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Srinburgh
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE,

EXHIBITING

A VIEW OF THE PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY

<a>

IN NATURAL PHILOSOPHY, CHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY, GEOLOGY, BOTANY,
ZOOLOGY, COMPARATIVE ANATOMY, PRACTICAL MECHANICS, GEOGRAPHY,
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.5S.A.

CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE INSTITUTE OF FRANCE3 HONORARY MEMBER OF THE ROYAL
IRISH ACADEMY; MEMBER OF THE ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY OF SCIENCRS:’
AND OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF SCIENCES OF DENMARK, &C. &c.

-

VOL. VIL.
APRIL—OCTOBER.

JOHN THOMSON, EDINBURGH:
AND T. CADELL, LONDON.

M.DCCC.XXVII.

she 4
MARTINIS

| , Wergad to geandoHT AUT MO WHIV A
2uitou \tooaoae Secuene wile wareifans rnsoeuatae

raapaparo oo caeneaneyi heat araraasaag® *

1. amet ob he Wika ai, MPC W ATOR aIER, EO Hee aiE “ Vieatane
mn ‘ a:

be DY HA DARE WO SAOWETIR NO WBEIOM Wao RET MO 4

CONTENTS

EDINBURGH JOURNAL OF SCIENCE.
No. XIII.

EE

Page
Ant. I. Memoir of the Life of M. LE CHEVALIER FRAUNHOFER, the Cele-
brated Improver of the Achromatic Telescope, and Member of the Aca-

demy of Sciences at Munich, . - - 1

II. Remarks on Mount Vesuvius. Communicated by a CORRESPONDENT, It
IlI. On Mesole. By WitL1aM HAIDINGER, Esq. F.R.S.E. &c. Com-

municated by the Author, . 18
IV. Some Account of a Society lately established in Germany, of which
. the object is to send out Botanical Collectors to the most interesting
parts of Europe; together with a recommendation to the Naturalists of
other Countries, and especially those of Great Britain, to unite with it.
Communicated by W. Jackson Hooxer, LL. D.F.R.S.F.L.S.

F. A. S. and Regius Professor of Botany in the University of Glasgow, 23
V. Views of the Process in Nature by which, under particular circumstances,
vegetables grow on the bodies of Living Animals. By Dr Samvuet L.
MrtcuHILL of New York, F. R.S.E. With remarks by a i

dent, - - 30
VI. Onthe Dew-Point Hygrometer formerly described i in n this Fialtiian vol. iv.

_ p. 127. By Mr Jouw Foeeo, Junr. Communicated by the Author, 36
VII. Description of a Plant of the order of Guttifere, which Dr Roxburgh
called Garcinia pedunculata. By Francis HAMILTON, M.D. F.R. S.

and F, A.S. Lond. and Edin. Communicated by the Author. - 45

VIII. Contributions to Physical Geography, 47
1. Description of the Cavern of Adelsberg in Carniola, - ib.

2. Account of the Subterraneous Sounds heard at Nakous in Arabia
Petrea. By M. SEETZEN, - - 51

3. Account of the Granite Quarries at Assuan. By the Honourable
C. L. Inpy, and JamMEs ManGuLEs, Esq. Commanders in the Navy, 53
4. Account of Hot Springs and Volcanic Appearances in the Himalaya
Mountains, - - : 55
5. Account of the Brahma Kund. By Captain BEDFORD, 56
6. Notice of the Phoonga Caves in Junk Ceylon. By Caprain Low, 57
7. Notice of the Cavern of the Sagat Rock, upon the Ks Strait of

the Sanloon or main river of Martaban, 58
8. Account of the Floating Island of oe Port. By Mr Amos
PETTINGALL Jun. 59

IX. Notice respecting the Vanderon Monkey, or the Guenon @ fice pour-
pre of Buffon. By Francis Hamriton, M.D. F.R.S. and F. A.S.

Lond. and Edin. Communicated by the Author, - 60
X. Description of a New Safety-Tube for Chemical Apparatus. By James
KinG, Esq. Communicated by the Author, - - 61

a

li CONTENTS.

>
XI. Abstract of the Journal of the Proceedings of Lieutenant Wilcox, now phi
engaged in a Survey of the North-east of Assam. Communicated by a.
Correspondent in India, “ - 63
XII. Notice of the Barometrical Measurements of Vesuvius, and the New
Cone which was formed in: the ruption ,of ) eT? 1822, taken by ©
the Right Hon. the EARL of Mrn'r0, ~ rs 68
XIII. Account of the Habits of the Sea Elephant. By M. PERoN, - 7
XIV. Magnetical Observations -dn' thé Variation and Dip of the Needle,
made during the Voyage of the Coquille from Toulon to Port Jackson,
in 1822, 3, and 4. By M. DupsrrEey, Commander of the Expedition.
Communicated by Sik THoMAs MAKDOUGALL BRISBANE, K. C.B.
F.R.S. London and Edinburgh. (Concluded from No. xii. p. 257,) | 75
XV. On the Remarkable Comet which revolves within the Orbit of Jupiter.
By M. DaMoIsEaAv, - - » : 77
XVI. Account of the Discovery of an almost entire Skeleton of the Fossil
Mastodon. By JEREMIAH VaN RENSSELAER, M.D. of New York, 80
XVII. Observations on the Minimum and Maximum of the Barometer, made
during a period of twenty-nine years at Malmanger, and cae in
Norway. By Provosr HerrzBere of Ullensvang, 83
XVIII. Account of the death of Mr Drake by the bite of a Rattlesnake, 85
XIX. On the Systems of Double Stars, which have been demonstrated to be
Binary.ones, by the observations of Sir W. HERSCHEL, and Messrs
HERSCHEL and SouTs, 88
XX. Observations on the properties of some Fish-Oils, ii on the utility
Chloride of Lime in destroying their putrid odour. By WiLL1am Da-
vipson, Esq. Surgeon, Glasgow. Communicated by the Author, 97
XXI..A short account of the results of recent Experiments upon the Laws of
Light and its Theory. By M. Le CHEVALIER FRAUNHOFER, Mem-
ber of the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences at Munich, ° 101
XXII. Account of Halos and. Parhelia observed in America, “ 113
XXIII. Description of Oxahverite, a New Mineral from Oxahver, in Iceland.
By Davip BrewsTER, LL.D. F.R.S. Lond. and Sec. R.S. Edin. 115
XXIV. Analysis of Oxahverite. By Epwarp TuRNER, M.D. F.R.S.E. &c,
Lecturer on Chemistry, and Fellow of the Royal College of care
Edinburgh. Communicated by the Author, - 118
XXV. On the existence and uses of Cilia in the young of the Wits dome
Mollusca, and on the causes of the spiral turn of Univalve Shells. . By
R..E. Grant, M.D., F.R.S.E., Fellow of the Royal College of Physi-
cians.of Edinburgh, and formerly aie on Comparative Anatomy.
‘Communicated by the Author, s A 121
XXVI. Description of a New Safety Gas Rein, By Mr WILLIAM War-
DEN, Engineer to the E apne Portable Gas Company. In a Let-
ter to the EprTor, -. - 125
X XVII. On the Gradual Changes which take place in the interior of Cupri-
ferous Minerals, while their external form remains the same. By Wi1L-
Liam HAIDINGER, Esq. F.R.S.E. Communicated by the Author, 126
XXVIII. Account of the Diamond Workings and Diamonds of Sumbhulpore.
By PETER BRETON, Esg. Surgeon, Superintendant of the School of —
Native Doctors at Calcutta, 134
X XIX. Notice of some Remarkable ‘Pwin-Crystals of. Phitipsite: By Whois
Von BeEust of Dresden. With Observations by W. HaIDINGER,
Esq. F.R.S.E. ~ : - to 140

CONTENTS: | lil

Sie P
XXX. Description of a Stereometer. By JamES ALEXANDER VENTREsS, a
Esq. Communicated by the Author, * _ 1435
XXXI. Notice of some new observations by Mr Brooke on the Sulphato-Tri-
carbonate of Lead. By Wiiiitam HarDINGER, Esq. F:R:S:E. —-:«146
XXXII. On the Structure and Characters of the Lernza elongata, Gr. a New
Species from the Arctic Seas. By R. E. GRANT, M.D., F-R-S.E.,
Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, ant formerly
Lecturer on Comparative Anatomy. Communicated by the Author, 147
XXXIII. On the Atomié Weight of Nickel. By Tomas Trromson, M.D.
" 'FLR.S.L. and E. Professor of Chemistry in Glasgow. Communicated
by the Author, - - - 155 -
XXXIV..Notice regarding the Ova of the Pontobdella muricata, Lam. By:
R.E. Grawt, M.D., F.R.S. Edin. &c. Communicated by the Au-

‘thor, - ta 160
XXXV. ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS, - Berg see
: 1. Account of the Capture of a Female Orang Outang, caught on the
coast of Sumatra. By CapTaIn HULL. é = ib.
2. On the use of the Odoriferous Gland of the Alligator as a Bait. By
‘Toomas BELL, Esq. F.L.S. &e. =! = ib
3. Account of the Chiru, or Unicorn of the Himalayah Mountains. “By
Mr Hopeson, Surveyor General of India, 4 - 163
4. On the size of the Asiatic Elephant, - 164

5. On the Growth of the young Boa Constrictor hatched from the Egg, tb.
6. On the Growth and Habits of a young Rhinoceros. By Mr Hove-

SON, Surveyor General of India, - - 165
7.On the Edible Birds’ Nests of the Tavoy and Mergui Islands in.
sairsige 166

. Siam, ant e a

XXXVI. HISTORY OF MECHANICAL INVENTIONSAND PROCES. -
SES IN THE USEFUL ARTS, - =, - ib.
1. On the Explosion of Steam Boilers. By Jacon PERKINS,’ Esq- ib.
2.-On the Economy of using highly Elastic Steam expansively, &c.

By Jacos Perkins, Esq. - - 170
3. Method of making Transparent Soap, - - 172
4. Mode of Preparing Emery. By Mr Hawkins, - ib.

5. Account of a Travelling Railway. By Georar HunTER, Esq. 173

XXXVII. ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS AND MEMOIRS, ib,
1. Account of a Curious Manuscript Volume, entitled ‘‘ The Disco-

verie and Historie of the Gold Mynes in Scotland, written inthe —

year 1619. By STEPHEN ATKINSON, - : . 174

2. The Steam Engine Theoretically and Practically Displayed. By GEORGE

‘BIRKBECK, M.D. F. A.S.'M. A.'S. &c. and HENRY and JamEs AD-

cock, Civil Engineers. Illustrated by a ‘series of splendid engravings

from working drawings made expressly ‘for this publication, 18}

XK XVII. PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES, - 162
1. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, t bey ib.
2. Proceedings of the Society for Promoting the Useful Arts in Scotland, 183

iV CONTENTS.

_ Page
XXXIX, SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE, ~ - 183

I, NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.
Spracwomy.--- Comet of December 1826. 2. M. Westphal’s Table of —
- Variable Stars, - 183—184
beissraneeabl —3. Lebailliff’s N eedle for ME the smallest quantity of Mag-
netism. 4. Singular Magnetic Property of Bismuth and Antimony, 184—185
METEOROLOGY.—5. Hourly Meteorological Observations on the 17th July.
6. Luminous Spots near the Horizon. - . 185

Il. CHEMISTRY.

7. New compound of Selenium and Oxygen. 8. Theory of the Formation of
Mineral Waters. 9. Caustic Potash. 10. Composition of Nitric Acid. 11.
Nitrification. 12. Solidification of Bromine, and some new compounds of
that substance. By M.SEruLLas. 13. Hydrocarburet of Bromine. 14.
Hydro-bromic Ether. 15. Cyanuret of Bromine. 16. New Sources of Bro-
mine. 17. Supposed Chlorate of Manganese in the native Peroxide. 18.
Analysis of the Meteoric Stone which fell near Ferrara in 1824, 185—191

IIL. NATURAL HISTORY.
MIXERALOGY.—19. para a Pyrope. 20. Remarkable ea property

of Dichroite, an 191
GEOLoGY.—21. Dr Hibbert’s System of Geology. 22. Mr Serope’ s Memoir

on the Geology of Central France. - - ib.
ZOOLOGY.—23, System of Ornithology, - - 192
Borany,—724. Natural History of the Auricula, . ib.

IV. GENERAL SCIENCE.
25. Rumford Medals Adjudged. 26. Dr Brewster’s System of Popular and
Practical Science. 27. Siamese Islands of Ko-si-Chang and Ko-Cramb, 193—194

XL. List of Patents granted in Scotland since February 8, 1827, 195

XLI. Celestial Phenomena, from July Ist to October Ist, 1827, ° ib.

XL. Summary of Meteorological Observations made at Kendal in March,
April, and May 1827. By Mr Samuret MarsHatt, - 198

XLIII. Register of the Barometer, Thermometer, and Rain-Gage, kept at
Canaan Cottage. By ALEX. ADIE, sq. F.R.S. Edinburgh, - 200

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. ©

A Correspondent who has sent us an account of some improvements on the Gal-
vanic Battery, has omitted to inclose the last part of his letter, so that we have only

a portion of his letter, without his name and address. We beg that he will have the
goodness to supply this defect. —

We cannot insert L.’s paper on the London University. We can assure him that
he is as much mistaken in his facts, as he appears to us to be in his arguments. It
has happened to come within our personal knowledge, that in the department to
which he speaks, the greatest care has been taken to select the most distinguished of
the candidates; and we are confident that there will be arrayed under the banners
of that institution a phalanx of distinguished individuals, who will give a vigorous _
impulse to the progress of science in England.

Mr CHRISTIE’s Communication reached us too late for insertion in this N umber.

Mr Marsuaut’s Hypothesis respecting the cause of the north-east winds in
Spring, or any thing else which he may send us, will be thankfully received.

~- CONTENTS
EDINBURGH JOURNAL. OF SCIENCE.
No. XIV. y inary

~

ArT. I. Historical Notice of the Life and Works of M. BREGUET. By Ba-
RON FourteER, Secretary of the Academy of Sciences, - 201

_ II. Account of a French Locality of Vauquelinite. By W1iit1am Harp-
INGER, Esq. F. R. S. E., &c. . Communicated by the Author, +213

III. Description of a remarkable Bronze Relic found on the Sand Hills of

. Culbin, near the estuary of the River Findhorn. By Sir Tuomas Dick
LAUDER, Bart. F. R. S. E. | . p. - 214

IV. A Metallurgic Memoir on the Nature and History of the pee omen

Carbonate of Iron. By HueH Coraunoun, M.D. Communicated

by the Author. - % m “j= 217
V. On Sternbergite, a New Mineral Species. By W1LLIAM HAIDINGER;
Esq. F. R. S. E. &c. Communicated by the Author, - 242

, VI. Description of plant used in Bengal as a cammon. green vegetable,

(Olus,) and of another nearly allied to it. By Francis HAMILTON,
M. D. F.R.S. &c. Communicated by the Author, © - 244

VII. On Polyhalite. By WitL1am HaIDINGER, Esq. F. R. S. E. &e.
Communicated by the Author, - ess rs 246

VIII. Observations on the Temperature of the Atmosphere made by means of
Balloons. By the Ricut Hon. the Eart of Minto, ._ - 249

1X. A short account of the results of recent Experiments upon the Laws of
Light and its Theory. By M. LE CHEVALIER FRAUNHOFER; Mem-

-_ ber of the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences at Munich. (Conga
ed from p. 113,) - - 251

X. Remarks on the Climate of Naples and its. Vicinity ; sith an Account of

a Visit to the Hot Springs of La Pisavella, Nero’ s Baths. By a Cor-

‘ “RESPONDENT, - - - ~ 263
, XI. On the Domestic Economy of the Romans in ‘the Fourth century.) By
’M. Moreau DE JonNEs, Member of the Institute, - 267
XII. Account of the Periodical Comet of 1819 that revolves within the orbit ;
of Jupiter, with a period of 34 years, . - - 273
XIII. Observations on Caverns containing Bones, with an account of the Grotto
of Oiselles, near Besancon. By Baron CUVIER, - 279

XIV. Notes regarding a Cavern containing Fossil Bones, situated on te pro-
perty of M. Gautier, in the Commune of Lunel-Viel. By Dr ALPHON- |
so MENARD. Communicated in a Letter from Mr ExsHaw of Bour-
deaux to JoHN Rosison, Esq. F. R. S. Ed. - 282
XV. Observations on the History of the Developement of Macnailim by Ro-
tation. By S. H. CunistTiEe, Esq. M. A. F.R.S. &cs Ina Letter

to the Eprror, - 287
* XVI. On certain Phenomena of the Great voted of America. By DE Witt

a

li CONTENTS.

Page

Cxiinton, LL. D. Fxpeidens of the Lit. and Phil. Society of New i

.

York, od - - 290

XVII. On the Pyrophosphate of Soda, one of a hew ae of Salts produced by
the Action of Heat on the Phosphates. _By Mr THomas Ciark, Lec-
turer on Chemistry and Mechanics in the Glasgow Mechanics’ Inatitu-)
‘ ‘tion. Communicated by. thé Atithor, et 298
XVIII. On the Arseniate of Sodas By Mr THoMas CLaRrk, fade on
Chemistry and Mechanics in the Glasgow Mechanics’ Institution. Com-
municated by the Author, - - - 309
XIX. On a new Phosphate of Soda.. By Mr Tuomas Crank, Lecturer on
Chemistry and Mechanics in the Glasgow Mechanics’ Institution. Com-
municated by the Author, % 311
XX+ On the Crystalline Forms of Pyiopbidephiate of Soda ina the Arseniate of
Soda, described in the preceding Papers. By W1tL1aM HarIDINGER,

Esq. F. R. $. E., &c. Communicated by the Author, - 314 ’

XXL On the Topography, Animals, and raat of some districts in India,
By P. Breton, Esq. é 316
XXIL. On a peculiar Defect in the Eye, and a mode of shield it. By
G. B. Arry, Esq. A. M., and Lucasian Professor of Mathematics in
the University of Cainbridge. With observations by the Ep1tror, 322
XXIII. On Davyne, a New Mineral Species. By W1LLIAM HAIDINGER,
Esq. F. R. S. E. &. Communicated by the Author, - 326
XXIV. Notice regarding the Structure and Mode of Generation of the Virgu-
laria mirabilis and Pennatula phosphorea. By Rozert E. Grant,
M.D. F. R.S. B. FP. L. S. Professor of Zoology in the University of

London. Communicated by the Author, . * 330
XXV. Notice respecting Professor Barlow’s New Achromatic Telescopes with
‘Fluid Object-Glasses, vu - . - 335

XXXVI. On the Permanency of Achromatic miiddsdpes constructed with Fluid
Object-Glasses. By ARcHIBALD Biair, Esq. In a letter to Dr
BREWSTER, 4 - - - 336

XXVIII. Mineralogical Notices, shuithttiiig oh by Dr CHARLES HARTMAN
of Blankenburg, of the Duke of Brunswick’s Mining Service, M. W. S.

&c. &e. Communicated by the Author, - - 342

K XVIII. Notice respecting an Emigration of Butterflies. By P. HuBER, 343

X XIX. On the Permeability of Transparent Screens of extreme tenuity by
radiant Heat. By Wittram Rircure, A. M., Rector of Tain Aca-
demy, - - -

XXX. Oued new form of the Differential Thermometer, with some.of its ap-—
plications. By Wrii1am RitTcHIE, A. M. Rector of Tain Academy, 350

‘XXXI. Notice respecting Professor Hansteen’s New Chart of the Isodynamic _
Lines for the whole magnetic intensity. With a Cuarr, Plate IV.

Communicated by ProrEssor HANSTEEN of Christiania, 351
XXXII. On Berthierite, a New Mineral Species. By Witt1am Harp1y-
GER, Esq. F.R.S.E. &c. Communicated by the Author, 353
XXXII ZOOLOGICAL COLLECTIONS, - - . 354
1. On the Change in the Plumage of some Hen Pheasants. By W.
/ YaRRELL, Esq. F. LS. . - - . ib.
2. Observations on the Scarus of the Ancients. By BARON CUVIER, 355
“3. Notices regarding the Camelopard, . - - (306

4; On the Poison of the Rattlesnake, A mye gin 357

EE eee

CONTENTS. ili

5. Observations on Toads found alive at great depths in the ground.
By M. Grorrroy-Saint-HILalireE, . - - 3E8

XXXIV. HISTORY OF MECHANICAL INVENTIONS AND PRO-.

CESSES IN THE USEFUL ARTS, - - - 359
1. Account of a Sea Couch for preventing Sea-sickness. By Mr S.

; Pratt, New Bond Street, . ie - - ib.
2. Notice of Mr Perkins’s Steam Engine, - abird ib.
3. Account of a new pane ing ~ B. ae Esq- Civil

Engineer, - . 360
4. New Process for making Steel By Catamint ities: Esq.

Glasgow, - - - . Zo 361
_ 5. Method of improving Soap. By Mr Wittram Pore, Lombard

Street, ~ . - - - ib.

XXXV. ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS AND MEMOIRS, 362
- Memoir on the Geology of Central France, including the volcanic for-
mations of Auvergne, the Velay, and the Vivarais. By G. Povu-
LETT Scrope, Esq. F. R.S., F.G.S. In one Volume 4to, with

a Volume of Plates, - . eS - ib.
XXXVI. PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES, é . 370
Js Royal Society of Edinburgh, - - ib.

2. Proceedings of the att. for rite the Useful Arts in Scot-
land, ba 4 ba ib.
3. Proceedings of the Royal Irish araee - . 371
XXXVIL SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE, ~~ ae

I. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.

AsTRoNoMy.—l. Figure of the Earth, deduced from observations on both
hemispheres. 2. Observatory at Vienna. 3. Comet of June 1827. 4. Co-'
met of August 1827. 6. M. Bessel’s Corrections on Bradley’s Observa-
tions, s ‘ . us “ | 374-375

Oprics.—6. M. Cauchoix’s New Achromatic Telescope, “ 376

Macnetism.—7. Professor Hansteen’s Magnetic Tour through Siberia. 8.

M. Kuppfer on a peculiarity in the Magnetic Equator in Siberia, ib.
HypropyNaAmMics.—9. Heat evolved during the compression of Liquids, ib,
METEOROLOGY.—10. Brilliant Aurore Borealesin Scotland on the 27th and

28th August. 11. Hourly Meteorological Observations at Christiania and

Drontheim. 12. Meteorological Phenomena observed at Plymouth on Sun-

day, July 29, 1827, .. $ = ; > 376—377
Acoustics.—13. Sounds of Gas issuing under great Pressures. “14. M. Sa-

vart on a New fact in Acoustics. 15. M. Savart on Normal Vibrations, 378—379
ELectricrty.—16. M. Becquerel on the Electricity from the pressure of two

- bodies, and the cleavage of Crystals, . - - 379
il. CHEMISTRY.

17. Dr Christison on the Taste of Arsenic, and on its property of preserving
the Bodies of Persons who have been poisoned with it. 18. MM. Delarive
and Marcet on the specific heat of the Gases. 19. Phosphate of Magnesia
more soluble in cold than in hot water. 20. Liquid Phosphorus at 46° of
Fahrenheit. - - - . 379—38 1

Vv CONTENTS.

s . he Snails
Ill. NATURAL HISTORY.

MINERALOGY.—21l. Argentiferous Native Gold in the Mines of Colombia.

22. On New Locality of Apophyllite, ° ie i : 382
GEOLOGY.—23. New Cavern of Fossil Bones, - ° 383
ZooLtocy.—24. A new species of Buceros, . . < ib.

Botrany.—25. Circulation of the Sap in the Chara vulgaris. 26. A new plant
which supplies limpid and wholesome water. 27. Botanical acquisitions in

our New Indian Territoriés, “ a 383—3864 -
XXX VILI. Celestial Phenomena, from Oboes Ist, 1827, to sn Ist,
1828, - - - - - 384
XX XIX. Summary of Nickoorolagiexl Obediention made at Kendal in June,
July, and August 1827. By Mr SamvEL MARSHALL, 386
XL. Register of the Barometer, Thermometer, and Rain-Gage, kept at Ca-
naan Cottage. By ALEX. ADIE, Esq. F. R. S. Edinburgh, 392

NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS.

WE shall be much obliged to Dr HarTMan for the continuation of, his valua-
ble notices. :

The Rev. W. WHEWELL’s valuable paper “ on the principles of Dynamics,
particularly as given by French Writers,” will appear in next number. ,

Professor OERSTED’s MSS. on Thermo-electricity has reached us satel and in
good time.

We have received Profender MunckE of Heidelberg’s enuiiias on “ac 15th
January. It would give us great pleasure to hear again from him.

Mr MarsHatv’s Paper on the Cause of the North East Winds in’ Spring has
been unavoidably postponed till next number.

We have received Professor SCHWEIGGER’sS last Packet, and shall attend re it,

A’s Memoir on the Horary Oscillations of the Barometer at Rome was too late
for this number, but will appear in our next. A proof will ” forwarded to =
address he may send.

In reply to the letter of A ‘MEcHaANIc, we beg to ifform him that the. “Prices of
a Patent are,
For England, . - - - . L. 105

; . 0 0 Lon TS i
For Scotland, vl ° - hen ctt? AaO navies cae
- For Ireland, “ ° pe “ 120 ee
For the Colonies, * - - » |: ele eae 4
‘ ‘ i
i
»L. 310 0 0-

This is exclusive of the specification, the expence of which depends upon its piste
and the number of drawings. We would not advise! our Correspondent to ruin him-
self by such a summary process as that of taking a patent, while the present Patent
Laws remain unrepealed, and a blot upon the Statute-Book.

We have already noticed the blunder pointed out by our Correspondent, anid’ com- —
mitted in Baron Ferussac’s Bulletin des Sciences Nat. tom. v. p. 53, where the author
has given from this Jourwat, vol. ii. p. 97, an account of the discovery of a Mine
of Molybdena in Inverness-shire, i in place of a Mine of Black Lead.

- THE

EDINBURGH
JOURNAL oF SCIENCE.

Art. I.—Memoir of the Life of M. Lz Canvunran F'Raun-
HOFER, the Celebrated Improver of the Achromatic Tele-
scope, and Member of the Academy of Sciences at Munich.

Or all the losses which science is occasionally called to sus-
tain, there is none which she so deeply deplores as that of an
original and imventive genius, cut off in the maturity of in-
tellect, and in the blaze of reputation.. There is an epoch in
the career of a man of genuine talent when he embellishes and
extends every subject over which he throws the mantle of his
genius. Imbued with the spirit of original research, and fa-
miliar with the processes of invention and discovery, his mind
teems with new ideas, which spring up around him in rapid
and profuse succession. Inventions incompleted, ideas un-
developed, and speculations immatured, amuse. and occupy
the intervals of elaborate inquiry, and he often sees before
him in dim array a long train of discoveries which time and
health alone are necessary to realize... The blight of early ge-
nius that has put forth its buds of promise, or the stroke
which severs from us the. hoary sage when he has ceased to
instruct and adorn his generation, are events which are felt
with a moderated grief; and throughout a narrow range of
sympathy ; but the blow which strikes down the man of genius
in his prime, and in the. very heart of his gigantic conceptions,
is felt with all the bitterness of sorrow, and is propagated
far beyond the circle on which it falls... When a pillar is. torn
from the temple of science, it must needs convulse the whole
VOL. VII. NO. I. JULY 1827. A

2 Memoir of the Life of M. Fraunhofer.

of its fabric, and draw the voice of sorrow from its inmost re-
cesses. To those who have not studied the writings, or
used the instruments of the illustrious subject of this memoir,
these observations may seem extravagant and inapplicable;
but there is not a philosopher in Europe who will not ac-
knowledge their truth, as well as their application ; and there
is not a practical astronomer within its widest boundaries that
has not felt the tide of grief for the loss of Fraunhofer flow-
ing within his own circle.

Joseph Fraunhofer was born at Straubing, in Bavaria, on
the 6th March 1787. His occupations in the workshop of ,
his father prevented him from giving a regular attendance at —
the public schools. At the early age of eleven he -was de-
prived of both his parents, and the person to whose charge he
was entrusted destined him for the profession of a turner ; but
his weak frame being ill suited to such an occupation, he was
apprenticed to M. Weichselberger, manufacturer and polisher
of glass at Munich. Being too poor to pay any thing to his
master, he was taken on the condition that he should work mt
him six years without any wages.

At Munich Fraunhofer frequented the Suttday school, bit
as his attendance was irregular, it was a long time before he
learned to write or to count. In 1801, in the second year of
his appretticeship, an accidental circumstance gave a new
turn to his fortune. ‘Two houses having tumbled down sud-
denly, Fraunhofer, who lived in one of them, was buried un-
der its ruins; but while others perished, he fortunately occu-
pied a position to which it was considered practicable to open
a passage. While this excavation was going on, the King
Maximilian often came to the spot to encourage the workmen
and the young prisoner; and it was not till after a labour of
four hours that they were able to extricate him from his peri-
lous situation. His majesty gave directions that his wounds
should be carefully attended to, and as soon as he had recover-
ed, he was sent for to the palace to give an account of the pe-
culiarities of his situation during the accident, and of the feel-
ings with which he was actuated. On this occasion his sove-
reign presented him with eighteen ducats, and protiiised “t to
befriend him in case of need.

8

Memoir of the Life of M. Fraunhofer. 3

Mr Counsellor Utzschneider, afterwards his partner in the
great optical establishment at Benedictbauern, took him also
under his protection, and occasionally saw him. Fraunhofer,
full of joy, showed him the king’ 8 present, and communicated
to him his plans, and the way in which he proposed to spend
the money. He ordered a machine to be made for polishing
glass, and he employed himself on Sundays in grinding and
finishing optical lenses. He was, however, often baffled in
his schemes, as he had no theoretical and mathematical know-
ledge. _ In this situation M. Utzschneider gave him the ma-
, thematical treatises of Klemm and Tenger, aud pointed out
‘to him several books on optics. . Fraunhofer soon saw, that,
without some knowledge of pure mathematics, it was difficult
to make great progress in optics, and he therefore made them
one of the branches of his studies.

When his master saw him occupied with books, he pro-
hibited him from using them, and other persons whom he con-
sulted did not encourage him to undertake the study of ma-
thematics and optics without assistance, and at a time when
he was scarcely able to write. These obstructions, however,
served only to redouble the efforts of our author ; and though
he had no window in his sleeping chamber, and was prohibit-
ed from using a light, yet he acquired a considerable know-
ledge. of mathematics and optics, and endeavoured to apply
them to his own schemes. -

In order to obtain more leisure, he employed the remainder
of the royal present in buying up the last six months of his
apprenticeship; and that he might gain some money for his
optical experiments, he engraved visiting cards without ever
having been taught the art of engraving. . Unfortunately,
however, the war which then desolated Europe put an end to
the sale of his cards, and left him i in greater. exigencies than
before.

Nothwithstanding the kind assurances of protection which
the king had given him, Fraunhofer had. not courage to re-
quest it, and he was therefore compelled to devote himself to
the grinding and polishing of glasses, still continuing to de-
vote his Sundays to the study of the mathematics.

Mr Utzschneider was.at this time seldom at. Munich, and

4 Memoir of the Life of M. Fraunhofer:

ER ERED TIT

could do nothing for our young artist; but he recommended
him to a professor of the name of Schiegg, well versed in mas
thematics and natural philosophy, who paid frequent visits to
Fraunhofer.

About this time was formed the éclotirhsed octuililiabiaeit at
Benedictbauern, near’ Munich, by’ MM. Reichenbach, Utz-
schneider, and Liebherr, and in August 1804, they began
the manufacture of optical and mathematical imstruments,
which. were divided by the new machine of Reichenbach and
Liebherr. The whole of the apparatus was made there ex-
cepting the lenses, for they could not procure good crown and».
flint glass, and wanted also a skilful optician. With this
great defect, the establishment would certainly have failed,
unless they had endeavoured to supply it.

Mr Utzschneider now undertook a journey to make inquiry
respecting crown and flint glass, and respecting a skilful work-
ing optician; but, after all his labours, he was convinced that
the new establishment had no alternative but to form an opti-
cian within its own bosom. Through Captain Grouner of Berne,
he had heard of the labours of Louis M. Guinand, an optician -
at Brenetz, in Neuchatel, (See this Journal, No. iv. p. 853.)
and having received from him some specimens of his flint glass,
he was so pleased with them that he paid a visit to Brenetz,
and engaged Guinand to accompany him to Munich. As soon
as he arrived there, which was in 1805, M. Utzschneider con-
structed furnaces for carrying on the experiments upon a well
organized plan. The first attempt created much expence, on
account of the repeated experiments which it required, but it
nevertheless furnished several good pieces of both kinds of
glass. ‘The optician, Riggl, polished the first lenses in 1806
and 1807. At this period Fraunhofer found himself in a very
critical situation. Professor Schiegg always encouraged ‘him
to go to M. Utzschneider, but Fraunhofer was long in resolv-
ing to do this, believing that the latter had finweee him, and
knowing that he was well satisfied with his own optician. i

M. Utzschneider received Fraunhofer in a very friendly
manner, and after a short conversation, it was agreed that he
should also become an optician in the establishment. Fraun-
hofer was then employed to calculate and polish lenses of con-

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Memoir of the Life of M. Fraunhofer. 5

siderable dimensions which came from the furnaces of Bene-
dictbauern. These lenses were destined for the instruments of
the observatory of Buda. It was afterwards agreed to trans-
fer all the optical part of the establishment to Benedictbauern,
atid to give the complete direction of it to Fraunhofer. Qur
philosopher had already studied catoptrics, and had even writ
ten a Memoir on the aberration which takes place without the
axis in reflecting telescopes. He showed that hyperbolic mir-
rors are preferable to parabolic ones, and he also communicat-
ed the invention of a machine for polishing hyperbolic surfaces.

He now, however, resolved to give up this branch of the sub-
ject, as his time was fully occupied in the preparation of lenses.

One of the most difficult problems in practical optics is to
pive to spherical surfaces the last polish with that degree of
exactness which theory requires, because this final operation
destroys in part that form which had been previously given to
the surfaces. M. Fraunhofer succeeded in remedying this
evil by a machine which not only did not injure the fine sur-
face obtained by grinding, but which actually corrected the
irregularities committed in the first operation. It has also the
advantage of making the result independent of the skill of the
workman.

In examining the glass which he used in reference to the
undulations and strize which it contains, he found that, in the
flint glass manufactured at Benedictbauern, there was often
not a single piece free of those irregularities which disperse and
refract the light falsely.. Pieces of the same melting had not
even the same refracting power, and this was perhaps more
common in the English and French flint glass.. After obtain-
ing these results, Fraunhofer recoustructed the furnaces, pro-
cured the necessary instruments, and took,the direction of all
the meltings.

He had learned from experience, that flint glass waite ip
_ made’so that a piece at the bottom of the pot had exactly the
same refractive power as a piece from the top; but his success
was of short duration, for the succeeding meltings showed that
this was merely accidental. Undaunted, however, by failure,
he recommenced his experiments, in which he always melted
four quintals at once, and after long and: severe Jabours, he

6 Memoir of the Life of M. Fraunhofer.

discovered the numerous causes which occasioned his want of
success,

As the English crown glass had many undulations and im-
purities, Fraunhofer resolved to manufacture it also. Diffi-
culties of a new kind here presented themselves, so that he
did not partly succeed till after a whole year’s labour. He
found also, that with whatever degree of accuracy he followed
the theory in the construction of achromatic object-glasses,
his expectations were never realized. On the one hand, he
was convinced that it was wrong to neglect certain quantities,
stich as the thickness of the lens and the higher powers of
the apertures, merely to obtain commodious formule ; and on
the other hand, there was no exact method for determining
the exponents of refraction and dispersion in the glass, used
for achromatic object-glasses. |The first of these inconve-
niences he avoided by a new method, in which he neglected
no quantity upon which the required degree of exactness de-
pended. Hitherto, achromatic object-glasses had only been
calculated for rays proceeding from a point in the axis of the
lens, but Fraunhofer considered the deviations from all points
situated without the axis, and this is always a minimum in
his objeet-glasses. In this consists principally the difference
between his glasses and those made in England.

The difficulty hitherto experienced in determining the re-
fractive and dispersive powers of bodies, arises chiefly from
the circumstance that the spectrum has no definite termina-
tion, and that the passage from one colour to another was so
gradual, and indistinctly marked, that in large spectra’ the
angles could not be measured with a greater accuracy than
from ten to fifteen minutes. In order to avoid this inconve-
nience, Fraunhofer succeeded, by a very ingenious contriv-
ance, in obtaining homogeneous light of each colour in the
spectrum. In these experiments, he discovered in the orange
compartment of the spectrum, produced by the light of the
fire, a bright line, which he afterwards found to exist in all
spectra, and by means of which he was enabled to determine
the refractive powers of the bodies which produced them. —

By using prisms entirely exempt from veins,—by carefully
excluding all extraneous light, and even stopping those rays

Memoir of the Life of M. Fraunhofer. 7

which formed the coloured spaces that he wished to examine,
he discovered that the spectrum was intersected by a great
number of black lines parallel to one another, and perpendi-
cular to its length.* In the spectra formed. by all solid and
fluid bodies, he not only discovered the same lines, (of which
he has reckoned 590 in all,) but he found that they had fixed
positions, and that the distances between them in different
spectra afforded precise measures of the action of the prism
on the rays which formed the corresponding coloured spaces.
The valuable Memoir in which these discoveries are consign-
ed, was published in the fifth volume of the Memoirs of the
Academy of Munich for 1814 and 1815, and also in a sepa-
rate pamphlet entitled Bestimmung des Brechungs, und Far-
benzerstreuungs, Vermogens verschiedener Glasarten. 'The
writer of this notice had the satisfaction of first translating
this memoir into English, and of publishing an abstract of its
results in the article Optics in the Epinsurcu Encyctorezpia.
About this time, in 181'7, Fraunhofer was elected .a Mem-
ber of the Academy of. naan of which he was an active
supporter.
» In speculating on the cause of the dark nied of the spec-
trum, our author was led to consider them as arising from the
interference of the rays, and he was induced to make a com-
plete series of experiments on the inflexion of light. These
experiments he published in the eighth volume of the Memoirs
of the Academy of Munich, under the title of Newe Modefika-
tion des Lichtes durch gegenseilige Einwirkung und Beugung
der Strahlen und gesetze derselben. In these experiments,
of which we have ‘given a full account in the article Op-
tics in the Eptnsureu Encyctorzpi1a, Fraunhofer employed
a heliostate for giving. a fixed direction to the solar ray, and
he examined all the phenomena through a telescope mounted
upon a large theodolite, by means. of which he measured the
deviation of the inflected light. The object-glass was twenty
lines in diameter ; its focal length was 16.9 inches, and its mag-
nifying power from 30 to110. The heliostate was placed 38
feet 74 inches French measure from the centre of the theodo-

* Above twenty years ago, lines were discovered in the spectrum by Dr
Wollaston. See Phil. Trans. 1802.

8 Memoir of the Life of M. Fraunhofer.

lite. The diameters of the apertures were, measured by a
micrometer microscope, which showed distinetly the two huns .
dred thousandth part of an inch, and sometimes even half
that quantity. All the phenomena which he, thus observed
and measured, he considered to be perfectly explicable on the
undulating system, with certain modifications ; and upon these
principles, he afterwards, constructed a general analytical for-
_ mula, to express these new laws of light. . From this formula,
it followed that these phenomena would be modified in a mans
ner not only singular, but apparently extremely complicated,
if a number of parallel lines could be made so fine, that, 8000
of them were contained in one inch. — After another set of ex-
periments, he invented .a. machine, by means: of which he —
could construct these systems of lines with that accuracy which
the theory required. The details }of these experiments were
read before the Academy of Munich on the 14th June 1823;
and will be found in this and the subsequent number of this
Journal.

M. Fraunhofer likewise applied himself to the study of vat
rious atmospheric phenomena, such as halos, parhelia, &c
which he published in Professor Shumacher’s Astronomische
_ Abhandlngen, and of which we have given a notice in the ions
number of this Journal, p. 348.

Such is a brief sketch of the scientific researches of Fesaie
hofer, but, valuable though they be, they are, im. no. respect
to be compared with his practical labours as an. optician,
His minor inventions are a new Heliometer, a repeating
wire Micrometer, and an improved annular , Micrometer.
The principal instruments which he has made, are the. gréat
parallactic telescope, constructed for the observatory of Dor-
pat, and of which we. have) given a full description and a
drawing in No. iv. p. 306 of this Journal. . The prime cost of
this instrument was L.950. Its aperture is nine inches, and
its focal length 133 feet. His next great work was another
achromatic telescope, ordered by the King. of Bavaria, and
which has an object-glass twelve inches in diameter, and eight
feet in focal length, but itis not yet completed. Although
engaged in works of such magnitude, Fraunhofer was at the
same time carrying on others on a less scale, though not of

Memoir of the Life of M. Fraunhofer. 9

less importance to science. ‘The Astronomical Institution of
Edinburgh, in the year 1825, ordered from him a very large
and complete transit instrument, with a telescope eight feet and
a half in focal length, and six inches aperture.’ Upon the re-
ceipt of this order, he constructed three’ object-glasses of these
dimensions, one for the Royal Observatory of Edinburgh,
another for a heliometer for M. Bessel, and’a third as a spare
one in case M. Bessel’s. object-glass should meet with any ac-
cident in the bisection ; and, fortunately for science, these ob-
ject~glasses are all completed.
_, In.the year 1820, when M. Reichenbach left the copart-
nery,,-MM. Utzschneider and Fraunhofer entered into a new
contract for continuing their optical establishment. The for-
mer presented to Fraunhofer a share in the concern, equal
to about 24,000 francs, so that, from having several. other
sources of income, he was now comfortable and independent.
Inspired by his success and good fortune, all the activity of
his mind was called forth, and he took the establishment en-
tirely under his direction. Simce 1817 it had been trans. .
ferred to Munich, and the business had increased to such a
degree, that jifty workmen are at present employed.

In 1823 M. Fraunhofer was appointed keeper of the phy-
sical cabinet.of the academy of Munich, a situation to which
a pension was attached. In 1824 after the public exhibition
of the great telescope of Dorpat, the King of Bavaria honour-
ed him with the rank of a chevalier of the order of Civil Merit.
He was also elected a member of several foreign societies,
among which we may mention the Society of Arts in our own
city. The university of Erlangen also conferred upon him
the title of Doctor in Philosophy.

Thus honoured and respected both at home and abroad,
Fraunhofer was enjoying all the happiness which character
and reputation and a moderate independence never fail to
yield. His mind was occupied with great views of scientific
ambition which he could not have failed to realize, and: such
was the perfection to which he had. brought his art, that he
was willing to undertake an achromatic telescope, with an, ob-
ject-glass eighteen inches im aperture, and we have now before
us a letter in which he fixes even the price of this stupendous

10 Memoir of the Life of M. Fraunhofer.

instrument. But he was not destined to accomplish so great
an undertaking. In October 1825 he was attacked with a
pulmonary complaint, from which he never recovered. "The
injury which he sustained by the fall of his house seems to
have left some effects behind it, and for several years he had
suffered from glandular abscesses. He was, however, seldom
obliged to discontinue his labours, and there is reason to think
that he suffered from exposure to the heat of his furnaces.
His faculties never for a moment left him ; and in’ his few
last days, his mind was occupied with the idea of a journey
to France and Italy for the recovery of his health. He was
cut off on the 7th June 1826, in the fortieth year of his age.
A few days before this event he had received from the
King of Denmark the diploma of Chevalier of the order’ of
Dannebroga. The whole of the city of Munich took a lively
interest in his disease, and felt the most sincere sorrow for his
- death. The magistrates of the city permitted M. Utzschneider
to choose a place for his tomb, and he was interred by the
side of the great mechanician M. Reichenbach, who had died
a short time before. .

Bavaria has thus lost one of the most distinguished of her sub-
jects, and centuries may elapse before Munich receives within
her walls an individual sohighly gifted and so universally esteem-
ed. But great as her loss is, it is not rendered more poignant
by the reflection that he lived unhonoured and unrewarded.
His own sovereign Maximilian Joseph was his earliest’ and his
latest patron, and by the liberality with which he conferred
civil honours and pecuniary rewards on Joseph Fraunhofer, he
has immortalized his own name, and added a new lustre to the
Bavarian crown. In thus noticing the honours which a grate-
ful sovereign had conferred on the distinguished improver of
the achromatic telescope, it is impossible to subdue the morti-
fying recollection, that no wreath of British gratitude has yet
adorned the inventor of that noble instrument. England may
well blush when she hears the name of Dollond pronounced
without any appendage of honour, and without any associa-
tion ‘of gratitude. Even that monumental fame which she
used to dispense so freely to the poets whom she starved, has
been denied to this benefactor of science, and Westminster

Remarks on Mount Vesuvius. 11

Abbey has not opened her hallowed recesses to the remains of
a man who will ever be deemed one of the finest geniuses of
his age, and who had exalted that genius by learning and
piety of no ordinary kind.

Thus neglected and mortified, it is not a matter of sur-
prise that this branch of science and of art should seek for
shelter in a more hospitable land, and that the pre-eminence
which England had so long enjoyed in the manufacture of the
achromatic telescope should be transferred to a foreign coun-
try. The loss of Fraunhofer holds out to us an opportunity
of recovering what we have lost, and we earnestly hope that
the Royal Society of London and the Board of Longitude
will not allow it to pass. Great Britain has hitherto left the
sciences and the arts to the care of individual enterprise, and
to the patronage of commercial speculation ; but now, when
all Europe has become our rivals, when every sovereign, like
the Ptolemies of old, is collecting round his throne, the wis-
dom even of foreign states, is it not time that she should
start from her lethargy, and endeavour to secure what is yet
left? The British minister who shall first establish a sys-
tem of effectual patronage for our arts and sciences, and who
shall deliver them from the fatal incubus of our patent laws,
will be regarded as the Colbert of his age, and will secure

to himself a more glorious renown than he could ever obtain
from the highest achievements in legislation or in politics.

Ant. Il.—Remarks on Mount Vesuvius. Communicated by
a CORRESPONDENT.

Havine recently performed two excursions to the summit of
Mount Vesuvius, it occurs to me that some of the particulars
which I observed may possibly not be very generally known,
and consequently thought worthy of a place in the Edinburgh
Journal of Science. 1 shall therefore give an account of my
second expedition, adding any particulars which I find in my
notes on the first.. We left Naples about eleven a. m. and hay-
ing arrived at Resina found Salvatore ready to accompany us,
we mounted asses, and after a long ride during torrents of

12 Remarks on Mount Vesuvius.

rain reached the hermitage on the side of the hill at one
o'clock. The road so far is very rugged, with many. de-«
tached rocks and fragments of lava, but the great bed of the
latter is now resuming marks of slight verdure. The habita~
tion of the monks itself is placed on a projection from the
mountain of tufa rock formed in the year 17'79 by the eruption,
and lies so towards the crater, that, though the lava flows on
both sides, the eminence itself is left untouched. _When we
arrived here the weather appeared to be clearing, and, as we
had plenty of time to ascend and seé the sun set from the top,
we remained some time with the holy fathers, and the after-
noon answered our expectations. When almost fair we set off
and pursued our way on asses towardsthe cone. Our road (if
such. it could be called) lay over ati extensive bed of lava;
partly formed in 1822. A more desolate scene can scarcely be
conceived ; rugged rising grounds, with craggy corvulsed dells
between, all formed of this hard, black, monotonous, and fright-
fully romantic lava; the very Tartarus on earth, whether we
imagine it burning with sheets of liquid fire, unquenchable by
human means, and rolling down its dread resistless tide, of
whether we see its wide convulsed remains, its indescribably
horrid, desolate, uninhabitable aspect. It seems as if the
elements of nature were exposed to light, and one chaotic
‘spot left amidst the richness of creation. Passing this dreary-
tract, we reached the bottom of the cone at half-past two,
where we left our beasts and ascended on foot. It is compos-
ed of productions of the volcano itself, and the exterior is
quite coated with loose cinders, which renders the ascent. ver'y
laborious, as you often sink back till you are above the ancle in
these loose materials. I ascended it in forty minutes. When
we reached the brink of thé crater we found it full of smoke and
fumes, while the strongest sulphureous smells prevailed. We
rested and refreshed ourselves for some time in a hot crevice,
where we left several eggs to roast, and then advanced round
the south brink of the abyss, and had a tolerably easy walk
for about half its circumference, during which we heard occa-
sionally noises like thunder proceeding from rocks every now
and then giving way from the sides in vast masses, whose fall
is reverberated and renewed by the echoes of the vast cavern.

Remarks on Mount Vesuvius. 13

At length the edge of the crater grew much lower, forming a
gap in the side of the cone next to Pompeii, which we first
descended, and then scrambled inwards towards the centre
of the mountain, being a fall on the whole of 1000 feet.

In this gulf nature presented herself under a new form, and
all was unlike the common state of things. ‘We were, in truth,
in the bowels of the earth, where her internal riches are dis:
played in the wildest manner. The steep we had descended was
composed of minerals of the most singular yet beautiful de-
scription. The heavy morning rains were rising in steam in all
directions, and had already awakened each sulphureous cre-
vice, while almost every chink in the ground was so hot that
it was impossible to keep the hand the least time upon it.
But this sensation was in unison with the objects around ; the
great crater of the volcano opening its convulsed jaws before
you, where the rude lava was piled in every varied form, in
alternate layers with pozzulana and cinders. Below us the
newly formed crater * was pouring forth its steamy clouds,
and at every growl which labouring nature gave from below
these volumes burst forth with renewed fury. At our feet, and
on every side, were deep beds of yellow sulphur, varying in co-
lour from the deepest red orange, occasioned by ferruginous
mixture, to'the palest straw-colour, where alum predominat-
ed, and beside these, white depositions of great extent and
depth, which are lava decomposed by heat, and in a state of
great softness. Contrasted with these productions of ‘beauty,
we find the sterner formations of black and purple porphyry,
which occasionally assume the scarlet hue ‘from the extreme
action of heat; add to this the sombre grey lava, and that of
a green colour glitterimg throughout with micaceous par-
ticles, with the deep brown volcanic ashes, and you will
have a combination which, for grandeur and singularity, must
be'almost unparalleled. It is singular enough, that, among so
many sulphureous fires, we should have suffered from pinch-
ing cold. At the lowest point to which we went the thermo-
meter stood at 43149. We employed ourselves for a considera-

_ * A small crater burst out in the bottom of the large one on the morn-
ing of the 18th. This excursion was on the 21st November. —

>
14 Remarks on Mount Vesuviiis.

ble time in collecting the finest specimens we could obtain of
the above mentioned minerals. We then retraced our steps in
this descent, which proved considerably laborious, and after
gaining the top visited a crevice a little way down on the
outside of the cone, opened within the last forty days, which,
though about one finger broad, and not much longer, admits
a current of air so tremendously heated, that, on laying a
bunch of ferns quite wet with the morning’s rain upon it;
they speedily were in a blaze. Resuming the edge on the
summit, we returned the way we came to the top of the de-
scending path, and on our way saw the sun set in a very
splendid manner, illuminating the distant islands of Ischia
and Procida, the point of Misenum, and the bay of Baise, with
his last rays. Having eaten our eggs, we descended the cone ;
being rather dark I made no particular haste ; but on a form-
er occasion I went down the cone with great satisfaction in
four minutes. Had there been fewer stones I could easily have
gone quicker. We left the top about half-past five, and hay-
ing taken our cold dinner at the hermitage, we descended to
Resina by torch light, and reached Naples safely at half-past
eight o’clock. |

Before 1822 the mountain was 4250 feet high ; but in the
tremendous eruption of that year above 800 feet of the cone
were thrown completely off, and landed in the sea. The ascent
is therefore now much shorter, and the figure of the hill
entirely changed. Formerly the crater was only 5600 feet, or
little’ more than a mile in circumference, and: comparatively
shallow, but now it is three miles and a third round, and
1500 feet deep from the lowest, 2000 from the highest part
of the summit. I descended to within 500 feet of the bottom:
As much interest was excited in ourselves and other visitors,
by the prospect of a speedy eruption which was very generally
expected, I was at pains to hear the opinion of our much ex-
perienced and very intelligent guide Salvatore. The sub-
stance of his information was, that the present crater being sO
very deep, and the new hole opened being in the bottom of it,
he conceives it impossible that lava can ever come over the
edge, and does not think that the mountain can have force

Remarks on Mount Vesuvius. 15

to open another mouth in the side; but should it do so it will
be at the hot crevice before described. Since the eruption of
1822, the mountain has never smoked from the bottom of the
crater till now. Occasionally for some time the mountain has
discharged stones at certain intervals, but not having suffi-
cient force to throw them to a distance, they fall in again.
Fire is seen most nights in the crater. From these data it is
presumed that an eruption of stones will probably take place,
but that we can scarcely look for any lava, especially as the
mountain has in a great measure disgorged itself in the tre-
mendous explosion of 1822, when all the magnificence of for-
mer occasions has been united, and of which Salvatore him-
self never speaks without enthusiasm.

All the internal resources of the earth seem to participate
in the convulsions of Vesuvius, and the very skies to be sha-
ken above. The slumbering fires of Aitna and Hecla are
awakened, while Solfaterra, and the neighbouring sulphurous
emissaries are drained of their borrowed lights. At eruptions
in general, and the last one in particular, the most terrific
thunder and lightning ever remembered by our guide and
his father. took place, and gave additional force to the scene.
The sea regularly retires to a great extent from his troubled
bed, while shells in caleareous masses are thrown from the
volcano. The weight of the air diminishes by whole inches of
mercury; and I am informed that the mountain is most bril-
liant in snowy weather, and under the influence of the full
moon. * Here is a mass of unison and sympathy of all the

* I cannot help mentioning a very extraordinary circumstance recounted
in Mrs Stark’s well known work on the Continent, which may serve
partly to determine a much disputed point in natural philosophy. On
June 14, 1794, the day after the destruction of the town of Torre del
Greco, by Vesuvius, Professor Santi, then residing at Pienza, a town near
Siena, (who related the circumstance to Mrs S.) observed a dense cloud
coming from the south-east, the direction of Vesuvius, (200 horizontal
miles distant,) which discharged noises like cannon, then burst into flames,
and a shower of stones fell on the country for seven or eight miles round.
These stones were found to consist of grey lava, exactly such as is found
on Vesuvius. At this moment the mountain was producing one of the most

tremendous eruptions ever witnessed.—See Stark’s Directions, 5th Ed. p.
265.

>
16 Remarks on Mount Vesuviris.

powers residing in the dort and of those most especially
affecting its constitution, derived from the heavens.’ Elec:
tricity, and consequently magnetism, the equilibrium of the
atmosphere, the level of the ocean, the effects of weather;
the resources of internal fire in all parts of the globe, are
all employed, affected by, or subservient to, this vast pros
— duction of the mechanism of nature. Surely) it is not too
much to ‘say, that some indissoluble bond unites. these
various agencies, which perhaps it is the lot of this age’ to
discover. This idea, which I have long entertained, has
been well stated by Mr Playfair as his opinion at the end,
(1 think,) of the first volume of his Outlines of Natural
Philosophy. If such connection exists, and should the las
tent principle be discovered, it is impossible to foresee how
great may be the extension of human intellect, how deep
our insight into the physical economy of all that surrounds
us. |
As rational hopes may yet be entertained of a considerable
eruption of Vesuvius in a short time, £ subjoin the following

diary of the appearance of the mountain from Naples, which,

should the event take place, may perhaps be curious. I must
premise that, my residence being on the Chiaja, I had not con-

stant opportunities of observing wer hill, as it cannot be seen

from that place. y
Nov. 14th.-Covered with clouds in the morning ; —

wards smoking more and more towards night. |
~ 15th and 16th.—Almost entirely covered by clouds Sian:
bad. weather, but at intervals when I saw it, irregular sigue
of smoke, white or dark, were issuing. —

17th.—Being a fine day, I frequently observed: the mouns;

tain; sometimes it was without any smoke, and then irregular

clouds, light-coloured or quite white, rose in considerable.
quantity. :

18th.—Ascended Vesuvius. From the report. of Salvatore.
junior, I understood that, till yesterday, they did not look for:
an eruption, as the smoke proceeded chiefly or entirely from
the sides of tie crater; but that a new aperture opened in the
bottom at three this morning, and fire and ashes with a stone,

1

——— ee a

Remarks on Mount Vesuvius. 17

were thrown up. * On the way down I saw prodigious clouds
of smoke flying with the wind.

_ 19th.—The mountain was much clouded ; but in the fore-
noon I had a view of whole volumes of smoke issuing from the
crater, and flying southward; and also observed that it de-
scended considerably on the south side.

20th.—-Great regular and: dense clouds of smoke appeared
to be rising the whole day, and of the entire breadth of the
crater. There is said to have been fire seen on the night of
the 18th.

@1st.—Ascended the mountain again. There had been
much rain, and from the outside of the cone, as well as the in-
terior sides, a great deal of steam was rising. The new crater
threw out immense clouds of smoke, which filled the whole of
it. Salvatore says that the mountain has been disgorging
stones every two days.

22d.—The smoke to-day was irregular ; for, on going out
to ride in the afternoon, Vesuvius emitted smoke to the whole
extent of the crater ; but in about a quarter of an hour, not a
trace was to be seen, and shortly after the fumes were re-
newed.

- 23d.—Saw very little of the mountain. It seemed to be
smoking considerably. ,

24th.—Saw little of the mountain. Low clouds,

25th.——Saw little of the hill; but it continues to smoke.

26th.—Saw nothing of Vesuvius till the afternoon, when
one large cloud covered the whole upper part down nearly to
the hermitage. The cloud exactly resembled, and appeared to
me to be, smoke, in which I was confirmed from an elevated
sort of cone nearly above the crater, which very frequently and
quickly changed its appearance.

27th.—Numerous dense clouds, apparently of smoke, cover-
ed all the upper portion of the hill with exceedingly change-
able aspect.

28th.—Considerable quantity of smoke filling the crater in
the afternoon, but with little peculiarity.

29th.—In the afternoon, almost no smoke, but only little
occasional puffs rising in the most beautiful manner against

* Similar stones fell on the 11th, and, 1 think, the 14th November.
VOL. VII. NO. I. JuLY 1827. B

18 Mr Haidinger on Mesole.

a perfectly azure sky. Snow lying on the north side of the
cone.
~ Nov. 30th, Dec. Ist, 2d, $d,and 4th.--Saw little of themoun-
tain. On one day very little smoke, and throughout variable.
Dec. 5th.—Did not see the hill, but heard that there was
much snow on the cool side, and little smoke.
6th.—-No smoke at all when I saw it, and a great deal of
snow, especially on the cone, the north side being teaser
white.
“th.—-Cloudy all day, and did not see the mountain.
Sth.—Little smoke.

*9th.—-The hill clouded till afternoon, when there was a
great mass of smoke adhering to the south side of the cone,
which seemed unable to rise.

10th.—-Much adhering smoke.

11th.—In. general no smoke, but now and then very slight
puffs.

12th.—The appearance of the mountain tourds afternoon
was very remarkable, the smoke rising upright in great quan-
tity from the crater, and then spreading horizontally into a
_ light-coloured cloud. Much dense smoke and steam appeared
to rise from the north side, which has usually been very quiet ;
and whitish vapours from the edges appeared to me to indi-
cate the formation of a new crater, and that some of the inte-
rior sides were giving way. ‘The afternoon being very clear
and cold the mountain was extremely distinct.

13th.——Both the cone and Monte Somma were almost en-
tirely concealed by lateral beds, either of clouds or smoke,
but from watching their motion, it seemed rather to be the
latter. A

RomE, January 9, 1827.

Arr. III.—On Mesole. By Wittiam Hatpincer, Esq.
F. R.S.E. &c. Communicated by the Author.

Srverar years have elapsed since Berzelius gave the analysis
of Mesole, *—a species which he established from specimens

* Edin. Phil. Journ, vol. vii. p. 7.

Mr Haidinger on Mesole. 19

sent him by Dr Brewster, the results of his analysis being
such as would not allow him to comprise the mixture of the
new mineral within any one of the chemical formule designed
to express the mixture of other species. ‘The varieties sent
had not been selected for the purpose of analyzing this mine-
ral, which was not then thought to be anything new, but for
the apophyllite, which is often found associated with it; and
it is not surprising, therefore, that the natural-historical pro-
perties of the mesole, as well as of the mesoline, as far as they
could be ascertained in those specimens, were not sufficient
for removing every doubt respecting their existence as species
independent of others.

In my translation of the T'reatise of Mohs, * I hinted at
the probable identity of mesoline with a particular kind of
chabasie, which I had seen in many of the specimens of Mr
Allan’s cabinet, accompanying mesole, stilbite, and apophyllite.
Berzelius himself arrived at the same conclusion by chemical
arguments. + The description of mesole was given partly
from Berzelius’ paper, partly from some specimens of the
same variety in Mr Allan’s cabinet. But only very few of its
properties were ascertained, and the knowledge of the species
itself is therefore so imperfect, that from the mere description
it could not be distinguished from many varieties of other spe-
cies, and must be then comprised in the appendix.

Though even now I cannot pretend to offer a perfect de.
scription, the more accurate indication of the regular forms
still being a desideratum, yet the new varieties which I have
lately had an opportunity of examining are such, that the
place of the species of mesole in the system of Mohs may be
fixed with precision. ‘These varieties show a very great re-
semblance to certain kinds of apophyllite, so much so, that
Sir Charles Giesecke, who discovered them in the island of
Disco, in Greenland, was induced to consider them as a parti-
cular subspecies of it, the mécaceous apophyllite. There are
several specimens of the same mineral in Mr Allan’s cabinet.
These I had placed two years ago in the genus Kouphone-
spar, without, however, referring them to any particular spe-

* Vol. iii. p. 127. + Arsberiittelse for 1825, p. 211.

20 Mr Haidinger on Mesole.

cies. Sir Charles Giesecke likewise favoured me with some of
them, and with the exact indication of their locality, when/I
had the pleasure of seeing him in Dublin in December last.
On comparing these varieties with those of -Mr Allan’s cabinet,
I was struck with the similarity of the surface of the reniform
masses with those of mesole, and a more accurate examination
of their other properties finally proved them to be the same
species.

Since this is not so much the establishment of a new spe-
cies, as an enlargement by several new varieties hitherto not
noticed of one already existing, I shall dispense with giving a
general description, but in its place shortly enumerate the
specimens forming the suite of mesole in the cabinet of Mr
Allan, which, I trust, will not be found uninteresting for the
comparative novelty of the species altogether, and particularly
so in regard to its natural-historical properties. At the same
time this case may serve as an instance of the correct applica-
tion of the method of mediate determination, as explained by
Professor Muhs.* The differences occurring here are only
in the size of the individuals ; but this difference is very im-
portant, and has often led to the establishment of erroneous
species, particularly among the older mineralogists.

4. A reniform mass on basalt. Colour greyish-white ; com-
position distinctly diverging from the centres of the single glo-
bular groups which yield a radiated fracture. 'This is the va- _
riety analyzed by Berzelius. Mr Allan brought it from Nal-
soe, one of the Faroe islands. It occurs near the western
shore of that island in soft amygdaloid, disposed on the roof
of a large cavern, which has an opening of about two hundred
feet in length, but is nearly closed up im front with debris,
which gradually slope into it, so that in many places the ca-
vern is quite low. It is associated with stilbite, chabasie, and
also, though more sparingly, with apophyllite.+ In a speci-
men of this variety of mesole, which Mr Allan had sent to Mr
Mohs, I found the specific gravity = 2.370.

2. Single globular masses, of a pale greyish-white, disposed

* Transl. vol. i. p- 388.

t Trans. Roy. Soc. Edin. yol. vii. p. 233.

Mr Haidinger on Mesole. 21

within a cavity in basalt, lined with small crystals of chabasie.
The disposition of small tabular crystals, of which the globules
consist, is here distinctly visible, resembling certain longish
globules of heavy spar, only in the latter the tabular crystals
are disposed parallel to the long diameter of the globular
shape, while in mesole they lie in an opposite direction.

3. In the three specimens comprised under this number,
the crystals are not joined in their whole length, but show dis-
tinctly a four-sided tabular form belonging to the prismatic
system. Parallel to their broad face cleavage takes place with
great facility; the lamine are slightly flexible, but, on account
of their minuteness, they easily yield to a slight pressure and
break. These crystals are joined on one end with their broad
faces in crest-like aggregations, which, if they were filled up
by a farther increase of the individuals, would produce glo-
bules as in the preceding variety.

4. Reniform variety of a yellowish-grey colour on red de-
composed amygdaloid. The single globular masses consist of
larger individuals than those in No. I. so that the bright
cleavage may be easily discovered. ‘The surface of the speci-
men is strewed with thin rectangular plates, which are crystals
of mesole.

5. Individuals, resembling the last in size and colour, ag-
gregated in stalactitic shapes. All these, like the first, are
from Nalsoe. |

6. The individuals forming reniform groups are here simi-
lar to those of var. 4, but larger, about one-eighth of an inch
in diameter, of a pale yellowish-grey. The single cleavage
appears very bright. This variety was discovered by Sir
Charles Giesecke at Nia Kornak, in the island of Disco, Green-
land, where it occurs in the vesicular cavities of a basaltic
rock, associated chiefly with apophyllite and mesotype. In
another specimen in Mr Allan’s cabinet there is likewise cha-
basie and levyne in very small crystals. I found the specific
gravity of this variety of mesole = 2.382.

7. The size of the plates is here between a quarter of an
inch and half an inch. They have a bright pearly lustre on
their cleavage planes, and the whole aggregate resembles in no
small degree the crystallized spermaceti. The, colour of this

22 Mr Haidinger on Mesole.

variety is white, slightly yellowish. It forms part of the in:
side of a geode detached from one of the vesicular cavities of
basalt. It is from Karartut, near Godhavn, in the island of
Disco. | | ‘f

8. Large individuals aggregated, and coarsely forming reni-
form shapes. The surface is dark yellowish-grey ; the colour
on the cleavage planes almost straw-yellow ; the whole ap-
parently decomposed. Cleavage is very easily obtained, and.
the lamine show some elasticity when we attempt to separate
them. ‘This specimen is a native of Nia Kornak in the Omen-
aksfiord, like the preceding in the island of Disco.

The perfect single cleavage, with a considerable deal of
pearly lustre, at once distinguishes mesole from mesotype and
other similar bodies, with which it was sometimes confounded.
Its specific gravity being above 2.3, is much more consider-
able than that of either stilbite or heulandite, which hardly
ever exceed the limit of 2.2, an immense difference in species,
whose specific gravity is at the same time so inconsiderable
and so constant as in the genus Kouphone-spar. In this
property it nearly agrees with apophyllite, but is readily dis-
tinguished by the traces of its prismatic forms, which are al-
ways visible, while the forms can be likewise made out to be
pyramidal in the other species. Its crest or fan-like agerega-
tions, the like of which never occur in apophyllite, yield also
a good empirical mark, which may assist us in ascertaining the
prismatic form of the species, although the crystals hitherto
observed are too small, or rather too thin, to allow of an exact
determination. In allusion to these aggregated groups, and
the kind of fracture depending upon it, I propose the Flabelli-
Sorm Kouphone-spar as the systematic denomination of the
species, the first varieties of which were described by Berae-
lus under the name of Mesole.

It is worth noticing, that this species, when it is nssbdtinid
with stilbite or apophyllite, will always form the lowest stra-
tum immediately adjoining the basaltic or amygdaloidal sup-
port, in the cavities of which it is deposited.

Beside Faroe and Disco, where mesole occurs in many
‘places, it is likewise found in Iceland and in Sweden. In the
former it occurs at Skagastrand, in the northern part of the

Botanical Society in Germany. . 23

island, in a dark brown amygdaloid, and is associated with
levyne and heulandite. It was discovered by Hisinger, * in
the cavities of a kind of lava at Annaklef, near Réstanga, in
Scania. The analysis of the Swedish variety by Hisinger
slightly differs from that of the Faroe variety by Berzelius.

Swedish Variety. Faroe Variety.
‘ Silica, - 42.17 42.60
Alumina, 27.00 28.00
Lime, - 9.00 11.43
Soda, - 10.19 5.63
Water, - 11.79 12.70
100.15 100.36

The chemical formule, of course, will deviate in conse-
quence of the results from which they are calculated.

Arr. 1V.—Some Account of a Society lately established m
Germany, of which the object is to send out Botanical Col-
lectors to the most interesting parts of Europe ; together with
a recommendation to the Naturalists of other Countries, and
especially those of Great Britain, to wnite with it, Com-
municated by W.Jacxson Hooxerr, LL. D. F.R.S. F.L.S.
F. A. S. and Regius Professor of Botany in the University
of Glasgow.

Lixwevs has observed “ Herbarium preestat omni icone, ne-
cessarium omni Botanico;” and the truth of this remark no
one acquainted with the subject will, I think, be disposed to
deny. ‘There exists, notwithstanding, on the part of the stu-
dent of botany in this country, an almost unconquerable an-
tipathy to the operation of gathering and drying plants, sim-
ple as that process actually is; insomuch that I have often
heard foreigners express their astonishment at the meagre col-
lections of native plants which are found in the Herbaria of
Great Britain; and when the continental naturalists ask us
for specimens of some of the vegetable productions peculiar to

* Berzelius, Arsberiittelse for 1825, p. 211.

24 Dr Hooker on a Botanical Society in Germany for

our country, there are perhaps but few who have it in their
power to supply a stranger with them in a hom snes
_ State.

The French and the Germans far excel us in this important
départment of a botanist’s pursuits: So that by a visit to half
a dozen of his correspondents in those two countries the Bri-
tish naturalist will be enabled, through their friendly assist-
ance, to return with almost a complete Flora of those vast em-
pires. In Germany, especially, the art of preservitig plants is
carried to'a very high degree of perfection; and the advan-
tage which the student derives from examining such speci-
mens is incalculable, almost equal to that of doing so in the
living state. Among many others, MM. Hoppe, Horns-
chuch, Funck, and Sieber, have combined a great love of bo-
tany with a happy tact in all that concerns the preparation and
drying of specimens; and, possessing also.a deep and scientific
knowledge of the plants themselves, these naturalists have
given to the world collections which excel every figure, and
are necessary to every student. ‘The trifling labour attending
the manual operation is amply compensated by the beautiful
scenery into which the travelling botanist is sure to be trans-
ported ; by the impressions, (almost never to be effaced,) which
the very circumstance of his discovering and gathering such
and-such a plant in a state of nature are sure to make upon
him; and by the gratification in prospect of distributing to
persons of a kindred mind with himself those vegetables, from
the acquisition of which he has already derived so much plea-
sure,

It isin Germany that the Institution has arisen of which
I am about to give an account ; and of which, I believe, the
origin is due to Professor Hochstetter and Dr Steudel of Ess-
lingen, both of them well known for their attachment to natu-
ral history, and the Jatter especially, by his laborious and
learned work the Nomenclator Botanicus. 'These gentlemen,
in conjunction with a few other German botanists, were at the
expence of sending out M. Fleischer, an excellent botanist and
apothecary of Esslingen, together with an assistant, to explore
the vegetable riches of the Southern Tyrol m 1825. The
success with which the expedition was crowned gave them the

sending Collectors to different parts of Europe. 25

idea of extending still further their views; but before I pro-
ceed to state these, I will make some extracts from the Bota-
nische Zeitung for February 1826, where the nature and pro-
duce of the journey is more fully described.

On the 3d of May M. Fleischer, with his assistant, left
Esslingen, and hastened through Ulm and Meiningen, in the
neighbourhood of which latter town he considered it a happy
omen that he met with some of the rarest German Cyperacee,
even before quitting the Bavarian dominions. The Reverend
M. Koeberlein of Griinenbach conducted the traveller to the
moory grounds in that vicinity, where many sedges, and
among them Carex capitata and C. chordorhiza were already
in full flower. It was in the month of May 1825 that Ger-
many was visited by an almost unprecedented degree of cold
and frost, so that the botanists were glad to proceed as quick-
ly as possible to Southern Tyrol, and soon reached the shores
of Lake Garda, and a country warmed by a genial Italian sky.
Here the Tyrolean mountains presented M. Fleischer with
Carex baldensis, Avena sempervirens, Scabiosa graminea,
Horminum pyrenaicum, Spartium radiatum, and many other
rarities. The environs of 'Torbele proved still richer in scarce
vegetable productions, and the foot of Mount Baldo in the
Tyrol, likewise on the Italian side, yieldmg Spartiwm jun-
ceum, Cytisus argenteus, Carpinus orientalis, Quercus ilex, Co-
riandrum testiculatum, and Lathyrus setifolius. At Rovere-
do M. Fleischer received much kindness from M. Christofori,
an apothecary, and warm admirer of botany, who took him to
the stations of Plantago carinata of Schrader, (P. Wudlfenii,
Sturm,) Dianthus atro-rubens, Cytisus sessilifolius, &c. Col-
Santo was ascended from Roveredo, a mountain whereon were
found the Aira montana of the Norwegian Alps, (a plant new
to the south of Europe,) Paederota cerulea, Anemone balden-
sis, Horminum pyrenaicum, Geranium argentewm, Rhamnus
pumilus, and many other rare alpine productions. On ano-
ther adjacent mountain grew Daphne striata, and the curious
Saxifraga Vandellii. The environs of Bolzano, the Seisser
Alps, and the Schlehern, together with Orteles, in which coun-
tries M. Fleischer passed a good part of his time, and perhaps
at the most favourable season, yielded the amplest harvest.

.
26 Dr Hooker on a Botanical Society in Germany for

The plants of Bolzano are almost entirely those of southern
regions, such as Pistacia terebinthus, Celtis australis, Ostrya
vulgaris, Jasminum officinale, Ziziphus vulgaris, Andropo-
gon Allionii, Molina serotina, Onosma stellulatum, Selinwm
venatum, Antirrhinum italicum of 'Treviranus, Achillea tomen-
tosa, and Acrostichum maranta. Yn the Val di Non the rare
Lotus hirsutus was gathered. [he Schlehern and Seisser
Alps are a chain of one and the same range ; and they afford-
ed many grasses and other alpine plants, but they are mostly
peculiar to the southern Alps, such as Avena argentea, Va-
leriana elongata, and V. supina, Scabiosa longifolia, Phyteu-
ma comosum, and P. Siebert of Sprengel, (probably the P. cor-
difolium of Villars,) Arenaria alpina, (with a very broad leaf,
and quite different in appearance from what grows upon our
Scotch Alps,) Juncus arcticus, Cherleria octandra, the beau-
tiful Potentilla nitida, Ranunculus rutefolius, Hieraciwm par-
viflorum of Schleicher, (perhaps a variety of H. pramorsum,)
Arnica Wulfeniana of Pollich, (Doronicum caucasicum, Bieb.)
Polypodium, (Woodsia, Br.) hyperboreum, Centaurea uniflora,
and C. ambigua. 'The Ortoles is known to be the loftiest
mountain of the Tyrol, and it might naturally be expected to
prove rich in alpine vegetation. Here, consequently, was
found a new Epilobium, (£. Fleischert of Dr Hochstetter,) al-
lied to E. rosmarinifoliwm ; and among others I shall only
mention Aira subspicata, Kochleria hirsuta, Festuca roethica,
Alchemilla pentaphylla, Aretia pennina, Phyteuma globularie-
folium, Sibbaldia procumbens, Cerastium trigynum, Pedicula-
ris asplenifolia, Achillea nana, together with many lichens
and mosses in very fine states of fructification ; among the for-
mer Parmelia speciosa, Lecanora alphoplaca, chlorophana, chry-
soleuca, &c.

In the whole, M. Fleischer returned from his Tyrolean ex-
cursion with a collection of 400 species of Phznogamous,
and 200 species of Cryptogamic plants, altogether 15,000
specimens, in a very beautiful state of preservation.

The success which attended this first mission, as already
remarked, has induced the conductors of it to enlarge their
plan, and to invite naturalists in all countries to contribute to.

_ wards so laudable an object, and to share in the results of the

sending: Collectors to different parts of Europe. 27

different excursions. During last _ & prospectus was
issued in German and Latin.

The professed aim of the institution is to employ zealous
and properly educated botanists in Germany and other Euro-
pean nations to collect rare plants, both in -a living and
dried state, and seeds. The different, and especially little
explored provinces of Germany, as the higher part of the
Black Forest in Wurtemberg, and the Alps of that vicinity,
those of Carinthia, Carniola, &c. will be the objects of par-
ticular investigation. For these countries, botanists residing
in their neighbourhood will be engaged; for they may be
sure of meeting with naturalists; whose partiality for such
pursuits will induce them to undertake the excursions, pro-
vided that they are only remunerated for their expences.
On the other hand, botanists will be sent out expressly to the
more remote countries, which abound in a greater degree
with novelty; as to Istria, Sardinia, Siebenburgen, Greece,
Portugal, the Pyrenees, the Lapland Alps, &c. Two or
more collectors will be employed annually; but their number
must be regulated by the means of the establishment.

The members of the Society will constitute two classes ;
1st, Honorary Members ; that is such as give it their support
by voluntary contributions, arising from a desire of promot-
ing its views. To these will be granted the privilege of se-
lecting from the annual collections, (of which a public ac-
count will be always given,) rare seeds, or living plants, for
their gardens, or splendid specimens for their nadia and
they will be allowed to give directions in regard to other
objects of natural history which they may desire; but they
will not share in the regular annual distributions. | 2dly,
There will be Ordinary Members, who will divide among
themselves, according to the amount of their subscriptions,
the collections, after the honorary members have received
their portions ; and the subscribers are particularly requested
to specify whether they prefer dried plants, living plants, or
seeds.

The annual contribution is fifteen florins Rhenish, (the
Louis Wor being reckoned as eleven florins,) and the sum must
be forwarded at the beginning of each year. Persons sub-

,
28 Dr Hooker on a Botanical Society in Germany for

scribing to twice or thrice that amount will receive plants in
proportion, and will have more of the rarest kinds, of which
only a few may have been gathered. The directors bind
themselves to the continuance of the establishment for five
years to come.

With a view to give greater weight and respectability to
the institution, which is called the Travelling Union, the
previously established society at Stuttgard, entitled the
“Central Prefecture of the Rural Society of Wurtemberg,”
has allowed it to constitute a part of the society; and to it
communications are to be addressed, free of expence, in
German, ‘* Centralstelle der landwirthshaftlichen Vereins,
in Stuttgard.” If such communications be attended with
difficulty to the botanists of this country, the writer of this
article will readily be the means of forwarding them, as will a
gentleman in London, whose active services in promoting
the cause of science both in Great Britain and on the Conti-
nent, are known to almost every naturalist, ‘“‘ John Hunne-
mann, Esq. 9, Queen Street, Soho.” Through the same am
nels the annual returns can be received: —

To those who reside ata great distance, the question will
naturally arise, ‘* what security have we, not being able to
look into the affairs of the society, that we shall have our fair
portion of the plants discovered?” To this I can only say,
that the principal promoters and directors of the establish-
ment are men of the most honourable minds, and holding
public situations; and what is still more to the purpose, that,
being entitled to two shares in the produce of the first excur-
sion, I am actually in possession of a collection, which, for
the number, rarity, and beauty of the specimens, has much
exceeded my most sanguine expectations, and such as, but for
this valuable institution, 20 money could have purchased ; all
are correctly named with printed labels. The Cryptogamic
plants, especially the mosses, are equally rare and well pre-
served with the Phznogamous plants. The estimate, judg-
ing from the first collection, was, that each member would
receive 200 species for a single arinual subscription; but I
calculate from appearance, for I have not counted mine, that
the number exceeds that proportion. ef

sending Collectors to different parts of Europe. 29

The result of the last year’s travels in Istria and the Alps
of Germany, and the shores of the Adriatic, has arrived at
Stuttgard, and it will soon be divided. The indefatigable M.
Fleischer has been sent to Smyrna, where he will remain till
May of the present year, so that he will have collected a whole
year’s Flora in that interesting country. He will then employ
the rest of the summer in Carniola, where he will identify
many of Scopoli’ s plants.

M. Miller is gone to Sardinia, and it is hoped that the
means will be afforded of sending him a co-operator. Indeed,
the society looks for assistance to England, and I hope it will
not look in vain, when the nature of the institution shall be
“more generally made known. ‘ Perhaps,” says Dr Steudel
in a letter to a friend in this country, “ the subscription of
fifteen florins is thought in England very trifling, but we are
obliged to consider our German poverty, and indeed any one
who considers it no great sacrifice is at liberty to take as
many shares as he thinks proper. Scrupulous exactness in
the distribution we look upon as one of our first duties, so as
to insure by equal rights, and strict impartiality, the success
of this infant establishment. If we should meet with suffi-
cient support, we shall, in this case, send a third traveller to
the southern parts of Hungary, and to the mountains of Tran-
sylvania, where many new and rare plants are likely to be
found. Perhaps you are surprised that so much can be done
with such small means, but this problem is solved by the cir-.
cumstance, that we employ young men, who ask for no other
reward than the gratification which they derive from their
travels. Were it possible to obtain English subscribers for —
several successive years, it would give us the advantage,
while sure of the means, of arranging the necessary prepa-
rations for future expeditions with greater effect.”

I trust that this appeal to that love of botany which exists
in Britain will not be ineffectual.

30 Dr Mitchill on the Growth of Vegetables

Art. V.~Views of the Process in Nature by which, under
particular circumstances, vegetables. grow on the bodies of
Living Animals. By Dr Samvur. L. Mircuity of New
York, F.R.S. E. &. With remarks by a Correspondent.

Iw the 12th volume of Professor Silliman’s Journal, Dr Mit-
chill has inserted a Letter written by him to Professor De-
candolle of Geneva, on the growth of vegetables on the bodies
of living animals. As the subject is a curious one, and the
occurrence, if the observations be correct, anomalous, we shall
transcribe his own words. 9

‘‘ My attention was called to these curious appearances in
the year 1808, when my friend, William A. Burwell, Esq.
brought me, from his own plantation, in Virginia, the larva
of an insect, upon which a vegetable had fixed itself, and
grown to a considerable size. He had found several others
of the same kind, and in a similar condition. From the long
and semi-cylindric figure, the wrinkled and whitish surface,
marked by rings, the scaly head and strong jaws, the nume-
rous feet, and the arched or curved attitude, I was induced
to consider it as belonging to the species of Melolontha, or
May-bug, whose grub is destructive, at times, to the roots of
grass in meadows and pastures. The vegetable was single,
and had been somewhat injured by handling and transporta-
tion ; yet the lower part of the stem and the point of attach-
ment were very distinct. My informant assured me, that,
when picked up, the vegetables were complete in this and va-
rious other specimens. But there was no more than one on
each. :

‘“< Some years afterwards, another vegetating insect was pre-
sented to me by the late William M. Ross, M. D. who ob-
tained it in the Island of Jamaica during his residence there.
It was a full-grown individual of a Sphyna or Hawk-moth,
whose whole body had been covered with a vegetable crop,
issuing thick from the thorax and abdomen.

‘* Another Sphynx, with its body covered with a harvest
of parasitical vegetables, has since been exhibited to me by

on the bodies of Living Animals. 3k

J. B. Ricord Maddiana, M. D. who brought it from the Island
of Guadaloupe.

_ The same gentleman, distinguished for his researches in
different departments of natural science, gave me several ve-
getating wasps (vesp@ ) procured by himself in the same place,
where he resided several years. A fortunate incident brought
very interesting facts to his knowledge at Bay-Mahant, near
the small river dw Coin. On the 16th June 1823, as he was
on a botanizing excursion, he saw, lying on the ground, a
wasp’s nest, which had, by means unknown to him, been se-
parated from a branch of the Lawrus persea, (avocatier,)
near which it had fallen. The creatures were in a strange
condition after this disaster to their dwelling. Some were flit. -
ting about over the cells, and by the softness of their wings,
and the faintness of their colours, were easily known to have
been hatched but a short time. Many others were lying
dead on the ground. On examining these he instantly per-
ceived vegetables proceeding from their bodies, and this uni-
formly from the anterior part of the sternum, or thorax. He
collected about fifty of these vegetating wasps. On inspect-
ing the nest, he found a considerable proportion of the cells
' empty. This, however, was not the case with them all ; for
there were still some that contained young wasps in the state
of larve, and which had not reached the last stage of their
metamorphosis. He drew them from their cells, and satisfied
himself that there was an incipient vegetation ; and moreover,
that its progress had kept pace with the growth of the chrysa-
lis.

‘«< After these observations, he satisfied himself in a very ra-
tional way, wherefore the vegetable parasite was situated on
the fore part of the body. It was remarked, that rarely or
never was there more than one vegetable on a single wasp.

‘¢ Botanists have pronounced this parasitical production to
be a species of Spheria, belonging to the natural order of the
Fungi. Upon the supposition that it is propagated by seeds
in the ordinary mode, it plainly appears that these seeds
would, on being wafted through the air, alight upon the most
exposed part of the unhatched insect, that was accommodated
for its reception. This would, of course, be near the head.

32 Dr Mitchill on the Growth of Vegetables

Being fixed there, it would increase with the nisagalilliec of
the animal; and drawing nourishment from its body, would
continue to grow, even after it had attained its last and per-
fect state, until the Sphwria destroyed the life of the wasp. |

. “If the declaration that a vegetable of any sort could take
a root, or sustain itself upon a living animal, rested upon a -
solitary occurrence, it might be suspected there was a mistake
in the matter. But, in the present instance, there is no room
left for such an objection, inasmuch as the vegetating wasps
collected on the spot, and carried away in complete preserva~
tion, put the fact beyond all doubt, that, under particular cir-
cumstances, the body of an imsect, while yet alive, becomes
the soil or base upon which vegetables fasten themselves, and
from which they derive support.

‘* Three occurrences in this country deserve to be mention-
ed. Stephen W. Williams, in a letter to me, dated Deerfield,
Mass. March 29, 1824, describes a remarkable production of
the kind. He states, on the authority of several most respec;
table citizens, that they have repeatedly seen a vegetable grow-
ing from the body of the common grub, (melolontha ?) They
have observed them so many times, and in so many places,
rising to the height of several inches, that some of the wit-
“nesses were inclined to believe the product was the tall black-
berry, (Rubus villosus.) 'The grub he means is found in
wood-yards, around the stumps of dead trees, and often in»
sward-ground ; in which latter it has been known to do ex-
tensive damage, by devouring the roots of grass, and some-
times every plant in its way. In 1822, these devastators not
only killed the herbage of large tracts, but also preyed oo
the maize and potatoes.

‘¢ Addison Phillco, M. D: has sent me several specimens: of
larvee or grubs bearing plants, though there was no more than
a single vegetable on one animal. In his letter, dated at
Sangamon, Illinois, May 4, 1826, he writes that his neighbour, -
Capt. Hathaway, ploughed up a number of them in some old
ground where turnips had been raised the preceding fall. The
excrescences were invariably near the head of the creature, and
in some instances sprouted into three divisions like leaves.”

From these facts Dr Mitchill draws the following inferen-

1]

on the bodies of Living Animals. 33

ces: 1. That this species of vegetation is not confined to a
single species of insect, but obtains in several. 2. That the
bodies of insects nourish more than one species of vegetable ; 3
and 3. That a part at least of this order of parasitic vegeta-
bles begin their work of annoyance “ in the body of the living
insect, and continue it until the creature is skilled by its de-
structive inroads.”

». With regard to the first two of pie pie there
seems sufficient ground from recorded observation to grant
their probability, if not their absolute certainty. But the
third, or that which asserts the growth of parasitic vegetables
on the living insect, seems more than doubtful, and not war-
ranted by any facts which have come to our knowledge,—not
even by the communication of Dr Mitchill itself.

So long ago as 1763, Dr Watson published in the Philo-
sophical Transactions an account of the insect called the ve-
getable Fly, brought from the island of Dominica by Mr
Newman, an officer in the army, who, adopting the popular
belief of the residents in that island, stated that the fly, in
the month of May, “ buries itself. in the earth and begins to
vegetate. By the latter end of July,” he adds, “ the tree is
arrived at its full growth, and resembles a coral branch ; and
is about three inches high, and bears several little pods, which,
dropping off, become worms, and from thence flies like the
English caterpillar.” A similar account was given to Dr
Huxham by Captain Gascoign; but specimens being pro-
cured, they were submitted to the examination of Dr Hill,
and the result of his and Dr Watson’s observations laid be-
fore the Royal Society. Dr Hill found on examination that
a particular species of fungus, of the genus Clavaria, which
grows upon dead and putrid animal bodies, had sprung from
the dead insect.‘ The Cicada is common in Martinique,”
(says he) ‘and in its nympha state, in which the old authors
call it Tettigometra, it buries itself under dead leaves to wait
-its change ; and when the season is unfavourable many pe-
rish. The seeds of the Clavaria find a proper bed on this
-dead insect, and grow. The Tettigometra is among the Cicadz
in the British Museum ;. the clavaria is just now known.
This, you may be assured, is the fact, and all the fact ; sis

VOL. VII. NO. I. JuLY 1827. c

34 Dr Mitchill on the Growth of Vegetables

the untaught imhabitants suppose a fly to vegetate; and —

though there exists a Spanish drawing of the plant’s growing
into a trifoliate tree; and it has been figured with the crea-
ture flying with this tree on its back. So wild are the i re
nations of man: so chaste and uniform is nature !” |

Dr Mitchill, from his reference to Dr Watson’s paper, to
the figures of Edwards in his Gleanings of Natural History,
and to M. Fougereau’s paper in the Memoirs of the French
Academy of Sciences for 1769, seems to be perfectly aware
of the opinions entertained on this subject; and we were
therefore much surprised, that in his Letter he was not more
particular in ascertaining whether the animals he examined
were really alive. The whole value of his observations turns on
this point ; for the finding specimens of dead or decomposing
insects or larve in Virginia, with clavarie growing from them,
similar to what are found on animals of the same class in the
West Indian Islands, only proves that similar causes produce
similar effects in both countries. In his account of the spe-
cimen of a Melolontha from Mr Burwell, it is not mentioned
that the animal was alive: Dr Ross’s specimen of a Sphynx
from Jamaica must evidently have been dead; and the same
remark applies to the West Indian Sphynx of Dr Maddiana.
The other fact communicated by this latter gentlemen, re-
garding the wasp’s nest, is of the same nature. It was in
wasps “ lying dead on the ground” alone that he perceived
the marks of vegetation; and though he “ satisfied himself”
that in the larvee contained in the cells “ there was an inci-
pient vegetation,” yet, from his omitting to say that they
were really alive, the presumption is, that in these also life was
extinct, and that they were in a state of decomposition.

In Mr Jacob Cist’s notice of the Melolontha, in the eighth
volume of Dr Silliman’s Journal, also referred to by Dr Mit-
chill, that gentleman states, from personal examination of num-
bers of the larve of this insect in Pennsylvania, that ‘* in
every instance the grub is not only dead, but in a state of de-
cay, and the sprout rising about the ground indicates where
they may befound.” Mr Cist’s figures accompanying his notice
show evidently that the plant is a Clavaria; and his theory

for its production is, that the “ seed is taken internally - the
il

ee ee ee ae ieee

on the bodies of Living Animals. 35

worm, and causes its death ; and that in the following spring
it vegetates, finding a suitable bed or soil in the decayed
worm.”

As to the circumstance of the fungous vegetation proceed-
ing from the mouth or from the anterior part of the sternum,
it may be remarked that this is the most likely place, from its
being the commencement of the intestinal canal, and in the
neighbourhood of soft parts, for decomposition to commence,
and vegetation, of course, to take its rise. Neither does it fa-
vour the hypothesis of Dr Mitchill, that, in some specimens,
the fungous vegetation was found on the larvz, and in others
on the perfect insect ; as it does not necessarily follow from
this circumstance that the minute seeds of these vegetable pro-
-ductions, sown by the winds (according to Dr Mitchill) on
the body of the larvz, should survive its metamorphosis, and
decorate the body of the winged insect with a crop of fo-
liage. Deprivation of life and incipient decomposition would,
in both cases, produce the same result; and this is further
confirmed by the fact that the vegetable production is not lar-
ger in the fly than in the larva, though it-ought to be so on
the reverse supposition. Dr Mitchill must likewise be aware
of the speedy, the almost instantaneous growth of many spe-
cies of fungi; and this circumstance is sufficient to account for
the appearance of the plant in the same state on the bodies of
full grown wasps and their larvz, both, probably, in Dr Mad-
diana’s instance, deprived of life by the same accident.

The facts of the case not being established, it is not neces-
sary to follow out the author’s reflections on the “ fungous
tribes of cryptogamic vegetables” being “ the destroyers of
the insect race ;” or to enter into questions regarding the ba-
lance of power between the insect or vegetable republics in
their mutual “ ravages” and “ reprisals.”

Dr Mitchill’s presumptions from analogous processes in
other departments of nature have no application. Living ve-
getables have been long known to support parasitic living ve-
getables; dead vegetable and animal matter is a fertile source
of cryptogamic vegetation ; and the instances of parasitic ani-
mals on other animals are so numerous, as almost to have be-
come a general law among animated beings. The shells of

7
!

36 Mr Foggo on the Dew-Point Hygrometer.

“marine and fresh water Molluscz are frequently found cover-
ed, the first, not only with sea plants, but with lepades and

serpule, and the second, with its coating of vegetable green,
‘without either of these impeding the necessary motions, or
disturbing the vital functions of the contained animals. But
none of these instances apply to the case of Dr Mitchill’s in. |
sects, where the growth is from a part of the body that must
necessarily preclude the animal from exercising the functions
essential to life; and the size and weight of the productions
are besides such as to root it permanently to the spot. ‘The
presumption to be drawn from analogous facts seems rather to
heighten the value of the proof which has been afforded by
observation, that the death of the insect must have taken place
prior to the commencement of the fungous vegetation.) 9)

*‘ Des personnes peu éclairées” (says an eminent naturalist
when writing on the same subject) “en ont voulu conclure que
des animaux pouvoient se transformer immediatement en ve-
getaux ; mais lon sait que telle est la nature de certains
champignons, notamment de cette clavaire, de ne pouvoir
croitre que sur des substances animales déterminées. | Si le
temps n’est pas favorable, il périt plusieurs de ces nymphes
de cigales qui vivent dans la terre, sous les feuilles mortes.
La semence de la clavaire s’y attache et s’y développe; voila
tout le merveilleux.” * |

Art VI.—On the Dew-Point Hygrometer formerly described
in this Journal, vol. iv. p. 127. By Mr Jonn Foceo, Junr.
Communicated by the Author.

I uave inserted in a former Number of this work a brief no-
tice of a method of taking the dew-point by means of a simple
thermometer. Since that notice was published, I have had
occasion to give a very extensive trial to this method, the re-
sult of which has satisfied me of the accuracy and facility with
which observations may be made with it. Its utility has, how-
ever, been strenuously denied by an authority so high as that of
“Mr Daniell; and in replying to his objections, I shall embrace

* Bose, in Nie! Dict. d’ Hist. Nat. tom. xxi. p. 445.

Mr Foggo on the Dew-Point Hygrometer. 37

the present opportunity of making some remarks on dew-point
instruments in general.

The superiority of these instruments over hygroscopic sub-
stances is derived from the circumstance, that they are not
liable to deterioration from use or time, and they possess the
further advantage, that their indications are strictly compa-
rable, being independent of every change in the condition of
the atmosphere, excepting those alone which they themselves
are employed to detect.

_ ‘The idea of ascertaining the hygrometric state of the air by
cooling a portion of it till its moisture was rendered visible, ap-
pears to be the oldest as well as the simplest, and was perhaps
suggested by observation of phenomena SPH the Sess scale of
nature. :

The Florentine Aaeictnianais employed a glass vessel of the
form of an inverted cone, which they filled with ice; and they
estimated the degree of dryness or humidity by the frequency
of the drops formed by the trickling down of the dew deposit-
ed from the chilled air in contact with the sides of the glass.
Their experiments, however, were made at the very dawn of
the sciences; and the other branches of natural knowledge
were too little advanced to assist them in drawing any useful
consequences from them.. We now know from the laws which
regulate the condition of vapour, that the frequency of the drops
would indicate only the changes in the density of the vapour
as it varies in warm and cold seasons, and not the relative dry-
ness or humidity of the atmosphere at the time of the experi-
ment. _M. le Roi adopted a method susceptible of more pre--
cision, though even in his time the relations which his results
bore to the actual quantity of moisture in the atmospheré were.
not understood. He filled a glass vessel with water, and low-
ered its temperature by stirring bits of ice in it till the cold
was sufficient to condense the moisture. He then noted the
temperature at which the precipitation first began, and judged
of the degree of humidity by the difference of this temperature

‘and that of the air. Since his time Mr Dalton has made many
thousand observations nearly in the same manner, but by cool-
ing the water by an artificial saline mixture instead of ice. He
uses a cylindrical glass jar, dry on the outside, which he fills

38 Mr Foggo on the Dew-Point Hygrometer.

with cold spring water fresh from the well. If dew be imme-
diately formed, the water is poured out and allowed to stand
some time, in order to acquire heat, and is’ then replaced into
the jar, after the outside has been well dried with a linen cloth.

This operation is to be repeated till dew ceases to be formed,
and the temperature of the water is to be observed. It was
found that spring water generally answered the purpose during
the three hottest months of the year, but in the other months
it was necessary to employ a cooling mixture. Mr Dalton can
thus ascertain the dew-point to one-fifth of a degree of Fah-
renheit’s scale. I may observe, that it is more convenient to’
have two or more small cylinders of polished metal ; (about two:
inches deep and one inch in diameter;) one of these is to be filled
with cold water, and, if dew be formed, the water is to be potr-
ed from one to the other, the warmth of the hand soon raising
the temperature sufficiently to drive off the dew ; or if it be ne-
cessary to use a saline frigorific solution, a small quantity of a’
mixture of equal parts nitrate of potash and muriate of ammonia’
may be thrown into it, and after the experiment the salts may’
be recovered by evaporation. Mr Dalton was the first who
could deduce any important conclusions from observations of
this kind. Having previously determined, by a series of ad-
mirable experiments, the elastic force of vapour for a long range
of temperature, he was thus enabled to discover how much of
the pressure of the whole aerial column was to be attributed to
the presence of the moisture blended with it. This was a
great step in the advance of hygrometry; and being followed
shortly afterwards by the investigations of Gay-Lussac on the
expansion of gases and the density of vapours, the whole:
theory of this science has been established by the mathemati-
cal demonstrations of Biot. It has been shown, that, to ascer-
tain the condition of the atmosphere with respect to moisture,
it is necessary only to know its temperature, and that of its
dew-point, or the temperature at which its moisture begins to
be condensed. But the methods I have described of obtain.
ing this last term is evidently so troublesome, that it has never
been introduced to any extent. In the meantime, meteorolo-
gists have had recourse to the principle of evaporation pro-
posed by Dr Hutton, ‘or to the hygrometers of Saussure and

Mr Foggo on the Dew-Point Hygrometer. 39

De Luc, the performance of all of which has only rendered
more striking the value of some convenient and effective plan
of reducing M. le Roi’s method to practice.

The manner in which Mr Daniell has resolved this problem
by an elegant application of the principle of the cryophorus
is too well known to require any description in this place.
By this contrivance, and still more by his popular exposition
of its principles and uses in many important researches, Mr
Daniell has given to the science of hygrometry an almost un-
hoped for degree of precision, and has certainly inspired fresh
energy into the study of almost every other branch of meteoro-
logy. I willingly add my tribute to the applause bestowed
on this ingenious adaptation of a. beautiful philosophical prin-
ciple to the purposes of practical science, which, however,
_ forms only a small part of Mr Daniell’s very successful and me-
ritorious labours. I think very few will call in question Mr Da-
niell’s opinion, that he has thus introduced a mode of ascertain-
ing the required data, so easy and nice of application as to
leave no excuse for those who, at the expence of candour and
professional honour, intrude on the public the abortions of
their own dreamy: lucubrations. By introducing the frigo-
rific power of vaporization from a volatile liquid, I conceive
that Mr Daniell has secured almost all the credit likely to be
acquired from the subject; and having acknowledged this
much, I may enter with more freedom into the discussion of the
merits of some suggested improvements upon his instrument. —

Mr Daniell thinks he has demonstrated that his hygrometer
is susceptible of no improvement. Without stopping to in-
‘quire on what the demonstration is founded, I shall quote some
remarks on his perféct instrument from a correspondent* who
unites a thorough knowledge of meteorological science to a pro-
found acquaintance with every other branch of natural history.
‘It is a beautiful result, that, by applying ether at one ball,
such a degree of cold is produced as to effect a depression of 30°
or 40° in the other, notwithstanding that the vapour, in pass-
ing from one to the other through a long tube which remains
of the temperature of the air, will be heated up to this tem-

* The Reverend Mr John Macvicar, Dundee.

40 Mr Foggo on the Dew-Point Hygrometer.

perature perhaps, and have all this heat to part with before it
is condensed. But what is the use of this long tube, unless
because there is such a one in ‘the eryophorus? ‘The reason
for being long in that instrument is obvious, but the objects
of both instruments are diametrically opposite.» Dr Wollaston

wished to effect freezing in the most disadvantageous circum-

stances, in order to show the force of the principle, but in the
hygrometer the purpose manifestly is to produce cold’ most
advantageously and economically. The principle of this hy-
grometer is beautiful, but the execution is not very happy.
It.is uselessly large. The only efficient parts are the two balls
and the included thermometer, which, though the case must
be larger than an octavo volume, is much too small for accu-
rate observation. There is a great waste of ether, which at
the end of the year must be no small quantity spent. There

is a great loss of power in cooling a large body of ether,.

none of which, except the ‘superficial film, is allowed to act.
The principle of producing the cold by distillation in vacuo
may be successfully given up altogether. Since the evaporation
from the covered ball is able to depress the thermometer in
the sentient ball a considerable number of degrees, a much
more intense effect might be produced were the same quantity
of ether suffered to evaporate from the surface of the ether at
once; or, in other words, the same effects might be produced
by amuch smaller quantity lost. To accomplish this, all that
is necessary is to expose the surface of the ether at once to the
action of the atmosphere, to surround the bulb of the thermo-
meter by a cup, into which pour ether, and, having observed
the dew-point on the surface of that, return the ether to the
phial.. Here every drop of ether evaporated would be em-
ployed in producing the requisite degree of cold. The flat
bottomed-cup I propose should have a lid to prevent or modi-

fy evaporation when the dew-point comes out speedily. The |

cup also slips off, and leaves the thermometer fit for ascertain
ing the temperature of the air, and entirely supersedes the use
of two thermometers in making a hygrometrical observation.”
On these hints, the hygrometer which I formerly described
was constructed by Mr Coldstream, and used by us in our
observations made at Leith, and published in the Edinburgh

— *§ i eee

Mr Foggo on the Dew-Point Hygrometer. 41

Philosophical Journal, (vol. xxiv. and xxv.) before it was
known that a similar method had been adopted by Mr Jones,
and long before we had learnt from Mr Daniell’s remarks
upon the instrument of this last gentleman that it had like-
wise been used in Germany. Mr Daniell has observed, that,
as the bulb is only partially exposed to the cooling effect of
the ether, we cannot thus obtain the true term of deposi
tion, since the thermometer is graduated on the suppésition
that the whole of the mercury is of the same temperature.
In short, he wishes us to believe that the two halves of the
thermometer have different temperatures. It would be, easy
to oppose these theoretical objections by others more sound, if
it were not absurd to try a question of this kind by any thing
but experience ; and a description of the manner of experiment-
ing will enable every one to judge for himself on the subject in
dispute. I use a thermometer with a ball of an oval shape, blown
of black enamel ; three-fourths of its surface are covered with
muslin ; a ring of silver or brass separates the covered part from
that on which the dew is deposited. Having taken the tem-
perature of the air, ether is dropped slowly on the muslin, the
evaporation from which cools the mercury slowly and equably
at the rate of one degree m 7” or 8”. Hence, the contraction of
the mercury is so very gradual that every portion of it hastime .
to acquire the same temperature. If it be thought it may
be otherwise, the instrument itself can detect the possible
error; for, after the dew-point has been thus taken, and its
approximate temperature known, the dew may be wiped off,
and by cautious management the heat of the bulb may be
kept steadily for any length of time a little above the exact
point necessary to precipitate the moisture. Then, all the
mercury having had full time to aequire the same degree of
heat, when it is allowed to fall, and the dew-point again
taken, if there has been any error in the first observation it
will now be apparent. I have often verified my observations
in this manner, but I always found it unnecessary. In Mr
Daniell’s hygrometer the evaporation of the ether in the sen-
tient ball is extremely rapid, sometimes like an explosion, and
in damp weather, when the dew-point differs little from the
_ temperature of the air, the deposition is instantaneous. Be-

42 Mr Foggo on the Dew-Point Hygrometer.

sides, granting that the incipient deposition has been observed,
what is the evidence that the exact temperature of this coin-
cides with that read on the thermometer? The dew forms
principally in a ring parallel to the surface of the ether, be-
cause that is the line of greatest cold, its constituent tempera-
ture, therefore, is that of the superficial plane, while the bulb.
is plunged below this into the body of the ether, which will
have a considerable influence in modifying its temperature.
The objections to the simple form thus recoil with increased
effect upon the original; and if Mr Daniell is still incredu-
lous, he is doubtless prepared to explain the CacT RS
faculty enjoyed by Newman’s thermometers.

. I do_not wish to prejudice any one by these cheneresaan
against Mr Daniell’s hygrometer, the value of which is. esta-
blished by extensive experience, and by high scientific autho-
rity. I only claim for the other the attention to which it is
entitled, and to show that in this case, as in every other, the,
merits of a scientific question are to be decided by facts only,
not by cavilling on theoretical grounds, or by misapplied ridi-
cule. . My conviction of the utility of this instrument is
founded on repeated trials of its performance made in com-
pany with its.inventor; and since the publication of Mr Da-
niell’s opinion of the London and German instruments, L
have taken every opportunity of putting it to the test.

As an infallible standard by which to judge of it, I com-
pared it with the results obtaimed by Dalton’s method de-
scribed above; and, at the same time, I used hygrometers of
various sizes and forms, but the agreement of them all was
complete ; and, excepting their superior delicacy, I could never
discover the most trifling discrepancy between them and the
standard of comparison. In the course of these examinations |
the temperature has varied from 80° to 20°, the degree of
dryness ranging between saturation and a thermometric dif-
ference of 25° or 30°, and I frequently exposed the hygrome-
ters to the sun till they had risen 50 or 60 degrees above the
temperature of the air, but the application of the ether always
brought out the same dew-poimt. The construction I find
most convenient is a straight thermometer, carrying 15 de-
grees to one inch on its scale, the bulb projecting beyond the

=

Mr Foggo on the Dew-Point Hygrometer. 43

scale, and made of black enamel blown so thin that ina strong
light the mercury appears through it, of an elongated shape,
about one-third of an inch in diameter, and three-fourths in
length. The bulb is covered with muslin, leaving the black
enamel exposed at the part next to the scale. The exposed part
should be as small as consistent with facility of observation.
The use of the ring is to confine the ether to the covered
surface. This instrument, therefore, is as easy of construc-
tion as a common thermometer ; it is very portable; and its
sensibility is unlimited. |

TI have subjoined the tables to be used with the dew-point
instruments. I cannot here enter into any account of the
R principles on which they are constructed. These will be found
detailed in Mr Anderson’s Essay on Hygrometry in the Edin.
burgh Encyclopedia, (vol. xi.) or in Mr Daniell’s Meteordlo-
gical Essays. In my Elements of Meteorology 1 shall give
my reasons for preferring Mr Dalton’s elastic forces to those
given by Dr Ure.

Problem.—The temperature of the atmosphere and of the

dew-point being given, to find the quantity of vapour in a
~ eubic foot of air.

If the temperature of the air and the dew-point be coinci-
dent, then in the first table opposite to the temperature will
be found the corresponding elastic force, and in the third
column is the weight of a cubic foot of vapour expressed in
grains. Let the temperature of the air be 70°, and the dew-
point the same, then from the first table we find the elastic
force corresponding to this temperature = .726, and the
weight of a cubic foot 8.082. But if the temperature of the
air be different from the dew-point, a correction is necessary
to find the exact weight. Suppose the dew-point to be 70°
as before, but the temperature to be 80°, then the vapour has
suffered an expansion due to an excess of 10°. We find
in the second table the correction for 10° is 1.0208, and
8.082 divided by this = 7.917. . To find the relation of these
conditions on the natural scale of humidity, the weight of
vapour at the dew-pomt being divided by the weight at the
temperature of the air, the quotient gives in parts of 1.000

: 8.082
the degree of saturation, thus 10.993 — 735.

ad

Mr Foggo on the Dew-Point Hygrometer.

These tables contain all the temperatures Bi to occur in

this climate.

Table of the force of Vapour, and woeioht in grains of a cubic
foot of Vapour at di ifferent Temperatures, from 5° to 80° Fahr.

; [ Temp. “Force. Weight. Temp. | Force. |Weight.|| Temp. | Force. | Weight.
5 10.074 |0.912] 30 0.185 | 2.204 55 0.442] 5.052
6 076 |0.945 } 31 -192|2.280 56 -457 | 5.216
7 079 |0.980 |. 32 .199 | 2.360 57 473) 5.390
8 -082 |1.016 33 -206 | 2.442 58 -489} 5.563
9 | .086 |1.054 34 -214 | 2.526 59 -506| 5.748) —
10. | .089 {1.092}. 35 -221 | 2.613 60 -523| 5.921
11 092 {1.132 |] 36 -229 | 2.703 61 |. .540] 6.114
12 | .096 {1.173 37 -237 | 2.796 62 559} 6.319
13 099 | 1.216 38 -246 | 2.891 63 577} 6.514
14 | .103 |1.260}| 39 +255 | 2.990 64 -597| 6.727
15 107 |1.307 40 -264 | 3.092 65 -617| 6.942
16 | .111 | 1.352 41 -273 | 3.202 66. 637) 7.156
17_ | .115 | 1.401 42 -283 | 3.305 67 659} 7.390
18 -120° | 1,451 43 -293 |3.417 68 -68) | 7.612
19 | .124 |1.503 44 -303 | 3.532 69 -703) 7.857
20 | .129 |1.556 45 -314 | 3.651 70 -726| 8.082
21 | .134 |1.612] 46 .325 13.773 | 71 -750| 8.357
22 | .139 |1.669 47 -336 | 3.889 72 -775 | 8.622
23 | .144.-/1.729 | 48 348 |4.021 || 73 -800| 8.886
24 149 |1.789 49 -360 | 4.154 74 827] 9.151
25 155 11.854 50 -373 | 4.297 75 854] 9.455
26 -160 |1.917 51 0386 | 4.437 76 -881] 9.722
27 166 11.985 52 -400 | 4.594 77 -910 |10.042
28 172 |2.054]) 53 413 | 4.736 78 -939 |10.345
29 179 {2.192 | 54 -427 | 4.888 79 -970 |10.670

Table of Corrections to be used when the term of deposition
differs from the temperature of the air.

Diff. | Diff. Diff. Diff.
of | Correction, || of | Correction. |} of | Correction. of
Temp Temp. Temp. Temp.
1 |+1.0020] 11 |~1.0229) 21 |+1.0437)) 31
2; 1.0041} 12 1.0250), 22 1.0458)} 32
3| 1.0062] 13 | 1.0271] 23 |- 1.0479] 33
4 | 1.0083] 14 | 1.0291] 24 | 1.0500) 34
5'| 1.0104) 15 | 1.0312) 25 1.0521) 36
6 | 1.0125] 16 | 1.0333) 26 1.0542]| 36
7} 1.0145] 17 | 1.03854) 27 | 1.0562) 37
8 | 1.0166] 18 | 1.0375) 28 | 1.0583) 38
9 | 1.0187] 19 | 1.0396) 29; 1.0604) 39 |
10 | 1.0208|| 20 | 1.0417] 30 | 1.0625) 40} 1. 0834

Dr F. Hamilton’s description of Garcinia Pedunculata. 45

Arr. VII.—Deseription of a Plant of the order of Guttifera,
which Dr Roxburgh called Garcinia pedunculata. By
Francis Hamitton, M. D. F. R.S. and F. A. 8S. Lond.
and Edin. . Communicated by the Author... |

Tw an account of Asam, which I published i in the Annals of
Oriental Literature, (244,) I have mentioned a fruit, which
is exported from that country to Bengal to be used as an acid
seasoning, and which is called Thaikol. This is of two kinds,
Bara and Kuji, or great and little. The latter is the tree
of which I am now about to give an account, that of Dr Rox-
burgh having not yet appeared.

With the Garcinia of Linneus, Dr Roxburgh united the
genus Oxycarpus of Loureiro, which M. Petit Thouars, for
better reasons than usual with his innovations, has called Brin-
donia; and this arrangement, having been adopted by M.
Choisy, is followed by Decandolle. If the genus Garcinia
thus constituted be good, as, even including the Cambogia of
Linneus, it contains only thirteen species, (Decand. Prodr. i.

560,) why has it been divided into two sections, Mangostana
and Brindonia. Had it indeed contained a hundred species:
such a division may have been useful in facilitating the inves-
tigation of an unknown plant; but the small number of spe-
cies renders this unnecessary. If, on the contrary, the Brin-
donia differs essentially from the Mangostana, why not at
once form them into two genera ?

The Thaikol, although in flower it agrees entirely with the
character of Brindonia or Oxycarpus, differs essentially in
wanting the pulpy arillus round each seed ; and its general ap-
pearance differs a good deal from all the species of Garcinia
that I have seen. Although I found it pretty generally diffus-
ed through the gardens of the Rungpur district, where it had
been introduced from Asam, I never saw the male plant; but
this may have been merely accidental. I here confine my de-
scription to the hermaphrodite. ‘The specimens sent to the
India~-House are marked by the name which Dr Roxburgh
used.

Arbor mediocris ramulis compressus glabris. Folia oppo-

-

46 Dr F. Hamilton’s description of Garcinia Pedunciuata.

sita, crassa, rigida, glabra, integerrima, obovata, costata, ob-
solete venosa. Petiolus compressiusculus, marginatus, glaber,
brevissimus, annulo ramum cingens, non stipulaceus.

_ Pedunculus solitarius geminus. vel ternus, terminalis, cras-
sus, rigidus, tubum floris mentiens, utrinque apicem versus
infra calycis foliola interiora bisulcus, annulo carnoso quasi
‘disco cinctus. Intra discum bractese due partiales parva,
ovate, adpresse ; extra discum bractese communes due folia-
ce, parvee, patule. Flores lutei, rigidi, gummiferi.

Calycis quadriphylli foliola subrotunda, concava, patula,
duobus interioribus dorso carinatis. Petala quatuor oblonga,
-_obttisa, crassa, ungui lato hypogyna, calyce longiora. Fila-
menta quatuor basi unita, petalis alterna, germine breviora,
hypogyna, carnosa, apice septem s. octo-dentata. Anthere
minute, singulis filamentorum denticulis insidentes. Germen
“magnum, superum, obsolete tetragonum. Stylus nullus. Stig-
ma planum, peltatum octolobum.

Fructus circumferentia pedali depressus, levis, flavus, ut-
rinque umbilicatus, calyci parvo tetraphyllo insidens, stigmate
persistente coronatus. Parietes unciam crassz, succo acido
plenze, carnosse, sed succo expresso duriuscule, flav, epider-
mide tenuissimo tectee.

Loculi circiter octo obsoleti, septis membranaceis aliquan-
do fere evanidis e centro carnoso ad parietes radiatim decur-
rentibus divisi, intus farctt pulpa aurantii coloris molliore, dul-
ciore, sapore nonnihil Mangostani, fibrillis intermixta, facile é
parietibus separabili, semini aretissime adnata. Ossiculum in
singulis loculis solitarium, oblongum, compressum, margine
interiore compressiore; uniloculare, monospermum, lignoso-€o-
riaceum. ‘Semen ‘forma ossieuli medio lateris interioris emar-
ginatum, funiculo e ossiculo enato suspensum. Integumenta
membranacea, gemina. Interiora amygdalina absque partium
distinctione visibili in corpus solidum vase“ ncaa ig ce: See

Plate I. Fig. sf ry,

Mr Russel on the Cavern of Adelsberg in Carniola. 4%

Art. VilI.—Contributions to Physical Geography.

1. Description of the Cavern of Adelsberg in Carniola.

Tue village of Adelsberg stands at the bottom of an incon-
' siderable rocky eminence. At the western extremity of the
eminence the rock gapes into two large apertures. The one
reaches nearly from its summit to the level of the plane, and
has an irregular, jagged, cleft-like shape; the other is rather
more to the eastward, about fifty feet higher in the rock, and
in a much more regular vaulted form. The river Poick comes
winding along the valley from the south, flows under the emi-
nence, reaches its western extremity, throws its whole body
into the lower of the two openings, which it entirely fills, and
disappears. . The higher opening runs a short way into the
mountain, forming a regular and spacious gallery. The parti-
tion of rock that separates it from the lower one, through
which the river holds its course, is broken through in several
places, and furnishes here and there a glimpse of the dark
waters fretting along in their subterranean channel. But as you
advance, their murmurings and the distant gleams of day-light
die away together, and the silence and darkness of ancient
night reign all around.

The guides now lighted their lamps, and, in a short time,
the distant sound of water was again heard. It became loud-
er and louder. ‘The passage seemed to widen, and at length
opened out into an immense cavern which the eye could not
measure, for the lights were altogether insufficient to penetrate
to any distance the darkness that was above, and around, and
below; they were just sufficient to show where we stood. It
was a ledge of rock which, running across the cavern like a
natural partition, but not rising to the roof, divides it into. two
caverns. ,

From that on the left of the partition, on whose summit we
stood, rose amid the darkness the furious dashing of the river,
which has thus far found its way through the mountain, and,
announcing by its noise the obstacles it encounters, seems to
throw itself in despair against the ‘opposing partition, which

e
48 Contributions to Physical Geography.

threatens to prevent its course into the more ample division of
the cavern on the right. On this latter side, the rocky par-
tition sinks down absolutely precipitous; the cavern, likewise,
is much deeper than that on the left, and impenetrable « dark-
ness broods over it. Leaning over the precipice, the ear,
after it has become accustomed to the raging of the stream on
the other side, hears that its waters far below have pierced
the partition, and made their way into the deeper and moré
ample hall of the cavern. It is, in fact, a natural bridge.
The 1 impression, however, on this side is more striking ; ; for the
river ‘is heard eddying along with that dull, heavy, and indis-
tinct sound, which, particularly 1 in such circumstances, among
subterranean precipices, and in subterranean darkness, always
gives the idea of great depth. The guides lighted a few
bundles of straw, and threw them into the abyss. They
gleamed faintly, as they descended, on the projecting points
of the rock ; blazed for a few seconds on the surface of the
water, showing its slow, heavy motion, and illuminating,
through a small circle, the darkness of the cavern, left its
gloom, by’ their extinction, more oppressive and tee:
ble. |

“« From this spot,” says Sartori, ‘‘ it is not allowed to thre
boldest of mortals to proceed farther ;” and he said so, because,
towards the greater division of the cavern into which the river
has thus forced its way, the partition is too precipitous to ad-
mit of descent. But mortals not at all bold now goa great
deal farther. ‘Towards the smaller division, the partition is
not so precipitous, and the cavern itself is not so deep. A
flight of steps was cut out on this side, down to the bottom.
The partition itself was then pierced in the direction of the
greater cavern. When the workmen had got through it, they
found themselves still considerably above the bottom of the
greater, but the rocky wall was now more sloping, and, by
hewing in it a flight of steps, the bottom was reached in safe-
ty. The great object was to know what became of the river.
We had not advanced many yards along the rocky floor,
which owes much of its comparative smoothness to art, when
the river was again heard in front, and the lights of the guides

glimmered on its waters. It flows right across the cavern;
1

Mr Russel on the Cavern at Adelsberg, in Carniola. 49.

it has lost its noise and rapidity ; it eddies slowly along, ina
well defined bed, and having reached the opposite wall of this
immense vault, the solid mountain itself, it again dives into
the bowels of the earth. Its course can be followed no far-
ther, and it is still doubtful ihethen or aiptien; it ae ie oe
pears on earth.

. This, imposing as it is, is but the scailibeain the most mag-
ifivent of all the temples which nature has built for herself
in the regions of night. A slight wooden bridge leads across
the river, and after advancing a little way the terminating
wall of the cavern opposes you. .This was always held to be
the ne plus ultra. But, about five years ago, some young
fellow took it into his head to try, with the help of his com-
panions, how far he could clamber up the wall by means of
the projecting points of rock. When he had mounted about
forty feet, he found that the wall terminated, and a spacious
opening intervened between its top, and the roof of the cavern.
which was still far above. A flight of steps was immediately
hewn in the rock, and the aperture being explored, was found
to be the entrance to a long succession of the most eae
stalactite caverns that imagination can conceive.

. From a large rugged, and unequal grotto, they branch off
im two suites. .That to the left is the more extensive, and
ample, and majestic; that to the right, though smaller, is
richer in varied and fantastic forms. | Neither the one nor the
other consists merely of a single cavern, but a succession: of
them, all different in size, and form, and ornament, connected
by passages which are sometimes low and bare, sometimes spa=
cious and lofty, supported by pillars, and fretted with corni-
ces of the purest stalactite. It would be in vain to attempt to
describe the magnificence and variety of this natural architec.
ture. The columns are sometimes uniform in their mass, and
singularly placed ; sometimes they are so regularly arranged,
and consist of smaller pillars so nicely clustered together, that
one believes he is walking up the nave of a Gothic Cathedral.
Many of these columns, which are entirely insulated, have a
diameter of three, four, and event five feet. Frequently the
pillar is interrupted as it were in the middle, losing its’ co-
lumnar form, and «twisting, dividing, or spreading itself out
VOL. VII. NO. 1. JULY 1827. D

>
50 Contributions to Physical Geography.

into innumerable shapes. Sometimes it dilates into a broad
thin plate, almost transparent in the light of a lamp; some~
times this plate curves itself round in a circular form; some-
times the descending part tapers to a point, which rests on the
broad surface of the ascending stalagmite. The walls are en-'
tirely coated with the same substance, and, in the smaller -
grottoes, it is so pure, that travellers have covered it with
names written in pencil, some of which have already resisted
the moisture five or six years. The other division is more
spacious, and extends much farther. ‘The caverns which com-
pose it are wider and loftier, but not so beautifully adorned
as in the other. The enormous clustered columns of stalac~
tite that seem to support the everlasting roof from which they
have only originated, often tower to such a height, that the
lights do not enable you to discover their summit ; but, though
infinitely majestic, they are rougher, darker, and more shape-
Jess than in the smaller suite. The farther you advance, the
elevations become bolder, the columns more massive, and the
forms more diversified, till after running about six miles into
the earth, this scene of wonderment terminates with the ele- —
ment with which it began, water. A small subterraneous
lake, deep, clear, cold, and dead-still, prevents all farther pro-
gress. It has not been passed; it would therefore be too
much to say that nothing lies beyond.

Throughout these caverns, not a sound is heard, except
the occasional plashing of the dew-drop from a half-formed
pillar. No living thing, no trace of vegetation enlivens the
cold rock, or the pale freezing stalactites. A solitary bat,
fast asleep, on a brittle white pinnacle, was the only inhabi-
tant of this gorgeous palace. When I took him from his
resting-place, he uttered a chirping plaintive sound, as if mur-
muring that our lights had disturbed his repose, or that hu-
man feet should intrude into the dark and silent sanctuary of
his race. When replaced on his pinnacle, he folded up his
wings, ceased to chirp and murmur, and, in a moment, was as
sound asleep as ever.

Yet these abodes are not always so still and» deserted.
About the middle of the more extensive of the two ranges,
the passage which, though not low, has for a while been rough

Mr Seetzen on the Subterranean Sounds at Nakous. 8Y¥.

and confined, opens into one of the most’ spacious and regu-
lar of all the caverns. It is oval, about sixty feet long, and
forty broad; the walls rise in a more regularly vaulted form
than in any of the others ; the roof was beyond the eye. The
walls are coated with stalactite; but, excepting this, nature
has been very sparing of her ornaments. The floor has been
made perfectly smooth. In addition to the stone-seats which
the rock itself supplies, wooden benches have been: disposed
round the circumference, as well as a few rustic chandeliers,
formed of a wooden cross, fixed horizontally on the top of a
pole. Once a-year, on the festival of their patron saint, the
peasantry of Adelsberg, and the neighbourhood, assemble in
this cavern to a ball. Here, many hundred feet beneath the
surface of the earth, and a mile from the light of day, the

rude music of the Carniolian resounds through more magnifi- __

cent halls than were ever built for monarchs. The flame of
the uncouth chandeliers is reflected from the stalactite walls
in a blaze of ever-changing light; and, amid its dancing re-
fulgence, the village swains, and village beauties, wheel round
in the waltz, as if the dreams of the Rosicrucians had at length
found their fulfilment, and Gnomes and Kobolds really lived
and revelled in the bowels of our globe.—Russel’s Tour in Ger-

many.

2. Account of the Subterraneous Sounds heard at Nakous in
Arabia Petrea. By M. Sretzey.

In our last Number, we gave a short account by Mr Gray of
Oxford, of these singular sounds, and made a reference to the
account given of them by Mr Seetzen; but, as the description
of the same phenomenon by this last traveller, is very inte-
resting, we think it will be agreeable to our readers to be put
in possession of it.

*‘ Near Tor is a mountain, which, in a physical point of
view, is perhaps one of the most remarkable, not only in Ara-
bia Petrzea, but in the whole world. It is called El Nakous,
and is situated three leagues to the north of Tor. No Euro-
_ pean traveller has yet visited it. For two years I have heard it
spoken of by the Greeks, first at the convent of Sinai, and af-
terwards at Suez, but the account which was given me of it

>
52 Contributions to Physical Geography.

was accompanied with so many fabulous recitals, that I was led
to suppose it an invention of the merchants. When I obtain-
ed farther information at Wody el Nachel, it not only confirms
ed these first accounts, but added to them new prodigies,
Under the mountain there existed a Greek convent ; and the
subterranean noise was that of the Nakous, that.is, the call. to
prayers. (Nakous is a sort of long narrow rule, suspended
in a horizontal position, which the priest strikes in time with
a hammer, and the sound of which is heard at a distance.
There are only a few places in the East where the Chris-
tians are permitted to have clocks.) It was also stated, that
a Greek, who had been dead for some time, had seen. the
mountain open, and had descended into the subterranean
convent, where he found fine gardens, and delicious water ;
and in order to give proof of his descent, he had brought to
the upper world some fragments of consecrated bread which
he had received.

«* Accompanied by a Greek Christian, and some Bedouins, I
set off on the 17th June at five o'clock in the morning.
After a quarter of an hour’s walking, we reached the foot of
a majestic rock of hard sandstone. The mountain was quite
bare, and entirely composed of it. I found inscribed upon it
several Greek and Arabic names, and also some Koptic cha-
racters, which showed that this place had been visited for cen-
turies. At noon we reached the part of these mountains called
Nakous. There, at the foot of the ridge, we beheld an iso-
lated peaked rock. . Upon two sides this,mountain presented
two surfaces, so inclined, that the white and slightly adhering
sand which covers it scarcely supports itself, and slides down
with the smallest motion, or when the burning rays of the
sun completes the destruction of its feeble cohesion. These
two sandy declivities are about 150 feet high. They unite
behind the insulated rock, and forming an acute angle, they
are covered, like the adjacent surfaces, in steep rocks, which
are mostly composed of a white and friable freestone. _-

“ The first sound was heard at an hour and a quarter after
noon. We climbed with great difficulty as far. as the sandy
declivity, a height of seventy or eighty feet, and we stopped

Account of the Granite Quarries at Assuan. 53

_under the rocks where the pilgrims are in 1 the habit of placing
themselves to listen.

** In climbing, I heard the sound from beneath my knees,
and this made me think that the sliding of the sand was the
cause, and not the effect of the sonorous motion. At three
o’clock the sound was heard louder, and it lasted six minutes,
when, having ceased for ten minutes, it began again. It ap-
peared to me to have the greatest analogy to the humming top;
it rose and fell like the sound of an Eolian harp. To ascer-
tain the truth of my discovery, I climbed with the utmost
difficulty to the highest rocks, and I slid down as fast as I
could, and endeavoured, with the help of my hands and feet,
to set the sand in motion.

_ “ This produced.an effect so: great, and the sand in rolling
under me made so loud a noise, that the earth seemed to tremble,
and I should certainly have been afraid, had I been ignorant
of the cause.

.. * But how can the motion of the sand produce so striking an
effect, and which is, I believe, observed nowhere else? Does.
the rolling layer of sand act like the fiddle-bow, which, on be-
ing rubbed upon a plate of glass, raises and distributes into
determinate figures the dust with which the plate is covered ?
Does the adherent and fixed layer of sand perform here the
part of the plate of glass, and the neighbouring rocks that of
the sounding body? Philosophers must decide this. My
journal contains a more detailed account of this phenomenon,
and a rough draught of the rocks of Nakous. I have in my
mineralogical collection specimens of the sandstone, as_ well
as the moveable sand which is found at this place.”—Monat-
liche Correspondenz, October 1812, p. 393.

3. Account of the Granite Quarries at Assuan. By the Honour-
able C. L. Insy, and James Mancuies, Esq. Commanders
in the Navy.

‘¢ On our arrival at Assuan, we proceeded to visit the ancient
granite quarries in the neighbourhood. Our principal. object
was to examine the column which is there, and which has an
inscription in Latin not devoid of interest. Our guide lost
his way at first, and took us to another part of the quarry,

°
54 Coniributions to Physical Geography.

where we found an immense granite basin, seventeen feet long;
by seven wide, and three deep. It is hewn out in the rough,
and is narrower at the bottom than the top; we were at a
loss to imagine for what purpose’ such an immense basin
could be intended, unless it was for a bath. ’ The’whole of
this quarry was highly interesting ; ‘here we had an opportu
nity of noticing the manner in which the ancients used to cut
the prodigious masses which one meets with throughout Egypt.
It appears that, when they wanted to detach a mass, they cut
niches in a right line throughout the piece they intended re-
moving; these niches were about two feet apart, five or six
inches long, and about three deep, by two and a half broad.
As soon as they were finished the block was separated by
some violent blow or concussion. We met im all directions
specimens of the progress of their work; some masses were
but half-detached, others wholly separated; here we saw an
obelisk in the rough, and there a column; the whole was an
interesting scene. ‘The ancient road regularly paved with gra-
nite is still plainly to be seen, though the sand covers a great
part; in the vacancies between the hills are causeways, some
of considerable length, to connect the elevated parts one with
the other, and thus keep a communication open with the seve-
ral quarries, all these roads leading to two principal ones,
which conduct to Assuan. We now searched for the column
with the inscriptions, and at last found it. The pillar is small,
not being more than ten feet in length, by about three feet
diameter; the inscription is tolerably perfect. An Arab, ac-
quainted with Mr Belzoni, told him of it, and it was seen for
the first time by a traveller last year. As Mr B. had copied
the writing, we did not think it worth while to copy it. Its
purport is as follows:—‘ To Jupiter Ammon, Kneephis
Bona, (the good spirit,) and to Juno the Queen, under whose
protection is this mountain, in which were discovered nine
quarries near Philze, during the happy age of the Roman Em-
pire, under the most pious Emperors Severus and Caracalla,
and — and Julia Domna his august mother; and
a vast number of statues, and large columns, were taken out
of these quarries by Aquila, Prefect of Egypt. ‘ Cura ma-
gens opera,’ which Mr Salt interprets, * under his directions

Account of Hot Springs in the Himalaya. 55

Aurelius Helogabalus ordered this stone to be erected in the
calends of March.’ The vacant space before J ulia Domna
the mother; is where the name of ‘ Geta, the other brother,
was erased ; Caracalla having murdered him, ordered his name
to be blotted out of every inscription where it was inserted.
Mr Salt tells us that there is one instance of this at Rome,
and he has met another on an inscription discovered at the
late excavation of the Sphinx. I should like to have sent
the original Latin to you, but as it was not to be got, I must -
be content with what I have. You will observe the inscrip-
tion says, that the Romans discovered the nine quarries, 10%
that they made them. One must therefore infer that they
were first worked by the Egyptians; and as they were so nu-
merous, and of such magnitude, they must have been of great
consequence, and doubtless one of the most remote antiquity.
I confess I was much perplexed to think how the Egyptians
could have cut, hollowed out, and polished such immense
blocks of the hardest stone, without the use of iron, a metal
which they are said to be wholly ignorant of ; the niches there-
fore, which I mentioned above, if not with iron, must have
been cut with brass. '

4, Account of Hot Springs, and Volcanic Appearances in the
Himalaya Mountains.

In the eighth Number of this Journal, p. 209, we pub-
lished a very interesting account of the appearance of a vol-
cano in the Himalaya mountains, transmitted to us by a cor-
respondent in India. In confirmation of this curious fact, he
has sent us the following extract of a report on Kemaons,
by the Commissioner Mr Traill.

“< If volcanic appearances are ever discovered, it will no
doubt be im the Himalaya range. A few hot springs are to
be met with in the passes through it. The heat of them
vary. One at Buddreenaut, where it issues from the ground,
shows a heat of 138° of Fahrenheit.

The inhabitants residing at the base of the range in ques-
tion state that smoke is occasionally seen to rise from the in-
terior. ‘The frequent occurrence of earthquakes renders it
possible that some volcano is situated there; but the inacces-

-
56 Contributions to Physical Geography.

sible nature of the interior of the Himalaya must ever render
it impossible to ascertain its existence by actual inspection.

5. Account of the Brahma Kund.* By Carraix Brprorp. )

‘After some ineffectual attempts to open a passage to the
supposed head of the river, the Deo Panee, or Brahma Kund.
the divine water, or well of Brahma, which it was known was
not remote, and after some unsuccessful efforts to reach the
villages, the smoke of which was perceptible on the neigh-
bouring ‘hills, a communication was at last effected with the
Meeseemees of Dillee, a village about a day’s journey from the
left bank, as well as with the Gaum or Tikla, the head man
of the Brahma Kund village, in whose company a. visit was
paid to the reservoir on the 4th of April. This celebrated re-
servoir is on the left bank of the river: it is formed by a pro-
jecting rock, which runs up the river nearly parallel to the
bank, and forms a good sized pool, that receives two or three
small rills from the hills immediately above it. When seen
from the land side, by which it is approached, the rock has
much the appearance of an old Gothic ruin, and a chasm about
half way up, which resembles a carved window, assists the si-
militude. At the foot of the rock is a rude stone seat; the
ascent is-narrow and choked with jungle: half way up is
another kind of seat, in a niche or fissure, where offerings are
made ; still higher up, from a tabular ledge of the rock, a fine
view is obtained of the Kund, the river and the neighbouring
hills : Access to the summit, which resembles Gothic pinnacles
and: spires, is utterly impracticable: the summit is. called the
Deo Baree, or dwelling of the deity. From the rock the de-
scent leads across a kind of glen, in the bottom of which is the
large reservoir, to the opposite mainland, in the ascent of
which is a small reservoir. about three feet: in diameter, which
is fed by a rill of beautifully clear water, and: then pours its
surplus into its more extensive neighbour below. . The large
Kund is about seventy feet long, by thirty feet wide.» Be-
sides Brahma Kund and Deo Panee, the place is also termed
Purbut Kathar, in allusion to the legend of Parasurama hav-

* See this Journal, No. viii. p- 302. It is now certain that this reser-
voir is not the origin of the Bramapooter. enn

Captain Low’s Notice of the Phoonga Caves in Junk Ceylon. 5%

ing opened a passage for the Brahmaputra, through the hills,
with a blow of his Kathar or axe. “The offerings made at
this holy spot are very miscellaneous, and many of them very
incompatible with the ordinary Hindu belief, as fowls and
cows. Whatever, indeed, is eaten by the minister, is suppos-
ed acceptable to the deity, and the Meeseemees of this part of
the country have no prejudices in the article of food, eating
beef and pork, and every variety of flesh and fowl. \The vi-
sitors to the reservoir do not seem to be numerous or opulent.

6. Notice of the Phoonga Caves in Junk Ceylon. By Car-

TAIN Low.

The pyramidal rocks of Phoonga occupy a line of about
ten miles, running nearly north and south—the northern ex-
tremity lies behind the town of Phoonga on the Peninsula ;
the southern stops about four miles from the sea shore. They
rise from the sea perpendicularly to various heights between
200 and 500 feet. ‘The most majestic present a columnar ap-
pearance at a distance, but, on approaching them, this ap-
pearance is found owing to the decomposition of the most fria-
ble parts, and the alternate reddish, grey, or bluish and white
stripes left upon the surface, by the water which has filtrated
through the rock, depositing such substances as it held in so-
lution. !

About six feet above high water mark runs a series of na-
tural excavations: the roof is about ten feet high, supported
by stalactitic columns of various shapes and dimensions. The
sides and compartments of the grottoes are of similar forma~
tion. Adjoining to the range of excavations is a rock, which
is completely perforated, and it forms a stately and elegant
arch, about twenty feet high, from the roof of which depend
clusters of stalactites of the most massive and grotesque de-
scription. The Phoonga rocksare evidently connected with those
of ‘Trang, and as similar formations occur in Martaban, it seems
likely that the chain extended formerly up to that province;
In 'Tavai, however, granite and schistus are predominant.

Specimens of the stalactites, and other specimens of carbo-
nate of lime from these caves, have been presented by Captain
Low to the Museum of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta.

ee
58 . Contributions to Physical Geography.

7. Notice of the Cavern of the Sagat Rock, upon the Sagat
Strait of the Sanloon or main river of Martaban. »
The squall abating, we pushed up past the strait, which is
formed by the high rock Sagatawng on the west, and Krook-
lataung on the east. The river being confined rushes with
impetuosity, and forms many eddies, especially on the west
side, where it is turned off by the foot of the Sagatrock. An
appearance of an inscription in large characters, on the face of
the rock, offered itself to notice, but on landing it was found
to arise from a number of small baked and partially gilded
earthen images, so arranged in tables and niches’ as to look
like letters: several small Pagodas crown those sharp spires of
the rock which overhang the bed of the river, and greatly add
to the grandeur of the approach to this curious place.
- The disappointment in not finding any inscription upon the
Sagat rock was, in some measure, compensated by the disco-
very of a cave to the left of the tables, containing the diminu-—
tive gods alluded to. It is two hundred and forty feet in
depth, by an average breadth of fifty feet, and the height may
be rated throughout from twenty-five to thirty feet. It forms
a sort of natural arch, quite unsupported by pillars. The —
rock is composed of limestone in various stages, and the cave
has been formed by the gradual decay of the softest part. It
was found to be dry, but the interior quite imsupportable
above a minute, owing to the want of a free circulation of air,
and to the smell arising from the dung of the large bats and
vampires which here shelter themselves, and which lies nearly
twelve inches thick under foot. | '
Many massive concretions of sparry carbonate of lime were
observed in the crevices of the rock, or attached to the sides
of the cave. The Booddhists of Martaban had consecrated.
this cave to their religion previous to their falling under the
Burman yoke. Many marble images, plain and gilded, and
in good preservation, stand in rows on the same places on
which they had been arranged perhaps several centuries since,
and several wooden ones, quite decayed by time, lay scattered
about. Two rather colossal images of the great teacher, Bud-
dha, guard the entrance ; that on the right is of brick, cover-
ed with stucco, and is in a sitting attitude with the legs cros-

Mr Pettingall on the Floating Island of Newbury Port. 59

sed. In this cave we find no marks of the rude yet grand
conceptions which produced the sculptures to. be found scat-
tered over India; instead of drawing forth, with a bold hand,
the statue from the living marble, those who dedicated this
cave filled it with gaudily painted and gilded alabaster images,
which do not harmonize with the bold outline of the rock, or
the gloomy grandeur of the interior. In this country no flut-
ed columns or graceful pillars adorn the plain, or add digni-
ty to the approach to the shrine of the Burman Idol.

8. Account of the Floating Island of Newbury Port. By Mr
Amos Pertincatt Jun. From Dr Silliman’s Journal, No.
xxy. p. 122,

That a few floating reeds, upon a pond, should collect. to-
gether, and adhere with sufficient compactness to sustain small
pieces of earth and decayed shrubs and plants, and thereby
exhibit small clumps of vegetables moving on the water, is not
surprising ; but that islands of any magnitude should be found.
in this vagrant state, has ever been considered a subject of
considerable curiosity. Passing over the mythological fiction
of the floating Delos, as founded upon questionable evidence,
and the island of Chemmis, with those called the Cyanean,
reported as floating, by the less doubtful testimony of Hero-
dotus, the first of which history gives a minute and circum-
stantial account, are those in Lake Vadimon, near Rome, (now
called Lago de Bassanello,) described by Pliny major and Se-
neca. Pliny the younger, in the 20th Letter of his 8th Book,
gives a very interesting description of the same, in which he
mentions the circumstance of sheep, which, while grazing, im-.
perceptibly fell upon some of these islands, lying on the bor-.
ders of the lake,-and were carried off by the wind, and borne
to the opposite shore. It is also asserted by Boethius, that in
Loch Lomond there were floating islands upon which cattle
graze. A few small ones, of the same description, are said to.
exist in a lake in the province of Honduras in America.

The island which I am about to describe is situated near-
ly one mile south of the market-house in Newburyport, about
two stones’ cast from what is called Old-Town meeting-house,
in a pond in the rear of the adjoining burying-ground. Its
length averages about 140 feet, and its breadth 120, contain-

>
60 Dr F. Hamilton’s Account of the Vanderon Monkey.

ing nearly half an acre. Its surface is thickly studded with
dog-wood, although not a bush of it is found beyond the li+
mits of the island, as though it were an enemy to the water
that surrounds it. There are upon it six large trees, two of
which measure in girth three feet and upwards, besides seves
ral clusters of willow trees of small growth. These rise and
fall with the island. The pond is usually dry during the
summer months, and at these seasons the island has been found
so low that you would descend, perceptibly, in passing to it
from the dry bed of the pond. I visited it yesterday, and
found it elevated about eighteen inches above the level of the
pond’s bottom, owing to the rains that have recently fallen.
The customary rise of the pond in the fall and spring is
about eight feet, although it has been known to rise twelve :
the island preserves the same elevation above the surface of
the water in the different periods of its rise. I have been told
to-day, by a man of unequivocal veracity, that he has forced
a pole, ten feet in length, down through the centre of the isl-
and, and with this, as far as he could extend it with his arm,
has been unable to meet with a solid and permanent bottom.
He also informed me, that, when the pond was very high, these
large trees standing upon the margin of the island overhang
the water with considerable obliquity, owing, probably, to the
roots being brought to a great degree of tension, and prevent~
ing the exterior part of the island from rising with the centre:
It is not entirely detached from the bed of the pond, but seems
to be a kind of a stratum peeled off from the solid parts below.
In passing across its surface, the whole island is considerably
agitated, and presents a waving appearance, like the sea; you
are toiling continually to ascend, as though it were a surface
of flexible ice.

Art. [X.—WNotice respecting the Vanderon Monkey, or the
Guenon a face pourpre of Buffon. By Francis Hamit-
ton, M. D.. F.R.S. and F. A.S.. Lond. and Edm. Com-
municated by the Author. |

Tt most common monkey in the vicinity of Point du Galle
in Ceylon, and therefore called Vanderon, seems to be that

1]

Mr King’s description of a New Safety-Tube. 6]

called Guenon a face pourpre by Buffon; but the name is
highly improper, as the purple of the faceis merely accidental,
“and the common colour of the face, hands, and ears, or naked
parts is black. The. proper distinguishing mark of the spe-
cies is a triangular white beard, pointed towards the chin, and
turned up over each eye towards the temple. So far as I ob-
served, the animal has no cheek-pouches, at least I have seen
it often eating, without putting anything into its, pouches, if
it has any. ‘The crown of the head is brown; the remainder
of the hair is grey, consisting of black and white, but in general
the black is by far the most predominant, except on the rump,
buttocks, and tail, which are whitish. The tail is consider-
ably longer than the body and head, or than the hinder legs.
It is cylindrical, and, although the hair towards the point is
very long,sit is so thin that it does not form a tuft, like that
at the end of a cow’s tail, although such is said to be the case
in the animal described by Buffon. The place, however,
where the animal is found, and the name, leave no room to
doubt that the animals are the same. It is a mild inoffensive
creature, not at all so restless and mischievous as monkies usu-
ally are; and more resembles in its manners the black long-
armed ape. It is very impatient of cold.

Pornt DE GALLE,
April 3, 1815.

Art. X.—Description of a New Safety-Tube for Chemical
Apparatus. By James Kine, obat Communicated by
the Author.

Sig,
Tux straight safety-tube commonly employed in Woolf's ap-
_ paratus, and others of that description, cannot be conyenient-
ly ground air-tight into the bottle, and must necessarily be
luted; and when considerable pressure is required, its length
must be such as to render it very unwieldy. Besides, when it
is placed into the first bottle of the series which is only in-
tended to collect the condensable part of the produet, a quan-
tity of liquid must also be introduced, which, being in the

>
62 Mr King’s description of a New Safety-Tube.

best possible situation to be impregnated with the gas, readily
absorbs it, but is rendered useless by the admixture of foreign
ingredients from the retort. ‘This inconvenience, however, is”
obviated by the safety-tube of Welther, which is also objec:
tionable from its necessarily delicate construction, and its un-
manageable length, even when a moderate degree of pressure
is required. Various plans have from time to time been adopt-
ed. to overcome these inconveniences. ‘The most successful is
that proposed by the late Dr Murray, who suggested the for-
mation of a globe on the long leg of each tube of communica-
tion, a little above their insertion into the bottles. This plan,
too, has its defects. The bent tube cannot with safety be
made to dip among more fluid than is barely sufficient to fill
the small globe on its leg. A greater number of bottles is
therefore necessary to bring the same quantity of liquid in
contact with the gas. There is also considerable waste of the
aeriform fluid in the spaces of the bottles not occupied by the
liquid; an increased number of bottles multiply the luted joints,
and the risk of leakage is consequently augmented. © Hh
By the use of the safety-tube, of which I have sent youa
drawing, any degree of pressure may be applied that the
bottles can resist, and which may be regulated at pleasure
- without altering its length. Neither is it necessary for its ac-
tion that the first bottle contain liquid; the others may be
filled almost completely ; it may be ground with ease air-tight
without lute; it is not liable to derangement; is easily ad-
justed ; allows egress of the gas, when necessary, to prevent
explosion, and ingress of air in the event of a partial vacuum
being formed at the conclusion of the process. Such are the
advantages of this little piece of apparatus, the construction
of which occurred to me some little time ago; and I have
since, on trial, found it very useful. As I have not seen the .
same on record, I now transmit you this notice, which,
through the medium of your widely circulated Journal, may
be of advantage to the manufacturers of muriatic acid, &c. or
to the experimental chemists in Europe. I got it made at the
extensive flint-glass manufactory of Messrs Bailey and Com-
‘pany, Edinburgh, whose facilities for the manufacture of all
glass-articles are the best in Scotland. I ought to have writ-

1

Lieutenant Wilcox’s Survey of the North-east of Assam. 63

ten you this before I left Dundee in September last, being
now on a voyage on board the ship City of Edinburgh for
New South Wales; from thence you may expect to hear
from me. I leave this letter with the British Seieuly who is
kind enough to forward it to you.

A, Plate I. Fig. 2. is a glass tube of the fit of a syphon
the long leg is ground into the neck of the bottle I. Bis a coni-
cal valve opening outwards. C a metallic wire fixed into the
moveable plug, on which the weights D, E, or morey may be
placed, so as to increase the weight of the valve, and thereby
restrain the escape of the gas when a greater pressure is required.
In the short leg of the syphon-shaped tube A is formed a valve
opening inwards. F is a bit of tube introduced tight into the
tube A, which is only intended to preserve the moveable part
of the valve in its proper position. G is another piece of tube
ground air-tight into the tube A, and a space about half an
inch is left between the tube F and G, so as to allow the dise
H to rise and fall. The inner end of the tube G, and the
under side of the disc H, are ground perfectly flat, so that
when they are in close contact the upper orifice of the tube
G is air-tight. 'The upper side of the disc, or the under end
of the tube F, may be natched. It will be seen from ‘this —
arrangement that the advantages mentioned in my letter will
be realized. I am, Sir, your most obedient servant,

JaMEs Kine.
Laying at anchor off the Island of St Jago, one
of the Cape De Verd’s, 15th Nov. 1826.
To Dr Brewster.

—

Arr. XI.—Abstract of the Journal of the Proceedings of Lieu-
tenant Wilcox, now engaged in a Survey of the North-east
of Assam. Communicated by a Correspondent in India.

Lievrenant Witcox proceeded up the Tenga Panee, till,
having passed the Mora, Tenga, Marbar, and Deesovee, he
found the stream reduced in breadth to eight or ten yards,
and the navigation stopped by numerous trees fallen in and
across it. Like all the rivers east of Suddeeya, it abounds in
rapids, and, from the great inclination of its bed, the banks,

°
64 Lieutenant Wilcox’s Survey of the North-east of Assam.

though low, are not liable to inundation. The whole tract:
through which it flows is said to be highly favourable to cul=
tivation, and was in the time of the Deka Rajah thickly
peopled. Particular names are still preserved to each: ane
and strong island.

- Luttuo and Simieu are now the only villages jmniiely
onthe banks of the river, near its source in the hills in a di-
rection south-east from Marbar, Mookh, and Luttoru, Uns
dong and Lissoo, which were removed here from their former
sites, after the Assamese captives were forcibly liberated last
year. » The cultivation is at present insufficient for support 5
and some of the Singfoh chiefs are even reduced to’ the
necessity of guiding the plough with their own hands. &
nearly impenetrable tree jungle extends without interruption.
The soil.is loam with pebbles, Near a low part of the Duedam
Hills, washed by the river, is found a peculiar black clay, use-
ful to potters.

During an excursion to the Meeseemee Hills, I receurad
the information which has enabled me to trace a route to the
“‘ Lama” country.. I remained three days confined by stormy
weather at Thethong, a village of three or four houses, situated
near the crest of a hill, which is climbed with great labour,
and high enough to afford a view of seventy or eighty miles
to the extremity of the vale across the great river.» It:was
my purpose to. visit the Taeen chief’s village (the third on the
route) to gather information, and to examine a hill producing
fine garnets and large cubes of iron pyrites, but I was pre-
vented from proceeding by the heavy rains. . The Meeseemees
sometimes reach ‘l'aeen Gong from Challa in one day, ay, by a
path passing ‘the Brahma Kund, and skirting the rocks on the
river’s edge; but, when carrying a load, they are obliged’ to
make the circuit; and for men of ‘the pane this _ is said
to be too difficult. ~ Bd 1D
; Sitti, on the frontier of the Lama country, is but. eight
days’ journey beyond 'Taeen, and one day on this side of the
point of conflux of the Tulooka and Tulooding, the north
and cast branches forming the Burrumpooter,

Having crossed the river by a cane. suspension-bridge at
Tacen, the worst part of the road is passed, and thence cattle

Lieutenant Wilcox’s Survey of the North-east of Assam. 65

may travel by a circuitous path without difficulty. Bameyab,
the seventh stage by the ordinary road, is on an immense hill,
partly ascended with the aid of ropes. » _

Primhso, a Meeseemee Gam, was my chiefinformant. He
has repeatedly made the journey, and even acquired a respec-
table knowledge of the Thibet language. From his descrip-
tion **‘ Lama Des” is a remote hilly part of a fine plain coun-
_ try, spreading in the north from east to west, studded with
stone built towns, and intersected with rivers, which have their
courses towards other regions. He had travelled farther
than his brother merchants, and had visited the towns here
enumerated, * the list of which I procured for comparison
with Du Halde’s maps. ‘The Taishoo, of less magnitude than
the Burrampooter, is the largest river he had seen ; its course
he knew nothing of. The Tulooka branch of the Burram-
pooter is the smaller, and its water is impure; it skirts the
hills, which run off northward, and its banks are thinly
peopled. The Talooding has villages on both banks, its
source is In a snowy mountain, (the Khana Deba’s country,)
whence on the opposite side issues the Irrawaddy.

The Meeseemees purchase large copper vessels, pipes for
smoking, straight swords, dyed woollens, beads, rock-salt, and
chowr-tailed cows, for which they give musk, various’ skins,
a bitter medicinal root, some ivory, &c. They formerly took
slaves captured in Assam. The Jamees (Chinese) trade with
the Lamas, carrying away grain on horses. On the smoking-
pipes I have observed the Chinese character neatly engraved.
The swords and beads are probably also manufactured by
them. ‘The houses of the Meeseemee villages which I visited
are built longitudinally on the face of the hill, the rafters of
the floor resting on the rock, and having their outer ends sup-

* Singoo, Keewang, Khra, Dong,
Seme, Wowkoo Kumthong, Mischa,
Timtsoam, Mowgo, Thaling, Kinge,
Sapoeon, Hulloo, Tchillee, Waloong,
Munchachooa, — Roee, Reemah, Praka,
Gri, | Utchasakoo, Tungoo, Gulle, —
thi, Wouriresa, Sumsee,
Tailung, Choutseejung, Kooning,

VOL. VIt. NO. 1, JuLY 1827. ¥

66 Lieutenant Wilcox’s Survey of the Nosthiesst of Assam.

ported on posts, thus forming a spacious sind floor, which
is given up to hogs and fowls.

The Meeseemees feed on Indian corn, and a rho grain
termed bubissia ; they also cultivate in small quantities a fine
white rice. ‘Chey wear a thick coarse cloth of cotton,. but
have no idea of either shaping, or sewing together a garment;
and all their better articles of clothing are from Thibet or
from Assam.

They work rudely in iron and brass. They are excessively
dirty, not being at all in the habit, I understood, of using _
water for ablution.

The men of rank (wealth) have stalled up for eating the
chowr-tailed ox of Thibet, their own hill cattle Mithoous, hogs,
and small cattle of Assam, procured in barter for copper.
Young dogs are also esteemed. A continual round of feasting
is kept up by the chiefs, each slaying a beast every ten or
twelve days, and inviting his neighbours. They blacken, and
hang in rows to ornament the interior of their houses, the
skulls of those slain in battle ; and on the death of the head of
a family, these trophies of his last wealth are heaped upon his
grave, and enclosed in with stakes.

A deep soil covered the hill, and the strata could not be ob-
served. I found fragments of gneiss near the summit; and —
in the water-ways and nullahs, below a variety of standstones,
quartz, rock, and a porphyry, having felspar imbedded. The
hills are clothed with noble forest trees and some brushwood.

It is said that the fir is found in plenty on the Deebong,
also on the Langtan range. I have not met with it.

The south-eastern portion of the Langtan snowy moun-
tains is occasionally visible from Suddeeya ; and I have taken
bearings on some of the peaks, but their immense distance
and their direction preclude the possibility of ascertaining
their exact position by means of any base hitherto measured.
After the south-easterly bend, in which the range nearly
reaches the Irrawaddy, it turns again to the south, and is the
Koongmoongboom of the Singfohs, running paral with that
river nearly to Rhanmoh.

Bor Khamtee is a province of Moonkong, (Magnon,) and,
while governed by a native Rajah, pays tribute to the Burh-

Lieutenant Wilcox’s Survey of the North-east of Assam. 67

man Phokun at that place. It is accessible from the south by
the banks of the Irrawaddy, but the river cannot be navigat-
ed so high. A range of snowy mountains divides it on the
north from the Lamas; on the east from part of China. The
Khunoong Meeseemees, inhabitants of the range, trade with
both countries. They find large quantities of silver in the
north-east, and iron in the south-east parts of their mountains.

The Khunoongs manufacture the (“ reer: das, held
here in high estimation.

Some very remarkable sculpture is spoken of as existing on
the banks of the Irrawaddy, partly immersed in the water.
It consists of a cow and calf, and a canoe, too-well executed
to be attributed even to the Chinese, who are considered great
artists.

Tradition says the Khamtees, as well as se ancient con-
querors of Assam, are from that part of Sham, eitnated east,
or south-east of Moguon.

I have little information to throw light on the nature of the
country north-east beyond the snowy ranges, but conjecture
that the distance to the Lama country is rather less in that
direction than by the route of the Burumpooter. I under-
stand that Meeseemees, situated.on the heads of the Deebong,
traffic with that country, as well as other tribes of their nu-

‘merous and scattered race on the left bank of the Deehong.
| With regard to the source of this great branch of the Lobit,
I have lately received information from the Bor Abors, con-
fidently given, that it is from the west, and that a-lake
through, or from which it issues gives rise to the Sodbunshee-
ree also. It is nevertheless asserted, that, in the north-wester-
ly route to the Lama country, the Deehong is crossed from
east to west at the twelfth stage and left.

I have received also from the Abors a singular account of
an immense river running from east to west, and having no
connection with the Deebong. It is luckily distant but five days’
journey from their first villages ; and therefore, if I am success-
ful in negotiating with them, the foundation of this story may
be traced ; but it appears to me a doubtful version of a vague
tale current amongst the Assamese, which is frequently told
with many circumstances of wonder and exaggeration, of a

_
68 Earl of Minto’s Barometrical Measurement

broad river rolling with an impetuous course beyond the
mountains north of the whole Abor and Meeseemee countries,
and named the Sree Lohit ; but my Meeseemee informants and
the Laory Gohoyn, a Khamtee of extensive acquaintance with
their chiefs and knowledge of their traditions, have not pre-
tended that any such river exists. The Sree Lohit is only
known in Assam as a river crossed by the descendants of
Koonling and Koonlace in their progress to assume the sove-
reignty of Assam, near the Moongree Moongram Hills, which
are always placed i in the direction of, or rather beyond Ma-
geron. It is probably the Irrawaddy.

We cannot refuse credit to the assertion of both Khamtees
and Meeseemees, that the Irrawaddy rises in the neighbour-
hood of the heads of the Burrumpooter.

I am not aware whether it is the opinion of the Pundits of
Hindoostan, that the Burrumpooter has its rise in the Lake
- Munsorowar, but having had the Shastra Trita Koomoodee
examined, I find it therein stated, that the Dikurubakhinee,
or copper temple east of Suddeeya, is on its north bank.

On the 29th March, I took with great care a section of the
Burrumpooter opposite the station of Suddeeya, which gave
the discharge 33,900 feet per second. On the following day
I took with equal care a section of the great river below the
junction, considering that accuracy would be more easily at-
tainable in a convenient spot here, than by attempting to
measure the several rapid streams of the Deebong. The result
was a discharge of 120,200 feet per second, deducting the
value of the Burrumpooter, and 12,000 feet assumed as the
outside discharge of the Deebong, we have 74,800 per se-
cond for the discharge of the large branch. The river had
risen at the time a few feet above the level of the cold season.

Art. XII.—Notice of the Barometrical Measurements of
Vesuvius, and the New Cone which was formed in the
Eruption of February 1822, taken by the Ricut Hon.
the Ear of Minto.

Tue recent changes which have taken place in the form and
altitude of Mount Vesuvius, and the importance which is now

of Vesuvius, and the New Cone formed in 1822. 69

attached by the philosophical geologist to the study of the
volcanic phenomena, give a peculiar value to accurate deter-
minations of the height of this mteresting mountain.

, The formation of a new cone no less than 200 feet high in
the eruption of February 1822 is a most remarkable fact in
the natural history of this mountain; and as it was oy
carried away by the eruption in October of the same year, *
it is fortunate for science that the particulars respecting its
position and its altitude have been so well ascertained.

Under these circumstances, our readers cannot fail to par-
take in our gratification in perusing the following account of
the barometrical observations made by the Earl of Minto,
which he has, at our request, permitted us to use.

Barometrical Measurement of Vesuvius, 17th March 1822.

H. M. Station. B. De
A. M- i Inch.
10 30 Naples, in my room, 21 feet above
the sea, - - 30.554 16°.6 14°.5
P.M. ;
1 30 Hermitage of St Salvadore on Ve-
suvius, - - 28.436 13 .5 11.6
4 20 43 feet below the old Palo summit ;
of Vesuvius, - 26.405 9.1 8.
5 35 Hermitage of St Salvadore on Ve-
suvius, 28.435 11.6 11 .4
6 Hermitage of St Said on Ve-
suvius, > 28.433 11. 10.5
9 15 Naples, in my room, 21 feet above
the sea, ie . 30.524 16 .6 12 .1>

The above observations were made with an excellent baro-
meter of old Cary’s. On the same day I measured the new
cone formed by the eruption of February 1822. But on ac-
count of the intense heat and acid exhalations from the crater,
I could not venture to employ the same instrument, and was
obliged to use an Englefield barometer, made by Gourdon of

* This eruption blew the whole summit of the mountain into the air,
and replaced the convex plane which formed that summit, by a vast chasm
or crater, nearly a mile in diameter, and 800 feet deep. See p. 14.

70 Earl of Minto’s Barometrical Measurement

Geneva, which gave the following observations. Its division
is also in English inches and decimals. , ;
| | B A De

P. M- Inch.
8 30 Edge of the crater from whence the

lava flowed in the eruption 1822, 26.424 16°.2 8°.5

Summit of the new cone formed by __ |
: that eruption, - «26.290 19, 5S. 5
4 Four feet below the old Palo summit, 26.476 17. 8.

410 Four feet below the old Palo summit, 26.440 9. 8

N. B. This barometer of Gourdon’s requires that a correc-
tion of -. should be added to the differences, or to the re-
sults Balolarel: the capacity of the tube being to that of the
cistern as 1 to 53.

B — barometer in English inches and decimals.

A = temperature of mercury, centigrade.

D = temperature of air, centigrade.

Daniel’s hygrometer observed at Naplesat 10h. 90m. a.m.
gave temperature of air = 58° Fahrenheit. Dewpoint = dca
Fahrenheit. :

17th March 1822 continued.

Adie’s Sympiezometer observed at Naples.

h. m. h. m. h. m. h.. m. oy ae .
Atl0 0 a.m. 11 204.m. 1 20r.m.6 52.m. 100 Pm.
30.73 30.70 30.66 30.68 > 30.66.

17th March.

Temperature of the air at Naples at 1b. 20 m. r. m. = 179.7
centigrade.

13th April 1822.
Hour.
h m. B. A. D.
AM. ach.
7 25 Naples, at my house, twerify-one
feet above the sea, - 30.200 179.7
'. 8 80 Naples, do. do. 80.202 18 8 17°.
10 40 Portici, three feet above the sed, 90.246 24.5 1718 |
10 50 Portici, do. do. 80.238 21 6 17.8
P. M-

12 45 Hermitage of St Salvadore on Ve-
suvius, viii 28173 18 6 17.3

of Vesworns, and the New Cone Sormed in 1822 71
P.M. 7 B. A. D.
Inch.
2 40 Three feet below the old Palo sum- »

mit of Vesuvius, - 26.198 16°.8 13°.3
3 15 Do. do. do. 26.190 16 .8*13.
3 35 Do. do. do. 26.187 15 .8 12.8
4 45 Do. do. do. 26.175 139. 11 .6
5 55 Hermitage of St Salvadore on Ve-
suvius, = i 28.1538 17. 16.2
9 30 Naples, at my house, twenty-one
feet above the sea, - 30.192 18 .8 16.5
10 30 Naples, do. do. 30.191 18.5 16.
11 45 Naples, do. do. 30.193 18.

Daniel’s hygrometer observed at Naples at 8h. 30 m. a. .
gave temperature of air = 62.8. Dew-point = 50.

Sympiezometer and Thermometer observed at Naples.

h. m. hm hm. hm. h.m. h. m.
Hour, = - 70am. 830 925 110 65Pr.m. 10 30
Sympiezometer, 30.34 30.36 30.38 30.36 30.34 30.35
Thermometer, | 62.8 64. 68. 68. 61.

When I was formerly at Naples in 1817, what I call the
Old Palo Summit was the most elevated part of the great cone
of Vesuvius, upon which a post had been erected, from whence
it derived its name of Palo. Upon my return in 1822, I
found this summit unchanged, and the pile of stones in
which the post had been planted remained as I had seen it in
1817. But it was no longer the highest part of the moun-
tain, the late eruptions having raised a cone of greater height
by its side. As the Palo, however, appeared less liable to
change than any other part of the summit of the great cone,
and also because the soil there was cool, and the situation con-
venient, I selected it for my upper station, thinking, that, if
the elevation of the Palo summit above the sea was accurately
known, we should have obtained a fixed point, to which the
frequent changes in its neighbourhood could easily be re.
ferred.

The summit of the new cone, the height of which above

* The temperature of the mercury is uncertain in this observation.

72 Earl of Minto’s Measurement of Vesuvius.

the Palo I measured on the 17th March, was a very narrow
ridge, scarcely affording us sufficient footing to stand upon,
being all that remained of a small cone thrown up by the
eruption of February 1822, immediately over the crater from
which the lava issued on that occasion; for in that eruption
the lava did not burst through the side, but overflowed from
the crater itself.
The following are the heights as estimated by me :-—

Feet.
The Hermitage of St Salvadore above the sea, - 1963
Palo summit of Vesuvius above the Hermitage, - 2000 ©

Palo summit of Vesuvius above the sea, -" <2 8968 —
N:B.—This was the height of Vesuvius above the sea
in 1817.

Edge of the crater from whence the lava flowed in Fe-

‘bruary 1822, above the Palo summit, - 45
Summit of the New Cone, or nda above the edge of: the
crater, . ~ 8 - - 157

Highest point of Vesuvius in March and Agel 1822, 4.165
above the sea, - - ai
The mountain had therefore added 202 feet to its height

since I had seen itin 1817. But, asa great part of the ridge

which I have called the New Cone was composed of loose
materials, I have no doubt that it must have crumbled down

considerably since I measured it in 1822.

‘In 1817 I also made two barometrical measurements’ of
Vesuvius in company with the late Mr Playfair and his
nephew ; but as our observations were only made in ascend-
ing, and from various accidents could not be repeated in our
descent, I have not referred to them, although they agree
within a few feet with these observations of 1822, which were
made under much more favourable circumstances, and with
every attention to insure their accuracy. |

Minto, 6th April 1827.

M. Peron on the Habits of the Sea Elephant. 73

Arr. XIII.—Account of the Habits of the Sea Elephant. *
By M. Peron.

Kine’s Island abounds with sea elephants, (Phoca probosci-
dea, ) particularly a bay where the vessel Le Geographe cast an-
chor, and which is called the Bay of Elephants. ‘This gigantic
animal is from twenty to twenty-five, and even thirty feet in
length, and fifteen and eighteen feet in circumference. The
male is distinguished by a prolongation of the nostril, which
is pendulous and flat when in a state of repose; but when the
animal is irritated, it assumes a tubular form when it wishes
to attack or to defend. ‘The length of this organ is about one
foot. ‘These animals are known only in the southern hemi-
sphere, where they inhabit a zone of 20° from 35° to 55° of
latitude. Equally averse to heat and to cold in summer and
winter, they emigrate to those countries where the temperature
suits them. They move in large herds, and frequent particu-
lar seas in preference to others of the same latitude and tem-
perature; and there are many extensive shores where they are
perfectly unknown. In the middle of June they leave the
south, and swim to the north. It is then that they resort to
King’s Island. ‘* About a month after their arrival the fe-
males begin to bring forth their young. Assembled altoge-
ther upon a particular point of the sea-shore, they are sur-
rounded by the males, who do not allow them to return again
to the sea, nor do the males themselves return to it not only
when the females are delivered of their young, but even during
the whole period of the suckling. Whenever the mothers at-
tempt to leave their young ones, the males bite them, and
force them back. The time of their delivery does not last
more than five or six minutes, during which the females ap-
pear to suffer a great deal, and at certain times they cry in the
most dismal manner. . During this painful operation the males,
extended all round them, look on with perfect indifference.”
The suckling, which lasts seven or eight weeks, is a period

* From an Analysis of Freycinet’s “‘ Voyage de Decouverte aux terres ~
Australes, from 1800—1804,” in the Revue Enyclopedique for January
1827, a periodical work of great merit, which cannot be too strongly re-
commended.

74 M, Peron om the Habits of the Sea Elephant.

of fasting: both for father and mother. The growth of the
nursling is very rapid, and is promoted entirely at the ex-
pence of the mother, who visibly grows leaner. “ They
have even been seen to die, but it is difficult to say whe-
ther they had sunk from exhaustion, or some particular ill-
ness had caused their deaths.” When the young ones ap-
pear strong enough they lead them to the sea. The herd
swim in regular order, and if any little one lingers behind, it
is immediately seized, and bit, and brought back to its family.
This exercise continues for three weeks, during which time
the males and the females recruit their strength which had
been exhausted by their long abstinence ; the little ones grow
accustomed to the food which is to support them all their
lives, and the whole family return to the shore.

Then the bloody battles begin between the males disputing
for the possession of the females. All their friendships are
broken, until the conquerors have made their choice, and left
to their rivals the females they have rejected. These fero.
cious amours of the sea elephant do not indicate a high degree
of instinct, although, in their ordinary state, these animals are
of social habits, and live together in large herds, watch in
turn for the common safety, and appear even to be capable
of a sort of education. ‘The cry of the female and of the
young male is something like the bellowing of a vigorous
ox, but in the full grown males the tubular prolongation of
‘the nostril produces such a modulation of the voice, that the
cry of the latter has a great resemblance to the noise which a
man makes when he is gargling. This hoarse and singular
cry is heard at a great distance; it has something wild and
singular in it, and frequently, when in the middle of the tem-
pestuous nights we were awakened out of our sleep by the
confused howlings of great numbers of these colossal animals
which covered the shore in the neighbourhood of our tents,
we could scarcely help feeling a sensation of fear, which no-
thing but the certainty of the real weakness of the animal
could dispel.

Although these animals herd together, they have in no in-
stance been seen to defend one another; probably this arises
from the slowness of their motions, which renders each indi-

M. Duperrey’s Magnetical Observations, &c. 75

_ vidual incapable of resisting an enemy active and provided
with means of defence. ‘The whole species are extremely
gentle; but the females are particularly remarkable for this
quality. They oppose nothing but their tears to the attack
of the hunters, and to the brutality of the males.

The English fishermen calculate that the sea elephants live
about thirty years. They find every year great numbers dead
from old age or disease. The storms frequently dash them
against the rocks. Our naturalists were witness to a wreck of
this sort one night, when Le Geographe lost her anchors and
her sloop, and encountered the greatest perils.

_. Other dangers attend them at the bottom of the sea. Upon
some occasions the fishermen report they have seen them un-
expectedly come from the bosom of the deep, apparently much
frightened; and many of them covered: with enormous wounds.
They lose a great quantity of blood, and. their terror and their
wounds prove evidently that they have been chased by. one,

or several most. formidable enemies. What can these terrible
Bil be? ‘The fishermen unanimously agree that no
known animal could inflict wounds so large and so deep.
They can only suppose that these monsters live far from the
shore, and dwell m the depths of the sea, as they have never
been able to discover the smallest trace of them.

They add, that they have no doubt it is to preserve their
young from these enemies that the trumpet-seal hinders them
with so much anxiety from going far from the shore, or to
dive too deep, as we have often observed.

tt ovens ——_-.—-ss z inthis _—— 1 itis wh a

Art. XI1V.—Magnetical Observations on the Variation and
Dip of the Needle, made during the Voyage of the Coquille
from Toulon to Port Jackson, in 1822, 3, and 4. By M
Durrrrey, Commander of the Expedition. Communicated
by Siz Tuomas Maxpoucatt Briszanr, K.C. B. F. R.S.
London and Edinburgh. (Concluded from No. xii. p. 257.)

Tur following obsérvations on the variation and dip of ‘the
needle were made in the voyage from Bayta to Tahiti, one

76 M. nye Magnetical Observations.

of the Society’s files: from the 24th March to the 2lst April
1823.

Lat. Long. Variation. Dip.
6° 18’ O'S. 83° 25’ 45" W. =: 10° 48’ 30”N.E. — 0° 5143
7 29 54 84 52 21 10 47 42 — 3 60.7
is 8 &2 47 839 45 8 10 0 — 27 36.3
17 36 12 102 8 40 7 6 12 —27 14
17 16 29 105 57 465 6 15 42 —27 46.9
16 51 0 113 23 54 5 23 0 — 27 29.8
16 51 0 122 59 45 5 38 0 —27 35.8
16 52 22 129 37 45 5 50 0 —27 42.7
18 38 41 135 26 16 4 5142 - —g0 196

At Matavai, in the north of the Isle of Tahiti, in May
1823, and in lat. 17° 29’ 35” S. and lat. 149° 30’ 15” W. the va-
riation was 6° 40’ 24 N.E. and the dip —30° 1,8.

At Bozabora, to which the expedition went from Tahiti, the
latitude of the observatory was 16° 30’ 2” S., the long. 151°
47’ 24/’ W. and the variation 6° 21’ 22” N.E. |

In the voyage from Bozabora to Port Praslin, in New Ire-
land, the following observations were taken.

Lat. Long. Variation. Dip.
19° 18’ 0” S. 170° 21' 45” W. 10° 19’ oO” N.E.—37° 1842
22 35 39 176 55 15 8 24 30 —40» 57.5
20 42 0 168 9 45 E. 8 47 0 - —40 45.2
12.3 0 162 50 45 10 21 0 —24 29.7
10 22 0 159 54 45 7 12 0 —25 34.4
7 60 O 154 34 45 7 38 54° —21, 55.9
5 16 40 151 8 45 6 3624 —20 82

At Port Praslin in August 1823, the definitive variation
was 6° 48’ 27” N.E. and the mean dip of all the needles—20°
41’.7. The longitude of the observatory was 147° 8’ 15” W.
and its lat. 4° 50’ 37”.8 S.

The following observations were made in the passage from
Port Praslin to Offak.

Lat. Long. Variation. Dip.
3° 27' 40" S. 146° 13 26” E. 54° O'0".N.E —17° 98/1
s oo 146 26 35 6 120 —17 87.1
1 37 16 135 35 19 2 100 —16 16.6
0 18 0 183 49 45 2 00 —12 41.5
0 4 36N. 181 26 45 1 00 —12 21.1
0 2 30 128 51 46 2 500 —13 50.4

M. Damoiseau on the Remarkable Comet, &c. 7

At Offak, on the north coast of Waigiou, in long. 126° 0’
50” E. and lat. 0° 1’ 59” S. the definitive variation was 1° 1’
44’, and the mean dip — 13° 41’.6 in September 1823.

At Cayeli, on Bouzu, one of the Molucca Isles, in long.
122° 21’ 41” E. and lat. 3° 21/ 8” S. the variation was 0° 31’
48” N.E. and the dip — 20° 8’ 4”.

At Amboyna, one of the Molucca Isles, in October 1823,
and in long. 128° 25/ 43” E. and lat. 3° 41’ 41” S. the varia-
tion was 0° 28/ 3” N. E. and the mean dip — 20° 32.3.

During the passage from Amboyna to Port Jackson, the
following observations were taken.

Lat. Long. Variation. Dip.
13° 30’ 53” S. 108° 23’ 35” E. 10° 0’ N.E. — 37° 53’3
24 34 29 91 18 18 10 — 52 58
46 8 0 136 54 45 10 0 —73 8.2.
43 44 0 146 39 45 10 0 —70 25.7

At Fort Macquarie, in Sydney, New South Wales, in lat.
33° 51’ 41”, the variation was 8° 55’ 57” N. E., and the mean
inclination — 62° 17’.4.. The variation obtained by Sir Thomas
Brisbane’s needle was 9° 8’ 8” N. E. and the mean of the two
9° 2' 2”.5.

M. Duperrey made the following observations on the mag-
netic intensity with a needle five decimetres long.

In September 1823, at Offak, on the north side of Waigiou,
under the equator, the needle performed ten oscillations in
189”.52 of time.

At Port Jackson in January 1824, ten oscillations were
performed in 165”.443.

The same needle observed in March 1823, at Bayta, on
the coast of Peru; and at a small distance from the equator,
gave the same results as at Offak.

Art. XV.—On the Remarkable Comet which revolves within
the Orbit of Jupiter.* By M. Damoisxav.

Ow the evening of the 27th February 1826, M. Biela, resid-
ing at Josephstadt in Bohemia, observed in Aries a small

* M. Damoiseau’s Memoir was read before the Academy of Sciences on

the 9th April 1827. The above abstract is from Le Globe, Avril 14,
1827.

18 M. Damoiseau on the remarkable Comet

round nebulosity, whose position he fixed by estimation. On
the day following he was convinced that he had discovered a
comet whose nucleus had advanced since the night before a
degree to the east, and appeared to have increased in lustre and
magnitude. He compared the comet with the star, No. 28 of
Bode’s Catalogue, to determine its position. He observed it
also on the 3d and the 12th March. % PA

M. Gambard discovered this comet at Marseilles on the 9th
March, and continued to observe it on. the following days. —
The news of this discovery having spread, the comet was ob-
served on the LOth March at Gottingen by M. Harding, at
Altona by M. Clausen, and successively in all the observa-
tories of Europe, and in the beginning of May it disappeared.
By calculating the first observations on the hypothesis of a
parabolic orbit, it was evident that the elements of the new
comet had a great resemblance to those of 1772 and 1806.
The hypothesis, however, of this being the same comet, de-
viated greatly from observation, as it might have been expect-
ed to do; but MM. Clausen and Gambard, after some trials,
have found, without any communication, an ellipse which re-
presents the observation with such accuracy as to leave no
doubt of the perfect identity of the three comets.

M. Damoiseau first gives the ellipse of M. Clausen com-
puted from M. Biela’s observations of the 28th February, M
Harding's observations of the 14th March, and M. ‘Clausen’s
of the 28th March. He next gives two ellipses calculated by
M. Gambard, the one for 1826, and the other for 1806.

He then shows that the difference of some days which ex-—
ists between the observations and the calculations is explained
by the changes upon the motion of the comet by the action of
Jupiter, who passed very near it in. 1782 and 1'799. a

This identity being admitted, it is necessary, previous to
announcing the next return of the comet, to take-into account
the perturbations due to the action of the planet m the inter-
val between its passage of the perihelion from 1806 to 1826,
and in the interval between its last passage and that of 1832,
a year which will be remarkable by the reappearance of two
comets with elliptical orbits and short periods, viz. that of
Encke and that of Biela.

5

il

revoluing within the Orbit of Jupiter. 79

After making the investigations alluded to, M. Damoiseau
finds, that, by supposing the comet to have passed its perihelion
in 18260n March 18th. 9688, its return to its next perihelion
will take place in 1832 on November 27. 4808, being a period
of five years and 112} days.

Setting out, then, Froth the elements of 1826, he has com-
puted, by the aid of the variations with which the calculus has
furnished him for the actual revolution, the following ele-

ments:

D.

Passage of perihelion 1832, Nov. 27. 4808
Mean time of Paris, reckoned from midnight,

Longitude of the perihelion, - 109°56' 45”
Longitude of the ascending node, - 248 12 24
Inclination, i . 13 13 13
Eccentricity, - - 0.751748
Half the greater axis, 3.53683

In order to assist astronomers in finding this remarkable ~
body at its return in 1832, M. Damoiseau has computed the
following ephemeris.

Mean Time

Distance Distance
Paris Right Declination of Comet of Comet
from Midnight. Ascension. North. from Earth. from Sun.
D.
1982, Aug. 4.648 35°46 28°44" 1.533). 1.828
21. 260 46 50 32.28 1.235 1.657
Sept. 5. 308 60 0 35 25 0.990 1.500
18. 934 76 2 36 49 0.798 1.359
Oct. 1. 291 95 0 35 26 0.659 1.234
12. 542 “109 12 30 54 0.573 1.127
22.858 110 50 25 51 0.537 1.038
Nov. 1.416 112 1 2037 0.546 0.969
10.403 114 26 15 58 0.586 0.918
19.006 118 29 12 4 0.645 0.888
27.415 124 2 8 44 0.715 0.878

80 Dr Rensselaer’s discovery of the

Art. XVI.—Account of the Discovery of an almost entire She-
leton of the Fossil Mastodon.* By JEREMIAH VAN RENs-
SELAER, M. D. of New York.

‘

WE were induced to search for these remains, from having
seen lately exhibited at the Lyceum of Natural History, a
tooth, which proved upon examination, to belong to this in-
teresting genus, and which was said to have been found near
Long Branch.

About three miles west of that watering place, is situated
the farm of Poplar, occupied by William Croxson, Esq. and
who, nearly six years ago, began to reclaim a marsh about a
quarter of a mile from the house. This marsh was usually
covered by about two feet of water, which was much increased,
however, in wet seasons. - The water was easily drained off,
when the moisture having evaporated, and the earthy particles
consolidated, the surface sunk very gradually between two
and three feet below its former level, except in those places
where extensive beds of bog-iron-ore had been formed. . These
afforded an opportunity of judging pretty accurately of ‘Bs
subsidence of the present surface.

Last year, in crossing this field formed by the Sctamed
marsh, the attention of the proprietor was attracted by some-
thing sticking out of the ground, which proved to be a tooth.
He then searched a little, and found part of the head of a
large animal partially exposed, being covered by grass only.
With the assistance of a spade he found other bones, which
he took up and had removed to his house.

Visiting New York this spring, he brought with him the
tooth, which led us to inquire for the remaining acing, of
the skeleton.

Mr Croxson had the kindness to conduct us to the spot,
where we soon found sufficient inducement to dig, and in a
short time our hopes were fully realized, and our most san-
guine expectations surpassed. In the course of that and the

* From Dr Silliman’s Journal, vol. xi. No. ii. p. 245. For a full ac-
count of the history of this fossil animal, see the Edinburgh Encyclopedia,
Art. Orcanic Rematns, vol. xv. p. 721.

entire Skeleton of the Fossil Mastodon. - 81

following day, we recovered all the bones of the skeleton that
Mr C. had left, with the exception of two or three unimport-
ant bones of a foot—unimportant, because we have the cor-
responding bones of the other foot. We now possess very
nearly a perfect skeleton from this locality, viz.— |
The head much injured, and without tusks, but with two
teeth.
Twenty-two vertebra, more or less perfect, commencing
with the atlas, and terminating with the os sacrum.
Eleven ribs nearly perfect, and many imperfect.
- Two clavicule.
Two scapule.
Half of the pelvis perfect. |
The bones of the extremities, with the exception of three
small bones of the right foot, viz.—

Of the fore extremities. Of the hind extremities.
Two ossa humeri. Two ossa femoris.
Two radii. | Two patelle.
Two ulne. ‘ Two tibie.
Sixteen carpal, and Two fibule.
Ten metacarpal bones. Fourteen tarsal, and
Twenty-eight phalanges. - Ten metatarsal bones.
Four sessamoidea.
Recapitulation.
Of the trunk.
Vertebre, * ae 22
Ribs, _ - A 11
Pelvis, Bagh ti 2
a BS
Of the fore extremities, 64
Of the hind, 59
158

Part of the head and two teeth.

It is to be observed that our skeleton was found much
nearer to the ocean than any yet discovered, and is perhaps
to be considered as one of the most perfect that we possess of
that immense animal. The bones near the surface of the

VOL. VII. NO. I. JULY 1827. ¥.”

»
82 Dr Rensselaer’s discovery of the Fossil Mastodon.

field, and within the influence of frost, have all suffered more
or Jess; but as we proceeded down, they became more sound,
and the bones of the legs and feet are perfectly solid, and in
excellent preservation. Many of them had small quantities
of the phosphates of iron, and of lime, and small crystals of
sulphate of lime adhering to them.

Its position, corre. ing with that of the skeleton found on
the Wabash, was vertical, the feet resting on a stratum of sand
and gravel, (mostly rolled quartz,) and the head to the west-
south-west. 'There is every reason for supposing that the ani-
mal was mired in that situation, but at what period we have
no data even to conjecture. But we have authority for be-
lieving that the mastodon was one of the last animals that has
become extinct. Zoologists, particularly zoological geologists,
consider the doctrine as established, that the successive gene-
rations of organized beings that have dwelt upon the exterior
of our globe differ from the present generations, in propor- »
tion as their remains are more or less distant from the present
surface ; or, in other words, as the time in which they existed
is remote from the present day. Now, according to this, the
mastodon differs but little from some one of the living genera-
tions, (which we know to be the case,) and the deduction is
fair, that if the living animal be not found, of which there
seems now very little probability, its race has not long since:
perished, comparatively speaking. This conclusion is con-
firmed in my own mind by our researches after these very in-
teresting remains.

Immediately under the surface, we found bog-iron-ore
loosely disseminated ; in other places in the field it existed in
abundance. A soft, black, damp earth, containing vegetable
fibres, (what the Germans call geest,) continued down four
feet from the surface. Beneath this we found a yellowish
clay, tinged perhaps from animal decomposition. Below, thin
and alternate layers of sand and black earth continued, until
we met a small stratum of rolled quartz pebbles covering sand,
on which rested the feet of the animal, about eight and a half
feet below the surface. These layers resemble those occurring
frequently in Europe, and compose the greater part of our
sea-coast, from Long Island to the Mississippi. They form

Mr Hertzberg’s Meteorological Observations. 83

part of the newer or tertiary formations, and are evidences of
the last geological changes that the surface of our globe has
experienced, always excepting volcanic and alluvial still in
daily operation.

Of the genus mastodon there are two distinct species, viz.
the M. gigantewm, and the M. angustidens, distinguished, as
the names imply, by the size and by the configuration of the
teeth. Our animal belongs to the former species, of which
portions of many individuals have been found on our conti-
nent, and a few comparatively in Europe. The beauty and
value of these organic remains induced us to present them to
the Lyceum of Natural History of New York; and we have
the satisfaction of knowing that they constitute an important
addition to the fine collection of fossils in the cabinet of that
valuable institution.

Art. XVII.—Observations on the Minimum and Maximum
of the Barometer, made during a period of twenty-nine
years at Malmanger, and Ullensvang in Norway. By Pro-
vost Herrzsere of Ullensvang. *

Tur following series of valuable observations of the minimum
and maximum of the barometer were taken by Mr Hertzberg, _
Provost of Hardanger, and Pastor of Kingsverig, in Norway,
in the diocese of Bergen. They include a period of twenty-
nine years, from 1798 to 1827. From 1798 to 1807, the ob-
servations were made at Malmanger, in the diocese of Bergen,
in lat. 60° north, and at the height of 66 Rhinland feet above
the level of the sea. From 1807 to 1827, the observations
were made at Ullensvang, in the same diocese, in the latitude
of 60° 19’, and at the height of 32 Rhinland feet above the
level of the sea. The height of the barometer, which is given
in French feet, is reduced to the temperature of 0° of Reau-
mur’s scale. ‘The temperature in Reaumur’s scale is added,
and also the state of the weather.

“ This excellent observer has also communicated to us a valuable set
of hourly observations made at Ullensyang on the 15th January 1827.—En.

84

Mr Hertzberg’s Meteorological Observations.

1817, April 6.

Year. ty Therm. Weather.
1798, Nov. 27.|26 8 4] -+12° 5|Rain and storm from S. W.
1799, Apr. 11./27 1 7/+10 Do. and calm.
1800, Nov. 26./26 8 |+4 4 Do. and storm from S. E.
1801, Jan. 5. (26 7 3)4+ 6 Do. and storm from S.W.
1802, Dec. 10.|26 8 |+ 5 —|Shower, and strong S. W. wind.
1803, Feb. 15.|26 6 |. 2 {Snow 10 inches. Storm from SE.
1804, Mar.31./27 3)+4 4. |Rains. Strong wind from E.
1805, Dec. 21./26 6 |4 2 |Rain, but calm. :
1806, Dec. 25.|26 3 8/4 4 Rain, great storm.
1807, Nov. 21.|26 10. 8] + 0 .4|Snowy, and calm.
1808, Jan. 28./26 8 4/4 1.5 er Slight pany 3
ain. Wind strong from S.
1809, Dec. 10.126 8 9)+ 7 Snow 19 inches. E i oi
1810, Feb. 25./26 7 g/+ 1! .5/Calm.
181], Jan. 17-|2610 |+ 3.5 Rainy, snow, and violent N wind.
1812, Oct. 20-/26 8 5|+4+ 7 .5}Storm from East.
1813, Noy. 15-|26 8 9|+ 5 .2|Storm from S.E.
1814, Dec. 18./26 7 g/+ 1 Rain. Storm from S. W.
1815, Nov. 14,/26. 7 3/+ 3 |Calm. :
1816, Dec. 29,/2610 |+ 2 Rain. Snow. Calm.
1817, Feb. 15,/26 9 2}+ 1 .5/Snow. Calm.
1818, Mar. 8. |26 6 |+ 3.4/Calm. Cloudy.
1819, Jan. 17.}26 10 g|+ 4 .2|Rain. Storm from S. ,/
1820, Mar. 1. |2611 |— 1 .4|Slight snow. Calm.
1821, Dec. 23,26 6 |+ 3 .2|Rain. Storm from S. E.. ;
1822, Feb. 3. 126 3 8|+ 2 Rain. Snow. Storm from N. WwW.
1823, Mar. 7. |26 6 5|+ 2 Breeze from East.
1824, Dec. 25.|26 4 8|+ 4 .2|Snow1l0inches. Storm from S.|
1825, Nov. 6. |26 3 6/4 2 Rain. Snow. Storm from §.
1826, Feb. 7. |27 2 6|+ 3..5]|Rain. High wind from W.
Mean, 26 821+ 3°.4
Year. ry Therm Weather.
1798, Dec. 29.|29 1 |— 8° | Clear and calm.
1799, Jan. 1. |28 9 9|— 3.5 Id.
1800, Dec. 15.|28 6 “|— 0.2 Id.
1801, Mar. 30.|/28 7 9| + l Id. with N. wind.
1802, May 22./28 8 1 +9 Clear and calm.
1803, Mar. 8. |28 8 -|— 3 Id.
1804, Dec. 18.|28 9 7|_ 3 Id.
1805, Nov. 11./28 8 6|+ 3 nels a A a i i
: torm from ain and, )
1806, Feb. 24-28 9 8)+ 4 |” joud thunder. ,
1807, Mar. 23.}2811 3]+ 0.2] Clear and calm.
1808, Mar. 26.|2810 6|— 1 | Clear, breeze from E.
1809, Apr. 24.|28 8 6|+ 5 .5| Clear and calm.
1810, Jan. 14.|28 8 9|— 8.5] Clear, and storm from East.
1811, Mar. 14.28 8 3}/+. 1.5] Clear and calm. -
1812, Dec. 6. |28 9 pi ty | Td.
1813, Mar. 12.;28 9 |— 4 Id.
1814, Mar. 16.128 8 }|+4+ 1.5 Id.
1815, Jan. 19. |28 9 7i— 3 | Clear, but high wind froma N.E.
1816, Dec. 20.}28 7 6|— 2 .5| Clear and calm.
28 9 1/+ 5.5 Td.

On the Poison of the Rattlesnake. 85

Year. rae Therm. Weather.
1818, Dec. 28.|28 8 |+ 0.2/Slight snow breeze from Ne
1819, Dec. 7. | 29 3/— 1.3) Clear and calm.
1820, Jan. 8. {29 1 3|—10 Id.

1821, Jan. 23. |28 9 7|/+ 3.2 Td.
1822, Dec. 12. |28 9 |+ 3 .2|- Id.

11823, Jan. 5. |28 9 3)— 2.6] Storm from N. E.
1824, April 5. [28 8 4|+ 4.8) Clear and calm.
1825, Mar. 17.|/28 9 5}— 1.6) .. Id.

1826, Mar. 12./2810 |+ 4.2] Td.
__.. Mean, | 289 28\—0°,72

Art. XVIII.—Accownt of the death of Mr Drake by the bite
of a Rattlesnake.

Ax the meeting of the Academy of Sciences of France on the
9th April last, some documents were presented by M. Dumeril,
connected with the death of Mr Drake by the bite of a rattle-
snake, forming part of a collection of reptiles which that per-
son had exhibited at London, and had taken to France for
the same purpose. ‘These documents were transmitted to the
Academy by the Minister of the Interior ; and seem to have
excited fears in some of the members, lest, the climate of France
being favourable, some of these dangerous reptiles might escape
and propagate.

From these documents it appears, that Mr Drake arrived
at an inn in Rouen on the 8th February with three live rattle-
snakes and some young crocodiles, and that, notwithstanding
his care to preserve them from cold on the road, he saw with
grief on his arrival that the finest of the three was dead. The
dead animal was removed from the cage, and the cage itself,
with the other two, were taken into the dining-room, and
placed near the stove. Here Mr Drake endeavoured to rouse
them with a stick ; but, perceiving that one of the two gave no
signs of animation, he opened the cage, took the serpent by
the head and tail, and approaching a window to ascertain
by handling if life was extinct, the animal turned its head
half round, and fixed one of its fangs in the posterior exter-
nal part of the left hand. Mr Drake shrieked, pronounced.
some words in English, according to the reports, and was re-

°
86 On the Poison of the Rattlesnake.

placing the serpent in the cage, when it again bit him on the
palm of the same hand. Mr Drake now run out into the
court calling eagerly for a surgeon; and, not finding water
readily, rubbed his hand upon the ice, which he found at the
door. ‘Two minutes after, having procured a cord, he him-
self made a ligature on the arm above the hand. Notwith-
standing of these precautions, his agitation from the fear of the —
consequences continued to increase till the arrival of Dr Pihorel.
The presence of this gentleman somewhat composed the feel-
ings of Mr Drake; and he saw with eager joy the chafing-dish
and irons arrive, with which the wounds were to be cauterized.
This operation was instantly performed, and the patient took
internally half a glassful of olive oil. Drake seemed now to
have resumed his tranquillity. But in a few minutes more
Symptoms made their appearance which rendered the case
hopeless, and he died in 8% hours after the bites.

The body was afterwards opened. The internal organs ap-
peared healthy ; the brain and spinal chord were unaltered.
The membrane which covered these parts, however, was ob-
served to have a reddish tinge. The veins presented no trace _
of inflammation: and the only appearance of derangement in
the system consisted in the veins of the affected side having
the blood curdled or clotted.

The physicians of Rouen, where the accident happened, and
who examined the body, recommended that, in future, exhibi-
tors of dangerous serpents should be obliged to extract the
poison fangs, and be constantly provided with cupping-glasses
and instruments for cauterization ; and the commission of the
Academy coincide in that opinion. But it was remarked,
that the successive growth of these teeth would require them
to be removed every two or three months, or as soon as they
were reproduced. ‘The commission recommended suction of
the wound as one of the most efficacious measures for the ex-
traction of poison; and state that this, even when done by
the mouth, is attended with no danger to the operator, pro-
vided the mouth which sucks be sound. The ligature of a place
above the wound, imperfectly done in Mr Drake’s case, was
strongly recommended by Dr Magendie.

The melancholy termination of this case induced many be

- On the Poison of the Rattlesnake. 87

the members of the Academy to propose the absolute interdic-
tion of the exhibition of poisonous animals for the gratification
of public curiosity. M. Geoffroy, to demonstrate the virulence
of the poison of the rattlesnake, mentioned that the body of
the reptile which had bitten Mr Drake had been sent to the
Museum of Natural History; and that, eight days after its
dissection, one of the assistants having punctured his hand with
the scalpel employed in this operation, the slight wound was
followed by nearly serious consequences. The hand swelled,
and severe pain in the axilla supervened ; symptoms similar
to what occur in this country from scratches and punctures
received in dissection, without any reference to a specific poison.

M. Dumeril remarked, that the effects of the bite of the
rattlesnake in America was much less sudden and less fatal
than in the case which had unfortunately happened at Rouen ;
and M. Bosc stated, that of all venomous animals the rattlesnake
was the most gentle, and never attempted to bite where flight
was possible. He had seen, he said, more than thirty persons
bitten by rattlesnakes, none of whom died. A horse, however,
which had been bitten on the tongue, fell a victim to the poison.

The discrepancy in the result of the cases may perhaps be
accounted for, by supposing that the virulence of the poison
in the rattlesnake may not be the same at all periods of the
year, or of the animal's life. _ In some cases, however, and Mr
Drake’s is one of them, the poison seems to act speedily and
fatally. In acurious Memoir on the habits of the rattlesnake,
read lately by Mr Audubon at the Wernerian Society, that
gentleman mentioned a circumstance which tends to show that
the poisonous fangs of this reptile, even when withdrawn from
the animal, retain their virulence for years. A person had been
bitten by a rattlesnake in the woods through a strong boot.
He died without the cause of his death being properly inves-
tigated. The boots descended to his son, who, after putting
them on, was taken suddenly ill, and also died. The effects
of this last were brought to sale; and a younger brother fancy-
ing the boots, or willing to preserve some memorial of: his
father and brother, was the purchaser. He used them only
once, when he also fell ill and died. ‘The medical men, whom
such an occurrence had led to investigate its cause, at last rip-

&8 Messrs Herschel and South on the Double Stars

ped up the fatal boot, and, found, firnily fixed in’ the:sub-
stance of the leather, the fang of the rattlesnake which had
thus caused the death of three individuals. . Rattlesnakes, Mr
Audubon further observed, are often found coiled up and tor-
pid when the temperature is low; and he himself once nar-
rowly escaped from perhaps a serious accident, in trusting to
their continued torpidity. He had found an excellent specimen
coiled up and torpid, which he put in his knapsack along with
some wild ducks he had been shooting. The motion and heat
of his body, together with the additional heat afforded by a
sportsman’s fire at a meal in the woods, had however revived
the animal; and the motions of his knapsack, observed from
the outside, indicated life within. Mr Audubon at first thought
that some of his ducks, imperfectly killed, had found their situa-
tion irksome, and were testifying their impatience; but the
recollection of the rattlesnake flashing at once on his mind, he -
threw off his bag, ducks, reptile, and altogether. The remo- .
val of the animal to a colder temperature brought on again
its torpidity. He carried thesnakehome ; andthe identical speci-
men, if we rightly understood him, is now in the Museum of
the Lyceum of Natural History of New York.

Ant. XIX.—On the Systems of Double Stars which have been
demonstrated to be Binary ones by the observations of
Srr W. HerscueEL, and Messrs Herscnet and South.

We have already had occasion to direct the attention of our
readers to the detailed observations on double stars, which we
owe to the diligence and accuracy of Messrs South, Herschel,
and Struve. Since that time, Mr South has published, in the
Philosophical Transactions for 1826, additienal observations
on 458 double stars, of which about 160 have been for the
first time observed by himself; and in this paper Mr Herschel
has, with his usual sagacity, contrasted all the modern ob-
servations with those of Sir William Herschel, so as to exhibit
the relation which the two stars have to each other in mo-
‘tion, in position, and in distance.

It is obvious that a great number of double shed are only

which form Binary Systems. 89

so by accident, that is, the two’stars have no connection with
_ each other, but the accidental one of being nearly in the same
straight line with our own planet. Some of these stars may
even vary their position, and their distance in relation to each
other, in consequence of their having different proper motions,
without there existing any connection between them ; but there
are double stars, in which the one revolves round the other
with such regularity, that there can be no hesitation in regard-
ing these two stars as forming a binary system, corresponding
to the planetary system to which our own globe belongs.
That such a system is composed only of two bodies, it would
be unreasonable to believe, as it may comprehend many primary
and secondary planets, whose inferiority to the other two in mag-
nitude and brilliancy may for ever prevent them from being
recognized by our best telescopes. The probability, however,
is so great, that each binary system will contain other stars
within its sphere, that we would recommend the minute ex-
amination of them to the diligence of the practical astrono-
mer, while we would hold out such a discovery as one of the
greatest objects yet to be obtained by the improvement of -
telescope.

The discovery of binary systems of stars we owe to hari in-
defatigable labours of Sir W. Herschel, who established. the
existence of several by his own observations, made at distant
periods ; and we have no hesitation in stating, with the Marquis —
Laplace, that, if the labours of that eminent astronomer ‘‘ had
been confined to that department of. the science, the discove-
ries he has made in > would have alone conferred upon him an
imperishable name.”

When astronomy embraced only the bodies of our own pla-
netary system, the stars were observed and numbered,:as if
their final cause had been to decorate the blue vault of Heaven.
The imagination, indeed, sometimes ventured among their un-
fathomable recesses, and fancied that every star was the centre
of a system of worlds, in which Almighty wisdom had dispensed
the blessings of life and intelligence to various orders of
animated beings; but this opinion was one of those waking
visions of philosophy which’ no fact supported, and which had
no other foundation but a remote, though a captivating ana-

90 Messrs Herschel and South on the Double Stars

logy. Truth, however, had in this case thrown her shadow
before, and what she then dimly unveiled to our fancy, she has
now displayed before our judgment with all the fulness of de-
monstration. From observations separated by an interval. of
twenty-five years, Sir W: Herschel discovered in more than
fifty double stars a change both of position and of distance.
In Castor, « Bootis, 6 Serpentis, and y Virginis the angle of
position, (or the angle which the line joining the two stars
forms with the direction of their daily motion,) had suffered a
very great change, while the distances of the stars remained
the same; and in ¢ Hercules, the two stars had approached so
near to each other, that five-eighths of the apparent diameter
of the small star were actually eclipsed by the larger one.

These curious results have been confirmed and extended by
subsequent astronomers, and the tabulated observations of Mr
South, upon no fewer than 838 double stars, enable us to ar-
range into classes the various systems which they present to
our notice.

In the present communication, we shall confine ourselves to
the description of the Binary Systems which are considered by
Messrs Herschel and South as perfectly determined.

1. 1 Cassiopeia, R. A. Asc. 0° 38’. Decl. N. 56° 51.

This star is double. The largest is red, and the smallest
green, and they are of the 6th and 9th magnitude.

In 1782.4, Sir W. Herschel found the angle of position of
this star to be 29° 9° nf, and the distance of the stars 11”.1.

In 1825.78, Mr South found the angle of position to be
6° 55, and the distance 9’.9. A connection between these
stars cannot be doubted, as they have a common proper mo-
tion of nearly 2” per annum. The apparent orbit is evidently
elliptic, and the period is probably 700 years.

2. 12 Lyncis, R. Asc. 6 30/. Decl. N. 59° 37.

This star is a triple one, the three stars A, B and C being of
the 7th, 71, and 9th magnitudes, and C being of a blue co-
lour. The motion of B in 40.81 years is no less than 22°.74;
‘and should this continue uniform, the lapse of fifty-seven
years will bring the three stars into one straight line, and in

which form Binary Systems. 9]

646 years a complete revolution will have been performed.
It appears from late observations in 1825, that the small star
B has continued its motion, and apparently with an accelerated
velocity.
In 1825 we have
A, B, Position 64°21’ sf Dist. 2”529.
A, C, Position 35 21 np. Dist. 9184.

8. Castor, R. Asc. 7" 23’. Decl. N. 32°17.

This star is double, and the two are of the third and
fourth magnitudes. That it forms a binary system is fully
demonstrated. In consequence of an observation having been
made by Dr Bradley so long ago as 1759.8, we have till
1823.11, a period of no less than 63.3 years, during which the
angle of position varied 613°, or on an average 0°.971 annually.
The distaxce of the stars has during that period been un-
changed. ‘This indicates a circular orbit at right angles to
the line of sight; but it is most probabie that this orbit is el-
liptical, and merely projected into a circle, for the observations
seem to show that the angular velocity is sensibly retarded,
having been 23°.7 in the first twenty years, 21°.4 in the next
twenty-three years, and only 16°.4 in the last twenty-one
years.

In 1825, the position was 6° 42 s p, and the distance 4.77,
the angle having varied 1° 41’, since 1823.11.

4. » Leonis, R. Asc. 10° 10’. Decl. N. 20° 45’.

This is a quadruple star, A and B, which are both reddish,
are close, and pretty unequal; A and C are extremely un-
equal, and A, D excessively unequal. The mean annual mo-
tion of A, B, for position is about 0°30 direct. From
1822.44 till 1825.3 the change in the angle of position has
been 2° 53’, which indicates an acceleration in the motion.

In 1825.3, the angle of position is 11° 17’ sf and the dis-
tance 2”.716.

5.& Urse Majoris R. A 11» 9. Decl. N. 32° 33’.
This very remarkable star is double, and the two are of the
6th and 6; magnitude. These two stars, undoubtedly con-

92 Messrs Herschel and South on the Double Stars

nected in a binary system by their mutual gravitation, and re=
volving round their common centre of gravity with a motion so
rapid as to admit of being traced and measured from month to
month, must be allowed to be a phenomenon of no common inte-
rest, and deserving every attention from the theoretical and
practical astronomer. Sir W. Herschel first pointed out its ra-
pid change of position, and the observations of M. Struve and
Messrs Herschel and-South indicate a remarkable alteration
~ in its velocity, which can only be accounted for by supposing
the relative orbit to be one of great ellipticity. ‘The following
are the different angles of position.

Years. Angles of
Position.
Sir W. Herschel, A 1781.97 58°.79 sf

1803.08 5.7 of
Mean of Struve’s 17 observations, 1820.01 7.32 np

Mean of Struve’s 7 observations, - 1821.75 4.71 sp
Mean of Messsrs Herschel and South’s, 1823.29 11.51 sp
Mean of Mr South’s, pe 1825.22 25.28 sp

The mean distance of the two stars at the last of these
epochs Mr South found to be 2.442.

** In the first interval,” says Mr Herschel, “ of 21.11 years
48°.72, were described, giving an annual motion of 2°.309. In
the next interval of 16°.93 years, 177°.75 were described, being
at the mean rate of 10°.5 in the year. In the next period of 1.'74
years, the angle described was 12°.03, or 6°.914 per annum,
while in the succeeding short period of 1°.54 years the motion
amounted only to 4°.442. It is therefore at present rapidly
decreasing, and the maximum annual motion must at some
period between 1803 and 1820 have greatly exceeded 10°.5,
and perhaps may have amounted to 20° or 30°. This consi-
deration would lead us to place the perihelion of the orbit in
the north: preceding quadrant, between the 30th and 60th de-
gree from the parallel, and to suppose its plane greatly in-
clined to the visual line in a plane not far from that passing
through the eye, and the major axis of the orbit; and this
agrees well with the change of distance, which is certainly less
at present than in 1782, though the estimation by diameters
is necessarily very uncertain.

which form Binary Systems. 93

‘< In the present imperfect state of the data, it would be use-

less to enter into any minute investigations respecting the ele-
ments of the orbit; but when twenty or thirty years observa-
tions shall have enabled us to trace precisely the variation of
the angular motion up to the aphelion, and to ascertain by di-
rect observation the periodic time and mean motion, the princi-
ples of physical astronomy may be applied.”
- 'These are the observations in Messrs South and Herschel’s
memoir of 1826. After comparing the preceding observations
with the latest by Mr South in 1825.22, Mr Herschel re-
marks : |

‘* Nothing can be more satisfactory than the confirmation
these observations afford of the rapid motion ascribed to
this remarkable star. _In the interval of 1.97 year since the
epoch 1823.29, the motion has amounted to no less than
13°.55 in the direction mp, sf or ——'7°.025 per annum. The
‘sudden diminution of velocity is howeyer not confirmed.
Indeed, it rested on too short an interval, and on too few
observations (from four very close stars) to deserve great con-
fidence. We cannot do better than recommend this star for the
“next ten or twenty years to the constant and careful measure-
ment of astronomers; nor can we too strongly inculcate here
the indispensable necessity of multiplymg extremely their
measures of position to eliminate those errors of judgment to
which the most experienced observers are liable in measures
of this sort. This done, there is no doubt of our arriving at
a precise knowledge of the elements and positions of the orbit
described by each about their common centre of gravity, and
the question of the extension or non-extension of the Newto-
nian law of gravity to the sidereal heavens—the. next great
step which physical astronomy has yet to make—will be effec-
tually decided.” —

6. » Virginis, R. Asc. 12% 32... Decl. S. 0° 27’.

The two stars which compose this double star are both
white, and of the 8th and 8} magnitude. Both the angle of
position, and the distance of these stars have undergone a
great change. The following are the results :—

94 Messrs Herschel and South on the Double Stars

| Position. Annual Velocity deduced.
1756.0 54°.4 np. hat
1781.9 40 .7 — 0°.528
1803.2 30 .3 — 0.490
1820.2 15 3 — 0.882
1822.3 13 .4 — 1) .905
1825.3 6.9 — 2.167

Hence there is an obvious acceleration in the motion of the
stars, and it would seem that the two are mutually approach-
ing to the perihelion, or at least to their situation of greatest
angular velocity.

The-distances of the stars have been,

1720.31 7.49 Cassini.

1756 6 .50 Tob. Mayer.

1780 | 5 .70 Sir W. Herschel.
1820 ; 3 .56 Struve.

1822.25 3 794 Herschel and South.
1823.19 3 .300-Amici.

1825.32 3 .263 South.

7. ¢« Bootis, R. Asc. 145 87’... N. Decl. 27° 51’.

The two stars are of the 2d and 4th magnitudes, the large
one being yellow, and the smaller blue-green. The best mea-
sures are
: 1822.55 52° 59’ mp. angle of —

1825.34 5426. -
which give an annual motion of + 9°.4378. Their distatiee
is 3°356. ‘

8. Star s fu Bootis, R. Asc. 15" 18’. N. Decl. 38° 1’.

This is a very close double star. In the five feet equato-
rial, with a power of 133, it is seen elongated, but 303 shows
it decidedly double. A power of 179 applied to the seven
feet achromatic shows the discs of the two stars in contact,
but 273 distinctly separates them.’ This double star is a se-
vere test for a telescope, and is easily found by means of «@
Bootis. ‘The two stars are of the 8th and 10th magnitudes.

which form Binary Systems. 95

The angle of position for 1825.46 is 63° 32 np, and the dis-
tance 1”.421. “If this double star,” says Messrs Herschel
and South, * be a binary sytem, of which there can be little
doubt, its period is about 622 years, and the most probable
mean annual motion is 0°.5783 in the direction s p, nf, or re-

trograde.

9. 6 Serpentis, R. Asc. 15" 26. N. decl. 11°9.

The two stars which compose this double star are both blue,
and of the 8th and 9th magnitude. The following are the
angles of position: —

1782.99 “42° 48/ sp 7 c:

1802.10 61 27 3 | sir ‘Pres sea
1819.70 67 41 sp

1820.12 "1 0 P | Struve.

1821.33 70 37 sp. Herschel and South.
1825.46 69 49 sp. South.

The distance at this last epoch was 3”.268. The mean an-
nual motion is—0.726. But, as Mr Herschel remarks, instead

of advancing 3° as it should have done since 1821, it has re-
ceded nearly 50’.

10. 49 Serpentis, R. Asc. 165 4. N. decl. 14° 1’.
The two stars are of the 8th and 8} magnitude, and both
white. Its position was"

1781.18 21° 33’ np. Sir W. Bebabel
1820.10 46 33 np. Struve.
1825.41 48 10 np. South.

The distance at this last epoch was 3”.501. The mean an-
nual angular motion is +0°.510.

11. «Corone Bor. R. Asc. 165 8. N. Decl. 34°20. The
two stars are of the 6th and 8th magnitude, and the small one
is blue. There is another of the 15th or 20th magnitude, 42”
distant. The angles of position are |

1781.79 77° 32’ np
1802.79 718 36 7 vg Sir W. Herschel.

96 Messrs Herschel and South on Binary Systems.

1821.30 24° 45! nf 7 ee
1822.83 18 27 nf I Hersehel and South.
1825.44 12.29 o® bits

The mean annual angular velocity i is about + 3°. ‘I'he dis-
tance is 1”.48 at the last epoch. . ) |
In 1782 the distance of the two stars was fully 1} diameter
of the small star, with a power of 227, but Struve observed
them with the same power to be only 3 of a diameter as under.

12. 21 » Draconis. R.A. 17° 3’. N. decl. 54° 43/.

The two stars are nearly equal, and of the 8th magnitude.
The angular position in 1781.73 was 37° 38’ sp or nf, and
in 1825.25, 61° 2 sp or nf. Its distance at the last epoch was
4”. 33. Its annual motion is —0° 579, and nearly uniform.

13. 70 p Ophiuchi. R.A. 17 56. N. decl. 2° 39.

' 'The two stars are of the. 7} and §} magnitude, The larg-
est is white, and the small one livid. 'The mean annual motion
from 1779 to 1823 is 6° 811. Since 1820, its annual velocity
has varied from —1°. 75, to —2°. 42. Mr Herschel has
shown, what the laws of central forces rendered necessary, that
a very considerable diminution of distance accompanied the
great increase of angular velocity, some time between 1781
and 1819, and that the subsequent diminution of the velocity
has also been accompanied with a corresponding ‘increase of
distance, which, in 1825.56, was 4” 76.

14. 5 Lyre, R. Asc. 18 38’, N. decl. 39° 27’.

The stars are nearly equal, and of the 8th magnitude. The
position in 1825.53 was 69° 11’ mp or sf, and the distance
3” $4. ‘The annual motion is —0° 325. i

15. 61 Cygni, R. Asc. 205 59, N. decl. 37° 52’. :

The two stars are of the 7th and 8th magnitude. The
angle of position, as determined by Bradley in 1753.8,
was 54° 86/, and in 1825.7 it was 3° 4’, as determined by
South, and the distance 15” 444. ‘“ The mean annual
motion,” says Mr Herschel, ‘‘ round their common centre
of gravity is 0°.780, not far short of that of the two stars of

Mr Davidson on Fish Oils. 97

Castor, while their apparent mutual distance is at least three
times as great. . This circumstance, taken in connection with
the rapidity of their apparent proper motion, (which is 45".38
in R; A. and. +43”.3 in declination,) affords a presumption of
their being much nearer to us, and renders 61) sata'gh a fit pe
ne for the investigation of Parallax.”

-

16. 2 Aquarii, R. Asc. 22" 20’. S. Decl. st.

- The two stars are of the 7th and '7} magnitude. In 1779.9,
its position was 71° 5’ nf, and in 1825.73, 88° 56’. The mean
annual motion is 0°. 4484 retrograde.

«© As the proper motion of ¢ Aquarii,” says Messrs Her-
schel and South, “* amounts to 0’.173 annually, and yet the
stars of which it consists still retain the same distance, and
nearly the same relative situation with respect to each other,
this circumstance alone amounts to a proof of their mutual
connection, which their equal size corroborates, and renders it
exceedingly probable that they form a binary system.”

Art. XX.—Observations on the properties of some. Fish
Oils, and on the utility of Chloride of Lime in destroying
their putrid odour. By Witu1am Davinson, Esq. Sur
geon, Glasgow. Communicated by the Author.

F'su oils, with the exception of sperm oil, generally exhale a
fetid odour, and some are so putrid that they can only be used
for inferior purposes. Whale oil is generally more free of
fetor than seal, cod, and dog-fish oils; and. this is principally
owing to the superiority of the process for procuring the first ;
whereas in preparing the latter putrefaction is allowed to pro-
ceed too far before the oil is separated from the other animal
matters. It is no doubt an easy process to allow the animal
textures which contain the oil to be softened and decomposed
by the influence of the sun, but it is unquestionably inferior
to the application of artificial heat for that purpose. The dif-
ferent kinds of fish oils, though they agree as to their general
characteristics, yet are materially different in many other re-
spects. Whale oil, procured from the blubber of the Green-
land whale, is generally transparent, of a brownish colour, and
VOL. VII. NO. I. JULY 1827. G

98 Mr Davidson’s observations on the

not sluggish when agitated in a phial. When agitated with
cold water it is rendered of a whitish colour, but the water
soon separates, and it regains its former transparency. When
water is boiled along with it a cloudiness.is produced ; and
when diluted sulphuric acid is. boiled with it a scanty preci-
pitate of brownish flocculi is deposited at the bottom of the
oil, Seal oil, procured from the fat of the seal by the sponta-
neous decomposition of the animal textures, is pale and trans-
parent, and is generally thinner and more fluid than whale oil.
When agitated with cold water it is only rendered cloudy, and
very speedily regains its usual transparency. When diluted sul-
phuric acid is boiled in contact with it a slight cloudiness is pro-
duced, which is gradually deposited at the bottom of the oil.
Cod oil, procured from the liver of the cod-fish by the spon-
taneous decomposition of the animal textures, is generally of
a dark-brown colour, sometimes pale, and is a thicker and
more tenacious oil than any of the other kinds. It generally
deposits at the bottom of the casks a considerable quantity of
brownish flocculi, technically called “* foots” by oil-dealers.
Dog-fish oil is similar in its properties to cod oil. but. in gé-
neral exhales a most insupportable odour. Cod ‘oil, when
_ heated to 212° F.. or even considerably beyond that point, does
not throw down any precipitate. When cold’water is agitated
with it, it assumes the appearance of an emulsion, and a

tion of flocculi is deposited at the bottom of the oil. Water,
diluted sulphuric acid, or decoction of galls boiled in contact
with it, causes.a large quantity of brownish flocculi to be se-
parated, and gradually precipitated. Water which has been
_ boiled in contact with cod oil leaves scarcely any residuum on
evaporation, and gives no precipitate with lincture of galls, ace-
tate of lead, corrosive sublimate, nitro-muriate of tin, or- nitrate
of silver. The flocculi are again soluble in the oil from which
they were separated, in oil of turpentine, and in boiling alcohol,
‘which latter on cooling again deposits a considerable portion wt
them. ‘They seem to possess the same properties as those which
are spontaneously deposited in the original oil casks. Alco-_
hol boiled in contact with cod oil extracts the greatest pro-
~ portion of this flocculent substance ;, for when water is after-
wards boiled in contact with it, a very small deposit is obtain-

11

- properties of some Fish Oils. — 99

ed. And: if the ebullition be first made with water, and after-
wardswith alcohol, there is nofurther deposit when water is again
boiled with it. Alcohol containing” this principle in solution
was tested with the following reagents: An‘alcoholic solution
of corrosive sublimate when added produced no precipitate,
neither did an alcoholic tmeture of galls.’ “An alcoholie solu-
~ tion of acetate of lead produced a copious white’ curdy preci-
pitate, and: an alcoholic’solution of’ nitrate of silver produced ©
a greyish white precipitate. Water agitated with alcohol
containing this’ principle’ in solution occasions a permanent
milkiness, with «the formation of white and yellowish bodies
floating on thesurface of the fluid. Alcohol boiled with the
oil: which has «previously been boiled with water still indicates
a precipitate with acetate of lead, and nitrate of silver, though
it is not’ so copious as in the ease where the oil has not been
previously ‘boiled with ‘water: » When: the alcoholi¢ solution
derived from céd oil was evaporated by a gentle beat till it
was just beginning to char, but while it was still soluble in
fixed oil; oil of turpentine; and boiling alcohol, it had’ the fol-
- lowing properties: It was of the consistence of erystallized
honey, or soft lard, of a brownish ‘colour, easily melted by a
very gentle heat. “When water is boiled with it, it assumes
nearly the form of the flocculi; which are produced by boiling
water with cod. oil, only a shade darker. It is insoluble in
nitric and muriatic acids; but when either of these acids is
boiled with it; the floceuli are charred: It is soluble in a boil-
ing solution of potass, and ammonia forms a saponaceous ¢om-
pound with it. Conjecture might lead us to suppose that this
flocculent principle was of a gelatinous or albuminous naturé,
because the fishes from which the oil is procured contain “a
considerable portion of these principles. It is insoluble in
water, and therefore is not gelatin. It is not coagulable by
heat alone, and is soluble in oils and alcohol, and ‘insoluble in
water, and therefore is not albumen in any form. It may be
supposed to have some of the characteristics of inspissated mu-
cus, being precipitated by acetate of lead and nitrate of silver ;
but inspissated mucus is not soluble in fixed and essential oils,
and does not form saponaceous compounds with alkaline sub-
stances. It possesses the properties of adipocire or sperma-

°
100 Mr Davidsou on Fish Oils, &c.

ceti in its solubility in boiling: alcohol, fixed oils, and’ oil. of
turpentine, in its liquefaction by heat, and in forming’ sapona-
ceous compounds with the alkalies. . It differs from pure sper>
maceti in its greater solubility in oils and alcohol, and in giv-
ing, a much more abundant precipitate with acetate of lead.
Cod oil is, from ‘universal experience, the’ only fish oil which
will answer all the purposes of the currier ; and it. is reckoned
by..many of them, almost indispensable. ... This: adipocirous
body, combined with the oil, is probably one of the causes of
its important qualities in rendering. leather soft: and pliant.
For, being carried in a fluid state into the texture of the leas
ther; it will be intimately combined with it, and permanently
deposited therein a solid state by the influence of the mois+
ture and the tannin producing its coagulation. ARGIOVY
When a. ‘solution of chloride of lime is mixed with snuttid
fish oil, and briskly, agitated for a short time, it forms a thick
whitish compound, destitute of any fetor: In this state itis
totally unfit for burning, or, in general, for any practical ap-
plication. | But'if a portion of diluted sulphuric acid be add-
ed sufficient’ to decompose the chloride of lime, and if gentle
ebullition, be employed for a short time, the lime is complete- —
ly separated, from the oil, and is precipitated in the form vd
sulphate of lime, carrying the water along with it. isos
. The following is the process which I have generally bien
ed for destroying the putrid odour of. fish oils: » Dissolve
about one pound of chloride of lime in about one gallon
mp.) of water, draw: off the clear solution, and mix it tho-
roughly with about. one hundred weight of putrid oil, then
add. about, three ounces of sulphuric acid previously diluted
with sixteen,or twenty parts of water, and boil, with a gentle
heat, till. the.oil begins to drop clear from a spatula. After
the ebullition, is, finished, draw off the oil into a cooler, and
allow it to remain/at rest for.a few days. A vessel lined: with
lead is:less acted on by: the acid ;, but a copper or iron vessel
will answer. the, purpose perfectly well. The quantity of
chloride of lime must be varied: according to the putridity of
the, oil. It. may be: apprehended by some that the boiling
will i injure the colour of the oil; but it never does so where
the heat is properly applied); for if there be a sufficiency of

M. Fraunhofer on the Laws of Light. 101

water the temperature can never be much above 212° F.
The oil in. general, after going completely through ‘this pro-
cess, seems to have nearly the same properties as it formerly
had, and burns in a Jamp equally well ;' but a portion of its
Po ye contents is in general precipitated. i

-Giascow, eas April 1827.

Art. XXI1.—4A short account of the results of recent Experi:
_ ments upon the Laws of Light, and its Theory.* By M.

. Le Cuevarier FraunHoFER, Member of the Royal Bava-
Tian Academy of Sciences at Munich. .

Iw a Treatise of mine, which was printed in the eighth volume
of the Memoirs of the Royal Bavarian Academy of Sciences
last year, I published new experiments on the Inflection of
light, and on the phenomena which arise from the reciprocal
action of inflected rays on each other, together with the de-
velopement of the laws which may be deduced from these ex-
perenents: rz

‘Led by the inferences which I had drawn, I have since con.
tinued these experiments ; and the following is a notice of such
of the results which I obtained as are suited to a short paper,
assuming, however, that all that the above treatise’ contains
on this subject is understood. ++

In observing the phenomenon which takes place when the
light is inflected through a single small aperture by means of
a telescope, coloured spectra are seen, which, im respect to the
order of colours, are similar to the Newtonian coloured rings ;

* Read in the Mathematical and Physical class of ihe pet a June
14, 1823.

As the Editor of this Work has already translated and publish-
ed from the French of M. Shumacher and M. Pictet, the whole of
Fraunhofer’s first Memoir on the Spectrum, and the principal part of his
second Memoir on the Modification of Light by Inflection, he has been
anxious to put the English reader in possession of the present Memoir,
which he has had translated from the original German, which appeared in
Gilbert’s Journal for 1823.—En.

+t The substance of this ‘Treatise will be found in the article Orrics in
the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, vol. xv. p. 556. 3

i ae M. Fraunhofer on the Laws

and their light, like that of these rings, is not homogeneous,
In my Treatise I have denominated these spectra, which are
seen through a single aperture, spectra of an eaternal kind, in
order to distinguish them from those which are produced im -
another manner. In future, however, I shall denote them by
the appellation of spectra of the first class, in order to speak
on this subject with greater facility. If, on the contrary, light
is inflected through a great number of small apertures all at
equal distances, then from the reciprocal action of the inflected
rays on each other, when observed with a telescope, spectra of
another sort are produced, of which the light is perfectly ho-
mogeneous, provided there is a sufficient number of the small
apertures. And in these are perceived the same fixed lines
and streaks which are seen in a spectrum produced by.a pristit_
when observed by a telescope. By this means the latter kind
of spectra are peculiarly fitted for discovering the law of these
modifications of light ; for by observations made on these lines
and stripes that law may he deduced with a high degree of
accuracy. Such a system of equal small parallel intervals. can
be most easily procured, either by pressing thin silver or gold
- wire into the threads. of a very fine screw, or by etching paral-
lel lines upon. a plate of glass covered with goldJeaf. In these
experiments the light of the sun, must enter a darkened room.
by a vertical aperture of extremely small apparent width, in
the shutter, and fall upon the object-glass of a telescope, in
the direction of its axis,placed at the opposite end. of the room.
When the observer has drawn out the eye-glass, of the tele-
scope so far that he sees the aperture in the, shutter as dis-
tinctly as possible, and then places the parallel wires in such
a manner before the object-glass that the threads shall run
horizontally, he sees the aperture itself unaltered, as if there
were no wires; but at the same time there will appear to him,
at some distance from this aperture in the shutter, and in a
horizontal direction, symmetrically on. both sides, very in-
tensely coloured spectra, which are repeated, and become
wider in proportion to their distance from the middle (or axis,)
so that the first repetition has twice the breadth, the second
three times, and so forth; and in the same proportion as their
distances from the axis are increased. . These spectra I deno-

of Light and its Theory. 103

minated in my Treatise perfect mean spectra, but in future I
shall call them spectra of the second class. On the contrary, I
name these latter spectra imperfect ones if their light be not
homogeneous; and that. is always the case when only a few
reflected rays act upon each other at egual distances.

In this paper the capital letters B, C.... H will denote coleur-
ed. rays of different kinds ; B is a red) ray, which lies towards
the extremity of the'spectrum; Cis deeper in the red; D
orange; E. green ; F blue; G indigo; and H violet. In every
spectrum from. solar light that consists of perfect homogene-
ous rays fixed lines or, streaks are found, which distinguish
themselves either by their strength, or their position, from the
other numerous fixed lines of the spectrum. *

* In the meanwhile, it must not be assumed that the spectrum which
is obtained, when the light refracted through a prism is received on a wall,
or ona white surface, consists of homogeneous light. Such a spectrum
would consist of perfectly homogeneous colours if the surface on which it
is received were at an infinite distance from the prism, or if an exceeding-
ly small prism.could be employed. In both cases, however, the light would
be extremely weak, and therefore no spectrum could be seen. If, for in-
stance, the prism is two inches wide, then the extreme red rays in the re-
ceived spectrum must likewise be spread into a space of about two inches.
The next red ones must occupy an equally large space; and they must, for
the most part, fall into the former ones. The same must take place with the
various tints of the other coloured rays, This is the reason why all the
coloured rays through such a prism necessarily must appear mingled toge-
ther, the less so, however, the further from the prism the spectrum is re-
ceived, or the smaller the prism, but never in so small a quantity that
they could present homogeneous colours which have still intensity enough
to be perceived. The colours of the spectrum are, according to this, so
much less developed the nearer we approach the white surface to the
prism ; and here we see at the same time the cause why we obtain entirely
white light when this surface is nearest to the prism, viz. because then
the extreme violet rays fall into the extreme red ones, and the various co-
loured rays are throughout intermixed. Should the white light falling
upon the prism proceed’ from a luminous surface, then the colours for the |
same reasons could not be homogeneous, even if they were produced by
an infinitely small prism, or received at a very considerable distance. The
apparent diameter of the aperture, or that of the object from which the
white rays proceed, must be exceedingly small. Thus, for instance, the
apparent diameter of the sun is far too considerable for the colours of the
rainbow to be perfectly homogeneous. If, on the contrary, the white rays
fall under a certain angle of inclination, and all together under the same

104 M. Fraunhofer on the Laws

I denote the angles at which the rays B, C... of light, mot
dified by the parallel wires, diverge from the axis in the ine
spectrum which is nearest to the axis, with B’, C’..., in the .
second spectrum with B’, C’..., in the third peonaghya from the
axis with B”, C”... and \so on.

From the experiments which are iiapeitse 3 in detail in my
second Treatise, it results, that, if we denote the width of single
intervals in the wires with y, and the thickness of the ‘single
wires with 4, expressed in parts of an inch (Paris measure,)
we find with all the systems of wires that the ares of these cir

cles are as follows, nappheing the radius = 1:—
38 ds

pr — 2:00002541 | And further :
y¥+64
c: — 000002425 B” = 2b!
— "ay bo C” :-=2C

angle upon a prism, then the extreme red ones, after the refraction in the
whole width of the prism, likewise diverge all under one and the same
angle ; and this must be the case with each of the succeeding kinds of
coloured rays. But a perfect object-glass has the property of uniting —
in one point all the rays which fall parallel to each other under any angle in
the focus ; and hence such a prismatic spectrum in a perfect telescope must
consist of perfectly homogeneous colours, provided that the white rays pro-
ceed from an object of which the apparent diameter is exceedingly small.
These circumstances, which in themselves contain nothing mysterious, and
very simply follow from the nature of the subject, are often in optical ex-
periments too little, or not at all observed ; thus frequent deceptions have
occurred in these experiments which have led to erroneous conclusions:
What has been here said applies not only te the phenomena of refraction,
but also to those of inflexion, and the mutual action of bent rays on each
other, and is the cause why, when the light modified through parallel wires
is received on a white surface, nothing is seen of those phenomena which
are observed in it by means of a telescope. It will be easily seen that a lens
cannot supply the office of a telescope. If we wish on a wall or white sur-
face to have a spectrum, the colours of which should consist of perfectly
homogeneous light, it would be requisite to receive the light proceeding
under a proper angle from a very good prism, with a very good object-
glass of long focus, and to place the white surface accurately in its focus.
in such aspectrum the fixed lines or streaks would be likewise visible ;the
prism and the object-glass, however, must not be small, in order to Lave
sufficient clearness, while the coloured light is sent forth from the white
surface in all directions; and ts a small part we it can strike the —
yer's eye.

of Light and its’ Theory. 106

; 0,00002175 21 is 6vhtl vant. 29) ind
ey an oe) YIoos of) of - mooA.
Fy ea 9-00001943 |) sis s0 -gailieh 3 er
: US, . re! pr BSh
F’ — 9-00001789 Br = 3C :
PS 0 GG GABS: re
G — 9,00001585 pl ods .setinoen
yY¥+6
0.00001451

y+?

re

>

The numerator in these general expressions for every dis-
tinct coloured ray, though a different absolute number, yet,
however different the cases may be, is an invariable number,
which, as will be easily perceived, relates here to a distinct
and absolute measure, the Parisian inch. If this number is ge-
nerally marked, for every coloured ray, with w, and the angle
of deviation of one and the same coloured ray in the first
spectrum with , in the second with 9’, in the third with Y”,
and so forth, there is generally :

eer ae &e.
y+8 “ps 3
And sean aaaltie if » stands for the number which sass
cates to what spectrum in the order the value belongs, (since
vis for the axis =0, for the first spectrum = 1, for the
second — 2, &c. and can never be a fraction ;) and if, for the
sake of shortness, the sum of the breadth of an interval and

a wire, or y + 6, = Hh then. we have 3 rad
qr) 3 =

The results of the shave: medtieined expievitsitint, ina alee
the common expression (I.) thence derived, show that the an-
gles of deviation of the same coloured rays, in the series of
spectra as they deviate from their axis through the wires, are
as the numbers, 0, 1, 2, 3, &c. But the experiments from
which these results are derived, gave angles so small, that their
sines, tangents, and arcs, are nearly in the same proportion.
In my first system of wires, where <= 0,001952 of an inch
D/is = 38’ 19,3”. Upon reflection it will probably appear
that in larger angles, that is with finer systems of wires, not
the arcs, but perhaps one of the trigonometrical lines of

106 M. Fraunhofer on the Laws

these angles, may have the proportion under consideration.
According to the theory, which will -be treated of hereafter,
with the. light falling vertically upon the system of wires,
the sines of the angles will have the said‘proportion. Partly
in order to be able to confirm this directly by experiments, ©
partly because the laws of this theory of the modification of
light can be better inferred from larger spectra, it appeared
to me, that, if it were possible to produce them, much finer.
systems of wires than those which I had employed in my earlier
experiments would be desirable ; but 1 in such fine systems the
spaces between the threads or wires must be equal, and a high
‘degree of accuracy is necessary, in order that the fixed lines
of the spectra should appear, without which the distances, of
the colours from the axis could not be measured.

To produce a considerably finer screw than that of which
I made use in my earlier experiments will not easily be
thought possible by those who are acquainted with the diffi-
culties of this kind of work. By means of a peculiar arrange-
ment I was enabled to trace upon a plate of glass, thinly
coated with leaf gold, parallel lmes at such intervals, that
_ ¢ == 0,00114 of an inch. “If it is required to trace lines at very
stall distances from each other, no gold remains’ on the glass,
and ¢onsequently no intervals appear. | The’ spectra obtained
through such a’ system of lines, where ¢ = 0,00114 are, how-
ever, considerably larger than those formerly ‘obtained, and
the fixed lines are'very distinctly seen in them ; but the results
which could be obtained by them’ were’ still far from'affording
any conclusion on the subject under inquiry.

In a system of lines, which is employed in these experi-
ments, it is ummaterial whether the lines of which: it consists
are opaque, pellucid, or transparent. A system of spun glass
threads, for instance, produces the same phenomena as one of —
metallic wires. I therefore laid on one side of agood plate of ,
glass such a thin coat of fat that it could with difficulty be
discovered with the-naked eye. In this substance I traced pa-
rallel lines, which had. intervals of only half the size of those
that were traced on the finest leaf gold. Through these systems —
of lines. spectra. were produced in which the fixed lines could
be very distinctly perceived, and which are therefore well
adapted for accurately measuring their distances from, the axis.

of Light and its Theory. 107

It is impossible to trace in any layer of fat, or varnish, parallel
lines more accurately at equal distances... !

It was only by means of a diamond that, T obtained. still
finer systems of lines, when I was enabled by a machine, con-
structed for this purpose, to trace parallel lines witha diamond |
point, in the greatest perfection, immediately on the surface of
the plate of glass. . If, by good fortune, a very good diamond
point is procured, by the help of this machine lines. may be
traced so fine that they cannot be perceived by the-most pow-
erful compound microscope. It is, however, not sufficient to
be able to trace a very considerable number of lines within a
given space that shall leave interstices between them, but it
is requisite that these lines should be at distances in so high a
degree equal to each other that the greatest number of them
shall not be nearer to each other, or farther, than the hun-
dredth part of this small distance. With the help of my ma-
chine I have obtained a system of lines in which <= 0,0001223
of an inch, the lines of which are at distances,so very equal,
that the fixed. lines of the first and second spectrum. that are
seen through it may be. very clearly distinguished. * Through —

* With this machine parallel lines, with intervals as wide as the lines
themselves, may be etched at such a small distance from each other that
32000 will be contained in a Parisian inch ; but I havé not hitherto suc=
ceeded in giving them such equal distances Sem each other; which ought
to be 0,00003125 of an inch. Not many faults of a hundredth, part, that
is, of 0,00000031 occur ; and it is perhaps not possible for human hands,
with any machinery that can be employed, to surpass this, since 100 or 200
parallel lines are of little use; and in such fine systems of lines several
thousands are always required in order to obtain perfect intense spectra.
It requires much good fortune, even with == 0,0001223: to find a dia-
mond point which shall trace several thousands of: such fine lines without
becoming altered. I have hitherto only succeeded with one system of lines
so fine. If, during the process of tracing, the diamond point becomes al-
tered, all the preceding labour is lost. The point, without any apparent
cause, often makes stronger or weaker lines ; nor can it be discovered by
the strongest microscope whether the point is fit to trace the proper lines.
Hence it is only by trials that a useful point can be obtained. What ren-
ders the thing still more difficult is, that a small alteration in the inclina-
tion or position of the diamond, relatively to the plane of the plate of glass,
materially alters the force of the lines. Since every line requires to be

_drawn singly, with great care, it may be easily conceived how much time
and patience are necessary to trace two thousand lines with the requisite
accuracy.

108 M. Fraunhofer on the Laws

this system of lines spectra are produced, which are as largé
as those produced by very large prisms; and already in the
first spectrum the line D (in the orange) is observed to’ be as
good as double, so that the width of the space can be measured.
And since through this system, for instance, D’ is already =10”
14’, the law of this modification of light can be deduced. with
very great accuracy from the experiments made with it.

In the case when the light fell vertically upon this x 190
in which ¢ = 0,0001223, I obtained, ~ 3 6d

CC! = 11° 25’ 20” VF's, 8° 26/,; 64 nike ol
C” =23 1g 42 PF’ = 17.8 Sho cite
D’=10 14 31 Gti 7, S710 ie
D” =20 49 44 G" a 16 Br Bee,
E’= 9 9— H—>6 58 O08 #9

E’” —18 32 34

These angles are so large, that, in reference to ‘ares, - sities,
and tangents, they deviate from each other very materially’
Since the instrument with which these angles are measured _
gives 4” without repeating, some idea may be formed of the
degree of accuracy to which they can be depended upon. _
. The third spectrum, the fourth, and those following, 5 were
indeed well seen with this system; but the fixed lines im the
various colours could not be distinguished with sufficient pre-
cision, in order to determine their distances from the axis quite
as accurately as those in the first and second. *
The indicated measures of the first and second spectrum are
rad?
* However great the accuracy may be in reference to the equal distan-
ces of the parallel lines, it is natural that it should have its limits, for
absolute perfection is unattainable. What influence a slight inequality
in the spaces between the parallel lines may have on the distortion or con=

- fusion of the fixed lines in the different spectra may be judged of from the
va@

equation + (”) redo For, as it thence follows that ¢ 3 ) = —s ‘ i
an inequality. which amounts only to the hundredth part of thisverysmall -
distance ¢, (ds == 0,00000122 inch, ) must produce a disturbance of the fix-.
ed line D, in the first spectrum of 6’ 5”, in the second spectrum of 12’ 10”,
in the third of 18’ 15”, and so forth. This is the cause why, in the first —
and ‘second spectrum, the fixed lines may still be defined, while in. nr.
third and fourth, &c. they are not.

of Light and its Theory. ~ 109

in the meanwhile sufficient to lead to ‘a. eenentiiion concerning
the law of this’ modification.

As the distance of the parallel lines cut upon the glass from
each other must be-known with the greatest accuracy, and as
these lines themselves are difficult to be distinguished by the
most powerful microscope, at least cannot be counted, I en-
deavoured to etch the first and the last line somewhat stronger |
than the rest ; and with a microscopic apparatus, adapted for
this purpose, I measure the distance from the first line to the
last, the etching machine itself reading the lines which are etch-
ed. In this way I know accurately how many of them are
contained in the etched space. » Thus, for instance, the’ glass -
of which I have been hitherto speaking contained 3601 lines.
Then from the distance of the first from the last, the distance
between the middle of any two, that i is ¢, may be very accu-
rately' known; and the proportion of the width of’ a line to
the intermediate space between two lines may likewise be
very nearly determined. If the lmes -were so thick’ that
one touched’ another, and’ consequently had’ no space be-
tween them, no light could be regularly reflected from the
étched ‘surface, and would, as from every other polished sur-
face, be ‘dispersed. Were the intermediate spaces equally
wide as the lines, the etched surface could only regularly re-
flect half as much light as an equal surface of glass that was
not etched, therefore the quantity of regularly reflected light
from an etched surface of glass is in proportion to the quan-
tity of light which is reflected from a surface of glass of the
same size not etched, as the width of the spaces between any
two neighbouring lines is to the width of those lines.-¥ It is.
scarcely necessary to remind the reader, that, in experiments.
thus made, care must be taken that from the second surface
of glass-no light shall be reflected. :
“With another system of lines on glass, in which « =0 0005919
of an inch, T obtained with the light falling upon it vertically :.

~"* Even if the quantity of reflected light could be Riharcee with ex.
treme ‘accuracy, this conclusion, from reasons which shall be hereafter
mentioned, could only be considered as-an approximation. In wires
where ¢ is still much smaller than here, this conclusion would be very ac-
curate. In the experiments here mentioned the determination of this
proportion is of no consequence, but only that of the magnitude s.

~

110 M. Fraunhofer on the Laws

Cc’ ts 2°20! 57" i bg j E"”’ — 9° 28’ gts :
D’ = 2 6 30 okt eb aired 6 aed

“DY = 4.18.7 FY =3 28 45.57)
D” = 6 20.7 WR I$ AS 885410 Wao
D” = 8 27 43 ones ete 6 58 1Se reas,
pM = 10 35, 68 SOK. ae BR OS. coe allie
EF = 1 53 7 aS Re ey Smee
E” = $ 46 17 G""=4 37 30°
E” — 5 39 50 HA’ =1 25
E” = 7 33 41 Hi” =2 50. 11

The aggregate. observations with both systems: of lini ie
wank nearly represented by the following equation : boniaiios

(II.) sin. ei

_ With rays falling vertically the sines of the devaiiits of a
coloured ray from the axis in the different mucoqealing apeeiae.
are as the numbers 0, 1, 2,.3, &c. *

The system «—0 0005919 has the ecilbne property, that
all the spectra produced by it.on one side.of the axis have more
than double the intensity of those which lie on the other. side
of the axis... The lines of this system are indeed visible with
a microscope, but no. particular form, can , be distinguished:
I therefore suppose the reason may be, that, in etching, the
diamond point might have had such a position in respect to
the plate of glass, that one edge of each line must. have be-
come sharp, and the other less defined ; and I believe that this

.* If the sines, and not the angles of deviation ‘of a coloured ray in the
different spectra had not been in the proportion in question, then. through
the finer systems of lines on glass, where D’==10° 14’ 31", D” ==20° 29’ 2”,
but, according to the experiment D” == 20° 49’ 44”, consequently by 20
minutes more, the ‘sines of the angles have on the other hand this pro-
portion. In the seconds we still meet in the calculation’ witha small dif-
ference, which is, however, too great to be attributed to an error in the
observation. Whether this difference is to be looked for in a small imper-
fection of the lines, or lies in the nature of these phenomena, may be de-
termined by a greater number of experiments with different very fine sys-
tems of lines. I do not here, however, give the angles quite faithfully, as
I obtained them by the experiments without allowing a correction. I
had repeatedly determined these angles, and each time by six repetitions ;
and in the lighter colours I obtained almost constantly the same angle ac
curate to a second ; nevertheless, small constant errors might produce the
above difference. ,

Of Light andl its TPheorys 111

is confirmed by the following expériment::»I\ traced -parallel
lines upon a plate of glass, covered with a thin layer of fat, in
such away that) the fat in every line must have been. cut
sharp on:one side, and:less defined on the other, and actually
obtained through this warp an appearance similar to that of the
system: before mentioned. . If the ray does not fall vertically
on the:system of lines, but inclines towardsit in the plane which
vertically intersects the parallel lines, the effect is the same-as

if :for these rays the distance of the parallel lines from each
- other, that.is'«, were smaller im the proportion of: the radius
to the cosine of the angle of incidence-than by alight received
vertically.. Consequently: the. distances of: the: spectra from
the axis (9) must become as much: greater.as theyangle: of in-
cidence is greater, because (as the equation I]. shows) the se-
ries of these distances increase in the ‘same proportion as ¢ de-
creases. If, therefore, 6 denotes the angle of incidence, that
is, the angle which the incident ray forms with a line perpen-
dicular to the plane of a _ it was safe to cimchiibnys from
equation II. viz. se an =» that sin. 3%) — Ba

&. COS. O

But according to. the enn of these phenomena, which
will be adverted to hereafter, it may be predicted, that in this
case the spectra on both sides of the axis will no longer be
symmetrical ; ; that, therefore, D’, for instance, on the one side
of the axis must be larger than D’ on the other side, This
is also confirmed by. experiments which will be, mentioned
afterwards. In systems of lines in which < is not very small
the difference is not striking ;* but it is uncommionly great on
the contrary in those systems where ¢ = 0,0001223 of an inch ;
for when = 55°, we have on one side of the axis D/ = 15° 6,
and on the other side of the same axis D/ — 30° 33/.

Now, if the symmetrical spectra of the first class, Which do
not consist of homogeneous colours, and contain no fixed
lines, ? are important. for the theory « of these “phenomiena, the

* In fact, with coarse systems of lines, when @ is not-very large, one

vy) - v@
= See nap rome with sufficient accuracy, as I haye

done in my Treatise “ On the New Modi ification of Light, ” page 62; but
we shall farther on find an equally accurate and more simple term.
+ New Modification of Light, &c. page 12, French translation, p. 55.

may use the term sine >

re
112 M. Fraunhofer on the Laws of Light.

non symmetrical spectra of the second class are far more in-
teresting, because they show the fixed lines; and from them
the law of this modification of light can be deduced with ex~
treme accuracy, and the theory of these phenomena: can: be:
put to the severest test. I> give here the result of several
experiments with the coloured rays .D and F. In order to:
show on which side of the axis the angle 9 lies, which measures:
the distance of the coloured ray from the axis, I denote with
—I,—11...those spectra which lie on that side of the axis, where.
the received ray inclines to the plane of the warp; and on
the other hand, with + 1, + 11...the spectra) at the opposite:
side of the axis, where the obliquely incident ray makes ob-~
tuse angles with the system of lines, so that D—, D +1, or
D—u, D+1,,.denote the opposite situations of the rays D in
the first or second spectrum. The angle of incidence «is here.
to be understood in the same sense as above, that is, the angle
which the incident ray forms with the perpendicular. |

Binoy nesaee with the system of lines on ig in» owhdale

= 0,0001 223. :

6 = 55° : :
D—=15° 6’ 36” F—t— 12° 44! 40”
Dt? — 80 33 10 Ft'=19 58 54
D—"—27 23 18 F—-"= 23 16 50°
¢ = 50° . ,
D— = 13° 58’ 12” Ft = 11° 43/53"
Dt! 90 42 51 F+1—=15 53 10
D—~" = 25 46 20 Fv"= 23 16 50.
| 6 = 45° : .
D— —13° 2 37" Fo = 10° 54 55%. Go.
Dt* —17 14 44 7 Ft? 18 87 88
D—"= 24 25 30 eo" = 20 9880) oe
| 6 = 40° fen ie
D—* = 12° 17/84" F—~ = 10° 15’ 29”
Dt'—15 8 52 Ft'—12 8 12
D7" = 23 18 54 F—"=19 $2 57.
| 6 = 30° oes
D7 = 11°12! 22" Fry zs, 9° 18. 86" oe
Dt* —12 40 30 pol hes 10: 17:8 Madea
D7" =21 42 5 F-4=18 4 35

Dt"™=28 50 5 F+N—922 30 10°

Account of Halos and Parhelia in America. 113

¢ ser Q0Ririi 3 : |
Dt = 10° $3’, 2” Ie Fo = 8° 44 10”
Dti=11°19 23 Ptr __ 9 15.22
D—=20 46 54 FOU 17 12 45
Dt¥= 2414 30 Ft 19 97

_In these experiments the instrument could not be used as a
repeating one on the first angles. They are therefore, in re-
spect to: the seconds, somewhat less accurate than those ob-
tained .by light received vertically ; ; but as the differences on
one or the other side of the axis already amount to several de-
grees, a few seconds are no longer of consequence.

Thus, in the aggregate experiments of. this kind, as p—
has been obtained differently from D+!, so likewise F—t from
F+1; and the same was the case for the remaining coloured
rays, of which I here omit the experiments. When the light
- is not received vertically, the spectra produced by the system
of, lines are not at all symmetrical on both sides of the axis ;
nay, the difference of their position, with large angles of in-
cidence, is so considerable, that, even if it amounted only to the
hundredth part, it could be easily observed.

( To be concluded in next Number.)
\/

At. XXII.—Account. of Halos, and Parhelia observed in
America, *

On the 8th September 1816, between two and three o'clock,
there was observed about the sun, at New Port, Rhode Island,
a very curious halo, which lasted between 40/ andan hour. It was
drawn by Mr D. Melville, and is represented in Plate I. Fig.
3. _The halo encircling the sun S was of the ordinary size,
but very bright, having the whole of its circumference tinged
with the prismatic colours. On its upper and north-east limb
there was a bright mock sun, the rays of which formed a se-
cond halo of a smoky white colour, well-defined in its whole
circumference, but more faintiy as it approached the primary

* Collected and paar from Dr Sillimen’s Journal, vol. > ih 368, and,
vol. xi. p. 325. 7
VOL. VII. NO. I. JULY 1827. H

114 Account of Halos and Parhelia in America.

halo on its south-west limb where they united. This halo
AB was double the diameter of the one round §, and had
mock suns at A and B. The rays of light from A formed
another circle mn (said to be double the diameter of A B,
though the original figure does not so represent it,) and the
rays from B a similar one p. The rays of light thrown off
at the crossing of these circles at , formed segments g 7 of a
fifth halo, about 120° of which was below the horizon.

A halo was seen on the 19th August 1825 in Tod County,
Kentucky, which is shown in Plate I. Fig. 4. If we suppose E
and W the east and west points, A the zenith, and B the sun,
then CC is a circle with the prismatic colours of exceeding bril-
liancy, DD a very bright luminous circle passing through the
sun B, E E, EE, two segments of circles intersecting D D at
F. These segments were very bright about F, but became
gradually invisible as they approached the sun. ‘The points
B, A, F were in a straight line, and the intersection F was
the same height above the horizon as the sun, and moved
north and approached the zenith, in the same proportion as
the sun moved south, and approached the zenith. ‘The’ circle
D D, and the segments EE, EE, had the same diameter, and
diminished in size as the sun approached the zenith. These
circles were first observed about eight o'clock, and continued till
eleven. There was not a cloud to be seen, and the haze was
‘so thick high up in the atmosphere, that the sky appeared
completely black, and the sun shone with so much splendour,
and there was such a glare, that it was painful to the eyes
‘to go into the light.

On the Friday following the same phenomenon appeared,
with the addition of an elliptical halo mn, less brilliant than
the external one.

On the 19th August 1825, there was seen at Jackson, i in
Tennessee, the halo shown in Plate I. Fig. 5, which is the
same nearly as the one above described, and seen on the same
day in Tod county. A is the zemith, B the true sun, C C, &e.
are the parhelia formed by the intersection of the circles, D D
two small segments of a large circle, and E, W, the east and -
west points of the compass. ‘The luminous circle had much
the appearance of a lunar rainbow ; that’ part of the small cir-

Dr Rilsawer on Oxahverite. 115

cle west of the true sun was more bright than the rest, the
extreme north and south points of the two largest circles were
very dim, and the eastern extremity of the small circle some-
what flattened. In this halo, the two circles mn, n pof Fig.
3 are completed, and there are additional segments at D D.
In this halo, the circle of which A is the centre is less than
that in Fig. 3, where there are also parhelia not seen in the
other.

On the 14th August 1825, there was seen at Millbury,
Massachussets, the halo shown in Plate I. Fig. 6. It was seen
at eight o’clock in the morning, and continued till past eleven.
S is the sun, A B a circle having the sun in its centre and
about the size of the common halo. C D an ellipsis, and E F
a large circle at the west of the sun through which its circum-
ference passed. ‘The colours, except at the points G H, were
like those of the rainbow.

Arr. XXIII.—Description of Oxahverite, a New Mineral
Srom Oxahver, in Iceland. * By Davip Brewster, LL. D.
F.R. S. Lond. and Sec. R. S. Edin.

Tue very interesting mineral which I now propose to de-
scribe was put into my hands by Henry Witham, Esq. whose
knowledge of mineralogy and zeal for its progress are already —
well known to the society.

The specimens on which it is found were brought from the
hot spring of Oxahver, in the north east of Iceland, by Mr
Brown of this city. ‘They are decided petrifactions, in which
the wood has been replaced by calcareous spar of a fine ochre- _
yellow colour, and more or less crystallized. ‘This opinion
was doubted by competent judges who had seen some of the
specimens, but I consider it as completely established by a
specimen now upon the table, which, along with some others,
Mr W. G. Thomson has been so kind as to send me from his
~ cabinet.

The new mineral occurs on these petrified masses in thin
veins, in amorphous masses, in aggregated groups of crystals,

* Communicated to the Royal Society, May 7, 1827.

116 Dr Brewster on Oxahverite,

and sometimes in insulated crystals implanted in the calcareous

spar. ~ > Fee
The istirotile are acute octohedrons, with a square bi) and

therefore belong to the pyramidal ‘system of Mohs. The

angles at the base are truncated by planes parallel to the axis
of the octohedron, and equally inclined to the adjacent sides —
of the base, so as to form, when enlarged, the faces of a square
prism.

‘In submitting the most perfect crystals to measurement, a
very remarkable’ peculiarity, which I have never before ob-
served, is distinctly seen. Every face of the octohedron is a
surface of double curvature, in consequence of which the .
maximum angle of the two opposite faces of the pyramid is
58°, while the minimum angle is 42°, giving a change of in-
clination of no less than 16°. The maximum inclination oc-
curs at the base, and at the vertex of the pyramid, and the
minimum inclination at an intermediate point, so that the cry- —
stal has a form very unusual among minerals. See Plate IT.
Fig. 5. sie

The general size of the crystals is about one-tenth of an
inch in length, their surfaces aré even, but not brilliant, and
the small truncations of the angles at the base of the pyramid
are more imperfect than those of the octohedron, the imper-
fections having the direction of the axis.

The crystals cleave with some facility perpendicular to ‘the
axis, and the plane of cleavage is considerably rounded, the
convex surface being turned towards the apex of the pyramid.
In no other direction have I been able to discover the least
appearance of cleavage. re

The hardness of this mineral is between 4.5 and Eine
between fluor spar and apatite, but nearer to the latter. Its
specific gravity, as determined by a mass of forty-three grains,
is 2.218. i

The colour of the crystals is light-grey, leek-green, olive-
green, and reddish-brown. They have one axis of double re- — _-
fraction coincident with the axis of the octohedron, like. all
abher crystals belonging to ‘the pyramidal class. This axis is

egative like all those of the pyramidal class, excepting apophyl-
lite, that cleave perpendicular to the axis, and its intensity is

a new Mineral from Iceland. — 117

such, that at a thickness of 0.057 of an inch, and in a plane
perpendicular to the axis, it WON the pink of the third or-
der of colours.

Its index of ordinary refraction is vente than that of the
stilbites and mesotypes, and is very near that of apophyllite.

‘This mineral is neither pyro-electrical, nor is it ato
rescent by heat. .

From the characters which have now been pres it is
obvious that this substance must be arranged under the second
class, and the sixth order, or that of kouphone spar of the
system of Mohs. It approaches very near to the apophyllite
in form, in cleavage, in hardness, in specific gravity, in. re-
fractive power, and in the absence of pyro-electricity and phos-
phorescence. It differs from it, however, in the inclination of

‘its pyramidal faces, a difference which even the unassisted eye
can detect, and in having a negative axis, while apophyllite
has a positive axis of double refraction. In noticing, however,
this point of difference, it deserves to be remarked, that Mr
Herschel found portions of crystals of apophyllite which ex-
ercised a negative action upon a particular part of the spec-
trum ; and in the theory which I have published of this sthgu-
lar property, I have stated that I ‘* had no doubt but apo-
phyllites will yet be found in which the axis is negative for all
the rays of the spectrum.” If Dr Turner's analysis should
approximate this substance to the apoph yllite, the result would,
on this account, be a very interesting one.

Before I conclude this notice, 1 may mention a curious pro-
perty of this mineral, though it is slightly connected with its
chemical relations, which will come under the consideration of
Dr Turner.

Like Labrador feldspar, it contains a number of minute va-
culties. When a complete crystal is placed in any of the mi-
neral acids, they do not appear to exercise any action upon it,
but are absorbed, rendering, as might be expected, the mine-
ral more transparent. After a considerable time, the acid thus
absorbed seems to act upon the substance, which is shown by
a diminution of its transparency, ‘The crystal: -however retains
its external form even for weeks, but when it is taken out of
the acid it may be crushed between the fingers.

118 Dr Turner’s Analysis of Oxahverite.

Mr Henderson has given the following account of the mt
springs of Oxahver, where this mineral was found.

The middle fountain, or Oxahver, the most celebrated of
these springs, (the springs of Reykiahverf,) is situated about

150 yards S. W. from Nordur-hver. Its pipe is eight feet

at its greatest diameter, and is surrounded by a strongly in-

crusted brim almost close to the orifice. The incrustations
formed by the depositions of this fountain are peculiarly beau-
tiful. The greater part of the mound seems covered with
small thin pieces of wood, some of them half a foot long, which
lie in almost every possible direction. ‘lhe cavities, by the
junction of the pieces, are often filled with a fine efflorescence,
and various other curious petrifactions.—See Henderson’s Jce-

land, p. 145.

Art. XXIV.—Analysis of Oxahverite.* By Epwarp Tur-
ner, M.D. F.R.S.E. &c. Lecturer on Chemistry, and
Fellow of the Royal College of hy erga Edinburgh.
Communicated by the Author.

On exposure to heat in.a glass tube, the oxahvyerite emits 2 a
considerable quantity of water, becomes brittle, and acquires
a yellow ochrey tint, but does not suffer any change of form.
Heated before the blowpipe, it fuses without difficulty, and
yields a transparent colourless globule. With borax it melts
into a transparent bead, and when fused with the phosphate
of soda and ammonia, assumes the appearance indicative of
the presence of silica. When heated before the blowpipe
with the flux of bisulphate of potash and fluor-spar, as de-
scribed in a former paper, the flame did not receive either a
green or a red tint, and hence the absence of boracic acid and

lithia may be inferred.
The oxahverite is readily attacked by the nitric or muria- —

tic acid, even when diluted with water; so that these men-
strua cannot be safely employed for separating the carbonate
of lime in which the minera! is imbedded. When a crystal
is put into strong muriatic acid, it gradually becomes opaque
and brittle, but retains its form. Subjected in the state of

* Communicated to the Royal Society May 7, 1827.
i

Dr ‘urner’s Analysis of Oxahverite. 119

fine powder to the action of muriatic acid, it suffers complete
decomposition. A gelatinous residue remains, which, after
exposure to a red heat, is found to bea light white powder
readily soluble in a concentrated hot solution of the carbonate
of soda, and possessed of all the properties of pure silica. The
acid solution had a yellow colour indicative of the presence of
the peroxide of iron. The addition of muriate of baryta did not
disturb the transparency of the liquid. Pure ammonia caused
areddish-brown flocculent precipitate, consisting of the peroxide
of iron and alumina. On adding oxalate of ammonia to the
filtered. solution, a copious white precipitate of the oxalate of
lime ensued. The residual liquid, evaporated to dryness and
ignited, gave a white fusible residue, in which carbonate of am-
monia and phosphoric acid could discover no trace of magne-
sia, but which, with the muriate of platinum, yielded a copious
precipitate of the yellow muriate of platinum and potash. The
saline residue did not possess the property of communicating
a yellow tint to flame, from which circumstance the total ab-
sence of soda is inferred.

From the preceding characters, it follows that the oxahve-
rite is composed of silica, lime, potash, oxide of iron, alumi- ~
na, and water. In addition to these ingredients I have like-
wise discovered a trace of fluoric acid. In the preliminary
examination I had indeed failed in detecting this substance ;
but when, on observing the similarity in the composition of
oxahverite and apophyllite, I repeated the experiments with
a larger quantity of the mineral, I succeeded in procuring une=
quivocal indications of its presence. From a deficient supply
of the oxahverite I have been unable to determine the precise
proportion of fluoric acid; but the quantity is very minute,
and I apprehend falls far short of one per cent.

With respect to the degree of oxidation of the iron, it is
certain that this metal is in part at least in the state of perox-
ide ; for, on acting upon the mineral with muriatic acid in a
close vessel, and pouring the liquid into a boiling solution of
the ferro-cyanate of potash, a blue precipitate appeared.

To discover the proportion of the constituents of this mineral,
T exposed 22.95 grains of the fresh crystals, in fine powder, to
the action of strong muriatic acid for forty-eight hours. The

120 Dr Turner’s Analysis of Oxahverite.

mixture was then evaporated slowly to dryness, and the so-
luble parts removed by dilute muriatic acid assisted by heat.
The silica, collected and heated to redness, weighed thy a
grains, equivalent to 50.76 per cent. Raa

~The acid solution was treated by pure ammonia in ord
to separate iron and alumina; and ‘to the filtered Jiquid an
excess of the oxalate of ammonia was added. 'The oxalate of
. lime, collected and exposed to a'white heat, yislded 5. 14," or
22.39 per cent of pure lime.

The precipitate, consisting of iron and alumina, was treated
in the usual manner by pure potash. The peroxide of iron,
thus procured, amounted to 0.78 of a grain, or 3.39 per —_
and the alumina to 0.23 of a grain, or 1 per cent.

The solution from which the oxalate of lime was side
was evaporated to dryness, and exposed to a red heat. The
fused residue consisting of the chloride of potassium, weighed.
1.52 grains, equivalent to 0.96 of a grain, or 4.18 per cent. a
potash.

To ascertain the quantity of water contained im the oxi
verite, 6.45 grains of the crystals were heated to redness.
The loss was 1.12 grains, or 17.36 per cent. |

On comparing the result of this analysis with that of apo-
phyllite and tesselite, as given by Berzelius, it will be seen
that the composition of these minerals is very analogous.

Oxahverite. Apophyllite. Tesselite.

> ae tigi 50.76 52.13 52.38
Lime, ‘ 22.39 24.71 24.98.
Potash, =r foo AAR 5.27 5.27
Peroxide of iron, 3.39 0.00 0.00
Alumina, - 1,00 0.00 0.00 —
Fluoric acid a trace, 0.82 0.64
Water, 17.36 16.20 16.20
99.08 99.13 99.47

As the proportion of silica, lime, potash, and water, in oxah-
verite, is so nearly the same as that of the other minerals, it
admits of doubt whether the iron and alumina, combined per-
haps with a little water, are not’ to be regarded as accidental

Dr Grant\on the ewistence and uses.of Cilie, &c. 121

impurities, rather than as essential parts of the mixture. In
this view the oxahverite would be a variety of apophyllite.

Art. XXV.—On the ewistence and uses of Cilie in the
young of the Gasteropodous Mollusca, and on the causes of the
spiral turn of Univalve Shells.* By R. E. Grant, M. D.
F.R.S.E, Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians of
Edinburgh, and formerly Lecturer on Comparative Ana-
tomy. .Communicated by the Author,

Ween we examine the surface of the minutest animalcules with
a powerful microscope, we perceive that their quick locomotions
are produced by the rapid vibration of very minute processes
termed ci/ie, variously disposed on the surface of the body in
the different species. In zoophytes, whose fixed and inert
axis prevents them from swimming to and fro in search of
prey like animalcules, we observe incessant currents of water
directed to the mouths of the polypi, caused, not as is gene-
rally supposed by the motions of the tentacula, but by the quick
vibration of cilia disposed either on the tentacula, or around
the mouths of the polypi. I have already shown that the
same minute vibratory organs exist on the surface of the re-
productive gemmules, or so named ova, of a great variety of
zoophytes, enabling these fixed and apparently inert animals
to rise from the bottom of the sea, and swim rapidly from
place to place during the first stage of their existence, sepa-
rate from the body of the parent. Although the cilia, in the
simplest orders of animals, might be considered as organs of
motion destined to supply the place of the muscular system,
a more extended application of the microscope will show that
they are not confined to animals thus low in the scale, but are
likewise of frequent occurrence in such as have the muscular
and nervous systems highly developed, and probably that
they have some influence in the first developement of the em-
bryo of the most perfect animals. While watching the pro-
gress of the embryo of the Buccinum undatum, and of the

* Read before the Wernerian Natural History Society of Edinburgh
on the 24th March 1827.

122 Dr Grant on the existence and uses of Cilie

Purpura lapillus, with the view of determining the influence
exerted by the enormous pulsations of the heart of the testa-
ceous gasteropodous mollusca, in causing the oblique spire of
univalve shells to lie always on the side opposite to that or-
gan, I was early struck with the rapid and incessant motion
of the amniotic fluid towards the fore part of the body of
_ these animals during every stage of their developement within
the ovum, and it was easy to observe by the aid of the micro-
scope that these currents were produced by cili@ placed around
the margins of two funnel-shaped projections on the fore part
of the young animal. On examining the cells newly deposited
by the female Buccinum undatum, whether in basons of ‘sea
water, or on the sea shore, we find in each cell about a thou-
sand very small yellow opaque spheres, suspended in a trans-
parent gelatinous fluid, which has a saline taste, and leaves
dendritic crystals on evaporation. These yellow bodies do
not effervesce in nitric acid, nor can we perceive any lime se-
creted in the shell of the young animal before it comes in con-
tact with the sea water by the opening of the cell at maturity.
The yellow spheres are observed to assume an arrangement in
curved and convoluted rows, and at length they are found
grouped together into about twenty small separate masses,
where they are united by a gelatinous basis. Soon after the
formation of these twenty round groups, we observe the gela-
tinous connecting matter form a transparent covering on each
group, which is the rudiment of the future shell, and on one
side the gelatinous matter is lengthened outwards, so as to
form the margins of an internal cavity whose entrance is sur-
rounded with vibrating célie, and in the interior of whichwe per-
ceive a constant revolution of the particles of some fluid. The
vibration of the cilie, and the revolving current in the internal
cavity, are perceived long before the pulsations of the heart, or
any appearance of that organ are discernible, and are the first
indications of life in the embryo. The yellow opaque bodies oc-
cupy the shut end of the spire like the testicle and ovarium of
the adult. The heart is formed on the left side of the trans-
parent anterior part, and its motions are so great, that at each
diastole the whole projecting anterior half of the animal is
forced considerably to the right side, causing that part of the -

a
*

in the young of the Gasteropodous Mollusca, &c. 123

body, and consequently the shell, to assume a curved form,
with the heart always on the convex side of the curve. The
heart pulsates about twenty times in a minute, and the dias-
tole of its cavities is much more sudden and remarkable than
the systole. If the motions of the heart were the only powers
which turned the body from a straight line, the spire of the
Buccinum would revolve on the same plane round its shut ex-
tremity, like that of a Spirorbis ; but as the animal’s foot re-
quires continually to descend over the columella of the shell,
before it can reach a solid surface to creep upon, the body
~ and the shell are thus incessantly deflected from the original
plane, and forced to assume the spiral form which we observe
in the adult Buccinum, and in most univalve shells. In the
reverse shells, where the cone lies on the left side of the ani-
mal, we likewise find the heart in a reverse situation, being
then on the right side. The two wide projecting circles of
cilige at the sides of the mouth continue visible for some time
after the escape of the young Buccinum from the general cell,
and they are of such length and size that their motions ean
be easily followed by the eye aided by the microscope. The
young of the Purpura lapillus are also inclosed in a horny
general capsule, like those of the Buccinum. 'The ovum of the
Purpura is shaped like a grain of corn, while that of the Buc-
cinum is flat like a split pea. When first deposited, the horny
covering in both is white and soft, but soon becomes yellow
and firm, and the transparent gelatinous matter enveloping
the young becomes gradually thinner as the young advance
to maturity, There are about fifty-five young in each cell of
the Purpura, and they exhibit the same mode of develope-
ment as those of the Buccinum ; the same revolution of particles
within the transparent part of the embryo give the first indi-
cation of life, and the same wide ciliated opening is seen on
each side of the head, the ez/¢@ continuing to vibrate for some
time after the escape of the young from the cell or ovum, as
in the Buccinum.

These circles of long vibrating cilie I have also met with
in the young of other genera of testaceous mollusea, as the
Trochus, Nerita, &c. which are not inclosed in a general horny
cell, but are merely enveloped in a soft gelatinous matter, by
which they adhere to the leaves of fuct till they arrive at ma-

.
124 Dr Grant on the existence and uses of cilie, &e. :

turity. In 'such genera as have the ova enveloped’ only inja -
soft gelatinous matter, we find a delicate membrane surround-
ing each fetus, and inclosing a thin amniotic fluid. In these «
the cili@ are so long, and so rapid in their motions, that the
young are seen within the ova revolving continually round
their own axis, by striking the ci/i@ against the inside of ‘the
containing membrane; and when they escape from the ova, they
are carried with great velocity through the water by the vibra-
tions of the cilia. I have observed the same appearances in
the young of the naked gasteropoda as in the ova of different
species of Doris, Eolis, &c. which are inclosed in a soft trans-
parent gelatinous matter, and adhere by it to rocks or other
solid marine bodies. The young in these genera are likewise
surrounded, each by a thin membrane and amniotic fluid.
They are seen almost continually revolving round their centre
within the ova, and they swim rapidly forward by the action
of their cilia when they escape from the ova. In those ge-
nera whiclr deposit the young in a general horny cell, as those
first described, we find no membrane or amniotic fluid sur-
rounding each fetus, but the horny covering is lined with a
delicate membrane which incloses the vilaole? of the embryos
and the gelatinous fluid in which they are developed. The
young of the Buccinum, when mature, escape from the cell,
by a part of the horny covering separating on the inner con-
cave side of the cell. ‘The young of the Purpura escape by
the falling off of a firm gelatinous plug from the free’ extre-
mity of the cell. The portions of the outer covering which
fall off are probably loosened by the motions of the young
within ; and as the young are still safely lodged in their cells
when they first come in contact with the sea water by the for-
mation of the aperture, we find the ci#i@ in such genera much
less developed than in the other genera without a horny co-
vering. ‘Their motions appear destined to bring a constant
supply and renewal of pure sea water in contact with the
young in the cells, in order to perfect the formation of the
shell before their final departure from the now open cavity
of the cell: Inthe ova which are enveloped in a gelatinous
connecting matter without any horny covering, we- observe
that connecting matter become very soft- and loose, and ‘se-
parate into long flocculi when the young: have arrived at

Mr Warden on a New Safety Gas Burner. 125

maturity ; and when the ova separate successively from the
general mass by the action of the waves, the young in each
ovum is so large as nearly to fill the whole of the vesicle which
contains it. ‘The cili@ in these species are so long, and move
with such rapidity, while the young gasteropod is incessantly
revolving round its own centre, that probably the continued
pulsations of the cilze against the sides of the containing ve-
sicle tend to abrade or weaken it, and thus aid the escape of
the young animal. After their escape from the vesicles, the
rapid vibrations of these long céli@ cause the young animals
to swim with great velocity to and fro in the water, which will
greatly accelerate their means of procuring food during their
infant state; and as they have neither a byssus to fix them-
selves to rocks, nor a calcareous shell to protect them from
the violence of the sea, the power of rapid locomotion which
they possess by means of the ciliw will add much to their
- “safety in an element in constant agitation.

‘There is a remarkable similarity in the structure of the
ciliated parts in the embryos of all the gasteropodous mollusca
I have yet examined, and even in the general form of these
animals, whether naked or testaceous, in their infant. state.
The existence of those singular minute vibrating organs term-
ed cilia, appears not to have been hitherto noticed in animals
so high in the scale; but from their general occurrence in this
extensive class, it is highly probable that they are much more
frequent and important organs in the economy of the lower
animals than observation has hitherto shown.

Art. XXVI.—Description of a New Safety Gas Burner. *
By Mr Witttam Warpven, Engineer to the Edinburgh
Portable Gas Company. Ina Letter to the Ep1ron. -

Sir,
I raxe the liberty of sending you a plan of a safety burner _

_ * In Number iv. p. 345 of this Journal, we have given a drawing and
description of an improved patent gas burner invented by Mr Jennings,
in which the cock shuts itself when the flame is extinguished. Ingenious
as this contrivance was, we have no doubt that the following is more simple
and efficacious, and more applicable in practice. The Society of Arts has
adjudged to Mr Warden a silver medal for this invention.—Ep.

126 Mr Haidinger on the changes which take place
which will stop the discharge of the gas when the flame is'ex-
tinguished without shutting the stop cock.

My plan or invention for the above purpose is as follows:

Immediately above an argand, or other burner, and sur-
rounding the bottom of the flame, I place a hoop of brass
lined with steel, shown at ad, Plate I. Fig. '7 and 8, and having
an opening on one side at 6, with a small projection 8, ¢, on
each side of the opening.

The gas being ignited, the brass expands more than the
steel, and thereby brings together the opening of the hoop, so
as to grasp a piece of metal e d, connected to the cock or
valve at g by the levers ¢. ff fg.

Should the gas be extinguished, the hoop a b cools, and im-
mediately contracts, so as to relinquish its grasp of the piece
of metal d e in connection with the cock or valve g, and by
which the said cock or valve is held open, and consequently the
end d of de escapes from 6c, and by its descent shuts the cock
g. Although the hoop above-mentioned has been made of
brass and steel, it may be made of any other metals that will
act in the same way.

I have sent you a burner and cock fitted up with the aia
hoop, and a connection with the cock, merely to show you |
more clearly the principle upon which it acts.—I am, Sir,

Your obedient servant,
Ree ance Gas Company’s OFFICE, Wan. Warpen.
21st April 1826.

Art. XXVII.—On the Gradual Changes which take place
in the interior of Cupriferous Minerals, while their external
form remains the same.* By Witt1am Haipincer, Esq.
F. R.S. E. Communicated by the Author.

Mineratocists are very generally acquainted with the cry-
stals from Chessy in France, having the form of blue copper,
but consisting of fibrous masses of malachite. Such varieties
are found in that locality, as well as perfect homogeneous crys-

* Extracted from a paper read before the Royal Society of snp
on the 16th of April 1827.

in the interior of Cupriferous Minerals. 127

tals ; but only extensive collections, or the large quantity ga-
thered and preserved on the spot, both ef which I had the
good luck to examine, will allow of observing perfect and con-
tinuous. passages from one to the other, by means of a series,
which may be established of the occurring varieties, and. of
which these may be considered as the extremes, The series be-
gins with such crystals as not only possess the shape of the blue
copper, but likewise consist of that substance, with the excep-
tion of small particles of the green fibrous malachite, which
appear like something foreign, accidentally imbedded in the
otherwise homogeneous mass. It terminates in such varieties —
as scarcely betray the original shape of the hemi-prismatic
crystals, the last blue particles having disappeared, and the
fibres grown out even beyond the original surface of them,
and showing disengaged crystalline terminations. The inter-
mediate members distinctly possess the shape of crystals.of the
blue copper ; nay, they have occasionally even particles of the
original substance here and there distributed over their sur-
face, which to the last preserve a parallel position. They. are
not displaced by an increase of bulk of the newly formed spe-
cies. The chemical difference between the two is not consi-
derable. Several analyses published by Klaproth, Vauquelin,
and Philips, agree very nearly with the formule proposed

‘by Berzelius, which are Cu Aq? + 2 Cu C2 for the blue cop-
per, and Cu C + Aq for the malachite. The proportions of

the ingredients are

Blue Copper. Malachite.
Oxide of copper, - - 69.16 71.89
Carbonic acid, 4 a 25.61 19.96
Water, - - - 5.23 8.15

The change effected during the process of decomposition jis
the loss of a portion of carbonic acid, which is compensated. by
an additional quantity of water. If the formulz above-men-
tioned are resolved into their constituent parts, as given sepa-
rately in the analysis, the blue copper is composed of three
atoms of oxide of copper, two of water, and four of carbonic
acid, while malachite contains three atoms of each. One atom
of carbonic acid is therefore exactly replaced by one of water.

128 Mr Haidinger on the changes which take place

Haiiy does not consider the crystals formed by aggregated
masses of the green filamentous malachite as Epigenies of the
blue copper, as he unites the two species into one, and rejects
the slight difference in the results of the chemical analysis as
irrelevant. Beudant, I believe, is the first naturalist who en-
tertained a correct view of this subject. |

Not only the blue copper, but also the imbedded- sie
drons and dodecahedrons of octahedral copper-ore; are found
in that locality in a state of incipient decomposition, resem- |
bling it in so far as the form of the crystals is not altered.
There is one curious difference, however, in the progress of this
decomposition. In the octahedral copper-ore the surface first
turns green, by the absorption of oxygen and water, since
the protoxide is converted into a hydrate of the peroxide,
and then the change penetrates deeper into the mass, form-
ing a more or less considerable coating of compact mala-
chite; whereas the reverse takes place in blue copper, the
surface of the crystals being the last portion which is con-
verted into malachite, the decomposition beginning from the
point of support. There are crystals of an octahedral form, |
consisting, at least near the surface, of fibrous malachite, of
the same kind as that which often constitutes the body of
crystals having the shape of blue copper, for the interior
of them generally consists of octahedral copper-ore not de-
composed. . A dodecahedral crystal of octahedral copper-ore,
changed into blue copper on its surface, is preserved in Mr
Allan’s cabinet, but such examples are rare.

The cuivre hydro-silicieux of Haiiy, comprehending. chry-
socolla, is a species not yet well established, as the crystals
usually observed in the collections are ‘not in a determinable

state. They are for the greater part converted into mala-
chite, but their angles show that in their original state they
have not been blue. copper. I have. seen. crystals 4 in Mr Al-
lan’s cabinet, pretty distinctly pronounced, in the. shape of
compressed six-sided prisms, the narrow faces meeting at
angles of about 112°, and the narrow, with the broad faces at
angles of about 122° and 126°, from which it appears that
the original substance, as to form, belongs to the hemi-prisma-
tic or tetarto-prismatic system. . There is an angle in Haiiy’s

in the witerior of Cupriferous Minerals: 129

description of 122° 19’ situated like the one of 122°; but the
prism being supposed to be a right rhombic one, it follows that
the other. two angles will be 115° 22’ and 122° 19’. - Besides,
Haiiy gives a specific gravity of 2.733 to his crystals, while
the varieties of chrysocolla never go beyond 2.2.° T know
only one specimen, with crystals apparently homogeneous, and
resembling chrysocolla, engaged in a pale brown clayey sub-
stance. It forms part of the magnificent’ collection of Mr
Bergemann of Berlin, who intended to subject it to a chemi-
cal analysis, while Professor Gustavus Rose was to examine
its mineralogical, and particularly its crystallographic charac-
ters. We have therefore to look to the ability and zeal of the
Berlin mineralogists and chemists for more accurate informa-
tion regarding this remarkable substance.

The blue copper, ground to an impalpable powder, is em-
ployed as a blue paint, of a very bright tint, paler than the
mineral itself. It is not, however, highly valued, because it
is apt to lose its original colour, and to turn green. This is
mentioned by Haiiy, who quotes authorities as old as Walle-
rius, and even Boetius de Boot, for the colour of the Arme-
nian stone of the ancients. * The decomposition of the blue
pigment is a case exactly similar to that of the blue crystals,
as presented by the specimens found in mines.

Copper in its metallic state, when exposed to the action
of the atmosphere, variously combines with the elements con-
tained in that fluid. + I have seen remains of Egyptian ves-
sels, in the possession of Captain T. D. Stewart, which had
formerly consisted of copper or bronze, and still presented the
exact outline of their original shape, with a pretty smooth sur-
face. Some of the fragments were nearly one-fourth of ‘an
inch thick ; but so complete was their disintegration, that they
could be easily broken across with the hands, presenting on
their fracture a compound mass full of small drusy cavities.
In these the octahedral crystals of the copper ore, of which
the whole mass consisted, were distinctly visible. The curved
surface of most of the vessels was covered with atacamite,

* Traité de Min. ede Rdit. t. iii. p. 503
+ This fact is mentioned in the translation of Mohs’ Treatise on Minez-
ralogy, vol. ii. p. 383.

VOL. VII. No. 1. JULY 1827. I

130 Mr Haidinger on the changes which take place

sometimes crystallized, particularly on the concave sides.
There were some white patches also which I did not then
examine. During his residence in the Ionian Isles, Dr John
Davy has paid much attention to similar changes which
have taken place in ancient Greek armour and coins. He
found * that the substances forming green, red, and white
spots on the surface of these articles, consisting of alloys of
copper and tin, were carbonate and submuriate of copper, oc-
tahedrons of the protoxide and pure metallic copper, and ox-
ide of tin. In several instances there was no metallic copper
formed, and the protoxide was blackened by an admixture of
peroxide. Since it cannot be supposed that the substances
formed on the surface of these bronze articles were deposited -
from any solution, Dr Davy infers that an internal movement
of the particles must have taken place, caused by the influ-
ence of electro-chemical powers. Dr Davy’s opinion, that
such considerations will explain many phenomena occurring
in the mineral kingdom, is shown to be perfectly correct, by
many facts observed in nature. In the native copper I
never could observe any such changes, though I have examin-
ed a great number of specimens with the view of discovering
them; but we have probably to attribute to the admixture of
tin, and the electro-chemical action dependent upon the contact —
of the two metals, the greater disposition of bronze to form
new compounds with the elements contained in the atmosphere
and in water.

There are several species, in the composition of which sul-
phuret of copper enters as one of the most important ingre-
dients, as the prismatic copper-glance, or vitreous copper, and
the octahedral and pyramidal copper-pyrites, or the variegated
copper and copper-pyrites. All of them are more or less
subject to successive changes in their chemical constitution,
while the form in some cases remains, and in others is entirely
lost. Mr Allan is in the possession of a very interesting and
numerous series of copper-ores, which he collected chiefly in
the summer of 1824, on a journey in. Cornwall, in which I
had the pleasure of accompanying him. ‘This series has given
me an opportunity of noticing several peculiarities.which had
not been mentioned before by mineralogists.

* Philosophical Transactions for 1826, p. 55.

in the interior of Cupriferous Minerals. ‘131

. Dark grey crystals of copper-glance, with a, bright metallic
lustre, are often deposited on low six-sided prisms, with a tar-
nished surface, which, in respect to form, entirely agree with
that species. Their surface, however, is never perfectly
smooth. On breaking them they do not present a uniform
appearance ; generally the portions nearest the surface con-
sist of the reddish metallic substance of variegated copper
having an uneven fracture, while the rest possess the grey
colour and perfect conchoidal fracture of the copper-glance.
Often, and particularly in thin plates, the whole shows the
appearance of variegated copper, whereas in large crystals the
two species are more or less irregularly mixed up with each
other. These prisms are sometimes more than an inch in
diameter, but are usually smaller’ The copper-glance, which
originally occupied the regularly limited space, has been suc-
ceeded by variegated copper. The arrangement of the por-
tions of both species in successive coats shows that the decom-
position proceeded from the surface. :

On breaking some of the six-sided prisms here alluded to, I
found a stratum of copper-pyrites of its usual bright yellow
colour contiguous to their surface, while the rest consisted of
variegated copper. The original form had here still been
preserved, but a new change im the chemical constitution had
converted the variegated copper into copper-pyrites. The
peculiar twin-crystals discernible in groups of six-sided plates
crossing each other at nearly right angles, and the distinct
form of the six-sided plates themselves, leave no doubt that
two of Mr Allan’s specimens, consisting entirely of copper-
pyrites, owe their origin to the decomposition of copper-glance.
One of them is covered with a black pulverulent oxide, but
the surface of the other is perfectly bright, and of a fine brass-
yellow colour. It presents to the observer the deceitful and
puzzling appearance of copper-pyrites crystallized in nearly
regular six-sided plates. No cleavage can be traced; but as
this is not easily obtained in any of the species, it cannot form,
in the present instance, a sufficient distinctive character be-
tween the simple and compound minerals.

The variegated copper itself oceurs in distinet erystals,
mostly small, which are hexahedrons. Some larger ones, but

.

132 Mr Haidinger on the changes which take place

with curved: and irregularly formed faces, occur. in regular |
compositions, similar to those of fluor, two of them joining in
a twin, which may be supposed in transverse position to each
other in reference to one of the rhombohedral axes of the’
hexahedron. Each of these groups contains in its interior a
six-sided prism, whose smooth surfaces may be relieved from’
the surrounding homogeneous mass merely by breaking off
the latter. The position of this prism i is such, that its planes,
within the angles different from 120°, agree in position with’ ~
the prism R + o, which is the limit of the series of rhombo-
hedrons, the hexahedron showing here the properties of this’
form in regard to the principal axis of the enveloping twiti-
crystals of variegated copper. There is a face of the hexa-
hedron contiguous to every lateral face of the six-sided prism ;
nay, it is possible that the existence of the twins depends upon
that of the prisms, which might exercise a considerable in-
fluence in the deposition of the particles of the species of va~-'
riegated copper. The substance of the prisms themselves is'
likewise variegated copper. 'They are divided into thin la- .
minz parallel to the base of the prisms, having externally a
black colour, and scarcely any lustre, but presenting the usual
appearance of variegated copper when broken across.

The original form is generally lost when the decomposition
proceeds farther. In this case, what is usually called black
copper will remain, a more or less pure peroxide of copper,
which forms pulverulent masses. A specimen in the collec-
tion in Gratz, from the Bannat, with crystals of the form of
copper-glance changed into this substance, is the only one I
remember ever to have met with, in which the change has
proceeded so far without at the same time altering the form. It
is probable that it has taken place immediately, and not pro-
ceeded through the stages of variegated copper and copper-
pyrites, though both of them, when decomposed, will likewise
yield a black powdery residue.

The prismatic copper- glance is a pure sulphuret of copper,
whose composition is expressed in Berzelius’s chemical formula
Cu S, the two ingredients, copper and sulphur, being in the
ratio of 79.73 and 20.27. Most analyses give a slight quan-
tity of iron.

in the interior of Cupriferous Minerals. 133

Aceording to the analysis by Mr Richard Phillips of a spe-
cimen of variegated copper from Ireland, this species is com-
posed of one atom of protosulphuret of iron, and four atoms
of sulphuret of copper, or Fe S* + 4 Cu S. The three in-
gredients, copper, iron, and sulphur, are in the ratio of 62.67,
13.44, and 23.89.

The composition of copper-pyrites, from the analyses of
Professor Henry Rose, might be considered as being essen-
tially one atom of protosulphuret of iron, and one atom of a
sulphuret of copper, which contains twice as much sulphur
as the native sulphuret, the latter forming the species of pris-
matic copper-glance. Professor Rose is of opinion, how-
ever, that the copper contained in the mineral is in com-
bination only with one atom of sulphur, as in other species,
and that the whole mixture should be considered as a com-
pound of one atom of protosulphuret of iron, one of persul-
phuret of iron, and two of the sulphuret of copper. - The che-
mical formula is therefore Fe*S? + Fe S* + 2 Cu S, and the
three ingredients, copper, iron, and sulphur, are in the ratio
of 34.80, 29.83, and 35.37. ~

» The changes, therefore, can be explained upon the suppo-
sition, that the copper contained in the original species has
been replaced by iron, in a smaller quantity, however, as every
particle of iron required twice the quantity of sulphur to be
converted into protosulphuret in the variegated copper, and
four times the quantity for that portion of it in the copper-
pyrites, which is in the state of persulphuret. ‘The compound
of protosulphuret and persulphuret of iron, which, in the last
species, is joined to the sulphuret of copper, is one of those
forming the chemical constitution of magnetic pyrites.

- When the sulphur is entirely driven off, and the copper
attracts so much oxygen as to be converted into the peroxide,
the substance of what is usually called black copper results.

During this process often some of the carbonate is likewise
formed.

134 Mr Breton on the Diamond Workings

Arr. XX VITI.—Account of the Diamond Workings and Dias
monds of Sumbhulpore.* By Peter Breton, Esq. Sur-

geon, i Nereis of the School of Native Doctors at
Calcutta.

Tue districts of Chota, Magpore, and Sirgoojah, are not
marked for their mineral productions, but Sumbhulpore + has
been, from time immemorial, distinguished for its production
of the finest oriental diamonds in the known world. They
are occasionally found in the bed of the Mahanuddee, and at
the mouths of other rivers which terminate in it. The fol-
lowing is an extract from the observations of a gentleman,
whose source of information on this interesting subject was
the best that could be obtained in Sumbhulpore.

“‘ The Mahanuddee is navigable for six months in the year,
though not without obstructions and difficulties for boats of
three to four hundred Maund’s burthen, from the sea to Soo-
-reenarain, which cannot be less than 380 miles, and for: small-
er vessels as far as Sumbhulpore for ten months. Diamonds
of various sizes, and of the first quality, are occasionally found
at the mouths of the rivers Maund, Keloo, Eeb, and others,
which all have their sources in the mountaimous parts of
Koorba, Sirgoojah, Raegurh, Jushpoor, and Gangpoor, and
fall into the Mahanuddee on its left bank. They are also picked
up after the termination of the rains amongst the mud and
sand deposited on the beds of islands on the left bank, where
the stream, being resisted, makes a sharp turn, by persons of
a peculiar class, whose occupation it is to search for them. —
I cannot learn that diamonds have ever. been found on the
right bank of the Mahanuddee, or on the Jeft bank above its
confluence with the Maund at Chunderpore, or below Soan-
pore. It would appear, therefore, that they are washed down
from the sides of the streams which flow from north to south
through the mountainous and almost inaccessible track whichoc-
cupies in Arrowsmith’s Map, the 83d and 84th degrees of east
longitude, and 2ist and 22d degrees of north latitude. This

® This curious paper is abridged from the Z'ransactions of the Medical

and Physical Society of Calcutta, vol. ii. p. 261.
+ The valley of Sumbhulpore is 410 feet above the sea.

and Diamonds of Sumbhulpore. 185

inference is farther supported by the fact of their being not
unfrequently met with in the beds of Nullahs in Raigurh,
Jushpore, and Gangpore, though I have no reason to think
that any attempt has been ever made to discover and open
their mines or beds; and this may be chiefly accounted for by
the state of society and government in these wild regions.
Any attempt on the part of a private individual to appropri-
ate to himself, or conceal a diamond, would, if discovered,
have been assuredly punished with death; and the rajahs have
mutually preferred this scanty and uncertain acquisition of
precious stones in the manner I have described, to the publi-
city and consequent interference of the Mahomedan or Mar-
hatta sovereigns, by whom they were in turn ruled, which
would necessarily have resulted from the establishment and
working of mines. Another obstacle has doubtless been the
extreme insalubrity of the climate of the track under consider-
ation,—an insalubrity which the observation of many years has
convinced me always attached to mountainous and woody dis-
tricts, in which gold and diamonds are indigenous. None
but natives of the wilds, whose appearance sufficiently marks
the ravages of disease, can enter them with impunity, except-
img in January and the three succeeding months, and this
would form the chief objection to the employment of skilful
European mineralogists, whose researches, if they could be
adequately persevered in, would, I am sanguinely of opinion,
be attended with very interesting and important. results.

“< There were two tribes or casts of diamond searchers in
Sumbhulpore, of whose origin, or of the period of their settle-:
ment in this part of the world, I can learn nothing. They
have the appearance, however, of aborigines. The names of the
tribes are Ihara and Tora. Sixteen villages of the poorer de-
scription have been always enjoyed by them in rent-free Ja-
geers; of these four are in the hands of the Toras, ten pos-
sessed by the Iharas, and two have been given to their tute-
lary deity Bukeser Pat, an appellation of Mahadeo. They
are under the direction of three chiefs, or Sirdars, two of the |
Thara tribe, called Pater and Buhera, and one of the Tora,
styled Seeree Ghakur. They search for gold as well as dia-
monds, and are allowed to dispose of all the former article

136 Mr Breton on the Diamond Workings

they pick up. Their habits are extremely dissipated; and when
they find a diamond they spend’ the money it procures for _
them in) a continued scene of debauchery. In the Pergun- —
nahs of, Raegurh, Sonepoor, Jushpoor, and Gongpoor, ‘are
also to be found persons of this kind. In the two last men
tioned a species of gold mine is to be found, the ‘aperture
only just large enough for a man to descend, but of consider-
able extent below. An account of the mine in Gongpoor,
from which it is stated to me that a species of pure gold of
considerable size have been obtained, remains to be submitted.”

''The diamorid searchers, with their women and children,
amounting to between four and’ five hundred persons, are
annually employed from the month of November till ‘the
commencement of the rainy season in searching the bed of
the Mahanuddee for diamonds. They éxamine such parts of
the’ river as are obstructed by rocks from Chunderpoor to
Sonepoor, a distance of about 120 miles; and all the hollows
in the bed of the Mahanuddee in which alluvial matter is de=
posited. The process pursued by the searchers is extremely
simple, and three implements only are used by them. The
first is a kind of pick-axe, with one pick called ankooa; the
second a plank of about five feet in length, and: two feet in
width, made a little concave towards the centre, and a rim of.
three inches in height on each side, called Doer; and third, a
board of similar form, but only half the size of the former,
called Kootla. With the pick-axe the earth is dug out of
the hollows, and coliected in heaps near the stream ; pieces of
this earth are then placed by the women on the large board,
which is.so inclined a& to allow the earth, when mixed with
water, gradually to run off; the pebbles and coarse gravelare
then picked and thrown away, and the remaining mass is af-
terwards removed from the large to the small: board, and
spread uver the latter, to admit of every particle being’ mi-
nutely ¢xamined, and gems and grains of gold, if any be pre-
sent, being’ collected. The earth in which the diamond is
usually found consists of a mixture of stiff reddish clay, peb-
bles, and ‘a small proportion of sand, and a little oxide of 1 iron.
This earth the ‘searchers’ take particular pains to find, and
they examine every particle of it with the greatest attention: tt

‘and Diamonds of Sumbhulpore.- 137

«© Although employed exclusively in‘ this occupation from
time immemorial, the Iharas have not the remotest idea of
‘what constitutes the matrix of the diamond. Mr Mawe, in
his Account of the Diamonds of Brazil, states, that ‘ the only
places where diamonds have certainly been found in modern |
times are the central and southern parts of India proper, the
peninsula of Malacca, the Island of Borneo, and the moun-
tainous district called Serro Dofrio, and other places i in’ Bra-
zil. Neither the rock in which it occurs, nor the other mine-
rals with which it is accompanied in Malacca and in Borneo,
are at all known. In India it is found in detached crystals,
in a kind of indurated ochrey iat but whether or not this
is its native repository is uncertain.”

“<The diamonds of Brazil, like those of India, are found in
a loose gravel-like substance, immediately incumbent on the
solid rock, and covered: by vegetable mould and recent allu-
vial matter. This gravel consists principally of rounded
quartz, pebbles of various sizes mixed with sand and oxide
of iron, and inclosing rounded topazes, blue, yellow, and
white, and grains of gold. In some parts of the diamond ter-
ritory of Serro do Frio, which I visited, the gravel is cement-
ed by means of the oxide of iron into a considerably hard con-
glomerate, forming rocks and low hills. On the sides of these
are water courses produced by the torrents during the rainy
season, the beds of which are very unequal and excavated.
In these hollows diamonds are not unfrequently discovered.
The usual and regular method of searching for diamonds is to
collect the disintegrated conglomerate in which they are found
at the bottoms of rivers and of ravines, and by a laborious
process of washing as long as the water comes off discoloured,
to separate the mud from the distinct grains. The residue
thus cleaned is subjected to an accurate examination for the
diamond which it may contain.’ These are distinguished ‘part-
ly by their crystalline form, but principally by their peculiar
lustre, slightly verging on semi-metallic, but which cannot: be
adequately described by words. is
~ * Tf the above-mentioned conglomerate i is not the real: ma:
trix of the diamond; its true geological situation is unknown,
for it has never as yet been discovered in any other rock.”

~®

138 “Mr Breton on the Diamond Workings

Now, although the Sumbhulpore diamond is more frequent-
ly found in the red earth above described, yet it is now and
then met with in other kinds of compositions. The proof of this
red conglomerate being its matrix is by no means established.
In the late Dr Voysey’s Description of the Diamond Mines in
Southern India, it is stated that the only rock in which the
diamond is found is the sandstone breccia. *

In the reign of the former rajahs and ranees in Sumbhul-
pore, the right to all diamonds found in the bed of the Maha-
nuddee was established, and on a diamond of magnitude being
found by the Iharas, the finder was rewarded by a grant of a
small village in Jageer, and by presents in money and clothes.
When detected in secreting a diamond, they were punished
with death, or by being severely beaten and deprived of their
Jageers, and of the privilege of again searching for diamonds.

The facility with which a diamond, when found by the Iha-
ras, can be secreted, (for, instead of vigilance being exercised
over them, they are left to use their own discretion in search-
ing for this gem,) and the extreme difficulty in detecting the
fraud, render it more than probable that many very valuable
diamonds are at this moment in the possession of the finders,
which they are afraid to disclose. For in 1818, on the power
of the British government being established in Sumbhulpore,
a diamond, which had been secreted by the searchers from the
former rulers of Sumbhulpore, was actually brought and de-
livered to the late political agent, and by him sent to govern-
ment as a part of the property of Sumbhulpore, which, by
right of conquest, became the property of the state. It weigh-
ed eighty-four grains, and was valued at 5000 rupees.

At Sumbhulpore the quality of the diamond is named after —
the four tribes of the Hindoos. A diamond of the first qua-
lity is called Brahmin ; the second is named Chetree ; the third
Bysh; and the fourth Soudra ; and, from experience, the na-
tive jewellers judge pretty accurately of their respective quali-
ties. The weights they employ for weighing the diamond are
the ruttee and masha, the former is a fraction less than two
grains troy weight, and seven ruttees make a masha. Rough
diamonds are estimated according to their quality. The first

* See this Journal, No. xi. p. 97.

and Diamonds of Sumbhulpore. 139

quality is valued at per masha, 500 sicca rupees ; second at 400
sicca rupees ; third at 300 ; and fourth at from 175 to 200 sicca
rupees per masha. This mode of valuing a rough diamond is
somewhat different from the rule laid down by Jeffries for as-
certaining the value of this gem in its native state. According to
Jeffries the carat weight of a rough diamond is squared, and then
multiplied by 2, and the product is the value of the gem in
pounds Sterling. For example, a diamond of 20 carat weight,
20 x 20=400 x 2=L. 800 Sterling. If the product of the
square of the carat weight of a cut diamond be multiplied by
4 instead of 2, its total will be the value of a cut diamond in
pounds Sterling. This rule applies only to diamonds of small
weight, for the value of a diamond of magnitude increases,
- without any established rule, rapidly with its size.

The only account of the rough diamonds found in the Maha-
nuddee, and delivered by the finders to the legal owners of
them, that I can find, is the annexed.

Weight. ’
Wedel Sati ORE Pap eae a Yo Banann Paraee oe
Unknown 1 20 | 4 288 |Ranee Ruttun Coher.
1804 1 4, 56 Do. Do.
1805 1 7 98 Do. Do.
1806 _| none
1807 1 22 308 Do. Do.
1808 1 1 14 me Mes Do.
underjee Bhoonsla,
1809 I 48 672 Coms: in Sumbhulpore.
3 3} 7 Do. Do.
1 1 14 |Sacca Ram Gopaul.
1810 2 23 35 |Chunderjee Bhoonsla.
1811 1 4, 56 Do. Do.
1812 none
1813 1 2 28 |Mahadeo Rae.
1814 none
1815 4 1 2 28 Do. Do.
1816 1 63 13 Do. Do.
1817 1 2 28 Do. Do.
1 Qj 4, Do. Do.
1818 1 6 84 - Do. Do.
1 1 14 Do. Do. —

7
140 Baron Beust on some remarkable

-.“ The large diamond found .in.1809 was.of the third
(Byshes) quality. It was picked up inthe month of October at
a place called Herakode, in the bed of the Mahanuddee; and
its delivery to Ranee Ruttun Coher was unluckily delayed on
account of her being engaged in performing the funeral cere-
monies of her husband’s mother ; and before they were finish-
ed the Mahratta troops arrived and expelled her from the
country. A traitorous servant of hers betrayed the secret of
the valuable stone to Chunderjee Bhoonsla, the command.
ing officer, who persuaded the diamond finders to surrender it
to him by promises of the grant of ‘a fine village and a thou- -
sand rupees. On the following morning, when they appeared
to claim performance, they were reproached for bringing a
stone instead of a diamond, and driven from his presence.”

Art. XXIX.—WNotice of some Remarkable Twin-Crystals of
Phillipsite. By Baron Von Bevust of Dresden. With
Observations by W. Harpincer, Esq. F. R.S. E.

Neax the village of Sirkwitz, between Loewenberg and Bunz-
lau, in Lower Silesia, there are two quarries in a com
black, columnar basalt, situated on the right bank of the
river Bober. Throughout the rock are found less compact
portions, often of the size of a man’s head, consisting of a
brown earthy mass, in which a great nitithbbe! of the crystals
of Phillipsite are imbedded. Sometimes they occur also in
the compact basalt.

Both simple crystals and twins, or regularly compound
ones,.are found among them. ‘The former do not so much
occur singly, as rather aggregated in small imbedded groups,
and show the simplest forms known in the species, the
four-sided prism, terminated by a four-sided pyramid, whose
faces are striated parallel to two of its terminal edges... In
the twin-crystals the extent of the two individuals is. very
frequently so nicely balanced that the result is scarcely ' dis-
tinguishable from a simple form belonging to the pyramidal
system. ‘The strie on the faces of the pyramid, when’ mi-
nutely examined, always yield the means of ascertaining . the
actual compound state of the crystals.

A

‘Twin-Orystals of Phillipsite. 141

- Figure 4, Plate II. represents a very remarkable ‘one
among the crystals which I have observed.. The*portions a;
b, c, d, belong to one individual, while e and fare portions of
the corresponding faces of the other. The substance of the
two individuals is so irregularly continued: beyond the face of
composition, that it is difficult to say how this face is situated.

The hardness of the crystals I found = 4.5, (between fluor
and apatite,) and their specific gravity = 2.2.

+1 Chorecory acatieest

With the paper from which the preceding account is an
abstract I was favoured by the Baron Von Beust, a distin-
guished pupil of Professor Mohs, for the purpose of mserting
it in some future portion of my paper on the regular com-
position of crystallized bodies. 'The mineral was named by
- him Paratomous Kouphone-spar, or cross-stone, but as, from
the specific gravity given = 2.2, it rather appears to beleng
to what has since been described under the name of Phillip-
site, I thought that the value of his communication would
be better appreciated if given by itself. From the circum-
stance of this low degree of specific gravity, I was led again
to ascertain that of several substances usually considered as
varieties of harmotome, some of which proved to agree with
the mineral of Baron Von Beust, while others were: con-
siderably above it. The following were the results which I
obtained :—

1. Fragments of large rae from Strontian in ,Argyll-
shire, m 7 2.429

2. Detached crystals fiche Andreasberg in the Hartz, 2.435

3. Crystals of a greyish-white colour, occurring asso-
ciated with analcime in trap, at Campsie in Stirling- »

shire, 2.446
4. Another vatiety from the same locality, but of a

‘pale reddish-white colour, > s 2.467
5. Large crystals from a ny in basalt from the

Giant’s Causeway, - . 2,259

6. The Phillipsite of Levy from Aci Reale in Sicily, 2.200

The last result may perhaps be liable to a slight correction,

142 _— Baron Beust on Twin-Crystals of Phillipsite.

as the whole quantity I had to operate upon did not exceed
220 milligrammes. It is however decidedly inferior to the spe-
cific gravity of the harmotome properly so called. This va.
riety occurs in small crystals aggregated in globular shapes,
which again form together reniform coatings in the cavities of
an amygdaloid. The crystals are very easily separated by
the slightest pressure.

7. The milky opaque crystals from the inside of cavities
of an amygdaloid from Vesuvius, 2.190.

The latter were sometimes considered as harmotome, but
more frequently went by the name of abrazite. From the
exceedingly minute quantity of the crystals I could detach,
this specific gravity, like the preceding one, should again
be determined from a more considerable quantity. These
crystals, when exposed to the action of the atmosphere, are in-
clined to be decomposed, and though they preserve their ex-
ternal shape, they present, when broken across, a fibrous tis-
sue, analogous to the crystals, which once were blue copper,
but have been changed into malachite.

So many different results have been obtained by chemists
on analyzing the varieties, formerly comprised under the name
of harmotome, that an exact indication of their physical pro-
perties now becomes imperiously called for, in order to inform
us what we should consider as a species, and what as a varie-
ty. It appears distinctly that there are differences in the spe-
cific gravity, which no doubt correspond to the chemical com-
position, in as much as some kinds, besides silica, alumina,
and water, contain baryta, others lime, and others lime and
potassa. The regular forms, that is to say the angles of the
crystals, have not been ascertained in any of them, chiefly
owing to the great difficulty of procuring specimens that will
allow of a minute examination. This nevertheless is unavoid-
ably requisite to fix our opinion on the subject. The ques-
tion is one of great importance, as it refers to the influence of
the substitution of one isomorphous substance for another in
a chemical mixture of the same description, on the determi-
nation of the mineralogical species. It is only the actual
examination of their physical properties that can decide on the
latter, whatever may be the results of chemical analysis.

~

.

_ Mr Ventress’s Stereometer. 143

Art. XXX.—Description of a Stereometer. By James
ALEXANDER VENTREss, Esq. Communicated by the
Author.

Taz bulk of a known weight of solid, of irregular figure, is
generally obtained by immersion in water. In the common
weighing bottle for ascertaining the specific gravity of solids
in the state of powder, a known weight of the powder is in-
troduced into a phial, and the interstices filled up with water,
the difference between the quantity of water required to fill
the phial when empty, and after the powder is introduced,
being evidently the bulk of the powder. But if the powder
dissolve in water or the liquid employed, we obtain by this
means not the space which the substance occupies in the solid
state, but that which it occupies when in solution. The dif-
ference is considerable and irregular.

The stereometer which I propose is not liable to error
from this source. In the coniometer of Captain Say and Mr
Leslie errors of this kind are also avoided, although in a way
totally different. |

To illustrate the principle of the instrument proposed, let
us suppose a quantity of any powder or saline body, which
we wish to examine, to be introduced into the common weigh-
ing bottle, and a phial full of water adroitly inverted over it,
so that the system was air-tight. ‘The water in the superior
phial would descend, and fill up the interstices of the powder,
while the displaced air would ascend and occupy the upper
part. It is evident that the quantity of air in the upper phial
will represent the interstices of the powder, or the difference
between the bulk of the powder and the capacity of the weigh-
ing bottle, which is known. In the weighing bottle we learn
the bulk of the solid by marking the quantity of water neces-
sary to fill up the interstices ; in the stereometer proposed, by
measuring the air which previously occupied these interstices.
The following construction is found to be particularly con-
venient for that purpose.

As in the illustration, two vessels, A and B, are employed,
(See Plate II. Fig. 2,) A being analogous to the weighing

144 Mr Ventress’s Stereometer.

bottle, and B to the inverted phial. A is ground so as to fit
into B air-tight, and is intended for the reception of the solid.
B ‘contains ‘a glass stop-cock. near that extremity imto which
the vessel A is ground to fit. Through its perforation, the
vessel B is filled with water previous to each experiment,
Upon joining the two vessels and turning the stop-cock, the
water in B descends and displaces the air in A, which is made
to contain. just as much water as the ball and stem of B. If,
therefore, the vessel A were empty when the water is allowed
to descend, the air which it contained would evidently occupy
the whole of the ball and stem of B; but if a quantity of so-
lid matter has been introduced into A before the water ‘is
allowed to descend, the air which rises into B will be diminish-
ed by the bulk of the solid, and the water will not fall to the
bottom of the stem as in the former case, but stand at a cer-
tain height in it. ‘That the height at which the water stands
in the stem may be easily appreciated, it is graduated from
the bottom upwards into hundredths of a cubic inch of its
capacity. If, with a known weight of powder, the water
stood at the point marked 60 on the stem, the bulk’ of the
substance would therefore be ;°,°;, or } a cubic inch. Know- -
ing thus the weight of a certain bulk of the substance, we
have only to compare it with the bulk of the same weight of
distilled water, to obtain an expression for the specific gravity
of the substance on the usual scale.

Tn the instrument which has been constructed, and which ‘is
represented in the figure, the lower vessel, or rather the lower
vessel together with that part of the upper vessel which is be-
neath the stop-cock, contains 2.33 cubic inches, which is also
the sum of the capacities of the ball and stem. The stem itself
contains 1.40 cubic inches, is long (sixteen inches,) and widened
into a ball at the top, the only use of which is to enable us to
dispense with a great length of tube, which would inevitably
follow from its being so small as above described, and which
smallness is requisite for the delicacy of the instrument.

The construction of the instrument might perhaps be con-
siderably facilitated, by making the part of B (see Fig. 2.)
under }, of brass, with a brass stop-cock. ‘To the neck of A
a brass ring might be cemented, and the two vessels made to

Mr Ventress’s Stereometer. 145

fit into each other by screwing. ‘To avoid the slight com-
pression of air in A, which it would be difficult to avoid in
screwing, a minute hole might be drilled into B at p, into
which a small screw should be passed after the connection
between A and B is completed. *

Should a portion of the substance of which we ner to as-
certain the specific weight be dissolved by the water, which
occurs in nearly all saline bodies, the liquid would be slightly
expanded, or contracted from that cause, and consequently
the air above would be proportionally condensed or rarified.
When solution takes place the liquid more generally contracts,
as the density of a solution is generally greater than the mean
density of its constituents. The air above is therefore in most
cases of solution slightly rarified.

But this is easily corrected by separating the parts A and
B under water, and then sinking B till the surface of the wa-
ter in the stem coincides with the surface of the water with-
out. In this way we obtain the true specific gravity of the
substance in the solid state. »

It is proper always to employ water which has been recent-
ly boiled, and which contains little air, to fill the upper vessel,
as many salts, when dissolving, appear to disengage the air
which water holds absorbed, which, mixing with the air from
the interstices, would derange the calculation. It has been
found that air passing up so rapidly through the boiled wa-
ter, as it does in the present case, is not sensibly absorbed, so
that no error of an opposite kind is committed by employing
water previously deprived of most of its air.

Art. XXXI.—Notice of some new observations by Mr
Brooke on the Sulphato-tri-carbonate of Lead. By Wit1-
tiaM Harpincer, Esq. F. R.S. E.

Mr Brooke has communicated to me, in a letter of the 14th
of May, some very important observations on the optical
structure of certain varieties of the sulphato-tri-carbonate of

* Stereometers, with such modifications, may be had handsomely exe
cuted, from John Dunn, optician, 25, Thistle Street, Edinburgh.
VOL. VII. NO. I. JULY 1827. K

~ > i

146 Mr Haidinger on the Sulphato-tri-carbonate of Lead.

lead, which I am confident will lead to such a thorough ex-
amination of this substance, as cannot but remove every doubt

or difficulty still prevailing among many mineralogists as to

the perfect establishment of the species in all its physical pro-
perties.

During an optical examination lately commenced, Mr Brooke
was surprised to find that the two first crystals of the sulpha-
to-tri-carbonate of lead, the first substance he examined, had
only one axis of double refraction. * They had the form of
rhombohedrons with truncated apices. One of them was yel-
low, the other green. He found this to be the case in all those
varieties whose forms appeared to be rhombohedrons with
truncated apices, also in some green hexagonal prisms, and

ina yellow hexagonal prism terminated by trihedral pyramids.

On the contrary, he found the flat crystals, some yellowish,
or colourless, or greenish, to have two axes inclining to each
other at small angles, for the accurate admeasurement of which
he was getting constructed a particular instrument. He says
that he has not yet sufficiently examined the crystalline forms
of the biaxal crystals; but that he suspects they will, if not

rhomboids, turn out to be right rhombic prisms.

_. Mr Brooke proposes also to examine chemically these ses
sets of crystals, which, on the supposition of their forms bemg

connected partly with the right rhombic prism, and partly
with the rhombohedron, provided also that they contain the
same ingredients, would be in a similar relation to each other,
as can and calcareous spar.

* I have examined some of these crystals sent to Mr Haidinger, and
find that they have one negative axis of double refraction coincident with
the axis of the rhomnb, and without any trace of composition. The optical
law of primitive forms thus derives an additional support from this ob«
servation.—D. B.

—=— -

Dr Grant on the structure of the Lerneea elongata. 147

Art XXXII—On the Structure and Characters of the Ler-
nea elongata, Gr. a New Species from the Arctic Seas.
By R. E. Grant, M. D., F. R. S. E., Fellow of the Royal
College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and formerly Lecturer

on Comparative penne: Communicated: by the Au-
> thor. | |

Tue various classes of daitcnte spread over the globe, whe-
ther inhabitants of the dry land, or of lakes and rivers, or of
the atmosphere, or dispersed through the vast abyss of the
ocean, find in the rich and varied clothing of organic matter
covering the nakedness of the earth, sufficient nourishment
not only for their own subsistence and growth, and for the
continuance and multiplication of their species, but likewise
sufficient to enable each individual to support various tribes of
parasitic inhabitants. Innumerable species of Insects, Arach-
nide, and Annelides move to and fro on the surface of their
bodies, feeding on the excreted matters of the skin, or sucking
the vital fluids from the interior. Various kinds of ova are
deposited, matured, and hatched under the skin, although the
animals they contain are not destined to a parasitic life. An
immense variety of Worms live and propagate, imbedded in
the muscular and cellular tissues, in the internal cavities and
vessels, and in the parenchymatous substance even of the best
protected organs of the body. _And various fluids and secre-
tions of the living system contain myriads of Jnfusoria. The
class of Worms, to which the following undescribed animal is
considered as most nearly allied, contains the most remarkable
forms, and the greatest number of species'of parasitic animals ;
and from their ravages in the living body of man, and of the
animals most subservient to his wants, from the very equivo-
cal nature of their origin, and from. their singular forms,
structure, and habits, these species-have engaged the particu-
lar attention of many distinguished naturalists, as Redi, Le
Clerc, Muller, Bremser, Rudolphi, &c. Although most pa-
rasitic worms live entirely imbedded in the animals on which
they feed, the remarkable tribe of epizoarie to which the Ler-
nea belongs, are found only attached to the surface, or par-

a

148 Dr Grant on the structure of the Lerneea elongata,

tially buried in the superficial soft parts of marine and fresh-
water fishes, while the rest of their body hangs constantly ex-
posed to the action of the external element. From this par-
tially exposed situation of the Lern@a, they partake of a mix-
ed life, exhibiting in the same individuals a combination of
the characters and forms both of entozoa and of insects. Like
intestinal worms, they have a simple structure, a soft, naked,
and feebly irritable body, they are permanently fixed to the
animal, and they live by sucking the internal fluids. From
the external situation of the Lern@e@, however, they have not
only organs for piercing and sucking the animal substance
like entozoa, but also parts variously constructed for attaching
themselves to the surface of the body like insects ; they exhi-
bit the rudiments of antennz, and some of the species are as-
serted by Blainville to have sessile eyes. (See Jowrnal de Phy-
sigue, xcv. 374.) The constant exposure of their body to the
vicissitudes of a foreign element has rendered it more consist-
ent and stiffer than in those which are always buried in the
fleshy substance, and consequently the Lern@e exhibit the ru-
diments of articulations to admit of their necessary move-
ments, like the higher animals which have an external or in-
ternal skeleton. No articulations are necessary where the-
animals are composed entirely of soft parts. These affinities
with the higher classes of invertebrate animals, which have
induced Lamarck to consider the epizoarie as a distinct class,
higher in the scale than worms, and which have greatly per-
plexed other naturalists in their classification, are well exem- ©
plified in the Lernwa elongata, particularly in the perfect sym-
metry of its form, in the great length and regularity of the two
tentacula, in the distinctness and firm texture of the head, in
the rudimentary antenne and appendices of the mouth, and
in the regular form of the body and two ovaria.

The Lerneea elongata, which I have so named from its very
elongated and slender form, has been several times observed
attached to the eyes of the Greenland shark by that enterpris-
ing and intelligent navigator, Captain Scoresby, and is men-
tioned and figured in his Account of the Arctic Regions, (vol. i.
p: 538, and Pl. XV.) as “ a singular appendage to the eye”
of that animal. ‘* To the posterior edge of the pupil of the

a new species from the Arciic Seas. 149

Greenland shark,” (he says,) ‘ is attached a white vermiform
substance one or two inches in length. Each extremity of it
consists of two filaments ; but the central part is single.” Two
specimens of this remarkable parasite, preserved in spirits
along with the eyes of the shark to which they adhered, were
brought by him some years ago from the Arctic Seas, and
presented to Dr Brewster, then engaged in investigating the
structure and functions of the organ of vision, who has kindly
favoured me with the larger of the two specimens, nearly
three inches long, and probably the largest Lernea hitherto
met with. From the corrugated appearance of the tentacula,
and the firm texture ofthe whole body, this specimen appears.
to have contracted by the long action of the spirits. In its pre-
sent state the dimensions of its parts are :—

_ Inches. Lines.
Tentacula, length, —- 1 1
thickness, g
Head, length, - 13
breadth, - ee.
Body, length, be (hess
breadth, - 2
Ovaria, length, . 1 1}
thickness, - 1

It has a straight, lengthened, and slender form, without
any lateral prolongations or branchial appendices. Its sur-
face is naked, smooth, glistening, and of a pale yellowish
white colour; and it has a pretty firm cartilaginous consist-
ence, probably increased in the present instance by the ac-
tion of the spirits. It consists of two long cylindrical ten-
tacula (a, b,) Plate II. Fig. 5, by the extremities of which
it adheres to the outer surface of the cornea of the shark;
a very distinct depressed head, (c, d,) with four antenne,
and two hooks at the sides of the mouth ; a subconical body,
(d, e,) tapering above towards the head, and terminated be-
low by a broad base, in the middle of which are two thick
pendent Jabia concealing the anus (¢;) and two long, thick,
cylindrical ovaria, (f, p.) The tentacula arise from the sides
of the lower surface of the head, and appear a little compressed
and contracted at their origin, (0.) From this part they are

150 Dr Grant on the structure of the Lerneea elongata,

regularly cylindrical, and taper almost imperceptibly to near _

their extremities, where they taper more suddenly, and ter-
minate in four small round fleshy tubercles surrounding a very
small amber-coloured horny disk. They are covered with a
thick, transparent, colourless, and tough membrane, deeply
marked transversely with numerous corrugations, and through
which we can perceive with a common lens numerous white
longitudinal strise composed of muscular filaments. ‘The out-
er transparent membrane appears quite homogeneous. | The
two horny disks of the tentacula were applied closely to each
other, buried in the substance of the cornea, and covered with
a hard transparent amber-coloured substance, which cemented
their concave surfaces firmly together. Other fourteen .cir-
cular diseased marks were discoverable on the transparent cor-
nea, occasioned either by the bites of the same animal, or by
the attachment of different individuals. 'The interior of the
tentacula contained a white soft flocculent matter, surrounding
a thick central fasciculus of very coarse straight stiff fibres of
a grey colour, extending the whole length of the tentacula.
The white longitudinal muscular bands were very distinctly
seen on the inside of the tough covering of the tentacula, and
a tough white filament, sending off branches like a nerve, was
found running along the whole cavity of each tentaculum.
This nervous filament was proportionally as large and distinct
as that found in the central cavity of the arms of cephalopo-
dous animals. ‘There is a very thin layer of white transverse
muscular filaments surrounding the tentacula exterior to the
longitudinal bands. On examining the extremities of the
tentacula under the microscope, I could perceive no reflected
teeth on the tubercles or disk for piercing, as we find on the
anterior tubercles of the Echinorynchus and other entozoa. —

The head is shaped like the body of a common spider-crab,
being broad and round behind, and tapering to a point on the
fore part. It is convex, smooth and glistening above, and on
each side of its anterior margin there is a small white knotted
process (c) like the rudiment of a jointed antenna. _ Immedi-
ately below the beak we observe the circular extremity of a short
cylindrical tubular proboscis, (i) at each side of which there
is another very small and soft antenna, (n, 7. v.) Beneath this

Wee .

a new species from the Arctic Seas. ~ = — 151

second pair of antennz, there are two rudimentary lips embrac-
ing the proboscis. Near the back part of the lower surface of
the head arise two fleshy peduncles (m) from the same broad
fleshy protuberance, and extend forward along the base of the
head. Each of the fleshy peduncles is terminated anteriorly by
a broad compressed white horny hook, (7) curved inwards, and
tuberculated on its concave margin like the pincers and the in-
ner jaws of a crab. The hooks are strong, white, opaque,
and elastic; and the outer covering of the whole head is of an
elastic horny texture, so transparent on the upper surface as
to allow the internal parts to be seen through it. On remov-
ing this horny case from the head, a very complicated, though
extremely minute structure presented itself beneath. Within
the anterior prominent beak there was a white pulpy matter
like the ganglion we find in that situation in crabs, and the
nerves of the tentacula could be traced nearly to that part.
There was no appearance of eyes on this remarkably distinct
head. The head is united to the body by a very narrow
contracted neck, (d) as ininsects. The body is of a lengthened,
straight, and subconical form, slightly carinated longitudinally
in the middle of the anterior and posterior surfaces, prominent
and muscular along the sides, and marked transversely with
two small contractions in the upper narrow part, and one near
the middle. The membrane covering the body is so trans-
parent before and behind, as to exhibit the glandular: parts
surrounding the intestinal canal within. The body is a little
ventricose in the middle, and terminates suddenly below by a
broad and lobed base, in the middle of which two large pro-
minent labia conceal the anus, (e.) The intestinal canal, of great
width, passes in a straight line from the mouth to the anus
without the slightest convolution or curvature. The upper
part of the intestinal canal in the situation of the neck (imme-
diately below d) I found much dilated, of a glandular texture,
and filled with a firm yellow coagulated matter, probably the
remains of the food last swallowed. I have found a similar _
coagulated matter, of a darker colour, filling the intestinal canal
of the skate-leech, ( Pontobdella muricata, Lam.) which lives
by sucking the white blood from the surface of the skate.
The whole digestive canal of the L. elongata was surrounded

162 Dr Grant on the structure of the Lernea elongata,

with, and imbedded in a soft glandular mass of a yellow co-
lour, and consisting of innumerable small lobes, filling the great-
er part of the abdominal cavity. This glandular substance
corresponds in situation and appearance with the liver of
crustaceous and molluscous animals. The abdominal pa-
rietes consisted of a double membrane, with numerous strong
longitudinal fasciculi of muscular fibres interposed between
them. The muscular bands were strongest on the sides.
There were some loose portions of coarse circular fibres ad-
hering to the outside of the body, which fell off on first hand-
ling the specimen. Two white longitudinal filaments running
along the back part of the abdominal cavity, appeared to be
nerves continued from the cesophageal ganglion of the head.
The wide intestinal canal contracted as.it approached the two
external protuberances, between which it opened at the base
of the body. The anus lay on the back part of the depres-
sion between these labial protuberances, and a minute aper-
ture, (0, ) like the puncture of a needle, was seen on the fore part
of that depression. I could perceive no indications of a cir-
culating system in this animal, although it was carefully dis-
sected under pure water, and examined with the aid of lenses.
Blainville was equally unsuccessful in his attempts to discover
traces of a circulation, although he believes in its existence,
on the reports of those who have examined Lerne@ alive.
The absence of a circulating system would remove the Ler-
n@e@ to a place much below the class of molluscous animals, in
which Linneeus, Bruguiéres, Ocken, and many other natural-
ists have placed this genus.

The two ovaria, of great size and length, hang by very nar-
row oviducts, (7, ) from deep depressions on the outside of the Ja-
bial protuberances. They resemble the enlarged figure of those
of the I. clavata given by Muller, (Zool. Dan. Pl. XX XIII.
Fig. 1.0.) They were quite straight, cylindrical, of equal thick-
ness throughout, distended with ova, glistening, and smooth on
the surface, and regularly rounded at both extremities. The
delicate membrane containing the ova is so transparent and co-
lourless, that the angular forms of the ova can easily be per-
ceived through it. The ova viewed through the coatof the
ovarium appear regular hexagonal bodies of an opaque yellow

a new species from the Arctic Seas. 153

colour, and disposed in perpendicular and transverse rows;
but when removed from the ovaria they appear spherical, and _
their angular appearance on the surface, which has been re-
marked in other species, is probably occasioned by the pres-
sure of the external coat. When the ova were torn under the
microscope, they appeared to consist of a thin vesicle filled with
a soft opaque yellow matter. On breaking the ovarium the
ova appeared to be disposed in regular concentric layers, and
connected together by a glutinous matter. The oviducts are
only narrow continuations of the two sacs containing the ova,
and after entering the abdomen on the outside of the labia,
they open into the bottom of the intestinal canal close to the
anus. ‘There is a small white depressed glandular body, with-
in the abdominal cavity, placed on each oviduct close to its
entrance into the anus or cloaca. It is probable, from the struc-
ture of the parts, that the ova, when mature, pass into the
abdomen to be discharged by the anus, or by the minute aper-
ture anterior to the anus, and that they receive some covering
from these white glands as they pass through that part of the
oviducts. From analogy and appearance, there can be no
doubt that the yellow spherical bodies filling the two pendent
ovaria are the ova of this animal ; but it is not yet ascertained
whether all the individuals possess these ovaria, or whether
there are separate sexes. In the specimen of the L. elongata
retained by Dr Brewster, the two ovaria were wanting, but it
is very probable that they had fallen off, from their naturally
feeble attachment to the body, and from there being no other per-
ceptible difference in their external form and parts. Scoresby
likewise has described and represented the ovaria as parts of
constant occurrence in this animal. The fixed life of the Ler-
n@a would lead us to suppose the sexes united in the same in-
dividual. Some of the species live so deeply imbedded in the -
surface of the animals to which they adhere, that only the
ovaria are seen projecting. ‘The internal structure, and the
mode of generation of Lerne@, and even the place which they
occupy in the scale of animals are still undetermined. Much
light might be thrown on this genus, and many new species
discovered by the attentive observation of those annually en-
gaged in the whale fisheries in the Greenland seas, where the

>
154 Dr Grant on the Lernea elongata.

largest species are known to abound. Many species of this
animal have been described and figured by Muller, Linneus,
Bosc, Bruguiéres, Ocken, Lamarck, Lesueur (Jour. of Phi-
dadelphia), and Blainville, but the species above described ap-
‘pears to have escaped their notice. The most obvious cha-
racters of the L. elongata are two simple cylindrical tentacula
longer than the body; head distinct, ovate, depressed, with
four small antennee, two serrated hooks, and a circular mouth
in form of a proboscis ; body subclavate, ventricose, simple, ter-
minated above by a narrow neck, and broad and lobed at the
base; two ovaria longer than the body, thick » straight, eylin-
drical, and exhibiting through the outer covering nena
ova disposed in perpendicular rows.

Plate II, Fig. 5, represents the Lernaa elongata twice the
- natural size, adhering by its tentacula to the oute® surface of
the transparent cornea of the shark.

a, The horny extremities of the tentacula buried ners ce-
mented together under the surface of the cornea.

b, The ‘compressed origin of the tentacula from the shies
and back part of the head. hot

c, The anterior pair of knotted antennz. :

d, The narrow neck most distinct on the back part.

e, The anus,

Js The oviduct.

g, A hard flat pointed prominence above the mouth.

h, The cylindrical proboscis.

i, The anterior point of the head.

1, The horny serrated base of the jointed hook or a

aw.

: ‘m, The fleshy peduncle of the hook or jaw. }

n, n, Two very small and soft filiform antenne. = 9»

o, Minute opening on the fore part of the base of the abdo-
men.

p, p, Lower rounded terminations of the two ovaria.

g; Numerous diseased circular spots on the cornea,

Dr Thomson on the atomic weight of Nickel. 155

~

Art. XX XIIL—On the Atomic Weight of Nickel. By Txo-
mAs Tuomson, M.D. F. R.S. L.andE. Professor of Chenss-
try in Glasgow. Communicated by the Author.

I nave been induced to draw up a few remarks on the atomic
weight of Nickel from meeting with the following paragraph
in Dr Turner’s Elements of Chemistry, p. 418 :—

“< Nickel is susceptible of two stages of oxidation. The
composition of its oxides is stated very differently by different
chemists. According to the experiments of Rothoff and
Tupputi 29.5 is the atomic weight of nickel. Thomson esti-
mates it at 26, and Lassaigne at 40. (Ann. de Chim. et de
Phys. tom. 21.) Lassaigne, whose analyses are the most re-
cent, attributes this discordance to the presence of cobalt in
the nickel employed by preceding chemists, a supposition
which is by no means improbable. According to his wg
ments, the two oxides are thus constituted:

Nickel. Oxygen.
Protoxide, 400 4+: 8
Peroxide, 40 + 16

Had Dr Turner attended to the experiments on nickel and
cobalt published by Berzelius, Berthier, and myself, he would
have seen that the atomic weights of the two metals are iden-
tical, and consequently that the presence of cobalt in the nickel
employed by preceding chemists could have had no influence
whatever in altering the atomic weight.

The experiments of Lassaigne were shown to be inaccu-
rate by Berthier in a paper published about two years ago.
(Ann. de Chim. et de Phys. 25, 94.) His results are nearly
a mean between those of Berzeliusand my own. He employ-
ed an oxide of nickel which he had carefully freed from every
trace of cobalt and from every other impurity.

Berzelius’s number for the atom of nickel, (when divided
by two to bring it into accordance with the simple atomic
doctrine of the British chemists,) is 3.69755.

Berthier reduced 1000 parts of protoxide of nickel to ‘the
metallic state by exposure to a sufficient heat in a charcoal cru-
cible. In two experiments he got 775 parts of metallic nickel ;

156 Dr Thomson on the atomic weight of Nickel.

in another 788 parts. Now, when nickel is reduced in this
manner it always imbibes a little carbon. It is clear from
this that 1000 oxide cannot contain more than 775 parts of
metallic nickel. Indeed it is probable that the quantity is not
quite so much. Protoxide of nickel, then, according to Ber-
thier’s experiments, is composed of

Nickel. | Oxygen.

775 + 225 or

$.44 4 1

So that instead of 5, the atomic weight of nickel, as stated
by Lassaigne, the true number is certainly not greater, and
probably not so great as 3.44.

I shall now describe an experiment which I was induced to
make on reading the above paragraph in Dr Turner’s book.
I need not observe that the most minute attention was. paid
to the accuracy of the results, and that all the precautions
suggested by a great. deal of practice in these kinds of investi-
gation were employed to guard against mistake.

When speiss is dissolved: in sulphuric acid by means of ni-
tric acid and the sulphate of nickel separated by crystalliza-
tion, the crystals contain no trace of arsenic acid, or iron, or
bismuth, or antimony ; but they are still contaminated with a ~
little sulphate of copper and a little sulphate of cobalt. Five
hundred grains of these crystals were dissolved in distilled
water, and a current of sulphuretted hydrogen gas was passed
through the liquid till the whole copper was precipitated.
The sulphuret of copper thus thrown down was digested in
aqua regia, the solution filtered, and a few drops of sulphuric
acid added to it. It was then evaporated to dryness, and the
sulphate of copper thus obtained being redissolved in water,
the black oxide was precipitated by caustic potash, and ig-
nited. It weighed 3.33 grains, equivalent to 10.4 grains of
crystallized sulphate of copper.

From the sulphate of nickel thus freed from copper, I pre-
cipitated the oxide of nickel by means of carbonate of soda.
The pale yreen coloured precipitate was well edulcorated, and
being diffused (while still moist) in distilled water, a current
of chlorine gas was made to pass through it till every thing
soluble was taken up. By this process the oxide of nickel is

rd

Dr Thomson on the atomic weight of Nickel. 157

dissolved, while the oxide of cobalt remains behind in the state
of a hydrate, and still retaining mixed with it a certain pro-
portion of oxide of nickel.

The muriate of nickel thus purified was converted into sul-
phate in the usual way. The solution was concentrated, and
left to spontaneous crystallization.

I consider sulphate of nickel made in this way to be quite
pure. It contained no trace of arsenic, copper, cobalt, bis-
muth, or antimony, the only foreign metals which I have
been able to discover in speiss. Having thus obtained pure
sulphate of nickel, let us proceed to the analysis of the salt.

1st, 34.25 grains of the crystals were dissolved in as small a
quantity of distilled water as possible; 26.5 grains of recent-
ly ignited chloride of barium were separately dissolved in a
minimum of distilled water.

These two solutions were mixed, the mixture placed on the
sand-bath, together with the washings, and evaporated till the
whole was reduced to about an ounce measure. It was then
thrown upon a filter. The clear liquid which passed through
was tested in the usual manner for sulphuric acid and bary-
tes ; but no trace of either of these two substances could be
found in it. Hence the barytes from 26.5 grains of chloride
of barium had just saturated the sulphuric acid in 34.25 grains
of sulphate of nickel,—that is to say, 34.25 grains of sul-
phate of nickel contains just ten grains of sulphuric acid. *

2d, 34.25 grains of the same crystals of sulphate of nickel
were cautiously heated over a spirit lamp in a small platinum
crucible, raising the heat very slowly as the water evaporated,
till at last the salt was brought into a state of dull but percep-
tible ignition. It was kept in this state till it ceased to give
out’any more aqueous fumes, and then weighed. The loss of

* I collected the sulphate of barytes thus formed. After edulcoration
and ignition it weighed 29 grains. But as 10 grains of sulphuric acid re
quire for saturation 19.5 grains of barytes, there is a deficiency amounting
to halfa grain. The reason of this deficiency was this. When I was ad-
justing the filter on which the dry sulphate of barytes had been collected,
in order to make it as nearly as possible of the same size as the filter in
the opposite scale, a piece of the sulphate of barytes sprung out and fell
upon the floor. I have no doubt that this piece amounted to half a grain,
though I was unable to collect it.

158 Dr Thomson on the atomic weight of Nickel.

weight was exactly 15.75 grains. The salt thus rendered an-
hydrous had an orange colour while hot, but became yellow
on cooling. ‘To see whether it had lost any acid, water was
poured upon it. For some time no appearance of solution
was perceptible; but after being digested on the sand-bath

for twenty-four hours, a complete solution was obtained ; thus.

showing that the salt still retained the whole of its acid. 84.25
grains of sulphate of nickel then contain 15.75 grains of wa-
ter.

3d, 34.25 grains of the same crystals were dissolved in water,
and mixed with a sufficient quantity of carbonate of soda to
throw down the oxide of nickel. The oxide thus obtained
was edulcorated, dried, and ignited. It had a dirty olive-green
colour, and weighed 8.44 grains. It was quite msoluble in
ammonia; but dissolved with facility in agua regia.

Thus the constituents of 34.25 grains of sai of nickel
were found to be,

Sulphuric acid, - 10.
Protoxide of nickel, “ 8.44
Water, - 15.75
34.19
i, .* . 0.06
34.25

‘The salt being neutral, and 10 being equivalent to 2 atoms of
sulphuric acid, let us divide by 2, in order to see the atomic
weight of protoxide of nickel deduced from this analysis. We
have for the composition of the salt,

“1 Atom sulphuric acid, - = eee
1 Atom protoxide of nickel, ty lla
7 Atoms water, 4 ~ = RBA is,
: 7.095 —
Loss, - - ue 0.03

The atomic weight of protoxide of nickel comes out 4,22,
But there is a loss in the analysis amounting to 0,03 grain.

Dr Thomson on the atomic weight of Nickel. 159

Let us see to which of the constituents of the salt this loss be-
longs.

(1.) The residual liquid from (paragraph 1) was evaporat-
ed to dryness, and just as much water added drop by drop to
the salt as was sufficient to dissolve it.. No sulphate of barytes
remained undissolved, nor did muriate of barytes indicate the
presence of any sulphuric acid in the liquid. Thus it appears
that the loss does not fall on the sulphuric acid. The whole
of it was obtained.

(2.) The yellow salt of (paragraph 2,) before trying its solu-
bility in water, was laid upon a quantity of ignited charcoal,
and kept in a red heat for five minutes; but no farther loss
of weight was sustained. There is no reason then to suspect
that the whole water was not driven off.

(3.) The liquid from which the nickel had been thrown
down by carbonate of soda was concentrated as much as pos-
sible, and then put into a crystal tube shut at one end. On
looking down through this liquid, (which occupied a space of
about four inches in the tube,) a green shade of colour was
very perceptible. It is obvious from this that it still retained
some nickel in solution.

Thus it appears that the loss in the analysis was owing to
the nickel not being completely precipitated by the carbonate
of soda. If we add this loss to the nickel, we have the con-
stituents of sulphate of nickel as follows :—

1 Atom acid, “ 5.
1 Atom protoxide, - 4.25
7 Atoms water, s 7.876
17.125

Thus the atomic weight of protoxide of nickel is 4.25, as I
have before shown it to be. |

From the experiments of Berthier there can be no doubt
that the atom of nickel weighs 3.25. I have made no experi-
ments on peroxide of nickel. My opinion respecting its con-
stitution is founded solely on the experiments of Rothoff.
With these experiments the statement of Lassaigne does not

>
160 Dr Grant on the Ova of the Pontobdella muricata.

agree. But it is obvious enough that his results are not quite
accurate. Were we to correct them by substituting the true -
atomic weight of nickel they would give us,

Nickel. Oxygen.
Protoxide composed of ~- - 3.25 +1
Peroxide of - 3.25 + 1.7

numbers approaching pretty nearly to those given by Rothoff.

Upon the whole, I see no reason to doubt that we are in
possession of the true atomic weights both of nickel and co-
balt.

Arr. XX XIV.—Notice regarding the Ova of the Pontobdella
muricata, Lam. By R. E. Grant, M. D., F. R. S. Edin.,
&c. Communicated by the Author. |

Tux ova of the Pontobdella muricata or Skate-leech, (Fig. 6
and 7. Pl. II.) consist of small dark coloured spheres attached
by a narrow twisted neck toa spreading membranous base.
Each sphere consists of a double capsule containing a thick
gelatinous fluid, in the middle of which the young animal lies
coiled up generally in one spiral turn. ‘The ova have much
the appearance of the seeds of the black pepper, being about
two lines in diameter, and having a rough and dull external
surface. On the opposite sides of the spheres there are two
round prominences, which fall off when the animal is come to
maturity, and leave two circular apertures to admit the sea
water, or to allow the young Pontobdella to escape. The outer
capsule, which has a dark greenish brown colour, is thicker
and more porous than the inner membrane, which is smooth,
thin, and very tough. The stalk which connects the Sphere
to the flat base is solid, of a black colour, and firm consistence
internally, and is strongly marked with longitudinal promi-
nent ridges, which have a twisted and fibrous appearance. The
spreading base which adheres to stones, shells, or other hard
bodies, consists of the same tough dark-coloured substance |
as the outer layer of the ovum and the stalk, and is marked
with elevated radiating ridges like diverging roots. The ge-
3 :

Mr, Grant on the Ova of the Pontobdella muricata. 161

Jatinous matter within is at first thick and of a milky colour,
but becomes more colourless, transparent, and thinner, as the
Pontobdella approaches maturity, as I have observed in the
ova of many molluscous animals. The young animal is visi-
ble when only about half a line in length, in the middle of the
gelatinous matter, and only one young Pontoddella is found in
each ovum. The animal is at first quite transparent and of
a whitish colour; and when ready to escape, it is nearly an
inch in length and has all its external characters distinctly
marked. We find these ova generally in groups of thirty or
forty adhering to solid bodies in deep water where the Pontob-
della resides. ‘The merit of having first ascertained them to
belong to that animal is due to my zealous young friend Mr
Charles Darwin of Shrewsbury, who kindly presented me with
specimens of the ova exhibiting the animal in different stages of
maturity. They nearly resemble the ova of the Amphitrite de-
scribed and figured by Basterus, (Op. sub. P]. V. Fig. 1. A,
B, C, and p. 38.) The ova of the Pontobdella have pro-
bably escaped notice from the animal generally frequenting
the bottom of deep water, where it lives by sucking the blood
from the surface of flat fishes; or they may have been mis-
taken for young marine plants, such as the Fucus loreus,
from the fibrous appearance and deep-green colour of their
outer capsule. The description of the ova of the lower ani-
mals forms an interesting, though much neglected part of
the history of the species; and an imperfect acquaintance with
this part of zoology has sometimes led distinguished natural-
ists to mistake the ova of marine animals for zoophytes, and
zoophytes for the ova of animals.

Plate II. Fig. 6, Entire ovum of the Pontobdella muricata,
of the natural size, showing the two round lateral promi-
nences, the narrow fibrous stem, and thin spreading base.

Fig. 7, Ovum of the P. muricata divided horizontally, to
- show its double covering, and the young animal coiled up in
the gelatinous matter within. ;

VOL. VII. NO. 1. JULY 1827. L

>
162 » Zoological Collections. 8
Art. XXXV.—ZOOLOGICAL, COLLECTIONS:

1, Aceaas of the Capture of a Female Orang Outang, canent on the coast of
Sumatra. By Cartain Hutt. *

Hitiva heard of the capture of the large Orang Outang, which was dat
scribed in this Journal, Number viii. p. 193, Captain Hull dispatched a
young man to the spot where it was taken, in the hope of his meeting
with another Orang of the same kind. After a lapse of several months’
he returned to Bencoolen, bringing with him a large female orang, as the
fruit of his enterprise,

On his arrival at Truman, where he was kindly received, he hear’ va-
rious accounts from the natives of the animal he was in search of, calle
by them Orang Mawah, Mawi or Mawy. These animals, they said, resid
ed in the deepest part of a forest, distant from Truman about five or six days’
journey, and they appeared very averse to undertake any expedition in search’
of them, stating, that these beings would assuredly attack any small party,
especially if a woman should be with them, whom they would endeavour
to carry off. They were unwilling also to destroy these animals from a
superstitious belief that they are animated by the souls of their ancestors,
and that they hold dominion over the great forests of Sumatra. After some
days debate, however, and hearing that a Mawah had been seen in the
forest, the young man collected a party of twenty persons, armed with:
muskets, spears, and bamboos, and having marched in an easterly direc-
tion for above thirty miles, fell in with the object of his search. The ora’
was sitting on the summit of one of the highest trees with a young one in
itsarms. The first fire of the party struck off the great toe of the old
orang, who uttered a hideous cry, and immediately lifted up her young:
one as high as her long arms would reach, and let it go amongst the top-
most branches, which appeared too weak to sustain herself. During the
time the party were cautiously approaching her to obtain another shot, the
poor animal made no attempt to escape, but kept a steady watch on their
movements, uttering at the time many singular sounds, and glancing her
eye occasionally towards her young one, seemed to hasten its escape by wav-:
ing her hand. The second volley brought her to the ground, a ball having
penetrated her breast, but the young one escaped. She measured four
feet eleven inches in length, and two feet across the shoulders, and was
covered with red hair.—It is probable from the spot where this animal
was found being so near to Truman, that she was the mate of the one de=
stroyed by the party from the brig. Her remains, consisting of the skin
and all the bones, were transmitted home by Captain Hull to Sir Stamford

Raffles.

2. On the use of the Dabeivens Gland of the Alligator as ail By.
Tuomas Be tu, Esq. F. L. S. &c.

The following is a brief notice of Mr Bell’s curious speculations on

* This and § 3, 6, 7, are extracts of memoirs read at the Asiatic Society of
Calcutta. They are from the Calcutta Government Gazette or Journal, conducted with
great ability.

On the Chiru, or Unicorn of the Himalayah Mountains. ive

the use of the submaxillary odoriferous gland of the crocodile, which was
lately read before the Royal Society.

“* Beneath the lower jaw of the alligator and the crocodile on each side,
is situated a gland which secretes an unctuous substance of a strong musky
odour. About two years since, the author of this paper discovered in it
a structure which is without parallel in the glandular system of other ani-
tals. His observations were made on the common Awerican alligator.
In this animal the external orifice of the gland is situated about two-thirds
of the lower jaw backwards from the symphysis, being a longitudinal slit
a little within the lower edge of the basis of the jaw, through which exudes
the substance just mentioned. During warm weather, when the animal
feeds freely, the secretion is copious ; but in winter it is much diminished
in quantity, and is less powerful in scent. The gland itself is a simple follicle
of an elongated pyriform figure lying between the skin and the under surface
of the tongue. In an alligator of four feet in length it is about half an
inch long, and one-sixth of an inch in diameter. This gland is enveloped
by extremely fine and delicate muscular fibres, disposed obliquely, con-
sisting of two fascicule, passing repeatedly over and under the gland, which
unite at its base in along and slender round muscle closely attached to -
the corner of the os thyoides, and following the course of another muscle,
apparently identical with the mylo hyoideus in the mammiferous animals:
The use of the muscle appears to be to bring the gland into a proper po-
sition for its discharge, and then to operate the discharge by pressure. The
author, considering the situation of the gland near the mouth of the alliga~
tor, and the predatory habits of the animal, together with its voracity of
fish, and the well-known partiality of fish for odoriferous oils and extracts;
conceives that this secretion acts as a bait, attracting the fish to such a pos
sition as will enable the alligator readily to seize them in his usual ah
of seizing his prey, by snapping sideways at them.

3. Account of the Chiru, or Unicorn of the Himalayah Mountains. By
Mr Hopeson, Surveyor General of India.

Mr Hodgson’s paper on the Chiru concerned the animal which has been so
often mentioned as the Unicorn of the Himalayah. The reports respecting
this animal were so numerous and concurring, and so borne out by the spe-
cimens of single horns sent down at various times to the Asiatic Society, and
by Bhotea drawings of a deer-like animal with one horn springing from the
centre of the forehead, that scepticism was almost silenced by the variety and
quantity of evidence. The zeal of Mr Hodgson for the advancement of know-
ledge, and which has afforded to the Asiatic Society the means of judging
of the Literature, Antiquities, Arts, and Natural Productions of the Hima-'
layan Region, has at length settled the question respecting the Chiru or
_ antelope of the Bhoteahs. The skin and horns sent by Mr Hodgson were the’
spoils of an animal which died in the Menagerie of the Rajah of Nepal, to
whom it was presented by the Lama of Digurchi, whose pet it had been. The
persons who brought the animal to Nepal informed Mr Hodgson that the
favourite abode of the Chiru is the Tingri Maidan—a fine plain or valley
through which the Arrun flows, and which is situated immediately be-

164 Zoological Collections.

yond the snows by the Kvoti pass ; that in this valley beds of salt abound,
to which the Chirus are said to resort in vast herds. They are represented
as in the highest degree wild, and unapproachable by man, flying on the
least alarm, but if opposed, assuming a bold and determined front. The
male and female are said to present the same general appearance.

The living subject of Mr Hodgson’s description presented none of tiene
formidable attributes with which the tales of the Bhoteas had clothed
the Chiru. In form and size he offered the common character of the an-
telope tribe, lived chiefly on grass, and did not seem dissatisfied with his
eaptivity, although his panting showed that even the climate of Nepal was
oppressive to him,—he at length sunk under a temperature which rarely
exceeded 80° as a maximum at»the commencement of the hot weather.
Although timid, and on his guard against the approach of strangers, he
would, when warily laid hold of, submit patiently to handling. ;

The general form of the animal was graceful, like that of other antelopes,
and was adorned with their matchless eye. His colour was reddish or
fawn on the upper, and white on the lower part of the body. His dis-
tinguishing characters were, first, long sharp black horns, having a wavy
triple curvature, with circular rings towards their base, which projected
more before than behind ; and secondly, two tufts of hair projecting on
the outer side of each nostril, together with an unusual quantity of bris-
tles about the nose and mouth, and which gave to his head a somewhat
thickened appearance. The hair of the animal resembled in texture that
of all the trans-Himalayan animals which Mr Hodgson has had the oppor-
tunity of examining, being harsh and of a hollow appearance. “ It was.
about two inches long, and so thick as to present to the hand a sense of
solidity ; and beneath lay a spare fleece of the softest wool.

Dr Abel’s remarks on Mr Hodgson’s paper chiefly concern the specific
characters and dimensions of the animal, and present a formal description
of it drawn from the data furnished by Mr Hodgson, and Dr A’s. own
examination of its remains. Dr Abel proposes to call the animal Anti-
lope Hodgsonit, after its discoverer.

4. On the size of the Asiatic Elephant.

The following notice respecting the size of the Asiatic elephant we haiti
received from a correspondent in India. ‘‘ The catching of the elephants
has just commenced, and at least a score of subjects may be procured in
the course of the season. It is strange that M. Cuvier should continue
to repeat the old story of the Asiatic elephant being /ifteen or sixteen feet
high. Ido not believe that they ever exceed eleven feet ; and some years
ago I wrote a letter on this subject, which was published in the Calcutta
Journal, and in which I requested information respecting any elephant
exceeding that size ;—but no answer was ever returned to that request.”

5. On the Growth of the young Boa Constrictor hatched from the Egg.

In the eighth Number of this Journal, p. 22, we communicated, from a

correspondent in India, a very interesting notice respecting a young brood .

of Boa Constrictors hatched from the egg on the 6th July 1825.
1

‘ On the Growth and Habits of a young Rhinoceros. 165

Their length when they were hatched was eighieen inches long ; but
we are informed by a letter from our correspondent, dated 10th October
1826, that they have increased to oe inches, having grown twenty
inches in fifteen months.

6. On the Growth and Habits of a young Rhinoceros. By Mr Honve-
son, Surveyor General of India-

Mr Hodgson’s observations on the rhinoceros form the continuation of a
paper read at a meeting of the Physical Committee of the Asiatic Society in
February 1825, on the Gestation of the Rhinoceros, at the close of which
he proposed to furnish to the Committee, from time to time, an account
of the rate of growth of one of these animals which was born in the Mena-
gerie of the Rajah of Nepal. The first dimensions taken of the animal
were made at three days old, when it measured two feet in height, three
feet four inches and three quarters in length, and four feet and seven-
fourths of an inch in its greater circumference ; since that, it has increased
. in the following proportions: From three days to one month it gained
five inches in height, five inches and three quarters in length, and three
inches and three quarters in circumference ; while, from the age of one to
fourteen months, it increased one foot seven inches in height, two feet in
length, and two feet seven inches in circumference. From fourteen to nine=
teen months four inches in height, one foot four inches and a half in length
and two feet four inches in circumference ; the Rhinoceros being at the
date of the last measurement in December 1825, four feet four inches high,
seven feet four inches and a half long, and nine feet five inches i in circum-
ference.

In general aspect the cub now resembles the mother, the heavy folds
of the skin which were wanting in July last being fully formed in De-
cember. The nasal horn at the latter period scarcely protruded two inches
beyond the skin.

The observations of Mr Hodgson are of great value in reference to all
questions respecting the rate of developement and full growth of many of
the larger animals, respecting which scarcely any authentic statements are
to be found in authors, although they have exercised the genius of Buffon
and other philosophical writers. The diminished ratio of increase of
height remarkable in the later period of developement, as stated by Mr
Hodgson, renders it probable that the animal will yet be a long time in
arriving at its adult size, a supposition which is also rendered probable by
its seventeen months’ gestation, and the slow growth of its horn.

_ Mr Hodgson, in pursuing his inquiries, has had occasion to remark the
amiableness of the_young animal’s disposition, both towards his keeper and
strangers, an instance, he observes, of the power possessed by Asiatics through
their tranquil familiarity of taming the most formidable quadrupeds.—
That the rhinoceros will submit to the domesticating influence of man we
have seen more than one instance, nor would the tractability of this her-
bivorous animal seem in any way a matter of surprise, when we know that
the fiercest of the carnivorous tribe have become the attached companions
of their master, if the rhinoceros had not been held up by writers of every

166 History of Mechanical Inventionsand ~~

age and country as a standard of brutal and untameable fury. India ex.
hibits numerous proofs of false conclusions by natural historians regarding
the habits and temper of animals, and affords a field of interesting inquiry
respecting their instinct, as contradistinguished to what might be called
their educatable faculties.—This subject has hitherto, we believe, only been
treated by the naturalists of Europe, who have relied in many cases upon
very vague or insufficient narratives, but never by any person residing
in the native country of the animals whose history has been recorded. —

7. On the Edible Birds’ Nests of the Tavoy and Mergui Islands in Siam.

'» Edible birds’ nests are found in considerable quantity on the islands off
the Tavoy coast, but they are very generally met with throughout the
Archipelago. ‘They are in most perfection in January, but are gathered
also during the six weeks preceding and following that month. The quan-
tity obtainable in any one season is uncertain, for Malay, Chinese, Siamese,
and other boats are accustomed to come in amongst the islands, and to
carry off part of the produce: it also partly depends upon the dexterity of
the nester, who, by disturbing the swallows just when the nest is com-
pleted, obliges them to multiply their labours. The operation of the
nester is not always free from danger, as he has to climb precipices by the
help of ropes and flying ladders made of rattans, and the caves into which
he has to penetrate are noisome, and in some places so intricate, that he is
apt to lose himself.—The nesters use considerable quantities of arrack and
opium. It is probable that the Burman collections did not exceed two
Peculs in the season, but there is little doubt that five or six times tha
quantity might be obtained. et
The farm of these nests, which had let the year before only for 500
rupees, was knocked down since we took possession, at 15,000 rupees for
those of the Tavoy Islands alone; and 5000 rupees more were expected for
those of the Mergui Islands. i

Arr. XXXVI.—HISTORY OF MECHANICAL INVENTIONS
AND PROCESSES IN THE USEFUL ARTS.

1. On the Explosion of Steam Boilers.* By Jacos Perkins, Esq.

Ir has been generally considered a well established fact, that the caloric
of steam, at a given elasticity, is invariably the same when in contact
with water ; but this is far from being the case. It may be, and often is,
so generated as to indicate very high degrees of temperature without a cor-
responding increase of power, so as evidently to prove that temperature
alone cannot be relied on as a measure of the elastic power of steam. Ma-
ny experimentalists have thus undoubtedly been led into error, especially

-* Mr Perkins has been so obliging as to transmit to us copies of this and the fol-
lowing article, which he has printed for the information of his scientific friends.—
Eb. meee ti coresin thal te

Processes in the Useful Arts. 167

in reference to high temperatures. If any part of the boiler which con-
tains the steam be suffered to become of a higher temperature than the
water ‘contained in it, from want of a sufficient supply, the steam will
readily receive an excess of caloric, and become supercharged with it, with-
ut acquiring proportional elasticity. In some recent experiments I have
‘heated steam to a temperature that would have given all the power that
the highest steam is capable of exerting, which would haye been 56,000
pounds to the square inch, if it had had its full quantum of water ; yet the
-indicator showed a pressure of less than five atmospheres. Having satis-
fied. myself, by repeated experiments, as to the certainty of this curious
fact, the thought struck me, that, if heated water were suddenly injected
.into the superheated steam, the effect would instantly be the formation of
highly elastic steam ; the strength of which would depend upon the tem-
-perature and quantity of the supercharged steam and of the water inject-
ed. To ascertain the truth of this theory, I made the following experi-
ments : t

A generator was filled with water and heated to about 500 degrees, and,
consequently, exerting a force of about 50 atmospheres ; but the pressure
valve being loaded to about 60 atmospheres, it prevented the water from
expanding into steam. The receiver, which was destitute of both water
and steam, was heated to about 1200 degrees: a small quantity of water
was injected into the generator with the forcing pump, which forced out
from under the pressure valve into the receiver a corresponding quantity
of heated water, and this instantly flashed into steam, which, from its
having ignited the hemp cord that covered the steam-pipe ten feet from
the generator, must have been at a temperature of at least 800 degrees,
which would be equal to about 800 atmospheres ; but from want of water
to give it its necessary density, the indicator showed a pressure of about
5 atmospheres. Whether the pressure of the steam, which was rushing
through the steam-pipe, was at 5 or 100, or more atmospheres, the steam-
pipe kept up at the high temperature before-mentioned, which I attri-
buted to the steam being supercharged with caloric. The pump was now
made to inject a much larger quantity of heated water, and the indicater
showed a pressure of from 50 to 80 atmospheres: it soon expanded, the
throttle valve being partly opened, to the former pressure of about 5 at-
mospheres. The water was then injected again and again, and the indica-
tor was observed to oscillate at each stroke of the pump from 5 to between
40 and 100 atmospheres, according to the quantity of water injected ;
clearly showing that, at this reduced pressure, there was a great redundan-
cy of heat, with little elastic force. It soon occurred to me that to this
might be traced the true cause of the tremendous explosions that sud-
denly take place in low as well as high pressure boilers.

There are many instances where, immediately before one of these ter-
rific explosions had taken place, the engine laboured ; showing evidently a
decrease of power in the engine. To illustrate the theory of sudden ex-
plosions, let us suppose the.feed-pipe or pump to be choked ; in this case
the water would soon sink below some parts of the boiler, which should
be constantly covered by it, thus causing them to become heated to a much

168 _ History of Mechanical Inventions and

higher temperature than the water. The steam now being in contact with _
the heated metal, readily takes up the heat and becomes supercharged

with it.* Since caloric will not descend in water, it cannot be taken up

by the water which is below it. The steam thus supercharged will heat

the upper surface of the boiler in some cases red-hot, t and will ignite

coals or any other combustible matter which may be in contact with it. If
the water which is kept below the supercharged steam by the pressure of
it, should, by any circumstance, be made to take up the excess of caloric

in the steam, as well as that from the upper part of the boiler, which has

become heated above the temperature of the water; in consequence of the

water having been allowed to get too low, it will instantly become highly

elastic steam, and an explosion cannot be prevented by any safety valve
hitherto used. ‘To show how the water may be suddenly brought in con-
tact with the overheated parts of the boiler, as well as with the super

charged steam, it will be necessary to state the following facts:

As long as water is not heated above 212 degrees it will simply boil, and
give off atmospheric steam, without the water having any tendency to rise
with it ; but as it becomes more and more elevated in temperature, its
disposition to rise with the steam becomes more and more apparent ; but

* Practical engineers have frequently witnessed the destruction of the packing of
pistons by their becoming charred, although the steam issuing was in contact with
the water, the temperature of which did not exceed 230 degrees. It is very evident
that this steam was surcharged with heat, and was much above the temperature of
the water upon which it was reposing, and in a suitable state to produce explosion,
had the water been allowed to rise with the steam, by drawing it off faster than it
was generated.

+ Mr Moyle, a practical engineer from Cornwall, gave me the following interest-
ing fact :

On going into his boiler-roum, he observed a ladder, the foot of which rested on
the top of his boiler, to be in flames: he instantly ascertained that the top of the
boiler, from some cause which he was then unable to determine, had become red-
hot ; with all possible promptitude he ordered the fire to be quenched, which proba-
bly saved his premises, and perhaps his life. Mr Moyle found, upon conan
the boiler when cold, that very little water remained in it.

The following similar fact has been recently communicated to me by Mr Wil-
liams, principal manager of the Dublin and Liverpool Steam Company:—He was
alarmed in the night-time, during one of his passages from Ireland to Liverpool, by
the strong smell of burning pine, which, after a diligent search, he found to proceed
from a pine block which had been accidentally thrown on the top of the boiler, and
which was discovered to be on fire. .

A stronger case still was that of an explosion at the iron-foundry at Pittsburgh,
North America. As is the practice in North America, a high pressure engine of
sixty or eighty horse power was supplied with steam from three separate cylindrical
boilers, each being thirty inches diameter, and eighteen feet long. One of these
boilers had for some time been observed to be getting red-hot ; but as the other two
supplied a sufficiency of steam for the work then doing, it was disregarded until it
exploded. The main body of the boiler separated from one of its ends at an angle
of 45 degrees, and passed off like a rocket through the roof of the building, and
landed about 600 feet from it.

Processes in the Useful Arts. 169

as the steam presses on the surface of the water in the same ratio as the
water increases in temperature, it only boils without rising, as when at
atmospheric pressure ; but if the steam should be drawn off faster than it
is generated, this artificial pressure would be taken off, and the water
would rise with the steam in proportion to the suddenness and rapidity of
its escape. The water and steam in this mixed state thus filling every
part of the boiler, the excess of caloric in the supercharged steam, as well
as the extra heat from the boiler, will be instantly taken up by the water
which rises with the steam, by which means the steam becomes sufficient-
ly dense (or powerful) to produce the fatal effects too often experienced,

not only from high but from low pressure boilers. If, for instance, the
water, (as has before been noticed,) which is exposed to the fire, should
be suffered to get below any part of the ‘boiler, the steam will soon become
supercharged with heat. If a boiler thus circumstanced should have the
weight taken from the safety valve, * or a small rent effected in the boiler
from its giving way by the pressure of the steam, an explosion will be sure
to follow. A remedy for this kind of explosion, which appears to be the
only serious one, is that of not allowing the water to subside below any
part of the boiler which is exposed to the fire. In case the water should
settle, it may be known by having a tube, with its upper end trumpet-
mouthed, and its lower end fixed in the boiler, entering a few inches be-
low the surface of the water ; then, as soon as it subsides sufficiently to
allow the steam to blow off, the blast will give warning that no time should
be lost in supplying water or checking the fire. + When highly super-

* It was stated in evidence at the coroner’s inquest taken at the Humber, in the
case of an explosion on board of the Graham steam-boat, that, just before the explo-
sion took place, twenty pounds were taken off the safety valve. Now, if the steam
in this boiler had been properly generated, the relief given to the safety valve could
not have produced explosion; but if the water had got low in the boiler (as was
probably the case,) and the steam supercharged with heat, the ready way to pro-
duce explosion was to allow the steam to escape faster than it was generating, when
kept in the lower part of the boiler by the pressure of the confined steam.

Several instances have occurred when there has been sufficient warning, by the
rushing of the steam from a rent or fracture, for the bystanders to escape from in-
jury before the explosion took place. There has been at least one case where the
boiler was raised from its bed into the air by the force of the steam issuing from the
rent (upon the principle of the rocket) before the water had sufficiently expanded,
by the removal of the steam, caused by the rent or fracture, to take up the heat of
the boiler and the supercharged steam, when an explosion took place after the boiler
had been raised many feet in the atmosphere, and a separation took place with great
report, one part rising still higher, while the other dashed with great force on the
ground. It is, I believe, a fact, that more persons have been killed by Jow than by
high pressure boilers. It is but about twelve months since sixteen persons were
killed by the bursting of a low pressure boiler in Flintshire. High pressure boilers
have since been substituted. Some of the most dreadful accidents from explosions
which have taken place in America have occurred from low pressure boilers.

+ This will apply only to low pressure boilers, on’ account of the height of the
column which would be required to balance the pressure of the steam. The high
pressure engines, as used in Cornwall, would require a column varying from 60

170 History of Mechanical Inventions and

charged steam is rushing from the safety valve, or any other. aperture, it
may be known by its perfect invisibility, even in the coldest day, nor.can
it be seen at any distance from the valve or cock ; it is, however, conden-
sible, as may be seen by holding any cold substance in its range,

2. On the Economy of using highly Elastic Steam expansively, 5c. By apo
Perkins, Esq. _

. Thediagram, Figs. 9 and 10, will show the economy of using steam ex-
pansively, and also the method of compensating for the inequality of the
pressure on the piston, which, if steam of 400lbs. to the square inch. is
used, and stopped off at the quarter stroke, will end its stroke at 100|bs.
per inch, The diagram will also show that the motion of the piston. is
constantly varying, while that of the crank is uniform in its motion. *
. From repeated experiments and much reflection, I am led to believe
that there is great economy in using very high steam, and that expansive-
ly: that the higher you can practically use the steam the sooner you may
put it off. The diagram shows the gain in cutting off the steam at quarter
stroke. Let the piston, which is represented by the line £1 a, descend to
2h, being one quarter of the stroke, with a constant pressure of 400lbs. per
square inch. At this point let the steam be cut off and expand to double
its volume ; when it arrives at h c, it will be exerting a pressure of 200]bs.
per-inch, producing a mean of 300lbs. per inch through the quarter stroke.
‘Let the steam again expand to double its volume, and the piston will finish
its stroke at fe, at 100lbs. per inch, giving a mean of 150lbs. per inch
for each quarter, which add to the other two quarters, 400. 300. 150. 150.
and the whole sum will be 1000 (+,) giving an average pressure of 250
-per square inch. It will be seen that, when the stroke is completed, the
cylinder will be filled with steam ata pressure of 100lbs. per inch, which
will be the same in quantity as though the steam had begun with a pres-
‘sure of 100lbs. per inch, and continued all the stroke at that pressure. By
‘using the same quantity of steam expansively, beginning at 400lbs. there
is a gain of 150 per cent. Ifthe steam is used at 600lbs. per inch, and
cut off at one-eighth of the stroke, 225 per cent will be the gain. To
compensate for the unequal pressure of the steam on the piston two cy-
linders should be used, particularly for steam-boats and pumping, wher
the fly should be dispensed with, With the following arrangement it will
be seen, while one of the,pistons is at its greatest power, the other ta) fbr
ing with a diminished power.

The piston 1, Fig. 9, in descending from a to 4, moves in the same time

to 120 feet ; and the new high pressure safety engine, now coming before the pub-
lic, would require a column more than four times as high as St Paul’s cross to ba-
Jance the steam.

* This diagram does not pretend to mathematical accuracy ; the object. is meres
ly to explain to the practical mechanic, in a sufficiently clear and concise mauneny
the principle of the advantage gained by using steam expansively.

+ If the steam had continued the whole length of the stroke at 400lbs. per siipane
inch, the sum would have been 1600lbs., consuming four times the steam with the
addition of only 60 per cent. to the powers ;

_ Processes in the Useful Arts. - 171

through only half the space through which the crank moves, as will be
seen by its path from 1 to 3. A force of 400lbs. is exerted on the square
inch (that being the pressure of the steam,) in the first quarter of the
stroke: at this point the steam is cut off, leaving the other three-fourths
of the stroke to act expansively. The piston 1, Fig. 10, having completed
half its stroke, when piston 1, Fig. 9, begins its stroke, and consequently a
compensation near enough for all practical purposes takes place.

~ It will beseen, that while the piston 1, Fig. 9, has performed onééfourth
its stroke, that the piston 1, Fig. 10, has moved from c to 6, performing
seven-sixteenths of its stroke in the same time. The mean in each quar-
ter, from c to e, Fig. 10, being 150lbs. the amount of pressure to be added
to the first quarter of the stroke of the piston, Fig. 9, (which was 400Ibs.)
is 275lbs. producing an available power of 675lbs. at this part of the stroke.
The piston, Fig. 10, now moves but two-sixteenths of its stroke from 6 toe;
and f to 8, while the crank moves through two of its divisions, from 6 to
8, which would, in another part of its path, move (within a fraction) with
thesame velocity of the piston. The piston, Fig. 10, in moving from 6 toe,
gives a power of 25lbs. being the last of the expansion which ends at 100lbs.
per inch. The piston, Fig. 10, in moving from f to 8, being the beginning
of the stroke, gives a power of 100lbs. ; thus a power of 125lbs. will be
acting in the piston 1, Fig. 9, while moving from b to d, giving a power
of 475lbs. to which add 125, will show a power of 600lbs. at this part of
the stroke. The piston 1, Fig 9, now descends from d to e, being the last
quarter of the stroke, giving 125lbs. of power to act with the piston 1, Fig.
10, while moving from 8 to h, giving a power of 600lbs. ; add to this the
125lbs. and it will give a power of 725lbs at this part of the stroke. The
piston 1, Fig. 9, now begins its stroke of 400lbs. per inch at f, and con-
tinues to g with the same power, while piston 1, Fig. 10, moves from h to
12, giving a power of 300lbs. to be added to the 400lbs-, obtained at the
first quarter of the stroke of the piston 1, Fig. 9, at f and g, producing at
this part of the stroke 700lbs. of power. The piston 1, Fig. 9, now moves
from g to i, giving a power of 475, while the piston 1, Fig. 10, moves from
12 to k and a to 2, giving a power of 125; which add to 475, gives a
power of 600 at this part of the stroke. The piston 1, Fig. 9, now moves
from i to 1, being the last quarter of the stroke, giving a power of 125lbs.,
while the piston, Fig. 10, moves from 2 to c, producing a power of 600; to
which add 125lbs. will make 725lbs. at this part of the stroke. We have,
therefore, (

Fig. 9, AA, 400 Fig. 9, BB, ATS ‘Pig. 9, cc, 125
Fig. 10, AA, 275 Fig. 10, BB, 125 Fig. 10, CC, 600

—_—— —_— —

675

Fig. 9, DD, 400
Fig. 10, DD, 275

675

By this arrangement, it will be seen that a compensation ‘is obtained,

600

Fig. 9, EE, 475
Fig. 10, EE, 125

600

725 -

Fig. 9, FF, 125
Fig. 10, FF, 600

725

172 History of Mechanical Imventions and

giving a more equable power than that which is produced by the single
engine, whether high or low pressure, since it is well known that at two
points of the revolution of the crank the power ceases during at least one~
twelfth of the time, which is the reason that so large a fly-wheel is neces~
sary. It is particularly applicable to steam-boats, and may be used to
great advantage in the double pump, as well as the balance-bob lifting
pump, used in Cornwall for mining purposes, by the use of proper gear-
ing. ‘The present single stroke expansive engines used in Cornwall for
pumping are preferred to all others on account of their economy, although
they are very limited as to the extent of the expansive principle, for want
of compensation, as nearly the same power is wanted to finish the stroke
of the pump as to begin it. |

~The variation of the velocity of the piston occasioned by the vonstaliand
motion of the crank and connecting rod is not taken into view in this dia-
gram. As the connecting rod is intended to be four diameters of the path
of the crank, the variation will make no practical objection, being, at its
greatest value, but one-thirty-second part of its range. If the engine
should be worked by a connecting rod, as is sometimes the case in steam-
boats, say only one diameter of the path of the crank, the variation at each
end of the stroke would amount to a practical defect, since the piston would
move with nearly three times the velocity’at the lowest quarter of the
stroke that it would at the first quarter. Thus circumstanced, the crank
must be above the cylinder.

As ‘the law of expansion seems not yet to be settled, an arithmetical
expansion has been used for this diagram which, from its approximation
to the real law, will be quite near enough for practical purposes. Many
who are of the school of Tilloch and Wolf believe that the expansive power
of steam depends upon heat only ; while the Soho experiments are said to
prove that elasticity depends simply on density, without regarding tem~
perature, viz. that if a cubic foot of steam at atmospheric pressure weighs
one ounce, 50 atmospheres of steam would weigh 50 ounces; but. Dalton,
who is undoubtedly much nearer the true dave would make 50 act
spheres weigh but about 34 ounces. ; z

have no doubt that'the nearer the atoms of water are biiin oan
proach each other by compression, the greater will be the repulsive action
of caloric, and that ina more rapid ratio than has hitherto been allowed,
especially in highly compressed steam. Its comparative. density, with the
increase of power, diminishes faster than has been supposed ¢ even by rps

; 3. Method of making Transparent Soap.

Tallow i is the basis of all soaps for the toilette, known under the name
of Windsor, because olive oil forms a paste too difficult to melt, and hav-~
ing an odour too powerful for mixing with perfumes.

'Tallow-soap dissolved with heat in alcohol returns to its solid state on
cooling. It-is this fact which has led to the discuvery of transparent soap.
When well prepared, this soap should have the appearance of fine white su-
gar candy. It may also be coloured, and vegetable colours are for this pur-
pose preferable to minerals. Any person can make the soap by putting

Processes in the Useful Arts. 173

into a thin glass phial half a brick of Windsor soap, cut small, filling
the phial half full of alcohol, and placing it near the fire till the soap is
dissolved. This mixture put to cool in a mould gives the transparent
soap.— Archives des Decouvertes et des Inventions Nouvelles. -

_ 4. Mode of Preparing Emery. By Mr Hawkins.

Mr Hawkins, finding that the emery sold in the shops was totally insuf-
ficient for the purpose he had in view, namely, grinding two flat surfaces
of hard cast steel accurately, thought of applying a process he had seen for
washing over diamond dust, to emery ; and to be certain that his emery
was of good quality, he purchased of an emery-maker a quantity of those
small lumps or grains, which had longest withstood the action of the cast-
iron runners, and bed, and thus insured the hardness of the emery ; these
pieces were reduced to powder in a cast-iron mortar and then separated in-
to different portions by sieves.

He then washed over the finest emery thus obtained, using oil instead
of water, as in the usual process, the former holding it in suspension for a
much longer time, and in this way he obtained a series of emeries which
had floated one, five, ten, fifteen, twenty, forty, and eighty minutes,
amongst which he found every variety necessary for his purpose, and keep-
ing them in boxes which were numbered according to the minutes they
had floated, he could at any time prepare more of any one kind. In this
way Mr Hawkins readily attained his object; and ultimately by selecting
these grains of emery which resisted longest the action of the pestle and
mortar, he obtained some so hard as to be capable of cutting a ruby, boc
employed instead of diamond dust.

Mr Gill, by grinding Greek emery-stone between two flat and hard steel
surfaces, and washing off the lighter portions in oil, found that those
which subsided in half a minute, when examined by a microscope, had

entirely resisted the friction, and were perfectly os eee geese
(Tech. Rep.)

5. Account of a Travelling Railway. By Georce Hunter. Esq.

This ingenious invention, which is secured by patent, is represented in
Plate J. Fig. 11. which represents a waggon with its travelling railways 5;
b, The small running wheels a a of the waggon have tneir peripheries
formed into a groove like a pully, which moves upon the round edge of the
same circumference of the circular railways } 5. The peripheries of the
circular railways are coyered with flat tire like ordinary wheels, and, from
their magnitude, they surmount obstacles more readily than the small
wheels a a would do. When an obstaele presents itself to the railway 5 5,
they stand still, and the small wheels a a, rising on their inner circumfer-
ence, help them to surmount the obstacle.

In order to confine the circular railways, Mr Hunter proposes to intro-
duce a guide arm and pully, as shown at ¢ and d, Fig. 12.

In justice to an ingenious individual, it is necessary to state, that almost
the same invention was submitted to the Society of Arts for Scotland on
the 27th December 1822, by Mr Heriot, carpenter at Duddingston, under

174 Analysis of Scientific Book’ and Memoirs.

the title of @ model of a new construction of wheels for carriages, cmint a
mM oveable Railway.

aay)

Art. XXXVII.—ANALYSIS. OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS AND
MEMOIRS. pee

I. Account of'a Curious Manuscript Volume, entitled “ The Discoverie and
Historie of the Gold Mynes in Scotland, written in the year 1619. By

-Srernen Atkinson.” Printed A. D. 1825, with a Preface and an Ap-

_ ‘pendix of Notes, for distribution among the Members of the tet? Ae
’ Club. By Girzert Larne MEAson, Esq. F. R. S. Edin.

Tuars most singular work, with a copy of which we have been favoured,
furnishes us with a complete and very instructive history of the mining
schemes which agitated the whole of Scotland in the 16th and 17th cen-
turies.

The chief object of mining speculation in Scotland was the search —
gold. That gold existed, and that it even now exists diffused through
certain mountains, particularly in the south of Scotland, there can be no
possible doubt. Its diffusion is, however, in such very sparing quantity,
as to render it questionable if it ever has been detected in situ, that is,
actually imbedded in its solid matrix. The rock in which it is contain<
ed has, like all other rocks, been for ages subject to gradual disintegra+
tion, and it is from the result of this disintegration, namely alluvial de’
posits, that grains of gold have been collected. The native gold of Scot-
land has thus been indebted for its developement to a process which has
occupied a duration of time that cannot be estimated ; and as it is probable
that the investigation of the contents of this alluvium has been long sincé
eompleted, and, consequently, the supply of Scottish gold exhausted, we
must wait for a revolution of many more thousand years before the bed
will be again sufficiently rich with gold, once more to tempt the avarice
of mankind.

. For a narrative of the mining speculators of Scotland we are inaewied to
the manuscript volume written by one Atkinson, an Englishman, and now
printed with some very valuable notes and a preface by Mr Laing Meason:
for the use of the Bannatyne Club. From this work we shall make a few
extracts. "a

Atkinson distinctly informs us, that gold was to be found “ on Cray
ford Moore, and Fryer Moore, within Clidesdale ; on Robburt Moore, and
Mannocke Moore, in Nydesdale ; uppon Glangaber Water, and in Hender~
land, within the fforrest of Atricke.” We are also instructed that the
gold found at Crawford Moor and other places was obtained from ‘alluvi-’
um, generally after it had been diffused through the vallies by great reer
and that the ore was afterwards separated by washing.
Atkinson’s speculations, that the gold found in these places was the re-
sult of the general deluge, would accord with the views of many geologists
of the present day. We shall quote what he says on the subject, particu-'

Discoverie and Historie of Gold Mynes in Scotland. 1%

larly as it is introductory to a very interesting description of the mode in
which the Scottish gold was formerly collected. ‘The passage is as follows :
* God said unto the Trinity, ‘ Let there be dry land,’ which was long after
the worlde’s creation, and immediately it was so, at which time the gene-
rall deluge was ; and then, even att that time, naturall gold and silver
(which now is found to be in combes and vallies) was forced and toorne
from his bedd or vazen, from his dwelling-place, viz. God’s treasur house
in the earth, &c. And thyther even our Scott’s gold, which is now found
in sternes, or in graines, and peices, did discend, or was washed downe!
In which vallies, combes, skirts of hills, or cloughes, even untill this pre=
sent day, it hath laid still and not removed, except after a great speat of
raine, the force whereof doth breake and weare the superficies of the earth,
but not the solidd earth ; after which, the Scotts men, and women, and
children, run to seeke for it, and doe find it still, even untill this day»
and thereby they find with it alsoe the saxere stones in great abundance;
and alsoe much of the calamineere stones; but the salineere stones is as
small as the musterd seede, and some like meale+ and the sappar stone in
lumps, and like unto the fowls eyes or birds eggs. - And the most strangest
of all is this ; there is found naturall gold, linked fast unto the sappar
stone, even as vaines of lead ewer and white sparrs doe growe togeather,
&c. But theire usuall manner is, when they seeke for gold in combes
and vallies, to frame or make a long sowgh, or scowring place, into which
they bringe the streame water, to scower away the light earth from the heavy
sandy earth, and to cull away the great stones from the heavy sand, which
sand or heavy earth they scrape into theire troughe or tray, and by stirring
it, and washing the same often, there is found both raine gold, flatt gold,
pale gold, and blacke gold: yett all these be naturall gold, &. And alsoe
all these are called perfect compacted gold, made in the beginning of the
worlde, and engendreth with these stones aforesaid amongst rocks and
craighs, without the helpe of sonn, moone, or starrs.”

We shall now give a brief chronological view of the history of the gold
mines of Scotland, as far as can be collected from Mr Atkinson’s work and
the illustrations of Mr Meason.

James IV. who was a studier of Alchemy, is the oe of the Scottish
monarchs who is recorded to have worked the gold mines. In his reign
the gold mines of Crawford Moor were said to have been first discovered.
‘These mines were worked under the inspection of Sir James Pettigrew, who
employed some Englishmen and Dutchmen to conduct the refining and
melting department.

In the year 1526 a company of Germans obtained a grant from James V.
for twenty-one years of the gold and silver mines of Scotland. In this
reign three hundred men are said to have been employed for several
summers in washing gold, of which they are reported to have obtained
L. 100,000 in English money. Gold was also said to have been got in the
Pentland Hills, in Langham Water, in Megget Water, and other places.

In the early part of the reign of James VI. probably between 1580 and
1592, two Duteh painters, Ve Vos and Bronkhorst, (brought over to exe-=
cute the pictures in the gallery of Holyrood-House,) entered into a part-

176 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs.

nership to work the gold mines of Scotland. Nicholas Hilliard, jeweller
to Queen Elizabeth, was also a mining adventurer of this reign. The
success of Cornelius De Vos is thus curiously described. ‘* This. Corne-
lius was sent thither to discover the golden bedd or vaine, at the charge
of certaine marchants in London, who procured unto him Queen Eliza~
beth’s signett unto the king’s majesty, that now is king of England, &c.
then only of Scotland. And then Cornelius went to view the said moun-
tains in Clidesdale and Nydesdale; upon which mountains he got a small
taste of small gold. This was a whett-stone to sharpen his knife upon;
and. this naturall gold tasted so sweet as the honny or honny-combe in
his mouth. And then he consulted with his freinds at Edenburgh ; and
by his persuasions provoked them to adventure with him, showing them
first the naturall gold, which he called the temptable gold, or alluring
gold. It was in sternes, and some like unto birds’ eyes and eggs: he
compared it unto a woman’s eye, which intiseth her joyes into hir bosom.
And Cornelius so earnestly persuaded his late frequented friends in Scot-
land, that he possessed them to adventure also with him. The Earle of
Morton had ten partes. Mr Robert Ballentine, then secretary, had ten
partes. Abraham Peterson, a Dutchman of Edinbourgh, had ten partes.
James Reade, a burgeous of Edinbourgh, had five partes. And Cornelius
reserved to‘himself, and his London freinds which adventured with him
alsoe, ten partes, Some brought corne, some victuals, and some malt or
meal, besides monies ; and amongst them all L.5000 Scotts: Cornelius
then set to work six score of men in vallies and dales ; he employed both
lads and lasses, idle men and women, which before went a begging. With-
in the space of thirty days, they caused to be conveyed’ into the king’s
mint-house, half a steane weight of natural gold, viz. viij. pound weight,
worth L.450 Starling.” Afterwards, when the Earl of Morton was re«
gent, he obliged Cornelius ‘‘ to bring all such naturall gold as he there~
after should gett into the mint-house at Edinbourgh, where it was after-
wards coyned into iij. pound Starling peeces, of an ounce weight each peece.
Much gold was then bought from the poor workmen for twenty shillings
the ounce weight.”

In the same reign, Abram Grey, a Dutchman, was an adventurer. He
is said by Atkinson to have brought with him certain artsmen from Eng~
land,, and others of his own countrymen, into Scotland, which were at
London. His success is thus noticed :—‘‘ At Winlocke-head he gott a
good quantity of naturall gold. With this naturall gold gotten in the Grey-
beard’s time, (for so was he called, because of his great long beard, which
hé could have bound about his middle,) was made a very faire deepe ba-
sin, of the same naturall gold, without any addition of any other gold att
Edenborough, in Cannegate Streete ; it was made by a Scottsman ; it. con-
tained, by estimation, within the brymes thereof, an English gallon of li-
quor. The same basin was of clean, neat, naturall gold ; itself was filled
up to the brim with coined pieces of gold, called unicorns, which basin
and pieces both were presented unto the French king by the Earl of
Moreton, who signified upon his honour unto the king, saying, ‘ My Lord,
behold this basin, and all that therein is; it is natural gold, gotten within

Discoverie and Historie of Gold Mynes in Scotland. 177

‘this kingdom of Scotland, by a Dutchman, named Abraham Grey.’ And
Abraham Grey was standing by, and affirmed it upon asolemn oath. But
he said unto the said kinge, that he thought it did engender and increase
within the earth, and that he observed it so to do by the influence of the
heavens. And he said that it increased, and grew more and. more, but
neither by the power of the sun, moon, nor stars, but by the omnipotent
_ power of God, as he thought. And then the Earl of Moreton stood up,
saying, ‘I also believe that it engenders within the earth, but only of these
- ij- elements, (viz.) the water and the earth ; and that it is and was made
perfect malliable gold from the beginning by God, the Creator thereof.
But it was not, nor is not, pure fine gold, without any allay, as was
Opheire gold ; but,’ said he, ‘ I am certain, that all this gold, (viz.) the cup
and all the pieces therein, are of natural Scott’s gold, withous “ omer
compound or addition.”
Another adventurer was Mr George Bowes, an Englishman, hua is thus
. noticed :—‘‘ He procured a commission into Scotland unto the gold mines.
He discovered a small vaine of gold, which had much small gold ‘in it,
-uppon Winlocke-head. But he swore all his workmen to keepe it secrett,
and never to disclose the same unto the King of Scotland, nor his counsell :
_ for so he had promised to do, at his departure from the Queene of England,
if he found it. And he went home richly into the north country, where
he dwelt ; [but] unfortunately, in riding to see the copper works and
‘mines in Cumberland, at Keswicke, as he was going downe into thé deepe
pits, the ladder broke, and the earth fell in uppon him, and so was bruised
to death ; and thus he lost his life, and the vaine of 2 was not since dis-
covered in Scotland.”

In A. D. 1593, James VI. granted the gold, sities and lead mines in
Crawford or Friar Moor, and Glengonnar, to Thomas Foullis, goldsmith
in Edinburgh, for twenty-one years.

The king was due to Foullis L. 14,594, and his majesty pledged m se-

- curity some gold plate.

In A. D. 1597, Foullis worked the lead mine to some extent, but was
annoyed, as he stated, by the broken men of the borders.

Sir Bevis Bulmer is another mining hero of this period, who, visiting
Scotland under Queen Elizabeth’s patronage, is said to have been very suc-

cessful. He had a patent from her majesty to obtain gold, ahd procured
‘it on Mannock Moor, Winloch Water, Robbart Moor; Fryer Moor, Glan-
-gonner Water in Clydesdale, Crawford Moor, at Langclough, where he
found gold in a vein of other substances, which they discovered in search-
ing the rock, after discovering two pieces of gold five and six ounces in
“weight. Ina piece of brown spar, weighing two pounds, (described to
be-like sugar candy,) a piece of gold one ounce weight was said to have
‘been extracted. Mr Bulmer conceived his operations to be of such conse-
‘quence that he erected a stamping mill. ‘‘ Upon Glangabere Water, in Hen-
derland,” says Atkinson, ‘‘ within the forrest of Atrick, Mr Bulmer gott
the greatest gold, the like to it in no other place before of Scotland ; but
he was at no cost to bring home water-courses there, nor build no hdiiés
to. dwell in, neither staid he long. And he had there sometimes great
VOL. VII. No. I. JuLy 1827 M

178 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs,

gold, like Indian wheate, or pearl, and blacked-ey#tl like to.beanes. And
he did not mean to settle his workmen. there, untill another fitter time
should serve, for he was driven away by force of weather, and called ete
by other great occasions, (as is said,”) &c,

It is also added, that ‘* amongst all the gold which Mr Bulmer had gek-
ten in Scotland, besides that which he had given amongst his friends, this .
is to be noted, that he presented unto the late Queen Elizabeth so much
natural gold as made a porringer of clean gold.”

Bulmer, in the next instance, sought to gain over King Jamon to em-
bark a capital in mining concerns. The monarch’s cupidity for gold was
at first greatly excited, as appears from the following very remarkable con-
versation which took place between him and Bulmer, ‘‘ And shortly after
Bulmer said that his majesty conceived so good an opinion of the mines,
that he had them much in remembrance, (amongst other his great and
mighty business,) esteeming them to be none of the smallest pleasing un-
to God, nor the least that God had ordeyned for man.within the earth.
‘ Therefore the king had devised a plot how the said gold works might be
set awork anew, and thereby become commodious unto his crowne and
dignity, and so a great terror to all the enemies of God, if it hitt, which:I
will declare hereafter,” &c.—‘ I doubt the silver mines of England de-
cayes,’ saith the king, ‘ else are not found so plentiful as in times past.’—*‘ It
is true,’ said Mr Bulmer, ‘and therefore,’ quoth the king, ‘as I desire to have
a new onsett to find out from whence this natural gold doth descend, so.I
have meditated thereuppon, and have devised a plott how the gold mines
may be set open, and thereby become profitabler than heretofore ; and to that
purpose I have devised this plott, whereby they may continually be supplied
and continued in working without ceasing, and thus, with labour of shan,
may hills and mountains be turned into dayles and vyallies, and the waters
run over the hills, and so after courses into other places.’—And Mr Bulmer
liked well of the plott, and said, ‘ That it is the most readiest way to dis-
cover it, but it was a chargeable way, for it is as easy to find the true phi-
losopher’s stone.’—‘ I have also foreseene and prevented that,’ quoth the
king. ‘It is thought fitting that Bulmer shall be a superior or chief there-
of, because of his trust and skill, which was liked of by the lords of the
- counsell in Scotland. Therefore, let Bulmer procure, or move twenty-four
gentlemen within England, of sufficient lands and livings, or any other his
freinds of Scotland, that shall be willing to be undertakers thereof, and to
be adventurers towards the discovery thereof, and see that all these gen-
tlemen be of such sufficiencie in lands, goods, or chattels, as the worst be
worth L. 10,000 Starling, else L. 500 per annum Starling; and all such
gentlemen to be moved to disburst L. 300 Starling, each man in monies or
victuals for maintenance of the gold mynes in Scotland ; for which dis-
bursement each man to have the honour of knighthood bestowed upon
him, and so for ever to be called the Knight of the Golden Mynes, or the
Golden Knyght.”

It is unnecessary to make any farther remark on this quixotic pro-
ject, than that it was truly worthy the name and character of the Bri-
tish Solomon.

Discoverie and Historie of Gold Mynes in Scotland. 179

‘In A. D. 1607, the discovery of the silver mine of Hilderston, near Lin-
lithgow, took place, which raised the most flattering expectations. Ten
tons of the various metals were sent to England to be assayed, and were
refined by Atkinson, (then a refiner in the Tower of London.)

In A. D. 1608, Sir Bevis Bulmer was appointed, by patent, master and
surveyor of the Hilderston miné, and under his direction it was worked
for the crown three years. He called the shaft of one silver mine at Hil-
derston God’s blessing. The silver was got out of what was called red
metal, and the purest sort contained in it twenty-four ounces € fine
silver obtained from every hundred weight.

Bulmer soon gave up these works to pursue other mining spnicitetdinl
for in the year 1613 Sir William Alexander, Thomas Foullis, and Paulo
Pinto, a Portuguese, got a grant of the mine of Hilderston on paying a
tenth of the refined ore. The vein, however, eventually failed.

We may now advert to Atkinson himself, the author of the very curious
account of the mines of Scotland. He had served an apprenticeship to a
refiner in London of gold and silver, and was admitted a refiner in the
Tower of London, A.D. 1586. He afterwards was engaged in Devon-
shire in refining silver from lead ore. He was taught his mining skill by
B. B. an “ ingenious gentleman,” and was two years in Ireland with Sir
Bevis Bulmer. He was afterwards tempted to leave his refining business,
in order to explore gold mines in Scotland. In A.D. 1616 Atkinson
obtained leave to search for gold and silver in Crawford Moor on paying
to the king one-tenth of the metals found. He probably, as Mr Laing Mea-
son supposes, wanted money for the undertaking, and therefore wrote
to his majesty ; and after comparing several of the king’s acts to those of
David and Solomon, suggested the opening of the gold mines of Scotland,
which would make his majesty the richest monarch in Europe, yea, in all
the world. The Scots’ gold mines were compared by him to God’s treasure-
house, and named Ophir gold for their goodness. ‘* Some have doubted,”
(he adds,) ‘‘ that any goodness could be produced from Scot’s ground ; ar-
guing it-in the following reasons:—First, That, as it were admitted by
schoolmen that gold and silver were engendered by the heat of the sun
and moon, there could be no such metals in Scotland; because the sun and
moon did not there shine :” which objection the author answers by an apt
allusion to the heat that exists in deep mines, or in the entrails of the earth,
which he supposes to be quite sufficient for the purpose of engendering gold.
After this hypothesis he pays an extravagant, and almost profane compli-
ment to King James, which he introduces by a sort of side-wind. ‘“ Lett
my judiciall man understand, that twenty fathoms under ground, within
the entrails of the earth, it is as hott, even in the coldest country or na-
tion under the whole scope of Heaven, as in the hotest; so that it is no
argument that in Scotland there can be no naturall gold or silver, for as-
suredly it hath bin found there uppon Crayford Moore, and other moores
adjoyning thereto, before any man now alive was borne, some thereof in
solidd places, uppon mountaines and mosses, and some in shallow places,
within vallies and dales, neere to the river or brooke-side, yea, even as if

; — |
180 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs.

the omnipotent Creator of Heaven and earth should have invited the
king’s majesty thereunto for a great blessing.

Atkinson then proceeds to point out some of the localities of the gold;
and the comparison which he makes of a certain district of Scotland which
is watered by rivers to the Garden of Eden, is in precisely the same ex-
travagant character. ‘‘ In the second chapter of Moses, called Genesis,
I read, (viz.) 1st, that God planted a garden in Eden, where he put man.
In Clydsdale and Nydsdale, within the kingdom of Scotland, (is a place)
which may be compared unto it, (the garden of Eden,) or called a se-
cond garden, though not so pleasant and fruitful, yet richer under ground
than above for gold. And there be four waters or rivers, the heads where-
of descend out of mountaines and mosses, or hard rocks and craggs.
These rivers are also divided, by God’s omnipotent power, into foure heads.
The name of one called Glangonnor water, within Clydsdale. The name
of the second is called Short-clough water, upon Alwayne, within Clyds-
dale, upon Crawford Moore. The name of the third river is Winlocke-
head, or Wynlocke-water, upon Robbart Moore, within Nydsdale. ‘The
name of the fourth river is called Mannocke-water, upon Mannocke
Moore, within Nydsdale.”

The king, however, eventually gave no ear to these fine stories. He
had already expended L.3000 in the gold mines of Crawford Boor; and
had obtained not quite three ounces of gold.

But it is now time to close this narrative. It appears that Sir Bevis
Bulmer completely failed in his mining speculations, which was attributed
to his having too many irons in the fire, and to his too great extravagance.
*€ He wasted much himself,” says Atkinson, “‘ and gave liberally to many
for to be honoured, praised, and magnified, else he might have been a rich
subject, for the least of these frugalities (profusions) were able to rob an
abbot. By such sinister means he was impoverished, and followed other
idle venial vices to his dying day, that were not allowable of God nor
man: and so once down aye down, and at last he died at Awstinmoore, in
my debt L. 340 Sterling, to my great hinderance, and left me in Ireland
much in debt for him. God forgive us all our sinnes!”

The last account which we have of these mines is that, in A. D. 16212 a

lease was granted to John Hendlie, physician, to work the gold mines
in the mining districts of Lead Hills and Wanlocke-head for we
years.
_ This curious history is now brought toa close. If these gold mines
had been thought of in the year 1825, it is not impossible but that their
revival might have been contemplated, and that the minds of the mad
projectors of that period might have been diverted from the golden moun-
tains of Mexico to hunt for treasure on the cold and dreary plains of Craw-
ford Moor.’ The last project would have had this advantage, that it would
have dispersed a few of the thousands which have been idly squandered
away in distant speculations among our own countrymen.

Mr Laing Meason has edited this volume with a care and judgment that
eannot fail to be highly gratifying to the gentlemen who compose the mem-
bers of the Bannatyne Club, the patriotic object of which is the preserva~

The Steam-Engine Displayed. 181

tion of early Scottish records and literature. The notes are highly valu-
able. They comprise, among various matters, a collection of early docu-
ments illustrative of the localities of other metals besides gold, said to have
been found in Scotland.

Il.—The Steam-Engine Theoretically and Practically Displayed. By
Georce Birxseck, M. D. F.A.S. M. A. S. &c. and Henry and James
Ancock, Civil Engineers. Illustrated by a series of splendid engravings

_ from working drawings made expressly for this publication. | No. I. 4to,
pp. 48. John Murray, Albemarle Street.

A nove the numerous works on the Steam- Engine which have lately issued
from the press, there are none which can bear any comparison with that
which is now before us, either in its excellence as a work of practical
science, or in the splendour of its embellishments. As this number con-
tains only a portion of the introductory dissertation on steam, we are not
able to judge of the manner in which the operation and construction of the
different steam engines will be described ; but judging from the perspi-
cuity with which this preliminary portion has been drawn up, we have
every reason to suppose that the remaining parts will be executed in a
manner worthy of Dr Birkbeck’s reputation and talents.

In the present number, Dr Birkbeck commences with an account of the
experiments of Dr Black and others on latent heat, and then proceeds
to give a detailed account of the experiments of Mr Watt, Mr Southern,
Mr Dalton, Dr Ure, and Mr Taylor, on the elastic force of steam. The
results of these experiments are drawn up in a copious tabular synopsis,
which is suited to the scales of Fahrenheit, Reaumur, and the centigrade,
and extends from 32° to 343° of Fahrenheit. The author then proceeds,
with the aid of well engraved wooden cuts, to detail the methods by which
these philosophers conducted their respective experiments, and the num-
ber is concluded with an account of the formule in which M. Biot has
expressed the result of Mr Dalton’s experiments.

Dr Birkbeck has not given any account of the ingenious paper on the
elastic force of steam at high temperatures, published by our distinguished
countryman Mr Ivory on the Ist of January 1827, but it is probable that
his dissertation was in the press before that date. _

The only criticism which we are disposed to make on this part of the
work relates to the introduction of mathematical formule, and we would
strongly recommend it to Dr Birkbeck to separate all such formule from
the text, and to throw them, along with discussions of a profound nature,
into notes or appendixes. There is not one reader out of an hundred,
however well he may have been educated, who is capable of following such
investigations, and even those who have successfully pursued mathematical
- studies in their youth, are quite unable to apply them in their manhood.
_ The present number, the price of which is only six shillings, is illustra-
ted with no fewer than Six Quarto Plates, (two of which are double) con-
taining the following subjects.

182 Proceedings of Societies.

he Hawkee and Watt's single acting engine. Elevation.
do. Section.
lana and front views of the mechanism for opening and shutting

4. a the valves.

5. Plan of the beam,—general plan, and details.

6. Lloyd’s steam engine, Elevation and Plan.

From this brief notice, the reader will be able to form a pretty correct
notion of this valuable work, which promises to reflect great credit upon

Dr Birkbeck, and upon the respectable civil engineers by whom he is as-
sisted.

Art. XXXVIII.—PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES.

1. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

March 19, 1827.—Proressorn Dunbar read an inquiry into the struc-
ture of the Greek, Latin, and Sanskrit verbs, with some observations to
show that the latter were derived from the former.

April 2.—The following gentlemen were elected Members :

The Reverend Epwarp Burnet Ramsay, A. B. of St John’s College,
Cambridge.

The Reverend James Waker, D. D. of St John’s College, Cambridge.

Sir Wirt Hamitron read an Essay “ on Phrenology considered in,
its constitution.”

April 16.—There was read a Paper “‘ on a New Combustible Ges, by
Tuomas Tuomson, M. D. Professor of Chemistry, Glasgow.

This gas was obtained from pyrorylic spirit, formed by the distillation.
of wood, and manufactured by Messrs Turnbull and Ramsay of Glasgow.
Pyroxylic spirit has a specific gravity of 0.812, and an agreeable smell, and
is used in lamps in place of alcohol. Dr Thomson found that the gas ex-
tricated from a mixture of aqua regia and pyroxylic spirit consisted of ©

New inflammable gas, - - . 29
Nitrous gas, - . - - 63
Azotic - a Piesh dict Y 8

the specific gravity being 1.945, that of air being 1. The wplaela gravi-
ty of the new gas was 4.1757, and it was composed as follows:

1 Atom hydrogen, - - - 0.128
1 Atom carbon, - - - - 0.750
14 Atom chlorine, - ~ - 6.750

7.625

and its atomic weight is 7.625. Hence Dr Thomson calls it the Sesgui-
chloride of Carbo-hydrogen.

On the same evening there was read another paper by Dr TuoMson, en-
titled Some Experiments on Gold. The object of this paper was to deter-
mine whether the peroxide of gold contained two or three atoms of oxygen.
The evidence from the analysis of Berzelius and Javal was in favour of three

,

Scientific Intelligence— Astronomy. 183

atoms, and hence chemists had considered the peroxide of gold as a ter-
oxide. . This result is confirmed by Dr Thomson, who finds that peroxide —

of gold is composed of
1 Atom of gold, - . - - 25
3 Atoms of oxygen, = “ - ” 3

In this paper Dr Thomson also determines that muriate of gold con-
sists of

2 Atoms muriatic acid, - - = 9.25

1 Atom peroxide of gold, - - - 28.

5 Atoms water, - - ~ ” 5.625
42.875

Dr Thomson then proceeds to show, in opposition to the views of Berzelius,
that the permuriate of tin, like the muriate of gold, is more probably a mu-
riate than a chloride. ee

On the same day a paper was read “ On the gradual changes which take
place in the Interior of Minerals, while the external form remains the
same,” by Witiiam Harpincer, Esq. An extract from this paper is
given in the present Number, p. 126.

2. Proceedings of the Society for Promoting the eet p Arts in Scotland.

March 20, 1827.—The following Gentlemen were elected Members :- —
Ordinary.
George Swinton, Esq. Calcutta.
Honorary.

David Gordon, Esq. Engineer to the Portable Gas Company, London.

Rev. W. Scoresby, F. R. SS. L. and E. Liverpool

Dr Thomas Traill, F. R. S. E. Liverpool.

- George Harvey, Esq. F. R.S.L. and E. Plymouth.
Associates.
Mr Alexander Rose, Edinburgh.

There was read a letter from Davrtpy Gorpon, Esq. to Dr Brewster,
on a remarkable decomposition of oil gas. See our last Number, p- 325-

Mr Stvwricut exhibited a new species of file, formed by the separated
surfaces of chalcedony.

The model of a new gate, by Mr Jonn Currer, was exhibited and
described. This gate opened and shut by the action of the Prriege that
approached or quitted it.

A model of a machine for lifting and letting down weights, by Mr
Joun Currer, was exhibited and described.

Art. XXXIX.—SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE.
I. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.
ASTRONOMY. . /
1. Comet of December 1826.—This comet was discovered by M. Gam-~
bard at Marseilles on the 27th December. The elements are as follows:

' Scientific Intelligence.

184
é . D.

Passage of Perihelion, 1827, 34-989. 2
Mean time from midnight, nig
Longitude of perihelion, - - : _ 84° 0 50”
Longitude of node, - : | 191 44 33
Perihelion distance, - - . 0.455

Inclination, - 5 - - 72. 4 15

Motion Retrograde.

2. M. Westphal’s Table of Variable Stars.—The variable stars hitherto
known are thirteen in number. The following table given by our author
contains their positions for 1820, the total period of their change, the ex-
treme intensities of their light, and the name of the astronomer who first

observed them.
; Max. of Min. of |

R. Asc. Decl. he Dac. Light. Light. Observers.
~ Mag. Mag. .

Whale, 32°34 3°48S 331.96 2to4 Invis. Fabricius.
Perseus, - 44 7 40 15 N. 2.37 2— 3to 4 Goodrick.
Leo, - 144 28 12 15 311.4 5to6 Invis. Koch.
Virgo, - | (187 20 7 59 146 5to7 Invis. Harding.
Hydra, - 199 58 2221S. 494 3to4 Invis. Montanari.
North Crown, 235 17 28 43N. 335 6 to 7 Pigott.
Hercules, - 256 36 14 36 60.5 3 3to4 Herschel.
Sobieski’s Shield, 279 23 5 53S. 60. 6 5to6 6to7 Pigott.
Lyra, - 280.52 33 10N. 6.44 3 5 Goodrick.
Antinous - 295 49 0 33 718 4 5 Pigott.
Cygnus, - 295 54 4 =32 27 47. 5 4to6 Invis. Koch.
Cepheus - 33537 59 30 5.36 3to4 4to5 Goodrick.
Aquarius, - 353 37 16 17 382.5 6to7 Invis. Harding.

In a separate account of each star, the author explains in detail his ob-
servations and calculations. In almost all of them the increase of light
is more rapid than its diminution.

Increase. Diminution.
Whale, . - 40 days 66 days
Perseus, . - 4 hours 4 hours
Leo, - - 30 days 48 days
Virgo, - 39 42
Hydra, - - 43 83
Hercules, - ~'* 23 39
Sobieski’s Shield, - 19 42
Lyra, - . 3 3.4
Antinous, - ° a7. 4.5
Cygnus, - - 39 73
Cepheus, ° - 15 3.9

See Neueste Schrift. der Naturforsch. Gesells in Danzig. vol. i. 2 cah. p. 3.

MAGNETISM. |

3. Lebailliff’s Needle for showing the smallest quantity of Magnetism.
—This needle consists of two magnetised sewing needles placed at the two

Magnetism— Meteorology, &c. 185

ends of a straw, suspended by its middle with a silk fibre without torsion.
_ The two poles of the needle are placed so as to render the earth’s action.
upon it almost nothing. M. Lebailliff has modified the apparatus in va-
rious ways, as M. Becquerel has remarked its extreme sensibility de-
pends on the length of the arm of the lever, at the end of which the mag-
netic action is exercised, and on the neutralization of the earth’s action.
. This apparatus has led to the following curious discovery.

4.° Singular Magnetic Property of Bismuth and Antimony.—When
either bismuth or antimony is brought near the poles of M. Labailliff’s
needle, above described, they exert upon both poles a very decided repul~
ston. M. Becquerel, who mentions that he saw this experiment with astoe
nishment, remarks that this doubly repulsive property has been recogniz~
ed only in these two metals. An account of this curious fact was laid be-
fore the Philomathic Society of Paris on the 31st March 1827.— Le Globe,
4oril 3, 1827.

METEOROLOGY.

5. Hourly Meteorological Observations on the 17th July.—Those me-
teorologists who have hitherto made the hourly meteorological observations
in pursuance of the recommendation of the Royal Society of Edinburgh,
are earnestly requested to continue them on the seventeenth of July. In cons
sequence of a typographical mistake in the netices to Correspondents in our -
last Number it was called the 15th June.

~ 6. Luminous Spots near the Horizon.—M. Atwater in a memoir on the
climate of Ohio, in Dr Silliman’s Journa/, remarks that, before a storm, he
has often noticed in an evening of the latter part of autumn, and some-
times in the winter, a phenomenon which he never saw on the east side of
the Alleghanies. Some one spot or spots near the horizon in a cloudy night
appeared so lighted up, that the common people believed there was some
great fire in the direction from which the light came. He had seen at
once two or three of these luminous spots not far from each other ; gene-
rally there was but one, and a storm, invariably preceeding from the same
point near the horizon, succeeded in a few hours.

II. CHEMISTRY.

7. New compound of selenium and oxygen.—Professor Mitscherlich has
discovered a new acid of selenium, consisting of one atom of selenium and |
three atoms of oxygen, and consequently analogous in composition to sul-
phuric acid. Its appropriate name will of course be selenic acid, since it
contains more oxygen than the compound hitherto known by that nameg
while to the latter; the composition of which is similar to that of sulphu-
rous acid, the term selenious acid must hereafter be applied. The isomor=
phism of selenium and sulphur is already known, and principally esta-
blished from the identity of form of the compounds, which they produce
with lead,—sulphuret of lead, or galena, and seleniuret of lead, both of

+

186 Scientific Intelligence.

which. show ‘distinct cleavage in. the direction of the faces of the hexahe~
dron, and are altogether so similar, that for.a long time they were actually
mistaken for each other. Professor Mitscherlich now finds also that the
forms of the new seleniates are analogous to those of the sulphates; and
what renders the discovery still more interesting is, that the salts may
be obtained. in crystals superior in beauty even to the sulphates them-
selves. Among several very interesting species resulting from the new
acid, combined with the bases, was obtained an anhydrous seleniate of
soda, with a form corresponding to the anhydrous sulphate of soda, and
also to the sulphate of silver. It is very remarkable that the form of the
seleniate of magnesia is hemiprismatic, and the same as that obtained when
the sulphate of the same base is made to crystallize at a high temperature,

8. Theory of the Formation of mineral waters.—Mr Struve of Dresden
has contrived to form saline solutions, very nearly agreeing with those found
in nature, by forcing pure water, or water impregnated with carbonic acid,
to pass under considerable pressure through pulverised portions of the rock
which occurs in the vicinity of the natural spring. The following instance
will give an idea of the extent of the resemblance in the solid contents of two
kinds of water, the one artificial, the other natural. The artificial solution
was formed by forcing first carbonic acid, and then water impregnated with
it, under a pressure of nearly two atmospheres, through a cylinder 84 inches
high, filled with 3 pounds 14 ounces of powdered clinkstone, and as much
of clean-sand. The water began to ooze out from the uppermost layer on-
ly about twelve hours after the beginning of the process. The natural
spring compared with it is the acidulous water of Bilin in Bohemia, a
country which in that vicinity abounds in clinkstone.

Substances contained in Clinkstone water. Bilin Water. —
16 ounces of water,
Carbonate of soda, - = 21.974 22.732 gr.
Muriate of soda, - - - 1.963 2.884
Sulphate of potash, - - 1.670 1.735.
Sulphate of soda, - - - 4.859 6171
Silica, « “ : a 0.512 ~ 0.355,
Carbonate of lime, - - - 4,480 3.066
Carbonate of magnesia, - - 1.126 1.196

In the same manner Mr Struve has also produced saline waters similar
to those of Teplitz in Bohemia from the porphyry out of which the springs
there issue ; waters like some of Egra from the basalt of Liebenstein, near
Egra; and waters resembling the spring called the “‘ Kreuzbrunn” at
Marienbad from the basalt occurring between Tepl] and Marienbad. All
the appearances of natural mineral springs may be explained by a theory
corresponding to the facts observed.—(Schweigger’s Journal, vol. xvii.
p. 374.)

9. Caustic Potash.— We have received the following notice. from, Mr T.
Graham. “‘ In dissolving the caustic potash in sticks of the apothecaries,

Chemistry. 187

I had occasion to remark that a considerable but variable proportion o¢
pure oxygen gas was always emitted. In one case astick of forty grains
in weight yielded 200 grain measures during solution, although in general
the quantity was considerably less. The effervescence was similar to what
a slight admixture of peroxide of potassium would occasion. There ap-
peared to be some connection between the amount of oxygen and the quan-
tity of brown insoluble impurities remaining after the solution of the potash.
It is probable that the peroxide of iron, from the iron vessels employed in
the manufacture of caustic potash, contributes either directly or indirect-
ly to the production of the phenomenon. A knowledge of the fact may
occasionally be useful, as previous’ to its detection a series of results in
gaseous analysis was vitiated by it.”

10. Composition of Nitric Acid.—The 12th volume of the Annals of Phi-
losophy, O. S. (p. 351) contains the translation of a paper on the compo-
sition of nitric acid, by Berthollet. The process employed was that of de-
composing nitrate of potash by heat in a porcelain retort, the weight and
nature of the gaseous prodacts and of the residual potash being ascertained.
From these experiments the author concluded that nitric acid is composed
of 69.6 oxygen + 30.4 azote, instead of 74.08 of the former, and 25.92 of
the latter element, as now generally admitted.

Dr Thomson observes, that, though he has no doubt of the inaccuracy
of Berthollet’s analysis, he cannot pretend to account for the fallacy. Hay-
ing lately prepared some oxygen gas hy decomposing nitte, Mr Phillips
found that the last gaseous product, if not entirely azotic gas, contained
so little oxygen that it extinguished a candle. Upon pouring water into
the gun-barrel to remove the potash, he found that oxygen was immediate-
ly evolved, and in such quantity that an ignited stick was immediately in-
flamed ; and the combustion continued for a considerable period.

Now Berthollet distinctly, though erroneously, reports, that the potash
retains no oxygen: but it is evident from the experiment now stated, that
peroxide of potassium is formed; and it appeared probable to Mr Phillips,
that the quantity is sufficient to supply the deficiency of about 43 per cent
of oxygen in Berthollet’s experiment.—Philos. Magazine and Annals of
_ Philosophy for April.

11. Nitrification —In a letter to M. Longchamp, published in the 34th
vol. of the An. de Ch. et de Physique, M. Gay-Lussae has defended the old
theory of nitrification against the objections of the former chemist, of
whose views we gave a short notice in the preceding number of the Jour~
nal. M. Longchamp has endeavoured to establish the two following
points. 1. That nitric acid and its salts are generated in substances, or in
places, which contain neither animal nor vegetable matters, and which have
never been exposed to the emanations from animals. 2. That nitric acid
is formed exclusively by the elements of the atmosphere. With respect
to the first position, M. Gay-Lussac denies that it is supported by any
decisive fact. He has shown that different kinds of chalk, and other cal-
careous substances in which nitrate of lime is gradually formed, and which

188 -Scientifie Intelligence.

were supposed by M. Longchamp to be free from animal matter, yield am-
monia by distillation. The reasonings in favour of the second statement
M. Gay-Lussac declares to be vague and inaccurate. He admits that ni-
tric acid may, from some unknown causes, be generated without the aid
ef azotized matters ; but contends that the idea of its being exclusively
‘found in that way is quite untenable. He affirms that the most ignorant
manufacturer of salpetre is aware that animal matters assist very powerful-
ly in the formation of that salt, and that they do so on quite different prin-
eiples than by affording moisture.

12. Solidification of Bromine and some new compounds of that substance.
By M. Serutias.—Ann. de Chimie et de Physique, vol. xxxiv. The soli-
dification of bromine takes place at a temperature between 0 and — 4° F,
In the solid state it is friable.

13. Hydrocarburet of Bromine.—This compound was formed by adding
one part of the hydrocarburet of iodine to two parts of bromine con-
tained in a glass tube. Instantaneous reaction ensues, attended with dis-
engagement of caloric and a hissing noise, and two new compounds, the
bromuret of iodine, and a liquid hydrocarburet of bromine are generated.
By means of water the former is dissolved, while the latter, coloured by
bromine, collects at the bottom of the liquid. The decoloration is then
affected by means of caustic potash. If ia this process the hydrocarbu-
ret of iodine is in excess, very little hydrocarburet of bromine is formed ;
but a sub-bromuret of iodine, analogous to the sub-chloride of iodine de-
scribed by Gay-Lussac, will then be obtained.

The hydro-carburet of bromine, after being washed with solution of
potash, is colourless, heavier than water, very volatile, of a penetrating
ethereal odour, and of an exceedingly sweet taste, which it communicates
to water in which it is placed, in consequence of being slightly soluble in
that liquid. It hence appears that its properties are absolutely the same
as those of the liquid proto-hydrocarburet of iodine described by M. Serul-
las in the 25th vol. of the An. de Ch. et de Physique. Chemically, how-
ever, it differs from this compound in yielding bromine instead of iodine
when decomposed, in forming white instead of violet vapours when thrown
on red-hot porcelain, and in not acquiring a colour by exposure to the
air. It becomes solid at a temperature between 21° or 23° F. |

M. Serullas finds that the compound which M. Balard formed by let-
ting a drop of bromine fall into a flask of olefiant gas, is identical with
the hydrocarburet of bromine just mentioned.

14, Hydrobromic Ether.—This compound is made in a manner similar
to that by which M. Serullas prepared the hydriodic ether. (An. de Ch. et
de Ph. t. xxv. p. 323.) Into a tubulated retort are introduced 40 parts of
alcohol of specific gravity 0.837, and one part of phosphorus ; and then
seven or eight parts of bromine are added by successive small portions.
Whenever the bromine comes in contact with the phosphorus, there ensues

a rapid combination with increase of temperature, and subsequent forma-

Chemistry. 189

tion of hydro-bromie and sulphurous acids. ‘The distillation is then con-
ducted at a gentle heat, and the volatile parts are collected in a cold reci-
pient. On diluting the distilled liquor with water, the ether separates and
descends to the bottom ; and if any acid has passed over, it may be re-
moved by the addition of a small quantity of potash.

Hydro-bromic ether is colourless and transparent, very volatile, hetier
than water, of a strong and ethereal odour, and pungent taste. It is so-
luble in alcohol, and is precipitated from that fiuid by water.. It under-
goes no change of colour by being kept under water, in which respect it
differs from the hydriodic ether.

15. Cyanuret of Bromine.—The mode of preparing this compound is
analogous to that by which M. Serullas procured the cyanuret of iodine.
At the bottom of a small tubulated retort, or a rather long tube, are placed
two parts of well-dried cyanuret of mercury, so as to secure an excess of it,
and after cooling the apparatus by cold water or a frigorific mixture,
which last precaution is indispensable in summer, one part of bromine is
added. A strong reaction ensues, and so much caloric is disengaged that
a considerable portion of the bromine would be dissipated unless the tem-
perature had been previously reduced. The new products are the bromu-
ret of mercury and the cyanuret of bromine, the latter of which collects in
the upper part of the tube in the form of long needles. After allowing
any vapour of bromine, which may have risen at the same time, to con-
dense and fall down upon the cyanuret of mercury, the cyanuret of bro-
mine is expelled by a gentle heat, and is collected in a recipient carefully
cooled.

As thus formed, the cyanuret is crystallized, sometimes in small regular
colourless and transparent cubes, and sometimes in long and very slender
needles. In its physical properties it is so very similar to the cyanuret
of iodine, that they may easily be mistaken for each other, especially
when the crystals of the cyanuret of bromine possess the acicular form.
They agree closely in odour and volatility, but the cyanuret of bro-
mine is even more volatile than the cyanuret of iodine. It is converted in-
to vapour at 59° F. and crystallizes suddenly on cooling. Its solubility in
water and alcohol is likewise greater than that of the cyanuret of iodine.
Caustic potash in solution converts it into the hydro-cyanate and hydro-
bromate of potash. This solution gives a precipitate of the cyanuret and
bromuret of silver, separable from one another by ammonia, which dis-
solves the latter and not the former.* The proportion of each may probably
be determined in this way. _ |

M. Serullas remarks, that all the reagents to which. he has subjected the
cyanuret of bromine always left the bromine with all its characters, even
under circumstances favourable to its decomposition, were it not a simple
substance. ’ Be

The cyanuret of iodine is highly deleterious. A grain of it dissolved in
a little water, and introduced into the cesophagus of a rabbit, proved fatal

* There is surely some mistake here : the cyanuret of silver is soluble in ammo-
nia.—E. T.

190 Scientific Intelligence.

on the instant, acting with the same rapidity as prussic acid. From the
volatility and noxious qualities of this substance, great care is necessary in
making experiments upon it. This circumstance, together with a deficient
supply of bromine, prevented M. Serullas from continuing the investiga-
tion of its i OK

16. New Sources of Bromine. Poggendorff’s Annals, 8th volume.—
The discovery of bromine in the water of the Dead Sea, made by Professor
Gmelin of Tiibingen, has been confirmed by M. Hermbstaedt. This in-
teresting substance has also been found in several salt springs in Germany. »
Thus it has been detected in the mother water of the salt works at Theo-
dérshalle by Professor Liebig, as mentioned in the last Number of this
Journal ; at the salt works at Rappenau in Baden by Professor Geiger ;
at those of Diirrheim, Schweningen, Wimpfen, and Jaxfeld, by Professor
Frommlerz of Freyburg; and at those of Halle by Dr Meissner; of
Schénebeck by M. Hermann ; and of Rosenheim in Bavaria by Vogel.

17. Supposed Chlorate of Manganese in the native Peroxide. Philos. Ma-
gazine, and Annals of Philosophy for April—Mr MacMullin having ob-
served, (Institution Journal, vol. xxii. p. 231,) that when sulphuric acid
is added to peroxide of manganese chlorine is evolved, he conceived it
might be derived from an admixture of muriate of manganese, iron, or
copper; but as, on washing some of the peroxide with water, he did not
find that any chloride of silver was precipitable from it, he concluded that
the peroxide in question contains no salt of muriatic acid. On continuing
his experiments to discover the source of the chlorine, he inferred that
the chlorine combined with the black oxide is in the state of chloric
acid ; and that the native oxide is, at least in part, and probably in
proportions varying with the different specimens of the ore, a native chlo-
rate of manganese.

This point has recently been examined by Mr Phillips, who has ar-
rived at a conclusion totally different. He procured first some common
peroxide of manganese, a second and pure specimen from Warwickshire,
and a third crystallized variety from Germany. These were reduced to
powder, and on the addition of sulphuric acid, chlorine was evolved from
each. Separate portions of them were then washed with distilled water ;
and on the addition of nitrate of silver to the washings, the chloride of
silver was immediately precipitated ; whereas sulphuric acid being poured
upon the washed peroxide, no chlorine whatever was evolved. But being
unwilling to trust merely to his own observation, Mr Phillips added sul-
phuric acid to an unwashed portion, and to one which had been washed ;
—a bystander immediately detected the odour of chlorine in the former,
but not in the latter case.

To determine the nature of the salt which furnished the chlorine, Mr
Phillips evaporated a portion of the washings very low, in order that, if
any common salt were present, it might crystallize. He was however
unable to procure any of it: sulphuretted hydrogen indicated no appear-
ance of any metallic muriate, but oxalate of ammonia gave proof of the

3

Natural HistoryMineralogy—Geology. 191

_ presence of lime, and muriate of baryta of sulphuric acid. Hence it ap-
pears that the native peroxide of manganese usually contains a small ad-
mixture of the muriate and sulphate of lime.

18. Analysis of the Meteorite Stone which fell near Ferrara in 1824.—
Mr Laugier found the stone to be thus composed :

Peroxide of I mest . = 43
Silex, - « 41.75
Magnesia, - . 16.
2% Oxide of Chrome, + - 1.50
Oxide of Nickel, . - 1.25
Sulphur, sak | 7 1.
104.5

The quantity of sulphur and nickel is less in this than in other meteo-
rites.—Ann. de Chim. Feb. 1827, tom. xxxiv. p. 141.

Ill. NATURAL HISTORY.
MINERALOGY.

19. Crystallized Pyrope.—In the Iser mountains in Bohemia, crystals of
this species have lately been discovered by a pupil of Professor Zippe of
Prague. In this new locality pyrope generally also is found in grains, but
many of them exhibit traces of a crystalline surface, and one individual in
particular showed the perfect form of a hexahedron, the length of its sides
being about a line, with faces slightly curved, as is often the case in dia-
monds. Professor Zippe described it in a particular memoir, which was
read before the Society of the National Museum of Prague. He esta-
blishes it there as a species of its own, belonging to the genus garnet of
Mohs, under the name of hexahedral garnet.

20. Remarkable optical property of Dichroite-—Professor Marx of Bruns-
wick discovered that dichroite, cut parallel to the crystallographic axis of
the crystals, has the property of polarizing light exactly in the same man-
ner as tourmaline. This substance, therefore, promises to become highly
valuable to those who occupy themselves with the optical examination of
minerals, since it is not uncommonly found of a uniform texture and co-
lour, and considerable degrees of transparency. The mineral has the pro-
perty of polarizing light also when cut perpendicular to the axis, as might
have been anticipated from the circumstance of its having two axes of
double refraction.—(Schweigger’s Journal, vol. xvii. p. 368.)

GEOLOGY. +

1. Dr Hibbert’s System of Geology.—Dr Hibbert fs in considerable
forwardness with the system of Geology which he has many years
preparing for publication. It is intended to contain a succinct view o
the History of the Earth, with a geological arrangement of the various
mineral substances which each description of rock contains, and a par-
‘ticular account of the organic remains which have been discovered in the

- -~
192 Scientific Intelligence.

various strata. A considerable portion of the work is dedicated t6 an in-
- quiry into the changes which are still going on to alter the surface of the
globe. Dr Hibbert, preparatory to the completion of his work, is visit-

ing the continent with the view of satisfying himself on some important
- questions connected with the subject of rocks of igneous formation. « For
this purpose he is undertaking a personal examination of several of the
most noted volcanic districts of Europe.

22. Mr Scrope’s Memoir on the Geology of Central France.—We
regret much that we have been obliged to postpone an analysis of this
interesting work to our next number. In the meantime, we may assure
our geological readers that they will find it one of the most valuable me-
moirs that for a long time has been given to the world. The memoir it-
self consists of a quarto volume of nearly 200 pages, and is illustrated with
18 folio plates, several of which are of great size, and exhibit at the same
time a geological and a picturesque representation of the remarkable volca-
nic district of which it treats. Our coadjutor, Dr Hibbert, has gone to ex-
amine the same region, and will zealously take up the subject where it
has been left by Mr Scrope.

; ZOOLOGY.

23. System of Ornithology.—Captain Thomas Brown, F.R.S. E. &c. has
published Number I. of his ** System of General Ornithology.” It con-
tains Sir Imperial Quarto Plates, on which are represented twenty-four
birds, coloured after nature. It is intended in this work to give figures
of all the known species, distinct varieties, with the female, and occasion-
ally the young birds. The whole are to be drawn from nature and en-
graved by the author, from these superb collections, the Jardindu Roi at
Paris ; the Museum at Haerlem ; and in Britain from the British, Edin-
acy University, and East India ‘Conidipann sMuseums. ‘This work is to be
published in numbers every two months, containing six plates ; from twen-
ty to twenty-four figures. The descriptive letter-press will be brought
forward every six months, with complete descriptions of the birds pub-
lished in the preceding numbers, including their instincts, habits, locali-
ties, and comparative anatomy.

We understand that these splendid figures are finished by Captain jie
himself, which will give a fidelity of representation unusual in such works.
In short, the birds in the number we have seen are so highly finished
that they may be taken for drawings.

BOTANY.

24. Natural History of the Auricula.—Captain Thomas Brown, F:R.S. E.
&c. is preparing for publication a work on the Auricula, which is to appear
in 4to numbers every two months, containing four plates coloured after
nature. This work will contain about sixty of the most beautiful varieties
of that esteemed flower, with a complete account of its natural history,
mode of cultivation, adniixture of soils, &c. and a list of the known varie-
ties, by whom they were raised: together with a catalogue of the best col~
lections in Great Britain.

0 -General-Seie a? 2g! 193

aod bus cpobeiw 20 elite: GENERAL SCIENCE. ss Mts
sorter

25, Ponafard M edals Adjudged. —The Royal Society of Siciidon has ad-
judged the medals on Count Rumford’s donation to M. Fresnel, for his
sppligation of the theory of undulations to the pilafiation of plight

.

26. Dr Brewster's System of Popular and Practical Science. _—The object
of this publication is to furnish the educated classes, but particularly the
young of both sexes, with a series of popular works on the various branch-
es of science, brought down to the humblest capacities, and yet capable of
imparting scientific knowledge to the best informed ranks of society. .A
series of such works has long been a desideratum among Parents and
Teachers of Youth, and the want of them among the middle and. upper
classes of society is more deeply felt at the present time, when general know
ledge is so eagerly sought for, and when the press is teeming with produc-
tions pretending to be books of popular and practical science, but which,
with the exception of the Library of Useful Knowledge, and the admirable
works of Miss Edgeworth, Mrs Marcet, and some others, are compilations
of incorrect statements and exploded opinions.
_. There is not a more common error than to suppose that works of science
must be easily understood, because they contain no mathematical reason~
ing, or because they are confined to those portions of science which are.
usually explained by popular writers. The plainest subject is often made
inaccessible by the language and the manner in which it is treated ; while
on. the other hand, by a perspicuous style and suitable methods of illus:

_tration many abstract branches of knowledge may be rendered plain to
persons of very moderate capacities.

In order to write a work truly popular, the author must have experien-
ced: the difficulties of communicating scientific instruction, and must have
practised the methods by which these difficulties can be overcome. He
must be familiar with the details of the science of which he treats ;—with:
its relations to kindred branches of knowledge; and with its applications
to the various purposes of domestic and civil life. In some of these re-
spects, particularly from his experience in drawing up most of the copious’
scientific Treatises for the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, the author —
that he is in some measure qualified for the present work ; and he has n
scruple in stating his opinion, that many departments of science, vihich
have been hitherto deemed beyond 'the reach of ses Nepte ee may
be made perfectly clear and intelligible.

Though this work is one of very humble inshiasiatis the author is not
disposed to. undervalue the credit of executing it with success. Next to’
the merit of original discovery, and perhaps superior to it, is that of laying
open to thousands of our species fields of knowledge from which theychave:
been previously shut out by the intellectual thorns with which they are
beset... lo Bi

In entering upon iia undertaking, the author is deeply sensible; that
while the first purpose of all knowledge is to make us; wiser, its main and
ultimate object is to make us better. Under this conviction he will not’

VOL. VII. No. I. JULY 1827. N |

194 Scientific Intelligetice.

fail to draw the attention of his readers to those marks of wisdom and be«
nevolence of which the material world bears so deep an impress ;—to
strengthen those feelings of humility and gratitude which the contempla-
tion of nature so strongly excites ;--and thus to render intellectual wisdom
subservient to moral discipline and religious improvement.

The first of this series of Treatises will be a Popular Treatise on Astro-
nomy, in one volume Post 8vo, illustrated with Plates ; the second Treatise
will be on Optics; and these will be followed by separate and complete
Treatises on the various subjects of Science and the Useful Arts, contain-
ing the most recent discoveries and RPpeenennat made both in this coun-
try and on the continent.

27. Siamese Islands of Ko-si-Chang and Ko-Cramb.—-Many. islands
which had never been visited by Europeans have been recently explored
by the last English ships which entered the River Siam. They lie about
eight leagues from the south of that river in 18° 12’ north lat. and 100° 55
east of Greenwich. The two largest are called Ko-Si-Chang and Ko-
Cramb. |

The first is 2} leagues long, and one broad. It is covered with wood,
and the mountains are very high. There are no inhabitants upon it, ex-
cepting the keeper of a temple, built by the officers of the Cochin Chinese
Junks, upon a hill on the south shore, who come here every year to
trade at Bankok.

In order to take advantage of the wood and water, a harbour has oni
made for the country ships which ascend the river, and the European
vessels can also profit by their example. |

Upon the other island, which is less extensive, the Siamese fishermen
have established themselves, and their habitations are surrounded by cul-
tivation. Besides the vegetables which have been observed before, they
have a species of Ignama not eatable ; but the bulbiferous sorts grow to a
most extraordinary size; they are sometimes ten feet in circumference, and
weigh 474 pounds ; the fecula, when dried, is used asa specific in fevers.
Many beautiful kinds of pigeons, which seem to have abandoned the con-
tinent to take refuge in the isles of the Gulf of Siam, are seen in the woods
of Ko-Si-Chang. There is in particular a large white species with a black
tail; another with the plumage brown and purple; and a third kind of
“a sxntiler size, whose covering is of a most brilliant green.

Between the two principal islands the ships find a spacious asians
well sheltered from the winds and the high seas. The entrance to the har- —
bour is by two openings, but the one to the north is preferred. Although
the anchorage i is good, it is prudent to use iron cables, because many_parts
of the bottom are covered with loose rocks, and the tides, which in spring
rise to the height of ten feet, form a very strong current across the har-
bour.

In spite of these inconveniences we should not be surprised if England
were to form an establishment upon these isles, whose situation at once
commands the commerce of the kingdom of Siam.—Le Globe, Mars 27, .
1827.

List of Scottish PatentsCelestial Phenomena. 195

Arr. XL-—LIST OF PATENTS GRANTED IN SCOTLAND SINCE
: FEBRUARY 8, 1827.

9. March 21. For certain Improvements in Machinery or Apparatus for
Printing Calicoes and other Fabrics. To Matraew Busu of Dalmonach
Printfield, near Bonhill, in the neighbourhood of Dunbarton, North Bri-
tain.

10. March 30. For an Improvement in the process of Refining Sugar.
To Morton Witiiam Lawnzence, County of Middlesex.

11. March 30. For anew Invention of an Enginé for Moving and Pro=
pelling Ships, Boats, Carriages, Mills, and Machinery of every kind. To
WitirAm Witmot Hatt, of the City of Baltimore, United States of

America.
12. April 2. For certain Improvements in the construction of wheels de-

signed for driving machinery, which are to be impelled by water or by wind,
and which said improvements are also applicable to propelling boats and
other vessels. To Joun O1.pHaAmM, Dublin.

13. April $3. For the Construction of a New Engine for giving motion
by.the expansive power of the vapour of liquids. To THomas Howard
of New Broad Street, London.

14. May 7. For an Improvement or improvements on power looms for
weaving cloth of different kinds. To Joun Paterson Ret, Glasgow.

15. May 7. For an Invention of certain improvements in the Boilers
used for making Salt, commonly called Salt Pans, and in the mode of ap- |
plying heat to the brine. To Josern Titt of Prospect Place, County
of Surrey.

16. May 21. For the Invention of a new method of constructing gaso-
meters, or machines of apparatus for holding and distributing gas. To
Cartes BARwELt Coxezs, Esq. and Wittiam Nicuouson, Manchester.

17. June 8 For certain Improvements in mantfacturing carpets. To
Tuomas Crarxe, County of Leicester.

Ss - ———

Ant. XLIL—CELESTIAL PHENOMENA,
From July 1st to October 1st 1827. Adapted to the Meridian of Green-=
wich, Apparent Time, excepting the Balioaee of Gries Satellites
which dre given in Mean Time.

N. B.—-The day begins at noon, and the conjunctions of the Moon and
Stars are given in Right Ascension.

, JULY. D H M S
D A M 4 4 51 30¢)2ax)2is,
1 9 8 First Quarter 4 12 dg ¢o5
1 23 30 5 1 42 6) dex) 6é7Nn
2 8 Pde 5 6 8 22) dax)TN.
2 16 14 bldg je i’ N 5 10 21 Em. I. Sat. 7/
3.15 Il 43g )a 73’ S 5 10 38 49) d1 BM )34 N

5 Fin yea
46 2
41 Bat, 56’ N.
53 nets 67’ N.

© Full Moon...

58) dB YS ) 27°N

wi

29 oP SIN.

Last Quarter.
Greatest Elong.
d4T

6 g 5 ).29 N

¢ “
Hos ©
37) dv cop tae i
enters
New Moon

18.) Gd lage ) 27.N.

27) 62495 ) SN.
db 7 TR
gh

21) d7x2R) 40S

dé7il
Station. near x {2
eine oi « $3

AUGUST.

39 gaem 69’ S.
44 121 ) 46 N

3 gan Y 45’ N.
40 TL) 5’ N,
37 )) 6 e Oph. ) 65.N.
40) 624 f )PT4N
56.) 6 B VS ) 21’ N.

Full Moon.
Sse:

’ }
sabre 57’ N.
Inf. 6 ©):
déoao.

Last Quarter.

54 Hie Bec
17) 4711 ) 6S.

0) d lace ) 28’ N.
55.) 62acq5 )4 N.

re) ,
© Stationary.

New Moon.

.d SII

~

SO STI Op Or Gr Gr OD tO

4

42 enters IT).
29 42 5 0 @ avs ih,
45 I1)de } 39 N.
17 54) da TY ) 48'S.
28. 38) d2az ).7Nn.
56 _26 4¢€=~ ) 64'S.
45 22 g 146m is 60’ N.
46 42) 422 60 N.
20 34) dy my 30’ N.
21 First Quarter, —__
ga tes
SEPTE ER.
50 35 an) ).27' N.
$9
my
4 48 if ‘e i i in
39 46 .: Se Ms 47’'N.
23. 29 6 Nn...
44 ( Last Quarter.
23° 52111 Sat. If entete Dike:
5-7 ut noi
59 18) dlaoo.)2UN.
2 27) d2aq5 )2’S._
13 2) d7 QL) SVN.”
d 2 Pap
re) d 4 Ge By
22 IIL. Sat. 2/ enters Disc.
31 New Moon. ~
Pg me
17, 30 46N.
23° 44 qs 38 “gia
200-19) ¢2ax )IPN.
24 enters © os x PL
30 Sup. “i
34 41 is I es 44’ S.
u TY
16 38) d14TY } 7VN.
17 58) 6248 ) 7 N.
51 6) dv ) 4 N.
$48 Ce: Raney snort
$ n be
3847) 6 2m aN.

Celestial Phenomena, July=October 1827. 19%

Times of the Planets passing the Meridian.

ul JULY.
Mercury. — Venus. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. Georgian.
pe Stata h ? ho ee h *
hl. 3S 22 9g 0 15 5 44 0 3 #13 16
7 *I*#& 22° 15 0 7 5 21 °° 23 39 12 40
13 1 49 22 22 23 6&8 4 59 2317 42 6
19.1 45 22 30 23 «50 4 38 22 57 11 40
2 1 33 22 38 23 43 4 17 22 36 ;

AUGUST.

YP tette. 2.4... 3 B . 3 6
7 0 32) 22 55 232863 44
1323 45 2 3. 23 21.3 14 21 32 10 20
19 23 10 23 lL 23 14 2 54
25 22 52°23 18 +23 JF ° 2 33

' SEPTEMBER.
1 22 54 23 27 22 59 2 17 «20 31... ; 9 6
123 9 23 «33 22 52 1 59 20 12 8 40°
13 23 29 23 40 22 45 1 42 lg 53 8 22
19 23 49 23° 46 22°38 1 2 19 33 8 @
25.0.4 23 52), 22. 31 1 8 19 19. 7 40
_ Declination of the Planets:
_ JULY.
Mercury. Venus. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. Georgian.
° / | aw. ° / e , ° 4 e 4
1 21 29N. 21 19N. 23° 51N. 1 5S.. 22 38N. 21 20S.
7 1840 2216 23 28 119 = 22 35 21° 23"
13 15 39 22 52 22 58 1 36 22 3l 21° 27.
19 1246 23.4 . 22 22 154 — 22 28 21° 31
25 1023 2253 #421 40 214 22 24

SEPTEMBER. |
1 15 IN. 13 7N. 15 16N. 4 49S. 21 58N. 21 45S.
7°13 3 1032 14 1 517.2154 21 46
13 931 746 «1243 545 ° 2150 °° 21 47
19 5 6 453 1122 619 2147. 27°48:
2 O24N. 154 959 £44643 2143 °&21 50

The preceding numbers will enable any person to find the positions of
the planets; to lay them down ts a globe, and to: wile ins 1 ee
and settings.: ©»

198 Mr Marshall's Meteorological Observations, éc.

Art. XLII—Summary of Meteorological Observations made at Kendal in
March, April, and May 1827. By Mr Samver Marsnar L, Commu-
nicated by the Author in a Letter to the Eprror.

State of the Barometer, Thermometer, &c. at Kendal for March 1827-

Barometer. Inches.
Maximum on the 26th, - - - - 30.03
Minimum on the 8th, . - . 28.40
Mean height, - - - : - 29.36

Thermometer.

Maximum on the 21st, 24th, and 25th, . . . 56°
Minimum on the 10th, - : . 23°
Mean height, - : ; - - 42.93°

Quantity of rain, 8.676 inches,
Number of rainy days, 22.
Prevalent wind, S. W.

The month of March has proved a very stormy one. Sudden gusts of
wind before and after the equinox, the currents of the atmosphere rush-
ing from almost every point of the compass in a few hours. Rain has
fallen 22 days out of the 31, and most of the month has been very dull and
wet. The thermometer has been rarely below the freezing point ; indeed
the weather generally has been mild, as will appear from the mean for
the mofith. —

The barometer has fluctuated continually, frequently nearly an inch in
the course of twenty-four hours.

State of the Barometer, 5c. at Kendal for April 1827.

Barometer. Inches.
Maximum on the 8th, eas - 30.13
Minimum on the 12th, - - - ~ 29.42
so gt aa aR eine ie RNR eae i BE

Thermometer.

Maximum on the 30th, . . . 70°
Minimum on the 11th, 2A - : 30
Mean height, - . 47.23°

Quantity of rain, 2.553 inches.
Number of rainy days, 14.
Prevalent wind, S, W.

Though the weather during this month has been very variable, yet the
range of the barometer has been trifling. The N.E. wind, which generally
prevails in the latter part of this month, and: the beginning of the next,
has been very severe, and attended with frequent snow showers. The

Mr Marshall’s Meteorological Observations, &c. 199

quantity of rain is trifling. The last five days of the month have been re-
- markably mild and genial to vegetation, and the beginning of the month
was equally so. The swallow made its appearance above a fortnight ear-
lier this year than the last. It was seen on the 5th.

State of the Barometer, &c. at Kendal for May 1827.

Barometer. _Inches.
Maximum on the 21st, - . - 29.94
Minimum on the 25th, - - - 29.10
Mean Height, - - - 29.56

Thermometer.

Maximum on the 2 Ist, - - - 69
Minimum on the 7th, - - - 32°
Mean Height, L < . §2.87° —
Quantity of Rain, 3.483 inches.
Number of rainy days, 15.
Prevalent wind, W

The beginning of this month was marked by dry and cold E. and N. E.
winds, prevailing mostly till the 19th. The wind from the N. E. is per-
haps the only periodical wind which we have in our island, and which
sometimes prevails from the middle of April to the middle of May, though
seldom so long. A very plausible hypothesis to account for this pheno-
menon might be adduced. In the present month the prevalence of this
wind exceeded its usual limit. Since the 19th the air has been generally
humid, and soft genial showers have promoted vegetation to an extent
most cheering to the agriculturist. Though the thermometer was never
but once so low as the freezing point, yet the winds from the E. and N. E.
checked the progress of vegetation very materially during their continu-
ance. The range of the barometer has been trifling, amounting to .84 of
an inch. The rain has generally fallen in slight showers, (and excepting
.056 of an inch,) after the 16th, the greatest quantity taken at one time
fell on the 28th, which amounted to .868 of an inch.

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THE
EDINBURGH
JOURNAL OF SCIENCE.

Art. I.—Historical Notice of the Life and Works of M.
Breguet. By Baron Fourier, Secretary of the Academy
of Sciences. :

M. Lous Brecuer, a celebrated artist, and a man of the
Most exalted character, occupied in the academy one of the si-
tuations reserved for those distinguished individuals who, by
discoveries of the first order, have improyed the applications of
science. Never had this distinction been more justly conferred.
His career exhibits a long series of ingenious and useful inven-
tions. He has elevated in an extraordinary degree the art of
measuring time with precision,—an art which is perhaps the
most difficult, and doubtless the most important which human
industry has produced. He has enriched with a number of
new methods the trade of . clock-making, navigation, astronomy,
and physics.

The Abbé Marie, a professor in the university of Paris, ob-
served in young Breguet all the indications of a remarkable in-
tellect, and he persuaded him to devote himself with ardour to
the study of geometry. His family, however, though once
opulent, had from their profession of the reformed religion
been driven from France, and had lost a great part of their
fortune. Domestic afflictions were added to the calamities of
civil dissensions. His father died in a foreign land. His.mo-
ther married a second time, and destined her son to the pro-
fession which he has.so successfully pursued.

France and the arts are deeply indebted to the generous in-
_ VOL. VIE. NO. 11. ocT. 1827. o

2902 Baron Fourier’s Histori@al Notice

dividual who protected his youth, and directed him in the study ~
of the sciences,—to him from whom he received the first coun-
sel, the first instructions, and the first marks of interest.

It is honourable to attract by brilliancy of talent a numerous
auditory, to propagate impgrtant knowledge, and discoveries of
national utility; but to distinguish in a crowd a youth unpro-
tected,—to recognize in him the first marks of genius,—to pre-
dict what his country and the sciences would one day owe him,
—to welcome, to encourage, and to instruct him, is, in the order
of good deeds, one of those that should occupy the first place,
and there is none more becoming a man of letters.

The first researches of M. Breguet had for their object that
part of his art which relates to civil purposes; and he after-
wards brought to perfection that which concerns the sciences.

The question of the measure of time which the moderns
have so well resolved, consists in producing a rotatory motion
perfectly uniform, which renews and preserves itself without
any change. ‘The moving body is submitted to two opposite
actions: the one, which is the moving force, constantly tends
to accelerate the motion : the other, which is opposed to it, de-
stroys at each instant with a rigorous accuracy all the exeess of
the new impulse, so that the velocity remains always equal to
itself. This perpetual collision is the dynamical principle com-
mon to all instruments which measure time. feet -

But how many difficulties must be overcome to gain this ob-
ject ! We must, in some degree, withdraw the instrument from
the action of those external causes which tend to disturb the
uniformity of its motion. The friction of the different parts
continually changes their form, and may change the velocities.
Changes of temperature, too, render their dimensions and the

elastic forces variable. If the common use of the instrument
expose it to irregular agitation, or to great changes of position,
there arises from it other causes of inequality. The resistance
of the air is not constant, but varies with its density. Art has
opposed to one another all those causes of perturbation, SO as
to make them reciprocally destroy each other. ‘The mean ‘ef-
fect of changes of position becomes insensible ; variations of
temperature compensate each other; external and accidental
agitations do not alter the motion, and they are used to main-
Si

of the Life and Works of M. Breguet. 203

tain and renew it. That, in short, which was once an obstacle
is now an useful auxiliary.

The name of perpetual watches has been given to those
which are always wound up by the motion of the persons who
carry them. ‘This invention is an old one, but it: continued
too imperfect to be used. M. Breguet has given to such watch-
es all the precision and stability which they require. In or-
der to make them go three days, it is necessary only to shake
them a few minutes; and there are some of them which have
preserved their motion regular for ten years without having
been opened.

We may even construct sri so that they may be wouind
up by the sole effect of the natural changes in the temperature,
or weight of the atmosphere, or by the effect of a current of air.
Several instruments of this kind have been made ; but they are
not connected with the essential part of the art, the true object
of which is to maintain an uniform motion, notwithstanding the
external causes which tend to disturb it. _

- The most important parts of the interior mechanism of a
watch, and which form, if we may so speak, its principal organ,
are the escapement and the balance. It is here that the regu-
lating’ power resides, and the least irregularity in its action will
occasion a sensible disturbance. But the balance is subject to
take very different positions, and its weight does not always act
in the same manner. One of the most ingenious inventions of
M. Breguet is that for preventing this kind of inequality. He
has contrived to give to this part of the mechanism a circular
motion, which, in the interval of each minute, nearly renews all
possible positions. The errors of eccentricity, the variable ef-
fects of friction, all the inequalities which depend on position
thus compensate one another, and disapgear in the mean re-
sult. 7 :

The arts have their principle and their models in nature, and
this is particularly true of the science of the civil division of
time. ‘The regular motions of the celestial bodies have given
us the idea of an uniform duration. According to the ex-
- pression of the most eloquent of philosophers, the stars are the
instruments of time ; but it belongs only to science in its most
perfect state to recognize the constancy of nature in the spec-

204 Baron Fourier’s Historical. Notice

tacle of so many various phenomena. The apparent cour$e of
the sun is subject to very sensible inequalities. It is not the
motiou of this star, but the daily revolution of the terrestrial
globe which can regulate time: it is the immoveable model of
an uniform motion. The most perfect time-piece, therefore,
would be that which gives us the precise representation of this
revolution. But this model is inimitable; and our art could
never attain that end,—for we are certain that in the course of
two thousand years the duration of the earth’s revolution has
not varied the one-hundredth part of a second.

M. Breguet has improved successively all the branches of
his art. The most important are those which owe to him the
greatest advancement ; and what is remarkable, they have re-
ceived from his hands almost always an unexpected simplicity.

He has suppressed that part of the wheel-work called the

JSusee, a very ingenious mechanism, the origin of which is un-
known. It was impossible to preserve to this piece its primitive
simplicity. _The chain which surrounds it is formed of several
thousand parts, and this is not the only cause of the multiplied
and inevitable accidents to which this very complicated appa-
ratus gives rise. M. Breguet replaces it by elastic forces, re-
gulated and constant, which act in a very simple manner. The
frictions are more equal, more gentle, and the number of pieces
much less. Expérience has sanctioned this happy alteration,
and many eminent artists have imitated it. We may remark, -
without a contradiction, that it required an ingenious talent to
invent that mechanism, and a perfect talent to suppress it.

The method of elastic suspension is not less remarkable.
The object of it is to prevent the fracture of the most delicate
and important parts of the apparatus, viz. those which contain
the balarice. This piece is sustained by pivots of extreme te-
nuity, and one would think that the least accidental shock
would break it. An ingenious contrivance is opposed to this
accident, M. Breguet has invented a method of ‘suspension
which completely defends this principal part of the instrument.
against the effect of a sudden percussion. If we allow the
to fall, or even if we throw itagainst an obstacle, we shall —

surprised to find the pivots unhurt, though their thickness is
that of the most delicate wire. It happens that during the

of the Life and Works of M. Breguet. 205

continuance of the shock the pivots support nothing. ‘Their
place is supplied by a stronger mass, which comes into use at
the instant of danger, and soon after re-establishes them in their
former place. _

Every person knows what siksmnngiel the nautical sciences,
geography, and astronomy have derived from instruments for
measuring time. ‘The most enlightened governments have en-
couraged researches for perfecting marine watches. In Eng-
land, at the suggestion of Newton, the Parliament had offered
and awarded premiums to inventors. Harrison received about
500,000 francs, after having devoted to these researches more —
than forty years. In France, honour, academical prizes, &c.
roused two great artists, Peter Leroy, and Ferdinand Berthoud,
the contemporaries and rivals of Harrison. They had no
knowledge of the English. inventions, which were for a long
time kept secret; and both of them succeeded at the same
time, and by different methods, in resolving the question pro-
posed, with a precision greatly superior to that which had been
pointed out in England as sufficient for obtaining the pink
rewards.

The public suffrage, and the zeal of individuals, have vache
moted in this country the progress of that art. We have seen
one of the members of this academy, the Marquis de Courtan-
vaux, equip a frigate at his own expence, to try, during a long
navigation, the marine chronometers of Peter Leroy.

The works of the two French artists were not rewarded till
they had been submitted to the most extraordinary trials. It
was found that in the middle of the agitations of the sea, of
vicissitudes of temperature, and of the most violent commotions
of the air produced by three successive discharges of all the
artillery of the vessel, these admirable instruments preserved
their going regular in voyages of very long duration.

The wishes of the two governments have been at last accom-
plished, and we may readily conceive ‘how difficult it has -be-
come, after such efforts and discoveries, to give to marine
chronometers a higher degree of perfection. Ferdinand Ber-
thoud, his pupils, and those chiefly who have extended his ta-
lents and his name, have made fresh progress in this art. It is
also by this kind of success that M. Breguet has been placed in ~

206 Baron Fourier’s Historidal Notice

the first rank of European artists. Among the great number
of experiments which have served to direct his researches, we
may mention those which have established the mutual action
of two pendulums attached to the same support.* Each of
these instruments has its own proper motion, and if they are
placed in separate places, they will assume nearly the same
motion, because they are supposed to be regulated with great
care. Sometimes, however, we observe in them continual dif-
ferences, arising from the inevitable imperfection of workman-
ship. But if we attach them to two different points of a com-
mon support fixed in a wall, all their variations disappear ;—
the two pendulums assume insensibly the same motion they 2
soon agree with each other with the most rigorous precision,
and will always preserve this common motion.

This communication of two oscillatory motions had been long
ago observed in France ++ and England. M. Breguet has made
numerous and accurate experiments on this point, and they have
led him to construct double pendulums, the two parts of which
perpetually agree. They compose an unique instrument, the
going of which being more constant and better regulated, resists
the more all external agitations and accidental irregularities. He
has constructed, on the same principle, double chronometers,
which have the same property.

The reciprocal action of two parts of an apparatus suspended
on the same support, and sufficiently remote from each other, is
not the effect of the ambient air, as we might be led to believe
from. the acoustic experiments of Sauveur. The principle of
‘this influencé resides in the mass of the support, and it is from
the same cause that the vibrations of sonorous bodies are -com-
municated to the hardest substances ;—they penetrate the most
solid bodies, and rapidly agitate all their parts. Within the
sphere in which musical sounds are heard, the most compact
masses become sonorous ;—they resound in all their depth, and
they repeat the regular and symmetrical vibrations of the parti-
cles of the air.

* See the article Horonoey in the Edinburgh pvt eae te vg xi.
p. 162, for some interesting details on this subject.—Eb.

+ We believe that it was first observed by our countryman, Mr —
Fllicott —Edin. Encycl. loc. cit. —Ep.

of the Life and Works of M. Breguet. 207

If the eye onild discern well all these movements, it would
discover that they mixed with, and succeeded one another in an
admirable order, and our senses would be not less charmed with
the sight of these regularities, than-with the liveliest impres-
sions of harmony. ;

The knowledge of the moral character of those men who have
advanced the arts belongs to history. We delight to follow in
common life those who have received from nature the germ of
great talents. We are anxious to recognize the relation between _
their genius and studies, and their manners, or the habits of
their mind ; but these relations are so perplexed and various that
_we can scarcely seize some of the most general features. With

respect to that celebrated man whose labours are under our con-
sideration, we may say with truth that he was no less remarka-
ble by the disposition of his heart than by his sagacity and ta-
lents... All who were acquainted with him know that he was
actuated by the most singular benevolence: He took the most
unreserved interest in the success of others, and he felt all their
misfortunes. In his relations with those persons who merited his
attachment, he discovered every day new motives for loving
them, and in that he showed as much ingenuity as in his me-
chanical inventions.

Contemporary events presented to him too many occasions for
_ the exercise of this natural benevolence. It was sufficient to
excite his interest that the person was unfortunate ; and were we
to enumerate all those to whom he offered an asylum, we must
record the names of the most opposite parties.

In the practice of so many generous deeds it was S lamible
that he himself should escape the dangers of civildiscord. Un- |
easy respecting his own fate, he fled from France, and in his
turn became the object of the anxieties and kindnesses of friend-
ship. . When the political events, which rapidly succeeded, had
appeased the horrors of discord, M. Breguet returned to Paris
with his family. His establishments had been abandoned and
destroyed ; but talent, method, and perseverance supplied every
thing. He continued his former labours, and gave to his un-
dertakings greater extent and new forms. In England, in Rus-
sia, and throughout all Germany, the productions of his work-
shop were eagerly sought after, and acquired an extraordinary.

208 Baron Fourier’s Historital Notice

value. Numerous artists felt themselves honoured by being
ranked among his pupils, and he was placed, by unanimous suf-
frage, in the list of the most celebrated inventors.

His works were imitated or copied, for there are plagiarists
in all professions. ‘They even made use of his name, a circum-
stance which induced him to invent a very remarkable process

‘for engraving on enamel in extremely small characters. Every
thing became in his hands the occasion of a discovery. His re-
putation was, so to speak, formed without his knowledge ; the
productions of his establishment have alone extended it through-
out all Europe. He took no care to describe and publish his
inventions, but he communicated them with freedom.

The works of Montucla, of Lalande, the treatise of Ferdinand
Berthoud, but particularly that of M. Jurghensen, a celebrat-
ed Danish artist, have communicated information respecting
his early researches, but the interests of the arts required that
his inventions should be brought together and fully described
in one work. M. Breguet and his son undertook this difficult
task. The death of the former has imterrupted this difficult
task, but it was already far advanced. ‘These valuable MSS.
exist: the friends of science eagerly desire their publication,
and we may announce that their wishes will not be long unful-
filled.

His productions were not only distinguished by new and
happy combinations, but also by extreme perfection of work-
manship, and a singular example occurred of the impression
which the sight of his works occasioned. The celebrated
Arnold, one of the best English artists, was struck with asto-
nishment, when he ¢xamined-one of Breguet’s watches, which
the Duke of Orleans had sent to him. He resolved instantly
to go to Paris. He called together his family, and as it were
without turning his eyes from the object of his admiration, he
informed them that he would set out that evening. Welconied
by Breguet, he established himself for some time in his vici-
nity, and their art was extended by their reciprocal communhi-
gations. It was then that M. Louis Breguet, his son, was
put under the care of Mr Arnold. He spent several year's in
London under that great master, and it was there that he
learned to becérhe the co-operator and sucéessor of his father,

of the Life and Works of M. Breguet. 209

by uniting the study of rational mechanics and physics to the
precepts and examples of the two first artists in Europe. On
his return to Paris he shared in all the labours, and in all the
success of his father; and historical truth requires us to state,
that from that time their names should no longer be separated
in enumerating the services which they have rendered to the
sciences. .

When the Institute of France was sitet organized, M.
Breguet, who had previously been admitted-into the board of
longitude, was appointed a member of the rigs Academy of
Sciences.

He had long before invented an escapement, entirely free,
and with a constant force, a fundamental question, which
comprehends all that is important and difficult in the art, but
which we cannot now explain, without multiplying technical
terms. He improved also the use of rubies and sapphires,

which contribute greatly to the precision and regularity of |

motions; and it is to him that we owe the methods of cutting
hard stones for this purpose.

By a happy arrangement of the different parts, he succeeded
in simplifying the mechanism of repeating-watches, and in re-
ducing them to the smallest compass. It was then that he'sub-
stituted in place of large and inconvenient bells elastic plates,
which, when struck at one end, emitted a soft and continued
sound. The apertures became useless, and the sound was better
heard when the case was more completely shut. Wemay give to

_ these vibrating plates such dimensions, that the effect becomes

equal to that of the most sonorous-instruments. The mixture
and the concord of the harmonic sounds give to these vibra-
tions a particular character. This invention of spring-bells,
due 'to M. Breguet, has found many applications. In France,
and in England, it has given rise to a new and productive
branch of trade, which has extended itself to all countries un-
der the most varied forms. * :

An attempt had been made to measure high temperatures,

* The editor of the Bibl. Universelle remarks, that this art had its ori-

gin in Geneva, and that it was brought out in the fabrication of musical
‘boxes. An/account of the mechanism of these boxes will be found in the
article Horotoey, in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, vol. xi- p. 175.——Kd.

.

210 '. Baron Fourier’s Histerical Notice

‘by observing, with precision the changes in the volume of a.
solid metal. Graham and Peter Leroy * had succeeded. in
procuring pendulums of an invariable length, by the compen-
sation of the unequal expansions of two different metals.
Harrison is the first, if Tam not mistaken, who proposed to
employ a plate formed of two others, inequally expansible,
and fixed together in all their points. Ingenious applications
have been made of this method in measuring the degrees of
heat, and in making the vibrations of a balance isochronous,
notwithstanding the variations of temperature. This inven-
tion has been greatly improved by M. Breguet. He has em-
ployed it in making a thermometer much more quick and suit-
able than those which had hitherto been used... ‘The compound.
plate is composed of platina, gold, and silver. Its total thick-
ness is only. the fiftieth or the hundredth of a line, and it has
the form of a spiral. One of its extremities is fixed, and the
‘other, which is free, and of extreme mobility, carries the index
which points out the temperature. The sudden and succes-
sive variations in the heat of the air show themselves as rapidly
as they could be felt by a living being. Effects of this kind,
which other thermometers indicate. slowly and slightly, thus
become instantaneous, and much enlarged.

Other researches of the same artist have enabled us to mea-
sure with extreme precision the duration of phenomena. . He
introduces, for example, into an astronomical telescope a chro-
nometer, whose hands, follow the motions of the star in the
field of view, and one may count the tenths, and even the
hundredths.of a second. But what is particularly remarkable
in this instrument is the perfect continuity of the motion of
the hands. He has also constructed watches, the needle of
which marks suddenly, and at pleasure, a visible point upon

* Why is Leroy mentioned here along with Graham, without the
reader being told that Graham is the original inventor of the compensation
pendulum? His mercurial pendulum, the best yet known, was invented
before 1726, whereas Leroy’s comparatively clumsy contrivance was, ac-
cording to Biot, ( Traité de Physique, i. p- 173,) invented-in 1738, and
has besides no resemblance whatever to the beautiful method of Graham.
The association of Leroy’s name with that of Graham is no more called
for than that of Ellicott, Cuming, and Smeaton, who eatarsear ds proposed
new methods of compensation. —Ep. ‘se

of the Life and Works of M. Breguet. Q11

the dial, without producing any change on the motion of the
instrument. * We may measure, also, with rigorous exact-
ness, the duration of observed effects, which is the object of
a great number of physical researches. We ought to add,
that a French artist, M. Rieussecq, first employed a process —
of this kind for civil purposes. M. Breguet changed the cha-
racter of the instrument, and has given it a new degree of pre-
cision.

We may mention also a singular instrument formed of a
lens, which oscillates continually without any external im-
pulse. At the Conservatoire des Arts et Metiers, there is a
clock of this kind, which was made for the Duke of Orleans.
The body which oscillates is suspended by a long rod to a
single fixed point, and is otherwise entirely msulated. The
total mass vibrates without any renewal of the impulse by’an
‘external cause. The oscillation of the lens is the effect of the
moveable apparatus which it contains. The changes of tem-
perature are compensated by the variation in the fei of the
suspension rod. We may enumerate, also, the valuable clocks
possessed by the King of France, the Dauphin, and the sove-
reigns of countries where the arts are best appreciated ;—the
admirable works. which adorn the museum of M. de Somma-
riva; those which have been made for the Duke of Cam-
bridge, the Duke of Bedford, and other wealthy individuals ;
and in short, other objects destined to mark the last progress
and superiority of French clock-work. -

The works of M. Breguet have indeed a very high value,
and to possess them has become a mark of opulence. But
while he has enriched the apartments of royalty with the won-
ders of art, he applied himself with the same care to discover

* The following ingenious inventions of M- Breguet, including those
above-mentioned, are described in the Edinburgh Encyclopedia, article
Science Amusements in, vol. xvii. p. 576.

1. Breguet’s Eye-piece Chronometer, for counting fractional parts of a

. second.

2. Breguet’s improvement on Rieussecq’s Chronograph.

3. Breguet’s Chronometer, with Double Seconds.

4... Breguet’s Double Sympathetic Chronometer.

« 5. Breguet’s Sympathetic Clock.—Ep.

212 Baron Fourier’s Notice of the Life of M. Breguet.

the most simple combinations, and those most accommodated to
public use, and of a correct and easy execution, so that they
might be acquired at a moderate rate. It was with this view
that he invented the repeaters to the touch, and particularly
the watches with a single hand, simple, solid, and exact, and
uniting to extraordinary precision all the cence of a “—
duration.

The peculiar character of his works, iia what eminently
distinguishes him even among skilful inventors, is that of
having enhanced and improved all the branches of his art.

He paid particular attention to the selection of external
forms the most commodious, the most agreeable to the eye,
and the most easily ornamented; and he always succeeded,
by an exquisite taste, and by an ingenious arrangement, in
satisfying the conditions which he wished to unite; for he had
received from nature, and from long experience, so prodigious
a talent for transforming at his will all the portions of the
mechanism, that he. resolved without any effort the greatest
difficulties. .

Clock-making, considered as a branch of commercial indus-
try, owes to bim one of the most important steps in its pro-
gress, viz. that which consists in making workmen of inferior
talent, and even his pupils, attempt the most difficult and ex-
act work, reserving the last efforts of the art for finishing and
arranging all the parts. —

In this manner he has cultivated his profession i in all its ex-
tent, and he has given to it, or preserved for it, all the advan-
tages which belong to it, for he has combined together accu-
racy, solidity, good taste, the interests of commerce, and the
applications to the sciences.

To have placed himself in the first rank of a difficult pro-
fession ;—to have invented and improved in an art which had
been long studied by Huygens, Leibnitz, and Daniel Bernou-
illi;—to guide navigators;—to give to science new instru-
ments ;—to create his own fortune, by founding it on public
utility ;—to enjoy friendship ;—to be unacquainted with in-
gratitude, and to escape envy, is a happy and an honourable
destiny. Long may the arts reserve such high rewards: for
those who cultivate them.

Mr Haidinger on a French Locality of Vauquelinite 213

M. Breguet preserved even at the most advanced age the
tranquillity and gentleness of his character. The changes of
fortune had not altered the simplicity of his manners, and he
was as modest at the end of his career as when he was the

disciple of the Abbé Marie. His death was as calm as his
— life. At the end of a tranquil and gay conversation, where,
according to his custom, he praised all the persons whom he
had met with during the day, he went to rest, and having
fallen asleep, he was some moments afterwards seized with a
sudden illness, and expired on the 26th September 1823, at
the end of his 76th year.

To his family and friends he left the tenderest recollec-
tions ;to his successors, useful lessons and great models ;—
and to this academy a name celebrated, and a memory justly
honoured.

Art. Il.— Account of a French Locality of Vauquelinite. By
~Wittiam Harpincer, Esq. F.R.S.E., &. Communi-
cated by the Author. |

Anmonce a lot of minerals, acquired last autumn from M. Rous-
sel in Paris, for the collection of Mr Allan, there was a speci-
men. bearing the ticket: Plomb phosphaté arséniféere mam-
melonné de Pont-Gibaud, Puy de Dime. It is chiefly formed
of two strata of the rhombohedral lead baryte, the lower one
gray, and with acrystalline surface ; the upper one green, with
a rough reniform one. Upon the latter are disposed small
groups of flat crystals, of a blackish pistachio-green colour,
yielding the characteristic siskin-green streak of Vauquelinite.
The small crystals were so much fractured that their form
could not be made out sufficiently. They appeared, however,
to be nearly similar to the individuals, which, in the Siberian
varieties, are generally joined in twins, like Fig. 6, Plate III.

The hardness, being between 2.5 and 3.0, exactly agrees.
The specific gravity, which I found = 5.986 in the Siberian
variety, it was impossible to ascertain in the variety from
France, on account of the quantity of the mineral being too
inconsiderable.

The indications of the mineral when acted upon by the

214 Sir Thomas Dick Lauder on a Bronze Relic

blowpipe are the same as those of Vauquelinite. | Lead in glo-
bules is obtained by exposing it alone, and a globule green in.
the oxidating, and red in the reducing flame, with fluxes, when
properly managed, showing the presence of the copper. When
melted with soda on platinum wire, and then immersed in
a drop of water, it gives a yellow solution of the alkaline chro- —
mate.

It is always curious to find a rare species, hitherto confined
to only one well-authenticated place, in a new locality. In the
present instance there is an additional interest attached to an
observation of this kind, as the mineral is found in the native
country of the distinguished chemist in whose honour it is
named, and who discovered the metal which forms its most res
markable ingredient. bite

Arr. III.—Description of a remarkable Bronze Relic found
on the Sand Hills of Culbin, near the estuary of the River —
_ Findhorn.* By Six Tuomas Dick Lauper, Bart. F.R.S.E.

Tae curious antique was found three or four years ago on the
sand hills of Culbin, on the western side of the estuary of the
River Findhorn. These hills owed their origin to the prevail-
ing winds from the W.S. W. which, in process of time, brought -
clouds of sand from the sandy country lying to the westward
of the town of Nairn, and heaped it up there, to the destruc-
tion of a valuable estate. Some of these hills are a hundred
feet in perpendicular height ; but the-material composing them
being an extremely comminuted granitic sand, is so loose and
light that, except in a dead calm, it is in eternal motion, 80
that parts of the original soil are often laid entirely bare.:'There
is one small spot among the sand hills where flinty fragments
are often picked up; and as elf-bolts or flint arrow-heads
have been not unfrequently found on this spot, it is supposed

* This notice is an abstract of Sir Thomas Dick Lander’s paper read
at the Society of Scottish Antiquaries, which will appear in the next
part of their Transactions, illustrated with an engraving of the full size.
iy. wh!

found on the Sand Hills of Culbin.- 215

that a manufactory of those rude aboriginal weapons may have
once existed there. A man, who accidentally lost his gun flint,
went to the spot in question to look for a flint to replace it ;
and in his search he discovered the bronze relic under con-
sideration. He carried it to a shopkeeper in Forres, to whom
he sold it for half-a-crown; and Lady Cumming of Altyre,
who purchased 1 it from the shopkeeper at a much higher price,
and in whose possession it now is, was so kind as to permit
me to take a sketch of it.

The bronze ‘relic stands 3} inches high, and is $3 inches
in diameter, and its diameter within is 2} inches. « Its weight
in air is 2 pounds 9} ounces avoirdupois. It is of bronze ;
but the metal is of the very finest and richest Corinthian sort.
I had not by’me instruments for ascertaining accurately its

specific gravity ; but I did so with all the correctness I could

command, and the result was, that I found it to be about 9}.
Now, as zinc is only 7.190, and copper 7.78, and their com-
pound metal, brass or bronze, is set down in the tables at
about 8}, whilst gold is nearly about 193, it follows that a
very os proportion of gold must enter into the composition
of the antique. My calculations would give about 14 ounces
5 drachms of gold. -

The workmanship of this curious relic is highly beautiful,
the taste exquisite, and the detail is executed with the great-
est delicacy. It is formed like a coiled up snake, having ra-
ther more than three complete convolutions lying spirally on
each other. The spirals, though very close, are yet so far se-

parated as every where to admit of the insertion of the edge

of a thin sheet of paper, except at one place, near one extre-
mity of the coil, where about an inch and a half of the head
seems to have been broken off, and again joined so perfectly
as not to be visible from without, except on a very close in-
spection; but, on: looking at it within, the joining appears
where the application of a ruder soldering of brass, used in
repairing the fracture, has, at the same time, been the means
of uniting the upper convolution to that beneath it. I must

remark, however, that it was in this condition when first dis- -

covered. The whole coil is hollowed out on the inner side, a
‘wide hemispherical groove running round the interior of the

=,

216 Sir Thomas Dick Lauder on Bronze Relic, &c.

_ spiral from the one extremity to the other. The wholescems
to have been formed at length, and then twisted up isto the
coil ; a circumstance which indicates the fineness and dameiy
of the metal.

The snake seems to have been the model for the construe.
tion of this very interesting antique ; but it has not been ser-
vilely and awkwardly copied, as one might expect a workman
in an infant state of society would have done. The snake’s
form has been employed only in assisting the tasteful inven-
tion of the artist. The serpent’s heads at the two extremities
are only to be recognized from the carving of the hoods, the
faces, and the eyes, in which last are inserted prominent eyes
balls of a deep blue enamel or glass. About 3} inches from
each extremity, there are somewhat similar indioniains of snakes
heads, with eyes also filled with similar globules of the same
blue glass. On the other side of each extremity there is a
perfect circle of nearly an inch in diameter, surrounding and
enclosing a flat hollow space of about a sixth part of an inch
in depth, having a deeper and minute hole in the centre of
each ; and from the appearance of the metal there; I have
not the least doubt that the circular cavity was filled with
some gem, or artificial stone, perhaps of the same nature as
_ those now forming the eyes. :

From the sacred serpent being introduced into it, thisantique
has all the characters of being a druidical relic. . The very
small diameter of the interior forbids the possibility. of its hav-
ing been a bracelet; and from. its form, which renders it:in-
capable of being placed on a table so as to stand without: in-
clining to one side, it could not have been employed, as might
have otherwise been fancied, as a prop or support to some of
the sacred appendages of the Druidical altar. Iam indebted
to the joint work of Dr Meyrick and Charles Hamilton Smith,
Esq. for the only clue to my explanation of it, which I
find im the sixth plate of that splendid and learned book,
where we have ‘depicted the costume of the Druids, taken from
a bas relief found at Autun. On the left shoulder of the fi-
gure crowned with oak leaves, we see the robe fastened, by
having its folds gathered together, and drawn through an or-
mament of precisely similar form to that of the antique which

f

‘Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore.of Iron. 217 -

is the subject of this communication |) That in the plate, in.
deed, appears to be somewhat smaller than the antique found
among the sand hills of Culbm ; but this is not to. be wondered
at when we consider the probably rude and ill-defined copy
from which the plate was taken.
The antique seems. to be in itself perfectly unique. Since
I have been engaged in drawing jit, it: has occurred to me that
some of the ornaments have reference to the form of kha mis-
letoe. | |

Retueas, 31st January 1827.

Art. IV.—A Metallurgic Memoir on the Nature and History
of the Argillaceous Carbonate of Iron. By Hueu Cot-
quHoun, M. D. Communicated by the Author.

Upon commencing the metallurgic investigation of the argil-
laceous carbonate of iron, it was, natural to expect that in an
age in which science is so generally diffused, and a spirit
of investigation is so actively exerted, there would remain
little to be done, except the digesting and compiling of the
most approved works on so important a subject... This might
seem especially probable in a country like Britain, whose
greatness and prosperity are so intimately dependent upon the
ore which furnishes the most essential material for all those
engines and machinery, by which she is enabled to cover the
seas with the vessels that bear her manufactures abroad, and |
to enrich her merchants at home with the products which they
import from all the quarters of the globe in exchange. But
the fact is far otherwise. Paradoxical as. it. may appear, the
truth is, that in Britain, a complete chemical history of this
ore has not hitherto been attempted; and it is in France,
where practical metallurgy is yet. in its infancy, that the most.
scientific, treatises are. to be found.

It would be perhaps difficult to account for this, were it not
that daily experience informs. us, how. often the most useful
and familiar of ail processes are those, whose nature and his-
tory excite the smallest reflection, Yet, even with all the al-
lowance which can be made for this well-known fact, it is not

VOL. VIt. NO. 11. oct. 1827. °F

.
218 Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron

easy to conceive how the most important of the. ores of iron
should have attracted so little regard among men of science.
For there ‘seems to be scarcely any branch of art, to which the
metallurgic products of this ore are not either immediately or
remotely essential. In almost every mechanical trade, iron
forms the tools, without which the labourer might forsake his
eraft; and in all our manufactories, where the power of a
thousand hands is condensed within a few pieces of machi-
nery, the want of iron would paralyze the a a of the
merchant.

In the following memoir it is proposed to give a connected
view of the nature and history of the argillaceous carbonate of
iron, and of the principles and practice of the metallurgic art, —
as far as relates to the manufacture of this metal. And as
such a course of investigation evidently embraces a variety of
subjects, each of ,which, in order to be fully elucidated, will
require to be discussed with considerable minuteness of detail,
we shall find it convenient to divide the memoir into several
distinct parts. The first of these will be devoted to an ex-
amination of the composition of the crude materials employed
in the manufacture of iron, and will comprise a short account
of the various opinions which have been entertained ped psetss :
the ore of iron in the progress of modern ee

Part I. iD yebertplion and History of the Crude eee
employed in the manufacture of Iron.

These materials may be conveniently divided into two cidabe ;
first, the ore of iron; second, the fuel and fluxes which are ap-
plied in order to separate the metal from the ore. We’'shall
consider them separately 1 m cis oe sections of this first
part of the memoir. at

Section 1.—On the Argillactous Carbonate of Hen \' 870

This ore is a chemical compound of the protoxide of iron
and carbonic acid, and is the source from which almost the
whole of the iron manufactured in Britain is extracted.

The history of the ore from its first appearance in the works
of minéralogists, down to the period when its true properti¢s
were accurately discriminated, and its just place assigned to
it in the mineral kingdom, is not without interest. As it’is

Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Gre Pf Iron. 219

our design to give, as far as possible, a conrplete view of the
various progressive stages by which a knowledge of its true
constitution was acquired, as well as of the manner in which
it is made to perform so important a part in the manufactures
of the country, we shall begin by taking a rapid glance at the
different opinions which have been entertained respecting it
by successive mineralogists down to the present day.

When we consider the ardour with which metallurgic che.
mistry had already been cultivated, at the commencement of
the present century, by many distinguished chemists and mi-
‘neralogists, aud reflect on the comparative accuracy with
which they had determined the composition of many of the
more rare and curious among the native compounds of iron,
it cannot fail to excite surprise that other ores of that metal,
and those the earliest known, the most widely distributed, and
the most valuable in commerce, had been examined by them
so superficially. ‘The composition of the hydrates of the per-
oxide of iron remained unknown till their nature was deter-
mined in 1810 by the researches of D’Aubuisson ; and the
argillaceous carbonate of iron was for even a longer period ne-
glected. It was generally considered a mere mixture of clay
and the peroxide of iron, and was classed in mineralogical
systems’along with the hydrates of the peroxide of iron, or,
as they were commonly termed, the iron ochres and hematites.
This erroneous arrangement was countenanced by some su-
perficial chemical analyses, but it was principally founded on
a loose examination of the general external appearance of the
ore, together with the analogies suggested by its geological
position and by the nature of the minerals with which it was
found associated.

Werner was the mineralogist who made the first 1 stein thy
though still. very imperfect step, towards the extrication of
this mineral from a mass of others of an essentially distinct
nature, with which it had previously been confounded. His
acute discrimination could not fail to detect the marked dif. -
ferences in external character, which separate the argillaceous
carbonate from the native peroxide, and hydrated peroxide of
iron; and accordingly, after describing these two latter ores
under the appellations of Brauneisenstein and: Rotheisenstein,

220 Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of' Iron.

he constitutes the former a distinct species, under the names of
Gemeiner Thonargiter-eisenstein, Thoneisenstein, Eisenthon,
_ &c. But Werner laboured under the popular error of consi-
dering that the argillaceous carbonate consisted of a mixture
of clay with the oxide of iron, and he was therefore led in
many cases to confound it with other ores differing essentially
in their chemical constitution, but possessing a strong analogy
in their physical properties. Thus, in describing the several
varieties of his Thoneisenstein, he assigns to them mineralogi-
cal characters, and even geological situations, which can only
be referred to minerals containing the peroxide of iron.

- Werner’s high reputation caused his classification to be im-
plicitly adopted by almost all the mineralogists of Germany;
for a period of twenty years, and established it also in the
systems of many distinguished men in other countries. The
ore is accordingly to be found arranged, with little variation
from his method, in the systems of Breithaupt, Hoffman,
Brochant, Kirwan, Brogniart, Jameson, and others.

Among these followers of Werner, there was one, however,
Kirwan, who, in his Elements of Mineralogy, published in
1794, had the merit of advancing somewhat towards ascer-
taining the distinct character of the argillaceous carbonate of
iron. It is true that he still classed it under the ‘*.calces of
iron, mixed with a notable proportion of clay,”.and termed it
common argillaceous ironstone. But, although. ignorant of
the real composition of the ore, he nevertheless gave an accu-
rate account of its mineralogical characters, and separated it
from the numerous varieties of oxide and hydrated oxide of
iron, with which it had previously been confounded.*

Jameson, in the third edition of his System of Mineralogy,

* Vol. ii. p. 173. Mr Kirwan’s description was drawn up principally
from the minerals which were at that time smelted in the Iron Founderies
of Carron. “‘ Of which,” says he, “as Mr Jars (in his Voyages Métallur-
giques) gives no particular account, though he says that in all his travels
he met none like it, I hope a detailed description will not be unaccepta-
ble.” That he had not the slightest suspicion, however, of the true che-~
mical constitution of this ore is clearly evinced in a subsequent para-~
graph, where he classes along with it the “ trappose ore used in Sweden,
of which the whole mountain of Taberg is said to consist, and which, by
Chevalier Napion’s account, is a trap overloaded with iron.”

Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron. 221

published as late: as 1820, does not appear to give any ac-
count of the common compact argillaceous carbonate of iron
as a distinct mineral, although he describes the varieties of it
which Werner had enumerated under the heads of reniform,
lenticular, and jaspery ironstone. But even in his descrip-
tion of these varieties the professor has ascribed to them cha-
racters which ¢an only belong to ores consisting essentially of
the peroxide of iron. *

A predilection in favour of characteristics deduced from
external form, was probably the cause why this eminent mi-
neralogist; whose system has long been the manual of the
British student, allowed himself to overlook the most inte-
_ resting feature of this important mineral compound. A: simi-
lar cause appears, in the case of this ore, to have misled the
illustrious French mineralogist Haiiy. For in the second
edition of his T'raité de Minéralogie, (published in 1822,) he
refers it, (under the names of fer owidé massif, fer oxidé mas-
sif argilifere, fer oxidé géodique,) together with an incongru-
ous assemblage of other minerals, for example, cubic and oc-
tohedral-oxide of iron, hydrated oxide of iron, eisensinter,
&c., to one commion species fér oxidé. These errors are in
Haiiy the less excusable, because at the period when his sys-
tem was published, the constitution of our ore must have been
familiarly known among the French metallurgists. And they
evince in a striking manner the paramount importance of a
close attention to the chemical constitution of minerals; and
how imperfect a substitute for the want of this is, on some
occasions, supplied to the systematic mineralogist by any scru-
tiny of their external characters, even though it: may be con-
ducted with consummate skill.

All those writers whom we have just enumerated may be
regarded as mere followers in the track of Werner, not one
of whom has correctly explored the nature of the argillaceous
carbonate of iron. And it becomes’ the more extraordinary
that this should be the fact, smce, as far back as the year
1796, the distinguished German chemist Richter, published
an account of the analysis of six specimens of the ore, from

* Vol. iii. p. 222, 224, 238.

222 Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron.

which mineralogists might have deduced with certainty its
peculiar chemical constitution. It is possible, however, that
a discovery so interesting may have escaped the notice of con-
temporary and succeeding chemists, owing to the circumstance,
that in Richter’s publication, entitled Analyse der Eisensteine
zu Bielschowitz in Oberschlesien, nebst Bestimmung des quan-
titativen Verhdltnisses ihrer Bestandtheile,* his main object
was not to establish the existence of a new and important mi-
neral, but to describe a novel and very unsatisfactory method
of determining the proportions of oxide of iron and alumina
which might exist in any solution. He precipitated both si-
multaneously, weighed and calcined the precipitate, then by
computation from the loss of weight sustained in the calcina-
tion, he eliminated the respective amount of each substance |
by his peculiar system of stoechiometric calculation. En-
grossed with the investigation of this useless novelty, Richter
seems to have entirely lost sight of the interesting and impor-.
tant nature of the results of his analyses; and other chemists,
in their just dislike to the general object of his memoir, im-
properly overlooked some of the truly valuable details which
it furnishes. From these, however, Dr Thomson must be
excepted ; he has quoted these analyses of Richter in his Sys-
tem of Chemistry, and deduced from them the right conelu-
sions regarding the chemical constitution of the ore. + —

The specimens of the ore analyzed by Richter had been
procured from Bielschowitz in Upper Silesia. He denomi-
nates them, in general terms, Eisensteine, or Ironstones, but
it is evident from the details of his analyses that they must
have been the argillaceous carbonate of iron. He found the
same ingredients existing in all the specimens, though vari-
ously proportioned, and he ascertained them to be the black
oxide of iron, alumina, silica, traces of the oxide of manga-
nese, carbonic acid and water; the last. two ingredients
amounting from about 28 to about 32 per cent. He disco-
vered that none of them contained lime, and that, neverthe-
less, they effervesced strongly during. solution in muriatic
acid. From the details which he gives it is apparent that he

* Crell’s Chemische Annalen, 1796, i, 540.
+ Sixth Edition, iii. 485.

Dr Colquhoun on the vinpionnone Ore of Iron. 228

overrated the quantity of alumina at the expense of the oxide
of iron, but it is also established, that the ores consisted es-
sentially of carbonate of protoxide of iron, and that the car-
bonate was argillaceous. As the results of the analyses only
occupied a subsidiary place in the chemist’s attention, he has.
not given any description of the mineralogical characters of
these specimens, or of the minerals with which an had been
found associated in their natural deposits.

After the period when Richter published his essay, ahi na-
ture of the argillaceous carbonate of iron seems to have met
with little regard until the year 1812, when it was excellent-
ly illustrated, both as to its chemical and mineralogical charac-_
ters, by M. Collet-Descostils.* This acute chemist, who
held the situation of director of the Ecole des Mines, had fre-
quent occasion to examine specimens of the ore collected from
different quarters of France, and also from England. | In his
Notice sur une des Espéces de Minerai de Fer, réunies par
plusieurs, Minéralogistes sous le nom de Fer Argileux,+ he
fully developes the true chemical constitution of the ore, he
accurately describes its external and physical characters, and
he gives a correct account of the geological positions which it
usually occupies, and to which it seems to be confined.

The result of Descostils’s researches was very important to
mineralogy, in clearly establishing the distinct and peculiar
nature of the chemical composition of the argillaceous carbo-
nate of iron; but it was still more so in a geological point of
view. For he discovered, to his surprise, that the country of
France, in many of its districts, abounded as much in this most
valuable ore of iron as the island of Great Britain itself. Upon
examining a variety of specimens which: were collected from
different localities in France, and one that had been procured
from Colebrook Dale in England, Descostils found, that, not-
withstanding their dull earthy aspect, they all possessed exact-

* It is true that before that period, both Drappier, (1805, Journal des
Mines, xviii..50. Note,) and Berthier, (1809, Annales des Mines, iv. 359,)
had made a correct analysis of certain specimens of the ore. But Descos-
tils was the first who gave+to the public a complete account of its nacure,
composition, and geological history.

+ Annales de Chemie, |xxxiv. 188.

224 Dr Colquhoun on the Argillactous Ore of Iron.

ly the same) constitution as the sparry iron ore, and were
composed of the protoxide of iron united with carbonic acid.
The principal difference between the sparry ore and the others
was‘a mechanical one, deducible probably from some local cir-
cumstance incident to their original formation, which may have
caused their intermixture with a variable quantity of clay’in
addition to those ingredients which they possessed in common
with the former ore.. But as the amount of this clay was often
very inconsiderable, Descostils proposed that the ore should no
longer be termed an argillaccous ironstone, but simply carbo-
nate of iron, distinguishing it, however, by the less definite
epithets of earthy or amorphous. He was induced to suggest
this nomenclature, not-merely as being less inaccurate in itself,
but also because the term argillaceous might prove inj urious to _
practical men, as he states that he had often known iron smel-
ters introduce a large supply of siliceous and calcareous mine-
rals into their smelting furnace, in order to flux the imaginary
quantity of clay with which they supposed the ore to be con-—
taminated. The appellation thus suggested, however, ree —
found its way into general practice.

Another result of great interest was deduced from these in-
quiries of Descostils.. Although the specimens of iron ore ex-
amined by him had been collected from very different localities
in France, and also from England, they all agreed’in one re-
spect, that they had been found in districts abounding ‘with
coal. And the whole of his researches led to the conclusion;
that there subsisted a very intimate geological connection be-
tween coal and the argillaceous carbonate of iron ; a connection
so close that the miner might almost with certainty regard the
presence of the one mineral'as a proof of the vicinity of the
other. Butit is difficult to overcome the force of a rooted pre- |
judice. Although the memoir of Descostils must at once have
carried the conviction to the minds of men of science, that the
most useful ironstone was co-existent with the beds of coal in
the various coal-districts of France, yet the nation at large for
a long period refused to believe that they possessed such a -
treasure within. themselves, and obstinately persisted in re-
garding the island of Britain as the envied and exclusive de-
pository of that ore. Even after many of the éléves of the

Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous-Ore of Iron. 225 |

~ Ecole des Mines, stimulated to research by the discoveries of
Descostils, had verified all his views and reduced his opinions
to certainty, it still continued to be maintained that the ores
on which they made their experiments did not properly repre-
sent any strata, or masses of materials sufficiently extensive to
be of importance in a national point of view. But in a matter
‘of such moment to their country, the most eminent chemists,
and ingéniewrs des mines in France were resolved that truth
should prevail over prejudice. And it is perhaps to the ex- —
_ istence of this powerful prejudice that'at least one good effect
is to be traced, since the investigations of her men of science
have procured for France, where the art of metallurgy is yet in
its infancy, the best account at present extant both of the chemi-
‘cal constitution, and also of the general history of the argilla-
ceous ironstone. The fact at least is undoubted, that within
a small number of late years, there have been published in
France not fewer than fifty different analyses of various speci-
mens of this ore, although there do not appear to have been
more than two similar notices printed in any other country,
and just one of these in Great Britain. The German che-
mist Freyssmuth, (in Schweigger’s Journal fiir Chemie, * )
has related a very careful analysis to which he submitted one
specimen of a nodular argillaceous carbonate of iron, and has
given at the same time an exact account of the nodule, and of
the situation (in a coal formation) in which it had been
found ; and Mr Richard Phillips, in the Annals of Philoso-
phy,*+ has stated the result of an analysis of a compact variety
of the ore from Yorkshire, distinguished by the provincial ap-~
pellation of “‘ Black Ironstone.”

The labours of the French chemists, however, amply com-
pensate this deficiency. Among their works the most dis-
tinguished are, the Essais et Analyses Cun grand nombre
de Minerais de Fer, provengnt des Houilléres de France, by
M. Berthier, in which this ingenious and indefatigable che-
mist has given us the chemical composition, and at the same
time a summary description of the .external characters of
all the specimens of this ore, which, previously to the year
1819, had been analyzed in the laboratory of the Ecole des

* Vol. xx. p. 1. + New Series, viii. 92.

226 Dr Colquhoun on the Argilldceous Ore of Tron’:

Mines, either by himself, or by the ééves of that establish.

ment. *
Next in importance to the multiplied labours of Beithines<t

memoir published by M. de Gallois in 1818, and entitled Sur
les Minerais de Fer des Houilléres, ou Fer Carbonaté Lithoide,
deserves to be mentioned. The author gives in it a short, but
excellent history of the mineralogical and geological habitudes
of this ore, and exhibits, in one collected view, many important
characters of the mineral, which had only been described pre-
viously in short and detached notices. It must: be admitted,
however, that his classification of the varieties of the ore is
defective and inaccurate; neither can we approve of the
change which he has proposed in its nomenclature. He sug-
gests, that, instead of an argillaceous carbonate, it should be -
designed lithotde, or stony; but the latter term has not been
adopted by succeeding writers, and is indeed still less deserip-
tive and less accurate than the appellation of argillaceous.+

* Annales des Mines, iv. 359. 'The same sheaaial has also published an
Analyse de quelques Carbonates nat ifs, a bases de Chaux, de Magnésie, de
fer et de Manganese, (Annales des Mines, viii. 887 ;) Analyse d'un fer
Carbonaté fibreux pseudo-morphique, ( Journal des Mines, xxvii. 477 ;) Sur
jes Minerais de fer des Houilléres d’Anzin, (Annales des Mines, iv. 3533)
Sur un Nouveau Gisement du Fer Carbonaté, ( Annales des Mines, iv. 633 ;)
Sur les Minerais de fer appelés Mines Douces, ( Annales des Mines, ix. _
$25.
ea lait des Mines, iii. 517. Other memoirs besides these might be
cited, which have contributed to extend the knowledge of this ore among
the French metallurgists. | Thus the ingénieurs MM. Thirria and
Lamé, in their Mémoire sur le Mine de Fer de la Voulte, (départment de
l Ardéche), published in 1820, have given an account of an argillaceous
carbonate of iron, which was at that time smelted by means. of bie at
Vienne. (Annales des Mines, v. 325.) And the ingénieurs MM.
Combes and Lorieux, in a note, Sur le fer Carbonaté argileus, de Lasalle
(Aveyron), published in 1823, (Annales des Mines, viii. 431,). have given
an account of that mineral, and have pointed out the advantages of esta-
blishing a smelting furnace in the district where it occurs. The Richesse
Minerale, (vols. i. and iii.) of the learned and laborious Héron de Ville-
fosse, a work of much originality and replete with valuable information oni
every topic relating to metallurgy, deserves also to be mentioned, as con-
taining a number of notices of \this ore and its metallurgic treatment.
The account which he gives of it is indeed very defective, his information
having evidently been derived more from report than from personal obser-
vation. But he was fully aware of its extreme importance, and expresses

Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron. 22%

Besides the names already alluded to, and those more brief-
ly referred to in the note, there are many other chemists in:
France, as Boullanger, Ramus, Clere, who have occupied
themselves in the prosecution of the same researches. But it
would be inconsistent with the scope of this memoir to enter
into any details regarding their merits.

Of all these distinguished individuals Berthier is unques-
tionably the man to whose labours his native country is
mainly indebted for the illustration of the nature .and proper-
ties of the argillaceous carbonate of iron. From the time
when the ore was first discovered in France, he saw its vast
importance to the nation, and has zealously persevered: in dis-’
seminating a knowledge of it among his countrymen, compel-
ling their obstinate prejudices to give way before the truths
suggested by seience, and demonstratively confirmed by exten-
sive experience. It is a proud result of Berthier’s exertions
that the French metallurgist now owes more real instruction
to him alone, than to all the other chemists and mineralogists
who have investigated the same subject.

We have now given a brief historical-sketch of the progress
by which the argillaceous carbonate of iron has at length at-
tained its proper station in the science of mineralogy, and we
have offered a very short notice of those whose names have
been most distinguished in bringing the light of science in aid
of the manufacturer of iron. It has been necessary to admit
that the chemists of Great Britain have borne a very insigni-
ficant share in these investigations, although it is undoubtedly
in their country that the metallurgic treatment of this ore is
practised in greater perfection, and carried to an infinitely
greater extent than in all the rest of the world together.. But
it would be unjust to omit in such a notice the labours of Mr.
Mushet, a gentleman whose long acquaintance with the details
of: metallurgy has enabled him to publish a series of memoirs
_ of the highest value to the iron manufacturer.* These me-
moirs, which are very numerous, contain a minute discussion
of every topic connected with the metallurgic treatment of the

a hope that France would speedily imitate the example of those countries —
where its metallurgic value was duly appreciated. ,
* See the Philosophical Magazine, from yol. ii. to vol. xxxiii. passim.

228 Dr Colquhoun on the Argilldteous Ore of Iron.

ore, as well as an account of the history of the art and an ex-
position of its principles. It istrue that Mr Mushet’s theories,
when he indulges in them, are often more ingenious than solid ;
but m regard to everything which a penetrating observation,
and ready apprehension, aided by a most extensive experience,
can furnish to a practical man, his works are unrivalled in this —
country and onthe continent.

We shall now proceed to examine the nature and constitu-
tion of the ore of iron. This is a subject which presents it-
self under various interesting views, and it is material that
none of these be overlooked. Thus, the design of this trea-
tise requires that we should fix the precise. mineralogical
rank of the ore of iron; yet, as our leading object is to con-
vey metallurgic instruction, it is not enough to detail the ex-
ternal and physical characters of the mineral, or to divide it
into all its different varieties, so as to assign it an accurate
place in the cabinet of the natural philosopher. It is not
enough to explain in what geological situations it occurs, al-
though this also is an interesting part of its history. For itis ~
far more material to the smelter of iron to be informed of the
chemical composition and affinities of the various constituents
which form the ore, and distinguish its varieties, in order that
he may be aware under what treatment he is most likely to be
successful in compelling it to yield up the metal which it con-
tains.

In considering the nature of the ore of iron under these dif-
ferent views, we shall adopt the following order.—In the first
place, we shall examine the ore by its external and physical
characters, so as to be able to submit a mineralogical arrange-

ment of all the various forms under which it is found. _ In the
next place, we shall consider its geological character. And, i in
the last place, we shall distinguish the ore into the classes
_ which are suggested by a regard to its chemical composition
and affinities, the properties which exclusively engross the at-

tention of the iron smelter. )

The argillaceous carbonate of iton consists essentially of the.
protoxide of iron united to carbonic acid, and it bears the
same relation to the crystallized eefionata of iron or sparry
iron ore, which common compact limestone has to calcareous

Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron. 229

spar. Its rank in a mineralogical system must be along with
the native crystallized carbonate of protoxide of iron. It is -
characterized However by too many peculiarities, both chemi-
cally and geologically, to be classed otherwise than as a dis-
tinct sub-species. The geological characteristics of the sub-
species we shall defer examining, according to the order which
has just been laid down, until the mineralogical history shall
have been disposed of. -

That we may be able to appreciate what are the properties
which truly distinguish the argillaceous carbonate as a sepa-
rate sub-species, it will be necessary to keep in view the cha-
racters of the general species to which it belongs. ‘These are,
in the type of the species, a regular crystallized form, reduci-
ble to an obtuse rhomboid, transparency, and absence of co-
lour. The less pure specimens are translucent and sometimes
opaque, and their colour varies from pale yellow to deep
brown; but even when occurring in mountainous masses, it —
almost invariably possesses traces, more or less decisive, of
- erystallization.

The most palpable peculiarity of the ears pears carbonate
of iron is that it never occurs crystallized, and never exhibits
even the most remote indication of a crystalline structure.

Another important characteristic is to be observed in attend-
ing to those substances which are found to enter into its com-
position, and which are of a nature completely foreign to the
carbonate of iron. ‘These substances are very various, both
in their kind, and in their proportions; but they may be di-
vided into two general classes, the earthy or argillaceous, and
the carbonaceous or bituminous. We shall consider each of
them separately.

In respect to the first, the argillaceous constituent, it is be-
lieved that no specimen of our ore has yet been discovered,
which did not contain a notable quantity of earthy matter.
The average amount of this ingredient ranges from 10 to 20
per cent.; though an ore containing so little impurity as the ©
first mentioned quantity is rarely met with, while, on the other
hand, it may sometimes be found in a much larger proportion,
occasionally amounting to 25 or 30 per cent. But whenever it
goes beyond 12 or 15 per cent., the iron smelter cannot use it

:
230 Dr Colquhoun on the ara Ore of Tron.

with any advantage, unless he mixes it in the furnace with ores
of a richer quality.

The earthy matter is always found to exist in the ore ina
state of mere mechanical intermixture. Analogous intermix-
tures of foreign ingredients are common in other minerals be-
longing to the coal formations ; and the constantly varying pro-
portions in which the earthy matter and the ore occur united,
can be ascribed. only to a mechanical cause of conjunction!
Accordingly, if the ore be treated: with an acid, the results are
quite decisive of the question. If it be taken either in mass;
or in the state of powder, and digested for several hours in mo«
derately diluted muriatic acid, the carbonate of iron will pass
into solution, but nearly the whole of the earthy portion will
remain undissolved, the liquid containing mere traces of silica
and alumina. ‘The matter which thus remains insoluble, and
which has been detached from. the carbonated protoxide: of
iron, is of a yariable composition, being sometimes siliceous,and
consisting of minute quartose grains, but, more frequently of
an argillaceous nature. In the latter case, it is found to consist
of both the kind and the general proportions of those ingredi-
ents which characterize the ordinary clays, containing silica and
alumina, which form the principal constituents, and generally,
also, a notable quantity of peroxide of iron, and variable traces
of lime and magnesia. From this simple analysis it is evident
that the original appellation of argillaceous iron ore which had
been suggested by its external appearance, and with which
M. Descostils was so much offended, was far from being en-
tirely inappropriate. The name of argillaceous carbonate of
iron seems to be correctly applicable to the constitution of the
ore, and’ we haye therefore adopted it in the present treatise...

A certain portion of water is also very generally found in
the ore, which probably exists in union with the clay, and may
be proportioned to its quantity. -' The amount of this ingre-
dient would seem to be seldom less'than:1 per cent., for this
much was extricated by distillation from an ore which contain:
ed an uncommonly small proportion of argillaceous matter, and
which, moreover, for some time after having been raised from
the pit, had been dried by a free exposure to the atmosphere.

The carbonaceous or bituminous constituent occurs -almost

3

Dr Colquhown on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron. 231

as universally as the clay, and in proportions which, in differ-
ent specimens, are susceptible of a similar variation. Its amount
is generally limited in its range from 0.5 to 1.5 per cent. In
one remarkable instance, to be afterwards more particularly
noticed, coal existed in the proportion of 3 per cent. ; but this
was a solitary exception to the general results, so far as my ex-
perience has gone. After the soluble portion of the ore has
been dissolved out by digestion in a dilute acid, the carbona-
ceous ingredient is found to remain behind, in a state of inter-
mixture with the earthy matter. This residue possesses more
or less of a black colour, according to the amount of carbona-
ceous matter that may be present. When calcined under free
exposure to the air, it changes its hue entirely, and, according
to the quantity of iron which it may have happened to contain,
it becomes sometimes pure white, sometimes yellowish white,
and’ sometimes reddish yellow.

The state in which this carbonacéous or bituminous matter
exists in the ore seems indisputably to be, for the most part,
that of coal rather than pure charcoal. Indeed, from the com-
position of the minerals with which it generally occurs associat-
ed, it could hardly happen otherwise; and the fact is put be-
| yond doubt by the bituminous smoke and thick bitumimous
liquor, which are found to pass off when many of the ores are
submitted to distillation. Some ores have even come under
our observation which threw up a sensible oily seum when im-
mersed in alcohol.

~'The extraneous ingredients which may be next considered in
this mineralogical analysis of the ore are sulphur and phos-
phorus. Sulphur is frequently found im the state of iron py-
rites, which is disseminated sometimes in masses of various sizes,
and sometimes in veins through a stratum of ironore. But as
it is an ingredient so prejudicial to the iron smelter as to war-
rant the rejection of any ore in which its presence is discovera-
_ ble*by the naked eye, we shall limit our examination of the
mineral to that range within which its employment by the iron’
smelter is confined. And here its occurrence is by no means
uncommon. After analyzing eight different specimens, in order
to determine how far they might be affected by the presence
of sulphur, four proved to be completely free from it, and in

>. ;
232 Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron.

the remaining four, the quantity varied from 0,62 to 0,02 per
cent. All these specimens had been taken from different strata
of working ores, and the pyrites existed interspersed through
them in a state of so minute division, that its presence could
not be detected by the aid of a magnifying glass,

Phosphorus appears never to exist in the ore but in the sate
of phosphoric acid, It is of much rarer occurrence than the
sulphur, and is ‘a still more injurious, ingredient. The acid
is reduced in the operation of smelting, and the phosphorus
thereby developed unites with the metallic product, and ren-
ders it so excessively brittle that its most yaluable properties
are thereby destroyed. But. it is fortunately so seldom seen,
that, with the exception of three specimens found in different
parts of France, and described by M. Berthier,* containing re-
spectively 0.3, 0.8, and 6.1 per cent. of phosphoric acid, there
seems, to be no notice of any phosphorised ore upon record,
The last specimen, in which so large an amount of the acid
existed, was brought from St Etienne, (département de la —
_Loire,) where it was found in the very remarkable state of
large continuous beds that were several feet in thickness. __.

_ There are still some occasional ingredients of the ore, which,
on account of their closer analogy with the carbonate of iron, —
we have delayed mentioning, until all the other extraneous
‘substances were discussed. These are the carbonates of lime,
of magnesia, and of oxide of manganese. In upwards of a
dozen analyses of different ores, the results indicated an amount
of carbonate of lime, varying from 1 to 15.4 per cent., and of
carbonate of magnesia from 3.75 to 14 per cent. But in those
localities where the principal strata are of a calcareous nature,
the proportion of lime is frequently so superabundant as to
make the mineral rank rather among the ferruginous lime-.
stones than among the ores of Iron. The carbonate of man-
ganese is also occasionally met with in the ores, but. for the.
most part only in very small quantity, We have never. seen)
it exceed 0,32 per cent., though the analyses of Descostils and,
- Berthier show it to exist sometimes to an amount that varies
from 4 to 7 per cent.

From this very general view of the constitution, of the ar. ;

* Annales des Mines, iv. 376, 381, 383.

Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Tron. 233 | >

~~ gillaceous carbonate of iron, and of those extrinsic bodies ~

which are commonly found mechanically associated with it, it
appears that there is no principle of relation discoverable
among the ingredients, but that they always vary according
to accident or locality. It could furnish, therefore; neither:
pleasure nor instruction to group together the details of all
_ the numerous analyses of this ore, which are supplied by the
researches of Descostils and. others in the pages of the An-
nales des Mines, and in some of the later volumes of the
‘ Journal des Mines ; unless, indeed, we were-at the same time
to recapitulate the mineralogical description, and geological
history of each particular specimen analyzed. Such a com-—
pilation could only prove a tedious exemplification of the
general facts already stated, respecting the composition of the
ore. But as only two analyses of any British specimen of this
ore have ever been published, one of an ore from Colebrook
Dale in Shropshire, examined by Descostils, and. one of an —
ore from the vicinity of Bradford in Yorkshire, examined by
Mr Richard Phillips, there seems to be a want of detail upon
this subject, which it cannot fail to prove desirable in some
measure to remove. Had this, the most important of all our
minerals, only been as rare as it is common, or had it been
brought from a great distance abroad, instead of being found
in a happy profusion at home, it is hardly to be doubted that
long ere now the pages of our scientific journals would have
exhibited an, accurate exposition of its nature and. history.
But since the fact. is so, it is at least an agreeable task to fur-
nish some materials towards supplying the deficiency, and
therefore the following mineralogical analyses are subjoined
from an examination of nine specimens, which were’ taken
from regular strata in the great coal-field that lies around

Glasgow. *
ha may be proper to notice, that, excepting in the second example, no

experiments were made for the purpose of determining the precise quan-
tity of water contained by the several specimens.

VOL. VII. NO. 11. ocT. 1827. 1 eaypl odd ahr

~

234 Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of fron.

[tJ | OJ] () | @] I) Ae)
Carbonic acid,» = | 32.53 | 33.63 | 31.86 | 30.76 | 26.35 | 33.10 | 32.24 | 35.17 |
Protoxide of iton, 35.22 | 45.84 | 42.15 | 38.80 | 36.47 | 47.33 | 43.73 | 53.03 — 42.35
Protoxide of manganese, 0.00 | 0.20] 0.00} 0.07] 0.17] 0.13] 0.00) 0.00 |
Lime,.. = 8.62 | 1.90] 4.93] 5.30} 197] 2.00] 2.10] 3.33
Magnesia, - - | 519] 5:90| 4.80] 6.70| 2.70] 2.20] 2.77| 1.77
|Silica,' =~) | 9.66 | 7.83} 9.73 | 10.87] 19.90 | 6.63} 9.70 | 1.40
Al

Peroxide of Tron,

* - Lew 2.53 | 3.77} 6.20] 8.03| 4.39) 5.13]. 0.63
1.16 | 0.00} 0.80} 0.33] 0.40] 0.33) 0.47} 0.23

Carbonaceous or 7%
Bituminons matter, 2.13 | 1.86] 2.33] 1.87] 2.10} 1.70] 1.50| 3.03 oe
Sulphur, bl 0.62 0.00 0.00 0.16 0.00 0.22 0.02 0.00 ee

_ | Moisture and loss, ite ie parA — | 191 } 226) 2.34] 141 5% 1.

100.37 {100.68 | 100.37| 101.06] 100.001 100.001 100.00] 100.00

(a.) From Crossbasket, about seven miles south-east from
Glasgow. Colour, light-greyish, or greenish-black. Fracture,
from fine-grained, even, to coarse-grained, uneven. Very easily
frangible ; soft; easily scratched'by the knife. Specific gra-
vity, taken in distilled water at the arses? of 60°,
3.1793.

This is the highest and also the least valuable of the Cross-
basket strata of ironstone, whichvare at present raised for the
use of the blast furnace. The thickness of the stratum ts from
three to three and a-half inches.

(6.) From Crossbasket. Colour, light greyish-black. Frac-
ture fine-grained, earthy, slightly uneven. Rather tough. Not
particularly soft. Sp. gr. 3.3801.

This ore is found at a distance of four feet under the pre-
ceding one. , It constitutes a stratum of about nine inches
in thickness, and is esteemed the purest and the most Teluable
of the Crossbasket ores. We

(c.) From Crossbasket. Colour, light greyish-black. ee.
ture fine-grained, earthy, slightly uneven. Rather tough,
but more easily frangible, and softer than the last mentioned
ore. Sp. gr. 3.2699. The average thickness of the stratum
is from six to eight inches.

(d.) From Crossbasket. Colour, brownish-black. Frae-
ture, earthy, fine-grained, uneven. Easily frangible and soft.
Sp. gr. 3.1175. This stratum of ironstone is situated next
under that from which the preceding specimen was taken, and
forms the lowest which is at present wrought at Crossbasket.

: 4

Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron. 235

It varies in’ thickness from ten to fourteen inches. Both it
and the preceding ore are reckoned of good average quality.
‘This ore furnishes a curious instance of the capricious and
seemingly unaccountable alterations that are liable to take
place in every chemical manufacture whose fundamental prin-
ciples are little understood, and in none, perhaps, does this
happen more frequently than in the smelting of iron. . Al-
though it forms the thickest of all the Crossbasket strata, and
therefore holds out powerful inducements in an economical
point of view to the iron-smelter, it was at one period regard-
ed at the Clyde Iron Works as an ironstone totally unfit for
the manufacture of good iron, and having once received an
unfavourable character, it was allowed to remain unworked
for a long course of years. It is only of Jate that its employ-
ment has been again resumed ; but, so far from being held in
low estimation, it is now considered to be little inferior in
quality to any of the Crossbasket ores, and is used very ex-
tensively in the blast furnace.

Immediately above this stratum there is situated a bed of
schist, containing a regular stratification of very large nodules
of ironstone. Being extracted by the miner simultaneously
with the subjacent ore, they are used to a considerable extent
in the blast furnace, and are esteemed an ironstone of uncom-
monly fine quality. The black bituminous substance, which
will be mentioned hereafter as occurring occasionally in nodu-
lar ironstone, exists very generally distributed throughout this
stratification of balls.

(e.) A specimen found in the neighbourhood of the Clyde
Tron Works, which are situated about four miles south-east
from Glasgow.* Its mineralogical details are the following :
Colour, pale, between broccoli-brown and clove-brown. Frac.
ture, rather fine-grained, uneyen, Not particularly hard;
easily scratched by the knife. Sp. gr. 3.1482. The thick-

* I beg leave to take this opportunity of expressing how much I feel in-
debted to Colin Dunlop, Esq. the proprietor of this smelting establishment,
for the valuable information which he has communicated to me respecting
this ore and its metallurgic treatment, and for the liberal permission which
he gave me both to examine every process of art at the Clyde Iron Works,
and to make the freest use of the knowledge stp acquired in the course
of the present memoir.

236° Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Tron.

ness of the stratum is about 23 inches. It is considered at the
works to be an ore of shee inferior quality, and is seldom
sinelted.

Immediately above this ore there is situated a bed of schist,
which contains animniense number of petrifactions of different:
kinds of bivalve shells. They consist of @ very pure iron-
stone, resembling’ in appearance the subjacent band f. )
Their forms are remarkably perfect, and they + ng-m0 no vi-
sible remains of the original shell.

(7) An ore lying under the last mentioned stratum, and in
close contact with it. Colour between yellowish-grey and hair-
brown. Fracture, fine-grained, earthy, even. Rather hard ;
scratched with some difficulty by the knife. Sp. gr. 3.2109.
The stratum to which it belongs is situated above the splint
coal, with the intervention of only four inches of schist, and
both minerals are therefore worked out together with great
advantage to the smelter. It is the most valuable ore in all
the fields around Glasgow, except that called the Black Iron-
stone, which is at present smelted at the Clyde iron works.
The thickness of the stratum is between one and a half and two
inches.

(g.) This specimen was procured from Easterhouse, near
the line of the Monkiand Canal, and about six miles east from
Glasgow. Colour, clove-brown. Fracture, fine-grained, rather
uneven. Somewhat tough and hard, but easily s scratched by
the knife. Sp. gr. 3.3109. :

This ore exists in precisely the same relative situation with
regard to all the other accompanying minerals, as the two ores
from Clyde Iron Works which have just been described ; and
wherever it makes its appearance it seems to have been pro-
duced by the coalescence of these two strata. This compound
stratum has always a uniform texture and composition through-
out. Its average thickness is two and a half to three inches.
It is used pretty extensively in the blast furnace, and 1 is esteem-
ed an ore of good average quality. ‘

(h.) From the neighbourhood of Airdrie, about ten miles
east from Glasgow. Colour, clove-brown, the intensity of the
shade varying considerably i in streaks which are parallel to the
direction of the stratum. When reduced to powder the co-

Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron: 237

lour is brown. Fracture, fine-grained, earthy ; rather uneven.

Tough, and difficultly pounded ; communicating a feeling of
elasticity under the pestle. Rather hard; scratched by the

knife. Adheres slightly to the tongue, a property which did

not appear to be possessed in a sensible degree by any of the

seven ores already described. Sp. gr. 3.0553. Numerous

bivalve shells, of a pale wood brown colour, occur scattered

. through the mass of this ore, and form. a strong contrast with

its darker shade. ‘This is one of the most valuable iron ores

of Scotland, where it is familiarly known under the name of
Black Ironstone, or Mushet’s Black Band. 'The latter appella-
tion has been given from the circumstance that it was first
smelted by Mr Mushet, to whom we have already referred as.

the metallurgist most distinguished for his practical skill. *

_ It lies about fourteen fathoms below the fifth Glasgow coal
bed, or splint coal; and constitutes a layer about fourteen in-
ches in thickness. It is remarkable that it has hitherto been

found nowhere except in the neighbourhood of Airdrie: al-
though several attempts have been made in other localities to
reach it by boring. At the Clyde Iron Works it is justly re- —
garded as the richest and most valuable ore which they at pre-
sent possess.

(i.) From a stratum situated in the vicinity of Crossbasket.
Colour bluish-grey. Fracture in the great even: -in the small
very fine-grained, earthy. Rather hard.

Such was the composition and the mineralogical details of
various. specimens of ironstone which were obtained from com-
ponent strata of the independent coal formation around Glas-
gow. But it is well known that this ore presents itself not
only in uninterrupted strata or bands, as the the miners term
‘them, but also in the form of independent nodules or bails,
imbedded in a stratum of some foreign mineral. We shall
subjoin a few analyses of these nodules. The analyses were
made with-a less scrupulous accuracy than those of the band-
ironstones, but still, it is hoped, with sufficient care and atten-
tion to permit the results to be relied on as exhibiting the
true mineralogical character of this variety of the ore.

* He has also given a particular account of this ore in the Philosophical
Magazine, vol. iii. p. 254.

>
238 Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron.

1. A very flat nodule, found imbedded in schist at Cross-
basket. Colour of the fractured surface, hair-brown. Frac-
ture fine-grained, somewhat uneven. Hard: scratched by
the knife. The nodule is enveloped by a thin yellowish-co-
loured ochraceous looking crust, which has evidently been
produced by the decomposition of the carbonate of iron. It
was composed of

Carbonate of protoxide of iron, . . $0.70
Argillaceous matter, with a little carbona-
10.45
ceous matter, . :

Carbonate of lime, mht we Ay 2.19
Carbonate of magnesia, moistute, and loss, 6.66
100.00

This nodule was found in the immediate vicinity of a regu-
_ lar stratum of ironstone. ‘The ore composing this stratum had
a greyish-black colour; it broke with a fine-grained, earthy,
somewhat uneven fracture ; and consisted of

Carbonate of protoxide ofiron, —. 60.34

Argillaceous niatter, with a little carbona- \. 30.80
ceous matter, ‘ :

Carbonate of lime, : : penal 87

Carbonate of magnesia, Reem and loss, © 6.99

100.00

2. A nodule brought from the vicinity of Crossbasket,
where many similar ones occur in a stratum of indurated clay
(fire-clay) from which this specimen was taken. They are
generally small, and vary from an inch to four inches in diame-
ter. They are smooth and rounded externally: They break
with a fine earthy fracture, and the colour of the fractured sur-_

_ face is yellowish-grey. The specimen proved to be ane a

Carbonate of protoxide of iron, . as 15
Insoluble clayey matter, , ; . © 6.30
Carbonate of lime, ; : f LO 09
Loss, é ; ib 2.46

er

100.00

Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ore of Iron. 289

8. This nodule was also found in the vicinity of Crossbas-
ket, imbedded in argillaceous schist., Specimens of the same
kind are found very plentifully distributed throughout the stra-
tum, and all of them are remarkable for an extremely irregular —
shape. They are of rather a small size, varyingfrom three to
six inches in diameter. It broke with a fine-grained fracture.
The colour of the fractured surface was dark-greyish black ;
but it was variegated in consequence of the presence.of white
coloured specks and veins of carbonate of lime. Tt was compos- —
ed of

Carbonate of protoxide of iron, . 81.22
Insoluble clayey matter, Birpels : 12.30
Carbonates of lime and of Plgiese mois- }

6.48
_ ture, and loss, :

100.00

The following was the result of the analysis of an ore which
constitutes a pretty thick stratum in the vicinity of Crossbas-
ket, and we state it as furnishing a striking example of the ex-
cessive proportion in which the carbonate of lime is occasional-
ly intermixed with the carbonate of i iron, or vice versa. Its
colour was dark-bluish black ; and it possessed all the external
and physical characters of the common argillaceous carbonate
of iron, excepting that its specific gravity was necessarily low.

Carbonate of lime, _ ; A : . 69.50
Carbonate of protoxide of iron, ps 2283
_ Clay, carbonaceous matter, carbonate bd A147
magnesia, moisture, and loss,
100.00

Thus there was little more than one-fifth part of the mass
composed of the carbonate of protoxide of iron, andi’ one-
half consisted of the carbonate of lime.

From the details which have been just stated aati the
composition of these various specimens, we shall now endeavour
to deduce the general mineralogical character-of the varieties
composing this distinct sub-species of the carbonate of protoxide
of iron. In:doing this, however, it must be remembered that

240 Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous: Ore of Iron.

the ore is found to be incorporated by an intimate mechanical
union, with so many of the minerals whose strata lie in juxta-
position, or in near contact with it, that it is often difficult to
mark the proper mineralogical territory of the ironstone. It
is found to exist intermixed with carbonate of lime, with argil-
laceous schist, with coal, and with sandstone in every variety
of proportion ; and as it is not in a state of crystalline aggre-
gation, it of necessity assumes the external characters of those
extraneous substances, precisely according to the extent of their
intermixture. Thus, it is not only destitute of the most decid-
ed and certain characteristic of minerals, a crystalline figure,
but the remaining external characters, such as colour, hard-
ness, fracture, texture, and specific gravity are subject to the
greatest irregularity and variation. It isin sucha case per-
haps impossible to draw any better line of distinction, separa-
ting what may be justly considered an argillaceous iron ore,
from what may more properly be regarded as a ferruginous
’ limestone, or clay, or coal, than just to take those specimens in
which the iron ore is the predominating ingredient. to form the
one class, and those in which it forms a less prominent consti-
tuent to form the second. This principle of discrimination
seems the more appropriate in a metallurgic treatise, since it
will certainly embrace all the ironstones which are an object of
interest for the metal which they yield, But even after adopt-
ing it as marking out, the precise range of the ore within which —
the following classification will be confined, the more minute di- ..
vision of the field into the several sub-species and varieties that
occupy it, will still prove somewhat embarrassing from the
causes which we have just mentioned. ‘We shall endeavour,
in the first place, to state the general average of external cha-
racter which they exhibit, and to mark the extremes within
which the variation of each character is limited ; and, in the
next place, to-group the different ores into such subdivisions as
may be suggested by their leading chemical variations. ~The
genuine mineralogical character of the sub-species of the carbo-
nate.of protoxide of iron, the a carbonate of iron, is
the following :— : ib on
The predominating colour of the ore «is grey, of various
shades, as light ash-grey, bluish-grey, blackish-grey, yellowish-

Dr Colquhoun on the Argillaceous Ure of Iron. 241: -

grey. Frequently, also, it is red, brownish-red, and brown ; and
when this is the case it probably contains a certain quantity of
the peroxide of iron. ‘The presence of bituminous matter |
darkens the shade of all these colours ; and when this substance
exists’ to any considerable extent, it often a the hue into
a op ecgaed black. |

' The texture is most commonly compact, but sometimes, sale,
it is tabular or slaty. Even the nodular varieties of the ore,
although they occasionally consist of concentric layers, are in
general quite compact and uniform in their composition.

The fracture in the large is compact, and more or less wn-
even; sometimes, also, imperfect conchoidal or slaty. In the small
it is generally even, fine-grained, earthy ; but sometimes coarse-
grained, and slightly uneven. It frequently happens that the
nature of the fracture differs in different parts of the same spe-
cimen, a variation. which is probably caused by a different state
of mechanical intermixture with other bodies.

The aspect of the fractured surface is dull and earthy. The
JSragments are rather blunt edged, and have no determinate
i t= ore varies much in hardness : being sometimes hard and
tough, and difficultly frangible; at other times, soft, and easily
reduced to powder. In general, it is easily scratched by the
knife. It feels meagre to the touch, and sometimes adheres

slightly to the tongue. Its Specific gravity varies from 2.8 or
2.9 to 3.4 or 3.5.

A frequent distribution of foreign bodies occurs in the mass
of the ore, consisting partly of organic, and partly of inorganic
substances. Of the former, the most common are shells, gene-
rally of the bivalve description, and i impressions of vegetables,
Impressions of fishes are also similarly discovered, though these
remains of organized nature are much more rarely met with.
Of the latter, the most frequent are carbonate of lime and iron
pyrites, which are sometimes disseminated through the ore in
small pieces, and at other times penetrate it in the form of
slender veins. Sulphate of lime, blende, galena, and copper
pyrites are also occasionally observed : but these latter bodies,
especially the metallic sulphurets, are of infrequent occurrence.

When the ore is calcined, its grey colour Pte to red,

>
242 Mr Haidinger on Sternbergite,
brown, or blackish-brown, and it loses from 20 to 50 per cent.
of its weight. Before the blowpipe it instantly blackens, and

becomes: susceptible of magnetic influence. When immersed
jn muriatic acid, it dissolves slowly, with effervescence, and

leaves a residue composed of a mixture of argillaceousand bie __

tuminous matter. ‘This solution, which is of a greenish-yellow
colour, on receiving the addition of nitric acid; becomes for a
few seconds of an intense olive-brown, and almost immediately
after loses this appearance, turning yellow, and giving off at
the same time copious nitrous fumes. When smelted in the
blast furnace, the ore yields, on an average, about 30 per cent.

of cast iron. : yy
(To be porate 2 nowiek i

Axr. V.—On Sternbergite, a New Mineral Species. By
Witri1am Hatipincer, Esq. F.R.S.E. &c. Communi-
cated by the Author.* a

I. Description.

Funpamewrat form. A scalene four-sided pyramid. P=128°
49/, 84° 28’, 118° 0". Plate ITI. Fig. 1. |
a:b:ce=1: J 1.422: 0.484.

Simple forms. P—(a); P (f); P +1 (2) = 122°
17’, 68° 22’, 146° 34’; (Pr)® (d) = 92° 28’, 107° 17, 31° V7,
pr + 1 () = 61°35, § Pr + 8(c) = 13°36, Pr +2 (i);
4 Pr— 5 (h) = 158° 2’.

Various combinations among these forms have been obsery-
ed, one of them is Pettey: Fig. 2.. They have all more
or less the aspect of rhombic plates, with angles of 119° 30’,
and 60° 30’, which is the base of the Cer cae py ramid ; ,
often the acute angle is truncated.

Cleavage highly perfect, and easily ppasivg parallel to athe
face a. No trace of cleavage in other direction of the lamel-
lx, which may be torn asunder like thin sheet-lead.

Surface of a delicately streaked parallel to the edges of com-
bination -with h, that is parallel to the long diagonal of . the
rhombic plates. Lustre more considerable upon these: than

* Abstract of a paper read before the Royal Rosiety of. Edinburgh onthe
4th of December 1826,

a New Mineral inva. : 243

upon the remaining faces, which are deeply pirnaked parallel
to their intersections with a. :

_ Lustre metallic. , Colour dark pinchbeck-brown, satbet dark-
er than the colour of magnetic pyrites. Streak black. Tarnish,
ofteri violet-blue on all the faces except a.- ehelt oe

Very sectile. Thin lamine perfectly flexible. Hardness
= 1.0...1.5, little superior to tale. Specific gravity = 4.215.

Compound varieties. Twin-crystals, joined parallel to a
face of P + , similar Fig. 3. Generally several crystals are
joined in an irregular manner, and implanted together, being
fixed to their support with one of their sides, so as to produce —
rose-like aggregations and globules, with a drusy surface. Mas-
sive varieties usually present the aspect of a coarse-grained
mica.

II. OpsERVATIONS.

_ 1. The two specimens from which the. preceding descrip-
tion is drawn up I first saw when in Prague in March 1826,
They were pointed out tome as something not agreeing in se-
veral respects with the known species, by Professor Zippe, one
of them in the collection of the National Museum, the other in
the collection of Gubernialrath Neumann; the latter speci-
men was designated on the ticket as a pinchbeck-brown proble-
matical fossil, crystallized in six-sided tables. Both these gen-
tlemen entrusted me liberally with the specimens for examina-
tiou, the only specimens then known to exist., I am happy to
learn that Mr Zippe has succeeded in finding out a few more
_ specimens, in rummaging over some old store of minerals.

2. There exists a considerable deal of resemblance, as ap-
pears also from the characters given, between the Sternbergite,
and the black tellurium, the flexible sulphuret of silver, and
the rhombohedral molybdena-glance. As a species it is suffi-
ciently distinct from all of them. On account of that resem-
blance it must receive its place in the order Glance of the system
of Mohs; but whether as a genus of its own, or along with

some one or the other of those enumerated, is as yet uncertain,
while these species themselves are so imperfectly known. No
systematic denomination can therefore be at present proposed
for the new species. The name of Sternbergite, in proposing

944 Dr Hamilton on a Plant used as a Green Vegetable. ;

which I concur with my friends Neumann and. Zippe, is par
ticularly appropriate, as the species to which it applies. was
first obseryed in a public collection, belonging to an establish-
ment chiefly formed by the exertions of that learned ie =
triotic nobleman, Count Caspar Sternberg.

3. No chemical analysis has yet been: given of this ulin.
When treated with the blowpipe it gives in the glass tube a
strong odour of sulphurous acid, loses its lustre, and becomes
dark-grey and friable. Alone on charcoal it burns with a blue
flame and sulphurous odour, and melts into a globule, gene.
rally hollow, with a crystalline surface, and covered with me-
tallic silver. The globule acts strongly on the magnetic needle,
and before the blowpipe has all the properties of sulphuret of
iron. It communicates to fluxes the ordinary colours produced
by iron, red while hot, and yellow on cooling, in the oxidating
flame, greenish in the reducing flame. Borax very readily

takes away the iron, and leaves a button of metallic silver. It
appears therefore to consist of sulphuret of silver, combined
with a large quantity of sulphuret of iron.

4. The locality of this interesting species is Joachimsthal in
Bohemia. It must have been found at a rather reniote period,
as the specimens were discovered in old collections ; and it is
likely enough, on account of the economical value of Sternber-
gite as an ore of silver, that most of it has been melted down
long ago. Moreover, it is chiefly accompanied with other ores
of silver, as the red silver, the brittle silver, or prismatic melane-
glance, and others.

Axt. VI.—Description of a plant used in Bengal as a com-
mon green vegetable, (Olus,) and of another nearly allied to
it. By Francis Hamitton, M. D, F.R.S, &c, . Com-
municated by the Author.

In Gangetic India this plant 1s called Palak or Palanki, names
that have been given to the spinach of Europe, when this y was
introduced, both being. cultivated in a similar manner, and
having selad alimentary qualities. Dr Roxburgh considered
it as a species of Beta, and called it B. Bengalensis, which

Dr Hamilton on a Plant used as a Gréen Vegetable. 24:5

name I have retained in the catalogue of specimens presented
to the India House, although I doubt much of the propriety
of including it in this genus, as will appear from the following
description. In its general appearance it strongly resembles
the spinach. »

Radix annua, recta, descendens, crassitie digiti. minoris.
Caulis herbaceus, duos vel tres pedes longus, primo erectius-
culus, demum prostratus, ramosus, obtusangulus, glaber. Folia
alterna, caulina deltoideo-oblonga, glabra, obtusa, venosa, basi
integerrima, apices versus erosa. Petiolus mediocris, margi-
natus. Stipulee nullee. yet

Spice terminales, longissimz, foliis floralibus minutis basin
versus comose; supra nude, bracteis alternis linearibus flore
brevioribus indutz. Flores e foliorum floralium vel bractearum
singularum axillis gemini, sessiles, divaricati, herbacei.

Calycis quinquephylli foliola linearia, concava. Petala nulla.
Filamenta quinque calyce breviora, calycis foliolis opposita,
basi coalita in discum hypogynum cyathiforme. Germen mag-
num, planum, stiperum. Stylus nullus. Stigmata tria.

Bacca depressa, calyce carnosiusculo tecta. Caro tenuis,
- mollis. Semen unicum, crustaceum integumento interiore mem-
branaceo. Albumen centrale, meee ety Embryon incurvum,
teres, horizontale.

- The Nunika (salina) of the Hindwi dialect, which grows on
the saline plains near Agra, has nearly similar generic charac-
ters, although I suspect that it may be the Salsola Indica,
(Willd. Sp. Pl. i, 1817; Enc. Meth. vii. 290,) and the speci-
mens sent to the India House have been marked with this
name. I am, however, very uncertain whether this is the plant
meant by Willdenow, and I doubt very much of its being a
Salsola. Of this, however, the — may judge from the fol-
lowing account : |

Frutex statura tamarisci, ramis diffasis, sparsis, teretibus,
glabris. Folia sparsa, intervallis longiora, subsessilia, carnosa,
ancipitia, apice inermi acutiuscula, pilis destituta, sed squa~
mulis quasi minutis punctata, avenia, divaricata, non stipulacea.

Flores axillares 3——5, sessiles, e ramulis novissimis pullulan-
tes, ebracteati, parvi, herbacei.

Calycis quinquepartiti lacinie concave, patule. Corolla

*
946 Mr Haidinger on Polyhalite..

nulla. Filamenta quinque, calycis laciniis opposita, hisque.
duplo longiora, subulata, glabra. Anthere magne, rufescentes,
cordate, emarginate. Germen superum, ovatum. Stylus nul-
lus. Stigmata tria acuta.

Calyx fructiferus orbiculatus, clausus, depressus, quinque-
sulcus, carnosiusculus. Receptaculum totum fere calycem im-
plens, carnosum. Semen unicum in receptaculo nidulans hori-
zontale, suborbiculatum, nitidum, margine acuto hine mucro-
nato cinctum. Albumen centrale. Embryon teres, incurvum, —
horizontale. Cotyledones semiteretes. Radicula centrifuga. _

The habit or general appearance is very different from that
of the Palak; and, as the seed is only immersed in a pulpy
receptaculum, and not entirely covered by it, the Palak and
Nunika may be placed in different genera. The leaves and
tender shoots of the latter have an agreeable saline taste ; hat
it is not ewes by the natives.

Art. VII.—On Polyhaiite. By Winuram HAIpINGER, Esq.
F, R.S. E. &c. Communicated by the Author.

Tar species of polyhalite was established by chemical analysis
from such varieties as would not allow of a complete determi-
nation according to the principles of natural history, since they
presented nothing but fibrous masses, without a trace of regu-
lar structure or crystallization. ~ It is not to be wondered, there-
fore, that it should have been hitherto considered as a more or
less problematical substance, and exhibited as such in the ap-
pendices of most of our systems, even in those which pretend
to proceed according to chemical views, the only thing known
in the present instance. It was doubted whether the many
salts contained in it, from which circumstance Stromeyer de-
rived the name polyhalite, were in actual chemical combination,
or whether they formed but a mechanical aggregate, and we
must allow that this is a fair enough view of the subject, if we
consider the results which he obtained, viz.

' . Sulphate of potassa 27.'703'7 Muriate of magnesia 0.0100
lime 44.7429 Protosulphate of iron 0.2927
magnesia 20.0347 Water - - 5.9585
Muriate of soda 0.1910 Peroxide of iron 0.3376

Mr Haidinger on Polyhatite. 247

The nameaf polyhalite was afterwards applied by Mr Ber-
‘thier to several substances found at Vic in Lorraine, and of
which he van published the following analyses:— —_,

- 4

Red massive. Red crystallized. Grey massive.

Sulphate of soda 44.6 21,6. 29.4
Sulphate of lime 45.0 52.2. 40.0
Sulphate of magnesia 0.0 2.5 fT Bu
Muriate of soda 6.4 18.9 0.7
Oxide of iron and clay | 3.0 | 5.0 43

‘

' The first of these, if we may infer anything from the mixture,
which is the only datum we have to proceed upon, appears.to
be massive glauberite. The other two so much differ from
Stromeyer’s polyhalite in regard to chemical composition, par:
ticularly as one contains soda and the other potassa, that it
would have been better to have given them also a separate
name, when it was impossible to establish their identity, found-
ed upon an agreement in their physical properties.

It is only from ¢rystallized, or at least from such crystalline
varieties as are evidently homogencous, that any thing like
exact information can be derived, both as respects the physical
properties, and the chemical constitution of a substance, I was
fortunate enough, during my late stay in Vienna, te obtain two
specimens of the polyhalite from Aussee for examination, whose
very aspect and crystalline character precludes the possibility
of their being mere mechanical aggregates of different species
of salts. One of them was given me by Baron Leithner as a
new species of salt, containing potassa ; for the other I am in-
debted to Mr Von Pittoni, who had got it as the glauberite
from Aussee.

A hexahedral form has been sometimes ascribed to the poly.
halite, said to be obtained by cleavage from certain colourless
masses mixed up with the fibrous mineral. Such, however,
when they occur will be found to be rock-salt, as in every in-
stance, within my knowledge, or perhaps anhydrite, whereas
the actual forms of polyhalite belong to the prismatic system of
Mohs, and arebroad six-sided prisms, similar to Plate III. Fig. 4.
The angle produced by two adjacent faces o is about 115°, the

‘

248 Mr Haidinger. on Polyhalite.

intersection of them with r about 1223°. "here were crystals
lining the cavities of some fissures in one of the specimens, but
so small that their form could be made out only by means of
a compound microscope. The massive varieties presented
striated faces of composition, as it is marked in the figure of
the crystals, the surface of which is also striated in the’ same
manner. They also show cleavage, but not very perfect, pa-
rallel to the faces, and these yielded 115° as an approximate
measurement. Pu

The colour is a very pale flesh-red, almost yellowish. —

The hardness, given in books as greater than that of ie
reous spar, I found only 2.5 greater than rock-salt, but consi-
derably inferior to calcareous spar ; this is also the hardness of
the darker red fibrous varieties, which I examined for gone ts)
rison’s sake.

The taste of polyhalite, in every one of its varieties, is very
faint, and has more of the bitter and astringent than of the sa-
line, which, when it is perceived, is owing to an admixture of
rock-salt. The solubility in water is also very inconsiderable.

The specific gravity I found in one of the specimens, which
consists of pretty large individuals, = 2.782; in the other,
whose component individuals are more compressed between
their faces x and 7, and which possesses more lustre upon the
faces of composition, I obtained 2.730; in another portion ‘of
the same 2.746. The specific gravity of the red fibrous va-
‘riety was found = 2.770, very nearly the same as abide scicig 8
result, 2.'7689.

Whatever may be ascertained of the physical properties of
the two specimens mentioned above, and the variety of poly-
halite originally analyzed by Professor Stromeyer, tends to
unite them within one species. Even the traces of cleavage in-
clined to the direction of the fibres visible in the latter agree
with the position of the prism of 115°. A chemical analysis of
the more crystalline varieties would be now very interesting,
as it would no doubt perfectly establish the nature of this com-
pound, and likely also somewhat reduce the number of ss
omar in the fibrous specimens.

‘Temperature of the Atmosphere made by Balloons. 249

Arr. VIII.—Observations on the Temperature of the At-
mosphere made by means of Balloons. By The Right Ho-

-nourable the Eart or MinrTo.

W « have already had occasion to point out to our meteoro-
logical readers the importance of determining the decrease of
temperature in ascending in the atmosphere, and we also re-
commended to their notice the method of ascertaining such
temperatures by means of balloons, which had been success-
fully practised by the Right Honourable the Earl of Minto. *
The introduction of such a method will, we are persuaded,
be of immense benefit to science, and we are happy to have it
in our power to publish the results eich were obtained by
his Lordship.

ae _ Six’s
Hours. Gt Thermo- Thermo-
" PM. : ¢ meter meter at-
H. M. below. __ tached to
=i Balloon.

4 30 Sent up the balloon under Minto Hill, - 60 60
We followed the balloon to the top of the
hill, and here gave out 1340 feet of line.

5 5 We began to lower'the balloon, - . 59

5 15 Whilst we were lowering it, - - $8.25

5 25 The balloon down (on the top of the :
hill,) & ms §2 *

During this time. there had been no sun,
and the balloon floated near! y PEEP :

| cularly above us.

Sent up the balloon again immediately ;
it rose rapidly.
5 30 It had’ attained its full height, 1340 feet, 58
At first it floated nearly over us, and the
sun did not appear. Soon, however, the _
sun broke out from the clouds, and
shortly afterwards the wind rose a lit- —
tle, carrying the balloon a good way to
the W. N. W. and of course ipwerinig it
"eh much. |

* See this iaaeaiay No. xi- p..146, and No. xii. p. 246.
VOL. VII. No. 11. oct. 1827. R

250 . Temperature of the Atmosphere made by Balloons.
Six’s’
ours. Ticumie Thermo-
M. ; “ meter meter at-
M. - - below. | tached to
Balloon.

H

P.

H.

6. We begin to haul in the line... Bright. sun-
shine, and. strong breeze, - 59

We. descended. 150 feet. to i mi to
escape the wind, which strained the line.
so much, we feared. it, might break,

6 20 Here we got the balloon down.) Still dati
bright sunshine, ; - 60... 54

We proceeded homewards, and on getting
round under the shadow of the hill, I
found the thermometer at, i 56
7.15 Sent the balloon up in front of the house, 53
It floated immediately over our heads at
the full extent of the line, 1340 feet.
Although the sun was set to us there
was sufficient light m the north-west to
enable us to see it in the form of a cres-
cent on one side of the balloon.
7 40 No light on the balloon. We began to
lower, L 3 he 635°. OFF
7 47 The balloon down, ~ - i 52 51.25
I then sent the balloon up 100 feet, and
after some time found the thermometer 52 652.5
‘The same experiments repeated_gave the
same result at 100 feet, for the register _
thermometer ; it had become too:dark to
read off thelower thermometer accurately, _ | 52.5

On this day. the barometer stood unusually high, viz. at
30.1. The hygrometer indicated an atmosphere much charged
with vapour in the forenoon,—in, the afternoon it became ob-
viously much dryer.

The register thermometer (Six’ s) attached to the balloon,
hung freely in a cylindrical case of glazed pasteboard, open at
each end. The thermometer below was suspended in a simi-
lar case of writing paper ; and. in the second experiment on the

‘ che

M. Fratinhofer on thé Laiés of Light. Mi

hill’ both appear evidently t to have been pety’ much difectéd by
thé heat of the sun.

The experiments at and immediatly after sunset sth
the rapid ‘ascent ‘of the’ heated: air from below that takes place,
atid thé descent of cold air from above that produces the sud-’
défi chill wé feel at that time. I have frequently observed,
that, on insulated heights, the thérmometer appeared to tise a
little about the time of stinset, and even when that was’ not»
the case, that it.did not fall so soon nor so fast as on the plain’
below. So that it often happens where the difference of
height between the two stations is not very great, that the air
just after sunset is warmer above than it is below. I have.ob='

served this in hard frost, and in very warm weather.

The foregoing very meagre experiments are all that I have}
yet been able'to make with my balloon, as I have in vain at-
tempted to discover some means of protecting the. thermome-
ter from: the influence of the sun. But I shall be very happy,
if you will come here in the summer, to pursue them further
with you. -

You will observe, that, from a quarter after five o'clock, till
three quarters after seven, the temperature of the air, at 1340
feet above the earth; was only lowered three-fourths of a de-.
gree in those two hours and a half. Whilst, in the same
time, the thermometer below fell six anda fourth degrees.

_ 'Phedifference between the height of the hill and of the ground)
before the house may in part explain the smallness, of the
change of temperature in that snes. but this would apply
equally to both thermometers.

Minto, 5th April 1827.

Ant. IX:—A shore account of the results of recent Experiments

upon the Laws of Light.and its Theory. ‘By M. Lx Cue-
_vaLieR Fraunnorer, Member of the Royal Bavarian’
_ Academy of Sciences at Munich. Conainttes from Veh,
wi. p. 113.)

Tr would be’ difficult for the most ingenious natural philoso-
pher to derive imniediately from the’ results of these experi-.
ments a law of the phenomena.

252» ’ M.- Fraunhofer on the Laws”

Let + denote the angle which a coloured ray after. the mo-' °
dification makes with the plane of the system. of lines, (in ver;
tically received rays therefore, the. complement of.3,) and y
denote the straight line drawn. from the micrometer wire of +
the, telescope employed in the observation, perpendicularly on,
the plane of the system: of \lines, * the aggregate of all my,
observations may then, with all the accuracy to be attained. in,
experiments of this kind, be represented by the following equa- |
tion : Ae 408 lid? ity

| tra +) e*—(esin.o + yw)? ].[ ay? s*@—(esin. o+ vw)? }
(IIL) tang ae av “By be 7 ad

This equation I have developed without approximation after |
the principles of interference which were published in the year:
1802 by Dr Thomas Young, and which were afterwards

treated ‘with merited attention for the first time by Arago’
and Fresnel. -w here generally denotes the length of a wave:
of light. Although this is an infinitely small magnitude, we
may deduce it with a very high degree of accuracy, from the.
experiment which I have already described in my ‘treatise’
“on the New Modifications of Light,” &c.. the results of

which are there set down for the different: coloured rays m)
general terms. From the experiments with ‘the iglass sys-|
tems of lines we ascertain this magnitude so accurately, that,
for the’lighter colours scarcely’ the thousandth:part of w.can)
be" uncertain.» From the experiments with;the finer systems
of lines on glass, by means of the angle for the first spectrum,
with ithe light received vertically, if (C\#) denote the length»
of a wave of light, for the ray C, and (D) for the ray D; &e:»
I obtained in parts of a Parisian inch, + ,

ho M6 porn iM
* If, therefore, « is the distance of the micrometer wire, (and conse-.
quently the distance of the place where the image of this phenomenon is”
produced, ) from the system of lines, then we have 7 = a sin.7 | 5) ©
+ The fixed line B, towards the end of the red, was, on account of the
great extension of the' image, not so easily seen that its place could be
_determined with certainty. I shall endeavour to make a still greater nuin-
ber of fine systems of lines upon glass, in order to determine, if possible,
still more accurately the value of « for the various coloured rays. Itis, how-
ever, already accurately enough known to be certain whether the experi-
ments confirm ‘the theory. If the value of (D @), (E*@), &ec. is deduced
from the experiments, with. coarser systems of lines upon glass, they are

s
-
ta fT}

of Light and its*Theory. 253

(C a) = 0,00002422
(D«)=0,00002175 a
aQ9 BSN (E «) = 0,00001945* 79
(F w) = 0,00001794'>>
(G w) = 0,00001587
~~ (Hw) = 0,00001464 ~

From the equation {III.) it will appear that the value of + in
some degree depends on y, that is to say, on the distance at
which the 3 image of this phenomenon is formed, and that the
light, therefore, thus modified after the principles of interfer-
ence does not proceed in a perfect mathematically. straight
line but in a curved line. The equation for this. curved line

is developed. without approximation, in this form, |

Oe site —4(¢.sin o+ ww) 7” (s. sin o +.yw)?
+[°—(¢.sing-+yw)?] ¢.sin ot +)*

Since ah ode phenomena can only be observed with a telescope,
which, if the, divergences are tobe determined with some ac-
curacy, must have great. power, and cannot therefore be, very.
short, then y is im comparison with -and.¢ very large. ..In
my instrument the distance of the micrometer thread to the
systems .of lines. is. — 21,43 inches... If y, in» comparison
with; w,) were» not very large, the relative value of + andy
might be found somewhat different’; but, if.in the equation
(III.) y is once, set down }, and then two or three times as
large as it really was in my experiments, then the same value

obtained in the eighth decimal place somewhat larger than when they are
obtained from the experiments with finer systems of lines upon glass. ‘This
small difference. can only be looked for in the less accurate determination
of the value of’ ¢, which I am inclined to think more accurate with the
finer systems of lines. It is unnegessary.to remind the reader that the
precision in regard to the determination of the value of ¢ has its limits to
whatever extraordinary a height it may reach, with the aid of those means
which I use ; and I have hopes of extending them still further.

* The: equations (III.) and. (IV.) are developed for the case when the
incident rays may be considered as parallel with each other. Where ‘thie
distance of the luminous point in comparison with s is not very large,

then in both equations s sin. ¢ is to be placed instead, of ath. (et ey,

cos. 4 a,
where # is expressed by the equation & = oe =... In’ the latter. ¢ aun

notes the distance of the luminous point from the system of lines

4

254 | | _M. Fraunhofer on the Laws

is constantly obtained for s.* Therefore, as the equation

shows already clearly enough, the value of & — (¢ sin. ¢ (+ 7) ®
disappears against 4 y?, it may therefore be neglected; and

thence we obtain corrected :

(+) ehnad (¢.sin. ¢ + bey a

tang r
€. Sin. OF ya.

(V.) cos -‘t ") _ ¢. sin. +40
€

These equations represent the experiments with non-symme-
tric spectra stated in page 112 of last Number as accurately
as the equation III. does. In both cases the sign + gives the
position of the coloured rays on one side of the axis, and the
sign — that of the opposite side in the various spectra. In the
comparisons it must not be forgotten, that in the experiments
the distances were measured from the axis ; but r expresses the
distance from the plane of the system of lines. It is hardly ne-
eessar'y to remark that in those special cases, when, for in-
stance, the above equation is employed for the ray C, instead
of w, (Cw) is to be put: ‘thus also, when it is employee ‘0
the ray D, (D w) &e.

In these cases. I denote the magnitude + for the ray C with
(C +), for the ray D with (D's), &. The equation (V.) ac:
condingly 4 in these cases is this: PEL jdigsci
eid) fa €. sin. APS Stef ; 4 Ed)

4 i és ootel

cos (C +)

(+ Ws: sin.o +y (Dw) &e.

&
When the rays fall vertically on the system of fines sifie” 6
=o, and the equation (V.) becomes : gy

cos (D r)

oid) g (HOR Pew 6% sc
* I had also measured these angles with a telescope of raid inches focus ; :
but, as was to be expected, conformably with the equation, I found no
other differences but those which may be attributed to an inferior telesco-
pic power, and which are sometimes positive, and sometimes negative.
If a curvature of the modified ray were to be observed where the distance
of the luminous point_is not large, then these experiments are subject
to many difficulties, and demand a different and ypu sage er
ratuse

of Light and ats Theory. 255
Asin this case, cos. + = sin, 3, we have the equation (I1.) page
110 last Number, which is directly derived from the experiments,
whence those experiments confirm the theory. In another me-
diwm than air I denote the exponents of refraction, for instance,
for the ray C with (C 2), for the ray D with (Dn), &c. That
for such a medium in the above pide, instead of (C wee i
is to be put, instead of (D ma). Sexrts we oa &c. may be concluded from
the experiments with light modified by mutual influence in ie
refractive medium. * ~
_ ‘When the second surface of the glass containing the system ~
of lines is coated with a black resinous varnish, which in its
refractive power nearly equals glass, then no light can be re-
flected from this coated side, and then‘only the etched surface
reflects light. Then, if, from an apparently very small aper-
ture in a shutter, light reflected from the etched side falls on
the object-glass of the telescope, exactly the same phenome- —
hon appears as when the light under the same angle of incli-
nation passes through the system of lines, non symmetric
perfect spectra of the second class are seen. The intensity of
these spectra is still so great that the distances of the various
fixed ‘lines can be determined with great accuracy. Ihave .
made an extensive series of experiments on the distances of these
spectra produced by reflection under various angles of inci-
dence, of which I here omit the details. The equation (V.)
represents the aggregate observations as satifactorily as can
be expected. In the developement of the general equation
for the phenomena produced by reflection after the principles
of interference, the same term is obtained as for light passing
through, namely, without correction, the equation (III.) Con- °
sequently, the theory is also in this way confirmed by expe-
rience.

It is very remarkable that, under a certain angle of inci-
dence, a portion of a spectrum produced by reflection consists
of entirely polarised light. This angle of incidence varies
greatly for the different spectra, and even still very percepti«
bly forthe different colours of one and the same spectrum.

* New Modification of Light, &c. page 59, French translation, p. 94.

>

.

256 M. Fraunhofer on the Laws

With the glass system of lines, where «= 0,0001223 the ray
(Er) (+, is polarised, that is, the green part of this first spec-
trum, when, o=49°; (Er) (+™, or the green part in the se-
cond spectrum on the same side of the axis is polarised, when
o— 40°. Lastly, (Er) —), or the green part of the first spec-
trum lying on the other one of the axis, when ¢ = - 69°.

When (Er) (—» is completely polarised, the remaining co-
lours of this spectrum are but imperfectly so. This is less
the case in (Er) (+1, and ¢ may be perceptibly altered while
that colour still remains polarised. (Er) (—D is under no
. angle of incidence so completely polarised, as (Er) (+)... With
a system of lines, in. which « is larger than in that just now,
mentioned, the angles of incidence must be totally different, if
the above-mentioned spectra are to remain polarised. * |. It is
seen from the equation (V.) that, when « becomes <¢: sin. 6 +
v@, cos. 7 (+) > 1, therefore is impossible. » With vertically
received rays we must have «> wm, if + ©) shall be still vi-
sible, that is, possible. If « < », no colowred ray remains
visible, however the light may fall, and it remains only the
white light in the axis—namely cos. =) = sin, « Were s=4,
there would be s =90.. If therefore a system. of lines is
made, in which the distances of the intervals between any
two parallel lines is smaller than #, no spectrum can be pro-
duced by it in any case, but only a white ray ihe nen be-
comes visible. rh

It is not easy to imagine that the polish which art can pro-
duce upon glass, &c. should. be mathematically. correct, Ma

rn

* It would be premature, from an inconsiderable ae of observations,
to form conclusions respecting the laws of this phenomenon, for it is only
by a number of systems of lines, in which ¢ is greatly varied, that it can
be deduced with any certainty. Since it is not necessary in these experi-
ments that the fixed lines of the spectra should be well distinguished,
~ systems of lines may be made, in which ¢ shall be still considerably smaller, —
as in the finest glass syste of lines that I have hitherto used. It is not
improbable that the principles of interference may perhaps yet lead to a
theory of the polarisation of light. This is not the place, nor is the time
arrived for communicating my view of this subject. Fortunately there
are still experiments of another kind possible, which seem to have a re-
ference to this object, but they are, like the greater part of all the experi-
ments relative to this subject, of a very delicate kind.

of Light and its Theory. — RBT

that polish consists of inequalities which, in reference to their
distances from each other, are smaller than w, they will be no
disadvantage either to the light passing through, or to that |
which is reflected, nor can colours of any sort arise from
them. » It would likewise be impossible, by any means, to ren-
der these inequalities visible.* If small inequalities had acted
upon the light, for instance, according to the law of reflection,
the rays would become in the highest degree irregularly dis:
persed, because the curved diameters of these small inequalities
cannot be otherwise than very small, and the regular’ reflec-
tion would be impossible. If a reflecting surface consists of
inequalities, the distances from each other being less than ow,
then, as I have already said, no spectrum is posssible, and
only the light in the axis can return, for this ray »=0, in which
case the equation (V.) at the same time also represents the law
of reflection, namely cos. + ) = sin «.. This law also follows
from the interference, and it is unnecessary to assume a Te-
flectng power, that is vertical to the. reflecting: surface:
That more light is reflected with a larger angle of incidence
than with a smaller, follows as plainly, and corresponds’ with
experience. It is remarkable, that, according to the uncor-
rected equation (III.) at distances, from the reflecting surface
which in comparison with w are not great; that is, at very
small distances the angle of reflection may differ perceptibly
from the angle of incidence. From:a proper examination of
this. equation, it will: be: easily seen that. at those distances
where one still can observe accurately the differences so small
that no one will think of finding it by‘an experiment, and
that thence the- usual experiments for determining the law of
reflection will prove nothing against its derivation from the
theory of interference. ‘es
From all the experiments with the ionian nice tot Hien;
it is clear that the distances of the spectra from the axis are
larger in proportion to the smallness of the distance between?

* From this we may conclude what : it is piasiiles to see ss he mi-
croscopes. A microscopic object, for instance, the diameter of which = @
and consists of two parts, cannot be recognized as consisting of more than
two parts. This Panis us the limits which are set to vision Hig mi-
eroscopes. fi

+ See Note A in page 260.

»

258 M. Fraunhofer on the Laws —

any two intermediate spaces, namely :; and that if the spectra
are to be homogencous these spaces ¢ must be perféctly equal
throughout the system of lines. If these distances are une;
qual, the larger < will produce smaller spectra, and, on the con-
trary, the smaller « large spectra, which, according to the des
gree of irregularity, will mingle with each other with great
irregularity ; ; heterogeneous colours can be no louger seen ; and
~ the light i in the white room must be white, as is confirmed by
experience. It is, however, interesting to know what phenos
mena would arise if the magnitudes of the intervals were res
gularly unequal, that is, if the inequality of the distances,
whatever it may be, is regularly repeated in equal parts.. For
this purpose I have etched parallel lines in various ways regu-
larly unequal upon several plates of glass covered with gold
leaf. I can in this place only mention briefly some of the res
sults of these experiments, which must be further prosecuted.
The spectra which are seen through this system of lines by
means of a telescope, consist of homogeneous light, and their
fixed lines are most clearly perceived, so that their distances
or divergences from the axis can be most accurately measured.
‘If the distances between the centres of the intervals of regu-
larly uneven systems of lines are expressed by ¢', ¢’ and so forth,

and if one of the equal parts which consist of unequal «’s, is
expressed by ¢ + ec” + ¢”.... + « then, according to the re-
sults of the experiments wile light incident vertically, the dis-
tances of the various spectra from: the ‘axis will be Bday
by the following equation » , 1A

VQ) RL

gin a8 mc pepe ra oneorl tad

The spaces «, however, in the division. consisting of unequal
parts, which is represented by the divisor of the equation, may
succeed each other, even if some among them are equal, still the
equation remains always the same, but only when this division
cannot again be divided into smaller ones, in which the spaces
¢ succeed each other exactly in the same order. This pheno-
menon produced by irregularly unequal lines is remarkable
on account of the proportional intensity of the various spectra,
upon which, however, nothing general can be deduced in this

gto

of Light and its Theory. 259

place with sufficient brevity, and without diagrams, With
some systems of lines of this kind several spectra or parts of
them may be wholly wanting, or have so slight an intensity
that they are not easily observed, whilst the sueceeding ones
again become veryeintense. ‘This affords the great advantage
that the fixed lines of these spectra may be observed; in
systems of lines, consisting of equal spaces ¢ Cx™ and Fx
can be seen; with a regularly unequal system of lines, how-
ever, where every division consists of three shades <, different
among themselves, and are as 25:33:42; Cxu, Dxu, Exu,
and Fx are so distinctly seen that their distances from the
axis can be measured with certainty, For with such systems —
of lines the tenth and the eleventh spectra are almost wholly
- wanting. With this system of lines I myself saw Exxtv still
so distinctly, that its distance from the axis could be measured,
The proportion of intensity of the different spectra depends
on the proportion of the spaces, as they follow each other in
one division. This in many cases is very complicated. * © Si-
milar regularly unequal systems of lines are obtained when
two different systems of lines, that is, two in each of which
_ the spaces < are equal to each other, but in one larger than
in the other, are so placed with the etched surfaces together
that the lines shall run exactly parallel.

It cannot be uninteresting to produce petfect: spectra a
the second class which form concentric circles, and in which
the fixed lines consequently appear circular. From what
is already known, it may be easily inferred that such spec-
tra must be produced when the system of lines consists
of accurate circular concentric etched lines, in which the
distances of the spaces between any two lines are in a high
degree equal... With a machine which does not allow of any
doubt as to the requisite accuracy, I have executed such an
etching of circular lines, that when it is placed before the object
glass of the telescope the light entering through a circular
aperture in the shutter, and falling perpendicularly upon it,
it shows concentric spectra in the telescope, which exhibits the
fixed lines.+ Their distances from the axis are in the same
proportion as in.the spectra, which are produced through the

* See Note B in page 262. + See Note € in page 262.

260 M. Fraunhofer on the Lazws

system of lines, consisting of straight parallel lines, and ‘ean
therefore be expressed by the same equation. @ 9)
tf 16 si y Se nee

_, NOTES ON THE PRECEDING PAPER BY THE AUTHOR. ©») ))

Note A, sce page 257.—The same viewmight perhaps also
be applied to the surface of every flwid. - Ifthe smallest particles
of which a fluid consists (the atoms) are not infinitely small, and
if they have, however small they may be imagined, ‘some magni
tude, the surface cannot be mathematically even, and light’ ean
only be irregularly reflected from that: surface, ‘according to'the
principles of interference. There is no occasion to assume, as ap-
plies also to artificial surfaces, that there must be level surfaces
again between these unevennesses. Nothing further is required
than that the waves of light diverge from every single ‘point,
and they must, by their mutual influence, produce’ that which
the equation expresses. This supposition will not be thought
hazardous, if we consider that, for instance, from both the
knife-like edges of a small ‘aperture, the waves of light must
in one sense diverge according to the interference, in order to
produce spectra which may be seen through a single aperture,
and that the knife-like edges, as experience teaches ‘us, need
not to be mathematically true. /''The colours ‘also of thin lay-
ers, (the Newtonian coloured rings) may, under the same sup-
position that the surfaces consist of minute unevennesses, be
deduced from the theory of interference.’ I have made’a num-
ber of new experiments respecting these coloured rings, which,
however; 'are not suited to a communication’ in this short:re-
port, and must be still further prosecuted. It is not improbable
that the angle of polarisation: of a refracting’ medium ms
perhaps give some clue concerning the magnitude of the sw
est particles of this matter,. as the ‘experiments: have shown
w is smaller in the refracting media than in vacuo. © From this
the law of refraction may be very simply deduced, ‘as it‘has
been ere now: already explained, according to the system ‘of
undulations, since the pulses’ of the waves of ‘light of ‘ade
termined sort must repeat themselves under all’ circumstances
at equal intervals of time’; but “as ‘these waves are smaller ‘in
a refracting medium, the light requires ina refracting’ sub-
stance, in the same proportion, more time for its. propagation.
According to every hypothesis in which the matter is repre-

| of Light and tts.-Theory.. ~*~ 261

sentéd either as attracting or repelling’ the light, it is difficult.
to explain why the surface of a refracting medium attracts one.
portion of the light, while it repells another proportion, and.
even the auxiliary hypothesis of fits of the particles of light
to facilitate refraction (or reflection) leaves yet. many: difficul-
ties, when it is considered that one and the ‘same refracting
surface reflects more light in proportion as the angle of inci,
dence of the received rays is greater, and that every refracting
substance, when the angle of incidence approaches to 90°, re-
flects almost all the light falling upon it.

That a level but otherwise rough surface, which ately
ij disperses the light which falls vertically upon it, should, at
great angles of incidence, reflect the rays regularly, is very
simply explained by the interference. The colours of .mo-
ther of pearl are of the same nature as those which are pro-.
duced by the reflection of light from the surface of a system.
of lines upon glass.. Even if they were not by other means
easily recognised as such, Dr Brewster’s discovery, ' that» a
good impression of mother of pearl shows the same colours,
and that, Reg ong aan the cause lies in the tts would
prove it.

It consists also of saiialos or layers, which in one Sibeositi
are larger than «, and their magnitude may be, very nearly
derived from the: nat under which the colours of *any sort:
are seen. iat

» Even those elie do. not adopt the system of ers NY
will acknowledge, if they consider the results\ of the experi-
ments in themselves, that’ is a‘real, absolute,,magnitude..
Whatever meaning may be attached to.this magnitude, it nust.
follow im every caseof that nature, that one-half. of it, ;im
reference to the effect, is opposed to.the other half, so. that if
an’anterior half combines accurately with a posterior half, or.
intersects it.in this manner under a small angle, the effect,
ceases, while it becomes doubled, if, for instance, two anterior,
or,else two posterior, ‘halves combine |in one sense. | This,
laid down as fandamental to interference, will remain unshaken,
because through it alone. these extraordinary varied pheno-
mena, which are so capable of accurate iiceik can be satis-.
factorily explained.

It is very probable that in ‘the sauals eruerininis will

262 M. Fraunhofer on the Luis of Light, &c.

make us acquainted with other properties of « than those here»
named, and to which, re others, the poleeicenninn of Tighe -
seems to point. . .

‘ , oe celal

Note B, see page 259.—From what is here stated, as well as’
froin several of the remaining expetimerits, it must be obvious’
that many of these phenomena, at least in appearance, are so very’
complicated that they cannot be conveniently mentioned with
brevity; and on that account I must omit many things that:
would be interesting. The field which offers itself for new in-
quiries widens in proportion as we advance’ in these ,
ments.

It is to be regretted that they can be but rarely repented by:
any one, as they require extensive, and in some measure costly”
apparatus, and much time. ‘The circumstance of these experi:
ments requiring a very favourable state of the sky occasions a
much greater loss of tiie than might be easily imagined. This»
I feel the more severely, as my professional avocations leave
me but a few fixed days in each month for these a

Note C, see page 259.—Those who are femnilen with the
rélation of these phenomena will excuse me for adding an.
observation which may appear superfluous. to’ them, but it:
has so éften happened to me, that those to: whom: I have
shown the appearances through a system of lines of any
kind imagined that the system of lines’ itself was! seen in
the telescope, (an opinion in which the circular etchings still
more confirmed them,) that I think it necessary to say a’
word concerning’ this error. We have only to consider
which is the way taken: by the light coming from ‘any ob-
ject through the. telescope, and what the cause of seeing’ by’
means of a telescope is, to do away the notion that it is the
object standing at the object glass which we observe through’
the telescope. Such a notion would not be’much better than it
would be to imagine, that, in looking through @ telescope, we’
behold the object glass. Nothing is perceived, in looking
through a telescope, of a finger placed'on the object glass, and
no itiore can be seen of the system’ of lines. The above'is'
partly connected with what is more fully detailed i in i note,
page 103 of last Number.

Remarks on the Climate of Naples and its Vicinity. 263

Art. X.—Remarks on the Climate of Naples and tts Vicinity ;
with an Account of a Visit to the Hot Springs of La’ Pate
vella, Nero's Baths. By a CorresronDENrT.

From what I have heard and seen, I am inclined to believe
that the climate of Italy, if extensively and accurately investi-
gated, would do more towards giving an insight into the general
meteorological principles of nature than perhaps most other
countries. ‘There appear to be more certain consequences pro-
duced here by natural means than in Britain at least, and ©
they ¢ are such as I have for some time thought the best founda-
tion for a general theory of the weather. I therefore think
that it may not be altogether without advantage to state some
hints on the climate of Naples, which I have either experienced
or learned during a residence there in November and Decem-
ber 1826. . The following is an account I had of the weather
of the present year : January and February par ticularly fine ;
March stormy ; April and May cold and rainy ; June cold to
the 15th, when quite suddenly great heats commenced. (The
great heats in Scotland began almost at this time). The re-
mainder of the season rather colder than the mean. The
winds have a very uncommon influence at Naples. My obser-
vations have strongly confirmed the following facts, which I
obtained from another source: wind north, healthy. and cool.
It blows off the interior of the country, and is the best winter
wind, prevailing, as I understand, in December and J anuary.
When the wind is east it is very strong and in hurricanes ; it then
blows from Vesuvius, the side of the bay next Sorrento, and the
southern parts of Italy. ‘Till it reaches the south or south-west
point it is good ; but on coming into these quarters it blows in di-

rect from the bay, and produces that scourge of Italy and many
other southern climes, called the Sirocco. This extraordinary air
has the most debilitating and unwholesome effect on man, and
of which the east wind and fogs affecting the neighbourhood
of the Firth of Forth seem slightly topartake. A most power-
ful sirocco occurred with a south wind, on the 26th of No.
vember. The day was dull, damp, and showery, the sun ob-
scured by clouds. At only ten in the morning the thermo.

264 Remarks on the Climate of Naples and its Vicinity:

meter was. sixty-five, and, if I remember right, rose little
during, the day, whereas the general height at the same hour
for. some time before might be 57° or 58°. . At ‘three in the
afternoon the coolness produced. by evaporation on’ the bulb
of a thermometer freely moistened and exposed was only 239,
indicating for that period of the day a great degree of moisture
in the atmosphere, which indeed was sufficiently evident. The
effect of this condition of the air on man is an indescribable
state of relaxation of faculties, corporeal and mental, while. you
feel as if you could do nothing but recline on a sofa. I have
frequently, and on this occasion particularly, endeavoured to
throw off this’ sensation, by taking a smart walk in the open
air; but out of doors it was worse than within. Strolling list-
lessly by the sea shore, I felt my whole bedy moist. with per-
spiration, while my mouth was parched with want of moisture.
But what is most extraordinary, and will not easily be believed,
or rather conceived, by those who have not felt it, a smart
breeze was blowing off the water, yet I felt panting for breath,
like Tantalus for the delicacies that surrounded him on every
side. The wind was literally ot and insalubrious, like what we
breathe in a crowded room. It was immediately after this,
finding no refreshment in the air, that I ventured to the house,
and made the experiment on evaporation mentioned above.
There were showers during the day.

On the evening of the 22d November there occurred the
most tremendous storm of thunder, lightning, hail, and rain,
I ever witnessed. The thunder was produced in a manner 3
lieve quite unknown in Northern climates, not in long. continu.
ous rollsof greater or less strength ; but after a faint introduction
it burst with repeated explosions like a few-de-j “joie of large ar-
tillery right over-head, with a most stunning noise, and an ef.
fect the most imposing. The lightning, or as it might be called
the thunder-bolt, was not less striking ; 3 the flashes were amaz-
in ly vivid, and traversed the sky 1 in bending and flexuous
lines to a great extent, and likewise in all directions, horizontal,
perpendicular, and oblique. From its quantity being so great
and the night so dark, its dazzling effect was excessive, and
the illumination of the landscape most astonishing. The evyen-
ing advanced, the peals and flashes were more reiterated, so

Remarks on the Climate of Naples anid its Vicinity. 265

that before the sound of one thunder.clap was over, another
had. commenced,- rolling round the horizon like cannon re-
echoed by along chain of hills, now falling, then strengthened
by a new echo, and finally, as it seems dying away in distance,
renewed by another explosion of redoubled fury. During this,
and especially succeeding it, the rain fell almost like a water-
spout, and the lower part of the large street of Naples was
Tolling with turbulence like a.swollen river. Before eight.a tre-
mendous hail storm began; and it isa fact, that in thirty-seven
minutes about that hour nine-tenths of an inch of ram and
melted hail fell. Some time after the storm had ceased I measur-
ed several of the hailstones, and observed onesof them half an
inch, and several one-third of an inch in diameter.

While speaking of meteorological subjects at narees, I may
note one or two remarks on La Piseravella and Nero’s Baths,
or the Stufi di Tritoli, two very singular hot-springs im the
vicinity of that city. The former is near Solfaterra, and im
the side of a limestone hill. It rises rapidly from the ground,
discharging a great deal of gas, which gives it the appearance
of ebullition. On the 7th December, by an excellent mer-
curial thermometer of Cary’s, the temperature of the exterior
_ air was 483°, the interior of the building by which the spring
is enclosed 701°, and the hottest part of the water 112}°.
This fluid is impregnated with sulphur, alum, and vitriol ; the
latter predominating so much that by the simple addition of .
galls, and by evaporation, I found that it formed very tolerable
writing ink. In small quantity the water is clear, though the
basin into which it rises appears very muddy. The baths of
Nero are far more worthy of notice, and I regret that I had
not convenient opportunity for making a second visit to perfect
my observations. On the 11th December we entered exteisive
passages cut in the solid rock out of the hill on the sea-shore,
between Baiz and the Lucrine Lake. Having partly undressed,
to avoid the effects of perspiration and excessive moisture, we
went along a passage in the rock three or four feet wide, and
nearly straight and level for perhaps forty yards. At this point.
the road turned sharply down to the right, and here the heat and
the atmosphere prodigiously loaded with steam were almost in-
supportable; but as we descended the steep inclined plane’ for

VOL. VII. No. 11. ocT. 1827. S

>
266. » Remarks on the Climate of Naples and its Vicinity.

- nearly the same distance, it became more tolerable ; and when we
came to the spring which was the source of all this high tempe-
rature, I found that by keeping my head pretty near the ground,
the disagreeable sensations were- so moderated that I could
have staid a considerable time without much inconvenience.
Thad in my hand a mercurial thermonieter of Cary’s, with which
I found the temperature of the vert taking care to immerse
the column of mercury, to be 1833°; but from previous ex- °
periments with a standard idteuniedt by the same maker,
(mentioned above,) I found ‘that at this point-the height
ought to be diminished one degree, giving the final tempera-
ture 1823°. But it is proper to mention that the experiment
was made near the edge of a pool into which the: Spring rises 5
and it did not at the moment occur to me that the interior may
possibly be hotter.. However, this is the less probable, as the
atmosphere above the water is so hot and vaporous as not to
communicate much coolness to any part of the cistern. Our
guide taking some of the water in-a pail put in'a few eggs, »
and immediately carried them to the outer air, where, in spite
of this sudden and effectual cooling, they were found, after
about four minutes immersion, to be very pleasantly boiled.
The effects of the atmosphere of this place was less felt by
several persons present than myself.. I was amazed by the
sudden effect on my body which it produced, and with the
slight disagreeable sensations which I experienced. My hands
felt exactly as if perspiring by an. excessive heat, which yet
the moisture prevented from bemg painful ; and I am sure in
one minute’s time their whole surface was not only bedéwed,
but streaming with moisture, which, of course, was a union of
the condensation of vapour with the internal juices of the
body. But what convinced me that more is attributable to per-
' spiration than some are willing to allow, is, that I felt’ those
clothes next my skin adhere to it, as every one has observed
after very strong exercise, which could hardly arise from any
eondensation of exterior steam. In spite of the sudden ‘en-
trance into the chill of the open air, I experienced no unplea-
sant consequences whatever ; but, on the contrary, on re-em-
barking, I felt a most delightful glow over the whole of my
body.. I mention this particularly, because several of the guide-
arm ie iv EO

M. Moreau de Jonnes on the Domestic Economy, &c. 267%

books, &c. strenuously condemn the practice. of going into the
stove, from motives of mere curiosity.
BIN ot al
Rael 29th December 1826.

Art. XI.—On the Domestic Economy of the Romans in
the Fourth Century.* By M. Moregau DE Jonnes, Mem-
ber of the Institute. |

As the historians of antiquity have chiefly transmitted to us
the military history of the Romans, the greatest erudition
will scarcely enable us to collect any certain information re-
specting the civil life and the domestic economy of that cele-
brated people, to whom we owe the origin of our institutions,
of our laws, and of our social order. A recent discovery has
added to our information the most extensive series of statisti-
cal data, which make known from an official act, and by nu- -
merical figures, the state of the Roman empire 1500 years
ago; the price of agricultural and ordinary labour ;_ the rela-
tive value of money; the abundance or scarcity of ‘certain
natural productions; the use, more or less common, of parti-
cular sorts of food ; the multiplication of cattle and of flocks ;"
the progress of horticulture; the abundance of vineyards of
various qualities ;-the common use of singular meats, dishes,
which we think betrays a corruption of taste; in short the ©
relation of the value existing between the productions of agri-
culture and those of industry, from whence we obtain a proof
of the degree of prosperity which both had reached at this re-
mote period.

This precious archaeological monument is an edict of Dio-
cletian, published in the year 303 of our era, and fixing the
price of labour and of food in the Roman empire. The first

of this edict was found by Mr William Banks, written
upon a table of stone, which he discovered at Stratonice, now

* The very interesting Memoir, of which this notice is an abstract, was
read to the Academy of Sciences on the 2d April 1827. It is entitled,
~ Apercus Statistiques sur ta vie civile et Teconomie Domestique des Ro-
mains dans le 4me siecle.--See Le Globe, Avril 7, 1827.

268 M. Moreau de Jonnes on the Domestic Economy

called Eskihissar, i in Asia Minor. The second part, which was |
in the possession of a traveller lately returned from the Le-
vant, has been brought from Rome to London by M. de Ves-
» covali, and Colonel Leake intends to publish a literal transla-
tion of it. This agreement of so many persons of respectable
character, and known talents, excludes all doubts respecting
the authenticity of the monument.

Although it was known from Aurelius Victor that Diocle-
tian had made in the year 302 and 303 several laws in order
to provide abundance of provisions in Italy, and particular
at Rome, they did not know that he had by an edict fixed a a
maximum price of labour and of provisions..

Nevertheless, there were many examples which showed that
his predecessors and himself had believed it to be their duty
to fix the price of things upon their own authority. M. Mo--
reau de Jonnes quotes on this subject a great number of facts
mentioned by historians, and which tend to show what wrong
notions the most enlightened of the Csars entertained respect-
ing the right of property, the liberty of commerce, and the
prosperity of agriculture. ¥

The imperial edict of Diocletian is composed of more ‘than
twenty-four articles. It is quite distinct from that delivered
the preceding year for taxing the price of corn in the eastern
provinces, and it contained no law upon the value of corn.
It fixed for all the articles which it enumerated a maximum,
which was the price in times of scarcity. ‘For all the esta-
blished prices it makes use of the Roman Denarii; and it
applies them to the sextarius for liquids, and to the Roman
pound for the things sold by weight. _

Before the Augustan age, the denarius was equal to eighteen
sous of our money; but it diminished gradually in value,
and under Diocletian its yalue was not above nine sous. of
French money, and 45 centimes. The Roman pound | was
equivalent to twelve ounces, and the sextarius, which was the
sixth part of a conge, came near to the old Paris chopin, or
half a litre.

Proceeding on these data, M. Moreau de J onnes has form-
ed a table, showing 1. the maximum in Roman measures, the
same as the established — edict ; and 2. the mean price

of the Romans in the Fourth i : 269
of objects formed from half the maximum, and reduced into

French measures.

He has been led. to adopt half of the maximum for the
mean price, by the consideration that it has always been agreed
upon that a state of scarcity begins when the price of provi-
sions rises to double the value which _they bear in. ordinary
times. rie

In our own times, for example, foreign corn. is. allowed to
be imported by the corn laws of France and England, whilst
in the former of these countries, the hectolitre of corn is worth
twenty-six francs, instead of twelve or thirteen, and whilst in
the British islands the quarter of corn rises to eighty shillings,
instead of forty or fifty,

In 1793, on account of the price of provisions being already
double, the convention chose, like Diocletian, to fix their va-
lue at this limit, and to hinder it from going beyond it.

If, in spite of these analogies, it should be thought proper
to establish another ratio between the maxima and the ordi-
nary price of labour and of provisions, this table will never-
theless be a faithful expression of the price of articles of that
period ; for as the imperial edict settled not only the prices of
eatables, but also of labour, their reciprocal relation will al-
ways be the same, whether they raise or lower their nominal
value, and the intrinsic value of commodities will, be known
by comparison with the value of labour, which isthe most ex-
act, and the most certain expression.of it, .

The following is the table drawn up by M. Moreau de
Jonnes. ‘The slightest inspection of it will enable us to appre-
ciate the importance of this archaeological discovery, for no
monument of antiquity has-furnished so long a series of nu-

‘merical terms, of statistical data, and positive testimony of
the civil hfe and domestic nag of the Greeks and Ro-
Tens: .

Maximum in Mean Price
I.—Pricze or Lasour. Roman Mo- in English

ney: | _ Money.
aS ‘ ) SO ee.
To a day labourer, - 25 Denar. 0 4 8
Do. for interior works, . 50 0 Joe
To a mason, ee els ee 0 9 4

270 M. Moreau de Jonnes on the Domestic Economy

Maximum in Ro- | Mean Price in
man Money. _ English Money.

: Le : @pydi
To a maker of mortar, ~*~ "60 Den. 09 4
To a marble-cutter, or maker -of |

mosaic work, . “ 60 Oll 4
To a tailor for making clothes, 50 0 9 4
Do. for sewing only, - 6 0 ry
For making shoes for the Patricians, St geebia

(caledij) 298 E87 150 teh betel poet
Do. shoes for workmen, (caliga,) 120 a. oe

for the military, 100 | hs -
for the senators, 100 018 8
for the women,’ 60 O11 4
Military sandals, (cam- | $a:
pag, ) uit, 20 tly Bott ia ey oe
To a barber for each man, 2 0 0 43

To a veterinary surgeon, ( mulo-me-
dicus, ) for shearing the animals,

and trimming their feet, 6° Ol iy
Do. for currycombing and cleaning sate
them, J < - 20 0 3 9
For one month’s lessons in oe ‘ Ng ‘
tecture, uy an 100 018 8
To an advocate for a petition to | i .
‘the tribunal, - 250 269
For the hearing a cause, 1000 9 T 6
Maximum of Mean price « of the
I].——Prick of Winks. woes , Braga |
Picene, 'Tiburtine, Sabine, Ami- et
nean, Surentine, Setinian, and bi [said
Falernian wines, .... - -... 80-Den. 0.5 4.
Old wines of the first quality, 24 O 4.23
Do... of second quality, «16 ~ 0 210
Country wine, - ~ 8 Or 5
Beer, (camum,) . .~ 4 0 4 2
Beer of Egypt, (Zythum, ) 2 0.0: 2.
Spiced wine of Asia, (carenium Yh
Meonium, ) - a 0 5 4

of the Romans in the Fourth Century. © - 271

Maximum of Mean Price of the
the Sextarius. English Pint,
Wine Measure.

- Ll. se a
Barley wine of Attica, — . 24Den. 0 4 2%
Decoction of different raisins, (decoctum,)16 == 0 210
I1].—Pricre or Meat. many m of he Mees 3
; Ls. d
Flesh of oxen, JIVE “ -8Den.. 0 2-0
Do. of mutton or of goat, - 8 0.2 0
Do. of lamb, of of kid, ~ MF” 0 3 0
Do. of pork, — , - 12 0 3 0
The best lard, - a 16 0 4 0

The best ham from Westphalia, from
Cerdagne, or from the country of the

Marses,. 7 . PES | GRP RN BE RR.
Fat fresh pork, . 12 3 0.
Belly and tripe, . | 16 04 0
Pig’s liver (ficatum) enlarged by being

fattened upon figs, - 16 0 4 0
Pig’s feet, each, wa ~ 4 0 0 9
Fresh pork sausages, (isiclum) weighing

one ounce, — Sine tan Gd 0:0 45
Do. of fresh beef, (isicia) - 16 0°2 “9

- Pork sausages and seasoned, (lacanicae)16 - 0 4.0
Do. of smoked beef, - 10 0° 2.9!
Maximum of each Mean Price of each
IV. Pouttry anp GAME... in Roman Money. in English Money.
L. js .d
One fat male peacock, C 250 Den. 2.6 9
One fat female peacock, ——_- 200 1,17.-9
One male wild peacock, - 125 1 3 43
One female wild peacock, Peet | 018 8
One fat goose, — ~ te 2°6 9
Do. not fat, = ies 100 018 8
One hen, _ tae te 60 Ol 4
One duck, ~ - 40 ay OO Ae
One partridge, - : 30 0-5 8
One hare = . 150 Foe
One rabbit, | - : ~ 40 Ce 4

L . >
272 M. Moreau de Jonnes on the Domestic Economy, &c.

Maximum of each Mean Price of each
V. Fisu. in Roman Money. in English Money.

.

s. d.
Sea fish, first quality, - 24Den..0 4 6
Do. second quality, fe 16 0 3.0
River fish, first quality, - 12 ae
Do. second quality, - 8 0.1 6
Salt fish, - - 6 0 03
Oysters per hundred, _— = 100 018 8

VI. Cutinary VEGETABLES,

Lettuces, the best, five together, 4 0 0 9
Do. second quality, ten together, 4 00 9
Common cabbages, the best, single, 4 0 0 9
Cauliflower, the best, five together, 4 0 0 9
Do. second quality, ten together, 4 00 9
Beet root, the best, five together,. 4 00 9
Do. second quality, ten together, 4 0 0 9

oo

Radishes, the largest, - 4 0

Maximum of the Mean Price _
Sextarius in Ro- of in English

VII. Orwer Provisions. ™an Money. Money,

L.. sd, ;

Honey, the best, - 40 Den. 015. 0.
Do. second quality, . 20 Ee ee
Oil, the best quality, - 40 015 0
Oil, the second quality, ~ 24 Oj. Beceod
Vinegar, “ " 6 0. 2° 3.
A stimulant to excite the appetite, a

made of the essence of fish, (1i-

quamen ) ~ 6 7 209K] BMigat 9aO
Dried cheese, the finan pound, 12 ‘03 4 Fr. Ib.

We are much surprised at the very high prices in this table.
Labour and provisions cost ten and twenty times as much as
with us. But when we come to compare the price ef proyi-
sions with the price of labour the dearness of all the neces-
saries of life appears still more excessive. M. Moreau de
Jonnes makes this comparison. He brings together from the
edicts of Dicocletian a great many facts given by historians,
and he shows, that, if the abundance of the precious metals

Notice of the Periodical —_— of 1819. 273

has any influence on raising the prices, the want of ——
industry, and of produce, must cause it also.

These considerations point out in the strongest manner the
poverty of this royal people, of whom two-thirds, if not three-
fourths, were reduced to live on fish and cheese, and drink
piquette, when the expence of the table of Vitellius amounted,
in a single year, to 175 millions of franes. .

Arr. XII.—Account of the Periodical Comet of 1819 that
revolves within the orbit of Jupiter with a period of. 3
years. *

Txt lately there had been but one comet whose return to its
perihelion has been observed, and whose periodical time is
known. This is the comet of 1682, which occupies about
seventy-six years in performing its whole revolution.. Halley
discovered it to be the same with one which had already been
observed, at two other epochs, in 1531 and 1607, and he pre-
dicted its return in 1758 or 1759. At this latter epoch, and
before the comet had become visible, Clairaut calculated the
instant of its passing its perihelion, having regard to the dis-
turbances in its elliptical motion. The result of that immense
labour differs only a few days, as is well known, from the time
of the observed passage, which took place on the 12th of
March 1759. ‘This remarkable phenomenon of the re-ap-
pearance of a comet at its perihelion, after one or more reyo- —
lutions, has also occurred in our time with respect, to the co-

met. discovered in 1818 by M. Pons, who at that time ob-
served it at Marseilles. The comparison of its parabolic ele-
ments with those of a comet observed ‘in 1805 leads to the sus-
picion that the two bodies are the same. The remark was
made at the Bureau des Longitudes, by M. Arago, when the
discovery of the new comet was there announced ; it was also
made in Germany by M. Olbers, who thought, moreover, that
this comet must be the same with that which had been observ-

* This Article is composed of part of the Report of MM. Laplace, Le-
gendre, and Poisson, upon M. Damoiseau’s Memoir on this comet, and
part of the Memoir itself.

.
R74 Notice of the Periodical Comet of 1819.

_ ed in 1795/and 1786. According to this conjecture its time
of revolution can be only a very short) period, and it is indis-
pensably necessary to have regard to the ellipticity of its orbit
inthe calculation of its elements ; this is done by M. Encke,
astronomer at Gotha. ‘The elliptic elements which he deter-
mined, either from the observations of 1805, or those of 1818,
differ from each other still less than: the! parabolic. elements,
and there is no longer any doubt that they belong to the same
body, the periodic time being nearly three years and a half.
It has performed since its first appearance in 1805 four en-
tire revolutions, and returned to its perihelion at the’com-
mencement of 1819. If we regard only the shortness of its
successive revolutions this body might be considered a planet ;
but it has continued to be classed among comets on ‘account
of the appearance it presents, and its not “Bait visible to us in
all parts of its orbit. To facilitate the dbservation of its re-
turn in 1822, M. Encke proposed to calculate an ephemeris |
relative to that epoch; but as the comet was for a great part
of this new revolution at a very small distance from Jupiter,
he was obliged to calculate the perturbations produced by the
disturbing force of that planet, and he found, in fact, that, in
consequence of this principal action, the time of anomalistic
revolution, the mean duration of which had been about 1204
days, from 1805 to 1819, would be augmented by about nine
days in the following revolution. He announced that in 1822
the comet, in consequence of its declination, would not be’ vi-
sible in Europe, and that, in order to observe it, it would be
necessary to go into the southern hemisphere. ‘The event has
completely verified this prediction. The comet returned to
its perihelion in the latter part of May 1822. The’ elliptic
elements deduced from this re-appearance agree in the most
satisfactory manner with those calculated by M. Encke before
the appearance of the comet, according to former observations,
making allowances for irregularities produced by disturbing
forces. Although this important calculation of M. Encke was
well known, the academy which awarded to him, three years
ago, the astronomical prize, founded by La Lande, we have
thought. it Le to mention the principal rose efor we

Notice of the Periodical Comet of 1819. 25

make known what M. Damoiseau has added in the memoir
we have submitted to your examination.

The first part of this memoir was presented to the acade-
my-the 16th of February last, and the second part the 26th
of April. In the first part, M. Damoiseau, speaking of the
elliptic elements calculated by M. Encke for the epoch of
1819, determines the perturbations which they have under-
gone from that epoch to 1822. The elements which he has —
deduced for this last epoch differ but little from those of M.
Encke, which we have already cited; and it could not be
otherwise, because, having both adopted the same data, the
difference in their results must be owing to the difference
in the methods they pursued. The duration of the anoma-
listic revolution of 1819 and 1822 being nevertheless known
by observation, M. Damoiseau has made use of it in order to
rectify the daily motion of 1819, of which he had already
availed himself. He decided at the same time the mean daily
motion of 1822, which was necessary to enable him to calcu-
late the perturbations of the comet, from its first appearance
to its next return to its perihelion. In this new calculation,
M. Damoiseau makes use of the elements of 1822, deduced
from the observations at Paramatta. 'The perturbations of -
this revolution are much less considerable than those that hap-
pened before, and the duration between two consecutive pas-
sages through its perihelion will be about 1212 days like the ~
preceding. M. Damoiseau fixes the next return of the comet
to its perihelion on September 17, 1825. He gives for that
epoch its elliptic elements, and he assigns the places which it
will occupy in the heavens during the time of its appearance ;
but thinking that it will then be too near the sun to admit of
observations being taken, he has proposed to calculate the
epoch of its following return, and its ephemeris for that epoch.
These calculations are the subject of M. Damoiseau’s second
memoir. .'The second return to the perihelion which he has
determined will take place January 10, 1829; and the author
announces that the comet, according to his ephemeris, will be
visible m every part of Europe. The time between this pas-
sage through the perihelion and that of 1825 will be very
nearly 1211 days, or only one day less than the period of the
preceding rerOniae,

P >
276 votive of the Periodical Comet of 1819.

The second part of the memoir of which we have been
speaking contains also the calculation of the perturbations of
the comet from its appearance in 1805 to its return in 1819.
Thus the entire interval of twenty-four years, which the au-
thor has embraced in his calculations, comprehends three ob-
served passages through the perihelion, and the two nearest
returns to that point. The comparison of the three observed
passages furnishes, for the epoch of each one of them, three
values of mean daily motion, which differ but little from each
other. The author has concluded for the last appearance upon
the mean of these three values, by uniting with this the other
elliptic, elements calculated according to. the observations at
Paramatta, He has formed a table which may be regarded as
containing the definitive results of all his labours, and in. which
he has collected the elliptic elements answering to five pas-
sages through the. perihelion, comprehended in the twenty-
four years which he had been considering. If we compare
these, elements, relative to the years 1805 and 1819, with
those which are derived from actual observation made at.those
epochs, it will be seen that they agree in such a manner, that
the greatest deviations are but one minute in the longitude , of
‘the perihelion, five in that of the node, and two in the incli-
nation of the orbit; but this comparison is not the best means
of ascertaining the degree of exactness in the results obtained
by M. Damoiseau. To judge of it properly, it will be neces-
sary that the author should. calculate according to the ele-
ments, the places of the comet in these two epochs, in order to
comparethem with the places which have been directly observed.

M. Damoiseau has followed, in the calculation of the per-
turbations, the known method which consists in dividing the en-
tire curve described by the comet, into. portions, for each one
of which we determine the effect produced by, the. disturbing
forces of the planets. . In the first part of his memoir these
portions answer to angles of 10° of eccentric anomaly. In the
second part he has preferred to take intervals of time nearly
equal to each other, and each about thirty days; but in both
cases he is confident that he can, without any sensible error,
‘observe in each portion of the orbit the variations of the mean
motion as proportional to the square of the time, and those of |

Notice of the Periodical Comet of 1819. 277

the other elements as proportional to its first power. How-
ever, we should observe that, if it were necessary to have re-
gard to higher powers of this variable quantity, that the for-
mulas which the author has given for this purpose in the be-
ginning of his memoir would not be exact, and that it would’
be necessary to recur to the ordinary formulas of quadratures.

Although the interval of time comprehended between the ap-
pearance of 1805 and that of 1819 comprises four revolu-
tions of the comet, M. Damoiseau, in calculating the distur-
bances which have taken place in the course of that period,
has always retained the same values of the primitive elements.
It would nevertheless have been proper to change them, at
least every revolution, taking into consideration each time the
preceding disturbances. ‘This is a point which it will be suffi-
cient merely for us to mention to the author, if he proposes to
review and complete his work.

In the period of twenty-four years which the author has ob-
served he has constantly computed the action of Jupiter, and
the action of the Earth and Venus only in that part of the
period in which the comet is so near that this action is per-
ceptible. As to the other planets, he has thought he might
neglect their action, which he has regarded as imperceptible
on account of their distance, or the smallness of their size.
He thought, moreover, that he had no occasion to extend his
calculations to the epochs of 1795 and 1786, in which the
same comet had been observed, because he considered those
observations not very exact, or not sufficient to determine the
‘elements of the orbit. “M. Encke, on the contrary, was desir-
ous to represent these early observations; but he discovered
that in the observed right ascensions and declinations, it would
be necessary to suppose errors, the mean of which would
amount to twenty-four minutes, and this he judged to be in-
admissible. ‘To explain these differences between the results
of calculation and observation, M. Encke thought that it °
would be necessary to recur to the resistence of ether; and he
has announced in a late number of M. de Zach’s Astronomi-
cal Correspondence, that by taking into account this tangen-
tial force, and making a suitable supposition in relation to its
intensity, these great differences might be made to disappear,

278

-

Notice of the Pertodical Comet of 1819.

or at least be so far reduced, as to be attributable to errors in-

the observations.

There is no doubt, that, if the celestial.

bodies moved in a resisting medium, the effect of that resist-
ance would be more sensible in the motion of comets than in.
that of thé planets, as at the surface of the earth we perceive.
that the resistance of the air has most effect upon the motion
of those bodies having weight, whose density is least; and it
actually is known that the density of comets is incomparably
less than that of the planets; but if the comet, which has
been the subject of consideration, is destined to exhibit to us
in the heavens the effects of a force, of the necessity of which
no other phenomenon has ever yet made us sensible, it must
require a great number of revolutions of that body to esta-
blish with any probability so delicate a point in astronomical

science.

The calculations to which M. Damoiseau ret devoted him-
self, with a zeal worthy of all commendation, have already
given, with a great degree of exactness, the motion of the comet

of 1819.

' The following are the general results which he has obtaisiit

Eccen-

Passage to Peri-
tric.

helion.

\

Longi-

tude of

Perihe-
lion.

Longitude
of Node.

Inclina-
tion of
Orbit.

Mean daily Pu hi Fs
Motion. | jor axis.

1825 Sept.

1805 Nov. 22,006|6,8464567
1819 Jan. 27,752/0,8484517
1822 May 24,494|0,8445479/157 11
t. 17,084|0,8449784|157 14 30
1829 Jan. 10,867)0,8446862|157 18 35

156°43’ 0’
15659 1

29

334°18/29”
334 27 36
334 19 32
334 22 8
334 24 15

13°35/44”
13 38 33
13 22 25
13 23 29
13 22 34

1073/4877|2,218912

1069 5462 2224360!

In order to facilitate the discovery of the comet in 1828,
when it will be visible throughout all Europe, M. Dannoiseau
has computed the following ephemeris. .

‘Distance of

Light. a

} North- |Distance of Séabs
bs ad ern De- | the Comet | the Comet _ mr
tas clina- from the | from the |;
tion. Earth. Sun.

1828. Aug. 28,159] 26°35’ 23°17'| °1,487 2,175 |0,096
Sept. 7,175| 25 47| 2458 1,276 2,073. 10,143
17,161] 23 30) 26 29 | 1,089 1,967 {0,218
27,183} 19 24) 27 50 0,920 1,855 | 0,344
Oct. 7,191) 12 57) 28 43 0,774 1,737 |0,552
17,162}. 3 52| 28 36 0,658 1,614 |0,886

27,1571 352 33} 26 51 0,574 —-1,483 1,380 |

Nov. 6,173|340 23] 23 13 |. 0,521 1,345 > VT |

¥ 16,171|329 1); 18 13 0,494 1,198 —|2,851

_ ee a a

Baron Cuvier on Caverns containing Bones. 279

Age XIII Observations on Caverns containing Bones,
with an account of the Grotto of Oiselles, near Besancon.*
By Bapox CuviER.

Tue existence of caverns containing bones constitutes one of
those natural phenomena which are the most curious and i in-
teresting in science.

The cavern of Oiselles’ is of the same description as many of
those which are found in the mountaims of Hungary, Ger-
many, some parts of France and England, and all of which
contain more or less immense quantities of the bones of ter-
restrial animals, the greater part of which are lors to our
climate.

Since the middle ages the caverns of Harsh have been al-
ways celebrated both on account of their magnitude, and for
the great quantities of bones found in them.

These bones are sold to the druggists by the name of wni-
corn fossils, and they make use of them in medicine under
the name of powder of fossil unicorn.

The caverns in the mountains of Crapack in Hungary were
described in the seventeenth century. Towards the middle of
the eighteenth century, those of Friehleberg in Franconia be-
came objects of inquiry amongst several learned men, who
have described the bones with some accuracy, At the begin-
ning of the present century the caverns of Westphalia became
known, and still more recently many have been discovered
‘and described in Carniola. Within the last few years seve-
ral have been found in England and Wales, and which hay-
ing been examined with more care than any of the others, they
have furnished an astonishing quantity of bones of different spe-
cies. Professor Buckland, who has studied the English caverns
and the remains of the animals they contain with the most parti-
cular attention, wished to give an account of this great pheno-
mena inall its generalities. Forthis purpose he travelled through
different parts of Germany and inspected all the grottos,

* This interesting paper, translated from Le Globe, was read at the
Academy of Sciences on the 16th July 1827. It is the report of a com-
mission, com posed of MM. Brongniart, Beudant, and Cuvier on the bones
collected in the grotto of Oiselles, and sent to the aoe by the pre-
fect of the department of Doubs.—Eb. |

!

280 Baron Cuvier on Caverns contaming Bones.

drew plans and outlines of them, and published upon the
subject a work full of mterest, which he has a Religuie
Diluviane.

It is to this profound geologist we are indebted for the dis-
covery of the bones in the cavern of Oiselles. It was indeed
natural to suppose that the Jura would contain the remains of
these animals, as it is a continuation of the Alps of Suabia,

and the cavernous mountains of Franconia, and contains itself ~

many of these excavations, and is also as. celebrated for its
stalactites as any of the mountains of Germany. They had
already collected in a cleft of a rock at Fowvent, in the de-
partment of the upper Saone, the bones of several of the ani-
mals found in the English caverns; but nobody having con-
tinued to follow. up this discovery, all this was a matter of con-
jecture.

Mr Buckland, while visiting the cavern of Oiselles, which had
long been an object of curiosity, both on account of its mag-
‘nitude, and of the brilliant stalactites with which it is adorned,
observed that it had all the appearances of the caverns of
bones in Franconia. He even thought he observed a ‘part
where the bones were very near the surface, and, upon trying
it with the hammer, he had the pleasure to find be SORE
verified.

The prefect of Doubs took all the interest in this perm
curiosity which it justly deserved, and the examination which
he ordered, and which was conducted with the greatest. zeal
by Mr Gévoril, keeper of the cabinet of Besancon, has proved
that this cavern contains a quantity of bones as SUP OPIN. ft
any of those of Franconia.

A certain quantity of these fossils was sent to the M weet
at Paris, and it. was easy to determine to what species they be-
longed, ‘ That which has surprised us,” says M. Cuvier, is
not that they belong to the great bear with the protuberant
forehead (front bombé) which. naturalists particularly call the
bear of the cave (Ursus. speleeus) because they have never
found their remains anywhere but in similar grottos to that
of Oiselles, but that they should all belong to that species.”

M. Cuvier presented some of the specimens to the academy.
They consisted of two heads quite entire, one humerus, a
part of the scapula, a cubitus, a radius, a pelvis nearly en-

-

Baron Cuvier on Caverns containing: Bones. 281

tire, a femur, a tibia, an astragalus, one os ‘calcis, several bones
of the carpus and of the tarsus, the bones of the metatarsi and
_of the phalanges. All these bones evidently belonged to the
genus Ursus: » With respect to determining the particular spe-
cies, it was not difficult, because they possessed an entire skull of
the Ursus speleus taken from the cavern of Westphalia, and
which M. Cuvier exhibited also to the academy.‘ This skull
differed only from those of Oiselles by. being rather larger. |

This grotto presents the very remarkable exception that no
remains were found along with the bones of tygers, hyenas,
nor any of those herbivorous animals contemporary with these
ancient races, whose usual presence in these sort of caverns has
been attributed to the voracity of the hyenas, who had drag-
ged them there for the purpose of devouring them.

Without entering into any discussion respecting the forma-
tion of these caverns, or of the manner in which they account
for the presence of the bones found there, M. Cuvier is of
opinion that the bones belonged to animals who lived'there and
died peaceably. 8 gu O9VKg

~The undisturbed state of the remains prevents the supposi-
tion, that they have’ been brought there by any currents of
water, or by any other means. These remains must have been
accumulated for a long time, and at last were buried in the
mud which has been thrown there by some great inundation ’
It is impossible to doubt this, when we see that the bones have
preserved all their sharp and delicate points, and if some few
of them are otherwise, it is those which have been broken by
the teeth of similar animals, or injured by the tools of the
workmen. ‘The thin flat bones are almost always broken in
these caverns; but this is: owing to their being so fragile that
the weight only of the animals walking or lying upon them
would be sufficient to break them.

It seems very certain that at some time or other the water
has ‘penetrated into the cavern of Oiselles, and carried there
some fossil bones, which are found mixed and buried along
with some rounded flints; but this peculiarity i is only to be
seen at the entrance. Gradually as you advance the bones are
im better preservation ; and at 400 yards from the opening they
are found. ina state perfectly undisturbed. .. Those which were
sent to Paris! were: collected at this distance, They have not

VOL. VII. NO. 11. ocT. 1827. T

282 Dr Menard on a Cavern at Lunel- Vi rel

extended their researches beyond this; but it is to be hoped,
for the interest of science, that they will not stop there. 'The
cavern is 700 yards deep; we may then expect from the in-
terior works an additional mine of geological riches,

The report concludes by stating, that it will be proper foi
the Academy to request the prefect of the Doubs, and the Mini-
ster of the Interior, to have the goodness to-give the necessary
orders to continue the excavations, and that the Academy should
itself propose to defray part of the expence.

Arr. XIV.—Notes regarding a Cavern containing Fossil Bones,
situated on the property of M. Gautier, in the Commune of
Lunel-Viel,* By Dr AxrHonso Menaro. Communi-
cated in a Letter from Mr Exsuaw of Bourdeaux to Jonn
Rosison, Esq. F. R.S. Ed.

Near. the west end of the village of Tunel-Viel there is.
a quarry of building stones, the working of which has been.
given up about thirty years, immediately above on the rising
grounds which produce the Lunel. wine. The villa of M. |
Gautier is situated on the verge of the quarry, and a part of
his garden is laid out in the hollow made by the excavations.
There are two principal cavities in the face of the reck. The
greatest extends about 130 or 140 metres. It, is naturally
formed in calcareous masses of shells, coarse and friable, mixed
with globular fragments, scattered in abundant beds towards
the outer surface, and enveloped in a cement of the same
nature.

The floor of the cavern is encumbered by large. blocks,
which have long since fallen from the roof. The soil is formed
' by the deposition of an argillo-siliceous matter, spread in distinet
layers from one to several inches thick. This sediment, the: pro-
duce of repeated alluvion, is evidently of posterior formation
to the surrounding limestone.. It lies above the primitive soil,
which is again ‘found. at a depth of 10 or 15 feet, and which
is a,gravelly sand, containing shark’s teeth, and remains of sea
and river shells. It is in the bed above the last mentioned
stratum that we find, ina confused and disorderly manner, @

* Numerous specimens of the bones accompanied this communieation.
They are now in the possession of Thomas Allan, Esq. F. R. $.E,

containing Fossil Bones. 283

considerable quantity of fossil bones, which have belonged to

animals contemporary with the last great catastrophe which
has overturned the globe. All of them may be ranked with

existing species, doit of Europe, and ees of the province
melhor’ :

The opening into the cave is the only one which gives access
to its interior. Is about 20 feet below the upper vegetable soil.

Jn 1824 the opening was very confined, and gave access
only to a small square space hollowed out of the bed containing
the fossils. ‘It is not probable that the animals whose remains we
are about to describe could ever have taken this way to get to

the interior. M. Gautier has caused this opening to be widen-

ed and cleared. ,

In 1825 the process of digging for bones caused some fall-
ing in of stuff, in consequence of which access was obtained to
the cavern. It is now reached by means of a stair of twenty
steps, formed of calcareous blocks.

_ When first discovered, the ground was found slightly moist,
uneven, and furrowed near the sides to unequal depths. Re-
mains of the skeleton of a domestic dog rested on a block of
stone; near it lay a fragment of a leather collar and an iron .
ring. Here and there also were bones of animals of the order
Rodentia (gnawers) which had died at different periods, and
several remains of the bony frame of carnivorous mammalia
evidently fossil. A small portion of them was covered with
regular crystallizations, which rendered them slightly ad-
herent to the ground. All these objects have been destroyed
and scattered.

There was no indication of the cave having been entered
by man previous to this period, or of the blocks of stone or
the bones having been accumulated by human agency.

The cave extends from N. W. to S. with some slight bends.
The roof appears solid throughout, and towards the middle is
arched with a certain degree of elegance. The side walls are
‘irregularly fashioned in unequal projections, sometimes deeply
furrowed and penetrated by oblique or vertical chimnies, from
which has issued a reddish, soft, argillaceous paste, (a sort of
Armenian bole,) of which the upper parts seem a as
it has ceased to flow.

In some places, and principally at the south end, the soil is

4

>
284 Dr Menard on a Cavern at Lunel-Viel

formed of a thick layer of fine yellow sand, free from clay or
pebbles ; it is very loose, and affords no animal deposit, except
a few spiral and bivalve shells of fresh water origin. This cave
does not abound in crystallizations. - At its south extremity there
are a few horizontal bands of stalactites, which offer nothing
remarkable, and terminate when they approach the ground in
acicular crystals, of a beautiful milky white when inspected
closely, but adding nothing to the general effect of the sur-
rounding masses. |
The air of the cavern seems to have no other outlet ships
that, first mentioned, yet. one breathes. freely all over it, and
the flame of a lamp is every where full and bright, but always
vertical. The mterior temperature has no sensible variation, as
throughout the year the thermometer stands between 13° gad
14° Reaum. -
Everything in this cavern attests the presence of a. fluid
solvent, of which the action has been powerful and continued.
Indications are likewise foundof a currentof water. Its existence
is proved by an evident slope from N, to S., and a sandy soil.
At the supposed origin of this current the rock is bare, and
washed for the length of some metres. The current does not
appear to have been strong, for in the cul de sac which I ex-
amined there is no appearance of its impulse having raised
the argillaceous deposit. ,
The air in the cavern is moist. To this may be atentiieee
the abundant efflorescence which is found on the surface of
the vault. This is of an earthy colour, and falls into powder
on the slightest touch. The fossils are imbedded in fresh water
alluvium,—at least the deposit offers nothing but some Helices,
one or two, land-shells, and some fragments of river bivalves.
There are also some vegetable matters completely carbonized,
and of which the species cannot be distinguished. Below this,
as we have said, is found the primitive soil, which, along with
some rare debris of marine shells, contains teeth of a small
sort of shark. |
The bones appear to exist in one part only of the cave, on
the left of the entrance. They are heaped confusedly together,
‘sometimes entire, often broken and mutilated, but. never worn
-or rounded. 'The operation of digging for them, though diffi-
cult on account: of the great softness of the clay, has been
4

containing Fossil Bones. . 285
successful. A superficial examination has already allowed us
to recognize more than twenty species. At the moment of
uncovering the bones, they are singularly soft. Even teeth
which appear well preserved do not resist a slight pres-
sure. Exposure to the air soon hardens them. The earth in
which they lie is reddish, and is formed of horizontal layers of
clay and sand. It extends about twenty-five or thirty feet in
length, with a depth of nine or ten, and its breadth a little
less. The bones are most abundant near the rock. A further
proof of the current of water before spoken of is a branch
of twenty feet long, with an opening of ‘three feet, containing
a great quantity of bones, and but little mud. ;

It is worthy of remark that not the smallest fragment of
human bone has been found.
Subjoined i is a note of the species hitherto recognized.

Hyena, (two varieties,) Bat, Deer,

Lion, Rabbit, Ox,
_ Wild Cat, r Hare, Sheep,

Bear, Mouse, Shark,

Dog, Rhinoceros, Sea Torioise,

Fox, Horse, Tarsusofa Wading bir a
_ Badger, Wild Boar, (two varieties, )

In all twenty-one species.

M. Marcel de Serres possesses lions’ ea got in the first
search. A young man, who is publishing a work on fossil
bones, says he has a lion’s lower jaw from the same source.
I have not seen these specimens, and feel surprised that the
careful searches made under my own direction have not dis-
covered any similar ones. _

The hyenas’ bones are numerous. They consist in skulls and
jaws (upper and under) nearly entire, long bones, teeth, ver-
tebre, &c. The heads display the prominent sagittal crest
peculiar to this animal, a zygomatic. arch of great strength,
and a corresponding depression for the reception of an enor-
mous masseter muscle. ‘The appearance of this part gives a
high idea of the masticatory power of the hyena.

The bones of the bear are more rare. They have been prin-
cipally found in a cavity situated in the same calcareous mass
as the principal cavern, but having no communication with it.
‘They consist of grinders and canine teeth, and parts of j jaws.

The insectivora are Vespertilios, of which one variety is re-

286 Dr Menard on a Cavern containing Fossil Bones.

markable from its small size, and for the number ee shape |

of its teeth.

Of gnawing animals, (Rodentia,) there isa species of, hare,
which, (judging from a head which has been found) is earlier
than that of our hills and plains.

Of the rhinoceros we possess only a fragment of an upper ca
with three grinders attached, separate teeth mostly broken, a
broken humerus and femur, and some astragali, which: a
peculiar hardness has preserved from destruction _

Boars’. tusks of 11 and) 12 inches long, (Fr.), bespeak. a
powerful animal. Others, on the contrary, only 2 or 3 inches

long, show, by the marks of, use, that they belonged. to haste

duals hich had_-attained maturity. ‘ied

A horse’s head is remarkable for its large proportions, and
for its teeth of uncommon size.

We have found. several foreheads of deer ail the antlers,
which could not be removed entire, on account of their ex-
treme fragility ; some teeth, some long bones, and skeletons
almost entire; they belong to the Cervus claphus, L.

An under shell of a land tortoise, 7 inches long by 4 wide,

preserves nothing but its shape, its polish and natural appear-
ance being gone. Near it were found several fragments of the
upper shell of the same animal.

It will be observed from what precedes, that our collection
does not contain any of those large antediluvian animals de.
scribed by M. Cuvier, and which are found in many « other
natural cavities. _We have no indications of the great Saurians,
the mastodon, not even of the tapir or the elephant, which are
common in other places.. This collection, however, does, not
the less deserve to fix the attention of the naturalist. |

I conjecture that, at a very distant epoch, the rising grounds
of Lunel-Viel were covered by vast forests. I shall be allowed
this hypothesis, which is deducible from circumstances in the
primitive constitution of our vegetable soil. All the animals
of which we find the remains may have lived on the skirts « or
in the interior.of these forests, It is true that the lion, the
hyena, and rhinoceros, no longer inhabit Europe ; but the con-
siderable collections of their bones: which are found in France,
in Germany, and in England, seem to attest their having for-
merly existed there. All these animals dic. where they. have

» ———

————e -

On the developement of Magnetism by Rotation. 287

lived. Many of them at the approach of death betake them-
selves to hidden retreats, as if to withdraw themselves from
the rapacity of the carnivorous ones. Such, for instance, are
the deer, of which nearly entire skeletons are found, although
the parts be disseminated ; such also are the great carnivorous
animals, as the lion, the bear, the hyena, which seize their prey
‘in the dark, and carry them away to devour them in the cavi-
ties which serve them for dens. Everything in the Gautier
‘cave attests the prolonged stay of these large Carnivore.
Among the heaps of bones of every kind, some show the marks
of sharp teeth which have bruised and ground them ; others
appear only indented, their harder consistence having protect-
éd them. Another proof of much weight is the great quan-
tity of fossil excrement of hyenas, and which would not have
been collected in such abundance, in a situation where the re-
mains of some ten hyenas may be found, if these hyenas had
not dwelt there. I conclude from these‘summary observations,
Imo, ‘That this cave has been a den of carnivorous animals.
2do, That the cavern has been traversed by a stream of
water, which has deposited mud on the bones which it found
on its passage. :
“Lune, 20¢h heuer | 1827.

Arr. XV.+Observations on the History of the Developement of
Magnetism by Rotation. ' By 8. H. Cuntstre, Esq. M. A.
F.R.S. &e.) Ina Letter to the Eprror.

Dear Sir,

Hap the tenor of Mr. Barlow's letter i in your last Number
been in accordance with its professed object, the terminating
of the correspondence, that object would have been attained.
But since, instead of leaving ‘‘ whatever may bein dispute to
be. judged of from what has been already stated,” Mr Barlow
has given: loose statements of particular circumstances, the
real object appears to be very different; and I cannot avoid
making some remarks, which, however, shall be as few and as
concise as possible.

The origin of the correspondence, which I regret has oc-
cupied so many pages of your valuable Journal, was, that in

288. kaw Mr Christie on the developement .

aD duonymated report of some philosophical discoveries, the re-
porter had. endeavoured to, assign the chief merit/of these dis-
coveries to Mr Barlow, to the exclusion, in’ a ‘great measure,

of, other claims: . Mr Barlow does not admit that heis the
S author of the entire paper in the form m,which it! appears, in-

your Journal ;” but as he wishes, ‘‘ with the| exception point-
ed out in his former. létter,” *, to, be considered. ‘responsible
for the accuracy of the several, points,” we must conclude that
he furnished the materials, and that he considered an anony-
mous communication no unfit vehicle for advancing most) pro-
minently his own claims. My feeling is'so decidedly, different
on this point, that, had I been enabled to draw this conclusion
in the first instance, I should. only have ,considered it,neces-
sary to point out, without comment, that Mr Barlow was, in
fact, the author of the communication complained of without
having given it the sanction of his name.

After what had been stated, no one could doubt but Mr
Barlow was ‘< willing to believe” that the results he: ‘* obtain-
ed by the rapid rotation of the shell form an important‘link
/in the chain of phenomena. ” But though it has generally. been
admitted that the first is the most important step in discovery,
the’ question agitated was not which was the most important,
but which was the first Jink in that chain.

As in his last letter Mr Barlow again refers to experiments _

‘** begun in 1819, and continued in the construction. of ‘his
correcting plate to the present time,” still, I suppose, pertina-
ciously wishing them’ to be considered as ** the first experi-
ments in which iron was put in rotation for magnetical obser-
vation,” and we are not in possession of these experiments, I
can only ask what must have’ been their accuracy; when the
effects of rotation, supposing the plate to have a turned on
an axis, were not observed?) «© | 105 of Ro.
Mr Barlow says that I consider my RS ili of referring the
positions of a ball; by means of an imaginary sphere) cireum-
scribing the needle, is quite original 3” whereas, in my letter
in. your Number for January, I have expressly stated, ‘that
neither of us can claim any originality by so referrmg theme
* The exception I suppose to be this, “ These experiments ia pot
a repetition of mine ; and 7 was certainly y not m y wish they ‘should have

been'so represented.” ; i

— a

:
:
:

of Magnetism by Rotation, 289

IT shall abstain from making any other: remark on Mr. Bar-
low’ ’s gratuitous assumption, that during four years’ I _took
no steps to observe the effects of rapid rotation, than that
such was not precisely the fact, though, from my_not having
the means of keeping up the motion, I certainly did not de-
tect the effect. Mr Barlow has farther stated, that he waited

five months for me to complete my paper before he sent his
own. I must reply to this, that his paper was read to the
Royal Society on the 5th May, and of course” sent to the
secretary some time before; and that, by the account of his
experiments, published in the Edinburgh Philosophical Jour-
nal for July 1825, which, though bearing the signature of
‘another person, must be supposed, having been transmitted
by him, to have had his sanction, it appears the experiments
described in that paper were not completed before February.

As Mr Barlow appears to be under some misapprehension
as to the nature of my general argument, when he supposes
I can imagine it will derive support from minute distinctions,
T shall state clearly that the principle for which I contend is,

that in any account of philosophical discoveries, where it may
be necessary to assign to several their respective shares in
those discoveries, the strictest impartiality should be observ-
ed; that this ought especially to be the case where the ac-
count is anonymous ; but, above all, when one who claims a
share in them ventures so to become the author: And I fur-
ther hold, that such impartiality does not characterize the
article which was the origin of this correspondence. However
averse Mr Barlow may be to admit the necessity of this cor-
respondence, Iam disposed to think it may possibly lead to
ai exercise of greater caution in future communications.
_ IT remain, Dear Sir,
R. M. need ebey, ? Yours very truly,
16th May 1827. ' §. A. Curistie.

P.S.—I beg you will do me the favour to accept the ac-
companying copies of papers in the Transactions. That on
the ‘repetition of my experiments by Mr Foster at Port Bowen
exhibits the effects of the rotation of an iron plate in the most
striking manner ; and if any thing were wanting to show, not
only how early I had observed these. effects, but how much

.

290 Dr Clinton on certain phenomena of

anterior to the publication of any other experiments on rota-
tion, I communicated my discovery to others, it would be
proved by the absolute manner in which the date of ‘my coni-

munication to Mr Foster must thus be fixed. So. Gy
; em

Arr. XVI.—On certain Phenomena of the Great Lakes et
America, * By. De Wirs Cxiintron, LL.D. Racednee!
the Lit. and Phil. Society of New York. rs;

Ix has been until within, a few years generally understood

that there are no tides in the Great Lakes of America; and

that the Mediterranean, Black, Caspian, and Baltic Seas, and
other great waters of the old world, are also exempt from their
influence. More accurate observation has, however, indicated
that this opinion is in some respects erroneous, and. it is now
considered doubtful whether it is not altogether so. It is con-
fidently said that there are tides in the Mediterranean, At

Toulon, three hours and fifteen minutes after the moon: has

passed its meridian, the tide rises one foot; and in the highest

spring tides, augmented by the concurrence of other. causes,
it swells as high as two feet. The Lake of Geneva and the

Lake of Constance are subject to. an occasional rising and fall-

ing of their waters three or four feet, several times in. succes-

sion, by a sort of oscillating motion, which phenomenon is de-
nominated Seiches. There are certain appearances connect-
ed with our lakes that resemble the, operation of tides, and
there are others, of. a character entirely dissimilar. As the
Western Lakes contain the greatest collections of fresh water
in the, world, all. the phenomena, connected with them are
deeply 1 interesting in relation to geography, agriculture, trade,
and natural science; I shall therefore devote this memoir to
this subject. , hae
1. In our lakes there is apparent to every “observer a sort
of flux and reflux, which we would naturally attribute to the
* From. the Transactions of the Teen and ‘Philosophical Society of

New York, vol, ii. part i. p. 25.

+ Forster’s History of the Voyages in the North.

* De Saussure’s Voyages dans les Alpes > Kinlock’s Letleys is Goneea
Laid France ; Coxe’s Switzerland ; Simond’s Switzerland:

5 pans

the Great Lakes of America. 291

wind, and might therefore pass it over without particular at-
tention. But a more discriminating view has resulted in a
conviction with many accurate and distinguishing observers,
that the peculiar motion of the waters is entirely, independent
of the winds; that it occurs within stated periods; that-it is
‘not subject to the irregularities of occasional or. accidental

‘causes, but that it depends for its existence upon a power ope-
rating with unceasing vigour, and with unintermitted regulari-
ty at the same place, although varying as to the quantum of
its influence at other places. On the other hand, it is sup-
posed by some that these appearances are occasional and irregu-
lar, and do not result from uniform causes. I shall now refer
to some prominent authorities on this subject.

La Hontan is the first writer who touches on this phenome-
non.* .“ On the 29th of May 1689 we came,” said he, “ to
a little deep sort of a river, which disembogues at a place where
the water of the lake (Michigan) swells three feet high in twelve
hours, and decreases as much im the same compass of tine.
Our tarrying there three or four days gave me an opportunity —
of making the remark.” An appearance of this nature could
not escape the observing eye of Charlevoix, the most sagacious,
able, and learned of the French writers on America. . Speak-
ing of Lake Ontario, + “‘ I observed,” said he, ‘* that,in_this
lake, and I am told that the same thing happens in all the rest,
there is a sort. of flux and reflux almost instantaneous, the

_ rocks near the banks being covered with water and uncovered
again several times in the space of a quarter. of an hour, even
if the surface of the lake was very calm, with scarce a breath
of wind, After reflecting for some time on this appearance, I
imagined it was owing to the springs at the bottom of. the
lakes, and,to the shock of their currents, with those of the ri-
vers which fall into them from all sides, and thus produce those
intermitting motions.” :

Pownall} says, ‘“ Lake Ontario, like. the. Mediterranean,
the Caspian, and other large, invasated ,waters; has a, small
rising and falling of the, water, like: tides, some twelve’ « or
eighteen inches perpendicular.”

* Ta Hontan’s Worth America, vol. ii. '
t Journal Historique d'un Voyage de L’ Amerique, Letter 13.
{ Topographical Description of part of North America.

292 Dr Clinton on certain phenomena of

These are the only authorities of an old date’to which T
have had access. ‘Those which I now refer to are of recent —
observation, and some are derived from cral communication.
Mr Benjamin Wright, a very judicious and intelligent gentle-
man, and one of the principal engineers on the Western Canal,
informs me, that at a place called Mexico, about twenty miles
from Oswego, Lake Ontario ebbs and flows every hour and a
half about six inches, and that the es is highest when the
wind is from the shore.

A gentleman of veracity and sstatigedad who resides at the
mouth of Genesee River, says that this lake rises and falls 3
four times each in every hour, whether there be a wind or
not: that the smallest rise is four, and the highest twenty-
eight inches, and that this occurs during a perfect calm.

A similar appearance occurs on Lake Champlain. Captain
Winans, one of the proprietors of the steam-boats, who. re-
sides at Burlington, in Vermont, assures me that in summer,
when there has been a perfect calm for several days, he has
observed at that place a flux and reflux of the lake four times
every hour, with great regularity, and at every access rising
four inches, as was obvious from a mark made on a log.

Captain Storrow, a gentleman of talents, says, in a printed
letter to General Brown, “ while at Green Bay I made ob-
servations on the ebb and flow of a lake tide. “At eleven
o'clock a.m. I placed a stick perpendicularly in the water,—
at half past nine p.m. the water had risen’ five inches,—at
eight next morning it had fallen seven inches,—at eight same
evening it had risen eight mches. During this period the
wind was in the same direction, blowing generally awe the
flow of ‘the tide.”

Judge Woodward, of Michigan, in a letter to Doctor Mit-
_ chill, states, that Mr Benjamin F. Stickney, who resides on the
- Miami River of Lake Erie, some miles below the rapids, and
a few miles from the mouth of the river, made-observations on
this subject for more than a fortnight, in June 1820; the re-
sult of which is a conviction in his mind that there is a regular
tide in Lake Erie—that it flows and ebbs twice in twenty-five
hours, at intervals of about six hours and eleven minutes, and
that it is greatest at the new and full moons, and least at the

the Great Lakes of Amerua, —— 993

quarters. ‘The minimum of rise within the period during which
- the observations were made was as muchas eight inches. The
maximum of rise within the same period was as much as forty
inches. Mr Lecuyer, a gentleman equally intelligent, expres-
sed the same opinion as to a tide at Green Bay.

If. these exhibitions of a flux and reflux of the lakes were
only occasional and incidental, not uniform and periodical,
there would be perhaps no great difficulty in assigning satis-
factory causes. ‘The Seiches of the Lake of Geneva have been
ascribed by Mr Bertrand to the influence of electrical clouds
which attract and raise the waters of the lake, and he supposes
that this water afterwards falling, produces those undulations
of which the effect, like that of the tides, is most sensibly felt
where shores are most approximated.

A more probable cause may be the unequal pressure of the
atmosphere on the waters, which will of course rise higher as
the weight of the incumbent air is less, and fall as it eben
greater ; and these changes being almost always in operation
may account for the almost edntitnia) ebb and flow of the
lakes. : | |

The cause assigned by Charlevoix is entirely unsatisfactory ;
and it is premature to form a theory on the subject. Facts and
experiments ought to precede speculations ; and we must leave
it to future inquirers to ascertain the facts in extenso—to in-
vestigate the causes, and to determine whether this phenome-
non be owing to the pressure of the atmosphere—the influence
of the moon—the attraction of the clouds—the convexity or
motion of the. globe, or any other assignable agency.

2. There is an annual rise and fall of Lake Erie.. The rise
generally commences in March, and terminates about the mid-
dle of July ; and this is the case sooner or later with the other
lakes. It is owing to the great accession of water produced by
the melting of snow and ice, and by the vernal rains; and the
fall is occasioned by the failure of most of these sources of sup-
ply in summer. to”

3. There is, besides the annual rise of the lakes, a more ex-
tended periodical one, at least every three years, and then a
correspondent declension. Some extend the time to five, and
others to seven years. Some say that the highest rise is seven

7
294 _ Dr Clinton on certain phenomena of

feet, and others differ as to the exact altitude; but there can
be no doubt of the general certainty of the fact. Lake Erie
began to rise in 1811, and continued to increase until 1815,

when it was two feet higher than was ever known. The over-
flowing of the waters destroyed trees on the low lands more
than two hundred years old, and the inhabitants of Detroit,

which is an ancient settlement, had never seen or heard of
such a rise before. It fell a little in 1816, rose again in 1817,

and decreased until 1822. It was in June last ‘on the rise,

and one and a half feet higher than usual. In 1810 I walked
on Bird Island; an island situate at the outlet of Lake Erie.

In 1816 it was almost covered with water, and was seareely
visible. Iam informed by an intelligent shipmaster on the
lakes, “* that when he visited Detroit in 1'79'7, the waters were
at their height. He went to the south the following year, and
did not return to that place until 1802, when he found the
waters considerably lower. Having understood that there was
a rise and fall every seven years, he determined to ascertain
how great it was; for which purpose he caused marks to be
made on a solid wharf that had been built more than twenty
years before, and was perfectly firm and immoveable; and he
found that the water declined on an average about au inch ‘a
year for nine years. © What the fall was for five years durin;

his absence he did not know, but it may be fairly stated at
three times as much yearly ; that is, fifteen inches, if compared
with subsequent occurrences of a similar character. “The lake
bégan to rise again in 1811, in the spring of which it rose six
inches, but during the summer it fell two imches. In 1812 it
rose fourteen inches, and subsided three inches, leaving a nett
gain of fifteen inches in two years. The surrender of Detroit
to the British, in October 1812, compelled him to leave the
country ; but in October 1813 he returned with the fleet, and
the water was then at its greatest altitude, having in that year
gainéd twelve inches—in all twenty-seven inches. In 1814
and 1815 it was stationary. In 1816 and 18177 it fell at least
eighteen inches. And he further supposes, from appearances
at Michillimackinack, that the whole town of that island was
formerly under water, and that one of the ancient outlets ‘of
the lakes was by Chicago, which he states at only thirteen

the Great Lakes of America. . 295

_ feet, above the present level of the lake; and he says that
every spring you. may pass up the Chicago River and carry
in the shoalest place five feet water into the Illinois, and from
thence into the Mississippi.”

Mackenzie, in his account of his Voyages through the Con-
tinent to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans, in 1789 and 1793,
says, that ‘¢ along the surrounding branches of Lake Superior
there are evident marks of the decrease of its waters by the lines
observable along them. The space, however, between the
highest and the lowest is not so great as in the smaller lakes,
as it does not amount to more than six feet; the former, or
highest lines, are very faint.”

4. The lakes are subject to reeditntn et swells and risings.
On the 18th of October 1764, Colonel Bradstreet, who had been
on an expedition against the Western Indians, broke up his
camp at Sandusky to proceed on his return to Albany by Lake
Erie... In the evening, as he was going to land the troops, a
sudden swell of the lake, without any visible cause, destroyed
several of his boats, but no lives were lost. This extraordinary
event, was, however, looked upon as.the precursor of a storm,
and accordingly one soon occurred, which lasted several days.
Mackenzie, before quoted, states that a very curious phenome-
non was observed some years ago at the Grand Portage in Lake
Superior, for which no obvious cause could be assigned. “ The
water withdrew with great precipitation, leaving the ground dry
that had never before been visible; the fall being equal to four
perpendicular feet, and rushing back with great velocity above
the common mark. It continued thus falling and rising for
several hours, gradually decreasing until it stopped at his usual
height.”

The following occurrence, equally extraordinary, took place
on the British side of Lake Erie on or about the 30th May
1823, which is thus described. ‘‘ A little after sunset Lake
Erie was observed to take a sudden and extraordinary rise, the
weather being fine and clear, and the lake calm and smooth. It
was principally noticed at the mouths of Otter and Kettle
Creeks, which are twenty milesapart.. At Otter Creek it came
in, without the least previous intimation, in a swell of mine

Jeet perpendicular height, as was afterwards ascertained, rush-

>
296 Dr Clinton on certain phenomena of

ed violently: up the channel, drove a schooner of thirty-five’
tons burden from her moorings, threw her upon high ground,

and rolled over the ordinary beach into the woods, completely

inundating all the adjacent flats. This was followed by two! —
others of equal height, which caused the Creek to retrograde
a mile and a half, and to overflow its banks, where water was’
never before seen, by seven or eight feet. The noise occa-
sioned by its rushing with such rapidity along the winding’
channel was truly pe pti It was witnessed by a number
of persons. pete

‘At Kettle Creek seve men were diewing a fish net in
the lake, when suddenly they saw the water coming upon:
them in the manner above-mentioned ; and, letting go their
net, they ran for their lives. The swell overtook chéia before
they could reach the high bank, and swept them forward with
great force; but, being expert swimmers, they escaped un-
hurt. The man who was in the skiff pulling in the sea line
was drove with it a-considerable distance over the flat, and’
grounded upon a small eminence until the water subsided.
There were three successive swells, as at Otter Creek, and the’
effects up the creek were the same, with this difference, the
water only rose seven feet. In both cases, the lake, after the
three swells had spent their force, gradually subsided, and in’
about twenty minutes was at its usual height and tranquillity.
It was observed at other places along the shore, but the high
steep banks did not admit of the same observation. In all,
however, there was a general correspondence as to the height
of the rise (yD, ot 1
_ Conjecture will doubtless be awake as to the cause of this
most remarkable phenomenon ; but it must only be conjec-
tured, for it was unattended with any circumstance that could
remotely hint at a probable cause. But such was the fact,
and it must furnish its own comment.”

Some have supposed that the occasional rise of fale End
is owing to the strong south winds in Lake Michigan; but!
this hypothesis cannot account satisfactorily for this appear-
ance. Volney supposes that Lake Ontario is the crater of a
volcano. Mackenzie says, that many ‘of the islands of Lake
Superior display a conformation of lava, intermixed with.

the Great Lakes of America. 297

round stones of the size of a pigeon’s egg: ‘The western
country abounds with what are called burning springs, con-
sisting of volumes of hydrogen gas, issuing from spiracula in
the earth, and it is underlaid with sulphur, coal, bitumen,
and other inflammable substances. In boring for salt at
- Rocky Hill, in Ohio, about a mile and a half from Lake Erie,
after proceeding to the depth of one hundred and ninety-seven
feet, the auger fell, and salt water spouted out for several
hours. After the exhaustion of this water great volumes of
inflammable air issued through the aperture for a long time,
and formed a cloud; and by ignition by the fire in the shops
of the workmen, consumed and destroyed every thing in the
vicinity. :
_ Whether the county round the Great Lakes is volcanic or
not, is not material to the present inquiry. We know that the
bowels of the earth are stored with inflammable materials, and
that there exist ‘strong indications of subterranean communica-
tions. at enormous distances. Indeed everything in earth-
quakes seems to indicate the action of elastic fluids seeking an
outlet to spread themselves in the atmosphere. At the period
of the last and the preceding destruction of Lisbon, according -
to Humboldt, the sea was violently agitated as far as America.
For instance, at the Island of Barbadoes, more than twelve
hundred leagues from Portugal, and on Lake, Ontario, strong
_, agitations of the water were observed in October 1755. The
first destruction of Lisbon took place on the first day of No-
vember 1755, and the last on the $lst day of March 1764,
the very year in which the sudden swelling of Lake Erie over-
whelmed some of Colonel Bradstreet’s vessels.
Bakewell, in his Geology, states that * during the earth-
quake at Lisbon, in 1775, almost all the springs and _ lakes in
Great Britain, and in every part of Europe, were violently
agitated, many of them throwing up mud and sand, and emit-
ting a fetid odour.. The morning of the earthquake the hot
springs at ‘Toplitz, in Bohemia, suddenly ceased to flow for a
minute, and then burst forth with prodigious violence, throw-
ing up turbid water, the temperature of which was higher
than before. The hot-wells at Bristol were coloured. red,
and rendered unfit for use for some months afterwards. Even
VOL. VII. NO. 11. ocT. 1827. U

298 Mr Clark on the Pyrophosphate of Soda.

the distant waters of Lake Ontario, in.North America, were
violently agitated at the time.”—-“‘ The connection which earth--
quakes (continues Bakewell) have with distant volcanos, and
their frequency at particular periods, are truly remarkable,
The tremendous earthquakes in. 1812 in the Carraccas were
followed by an eruption in the Island of St Vincents, from a
volcano that had not been burning since 1718, and violent os-
cillations of the ground were felt, both in the islands ang: on
- the coast of America.”

The late swell of Lake Erie has been followed by shockidial
earthquakes, as well at a distance as in the vicinity. Hiave we
not, therefore, reason to believe, that the extraordinary agita-
tions which sometimes occur in the lakes are connected with
earthquakes, and produced by the same causes ? AW

—
7.

Art. XVII.—On the Pyrophosphate. of Soda; one of a new
class of Salts produced by the Action of Heat, on, the Phos-
phates. By Mr Tuomas Cxarx, Lecturer on, Chemistry
and Mechanics. in the Glasgow Mechanics’ Lpintenen
Communicated by the Author. ts 9

Tur phosphate of silver is, according to Doctors Thomson
and Berzelius, an insoluble yellow salt, which is produced |
when watery solutions of phosphate of soda and of nitrate of
silver are mixed. ‘These eminent chemists, it is well known,
differ much, as to the constitution of the phosphates in gene-
ral; but in the instance of the yellow phosphate of. silver,
they have each given analyses, which substantially agree. It.
occurred, to me, therefore, that by ascertaining the proportions
of the salts necessary for mutual decomposition, and. of; the
precipitate produced, and by adding a, few collateral experi=
ments, it would be possible to decide the matter at. controver-
sy, by starting from a point, at which both parties were agreed.

aving in this view commenced, a set of experiments, ‘I _
sooh came to an unexpected appearance, and found myself
engaged in a new train of research, the result, of which, I.con+
ceive of sufficient importance to be laid before chemists "idl
out delay.

3

“Mr Clark on the Pyrophosphate of Soda. 299

In mixing solutions of nitrate of silver and of phosphate of
soda, I was not a little surprised at obtaining a white, instead
of a yellow. precipitate ; notwithstanding that Doctors Thom-
son and Berzelius speak with decision of the precipitate being
yellow, and that in my former experience, I had always found
it yellow. A question immediately arose, Why the precipitate
was white instead of yellow ?

As I had taken considerable pains, by repeated erystalliza-
tions, to render the phosphate of soda pure, it was natural to
conjecture, that this salt, in its ordinary state, contains some
impurity to occasion the yellowness of the precipitate. To
try the accuracy of this conjecture, I dropped a solution of
commercial phosphate of soda into one of nitrate of silver.
The precipitate was yellow. But when, in order to contrast
this effect with that produced by pure phosphate of soda, FT
dropped a solution of purified crystals into nitrate of silver, -
I was surprised to get a precipitate, which was likewise yel-
low. These effects were not altered by the reverse operation
of dropping the nitrate of silver into solutions of the ordinary,
and the purified phosphates. - .

Such were the experiments, which first pomted out to me
the circumstance, upon which depended the production of a
white precipitate. In order to avoid any uncertainty in my
experiments as to the quantity of dry phosphate of soda, I had
used a phosphate dried at a red heat, instead of erystals. It
was a solution of this phosphate dried at a red heat, which
had. produced a white precipitate; whereas it was a solution
of the erystals, which had produced a yellow precipitate. To _
be quite sure that the alteration was produced by héat, FE
divided a fine large crystal of purified phosphate of soda inte
two parts. One of these, I dissolved in water: the other I
dried, heated red hot, and then dissolved in water. Dropped
ito a solution of nitrate of silver, the solution of the undried
part of the crystal gave a yellow precipitate ; whereas: that
of the dried part gave a white precipitate. The erystal
which I used had been purified, indeed; but perfect purity
is not at all necessary for the success of the experiment. The
commercial phosphate of soda answers quite well’; so that this

300 - Mr Clark on the Pyrophosphate of Soda.

very curious, and till now unobserved effect of heat may be~
verified by any body within reach of an apothecary’s shop. _

It was now evident that if the yellowness of the préliaiinie
was owing to an impurity, that impurity must be one which
heat expela: I was accordingly about to submit the phosphate
of soda to a red heat, and to pass the vapours which might -
come from it through a solution of nitrate of silver; when I ~
observed a new circumstance, which proved that the change
_ was more fundamental than could be accounted for by the
presence of any slight impurity.

When to a solution of the undried phosphate of ides you
add nitrate of silver till no farther precipitate appears, you get
a mother liquor which is acidulous in its action on femelle
colours ; but if you use in the same manner a solution of the
dried phosphate of soda which yields'a white precipitate, you
get a mother liquor, which in its action on vegetable colours,
is neutral. The reason why the yellow precipitate leaves‘an
acid mother liquor, is that the phosphate of silver contains
more oxide (two-sevenths more according to Dr Thomson ;
one-half more according to Dr Berzelius, but at all events
more oxide) than the phosphate of soda. This excessive pro-
portion of oxide, separating from solutions that are neutral,
must leave them acid. But the white precipitate, as it leaves’
a neutral solution, must either contain a less proportion of-ox-
ide of silver, or be precipitated from a salt which contains a
greater proportion of soda. In either case, the salt, which
produces the white precipitate with nitrate of silver, cannot be
the same, as the phosphate of soda, which produces the yel-
low precipitate, with nitrate of silver. I suspected, therefore,
that a red heat had produced some constitutional changer on
the phosphate of soda.

In search of more decisive evidence of the production | of
such a change, I dried and heated red about a pound weight of
crystallized phosphate of soda, bought at an apothecary’s.
The heat which I. employed) in this experiment did not fuse
the salt ; but, i in after experiments, the heat was commonly
urged to the temperature of fusion. ‘The salt which tndttheet
dried and heated red was dissolved in water, concentrated, and
set aside for crystallization. I thus obtained a plentiful crop

Mr Clark on the Pyrophosphate of Soda. } 801

of crystals, obviously different in their form from the common
phosphate of soda. I refrain, however, from all description
of their form, as that has been in disinterested kindness under-
taken by Mr Haidinger; a gentleman who has established a
peculiar claim to the gratitude of scientific men in this coun-
try, by his devotion to crystallography, at a time when that
science:is ripe for the efforts of genius, and is destined, by its
successful efforts, to rise high in dignity among the sciences.’
The new crystals, being dissolved again in water, afforded a
white precipitate with nitrate of silver. They were much less
soluble in water than the common phosphate ; they contained
not more than two-thirds the. water of crystallization in the
same weight of crystals ; they did not, like the common phos-
phate, become dim on the surface by loss of water after many -
days, exposure to the air; like the common phosphate they
were alkaline in their action on vegetable colours, and in their
taste; but unlike it they did-not feel cooling to the tongue. -
The mother liquor, from which these crystals were separated,
was concentrated and crystallized ; and the operation was re-
peated, till the whole liquor was converted into crystals.
Among these, none of the common crystals of phosphate of
soda could be detected ; and the last crop contained only a —
small quantity of foreign soda salts, just as if the crystalliza-
tion had been made without previous exposure to red heat.

It was quite obvious then, that by simply drying the com-
mon phosphate of soda and heating it to redness, an entirely
new salt had been produced. This new salt I shall, in the
sequel of this paper, call Pyrophosphate of soda, a provisional
name which it will probably be well to retain, till all doubts
are removed respecting the constitution of this salt. : ;

The question which now remained was: Did the phosphate
of soda lose, or did it acquire any component in becoming the
pyrophosphate of soda ?

An observation to which I have not yet aleeated; directed
me, in the prosecution of this inquiry.

I soon found that phosphate of soda might undergo ; a con-
siderable heat, without being converted into the pyrophosphate.
‘The temperature of the sand-bath at which I operated can-
not have been less than that of melting lead or boiling mer-

302 Mr Clark on the Pyrophosphate of Soda.

cury ; and yet phosphate of soda dried on this bath always
gave with nitrate of silver a yellow precipitate. I proposed,
therefore, to ascertain first, the weight of water expelled by -
the sand-bath heat, and then, the alteration in weight pasa
ced by a red heat.

As likely to afford the most uniform results, I made choice
of well-formed, unbroken, pure crystals of phosphate of soda.
This salt after being dried im a strong sand-bath heat, uni-
formly underwent a loss in weight by the farther action of a
red heat. The following is the result of three expedite
the quantity of crystals being supposed 1. |

Experiment
' * I. II. -. II.* | Mean.
Water, expelled by sand-bath 6168 6170 .6164 6167
Loss, by red heat ‘ 0250 0247S, «0847 = «600248
Dry pyrophosphate of soda 3582 63.583 3589 —.3585

in these experiments, the salt after exposure to the sand-
bath heat gave with nitrate of silver a yellow precipitate ; but ©
after exposure to the red heat it gave a white precipitate.
These experiments, then, establish that the phosphate of soda,
in becoming pytophosphate, loses cbs. What is the mat-
ter lost ? é |

To determine sis important point, I dried a quantity of
phosphate of soda, giving it the highest heat of the sand-bath. —
The phosphate thus dried still tested yellow, with nitrate of
silver. I put 23.45 grains of this dried salt into a small re-
tort of green glass. ‘This retort was formed of a tube about
a finger-length, about the thickness of a quill, and having a
bulb at one end about the size of a hazel nut, anda, ~
bend a little above this bulb, the other end of the tube’
being open. ‘To this small retort, there was adapted a
tube of this shape, narrow enough to go within the
tube of the retort. The junction was made air-tight
by oil cement. A small jar filled with mercury was
inverted in a mercurial trough, and .1 inch of air

_ “ The experiment marked No. III. is the mean of two experiments, the
greatest and the least of the set. The water expelled by the sand-bath
was in one, where efflorescence was begun on the surface, .6123, and in the
other, whose surface was yet moist, .6204.

Mr Clark on the Pyrophosphate of Soda. 303

was let up to the top. The open end of the tube joined to
the little retort was introduced into this

jar so as to reach near the top, and to ;
terminate in the .1 inch of air. The |

whole air including this -1 inch was not
more than half an inch. Heat was ap-
plied by means of a spirit-lamp, and it was intense enough to
melt the green glass. I earnestly watched for a gaseous pro-
duct; but at the end of the experiment there was no increase,
save only .1 inch —.03 grain, if it were common air, a quan-
tity so inconsiderable, that I conceived it to be of accidental
origin*, and inquired after it no farther. But there was ano-
ther product, which, considering the change that the salt was
undergoing, was hardly to be expected. In the narrow tube
there gathered small drops of a liquid, which, when examined
after the experiment, was found to be nothing else than wa- |
TER, tasting a little burned indeed, but not affecting vegetable
colours. The salt which before being heated in the retort
gave a yellow precipitate with nitrate of silver, now gave a
white precipitate ; and a portion of it, being subjected to a
strong red heat in a platinum crucible, did not undergo the
slightest diminution in weight.

The 23.45 grains of phosphate of soda dried on the patd-
bath lost 1.46 grains by the process in the retort. Now we
have before seen that 1. of crystallized phosphate of soda loses
.6167 of water by the sand bath, and leaves 3833. But
23.45 : 3833 ::1.46: 0245. - Hence the result of the we
ment may be stated :

Dry pyrophosphate of soda, - 21.99 .3588
Water, expelled by a red heat, -° 146 .0245
23.45 .3833

* The small retort and its contents being weighed, the tube was adapt-
ed to it and cemented in the evening, and the experiment described in the
text tried next morning. As the salt in the small retort was in a porous
state, I think it not improbable that, like other porous substances, it may,
in this interval, have absorbed air to the extent of .1 inch. This absorp
tion would not affect the weights taken in tle experiment, as the weighings
were both made before the substances had more than time to cool, after
removal from the sand-bath, and from the fire.

304 Mr Clark on the Pyrophosphate of Soda.

This result agrees sufficiently well with the mean result of
the former experiments on the crystallized phosphate of soda,
so far as regards the action of red heat. 7

Water by sand-bath heat, rk 4 616%
Loss by red heat, now ascertained to be water, - . .0248
Dry pyrophosphate of soda, - , 8585

1.0000

But though it is thus proved that 0248 of water is not se-
parated from the common crystals of phosphate of soda, with- _
out the application of a red heat ; yet the question remained ;
Did not the power to retain this portion of water belong also
to the crystals of pyrophosphate of soda?

To determine this point, I subjected very fine, pure, and
hard crystals of pyrophosphate of soda to the same treatment
the common phosphate had undergone: that is, I exposed it.
to the same sand-bath heat, and then to a red heat; noting
the loss by each operation. |

Experiment
I. II. Mean.
Water expelled by sand-bath heat, - 4061 4065 4063
Water expelled by red heat, - 0011 0007 .0009
Dry pyrophosphate of soda, - - 5928 .5928 6928 ~

Now .0009 of water on .5528 of pyrophosphate of soda is
not so much as .0006‘on .3585. But .3585 retained .0248 of
water under the same treatment,.when it was the ordinary
crystals cf phosphate of soda, instead of those of pyrophos-
phate, that were subjected to the heat of redness, after under-
going that of the sand bath. ‘Thus it seems established, that -
phosphate of soda so long as it may be dissolved in water with-
out change of properties, retains .0248, or rather perhaps
(.0248—.0006) = .0242 of its weight of water, which, in the
state of pyrophosphate, it does not retain.

Before we can reflect with advantage on the peubablé func-
tion of this last portion of water, which is separated by a red
heat, it will be necessary to consider the quantity of water in
crystals of phosphate and pyrophosphate of soda, with refer-
ence to the doctrine of combining proportions. I have already
hinted at the differences between Doctors Thomson and Ber-
zelius respecting the combining proportions of the phosphates.

Mr Clark on the Pyrophosphate of Soda. 305 |

I do not enter into any statement of the grounds of my own
opinion ; because I anticipate an occasion when I shall dis-
cuss the subject at full length. At present, therefore, I shall
content myself with simply expressing my conviction, that,
with respect to the constitution of the phosphates, the weight
of evidence lies decisively on the side of Dr Berzelius.

According to his tables, a combining proportion of dry
phosphate of soda is 16.741, this quantity containing 7. parts
of oxygen; namely 5. in the phosphoric acid and 2. in the
soda; and this dry phosphate of soda corresponds, as the at-
tentive reader must have observed, with what I have called,
in this paper, dry pyrophosphate of soda.

I shall first consider the water of crystallized pyrophosphate
of soda; because its proportion in this salt is least liable to
doubt ; and then I shall consider the water of the crystallized
phosphate of soda.

Crystals of Pyrophosphate of Soda.

In the preceding part of this paper, there has been given
two experiments on the water of hard well-formed crystals of
this salt, where the water lost was .4072. I made only one
other experiment on crystals, which were-much softer, but
which were pounded, and dried in blotting paper. The water
was .4059.

Dried aad of soda - 16.741 16.741
Water - 11.521 11.438

The water in a former of these contains 10.24 oxygen ;
and in the latter 10.17. It is probable, therefore, that this
salt contains 10 proportions of water.

Crystals of Phosphate of Soda.

The water in crystals of this salt has likewise been already
stated. But phosphate of soda retains much water, mechani-
cally, among its. crystals; and this mechanical water is a
source of difficulty ; because you cannot pound and dry them,
without risk of losing water by efflorescence. I-took an ap-

roximate method. I put some crystals in the corner of a
silk handkerchief and pounded them with a wooden mallet,
drying them as they. were broken with the handkerchief.

-
306 Mr Clark on the Pyrophosphate of Soda.

About a fourth part of the crystals however escaped pound-
ing. I ascertained the water im one experiment where the
salt had been thus treated, and where, it is evident, some me-
chanical water was likely to remain; and I made two experi-
ments where the salt had been pounded and dried in blotting
paper, and where of course there was risk of efflorescence:

The following are the results :

Pounded in a Dried in
Crystals. Handkerchief. Blotting Paper.

Pyrophosphate-of soda _ ' 16.741 16.741 16.741
Water expelled by red heat 1.158 1.188 1.112
, Water expelled by sand bath-heat 28.786 27.304 26.803

The oxygen in the water expelled by a red heat is
1.03 1.05 99 Mean 1.024
This ought evidently to be 1.
The water expelled by the sand bath contains of oxygen
25.59 24.27 23.83.

But as the first quantity includes mechanical water, as like-
wise probably the second, though in a much less degree; and
as the water in the third was more likely to be in deficiency
than in excess ; we may safely conclude that the true quantity
lies between the second ahd third. In this view, twenty-four
must be the proportion of oxygen. Thus, exclusive of me-
chanical water, one proportion of crystallized phosphate of
soda contains twenty-five proportions of water; of which twen-
ty-four are separable by a sand bath heat, and the remaining
one by a red heat; and, in losing this last one proportion of
water, phosphate of soda becomes pyrophosphate of soda.

In what light are we to view this last proportion of water ?
Is it in combination with the salt, like the other twenty-four
proportions of water of crystallization ? Is it in combination |
with the soda, forming, with one half of it, a hydrate? Or, —
Is it in combination with the acid? Though one proportion
of water is separated, let us recollect that this does not neces-
sarily imply that one proportion of water existed: it may be,
that the salt contained merely the elements of this water ;
namely, one proportion of oxygen and one proportion of hy-
drogen ; and that the water is, not merely separated, but pro-
duced, by the action of heat ; as we know nitrate of ammonia
to be resolved by heat into nitrous oxide and water, neither of

Mr Clark on the po al of Soda. 307

which it contained. Lastly, then, doés the common phosphate
of soda contain one proportion of oxygen, and one proportion
of hydrogen, more than what is commonly supposed, in com-
bination with the salt, with its alkali, or with its acid ?

These are questions, which a more extended course of ex-
_ periments than we yet possess must answer.

If we were to consider nothing else than the difference in
the action of heat on crystals of the phosphate and the pyro-
phosphate of soda, the probability would be very strong in-
deed, that the last proportion of water, which is expulsible
_ from the phosphate only by a red heat, is not water of crystal-
lization in combination with the salt, but rather water, or the
elements of water, in combination with the acid or base. But
I made some experiments on another salt, which weigh very
much against this probability.

The researches of Dr Berzelius and of Professor Mitscher-
lich have well established that the arseniates are similar to the
phosphates, in their constitution, in their properties, and even
their form. I was induced therefore to try whether a change
could be produced by heat on the arseniate of soda, similar to
that remarkable one, which the phosphate of soda had under-
gone. ‘The appearances I found the same; but the effects
were different. For, the arseniate of soda submitted to a sand-
bath heat lost all its water, except one proportion, which it lost
when urged by a red heat, just as the phosphate of soda had
done; but then the watery solution of the arseniate which had
been heated red hot, and even to fusion, did not produce dif-
ferent precipitates with other salts; and, being set aside for
crystallization, it gave the old crystals back again, which had
the property of retaining as obstinately as before the last pro-
portion of water. Now all this looks very like, as if the phos-
phate and the arseniate of soda possessed the common proper-
ty, of retaining one proportion of water, expulsible only by a
red heat; and as if the heat, which expels this water from
them both, produces on the phosphate of soda an additional
change, which it does not produce on the arseniate of soda.
In this view, the expulsion of the last proportion of water by
_ heat vane be, not the cause of the conversion of phosphate of

*.
308 Mr Clark on the Pyrophosphate of Soda.

soda into pyrophosphate, but merely a concomitant, and, it
may be, an independent effect of heat.
Are we, then, to conceive that a red heat has produced a
decisive change on the constitution and properties of phosphate
of soda, without causing the addition or the separation of any
constituent whatever? This, I think, to be at least conceiva-~
ble ; and I will explain how... Any compound, it is generally
admitted, containing one proportion of sulphur and one pro-
portion of sodium; united with oxygen in any proportion less
than sufficient to form the sulphate of soda, is convertible by
heat into sulphate of soda, and sulphuret of sodium. Thus,
sulphite of soda, being heated red, forms sulphate of soda out
of three-fourths of the sulphur, three-fourths of the sodium,
and the whole of the oxygen, and also sulphuret of sodium
out of the remaining fourth of sulphur, and the remaining
fourth of sodium. These two compounds sulphate of soda,
and sulphuret of sodium would probably be separable by cry-
stallization from a watery solution of the heated product. But
it is conceivable at least, that. the sulphate of soda, and. the
sulphuret of sodium might remain in combination, forming a
sort of compound salt. In this case, (water being out of: the
question) a red heat, without altering the weight of the sul-
phite, would produce a salt, whose solution would exhibit new
properties, and afford crystals of a new form. Is it not ad-
missible at least, that a red heat may produce some analogous
change on the phosphate of soda ?
I repeat, however, that the constitution of the pyrophosphate
of soda must be decided by a more extended examination
(particularly of the effects of heat on salts) than has yet been
undertaken.. Obliged by my avocations to relinquish experi.
mental research for a few months to come, I can only hope
that the interesting and extensive subject, which I am happy
enough in introducing to the notice of chemists, will be taken
up speedily, and prosecuted zealously, by others. In an age -
of unexampled enterprise in chemical 1 investigation, it Is mpos-
sible but that changes, analogous to.the one which is the sub-
ject of this paper, will be discovered from time to time. But
it is better to seek for such discoveries, than to wait for them ; BE

Mr Clark on the Arseniate of Soda: | ‘B09

as we know that the ore of gold would be ‘trodden over by men,
and remain unfound, if it were unsought.

August 15th, 1827.

Art. XVIII.—On the Arseniate of Soda. By Mr Tuomas
Crarx, Lecturer on Chemistry and Mechanics in the
Glasgow Mechanics’ Institution. Communicated by the
Author.

Ix making the experiments on arseniate of soda, alluded to in
the preceding paper, I made an observation, which, though I
now find it is not original, is likely to be new to the chemists
of this country, as it was new to myself.

Professor Mitscherlich describes the arseniate of ‘soda, as of
the same crystalline form with phosphate of soda. But in pre-
paring the arseniate of soda, I found it very rare to get cry-
stals of this form, the crystals which most commonly occurred
being distinctly differents On submitting these crystals for
crystallographic examination to Mr Haidinger, I was inform-
ed by that gentleman that they had been previously discover-
ed by Professor Marx of Brunswick, and examined chemical-
ly by Dr L. Gmelin of Tubingen. They differ, chemically
from the other arseniate only in their water of crystallization ;
and the last proportion of it cannot be expelled without red heat,
just as with the other arseniate, and with the phosphate of soda.

To ascertain the water of crystallization, and especially to
distinguish what was mechanical water, I made one experiment
on crystals, two others on crystals pounded and dried in the
corner of a handkerchief, and lastly two on pounded crystals,
dried in blotting paper. I put down the result as if the dry
arseniate of soda had turned out 22.226 in each case ; this be-
ing Dr Berzelius’s combining proportion for this salt, and con-
taining proportions of oxygen ; namely 5 in the acid and 2

in the base.
Dried in a Dried in Blot-

Crystals. | Handkerchief. ting Paper.

Water, expelled by sand-bath 17.460 16.386 15.732
Water expelled by red heat - 1.156 — 1.179 1.162
Dry arseniate ofsoda - - 22.226 22.226 22.226

ee ; ne

40.842 39.791 39.120

310 Mr Clark on the Arseniate of Soda,

The oxygen in the water expelled by a red heat is 1.03,
1.05, 1.03. This is as nearly 1. as can be expected in such
experiments. The oxygen in the water sca by the sand-
bath is as follows :

From crystals, - - 15.47
From.crystals pounded and wiped in in a aiikerchiat 14.56
From pounded crystals, dried in blotting-paper, 13.98

In the last experiment, there is little chance of deficiency of
water, because the salt endures a long exposure to the air
without experiencing loss of water. I conclude, therefore,
that, exclusive of mechanical water, this arseniate loses 14 pro-
portions by a sand-bath heat, and 1 proportion by a red heat.

Dr Gmelin gives two experiments ; ; in one of which the to-
tal water turns out 15.17 proportions and in the other 15.65,
He conceives that the salt contains 16 proportions ; : but, from
his experiments and my own, I think it much more PRE
that 15 is the true quantity.

There seems, indeed, to be among chemists, a most unwar-
rantable habit of carelessness in deducing the water of crystal-
lization. The following is rather a droll example, taken from
Professor Mitscherlich’s valuable Essay on the Phosphates and
Arseniates. He has under examination the other arseniate of
soda.

“ 6,789 grammes of arseniate of soda being ignited gave
3. of residue. Consequently 100 parts of arseniate of soda
combine with 126.3 parts of water. 100 parts of arseniate
of soda contain 35.18 parts of soda, according to the atomic
weights of Berzelius; and these contain 9.00 parts of oxygen.
126.3\ parts of water contain 112.3 parts of oxygen.

* But 9.00: 112.32:1:3125 . .

“ THEREFORE, the oxygen in the soda is to that of pe wa
_ ter as 1 ts to. 12... ConsEQuentLy the crystallized salt consists
of, &e.”

This may do in Chemistry, where we are apt to pique our-
selves upon accuracy ; but how would it do in Astronomy to
read “* By observation, it was half pert 12. Therefore, it
was precisely 12. Consequently, &c. ?” :

I select this. imstance from. Professor Mitscherlich’s essay,

‘Mr Clark on a New Phosphate of Soda. 311

merely because it bears upon the subject of this notice ; for,
unfortunately the habit to which I refer is by no means pecu-
liar to the eminent Professor. But the reader will probably
agree with me in considering. his experiment, of more value
than his inference; and that the arseniate of soda, contains,
like the phosphate, 25 and not 24 proportions of water.

Dr Thomson has published two. examinations of the arse-
niate of soda ; one in the fifteenth volume of the Annals of Phi-
losophy, and another in his First Principles. _'The water in the
one examination differs from the water in the other by. not
less than 14 parts in the 100 of crystals. The reason is that
he used in one case the arseniate with 25 proportions of. wa-
ter ; and in the other, the arseniate with 15 proportions of
water.

The. arseniate which is of the same crystalline form with
phosphate of soda, and. which contains: 25: proportions of wa-
ter becomes speedily dim from loss of water, while the other
does not. I propose that the one with the 25 proportions of
water be called the Efflorescing arseniate of soda, and that the
other be called simply the Arseniate of soda.

The proportions of water in the pyrophosphate, the phos-
phate and the arseniates of soda, which we have been considering
are 10, 15, 25. It is not unworthy of observation that these
proportions contain, twice, thrice, and five times, the oxygen
in the acid of the salts.

August 15th, 1827.

Arr. XLX.—On.a New, Phosphate of Soda. By Mr Tuomas
Crakk, Lecturer on Chemistry and Mechanics in the Glasgow
Mechanics’ Institution. Communicated! by the Author.

Proressor Mirscuerticn having found that the crystalline
arseniates and phosphates, when they contained. the same water
of crystallization, were identical in their forms, I was curious to
try whether a phosphate of soda could be produced, corresponds
ing, in its form and water of crystallization, with the arseniate of -
soda, mentioned in the last paper, as containing 15 proportions —
of water. Aware of the effect.of a warm temperature on: so- ©
lutions of the sulphate and carbonate of soda,.in producing

312 Mr Clark on a New Phosphate of Soda

crystals containing less water of | crystallization, I exposed a.
concentrated solution of phosphate of soda, to evaporation in
a calico-printer’s stove which was kept hot night and day, com-
monly at a temperature of about 90° Fahr. Crystals tilee been
deposited since the preceding papers were written ; and I have
the happiness to find that they are just the kind I was seeking
for ; similiform with the arseniate of soda, and containing the
same proportion of combined water! In the following expe-
riment, the water was separated from crystals, which had been
pounded and dried in a handkerchief.

Water expelled by sand-bath - - | 16.303.
Water expelled by red heat ‘ : 1.186
Dry pyrophosphate of soda - % 16.741

Compare the water in this phosphate with that in the simi-
liform arseniate, as stated in the preceding paper; this salt
having undergone the same treatment.

Water expelled by sand-bath _—-- - 16.386
~ Water expelled by red heat ser tay 1.179)».
Dry arseniate of soda Se a SO

I need hardly remind the reader that, in Dr Berzelius’s
tables, 16.741 of pyrophosphate of soda is equivalent to
22.226 arseniate of soda; each of these numbers representing
one combining proportion. Comparing the above experiments
together, there can be no doubt of the identity of the propor-
tion of water of crystallization.

A solution of the new phosphate in water has the same pro-
perties as those of the common phosphate, crystals of which
it yields by the usual treatment. The new phosphate does
not lose its water by exposure at ordinary temperatures ; but
it is difficult to remove completely from its surface, the mother
liquor which almost immediately forms a thin covering of efflo-
rescing phosphate to the salt, and speedily, by losing its water,
gives to the new iid grad the appearance of an lorepeing
salt.

Professor Mitscherlich may look to the discovery of the
new phosphate of soda, not without triumph. ‘The arseniate
of soda, which does not effloresce, seems originally to have

Mr Clark on @ new Phosphate of Soda. 313

been published by Decider Marx, as a proof that. the arse-
niate of soda is not similiform with the rhomboidal phosphate
of soda; but it was merely an instance of a new arseniate of
soda ; at he did not obtain the rhomboidal one, only because
he did not use the proper means. But there were now two
arseniates of soda, only one of which corresponded im its water
and in its form with the phosphate. It remained to obtain a
second phosphate, corresponding in its form and its:water,
with the second arseniate ; and this has been got, the very first
time it was properly sought for. Perhaps also, the discovery
may afford to Professor AGjtacherlich some consolation against
the terrible sneers of certain chemical gentlemen of London,
who have written upon a subject, on which they were above
experimenting. The dazzling brilliancy of his discovery was
not to be beheld, or comprehended, by their eyes; and, ac-
cordingly, they put forth their breath—but happily it was a
breath, destined to extinguish no light—save perhaps a
candle.

Having now obtained an arseniate and a phosphate of soda,

whereof each contained twenty-five proportions of water, and
each lost a portion of this water on exposure to the air, and,
also, an arseniate and a phosphate of soda, whereof each con-
tained fifteen proportions of water, and lost none by exposure
to the air; I became interested im ascertaining whether the
former salts were changed by exposure into the latter. I
therefore subjected to experiment some crystals of éfllorescing
arseniate and efflorescing phosphate of soda, which had been
pounded, and left, now for four weeks, spread out on a paper
‘in a large room, whose temperature would vary from 52° to
62° Fahr. The following are the results of one ea
on each effloresced salt : —

Effloresced
Arseniate. Phosphate.
- Water expelled by sand-bath, 15.682 15.781
Water expelled by red heat, OFA F OS5 1.212
Dry salt left, - “-" - 22.226 16.741

VOL. VII. NO. 1. oct. 1827. : x

;

314 Mr Haidinger on the Crystalline Forms

The water here is obviously identical with that which I for
merly obtained from the arseniate of soda, freed from mecha-
nical water by being pounded we dried in blotting-paper
nantely,

Paice expelled byioandshens is vik xtc: LAA
Water expelled by red heat, —- ; i 1.162
Dry salt left, - 4 ‘ : 22.296

The water, by computation, should be 15.74 and 1.13. sii

August 17th, 1827.

Art. XX.—On the Crystalline Forms of Pyrophosphate of
Soda and the Arseniate of Soda, described in the preceding
Papers. By Wititam Harpincer, Esq. F.R. S. E.,
&c. Communicated by the Author.

Tue examination of the regular forms of the following salts
I undertook at the request of Mr Clark, who put into my
hands the interesting substances to which the descriptions re-
fer. |

1. Pyrophosphate of Soda. .
Fundamental form, a scalene four-sided pyramid. P=

{56° 9 \, 130° 47’, 187° 0’.. Fig. 8, Plate IIT. Tiel

tion of the axis in the plane of the long diagonal = 21° =
Plane angles of the base 50° 8’, and 129° 52’.
e:Di 6: G20 % Boosie. s: 7
Combinations gs like Fig. 7, whose Abit ar 4

sign is P—o (a). 5 (P). Br (d).— 7 ye lel (é).

Pr+ (b). Fig. 9 is the projection of it upon a plane pa-
rallel to the plane of inclination. Inclination of

aon 6 —111° 48’ aone — 103° 24’
aon e (adjacent) = 118° 22’ bonP = 121° 43’
b on é = 129° 50’ bone = 107° 30’
aon P = 119° 38 bond (over P) =101° 51’
aond — = 128° 33’ : |

of Pyrophosphate of Soda.” 315

Observations.—The crystals have a perfect conchoidal frac-
ture, and are quite permanent when exposed to the air; they
do not effloresce like the common phosphate. I have often
seen the latter substance, but never examined its crystallogra-
_ phic properties, this having been already done by Professor
Mitscherlich ;-but I cannot at present turn to his description
of it, in order to contrast the forms of the two salts.»

2. Arseniate of Soda.
Fundamental form, a scalene four-sided pyramid. P =

{92° 16 f> 119° 27’, 119° 56, Fig. 8, Inclination of the

axis in the plane of the long diagonal = 7° 0’. Plane angles -
of the base 78° 18/, and 101° 49’.
a:b:e:d—8.2: 7.54: 6.14: 1.
Combinations usually like Fig. 10, whose crystallographic

sign is P— @ (a). 2 (P). RC eta 75 a (c).

P+ @(f); (Pr+ )?(g). Pr4+ (db). Pra n(h.)
Fig. 11 is a projection of it upon a plane, parallel toh. In-
clination of

aon b ot. a@ onc = 116° 42’
a on ¢ (adj.) = 128° 27’ ~—_g on g (over b) = 117° 16’ ~
eon 6 = 134° 33’ = fon f (over 6) = 78° 46/
aon P — 123° 29 ‘aonf = 94° 267

Observations. —There is a distinct cleavage parallel to the
face 6 ; otherwise the fracture is conchoidal. This salt was
first described by Professor Marx of Brunswick, in a pamphlet:
“ On the Relations between the Chemical’ Mixture and the
Crystalline Form,”* and urged against Professor Mitscherlich
as an instance of want of similar forms in two salts, consisting
of similar sompounds of isomorphous bodies. Professor Leo-
pold Gmelin has since shown, + that the arseniate of soda.
crystallizes with two different proportions of water, and pro-
duces, therefore, two essentially distinct species, one of them
being effforescent, which 1s that described by Mitscherlich, while.
the other is permanent, which was obtained by Marx. The

* Ueber das Verhiliniss der Mischung sur Form. 1824.
t Poggendorf’s Annalen. 1825-6.

316 Mr Breton on the Topography, Animals, &c.

latter crystallizes from more concentrated solutions at higher
temperatures than the former. The descriptions published
of the salt discovered by Marx are not so perfect as to render
superfluous either the drawing given here Fig. 10, or the
measures of the angles, though the latter be given only as
approximations. Mr Clark has succeeded in discovering an
analogous case to Marx’s salt among the phosphates of soda ;
for the salt which he obtained by exposing a concentrated
solution of phosphate of soda to evaporation in a calico-prin-
ter’s stove, agrees in regard to form exactly with that arseniate
of soda, the crystals being likewise similar to Fig. 10. Though
regularly formed, and of considerable size, their surface was
not bright enough to admit of a very exact measurement,
which perhaps might have shown some slight deviation in the
angles of the two substances.

Arr. XXI.—On the Topography, Animals, and Reptiles of
some districts in India. By P. Breton, Esq.

Ix the second volume of the T'ransactions of the Medical and
Physical Society of Calcutta there is a valuable paper by Mr
Breton on. the medical topography of the districts of Ramghur,
Chota Nagpore, Sirgoojah, and Sumbhulpore, and a description
of the animals and reptiles met with in these districts. These
provinces, the theatre of Mr Breton’s travels for a series of
years, are from three to four hundred. miles from the sea, and
the surface is variegated with forests, deep jungle, vallies, and —
plains. The plains in some parts are extensive. Those of
Chota Nagpore and Sirgoojah (lat. 93° 6 11” N.) extend in
- some parts many miles, and are for the most part cultivated.
The chains of mountains run east and west. . Some are conti-
nuous for many miles, others interrupted, and the highest does —
not probably rise above 2000 feet from the base, or 6000 feet
above the level of the sea. These provinces are intersected by
considerable rivers, the chief of which are the Maha Nuddee, the
Ebe, Koel, Sunk, Baira, Hutsoo, and Dummoodah, the nume-
rous tributaries to which afford the natives the means of irriga-
tion forseveral monthsafter theterminationoftherains. Villages
are interspersed over the face of the country, not only in the

- of some districts in India. 317

plains, but at the base and on the tops of the -mountains, the
soil of which last is considered to be the most fertile. The soil
of Ramghur, in the declivities, is principally loam; in the
high grounds loam, clay, and gravel, with mica. ‘That of
Chota Nagpore is in many parts a peculiar kind of red earth,
extremely fertile. ‘Lhe soil of Sirgoojah is similar to that of
Ramghur, but, in addition to the different kinds of pulse and
cotton raised in the other provinces, possesses one peculiarity
in producing in its vallies vast quantities of Tikhoor,( Curcuma
angustifolia, ) from the roots of which the natives prepare a
farinaceous powder, not distinguishable from the West India
arrow-root. Mr Breton in 1821 sent a specimen of this fari-
naceous powder to Dr Wallich of Calcutta, who found the re-
semblance so complete, that he requested to be furnished with
a large supply for the purpose of sending it to Europe, which
was accordingly transmitted in 1822. In Sirgoojah is a re-
markable hot spring, the temperature of which, when examin-
ed by Mr Breton i in.1819, was 186° Fahr. The valley of Sum-
bhulphore 1 is of an alluyial nature, and produces crops of rice,
wheat, and the sugar-cane. The soil is peculiarly adapted to
_ the growth of the poppy, and wild indigo abounds on the
banks of the Maha Nuddee. The bed of this river furnishes
the finest diamonds in the world, and a class of diamond find-
ers, or Jharas, annually search its channel from the termina-
tion to the commencement of the rains. -

The range of Fahrenheit’s thermometer in the plains of
Ramghur, Chota Nagpore, and Sirgoojah, is from 72° to 88°
in the twenty-four hours during the rainy season ; from 78° to
98° in the hot season; and from 66° to 32° in the cold season.

~The cold season commences about the end of October, and ter-

minates about the middle of March, when the hot season com-
_ maences and lasts till the middle of June. The rains then set
in and usually continue till the middle of October. But every
year there is a little variation in the commencement and ter-
mination of these seasons.

The mountains are wholly covered with forests and under-
wood, and the jungles that extend from them contain a great
variety of the trees common to the woods of Hindostan. ‘The
Saul tree (Shorea robusta) seems to predominate, and between

318 Mr Breton on the Topography, Animals, &c.

Singhbhoom and Sumbhulpore stb a forest of these trees”

extending uninterruptedly for thirty or forty miles. Mr Breton
mentions a number of other trees known to the residents, but
states that in these almost impenetrable forests are many trees
and plants unknown to Europeans.

Of the wild animals which inhabit the mountains and’ wood-

ed parts of these provinces, the Gaouwr or gigantic ox is one of |

the most important. Though occasionally seen by residents in

a wild state, the habits and structure of this animal are scarcely .

known. <A notice in the 9th volume of the Memoires du Mus.
@ Hist. Nat. extracted from an English account of an Indian
hunting match, and occasional allusions in the Journals of
English travellers, form the scanty history of this magnifi-

cent animal. Major Charles Hamilton Smith, an excellent —

zoologist, and author of the supplementary account of the

order Ruminantia in Griffith’s translation of the Régne Animal, _

places the Gaour in his Bisontine group under the name of Bos
Gaurus, and details the characters as given in these incidental

notices. The chief of these characters, and which distinguishes |

the Gaour from all other animals of the tribe, is said to be an
elevated spinous ridge, extending in the form of an arch from
the end of the cervical vertebra to half way down the dorsal
vertebree. The existence of this spinous projection, though
doubted by Major Smith, is particularly noticed in the account
of Mr Breton, who personally examined a specimen, From
the measurements of the animal recorded in the French me-
moirs, however, and copied by the Major, being identically
the same as those now printed in Mr Breton’s paper, and from
the specimen examined by that gentleman being ‘seen so far
back as 1816, it is not improbable that the measurements: and
the character of the spinous ridge rest on this single observa-
tion, communicated through some other channel to Europe.
Though no doubt, therefore, is to be entertained of the fact,
when detailed by an observer so capable, still it would be de-
sirable that the nature of this anomalous structure were ex-
amined by the anatomists of Europe, and for this PUrpoRe,

that specimens should be sent to our national museums. In
the meantime, as all our knowledge of the animal seems to be

eee

=a

as districts in India. 319

derived from Mr Breton's observations, w we give his soa
tion in his own words.

«A male Gaour killed on Myn Paut in Eeeadojen on the
29th January 1816, was measured in my presence by Captain

J. N. Jackson, and its dimensions were :— ©
Feet. Inches,

Height from the hoof to the withers, . 4 5 113
Tene gth between the withers and the lower partof

the chest, ' 3 63
Girth, ; Tage
Length from the tip of the nose to ra net ng :

of the tail, ..... : : : nee a NE

_ The form of the head and horns approaches very. nearly to
that of an English bull, and short tufts of dirty white curled
hair cover the upper part of the forehead. © The colour of the
hairs of the skin on the body is dark brown; but owing to the
fineness and density of the coat, it assumes in the sun’s rays a
jet black colour, which gives to the animal, from its being sleek
and generally in high condition, a very handsome appearance. —
The legs, from the knee and hock to the hoofs, are covered
with dirty white coloured hair, much coarser than that of the
body. Itslegs are large and well proportioned, combining ap-
parently strength and elasticity. ‘lhe animal is very muscular,
and has great width of chest and quarters ; and its legs being
short in proportion to the magnitude of its body, there is an ap-
pearance of immense strength. But what characterizes this
animal from others of the bovine species, is a thick and elevat-
ed spinous ridge, which extends in the form of an arch from-
the end of the cervical vertebrae, to half way down the dorsal
vertebra, the elevation over the shoulders being near seven
inches above the line of the spine, where this ridge gradually
terminates. At a distance, this ridge has somewhat the ap-
pearance of the hump on bullocks; but instead of flesh it is
formed of the spinous processes.

“The Gaour is gregarious, and in defence of its young is’
considered one of the-fiercest animals that inhabit the jungles.
I once saw in the valley of Myn Paut a herd of Gaours with
their young. I counted upwards of fifty ; but as the herd was
in motion, I might have erred in my calculation. On Myn

7
- 320 Mr Breton:on the Topography, Animals, &.

Paut the haunts of the Gaour seem to bein the deepest jungles
in the vallies, probably from the verdure being there more
abundant than in the plams. I have, however, seen a few
grazing singly on the plains, as if strayed from herds; and in
this situation they appear very timid, for they would not allow
any thing to approach them within musket shot, but scamper-
ed off into the jungles the moment they descried people in pur-
suit of them. The natives attach to this animal great fierce-
ness; for when they are wounded and brought to bay, they
will attack any thing that approaches them. |

“* The Gaour, if it could be domesticated, would, from its size,
structure, and activity, form the finest draught cattle in India.
They are, however, so wild and ferocious, that it is very diffi-
cult to catch them or their young; and when the latter are ac-
cidentally caught, they cannot, from some unaccountable cause,
be reared. The natives declared that every one of the calves .
that had been taken died a few months after being separated
from their dams. | In the latter end of 1822 a Gaour calf, more
than quarter grown, was caught at Jushpore, bordering on
Surgoojah, and it was suckled by a tame buffalo:for about a
month, when it was sent with the buffalo by the Rajah to
Lieutenant Syers at Hazareebagh. I saw the calf.on its arri-
val, and am confident it was the Gaour. It was as tame as if
it had not been born of wild parents. For afew days after its
arrival at Hazareebagh, it appeared to be well and healthy ;
it afterwards began to loathe its food, gradually drooped, and
died of looseness of the bowels.

‘© Notwithstanding these failures, there is-ground for pi
lieving that the Gaour might be reared and domesticated if
proper means were resorted to ; and with reference to the pro-
bable utility of these animals as draught and carriage cattle,
and in yielding ‘abundance of milk, over those of the bovine
tribe in Hindostan, it would probably repay any one ‘who
could spare time and a little expense im the pursuit, to try the
experiment of bringing into use probably the noblest species of
the bos tribe, evidently designed by nature for something more
than as mere beasts of the chase.

‘*¢ Although Myn Paut seems to be the principal abode és
‘the Gaour, a few are to be met with in the other districtsin the —

-

of some districts in India. . 321

south-west frontier. They have to my knowledge been killed
in Ramghur, Palamow, and Chota Nagpore, and they are said
to exist also in Sumbhulpore. The natives regard them with
much greater indifference than they do the wild buffalo, since
the former are by no means se injurious to ther corn-fields as
the latter are.” P. 247—251.

Besides the Gaour, the Urna or wild buffalo, the Samur, a
species of elk, two kinds of Neel-gao; the spotted deer, the
antelope, the hog-deer, the kotaree, a deer with four horns, the
red deer, and the Mirgee, or mouse deer as it is called, are
found in these districts. This last is about the size of a fox,
without horns, of a greyish colour, but with its four legs from
the knee to the hoof black. :

The ravenous animals are the tiger, panther, Leopard ounce,
the black leopard, hyzna, bears, wolves, jackals, and foxes.
There is also an animal in these provinces called by the na-
tives Qyo, conjectured, Mr Breton says, to be a kind of wild
dog. It is of a reddish brown colour, size larger than that of
a jackal, and has more the appearance of a dog than that of
any other animal, although it has a bushy tail similar to that
of a jackal. The other animals met with are common to
Hindostan, such as different species of monkeys, wild hogs,
hares, porcupines, the polecat, weasel, and racoon. The
pangolin is now and then seen.

_The poisonous serpents observed by Mr Breton were the
several varieties of the Cobra de capello; the Amaiter, the Ka-
tuka rekula poda of Russel ; and the Sankunee ( Boa fasciata. )
The Boa constrictor is occasionally met with. The other
noxious reptiles in these provinces are the scorpion, the centi-
pede, and the tarantula; but they possess no active poison,
for they are incapable of destroying small animals, such as
kids or fowls. In general, Mr Breton says, the irritation
is not greater than that excited by the sting of a wasp.

» Several kinds of bees, varying in size and colour, and pro-
ducing honey of different qualities, are found. They usually
construct their combs on thick branches of large trees, and
when disturbed are very formidable. A. detachment of the
Ramghur corps in Sumbhulpore, only ‘avoided the annoyance.
of a swarm by flight from the spot; and several valuable

.
322 Professor Airy on a peculiar Defect in the Eye.

pointers and greyhounds belonging to the commanding-officer,
and tied toatree, were, on the retreat of the dog-keeper, stung
to death. | From the cocoon of the Bombyx paphia cloths cali-
ed’ Soosee and Mushru are manufactured. ‘The lac:insects
abound in the jungles, and the lac produced is one of ae
principal articles of traffic among the natives.

Lead and antimony are reported to exist in different shits
of Ramghur, and iron is found in every part of the district.
A few miles east of Hazareebagh are beds of very fine mica,
from which large transparent lamine are procured. Sumb-
hulpore has from time immemorial been distinguished for the
production of the finest diamonds. They are found in the
bed of the Mahanuddee, and at the mouths of its eae
streams. vt

Arr. XXII—.On a peculiar Defect in the Eye, and a mode
of correcting it.* By G. B. Airy, Esq. A.M.and Lucasian
Professor of. Mathematics in. the University of CABS,
_-With observations. by the Ep1ror. Kavieine

Two or three years since I discovered that in olsen I did
not usually employ my left eye, and that in looking carefully

at any near object, it was totally useless; in fact, the image _

formed in that eye was not perceived except my attention was
particularly directed to it. Supposing this to be entirely ow-
ing to habit, and that it might be corrected by using the left
eye as much as possible, 1 endeavoured to read with the right
eye closed or shaded, but found that I could not distinguish a
letter, at least in small print, at whatever distance from my eye -
the characters were placed. No farther remark suggested»it-
self at that time, but a considerable time afterwards I observ-
_ ed that the image formed by a bright point (as.a distant lamp
or a star) in my left eye was not circular, as it is in the eye
which has no other defect than that of being near sighted, but
elliptical, the major axis making an angle of about 35° with the |
vertical, and its higher extremity being inclined to the right.
Upon putting on concave spectacles, by the assistance of

* From the Ghantbehuas of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, vol. ii.
part ii. p. 267—273. Read Feb. 21, 1825. _

s

Professor Airy on a peculiar Defect in the Eye. 323

which I saw distant objects distinctly with my. right eye, I
found that to my left eye a distant lucid point had the ap-
pearance of a well-defined line, corresponding exactly in direc-
tion and nearly in length to the major axis of the ellipse above-
mentioned. I found also that if I drew upon paper two black
lines crossing each other at right angles, and placed the paper
ma proper position, and at a certain distance from the eye, one
line was seen perfectly distinct, while the other was barely vi-
sible. Upon bringing the paper nearer to the eye, the line
which was distinct now disappeared, and the other was seen
very well-defined. All these appearances indicated that the
refraction of the eye was greater in the plane nearly vertical |
than in that at right angles to it, and that consequently it would
not be possible to see distinctly by the assistance of lenses with
spherical surfaces. I found, indeed, that by turning a con-
cave lens obliquely, or by looking directly through a part near
the edge, I could see objects without confusion; but in both
cases the distortion produced in their figure was such that I
could not hope to make any use of the left eye without some
more effectual assistance. _ i
My object was now to form a lens which should refract more
powerfully the rays in one certain plane, than those in. the
plane at right angles to it; and the first idea was to employ
one whose surfaces should be cylindrical and concave, the axis
of the cylinders crossing each other at right angles, and their
radii being different. ‘To show that this construction would
effect my purpose, it is only necessary to imagine the lens di-
vided into two lenses by a plane perpendicular to its axis,
Then it is easily seen that the refraction of one will not be per-
ceptibly altered by that of the other, and that the whole. re-
fraction will be the combination of the two separate refractions.
The rays in one plane will be made to diverge entirely by the ©
refraction of one lens, and those in the other plane by that
of the other Jens. If then 7 and 2’ be the radii of the sur-
faces, and 7 the refractive index and parallel rays be incident,
the rays in one = after refraction will diverge from a point

whose distance i is ——,, and there is another plane from a point

/
whose distance is ee This construction was then suf-

°
324 Professor Airy on a peculiar Defect in the Eye.’

ficient; but for the facility of grinding, and for the diminution
of the curvatures, it appeared preferable to make one surface
cylindrical, the other spherical, both concave. Let 7 be the
radius of the cylindrical surface, R that of the spherical, then
the refraction in the plane passing through the axis of the cy-
lindrical surface being entirely effected by the spherical surface,
parallel rays in this plane after refraction will diverge from

P R
the distance ——
n—l1

cular to the axis being caused by both surfaces, parallel rays
in shit plane will, in their emergence, diverge from the distance

1 1
ior gt >) .

To discover the necessary data I made .a very fine hole
with the point of a needle in a blackened card, which I caused
to slide on a graduated scale; then strongly illuminating a
sheet of paper, and holding the card between it and the eye,
I had a lucid poimt, upon which I could make observations
with great ease and exactness. Then resting the end of the
scale upon the cheek-bone, and sliding the card on the scale,
I found that the point at the distance of six inches appeared
a very well-defined line inclined to the vertical about 35°, and
subtending an angle of 2° by estimation. At the distance of
3} inches it appeared a very well-defined line at right angles
to the former, and of the same apparent length. It was ne-
cessary, therefore, to make a lens, which, when parallel rays —
were incident, should cause those in one plane to diverge from
the distance 8} inches, and those in another plane from the
distance six inka, Making the expressions above equal to
these numbers, and supposing » = 1.53, we find R = 3.18,
r= 4.45. To prevent, if possible, the eye from becoming
more short-sighted, I fixed upon the values R = 3}, r= 41.

After some ineffectual applications to the different work-
men, I at last procured a lens to these dimensions from an
artist named Fuller of Ipswich. | It satisfied my wishes in
every respect. I can now read the smallest print at a con-
siderable distance with the left eye, as well as with the right. -
I found that vision is most distinct-when the cylindrical sur-

: while the refraction in the plane perpendi-

~

Professor Airy on a peculiar Defect in the Eye. 325 .

face is turned from the eye. It alters the apparent figure of
objects by refracting differently the rays in different planes.
I judged it proper to have the frame of my spectacles made
so as to bring the glass pretty close to the eye. With these
precautions, I find that the eye which I once feared would
become quite useless can be used in almost every, neeaade as
well as the other.

Since I procured this lens, I have been informed that a
foreign artist has made spectacle-glasses with cylindrical sur-
faces of different radi for general use. What his object can
be I am quite unable to imagine. Certainly no one whose eye
is not defective can see with them distinctly. With my right
eye; which, (by the method of examination above described,)
I find to have no other defect than short-sightedness, I am
unable to read any thing in the lens made for my left eye.
After many inquiries, I have not been able to discover that
this construction has been used to correct any defect in the
eye, or even that a defect similar to that which I have de-
scribed has ever been noticed.

OBSERVATIONS BY THE EDITOR. |

We consider the preceding paper as a very interesting and
important one. The fact, we believe, has been before obser-
ved, that some eyes have a different refractive focus in a verti-
cal and ina horizontal plane, but we cannot at present refer Mr
Airy to the work which contains it. This, however, does not af-
fect the originality and value of his observations, of his successful
exertions to discover the nature of the defect, and to construct a
glass for correcting it. Mr Airy does not seem to have ascertain-
ed in what part of the eye this curious defect exists,—whether
in the cornea or in the crystalline lens. By examining the
image of a taper reflected from the outer surface of the cor-
nea, he will readily discover whether its form is spherical or
cylindrical. If it is spherical, there can be little doubt that
the crystalline is in fault, and it will remain to be determined
whether the differences of refraction in different planes arise
from the lens having one or both of its surfaces cylindrical,
or what is more probable, from a want of symmetry in the
variation of its density,—an effect which is very common at

>
326 - Mr Haidinger on Davyne, —_. 5

that period of life when the eye begins to feel the approach of
age.

Mr Airy has misconceived the mformation which he has re-.
ceived, “ that a foreign artist has made spectacle-glasses with
eylindrical surfaces of different radii for general use.” This”
information is quite correct, and we had one of these lenses
executed for us many years ago by a Scotch artist, which is
figured and described in = article Orrics in the Edinburgh
Evtcyclopedia, vol. xv. p. 509. ‘The cylindrical surfaces,
however, are placed with their axes, or homologous lines, trans.
verse to each other, so that the whole lens acts like a spherical
lens. Mr Airy, consequently, is quite correct in his conclu-
sion, that these lenses were not intended for correcting any
such defect as that which he has observed, and so well de-
scribed.

Arr. X XIII.—On Davyne,a New Mineral Species. By W1t-
-~i1amM Harprncer, Esq. me R. S. E. &c. Communicated by
the Author. A ;

Tose Prodromo della Mineralogia Vesuviana, by Messrs Mon-
ticelli and Covelli, has been so frequently quoted of late, and
accounts and abstracts of it given in systematic works and in
journals, that a notice of it might have been ere now expected
also in the present Journal of Science. . A. great many species
were described in that work, some of them probably new, but
- with so little regard to the present state of mineralogical infor-
mation in the rest of the world, have they been brought for-
ward, that mineralogists will have to adopt them only with the
utmost caution, if they wish to avoid giving double deseripe
tions of the same substances.

Christianite, for instance, one of the species proposed as new,
was described under the name of Albite long previous to the -
publication of the Prodromo, and much better determined by
Professor Gustavus Rose, who published his masterly account
of it in Gilbert’s Annals for February 1823. It is much to
be regretted that names so honourable and. respected as. those
of his Royal Highness Prince Christian of Denmark, and Pro-

a New Mineral Species. 327

fessor Cleaveland of Boston, should have been attached to a
species which had a name before, that of Albite, a name adopt-
ed by Professor Rose from the imperfectly characterized spe-
cimens, to which it had been given by the Swedish mineralo-
gists and chemists, whatever objections there might have been |
against the name itself, in order to avoid that unnecessary in-
erease of synonyms which now a days so generally prevails.
Systematic denominations should refer to systems, and ex-
_ press the degree of resemblance among the objects denominat-
ed. The only attempt at such a nomenclature was made by
Professor Mohs, whose system is the only one in existence
framed upon the pure principles of natural history. Trivial
names are single words attached to each species, without ex-
pressing their degree of resemblance. No-rule can be given
for their formation except that they should not be-compound,
and that they may refer to anything connected with the spe-
cies. ‘They should consist, as Linnaeus has it, “ vocabulo unico,
libere, undequaque desumto.” Mineralogists ought to look to
the interest of their science, and avoid applying new names
to increase, without the utmost necessity, what is already too
much. . A new species requires a new systematic denomina-
tion ; but since a short name to designate it is sometimes called
for, when the species is viewed from another than a systematic
point of view, also a trivial name is necessary. To give a
name to an acknowledged variety of another species, as ame-
thyst, prase, flint, and others, from the older mineralogy, and
many more that have been proposed in our own days, is to
betray a perfect indifference in regard to the determination of
the species, in as much as what only a species has a right to
is bestowed upon ‘a variety. But it is still more reprehensible
from mere caprice to object to whole classes of trivial names,
such for instance as are taken from persons, or from localities,
or from colours, and supplant others for them, which are often
not better than those which had been current before. The aus
thors of the Prodromo would probably not have deprived Pro-
fessor Rose of the authority of fixing a name on the species,
which he first solidly established, had they been acquainted
with his memoir; and we can now do nothing but wish that the

328 } Mr Haidinger on Davyne,

compliment to Prince Christian had. been paid by a pain cias
gist better versed in the literature of his science.

Humboldtilite, Davyne, Cavolinite, Biotine have been dee
scribed as new species ; I select Davyne for the subject of the
present communication, as I have lately had. an opportunity of
examining several of its properties in specimens of Mr Allan’s —
cabinet. The following description is drawn up from them, to
which are added the varieties observed by Messrs Monticelli
and Covelliin a much more comprehensive series of specimens.

Form rhombohedral. Crystals similar Fig. 5... Combina-
tin. R—o (P). P(r). R+ @(s).P + @(M). The
faces r sufficiently enlarged produce an isosceles six-sided
pyramid, with terminal edges of 154° 46’, and lateral edges of
51° 47’, nearly, as deduced from the admeasurement of the
latter. The fundamental form, from which this pyramid de-
rives, is a rhombohedron of 112° 16’, whose axis is = ,/1.59.

Cleavage highly perfect, parallel to the ayers M, or P + ri:
cross fracture conchoidal.

High degrees of lustre upon the faces of cleavage, which by
the numerous parallel fissures to them often assume a pearly
aspect. The surface of the faces r is often a little rough,
though perfectly even. Colour white. parinecinene ran.’ comme
derable.

Brittle. Hardness = 5.0..:5. 5, a little above apatite. ar
cific gravity nearly 2.4.

In the specimens which I examined, the Davyne was associa-
tedwith brown dodecahedral garnet. ‘They had been sent to Mr
Allan by Lord Compton. Beside the variety represented. in
the: figure, Davyne is described by Messrs Monticelli: and
Covelli as occurring in the combinations of the six-sided. prism
M, consisting of P, and with » and s separately, of: different
brownish. tints, and various degrees of translucency. They
state the specific gravity at 2.25. I am confident that the one
of 2.4 given above approaches nearer truth, though I could
not arrive at a result entirely to be depended on, from ——
too small a quantity of the material.’

In. contrasting the properties of Davyne with those of: ne-
pheline, the specific gravity of the latter is quoted as high”as

a New Mineral Species. — 329

3.27, whereas in fact it is much lower, and comprehended with-
-in the limits assigned to the species by Professor Mohs, namely,
2.5...2.6. The result of a late experiment, which I tried with
very pure crystals, is 2.592. The numbers 3.2741 are given

in the first edition of Haiiy’s T'’raité, and by most subsequent
authors ; but they cannot refer to nepheline.

The authors of the Prodromo obtained the following result
we chemical analysis of this species.

Silica, ee) Xu 42.91

_ Alumina, Ms 33.28
Lime, ‘ 4 12.02
Iron, as “ 1.25
Water, - “ 7.43
96.89"

Hence they infer that Davyne consists of one atom of bisilicate
of lime, five atoms of silicate of alumina, and two of water,
giving the formula CS? + 5 AS + 2 Ag. It forms a jelly
with nitric acid, froths before the blowpipe, and altogether
shows the phenomena corresponding to its contents.

The preceding statements, as far as they refer to the account
given by Messrs Monticelli and Covelli, were taken from the
translation contained in Silliman’s Journal for October 1826,
_as I have not had the advantage of comparing the original.

All the characters of Davyne, and the general aspect of the
substance itself, concur in assigning to it a place among the
numerous family of the zeolites, that is, in the genus kouphone-.
spar of the system of Professor Mohs. Asa systematic denomi-
nation, that of the Davyan kouphone-spar seems very appropri-
ate; and it retains the allusion to the illustrious individual,
in whose honour the name of Davyne was proposed.

There is a peculiar charm attached to every novelty, parti-
cularly if the new object, like a species in mineralogy, bears so
large a proportion to the whole contents of a natural kingdom.
Next to this is the interest of contributing towards the more
firm establishment of a fact but lately discovered, and from this
point of view I believe the preceding account will not-be consi-
dered quite superfluous.

VOL. VII. PART 1. oct. 1827. ¥

330 Dr Grant on the Virgularia mirabilis

Art. XXIV.—Notice regarding the Structure and Mode

of Generation of the Virgularia mirabilis and Pennatula

phosphorea. By Rozsert E. Grant, M.D. F.R.S.E.
F. L.S. Professor of Zoology in the University of Lanten-
Communicated by the Author. i!

SrveRAL specimens of the Vinewlaria mirabilis, Lam. and

Pennatula phosphorea, lately taken in the Frith of Forth, and
brought to me alive in sea-water, afforded me a favourable op.-
portunity of observing some of the living phenomena of these
singular animals. Notwithstanding the excellent observations of
Bohadsch, Ellis, Pallas, and Muller, on the structure and habits

of Pennatule, there is still much uncertainty respecting the

nature of these anomalous zoophytes, and the most contradic-
tory statements are met with in authors respecting their loco-
motive powers. As they exhibit no point of attachment by
which they can adhere, like almost every other zoophyte, to

solid substances at the bottom of the sea, no doubt is enter-
tained among naturalists that they float freely to and fro in
the deep, and Lamarck has instituted a new order of zoo-
phytes ( Polypi natantes ), for thereception of seven genera which
appear to exist in this unconnected state: Many naturalists,

however, have even maintained that they swim through ,the

ocean by their own spontaneous movements, effected either by
the waving up.and down of the lateral expansions of the ani-
mal, which was supposed by Pallas (El. Zooph. p. 369,) and
by Ellis (Phil. Trans. liii. 421,) or by the synchronous. pul-
sations of the tentacula of all the polypi; and Cuvier (An.
Comp. iv. 147.) supposes that the polypi are enabled to keep
time, in rowing the mass. through the deep, by their being
all actuated by one volition. Cuvier expresses the same opi-
nion in his Régne Animal, tom. iv. p. 83. ..A more singular
and beautiful spectacle could scarcely be conceived, than that
of a deep purple Pennatula phosphorea, with all its delicate

transparent polypi expanded and.emitting their usual brilliant

phosphorescent light, sailing through the still and dark abyss
by the regular and synchronous pulsations of the minute frin-
ged arms of the whole polypi. But some authors, as. hee,

ea

and Pennatula phosphorca. 331

(An. sans Vert. ii. 418,) and Schweigger, (Unter. uber Coral.)
reasoning from what is known regarding other compound ani-
mals, have denied the existence of this great locomotive power
in a zoophyte placed so low in the scale, as contrary to every ana-
- logy, and not necessary to the existence or wants of the animal.

The Virgularia mirabilis, (Pennatula mirabilis, Mull.) is
one of the most beautiful and rare zoophytes found on this
coast. The specimens measured from six to ten inches in
length, and were dredged up in deep water on the north side
of Inch Keith. They perfectly correspond in form and ex-
ternal appearance with the elegant coloured figure given by
Muller, (Zool. Dan. Tab. xi.) Their aais is calcareous,
solid, white, brittle, flexible, cylindrical, of equal thickness
throughout, and exhibits no mark of attachment at either end.
When broken, it exhibits a radiated surface, like the broken
spine of an echinus. ‘The axis appears to have little connec-
tion with the fleshy part, and to consist of concentric layers
deposited by the soft parts surrounding it. When a portion
of the axis is broken off from either extremity, the animal
retracts at that part, so as continually to expose a fresh naked
portion of the axis: hence we can take out the axis entirely
from its soft sheath, and we always find the lower pinne of
the animal drawn up closely together, as if by the frequent
breaking of the base. These very delicate and brittle animals
seem to be confined to a small circumscribed part of the coast
which has a considerable depth and a muddy bottom, and the
fishermen accustomed to dredge at that place believe, from
the cleanness of the Virgulariz when brought to the surface,
that they stand erect at the bottom with one end of the axis
fixed in the mud or clay. Mauller’s specimens were likewise -
found on a part.of the Norwegian coast with a muddy bottom.
The polypi, much resembling those of the common Lobularia
_ digitata, are long, cylindrical, transparent, marked with longi-
tudinal white lines, and have eight tentacula which present long
slender transparent filaments or cili@ on each of the lateral
surfaces when fully expanded. ‘The polypi. are easily perceived
extending through the lateral expansions or pinne, to near
the solid axis, where we observe two transverse rows of
small round white ova placed under each pinna, and con-

332 Dr Grant on the Virgularia mirabilis

tained within the fleshy substance. 'These ova appear to pass
along the pinnz, to be discharged through the polypi, as im
the Lobularia, Gorgonia, Caryophyllea, Aleyonia, &c. but
they are certainly not generated by the polypi themselves, as
we might be led to believe by some authors, as Pallas, (EV.
Zooph. 362.) who state as a character of these animals that —
their polypi are oviparous. The ova in almost every known
zoophyte are formed by the common connecting substance of
the animal, and not by the polypi, which appear to be only
the mouths or organs of digestion. In Plumularie, Sertu-
_ lari, Campanularie, horny Cellaria, Antennularie@, the ova
are formed in vesicles which originate from the centre of the
stem. In Flustre, calcareous Cellariv, and some others, the
ova are formed in the cells, but exterior to the bodies of the
polypi, which disappear before the ova arrive at maturity. In
the Lobulariz, Gorgoniz, Spongie, Clionze, &c. the ova are
formed and matured in the common fleshy substance of the
body before they advance to be discharged through the polypi,
or the fecal orifices. ‘The formation of the ova by the general
connecting mass appeared more obvious in the Pennatula phos-
phorea, where I found innumerable round yellow ova about
the size of poppy-seeds placed, not precisely in the situation
described by Bohadsch (see Phil. T'r. liii. 423.) but at the’
back part of the pinne, and many of them advancing for-
ward in the substance of the pinne to pass out through the
bodies of the polypi. Both Bohadsch and Pailas have placed
the ova in the pinnated part of the stem where I could not
detect any, the whole of that part being filled with ay
soft semi-muscular substance destined to move the axis, ete q
stem, and the pinne. |
The axis of the Pennatula phosphorea, Linn. ( P. rubra, Pall ; 2
like that of the Virgularia, dissolves with effervescence in ‘nitric
acid. It is so slender and flexible at its extremities, that it is —
found coiled up at both ends in the contracted state of the ani- |
mal, and becomes straight in its expanded condition. The polypi —
resemble those of the Witdlaie. They have eight tentacula, ©
with long conical lateral ciliz. From the dark opaque purple —
matter, and numerous calcareous spicula covering their sheaths,
the polypi cannot so easily be perceived extending along the —

4

and Pennatula phosphorea. a. S88

pinne. On the back part of the pinnated portion of the stem of
this animal we observe innumerable spicula collected into small
groups, and disposed on each side of a mesial longitudinal
groove. When viewed through a lens, these slender shining
spicula much resemble the groups of sete forming the feet of
a nereis or aphrodita, and they all point backwards from the
naked part of the stem. On watching the polypi of both
these zoophy tes when fully expanded in pure sea water, their
arms and cilize were observed remaining like those of the Lo-
bularia perfectly motionless, excepting when some floating
particles or animalcules impinged against them, which caused
them to contract their ciliz or their tentacula, and sometimes
to. withdraw themselves languidly into their sheaths or cells.
The only motions of the-polypi were those of advancing and >
retreating to. their cells, which they did slowly, and with the
same irregularity observed in every other zoophyte, no two
_ polypi and no two pinne exhibiting any constant uniformity
in their motions. The long cilie of these animals are not vi-
bratory organs, as in many smaller polypi, but are supplemen-
tary. tentacula which feel, distinguish, and seize their prey
when it strikes against them. By looking through the heads
of the extended: polypi with a lens, I could perceive a con-
stant vibratory motion most obvious in the Virgularie, within
the mouth, apparently produced by minute moving ciliz placed
round the entrance of that passage, and minute particles were
_ occasionally seen propelled from the mouth. The whole fleshy
substance of both animals became slowly contracted or dis-
tended by agitating or renewing their water, and these motions
were as languid as the dilating and contracting of an actinia,
to which Dr Fleming very justly compares the Pennatule
( Phil. of Zool. ii. 613.).. The Virgularie did not exhibit the
slightest power of changing their positions, or of retiring from
each other when placed in contact with each other perpen-
dicularly in a vessel of sea-water, nor could they turn them-
selves by distending their pinnz when they were placed on
their faces horizontally at the bottom of the water. The
pennatule showed no power of raising their bodies.or swim-
ming in the water, even when pinched and irritated; but in
distending their whole fleshy substance, by absorbing water

334 Dr Grant on the Virgularia mirabilis, &c.

like an actinia or lobularia, they exhibited that slow peristaltic.

or vermicular motion, accurately described by Bohadsch, which
passes very gradually over their stem and pinnae, and causes
the pinne to assume various positions. The result of this
Successive distension of the parts when the animal lay hori-
zontally on its back, was an almost imperceptible creeping
motion in the direction of the naked part of the stem. This

direction was probably given by the bundles of spines placed.
along the back, and the motion may be quicker when the ani- ©

mal lies on a rough surface, and in its natural element. ‘The
motions of the pennatule in bending their body, or contract-

ing and extendmg their pinne in different directions, were per-

formed with the same languor as in other fleshy zoophytes, and
were not in the least calculated to make them swim to and fro

in the sea. Mr Ellis states that they are often found floating |

near the surface (Phil. Trans. Vii. 420), but this does not. .

show that they reach that situation by their own efforts, and

not by tides, currents, or storms; and there is nothing in Bo- -

hadsch’s account of the slow motions of the pinnz which
should make Mr Ellis believe that these parts move like the
fins of a fish, and serve the same purpose as these organs in
making the pennatule swim. The fishermen, almost daily ac-
customed to see these animals, inform me that they have
never seen them swimming, but always procure them by their
dredges or hook-lines from the bottom, where they shine with
so great brilliancy as to enable them to perceive the fishes
swimming into their nets. On shaking the Pennatul@ in the
dark, I observed a few only of the polypi emit a brilliant but
momentary bluish white light, and the Virgularie when
shaken, emitted no luminous appearance. From all that I
could observe of these animals in the living state, I think it
quite improbable that Pennatule possess the power of swim-
ming to and fro by their own efforts, but that they most likely
lie at the bottom, and move in a languid manner, like Spa-
tangi, Asteri@, or Actinie, and that their structure and mode
of generation do not differ essentially from those of MaSy
other zoophytes.

‘

Professor Barlow's New Achromatic Telescopes. — 385

Art. XXV.—WNotice. respecting Professor Barlow's New
Achromatic Telescopes with Fluid Object-Glasses.

Ass we have on various occasions directed the attention of our
readers to the great importance of the aplanatic fluid object-
glasses of our countryman Dr Blair, we are sure that they will
partake in our gratification when they learn that two gentlemen,
highly qualified both by their knowledge. and their ingenuity,
have been for some time directing the: whole energy of their
minds to this most interesting branch of practical science.

Mr Blair, the only son of Dr Blair, has for more than two
years been busily engaged in constructing fluid object-glasses on
the principles discovered by his distinguished father. We had
an opportunity of looking through one of them, and though it
was only at a terrestrial object, yet it was easy to see its vast
superiority to all ordinary achromatic instruments. Professor
Barlow of Woolwich, to whom other branches of science owe
great obligations, has likewise been occupied with the same sub-
ject, both theoretically and practically. He has had completed
two telescopes, one of 3} inches aperture, and another of 6 inches
aperture. With the former he can separate all the double stars
of that class which Sir William Herschel has pointed out as tests
of a good 33 inch achromatic; and with the other he can of
course separate many closer double stars, but as it is only newly
finished he has not yet had any favourable nights for observa-
tion.

The principle of construction of this telescope is different
from that of Dr Blair’s, and possesses some important advan- —
tages, as it increases the focal power of the instrument without
~ Increasing the length of the tube; or, by keeping the focal
length the same, he can shorten thé telescope very considerably,
viz. by one-third at least of the usual length.

Professor Barlow will, we presume, submit these instruments
to the Board of Longitude, whose especial duty it either is, or
ought to be, to patronize with a liberal and active zeal every im-
provement on the telescope. If other nations have already
been allowed to outstrip ours in this branch of rival manufac-

7

336 Mr Blair on Achromatic - Telescopes

/

ture, the time has now come for retrieving our character, and
replacing us in the position from which we have been driven.
Professor Barlow informs us that he has been very greatly
indebted for his success to the liberal scientific views and prac-
tical ingenuity of Messrs W. and T. Gilbert, mathematical in-
strument makers to the Honourable East India Company, and
we have no doubt, from our own knowledge of their ingenuity
and enterprise, that these able artists will now take a more pro-
minent place in their profession than they have hitherto done.

- They are now occupied. in constructing for the Commissioners
of the Scottish Light-houses one of the polyzonal or built up
lenses, invented by Dr Brewster. This lens is to be made of
flint glass, and is to have a diameter of no less than three feet.
One of the zones has been for some time finished, and we ex-
pect that it will be completed in such a manner as to ad-
vance the reputation of the artists, and do honour to the arts of
Great Britain.

Art. XXVI.—On the Permanency of Achromatic Tele-
scopes constructed with Fluid Object-Glasses. By Arcut-’
BALD Biarr, Esq. Ina letter to Dr Brewster.

Dear Sir,

As I have been for some time occupied with the construction
of aplanatic telescopes on the principle discovered by my fa-
ther, in which the aberrations are destroyed by means of a
fluid which disperses the variously coloured rays of the spec-
trum in the same proportion as crown glass, with a view to
the establishment of a regular manufacture of these instru-
ments, it will not be thought improper to give an account of
the experience which has been already had of the permanency
and general practical utility of instruments constructed on
this principle, as it has been believed that there are certain
practical objections which have hitherto prevented them from
being brought into general use.

In the first place, it has been very generally doubted whe-
ther any method had been discovered of enclosing the fluid
so perfectly as to prevent the risk of its escape at a future pe-

with fluid object-glasses. 337

riod; and it has likewise been supposed that the fluid itself
might be liable to some change which might impair the per-
formanée of the telescope.

Amply sufficient experience has been had, however, to show
that telescopes may be constructed on this principle so as to
be liable to neither of these objections. A telescope of this
‘kind is now in my possession, in the object-glass of which the
fluid has been enclosed for upwards of thirty years; without suf-
fering any diminution of quantity, and its performance continues
decidedly superior to that of any common achromatic telescope
of the same focal length. In this instrument, however, a slight
_ change did take place in the fluid within a few years after it
was constructed, owing to a minute quantity-of one of the
substances contained in it being deposited in a crystalline form.
By this the refractive and dispersive powers of the fluid ne-
cessarily underwent a slight alteration, and the correction of
the aberrations is certainly not so perfect as at first; the de-
gree of imperfection, however, is barely appreciable, and the
correction of the colour is still considerably more perfect than

is possible in the common achromatic telescope.

| In order to obviate entirely this last mentioned defect, ex-
periments were made for the purpose of discovering a sub-
stance capable of supplying the place of the one disposed to
crystallize, and free from that defect. In this complete suc-
cess has been attained, and object-glasses have remained with
this fluid enclosed in them for twenty-one years without suf-
fering any alteration, and which continued to perform as well
as at first. This fluid, which is the one now adopted, produ-
ces a perfect correction of the chromatic aberration, dispers-
ing the variously coloured rays of the spectrum in exactly the —
same proportion as crown glass. Its refractive power is some-
what greater than that of the former, which rendered a differ-
ent set of curves necessary for the ,correction of the spherical
aberration ; and as the services of a glass-grinder could not at.
that time be commanded, these last mentioned object-glasses
were not altogether perfect in this respect, on which account
they were taken to pieces for the purpose of being rendered
complete, one, however, being reserved for the purpose of
proving the durability of the construction.

338 Mr Blair on Achromatic Telescopes

‘The method employed for enclosing the fluid has proved
so effectual, that not a single imstance has occurred of its
escape from a finished object-glass ; and there were ten or
twelve small ones of about two inches aperture, which remain-
ed filled with the first mentioned fluid for upwards of twenty-
six years without its suffermg any diminution. 'These were
afterwards taken down for the purpose of being filled with
the improved fluid, at the time when I was receiving instruc-
tions from my father in the method of putting this invention
inte practice.

When object-glasses of this kind are of seolidersiil diame-
ter, it is difficult to prevent the intrusion of a small quantity
of the cement, used for the enclosing, into the space containing
the fluid. This takes’ place, however, only to a very small ex-
tent, presenting the appearance of a few minute globules only
adhering to the edges of the object-glass, which, if objected to,
may be kept out of sight by slightly reducing the aperture.
In some cases a small bubble of air is present ;_ this, however,
does not arise from any escape of the fluid, but is present from .
the first, and when so present, the intrusion of the cement does
not take place. When the object-glasses do not much exceed
two inches in aperture, they may generally be made without
either bubble of air or intrusion of cement.

On the whole, if there be any difference in regard to per-
manency, it would seem to be rather in favour of an object-
glass composed of two lenses with an enclosed fluid, as it will
be impervious to the dust which gets between the lenses of
common achromatics. * :

The superiority of these instruments, when accurately con-
structed, over common achromatic telescopes, is greater than
might be at first expected, even from a perfect removal of the

colour. It is to be kept in mind, however, that the colours of
a secondary spectrum, produced by a combination of crown
and flint-glass, are more injurious to the performance of a tele-

* When the object-glasses with fluids are properly. constructed, so as to
correct the spherical aberration, three lenses are required, and the fluid
is only between two of them, so that in that case they will be liable to the
intrusion of dust between two of the glasses in the same way as common
achromatics.

with fluid object-glasses. 339

scope, in proportion to their entire breadth, than those of the
primary spectrum produced by the refraction of a single me-
dium, on account of the more uniform density of the former.
A great part of the breadth of the primary spectrum is com-
posed of rays which are weak and inefficient, and incapable of
doing much injury to the distinctness. The secondary spec-
trum, on the contrary, consists of the whole primary spectrum
blended into two narrow but dense fringes, which do not fail
to produce their full bad effect upon the performance of the
telescope, as is very manifest when the aperture is at all con-
siderable. Upon these considerations probably, Mr Herschel
very judiciously recommends, that in the construction of achro-
matic telescopes a union should be formed, not of the extreme
red and violet, but rather of two of the interniediate colours,
such as the orange and green, which may be best done by
somewhat over-correcting (as it is termed) the primary colour, |
by which means the blue and red will be united, and the vio-
let thrown out altogether, forming the least refracted ray. By
this means a greater concentration will be obtained of the more
effective rays of the spectrum at the expence of the diffusion
of those which are of less importance. I have heard my father
mention that he believed a very fine telescope belonging to the
late Mr Aubert owed its excellence to its being constructed by
accident in this way, as it exhibited a diffuse violet fringe round
the object on pushing in the eye-piece, instead of the usual
wine-coloured one.

I have constructed several » tetesasipn on my father’s princi-
ple of twenty inches focal length, and two and three-quarter
inches aperture, in which the removal of both aberrations is
complete, so that the edges of the brightest object continue of
a perfectly pure white when the eye-glass is brought within or
without the focus, showing that the colour is corrected not only
for the lenses of the telescope, but for the humours of the eye
itself, thus rendering vision through the telescope more perfect
than the most perfect naked vision. This may perhaps be
thought extravagant, nevertheless it is strictly true, as the
chromatic aberration in the eye is far from being a small quan-
tity, and may easily be rendered visible.

These instruments, notwithstanding their srt bear

340 Mr Blair on Achromatic Telescopes.

with the most perfect distinctness a power of two hundred
times, and are most effective in reading a printed paper dur-
ing bright sunshine with a power of three hundred-times. Not
having any convenience for observing, I have not yet been able
to make trial of their performance in separating double stars.
I .am inclined to believe, however, that the terrestrial objects
which I am in the habit of using are even more rigid tests of
the performance of the telescope than the fixed stars. The
object which I think best for proving both the figures of the
lenses and the accurate removal of the aberrations, is a minute
image of the sun reflected from a small convex surface, such as
a thermometer bulb blown of black enamel ; this, when viewed
ata proper distance, has exactly the appearance of a fixed star,
excepting that it has the advantage of being capable of being
made much brighter. This object, when of sufficient bright-
ness, is by much the most delicate test of the correction of the
colour that can be used; and as the telescopes I have con-
structed show such an object extremely small and. perfectly
round, I know from experience that they may safely be relied
on for separating the most difficult double stars. The aper-
tures of these instruments might have been made still consi-
derably larger than they are, had I not been prevented by
the want of glass of a sufficient thickness. As it is possible,
however, that a minute quantity of the spherical aberration
which remains in those parts of the lens which are about half -
way between the circumference and the axis, and which it is
impossible altogether to get rid of, may in extreme cases be-
come sensible, it. will on that account not be advisable to push
the increase of aperture to an immoderate extent. In the largest
apertures which have been tried, however, I have not been able.
to discover any traces of the green and purple which constitute
the secondary spectrum.

I am at present engaged in the construction of a i

five and three-eight inches in aperture, and five feet in focal
length; but as I have not yet the advantage of employing a
machine for the purpose of giving to the lenses the very accu-
rate figure which an instrument of that size demands, very
great success is perhaps not to be expected, I should wish
likewise to make the aperture for that focal length to exceed

with fluid object-glasses. fad 341

six inches, but baits been prevented from iia: so by the want
of glass of a sufficient thickness.
After what has been said, it will perhaps be asked how it,

happens that the manufacture of such valuable instruments
has not been prosecuted hitherto. A full answer to this ques-
tion it is perhaps not in my power to give; but this much I am
able to state from certain experience, that it has not arisen from
any defect in the instruments themselves. I know that many
_ years and much painful perseverance were employed in bring-
ing the invention to perfection, for to perfection I trust it will
soon be known that it was brought; and-although it may be
thought surprising that exertion should cease just at the time
when all the difficulties had been surmounted, yet I am per-
suaded that it is far from impossible. The ardour of discovery
will then be gone, and may even pass into a degree of depres-
sion if the previous anxiety and interest have been great. Be-
sides that the kind of exertion requisite for establishing a manu-
facture is very different from that required for prosecuting an
interesting object of science, and the capacity for both may. not
co-exist in the same individual; I may likewise be allowed to
add that my father’s attention was diverted from that object by
being subsequently engaged in reridering services not less im-
portant to the country. He had previously made experiments
by which he discovered the method of preserving lime juice at
sea for any length of time, and being afterwards appointed
first commissioner of the Board for the care of Sick and Hurt -
seamen, he succeeded, by his. urgent representations, in pre-
vailing upon the Admiralty to order a regular supply of lime
juice thus preserved for the use of his Majesty’s ships, the
consequence of which has been the complete fulfilment of his
prediction at the time, viz. the entire expulsion of that destruc-
tive disease, the sea scurvy, from the British navy.* Dr Blair
has, however, never lost sight of the object of forming a manu-
facture of these instruments, and was sometime ago at the pains
to instruct me by actual practice in every particular connected
with their manufacture. And in order to remove all hesitation
in regard to their aa I may add that my father has

* To learn the extent of the benefit thus conferred it is only necessary
to read the account of Lord Anson’s Voyage round Cape Horn.

342 Dr Hartman’s Mineralogical Notices.

always recommended me to guarantee the maintenance.of the
instruments in a state of good performance for a certain time,
such as twenty or thirty years, or indeed almost any limited
term, which recommendation I shall certainly follow, if suffi-
cient encouragement can be obtained for the engplesish necks of
the manufacture.

I am, Dear Sir, riepeatnlins ve
Your most obedient servant,
A. Buarr.
Eprnsureu, 16, Brovcuton Pracr,
3d September 1827.

Art. XXVII.—Mineralogical Notices, communicated by Dr
Cuartes Hartman of Blankenburg, of the Duke of
Brunswick’s Mining Service, M. W. S. &c. ;&c.

e GuavcotirE, a new mineral species. This substance was
first described by Mr Sokoloff in the Russian Journal of Mines.*
It is found massive, presenting traces of cleavage. The frac- .
ture is splintery and uneven ; lustre vitreous ; colour lavender-
blue, passing into green. It is translucent on the edges.
Hardness -- 5.0...6.0. Specific gravity = 2.721 Bergemann ;
= 2.9 John.
According to Dr Bergemann, + it consists of
54.58 Silica, | 4.57 Potash,
29.77 Alumina, 11.08 Lime. —
Its mineralogical formula is NS® + 3CS* + AS.
Before the blowpipe it melts difficultly on the edges, but is
soluble in borax and salt of phosphorus. It loses it colour.
It occurs in compact felspar and granular limestone, with
talc, near Lake Baikal, in Siberia.

2. Bismuthic Blende, a new mineral species described by
Professor Breithaupt of Freiberg {—Tessular. Simple forms.
oc cl .
| SM ae
* Poggendorff’s Annalen der Physik u. Chemie, 1827, Number ii. p. 267.

+ Von Leonhard’s Handbuch der Oryktognosie, 2d Edit. p. 741.
+ Poggendorff’s Annalen, &c. 1827, Number ii. p. 275.

M. Huber on the Emigration of Butterflies. 343

Character of combination, semi-tessular, with inclined faces.
Combinations,1.4 —S e - ee > | Plate IIT. Fig. 12.

Cleavage, dodecahedron, imperfect.. Fracture conchoidal,
uneven. Lustre adamantine, resinous. Colour, clove-brown
and reddish-brown, inclining to blackish-brown and »wax-yel-
low. Streak yellowish-grey, sometimes inclining to smoke-
grey. Opaque, semi-transparent.

Brittle. Hardness — 4.5...5.0. Spec. grav. —5.912...6.006.

‘ Compound varieties. —Twin-crystals : axis of revolution per-
pendicular, face of composition parallel to a face of the octa-
hedron. Globular and stalactitic, sometimes with fibrous com-
position. Crystals and imitative shapes very fine.

The chemical composition is unknown.

It is found in veins at Schneeberg in Saxony, in the mine
Kalbe, with quartz, bismuthic ochre, and native bismuth:

3. Ilmenite.—Under this name Professor Kupffer of Kasan.
describes * a mineral found at Ilmensee, in Siberia, as a new
species. Professor Gustavus Rose of Berlin, + and Mr Levy t¢
have since shown that it is nothing else but titanitic iron, a
variety of the axotomous iron ore of Mohs.

4. Oligoclase—Under this name Professor Beith abe! |
describes a new species of the felspar family. Its forms are
tetartoprismatic, like those of Albite, from which it differs in
specific gravity, which is = 2.64...2.66. _In the second Num-
ber of Poggendorff’s Annals for 1827, Professor Breithaupt
says that the soda spodumene from Stockholm belongs to the
oligoclase.

Art. XXVIII.—WNotice respecting an Emigration of Butter-
Jies.§ By P. Huser.

Iw the month of August last (1826) I had the honour to

‘* Kastner’s Archiv fiir die gesammte Naturalehre, 1821. No. i.
t Poggendorff’’s Annalen, &c. 1827. No. ii.,p. 286.
+ Phil. Magazine, and Ann. of Phil. January 1821, p. 27.
\| Poggendorff’s Annalen, &c. 1826. No. x. p.238.
§ Translated from the Mémoires de Le Societé de Physique et d Histoire
Naturelle de Geneve, Tom. iii. part ii, p. 247.

344 M. Hubert on an Emigration of Butterflies.

communicate to the Physical and Natural History Society of
Geneva the following fact, which I believe to be entirely new
in the history of butterflies. Not having been an eye-witness,
I shall be obliged to enter into all the details necessary to
give confidence to my lecture, and I hope I shall be excused,
if, in obedience to the wishes of the committee, and in order
to give greater notoriety to the phenomena, I omit in this
novel relation none of the circumstances necessary to establish

the truth of the facts. | ;

This singular observation was made by all the members of
a respectable family of Neuchatelin Switzerland, residingduring ~
the summer in the district of Grandson, (Canton of Vaud) in
the country called La Outre.

On the 8th or 10th of the month of June last, Mrs Meuron
Wolf saw with surprise passing by the window of her dining-
room, which is on the ground-floor of her house, and facing
the east, a crowd of flying objects, to which she then paid no
‘attention; but the phenomena continued so long as to excite
her curiosity, and mistrusting her own short-sightedness, she
called to her son James to go and see what was passing by
the terrace.

Mr James de Meuron immediately called his parents to od
hold a singular and astonishing thing. It was an immense
flight of butterflies, who crossed the garden with the utmost
rapidity.

They immediately left the table to see this curiosity, It
was certainly worth the trouble, and without being naturalists,
they could not but admire this beautiful sight, f

These butterflies were all of one species, and amongst the
most beautiful of our country, They caught several with a
net, with the same ease that they. fish for herrings. They
then recognized them to be the daily butterfly of the thistle,
called in French La belle dame. ‘These butterflies flew
very swiftly, and they all went in the same direction, crossing
the garden diagonally, and exactly from south to north. “'The
presence of men did not frighten them; they neither diverged
to the right nor the left, and flew as near the one as the other.

The whole of the Neuchatel family, with the true tact of

M. Hubert on an Emigration of Butterflies. 345
naturalists, divided, that they might better; eeENG the phe- |

nomena.
. Those who were younger and more active followed the but-
terflies for a long time in the direction to which they were go-
ing, the others went to the other side from whence the columns
were coming; but although they accompanied them a very
long time, they did not succeed in beholding either the begin-
ning or the end of this inoffensive army.

The passage lasted upwards of two hours, without any inu-
terruption, from the moment when they were first observed,
and it is probable that they had begun some time before they,
caught the eye of Mrs de Meuron.

The column was from ten to fifteen feet broad ; these but-
terflies did not alight Spon the flawers; their flight was low,
rapid, and equal.

Such are the facts sslich have been unanimously transmit-
ted to me by the members of the enlightened and interesting
family who were witnesses of the curious phenomenon. oh

All that has been capable of observation in this remarkable
fact has been examined as if by real naturalists, and with that
sort of mterest which overlooks no characteristic circumstances
in a new question, by those young persons, occupied with col-
leetions, and well versed in the natural history of insects. —

The fact then is undoubted.

But it appears to me most singular, that it relates to a spe-
cies of butterfly, whose caterpillars do not live in societies (at
least not in our country) and are themselves isolated from the
time they quit the egg.

I should have been less surprised if I had heard of the
emigrations of the butterflies Petite-tortue, Paon de jour, or
Morio, whose caterpillars live im common and in very nume-
rous families upon the nettle and the willow. All the cater-
pillars who live in societies seem to keep together by the com-
mon: ties of utility; each one goes out to explore, and leaves
behind them the silk which helps to conduct their companions
upon the branch where they have found food ; but when once
they are provided with wings these insects seem no longer to
recognize each other, as if the state of the chrysalis, that sleep
of the instinct, during which the developement of the organs ~

VOL. VII. NO. I. oct. 1827. Z

yt
346. M. Hubert on an Emigration of Butterfies.

is so active, as if I say that state of transition had gic 2 thent
forget the memory of mutual relations.

Concerning the butterflies, belles dames, isolated from their
birth, what singular cause could induce their uniting in such
numerous phalanxes, and determine them to quit their country
for a northern climate, mountainous and severe? From what
region do they come, and in what place will they stop ?

A fact so‘striking ought to have made some sensation i
other parts: These same butterflies, indeed, were seen in Pied-
mont by Professor Bonelli of the academy of Turin, before
they appeared in Switzerland. According to his account, giv-
en in a letter addressed to Mr Moricand, 13th January 1827,
the appearance of the thistle butterflies took’ place in the end
of March 1826, in the neighbourhood of ‘Turin. These but-
terflies, though they stopped some time in places through which
they passed, went in a mass in a direction from south to north.
The air was filled with them, especially where there were
flowers, and at night all the plants were covered with them >
‘The 29th of May was the day in which they were most abun-
dant. -A considerable number were seen during several days
following. ‘Their numbers then sensibly diminished, but a
good many remained till the month of June.

The fact was common in all the country, especially at Cats,
Racconni, Susa, &c.

A passage similar to this had taken place at the end of the
last century. The Count of Locke has given a description
of it in the Memoirs of the. Academy of Turin. There is lit-
tle doubt that a part of this colunin, a strong division, had
steered towards Switzerland, where it had most probably di-
vided itself in order to occupy our different valleys.

I have reason to suspect that one of these parties had taken
the route along the valley of the Lake of Geneva, and had
reached that of the Rhone, having heard from the young en-

tomologists that the number of butterflies, belles dames, seen
this year in the environs of Lausanne as far as Bex, and even

to the mountains which end that valley, was infinitely greater
than usual.’ ‘This ‘beautiful butterfly without being rare, is
nevertheless not common in our country; but this year, and
before I knew of their great emigration, I had myself observ-

Sa ee ee ee ee

-
ee

M. Hubert on an Emigration of Butterflies. 347

ed with astonishment the inconceivable numbers of these in-.
sects in the districts of Grandson- and Yverdun, and what
made it more singular, it was not the time: when they used
generally to appear, which was at the end of summer and au-
tumn; they were also larger and more beautiful than they
commonly are, from the brilliancy and fine preservation of
their colours. I found a great number at the foot of the
mountains, and upon the Jura, where their brilliant appear-
ance contributed not a little to the embellishment of nature.

These butterflies dispersed among the flowers did not ap.
pear to have amongst them any other connection but the.
sexual one. | .

These caterpillars were from that time well known. They
not only found their food upon the thistles and artichokes,
but the viperine and the leaves of the passeroses were attack-
ed. |

Here then is a new fact simply stated. One of the most
beautiful species of our butterflies comes to us from the south ;
it flies in a close column, expands through our country, and
spreads probably as far as Germany ; but are these emigra-
tions frequent, are they annual? ‘The letter of the learned
Italian naturalist says, that they had already seen this pheno-
menon a few years before in Piedmont. »

We ought not to infer, from their irruption towards the
north, that they emigrate again to our climate in autumn, or
that their natural multiplication is not great enough to give an
equal increase. These migrations, then, do not resemble
those of birds of passage ; nevertheless, in our complete igno-
rance of all the causes and motives which determine them,
it is: proper to gather the facts which relate to them, .and
carefully to study all the circumstances. The naturalists of
the countries who read our memoirs are invited ' to: commu-
nicate their analogous observations. It will be very inte-
resting to know how far the multiplication and ‘existence of
this species extended into the south, to know exactly where
they came from, in the first place, in what place they are
most common, why they quitted 1 it, &e. &e. |

The answer to these questions will form one of the most
curious chapters in the history of insects. |

>
348 Mr Ritchie on the Permeability of Screens

Anr. XXLX.—On the Permeability of Transparent Sercens

of extreme tenuity by radiant Heat.* By bitin
Rirecute, A. M. |

Tux permeability of transparent screens by invisible slialat
heat flowing from a body of an elevated temperature was first
established by Professor Prevost of Geneva, and confirmed by
the elaborate experiments of M. Delaroche. As the: results,
however, have been doubted by several philosophers, ‘Mr
Ritchie considered that it would be desirable to. placethe
fact beyond the reach of controversy by new experiments. —

Expr. 1. A large glass globe having been blown so thin as
to be nearly iridescent, a small portion of it was fixed opposite
a circular hole about an inch in diameter, in a piece of tin -
plate. A delicate air thermometer was then placed opposite
the dise of glass on one side of the plate, and a heated iron:
ball opposite to the bulb on the other. The disc of glass was
kept uniformly delow the temperature of the surrounding air
by a current of cold air playing constantly against it. The
following results were then observed :— |

1. When the ball was at a low temperature, the thermome-
ter indicated no sensible effect.

2. When the temperature of the ball was high, but not
visible in the dark, the effect on the thermometer was very
considerable, even when the ball was placed at a greater dis-
tance than formerly.

** Here,” says Mr Ritchie, “ we bane two sources of hoa;
_ which, on account of the change of distance, would produce
equal effects on the naked bulb of the thermometer ; but by
the intervention of a.cold screen the effect of the former is al-
most annihilated, whereas the effect of the other is still very
considerable. This difference cannot possibly result from the
difference of temperature in the screen, which is kept as nearly
as possible at the same temperature by the influence of the
current of cold air. We are therefore unavoidably led to the
following conclusion,—that the progress of the heat was in the

* This is a full abstract of Mr Ritchie's paper read before ‘the Toya!
Society on the 8th March 1826.

4A

‘by Radiant Heat. 349

first experiment arrested by the screen; whereas in the other,
a portion of it freely radiated through the screen, and vee
its way directly to the bulb of the thermometer {”
. Exe. 2. Two air thermometers, with the thinnest ies
bulbs were taken, and the interior hemisphere of one of them
was coated with a fine opaque film of pounded charcoal. The
bulbs of the thermometers were then placed at the same dis-
_ tanee from a heated ball at the temperature of about 200°,
and the space through which the fluid descended im each was
divided into the same number of equal parts. The heated
ball, just visible in the dark, was placed at a greater distance
from the two thermometers, and the liquid sunk further in’ the
one with the coated bulb than in the other.

Hence it follows, “ that when the temperature of the ball
was low, the whole current of radiant heat was arrested by the
external hemispheres of the balls, but when it was high a por-
tion of the radiant heat freely permeated the éransparent bulb,
which portion was arrested by the opaque coating in the other,
and raised the temperature of the included air.

Exe. 3. A number of very fine threads of glass or wire
were stretched parallel and at right angles to each other across
a frame of moderate size. A broad camel-hair pencil dipped
in the white of an egg was brushed over the whole, so as to
cover the small square with a delicate transparent liquid film.
The screen was then placed between the differential thermo-
meter described in this Number, and the heated body, when
the following effects were produced. «

1. The temperature of the ball being low, and the screen
kept at almost the same temperature by constantly applying
the white of an egg mixed with cold water to the upper side
of the frame, no sensible effect on the thermometer was per-
ceived.

2. The ball being just visible in the dark, was placed at a
greater distance, and a striking effect produced.

Hence radiant heat freely permeates a very thin transparent
liquid streen. Mr Ritchie also found that a liquid screen | as
more permeable by radiant heat than «a solid one.

~ Exp. 4. When the screen was placed at different distances
_ from the heated ball,'a very little difference was.observed. in

350 Mr Ritchie on a. new form of Differential Thermometer.

the descent, of the fluid. .In one experiment the effect was
18° with the screen close to the instrument, and yet this fluid
rose only one degree when the screen ‘was removed five inches
towards the heated ball. ee ae

‘Hence in the preceding experiment the effect was not pro-
duced by heat radiating from the posterior surface of the
screen, but by heat actually radiating through the screen, in
the same manner as light radiates through water, or Brag
transparent fluids.

Art. XXX.-—On a new form of the Differential Thermo-
meter, with some of its applications. * By. WiLLiam
Rircniz, A. M. Rector of Tain Academy. $5

Ox account of the difficulty of placing the bulb of the ther-
mometer exactly in the focus of a metallic reflector, when the
source of heat is removed to different distances, Mr Ritchie
has proposed the following instrument for experiments. on ra-
diant heat.

It consists of two cylindrical chambers of very thin brass or

tin plate from two to six or eight inches in diameter, and from a
quarter of an inch to an inch thick. These chambers, like those
of the photometer, described in this Journal, Number iv. p. 340,
are connected by a thermometer tube bent in the form of ‘the
etter U, having small bulbs blown-near its upper extremities.
The tube ‘contains a coloured fluid, such as sulphuric acid
tinged with carmine, alcohol, &c. The outer faces of the cy-
lindrical chambers are coated with lamp black, in order to ab-
sorb the radiant heat, which is quickly conducted to the inte-
rior of the chamber, and expands the included air... The scale
may be divided into any number of equal parts, as the donate
are only to be compared with each other. c

Mr Ritchie next proceeds to determine by this instrument
the law x decrease of radiant heat with the distance. 7

Exp. 1. A cylindrical vessel of tin plate filled with hot
water, i having its diameter the same as that of the cham-

*"This is a fall abstract of Mr Ritchie’s paper read before the Royal
sett December 21, 1826.

Prof. Hansteen’s New Chart of Magnetic Intensity. 351

bers of the thermometer, was placed, at different distances
from it. The results deviated very considerably Soom the law
of the squares of the distances,

Exe. 2. The same experiment was sanaaied with a canister
of a smaller diameter. The results now approached more

- nearly to the squares of the distances.

‘Exe. 3. Iron balls about two inches in dismigfgll were now
substituted in place of the canister: The results were now _
within the limits of error, as the squares of the distances of
the centres of the balls from the end of the instrument.

Exp. 4. Two heated balls were placed on one side of the
instrument, and one on the other, (the whole being of the same
temperature,) and the instrument was moved till the fluid re-
mained at zero. The distances of the centres of the balls were
then as 1 to the square root of 2...

‘The deviation from this law in the case of the large canister
was ascribed by Mr Leslie either wholly or in part to zmper-

Sect reflection; but as the same anomaly takes place without
reflection, Mr Ritchie concludes that this cause cannot be the
true one.

Art. XXXI.—Notice respecting Professor Hansteen’s New °
Chart of the Isodynamic Lines for the whole. magnetic in-
tensity. With a Cuarr, Plate IV. Communicated by
Proressork HanstEen of Christiania.

We have much pleasure in laying before our readers a cor-
rected chart (Plate 1V.) of Professor Hansteen’s Isodynamical
lines for the whole magnetic intensity, which he has. been so
kind as to communicate to us. It contains the recent obser-
vations made by Captain King at Rio Janeiro and Maldonado
_ Bay, near the River Plate. /

The dotted line of the dip in 1780 will be seen cutting the
equator in 90° west longitude, and passing through Bahia to-
wards the equator in 40° east long. The same line for 1823
will be seen to the south of Bahia, cutting the former. in 10°

west longitude, and passing to the south of Ascension and St
- Thomas.

2
352 Prof. Hansteen’s New Chart of Magnetic Intensity.

The uppermost curve on the left hand, where thei intensity is
1.7 returns into itself in an oval form, and surrounds the whole
of Hudson’s Bay, touching nearly the 70th degree of north

latitude. The maximum intensity appears to be 1.8, and

occurs in the centre of the above oval near the bottom of
Hudson’s Bay, at a distance of more:than 35° from the North
Pole of the earth. | This point is consequently altogether dif-
ferent from that point where the dip is = 90°, a result which
perfectly agrees with Professor Hansteen’s theory of two mag-
netic axes. In his Researches respecting the magnetism of the
earth, p. 873, he has already hinted that the inclination of the
magnetic axes must be greater than is there assumed, a fact

which the chart of intensity plamly shows, and by previously é .

assuming this anglé at 35° he found that there was'such a very
near agreement between the calculated and! observed) variations,

dips, and intensities, that he has no doubt that the ne vail

perfectly harmonize with the observations.

In every meridian there is a minimum of intensity near ’ the

equator; but these minimums are of different values in differ.
ent meridians. The greatest of these minimums occurs’ in

about 112° west longitude from Ferro, and about 7° north Ja-

titude, and amounts to 1.51. The least minimum occurs in
50° east longitude, and about 14° south latitude, and amounts
to 0.8. A line joining all these points of least intensity would
be called the line of the minima. ‘This curve, it must be ob-

served, is very different from the line of the dip. It would be
of great interest to the theory to determine, by accurate ‘expe-.

riments, the ratio between the greatest and least minimum, and

- the situation of thetwo points where they occur.. ‘The eccen-

tricity of the magnetical axes might thus be exactly determined.
As the chart does not contain the northern parts of web n:

‘we may mention that the: curve line of ts
1.6 passes north through Greenland: tT

1.5 passes south of Iceland; and turns round, the not of |

Lapland.

1.4 passes through Edinburgh, Hough Norway, Sweden,
Finland; and south: of Archangel. |

1.3 re through. Madrid, Austria, Poland, &e.

Mr Haidinger om Berthierite. 353

Ant. XXXII.—On Berthierite, a New Mineral Species, By
Wiruam Harwrneer, Esq. F.R.S.E., &e. . Communicat-
ed uy. the Author, ES |

Tus Sotaiciotn which the present communication refers is one
of the numerous results of Professor Berthier’s indefatigable
exertions to increase our knowledge of mineral productions.
No scientific account of it having yet reached this city, I must
content myself with giving here what can be extracted from Le
Globe newspaper of the 30th June 1827, relative to a meeting
of the Institute, held on the 25th of the same month. In that
meeting M. Berthier gave an account of the new species, and
did me the honour of proposing for it the name of Haidinger-
‘ite, not aware of the same name having been: previously appli-
ed by Dr Turner * to the diatomous gypsum-haloide, a spe-
cies which I had described some time ago, and which Dr
‘ Turner had analyzed,+ and found to be an arseniate of lime
combined with less water than in the pharmacolite.. In order
to avoid the double employment of one name, I take the liber-
ty of proposing a new name for the new substance. From my
coming thus forward, I trust M. Berthier will perceive my
desire of having my name linked with the literary history of
the species in question ; while the. mineralogical public will
no doubt approve of my proposing the name of Berthierite,
which happens to be unoccupied, and which is peculiarly
appropriate to the species in question; much more so than
most of our mineralogical names, as the species was not only
discovered, and analyzed by M. Berthier himself, but, by. the
_ particular process which he devised, rendered. useful ; to. the
"arts.

The Berthierite is an ore of antimony in the economical
acceptance of the word; as it consists of four atoms of sul-
phuret of, antimony, and of three atoms of protosulphuret of
iron, the antimony being combined with twice as much sulphur
as the iron. It occurs at Chazelles, in Auvergne, in a vein
which promises to be a productive. It had been worked for

* Edin. Journ. of Science, April 1827... + Id. October_1825..

_ : ous
854. Zoological Collections.

some time, but was again abandoned on account of the bad
quality of the antimony extracted. M. Berthier has imagined
the following process, by which the metal obtained ‘becomes
perfectly pure. The mineral, without previous roasting, is to
be melted with about one-third, or a little less, of its weight of —
metallic iron, to which is added a small cpl y of — of
soda mixed with charcoal. ’

In regard to its external appearance, Berthierite merc Te-
sembles some of the other species of the genus antimony-glance,
as the common grey antimony, and the Jamesonite, and also the
zinkenite. It occurs in elongated imbedded prisms, with a
single pretty distinct longitudinal cleavage. Its colour is a
dark steel-grey, inclining to pinchbeck-brown, with a metallic.
lustre. ‘These properties are not sufficient to characterize the
mineral. A future number of this Journal will contain an |
exact account of all of them.

Art. XX XIII.—ZOOLOGICAL CORL RG PAGS

1. On the Change in the Plumage of some Hen Pheasants. “By. Ww.
YarreE Lt, Esq. F. L. S ear

Tue last ‘shooting season having been unusually productive of hen phea-
sants, which have assumed more or less the plumage and appearance of the
male, much discussion has in consequence arisen on the cause of this
change ; and the author, having had many opportunities of examining the
facts, as respecting both the pheasant and the domestic fowl, was induced
to notice the internal peculiarities which invariably accompany this trans-
formation. According to an opinion of John Hunter and Dr Butter, this
change only takes place at an advanced age ; but Mr Yarrell considers the
facts in his possession as at variance with this idea, and that the appear-
ances in question may occur at any period of life, and may ican
, duced artificially. ‘

In all the instances examined by him the sexual organs were founddie-
eased, and to a greater or less extent in proportion with the change of
plumage. The ovarium was shrunk, purple, and hard. The oviduct dis-
eased, and the canal obliterated at the upper part, immediately preceding
. its infundibuliform enlargement at the bottom of the ovarium. Having
opened a hen pheasant in her natural plumage for the sake of comparison,
he found a similar diseased state of the organs to exist, thus proving that
the disease must exist some time before the corresponding change of fea-
ther takes place. He observes, that it is no uncommon thing to find
among numerous broods of a by hand, some females, which,

Observations on the Scarus of the Ancients. 355

at the age of only four months, produce the brightest plumage of the
male; and in two instances of birds shot in‘a wild state the nest-feathers
had not been shed, proving them to have been birds of the year.

A partridge, having a white bar across the breast, and the first three
primaries in each wing white, being opened, exhibited the same sort of
organic disease ; and from circumstances err ens it appears rege this was
also a bird of the year.

But all variations in plumage are not wapedble to this cause. ‘li most
of the excepted instances, however, the individuals are dwarf birds; and
the author attributes their variety of plumage to defective secretion, the
effect of weakness. 7
_ When the sexual organs are artificially obliterated in the common fowl,
as soon as the operation is performed in the male bird, he ceases to crow,
the comb and gills do not attain their full size, the spurs remain short and
blunt, and the feathers of the neck assume an appearance intermediate be-
_ tween the hackled character of the cock and the ordinary web of the hen.
When the oviduct of the female is obliterated, the ova cease to enlarge;
she makes an imperfect attempt to crow ; the comb increases in size, and
short and blunt spurs make their appearance. The plumage alters in co-
lour and in form, approaching to that of the cock, the bones of the lower
part of the back never acquiring the enlargement requisite for giving a
proper breadth to the pelvis. In short, the two sexes approximate so
nearly in character by this process, that it frequently becomes difficult to
determine the sex.

Hen pheasants assume the plumage of the male at best but imperfectly,
and it is probable that they do not live many years after the change.

It appears to be a general law, that where the sexes of animals are indi-
cated by external characters, these undergo a change, and assume a neu~
tral appearance, whenever original malformation, subsequent disease, or
artificial obliteration has deprived the sexual organs of their true influence.
—Annals of Philosophy, July 1827, p. 67.

2. Observations on the Scarus of the Anciente® By Baron Cuvier.

This fish, which was so celebrated among the naturalists and epicures
of ancient Rome, still exists upon the shores of Greece, and has always
preserved the same name. M. Cuvier, who has observed that in a great
number of instances the names given to animals are preserved with sin-
gular fidelity, conjectures that the scaros of the modern Greeks is the same
as the ancient scarus. He has collected particulars from these parts, and -
has had one of the fish sent to him, which he has presented to the acade-
my, and which appeared to possess all the characters which are mentioned
by the ancient naturalists. Aristotle particularly remarks that the Scarus
was fond of vegetables, and the form of its teeth; he adds also, but as a
mere report, that it ruminated. Thestomach of the Scarus could never'ad-
init of rumination ; but the habit which it had of f keeping le bol alimentaire

* The memoir, of which this is a brief tabetrabt was read to the -_ of
Sciences on the 25th June 1827.—See Le Globe, 28th June.

356 «Zoological Collections...

a long time in its mouth has casily led to this mistake. As to the rest,
every thing in the scaros of the modern Greeks agrees with the picture of

the Scarus of which so many of the ancient naturalists have spoken; the _
same colour, same shape, the same delicate flesh, which made it so much

in request among the epicures of Rome ; the same excellent flavour of its
intestines, and the same address with whol ‘it avoids the snares Jaid: for

it. In short, the popular opinion respecting the succours which these fish _

lend to others of their species to help them out of the nets prdraidiyet
among the Greeks. ' rb

3. Notices regarding the Camelopard. — ae

As a live camelopard has been sent to London and another to Paris, the
history and habits of these animals have excited some interest.. At a
meeting of the Academy of Sciences on the 2d July last, M. Geoffroy Saint-
Hilaire observed that naturalists were wrong in supposing that there was
only one species of the camelopard. The animal now in Paris differs from
the Cape of Good Hope species by several essential anatomical characters,
and he proposes to distinguish it by the name of the Giraffe of Sennaar, the
country from which it comes. Some natives of Egypt having come to see
the one in Paris in the costume of the country, the animal gave evident
proofs of joy, and loaded them with caresses. This fact is explained by
the circumstance that the Giraffe has an ardent affection for its
keeper, and that it naturally is delighted with the sight of the turban and
the costume of its keeper.

Some authors have proved the mildness and docility of the Pe
while others represent it as incapable-of being tamed. This difference is
ascribed by M. Saint-Hilaire to difference of education. Four or five years
ago a male Giraffe, extremely savage, was brought to Constantinople. The

keeper of the present Giraffe had also the charge of this one, and he —

ascribes its savageness entirely to the manner in which it was treated. _
At the same sitting M. Mongez read a memoir on the testimony of an-
cient authors respecting the Giraffe. Moses is the first author who speaks
of it. As Aristotle does not mention it, M. Mongez supposes that it was
unknown to the Greeks, and that it did not then exist in Egypt, otherwise
Aristotle, who travelled there, must have known about it. In the year 708 of
Rome, Julius Cesar brought one to Europe, and the Roman Emp.

afterwards exhibited them at Rome, either for the games in the circus, or .

in their triumphs over the African princes. Albertus Magnus, in his
Treatise de Animalibus, is the first modern author who speaks of the Gi-
raffe,' In 1486 one of the Medici family beeen oné at rooney where
it lived for a considerable time.

In its native country the Giraffe browses on the twigs of eni preferring

plants of the Mimosa genus; but it appears that it can without inconye-
nience subsist on other vegetable food. ‘The one kept at Florence fed on
the fruits of the country, and chiefly on apples, which it begged from the
inhabitants of the first storeys of the houses. The one now in Paris, from
its having been accustomed in éarly life to the food. prepared by the

Arabs for their camels, is fed on mixed grains bruised; such as maize, bar-

ee ee

On the Poison of the Rattlesnake. 357

al &e. and it is furnished with milk for drink morning and evening. It,
however willingly accepts fruits and the branches of the acacia which are
presented to it.. It seizes the leaves with its long. rugous and narrow
tongue by rolling it about them, and seems annoyed when it is obliged to:
take any thing from the ground, which it seems to do with difficulty. To
accomplish this it stretches first one, then the other of its long fore-legs
asunder, and it is not till after repeated attempts that it is able to seize the
objects with its lips and tongue.

The pace of the Giraffe is an amble, though when pate ‘it flies with
extreme rapidity, but the small size of its lungs prevents it from supporting
a lengthened chase. The Giraffe defends itself against the lion, its prin-
cipal enemy, with its fore feet, with which it strikes with such force as
often to repulse him. The iain in the museum is about two years
and a half old.

M. Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire on the 8th of August presented two heads of
the Giraffe to the Academy in illustration of its organization. One of these,
the head of a young animal, showed that the horns are not, as believed,
simple excrescences of the frontal bone, but a superadded process, which
it is possible to separate at a certain age. This structure, common to, the
stag, seems to justify the classification adopted by M. Geoffroy, especially
as it has also been remarked, that in the horns of the adult Giraffe are tu-
berosities analogous to the antlers of the stag.

The name Camelo-pardalis (camel-leopard) was given by the Romans
to this animal, from a fancied combination of the characters of the camel

and leopard ; but its ancient denomination was Zurapha, from which the
‘name Giraffe has been adopted.

4. On the Poison of the Rattlesnake.

The curious fact regarding the poison of the Rattlesnake, alluded to in
our last number, as related by Mr Audubon, was, it has been pointed out te
us, originally published in a volume of Letters by J. Hector St John, an
American farmer, and copied into Dodsley’s Annual Register fox 1782. We
now give it as there detailed.

«* One of this species (the rattlesnake) was the cause some years ago of
a most deplorable accident, which I shall relate to you as I had it from the
widow and mother of the victims. A Dutch farmer of the Minisink went
to mowing with his negroes in his boots, a precaution used to prevent be-
ing stung: Inadvertently he trod on a snake, which immediately flew at
his legs, and as it drew back in order to renew its blow, one of his negroes

cut it in two with his scythe. They prosecuted their work and returned
home. At night the farmer pulled off his boots and went to bed, and was
soon after attacked with a strange sickness.at his stomach ; he swelled, and,’
before a physician could be sent for, died.. The sudden death of this man
did not cause much inquiry. The neighbourhood wondered as is usual in
such cases, and without any further examination thecorpse was buried. A few
days after the son put on his father’s boots, and went to the meadow. At
night he pulled them off, went to bed, and was attacked with the same
symptoms, about the same time, and died in the morning, . A little before

/

-“%
358 . Zoological Collections.

he _— he ame came, but was not able to’ assign what could be the:
cause of so singular a disorder. However, rather than appear wholly at a Joss! -

before the country people, he pronounced both father and son to have been

bewitched. Some weeks after the widow sold all the’moveables for' the’
benefit of the younger children, and the farm was leased. One of the neigh-

bours who bought the boots presently put them on, and was attaeked in
the same manner as the other two had been ; but this man’s wife being
alarmed by what had happened in the former fanifly, dispatched one of her
negroes foran eminent physician, who fortunately having heard something
of the dreadful affair, guessed at the cause, applied oil, &c. and recovered
the man. The boots which had been so fatal were then carefully examined,

and he found that the two fangs of the snake had been left in the leather,

s

after being wrenched out of their sockets by the strength with which the’ —

snake had. drawn back its head. The bladders which contained the poison,
and several of the small nerves, were still fresh and adhered to the boots.
The unfortunate father and son had been poisoned by pulling off these’
boots, in which action they imperceptibly scratched their legs with the
points of the fangs, through the hollow of which some of this astonishing
poison was conveyed. "—Dodsley’s Annual Register 1782, Nut. Hist. p. iyo

5. Ohscrontions on Toads found alive at great depths.in the einige?
By M. Greorrroy Saint-HiLarree ‘

Dr Quenin, physician and mayor of Orgon, exhibited to M. Geoffroy
Saint- Hilaire a toad which had been taken alive from a well that had been
covered up for 150 years. This well was excavated in the rock toa depth
of fifty-two feet. “In announcing this fact to the Academy of Sciences on
the 18th of June last, M. Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire entered into a discussion
upon the curious phenomena of the preservation of animals enclosed in
places where they remain without motion, or nourishment, or respiration.
He states, that in a memoir presented lately to the Academy, an ineffectual
attempt was made to prove, from learned researches, that all the facts stat-
ed by authors upon this subject are forged. M. Geoffroy, in considering
the existence of these facts as at least very probable from the concurrence
of so many witnesses in their favour, is of opinion that it gives a very in-
accurate idea of this phenomena to assimilate the state of those beings whose
lives are preserved in torpidity to the animals benumbed during winter.
According to him, if the phenomena can be demonstrated in an incon-
trovertible manner, we must conclude that there exists, for organization
under certain combinations, a state of neutrality intermediate between that
of life and death, a state into which. certain animals are plunged in conse-
quence.of the stoppage of respiration, when it would take place under de-
terminate circumstances. This is obseryed in a certain degree in: the

crustaceous animals ; vital action is-probably suspended in them in such a —

manner that the excitation of certain agents is required to awaken them
and put them into motion. Most certainly the toad found in the well near
Orgon was not alive ; but all'at once, when brought into the air, it became
re-animated, being sdinewhnt similar to the state of the foetus when it
comes from the membranes oh

History of Mechanical =_—_ &e. 359

ART. XXXIV —HISTORY OF MECHANICAL INVENTIONS,
AND PROCESSES IN THE USEFUL ARTS.

1. sce ‘of a Sea Couch for preventing Sea-sickness. By Mr S. iaee |
. New Bond Street.

Tue object of (his figblltows invention is to construct an elastic or dWing-
ing seat, couch, or bed, for preventing the uneasy motions of a ship or
a carriage. To effect this, the frame of the seat or couch is suspended on
jimbals or joints, turning at right angles to each other, and an elasticity
is produced both in the seat or cushion, and in the swinging-frame, by
the use of spiral metal springs. These springs are made by twisting steel
or iron wire into the form of an hour-glass, that is, like two cones united
at their apices. The lower points of these springs are to be sewn to the
canvas or webbing, and their upper parts secured in their proper situa-
tions and erect positions by pack-thread or small cords, tied or braced from
one to the other, crossing likea net. On the tops of these springs the usual
_ covering of canvas is laid, and then a thin layer of horse hair or wool, upon.
which the outer covering is fitted.

Mr Newton, the editor of the London Journal of Arts and Sciences, —
and a competent judge, has actually used this invention in a voyage across
the channel, and in a journey in a jolting diligence to Paris, and found it —
to answer its purpose completely. He judiciously proposes that a number
of the seats should he let ont for hire at Dover, Brighton, Holyhead, and
Liverpool, Glasgow, and London.—Journal of the Arts, May 1827, p. 117.

2. Notice of Mr Perkins’s Steam Engine.

We are informed by Mr Newton that he has repeatedly seen this
engine in action since his last notice of it. (See, this Journal, No. xii.
p- 338,) and that it gives great satisfaction to those who have visited: it.
The following testimonial has been given respecting it, for some private
purpose, by several respectable engineers, whose names he does not pubs
lish. ‘* We, the undersigned, having made ourselves practically acquainted
with Perkins’s high pressure safety steam engine, do not hesitate to state
that he has established the following new and important facts in the con-
struction of his engine. 1st, Absolute safety. 2d, Greater economy in
fuel than in any other engine hitherto invented. 3d, The removal of all
the reaction of the steam and atmospheric air on the eduction side of the
piston, without the necessity of an air-pump. 4¢h, A new and simple
flexible metallic piston, requiring no oil or lubrication whatever. 57h; A
reduction of three-fourths of their weight and bulk, by very much sim-
plifying certain complicated parts of steam engines, and substituting a
very simple‘eduction valve for the one commonly used both for eduction
and induction, by which means a reduction is made in the size of the en-
gine ; a saving of power is effected, and a diminution of friction ; less wear
and tear occurs, and less destructibility of materials ; and lastly, the joints,
by Mr Perkins’s peculiar mode of connecting, are more easily made secure

‘

\ ° N
360 vel slony of Mechanical Inventions and

and tight, even with the steam at the pressure of 1000lbs. to the square
inch, than the joints of the low pressure condensing engines.’ ‘Newton's
Journal of the Arts, May 1827, p. 162. °

In the same Journal for July 1827 we find the following certificates : _—

“« We, the undersigned, certify, that there are two low pressure steam
engines employed night and day in discharging the water which flows into
St Catherine's dock from the land springs, &c., and that one of them isa
sixteen, and the other a ten horse engine. We pe certify that Mr Perkins
has recently put upa small high pressure steam engine, the diameter of
whose piston is eight inches, and its stroke twenty inches, and yet we have
seen this engine pump the same quantity of water from the rice which
has been heretofore pumped by the other two.

** JAMES fae %
“ Pearson WooDWARD. _
“Tuomas Browne.

“I, the undersigned, certify that I have put up Mr Perkins’s high pres-
sure safety engine, and that what is stated by the above engineers is true,
and that it was done with only 42lbs. of coal per hour. Having been en- ~
gaged twenty-two years in making and putting up engines, principally i in
Cornwall, it is not likely that I could be deceived as to the power and effi-
eacy of this engine, and I conscientiously believe that two-thirds of the
coals used in this opaptry might be saved by the use of this engine.

_ © Henry Hornpiower.”

“ I, the undersigned, carefully weighed the coals, and placed them under
Mr Perkins’s generator, and 42lbs. weight of coals only were used per hour.
I also certify that what is stated by the above engineer respecting the
work done is true. “*'W. HERNE.”

Mr Perkins is of opinion that the two low pressure engines could not
have been worked up to their full power, though they used the full quan-
tity of coal, 35, bushels per hour, But admitting that they worked only at
two-thirds of “the power, there would be a saving of three-fourths of the
eoal consumed .in low pressure engines, by the employment of Mr Perkins’s
new principle. .

Y

3. Account of a new rage. Setsi Rain-Gage. _ By B. Varans, Bag. Civil
Engineer.

The collecting vessel of this rain-gage has the form of an inverted cone,
with a base twelve inches in diameter, From the lower end of this vessel.
passes a tube three-fourths of an inch in diameter, to the receiving ¢ lin-
der, six inches in diameter, and thirty-six inches deep. In the receiving
cylinder there is a copper float about nine and a half inches in diameter, and =
two inches high, having a socket on the middle of the upper side to sup- :
port adight rod of deal.about five feet long, near the upper part of which
is fixed a small frame with friction rollers to support a black lead pencil.
‘The pencil is kept upon the roller by a small weight, and is also pressed for- -
wards by another small weight against a sheet of paper, which is fastened
upon a brass cylinder two feet long, and five inches in diameter. | The

Processes in the Useful Arts. 861

brass cylinder is connected by a line and pully wheel, with a time-piece,
so as to revolve uniformly at any pace that may be required. The whole
of the apparatus, excepting the first-mentioned conical vessel, is placed un-
der cover. ‘The deal rod which carries the pencil is about four inches
wide, and one-fourth of an inch thick, and passes between two vertical
guides to insure the parallel position of the pencil. —

The moment the rain begins te fall into the collector it is conveyed. by
the tube into the receiving cylinder, and begins to raise the float, and with
it the dial rod with its pencil, which makes an oblique line on the paper
compounded of the vertical motion of the pencil,’ and the horizontal motion
of the surface of the brass cylinders, and indicates the quantity of rain fal-
len by the total height of the oblique line, and the rate of falling by the
angle of obliquity, and the time of the beginning and end of “ shower
by the distances along the line.

The only care necessary is to wind up the time-piece from time to time,
and to take off the paper from the cylinder and replace it with a fresh sheet,

marking the time on the paper when it is put on.—Annals of Philosophy,
July 1827, p. 74. :

4. . New Process for making Steel. By CaarLes Mac&tnrosH, oor
Glasgow. bsidy
There are few individuals of the present age who have done so much
for the advancement of the useful arts, and for the promotion of the
manufactures of his country, as the eminent individual whose new pro-
cess we are about to describe. In the patent by which he has secured the
privilege of this invention he claims, as the principle of his process, the
impregnation of iron at a high temperature with carbon in a gaseous form.
The gas which he employs as the most economical and convenient for this
purpose is that. evolved from coal under distillation. The iron is inclosed
in a crucible, or melting pot, of the usual materials, and placed in the fur-
nace, and when it is raised to a very high degree of temperature, a jet, or
current of the gas, is thrown into the crucible through a suitable aperture
and tube provided for this purpose-. In the cover of the crucible there is

made another aperture to permit the escape of that part of the gas which
is not absorbed by the iron.

5. Method of improving Soap. By Mr Wiii1am Porr, Lombard

2 Street.
_ This process, for which a patent has been obtained, is as follows:—A
hundred weight of good soap is sliced into thin pieces, and mixed with
seven pounds of mar! of the purest kind, two ounces of potash, and 4 suffi-
cient quantity of water to reduce the whole into a fluid state. The soap
being thoroughly dissolved, the materials are stirred together, and when of
the consistency of cream they are boiled, and then poured’ out into suit-
able moulds for making it into cakes. This process gregtly improves the
soap, by destroying the effects of the caustic alkali upon ‘the skin, and it
also renders it soft and smooth.—Newton’s Journal of the Arts; May 1827,
p- 140.

VOL. VII. NO. 13. oct. 1827. Aa

362 Bi of Scientific Books ick Memoirs.

Ant, XXXV.—ANALYSIS OF SCIENTIFIC BOOKS AND.
MEMOIRS. | B:
: é ‘pee
Memoir on the Geology of Central France, including the vole Jjor-
mations of Auvergne, the Velay, and the Vivarais. By G. PouLerr
Scrorsg, Esq. F. R.S., F.G.S. In one Volume 4to, with a Volume of
Plates. Lond. 1827, . .

Tue subject of volcanos, whether active or extinct, must always be consi-
dered as one of the most important in geology. The products of their
eruptions are derived from those inner regions of the globe which would
otherwise be inaccessible to observation ; and the primary phenomena which
they exhibit, as well as the extraardinary effects. by which these pheno-
mena are attended, give us the only information which we possess respect-
ing those tremendous agents which are imprisoned within the adamantine
walls of our planet. It seems scarcely, possible to conceive that the study
of volcanos could have been set at nought: by any person bearing the
name of a geologist. Some of the half-taught votaries of the Wernerian
School indeed affected to consider them as mere superficial convulsions,
which had no effect on the main crust of the globe, and which disclosed
none of the secrets of its interior arrangements. Such opinions had no
Jeading agents in the induration and elevation of the earth’s crust, but
though they passed current in that level of intellect for which they were
adapted, they at last roused the indignation of the philosophical geologist,
and haye at last sunk never more to rise, under the the powerful menpeRs
of argument and observation.

One of the first persons who assailed and overthrew these dogmas of the
Wernerian theory, was our distinguished countryman Professor ‘Playfair.
In a dissertation on voleanos which he read to the Royal Society of Edin-
burgh, and which was intended to form a part of the second edition of his

Illustrations of the Huttonian Theory, he arranged all the facts which cha-
racterized the most remarkable eruptions, he traced over the globe. the ef-
fects of the earthquakes which accompanied them, and he proved by calcu-
lations, founded on these facts, that the agent from which they arose
must in some cases have been seated at a depth beneath the earth’s surface
at least 3 or 4 of its radius. ‘These opinions, though the memoir which
contained dion was never published, were speedily propagated, and seve-
ral of our young geologists, who had not been tainted with preconceived
opinions, devoted themselves to the study of the volcanic phenomena, __

One of the most distinguished of these was Mr Scrope, the author of
the present work, who explored with his own eyes the volcanos. of. Italy
and Sicily, and whose work on that subject we have already fully analyzed
in a preceding number. Not satisfied, however, with the study of active yol-
canos, he resolved to examine those which had been long extinct, and
whose products, modified by accidental causes, and by the action of diurnal

Scrope’s Memoir on the Geology of Central France. 363

operations, might be in some degree assimilated to formations of doubt-
ful origin. With this view he examined the district of Auvergne, covered
with extinct craters, the products of which are in contact not only with
primitive rocks, but with the tertiary and fresh water strata; or those which
have been most recently formed. In June.1821 he established himself at
Clermont, and from this central point he made excursions through the vi-
cinity, transferring his head-quarters to the Baths of Mont D’ ‘ti Le Puy,
and Aubenas.

The result. of this examination is given in two books, the frst of which
treats of the geology of the interior of France, and the Hoenn of the vol-
canic formations,

After treating in the first chapter of the first book of the primitive mal
dicta formations, Mr Scrope discusses at considerable length, and
with great ability, the curious subject of the fresh water formations of
Central France. ‘These are found to occupy three different districts on the
primitive plateau, and appear to have been deposited in as many distinct
and independent basins, viz. that of the Limagne, the Cantal, and the Haute
Loire. These three formations he attributes to the same era, both from
the similarity of their composition, and of the fossils which they contain.
“* 'That of the Cantal alone,” says he, ‘‘ appears deficient in gypsum, but this
may be owing to the very small portion of it.which lies open to observa-

_ tion. All are remarkable for containing highly siliceous beds. The forma-
tion of the Haute Loire distinguishes itself from the others.in the circum-
stance that the limits of the lake basins in which its strata were deposited
remain obvious, so much so, that if the narrow gorges of La Voute and
Chamaliéres were filled up, the lakes would be. immediately restored near-
ly.to what may be supposed their original level ;_ while the deposits. of the
upper end of the Limagne and also of the Cantal are found at a height
which overlooks an extensive and low horizon, in which no traces of a for
mer barrier can be perceived capable of containing a body of water accu-

mulated at that level, and we have consequently been forced to suppose -

these strata to have sustained a considerable degree of elevation since
their deposition. The formation of the Limagne is remarkable for the
alternation of strata. of compact pure marl, which would seem to have
concreted from a pulpy mass in the manner of the chalk strata, or
the lower beds of shell marl in the Bakie Loch, described by Mr
Lyell, (Geol. Trans. vol. ii. No. 8. p. 76-) with the beds containing the
indusia tubulata, which bear marks of a tedious and gradual formation, ana-
‘ logous to that, of stalagmites, and by their gravelly nature, and the cha-
racters of the fossils they inclose, appear to have formed the banks ofa
marsh or river, generally dry, though occasionally overflowed, rather a6
the bottom of a permanent lake.”

As the last fresh water of Auvergne, Mr Scrope ‘lnbues the sepnaioli
deposit from which..tripoli is extracted at Menat. between Riom and
Montaign. It occupies the bottom of a circular basin about a mile in dia«
meter, encircled by lofty primitive rocks, and emptying itself into the

\

.
364. Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs:\°

Sioule by a narrow gully twelve feet deep and ten wide, perforated in the
mica schist. Before this passage had been ‘effected, the basin must have
been a lake, the sediments of which consist of a black desiccated bitumi-
nous clay disposed in thin flakes. Iron. pyrites is’ extremely abundant in
this clay, and in many points the pyrites seems to have undergone a
spontaneous combustion, and the clay of the strata round been in consé-
quence converted into tripoli, of which the parts most exposed .to the
heat are of a bright red, the others varying between pink, yellow, and white.
These baked’ beds occasionally alternate eight or ten times with those that
- are untouched. The tripoli, which is very light, separates with facility in-
to the finest folia; but it is so brittle that it must be gaken’ out with
great care by the hand. It is then dried in the sun, and needs no farther
preparation for the market. Besides the casts of fish, Mr Scrope observed
casts of numerous leaves between the lamine, which were perfect and
beautiful. They resembled those of the willow, the elder, and the syca-
more. The fish were very imperfect, but bore some nega rt | to the:
carp and the eel. i Das

Previous to giving an account of the volcanic farina of ete
France, Mr Scrope has favoured us with.some interesting notices of the
labours of those geologists who have .written on the volcanic remains of
that district. ._When MM. Guettard and Malesherbes passed through
Montelimart in 1751 on their return from Italy, where they had visited
Vesuvius, they observed the street pavement formed of short articulations
of basaltic columns fixed vertically in the ground, and learning that they
were from the rock of Rochemaure, and were found also in the Vivarais,
they visited that province, and made known its volcanic character. (See
Mém. Acad. Por, 1752.). The views of these naturalists obtained at first
little credit, but M. Desmarest afterwards removed every doubt by his Me-
moirs on the Origin of Basalt, which appeared in those of the academy for —
1771. _ In 1778, Faujas de St Fond published his work entitled *‘ Des Vol-
cans eteints du Vivarais et Velay ;” but he unluckily found a crater in every
chasm and decomposed lavas in beds of marl and sandstone. It was now,
however, universally admitted that numerous volcanos had. broken out in the
interior of France, at different and very remote periods, and had covered
with the products of their eruptions the provinces of Auvergne, Velay, and
Vivarais. . M. Dolomieu glanced at this district in 1797, and in 1802 M.
de Montlosier published his work sur la. Theorie des Volcans d’ Auvergne,
and exhibited the various relations and characters of those voleanic remains.
M: de Buch, M. Lacoste, Baron Ramond, and Dr Daubeny, have more re-
cently employed their talents on the same subject.

Mr Scrope next proceeds to give a general account of the two the of «
volcanic formation in Auvergne, and afterwards a detailed description of the
four regions into which he divides the volcanic district, viz. 1. Mont Dome .
of the Limagne of Auvergne. 2. The Mont Dor. 3. Cantal, and 4.:The
Departments of the Haute Loireand Ardeche.. In his account of the first
of these regions we meet with the following interesting observations on
the nature and origin of trachyte.

:
Scrope’s Memoir on: the Geology of Central France. 365.

» “ There is every reason to conclude the trachytes of the Mont Dor and
Cantal, as well as the phonolite of: the Megen, to have been propelled from
a volcanic orifice ina state of liquefaction, and to lave followed the incli-
nation of the ground they occupied, flowing ‘in a manner differing only
from that of basaltic lavas in proportion to their different consistence and
very inferior fluidity, and the accidental circumstances which oer have
occurred to modify their dispositions. ;
» Itis evident that, under similar circumstances of the inning levels
and of propulsive force, the tendency of a mass of lava to quit the neigh-
bourhood of the orifice from which it is emitted, will be in exact propor-
tion to its fluidity ; and when the fluidity is at its mazimum, it will accu-
mulate immediftely around the orifice: one layer of the half-congealed and
inert substance spreading over that which preceded it, till the whole’ as-
sumes the form of a dome or bell-shaped hillock, perforated in the. centre
- by the chimney or vent through which fresh matter may continue to be ex-
pelled, but which will at the end remain closed by that last sent up. » Now
the variety of trachyte which composes the Puy de Dome and the neigh-
bouring: Domitic Puys, consisting almost wholly of felspar, and therefore
- possessing the lowest possible specific gravity, and at the same time a very
rude and coarse grain and highly porous structure, is precisely that species
of lava which we should. expect @ priori to have possessed the. minimum
of fluidity when protruded into the air ; and we therefore understand per-
fectly why; instead of flowing in thin and continuous sheets or streams to
a distance from its vent, like the basaltic lavas produced. about the same
time.and from the same fissure, it has accumulated.in dome and bell-shaped
hillocks. on the point where it was emitted. That this was the mode of
production of these. masses of trachyte, that they were thrown up on the
spots they now occupy is proved by their rising in every instance either
from the middle or the side of a regular. crater and cone of scorie.

‘* If it could be imagined possiblefor the volcano of the Mont Dor to have
sent. forth a vast current of trachyte in this direction, of which these hills
have been supposed the remaining segments, in spite of the fact that the
great. elevation of the granite ridge upon which they rest above the sur-
rounding country, renders it the last of all directions which such a current
could have taken, and. in spite of the improbability that a rocky bed, of
which the.Puy de Dome, a mass rising 1600 feet above its base, is merely
a detached remnant, should have left no traces of its existence in the inter-
val. between that mountain and the Mont Dor, a distance of 788. miles :
yet a still stronger objection to this hypothesis remains behind, viz. the im-
probability that the position of each ‘of these remains should severally
coincide exactly with that of the vent of a separate recent ‘eruption ; that
the only points on which the remnants of this supposed bed are to be found,
should be precisely those on which, from the disturbance occasioned: by the
volcanie explosions, there would be good reason to suppose it might bare
been destroyed and carried off.

** The theory of Von Buch evidently éuuidchiad more sities to this ex-

*
366 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs. -

planation than that of Daubuisson and Ramond. Von Buch supposes the
Domite to have been “ granite liquefied by volcanic heat.” TI also con.
ceive it to have been, like all lavas, a mass of granite, or some congenerous
crystalline rock, which, while confined beneath the surface of the globe at
an intense temperature, was suddenly allowed to expand by the bursting ~
of the overlying rocks, and was consequently liquefied, or so far softened
by the immediate generation of highly elastic fluids, both gases and.
aqueous vapour, through every part of its texture, as to be protruded, by
the tumefaction incident to this proupes, through the clefts of the over-
lying crust. 104

‘* The part of Von Buch’s theory with which I agree ‘dhe least, is binwen
posing these hills to be hollow, and :blown up like a bladdér. I imagine,
on the contrary, the aériform and highly elastic fluids the expansion of
which elevated the lava, to have remained chiefly where they were gene-
rated, viz. in a state of uniform and intimate dissemination throughout the
texture and between the solid crystalline particles of the porous and elas~
tic mass; and not by any means to have united into one great bubble or
volume beneath an overlying cake of the lava, as is implied in Von Buch’s
theory, a theory which Humboldt has adopted and applied I think —
rashness, to all trachyte formations.”

In the same region occurs the Puy de Pariou, which, from its. ap re dita
that of its lava, isssupposed by Mr Scrope- to be the result of one of the
last eruptions which convulsed the country. The following sett
of it is peculiarly instructive.

‘It is one of the most considerable and regular cones of the idiain. A
segment of a former crater half encircles it on the north, and here the
whole process of this and similar formations is manifest. (See Mr Scrope’s
Considerations on Volcanos, p. 67.) *** The new crater of Pariou,'form=
ed upon the brink of the older one, has the figure of an inverted cone.
It is clothed to the bottom with grass, and it isa somewhat singular spectacle
to see a herd of cattle quietly grazing above the orifice whence such fu-
rious ‘explosions once broke forth. “Its depth is 300 and its circumference
3000 feet. The inclination of the sides of the cone and of the crater are
both about 35°. The acute ridge resulting from their junction is so little
blunted by time that in some parts it scarcely affords space to stand on.
Its highest point is 738 feet above the southern base of the Puy.

** The first direction of the lava of Pariou isto the N. E. and the éutein'
appears to have set with fury against a long-backed granitic eminencé op+
posing it on that side. Hence, led by a considerable slope towards: the
S. E. it coasted the base of this hill, and leaving to the right another pros
tuberance of the primitive plateau on which now stand the church and
hamlet of Orcines, advanced to a spot called La Barague. Here it. met
with a small knoll of granite capped with scorie and volcanic bombs.
Impeded in its progress‘the lava accumulated on this point into a long and
elevated ridge, which still bears the appearance of a huge mass, about to
break over the seemingly insignificant obstacle. But an easier issue offered

Scrope’s Memoir on the Geology of Central Prance. 367

itself in two lateral valleys, having their origin in the part of the plateau
occupied by the lava current, which, separating consequently into two
limbs, rushed down the declivities presented on either side.

_ © The right hand branch-first deluged and completely filled an area sur-
rounded by granitic eminences, and probably the basin of a small lake ;
thence entered the valley of Villar, a steepand sinuous gorge, which it thread=
ed exactly in the manner. of a watery torrent, turning all the projecting
rocks, dashing in cascades through the narrowest parts, and widening its
current where the space permitted, till, on reaching the embouchure of the
valley in the great plain of the Limagne, it stopped at a spot called Font-
more, where its termination constitutes a rock about fifty feet high, now
quarried for building-stone. From the base of this rock gushes a plenti-
ful spring, the waters of which still find their way from Villar, beneath
the lava which usurped their ancient channel.

‘* The branch which separated to the left plunged down a steep bank into
the valley of Gresinier, replacing the rivulet that flowed there with a black
and shagged current of lava, entered the limits of the Limagne at the
village of Durtol, and continuing the course marked out by the streamlet;
turned to the north, occupied the bottom of the valley lying between the
calcareous mountain Les Cotes and the curtain of granitic rocks, and final«
ly stopped on the site of the village of Nohanent. Here, as at Fontmore,
an abundance of the purest water springs from below the extremity of the
lava current. The various rills which drain the valley of Durtol and its
embranchments have recovered their pristine channel, and filtering through
the scoriform masses which always form the lowest surface of a bed of
lava, flow on unseen till the rock above terminates, and they issue in a
full and brilliant spring. Above this point, consequently, is seen the
anomaly of a valley without any visible stream; and the inhabitants of
Durtol are condemned; in seasons of drought, to the strange necessity of
seeking at Nohanent, a distance of two miles, the water which flows there
beneath their own houses.

“* In its appearance, the Cheir of Pariou is even more bristling and rugged
than those already described. M. D’Aubuisson justly compares it to a
river suddenly frozen over by the stoppage and union of immense frags
ments of drift-ice.”

This interesting description is followed by an account t of the Puys de
Sarconi, a group of volcanic hills, whose structure throw much light on
the mode and formation of the dome-shaped masses of trachyte which oc-
eur in so many volcanic districts. Our limits, however, will not allow us
to transfer it to our pages.

In the departments of the Upper Loire and of Ardeche, there occur a
very extensive system of volcanic rocks, of which Mont Mezen is the
most elevated. These rocks seem to have proceeded from the S.E. side of
Mont Mezen, from which two principal embranchments of clinkstone
( phonilite ) have been projected, one to the S. and the other to the N.N.W.
The first exhibits itself in between twenty and thirty neighbouring rocky
eminences of considerable magnitude ; but the second, which is of a most

by *
368 Analysis of Scientific Books and Memoirs.

remarkable character, constitutes a mountainous chain of ‘numerous simi-
lar rocks covering,a wide extent of country. Ab iba quae

“The uniformly progressive declination,” says wr Senioday © of this
system of phonilitic summits from the Mezen to the bed of the river,
where they terminate, the two last leaning against the foot of the primi-
tive range of La Chaise Dieu on the opposite bank, proves them, in my’ opi~
nion, to be the remains of a single enormous lava current, prior in date to
the excavation of the actual channel of the Loire, and far the most con-
siderable in bulk and extent of any I have had occasion to observe in the:
Phlegraen fields of France. | The space it appears to have covered is more
than twenty-six miles in length, with an average breadth of six, containing,’
therefore, a superficies of 156 square miles. Its thickness must originally:
have been prodigious, and may be judged of by the mountainous portions
still remaining. Many of these rise to a height of 400 and $00 feet from:
their base; and none, I believe, show any marks of a division into separate
beds, so that the whole colossal range must be supposed of a piece, the re=
sult of an individual eruption. It rests generally on granite, either im-
mediately, or with the intervention of basalt, but appears also to have
crossed @ large angle of the calcareous fresh water formation nines occurs
in the neighbourhood of Le Puy.” i

Mr Scrope concludes the descriptive part of his work vith an aeccout:
of a chain of volcanos in the Velay and Vivarais, which he considers as the’
products of a later effect of volcanic activity. They cover uninterrupted-
ly a broad zone of the primitive plateau from Paulhaguet and Alegre to’
‘Pradelle and Aubenas, and seem to be a prolongation of the chain of Puys
of the Auvergne. Numerous cones still mark the point at which these
eruptions took place; and they are so thickly sown along the ‘axis of the
granitic range that separates the Loire and Allier from Panlhaguet to Prae
delle, that they generally touch each other at their bases and form an ‘al-
most continuous chain. Between Pradelle and Aubenas they are of less
frequent occurrence, and there are more to the south of the latter. A large
and productive group, however, exists to the N. E. of Pradelle in the
neighbourhood of Prezailles. Mr Scrope counted more than one hundred
and fifty of these cones in the above tract. These cones are not 80 fresh
and well-preserved as those of Auvergne. Not many have an entire or
even a distinctly marked crater, and as the volcanic energy seems to have
been exerted far more furiously, the lava currents have been united ‘into.
one continuousand enormous current, where all are mingled and confounded.
Mr Scrope is of opinion that the most recent ‘eruption of the district was
that which produced the double hill of Mont, S..E. of the Le Puy, and
which formed a smal] platform of columnar basalt called Montredon, rising
in the middle of the valley of the Borne, and resting on a ——_ of ead
mitive and voleanic boulders.

Some of the most remarkable and interme of the recent volehingia sik
mains in Old France, are those which occur on the deep declivity by which
the preceding escarpement is connected with the southern valley of the
Bas Vivarais and Languedoc. As seen frem below, that front of the great

Scrope’s Memoir on the Geology of Central France. 369

platform appears as a precipitous curtain-like range,, broken by recesses in-
to short, deep, and massive formations, in which all the rude and stupen-
dous scenery of a primitive mountain district is displayed in its full mag-
nificence. ‘There we have the grand scenery-of the’ Apennines, with all
_ the luxurious vegetation of the finest chesnut forests.’ It is, therefore, a
striking contrast to observe the six perfect volcanic cones of ‘Montpezat,
Burzet, Thueyts, Jaujac, Souillols, and Ayzac, perched at distant inter-
vals on the rocky ridges of these granitic embranchments. For an account
of these volcanic cones we must refer the reader to Mr Scrope’s work.

In summing up the principal facts in the history of this district, as dis-
closed by its present appearances, Mr Scrope refers them to four epochs.

1. The primary elevation of the high nucleus of central France above
the ocean which deposited the secondary strata, by which a large protu-
berant mass of crystalline rock, with massive and laminar (granite, gneiss,
and mica schist) was erupted in a solid state, and superficially exposed the
incumbent secondary. strata, apparently sliding awsy by a@ Iptesal moves ,
ment on all sides towaréls the lower level.

2. After that occurred an era marked by the abundant deposition of
calcareous strata from a series of fresh water lakes, occupying the irregu-
lar hollows of that elevated district, and probably overflowing from the
- highest to the lowest levels ;' while, at the same time, numerous eruptions
of volcanic matter, both trachytes and basalts, were taking place at inter-
vals from these principal habitual sources, as well as from some minor
vents. t

3. This state of things seems to have been at length disturbed hy a se-
‘cond paroxysmal elevation of the same immense continental tract, compre-
hending both the primitive platform and the overlying fresh water forma
tions. By this the barriers of the lake basins being burst, their contents
were discharged upon the lower levels, in one or more sudden debacles,
which produced extensive denudations throughout the valleys of the Al-
lier and Loire by the force of the escaping water, and perhaps deposited »
the vast accumulation of diluvial matter observable along the course of
these rivers in the departments of the Allicr, Nievre, and Cher.

4. To this epoch succeeded a period of occasional volcanic eruptions,
chiefly of separate openings-on the longitudinal fracture line, accompa-
nied by the continual deepening and widening of the vallies of the district
by ordinary excavating forces ; a period which the apparent extinction of
the volcanic vents cannot be said to have terminated, since some of these
bear all the appearance of very recent activity, and render it by no means
incredible that their phenomena may again be renewed at no distant date.
_ From this brief and general abstract of Mr Scrope’s work, the geological
reader will perceive how much pleasure awaits him from a perusal of the
work itself. To a general reader, even not yersant in geological details,
the admirable coloured engravings which accompany the work will conyey
much curious information, and they will, we are persuaded, induce many
an ordinary traveller to visit the interesting distriet which they represent.

As our friend and coadjutor Dr Hibbert is now on his way to examine

J
370 Proceedings of Societies.

the: geology of Auvergne, &c. we expect to be able to lay before our read,
ers some account of those parts of the volcanic district which Mr Scrope
did not examine, and some of which have, we believe, never been describ-.
ed. 'The whole valley of the Loire, for example, from Roanne southwards:
up to Le Puy, the Canton of D’Aubrac, and the southern part of the Cons
‘we will on this account attract his particular attention. Fi

Art. XXXVI.— PROCEEDINGS OF SOCIETIES. ae

1. Royal Society of Edinburgh.

Miéy 7.—The following gentlemen were elected Members :

Atexanper Cortanp Hurcuison, Esq. Surgeon to his Majesty’ 5
Dock-yard, Sheerness

Georcre Swinton, Esq. ‘Secretary to the Government, Calcutta.

*Proressor WALLACE read a paper on the pba hs of the conic see=
tions, and the calculation of logarithms.

There was read a paper by Dr Brewstex on the theory and construc~
tion of polyzonal lenses, and their combination with mirrors, for he
purposes of illumination in light-houses. .

The following papers were communicated to the Society :—

1. Observations on the structure of the fruit in the order Cucurbitacer,
by Francrs Hamitron, M. D. F.R. S. London and Edinburgh.”

2. Account of Ovahverite, a new mineral from Oxahver in Iceland, iby
Dr Brewster. Printed in Number xiii. p. 115.

3. Analysis of Oxahverite, by Dr Epwarv Turner. Printed in Nuits

ber xiii. p. 118
The Society adjourned till November:

reih

2. Proceedings of the Society for Promoting the Useful Arts in Seotlid

April 3.—The following Gentlemen were elected Members :
Ordinary.
Mr Charles Chalmers, Edinburgh.
Associates. |
Alexander Nasmyth, Esq. Edinburgh. .
Mr James Clark, mechanist, Edinburgh.

Mr J. A. Ventress exhibited and described a stereometer on a new
construction, for measuring the specific gravity of powders, as well as solid
bodies. See last Number, p. 143.

Mr Lizars read a notice on preventing forgery in bank notes, and eX-
hibited specimens of notes executed by himself.

Dr BrewstER communicated a notice respecting the theory of Barker’ s

’ Mill, by Davies Grisext, Esq. M. P. V. P. R. S. who undertook the i in-
vestigation, in consequence of that society having offered a premium on
the best set of experiments on that machine.

Sir SamuEL Srirtine Bart. exhibited and described the model of a

4

Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. ey

cart, in which the driver assists the horse in’ beset ascents, by a piece of me-
chanism.

. Mr Cotrn Macrenan exhibitial and explained 1 the model of a einen to
be put in progressive motion by its rider.

. There was exhibited a very ingenious revolving pretrncding table, for
laying down surveys, and also a portable levelling rod, invented by Me
BucHANnAv, civil engineer.

April 17.—There was read a memoir of the life of M. Beiaishiotie, an
honorary member of the Society, by Dr Brewster. See last “Number
p- i.

Mr Craup Russet exhibited and described a hydrostatic dani, which
he had used for many years.

Mr Monreatu of Closeburn, exhibited a model of a mashing for polish.
ing stone pavement erected at Closeburn. .

The room was lighted by a gas lamp, suspended by the patent gas adidial
made by Messrs Swan and Neit_; Mr Stmrson the patentee, described
the chain to the Society.

May 8.—A dissertation was read on the natural history of the herring,
considered in connexion with its resort to the Scottish coast, by Mr Joun
Mircux ut Junior Leith, being one of the essays sent in competition for
the honorary medal offered by the Society.

_ A method of making a cheap soda liquor without crystallizing, for the
use of turkey-red dyers, by Mr Cuartes Cameron, Ghagte; was also
read.

There was likewise read an account of a proces for making screwed
tools and screwed work, by Mr ALEXANDER NIcoL, Manihie.

Distribution of Medals.

May 26.—-At a general meeting held this day, the following. medals
were delivered by Lornp NewrTon, viz. ‘

1. The gold medal to Mr Wurretaw for his improved clock.

2. A gold medal to Professor Wattace, for his eidograph.

3. A silver medal to Mr Suretts, for his triangle for directing the jets
of fire engines.

4. A silver medal to Mr WiLuiam Wa RDEN, for his safety gas burner.

'5. A silver medal to Mr Joun Mitcuett Junior Leith, for his paper
on the natural history of the herring.

3.—Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy.
May 22, 1826.—Rosert Brown, Esq. F.R. S. &c. &c. unanimously elect-
ed an Honorary Member.

Read a Paper by the Presipent, “‘ Appendix to a former paper on
the Quantity of the Precession of the Equinoxes, as determined by certain
Stars that appear to have no proper Motion.”

June 5—The subjects for- prize essays were chosen, and are as
follow :-—

1. A premium not exceeding Thirty Guineas to the author of the pide

essay in answer to the following queries, “‘ What are the general indica-

>
372, \set .o Proceedings of Societies: s.r.

tions of metals being in any given place, the lines of direction, extent, .nd>
dipping of the veins, deduced from the appearance of the surface, and
the occurrence of different metallic substances found combined or as-
sociated in veins or beds? What is the medium per centage of; the value
of the ores hitherto found in ireland, and the average cost per ton of work-
ing and smelting them, with the expence of land and water carriage? It
will be necessary that any particular terminology used: by miners be add-
ed and explained, and that a section of a wemoe eA ph mine ue sub-
joined.” 1 yurtogos
2. A premium not exceeding Thirty Guineas to the pied, ie of the best
essay ‘‘ On the state of Architecture in Ireland eroneniys to: the reign of
Henry the Second.” busi Badd gs
3. A premiuin of Eighty Pounds and the dawiinahamn Medal’ to the
author of the best essay on the. following subject :—‘‘ ‘The Social and
Political State of the People of Ireland from the commencement of the
Christian era to the 12th century ; their advancement or retrogression in’
Science, Literature, and the Arts; and the character of their Moral and
Religious Opinions, as connected with their Civil and Ecclesiastical, Insti-
tutions, so far as they can be gleaned from any original writings prior to
the commencement of the 16th century, exclusive of those in the Irish and
other Celtic languages, as such doéuments may, on a future occasion, be
proposed by the academy as a subject of examination ; every statement-to
be supported, not by references only, but by extracts in the form) of notes
or an appendix ; and it is expected, that every accessible source of infor+
mation shall be examined, under the above limitation. Besides:the above-
- mentioned prize.to the best essay, the: a¢ademy will give additional: pre~
miums to essays on this subject, provided they: possess positive merit.”
Essays on the first. and second subjects will be received, if sent post free
to the Rev. J. H. Singer, D. D. Secretary, at any time previous to: the
Ist of May 1827; and on the third till the Ist of May 1828; each essay
to be inscribed with some motto, and accompanied with a. debiled billet,
superscribed with the same motto, in which shall be written the — 8
name and address. re
June 26.—Read a letter, communicated by the Peosidenty! ery ‘Dr
Brewster, expressing the desire of the Royal Society of Edinburgh to ©
possess a set of simultaneous meteorological observations, during ‘a’series
of years, on the 17th of July and the 15th of January, and accompanied
with a schedule for their insertion ; after which 100 copies of said letter
and schedule were ordered to be picid for distribution arya the mem-~

bers.
Oct. 30.—An address was, presented to the President, and hig’ answer

received as follows :— eer
My Lorv.—In cniranlatiind your Lordship on your recent elevation,
the members of the Royal Irish Academy do not merely perform, itias a
part of public duty, but obey the suggestions of private respect and friend-
ship. In the connection which they have had with you as their President _
they have become too well acquainted with your worth not to rejoice to see
3 :

/

Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 373

it rewarded ; while the zeal with which youhave watched over the inte-
rests of science, and the success which has attended the application of your
distinguished talents to the same. object, justify the choice, which, at so
critical a period, has raised you to your high station, and form an earnest
of the energy with which the duties of that station will be fulfilled. In
joining the public feeling which has sanctioned your elevation, we trust
that an institution over which you have so long presided, and on which
you have reflected the lustre of your talents, will still share your patron-
age ; that, aware of the connection between the interests of-true religion
and the advancement of sound knowledge, you will still watch over and as-
sist its progress ; and that the approbation of your sovereign, which has
placed you among the high dignitaries and guardians of the National
Church, will not deprive the ipyes Trish Academy of your protection as
its President. S. Kyte.

My Lorps anp Gawhineenxorbi is difficult to express how greatly I ap-
preciate the good opinion of the Royal Irish Academy. ‘The motives which
you have been pleased to'state as having led you to distinguish me by this
great mark of your approbation,’ will always be present to my mind.

The Academy, founded for the promotion of science and literature in
Ireland, requires the joint exértiéns of its members; and since I-have had
the honour of presiding therein, I have uniformly been assisted by the most
cordial support and co-operation.

Religion and knowledge cannot be separated ; each requires the aid of
the other. In the station to which his Majesty has been pleased to call me,
the pursuits of science may, in my opinion, be continued without impro-
priety, and without interfering with more appropriate duties.

As a member of the Royal Irish Academy I shall always consider myself
as called on to assist in promoting the objects for which it has been insti-
tuted. The office which I have held appears to me necessarily to require
a residence in or near Dublin ; and, however gratified I might be by being

continued in this distinguished post, I feel it could not take place without
injury to the interests and reputation of the aneheny; to serve which my
humble efforts shall always be directed. , .-Joun Croyne.

Deé. 18.— Remarks on the Irish Language, with a Review of its Gram-
mar, Glossaries, Vocabularies, and Dictionaries, by Mr James Scurry,” was
unanimously voted for publication in the Transactions.

Jan. 8, 1827.—A letter from Mr Goulburn being read, stating his Ma-
jesty’s wishes to have a copy made of the Book of Leacan by Mr Owen
Connellan, it was ordered that the librarian be requested to afford him
every facility of access to said book in the Academy House for that pur-
Jan. 22.—The Duxe of Bucxtneuam was unanimously elected an
Honorary Member, and Str Witt1am Betuam an Ordinary Member.

March 16.—The following a spot were even officers and council for
the ensuing year.

PRESIDENTS,
The Right hie. Dinis Bishop of Gina D. D., F.R.S. &e. ie.

7

374 _ Scientific Intelligence.

VICE=PRESIDENTS,.
oseph ~— M. D.; Colonel E. Hill; ‘The Provost ; William Brooke
M.D, th Tete
OFFICERS. ! ap

«Treasurer. — William Brooke, M, D. 4

» Secrelartes.~—Rev. J. H. Singer, D.D., F. TC. D. ; Rev. Francis Sad
DeoD., 8. F. T..C. D.

- Secretary of Foreign Correspondence —Colonel gE Hill. yy

Librarian.—Rev. W. H, Drummond, D. D. aff oho

COMMITTEE OF SCIENCE. Ty ‘iver

His Gace the Archbishop of Dublin ; Joseph Clarke, M D.; The Pro-
vost; Rev. F. Sadleir, D. D. &c.; Sir C. L. Giésecke ; Rev. R. MavDane
nell, D. D., F. T. C.D. ; Rev. Dionysius Lardner, LL.D rift

COMMITTEE OF POLITE LITERATURE. aiaitere tos

Rev. J. H. Singer, D, D. &c. ; Andrew Carmichael; Esq, ; pi wit.
ton; M. D.; Rev. C. R. Elrington, D..D., F.T. C. Dv; Rev. W. H. Ditwes;
mond, D. D.; George Kiernan, Esq. ; Rev. John Darley, F. T. C.D,

COMMITTEE OF ANTIQUITIES.

Colonel E. Hill ; William Brooke, M. D. ; Isaac D’Olier, LL. D.; mer.
Henry H. Harte, F. T.C. D. ; Thomas H. ‘Orpen M. D.; Hye Fergus
son, M. D.; Sir William Bethinens

An essay “e On a New Species of haedintees designed Repent illustra.
tion of Lectures on Mechanical Subjects, by the Rev. D. Lardner, LL. D.”
was read, A large sectional model of a steam-engine was at me same ene
exhibited as a specimen of the proposed apparatus, op aes

April 2.—Dr Lardner’s essay ‘‘ On a New Species of areal “i &e
was unanimously voted for publication in the Transactions, . |

An essay entitled ‘Theory of Systems of Rays, by William Rete
Hamilton, Esq. T. C. D.” was afterwards laid before the pee and re=
ferred for reading to its next sitting. . hiedt A

Art. XXXVII.—SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE...

I. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.
AST RONOMY.

1. Figure of the Earth, deduced from observations on both scaefiaille
On the 2d March 1827, M. Duperrey read an account of his experiments
with an invariable pendulum, during his voyage in the Coquille. ‘Ihe
principal anomalies have been observed in the Isle of France, Mons, Guam,
and Ascension. At the Isle of France M. Duperrey found, as Freycinet
did, that the pendulum made 13 or 14 oscillations in a day less thab & it

ought to have done, by supposing the flattening, of the earth to be saa tt -, a8

the lunar theory makes it. At the Isle of Ascension we found, as’ in
tain Sabine did, an acceleration of from five to six oscillati ons, even by

in 2
< —— =

Astronomy. 375

supposing the flattening of the earth to be ae In other stations the

difference is almost nothing, and in some there is a retardation. All these
differences cannot be ascribed to errors of observation. M. Duperrey agrees
with Captain Sabine, in ascribing them to a want of homogencity in the
earth, considered in its mass, or to simple variations of density in the su-
perficial strata. _Both observers have remarked, that the acceleration takes
place in volcanic countries, and the retardation on sandy and clayey dis-
tricts. From M. Duperrey’s observations, compared with those of -M.
Freycinet, it follows that the flattening of ie earth for the southern he-

misphere is a , and for the northern are a —Le Globe, Avril 5, 1827.

2. Observatory at Vienna.—The Emperor of Austria, in imitation of the
late Emperor of Russia, has purchased for the imperial observatory at
Vienna, a telescope by Fraunhofer, similar to the one at Dorpat, and
described in this Journal, No. iy. p, 306.

3. Comet of June 1827.—M. Gambard discovered on the 20th of June,
and M. Pons of Florence on the 21st, a small comet situated in one of the
feet of Cassiopeia. It is invisible to the naked eye, and was rapidly ap-
proaching to the Pole.

Ae Comet of August 1827.—On the 3d August M. Pons of Seca
discovered a small comet in.the constellation of the Lynx. It was moving
towards the north west. :

5. M. Bessel’s Corrections. on Bradley's Observations.—In the correc-
tions which M. Bessel has suggested for Bradley’s observations, and which
have been recently published by the Board of Longitude, there is a passage
which seems to require some illustration. _His remark on p. 259 of vol. ii.
is printed as follows :—

1.o and 2.e (Orionis) 40. 2. 6. 12. 37. 38. 33. 0. 1.0.

Now, it would not be easy for a common reader to make out. what this
1.0 at the end can mean ; and the alteration of the arrangement which is
suggested in note (, ) would, as it is printed, only increase the difficulty.

The passage in the printed observations is as follows :—

l.o 42.2.6.10.. 29 31. 3.
2. } 40. 14. 10. 0. 38. 21. 25. .
No constellation is here assigned to the stars by Dr Bradley, and M. Bes-
sel means to point-out that both 1.e and 2.0 belong to Orion, but thatthe
correction of the numbers refers only to the zenith distance,of 1.0... It was
to distinguish the different parts of the correction that note (z). was add-
ed ; but here the printer has substituted 10 and 20 for 1,0 and Ps, which
destroys the meaning of the whole.
Oxrorp, July 14, 1827. . S. Pi R.

$3

276 Scientific Intélligence.

OPTICS.

6. M. Cauchoix’ 8 ‘weil Achromatic Telescope-—M. Caneloenl a very
ingenious optician in Paris, has nearly completed an achromatic telescope,
of which the object-glass is twelve inches and three quarters of an inch in
diameter. Its focal length is about 194 feet. The glass was manufac-
tured by the late M. Guinand. ae

MAGNETISM.

,

7. Professor Hansteen’s Magnetic Tour through Siberia.— We have > just

learned by a letter from this eminent philosopher, that he proposes to set

out on a magnetic tour through Siberia, for the purpose-of examining the
intensity of the earth’s magnetism in different parts of that vast country.
As there can be little doubt that the Storthing (national assembly) will
grant him the sum requisite for that purpose, he will set out in March
1828. This journey will be a most important one for science, and we ma
expect to have much light thrown by Professor Hansteen’s observations on
the curious subject of the magnetism of the earth.

8. M. Kuppfer on a peculiarity in the Magnetic Equator in Siberia.—
In a memoir on the magnetism of the earth, presented to the Academy of
Sciences on the 28th May last, M. Kuppfer announces, that in Siberia the
line of no variation is surrounded to the right and left with points in which
the variation is easterly, or in other words, that there is easterly variation
on each side of the line of no variation, a fact which has never been 0
served any where else. Is it not possible that there may have been a du-
plication of the line of no variation between the points in which the easter-
ly variation was observed? It is well known that in Siberia, in lat. 60,
the line of no variation crosses that parallel three times in the Russian’ em-
pire. This will be seen in Professor Hansteen’s chart suited to 1787;
and since that time it is possible that two of these branches may have
approached so near to each other as to occasion the very remarkable ano-
maly mentioned by M. Kuppfer.

The singularly irregular form of the eastern line of no variation in ‘pas-
sing from Petersburg to New Holland is a subject of prominent interest,
and we should like to see it projected from the latest observations that can
be got, and compared with the chart of Professor Hansteen. In Dr Young's
chart, principally from Churchman, and suited to 1794, the eastern is made

as regular as the western line of no vatigHon.

HYDRODYNAMICS. iohagoo Ovi

9. Heat evolved during the Compression of Ligquids—It was aiulelin ud to
the Academy of Seiences on the 14th May last, that M. Despretz had found
that 1-75th of a degree ( centigrade of course) of heat is ai e
subjecting water to a pressure of twenty atmospheres.

METEOROLOGY. x Ba
10. Brilliant Aurore Boreales in Scotland on the 27th and 28th dag —

Pee OS ee ee ee eee =

Meteorology. : 3T7

' A fine aurora borealis was seen at Perth on the evening of Monday the
27th of August, and in Roxburghshire on the evening of Tuesday the 28th,
On the 27th the*coruscations were very rapid and transparent, and over= ~
spread nearly the whole northern hemisphere. Some of the flashes were
almost vertical-; and latterly they resembled, in clearness and motion, the
undulations of a bright flame. At one time the meteors formed themselves
into a narrow belt, crossing the heavens from east to west,

11. Hourly. Meteorological Observations at Chrisitania and Drontheim.
—aAt Christiania we have begun, from the ist of January of the present
year, a series of hourly observations of the thermometer and barometer,
taken by night and by day at two of the guard-houses of the town. A
similar series will be executed next year at Drontheim, exactly in the
manner of the observations now carrying on at Leith Fort under the di-
rection of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.—Letter from Professor Han-
steen a the Editor, June 30, 1827.

12. Meteorological Phcarastes observed at ine on Sunday, July
29, 1827.—On the preceding evening the sea and the land were envelop-
ed in a copious mist. There was a very light air from thesouth. This mist
was succeeded towards morning by a fresh east wind, which blew with a
force varying between two and three pounds avoirdupoise on a foot square
‘The barometer during the day, between 9 a. m. and 9 Pp. M. fell a quarter
of an inch. The dew point at3 Pp. m. was 67 ° and the temperature of
the air 75° by Fahrenheit’s thermometer. About 5 Pv. m., notwithstand-
ing the strong east wind which still prevailed on the surface, there ap-
peared above nearly an opposite current, vast banks of clouds being observy-
ed to proceed from the west and south. These clouds were principally mo-
difications of the cirrus cumulus and stratus, the cirro stratus prevailing.
The curl cloud was discernible in the zenith on a fine blue sky ; it seemed
like cotton wool violently electrified. At $ P. m. along continuous line
of cloud extended from the south-east to the north-west, from which pro-«
ceeded several flashes of lightning, with distant thunder, both in the south.
east extremity toward the sea and also toward the_west ; the distance, as
estimated by counting the interval which elapsed between the flash and
the sound, being aboutseven miles, Theelectrical flashes were now more fre-
quent and brilliant, and distinct sparks were observed to dart apparently up-
ward. There were likewise occasionally other luminous coruscations, not
unlike those which are observed to occur when the electric spark is passed
through an exhausted receiver. These appeared to dart for a short distance
along the inferior edge of the cloud, about its middle portion. The light.
ning in the south-east now became more frequent and vivid, but the rum-
bling noise of the thunder was very indistinct. About 9 Pp. m. the clouds
were more immediately over the town, and some rain fell in large drops.
The wire of an electrical apparatus for investigating atmospheric electricity .
became violently electrified, and the shocks from it were similar to those
of a powerful galvanic series. This apparatus evinced positive electricity.

VOL. VII. No. II. oct. 1827. Bb

378. Scientific Intelligence.

The mass of cloud now appeared to move more rapidly toward the northi-
east, when the luminous flashes were almost incessant, and ‘the light bril-
liant beyond description. The whole north-east horizon, during three
hours, being constantly lighted up either by widely diffused flashes or by
brilliant sparks and luminous coruscations, which were occasionally of ared
colour ; they appeared to strike in all directions, and one in particular was
observed to ramify in various directions like radii from a common centre.
There were during the evening several shooting stars, some of them of
great brilliancy. These phenomena continued until midnight, when the
clouds sank in the north east. The lightning was not followed by thunder ©
after the clouds had passed the town, and it was, when heard, rather indi«
stinct. The wind died away at 10 rp. m. but sprang up again from the
east at about 11, with a moderate breeze. The barometer again rose after
midnight, and the next day it blew a gale of wind from the west, the
force varying from & to 8lbs. on a square foot.

As the preceding very curious phenomena were observed by Mr Swow.
Harris, an eminent -and scientific meteorologist, our readers may depend
upon their perfect accuracy. “

. ACOUSTICS. . |

13. Sounds of Gas issuing under great pressures.——It was observed by M.
Clement that a species of suction took place at the orifice of a tube when
a current of gas or steam escaped under considerable pressure. A metallic
plate was thus suspended, as it were, at the orifice. M. Clement had no-
ticed that the plate thus suspended emitted sounds extremely grave and
disagreeable. M. Savart, on the other hand, observed that they were
sometimes acute and very agreeable ; and having strewed sand upon the
surface of the plate, he discovered, from the manner in which it arranged it-
self, that the sounds are the results of a molecular vibration similar to that
which would be produced by the friction of a bow on the edges of the plate,
and not of a vibration of the air, analogous to that produced by the mouth-
_ pieces of wind instraments. One of the consequences of this explanation
is, that the sounds ought to vary with the size of the plate, which is actual-
ly found to be the case. so ihaieis

14. M. Savart on a new fact in Acoustics-—On the 30th July, M. Sa-

vart announced a new fact in acoustics to the Academy of Sciences, name- _

ly, that when the vibrating parts of a body are susceptible of displacing
themselves in the body, preserving their respective positions, they may
either oscillate round their first position, or enter into a continued motion
of revolution. The first case takes place when the vibratory motion has —
been communicated by means of a single stroke of the bow ; the second —
when several repeated strokes of the bow have been given at small inter- |
vals. The experiment may be made in two ways with a circular metallic —
plate, either by means of sand placed on the plate, which, according to the
circumstances, takes one or other of the above movements, or by making
the rays of the sun fall upon the plate, and observing the image Pi ;

Electricity—Chemistry. 879

they form on the ceiling. This image is not sndcler, but polygonal, on
account of the undulating motion of the reflecting plate, and the angles of
the polygon are seen oscillating round fixed positions, ' or turning ina
continuous manner.—Le Globe, August 2, 1827.

15. M. Savart on Normal Vibrationsm=- An ‘interesting memoir by M.
Savart on this subject was read at the Academy of Sciences on the 13th
August. It is well known that sounding bodies emit several sounds at
once, and consequently that they are the seat of several modes of division
that are superimposed. Among these co-existing modes of division, M.
Savart shows that there is always one which is more strongly and distinct-
ly marked than the rest. In order to show this, he throws lycopodium
and sand, dry, but not too fine, upon the sounding body. The sand de-
lineates the principal mode of division, aud the fine dust the co-existing
modes of division, in which the amplitudes, and the oscillations of the vi-
brating parts are the greatest possible. From the principal figure, M.
Savart can predict the secondary acoustic figure, and vice versa. He ree
gards the secondary motions as the cause of the timbre of different sono-
rous bodies, and he supposes that the nodal, helicoidal lines which he has
observed on the faces of bodies vibrating longitudinally, are only the traces
of a secondary mode of division, an opinion which, if confirmed, will throw
light on one of the most obscure and curious points of acoustics. —Le
Globe, August 23, 1827.

ELECTRICITY.

16. M. Becquerel on the Electricity from the pressure be two bodies, and
the cleavage of crystals.—In a memoir on this subject, read at the Academy
of Sciences on the 6th August, M. Becquerel shows, that, if we press two
bodies against each other, and afterwards diminish the pressure, and again
augment it, these bodies, in being freed from the pressure, never carry off
with them any more than the quantity of electricity relative to the strong-
est pressure, so that the partial frictions which the particles experience
during these pressures of unequal intensity produce no modification in the
developement of electricity.

M. Becquerel also shows that a great number of substances produce, by
rapid cleavage, the same electric phenomena as mica and sulphate of lime.
He shows also, that when the separated lamine are again brought together
and slightly pressed, they produce the same effects as by cleavage. . Here
the pressure produces the same phenomena as the foree of aggregation
He then shows that in the topaz the species of electricity acquired by each
plate, at the time of the cleavage, is not owing to the position of the plate in
reference to the axis of the crystal, but to the nature of the vibration of
is molecules.—Le Globe, 23d August 1827.

Ii. CHEMISTRY.

17. Dr Christison on the Taste of Arsenic, and on its property uit pre-
serving the Bodies of Persons who have been poisoned with it. (From

380 - Scientific Intelligence.

the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal for April.)—It is singular
that on so important Ja subject as the taste of arsenic, a point which
has been alluded to on so many trials, and which ‘admits apparently of
such easy decision, any difference of opinion’ should prevail among men
of science. In most elementary works on chemistry and legal medicine, ~
the taste of arsenic is reported to be acrid, and yet it appears from the facts
adduced by Dr Christison, that this poison may be deliberately tasted with-
out exciting any sensation of acridity. “After quoting several authorities to
support this statement, Dr Christison gives the result of direct trials made
by himself and several of his friends. “* Dr Turner, lecturer on chemistry,
tasted two grains, moving the powder over his tongue and palate for half a
minute, and perceived no taste. Mr Haidinger, well known as a mineralo~
gist, tried two grains in the same way, and perceived no taste. Dr Becker,
an intelligent pupil of this university, also tried it in my presence, ‘and
perceived no taste. I have tried two grains often,—once for a whole mi-
nute, and towards the close I thought I perceived a faint sweetish taste, but
never any thing else. Dr Duncan Junior tried nearly double the quantity
for ‘a minute and a-half, and like me thought he perceived a faint sweetish
taste towards the end, but nothing more. With regard to the taste of the
solution, Dr Turner perceived an gbscure sensation of sweetness. Mr
Haidinger thought he perceived a slight astringency ; and to myself the
taste was faintly sweet and acid: but none of us remarked any acridity.”

From this evidence it appears certain, that arsenic, as applied to the
tongue and palate, whether in substance or in solution, does not occasion an
acrid taste. ‘These observations, it will be remarked, do not decide what the
taste would be, were the arsenic applied to the root of the tongue and fau-
ces, as in the act of deglutition. That a substance, however, should excite
an acrid taste when swallowed, and not produce that effect when deliber-
ately applied to the ‘tongue and palate, is very unlikely ; and indeed Dr
Christison has cited one instance of arsenic having been actually swallow-
ed without any sense of acridity being perceived. It is probable, as Dr
Christison suggests, that those who have complained of an acrid taste from
arsenic, have confounded the primary impression with the inflammation
produced by that poison efter a certain interval. We are acquainted with
no unequivocal instance of a person who complained of acridity, after swal-
lowing arsenic, within that short space of time usually required for the
distinct developement of taste. In the trial of Mary Blandy for the mur-
der of her father, the physician reports Mr Blandy to have complained,
that soon after taking a cup of gruel he felt an extraordinary grittiness in
his mouth, attended with ‘a very painful burning and pricking in his ton-
gue, throat, stomach, and bowels. In another part of the examination the
symptoms are said to have occurred almost immediately after taking the
poisoned gruel ; but the actual interval was probably not carefully observ-
ed, since sufficient time had elapsed for the developement of inflammatory
action in the throat and stomach, before any burning pain was referred to
the tongue.—(Howell’s State Trials, vol. xviii.)

The second point which we shall Ronee in Dr Christison’s > vialunble pas

per, relates to the property which arsenic possesses of preserving from de
cay the bodies of those peisoned with it. This subject, hitherto almost
entirely neglected in this country, has been investigated by the medical
jurists of Germany, who have supplied Dr Christison with most of the
facts which he has mentioned. ‘The antiseptic effects sometimes extend only
_ to the stomach and intestines, that is, to the parts directly in contact with
it; but in some instances the whole body is preserved. The stomach and
intestines of persons killed with arsenic have been found entire and firm
at the distance of five, six, and fourteen months, or even at two years, and
two years and a-half after death ; and in some of these instances the poison.
itself was detected. It appears from some cases of poisoning which have
fallen under Dr Christison’s own observation, that, owing to the preserva-~
tive action of arsenic, morbid changes of the stomach may sometimes be
clearly distinguished at an interval of two, three, or four weeks after death.

_ 18. MM. Delarive and Marcet on the specific heat of the Gases.—These
able young chemists have found that the specific heat of the gases submit-
ted to the same pressure is like their dilatability, always the same. M.
Gay Lussac had been led to another result, but this was owing to the appa-
ratus he employed. ,

19. Phosphate of Magnesia more soluble in cold than in hot water.—
Philosophical Magazine and Annals. for July.—Mr Thomas Graham. has
observed that the phosphate. of magnesia, like the hydrate of lime and
sulphate of soda, is more soluble in cold than in hot water. A solution
of this salt made with cold water was gradually heated by immersion
in the water-bath. Before the bath had reached the temperature of 120°
the solution became turbid, and it assumed more and more of a milky
appearance as the heat increased, till the temperature settled at 219°
F., when a cloudy precipitate slowly. subsided, and the supernatant

differ in its sensible properties from phosphate. of magnesia deprived ‘of
its water of crystallization. According to the experiments of Mr Graham
one grain of the anh ydrous: phosphate of magnesia requires for solution 744
grains of water at 45° F. and 1151 grains of boiling water.

20. Liquid Phosphorus at 40° of Fahrenheit.—We have been favoured
with the following notice on this subject, by Mr T. Clark of Glasgow.
Though not unknown, I believe it isnot generally known that a solution of
phosphorus in ether, essential oils, or the like, readily affords crystals by slow

_ €vaporation. I noticed these for the first time last winter. For the purpose
of examination, I had put some of them into an evaporating dish with a little
water over them. In the evening, during a hurried visit to my laboratory,
I unwittingly filled this dish with boiling water, not observing the crystals I
had left in it. The night was a very cold one, and there was no fire in my
laboratory. Next morning I was surprised to see oil-like drops at the bots

382 “Scientific Intelligence.

tom of the water. Taking them out I found them to be phosphorus, and,
of course, recognized them to be the crystals I had examined the day be-
fore. A thermometer put into the water at the time stood at 40° Fahren-
heit, which is 50° below the melting point of phosphorus. ‘The oily. drops
remained liquid till I got them on my hand ; but they became readily so-
lid, and smoked as phosphorus commonly ody. This liquidity of phos-
phorus, at a temperature so far below its melting point, is analogous to the
instance of sulphur mentioned some time ago by Mr Faraday, to the in-
stances of tin and bismuth, discovered long ago by the late Mr Crichton of
Glasgow ; to those of oil of vitriol and aquafortis mentioned in the Philoso-
phical Transactions by Cavendish and Keir, and to the well-known in-
stances of Glauber’s salt, and of water; in all of which the liquidity is
preserved to many degrees below the eongealing points of the substances.
The melting point, therefore, is not the lowest point at which a substance
can exist in the liquid state, but the highest point at which it can exist in
the solid state. I have tried once again in summer to obtain liquid phos-
phorus by the means above described ; and I have succeeded ; but the
temperature was no lower than 58° Fah. .

Ill, NATURAL HISTORY.

MINERALOGY.

21. Argentiferous Native Gold in the Mines of Colombia.—M. Boussin-
gault has found that the native gold of all the localities which he visited
is combined with silver in definite proportions, so that one atom of silver
is combined with two, three, four, to eigkt atoms of gold; but the gold is
always in a greater proportion than the silver.

In certain mines in Siberia, on the contrary, the number of atoms of sil-
ver is much greater than that of the atoms of gold. Notwithstanding this
regularity in the combinations, M. Boussingault has never been able to
perceive any trace of crystallization, and he thinks himself authorized to
conclude, from the facts which he has collected, that these metalliferous
beds are not of igneous origin, or if they were, that they must have been
cooled with extreme slowness.—Le Globe, Mai 10, 1827.

22. A New locality of Apophyllite——During his excursions as a student
of geology, Professor Christison many years ago discovered a beautiful va-
riety of this mineral in the Chapel Quarry, near Kirkaldy in Fife. It
was at that time declared to be calcareous spar, and as such he pre-
served the specimen in his collection of minerals, but very liberally
presented it to me, when I had made out its true nature. The ery-
stals, of a grey colour, but considerably transparent, possess the form of
low rectangular four-sided prisms, whose solid angles are each replaced by
one plane, belonging to the acute isosceles four-sided pyramid of 104°2’ and
121°0’, the fundamental form of the species ; and the lateral edges by
two planes, inclined to each other at an angle of 143°8’, and yielding

Geology— Zovlogy— Botany. 383

an eight-sided prism. The face perpendicular to the axis possesses its
usual bright pearly lustre. The sides of the prisms are often half’an
inch broad. ‘The specimen itself oceupied a drusy cavity in the limestone.
T had lately the pleasure of examining the same quarry in company with
Mr Allan and Mr Robert Allan; but all our exertions were unsuccessful
to find any more of the same species, except a small specimen, which I
picked up from the rubbish heap near the west end of the quarry. On
examination it proved to be apophyllite, filling up, along with a reddish-
white translucent variety of opal, the cavity of a shell, probably of Schlot-
heim’s species Gryphites aculeatus, which, although this petrifaction is not
sufficiently distinct in the specimen, yet occurs in other parts of the quarry,

and also in several other quarries situated in the continuation of the same
limestone, as at Innerteil near Kirkaldy. Evidently the variety in the -
cavity of the shell is the product of a slow process of the same kind as that by
which the cavities of amygdaloidal rocks are filled with the various species of
the genus kouphone spar, and with apophyllite as one of them ; a process
similar to that which produced the number and variety of erystals of
calcareous spar and brown spar in the same quarry, traversing the lime-
stone in veins, which often contain masses of bitumen, probably the residue
of the organic matter of the enormous quantities of corals, encrinites, and
shells, which are now found there petrified." The veins lined with erystals
are more abundant near the top of the quarry, where the water from the
surface had more easy access ; and being charged with carbonic acid, could
dissolve carbonate of lime from the massive rock 3 and on the superfluous
acid being expelled, deposit it again in the shape of crystals. A short
notice of the new locality of apophyllite was given in the Caledonian Mer-
cury of Saturday, 8th September 1827. _ W. Harincer.

GEOLOGY.

23. New Cavern with Fossil bones.—On the 20th August M. Marcel de
Serres announced to the Academy of Sciences that he had discovered in
the department of the Eastern Pyrenees new caverns with bones, which
appear to him to give a solution of several of the questions which have
arisen from the study of those singular localities.

ZOOLOGY.

24. A new Species of Buceros—Besides the common toucan, the Buce-
ros albirostris, we have got a noble specimen and drawing of the finest. of
the genus, with an undulated four-furrowed casque, and a beautiful cinna-
mon-coloured bare crest, black body, and white tail, coming near B. un--
dulatus, but differing in several points, especially in having a yellow ample
gula. Its length from tip to tip is 2 feet 11 inches, and between the ends
of the spread wings 4 feet 4 inches.—Letter Srom India.

BOTANY. in o
25. Circulation of the Sap in the Chara vulgaris.—M. Blainville notified
to the Philomathic Society at their meeting on the 26th May, that he had

384 Celestial Phenomena,. October 182%——January 1828.

observed, along with Professor Amici, the manner in which the sap circus.

lates in the Chara. The microscope magnified 1500 times, (superficial.
magnifying power we presume, ) and exhibited a motion of two liquid cur-_
rents, the one ascending, and the other descending, circulating in the same.
tube, without being separated by any partition which could insulate them.
The reality of this phenomenon was placed beyond. a doubt by the distinct
passage of certain molecules of one of the currents, which being attracted :
by the one which moved in the opposite direction, were occasionally drag-

ged along with it. The tube in which this double circulation took nae
had a very perceptible diameter.

26. Anew Plant which supplies limpid and wholesome water.—A. clint:
has been discovered in our new Indian countries, from- whose stem, when
divided, there issues a copious vegetable spring of limpid and wholesome _
water. The natives know this well, and hence we rarely meet with an
entire plant. It is a powerful climber, and.is quite new and nonde-.
script.—Letter from India, March 31st, 1827.

27. Botanical acquisitions in our New Indian Territories—No fewer —
than about 1648 species of plants, mostly new, have been discovered in:
our new Indian territories. Among these are a chesnut and: an. oak,.
both noble and beautiful. No country was ever more gifted than those
with natural capabilities. The forests abound in useful and diversified
timber trees. In all directions run fine and navigable rivers.. Animals of —
all sorts abound, and tigers and elephants swarm in. the woods,»--fictien
from India.

ig
}

Art, XXXVIII.—CELESTIAL PHENOMENA, ,

From October 1st, 1827, to January 1st, 1828. Adapted to the Meridian of
Greenwich, Apparent Time, excepting the ner of Jupiter's Satellites,
which are given in Mean Time.

N. B.—The day begins at noon, and the conjunctions of the Moon and
Stars are given in Right Ascension. —

OCTOBER.

D HM 8.0). D HH. M.. 8

3 4 df + TY 14. 9 47 43) G2aeqgn )MS.
4 Stationary. 14 +22 Gam.

4 14 19 Full Moon. 15 13 S 6 2 near Appulse.
4 21 50.36) de p44 N. ]17 16 15 50) gv §{Q ) 32’

6. 22 Sup. 6 18 0 30 in Quad. with ©)
+ hie. 5d . 18 10 45 ©

8 22 53 56) de & DES 20 3 47 é New Moon, Sun
9 16 de eclipsed invisible.
12 13 17 Last Quarter 20 Il d%
1314.15 dO. 21 23 59 d2ax) 1 N.
4 8 43 52) dlags) li N.|22 13 18 3) 61 AM)WN.

Celestial. Phenomena, October 1827—January 1828. 885.

Tien Me. MD D He M. Ss
22 13 19 22) 424M )74/N.j|28° 4 + 2 gd & Ophiuchi.
22 7 dB 28 11 18 20) ge % ) 42N.
23 16 36 enters 28 23 _. 9 SB Ophiuchi
23 17 a i 30 1 45 0S inf. 6 ©
26 19 7 56) d 4 VS) 40'N.
DECEMBER. :
NOVEMBER. 2 13 54 lO) de & DES.
1 5 27 51) de ) 45’ N. 2 18 39 4Imm.I Sat. 7/
1 14 dé 2 22.50 Full Moon.
2 Stationary. 3.64 g a TY
3 oon eclipsed, partly} 4 16 uv
visib 6 20 5428
Begins 3h. 29 $} 6 21 S414
Aa tene 44718 0 6 9 o3: Sere,
iddle, 5 7218 1 ll 32) d2aqgp)prs.
Ecliptic ¢ 5 13 3} 8 17 19 12 Imm. II. Sat. 7/
Ends 6 45 3] 9 Stationary.
Digits eclipsed on )) 10 8 . da
N. limb 10° 35’ 3 ll 3 23 or fae
12° 13°
3 5 i Full Moon. ee 42am 2
, 13 15 2 2 iNe
Be AD GAO DUS: ili, re 25. 29) da Ty297s.
7 4 Ts 14 18 3 yf
9 10 bux 15. 3 GAs F
10 Greatest Elong. 15” 6 Sd
10 17 2 48) dlacslvn. |16 14 yd
1018: "7, 56) 6 Sac Co pe ee 8 een Be
<4 Stam 20 10 18 21 COEF bral
16 5 19 14 go iy 5 40-N. | a fe 49 en wad
16 23
18 15 19 gy Moon. 25 18 48 14 Imm. I. Sat. Y
20 Stationary. lB 26
23 2b 27 18) dB YS ) 37'N: 29 19. 9. 29 Em. ae
i ell AA 29 19 8 ¢ Ophi
25- 6 18 First Quarter. FB AP 5 4.2.6, 8. 9 DOS
Times of the Planets passing the Meridian.
OCTOBER.
Mercury. Venus. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. Georgian.
Re B ::’ | apie h'.? ig ‘ ars _
1 0 20 23 57 22 23 0 52 18 53 7 16
7. 0 34 0 2 .23°15 0 35 18 33. 6 54
13. 0 47 Os 8: 2.07 2. O09 18 12. 6. 32
19 0O 59 0 13 21 59 23 57 17 50 6 10
25 1 ii 0 19 ‘21 50 2 39 17 28 65 49
NOVEMBER. ;
a 0 26 21 39+ «»°23 «#218 hate | 5 22
A 2acdne 31 0 32 21 28 22. 59 16 37 4 58
13 1 32 0 39 ©6221 «180~=— 22s 39 16.13 #4 34.
19 «61 2) 0 45 21 7 22 19 15 47 4 14
25 O 47 0 52 3

20 55 21 59 15 21

386 Mr Marshall’s Meteorological “Observations, &c. ,

| DECEMBER. _
i. Aaah at ’ “he? OFT r
1 23 43 0 59 . 20 43° 21 38
7 22 57 1 6 20 31 21 16
13 22 34 1-13 20 18 20 59
19 22 29 } 19 20 «66 20 32
25 22 32 1 25 19 53 20 «69
Declination of the Planets.
OCTOBER.
Mercury. Venus. Mars. Jupiter.
oO 4 ° , e , ° ,
1 4158S. 1 88S. 834N. 7125S.
7 8 40 4 10 1 ¢ 7 4il
13 12 44 7 9 5 39 8 10
19 16 22 10 2 4 10 8 39
25 19 31 12 48 2 41 9 8
-~NOVEMBBR.
1] 22 2S. 15 468. 0O57N. 9 405.
24 7 18 4 0338. 10 8
13 24 57 20 4 2 2 10 35
19 24 41 21 44 3 30 Bik
25 23 0 Ps ae | 4 57 11 26
DECEMBER.
1 19 58S. 23 54S. 6 238. 11 5058.
7 17.39 . 242) 7 46 12 13
13 17 38 24 20 9 8 12 35
19 19 7 23 53 10 27 12 56
25 20 57 22°59 ll 44 13 15

21 43N.

21 47
21 50
21 54
21 58

mon rw ss
on
m=]

23
19

“5

The preceding numbers will enable any person to find the positions of

the planets, to lay them down upon a globe, and to determine their ‘risings

and settings.

Ant. XXXIX.—Summary of Meteorological Observations made at Ken-
dal on June, July, and August, 1827.

' Communicated by the Author in a Letter to the Eprror.

By Mr Samuet Marsnatu.

State of the Barometer, Thermometer, 8c. at Kendal for June 1827. _

Maximum on the 9th and 10th,

Minimum on the Ist,
Mean height,

Maximum on the 13th,

Minimum on the 7th, 8th, and 25th,

Mean height,

Thermometer.

Quantity of rain, 4.264 inches

Number of rainy days, 17.

Prevalent winds, W. and S, W.

Barometer.

- 7 ‘

Inches. ©
30.14 -
29.27
29.69 ..

pa et
2 d5°
56.98"

Mr Marshall’s Meteorological Observations, &c. 387

On reviewing the phenomena of this month, it appears, that, after the
prevalence of winds from the W. and S. W., the thermometer has generally
fallen, whilst those from the N. and N. W. have been succeeded by an
augmentation of temperature. ‘The maximum of the thermometer is 11°
less than in June of last year, when it was then higher than any other
month in 1826. The barometer also failed in attaining so great an altitude
The mean of the barometer is also less than that of June in 1826, which
was 30.02.

July 1827.
Barometer. J - Inches.

Maximum on the 6th and 7th, - - - 30.15
Minimum on the 20th, : < - 29.39
Mean height, : ‘29.79

Thermometer. ;
Maximum on the 30th, ee a = 74°
Minimum on the 12th, ke a - 42°
Mean height, - Sa. A - an -69.01°
Quantity of rain, 3.170 inches. '

Number of rainy days, 15.
Prevalent wind, west.

This has been a very sultry month, though the thermometer has not.
marked during any part of it greater heat than 74°, which was the maxi-
mum of last month. On the 30th we had a very heavy thunder storm,
though unattended with any great weight of rain. The wind has been
for twenty-five days in the W. and N. W.

August 1827.
Barometer. ; . Inches.
Maximum on the 23d, : - - 30.18
Minimum on the 15th, - - 29.10
Mean height, Pa - : . 29.81
;' Thermometer
Maximum on the 3d, - - 68°
Minimum, on the 6th, 10th, 20th, and 23d, - 46°

Mean Height, - . 56.61
Quantity of rain, 5.214 Sichew:
Number of rainy days, 12.
Prevalent wind, north-west.

This month has been marked by a most unusual prevalence of winds
from the N. N. E. and N, W.—At this period of the year these currents
seldom occur, much less prevail. But .060 inch of rain has fallen since
the 16th ; prior to that date we had rain almost daily, and in considerable
quantities.—The barometer has kept high, and has been a faithful iadex
of the changes which have taken place. The temperature of the air, par-
ticularly in the nights, has been much greater than might have been expec-
ted, considering the extraordinary prevalence of the winds from the north
&c., from which quarters the temperature is usually low. ‘The wind has
been in the N, W. twelve days, in the W- 7, N. E. 5, N. 3, S..W.3, and
S- E. 1 day. |

‘\ 2 :

Art. XL.—REGISTER OF THE BAROMETER, THERMOMETER, AND Ratn-Gace, kept at Canaan Cottage. By Auex. Apir, Esq. F.R.S. Edin.
Tue Observations contained in the following Register were made at Canaan Cottage, the residence of Mr Adie, by means of mr nice instruments, constructed by him-
self. Canaan Cottage is situated about 14 mile to the south of Edinburgh Castle, about 3 miles from the sea at Leith, about } of a mile N. of the west end
of Blackford Hill. ‘The ridge of Braid Hills is about 1 mile to the south, and the Pentland Hills about 4 miles to the west of south. The height of. the instruments
is 300 feet above high water-mark at Leith. The morning and evening observations were made about 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. War oho wee

JUNE 1827. ; | JULY 1827. I AUGUST 1827.
: . = ; “ie : “4 |e ake
3 wid Thermometer. || Register Therm, |} Barometer.|| ¢ : s Thermometer. Register Therm. || Barometer, | g 2 > Thermometer. |] Register Therm. || Barometer. d
= me : ‘s 3 ‘ ow .
Hels te | O
ee iS} ° f ;
; as Morn.|Even. |Mean. ||Min. | Max, | Mean. ||Morn Even. | A 4 Morn. |Even. |Mean. ||Min. |Max.| Mean.|/Morn./Even. a a Morn.|Even. | Mean. || Min. |Max.|Mean.||Morn.|Even, a
r| 1 57|.48 | 52.5]) 48] 61 | 54:5] 28.98) 29.37 S.| 1} 60} 52] 56 46| 62| 54 |] 29.43] 29.44]! o6\|w.| 1] 65] 61] 63 |} 51] 66] 58.5} 29.72
ls. | 2 57 | 46.| 51-5|| 45| g| 53.5|| 29.50] 29.36] S1/M.] 2} 65] 54] 59.5) 45| 67] 56 || 29.51) 29.58 T.| 2} 66} 60} 63 }} 52] 631 57.5] 29.60
s.| 73 56 | 46 tH} 41 {| 59.| 50 |} 29.40} 29.42) .17//T. 561 53\| 54.5|| 431 64] 53.5|| 29.48] 29.67]| .71//F. | 5} 65) 55} 60 54| 68] 61 |} 29.29
M.| #4 551.47 | 51_|| 41} 61 | 51 _ || 29.56) 29.55] .05|/w.| 4] 62] 51| 56.5] 48] 69} 58.5) 29.86) 50.00 S.| 4 65} 535]. 58 48 | 71] 59.5}} 29.40
T.| 5 351 48 | 51-5{| 45] 56 | 50.5] 29.08] 28,96] .05)T.| 5] 63] 57] 60} 45] 71] 58, |} 50.15) 50.18 s.|5 57] 56] 56.5|) 46) 61} 53.5]} 30.01
w.) 6 55| 45 | 50 4} 43] 58] 50.5 ]] 29°31) 29.62 F. 65| 56| 60.5] 42] 67} 545}) 50.19) 50.20 M.| 6 60) 55]. 57.5}), 58} 63} 50.5]| 50.27
T.| 7 57| 49 | 53 || 39] 65 | 52 || 29.72) 29.84 S.| 7] 65| 57] 61 55| 67] 61 _|| 50.24) 50.15 7T.| 7 62] 53] 57.5] 44] 63 |- 53.5]] 30.15
r. |. 8 64] 55 | 59-5]) 46| 67 | 56.5]| 29.95) 50.07 Ss. | 8| 64] 59] 61.5|| 55] 70} 62.5)) 50.11) 50.05 w.| 8 67] 51}. 59 || 50} 67] 58.5}| 29.99
s.1 3 67| 59 | 63 || 53| 79} 62.5|} 50.17) 50.17 M.| 9} 64] 53] 58,.5]] 55] 65} 60 || 29.85)°29.85 7T.| 9 68] 59] 63.5|1 46] 70} 58 |] 29.73
s. | 10 62| 55 | 58-5] 53} 73] 63. || 50.18) 50.06 T. 10} 62] 53] 57.5]) 53) 67] 60 |} 29.55, 29.65 F. 10 58} 57} 57.51) 54] 61] 57.5]| 29.28
M.| 11 66} 55 | 59-5]| 50] 7a] 61» || 30.06) 30.03 W.|11| 60} 50] 55 |} 43] 68] 55.5}) 29.85) 29.95 s. 4} 60] 53|° 56.5|} 46] 63} 54,51) 29.17
r.| 12 | 66] 56 | 61 || 50| 74} 62 | 50.05) 50.10 T. [12] 60] 49] 54.5]] 41] 65) 53 || 50.01) 50.04 s. {12 59] 52]. 55.5|) 44) 63] 53.5|] 29.59
wi} 13 | 63} 54 | 585) 51] 7 | 61 _ |} 50.04) 50.02 F. 13} 65| 53] 59] 45] 71 | 58 |) 50,02) 50.00 M,|15} 60] 54] 57 || 48) 64} 56 || 29.53
T.| 14 63| 51 | 57_|| 50} 69 | 59.5}) 29.87] 29.75 S {141 63] 57] 60 || 49] 68] 58.5)) 50.00} 29.98 7. |14) 55] 50|-52.5|| 49] 56} 59,5 ]} 29.50
F. | 15 57| 52 | 54511 471 6@7| 57 _ || 29.67) 29.55 s. 1151 65} 55} 60 | 50| 72] 61 || 29.95] 29.85]] .10}iw.j15) 50] 53] 51.5]) 50) 62) 56 |} 29.21
Ss, | 16 66 | 59 | 62.5|| 46] 7y| 58.5 || 29.45) 29.46 M.|16} 71] 63] 67 50| 77 | 63.5|| 29.82) 29.75 7T, 16} 49} 51} 50 48| 50}° 49 || 29.56
Is. 17 60| 51 | 55.51] 551 79| 62.5|| 29.58) 29.68] .O3'T. |17} 68] 59) 65.5) 55 71} 63 || 29.70} 29.61 F. |!7} 53] 50} 51.5]} 48} 56] 52 || 29.92
M.| 18 60| 55 | 57-5||. 44] 67| 55.5|| 29-75] 29.70) .05))W- 18} 62{ 55| 585]] 50} 67] 58.5)| 29.65) 29.60 S. 18) 57) 51] 54 45) 59} 51° |} 29.98
T.| 19 57| 47 | 52 |i 4g} 61| 54-5 || 29.55) 29.58) 22/17, j19} 63) 51) 57 |} 50 64} 57. || 29.50] 29.36] -17/ls, [19] 54] 52] 53- |) 50) 57] 53,5}} 29.93
w.| 20 66| 48 | 52 | 49] s9| 50.5] 29.55) 29.56) .O5/IF, |20) 60) 53] 56.5) 49) 65) 96 29,28} 29.43]| .10|Im.|20} 54] 52] 53 49} 57| 53 |} 30.01
T.| 21 56| 47 | 51.5]| 4s} 60} 52°5|| 29-42] 29.80]| .16}/S+ J21} 60) S51) 55.51 47} 65) 99 29.60} 29.71 T. 121} 571 50| 535]] 50} 631 56,5] 30.10
F+| 22 56| 47 | 51.5] 45| 69| 53.5 || 29.62) 29.75 s. 22} 59] 54] 56.5|] 48] 63} 55.5] 29.75] 29.78 W.|22} 56] 48} 52 47} 60] 53.5 |} 30.19
S. | 23 61| 50 | 55.5|| 45} 64| 54.5|| 29-81| 29.91)| .O6)/M, [23] 62) 59) 60.5) 51} 69) 60 29.83] 29-821) «iit, {23} 68] 54] 61 42) 73 |. 57.5 |} 30.19
S. | 24 57| 51 | 54. || 47| 65| 56 || 29-92) 29.93 7p’ l24} 70} G61} 65.5|} 52| 70} 61 || 29.74] 29.64] .O5||F, |24) 58] 54] 56 46) 65} 55.5}} 30.10
M.| 25 60| 52 | 56 |l 43| 67| 55. || 29-91) 29.85 w.|25} 66] 52] 59 |} 57| 66] 61.5]) 29.61) 29-71 s. 125} 56| 52] 54 |} 48] 59] 53.5}) 30.08
T.|' 26 62| 55 | 58.51] 45} e@7| 56 || 29-78) 29.60 Tv. |96| 62) 52) 57 |] 47] 66| 56.5|| 29.71) 29.68 S. |26 56] 55] 55.5|| 46] 58] 52 || 30.10
W.| 27 64| 55 | 59.5]| so] 65| 58.5 || 29-55] 29.21}) .261F, 27] 62] 58) 60 || 45) 68) 56.5) 20.85 29.81]| .64)/M.|27| 64] 55} 59,5|| 53] 66] 59.5 |) 30.11
T.| 28 | 62| 52 | 57 Il 311 64] 57.5|| 29-22] 29-32!) -Lijls. j28] 66) 56) 61 || 49) 71) 60. |) 29.71) 29-06 T. |28} 56} 46] 51 |} 46) 66) 56 |} 50.15
F. | 29 65} 55 | 60 || 49] 67] 58 || 29-30} 29.52 S. 70| 64| 67 || 51| 74| 62.5]) 29.95] 29.68)| .44)\wj29| 58] 53] 55.5]/ 44] 66) 55 || 50.18
Ss. | 30 61} 51 | 56 || 47} 67] 57 |] 29-41| 29-50} .12|M. |50] 69] 54] 61.5]) 54) 71 62.5] 29.51] 29-60 T. 130) 581.58] 58 51] 63] 57 |] 29.95
T. 1311 65| 59|. 62 || 51] 67] 59 | 29.90) 29.90 F. [51] 60] 52| 56 |} 55} 62] 57.5] 50.23
Sum, | 1803 | 1539 | 1671 ||1406 |1963 |1684.5||888-71/889.57)|1.62 1974| 1710 | 1949/} 1521/2105 | 1812 {}925.01 924.41||2.27 1829] 1655| 1742 |/1484| 1941/1712.5]|924.80|926.76}/4.89
|Mean.|60.1 | 51.3 | 55.7 |[46.87/65.43] 56.15 |29-624|29.652 . 165.68 | 55.16] 59.42 ||49.06]67.84] 58.45 ||29.774|29.820]| | 59. | 55.59| 56.20||47-87/62.61| 55.24 ||29.832|29.899

. : /

INDEX TO VOL. VIL.

AcaDEMY, Royal Irish, proceedings of,
371

Achromatic telescopes, on a new one, by |

M. Cauchoix, 376

Acoustics, on a new fact in, 378

Adie, Mr, his register of the weather,
200, 388 ——

Airy, Professor, on a peculiar defect in
the eye, 322

Alligator, on the odoriferous gland of the,
used as a bait, 162

Antimony, singular magnetic property of,
185

Apophyllite, on a new locality of, 382

Arsenic, on tests for, 379 -

Arseniate of soda, Mr Clark on the, 309
—on its crystalline forms, 314.

Assam, on the north east of, 63.

Atkinson on the gold mines of Scotland,
174

Auricula, natural history of, announced,
192 . ;

Aurore Boreales ‘* in August,” 376

Auvergne, on the geology of, 362 -

Balloons, on their use in finding the tem-
perature of the atmosphere, 249

Barlow, Professor, his new telescopes
with fluid object-glasses, 335

Barometrical measurements of Vesuvius,
by the Earl of Minto, 68

Becquerel, M. on electricity from the
pressure and cleavage of crystals, 379

Bedford, Capt., on the Brahma Kund, 56

Bell, Thomas, Esq. on the odoriferous
gland of the alligator, 162

Bessel’s corrections of Bradley’s observa-
tions, 375

‘Beust, Baron Von, on remarkable twin-
crystals of Phillipsite, 140

Birds nests, on the edible ones, 166

Birkbeck, Dr, his ‘* steam-engine theo-
rectically and practically displayed,”
analyzed, 181

Bismuth, singular magnetic property of,
185

Bismuthic Blende, 342

Blair, Archibald, Esq. his telescopes with
fluid object-glasses, 336 -

Boa Constrictors, on the growth of those
hatched from the egg, 164 P

Botanical acquisitions in India, 384

Brahma Kund, account of, 56

Breguet, M. account of his life and works,
201 :

Breton, P. Esq.,on the diamonds, &c. of
Sumbhulpore, 134—on the topography

and animals of some districts in India,
316

Brewster, Dr, on Oxahyerite, a new mine-
ral, 115—his system of popular and
practical science announced, 193—on a
peculiar defect in the eye, observed Ly
Professor Airy, 325

Bromine, solidification of, 188—hydro -
carburet, id.—cyanuret of, 189—new
sources of, 190

Bronze relict, account of a remarkable
one, 214

Brown, Captain, his system of ornithology,

192—his natural history ef the auricula,

id.

Buceros, a new species of, 383

Butterflies, on an emigration of, 343

Camelopard, observations on the, and on
the live one at Paris, 356

Cavern of Adelsberg described, 47

Caverns containing bones, account of, 279,
282—new ones in France, 383

Celestial phenomena, 195, 384

Chara, circulation of sap in the, 383

Chiru, or Himalayah unicorn described,
163

Christie, S. H. Esq-, on magnetism by
rotation, 287

Christison, Professor, on tests for arsenic,
379 :

Ciliz, on their uses in the gasteropodous
mollusea, 121
Clark, Mr Thomas, on the pyrophosphate

of soda, 298—on the arseniate of, 309
—on anew phosphate of, 311—on liquid
phosphorus at a low temperature, 381
Clinton, De Witt Dr, on the phenomena
of the Great Lakes of America, 290
Cloyne Bishop, (Dr Brinkley,) address to
him by the Irish Academy, 372
Colquhoun, Dr, his metallurgic memoir
on the argillaceous carbonate of iron,217
Comet, on the remarkable one within the
orbit of Jupiter, 77—of Dec. 1826, 183
—on the periodical one of 1819, 273
ty June 1827, 375—of August 1827,

Copper ores, on the changes which take
place in them, 126 ‘

Cuvier, Baron, ,on caverns containing
bones, 279—on the ancient Scarus, 355

Damoiseau, M., on the remarkable comet
within the orbit of Jupiter, 183, 273

Davidson, W. Esq-, on the properties of
some fish oils, 97

Davyne, a new mineral, 326

ahs

Diamonds, and diamond workings of
Sumbhulpore, 134 .

Dick Lauder, Sir Thomas, on a remark-
able bronze relic, 214

Dichroite, optical property of, 191

Double stars, on the systems of, demon-
strated to be binary, 88

Duperrey, M., his magnetical observa-
tions on board the Coquille, 75

Earth, on its figure, 374 .

Elephant, Asiatic, on the size of, 164

Emery, mode of preparing it, 173

Eye, on a peculiar defect in the, 322

Floating island described, 59

Fluid object-glasses, on telescopes with,
335, 336

Foggo, Mr, on the dew point hygrome-
ter, 36

>
Fourier, Baron, his account of the life
and works of M. Breguet, 201
Fraunhofer, Chev. memoir of his life—
1, on the laws of light and its theory,
101, 235

Fresnel, M. receives the Rumford me--

dals, 193

Garcinia pedunculata described, 45

Gas, on a new combustible one, 182

Gases, on their specific heats, 381

Gas-burner, on a new safety one, 125

Gaour, or gigantic ox, account of, 318

Geoffroy, M., on the camelopard, 356—
on toads found alive under ground, 358

Geology of Central France, 192—Dr
Hibbert’s system of, 191

Glaucolite, 342

Gold, on the argentiferous native gold of
Colombia, 382

Gold mines of Scotland, an account of
them, 174

Graham, Mr T., on caustic potash, 381

Granite quarries at Assuan, 53

Grant, Dr R. E., on the ciliz of the gas-
teropodous mollusca, 121—on the spi-
ral turn of univalve shells, 121—on
the structure of the Lernea elongata,
147—on the ova of the Pontobdella
muricata, 160—on the Virgularia mira-
bilis and Pennatula phosphorea, 330 |

Haidinger, Mr, on mesole, 18—on the
changes in cupriferous minerals, 126
—on remarkable twin-crystals of Phil-
lipsite, 140—on a French locality of

auquelinite, 213—on Sternbergite, a

new mineral, 242—on polyhalite, 246
—on the crystalline forms of pyrophos-
phate of soda, and arseniate of soda, 314
—on Davyne, 326—on Berthierite, 353

Halos observed in America, 113

Hartman, Dr €., on several new mine-
rals, 342

Hull, Captain; on the capture of a fe-
male orang-outang, 162

INDEX.

”

Hamilton, Dr F., on the Garcinia pedun-
culata, 45—on the Vanderon monkey,
60—on two Bengal plants, 244

Hansteen, Professor, on the isodynamic
lines for the whole magnetic intensity,
351—his magnetic tour through Sibe-
ria, 376

Heat disengaged during the compression
of liquids, id.

Heat, radiant, permeates transparent
screens, 348 | :

Hertzberg, Provost, his meteorological
observations at Ullensvang,83 = =>

Herschel, J. F. Esq., on double stars, 88

Hibbert, Dr, his system of geology an-
nounced, 191

Himalaya Mountains, hot springs of, 55
—volcanic ap ces in, 55

Hodgson, Mr, on the chiru, 163—on the
habits of a young rhinoceros, 165

Hot springs of La Pisavella, 263

Hourly annual meteorological observa-
tions at Christiania and Drontheim, 377 -

Hooker, Dr, on a society for collecting
plants, 23

Huber, M., on an emigration of butter-
flies, 343

Hygrometer, on the dew point one, 36

Hydrobromic ether, 188

Hydrocarburet of bromine, id. -

Ilmenite, 343

India, on the topography and animals of
some districts in, 316

Irby, Captain, on the granite quarries at
Assuan, 53

fron ore, a metallurgic memoir on, by
Dr Colquhoun, 217 Pein

Isodynamic lines for the whole magnetic
intensity, 351

King, Mr J. on a new safety tube, 61

Ko-si-Chang, island of, 194

Ko-cramb, island of, 194

Lakes of America, on certain phenomena
in the great ones, 290 | ma

Lebailliff, M., on a delicate magnetic
needle, 184—on a singular property of
bismuth and antimony, 185 2

Lernza elongata, on the structure’and cha-
racters of, 147 i

Light, on the laws of, and its theory, 101,
3

Low, Captain, on the Phoonga caves, 57
Mackintosh, Charles, Esq., his new pro-

cess for making steel, 359
M eee observations in the Coquille,
15

Magnetic equator, on a peculiarity in the,
376

Manganese, on the supposed chlorite of,
190

Marshall, Mr Samuel, his meteorological
observations, 198 , :

4

INDEX:

Mastodon, on the discovery of an entire
ee tikes babs Esq. analysis of

Meason, Gilbert Laing, ysis 0
his account of Atkinson’s history of the
gold mines in Scotland, 179

Menard, Dr, on the fossil cavern of Lu-
nel-Viel, 282

Mesole, observations on, 18

Meteoric stone of Ferrara, analysis of,
19]

Meteorological phenomena at Plymouth,

—— observations at Ullens-
vang, 83—at Kendal, 198—at Canaan
Cottage, 200,—with balloons, 249

Minerals, cupriferous, on the gradual
changes which take place in them, 126

Mineral waters, theory of their formation,
186

Minto, Right Honourable the Earl of,
his barometrical measurements of Ve-
suvius, 68

Earl of, his meteorological obser-
vations with balloons, 249

Mitscherlich, Professor, on a new com-
pound of selenium and oxygen, 185

Mitchill, Dr, on the growth’ of vege-
tables on animals, 30

Moreau de Jonnes, M. on the domestic
economy of the Romans, 267

Naples, on the climate of, 263

Needle for showing small quantities of
magnetism, 184

Nero’s baths, 263

Nickel, on the atomic weight of, 155

Nitric acid, composition of, 187

Nitrification, defence of the old theory of,
187

Observatory, new one at Vienna, 376

Oils from fish, on their properties, 97

Oligoclase, 343

Orang-outang, on the capture of a female
one, 162

Ornithology, Captain Brown’s system of,
192

Oxahverite, a new mineral, 115—analysis
of, 118

Parhelia observed in America, 113

Patents, Scottish, since Feb. 1827, 195

Perkins, Jacob, Esq. on the explosion of
steam-boilers,166—on the economy of
using highly elastic steam expansively,
170—his steam engine, 359 |

Peron, M. on the sea-elephant, 73

Pheasants, on the change in the plumage
of the females, 354 ‘

Phillipsite, on remarkable twin-crystals
of, 140

Phoonga caves described, 57

Phosphate of soda, on a new one observed
by Mr Clarke, 311—of magnesia, its
solubility, 381

Phosphorus liquid at 40°Fahrenheit, id.

Soda, on the pyrop

391

Plants in Bengal, 244—plant. which
yields pure water,

Polyhalite, a new mineral, 246

Pontobdella muricata, notice regarding
the ova of, 160.

. Potash, caustic, 189

Pratt, Mr, his couches for preventing
sea-sickness, 359

Pyrophosphate of soda, a new salt disco-
vered by Mr T. Clark, 298—on its
crystalline forms, 314

Pyrope crystallized, 191

Railway, travelling, account of one, 173

Rain-gage, Mr Bevan’s, 360

Rattlesnake, on the death of Mr Drake
by the bite of one, 85

on the. poison of, 358

Rensselaer, Dr, on the fossil mastodon,80

aye Es on the habits of a young one,

Ritchie, W., A. M. on a new differential
thermometer, 350—on the permeability
of transparent screens by radiant heat,
348

Romans, their domestic economy in. the
4th century, 267

Safety-tube, on a new one for chemical
apparatus, 61

Savart, M. om the sounds of gas from
pressure, 378—on a new fact in
acoustics, id.—on a new kind of vibra-
tion in sonorous bodies, 379

Scarus, observations on the ancient, 355

Scrope, G. P. Esq. analysis of his work
on the geology of Central France, 362

Sea Elephant, account of, 73

Sea-sickness, beds’ and couches for pre-
venting it, 359

Seetzen, M., on subterraneous sounds at
Nakous, 51

Selenium and oxygen, a new compound
of, 185

Serullas, M., on new compounds of bro-
mine, 188

Soap, transparent method of making it,
172——method of improving it, 361

Society, Royal of Edinburgh, pr i
of, 182, 370—for promoting the useful
arts in Scotland, 183, 371

Society for sending out botanical collec-
tors, 23

hate of, 298—on

the arseniate of, 309-—-on a new phos-
phate of, 311

Sounds, subterraneous, at Nakous, 51

Sounds of gas issuing from fissures, 378

South, James, Esq, on double stars, 88

Spots, luminous ones, near the horizon,
185

Stars, double, on the binary systems of,
88—variable, list of, 184

392 i ; INDEX. &

Steam highly elastic,'on the economy of
using it expansively, 170

Steam boilers, on their explosion, 166

Steami-engine, account of .Dr Birkbeck’s
work on it, 181—notice of Mr Per-
kins, 359 ;

‘Steel, new process for making it, 361

Stereometer, description of one, 143

Sternbergite, a new mineral described,
242

Sulphate-tri-carbonate of lead, on some
new observations on it, by Mr Brooke,
145

Telescopes with fluid object-glasses, by Pro.
fessor Barlow and Mr Blair, 335, 336

‘Fhermometer, on‘a delicate and differen.

tial one, 350 !

Thomson, Dr Thomas, on the ‘atomic
weight of nickel, 155—on. a new com«
bustible gas, 182—on the peroxide of
gold, 182 ;

Toads, on those found alive under
ground, 358 .

Turner, Dr, his analysis of oxahverite
118—on setts for arsenic, 379 Bee

Univalve shells, on the cause of the spiral

turn in them, 121

Vauquelinite, ona French locality of,
213 i

‘oo, on the growth of, on animals,

Ventress, Alexander, Esq. on a new stere-
ometer, 143
Vesuvius, remarks on, | 1—barometrical
measurements of, 68
Vibrations, on normal ones, 379
Volcanoes of Auvergne, 362
Volcanic appearances in the Himalaya
Mountains, 55 au
Warden, Mr W. on a new safety gas
burner, 125
Water, pure supplied by a plant,384
Westphal, M., on variable Stars, 184
Wilcox, Lieutenant, on the north-east of
- Assam, 63 on
—_ on the plumage of hen pheasants,
854 .

DESCRIPTION OF PLATES IN VOL. VIL

PLATE I. Fig. 1. Fruit of the Garcinia Pedunculata, p- 45.
_ Fig. 2. Mr King’s new Safety Tube, p. 63.
Figs. 3, 4, 5, 6, Halos and Parhelia seen in America, p. 113,
Figs. 7, 8, Mr Warden’s Safety Gas Burner, p- 125.
Figs. 9, 10, Diagrams to explain the economy of using Steam ex.

pansively, p. 170,

Figs. 11, 12, Hunter’s Travelling Railway, p. 173. “4
PLATE II. Figs. 1,2, Mr Ventress’s Improved Stereometer, p. 143. -
Fig. 3. Twin Crystals of Phillipsite, p. 141. ;
Fig. 4, Oxahverite, p. 115.
Fig. 5. Lerneea Elongata, p- 147.
Figs. 6,7, Eggs of the Pontobdella muricata, p. 160.
PLATE Ill. Contains Drawings of several new Mineral Species. /
‘ Figs. 1, 2, 3, Sternbergite, p- 242,
Fig. 4, Polyhalite, p. 246, -

Fig. 5, Davyne, p. 326.

Fig. 6, Vauquelinite, p- 213.
Fig. 7—11, Arseniate and Phosphates of Soda, p. 314.
Fig. 12, Bismuthic Blende, p. 342, ;
PLATE IV. Chart of the Isodynamic lines for the whole magnetic intensity, by
Professor Hansteen, p- 351. ae

EDINBURGH :
PRINTED BY JOHN STARK.

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