covers the whole. 

But a question is now naturally suggested —To what cause 
do the elks owe their nhumation in the marl ? 

Dr MacCulloch on this subject observes, that ‘‘ these ani- 
mals appear to be collected, as it were, into a herd; and gene- 
rally the skeletons are entire, or, at least, if bones are wanting, 
there is no dispersion of them. Farther, it has been remark- 
ed, that they are generally in an erect position, and the com- 
mon people of the country who have dug them out, and who 

have no hypothesis to serve, assert that their noses, when thus 
erect, are elevated as high as possible. The natural conclu- 
sion from these facts is, that this has been a herd suddenly 
surrounded by the materials in which the specimens now lie, 
so as to have been inclosed and preserved in their living atti- 
tudes. An inundation of water and gravel, or sand and mud, 
would explain this, when favoured by peculiar circumstances 
in the form of the land; while the preservation of the erect 
posture, no less than the very singular position of the nose, 
proves that the operation must have been gradual; the ani- 
mal’s last efforts having been those of keeping its head as long 
as possible above the flood.” * 

Now, this opinion would not, I think, have been advanced, 
if it were not for the misrepresentations of the labourers who 
had been employed in the marl pits of the Isle of Man, and 
who were consulted on the occasion. Nor does Dr MacCulloch 
offer his hypothesis with any great confidence, being himself 
doubtful how far the statements which he received were to be, 
depended upon. For, how could the labourers affirm that the 
elk is generally found in an erect position, when an entire ske- 
leton of this animal ‘has never yet been discovered? I shall 
take another occasion to explain, that the specimen in the Uni- 
versity of Edinburgh, generally conceived to be entire, is prin- 
cipally composed of dispersed bones. Again, in the vicinity 
of the Peel River, near the 'Tynwald Hill, the elk is found 
in a situation which is perfectly fatal to the notion that a herd 


* See Article OnGanic Remains in Dr Brewster's Encyclopedia, 
vol, xy. p. 727. 


20 Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 


of animals of this kind was destroyed by immersion, or caught 
in a sudden and unexpected flood. For it is difficult to con- 
ceive of any ordinary torrent, however rapid it might be, which 
could have succeeded in preventing the elks on any such emer- 
gency from securing their escape by repairing to the nume- 
rous eminences, which are immediately contiguous to the marl 
pit in which their bones are at present found. 

The hypothesis, then, that I would myself propose, is sug- 
gested by the circumstance remarked in Ireland, as well as in 
the Isle of Man, that the remains of the elk are commonly 
detected in’ marl,—or that they are comparatively rarein any 
other description of alluvial matter. For, may net a reason- 
able supposition be entertained, that this very general occur- 
rence has a reference to some particular habits of the elk when 
alive? Now, I have often had occasion to remark, that the 
pools in which marl is apt to accumulate are often the very 
spots that are selected by graminivorous animals, particularly 
of the deer kind, as watering-places ; but, whether the predi- 
lection which may be given to such pools, arises from calea- 
reous matter being diffused through the water, or from some 
other quality, I will not hazard a conjecture. Nor would I 
build any hypothesis upon this result of my own experience, 
the truth:of which remains to be determined by more expe- 
rienced agriculturists than myself. I can only add, that much 
countenance is given to my opinion by several facts which 
have come to my knowledge. ‘Thus, in the vicinity of Al- 
tringham, in Cheshire, remains of the common deer have been 
found imbedded in ancient marl; and from the marl of Wal- 
lisey Mere, the pool of which is in part filled up by a deposit 
of this kind, bones of similar animals were lately extracted. 

When, therefore, we reflect, that the remains of elks are 
chiefly found in those ancient pools which have been gradually 
filled up by marl, the direct question is,—are we entitled to 
infer, from this general circumstance,. that these animals have 
met with a natural rather than with a violent death? On this 
subject some light may be obtained by analogical examples. 
Ta my inquiries respecting the situations in which the red 
deer of Dunkeld are generally found, when they meet with a 
natural death, I have been assured that they are most fre- 


Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. Q1 


quently discovered stuck in the soft ground of swamps or 
shallow pools. An animal of this kind, languid from disease, 
sinks deep 1 in the marsh to which it may athe been accustom- 
ed to repair, and not possessing strength sufficient to extricate 
itself, is usually left in this state to perish. Hence a very 
plausible hypothesis may account for the circumstances under 
which the elk is usually found. The animal, during sickness, 
either in company with the- herd to which it is siuickintde or 
apart from its companions, may have frequented a familar 
watering-spot, in order to quench its thirst, and sinking in the 
soft marly substance which has accumulated roundthe margin 
of the lake, may have in vain exerted its limbs, enfeebled by dis- 
_ ease, to disengage itself, and in this situation have actually died. 
Some of its bones may have been dissipated by the action of 
the atmosphere, and other naturai causes ; some may have been 
borne away by carnivorous animals ; while the remaining num- 
ber may have owed their preservation to rains, which had wash- 
ed them deeper in the lake, where they would be gradually 
enveloped by shell-marl in its process of filling up the basin. 
Such a view of the case is, im fact, attended with much fewer 
difficulties than if we resort to a cause so adventitious as that 
of an overwhelming flood, or any other-expedient of this kind, 
as that the animal had been’ drowned, while attempting to 
elude the pursuit of its enemies; for Professor Buckland 
has announced, that this last opinion is entertained by Mr 
Weaver. 

The next question suggested is purely speculative :—From 
what cause has this animal become extinct in the British 
islands ? 

Sir Thomas Molyneux conceived, that a sort of distemper, 
or pestilential murrain, might have cut off the Irish elks ; 
and, connecting this view with the remains of many of them 
being found in one place, he supposed, that, as these animals 
had lived together in herds, they had died together in numbers. 
Headduces, in support of this view, a passage from Scheffer 
relative to the distemper which, at times, carries off whole 
herds of the rein deer. All this may be fair reasoning enough. 
It is, however, questionable, if the human race has not occa- 
sionally proved as formidable as a pestilence in exterminating, 


22. = Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 


from various districts, whole races of wild animals; though 
we are certainly short of historical evidence, when we would 
prove that this has been the case with regard to the elks in the 
Isle of Man and Ireland. 

These are the various observations which occurred to me 
after I had examined the situation in which the elks of the 
Isle of Man are discovered near the Peel River; but, as I 
was also informed, that they were still more abundantly found 
in a northerly part of the country, to which geologists, from 
its peculiar character, would now give the name of diluvial, 
I was anxious to examine this district. But, before describ- 
ing the result of my investigation, it may be expedient to ad- 
vert very briefly to the general distinction that Professor 
Buckland draws between diluviwm and alluvium. 

In a paper which I published in the last number of this 
Journal, it was stated, that ‘* Professor Buckland had proposed. 
to separate two classes of phenomena which were previously 
referred to one common cause. Of these, the first is, the ge- 
neral dispersion of gravel and loam over hills and elevated 
plains, as well as valleys, which he conceives to be the effect 
of an universal and transient deluge. To the gravel and loam 
thus said to be dispersed, the name of di/wviwm, in reference 
to their alleged cause, has been given. The second class of 
phenomena includes the partial collection of gravel at the foot 
of torrents, and of mud.at the mouths and along the course 
of rivers, this partial collection of gravel, mud, or sand, being 
distinguished from the first class by the name of alluvium. 
Thus, we are said to have deposits of dilwviwm or of alluvium, 
the first of these being referable to the action of an universal de- 
luge, the latter (or the alluvium) to that of existing causes.” 
Into the reasonableness of this view I shall not at present in- 
quire, my object being rather to show, that, as Professor 
Buckland claims all animals which are discovered in diluvial 
deposits, as antediluvian animals, the fossil elk is found under 
circumstances that completely prevent it from boasting so re- 
mote a date of origin. 

The strata of clay slate and mica slate, which occupy an 
area of the Isle of Man amounting to almost three-fourths of 
it, have a line of direction that most frequently extends from 


Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 25 


south-west to north-east. They assume the form of irregular 
mountain ridges, which at Snaefell, the highest hill of the 
place, attain an elevation of 2004 feet. Keeping, then, these 
circumstances of the primary strata in view, if we trace a line 
on the map nearly regular, commencing at the east of the 
island at Ramsey, and continued across it in a course very 
nearly west, we shall find on survey that, when the lofty moun- 
tain ridges which I have described come yin contact with this 
imaginary line, they abruptly terminate; the remaining fourth 
part of the island to the north appearing as one vast and near- 
ly dead flat. This expanse is popularly named the Curragh, 
and it is on this site, as I have before remarked, that most of 
the remains of the elk are to be found. But before I advert 
to the circumstances connected with their inhumation, it will 
be necessary to describe, with some degree of precision, the 
deep deposit of clay, marl, sand, and gravel, which distin- 
guishes this district. 

The lofty ridges of primary strata which constitute the 
chief part of the Isle of Man, must be considered as forming, 
along their northerly line of termination, a part of the deep 
boundary of an immense depression or basin that shelves ab- 
ruptly to an unknown depth. The question then is, With 
what materials has this depression of the Curragh been filled ? 

An attentive examination of the nature of this deposit will 
prove, that the basin contains transported fragments, the geo- 
logical character of which is unlike that of any mountain 
masses that occur in the Isle of Man. . Far distant hills, 
perhaps of Scotland, which have been chiefly composed of 
transition limestone, trap-rock, grauwacke, quartz, granite, 
and porphyry, having yielded to the disintegrating effects of 
atmospheric agents, an immense quantity of debris has, in the 
course of ages, accumulated ; and if we adopt the most ready 
theory which is suggested on the occasion, an immense wave 
from the north (which, according to the hypothesis of Pro- 
fessor Buckland, has passed. with an incredible velocity over 
the surface of the earth, and has thus given rise to the Mosaic 
deluge,) appears, in the course of its progress, to have forced 
these disintegrated materials from their native site, and while 
dispersing them in the direction of its current, to have at 


24 Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 


length obtained a secure lodgement for them in the deep basin 
of the Curragh. 

According, then, to the view of Professor Buckland, the 
greatest portion of the clay, marl, sand, and gravel of the 
Curragh would be diluvial. But I use this geological term 
in a far more limited sense. I involve, in its meaning, no- 
thing more than the agency of an immense wave which swept 
the deposit, now under consideration, from far distant shores ; 
—but it is a distinct proposition to maintain, that this very 
wave, the origin of which is involved in the greatest mystery, 
. can be the same which produced all the effects that are as- 
cribed to the Mosaic Deluge. 

After these remarks, I shall proceed to give a general de- 
scription of the diluvium of the Curragh, in reference to the 
circumstances under which the fossil elk is discovered. The 
disintegrated materials, which contribute most to the diluvium, 
are limestone, rocks of the trap series of formation, and next 
in order, quartz, grauwacke, granite, and porphyry. Boul- 
ders and pebbles of all these rocks may be detected in the de- 
posit. Fragments of limestone are so abundant, that. it is 
usual, for the purposes of agriculture, to carefully collect 
them from the sea-shore, after they have been loosened by 
the inroads which the ocean is constantly making upon the 
cliffs. Calcareous matter is, in fact, found as a more or less 
abundant ingredient in all the beds of clay, marl, sand, or 
gravel, which, variously alternating with each other, charac- 
terize this deposit. Mr Oswald of Douglas has detected in 
the marl the fragment of a shell which appears to be a species 
of Turritella. 

Such is the diluvium of the Curragh, in which no remains 
of the elk have ever yet been discovered; the antediluvian 
origin, therefore, formerly ascribed to this animal by Profes- 
sor Buckland was, upon his own views, destitute of proof. 

I may next remark, that the debris, of which the diluvial 
matter has been composed, is accumulated in the greatest 
quantity on the coast. It is considerably worn away by the 
action of the sea, and occasionally presents to the ocean an 
abrupt face, where it attains an elevation varying from 70 to 
100 feet. In other places, however, the height is far less. 


, 


Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 25 


* ‘ 

But as we recede from the sea, and approach towards the 
range of hills which forms the southerly limits of the Curragh, 
we find that the surface of the bank more or less gradually 
slopes off, so as to form a depression or hollow of inconsider- 
able depth, in which has formerly subsisted one or more in- 
land lakes or marshes. Accordingly, the channels of several 
small rivers, deriving their origin from lofty rocks of clay- 
slate, may be detected, to which the ancient lakes of the Cur- 
ragh have been indebted for their supply. These mountain- 
streams have, in the course of ages, carried with them im- 
mense quantities of the disintegrated materials of the hills 
from which they have had their origin, and have deposited 
them in the form of gravel, clay, or sand, by which means the 
depression of the Curragh has been in some measure reduced. 
A gain, the lakes in their overflow have formed for themselves 
various narrow channels or outlets, by which they have com- 
municated with the ocean. ‘These rivers have exerted a deep 
corrosive action on the loose materials of the diluvium; and 
while the lakes of the Curragh have become more shallow 
from the filling up of their basins, a considerable drainage has 
also conspired to prevent this low tract from being overflowed. 
But to more particularly describe these effects would be fo- 
reign to my present object. Suffice it to say, that the surface 
of the diluvium has, from these causes, undergone very con- 
siderable modifications. On the north-west of the Cur- 
ragh a terrace of debris may be observed, such as is thrown up 
by ariver, when it forces its way through earthy or stony mate- 
rials loosely accumulated. 'This terrace consists of alternating 
layers of gravel, marl, and sand, and (if I do not mistake tie 
site, which has been pointed out by Mr Oswald) one or two 
ribs of animals, said to be of the elk, which had probably 
drifted thither from the neighbourhood, were, matiy years 
ago, discovered imbedded in this mass. 

I shall now advert to the most frequent circumstance con- 
nected with the discovery of the fossil elk in the Curragh, 
namely, its inhumation in alluvial marl. But there are, in 
this case, two varieties of this substance to be distin- 
guished. The first is that which had once subsisted as diluvial 
clay-marl, but either from being exposed to the action of 


26 Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 


mountain torrents has become more or less mixed with sand 
and gravel, or from forming the bed of ancient pools, or lakes 
of water, has become mixed with the remains of shells, as well 
as of vegetable substances. ‘‘ In the flats,” says Mr Oswald, 
‘the common marl is loaded with sand, and possesses a laminar 
structure. In Andreas it is of a reddish colour. The Jurby 
marl is of an earthy grey, and of a compact texture. A spe- 
cimen obtained twelve feet deep, contains roots of the fern, 
and many thin fragments of shells.” To this description, I 

would add, that in mar! of this kind no remains of the elk have 
yet been discovered ; they scarcely appear to occur anywhere, 
(at least in any quantity,) except in the shell marl—a_ circum- 
stance which, as I have stated, must be considered as connect- 
ed with some habits of the living animal which I have endea- 
voured to explain. 

The situation in the Curragh, where numerous remains of 
the elk have been found, was pointed out to me by the Bishop 
of Man, to whom I have been much obliged for some valuable 
assistance which I received in the course of my researches. 
The deposit from which they are obtained is in the parish of 
Ballaugh; but as the excavation which had been made was then 
nearly filled with water, I must refer to Mr Oswald’s account, 
inserted in the present number of this Journal, for a more parti- 
cular geological description. It would appear that, in a basin 
shaped cavity, a bed of shell mar] reposes, which has been worked 
from eleven to fourteen feet deep. Below this is the diluvial 
deposit.* A layer of white sand three feet thick reposes upon 
the marl, and above the whole a bed of peat four to six feet 
thick. From this deposit the skeleton of the elk in the Uni- 
versity of Edinburgh was obtained. ‘This specimen, general- 
ly conceived to be entire, was the ingenious compilation of a 
blacksmith of Ballaugh ; it was principally got up from bones 
that had been dispersed, and, as the osseous system of the pro- 
posed antediluvian animal was still incomplete, a few odd 
joints were necessarily borrowed from other animals. 


* Mr Oswald has remarked, that “ throughout this district, where a 
sufficient depth is attained, boulders of grey limestone of various sizes” (the 
transported materials of the diluvium) ‘‘ are found.” 


1 


Dr Hibbert on the Discovery of the Fossil Elk. 27 


But the apparent margin of another bed of shell-marl in 
Ballaugh from which the elk has been taken, was notso much 
concealed as the middle of it. This deposit appeared com- 
paratively recent. The lowest stratum which was expos- 
ed had a depth of three feet; it was considerably mixed with 
sand and small pebbles of clay-slate and quartz, the debris of 
the neighbouring hills; and in this mass several bones of the 
elk have at various times been found imbedded. Above this 
marl was a deposit, one foot thick, of the same substance, 
though mixed with more sand, and containing some little ve- 
getable matter. In a still higher bed, a layer of sand succeed- 
ed, one foot thick, mixed with white quartz pebbles: then a 
layer of drift peat, and another of black mould, each six inches 
thick, and over the whole, a thinner coat of drift. peat. 

This comparatively recent origin of the deposit in which the 
elk is found, may be connected with another remarkable cir- 
cumstance, yet remaining to be noticed. The limited district 
named Ballaugh, from which the Isle of Man elks are most 
abundantly obtained, is nothing more than a corruption of the 
name Bala Lough. In fact, a lough or lake subsisted, of so re- 
cent a date, as to be actually described in a map of the Isle of 
Man, published in the year 1656, by James Chaloner. (See 
Plate IT. Fig. 2, where part of it is copied.) And as the elk is 
found imbedded at such a small depth below the surface of this 
lake, which has been lately filled up, two important ques- 
tions connected with the natural history of this animal, naturally 
_ suggest themselves: first, Have we any evidence from histori- 
cal records that this animal was well known at ‘a period com- 
paratively recent ? and, secondly, Does any similar animal exist . 
in Europe, or elsewhere, at the present day? These questions 
I shall consider on another opportunity. 

The foregoing investigation is one that I consider of no 
small importance. If the elk can be thus shown to be decid- 
edly postdilwvian, may not a just suspicion be attached to the 
recently assigned antedilwvian origin of various other animals, 
especially when, like those of the Curragh, they are found in 
districts which may, at least in part, be proved to be diluvial ? 
Geologists would do well to pause before they admit, as an es- 
tablished fact, what yet remains to be confirmed ; and I do not 
hesitate to add, that the circumstances under which the hyena 


28 Mr Oswald’s Observations relative to the 


and other animals have been found at Kirkdale and elsewhere, 
are still open for a further and very rigid examination.* 


5 Pi Having alluded to the researches of Mr Oswald on the 
iihjet of the Sossil elk, the communication in which they are 
contained is superadded to this paper. It will be found to give 
a very interesting and minute detail of the shell-marl deposit of 
the Curragh ; and the geologist is under considerable obligations 
to the writer for the pains which he has taken on the subject. 


Art. 1V.—Observations relative to the Fossil Elk of the Isle 
of Mann ; being the Abstract of a'Letter from H. R. Oswatp, 
Esq. F.S.S.A., &e. addressed to the Lorp Brsuor or Sopor 
anp Many, in Reply to certain Queries instituted by Pro- 
fessor BuckiLanp relative to the circumstances under which 
the Fossil Elk is discovered. 

My Lorp BrsHop, 

In compliance with your Lordship’s note from Castle Mona, 

I have drawn up the following answer to Professor Buck- 

land’s queries respecting the be of a species of large elk 

found in some of the mar! beds in this island. 

In the extensive diluvial flat which constitutes the north 
end of the island, the marl is of two kinds, first, white marl of 
a fibrous and somewhat laminar structure; secondly, common 
clay marl of a brownish grey colour, and compact consistence. 

The white marl, in which the elk is found, occurs only in 
small formations in the vicinity of Ballaugh Brewery, and 
about a mile from the base of the mountains. Though flat at 
this point, the ground is undulated, and somewhat uneven. 

The formations of white marl occur in detached basins, 
which vary from 50 to 150 yards in diameter. ‘The sites of 
these are frequently, but not always, indicated by shallow hol- 
lows and morasses on the surface. These deposits admit of 
two varieties. The first of these contains white shell marl, or 
rather delineations of shells in the marl; the other does not 
‘exhibit the remains of shells, and is some shades darker in co- 
lour, though in other respects similar to the shell variety. 


* See Dr Knox’s Communication on the Hyena Bones in this Number, 
p- 80. 


Fossil Elk of the Isle of Man. 29 


The skeleton of the large species of elk which is now in the 
Museum of the University of Edinburgh, was found at the 
farm of Balla Terson, in a basin of the shell variety of marl, 
about 100 yards by 50 in extent, and situated in a wet hol- 
low or morass, which is filled with aquatic plants, and sur- 
rounded on all sides by fields of dry and fertile soil. 

The superficial stratum is peat of excellent quality, light 
and fibrous, and containing a few trees of bog-timber. It is 
six feet thick in the middle parts of the morass, but passes out 
thin; into a black peaty turf towards the margin. Between it 
and the marl a layer of fine bluish white earthy sand is inter- 
posed, from two to three feet in thickness. The marl lies at 
a depth of from seven to ten feet at the middle parts of the 
pit, but, like the peat, becomes thin at the margin, and passes 
out when within a foot and ahalf of the black till which forms 
the surface crust. Nearly one-half of this deposit has been 
worked during dry seasons, but I have never seen the pit 
completely drained. of its water. According to the calculation 
of the workmen, the bed of marl in the middle parts of it 
is from eleven to fourteen feet thick, independent of the layers 
of turf and sand which I have noticed. A tranverse section 
of the deposit may therefore be delineated thus: 


: Bottom of Lake. 
Peat, 4 to 6 fest. 
White sand, 3 feet: 


Manl, 11 to 14 feet. 


When the workmen penetrate at any time through the 
marl, the pit is suddenly inundated by water springing up 
from below, from the sand and gravel which form the subsoil. 

This marl is highly fibrous, and somewhat laminar in its 
structure, and when dry, is as light, and nearly as white as 
chalk. The shells are delineated white upon a darker ground, 
and are seen by separating the fibrous layers, but are seldom, 
if ever, found in their original state. I question much whether 
shells exist in all parts of the basin, certainly not at its margin. 
In this basin vast quantities of bones of the large species of 
elk are found. The workmen have constantly met with them 


30 Mr Oswald’s Observations relative to the 


since the first opening of the pit, and therefore conclude that 
an incalculable number still remains. These bones occur at . 
all depths of the marl. At and towards the surface of it the 
bones, like the shells, are merely delineations of what they 
once were, with little or no difference in consistence from the 
mass i which they are contained, and therefore will not bear 
handling ; in the bed of sand above the marl all vestiges of 
them disappear. The deeper these elks are in the marl, the 
more fresh and perfect they seem; and near the bottom of the 
bed complete heads are found. ‘They sometimes, though very 
seldom, are observed imbedded partially in the gravel below. 
Those in the marl are generally charged with calcareous mat- 
ter, yet I have frequently seen the thick part of the stem of the 
horns so unchanged, as to admit of being worked. The bog tim- 
ber is in this instance solely confined to the peat on the surface. 

The skeleton now in the Museum of the University of 
Edinburgh, was found at the bottom of the marl, where the 
bed was very thick. The different bones, though partly in 
contact, lay irregularly, and possessed ‘little or no relative po- 
sition to each other. ‘The head lay with its nose upwards, 
and the other bones around it were in a state of confusion 
which the workmen cannot describe. This specimen is the 
only relic approximating to a complete skeleton which has 
been met with. But it was not perfect when it was set up; 
some bones were wanting, and I have reason to conclude that 
Mr Kewish (the blacksmith who put the skeleton together) 
availed himself of the relics of other animals. It is no uncom- 
mon thing to meet with two heads and a number of other re- 
lics lying in confusion together. One man assured me, that 
on a late occasion he saw appearances of a perfect skeleton 
lying on its side in the middle of the basin, all the bones ix 
situ, but whether it would have borne handling was not as- 
ascertained. To my knowledge two other very fine heads have 
been raised, one of which, with brow antlers, measured eight 
feet and a half from the tip at one horn to that of the other, 
each horn being five feet eight inches in length; it had three 
molar and three cutting teeth perfect on each side of the jaw. 
Single horns, ribs, and fragments of these and of other bones 
are often met with not only in this basin, but in the other pits 
of white marl without shells. 


Fossil Elk of the Isle of Man. 31 


I shall, in the second place, notice the basins of white marl 
in which no shells now appear. These lie lower down the 
plain, nearer to the deposits of common clay-marl. 

In one of these basins, distant upwards of a quarter of a 
mile from that described, the marl lies at a depth of from four to 
six feet only, being covered by a hard, sandy, blackish earth. 
The field in which it is situated is crusted over with a wet 
soil. Before the surface of this basin was broken up, it had a 
thin layer of turf upon the middle or deepest part of it, but 
there is none now to be seen. Between the alluvial covering 
and the marl there is a bed of dark turfy fibrous earth, from 
two to four inches thick, each horizontal layer showing differ- 
ent degrees of shade. The marl itself is darkest near the top, 
continuing thus to the depth of eighteen inches. In this up- 
per part of the marl slight veins or rents occur. 

This marl is also fibrous, and somewhat slaty, and exhibits 
between its layers white delineations like grass. It likewise 
contains bones, but they are few in number, and much decay- 
ed; of these are pieces of ribs, condyles of bones, and stems of 
large horns, &c. 

This deposit of marl, though near the surface, and in a 
field almost level, is basin shaped, like that last described, va- 
rying in depth from seven to ten feet in the middle, and pass- 
ing out to the thinness of a few inches at the margin. The 
extent of it has not been determined. Excepting a rib and 
some small fragments, I have not myself seen any of these 
bones in situ. bc - a * 

I have never heard of or seen any specimens of the head of 
the beaver in this island, but have learned that large specimens 
of the head and horns of the common deer have been occa- 
sionally met with, and that fragments of ribs of a smaller 
size than those of the elk usually are, have been sometimes 
found. | * * ¥ * * 

I have the honour to remain, 
My Lorp Bisnop, 
Your Lordship’s very obedient humble servant, 

Dovcras, May 29, 1824. 

To the Hon. and Right Rev. H. R. Oswaxp. 

The Lord Bishop of Sodor and Mann. 


32 Dr Hamilton's Account of the 


Arr. V.—An Account of the Frontier between Ava dnd the 
Part of Bengal adjacent to the Karnaphuli River. By 
Francis Hamitton, M.D. F.R.S. and F.A.S. Lond. and 
Edin. Communicated by the Author. 


Tue river called Naaf by Europeans, which enters the sea in 
about 20° 50/ north, for a short way forms the boundary be- 
tween Ava and Bengal; and across it is the only communica- 
tion known between the kingdom of Arakan subject to Ava, 
and Chatigang subject to Britain. North from the forks of 
this river, so far as I could Jearn in 1798, there was no dis- 
tinct boundary ; but there extends north, along the whole of 
the Chatigang district, a mountainous frontier occupied by se- 
veral rude tribes. Through this region flow many rivers ; 
some into the sea, either through Chatigang or Arakan, ahd 
some into the Erawadi; and the high land at the sources of 
such of these rivers as run through the district of Chatigang 
was commonly supposed to be the actual boundary. The 
rude tribes, indeed, which occupy the hilly countries on both 
sides of the central height, claim independence, and support it, 
so far as their slender means will admit. On this account, we 
cannot depend on there being no passages through this coun- 
try, because the inhabitants will naturally conceal them, as an 
intercourse by these passages would inevitably lead to their 

-more full subjection to either one or other of their more power- 
ful neighbours. 

In a map of the Empire of Ava by Mr Walker, the rivers 
flowing through Chatigang are laid down as anastomosing 
with teas which run through Arakan ; and this may be the 
ease, although I heard not the most distant hint from the na- 
tives of such a circumstance. Indeed none of those, with 
whom I conversed, pretended to know any thing of the sour- 
ces of the larger rivers, on the banks of which they dwelt, al- 
leging that a fear of the independent tribes hindered them from 
ever penetrating so far. Such an anastomosis, in a very hilly 
country, is singular, and renders uncertain the above mention- 
ed idea of the boundary. This.would increase the probabili- 


ty of there being passages direct from the sources of the Kar- 
rT 


Frontier between Ava and Part of Bengal. 33 


naphuli to Ava, through the country of the Jo; but I am not 
acquainted with the authority on which Mr Walker has pro- 
ceeded ; this, however, from the manner in which it is laid 
down, would seem to be from an actual survey, and is there- 
fore probably correct, so that the height of the land can only 
be the boundary towards the northern extremity of the dis- 
trict of Chatigang, concerning which, I am now about to treat. 

The total width of the mountainous region, between the 
Naaf on the side of Bengal, and Zhenbrugiun on the side of 
Aya, is about 124 miles east and west; one-half of which pro- 
bably is watered by rivers flowing into the Bay of Bengal, and 
the other by streams running towards the Erawadi.- The 
whole of this space is occupied by rude tribes alone. As we 
advance farther north, the width of these wilds increases by 
low hills adjacent on the west to the Mugg mountains of Ren? 
nell, and which, on the Karnaphuli, extend about twenty miles 
west from these mountains, which, by the Bengalese, are there 
called Barkal. 

The Bengalese, and the rude inhabitants of these hills, have 
an utter abhorrence at each other, and their manners, in al- 
most every thing, are opposite, the rude tribes having more 
resemblance to the people of Ava, and even of Europe, than 
the Hindus have. Even their manner of cultivation is totally 
different. The natives of Gangetic India, especially, altoge- 
ther neglect land that is not level ; while the rude tribes con- 
sider such as nearly useless, and cultivate the hills alone. Not- 
withstanding their mutual abhorrence, this im some measure 
prevents encroachment ; and the low hills, running north from 
Islamabad (the abode of Faith) to the Phani, are allowed to 
remain in possession of the rude tribes called Tripura, Jumea, 
and Chakma. These people seem to have no dependence on 
the chiefs of their respective nations. In their jooms they 
rear cotton, rice, and ginger, and a great part of the first and 
last they exchange with the Bengalese for salt, iron, earthen- 
ware, and fish. They have no black-cattle ; but rear hogs, 
goats, and poultry, and seem to be in easy circumstances. 
‘They are subject to predatory attacks from the Kungkis, no- 
minally dependent on Radun Manik. 

'To the east of these hills is a fine valley watered by the 

VOL. III. NO. I. JULY 1825, 


B4 Dr Hamilton’s Account of the” 


Havildar river, which falls into the Karnaphuli. This valley 
is level, and cultivated for rice by the Bengalese. East from 
this is a chain of low hills called Korilliya pahar, which ex- 
tends far south beyond the Karnaphuli, on the southern bank 
of which are two steep cliffs, that return the most distinct echo 
which I have ever heard. hese hills are of inconsiderable 
height ; but, like those north from Islamabad, are neglected by 
the. Bengalese, and allowed to remain with the Muggs, who 
cultivate after the joom fashion. 

The Karnaphuli (Ear-ring) river, which Rennell calls Cur- 
rumfullee, forms at its mouth a good harbour for ships of con- 
siderable burthen, and would be of great importance, were it 
not so deeply embayed, that in the S. W. monsoon, ships can- 
not proceed to sea without danger. At Patarghat, the ferry. 
from Islamabad towards the south, it is about a mile wide; 
and at Korilliya pahar, it dimimishes to about 200 yards, but 
the tide runs up strong. 

East from Korilliya pahar, is a fine valley called Run- 
ganiya, which extends north and south from the Karnaphuli, 
on the banks of the Ishamati towards the former, and on those 
of the Silun towards the latter. Although it contains some 
small hills, it is well cultivated by Bengalese peasants ; and 
some parts still belongs, as the whole did formerly, to the 
hereditary chief of the tribe called Muggs at Calcutta, where 
they are much employed by Christians as cooks, their habits 
fitting them for preparing our impure diet, which neither: 
Hindu nor Muhammedan can approach without disgust. Be- 
yond the low hills, which bound the valley of Runganiya on 
the north, east, and south, no Bengalese cultivators have set- 
tled, but the hills are as fully occupied by rude tribes as the 
nature of the joom cultivation will admit; and, in 1798, 
when I visited the country, Taubbokha, the hereditary chief 
of the Mugg people, retained among these hills a kind of in- 
dependence, although in the parts of his estate, cultivated by 
Bengalese, he was reduced to the same footing, as the other 
proprietors of land (Zemindars) in Bengal. In the following 
account, I shall confine myself to a description of the terri- 
tory within the hills, which forms a part of the frontier, and, 


at its southern end, is not above fifteen miles wide from east 
ll 


Frontier between Ava and Part of Bengal. 35 


to west; but it increases much in width farther north, to- 
wards the sources of the Chimay and Karnaphuli rivers, where 
it is probably from thirty to forty miles from east to west. Its 
length probably is about seventy miles; but of this a con- 
siderable portion towards the north, has been occupied by the 
Kungkis called Lusai, who are quite independent of the Mugg 
chief. 

Some miles within the western boundary of the low hills, a 
chain of greater height runs northerly (about N. 40’ W.) 
from the Sungkar, and crosses the Karnaphuli, the course of 
which, from the Mugg mountains of Rennell, to beyond this 
chain, is about N. E. by N. and S. W. by S. with most nu- 
merous and great windings. This ridge of hills seems to be 
about 500 feet in perpendicular height ; and, being of a good 
soil, is well cultivated after the joom fashion. The portion 
of it south from the Karnaphuli, is called Sita pahar or Sita 
mura, and that north from thence, is called Ram pahar, and 
the continuation of the same ridge is probably that called by 
the Tripuras, Debta mura, or the Deities Head, the southern 
portion being dedicated to the God Rama and his wife Sita: 
At its northern end, Sita pahar descends to the Karnaphuh 
with a shelving rock, called Sitaka ghat (the landing place of 
Sita), which is highly venerated, and the Hindus, therefore, 
offer grain, flowers, and eggs, to Sita and Rama, while the 
Muggs worship Taung-mang, (Mountain-prince). Even the 
Muhammedans of this province have adopted the supersti- 
tion, having contrived some fable for almost every place held 
sacred by the Pagans, thinking probably, that it would be 
disgraceful for their religion, were they not provided with as 
many ceremonies and holy places as their neighbours. 

Above Sitaka ghat, the Karnaphuli is about 100 yards 
wide, and of considerable depth. Although the tides flow 
pretty strong, the water is quite fresh; but even in the dry 
season, is rather muddy. The concave side of its reaches 
have low banks, while, on the convex low hills come down to 
the water-edge, as indeed is common in hilly countries and 
small rivers. The soil seems in general to be good, and 
rests on a rock consisting of thin horizontal strata of clay and 
sand slightly indurated. The hills are cultivated for jooms, 


36 Dr Hamilton’s Account of the 


as much as the nature of the process will admit ; and on the 
levels, there are Mugg-villages (para) surrounded by many 
plantain-trees, and gardens or small plots, in which are reared 
ginger, betle-leaf, sugar-cane, indigo, tobacco, and capsicum. 
These are their permanent places of abode; but, at their 
jooms, they have temporary villages called Kamar, which are 
changed almost every year, and are only occupied by the la- 
bourers in the season of cultivation. 

Each para is under the authority of an officer, termed 
Dewan, who communicates his name to the place; so that 
the names of the paras undergo frequent changes. In the 
paras, the huts are better than in the kamars, although each 
has only one apartment ; but the stage, on which it is raised 
about twelve feet from the ground, is about forty feet by 
twenty, affording a platform before the door for air and do- 
mestic work, The ascent to the house is by a notched stick, 
which serves for a ladder, and is drawn up when the family 
wishes to avoid intrusion. Except the houses of the chief 
and of his brother, all the huts of the country seemed very 
much alike; and the wealthy, as usual in India, rather oc- 
cupy a greater number of huts, than build houses on a large 
scale. On the whole, however, the huts in the Mugg paras 
seem more comfortable than those of the Bengalese cultivators. 
The people have abundance of poultry and hogs; and, as 
there are many plains of some extent, which are not fitted for 
the joom cultivation, the Muggs keep some oxen and. buffa- 
loes, which pasture there, and are probably fattened for eat- 
ing, although, to avoid offence, this is concealed from the 
Hindus ; but they are not used in the plough. The country, 
however, is in a poor unproductive state; and, if cultivated 
like the West Indies, which its hills equal im soil, it might 
become of great value. : 

Every Mugg cultivates as much land as he pleases, and the 
revenue of the chief arises from a poll-tax, and not from a 
land-rent. ‘Each man pays in proportion to the strength of 
his family. It is said, that a married pair, living without any 
assistance from children or servants, pays annually five ru- 
pees; and that other families, in proportion to their strength, 
pay ten, or even fifteen rupees. If the cultivator disposes of 


Frontier between Ava and Part of Bengai. 37 


the produce of his farm, he pays the tax in money; but, if 
he chooses, he may pay it in cotton at a fixed price, so that 
in case of a bad market, the prince may not have it in his 
power to exact too great a share of the produce. What part 
of the revenue goes to the Dewan, for his trouble of manage- 
ment, I did not learn; but it is probably small, as I saw no 
appearance of affluence about the habitations of these officers. 
The chief also receives money from the Bengalese, who cut 
grass for thatch on the plains, which abound with this ma- 
terial of an excellent quality; and he levies some duties on 
boats ascending the Karnaphuli. 

_ The people called Muggs, at Calcutta, are scarcely known 
by that name in their native country. By the Bengalese, 
they are commonly called Chakma or Sagma, or, in ridicule, 
Dubadse, (two-languaged), because they have in general for- 
gotten their original language, which is the same with that of 
Arakan or Roang, as they call it, and have attained a very 
imperfect knowledge of the Bengalese, although several of 
them read and write this dialect. They all, however, retain 
some words of the Roang language, especially their names; 
and their priests use both the character and language of Ara- 
kan, little different from that of Ava. They all follow the 
“doctrines of the Boudhas, but have engrafted on these many 
Hindu superstitions, and especially bloody sacrifices offered to 
the Debtas, or deities of the woods, rivers, and mountains. In 
spite of the admonitions of their priests, this superstition is 
very prevalent among the Muggs. The Debtas are supposed 
to dance and sing in the air; and, by their manner of doing 
so, to render their will known to certain women, called Diyari. 
On all occasions, when the Muggs are strongly influenced by 
hope or fear, such as im sickness aud dearth, they apply to a 
Diyari, who consults the Debta, and is informed by him what 
sacrifice will be acceptable. This sacrifice is vowed ; and, if 
the person obtains the object of his wishes, the animal is im- 
molated at the place where the Diyari says that the Debta re- 
sides. These Diyaris, by their influence with the Debtas, 
and by their skill in drugs, are supposed to be also able to 
render a joom inaccessible to tigers and wild elephants ; 


38 Dr Hamilton’s Account of the 


which, as the natives repose the utmost confidence in this 
science, is perhaps a sign that these animals are not very de- 
structive. ‘Uhe magical power, attributed to their Diyaris by 
the Muggs, by the silly Bengalese, has been extended to the 
whole tribe, and towards the Megna, a Mugg is beheld with 
a mixture of abhorrence and fear, from his eating without the 
observance of cast, and from his supposed power in the black 
art; so that he is considered nearly as bad as a Christian. 
The national religion of the Muggs, is the same with that 
of Arakan, (Rakhain), that is to say, they follow the:sect of 
Maha Muni among the Bouddhists. The chief priest assumes 
the same title, Paun-do-gri, with the spiritual guide of the 
king of Ava. He informed me that they have two orders of 
priesthood, the Samana, and Moshang; the latter of whom 
are superior in point of dignity, and by the Bengalese are 
called Raulims. The priests, like those of Ava, use a yellow 
dress, and seem very numerous m proportion to their follow- 
ers; but do not appear to be so much respected by the laity, 
as the priests of Ava are. Some of the laity assume the 
yellow dress for a time, and give themselves up to study ; 
but the books which I saw such using, were in the Bengalese 
character, and except a few words, they understood no other 
language. : 
The name Chakma or Sagma, given to this people by the 
Bengalese, is evidently a corruption from Saksah, the name 
they give to themselves ; while, in the dialect of Ava, or Aree, 
as they call it, they are termed Sak. They seem to be the 
remains of the first colony from Arakan, that occupied Tri- 
pura on the conquest of that country from the Muhamme- 
dans. Many of them still remain in Arakan or Roang, havy- 
ing probably retired there, when the Moslem power was re- 
stored in Tripura, and these are distinguished from the con- 
quered portion by the name Sak-mi, and speak the language 
of Rakhain alone. ‘The Bengalese they call Koar. The men 
have adopted the Bengalese dress ; but the women retain that 
of Arakan and Ava ; and both entirely resemble in person and 
features the natives of these cities. Like the other rude tribes 
in the vicinity, they eat every thing, and have no objection to 


Frontier between Ava and Part-of Bengal. 39 


eat along with individuals of other nations; but they do not 
intermarry with strangers. Although both their rivers and 
‘marshes abound in fish, they have not the art of catching 
these animals, and employ Bengalese fishermen for the pur- 
‘pose. Their principal men have slaves, but these are chiefly 
‘Tripuras ; nor is it allowable to hold a Saksah in bondage. 
Several villages, however, both of Tripuras and Kungkis, in 
-a state of personal freedom, live in the territory of the Saksah 
chief, and subject to his authority. 

From Sitakaghat to the hills, called the Mugg mountains 
by Rennell, the course of the Karnaphuli, in a direct line, is 
between thirty and forty miles; but I took almost four days 
to ascend this length in a good boat, for which there was a 
sufficient depth of water, and I reckoned the distance eighty 
miles by the course of the river. For about two-thirds of the 
way, I had at times a slight tide with me. Above this, the 
river contracts to about fifty yards in width, and becomes 
more rapid and clearer. Where it reaches the Mugg moun- 
tains, at a place called Barkal, a ledge of rock running en- 
tirely across the river, stops boats from passing ; and about a 
mile farther up, there is a higher ledge, over which the river 
falls in various beautiful cascades, about six feet high, which, 
in the rainy season, unite in one great torrent, as appears 
from evident marks on the banks. The river in May is 
beautifully clear, and full of fish. The western face of the 
hills near Barkal is cultivated in jooms; nor is the term 
Mugg mountains known in the vicinity. The rock is sand- 
stone. 

I shall now give some account of the streams which fall 
into the Karnaphuli between Sitakaghat and Barkal, and 
which water the intermediate country, that is the proper seat 
of the Saksah. 

About ten miles above Sitakaghat, following the course of 
the river, the Kapty enters, coming from hills at a consider- 
able distance to the southward. Canoes can ascend this rivu- 
let to a village named Kamsey. About the year 1795, a large 
band of the Bonzhu tribe of Kungkis descended by this rivu- 
let, and committed great devastation on the Bengalese of 


Runganiya. 


40 Dr Hamilton’s Account of the. 


_ About eight miles above the Kapty, the Karnaphuli receives 
the Rain-ghiaun, coming far from the south-east. About two 
hours and a half rowing soem its mouth, lived a Saksah chief 
of some note, who had several villages (para) under his au- 
thority. Six days journey farther up this river brings the 
traveller to the country of the Kungkis, called Bonzhu or 
Bonjugies. If Mr Walker’s idea of these rivers be right, the 
Rain-ghiaun must be the anastomosing branch, which con- 
nects the Karnaphuli with the Sunkar and Peercally, which 
last falls into the Arakan river. The Bonzhu, in this case, 
will occupy the vicinity of the great peaks called the Blue 
Mount and Pyramid Hill, along the Peercally and Koladyng 
rivers. At any rate, they have the Saksah and the Longshue 
or Lusai tribe of their own nation on the west, and the Jo on 
the east, and extend, near the 93° of east longitude from 
Greenwich, from about the 22d to the 24th degree of north 
latitude. 

In the course of the next four miles, the Karnaphuli re- 
ceives from the south-east three small streams, the Duliya 
cherra, the Tara cherra, and the Kuburiya cherra, which run 
through a country in general level, and covered with long 
grass and a few trees. On this account it is less populous than 
the more hilly parts, being mostly unfit for the joom cultiva- 
tion. 

About twelve miles farther up enters from the north-west a 
river of little importance, called Manik cherra. A little higher 
up, on the opposite side, is the mouth of Mug-ban, which 
comes from a marsh of the same name. ‘This and another 
marsh, (jil) on the Duliya, are said to contain immense quan- 
tities of fish, and to be common resorts of large herds of wild 
elephants. 

Above Manik cherra about ten miles, a little above the 
mouth of the Ranggamati, is the principal residence of the 
chief, who, by his people, is called Mang, their pronunciation 
for what, according to the Alphabetum Barhianuiy should be 
written Meen, one of the titles usually assumed by the sons of 
the king of Ava, and therefore analogous to our word Prince. 
This residence (Rajarbari) contained not only the house of the 
Raja, but that of his brother, with all their families, except - 


Frontier between Ava and part of Bengal. 41 


some Bengalese servants, who had huts on the outside of a 
fence made of bamboo mats, constituting what is called a fort 
or castle. The whole habitations within were thatched huts, 
so far as I could see by looking in at the gate; for I did not 
enter, as the chiefs were absent, and as their women and pigs 
were alarmed. The former, I was told, might, without of- 
fence, be seen by strangers ; but their timidity, at the approach 
of an European visitant, occasioned a general scream, on which 
I retired. The same cause in general prevented the women 
of a lower rank of Saksah from approaching me. ‘They seem 
to be drudges, being darker coloured than the men, who, 
compared with the Bengalese, are very fair. 

From the chief’s residence there is a fine view of both the 
ridges of mountains by which the territory of the Saksah are 
in a great measure bounded. They appeared to me farther 
distant than I could allow by computing the distances travel- 
led. Since I was there, to judge from Mr Walker’s map, the 
residence of the chief has been moved farther up the river. 

About two miles above the chief’s residence, a considerable 
river enters from the north. By the Bengalese it is called 
Chingay, Singay, or Chimay, and is no doubt that called 
Chingree by Rennell. My boatmen said, that canoes can as- 
eend it for six days, which will give a direct course of between 
thirty and forty miles. One of them, in proceeding to a resi- 
dence of the chief’s, had gone up five days, during which time 
the canoe was twice unloaded, and carried past water-falls. : 

The Saksah say, that this river springs from hills near 
Kundal, so that its total course, in a direct line, may be about 
fifty miles, allowing Rennell to have placed its mouth cor- 
rectly, which, so far as I can judge, is the case. They gave 
me the following account of the rivulets that they pass, in pro- 
ceeding up its channel, so far as canoes can go. Ist, Kanda 
cherra on the left; 2d, Kausgurra on the right; 3d, Guy 
cherra on the left; 4¢h, 'Tamarang on the left; 5th, Karik 
khung, the first on the right; 6¢2, Khundy cherra on the 
left ; ‘7th, Dungata on the right ; 8¢h, Kabutkia on the right ; 
9th, Maha karung on the left; 10¢h, Nana karung on the 
left ; 11th, Poli on the left ; 12th, Incha cherra on the right ; 
13th, Toisakma on the left; 14¢h, Karik khung, the second, 

1 


42 Dr Hamilton’s Account of the 


on the right; 15¢h, Bascherra on the left. The Raja had 
formerly a house at Dungata; but he has been driven from 
thence by fear for the Kungkis, called Lusai; and no Saksah 
now reside beyond Kanda cherra, half a day’s journey from 
the Karnaphuli. The country, however, between the Chingay, 
and Rampahar, is occupied by ee subject more or less 
to the Saksah chief. 

Rather more than three miles above the mouth of the Chin- 
gay, the Basunta enters from the south-east, and is navigable 
a short way for canoes. Here, again, the country becomes 
more hilly and more populous. About three miles above Ba- 
sunta, on each side of the river, there are hills higher than 
usual in this range; that on the south-east side, from a large 
black rock, is called Hattiya, (the elephant,) and that oppo- 
site is called Chela. The scenery here is very romantic. 
The strata are horizontal, and of a schistose structure. A lit- 
tle above the elephant rock; and beyond the hills on which it 
stands, there enters from the same side a rivulet, called Sual-_ 
ung, up which canoes can proceed some way, and its banks 
are » oceupied by those who cultivate jooms. 

‘About six miles above the elephant rock, the river Kazaiung 
enters from the north-west, and is said to spring from the same 
vicinity with the Chingay. It is said to be a considerable 
stream, and that boats, drawing twenty-seven inches, can ascend 
it for a whole day, while canoes can go much farther. The 
banks of this river, at a little distance from the Karnaphuli, 
and those of its tributary streams, are occupied by the tribe 
of Kungkis, called Lusai, Lushi, Langga, or Lingta, who ex- 
tend from thence behind the Tripura territory, and are a ter- 
ror to both Saksahs and Bengalese. ‘The tide extends up to 
the mouth of the Kazalung. 

About seven miles above the Kazalung, we experienced dif- 
ficulty in passing shoals; and about five miles farther on, two 
small rivulets enter from the south-east, with a narrow point 
between them. From thence to the ledge of rocks, which 
closes boat-navigation, is about two miles and a half; and the 
waterfalls of Barkal are about a mile farther, nearly, I con- 
jecture, in the 23° of north latitude. These waterfalls are 
probably occasioned by the river passing through the ridge 


Frontier between Ava and Part of Bengal. 43 


that extends north-north-west from the Blue Mountain, the 
name of which, if I understood, the natives right, is Mein- 
daun among the Saksah, and Munipahar among the Bengal- 
ese. This name, however, I suspect is rather applicable, in a 
general manner, to all the lofty hills in the vicinity, the Blue 
Mountain rising to between five and six thousand feet perpen- 
dicular; but at the Karnaphuli the ridge is not above seven 
hundred feet. 

I shall now trace the course of the Karnaphuli to another 
great mountain, from the report of a Muhammedan guide, 
who had been in the country beyond Barkal three times— 
twice to cut bamboos, and once to kill wild elephants. for their 
teeth. During the four cold months, the former is a common 
occupation among the Bengalese. They carry small canoes 
past the waterfalls, and in these embark their provisions. In 
the distance which’ the guide went there are three water- 
falls. The first, named Utanchetri, is two days journey from 
Barkal ;—the second, named Harinaka duar, (Deer-gate,) is 
one day’s journey farther ;—the third is at Hattiyaka Mu, 
(Elephant’s Mouth,) and is a day and a half’s journey above 
the second. Beyond,this the guide went half a day’s journey, 
and from some of the reaches could see the great Muin Mura, 
which is probably a continuation of the mountains that sepa- 
rate Arakan from Ava. At its bottom the Karnaphuli falls 
from a high rock, beyond which the Bengalese canoes never 
attempt to go. This part of the great Muin Mura the guide 
estimates to be twice the distance from Barkal that the latter 
is from Sitakaghat. The course of the river winds much ; 
nor does the guide pretend to know its general direction. 

* In this part of its course the Karnaphuli receives no great 
branch ; but the largest is at Hattiaka Mu. Between the 
falls the current is very gentle, and at Hattiaka Mu the body 
of water is as considerable as at Barkal. The country is in 
general level, with some hills, however, near Hattiaka Mu; 
but during the rainy season a great proportion is inundated, 
forming jils or temporary lakes. Around these lakes there 
are immense herds of wild elephants, and the level country is 
not inhabited, although well fitted for the cultivation of rice; 
but the west face of the great Muin Mara is occupied by the 


dd. Mr Hunter's Account of an Improvement on the Odometer. 


tribe of Kungkis, named Bonzhu or Bonjugy. Their prince, 
by the Bengalese, was named Taibiak ; but whether this was 
a title, or a proper name, I did not learn. The Saksahs call- 
ed this chief Taikoup, and said, that he lived on the bank of 
a small river called Taishang; but into what great river this 
falls I was not informed. <A branch of the Kazalung has in- 
deed this name; but all that vicinity is occupied by the tribe 
Lusai. The Saksahs indeed pretend, that the Lusai also are 
subject to this prince; but this was denied by the Tripuras, 
and all the incursions of the Bonjugies of which I heard came 
from the south-east side of the Karnaphuli, while the Kazalung 
is towards the north-west; and, so far as I can judge, the 
former seems to be the boundary between the two tribes. 


Art. VI.—Account of an Improvement on the ‘“* Odometer,” 
which, without increasing its size, multiplies its power up- 
wards of One Hundred Fold. By James Hunter, Esa. 
of Thurston, F.R.S.E. Communicated by the Author. 


To those who are unacquainted with this small but useful in- 
strument, it may be necessary to explain, that it is calculated, 
by its lightness, to supersede the use of the Perambulator, 
being easily driven by one hand, while the Perambulator is 
with difficulty managed with both. 

The Odometer consists of a perpetual screw, which 
turns two concentric wheels of 100 and 101 teeth respectively. 

It must be evident, that, when the wheel of 100 teeth C 
has completed one revolution, the other wheel of 101 teeth B 
will have one tooth remaining unturned. Consequently, an 
index placed at 0 or zero of C, will point to 1 of B; 
which 1, therefore, indicates a complete revolution of C, or 
100 turns of the perpetual screw, which, being fixed to the 
measuring-wheel, is equivalent to 100 times the circumfer- 
ence of the measuring-wheel. After a second revolution, it 
will point to 2 of B, showing two revolutions of C, or 200 
turns of the measuring-wheel, and so on until it points to 
0 or 101 of B, having completed 101 revolutions of C, 
or 10,100 turns of the measuring-wheel. 


Mr Hunter’s Account of an Improvement on the Odometer. 45 


The object of my proposed improvement is to register this 
step by the introduction of a third wheel A of 102 teeth, to 
be turned by the same perpetual screw, and upon the same 
principle that the index fixed to C points upon the scale of B 
to the number of revolutions performed by C ; another index 
fixed to B will show, upon the scale of A, the revolutions of 
B; but the revolutions of B are simultaneous with those of 
€, and, therefore, no account is to be taken of those of B as 
long as they are the same as those of C, or, in fact, until af- 
ter C has performed 100 revolutions, having the index of B 
pointing upon A also to 100. At the end of the next revolu- 
tion, however, the index of C will point to 0 of B, and 
that of B to 101 of A; and at this point the improvement be- 
gins to take effect. 

The 0 of B is equivalent to 101; and I find that when- 
ever B is less than A, 101 must be added to B; we there- 
fore have the instrument pointing to 101 of A, O or 10! 
of B, and Oof C. A and B, therefore, are still the same, 
and the calculation is 101 revolutions of C, or 10,100 turns 
of the measuring-wheel ; and at this point the two-wheeled 
instrument has completed the performance of its duty, and is 
ready to recommence. 

At the end of the next revolution the instrument will point 
to 0 of A, 1 of B, and O of C. Here we find a differ- 
ence of 1 between B and A, which difference of 1 stands for 
10,100; and to it we add the 1 of B, which stands for 100, 
and we have 10,200 which we know to be the number of 
turns of the measuring-wheel ; accordingly, for the future, 
the following formula must be resorted to: B—A x 10,1004 
100 B+ C= turns of measuring-wheel ; and whenever B is less 
than A, 101 must be added to B, because, in fact, B may be 
supposed to continue its scale after 100, instead of commenc- 
ing anew at 0. ; 

This last wheel I have recommended to be made to measure 
6,5 feet, because that is 3, of an English cham for square 
measure, and the same, or +4, of a furlong, for long measure ; 
but there is no practical objection to its being made of any 
size that may suit the convenience of the person using it. 

By means of these three wheels, the Odometer mea- 


46 Dr MacCulloch on a Detached Block of Stone 


sures 100 101 x 102=1.030.200 turns of the measuring- 
wheel, which, at 6,5; feet, amounts to the enormous ‘sum of 
67.993.200 feet, or 12873 miles; and if the time of this dis- 
tance being performed is known within a tenth part, the mea- 
suring may go on to ten times the above amount, or 12.8775 
miles, being 10.302.000 turns of the measuring-wheel ; and 
there is no doubt that this instrument might be very valuable 
in a manufactory, where it is of consequence to ascertain the 
number of revolutions of any particular wheel. 

Since the “* Odometer” was presented to the Highland So- 
ciety, I have succeeded in adapting it to the wheel of a car- 
riage, by having a string tied to the bottom of the instrument, 
and joined to some fixed part of the carriage, while the end 
of the perpetual screw is inserted into the centre of the wheel ; 
and thus, by ascertaining the circumference of my carriage- 
wheel, I measure the distance travelled, making a small allow- 
ance for the carrriage not going in a perfectly straight line. 


Arr. VIJ.—On a Singular Detached Block of Stone occupying 
the summit ofa Hill.at Dunkeld. By Joun MacCuttocn, 
M.D. F.R.S. F.L.S.and M.G.S. Chemist to the Board of 
Ordnance, and Professor of Chemistry in Addiscombe Col- 
lege. Communicated by the Author. 

Your readers, who are acquainted with the natural histo- 

ry of Cornwall, cannot fail to recollect the theory of Dr Bor- 

lase, respecting the detached blocks of granite so conspicuous 
in that country, two of which, the Cheesewring near Lis- 
keard, and the Hogging-rock, near the Lands end, I described in 
the second volume of the Geological Transactions. Dr Bor- 
lase’s notions, however, were not exclusively his own ; as other 
antiquaries, over whose judgments the obscurities of the Drui- 
dical worship seem to have shed their influence, have ima- 
gined these, and similar appearances, to be monuments of that 
superstition or religious government, all our real knowledge 
of which is comprised in a very few casual hints contained in 
the Roman historians. The recent increase of attention to na- 


Occupying the Summit ofa Hill at Dunkeld. 47 


tural history, and, more particularly, to geological investiga- 
tion, has, however, put to flight all these visions, and left us at 
no loss to distinguish betwixt the appearances produced by 
the efforts of art and design, and those which have resulted 
from the ordinary operations of nature. Whatever interest, 
in a historical view, these phenomena may therefore have lost, 
they have gained a countervailing one as natural objects ; in 
many cases illustrating, either in a curious or useful manner, 
the changes which time is daily but slowly making on the sur- 
face of the earth. 

In Scotland, as in Cornwall, antiquaries have not been 
wanting who were ready to attribute some of these remarkable 
natural appearances to a Druidical origin ; and, among these, 
may be enumerated the rocking stone in Strathairdle, which has 
furnished a page to some of the writers of the day. ‘The rock, 
of which I transmit you a sketch, (See Plate I. Fig. 3,) has also 
been called a Cromlech, which it resembles in the peculiarity of 
its position; but I imagine that your readers will have noscruple 
in admitting it as an example, (and a peculiar one at the same 
time,) of those transported stones so often found occupying 
situations so unexpected, as to render an explanation of the 
course which they have taken a matter of no small difficulty. 

This rock occupies the summit of a hill near Dunkeld, 
known by the name of Craig-y-barns, (the serrated rock.) 
Its shape is so irregular that it cannot be described, but the 
sketch will supersede the necessity of saying any thing on this 
part of the subject. The same irregularity renders it difficult 
to form an accurate notion of its weight, but it probably ex- 
ceeds fifty tons; a judgment founded on comparing it with 
other stones of known weights resembling it in shape. The 
greatest length is twelve feet, and the greatest thickness five ; 
from which circumstances, with the aid of the accompanying 
sketch, a sufficiently accurate notion of its form and dimen- 
sions may be conveyed. 

From the drawing, it will be seen that the lower flat sur- 
face is supported on three loose stones; and, in this cireum- 
stance, consists that resemblance to a Cromlech which has led 
to the unfounded notion of its Druidical and artificial origin. 
‘hese loose stones also lie at liberty on a flat and solid sur- 


48 Dr MacCulloch on a Detached Block of Stone 


face of rock ; a circumstance which adds much to the appear- 
ance of artifice. 

It is now necessary to remark, that this rock, as well as 
the supporters, consists of the same material as the hill, which 
is micaceous schist. It is indeed from this circumstance alone, 
that is derived the proof of its not lying in its native place ; 
but of its having, on the contrary, been moved to its present 
position, together with the stones by which it is supported. 
On examining the direction of the laminz, in all these pieces, 
it is easy to see that they all lie in different ways, and all dif- 
ferent from that of the laminar structure of the solid rock on 
which they repose. Hence, it is evident, that the large block 
has been placed on the three loose stones which lie on the 
solid rock ; exhibiting an appearance, it is true, of artifice, as 
perfect as if it had been the result of the hand of man, and not 
an accidental operation of nature. 

In accounting for it, however, by natural causes, there seems 
no reason to doubt, that the whole is the result of the acci- 
dental fall, or transportation of the larger mass, combined 
with some posterior circumstances of waste. Originally ‘it 
has probably been deposited on a bed of loose materials, the 
smaller of which have disappeared, leaving those three only 
which were essential to its support and have been retained by 
its pressure. 2 

The circumstance, in a geological view, most remarkable is, 
that it now lies on a point, which, if it is not absolutely the 
highest eminence of the surrounding hill, is yet so nearly at 
the same elevation with the other summits that it could not 
have travelled from any of them to its present place; sup- 
posing the surrounding parts to have always been in the state 
in which they now are. The nearest summit is too little ele- 
vated to have permitted a stone of so irregular a form to have 
moved over the intermediate surface ; and that which is higher, 
is now separated by a hollow or depression which would 
equally have prevented its transportation from that point, un- 
less the intermediate ground were restored to an uniform de- 
clivity. The integrity of the mass is indeed sufficient to 
prove that it has not been carried far ; and it affords, in fact, 
a singular example, rather of the results which follow from 


Netice of the Rarer Atmospherical Phenomena in 1824. 49 


the degradation of hills, than from the transportation of blocks. 
The appearance may probably be explained by imagining 
that the summit on which it now stands was once higher ; and 
that, in the progress of waste, this mass has fallen from its 
original position, on the solid rock on which it now lies ; over- 
whelming in its fall a heap of smaller materials or rubbish, of 
which the three supporting stones are the last remains. 


Art. VIII.—WNotice of some of the Rarer Atmospherical Phe- 
nomena observed in'1824. Communicated by the Author. 


Tue following descriptions and remarks, have been extracted 
chiefly from a Meteorological Journal kept at Leith, and are 
arranged in the order of time in which the phenomena were 
seen. ‘To these, for the sake of illustration, a short notice of 
the general meteorological features of each month is added. 

January was remarkable for high temperatures, high pres- 
sure, and little rain. The mean temperature of the month 
was 40°.05. Rain fell on seven days, and that to the depth 
of 0.90 of an inch. The mildness of the weather had the 
effect of prematurely hurrying on vegetation; so that, at 
the end of January, it appeared as if summer was about to 
commence. 
- On the 21st, about 9 P. M., there appeared in the north, 
a faint white light, but about 40° above the horizon, ex- 
tending over a considerable space, and passing through the 
zenith. It was not an Aurora; but was arranged in distinct 
diverging bars, which pointed towards the south, and gradual- 
ly became fainter and fainter, till they disappeared. The light 
was steady, very pale, and continued for a considerable time 
without any visible change. The barometer was rising ; 
thermometer 38°; wind uncertain, quite calm. Next day 
there was a storm from S.W., accompanied with heavy 
showers of stiow. Might not this appearance have been ow- 
ing toa cirrostratus or groupe of cirri, illuminated by electri- 
city in motion through them ? 

‘Towards the end of the month, several storms of wind oc- 
curred, with variable, but not low, pressures, and great hu- 

VOL. Ill. NO. 1. JULY 1825. D 


’ 


50 Notice of the Rarer Atmospherical Phenomena in 1824. 


midity ; and, during this period, the cymoid cirrostratus was 
very prevalent. ~ 

In February, we had very variable and stormy weather. 
Temperature lower than in January ; quantity of rain, 1.81 
inch. Vegetation was much retarded, and diseases of all 
kinds prevailed. 

On the Ist, The following observations were made on the 
Formation of Clouds. About an hour after sunrise, the sky 
was partially overcast by lengthened cumuli, leaving rather 
wide spaces between them quite free from clouds. The colour - 
of the sky was then equal to the 18th degree of Saussure’s 
Cyanometer. These large cumuli, urged by a very gentle 
wind, were in motion towards the N.E. ; and it was seen, that 
one of them, which moved over a wide free space of the hea- 
vens, at the elevation of 50°, was furnished with pendant cir- 
rose streamers. ‘The portion of the sky over which it moved, 
had been for a considerable time quite free from clouds; but 
whenever this cumulus approached it, several minute strips of 
cloud suddenly appeared in various parts. These quickly in- 
creased on all sides, and inosculating, formed together a large 
cumulus, which immediately began to move upwards, and, in 
fine, was blended intimately with the larger one, which con- 
tinued moving to the N.E.: all this passed in four or five mi- 
nutes. Immediately after the inosculation of one subordinate 
cumulus, another and another formed in the same manner, and 
were likewise attached to the larger one. When it had near- 
ly passed, a few other flocculent masses began to form, but on 
attaining a moderately large size, they were suddenly redissolv- 
ed. The sky now assumed a much lighter tint in that 
quarter, the colour not being equal to 13° of Saussure, and 
some other masses still continued to form; but they were 
enlarged with extreme slowness, and retained, for a long time, 
a thin spongy form, and so were carried onwards by the aéri- 
al currents. (Therm. 40°, Bar. 29.80.) 

The 11th of Feb. produced a most singular phenomenon. 
About noon, when the sky was rather free of clouds, the 
pressure considerable, (Bar. 80.40.,) and the wind, W., gen- 
tle, there appeared in the north-east, an extensive cirrostratus, 
completely and distinctly divided in a perpendicular direction, 


Notice of the Rarer Atmospherical Phenomena in 1824. 51 


- by a line about 3° broad, through which the azure of the sky 
could be seen throughout its whole extent. In a very few mi- 
nutes after this was first observed, the cirrostratus partly dis- 
solved, and partly inosculated with others; but the line of di- 
vision still existed, and it now began to incline towards the 
east ; in its course always observing perfect rectilinearity, and 
dividing every cloud in two through which it passed, and 
sometimes several at once. It made no progress towards the 
zenith, but inclining more and ntore to the east, it became 
at length almost horizontal, and gradually disappeared. 

It has been said, that the pressure was considerable during 
the time of its occurrence ; but, in the course of two hours, it 
_ began to diminish very rapidly, and in less than twenty hours, 
the barometric column had fallen one inch. A gale of wind, 
and much rain followed. The rain continued for three days. 

Nothing very particular occurred in April, except a 
fine Solar Halo, which was seen on the 6th at sunset. 
The sun’s southern limb was within a few degrees of the 
horizon. The sky was veiled by a general, but delicate 
cirrostratus, and the sun was partially obscured by den- 
ser clouds of the same kind. The halo was a simple one, 
and of a uniform white colour throughout its whole extent. 
The perpendicular radius was considerably greater than the 
horizontal one, perhaps in the proportion of 42° to 35°. At the 
same time, there appeared a perpendicular column of light ris- 
ing from the position of the sun to the circumference of the 
halo. (Therm. 47°, Bar. 30.40., wind N. E.) The day had 
been remarkably fine. Immediately after sunset, and the 
disappearance of the halo, a dense cirrostratus formed, which 
continued all night and all next day. April was, on the whole, 
avery pleasant month, the temperature rather above the mean, 
and the pressure by no means variable. 

The weather during May was very agreeable ; rain fell on 
five days. ‘The mean temperature was about 50°, and the 
sun’s force sometimes very great. The maximum of tempera- 
ture and the maximum of pressure both occurred on the 27th 
day, at the time of new moon. The thermometer rose to about 
80° in the shade that day. 

About half-past 6 P. M. of the Ist, while the sky was par- 


52 Notice of the Rarer Atmospherical Phenomena in 1824. 


tially obscured by floating cumuli, there was observed in the 
east, exactly opposite to the position occupied by the sun, nu- 
merous luminous rays, diverging from a point apparently a 
little below the horizon, and extending all round, so as to oc- 
cupy the full half of the sky. These rays were very delicate, 
yet perfectly distinct. Very shortly after they were first ob- 
served, they vanished, when the cwmulus, which had veiled the 
sun during their appearance, had somewhat altered its position. 
But when this cloud had come near our zenith, another 
phenomenon of the same nature occurred. This was a broad 
conical ray darting horizontally from between the eminences 
of the cloud, and extending to a considerable distance. The 
ray was very vivid and distinct, and continued visible for 
some time. The sky was apparently clear, but rather light- 
coloured. The moon’s unenlightened disk was very distinct- 
ly seen all night. The phenomenon now described, is the 
same as that which Dr Brewster saw im ‘October, near 
Edinburgh, and which he has noticed in the 3d number of this 
Journal, under the name of ‘* The Convergence of the Solar 
Beams.” Dr Brewster there states, that the appearance is 
to be considered as avery rare one, since he is not aware of its 
having been observed by any one, except Dr Smith, in Eng- 
land, and, as he was informed by Mr Haidinger, Professor 
Mohs at Freiberg. But, doubtless, many others have seen it, 
although no account of their observations may have been pub- 
lished, since the writer of this paper has observed it four 
times in the course of three years :—in August 1822, June 
1823, May 1824 (as now described), and on the 18th Ja- 
nuary 1825: and notice has been received of its having been 
seen at Aberdeen in great beauty, in August last. 

June was remarkable on account of the long period of dry 
weather which then occurred. Including a part of the ‘pre- 
ceding month, very little rain fell for about five weeks; dur- 
ing which, for the most part, high temperatures. prevailed, 
high pressure, light breezes from the east, and great dryness of 
the air. The force of the sun’s radiation was sometimes very 
great. On the 2d, accurately observed, about noon, it was 
found to be about 50°. 

Much has frequently been said about the eortiedpianidlehdics 3 in 


Notice of the Rarer Atmospherical Phenomena in 1824. 53 


the variations of pressure at very distant places, even over a 
fourth part of the surface of the globe. A very interesting ex- 
ception to this, occurred on the 18th July. We are informed, 
that, in the department of the Aude, in France, on that day, 
the barometer stood at 28 inches, while there was a violent 
wind, and a storm of thunder ;—further, that, in the evening, 
there was a shock of an earthquake. The barometric column 
experienced no variation during the shock. The temperature 
was suffocating. Now, it is singular, that we had here, on the 
18th, a very high pressure, approaching very nearly to the 
maximum for the month, and that just at the time when the 
earthquake and low pressure took place in France. On the 
following day at 5 A. M., an earthquake was also felt at Lis- 
bon; it was preceded by excessive heats; the accounts of 
which being very curious, may, with propriety, be transcribed 
here, as translated from the Portuguese papers. ‘ The high 
temperatures experienced in Lisbon on the 18th, 19th, and 
20th July, and which did such damage to the fields, de- 
serve some observation. On the 17th and 18th, Fahrenheit’s 
thermometer, in the open air and shade, was from 92° to 96° at 
2 P. M., and 79° to 83° at midnight. On the 19th, ¢the day of 
the earthquake,) exposed to a hot wind from the N. E., it rose 
to 105°. ‘This burning wind did immense damage; it is impos- 
sible to calculate it. We can state, however, that the vines in 
elevated situations, exposed to the N.E., entirely lost the abun- 
dant fruit with which they were loaded. A great many per- 
sons, working in the fields, were mortally struck with the ma- 
lignant influence of this excessive heat. Many animals shared 
the same fate; the leaves of the vegetable world were com- 
pletetely dried up and reduced to dust.” 

The month of August was a very fine one. The tempera- 
ture was moderate ; mean 56°. Pressure steady ; winds N. E. 
and W.., gentle. 

On the 3d, between 5 and 6 P. M., the following curious 
nepheological phenomenon occurred :— 

The day had been very wet; “but the rain had ceased 
about 3 P. M., and the clouds had begun to break up; but still, 
at 5, they were floating about in every direction, under the 


54 Notice of the Rarer Atmosphericul Phenomena in 1824, 


form of large cumulostrati. At this time, one of these, bear- 
ing about S. E., was observed to begin to break into fragments 
and dissolve on its lower surface, and soon after, when it had 
thus been considerably lessened in size, it began gradually to 
ascend into the higher regions of the air, in the most beauti- 
ful manner, dissolving as it rose. After attaining an elevation 
equal to that of some other cumulated masses, it broke down 
into distinct cirrocwmuli, which by degrees vanished about 
the twilight. The ascent of the cloud occupied about five mi- 
nutes; and, as it was large, it presented an unusually interest- 
ing spectacle. In the course of the evening, another cloud, 
more distant, was seen to present similar phenomena in the 
same order. The wind was from the north, scarcely percep- 
‘tible. After this, for several days, much rain fell, with vari- 
able winds and moderate pressure. id 

The 2d of September was particularly distinguished by the 
occurrence of an unusually high temperature for the season, 
both here, and all over the south of Scotland and north of 
England. The morning of the first was very fine, tempera- 
ture moderate; by noon, however, it had increased much, 
and the force of the sun’s radiation was very great. In the 
afternoon, cwmdlostrati came from the 8. W., (the wind hav- 
ing veered to that quarter, since morning, from the N. E.,) 
which clouds preventing radiation from the earth at night, 
caused the heat to be particularly oppressive, as it remained 
nearly the whole evening at '70° Fahr. ; about 11 or 12 P.M. 
much sheet-lightning was seen in the S.W. Next day was 
still warmer ; in the afternoon the clouds increased, and much 
rain fell, but here there was no electrical discharge. AL 
though the high temperature was the greatest evil here, it was 
not so in other places ; for reports from Kelso, Berwick, Bel- 
ford, Newcastle, and many places in Yorkshire and Northum- 
berland, give accounts of a most alarming storm of thunder 
and lightning haying occurred, accompanied with a’ vast 
quantity of rain, and spreading destruction over a great ex- 
tent of country.—Many men and domestic animals were kill- 
ed by the lightning. 

It was during this storm that the subterraneous bog burst 
at Keighley in Yorkshire, which may be traced to the vast 


Notice of the Rarer Atmospherical Phenomena in 1824. 55 


torrents of rain that seem to have accompanied the contempo- 
raneous storm. : 

On the morning of the 9th, a pretty brilliant display of the 
Aurora Borealis was seen for some time. ' 

The months of October, November, and December, may 
be said to have had very nearly the same meteorological cha- 
racter, being very stormy, with very variable temperature and 
pressure, and an excess of humidity. The pressure during 
the whole three months scarcely ever exceeded the usual mean. 
In such a state of the atmosphere, rare and interesting phe- 
nomena were certainly to be expected ; and, accordingly, they 
did occur in no small number. The first which may claim 
our attention is a very curious one, and. has frequently at- 
tracted the notice of philosophers, ever since the phenomena 
of the rainbow were thought worthy of investigation ; namely, 
the appearance of what are called Supernumerary Rainbows. 

These were seen on the second of October, about 5 P. M., 
during a light shower of rain, within the southern limb of a 
primary one of great brilliancy. There were three additional 
sets of colours seen close to one another, all haying the red 
outermost. The red, yellow, green, and blue tints could be 
distinctly observed ; and they varied in brilliancy and breadth 
as the cloud moved on. 

Dr Langwith was the first who described these supernume- 
rary. bows, (Phil. Trans. 1723 ;) but he saw only * dark- 
green, light-green, and purple,” repeated thrice within the 
primary bow. M. Bouguer in Peru, saw one entire repetition 
of the prismatic tints within the primary, frequently ; rarely 
two repetitions. M. Gentil, in 1756, in France, saw two re- 
petitions within the primary of the blue tint;—and M. Dic- 
quemarre observed supernumeraries outside of the secondary, 
Similar phenomena were observed by Monge, and Daval. “On 
_ the 29th July 1813, Dr Brewster observed these supernume- 
raries under favourable circumstances, when four repetitions 
of the red and green bows were seen without the primary vio- 
let.” (Orrics, Edin. Encyclop.) September 7th 1819, Mr 
Macome at Paisley, saw ‘ the lower half of the primary, com- 
mencing with the green tint, distinctly repeated in the regular 


56 Notice of the Rarer Atmospherical Phenomena in 1824, 


and usual succession of the colours, without any colourless in- 
terval.” (Ann. Phil. Vol. XIV. p. 472.) 

On the evening preceding that on which the supernumera- 
ry rainbows were seen, a lunar rainbow was observed at Mid- 
dleton, near Edinburgh, about 10 P. M. It is stated to have 
been fully formed, and the segment of the circle, which 
it described on a thick cloudy sky, everywhere distinctly, 
and even strongly marked. It began to fade in a minute or 
two after being first seen, and had totally disappeared in the 
space of three minutes. It was of a dull white colour. (Edin- 
burgh Evening Courant.) 

During the first week of October we had very variable | 
winds, and a high temperature for the season ; the thermo- 
meter ranging between 50° and 61°.5. ‘The pressure varied 
much, ‘The 8th was the day of full moon ; and then we had 
a-commencement of the most stormy weather that has occur- 
ed here since February 1823. It was during the 11th that 
the storm bore the most marked features. The direction of 
the wind varied a little, but it was mostly from the N. E. It 
blew very steadily, and not in gusts; and was so violent as 
to tear the trees up by the roots, and drive the largest ships 
from anchorages in general secure. The pressure here, dur- 
ing that day, varied from 29.10 inches to 29.20, and remained 
tolerably steady for several days. It appears, however, from 
the Tableau Meteorologique of the observatory of Paris, that 
there the pressure was much lower; and that although no 
storm of any consequence happened in France, yet they ex- 
pected one.* M. Nell de Bréauté has published, in the Bibli. 
Univer. for November, a note of the rapid descent of the mer- 
cury at Dieppe, which fell to 718.73. mm. (=28.301. English 
inches.) 

- As lunar rainbows have long been considered the peculiar 
harbingers of most stormy weather, it is interesting to find, 
that no less than three of these rare phenomena were seen in 
the course of five weeks, of what may be reckoned as boiste-. 
rous a period as has occurred here for many years past. One 
of these has already been described; the second was seen on 


* See our Last Number, p. 367, for an account of the dreadful storms 
and inundations in the north of Europe.—Ep. 


Notice of the Rarer Atmospherical Phenomena in 1824. 57 


the 2d of November at sea, in lat. 56° 56’ N., long. 15° E., 
and was perhaps as fine an appearance of the kind as has yet 
been observed. For some time before its appearance, the 
weather was extremely boisterous and rainy. It was first 
seen at 11 P. M., and’ continued visible about half an hour, 
bearing from W.S.W. to E.N.E., reaching from horizon to ho- 
rizon. Its colours were those of the spectrum. Besides the 
primary bow, there was a secondary one, in which the colours 
were nearly as complete and_ brilliant as in the principal one. 
During the appearance of the phenomenon, the wind was ex- 
ceedingly variable, flying round the compass; and after it 
had disappeared, it blew a tremendous hurricane, with heavy 
rains, which lasted twenty hours without intermission. Its 
appearance, on the whole, was described by the observer, Mr 
Kerr, as having been extremely beautiful, and in no respect 
inferior to the most perfect solar iris. 'The moon was twelve 
days old. Very few lunar rainbows, perhaps, have been seen 
so fine as the one now noticed. The only one, of which a 
description is published, that can be put im comparison 
with it, is one noticed by Mr Howerd, in his Climate of Lon- 
don, as having been seen by a friend at Stoke Newington, on the 
Ist December 1808, a little after 5 A. M. ‘The moon was 
nearly full, and setting to the north of west. The rainbow 
was of unequal brightness. In the most northerly part of it, 
near the earth, the prismatic colours were very distinct, in the 
other parts they were scarcely distinguishable ; and it had, on 
the whole, the appearance of a white arch. At the usual dis- 
tance the secondary bow was visible. Opposite the brightest 
parts at the north end, it was very strong and coloured, as 
the inner bow in that place was.” 

The third rainbow, which has been alluded to as having 
been seen during this period, was observed at Leith on 
the evening of the 9th November. The moon at the 
time was nineteen days old: the night was somewhat windy, 
with dark nimbi in the western part of the sky, and scud- 
clouds in the east, where the moon was. The cloud, by which 
the rainbow was formed, was dark and heavy, obscuring the 
whole of the western quarter of the sky. The rainbow was of a 
dull white colour, and quite perfect. In about two minutes 


58 Notice of the Rarer Atmospherical Phenomena m 1824. 


from the time when it was first observed, it began rapidly to 
disappear. Its extremities first faded, and, in a few seconds 
afterwards, there was no indication of it left. 

In the winter of 1782, three lunar rainbows. were also 
seen, which are described in the Philosophical Transactions, 
and that was allowed to have been one of the most stormy 
years that ever occurred in Britain. 

On the 23d November, we had a very low pressure, with 
very strong N. E. gales, which seem to have been felt all 
over the kingdom: the barometric column stood at 28.45 
inches, near the level of the sea. It is worthy of remark, 
however, that, although the wind blew most boisterously here 
on the 23d, from N. E., yet it blew from the S. W. along 
the shores of the English channel :—and there, it is stated to 
have been “ a most tremendous gale,” ‘‘ a most furious storm,” 
‘< the most tremendous hurricane ever experienced,” and that 
its effects were ‘¢ most disastrous.” 

On the 5th December, a beautiful illustration of the remark, 
that the appearance of cirrocumuls prognosticates a rise of tem- 
_ perature,occurred here. The morning of that day had been very 
cold, (Therm. at '7"3 22°,) but the temperature had gradually 
risen through the day to 35°, and at four P. M. had begun to 
descend again, when a fine display of cirrocumult suddenly 
appeared. The temperature immediately increased from 34° 
to 38° and, contrary to the usual law, continued to rise 
during the night, and next morning it was 44°. The pres- 
sure at the same time diminished, and we had a heavy fall of 
rain. 

Almost every night at this period, fine Lunar Halos were 
seen, generally with a diameter of 96° ; they were always sim- 
ple. 

On the night of the 7th, about 11 P. M., the following 
very singular phenomenon was seen. There were two very 
large cirrostrati visible, both of a whitish colour, and very 
dense, one of which occupied the zenith, and most part of 
the S. W. and N. quarters of the sky, the other the east and 
south-east horizon ; both were arranged in parallel bars, point- 
ing nearly north and south. While examining attentively 


these clouds, there appeared in the south, near the upper 
a 


a Nal gt ay 
fy ¥s. 


PLATE TL. 


Mr Haidinger on Regular Composition in Crystals. 59 


margin of the lower one, and about the centre towards which 
the polarized bars of the cirrostrati seemed to converge, a dark 
space of considerable magnitude, from which rays began sud- 
denly to shoot out, of the same dark appearance, towards the 
upper cloud ; these rays, however, did not continue their dark 
aspect, on reaching the upper cloud, but seemed rapidly to 
dissolve that cloud in stripes, so that very quickly the upper 
cirrostratus was completely torn into shreds by these rays, 
and when they had passed, the stars could be seen through 
the cloud. By and bye, the cloud began to form precisely 
in the same manner as it had dissolved, and no more rays 
came from the lower one: the two clouds finally inosculated, 
and covered the sky with a general haze. Can this phenome- 
non be considered analogous to the one already described as 
having occurred on the 11th of February ? 

Nothing else of any consequence, except a fine Solar Coro- 
na on the 13th December, was seen before the close of the 
year. 

Leiru, February 1825. 


Art. 1X.—On the Regular Composition of Crystallized Bo- 
dies. By Witt1am Harpincrr, Esq. F.R.S.E. Com- 
municated by the Author.—(Continued from Vol. ILI. p. 

.) 98.) 

III. Pyramidal System. 


Tuesituationof the plane, in which two individuals, whose form 
belongstothe pyramidal system, may be joined in aregular com- 
position, and the situation of the axes of the individuals them- 
selves, as in the rhombohedral system, produce a general dis- 
tribution of these compound bodies into two classes. Either the 
axes of the two individuals are parallel, or they include an 
angle. In the latter case, the face of composition is always 
parallel to a face, or perpendicular to an edge of an isosceles 
four-sided pyramid, and this kind of composition may take 
place in any class of forms of a pyramidal species. But, 
if the axes of the individuals are parallel, and the situation of 


60 Mr Haidinger on the Regular Composition 


the one be changed by a revolution of 180°, no change in the 
appearance will be produced, unless the combinations possess 
a particular hemi-pyramidal character, in which there is not 
an absolute symmetry round the pyrainidal axis, owing to the 
enlargement of the alternating faces of isosceles, or half the 
number of faces of scalene eight-sided pyramids. E 

Pyramidal forms, in general, are the rarest among those 
which the products of inorganic nature affect, and few species 
among those which present them, have been observed in regu- 
lar compositions ; but, wherever these occur, they are very 
frequent, and in some instances exceedingly varied ; so much 
so, that their existence has not a little contributed for a long 
time to conceal the true form from the inquiries of minera- 
logists. 

The only law of regular composition hitherto observed in 
pyramidal Tin-ore is, that two individuals joined will meet in a 
face of the pyramid P, the angles on the terminal edges of 
which are = 133° 26/, on the lateral edges = 67° 59’. It oc 
curs, however, ina great many varieties of forms, and vari- 
ously repeated on the similarly situated parts of the indivi- 
duals. ‘his law was first ascertained by Lermina, and de- 
scribed in the second edition of the Crystallography of Romé 
de l’Isle. Haiiy has given a good drawing of the most sim- 
ple case of it as found in nature; but the most exact and 
ample description of the various appearances which it pro- 
duces in different crystals of the substance, has been given in 
Mr W. Phillips’s excellent paper on the Oxyd of Tin.* No- 
thing new can here be mentioned on the subject ; but it will 
be interesting to compare these compositions with what is 
found in other species, particularly by means of preserving 
for the figures of all of them a parallel position. 

The fundamental pyramid itself, when composed parallel 
to one of its faces, would produce a form like Fig. 1, Plate III. 
analogous to the twins of the regular octahedron described 


among the regular compositions of the tessular system. + 


" Trans. Geol. Soc. vol. ii. p- 336. 
+ Edin. Journ. of Science, vol. i. p- 56. Pl. III. Fig. 5.- 


of Crystallized Bodies. + — 61 


The same law applied to the pyramid P + 1(s), on the ter. 
minal edges of which the faces of P appear with parallel 
edges of combination, will produce a compound form similar 
to Fig. 2., the edge x being parallel to the edge x’.. The 
crystallographic signs of these two compositions are P, {+} 
‘and P+1, {=}. The simple pyramid P + 1, composed 
in this manner, is sometimes met with in the tin-mines of 
Schlaggenwald in Bohemia, but it is rare, and much more fre- 
Seals additional faces, particularly those of the two regular 
four-sided prisms P + @ and [P + @] produce forms like 
Fig. 3. and Fig. 4., in the former of which, the additional 
faces are yet malt which, in the latter, take the greater share 
in limiting the figure. The variety of pyramidal Tin-ore, 
from Goshen in Massachusetts, occurs in the form, Fig. 3. ; 
the specimen upon which it has been observed, in the cavities 
of albite, and accompanied by red and pale green tourmaline, 
is in the cabinet of Mr Allan. The appearance of Fig. 4, is 
less common in the varieties of the present species, than that of 
the preceding composition ; it is found in Cornwall. 

It is rare to meet with regularly composed varieties of py- 
ramidal Tin-ore, in which the groups consist of only two indi- 
viduals. Much more generally, the composition is repeated 
either parallel to one plane only, or in the direction of several 
homologous planes of the pyramid P. In the first case, the 
particles beyond two faces of composition, resume an exactly 
parallel position, as in Fig. 5., and if farther repeated, the 
whole may consist of alternating lamine of two individuals. 
Another kind of geniculated crystals is produced if the com- 
position takes place parallel to two faces from the upper and 
the lower apex, which, if duly enlarged, would meet in a 
horizontal edge. ‘The variety, Fig. 7., depends upon exactly 
the same kind of composition relative to the same number of 
individuals, with this difference only, that they are here con- 
tinued beyond the faces of composition, so that, if Fig. 6. is 
represented in the crystallographic method of Professor Mohs, 
byP+1.P4+a.|P+o], {5}, the sign of Fig. 7. will 
be P+o. [P+oa]. (P+o@)*, 2{4}. Very often every 
trace of the faces of four-sided or cight-sided pyramids, 


62 Mr Haidinger on the Regular Composition 


inclined to the axis, disappears, and then the compound 
group assumes the appearance of a combination of prisms and 
pyramids belonging to the prismatic system. 

The most interesting, however, among the more complex 
cases of regular composition, relative to ches present species, 1s, 
when it takes place at the same time, and to the same extent 
of the additional individuals, parallel to all the faces of the 
fundamental pyramid. The result of this composition is re- 
presented in Fig. 8., a remarkably elegant form, the symmetry 
of which would be alone sufficient to prove, that it belongs 
to the pyramidal system, even though we should remain ig- 
norant of the absolute measures of its angles. It has been. 
found in the Cornish and the Bohemian vin oath de Its crys- 
tallographic designation, according to the method of Mohs, is 
P+1.[P+ cc], {P}. 

Another species, well known for the frequency of its occur- 
rence in regular compositions, is the peritomous Titanium-ore. 
The composition takes place parallel to a face of the pyramid 
P—1, the angles of which are =128° 41/ and 76° 31’, according 
to Haiiy ; the inclination, therefore, of the axes of the two indi- 
viduals, (Fig. 9.) is =104° 29’. Although this kind of compo- 
sition be exactly the same as the one in pyramidal Tin-ore, yet 
the apices of the combinations are less frequently observed, and 
the geniculated appearance remains to ascertain the existence of 
regular composition. Upon the situation of the plane in which 
the individuals meet, and the observation that this plane is fre- 
quently parallel to a face of crystallization, Haiiy has grounded 
his first determination of the angles relative to the fundamental . 
pyramid of this species, forms which he had never seen before; 
and though afterwards corrected by the more accurate mea- 
surements of Mr Phillips in regard to the angles themselves, 
yet the method which he followed deserves a praise propor- 
tionate to the degree of importance attached to it by Haiiy 
himself. Particularly among the varieties from Buytrago and 
from St Yrieix, we meet with a continuation of the law, accord- 
ing to which two individuals are joined to a third, forming 
thick crystals like the groups represented in Fig. 10. It has 
been observed by Haiiy, and this is by no means’ rare among 
regularly composed minerals, that in these compositions the 


of Crystallized Bodies. 63 


transverse section of the prisms does not exhibit the appear- 
ance of a figure belonging to the pyramidal system, although 
he has correctly ascertained this to be the class of forms to 
which the crystals of peritomous Titanium-ore belong. The 
composition is often repeated parallel to all the faces of the iso- 
sceles four-sided pyramid; a central individual, generally a 
four-sided prism, thicker than the rest, is then surrounded by 
numerous crystals respectively in parallel positions with each 
other, branching off in four directions, each branch assuming 
very often again the function of a central individual, which 
supports new branches, fixed to it according to the same law. 
The 11th Figure will convey a faint idea of an extremely ele- 
gant group of this kind, of the same size as the sketch, in- 
closed in rock crystal from Brazil, in the cabinet of Mr Allan. 
It is impossible to give it the freshness and lustre which it de- 
rives from the contrast of its almost metallic appearance, and 
dark colour, with its transparent colourless matrix. A compo- 
sition of acicular crystals of the species, disposed on a plane 
surface, produces the well*known reticulated appearance, in 
allusion to which Saussure adopted the name of sagenite, from 
cuynm, a net, for this species, which formerly had been con- 
sidered as a variety of Schorl.* 

The mineral most nearly allied to the two preceding species 
in regard to its forms i general, but more particularly for its 
regular compositions, is the pyramidal Manganese-ore of Pro- 
fessor Mohs, a species but of late more accurately described 
by mineralogists, though it seems to have been known at an 
early period of mineralogical inquiry. According to Mohs,+ 
the fundamental form P (Fig. 12.) of it is an acute isosceles 
four-sided pyramid of 105° 25’, 117° 54’, (by approximate 
measurement.) ‘This pyramid is cleavable with considerable fa- 
cility in the direction of P—oo, the plane perpendicular to the 
axis, and likewise, though less distinctly parallel to Pand parallel 
to P—1, another isosceles four-sided pyramid, which replaces 
the terminal edges of P, and the angles of which are 114° 51’ 
and 99° 11’. Messrs Brooke and Phillips found the angles of 


* Voyage dans les Alpes, tome vii. sect. 1894. 
+ Treatise on Mineralogy, transl. vol. ii. p. 416. 


64 Mr Haidinger on the. Regular Composition 


the fundamental pyramid =105° 45’ and 117° 30’.* Also in- 
the Wernerian system,+ the pyramidal form of the crystals 
was described in the Black Manganese, but too little attention 
had been paid to this description, and it had not been receiv- 
ed till very lately by the Abbé Haiiy. Manganese crystalliz- 
ed in octahedrons from Piedmont was analysed by Berzelius, 
and a similar variety described by Sage. } The octahe- 
drons engaged in heavy spar, like those of Sage, quoted 
by Count Bournon, if regular, evidently cannot belong to 
the pyramidal species; which cannot be maintained with the 
same degree of probability of the varieties mentioned by 
Sage and Berzelius. The regular composition, very frequent 
in this species, takes place parallel to one of the faces of P—1; 
the result being similar to Fig. 13, if the form of the individu- 
als is the fundamental pyramid. It is designated by P, (=> 
The composition repeated on all the homologous terminal 
edges of the pyramid yields a form similar to Fig. 14. where a 
central individual is surrounded by four others as in Tin-ore 
and Titanium-ore, with this difference, that here the apices of 
the pyramids can be more generally observed than in either of 
the two preceding species. Generally the surrounding indi- 
viduals are of a much smaller size than the central one, and 
appear only sticking on the terminal edges, much in the man- 
ner represented in Fig. 15; the occurrence of the same law on 
all the terminal edges of the pyramid being of itself sufficient 
to prove that the forms belong to the pyramidal system, as in 
the compositions of the two preceding species. 

The mineral species possessing hemi-pyramidal forms, which 
have been observed in regularly composed. varieties, are the 
pyramidal Scheelium-baryte and the pyramidal Copper-pyrites 
of the system of Mohs. Also the Cyanide of Mercury belongs 
to this class of forms, and in the last species, in particular, the 
whole disposition of faces and the regular compositions are 
highly interesting. 


* Phill. 3d ed. p. 387. 

+ Hoffm. Handb. hy Bretthaupt, iv. 1. sect. 149. Jameson's System. 
Ed. I. vol. ii. p. 460. It is said here to occur in octahedral crystals hav- 
ing a single cleavage. : 

+ M. Sage ( Elém. de Min. ii. 136.) cite encore une manganaise noirdtre 
octaéedre, dans un spath séléniteux blanc. Romé de (Isle, vol. iii. p: 101. 


of Crystallized Bodies. — 65 


The only kind of composition hitherto observed in pyramidal 
Scheelium-baryte is the one represented in Fig. 16. The face of 
composition is parallel, the axis of revolution perpendicular to 
a face of the rectangular four-sided prism, which is in parallel 
position with the pyramid of 107° 27/ and 113° 35’, that is of 
P+. The individuals are continued beyond the face of 
composition, so that the result assumes the appearance of a 
crystal belonging to the prismatic system. We are prevent- 
ed, however, from being led into error, by the observation of 
the striz upon the fates of P, which are parallel to the 


’ 3 
edges of combination between this form and eine (0). They 


terminate abruptly at a certain line upon faces which else 
might be taken for such as belong to the same individual. 
“This kind of composition is not unfrequently met with among 
the large yellowish-white crystals from Schlaggenwald in So- 
- hemia, and has been first mentioned by Mr Mohs.* A fine 
specimen of this variety is in the cabinet of Mr Allan. The 
form of each of the individtials taken separately is that of 
Fig. 17, which, in regard to the general distribution of its 
faces, much resembles the rhombohedral species of apatite. 
The simple crystals of the Cyanide of Mercury which join 
_in regular composition may be traced in general to the form 
of Fig. 18. It may be conceived to arise from Fig. 19, the 
same combination with the full number of its faces, by the en- 
largement, first of the alternating faces contiguous to both the 
apices, and secondly, of two of the remaining faces to the ex- 
clusion of the rest. Two of these crystals now are joined in 
one of the faces of [P+ ], in an inverse position, and com- 
pressed between the two faces, so that the transverse section of 
the compound crystal is again a square, or nearly so. The 
result is Fig. 20, of which Fig. 21 is a projection upon a plane 
perpendicular to the axis. The face of P—-o, which is like- 
wise often found in the varieties of this species, is striated as 
in the projection Fig. 22, parallel to its edges of intersection 
with the plane in which the two individuals meet. The faces 
8 belong to the isosceles four-sided pyramid P+ 1,a form which 


* Treatise on Mineralogy, transl. vol. ii. p. 115. 
VOL, 111. No. t. JULY 1825. E 


66 Mr Haidinger on the Regular Composition 


produces horizontal edges of combination with [P +-09 ], and is 
frequently found in the crystals of Cyanide of Mercury. The 
following are the dimensions of its forms: P=134° 36’, 66° 8’; 
P+ 1=122 46’, 85° 17’.. The axis of P is =,/0.424, Cleavage 
takes place pretty distinctly parallel to [P+]. Ihave been 
indebted to Dr Turner for a great number of crystals in 
which I observed this regular composition; they had been ob- 
tained by the slow cooling of a solution concentrated at a pretty 
high temperature, but their inside was opaque, only the exter- 
nal coats, formed during the last stage of cooling, and the sub- 
sequent process of spontaneous evaporation, were perfectly 
transparent. 

Pyramidal Copper-pyrites presents a _kind of regular com- 
position, somewhat analogous to that of the preceding species. 
The individuals, Rare. are here continued beyond the 
face of composition, and the hemi-pyramidal character is ex- 
pressed only in the alternating enlargement of the faces of P, 
the fundamental pyramid. Fig. 23 represents the result. of 
this law, if the form of the individuals contains nothing but 
the faces of P, alternately larger and smaller. This is the 
rarest among the regular compositions of the species. _ I have 
observed it in some varieties from the mine of Kurprinz near 
Freiberg, generally associated with composition in other. di- 
rections. 

By far the most frequent among them is the composition 
parallel to one of the faces of P, the isosceles. pyramid of 109° 
53’ and 108° 40’, which, if it takes place in crystals having the 
form of this pyramid, produces an appearance very much re- 
sembling the twins of the regular octahedron in Spinelle, in 
octahedral Iron-ore, and other minerals, similar to ‘Fig. 24. 
The hemi-pyramidal character of the combinations of this spe- 
cies causes them, however, generally to assume'a shape some- 
what different from this figure, which, nevertheless, also fre- 
quently occurs, and, besides, supposes the individuals to ter- 
minate at the face of composition. The 25th figure, which re- 
presents a crystal in the cabinet of Mr Allan, is intended. to 


, : ane vil pipes ae iis 
eonvey an idea of this composition. The combination 5.—;. 


[P+ ©] (Fig. 26.) is the form of the individuals, one of which 


of Crystallized Bodies. 67 


appears as if engaged in the centre of the other in a reversed 
position, easily discovered at least in the present instance, 
if we attend to the faces of the four-sided prism [P+ ©], 
which are striated in a horizontal direction. Except the dif- 
ference in the system of crystallization, we have here a case 
extremely resembling the twins of Grey copper, represented 
Vol. I. Plate III, Fig. 18, of this Journal, and also some of 
Blende, a species whose crystallizations agree in general very 
nearly with that of the Grey copper. This composition is of- 
ten repeated, either in parallel plates, as in Fig. 27, which is 
very frequent among almost all varieties of the species, and 
may often be observed even in massive specimens, by the want 
of continuity in the cleavage, or it takes place at the same time 
parallel to two faces of the fundamental pyramid. A group, 
resulting in the manner last mentioned, is represented. in Fig. 
28. On account of the hemi-pyramidal character, the indivi- 
duals in the composition possess a different appearance from 
each other, so that it requires some attention to find out their 
shape to be that of Fig. 33.,* a combination of P, P41, and 
P+ @; particularly as the relative irregular enlargement of 
the faces adds to the difficulty. Here, as in many other com- 


* The specimen in Mr Allan’s cabinet, in which this variety was ob- 
served, is peculiarly interesting on account of the distribution of the tar- 


P 
nished colours on the surface of its crystals. The tint of = (P) is gene- 


rally the violet or purple, frequently inclining to the yellow colours of the 
seale, while the tint of P+1 (c) is a distinct, and often very deep blue, that of 
P+ (/) being a fine green. The lustre of / is not so bright as that of the 


other faces i: (P’) generally agrees in colour with c. In some crystals 


where the’ tint of P is a brownish-yellow, that ofc has not gone beyond the 
purple. This difference is probably owing to a slight difference in hard- 
ness upon the faces of crystallization belonging to different forms ; it is in 
close connection with the physical quality of these faces themselves; and 
corresponds in some respect to the phenomenon of cleavage, which often 
takes place parallel to two forms at once, but with different degrees of fa- 
cility. Lead-glance and the rhomboidal Iron-ore from Elba have been de- 
scribed as presenting a difference in the tarnish of their faces of crystal+ 
lization. ‘The hexahedron in the former, and the face perpendicular to the 
axis (R—) in the latter, retain their natural colour and brightness, 
while the rest of the faces assume the tints of tempered steel. 


68 Mr Haidinger on the Composition of Crystallized Bodies. 


pound varieties of Copper-pyrites, the strize upon the faces of 
crystallization yield the means of ascertaining the situation of 
the individuals. Generally the number of ‘iaivid Wel} agegre- 
gated according to this law, is not confined to three; but we 
find, that to every one of those added to the central one, some 
other individuals are attached. 

Regular composition often also takes place in this species 
parallel to a plane of P—1, or perpendicular to the terminal 
edges of P; there are particularly two varieties of this case, 
which, in the present place, deserve our attention. The in- 
dividuals are either joined in pairs, or one central individual 
is surrounded by four others, added in the direction of all the 
edges of P. The product of the first, in the fundamental py- 
ramid, would be Fig. 30. This has not yet been observed ; 
but it will serve for explaining Fig. 31, a variety of the form, 
P—o- P—2-P-: oe P- - P+1, from the mines inthe 
district of Siegen in Prussia. This and several other inte- 
resting varieties of forms from the same locality, I have de- 
scribed, on another occasion,* from specimens in the posses- 
sion of Mr Sack of Bonn. 

If repeated in all the terminal edges of P ina form consist- 
ing of P—o. P—1. P and P+1, the result is like Fig. 32, in 
which the re-entering angles produced by the faces of P+1, 
and the strize upon P, parallel with the edges of combination 
with P+1, diverging in three directions from the centres of 
the faces of P demonstrate, that we really observe a compound 
erystal, while mineralogists have been long deceived by the 
equal brightness of the faces of P— , in directions apparent- 
ly corresponding to the hexahedron. When the hemi-pyra- 
midal character of the combinations is more distinctly pro- 
nounced, a figure is produced resembling a tetrahedron, com- 
bined with various other forms, but consisting of six indiyi- 
duals, the apices of which are contiguous to the edges of the 
tetrahedron, or of five at least, if we conceive the central in- 
dividual to be continued through the centre of the group. 
Generally the individuals are much striated parallel to the 


* Mem. Wern. Soc. vol. iv. part i. p. 1. 


Mr Harvey on the Formation of Dew. 69 


edges of conibination between P and P+1, which, in a form 
merely consisting of = and P +1, will produce Fig. 29, a va- 
riety which has been found in Cornwall. 1 have lately ob- 
served a composition of this kind, similar to Fig. 34, likewise 
from Cornwall, in Mr Allan’s collection, the form of the indivi- 
i) FE 
duals contained in the group consisting of P—a».—3.P+l. 
P+, and several other simple forms which it was impossi- 
ble to determine with any degree of accuracy, on account of 
the numerous and deep furrows upon the faces, parallel to 


=e - : P 
their intersections with = and P+-1, and the want of lustre of 
the surface, which prevented the application of the reflective 
goniometer. A simple crystal of the form represented Fig. 
35, occurs upon the specimen which contains the compound. 
varieties. 


(To be continued. ) 


Arr. X.—Facts relating to the Formation of Dew. By 
Georce Harvey, Esq. F. R.S. Lond. & Edin. Commu- 
nicated by the Author. 


Tue tower of St Andrew’s Church, Plymouth, is situated 
about 500 yards to the east of the meadow, in which I have 
usually performed my experiments on the interesting subject 
of dew, and the elevation of its summit above the level of the 
field, about 110 feet. For the purpose of tracing the law 
which regulates the deposition of dew at different altitudes 
above the surface of the earth, I frequently found it necessary, 
in conjunction with Mr Pridham, to perform analogous expe- 
riments, at the same time, on the top of the tower, and on the 
surface of the meadow; and [I select, from many interesting 
results; that obtained on the night of the 21st of May, on ac- 
count of the remarkable states of equality which were ubserv- 
ed, both in the temperature of the air, and in the quantities 
of moisture deposited on bodies of the same kind, when placed 
on substances having different radiating powers. 

The night wassereneand tranquil, but the sky not remarkable 
for its clearness. Thefirst observation wasmade at 10 e.m., when 
_ the air, at the summit of the tower, and at three feet above the 


70 Mr Harvey on the Formation of Dew. 


ground, were found to beeach 51°; and it is remarkable, that no 
alteration of temperature took place during the night, since a 
register thermometer left on the tower, and another placed at 
the above mentioned elevation in the meadow, indicated that 
the quicksilver had not in either case been below 51°. At the 
time tlie first observations of the temperature were made, that 
of the grass indicated 494°, at which time there was laid on it 
equal plates of glass and tin, and on them equal masses of wool, 
«(12 grains each,) exposing equal radiating surfaces to the 
heavens. On the summit of the tower, at the same time, simi- 
‘lar parcels of wool were placed, similarly circumstanced. At 
half- past six the next morning the masses of wool in the meadow 
had gained equal increments of moisture amounting to 14 grains, 
and those on the tower equal increments of 7% grains. Hence 
it appears, that during the whole night the temperature of the 
air, at the respective elevations of three and one hundred and 
ten feet, remained stationary, and that the increments of mois- 
ture obtained in the meadow, by equal masses of the same 
substance, in contact with bodies possessing different radiat- 
ing powers, were the same ; as likewise, equal but smaller in- 
crements, by equal masses similarly placed on the summit of 
the tower. In the whole course of my experiments on this 
very interesting subject; I never before met with so many re- 
markable states of equality as appeared during this mght. 
Gersten remarks,* that an horizontal surface is more abun- 
dantly dewed, than one perpendicular to the ground, a pheno- 
menon arising from the latter radiating less copiously than the 
former. 'To confirm experimentally the remark of Gersten, 
an evening was selected, distinguished by its beautiful sereni- 
ty, and for the clear and perfect transparency of the sky. A 
six inch hollow cube of block-tin was placed in my meadow, 
two inches above the herbage, with its vertical faces’ equally 
exposed to the cloudless horizon. 'To these faces, and‘to the 
upper surface of the cube, equal parcels of wool were attach- 
ed, with equal radiating surfaces. The air was so perfectly 
tranquil, that the flame of a candle remained entirely undis- 
turbed. At five the next morning the wool on the upper sur- 
face of the cube had gained 15 grains of moisture; and the 


* Wells on Dew, p- 127, 2d edition, 


Mr Harvey on the Formation of Dew. 71 


parcels attached to its vertical surfaces, equal increments of 
dew, amounting to five grains. Hence, if the quantities of 
moisture deposited be regarded as measures of the radiating 
powers of the respective surfaces, the former exceeds the lat- 
ter, in the ratio of three to one ;—a difference arising entirely 
from position.* All the exposed parts of the cube were co- 
vered with particles of dew, those on the top being the great- 
est; and it was most interesting to remark the gradual diminu- 
tion of magnitude in the particles, from the upper part of the 
vertical faces to the lower. 

« Another evening was selected for repeating the same expe- 
riment, when a gentle breeze was blowing from the east, one 
surface of the cube being placed directly exposed to its influ- 
ence. During the night the parcel of wool on the top gained 
an increment of moisture, amounting to 10 grains, notwithstand- 
ing the breeze swept freely over its surface. The wool, on the 
eastern side, being exposed to the full influence of the wind, 
gained only a grain and a half of dew; but that on the west- 
ern side, from its being comparatively sheltered, obtainedan 
addition of five grains and a half.+ The masses of wool on 
the northern and southern surfaces of the cube being equally 
exposed to the lateral action of the wind, gained equal incre- 
ments of dew, amounting to two grains; an effect due to the 
equally diminished radiation of the wool, by the equal action 
of the wind on the two surfaces: 

This experiment shows clearly the influence of wind in 
checking the formation of dew. In the former experiment, 
when the air was perfectly tranquil, all the parcels of wool at- 


* Dr Wells very properly remarks, p. 59, 2d edition of his Essay, that 
“‘ the same degree of cold in the precipitating body, may be attended with 
much, with little, or with no dew, according to the existing state of the air 
‘in regard to moisture ; and from which it appears, that the relation be- 
tween the temperature of the body on which the dew is deposited, and the 
quantity deposited at different periods; must be variable. But the quanti- 
ties deposited at the same time, on surfaces of the same kind, differently 
cireumstanced with respect to the aspect of the sky, may, without impro- 
pricty, be regarded as comparative measures of the radiating powers of 
those surfaces. 
‘+ This result is in conformity with a remark of Dr Wells; ‘ A body 
placed at the leeward end of the raised boards generally acquired more dew 
than a similar body at the windward extremity.” 


72 Sir Thomas Brisbane on Astronomical Observations 


tached to the vertical surfaces of the cube, were equally in- 
fluenced, their radiating powers being the same, and their ac-, 
cessions of moisture equal; but in this last experiment, the 
quantities deposited on the sheltered, and unsheltered surfaces, 
- were in the ratio of eleven to three ; and it is remarkable also, 
how very nearly the effect produced by the direct action of 
the wind, on the eastern surface, approximates to its lateral 
action on the northern and southern. 

It is worthy of observation also, that although the western 
surface of the cube was, from its position, much more sheltered 
from the wind’s influence, than the upper surface, yet the in- 
crement gained by the latter, exceeded, in a two-fold ratio, that 
of the former. The upper surface, moreover, must have been 
exposed just as much to the lateral influence of the wind as 
the northern and southern surfaces, and the superior energy 
of its radiating power, arising from positicn, is_ strikingly 
shown by its increment of moisture, amounting to 10 grains, 
when the additions to the last mentioned surfaces were only 
two grains each. 


Piymoutu, May 10, 1825. 


Art. XI,—Astronomical Observations made at the Observatory 
of Paramatta in 1824, Communicated by his’ Excellency 
Sir Tuomas Briszayg, K. C. B. FR. S. Lond. and Edin. - 


Tur following important observations have been just receiv- 
ed by the Editor from Sir Thomas Brisbane : 


1. Eclipse of the Moon of January 1st 1824, observed at Paramatta. 


1824. HM S| — 
Jan. 1. © Eclipsed, beginning at 1, 23, 59, 50, by sydereal clock. 
rev. div. 
Diameter of the sun near noon by micrometer = 30, 222 
H. M. S. rey. diy. 
At 1, 32, 17, dist. by micrometer = 22, 695 
abr sae 4 Eee ot aS 
PR) PO Pe * mi us 62094 B43 
a SE os - 20, 008 
»» 40.12, 5 = 19, 120 
eal i =) oan hae Se 
», 43 set among the trees. 


q 
HeM. Ss = 


Beginning of eclipse at 6, 44, 26, 82, mean time. 


Made at the Observatory at Paramatta. 73 


2. Occultations of Stars by the Moon, observed at Paramatta. 


- 


H. M. Ss. — 
July 5. Immersion of 4 Sagittarius (Bode) 15, 11, 21, 66, sydereal time. 
6. Immersion 595 Mayer ——— 17, 29, 25, 15, sydereal time. 
H. M. H.M. M- 


Aug. 27. Immersion ofa star of the 8 mag. R13, 35, decl. 15,3 or 4 south 


HM. Ss. — 
at 18, 15, 58, 10, sydereal time. 


H.,..M. S.\..-—— 
27. Immersion 85 Virgo (Bode) at 18, 57, 27, 40, sydereal time. 
Sept. 30. Immersion o Sagittarius at 9, 3U, 40, 42, mean time. 
Emersion 10, 12, 11, 12, mean time. 
30. Immersion 7 Sagittarius 12, 15, 29, 84, mean time. 


3.—Observations on the Planet Herschel near the Opposition, with the Mural 
Circle, made at Puramatta, July 1824. 


e Thermo. " Transitoverthe] Mean of the 
1824. aro. er ates * |Meridian Wire.| 4 Microscopes. 
uly 4,]29,956 |37,0 o Sagittarius 18, 54, 51 = |146, a8 18, 75|rather 
Xvili 294 Piazzi Cat. 57, 6, > 13, 42) faint. 
Bl Planet LOS 55, 145, Fed 27, 97 


xix 12 Piazzi 3, 47, 3}145, 46, 29, 12 
5,|29,932|48 | 55 |o Sagittarius j 

Xviii 294 Piazzi 

HI Planet 

xix 12 Piazzi 
6,|30,000 |41,2| 55 |o Sagittarius 

xviii 294 Piazzi 

HL Planet 

xix 12 Piazzi Z - « « 1145, 46, 25, 98}: : 


Cloudy and rain prevented the observations being continued. 
4, Stars observed with the Moon near her parallel. 


Ditterence in No. of 
Sydereal Time. Wires. 


ae 


June 3. Moon’s first limb 


4 

Regulus + (6h) 5’ 04" 5 

June 4. Regulus — 49 41 12 5 
Moon’s first limb 5 

Aug: 30. Moon’s first limb 5 
¢ Scorpio +, 29.41 90 5 

Antares + 58 23 50 5 

Oct. 3. # Aquarius — 33 56 38 4 
'  Moon’s first limb 5 

Oct. 25. Antares a ie A 78 3 
Moon’s first limb 5 

Noy. 2. y Poisson — 6 57 138 4: 
Moon’s first limb 5 


- 


74 Mr Ramage’s Account of a Stickleback, ‘&e. 


Ant. XII.—Account of a Stickleback that was a fell with a 
Leech alive in its Intestines, July 1818.* By Mr Joun 
Ramacer, Aberdeen. Communicated by the Author. 


Wauew taking a walk in the evening, with some of my child- 
ren, they observed, in a small rivulet, south side of King’s - 
College, Old Aberdeen, a shoal of sticklebacks in the water, 
which attracted their attention. I immediately put down my 
hand and caught one of them which was skimming near the 
surface, apparently as active and lively as the others, with 
this difference only, that it was much distended, and appeared 
full of roe. One of the children, to whom I had given the 
stickleback, after keeping it in his hand for a few minutes, 
told me that its gut was coming out ; and, upon looking at it, 
I found about an inch of a white substance protruding from 
the anus. At first I suspected the child had squeezed it, and 
that it was part of the roe that appeared; but, upon examin- 
ing it more minutely, I found the substance to be alive 
and in motion; and, to my astonishment, in the course of 
half a minute, a leech fully as large as the stickleback had 
disengaged itself, and was crawling about on my hand. The 
dtidkleback died almost immediately after giving birth to this 
strange offspring, and the leech survived it only about twelve 
hours. Its appearance and motion corresponded in every re- 
spect with those of the common leech, excepting that the co- 
lour was entirely white. (The present brown colour is owing 
the solution of nitrate of silver in which they are preserved.) 

Upon examining the stickleback minutely, it seemed to me 
that the leech was lodged in the small gut, and most probably 
had been swallowed by the stickleback for food when of a 
small size, and had grown to its present dimensions in the 
stickleback’s belly after having been swallowed. 


* Mr Ramage, already well known to the public from the two magnifi- 
cent reflecting telescopes which he has constructed, has transmitted the 
stickleback and the leech to the museum of the Royal Society of Edin- 
burgh.—Ep. 

1 


Mr Davy’s Observations on Springs, &c. in Cornwall. "15 


Art. XITI.—Observations on the Temperature of Springs, 
Wells, and Mines in Cornwall. By Joun Davy, M.D. 
F.R.S.. Communicated by the Author. 


Tue following very interesting observations, on the tempe- 
rature of springs and mines in Cornwall, were made by Dr 
Davy after his return from Ceylon. They formed an appen- 
dix to the valuable Hydrographical Journal of his voyage, 
which we have published in our preceding numbers. The la- 
bour which is necessary in ascertaining temperatures under 
such circumstances has deterred many persons from prosecut- 
ing so important an inquiry; and the difficulty of making 
them correctly throws a doubt upon all those observations 
which have not been made by observers of known accuracy 
and experience. 

We therefore attach a high degree of value to the following 
temperatures, because they were measured by the nicest in- 
struments, and by a philosopher distinguished for his aecu- 
racy. 

We may safely conclude, for the reasons here given, that 
the temperature of the earth in Cornwall is not far from 543° 
of Fahrenheit, which is than that of the atmosphere.* 


PENZANCE. 
August, 10, 1820.—Temperature of the well at Alverton 
55°, 5, that of the air being 70°, at 11 a.m. 


Tue Boy Mine. 

August 30, —It is many years since this mine was wrought. 
The engine-shaft is now. full of water. Its temperature to- 
day, at 6 P. M., was 55° at the surface. 

Hover Ming, just by Huel Virgin. 

It is many years since this mine was worked. The tem- 
perature of the water, in what appeared to be the adit-shaft, 
was, at 7 p.m., 55°. The water was about 30 fathoms from 
the surface, and it may be assumed to be running from the 
mine. 


* See Dr Forbes’s Observations on the Climate of Penzance, and the Dis- 
trict of the Land’s End in Cornwall. Penzance, 1824. 


76 Dr Davy’s Observations on Springs, &¢. in Cornwall. 


MaRraAZzion. y 
The temperature of a pump-well about six fathoms deep, 
a little after 7 P. M. was 54°. 


Huet Fortune. 

September 16.—This mine. has been stopped about three 
years. There are now only three shafts open. The water In . 
each is about 16 fathoms from the surface. At 11 o'clock 
this morning I found the temperature of each 


Temperature of water from old engine shaft, 55° 5! 
From the Boy pipe shaft, - - 55 5 
From Brandon shaft, = 4 a 56 


The last shaft was more open than either of the others, and 
its temperature consequently 4° higher. The depth of this 
never exceeded, I believe, 100 fathoms. 


VANFELL. 
Within the last two months, a pump has been sunk at Van- 


fell. It is five and a half fathoms deep, and contains pretty 
much water. TI tried its temperature at 1) P. M. to-day, and 
found it 53° 5’.. It is covered over. 


ALVERTON WELL. .. 

Temperature of its water, which is.now very scanty, 56°. 

November 17.—At noon to-day I found the temperature of 
this well 54°, The flow of water is very little creased. 

November 18.—Found the temperature of the water in the 
engine shaft of the Bay to-day 53°5/. The height of the 
water the same as before. Captain Banden says the shaft was 
46 fathoms deep. 

Immediately after, I found the temperature of the old en- 
gine shaft of the boiler, and of the Boy pipe shaft at Huel 
Fortune, 54° 5/ each, the water being in both at 16 fathoms 
from the surface. The depth of the first is 133, of the second 
98, and of the third 78. ‘lhe temperature of the air was 50°: 


Mr Grimes’ Observations on the Flints of Warwickshire. 'T'7 


Arr: KIVi-+Observations onthe Flints of Warwickshire.* By 
Epwarp Grimes, Esq., R. N. Communicated by Txo- 
mas ALLAN, Esq. 


I OBSERVED these flints first at Churchover in Warwickshire ; 
but have since traced them from about ten miles north of Lei- 
cester to the village of Brandon, about ten miles south of 
Rugby, comprising a distance of about forty miles north and 
south; also to about fourteen miles eastward of Churchover, 
towards Northampton. In the direction of Coventry they do 
not appear to extend beyond Brandon, where the style of the 
gravel alters. They are the common chalk-flint, and are 
found in the gravel, and in the ploughed fields. They appear 
to have been broken by some convulsion, probably while in 
the matrix, and the fracture has been flat, and not conchoidal. 
It is also remarkable that many of them have lost an interme- 
diate portion of their substance, as if they had undergone 
considerable attrition ; and the two parts have been so exactly 
adapted, and so firmly re-cemented to each other, that the 
line of junction, on a transverse fracture, is sometimes hardly 
perceptible, and is occasionally indicated by a white mark. 

Most of these flints have lost the angles which they had ac- 
quired by fracture, either from rolling or decomposition, 
though some few still remain perfect. They do not appear to 
have been separated in a soft state, for they bear no mark of 
compression. — 

The principal line of dislocation is generally longitudinal, 
though they have often had many crooks besides, in all di- 
rections, as is shown by a very perceptible ridge or line upon 
the surface. (See specimen, letter A.)+ Such a fact would ke 
exhibited in a piece of wax, if cut through with a hot knife, 
and immediately reclosed. 

They have no appearance of having been acted upon by 
fire. 


* Read before the Royal Society, December 2, 1823. 

+ The specimens described in this paper are deposited in the Museum of 
the Society. The references to them are left for the sake of those who 
may wish to examine them. 


78 Mr Grimes’ Observations on the Flints in Warwickshire; 


We have three kinds of chalk-flints in this country, which, 
like those.of all others, I believe, have some central part more 
opaque than the rest, as though there had been a nucleus of 
matter, (perhaps organic,) but without any distinct outline. 
Parts of shells are often enveloped in them, which occasional- 
ly retain their calcareous character, sometimes with a fibrous, 
sometimes with a spathose structure. They are all mesh or 
vesicular, but in different degrees. 

The most compact is the black flint, which is also ted most 
brittle, and the easiest of fracture. Those which appear to be 
the most porous (if porous they be,) are -the translucent grey 
flints; and the most cohesive are of a muddy-yellowish, reds 
dish-grey, slightly, if at all translucent, and these, perhaps, 
are the most vesicular, owing to their containing more remains 
of shells, &e. 

They all contain either water, or some other fluid, possibly 
more volatile. On breaking the stone, it may be seen exuding 
from the vesicles, by dpeyinis the eye paar ina oe re- 
flected light. L109 

TL eive found that sometimes a slight film is dopubiond by 
this fluid, resembling the effect of gum+-water. » It is not»af- 
fected by acids, but eal removed by the finger, and even by 
the action of water poured upon it. 

More frequently, however, are to be found upon the flaws 
of the stone little stellular concretions, (see specimen letter B,) 
evidently produced m the same way. These; when the exu: 
dation has been sufficient, take a more decided character; bes 
coming minute fibrous crystals, either cuneiform or gre: chat 
and fsa like! (Specimen, letter C.) oved \ vous 

This same substance is still more frequently to be Seomitii in 
much larger quantities, circularly arranged round a centre, 
which has the appearance of being a small orifice. It is oft 
ten, at the outer edge, of the size and thickness of a wafer, 
(see specimen, letter D:) these three latter adhere firmly to 
the stone. The flakes generally split when the stone is sepa- 
rated by a blow, one half adhering to each side ; and one may 
often perceive: the same ragged stringy appearance, so often 
exhibited, and more par pope visible in the common frac- 
ture of a black flint. 


Mr Grimes’ Observations on the Flints in Warwickshire. % 


There is no stage between this and the absolute cementation 
of the two parts by means of this exudation; and I suppose 
that the whiteness of the substance may be occasioned by its 
gveater liability to decompose, when not completely hardened ; 
and where the white line is of any considerable thickness, as it 
often is, to a quarter of an inch or more, it seems probable, 
that the interstice has been partially filled up by the abraded 
particles sigalg by friction, or by the chalk falling in be- 
tween. 

But how is this substance condensed without the aid of at- 
mospherical air? Very compact flints of considerable size, 
and agate-balls, are found to contain crystals of quartz and 
chalcedony in the interior; and sometimes flints, which ap- 
pear to have rent in the heart by the effect of contraction when 
drying, have been filled up with siliceous matter, (see speci- 
men, letter I’,) none of the rents reaching to the surface... Si- 
milar effects of drying are to be observed in balls of lime and 
ironstone, which sometimes remain vacant, and in others:are 
filled up with calcareous matter, &c. probably by infiltration: » 

The moisture above mentioned, as being found in flints, in 
a great measure disappears when they are exposed to the at- 
mosphere, though not entirely ; for I have found it in some 
that have been exposed for a great length of time, and after 
baking them too for some hours. Possibly the stones: may 
partially crack, by exposure, in a manner imperceptible to the 
_eye. They appear to contract, and ‘to be elastic to a certain 
degree. 

I never could induce them to re-imbibe any moisture by 
soaking them in water. lyre 

There is a common effect of the atmosphere upon abate 
flints which is curious and interesting. It commences im lit- 
tle white spots or rings, which appear upon the surface. After 
a time, pieces break out in the form of a crescent, with three 
angles, the lower angle being perpendicular to the plane of 
the surface, so that a crescent-shaped hollow is left, the inner 
side of which forms a half cone; these of course multiply ; 
and the projecting parts falling into dust, if the stone exists 
long enough in an exposed situation, they are succeeded. by 
others. 


80 Dr Knox on the. Habits of the Hycena. 


When a flint, therefore, decomposes, what does it first part 
with? It becomes white, opaque, and earthy, and at last it 
would appear calcareous, yet in bulk it is the same; must it 
not lose that principle to which it is indebted for its tenacity, 
its compactness, and its transparency ? 


Art. XV.—Observations on the Habits of the Hyena. By 
- Rozert Knox, M. D. F. R. S. E. Lecturer on Anatomy 
and Physiology, and Conservator of the Museum of the 
Royal College of Surgeons. Communicated by the Author. 


Asovut a year ago, the Wernerian Society of- Edinburgh did 
me the honour to publish in their Transactions, a brief notice 
by me of the habits of the hyzna, at present existing in Sou- 
thern Africa, in which I endeavoured to show, Ist, That the 
Rev. Mr Buckland, in his Geological Speculations, intended 
not so much to advance science, as to fix the era of a uni- 
versal deluge, had taken up inaccurate, or at least by far too 
sweeping views of the natural habits of this ferocious animal : 
and 2d, That it was of little moment to a geological theory, 
what were the habits of modern or postdiluvian hyzenas, since 
the antediluvian relics belonged to a different species ; which 
latter circumstance Mr Buckland seems to have forgot, (or 
perhaps was not acquainted with,) until reminded of it by Dr 
Fleming. I shall now take the hberty of returning to the 
subject, and of pointing out to Mr Buckland, (since he has 
honoured my former brief notice with a short comment,) se- 
veral facts in the history of these animals, which militate against 
his “ Theory,” and render his mode of accounting for the ac- 
cumulation of bones in the Cave of Kirkdale, absolutely un- 
tenable. 

1. In the immediate vicinity of the abodes of men, the hy- 
zena usually drags his prey to a considerable distance, in order 
that he may not be disturbed at his meal; but his enormous 
voracity is a hindrance to his dragging the prey to any great 
distance, much less to store up food in caves, with a foresight 
exceeding most of the savage human tribes. Where the 
country is thinly mhabited, they will eat the carcase of an 


animal a few hundred yards from the houses; and where there 
11 


i 


Dr Knox ow the Habits of the Hyena. ~~ 81 


are no houses, they will eat until they are filled to the mouth 
within thirty yards of a great number of armed men. I saw 
this happen ;—a large striped hyena was killed, during the 
night, by a sentinel, within thirty yards of an encampment of 
nine hundred men ; on dissecting the animal, it was very evi- 
dent that it had been engaged otherwise than dragging the 
bones tc its den, (possibly twenty miles off,) for its stomach 
was so enormously distended with the offal of the cattle which 
had been felled alk round the camp for the use of the troops, 
that it seemed, at first sight, to occupy the whole abdominal 
cavity. Now this dissection was performed by me before 
hundreds of persons. 
_ 2. I feel surprised that Mr Buckland can have forgot the 
account Bruce gives of a hyena which ate, during the night, 
and close to his tent, more than would have sufficed half-a- 
dozen dogs. It is true, that Mr Bruce’s reviewers made it 
out, that the hyzena had ate more than his own weight ;_ but, 
setting aside this part of the story, which, of course, is a di- 
verting exaggeration, Mr Bruce might have told his review- 
ers, that until they had examined the stomach of the hyzna, 
they could not well imagine its vast capacity, commensurate 
with the natural voraciousness of the animal. I could easily 
multiply these instances from my own experience, for there 
were killed sometimes four or five hyznas within eight days, 
close to our habitations. Assuredly these animals were not 
busied in carrying away bones to remote caverns for future 
geologists to speculate upon. 

3. It is not improbable that, in thickly inhabited countries, 
the habits of the hyzena may be much altered, as we find to be 
the case in all other wild animals.* When much harassed 
they become timid, and fly far from the abodes of men. I 


* My friend, Dr Versfeld, a native of the Cape, informs me, that he has, 
on two occasions, observed cayes in the Table Mountain, in the imme- 
diate vicinity of Cape Town, which contained a few bones, apparently of 
some ruminating animal ; he ascribed the presence of these bones in the 
caves to the agency of hyznas, with which opinion I entirely agree. When 
we reflect on the proximity of so populous a town as the Cape to the 'Table 
Mountain, it is quite surprising that large collections of bones have not 
been found in its caves ; the number of hyenas inhabiting these moun- 
tains must be very great. 


VOL. III. NO. I. JuLY 1825. F 


82 Dr Knox on the Habits of the Hyena. 


should be glad to offer this explanation in support of the sup- 
posed habits of the Kirkdale hyzenas, but, unfortunately, the 
’ antediluvians had not discovered Britain, which, though a 
fine country, and full of nature’s finest productions, did not 
boast of them as tenants. 

’ 4. Hyeenas do not congregate ; they are solitary. Conse- 
quently, all that Mr Buckland has said about a den of hyenas, 
is simply the work of the imagination heated by a false theory. 

5. The young of the hyzna follow the dam early into the 
field, so that the quantity of food required to be carried to 
them must be small. 

6. I do not believe that hyznas reside in caverns ; they are 
too timid and distrustful of every thing. The almost inac- 
cessible parts of the country to which they retire during the 
day-time, must have been visited by very few travellers. I 
cannot say that I have ever discovered hyzenas in dens, though 
I have often been present when they were roused from their 
lurking-places. 

These are all the observations I intend offering on this sub- 
ject. It probably did not merit even these, since, as IT former- 
ly hinted*, the habits of modern and antediluvian hyznas 
might be entirely different, as they belong to different species. 
But however this may be, none who has inspected the Kirk- 
dale bones, deposited in the Hunterian museum, can hesitate 
for 2 moment in declaring, that these bones have never been 
fractured by hyzenas ; they have been broken by great external 
violence, and not by the agency of the teeth of living animals ; 
and they do not differ in any respect from the bones found at 
Oreston and elsewhere, which bear no such marks of violence. 
It seems indeed strange that the agency of wild animals 
should be resorted to in explaining the osteological collection 
of the Kirkdale cave, when so many other collections are al- 
lowed to have been formed in an entirely different manner. 
But the truth is, that we have evidence in the nature of the 
relics themselves, subversive of Mr Buckland’s speculations 
on these subjects; 1. The bones found in the cave of Kirk- 
dale do not bear the marks of having been broken by hyzenas, 
but of having been dashed to pieces, and exposed to the ac- 
tion of water ; 2. They belong to animals of a different species 


* Werncrian Transactions, vol. v. 


elaine 3 ns eyeires* . 


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Published by W. Blackwood 182, 


Account of an Expiosion of Oil Gas, Sc. 83 


from any which now exist; ke the mammoth, they have en- 
tirely disappeared from the face of the earth; the very race 
has been utterly destroyed. But the deluge which effected 
this, was not the universal deluge described in Scripture, for 
of all that then lived, and was liable to be destroyed by the 
devouring element, individuals were. carefully preserved to ex- 
‘tend the race of animals to the present day. Mr Buckland 
will, I trust, see the propriety of in future avoiding all specu- 
lations which have even a remote tendency to mingle up mat- 
ters esteemed by most men as sacred, with short-sighted hu- 
man theories, amongst which, I fear, must be ranked that 
which he has brought forward, and defended with much inge- 
nuity and labour. 


‘ 


Art. XVI.—Account of the Explosion of Oil Gas which took 
place at Edinburgh, on the 23d March 1825, with Obser- 
vations on the Safety of Gas. 


Amone the events of the physical world, which record at 
distant intervals the fury of the elements, there are few which 
occasion so great alarm as the explosion of those powerful 
agents which we have, as it were, domesticated for our use. 
The mind soon reconciles itself to dangers, however appal- 
ling, which it can neither foresee nor control. The West 
Indian breathes with tranquillity the same air which, but 
a few hours before, has been agitated with a hurricane or 
atornado. The South American treads fearlessly on the very 
soil in which the earthquake has engulfed his friends and his 
relations ; and the Catanian rebuilds his habitation, with that 
very lava which, in torrents of liquid fire, had swept his former 
__ dwelling into the sea. It is far otherwise, however, with those 
calamities which spring from carelessness or miscalculation. 
_ If, in augmenting our comforts, we have unthinkingly added 
_ to our dangers ; or if, in availing ourselves of the wisdom of 
the serpent, we have forgotten to protect ourself against its sting, 
we must then submit to that self-reproach, to which our want 
of judgment, or our want of caution, has so justly exposed us 
During the last thirty year’s, science has been making vast 
Beth ticks to the immediate comforts and wants of our 
ce 


¥ 


84 Account of an Explosion of Oil Gas 


species. While the giant of mechanism has been thrusting 
his brawny arm into the bowels of the earth, and stretching it 
over the face of the deep, a more gentle spirit has been scat- 
tering around us every species of refinement, and transferring 
to the humblest dwelling, what were once the ornaments and 
the luxuries of the palace. “ 

Numerous as these improvements are, there are none that 
so eloquently bespeak the predominance of science, as the in- 
troduction of gas-light into our cities, our manufactories, and 
our dwellings. 'To convert the blackest coal, and the most 
rancid oil, into an ethereal element almost capable of turning 
night into day, was a step in practical discovery, which the 
most sanguine speculator could scarcely expect to realize ; 
but even after this step was taken, how much invention, 
how much skill, how many combinations were requisite, 
before the inflammable element could be made to flow in 
currents beneath our streets, and circulate in safety between 
our partitions ? All this, however, has been accomplished, and 
we may safely affirm, that there is none of the powers of na- 
ture, which Providence has made subservient to man, more 
completely under his control, or less likely to break loose 
from the bondage to which science has committed them, than 
that gaseous element of which we are now treating. It has, ac- 
cordingly, been introduced into all the principal cities of the 
united kingdom, both for public and for private use; and in 
our own northern metropolis, two extensive establishments have 
already been completed for coal, and for oil gas; and a third 
is in a state of forwardness, for supplying the public with 
compressed oil gas in portable vessels. All these establish- 
ments are placed under the management of able and respect- 
able individuals, who have hitherto shown themselves more so- 
licitous to promote the interests of the public, than to look 
after their own individual advantage ; and we venture to say, 
that there are no establishments conducted with more liber- 
ality, more skill, and more attention to the public safety, 
than the two gas establishments in our own city. 

The oil gas establishment had just began its operations, 
when that alarming and melancholy accident took place, of 
which we propose to give some account ; but in order that our 


im Edinburgh, on the 23d March 1825. 85 


readers may fully comprehend the true cause of this explosion, 
and may appreciate the real amount of the danger which is 
supposed to attend the use of gas, we beg their attention to 
the following observations. 

As gas itself is not an explosive substance, and as it is not 
compressed in any of the pipes by which a house is supplied, 
it is impossible that any explosion can take place within the 
pipes, even if the gas were by any accident set on fire. Even 
if a room were filled with pure gas, the gas would not explode, 
though a lighted candle, or a piece of red-hot iron were placed 
in the middle of it. Gas becomes explosive, and consequently 
dangerous, only when it is mixed with a certain proportion of 
atmospheric air. It is then called an explosive mixture, and 
may be exploded by carrying a lighted candle into the middle 
of it. The proportion of atmospheric air necessary to render 
gas explosive, depends on the nature and qualities of the gas, 
and it may be said in round numbers to vary from three-fourths 
to fourteenjifteenths, that is, there must be from 1-4th to 
1-15th of gas in the mixture to render it explosive. 

In order that an explosive mixture. of gas and air may be 
formed, it is necessary that the stop-cocks which let. off the 
gas should be left open for a great length of time; that there 
should be no change of air in the apartment; and that a light- 
ed candle should be brought into it after the mixture had 
become explosive, and before it ceases to be so. All these 
circumstances must be combined before an explosion takes 
place. With regard to the first, we can conceive nothing 
more unlikely to happen. We never hear of a servant leav- 
ing open a water-cock and inundating the house, though 
there is no personal danger to himself in committing the 
fault. In the case of the gas, the servant knows that by 
his carelessness he is exposing himself to the chance of an 
accident ;—but admitting that his carelessness is such as to 
overlook this consideration, and that he has left open the stop- 
cock,* the gas flows slowly out, and must flow for very many 


* The difficulty of leaving open a gas- cock, by mere carelessness, is very 
considerable. As the lights are put out by shutting the gas-cock, it must 
necessarily be shut before the flame disappear, and it is not to be supposed 
that any servant will turn it back. Those who are so shamefully ignorant 


86 Uccount of an Explosion of Oil Gas 


hours, before it has discharged itself toa dangerous amount. 
Is it at all probable, or even possible, that the carcless servant, 
or the other domestics, shall wander about the house for a day 
or more without being annoyed by the noxious smell of the 
emitted gas?* Let this contingency, however, also take 
place, and let the gas stream out unperceived for a whole day. 
Even then it by no means follows that an explosive mixture is 
to be generated. ‘The constant current which takes place 
in every room, with a door, a widow, and a chimney, is per- 
petually changing the air in the apartment, and even that 
which lodges in its remotest corners. 'The gas will conse- 
quently be carried off by the ventilation, and, in proof of this 
assertion, we may state, that there ts no case on record’ where 
an explosion of gas has taken place in an apartment with the 
ordinary veniilation. But let this, too, be rendered proba- 
ble, and let us suppose that the ventilation is somehow or 
other suspended. In this case the gas must be issuing from 
every crevice, and it is impossible, if a servant does ap- 
proach the room with a lighted candle, that he should ever 
reach the door without ate repelled by the odious smell of 
the gas. Should the servant be suddenly deprived of the use of 
one of his senses, he may carry the candle into the explosive 
mixture, (if it happen at that time to be explosive,) and thus 
fall a sacrifice to a miraculous combinationof circumstances; but 
if he advances with the use of his olfactory nerves, he must be 
considered in the same aspect as a madman, who should light 
himself into a powder magazine with a pan of burning coals. 
Tn this argument we have supposed, that the gas has been 


of the nature of gas as to blow out the flame, or put it ont with an ex- 
tinguisher, without turning the cock, should be sent to school before they 
are admitted into rational society. 

* We do not allude to small apartments or cellars without windows or 
chimnies, (though even here it will be seen from facts that the argument 
is applicable,) for we are of opinion that the engineer who fixes a gas light - 
in such places ought to be indicted for a felonious ignorance of his profes- 
sion. , 

‘+ This arises from what is called the lateral communication of motion in 
fluids, and has been established by the numerous experiments of Venturi 
and others. See the Article Hydrodynamics in the Edinburgh Encyclo- 
paedia, vol. x1. p. 493-—497. where these experiments are fully detailed. 


‘ 


in Edinburgh, on the 23d March 1825. 87 


escaping during the precise interval when it has not been in 
use in any other part of the house, for it is well known, and 
will be proved in the subsequent part of this paper, that the 
lights’ which are burning will indicate to the family that the 
gas is discharging itself in some part of the house, and will, 
therefore, induce them either to apply for help to the Gas 
Company, or to send .a servant without a light to discover 
the place of discharge, shut the cock, and ventilate the apart- 
ment. If the escape happens during the day, when no lights 
are burning in the house to give these indications, then there 
is no danger whatever of an explosion, as there is no occasion 
to carry a light about to discover the place of escape, or for any 
other purposes. 

Having thus pomted out the nature of the danger which 
may be apprehended from excessive and palpable negligence 
on the part of the engineer and the consumer, we shall pro- 
ceed to give an account of the explosion which took place in 
the house of Colin Mackenzie, Esq. on the 23d March 1825. 

In the area, and immediately under the stair leading to the 
front door of Mr Mackenzie’s house, there was a small out- 
house B, Plate I. Fig. 1., about six feet high, and four feet 
square, which was completely covered in, partly by the steps of 
the stone stair above, and partly by a stone covering at the 
back. It was plastered on the top inside, and had no outlet 
whatever except a very small door D, with two small slits in 
it, which opened into the area. The place was very close 
and completely unventilated. Tt was used for cleaning shoes 
and knives, and in it was placed the meter G, through which 
the supply of gas for the whole house passed. A gas light 6, 
was most unfortunately fixed in this’ very small out-house, 
and supplied by a quarter inch branch pipe, which termi- 
nated in a bent brass tube, called a knee, the aperture of 
which was three-eights of an inch in diameter. Into this knee 
was inserted a jet burner, which is put into the brass knee like 
the stopper into a wine decanter, and can be removed like it 
at pleasure, being neither screwed nor soldered. 

On Saturday, the 19th of March, the inspector examined 
the meter and the gas-fittings in the shoe-house, and. through 
the house. He ascertained that they were perfectly tight and 


88 Account of an Explosion of Oil Gas 


correct, and found that there was not the smallest appearance 
of leakage, or any symptom of smell in the place. 

Without the knowledge of his master, or any member of 
the family, the footboy, Robert Whitewright, between fifteen 
and sixteen years of age, had been in the habit, since the in- 
troduction of gas into the house, of trying various experiments 
with the gas, and’ of removing the burners or jets from the 
knees, and burning the gas from these knees at full flame ; and 
he had done so not only at his master’s, but in the house of ano- 
ther gentleman. He was also in the habit, it would appear, of 
taking off paper bags full of gas and exploding them. The boy 
had been strongly cautioned by different persons against con- 
tinuing such practices, but without effect. Cleaning the knives 
and shoes being his particular department, he had thus con- 
stant access to the small shoe-house already mentioned, and to 
the pipe and burner placed in it. 

On the night of Wednesday, the 23d Mstchis about half- 
past five selook; while Mr and Mrs Mackenzie were in the 
country, the smell of gas was perceived by the family in the 
dining-room, which is above (above M,) the area where the 
shoe-house is situated, but after searching every where through 
the house, they were unable to discover whence the gas issued. 
The lustres in the dining-room were lighted at six o’clock, and 
during the space of ten minutes the gas burned as brightly as 
usual, but it afterwards became bluer, and at last went out. 
Mr Mackenzie, jun. went down stairs to ascertain the cause 
of this, and asked the boy if he had turned off the gas. 
Having learned that he had not, he returned into the 
dining-room, and again tried whether the gas would burn, 
and on applying a match to it, it burned and lighted as usual. 
At a quarter past seven the smell became so strong in the din- 
ing-room, that the window was put up to penile it, and the 
boy was then sent to the gas-office to give information there 
of the smell; but the inspector had not time to arrive before 
the explosion took place. 

Besides the boy, there were two women servants in “Mr 
Mackenzie’s house, a nursery'and a kitchen-maid. The nur- 
sery-maid does not know, and the other is unable, from the 
state in which she is at present, to say at what time the boy 


in Edinburgh, on the 28d March 1825. 89 


returned. It is certain, however, from the declaration of Lady 
Ramsay’s butler, that the boy was in Mr Mackenzie’s house 
at ten minutes past eight o’clock. 

In the mean time the smell of gas continued to be perceiv- 
ed in the house, and by passengers on the street, very strong- 
ly. It was so strong in the dining-room of Lady Ramsay’s 

house, (above N,) which is immediately adjoining Mr Mack- 

-enzie’s, and the windows of which are very near that part of 
~ Mr Mackeuzie’s area, in which the shoe-house is situated, that 
the ladies complained of it. At ten minutes past eight o'clock, 

Lady Ramsay’s butler accordingly went into Mr Mackenzie’s 

area, and knocked at the door C for the purpose of informing 

the footboy of the smell, and also that the gas was escaping. 

The boy came to the door with a light in his hand, and told 

the butler that he had been to the gas-office, and that a person 

was to come to examine the house. While they were speak- 

ing a woman servant came into the passage leading to the 

door C. Without mentioning his intention, but, as Lady Ram- 

say’s butler supposes, for the purpose of examining the state 

of the shoe-house, the boy proceeded towards it with the light 
in his hand, and had no sooner opened the door D than the but- 
ler observed the gas issuing from it in a blaze, he heard an 
explosion, and saw the wall of the shoe-house blown outwards. 

This was all the work of an instant. He was at this time 

about two paces behind the boy, and was instantly thrown 
down, and remained insensible, but he neither saw what be- 

came of the boy, nor of the woman that was in the passage at C. 
Tn the course of a few minutes the boy was found extended in 
the area quite lifeless at A, and the woman was found insensible 

within the passage of the house at C. The butler has received 

no material injury, except being scorched in the face; and. the 

woman, though very severely injured, is considered not to be 

in immediate danger. The windows of the house were shat- 

tered by the explosion, as well as those of some of the neigh- 
bouring houses. The walls and doors of the shoe-house were 

driven out, and the cellar-doors at 1, 2, and 3, driven in and 

broken, but, with the exception of the windows, no part of the 

house, nor any thing within it, was injured. 
Shortly after the accident, the shoe-house B was examined by 


90 . Account of an Explosion of Oil Gas 


Dr Brewster, Mr Hunter of Thurston, and others, when the 
gas meter G, and the pipes leading to and from it, were found 
quite entire and right... The knee, or pipe before mentioned at 
b, Fig. 2, which supplied gas to the burner in the shoe-house, 
was found, as it was before the accident, rivetted to the wall, but 
without the jet burner belonging to it. ‘The fastenings of the 
service pipes, and every part of the gas apparatus were exa- 

mined, and appeared to be in the best order. 

It is, of course, impossible to ascertain, by direct evidence, 
how the shoe-house came to be filled with gas; but Mr 
Milne’s workmen and the company’s inspector concur in opi- 
nion, that it could not escape from the service pipes or the 
meter; and that there was no other possible way in which it 
could have escaped, except from the open pipe belonging to 
the burner } in the shoe-house. Dr Brewster concurs in opi- 
nion with the inspector, that this pipe would fill so small a 
space as this unventilated shoe-house im little more than two j 
hours, and he also concurs with him in the belief, that it was — 
from this pipe that the escape took place. They are further 
confirmed in this opinion, by the mode in which the gas burn- — 
ed in the dining-room in the earlier part of the evening, for if the © 
end of this pipe were left without the burner during the day — 
time, the atmospheric air would enter the service prpe through — 
it, and displace the gas in the distributing pipes throughout the 
house to a certain extent, so that, when the gas was first lighted 
in the dining-room, the pure gas, propelled forward by the at- 
mospheric air, would burn with its usual brightness, until it was 
expended, and the flame came in contact first with the mixture 
of gas and air, when it would burn blue, and next with pure at- 
mospheric air, when the light would be extinguished ; but when 
the gas was turned on by the stop-cock on the general service 
pipe, the pressure on it would naturally force the atmos- 
pheric air wholly out of the pipe and the lustres would light 
again; while, at the same time, the gas would be driven out 
with great velocity by the pressure from the ‘street through 
the open pipe 2 im the shoe-house, so as to fill the place in a 
very short period. Dy Brewster is of opinion, that the jet 
burner could not be displaced from the mouth of the pipe by 
the explosion, and he also stated, that had it been allowed to 
1 


it Edinburgh, on the 23d March 1825. 91 


remain in its place, even under any circumstances of careless- 
ness, gas could not have escaped from it, even in a considera- 
ble space of time, sufficient to form an explosive mixture. 


~ 'To those who read with attention the preceding statement, 
for the minute accuracy of which we can pledge ourselves, it 
is unnecessary to add, that the particulars which have been de- 
tailed, point out, in a striking manner, the safety, and not the 
danger of using gas. The gas made its escape, neither from 
accident nor from carelessness ; but the jet which closed up the 
end of the pipe was forcibly removed and carried off, and the 
unfortunate boy, who had done the mischief, fell a victim 
to the consequences which it produced. This accident must, 
therefore, be ascribed to the following causes : 
1. To the blunder of the engineer in placing a burner in an 
unventilated cellar. 
2. To the misconduct of the boy in having removed the 
burner, so as to allow the gas to flow out of a large orifice ; and, 
3. To the ignorance and carelessness of the same person in 
using a lighted candle, when it was known to himself that gas 
had been escaping for a considerable time from some of the 
pipes. 
Although these conclusions ite been drawn by all persons 
of intelligence, yet, in a city like this, where the explosion 
was heard at a great distance, and its effects witnessed by all, 
it is not to be wondered at, that ignorance and timidity should 
“have been induced by this accident to array themselves 
against the introduction of gas into their houses. ‘The first of 
these grounds of hostility has been already removed by the 
accident itself, which, from being the subject of frequent con- 
‘versation, has made the nature and advantages of gas very 
‘generally understood. ‘The second ground of hostility has 
also, in a great measure, disappeared ; though to a certain ex- 
tent it will, perhaps, always maintain its influence over ti- 
-morous minds. 
All such apprehensions, however, whether they originate 
‘im ignorance, or timidity; must soon be dissipated by the 
lights of knowledge. Individuals may receive or reject be- 
nefits which science has offered only to themselves; but those 


92 Account of an Explosion of Oil Gas, &. 


boons, which she has conferred upon the species, must be ac- 
cepted alike by all. No vulgar fears, no intrigues of faction, 
no exercise of power, can stem that tide already set in upon the 
world, which is bearing on its wave to the remotest lands, the 
treasures of intellectual wisdom. We do not allude to that vain 
and speculative knowledge which raises practical men out of 
their sphere, and which inflames the ambition, while it para- 
lyses the hand of industry, but to that useful and applied wis- 
dom, which ripens its fruit where it displays its foliage, and 
ameliorates the condition of its possessor in his professional, 
his domestic, his social, and his political relations. 

This general principle is in no case more applicable than to 
the great discovery of gas illumination. Those who are afraid 
to avail themselves of its benefits, are placed in circumstances 
of as great danger as those who enjoy them; and it is a sin- 
gular fact, that the greater number of accidents have happen- 
ed from the leakage of gas into houses where it was not used, 
and where the inhabitants could not have taken any precau- 
tions against its approach. 

Although we cannot doubt that the dread of gas explosions. 
will disappear as quickly as the dread of explosions on board 
steam-vessels, yet it is right that those who patronize and re- 
commend the use of this light, should strive to remove even un- 
reasonable apprehensions, by providing securities against the 
most mprobable contingencies. With this view, we shall con- 
clude this article, by enumerating several safety contrivances, 
some of which will, we think, go far to remove all suspicions 
of danger even from the most timorous minds. 

1. The safety, or self-closing, burner of Mr Jennings, de- 
scribed in our last Number, p. 344., offers the most perfect 
protection against the escape of gas. If the gas flame is 
blown out, or put out with an extinguisher, or if the cock is 
left entirely open, this burner closes itself, and prevents the 
escape of gas. We are not aware to what extent this burner 
has been used ; but whether it answers its purpose or not, 
which, however, we do not doubt, it is very obvious, that a 
self-closing burner may be constructed in various ways, and 
made quite effective for all practical purposes. 

2. Another protection against the escape of gas may be ob- 


/ 
Mr Edgeworth on a Machine for Measuring Distances. 9% 


tained by shutting the gas entirely off when it is not used, 
by means of a stop-cock placed near the main door where the 
pipe enters the house. This, we believe, is already adopted 
in Edinburgh ; and as it is next to impossible that gas could 
escape unperceived to any dangerous extent while it is burn- 
ing from various apertures, this main stop-cock must be held 
to be a great security. Lest the servant or the master of the 
house should neglect to put out this stop-cock when the lights 
are put out, various contrivances might be adopted for prevent- 
ing any such negligence. A light, for example, issuing from 
a small jet, might be so arranged that it could only be put out 


by turning the main stop-cock ; a reflector might be so plac- 


ed on the stop-cock as to indicate, during the day, that it had 
been left open ; and various other simple contrivances might be 
resorted to for reminding the master of the house of his duty. 

3. The most important safeguard of all, and the only one 
which we think really useful both to those who use, and to those 
who do not use gas, is one of Sir Humphry Davy’s saféty 
lamps, which should be lighted whenever there is any suspicion 
that gas has been making its escape either from the pipes of 
‘the house, or leaking into the cellars from the main pipes in 
the streets. With this lamp we may advance with perfect se- 
curity into rooms filled with the explosive mixture, and thus 
protect ourselves against every possible risk. 


“Art. XVII.—Description of a Machine applied to a Gig, for 
Measuring Distances. By Wit11am Epcewortn, Esq. 
C. E. and M. R. I. A. Communicated by the Author. 


Tuere have been a variety of machines applied to carriages, 
for counting the revolutions of the wheel, and thus measuring 
the distance travelled over ; but all that I have ever heard of, 
wear rapidly and get out of order, as the machinery is placed 
on or near the axletree, on parts of the carriage that are sub- 
ject to jar. 

For this reason, I was determined to suspend on the body 
of the carriage, which was on springs, all the machinery re- 
quisite for registering the revolutions of the wheel. TI availed 


94 Mr Edgeworth on a Machine for Measuring Distances. 


myself of R. Gout’s patent pedometer, which is of little accus 
rate use in the pocket, worn as a watch, for re aS 
number of steps in walking. 

I placed this pedometer horizontally in the elbow of the 
gig: It was there secure, concealed by a little door covered 
with cloth, so that the dial-plate was not easily discovered, ex- 
cept by a person who knew the opening. The difficulty in 
the machinery was to communicate motion to the pedometer, | 
which being in the body of the gig, and of course on springs, 
was' subject to constant alteration of distance from the wheel ; 
but as the springs played in nearly a perpendicular direction, | 
I passed through the side of the gig, an upright spindle, 
which came some inches below the axletree. The lower end 
was bent in a crank shape, and this crank came in contact with 
a pin of about half an inch diameter, that was driven in to the 
nave near its circumference. 

Round the spindle there was a helical spring, which slight- 
ly urged the cranked part against the axletree, but every time 
the wheel revolved, the pin in the nave pushed the crank out 
for a few inches from the axletree, and it returned to its place 
by the action of the spring as the pin receded. On the top of © 
ihe spindle was placed a lever of about two inches long, a lit- 
tle above the level of the pedometer; this acted against the 
short perpendicular arm of a crooked lever, the long horizon- — 
tal arm of which lifted up the handle of the pedometer, and 
. by this means caused the hand to advance one division on the 
dial-plate. Now, this horizontal arm was elastic, and allowed. 
the motion, communicated from the nave, to be much more 
than was necessary for raising the handle; the elastic lever | 
was also bent by the motion, so that no jolting should cause 
any variation in registering the number of revolutions. In 
fact, this idea of allowing by elasticity an overplus of motion, 
and of placing the whole machinery on springs, are the only 
new principles in this little contrivance. 

It will be best to have a mile measured accurately on a 
straight road, then, by driving backwards and ferwards a few 
times, and taking the mean of the number of revolutions which 7 
the wheel perform s in the mile, a table can easily be formed | 
for any carriage, whatever may be the size of the wheel, 


i 


T nim HIM 


< 
‘ — 
r = roan ; -, "a 
So, j Sai: 
——F \e 
—— = 
; : SIN 
; = | 
= 2 Mi i a) 
= ; wa 
— : i) r| 
———— { z 


Q 
S 
o 
~ 
= 
Ng 
NS 
a] 
<) 
5 
bo] 
& 
a 
= 
y 
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= 
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§ 


Lubltished by WBlackwook 1825. 


) 
| 
| 


(> 


Professor Moll on Mr. Blanken’s Fan-Gate Sluices. 95 


showing the value of the revolutions in miles, furlongs, and 


+ perches. 
When the roads are in good ‘order » there will not be found 
a difference of one scenic in five hundred, or not one in 
the distance of a mile. . 
It is curious, that, in wet weather, it always shows a small- 
er measure than the true, from this reason—that the tire of 
the wheel becomes lined with mud, which, in fact, adds to 


~ the size of the wheel. When the mud is ver y stiff and adhesive, 


_ there is a difference of one in two hundred. Measuring with 
the wheel of a carriage is more accurate than with the common 
wheel odometer, the carriage wheel being larger, and the load 
that it supports preventing the possibility of its slipping, and 


_ also tending to prevent the jumping that takes place when an 


See gh se, 


unloaded wheel meets with any obstacle. The dial-plate of 
this pedometer admits of travelling more than twenty miles 
before the long hand makes a complete revolution, and the 
distances can be seen by mere inspection without stopping 
the gig. 

I tried this machine during five years of constant travelling, 
while I was employed on the survey of Roscommon: It remain- 
-edin good order, and I found it saved me time in supplying any 
little omissions in the maps of my surveyors. 

~ This machine has also been used by a friend in London for 
some years, and he has found it remain free from sensible wear, 


Epcewortustown, March 25, 1825. 


Arr. XVIII.—<A Description of Fan-Gate Sluices, invent- 
-ed and Constructed by Mr J. Buanxen, Jun. Counsellor 
of State, Inspector-General of Public Works in the king- 
dom of the Netherlands. By Dr G. Mout, Professor of 
Natural Philosophy in the University of Utrecht. “Commu- 
nicated by the Author. 


In 1808, Mr Blanken published a paper on this invention, 
which soon after was put to trial by order of government. 
As it met with success, about twenty sluices, of large dimen- 


96 Professor Moll on Mr Blanken’s. Fan-Gate Sluices. 


sions, have been constructed on the same principle since that — 
period, all of which have been found perfectly to answer. Inv 
this country, it has always been held a desideratum to find — 
the means of opening locks against a powerful head of water; 
this, I think, Mr Blanken accomplished successfully ; I, there- 
fore, deemed a description of these sluices worthy of being in- 
serted in your Journal. 

The properties of Mr Blanken’s sluices, or locks, are the 
following : 

Ist, That the flood-gates, destined to act against the pres- 
sure of exterior high water, will, if required, equally act 
against the interior when it is expedient to sustain it at a higher 
level than the exterior water. 

2d, That, when the tide or current runs with great force, 
either in or out of the locks, the gates may be easily, safely, 
and speedily shut, whatever be the direction of the current. 

3d, That the gates can be opened with ease, even when a 
head of seven or eight feet of water bears upon them. 

The annexed drawing in Plate IV. is of a sluice of this de- 
scription. It was built in 1818, near the town of Gorinchem, 
in Holland. It opens a communication between the river Linge 
and the newly made canal of Steenenhock, and it is alike des- 
tined for the purpose of inland navigation, and of evacuating 
or retaining superabundant water. Whenever the waters of 
the Linge are swoln by a rise of the Rhine, it becomes dan- 
gerous to admit them into the canal; but, at the same time, 
it is required that the locks can be opened at pleasure, what- 
ever be the difference of levels in the river and the canal. 

Figure Ist of Plate IV. shows a section of this sluice, the 
second the plan, the third a front view, and the fourth the 
back part of the sluice, the whole on a scale of 3t5 of the 
real dimensions. 

A B are flood-gates, constructed on the ordinary principle, 
the angle which the gates form being opposed to the river 
Linge. 

CD and EG are the fan-gates, thus called by Mr Blan- 
ken, from some analogy in their form to that of a lady’s fan. 

The gates, C D E, turn on one common axis, D H, Fig. 1. 


so that, when the gates are shut, D C is in the position shown 
11 


Professor Moll on Mr Blanken’s Fan-Gate Sluices. 97 


‘by the drawing, but when the gate opens, DC moves back- 


wards in its semicireular case of masonry. 

The same takes place with the other pate EFG, which 
equally turns on the same axis. The parts, F G and C D, are 
of greater length, but of the same depth, than the parts D E 
and FE. In this sluice, FG and CD are each twenty- 
two English feet im length, whilst DE and F E are seven- 
teen feet only. ‘This difference in length of ‘the two con- 
nected parts of the gate, contains the principle on which its 
action depends. ‘The figures show, further, how the differ- 
ent parts of the gate are braced together by framing of iron 
and timber. 

The dotted lines, I K and L M, indicate canals or con- 
duits through the masonry of the walls. Their apertures are 
seen in Fig. 2and 3, at Land I. They open a communication 
between the exterior river-water, and the simicircular spaces in 
which FG and CD turn. This communication may be shut 
or opened at pleasure, by means of slides at N, O, P, Q, and 


-which are lowered or raised by iron windlasses. 


- here is another similar conduit in each part of the sluice, 
communicating from the semicircular spaces behind the fans, 
with the water of the interior canal ; they are shown by the 
dotted lines at V W and X Y, and this communication can 
also be shut up by slides, at Z and Z. 

It is thus that a communication may be opened or shut, 


first, between the exterior or river-water, with the semicircular 
‘spaces in which the fan-gates turn; and, secondly, between 
these semicircular spaces and the water of the interior canal. 


The following two cases may occur in the use of these 
locks: the exterior water in the river Linge may be higher 
than that in the canal, or the water in the canal may be high- 
‘er than that inthe Linge. In the first case, when the exterior 
water is highest, supposing the flood-gate A B to be open, it 
is required to resist the superior force of the river-water by 
the fan-gates alone. Let the slides N, O, P, Q, be raised, 
‘and those at Z and Z' be shut or lowered ; the communication 
between the external or river-water, and the water behind the 
fan-gates, rises to the same level as in the river; and as the 

VOL. III. No. 1. JULY 1825. G 


98 Professor Moll on Mr Blanken’s Fan-Gate Sluices. 


length of the gates, DC and F G, is superior by about 1-5th 
to the length of the gates, D E and F &, it is clear, that the 
hydrostatical pressure against the former must be superior to 
that against D E and F E. The consequence is, that this 
superior pressure against D C and F G, keeps the gate 
shut, and precludes the exterior water from running through 
the sluice m the canal. In locks of the common construction 
the gates must open, as often as the water is highest, on the 
concave side of the gates. In Mr Blanken’s sluices, the gates 
may be kept shut at whatever side of them the water stands 
highest. 

Now, things being in this state, let it be required to open 
the fan-gates, and thus give free access to the water of the 
river. Nothing more is wanted for this purpose, but to open 
the slides Z and Z’, and shut those at O and P ; thus, the level 
in the semicircular cases will descend to that of the canal. The 
hydrostatic pressure will be the strongest against the parts 
D Eand E F; of course, they will yield to that superior 
pressure, open and admit the water of the river into the canal. 

Supposing now the water to run in from the river into the 
canal, with a difference of level of seven or eight feet, nothing 
is more easy than to prevent any further supply of water into 
the canal, and to shut the fan-gates against the current, which 
seems to run through it with unbounded strength. Let down 
the slides Z and Z’, and raise those at O and P. The pres- 
sure of the water running through the conduits L M and 
I K, against the greater surface of the gates D C and F G, is 
more powerful than that against the smaller surface of D E 
and F E, consequently, the stronger pressure will prevail, and 
shut the gates leisurely against the current. The column of 
water, which rushes through the sluice, is gradually contract- 
ed by the shutting of the gates, and, finally, on their coming 
together is reduced to nothing. 

If our supposition is reversed, and the water in the canal 
stands higher than in the river, Mr Blanken’s sluice may be 
equally well managed. Let the gates A and B again be open, 
and the fan-gates shut against the higher water of the. canal. 
It is well known, that it would be impossible to open the gates 


Professor Moll on Mr‘ Blanken’s Fan-Gate Sluices. 99 


of a common sluice, when the difference of levels is somewhat 
considerable. In this it may be effected withqut any difftcul- 
ty, by again rendering the pressure which the water exerts, 
greater on D C and F G, than on DEand EF. For that 
purpose, open the slides P,O, N, and keep Z and Z’ shut ; 
the water in the semicircular cases will descend to the level 
of the river ; thus the hydrostatic pressure on the exterior side 
of D C and F G, will become superior to that exerted by the 
canal water on the gates D E and E F; of course, the latter 
will open even against a difference of level of several feet. 

It will now, I trust, be easily understood, how, by a similar 
operation, the gates may be shut again, whilst the canal wa- 
ters are running down through them. ‘The slides P and O 
are shut, and Z and Z/ opened. ‘The semicircular cases will 
be again filled by the higher water from the canal, and the 
difference of pressure, against both part of the a Set will 
determine the shutting of the gates. 

The velocity with aiach the gates are opened or shut, may be 
managed at pleasure by those who guide the slides; and by open- 
ing or shutting the slides more or less, according to the difference 
of levels, a slow and gradual motion is effected. Even when 
the fan-gates are in the act of shutting or opening, the opera- 
tion may be reversed in an instant, and the gates either shut 
or opened as occasion requires. 

It will also be understood, that the flood-gates A and B are 
merely intended for passing vessels from one level to the other. 
Whenever such passage is not wanted, the gates A B, may 
be dispensed with. Accordingly, in the several inundation 


-sluices, which have been built lately, only one pair of fan- 


doors is required. 

I hope it will appear from this description, that the fan-gates 
may be opened and shut with ease and safety, whenever oc- 
casion requires, and whatever is the difference of the levels. 
When sluices, on the ordinary plan, are once opened, it is 
impossible to shut them again whilst the water is running 
through them, and, if once shut) as long as the exterior water 
is somewhat higher than the interior, it is quite out of the 
question to open the gates. In this country, at least, it is of 
high importance to have fhe means of opening and ohana 


100 Sir Thomas Brisbane’s Table of Tides, &c. 


gates with every difference of level, and, in this respect, the 
inventor of the fan-gate sluices has certainly conferred a great 
benefit on his country. 

A successful practice, of more than twelve years, has con- 
firmed the expectations anticipated from this invention. A 
great number of fan-gates have been constructed, and many 
more are now building. 


Urrecut, 6th September 1824. 


Art. XIX.—Table of the Rise of the Jide at Hobart Town, 
Van Diemen’s Land, in April and May 1822, and January 
1823. Communicated by his Excellency Sir Tuomas 
Brispane£, K. C. B. F. R. S. L. & E. &e. 


1822. Morning Tides. 


Month. ; High Water. Inches. 


At Noon. 
fe Oe. tare 
2 20 
3 4 
4 10 


1822. Afternoon Tides. Rise. 


Month. A High Water. Feet. Inches. 


May At 


Sr on gt Sa See 
Mes Dio WOHALS, 


COR ee RS 


On the Expansive Power of Liquids. 101 


Arr. XX.—On the Application of the Expansive Power of 
Liquids to produce a Reciprocating Rectilinear Motion. In 
a Letter to the Editor. 


Sir, 


Ir has sometimes occurred to me that the almost entire in- 
compressibility of liquids, employed with so much effect in 
Bramah’s invention, might likewise be used to produce an in- 
controllable reciprocating motion, and be thus made to com- 
municate uniform motion to machinery of any extent. I was 
curious enough to make some calculations upon the subject in 
the rough way, and if you think they will answer any of your 
readers, they are at your service. ‘The raising and lowering of 
the temperature of a liquid produces an alternate expansion and 
contraction which may move a piston. Let us take a particular 
example in order to form definite ideas respecting the expence of 
such a motion. Suppose that to a cylinder, A B, Plate I. Fig. 
7, whose interior diameter is three inches, there is fitted a pis- 
ton, the rod of which is in diameter two inches. Suppose also 
that the cylinder is five feet long. Now, if the openings com- 
municate with two vessels containing a liquid, whose alternate 
and opposite expansions and contractions are to produce the 
alternate rise and fall of the piston, it is plain that the liquid 
communicating with the cylinder at a must expand a quanti- 
ty equivalent to the content of the cylindric space betwixt the 
cylinder and the rod; and that the liquid communicating with 
the cylinder at 6 must expand a quantity equivalent to the 
content of the cylinder itself. According to our supposition, 
this in the former case will be 235.6 cubic inches, and in the 
latter 425.11. Fix for an instant the alternate increase and 
diminution of temperature at 60°. Alcohol expands about 
77 of its bulk for an increase of temperature to this amount, 
Hence the requisite expansion will be provided for if the ves- 
sel communicating witl»d contains about 6.6 cubic feet of aleohol 
and the vessel communicating with a about 3.6 feet. A stroke 
of the piston then will be effected by a waste of heat capable 
of raising about ten cubic feet of aleohol 60°. And this stroke 
will (neglecting the small allowance for the compressibility of 


102 On the Expansive Power of Liquids. 


the liquid) be able to overcome any resistance, however great- 
A slight glance at the relative specific heats of the substance, 
will show that this waste is equivalent to that obtained from 
the condensation of about 940 cubic feet of steam at 212°. 

If this quantity of steam is employed in the double stroke 
steam-engine, it will raise 90 tons 5 feet high. ~In engines of 
different powers, this effect is produced in different times. In 
the 40 horse power engine, for instance, it is produced in $ of 
a minute, and in the 10 horse power, in 3} minutes. Hence, 
if the alcohol could, in one instance, be heated in the space of 
+ of a minute, and in another in 3} minutes, the engine we 
are describing would give us a dynamical effect of an almost 
illimitable magnitude, at precisely the same expence of time 
and fuel, as would produce the foregomg definite effect in the 
two specified steam-engines. But its superiority to these en- 
gines does not depend upon the supposition, that the expan- 
sion of the alcohol could be effected during such times as are 
indicated above. An increase of resistance is evidently -of 
slight consequence with respect to it. And although the pri- 
mary mover may not perform the effect in the time demand- 
ed, it may do so by a secondary move, which is connected 


with it by the means of acceleration. Hence, theoretically - 


speaking, a engine of this sort may be made infinitely superior 
in every case to the common steam-engine in point of economy, 
and I might add simplicity. It is evident, however that it 
would be extremely desirable to expand the alcohe iquickly, 
and I do not see many difficulties in the way of effecting it. 
Tt might be done by sending a quantity of water, at a high 
temperature, into a spiral pipe in the interior of the vessel 
containing the alcohol, or into a number of thin rectangular 
cisterns within it. These pipes or cisterns might be made of 
thin iron plate, and, by a simple contrivance for always keep- 
ing them full during cooling, the incompressibility of liquid, 


upon which the whole engine depends, would save them from. 


being crushed during the expansion of the alcohol. Upon the 
extent of the surface of these pipes or cisterns, will depend. 
the rapidity of the expansion, and here it may be modified at 
pleasure. After the piston had reached one extremity of the 
cylinder, it might admit a stream of cold water into the vessel 


ieee Rea 


On the Expansive Power of Liquids. 103 


whose expansion had just raised it. Contraction would im- 
mediately take place ; and expansion beginning in the oppo- 
site vessel, the piston would move to the other extremity. If 
the expansion should become more rapid than the opposite 
contraction, the apparatus would probably give way. In or- 
der to prevent this, there must be attached to the vessels safé- 
ty-valves. These may be of a very simple kind. Part of the 
vessels may consist of cylinders, in which pistons are placed, 
free to rise only when the great piston has reached the extre- 
mity to which it has been sent by the expansion of that parti- 
cular vessel. Too rapid expansion in ene of them, will mere- 
ly have the effect of raising this piston in the other, and the 
hot water may not issue imto the pipes until the contraction 1s 
complete and the piston is again shut. ‘This arrangement, 
however, might have the effect of keeping the piston station- 
ary at one end of the cylinder for a certain time. A mode of 
obviating this difficulty will occur at once. There may be 
two or more similar vessels at each end of the cylinder, one of 
which will always be in the proper state of contraction, and 
from it may the machinery cause the expanding alcohol to 
flow. By a few other simple contrivances, a regular recipro- 
cating motion may be ensured, and the machinist put in pos- 
session of the greatest power which can be derived from the 
agency of heat. The foregoing calculations were made on 
rather approximating principles, but they are sufficient for the 
general purpose I have in view. I have merely intended to 
throw out some hints, which I conceived might lead to im- 
portant practical results. My errors will therefore be par- 
doned. 


I beg to subjoin the result of part of some investigations, in 
which I am now engaged with respect to a kindred subject. 
The operations of the high pressure engines in Cornwall have 
now entirely set to rest the question regarding the eligibility 
of such engines. ‘The ratio of the increase of the density of 
steam along with its elastic force, is likewise quite decisive of 
this question. Itis stated, if I recollect aright, by Mr South- 
ern, and several other engineers of authority, that the density 
increases in the exact ratio of the elastic force. I have been 


104 Mr Ritchie’s Observations on Leslie’s Photometer. 


led to a somewhat different conclusion, by circumstances upon 
which I rely with confidence. I subjoin a table expressive of 
them, within a certain range of pressure. The density is 
given only to one decimal, because I would not affect greater 
accuracy than the present state of my investigations entitle 
me todo. I indulge the hope of soon laying before you a 
connected view of the habitude of an aériform body with re- 
spect to heat, in all circumstances. A particularization of the: 
analysis contained in the 12th Book of the Mecanique Celeste, 
leads us immediately to refer the relations betwixt the elastic 
force, temperature, density, specific attraction for heat, &c. to 
the experimental determination of one constant quantity, cha- 
racteristic of the nature of the substance under discussion. 


Pressure under 
which the Steam 
is generated in| Ccrresponding | Pressure. | Density. | Pressure. | Density. 
Mercurial In- Density. 

ches. 


I am, Sir, 
Your very obedient servant, 
22d February 1825. =. 


Art, XXI,—Additional Observations on Leslie’s Photome- 
ter, &c. By Wittiam Ritcur, A. M. Rector of the Aca- 
demy at Tain. In a Letter to Dk Brewster. 


Dear Sir, 


Ix the last number of your Journal you remark, in a note to 
my paper, on Leslie’s Photometer, that an opinion of mine is in- 


Mr Ritchie’s Observations on Leslie’s Photometer. OS 


direct contradiction to theexperimental results of Delaroche and 
Berard. You must have misunderstood my meaning; as all the 
experiments which I have performed, with transparent screens, 
are in perfect unison with the results of these eminent philoso- 
phers, viz. That invisible caloric, radiating from an elevated 
source, will, like light, permeate very thin plates of glass, 
whilst it is completely intercepted by thicker plates. I have 
lately performed numerous experiments with transparent 
screens, of such extreme tenuity, as to allow the instantaneous 
passage of heat, radiating from a source at an inferior temper- 
ature, with the same facility and copiousness as light through 
thicker plates. Now the glass case, which surrounds the in- 
strument, is sufficiently thick to arrest the progress of heat 
unaccompanied with light, and consequently the effect upon 
the instrument will be the same, as if the case were perfectly 
opaque. With regard to the apparent discrepancy between 
the results of Dr Christison and Dr Turner, and those which 
I obtained, permit me to offer a few remarks. In the porta- 
ble photometer, (the one most probably employed by Drs C. 
and TT.) more heat will undoubtedly. have an influence on the 
higher ball, though both balls were perfectly transparent ; 
for the caloric, conducted through the glass-case, will first 
combine with the film of air adjacent to the interior surface of 
the cylinder, and cause its immediate expansion. The air, 
thus rendered specifically lighter, will mount to the top of the 
cylinder, and accumulate round the,higher ball. The tem- 
perature of the air in the higher ball will thus receive a greater 
elevation than that in the lower one, and cause a depression of 
the fluid in the stem. When both balls.are, however, placed. 
on the same level, (as in the stationary photometer,) no such 
effect can take place, since mere caloric is equally absorbable 
by white and black surfaces. In the portable form, the in- 
strument will be differently affected by mere heat, according 
to the distance between the two balls. 

The portable photometer is also subject to several imaccu- 
racies besides those already mentioned. As the end of the 
cylindrical case is closed by the blow-pipe, it is almost impos- 
sible to preserve it of the same thickness and transparency 
with the rest of the tube. Hence the quantity of light, which 


106 Mr Ritchie’s Observations on Leslie’s Photometer. 


permeates the case, will vary with the different altitudes of 
the sun, though the quantity of incident hght should remain 
uniformly she’ same. It is also obvious, that the light, reflected 
from the interior surface of the case to the balls of the instru- 
ment, will also vary with the altitude of the sun. If the pho- 
tometer be carried to the torrid zone, the incident light being 
then in the direction of the two balls, the black ball will act 
as a screen to the transparent one, and thus cause the liquid 
in the stem to descend farther than it would do, if the trans- 
parent ball were also exposed to the direct rays of the sun. 
Another inaccuracy results from the variable quantity of light — 
absorbed by the transparent ball, arismg from the different 
altitudes of the sun. When the rays fall upon the instrument, 
in a direction nearly horizontal, they will find a ready passage 
through the thin transparent hemispheres ; but when the sun 
is considerably elvated, a large portion of the incident light 
will be absorbed by the lower hemisphere of the transparent 
ball, in consequence of its connection with the tube. The 
transparent ball will therefore, in this position, absorb a great 
proportional part of the whole incident light, and occasion an 
error of considerable magnitude. The results of different 
photometers cannot therefore be compared, as they have no re- 
lation to an invariable standard. ; 

The instrument in this form cannot, therefore, be regarded 
as a photometer, but merely as a photoscope. But though 
philosophers can place no confidence in its results, it must ne- 
vertheless be considered as a very ingenious and elegant in- 
strument. ‘Though it does not mark with numerical accuracy 
the dilute shadings of light, ** the photometer nevertheless ex- 
hibits distinctly (as the Professor poetically expresses it) the pro- 
gress of illumination, from the morning’s dawn to the full vi- 
gour of noon, and thence its gradual decline, till evening has 
spread her sober mantle ; it marks the growth of light from the 
winter solstice to the height of summer, and thence its gradu- 
al decline through the dusky shades of autumn.” 

One of the greatest desiderata in meteorology at present’ 
seems to be, an accurate and expeditious method of compar- 
ing the calorific effects of the sun’s rays in different latitudes, 
at different elevations, and at different periods. Mr Daniell, 


Mr Ritchie’s Observations on Leslie’s Photometer. 107 


in his interesting work on meteorology, has collected a great 
number of observations on the heating power of the sun’s rays, 
from the polar to the equatorial regions. Most of these ob- 
servations were made by comparing two thermometers, one of 
which was kept in the shade, whilst the other, having its bulb 
blackened, was exposed to the direct rays of the sun. These 
experiments and observations are, however, quite vague and 
unsatisfactory, as no correction seems to have been made for 
the variable causes which abstract caloric from the blackened 
ball of the exposed thermometer. ‘ 

A simple and ingenious method has lately been proposed by 
J. F.W. Herschel, Esq. Sec. R.S. Lond., which promises com- 
plete success. As I am not aware that his method has yet 
been printed, I shall take the liberty of quoting his own de- 
scription from one of his letters:—‘‘ My object in the instru- 
ment alluded to above, was to ascertain, by direct experiment, 
the relative heating power of the sun’s rays. This I did, by 
exposing in a glass vessel, or large thermometer, at different 
times and places, a deep blue liquid, for a given time, to the 
direct ray’s of the sun—noting the increase of temperature, 
which was purposely rendered very small, by properly adjust- 
ing the capacity of the instrument, then shading the sun’s di- 
rect rays, and leaving it exposed for an equal time to the free 
influence of all the other heating and cooling causes, radia- 
tion, conduction, wind, &c. and again noting the effect of these. 
The same difference of these, according to their signs, was the 
effect of the mere solar radiation. Dividing this by the time 
of exposure, I had the momentary effect, or differential co- 
efficient, which is the true measure of the intensity of radia- 
tion.” 

Availing myself of the ingenious remarks of Mr Herschel, 
I have been enabled to obviate the objections to which Mr 
Leslie’s photometer is obviously liable, and can now employ it 
with considerable accuracy as a measurer of the sun’s radia- 
tion. This may perhaps form the subject of a future commu- 
nication. I have the honour to be, 

Dear Sir, 
Yours truly, 
WituiiaM Rircuie. 
Tain Acapvemy, May 20, 1825. 


108 Mr Coldstream’s Account of an Explosion of Gas 


Art. XXII.—Account of a Remarkable Explosion of Gas in 
a Well near Leith Fort. By Mr Joun Corpstream. Ina 
Letter to Dk Brewster. 


Dear Sir, 


IT wave the honour to acknowledge the receipt of yours of the 
19th instant, requesting me to make some inquiry concern- 
ing the explosion of inflammable gas which took place in this 
neighbourhood, a few weeks ago. Having been from home 
at the time of the occurrence, I was not acquainted with any 
of the particulars of the case, before I received your note ; 
but I lost no time in proceeding to make the necessary exami- 
nations, and now, I trust, I can lay before you a satisfactory 
account of the very interesting event. 

About three months since, a bore fora well was commenced 
in Cannon Street, near Leith Fort. Nothing particular was 
observed to occur in the course of the workings, till Thursday 
the 28th ult., when the depth of 87 feet from the surface had 
been attained, without finding water. The bore had been sunk 
to this depth, through seven feet of vegetable soil and sand, 
and 80 feet of a very stiff dark coloured clay, containing im- 
bedded, numerous rounded pebbles of quartz, chlorite slate, 
-hardened sand-stone, and coal. On the morning of the 28th, 
at half-past six, the two men, who had hitherto wrought 
at the bottom of the bore, went down, as usual, without 
lights, and commenced their labours. In the course of an 
hour after this, while driving their jumper, (three inches 
broad,) perpendicularly through the clay, they suddenly 
found it slip down about six gre into an open space. 
Immediately, through the hole, thus made by the jump- 
er, there issued with tremendous violence, and terrific noise, 


a vast quantity of some air, which, rushing past the workmen 


in the bore, ascended with such velocity, as to carry along 
with it masses of the clay of considerable size. The men be- 
low, instantly prepared to ascend, and one having got into the 
bucket was drawn up without delay, and the rope again lowered 
for the other one. He was seen to get into the bucket, and 
was drawn up about thirty feet, when it was observed that he 
: 


¢ 


In a Well near Leith Fort. 109 


appeared as if dead, and leaning over the bucket, so as to be 
in danger of falling out altogether. The men, therefore, above, 
fearful of his falling down and being killed, instantly lowered 
the bucket again, and one of them, ignorant of its being 
noxious air that had burst from its confinement, slid down on. 
the rope, still without a candle, to see what was the matter 
with his comrade; on finding, however, his breathing begin- 
ning to be affected, he returned to the mouth of the bore. A 
lighted candle was now procured, and brought to the mouth 
of the pit; no sooner had its flame reached the level of the 
ground, over the bore, than the whole air in the pit, inflamed 
and exploded with a report as loud as that produced by firing 
a large piece of ordnance; the flames rose to the height of 
forty feet and more from the pit’s mouth, and are described 
as having been of a blue colour. A strong sulphureous odour 
was immediately perceptible. 

It was not until two hours after this explosion, that the un- 
fortunate man was drawn out ; he was quite dead—his clothes 
were but little injured by the flames. Those, who were stand- 
ing near, or over the mouth of the bore, at the time of the 
explosion, got themselves much scorched, and otherwise hurt. 
The whole neighbourhood was violently shaken, but no win- 
dows were broken by the shock. 

No work was done in the pit for a week after this occurrence; 
but on the eighth day after, a candle was again brought to the 
pit’s mouth, when immediately a second explosion, not quite 
so violent as the first, but of the same character, ensued ; nor 
could the men venture down for several days; and the gas 
collected in such quantity, that, for about a week after this, 
it was exploded every morning; and the men found, that the 
quantity collected seemed to be greater in wet than in dry 
weather. On continuing the workings at the bottom of the 
bore, it was seen, that the jumper, used by the deceased and 
his companion, had penetrated a large cavity, situated imme- 
diately under the clay, and having for its floor a stratum of 
soft bituminous shale, called by miners blaize. In this ca- 
vity, therefore,—the size of which could not be exactly ascer- 
tained,—the gas seems to have been confined. By the 20th of 
May, they had got about ten feet below the surface of the 


110 Mr Haidinger on a Remarkable Variety of Borasite. 


shale, and still the gas continued to escape through the shale 
from the floor of the pit; in quantities, however so small; as 
not to prevent the miners from working all day; they now 
complain more of the loathsome sulphureous odour, which they 
still experience at the bottom of the pit, than of any difficulty 
in breathing. The pit is now 100 feet deep, and no» wa- 
ter has beeen found. Its mouth.is situated about fifty yards 
from, and is elevated about twelve feet above high water mark. 

T collected all the information, now communicated, from 
the workmen, four of whom were Bnet: of the events. 
It will give me much aE ms to make any further vanes: 
you may think necessary.* 

I have the honour to be, 
Dear Sir, 
Yours most faithfully, 
Leitn, 23d May 1825. Joun ConpstTrEeam. 


Art. XXIII.—WNotice of a Remarkable Variety of Boracite. 
By Witttam Harpincer, Esq. F.R.S.E | Communi- 
cated by the Author. , 


A very interesting variety of Boracite hasbeen lately discovered 
at Liineburg, in crystals of the form represented in the annexed 
figure. Dr Turner has favoured me with a specimen which 
he had received from Professor Stromeyer of Géttingen. The 
crystals are engaged in a mixture of gypsum and anhydrite, 
both of them, but particularly the latter, crystallized in the 
drusy cavities, distributed throughout the rock. The general 
appearance of the crystals is that of a combination of the hexa- 
hedron, the octahedron, and the dodecahedron, in which the 
faces of the octahedron take the greater share in limiting the 


* Since the above was written, quantities of the gas have several times 
suddenly rushed from the bottom of the bore, with a noise like thunder, 
but asufficient quantity has not again been accumulated to admit of explo- 
sion on the approach of fire. It was attempted to collect in bottles some 
of the gas on those occasions ; but in none of these (one of which Dr Tur- 
ner was so kind as submit to a careful examination) could anything but 
the common ingredients of the atmosphere be detected. It is probable, 
however, that the explosive gas was carburetted hydrogen.—J. C, 

11 


Mr Haidinger on a Remarkable Variety of Boracite. 111 


compound form. The small 
triangular planes a, x, &c. suf- 
ficiently enlarged, produce a 
trigonal-icositetrahedron, having 
the general aspect of the tetrahe- 
dron. This form, already de- 
scribed, and figured by Romé 
de I’'Isle,*, seems to have been 
first noticed in the varieties of boracite by Breithaupt ; + 
Haiiy’s variété plagiedre t contains faces of it, and it is like- 
wise indicated by Mohs.§ _ It is generally supposed, however, 
to be the third variety of those forms, as described in the 
Treatise on Mineralogy by Professor Mohs, || in which the 
inclination of # on wz, over the edge between P and s, is= 
162° 14’ 50”, over the edge between » and s = 144° 2’ 58”. 
In this case, the edge of combination between a and s would 
not be parallel to the edge between s and x”, which yet takes 
place in nature; and immediate measurement with the reflec- 
tive goniometer likewise proves, that the two above mentioned 
incidences are equal to each other, and very near = 152° 20/ 
22”, which is the angle of the second variety described by Mohs. 
The situation of any single plane of the form is consequently 
the same as that of a single plane of the tetragonal-icositetrahe- 
dron », first ascertained in hexahedral iron-pyrites by Haiiy,** 
in the variety which he calls parallélique, while the situation 
of the faces x in boracite, as he himself indicates them, would 


coincide with the situation of the forms noted s and o in the 


same variety of iron-pyrites. The inclination of 2 on an ad- 
jacent face a, over P, is= 122° 52° 42’. 


Traité de Crist. Pl, 1. Fig. 25. 
Schriften der Min- Ges. xu Dresden, vol. i- 
Traité de Min. 2de ed. tom. ii. p. 59. The 106th figure incorrectly 
represents forty-cight faces, instead of twenty-four. 
§ Treatise on Mineralogy, vol. ii. p. 348. 
{| Vol. i. p. 58. ** Tabl. Comp. p. 69. 


+++ 8 


yO nae ea EN + Se et 


ee 


112 Mr Lyell ow a Dike of Serpentine cutting through 


aoe 


Ant. XXIV.—On a Dike of Serpentine, cutting through 
- Sandstone, in the County of Forfar. \ By Cuarixs Lyetz, 
Ese. Secretary to the Geological Society of London, F.L.S. 

Communicated by the Author. With a Plate. 

Tue natural history of serpentine is still involved in consi- 
derable obscurity, and although of late years much attention 
has been directed to its exammation, there is, perhaps, no rock 
of such extensive occurrence, and such decided characters, 
whose geological relations are equally unascertamed. 

In the locality which I am now about to describe, the con- 
nections of the serpentine with the accompanying strata are 
clear and unequivocal, and as it occurs there in great abun- 
dance, and distinguished by its most striking mineralogical 
characters, the phenomena which attend it ean scarcely fail 
to throw light on its general history. 

I was fortunate in having an opportunity, during the last 
summer, of examining the spot where it is found, in company 
with Professor Buckland, from whose active co-operation, 


‘{ derived great assistance. 


The age and relative position of the stratified rocks, with 
which the serpentine is associated, are preliminary points, on 
whose determination depends much of the novelty and im- 
portance of the geological facts which it will be my object to 
detail. 

‘'The limits, however, of the present communication will not 
permit me to enlarge on the history of these strata, which I 
have carefully examined on the coast of Forfarshire, near the 
Red Head, where the cliffs present us with a section of those 
beds, which lie beneath the great conglomerate, and which form 
the chief part of the Seedlay chain. The coast on the north of 
Stonehaven, the rivers N.and 8. Esk, Melgum, Islay,and others, 
have also afforded me distinct sections, of the same formation, 
which is there seen extending along the southern boundary of 
the Grampians. From the study of these sections, I am en- 
abled to state, with regard to the strata in question, that they 
are younger than the greywacke and clay-slate, and older than 


| 
: 
z 


spans ysybuy paspuny aug 
ee 
°9 ~ajeos % 


janes sey 


pertme 


DML AS TE ALOT 


ut 


Sandstone 
and Shale 
Conglomerate 


Sex 


ZB Mesrrivem 
= 
SE sree 


Dalomitic 
1 Serpentme 
P 
altered 


HIOTWHA LSAM FOWUVA AW TAN 


ALIUvsd 
au Fo Say ure gf oy uo 8 yo OY 
ay? se 
NOTLIAS 


worgnuny dao az 


~ = LW KK 


Rock Altered | 


5 

6m: 
ee 
2 
# 
# 


sandstone in the County of Forfar. 118 


-the great mass of conglomerate, which, in Scotland stretches 
along the foot of the Grampians, from sea to sea. 

In this conglomerate, which may probably be regarded as 
ethe lowest. member of the old red sandstone formation, are 


'.found imbedded numerous masses of the above mentioned 


‘slaty sandstone and shale, and it follows, from the above facts, 
-that the latter occupy, in Forfarshire and Kincardineshire, 
the same place in the series, as the strata of the red sand- 
“stone and shale, so exactly resembling them in character, 
which, in Gloucestershire, are inter-stratified with the tran- 
sition limestone. 

No organic remains, however, have hitherto been discovered 
an these lower sandstones in Forfarshire, Perthshire, and 
‘Kincardineshire, by which they might be identified with the 
red sandstone, containing trilobites, and the fossils of the 
transition limestone in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire. 

Although I cannot enter fully at present into a discussion 
of this question, I must here remark, that, after examining the 
slaty red sandstone, containing trilobites, in Gloucestershire, 
ewhich is beneath the old red sandstone, as well as the accom- 
panying porphyries and trap rocks, I have satisfied myself 
that a strong analogy exists between them and the inferior 
sandstone and trap rocks of Forfarshire; but it is impossible 
‘to convey in words to others the identity which may at once 
be recognized in their general aspect. 

I shall content myself, therefore, by stating, that these 
strata of shistose, red, and grey sandstone, shale, conglomer- 
ate, &c. in Forfarshire, succeed immediately the clay-slate and 
greywacke, and repose upon them. They will be classed by 
some geologists with the greywacke; others will regard them 
as the inferior member of the old red sandstone. But if, at 
length, organic remains shall be discovered in them, they may 
‘perhaps be referred, like the inferior red sandstone of Glou- 
cestershire and Herefordshire, to the transition limestone se- 
ries of the English geologists. * 


* Mr Weaver has lately informed me that, on the coast of Waterford, be- 
tween Dungarvan and Tranmore, strata of red and grey micaceous sandy 
slate, associated with similar quartzose, conglomerates and trap rocks, 
abound, and they occupy a similar position above the clay-slate, Although, 

VOL. Ill, No, 1. JuLy 1825, H 


114 Mr Lyell on a Dike of Serpentine eutting through 


No limestone, with some partial and unimportant excep- 
tions, * occurs to the south of the Grampians, on the east side 
of Scotland, between the clay-slate and the coal. If, therefore, 
the inferior micaceous red and grey sandstones, sometimes 
slightly calcareous, with their associated strata and trap rocks, 
are grouped with the old red sandstone, the latter formation 
must be regarded as of immense thickness, and as occupying, 
to the exclusion of the English transition limestone series, 
the whole space between the clay-slate and the coal. I haye 
considered these observations necessary, lest the strata, with 
which the serpentine is associated in Forfarshire, should be 
considered more recent than those in which it has often been 
found elsewhere. ‘This, I believe, is not the case, though such 
an idea would be conveyed to most geologists if the red sand- 
stone in question were described as a member of the old red 


sandstone formation. 

I now hasten to a particular description of the serpentine and 
accompanying strata, of which the annexed ground plan was 
sketched on the spot. See Plate V. The Carity, a small river 
which descends from the micaceous shist district in the northern 
part of Forfarshire, enters, soon after quitting the Grampians, 
a deep defile, near the farm of West Balloch, in the parish of 


large districts may,be examined without the occurrence of a single fossil, yet, 
in some few places, he has met with some in the red sandstone, correspond- 
ing precisely with such as characterize the English transition limestone. 

* A thin vein of limestone, corresponding exactly to the cornstone of 
the English geologists, is found in the old red sandstone of Strathmore, 
extending in a direction N. E. and S. W. from near Stracathro to Careston, 
and again in the same line at Reedie, a few miles S. W. of Kirriemuir. 
The cornstone of Forfarshire, like that in England, contains no organic re- 
mains, and is in small quantity, though in consequence of the scarcity of 
limestone, it has, in many places, been burnt for lime. The trap rocks 
also, as is well known, contain occasionally much’ calcareous matter. For 
an account of the limestone of Clunie, see the First Article, No. I. 
of this Journal, by Dr MacCulloch.. There is also a stratum of 
limestone at the Boddin, to the S. of Montrose, which has been long 
worked, but is now nearly exhausted. Although I have carefully ex- 
amined this, it may be premature to pronounce an opinion on its geolo- 
gical relations, until it has been compared with some other strata of lime- 
stone, occurring near Montrose, which ‘may perhaps belong to the same 
formation. I am, however, at present inclined to refer the limestone of 
the Boddin to an era more recent than the coal. — 

1 


Sandstone in the County of Forfar. e ce 


Kirriemuir, about half a-mile above the bridge of New Mill. 
The course of the river then is about N. W. and S. E. cutting 
atright angles the general direction of the strata. The first rock 
which rises precipitously on both its banks on the northern 
extremity of the ravine, is an unstratified porphyry, having 
a base of clay-stone, in which are imbedded crystals of felspar 
and hexagonal mica, small particles of quartz, and sometimes 
spots of soft white tale. Angular fragments of green foliated 
talc, undulatingly curved, are frequent in it. The rock is of 
’ a brownish or purplish red colour. A porphyry, exactly re- 
sembling it in character, is seen in a similar position near Lin- 
trathen, and on the Isla, near the Falls of the Reekie Linn, 
also on the North Esk, where Colonel Imrie has described 
it.* It is sometimes very granitiform, and, in one instance, 
I found, near Lintrathen, large boulders of it in the field, in 
which rounded pebbles of granite were imbedded. + 

This porphyry continues on both sides of the river for seve- 
ral hundred. yards, and is seen followed on the left bank by a 
conglomerate. The relations of the conglomerate with the 
porphyry are obscurely seen, as the fragments of the decom- 
posing porphyry, fallen from the cliff above, have covered and 
concealed the junction, but it is evident, that the edge of the 
porphyry, as it thins off, overlies a portion of the conglomer- 
ate. The conglomerate contains pebbles of quartz and mica- 
shist in a base of sandstone, sometimes highly ferruginous, 
sometimes quartzose. Its dip, as far as can be ascertained, is 
northerly, whereas the sandstone, which immediately follows 
it; is inclined in a contrary direction, at an angle of 44 to 
$.S.E. The strata must here have suffered great disturbance. 
‘The sandstone, for the first twenty yards, approaches to a 
shale; it is of a deep ferruginous brown colour, fine-grained, 
and very thinly laminated, being full of minute plates of mica, 
disposed parallel to the dividing surfaces. The sandstone 
above mentioned, after extending twenty yards, becomes grayer, 
and less argillaceous ; it is still thinly laminated, and dips also 


0" Transactions Royal Society Edinburgh, vol. vi: p. 3. 
+ Specimens of the various rocks, mentioned in this paper, are apposition 
in the Museum of the Geological Society of London. 


1160 Mr Lyell on a Dike of Serpentine cutting through 


to S. S. E. at an angle of about thirty-five, and, after extending 
thirty-six yards, is suddenly cut off by the dike of serpentine. 

The side of the dike is composed, on each bank of the ri- 
ver, of a very hard compact rock, about three yards. thick, 
which stands vertically and parallel to the serpentine, forming 
a parting wall between it and the sandstone. 

This rock consists of equal parts of green serpentine, and 
an indurated brick-coloured rock, harder than serpentine, and 
sometimes passing into jasper. It is often very siliceous, and 
resembles red argillaceous shale, as it is sometimes seen alter- 
ed by the contact of a trap dike. Small specks of magnetic 
iron are dispersed through parts of this rock. On the inner 
side of this rock is seen some layers of contorted sandstone and 
shale, which must evidently be considered as entangled in the 
dike. The rock, which is in contact with the shale on the 
other side, is unseen, owing to an interval of four yards of 
deep soil, nor is the interruption supplied by the opposite side 
of the river. Upon causing the ground to be dug up, the 
rock, which had decomposed, appeared to have been serpentine. 

Next follows an olive-green serpentine, traversed by innu- 
merable veins of fibrous asbestus. The serpentine, more to- 
wards the centre of the dike, becomes dark green or blue; the 
surface has generally a glazed appearance, much resembling 
the ordinary green serpentine of the Lizard district in Corn- 
wall, but without a similar admixture of red serpentine. It 
extends thirty or forty yards. In some places, irregular 
roundish crystals of serpentine are imbedded in a softer ma- 
trix of serpentine. There is much greenish bronze-coloured 
diallage in the middle of the dike, in which part it precisely 
resembles the green serpentine with diallage near Coverock. 
in the Lizard district in Cornwall. ‘Towards the eastern side 
of the dike, a projecting mass of hypersthene rock, closely 
resembling some specimens of thatwhich Dr MacCulloch found 
at Loch Scarvy in Skye, is seen; it does not interrupt the 
‘serpentine, but appears inclosed in it. It is occasionally ac- 
companied by some small fragments of talc. Next to the hy- 
persthene, is a light olive-green serpentine, with specks of 
magnetic iron in parts, which extends four or five yards to the 


edge of the dike, where sandstone and shale again appear. 
ll 


Sandstone in the County of Forfar. 117 


- The whole mass of serpentine which I have now. described 
on the left bank, is ninety yards in thickness, It is not stra- 
tified, but is shistose on the great scale, dividing, with some 
degree of regularity, into slabs, if so. they may be termed, 
about two feet in thickness, which are parallel to the sides of 
the dike, and which are again divided into flattish masses, 
with wedge-shaped terminations. The direction of the dike is 
about E. and W., and it is nearly vertical, but with a slight 
inclination to the W. Where the sandstone and slate, which 
I have already mentioned, join the eastern extremity of the dike, 
there is a small interval of decomposed serpentine ; but the 
strata are nevertheless distinctly seen to dip away from the 
vertical serpentine at an angle of fifty, and, like those on the 
western side, they are inclined towards the §.8.E. The 
slaty sandstone is here soft and ferruginous, but it does not 
present any decided indications of being altered by the con- 
tact of the serpentine. Next follows a vertical mass of rock, 
unconformable to the last mentioned sandstone. It is seven 
yards or more in thickness, and consists of an imdurated sili- 
ceous sandstone, much iron-shot, and. containing a few quatt- 
zose pebbles. much charged with iron. ‘The sandstone is tra- 
versed by veins of brown spar. Its fracture approaches to 
eouchoidal, and it has every appearance of being an altered 
tock. In contact with this mass on the other sirlol serpentine 
again appears, differing from that which constitutes the great 
dike from which it is separated by the strata of sandstone and 
conglomerate already described. This rock is composed of 
green serpentine and white magnesian carbonate, the latter in 
smaller proportion. ‘These are blended together so as to form 
an irregularly striped rock. 

This serpentine is only a foot and a half in thickness, but 
it. appears to have belonged to a mass twenty-five yards or 
more in thickness, and which has decomposed and. left an in- 
terruption, at the further extremity of which the serpentine 
again is seen, having all the same characters, and containing 
‘small crystals of quartz of the usual form. On the opposite 
‘bank, the soil clearly indicates the decomposition of a similar 
serpentine, but it has extended there much farther towards 
the great dike, and may even be connected with it, On that 


118 Mr Lyell on a Dike of Serpentine cutting through 


side of the river, some angular blocks of greenstone are strew- 
ed over part of the space where the dolomitic serpentine has 
decomposed, from which we may presume that greenstone is 
there associated with the serpentine, of which connection, un- 
fortunately from the want of a section, no distinct knowledge 
can be obtained. 

To return to the left bank of the river. The dolomitic 
serpentine is flanked by a vertical mass of sandstone conglo- 
merate, evidently much altered, about five yards thick. Some 
parts of this rock approach to jasper in fracture and appear- 
ance. A remarkable fact was pointed out to me by Professor 
Buckland with regard to this conglomerate. The quartzose 
pebbles which it inblibes are split, and sometimes firmly re- 
united at an angle by ferruginous matter which abounds in 
the stratum. The cracks sometimes divide the pebbles into 
two or more fragments, since cemented together again ; some- 
times they only penetrate a short way in. 

This phenomenon is the more worthy of notice, ‘as it also 
presents itself in the conglomerate which flanks a large dike of 
greenstone on the Isla in this county. 

That the conglomerate, however, on the Carity has, in this 
instance, been altered by the neighbourhood of the dolomitic 
serpentine, cannot be with certainty affirmed, since the rock, 
which has been in contact with it on the eastern side, has de- 
composed, and if greenstone has existed there, the case would 
only be a parallel one with that above alluded to on the Isla. 
I have no reason, however, to conclude that there has been 
greenstone there, for, as far as can be presumed from the op- 
posite bank, it appears to be sandstone and shale which has 
wasted away, and left an interval of forty yards or more. 

Strata of sandstone, shale, and conglomerate, when harden- 
ed by their vicinity to trap, generally resist decomposition more 
than either greenstone or linalébred sandstone. ‘The last rock 
which I shal! mention as forming part of the above section 
exposed on the banks of the Carity, is a trap dike from thirty 
to forty yards wide, which has almost entirely decomposed, 
and left an interval of argillaceous soil. This dike is parallel 
1o the great dike of serpentine. 

When it can be seen, it is composed on the right bank of a 


Sandstone in the County of Forfar. 119 


well characterized greenstone, sometimes spotted with round 
specks of white carbonate of lime, but these not sufficiently 
numerous to constitute an amygdaloid. 

On the left bank some masses appear, in which comipact 
felspar with green earth predominates. 

This dike is flanked on both sides by a vertical and parallel 
mass of altered rock, probably sandstone and shale. That on 
the west side of the trap is very hard, and traversed by veins of 
brown spar, and containing some green earth. It isseen on both 
sides of the river, as is also the mass on the eastern side of the 
dike, in which mica, quartz, and indurated ferruginous shale 
appear, and also flesh-coloured foliated brown spar in immense 
quantities. 

We have now descended the Carity to the point where the 
section becomes no longer intelligible, and I have described 
the rocks on the left bank of the river, alluding to those on 
the right only, where they might supply an interruption, 
which, however, they scarcely ever do, since, in each case, de- 


‘composition has produced nearly the same deficiencies. 


But, in the section on the right bank, there is a want of cor- 
respondence in one spot, which deserves our particular notice. 

The great dike of serpentine, after being seen for 90 yards 
on the bank, instead of coming in contact, as in the opposite 
bank, with shale and conglomerate, is flanked by a bed of fine 
grained greenstone, about two feet wide, from the disintegra- 
tion of which, a hollow has been formed, down which a small 
stream descends. 

This rock has decomposed into small spheroidal masses, 
which, in their interior, are of a bluish black colour. Their 


- fracture is conchoidal, and they give out, when breathed up- 


on, a strong argillaceous smell. Their outer coating is of a 
light green colour, and very hard, and has a tendency, when 
fractured, to present an irregularly mammillated surface. The 
entire decomposition of this rock produces bright green and 
yellow clays. 

An excellent account has appeared in the first number of 
the Edinburgh Journal of Science,* by Dr MacCulloch, of a 


* Vol, I. Article 1, 


120. Mr Lyell on @ Dike of Serpentine cutting? through 


dike of greenstone at Clunie, in. Perthshire, at whose*contact 
with a bed of limestone, a thin band of serpentine ‘occurs: 
The author has observed, “ that the greenstone, as it aps 
proaches the limestone, acquires a finer texture and a laminar 


structure. The laminz are often intersected by cross’fissures}, | 


dividing the whole into cuboidal masses, which sometimes de- 
compose still further into spheroidal forms: A regular gras 
dation may be traced from the greenstone to’ the haar 
im proportion to its approximation to the limestone.” 


I have visited Clunie, and was much struck with the exact. 


resemblance of the fine-grained rock above mentioned,.and 
that which appears at the edge of the serpentine dike at the 
West Balloch. I find, however, that all the specimens which 
T possess of the fine-grained greenstone of Clunie effervesce 
with acids, which the rock at the Balloch does not. These 
two cases may be regarded as the converse the one of the 
other, for the ‘greenstone on the Carity is as insignificant im 


quantity, when compared to the dike of serpentine, as is the 


vein of serpentine at Clunie when compared to the accom+ 
panying greenstone dike. It is much to be regretted, that on 
the Carity, the rock in contact with the fine-grained greens 


stone on the side oppesite to the serpentine dike, is not seen. . 


I caused a deep trench to be-sunk, but did not succeed im 


reaching any rock, though the soil strongly indicated a de. 


composed serpentine. I think it highly probable, that. the 
variety of serpentine, which has here disappeared, is that 
which I have already described, into whose composition: the. 
magnesian carbonate enters so largely ; for a mass of this 
rock is the first which appears im situ, on this side of the riv 
ver, approaching much nearer to the great dike than any of 
the dolomitic serpentine on the opposite bank, as the sectiom 
will explain. 

I have before stated, that, in another place, on the right 
bank, in an interval left by the decomposition of the dolomi- 


tic variety of serpentine, blocks of greenstone indicate clearly . 


the association of that rock with the serpentine. The spot 
where this occurs, is distant about fifty yards from the thin bed 


of fine grained greenstone to which J have alluded, and it is a 


eireumstance which confirms my supposition, that the dolomi- 


a eS ee et eee ee mC 


a. 


'. Sandstone inthe County of Forfar. 12t 


tie variety ‘of serpentine has also been in contact, on one sides 
with the greenstone at the edge of the great dike, although it 
has now wasted away and cannot be seen. 

If this conjecture be correct, the association of rock on the 
Carity becomes still more analogous to that at Clunie; for, 
inthe latter case, are found greenstone, serpentine, and limé= 
stone, whereas in the former, we should have greenstone, ser= 
pentine, and dolomite: 

Although the two opposite banks of the Carity, which pres 
sent us with the sections which we have now considered. in de- 
tail, are not much more than fifty yards apart, yet they afford; 
as we have seen, very different appearances, as far as regards 
the:junction of the serpentine with the stratified rocks. 

~If we view the left bank alone, we perceive two parallel 
dikes of serpentine, the first, 90 yards wide, the latter, in 
which the dolomite abounds, about 25 yards in width.* Be-« 
tween these are placed strata of shale and sandstone, highly: 
inclined, as also a vertical mass of conglomerate, much alter- 
ed and indurated. But if we turn to the right bank, these 
intervening stratified rocks appear to be entirely wanting; 
and it seems that the two kinds of serpentine form one dikes 
a thin bed of fine grained greenstone alone separating them, 
and another bed of greenstone bemg also associated with the 
dolomitic serpentine, towards its south-eastern edge. 

The phenomena which attend the serpentine at the West 
Balloch enable us, in the first place, to add another fact in 
eonfirmation of the geological cormection, already observed to: 
exist, by other geologists, between greenstone and serpentine: 


‘We are also presented with examples, more decisive than any 


I have yet seen described, of stratified rocks affected by their 
contiguity to serpentine, in a manner exactly similar to that 
usually observed at their junction with trap dykes. We have 
also pointed out in one place, a small portion of contorted 


‘shale and sandstone, inclosed, and as it were entangled, in the 


serpentine, as is often found in trap dikes, where they pass in 
a similar manner through the regular strata. But what is 
most striking in the general view of the section at the West 
Balloch, on the Jeft bank of the river, is the fact, that, while 
on each side of the yertical mass of serpentine, the inclined 


122 Mr Lyell on a Dike of Serpentine cutting. through 


strata of sandstone are cut off at an angle, and are evidently 
disturbed, the dike of serpentine itself, pursues its course un- 
interruptedly, and in a direct line for many miles, both to the 
eastward and westward. 

If we attempt to follow the course of this dike, we find 
that the country is deeply buried under gravel, which consists 
chiefly of pebbles of primitive rocks, washed down from the 
Grampians, and that the subjacent strata are only visible at 
those points where, as at the West Balloch, the strata are in- 
tersected by deep ravines, or ‘ dens,” as they are called, 
through which rivers descend, and which they appear, in a 
great measure, to have worn for themselves. 

The first of these, towards the east, is at the distance of 
about two miles, at Proson Haugh, on the Proson, a mile. be- 
low Pearsie, the seat of Charles Wedderburn, Esq. The blue 
serpentine there resembles the great dike on the Carity, and 
contains diallage. Its junction with the regular strata is not 
seen, as it has decomposed much; but an altered rock, ap- 
proaching im its characters to jasper, and traversed by numer- 
ous veins of brown spar, crosses the river a short distance 
above it. 

Rather more than a mile west from thence, in the same line, 
the serpentine reappears on the south-east, at the bridge of 
Cortachie. The red slaty sandstone, there seen on its north- 
ern side, has a northerly dip, which isa rare occurrence in the 
strata at the foot of the Grampians, in this district in Scotland. 

I have not yet traced the serpentine farther to the north- 
west, but have sought for it in vain on the North Esk, about 
fifteen miles in a direct line from the last mentioned locality, 
although the section of the rocks on that river, which have 
been so well described by Colonel Imrie,* is complete. There — 
are, however, on the North Esk dikes of greenstone, which © 
cross the river in the same direction, and nearly in the same 
place as the serpentine might be expected to occupy. 

It will now be interesting to return to the Carity, and to 
trace the serpentine stretching in an opposite direction towards 
the W.S. W. After leaving the W. Balloch, it first reap- 
pears at the distance of about four miles in the farm of Burn- 


* Trans. Royal Society, Edinburgh, vol. vi —3. 


Sandstone in the County of Forfar. 123 


side, inthe parish of Kingoldrum. The small burn, in whose 
channel it is here obscurely exposed, falls afterwards into the 
Backburn. The rocks, which are there clearly seen associated 
together, are greenstone, with serpentine, containing much 
dolomite, and a red indurated ‘rock abounding in brown spar. 
A little higher up the burn, as on the Carity, the claystone 
porphyry appears, which must not be considered. as having 
any connection with the serpentine. If we continue our line 
to the south-westward for about two miles, we arrive at the 
ravine through which the Melgum flows, when the serpentine 
is not recognizable, unless it be considered as represented by 
the great dike of greenstone which crosses that river imme- 
diately below the mill of Shanalaw. 

But I am aware, that great caution must be used in the at= 
tempt to identify these dikes, as we have seen that there is on 
the Carity a dike of greenstone parallel to the serpentine. 
Proceeding about a mile and a half farther, a fine section of 
the rocks is presented on the precipitous cliffs which rise on 
each bank of the Isla, a short distance below Peel. There a 
dike of greenstone crosses the river, possessing for the most 
. part the ordinary characters of that rock, but in some places 
intermixed with carbonate of lime, and assuming then a finer 
texture, and appearing not very unlike much of the English 
black compact mountain limestone. Its junction with the 
strata through which it passes is only seen on its northern | 
side, on the left bank of the Isla, and the phenomena which 
attend it are exactly analogous to those already described on 
the Carity. Next to the greenstone is a parallel mass of al- 
tered indurated rock, much charged with brown spar, and in 
parts calcareous, then a mass of conglomerate, in which the 
quartz pebbles, before alluded to, are split, and reunited by 
ferruginous matter. Without advancing any theory to ac- 
count for this curious fact, I may be allowed to say, that the 
rounded fragments of quartz appear exactly as if they had di- 
vided upon being heated, and had only been prevented from 
flying asunder by the matrix in which they are imbedded. 
Beyond the conglomerate is sandstone, very ferruginous, hard- 
ened, with a fracture sometimes conchoidal, and traversed by 
veins of brown-spar. It dips towards the dike, and its strati- 


‘124 «Mr Lyell on a Dike of Serpentine cutting through 


fication becomes obscure in proportion to its: proximity to the 
greenstone. 

Although no serpentine is seen here, I am informed by Mr 
Blackadder of Glammis, that, in following the course of the 
dike through the neighbouring fields, he found blocks of ser- 
pentine on the land, from which it appears that that rock is 
either connected with, or replaces the greenstone. 

About three miles farther to the south-west of the last 
mentioned locality on the Isla, serpentine, like that on the Ca- 
rity, occurs to the south of Bamff, near Alyth, in Perthshire, 
the seat of Sir James Ramsay, Bart. The greenstone and 
serpentine of Clunie, in Perthshire, described by Dr MacCul- 
loch, is only nine miles distant from the last mentioned place, 
and precisely in the same line. 

This is certainly a remarkable fact, although not sufficient 
to lead us to conclude, that the Clunie dike is a prolongation 
of that which we have been tracing through the country ; for 
no serpentine can be found on the banks of the Erroch, a ri- 
ver which intervenes between Clunie and Bamff, and which, 
like all the other rivers descending from the Grampians into 
Strathmore, affords a deep section of the strata.* There are 


“ The section of the rocks on the Erroch, ascending from Blairgowrie 
to the northward of Craig-Hall, differs, in one respect, from any of those, 
which I have seen between that river and the sea of Stonehaven, or from 
any that I have examined in the Seedlay Hills, or in the cliffs between 
Auchmithie and the Red Head. This difference consists in the absence of 
the inferior fine-grained sandstone, shale, &c. The conglomerate, com- 
posed chiefly of rounded masses of trap-porphyries, continues above Craig- 
Hall, forming precipitous cliffs, till we arrive nearly opposite East Drum- 
mie. There trap rocks succeed, and nothing else appears until opposite 
the Milltown of Drummie, where greywacke and clay-slate ave seen. 

It may be suggested, that the trap, which succeeds the conglomerate, 
isan overflowing mass, and conceals strata of inferior or transition sand- 
stone. In answer to this, I should state, that we. might rather expect 
greywacke and clay-slate, were the trap not present. For it is only ne- 
cessary to consider on the map, the general line of bearing of the inferior 
or transition sandstone series through Kincardineshire and Forfarshire, 
at the foot of the Grampians ; and it will appear highly improbable that it 
exists. so far to. the north as East Drummie. May we not conclude that 
the inferior sandstone strata, which have, in all instances, suffered under 
the influence of that violent action which formed the great conglomerate, 
have here been completely annihilated. We find almost universally in 


ee 


Sandstone in the County of Forfar. 125 


two dikes of greenstone which cross the Erroch, both not very 
far from the line which the serpentine, if continued from Bamff 
tto Clunie, would take. One of these dikes is rather more 
‘than a mile above Blairgowrie. Its thickness is about twenty: 
feet, and the strata.of sandstone and ‘shale, in contact with it,. 
are much indurated. _ The other dike traverses the conglome- 
rate several hundred yards below Craig-Hall. 

Whether there exists any connection between the serpentine: 
of Clunie and that on the Carity is uncertain; but it can 
scarcely be questioned by any who consider the facts above 
stated, that the same dike of serpentine is found recurring at 
mtervals for the space of at least fourteen miles or more, 
stretching in a straight line from Cortachie to Bamff, its direc- 
tion being parallel to the Grampians, and to the outcrop of 
the several formations which succeed each other in regular.or- 
der in Forfarshire and Perthshire, from the granite to the old 
red sandstone. But, notwithstanding this general conformity 
of direction, the serpentine, wherever it is seen im contact with 
the stratified rocks, intersects them, and is therefore not of 
contemporaneous origin, but, like the greenstone with which 
it is connected, of posterior date. 

Before concluding this communication, I shall take the op- 
portunity of briefly mentioning an instance of the connection 
of serpentine, greenstone, and sienite, which I examined in the 
Lizard district in Cornwall, during the last summer, in company 
with Monsieur Constandt Prevost, a gentleman well known to 
geologists by his memoirs on several countries on the Continent, 
This occurs at Cadgwith, near Coverack, and is slightly al- 
luded to by Professor Sedgwick.* The serpentine there is 


the great conglomerate, as well as the superior red sandstone of Forfarshire 
fragments of the older shale and micaceous sandstone. But although the 
evidence of the partial destruction of those beds is thus decisive, yet, with 
the single exception above stated, I have never found them entirely want» 
ing to the eastward, along the foot of the Grampians, nor in the neighe 
bouring Seedlay Hills, where they are more fully developed, and where, 
with their accompanying trap rocks, they almost exclusively compose that 
chain. When the conglomerate consists exclusively, or nearly so, of trap 
pebbles, as at Craig-Hall, and many other places, we must suppose that, 
at the epoch of its forination, the inferior sandstone was, in those particus 
lar spots, entirely overlaid by trap. } 
* Trans. Camb. Phil. Society, vol. i. p- 310.” 


‘ 


126 Mr Herschel ona Remarkable Occurrence of Serpentine 


regularly stratified, with a northerly dip, and, contains sub- 


‘ordinately greenstone slate. At a pot on) the sea-coast, 


which is at a small distance to the east of Cadgwith, where 
some quarries of a red and green serpentine. have lately been 
opened, and much of the rock exposed, a bed of shistose 
greenstone is seen conformable to, and interstratified with the 
serpentine, and in the midst of the greenstone is a granitic 
rock, a few feet in thickness, which I term Sienite, merely be- 
cause its position and decided geological connections forbid 
me to apply to it the appellation of gneiss, or mica shist. It 
consists principally of quartz, with a certain proportion of 
mica disposed in lamine, so that specimens may be selected 
from it exactly resembling much of the mica shist of the 
Grampians. A reddish felspar is occasionally present, and it 
might then, in single specimens, be called gneiss. In its ge- 
neral aspect it is not unlike much of the sienite of the Mal- 
vern Hills, but it divides, upon being fractured, into slabs pa- 
rallel to the strata in which it occurs. 

Mr Herschel has lately discovered at Predazzo, in the 'T y- 
rol, a locality well known to many geologists, a striking fact 
with regard to the relations of serpentine with other rocks ; 
for he has found layers of well characterized serpentine, form- 
ing, as it were, the parting stratum between a granitiform 
sienite, and a rock of dolomite. As there is so much analogy 
between this fact and the case of the serpentine of Clunie, be- 
fore alluded to, and the latter is so intimately connected, as I 
have shown, with the subject of this memoir, I have requested 
Mr Herschel to favour me with an extract from his_ notes, 
explanatory of the specimens which he has brought from Pre- 
dazzo. 


Art. XXV:—WNotice of a Remarkable Occurrence of Ser- 
pentine at the Junction of Sienite with the Dolomite of the 
Tyrol. By J. F: W. Herscuer, Esq. Sec. R. S. Lond. 
and F.R.S. Edinburgh. Communicated by the Author. 


Iw the course of a Mineralogical ramble through the Tyrol in 


the months of August and September of last year, I encounter- _ 


ed the phenomenon I am about to describe, in a small rounded 


“at the Junction of Sienite with Dolomite. 127 


hill called Canzocoli, forming a lump or projection at the foot 
of the mountain ridge which bounds the valley of Lavis on the 
west. This valley communicates with the valley of Fassa, 
or rather constitutes its lower portion, or embouchure into 
the vale of the Adige, and the immediate spot in question is 
about half a mile from the village of Predazzo, a spot already 
remarkable among geologists from the asserted superposition 
of granite on chalk, an account of which is to be found in a 
late Number of the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, but 
whose true nature will perhaps be better understood from 
what follows. 
- Predazzo itself stands on the borders of a district of fine 
red granite, perfectly well characterized, but which gives place 
toa compound of felspar and mica, unaccompanied (so far as 
I could discern) by quartz, of which (4) is a characteristic 
specimen,* and which itself passes into a close grained rock, 
in which the crystalline structure is much less perceptible (3.) 
The transition is sudden, and is perfectly well seen in the 
specimen (4). These are from the mountains (Monte Mu- 
lazzo) on the opposite side of the valley. 

Immediately above Canzocoli, the rock (which for brevity 
I shall term Sienite, without pretending to decide whether it is 
. entitled to that appellation or not) is a crystalline compound, 
containiag abundance of felspar and dark-coloured mica, per- 
haps also hornblende, and possibly experienced eyes may de- 
tect in it quartz. 1, 5, 6,'7, 8, are specimens of this rock, 
(1) and (8) being characteristic of the general mass, the others: 
having peculiarities to be noticed presently. Along the sum- 
mit of the ridge runs a crest of dolomite reposing on the cry- 
 stalline rock, the line of junction being nearly horizontal, but 
about a furlong south of Canzocoli this line suddenly changes 
its direction, and descends the mountain in a curve which is 
at first nearly vertical, but soon inclines backwards, (or to the 
north,) and descends obliquely to the point where it intersects 
the most northern summit of the little mound to which the 
name Canzocoli is appropriated. Accordingly, in all the in- 
terval from the place of its vertical direction, the dolomite 
distinctly underlies the sienitic rock. The junction, however, 


» * The specimens referred to’are deposited in the collection of the Geo- 
logical Society of London. 


128 Mr Herschel on.a Remarkable Occurrence of Serpentine 


is so. encumbered with blocks of. the sienite rolled down from 
above, that the actual union of the two rocks cannot be seen 
except on Canzocoli.. The specimens, (1) and (2) however, 
were detached from a point of contact, where the dolomite, at 
least, is undoubtedly.in situ, and presents no peculiarity of ap- 
pearance, but that of being less saccharine, and more scaly.an 
its structure than the usual dolomite of the country. 
On Canzocoli, however, the case is different. The actua 
junction of the rocks is there accessible, and had fortunately 
been in some degree laid bare by some travellers who had. vi- 
sited it the day before,* and who pointed out to me the locali- 
ty. The phenomena of this junction are very remarkable. 
The dolomite distinctly underlies, at an angle from.50° to,609; 
dipping towards Predazzo, and appears to have.sustained,a:re- 
markable alteration in its mineralogical character, presenting, 
in place of its usual highly crystallized ‘saccharine structure, a 
flaky and very talcose appearance, arising from the interposi- 
tion of infinitely thin pearly plates, which give it a tendency. to 
break in irregular wedge-formed masses, and impart to ita 
smooth feel, in some degree steatitic. (Spec. 12.) |The incum- 
bent sienite is no less affected. Its grain is smaller, and it is in- 
tersected by innumerable veins parallel to the plane of junc- 
tion, of a white mealy substance, which partly dissolves with 
effervescence, and partly gelatinizes with nitric acid. (Spee. 
13.) Chabasie in regular small crystals also occurs in the fis- 
sures of the sienite, (spec. 6, '7,) and a beautiful small dode- 
caedral garnet was found among a quantity of the white mat- 
ter (18) on subsequent examination. (Spec. 14.) 
But the most remarkable fact attending this junction, is 
the occurrence of a thin lamina of serpentine between the 
sienite and the dolomite. When I first encountered it, on 
prosecuting further the excavation commenced by the gentle- 
men above alluded to, I had no suspicion of its nature, its ap- 
pearance being dark and dull from the moisture which had 
penetrated it, and from a degree of weathering it had un- 
dergone. The same causes had rendered it much more friable 
than is usual with this rock, so that, being quite in doubt asito 
its nature, I contented myself with merely packing up the 


* 11. Marchese»Petrucci, di‘Pezaro, Mons. Bertrand Islin, and Signior 
Perolini, di Bassano. 


~~ eer 


at the Junction of Sienite with Dolomite. 129 


specimens (9; 10, 11,) for examination at leisure, a cirenm- 
stance I now regret, as it deprived me of the opportunity of 
studying so minutely as I should otherwise have done, its re- 
lation to the surrounding rocks. It was, however, not united 
either to the sienite or dolomite en masse, The former, as it 
approached the dolomite, became gradually more and more 
intermixed with layers of the mealy substance above de- 
scribed, lying parallel with the general direction of the plane 
of junetion, and in the midst of these layers occurred the la- 
mina of serpentine. Below this again was found the mealy 
substance in a state of greater purity, but still not free from 
layers of the sienitie matter, which however gradually disap- 
peared, leaving it nearly pure up to its contact with the dolo- 
mite. The whole transition took place within a thickness of 
about eighteen inches or two feet. 

. These specimens are now (the moisture being exhaled) not 
to be mistaken, and have all the characters of the best defined 
serpentine—the greasy lustre, unctuous feel, and irregular 
fibrous appearance of their surfaces, the dulness of their cross 
fracture, translucency at the edges, and variation of colour 
from dark to light green. I am not aware of the occurrence 
of any serpentine rock in the neighbourhood. 

+ I shall not attempt to’ reason on this fact, which presents 
considerable analogy with that recently described by Dr Mac- 
Culloch, as occurring at the junction of a trap vem with lime- 
stone in Scotland, (vide vol. i. of this Journal, p. 1,) but 
content myself with submitting the specimens, with this very 
imperfect account, to the judgment of better geologists than 
myself. 


Arr. XXVI.—Notice of the Remains of an Animal resemb- 
ling the Scandinavian Elk, recently discovered in the Isle of 
Man ; with Suggestions on the Importance of distinguish- 

ing this Animal from the Fossil Trish Elk. na Letter to 

_ Dr Brewsrer, from Samue. Hiesert, M. D. F.R.S.E. 

_ and M.G.S. Secretary to the Society of Scottish Antiquaries. 
* My Dear Sir, 
T transmit you the following communication, which must be 
considered as an appendix to my paper inserted in. the early 
VOL; III. No. t. JULY 1825. 1 


140 Dr Hibbert on the Remains of the Scandinavian Elk 


part of the present Number, relative to the circumstances un- 
der which the fossil elk is discovered in the Isle of Man. I 
have this day, as you requested, seen Mr Seton, who has been 
so kind as to put into my hands the letters which he has re- 
ceived from Mr Burman of Douglas. I learn from them, 
that the relics of another animal, apparently of the present 
race of elks which inhabit the north of Europe, have been 
recently found in the marl of Ballaugh, being the same site in 
which the remains of the extinct Irish elk have been found. 
This is a very curious fact. It also gives an additional de- 
gree of support to the view which I have taken, that the cir- 
cumstance of animals of the deer kind being very frequently 
discovered enveloped in shell marl, bears some reference to the 
habits of the living animal. Thus the older naturalists, who 
had the best opportunities of learning the habits of the Swe- 
dish elk when he was much less rarely found than at the pre- 
sent day, affirm, that he usually frequented wet marshes. 
** Tn locis palustribus,” says on “* sese plurimum 
condit, illic et partus edit suos.”. The Irish elk (as the ani- 
mal is usually named) had probably similar habits, as it is in 
the sites of lakes and pools now obliterated, tira his remains 
are usually found.* 

I find that Mr Burman has not, in his communication to 
Mr Seton, delineated the actual horn of the unextinct species 
of elk which was found at Ballaugh, but that of a recent ani- 
mal of the same kind which was brought from Norway, -the 
relic being in his possession ; but he adds, that the fossil horn 
which he saw, (the discoverer of which would not part with 
it,) exactly resembled in form the one which he has represent- 
ed by the pencil. This, at a single glance, will be found to 
be perfectly unlike that of the large fossil Irish elk. + 


* In Lancashire, where the bones of the Irish elk are more rarely met 
with, they have been discovered under no other circumstance. Whittaker, 
in his History-of Manchester, records, that in the commencement of the 
seventeenth century, remains of the elk were dug up in the low flat country 
through which the Ribble flows, as at Larbreck near Preston, and at the 
Meales, which form the mouth of this river. A very large elk was also 
fished out of the sea in the year 1727 at Cartmel. There has been here 
much low land, that, at comparatively a recent period, has been pais: 


by the ocean. 
+ See Plate II. Fig. 3. 


lately discovered in the Isle of Man. 131 


As it is now evident that the remains of two animals, each 
bearing the name of elk, are to be found in the marl pits of 
the Isle of Man, it is of importance to attend to their distinc- 
tion. This will be immediately seen, by comparing Mr Bur- 
‘man’s beautiful delineation of the head of the fosil Irish elk, 
(see Plate II. Fig. 1,) with his outline of the horn of the 
Norwegian elk. But Cuvier has been the most successful in 
pointing out the difference that subsists between these animals. 
He remarks, that the head of the Irish elk resembles that of 
the Cervus, rather than that of the recent elk, which still ex- 
ists in the north of Europe, and in America; for, among 
other distinctions, he adds, that the former has from sixteen to 
twenty antlers only, while that of the latter generally amounts 
to thirty or more. Again, in noticing the branch of the Irish 
elk, he observes, that the antler at the base of it descends 
from thence to the forehead, while this peculiarity is not to be 
detected in the recent elk. ‘Uhe wood of the Irish elk like- 
wise surpasses, in all its dimensions, that of any other animal 
bearmg the same name. 

Such being the difference that subsists between the fossil 
Irish and the Scandinavian elk, it is of importance that the 
former should have a distinctive appellation, especially since 
the remains of each are liable to be found associated together, 
as in the Isle of Man. Whittaker has conceived that the 
Irish elk was the Segh of the ancient Britons, a word that has 
been interpreted as significant of an animal not only of the 

ox, but of the mcose kind. But as this view is very conjec- 
tural, and as the term segh is not a convenient one, the ap- 
_ pellation may, with propriety, be abandoned. A name for the 
Trish elk may, with more advantage, be sought for in the 
works of the learned Aldrovandus. This naturalist was evi- 
dently much puzzled regarding a gigantic animal, known, as 
he conceived, to the ancients, that resembled the stag in the 
shape of its head, and the fallow-deer in that of its horns. 
While he, therefore, distinguishes this animal from the Scandi- 
navian elk, he adds, that besides ourcommon fallow-deer, there 
was what may be described as a palmated stag, of which mention . 
is made by Julius Capitolinus, in these words: ‘ Gordiani 
sylva memorabilis picta in domo rostrata Cn. Pompeii picturas 


132 Dr Hibbert on the Cervus Euryceros, or Irish Elk. 


animalium diversas continet, inter quas sunt cerve palmati 
ducenti mixtis Britannis.” The passage thus cited is a re- 
markable one, particularly in reference to the term mivtis 
Britannis, the large extinct elks being most abundantly found 
in the British islands. But in carefully examining the general 
tenor of the sentence quoted from Capitolinus, without any 
view to theory, we must acknowledge that the allusion is very 
ambiguous. Aldrovandus is, at the same time, doubtful to 
what animal certain ancient horns were to be referred, which 
-had previously engaged the attention of Bellonius, adding, 
“< suspicorque cornua illa ingentis magnitudinis, qua in gra- 
dibus et ascensu Ambrosian arcis conspiciuntur, non vulgaris 
damz, ut Bellomius existimat, fuisse, sed vel alcis vel alterius.” 
But he concludes, with regard to the Cervus palmatus of 
Capitolinus, that it referred to some large animal, the horns 
of which equalled, or exceeded in length and thickness, those 
of the stag, and in width those of the fallow-deer—a deserip- 
tion that, he conceives, may answer to the éugiaegac of Op- 
pian; and hence he gives to the animal in one place the 
name of Huryceros. Now, I would submit, that this appella- 
tion be retained, as significant of the fossil Irish elk, in con- 
tradistinction to the still existing elk of Sweden and other 
places. It may be at the same time doubtful, if by the wide- 
horned stag of Oppian was really meant the Cervus palmatus 
of Capitolinus, or even the gigantic fossil elk of the Bri- 
tish Islands ;—for although the Euryceros is carefully separated 
from the Iogxoi, and although it is said to exceed the BsGaA@ in — 
size, and to be still larger than the Adgzos, * yet unfortunately 
for this description, it is still a question with naturalists, what — 
-particular animals Oppian had subjected to this comparison ?+ 
Tt is certain, however, that under the term Lwryceros, he 
meant the most eminent of the tribe of EAago/: 


A’D)x¢ 8 ad xrézor Beorol rarw evgunegurag 
Tlavr’ chapor reredsor Quoi xegcmv 0 epumer ev 
Oiny revo Ingol narmyogees, Pogexor. 


* ONMMIANOY KYNHIETIKON, lib. ii. 291, et seq. 
+ Ossemens Fossiles, par M. Cuvier, tome iv. p. 30. 


Dr Hibbert on the Cervus Euryceros, or Irish Elk. 133 


The poet also makes use of the expression éuguzeguras dfues in 
distinguishing this race of Cervi from all others of the deer 
kind, Hence, the propriety of giving the appellation, which 
I have recommended, to the gigantic, yet elegant, fossil elk. 
Likewise, in connection with the speculations and allusions 
of older naturalists, the term Cervus Euryceros may, with 
much advantage, be used instead of the unscientific name 
Trish Elk, which leads to the erroneous notion, that the remains 
of this animal had been found only in the sister kingdom. 
When engaged in these antiquarian considerations, I shall 
add little more relative to the Cervus Euryceros, (as I would 
now name the Irish Elk,) than that this animal is said to 
have been alluded to in the 12th century, by Giraldus Cam- 
brensis, in his topographical account of Ireland. He de- 
_seribes certain of the deer kind, as, ‘* Cervos pre nimia pin- 
guedine minus fugere pravalentes, quantoque minores sunt 
corporis quantitate, precellentius efferuntur capitis et cor- 
nuum dignitate.” But it is difficult to admit, that this pas- 
sage has in it the entire force that the cautious historian 
would require; for although it corresponds in the description 
given of the horns and head, the alleged shortness of the body 
is still the puzzling circumstance. Yet, according to the cal- 
eulation of Dr Knox, the animal has in its dimensions been 
overrated, its height to the withers being only about five feet. * 
Hence, when the body is contemplated, in connection with its 
_ amazing display of horns, it is by no means unlikely that it 
would be regarded as comparatively short. This is, in fact, 
the impression of a spectator, when he sees for the first time 
the skeleton in the Museum of Edinburgh, notwithstanding 
_ it has been set up much too high.f Giraldus’s other remark, 
that the animal was little calculated for flight, because of its ex- 
treme bulkiness, points to a circumstance, regarding which we 


* This I learn from a conversation with Dr Knox, who has suspended, 
for the present, publishing any details on the subject. 

+ Although this specimen was certainly not perfect, yet there is so much 
of the osteology of the animal to be learned from it, that we must consider 
it as one of the most interesting relics of the Cervus Euryceros that has 
yet been preserved. It was the munificent donation of His Grace the Duke 
of Atholl. 


134 Dr Hibbert on the Cervus Luryceros, or Irish Elk. 


can certainly have very little information. But it may be asked, 
if the disproportionate weight of the horns would not have had 
a tendency to impede the motion of the animal, and thereby 
induce obesity, and that, on this account, it might have trust- 
ed to its means of escape from pursuers, less to the swiftness 
of its footsteps, than to the marshes to which it was evidently 
accustomed to resort ?* According to this view, the extinc- 
tion of the Cervus Euryceros in the British Islands, would keep 
pace with the obliteration of the ancient pools and lakes, where 
its remains are now found.+ 

These are all the observations that I have at pricnesit to of- 
fer on the Cervus Euryceros, or Irish Elk. They have been 
suggested by the interest which the important researches of 
Professor Buckland have imparted to every circumstance con- 
nected with the history of the extinct animals of the British 
islands. But it is now incumbent upon me to observe, that 
my dissertation does not materially affect the general con- 
clusion to which this justly distinguished geologist has ar- 
rived. The diluvial deposit of Europe, which has formed the 


* There is a Runic monument at St Michael’s, in the Isle of Man, that, 
in reference to this speculation, acquires some degree of interest: An ani- 
mal of the deer kind, with broad horns, and represented as extremely large, 
in comparison to other animals engraved on the same monument, is in the 
act of being worried by a dog. 

+ In connecticn with this view of the comparatively recent origin of the 
Cervus Euryceros, I hasten to communicate the following most remarkable 
intelligence, which I received from a scientific friend in Edinburgh, Dr 
Milligan, though tco late to be inserted in the body of this paper, which 
had already gone to press. ‘‘ You may feel interested to know, that in 
Ireland, about nine months ago, there were dug up the skeletons of three 
great elks, which have been recently articulated by Mr Hart of Dublin. 
One of them measures eleven feet between the tips of the horns. Near 
them, in a three feet stratum of marl, were found the skeletons of three 
dogs, and at a little distance, were discovered the skeletons of several 
men. My informer is an expert chemist. He analysed the bones, and 
found them to consist of very nearly the same proportion of animal and 
earthy matter as in hartshorn, only a Jittle fluate of lime. The marrow 
was still in the benes, and burnt brightly at the flame of a candle.” It is 
to be hoped that some further details may be published relative to so ex 
traordinary a discovery, particularly with regard to the circumstances un 
der which the human skeletuns were found. 


Mr Christie on the Effect of Rotation on Magnetic Forces. 135 


main subject of his researches, is not referable to any ordinary 
cause with which we are familiar at the present day; it is, 
therefore, one of the most interesting objects of the naturalist, 
either to confirm the views which would refer the origin of it 
to the Mosaic Deluge, or to show that it may have arisen from 
some convulsion of a less general nature, yet sufficient to ac- 
count for the immense distance to which large boulders have 
been removed from their native beds. And although the 
Cervus Euryceros has undoubted claims to a postdiluvian 
origin, we are by no means entitled to suppose, that there may 
not exist the relics of other animals, which, being found under 
perfectly different circumstances, may justify an opposite con- 
clusion. In short, the whole subject admits of further investi- 


gation. Iam, &c. 
‘ SamuEL HiBBert, 


Epinsuren, May 20, 1825. 


Arr. XXVII.—WNotice of Mr Christie's Discoveries respecting 
the Effect of Rotation on the Magnetic Forces. 


Ty a valuable paper in the last part of the Philosophical 
Transactions “* On the Effects of Temperature on the Inten- 
sity of Magnetic Forces, and on the Diurnal Variation of the 
Terrestrial Magnetic Intensity,” of which we have given the 
leading results in our Scientific Intelligence, Mr Christie has 
mentioned the curious fact, that iron acquires peculiar mag- 
netic properties by simple rotation, which we understand he 
discovered and communicated to a friend more than three 
years before this paper was written. Mr Christie has since 
drawn up an account of the numerous experiments which he 
made in order to discover the laws according to which the ro- 
tation of iron affected a magnetic needle under its influence, 
which has been lately read before the Royal Society. The 
first observations which he made established the fact, that if 
a plate of iron be made to revolve about an axis passing 
through its centre, then, when it is brought to rest, a magne- 
tic needle in its vicinity will be found to deviate differently, 
according as the plate has been made to revolve in one direc- 


186 Mr Christie on the Effect of Rotation on Magnetic Forces. 


tion or the contrary, previously to being stationary, every: 
point in the plate bemg m precisely the same position, when 
at rest, in the two cases. In order to discover the laws ac- 
cording to which the rotation of the iron affected the needle, 
he conceived a sphere to be described about its centre, and 
the centre of the iron to be in the surface of this sphere; call- 
ing the diameter of the sphere im the direction of the dip, the 
axis, and the great circle having its plane at right angles to 
this axis, the equator, the situation of the centre of the iron 
would be determined by its latitude and longitude. When 
the centre of the iron plate was in the meridian, and its 
plane a tangent to the sphere, if the plate revolved ‘so 
that its upper edge moved from west to east, then, when it 
was stationary, it was found that the rotation had caused a 
deviation of the north end of the needle towards the east; 
and if the upper edge of the plate had been made to move 
from east to west previously to the plate being brought to 
rest, in precisely the same position as before, a deviation to- 
wards the west was caused by the rotation. When the plane 
of the plate was in the plane of the equator, or parallel to’ it, 
the rotation caused no deviation of the needle. If the plane 
of the plate was in the plane of the secondary to the equator 
and meridian, then when its centre was in the equator, either 
to the east or to the west of the needle, the deviation due to 
rotation would be in a direction different from that in which 
it took place when the centre of the plate was in the pole, the 
direction of rotation beg the same in all cases. Thus, sup- 
posing the upper edge of the plate to have revolved from west 
to east, then, when the centre of the plate was in the equator, 
the deviation of the north end of the needle due to rotation 


would be towards the west, whether the plate were to the. 


east or to the west of the needle; but if the centre of the 
plate were in either pole, then the deviation under the same 
circumstances of rotation would be towards the east. 

After making a great variety of experiments, Mr Christie 
was enabled to connect all the phenomena arising from the 
rotation under. one general law, and he has found, that the 
supposition of the mass of the iron acting from its centre, and 
the rotation polarising it in a direction at right angles to the 


‘Dr Turner’s Analysisof Mica from Cornwall. 137 


dip, will not only account for the phenomena in general, but 
that the deviations deduced from such a supposition will very 
nearly correspond with those actually observed. 

Some singular circumstances attend the effects which Mr 
Christie has described as arising from rotation: these effects 
appear to be nearly independent of the velocity of rotation; a 
single revolution of the plate, or even less, is sufficient to pro- 
duce the whole effect ; and the effect is permanent, so long as 
the plate remains perfectly stationary after having revolved. 

Since making these experiments, Mr Christie has, we under- 
stand, tried the effect of rapid rotation, and has found, that 
the deviations of the needle during the rapid rotation of an 
iron plate, are im the same direction as those which take place 
after the rotation, whether slow or rapid, has ceased, the plate 
revolving in the same direction in the two cases; but the ex- 
tent of deviation during rapid rotation is greater than that 


after rotation, which appears to be permanent, nearly in the 


ratio of three to two. It appears, therefore, that the same 
polarismg of the iron will account for the deviations in the 
two cases, but that during rapid rotation the mtensity of the 
poles is increased. 

As the magnetic phenomena, arising from the rotation of 
different bodies at present excite a considerable degrée of im- 
terest, we have no doubt that this brief sketch of those which 
Mr Christie first observed more than four years ago, (and we 
are not aware that such had ever been observed, or even hint~ 
ed at before,) will be acceptable to our readers. 


Arr. XXVIII.—Analysis of « Mica from Cornwall. By Ep- 
warp Turner, M. D. F. R.S. E. &c. Lecturer on Che- 
mistry, and Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians, 
Edinburgh. Communicated by the Author. 


Havine accidentally in my possession some of the rose-co- 
loured mica from Chursdorf in Saxony, in which Professor 
Gmelin has detected the presence of lithia,* and being struck 
with the characteristic appearance it exhibits when heated by 


* See his Analysis in the last Number of this Journal. 


188 =Dr Turner’s Analysis of a Mica from Cornwail. 


the blow-pipe’flame, I was induced to examine other varieties 
of mica in the expectation of observing similar phenomena. 
Through the kindness cf Dr Brewster I was supplied with 
specimens of twenty different varieties, among which were se- 
veral from Scotland and Greenland, besides others from Coro- 
mandel, Massachusets, Connecticut, Labrador, and Zinnwald. 
All of these micas, with the exception of the last, were very 
infusible, requiring the strongest heat of the blow-pipe to pro- 
duce even imperfect fusion, the chief effect being loss of lustre. 
But the variety from Zinnwald, on the contrary, fused readily, 
frothed up during the continuance of the heat, and communi- 
cated a fine rose tint to the flame. The only difference, in- 
deed, between it and the Chursdorf mica is, that the latter gives 
a white, the former a black bead by fusion.. This observation 
led me to examine the black mica of Altenberg, which accom- 
panies Pyenite ; and it also was found to possess the characters 
assigned by Professor Gmelin to the Lithion-micas. I now 
mentioned these circumstances to my friend Mr Haidinger, 
requesting him to examine the micas in the superb collection 
of Mr Allan; and he very soon succeeded in discovering seve- 
ral which possess similar characters when heated before the 
blow-pipe. Every specimen from Zinnwald, and several from 
Cornwall, he found to be of this nature, and Dr Anderson of 
Leith possesses a specimen from the Uralian Mountains, which 
bears the closest resemblance to that from Chursdorf, both in 
colour and fusibility. These facts render it probable, that 
the Lithion-micas are by no means uncommon in nature, and, 
to all appearance, several different species of them exist. The 
comparison of their composition must, therefore, throw con- 
siderable light upon the micas in general, and I have, on this 
account, undertaken the analysis of a series of these minerals. 

The subject of the present paper is a liver-brown coloured 
mica from Cornwall. As far as regards the indications be- 
fore the blow-pipe, it is the most unpromising mica I have ex- 
-amined; but from not having a sufficient supply of other va- 
Tieties at the moment, I have been obliged to begin with it. 
Though its texture is highly lamellar, like that of mica in ge- 
neral, its lamine are small, possess little transparency, and are 
inclined to break rather than bend when force is applied to 


Dr Turner's Analysis of « Mica from Cornwall. 139 


them. Its density is very considerable, being 3:066 when first 
put into water, and 3.081 after being boiled in distilled water 
to expel air from between its Diinide 

When a thin layer of it is exposed to the blow-pipe flame it 
fuses, an appearance of ebullition ensues, as if from the escape 
of gaseous matter, and a black shining enamel is left. It com- 
municates at the same time a red tinge to the flame, but 
which is so slight as to escape observation unless considerable 
care be selliciis) 

Analysis. —W hen heated to ee in a platinum caruh 
it lost only y>4/5 of its weight, its lustre being rather improv- 
ed than diminished by the operation. 47.39 grains, reduced 


to fine powder by continued friction in an agate mortar, were 


intimately mixed with six times their weight of carbonate of 
baryta, and exposed to a white heat for one hour. The mass 
had shrunk greatly, had a semi-vitrified appearance, did not 
adhere to the sides of the crucible, and was of a dark green, 
near black, colour. By digestion in water, a pink solution 
formed, and on adding a small quantity of muriatic acid, 
brown flocculi of manganese separated. The ignited mass 
was readily attacked by diluted muriatic acid, being wholly 
dissolved, except a small quantity of what appeared to be 
silica ina gelatinous state. The solution was coloured strongly 
by iron. It was carefully evaporated to dryness, and the 
silica separated in the usual manner. It rather exceeded 42 
per cent., but was obviously impure, since it was coherent 
instead of being a light powder. I therefore resolved to de- 
vote the present analysis solely to the determination of the 
alkalies, and to examine a separate portion for fluoric acid. 
’The baryta was precipitated by sulphuric acid, the iron, 
alumina, and manganese, by ammonia, and after concentrating 
the solution, hydrosulphuret of ammonia was added to separ- 
ate the last traces of manganese. ‘The salts were then heated 
in a platinum crucible to expel the sulphate and muriate of 
ammonia. After the addition of a little sulphuric acid, to de- 
compose any muriate of potash, the alkaline sulphates were 
fused. A colourless salt was obtained, a part of which was 
of sparing solubility, and which, by the addition of oxalate 


140° Dr Turner’s Analysis of a Mica from Cornwall. 


of ammonia, proved to be sulphate of lime. The pure alka- 
line. sulphates, when again fused, amounted to 4.8 grains, 
which dissolved completely in water. Muriate of platinum 
was then added, and the solution evaporated to dryness, to ‘se- 
parate the muriate of platinum and potash as perfectly as 
possible. The dry mass was digested in a little cold water, 
and the soluble portion examined for lithia. After separating 
the excess of platinum, I found that the residual salt was com- 
posed almost entirely of potash, which had passed over with . 
the washings, and that the quantity of lithia was too small to 
be appreciated correctly. I have, in consequence, been unable 
to ascertain its presence with absolute certamty, though the 
following circumstance renders its existence highly probable. 
The supposed sulphate of Lithia was decomposed by acetate 
of lead, the excess of lead removed by sulphuretted hydrogen, 
and the filtered solution brought to dryness. The acetate 
thus obtained was decomposed on platinum foil, and an alka- 
line carbonate procured, which, though potash could still be 
detected in it, was far more fusible than the carbonates either 
of soda or potash, and discoloured the surface of the metal. 

To determine fluoric acid and the other constituents of the 
mica, 28.11 grains were ignited with four times their weight of 
sub-carbonate of soda, and the method recommended by Ber- 
zelius in his analysis of the topaz was adopted. The alkaline 
solution, when neutralized by muriatic acid, gave a white pre- 
eipitate with muriate of lime, which yielded 2.73 grains of dry 
fluate of lime, corresponding to 0.76 grains, or 2.706 per cent. 
of fluoric acid. That it was fluate of lime, was proved by its 
corroding glass when the acid was set free by concentrated 
sulphuric acid. 

The matter which was not soluble in water, together with a 
small quantity of silica separated from the alkaline solution, 
dissolved completely in dilute muriatic acid. The solution 
was evaporated to dryness, and after due digestion in diluted 
acid, the silica was collected, ignited, and weighed. It yielded 
36.54 per cent. of pure silica. 

The peroxide of iron and alumina were precipitated in the 


cold by sub-carbonate of soda, and were separated from one 
dt 


Dr Turner’s Analysis of a Mica from Cornwall. 144 


another in the usual way. ‘The peroxide, after ignition, weigh- 
ed 7.607 grains, equivalent to 27.06 per cent., and was quite 
pure. The alumina, after being strongly ignited, amounted 
to 7.16 grains, or 25.47 per cent. 

After separating the iron and alumina, sub-carbonate of so- 
da was added to the solution at a boiling temperature, anda 
precipitate subsided, from which I obtained 0.26 grains, or 0.93 
per cent. of lime, and 0.54 grains, or 1.92 per cent. of the red 
oxide of manganese. 


The Mica is thus composed of— 


Silica, - - - - 36.54 
Peroxide of iron, - - - 27.06 
Alumina, - - - 25.47 
Fluorie acid, - - - 2.706 
Lime, - - - - -93 
Red oxide of manganese, - - 1.92 


Potash, (calculated from 4.8 gr. sulphate of potash,) 5-475 


100.101 


I have examined this mica for titanium in the way recom- 
mended by Vauquelin, without obtaining satisfactory evidence 
of its existence; nor did the tluate of lime, when decomposed 
by sulphuric acid, yield a trace of phosphoric acid. 

I have been greatly assisted in the execution of this analy- 
sis by my able and zealous pupil Mr William Gregory, and, 
as I still enjoy his valuable assistance, 1 expect to give the 
analysis of several species of lithion-mica in the ensuing num- 
ber of this Journal. That they will form several distinct 
species, when farther examined, seems highly probable from 
the difference in their specific gravity, which, in the brown 
variety from Cornwall, analysed above, is far beyond the li- 
mits of any of the other varieties of mica. The regular 
forms of it have not yet been ascertained. Mr Haidinger 
has found that those of a Siberian variety of lithion-mica 
belong to the hemi-prismatic system, being oblique-rhom- 
bic prisms, with the terminal plane inclined to the obtuse 
edge of the prism, at an angle of about 99°. The plane 
angle of the terminal face is nearly =119° 30’, from which, 
and the inclination of the axis, the transverse section of 


142 Dr Turner’s Analysis of a Mica from Cornwall. 


the prism follows, =120°'7’. The faces of this prism are 
very rough, but those parallel to its short diagonal, which 
change it into an hexagonal prism, are generally smooth, and 
possess a distinct vitreous lustre. The plane of the resultant 
axes of double refraction is parallel to this face. This variety 
occurs along with crystals of topaz, quartz, and felspar. It 
is deserving of notice, as Mr Haidinger remarks, that most 
of the lithion-micas are attended by topaz and other mi- 
nerals which generally accompany tin-ore. The lepido- 
lite from Moravia is associated with white topaz; the dark 
grey mica from Zinnwald includes Pycnite, which is a com- 
pound variety of topaz; the Cornish variety, from St Mi- 
chael’s Mount, is found along with topaz and tin-ore ; another 
Cornish variety from Carclaze, of a greyish-white colour, con- 
tains granular masses and small crystals of white topaz ; the 
brown variety, which I have analysed, is mixed with quartz 
and apatite. Topaz has also been discovered at Zinnwald, but 
the mica of that place is commonly associated with tin-ore, 
quartz, wolfram, and tungstate of lime. It occurs in fine crys- 
tals, and’ was selected for analysis by Klaproth as being acha- 
racteristic variety. My analysis of it is in progress, and I 
have already obtained unequivocal proof of the existence of li- 
thia in it. The solution of the mixed sulphates of lithia and 
potash, after the addition of muriate of platinum, was brought 
to perfect dryness, and the soluble parts taken up by a little 
cold water. A white salt was procured, after removing the 
excess of platinum, which fused readily when heated, and  af- 
terwards dissolved easily in cold water. It was decomposed 
by acetate of lead, and an acetate of lithia was formed in the 
way already described. When a particle of this salt was 
brought into contact with the flame of a spirit-lamp, it instantly 
communicated a fine red colour to it. When decomposed by- 
heat a white carbonate was procured, which was characteriz- 
ed by its singular fusibility, its sparing solubility in water, by 
acting upon the surface of platinum when fused upon it, and 
by causing a brown stain when placed on moistened turmeric 


paper. 


Zoological Collections. 143 


Art. XXIX.—ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS. 


1. Conybeare on the Plesiosaurus. ; 


From an examination of detached bones, procured even from dis- 
tant localities, the late Mr Conybeare had collected a number of facts 
which induced him to publish in the Trans. of the Geolog. Soc. for 
1821, an account of a new fossil genus of reptiles, which he named 
Plesiosaurus. The accuracy of his views have been confirmed by the dis- 
covery of an almost perfect skeleton, which has corroborated his opinions 
in every essential particular. The most remarkable circumstance in the 
osteology of this animal, is the number of cervical vertebre, amounting to 
thirty-nine, or including the anterior dorsal, which are placed before the 
humerus, forty-one. By the philosophical naturalist, this extraordinary 
elongation of neck will be considered with great interest, as it assimilates 
its structure less to fishes, in which the sternum is thrown forwards, 
though destined to move in the same element with them, than to birds, in 
which this part of the skeleton is brought forwards. 

Mr Conybeare conjectures from the form of its paddles, that it may have 
swam on the surface of the ocean, with its long neck arched backwards like 
that of a swan, ready to dart at the prey that came within reach ; or it 
may have lurked in shoal water, hidden from the attacks of its enemies, 
and deriving, from the flexibility of its neck, a compensation for that want 
of agility indicated by its organization. 

2. Discovery of the Megalosaurus. 

Fossil zoology has received a very interesting addition by the discov- 
ery of an enormous nondescript animal at Stonesfield, near Oxford. 
The remains are very imperfect, but Frofessor Buckland has been en- 
abled to ascertain, that they have belonged, like the Plesiosaurus, to 
an animal of the Saurian order of reptiles. The most important frag 
ment that has yet been found, consists of a portion of the lower jaw- 
bone, nearly one foot in length, which is interesting as developing its 
mode of dentition, and from which it is obvious that this part must 
have terminated in a flat, straight, and very narrow snout. From the pro- 
portions of a thigh-bone, found at Cuckfield, Sussex, Professor Buckland 
estimates the length of this reptile to have been upwards of sixty feet, and 
its bulk to have equalled that of an elephant seven feet high. It, there- 
fore, fully merits the name of Megalosaurus, which he has applied to it. 
Geolog. Trans. Second Series, vol. i. part ii. 


i 


3. Gigantic Fossil Coral. 

Tuts remarkable fossil, the Astrea dendroidea of Lamouroux, was de- 
scribed by that author, from an irregular fragment a few centimetres in 
height. M. Le Sauvage has, however, been so fortunate as to discover a 
Magnificent specimen, several feet in height, imbedded in the coralloid 
limestone of the Falaise of Bénnerville. The fine preservation of this spe- 
cimen, has furnished M. Le Sauvage with characters sufficiently distinct 


144 Zoological Collections. 


to constitute a new genus, which, from its habit, he has named Thamnas- 
teria. The generic characters are: Polyparium petrosum, ramosum ; su- 
perficies ramorum stellis lamellosis, sessilibus, obtecta ; lamellis linearibus, 
rotundatis. It consists of a considerable bundle of branchy stems, from ten 
to fifteen lines in diameter, simply contiguous, and presenting to view from 
one end to the other regular series of rounded dilatations and circular con- 
tractions. The branches are terminated in rounded points of unequal 
heights, and their entire surface is covered with lamellar, rounded, con- 
tiguous and almost superficial stellac. The very perfect state of so prodi- 

ious a fossil, would indicate that it has not undergone any displacement, 
but that it has been enveloped in the limestone that surrounds it, in the 
place of its growth.—Mém. de la Soc. d Hist. Nat. tom. i. 


4. Enormous Orang-Outang found in Sumatra.* 


We have been favoured by a correspondent in India with the following 
particulars respecting this animal :—* The greatest curiosity at present is 
the skin and the lower part of the face of an enormous monkey, stated to 
have been seven feet high. Dr Abel is now drawing up an account of it 
for the Asiatic Society. I endeavoured to obtain some particulars from 
the officer of the ship in which the skin was brought here, but I could 
not learn more than what has appeared in the public papers. The. fol- 
lowing is an extract of a letter from Mr Burton of Tappanooly, in Su- 
matra, to Mr H. Wood of Bencoolen:—‘ I must not omit to mention, that 
Messrs Craygman and Fish, of the Mary Anne Sophia, have lately killed, 
near Taruman, an immense orang-outang, measuring in height sia feet ; 
its foot is 143 inches in length. T have seen its skin, which is covered with 
bright shining brown hair, mostly resembling that of a horse’s mane, about 
a foot long. Its face was quite human, with a long beard, beautifully 
curled. You may imagine the size and power of the animal, when I tell 
you, that I measured one of its eye-teeth, and found it three inches and a 
fourth in length, and that it lived many hours after five balls were lodged 
in its body, and a spear run through it. The body was well proportioned> 
with no protuberance of the stomach.’ a 

“Jn this account, it is stated to be six feet high only. Mr Fish who — 
killed it, described it as being much taller than himself, and as hav- 
ing mustachios as well as a beard. The head was given to the cook of the 
ship to boil and clean off the flesh ; but, by some mismanagement, the 
upper part was spoilt, and the lower jaw only preserved. The hands and — 
feet, however, have been brought here—preserved in spirits ; and I hope 
Dr Abel will give a full account of what remains of this extraordinary 
animal. The place where it was killed lies between Tappanooly and 
Acheen, on the north-west coast of Sumatra,”—Letter to the Editor from a 
Friend in Calcutta. 


* « "The specimens of this animal which have been brought into Europe, were 
mostly young individuals, seldom exceeding three feet in height ; but it is alleged, 
that when they have attained to maturity, they equal or even surpass man, both in 
stature and strength.”—Edinburgh Encyclopedia, Art. Mazonocy, vol. xiii. p- 
398. 


’ 


Zoological Collections. 145 


5. Aranea domestica, possessed of a Natural Diving-Bell, to assist it in | 
crossing Water. : 


A house-spider was placed by Mr Bell on a small platform, in the mid- 
dle of a rummer full of water, the platform being about halfan inch above 
the surface. It presently made its escape, as was anticipated, by suffering 
a thread to be wafted to the edge of the glass. Mr Bell, suspecting it might 
have been assisted by the water being so nearly on the same level, poured 
some of the water away, and placed the spider as before. It descended by 
the stick that supported the platform, till it reached the water, but finding 
no way to escape, it returned to the platform, and for some time, employed 
itself in preparing a web, with which it loosely enveloped the abdomen, by 
means of the hinder legs. It now descended, without hesitation, to the 
bottom of the water, when Mr B. observed the whole of the abdomen to be 
covered with a web containing a bubble of air, probably intended for re- 
spiration, as it evidently included the spiracles. The spider enveloped in 
this little diving-bell, endeavoured on every side to make its escape, but in 
vain, on account of the slipperiness of the glass; and, after remaining at 
the bottom for about thirteen minutes, it returned, apparently much ex- 


shausted, as it coiled itself closely under the little platform, and remained 
afterwards without motion.—Zoological Journal, vol. i. 283, 


6. Mode of Catching Fish by Diving, peculiar to the Gulf of Patrasso. 


The diver being provided with a rope, made of a species of long grass, 
and which floats near the surface, has only to move his canoe where he 
perceives there is a rocky bottom ; this done, he throws the rope out so as 
to form a tolerably large circle ; and such is the timid nature of the fish, 
that, instead of rushing out, it never attempts to pass this imaginary bar- 
rier, which acts as a talisman, but instantly descends, and endeavours to 
conceal itself under the rocks. 


“Having waited a few moments till the charm has taken effect, the diver 


‘plunges downwards, and not unfrequently returns with four or five fish, 
weighing from two to six pounds each. As they seldom find more than 


the heads concealed, there is the less difficulty in bringing forth their rich 
prizes ; and when the harvest is good, the divers are so dexterous, that 
they have a method of securing three or four fish under each arm, beside 


what they can take in their hands. The fish greatly resembles the John 
- Dory.—Blaquiere’s Second Visit to Greece. Lond. 1825, Part ii. p. 40. 


4. Rapidity of the Effects of the Poison of some of the New Holland 
Snakes. 


In a letter which we have received from His Excellency Sir Thomas 
Brisbane, he mentions that one of the snakes which he has at home bit 


_ two of his pointers, one of which died in three minutes, and the other in 


about thirty minutes. Sir Thomas observes, that the venom of these rep- 


can be compared in its effects only to the prussic acid. 


VOL. III. NO. 1. JULY 1825. K 


146 Decisions on Disputed Inventions. 


8. On Changing the Residence of Fishes. 


Mr Nicholas Mill having caught with a fly some of the fry of the sal- 
mon, as they were retreating to the sea, preserved them alive, in order to 
transport them into a fish pond, which was about thirty yards square, with 
a clay bottom, covered with mud. The depth of the water was from three 
to four feet, and it was supplied with a running stream. When the sal- 
mon fry were first caught they measured four inches from the tip of the 
nose to the tip of the tail. About twelve months afterwards, the pond was 
overflowed, when some of the fish, together with some trout, were left dry. 
They now measured in length eight inches, and assumed the shape and ap- 
pearance of a lean salmon. Mr Mill thence concludes, that the salmon 
might attain its usual size in large ponds, and he suggests that the ova, or 
spawn, might be removed from rivers, and be bred in the pond in as near- 
ly as possible the same situation.— Ann. of Phil. vol. ix. p. 380. 


9. Structure of the Hind-F oot of the Walrus. 


Sir Everard Home has discovered that the hind-foot of the walrus has 
an apparatus like that of the foot of the fly, by which it is enabled to car- 
ry on a progressive motion against gravity. In its operation it resembles 
that of a cupping-glass, or rather that of a sucker of leather, with which 
boys amuse themselves in lifting stones. In its bony structure it has a 
striking resemblance to the human hand.—See Phil. Trans. 1824. Part. II. 


Art. XXX-—DECISIONS ON DISPUTED INVENTIONS AND 
DISCOVERIES. r 


1. The Rediscovery of the Comet of Encke due to Mr Rumker and not to 
Mr Dunlop. 


In a paper published in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edin- 
burgh, (Vol. x. p. 112, 113,) by Sir Thomas Brisbane, the merit of 
rediscovering the remarkable comet of Encke has been ascribed to Mr 
Dunlop. On the authority of that paper, and of a private letter from 
Sir Thomas Brisbane, we afterwards contradicted a statement of Baron 
Von Zach, who attributed the discovery to Mr Rumker. Wehave re- 
ceived, however, recent letters both from Sir Thomas and Mr Dunlop, 
in which all the merit of the discovery is attributed to Mr Rumker. 
Two comets had made their appearance at the same period in New South 
Wales, one of which was discovered by Mr Dunlop, and the other by Mr 
Rumker. It was, therefore, a natural mistake to attribute the discovery 
of the comet of Encke to Mr Dunlop, and that of the other to Mr Rum- 
ker, when it was exactly the reverse ; the other comet of September 1822 
having been discovered by Mr Dunlop. We regret to learn, that the 
health of that able and active astronomer, Mr Rumker, has been so much 


impaired, as to deprive the obseryatory of Paramatta of his valuable 
services. 


The Apparent Immobility of Spectral Impressions, Gc. LAT 


2. The Composite Structure of the Bipyramidal Sulphate of Potash not 
discovered by Mr Brooke. 


Our mineralogical readers are, no doubt, aware of the bipyramidal form 
in which sulphate of potash often crystallizes. Count Bournon considered 
this as the primitive form of the salt, In a paper in the Annals of Phi- 
losophy, Mr Brooke has described this form of the salt, and shows that it 
is a composite form, consisting of rhomboidal prisms, combined in the 
manner which he has represented in a diagram. 

This composite form of the bipyramidal dodecahedron of sulphate of 
potash had been discovered long before by the agency of polarised light, 
and the combination distinctly described in the first paper of the first num~ 
ber of the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, a work to which Mr Brooke was 
acontributor. As Mr Brooke has made no reference whatever to that pa= 
per, it might have been presumed that he had not read it ; but we find that 
he has actually read and quoted it in his lucubrations on the structure of 
Apophyllite, with which he has favoured the public; and which have al- 
ready shared the same fate as his rhombohedral speculations on the primi- 
tive form of the sulphato-tri-carbonate of lead. _ 


3. The apparent immobility of Spectral Fmpressions ; their Singleness 
by Distorted Vision ; and the Reference of the Phenomena of Vision to Vo-= 
luntary Muscular Action, first discovered and proposed by Dr Wells, and 
not hy Mr Charles Bell. 


» In the observations which were some time ago made on spectral impress 
sions in this Journal, the author conceived, from reading Mr Charles Bell’s 
paper, that that gentleman had the sole merit of discovering the apparent 
immobility of ocular spectra, and the fact of their remaining single by dis< 
torted vision ; and that he had been the first who referred these and other 
phenomena of vision to the voluntary actions of the muscles. This opinion 
was founded on the circumstance of Mr Bell not having mentioned any 
other author as having preceded him in these views; and upon looking 
again at Mr Bell’s paper, it is obvious that every reader must consider him 
as the discoverer of these facts, and the author of these views. We find, 
however, that these facts and views are all contained in Dr Wells’ Essay 
upon Single Vision with Two Eyes, Lond. 1792, p. 65, 66, 67, 70; and 
are stated with a degree of philosophical precision very different from 
that which they wear in their revived form. Our inference from these facts is, 
that Mr Bell was not acquainted with the work of Dr Wells, otherwise he 
would not have failed to do justice to the previous labours of that able and 
ingenious philosopher. In a future number we shall discuss this subject 
with Dr Wells, and give a full account of the experiments we have made 
upon it. Having overthrown the doctrine of the involuntary motion of 
the eye-ball by optical arguments, we shall leave the physiology of that 
part of the subject to Dr Knox, who, in a paper lately read before the 
Royal Society of Edinburgh, has demonstrated the incorreetness of Mr 
Bell’s reasonings, and the fallacy of his results. 


148 Decisions on Disputed Inventions. 


4. Professor Leslie's Hygrometer, invented by the late Dr James Hutton. 


An account of Mr Leslie’s hygrometer was first published in Nicholson’s 
Philosophical Journal, 4to, vol. iii. p. 461, and it appears from that de- 
scription, that the principle of the instrument, as well as the construction 
and application of it, are claimed as the sole discovery of the author, as the 
following quotations will show :— 

«« My attention was first directed to the subject of hygrometry by the 
perusal of the late Dr Hutton’s very ingenious Theory of Rain.”—“ To 
discover the dryness or humidity of the air, we have only to find the 
change of temperature induced on a body of water insulated or exposed on 
all sides to evaporation. This principle I first established in 1790. 

“Two thermometers, therefore, filled with any expansible fluid, with 
quicksilver, alcohol, or air, the hall of the one being wetted and the other 
dry, will, by their difference, denote the state of the air in respect to humi- 
dity. Nothing was wanted but to combine those instruments in euch a 
manner as that they should indicate their differences of temperature.” 

It appears, from these passages, that Mr Leslie considers himselfas having 
discovered and established the principle of the hygrometer in 1790 ; and 
yet he regards this principle as carried into effect by the use of two a 
mometers, so contrived as to indicate merely their difference of tempera-~ 
ture. 

It appears from Professor Playfair’s life of Dr Hutton, in the Edinburgh 3 
Transactions, vol. y. pp. 67 and 106, that such an instrument had been 
invented and used by Dr Hutton himself, though he had not described it” 
in any of his publications. The following is the passage :— 

“To one,” says Professor Playfair, ““ who considers meteorology with 
attention, the want of an accurate hygrometer can never failto beasubject =~ 
of regret. ‘The way of supplying this deficiency, which Dr Hutton prac- . 
tised, was by moistening the ball of a thermometer, and measuring the de- 
gree of cold produced by the evaporation of the moisture. The degree of 
cold, ceteris paribus, will be proportional to the dryness of the air, and 
affords, of course, a measure of that dryness.” 

It is very obvious that, by means of a double thermometer and a move- 
able scale, the difference of the indication of the two thermometers may 
be observed at once. Mr Leslie applied the same principle to Sturmius’s 
differential thermometer; and, consequently, he has done nothing more 
than use an air thermometer in place of a mercurial one, though it does 
not appear from Mr Playfair’s account what kind of thermometer was em- 
ployed by Dr Hutton. 

We believe it is now universally admitted, that the hygrometer, as manu 
factured by Mr Leslie, is not an accurate instrument, and we know that 
it is not in repute in France, and has not been used by any of the emi- 
nent French philosophers who have carried on hygrometrical researches. 
They have invariably preferred the hair hygrometer of Saussure. 

Those who prefer the employment of Dr Hutton’s principle ought to 
use the two thermometers in place of the differential one, as the tempera- 


History of Mechanical Inventions, &c. 149 


ture of the air is obtained at the same instant with its dryness, and the 
observation is less liable to be affected by errors of construction. 

Although we have not used Mr Daniell’s very ingenious hygrometer, 
yet we understand, from good authority, that it is an admirable instru- 
ment. It has been employed, we observe, by Professor Moll and Dr Van 
Beek, in their valuable experiments on the velocity of sound, printed in the 
Phil. Trans. for 1824, p. 424. 


Arr. XXXI.—HISTORY OF MECHANICAL INVENTIONS AND 
PROCESSES IN THE USEFUL ARTS. 


1. British Invention and Discovery Association. 


Av a time when the improvement of the useful arts is an object of na- 
tional importance, and when no security is held out by our patent laws to 
inventors or discoverers, the establishment in London of a “ British In- 
vention and Discovery Company for the assistance, encouragement, and 
“protection of native genius,” must be considered as a great event in the 
history of our country. The capital is L. 750,000, which is already sub- 
scribed. 

The business of the establishment will consist of three great branches : 

1st, The taking out of patents, both at home and abroad, for original 

‘inventions and discoveries, and the manufacture and sale, or granting of 
licences for the manufacture and sale, of patent articles. 

2d, The promotion of such new processes or arts as can be safely carried 
on without patents. 4 

3d, The sale, not only of those patent articles and exclusive manufac- 
tures in the property of which the company may acquire a share, but ge- 
nerally all patent and privileged commodities. 

The company propose not only to make all the pecuniary advances ne-~ 
cessary in each case, but to promote, by an active and extensive agency, the 
interests of those who may confide in them. The remuneration they will 
look for will be-such an equitable proportion of the ultimate profits as may 
previously be agreed upon ; and in no event, not even of the greatest ulti- 
mate failure, will persons, contracting with them for the prosecution of any 
supposed invention or discovery, be liable to the smallest share of the ex- 
pences incurred. 

We understand that there are already many valuable plans waiting the 
acceptance of the Association. 


2. Mr Bryce’s Stomach or Moveable Branch Syphon.* 
One of the most valuable applications of the Syphon with which we are 
acquainted, has been recently made by Mr Bryce, surgeon in Edinburgh. 
The object of this invention is to throw fluids into the stomach, and to ex- 
tract fluids from it, in cases where poison has been swallowed, &c. In order 


* This Syphon is made and sold by Mr Macleod, surgeon’s instrument-maker 
in Edinburgh. 


150 History of Mechanical Inventions and 


to apply the Syphon to this purpose, in place of syringes and pumps, Mr 
Bryce conceived the idea of making the longer branch of the Syphon move- 
able, so that, when the shorter leg was in the stomach, the moveable leg 
could be raised above the mouth, or placed in the usual position below it. 
To the common cesophagus tube, about 26 inches long, a tin tube of the 
same calibre is accurately fitted, by making the one pass about an inch into 
the other. This tin tube is about three feet long, or to be more portable, 
it may consist of two pieces, each 18 inches long, to be accurately fitted to. 
each other, as above mentioned, and the joinings made air tight, by being 
neatly and firmly wrapped round with slips of wetted bladder. A bladder 
holding about a quart of liquid is then to be firmly fixed to the extremity 
of the tin tube, and this bladder fitted with a ring and stopper at the end 
farthest from the tin tube, for the purpose of emptying or pouring liquids 
intoit. In using this instrument, the cesophagus tube must be introduced 
through the nose or mouth into the stomach, so as nearly to reach its bot- 
tom. The extremity of the tin tube is then to be joined to the cesophagus 
tube, and the joining made air tight. ‘The bladder being then filled with 
tepid water, or any other fluid, the extremity of the tin tube, with the at- 
tached bladder, is then raised towards a perpendicular over the patient’s 
head, and the fluid instantly descends into the stomach; and in order to 
extract it again, it is only necessary to depress the bladder and tin tube 
below the level of the stomach so as to form a Syphon. 

It will be obvious to our readers that a Syphon upon the same principle 
may be conveniently used for any other purpose, and may be appropriate- 
ly called a moveable branch Syphon. The two branches may in that case 
be of metal, glass, or any substance joined by an air tight joint. In cases 
of exigency two glass tubes, or pieces of any tube might be joined into a 
Syphon, by making the joint of bladder as above described. 


3. Mr Shiell’s Treangle for Elevating the Jet of Hire Engines. 

Turs very ingenious contrivance, which was used with great success in 
the late fires in this city, is shown in Plate I., Fig. 5., where ABC is the 
triangle or tripod, consisting of beams of wood. 
Ais 40 feet long, and 5 inches diameter at the middle, 
B and C 30 feet, do. do. 
D the Yard, 12 feet. 
E the Swivel turning in the end of A. 
F the Jet or Director moving in the Swivel E. 
G the Lathe Hose connécted with the Engine. 
H Three ropes attached to the end of the Director, one comes down direct 
to the Frame J, and the other two pass through holes in the extremities of 
the Yard, and thence to the Frame J. The first rope serves to give a ver- 
tical motion to the Director, and the latter two serve to guide it to the right 
or left, so that by these ropes any power may direct the Jet in any required 
direction. 

This sketch is not exactly Mr Shiell’s plan, (in which the legs of the 


. 


Processes in the Useful Arts. 151 


triangle were of equal length,) but is taken from a triangle executed for the 
police establishment of this city. 


4. Account of an improved Hydropneumatic Lamp, which can be construct- 
ed at a small expence. By Witt1am Dyce, M.D, F.R.S. Edin. 


“This lamp consists of a cylindrical glass jar, open at the top, A B Plate I. 
Fig. 6. ; into this jar is placed a bottle, C D, of the same kind of glass, which 
nearly fills itin point of circumference. With respect to the inner,bottle, it is 
to be cut in two, so that when placed again in the outer jar, it only occu- 
pies one-half its space in altitude, which space, however, must be made up 
by means of a piece of leaden pipe, EF, of such size as will easily grind 
into the neck of the bottle, projecting, at the same time, about an inch 
above the upper part of the outer jar, which passes through an opening 
in the centre of a covering of mahogany, turned for that purpose. Into 
the upper part of the leaden tube is ground a small brass cock F, which 
can be procured from braziers at from 10d. to 14d., according to the size. 
Now the upper part, or that from which a fluid would flow, is to be filed 
or cut away, so as to admit of a piece of brass tube, about 2 of an inch in 
diameter and 3 in length, being soldered to the nozle, into which is fitted 
a piece of glass tube, drawn into a point, and bent downwards so as to be 
parallel with the stem, and, of course, to blow downwards, whereby the 
stream of hydrogen gas is directed upon the spongy platinum in a small 
box, G, moveable up and down through the wooden cover, by a spring- 
tube made fast to the cover; at the same time that this small box has a 
cover or top fitted to it, and easily moveable by means of a joint, so as to 
be accessible in darkness as well as light. 

Every person knows, that rags on being burnt, so as to be ina com- 
plete state of incandescence without flame, are fit for tinder, and that 
this tinder may be inflamed by a spark, nearly as soon as gun-powder. 
Now, if these rags, of which the tinder is to be made, be immersed in 
the solution of platinum, dried and then burnt, the product will answer 
quite as well as Dr Fyfe’s instrument for inflaming sulphur. On most oc- 
easions, indeed, it will inflame the gas without any farther trouble, yets it 
must be allowed, at a much greater expence of gas before the inflammation 
takes place ; but if the tinder only is required to be set on fire, then a very 
small portion of gas will be needful for that purpose, and a common brim- 
stone match will produce the flame required. On certain occasions, I have 
found this method preferable to the spongy platinum when the column of 
water was not of sufficient altitude to force out the gas with sufficient ra- 
pidity to be inflamed, and yet was quite equal to the inflammation of the 
tinder, from which a match could be lighted, and that without any hurry, 
as it keeps ignited for a very long time. 

In like manner, common charcoal answers the same purpose. If any 
quantity of powdered, fresh made, charcoal be moistened with the solution, 
and then submitted to a red heat, or nearly so, it possesses the power of 
inflaming the gas, if a jet be directed to it for a considerable length of 


152 History of Mechanical Inventions and 


time ; yet it must be allowed, that its power of inflammation is not equal 
to the tinder, although it most readily takes fire, and, of course, is quite 
equal to the purpose of igniting a match. 

With regard to the tinder, I may mention that I once prepared a small 
portion (by chance) that inflamed the gas as easily and quickly as the 
spongy platinum ; but haying no time, at that period, to prosecute any 
farther experiments on the subject, I must be content with merely men- 
tioning the fact as it occurred. At the same time I may add, from recol- 
lection, that this piece of rag was used in wiping the vessel in which the 
ammoniacal precipitate had been prepared, and consequently may have 
imbibed a portion of the precipitate that was unavoidably left in the bason. 
I think the instrument, with this very cheap method of preparing the 
substance, or tinder, will prove a most useful appendage to a bedroom, 
seeing that it has elegance, cheapness, and compactness to recommend it. 

When the impregnated tinder is employed, it may be proper to remark, 
that a larger jet is required at first to ignite it, and then a continuance of 
a very small stream is needful for the inflammation of the gas. The same 
precaution is necessary with one that I forgot to mention, that is paper. If 
the filtering paper, on which the precipitate is washed and dried, be burnt 
to redness, and then covered so as to exclude the access of common air to 
it, then it forms, when cold, as good an article for the inflammation of the 
gas as that prepared from rags. But if the charcoal preparation be had 
recourse to, a considerable waste of gas must be expected before inflamma- 
tion takes place; yet if that is not required, ignition may be produced 
with a small portion indeed. All these preparations have a great advantage 
over the spongy platinum, for when they are once ignited, they continue 
for a very long time to be so, whereby time is afforded to apply a match, 
if a light is all that isrequired ; whereas the spongy mass goes out instant- 
ly when the gas is stopt; and, on several occasions, when the gas was 
nearly expended, or, in other words, the pressure was so small as not be 
sufficient to produce flame by the platinum, on substituting the tinder it 
was ignited instantly, and by it a match kindled, which may answer the 
purpose for the time. 


5. On the Use of Granite for Railways. In a Letter from Joun Gis, 
Esq. Civil Engineer, to Jouw Rosison, Esq. F. B.S. E. 


Sir, 

I Trust you will excuse me for addressing you on the subject of railways. 
But the unprecedented demand, and consequent high price of cast-iron, 
occasioned, perhaps, partly by the vast quantity required for the distribu- 
tion of gas, together with the increasing prosperity of the country ; having 
created an extraordinary. demand for new manufacturing establishments, 
will, I fear, greatly retard the progress, and increase the expence of the 
numerous railroads now contemplated in various districts of Great Britain, 
I haye, therefore, been induced to turn my attention to this subject, and I 
beg to submit the annexed sketch, Plate I. Fig. 8, for your consideration, 
which, according to my estimate, will have the advantage over the present 


Processes in the Useful Arts. 158 


plan of railroads in general, of 6s. per yard, or L. 528 cheaper per mile on 
a single railroad, and 12s. per yard, or L. 1056 per mile of a double railroad 
viz. calculating for the vicinity of London, and in many other districts still 
cheaper, as I shall afterwards show. 

Agreeable to the annexed sketch, I propose, for a simple railroad, to lay 
two continuous lines of kirbing of granite, or other strong, hard, durable 
stone, close jointed on the ends ; four to five inches broad on the top; ten 
inches deep, and ten to twelve inches broad at bottom ; and on the top of 
each row, to lay wrought-iron bars, in length about twelve feet, one inch 
broad by one-half inch deep, with a cross T, welded on the under side at eve- 
ry four feet, checked down a little, and fixed into the stone. The wheels of 
the waggon to run on the top of the iron bar, in the usual way of common 
iron rails. ‘Che stone kirbing will be kept in its place by the road-stuff on 
_ each side, and the ironrail acting as a tie-bar, will make a perfectly smooth 

railroad, not liable to derangement. 

In situations, where railways had to pass public roads or streets, it 
would perhaps be best to lay the space between the kirbing with small 
paving-stone. As the iron bars would be very little raised, and lie per= 
fectly close on the stone, no breakage could take place, as is the case with 
cast-iron rails. As the stone kirbing would be more than sufficient to car- 
ry any weight that could be brought upon them, the iron bar on the top 
is only intended to give a smooth surface, and offer the least possible 
friction. 

With regard to branche, turnings, and passings, it is evident they can 
be formed with the kirbing with the greatest facility. I have laid down 
the width as five feet between the rails, which is greater than usual ; but 
perhaps it would be better to make the rails still wider, which would allow 
the body of the waggon a greater area, and less depth, and admit of higher 
wheels, requiring less power to move them on the rails ; more accommoda- 
tion would also be afforded, in the event of locomotive engines being ap-~ 
plied. Square bushes would be a great improvement for waggon axles, 
which would only have to touch in four points, in place of embracing the 
whole circumference, as they have to do by the present mode. 

The labour of forming the railroad, embanking, metalling, &c. &c. be- 
ing the same in both schemes, I shall not enter into the expence of that 
department, but confine myself to a comparative estimate of what I pro- 
pose to substitute. 


Estimate by the present plan of Cast-Iron Railways, similar in weight 
to the one on Dartmoor. 


To 92 lbs of Cast-Iron in a yard of length of a common single railroad, 
including 2 chairs, one for the end of each rail, which at the lowest quoted 
prices at present is 18s. 8d. per cwt. or 2d. per lb - L.0 15 4 

To 2 Stones for fixing do. including boring - - 0 '8"'0 

To 4 Buts for Chairs, exclusive of Plugs - - 0 0 6 


L.0 18 10 


154 History -of Mechanical Inventions and 


New Scheme by Kirbing of Stone. 

To 12 lbs of Welsh Bar of Wrought-Iron .of dimensions as 
per Sketch in a yard, or including both sides together, with 
the cross T, and bolt at every four feet in length, which, al- 
though it requires no labour, but only welding the 'T at every 
four feet, and the quoted prices at present are only 14s., I 
have here estimated at double that, viz. 28s. per cwt- or 3d. 


per lb. - - - - - - 0 3 0 
To Granite Kirbing, delivered in London, for both sides, 

at 4s. 6d. per yard, - - = 2 09 0 

To Boring and Setting, at 5d. per yard, “ " 0 010 

0 12 10 

Difference in favour of Kirbing per yard, - * 060 


There are no doubt many districts, through which roads may have to 
pass, where hard, strong, durable stone may be procured, which would 
render this plan still cheaper, as the stones only require to be straighted 
on the top, and one edge, with square joints, and the bottoms blocked work, 
and may be in length one foot six inches to three or four feet. 

In districts of the country where strong durable stone cannot be reason- 
ably procured, it may be advisable to give a greater body of stone, and cut 
a groove an inch deep for the flanch of the waggon-wheel, and fix the bar 
of iron in the middle of the stone ; but this will not be necessary when 
granite, or good whin-stone, or limestone can be procured, as they will 
be sufficiently strong on the edges, agreeable to annexed sketch. 

I am, Six, respectfully, 
Your obedient servant, 

ABERDEEN, 14th February 1825. Joun Gizz. 


‘6. Description of a Single Valve Sluice, invented hy Ropert Tuom, 
Ese. Rothesay. 

The construction of this sluice (Plate I. Fig. 9;) is partly similar to 
that described in our last Number; but it is applicable to cases where 
the reservoir is on high grounds above the works requiring the water, 
and where, of course, the water passes down a declivity. , 

AB, part of the tunnel of a reservoir. 

B, a sluice that turns upon pivots a little above its centre ee pressure. 

CD, The rivulet that carries the water from the reservoir down to FG, 
part of a level canal or aqueduct. 

EH; a hollow cylinder. 

KL, a cylinder, water proof, of rather less specific gravity than water, 
which moves freely up and down within cylinder EH. 

M, a pulley. BMK, a chain, &e. 

I, a small cistern, kept always full of water en the waste from the 
sluice, or by a small hole in it. 

HI, a small pipe, communicating between cistern I and eylinder EH, 


Processes in the Useful Arts. 155 


EN, a small pipe communicating under ground, between EH, and 

N, a valve at the lower end of pipe EN, which, when open, is capable 
of passing more water than the pipe HI can receive. 

R, a float, placed within a small pool of water, on the same level as, 
and communicating with, the canal. 

The water in the canal is here represented at its greatest height, and the 
valve N shut by the float R pressing up the spindle: the cylinder EH is 
therefore filled by water from the cistern I, and the sluice B shut by the 
pressure of the water in the reservoir, there being a little more pressure 
below than above the pivots. When the surface of the water falls in the 
canal, the float R falls with it, and then the valve N (falling by its own 
weight) opens and empties the cylinder EH, when cylinder KL falls and 
opens sluice B, and gives the supply required. 

It is therefore of no consequence in regard to regulating the supply of 
water, how far the reservoir is from, or how high above, the level of the 
works requiring the water ; provided that the length of the pipe EN cor- 
responds with the distance, and its strength with the height or pressure of 
the water. It is necessary, however, that the bore of this pipe should be 
small, particularly where its length is considerable, in order that sluice B 
may open or shut very soon after valve N opens or shuts, and at the same 
time require only a small supply of water. Suppose, therefore, the open- 
ing into the pipe EN at I to be only a half inch bore, and that the valve 
N is shut when that pipe is empty, it is evident that the sluice B will not 
shut, till both that pipe and cylinder EH be filled with water ; and that 
the smaller the diameter of that pipe be, the sooner will it be filled. The 
time, therefore, that sluice B takes to shut after valve N shuts, will always 
be the same as the time that pipe EN and cylinder EH take to fill when 
valve N is shut; and to make sluice B take an equal length of time 
to open after valve N opens, the aperture of that valve must be such as to 
take an equal length of time to run off the water to the bottom of cylinder 
EH, while the water is still flowing into the aperture at I, as that aperture 
takes to fill both cylinder and pipe when valve N is shut. 


7. Description of a Chain Sluice, invented by Rosert Tuom, Esq. Rothe= 
say. 

This apparatus (Plate I. Fig. 10,) answers exactly the same purpose as 
the last, only the construction is different. 

In this figure, the relative situations of the reservoir and canal are the 
same as in Fig. 6 ; and the cylinder and valves the same as those in Fig. 
4, with the addition of RS, a lever, SP, a chain, and U a weight. 

One end of the lever RS is connected with the valve spindle NO, and 
the other end with the chain SP. The other end of this chain is connected 
with the float P on the canal XY below. 

When the water in the canal XY rises, float P also rises and slackens 
the chain SP; the weight U, then falling, shuts valve O and opens valve 
N ; then the water, passing down tube KCLD, raises cylinder FG, and 
the pressure of the water in the reservoir shuts sluice A. When the wa- 


156 History of Mechanical Inventions and 


ter in the canal falls, float P falling with it, lifts the weight U, and shuts 
valve N, and opens valve O ; and then the cylinder FG, falling wens the 
water in ED, opens sluice A, &c. 

This construction may, perhaps, be adopted with advantage on account 
of its cheapness, where the reservoir is very near the level canal, but a 
considerable height above it ; for a brass wire, one-tenth of an inch dia- 
meter, will be strong’ enough for the chain where the distance is short, it 
having, in any case, little more to lift than twice its own weight. Figure 9, 
however, seems better adapted to general purposes. 


8. Description of a Breathing-Pump, invented by William Van Houten, 
junior, Rotterdam. 


Fig. 11, 12 of Plate I. show the interior of two pump cylinders, a and b, 
joined together, so that they make one body ; in each of these cylinders is 
placed a piston c, which are both by the piston-rod d, (passing through 
the lid e,) attached to the handle jf, by means of the small screws ¢ ; h is 
a discharging, 7 an introduction pipe, with an opening k ; lare two leather 
elastic tubes, with a horn-band m, in which band is attached a small In- 
dian-rubber pipe x; o is an injection-pipe, with a moveable shield p, and 
g the screw to fix it; 7 a blade. 

As soon as the body is taken out of the water the nose and mouth must 
be properly examined, and, if necessary, cleaned of mud, &c ; meanwhile, 
the two elastic tubes » are dipped for a moment in warm water, bent, as 
may be found necessary, and then placed to such a depth in the nose, that 
the horn-bands m are half in the nostrils, these bands being necessary to 
prevent the circulation through the pipes being stopped, when the nostrils 
are held close by the hand of the operator. The pipe o is then put into 
the mouth, until the shield p is close to the lips; the latter is shifted ac- 
cording to the size of the sufferer, and fastened by the screw gq, so that the 
pipe may go the required depth into the mouth, with the blade r upon 
the tongue. 

As soon as the Breathing-Pump is placed in this position by the opera- 
tor, who holdsit in the left hand, another person B must hold the nose and 
mouth air-tight round the pipe and tubes; the handle of the piston is 
drawn upwards by the right hand of the operator, and immediately both 
pistons rise to the top of the cylinders ; upon this movement the valves s u 
shut, and ¢v open ; and while the cylinder a is filled, through the nose, 
with foul air from the lungs, the cylinder is filled with fresh or atmos- 
pheric air through the introduction pipe z, the pistons being pressed down- 
wards, the valves s x are opened, and ¢v shut, and while the foul air from 
the cylinder a is discharged through the pipe h, the atmospheric air, by 
which the cylinder / was filled, is pressed through the pipe o in the mouth, 
and consequently into the lungs, and breathing will be immediately re- 
stored. : j 

The operator ought to make the strokes as regular as the breath is usual- 
ly drawn, and proper care must be taken that the stomach and breast be 


Auer es|"\y 


< 


Processes in the Useful Arts. 157 


pressed eyery time the piston rises in the cylinder, in order to assist the 
discharge of the foul air. 

If, at the commencement of the operation, there is reason to believe 
that the lungs are too heavily charged with foul air, the elastic Indian- 
rubber tubes ought alone to be brought into the nose, and, while keeping 
the mouth air-tight with the hand, a few strokes will immediately remove 
and discharge it. This operation will give room immediately for the fresh 
air to act with success by means of the pipe o, which must then be put into 
the mouth. Should it be wished to make an experiment to draw the foul 
air out by the mouth, and to introduce the fresh air through the nose, un- 
serew the pipe o and the tubes /, then turn the pump, so that the cylinder 
b is up, and a downwards, the pipes and tubes are then replaced, so that Z 
is joined to the cylinder 4, and o to a. 

_ The valves are placed in such a manner between the screws at the bot- 
tom of the cylinder, that they may easily be taken out and turned an- 
other way, as is shown in the drawing, so that they have different direc- 
tions, and may act in either way, as is judged necessary. If it be wished. 
to make a trial of purified air, the apparatus containing the air must be 
screwed into the opening & of the introduction pipe 7, the gas will imme- 
diately, by drawing the handle of the pumps upwards, float out of the ap- 
paratus into the cylinder a, and in consequence, by the re-action of the 
pistons downwards, be introduced into the lungs ; and should the room, 
where the operation is performed, be too close, and filled by foul air, then 
take a long tube, and place the funnel either out of the window, or into the 
next room, where the air is cool and fresh. 


9. Professor Amici’s Improved Camera Lucidas. 

Tn using the ingenious camera lucida, invented by Dr Wollaston, and de- 
scribed in seyeral English works,* a practical difficulty has been experienc- 
ed arising from the alternate appearance and disappearance of the point of 
the pencil by which the outline is traced. In order to understand this, says 
Professor Amici, let ABCD, Plate I. Fig. 15, be Dr Wollaston’s quadrangu- 
lar prism. The eye at O, perceives by ineans of two reflections from DC, CA, 
the object Q, and refers it to P. The pencil held in the hand at P is seen by 
one-half of the pupil, and the object by the other half, so that, by a slight 
motion of the eye, the pencil, or the ray, is seen indistinctly, according 
as the part of the pupil by which they are viewed becomes greater or 
smaller. Inorder to avoid this evil, M. Amici adopted the construction in 
Plate I. Fig. 16, where ABC is a metallic mirror, whose polished surface 
AB, is inclined 135° to the plain surface BD, of a piece of glass DCFE, 
with parallel faces. The eye at O, now sees the object R and Q, by the 
rays RMPO, reflected at Mand P. As both the pencil and the rays are seen 
with the whole pupil, the object may be drawn with the greatest facility. 
When lenses are used in this construction, a concave one should be placed 
before the mirror ABC, and when a convex one is used, it should be placed 


~™ See the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, Art. CAMERA Lucia. 


158 History of Mechanical Inventions, &c. 


below the glass towards the paper at Q. By these lenses, a copy larger 
or smaller than the object may be drawn. The camera lucida used by 
Professor Amici is fitted up as in Fig. 18, which is half its real size. In 
order to get rid of the reflection from the second surface of the glass, as 
shown in Fig. 17, by the ray CDFC, which enters the glass, M. Amici re- 
moves the polish from the part DM, so that no light is reflected at D.* 

In order to prevent a reverse image of the objects produced by the me- 
tallic mirror from being seen, a small plate AB of blackened copper is 
placed as in Fig. 18, which stops the upper rays which a single reflection 
would bring to the eye. A rectangular aperture, to which the eye is ap-= 
plied, is made in the copper, the smallest sides of the rectangle being lar- 
ger than the pupil, and the other sufficient for seeing enough of the ob- 
jects. 

Another construction which M. Amici thinks better than that of Fig. 
16, is shown in Fig. 19, where RMNO is the progress of the ray from the 
object, being reflected at M from the polished surface FG, of the metallic 
mirror EDFG inclined 45° to BD. In this combination, the second reflec= 
tion from the glass plate cannot be removed by grinding the face AC, but 
this image may always be prevented from reaching the pupil, by giving a 
proper thickness to the glass. 

In order to make the two faces of the glass perfectly parallel, in which 
case distant objects will not appear double, M. Amici constructed a tri- 
angular prism of glass, and having cut it in two, he united the parts ACD, 
ADB, Fig. 19, so as to form a parallelopiped. By giving one of the prisms 
a slight motion of rotation, a position was easily found in which the two 
faces were parallel. 

A third species + of camera lucida has been formed by Amici, with a small 
metallic mirror inclined to the great one, at an angle of 45°. The small 
mirror, which is elliptical, and smaller than the pupil, is supported and in- 
sulated by a small steel wire. The Lacie is, in that case, seen by the outer 
ring of the pupil. 

A fourth kind of camera lucida is shown in Fig. 20, where ABC is an isos 
celes right-angled prism of glass, having its face, BC, parallel to the metallic 
mirror MN, with an aperture in it XY, Fig. 2, less than the pupil 
RS ; the ray from Q, follows the progress of the dotted lines to the eye at 
P, which sees the pencil throngh the opening XY, while the object is seen 
in the circular segments at R and S. 

The last and the best construction is shown in Fig. 22, where ABC is an 
isosceles prism of glass, whose base, AB, forms an angle of 45° with MN. The 


_* We have constructed these with plates of topaz, which often split with sure 
faces perfectly polished, and always mathematically parallel. An inclined edge, as 
at DE, Fig. 16, can always be got, and often a rough water-worn edge, 

+ In place of a metallic mirror, we have found small and perfect crystals of ruby 
silver, blende, specular iron, and oxide of tin, much better fitted for this purpose, 
and much easier obtained. If the crystal used is extremely thin, a variation of the 
position of the eye enables us to vary the relatiye illumination of the pencil of the 
tinge. —ED. ; 

UL 


Sir J. E. Smith’s English Flora. 159 


ray then proceeds in the direction PQSO, to the eye at O. The angle at C 
should be a little less than a right angle, in order that when the eye ad- 

vances to B, it may not see objects directly reflected from. AB. A plate of 
copper CN, pierced with a longitudinal aperture, as in Fig. 21, is then 
placed from C to N. In this construction, and indeed in all, the prism 
ABC, is greatly superior to a metallic mirror. M. Amici points out the 
great utility of the camera lucida in lithography, as the drawing from na- 
ture may be made at once upon the stone. 


+ 


Art. XXXII—ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS AND 
MEMOIRS. 


1. The English Flora. By Sir James Epwarp Smiru, President of the 
Linnean Society. 2 vols. 8vo. Vol. I. 370 pp. Vol. II. 470 pp. 


Ir is now time that we should execute the agreeable task which We; 
some time ago, promised to ourselves, of noticing more at large the two 
first volumes of Smith’s English Flora, the appearance of which was an- 
nounced in the first number of our Journal. 

There are, perhaps, few countries of so limited extent that comprise 
such a variety of plants as the British Islands ; particularly if we take in- 
to account its marine productions ; although we must, at the same time, 
confess that there are, comparatively, few vegetables that are peculiar to 
these countries, few that are not found either in France, Germany, Den- 
mark, Sweden, Norway, and Lapland. The variety of British produc. 
tions to which we allude may, we think, be attributed to the extent of 
the island from north to south, across 60° of latitude. Hence the plants 
of the southern districts will be found to have many species in common 
with France and Germany ; those of Scotland again, with the productions 
of Sweden and Denmark ; whilst the great elevation of the hills in some 
parts of the country induces a vegetation that may most aptly be compar- 
ed with that of Norway and Lapland. Parallels of longitude seem to af= 
fect, or to produce a difference in vegetation, much less than those of lati- 
tude. Hence, the degree of elevation above the level of the sea being the 
same, the plants of England and Scotland will equally be seen on the 
continent of Europe in the same parallel of longitude : and Ireland again, 
will be found to have a vegetation scarcely different from those parts of 
‘England and Scotland opposite to which it lies. The exceptions to this 
Tule are very few in number. The beautiful Menziesia polifolia, or St 
‘Patrick's Heath, aud the Saxifraga Geum, with its numerous varieties, 
‘are, we believe, only found truly wild in Ireland ; and the same may be 
‘said of the Luphorbia Hibernica ; but the two former are principally con- 
‘fined to the western extremity of that island. We cannot satisfy ourselves 
‘that the A7butus is an aboriginal native of Killarney, where it grows with 
Such luxuriance ; but are rather inclined to annex some credit to the tra- 
ition of its having been introduced by the monks of Mucross Abbey, 


160 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. 


from France or Spain. Few trees (for the Arbutus becomes a tree at Kil- 
larney) are found to be so isolated as this is, in a state of nature. 

Much as we owe to our insulated situation, in a political point of view, 
we ure forced to allow, that, in another respect, in what concerns the ex~ 
tent and number of the species of its vegetable productions, Great Britain 
must yield the palm to the continent; extent of country and elevation, 
above the level of the sea, being the same. Plants cannot, or they can 
but rarely, by means of their seeds, cross over the ocean, so as to become 
naturalized in other countries. On the continent, they are continually 
migrating and extending the circle of their stations. Thus, we find that 
we no sooner pass the channel, and wander by the roadsides, or into the 
corn-fields of France, than we see many plants to which our eyes have only 
been accustomed as inhabitants of the garden. This is peculiarly the 
case with the Eryngium campestre, (now, we believe, quite extinct in 
Britain,) Cirsium oleraceum, Alyssum calycinum, Anemone pratensis, 
Campanula speculum. It is the same in Germany and Holland, and a 
slight glance at the figures in the Flora Danica will suffice to show how 
many plants there are, even in those northern climates, which we cannot 
call ours. The Alps of Switzerland, and the mountains of Norway, sepa 
rated as they are by very great distances, have many plants in common, 
which we do not include in the Flora of our alpine regions; while, on the 
other hand, we can boast of very few plants which are peculiar to our 
islands. Sir James Edward Smith is inclined to consider the Ligusticum 
cornubiense as exclusively of British origin, though we must confess, that 
our own observations have led us to a different conclusion. Brassica 
monensis has not yet been found in any other part of the world than the 
Western Isles, and upon the opposite shores of England and Scotland. 
But the most interesting of our peculiarly British plants is the Eriocau- 
lon septangulare, very nearly allied, indeed, to the E. pellucidum of Ame~ 
ricas In no other part of Europe is any one individual, even of the ge- 
nus, to be found ; and what is very remarkable, although the greater num- 


ber of the species are inhabitants of the tropics, or of warm climates — 


bordering upon the tropics, yet our species is found in one of the most 
northern of the Hebrides ; and in a lake so cold, that the bare recollection 
of our wading into it, in pursuit of this rarity, seems to cast a chill over 
our whole frame. 

Amongst the Cryptogamia, rich as Britain has proved to be in that ex- 
tensive family, very many of them have been long known to exist equal- 
ly upon the continent of Europe, and in North America. Indeed, it is a 
certain fact, that the lower we descend in the scale of vegetation, the 
more universally are the individuals of those tribes dispersed over the sur- 
face of the globe. We have received from North and South America, 
and from New Holland, a Lichen which we cannot distinguish from the 
Cenomyce rangiferina of our heaths and moors. Schweinitz, who has 


collected and described, with much care, the Fungi of Upper Carolina, — 


ee 


Oe i te 


Fe ee ee ee 


ee) en 2 a? he 


(where, let it be observed, there is scarcely a phenogamous plant common 


to Europe,) has remarked that a very large proportion of them are the 
1 


Sit' J. E. Smith’s\Enelish Flora. 161 


same with those of France and Germany: and we may add, that’ the 
mosses which we have received from the higher parts of North America, 
and from Kamtschatscka, are’ almost) identical with those of Europe ; 
whilst, with regard to the Jungermannie of the two countries now''men= 
tioned, although we have had the opportunity of examining many species, 
there is not one that has not been also detected in England and Scotland. 

Britain, nevertheless, from the very circumstance of its being an island; 
and having its vegetation circumscribed within certain limits, must be al< 
lowed to possess much that is interesting in what concerns its botany’ 
and it yields to no country in the successful manner in which its veges 
table productions have been investigated. 

Sir James Smith, in his preface to the English Flora, has given a gene- 
ral and admirably written view of the works which have been published 
on the Botany of Britain ; but which, (since the book is in the hands of 
every one at all concerned ‘in the subject,) as' we have not space to copy 
‘entire, so we shall not injure, by any attempts to curtail. Our principal 
object,-in this place, will be to show how much Sir James Smith has hims 
self effected during a long period of years, and witha constitution which 
has, we fear, suffered by close application to his favourite pursuit ; and 
what further accession may be expected to be made to the Flora by some 
of the most zealous promoters of British Botany, whom we have, at this 
time, the pleasure of numbering among our acquaintance. 

» It was at an early period of his botanical career, that Sir James Smith 
became possessed of the invaluable Linnean Collection, which alone would 
have afforded him advantages over every other naturalist, in whatever Sys- 
tematic work he might have undertaken. . Happily this, great as it might 

_be, was not the only qualification possessed by our author. To his ex 
tensive botanical acquirements are added the high attainments of an ele- 
gant scholar, and a talent at composition which has rendered his writings ° 
universally popular, and has been the means of throwing a charm over 
his’ botanical writings, scarcely known to the science before. - We could 
here, were it necessary, appeal to almost every page of the English Botany 
in confirmation of our assertion ; to the Introductory Discourse which was 
read at the opening of the: Linnean Society, and which was printed in 

_ the first volume of the Transactions of that body ; to the lives of the va- 
rious botanists in Rees’ Cyclopedia, and the several botanical articles in 
that’ work from the same pen ; and lastly, not to mention others, the pre- 
face to the Introduction to the Study of Botany, and that of the work hbe- 
fore us; every where displaying the science in its most amiable point of 

_ view ; recommending it for the pleasure and delight it affords, whether in 
the field or in the closet ; but above all, as a meaus “ of enlarging the un- 
derstanding by a perpetual display of the power and wisdom of God, and 
encouraging our best hopes by sure testimonies of his goodness :” whilst, 
on the other hand, he tells us, that ‘‘ none but the most foolish or deprav- 

ed could derive any thing from the pursuit but what is beautiful, or pol- 
lute its lovely scenery with unamiable or unhallowed imagery.” 

Possessing these qualifications then, and these feelings, the publication 

VOL. III, No. 1. JuLY 1825. z: 


162 = Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. 


of the English Botany could, to no person, with so much propriety, have 
been confided asto Sir James Smith. It wascommenced by him in 1790, 
with the figures, as is well known, ‘drawn and engraved by Sowerby ; and 
the work extended to thirty-six volumes, with 2592 excellent plates. 
This publication may safely be pronounced unique of its kind, and rarely 
will there be found such an union of talents, both of writer and of artist, 


as have combined to form this book. In other countries, something of — 


the kind has been attempted, in France, we believe in America and in Ger- 
many ; but all have failed, and the inferiority, both of the designs and de- 
scriptions, is most striking. 

It may easily be conceived, that such a work as English Botany must 
have tended very materially to encourage the progress of this science, not 
only by the valuable information which, for the space of twenty-three 
years, it periodically imparted, the book being published in monthly num- 
bers; but also, because it necessarily proved a sure receptacle for every 
new botanical discovery that was made during its progress. The experi- 
enced naturalist made his communications and his remarks, for which full 
credit .was given him; while the more humble botanist, and the young 
aspirant after fame, had his acquisitions, and his name, recorded in a man= 

-ner that could not fail to urge him to renewed ardour in his pursuits. 
We, ourselves, will not forget, while memory shall last, the sensations 
excited by the first appearance of our name in print, when the Buzbaum- 
ia aphylla was announced as having been detected in Britain, “ by a 
young naturalist of great promise.” It gave a fresh stimulus to our exe 
ertions, and, aided by other circumstances occasioned by that discovery, 
induced that bias in our pursuits, which has now made botany the study 
and the pleasure of our life. 

There is scarcely a botanist of eminence of that period who did not com= 
municate something to this valuable work. We may here enumerate, 
amongst the most important contributors to the English Botany, the 

-names of Sir Thomas Cullum, Mr Crowe, Mr Dawson Turner, Mr Borrer, 

~Mr Dillwyn, Mr E. Forster, Mr G. Anderson, the Reverend G. R. 
Leathes, Mr Griffith, Mr Templeton, Mrs Griffiths, and Miss Hutchins ; 
—and, during the leng period of its publication, it was frequently the 
painful task of the author to record, in his own feeling language, the loss 
of some or other of his friends. The conclusion of the work, with the 
36th volume, in 1814, when it included all the then known British plants, 
with the exception of the Fungi,* left a void which every cultivator of in- 
digenous botany must have felt throughout the kingdom ; but which, we 
hope, will not long exist. Mr J. D. Sowerby, the son of the late Mr 
Sowerby, who possesses the same excellent talents with his father as an 
artist, has many subjects ready for a continuation of the work, and he has 
written to us for some of the recently discovered Scottish plants. 

It was not enough, however, that the Flora of our country should .be 


“ Of these Mr Sowerby commenced a work, with most excellent figures, in small 
folio, It extended only to three volumes. ebAS 


Sir J. E. Smith’s English Flora. 163 


given in an English dress by the hands of such a master. Sir James 
Smith undertook an arrangement of our native plants in Latin ; and there 
‘is, we are sure, but one opinion of the excellency of the Flora Britannica, 
which has been republished, verbatim, in Germany, and which, besides 
the correct and extended descriptions made upon the plants themselves, 
has the merit of settling a great deal of synonymy which was previously in 
‘a state of utter confusion. This is a talent, requiring great patience as 
wellas judgment, that Sir James Smith possesses in a very high degree. 
Many authors, indeed, have benefitted their writings by his amend- 
ments, although few have acknowledged the obligation which they owe to 
‘him. 
A systematic work, similar in its general plan to that of the Flora Bri- 
fannica, was now required in the English language; and the eagerness 
with which the various editions of Withering were bought up, notwith- 
‘standing that none of them attempted to keep pace with the advanced 
state of science, was a convincing proof how gratefully would an English 
Flora be received from the pen of so eminent a writer. Want of neces- 
‘sary leisure had, hitherto, we know, retarded its appearance: but, by this 
delay, the public has been no sufferer ; for every useful improvement in 
the science, down to the present period, has been adopted and combined 
with the author’s own knowledge, and long experience on the subject, and 
hence have arisen the two volumes under the title of the English Flora. 
These extend as far as to the end of the class Icosandria. The artifi« 
‘cial system of Linneus is adopted, the first object of the book being to 
furnish the students with means for the easy and accurate determination 
~of our species of native plants, “ so that any botanist, by reducing a plant 
to its class and order, according to the perspicuous and easy rules of that 
system, may next compare it with the, short essential characters of the 
‘genera at the head of'each class, which genera are there artificially dispos- 
ed according to those characters. Having determined the genus, he will 
‘then find it, amongst its allies, in the body of the work, where its full 
characters, with all needful observations, and references to figures of the 
fructification, are given ; the natural order, according to Linneus, Jussieu, 
‘or others, being indicated. For a history of the natural order, and a view 
‘of the other genera belonging to it, the student may then turn to the 
‘Grammar. Having become acquainted with what relates to the genus of 
his plant, he will next compare his specimen with all the specific charac- 
‘ters under that genus, till he ascertains its species, and confirms his deter- 
‘Mtination of its name by reading the particular description, and consulting 
‘as many of the synonyms, or authors quoted, as he may have within his 
reach ; thus finally becoming acquainted with all that is recorded concern- 
ing the plant he has gathered.” The author has likewise headed each 
genus by the name of the natural order to which it belongs, and to each 
genus he has annexed a compendious view of its natural habit, characters, 
and qualities. The language of the present work is that which is recom~ 
mended in the same writer’s Introduction to, and his Grammar of, Bota~ 
ny ; and certainly, with a few very trifling exceptions, it is such as we shall 


164 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. 


be anxious to adopt. Free from all vulgarism, he has used pure English 
words whenever they were applicable ; and in other cases has, either by 
giving the Latin appellation an English termination, or by adopting the 
Latin itself, established a phraseology which is, perhaps, as classical as 
Botanical English can be rendered. 

We shall offer a few observations on the genera and species in the work. 

Zostera is still retained in the class Monandria, as is Chara, which to 
us would appear with more propriety to rank among the Cryptogamia, 

The Salicornia fruticosa is considered by Smith as probably a variety of 
S. radicans. We may observe that our specimen of S. fruticosa, given to 
us by Professor De Candolle, and gathered on the shores of the Mediterra- 
nean, is quite different from the British plant so called ; and, as Linneus 
quotes Sauv. Monspel., it is probable that he had the Mediterranean in- 
dividual in view when he established the S. frudicosa. 

Callitriche autumnalis of Linneus, which, in FI. Brit. and Engl. Bot., 
was considered but as a variety of C. aquatica, is now separated from it, and 
its former old name is restored. Weare of opinion that the difference mere- 
ly arises from locality. The specimens from which Sir James Smith ap- 
pears to have drawn up his description grew a foot deep under water. 

We have a new station for the exceedingly rare Veronica fruticulosa, 
given at p. 18, Vol. I. ; it having been found upon Ben Lawers by Mr R. 
Brown, whose accuracy, as the author observes, is beyond all doubt or 
** supposition.” We feel quite provoked with ourselves, that after having, 
as we had believed, scoured almost every rock upon Ben Lawers, and some- 
times at the risk of a broken neck, we should not haye met with this plant ; 
but we know from experience how very local are many of these alpine spe= 
cies. We have gathered V. savatilis in plenty on Ben Lawers. 

Sir James Smith observes of the V. serpyllifolia & humifusa, that it is 
scarcely even a lasting variety. In the Botanic Garden of Glasgow, it has 
been cultivated for seven or eight years, and it retains all its characters. 
Nor do we, upon its native mountains, find any intermediate state of it, to 
exist. 

The genus Cladium is adopted for Schenus Mariscus. 

Schenus albus and S, fuscus are referred to Rhynchospora, a genus of 
which we have several species from North America. Isolepis of Brown 
is united with Scirpus, as it differs only in the want of bristles around the 
germen. Eleocharis is kept distinct. 

A new species of Eriophorum is added to the British list, viz. E. pubes- 
cens, the E. angustifolium of Poiteau and Turpin, Fl. Par., but not of 
other authors. It belongs to the division of the genus with many spikes; 
and it must be confessed that the species are very difficult to be discrimi- 
nated from each other. 

Under the head of Graminee are some excellent observations upon that 
extensive and natural family. We shall quote one passage in illustration 
of our author's style. ‘‘ Grasses (he observes) yield more sustenance to man 
and to the larger animals, than all the rest of the vegetable kingdom to- 
gether. Their herbage, so perpetually springing, and so tenacious of life, 

11 


ee ae 


Sir JE, Smith's English Flora. 165 


accommodated, in one instance or other, to almost every climate, soil, and 
situation, affords to nature her most welcome clothing, and to the cultiva~ 
tor of the soil his chief riches. Nothing poisonous or injurious is found 
among them, if we except the intoxicating quality attributed to the seeds of 
Lolium ; but many are gratefully aromatic. Their farinaceous albumen sup= 
plies man with the staff of life, in Wheat, Rye, Barley, Rice, and Maize,* 
and makes a great part of the food ef many birds and small quadrupeds. 
As man cannot live on tasteless unmixed flour alone, so neither can cate 
tle, in general, be supported by mere grass, without the addition of various 
plants, in themselves too acid, bitter, salt, or narcotic, to be eaten unmixed. 
Spices, and a portion of animal food, supply us with the requisite stimulus 
or additional nutriment ; as the Ranunculus tribe, and many others, sea- 
son the pasturage and fodder of cattle.” 

Several of the recently formed genera are adopted among the grasses. 
An important division is also made of the genus Poa, by separating P. 
aquatica, distans, maritima, procumbens, and rigida, and uniting them 
with the Glyceria fluitans (the old Festuca or Poa of that name.) They 
agree in the linear oblong spikelets, and the shape of the corolla, which is 
cylindrical, not compressed, furrowed, ribbed, and not keeled. Mr Brown 
founded his character of Glyceria principally upon the compound stigmata, 
and the single fleshy, half-scutellate hypogynous scale. These marks do 
not hold good with all the present Glyceriea. The Poa procumbens had been 
removed to Sclerochloa by P. de Beauvois, and P. rigida to Megastachya, 


__ by the same author. 


Poa decumbens is made a Triodia, Br. ; Dactylis stricta is referred to 

Spartina ; Avena planiculmis of Engl. Bot., is, we think, correctly deter- 
mined to be different from the original A. planiculmis of Schrader, and 
the name of alpina, which Smith had previously assigned to it in the 
Linn. Trans. y. 10., is inserted. 
. Under the genus Galium, G. Witheringii is preserved ;—G. diffusum of 
Don, in Hooker’s Fl. Scot., is ascertained to be the G. cinereum of Allioni. 
G. aristatum of Linn., Sp. Pl., is added, a species new to Britain, detected 
in Scotland by the late Mr G. Don. " 

Another Pofamogeton is introduced, the P. cuspidatum of Schrader. 

Two new Myosotides are given ; M. cespitosa of Schultz, and M. intere 
media of Link. Seven species of this genus are now enumerated. 

Under Primula Scotica, Smith quotes, but with a mark of doubt, the P. 
stricta of Fl. Dan. t. 1385. We are well acquainted with this species, hay= 
ing received it from Professor Hornemann, and we can answer for its be- 
ing ‘Zofally distinct. With regard to the specific names, which are derived 
from particular countries, we must confess that we do not see the objection 
to these which our excellent friend has expressed. It may be thought, 
perhaps, that we are anxious to exonerate ourselves from blame for having 
applied the name in question ; but really we have always considered that 
appellations, taken from particular countries, had much to recommend 


“To which we are authorized in adding Oats. 


166 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. 


them, if they were not too hastily and indiscriminately appropriated. It: 
is true, they are gencrally given from a presumption that the plant so de= 
nominated belongs exclusively to that country ; to which the objection is, 
that it may afterwards prove to be a native of others. Even when this is 
the case, there is still an important fact recorded, namely, that it was first 
discovered in the district from which it derives its name, or that there its 
characteristic marks were originally detected. 

A new Viola is given at p. 304, v. 1, V. flavicornis, found in Surry, 
and about Norwich. It is said to be allied to V. canina, and to have been 
neglected for it. ; 

We have, under the genus Erythraa, a new species, E. latifolia ; dis- 
covered by Mr Shepherd and Dr Bostock in sandy ground near the sea at 
Liverpool. 7 

Gentiana acaulis should have been omitted altogether. It has assured- 
ly never been found wild in Britain. 

If we were to point out one part in the present volumes, in which 
the author has more successfully amended what has been done by former 
writers than in another, we should fix upon what concerns the Umbellifere, 
a family of plants the most natural, and, at the same time, the most diffi- 
cult of investigation of any in nature. Much, indeed, had previously been 
effected by Hoffman and Sprengel, particularly the latter, in laying the 
foundation of a new arrangement. Our able friend has adopted all that 
is worthy of being adopted, from the latter author especially, and he has, 
in many instances, corrected and altered him for the better. We have al- 
ready had occasion, with specimens in our hands, to make the comparison, 
and we have no hesitation in giving the most decided preference to Smith’s 
arrangement ; and in pronouncing it the most clear and simple that has 
yet appeared: The bracteas are by him only considered as of secondary 
importance, and he discards the term involucre, which, according to 
Linneus, must properly be a part of the flower. The fruit, of course, af- 
fords the most material points of distinction, but all the hard names which 
Sprengel has applied to the ribs, furrows, and point of union of the double 
fruit, (or naked seeds, ) are rejected as worse than useless. The base of the 
style and the floral receptacle are taken into account, and thus the 
genera of this great natural family are characterized, like other genera, 
solely by their flowers and fruit, Nor are these changes made to rest only 
upon examination of the British species, the author has held all the exotic 
kinds in view, and carefully studied almost all that are known in other 
countries. 

We could have wished to have seen Ligusticum cornubiense kept distinct 
from that genus. Wehave stated in the Flora Scotica, under the head of 
L. scoticum, that the L. cornubiense of English Authors is the Danae aqui- 
legifolia of De Candolle. We did so from an examination of a Piedmon- 
tese specimen, given us by Professor Balbis of Turin. This individual 
now lies before us, by the side of our Cornish plant ; and again we must 
observe that we cannot detect the slightest mark of specific distinction be- 
tween them. In both there are many barren flowers, sometimes entire 


Sir J. E. Smith’s English Flora. 167 


partial umbels are so ; sometimes whole umbels, especially those low down 
upon the stem. The young fruit is alike in both specimens. We have 
had perfect fructification sent to us by our friend, the Rev. Mr Bree, which 
was produced at his garden at Allesley, near Coventry, from Cornish 
plants. These were consigned to our garden, without making any notes 
upon their precise form and structure ; but we were struck with their re- 
markably inflated appearance, and the scarcely prominent ribs, as being so 
different from the fruit of the acknowledged Ligustica. The re-examina- 
tion of our specimen has, if possible, more strongly confirmed their identi- 
ty in our estimation- 

Anethum Feniculum, though not much allied in habit, we find united 

to Meum; nor do Bupleurum and Hydrocotyle rank naturally between 
Cnidium au Selinum. 

We are pleased to observe that Sir James Smith is doubtfal of the per- 
manent distinction between Drosera anglica and longifolia: for we have 
expressed the same opinion in a late number of the Flora Londinensis. 

The Junci are described with great care ; and some valuable corrections 
made in the species. 

Luzula of De Candolle is kept distinct from Juncus, and altered to 
Lueiola, for reasons which we will state in Smith’s own words. ‘“‘ The 
establishment of this genus, so different in habit from Juncus, and now 
so well determined by the character of its capsule, and the number, as well 
as insertion of its seeds, can hardly be controverted. _I only beg leave to 
make an indispensable correction in the orthography of the name. The 
hairy heads of flowers, wet with dew, and sparkling by moon-light, gave 
the elegant Italians an idea of their uccioli, or glow-worms ; sometimes 
written Juzziole, but this is a provincial corruption. Hence, however, 
John Bauhin got the name of Gramen luzula, or glow-worm-grass, for he 
never called it Zuzula, which would have been the same as actually call= 
ing it a glow-worm from a similar derivation (uces, to shine) a Latin 
name, Luciola, has been given to the Adder’s-tongue, Ophioglossum ; whe= 
ther from the shining hue of that plant, or rather perhaps from its re- 
semblance in form to a lamp with its wick, is of no consequence. The 
name so applied by Gesner and Dodoneus, extant in Ambrosinus and 
even in Ainsworth, is now superfluous for the Ophioglossum, and is, in fact, 
the Latin of Luzula, this latter being altogether corrupt,—neither Latin 
nor good Italian.” 

Luciola congesta; the L. campestris 8, with compact heads, is kept dis- 
tinct: but we fear without sufficient grounds, 

The Genus Oxyria is adopted, and some excellent remarks upon it are 
introduced. 

Calluna is separated from Erica. 

Elatine Hydropiper is considered not to be the true Hydropiper of 
Linneus, and is called EL. tripetala. 

The Genus Savifraga has undergone a very considerable revision, 
Fourteen species were enumerated in the Flora Britannica ; twenty in 
the English Botany ; and here we find twenty-five. We are really sorry 


168 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. 


to see the number of species so much increased ; for we feel, assured, 
that, unless new species are made upon very Sothaten tak, grounds, the. 
difficulty attending their study is made greater to the young Botanist. 
We know from our own experience among the native mountains of 
many of them, that they are exceedingly liable to vary. Our old friend 
S. hypnoides, which we used to know well, and to find on almost every 
hill in England, Ireland, and Scotland, is now hardly to be recognized 
in any station. If we show a specimen to one friend, it is named 
S. hirta, (which, except in the presence of its lateral shoots, borders very 
closely upon S. cespitosa), to another it appears to be S. affinis, toa third 
S. platypetala, to a fourth S. denudata, to a fifth S. elongella, to a sixth 
S. leptophylia, to a seventh S. lete-virens. Indeed, the learned author 
himself, in his concluding observations upon the genus says, ‘‘ I have 
thus endeavoured * to furnish the British Botanist with materials, at least, 
towards the History of this most difficult genus, correcting my own mis- 
takes, but not presuming to reject, or to decide upon any thing I have not 
examined. It cannot but be remarked that many of the specific characters 
are two indefinite and not discriminative, the cause of which is that we 
are not, as yet, well acquainted with what constitutes a species in Sazifra- 
ga, nor how to define their differences.” In this latter opinion we most 
cordially agree ; but then we differ as to what our mode of acting should 
be on this confession. If the character of one presumed new species beso 
slight as not to be capable of clear definition or discrimination, it is surely 
better to include it under that already established species to which it bears 
the closest affinity, and to notice it among its varieties. These, however, 
are mere matters of opinion, and we have perhaps dwelt too much upon 
them.” Haworth and Don have laboured greatly among the Saxifrages, 
and the latter has well described many new and excellent Exotic species. 
Sincerely do we wish that Count Sternberg might be induced to continue 


* In our Flora Scotica, note, at p. 13. P. 1, a passage runs thus: ‘‘ Since the a- 
‘bove remarks were written upon this most intricate family of the Saxifrages, it 
was, with much satisfaction that I saw, in the article on Saxifraga in Rees’ Cyclopz- 
dia, that Sir James Smith has, with that degree of candour which so often accom- 
panies his writings,” &c. With much concern we learn that the words here printed 
in italics were understood to imply that Sir James Smith was mot always candid in 
his writings, an assertion which it was so far from being our intention to make, 
that we really meant to pay a high compliment to our valued friend. We are, how- 
ever, quite sensible of our mistake, and of the construction which may be put up- 
on it, and can only say in our defence that the passage in question was, like too many 
other parts of the Flora Scotica, written hastily, and overlooked in our own correction 
of the press. If the erroneous idea is removed from the minds of our readers, no 
harm will have ensued from this unintentional mistake. On our parts it has led to 
a long-continued correspondence with Sir James Smith, which has but increased the 
regard that we have always felt for him, which we believe to be mutual, and has 
given us unquestionable proof that his public character is only equalled by his pri- 
vate virtues. 


Sir J. E. Smith’s English Flora. 169 


his admirable figures of Savifragew, which would tend, more than any 
thing, to a right knowlege of the species, in so truly difficult a genus. 

Cucubalus baccifer is omitted, as not of really British origin. 

Arenaria peploides :—this is observed to be the Houkenya of Ehrhart. 
The habit surely separates it from the other Arenariw, and we have lately 
heard that some intelligent botanist at Edinburgh has ascertained that 
this plant is constantly diceious. 

Euphorbia is, with great propriety, removed to the Class Monoecia. 

Rosa and Rubus are entirely remodelled: the former is made to in- 
clude 22 species: the latter 14. Upon these intricate genera, we dare not 
presume even to offer a remark. We are quite in despair upon the sub- 
ject, and in a study “‘ of so much conjecture and uncertainty,” as Sir 
James Smith justly terms it, it may be well supposed, that the opinions 
will be as various as are the Botanists who devote their attention to the 
subject. 

Potentilla aurea, Fngl. Bot. is ascertained not to be the plant of Lin« 
neus, but the a/pestris of Haller, jun. and Seringe: and Fragaria sterilis 
is removed to Poteniilla. 

We are glad to find, that the author confirms an opinion which we have 

“sometime ago expressed, that Dryas integrifolia of Fl. Dan. may be only 
a variety of D. octopetala. 

We must now take leave of our learned author for the present. He 
has still an arduous task before him, in the continuing of the work, and 
we know that he labours at it incessantly, and with so earnest a desire for 
correctness of execution, that he sometimes employs a whole day in de« 
scribing and collecting the synonymy of a single species. We haye many ’ 
active botanists in the kingdom, who are smoothing the way for his intro- 
duction of the Cryptogamia, with every improvement of the continental 

‘botanists. In England Mr Purton, well versed in the Fungi, is zealously 
collecting materials for a new edition of his interesting Midland Flora. * 
Mr Hobson has published two volumes of specimens of mosses, found in 
the neighbourhood of Manchester. Mr Baxter, chief gardener at the Ox- 
ford Botanic Garden, is editing Fasciculi of the species of Cryptogamous 
plants, gathered in the vicinity of that classical city. We have elsewhere, 
in this Journal, spoken of the labours of Dr Greville, Mr Arnott, Captain 
Carmichael, and Mr Drummond in Scotland. All and each of these able 
botanists will have the honour of contributing largely to the completion 
of the labours of the learned President of the Linnean Society, and which 
will, we are confident, when the materials are properly digested by the 
able author, combine to form a work, which, of its kind, will not find its 
equal in any age or country. 


- ™ Midland Flora, or a Botanical Description of the British Plants in the Midland 
Counties, Sc. by T. Purton, Surgeon, Alcester ; in 2 vols. 12mo, to which have 
heen added two yolumes of supplement. The Fungi here hold a very conspicuous 
place. 


170 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. 


Il. On the Effects of the Density of Air on the Rates of Chronometers. 
By Georcr Harvey, Esq. F. R. S. E., &c. From the Philosophical 
Transactions for 1824, Part IT. 


In the first number of this Journal, we gave a brief notice of Mr Har- 
vey’s investigation of the remarkable alterations of rate produced in Chro- 
nometers, by changes in the density of the medium in which they are 
placed, and we purpose now offering to our readers an analysis of the en- 
tire memoir. - 

The subject was undertaken by Mr Harvey, in the four following points 
of view :— 

First, By subjecting different Chronometers to a less pressure than that 
afforded by the ordinary state of the atmosphere at the level of the ocean. 

Secondly, By submitting them toa greater pressure than that afforded 
by the atmosphere under the same conditions. 

Thirdly, By removing Chronometers from condensed into rarified air, 
and vice versa. 

And Fourthly, To determine how far the rates of Chronometers are af- 
fected by the ordinary aberrations of atmospheric pressure at the level of 
the sea. 

To estimate the effects produced by the first of these conditions, the 
Chronometers were placed beneath the capacious receiver of a large double- 
barrelled air-pump, the pressure being indicated by an excellent mercurial 
guage ; and for the second, the time-keepers were introduced into a con- 
densing engine, furnished with an appropriate guage. To prevent any ir- 
regular effects from the unequal action of terrestrial magnetism, the posi- 
tion of each Chronometer, with respect to the meridian, was preserved 
constant during the whole course of experiments. 

The first Chronometer, selected by Mr Harvey, was an eight-day one of 
the box kind. Its rate for ten days previous to the experiments was 
steady and uniform, amounting to — 3.”1, the mean pressure of the at- 
mosphere being 30.1 inches; but when placed beneath the receiver ot’ the 
air-pump, under a constant pressure of 20 inches of the mercurial column, 
the mean of four days’ observation gave an equally steady rate of — 1.’3. 
the Chronometer having gained 1.”8, by diminishing the density of the 
air in the ratio of 3 to 2. A proportional effect was produced under a 
twenty inch pressure, and an alteration of + 9.”7 was effected, by: dimi- 
nishing the density in the ratio of 30 to 1. 

The next experiment was with three pocket Chronometers, and the in- 
crements to the rates, by diminishing the density in the ratio of 60 to I, 
were respectively + 18.”8, + 18.”3, and + 19.”9. 

In another set of experiments, the density of the air was uniformly di- 
minished by decrements represented by two inches of quicksilver, and 
which was accompanied by changes in the rates of two Chronometers, (ab- 
stracting the occasional aberrations displayed by most  time-keepers,) in- 
creasing proportionally as the density of the air was diminished. From 


Mr Harvey on the Rates of Chronometers. 171 


the nearly equal uniformity of temperature also, that prevailed during the 
experiments, and from the positions of the Chronometers, with respect to 
the magnetic meridian being constant, there can be no doubt, as Mr Har- 
vey remarks, but the different alterations of rate are due to alterations of 
pressure. As the results relating to the last mentioned Chronometers are 
very interesting, we subjoin them. 


EXPERIMENTS WITH TWO POCKET CHRONOMETERS. 


ae ct! Pressure. or Dage. Mean Daily Rate. | Mean Daily Rate. 
Detached 

46° 29.1 Ins. 4 +. 3.5 + 4.”0 
46° Q7 4 + 3.0 + 5.2 
47° 25 4 apna + 6. 1 
46° 23 4 ay + 7.2 
45° 21 3 + 644 + 9.4 
42° 19 4 os 7."6 +g 
43° 17 3 oe Me “ 13.4 
44° 15 4 Oe WH. 4 14.4 
45° 13 4 + 13."4 15." 
49° 11 4 14."5 +471 
48° 9 4 + 16.0 + 18.”2 
48° 7 3 + 19.0 + 20.''4 
50° 5 4 + 18."6 + 22,"1 
49° 3 4 + 19."9 


_- One of the most interesting parts of this paper, however, is the inquiry 

respecting the probable alteration of rate that would be produced in a Chro- 
nometer, by transporting it to any place elevated considerably above the 
level of the ocean, as from London to Geneva, or from the shores of the 
Mediterranean to the lofty plains of La Mancha and the Castiles, or from 
Vera Cruz, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, to the Table Land of Mex- 
ico, where the mean atmospheric pressure is denoted by 23 inches of the 
barometer, or to the still loftier elevation of Quito, where the density of 
the air is denoted by only 21 inches of the mercurial column. The fol- 
lowing table contains a few of the very interesting results obtained by dif- 
ferent Chronometers. 


Increment to Increment to Decrement to 
Time-Keeper A. | Time-Keeper H. | Time-Keeper F. 


From London 


to Geneva. 0."6 + 1.”8 —1."5 
panien te +21 + 2.2 — 2.8 


Increment to Increment to 
Vera Cruz to | Time-Keeper K.|Time-Keeper L. 


Mexico. + 1."9 + 5.”0 
fy Increment to Increment to 
Level of the | Time-Keeper C. | Time-Keeper H. 
ocean to Quito. + 3.2 + 6."2 


172 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. 


For the lofty summit of Chimborazo, four time-keepers gave alterations of 
rate, represented respectively by + 6.1, + 7.’0,— 5.3, and 9.1 ; and for 
the elevation attained by Gay Lussac in his magnificent aerostatic ascent, 
when the barometer sunk to 12.95 inches, Mr Harvey found alterations of 
rate denoted respectively by + 13.”2, and +19.”2. 

In the second branch of the experiments, relating to the influence of 
condensed air, Mr Harvey found the results to be precisely the reverse of 
those produced in rarefied air ;—that is, if a Chronometer gained by being 
placed in air of a less density than that afforded by the ordinary state of 
the atmosphere, it Jost, by being subject to air of a greater. This was 
verified by many experiments, with the same Chronometers as employed 
under the receiver of the air pump. We select, by way of illustration, the 
time-keeper, of which the results produced under the receiver of the air 
pump, are contained in the fourth column of the first table of this abstract. 


Mean Number of | Mean Daily 
Pressure. Days. Rate. 


—— 


30 in. + 1.’2 


45 in. — 4.4 
60 in. — 8.2 
75 10. — 9."5 
30 in. + 0.°6 


And which, it will be perceived, are all decrements, whereas in the experi- 
ments performed in the rarified air with the same Chronometer, they were 
uniformly found to be increments. The almost perfect restoration of the 
detached rate, after the great changes produced by so considerable an aug= 
mentation of density as that corresponding to the mercurial column of 75 
inches, is a very remarkable circumstance. 

The third division of the paper also contains some valuable and import- 
ant results, one of which we select. An opportunity was taken, observes 
Mr Harvey, when two Chronometers had been under the diminished pres- 
sure of 23 inches for five days, to remove them for a like period into the 
condensing engine, containing air of a double density. The result of this 
application was, that the rate of one of the time-keepers received a decre= 


ment of 9-5, and the other a diminution of 10.4, Knowing, continues — 
Mr Harvey, the merits of these Chronometers, I ventured to predict, that — 


if the two Chronometers were removed from the condensed air into an at- 
mosphere corresponding in density to 21 inches of quicksilver, the transi- 
tion would produce rates greater than those corresponding to 23 inches. 
The result verified the conjecture; the average rate of the first time- 
keeper being found to be + 5.”0, and of the second +12.”0. 

We must, however, hasten to the fourth and last division of Mr Har- 


vey’s paper ;—relating to the question, How far the ordinary changes in — 


the density of the air are likely to exercise an influence on the rate of a 


time-keeper? This branch of the investigation is enriched by many deli- 
cate experiments, relating to small changes in the atmospheric density, and 


ee 


Mr Harvey on the Rates of Chronometers. 173 


we regret our limits will not permit us to insert the results. Mr Harvey, 
however, found, that a difference in the density of the air, represented by 
@ quantity less than an inch of quicksilver, if continued for a day, was ca= 
pable of affecting all the Chronometers employed ; and this is an atmos= 
pheric change by no means uncommon in this variable climate. Nor is it 
indeed necessary, continues the author, that the alterations of density. 
should even continue for twenty-four hours, since, from the change of 
rate being instantaneous, as he afterwards proves, six hours will be suffi- 
cient, in some instances, to disclose it. In cases, however, where the vau 
riations of the mercurial column are but small, and its transition from one 
state to another marked by a gradual character, the effect on the generality 
of Chronometers is scarcely if at all perceptible. 

With a difference in the mercurial column of an inch and three-quarters, 
or two inches, Mr Harvey has little doubt but all time-keepers must be 
influenced ; and it is moreover known, he remarks, that from a species of 

_ reaction in the atmospherical columns, the greatest depression of the baro= 
meter succeeds to a considerable elevation of it, and vice versa, so as to ex= 
hibit a difference of this kind. Mr Harvey, accordingly, endeavoured to 
obtdin the rates of some good Chronometers during the remarkable depres- 
sion of the berometer in December 1821, but without success; and he 
farther observes, that there can be little doubt but, had the rates of some 
good Chronometers been carefully attended to, during this singular altera~ 
tion of atmospheric density, variations of rate, at least equivalent to that 
produced by transporting a time-keeper from London to Geneva, would 
have been found. 

_ Another curious part of the paper is, the consideration of the question, 
Whether the alterations of rate observed by Mr Harvey during his experi- 
ments, were immediately acquired, the moment the change of pressure 
took place, or whether it was an effect which the air gradually produced 
on the machine. 

_ To determine this, a pocket and box Chronometer, possessing detached 
rates of + 9.”0, and + 1.”9 were placed under the receiver of the air 
pump, in air denoted in density by 2 inches of the mercurial column ; and 
which great degree of exhaustion was employed in order that, by produc- 
ing considerable alterations of rate, the changes during very small intervals 
of time might be perceptible. 

At the expiration of an hour, the increment produced in the rate of the 
pocket Chronometer, by a mean of three observations, was found to be 
+ 1.”33; whereas the detached rate, in the same time, would have 
amounted only to + 0.”37, being a clear increase of 0.96 in consequence 

of the diminished pressure. At the end of thesecond hour, the mean rate 

- was found to be + 1.28, at the third 1.”35, at the fourth 1.”30 ; and the 

observations were continued through the entire twenty-four hours, the 

mean of the horary observations from noon to midnight being + 1.12, 

and the latter + 1.”10. The entire rate for the twenty-four hours 
amounted to + 26.6, being an increase on its detached rate of 17."6. By 

a series of similar experiments with the box Chronometer, the mean of the 
horary rates for the first twelve hours was + 0.92, and of the last 


174 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. 


_+0.’72 ; the entire rate for the whole period esta + mats or an incre« 
ment to its detached rate of 18.5. 

‘The succeeding day, the two Chronometers were restored m the full 
pressure of the atiesp betes and.the first hour after their restoration, an 
attempt was made to discover the same increments as existed under the 
receiver, but without effect ; the rate for the entire twenty-four hours of 
the pocket Chronometer being + 10.’08, and of the other +'1."0. Hence, 
‘Mr Harvey infers, that the change produced in the rate of a Chronometer 
by diminishing the density of the air, is immediate and uniform in its ef= 
fects ; and so also is the effect produced by increasing it. 

We confess we thought, when considering the remarkable differences of 
density to which the chronometers were subjected during these experi- 
ments, that considerable derangements must result to their ordinary rates ; 
‘but we were happy to observe that Mr Harvey has furnished many exam- 
ples, illustrative of the power which most time-keepers possess, of regain= 
ing their original rates, or very nearly so, after they have been subjected 
to pressures, both considerably above and below the mean density of the 
air. Mr Harvey furnishes one most remarkable example of a chronome= 
ter, which possessed the power of immediately altering its rate with every 
new circumstance in which it was placed, and also of, regaining its origi- — 
nal rate, after being again restored to its primitive condition. During the 
course of observations, and which embraced a period of four months, this 
time-keeper was subjected to pressures from 60 inches to 3 inches, and the 
power it possessed of regaining its original rate, may be observed in the 
next table. 


Detached + 7.9 | Detached + 7%."8 | Detached + 8."0 
28.6 Inches + 9.7] 60Inches — 6. 6]| 5 Inches + 26. 6 
Detached + 8.0] Detached + 8. 7 | Detached + 7.5 
21 Inches + 14. 2] 3 Inches + 28. 0 | 5 Inches + 26.9 
Detached + 7. 9] Detached + 7%. 2] Detached + 7.9 
15 Inches + 17. 0 | 34 Inches + 5.3 | 40 Inches =, 37 0 
Detached + 8.21 Detached + 7. 0} Detached ae We | 
12 Inches + 19. 0 | 38 Inches eas ’ 


During the investigation, Mr Harvey attended to the changes of tempes 
rature, always accompanying sudden alterations in the density of the air ; 
and, following the opinion of Mr Dalton, that it is the effect of a degree 
of heat amounting probably to 40 or 50 degrees, yet only allowed to exer- 
cise its influence for a few seconds, in consequence of the immediate effort 
made by the receiver and the surrounding objects, to restore the primitive 
temperature, the effect on a delicate thermometer is only that of two or 
three degrees. | Hence Mr Harvey introduced a very susceptible time-~ 
keeper, into an atmosphere 50° warmer than the ordinary state of the air 
for ten seconds, but found no alteration of rate to result from it. 

In accounting for these curious and singular alterations of rate, Mr 
Harvey availed himself of the admirable paper of Mr Atwood, contained 
in the Philosophical Transactions for 1794, and by an extension of that 
very learned philosopher’s formula for representing the daily aberration of a 

1 


Proceedings of Societies. 175 


chronometer, he has been enabled to account for the whole series of changes 
in the clearest and most satisfactory way. The formula in question is 


1—n 
wi (ty) 2 
a 77 


where a denotes the primitive arc of vibration, a’ the arc resulting from 
the action of a disturbing force, and m the exponent, denoting the ratio 
between the elastic force of the spring, and the angular distanees from the 
point of quiescence. 

By considering the way in which the value of this formula must be mo-= 
dified, by assigning different values to the elements a’ and x, according 
as we conceive the elastic force of the spring to vary directly with the an- 
gular distances from the point of quiescence, or in a less or agreuter ratio, 
_ he has been enabled to explain why some chronometers gained by dimi- 
nished pressure, and lost by increased, whilst others possessed properties 
precisely the reverse. This paper occupies above forty pages of the trans~ 
actions. 


Art. XXXIII.—PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. 


Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. 


March 21, 1824.—A Paper, entitled Observations on the Motions of the 
Eye-ball, by Mr Charles Bell, was read. 

There was also read, Farther Observations on the Vision of Impressions 
on the Retina. 

April 4.—The following gentlemen were elected Ordinary Members : 

The Right Honourable Lord Belhaven. 
Dr Reid Clanny, Physician, Sunderland. 

Sir James Hatt read a Paper ‘‘ On the Consolidation of the Strata,” 
of which we have given a full abstract in this Number, p. 1. 

April 18.—A Paper on the Construction of Oil and Coal Gas Burners, 
&c., by Dr Curistison and Dr Turner, was read. 

May 2.—The above paper was concluded at this meeting. 

At the same meeting was read the Description of an Instrument for 
Registering the Indications of Meteorological Instruments, in the absence 
of the Observer. By H. H. Brackapper, Esq. 

' May 16.—Dr Knox read a paper, entitled Observations on the Mo~ 
tions of the Eye-ball. The object of this paper was to demonstrate, in 
opposition to the opinion of Mr Charles Bell, that the eye had no up- 
ward involuntary motion in a state of repose. 

_ At this meeting Dr Turner exhibited to the Society the Experiment 
of Condensing the Gases into Liquids by their own pressure. 

There was laid before the Society a paper on the Refractive Power of 


176 Scientific Intelligence. 


the two new Fluids in Minerals, with Additional Observations on the Na- 
ture and Properties of these Substances. By Dr Brewster, 

There was also laid before the Society Astronomical Observations made 
at Paramatta, and communicated by his. Excellency Sir Tuomas Bris- 
BANE. 

The Society adjourned its meetings till November. 


Art. XXXIV.—SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 


I. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 
ASTRONOMY. 


1. Pastorff on the Solar Spots and Clouds—In examining the sun’s disk 
with a fine six feet achromatic telescope of Frauenhofer, with powers va- 
rying from 25 to 400, M. Pastorff of Buchholtz, near Frankfort on the 
Qder, has observed several interesting phenomena relative to the spots on 
its surface, their penumbre, and the phosphoric clouds. He’ observes 
that the penumbre of the spots resemble a mass of the empty eggs of the 
Bombix neustria, which surround the black spots concentrically and with 
different breadths. These apparent eggs are contiguous, and; as-it were, 
agglomerated the one to the other, with openings extremely small. M. 
Pastorff considers it quite certain, that these spots with the penumbre are 
on the surface of the solar globe, and that they disappear when the phos- 
phoric clouds cover them, principally whem they are near the margin of 
the sun, and, he thinks, that it is probably these phosphoric clouds which, 
in the interval of some hours only, form this great variety of spots. On 
the 1st December 1823; M. Brioschi of Naples observed a large spot, 
equal to 1} our globe, surrounded with an irregular and branching eleva- 
tion, into which there seemed to be precipitating great masses of fire: The 
whole surface of the sun he saw like an ocean: on fire agitated by a storm. 
M. Pastorff saw this same spot on the same day, when the phosphoric 
clouds were in great motion, but though he has often, seen the agitation of 
the phosphoric clouds much greater, he did not consider it as resembling 
an ocean on fire. Almost always when the spots approach the margin of the 
sun’s disk, they divide themselves into several. groupes, or they reunite if 
they have been previously subdivided. Very near the margin, the spots 
appear totally altered, and they almost always appear as if they were dis- 
solved and changed into luminous clouds, though that dissolution is only 
apparent ; for it is quite evident, that, in proportion as these spots ap- 
proach the margin of the disk, the penumbra or the nebulosity which 
encircles them, covers them more and more till they totally disappear. 
There is then only seen the luminous nebulosity which is sometimes sur- 
rounded with phosphoric clouds. The sun always appeared more bright 
at its centré’than towards its edge. 


2. Comet seen on the Sun’s Disk.—On the 26th June 1819, M. Pastorff 
observed a nebulous spot and three black ones. The nebulous spot was 


Astronomy. — 177 


perfectly round and slightly luminous ; and he supposed that it was the 
comet, which, according to the calculations of Dr Olbers, ought to pass over 
the sun’s disk on the 26th June 1819, at 5" 47’ A. M. The roundness, 
the nebulosity, and the luminous point in its centre, appeared to M. Pas- 
torff so remarkable, that he made an accurate drawing of it. At 8" 26’ 
A. M., its diameter was 84”.5, and its distance from the S. E. margin 6’ 
10”. Onthe 27th June at 9" A.M. the round spot and one of the black 
spots had disappeared.—See Zach’s Corr. Astron. vol. xi. p. 550. 


3. Singular Appearances in the Comet of 1824.—In this Journal, Vol. 
II. p. 172, we have already noticed the curious fact observed by M. Car- 
lini, that the light of the comet increased while its distance was increasing. 
This remarkable fact has acquired more importance from the analogous 
observation of M. Pons. On the 18th December 1829, M. Pons observed 
the comet distinctly. On the 19th, he could not discover a trace of it ; 
but on the 25th he again saw it. M. Carlini considers, that the photometri- 
cal phenomena of that comet are explicable, by supposing that its light 
varies inversely as the cube of its distances from the sun and the earth- 


4. Encke’s Hyperbolical Elements of the Comet of 1824.—We have al« 
ready given (Vol. II. p. 172.) Encke’s first elements of the comet, but he 
has since obtained more accurate ones from the combination of zen mean 
places, from 27th July to 26th October 1824. ‘These are as follows: 


Passage of Perihelion, 1824, Sept. 29th ~ 08813 

i Mean Time at Seeberg, - tn 
Long. of Perihelion, Equin, Sept 29th = 4°. 314. 94.3 
Long. of Ascending Node, ditto - 279° 15 39” 
Inclination of Orbit : - 54° 36’ 58”.6 
Log. of Perihelion Distance - 0.0212469 
Excentricity - . = 1,0017346 


_ This hyperbola, M. Encke remarks, represents the observations much 
better than any parabola or ellipsis. 


5. Comet of 1824 discovered at Paramatta.—This comet, which has ex- 
cited much interest in Europe, was discovered at Paramatta by Mr Rumker. 
The observations of this able astronomer will appear in the Edinburgh 


_ ‘Transactions, vol. x. part ii. The following are the elements, com- 


puted from these observations by a Correspondent. 


Time of Perihelion Passage ) 


Mean Time at Paramatta f Saptember 29th 7 25 10” 
Long. of Perihelion : - - 4° 22’ 21 
Perihelion Distance « - - 1.048739 
Long. of Ascending Node - - 279° 19’ 13” 
Inclination of Orbit - « 54, 22 22 


6. Sir Thomas Brisbane's Catalogue of the Stars in the Southern Hemi« 
VOL. Ill. No. 1. JULY 1825. M 


178 Scientific Intelligence. 


sphere-—Great progress has been made in this important catalogue. In 
July next 12000 observations will be sent home by Sir Thomas Brisbane, 
and 6000 more are nearly ready.—Letter from Sir Thomas Brisbane. 


7. Mr Herschel and Mr South on Double Stars.—The valuable memoir 
‘containing the observations of these two able astronomers on double stars 
has just reached us, but too late to enable us to avail ourselves of it in this 
Number. It forms the third part of the Phil. Trans. for 1824, and has 
been deservedly honoured with the annual astronomical prize of the insti- 
tute of France. Mr South has continued these observations at Passy, and 
in the Transactions of 1825 we may expect his observations on at least 
400 more double stars. 


8. Miss Caroline Herschel’s Catalogue of Stars—We understand that 
this lady, already highly distinguished in the history of astronomy, has oc- 
cupied herself since her residence in Hanover, in revising and reducing in- 
to a general catalogue, in zones, all the twenty feet sweeps of her illustri- 
ous brother, the late Sir William Herschel. This is a work of immense 
labour, and will be an extraordinary monument of the unextinguished 
ardour of a lady of seventy-five in the cause of abstract science. 


optics. 

9. Lateral Refraction —The phenomena of lateral or azimuthal refrac- 
tion have been occasionally observed by astronomers in their geodetical ob- 
servations. M. Schubert, in August 1823, while measuring from Tok- 
sova the angle between the spires of the church of St Peter and St Paul 
in Petersburgh, and the signal of Agalotowa, rain began to fall at Agalo- 
towa at 23" P. M. and advanced to Toksova, and during this interval, the 
angle alluded to increased from 88° 1’ 11”0, to 88° 1’ 312. 


10. Mr Dunlop’s Reflecting Speculum.—We learn from Sir Thomas Bris- 
bane, that his assistant, our countryman Mr Dunlop, has succeeded in 
polishing a speculum, which bears a power of 2000 times, and Sir Thomas 
expects that many valuable results will be made with this instrument 
on the Magellanic clouds, and on the nebule and clusters of stars. 


MAGNETISM. 


11. Effects of Temperature on the Magnetic Forces.—In a very able paper 
on this subject, just published in the PAil. Trans. for 1824, Part II. Mr 
Christie has given the following results : 

1..From 3° of Fahrenheit, and even much lower, up to 127°, the inten- 
sity of the magnets decreased, as the temperature increased. 

2. With a certain increment of temperature the decrement of intensity 
is not constant at all temperatures, but increases as the temperature in- 
creases. 

3. From a temperature of about 80°, the intensity decreases very ra- 
pidly as the temperature increases, so that if, up to this temperature, the 


Meteorology. 179 


differences of the decrements are nearly constant, beyond that temperature 
the differences of the decrements also increase. 

4, Beyond the temperature of 100°, a portion of the power of the mag- 
net is permanently destroyed. 

5. On a change of temperature, the greatest portion of the effect on the 
intensity of the magnet is produced instantaneously, which proves that the 
magnetic power resides on or very near the surface. 

6. The effects produced on unpolarised iron, by changes of tempera= 
ture, are directly the reverse of those produced on a magnet, an increase 
of temperature causing an increase in the magnetic power of the iron, 
the limits between which Mr Christie observed, and they were 50° and 
100°. 


12. Diurnal Variation of the Terrestrial Magnetic Intensity.—The fol- 
lowing interesting table, given by Mr Christie in the paper above men- 
tioned, shows the diurnal variation of the magnetic intensity in May and 
June, according to his own observations, and those of Hansteen’s : 


Intensity according to Hansteen’s Intensity according to Mr Christie’s 
Observations in 1820. Observations in 1823. 

Hour. May. June. Hour. May. June. 
8" Oa. mM. 1.00034 1.00010 7™ 30’ a.m. 1.00114 1.00061 
10 30 1.00000 1.00000 10 30 1.00000 1.00000 
4 Opv.m- ,1-00299 1.00241 4 30 1.00175 1.00223 
7 0 ~~ 1.00294 1.00302 7 30 1.00220 1.00239 
10 30 1.00191 1.00267 9 30 1.00231 1.00209 


13- Influence of Copper on the Oscillations of Magnetic Needles.—We 
have already mentioned in our third number Mr Arago’s discovery of the 
influence of copper on magnetic needJes which it enclosed. When a ho- 
rizontal needle, suspended in a ring of wood by a thread or fibre, was 
moved 45° from its natural position, it performed 145 oscillations before 

the amplitude of the arc of oscillation was reduced to 10°: When the 
needle was suspended in a ring of copper, and was moved 45° from its natus 
ral position, it only performed 33 oscillations before the amplitude of the arc 
was reduced to 10°. In another ring of copper of less weight the needle 
performed 66 oscillations before the amplitude was redueed to 10° 


14. Effect of Copper in motion on a Magnetic Needle-—M. Arago has 
more receutly discovered, that if a plate of copper revolves under a mags 
-netised needle contained in a closed vessel, the needle will deviate from 
the magnetic meridian, the deviation increasing with the velocity of the 
copper. If the velocity of the copper is sufficiently great, the needle will 
turn continually round the wire on which it is suspended.—Ann. de Chime 
See this Number, p. 135. 


METEOROLOGY. 


1s. Daniell’s Improvement on the Barometer.—Mr Daniell has, found 
that air insinuates itself into the vacuum of the best made barometers, in 


180 Scientific Intelligence. 


time, by creeping up between the mercury and the glass, and that it will 
insinuate itself between any fluid and any solid, when it has not attraction 
enough for the former to causeit to wet it. If any gas be confined ina glass 
jar for a length of time over mercury, it will make its escape, and its place be 
occupied by atmospheric air ; whereas the same gas, if confined by water, 
will be preserved unmixed. Hence the best made barometers are often 
studded with air bubbles. ‘The cure which Mr Daniell has provided for 
these evils is to weld a narrow ring of platinum to the open end of the 
tube, which is immersed in the cistern. Boiling mercury amalgamates it- 
self with platinum, and adheres to it when cold, wetting it, but not dis- 
solving it, so that, by this means, the passage of the air is cut off as effec- 
tually as if the whole tube were wetted by it.—Shumacher’s Astron. Nach- 
richten, No. 73, p. 15. 


16. Hygrometric Properties of insoluble Compounds.—The following re- 
sults were obtained by Mr T. Griffiths. The bodies, after being accurately 
weighed, were exposed for a month to a moist atmosphere; and then 
weighed. The increase is given in the following table, which we have ar- 
ranged in the order of their absorptive powers : 


Oxide of zinc, - 29.0 Sulphate of antimony, lime, 9 
Foolscap paper, - - 18.0 Carbonate of lime, chalk, - 8 
Charcoal from Wilmot, - 17.3 Oxide of bismuth, - 7 
Cartridge paper, - 17.1 Tartrate of lead, - - 7 
Sulphate of lime, - 16.2 Chloride of silver, =“ - 6 
Charcoal tulip wood, - 15.4 Carbonate of lead, - 6 
ash, e - 15.3 Oxide of iron, soda, - 5 

Brown paper, é - 15.3 Chloride of lead, 2 : 5 
Charcoal, Botany Bay wood, 15.2 Chromate of lead, - 5 
lance wood, - 13.7 Phosphate of lead, - 6 

cedar, - = 13.4 Carbonate of zinc, - 5 

American pine, 12.6 Clay ironstone, - ie 5 

— willow, - 12.1 Sulphate of lead, - 4 

— birch, = 12.0 Sulphuret of antimony, black, 4 
——_—— rose wood, « 12.0 mercury, cinnabar, 4 
lime tree, - 11.8 Fluor spar, blue, = 4 

India paper, - - 11.6 Sulphate of baryta, - 3 
Charcoal, king wood, - 11.5 Zeolite, p z "3 
Oxide of chrome, = 10.0 Oxide of lead, red, a 2 
Charcoal, zebra wood, - 6.6 — mercury by nitric acid, 2 
Serpentine, - - 5.2 Bisulphuret of iron, A 2 
Filtering paper, - 5.0 Carbonate of baryta nat. - 2 
Plumbago, - - 4.5 Aurum musivum, 4 2 
Oxide of iron, calc spar, 3.1 Granite, = s 2 
— manganese, black, 2.5 Silica, powdered quartz, = A | 
Cornish clay, - - 2.4 Oxide of copper, black, - A | 
Smalt, - - 2.1 ———-~ tin, putty, = 1 
Submuriate of copper, - 1.8 Chromate of mercury, 2 e | 
Oxide of lead, litharge, yeaa) 17) Sulphate of strontia, = l 
Mica slate, - - 1.1 Carbonate of strontia, v= ial 
Drawing slate, ° 1,0 f 


Journ. Roy. Inst. yol. xix. p, 93. 


Meteorology.—Chemistry. 181 


17. Highest and Lowest Temperature on the Earth's Surface-—M. Gay 
Lussac has stated,—1. That in no place on the earth’s surface, nor at any 
season, will the thermometer, a few yards above the ground, and sheltered 
from reflections, reach the 114°.8 of Fahrenheit. 2. That, on the open sea, 
the temperature of the air will never attain the 87°.8 of Fahrenheit. 3. 
That, the greatest cold in the air has been —58° of Fahrenheit. 4+ That, 
the temperature of the ocean never rises above 86° of Fahrenheit. 


18. Remarkable Auroral Arch on the 19th March.—A very beautiful 
auroral arch was seen in Edinburgh on the 19th March, between 10 and 
11 o'clock; p.m. Pollux and most of the large stars of the Great Bear 
were included init. It extended both to the east and west horizon, and 
passed as far to the south of Orion’s belt as the length of the belt itself. 
The arch, which passed over that zenith, was widest there, (about the 
breadth of Orion’s belt,) and became narrower as it approached the hori- 
zon ; but about 20° above the western horizon, the arch bent towards the 
north, and at the place of bending, the auroral light contracted, and was 
more intense. The light was for a long time perfectly steady ; but when . 
it began to break up, it exhibited the irregular motion of the aurora. The 
usual aurora appeared at the same time in the north, but formed no connec- 
tion with the arch now described. The barometer stood at 30.4 inches, 
and the thermometer at 30° Fahrenheit. 


© 19. Bosson’s Observations on Waterspouts.—'The particulars of this phe- 
nomenon seem to have been carefully observed by M. Bosson. One of the 
most remarkable effects which he noticed, was that in the direction taker 
by the waterspout, the trees put out new blossoms, a circumstance which 
he attributed to the privation of leaves, an elevation of temperature, and 
the humidity of the atmosphere. The following conclusions are deduced 
by M. Bosson : + tothe 

_ 1. The action of the waterspout showed itself in a valley. 

2. Its direction continued always the same, in spite of the hills and val- 
lies over which it passed. 

ve The elevation of the ground rendered its effects more remarkable. 

. Whenever it met heights of a conical form it moved round them. 
It crossed the river Le Vegre without following its course. 

5. It developed heat to such a great degree, that some persons experi~ 
enced a sensation analogous to that of burning. 

7. It displayed all the ordinary phenomena of a terrestrial waterspout, 
by exhibiting 4 mass of vapours similar to a dense cloud of a conical form, 
taking a dreadful noise, throwing out flashes of lightning, spreading an 
odour like that of thunder, and scattering all round it a great quantity of 
water.—Journal de Pharmacie, March 1825, p. 147. 


II, CHEMISTRY. 
20: Cold produced hy the Combination of Metals—According to M. Do- 
bereiner, the fusible metal consists of one atom of lead, one of tin, aud two 
of bismuth ; and it becomes fluid when exposed to a heat of 210.? If the 
1 


182 Scientific Intelligence. 


fusible metal, formed of 118 grains of filings of tin, 207 grains of filings of 
ledd, and 286 grains of pulverised bismuth, be incorporated in a dish of 
calendeéred paper, with 1616 grains of mercury, the temperature will in= 
stantly sink from 65° to 14.° M. Dobereiner thinks, that it might fall so low 
as the freezing point of mercury, if the experiments were made at a tem- 
perature a little under 32.°—Seé Schweigger’s Neue Journal, xii. p. 182. 


21. Refrigerating Salt.—If we mix 57 parts of muriate of potash, with 
32 of muriate of ammonia, and 10 of nitrate of potash, a refrigerating salt 
will be produced. This salt, put into four parts of water, and quickly 
agitated, will make the thermometer descend from 20° to 5° below zero, 
in Reaumur’s thermometer.—Vauquelin, Journal de Pharmacie. 


22. On the Pectic or Coagulating Acid.—This newacid has beendiscovered 
by M. H. Braconnot, and receives its name from zexzic, coagulum, in con- 
sequence of its resembling a jelly or gum. It is found in all vegetables. It is 
sensibly acid. It reddens turnsole paper. It is scarcely soluble in cold watér, 
but more so in hot water. It is coagulated into a transparent and colourless 

‘jelly by alcohol, by all the metallic solutions, by lime-water, water of 
barytes, the acids, muriate and sulphate of soda, and nitre, &c. It 
forms, with potash, a very soluble salt, consisting of 85 parts of lead, and 
15 of potash. This salt has the remarkable effect of communicating to 
large masses of sugar and water the property of gelatinising, which ren- 
ders it of great use to the confectioner. M. Braconnot, in this way, prepar- 
ed aromatised jellies, perfectly transparent and colourless, and very agreeable 
tothe taste and the eye. He alsomade, with rose-water, coloured with a little 
cochineal, rose-jelly of exquisite taste.—Ann. de Chim. tom. xxviil. p. 173. 


23. Iodine in Mineral Waters.—Iodine was first discovered in mineral 
waters by M. Angelini, who found it in the salt water of Voghera, and in 
the water of Sales in the Voguerais. M. Cantu, Professor of Chemistry 
at Turin, surprised at the wonderful effects of the sulphurous water of 


Castel Nova d'Asti, in the treatment of goitres, and other glandular mala- 


dies, examined it chemically, and found it more rich in iodine than any 
other.—Mem. de Torino, tom. xxix. p. 221. 


III. NATURAL HISTORY. 
MINERALOGY. 


24. Apatite in Salisbury Crags, Edinburgh.—Apatite has been latély 
found in Salisbury Crags. It occurs in the greenstone near the southern ex- 
tremity, in amixture consisting chiefly of white calcareous spar, red albite, 
and a blackish-green soft suhstance, nearly allied to serpentine. Particularly 
in the latter, the plain asparagus-green crystals of apatite are very distinct, 
and possess a high degree of lustre. Their form is that of a regular six- 


: 
. 
‘ 
e 
i 
3 
2 


Q 


sided prism, terminated by a plane perpendicular to the axis, and having ~ 


frequently also the lateral edges replaced by another six-sided prism. The 
length of these prisms is rarely so much as two lines, but theif thickness 
Il 


Mineralogy.— Botany. 183 


is. very inconsiderable. They allow, however, of being measured by the 
reflective goniometer, and as they are perfectly transparent, their refraction 
appears to be the same as that of apatite, nearly 1.64. Besides these, the 
rock contains also octahedral crystals of magnetic iron-ore, and the com~ 
bination of the hexahedron and octahedron of hexahedral iron-pyrites. 


' 25, Withamite.—This new and interesting mineral, which we described 
in our last number, is found in Glenco, on the property of Robert Downie, 
Esq. of Appin, M. P. Mr Sommerville, lapidary in Edinburgh, has recent 
ly discovered some specimens of it of an olive-green colour, and others in 
which it occurs in botryoidal groupes. Mr Sommerville has now obtained 
several fine specimens of the mineral, which, we believe, he means to dis- 
pose of. 


26. School of Mines in Cornwall.—A very excellent plan of a school of 
mines in Cornwall has been drawn up and printed by Mr John Taylor. The 
object of that plan is to have the mines properly wrought by intelligent and 
well-instructed miners, and with this view it is proposed to establish at 
Redruth three professors to teach the arts and sciences connected with 
mining. It is proposed also to collect the necessary funds by a small as= 
sessment of a penny per ton on the metals raised from the different mines, 
and from other sources. We anxiously hope that this admirable plan will 
meet with the support which it so well merits. 


BOTANY. 

27. Codium tomentosum, and Targionia hypophylla—Two interesting 
additions have been recently made to the Cryptogamic Flora of Scotland ; 
one in the discovery of the curious Codium tomentosum, on the shores of 
the island of Iona, by M. J. Berkeley, Esq. of Christ College, Cambridge ; 
the other in the finding a new station for the rare Targionia hypophylla, 
which had never been met with since the days of Lighttoot, who detected 


_ it near Tarbet in Cantyre. It isnow found upon the turf-coping of walls in 


the island of Lismore, Argyleshire, by Captain Carmichael. 


_. 28. Trichomanes elegans.—We find by an article in “‘ Taylor’s Philos 


sophical Magazine,” that M. Bory de St. Vincent, has declared the figure 
published by Mr Rudge, in his “‘ Icones et Descriptiones Plantarum Rari« 
orum Guiane,” of the Trichomanes elegans, to be incorrect, and composed 
of two different species ; or, according to M. Bory’s ideas, of two distinct 
genera. This has given rise to considerable discussion among the bota~ 
nists in London ; and, in justification of the fidelity of the figure, our tes= 
tiniony is brought forward ; we having given, in the fifty-second plate of 


Exotic Flora, a figure of the Z'richomanes elegans, and haying spoken of 


the figure of Mr Rudge as excellent. This term of approbation, however, 
was only meant to apply to such of the figure as represented that state of 
the plant which we had ourselves represented, that is, the barren fronds 
and those fertile spikes which have separated involucres. The other spikes 
with united involucres, ,we had never seen; but having, thens* only a 


* We say, then, because we have since had the opportunity, through the liberality 
of the same gentleman as sent us the first individual, the Rev. Lansdown Guilding, 


184 Scientific Intelligence. 


single specimen to examine, we did suppose that those spikes which have 
the involucres united by a membrane, might belong to a younger state of 
the fructification. On the specimen, however, from which Mr Rudge’s 
figure was made, (and which was gathered in Guiana by Mr Martin,) be- 
ing submitted to a careful examination, it was found to be composed of 
two individuals ; thus, as it were, tending greatly to strengthen the opinion 
of M. Bory. 

It. is, however, not a little remarkable, that Kaulfuss, in his work on the 
Ferns, which we shall notice in the next number of this Journal, and who 
appears, from his manner of describing it, to be well acquainted with this 
plant, not only quotes the figure of Rudge, without questioning the cor- 
rectness of it, but absolutely describes the ¢wo kinds of fructification repre- 
sented by Rudge; first, in his specific character, ‘‘ Indusiis spicatis disti- 
che connatis, tandem liberis pedicellatis ;” and afterwards in the descrip- 
tion, ‘© Indusia disticha, coarctata, primum membrana pellucida cons 
neva, tandem distincta pedicellata spicam densam disticham subsecundam 
referentia.” As a further evidence of his being well acquainted with the 
Trichomanes elegans, he corrects Willdenow, who, he says, only knew the 
plant from Rudge’s figure, and who particularly described the fertile fronds 
otherwise than he would have done had he described from the plant itself. 

(u-) 


ZOOLOGY. 


29. Say’s American Entomology.—The first volume of a very handsome 
work under this title has made its appearance in the United States, from 
the Philadelphia press. It is perhaps the most splendid work in a large 
octavo form hitherto published in that country ; and whether we consider 
the contents, the fineness of the paper, the style of engraving, or the 
highly respectable manner in which the plates are coloured, it does Ameri- 
ca infinite credit-. The present volume contains 18 plates, in which 41 
species are figured, of which 34 are first described by Mr Say. 


30. Annals of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York.—The Lye 
ceum of Natural History of New York has put forth its first half volume of 
Transactions, and it gives us much pleasure, in being able to bestow 
eur cordial approbation on this specimen of its meritorious labours, es- 
pecially, as it is mainly owing to the spirited exertions of a few of its 
members, who have devoted no small share of time, money, and ta- 
lent to the cause of Natural History in New York. The present half vo- 
lume is composed of thirty-five articles, in various departments, connected 
with the Natural History of North America, illustrated with thirteen well 
executed plates. 


31. American Fauna.—Dr Harlan is engaged in preparing a Fauna Ame- 
ricana, the first part of which, containing the Mammalia, is nearly ready 


of examining very many other specimens. All have the involucres separated, as re- 
presented i in our plate, and as represented in the left hand spike of the entire ‘plant 
in Mr Rudge’s representation, and at Fig. 2. of the magnified portion. 


General Science. 185 


for publication. We understand Dr De Kay of New York had ‘also been 
collecting materials for a similar work, but has now transferred them 
to his friend, Dr Harlan. 


IV. GENERAL SCIENCE. 


32. Remarkable Dissection of a Female Mummy.—This dissection, per- 
formed by Dr Granville, was exhibited before the Royal Society. After 
depriving the body, by ebullition and maceration, of the bees-wax, myrrh, 
gum, resin, bitumen and ¢annin, with which it had been impregnated and 
preserved, the parts resembled recent preparations ; and though the body 
must have lived 3000 years ago, Dr Granville was enabled to ascertain the 
age at which the lady died, and also that she had borne children, and had 
died of ovarian dropsy. Dr Granville has also given the dimensions of its 
various parts, and it is truly singular, that these happen to be precisely 
those of the Venus de Medicis. 


33. Discoveries in Nova Zembla.—The Russian officer, Captain Lilk, has 
returned from his third Expedition to Nova Zembla. He has discovered 
the Bay of Matorsky in 69° 44’ of N. lat. by 8° 33’ of W. long. He ad-+ 
vanced as far as 76° 48’ of N. lat., but was stopped by the ice, and a storm, 
which damaged his vessel, prevented him from examining the island com- 
pletely. — Journal des Voyages, tom. xxv. p. 257. 


34. Hazel Nuts found in a singular state at a great depth—We have been 
kindly presented, by Sir John Hay, Bart. of Smithsfield and Hayston, 
with a packet of hazel nuts, found upon one of his farms at Bonnington, 
about one mile south from Peebles. ‘The nuts were found ina bog, about 
eight feet below the surface. The top soil was three feet of meadow clay, 
beneath which was a layer of greyish coloured gravel about four and half 
feet thick. The bottom of the bog consisted of a mixture of grey sand 
and brown moss, with some branches of stumps of trees, quite rotten. The 
nuts were found nearest the bottom of this substance. The bog is part of 
a meadow about 1500 yards long, by about from 300 to 600 feet broad, 
having a declivity of about one foot in 400. 

_ Upon opening these nuts, we were surprised to find, that the kernel in all 
of them had entirely disappeared, though the membrane which enclosed it, and 
the nut itself, were as entire as if the nut had heen fresh and ripe. By 
opening the nut carefully, the membrane could be taken out in the form 
of a perfect bag, without the least opening. The substance of the kernel 
must therefore have escaped through the membrane and the shell in a 
gaseous form, or must have passed through them, when decomposed or dis- 
solved by water, In some of the nuts, that had not arrived at maturity, 
the bag was very small, and was surrounded, as in the fresh nut, with the 
soft fungous substance, which had resisted decay. 


35. The Menai Bridge near Bangor, Carnarvonshire.—On Tuesday, the 
“26th of April 1825, the first chain of this stupendous work was thrown 
over the Straits.of Menai, in presence of an immense concourse of persons 


186 Scientific Intelligence. 


of all ranks. At half-past two o'clock, about half flood tide, the raft, pre- 
pared for the occasion, stationed on the Carnarvonshire side, which sup- 
ported the chain intended to be drawn over, began to mové gradually from 
its moorings, towed by four boats, with the assistance of the tide, to the 
centre of the Strait, between the two grand piers ; when the raft was pro- 
perly adjusted, and brought to its ultimate situation, it was made fast to 
several buoys, anchored ‘in the channel for that specific purpose. The 
whole of this arduous process was accomplished in twenty-five minutes, 
The end of the chain, pending from the apex of the suspending pier on 
the Carnarvonshire side, down nearly to high water mark, was then made 
fast by bolts to that part of the chain lying on the raft, which operation 
was completed in ten minutes. The next process was fastening the other 
extremity of the chain (on the raft) to two immense powerful blocks, for 
the purpose of hoisting the entire line of chain to its intended station, the 
apex of the suspending pier, on the Anglesea side. When the blocks were 
made secure to the chain (comprising twenty-five ton weight of iron) two 
capstans, and also two preventive capstans, commenced working, each pro- 
pelled by twenty-four men. To preserve an equanimity in the rotatory 
evolutions of the two principal capstans, a fifer played several enlivening 
tunes, to keep the men regular in their steps, for which purpose they had 
been previously trained. The chain rose majestically, and the gratifying 
sight was enthusiastically enjoyed by each individual present. At fifty 
minutes after four o'clock, the final bolt was fixed, which completed the 
whole line of chain. From the casting off of the raft, to the uniting of the 
chain, took up only two hours and twenty minutes. 

This splendid specimen of British architecture will be a lasting monu- 
ment to the discernment of the present government, for having called into 
requisition the transcendent talents of Mr Telford, who was present on the 
occasion. 

Upon the completion of the chain, three of the workmen had the teme- 
rity to pass along the upper surface of the chain, which forms an inverted 
curvature of 580 feet. The versed sine of the arch is 43 feet. 

The fullowing is a summary account of the dimensions of the bridge :— 
The extreme length of the chain, from the fastenings in the rocks, is about 
1600 feet. The height of the road-way from high-water line, is 100 feet. 
Each of the seven small piers, from high-water line to the spring of the 
arches, is 65 feet. The span of each arch is 52 feet. Each of the two 
Suspending piers is 52 feet above the road. The road on the bridge con- 


sists of two carriage-ways, of 12 feet each, with a footpath, of 4 feet, in 


the centre. The carriage-roads pass through two arches, in the suspend- 
ing piers, of the width of 9 feet, by 15 feet in height to the spring of the 
arches. To counteract the contraction and expansion of the iron, from 
the effect of the change of the temperature in Winter and Summer, a set 
of rollers are placed under cast-iron saddles, on the top of the suspending 
piers, where the chains rest. The vertical rods, an inch square, suspend- 
ed from the chains, support the slippers for the flooring of the road-way, 
the rods being placed 5 feet from each other. The chains, 16 in number, 
contain 5 bars each ; length of the bar 9 feet 9 inchés, width 3 inches by 


— 


“ee 


ee es 


<< hs. ee | 


#- + re 


ae 


Pc leaped 


* 


 Generai Science. 187 


linch square, with 6 connecting lengths at each joint 1 foot 6 inches, by 
10 inches, and 1 inch square, secured by two bolts at each joint; each bolt 
weighing about fifty-six pounds. The total number of bars, in the~eross 
section of the chains, is eighty. 

A second chain was drawn over on Thursday morning, the 28th ult. ; 
and there are fourteen other chains in readiness to be drawn over, when 
the tide will serve, which will complete thé line of suspension. 


36. Number of Steam-Engines in Glasgow and its neighbourhood in 
April 1825. 


No. of Engines. Horse Power. 
Steam-Engines used in Manufactures,* 176 3000 
Collieries, 58 1411 
Stone quarries, 7 39 
Steam-boats, 68 1926 
Clyde Iron- Works, 1 60 
Total 310 6436 


Average power of engines 20,664, horses. 
Cleland’s Hist. Account of the Steam-Engine. 


87. Number of Steam Boats on the Clyde in 1825.—On the 11th of April 
1825, there were on the Clyde 53 steam-boats, having 68 engines, and a 
power of 1926 horses. Four of these steam-boats are each driven by two 
engines of 50 horse power each, viz. the Majestic, the City of Glasgow, the 
Superb, and the Ailsa Craig.—Jd. 


38. Poisonous Effect of White Bread upon Dogs.—Dr Magendie is said 
to have found, that when he fed dogs with white bread and water they all 
died within 50 days. When the bran was left in the bread no bad effects 
ensued. 


89. The Goitre cured hy Subcarbonate of Soda.—M. Peschier of Geneva 
has performed many surprising cures in cases of goitre, by administering 
a solution of subcarbonate of soda, more or less disguised by other sub- 

. stances. In the case of a girl fourteen years old, he gave 2 gros, or 118 
grains every day, From two grains to half an ounce of the alkali is dis- 
solved in eight ounces of water, and a table-spoonful of the solution taken 
twice a-day, in half a glass of wine, or sugar and water.—Bibl. Univ. 
vol. xxiii. p. 146. 


40. Artificial Production of Pearls.—The invention of forcing the pro- 
duction of pearls by fresh water bivalves, is said to belong to the Chi- 
nése. For that purpose rounded pieces of mother-of-pearl are intro- 
duced into the shells. Mr Gray introduced thirty or forty pieces into the 
shells of the Anodonta cygneus, and Unio pictorum. Only two were push- 
ed out again, the rest being placed by the animal in a convenient situa- 
tion —Ann. of Phil. ix. p. 27. - 


* In 1824, there were upwards of 200 steam-engines in Manchester. 


° 


188 List of English Patents. 


Art. XXXV.—LIST OF PATENTS FOR NEW INVENTIONS 
SEALED IN ENGLAND FROM it ie 7, 1824, TO™ JA- 
°NUARY. 1, 1825. , 


Oct: 14. For Improved Water-Proof Cloth, and Materials for Bonnets. 
To W. P. Weise, Southwark. 

Oct. 14. For Improved Water-Closets. To H. Manrort, London. 
Oct. 19. For Improved Power Looms. To J. Tertow, Manchester. 
Oct. 19. For Improved Steam-Boilers. To H.Mavupstay and J. Fretp, 

Lambeth. 

Oct. 21. For an Artificial Stove. To J. Arsprn, Leeds. 

Oct. 21. For Fire Extinguishers. To G. Dopp, Westminster. 

Oct. 21. For a Placard Machine. To G. S. Harris, Knightsbridge. 

Nov. 1. For Lace Machinery. To J. Lincrorr, Nottingham. 

Nov. 4. For Safety Guns. To Rev- J. Somurvitte, Currie. 

Nov. 4 For a Contrivance for Insuring the Egress of ne To J. 
Crosstey, Middlesex. 

Nov. 4. For Improved Masting of Vessels. To T. R. Guprey. Bristol. 

Nov. 4. For Boot Cords, &c. To J. Heap, Banbury. 

Nov. 4. For Improved Augers. To Witt1am Cuurcu, Birmingham. 

Novy. 4. For Improvements in Propelling Vessels. To H. Busx, London. 

Nov. 6 For an Improved Air Furnace. To J. Wuite and T. Sowrr- 
sy Bishop Wearmouth. 

Noy. 6- For Improved Steam-Engine Apparatus. To J. Moore, Bristol. 

Nov..6. For an Improved Percussion Gus-Cock. To T. CanTMELt, 
Doncaster. 

Noy. 11. For an Improved Lime and Coak Kiln. To C. Heatuorn, 
Maidstone. 

Nov. 11. For Improved Brick Machinery. To W. Leatuy, Southwark. 

Novy. 11. For a New Furnace. To P. Brunet, London. 

Nov. 20. For Improvements in Dressing Cloth. To J.C. Dawiett, Stoke. 

Noy. 2U- For a New Cock or Tap. To J. Tayior, Chipping Ongar. 

Nov. 20. For Improved Clamps for Burning Bricks. To W. Ruopes, 
Middlesex. . 

Nov. 23. For Improvements in the Paper Manufacture. To L. Lam- 
BERT, London. 

Nov. 25. For Diaphane Stuffs. To S. Witson, Streatham. 

Noy. 25. For Improved Ship’s Tackle. To W.S. Burnett, London. 

Nov. 29. For Improved Healds. Yo J. Ossatpiston, Lancashire. 

Nov. 29. For a Substitute for Leather. To T. Hancock, Middlesex. 

Dec. 4. For Improvements in the Sa/t Manufacture. To W. Furnivat, 
Anderton, 

Dec. 4. For Improvements in the Salt Manufacture. To W. W. 
Youne, Glamorganshire. aa 

Dec. 4. For a T'hermophore or Portable Bath, and Linen Warmer. To 
J, H. SuwerxKror, London. 

Dec. 4. For Improved Saddles. To G. Wycurentry, Whitchurch. 

Dec: 8. Fora Improved Air-Chamber. To R. Dickenson, Southwark. 


eee ee 


VS eee 


List of Scottish Patents. 189 


Dec. 9. For Improvements in the Cast-Steel Manufacture. To J. 
Tompson, Pimlico. 

Dee. 9. For Elastic Stoppers to Regulate Chains and other Cables. To 
R. Bowman, Aberdeen. 


Dec. 9. For Improvements in Water Wheels. To W. Mout, Lambeth. 
Dec. 14. Foran Improved Gas- Meter. To Sir W. Conereve, London. 


Dec. 18. For Improved Guns, §c. ToS. Davis, London. 

Dec. 18. For Improved Wheel Carriages. To D. Gorvon, London. 

Dec. 18. For Improvements in the Plated Manufacture. ToS. Ronerts, 
Middlesex. 

Dec. 18. For Improved Looms. To P. Gosset, Middlesex. 

Dec. 18. For Improved Cloth Shearing Machines. To J. GARDNER and 
J. Herzert, Gloucestershire. 

Dec. 18. For a New Wheelway. To W- 'T. Snowpen, London. 

Dec. 18. For Improvements on Pumps. To J. Weiss, London. 
_ Dec. 23. For Improvements in the Button Manufacture. To J. Dry- 
«rn, and W. H. Deyxry, Birmingham, 

Dec. 24.. For Improvements on Carriages. To D. Srarrorp, Liverpool. 


Arr. XXXVI.—LIST OF PATENTS GRANTED IN SCOTLAND 
SINCE MARCH 7, 1825. 
13. March 11. For a New Composition of Malt and Hops. To Grorcr 
Aucustus Lamps, Sussex. 
14. March 11. For an Improved Method of Generating Steam. To 
Joun Maccurpy, Middlesex. 
15. March 12. For a New Method or Methods of Making or Manu- 
facturing Hats, Bonnets, and Caps. To Patrick Mackay and Tuomas 
Cunnincuam, Edinburgh. 
16. March 25. For Improvements in the Art of Dyeing and Calico- 
Printing, &c. To James Hanmer, Middlesex. 
17. March 25. For an Apparatus for giving Motion to Vessels employed 
in Inland Navigation. To Samuret Brown, Middlesex. 
18. April 5. For Improvements applicable to the Mule Billy Jenny 
Stretching-Frame, &c. To RicHarD Roserts of Manchester, Lancaster. 
19. April 5. For Improvements on Square Piano-Fortes. 'To Francis 
Me vite of Argyle Street, Glasgow. 
20. April 13. For Improvements in the Construction of Morges, Se. To 
Wictiram Ha tey, Surrey. 
21. April 13. For a New Step or Steps, to Ascend or Descend from 
Coaches and other Carriages. To Ross Corserr, Glasgow. 
22. April 27. For a New Method of Constructing a Roasting-Jach. 
To Joun Turn, Edinburgh. 
23. May 3. For Improvements in the Construction of Apparatus for 
Distilling Spirituous Liquors. To Witt1am Grimsve, Middlesex. 
24. May 13. For Improvements in Machinery for Hackling, &c. To 
Epwarvd Garsetp of Leeds, York. 
25. May 17. For a New Process for Making Steel. To Cuartes Mac- 
intosn, Lanark. 


190 


Celestial Phénomena, July—September 1825. 


26. May 25. For Certain Improvements in Manufacturing Tubes for 
Gas, and other Purposes. To Cornetius WuiTeEHouss, Stafford. 


From July 1, to September 1, 1825, calculated for the Meridian of Edin« 
burgh. By Mr Greorcez Innes, Aberdeen. Communicated by the Author. 


These calculations are made for Astronomical time, the day beginning 
at noon. The Conjunctions of the Moon and Stars are given in Right 


Art. XXXVII.—CELESTIAL PHENOMENA, 


Ascension. 


JULY. 
8. 
5363 fo 
555) Bw 
35 (Last Quarter. 

4d) 

— Sup. d © 8 


Ree br woo 


& | aucrrhooreN OS 
QOnnW HAXKWKWO 


@ oo 
Zw 0 > wee iw 
ae 4 ope 
on 


© 
= 
= 
° 
i=) 
=} 


44 ) First Quarter. 


24 ©) enters SL 

20 6) 9m 

50 4) B Oph. 

30 6 ¢ oll. 
g 


He. M. 


Ss. 


9 49 53 © Full Moon. - 


Q Greatest Elong. 


AUGUST. 


25 ( Last Quarter. 
50 6 Oo” 


30 6) 8 
10 d)2ag 


25 @ New Moon. 


&% Greatest Elong. 
soSgeCM. .. 

12 ) First Quarter. 
17 dpom 

10 S) B Oph. 

56 © enters MH 


Celestial Phenomena, July—September 1825. 191 


; _ , SEPTEMBER. D. .H. M. §S, 
D> HM &. 12 15 15 — d)3 
3 4 20 22d6)5mM 4 7 00 d)t™ 
4 3 54 10 ( Last Quarter. 16 0 30 —Inf. 6©8 
| 4 56 5 48d) Ax 16 20 30 48 6) om 
4 14 30 18d) 2K%8 18 18 9 55 ) First Quarter. 
5 20 8 36 d)h 19 2 51 14 d¢)lyut 
6 «4 26 49 Sd) ail 203 9 0 4)yrt 
6 17 40 42 6) wll. 20 6 44 30 gydt 
zu 30 — 6) Cll eee S30) Ee 
9 2 48 13 6)@ 21 12-20 43 S)3yp 
9 12 29 55 d) 2am 22 20 21 22 © enters 
9 20 33 18 d)g 26 15 48 30 Im. III. Sat. Y 
10 2 23 37696 26 15 51 39 © Full Moon. 
10 -6 54 18 d)on 27 23 46 1249 4 
10 15 9 10 dgd)yrD 28 11 13 26 £ of aise 
40 19 17 47 4) 7 28 6 12 34eaR 
12 2 43 4 @ New Moon. 30 10 27 52 d)6m 


Times of the Planets passing the Meridian. 
. JULY. 


Mercury. | Venus. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. | Georgian. 
M.:| H. M. H. M. 
31 22 15 12 40 
19 22-2 12 24 
3 21 45 12 3 
37. | 21 27] 1h 43 
29 
16 


1,| 23 23 21 
6.) 23 44 21 
10. ag 4 20 
15. 34 20 


or or or or i 
NW RTD | 
bo 
oo 
— 

_— 
mee po ro no 


Mercury. 


Venus. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. | Georgian. 


H.. M:; H. M. H. M. H. M. H. M. 


H...M. 

1 29 20 52 22 48 0 55 20 29 10 33 

1 35 20 54 22 43 0 43 20 14 10 18 
Ls 1 41 20 56 22 38 0 26 19 55 9 57 
1 44 31 0 19 38 9 36 
1 42 3 19 21 9 15 
: 1 36 3 19 8 


Venus. Saturn. | Georgian. 
H. M. HB. M. H. M. 
ZL. Ll 18 (37 8 25 
21 14 18 22 8 12 
21 17 18"; 4 7 52 
21 22 17 45 7 32 
21 26 17 27 7 #12 
21 29 hy ws 6 52 


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THE 


EDINBURGH 
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE. 


Arr. I.—On the Limits of the Retina in the Eye of the 
Sepia Loligo, one of the Cephalopodous Mollusca. By 
Doctor Knox, F.R.S.E. Lecturer on Anatomy and Phy- 
siology, and Conservator of the Museum of the Royal Col- 
lege of Surgeons. (Read to the Royal Society of Edin- 
burgh.) | . 


Iv is well known to those acquainted with the Anatomy of 
the Mollusca, and. with the inestimable writings of Cuvier, 
_ that a dark coloured pigment assuming the form of a mem- 
- brane, is iterposed between the vitreous humour and retina ; 
and that this, together with other peculiarities in the eyes 
_ of the larger species of the cephalopodous mollusca, viz. their 
- great size, the absence of a cornea and aqueous humour, the 
_ peculiar structure of the crystalline humour, the vast number 
of nerves contributing to form the retina, &c. has excited 
_ strongly the attention of all comparative anatomists since the 
_ publication of the celebrated Biblia Nature by Swammer- 
dam. But, of all these peculiarities, there is none so remark- 
5 able as the interposition of this thick dark pigment between 
‘the vitreous humour and the retina, presenting as it were 
a physical obstacle to the passage of the rays of light, on 
their way to reach the sensitive membrane. This supposed 
exception to the general laws, agreeable to which the eye- 
ball of all known vertebral animals has been constructed, ap- 
VOL. III. No. 11, ocTOBER 1825. N 


194 Dr Knox on the Limits of the Retina 


peared to me on a first examination quite extraordinary, and 
induced me to revise the subject with the greatest care. 

I am far from thinking that I have removed the difficul- 
ties which the anatomy of the eye presents in the cuttle-fish ; 
but I entertain hopes that this brief memoir may induce 
those to resume the scalpel, who are better qualified for the in- 
vestigation. 

Some imagine that the retina in the cuttle-fish terminates 
anteriorly in a number of delicate striae, which may with pro- 
priety be compared to the ciliary processes of vertebral ani- 
mals; which striae are firmly fixed all round the crystalline 
lens, passing in betwixt the segments into which the lens of 
these animals is readily divisible. Now, were this the case, 
little difficulty could occur in explaining the mode. by which 
the rays of light reach the retina in the eye of the cuttle-fish, 
for the anterior surface of these so named ciliary processes, 
being covered by parts of no great depth, the rays of light 
might impinge directly on this expansion of the retina. But 
this is by no means accordant with the views I have adopted 
of the anatomy of the part. I shall endeavour to describe 
the distribution of the membranes of the eye of the loligo, 
such as they have appeared to me after the most careful dis- 
section. 

The interior of the eye-ball is filled by the lens anteriorly, 
and by the vitreous humour, and its capsule posteriorly. The 
hyaloid capsule, which is very delicate, does not form septa 
as in the eyes of vertebral animals, for, on being punctured, 
the whole of the vitreous humour suddenly escapes ; the hu- 
mour is colourless, and perfectly transparent. When its re- 
taining capsule is detached from the posterior surface of the — 
lens, to which it adheres very slightly, it retains the coloured 
impressions of the ciliary processes. Between the capsule of 
the vitreous humour, and the retina, there is a thick layer of 
a pigmentum of a very dark purplish colour, and sometimes 
even blackish, which, covering the whole of the inner aspect of — 
the retina, renders it difficult to imagine how the rays of light — 
reach and affect the sensitive membrane, in the way in which — 
they usually do, viz. by traversing the humours. ‘The retina — 
is formed by the expansion of the optic nerves, but the mode i 

; 11 


in the Eye of the Sepia Loligo. 195 


is altogether peculiar. It is well known, that shortly after 
the optic nerve has escaped from the cartilaginous cranium of 
the cuttle-fish, it expands into a ganglion or medullary mass 
of great magnitude, much exceeding the brain in size. This 
ganglion divides as it were into two before reaching the pos- 
terior part of the sclerotic, and from each of these two masses 
of nervous matter arises a set of nerves, which, penetrating the 
sclerotic, pass into the eye-ball to form, or at least to be 
connected with, the retina. At the point where they pene- 
trate the eye-ball, they cross each other very distinctly. The 
reason of this is apparent on laying open the eye-ball, for we 
then find that the retina is a double membrane, the interior 
being of a brown colour, (probably from a very thin mem- 
brane expanded over the inner surface,) and the exterior of a 
white, opaque, medullary structure. The retina thus formed 
covers a great portion of the inner surface of the sclerotic. 
_ Anteriorly, i. e. a few lines behind the fixed or equatorial 
margin of the lens, it seems to terminate in a very fine radiat- 
ed circle, composed of innumerable straight and parallel 
fibres, which have been compared not inaptly to the ciliary 
processes of vertebral animals, and are inserted into the fis- 
sure, dividing the lens into two hemispheres. The view, 
however, I have adopted of these fibres, is somewhat differ- 
ent; they have appeared to me constantly to arise from the 
sclerotic, but to be intimately connected with one of the lay- 
ers or membranes of which the retina is composed. At a 
short distance, behind the margin of the lens alluded to, I 
have found, in the larger specimen examined, viz. the Sepia lo- 
ligo, that the white, opaque, medullary portion of the retina 
seems to cease, and, at this point, the whole membrane is 
firmly attached all round the eye-ball to the sclerotic. The 
brownish coloured membrane is continued forward to unite 
very firmly with the ciliary fibres ; to form, as it were, a part 
of them, and to accompany them as far as the crystalline hu- 
-mour. 
_ It was now an object of considerable interest to ascertain 
‘the precise nature of the terminating edge of the white, opaque, 
and external layer of the retina. ‘The specimen I examined 
did not permit of the investigation to the extent I could have 


196 Dr Knox on the Limits of the Retina 


wished, but it seemed to me, that, again assuming the form of 
excessively delicate fibres, and laying aside that of a membrane, 
it penetrated the ciliary processes just described, and thus dis- 
appeared. This, however, I consider as merely a conjecture, 
for, notwithstanding the use of the strongest glasses, I could 
not satisfy myself as to its correctness. In order to have a 
perfect view of the exact formation of the ciliary body or fi- 
bres, the inner membrane, which it receives from the retina, 
and which accompanies it quite to the crystalline humour, must 
be removed as much as possible.* We then see a range of 
parallel and straight fibres arising from the sclerotic, and pro- 
ceeding forward towards the crystalline; they are remarkably 
strong, and do not-require any glass to distinguish them. When 
they have proceeded for several lines, they unite with another 
set of fibres which arise also from the sclerotic, but nearer the 
pupil. These fibres join the ones first described obliquely. 
Both sets unite to form a firm homogeneous mass, in which no 
fibres can be discerned, and from this arises the central layer 
of fibres which complete the circle. and proceed to the crys- 
talline itself, to which they are firmly united. From the inner 
margin of these fibres an excessively delicate membrane seems 
to be transmitted quite across, and to be thus interposed between 
the anterior and posterior hemispheres of the lens; but the fibres 
run into, and are, as it were, continuous with the outer layers 
of the lens, whose structure seems to differ somewhat from the 
more internal or central portion. From the point where the 
two sets of fibres meet but externally, arises another circular 
iris-shaped body, which, in like manner with the posterior 
one, passes in between the hemispheres of the lens, contribut- 
ing to fix this humour the more firmly ; and it even seemed to 
me, in one of the specimens examined, that this anterior layer 
of fibres was very intimately united by fibrous matter sent to 
it from the surface of the anterior hemisphere of the lens. 
However this may be, it is evident that these two layers of fi- 


Se eS ee ee ee a oe 


bres are distinct, and that the anterior, as we should expect, — 


is: Most intimately connected with the anterior hemisphere of 
the lens) When we remove this portion of the lens, we find 


¢ 


rd 


Sepie. 


> 


* This I have found to be quite impracticable in the smaller species of ~ 


im the Eye of the Sepia Lolkgo. 197 


the anterior iris shaped body just described, to be composed 
chiefly of fibres, and to terminate in a semi-cartilaginous plate 
of no great breadth; but I have not yet been able to deter- 
mine the nature of these fibres. Lastly, It is invested by a 
reduplication of the conjunctiva, which is reflected upon it 
from the inner surface of the sclerotic, and from it over the 
anterior surface of the crystalline humour. 

Finally, it is to be carefully noted, that the two sets of fibres 
which fix the lens in its position, and pass in a short way be- 
twixt its hemispheres, do not pervade its whole thickness, but 
suddenly terminate, uniting themselves intimately to the ex- 
ternal layers of the crystalline humour, and leaving its central 
portion clear for the passage of the rays of light. But there 
is a peculiarity in the structure of this part of the crystalline 
humour which does not seem to have been remarked. The 
two distinct sets of fibres which I have described as fixing the 
lens in its situation, are chiefly connected each with the more 
external layers of its corresponding hemisphere ; there is con- 
sequently left between them a small space filled with a dark- 
ish pigment, which space communicates with a wedge-like ca- 
vity, extending all round from the outer to the central portion 
or nucleus of the lens. Even here we distinctly perceive a 
darkish line passing over the nucleus of the lens; but I could 
not positively make out whether this wedge-like cavity was 
filled simply with a fluid, or whether, as is most probable, a 
very delicate membrane also traversed the whole thickness of 
the lens. External to the membranes described, is the sclero= 
tic, seemingly of a cartilaginous nature, having a circular 
opening anteriorly, into which the lens projects, there existing 


neither cornea nor aqueous humour. It is perforated posteri- 


orly by numerous foramina for the transmission of the nerves 
proceeding to form the retina. 

The external aspect of the sclerotic is invested by a mem- 
brane, which I consider as analogous to the conjunctiva, ex- 
‘cepting that, in the cuttle-fish, its internal layers are evidently 
muscular. It projects considerably beyond the anterior ter- 
mination of the sclerotic, to form a true and highly moveable 
iris; a thin layer is reflected upon the inner surface of 


the anterior portion of the sclerotic, and is thence transmitted 


198 Dr Knox on the Limits of the Retina 


over the anterior surface of the lens. Contrary to what has 
been asserted, I found the iris just described to be perfectly 
moveable in the living Sepia, and the pupil it formed contract- 
ed and dilated precisely as in other animals. ‘The pupil is 
linear and horizontal, and nearly equal in breadth through- 
out; but it expanded somewhat in the living animal on being 
removed from a strong to a weaker light, and on the death of 
the animal, which happened unexpectedly by merely pouring 
over it a quantity of spring-water, the pupil suddenly dilated 
so as to become circular, and continued so as long as pre- 
served. 

This seems to me the true anatomy of the eye of the cuttle- 
fish, as deduced from preparations which had been for some 
time immersed in spirits. The number examined was eight, 
viz. two of the calmar, and six of the smaller species of Sepia, 
frequently met with in the Frith of Forth ; but as the latter 
were brought to me alive, it may be worth while to mention 
the precise appearances of the eye-ball when laid open in a 
perfectly fresh state. This may be done very briefly. I 
found the vitreous humour, hyaloid membrane, and lens, co- 
lourless, and eminently transparent; nothing indicated the 
presence of that darkish coloured stripe which we have shown 
to traverse the lens from side to side, or of those wedge-like 
cavities which we know to exist betwixt its hemispheres. The 
pigmentum covers every portion of the great central chamber 
of the eye-ball occupied by the vitreous humour, and is of a 
dark purplish colour; the antero- — diameter of the eye 
is short. 

Having thus described what I consider as the true anatomy 
of the retina and ciliary processes in these animals, and cor- 
rected the highly erroneous notions hitherto entertained rela- 
tive to the pupil, it will now be expected that I should offer 
some opinion as to the mode in which I suppose vision to be 
performed in the cuttle-fish ; but this is a subject the consi- 
deration of which is attended with great difficulty. A part of — 
the difficulty may be got over by supposing that the eye of — 
the cuttle-fish is adapted not for the distinct perception of ob-_ 
jects, but for the more general sensation of light, whereby it 
may regulate its course, and be guided to those depths in — 


in the Eye of the Sepia Loligo. 199 


which it expects to discover its prey. I am inclined to adopt 


this opinion from the following considerations: 1st, The living 
specimen on which I had an opportunity of: experimenting 
did not show any signs of fear when the hand or a sharp in- 
strument was made to approach the eye, but if touched, the 
pupil closed entirely, the skin forming the eye-lids did the 
same, the animal became extremely agitated, and made strong 


efforts to escape. Now, it is difficult, if not impossible, to ex- 


plaim these facts otherwise than by supposing a want of dis- 
tinct perception in the eye of the cuttle-fish. There is one 
objection, however, to this experiment, which candour obliges 
me to state. It is this; that, as the animal was placed in a 
very small quantity of water, it was in consequence exposed, 
perhaps, to a dazzling strength of light, which nearly closed 
the pupil, and might have rendered the eye generally unfit for 


distinct perception. It is, however, to be remembered, that 


the Buccinum and Snail, animals belonging to the same class 
as the Sepia, exhibit nearly the same phenomena as to vision, 
and the objection does not apply to them. 

2d, We must consider the Sepia as being merely the most 


perfect of the mollusca. Now there is no proof whatever that 


any of these animals have distinct vision, and we know that 
the eye of the buccinum and snail may, in some measure, be 
considered as a miniature and less perfect representation of the 
eye of the Sepia. Now, it is undoubtedly a general truth, 


- though it admit not of minute or particular application, that 
animals have been formed agreeable to certain general laws, 


and that they have been grouped into classes, the individuals 


- eonstituting which possess functions having a general resem- 
‘blance, however much their organs may differ in appearance. 
Thus it is with the eye of the cuttle-fish, which, notwith- 


standing its dimensions, the beauty and complexity of its form, 
expanded retina, and singularly constructed lens, I must still 
consider as merely the eye of a cephalopodous molluscous 


animal in its most perfect state. 


8d, There is interposed, betwixt the vitreous humour and 


retina an excessively dark pigment of considerable consistence, 


assuming the form of a membrane, and apparently presenting 
an insurmountable barrier to the passage of the rays of light 


200 Dr Knox on the Limits of the Retina, &c. 


in their progress to the retina. I have examined this mem- 
brane with the micrescope, and find it exceedingly opaque ; 
still it may be insufficient to prevent the rays of light from 
reaching the retina, or rather, (as we know not yet the nature 
of light sufficiently well,) we may say, that the membrane re- 
celves an impression which is thus communicated to the con- 
tiguous retina. The absolute opacity of the pigmentum, in 
the eye of the cuttle-fish, may even be doubted, and we know, 
by a very simple experiment,* that its immediate vicinity, or 
rather contiguity, with the retina, may possibly permit lumi- 
nous rays to penetrate to the retina itself. 

The observations on the mode in which vision is performed 
jn these animals are altogether distinct from the anatomical 

-details which I have been particularly careful in submitting to 
the Society, precisely as they appeared to me at the time of 
the dissections. The considerations which arose out of the 
facts I have stated, and out of those already known relative to 
the singular construction of the lens in this class of animals, 
in so far as they modify the received theories of vision, will 
shortly be submitted to the Society, by a gentleman whose 
extensive knowledge of optics eminently qualify him for so 
difficult and obscure an inquiry. 

It seems proper to add, that most of the dissections, whose 
results are detailed in the preceding memoir, were performed 
in the presence of several friends, and that I had the honour 
of demonstrating the principal anatomical facts to the present 
distinguished Secretary of the Society. I shall farther endea- 
vour, in order as much as possible to perfect the view I have 
taken of the anatomy of the eye of the cuttle-fish, to submit 
to the Society, at a future meeting, accurate drawings of the 
whole of the anatomical appearances in the order of dissec- 


tion. 


“ The experiment alluded to consists merely in holding a dark coloured 
handkerchief or piece of black crape at a short distance before the eyes, so 
as completely to intercept the rays of light, and, comparing the total dark- 
ness so produced, with the tolerably auinee vision which follows, when 
the crape, instead of being placed at a distance from the eye, is penal s in 
almost immediate contact with the cornea. 


Dr Hamilton’s Account of the Frontier, &c. 201 


Art. IIl.—An Account of the Frontier between the Southern 
part of Bengal and the Kingdom of Ava. By Francis 
Hamitton, M.D.F.R.S. & F.A.S. Lond. & Edin. Com- 
municated by the Author. 


In two former papers I have given an account of this 
Frontier, so far as connected with the territories of the tribes 
called Tripura and Saksah, which occupy chiefly the banks of 
the Gomuti and Karnaphuli. I shall now proceed south 
from the latter, and give an account of the frontier so far as 
connected with the tribe, which the Bengalese call Joomea 
Mugg. In the first place, I shall give some account of this 
people, and of the tribes dependent, and then I shall give 
some account of the territory they possess. 

The invasion of the province of Chatigang by the troops 
of Ava in 1794, and the giving up of the several refugees 
that had fled from Arakan (Rakhain) for protection, had oc- 
easioned a very general alarm among the Joomea Muggs ; 
for there can be no doubt that these people came from Rak- 
hain, the language and customs of which they retain un- 
changed. This terror made them in general unwilling to ac- 
knowledge. any connection with Arakan, although the more 
intelligent among them acknowledged the name Marama, 
which the people of Rakhain assume. In common conversa- 
tion, however, they called themselves men of the hills 
(Taumgsah,) or of the rivers (Khiaungsah ;) the former from 
their cultivating hills, and the latter from their using the tor- 
rents for a conveyance. It is true, indeed, that they would 
appear to have retired from their origmal country about the 
middle of the last century, that is, between thirty and forty 
years before the conquest of Rakhain by the King of Ava, 
while the refugees that were delivered up were insurgents, 
who had risen against the government of Ava ten years after 
the conquest. They were not in general aware that this 
would make any difference in the disposition of the English 
to protect them; and no doubt they had received many new 
colonists, not only at the conquest, but on every occasion of 
discontent that afterwards arose. - The opinion, indeed, which 


202 Dr. Hamilton’s Accownt of the Frontier 


prevailed both in Chatigang and Ava, was, that the refugees 
were given up from fear ; and this opinion has no doubt con- 
tinued to operate on the ill-informed court of Ava, and has 
occasioned a frequent repetition of violence and. insolence, 
ending in an open war. The consequence of this will no 
doubt be fatal to the King of Ava; but may produce sub- 
sequent difficulties to the Government of Bengal. These 
evils might probably have been avoided by a vigorous re- 
pulse of the invasion in 1794, and a positive refusal to 
hearken to any proposal for giving up the msurgents, after 
the court of Ava had adopted hostile measures in place of 
negociation, to which alone it was entitled. 

The Joomea Muggs in their own country no doubt used 
the plough, and cultivated the level fields, both of which prac- 
tices, on settling in Chatigang, they have entirely relinquish- 
ed; but this seems to have been in order to conciliate the 
Bengalese, among whom they settled, The hills, of which 
they took possession, were entirely neglected by the Benga- 
lese, as not admitting of being ploughed after the Indian 
fashion, so that they gave no umbrage in taking possession of 
this land; besides, these colonists were probably unable to 
purchase the stock necessary for ploughing ; while that re- 
quired for the joom cultivation is next to nothing. But far- 
ther, these colonists, from their hideous impurity, would not 
have been admitted among the Bengalese ; for although most 
of these in the district of Chatigang are Muhammedans, they 
have adopted in full vigour the doctrine of cast and Hindu 
purity. The natives of Rakhain, on the contrary, eat, drink, 
and sleep, with no more regard to purity than Christians, 
and eat almost every thing, except milk and its preparations, 
which they abominate. 

The written character of the Joomea Muggs is entirely the 
same with that of Ava, and almost all the names’ of persons 
and places mentioned in this account were given to me in 
writing. I have expressed this in English characters, not ac- 
cording to the form of the Alphabetum Burmanum, but in a 
manner more suited to express the provincial dialect of 
Arakan. 


The Joomea Muggs are considerably more civilized than 


between the Southern Part of Bengal and Ava. 208 


either the Tripuras or Saksahs, and are subject to three 
chiefs, of which the one in the centre is by far the most con- 
siderable. 

The one who lives farthest north I had no opportunity of 
seeing, as his house was too far removed from a road acces- 
sible to a palanquin, the manner in which I travelled when in 
his vicinity; but I had some communication with him by 
messengers. His name or title is Agunnea, and his territory 
lies along the rivulets which fall mto the north side of the 
‘Sunkar river, which is called Sunka by the Bengalese, and 
‘Reekri, (sweet water) by the Joomea Muggs. His house is 
on a small stream, called the Barwany, that falls into this 
river at a market-place, called Gulea cherra, and is three 
‘hours’ journey from that place, above which, in 1798, the 
judge of the district had placed a guard to prevent the incur- 
sions of the Bonjugies. Agunnea is said not only to have 
among his dependants many of the Kunkies or Lingtas, but 
to have formed a very close connection with the chief of the 
Bonzhu or Bonjugies. This last circumstance, however, his 
messengers were not willing to acknowledge; and they al- 
leged, that the Bonzhu chief resided fifteen days’ journey from 
their master’s house, which does not ditfer much from the ac- 
count given on the Karnaphul. His territory certainly in- 
cludes all the country about the sources of the Karnaphuli and 
Sunkar, and, no doubt, extends some way down several con- 
siderable branches of the Arakan river, occupying the high- 
est part of the frontier between Bengal and Ava, around 
what in our surveys are called the Blue Mountain and Pyra- 
mid Hill. The people of this tribe seem to trade chiefly with 
Arakan, and the greater part of their territory is probably 
considered by the King of Ava as his property. 

' The territory of the central and principal chief of the 
Joomea Muggs, extends from the south bank of the Sunkar 
over all the vallies watered by the branches of the Mamuri 
and Edgong rivers. In 1798 I staid two days at Sualuk, 
. where this chief resides ; and, during this time, I visited in his 
‘house, and in that of his chief priest, in return for the visits 
of these persons, and of their principal dependents ; while in 
other parts of his territory, I had a similar friendly intercourse 


204 Dr Hamilton's Account of the Frontier 


with the principal officers of the place, especially with Aung- 
hiose, who managed the country on the Edgong river. 


The people of this central tribe are often called Reekrisah, . 


or sons of the sweet water, as they name the Sunkar river. 
The chief whom I visited was called Pomang Kaungla Pru. 
Po-mang, is his title, and signifies Captain ; Kaungla was his 
proper name, and Pru (white) was his family name. By 
three women he had six sons and six daughters, of whom, 
all of the daughters and three of the sons were married. He 
had about twenty Hindu servants, and still more Muham- 
medans, his Dewan or minister being of that religion. The 
domestic who had charge of his table, or steward, was a per- 
son of the family of the Chaksah chief. The whole of his 
sons, married and single, lived in his house. Besides this 
numerous family, he had a great number of Marama slaves ; 
that is, persons of his own tribe, who incur debt, go to him, 
and say, if you will discharge our debt we will become your 
slaves. On the master advancing the money, the slave must 
perform his work from six in the morning till ten in the fore- 
noon, and from four in the afternoon till sun-set. The month- 
ly allowance made to the slave by the master is one piece of 
coarse cotton-cloth, and one basket of unhusked rice, which is 
said to weigh 82 pounds avoirdupois; but one, which I mea- 
sured, evnkaaeiaed very nearly two Winchester bushels (432), 
being a cylinder of three feet long, and one in diameter. He 
seldom allows salt, or any other seasoning. The master can- 
not sell the slave, but must give him his liberty, if ever he is 
able to repay the money originally advanced ; and, of course, 
the slave may change masters, if he can find any person who 
will advance the price of his head. ‘This manner of treating 
debtors would perhaps be more rational, than that prescribed 
by the law of England, where the debtor may be condemned 
to perpetual imprisonment, without the possibility of being of 
advantage to his creditors, to himself, or to the public; but, 
among these eastern nations, this practice is attended by an 
abominable circumstance—the wife is often reduced to slavery 
for the debts of her husband; and, what is still worse, chil- 


dren are made slaves for the debt of their parent. The nu- 
: 1 


between the Southern Part of Bengal and Ava. 205 


merous slaves of this kind, belonging to Kaungla Pru, are 
chiefly employed in agriculture. 

The house of this chief is supported on posts, and thatch- 
ed, its floor and walls being constructed of bamboos split, and 
woven into mats; but it had several large apartments, and was 
furnished with chairs, carpets, beds, and mats. The yard is 


- surrounded by a fence made of posts and mats, and is digni- 


fied with the name of Fort. In the adjoiming village there 
are forty or fifty houses, and a convent (Kiaung) of priests 
(Poungris). For such a climate the houses seemed to be com- 
fortable; but, as the women avoided my company, I could 
not be minute in examination without distressing the inhabi- 
tants. Kaungla Pru was a stout little man, with strongly 
marked Chinese features, and was about fifty years of age. 
He came to visit me in a palanquin, with many attendants, 
who appeared to be in easy circumstances, and both he and 
his family and suit were very obliging. Every thiig about 
him had the appearance of considerable wealth, and he was 
said to lend much money to the neighbouring Bengalese pro- 
prietors, at the rate of ;'; part monthly, or 372 per cent. per 
annum. ° 

The villages belonging to Kaungla Pru are managed by of- 
ficers named Ruasah ; and I observed that, in one instance at 
least, several of these were under the authority of an officer 
styled Tamang. At any rate, this was the title of Aunghiose, 
who seemed to manage all the affairs of Kaungla Pru on the 
Mamuri river. I heard of another person named Pamang, 
and of a similar officer named Poummakri; but I did not 
learn whether this was his proper name or a title. I went to 
visit Aunghiose at his village, which consisted of a few houses 
disposed in a street parallel to the river Mamuri, and having 


at its east end a rivulet named Yaungsa, and at its western 


extremity a small hill, on which is a convent or Kiaung. I 
found this officer’s house of considerable size, and raised high 
on posts. The stair was very bad, being nothing more than 
a notched stick. From the stair we landed on a bamboo plat- 
form. ‘To our right was a tolerably large hall, into which we 
were conducted, and on our left were the apartments of the 
women, who kept out of sight. In the hall there was no fur- 


206 Dr Hamilton’s Account of the Frontier 


niture, except a stool, which was given to me, and a small car- 
pet, which was reserved for Aunghiose, with some mats for 
the attendants. I was received with much civility, although 
the poor man was a good deal puzzled about the ceremonials, 
wishing my servants to be seated with his kinsmen and his spi- 
ritual guide. This officer was reported to be rich, and to have 
made a great profit by lending his money to the people called 
Mroo, who give him their young daughters as pledges for the 
repayment ; and these are liable to be sold in case of failure. 
On the whole, the subordinate chiefs among the Joomeas seem 
to have more respectability than those of the Saksahs. 

About the middle of April, the Joomea Muggs of this cen- 
tral tribe leave their villages, and go to the joom for six 
months. One day’s labour enables a man to build such a hut 
as he requires during his residence, and he is supposed to raise 
a hundred baskets of rice, with cotton, dioscoreas, arums, to- 
bacco, &e. in proportion, the cotton being sufficient, at any 


rate, to pay his rent. The free people have in their ornaments ° 


a good deal of silver, and are cleaner, and appear to be more 
comfortable than the common Bengalese. They also seem to 
have the good things of the world in greater abundance than 


the cultivators of the plains, or at least they are more willing ” 


to part with them. Kaungla Pru made me a present of eat- 
ables, in which were cloves, nutmegs, black-pepper, and asa- 
foetida, things which, even at Ramoo, I could procure neither 
for money nor solicitation; and which, both Hindus and Mu- 
hammedans assured me, never entered into the fare of the 
Bengalese in the country parts of the district. Brandy and 
gin I was told were for sale at Sualuk. 

The priests of this tribe are called Poungri (great virtue,) 
a title not unknown to those of Ava, although the latter are 
more commonly called Rahan. Their Kiaungs, or convents, 
have plain roofs, and are not ornamented like those of Ava ; 
but they bespeak the inmates to be in easy circumstances. 
That at Sualuk contained three apartments. In one of these 
I found’a Poungri instructing some boys to read and write. 
Among ‘the youths was a son of the chief. In a corner of 
this apartinent were a few small images clothed in yellow, but 
in a posture different from that of Gautama or Godama, as 


Le 


between the Southern Part of Bengal and Ava. 207 


represented in the temples of Ava. By the priest, however, 
they were said to be representations of that personage. They 
were placed on a stage adorned with silver, and with paper 
ornaments; and before the stage was a high iron lamp. 

In one of the apartments of the convent the priest had 
slaves, both male and female. ‘These were said to be nume- 
rous, and to be procured by advancing money for people who 


had fallen into distressed circumstances. ‘These slaves were 


employed both as domestics and in the cultivation of the land ; 
for the priests here never go out to beg like those of Ava, and 
although they receive contributions from the pious, do not 
choose to trust entirely to such for their subsistence. Among 
the slaves of the priest were three girls very desirous to change 
masters, nor was he unwilling to part with them, had I been 
inclined to pay the sum for which they stood indebted. Their 
levity and want of industry, and the priest’s gravity and de- 
sire of gain, made both parties desirous of separating, nor did 


a separation from their relations, religion, and customs, seem 


any bar. 

The chief priest was an intelligent man. He said that in 
the convent there was another Poungri, and a boy six years 
old, who was instructing in the duties of the priesthood, for 
which he was intended. Although not yet admitted into or- 
ders, he wore a yellow dress, which is contrary to the rules 
observed at Ava, and to the precepts of the Kammua or book 
of ordination; but perhaps the Rakhain edition of this book 
differs from that used in Ava; as I found that there existed 
many differences in the religious doctrines of the two people. 

Among other doctrines which the Rahans of Ava would 


consider heretical, this priest acknowledged Brahma, or a su- 


preme being, and that this author of nature had given a dif- 
ferent religion to each of the one hundred and one nations of 
the earth. He believed in the same Munis or lawgivers, that 
the priests of Ava allege to have appeared on earth, namely, 
Chaucasum, Gonagom, Gaspa, (Kasiyapa,) and Godama, 
(Gautama;) but to these he added a fifth, named Maha Mu- 
ni. These priests are possessed of books said to contain the 


' doctrine of the two last Munis only, and to them alone they 


address their prayers, as they have no formula by which they 


208 Dr Hamilton’s Account of the Frontier 


could supplicate the others. ‘They have books containing an 
account of Rama, of his spouse Sita, and of many other Hin- 
du deities; but, like the natives of Ava, they consider these 
as beings still liable to the infirmities of mortality, and not yet 
arrived at Nriban, or the state of perfect bliss, free from 
change and misfortune. The priest compared Gautama to 
himself, and Maha Muni to his young disciple. 

The principal circumstance, however, which distinguishes 
the religion of the Joomea Muggs from that of Ava, is, that 
the former are much addicted to the offering of bloody sacri- 
fices to the spirits (Nat) of the air, mountains, woods, and m- 
vers, a superstition held in abhorrence by the priests of Ava ; 
nor in the whole empire did I see one instance of such a cere- 
mony, but, during my stay at Sualuk, the drum, by which it 
is accompanied, never ceased. When a Joomea Mugg has 
made a vow, or when he wishes to render a Nat propitious, he 
hires a drummer, goes to the supposed residence of the spirit, 
dances for some time with all his might, and then kills the 
animal, pouring forth its blood to the hungry deities. The 
flesh is then dressed to the sound of the drum, and carried 
home to a feast, which also is accompanied by that noisy in- 
strument. The Nat of the Sualuk residing near the place 
where my tent was pitched, I did not enjoy a moment’s si- 
lence. This superstition, I believe, was not in use in Arakan, 
and has probably been adopted by the Joomeas from the 
rude tribes among whom they have settled, and-among whom 
it universally prevails. 

Soon after returning to my tent from the convent, I receiy- 


ed a message from the priest, who wished to know if I would ~ 
take him to Europe. I answered that I could not, but that 


I would be glad to carry him with me to my house at Lukhi- 
pur, in order to receive instruction from him in the language 
of Rakhain and Ava; and I requested to know if he would 
sell me a copy of the book Kammua. He said that he could 
not sell the book, but, if I resided near, he would make for 
me whatever books I wanted. Our views thus being unsuit- 
able to each other’s convenience, the negociation terminated. 
‘The southern tribe of the Joomea Muggs in 1798 was sub- 
ject to a chief called Umpry Palong; but whether this was 


ee ee ee 


between the Southern Part of Bengal and Ava. 209 


his name or his title, I did not learn.’ "The tribe then occu- 
pied six ‘villages or townships, ‘one under the immediate autho- 
‘rity of the chief, and five under an equal number of officers 
called Ruasahs. “All these are situated in the upper part of 
the river passing Ramoo, which the Bengalese call Bak-kally, 
and the Joomeas name Pangwa-khiaun. ‘The’ chief whom I 
Saw Was a poor man with a few trifling golden ornaments, and 
had two ill-looking Bengalese attendants, who took every op- 
portunity of restraining their master’s inclination to satisfy my 
curiosity ; but, ‘so far as I could learn, the manners of this 
tribe do not differ from those of the other Joomeas, only they 
are poorer, ‘although Umpry Palong sold a considerable quan- 
tity of cotton to the Bengalese. He pays some tribute to the 
Company, but I do not know the amount. 
~ There can, as I have said, be little doubt that the Joomeas 
came at no remoie period from Arakan; but they have sub: 
ject to them the villages of some more rude tribes, who, although 
tributary, retain their own chiefs, customs, and languages; and, 
although they submit in some instances to have their disputes 
settled by the authority of the Joomea chiefs, still in ordinary 
_ €auses' they abide by the decisions of their own chieftains, and 
- live ‘in distinct villages, although these are intermixed with the 
» Villages occupied by Joomeas. The Joomeas, I know, hold 
several of these tribes in a state of slavery, and these slaves 
dwell in the villages of their masters; but I saw no instance of 
a Joomea being in slavery to any person of these rude tribes, 
although the Joomeas are often reduced to slavery with each 
other. ‘The usual manner, indeed, in which slaves are pro- 
eured, is by advancing money in loan, and when the debtor is 
unable to repay, he becomes a slave to the creditor. The 
Joomeas, being farther advanced in society, have more cun- 
ning than the rude tribes, and are therefore generally the cre- 
ditors. I did see a few slaves who were said to be captives 
in war, but such, I believe, are very rare among the Joomeas. 
It is alleged that the Bonzhu have carried off many captives, 
_ both Joomeas and Bengalese, and either retain them as slaves, 
_ of have sold them to Ava, where, indeed, I saw several such. 
~The only rude people settled among the southern tribe of 
VOL. I1I. NO. 11. ocTOBER 1825, oO 


210 Dr Hamilton’s Account of the Frontier 


the Joomeas are a few of the Saksahs, called by the Joomeas 
Sak, and by the natives of Ava, Sek. In this southern part 
of the district the Saksahs are, by the Bengalese, called Raj- 
bangsi, which literally means descendants of princes, but all 
over India is a term denoting a person of low birth. The 
neighbouring part of the dominions of Ava is occupied by a 
portion of this tribe. 

The rude people, most numerous among the subjects of 
Kaungla Pru, by the Bengalese are called Moroong ; but un- 
der this name are included two distinct tribes ; the first by the 
natives of Arakan called Mroo, and the second Mroung, and, 
in the dialect of Ava, Mroun. By the Joomeas the Mroo are 
also frequently called Lay Mroo, while the Mroung are called 
Wase Mroo, a nomenclature arising from some difference in 
the nature of the revenue which they pay; and a similar cir- 
cumstance occasions some of the Mroo to be distinguished by 
the name Paungsah. The Bengalese sometimes distinguish 
the Mroung from the Mroo by calling the former Deinee 
Moroong. The Mroo call themselves Moroosa. So far as I. 
could learn, all the Moroosa consider themselves as subject or 
connected with a chief named Layklang, who lives at a great 
distance, probably within the dominions of Ava; but each 
head of a village (Ruasah) seems to arrogate to himself very 
independent powers, and, according to the report of the Joo- 
meas, battles between them are not uncommon, the power of 
the supreme chief being diminished by his residing at a dis- 
tance, and in a different kingdom. Neither Joomeas nor Ben- 
galese seem to think it worth their while to interfere in the 
disputes of these impure creatures ; but I found that the Joo- 
mea chiefs subordinate to Kaungla Pru did not conduct them- 
selves with haughtiness towards the Moroosa. On the con- 
trary, they kept up a friendly correspondence by visits and 
presents. I had interviews with several people of this tribe 
on the banks of the Edgong river, and more intercourse with 
those on the Mamutri, having both received and returned visits 
to Kingdai, chief of one of their villages. The dialect spoken 
at Edgong differs a little from that in use on the Mamuri, but 
their language seems to have a considerable resemblance to 


between the Southern Part of Bengal and Ava. 211 


the dialect of the Burma language spoken by the Joomea 
Muggs, as will appear from the following words. 


English. 


_ Sun 


el 


Moon 
Stars 
Earth 
Water 
Fire 
Stone 
Wind 
Rain 
Man 
Woman 
Child 
Head 
Mouth 


' Arm 


Leg 
Foot 
Hand 
Beast 
Bird 
Fish 
Good 
Bad 
Great 
Little 


~ Long 


Short 
One 
Two 
Three 
Four 
Five 
Six 
Seven 


- Eight 


Nine 
Ten 
Eat 
Drink 
Sleep 
Walk 


Sit 


Joomea. 


Nee 
Law 
Kree 
Mo-ree 


Mee 
Kiouk 
Lee 

Mo 

Loo 
Meem-ma 
Looshee 
Gaung 
Ko-naung 
Lay-maung 
Kree-ei 
Po-wa 
Lay-wa 


Henak 
Nga 
Kaung 
Makaung 
Kree 
Shay 
Akree 
Ato 
Tay 
Hnay 
Soum 
Lay 
Nga 
Kro 
Koney 
Shay 
Ko 
Tsay 
Tsaw 
Souk 
Eit 
Hlay 
Tein 


Moroosa 
of the Mamuri. 


of Edgong. 
Ta-nee 
Pu-law 
Kray 
Kraung 
Tooee 
Mai 
Tow-hoa 
Rlee 


Mo-roo 
Mee-sar 
Na-sa 

Loo 

Nor 
Boung 
Se-pom 
Ko-koum 
Roo-koom 
Ko-paw 
To-waw — 
Dam 
Yoong 
Yoongduay 
A-yoo-ko 
A-tsoi-tsa 
Akrang 
A-toung 
Lou 

Pray 
Soum 
Ta-lee 
Ta-nga 
Ta-rouk 
Raneet 
Reeat 
Ta-koo 
Haw-moot 
Tsaw 

Kam 

Eep 
Ma-nay-bo 
Tsom 


Sat 
Law-ma 
Kray 
Kraung 


Mai 
Mai-hua 
Lee 
Mo-whang 
Mo-roo 
Mo-shee-wa 
Mo-roo-sha 
Lo 

Nor 

Boung 
Klaung 
Ko-paw 
Roo-pa 


Wa-ouk 
Dam 
Yaung 
Yaungda 
Yoogma 
Sum-tsha 
Klangma 
Atong-sha 
Lak 

Pray 
Soom 
Ta-lee 
Ta-nga 
Ta-ro 
Raneet 
Ryat 
Ta-ko 
Haw 
Tsaw 
Kam 
Eime-moi 
Tsam-psa 
Tsam 


212 Mr Anderson on the Quartz District 


English. Joomea. ; Moroosa 


of Edgong. . of the Mamuri. 
Stand Ta i Roo Roo 
Kill Koymay Tap Too-tay-moi 
Yes Hooi-ou Na-za Na 
No Ma-hou-poo Na-doi Po-da-po 
Here Heca Wang Oay 
There A-wee-ma Pai-koi O-ro 
Above Gaung-ko-ma O-roo-koi Mo-kaung 
Below A-nee Krongkoi Yooa 


The Moroosas have no written language, but their form of 
writing the syllables of their words is evidently similar to that 
used by the natives of Ava and Arakan in their written lan- 
guages ; thus, the word eit, signifying sleep in the Arakan dia- 
lect, is the same with etm, the first syllable in the compound 
word cim-moi used by the Moroosas, for ¢ final before m is 
pronounced m both at Ava and Arakan. — 

(To be concluded in next Number. ) 


Art. IIT.—On the Quartz District in the neighbourhood of 
Loch Ness.* By Grorcr ANDERSON, Esq. F.R.S.E., &c. 


Inverness. 


1. Tue rock I am now to describe, is more abundantly found 
in the counties of Inverness and Ross than is generally ima- 
gined ; but its character and geological relations are no where 
better exemplified than along each side of the banks of Loch 
Ness. 

2. In the lower, or eastern portion of the Great Glen, of 
which the basin of this lake forms a considerable part, the 
quartz-rock is associated with sandstone, while in the central 
and higher districts it is connected with granite and with 
gneiss. 

The mountains along the north side of the lake are imme- 
diately connected with a chain of similar ones,—no large val- 
ley intervening, while those on the south side are separated 
from the Bain ranges, in the interior of the country, 


* Read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh on the 5th April 1824. 


in the neighbourhood of Loch Ness. 213 


by a wide and dreary alpine plain, or valley, called Strath 
Errick.. This valley is almost entirely composed of granite, 
which is of a red or grey colour, large-grained, and most com- 
monly contains hornblende. The granite is also distinguished 
by the frequent occurrence of small rounded, or concretion- 
ary imbedded portions of mica-slate and clay-slate. 

On the north side of Loch Ness granite occurs, constitut- 
ing one of the mountains (called the Red Rock) next the low- 
est or eastern extremity, but is here remarkably small-grain- 
ed, and, as I shall afterwards more particularly notice, differs 
but little from the ordinary compact quartz-rock. Such is 
the distribution of the granite. That of the quartz-rock I 
shall describe, after explaining its characters. It appears to 
be a rock which is daily assuming a more important place 
than it formerly possessed in the classification of mountain 
masses. 

8. The predominating colour of the quartz-rock of Loch 
Ness is light red or brown, but it is to be found of a blue or 
grey tint. The substances which compose this rock, are fel- 
spar, quartz, and mica, but of these three ingredients the 
quartz is the most abundant. Its texture is granular, or near- 
ly compact, and the form of the particles crystalline. The 
three ingredients are so intimately combined as to exhibit a 
perfectly homogeneous structure. But it is by the hardness, 
and the shape of the fragments produced by the hammer, that 
this rock is chiefly distinguished from the older sandstone. 
The hardness is indeed so great, that, in breaking off speci- 
mens, they frequently fly into the air and ring like clinkstone. 
The cross fracture is uneven, very small and granular, and 
the form of the fragments is rhomboidal, and rarely rectan- 
gular. 

The texture of the rock, though in general small-grained 
or compact, is, however, occasionally diversified by the occur- 
rence of large imbedded masses of conglomerate, into which 
. those portions of the quartz-rock contiguous to it gradually 
pass. 

The conglomerated variety occurs in the neighbourhood of 
Foyers, and on the margin of Loch Ness, between Inverness 
and the General’s Hut. But it is most abundantly found in 


Q14 Mr Anderson on the Quartz District 


the mountains below Foyers, as we proceed eastward from the 
margin of the lake. ~On the north side of Loch Ness, the 
conglomerate is less abundant, but it is found on the summit, 
of the well known mountain named Mealfourvoney, which is 
more than 3000 feet high. This is, therefore, one of the 
greatest altitudes in Britain in which rocks of a conglomerate 
character have been traced. The fragments which compose 
this rock, may be described as different varieties of granite, 
gneiss, mica-slate, quartz, and felspar ; chlorite may be also 
occasionally detected. The fragments are angular: -and round- 
ed, those of the latter form ener undoubted marks of at- 
trition. They also vary in magnitude, from the size of large 
boulders to that of small grains. 

I shall now state the only distinctions which I have been 
able to discover between the conglomerate rock which occurs 
in the quartz district, and that which is associated with the 
red sandstone. The former is much harder than the latter, 
yielding to the blows of the hammer with far greater difficul- 
ty. Again, in the conglomerate peculiar to the quartz-rock, 
the fragments have often the appearance of imperfect crystals, 
which five been separated and re-united. This character, 
however, is not found in the variety of conglomerate which is 
associated with the red sandstone. 

I may next observe, that the conglomerate which is found 
on the summit of Mealfourvoney, contains a much smaller va- 
riety of substances than is observed elsewhere, as they chiefly 
consist either of quartz-rock itself, or of a variety of the same 
which approaches to the character of gneiss. 

With regard to the structure of the quartz-rock, it 1s some- 
times schistose, but in its general character can scarcely be 
considered as stratified ; at least, it displays but imperfect- 
ly any regular lamellar arrangement. ‘The natural seams 
and lines of fissility which its surface exhibits, are unlike 
those of regular strata, having no uniform or parallel direc- 
tion. There i is also no re sgular dip or inclination to any par- 
ticular point of the compass. 

This rock varies much in its liability to decomposition, but 
in general it very strongly resists the action of the weather. 
Tn decomposing, however, it is to be remarked, that the com- 


in the neighbourhood of Loch Ness. 215 


pacter kind never assumes the rounded concretionary disposi- 
tion incidental to most varieties of granite. 

_ The forms presented by the hills of quartz-rock, are con- 
oidal, and in one or two instances serrated : the acclivities are 
smoother than those which are found in mountains composed 
of mica-slate or clay-slate, but they are bleak, and strewed 
over with fragments. The conglomerated hills present more 
undulating outlines, and their slopes are heaved up into rude 
irregular precipices. 

The high mountain of Mealfourvoney, so often referred to, 
exhibits on its summit a large dome or cupola of conglomo- 
rate, springing from a basis of the more compact quartz-rock. 
This summit likewise sends off two very long waved ridges, 
to the east and west, while its northern and southern sides 
are formed into rugged mural precipices. 

4. Having thus described the detached characters of the 
quartz-rock, its importance and. geological position will now 
be understood, by attending to its junctions with the other 
rocks of the district; and I shall next describe the quartz- 
rock as it is found in junction with granite. 

This takes place on the south side of Loch Ness, especially 
at the vitrified station of Dun-Jardil. 

There is no change produced on the quartz-rock in regard 
to its chemical composition; but some of the ingredients of 
which it consists, increase in size, become visible to the naked 
eye, and in many cases pass into a hard conglomerate, the por- 
tions of which are sharp or angular, and partake more of a 
form that is irregularly crystalline, than one which can be 
considered as induced by abrasion. ‘This appearance is occa- 
sionally accompanied by the presence of large rhomboidal cry- 
stals of felspar. The conglomerate here alluded to likewise 
partakes of a mixture of the predominating colours of the 
quartz-rock and granite. In other cases, however, the junc- 
tion-is marked by the quartz-rock and granite alternating with, 
or succeeding each other, in the form of irregular layers,— 
the passage of one substance into the other being gradual, 
and almost imperceptible. 

I have only further to remark, with regard to the relations 
of these two rocks, that in certain places, especially on the 


216: Mr Anderson ow the Quartz District 


north side of the lake, veins of granite are seen traversing the 
quartz. In the conglomerate, also, large fragments of granite 
occur, though these are but rarely seen in the compact homo- 
geneous quartz-rock. ‘ 

The granitic mountain on the north side of Loch Ness, to 
which I have alluded, i is a variety approaching very near to 
the character of quartz-rock, being, like it, naturally resolved 
into short angular and rhomboidal fragments, of a tabular ap- 
pearance, hile its structure is finer than we generally meet 
with in granitic rocks. In the neighbourhood of the same 
mountain, we also find the more common variety of the 
quartz-rock, while its alliance to this variety of small-grained 
granite, which it so nearly resembles, is confirmed by the pas- 
sage through each of veins of an undoubted large-grained 
granite. 

This red quartz-rock likewise contains cavities encrusted 
with small rock-crystals; and, associated with these, I dis- 
covered particles of galena, copper-glance, and antimony. 

5. The other primitive rock to be noticed is gneiss, with 
which, as I have stated, the quartz-rock of this district is con- 
nected. Gneiss occurs chiefly on the north side of the lake, 
extending from thence as far as Ross-shire. 

The changes induced on the quartz-rock by its contact with 
gneiss, are shortly these :—There is, first, an increase of mica, 
which adds to its schistose tendency, and gives it a grey or 
blue colour. Secondly, the gneiss is disturbed in the regu- 
larity of its stratification, for I observed it to deviate from 
an inclined or vertical position into a horizontal one. Lastly, 
both the gneiss and the quartz-rock are mutually intersected. 
by granite veins, and imbedded masses of various sizes, con- 
sisting of hornblende, often beautifully crystallized, in which 
garnets are sometimes found. 

6. ‘This concludes my account of the important relations of 
quartz-rock to gneiss and granite. I shall now describe brief- 
ly its connections with sandstone. 

On the north side of Loch Ness, granite is succeeded to- 
wards the east by quartz-rock, intermixed with gneiss; and to 
_ these are joined a lower sandstone ridge, on the last of which, 
11 


im the neighbourhood of Loch Ness. 217 


or that nearest the sea, is the celebrated vitrified fortification 
of Craig-Phadric. 

On the south side of Loch Ness, is the coarse conglomerate 
chain of hills named Balcharnoch. From the softer and more 

_ iron-shot texture of these conglomerate rocks, and from their 
gradually passing into sandstone, I am inclined to regard them 
as not belonging to the quartz-rock. 

To complete my account of the sandstone, I have only to 
add, that its predominating varieties are the common old red 
sandstone, and a grey micaceous sandstone, very soft and 
fissile. It is also associated with a bituminous rock, hitherto 

_ but little noticed by geologists. This rock deserves a separate 
consideration. 

7. The exact line of junction between the quartz-rock of a 

_ compact texture, and the sandstone, cannot always be accu- 
rately determined; but a change is indicated on the quartz- 
rock, by its very inferior degree of hardness, and by a cor- 
responding alteration in its texture; the component particles 
losing somewhat of their crystalline aspect, and acquiring more 
of an arenaceous structure. ~ 

At a little distance from the point of junction, the rock as- 
sumes a more determinate form; that is, it gradually acquires 
a stratified arrangement, and the strata are varied in their line 

of bearing, while they are generally inclined at a very low 
angle. The circumstance, therefore, of stratification, is a very 
characteristic difference between the sandstone and quartz- 
rock, But, besides this distinguishing mark, the sandstone 
strata appear to be superimposed on the quartz-reck, while 
the latter, in its relations to granite and gneiss, observes no 
‘such determinate mode of position. 

Such are the relations of the quartz-rock. Its connection, 
on the one hand, with granite and with gneiss, and, on the 

other hand, with sandstone, have been severally explained. 
The quartz-rock, therefore, maintains a very important place 
in geological systems, as, from the nature of~its ingredients, 
from its structure and transitions, it is the probable commences 
ment of the great series of sandstone rocks. 

The peculiar quartz-rock now described as so abundant in 
the vicinity of Loch Ness, has been elsewhere observed ; and 


218 Drs Hooker and Greville on the Genus Calymperes 


Dr MacCulloch notices it as a curious variety, while Dr Hib- _ 


bert has identified it with the quartz-rock of Shetland. 


*,* Mr Anderson’s Account of the Geographical Distribu- 
tion of the Quartz-rock, and of the bituminous strata associated 
with the Sandstone, will be given in our next Number. 


Art. IV.—On the Genus Calymperes of Swartz and Syrrho- 
podon of Schwaegrichen, of the Order Musct. By W. J. 
Hooxrr, LL.D. F.R.S. &c. &c. Regius Professor of Bo- 
tany in the University of Glasgow, and R. K. Grevitte, 
LL.D. F.R.S.E. &c. &. Communicated by the Authors. 


Iy noticing under the same head the two genera above men- 
tioned, we are influenced by their great similarity in habit, 
and by the circumstance of both having been previously con- 
sidered as belonging to one genus, that of Calymperes. 

The genus Calymperes was instituted by Dr Swartz; and, 
as it appears, published for the first time at Kiel, in the year 
1813, in the T'abula Muscorum Frondosorum of Weber; but, 
as we do not possess that table, we are not aware what charac- 
ter was there ascribed to it, or what species, if any particular 
one, was there described. In the year 1816, our friend Dr 
Schwaegrichen published the genus in his Mantissa Generum 
aliquot Novorum, attached to the second part of the first sup- 
plement to the “* Species Muscorum,” simply with the charac- 
ter, “ Peristomium nullum, thece orificio membrana spon- 
giosa tecto. Flores terminales dioici;” and describes under 
it two new species, C. lonchophyllum, and C. Palisoti. . 

In the year 1818, there appeared in Sprengel and Schra- 
der’s “ Jahrbiicher der Gewiichskunde,” Dr Swartz’s paper, 
with an excellent account of this genus, under which the C. 
Afzelit is described ; and there we find the following generic 
character, ‘ Peristomium nudum. Calyptra carinata, persis- 
tens, infra sporangium constricta, apice circa operculum (ma- 
turitate solutum) rimis longitudinalibus hians.” 

About the same time, but without bemg aware of the me- 
moir last mentioned, Dr Hooker published in his Musct E'xo- 
tici, what he then considered, from the remarkable habit of the 


of Swartz and Syrrhopodon of Schwaegrichen. 219 


plant, and from the nature of the peristome, a species belong- 
_ Ing to the same genus, under the name of Calymperes Gard- 
neri. Here, however, Dr Hooker discovered the presence 
of actual teeth to the peristome, united at the base into a 
membrane, whereas in the figures of Calymperes given by 
Schwaegrichen, there is an horizontal membrane radiated 
with lines, as it were the rudiments of teeth, very similar to 
the appearance which the peristome of C. Gardneri presents 
in a young and moist state. 

Schwaegrichen then, in his last supplement, considering 
Calymperes to be destitute of actual teeth, and C. Gardneri 
to be furnished with them, and finding some further charac- 
ters to exist in the calyptra, constituted of the latter the 
genus Syrrhopodon, adding to it the Weissia ciliata of Hook- 
er, and four other species. 

The two genera, as we have already observed, are very 
closely allied in habit. They grow mostly on the trunks of 
trees in a tufted manner, somewhat like the genus Orthotri- 
chum. ‘Their leaves, generally narrow and much elongated, 
have for the most part a close and compact texture, except at 
the broad sheathing base, where a considerable portion is oc- 
cupied by extremely large, very pellucid, and even transpa- 
rent, colourless, quadrangular cellules. The extremity is 
often lengthened out, again becoming broader at the very 
apex, so as to be somewhat spathulate, and there producing 
minute jointed bodies, which have so much the appearance of 
a species of conferva, that we cannot help considering them 
as quite analagous to the Conferva Orthotrichi, and by no 
means to the Fide flowers of mosses, although Schwaegrichen 
considers them as such, and makes them for m a part of his 
generic characters. Swartz spoke of them doubtfully as the 
male flowers, and we have ourselves seen the real gemmiform 
male flowers of Hedwig, in more than one instance. The 
margins of the leaves are more or less incrassated, serrated, or 
entire; when serrated, the serratures are often extended to 
the summit of the back of the nerve, and, in one instance, are 
in that situation so much and so irregularly scattered, as to 
give that part a spiculated appearance. The nerve is per- 
current, (except in the doubtful species Syrrhopodon T'aylori, 


220 Drs Hooker and Greville on the Genus Calymperes 


which is the only species also which wants the reticulated. 
pellucid base.) The seta is terminal, more or less elongated, 
The capsule oblong or subcylindrical, smooth, sometimes 
very shining. Operculum more or less acuminated and 
straight. Calyptra large, enveloping the capsule, and, in 
most instances, closely embracing the fruit-stalk with its base. 
The points in which the two genera appear to differ are 
these. In the first genus, Calymperes, the fruit-stalk is rarely 
exserted beyond the points of the leaves. The calyptra is 
constantly very large, deeply striated or sulcated, closely en- 
veloping the capsule, like a mantle with many longitudinal 
folds, somewhat spirally twisted, firmly embracing the upper 
part of the seta, never, that we can find, deciduous, but open- 
ing by fissures where it surrounds the mouth of the capsule, 
and containing at its extremity the loosened operculum. This 
operculum is, we believe, in every instance conico-acuminate, 
and never equal to half the length of the capsule. The cap- 
sule has no true peristome ; but in lieu of it, Schwaegrichen 
finds in the species lonchophyllum and Palisoti, a yellow ho- 
rizontal membrane, with a circular line at a short distance 
from the margin, and radiated in one from the centre to the 
circumference ; in the other only to the intra-marginal circle, 
with sixteen lines, representing, as it were, so many teeth. 
We, on the contrary, can only see in very perfect specimens 
of C. Palisoti, a uniform, whitish, spongy, horizontal mem- 
brane. Schwaegrichen, again, in his C. Moluccense, both 
figures and describes this membrane as conical, green, and 
filling the interior of the operculum. Sprengel describes that 
of C. Berterii simply as covering the mouth ofthe capsule. 
In the genus Syrrhopodon, the seta is more elongated, 
mostly exceeding the length of the leaves. The calyptra is 
smooth, not twisted, opening longitudinally on one side, and 
deciduous. This part, however, we must confess, is variable 
in length, and, in some instances, approaches too near to the 
true dimidiate calyptra. The operculum hasa subulate point, 
as long as the capsule, (except in the doubtful S. T'’aylori.) 
The peristome is variable: in S. Gardneri, which must be con- 
_sidered as-the type of the genus, the peristome is unquestion- 
- ably horizontal, formed of sixteen transversely striated red 


of Swartz and Syrrhopodon of Schwaegrichen. 221 


teeth, united at the base into a thickish spongy yellow mem- 
brane inserted just below the mouth of the capsule. This 
materially differs from the figure of the same plant given by 
Schwaegrichen, who has further represented a longitudinal 
line down the centre of each tooth, which we have not been 
able to discover. In Syrrhopodon ciliatus, the teeth are si- 
milar to those of the genus Weissia, separated to the base, 
erect, or only slightly inclined inwards, and marked with a 
distinct longitudinal line, which Schwaegrichen has entirely 
omitted. S. fasciculatus also has teeth similar to these, but 
so opaque we have not been able to discover a longitudinal 
line, if it exists. In imperfect specimens of S. Hobsoni, we 
find a horizontal membranous annulus, as if when in perfec- 
tion it might have had the teeth of S. Gardneri, or it may 
have had a horizontal membrane, as in Calymperes. 

Tt will now be seen how very nearly allied are some species 
of Syrrhopodon to the genus Weissia. And, in truth, we 
should never ‘consent to the separation of especially S. etliatus 
and ryfescens, were it not that they differ so widely in habit 
from the acknowledged species of Weissia, and are so closely 
allied to S: Gardneri. Here, therefore, we have adopted the 
golden rule of Linnzus, which is equally applicable to the 
mosses, as to the higher orders of plants: Genus dabit cha- 
racterem, non character genus. Others may be perhaps more 
fortunate than ourselves in discovering good generic marks of 
distinction. 


CALYMPERES. * 


Gen. Cuar.—Seta terminalis. Peristomiwm nullum, os mem- 
brana spongiosa horizontali tectum. Calyptra sulcata, per- 
sistens, infra capsulam constricta, apice circa operculum 
(maturitate solutum) rimis longitudinalibus hians. 

1. C. Palisoti, foliis lineari-lingulatis, obtusis, submargina- 
tis, siccitate crispatulis ; seta vix exserta. 


Calymperes Palisoti, Schwaegr. Suppl. I. 2. p. 334. t. 98, (in tab. sub. 
nom. C. lonchophylli..) 


* “ Etymologia a Greeca voce velamen et transadigo quoniam calyptra qua fruc- 
tus tegitur rimis apice aperitur.”—Sw. 


222 Drs Hooker and Greville On the Genus Calymperes 


Has. St Thomas, in the West Indies, and French Guiana, Richard. 
Abundantly upon the bark of trees in the island of St Vincent, and also 
in the island of Grenada, upon the trunk of Bignonia leucomylon, Rev. L. 
Guilding. Barbadoes and Dutch Guiana, C. Parker, Esq. Oware on the 
coast of Africa, Pal. de Beauvois. Sincapore, Dr Wallich, but without 
fruit. 

This species is remarkable for the obtuseness of the leaves, and for their 
being quite entire at the margin. They are likewise shorter and broader 
than in any species with which we are acquainted, but not so much so as 
those of C. Berterzi are represented to be. 

Many of the upper leaves are lengthened out, and spathulated at their 
extremity, bearing on their upper surface a cluster of conferva-like bodies. 
The species varies in length, many of our fructified specimens from St 
Vincent’s being only half an inch long, while those we have from Barba- 
does and from Sincapore are from an inch to an inch and a half in length. 

Upon the capsules of our most perfect specimens, we have found a mem- 
brane stretching across the mouth, but have never been able to detect the 
radiated appearance represented by Schwaegrichen. 


2. C. Moluccense, ‘‘ caule subsimplici, compacto ; ramulis 
vix conspicuis, foliis densissimis, capsula brevioribus, lanceo- 
latis, obtusis.” Schwaegr. 

Calymperes Moluccense, Schwaegr. Suppl. II. 2. p. 99. t. 127. 

Has. In Rauwack, one of the Molucca islands, Gaudichaud. 

This species, which we do not possess, and of which not a very excel- 


lent figure is given by Schwaegrichen, in his last supplement, resembles 
C. Palisoti, of which Schwaegrichen thinks it might be made a variety. 


8. C. Berterii, “ foliis ovato-oblongis, apice dentatis, seta 
elongata.” Spreng. 


C. Berterii, Spreng. in Neue Entdeck, v. 3, p. 1. 

Has. upon the ground in Hispaniola, Bertero. 

This appears, from the form of the leaves, to be most nearly allied to 
C. Palisoti, except that here they are described as ovate-oblong, and 
toothed at the extremity. 


4. C. Afzelii, caule elongato, foliis linearibus marginatis, 
apicem versus serrulatis, siccitate tortilibus marginibusque 
involutis ; seta foliis subduplo longioribus. 


Calymperes Afzelii, Spreng. in Jahrb. der Gewaechsk. p. 3. t. 1. 1818- 

Has. Sierra Leone, Swartz. We have received specimens from Mr 
Dickson gathered on the west coast of Africa. 

Although Steudel in the second volume of his Nomenclator Botanicus, 
seems to consider this as the same plant as C. Palisoti of Schwaegrichen, 
(in the text, but not in the plate,) it appears to us to be sufficiently dis- 
tinct, judging as we do, both from the figure in Sprengel’s work, above 


1 


of Swartz and Syrrhopodon of Schwaegrichen. 225 


quoted, and from a specimen which we received from Mr Dickson ; which 
specimen perfectly accords with that figure. 

C. Afzelii too, is the individual upon which the genus was established 
by the late excellent Dr Swartz. The stems are almost twice or thrice 
the length of C. Palisoti ; the leaves are longer and narrower, and towards 
the extremity constantly serrulate. In those leaves which have the con- 
ferva-like processes, they are produced in globular heads at the tips of the 
excurrent nerve ; whereas in C. Palisoti the leaf itself is lengthened out 
into a spathulate extremity upon the upper surface of which these bodies 
are produced. 

5. C. Guildingii, caule elongato, foliis lmeari-setaceis, sub- 
rigidis, siccitate subtortis, marginatis, omnino integerrimis ; 
seta Vix exserta. 

Has. frequent upon the bark of trees in shady places, on Mount St 
Andrew, Island of St Vincent, Rev. L. Guilding. 

The stems are from an inch anda half to two inches and a half in 
length ; the leaves very slender, somewhat rigid, not much crisped when 
dry, gradually acuminated upwards. Seta scarcely longer than the leaves. 
Calyptra of a browner colour than usual. Neither in this species, nor in 
C. lonchophyllum have we observed the conferva-like bodies. 

6. C. lonchophyllum, foliis longissime angustissimeque 
linearibus, marginatis, apicem versus serratis, siccitate tortuo- 
sis. 

Calymperes lonchophyllum, Schwaegr. Suppl. I. 2. p. 333. t. 98. (In 
tab. sub. nom. C. Palisoti.) 

Has. Upon trees in Guiana, Richard. Island of St Vincent, Rev. L. 
Guilding, and C. Parker, Esq. This has by far the longest leaves of 
any inthe genus. They are tender and pellucid, having a singularly thick- 
ened margin, serrated only towards the upper extremity. The seta scarce- 
ly rises above the summits of the leaves. 


SyRRHOPODON. 


Gen. Cuar.—Seta terminalis. Peristomium e dentibus sede-= 
cim horizontalibus, basi membrana unitis, vel sedecim libe- 
ris, erectis, inclusisve. Calyptra levis, magna, capsulam 
involvens, demum lateraliter fissa, decidua. * 

1. S. Gardneri, foliis linearibus, obtusis, submarginatis, 


“ Imperfect as this character must appear, we fear it would scarcely be improved 
by altering it to that of Schwaegrichen. ‘‘ Peristomium simplex, breve: dentibus 
sedecim intus adnatis, conniventibus. 

Flores masculi foliigeni, raro axillares. Calyptra levis, subcampanulata, latere 
fissa, quibusdam longa.” Schwacgr. 


224 Drs Hooker and Greville on the Genus Calymperes 


serratis, siccitate crispatis; seta breviuscula ; calyptra levis- 
sima. 


Syrrhopodon Gardneri, Schwaegr. Suppl. II. 2. p. 110. t. 121. 

Calymperes Gardneri, Hook. Musc. Exot. t. 146. 

Has. Upon trees in Nepal. Honourable D. Gardner, communicated by 
Dr Wallich. 

We have little to observe with regard to this highly beautiful species, 
more than what has been said in the Musci Exotici above quoted ; except, 
that we find the teeth in some instances seem less distinctly united by a 
membrane, and that, in the dry state, they become nearly erect, especially 
in old capsules. 

Schwaegrichen’s figure by no means does justice to this plant, nor do 
we understand his meaning when he says, ‘‘ Calymperis Gardneri Hook- 
eriana icon et descriptio difficultatem mihi exhibet. Folia enim sistit 
serrata, marginata et peristomium breve, ut in Syrrhopodonte Gardneri, 
caulem vero et calyptram Syrrhopodontis Taylor?. Forte ambas habuit 
species commixtas.” We have again verified the correctness of that figure. 
The stems vary from half an inch to an inch, and the leaves are more or 
less involute, and more or less distinctly serrated. The leaf at Fig. 3, of 
Schwaegrichen’s representation, and the calyptra at Fig. 11, do not seem 
at all to belong to the true Syrrhopodon Gardneri. Among numerous 
specimens, we have never been able to find the conferva-like bodies which 
Schwaegrichen has drawn at Figs. 6 and 7 of his plate. 


2. S. albovaginatus, “caule subramoso, foliis lingulatis secun- 
dis, rigidulis; basi alba vaginantibus ; calyptra breviuscula.” 


Schwaegr. . 


Syrrhopodon albovaginatus, Schwaegr. Suppl. II. 2. p. 112. t. 131. 

Has. In Rauwack, one of the Molucca islands, Gaudichaud. 

The calyptra of this being described as shorter than the capsule, and 
cleft and spreading at the base, it does not consequently correspond with 
our generic character, as taken from the calyptra. Should this be the case, 
we scarcely know upon what characters, as taken from the fructification, 
the genus can rest. Here is a dimidiate calyptra like that of a Wetssia, 
and we have shown that, in one instance at least, the peristome is erect, 
like that of a Weissia: yet we can truly say, that all the species we. have 
included in the present genus, are so closcly allied in habit, that they 
cannot be separated without doing violence to nature. 


3. S. Hobsoni, foliis linearibus acutiusculis, marginatis, 
serratis, planiusculis, erecto-patentibus, siccitate crispatulis ; 
seta foliis duplo longior, calyptra levis. 

Calymperes Hobsoni, Grev. in Annals of Lyc. New York, y. 1. 

Has. Guiana; from whence it was received and communicated to us 


by Mr Hobson of Manchester. 
This differs from S. rigidus in having the leaves shorter, broader, and 


of Swartz and Syrrhopodon of Schwacgrichen. 225 


crisped, when dry : in this species also, the reticulated portion at the base 
is of a white instead of a reddish colour. The seta is shorter than in S. 
rigidus. The capsule ovate-oblong and shining. We have not seen the 
peristome, but have observed the remains of a membranaceous circle simi- 
lar to the membrane which occurs at the base of the teeth in S. Gardneri, 
but which may be the remains of that kind of membrane which is cha- 
racteristic of the genus Calymperes. The lid is subulate, and equal in 
length to the capsule. 


4. S. involutus, “ caule subramoso, fastigiato, foliis erectis, 
linearibus, margine involutis pellucidis, serrulatis, tortilibus, 
capsula ovata, calyptra mediocri.” Schwaegrr. 


‘Syrrhopodon involutus, Schwaegr. Suppl. II. 2. p. 117. t. 132. 
Has. In Rauwack, one of the Molucca islands, Gaudichaud. 


5. S. Taylori, “ caule subsimplici, foliis linearibus, sub- 
dentatis, subsecundis, tortilibus, capsula cylindrica, calyptra 
magna, basi contracta.” Schwaegr. 


Syrrhopodon Taylori, Schwaegr. Suppl. II. 2. p. 115. t. 132. 

Has. In Nepal, on the trunks of decaying trees. 

We are quite unable to understand what the author intends by this 
plant, which was communicated to him by our valued friend Dr Taylor, 
and of which he says, that the stem and calyptra resemble the figures of 
these parts as represented in the plate of Dr Hooker’s Calymperes Gard 
neri, in Musci Exotici. There may indeed be but a slight difference in 
the appearance of the stems, but his calyptra, Fig. 13. we must assert, is 
totally unlike any thing figured by Dr Hooker in his Calymperes Gard- 
neri. Our own collection of Nepal mosses is so similar to that of Dr Tay- 
lor, that there cannot be a question that we must also possess this plant, 
and, most assuredly, as far as regards the figures of the entire plants in 
Schwaegrichen’s plate (Figs. 1 and 2,) of the leaves, (Figs. 3, 3,) and the 
base * and extremity of the leaves (Figs. 4 and 5,) of Syrrhopodon Tay- 
lori, they correspond in every particular with a Nepalese Dicranum which 
we possess. But then again, the figures of the teeth and entire peristome, 
(Figs. 11 and 12,) if correctly drawn, can never belong to our plant. We 
hope to be able to speak of this subject with more certainty on another oc- 
casion. 


6. S fasciculatus, caule elongato, fastigiato-ramoso, foliis 
lato-lanceolatis, undulatis, lato-marginatis, serrulatis, siccitate 
crispis ; seta longa. 

Haz. Island of Ternate, Mr Dickson. Sincapore, Dr Wallich. 


By far the longest and most robust species we know of the genus, the 
stems measuring full three inches in length. The leaves are remarkable 


* We may here observe, that, both according to Schwaegrichen’s figure and de- 
scription of this base, it altogether wants that peculiar reticulated and pellucid ap- 
pearance which forms so striking a character in the other species of the genus, 


VOL; 111, NO. It, OCTOBER 1825, P 


226 Drs Hooker and Greville on the Genus Calymperes, &c. 


for their broad semi-pellucid and waved margin. The capsule is cylin- 
drical, the calyptra long, obscurely striated, enveloping the whole of the 
capsule, and even the upper part of its seta with its base. The teeth are 
long linear-subulate, erect, red, distinctly jointed like those of many spe- 
cies of Wetssia. 


7. S. incompletus, ‘* caule ramoso-fastigiato, foliis lineari- 
lanceolatis, serratis, marginatis, peristomio membrana brevis- 
sima indivisa.” Schwaegr. 


Syrrhopodon incompletus, Schwaegr. Suppl II. 2. p. 119. 
Has. In the Island of Cuba, Dr Poeppig. 


8. S. rigidus, foliis lineari-setaceis, marginatis, serratis, ri- 
gidis, siccitate strictis, margine mvolutis; seta elongata ; ca- 
lyptra leevissima. 


Has. Upon trees on Mount St Andrew, at an elevation of 1012 feet 
above the level of the sea, in the Island of St Vincent. Rev. L. Guilding. 

Of this fine moss we have seen no perfect peristome, but, on account of 
the smooth calyptra, we have ranked it with the present genus. The 
stems are from one to two inches long, branched. ‘The leaves long, slen- 
der, peculiarly rigid and straight when dry ; many of them attenuated 
upwards, but spreading again somewhat at the extreme point, and these 
producing conferva-like bodies. The base of the leaves, which is white in 
most species, is here of a red colour. We have received it from no country 
but St Vincents. : 


9. S. ciliatus, foliis lingulatis planis, longissime ciliatis. 


Syrrhopodon ciliatus, Schwaegr. Suppl. IT. 2. p. 114. t. 132. 

Weissia ciliata, Hook. Musc. Exot. t. 171. 

’ Haz. In the Island of Vernate, whence it was received by Mr Dick- 
gon. 

We have followed Professor Schwaegrichen, in including this plant in 
the genus Syrrhopodon. It possesses we think, sufficiently of the habit 
and most evidently the pellucid base of the leaves belonging to the genus. 
The teeth have, however, a line down the middle, which we cannot find 
to exist in any other species ; and we must add, that an old fallen calyptra, 
represented in Musci Exotici, (Fig. 7,) had the appearance of being truly 
dimidiate, although before the falling of the calyptra it entirely envelopes 
the capsule, and embraces the upper part of the fruit-stalk with its base. 


10. S. spiculosus, foliis anguste linearibus, dorso margini- 
busque incrassatis spiculoso-denticulatis, siccitate vix crispa- 
tulis. 


Has. Sincapore, Dr Wallich. 

We only possess this without fructification, but, in habit and in the tex- 
ture of its leaves, it quite accords with the other species of the genus, from 
all of which it differs in the numerous pellucid denticulated or spiculated 
unequal processes, which are found not only upon the margin of the leaf, 


Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France. 227 


but also on the nerve, especially on the back. These leaves approach in 
size and somewhat in general appearance to S. rufescens. 


11. S. rufescens, sericeis; foliis lineari-subulatis, margina- 
tis, integerrimis, laxissime reticulatis, pellucidis, ad apicem 
solummodo opacis, siccitate vix crispatis; seta gracillima. 


Has. Sineapore, Dr Wallich. 

A very singular species of a most soft and silky texture, growing in 
dense tufts, apparently upon the trunks of decaying trees. The colour is 
a very pale reddish green. The stems are from one to two inches long, 
thickly clothed with leaves, which are remarkable in being formed almost 
entirely of those large pellucid and even transparent cellules which exist 
only at the base of the leaves in other species. ‘I'he opaque portion of the 
leaf’ is almost wholly confined to the very extremity, or running down for 
at most one third of the leaf, gradually quitting the nerve and disappear- 
ing at the margin. The seta is about half an inch long, extremely slen- 
der, yellowish. The capsule shortly oblong, at first yellowish, afterwards 
red-brown. The lid has a subulate point equal in length to, or longer 
than the capsule. Calyptra almost white, enveloping the capsule, but we 


have not seen it in a mature state. 


Art. VI.—Some Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of 
France, collected partly from Observation, partly from a free 
Communication with the Inhabitants of various ranks. 
Written during a Residence in that Country, for the use 
of a Friend in Britam. By H. H. Briacxapper, Esq. 
Surgeon. 


Tus northern part of France, distinguished more exclusively 
by the name of French Flanders, comprehends about 60 
square leagues, or 180 square miles,—extending N. E. to W., 
from Dunkirk to Calais, about nine leagues, and N. to S. E., 
from Gravelines to Cassel, about eight leagues. This tract 
of country forms one extensive level plain, which was, be- 
yond all doubt, at some remote period occupied by the sea. 
The insulated hill on which Cassel stands, and which rises 
from five to six hundred feet above the level of the plain, was, 
at one time, bathed by the sea, from which it is now distant 
about six leagues,—and there are monuments which seem to 
indicate that vessels could, in former times, reach even to St 


Omer, which is eight leagues from the present shore of the 
English Channel. 


228 Account of the Climate, §c. of the North of France. 


The period at which the land began thus to encroach upon 
the sea, is lost in the lapse of ages,—all that we can discover 
from history is, that this encroachment had made considerable 
progress anterior to the age of Julius Casar. No fossil shells 
are found in the soil, but trees, similar to those found in Hol- 
land, have been dug out sixteen feet below the surface. The 
cause of this formation of land, and consequent repulsion of 
the sea, seems to be the successive accumulation of alluvial 
matter brought down by the rivers,—including, perhaps, the 
Rhine, the Meuse, and the Scheld, along with the action of 
the North Sea on the coast of Holland. Gravelines, built at 
the mouth of a river, was, at the beginning of the last century, 
bathed by the sea, and is now distant from it about three 
miles. 

The surface of the country is but very little elevated above 
the level of the sea at low water ; and when the seais full, the 
land is so much below it, that were it not for the artificial em- 
bankments along the shore, and if the sluices were not regu- 
larly shut at Calais, Gravelines, Dunkirk and Fort Nieulay, 
the whole country would be inundated. Hence it is that the 
rivers and canals do not flow during high water, a pheno- 
menon which always attracts the attention of strangers, more 
especially when unacquainted with the cause. 

Strictly speaking, there is but one river that passes through 
this country, which is named the Aa, and which has its origin 
near Reuti in Artois, about six leagues to the 8S. W. of St 
Omer. Passing through the last mentioned town, its direc- 
tion is towards Gravelines, and about a league beyond that 
place, it reaches the sea,—its whole course not being less than 
sixty or seventy miles. At different parts, as in the vicinity 
of St Omer, the bed of the river has been raised many feet 
above the surrounding fields, so that it is impossible to divine 
what its original distribution may have been. At Waten it 
gives off a branch called the Colme, which runs N., passes 
Bergue, and enters the sea at Dunkirk. A second branch 
goes toward Bourbourg, which it surrounds and crosses, and, 
with the Colme, reaches the sea at Dunkirk. About two cen- 
turies ago these branches were enlarged, (being then only 
small streams,) so as to form two canals for the purpose of na- 


Account of the Climate, &c, of the North of France. 229 


vigation,—and serving also more effectually to carry off the 
water from the mmummerable small canals, (termed water- 
gangs in the language of the country,) and from the ditches 
which communicate with them. 

To a stranger, nothing is more novel and characteristic, 
than the manner in which this tract of country is divided and 
intersected by the small canals and ditches; the meadows, 
corn-fields, plantations, and gardens of each proprietor, being 
divided by these watergangs into small and more or less regu- 
lar squares, each of which is completely insulated, so as to ad- 
mit of boats readily passing between them. The whole may 
be compared to the streets and alleys of a large city, where 
water and boats come in the place of pavement and carriages. 
The execution of these works has been of incalculable advan- 
tage to the country,—immense tracts of rich soil, otherwise 
worse than useless, has been rendered highly productive ; 
land-carriage is almost unknown ; and last, but uot least, the 
endemic diseases, which were formerly the scourge of the in- 
habitants, have now nearly disappeared. 

The river Aa runs slowly on a slimy channel, and which is 
fit for forming peat.* Hence the water has a peculiar brack- 
ish taste, which is very disagreeable. Over the whole of this 


* In many places peats are dug out of the watergangs, &c. several feet 
under the surface of the water. For this purpose, the person goes into a 
large half-decked boat, and is provided with a very long-handled spade, 
the rest for the foot being four or five feet from the cutting extremity. 
With this instrument he digs up the peat, which is easily raised to the sur- 
face of the water, but then requires a considerable exertion to place it on 
the deck. Afterwards the peats are transferred to the land, to be thorough- 
ly dried, and where, for a considerable time, they emit a most offensive 
odour. When dry they are very different from the peat to be met with in 
Scotland. They are very hard, black, and ponderous,—not easily kindled, 
and in burning, give out a most disagreeable and almost unsupportable 
odour. This odour is well known to strangers who may have walked 
round the old ramparts of Calais, though they may have remained igno- 
rant of its true origin. The cause is doubtless to be traced to the great 
quantity of decayed animal matter that enters into the composition of this 
species of peat. As the canals afford a ready and cheap mode of convey- 
ance, and as both wood and pit-coal are high priced, these peats are much 
used by the lower ranks, both in the towns and villages, as well as in the 
country. 


230 Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France. 


country, indeed, the water is sufficiently bad; but that of the 
Colme and the canals is even worse than that of the Aa. In 
general it has a muddy brown colour, and deposits a green- 
ish yellow slime in great abundance. Many of the inhabi- 
tants are nevertheless under the necessity of using water from 
the watergangs and ditches however unwholesome. It is very 
dangerous to make use of these waters as drink, but their of- 
fensive taste commonly prevents their use in that form, the 
drink of the inhabitants being always a kind of tea or beer. 
Much use is made of water from draw-wells, though the qua- 
lity of this is also very bad, being strongly impregnated with 
saline and other substances. It is more discoloured, and of 
_ greater specific gravity, than the water of the rivers and ca- 
nals, and is unfit for culinary purposes, animal and vegetable — 
substances when concocted in it, acquiring a horny consistence. 
The principal use to which the water of draw-wells is applied 
is the washing of the houses, a practice to which the inhabi- 
tants are, to appearance, excessively addicted. But, perhaps, 
if their houses were not thus kept proportionably damp, the 
inmates would be less able to resist the excessive dampness of 
the external air, to which they are liable to be exposed im all 
variety of circumstances. 

It is much to be regretted that cisterns, from which so 
much advantage has long been derived in Holland, are here 
almost unknown. 

The soil seems to be of the same description over the whole 
of this tract of country. It is very moist, and is composed of 
a mixture of clay, siliceous earth, peat-moss, and a considerable 
proportion of animal and vegetable substances in a state of de- 
composition. So much do the latter substances abound, that, 
when it is examined in the hand, it has that over-rich, or ra- 
ther greasy appearance of the soil that is to be found in the 
vicinity of old dunghills. Hence it is, that ashes are in such 
great repute as a manure, and are sold at a high price. The 
cultivated fields are highly productive, and the pastures and 
meadows, especially those on the banks of the canals, around 
the villages and large farm-houses, are-rich even to luxuriance. 
There are also considerable plantations, the vegetation of 
which is strikingly rapid, many trees acquiring large dimen- 


Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France. 231 


sions in the course of a few years. The progress made after 
-engrafting is also remarkable ; in. some instances, indeed, that 
I had an opportunity of observing, it exceeded any thing I 
could have imagined in so northerly a climate. It may be 
-observed, that the trees incline to the east, and that on their 
sides next to the sea there are comparatively few branches. 
The agricultural productions are, in general, of the best qua- 
lity; wheat and rye in great abundance, a great quantity of 
these being sent to the interior. The diseases which affect 
the corn, are said to be le charbon, la nielle, la rouille, le blé 
moucheté; the ergot of the rye is of very rare occurrence. 
It is not uncommon, excepting in the summer months, to see 
the meadows, pastures, and, in some places, even the corn- 
fields, covered with water. Hence it happens, that when the 
autumn is particularly rainy, the sown fields are ruined, and 
it becomes necessary to re-sow them in the month of March. 
Potatoes are in general cultivation, though not so much 
used as in Britain, excepting on occasions of scarcity. ‘There 
are some varieties to be met with in the markets. The first 
is characterized by paleness of the skin and whiteness of the 
flesh, resembling, in these respects, the variety named white 
blooms in some parts of Scotland, but in other respects it is 
much superior. It is, upon the whole, rather tasteless, and is 
most apt to be injured by frost. The skin of the second has 
a fine claret colour, and the flesh, sufficiently dry, is more 
compact than that of most other varieties. It seldom exceeds 
the size of an egg, has an agreeable flavour, and is much used 
“in soup along with “other vegetables. ‘The third is an excel- 
lent and beautiful variety of the kidney species. The skin 
is of a bright claret colour, which extends into the flesh. It 
grows from two to five or six inches in length, and of uniform 
thickness, which is seldom so much as an inch. ‘This potatoe 
is very dry, has a very agreeable flavour, and though, with 
other varieties of the kidney species, it is not very productive, 
it is surprising that it is not met with in our gardens. It is 
usually the first that appears in the market, and must be con- 
sidered an early variety. The fourth is that named the black 
potatoe, though its flesh be the whitest of all. ‘This, as else- 
where, is cultivated for spring use, being universally recog- 


232 Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France. 


nized as withstanding the frost, and as ,being later in vegetat- 
ing than any other variety. I never observed any appear- 
ance of disease in the potatoes raised in this country. 

The horticultural productions are very abundant, and, up- 
on the whole, rather luxuriant, approaching to that which is 
termed rank—the quantity and size being much more char- 
acteristic than the richness of the flavour. Still, however, the 
cherries, currants, apples, pears, peaches, plums, and other 
fruits, form a great part of the wealth of the inhabitants. 
Gooseberries are not much cultivated, and are chiefly used in 
an unripe state. Much use is made of roasted apples and 
pears, more especially in the time of Lent. The coarsest ap- 
ples and pears, which are otherwise only fit for making cider 
and perry, become pulpy, and of a fine subacid taste, by sim- 
ple roasting in the oven. In this state they are preserved 
close packed in jars for almost any length of time, and with- 
out the addition of sugar. Spinage and sorrel are also pre- 
served in jars, so as to furnish a constant supply at a trifling 
expence during winter and spring,—a little salt and half 
boiling of the leaves being all that is necessary. For the pur- 
pose of promoting and protecting early vegetation, I find 
much advantage is derived from the use of easily moveable 
hurdles, made by placing a thin layer of straw or reeds longi- 
tudinally between thin wicker-work, and which can be con- 
structed at almost no expence. These are placed in various 
directions around the beds, and shifted according to circum- 
stances. There is one method of having early salad, which is 
very simple. They sow the lettuce seed very thick, and when* 
the young plants are about an inch in height, they are thin- 
ned out. ‘These young plants make a most delicate salad, 
and the taste can be rendered more piquant by the addition 
of a few plants of the Lactuca virosa, or by a little endive, or 
blanched dandelion. 

On the sea-shore is found the Critim. marit. maj., which, 
when confected in vinegar, is an article of commerce. 

The prevailing quality of the air is humidity, the face of 
the sky being commonly concealed by a sombre greyness of 
the atmosphere, at no great height above the earth. The 
barometer is variable, seldom remaining of the same height 


Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France. 238 


for two days in succession. The extremes are said to be 
26, 3'—29. It has been remarked, that the changes are more 
frequent and rapid than in the interior, and that the varia- 
tions are most remarkable about the equinoxes. The mean 
temperature is about 5° above that of Paris. The cold 
season is of long duration, , but is commonly not severe. 
Judging from the animal sensations, however, this climate is 
colder than that of Paris, which must arise from the great 
dampness of the air, caused by the vicinity of the sea, the 
number of canals and ditches, the lowness and consequent, 
moistness of the soil, and the great luxuriance of vegetation. 

When the south or west winds continue for some time in 

any season, abundant rain is the consequence. The animal 
system then feels relaxed and oppressed ; the circulation is 
slow, and the secretions interrupted. Persons feel themselves 
heavy, and incapacitated for either mental or corporeal exer- 
tion, and many, but particularly strangers, acquire a dingy 
yellow colour of the skin, obviously connected with some irri- 
tation of the biliary organs. This state of the atmosphere is 
quickly changed by a north or north-east wind coming from 
the sea. These winds are dry and invigorating, but not un- 
frequently accompanied by a dense fog. The winds are very 
variable, often changing in the course of the same day. The 
most frequent are the south-west and the north, the most rare 
the east. The south-west and north winds are always the 
strongest, and the south wind is very moist. The south-west 
wind is common in autumn, the north wind in spring. 
' ‘The number of serene days ‘is about 40, and occur only 
during a very hot or very cold state of the air. Most com- 
monly the: sky is covered with a universal greyness, through 
which the sun only occasionally makes his appearance. 

They count, on an average, about twelve thunder storms 
in the course of the year; and not unusually a tremendous 
one all at once ushers in the winter. In a storm of this kind 
which I witnessed, a wind-mill, at a short distance, was struck 
by the electric fluid, and immediately after the flash, there 
suddenly fell a shower of angular pieces of ice, by which some 
individuals had their faces slightly lacerated. 

Heavy fogs are very frequent, often appearing at mid-day, 


234 Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France. 


and, extending from the sea, envelope all Flanders, but seldom 
advance interiorly beyond the province of Artois. These fogs 
occur occasionally at all seasons, but are most common in 
spring and autumn. 

The quantity of rain is only somewhat greater than at 

Paris. ‘Chere, the mean is 24 inches 2 lines, and there are 
119 days with rain; here, the mean is 24.4, and the number 
of days with rain 159. May, July, August, and November 
are the months in which most 1ain is observed to fall. 
_ In spring, the north wind is almost constant, especially from 
the beginning of March to the middle of April. This wind 
is strong, dry, cold, and sharp. Jt freezes in the night, and 
the barometer always keeps high, but the sky is uniformly ob- 
scured. Hoar-frosts are apt to occur until May; and it is 
not till the middle of that month that the air begins to feel 
sensibly and steadily warmer. 

Tn summer, the weather is very variable, there being con- 
tinual changes from heat to cold, and vice versa, not only 
from day to day, but in the course of the same day. A fog 
coming in a direction from the sea, extends all over the coun- 
try, and then the thermometer sinks. In July and August 
the heat is considerable, sometimes so high as 92°. On such 
occasions there is always a perfect calm, but this state of the 
air never lasts long ; clouds soon begin to make their appear- 
ance, and the thermometer falls to about 65°. The usual 
summer heat is from 65° to 80°. At this season, there is al- 
ways a heavy dew during the night, accompanied by a very 
cold and dense fog, the thermometer falling from 8° to 14° 
Jower than during the day. Hence the origin of various dis- 
eases to which persons are liable when exposed to the open 
air during the night. No where is the sudden sensation of 
cold at sunset more remarkable. 

In autumn, the weather is most steady; after the equinox, 
the thermometer sinks to 50°, and vacillates but little for a 
considerable length of time. Frosts do not usually com- 
mence till December ; but during the night and part of the 
morning, there is always a dense cold fog, which moistens all 
the surface of the ground, and of solid bodies resting on it. 

In winter, the temperature rarely falls so low as 20°, but it 


Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France. 235 


has once or twice been observed nearly at 0°. In the winter 
of 1819, I observed it so low as 10° a considerable time after 
sunrise. There had previously been a great fall of snow 
without wind, and there was now a gentle but steady norther- 
ly breeze. The whole sky was free of clouds, had a deep 
blue colour, and a peculiar glistening appearance, produced 
by minute icy spicule with which it was heavily charged, 
and which, impinging on the face, in walking against the 
wind, were sufficient to blister it. ‘These spiculz had no ef- 
fect on the appearance of the sun, if it was not to render the 
light more intensely white and glistening. 

A humid atmosphere, habitual heavy fogs, a moderate 
temperature, a low and moist soil, the free use of watery 
drinks, such as beer, the daily use of a great quantity of milk 
and butter, an abundant nourishment of wheat-bread, but- 
cher’s meat, tea, and fresh water fish, and garden vegetables 
of all kinds, the ease of all ranks of society, and labour to oc- 
cupy:all hands, all these things united must greatly influence 
the physical and intellectual constitution of the inhabitants. 
In general, men, animals, and vegetables, are large. A moist 
climate, and a fertile soil, are favourable to the developement 
of all the parts of animate beings. Hence we remark large 
bones, large muscles, with a profusion of cellular substance. 
When King Henry the Eight described a certain princess as 
‘a great Flanders mare,” the comparison was rude, but suf- 
ficiently intelligible. In general, the complexion of the in- 
habitants is fair, the eyes blue, and the hair chesnut. They 
support labour well, and often arrive to an advanced age. In 
character they are a mixture of the Frenchman and Holland- 
er, and which, when closely analyzed, is found to be rather an 
odd compound. 

Beer of various qualities is much used, and spirituous li- 
quors (particularly gin, which sells at the rate of about six- 
pence the bottle) are consumed in great quantity. Drunk- 
enness, however, even in the towns, is rare, very rare, com- 
pared with what may be observed in Britain, and habitual 
drinkers still more so, But it is an almost universal practice 
to take a glass of raw spirits on first rising in the morning, 
a practice common, and said to have been found beneficial, in 


236 Account of the Climate, Sc. of the North of France. 


most damp countries on the continent of Europe. The use 
of spirits mixed with water, in the form ‘of grog or punch, is 
all but unknown, such a mixture being considered highly per- 
nicious to the stomach, and it would be well, perhaps, if all 
their opinions were equally well-founded. Tea, with or 
without milk, but always without sugar, a weak beer, and 
** bouillie,” are the common drinks. As formerly mentioned, 
the water cannot be used in its crude state with impunity. 
The bouillie is made from a decoction of bran, to which old 
leaven has been added ; fermentation ensues, and the product 
is a refreshing subacid liquor, which removes thirst very well. 

Milk, butter, cheese, and bread, constitute the principal 
nourishment of the country people. Even the eommon 
people never eat bread without butter, (excepting in Lent) 
and he who is reduced to do so, is considered at the depth of 
misery. Hence the proverbial expression, “ Manger le pain 
sec.” 

There is a mess called sour-milk much used by the country 
people, and which is made as follows: A considerable quan- 
tity of milk is put into a deep wooden vessel, and a certain 
quantity of salt is added to it. Tt is then left until the whey 
separate from the curd, when the former is poured off and 
given to the pigs, and the latter is stirred round, and more 
milk added to it. This operation is repeated until the de- 
sired quantity of curd is obtained, and which is found to have 
aequired a very acid taste. In this state it is kept for winter 
use, and is used in mixing a quantity of it with water and 
flour, which is boiled, and then bread is added to it. This 
mess is used for breakfast and supper, which always conclude 
with bread and butter. 

There is another mess of curd often used in the summer 
months, and much relished for supper. ‘For making it, two 
vessels are provided, the one of which goes within the other, 
the innermost being perforated with numerous holes for the 
escape of the whey. The milk is coagulated by means of 
runnet made by infusing a small piece of the dried stomach 
of a young hare in white wine. ‘To the curd, well freed of 
. the whey, is added salt and pepper, but many consider escha- 
lots an indispensable ingredient. 


Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France. 237 


In the country, the houses are built of mud or brick, and 
roofed with thatch. In the towns, they are built of brick, and 
roofed with flat tiles, which at least have a better appearance 
than those used in Scotland, but they require the roof to be 
covered with deal, the same as in the case of slates. Nothing 
is more agreeable than the internal appearance of these houses ; 
every where there is exhibited, as in Holland, an exact atten- 
tion to cleanliness; but the means employed for attaining this 
is far from being agreeable to strangers. Several large tubs 
of cold water are emptied in each apartment, and when every 
part has been well scrubbed with a birchen broom, the re- 
maining water is swept out by the door, and in this state it is 
left to dry, which, in this climate, is a very slow process. 
This deluging operation is of perpetual recurrence, and hence 
those who are not completely accustomed to this moist manner 
of life, are continually exposed to attacks of rheumatism, 
toothache, &c. 

Occasional inundations from heavy falls of rain are liable 
to take place, and when the water is nearly evaporated, there 
are elicited vapours of a very noxious quality. Notwithstand- 
ing the numerous canals, &c. there still exist some marshes, 
and in hot weather their effluvia are very pernicious. Some 
of these marshes are formed by digging peat, and clay to 
make bricks; others have existed from time immemorial. 
At each farm-house there is a pond of no small extent, to re- 
ceive the fluid part of the dunghills, &c. These are of a 
greenish or reddish brown colour, and in autumn give out a 
most abominable odour. Strange as it may appear, however, 
almost every farmer sends his cattle to drink out of these 
ponds, and even the animals themselves seem to prefer this 
fluid (for water it cannot be called) to the water of the canals | 
and ditches. It must be admitted, that there are no direct 
proofs of the use of this fluid as drink being prejudicial, and 
one thing is certain, that these ponds must be almost, if not 
altogether free of insects and animaleula, which literally 
swarm everywhere else, whether air, earth, or water. 

The immense quantity of small animals of one kind and 
another, that are to be seen in and about the canals, ditches, 
and fields, enables us to account for no small portion of the 


238 Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France. 


decayed animal matter that is so abundantly mixed with the 
soil. Frogs are very abundant, but though they are regu- 
larly brouplit to the market in Brussels, I never saw or could 
hear of their being used as food in this country. At some 
places leeches are bred in the marshes, and, during the war, 
a great deal of money was made by the sale of them. A 
common mode of collecting these animals deserves to be 
noticed, as it explains a fact which has often caused suspicion 
and blame to attach to upright leech-dealers in the interior, 
and in Scotland not less than elsewhere. A number of per- 
sons, commonly young women, are employed to wade in the 
water with their feet and legs uncovered, and when they 
come out after a short stay, these parts of their body are 
found covered with leeches, which are then removed and se- 
cured in vessels provided for their reception. This operation 
they repeat as often as may be requisite for obtaining the de- 
sired quantity, and, far from suffermg any injury from the Joss 
of blood, these Flemish water nymphs informed me that their 
health was always improved by it at the time; that their 
complexions became clearer, and that afterwards they got 
more into a state of en bon point. It must be obvious, that 
leeches, caught in this manner, must acquire a small quantity 
of blood, but, when afterwards they are sold for use, and 
when some of this blood, still remaining, happens to be eject- 
ed on the application of the animal, it is forthwith taken for 
granted that the dealer has acted dishonestly in selling used 
leeches for fresh ones. 

Hares, partridges, and snipes, are in great plenty. Quails 
were once common, but are now become exceedingly rare. In 
the river are trout, which I have seen from two to three pounds 
weight, but their flesh is not delicate, approaching somewhat 
to that of the pike, which is, no doubt, owing to the gross 
slimy quality of the water. Artificial flies for the purpose 
of fishing are here unknown ;—an excellent proof this that ne- 
cessity is the mother of invention, for here artificial flies are 
unnecessary.. At almost every ‘step along the river is to be 
found the fly most proper for ensnaring the trout, and as it-is 
neither small nor delicate, and as the river moves slowly, it is 
not soon torn from the hook. The fly is often seen to rest on 


——-- 


=e i oe ee 


Account of the Climate, &§c. of the North of France. 239 


and float down the stream when seized by the fish, and the 
fisher has only to imitate this dull operation. In the canals 
and ditches are pike, and an abundance of perch and other 
small fish. I have been informed that, about twenty years 
ago, a pike was killed of the enormous weight of 32 pounds; 
no one seemed to doubt the fact, but I have met with no one 
who had himself seen such a fish. 

The canals and ditches, from time to time, become more or 
less choked, from the continual deposition of alluvial matter, 
and, when cleared out by the workmen, the matter ejected 
yields a most unsupportable cdour. <As the riches of the 
country depend on the keeping of these canals in repair, they 
are cleaned out at least once every two years, besides other 
occasional repairs; and there is a class of workmen who near- 
ly confine themselves to this particular occupation, which is 
none of the most healthy. It isin autumn, winter, and spring, 
that these operations are carried forward, and the matter eject- 
ed is spread over the fields as manure. Nothing of the kind 
can be more offensive to the smell, and few more pernicious to 
health; than the vapour which continues for a long time to 
exhale from it. Still, if we suppose a foreign army to take 
possession of this country, it would be of the first importance 
to protect the inhabitants, and give every possible encourage- 
ment to the regular execution of these works, otherwise they 
would soon and dearly pay for their imprudent conduct. 

On the sea-shore the inhabitants are, in general, more 
healthy than in the interior; but when the sea happens to 
break over the dikes, and the water afterwards comes to be 
evaporated, exhalations of an extremely pernicious quality are 
elicited, and which cause fevers of the very worst kind. 

Intermittent fevers are not so frequent here as on the coast 
of France, in the vicinity of Rochfort. In this country the 
ditches are less frequently dry, the temperature being: consi- 
derably lower, and the air in common much damper, the. eva- 
- poration is much less active. ‘The adult inhabitants are but 
little subject to the attacks of the endemic fevers, but children 
and strangers rarely escape. ‘They are commonly attacked in 
autumn ; at first it appears under the form of a tertian, after- 
wards it changes to a quartan, and, about January, some 


240 Account of the Climate, &c. of the North of France. 


change to triple quartans, and in other instances to quoti- 
dians. From the middle of April to the middle of May, these 
fevers, when not interfered with by medical treatment, cease 
of themselves. The patients, however, are liable to a recur- 
rence of the disorder in the course of the ensuing summer 3. 
and nothing is more common than to see children who have 
had the fever hanging about them for two or three years in 
succession, during which time they preserve their appetite, 
and even eat more than when in perfect health. It is not cus- 
tomary to treat this disease medically in the case of children, 
and accidents are rare. When a child has once had and got 
quit of the fever, he is thereby acclimaté, or rendered less liable 
to suffer from the climate in the after period of his life, if he 
be not much exposed to the exciting cause, such as digging 
the ditches. Of all others, the men who mow the hay suffer 
most; the ditchers are all natives, but the hay-makers come 
from a different and higher part of the country, being allured 
by the love of gain. As they always work. at what is termed 
piece-work, their exertions are great, and as the hay falls, the 
dank surface of the soil, consisting of the half decomposed 
ejectment from the ditches, is exposed to the direct rays of the 
sun: Hence it happens that the noxious vapour arises most 
abundantly at a time when the men are exhausted with labour, 
and consequently when the system is least able to resist its in- 
fluence. 'These labourers contract complicated tertians, and, 
in the language of the country, are said to have ‘‘ swallowed 
the frog in Flanders.” 'The patient experiences a feeling of 
great debility ; the secretions seem almost suspended ; the re- 


spiration is slow and oppressed ; and the surface of the body 


assumes a leaden colour. The first care of those unfortunate 
persons is to quit the marshy country, and when they get 
home, and are properly attended to, they often recover, though 
some occasionally sink under various supervening complica- 
tions, 

Upon the whole, this is a very rich and populous country, and, 
i several respects, very highly interesting ; -but it is neither 
very agreeable nor very healthy, especially to strangers, as a 
place of residence. Catarrh and rheumatism are frequent in 
autumn and spring. In summer diarrhoea, verging to dysen- 


4 


ee 


Serre YS re 


Mr Haidinger on the Specific Gravity of Minerals. 


241 


tery, is not unfrequent. In the towns, chronic ophthalmia is 
pretty common, and there appears to be an unusual propor- 
tion of halt and lame, and that apparently from their youth. 


Arr. VI.—Account of the Specific Gravity of several Mi- 
nerals. By Witt1amM Hatpincer, Esq. F.R.S.E. Com- 
municated by the Author.—( Continued from Vol. II. p. 4.) 


Orver VI. Spar. 


1. Diatomous Schiller-spar, from the Baite in the Hartz, a species 
generally confounded with the hemi-prismatic Schiller-spar or 
Bronzite, 


2. Serpentine, the rock in which the former is imbedded ; it acts 
a little upon the magnetic needle, 


3. Hemi-prismatic Schiller-spar, the grey variety of Diallage, from 
Monteferrato, 
_ 4, Serpentine, accompanying it, along with Labradorite ; does not 
act upon the magnetic needle, 
5. Bronzite, of a greenish-grey colour, from Pruck, in the district 
of Pinzgau in Salzburg, 
6. Bronzite, grey, locality unknown, 
7. Bronzite, a liver-brown variety, with a particularly distinct 
cleavage, 
8. Bronzite, clove-brown, from Bayreuth, 
9. Hypersthene, from the coast of Labrador, 
10. Rhaetizite, a yellowish-grey variety, in long columnar com- 
positions, little coherent, 
‘dl. Riaetizite, milk-white, 
12. Kyanite, deep ash-grey pebbles, from Ohlapian in Transylva- 
nia, where it is brought along with the nigrine, 
13. Kyanite, smalt-blue crystalline masses, engaged in quartz, 
from the Saualpe in Carinthia, 
_ 14, Kyanite, of a deep-blue, transparent, cut and polished ; a va- 
riety to which sometimes the name of sapphire is given, 
19. Prehnite, a variety in irregularly fornied crystals preserved in 
the collection at Gratz, and said to be from Elba, 
20. Spodumene, from Sweden, 
21. Datolite, a compound variety from Arendal ; the individuals 
easily separated, 
22. Leucite, a yellowish-grey transparent trystal, from Green- 
land, 
_ 28. Sodalite, crystals, 
24. Sodalite, massive, cleavable, 
25. Mesotype, from Auvergne, 
26. Natrolite, the red variety from the Tyrol, the crystals, 
VOL. III. NO. II. OCTOBER 1825. Q 


2.691 
2.684 
3.149 
2.717 


3.201 
3.216 


3.234 
3.252 
3.390 


3.545 
3.560 


3.630 
3.635 
3.676 


2.925 
3.169 


2.989 


2.483 
2.295 
2.293 
2.249 
2.168 


242 Mr Haidinger’s Account of the Specific Gravity 


27. Natrolite, the fibrous mass near the centres of the globular 
masses of this same variety, 2.152 
28. Chabasie, the rhombohedron R, from Giants Causeway, 2.041 
29. Chabasie, from the same locality, in crystals, presenting all 
the rhombohedrons known in the species, and several pyramids, — 2.043 
30. Chabasie, also from Giant’s Causeway, in compound groups, 
apparently traversed by a great number of fissures, 2.005 


The specific gravity of the crystals from Bohemia has been 
found = 2.100 by Professor Mohs. Chabasie forms a curious 
instance of the dangers of authority in science. The num- 
bers 2.11'76, given by La Metherie* and Fourcroy,+ differ but 
little from those obtained by Mr Mohs and myself. But we 
find in the first edition of Haiiy’s Mineralogy,} the numbers 
2.7176 evidently agreeing with those of La Metherie and 
Fourcroy, with the. difference only that the second decimal is 
changed. In the works subsequent to this period, the autho- 
rity of Haiiy has been preferred to the former correct deter- 
mination, and 2.7, sometimes along with the rest of the deci- 
mals, are given by Lucas,* Brongniart,° Thomson,* Karsten,* 
Steffens,° Hoffmann’ Hausmann,® Oken,' Cleaveland,' Jame- 
son, Leonhard,* Ure,! Phillips," Beudant," and probably by 
many others, the works of which I have not had an opportu- 
nity of consulting. As the characteristic of Mohs, which ap- 
peared in 1820, contained a new and correct indication of this 
property, Professor Jameson has quoted it along with the 
erroneous specific gravity of Haiiy, in the third edition of his 
system, and the limits 2.0—2.71, given by Leonhard like- 
wise, include the true specific gravity. 


31. Szilbite, thick prisims, from Iceland, 2.161 
32. Heulandite, a large single crystal, from Iceland, 2.192 
33. Heulandite, smaller crystals, from Iceland, 2.213 


“ Theorie de la Terre. t. iii. p. 313. 1797. t Systeme des Connotssan- 
ces Chimiques. t. ii. p. 312. 1800. + Traité t. iii. p. 176. 1801. 

® Tableau. Méthodique. 1806. t.i. p. 70. » Fraité élém. de Min. 1807. 
t. 1. p. 382. System of Chem. 3d ed- 1807. vol. iv. p. 318. * Mineral. 
Tabel. 1808. s. 31. * Voblst. Handb. der Oryctogn. 1811. th. i- s. 400. 
* Handb. der Min. 1812. th. ii. s. 259. © Handb. der. Min. 1813. th. ii. 
s. 585. ™Lehrb. der Min. 1813. th. i.s. 349. +} Hlem. Treatise on Min. 
1816. p. 315. 4 System of Min. 3d ed. 1820. vol. i. p. 360. * Handb. der 
Oryctogn. 1821. p. 450. | Dict. of Chemistry. 1821. ™ Elem. Introd, to 
Min, 1823. p.139. ° Traité élém. de Min. 1824. p. 351. 


of Several Minerals. 243 


34 Apophyllite, from Iceland, crystallized and easily cleavable, 2.335 
"35. Mesole, from Faroe, 2.370 
86. Petalite, large cleavable individuals ina granular composition, 2.440 
37. Hemi-prismatic Felspar Adularia, white and perfectly trans- 

parent, from St Gothard, 2.559 
38. Hemi-prismatic Felspar, semi-transparent, of a fine clove- 


brown, perfectly cleavable, particularly parallel to— 4 (P of Haiiy,) 


from Norway, 2.583 
39. Hemi-prismatic Felspar, the Labradorite, from Norway, 2.591 
*40. Albite, white, faintly translucent, from Chesterfield in Mas- 

sachusetts, the siliceous spar of Hausmann and Stromeyer, 2.612 


This variety does not show the re-entering angles formed 
by the faces of the most distinct cleavage, (P of Haiiy,) like 
the crystals of albite from St Gothard and other places, be- 
cause it is composed parallel to this face in the manner de- 
described by Professor Mohs.* The individuals are very 
thin between the two opposite faces of P ; when broken across 
in the direction of Pr + @, (M of Haiiy,) they exhibit the 
slight salient and re-entering angles produced by the meeting 
of the less distinct faces of cleavage, parallel to M. The 
same frequently takes place in other varieties of albite, for in- 
stance, the reddish-white one, from the syenite of Dresden. 


*41. Albite, small, perfectly transparent crystals, from Oisans, 


where they occur along with anatase, 2.614 
*42. Albite, larger crystals than the preceding variety, white, 
translucent, from St Gothard, 2.633 


*43. Labradorite, from America, with a bright play of colour, 2.751 
*44. Labradorite, bluish-grey without bright colours, and hay- 


j ing rather an imperfect cleavage, from Siebenlehn in Saxony, 2.714 


*45. Labradorite, in every respect similar to the preceding, as- 
sociated with the serpentine, No. 4, and hemi-prismatic Schiller- 


_ spar, No. 3, from Monteferrato, 2.714 


*46. A similar variety, associated with hornblende, from Ross- 
wein in Saxony, 2.714 
*47. A green nearly compact variety, very much of the same de- 
scription, and probable belonging to the species of labradorite, asso- 
ciated with the grey hemi-prismatic Schiller-spar, No. 6. 2.697 
"48. 4 Tetarto-prismatic kind of felspar, faintly translucent, yel- 
lowish-white, in twin-crystals, joined parallel to the face of perfect 
cleavage, from St Gothard, 2.553 
“49. Another specimen of the same, 2.548 


" Treatise, vol. ii. p. 257, Fig. 88. 


244 Mr Haidinger’s Account of the Specific Gravity 


These two varieties are very remarkable for their specific 
gravity, which is equal to that of the hemi-prismatic fel- 
spar, while their form is tetarto-prismatic. The difference 
in their specific gravity from albite, and some differences in 
the forms, render it very probable, that they will be found. to 
belong to a distinct species of the genus felspar. They oc- 
cur not unfrequently in simple crystals. 


"50. Common Felspar of Werner, from Baveno, the red nearly 
opaque variety, cleavable with the greatest facility, but only in one 


direction, 2.392 
*51. A variety in very thin lamellar compositions, pale reddish- 

white, locality unknown, 2.423 
“52. Thicker Lamellae, of another kind, much resembling the 

former, : 2.425 
*53. Fragments of Crystals, yellowish-white, nearly opaque, said 

to be from Elba, associated with the prehnite, No. 19. QAAS 


The low degrees of specific gravity, and the highly per- 
fect cleavage observable, almost exclusively of the rest, pa- 


rallel to—s-(P of Haiiy,) render it extremely probable that 


these varieties will also form a distinct species. We are yet, 
however, much in want of decisive observations, particularly 
im respect to the regular forms. The degrees of transpa- 
rency are very low, the varieties being scarcely translucent 
on the edges. 


54. Scapolite, a single crystal, white, translucent, from Pargas 

in Finland, 2.724 
55. Puratomous Augite-spar, a variety resembling Sahlite, of a 

grass-green colour, and easily cleavable, from the Bacher mountain ~ 

in Lower Stiria, 3.234 
56. Mussite, from Piedmont, in large laminae, .of a yellowish- 

grey, compound in the direction of Pr+ @, 3.254 
57. Pale-grey Augite, (a variety frequently mistaken for bron- 

zite,) showing faces of composition. It is engaged in Saussurite, 3.256 
58. Augite, a wax-yellow, granular variety, associated with liver- 


brown garnet, from Schwarzenberg, Saxony, 3.278 
59. Fassaite, deep leek-green, an isolated twin-crystal from: 

Fassa, 8.828 
60. Omphacite, leek-green, translucent, showing bright but in- 

terrupted faces of cleavage, from the the Saualpe, Carinthia, 3.329 — 
61. Mussite, very pale ash-grey, in large individuals, from the ‘ 


Tyrol, 3.350 


of Several Minerals. 245, 


62. Common Actinolite, of Werner, from Breitenbrunn in 
Saxony, 3,537 


The angles of the cleavage of this variety agree with those 
of paratamous augite-spar. It is also composed in the same 


way parallel to Pr+ o, and possesses the same hardness. Its 
colour is a dark leek-green ; the specific gravity lies beyond 
the limits usually assigned for the species. The jeffersonite 
having been recognized by Troost and Keating to be a va- 
riety of the paratomous Augite-spar, the common actinolite, 
from Breitenbrunn, forms the second instance of a specific 
gravity greater than 8.5; and we have thus reason to expect, 
that many other varieties, like the one immediately preceding, 
will be discovered, intermediate between these and the rest of 
the augites, salites, mussites, &c. also in regard to this pro- 
perty. 


63. Augite, blackish-green, perfectly cleavable, crystals com- 
pressed between Pr+, the faces marked 7» by Haiiy, and imbed- 
ded in sodalite, from Greenland, 3.491 


This variety is associated with the arfvedsonite of Mr 
Brooke, and intermixed with it in such a manner, that the 
axes of the individuals of the two species are parallel, a case 
frequently occurring in diallage, but produced there by a 
similar composition of green varieties of paratomous and hemi- 
prismatic augite-spar. 


64. Tremolite, white, crystalized, 2.931 
65. Actinolite, of a very pale-green colour, nearly alike to some 
of the varietics of hemi-prismatic augite-spar, called tremolite, 


from Presnitz in Bohemia, 2.937 
66. Smaragdite, from Corsica, 3.000 
67. Hornblende, blackish-green, perfectly cleavable, 3.006 
68. Actinolite. thick leek-green crystals, from the Zillerthal, 

Salsburg, 3.026 


69. Common Hornblende, perfectly cleavable, but showing faces 
of composition, parallel to the long diagonal of the rhombic prism, 
and in consequence, called diallage, from Gulfield, Norway. 3.043 
70. Smaragdite, from the valley of Saass, 3.056 
71. Hornblende, black, perfectly cleavable, with smooth and 
shining planes of composition, parallel to the long diagonal of the 
prism, from Kongsberg, Norway, 3.114 
72. Carinthine, from the Saualpe, in Carinthia, 3.127 


246 Botanical Letters from J. J. Rousseau to M. Gouan. 


73. Smaragdite, grass-green, occurring in the same specimen as 


No. 67, but containing thin films of paratomous augite-spar, 3.129 
74. Basaltic Hornblende, fragments of imbedded crystals, from 

Lower Stiria, 3.167 
75. Zoisite, grey, cleavable, from the Saualpe, 3.269 
76. Zoisite, rose-red, compact from the Radlgraben, Carinthia, 3.334 
77. Epidote, brown, thin columnar composition, 3.336 
78. Zoisite, ash-grey, cleavable, from Bayreuth, 3.355 
79. Pistazite, dark pistachio-greer. crystals from Arendal, 3.425 
80. Wollastonite, a brownish-white variety from the Bannat, 2.805 
*81. Arfvedsonite, large, perfectly cleavable individuals, 3.431 


This mineral must be included in the genus augite-spar 
of Mohs, to the species of which it is allied by a very high de- 
gree of resemblance, particularly to the hemi-prismatic augite- 
spar. Mr Brooke has found the angles of its prism of cleav- 
age to be 123° 55’, different from the angle of hornblende, 
which he quotes at 124°30’; but even if the two substances 
did agree in this respect, their specific gravity would render 
it unavoidable to consider them as distinct species. 


82. Prismatic Azure-spar, the dark blue variety from Vorau, in 


Stiria, 3.039 
83. Prismatoidal Azure-spar, pale-blue, crystalline fragments, 

Stiria, 3.024 
*84, Elaolite, of a pale-brown colour, 2.589 
"85. Hudialyte, imbedded crystals, 2.898 
“86. Gehlenite, dark greenish-grey, four-sided prisms, 3.029 
*87. Saussurite, compact, from Corsica, including the variety of 

smaragdite, No. 66. 3.026 
*88. Saussurite, granular, Bayreuth, 3.253 
*89. Saussurite, granular, Piedmont, 3.256 
“90. Saussurite, compact, from the shores of the Lake of Ge- 

neva, 3.343 
“91. Spinellane, crystallized from the Lake of Laach, 2.282 


(To be continued. ) 


Art. VII.—Botanical Letters from J.J. Rousseau to M. 
Govan, Professor of Botany at Montpellier. Communi- 
cated by Dr Hooxer. 


Awovest the original correspondence of the late M. Gouan, 
Professor of Botany at Montpellier, which has come into our 


_—— 


a eS ee ee 


— see 


Botanical Letters from J. J. Rousseau to M. Gouan. 247 


hands, are the two following letters from Jean Jacques Rous- 
seau. 

Whatever may have been the faults and the foibles of this 
otherwise eminent man, thus much is certain, that, in the cha- 
racter of a botanist, he has always shown himself to be 
thoroughly acquainted with the principles of the science, and 
that in these letters, penned confidentially, and never intended 
for the public eye, he has written with a degree of modesty, 
and a diffidence in his own knowledge, which is seldom found 
in persons of much inferior acquirements. They are dated 
from Dauphiné in Savoy, in the year 1769, eight years before 
his death, during the period when he concealed his real name 
under that of Renon, when returning from England, disgust- 
ed with the world, he sought for amusement and health im in- 
vestigating and studying the vegetable creation in the beauti- 
ful alpine district just alluded to; and we think that they will 
be found to strengthen the remark made by Sir J. E. Smith, 
under his article Rousseau, in Rees’ Cyclopedia, that “« botany 
had spread a charm over the latter years of this distinguished 
man, and soothed their real and imaginary evils,” and that 
“* whenever he touches on this favourite subject in his writ- 
ings, he communicates the same charm to his readers.” 

The effect which was produced by the letters on botany of 
J. J. Rousseau, in giving popularity to the Linnzan system of 
botany in France, is well known; and even in this country, we 
could scarcely mention any truly elementary work which has 
been more generally read and admired, or which appears 
more calculated to encourage a taste for the science, especially 
among young students. 

W. J. H. 


A Bourgoin en Dauphiné, 28th May 1769. 

C’est trop longtems, Monsieur, profitter en silence de vos 
bontés et de vos dons. Je n’y suis pas moins sensible, je 
vous proteste, que si je vous en avois remereié bien fréquem- 
ment ; mais le retard de la premiére lettre dont vous m’avez 
honoré, et qui ne me parvint que plusieurs mois aprés 
sa date, a fait un premier tort involontaire que la honte et 
Pembarras ont multipli¢é. Mieux vaut tard que jamais, et il 


248 Botanical Letters from J. J. Rousseau to M. Gouan.” 


n’y a plus moyen de resister aux nouvelles marques d’atten- 
tion que vous avez bien voulu me donner par M. de la Fosse, 
et donc jenricherai Pherbier que je tiens de M. Dombey. 
Je suis bien faché de n’avoir pu. profiter des tresors, qu'il 
avoit acquis l'an dernier aux Pyrénées 4 votre suite. Mais il 
vint sans m’ayoir prévenu dans un moment d’embarras et de 
decouragement, la veille de mon depart. pour Grenoble, ou, 
surchargé de soins désagréables et indispensables, j’avois autre 
chose a penser qu’ aux plantes. Cela m’empécha de le voir, 
mais la chose est faite, jen suis faché; s'il m’eut prevenu de 
son voyage, je me serois arrangé pour en profiter, et sila 
mal choisi son tems, toute la perte en est 4. moi seul. . Con- 
tinuez moi vos bontés, Monsieur, je vous supplie. Je suis 
un vieux radotteur de disciple qui n’a que du zéle et de 
Yopiniatreté sans fruit pour la botanique ;, mais dont le coeur 
est plein de reconnaisance pour les attentions dont, vous avez 
bien voulu lhonorer. Si mon ignorance ne me permet de les 
payer d’aucun retour utile, elle ne m’empéchera pas du moins 
den sentir le prix, et j’étudierai vos livres avec le regret de ne 
pouvoir écouter vos lecons, et vous témoigner en personne les 
sentimens avec lesquels je vous serai toute ma vie attaché. 
RENON. 


A Montquin, le 6. 8>"*, 1769. 

Je.vois, Monsieur, que yous avez la bonté de vous occuper 
de moi, bien moins encore que je n’en aurois besoin mais bien 
plus que mon ignorance ne le mérite.. Je suis bien reconnois- 
sant des recherches que vous avez eu la bonté de faire sur 
lEcphrasis de Columna, mais je n’abuserai pas de la décou- 
verte que yous avez faite de ce livre pour l’acquérir a votre 
prejudice, n’ayant assurement ni le pouvoir ni Ja volonté d’en 
donner le prix que De Bure en demande. Ainsi, Monsieur, 
qu’a moi ne tienne que vous n’en fassiez Pacquisition, si cela 
vous convienne. Une des choses qui me dégoiteroient-de la 
Botanique seroit le prix énorme de la pluspart des livres qui 
en traitent, et la necessité toutefois d’avoir tous ces livres ou 
la plupart, surtout lorsque n’ayant point suivi de cours ni 
etudié sous aucun maitre, on est réduit a étudier seul. J’ai 
été forgé par la méme raison de renoncer a |’Hortus Cliffor- 


LS 


Botanical Letters from J. J. Rousseau to M. Gouan. 249 


tianus, aux Ameenitates Academice, et a beaucoup d’autres 
livres. qui me seroient egalement necessaires pour suppléer, 
par leurs descriptions, 4 la secheresse du species, ef, ne vous 
en déplaise, a celle de !Hortus Monsp. et de Flora Monspel. 
Vous avez, Messieurs, ecrit seulement pour les doctes, cest 
fort bien fait. Mais jaurais grand besoin de livres qui ap- 
prissent aux ignorans a le devenir. I1 faudroit pour cela 
force figures et force descriptions, et tout cela je trouve épars 
dans une bibliotheque de Botanique si volumineuse, et ‘si 
ruineuse, que ce que j’ai ne me pouvant suffire, je ne vois 
d’autre parti que de le vendre pour acquérir le reste, ou de 
tous abandonner. 

_ Je suis bien sensible, Monsieur, au cadeau de votre Ichty- 
ologie que vous voulez bien me faire, et dont je sens assure- 
ment bien le prix; mais je dois vous prévenir, que vous ne 
sauriez vous choisir un lecteur plus inepte, et moms en état de 
vous entendre. Je me garde de vouloir faire aucune excur- 
sion dans les autres parties de Vhistoire naturelle, ma vieille 
eervelle ayant déja bien de la peine a contenir la trés mince 
provision de foin dont je tache de la repaitre. Vous vous mo- 
quez, assurément, Monsieur, de votre radotteur de disciple trés 
indigne, quand vous le consultez sur les Ombelliferes dont 
vous doutez. Avant votre lettre, je ne doutois pas du Selinum 
palustre, yen doute a present parceque vous en doutez, et ce 
nest que de vous que j’attends la décision de ce doute. Je 
yois que dans la figure de Crantz il y a plusieurs feuilles cau- 
linaires, il n’y en a qu'une dans le specimen; dans Crantz les 
feuilles radicales sont plus petites que les caulinaires, dans le 
specimen elles sont plus grandes. M. Guettard dit que le 
bord des feuilles est légerement crenelé, dans le specimen il 
ne lest point du tout, il ajoute que le bout des feuilles est 
mousse, dans le specimen il est non seulement pointu mais af- 
filé ; voila tout ce que je puis dire trés grossiement (grossiére- 
ment?) sur cet article, il me semble que la question pouvoit 
se decider aisément par la plante fraiche, en voyant si elle 
faisoit du lait. A Végard du Seseli pyreneum, wayant point 
Phonneur de le connoitre, je n’en saurois parler que comme un 
aveugle des couleurs. Cependant Vobjection que vous vous 
faites vous méme de la figure des graines me paroit bien forte. 


250 Botanical Letters from J. J. Rousseau to M. Gouan. 


M. Linneus parle, 4 la vérité, dune feuille unique, comme elle 
est dans le specimen, mais le rameau ne sort pas de Vaisselle, 
comme il le dit. Il dit encore, et méme il le repéte, que l’in- 
volucelle est plus long que l’ombellule, et c’est ce qui west point 
du tout dans le specimen. Je vois partout le pour et le contre, 
et ne sails que penser, jusqu’ 4 ce que vous m’ayez decidé. A 
Pégard de l Athamanta libanotis, je n’ai rien du tout a en dire, 
parceque je ne l’ai pas trouvé dans lherbier, et je suis sur qu’il 
n’y etoit pas quand je I’ai recu, car j’en fis sur le champ le ca- 
talogue, dans lequel il n’est pas; non plus que le Selinum 
caruifolium de Crantz, dont jai la figure aussi dans ses om- 
belliféres, 4 laquelle je ne trouve rien de semblable dans celles 
de Vherbier. Je suis certain que cet herbier ne m’a pas été 
donné tel qu'il a pu étre arrangé sous vos yeux; car inde- 
pendant des ombelliféres, famille sur laquelle je n’ose pronon- 
cer, tant elle me paroit difficile, il y a un grand désordre et 
beaucoup de faux noms dans toutes les autres, principalement 
dans les Veroniques, et dans les Graminées. J’ai remarqué 
que M. Dombey déterminoit fort legerement, et se trompoit de 
méme, ceJa ue pouvoit guére étre autrement 4 son age. Je 
suis persuadé quil est deja plus cireconspect aujourdhui. Son 
procedé genereux et honnete mérite bien ma reconnoissance, 
et mon affection. Quand vous aurez, Monsieur, de ses nou- 
velles, vous mobligerez de vouloir bien m’en donner..— ~ 
Vous me faites bien vivement sentir mon ignorance et ma 
misére par la note des Ombelliféres que vous m’envoyez et 
dont je n’ai, ni ne connois pas, une, hors le seul Selinum carui- 
pee; (non celui de Crantz mais celui de Linneus,) que 
jai trouvé a Trie il y a deux ans, et dont j’ai apporté un seul 
exemplaire que je destinais 4 mon herbier, mais que je vous 
céderois bien volontiers si vous n’en aviez point et qu’il vous 
fit plaisir. Ce pays-ci, trés pauvre en Ombelliféres, n’en four- 
nit aucune que je sache qui se rapporte a votre note, excepté 
peut-etre un petit Seseli dont j’ai rencontré, il y a quelques 
jours, un pied unique et qui ressembleroit beaucoup 4 l’Hip- 
pomarathon si ce n’etoit que l’involucelle est polyphylle. Cette 
plante me paroit étre celle que M. Haller décrit dans sa der- 
niere édition, No. 762, et qu’il rapporte, mal 4 propos, se me 
semble au Seseli bienne de Crantz. J’ai trés peu de vue, Mon- 
11 


. 


Mr Blackadder on Meteorological Instruments. 251 


Sieur, je suis trés paresseux, je n’ai jamais eu la presomption 
de croire pouvoir rien recueillir qui fut digne d’étre offert & des 
botanistes de votre ordre, et j'ai méme rarement le courage de 
rien ramasser pour moi-méme. Ma maniére d’herboriser est 
d’errer au hazard par la campagne, et d’observer A droite et a 
gauche les plantes qui frappent mes yeux, souvent méme sans 
les arracher pour les desséquer ; vous concevez que cette ma- 
niére nonchalante d’étudier ne doit pas rendre un commengant 
de soixante ans fort habile. Le desir de me rendre bon A 
quelque chose auprés de vous est bien capable de me rendre 
vigilant et laborieux, quoique ce ne soit pas je vous jure un 
miracle facile a faire. Je wavois pas méme imaginé de re- 
cueillir des graines jusqu’ a un voyage de Pila que je viens de 
faire, et ou je n’ai trouvé que les plantes alpines les plus com- 
munes, excepté le Sonchus alpinus, le Praenanthes viminea, et 
le Lichen islandicus que je crois moins communs que le reste. 
Ce pays-ci est humide et les Carew n’y manquent pas; ainsi je 
pourrai sur cet article vous servir l’année prochaine. Donnez 
moi vos ordres, Monsieur, peut étre le désir d’en étre digne me 
fera-t-il assez eventuer pour me mettré en état de les suivre. 
Je nai point eu Phonneur, que je sache, de voir M. le Vicomte 
de St Priest. Permettez qu’avec la simplicité et la cordialité 
dun pauvre herboriste, je vous salue et vous embrasse. 


Monsieur, de tout mon cceur, 


RENON. 


Art. VIII.—On the Construction of Meteorological Instru- 
ments, so as to register their Indications during the Absence 
of the Observer at any given Instant, or at successive inter- 
vals of Time. 


Tus paper, of which we propose at present to give a brief ab- 
stract, was read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh, on 
the 2d May 1825, when Mr Blackadder exhibited to the so- 
ciety some of the apparatus described in this paper. 

The principle of Mr Blackadder’s contrivance applies either 
to the spirit or mercurial 7'hermometer, and consists in keep- 
ing a small index suspended at, or in contact with, the ex- 


252 Mr Blackadder on Meteorological Instruments which 


tremity of the fluid in the stem of the instrument ; so that the 
former shall accompany the latter in all its movements, until 
the instant arrive when we wish to determine the existing tem- 
perature. At this instant the index is so acted upon as to re- 
main fixed to its place, while the fluid either passes beyond, or 
retires below it. 

When a spirit-thermometer is used, the bore of the tube, 
and the weight and form of the index, require attention ;* but 
the adjustment is not difficult. As to the spirit, there is a 
ceftain strength which seems to answer best, and it must be 
colourless, of some age, and carefully and repeatedly filtered. 
The colouring matter usually added to spirit-thermometers, is 
in this instance of no use, and would be injurious. — For, after 
a time, the colouring matter is partially deposited, and parti- 
cles of this getting into the stem of the instrument, would in- 
terrupt the movements of the index. It is for the same rea- 
son that old spirit and frequent filtration are requisite; for if 
the spirit is new, and if not frequently and carefully filtered, 
small whitish floceul, or minute fibres may be seen suspended 
in the fluid, from which interruption to the index is liable to 
take place. Mr Blackadder had, on one occasion, much trou- 
ble in adjusting an index, and, at length, discovered, that the 
whole had arisen from a very minute particle of colourless 
glass, which had by some accident got into the stem. With 
proper care and attention, however, nothing is more simple 
than the construction of a good and perfectly accurate spirit- 
thermometer, for meteorological purposes. Nothing, at the 
same time, is more rarely to be met with; for such instru- 
ments, as usually made, are exceedingly inaccurate, and alto- 
gether unfit for scientific purposes. 

When a thermometer has been constructed in the way now 
described, all that is necessary to keep the index constantly and 
exactly at the summit of the fluid, whatever change of tem- 
perature may take place, is to mvert the instrument, and re- 
tain it either in a perpendicular or somewhat inclined position ; 
the attraction of the fluid to the index being quite sufficient 


* The bore of the tube admits of being so very minute, that the diffi- 
culty of readily distinguishing the index is the chief obstacle, and hence 
the bulb does not require to exceed three or four tenths of an inch in dia- 
meter. 


register their Indications during the Observer's Absence. 253 


for the suspension of the latter, and for overcoming its friction 
on the sides of the tube. When, however, the instrument is 
placed in a horizontal position, the index no longer accompa- 
nies the fluid in all its motions; for if -the temperature rises, 
the fluid passes the andex as if no such body were present ; 
and if the temperature is diminished, the index is dragged 
along by the fluid. Upon this latter property, the Psychrome- 
ter, or instrument for registering the lowest temperature, was 
constructed. If, then, we take such a thermometer, and sus- 
pend it vertically, and in an inverted position, on a moveable 
axis, it is obvious, that, by connecting with it a time-piece, we 
can have it placed in a horizontal position at any given in- 
stant. And if we also make provision, that the instant the in- 
strument comes to its horizontal position, its bulb is exposed to 
a higher temperature than that of the air, it is evident that the 
index will point out the exact temperature of the air at the 
time the instrument was changed from its vertical position, and 
that it will continue to do so as long as the instrument retains 
its new position, and has its bulb kept at a higher temperature 
than that of the air. 

The means by which the bulb of the instrument is kept at 
a higher temperature than that of the air, is the aqueous va- 
pour originating from the flame of a small lamp; and, in the 
coldest stormy weather, the flame does not require to be larger 
than that produced by at most two small cotton threads im- 
mersed in oil. When gas is at command, it is doubtless the 
most convenient combustible, as a minute flame can be kept 
up almost interminably, and without requiring any attention. 

When a mercurial thermometer is used, the difference is, 
that, in this case, the instrument is not placed in an inverted 
position ; and, when it is brought into a horizontal position, 
the bulb, instead of being kept at a higher, must be kept at a 
- lower temperature than that of the air. This can readily be 
effected, by providing the means for supporting a continual 
evaporation from the surface of the bulb. When the instru- 
ment receives its horizontal position, the bulb is made to 
come into contact with a soft hair-pencil, of a hollow circular 
form, through which distils guttatim, and slowly, from a re- 
servoir, some evaporating fluid. On some occasions, as in a 


254. Mr Blackadder on Meteorological Instruments which 


very humid state of the atmosphere, ether may be requisite ; 
but, on most occasions, rain-water is sufficient; the use, how- 
ever, of common ardent spirits for such a purpose, is attended 
with but a trifling expence, and may be found convenient. 

Having thus shown how the temperature of the air and 
other bodies may be determined, during absence; and at any 
given instant, it may readily be conceived, how it may, in like 
manner, be determined at successive intervals of time, by mul- 
tiplication, and a proper arrangement of the same means. 
Thus, seven thermometers of the before mentioned construc- 
tion, connected by a very simple piece of mechanism, will 
enable us to determine the exact temperature every hour 
during the whole course of the day and night, and that with 
very little trouble. For, to obtain this, it is necessary to in- 
spect the instrument only three times in the course of the day, 
or during that period not usually appropriated to sleep; for 
example, at 7 a. M., 4p. m., and 11 P. M. 

Having described Mr Blackadder’s method of registermg 
the indications of the thermometer at any given instant, and 
at successive intervals of time, the application of the same 
principle to the registering of the Hygrometer will not re- 
quire much illustration: For, if it be admitted that the at- 
mizomic hygrometer (that is, a hygrometer constructed on 
the Huttonian principle,) may be depended upon, all that is 
requisite to procure an accurate register is, to attach two 
thermometers to one slip of metal, on which is engraved a 
scale for each, and to keep one of the bulbs moist with water. 
When at any instant the instrument thus constructed is 
brought into the horizontal position, the index in the one 
tube will indicate the temperature, of the air, and that in the 
other the temperature produced by evaporation. Nothing is 
more simple than this modification of the registering appara- 
tus, for nothing can be more easily effected than keeping one 
of the bulbs moist with water, and in this only does it differ 
from that fitted to register the atmospheric temperature alone. 

Hitherto there has been no method devised for registering 
even the extremes of the barometric changes, which does not 
infer a very considerable increase of mechanical friction; and 
which, consequently, does not. include a degree of inaccuracy 


register their Indications during the Observer's Absence. 255 


no way consistent with the present advanced state of meteoro- 
logical science. For it is admitted, that, at the present day, 
a variation in the elevation of the mercurial column to the five 
hundredth part of an inch, must be attended to by those who 
aim at scientific accuracy. 

The principle of the method for registering the indications 
of the barometer which Mr Blackadder was led to adopt, con- 
sists in cutting off, at a given instant, all communication be- 
tween the atmosphere and the mercury of the barometer, than 
which, certainly, nothing can be more simple. If, at a given 
instant, the communication between the air and the mercury 
be cut off, the height of the mercurial column must remain 
unaltered by any change in the pressure of the atmosphere, 
until the communication is restored. 

A section of the barometer cistern, which is made of iron, 
is represented in Plate VI. Fig. 1, where a is an orifice for the 
introduction of the mercury, afterwards shut up by means of 
a screw; @, the air-duct, having a screw formed on its outer 
surface ; f; an air-tight stop-cock, having a female screw, by 
which it is attached to the air-duct ; 2, a small orifice in the 
side of the stop-cock, to serve as a passage for the air, and so 
as to exclude dust; /, a lever connected with a time-piece, by 
means of which the stop-cock was shut, and the communica- 
tion of the air with the mercury cut off at any given instant. 
The cistern is about two inches in diameter—the depth of 
mercury in the cistern, and the distance between the surface of 
the mercury and the top of the cistern, must be as small as the 
correct operation of the instrument will admit of. 

By combining several such instruments in one piece of me- 
chanism, we can have the exact height of the barometer every 
hour in the course of the day and night. Thus seven baro- 
meters, arranged at equal distances around a hollow column 
of wood, four inches in diameter, and about three feet in 
height, having a projection at the base, in the form of a pe- 
destal, would form not only an elegant but a very complete 
and highly useful barometrical apparatus. The column being 
hollow, not only lessens the weight, but permits the timepiece 
and connecting mechanism to be entirely concealed within it. 

The barometers, however, may also be arranged on a flat 


256. Observations on the Gulf-Stream, 


surface, without producing any thing of an unwieldy appear- 
ance, and the adaptation of the mechanism for-shutting one of 
the stop-cocks each hour in eukntadany is not thereby render- 
ed-more difficult. yeu 


Axt. [IX.— Observations on the Gulf-Stream, in crossing at 
from Halifax to Bermuda,and from Bermuda to Halifax, 
in his Majesty's Ship Jaseur, in 1821. Communicated by 
J. D. Boswaut, Esq. R.N., F. RS. E. 


Tue Gulf-stream is generally. supposed to proceed through 
the Gulf of Florida, along the coast of America, until it gets 
a few degrees to the North of Bermuda, and.then, turns off 


to the N.N.F., N. E., and E.N.E.,. between the latitudes of * 


38° and 41° north. When it gets so far to the east as 61° of 
west longitude, it spreads itself more, and its situation becomes 
more southerly. Its breadth is commonly. supposed to -be 
about two degrees, but it sometimes expands and contracts, in 
consequence of the strength of the current varying. from’ a 
number of causes not yet ascertamed. In making a-passage 
from Halifax to Bermuda, I have known the ship to.be up- 
wards of two degrees to the eastward of the longitude by ac- 
count, and I have seen (but very seldom) the vessel not, as 
many miles, It is very difficult to ascertain the rate and .di- 


rection of the gulf-stream by a boat, as calms are seldom.ex-' 


petienced in that quarter, and gales and squally unsettled 
weather is very common, excepting with north-easterly, winds 
which bring fine weather along with them. 

The occurrence of the weed, called the gulf-weed, has been 
considered by several navigators as a proof of their being in 
the current, but this opinion is by no means correct... The 
same weed is found all over the westerly part of the Atlantie, 
and I have generally observed the greatest quantity on the 
edges of the stream, and least in the middle. The weed I be- 
lieve comes originally from the gulf, but it is driven about by 
the different winds as much as by the stream, and is to be seen 
floating about in strings in whatever way the wind blows, and 
not always lying in the direction of the current. 

1 


4 


J 
: 


‘ 


~ 


made in his Majesty's Ship Jaseur. 257 


| The thermometer seldom errs in indicating the gulf-stream, 
if we pay attention to the direction of the wind. If we cross 
the gulf-stream from Halifax to Bermuda, or any place to 
_the southward, and keep a strong northerly wind across it, the 
air will be considerably colder than with a southerly wind, and, 
consequently, there must be a greater difference between the 
temperature of the air and the water. On the contrary, in 
crossing the stream going to Halifax, or any way to the north- 
ward, if we keep a southerly wind across, the air will be much 
warmer than with a northerly wind, and, consequently, the 
difference between the temperature of the sea and the air will 
be less. 


Thermometer. 


Winds. 


Remarks, &c. from Halifax to 
Bermuda. 


Noon. 


P. m Moderate and fine weather. 
2, Weighed and made sail for Ber- 
muda. 

8, Fresh breezes and clear. 
Midnight, moderate and fine. 


Sept.| 4)At anchor in Ha- 
22. lifax Harbour. 


A. M. Fresh breezes and clear. 


Noon, fine weather. 

p. M. Do. weather. 

6, Fresh breezes and cloudy. 
. |Midnight, hazy weather. 


A. M. Fresh breezes and hazy wea- 
ther. 

On the north edge of the stream. 

8, Moderate and fine. 

Noon, light breezes and fine, 

p. M. Do. weather. 


176 miles Lat. 
10/Obs. 39° 30’ N. 


6{12’ W. 68 | 78 
8 68 | 78 |Variable.|8, Calm and cloudy. 
10 69 | 78 9, Light breeze. 


68 | 78 |S. by E.|Midnight, fresh breezes & cloudy 

A. M. Strong breezes and squally. 

4, Fresh gales, air getting warm, 
owing to south wind. 

8, Strong gales, with a heavy cross 

sea 


76 | 78 | South. 
| 74 | 73 sw. 


73 | 74 Noon, fresh gales and squally, 
2iW. 75 79 with rain. 
4 77 | 78 p. M. Strong gales, and squally. 
76) 77 Longitude not at all affected by the 
78 | 77 stream these last 24 hours. 
10 75 | 76 8, Fresh gales and thick weather. 
12 74\ 76 Midnight, fresh gales and squally. 


with rain, thunder, and light- 
ning. 


VOL.III. No. 11. ocTOBER 1825. R 


258 Observations on the Gulf-Stream, 


Remarks, &c. from Halifax to 
Bermuda. 


Ship’s Place at | —— 
Noon. Air. |Water. 


A. M. Fresh breezes, with rain and 

lightning. 

.|4, Moderate, 8, light airs, with 
heavy rain, and a cross breaking 
sea. 

Noon, strong breezes and cloudy. 

Pp. M. Do. weather. 

4, Moderate and fine. 

Midnight, light airs, with heavy 


rain. 


72 | 77 |\Variable. 


16 82 Calm. 
| 79) 81 North. 
74) 78 | WNW. 


A. M. Moderate and cloudy. 
8, Squally, with rain. 
Noon, calm and fine. 

p. M. Moderate and cloudy. 
8, Fresh breezes. 

Midnight, do. weather. 


A. M. Fresh breezes, with small 

rain. 

8, moderate and fine. 

Noon, do. rain. 

p. M. Light breezes and fine. 

‘|8, Cloudy. 

Midnight, moderate and cloudy. 

A. M. Do. weather. 

75 | 78 |E. by N.|Noon, fresh breezes and hazy, with 
rain. 

p. M. Squally weather. 

Midnight, fresh breezes, with rain. 


76) 78 ENE. 


A. M. Do. fresh light breezes, with 

thick fog. 

8, squally. 

Noon, strong breezes and squally, 
with rain. 

p. M. Do. weather. 

Midnight, strong breezes, and 
squally. 


74| 77 |SE. by E. 


73| 78 | BNE. 
74| 77 |NE.byE. 


74) 76 |E.byS. 


A. M. Fresh breezes and cloudy. 
Noon, fresh breezes and fine. 


REMARKS, &c. FROM BER- 
MUDA TO HALIFAX. 


71 73 ESE. |a. mM. Moderate, with. rain. 


north end of 
Bermuda. 


77 | 76 South. |Noon, fresh breezes and fine. 
p. M. Moderate and fine. 
6, Light breezes and cloudy. 


77| 76 |W. byS. 
j Midnight, squally weather. 


ee 


made in his Majesty’s Ship Jaseur. 259 


é Thermometer. 
Date| =| Ship’s Place at |— Winds. | Remarks, &c. from Bermuda to 
feel Noon. Air. | Water. Halifax. 


Nov.| 4|Course N. 20° B.| 75°] 76° | West. 
2. | 8} 91 miles. Lat.| 75 | 74 
1821)12)/D. R. 33° 54’ N.| 76 74 NNE. 


A. M. Fresh breezes and squally. 


Noon, do. weather. 

Pp. M. Hazy weather. 

8, Strong breezes and cloudy. 
12 74 | 73 |NE.byN.|Midnight, do. weather. 


A. M. Fresh breezes and squally. 


8] Obs. 34° 54’ N.| 70] 74 NE. 


Noon, cloudy. 
p. M. do. weather. 
4|al’ W. Chron.| 69 | 73 | E. by N. 


6|63° 34’ W. 69| 74 
8 69| 73 8, Moderate and cloudy. 
10 70| 73s 


12 71 | 73 | ENE. |Midnight, do. weather. 


A. M. Moderate and fine. 


8, Light breezes and fine. 


12) 15’ W. Chron.| 74 | 73 ENE. |Noon, do. weather. 


p. M. Moderate and fine. 


6 72 74 
8 73 | 76 8, Light breezes, getting into the 
10 WBN xh 0, stream by the thermometer. 


Midnight, moderate and fine. 


5. | 2i1Course N. 11° W.| 73 | 76 ENE. |A. M. Moderate and fine. 


4, Cloudy weather, with lightning. 


10|50’ W. 69 | 69 

12 69 | 70 Noon, moderate, with heavy rain. 
68 | 70 |E. by N. |p. mt. Moderate, with thick rainy 
66) 68 weather. 
G1 | 56 6, Out of the stream by thermo- 
62) 58 meter. 

10 63| 57 8, Fresh breezes and hazy. 

12 58} 58 


Midnight, fresh gales and squally. 


.|A. M. Fresh breezes and hazy. 

4, Squally with rain. 

Noon, fresh gales with rain. 

p. mM. Do. weather, sounded in 32 
fathoms. 

Midnight, strong breezes & squally. 


12|D. R. 42°41’ N.] 49 | 52 


4\Course N. 23° W.| 49 48 Las’. 
8| 73 miles. Lat.| 49 | 46 


7, A. M. Do. weather. 
8, Fresh gales and thick hazy wea- 


ther. 


260 Observations on 
& Thermometer. 
Date] =| Ship’s Place at 
= Noon. Air. |Water. 
Nov.|12/D. R. 42° 47’ N.| 49°} 49° 
7, | 4|Long. D. R. 67°71 50 | 47 
1821] 819’ W. 50 46 
12 49 | 52 
Mar.| 4|NE. end of Ber-| 64 67 
29,| 8) muda, SW. 9| 62| 89 
1822|12} miles. 65 68 
4 61 68 
8 59 67 
12 59 | 64 
30. | 4/Course N. 39° E.) 60 | 64 
8|146 miles. Lat.| 57 66 
12] Obs. 34° 30’ N. | 55 66 
4|D. R. 34° 21’ N.| 51 65 
g|Long. D. R. 62°) 55 | 66 
12/50’ W. Chron.| 55] 64 
62° 12’. We 
31. | 4|/Course N. 31°E.) 57 | 60 
8| 74 miles. Lat. | 61 65 
12|/D. R. 35° 23’ N.| 62 62 
4|Long. D. R. 62°} 60} 63 
8|03’ W. Chron.}| 71} 72 
12|61° 50’ W. 68 | 72 
Apr.| 2|Course N.39°W.] 64] 70 
+ | 5|}75 miles Lat.| 59 | 70 
6|D. R. 36° 32’ N.| 56 70 
8] Obs. 36° 50’ N.| 54] 70 
10/Long. D. R. 63°| 52 | 70 
12/03’ Ws Chron. | 50 71 
2/61° 58’ W. 50} 71 
4 49} 71 
6 49 | 70 
8 48 | 69 
10 49| 69 
12 48 69 
2. | 2}Course N.20° W.} 50] 790 
4\138 miles. Lat.} 54 70 
6|D. R. 39° 01’ N.| 54] 70 
8|Lat. Obs. 89°27" 50 71 
10)N. Long D.R.} 50 val 
12/64° 04’N. Chron.| 49 7l 
2|52° 46’ W. 49 | 69 
4 49| 69. 
6 48 69 
8 48 | 70 
10 49 | 69 
12 49 69 


Winds. | Remarks, &c. from Bermuda to 


Halifax. 


At 10 |p. M. Fresh gales and squally, with 
sounded | rain. 

in 36 fa-|4, Moderate and fine, sounded in 
thoms. 38 fathoms. 

8, Cape Sable, NNW. 

Midnight, fresh breezes and fine. — 

N. B.—On making the land ship 
about 1° 50’ east of the longi- 
tude by account. 


A. M. Fresh breezes and fine wea- 
ther, : 

Noon, do. weather. 

P. M. do, weather. 


SW. 


Midnight,fresh breezes and cloudy. 


A. M. Strong breezes and squally. 
8, Fresh breezes. 

Noon, moderate and cloudy. 

p. M. do, weather. 


NNW. 


N. by W. Midnight, light breezes. 


A. M. light breezes and cloudy. 

6, Squally, with heavy rain. 

Noon, fresh breezes, 

P. M. do. weather. 

8, Moderate on the edge of Stream 
by thermometer. 

Muinight, fine weather. 


North. 
Variable. 
W. by N. 


WSW. |a. M. Moderate and fine. 


3, Heavy sea. 
SW. |Noon, fresh breezes and fine, 
P. M. do. weather. 


8, Squally. 


W. by S.|Midnight, fresh gales and equally, 


W. by N./a. mt. Fresh gales, with heavy 


squalls. 
8, Moderate. 


NW. |Noon, moderate and cloudy. 


P. M. do. weather. 
NNW. 


8, Light airs and cloudy. 


North, |Midnight, fine weather. 


Dr Turner on Lithion-Mica. 261 


Thermometer, 


Date 5 Ship’s place at Winds, | Remarks, &c. from Bermuda to 
= Noon Air. | Water Halifax. 


~~———— | ———— |] —_ |} 


69° A. M. Calm and cloudy. 
69 
2. 69 
- 5 70 | West. |8, Light airs and fine. 
des 70 Noon, fresh breezes. 
25 69 p. m. Do. weather, at 4 out of the 
on 2 60 stream, as plainly to be seen by 
3 = 47 thermometer. 
oF bl 8, Moderate and fine. 
pat 47 |W. by N.|Midnight,fresh breezesand squally. 
a) 
a 40 A. M. Fresh breezes and squally. 
35 4, Moderate. 
39 NW. |Noon, squally. 
34 p. M. Do. weather. 
33 8, Strong breezes and clear. 


34 West. |Midnight, do. weather. 


35 A. M. Moderate—2, sounded in 70 
34 fathoms. 

23 SW. |8, Light airs, sambro lighthouse. 
34 Noon, 3 miles. 


34 SSW. |p. m. Moderate, with snow, at an- 
34 Calm. chor in Halifax. 
8, Calm, with rain—12, do. weath. 


Found the chronometer nearly right on making the land. 


Art. X.—On Lithion-Mica. By Epwarp Turner, M. D. 
F.R.S.E. Lecturer on Chemistry, and Fellow of the Royal 
College of Physicians, Edinburgh. Communicated by the 
Author. 


Ix the last Number of this J ournal, I gave the analysis of a 
mica from Cornwall, which was supposed, from its action be- 
fore the blow-pipe, to contain lithia; and it was there stated, 
that several similar micas had fallen under my notice, with 
the investigation of which I was at that time engaged. Hav- 
ing possessed an active assistant in my friend and pupil Mr 
William Gregory, I have been able to complete the analysis 
of three lithion-micas, besides repeating the former one, 
which I subsequently found reason to suspect of slight in- 
accuracy. Of these different analyses I shall now give a de- 
scription ; but before speaking of each individually, it will be 


262 Dr Turner on Lithion-Mica. 


advisable to describe the method of separating lithia from po- 
tash which was adopted in all of them. 

To separate lithia from potash.—The mica, after being re- 
duced to fine powder by friction in an agate mortar, was inti- 
mately mixed with six times its weight of carbonate of baryta, 
and then exposed for an hour and a half or two hours to the 
full white heat of a Black’s furnace. The ignited mass was 
dissolved in dilute muriatic acid, and evaporated to perfect 
dryness. The soluble parts were taken up by a consider- 
able quantity of hot water, pure ammonia was then added 

to separate alumina, iron and manganese, and these preci- 
pitates together with the silica were at once collected on a 


filtre. 'To the filtered solution, while still hot, an excess of .— 


carbonate of ammonia was added, so as to separate all the 
baryta in the form of carbonate. The clear solution, thus 
freed from baryta, was evaporated to perfect dryness, and the 
dry salt ignited to expel muriate of ammonia. A fused mass 
was always left, which deliquesced rapidly on cooling. It 
was dissolved by water, mixed with a little solution of muriate 
of platinum, and evaporated to perfect dryness. ‘The dry 
mass was now treated with alcohol of moderate strength, 
which readily took up the muriate of lithia, and the excess of 
platinum salt, leaving the muriate of platinum and potash un- 
dissolved. A perfect separation of the two alkalies was thus 
effected, and they could each be determined in the usual way. 
It is necessary to convert the muriate of lithia into sulphate, 
because the former is so deliquescent, that it attracts moisture 
during the operation of weighing ; and, moreover, its compo- 
sition is not so well known as that of the sulphate. The con- 
version was of course easily effected, by adding a neutral sul- 
phate of ammonia to the alcoholic solution of the muriate of 
lithia, evaporating to dryness, and igniting. It was found 
most convenient also to determine the potash by means of the 
sulphate, since the addition of sulphate of ammonia to the 
double salt of platinum and potash, facilitated the separation 
of the platinum. 

I might here mention, that before adding the salt of platinum, 
the absence of lime was proved by oxalate of ammonia; and 
by way of precaution, a little hydrosulphuret of ammonia was 


Dr Turner on Lithion-Mica. 263 


added, to remove any manganese or iron which might be pre- 
sent. This was in general unnecessary ; for the manganese is 
separated completely in the former parts of the process; and 
though a little iron always escaped, it was rendered insoluble 
by the ignition alone. 

In the former analysis of the brown Cornwall-mica already 
alluded to, I did not succeed in separating the lithia from the 
potash completely. I there followed Professor Gmelin’s me- 
thod of removing the baryta by sulphuric acid, adding muri- 
ate of platinum to the mixed sulphates of potash and lithia, and 
dissolving away the sulphate of lithia from the double salt of 
platinum and potash by the aid of water. With whatever care 
this process was performed, the water always took up more or 
less of the double salt in addition to the sulphate of lithia, 
and on this account I adopted the process which has just been 
described. 

Analysis of the Zinnwald Mica.—This mica is of a silver- 
white colour, mixed with grey, as described by Klaproth. It 
occurs in crystalline groups, the laminz of which are flexible, 
elastic, and of considerable size. The specific gravity of some 
crystals, which had been boiled in distilled water to expel air, 
was 2.985. 

Heated to redness, it suffers no appreciable loss of weight, 
and undergoes little change of aspect. Before the blow-pipe 
flame it fuses readily, and at the same time tinges the flame 
distinctly of a red colour. An appearance of boiling accom- 
panies the fusion, and a black scorious mass is left. 

To determine the alkalies, 51.235 grains of the powder were 
acted on by carbonate of baryta. 'The mass contracted great- 
ly from the ignition, and became of a dark greenish black 
colour. By the process already described, I obtained 7.35 
grains of sulphate of lithia, equivalent to 2.281 grains, or 
4.09 per cent., of pure lithia; and 9.68 sulphate of potash, 
equivalent to 5.28 grains, or 9.467 per cent., of pure potash. 

In making these calculations, it is presumed, that sulphate 
of potash is composed of 40 sulphuric acid, and 48 potash ; 
and sulphate of lithia, of 40 acid, and 18 lithia. (Dr Thomson.) 
' The determination of the other constituents is somewhat 
complicated, owing to the presence of fluoric acid, which oc- 


264 Dr Turner on Lithion-Mica. 


curs in all the micas I have hitherto examined. ' The method 
employed by Berzelius in his analysis of the topaz was 
therefore resorted to; but as it is one of some delicacy, I 
shall describe the various parts of the process carefully. 


29.38 grains of the mica, in powder, were mixed with three 
times their weight of carbonate of soda, and ignited during the 
space of half an hour in a moderate red heat. The mass 
had contracted greatly, and was of a dirty-yellow colour, 
stained green in parts by manganese. It was treated by suc- 


cessive portions of hot water, till all the soluble alkaline mat- ~ 


ter was completely remoyed. 
B 

Carbonate of ammonia was now added to the alkaline solu- 
tion, and it was then exposed to a temperature of about 100°F., 
till the ammoniacal odour had completely ceased, by which 
means the portion of alumina and silica, at first dissolved by 
the soda, was deposited. The liquid, after filtration, was 
exactly neutralized by muriatic acid, and the fluorie acid 
precipitated by muriate of lime. The fluate of lime, after 
being ignited, weighed 5.41 grains, equivalent (on the suppo- 
sition that 100 fluate of lime contain 27.86 of fluoric acid) to 
1,509 grains, or 5.138 per cent., of fluoric acid. 

; Cc . 

The matter that was undissolved by water in A, together 
with what separated from the alkaline solution in B, was dis- 
solved by muriatic acid. The solution was evaporated to 
dryness ; the soluble parts were taken up by water acidulated 
with muriatie acid, and the silica collected on a filtre. After 
ignition, it weighed 15.07 grains, which is 44.277 per cent. 


To the acid liquid, while cold and moderately diluted, a 
solution of carbonate of soda was gradually added, till the 
alumina and iron were precipitated. They were separated 
from one another, after filtration, by pure potash. The alu- 
mina, after exposure to a white heat, weighed 8.349 grains, 
which is 24.532 per cent. The ignited peroxide of iron 
amounted to 3.709 grains, equivalent to 3.329 grains, or 


ee 


voto eee 


_ a 


a= | aeeey 


2. ae 


<x » 


Dr Turner on Lithion-Mica. 265 


11.33 per cent., of protoxide. It was proved by examina- 
tion to be pure. 
E 

The solution from which the iron and alumina had been 
separated, was boiled briskly to expel carbonic acid, and ren- 
dered decidedly alkaline by carbonate of soda. A dirty- 
white precipitate subsided, which, when heated to redness, 
amounted to 0.543 grains of the brown oxide of manganese, 
equivalent to 1.489 grains, or 1.664 per cent., of the protoxide. 
It proved, on examination, to contain neither lime nor magnesia. 


This Mica is hence composed of— 


Silica, - - - - 44,28 
Alumina, - - = 24.53 
Protoxide of iron, - - = 11.33 
Protoxide of manganese, - - 1.66 
Fluoric acid, - - - 5.14 
Potash, - - - - 9.4.7 
Lithia, - - - - 4.09 

100.50 


According to the analysis of Klaproth, (Beytriige, vol. v. p. 69,) it is 
composed of— 


Silica, - - - - AT 
Alumina, - - - 20 
Oxide of iron, - - - 15.50 
Oxide of manganese, - - - 1.75 
Potash, . - = 2 14.50 
98.75 


Analysis of a Mica from Altenberg, near Zinnwald.—This 
mica accompanies the peculiar kind of topaz called pycnite. Its 
colour is of a dull-green; its laminz are smaller than those 
of the Zinnwald-mica, and possess flexibility and elasticity in 
a lower degree. Its specific gravity, when first put into 
water, was 3.0195; but after being boiled for a short time to 
expel air from between its lamin, it was 3.0426. 

Its loss, when ignited, is hardly appreciable, not exceeding 
one quarter per cent. The fire rendered it more brittle, and 
increased its lustre. When heated before the blow-pipe, it 


266 Dr Turner on Lithion-Mica. 


gives rise to the same phenomena as the Zinnwald-mica, but 
the redness is less distinct. 

The analysis itself is so precisely similar to the preceding, 
that it would be mere repetition to describe it. The result is 
given below. 

Analysis of a Greyish White Mica from Cornwall.—The 
lamin of this mica are small and brittle, and it is hence 
easily pulverized. Its density is 2.814 when first put into 
water, and 2.897 after being boiled. 

Its loss from ignition did not exceed a quarter per cent. It 
melts readily before the blow-pipe, and bears a close analogy, 
with respect to the phenomena it then exhibits, with the Zinn- 
wald mica, as well in its fusibility and power of reddening the 
flame, as in forming a black scoria indicative of iron. 

The following Table contains the result of the analysis of 
the three preceding micas. The result of a new analysis of 
the brown Cornwall-mica is likewise added. 


Zinnwald. Grey Cornw. Altenb. Brown Cornw. 
Silica, 44.28 50.82 40.19 “40.06 
Alumina, 24.53 21.33 22.72 22.90 
Protoxide of iron, 11.33 9.08 black oxide. 19.78 peroxide. 27.06 
Protox. of manganese, 1.66 a trace. 2.02 1.79 
Fluoric acid, 5.14 4.81 3.99 2.71 
Potash, 9.47 9.86 7.49 4.30 
Lithia, 4.09 4.05 3.06 2.00 

100.50 99.95 99.25 100.82 


The state of oxidation of the iron in these micas is estimated 
by their colour. 

I have been unable, in any of these varieties, to detect the 
presence of titanium; nor do lime and magnesia enter into 
their composition. The essential ingredients, if we may judge 
from the constancy with which they occur, are silica, alumina, 
oxide of iron, fluoric acid, and the two alkalies. It is exceed- 
ingly curious, as was remarked on a former occasion, that all 
these micas are found in tin districts; and, if justified by fu- 
ture observation, the occurrence of lithion-mica may even, 
perhaps, assist the judgment of the practical miner in his 
search after veins of tin. 


Dr Turner on Lithion-Mica. 267 


I may here notice one- circumstance which should not be 
lost sight of in performing the process for fluoric acid. If 
manganese existed originally in the mica, a portion of it is 
sometimes retained by the alkaline solution, and remains in it 
even after the fluate of lime has subsided, without communi- 
cating any colour by which its presence might be suspected. 
It is a good precaution, therefore, to drop a little hydrosul- 
phuret of ammonia into the liquid, which will separate the 
manganese if present. It is also advisable to evaporate the 
solution to dryness, after separating the fluate of lime, to 
ascertain if all the silica had been separated in the former part 
of the process. 

The substance which was supposed in all these cases to be 
lithia, has of course been proved to be such. Its characters 
are quite distinct. It forms a salt with muriatic acid, which is 
easy of fusion, deliquesces with surprising rapidity, and dis- 
solves in alcohol. It forms, with sulphuric acid, a neutral sul- 
phate, which fuses readily, and afterwards dissolves completely 
in water. Acetic acid combines with it, and the acetate is deli- 
quescent. When its solution is evaporated, it becomes tena- 
cious like mucilage while drying ; and when quite dry is very 
brittle. When the acetate is ignited, a carbonate is left, which 
has decided alkaline properties, dissolves with difficulty in 
water, fuses with great readiness, and shoots into a crystalline 
mass on cooling. It stains the surface of platinum when fused 
upon it. These properties leave no doubt whatever of its 
being lithia. 

Professor Gmelin was the first, so far as I know, to show 
that the alcoholic solution of the muriate of lithia had the 
property of burning with a red flame; and he even observed 
that both the sulphate and supersulphate of lithia could cause 
alcohol to burn in the same manner. ‘This property may, I 
find, be made apparent in various ways. Perhaps the neatest 
mode of producing the effect with the muriate of lithia is to 
dip a little bibulous paper into the alcoholic solution, and set 
fire toit. Ifa fragment of the solid muriate or acetate of li- 
thia, slightly moistened, be taken upon the point of a knife, 
and be made to touch the flame of a candle, a redness will be 
instantly communicated to it. The carbonate can be made to 


268 Dr Turner on Lithion-Mica. 


produce the same effect, though much less distinctly. The 
sulphate is exceedingly well adapted for the purpose, and this 
is a very useful fact, as it enables us at once to distinguish 
lithia from every other salifiable base with which it can be 
confounded. 'The muriates of strontia and lime both occa- 
sion a red light when they are moistened and brought into 
contact with the flame of a candle. The acetate of lime has 
not that property, but the acetate of strontia has. But no 
sulphate except that of lithia possesses it. The sulphates of 
lime and strontia, whether moist or dry, give no trace of red; 
and even if they did, their insolubility at once distinguishes 
them. * Magnesia is the substance which is most likely to be 
mistaken for lithia, and the sulphate of that base does not in 
any way affect the flame of a candle. The sulphate of lithia, 
on the contrary, has a distinct effect even when minute quan- 
tities are used. Thus, to give an extreme case, I have made 
the redness visible to several persons at a time, with less than 
zoooth of a grain of the crystallized sulphate of lithia. In 
operating with such minute quantities, a proportional degree 
of care is of course requisite. The best mode of performing 
the experiment is as follows: A particle of the crystallized 
sulphate is taken upon the point of a pen-knife, and held for 
an instant in the flame of a candle to make it adhere to the 
steel; it is next moistened in water, and brought into contact 
with the extreme border of the flame at its lower part where 
it burns blue. A red light then appears, forming a sort of 
fringe to the proper flame of the candle, but it disappears as 
soon as the salt becomes dry. By moistening it again, the ef- 
fect is renewed, and the experiment may be repeated a great 
many times with the same particle of salt. If the sulphate is 
held in the body of the flame, a mixture of colours is produc- 
ed, which lessens the distinctness of the effect, and for that 
reason I have expressly mentioned that it should barely touch 
the outer border of the flame. It is of course necessary to 


* If the sulphate of strontia be finely pulverized, and then made very 
moist with water, it does communicate a red colour when placed upon the 
wick of a candle. I haye not observed the same effect from sulphate of 
lime. 

11 


Dr Turner on Lithion-Mica. 269 


make such observations at night, or in a dark room; and a 
wax candle, from the pure whiteness of its light, is best fitted 
for them. 

While engaged in this inquiry, it became necessary to as- 
certain what effect the sulphates of potash and soda would ex- 
hibit under similar treatment, and I was thus led to an obser- 
vation of some interest, and which to me is new. Whena 
crystal of Glauber salt is put into the flame of a candle, and 
more particularly when made to touch the wick, the flame it- 
self enlarges considerably, and becomes of a decidedly yellow 
colour. When the powdered sulphate of potash, well moist- 
ened, is treated in like manner, the candle burns with a pale 
violet-coloured light, without enlargement of flame. These 
salts do not produce their characteristic effect when used in 
_ very small quantities like the sulphate of lithia. The effects 
here ascribed to the sulphates of potash and soda, may also 
be procured with the carbonates and muriates of those alka- 
lies. i 

There is no doubt, therefore, that the three alkalies, potash, 
lithia, and soda, may readily be distinguished from one ano- 
ther by their action on the flame of a candle. 

From the result of the analyses contained in the present pa- 
per, together with the foregoing observations, it is certain that 
the lithion-micas owe their property of reddening the blow- 
pipe flame to the presence of lithia, and that this phenome- 
non is consequently a proof of the presence of that alkali in 
them. 

It would appear from the facts just detailed, that a body 
must be fluid in order to produce an effect in colouring flame. 
The insoluble salts of lime and strontia are quite inert, as are 
the soluble salts of lime, strontia, and lithia, when quite dry. It 
is perhaps from their easy fusibility that the lithion-micas owe 
their power of reddening the blow-pipe flame, while other li- 
thion-minerals, as spodumene and petalite, which are of difficult 
fusibility, do not possess that property. It would follow from 
this, that by mixing some flux with spodumene, so as to render 
it fusible, it should acquire the property of tinging the flame red; 
and if so, an easy and expeditious method might be discovered 
of ascertaining the presence or absence of lithia in any mineral 


270 Capt. Sabine on the Presence of the Waters of the 


whatever. My observation has not yet been sufficiently va- 
ried for forming an opinion concerning the justice of these re- 
marks; but, in the meantime, I may state, whatever the ra- 
tionale may be, that when spodumene is mixed up into a paste 
with fluate of lime, and the blow-pipe flame is thrown upon it, 


a brilliant red colour appears ; whereas spodumene alone does ~ 


not yield a trace of redness. 

With respect to the lithion-micas, I may add, that the pre- 
sence of potash is most likely one cause of the facility with 
which they fuse. For I have remarked, that though the 
compounds of lithia themselves are easily fusible, they become 
much more so when potash is likewise present. Thus, the 
mixed carbonates of potash and lithia fuse at-a lower tem- 
perature than pure carbonate of lithia. In like manner, the 
mixed muriates are more easy of fusion than pure muriate 
of lithia; and the same observation is applicable to the sul- 
phates. 

(To be continued.) 


Art. XI.—Observations on the Presence of the Waters of the 
Gulf-Stream on the Coasts of Europe, in January 1822.* 
By Epwarp Sapine, Esq. F.R.S. F.L.S. &c. &e. 


Tue Iphigenia sailed from Plymouth on the 4th January 
1822, after an almost continuous succession of very heavy 
westerly and south-westerly gales, by which she had been re- 


* This very interesting paper is abstracted from Captain Sabine’s Ac- 


count of Experiments to determine the Figure of the Earth by means of the 
Pendulum vibrating seconds in different Latitudes, as well as on varicus 
other subjects of Philosophical Inquiry. 4to, Lond. 1825. This valuable 


work, printed at the expence of the Board of Longitude, and dedicated to — 


Davies Gilbert, Esq. M. P., exhibits, in a striking point of view, the varied 
talents of its author, and bears testimony to the zeal and ability with which 


« 


he has fulfilled the scientific mission with which he was entrusted by the — 


British Government. Besides the experiments with the pendulum, it 
contains various interesting geographical notices ; experiments for deter- 
mining the variation in the intensity of terrestrial magnetism, and se~ 
yeral curious atmospherical notices.—Eb. 

1 


: 


Gulf-Stream on the Coasts of Europe. 271 


peatedly driven back, and detained in the ports of the Chan- 
nel. The following memorandum exhibits her position at 
noon on each day of her subsequent voyage from Plymouth 
to Madeira, and from thence to the Cape Verd Islands, the 
temperature of the air in the shade, and to windward, and 
that of the surface of the sea. It also exhibits, in comparison, 
the ordinary temperature of the ocean at that season, in the 
respective parallels which Major Rennell has been so kind as 
to permit me to insert on his authority, as an approximation 
founded on his extensive inquiries. The last column shows 
the excess or defect in the temperature observed in the Iphi- 
genia’s passages. 


Temperature of Sur- 


Temp. of face Water- Excess or 
Date 1822, North Lat.|West Long.| Air. Defect. 
Observed. 
Jan. 5,| 47° 30’ | 7° 30’ [47° Fahr.| 49° 
5| 44 20 9 30 [52.5 55.7 
Plymouth to 7,| 41 22 | 11 37 154 58.2 
Madeira, 8,| 38 54 | 13 20 [54.2 61.7 
9,| No Observation. |56 63 
10,| 33 40 15 30 |60.7 ns 
: 19,] 26 0O | 17 50 |66 5.5 
Pae 2 20,| 24 30 | 18 50 |68 67 
Verd be. 21,|23 6 | 20 o |69 69 
Fails. 22,) 21 2 | 21 27 (69.5 69.5 
23, 19 20 | 23 O {70.6 70.2 


It is seen, from the preceding memorandum, that, in the 
passage from Plymouth to Madeira, the Iphigenia found the 
temperature of the sea between the parallels of 443° and 333° 
several degrees warmer than its usual temperature in the same 
_ season, namely, 3°2 in 443° increasing to 6° in 39°, and 
again diminishing to 4° in 332°, whilst, at the same period, 
the general temperature of the ocean in the adjoining paral- 
lels, both to the northward and to the southward, even as far 
as the Cape Verd Islands in 193°, was colder by a degree and 
upwards than the usual average. The evidence of many care- 
fu) observers, at different seasons, and in different years, 
whose observations have been collected and compared by 
Major Renuell, has satisfactorily shewn that the water of the 
Gulf-Stream, distinguished by the high temperature which it 
brings from its origin in the Gulf of Mexico, is not usually 


272 Capt. Sabine on the Presence of the Waters of the 


found to extend to the eastward of the Azores. Vessels na- 
vigating the ocean between the Azores and the continent of 
Europe, find, at all seasons, a temperature progressively in- 
creasing as they approach the sun; the absolute amount va- 
ries according to the season, the maximum in summer being 
about 14° warmer than the maximum in winter; but the pro- 
gression in respect to latitude is regular, and is nearly the 
same in winter as in summer, being an increase of 3° of Fah- 
renheit for every 5° of latitude. It is farther observed, that 
the ordinary condition of the temperature in that part of the 
ocean under notice, is little subject to disturbance, and that 
in any particular parallel and season the limits of variation in 
different years are usually very small. After westerly winds 
of much strength or continuance, the sea, in all the parallels, 
is rather colder than the average temperature, on account of 
the increased velocity communicated to the general set of the 
waters of the North Eastern Atlantic towards the southward. 
To the heavy westerly gales which had prevailed almost with- 
out intermission in the last fortnight in November, and during 
the whole of December, may therefore be attributed the 
colder temperatures observed in the latitude of 473°, and in 
those between 26° and 193° 

If doubt could exist in regard to the higher temperature 
between 443° and 332°, being a consequence of the exten- 
sion in that year of the gulf-stream in the direction of its 
general course, it might be removed by a circumstance well 
deserving of notice, namely, that the greatest excess above 
the natural temperature of the ocean, was found in or about 
the latitude of 39°, being the parallel where the middle of the 
stream, indicated by the warmest water, would arrive by con- 
tinuing to flow to the eastward of the Azores, in the prolon- 


gation of the great circle in which it is known to reach the } 


mid-Atlantic. 

One previous and similar instance is on record, in which 
the water of the gulf-stream was traced by its temperature 
quite across the Atlantic to the coasts of Europe; this was 


by Dr Franklin, in a passage from the United States to © 


France, in November 1776.* The latter part of his voyage, 


“ Franklin’s Works, 8vo, London, 1806, vol. ii, pages 200, 201. 


Gulf-Stream on the Coasts of Europe. 273 


é. c. from the meridian of 35° to the Bay of Biscay, was per- 
formed with little deviation in the latitude of 45°. In this run, 
exceeding 1200 miles, in a parallel of which, the usual tem- 
perature, towards the close of November, is about 553°, he 
found 63° in the longitude of 35° W., diminishing to 60° in 
the Bay of Biscay ; and 61° in 10° west longitude, near the 
same spot where the Iphigenia found 55° 7’ on the 6th of 
January, being about five weeks later in the season. At this 
spot, then, when the Iphigenia crossed Dr Franklin’s tract, 
the temperature, in November 1776, was 51°, and in Ja- 
nuary 1822, 3° 2 above the ordinary temperature of the sea- 
son. ; 

There can be little hesitation in attributing the universal 
extension of the stream, in particular years, to its greater 
initial velocity, occasioned by a more than ordinary difference 
in the levels of the gulf of Mexico, and of the Atlantic. It has 
been computed by Major Rennell, from the known velocity 
of the stream at various points of its course, that in the sum- 
mer months, when its rapidity is greatest, the water requires 
about eleven weeks to run from the outlet of the Gulf of 
Mexico to the Azores, being about 3000 geographical miles ; 
and he has farther supposed, in the case of the water of 
which the temperature was examined by Dr Franklin, that 
perhaps not less than three months were occupied in addi- 
tion by its passage to the coasts of Europe, being altogether 
a course exceeding 4000 geographical miles. On this suppo- 
sition, the water of the latter end of November 1776, may 
have quitted the gulf of Mexico, with a temperature of 83° in 
June; and that of January 1822, towards the end of July, 
with nearly the same temperature. The summer months, 
particularly July and August, are those of the greatest initial 
‘velocity of the stream, because it is the period when the 
Jevel .of the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico is most de- 
ranged. 

It is not difficult to imagine, that the space between the 
‘Azores and the coasts of the old continent, being: traversed 
by the stream, slowly as it must be, at a much colder season 
in the instance observed by the Iphigenia, than in that by 
Dr Franklin, its temperature may have been cooled thereby 

VOL. {11, NO, ll, ocTOBER 1825, s 


274 Capt. Sabine on the Depression of the Horizon 


to a nearer approximation to the natural temperature of the 
ocean in the former than in the latter case, and that the dif- 
ference between the excess of 5° 5’ in November, and of 3° 2/ 
in January, may be thus accounted for. Hf the explanation 
of the apparently very unusual facts observed by Dr Frank- 
lin in 1776, and by the Iphigenia in 1822, be correct, how 
highly curious is the connection thus traced between a more 
than ordinary strength of the winds within the tropics in the 
summer, occasioning the derangement of the level of the 
Mexican and Caribbean Seas, and the high temperature of the 
sea between the British Channel and Madeira, in the follow- 
ing winter. 

Nor is the probable meteorological influence undeserving 
of attention, of so considerable an increase in the temperature 
of the surface water, over an extent of ocean exceedmg 600 
miles in latitude, and 1000 in longitude, situated so import- 
antly in relation to the western parts of Europe. 

It is at least a remarkable coincidence, that in November 
and December 1821, and in January 1822, the state of the 
weather was so unusual in the southern parts of Great Bri- 
tain, and in France, as to have excited general observation. 

In the meteorological journals of the period, it is character- 
ized as ‘* most extraordinarily hot, damp, stormy, and op- 
pressive ;” it is stated, ‘* that an unusual quantity of rain fell 
both in November and December, but particularly in the lat- 
ter; that “ the gales from the W. and SW. were almost 
without intermission ;” and that in December, the mercury 
in the barometer was lower than it had been known for thirty- 
five years before. 


Art. XII.—On the Depression of the Horizon of the Sea over 
the Gulf-Siream*. By Epwanp Sazinz, Esq. F.R.S. 
FL. 8. &e.. &e. 


Iw estimating the depression of the horizon of the sea, cor- 
responding to the different heights of an observer’s eye, the 


“ Having already laid before our readers the results of various observa= 
tions on the depression of the horizon, (see this Journal, vol. ii- p- 365,) 
we think it proper to call their attention to the following valuable obser- 


Of the Sea over the GulfStream. 275 


horizon is supposed to be raised by terrestrial refraction, one- 
Jourteenth part of the depression due to the spherical figure 
of the earth ; and the corrections for different heights, rigour- 
ously computed from the dimensions of the earth, are re- 
duced, accordingly, in that proportion, in the tables of the 
most approved authorities. Experience has shown, that in 
general, when the temperature of the air is colder than that 
of the surface of the sea, the tabular depressions so computed 
and reduced, are in error in defect,—and when the air is 
warmer than the sea, in excess—of the true depression: the 
proportion of the error to the difference of the temperature 
_ being, however, too irregular, and the differences themselves 
subject to exceptions of too decided a character, to allow any 
practical rule to be established for a corresponding allowance 
‘In correction. So long as the error of the table is confined to 
a few seconds in amount, its occurrence may be safely disre- 
garded in all the ordinary purposes of navigation; but it was 
a question only to be solved by experience, whether, in cases 
of an extreme difference between the temperatures of the air 
and water, the amount of error might not be so considerable 
as to require attention, especially in deducing a ship’s place 
by chronometrical observations within three hours of noon. 
It was the purpose of having this question tried in the Guif 
Stream, where the sea is frequently many degrees warmer 
than the air, that Dr Wollaston contrived the dip sector, 
which, from accidental circumstances, had not been applied 
‘in its original design until the present occasion. 

The following Table presents an abstract of the observa- 
tions, (which may be confided in to less than five seconds,) by 
which it will be seen, that, so far as their evidence can deter- 
mine, a navigator may be right nine times in ten in appre- 
hending a tabular error in defect when the sea is warmer than 
the air; but that, with differences in the temperature of the 
air and water, frequently amounting to between 10° and 20°, 
and once even so great as 29°, {the sea being always the 
warmer,) the error of the Tables was not found, even in a 
single instance, so great as two minutes. 


vations of Captain Sabine, taken from the work quoted in the preceding 
article, and particularly from their connection with the subject of the 
Gulf Stream-—Ep. ~ 


276 M. Seguin on the Effects of Heat and Motion. 


‘Temperature, 


Date. Geographical Height of 
Position. the Eye. 
1822. Fi. . In. 
Aug. 9 Atlantic, |13° 20’S.)37° 45’ W.| 19 2 
Nov. 10.| Caribb. Sea, |18 83.N|79 36 1 3 
10. 1 15 3 
11. Do. 15 33 
13. el ass 
14. 15, 3.5 
14. 15 10 
15 15 3.5 
15. 3.5 
17. 15 3.5 
15 3.5 
Dec. 4. 18 3 
5. . 153 
5.| Atlantic, 18) 3 
6. Do. 15. 33 
9. Do. iso 
ds Do. 1 3 
8, Do. 15 1 
9. Tt 
1823. 
8. 
9. In the passage from 
10. New York to the Bri- 


tish Channel. 


Anrv. XIII.—On the Effects of Heat and Motion. In a Let- 
ter to Dr Brewster from M. Srcurn, ainé. 


Srr, 

I sxc leave to thank you for having inserted in your interest- 
ing Journal the letters which I had the honour of addressing 
to Mr Herschel, respecting thenew views, which I considered 
as affording a more simple explanation of several physical 
facts than that which is derived from received theories. 

I originally presented these views in reference to their con- 
nection with astronomy, because I conceived that a solution of 
the difficulties might be obtained from a profound study of 


the laws of gravitation discovered by Newton, and by giving 


4 


r+. > 7° se 


M. Seguin on the Effects of Heat and Motion. 277 


Depression. Tabular in Paap. of . 
Excess or {Airin Ex7 4 
Defect. cess or REMARKS, 
Observed./Tabular. Defect. 


— pe oo 


4 25.4] 4719” |—0’ 6%4 Light airs. 

4 3.4 Wind ENE. pleasant breezes, with fine 
weather. 

Ditto, ditto, ditto. 

Wind ENE. sunshine, with occasional 
ciouds. 

Wind NE. by E. ditto, ditto. 

Ditto, ditto, ditto. 

Wind NE. with light rains. 

Fresh NE. breeze, with occasional squalls. 

Ditto, ditto, ditto. 

Little wind, with sunshine. 

Sunshine. 

Becoming calm after a northerly gale. 

Wind light, southerly. 

Wind freshening. 

Wind NW., fresh. 

Wind light, easterly. 

Soundings in 33 fathoms. 

Wind NW., fresh, soundings in 30 fathoms. 

Wind faint NW.., clear weather, hazy, very 
distinct, but with the appearance of the 
inversion of a ripple. 


56 .2 
53 .3 


17 2 
21.2 
18.7 
21 .2 
51.3 
48 .7 
14.2 
50 
56 .6 
36 .6 
57.8 
36 .2 
37 
15 


45.6 


. 


OU Gr gn Gan Gr Or 
[eel ell ee Th 
hobo bo bo 
owed 


a) 


CONC = Om CST io to 


SRO SG Sb 


WH Wt ODOM Ets toe KNt «6K lt 


3 
3 
4 
4 
4 
4 
3 
3 
4 
4 
4 
3 
4 
5 
4 
5 
5 


ans 


Steady breeze ENE. 

Ditto, 

Wind south, fresh. 

Wind SW. with light squalls. 
Wind E., fresh, with light rain.’ 
Ditto, ditto. 

Ditto, ditto. 


them all the generality of which they are susceptible. If, as 
our celebrated astronomer Laplace supposes, the different 
planetary systems owe their formation to a material mass mi- 
nutely divided, which, in obeying the single law of being at- 
tracted in the inverse ratio of the square of the distance, the 
molecules, at the origin of their motion, obeying their gravity 
to reunite at the centre of the mass, and experiencing pertur- 
bations from the neighbouring molecules, ought to approach 
each other more and more, describing curves which satisfy the 
integral conservation of the motion which they have acquired 
during the passage they have made. Each particular sys- 
tem will, by this means, have made part of another system, 
with the power of being able, according to certain laws which 
dre unknown, to give or receive from it a certain quantity of 
motion, but with the express condition that the total sum can- 


= 


278 M. Seeuin on the Effects of Heat and Motion. © 


not be augmented or diminished, excepting in so far as there 
has been an approach or recession of the constituent parts with 

respect to the common centre of gravity. This law may be 

applied to a simple crystal, the matter of which is sufficiently 

dense, that the interval which separates the particles may be 

comparable to that which separates the celestial bodies in re- 

spect to the space which they occupy. This leads to questions 
of the most important kind, but upon which I do not feel my- 
self capable even of hazarding conjectures. 

We see by experience that light, which, from its effects, we 
regard as a compound body, may penetrate certain other bo- 
dies with great facility. Magnetism does not seem to be stop- 
ped by the densest bodies with which we are acquainted, nei- 
ther is it impossible that a molecular mass may circulate round 
the earth, subject to the same laws as the planets ; and since 
we see magnetism and electricity pass through the densest bo- 
dies, may we not conclude from this that currents of matter 
circulate across the mass of the globe? Astronomy affords: 
us, in the ring of Saturn, the belts of Jupiter, and, perhaps, 
in the zodiacal light, an example of matter subject to revolve 
in circular masses. If we suppose on the earth a series of 
rings subject to move in ellipses, of which the centre of the 
earth is one of the foci, we might give a sufficient and very 
simple explanation of the changes in the pole of the magnetic 
meridian, and of other observed phenomena. Thus it would 
happen that, im certain points of the globe, the direction of 
this current would be a tangent to the horizon ; that, in other 
places, it would have an inclination determined by conditions 
which it would be easy to verify ; and, in approaching the pole, 
it would become almost nothing. The existence of similar sa- 
tellites does not seem improbable. 

Since the existence of the celestial bodies, in general, is in- 
dependent of their mass, their velocity may be computed at 
from 5 to 6000 miles per second, which would be sufficient for 
explaining the great velocity of these fluids. If we apply to 
insulated bodies the suppositions made on the great scale to 
the celestial mass, we may conceive the possibility of establish- 
ing round two of them similar currents. Experience, indeed, 


M. Seguin on the Effects of Heat and Motion. 279 


demonstrates, that friction determines electrical currents, 
whose tenacity is greater, in proportion as the bodies ap- 
proach a solid of revolution; and the loss of electricity by 
points comes to the support of the theory, since the molecules, 
which exist circularly around bodies, ought to separate from 
it whenever its mass is no longer able, by its attraction, to be 
in equilibrium with the velocity of its satellite. It would then 
happen that the parts. escaping in a right line, in a tangential 
direction, might have a velocity sufficiently great to transmit 
a part of the motion to the organ of vision, and procure us 
the sensation of sight, and to the organ of smell, the particular 
sensation which it experiences. 

This way of explaining the phenomena differs essentially 
from the received one, by the motion which I suppose to 
exist in solid bodies; and the most forcible objection which 
can be made to it is, that bodies ought to be continually aug- 
menting in density, or to have a general centrifugal motion, 
which ought to be perceived ; but might we not say as much 
of all the planetary system ; and may not the same laws which 
cause the heavens to present for thousands of years the same 
aspect, preserve also, during a certain time, the same figure to 
terrestrial objects. Dense bodies are certainly more or less 
subject to an intestine motion. Crystallization in the middle 
of semifluid substances which appear to our eyes in absolute 
repose, evidently demonstrates this motion, and may explain 
a variety of geological facts, which are at present extremely 
embarrassing. 

Such are the reasons which induced me to offer my views 
to the consideration of astronomers. Since that time, I have 
had the honour of conversing on the subject with Mr Her- 
schel in London, and the satisfaction of having been listened 
to with a degree of interest, which has encouraged me to com- 
municate to you at present another part of my reflections on 
this subject. 

I would be ashamed to present myself to your notice, as 
one of the founders of systems, the result of which is almost 
always to load science with new difficulties ; but it appears to 
me that my object at present consists rather in simplifying, 


280 = M. Seguin on the Ejfects of Heat and Motion. 


and in seeking to arrange, under laws already known, a series. 
of facts, which, in the present state of science, are, in my opi- 
nion, very imperfectly explained. 

The striking relations which exist between the production 
of force and the use of caloric, are well worthy of the notice of 
philosophers, for the admitted theory actually leads to the 
creation of force, as to the doctrine of a mechanical perpetual 
motion, which it is impossible to admit. If we suppose, in- 
deed, that at each stroke of the piston of a high-pressure 
steam-engine, the quantity of caloric employed is represented 
exactly by the elevation of temperature of the water of con- 
densation, abstracting all loss, it follows, that we have lost 
nothing in obtaining a very great effect, and that, if it were 
possible (which is supposable) to condense the caloric con~ 


tained in a mass M, into. another represented by =, in such a 


manner that it may be reduced into vapour at the primitive 
pressure, we may, by means of a small quantity. of caloric, 
produce an indefinite number of oscillations. 

If, instead of considering the pressure exerted on a piston, 
or suppose the vapour condensing in a cylinder, the reasoning. 
will be the same, and the two cases will present in the dilata- 
tion of the aeriform fluid, a loss of temperature, which we 
may consider as the true employment of the caloric. The 
consideration of the proper motion of bodies given, is simple, 
and, in my opinion, a satisfactory explanation of these phe- 
nomena. For, if we suppose that the molecules of water are, 
subject to a circular motion, and that the velocity the caloric 
of bodies, or rather is caloric itself, then it is evident, that the 
mass will augment with the acceleration of the velocity, till it, 
reaches an epoch, at which the motion will be so great, that. 
the attraction which retains the molecules at a distance from 
one another, is insufficient to maintain the equilibrium. ‘Lhe 
molecules will then begin gradually escaping in all directions 
in a right line in the direction of the tangent, and will com- 
municate it to other bodies which they meet, till they have 
lost as much as will prevent the two faces again to come into 


Mr. Herschel and Mr South’s Observations on Stars. 284 


equilibrium. I have the honour to be, your humble and 

obedient servant, 

; SEGUIN ainé. 
Annonay, Dep. de L’ Ardeche, 

March 28, 1825. 


Arr. XIV.—Observations on the apparent Distances and 
Positions of 389 Double and Triple Stars. By J. F. W. 
HerscuEt, Esq. Sec. R.S. Lond. and F.R.8. Edin., and 
James Souru, Esq. F.R.S. Lond. and Edin. 


Mor than forty years ago, the late celebrated Sir W. 
Herschel directed the attention of astronomers to the im- 
portance of determining the distances and positions of double 
stars; and during the years 1779 and 1784, he published in 
the Philosophical Transactions, descriptions:and names of 
702 double and triple stars. The result which he obtained 
in this inquiry, may be considered as forming an entirely new 
department of physical astronomy, in which the agency of 
attractive forces has been found to exist in the remotest 
regions of the sidereal universe. 

_ It was fortunate for astronomy, that a subject of such im- 
terest was taken up by his son, whose mathematical acquire- 
ments, and habits of nice observation, fitted him in a peculiar 
manner for the task, and that he was aided by such an excellent 
observer as Mr South. The object with which these gentlemen 
commenced this inquiry, was to determine the existence and 
amount of annual parallax, but this was soon lost sight of 
amid the more extensive views of the construction of the uni- 
verse, which gradually unfolded themselves. They have 
clearly established the existence of binary systems, in which two 
stars perform to each other the offices of sun and planet. 
They have ascertained with considerable exactness the periods 
of rotation of more than one such pair. ‘They have observed 
the immersions and emersions of stars behind each other ; and 
they have detected among them real motions sufficiently rapid 


to become measurable quantities in very short intervals of 
time. 


282 Mr Herschel and Mr South’s Observations on 


The instruments employed by Mr Herschel and Mr South, 
were two achromatic telescopes of five and seven feet focal 
length, mounted equatorially. The object-glass of the jive 
feet telescope, has an aperture of 3% inches, and was made by 
the late P. and J. Dollond. The power usually employed 
was 133, but powers of 68, 116, 240, 303, and 381, were oc- 
casionally used, by double eye-pieces 5 ; and a single lens, with 
a power of 578, was sometimes applied for the purpose of mi- 
nute scrutiny. 

The object-glass of the seven feet telescope, which is con- 
sidered the chefdauvre of Mr Tully, has a clear aperture 
of five inches, and under high magnifying powers it is suppos- 
ed to be surpassed in distinctness by no refractor in existence. 
Under favourable circumstances, and with a power of 600, 
the discs of the two stars of 7 Coronz, and of « Corone; 
of @ Bootis, and of ¢ Orionis, are shown perfectly round, and 
as sharply defined as possible. The power usually employed 
was 179, but a lower power of 105, and a higher power of 
273 were occasionally resorted to. 

In observing with these fine instruments, Mr Herschel and 
Mr South found that the proper degree of illumination was a 
matter of great consequence, and that it differed in almost each 
particular star. They found that many very minute stars 
bore, without extinction, strong degrees of illumination, and 
were even the better for it, while others apparently brighter were 
Sound unable to bear even the slightest extraneous light. 
This they considered as probably owing to an excess of blue 
light in the star, forming a contrast* with the ruddy tint of 
the lamp’s illumination, for the most remarkable instances of 
the phenomena were those in which the small star was de- 
cidedly of a blue colour. 

For example— 


6 Scorpii is much improved by illumination. 


* We are disposed to ascribe this curious phenomenon to the circum- 
stance of the blue colour of the star being the harmonic colour of the 
orange yellow tint of the lamp-light- When the retina is impressed with 
any colour, it is more sensible to weak impressions of its harmonic colour 
than to any other.—Ep. 

1 


Double and Triple Stars. . 283 


n Lyre. A small blue star, was much improved by illumi- 
nation. 

: Trianguli. A small blue star, bears illumination very 
well. 

n Perset. A small and extremely faint blue star, bears 
illumination well. 

59 Serpentis. A small blue star of the 9th mag. bears 
all the illumination. 

22 Monocerotis. A small star, bears the illumination well, 
while a small white star near it bears it ill. 

8 Virginis. The extremely faint small star bears a good 
illumination. 

51 Pisctum. This star, of a ruddy plum colour, bears a 
very bad illumination in proportion to its size. 

When the stars under examination had the last degree of 
faintness, Mr Herschel and Mr South resorted to a singular 
method of obtaining a view of them, and even a rough mea- 
sure of the angle of position. They directed the eye to another 
part of the field. Yn this way, a faint star in the neighbour- 
hood of a large one will often become very conspicuous, so as 
to bear a certain illumination, which will yet totally disap- 
pear, as if suddenly blotted out, when the eye is turned full 
upon it, and so on, appearing and disappearing alternately, as 
often as we please. The small companion of 23 (h) Urse 
Majoris, is a remarkable instance of this, and also 2 Persei; 
7 Tauri; 43 Persei; 4 Leporis (R. Asc. 5". 4™.); 63 Gemi- 
norum. ‘ The lateral portions of the retina,” our author re- 
marks, “ less fatigued by strong lights, and less exhausted 
by perpetual attention, are probably more sensible to faint 
impressions than the central ones, which may serve to account 
for this phenomenon.” 

The explanation here given of this curious phenomenon is, 
we apprehend, not well founded; but as the subject is a very 
_ interesting one, we shall make it the subject of the next 
article. 


oOo NO OR OOD 


Mr Herschel and Mr South’s Observations on 


N.B. Remarkable Stars are pointed out by a * affixed’in Column 1. . 


Star’s Name. 


— 


35 Piscium 
38 Piscium © 
51 Piscium 
mw Andromed. 
a Cassiopee 


Andromed. 142 
V. 82 


a Cassiopeze 
65 Piscium 


Nova 
Andromed. 164 
26 Ceti- 

77 Piscium 

74 ~) Piscium 
Polaris 

é Piscium 

37 Ceti 


+ Cassiopexe 
100 Pisctum 


y Arietis 1 & 2 


y Arietis 1 & 3 
47 Cassiopex 

a Arietis 

Ceti 292 


a Piscium 

y Andromed. 
59 Androm. 
« Trianguli 
66 Ceti 


H. C. 124 


10, a2 Trianguli 
30 Arietis 

33 Arietis 

» Persei 1 & 2 
——e dt &S 
m@ Arietis 

4] Arietis 

Ceti 499 

32 Eridani 

¢ Persci 1 & 2 
oe ee a 
@ Tauri 

x, Tauri 


No WWNNee — 


mm OT pe 


cost 
ZZ AZ, 


eo to bo bo bo 
ee or te 


— ie 
— 


° 


60 
32 

7 
85 


7 


34 
ll 


Angle of 
Position. . 


, 


46 

9 
Il 
26 
52 


0 
29 


56 


bo 


Distance. 


” Dec. 

0 11.168 
4.967 

25.866 


35.951 


46.464 
47.136 


8.789 


5.960 


3.151 

7.520 
15.756 
32.069 
30.340 
18.701 
24,648 
50.780 


33.347 
16.018 


9.109 


3 48.764 
1 33.594. 


37.889 
9.080 


5.428 
10.909 
17.157 

3.881 
16.173 


067 


14.347 
38.445 


29.185 


28.959 


3 57.175 


3.076 
7.557 


1 21.283 


8.081 
8.587 


Remarks. 


Unchanged. 
Unchanged. f 
Changed in Position 
Unchanged. 
Unchanged in A 
Dist.probably increa 
Unchanged. ‘ia 
3° 41’ in Pos., and 
3.706 in Dist. 
Binary +  0°.5138 
mean annual motior 
Binary ? —0°.1)7—= 
mean annual motior 


Unchanged. 
Unchanged. 
Pos. unchanged. 
Unchanged. 
Unchanged... ; 
Pos. unchanged; Dist, | 
much increased. 
Unchanged. 
Unchanged. 


Unchanged. 


Unchanged. 
Much changed if 
same star. 
Unchanged. 
Unchanged. 
Pos. unchanged. 
Pos. changed—7° 39% | 
Dist. unchanged. 


Dist. increased. 
Pos. unchanged. 


annum. 
Unchanged in Dist. 


Sersibly changed. 
Pos. unchanged. 
increased sensibly. 
Unchanged, 
Unchanged. 


Double and Triple Stars. 285 


Angle of | Qua- 


Postiume' dtait Distance, Remarks. 


ny = vs Wekian? a eo 
h. m. Sige vs ” Dec. 
i 4 13/23 52 N 19 37 29.052 |Unchanged. 
L Camelopardali 4 18/5331 N| 36 26 10.450 
57. m. Persei 4 21/42 39 N GPs 50.193 |Dist much increased + 


134.5« 
9.455 |Dist. unchanged. 


10.510 |Unchanged ? 


7.892 |Unchanged. 
5.865, |Position unchanged. 
38.827 


21.763 | Position hardly changed. 
34.206 
14.610 |Dist. unchanged; Pos. 
—83°.0. 
8.878 |Unchanged in Pos, hard- 
ly in dist. 
33.043 |Unchanged. 
5.666 |Unchanged. 
1.300 |Binary ? mean motion 


88. d. Tauri 426/947 N| 2859 
435}9 9S} 48 20 


4 47/337 36 Nj} 82 1 
4 48) 5288 15 16 
rionis261&2 | 4 49/1415 N| 34 36 

1&3 — |-——— 1/12 
5 0) 8 53 10 6 
5 4/45 48 N 78 2 
5 4/52 28 N 45 37 


~_ 


69 19 


qr 
S 
oC 
bo 
a 
m 


13) 321 N} 62 40 
18/25 ON 79 59 
21} 548 N| 66 49 


(St 
bo 
iY) 
_— 


— Oo oe wnesS ee w [a ) wens ww uw — 


62 41 24.731 —0°.414. 
22/16 5 52 4 9.790 |Pos. unchanged. 
33 2 Orionis 1 & 2 22) 63 21 2.025 |Unchanged. 
res} — 55 54 19.734 
5 23 89 57 54.875 |Unchanged. 
5 23 83 9 8.912 
5 25 49 14 5.574 |Unchanged. 
5 30 6 41 12.912 |Unchanged. 
ees 28 57 42.765 |Unchanged. 
_ 52 57 30.805 
_ 33 44 10.131 
_ 31 11 45.375 
— 3 39 11.136 |Pos. unchanged. 
DF = 68 11 8.255 |Very little changed. 
§ 32 60 3 2.625 , 
— 82 50 
5 47 82 16 5.051 
{8 Monocerotis 6 14 64 39 14.379 
{15 Geminorum 6 171: 65 21 32.693 |Unchanged. 
1 {11 Monocerotis A,B] 6 2¢ 39 29 6.862 |Unchanged. ; 
Ditto B and C 10 41 8.243 |Unchanged. 
Comes 67 20 
0 Geminorum 6 22)17 54 N 61 3 19.454 
3 jy Canis Maj. 6 25 10 8 17.240 Ghanged in Pos.; ? in 
Ist. 
'4 [12 Lyncis 6 30)59 68 39 2.5938 |BInany — 0°.5574 per 
annum, 
36 50 9.849 |Pos. changed; +0°.109 
_ | per annum. 
Aurige 6 34 2 52 55.386 |Pos. unchanged. 
8 Geminorum 6 44 84 24 5.528 |Dist. diminished. 
Geminorum 6 53 85 27 31.032 |Pos. slightly changed. 
19 Lyncis 7 8 43 5 14,544 |Scarcely changed. 
. 86 45 33.357 
'9 |20 Lyncis 7 9 17 21 16.988 
Geminorum 7 9 74 35 7.248 |Probably unchanged. 


286 


89|29 Monocer 1 & 
. L& 


91|19 Argo Navis 
#92124. y. Cancri 


92 Cancti 


Hydre 18 
48 «. Cancri 


144 of the 145 
IV. 111 


93 


| 94 
95 


96 | 
97 


98 (57. ¢ 2 Cancri 
99 |17 Hydre 


} 1007. 3. Cancri 
101/67. eg. Cancri 
102|Cancri 194 
103)Urs. Maj. 53 
104|38 Lyncis I. 9 
105|27 Hydre 
106|t Hydre 


107|6 Leonis 

108|7 Leonis 

109|14 Leonis 

110|Felis 40 

1] |e Leonis 

112}145 of the 145 
*113/7 Leonis 1 & 2 


—1&3 
114|Leonis 145 


115|Leonis 155 
116]35 Sextantis 


ww bo 


1&2 
1&3 


Iss s7eys 
we He OO OO 09 CO 
Soaaosna 


com 
x | 
E>) 


8 16/27 31 N 


§ 26} 715 N 
8 36/29 25 N 


8 39)71 27 N 
8 41/15 29 N 


8 43/31 16 N 


to ho 
Sis 
woo 
~ 


Gr or Go bo 


SSAawar 
Cres oS con 


SeHooD Oo 
sale ee 
enmnwoas 
OT ok es 09 
ZL PIA Po 


— 


10 11) 7 22N 


10 14] 638 N 
10 34] 5 42 N 


Angle of 
Position. 


o? 


3 57 


Ep. 1822. 16 


71 34 
45 45 


Qua- 


drant. 


ee 


Mr Herschel and Mr South’s Observations on 


Distance. 


¢ “ 


5.355 


Ep. 1822. 10 


1 10.180 
3 17.114 
1 33.984 
19.660 
6.384 
46.647 
16.021 
52.168 
4.498 
1 6.503 
3 18+ 


— 


6.241 


~ 


10.175 
6.046 


5.914 


10.844 
29.387 


8.745 
16.521 


1.894 
5.723 


1 29.731 
1 43.144 
7.640 
25.346 
2.887 
45.689 
6.683 


mm OO 


38.128 
44.199 

1 10.829 
21.498 

2 54.906 
16.843 
3.243 


6.723 


10 .387 
0 7.869 
5 33.500 


an ptm 


2 Ts 
Remarks. 


BINARY. 
—0°.965. 


Binary ? Pos. chi * 

10°. 4 
Pos. unchanged 
Unchanged. | 


Dist. increased 
Single measures, 
Unchanged. 


Distance an inaccurati 
estimation only. — 
BinaRy? Mean 
= —0°.5813; = 
42’ in Angle, and 
17.805 in Dist. ~ 
Binary? Mean m 
—0°.514; Dist. in| 
creased 2”, 


Unchanged, 


Scarcely changed i 
Unchanged (? colour 
“ae 
‘e 
Position chongeaty 
16. 
Unchanged. 


Unchanged. og H 


Pos. unchanged, 
Pos. unchanged. 
Pos. unchanged ; Dist 

—1”.19. z 
Unchanged. Bt 
Pos. Unchanged. 
ies ae slightly ‘eh 


Some altered. — ? . 
Unchanged. ae 
Changed in Poss il n 
Dist. ? ae 
Slight change in Pos. | 


BINARY. 
+ 0°.30; 
1822.24. 
Inaccurate. 
Pos. changed vee ia 
unaltered. Hi 
Unchanged. oa 


a 


Single measures. - ‘ae 


Double and Triple Stars. 287 


Distance. 


, ” 


7.023 
35.010 
13.144 

1 7.062 
1 46.256 
2.809 


Unchanged. 
Dist. increased. ? 


Much chan. in Pos. & D. 

Binary. Mot. —— 
5.036. Annual mot. 
very variable. 


Ep. 1823.19 


23/Camelop. 201 21.876 
124/63 Leonis 29.542 |Pos, changed +6° 11’. 
5} Leonis 1 35.127 |Much increased in Dist. 


13.040 
14.670 
4.452 
1 0.753 
1 14.897 
I 16.861 


Scarcely altered. 


28 N Very little if at all 
28 N changed. 
43 N 

15S 
40 N Unchanged. 

6N 

56 S 

5N;} 23 42 

9N| 69 36 


change of + 11° 15’ in 
Pos., arising from pro- 
per motion. 


651N) 78 47 Pos. unchanged. 
50 N 73 52 
30S| 56 27 Unchanged. 
20 N 19 39 
118 of the 145 46N| 67 10 
R122 22 N 2) 7 Unchanged. 
1S} 29 26 
27S| 13 24 BrnaRy. Elliptic orbit 
probably. Mean mot. 
5458 78 15 —0°.667. 
48 N 75 38 
9N| 67 49 Unchanged. 


Unchanged. 


Pos. changed +7°.55’. 
Unchanged. 
Pos. changed +7 50’. 


13 4/1751S 56 17 Distance increased. 


190/28 of the 145 


288 Dr Brewster on some Affections of the Retina. 
» Angle of | Qua- ot > 
No.| Star's Name. |R. AJ Decl. | 4 speition. drant, | Distance. Remarks. i 
— | —| SSS ee SS 
’ He an 84 Sahm Ayan eS 
°162|Prazzi XIII. 25 |13 6|10 245 28 2) nf 44.847 { 
163)H. C. 506 13 15] 3 38N] 13 39 ee 28.465 i. 
164/€ Ursee Maj. 13 13/5552 N| 57 46 sf 14.455 |Unchanged. 
165} » V. 128 13 23}11 468 11 13 nf 47.720 |Distance increased. 
166)H. C. 335? 13. 26/27 10 N 24 51 nf 9.613 
167|81 Virginis 13 28] 6 57 S 47 16 nf 4.020 |Pos. changed —6° 4’. 
168)H..C. 335 ? W3 41}27 52 N 70 25 sf 5.664 
169} Bootis 13 44/19 19 N 23 27 sf 2 6.203 
170|H. C. 162 13 46/33 43 N} 58 28 np 7.780 
117|« Virginis 13 52) 226 N 19 57 np 1 19.290 
172|82 of the 145 13 54/20 17 N 71 43 sf 21.392 
173|98 of the 145 14 51 614 N] 99 20 Sp 6.049 
| 174\« Bootis 14 7/5239 N} 3115 sp 13.136 |Position slightly chang: 
ed. 
175\: Bootis 14 10152:12 Ni 56 36 nf 38.047 |Very little changed. 
176|Prazzi XIV. G2 {14 13) 6568 g7" 6 np 5.880 
1 177|H. C. 334 14 14] 916 N 83 24 Sp 7-185 
178|H. C. 470 14 15/12. 3 N 65 17 np 10.192 
179|\x, Turdi Sol 14 15/19 8S 25 49 np 35.121 
180)H. C. 165 14 23/29 6 N 7 36 sp 25 781 ; 
|} 18} |r Bootis 14 32/17 12 N 7 53 sf -6.889 |Unchanged. 
‘| 182\€ Bootis 14 33/14 31 N} 36 58 sf 1.683 : 
} 183) IT. 82 14 36] 827 N 4 27 sf 7-335 |Unchanged in Position. | 
18473 Hydre 14 36)24.40 S 46 40 sf 9.995 |Changed 8° 25’ in Pos. — 
|*185)e Bootis 14 37/27 51 N| 52 59 np 3-931 |Brnary. ..Mean mot. 
Ep. 1822.55 Ep. 1822.55) + 0°.4378 : 
186) Liaise: 14 41}15 15S 44 33 np | 3 50.853 
} 187|€ Boots 14 43/19 51 N} 70 54 np 8.696 |Grcatly changed, perhaps 
Ep. 1822.63) by proper motion both 
in Angle aud Distance. 
188}39 Bootis 14 4441927 N} 45 55 sf 4.626 |Probably changed in Pos, 
Our obs. rather dubious, 
189)Bootis 346 14 5548 2N] 68 53 sf 36.544 | Unchanged. 
14 48]20 39S 0-9 np 10.833 


(To be continued. ) 


Ant. XV.—On some Remarkable Affections of the Retina, 
as cxhibited in its insensibility to indirect Impressions, and 
io the Impressions of attenuated Light.* By Davin Brew- 


ster, LL.D. F. R. S. Lond., and Sec. R.S. Edin. 


Aone the various phenomena of vision which were observed 
by the philosophers of the last century, those which arise from 


* This paper formed the third section of a Memoir On the Structure and 
Functions of the Human Eye, which was read before the Royal iwi of 


Edinburgh on the 2d December 1822. 


} 


Dr Brewster on some Affections of the Retina. 289 


indirect impressions, and from the influence of highly attenu- 
ated light upon the retina, seem to have escaped their notice. 

If we look at a narrow slip of white paper placed upon a 
black or a coloured ground, it will never appear to vanish, 
however long and attentively we view it. But if the eye is 
fixed steadily upon any object within two or three inches of 
the paper, so as to see it only indirectly, or by oblique vision, 
the slip of paper will occasionally disappear, as if it had been 
removed entirely from the ground, the colour of the ground 
extending itself over the part of the retina occupied by the 
image of the slip of paper. 

If the object seen indirectly is a dlack stripe on a white 
ground, it vanishes in a similar manner; and, what is still 
more remarkable, the same phenomena of disappearance take 
place whether the object is viewed with one or with both 
eyes. 

When the indirect object is luminous, like a candle, it never 
vauishes entirely, unless it is placed at a great distance; but 
it swells and contracts, and is surrounded by a halo of nebu- 
lous light, so that the excitement must extend itself to conti- 
guous portions of the retina which are not influenced by the 
light itself. 

If we place two candles at the distance of about eight or ten 
feet from the eye, and about twelve inches from each other, 
and view the one directly and the other indirectly, the indi- 
rect image will be encircled with a bright ring of yellow light, 
and the bright light within the ring will have a pale blue co- 
lour. If the candles are viewed through a prism, the red and 
green light of the indirect image vanish, and leave only a large 
mass of yellow, terminated with a portion of blue light. 

While performing this experiment, and looking steadily and 
directly at one of the prismatic images of the candle, I was 
surprised to observe that the red and green rays began to dis, 
appear, leaving only yellow and a small portion of blue ; and 
when the eye was kept immoyeably fixed on the same part of 
the image, the yellow light became almost pure white, so that 
the prismatic image was converted into an elongated image of 
white light. 

VOL. Ill. NO. U1. OCTOBER 1825. T 


290 Dr Brewster on some Affections of the Retina. 


If the slip of white paper, viewed indirectly with both eyes, 

is placed so near as to be seen double, the rays which proceed 
from it no longer fall on corresponding points of the retina. 
In this case, the two images do not vanish simultaneously ; but 
when the one begins to disappear, the other begins soon after 
it, so that they sometimes appear to be extinguished at the 
same time. 
In order to ascertain whether or not the accidental colour of 
‘an object seen indirectly would remain after the object itself 
had disappeared, I placed a rectangular piece of a red wafer 
upon a white ground, and having looked steadily at an object 
in its vicinity, the wafer disappeared, and though the acciden- 
tal colour showed itself just before the wafer had vanished, 
yet no trace of colour was visible afterwards. 

The insensibility of the retina to indirect impressions has a 
singular counterpart in its insensibility to the direct impres- 
sions of attenuated light. When the eye is steadily directed 
to objects illuminated by a feeble gleam of light, it is thrown 
into a condition nearly as painful as that which arises from an 
excess of splendour. A sort of remission takes place in the 
conveyance of the impressions along the nervous membrane ; 
the object actually disappears, and the eye is agitated by the 
recurrence of excitements which are too feeble for the perform- 
ance of its functions. If the eye had, under such a twilight, 
been making unavailing efforts to read, or to examine a minute 
object, the pain which it suffers would admit of an easy ex- 
planation; but, in the present case, it is the passive recipient 
of attenuated light, and the uneasiness which it experiences 
can arise only from the recurring failures in the retina to 
transmit its impressions to the optic nerve. 

The preceding facts respecting the affections of the retina, 
while they throw considerable light on the functions of that 
membrane, may serve to explain some of those pheriomena of 
the evanescence and reappearance of objects, and of the 
change of shape of inanimate objects, which have been ascrib- 
ed by the vulgar to supernatural causes, and by philoso- 
phers to the activity of the imagination. If in a dark night, 
for example, we unexpectedly obtain a glimpse of any object, 


Dr Brewster on some \Affections of the Relina. 291 


either in motion or at rest, we are vaturally anxious to ascer- 
tain what it is, and our curiosity calls forth all our powers of 
vision: This anxiety, however, serves only to baffle us in all 
our attempts. Excited only by a feeble illumination, the 
retina is not capable of affording a permanent vision of the 
object, and while we are straining our eyes to discover its na- 
ture, the object will entirely disappear, and will afterwards ap- 
pear and disappear alternately.* The same phenomenon may be 
observed in day light by the sportsman, when he endeavours 
to mark, upon the monotonous heath, the particular spot 
where moor-game has alighted. Availing himself of the 
slightest difference of tint in the adjacent heath, he keeps 
his eye steadily fixed upon it as he advances; but whenever 
the contrast of illumination is feeble, he invariably loses 
sight of his mark, and if the retina is capable of again taking 
it up, it is only to lose it again. 

Since the preceding paper was read, Mr Herschel and Mr 
South + have described a very curious fact, which has some 
analogy with the phenomena now described. 

» “© A-rather singular method,” they remark, “ of phizhastin 
a.view, and even a rough measure of the angles of stars; of 
the last. degree of faintness, has often been resorted to, viz. to 
direct the cye to another part of the feld.. In this way, a fait 
star, in the neighbourhood of a large one, will often become 
very conspicuous, so.as to bear a certain illumination, which 
will yet totally disappear, as if suddenly blotted, out, when 
the eye is turned full upon it, and so on, appearing and’ dis- 
appearing alternately, as often as you please. The. lateral 
portions of the retina, less fatigued by strong lights, and less 
exhausted by perpetual attention, are probably more sensible 


* An analogous, phenomenon, but arising from a quite different cause, 
must have often been observed by persons who are very long-sighted. In 
adark night; the pupil dilates to such a degree as to deprive the eye of 
its power of adjusting itself to moderate distances. (See this: Journal, 

-vol. i. p. 80.) Hence, if an object presents itself within that distance, 
the observer must see it with a degree of indistinctness which cannot fail 
to surprise him, especially as all distant objects, particularly those seen 
against the sky, will appear to him with their usual sharpness of outline. 

+ See the Phil. Trans. 1824, part iii, pe 15, and page 283 of this Number. 


292 Dr Brewster on some Affections of the Retina. 


to faint impressions than the central ones, which may serve to 
account for this phenomenon.” * : 
As it is with much diffidence that I venture to controvert 
any opinion entertained by Mr Herschel, I have been at some 
pains to investigate the subject experimentally. I was, at first, 
disposed to ascribe the evanescence of the faint star, solely to 
the same cause as the evanescence of faintly illuminated sur- 
faces, and the reappearance of the star by indirect vision, to 
the circumstance of the retina recovering its tone, by contem- 
plating another object sufficiently luminous for vision ; but 
this opinion was not well founded. 
If a given quantity of light, which is unable to afford 
a sustained impression when expanded over a surface, is con- 
centrated into a luminous point, it is still less fitted for 
the purposes of vision. It then acts upon the retina some- 
what in the same way as a sharp point does upon the skin. 
The luminous point will alternately vanish and reappear ; and 
if the retina is under the influence of a number of such points, 
it will be thrown into a state of painful agitation. The same 
effect is produced by a sharp line of light; the retina is, in 
this case, thrown into a state of undulation, so as to produce 
an infinite number of images parallel to the luminous line ; 
and when this line is a narrow aperture held near the eye, a 
sheet of paper, to which it is directed, will appear covered 
with an infinity of broken serpentine lines parallel to the aper- 
ture. When the eye is stedfastly fixed, for some time, up- 
on the parallel lines which are generally used to represent the 
sea in maps, the lines will all break into portions of serpen- 
tine lines, and red, yellow, green, and blue tints will appear in 
the interstices of them. 
- The evanescence of stars, therefore, of the last degree of 
faintness, must be ascribed, both to their deleterious action 
upon the retina as points of light, and to the insufficiency of 
their light to maintain a continued impression upon the retina. 


* If we recollect rightly, a similar fact, with regard to the satellites of 
Saturn, is recorded in a late number of the Ann. de Chimie, and a similar 
explanation given. It was, we think, noticed by some of the astronomers 
in the Royal Observatory of Paris; but we have not the Number at hand 
to refer to. 


Mr EF. Marcet on the Action of Poisons, &c. 293 


When the same star is seen by indirect vision, it reappears 
witha degree of brightness which it never assumes when seen 
directly by the eye. When the eye is adjusted to the distinet 
perception of an object placed in the axis of vision, an object 
placed out of the axis cannot be seen with the same distinct- 
ness, both from the pencils not being accurately converged 
upon the retina, and from the expansion of the image, which, as 
we have already described, accompanies indirect vision. A 
luminous point, therefore, seen indirectly, swells into a disk, 
and thus loses its sharpness, and acts upon a greater por- 
tion of the retina.* In order to determine whether this ex- 
pansion, and the image of the luminous point, was the cause 
of its superior visibility, I turned my eye full upon a lumi- 
nous point till it ceased to be visible, and then, re-adjusting 
my eye, so as to swell the point into a circular disk by direct 
vision, I invariably found that its visibility was instantly in- 
creased. If this explanation of the phenomenon be the cor- 
rect one, the practical astronomer may, with direct vision, ob- 
tain a clearer view of minute and faint stars, either by putting 
the telescope out of its focus, or by adjusting his eye to nearer 
objects. 


AueRiy, September 5th 1825. 


Arr. XVI.—On the Action of Poisons on the Vegetable King- 
dom. By Mr F. Magcet. 


Axruoucu the great work of M. Orfila contains a complete 
and precise history of poisons, and of their action on the animal 
economy, yet M. Marcet considered, that it would be desir- 
able to make some experiments of the same kind on plants, the 
tissue, and some of the organs of which, have such a striking 
analogy with those of animals. 

M. G. F. Jaeger, had previously published some interesting 


* The eye is not capable of observing correctly the colours of lumi- 
nous points seen indirectly. A blue luminous point, for example, appears 
nearly white. 

+ This interesting paper, is a translation and abstract of a Memoir, 
‘which will appear in tom. iii. part i. of the Mem. de la Svc. de Phys. et 
d Hist. Nat. de Geneve. It was read on the 16th December 1884. 


294. Mr F. Marcet on the Action of Poisons 


experiments on the action of arsenic upon vegetables ;* and 
Mr C. J. Th. Becker, whose work we have noticed in this 
Journal, vol. i. p. 376, performed some experiments on the ac- 
tion of prussic fluid upon plants; but these authors have 
scarcely, if at all, anticipated the curious results which are to 
be found in Mr Marcet’s Memoir. 


1. Metattic Potsons. 


_ The first series of Mr Marcet’s experiments was made with 
metallic poisons, such as arsenic, mercury, tin, copper, and 
lead, and he, in general, administered them to robust plants of 
the Phaseolus vulgaris, or French bean. 


ARSENIC. 


Exp. 1.—Two or three plants of the French bean were 
watered with a solution of six grains of oxide of arsenic in an 
ounce of water. By two ounces of the solution, the plants 
were completely withered at the end of twenty-four or thirty- 
six hours, the ‘leaves faded, and some of them had even be- 
come yellow : an appreciable quantity of arsenic was afterwards 
discovered in the leaves and stalk of the plant. 

Exp. 2.—A branch of a rose tree, with a flower at its ex- 
tremity, just beginning to blow, was introduced into a similar 
solution of arsenic, on the 31st March. On the Ist April, the 
exterior petals of the flower had become flabby, and of a 
colour slightly purple. Some of the petals were covered with 
deep purple spots, and the leaves had begun to fall. It had 
now absorbed ;',,dths of a grain of arsenic. 

- On the 3d April, the Ne were still more flabby, and 
much withered, their colour was of a deeper purple, and the 
external petals were covered with purple spots; the flower had 
lost.a portion of its smell, and the leaves were quite withered. 
‘The next day the branch was perfectly dead, the plant having 
absorbed altogether the fifth part of a grain of oxide of arsenic. 
The purple colour of the petals was found to vary in intensi- 
ty, as the primitive colour of the rose was more or less deep, 
or the rose itself more or less blown. 

_ Exp. 3.—On the 1st June, M. Marcet made a cut about an 


inch and a half long in a lilac tree, whose stalk was an inch in 
*» 
* Dissertatio Inauguralis de affectibus arsenici in varios organismos.” 


on the Vegetable Kingdom. 295 


diameter. The cut penetrated to the pith. Into the cut. he 
inserted fifteen or twenty grains of oxide of arsenic, diluted 
with some drops of water. The cut was then tied up with 
twigs of osier. On the Sth June, the leaves of the tree began 
to close, and to curl up at the extremity. On the 15th, the 
leaves were withered, and the branches had begun to dry. 
On the 28th, the branches were dry, and in the second week 
of July, the whole of the stem was quite dry, and the tree 
completely dead. Another lilac-tree, with a similar cut, but 
without poison, suffered no injury. This lilac had another 
trunk or stem, which joined it alittle above the ground. ‘This 
trunk also became dry, about fifteen days after the other, 
having presented the same appearances. 

When arsenic was introduced below the bark of another 
lilac, the principal branches of the tree nearest the wound 
were quite dry at the end of 15 days; but the leaves of the 
other branches did not fade till the ordinary period. 


MERCURY. 


Exp. 1.—On the 5th of May two or three French bean 
plants which grew in a pot were watered with about two oun- 
ces of water, holding in solution twelve grains of muriate of 
mercury. Next day the leaves drooped, and the stems were of 
a yellowish brown colour. The watering being continued on 
the 6th, the stalks were quite yellow on the 7th, and the 
leaves withered and dry. 

Exp. 2.—On the 3d April, a branch of a rose tree, with 
two or three rose-buds half developed, had its extremity in- 
troduced into a flask containing a solution of six grains of 
muriate of mercury in an ounce of water. On the 5th 
April, specks of a yellowish brown colour appeared along 
the ribs of the leaves; the external petals faded, but the flower 
notwithstanding seemed to be a little blown. Twenty-four 
grains of the liquid were absorbed. On the 6th, the streaks 
were larger, and of a deeper colour, and the leaves very un- 
healthy. On the 7th, the streaks covered the whole leaf, ex- 
cept the margin, and the branch was quite dry. The inter- 
nal petals were not withered, but seemed to have become of a 
deep colour. 


296 Mr F. Marcet on the Action of Poisons 


‘Exp. 3.—On the 10th May 1824, Mr Marcet introduced 
into a hole in the stem of a cherry tree, which penetrated in- 
to the pith, some drops of metallic mereury, and covered up 
the hole. On the 10th March 1825, the tree had suffered no 
injury, although it has been said that trees are killed by that 
process. 

TIN. 


On the 13th April, a rose tree branch with two or three 
buds, was introduced into a solution of muriate of tin, of the 
same strength as the preceding solution. On the 15th, brown 
streaks appeated along the ribs of the leaves, larger and of a 
deeper colour than those produced by muriate of mercury. 
On the 16th the branch was dead, and the leaves almost all 
yellow. 

Tin acted upon French beans exactly like the muriate of 
mercury. 

COPPER. 


In a solution of sulphate of copper, of the same strength as 
the preceding one, a French bean plant, taken from the 
ground, was immersed by its roots. The bean withered at 
the end of a day ; but it required several waterings, and more 
copper, to kill it completely. 


LEAD. 

A French bean was introduced by the root into a solution 
of acetate of lead, of the same strength as the preceding. The 
lower leaves withered at the end of two days, but it did not 
die till the end of the third. 

The same thing happened with the Murrate or BaryTes. 

Mr Marcet next tried the effects of sulphuric acid, potash, 
and sulphate of magnesia. 

French bean plants being introduced by the root into sud- 
phuric acid diluted with three times its weight of water, they 
began to droop at the end of a few hours, and, at the end of 
a day, they withered. 

The same effect was produced by the action of liquid pot- 
ash diluted with the same quantity of water. 

Plants of French beans were not, in the slightest degree, 1 in- 


on the Vegetable Kingdom. 297. 


jated by the same treatment, with a solution of sulphate ‘of 
magnesia, although Professor Carradori of Florence supposes 
that this earth exercises a poisonous action upon vegetables. 


IJ.—VEGETABLE Potsons. 


As most of the poisons from the vegetable kingdom destroy 
animal life by exercising a par ticular action on the nervous 
system, Mr Marcet was anxious to examine their action 
on vegetables. 


OPIUM. 


On the 10th May, at 9 A.M. a French bean plant was in- 
troduced by its root into a solution of five or six grains of 
opium im an ounce of water. In the evening, the leaves be- 
gan to droop. Next day, about noon, the plant was com- 
pletely dead, and the leaves withered, without change of co- 
lour. 

The aqueous extract of nightshade acted exactly like opi- 
um, but with more rapidity. 


NUX VOMICA. 


On the 9th May, at 9 A. M. a French bean plant was in- 
troduced into a solution of five grains of the aqueous extract 
of nux vomica in an ounce of water. At the end of an hour, 
the plant became unhealthy. At 10 o’clock the leaves had 
not changed colour until the small branches to which they 
were attached were bent, and, as it were, broken in the middle. 
In the evening the plant was dead. 

On the 15th July, Mr Marcet introduced fifteen grains of 
the above extract, diluted with water, into a cut 13 inch long, 
made in a lilac tree, about one inch in diameter, as far as the 
pith. 

On the 28th, the leaves of the two great branches of the 
tree near the cut had begun to dry. On the 3d April, the two 
branches were quite dry. The other branches dried in the 
course ‘of the autumn. 

Both opium and nux vomica produce death in animals, by 


298 Mr F. Marcet on the Action.of Minerals 


acting on the nervous system. The first, according to.M. 
Orfila, acts specially on the brain, and the nux vomica on the 
spinal marrow. 


v 


SEEDS OF THE COCULUS MENISPERMIs. 

A French bean plant. was introduced by the root into a 
vessel containing a solution of ten grains of the aqueous ex- 
tract of the seeds of the Coculus menispermis in two ounces of 
water. In a few seconds, the ends of two leaves nearest the 
stalk became slightly crisp, and the extremity of each curl- 
ed up on the upper surface of the leaf. 

After some hours, the leaves nearest the lower part of the 
stalk changed their position, so as to bend downwards from the 
top of the leaf stalk. The leaves grew stiff in this position, 
and remained so for some hours. At the end of a certain 
time they began to become flabby ; and at the end of twenty- 
four hours, the plant was quite dead, all the leaf stalks being 
bent in the middle, and all the leaves withered. 


PRUSSIC ACID. 

Exp. 1. On the 12th May, at 8» A.M. the root of a 
French bean plant was put into prussic acid. The leaves did 
not become crisp, as with some of the preceding poisons, but 
the leaf stalks began to bend at the middle, and the leaves to 
chang down at the end of two or three hours, as in the case of 
opium. At the end of twelve hours the plant was dead, and 
all the leaf stalks were as if they had been crushed and bent 
downwards by the middle. 

Exp. 2. One or two drops of concentrated prussic acid were 
poured on the extremity of a branch of the sensitive plant, 
(Mimosa pudicu) to which some leaves were attached. After 
some seconds all the leaves closed. It sometimes happened, 
however, that all the little leaflets of each leaf were not 
dead, but only those which were nearest the extremity of the 
branch on which the prussic acid had been poured. ‘The leaves 
opened again at the end of a quarter of an hour, but they had 
lost the greatest portion of their sensibility, which they did 
not recover till after some hours. 

When the prussic acid was held in a dish a little below the 


on the Vegetable Kingdom. 299 


leaves of the plant, some of the leaves shut after a few se- 
conds. Nay, even when the flask of prussic acid was held out 
open to a leaf, the leaflets closed almost instantly. In both these 
cases, the leaves subjected to experiment did not completely 
regain their primitive sensibility till the end of some hours. 
It appears also, that even the vapour of the prussic acid 
exerts an action on the leaves of the sensitive plant. 


+4 


DISTILLED LAUREL WATER. 


On the 8th May, at noon, the root of a French bean plant 
was introduced into laurel water. At the end of some se- 
conds some of the leaves became-crisp at their ends, bending 
back upon themselves, This state of crispness lasted about 
half an hour, at the end of which the leaves bent back again, 
and became quite flabby. In the evening the plant was en- 
tirely dead. In the repetition of the experiment several 
times, the crispness of the leaves varied according to circum- 
stances, and sometimes the plant died without any crispness 
taking place. 


BELLADONNA. 

On the 9th May, at 9" A.M. M. Marcet introduced the 
root of a French bean into a solution of five grains of the 
aqueous extract of belladonna in an ounce of water. He did 
not perceive any crispness in the ends-of the leaves; but after 
some minutes the two lower leaves attached to the stalk 
changed their position, bending downwards from the top of 
the leaf stalk. At 9" P.M. the leaves had reapproached to 
their natural state, but had become a little flabby. Next 
morning they resumed their bent down position. In this state 
they remained twenty-four hours, when the upper leaves had 
begun to droop. On the 11th, the inferior leaves, which had 
also changed their position, had begun to become yellow. 
This yellowness began at the extremities, and gradually ex- 
tended itself over the greater part of the leaves. On the 18th 
the plant was entirely dead. 

The belladonna appears to kill plants more slowly than 
other vegetable poisons ; but it does not act upon them the 
Jess distinctly, and often produces very singular effects. This 


300 Mr F. Marcet on the Action of Poisons 


poison, according to Orfila, exerts on animals a local action 
by no means violent, but it is absorbed and carried into the 
circulation, and occasions death, by acting on the nervous 
system, and principally on the brain. ; 


ALCOHOL, 

The root of a French bean was introduced into alcohol, di- 
luted with an equal volume of water. At the end of twelve 
hours it died, and the bean was withered and flabby. 

When the fluid used was half an ounce of alcohol, having 
in solution three grains of camphor, the plant died at the 
end of twelve hours, and in addition to the withering of the 
leaves, the leaf stalks had the appearance of being broken 
‘through the middle, as in the case of the nux vomica. 


OXALIC ACID. 


Exp. 1. On the 12th April, at 10%, a branch of a rose 
tree, having a flower at its extremity, was detached from the 
tree, and put into a solution of five grains of oxalic acid in 
an ounce of water. Next day the colour of the external pe- 
tals had become deeper, and the leaves had begun to fade. On 
the 14th, the leaves and the stalk of the branch were com- 
pletely dry, and the petals of the flower quite faded. During 
the forty-eight hours, only the tenth of a grain of pure oxalic 
acid had been absorbed. 

This poison, when administered to animals in large quanti- 
ties, acts like the mineral acids, by destroying the tissue of 
the stomach. It kills, however, very quickly when it is ad- 
ministered in small quantities, and it then appears to act 
powerfully on the nervous system. 

Exp. 2. The root of a French bean was put into a similar 
solution of oxalic acid, and at the end of twenty-four hours it 
was dead. 


HEMLOCK. 


On the 14th May, the root of a French bean plant was put 
into a solution of five grains of the aqueous extract of hemlock 
in an ounce of water. At the end of some minutes a crispness 
was observed in two of the lower leaves. Next day these two 


on the Vegetable Kingdom. 301 


leaves had begun to grow yellow at the ends, the superior 
leaves not being dead. On the 16th May, almost all the sur- 
face of the two lower leaves had become yellow, and the 
leaves were quite dry. The upper leaves were all withered, 
but without any change of colour. 


PURPLE DIGITALIS. 


“On the 10th May, at 9" A. M. the root of a French bean 
was introduced into a solution of six grains of this substance 
in an ounce of water. At the end of a few seconds there was 
a slight crispness at the end of some of the leaves. In 
the evening the ends of the leaves were withered, and in 
twenty-four hours more the plant was quite dead. 

The two last poisons, when administered to animals, de- 
stroy life by acting on the nervous system. 


From these experiments it seems to be satisfactorily de- 
monstrated. 

1. That the metallic poisons act on vegetables nearly in the 
same manner as they act on animals. They appear to be ab- 
sorbed and carried into the different parts of the plant, and 
alter and destroy the tissue of it by their corrosive power. 

2. That vegetable poisons, and particularly those which are 
demonstrated to destroy animals by their action on the ner- 
vous system, produce also the death of plants. But as we 
can scarcely conceive that poisons, which do not in any way 
attack the organic tissue of animals, could alter that of vege- 
tables in such a degree as to kill them at the end of a few 
hours, it appears to me very probable that there exists in 
vegetables a system of organs which is affected by certain 
vegetable poisons nearly in the same manner as the nervous 
system. 


Mr Marcet concludes his very interesting memoir, by an 
account of some experiments on the action of different gases 
on the roots of vegetables. Carbonic acid gas was found to 
exert a more deleterious action than hydrogen, and the action 
of azote was much more rapid than any of the gases which he 
tried, The nitrous oxide acted a little more rapidly than 
hydrogen. 


302 Mr Haidinger on Two Newly determined Species 

Arr. XVII.—On Two Newly determined Species of the Genus 
Gypsum-haloide of the System of Mohs. | By Wiittam 
Hatpincer, Esq. F. R.S.E. Communicated by the Author, 


L Hemi-prismatic Gypsum-haloide. 


ie . . .. 
Form, hemiprismatic. Fundamental form, a scalene four- 


sided pyramid. P= {its aolis 129° 21’, 97° 8, _ Inclina- 


tion of the axis = 24° 56’, in the plane of the short is ea 
Plate VII, Fig. 1. 
ab .¢e rd =9.15'. 2.94 2 h49% 1. 


Simple forms. 5 (1) = 189° 17; P + 0 (f)=117° 24: 
— Po (n)= 141° 8; (P+)? (g) = 157° 5! 5, Pret (0) 
= = 95°14; Pr+ 0 (P). ; i al 

0 igi") 

Combinations. 1." —73" P+. Pr + w,,,. Fig, ® 
2. PLP pi wo. (PEO) Prae Fig. 3! 

The crystals are lengthened in the direction of the edges 
of combination between o, 7, and P, and attached at one of 
the ‘extremities, in most cases several together, so as to form 
stellated or divergent groups. On the disengaged termina- 
tion of the crystals, one of the faces of f is enlarged, so as 
generally to make the other entirely disappear. ‘The Cnpeee 
ance of Fig. 4 is then produced: 

Cleavage, parallel to Pr+o@ 7 highly perfect and easily ob: 


tained; traces in the direction of . — 5 = 54° 55/5 and Pr ai 2 5 
very faint, fracture uneven. 
Surface, the prisms parallel. to the: axis streaked in. the 


direction of that line; Pr parallel to its intersections with 


Ze. The faces of —"3- and. —*5- are deeply _ picake 
parallel to their common ada of: combination. 

Lustre vitreous. Pr + oc slightly inclining to pearly, 
both upon faces of cleavage, and of ceystalteatione 

Colour white, inclining to yellowish. Streak white. Trans- 
parent or translucent. Index of refraction nearly 1.6, mea- 
sured through / and P ; no separation of images. ~ : oak 


a 


Edin? ic be Sa pe 
tn? Journal of Sélemce Vobilip. 302 wai 
= 


of the Genus Gypsum-haloide. 303 


Sectile. Thin laminae are flexible in a direction nearly 
perpendicular to the edges between 0, n, and P. 

Hardness = 2.0...2.5, nearer the latter. The perfect 
faces of cleavage are even below 2.0, since they may be scratch- 
ed by rock-salt, particularly when applied in a direction cor- 
responding to the elongation of the crystals. Sp. Gr. = 2.730, 
in a number of detached crystals. 


2. Diatomous Gypsum-haloide. . 
Form prismatic. Fundamental form, a scalene four- 
sided pyramid. P— 133° 35’, 123° 59’, 75° 35’ Fig. 5, 
O2p 6, bf £08: ,/ 28S, 
Simple forms. (Pr.+1) *(m) = 137°41, 61° 27’, 137° 35’; 
5 
(P41) — 126° 46’, 59° 32, 121° 37. P+ (c)=100° 0"; 
Pr — 126° 58’; Pr4a(d); Pr—l (g) = 146° 53’; Pr+1 
(h) = 80° 8’; Pr+2 (i) = 45° 36’; Pr+n(f). 
Combinations. 1. Pr—1. Pr. Pr+l. P+o. Pr rol 
Pr+a ° Fig. 6. } 


2. Pr—I. Pr. Br41 (P41)! Pr+2. (Pr+1). Poo. 
Prt+o. Prto. Fig. 7. 
Cleavage, highly perfect, and easily obtained in the dirce- 


S i>] i] 
tion of Pr+a. Surface, Pr. smooth, Pr. ¢ smooth, or faintly 
streaked in a longitudinal direction. The measurement of 


the terminal edge of Pr is on that account much more ac- 
curate than that of P+, the faces of which are rather irre- 
gularly streaked parallel to the axes of the crystals. The ho- 
rizontal prisms, belonging to the short diagonal, are almost 
all rough, particularly Pr—1, which is at the same time 
slightly rounded. The pyramids are rounded, though 
smooth. 

‘Lustre vitreous. Colour white. Streak white. Trans- 
parent, in small crystals, tranluscent. Double refraction ob- 
servable through ¢, and the opposite face of f, making an 
angle of 40°. The two indices of refraction are about 1.62 
and 1.67. The less refracted image disappears, when the 
axis of the tourmaline is perpendicular to the edge of the re- 
fracting prism. 


of the Genus Gypsum-haloide. 303 


Sectile. Thin laminae are flexible in a direction nearly 
perpendicular to the edges between 0, v, and P. 

Hardness = 2.0...2.5, nearer the latter. The perfect 
faces of cleavage are even below 2.0, since they may be scratch- 
ed by rock-salt, particularly when applied in a direction cor- 
responding to the elongation of the crystals. Sp. Gr. = 2.730, 
in a number of detached crystals. 


2. Diatomous Gypsum-haloide. t 

Form prismatic. | Fundamental form, a scalene four- 
sided pyramid. P— 133° 35’, 123° 59’, 75° 35’ Fig. 5. 

Geo bf 4 Sf OBS, 

Simple forms. (Pr.+1) *(m) = 13741, 61° 27’, 137° 35’; 
(P41) —126° 46’, 59° 32’, 121° 37. P+ (c)=100° 0’; 
Pr — 126° 58’; Pr4a(d); Pr—l (¢) = 146° 53’; Pr4J 
(h) = 80° 8’; Pr+2 (i) = 45° 36’; Pr+(f). 

Combinations. 1. Pr—1. Pr. Pr+1. P4o. Pro. 


Pr+o. Fig. 6. / 2 


2. Pr—l. Pr. Br4i (P41)! Pr42. (Pr+1), Pro. 
Prtco. Prto. Fig. 7. 
Cleavage, highly perfect, and easily obtained in the direc- 


Co o : 
tion of Pr+o. Surface, Pr. smooth, Pr. c smooth, or faintly 
streaked in a longitudinal direction. ‘The measurement of 


the terminal edge of Pr is on that account much more ac- 
curate than that of P+, the faces of which are rather irre- 
gularly streaked parallel to the axes of the crystals. The ho- 
rizontal prisms, belonging to the short diagonal, are almost 
all rough, particularly Pr—1, which is at the same time 
slightly rounded. The pyramids are rounded, though 
smooth. 

Lustre vitreous. Colour white. Streak white. Trans- 
parent, in small crystals, tranluscent. Double refraction ob- 
servable through ¢, and the opposite face of £ making an 
angle of 40°. The two indices of refraction are about 1.62 
and 1.67. The less refracted image disappears, when the 
axis of the tourmaline is perpendicular to the edge of the re- 
fracting prism, 


304 Mr Haidinger on Two Newly determined Species 


- Sectile. Thin laming, slightly flexible. ° ae 

~ Hardness = 2.0... 2.5, exactly the same as in the hemis- 
prismatic; here also the face of perfect cleavage admits of 
being scratched by rock-salt. The two species scratch each 
other mutually, Sp. Gr. —2.848, of several fragments of 
crystalline coats. 


Observations. 

A specimen, containing both the species described above, 
forms one among the numerous interesting objects which the 
mineralogist admires in the cabinet of Mr Ferguson of Raith. 
It was there placed with gypsum, to which, in fact, it is very 
nearly allied in regard to form and general appearance, and 
described in the following manner on a ticket accompanying 
it:—** Selenite X en prismes tetraedres tronqués en biseau, 
et en hexaedres, dont ni les faces ni les troncatures son pro- 
noncées distinctement (quelques uns des x x son deja decom- 
posés et changés en platre) sur du quarz x, qui pose sur 
une croute tres mince ondulée brune de calcedoinne, celle 
ci sur une autre d’argil verte, celle si sur une autre de bary- 
te rouge, dans le centre de laquelle se trouve un fragment 
de petrosilex gris, de ———.” As there is no locality given, 
I am the more particular in quoting the exact orthography 
of the ticket, as it may perhaps be of use in enabling some 
mineralogist, who happens to be acquainted with that kind of 
descriptions, to trace the specimen to its original source. The 
description itself will, however, require some farther comment. 

The crystals of ‘ selenite” are those of the hemiprismatic 
gypsum haloide, the first of the two species described above, 
some of which are nearly half an inch long, and a line in 
thickness It is very likely not an entirely new species, but 
a variety of pharmacolite, now observed for the first time in 
crystals large enough both to admit of measurement, and to 
allow the characters derived from hardness and specific gra- 
vity to be ascertained to a considerable degree of exactness. 
The pharmacolite itself cannot be called a species which we 
know, since the whole of our information respecting its na- 
tural-historical properties is confined to its occurring in 
exceedingly delicate white capillary crystals, aggregated in 

l 


of the Genus Gypsum-haloide. 305 


globules, the specific gravity of which is = 2.64.* The lower 
specific gravity might perhaps be accounted for by the delicacy 
of the crystalline groups employed. In other respects, the 
opinion that the variety described above, and the acicular 
globules. of pharmacolite, belong to the same species, is ground- 
ed solely on the analogy of fakin betes existing between the 
former with crystals of gypsum, and between the latter and 
the radiated groups so frequently observed in the same spe- 
cies. That they both contain arsenic acid should not enter at 
all into this comparison, as long as the species are not perfect- 
ly established, though it was an experiment, proving this 
substance to form one of the constituents of the hemi-prisma- 
tic crystals, which suggested to me the propriety of comparing 
them with the pharmacolite. However slight, therefore, the 
reasons may be in themselves for uniting the two substances, 
they are sufficiently strong to prevent us from establishing them 
both as distinct species, as long as we are so much in want of 
accurate information with respect to one of the varieties. 

The decomposed crystals, said to be “ selenite already changed 
into plaster,” do not, in fact, belong to, nor are they derivable 
from the preceding species. They are white, opaque, and dull, 
and cannot bear the slightest touch without crumbling into 
pieces, like laumonite. From what I could collect in obsery- 
ing several crystals, most of them half fractured, their form 
belongs to the prismatic system, and nearly resembles Fig. 8.. 
These also give a sublimate of arsenic, when mixed with 
charcoal, and exposed in a glass tube to the heat of the spirit- 
lamp. It is probable that, previous to their decomposition by 
the loss of water, they have belonged to a distinct species, 
which it would be very interesting to discover in nature. 

The “ guarz” is nothing else but the second one of the 
two species described in the beginning of this paper, the dia- 
tomous gypsura-haloide. It forms crystalline coats, of anear- 


* Klaproth’s Essays, Transl. vol. ii. p. 220. Klaproth says, “ Its spe- 
cific gravity, in the botryoidally aggregated crystals, I found to be =2.640. 
Mr Selb, who probably weighed for the same purpose single or detached’ 
crystals, states’ its specific gravity only at 2.536.” | Hence we: may infer, 
that the pharmacolite from Wittichen, the variety analyzed ‘by aula 
sometimes occurs in crystals. 

VOL.III, No. 11. ocTOBER 1825. U 


306 =Dr Turner on the Composition of the Minerals 


ly botryoidal disposition, and its crystals are very small, but 
possess a higher degree of lustre than the larger ones of the 
hemi-prismatic species. The stratum immediately below it, 
(mentioned as calcedony,) is a kind of the ironsinter of Wer- 
ner; it is very thin, and covers a rose-red variety of the 
macrotypous lime-haloide of Mohs, which resembles very much 
the red manganese, from the mine Krieg and Frieden near 
Freiberg. It is less compact, and full of fissures lined with 
a greenish substance, where it approaches to the covering of 
the brown ironsinter. A small fragment of the rock, a rather 
. compact claystone, containing some quartz, and called “ petro- 
silex” in the ticket, is attached to the brown-spar. 

If we reflect on the remarkable degree of resemblance pre- 
vailing among the two species, and those contained in the 
genus gypsum-haloide of the system of Mohs, we cannot he- 
sitate a single moment, to refer them likewise to that genus, 
whatever may be the kind or manner of combination of their 
constituent parts. Nay, the determinations of natural history 
appear more independent, and deserving of greater attention, 
by seeming to be at variance on certain points with the results 
of other sciences, though we may always look forward with 
perfect security, that the laws will ultimately be discovered, 
according to which each apparent discrepancy may be ex- 
plained. 


Art. XVIII.—On the Composition of the Minerals described 
in the preceding Paper. By Epnwarpv Turner, M.D. 
F.R. S. E., &c. Lecturer on Chemistry, and Fellow of the 
Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh. Communicated 
by the Author. 


Berne obliged, in the execution of the following analyses, to 
operate on very small quantities of each substance, and as 
in such cases a slight error has an important influence on the 
result, I cannot presume to publish them as absolutely exact. 
They may be regarded, however, as good approximations, and 
will be found, if I’mistake not, to give a satisfactory view of 
the composition of the two minerals described by Mr Haidin.- 
ger in the preceding paper. 


described in the preceding Paper. 307 


‘They are both arseniates of lime, and contain water of 
erystallization. The water quickly comes into view when 
they are exposed, in « clean glass tube, to the flame of a spi- 
rit-lamp ; but a red heat is requisite to expel the last portions 
of it. ‘The water, as it condensed on the cold parts of the 
glass, was carefully tested, but it did not affect the most deli- 
cate litmus-paper in the slightest degree. The arseniates, in 
losing their water of crystallization, become opaque and white, 
but can afterwards bear an intense heat without further 
change, requiring the strongest temperature which can be 
given with the common blow-pipe for fusion. From this 
cause, it is difficult to decompose them on charcoal; but when 
intimately mixed with charcoal powder, and heated in a glass 
tube, a distinct layer of metallic arsenic is readily procured. 

When reduced to powder, and boiled in distilled water for 
one or two hours, a small quantity is taken up, though the 
greater part remains undissolved. The solution gives a brick-red 
precipitate with nitrate of silver, and a white one with nitrate of 
lead and oxalate of ammonia. Nitric acid, whether strong or 
diluted, dissolves them readily without effervescence, and the 
salts.of silver, lead, and oxalic acid, occasion the same preci- 
pitates as just mentioned, when the excess of acid is neutralized 
to a sufficient degree. They contain nothing but water, lime, 
and arsenic acid; the absence of magnesia and phosphoric 
acid, in particular, having been proved by careful examination. 


Analysis of the First Species. 

3.455 grains were heated to redness in a green glass tube, 
and lost 0.72 grains, or 20.839 per cent. of water. 

2.175 grains were treated in like manner, and lost 0.46 
gr. or 21.149 per cent. of water. The mean is 20.994. 

6.18 grains of the anhydrous mineral were dissolved in wa- 
ter by aid of the smallest possible quantity of pure nitric acid. 
Nitrate of lead in slight excess was added, and the whole 
brought, by a gentle heat, to perfect dryness. The soluble 
parts were taken up by water, and the precipitate collected on — 
a filtre. The arseniate of lead, after being ignited, weighed 
11.32 grains, equivalent to 4.033 grains, or 65.259 per cent. 
of arsenic acid. 

The excess of lead, in the solution, after the separation of 


308 Dr Turner on the Composition of the Minerals 


arseniate of lead, was removed by sulphuretted hydrogen ; 
and the lime, after neutralizing exactly, was separated by 
oxalate of ammonia. The oxalate of lime was exposed to a 
white heat, and 1.885 grains, or 29.466 per cent. of pure 
lime, were thus procured. 

The crystallized mineral is accordingly composed of 


Arseniate of lime - 79.01 
Water + - 20.99 
And the anhydrous of 
Arsenic acid - 4.033 65.259 
Lime - - 1.885« 29.466 
5.928 94.725 


There has been considerable loss in this analysis, and_there- 
fore it cannot be relied on for showing the actual composition 
of the mineral itself. It will be obvious, however, in com- 
paring the results of this and the next analysis together, that 
the arsenic acid and lime are in both minerals united in the 
same proportion. 


Analysis of the Second Species. 


The analysis was conducted as the preceding. In one ex- 
periment, 2.495 grains lost from ignition 0.405 grains, or 
13.965 per cent. of water. In another, 0.995 gr. lost 
0.145 grains, or 14.673 per cent. The mean is 14.319. 

From 3.29 grains of the anhydrous mineral, I obtained 
6.26 grains of ignited arseniate of lead; equivalent to 2.23 
grains, or 67.781 per cent. of arsenic acid. 

The lime weighed 1.09 grains, which is 34.349 per cent. 

The crystallized mineral is hence composed of 


Arseniate of Lime - 85.681 
Water - - ~ 14.319 
100.000 
And the anhydrous of 
Arsenic acid - 2:35 67.78 
Lime - - - 1.09 33.13 
3.32 100.91 


The data upon which these calculations were founded are 
those of Dr Thomson. Arseniate of lead-is supposed to be a 


described in the preceding Paper. 305 


compound of 112 oxide of lead and 62 arsenic acid ; and ar- 
seniate of lime, of 28 lime and 62 acid. 

Making a fair allowance for the minute quantities operated 
on, we must infer that the subject of each analysis is composed 
of the same ingredients, united, with respect to the acid and 
lime, in the same proportion. If we suppose that this arseni- 
ate, which forms the basis of both minerals, contains an atom 
of each constituent, it will be composed of 


Arsenic acid, 62 68.89 
Lime, - 28 31.11 


If we regard Mr Haidinger’s second species,—the diato- 
mous gypsum-haloide, as composed of two atoms of water, 
with one of the arseniate of lime; and the hemiprismatic of 
three atoms of water to one of the salt, they will be composed 


of— 


Diatomous. Hemiprismatic. 
Arseniate of lime, 90 83.34 90 76.92 
Waéter, - 18 16.66 27 23.08 


It is probable that Klaproth’s pharmacolite from Wittichen, 
as also that from Andreasberg, analysed by John, is identical 
in composition with the hemiprismatic gypsum-haloide of Mr 
Haidinger. ‘The analyses are, 


Klaproth. John. 

Arsenic acid, 50.54 45.68 
Lime, - 25.00 27.28 
Water, c 24.46 23.86 
100.00 96.82 


Mr Haidinger has pronounced, from mineralogical consi- 
derations, that the decomposed substance, found on the same 
specimen with the two preceding minerals, did not arise from 
the decomposition of either of them. The accuracy of this 
observation is confirmed by analysis. The first point of dif- 
ference is, that it contains, even in its effloresced state, consi- 
derably more water than either of the other species. For in 
one experiment, 1.445 grains of it lost from ignition 0.43 gr. 
or 29.065 per cent. of water ; and in a second, 1.60 grains 
lost 0.545 gr. or 34.062 per cent. of water. 


310 M. Nordenskiold on Zine Orcs 


But its chemical composition, besides, is different, since it 
is an arseniate of lime and magnesia. I possessed too small a 
quantity for determining the relative quantities of the lime and 
magnesia to my own satisfaction, but the arsenic acid amounts 
to 74.43 percent. In containing magnesia, it is analogous to 
the picropharmacolite from Riegelsdorf in Hessia, analyzed 
by Professor Stromeyer ; but obviously differs from it, first, 
in containing no oxide of cobalt; and, secondly, in the pro- 
portion of its constituents. E 


Art. XIX.—On the Chemical Characters of Zine Ores, ex- 
amined in the manner of Berzelius, by means of the Blow- 
Pipe. By M. Nits Norpeysxtorp of Abo. 


Dear Str, 19 CHARLOTTE Square. 

I sec tosend you a copy of some memoranda of M. Nordenskiold’s, relat- 
ing to the chemical properties of some of the Zinc ores he found in my 
Cabinet. As these minerals are not very well known, they may be useful 
to your readers, as pointing out very simple means of discriminating sub- 
stances which bear a strong analogy to each other. 

Yours sincerely, 
To Dr Brewster. T. ALLAN- 


Tue mineral from Aachen contains two different substances, 
viz. the CarsonaTE oF Zinc, and the S1r1tcro-CarBoNATE 
oF ZINc. 

The former presents the metastatique crystal of a pale yel- 
low colour. In a matrass it gives off easily carbonic acid, 
without any trace of water; the crystals preserve their form 
after being heated, they do not fuse; and produce in a strong 
heat an intense light of a yellowish white tint. 

With salt of phosphorus it unites with ease, turns opaque 
in cooling, and leaves a white ring of oxide of zinc on the 
charcoal round the globule. If the quantity of the mineral 
be small in proportion to the salt, it will be clear even in 
cooling, and none of the fumes of zinc can be driven from 
the globule, even by a strong heat. 

With borawv it readily unites; the glass takes a great 
quantity of the mineral to render it opaque in cooling. Soda 
produces scarcely any effect upon the mineral, if exhibited in 


examined by the Blow-Pipe. 311 


amass. ‘The soda sinks into the charcoal without the oxide 
of zine being condensed on its surface. With cobalt solution 
a greenish colour is produced. 

The Srziceo-CarponaTE or Zinc, from Aachen, is erys- 
tallized. Alone, in a matrass, it affords nitre and carbonic 
acid, and falls to pieces without fusing. 

With salt of phosphorus it decomposes with difficulty. A 
skeleton of silica is distinctly seen before the glass is cold; it 
turns opaque in cooling, and deposits a ring of zinc fumes. 
With orax it comports itself like the carbonate; with soda, a 
half melted scoria is produced, along with a great quantity of 
zinc fumes; with solution of cobalt, it produces a blueish 
colour on the edges. 

Sruiceo-CarBoNateE oF Zinc, Derbyshire. This mineral 
occurs in clear prismatic crystals. Alone, in a matrass, it de- 
crepitates, gives off carbonic acid, and but a very minute por- 
tion of water. In a strong heat it melts only on the edges. 
With salt of phosphorus it melts with facility ; the glass does 
not become opaque, in combination with so small a quantity as 
the former. No skeleton of silica is to be seen. 

Curreous SinicaTE oF Zinc, Siberia. This is a combi- 
nation of two minerals. 'The specimen consists of two distinct 
layers; the upper one is colourless, and comports itself like the 
siliceo-carbonate of Aachen. The under layer exposed to heat in 
the matrass, affords nitre and carbonic acid. On charcoal it 
turns black, and melts slightly on the edges, and communi- 
cates a green tint to the flame; with salt of phosphorus it 
gives a glass which exhibits the colour of copper. “A small 
metallic globule, generates on the side of the array, which, as 
the glass cools, spreads itself over the surface, and gives it 
a white metallic lustre. 

Sizicko-Carzonatr of Zinc anv Iron, Siberia.—'This 
mineral turns black in the matrass, falls to pieces, yields car- 
bonic acid and a little water, and becomes magnetic ; with 
salt of phosphorus, it decomposes easily, leaves a skeleton of 
silica, and tinges the glass the colour of iron ; is opaque on 
cooling, and leaves a white ring of zine fumes; with boraw. 
produces a glass coloured with iron ; with soda, a brownish 
half melted scoria. Chis mineral has been improperly named 
a silicate of zinc. 


312 Rev. Mr Macvicar on a Meteorological Phenomenon 


Sixtcate or Zinc, Bohemia.—This mineral is crystallized. 
Alone in the matrass, it turns opaque, and thickens in the di- 
rection of the cleavage ; gives no trace of carbonic acid, but a 
slight trace of water with salt of phospiorus ; decomposes 
with difficulty, and leaves a skeleton of silica full of bubbles ; 
with doraw and soda, it comports itself in the same manner as - 
the siliceo-carbonate; with solution of cobalt, it affords a 
greenish blue colour. This is consequently a true silicate of 
zine with a little water of crystallization. 


Arr. XX.—Account of a Meteorological Phenomenon, which 
was observed at the Summit of Ben-Nevis on the 27th June 
last.* By the Rev. Joun Macvicar, Dundee. In a letter 
to Dr Brewster. 


Dear Sir, 
In consequence of the suggestion of ee ELS Hooker, I 
send you an account, as circumstantial as my notes and re- 
collection admit, of a meteorological phenomenon, which 
was observed at the summit of Ben-Nevis on the 27th June 
last. 

The weather, for some days previous, was extremely rainy 
and disagreeable ; for the temperature was low, and the rain 
was accompanied with a fog and a fresh breeze of wind. On 
Saturday morning, however, the rain ceased, and the clouds 
hung in the atmosphere in the form of immense cumuli and 
cumulostrati. The nimbus also was seen in various quarters, 
and before mid-day, the district of Ben-Nevis was visited by 
one of these clouds, which poured rain almost without inter- 
ruption, during the greater part of the day. About 2000 
feet of the altitude of the mountain were immersed in the 
cloud ; and from the observations of those who ascended to 
the summit, it appears that this was not much less than its 
general thickness, for they frequently saw its upper surface. 
On Sunday, the weather improved ; and, on the morning of 
Monday the 27th, it was still better, though it was not yet 


* Phenomena, bearing some analog gy to the very interesting one de- 
scribed in shis paper, will be found in the Edinburgh Eneyclopedia, Art. 


Evecrricity, vol. viii. p. 491.—Ep. 


observed at the Summit of Ben-Nevis. 313 


changed. As the morning advanced, however, the sky be- 
came more overcast, and about ten o’clock a shower came on, 
and rain continued to fall suddenly, and with much interrup- 
tion, during all the forenoon. The wind was constantly vary- 
ing, and had a different direction in every glen, but the pre- 
vailing course was from the south-east. The temperature was 
low, so that the people about Fort-William thought that it 
was very cold. 

On the summit of Ben-Nevis, about mid-day, the thermo- 
meter, with wet bulb, stood at 36°.5° Fahr. in the cloud, The 
temperature soon after rose to v9’, and the cloud in which we 
stood was partly evaporated, partly borne away, leaving a 
view of the sublime scenery by which we were surrounded. 
The dense clouds on every side hung down like curtains 
around the panorama, and their under margins were so definite, 
and the atmosphere otherwise so clear, that one felt disposed 
to stoop down as if to see farther into the distant landscape, 
which was illuminated by the sunshine. The altitude of this 
magnificent accumulation of vapour, was between 3000 and 
4000 feet above the level of the sea. But it was far from 
uniform, at least the profile of its under surface was alternate- 
ly elevated and depressed, so that at one time we saw beneath 
it the mountains of Perthshire and the Hebrides; and, in a 
few minutes after, our view was confined to the valleys sur- 
rounding Ben-Nevis. Soon after mid-day, the weather be- 
came more unsettled. Sometimes a cloud rose suddenly on 
the face of the mountain, and rolled down the valley. Some- 
times one came from the neighbouring summit of Corry- 
Rignson, as if urged by a violent wind; and at other times 
the condensed vapour ascended rapidly in immense volumes 
from the centre of the valley below, and was aptly compared 
by one of the party to the smoke from a town on fire. The 
magnificence and variety of these clouds amply compensated 
for the loss of the terrestrial scenery. 

The summit of Ben-Nevis, for a considerable extent, was 
covered with snow. Not only was there a ravine in the im- 
mense precipice on the north side of that mountain, contain- 
ing an upfilling of snow almost entitled to the name of a 
glacier, and several beds of great depth lying fully exposed 


3)4 Rev. Mr Maeviear on a Meteorological Phenomenon 


to the sun, but there was a general covering of about three 
inches depth, which had fallen since the same party was there 
two days before. This was easy to be conceived, for about 
one o'clock, the temperature fell to 33°.5, a fresh breeze having 
arisen from the south-east, bringing a nimbus along with it. 
When the storm reached us, it proved to be snow, which con- 
tinued to fall very heavily for about two hours. Soon after 
it began, our attention was attracted by a very singular noise, 
which was heard every where around us. It exactly re- 
sembled the hissing sound which proceeds from a point on an 
excited prime conductor, or a strongly-charged Leyden phial 
of an electrical apparatus, indicating the emission of a pencil 
of electric light, which, had the daylight not overpowered it, 
should certainly have been visible. ‘This sound was always 
loud, and more or less distinct for about an hour and a half. 
It seemed to proceed from every point near us. But amidst 
the general hissing, f was convinced that I could specify the 
summit of my umbrella and several points of the rocks from 
which I heard it issuing. On removing to the cairn on the 
highest pot of the mountain, the phenomenon became re- 
markably manifest, and we could almost determine the stones 
from which the pencils were proceeding. 

Though this sound of the electric fluid is so completely 
sui generis, as scarcely to be confounded with any thing else, 
an accident now occurred, which afforded another evidence of 
the nature of the action which occasioned it, when we were 
seeking for none. One of the party having fallen behind the 
rest, In examining some parts of the mountain, came up to 
the others while they were wondering at the sound, and try- 
ing to find shelter from the storm beside the cairn ; and were 
it not, that complacency and fortitude are unalterably express- 
ed in his countenance, we should certainly have concluded, 
either that he had seen “ the angry spirit of the storm,” or 
something else very terrific; for, as is always stated of per- 
sons having witnessed such sights, “ steterunt come,”—the 
hair of his head stood on end—not indeed all his hair, but 
those locks only which enjoyed something of their natural 
freedom to move, having withstood the pelting action of the 
snow and rain several hours. For botanists, contrary to the 


observed at the Summit of Ben-Nevis. 315 


practice of the vulgar, sometimes find it more convenient to 
wear their caps in their pockets. Several other gentlemen, 
then, by uncovering their heads, gave their hair an opportu- 
nity of exhibiting the beautiful phenomena of electrical attrac- 
tion and repulsion. 

As to the state of the electricity of the mountain, with re- 
ference to that of the cloud, nothing can be inferred from 
these motions of the hair ; but the hissing noise seems to in- 
dicate that it was positive,—that the electric fluid was stream- 
ing from the mountain in pencils characteristic of electricity in 
that state. 

Experiments would lead us to infer,* that when vapour 
ascends into the atmosphere, it induces a negative state on 
the surface of the ground, and theory would lead us to ex- 
pect that the clouds in general are positive with respect to the 
surface of the earth beneath them. But observation must 
decide which of the two states prevails. Not only does the 
phenomenon alluded to countenance the opinion that in this 
instance the earth was positive, but we afterwards learned 
that about the same time there had been a thunder storm at 
Inverary, in the direction of which we heard two peals of 
thunder, and that there the lightning was seen to ascend. 
Of the possibility of observing the direction of lightning, at 
least in certain cases, I think there can be no doubt. An 
electrical discharge through a very long circuit of conductors, 
is indeed simultaneous ; but when it has to pass through a 
long column of dense air, I think a good eye, uninfluenced by 
any theory, may be able to say, whether it was ascending or 
descending, particularly if the mass of electric fluid was not 
very great. This I had an opportunity of observing last 
summer, during a lightning storm in Paris, when the ascent 
of the electric fluid from several spires, and particularly from 
the dome of St Genevieve, was not less distinct, than the 
form of the beautiful coruscations which’ flashed in the shape 
of pencils from the conductors of the Thuilleries. A flame of 
sheet-lightning, too, often condensed into a flash of forked 


* Davy’s Chem. Phil. p. 138. 


316 Mr Haidinger’s Description of Edingtonite, 


lightning, the course of which through the air, could be dis- 
tinctly traced. . 

The thunder storm of the 27th June, came from the south- 
east, and seems to have had a very wide range. Fortunately 
its force was nearly spent before it reached the highest point 
of Scotland ; otherwise, instead of witnessing it im an 
evanescent state, perhaps we might have afforded a melan- 
choly decision of the question, whether lightning ascending 
into the clouds, is equally fatal to the objects it leaves, as the 
descending fluid is to those which it strikes. 

In the afternoon the weather cleared up. Most of the 
clouds evaporated, leaving the fine sky. The sun shone very 
bright, and the evening became very warm. ‘Three hours 
ago, on the top of the mountain, we had been chilled by cold 
and covered with snow; and now, in the valley below, we 
could look up with admiration to its cloudless summit, m a 
climate where we were severely bit by the Tabanus czcutiens. 
The following day was very fine, and during the greater part 
there was not a cloud to be observed in the atmosphere. 

I am, Dear Sir, yours sincerely and respectfully, 
JoHN Macvicar. 


Dunvex, September 10, 1825. 


Arr. XXI.—Description of Edingtonite, a New Mineral 
Species. By Wit11am Haipincer, Esq. F. R. 8S. E. 
With an Analysis by Epwarp Turner, M. D. F.R. S. E. 
&e. Lecturer on Chemistry, and Fellow of the Royal College 
of Physicians, Edinburgh. Communicated by the Author. 


Form pyramidal. Fundamental form, an isosceles four-sided 
pyramid of 121° 40’, and 87° 19 =P. Plate VII, Fig 9. 
a— 0.905. 

Simple forms. P—2 (n) = 144° 38’; P (P); P+@ (m). 

Character of combinations. Hemi-pyramidal, with parallel 
faces. ‘=~ = 129° 8', 35°22’. Fig. 10. E = 92 41’, 58" 
20’. Fig. 11. 

Combinations observed similar to Fig. 12, consisting of all 


a New Mineral Species. 317 


the foregoing simple forms, and to Fig 13, which, moreover, 
contains the alternating faces of a very flat four-sided pyramid, 
Ps Pp» which allows of no measurement. 

Cleavage. Pretty distinct, parallel to the rectangular four- 
sided prism, m. In other directions, there is small and imper- 
feet conchoidal fracture ; sometimes it is uneven. Surface of 


and P+ generally smooth, the other faces curved and 


without lustre. 

Lustre vitreous, Colour greyish-white. Semi-transparent, 
generally only translucent. Streak white. 

Brittle. Hardness = 4.0... 4.5, nearer the latter. Sp. gr. 
= 2.710, of a number of small crystals, forming together, 243 
milligrammes. 


Observations. 


1. Among a great number of interesting minerals from the 
neighbourhood of Glasgow and Dumbarton, in the possession 
of Mr Edington of Glasgow, with the inspection of which I 
have been lately gratified, I observed some crystals disposed 
in the cavities of Thomsonite, which at first I expected would 
belong to that species; but I soon found that their faces could 
not be identified with those mentioned in the descriptions of 
it, as given by Messrs Brooke* and Phillips.+ Mr Edington 
had the kindness of entrusting me with the only specimen of 
the substance which I could discover in his collection, and to 
which the preceding description refers. It is in compliment 
to that gentleman that the name of Edingtonite is here pro- 
posed for designating the species. 

2. The regular forms of Edingtonite, even if we do not at- 
tend to the interest attached to every novelty, are highly de- 
serving of notice on account of their forming the only second 
instance, among natural crystals, of hemi-pyramidal forms 
with inclined faces; the first example observed being the spe- 
cies of pyramidal copper-pyrites. Hemi-pyramidal forms are 
in general very rare; the pyramidal scheelium-baryte of Mohs, 
(tungstate of lime,) is the only well authenticated instance 


* Ann. of Phil. vol. xvi. p- 193, 
+ Mineralogy; p. 39. 


318 Mr Haidinger’s Description of Edingtonite, 


of such as have parallel faces. Perhaps pyramidal felspar 
also belongs to this class. ‘There is a variety of it in the pos- 
session of Mr Nordenskiéld, from Pargas in Finland, which 
shows the form represented, in Fig. 14, having only one of the 
apices disengaged.* This kind of distribution of faces is, 
however, quite different from that in the Edingtonite, from 
which it likewise considerably differs in its angles, though the 
specific gravity of the two substances, and their cleavage, are 
nearly the same. 

3. Edingtonite occurs in crystals, the-largest about two 
lines in diameter, implanted upon crystallized Thomsonite, in 
the Kilpatrick hills, near Glasgow. It is accompanied by 
calcareous spar, and a curious variety of harmotome, (the pa- 
ratomous Kouphone spar of Mohs,) in twin crystals, of the 
form Fig. 15. In these, the faces of the four-sided pyramids, 
visible in most other crystals, have entirely disappeared, and 
the re-entering angles at the summit are produced solely by 
the faces of a horizontal prism. It may be considered in this 
respect as the last term of a series of varieties, some of whose 
members were first described by Professor Weiss. The 
erystals of the Edingtonite itself are far from possessing such 
a degree of perfection, that the angles given above could be 
regarded as anything more than approximations, although 
their general form is well defined. They resemble greatly 
certain varieties of prelinite and felspar, but we must wait 
for the discovery of other varieties of it, which may afford a 
more extensive knowledge of the species, to enable us to de- 
termine the genus in the Order Spar of the system of Mohs, 
to which it might be referred. 


Analysis of Edingtonite. 


It yields water when exposed to heat, and becomes at the 
same time opaque and white. Before the blow-pipe it fuses 
into a colourless glass, though a pretty strong heat is neces- 
sary for that purpose. 

Muriatic acid acts upon it, separating silica in a gelatinous 


* Mohs’ Treatise on Mineralogy, Transl. vol. ii. p. 265. 
+ Magazin der Gesellschaft naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin. viii. 33. 


a New Mineral Species. - 319 


state ; but the action did not appear sufficiently perfect for 
the purpose of analysis. 

2.365 grains of the mineral (the whole quantity in my pos- 
session) were heated to redness, and lost 0.315 of a grain, or 
13.319 per cent. of water of crystallization. — 

The residual 2.05 grains, which crumbled easily into pow- 
der, were mixed with six grains of carbonate of soda, and kept 
at a red heat during half an hour. The ignited mass was 
quite white, and had not fused. Dilute muriatic acid dissolved 
the whole of it, except a few flocculi of silica. The solution 
was brought to dryness, and the silica, after being collected on 
a filtre and heated to redness, weighed 0.89 of a grain, which 
is 35.09 per cent. 

The solution, thus freed from silica, was treated with a 
slight excess of carbonate of soda at a boiling temperature, 
when a white precipitate subsided. It was digested in pure 
potash, to dissolve any alumina that might be present, and the 
alkaline solution, when boiled with an excess of muriate of 
ammonia, yielded a portion of alumina, which, after exposure 
toa white heat, weighed 0.655 of a grain, being 27.69 per 
cent. 

The matter which did not dissolve in potash proved to be 
an earthy carbonate; for it dissolved with effervescence in mu- 
riatic acid. On neutralizing the solution exactly, and adding 
oxalate of ammonia, a white precipitate subsided, which yield- 
ed 0.3 of a grain, 12.68 per cent. of pure lime. 

To the solution, after the separation of lime, carbonate of 
ammonia and phosphate of soda were added. No precipitate 

formed, and hence no magnesia was present. Iron and man- 
ganese were likewise absent. 

The Edingtonite hence contains, 


Silica, - 35.09 
Alumina, - 27.69 
Lime, = si 12.68 
Water, - 13.32 

88.78 


As the various substances found to exist in this mineral do 
not account for the quantity submitted to analysis, it doubt- 


320 Prot. De la. Rive’s Description 


less contains about 10 or 11 per cent. of some alkali, the nature 
of which I have not been able to ascertain. 


Art. XXII.—Description of a New Hygrometer, depending 
on the Affinity of Acids for Water.* By Professor Auc. 
DE LA Rive, . 


Iw the course of some researches on the different degrees of 
heat, occasioned by the affinity of acids for water, I was led 
to recognize in that phenomenon a very exact indication of 
the degree of humidity of the atmosphere. 

If we plunge the ball of a thermometer into a concentrated 
acid, such as the nitric acid, but particularly the sulphuric 
acid, it will be seen that, as soon as the ball is withdrawn 
from the acid and exposed to the open air, the thermometer 
will rise considerably. This phenomenon is owing to the con- 
densation of the aqueous vapours produced by the affinity 
exerted on these by the thin stratum of acid which adheres to 
the ball. ‘The heat produced is very considerable with sul- 
phuric acid, because in this case there are two sources of ca- 
loric, 1st, That which proceeds from the condensation of the 
vapour ; and, 2d, That which is owing to the mixture of the 
water and the acid. 

Having noticed that the quantity of heat, indicated by the 
thermometer when taken out of the acid, varies with the hu- 
midity of the air, other circumstances remaining the same, 
I songht to determine whether or not these variations of heat 
might serve to measure different degrees of humidity. 

Every hygrometer, or apparatus for measuring variations in 
the humidity of the air, ought to possess the following quali- 
ties. 

1. To agree with itself, or, on the return of the same state 
of the humidity of the air, to indicate the same degree of its 
scale. 

2. That its variations be proportional to those of humidity, 


* This paper is a translation and abstract of a Memoir read to the Na- 
tural History Society of Geneva, on the 2ist April 1825, and appeared 
in the Bibl. Univ, Avril 1825. 

ll 


of a New Hygrometer. 321 


go that, in similar circumstances, a double or triple number of 
degrees indicate constantly a double or triple quantity of va- 
pours existing in the atmosphere. 

The hygrometer of Saussure, the most perfect of all, pos- 
sesses, in an eminent degree, the first quality. It is con- 
stant in its indications, comparable, and of extreme sensibili- 
ty ; but its variations are not proportional to those of the ab- 
solute humidity of the atmosphere. For example, towards 
extreme dryness, it moves nearly 3° for one unit of difference 
in the tension of the vapour; and, on the contrary, towards 
extreme humidity, it moves only 1° for three units of difference 
in the same tension. Thus, when the hygrometer marks 75°, 
for example, at 0° of the centigrade thermometer, this does 
not denote that the vapours in the air are the same, when at 
15° of the thermometer it stands at 75°, but only that, m the 
two cases, the ratio between the humidity of the aur, and ex- 
treme humidity at the same temperature, is the same. 

In order that we may deduce from the indications of the 
hygrometer exact notions on these two last points, we must 
take the assistance of tables formed from a numerous series of 
delicate experiments. Such are the tables contained in the 
Essai sur LD’ Hygrometrie ; such also is the table constructed 
from the experiments of M. Gay Lussac, which gives for the 
temperature of 10° centig., the degree of the hair hygrometer, 
when we know the tension of the aqueous vapour actually ex- 
isting in the air, and vice versa. % 

From these considerations, we shall proceed to study the 
results to which we may be led by employing the process 
which I have indicated above. 

I plunge the ball of a delicate thermometer into sulphuric 
acid ;—I draw it out, giving it a slight shake, so that there 
may remain around the ball only a thin film of adhering acid. 
The thermometer rises immediately a certain number of de- 
grees above that which it indicated before its immersion in 
the acid; then it immediately stops and begins to fall. I 
suppose, however, that we have determined how many de- 
grees it rises for extreme humidity at the same temperature ; 


* Biot, Traité de Physique, tom. i. p. 532. 
VOL. II]. NO. U1. OCTOBER 1625. x 


fa} : Reet Ee 
322 Prof. De la Rive’s Description 


then, taking the ratio of these two numbers of degrees, we find 
_ the exact ratio between the tension of the vapour existing in the 
air, and the total tension at the same temperature. 

The thermometer, for example, marks 12° cent. when immers- 
ed in sulphuric acid ; exposed to the air, it rises to 254°, that 
is 133°; placed in a vacuum, in which the air is at extreme 
humidity, at the same temperature of 12°, it rises to 27°, that 
is 15°; the ratio of 131° to 15°, or 90 to 100, expresses that 
of the tension of the vapour existing in the air to the total 
tension at 12° of temperature. If we now seek, io the table 
of Gay Lussac, the degree of the hygrometer corresponding 
to the tension 90, we shall find 95° 43, and the hygrometer 
in the above experiment indicated 95° 50. 

Several other experiments have given me analogous results ; 
but if, in place of operating at the temperature of 12°, we 
make the experiment at another temperature, for the same 
degree of the hygrometer of Saussure the thermometer will 
rise as much more as the temperature is elevated ; which arises 
from this, that the absolute quantity of aqueous vapours in 
the air increases with the degree of heat. The number of 
degrees which the thermometer will rise for extreme humidi- 
ty will vary also; and, consequently, we must determine it 
for each degree of the thermometer in order to know the ratio 
required at every temperature. I have made the determina- 
tion for temperatures sufficiently remote ; and it appears to me 
that we may, without sensible error, content ourselves with 
determining the number of degrees which the thermometer 
rises in the case of total humidity, for two extreme points 
such as 0° and 20° centig., and divide the difference equally 
between the intermediate-degrees. A great number of expe- 
riments, made at different temperatures in the way above ex- 
plained, have given me satisfactory results. Let us suppose, 
then, a thermometer, on the scale of which is marked, oppo- 
site to each degree, the number which shows how mueh, at 
this degree of temperature, the thermometer taken from the 
sulphuric acid rises when exposed to extreme humidity ; then, 
if we wish to know the humidity of the air, we divide the 
number which expresses the rise of the thermometer by that 
which is marked at the end of the degrees on the scale, and 


of a New Hygromeier. 323 
the quotient will express the ratio of the tension at the time 
of the experiment, to the total tension regarded as unity. 

Some experiments appear to me to indicate, that the num- 
bers which express the rise of the thermonieter at different 
temperatures, for different degrees of humidity, follow, with- 
out any sensible error, the same ratio as the tensions of the 
vapours at these same temperatures: For this comparison, I 
employed the table constructed from the experiments of Dal- 
ton. From this it followed, that the thermometer, taken out 
of the acid, and exposed to the air, would indicate, by the 
number of degrees it rose, two things at once; Ist, The ratio 
between the tension of the vapour in the air; and the total 
tension at the same temperature; and, 2d, The absolute 
tension of the vapour in the atmosphere at the time of the 
experiment. 

Along with the advantages which I have mentioned, the pre- 
ceding process presents some inconveniences. In the first place, 
it is not an instrument, but an apparatus which must be em- 
ployed, as an experiment is necessary to obtain an indication. 
In the next place, the employment of the process requires 
some precautions. We must, as much as possible, make use 
of a thermometer whose bulb is very small, both on account 
of the gréat sensibility of the instrument, and because the 
quantity of acid that adheres to the surface of the bulb re- 
mains always the same. We must also employ an acid of the 
same degree of concentration, though I have, however, not 
observed that a small difference in the degree of concentra- 
tion has a very great influence. We must, likewise, during 
the experiment, endeavour to avoid every cause of heat fo- 
reign to that which alone ought to act. On this account, it 
it is proper to have, beside the thermometer in use, another 
which will indicate the temperature of the air at every in- 
stant. 

Before concluding this notice, I shall say a few words on 
the fact, which constitutes the principle of it, viz. the re- 
markable difference between the quantities of heat developed 
by the condensation of vapours on sulphuric acid, according 
to the degree of humidity of the atmosphere. 

It would seem at first sight, that however small be the 


324 Prof. De la Rive’s Description 


quantity of vapours in the atmosphere, there ought to be @ 
quantity sufficient to saturate the stratum of acid adhering to 
the bulb of the thermometer, and consequently to develope 
the same quantity of heat. 

But we must remark, that there is a struggle between the 
force of affinity of the acid for the vapour, and the. tendency 
which the water possesses to remain under that form of va- 
pour,—a tendency which increases as the quantity of vapour in 
the atmosphere diminishes. Hence it follows, that the great- 
er the humidity, the more facility will the water have to con- 
dense the vapour, the more rapid also will the condensation 
be, and, consequently, the more considerable will be the heat 
developed. The thermometer will not stop, therefore, till 
the cooling occasioned by the difference of temperature be- 
tween the air and the thermometer bulb shall compensate the 
quantity of heat produced by the condensation of the vapour, 
and the term at which that limit takes place will depend on 
the greater or less degree of the humidity of the air. 

When the thermometer ceases to rise, we must say that its 
stopping is owing to the equilibrium which is then establish- 
ed between the heat produced and the cooling, which ought to 
take place at this temperature; but still the acid does not 
cease to condense the vapour. We may prove this by sus- 
pending the thermometer to a sensible balance, when it will 
be seen that its weight increases by the condensation of the 
aqueous vapour round the bulb, even after the thermometer has 
ceased to rise. It is easy also to measure exactly the quantity 
of water which is attracted by a known quantity of sulphuric 
acid. For this purpose, the thermometer is first weighed in 
its natural state ;—it is then weighed after it is plunged in 
the acid, by placing its bulb in a receiver dried by the muri- 
ate of lime. The difference between these two weights gives 
that of the thin stratum of acid adhering to the bulb. The 
receiver is then removed, and exposed to the open air, and 
condenses on the acid which envelopes it a certain quantity 
of water, the weight of which it is easy to appreciate, as I 
have often ascertained. 

Of all the acids, the sulphuric acid is, without doubt, the 
most proper for these experiments, on account of its great af- 


of a New Hygrometer. 325 


finity for aqueous vapours. This affinity is such, that, even 
in a receiver dried by muriate of lime, I have seen the ther- 
mometer rise from 15° to 18° centig., that is to say, 3°, but 
it cannot rise higher. 

The nitric acid produces also heat by the condensation of 
aqueous vapours, but in a much less degree. A thermometer, 
for example, whose bulb had been plunged into that acid, 
rose only in extreme humidity from 132° to 173° centig., that 
is, 4°, and exposed to an average humidity, it rose only 3°, 
the temperature of the air being 14°. 

The hydrochloric acid presents a singularity when it is em- 
ployed for the same purpose. A thermometer whose bulb 
has been plunged in that acid begins by descending, and this 
rises higher than the part from which it set out. At the 
temperature of 15°, for example, the thermometer descends 
at first to 14°, and then rises to 17°: but when placed in a 
receiver dried by muriate of lime, the thermometer descended 
from 15° to 12°, and did not rise higher than the point 
from which it set out. From this it seems to follow, that 
the first tendency of the water contained in the hydrochlo- 
ric acid is to evaporate,—a tendency to which it yields en- 
tirely when the air is very dry,—and that afterwards the 
acid, become more concentrated by the privation of the water 
which is evaporated, tends to take some of it again, by con- 
densing the aqueous vapours of the atmosphere, and conse- 
quently producing heat; or may not the phenomenon be ow- 
ing to the disengagement of the hydrochloric acid gas, which, 
in quitting the water with which it was united, tends to pro- 
duce cold, a cold which is soon more than compensated by 
the condensation of the water attracted by the acid round the 
bulb? However this may be, the phenomenon seems to pre- 
sent a kind of contradiction which it is not easy to solve. 

I shall not enter at present into any further details respect- 
ing the heat produced by the affinity of acid for aqueous va- 
pours, trusting that I shall resume the subject, and treat it 
more profoundly, when I have finished the experiments on 
this subject with which I am at this moment occupied. 


826 Mr’ Maller on the Locality of Acmite. 


Art.X XIII.—On the Locality of Acmite. By N. B. Moutrr, 
Esq. of Porsgrund, Norway.* 


Maxy years ago, Mr Brataas, one of the captains in the min- 
ing district of Kongsberg, had discovered this mineral at 
Eger, and showed it to Professor Strém, who was, at that 
time, the clergyman of the place, and who, in his description 
of the parish of Eger, mentioned it under the name of crystal- 
lized hornstone or shorl.t- 

Some time afterwards, a peasant brought some crystals of 
it to Professor Esmarck, but as he had. found them only de- 
tached, he could give no information in regard te their true 
locality. Professor Esmarck himself considered these crystals 
as staurolite, a mineral which in fact they much resemble 
when found without their terminations, which was the case with 
those which he possessed. 

Mr P. Strém, a manager of several of the Kongsberg mines, 
found the mineral én situ, from the instructions given by Cap- 
tain Brataas, and took several specimens with him to Stock- 
holm, where it was immediately suspected to be something 
new ; and this was perfectly confirmed by the subsequent ana- 
lysis by Mr Strém himself, and by Professor Berzelius, for as- 
certaining the quality and quantity of the ingredients. 

Since Mr Strém always kept the place a great secret, it is 
probable that mineralogists would have long remained un- 
certain in this respect, had I not had the good fortune of 
becoming acquainted with Mr Brataas, who took me to the 
real locality, which is Rundemyr, about two English miles 
distant from Bisseberg Mine, in the parish of Eger, near 
Kongsberg. It occurs in considerable quantities, imbedded 
in quartz and felspar; many of the crystals being upwards of 
a foot in length. They are, however, not easily disengaged 


* Extracted from the manuscript account with which we have been fu- 
voured by the author, and which is intended for the *‘ Magazin fur Na-= 
turvidenskaberne” of Christiania. —Ep. 

+ Strom. Eger Beskr. p- 50. The identity of these crystals with the 
Acmite, has been placed beyond a doubt, by the comparison of the very 
specimens described by Professor Strém, which are at present in the pos- 
session of Mr Otto Tank, of Fredrikshald. 


Prof. Berzelius on two newly discovered Mineral Species. 327 


from the matrix, on account of their great fragility. ‘They do 
not, all of them, possess that dark brownish-black, colour, 
which is generally quoted in the descriptions of Acmite, but 
they are sometimes greenish-grey, and of all the intermediate 
shades between this and the brownish-black colour. In this 
case, also, their lustre is not so high, and they approach very 
much in appearance to Mussite, a variety of pyroxene, with 
which species their regular forms likewise very closely agree. 
Generally the crystals are macled, and very often bent. 


eT 


Arr. XXIV.—Account of two newly discovered Mineral Sipe- 
cies. * By Professor J. J. BEexzetivs. M.D. F.R.S. 
Lond. and Edin. &c. &c. 


1. Phosphate of Yttria. 


"[uis mineral has been discovered by Mr Tank junior, near 
Lindesnaes, in Norway, ina vein consisting chiefly of a coarse- 
grained granite. He obtained only one specimen, consisting 
of an aggregate of crystals of half an inch or an inch in diameter, 
but much engaged among each other. They belong to the pyra- 
midal system of Mohs, and are similar to Fig. 16, Plate Vit 
Cleavage takes place parallel to the faces J, J, in two directions 
perpendicular to each other, and is easily obtained. ‘The cross 
fracture is uneven and splintery. Its colour is yellowish- 
brown, similar to certain varieties of the zircon from Freder- 
icksvirn ; the streak very pale brown. “ Sp. Gr. 4.5577, at 
a temperature of 16° centigr. Hardness =45... 5.0, between 
fluor and apatite, nearer the latter.” It possesses resinous 
lustre, the higher degrees of it upon the faces of cleavage, the 
surface of the crystals being nearly dull, and faintly translu- 
cent. 

Before the blow-pipe, it resembles very much phosphate of 


* Extracted from Kongl. Velenskaps Acad. Handlingar for 1824, p. 334 
and Poggendort’s Annalen der Physik. 1825, li. p- 203. 

+ The figures of these crystals, and that of the crystals of Polymignite, 
were observed by Mr Haidinger, on specimens in the possession of Mi 
Tank. 


328 Prof. Berzelius on two newly discovered Mineral Species. 


lime ; it is distinguished from it, however, by its being infusi- 
ble without addition, and much more difficultly soluble in salt 
of phosphorus. With boracie acid, and a piece of iron-wire, 
it gives much phosphuret of iron. It is insoluble in acids, 
even when they are concentrated. 

The analysis was conducted in the following manner : 
The mineral, having been melted with carbonate of soda, was 
digested in water, which left a pale yellow earthy substance 
undissolved. The alcaline solution was saturated with acetic 
acid, evaporated to dryness, redissolved in water, (by which 
process, a trace of silica was obtained,) and then precipitated 
by acetate of lead. As the precipitate, produced in this man- 
ner, is always the combination expressed by the formula 


P6 P2, which, in the present instance, was likewise verified 
by actual analysis, the relative quantity of phosphoric acid 
could be thus ascertained. Since we must suspect the presence 
of fluoric acid in almost every natural body containing the phos- 
phoric acid, a small quantity of the mineral was analyzed, for 
the purpose of ascertaining its existence; and, im fact, some 
very distant, though slight indications of this substance were 
obtamed. The earthy powder left from the first process, was 
digested in muriatic acid, which left behind a small quantity 
of silica, and undecomposed mineral. The solution was added 
in drops to a solution of carbonate of ammonia, which dissoly- 
ed entirely the precipitate that had been formed in the be. 
ginning. The fluid was now evaporated, and the muriate of 
ammonia driven away, the residue again dissolved in muriatie 
acid, and then brought to dryness. Upon redissolving it in 
water, a dark brown substance remained, which was phos- 
phate of iron, with excess of base, and which seems to be the 
colouring matter in the mineral. It did not contain any ce- 
rium. That the earthy base, united with the phosphoric acid 
was yttria, appears from the character, that the solutions pos- 
sess a taste as sweet as sugar, as also from the amethyst-co- 
loured difficulily soluble salt, which it formed with sulphuric 
acid, and which effloresced and became milk-white, without 
losing its form. 


Prof. Berzelius on two newly discovered Mineral Species. 329 


The proportion of the ingredients is 


Yttria, - - - 62.58. 
Phosphoric acid, with a little fluoric acid, - 33.49. 
Phosphate of iron, with excess of base, - 3.93. 


The corresponding formula is, Y° Pp, analogous to the native 
phosphate of lime. 
2. Polymignite. 

The name of this mineral is derived from oAd¢ much, and 
wyvva I mix, in allusion to the great number of substances of 
which it is composed. It occurs in more or less regular im- 
bedded crystals, from a line to upwards of an inch in length, 
in the zircon syenite of Frederikovirn in Norway. ‘The spe- 
cimens analyzed were collected by Mr Tank. 

Its regular forms belong to the prismatic system of Mohs ; 
one of the varieties is represented in Fig. 15, Plate VI. ‘They 
are generally compressed between 7’ and 7’, and lengthened in 
the direction of the axis. The cleavage isvery imperfect, though 
sometimes traces of it are visible parallel to JT’ and M; the 
fracture is highly perfect conchoidal. The surface of the 
crystals is sometimes longitudinally streaked, but possessés a 
considerable degree of an imperfect metallic lustre, which is 
still higher in the fracture. Its colour is black; the streak 
dark brown, rather paler when the mineral is much commin- 
uted. Itis opaque. The hardness is = 6.5, between quartz 
and felspar, the specific gravity = 4.806 

Before the blow-pipe it remains entirely unaltered. It does 
not give out water. ‘To glass of borax, in which it is readily 
dissolved, it communicated the colours produced by iron, and 
if it is added in a rather large proportion, the globule may be 
rendered opaque by flaming, and then it assumes a nearly 
orange-yellow colour. With tin it yields a reddish-yellow 
colour, It is dissolved likewise by salt of phosphorus. In 
the reducing flame the globule becomes reddish, and is not 
altered by the addition of tin. It does not melt with carbonate 
of soda, but is changed into a reddish-grey mass. It yields 
traces of tin by reduction. 

Only 0.658 grammes could be subjected to the chemical 
analysis, and it is therefore not to be expected, that from so 


330 Prof. Berzelius on two newly discovered Mineral Species. 


small a quantity, both the nature and the relative proportions 
of the ingredients could be ascertained with perfect exactness, 
particularly as we are yet in want of exact methods for sepa- 
rating zirconia and titanic acid, or yttria and protoxide of 
manganese. 

The analysis itself was conducted in the following manner : 

A. As the mineral may be decomposed by sulphuric acid, 
it first underwent that process. The sulphates dissolved in 
water, left behind a white powder, which was well lixiviated 
with hot water, and then exposed to a red heat. Upon the 
supposition, that it was tantalic acid, it was melted together 
with sulphate of potash with excess of acid, and yielded a 
transparent yellow mass, from which the salt was extracted by 
water, leaving the white substance undissolved. The latter 
became green, when hydro-sulphuret of ammonia was poured 
on it. The filtrated fluid being evaporated, left a trace of a 
metallic sulphuret, which seemed to be sulphuret of tin. The 
green substance was soluble in muriatic acid, with the excep- 
tion only of a slight trace of the metallic sulphuret mentioned 
above; and, therefore, it could not be tantalic acid. 

The solution was yellow. First tartaric acid, and then an 
excess of ammonia were added, in order to precipitate the 
white substance, and to retain the oxide of iron, but no change 
ensued. The iron was therefore precipitated by hydro-sul- 
phuret of ammonia, the precipitate dissolved in nitro-muriatic 
acid, and again precipitated by caustic ammonia. 

B. Muriate of lime was added to the remaining fluid, the 
precipitate washed, exposed to a red heat for decomposing the 
tartaric acid, and freed from lime by muriatic acid. A white 
powder remained, which appeared yellow while hot, but be- 
came perfectly white on cooling. Before the blow-pipe it 
‘ proved to be titanic acid. 

C. The solution in sulphuric acid (A) and the water, with 
which the precipitates had been washed, were precipitated by 
caustic ammonia; the: precipitate filtered and washed. Lime 
was precipitated from the fluid by oxalate of ammonia, and 
then transformed into carbonate of lime. The remaining fluid, 
evaporated and exposed to a red heat, gave a saline mass, con- 
taining potash and magnesia. 


Prof. Berzelius on two newly discovered Mineral Species. 331 


_ D. The precipitate obtained in C by ammonia was partly 
soluble in dilute sulphuric acid. A substance remained un- 
dissolved, which turned pale yellow on being exposed to a red 
heat. 

E. The solution in sulphuric acid, (D) and the water of 
edulcoration, were nearly neutralized with ammonia, and 
while boiling hot, sulphate of potash was dissolved in them, as 
long as any precipitate formed. The precipitate washed, first 
with pure water, and then with ammoniacal water, and then 
exposed to a red heat, became yellow. It was now melted, 
along with the substance obtained in D, and a little sulphate 
of potash with excess of acid, and digested in water, which be- 
came but slightly nebulous by ammonia. It was placed upon 
a filter, and washed first with tartaric acid, and then with con- 
centrated muriatic acid, as the whole of it had not been dis- 
solved by the former. What had remained undissolved, even 
in the latter, proved to be titanic acid. From the solutions in 
the tartaric and muriatic acids, nothing was precipitated when 
ammonia was added in excess. Sulphuret of iron was preci- 
pitated by hydro-sulphuret of ammonia, and afterwards it 
was converted into oxide of iron, The remaining fluid was 
evaporated to dryness, and the salts decomposed by a red 
heat, A white earthy substance was-thus obtained, insoluble 
in muriatic acid, but soluble in concentrated sulphuric acid, 
and in every respect similar to zirconia. This substance, how- 
ever, still contamed a little titanic acid, as also the titanic acid 
obtained above a little zirconia. 

F. The fluid, which in E had been precipitated by means 
of sulphate of potash, was now mixed with tartaric acid, su- 
persaturated with ammonia, and precipitated by hydro-sul- 
phuret of ammonia. The sulphuret of iron thus obtained 
was transformed into oxide, the remaining saline mass was 
evaporated, and then exposed to a red heat, along with an ad- 
dition of saltpetre to prevent the formation of sulphurets. 
The salts, with an excess of alkali, were dissolved in water, 
and the remaining earthy substance was soluble in muriatic 
acid in the cold. With caustic ammonia the fluid gave a pre- 
cipitate, which became yellowish-brown upon the filter, and 
black on being exposed to heat. ‘The ammoniacal fluid yield- 


382 Prof. Berzelius on some new localities of rare Minerals. 


ed.a precipitate with oxalate of ammonia, which became black’in 
a red heat, and was oxide of manganese mixed with a little lime. 

G. What had been precipitated by ammonia, was soluble 
in muriatic acid, giving out a slight odour of chlorine, and 
after being saturated with sulphate of potash, the solution 
gave.a lemon-yellow precipitate of sulphate of cerium and po- 
tash, which was decomposed by caustic potash, and yielded 
oxide of cerium. ‘The remainder proved to be yttria, mixed 
with a little oxide of manganese. 

In this manner, the following proportions among the ingre- 
dients were obtained : 


Titanic acid, - - 46.3 
Zirconia, : - 14.14 
Oxide of iron, . - 12.20 
Lime, - - - 4,2 
Oxide of manganese, - - 2.7 
Oxide of cerium, - - 5.0 
Yttria, “ 2 C i 11.5 

Total 96.3 


With traces of magnesia, potash, silica, and oxide of tin. 
The loss is in reality greater than it appears in comparing the 
numbers of the result, because the manganese and iron, and 
probably also the cerium, exist in the mineral in the state of 
protoxides. No calculation can, therefore, be grounded on 
this analysis, only so much may be inferred, that the mineral is 
a titanate of zirconia, mixed with other isomorphous titanates. 


Art. XXV.—On sone new Localities of rare Minerals.* By 
Professor J. J. Berzetivs, M. D. F. R. S. Lond. and 
Edin. &e. &c. 


Severat remarkable minerals, the orthite, zircon, and soda- 
spodumene, have been discovered in the island of Skepsholm 
in Stockholm, during the blasting of some rocks upon it, in 
the course of the summer of 1824. ‘They do not occur in re- 
gular veins, but are here and there disseminated through the 


* From the “ Ansberiittelse om framstegen in Phystk och Chemie, 1825,” 


p: 193 and 220. 
4 


Prof. Berzelius on some new localitics of rare Minerals 333 


rock, particularly where the grain of the granite is larger. 
The orthite so much resembles gadolimite, that it was, at first, 
considered as a variety of it, till Dr Wohler, the first who ob- 
served the orthite in the quarry of Skepsholm, found. its che- 
mical composition to be exactly the same as that of the orthite 
from Gottlicbsgang, at Finbo near Fahlun. Its fraeture is 
either glassy, or it is granular, and almost metallic, like that 
of yttro-tantalite ; its colour is sometimes yellowish-brown, and 
even approaching to red, yet according to the experiments of 
Dr W., these, and the black varieties, do not present any es- 
sential difference in their composition. The zircon is rather 
rare. Generally the crystals, which are dark brown, are very 
small, but some of them have been found half a line in diame- 
ter, and two lines long. The soda-spodumene, the same min- 
eral which I formerly (Ansber. 1824. p. 160.) mentioned as a 
new species found at Danvikgate, near Stockholm, is met with 
here in abundance, sometimes of a snow-white colour, and 
distinguishable from felspar by its stronger lustre. The va- 
riety from Skepsholm, has been analyzed by Mr Arfvedson, 
who found its chemical composition to agree with the result I 
had obtained Jast year. 

These minerals do not, in general, appear to be very rare 
in the rocks in the vicinity of Stockholm. The soda-spodu- 
- mene is probably a very common mineral, but often mistaken 
for felspar. I have seen it in the granites of Norway. Or- 
thite is found at Danvik, also in the Diurgard, (deer-park,) 
and almost in every place where rocks have been newly blast- 
ed. Ihave seen a roundish mass in Skepsholmen of two 
inches diameter. In a granite block, taken from a wall near 
Orkelliunga in Scania, I likewise discovered orthite, and Mr 
Tank communicated to me large orthites from Lindisnaes, in 
Norway, where they are found along with the phosphate of 
yttria. ‘These varieties have uot yet been analyzed, but 
their exterior appearance, and the characters which they ex- 
hibit, when exposed to the action of the blow-pipe, so very 
nearly agree with those of orthite, that I do not doubt their 
composition will be found identical. 

A mineral, which seems to be Pyrorthite, since it entirely 
agrees with it in its characters, when examined before the 


334 Zoological Collections. 


blow-pipe, has been discovered by Dr Wohler. It occurs at 
Grigisholm, near Stockholm, and at Skinnskatteberg, near 
Riddarhyttan, so that it is no longer ancien to the locality 
of Kararfvet, near Fahlun. 

Carbonate of cerium has been discovered at Bastnaes, near 
Riddarhyttan, accompanying the cerite, on which it forms 
white crystalline coatings. According to an analysis by Mr 
Hisinger, it is composed of 


Oxide of cerium, - - V5e7 
Carbonic acid, « - - 10.8 
Water, - - - 13.5 


which corresponds to the formula Ce C42 Aq. From a 
want of sufficient material, it has been impossible to repeat the 
analysis, which is called for in particular by the uncertain 


propor tion of water. Along with it is found also fluate of ce- 


rium, of a nearly orange nae: or wax-yellow colour, and 
semi-transparent. It does not change its appearance, wheri 
exposed to'a slight red heat, by which it loses 19 per cent. of 
its weight. Itis exceedingly rare. 


Ant. XXVI--ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS. * 


Chlamyphorus truncatus, Plate VIII, Fig. 1. pat a 


Corrors, supra testa coriacea, postice truncata, squammis rhomboideis, 
lineis transversis dispositis, conflata, subtus capillis albis, sericeis, obtecto ; 
capite supra squamis testa dorsali continuis, adoperto ; palmis, plantisque 
pentadactylis ; unguibus anterioribus longissimus, compressis ; marginibus 
externis, acnoni buy sque acutis ; cauda rigida, sub abdomine sane 


+A Dimensions, 
’ : Tnch. 

Total length - 4 - vs aust 

_ Length of the head - - - - 16 
Breadth between the eyes = - “8. 
Depth of the posterior truncated portion of the shell Sibir Wea 
Greatest breadth of the same - - - re" 
Girth posterior to the shoulders - - | 
Length of the sole of the foot, including the nails 
Breadth of the foot - - 
Length of the nails - - 


* The following New Animals are described in the Annals of the Lyceum of 
New York, vol. i 


» 


+ 


WL Ainnes ge 


Zoological Collections: 335 


Length of the hand — ki capcl oP pany! & 14 
Breadth of ditto = ds as ze “4 
Length of the longest nail - 5 =: = “Th 
Length of that portion of the tail which is free, and*curved 
beneath the body - = = 2 es 1:2 


The shell which covers the body is of a consistence somewhat more 
dense and inflexible than sole leather of equal thickness. It is composed 
of a series of plates of a square, rhomboidal, or cubical form; each row 
separated by an epidermal or membranous production, which is reflected 
above and beneath over the plates ; the rows include from fifteen to twen- 
ty-two plates; the shell being broadest at its posterior half, extending 
about one half round the body ; this covering is loose throughout, except- 
ing along the spine of the back and top of the head ; being attached to 
the back immediately above the spine, by a loose cuticular production, 
and by two remarkably bony processes (to be described hereafter) on the 
top of the os frontis, by means of two large plates, which are nearly in- 
corporated with the bone beneath ; but for this attachment, and the tail 
being firmly curved beneath the belly, the covering would be very easily 
detached. The number of rows of plates on the back, counting from the 
vertex, (where they commence) is twenty-four ; at the twenty-fourth the 
shell curyes suddenly downwards, so as to form a right angle with the 
body ; this truncated surface is composed of plates nearly similar to those 
of the back; they are disposed in semicircular rows, five in number: the 
lower margin, somewhat elliptical, presents a notch in its centre, in which 
is attached the free portion of tail, which makes an abrupt curyature, and 
runs beneath the belly parallel to the axis of the body ; the free portion of 
tail consists of fourteen caudal vertebrae, surrounded by as many plates, 
similar to those of the body ; the extremity of the tail being depressed, 
so as to form a paddle; the rest of the tail compressed. ‘The caudal ver- 
tebre extend up to the top of the hack, beneath the truncated surface, 
where the sacrum is bent to meet the tail. The superior semicircular mar- 
gin of the truncated surface, together with the lateral margins of the shell, 
are beautifully fringed with sitky hair. 

Head: posterior half, broad, anterior half, before the eyes, tapering ; 
the occiput is covered by the five first rows of the hack plates, with which 

- they are continuous ; the occiput not distinguishable externally. The an- 


__ terior half of the top of the head is covered, first, by a row of large plates, 
~ five in number, which are firmly attached to the bone beneath ; particu- 


larly the two outer ;—secondly, by a smaller row, six in number, anterior 
to which, that is to say, the top of the snout, is covered with smaller 
plates irregularly disposed. 

External ear, consists of a circular, somewhat patulous opening, directly 
posterior to the eye, surrounded with an elevated margin ; and communi- 
eating with a bony canal, to be more fully described hereafter. Hye, mi- 
nute, totally black; and, like the ear, nearly hidden by long silky hair 
Mouth, the rictus small. Nose, the extremity of the snout is furnished 


336 Zoological Collections. 


with an enlarged cartilage, as in the hog ; the anterior nares opening down- 
wards, at the inferior border. 

The whole surface of the body covered ov fine silk-like hair, longer 
and finer than that of the mole, but not so thick set. The anterior of the 
chest is large,-full, and strong; the anterior extremities, short, clumsy, 
and powerful; the hair is continued for some distance on the palm—the 
phalanges of the hand united ; five powerful nails rising gradually one 
above the other ; the external shortest and broadest ; the whole so arrang= 
ed as to form a sharp cutting instrument, somewhat scooped ; very conye- 
nient for progression under ground ; and such as must very much impede 
motion on the surface. Hind legs weak and short—feet, long and narrow ; 
the sole resembles considerably the human foot, having a well defined heel, 
which rests flat upon the ground, and being arched in the middle; toes 
separate, nails flattened horizontally. 

Skull. At first view, the bones of the cranium and face would appear 
to constitute one solid case, the remnants of sutures are indistinctly visible 
in some parts only. The cavity of the cranium is capacious ; the greatest 
breadth, which is from ear to ear, is one inch ; greatest depth five-tenths ; 
length of the cavity, seven-tenths- One of the most remarkable pecu- 
liarities of this skull consists in the two processes of bone above alluded 
to, which project obliquely, forward, upward, and outward; from the os 
frontis, anterior to the cavity of the cranium, and directly above the malar 
bone ; giving to the front of the skull an aspect totally unique ; ‘these 
prominences are hollow, communicating with the frontal sinuses, and must 
contribute in a great measure to enlarge the organ of smell ; there exists a 
considerable concavity between them, which, in the recent state, was filled 
with an adipose, gristly mass, which served to unite the skull to the plates 
above. The snout commences anteriorly to these processes, and is rapidly 
attenuated and depressed. The ossa nasi are broad and strong, slightly 
arched transversely, extending anteriorly beyond the os incisivum, as does 
likewise the osseous septum narium. The zygomatic processes are lateral- 
ly arched ; a small pointed process, descending near the malar bone, (some- 
what like that in the sloth); the zygomatic fosse are large. 

The labyrinth is protuberant, and occupies the usual situation at the 
base of the skull; joined to which is the tympanum ;—to the last is at- 
tached a. bony cylinder, stretching first upwards behind the zygomatic pro- 
cess of the temporal bone, around which it makes a sudden curve, and 
runs forward and upwards to terminate at the external ear. This struc- 
ture, which I believe is peculiar to the animal before us, will be better un- 
derstood by referring to the plate. 

Lower jaw. Anterior portion shaped like that of the elephant, much 
elongated ; the general form and proportion resembles very closely the 
lower jaw of the sheep, the base being considerably arched, and the curve 
at the posterior part, forming with the base nearly a right angle, project- 
ing obliquely outwards: the base is marked by eight slightly elevated pro- 
tuberances, occasioned by the roots of the teeth; the condyloid process is 
longer than the coronoid ; in the sheep, this is reversed: the articulation 


Zoological Collections. 337 


at the glenoid cavity 1s such as to admit of great freedom of motion. 
Length of the base of the lower jaw one inch; length of the angle five 
tenths; greatest width two and a half tenths; width of the angle three- 
~Feeth. Incisors, none in either jaw ; molars, eight in number, on ei- 
ther side of the upper and lower jaws, all approximate ; disposed in se~ 
- parate alveoli; the crowns of the two first only, approach to a point, and 
thus much resemble canine teeth ; the six remaining are all nearly flat on 
the crown; their structure is simple; a cylinder of enamel, of equal 
thickness throughout, surrounds a central pillar of bone, there being no 
division into body and root ; the lower half is hollow, the cavity repre- 
senting an elongated cone. In the lower jaw, the teeth penetrate its 
whole depth ;—length of the teeth, about three tenths of an inch: two 
tenths of which are buried in the sockets—diameter, about one-tenth 
They are somewhat flattened on the sides, and in a slight degree curved 
externally, to be adapted to the shape of the jaw. The teeth of the in 
ferior maxilla are directed forwards and upwards; those of the superior © 
maxilla are directly reversed in their direction, so that the crowns meet 
each other obliquely ; 3 and the posterior margin of the lower teeth, and 
the anterior margin of the upper, present their angles to the object of 
mastication: 

We have been: piewntda' in the subject before us with a new form: an 
animal combining in its external configuration a mechanical arrangement 
of parts which characterizes, respectively, the armadillo, the sloth, and 
the mole ; constituting in themselves, individually and separately, of all 
other quadrupeds, those which offer the most remarkable anatomical cha- 
racters. Pursving the investigation step by step, with the skeletons of 
the above named animals before me, it was not until after I had com- 
pletely finished every point of observation, that [ perceived in the skull 
alone, of the new animal, a reunion, more or less complete, of all those 
remarkable traits that an external view of the animal had offered for con- 
templation ; which, taken collectively, furnishes us with an example of 
organic structure, if not unparalleled, at least not ripe games in the history 
of animals. 

This animal is a native of Mendoza in Chili ; in the Indian language it 
is termed ‘ Pichiciago.’ It had been obtained on the spot in a living 
state, but it continued to live in confinement only a few days. Its habits 
resemble those of the mole, living for the most part under ground, and is 
reputed to earty its young beneath its scaly cloak— Prof. Harlan- 


2. New and gigantic species of the genus Cephalopterus, of Dumeril. 
Plate VIII. Fig. 2. 

C. Vampyrus. Char—Breadth of the body exceeding its length ; 
mouth nearly terminal, without teeth ; a vertical fin on each side of the 
mouth, projecting forwards ; tail unarmed. * 


* Supposed to be the same animal described by M, Lesueur, under the name, C. 
Giorna. This description we had not seen. ” 


VOL. III. NO. II. OCTOBER 1825, x 


338, Zoological Collections. 


Taken near the entrance of Delaware bay, by the crew of a smack, after. 
a long and hazardous encounter. Its weight was supposed to be between 
four and five tons. 

Dimensions.—Length from the fore margin of the head to the root of 
the tail 10 feet 9 inches. The breadth from one extremity of one pectoral 
fin to the other, measuring along the line of the belly, 16 feet; when 
measured across the convexity of the back 18 feet. The mouth nearly 
terminal, and not situated on the under side. Its breadth from corner to 
corner 2 feet 9 inches. There were two upper lips, both destitute of teeth. 
There was a single lower lip, beset with small rough processes, resembling 
those of a rasp, instead of teeth. There was in this huge mouth no ap- 
pearance of a tongue. 

Branchial openings on each side beneath, five, and with the gill covers 
of different lengths, from 12 to 24 inches, and varying in breadth from 
7 to10. The greatest breadth of the scull, or osseous part of the head, 5 feet. 
Distance between the eyes 4 feet 2 inches; between the nostrils 2 feet 
34 inches ; between the eye and ear 11 inches ; between the eye and nos- 
tril 1 foot 1 inch; between the corner of the mouth and eye 1 foot 
14 inches. The rostral fins were 2 feet 6 inches long, 12 inches deep, and 
2% inches thick in the middle, whence it tapered toward the edges, which 
were fringed before with a radiated margin. Each contains 27 parallel 
cartilaginous rows. The natural flexibility and elasticity of these were 
greatly increased by articulations alternating with each other through 
every gristle and every part of the structure. Motion was communicated 
to these cartilages with admirable effect, by means of muscles attached to 
them, and lying under the common integuments which enveloped them. 
The fin or wing so constituted could, from its flexibility, bend in all di- 
rections, and be made in many respects to perform the function. .The 
phalanges of this fin were attached by strong ligaments to the upper jaw 
and to the point of articulation with the lower jaw- These two organs, 
which we may suppose rendered essential services to the animal, were 5 
feet 9 inches apart, and could almost be made to meet in front, or be bent 
into the mouth. There was no proper bone in the skeleton, except in 
one spot a hump or knob, about the size of a hen’s egg, at the root of the 
tail behind the dorsal fin. The most remarkable parts of its organiza- 
tion were the pectoral fins, or rather wings. 

There was a scapula, humerus, ulna, carpus, and an uncommon num- 
ber of phalanges of the before mentioned cartilaginous structure. All these 
limbs or joints were articulated with each other; but the articulations, 
like those of the human sternum, had very little motion. This series of 
stiff joints was fixed in the flesh, and proceeded somewhat obliquely back- 
ward. From this articulated but fixed extremity, proceeded obliquely back- 
ward seventy-seven rows of cartilage of different lengths, but of almost same 
parallelism, and not at all radiated. They were all articulated, and the 
joints were very numerous. In the longest rew they amounted to twenty- 
seven, and in the shorter ones proportionally fewer ; the cartilages, with their 
articulations, were so alternated and diversified, that they, with the yield- 


Zoological Collections. 339 


ing and bending quality of the cartilage, were susceptible of all manner 
of flexion, and enabled the fish to assume all the attitudes requisite for 
its life and habits. In one of the wings or pectoral fins, the number of 
joints amounted to 623 ; from which some judgment may be formed of the 
vast variety of motions these organs are capable of performing, and how 
admirably they are adapted to connect strength with speed. We can 
hence understand the reason why they fly swiftly and powerfully through 
the water; why they can raise a spray, or foam, around them when’ 
they flap their wings on the surface ; and they are able, huge as they are, 
to gambol with agility, and even to leap out of the water for a consider- 
able distance. This species is viviparous.—Prof: Mitchill- 


3. Two New Genera of Reptiles Proposed. 


Professor Harlan, who has paid much attention to the Batracian reptiles, 
has established two new genera. The first of these, from its most promi- 
nent character, he has named MENoOBRANCHUS. 

Gen. Char.—Persistent branchie ; four-footed, four toes to each foot; 
clawless. 

M. lateralis——A black vitta from the nostrils, passing through the eyes, 
and dilated on the sides, becoming obsolete on the tail. Plate VIII. Fig. 3- 

Two rows of teeth in the upper jaw and one in the lower, and one rib 
less than the true Salamandre. This species is the Triton lateralis of 
Say, in Long’s Expedition. To this species, Professor Harlan refers the 
animal mentioned by Professor Mitchill as a Proteus, and confounded by 
him with the Salamandra Alleghaniensis of Michaux, and also the animal 
from Lake Champlain, described by Schneider. 

M. tetradactylus——Two rows of teeth in each jaw ; duplicature of skin, 
forming a collar on the superior part of the neck, immediately anterior to 
the branchie. Syn. Protée tetradactyle of Lacepede. 

ABRANCHUS. 

Gen- Char —Destitute of branchie at all periods of its existence; four 
strong legs, five toes to the posterior, four to the anterior extremities ; the 
outer edge of the feet fimbriated ; two outer toes of the hind feet palmat- 
ed ; clawless. 

A. Alleghaniensis, Plate VIII. Fig. 4. Salamandra Alleghaniensis of 
Michaux and Latreille, S. gigantea of Barton. 


4. Bilobites. 


In the cabinet of the Lyceum of New York, there are some fossils from 
New Jersey, and the Catskills, labelled with the name, Bilobites. 

They are imbedded in a loose friable ‘sandstone, which seems to be al- 
most wholly composed of organic remains, such as productus, terebratula, 
&c. The general outline of the fossils may be considered as elliptical, one 
extremity being much narrower than the other. The length varies from 
1.2tol.5inch. The average thickness is about five lines. The superior 
or dorsal surface is divided into two unequal lobes, by a longitudinal fur- 
row, in the course of which a raised zig-zag line is observed. The lobes, 


340 History of Mechanical Inventions and 


with respect to each other, are unequal in size and thickness ; they gra- 
dually become thinner towards the circumference, and more particularly 
towards the posterior or larger extremity.. The lobes are marked trans= 
versely by 18-30 distinct costae, which become more elevated as they ap- 
proach the raised zig-zag line. These costae do not terminate at the 
edges, but are continued at the anterior extremity, on the under surface. 
Faint longitudinal impressions are observed, at unequal distances, crossing 
the transverse costae nearly at right angles. The inequality of the lobes 
is not always constant ; in one specimen, (See Plate VI. Fig. 11.) the smaller 
lobe is compressed in such a manner as to produce a crest, and approxi 
mating nearly to the shape of a trilobite. The under surface is ex- 
tremely irregular. The edges, as before mentioned, are very thin, and are 
elevated about two lines above the inferior surface. This, however, is not 
uniform throughout the whole circumference ; the anterior portion, com- 
prisiug one-third of the fossil, is without such a raised border. In this 
part, the dorsal costae are continued beneath, and meet each other at 
angles of about 45°. The line of junction has not yet been rendered visible 
by the most careful dissection. The posterior portion of the under sur- 
face presents a series of concentric lines, interrupted by a carina directly 
beneath, and in the direction of the dorsal furrow. These fossils were. at 
first supposed to be remains analogous to the Trilobites, but are at present 
referred to the Productus of Sowerby—Dr Dekay. 

See Plate VI. Fig. 11, 12, 13, and 14. 


Til 4il i 


= 


Art. XXVIIL—HISTORY OF MECHANICAL INVENTIONS 
AND PROCESSES IN THE USEFUL ARTS. 


1. Method of giving the Epicycloidal Form to the Teeth of Wheels. 3 By 
Peter Lecount, Esq. Midshipman, R. N. in a Letter to the Editor. 


H. M, S. QuEEN Cuar.Lotre, PortsmMoutH Harsour, 
Sir, Dec. 5, 1822- 


I have to apologize to you for not having earlier sent you the aecount of 
the method I propose to use in forming the teeth of the wheels and pinions 
of chronometers in the shape of an epicycloidal curve. The fact is, I have 
been waiting to get a sight of the engine now used for cutting watch 
wheels, in order so to adapt my plan to that instrument as to leave it ca- 
pable of performing all its former offices, and that the machinery for giving 
the epicycloidal form may be put to it or taken away at pleasure. 

In the instruments now used for cutting the teeth of watch and 
chronometer wheels, there is a circular brass plate (called the dividing 
plate) about seven inches in diameter, having a steel axis in its centre 
(called the mandrill) five or six inches long; this is fixed in a frame with 
the axis perpendicular, the wheel to be cut is fixed to the top of the man- 
drill, and the plate is turned round the required distance for each tooth by 


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Processes in the Useful Arts. ; 341 


a contrivance (called the blind man’s guide) which, when once set to that 
distance accurately, is stopped by a bolt, and the plate can be turned all 
round by it one of the said distances at a time, without the trouble of 
looking at the divisions again. Towards the top of the frame which holds 
the mandrill and dividing plate, there is a horizontal dovetail slide of brass 
running back from the mandrill about six inches, on which’ slide an up- 
right back (or cock) holding the cutter frame is drawn backwards and for- 
wards by means of a screw ina horizontal direction from the top of the 
mandrill, where the wheel is so that the cutter may enter the wheel any 
required depth to form the tooth. In the drawing, Plate I. Fig. 4, (given 
in last Number,) a, a, represents the top of this upright back, and to two 
brass chocks, b, b, the cutting frame is fixed as represented, but does'not 
come forward farther than c, c, and is formed in the direction of the dotted 
line. Between d, d, a steel axis is swiftly turned round bya lathe, and on 
this axis is the cutter. This cutter frame may be moved upwards and down 
wards in the chocks 5, 5, turning thus by means of steel hollow cones, into 
which the inner ends of the screws f, f,; enter on the inside of the chocks— 
after the cutter frame is brought forward on the dovetailslide, so that the cut- 
ter will enter the wheel on the top of the mandrill, the requisite quantity, 
the frame is then turned a little up, and the lathe'set in motion, and the cut- 
ter is by this means turned swiftly ‘round in the frame ; the frame is then 
turned downwards, and the cutter passes through the circumference of the 
wheel cutting into it the required depth. 
-)T-now propose, that after the first cut into the wheel is thus’ made, the 
cutter-frame c, c, c, cpis taken “out/of'the chocks b, b, for which purpose 
the screws fj f, g, g, may be for convenience made with large round heads; 
with milled edges, similar to h, 4; as they can then be turned by hand; 
the upright back and chocks are then to be drawn back on the dovetail 
slide, and the frame k, i, is to be fixed inthe chocks d, b, exactly the 
sameias the frame now used was done, taking out the screw m, and open- 
ing the*part out marked n,n, which‘has a‘hinge ato, and adjusting the 
hole p, to the mandrill, by the screw to the dovetail slide,—then shut up 
the mandrill in the hole'p, by closing the part'n, n, and screwing fast the 
scréw m,—this plate k, k, is to be of solid: brass, and about half an inch 
thick.» ‘The frame &, #, when thus fixed, must be in a plane parallel to 
that of the surface of the dividing plate, the top of the mandrill, with the 
wheel on it standing nearly an inch above’ the upper surface of the frame. 
~ On this frame, I propose to fix a pentagraph, constructed to diminish in 
any required ratio,—the tracing end to be towards the chocks J, b, and the 
marking end towards the mandrill and wheel at p,—at the end next p, the 
cutter is to be fixed, so that its edge next p, is precisely in the marking 
point of the pentagraph,—at the end of the plate next’the chocks 4, d, 
where the tracing end of the pentagraph comes, an epicycloidal curve, ‘six 
milar to that required for the teeth of the wheel, is to be deeply cut ; 
when, therefore, the tracing end of the pentagraph is carried through this 
curve, the edge of the cutter describes, or is carried through a similar curve, 
but smaller in any required ratio to which the pentagraph may be 


" 
‘ 


342 History of Mechanical Inventions and 


set,—the cutter is to be connected with the latter, and turned swiftly 
round by it, exactly in the manner now done in these engines. 

Now, supposing the length of that part of the epicycloidal curve, which 
is required for the tooth of the wheel, to, be one-twenty-fourth of an inch, 
which is nearly the size for the smallest sized chronometers, or those worn 
in the pocket, than if the pentagraph diminished twenty times, the same 
portion or the curve next the chocks, which is to be cut into the brass 
frame, would be about an inch in length, which size is sufficient for it to 
be constructed mechanically with sufficient accuracy, as any trivial errors 
in that mechanical construction, when decreased twenty times, would be- 
come insensible. 

The best kind of pentagraph, I should think, would be the eidogrlipind in- 
vented by Professor Wallace, and which is made by Bate, in the Poultry, 
London, as it is found to be peculiarly accurate, and to possess several other 
advantages, and for the suggestion of employing this pentagraph I am in- 
debted to P. Barlow, Esq., of the Royal Military Academy. It ought to be 
made of steel and hardened, to prevent it bending by the resistance opposed 
to it, which, however, is not great, as the motion of the cutter is very swift. 

There are several little things to be attended to in putting this method 
in practice, all of which would immediately strike the practical mechanic, 
but some of which I shall mention. The mandrill would have to be length- 
ened a little, to enable its top, with the wheel on it, to stand above this 
second frame. This may be done by unscrewing the part which holds the 
wheel out of the mandrill, after the first cut is made in it by the old:cut- 
ting-frame, and then screwing on an additional piece to the mandrill, and 
again screwing it, the piece holding the wheel on the top of this additional 
piece, or the second frame might have shoulders standing up above its upper 
surface, at the end next the chocks 4, 5, to receive the hollow steel cones, in- 
to which the inner conical ends of the screws f, f; come, which would hay- 
the same effect. The approaching and receding motion of the pentagraph 
must be exactly horizontal, or more properly speaking, it must be in a plane 
parallel to that of the upper surface of the dividing plate,—the middle of 
that part of the circumference of the cutter which is next the wheel, must 
be the part which gives the cut,—when all is accurately set as to depth, &c. 
every time the blind man’s guide turns round the requisite portion of the 
dividing plate, the tracing end of the pentagraph will haye to be moved by 
hand through the deeeply cut curve at the back part of the frame, the same 
under similar circumstances, as the cutter frame now used, has to be 
brought down by hand, to cut through the circumference of the wheel. . 

There is a method a little different from the above, by which the teeth 
of wheels might be curved epicycloidally, but I think it would be found 
more difficult to use it with accuracy. I will, however, state it, and should 
any public-spirited chronometer maker be inclined to this essential im- 
provement in his machines, it will be for him to determine on this, and 
many parts in the practical applications of the plans I give, which he will 
be. much more qualified to do than I am. 

In order to explain this, Fig. A, Plate I, shows the axis ¢ ¢, of the cutter as 

il 


Processes in the Useful Arts. 343 


now used, which fixes in the cutter-frame d d, by the screws v, v, which 
have conical holes in their ends at d, to receive the ends #, ¢, of the axis of 
the cutter, and large round heads, with milled edges, similar to those pro= 
posed for the screws f, f, the screws v, v, are fixed tight by others, w, w, y 
is a brass virrel, round which the line passes from the cutter, and communi- 
cates the motion, x is the cutter, which is a circular piece of steel fixed on 
the axis with its:surface perpendicular to the length of the axis, and around 
its edge are sharp teeth for cutting the teeth of the wheel. 

Suppose now, that the second frame, with its attached pentagraph, as 
before described, is fixed to the cutting machine, and instead of the wheel 
to be cut being fixed on the top of the mandrill at p, let a piece of steel be 
placed there, and by the action of the pentagraph, as before described, let 
this steel be cut into the shape of the required part of the epicycloidal 
curve wanted for the teeth of the wheel,;—this piece of steel, when proper- 
ly shaped otherwise, may then be fixed on the axis ¢, ¢, and, with the cut- 
ting-frame as now used, may be employed as the cutter for the wheels, and 
their teeth will still have the required form ; the dotted lines at x, show 
the shape which this cutter would have, eieirers of its presenting a thin 
edge as at a. 

' The difficulty in this method, appears to me to lie in making teeth to 
this cutter, so as not to injure the true form of the curve,—an ingenious 
mechanic may find himself capable of overcoming this. Perhaps, after the 
teeth have been cut by the method I first proposed, an instrument, of the 
form of the dotted lines at x, with its curves highly polished, may, with 
advantage, be used as a burnisher, to prevent the injuring the true form of 
the teeth, by finishing them up by any other method. 

I am, Srr, 
: Your obedient Servant, 
- To Dr Brewster. Peter Lecounr, 
Midshipman Royal Navy. 


2. Description of a Single Weather Sluice, invented by Ropert THom, 
Ese. Rothesay, Plate VI. Fig. 9. 


One of the purposes to which this apparatus is applicable, is to regulate 
the supply of water between a reservoir and mill, or other works, where 
the former is at a great distance from and high above the latter; where 
several streams fall into the aqueduct between them, and where the 
adoption of apparatus, Vol. III. Plate I. Fig. 9, might be considered too 
expensive. But it may also be applied to several other purposes, as will 
readily occur to such as may have occasion to adopt it. 

AB, part of an aqueduct, (close behind the tunnel of the reservoir,) in 
which the water is always kept at the same level by an apparatus like that 
of Vol. II. Plate IV. Fig. 5 or Fig. 6, placed upon the tunnel of the re- 
servoir. The communication between this part of the aqueduct and that 
below is opened or closed at pleasure by 

BC, a small sluice, (and several others of the same kind, which are not 
represented in the drawing,) that turns upon pivots at C. 


B44 History of Mechanical Inventions and 


DE, a light can of ;copper; (or tin plate painted,), open at top, witha: 
small aperture in its bottom. 

F,.a pulley. Oat icbass ii ser¥ ake 

. G, a:lever attached to bales BC. 

DFG, a chain, which, Ganttne over pulley F, has one end: fixed to can 
DE; and the other to lever G. 

IK, the section of a sinmdets 2 near where it enters» ther-reservoir, in the! 
vicinity of AB. 

LMN,;,2.pipe which, communicates between»the: rivuletvat:I Kand the 
can DE. 

OP, another pipe, which communicates ‘between pipe LMIN and a se- 
cond can, the same as DE, not shown on the drawing. 

QR, a third pipe, which comraunicates between pipe-LMN andia' third: 
can, the same as DE, not shown-on the drawing, 

1, 2, 3, apertures that communicate between rivulet. 1K:and pipe LM. 

(When can DE is full of water, it shuts sluice BC, but when empty, the 
pressure of water in front of BC throws it open. The aperture in the 
bottom»of the can DE keepsiit always empty, except when the np hee 
running into it is more than that aperture can pass. 

» Before proceeding with the description, it may be proper to oskin 

more fully the object in view. . It has been already mentioned, that in 
this case a number of streams fall into the aqueduct between the sinedeais 
and the: mills. When the weather is very wet, these streams furnish a 
sufficient supply of themselves ;:and at such times, therefore, no water 
should be:allowed to flow from the reservoir... But, when Jess rain’ falls, 
these streams only furnish a part, and the rest must be supplied by the 
reservoir ; and when the weather is very dry, these streams cease to flow 
altogether, and then the whole supply must come from the reservoir. 
Now, this apparatus is so contrived, that, when these streams are en- 
urely dry, it sendsidown the whole supply from the reservoir ; when 
these streams furnish a part, it sends down the remaining part, whatever 
itmay be; and when these streams furnish the whole supply, it shuts the 
reservoir altogether, so that the mills have always an equal supply, whe- 
ther the weather be wet or dry. 

To accomplish this, the whole number of sluices, BC, &c. placed on 
the aqueduct AB, are calculated so as just to pass the whole quantity of 
water wanted at the mills; and as more or less water is produced by these 
streams, a. greater or lesser number of these sluices will open. or shut, so 
as to keep the quantity at the mills always equal. The number of these, 
sluices will be more or less, as the case may require; in this we suHON 
three, as being sufficient to illustrate the principle. 

Let us suppose, then, the weather very dry; the streams fotmenel the 
reservoir and the mills quite dried up; and the sluices BC, &c. all open ; 
rain comes, and these streams begin to flow; but the same rains that 
swell these streams, swell also the rivulet IK ; and by the time the, first 
produce a quantity equal to what one sluice (BC) can, pass, the last will 
have risen_so as to flow out at aperture 1, thence. down pipe LMN inte, 


Processes in the Useful Arts. 345 


can DE ; which shuts sluice BC. ‘When these streams increase, so a6 to 
produce as much water as two of the sluices (BC) can pass, then the ri- 
vulet IK will have swollen so as to flow out at aperture 2, and thence 
through P into a second can, which shuts a’ second’sluice. When they 
increase so as to produce a quantity equal to what three of the sluices 
(BC) can pass, then the water in the rivulet IK will have risen so as to 
flow out at aperture 3, and thence through R into a third can, which 
shuts a third sluice. 5 

Again, suppose the weather to become fair, andthe streams hegitu to 
decrease, by the time they fall short, a quantity equal to what one sluice, 
(BC) can pass, the water in the rivulet IK will have fallen so as not to 
flow out at aperture 3,. and, of course, one can will. be empty, and.one, 
sluice open ; by the time they fall short, a quantity equal to what two 
sluices can pass, the water in the rivulet IK will have fallen so as, not. to 
flow out.at aperture 2, and x second can will have become empty, and a 
second sluice open, When they shall have fallen short a quantity equal 
to what three sluices can pass, the water in the rivulet IK will have fallen 
so.as not to flow out at. aperture 1, and a third can will have become 
empty, and a third sluice open, &c. &e. 

In this way the water may be regulated at pleasure; and if a ante re- 
servoir were made near the works to retain the water that flows during 
the night, (or when the mills are not at work,) not a drop would be lost. * 
The purpose, however, for which this apparatus was invented was; difs 
ferent. Having occasion to cut an aqueduct round the bases of some hills, 
to collect water and convey it to a reservoir at. a considerable distance, I 
found, that, to make the aqueduct large enough to. convey a\l the water as, 
it fell during floods, would be. very expensive ; it therefore occurred to 
me, that, if a part of the water could be detained during floods, and 
brought away gradually afterwards, a much smaller, (and, of course, 
much less expensive,) aqueduct would answer the purpose. I therefore 
made a small reservoir at a convenient place, and contrived these sluices 
to shut during very heavy rains, and open again as they. became lighter, 
which answered the purpose completely, and was the origin of all, these 
weather sluices. 


3. On coarse Paint made with Potatoes. 


Take a pound of potatoes, skinned and well baked. Bruise them in 
three or four pounds of boiling water, and then pass them through a hair 
sieve. To this add two pounds of good chalk in fine powder, previously 
mixed up with four pounds of water, and stir the whole together. This mix- 
ture will form a sort of glue capable of receiving any “kind of colour, even 


/* The apparatus, Vol. III. Plate I. Fig. 9, will accomplish the same thing with- 
out this small reservoir; but, in most cases, (particularly where the elevation of the 
reservoir above, and its distance from, the works is great,) the expence would 
he much greater than in this. 


346 History of Mechanical Inventions and 


that of powdered charcoal, brick, or soot, which may be used for pean 
gates, painters and. other articles exposed to the air. 


4. Method of janine the polactine of Glass Chimneys. 


The glass chimneys which are now in such extensive use, not only for 
oil lamps, but also for the burners of oil and coal-gas, very frequently 
break, and not only expose to danger those who are near them, but occa~ 
sion very great expence and inconvenience, particularly to those who are 
resident in the country. The bursting of these glasses very often arises 
from knots in the glass where it is less perfectly annealed, and also from 
ani inequality of thickness at their lower end, which prevents them from 
expanding uniformly by heat. The best method of detecting the knots is 
to examine the glasses by polarized light, and reject those that exhibit at 
the’ knots the depolarized tints. 
» M: Cadet de Vaux (Bull. des Sc. Tech. Mars 1825. p. 180,) informs us, 
that the evil arising from inequality of thickness may be cured by making 
a cut with a diamond in the bottom of the tube, and he remarks that, in 
establishments where six lamps are lighted every day, and where this pre- 
caution was taken, there was not a single glass broken for nine years. 


5. Description of Griebel’s Portable Night Clock ° 


This clock, constructed by M. Griebel of Paris, is represented in Plate 
VI. Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the former showing it in perspective, and the latter 
in section. A is the globe which contains the clock movement and the 
lamp B. ‘The dial-plate C has a rim of ground glass with the hours paint= 
ed upon it between E and C, Fig. 4.; EE isa plate in the centre of the 
ground glass ring to which the movement is fixed, F is a globe to protect 
the wheel-work from dust. The rays of light BG, BG issuing from the 
lamp B, illuminate the rim EC of the dial on which the hours and mi- 
nutes are painted. Bull. des Sciences Technol. Jan. 1825, p. 40. 

It would, we think, be an improvement on this clock to place a mirror 
between GG, to intercept all the rays that do not fall upon the rim of 
ground glass, which, by means of another mirror behind B, would throw 
some additional scattered light on the rim itself, while it would protect 
the wheel-work from the direct radiation of the lamp- 


6. Description of M. Allard’s Universal Bevel. 


This useful and ingenious bevel, which is represented in Plate VI. Fig. 
2, is composed of two rules a, b, which open and shut round the joint a. 
The shortest of these two 4, carries a portion of a circle c, which passes 
through a slit in d, where it may be fixed by a screw d. The other branch 
a, is perforated with rectangular mortises in which are nuts, e, of the same 
form, moving on a transverse pin /f. in order to allow the screw g, which 
passes through them, to incline itself and change its position as may be re= 
quired. One of these screws is shown separately in Fig. 8. Near a is fixed a 
flexible plate of steel hhh, which is jointed by caps i, and rivetted to the ends 


Processes in the Useful Arts. 347 


of the screws g. In the openings of each of these caps is placed a piece k, 
with two points, and with the end of the screw fixed in the middle of it, 
so that the plate hhh, may, by means of the screws, be made to apply 
to any curve, and retained in that position so as to be transferred.to an- 
other substance. Bull. des Sc. Technol. Jan. 1825, p. 41. 


7 Method of Consuming the Smoke of Steam- Boiler Furnaces. By Mr G. 
CHAPMAN. 

As this contrivance has been found to answer the purpose of consuming 
the smoke, it has been honoured by the London Society of Arts with the 
large silver medal. Mr Chapman heats the air which promotes the com- 
bustion of the smoke before it is admitted into the furnace, by making 
the grate-bars hollow from end to end, and causing the cold air to pass 
through them into two boxes, one in front of the grate, and the other. be- 
hind it. In the ordinary method of supplying the grate with fuel by the 
front-door, about forty or fifty cubic feet of cold air is admitted into the 
furnace. Mr Chapman, on the other hand, uses a cast-iron hopper from 
which the coals are introduced in a moment without letting in any per- 
ceptible quantity of cold air. When fresh coals are put in, the smoke 
has at first the appearance of a light-gray vapour, but ina few seconds it 
becomes nearly invisible. A drawing and a fuller account of this fur 
nace will be found in the Transactions of the Society of Arts for 1824, vol- 
xlii. p. 32. 


8.. Menstruum for Biting in on Steel Plates for Fine Engravings. By Mr 
Epmunp TuRRELL. 


This useful process, for which Mr Turrel has received the large 
gold medal of the London Society of Arts, has been the result of a great 
number of well-directed experiments, made for the purpose of discovering 
a menstruum, which should corrode the steel with great facility, while it 
produced a beautiful, clear, and deep line. The following is the com- 
pound fluid which he found the most perfect. 

Take four parts by measure of the strongest pyroligneous, (chemically 
called acetic acid, ) and one part of alcohol or highly rectified spirits of wine ; 
mix these together; and agitate them gently for about half a minute, then 
add one part of pure nitric acid ; and when the whole are thoroughly 
mixed, the menstruum is fit to be poured upon the etched steel plate. 

This fluid holds the oxide of the metal in perfect solution, so that the 
whole of the lines appear beautifully bright, and continue so till the bit- 
ing in is completed. Very light tints are corroded in about one minute 
and a half, and a considerable degree of colour is produced in about fifteen 
minutes. When this mixture is poured off the plate, it should be washed 
with one part of alcohol, and four of water, and the stopping out should be 
effected by asphaltus dissolyed in essential oil of turpentine, so as to 
flow freely from a hair pencil. In making the above menstruum, the 
purity of the ingredients is a matter of great importance. 

The steel plates used for engraving may be saved from rust, by warms 


348 History of Mechanical Inventions and 


ing the plate, and rubbing sheep’s’ suet (from the animal) over it, and 
keeping it near a fire, or ina dry room. The best steel plates are those 
manufactured by Mr Rhodes and Mr*Hoole of Sheffield. See the Tvans« 
actions of the Society of Arts, 1824, vol. xlii/ p. 50. ; ’ 


9. Description of Lenormand’s New Chronometer. 


This very singular piece of mechanism, which excited much interest at 
the expositions of French industry in 1819 and 1823, is represented in 
Plate VI. Figs. 5,6, 7. The principle of this chronometer consists in 
the continual displacement of the centre of gravity of the arm of a lever. 
This lever has the form of an arrow AB, Fig. 5. which is capable of 
moving round a horizontal axis O, fixed in the middle of a dial-plate di- 
vided into twelve hours. The two arms AO, BO are unequal, and at the 
end B is fixed a round box. If we place in the box a small weight, 
which has the power of moving round the interior circumference of the 
box, and if it is placed as at B, the arrow will remain in the position AB, 
and point to IX*. If the small weight is placed as at D, so as to be at the 
greatest possible distance from the centre O, the arrow will point to XII*, 
and so on at the other quarters, as at E and F in Fig. 6. In like manner, 
intermediate positions of the little weight will cause the arrow to point to 
intermediate hours. If we now could fix in the box a piece of wheel- 
work to displace this weight ina regular manner, so as to describe the 
circumference of the box in twelve hours, the arrow AB would revolve in 
twelve hours, and would point them out on the dial-plate like the hand of 
aclock. If the wheel-work should carry the weight round the box in‘an 
hour, the arrow would mark minutes on the dial. The additional weight 
which we have used for the purpose of explaining the principle of the 
machine, is not actually used. It exists naturally in every watch, as the 
centre of gravity of every watch is at a distance from its centre of form, 
on account of the weight of the main-spring box and fusee. “We require, 
therefore, only to place a watch in the box B, Fig. 5, in such a manner, 
that it cannot go without communicating its motion to the arrow AB. 
This may be done in two ways, 1, The axle of the central wheel, at the 
place where it comes out of the plate in which it moves, carries a square 
which is laid hold of by one of the two cross pieces between which the 
watch is carried, which cross pieces are fixed to the'box. The other end 
of the axle, which is round, moves in‘a hole perforated in the opposite 
cross piece. This method, though the most simple, is not always so con- 
venient as the following: 2, On one of the cross pieces above mentioned 
is fixed a wheel O, Fig. 7. which cannot turn round. Above the plate of 
the watch passes the axle of a wheel, on which is fixed a pinion R, which 
works in the wheel O. The wheel-work actuated by the spring not 
being able to turn the wheel O; turns quite round it, and, consequently, 
carries the centre of gravity of the watch quite round the interior circum- 
ference of the box B, Fig. 5, and this changes at every instant, and in 
a regular manner, the centre of gravity of the arrow. If the axle of the 
wheel, which carries the pinion R, turns round in one hour, and if we 


Processes in the Useful Arts... . 349 


wish AB. to revolve in twelve hours, then R must. haye eight teeth, and 
O 96, or R10 and O 120. If AB is to revolye in one hour, then R and 
O must have the same number of teeth. Bull. des Sc. Technol. Jan. 1825, 
p. 42. or i 


10, On the Construction of Chimneys. 


Mr Tredgold, in his work on warming and ventilating apartments, has 
given the following rule for proportioning the upper orifices of chimneys 
to their heights and the magnitude of the fire-places : , 
__ Multiply by 17 the length of the fire-place in inches. Divide the pro« 
duct by the square root of the height in feet, and the chimney above the 
fire. The quotient will be the area of the upper orifice in square inches. 

Thus, if the fire is 15 inches wide, and the height of the chimney be 


9 feet, we shall have ux =36) square inches nearly, which isa rectangle 
of 6 X 6 inches, in a circle of nearly 7 inches in diameter. . In chimneys 
already existing, the upper orifices may be contracted to their proper size 
by Parker’s cement. The contraction of the lower end of the vent, above 
the fire should be nearly the same as the upper orifice ; and the throat or 
lowest opening should not exceed the length of the bars. The length of 
the front of the fire should be an inch for every foot of the room’s length, 
and the depth one-half the length. If the length of the chamber should 
be such as to require a grate more than 30 inches long, two fire-places 
should be constructed. 


11. M. Ventau’s Gigantic Meteorological Eolian Harp. 

Captain Haas of Basle has designated by these names, an apparatus 
which emits of itself a variety of sounds during a change of weather. 
Since the year 1787, he had stretched above his garden fifteen iron wires, 
320 feet long, and at the distance of about two inches from one another ; 
the largest wire two lines in diameter, the smallest one line, and those of 
intermediate size one and a half line. They were situated towards the 
south, and are inclined 20° or 30° to the horizon, being stretched by 
means of rollers properly arranged for the purpose. Whenever the wea- 
ther changes, these wires sound with such loudness, that it is im- 
possible to go on with a concert in the house. The sounds sometimes re- 
sembled the hissing noise of water rapid in ebullition, sometimes that of a 
harmonicon, and sometimes that of a distant chime, or an organ. 

The inventor of this curious apparatus is M. Ventau, provost at Burkli, 
not far from Basle. He sometimes shot at a mark from his window ; and 
in order that he might not go to the mark after each shot, he attached to 
it a long iron wire to draw it to him at pleasure. He remarked more 
than once, that that wire sounded exactly an octave ; and he found that 
every iron wire, stretched in a direction parallel to the sounds, emitted 
this tone at every change of weather. 

A brass wire did not produce any sound, nor did an iron wire, when it 
was stretched from east to west. 


350 History of Mechanical Inventions, &c. 


M. Dobereiner of Jena conceives that the phenomenon now described is 
the effect of an electro-magnetic action ; and he proposes to try if the 
brass wire would not sound when it communicates at its extremity with ~ 
an energetic electrometer. Bullet. des Sc. Techn. &c. July 1824, p. 51. 


12. Natural Lamp by Incandescence. 


In using a spirit of wine lamp, M. Dobereiner observed, that when the 
spirit of wine was nearly consumed, the wick became carbonised, and 
that the flame disappeared, yet the carbonised part of the wick became 
incandescent, and’ continued red while a drop of alcohol remained, pro- 
vided the air in the apartment was tranquil. In one experiment it con- 
tinued red twenty-four hours; a disagreable acid vapour, however, was 
formed. 

Dr Brewster long ago observed an analogous fact in the small green 
wax tapers in common use. When the flame is blown out, the wick will 
continue red for many hours, and the wax and wick are burned down as in 
its ordinary combustion, only with extreme slowness ; a very disagreeable 
vapour being formed during the imperfect combustion. Dr Brewster-has 
observed also, that the same effect is not produced when the taper is made 
of red wax. This probably arises from the colouring matter of the two 
tapers. ‘There can be little doubt, however, that the same result will be 
obtained with different kinds of wax, and even with tallow, provided the 
quantity of wax is properly proportioned to the diameter of the wick. 


13. Oil for Chronometers, Clocks, and Delicate Wheel-work. 


It has long been a desideratum among watchmakers to procure good oil, 
that retained its fluidity for a length of time, without acting upon the 
metals which it lubricated, and without becoming thick or freezing with 
cold. For this purpose, every kind of acid, or of mucilage, must be taken 
from it. In short, it should be pure elaine, without any trace of stearine. 

In order to extract the elaine from fixed oils, M. Chevreul treats it in a 
matrass, with seven or eight times its weight of alcohol nearly boiling, 
decanting the liquid, and exposing it to the cold. The stearine will then 
separate in the form of a crystallized precipitate. The Alcoholic solution 
must then be evaporated to the fifth of its volume, and the remainder 
will be elaine, which ought to be colourless, insipid, almost without 
smell, without any action on the infusion of turnsole, having the con- 
sistence of white olive oil, and coagulable with difficulty. M- Peclet’s 
method of procuring elaine, consists in pouring upon oil a concentrated 
solution of caustic soda, stirring the mixture, heating it slightly to sepa- 
rate the elaine from the soap of the stearine, pouring it on a cloth, and 
then separating by decantation the elaine from the excess of alcaline solu- 
tion. Some excellent observations on the effects of oil in jewelled holes, 
&c., will be found in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, Art. Horoxoey, vol. 
xi. p. 137. 


Mr Hodgkinson on the Strength of Materials. 351 


Art. XXVIII—ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS AND 
: MEMOIRS.. 


I. On the Transverse Strain and Strength of Materials. By Mr Eaton 
Hopcxinson. (Manchester Memoirs, vol. iv. p. 225. Lond- 1824.) 


WE slightly mentioned this article in our third number, and, at the same 
time, stated our intention of examining it more at length in the present’ 
Journal. It appears to have been read in March 1822, but the author, at 
that time, not having seen Mr Barlow’s “ Essays on the Strength of Ma- 
terials,” &c. it was afterwards withdrawn, in order to make some notes 
and additions considered necessary, in consequence of certain discrepancies 
between the two theories, viz. the one adopted by Mr Barlow, and that by 
Mr Hodgkinson; of these we shall take some notice as we proceed, ob-~ 
serving only in this place, that the points in dispute relate principally to 
what may be called, the mechanism of the transverse strain, viz. to the 
operations going on in the interior of a piece of timber at the moment of 
rupture, as at the time of the greatest strain, and the relation between the 
resistance of the timber, when strained transversely, and its power of di- 
rect cohesion, but which, however, does not affect the computed strength 
of timber as deduced from experiments made on the transverse strength ; 
for all parties agree, that whatever may be the exterior operations, the 
proportional strength of similar beams is directly as the breadth, and the 
square of the depth, and inversely as the length, so that the point in ques- 
tion may be considered as one rather of curious philosophical inquiry, 
than of actual importance in these kind of experiments. 

Mr Hodgkinson, after a short introduction, commences his paper with 
the following inquiry. Suppose a beam fixed firmly in a wall, and to 
be then broken by a weight suspended at its other end, what are the circum- 
stances attending the rupture? admitting, in the first place, that the tim- 
ber is wholly incompressible, and that it resists fracture by its tension only. 

Even this simple question has given rise to some controversies amongst 
early writers on this subject. Galileo, who led the way in these researches, 
assumed, that the fibres of the timber, from the lower edge of the beam, 
about which it was supposed to revolve, to produce fracture, acted in such 
a way, that their united effect was the same, as if the whole of their actions 
took place at the centre of gravity of the surface ; that is, he supposed, the 
resistance of each fibre to be the same, at whatever distance it was situated 
from the axis of motion, except so far as depended on its leverage. But 
Mariotte, Leibnitz, and others, assert, and apparently with good reason, 
that, according to the law, wt tensio sic vis, the resistance of each fibre is 
proportionate to its tension, independent of the leverage, and, therefore, 
introducing the latter, the effect of each will be as the square of its dis- 
tance from the fulcrum. 

To meet these cases, Mr Hodgkinson assumes the resistance to vary as 
an indeterminate power (wv) of the distance of the fibres, and hence dedu- 
ces a very simple and general formula, involving this indeterminate in- 
dex v, to which, giving the different values 0, 1, &c. he arrives at the se- 


352 Analysis of Scientific Books and. Memoirs. . 


veral results obtained by these writers, for beams of all forms and dimen- 
sions) These, as we have before.stated, differ essentially from each other, 
when the results are made dependent on the strength of direct cohesion, 
although with similar formed beams, and under similar circumstances, the 
proportions deduced from each are.the same. .), coayTe to 
One of the most remarkable differences in these deductions is, that, ad- 
mitting the law of Galileo, which. is, equivalent.to making oo, an equila- 
teral triangular beam will be twice as strong, broken with its edgedown~ 
wards, as when, reversed, so,as to make the, base the fulerum of motion, 
the edge leaning upwards... And, according to Leibnitz, the proportions 
of strength in, the two cases is as. 1. to3,;, whereas, by experiments report~ 
ed: by. Mr. Barlow, it appears that,.the strength in the, two. cases is nearly 
equal, what difference there is, being on the opposite side to that deduced 
from theory. From this, therefore, it is demonstrated, as. was before as- 
serted by Coulomb, Dr Robison, and others, that both hypotheses are erro= 
neous, the errors in each arising from, considering, the material as incom~ 
pressible, and thereby supposing the beam. to, turn about its lower, edge, 
whereas, in fact, it is partly compressed, and .partly extended, the motion 
being about an intermediate line, now commonly denominated the neutral 
awis, because the fibre, situated at this place,is supposed to be neither ex~ 
tended nor compressed. The investigation of this question is the next ob- 
ject of the author, who, adopting the theory of, Coulomb and Dr Robison, 
arrives at this formula : f 
breaking weight a ps oD dT Sia Pad 
Where T =, the sum. of the forces arising from ‘tension, D and. A, the dis» 
tance of the centres of tensions, and compression from the neutral axis, 
L, the length of the beam, and C, the cosine of its deflection ; andhere we 
fall upon the principal question, arising out.of the. paper under: review, 
viz. the theory of Coulomb, Hodgkinson, and others,, versus Barlow’s. 
It is not our intention to give any decision on this. subject, but. we shall 
endeayour to lay,the question fairly before our readers, and leave them, or 
those most practically conversant with these subjects, to decide, in order 
to do which, however, we must quote at some length from the Memoir in 
question. 
After showing, as we have done above, that there must be in the beam 
a certain neutral line, Mr H. proceeds. 
“If then, in Plate II. Fig. 4, (given in last Number,) in which adbc 
is intended to, represent, the surface of fracture, ab be the neutral line; or 
that.of which we have been speaking, and if abd be the surface of extension 
and ach that of compression, it is evident that the extensions, or compres- 
sions of any particles, within those surfaces, will be as their distances from 
the line ab ; and the forces necessary to produce them may be considered 
as in proportion to some powers v and w of those distances. wo% 
And in order to estimate the strength of the piece, whose section is achd, 
if F and f represent.the points at which the forces, rising from extension 
and compression, being collected, would produce the same effects as they 
do at their respective distances from the neutral line: f will be the fal- 
crum, on which all the horizontal forces may be conceived as sustained, 


Mr Hodgkinson on the Strength of Materials. 353 


and F f one arm of a bended lever, while the length of Gf is the other, 
(the points F and G being supposed to be connected by the chain FG, mere- 


ly to give the lever the appearance of greater strength.) And to obtain 
the strength of the body we shall have 


W X fG= sum of the forces in abd X Ff. 
sum of the forces inahbd X Ff 
Whence Waar oe where the deflection of the 


beam is neglected ; or introducing that, as in Art. 9, we have W (the 


__ sum of the forces in abd X (FP+Pf)_ TxD+4TxaAa 

weight) Se re art 
Length x cosine of Deflection LyC 

where T = sum of the forces rising from tension, D and a the distances 

of the centres of tension and compression from the neutral line, L the 

length of the piece, and C the cosine of its deflection. 

“* A necessary consequence of this reasoning is, that the sums of the 
forces of extension and compression are just equal to one another:* For 
the weight W, acting in the direction of GW, parallel to the surface of 
fracture adbc, can have no influence in pushing the piece toward or draw- 


*<¢ The mode of reasoning adopted above has been objected to by Mr Barlow, who 
conceives that the forces in F and j, or those of extension and compression, instead 
of being equal, should be inversely as their distances from the neutral line, or that 
the forces in F PI = forces in f X P/, and that these taken collectively are 
= the rectangle under the weight and the length of the beam, which is sup- 
posed to turn as on a pivot round the neutral line. Whence L X W = the forces 
in F X PF X forces inf X Pf = twice the forces in F X PF. The mode of 
estimating the strengths of bodies, as deduced from this, is very simple and easy ; 
it is in effect this :—Find the neutral line—suppose that the fulerum—estimate the 
strength of the area of tension, = was done in incompressible bodies, and double 
that for the answer. 

_ But this rule, it appears to me, contains within itself a fundamental error which 
will become very apparent by the following consideration.—It is supposed to be ge- 
neral whatever the situation of the neutral line may be. Let then the body be in- 
compressible ; the neutral line will in that case be extremely near the edge, and 
the strength as estimated by this rule will be double what from incontestable prin- 
ciples it ought to be: a consequence which the ingenious author could have had no 
idea of, when he proposed this theory. The error too will be found to exist, though _ 
in a less degree, in almost every other position of the neutral line, and may be very 
plainly seen, if we estimate by this rule, strengths of bodies that suffer a slight com- 
pression, and compare the results with the known strengths of the same bodies, if 
they had been wholly incompressible. 


- For example :—The strength of an incompressible joist, broke by a weight hung 
sba 2 
at one end, being Keo+2y” (articles 4th and 9th,) -where s is the longitudinal 


strength of the fibres in a unity of surface, b the breadth of the piece, @ its depth, 7 
its length, and v the index of os : the strength of a compressible one, ac- 


sbd2 
cording to Mr Barlow, will isi Wo+2” where d is the depth of the area of tension, 


and the rest as before. 
VOL, IIT. No. 11. OCTOBER 1825. & 


354 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. 


ing it from the wall: and therefore the pressure on the fulcrum f must. 
just be as great as the resistance in F, all the horizontal forces-being sup- 
posed collected into those two points. 
“ For the first outline of this subject, see the valuable treatise of Dr. 
Robison, referred to above.” 
Before entering more particularly on this subject, it may be proper 
to state, that we do not conceive Mr Hodgkinson has, by any means, suc= 
ceeded in proving, by the calculations he has made, the inaccuracy of the 
theory in question. Mr Barlow obviously assumes, that the operation 
of breaking consists of two distinct forces, namely, that necessary to pro-. 
duce extension, and that of compression, and that the strength will be 
greater as either of these are greater; and it is, therefore, quite consistent 


Suppose d == Pig then 288 = oe x Oe 
8 l@+2) 32 *% 142) 
2 4 sba? 
3 9 sba2 
a= “et seeeeeneesecees 32 X70 42) 
4 => sha? 
d= 34 easceeeeesecens 32 X Tos lwo+2) 
5 “s sba2 
é = 3? sneeusgrase == a e+. 
6 36 ba2 
i= ace seeeeee BCT ae Teo+2)_ 
“3 19 Pag sba® 
a= ce eeeeesceecesses—— Do Wo+2). 
d= me = fits naa « 
SS ERCES To+2) 
The last three terms of which must be false, since they all give the strengths great- 
er than as 2D? which is that of the joist when every fibre is submitted to ten- 


sion, and the preceding five terms (setting aside accidental coincidences) must he 
erroneous too, since they lead in a regular progression to the last three. 

Now, as Mr Barlow has offered no reasons against the theory in the text (further 
than that it does not agree with his own, which we have just been examining,) we 
see no cause why it should be rejected, especially since it seems to us to be every 
where consistent and just. 

It may not be improper to mention that M. Coulomb, in his paper on this sub- 
ject (Memoires presentés aU’ Académie des Sciences, tom. vii.) makes L X W = the 
forces in F X PF+ the forces in f XX Pf, and endeavours to show that the forces 
in F and /, or those of tension and compression are equal: the theory of Mr Bar- 
low then differs from that of the French philosopher in this last particular, but we 
conceive that the latter must be right;—the results from it are the same as from 
that in the text, though it is much less convenient in its.use. We particularly reu 
fer the reader to the above paper of M. Coulomb, as he has given a very minute 
analysis of the transverse strain: and the reason why this matter has been so 
long overlooked, seems to be that both M. Coulomb and Dr Robison have content« 
ed themselves by giving a bare outline of it.” 


Mr Hodgkinson on the Strength of Materials. 355 


with his theory, that where the resistance to compression is considerably 
greater than that to extension, the strength of the beam will be greater, 
than if all the fibres acted by extension only: the only direct contradiction 
appears in the last case, where the resistance to compression is infinite, viz. 
in a case which cannot occur, and which the theory in question is invented 
on purpose to avoid. That it should fail here is obvious, because, in this 
case, there are no forces acting under the neutral line, as the theory sup- 
poses ; and it is singular Mr Hodgkinson did not perceive, that precisely 
the same want of'generality applies also to his theory, by taking the opposite 
imaginary case, viz- of the material being infinitely inextensible; for in 
this case, the area of tension being zero, the breaking weight would be zero, 
or taking any small area of tension, then the strength would be infinite, 
both inconsistent results. 

The question is not, therefore, to be decided in this way, but by a refer- 
ence to first principles, and it seems to be within narrow limits. Mr 
Hodgkinson, following the theory of Coulomb, considers the resistance to 
fracture as a single mechanical effort, measured by the area of tension, 
multiplied by the tension on the unit of measure, and by the distance be- 
tween the centre of tension and compression ; whence he deduces 

sum of the forces in ahd X Ff 
wv = 
LC 
__ sum of the forces in abd X (FP + fG) 
Wien EC 
’ 
W. we p< * +T XA 
C 
Whereas Mr Barlow considers the operation as compound, and estimates 
the resistance to compression and tension separately. So that, denoting the 
resistance to compression by R, his expression is 
TX D+RxXa4 
Wee ve 

In order to reduce this formula to a state proper for further investiga- 
tion, it is necessary to establish the relation between the two parts, T 
* D, andR X 4, and he assumes them to be equal, observing “ that it is 
_ this equality only which determines the relation to take place about the 
point P,” whereas the other theory assumes T = R, which of course gives’ 
Mr Hodgkinson’s numerator, T X D+ T X 4. The question-is thus 
reduced to this very narrow limit, viz. Whether, from the nature of the ope- 
rations, we ought to take T—R,or T X D=R X 4, or whether the one 
of these equalities may not belong to the first part, and the other to the 
last part of the operations by which the fracture is produced. It is stated 
hy Mr Tredgold, that the neutral axis does not remain permanent during 
the operation of fracture, but that the area of compression gradually in- 
creases ; and if so, a different law must have place at the beginning and 
end of the process. At all events, we have reduced the question to its nar-~ 
rowest limit, and we leave it thus for the decision of those most conversant 
with these matters, and proceed to-an examination of the experimental 
part of the paper. 


356 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. ~ 


The first experiments we meet with, were made on slips of yellow ping 
and Baltic fir, with a view to ascertain the law observed between the de~ 
flections or extensions, and the weights or forces employed to produce 
them ; and in order to avoid compression, an artificial fulerum was con- 
trived for the beam to turn about, whereby all the fibres might act by ex- 
tension only. The following are the results in one of those cases. 


Weights. Deflections. Weights. Deflections. 

5- - = - 8 60 - ~ = 98 

10 - - = = 15 65 - - - 109 

VD phe = d= 221 70 - = = 120 

20 - - = - 28 75 - - - 133 

25 - - - = 34 80 - - = 146 

30 - - - - 41 85 - - - 163 

35 - - - - 5l 90° =| = Oe 

40 - - - - 61 95 - - = 195 

45 - - - - 70 100 - - = 222 

50 - - - - 79 105 - - = 241 

SOle= eee set 110 It bore this about $a 


minute, and then broke. 


“ The two first of these experiments are the concluding ones of a series of 
a similar kind, and were made with great care. Previous to their com- 
mencement, a considerable weight, but still such as would not injure the 
elasticity of the wood, was laid upon it, to make the iron recede as much 
as possible. The weight was then taken off, and a small slip of thin tin 
forced in between the ends of the iron. 

** The deflections in both of them, and consequently the extensions are, 
through their whole ranges, very nearly in the proportion of the forces. 
The same may be said of the last experiment, and of every other we made, 
during the earlier stages of flexure; but as we continued the experiment, 
and arrived nearer to fracture, the extensions always increased faster than 
the forces. —We will seek for the ultimate value of the index v in the last 
experiment, and for that purpose shall select one of the earlier weights, as 
201b., with its deflection 28, and the last weight it bore or 105lb., with its 
deflection 241 ; and since the forces were supposed to be as the v power of 


the extensions, we have 20]b. : (28)” :: 105Ilb : (241)”* But » in the two 
cases is different, and in the former is = 1 (since then the extensions were 
as the forces,) and hence we haye 20 : 28:: 105: (241) or (241)” = 
28 X 105 A - 
Tipp LAT And by taking the Logarithms we have »v X Log. 241 
Log. 147 2.1673173 9098 

= Log. 147, and »v = Log. 241 = 2.3820170 — 10000 = -91 nearly. 

And pursuing the same mode with respect to the two former experi- 
ments, and considering the tabular deflections as integers, since the result 
will be the same, we shall have— 

In the first, 

19 240 Log. 76 
60lb. : 19:: 240Ib. : (83)” 50 Ge Whence 1c pag 70g. 63° 
1.8808136 _ 

19190781 ‘98 


Mr Hodgkinson on the Strength of Materials. = 357 


A 
- In the second, 

shay 4 Log. 60 __ 1-7781512 __ 

90: 20 : : 270: (53)” = 60..".v = Log, 53 — 1.724759 — 1.03. 
_. © And taking the mean, we have ae ne +t = 97 = ulti- 
mate mean value of w A number which so nearly approaches to unity, 
the index of perfect elasticity, that it seems unnecessary to assume any 
other law.” 

We cannot here subscribe to the author’s decision ; for admitting v= 1, 
we should have 20: 28 :: 105: 147, (taking his own example,) whereas the 
experimental number is 241, instead of 147, which is too great a differ- 
ence to allow us to use this law in any physical inquiry. The fact un- 
questionably is, that woody fibres differ very essentially from bodies per- 
fectly elastic ; their extension, for a certain time, is nearly or exactly pro- 
portional to the existing force ; but beyond a certain point, they diminish 
in their resistance as they are more extended, and in the particular exam- 
ple in question, a part of the fibres still retained their entire elastic force, 
while the outward ones were considerably reduced in their resisting power, 
and consequently the deduction made by considering them all as in one 
state is fallacious. The same remark applies to the experiments on the 
law of compression. With respect to the chapter employed in deducing 
the neutral line, it is so involved in the question on which we have al- 
ready entered at some length, that we must pass it over in this place ; ob- 
serving only, that the relations deduced with respect to the area of tension 
and compression, differ considerably from what is shown to be the actual 
case in Willow, by Duhamel, and in Fir, by Mr Barlow, by direct experi- 
ment. The former of these experimenters eut his bars three quarters 
through, filling up the cut by a wedge, without diminishing the strength, 
and the latter cut his fir beams 5-8ths through, with but a very slight 
diminution. The discrepancy, however, is, we conceive, sufficiently ac- 
counted for by the author; viz. that his computations relate to beams 
moderately strained, and the others to the breaking strains. The author 
having thus first investigated the question on general principles, as ex- 
plained in the leading part of this paper, and then deduced successively 
the laws of tension and compression ; and, lastly, the position of the neu- 
tral line or axis, proceeds to the solution of several examples somewhat 
parallel with those given by Mr Barlow in his Essay, with a view of con- 
necting the direct resistance of materials with their resistance to a transverse 
strain, and, admitting his previous deductions, with great ingenuity and 
precision ; but the accuracy of the whole is involved in the doubtful posi- 
tion which we have endeavoured to examine in the early part of this arti- 
cle.. Fortunately, however, this doubt affects only what may be consider- 
ed the curious side of the question, the useful part being in a great mea- 
sure independent of it ; for in all practical determinations, engineers, ar- 
chitects, and others concerned in such inquiries, naturally make their cal- 
culations from experiments of a similar kind to the case in hand; as, for 
example, where the question is a tie, they look to experiments on direct 


858 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs 


cohesion, when pressure to experiments on this strain, and when trans- 
verse strains are to be resisted to experiments on the transverse strength. 
There is, therefore, in. these cases, no question concerning the relative re- 
sistance to compression, extension, neutral ones, &c. At the same time, the 
other inquiry is highly interesting, and being now fairly before the pub- 
lic, it will, we haye little doubt, meet with the attention it merits, from 
such of our readers as are conversant or interested in the physical theory 
of the strength of materials. 


II. On the Gold Mines of North Carolina. By Denison Otmsren, 
Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy in the University of North 
Carolina. 


Tuts very interesting paper, which we are desirous of laying before our 
readers, has been published in America in Professor Silliman’s Journal. 
The description of the mines themselves is too valuable to admit of any 
abridgement. 

The gold mines of North Carolina, which have recently become an ob- 
ject of much inquiry both at home and abroad, are situated between the 
35th and 36th degrees of N- latitude, and between the 80th and 81st de- 
grees of W. longitude from London. They are on the southern side of 
the State, not far from the borders of South Carolina, and somewhat west- 
ward of the centre. Through the gold country flows the river Pedee, re- 
ceiving, within the same district, the Uwharre from the north, and Rocky 
river from the south, both considerable streams. Above the junction with 
the Uwharre, the Pedee bears the name of Yadkin. 

The gold country is spread over a space of not less than 1000 square 
miles. With a map of North Carolina one may easily trace its bounda- 
ries, so far as they have been hitherto observed. From a point taken eight 
miles west by south of the mouth of the Uwharre, with a radius of eighteen 
miles, describe a circle,—it will include the greatest part of the county of 
Montgomery, the northern part of Anson, the north-eastern corner of Mu- 
lenberg, Cabarrus, a little beyond Concord on the west, and a corner of 
Rowan and of Randolph. In almost any part of this region, gold may be 
found, in greater or less abundance, at or near the surface of the ground. 
Its true bed, however, is a thin stratum of gravel inclosed in a dense mud, 
usually of a pale blue, but sometimes of a yellow colour. On ground that 
is elevated and exposed to be washed by rains, this stratum frequently 
appears at the surface ; and in low grounds, where the alluvial earth has 
been accumulated by the same agent, it is found to the depth of eight feet : 
where no cause operates to alter its original depth, it lies about three 
feet below the surface- Rocky river and its small tributaries which cut 
through this stratum, have hitherto proved the most fruitful localities’ of 
the precious metal. 

The prevailing rock in the gold country is Argillite. This belongs to 
an extensive formation of the same, which crosses the State in numerous 
beds, forming a zone more than twenty miles in width, and embracing, 
among many less important varieties of slate, several extensive beds of 


Mr Olmsted on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. 859 


novaculite, or whetstone slate, and also beds of petrosiliceous porphyry 
and of greenstone. These last lie over the argillite, either in detached blocks, 
or in strata that are inclined at a lower angle than that. This ample 
‘field of slate I had supposed to be the peculiar repository of the gold ; 
but a personal examination discovered that the precious metal, embosom- 
ed in the same peculiar stratum of mud and gravel, extends beyond the 
slate on the west, spreading, in the vicinity of Concord, over a region of 
granite and gneiss. 

A geographical description of the gold country, would present little 
that is interesting. The soil is generally barren, and the inhabitants are 
mostly poor and ignorant, The traveller passes the day without meeting 
with a single striking or beautiful object, either of nature or of art, to 
vary the tiresome monotony of forests and sandhills, and ridges of gravel- 
ly quartz. Here and there a log hut, or cabin, surrounded by a few 
acres of corn and cotton, marks the little improvement which has been 
made by man, in a region singularly endowed by nature. The road is ge- 
nerally conducted along the ridges which slope on either hand into vallies 
of moderate depth, consisting chiefly of fragments of quartz, cither strew- 
ed coarsely over the ground, or so comminuted as to form gravel ; these 
ridges have an appearance of great natural sterility, which, moreover, is 
greatly aggravated by the ruinous practice of frequently burning over the 
forests, so as to consume all the leaves and under-growth, giving to the 
_forest the aspect of an artificial grove. — 

The principal mines are three—the Anson mine, Reed’s mine, and 
Parker’s mine. 

The Anson Mrnz is situated in the county of the same name, on the 
waters of Richardson’s creek, a branch of Rocky river. This locality was 
discovered only two years since by a “ gold hunter,”—one of an order of 
people, that begin already to be accounted a distinct race. A rivulet 
winds from north to south between two gently sloping hills that emerge 
towards the south. The bed of the stream, entirely covered with gravel, 
is left almost naked during the dry season, which period is usually select- 
ed by the miners for their operations. On digging from three to six feet 
into this bed, the workman comes to that peculiar stratum of gravel and 
tenacious blue clay, which is at once recognized as the repository of the gold. 
The stream itself usually gives the first indication of the richness of the 
bed through which it passes, by disclosing large pieces of the precious 
metal shining among its pebbles and sands—such was the first hint af- 
forded to the discoverer of the Anson mine. Unusually large pieces were 
found by those who first examined the place, and the highest hopes were 
inspired. On inquiry it was ascertained that part of the land was not 
held by a good title, and parcels of it were immediately entered," but it 


“ A piece of land is said not to be entered when it remains the property of the 
public, without taxation. Any one is at liberty to enter on the state books what- 
ever land he can find in this situation, the land being secured to him on his becom- 


ing responsible for the taxes. 


360 . Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. « 


has since been a subject of constant litigation, which has retarded. the 
working of the mine. 

Rexrp’s Mrvye in Cabarrus is the one which was first wrought ; and, at 
this place, indeed, were obtained the first specimens of gold that were 
found in the formation. A large piece was found in the bed of a small 
creek, which attracted attention by its lustre and specific gravity, but it 
was retained, for a long time after its discovery, in the hands of the pro~ 
prietor, through ignorance whether it were gold or not. This mine occu- 
pies the bed of Meadow ereek, (a branch of Rocky river,) and exhibits a 
level between two hillocks, which rise on either side of the creek, afford~- 
ing a space between from fifty to one hundred yards in breadth. This 
space has been nearly all dug over, and exhibits at present numerous 
small pits for the distance of one-fourth of a mile on both sides of the 
stream. ‘The surface of the ground and the bed of the creek are occupied 
by quartz and by sharp angular rocks of the greenstone family. The first 
glance is sufficient to convince the spectator that the business of searching 
for gold is conducted under numerous disadvantages, without the least re- 
gard to system, and with very little aid from mechanical contrivances 
The process is as follows. During the dry season, when the greatest part 
of the level above described is left bare, and the creek shrinks to a small 
rivulet, the workman selects a spot at random and commences digging a 
pit with a spade and mattock. At first he penetrates through three or 
four feet of dark coloured mud, full of stones in angular fragments. At 
this depth he meets with that peculiar stratum of gravel and clay, which 
he recognizes as the matrix of the gold. If the mud be very dense and 
tenacious he accounts it a good sign ; and if stains or streaks of yellow oc- 
casionally appear on the blue mud, it is a fortunate symptom. Some- 
times he penetrates through a stratum of the ferruginous oxide of manga- 
nese, in a rotten friable state. This he denomivates ‘‘ cinders,” and re- 
gards it also as a favourable omen. Having arrived at the proper stratum, 
which is only a few inches thick, he removes it with a spade into the 
© cradle.” This is a semi-cylinder laid on its side, (like a barrel bisected 
longitudinally and laid flat-wise,) and made to rock like a cradle on two 
parallel poles of wood. The cradle being half filled with the rubbish, 
water is there laded in, so as nearly to fill the vessel. The cradle is now 
set to rocking, the gravel being occasionally stirred with an iron rake, un- 
til the coarse stones are entirely freed from the blue mud,—a part of the 
process which is the more difficult, on account of the dense adhesive qua- 
lity of the mud. By rocking the cradle rapidly, the water is thrown over 
board, loaded with as much mud as it is capable of suspending. The 
coarser stones are then picked out by hand, more water is added, and the 
same process is repeated. On pouring out the water a second time, (which 
is done by inclining the cradle on one side,) a layer of coarse gravel ap- 
pears on the top, which is scraped off by hand. At the close of each 
washing, a similar layer of gravel appears on the top, which appears more 
and more comminuted until it graduates into fine sand, covering the bot- 
tom of the cradle. At length this residuum is transferred to an ivon dish, 


4 


Mr Olmsted on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. 361 


which is dipped horizontally into a pool of water, and subjected to a rota- 
tory motion. All the remaining earthy matter goes overboard, and no- 
thing remains but a fine sand, chiefly ferruginous, and the particles of gold 
for which the whole labour has been performed. These are frequently no 
larger than a pin’s head, but vary in size from mere dust to pieces weigh- 
ing one or two pennyweights. Large pieces, when they occur, are usual- 
ly picked out at a previous stage of the process. 

Large pieces of gold are found in this region, although their occurrence 
is somewhat rare. Masses weighing four, five, and six hundred penny- 
weights, are occasionally met with, and one mass was found that weighed, 
in its crude state, 28 lbs. avoirdupoise. ‘This was dug up by a negro at 
Reed’s mine, within a few inches of the surface of the ground. Marvel- 
lous stories are told respecting this rich mass ; as that it had been seen by 
gold hunters at night, reflecting so brilliant a li, ht, when they drew near 
toit, with torches, as tomake them believe it was some supernatural appear- 
ance, and to deter them from farther examination. But all stories of this 

_kind, as I was assured by Mr Reed, the old proprietor, are mere fables. 
No unusual circumstances were connected with the discovery of this mass, 
except its being nearer the surface than common. It was melted down 
and cast into bars soon after its discovery. ‘Ihe spot where it was found 
has been since subjected to the severest scrutiny, but without any similar 
harvest. Another mass weighing 600 pwts. was found on the surface of 
a ploughed field in the vicinity of the Yadkin, twenty miles or more north 
of Reed’s mine. Specimens of great elegance, as I should infer from the 
descriptions of the miners, are occasionally found, but for want of minera- 
logists to reserve them for cabinets, they have always been thrown into the 
common stock and melted into bars. Mr Reed found a mass of quartz, 
haying a projecting point of gold, of the size of a large pin’s head. On 
breaking it open, 2 brilliant display of green and yellow colours was pre- 
sented, which he described as exceedingly beautiful. The gold weighed 
12 pwts. The mineralogist may perhaps recognize in this description, 
acongeries of fine crystals, but on that point the proprietor could not 
inform me. Although fragments of greenstone and of several argil~ 
laceous minerals, occur among the gravel of the gold-stratum, yet, in the 
opinion of the miners, the precious metal is never found attached to 
any other mineral than quartz. Indeed it is rarely attached to any sub- 
stance, but is commonly scattered promiscuously among the gravel. Its 
colour is generally yellow with a reddish tinge, though the surface is not 
unfrequently obscured by a partial incrustation of iron or manganese, or 
by adhering particles of sand. The masses are flattened and vesicular, 
haying angles rounded with evident marks of attrition. The rounded 
angles and vesicular structure lead to the opinion, which is very general, 
that the metal has undergone fusion ; but any one who inspects the spe- 
cimens narrowly, will be convinced that their worn and rounded appear- 
ance is owing to attrition, and that the cavities are produced by the in- 
dentation of sand and gravel, the exact impress of which may be observed, 
and particles of them may still frequently be seen imbedded. ‘The gra- 


862 © Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs.\ 


vel, moreover, which is separated by washing, bears evident marks of at- 
trition, of a limited duration, sufficient to round its edges and angles, but 
not sufficient to destroy them : the fragments are not ovoidal like the peb+ 
bles of rivers, but are still flat, retaining their original form, except that 
their édges are dull, and their angles blunted. In short, the whole ap- 
pearance is such, as would naturally result from so soft a substance as vir- 
gin-gold, being knocked about among such stern associates as quartz and 
greenstone. 

The appearance of fusion, supposed to be exhibited by the gold, has 
inspired the idea among the miners, that the small pieces which they ob- 
tain: have been melted out from some ore that lies disguised somewhere in 
the vicinity. This idea has frequently made them the dupes of imposi- 
tion. The Mineral Rod, charms, end other follies, have had their reign 
here, and the first is still held in some estimation. The common rocks 
and stones of the country have been tortured by a new race of alchymists, 
who have imagined them to be the ore of gold, veiling, under some dis- 
guise, the characters of the precious metal. A great degree of eagerness 
also pervades the country on the subject of the metals in general. The 
minerals, thrown out in excavating pits in search of gold, consist chiefly of 
quartz, greenstone, and hornblende mixed with chlorite, and afford little 
that is interesting to the collector of specimens. Almost the only sub- 
stance which I met with, that was worth preserving merely asa specimen, 
was Pyritous Copper. Of this I saw some elegant fragments. It occurs 
in a gangue of quartz, and resembles that found at Lane’s Mine at Hunt- 
ington, Con. (Amer. Journal of Science, vol. i. p. 316.) A vein of it 
occurs in slaty clay, six miles east of Concord, in Cabarrus county. This 
ore had been subjected to numerous experiments, on account of the belief 
that it was the “ ore of gold,” above mentioned ; and, although the expe- 
riments did not lead to the discovery of gold, yet a ‘* German miner and 
mineralogist” had, it was said, detected pratina init. On searching in- 
to the evidence of so unexpected a result, I was informed that a white 
metal was produced from this ore, which was not lead, nor tin, nor silver, 
but answered perfectly to the description of platina, although, as they ac- 
knowledged, it was easily fused, and burned with a blue flame. I sus- 
pected it to be metallic antimony, but still could perceive no signs of that 
inctal in the ore. I requested a minute account of the process——‘“ The 
materials, namely, the ore, charcoal, borax, &c. were put into a crucible 
—Emetic tartar, in considerable quantity, was added to make the ore 
“ spew out” the metal. Ipecacuanha was afterwards tried with the same 
view, but was not found to be strong enough “ to make the ore vomit.” 
After the account of the process, it was not difficult to account for the 
production of antimony, it being obviously derived from the Emetic 
tartar. 

At Concord, near the western limit of the gold country, the metal is 
found in small grains in the streets and gullies, after every rain ; and the 
gullies frequently disclose the stratum of gravel and mud, well known as 
the repository of the gold. Washings, on a more limited scale, are con- 


Mr Olmsted on the Gold Mines of North Carolina. 863 


‘ducted here. ‘The clay is not so dense at this place as at Reed’s Mine, but 
more ferruginous and full of spangles of golden-coloured mica. ‘This 
stratum rests on gneiss: those before. described were over the slate for- 
‘mation. 

» Pargen’s Mrnr is situated on a small stream four miles south of the 
river Yadkin. As in the instances already mentioned, excavations were 
numerous in the low grounds adjacent to the stream; but, at the time of 
my visit, the earth for washing, (which was of a snuff colour,) was trans- 
‘ported from a ploughed field in the neighbourhood, that was elevated about 
fifty or sixty feet above the stream. The earth, at this place which con- 
tained the gold, was of a deeper red than that at either of the other mines. 
The gold found here is chiefly in flakes and grains. Occasionally, how- 
‘ever, pieces are met with which weigh 100 pwts. and upwards ; and very 
recently a mass has been discovered that’ weighed four pounds and eleven 
ounces, .Thisis‘said to have been found at the depth of ten feet, which 
is a lower level than any I had heard of before. The idea of an aqueous de- 
posit, which is apt to be impressed upon us whenever we either inspect 
the formation or reflect upon its origin, would lead us to expect, on ae- 
count of the great specific gravity of gold, that the largest masses would 
be found at the lowest depths. But I am not aware that any uniformity 
exists in this respect. The largest mass hitherto discovered was, as has 
been mentioned already, found within a few inches of the surface It is 
evident that the thin stratum which contains the metal, will be buried 
at different depths, by variable quantities of alluvial earth, that are aecu- 
mulated over it by causes still in operation ; and, consequently, that the 
depth at which the stratum happens to be met with, in any given place, 
is no criterion of its richness. Nor does the fact, that this fortunate dis- 
covery was made at a lower level than ordinary, afford any encouragement 
to work lower than the usual depth. It might interest geological cnriosi- 
ty, however, to learn the nature of the strata below the gold deposit, al- 
though I do not know that the existence of this furnishes any reasonable 
grounds for supposing that there are other similar deposits below it. I 
could not find that any search had been made with such an expectation 
except in a single instance. Near the spot where the largest mass was 
found, the earth was penetrated a few feet below the gold bed. Imme- 
diately beneath this was a thin layer of green sand, and next a similar 
layer of a bright yellow sand. These had a very handsome appearance, 
but neither of them seemed to contain any thing more precious than mica. 

The terms on which the proprietors of the mines permit them to be 
worked, vary with the productiveness of the earth which is worked. Some 
of the miners rent for a fourth of the gold found ; some for a third, and 
others claim half, which is the highest premium hitherto paid. 'The ave- 
rage product at Reed’s mine was not more than sixty cents a day to each 
labourer ; but the undertakers are buoyed up with the hope of some spleu- 
did discovery, like those which have occasionally been made. 

_ The mines have given some peculiarities to the state of society in the 
neighbouring country. ‘The precious metal is a most favourite acquisition, 


364 Notices of Botanical Works recently 


and constitutes the common currency. Almost every man carries about 
with him a goose quill or two of it, and a small pair of scales in a box like 
a spectacle case. The value, as in patriarchal times, is ascertained by 
weight, which, from the dexterity acquired by practice, is a less trouble- 
some mode of counting money than one would imagine. I saw a pint of 
whisky paid for by weighing off three and a half grains of gold. 

The greatest part of the gold collected at these mines is bought up by 
the country merchants at 90 or 91 cents a pennyweight. They carry it to 
the market towns, as Fayetteville, Cheraw, Charleston, and New York. 
Much of this is bought up by jewellers ; some remains in the banks ; and 
a considerable quantity has been received at the mint of the United States. 
Hence it is not easy to ascertain the precise amount which the mines have 
afforded. The value of that portion received at the mint before the year 
1820, was 43,689 dollars. It is alloyed with a small portion of silver and 
copper, but is still purer than standard gold, being 23 carats fine. (Bruce, 
Mineral. Jour. I—125.) 

It will probably appear evident to geologists, from the foregoing state- 
ments, that the gold of North. Carolina oceurs in a dilwvial formation. 
Such, indeed, seems to be its usual bed ; and; in this respect, it resembles 
the gold countries of South America, of England, of Scotland, of Ireland, 
and of Africa. (Buckland, Rel. Diluv. 218—20.) 

Our author next proceeds to the discussion of two questions connected 
with this subject : 

1st, Is the gold brougiit down from the sources of the rivers? And, 

2d, Did the present lumps and grains ever form parts of large masses 
in a continued bed or vein P 

The first of these questions Professor Olmsted answers in the negative ; 
but he considers it as evident that the rivers cut through a stratum con- 
taining the gold, which covers like a mantle an extensive part of the coun- 
try through which they flow, and that they bring the precious metal to 
view by separating it from its stony matrix. 

On the subject of the second question, Professor Olmsted concludes 
that this gold existed originally, that is, before its removal to its present 
position, in pieces somewhat larger than those found at present, but still of 
a moderate size; but he considers it is impossible to decide whether those 
pieces lay contiguous to one another in a large vein, or whether they were 
scattered abroad in individual masses. 


Arr. XXIX.—NOTICES OF RECENTLY PUBLISHED BOTANI- 
CAL WORKS. 


We have already mentioned the “ Flora Fdinensis, or Description 
of Plants growing near Edinburgh,” of Dr Greville, which appeared 
last year. Shortly after was also published, by James Woodforde, Esq. 
“A Catalogue of the Indigenous Phenogamic Plants growing in the 
neighbourhood of Edinburgh; and of certain Species of the Class 


Published in Great Britain. 365 


Cryptogamia; with reference to their localities.” 12mo. This little 
work is intended for the pocket, and may advantageously be taken into 
the field by the students who object to carrying an 8vo book in their 
hand ; and, in this point of view, will be found an useful companion to 
those who are interested in collecting the vegetable productions of the en- 
virons of Edinburgh. The stations mentioned, too, are generally more 
full than in Dr Greville’s work. We rejoice at the appearance of every 
new botanical work in this part of our island, however humble its prea 
tensions ; for we are satisfied that each one is a means’ (to use our author’s 
own words) of “ facilitating the acquisition of a science which is every- 
where loved, and valued, and cultivated,—which, while it informs the 
understanding, improves also the heart, and enlarges the boundary of 
harmless and rational enjoyment.” 


Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. 

The 2d Part of the 14th volume of this valuable work has lately appear- 
ed, and it contains the following botanical articles :—‘‘ A Commentary on 
the Secend Part of the Hortus Malabaricus, by Dr Francis Hamilton.”— 
“« Descriptions of Nine New Species of the Genus Carex, Natives of the 
Himalaya Alps, in Upper Nepal, by Mr David Don.”—* Descriptions of 
Two New Species. of Erythrina, by Felix de Avellar Brotero ;’—and 
some Account of a Collection of Arctic Plants formed by Edward Sabine, 
Esq. F.R.S. and L. S. &e. during a Voyage in the Polar Seas in the 
year 1823, by W. J. Hooker, LL.D. Communicated by the Council of. 
the Horticultural Society. 


Prodromus Flore Nepalensis. 

Mr David Don has recently published, in one volume duodecimo, a 
“< Prodromus Flore Nepalensis, sive Enumeratio Vegetabilium que in iti- 
nere per Nepaliam proprie dictam et regiones conterminas, Ann. 1802, 
1803, detexit atque legit D.D. Franciscus Hamilton, &c. ; accedunt 
Plante 4 D. Wallich nuperius misse.” The arrangement is according to 
the Natural Orders, and the greater number of species, as may be suppos ° 
sed, are entirely new. 


Botanical Magazine, No, 456, January 1825. 

Tas. 2537. Zephyranthes rosea of Bot. Reg. t. 2538. Pancratium zey- 
lanicum, Linn. t. 2539. Gloriosa virescens, n. sp. (Lindley mss.) “ foliis 
cirrhiferis, pedunculis pendulis, petalis unguiculatis apice undulatis :” in- 
troduced by the Horticultural Society from Mosambique. t. 2540. Guod- 
yera pubescens, Br. 2. minor. t, 2541. Lavatera hispida, Desfont. 
t. 2542. Phlomis lunariifolia, 8. Russelliana. t. 2543. Caladium bicolor, 
Willd. t. 2544. Malva abutiloides, Linn. 


The 458th Number of this work, for March 1825, contains, t. 2551, 
Centaurea spherocephala, L. t. 2552, Petunia nyctaginiflora of Jussieu, 
the Nicotiana axillaris of Lam. Tl (N: nyctaginiflora, Lehm. Hist. 


366 Notices of Botanical Works recently Published. 


Nicot.) ; a genus separated from Nicotiana principally on account of thie 
inequality of the corolla, by Jussieu. Petun is the Brazilian name for 
Tobacco, whence the appellation of the genus, -t..2553, Campanula latis 
folia, v- macrantha. t. 2554, Boltonia asteroides, Hort. Kew.” t. 2255, 
Nicotiana Langsdorfii, Roem. et Sch. t. 2556, Chrysanthemum sinense; 
Sab. (var-17.) t. 2557, Herpestis monnieria #, Kunth, ( Gratiola mon- 
nieria, Le) t. 2558, Zanthoxylum nitidum, De Cand. (Fagara nitida, 
Roxb.) a 


No 459. April. . 

Tas. 2559, Catasetum tridentatum, Hook.  t. 2560, Elsholizia crista= 
ta, Willd. t. 2561, Crotaluria retusa, L. t. 2562. Cactus truncatus of 
Hooker’s Exotic Flura, t. 20, where the plant was figured and described 
under that name, for the first time, although not referred to by Dr 
Sims. It was previously described by Mr Haworth, under the name of 
Epiphyllum truncatum. t+ 2563, Lobelia longiflora, L. t. 2564, Primula 
sinensis, of Sabine. 


Botanical Register for December, No. 118. 


Tas. 847. Fuchsia gracilis, Lindl. (F. deeussata, Bot. Mag. not of Ruiz 
and Pavon.) t. 848. Passiflora alato-cerulea, a hybrid, produced by P. 
alata, and P. cerulea. t. 849. Amaryllis alvena, Bot. Mag. t. 350. Leon- 
otis intermedia, n. sp. from Delagoa Bay in S. Africa, ‘‘ caule suffruticoso, 
foliis petiolatis ovato-cordatis acuminatus inciso-dentatis, bracteis molli- 
bus ovato-lanceolatis, internodiis terminalibus longissimis.” t. 851. Poly- 
stachia puberula, n. sp. from Sierra Leone, introduced by Hort. Society ; 
*spica paniculata thyrsiformi, foliis lanceolatis 7, nervibus scapo longioribus 
floribus ovariisque pubescentibus, bulbis ovatis:’” Myr Lindley enumerates 
four species of the genus. t. 852. Cuphea Melvilla; Melvilla speciosa of 
Anderson in Journ. of Sciences‘and the Arts ; and also, we think the same 
with Grislea secunda of Smith in Rees’ Cycl.. Introduced by Mr James 
M‘Crae from St Vincent’s, whence we have also received fine dried speci- 
mens from the Rev L. Guilding. t. 853 represents a very remarkable 
new plant, belonging to that family of Composite, denominated Labiati- 
flora by De Candolle; Triptilium (Ruiz and Pavon) cordifolium, received 
from Chili at the Hort. Society’s garden. Three other species are mention- 
ed by Lagasca, all natives of the same country. 


iNVo. 119, January 1825. 

Tas. 854. Rubus pauciflorus of Wallich. t. 855. Gerberia crenata, 
(Arnica crenata, Thunb.) +t. 856. Cassia purpurea, Hort. Bengal. 
t. 857. Fuchsia excorticata, Linn. from New Zealand. t. 858. Catesboa 
latifolia, n. sp. from W. Indies, “ eorollis tubo longissimo, spinis foliis lu- 
cidis convexes longioribus.’ t. 859. Templetonia glauca, Bot. Mag. 
t- $60. Hibiscus strigosus, n- sp. from S. Amcriea,  Caule suffrutico strigoso 
foliis trilobis angulatis cordatis dentatis tomentosis.pedunculo petiolo longi-- 
ore, involucelli foliolis 12 hispidis linearibus apice appendiculatis-” - 


Scientific Intelligence. 367 


Hooker's Exotic Flora. Part 19. February 1825. 

Tas. 142. Dendrobium album, n. sp. from Jamaica, “ bulbis ellipticis 
compressis apice uni-trifoliis, pedunculis unifioris erectis, petalis sublan- 
ceolatis, labello oblongo obscure trilobo, medio tuberculo oblongo car- 
noso-” t.143, Bromelia nudicaulis, L. t. 144, Roscoea purpurea, Sm. 
t. 145, Habenaria orbiculata, (Orchis, Ph.) t- 146, Impatiens fimbriata, 
Colebr. MSS. “‘ racemo terminali capitato, foliis ovali-lanceolatis acumi- 
natis longe ciliatis, nectario corniculato florem excedente ; bracteis pul- 
cherrime ciliatis.” 

Part 20. March. 

Tas. 147. Parkeria pteridotdes, a new genus of plants, allied to the true 
Ferns. It has the habit of Pteris, or rather Z'eleozoma of Brown, but 
has the capsules quite destitute of annulus. It was gathered in Guiana, 
by Charles Parker, Esq. after whom the genus is named. t. 148, Pachy- 
sandra? coriacea, a remarkable plant of the family of Euphorbiacew. 
t. 149, nisopetalon Careyanum, a singular new genus of Orchideous 
plants, sent from Nepal by Dr Carey to the Liverpool Botanic Garden. 
t- 150, Cuscuta refleza, Roxb. var. B. verrucosa. 


Art. XXX.—SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. 
I. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 


ASTRONOMY. 


1. Comet of July and August 1824 discovered at Paramatta. This 
comet was discovered at Paramatta by our countryman Mr Dunlop, and 
the following elements have been computed from Mr Dunlop’s observa 
tions, (as communicated to us by Sir Thomas Brisbane,) by Mr George 
Innes and Mr Gordon of Aberdeen. The observations themselves will 
appear in the Edinburgh Transactions, vol. x. part ii., now in the Press. 


‘ 4 Mr Innes. Mr Gordon. 
i Perihelion Pass 

yi — samtdbals t July 10th —-10" 17” 30” 10" 17’ 41” 
Long. of Perihelion, - 259° 45’ 32” 259° 45’ 31” 
Long. of Ascending Node - 330 29 8 330 29 8 
Inclination of Orbit * 57 0 36 57 0 36 
Perihelion Distance ° 0.5956114 0.5956147 


Motion retrograde. 


2. Comet of September 1824 discovered at Paramatta. In our last 
Number, p. 177, we gave the elements of the comet which was discover- 
ed by Mr Rumker, as computed from his observations by a Correspon- 
dent. 

The following elements, differing very little from those previously given, 
have been computed from Mr Rumker’s observations, (as communicated 
to us by Sir Thomas Brisbane,) by Mr George Innes and Mr Gordon of 
Aberdeen : 


368 Scienti - Intelligence. 


on Mr Innes. Mr Gordon. 
Time of Perihelion Passage, 1824, Sept. 29t } seas 
Mean Time at Paramatta, 7" 23' 26 7% 25 10” 
Long. of Perihelion - = 4° 23/ 12” 4° 29) WW” 
Long. of Ascending Node - = 279° 17’ 56” 279° 19’ 13” 
Inclination of Orbit - 4 54 22 14 54 22 22 
Perihelion Distance = : ee 1.048553 1.048739 


Motion direct. 


3. New Comet of 1825. M.Gambart of Marseilles discovered, on the 
19th May 1825, a small comet in the head of Cassiopeia, about 0° 20’ of 
right ascension, and 48° 22’ of north declination. On the Ist of June at 
12° 31’ its right ascension was 1° 51’, and its declination 73° 39’ north. 
This comet appeared as a small nebulosity of about two minutes in dia- 
meter. It is round and well defined. Its light is evidently condensed at 
its centre ; but M. Gambart could not see distinctly its nuclens, or the 
part which is separated from the nebulosity. 


4. Longitude and Latitude of Paramatta. The position of the Obser- 
vatory at Paramatta, as corrected by numerous and recent observations, is 
East longitude from Greenwich, 10° 4’ 5”, and South latitude 33° 48’ 45”. 


5. Action of-the Moon on the Earth’s Atmosphere. From a series of 
4752 observations made on the barometer, between the Ist October 1815, 
and the Ist October 1823, M. Laplace has concluded, that the magnitude 
of the lunar atmospherical tide is about the 18th part of a millimeter, 
or about the “ith part of an English inch. 

6. Lunar Eclipse of 31st May, observed at Bushy Heath. Colonel 
Beaufoy observed the beginning of the eclipse, at 11° 52’ 43”, mean time, 
and the end at 12" 15’ 58”. The shadow was ill defined. “The longitude 
of his observatory is 1’ 20”.93 west, mean time, and 51° 37’ 44°.3.— Ann. of 
Phil. July 1825, p. 44. 


OPTICS. 


7. Light produced during the Crystallization of Benzoie Acid. M. 
Buchner of Magonza having mixed impure, but perfectly dry, benzoic 
acid with the sixth part of its weight of pulverized charcoal, left it exposed, 
for several days, to a moderate heat, the mixture being covered with a cy- 
linder well luted with a paste of almonds, but having a small aperture 
left on purpose to see the crystallization within. Having been exposed, 
for several days, to a moderate heat, the crystals had already begun to 
form, but being desirous of hurrying the operation, M. Buchner placed 
the apparatus in a stove of a high temperature. In the space of half an 
hour he was surprised to see a brilliant flash of light within the cylinder, 
the brightness of which was augmented by the darkness of the room. A 
number of similar flashes immediately succeeded, and continued for half 
an hour. M. Buchner now found that a great quantity of crystals of ben= 


Optics. —Electricity. 369 


zoic acid were formed similar to.those obtained in the usual way, but only 
less regular. As the flash did not continue after each crystal was depo- 
sited, M. Buchner thought that the light was produced by a neutralization 
of electricity. M. Buchner observed similar phenomena in the crystalli- 
zation of acetate of potash, and M. Dobereiner observed the same in the 
preparation of oxygen by means of a mixture of oxygenated chlorate, pot- 
ash and manganese in powder. The last of these chemists is of opinion, 
that those salts which contain no water of crystallization, are particular- 
ly powerful in producing light during crystallization. See Neue Journ. 
fur Chem. und Phys. 1824, vol. ii. p. 222, and Giorn. de Fisica, vii 470. 


8. Tridescence of Clouds. M.de Humboldt mentions this phenomenon 
‘as having been seen by him in Souti America, but I have not met with any 

notice of its having been seen in this country, though it has most likely been 
witnessed by some of our meteorologists who are accustomed to observe the 
nepheological phenomena. On the morning of the 13th of December last, 
we had a hard gale from the N. W-, with black and dense cumulostrati 
driving rapidly in the direction of the wind. At 93 a. m., when examin- 
ing the appearance of the heavens through an opening in the cumulostrati, 
I observed an extensive cirrostratus resting motionless in a higher region 
of the atmosphere, stretching from S. E. to E., and rising about 5° above 
the horizon, the sun at that time being about 7° or 8° high. This cirro- 
stratus exhibited all the prismatic colours in broad alternate stripes. There 
were four alternations, and the tints being very brilliant, it formed a most 
beautiful spectacle. It lasted till 11 a. m-, when the colours gradually 
faded, and at last blended into a uniform yellowish brown- Since that 
time I have frequently seen the same phenomenon shortly after sunrise, 
when the rays of the sun are incident at small angles, upon a thin and 
shallow cirrostratus. : 

The cause of the iridescence is not easily explained, but it seems to be 
connected with the magnitude of the aqueous globules of which the cloud 
is composed. 

I may give another instance, which took place on the 2Ist of January: 
Wind brisk, from the W. by N., Hygrom- 3-5 ; an extensive black cloud 
veiled the heavens, extending from N. E. and W. to within 10° of the 
southern horizon. ‘he sun’s place was completely obscured ; but a small 
portion of the south edge of the cloud had a dazzling yellow colour. At 
this time a chain of scud, flying from S- to S. E., crossed in succession the 
illuminated part, each, as it passed, suddenly displaying a splendid show 
of prismatic tints, and then returning to its original sombre hue. I watch- 
ed this interesting sight for ten minutes, when a nimbus approached, and 
effectually darkened all that part of the heavens. 

J. Foceo. 


ELECTRICITY- 


9. Remarkable Electricity of Oxalate of Lime.—Having obtained, by 
precipitation, some oxalate of lime, and dried it when well worked in a 


VOL. 111. No. 11. ocToBER 1825, Aa 


370 Scientific Intelligence. 


Wedgewood’s basin, at a temperature of about 300° of Fahrenheit, until it 
was so dry as not to dim a cold plate of glass held over it, Mr Faraday re« 
marked, that when it was stirred with a platina spatula, it became in a few 
moments so strongly electrical, that it could not be collected together, but 
flew about the dish whenever it was moved from its sides into the sand= 
bath. This tock place either in porcelain, glass, or metallic basins, and 
with porcelain, glass, or metallic stirrers. When the particles were well 
excited and shaken on the top of a gold leaf electrometer, the leaves di- 
verged two or three inches. When cooled out of the contact of air, the 
same phenomena took place. When excited in a silver capsule, and left 
out of contact with the air, the powder continued electrical for a great 
length of time, proving its very bad conducting power, in which it pro- 
bably surpasses all other bodies. Mr Faraday remarks, that oxalate of 
lime stands at the head of all substances, yet tried, as to its power of be- 
coming positively electrical by heat. Quart. Journ. No. 38, p. 338. 


10. Electricity developed in Capillary Attraction.—M. Becquerel is said 
to have demonstrated, that there is a sensible developement of electricity 
during the ascent of liquids in capillary tubes. He first obtained this re- 
sult by increasing the sensibility of Schweigger’s galvanometer. He 
placed three of these instruments together, so that the magnetic needle of 
the middle one deviates from its ordinary direction, by the lateral effects 
produced upon each of its poles by the contrary poles of the two other 
needles. From this arrangement it follows, that, when an electric current 
passes into the apparatus, tending to bring the needle into the plane of 
the magnetic meridian, the middle needle will be as much less retarded 
in its progress as the poles, opposite to its own, of the other two needles 
are more remote from it, consequently, the oscillations will have a wider 
extent than if there were only one galvanometer. 

In order to observe the electricity of capillary action, M. Becquerel 
could not employ glass, as it is not a conductor of electricity ; but he ems 
ployed sponge of platinum, and small pieces of charcoal. Pure hydro« 
chloric acid, much diluted with water, is poured out into the platinum dish, 
which communicates with one of the ends of the wire of the galvanome- 
ter ; and into the dish is plunged sponge of platinum, which is fixed at 
the other end of the wire. At this contact there is produced an electric 
current, which goes from the sponge to the acid, and the direction of 
which is contrary to that of the current which would have been obtained 
if the acid had been attacked by the metal. As the interstices of the 
sponge are filled with the fiuid, the current diminishes, and it ceases when 
the sponge has absorbed all the liquid which it can contain. Sometimes 
the current takes another direction, but the cause of that is not known. 
The same effect is produced with nitric acid, but it is less marked. The 
same result was obtained with a small piece of charcoal, prevented from 
touching the platinum by a band of papier Joseph. 


11. Electricity developed in Solutions and Mixtures=—By means of the 


Electricity.— Magnetism. 371 


Same apparatus, M. Becquerel has discovered that an electrical current 
goes from the acid to the water, when sponge of platinum, that has im- 
bibed distilled water, is plunged into the dish of platinum containing 
hydrochloric acid. 

In order to observe the electricity of solutions of alkalis in water, he 
fixed in the platina pincers a fragment of hydrate of potash or soda, en- 
veloped in papier Joseph, and then plunged it into distilled water in 
the platina cup. A current was thus produced from the water to the 
alkali. 


M. Becquerel also found that electricity was developed during the mix- 
ture of sulphuric and nitric acids. Bull. des Sc. Phys. &c. Fev. 1824, p. 99. 


12. Electrical Gale-—On the 6th December 1823, about 100 miles to the 
west of the Fiord of Drontheim, the Griper, commanded by Captain 
Clavering, experienced a severe gale which lasted three days, and during 
which period there was no intermission of its violence. This gale was re- 
markable for the small amount of the effect produced on the barometer, 

_ either on its approach, during its continuance, or on its cessation ; and by 
the indications which were afforded of its having originated in a disturbed 
state of electricity in the atmosphere. Yt was accompanied by very vivid 
lightning, which is particularly unusual in high latitudes in winter, and 
by the frequent appearance, and continuance for several minutes at a 
time, of balls of fire at the yard-arms and mast-heads. Of these, not less 
than eight were counted at one time. Sabine’s Pendulum Experiments. 
p. 181. 


MAGNETISM. 


13. Mr Babbage and Mr Herschel on the Magnetism developed during 
Rotation. In our last number, we gave a notice of the experiments made in 
France on the effect of copper in motion or at rest, on magnetic needles, 
Mr Babbage and Mr Herschel have pursued the subject with much suc- 
cess, and have communicated an account of their experiments to the Royal 
Society. In order to reverse the experiment, they put in rotation a power- 
ful horse shoe magnet, and suspended over it various metals and other sub- 
stances. In this way they developed signs of magnetism in copper, zinc, sil- 
ver, tin, lead, antimony, mercury, gold, bismuth, and carbon, in that metal- 
loidal state in which it is precipitated from carburetted hydrogen gas works. 
In sulphuric acid, rosin, glass, and other non-conductors, or imperfect 
conductors of electricity, no positive evidence of magnetism was obtained. 

In order to determine the comparative intensities of these bodies, Messrs 
Babbage and Herschel used two methods, Ist, By observing the deviation 
produced in the needle by plates of great size cast to one pattern ; and, 
2dly, By observing the times of rotation of a neutralized system of mag- 
nets suspended over them. These two methods assigned the same order 
to all the bodies but copper and zinc ; and it is a very curious fact, which 
the authors have no doubt thoroughly investigated, that the two methods 


372 Scientific Intelligence. 


gave opposite results in the cases of zinc and copper, placing them constant< 
ly above and below each other, according to the mode of observation employed. 

Messrs Babbage and Herschel next investigated the effect of so- 
lution of continuity on the various metals, and they ascertained the 
curious fact, that the re-establishment of the metallic contact in other me- 
tals, restores the force either wholly or in a great measure, even when 
the metal ased for soldering has in itself but a weak magnetic power. 
Hence is obtained a power of magnifying weak degrees of magnetism. 
They found also that the force varied inversely between the square and the 
cube of the distance. 

From these valuable experiments, Messrs Babbage and Herschel con- 
clude, that the phenomena may all be explained, by supposing time to be 
requisite, both for the developement and the loss of magnetism, and that 
different metals differ, in respect not only of the time they require, but of 
the intensity of the force ultimately producible in them. See Quart. 


Jour. vol. XXxviil- p. 276. 


14. On the Magnetism imparted to Iron bodies by Rotation. This is the 
title of a paper read before the Royal,Society by Mr Barlow. Having fix- 
ed a 13 inch mortar shell to the mandril of a powerful turning lathe 
wrought by a steam-engine, and caused it to perform 640 revolutions in a 
minute, the magnetic needle deviated several degrees from the magnetic 
meridian, and remained stationary during the motion of the shell. When 
the rotation ceased, it immediately resumed its original position. When 
the motion of the shell was inverted, an equal but opposite deviation of the 
needle took place. j 

When the earth’s action on the needle was neutralized, and the needle 
made a tangent to the ball, the north end of the needle was attracted, 
when the motion of the ball was made towards the needle, and repelled 
when the motion was in the contrary direction, and this happened what- 
ever was the direction of the axis of rotation. In the two extremities of 
the axis, there was observed no effect, but in two opposite points, at right 
angles to the axis, the effect was a maximum, and. the deviation of the 
needle was to the centre of the ball. In speculating on these facts, Mr Barlow 
is disposed to think, that the earth’s magnetism is of the induced kind, 
and_ he considers this opinion as supported by the fact of the non-coin- 
cidence of the magnetic axis with the axis of the earth’s daily motion. 


15. Mr Christie’s New Experiments on the Magnetism produced hy Ro- 
tation —In a letter to J. F. W. Herschel, Esq., which was read to the 
Royal Society on the 16th June, Mr Christie has communicated the fol- 
lowing facts: After confirming the results obtained by Mr Babbage and 
Mr Herschel, as given above, Mr Christie found, that when a thick cop- 
per plate is made to revolve under a small magnet, the force tending to make 
the needle deviate is directly as the velocity, and inversely as the fourth 
power of the distance ; but that when magnets of considerable size are 
made to revolve beneath copper discs, the force diminishes more nearly as 


Meteorology.—Chemistry. 373 


the inverse ratio of the square of the distance, or between the ‘square and 
the cube, though not in any constant ratio of an exact power. . 
When copper discs of different weights are set in rotation, the force at 
small distances seems to increase as the weights of the discs ; but at smal- 
ler distances it varied in some higher ratio. See our last Number, p. 135. 


METEOROLOGY. 


16. Remarkable Hailstones with pyritic Nuclei. The following very 
curious account of these hailstones is given in a letter from Professor John 
of Berlin, to Baron Ferrussac. It forms also part of a letter from Dr Evers- 
mann, known by his travels in Asia, dated 16th September, from Oren- 
burg, where he has landed property. f 

“Some days before our arrival at Sterlitamak, (more than 100 versts 
from Orenburg,) there arose a storm in which very remarkable hail fell. 
The hailstones, which were tolerably large, contained a stony and crystallize 
ed nucleus. Thirty of them have been sent to our Governor, and i have 
received two specimens.” They are of a brown colour like the auriferous 
pyrites of Beresowsky, in Siberia. Their surface is shrivelled and shin- 
ing. The crystal forms a flattened octohedron, whose edges are salient. 
The two diagonals of the base are five lines by four, and the distance of the 
summits is two lines. Sometimes the four angles of the base are trun- 
cated. It seems that the constituent parts of these crystals are sulphur and 
metals. No analysis of them has yet been made, but I shall perhaps have 
occasion to do this. See Bull, des. Sc. Phys. Feb. 1825, p. 117. 


II, CHEMISTRY. 


17. Ona compound of Carbon of Hydrogen, with remarkable properties. 
A paper was read at the Royal Society on the 16th June, by Mr M. Fa- 
raday, containing an account of this curious substance which he calls a 
Bi-carbonet of hydrogen, from its consisting of two proportions of carbon, 
and one of hydrogen. 

This substance is a fluid deposited in vessels in which oil gas has been 
compressed. It is colourless, has less specific gravity than water, is al- 
most insoluble in water, but is soluble in alcohol, ether, oils, &c. It burns 
with a dense flame, and is not acted upon to any extent by solutions of 
the alkalies. If it is put into gas, burning with a blue flame, it makes 
the flame bright and white. It dissolves caoutchouc readily, and will an- 
swer all the purposes of essential oils as solvents. 

Part of this fluid is very volatile, causing the appearance of ebullition at 
temperatures of 50° or 60°, other parts are more fixed, requiring even 250° 
or more for ebullition. By repeated distillations, a series of products were 
obtained from the most to the least volatile, the most abundant being such 
as occurred from 170° to 200°. On subjecting, these, after numerous rec- 
tifications, to a low temperature, it was found that some of them concreted 
into a crystalline mass, and ultimately a substance was obtained from 
them, principally by pressure at low temperatures, which, upon examina- 
tion, proved to be a new compound of carbon and hydrogen. At com« 


374 Scientific Intelligence. 


mon temperatures, it appears as a colourless transparent liquid, of specific 
gravity 0.85 at 60°, having the general colour of oil gas. Below 42°, it 
is a solid body, forming dendritical transparent crystals, and contracting 
much during its congelation. At 0° it appears as a white or transparent 
substance, brittle, pulyerulent, and of the hardness nearly of loaf sugar. 
It evaporates entirely in the air. When raised to 186° it boils, furnishing 
a vapour which has a specific gravity of 40 nearly, compared to hydro- 
genas 1. Ata higher temperature the vapour is decomposed, depositing 
carbon. The substance is combustible, liberating charcoal, if oxygen be 
not abundantly present. Potassium exerts no action upon it below 186°. 

Experimenting with the most volatile portions of the liquid, a product 
was obtained, which, though gaseous at common temperatures, condensed 
into a liquid at 0°. This was found to be very constant in composition 
and properties. It was very combustible. It had a specific gravity of 27 
or 28 as a gas; asa liquid that of 0.627, being the lightest substance, not 
a gas or vapour, known. When analyzed, it was found to consist of one 
proportion of carbon 6., and one of hydrogen 1., as is the case with ole- 
fiant gas; but these are so combined and condensed, as to occupy only 
one-half the volume they do in that substance. A volume therefore of 
the gas contains four proportionals of carbon 24, and four of hydrogen 
4—= 28, which is its specific gravity. 

Beside the remarkable difference thus established between this sub- 
stance and olefiant gas, it is also distinguished by the action of chlorine, 
which forms with it a fluid body, having a sweet taste, and resembling 
hydro-chloride of carbon ; but from which a chloride of carbon cannot be 
obtained by the further action of chlorine and light. 

The other products from the original fluid do not present any characters 
so definite as the above substances ; at the same time they appear to be 
very constant, boiling uniformly at one temperature. They cannot be 
separated by distillation into more and less volatile parts, so as to afford 
means of reducing their numbers to two or three particular bodies. They 
have the general properties of the original fluid, and, like the other pro- 
ducts, are peculiarly acted upon by sulphuric acid, presenting phenomena 
in the investigation of which Mr Faraday is now engaged. See Quart. 
Journ. No. 38. . 


III. NATURAL HISTORY. 


BOTANY. 


18. Overland Arctic Expedition. We have received intelligence from 
the overland Arctic American Expedition, containing the welcome account 
of its safe arrival at Penetanguishene, at the eastern extremity of Lake 
Huron, upon the 22d of April. Our letter, which is from Dr Richardson, 
announces that the party had a prosperous voyage, of 26 days, to New 
York ; at which place the naturalists visited Dr Hossack, who seems to be 
the liberal patron of botany, Mr Le Conte, well known as the author of 
some Botanical Memoirs in the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, 
Mr Halsey, a successful student of the Lichens of America, Mr Cooper, 


Botany. 375 


and Dr de Kay, the latter one of the most zealous cultivators of Natural 
History at New York, but who now devotes himself almost entirely to 
zoology. A day was devoted to an excursion to the Military Academy at 
West Point, on the river Hudson, in order to see Dr Torry, who has been 
recently appointed Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy to that insti- 
tution, and who is working, besides his Flora of the midland counties of 
the United States, at a compendium of the same, and is, moreover, col- 
lecting materials for a complete North American Flora. 

Dr Richardson and Mr Drummond (who is especially charged with the 

collecting of plants) had already, notwithstanding the early season of the 
year, been very successful in their botanical pursuits. 
’ Of the Orchideous plants, indeed, the flowering season was already past, 
but they found many species, and the beautiful Calypso borealis (Ameri- 
cana, Br.) in great abundance. The Violets, the Raspberries, and the 
Currants occupied much of their attention, and seemed to have been 
very imperfectly described by authors. The Ranunculus rhomboideus, 
first detected and described by Goldie, and the Primula pusilla of the 
same author, which certainly comes very near to Michaux’s Primula mis= 
tassinica, were in flower. Mr Drummond was much pleased at finding 
the Juncus arcticus and the Orthotrichum Ludwigii, two plants of which 
he had been, a short time previously, the discoverer in Scotland. 

As to mosses, they were, as may be supposed, in a high state of perfec- 
tione Bryum roseum, Neckera pennata, Dicranum glaucum, Fontinalis ca- 
pillacea, and several other fine species, have been collected with abundant 
fructification, together with very many individuals of the genus Leskea, 
several of which appeared to have been hitherto unnoticed by botanists. 

At Penetanguishene, Dr Richardson found a gentleman who was much 
occupied with botany, Mr Tod, assistant-surgeon to a small naval esta- 
blishment at that place. Encouraged by the well known zeal and enthu- 
siasm of our valued friend and correspondent, it is to be hoped that he will 
be led to investigate thoroughly the botany of that interesting part of 
North America. 

On the 24th of April the whole of the officers of the expedition were to 
be assembled, and they were to proceed, on the following day, in the pro- 

 secution of their voyage. 


19. Plantes raves du Jardin de Genéve, par Aug. Pyramus De Candolle, 
&c. This beautiful work, of which we have just received the first Livraison 
from the hands of its estimable author,-merits the attention of every lover 
of botany, no less as coming from the pen of one of the most profound bo- 
tanists that exist, than on account of the circumstances which gave rise to it. 

Driven by religious persecution from the Botanical Garden at Montpel- 
lier, and from the chair of that university, which he had filled with so 
much honour to himself and to his adopted country, Professor De Can- 
dolle returned to his native city, Geneva, when a professorship of Natural 
History was constituted for him in 1817, and the formation of a garden 
contemplated. The establishment of the Botanic Garden was facilitated 
by a circumstance, unfortunate, indeed, in itself, namely, the distressed 


376 Scientific Intelligence. 


condition of the lower classes of the people, which induced the sovereign 
council of Geneva to devote a sum of money for their maintenance, ex- 
pressing a wish, at the same time, that they should be employed in pre- 
paring the ground for the garden. 

Soon after a private subscription was entered into, which, being aided 
by almost all the inhabitants of the city, speedily furnished the govern- 
ment with the necessary funds for constructing the inclosures, hot-houses, 
and green-houses, &c ; and the government likewise undertook to contri-. 
bute to its future support. The buildings were erected in 1818, and such 
was the zeal shown in the promotion of this institution, and in fulfilling 
the wishes of the learned Professor, and such the number of seeds and 
plants that it received from various quarters, that, from the following 
year, its advantages began to be perceived, and already a number of use- 
ful and ornamental plants were thence distributed through the. country. 
Every year the garden has increased in value; and, at this moment, the 
directors of it are constructing a museum therein, for the purpose of de- 
positing a herbarium, and collections of fruits and seeds. This building, too, 
is erected at the expence of a private individual, a citizen of Geneva, who 
has withheld his name from the public. 

The taste for painting flowers being very general at Geneva, and M. 
De Candolle, principal director of the garden, having already had occasion 
to witness “ the anxiety with which the private artists sought the means 
of rendering their talents useful, invited them to draw, upon a uniform 
scale, the plants which flowered in the garden, with the view of preserv- 
ing the recollection of them, and of forming a collection which might be 
valuable to botany, and as specimens of the art. This request was grant- 
ed with pleasure, and already upwards of 300 coloured drawings, either 
made from nature by private artists, or given by the benefactors to the 
garden, compose the collection, ‘“‘ Eh qui pourra, as M. De Candolle him- 
self well observes, “ nous I’ esperons, servir un jour d’exemple de la maniére 
dont l’espirit public peut, dans les petites républiques, compenser quel~ 
ques-uns des avantages des grands Etats.” 

It is from the portfolio of drawings thus formed, that M. De Candolle 
will select those plants which are either entirely new, or which are not 
well figured in any work, in order to publish them by livraisons, aceompa- 
nied by such scientific descriptions and observations as are necessary for 
their complete history. 

The present Livraison contains, 1. 2. the Pinus canariensis, Buch. of 
which two plates are given, and which seems never to have been well de- 
scribed or understood. Some had taken it for the Pinus Larix, others 
for the Pinus Teda, whilst others had confounded it with the Pinus ma- 


* M. Mocino, one of the authors of the Flora of Mewico, having given all the ori- 
ginal Drawings of that work to M. de Candolle, that he might publish them in his 
name, and having afterwards, on his return to Spain, desired to possess them again, 
M. De Candolle expressed a wish to have copies made of the most interesting of 
them. In the short space of a week, with one accord, as it were, all the artists 
came forward, copied for him nearly a thousand drawings, and have thus been the 
means of preserving the most yaluable part of the collection. 

4 


Botany.—General Science. 377 


ritima. Von Buch and the late Christian Smith named it, in their cata« 
logue of the Vegetation of Teneriff, Pinus canariensis, and they state, 
that it inhabits that island from the edge of the sea to an elevation of 6700 
Parisian feet above the level of the sea; but that the region where it is 
most abundant may be reckoned at from 4080 to 5900 feet, where snow 
falls for about 2 month. The temperature of this zone M. De Candolle 
estimates to be similar to that of Scotland, or to the nerth of France, or of 
Germany. The wood is resinous, highly flammeable, and is excellent for 
constructing buildings, being known to continue sound for ages. 3. We- 
mopanthes canadensis. (the Ilex canadensis of Michaux.) 4. Jussiea 
longifolia, DC. 5. Sesamum indicum, Linn. 6. Silene picta, Desf. 

There are thus six plates, and twenty-one pages of letter-press. The size 
is a large quarto, and the execution of the plates is such as to reflect great 
credit both upon those who have made the drawings and those who have 
engraved them. 


IV. GENERAL SCIENCE. 


20- Lieut. Kotzebue’s recent Voyage of Discovery.—Dispatches have been 
received from this active navigator, from the harbour of St Peter and St 
Paul in Kamschatka, where he had arrived on his return home. He has 
discovered three Islands, one of which, called after his ship Predprietige 
Island, is situated in west Long. 140° 2’ 38” and south Lat. 15° 58’ 18”. 
‘The second, called Bellinghausen, after the eminent Russian navigator, 
is situated in west Long. 154° 30’ and in south Lat. 15° 48’ 7”. The 
third called Kordaken, after his first Lieutenant, is in west Long. 168° 6’ 
and in south Lat. 14° 32’ 39”, This Island, however, had been previous- 
ly discovered by M. Freycinet. 

Lieut. Kotzebue has examined Navigation Island, and has corrected 
the positions of several places in the Pacific Ocean. He visited Otaheite 
and Owyhee, and he saw the Island of Karishof, seen by Roggewens in 
1722, and situated in west Long. 145° 24’ 22” and south Lat. 14° 27’. 


21. Steam-Boat Enterprise for India.—This Steam-Boat, which sailed on 
the 2d August, is the first which has ventured to cross the Indian seas, and is 
one of 500 tons burden. It has two steam-engines, each of 60 horse power. 
The boilers, which are made of copper, extend across the ship, and are heat- 
ed by seven furnaces, each seven feet in depth. The whole of the machinery 
is executed by that able engineer Mr H. Maudslay, who has contrived an 
ingenious method of changing the water in the boilers, in order to prevent 
the deposition ofa crust of a salt on the bottom of the boilers. He has also 
fixed up an ingenious pump to answer various purposes on board a ship, and 
he has constructed a moveable railway to conduct the coals to the furnace 
when they are wanted. The coals which the Enterprise carries along with 
her, amounting to about 300 tons, are partly contained in chambers within 
the sides of the vessel, covered with sheet iron, and partly in tanks beneath, 
which, as the coals are used, will be filled with water, to keep the vessel 
properly ballasted. There are twenty cabins in the ship, furnished ele. 
gantly, and supplied with every convenience. 


378 List of English Patents. 


Art. XXXI—LIST OF PATENTS FOR NEW INVENTIONS. 
SEALED IN ENGLAND FROM JANUARY Ist, to MAY 14th- 
1825. 


Jan. 1. For Machinery to Make Wove and Laid Paper. To S. Dent- 
son and J. Harats, Leeds. 

Jan. 1. For Lace and Net Machinery. To J. Hearucoat, Tiverton. 

Jan. 5. For Improved Piano Fortes. To P. Erarp, London. 

Jan. 11. For an Improved Steam-Engine. To Dr Tittocs, London. 

Jan. 11. For Improvements in the Manufacture of Slivers, §c. To J. 
F. Smiru, Esq. of Dunston-Hall. 

Jan. 11. For Lace and Net Machinery. To W. HEnson and W. 
Jackson, Worcester. 

Jan. 11. Fora New Musical Instrument. To G- Gurney, London. 

Jan. 11, For Improvements in Weaving. To F. G. Spitspury, Leek. 

Jan. 11. For Improved Spinning Machines, &c. To W. Hirst, Leeds. 

Jan. 11. For Improvemenis in Finishing Woollen Cloth. To J. F. 
Smitu, Esq. 

Jan. 11. For Improvements in Calico Printing. To J. Locket, Man- 
chester. 

Jan. 11. For Condensed Wood. To J. Fatconer ATLEE. 

Jan. 11. For Improved Sawing Machinery. To G. Sayner, Leeds. 

Jan. 11, For a Composition to Preserve Animal and Vegetable Substan= 
ces. ToT. Macrara, Dublin. 

Jan. 11. For an Apparatus for Conducting and Preserving Water. To 
T. MaGRATH. 

Jan. 11. For Paper Machinery. To J. Pures, London. 

Jan. 11. For Improvements on Ships. To W.S. Burnett, London. 

Jan. 11. For Improvements in Cotton-Spinning. To J. ANDREW, G. 
Tartton, and J. SHerLey, Crumpside. 

Jan. 13. For Spinning Machinery. To W. Bootu and M. Battey, 
Congleton. 

Jan. 18. For Improved Cocks. To E. W. Rupper, Edgbaston. 

Jan. 18- For Improvements in Casting Cylinders, Tubes, Sc. To W. 
Cuurcu, Birmingham. 

Jan. 18. For Improved Piano Fortes. To F. Metvitye, Glasgow. 

Feb. 1. For Improved Bricks, Tiles, &c. To E. Lers andG. Harrison. 

Feb. 1. For an Improved Roasting-Jack. To J. Turn, Edinburgh. 

Feb. 1. For an Apparatus for Registering the Quantity of Liquids pas 
sing from one Place to another. ToS. Crostey, London. 

Feb. 1. For Improved Gas Regulators or Governors. To S. Crosiey. 

Feb. 3. For a Steam-Carriage. To T. Bursrati and J. Hii. 

Feb. 10. For a New Composition of Malt and Hops. To Dr G. A. 
Lams, Rye. 

Feb. 10 For Improved Spinning Machinery. To R. Bacnatt, Leek. 

Feb. 11. For Improved Methods of Manufacturing Silk. To J: 


Heatucoar, Tiverton: 
il 


List of Scottish Patents. 379 


Feb. 19. For Improved Water-Works. To E, Less, Essex. 

Feb. 19. For an Apparatus to Bottle Liquids. To T. Masterman. 

Feb. 19. Fora Fuel-Feeding Apparatus. To E. Luoyp, Middlesex. 

Feb. 19. For Fire-Proof Buildings. To B. Farrow, London, 

Feb. 19. For an Apparatus for Combing Wool. To Jussz Rosser, Lei- 
cester. 

Feb. 19. For Improved Fire Arms. To J. Moutp, Middlesex. 

Feb. 19. For a Rotatory or Endless Lever Action. To H. Burnett, 
Middlesex. 

Feb. 19. For Improved Water-Closets. To J. Beacuam, Middlesex. 

Feb. 19. For an Improvement in Bolting Uills. To J. Ayton, Nor- 
folk Company. 

Feb. 26. For a New Inkstand. To D. Epwarps, Middlesex. 

Feb. 26. For Improved Fire Arms. To Jos. Manton, Middlesex. 

Feb. 26. For Improvements in Propelling Vessels. To W. H. Hixt, 
Woolwich. 

Feb. 26. For Improved Piano Fortes. To G. A. Kottman, Middlesex. 

Feb. 26. For a Method of Producing Figures on Silk or Goods. To J. 
HeatucoatT. 

Feb. 26. For a Portable Life-Boat. To J. BarEmMan, Middlesex. 

Feb. 26. For Improved Gas-Tubes. To C. WuiteHousr, Wednes- 
bury. 

Feb. 26. For Improvements in Printing Cottons, §c. To T- Arwoon, 
Birmingham. 

Feb. 26. For Improvements in Cooling Fron with Copper. To D. Gor- 
pon, Esq. and W- Bowser, London. 


Art. XXXII.—LIST OF PATENTS GRANTED IN SCOTLAND 
SINCE JUNE 16, 1825. 


March 14. For a Locomotive or Steam Carriage. To Timotuy Bur- 
STALL, Leith, and Jonn Hrt1, Bath. (Omitted in last Number.) 

27. June 16. For the Preparation of Certain Substances for making Can- 
dles. To Moses Pootr, Middlesex. 

28. June 24. For Improvements in Machinery. 'To Henry Burnett, 
Middlesex. 

29. June 23. For Improvements in ire Lxtinguishing Machinery. To 
Georcr Dopp, Middlesex. 

30. June 24. For Improvements in Acletrees. To Wittiam Mason, 
Middlesex. 

31. July 2. For Improvements in Spinning-Machines, &c. To Maurice 
De Taicu, Warrington. 

32. July 2. For an Improvement in the making of Dies, Moulds, or Ma~ 
trives. To Pu1tir Brookes, Stafford. 

33. July 2. For Improvements in Looms. To Joun Martin Han- 
cHett, London, and Joseru Detvatve, Middlesex: 

34. July 2. For Improvements on Steam-Engines. To Joun CHanves 
CunristorHEeR Rappatrz, London. 


380 Celestial Phenomena, October 1825—January 1826. 


35. July 8. For Improvements in the Process of, and Apparatus for Di- 
stilling. To Jean Jacques SarnrMarc, Surrey. ' 

36. July 29. For Improved Machinery for Preparing and Spinning 
Flax Hemp, &c. To James Kay, Lancaster. 

37. Aug. 3. For an Improved Machine or Press for Printing. To 
Joan Rutuven, Edinburgh. 

38. Aug. 5. For an Improvement in Lamps. To JosEerH Farry, 
Middlesex. 

39. Aug. 8. For Improvements in the Construction of a Machine used for 
Throstle and Water-Spinning of Thread or Yarn, To JonaTHaNn AN- 
DREW, GILBERT TARLTON, and JosErH SHEPLEY, Manchester. 

40. Aug. 11. For Improvements in the Machinery to be employed for 
Sawing and Grooving Marble, §c. To James Tuttocn, London. 

41. Aug. 7. For Improvements in Pipes or Tubes for the Passage or 
Conveyance of Fluids. To Watrer Hancock, Middlesex. 

42, Aug. 11. For a New mode of obtaining Power applicable to Ma- 
chinery-, To Epwaxrp Jorpan, Norwich. 

43. Aug. 19. For an Improvement in the Construction of Zamps or 
Lanthorns. _To Joun Crossiey, Middlesex. 

44. Aug. 19. For Certain Mechanical Arrangements for Obtaining Powers 
from certain Fluids. To Marc Isamparp Brunet, London. 

45. Aug. 19. For Improvements in the Manufacture of Silks. To Ricu- 
ARD Bapnat Younger, Stafford. 


Art. XXXIJI.—CELESTIAL PHENOMENA, 
From Oct. 1, 1825, to Jan. 1, 1826, calculated for the Meridian of Edin- 
burgh. By Mr Grorce Innes, Aberdeen. Communicated by the Author. 
These calculations are made for Astronomical time, the day beginning at 


noon. The Conjunctions of the Moon and Stars are given in Right 
Ascension. 


OCTOBER. 

D H. M. S- D He M S- 

1 11 2 42 ¢)AB 8 12. 3. .37)6.),a" 

1 20 58 48 ¢)2x% 8 8 14 42.3546 )¥ 

1 % Greatest Elong. 8 22 41 5 d)Q 

214 4 0d¢)rh 10 10 50 3646) 8 

2 16 1 42 Im. 1. Sat. 2/ 11 11 3 34 @ New Moon 
3 4 40 —d)h 12 8 4 —d gz 

3 21 55 506) hill 14 0 5 —de@anr 
4 128 8 6)eIl 144 5 3 14 £j)dm 

4 6 37 — & near} 16 lo 13 2d6)lut 
4 17 57 40 ( Last Quarter. 16 10 47 45 6 )2et 
4 19 37 12 6) CI 17 9 56 37d )af 

4 22 22 — GF 8B m 17 13 27 50 ¢6)df 
62 5 6d)lag 17 4 2 4 6)H 

6 22 13 2d6)2a a5 18 6 39 1 ) First Quarter 
717 9 MH d)CN 18 18 37 646)PB W 
8 1 36 40d)7S 20 23 8 —d@Phm 


Celestial Phenomena, October 1825—January 1826. 


s. 


1 © enters 
27 Im, I. Sat. Y 
4 © Full Moon. 


NOVEMBER. 


55 5 )Z 
57 Em. III. Sat 2/ 


oa 
~ 
loge 
p 
4 
C2) 
5 
oO 
te 


2 Im. I. Sat. 2/ 
36 d pdm 
20: Im. II. Sat. 2/ 
52 6 )lut 
26 )2ut 


_ 
~I 


an 

Coace 
_ 
=F 


to 


n 
FXO OK FOO 
ee ee 
a xs SEbp » 
oF > 3 
R 


pb te eon § a: SSR a | 


DECEMBER. 
122 6)oD 
od)7T&r 
45 Em. IV. Sat. 2/ 
55 ( Last Quarter. 
50 46) ¥ 
35 Im. I. Sat. 2/ 
49d) og 
40 5 yim 


$y ™ 
4] 1m. II. Sat. 2 


www h~ 
R 


38 


d 
d 
) 
) 
ro) 
) 
fe) 
% 


Aww 
Ww 


30 Im. II. Sat, 2/ 


361 


has Eclipse 


reatest Elong,. 


382 Celestial Phenomena, October 1825—January 1826. 


Di $H. PM. 4s. : D H. M. Sz 

14 10 27°— 62m 23 14 35 24 d)h 

14 14 50 49 Em. III. Sat. 7/ 24 16 31 53 6) II. 
16 219 —~d3+t 244 2017 30 6) mI. 
16 18 49 28 ) First Quarter. 24 21 0 32 © Full Moon. 
17. 18 22 12 Im.I. Sat. 7/ 24 22 49 23 4)v Il. 
19 12 50 34 Im. IL Sat. 7/ 2 14 7 20 6)C I. 
19 17 56 — ¢& near¥ TH 26 14 43 51 1m. I. Sat. 7/ 
21 6 28 27 6)56m 27 16 9 48 g)lan 
21 13 31 52 © enters vp 27:17 «9:10 g)Zan 
21 15 23 4 Im. ITI. Sat. 7 28 12 57 12 g)or 
21 18 48 2 Em. III. Sat. 2/ 98 21 49 0 Syren 
22 7 6 5246)AB 30 3 30 9 6)Y 

22 16 29 20 6 )2Ky 31 11 23 32 Im. IM. Sat. 2/ 
239 17 Odi 31 16 50 —iInf. 6O8 


Times of the Planets passing the Meridian. 
OCTOBER. 


Venus. 


H. 
6 
6 
5 
5 
5 
4 
4 


Venus. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. | Georgian. 


H. M. H. M. H. M. 


Mercury. 


D. H. M. i, ML 
1 
5 


H. 
23 47 | 21 52 | 20 34 | 20 ¥ | 14 38 4 39 
23. 57 21. 54 20 37 19 48 14 2) 3°15 
10. 0 6 21 57 20 19 19 30 14 0 3 55 
16. 0 18 22 0 20 10 9 13 13 39 9 37 
20. 0 30 a2. 4 2U' 8 Oe 18 55 13° 18 3°17 
25. 0 43 22°°°9 19 52 18 38 12 57 3B VO 
30. 0. 57 22,12 19 42 18 20 12 39 2 43 
Mercury. Venus. Mars. Saturn. 
D.| H. H. . H. M. M. BH. M. H. 
1. 0 22 19 41 17 12.21 2 
5. 1 22 19 33 2 12 14 2 
10. 1 22 19 24 45 Il 54 2 
15. 1 22 19 14 25 ql 31 1 
20. 1 22 19) 6 It 33 1 
25.| 0 22 18 58 47 10 49 1 
30. 0 22 18 46 27 10 37 0 


Celestial Phenomena, October 1825—January 1826. 383 


Occultation of Saturn, by the Moon 
On the 30th of October there will be an Occultation of the planet Sa< 
turn, by the Moon. The following are the Elements, and principal re« 
sults of a calculation for Edinburgh ; using the Decimal Tables of Saturn 
by Bouvard, the Solar Tables of Delambre, and Lunar Tables of Burck= 
hardt. 


Geocentric d of the ) and h at Edinburgh, Mean Time. 
October, 30 9 JF 1,08 


—— ——— apparent time, 9 23 12,81 
Geocentric Conjunction in Longitude, « ss = 81° 18 50,20 
Sun’s Right Ascension, - - - - 214 50 23,34 
——-horary motion in Right Ascension, - - 2 26,23 
Apparent Obliquity of the Ecliptic, - ae - 23 27 40,94 
Moon’s Latitude, South increasing, - ~ z= 49 57,53 
—— equatorial horizontal parallax, ~ - - 55 19,21 
———horary motion in Longitude, - « - - 30 52,04 
@ ET ——— in Latitude, = 3 ~ = 2 47,08 
Saturn’s Geocentric Latitude, South, = = = = 1 34 4,37 


For the Immersion. For the Emersion. 


ee _ 


+ M.S. | H.. M./S. |. H. M.S. H. M. S. 
Instants assumed, A pat Time, 112,81} 8 212,81] 8 57 12,81] 8 58 12,81 
Right Ascension of the Meridian, sage 5 15,64/5359 20 18,08/3498 7 32,12|349° 22 34,56) 
Moon’s true Longitude, . 80 36 39,10] 80 37 9; 97] 81 5 27,65] 81 5 58,59 

true Latitude, South, 46 9,19 46 11:97 48 45,15 48 47,90) 
Altitude of the Nonagesimal, 51 27 56,0] 31 33 46,5 | 36 47 0,1 156 52 31,2 
Longitude of the Nonagesimal, | 12 22 13,7} 12 32 12,5 | 22 47 43,8 | 29 58 25,2 


Parallax in Longitude, + 6 51,19}+ 96 53,93/-+ 28 16,41 


Parallax in Latitude, . . 7 21,01 47 18,24 44 39,43 = on 
‘ > 

Appar. diff. Long. ) ana h 15 19,9) 14 46,30] 14 53,86 15 25451 

=| 3 0 4 

Appar, diff, Lat. ) ana hk 0 34,17 0 54,16 0 41,81 I 

Sun’s Ap. mot, in 1 min. of time, 55,16 51,33 


— 12,83) + 90773 — 14,64 + 16,69 


hm, 6 
Emersion, 8 57 40,85 


Hence the final results are as follows, Mean time. 
Deo He Me's 
Immersion, October 30. 7 45 24,17 f at 34”,17 ) South of the 
Emersion, — 8 41 20 17 —40, 93 § (’s centre. 
The apparent semidiameter of Saturn being liable to some uncertainty, has not 
been used in the calculation. 
Eclipse of the Moon. 
On the 25th of November, there will be a small Eclipse of the Moon, partly visible. 
D. 'H. M. 18: 


Errors from Instants assumed, 


Apparent Time of Immersion, 


The Eclipse begins, November 25 2 59 19 
Moon rises Eclipsed, - - — 3 12'56 
Ecliptic opposition, - F: — 3:46 10 
Middle, - : . - — 8 56 24 
End of the Eclipse, - - — 4 53 30 


Digits Eclipsed, 2° 57’ 6”, by the north side’of the Earth’s shadow, or on the 
south part of the Moon’s disc. ; 


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call” nmin, tity a a dite gale 


INDEX TO VOL. IIL. 


ABRANCHUS Alleghaniensis, 339. 

Acid pectic, a remarkable new one, 182. 

Acmite, on the locality of, 326. 

Adie, Mr, his meteorological registers 
kept at Canaan Cottage, 192, 384. 

Apatite found in Salisbury Crags, 182. 

Amici, Professor, his improved camera 
lucida, 157. 

Anderson, Mr, on the quartz district 
near Lochness, 212. 

Aragé, M., on the influence of copper on 
the oscillation of magnetic needles, 179. 

Arctic overland expedition, 374. 

Association for promoting inventions and 
discoveries in Britain, 149. 

Astronomical observations made at Pa- 
ramatta, 72. 

Astronomical notices, 176, 367. 
Atmospherical phenomena, notice of 
some of the rarer ones in 1824, 49. 
Auroral Arch seen at Edinburgh on the 

10th March, 181. 

Ava, on the frontier between it and Ben- 
gal, 32, 201. 

Babbage, Mr, on the magnetism develop- 
ed during rotation, 371. 

Barlow, Mr, on the magnetism imparted 
to irou bodies during rotation, 372. 

Barometer, improvement on the, 179. 

Bengal, on the frontier between it and 
Ava, 32, 201. 

Benzoic acid, on the light produced dur- 
ing its crystallization, 368. 

Berzelius, M., on two new minerals, 
327—on some new localities of mine- 
rals, 332. 

Bevel, Allard’s universal one, 346. 

Bilobites, 339. 

Blackadder, Mr, on mirage, 13—on the 
climate of the north of France, 227— 
on meteorological instruments which 
register their indications in absence, 
251. 

Blanken, Mr J., on fan-gate sluices, 95. 

Boracite, on a remarkable variety of, 
110. 

Bosson, M., on waterspouts, 181. 

Botanical works, notices of those recently 
published, 364. 

Bread, poisonous effect of white, on 
dogs, 187. 

Brewster, Dr, on some remarkable affec- 
tions of the retina, 289—on the incan- 
descence of wax tapers, 350. 


Brisbane, Sir Thomas, op astronomical 
observations made at Paramatta, 72— 
on the tides in Van Diemen’s Land, 
100. 

Bryce, Mr, his moveable branch syphon, 
149. 

Camera lucida, improvements upon the, 
157. 

Capillary attraction accompanied by elec- 
tricity, 370. 

Carbon and hydrogen, on a new com- 
pound of, 373. 

Celestial phenomena, 190, 380. 

Cephalopterus, 339. a 

Cervus Euryceros, or Irish elk, observa- 
tions on a fossil one, 134. 

Chimneys of glass, how to prevent the 
fracture of, 346—of houses, on the 
construction of, 349. 

Chlamyphorus truneatus, 334. 

Christie, Mr, his discoveries on the effect 
of rotation on magnetic forces, 135— 
on the diurnal variation of the tertes- 
trial magnetic intensity, 179—-on the 
effects of temperature on the magnetic 
forces, 178—on the magnetism of ro- 
tion, 372. 

Chronometers, on the effects of the den- 
sity of air on the rates of, 170. 

Chronometer, Lenormand’s new one de- 
scribed, 348—on oil for, 351. } 

Clock, night one described, 349. 

Clouds, remarkable formations of, in 
1824, 50—iridescence of, 369. 

Codium tomentosum found in Scotland, 
183. 1 

Cold produced by the combination of 
metals, 181. 

Coldstream, Mr John, on a remarkable 
explosion of gas in a well near Leith 
Fort, 108. ae 

Comet of Encke rediscovered in New 
Holland by Mr Rumker, 146. 

Comet.seen on the sun’s disk, 176—of 
1824, singular appearances in. the, 
177—of 1824, Encke’s, hyperbolical 
elements of the, 177—of 1824, discos 
vered at Paramatta, 177—clements of 
the above comets, 367, 368—new one 
of 1825, 368. 

Convergence of solar beams, on, 52. 

Conybeare, Rev. Mr, on the plesiosau- 
rus, 143. 

Coral, on a gigantic fossil one, 143. 


VOL. Ill. NO. 11. ocTOBER 1825. Bh 


386 


Crystallization, production of light dur- 
ing, 368. 

Crystals, on the regular composition of, 
59. 

Daniel, Mr, his improvement on the ba- 
rometer, 179. 

Davy, Dr John, on the temperature of 
springs, wells, and mines in Cornwall, 
75. 

Decandolle, M., on the plants of the bo- 
tanic garden of Geneva, 375 

Dew, on the formation of, 69. 

Distances, on a machine for measuring 
them, applied to a gig, 93. 

Dunkeld, on a single block of stone on 
the summit of a hill at, 46. 

Dunlop, Mr his reflecting speculum, 178 
—<discovers a comet at Paramatta, 367. 

Dyce, Dr, on an improved hydropneu- 
matic lamp, 151. 

Eclipse, lunar, of 31st May, observed by 
Colonel Beaufoy, 368.—of 25th No- 
vember, 383. ; 

Edgeworth, William, Ksq. on a machine 
applied to a gig for measuring distan- 
ces, 93. 

Edingtonite, a new mineral, 316. 

Electrical gale, 371. 

Electricity of oxalate of lime, 369—de- 
veloped in capillary attraction, 370— 
developed in solutions and mixtures, 
370. 

Elk, on the fossil one in the Isle of Man, 
15, 28, 129. 

Etching on steel, menstruum for, 347. 

Explosion of oil gas in Edinburgh des- 
cribed, 83—of gas in a well at Leith 
Fort, 108. 

Faraday, Mr, ona remarkable compound 
of carbon and hydrogen, 373. 

Fauna, American, Dr Harlan’s, 184. 
Fish, method of catching, in Greece, 145 
—on changing their residence, 146. 
Flints of Warwickshire, observations on 

the, 77. 

Flora, English, analysis of the, 159. 

Foggo, Mr, on the iridescence of clouds, 
369. 


France, North, on the climate of the, 
227. 

Gale, electrical, 371. 

Gibb, Mr John, on the use of granite 
for railways, 152. 

Goitre cured by subcarbonate of soda, 
187. 

Gold mines of North Carolina, 358. 

Granite, on its use for railways, 152. 

Greville, Dr, on the Musci, 218. 

Griebel’s portable night clock, 349. 

Griffiths, Mr, on the hygrometric pro- 
perties of bodies, 180, 


~ 


INDEX, 


Grimes, Edward, Esq., on thi flints of 
Warwickshire, 77. 

Gulf-Stream, ebservations on the, in 
crossing it to Bermuda, &c. 256, 

Haidinger, Mr, on the regular composi- 
tion of crystallized bodies, 59—on a 
remarkable variety of boracite, 110— 
on the specific gravity of various mi- 
nerals, 241———on two new mineral 
species, 302—on Edingtonite, a new 
mineral, 316. 

Hailstones, with pyritic nuclei, 373. 

Halos, lunar,.58, 

Half, Sir James, on the consolidation of 
the strata, 1. 

Hamilton, Dr F. oa the frontier between 
Ava and Bengal, 32, 201. 

Harp, Eolian, on ameteorological one 349. 

Harvey, Mr, on the formation of dew, 
69—on the rates of chronometers as 
affected by the density of air, 170. 

Hazel nuts found in a singular state at 
a great depth, 181. 

Herschel, J. F. W. Esq., on a remark- 
able occurrence of serpentine in the 
Tyrol, 126—on the calorific effect of 
the sun’s rays, 107—on double stars, 
178-281—on magnetism develoned 
during rotation, 371. 

Herschel, Miss Caroline, her catalogue 
of stars, 178. 

Hibbert, Dr, on the fossil elk in the Isle 
of Man, 15, 129—on an animal re- 
sembling the Scandinavian elk, found 
in the Isle of Man, 129. 

Hodgkinson, Mr Eaton, on the trans- 
verse strain of materials, 351. 

Hooker, Dr, on the Musci, 218. 

Hunter, James, Esq-., on an improved 
odometer, 44, 

Hyena, on the habits of the, 80. 

Hydrogen and carbon, on a new com- 
pound of, 373. 

Hygrometer, Leslie’s, invented by Dr 
Hutton, 148. 

Hyvometric properties of insoluble com- 
pounds, 180. 

Hygrometrical apparatus of Professor 
De La Rive, 320. - 

Todine in mineral waters, 182. 

Tridescence of clouds, 369.. 

Knox, Dr, on the habits of the hyena, 
80—on the limits of the retina, in 
the Sepia loligo, 193, 

Kotzebue, Lieut., his recent voyage of 
discovery, 377. f 

Lamp, on an improved hydropneumatic 
one, 151, 

Lamp, natural, by incandescence, 350. 


La Rive, M. De, on a new hygrometer, 
320. 


INDEX, 


Lecount, Mr, on the teeth of wheels, 340. 

Light produced during crystallization, 
368. . 

Liquids, on the application ef their ex- 
pansive power to produce a recipro- 
cal rectilinear motion, 101. 

Lithion-Mica, analysis of, 261. 

Lyell, Charles, Esq. on a dike of serpen- 
tine cutting through sandstone, 112. 
MacCulloch, Dr, on a detached block of 
stone occupying the summit of a hill 

at Dunkeld, 46. 

Macvicar, Rev. Mr, on a meteorological 
phenowenon, 312. 

Magnetic forces, on the effect of rotation 
on the, 135, 

Marcet, M., on the effect of poisons on 
plants, 293. 

Megalosaurus, a nondescript fossil ani- 
mal, 143. 

Menai bridge near Bangor, 185. 

Menobranchus lateralis, 339. 

Metals, on the cold produced by the com- 
bination of, 181. 

Meteorological instruments, which re- 
gister their indications during absence, 
251. 

Meteorological table kept at Canaan €ot- 
tage, 192, 384. 

Mica from Cornwall, analysis of, 137. 

Micas, analysis of those containing lithia, 
264. 

Mines, school of in Cornwall proposed, 
183. 

Mirage, on vertical and lateral, 13. 

Moll, Professor, his description of Blan- 
ken’s fan-gate sluices, 95. 

Maller, M., on the locality of acmite, 326. 

Moon, her action on our atmosphere, 
368—cclipse of the, on the 3lst May, 
368. 

Mummy, remarkable dissection of a fe- 
male one, 185. 

Nordenskiold, M., on some of the zinc 
ores, 310. 

Odometer, account of an improved one, 

44. 

Oil for Chronometers, 351. 

Oil gas, account of an explosion of in 
Edinburgh, 83. 

Olmsted, Professor, on the gold mines of 
North Carolina, 358. 

Orang-Outang, on an enormous one found 
in Sumatra, 144. 

Oswald, H. R., on the fossil elk of the 
Isle of Man, 28. 

Oxalate of lime, on the electricity of, 370. 

Paint, on a coarse ene made with pota~ 
toes, 345. 

Paramatta, longitude and latitude of, 368. 

Patents, list of English ones since Octo. 


387 


ber 7, 1824, 188, 378—List of Scottish 
ones since March 7, 1825, 189, 379. 

Pearls, on the artificial production of, 
187. 

Peetic, or coagulating acid, 182. 

Phosphate of yttria, 327. 

Photometer, observations on Leslie’s, 
104. 

Plants, how affected by poison, 293. 

Plesiosaurus, a new fossil genus of rep- 
tiles, 143. 

Poison, on the effects of, on plants, 293. 

Polymignite, a new mineral, 329. 

Pastorff on solar spots and clouds, 176. 

Psychrometer for registering the lowest 
temperature, 253. 

Pump, a breathing one described, 156. 

Rainbows, supernumerary, in 1824, 55. 

» Lunar, in 1824, 56. 

Ramage, Mr John, on a stickleback 
found alive in the intestines of a leech, 
74. 

Refraction, lateral, 178. 

Refrigerating salt, 182. 

Reptiles, on new genera of, 339. 

Retina, on some remarkable affections of, 
289. 

Retina, on the limits of in the Sepia loli- 
go, 193. 

Ritchie, Mr, his observations on Leslie's 
photometer, 104. 

Royal Society of Edinburgh, proceedings 
of, 175. 

Rousseau, his botanical letters to M. 
Gouan, 246. 

Sabine, Captain, on the gulf-stream, 270 
—on the depression of the horizon, 
274, 

Sandstone, on its artificial formation, 1. 

Saturn, occultation of, 383. 

Say’s American entomology, 184. 

Serpentine, on a dike of, cutting through 
sandstone, 112—on a remarkable oc- 
currence of in the Tyrol, 126. 

Shiells, Mr, his triangle for elevating the 
jet of fire-engines, 149. 

Sluices, on fan-gate ones, 95. 

Sluice, on a single valve one, 154—on a 
chain one, 195—on a single weather 
one, 343. 

Smith, Sir J. E. his English Flora ana- 
lyzed, 159. 

Smoke, method of consuming, 347. 

Snakes in New Holland, rapid effects of 
their poison, 145. 

Societies, philosophical, proceedings of, 
175. 

Solar spots and clouds, 176, 

South, Mr, on double stars, 281. 

Specific gravities of minerals, list of the, 
241. 


388 


Spectral impressions, their apparent im- 
mobility discovered by Dr Wells, and 
not by Mr Charles Bell, 147. 

Spider, domestic one, possesses a natural 
diving-bell. 145. 

Springs, on the temperature of, in Corn- 
wall, 75. 

Stars, double, catalogue of, 281. 

Steam-boat, Enterprise, for India, 377. 

Steam-boats, number for the Clyde, 187. 

ee number of, in Glasgow, 

87. , 

Steel plates, menstruum for biting in upon 
them, 347. 

Stickleback, account of one found alive 
in the intestines of a leech, 74. 

Strata, on the consolidation of the, 1. 

Strength of materials, observations on 
the, 351. 

Sulphate of potash, its composite struc- 
ture, not discovered by Mr Brooke, 147. 

Syphon, moveable branch one invented 
by Mr Bryce, described, 149,” 

Targionia hypophylla found in Scotland, 
183. 


Temperature of the gulf-stream, 257— 
highest and lowest, on the earth’s sur- 
face, 181. 


INDEX. 


Thom, Mr R., on a single valye-sluice, 
154—on a chain-sluice, 155—on a 
single weather one, 343, 

Tides, table of their rise at Hobart 
town, 100. 

Tredgold on the construction of chim- 
neys, 349. 

Triangle for elevating the jet of fire-en- 

~ gines, 149. 

Turner, Dr Edward, his analysis of a 
mica from Cornwall, 137—of lithion 
mica, 261—of different minerals, 306 
—of Edingtonite, 318. 

Van Houten, on a breathing-pump, 156. 

Vision, on the phenomenon of indirect, 
289—how affected by weak light, 290. 

Walrus, on the structure of its hind-foot, 
146. 

Waterspouts, observations on, 181. 

Well, remarkable explosion of gas in one, 
108. 

Withamite, 183. 

Yttria, phosphate of, 327. 

Zembla, Nova, discoveries in, 185. 

Zine ores, analysis of, 310. 


‘Zoological collections, 143, 334. 


DESCRIPTION OF PLATES IN VOL. III. 


PLATE I. 
Edinburgh. 


Figs. 1. and 2. Diagrams explaining the explosion of Oil Gas at 


Fig. 3. Detached Block of Stone at Dunkeld. 
Fig. 4. Mr Lecount’s method of giving the Epicycloidal form to the 


Teeth of Wheels. 


See this No. p. 340. 


Fig. 5. Mr Shiells’ Triangle for directing the Jet of Fire-Engines. 
Fig. 6. Dr Dyce’s improved Hydropneumatic Lamp. 
Fig. 7. Diagram illustrative of the Expansive power of Liquids: 
Fig. 8. Plan and Section of a Rail-Road of Granite. 
Fig. 9. Mr Thom’s Single Valve-Sluice. 
Big. 10. Mr Thom’s Chain-Sluice. 
Fig. 11. and 12. Van Houten’s Breathing Pump. 
Fig. 13. and 14, Figures of the Effect of Mirage. 
' Fig. 15. —22. Amici’s improvements on the Camera Lucida. 


PLATE IU. 


Fig. 1. Head of the Fossil Elk, in the possession of Mr Burman. 


Fig. 2. Part of Chaloner’s Map of the Isle of Man in 1656. 
Fig. 3. Head of the Irish Fossil Elk. 


; p. 351 

PLATE III. 

tion of Crystals. 

PLATE TV. 

PLATE. V. 

PLATE VI. 
p. 340. 

PLATE VII. 


Fig, 4. Diagram respecting the Strength of Timber. See this No, 
Is illustrative of Mr Haidinger’s paper, on the regular Composi- 
Ts a Representation of M. Blanken’s Fan-Gate Sluice. 

A portion of the Rocks on the banks of the Carity. 

Is illustrative of the Article on Mechanical Inventions, &c. &e. &c. 


Is illustrative of Mr Haidinger’s papers on the genus Gypsum- 


Haloide and on Edingtonite. 
PLATE VIII. Contains figures of a species of Cephalopterus, the Abranchus 
Alleghanienses, Menobranchus lateralis, and Chlamyphorus 


truncatus.