Dries Sebie t Sites she: Ki 448 an ane 848 eee a ae is Y ee Phish AS eg 38 Py +3 sats r f oo ' ry he iy a ee oe Nae Sete sic Sh See ioe! ts Soa shee ™ bee 7. catia iH Bike Ss fh NY Hi Ries bb try pre EA ah cries ‘ Brat Se nes ae ae bot wh ts cia 1 Lewitt 4 M3 Puree a treatin ea) oe 9 Tes FRG: ita ¥) Frade aati £) na ae oe ee ne Ean 2 He at ’ Prete f ; ¥ mi ue i fake of e es ALBA bee ay @ ae ae aks Ab es Ret As sd. ce Be PF 4 tc ay THE EDINBURGH NEW PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. au waded: AON he Shh Fig ae dls ite THE EDINBURGH NEW ray PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL, EXHIBITING A VIEW OF THE PROGRESSIVE DISCOVERIES AND IMPROVEMENTS IN THE SCIENCES AND THE ARTS. CONDUCTED BY - ROBERT JAMESON, REGIUS PROFESSOR OF NATURAL HISTORY, LECTURER ON MINERALOGY, AND KEEPER OF THE MUSEUM IN THE UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH} Fellow of the Royal Societies of London and Edinburgh; of the Antiquarian and Wernerian Societies of Edinburgh; Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy, and of the Royal Dublin Society; Fellow of the Linnean and Geological Societies of London; Honorary Member of the Asiatic So- ciety of Calcutta; of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, and of the Cambridge Philosophi- cal Society; of the York, Bristol, Cambrian, Northern, and Cork Institutions; of the Royal So- ciety of Sciences of Denmark; of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Berlin; of the Royal Academy of Naples; of the Imperial Natiral History Society of Moscow; of the Imperial Pharmaceutical Society of Petersburgh ; of the Natural History Society of Wetterau; of the Mineralogical Society of Jena; of the Royal Mineralogical Society of Dresden ; of the Natural History Society of Paris; of the Philomathic Society of Paris; of the Natural History Society of Calvados; of the Senken- berg Society of Natural History ; Honorary Member of the Literary and Philosophical Society of New York; of the New York Historical Society ; of the American Antiquarian Society; of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; of the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, Se. &es Vol.4 OCTOBER 1827...APRIL 1828. ~ TO BE CONTINUED QUARTERLY. Af ae 4 -T 3/94 2 EDINBURGH: PRINTED FOR ADAM BLACK, NORTH BRIDGE, EDINBURGH; AND LONGMAN, REES, ORME, BROWN, & GREEN, LONDON. 1828. aaa a | “w aerate Hd semana ro 8 : Masgiwtay Paar s iP, Neill, Printer, Edinbirgh, (1 00) 4 eo, SS Se Cee ee tan 4ogtHa HEHO% aA CONTENTS. P. Art. I. Biographical Memoir of Sir Witt1am Herscuet. By Baron Fourier, “ - - - 1 II. Description of a New Magnetical Instrument (pro- posed to be called the Solar Compass or Heliastron), with some Observations on subjects intimately or remotely connected with the phenomena it exhibits. By Marx Watt, Esq. Member of the Wernerian Natural History Society. With a Plate. Commu- nicated by the Author, - - - 16 III. On the Semamith of Solomon, Prov. xxx. 28. By the Rev. Davin Scot, M. D. M. W.S. F.H.S. E. Com- municated by the Author, - 80 IV. On Vegetable Substances growing | on the bodies of living Animals, - - - - 38 V. On the relative Panieticie of certain parts of the Eye of the Foetus, compared with the same parts of the perfectly developed Eye. By Professor Carus, 41 VI. On the Irritability of the Stigma, and on the origin and nature of certain parts of the Fructification in Pinus Larix. By Mr Davin Don, Libr. Linn. Soc. Member of the Imperial Academy Nature Curioso- rum, of the Royal Botanical Society of Ratisbon, and of the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, &c. Communicated by the Author, - - 43 vil. Essay on the Domestication of Mammiferous Animals, with some introductory considerations on the va- ; rious states in which we may study their actions. 1 By M. Frep. Cuvier. Continued from former Vo- lume, p. 318. - - - - 45 VIII. On a new Gyrogonite, or Fossile Capsule of the genus Chara, occurring very abundantly in the fresh-water Limestones of the neighbourhood of Paris. By M. Constant Prevost, - : - 60 IX. Notice regarding Fossil Remains found i in Ava, 63. Arr. X. Ki. XII. XIV. XV. XV XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. XXITT. CONTENTS. Report made to the Royal Academy of Sciences of Paris, upon a Memoir by M. Constant Prevost, en- titled, An Examination of the Geological Question, whether the Continents which we inhabit have been repeatedly submersed by the Sea. By Mess. Cuvier and CorpiEr, - - - On the History and Constitution of Benefit or Friend- ly Societies. By Mr W. Fraser, Edinburgh. Con- tinued from p. 296. of former Volume, - Sketch of the Physical Geography of the Malvern Hills. By Witu1am Arnswortn, Esq. Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, &c. Communicated by the Author, - - 1. Proposed Improvement in the Theory of Sound, and in the mode of Measuring its Velocity. 2. On the Theory of the Variation of the Barometer. By H. Merxrz, Esq. Communicated by the Author, Excerpt from a Memoir on British Harbours, drawn up in the year 1824. By Rosert Stevenson, Esq. F.R.S.E. & M..W.S. &c. Civil Engineer. With a Plan. Communicated by the Author, - Observations on the Coal-field, and accompanying Strata, in the vicinity of Dalkeith, Mid-Lothian. By Rosert Batp, Esq. F.R.S.E. M.W.S. &c. Mining-Engineer. Communicated by the Author, On the Covering of Birds, considered chiefly with re- ference to the Description and Distinction of Spe- cies, Genera and Orders. By Mr W. Maceittivray, M.W.S. &c. Continued from former Vol. p. 263. A Tour to the South of France and the Pyrenees, in 1825. By G. A. Warxer Arnort, Esq. F.R.S.E. F.L.S. M.W.S. Continued from former Vol. p.356. Account of Harris, one of the Districts of the Outer ‘Hebrides. Communicated by the Author, On the Discovery of Native Iron in Canaan, Connec- ticut, North America, - - - General Observations on Natural History, made du- ring a Journey among the Blue Mountains in‘New South Wales, By M. R. P. Lesson, - Analyses made at Colombo of Ceylonese Varieties of Ironstone and Limestone. By Grorae MipDLETON, Esq. Apothecary to the Forces. Communicated by Sir James M‘Gricor, - - ~ 66 69 91 100 110 115 123 130 140 154 156 a i ty > ; CONTENTS. iii Art. XXIV. Letter from Professor Lestie to the Editor on Mr Ritchie’s Experiments on Heat, and New _ Photometer, - 171 XXV. Description of several New or Rete Plants which * -have flowered in the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, during the last three months, Communicated by Dr Granam, - 172 (XXXVI. Celestial Phenomena from January 1. to April 1. 1828, calculated for the Meridian of Edin- burgh, Mean Time. By Mr Grorce Innes, Aberdeen, - - - - 177 XXVII. Proceedings of the Wernerian Nat. Hist. Society, 179 XXVIII. Screntiric INTELLIGENCE. METEOROLOGY. 1. Great Fall of Rain at Bombay, - - - 182 HYDROGRAPHY. 2. Colour of the Red Sea. 3. Melted Snow employed as Drink. 4. Notice regarding the Falls of Rewah, and a remark- able Conical Hill at Myhur, - - - 182 NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 5. Distances at which Sounds are heard. 6. Capillary Action 7. Farther Observations made on the Solar Compass, 183-4 CHEMISTRY. 8. Metal of Alumina, “ - - - = 185 MINERALOGY. 9. Largest known masses of Native'Platina. 10. On the Os- tranite, a new Mineral Species; by Aug. Breithaupt. 11. On the Rose-coloured Petrosilex of Sahlberg ; by M. Berthier, - - - - - 185-6 ; GEOLOGY. 12. From what Countries have the Islands in the West Indies derived their Plants? 13. Fossil Skeletons of Guada- loupe. 14. Organic Remains of the Alluvium and Di- luvium of Sussex. 15. Hansteen’s projected Journey to Siberia. 16. Partsch’s Journey through Transylvania. 17. Fossil Remains of Quadrupeds in the Tertiary Rocks of Vienna. 18. Von Buch’s Observations and Specula- tions in regard to the Alps. 19. Boué’s Memoir on Eu- ropean Formations, and their probable Origin. 20. _— 7 ‘Boué on Secondary Rocks, - - ~ 187-190 BOTANY. 21. Signs of Increase, Maturity, and Decay in Trees; by M. iv CONTENTS. Baudrillac. 22. Botanical Excursion in Sutherland- shire, . - - a9 - 171-193 ZOOLOGY. 23. On the tendency of Matter to become Organized. 24. On the Animalcules that colour Oysters Green. 25. Bea- ver. 26. On the Culture of Bees in Forests; by M. Buttner, 27. Peculiar Cases of the Use of Milk as Food. 28. On the predestination of the Sex. 29. Growth and - habits of a Young Rhinoceros. 30. Cuvier’s Great Work on the Natural History of Fishes. 31. A New Species of Pentacrinus discovered in the West Indies, 194~—200 PHYSIOLOGY. 32. Distribution of Nerves in Muscular Fibres, - 200 ANATOMY. 31. Sabulous Formation in the Brain, - - 201 ARTS. 34. Water Works of the Ancient Romans. 35, Manner of Bronzing Statues, Medals, and Ornaments made of Cop- per or Bronze. 36. Loss of Gold and Silver in Gilding and Plating. 37. Piney Tallow. 38. Indelible Writing Ink. 39. Lardner’s Lectures on the Steam-Engine. 40. Carter’s Patent Cast-Iron Roofing, - ~ 201-203 STATISTICS AND GEOGRAPHY. 41. Civilization of the Aborigines of Newfoundland. 42. Capt. Parry's reported Second Expedition to the North Pole, 205, 6 NEW PUBLICATIONS. 1. Introduction to Comparative Anatomy. By Professor Ca- rus of Dresden. Translated from the German by R. T. Gore, Esq. 2 vols 8vo, with a 4to volume of Plates, 206 2. Conversations on the Animal Economy. By a Physician. In Two Volumes 8vo, ~ . ae - 208 3. Memoir on the Pentacrinus europeus; a recent species dis- covered in the Cove of Cork, July 1. 1823; with Two illustrative Plates. By Joun V. Tuompson, F.L.S. Sur- geon to the Forces, - - - - 209 4. Anatomical Description of the Human Eye. By ALExan- pER Watson, Esq. Fellow of the Royal College of Sur- geons, Edinburgh. _ Illustrated by a Coloured Plate, ib. 5. Forthcoming Transactions of Foreign Societies, - 210 Art. XXIX. List of Patents granted in England, from 17th August to 29th November 1827, . 210 XXX. List of Patents granted in Scotland from 3d October to 6th December 1827, * 212 CONTENTS. Page Art. I. Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Patias, Coun- sellor of State to his Majesty the Emperor of all the Russias. By Baron Cuvier, Knight, Professor, &e. - - - - - 211 II. Observations on the large Brown Hornet of New South Wales, with reference to Instinct. By the Rev. Joun M‘Garviz, A.M. Ina letter to James Dun top, Esq. Paramatta, - - 237 III. Analysis of the Gil-i-toorsh, or Sour Clay, aa in aci- dulating Sherbet in Persia. By Epwarp Turner, M.D. F.R.S.E. Professor of Chemistry in the Uni- versity of London. Communicated by the Author, 243 IV. Account of Excavations made at Pompeii from De- cember 1826 to August 1827, By T. C. Ramacs, ‘ Esq. Communicated by the Author, ~ 244 _Y. Sketch of the Natural History of the Salmo Salar, or | Common Salmon. 1. Of the Process of Spawning, and subsequent evolution of the ova: 2. Of the growth and movements of the Young Brood, to and from the sea during the first year of life; and, 3. Of the migrations of the Salmon betwixt the River and the Sea. By Daniet Exuis, Esq. F.R.S.E. ) With a Plate, lien - - 250 © VI. On the Temperature of the erie of the Earth. By M. L. Corpier, Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, and Professor of rere: | in the Garden of Plants, = - - = 278 VII. Memorandum from the Right ashaieats the Lorp PRESIDENT, containing some facts relating to the Natural History of the Swallow and the Partridge, 290 VIII. Essay on the Domestication of Mammiferous Animals, with some introductory considerations on the va- rious states in which we may study their actions. By M. Freperick Cuvier. (Continued from p. 60.) 292 ee ee ee mo CONTENTS. Art. IX. On the History and Constitution of Benefit or Friend- ly Societies. By Mr W. Fraser, qemerians= Con- tinued from p. 91. . 298 X. A Short Sketch of the Geology of Nithsdale, chiefly — in an Economical point of View, and contrasted with that of the neighbouring Valleys. By James — Stuart MEnTEATH, Esq. younger of Closeburn, Member of the Wernerian Natural History Society. 1. General Account. 2. Basin of New Cumnock. 3. Ba- ~ sin. of Sanquhar. 4, Basin of Closeburn. 6. Basin » of Dumfries...6. Upper and Lower Basin of Annan- dale. 7. Upper and Lower Basin of Eskdale. 8. Annandale and Eskdale contrasted with Nithsdale. 9. Basin of the Dee contrasted with Nithsdale, 314 XI. A proposition for carrying on a Course of Experi- ments, with a view to constructing, as a National Instrument, a large Refracting Telescope, with a fluid concave Lens, instead of the usual Lens of Flint Glass. Addressed to his Royal Highness the Lord High Admiral, and the Right Honour- able and Honourable Members of the Board of Longitude. By Prerzr Bartow, F.R.S. Mem. Imp. Ac. Petrop. &c. &c. - 323 XL. On the Principal Causes of the Difference of Tem- _ perature on the Globe. By Baron ALExaNDER _.. Von Homsotprt, - - 329 XIII. Some Account of the Habits of a Specimen of Siren lacertina, which has been kept alive at Canonmills, near Edinburgh, for more than two years past. By Patrick Neti, A.M. F.R.S.E. and Sec. W.S. Communicated by the Author, > 346 * XIV. A Tour to the South of France and the ee in the year 1825. By G. A. Waker Arnott, Esq. F.R.S.E. F.L.S. M.W.S. &c. (Continued from p- 139.); . : : manga TS, XV. Narrative of an attempt to reach the North Pole, in Boats fitted for the purpose, and attached to His ~Majesty’s ship Hecla, in the year 1827, under the command of Captain W. E. Parry, R.N. F.R.S,L. J Se ~ - ~ - - 363 XVI. Observations on the Dissecting and ee of the Bodies of Animals. By Professor Carus, “ 378 CONTENTS. . iii Arr. XVII. On the Irritability.of the Sensitive Plant. By M. . Durrocuet, - . - -., 880 ; “XVIII. Description of an Improved Air-Pump. By Joun Dunn, Optician, Edinburgh. With a Plate, 382 : XIX. Remarks upon the Wasting Effects ofthe Sea on ~ the shore of Cheshire, between the rivers Mer- sey and Dee. By Rosperr Stevenson, Esq. Civil Engineer, F.R.S.E. M.W.S. &c. Com- municated by the Author, ~ - 386 XX. Description of several, New or Rare Plants, which have flowered in the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, during the last three months. on . Dr Granam, - 389 —XXiI. Celestial Phenomena from April 1, Pad 1, 1828, calculated for the Meridian of Edinburgh, Mean ~ Time. By Mr Greorce InneEs, Aberdeen, 394 XXII. Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural History aeery- Continued from p. 182. 5 = 397 XXIIL ScIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. ASTRONOMY. 1. Aap tn to the Nautical’ Almanack. | 2. Reduetiori of hs Observations» made’by Sir T. M. Brisbane in the Sou- - thern Hemisphere. . 3. Voyage of Experiment and Dis- ar AL — Zodiacal Stars, - 398, 399 METEOROLOGY; | 5. Metdatdlogieal Table, extracted from the Register kept at Kinfauns Castle, North Britain ; Lat. 56° 23’ 30”.; above the Level of the Sea 140 feet. 6. Mr Watt’s Solar and Lunar’ Compasses,» = - - =» + 899, 400 _ CHEMISTRY. 7 Animal Matter i in Mineral Waters. 8. Crystals of Oxalate of Lime in Plants. 9. Iodine in Cadmium. 10. New Mode of preserving crystals of Salts, - - 401 GEOLOGY. 11. Inflammable Gas arising after. boring for Salt. 12. In- flammable Gas from Salt Mines employed for producing Light. 13. Analysis of Peat. 14. Geology of the Hi- iv CONTENTS. malaya Mountains. 15. Natural Gas-Lights at Fre- donea, - - - bs & 401-404 BOTANY. | 16. Eriophorum pubescens. »17. Rhodiola and Scilla, | - 404 ZOOLOGY. 18. Recovery from Drowning, 19. Preservation of Skins. 20. Stupendous Lizard. 21. Sea Serpents and Colossal Medusa. 22. Chinese method of Fattening Fish, 23. Leacia lacertosa, - . we ae 405-408 GEOGRAPHY. 24, Mr Cormack’s Journey in search of the Red Indians. 25. Mr Thomas Park’s Journey into the Interior of Afri- ca, ~ - - - - 408, 410 a ARTS. 26. Manufacture of Ultramarine. 27. St Helena Silk. 28. Size and Value of Mahogany, - - 410, 411 NEW PUBLICATIONS. 29. Illustrations of Zoology ; by James Wi1son, Esq. F.R.S. M.W.S. 30. A History of British Animals, exhibiting the descriptive characters and systematical arrangement of the Genera and Species of Quadrupeds, Birds, Rep- tiles, Fishes, Mollusca, and Radiata of the United King- dom ; including the Indigenous, Extirpated and Extinct Kinds, together with periodical and occasional visitants ; by Joun Fiemine, D.D. F.R.S.E. M.W.S. &c. Minister of Flisk, Fifeshire, and Author of the Philosophy of Zoo- logy. 31. Elements of Natural History, adapted to the present state of the Science; by Jonn Starx, Esq. F.R.S.E. & M.W.S. 32. Sketches of the Maritime Co- lonies of British America, - - - 411, 412 Art. XXIV. List of Patents granted in England from 20th November 1827 to 30th January 1828, 412 XXV. List of Patents granted in Scotland from 6th December 1827 to 23d February 1828, 415 Last oF PLATEs, - - - 416 THE EDINBURGH NEW PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. Biographical Memoir of Sir Wirttam Herscuer. By Baron Fourier *. Tur illustrious individual, with an account of whose life I am about to present you, was one of those extraordinary men who, although destined to honour their country and their age, have at their outset had to surmount all the obstacles which an adverse fortune presents to the first efforts of genius. He open- ed up new paths in a sublime science ; he saw stars whose exist- ence was previously unknown, and extended the boundaries of the visible heavens. Supported by the liberality of a powerful monarch, he devoted his life to immortal labours, and, for forty years, the fame of his discoveries has echoed through all Europe. | At the age of nineteen he was only a musician in the Hano- verian Guards. His father, who had a numerous family to sup- port, was an able teacher of music, and educated five of his chil- dren in his own profession. William, his second son, who was possessed of a lively imagination and elevated mind, left his na- tive city Hanover in 1757, and went over to England, where the state of society held out to him the prospect of a better fate. He resided some years in the county of Durham, then at Halifax, and soon after was appointed director of music to the * Read to the Royal Academy of Sciences of the Institute of France, on the 7th June 1824. OCTOBER——DECEMBER 1827. A 2 Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. Octagon Chapel at Bath. In this situation he enjoyed a con- siderable income, arising partly from his office, and partly, also, from his directing public concerts and oratorios. His talents were admired, his character beloved, and his man- ners esteemed ; and, in a country where the fine arts are duly appreciated, if the common advantages of fortune had been his only object of ambition, his desires would have all been satisfied ; but an internal power impelled him to higher destinies,—he was one day to extend the empire of science. The profound study of his art led him by degrees to that of geometry ; for there exist numerous relations between the laws of harmony and the theorems of mathematics, as has been prov- ed by many illustrious geometricians, from Pythagoras and Eu- clid to Descartes, Huygens and Euler. Herschel, introduced by geometry to the knowledge of theo- retical astronomy, was seized with astonishment and admiration, and felt as if transported into a new world. He anxiously de- sired to contemplate for himself those celestial phenomena whose laws the human intellect had been able to discover, It was then that he began to construct telescopes, and undertook to im- prove their use; and as perseverance in his resolutions was al- ways the distinguishing character of his mind, he accomplished these objects, and. soon found himself possessed of instruments superior to all that an art so difficult and ingenious had yet produced. His first astronomical observations, which bear the date of 1776, were followed by a memorable discovery which excited the public attention to the highest degree, —I mean that of the planet which for several years has borne the name. of Herschel. The earliest observers of the heavens distinguished a small number. of stars, which are continually changing their position with regard to the fixed stars, and return periodically to the same points of the sphere. The different durations of these revolu- tions of the planets were known and compared with each other from time immemorial, and to them is owing the period of seven days, the universal monument of the astronomy of the ancient nations. ‘The moderns had made wonderful advances in the description and study of the heavens. Galileo, Huygens, and Do. minique Cassini, had observed the first of the secondary stars ee Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. 3 which the planets carry along with them in their course; but it was not discovered, till the close of the last century, that there existed an immense planet beyond the orbit of Saturn. This discovery was destined to be the fruit of Herschel’s labours. He pursued with constancy the enterprise which he had formed of examining successively the various regions of the heavens, and of noting down all the remarkable phenomena which occur- red. At Bath, on the 13th March 1781, while examining, with one of his best telescopes, the constellation of Gemini, he ob- served a star, the light of which appeared to him very differ- ent from that of the neighbouring stars, and somewhat to resemble that of Saturn, but much feebler. The perfection of the instru- ment permitted him to see a well defined disk. Having con- tinued his observations, he discovered that this star had shifted its place, although its motion with relation to the other stars was very slow, for it had been stationary during twelve days preceding. This observation was transmitted to Maskelyne and Lalande, and was confirmed at Paris, Milan, Pisa, Berlin, and Stockholm. The star was generally considered as an ex- traordinary comet free of all nebulosity ; and astronomers were occupied in determining the parabolic elements of its course. The President Bochard de Saron, of the Academy of Sciences of Paris, and Lexel, an astronomer of St Petersburg, who was in London at the time, were the first who discovered its circular form, and calculated the dimensions of the orbit. It was now no longer doubted, that Herschel’s star was a new planet; and all subsequent observations verified this unexpected result. We have here a striking proof of the perfection of modern theories ; for the laws regulating the motion of this new planet, were de- termined before it had accomplished the tenth part of its course, and that motion was not less accurately known than that of — other planets which had been observed during so many centu- ries. Its distance from the sun is double that of Saturn, that is to say) upwards of 660,000,000 of miles; its volume is more than seventy times as large as that of the earth ; it may be seen, in favourable weather, without the assistance of a glass. The period of its revolution is about eighty-four years ; and its tem- perature, situated at the extremities of the known planetary sys- tem, is more than forty degrees below that of ice. Some idea Az 4 Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. of its distance from the earth may be formed from the fact, that light, which travels at the rate of '70,000 miles in a second, takes about two hours and a half to come from it to us. Herschel, and, previous to his time, Dominique Cassini and Galileo, wished to give to the celestial bodies which they disco- vered, the names of the princes who had favoured their la- bours; several astronomers have proposed the names of the first observers ; but the names of the recently discovered planets have not been dictated either by justice or gratitude; they have been drawn from the confused remembrance of fables that have be- come unintelligible. 'The new planet received from Herschel the name of the Georgium Sidus; while astronomers at first gave it that of Herschel, but afterwards hesitated with regard to the names of Cybele, Neptune, and Uranus, the last of which ulti- mately prevailed. » When the motion of this planet was calculated, the points of the heavens which it had successively occupied during the pre- ceding century, could be pointed out; and thus, on consulting the collections of preceding observations, it was discovered that Flamsteed, Mayer, and Lemonier, had pointed out, in those very places, stars which are now no longer to be seen there. Their observations evidently refer to Herschel’s planet, which they had not distinguished from the fixed stars. The cosmological opinions of Kepler, Lambert, and Kant, led them to suppose the existence of an eighth planet between Jupi- ter and Mars. ‘lhe comparison that had been made of the dis- tances of each planet from that of Mercury, which is the nearest to the sun, suggested a similar remark. The discovery of Uranus _ rendered the idea much more plausible, and excited astronomers to new researches. 'The result was, that, in the great interval between Mars and Jupiter, and at a distance differing little from what had been indicated, there were discovered four small stars, which look like so many separated parts of the same pla- netary body, and which can only be perceived with ‘the aid of telescopes. ‘These important observations were made about the commencement of the present century; we owe them to Piazzi, Olbers, and Harding. The astronomical labours of the music master of the Bath Chapel, the perfection of his instruments, which were all his own Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. 8 workmanship, the singular circumstances of his life, the aids with which the arts had furnished him, and the noble use to which he applied his leisure hours, were the subject of conversa- tion in England, and throughout all Europe. All these details came to the knowledge of the king. George the Third loved the sciences as the ornament of states, and as a pure source of glory and public prosperity. He sent for Herschel, antici- pated and realized all his views, and made him fix his residence at Datchett, and soon after at Slough, within a very short distance of Windsor Castle. - The retreat of Slough became one of the most remarkable places of the civilised world ; it was visited by illustrious travel- lers; Herschel dwelt there with his family ; it was there. that he finished his long and memorable career. The king interested himself in all his researches, and frequently wished to augment the expences proposed, in order that nothing might limit either the perfection or the dimension of his instruments. History ought to preserve for ever the reply of this prince to a celebrat- ed foreigner who was thanking him for the large sums he had expended in furthering the progress of astronomy. “I pay the expences of war,” said the king, “‘ because they are necessary ; as to those of science, it is agreeable to me to prescribe them; their object costs no tears, and does honour to human nature.” Herschel had secured the assistance of one of his brothers, a man well skilled in theoretical and practical mechanics, who se- conded all his designs, directed the carpenters in the construc- tion of the large instruments, and, with a rare sagacity, realized, almost as soon as expressed, all his brother’s inventions. Their sister, Miss Caroline, soon acquired a very extensive knowledge in astronomy and mathematics. A lively and constant friend- ship, the desire of contributing to the glory of her brother, and without doubt a disposition of mind peculiar to this extraordi- nary fapily, procured her unrivalled success in her studies. She digested and published his observations. We are also in- debted to her for the discovery of several comets. She partici- -pated in all the watchings, and in all the literary labours of her brother; and assuredly no astronomer ever had a more intelli- gent, more faithful, and more attentive assistant. In this secluded retreat, adorned by the fine arts, and still 6 Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. more by peace and the domestic virtues, Herschel, free from all cares, surrounded by a beloved wife and family, devoted to science, surrendered himself to the inspirations of his genius, or, in other words, to an invincible desire of studying nature and interrogating the heavens; and, to borrow the words of one of his most celebrated cotemporaries, it was from this solitary. vil- lage that the world was instructed in whatever was most singu- lar, and, perhaps, most difficult to perceive in ‘the heavens. The history of optical inventions, and of their progressive im- provement, is too well known to require any notice in this place. ‘Herschel’s telescopes are those that have been named Newtonian. But he never ceased to study their properties, to vary them, and extend their use. ‘Taught by long experience, he suppressed the plain mirror which produced a second reflection; and this happy change, which was long before proposed by Lemaire, but difficult of execution, and only applicable in large instruments, doubled, in a manner, the optical effect. He found, that, by exercising the eye ina gradual manner, it is rendered much more sensible to the impression of a weak light, and by this means he was enabled to magnify the images of ob- jects much beyond the limits at which other observers had been arrested. He detected two different properties which had not yet been distinguished, that which consists in augmenting the apparent dimension of bodies, and that of penetrating into the profundity of space to ‘discover objects which might have been entirely imperceptible. Multiplied examples leave no doubt re- garding the truth and striking utility of this distinction. At length he formed the resolution of carrying the power of these instruments to the highest possible limits; regarding less the circumstances calculated to facilitate their employment, than those which might augment their optical power, he constructed a telescope of extraordinary dimensions. It is indeed the largest instrument of this kind that has ever been made. Let any one imagine to himself an iron tube, 40 feet long and 15 inches in diameter, suspended beneath an assemblage of inclin- -ed masts, and moved in all directions by a number of machines. The entire system is moveable round a vertical axis, and de- scribes a circumference of 40 feet diameter. A highly polished metallic mirror, weighing about 2000 pounds, is introduced in- Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. 7 to the tube, and when the instrument is turned toward the hea- vens, this mirror reflects the shining image of the stars. The observer is himself transported along with the tube in any di- rection required, for he is placed in a seat attached to the upper extremity ; ; the objects which he observes are behind him, and he views their reflected images. Herschel discovered, with this telescope, two new satellites of ‘Saturn ; they are both nearer the planet than those made known by Huygens and Cassini. Never had the heavens been ob- served with so extraordinary an instrument ; and, it may be said, that the greatest phenomena displayed themselves under a no- vel aspect. ‘The nebulosities, those small luminous and irregu- lar clouds which may be remarked among the fixed stars, in va- rious regions of the heavens, appeared almost all to resolve themselves into an innumerable multitude of stars ; others, hi- therto imperceptible, seemed to have acquired a distinct light. On the entrance of Sirius into the field of the telescope, the eye was so violently affected, that stars of less magnitude could not immediately after be perceived ; and it was necessary to wait for twenty minutes before these stars could be observed. The instruments, of which he had previously made use, were less advantageous for the observation of some phenomena; but it was more easy for him to multiply them, and vary their modes of application. No astronomer had yet been able to acquire so complete and so distinct a knowledge of the phenomena of the heavens. For example, the ring of Saturn always ceased to be perceived when its plane was directed toward the earth ; but the feeble light which it reflects in that position was enough for Her- schel, and the ring still remained visible to him. An entirely new and very important observation made by him, was that of certain remarkable points on the surface of Saturn’s ring. From these points, Herschel concluded, that this satellite, remarkable for its singular form, turns upon itself round an axis perpendicular to its plane; and he measured the duration of this rotatory motion, which is about ten hours and a-half. Not long before, a great geometrician in France investigated the same question, and solved it by mathematical analysis, which is also a very powerful instrument, and ihe most general of all. M. de Laplace demonstrated, that the rotation of the ring of Sa- 8 Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. turn is a necessary consequence of the general principle of gra- vitation. He deduced from his analysis the same duration of ten hours and a-half, which the English astronomer afterwards found by direct observation. ‘The history of science presents nothing more worthy of the attention of philosophers than this wonderful accordance of theoretical inductions with the improve- ment of the arts. . Herschel’s observations are so numerous and so varied, that we cannot here attempt any exposition of their subjects. Most of them have been confirmed and reduced to perfect certainty. The instruments which he used, and which possess so many re- markable advantages, are, however, liable to difficulties which limit their utility. His largest telescopes ought always to be considered rather as instruments of discovery than as instru- ments of precise measurement. In this respect they are among the most perfect productions of human ingenuity. We shall now speak of Herschel’s views and experiments re- lative to the physical properties of the solar rays. From a long series of observations, made with powerful telescopes, he con- cluded that the light does not emanate from the body of the sun, but from certain shining and phosphoric clouds, which are produced and developed in its atmosphere. He thought that this immense ocean of light is violently agitated in its whole depth ; that, when it is broken up, we perceive either the solid mass which is not so luminous, or its volcanic cavities, and that this is the origin of those black and variable spots which are seen on the sun’s disk. Their extent is often much greater than the whole surface of the terrestrial globe; they disappear when a calm is re-established in the solar atmosphere. It is well known that these spots, first observed by Galileo, led to the discovery of the sun’s motion around its axis, and shewed that this motion is accomplished in twenty-five days and a-half. The new improvements in optics afford a very unexpected means of determining, whether it be true, as Herschel imagined, that the solar light does not issue from an incandescent solid or fluid. In fact, when such a body, raised to a very high tempe- rature, becomes luminous, the rays which it gives off in all di- rections do not come from the outer surface only, but are al- so emitted like the rays of heat by a multitude of material points § gree.- This opinion had been verified by experiments made in ' a ee ee Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. 9 placed beneath the surface to a certain: depth, extremely small it is true, but actually existing. Now, such of these rays as traverse the envelope of the heated mass obliquely, acquire and preserve a peculiar property which can be rendered sensible by experiment ; they are polarized. But if the same mass, instead of being rendered luminous by its proper temperature, is only covered with an extended flame, which is the source of its light, the rays then do not possess this property. We have, therefore, been enabled to submit to this singular test the light which the sun sends tous. M. Arago, the author of this beautiful experiment, and by whose labours natural phi- losophy and astronomy have often been enriched, has in fact dis- covered, that the solar rays, even when transmitted obliquely, are not polarized. It is therefore obvious, that, in regard to this point of the question, the opinion proposed by Herschel would be immediately deduced from the latest discovered properties of light. His researches, also, regarding the annual variations of the solar heat have excited the attention of philosophers; and we shall soon be in possession of more accurate information on this subject. In several countries, and especially at the Royal Observatory of France, it has been resolved to collect and to publish every year accurate observations with respect to the ex- tent, the progress, and disappearance of the solar spots. We have now to mention the memorable experiments of Her- schel, which have given a new development to the physical theory of the sun’s rays. In studying the nature of that star, which had become with him a habitual subject of meditation, he employed variously coloured glasses for diminishing the intensity of the light. He thus had numerous opportunities of observing to what degree the interposition of these glasses modified the heat or light. It was not in the nature of his mind to stop at superficial remarks. He therefore undertook a series of varied experiments, and general physics was enriched with new and important facts, which have been fully confirmed by subsequent observations. It had long been discovered that the rays sepa- rated by the prism, and forming the solar spectrum, do not pos- sess the faculty of heating the terrestrial bodies to the same de- Italy and France. 10 Biographical Memoir of Sir Wiliam Herschel. In tracing the origin of this question, we find it in the writ- ings of a celebrated woman, whose name belongs to the literary history of France. Emilie du Chatelet, previously to her trans- lating and commenting upon the works of Newton, had sent a physical memoir to the Academy of Sciences at Paris, and af- terwards embarked with Euler in the examination of one of the greatest objects of natural philosophy, the theory of fire. In this memoir of Madame du Chatelet’s, which was printed in 1738 by order of the Academy, the illustrious author proposes to collect a sufficient quantity of homogeneous light to prove whether the differently coloured primitive rays have not also unequal degrees of heat ; whether, as appears to her to be very probable, the red ray, for example, does not give more heat than the violet ray. The writer adds, “ the experiment deserves to be tried by those philosophers who may examine this es- say.” 'The idea here expressed was proved correct, as we have said, by the observations of Landriani and Rochon. Herschel’s experiments on the same subject not only afforded a complete solution of ‘the question, but led to entirely new results. He measured with precision the thermometrical effects of the seven unequally refrangible rays, and found that the red rays con- tained of themselves more heat than all the others together. The impression on the thermometer rapidly diminishes from the red to the violet rays, which are placed at the other extre- mity. The principal feature of Herschel’s talent was an ex- traordinary disposition to consider the same object with unre- mitting perseverance, and under every poimt of view. On re- peating his experiments on the solar rays, he wished to deter- ~ mine the limit at which all sensible impression of heat ceases, and the point at which the impression is.strongest. While en- gaged in this investigation, he ‘met with a very unexpected re- sult; he saw that the thermometrical effect continues beyond the red rays in the dark space bordering upon the spectrum, and it was even in that unilluminated space, and upon the pro- longation of the axis, that he found the point where the heat communicated is the greatest. The situation of this point is found to vary according to the circumstances of the experiment ; but, be this as it may, it is certain that this mixture of rays which the same star transmits to us, and which the prism re- ee a 3 * ‘ 7 Cen a ee Biographical Memoir of Sir Wilkam Herschel. il fracts unequally, and divides into coloured elements, contains, also, an invisible heat, whose action may be rendered sensible and may be measured. The same observer further proposed to himself, to discover what are the rays which possess the power of illuminating bo- dies in the highest degree. He found, by a particular set of experiments, that this property belongs to the yellow rays, and that it diminishes with considerable rapidity, as we pass from these rays to either extremity of the spectrum. These singular discoveries excited a lively interest in all the learned societies. The existence of an invisible radiating heat, mingled with the solar light, was disputed. The discoverer was himself exposed to contradictions which exceeded all the bounds of literary criticism; but that great philosopher having given the necessary explanations, kept silence on the subject. His ex- periments were repeated in England, Germany, and France, under the eyes of the most expert observers in Europe, and the truth of the results was universally recognised. It happened, also, that the distinction of the coloured rays, and of the invisible heat which the sun transmits, gave rise to the discovery of another not less remarkable property of the light of that star. The intensity of the chemical action of the different rays was made the subject of observation, and it was found that this action also, like that of the heat, subsists in an unilluminated space, but at the opposite extremity of the spectrum beyond the violet rays. We merely mention this experiment, as it does not properly belong to our subject ; and it is enough for us to add, that, at the present day, the existence of invisible rays of heat mingled with the sun’s light, can no longer be questioned. It was chiefly in this that the discovery announced by Herschel consisted. It seemed as if he were destined to discover and render sensible objects and properties, which had eluded the re- search of all other observers for a long series of ages. Although our planetary system occupies an extent of twelve hundred millions of miles, it may yet be said to form but an imperceptible point in the immensity of space. Thus far has - the genius of man enabled him to penetrate into the vast regions of the universe. He has seen innumerable suns beyond the na- tural limits of his senses ; for the divine intellect from which his 12 Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. reason emanates, has given him the power of forming, as it were, new organs for himself. From time immemorial, sensible changes have been observed in the colour and brightness of se- veral stars; new stars have been seen all of a sudden bursting forth into brilliancy, and, like ignited bodies, gradually fading and disappearing, having, perhaps, been converted into unillumi- nated orbs, and for ever withdrawn from our view. The proper and always extremely slow motions of a pretty large number of stars have been observed, or the alternating and periodical va- riations’ of some of these bodies. A more perfect knowledge of the history of the heavens is without doubt reserved for the ge- nerations to come. We can only, at present, hope fof*fixed and accurate results, like those of planetary astronomy ; we are con- fined to the description of the present state, and the distinction of the general characters of phenomena. The invention of te- lescopes, and especially Herschel’s observations, have given a prodigious extension to this branch of celestial physics. We shall not here enumerate all the cosmological views of this great astronomer. ‘The exposition of so extensive a theory would exceed the limits assigned to us; but we shall point out some of its principal features. He ranks in the first class the stars which he names isolated, that is, such as are separated from the others by immense intervals, and do not appear sub- ject to a mutual action, whose effect is appreciable. He then considers the double or triple stars, or the more complex side- ral assemblages, which are systems of luminous bodies, evident- ly approximated and retained by an existing cause, and move together round a common axis. He next passes to the description of the nebulosities, or those milky-looking and confused spots irregularly scattered through- out the heavens. He chiefly observed the Milky Way, which he considered as a single nebulosity formed of many millions of stars. In it he saw more than fifty thousand traverse the field of his telescope in an hour. All these stars are distributed in a multitude of layers of great extent, in leagth and breadth, and so superimposed, that the thickness of the system is much smaller than the other two dimensions. The stars which appear to us to be the brightest belong to the Milky Way. This is also the case with the sun, the centre of our planetary orbits, and it Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. 13 is for this reason, that, being placed in the interior of this nebu- losity, we see it as a zone which divides and surrounds the hea- vens. The first origin of these views occurs, if I mistake not, in the writings of Kant, and afterwards in those of Lambert, one of the most celebrated geometricians of Germany. But Her- schel, to whom these works were unknown, did not confine himself to general. considerations. He: deduced from positive and multiplied observations that explanation, which had been — entertained by the celebrated philosopher of Koenigsberg, and the academician of Berlin. He distinguishes among the nebulosities those which power- ful telescopes resolve into a multitude of separate stars, those in which one or more shining centres are observed, and those which he names planetary, of a more defined spherical form, and a more homogeneous lustre. He shews the singular varie- ty of this order of phenomena, most of which were before un- known. His catalogues contain more than two thousand nebu- losities, some resembling the Milky-Way, others open in the middle, and of an annular figure, but the greater part under the most diversified and irregular forms. Lastly, He added a mul- titude of observations to those that had already been made on the stars which are coloured red, blue or green, or which pre- sent shades of these colours, and principally on the double or multiple stars. If one now considers the whole of these facts together, he na- turally rises to the idea of a rare and diffuse luminous matter, of which all the celestial bodies have been formed. 'This mat- ter, diffused over every part of the universe, is very une- qually condensed there. It is still in the state of vapour in many nebulosities, and in the atmospheres of the comets, which are so extended and so variable. The principle of gravitation does not act on the bodies of the planetary system alone ; it is present in all points of space, and always opposed to the expan- sive force of heat. It is conceived that universal attraction may have gradually united these luminous vapours ; that the shining centres, whether single or multiple, the groupes of stars, and the solid bodies, are formed of them. These effects are not equally ‘sensible in the different stars ; they are much advanced in some, very weak in others,'and tend to manifest themselves more and 14 Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. more. Lastly, the same causes keep up among all these bodies immense motions, which their extreme distance scarcely permits us to distinguish. Such, in so far as it is possible to express them in a few words, are the cosmogonic views of Herschel. The illustrious author of the Mécanique Céleste has arrived at similar inferen- ces, by following a path directly the reverse. He has seen in our system of planets and satellites, striking indications of the origin of these bodies. He considers them as formed at the li- mits of the sun’s atmosphere, gradually condensed by the at- tractive forces, and the loss of radiant heat. Thus all the funda- mental circumstances of the planetary system are naturally explained. ‘There is no opinion more in conformity with the present state of science; it accounts for all the phenomena known. The celestial bodies, therefore, which are least distant from us, present, with great precision, the general characters which they retain of their origin ; they appear to have been produced, like all the great phenomena of the Heavens, in the bosom of those luminous vapours subjected to the two contrary actions of gravitation and heat. I shall not undertake, gentlemen, to fix your attention to the various parts of this vast picture, to compare the distances of these stars from those which we are able to measure, to compute the years that must have elapsed before their light reached us. Here the numbers, the times, and the spaces, want limits; the most comprehensive mind is unable to form a conception of the immensity of the universe; it only attains it by rising to thoughts of an order still more sublime. This reflection brings us back to the sentiments which Herschel has frequently ex- pressed, and which the contemplation of the wonders of the Heavens constantly forced upon him. In each of the great phenomena which he observed, he found the impress of an eter- nal and creative wisdom, which rules, animates, and preserves, and. which has given immutable laws to all nature. Let one now represent to himself the picture of an entire life devoted to the fine arts, and to the description of the Heavens. In the early period of his life Herschel struggled against fortune 3 Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel: 15 and subdued her. His glory was increased by all that the chance of birth had refused him. The arts introduced him to the sanctuary of the sciences ; he improved optics; he undertook to describe the natural his- tory of the heavens; he saw new stars at the extremities of the planetary world, the extent of which he doubled. He contemplated innumerable phenomena in regions where the eye of man had never before penetrated ; he studied the na- ture of the sun, divided its rays, measured their brightness, se- parated light from heat ; he saw the effects of gravitation in all the depths of space. ‘To no man was it given to make known to others so great a number of new stars. Whatever the uni- verse displays of what is immense and imperishable, was the ha- bitual object of his contemplation. Such were the occupations of his mind; let us now notice the sentiments with which they inspired him. He lived in the heart of a nation which, above all others, re- gards the glory of its great men as public property. He enjoy- ed pure happiness in the bosom of his family ; his prayers were answered by the success of his son, and he heard the public voice repeating the just and soothing expression, which may here be applied to so many others, Herschel leaves a son worthy of his father. A benevolent prince had wished to be acquaint- ed with him, and from that moment declared himself his pro- tector and friend. His sister Caroline Herschel, an admirable model of disinterestedness, gentleness and perseverance, devoted her life to him. For more than forty years she assisted at. all his watchings, collected all his thoughts, transcribed with her own hand, and published all his works; nor could she permit any other to have this charge committed to him. She wrote and preserved those immense registers which Herschel left to his son, in which are faithfully deposited from the year 1776 all his observations and experiments,—a truly noble and glo- rious inheritance, which is at once the monument of a sublime science, and of the most affecting friendship. Astronomy and physics will long find in these records a fer- tile source of comparisons and discoveries. Thus the influence of great men stretches forth into futurity ; and it is not at their death that all the fruits of their labours can be appreciated. 16 Biographical Memoir of Sir William Herschel. The physical picture of the heavens traced by Herschel, will be compared with recent observations, and the. changes will be remarked which a long interval may have produced. Already striking consequences present themselves to the’mind, but time alone can develope them; and they will only —— manifest after a great number of ages. is Then entire revolutions will be ecunghidadal our successors will admire other phenomena and other stars; a part of the spectaelé of the Heavens will be changed; but at those remote epochs the memory of Herschel will still be fresh. _ He died in the eighty-fourth year of his age, without infir- ‘mities and without pain. His name, confided to the grateful sciences, is for ever preserved from oblivion,—they crown it with immortal glory. rahi “ee of a New Magnetical Instrument (. ordi to be called the Solar Compass or Heliastron), with some Obser- vations on subjects intimately or remotely connected with the phenomena it exhibits. By Marx Watt, Esq. Member of the Wernerian Natural History Society. Communicated by the Author *. ry Tue effect of the sun upon the earth, and on all the animate and inanimate existences that it contains, has. seldom or never been over-rated, but, perhaps, hitherto, has been in many minor instances under-rated, or entirely overlooked. — It is long,'indeed, since the grand influence the sun exerts on the planetary sys- tem, and the general and striking changes it produces upon the world, observable in the seasons, the tides, the trade-winds, the diurnal revolutions, &c. have been made objects of investigation and calculation, whilst its less ostensible, though, perhaps, not less important impulses on animal organisation, plants, chemical changes, and delicately formed instruments for meteorological observations, have been comparatively the subjects of modern research. * Read before the Wernerian Natural Bry Society, 24th November 1827. 2 ee aMeeS Siar af Necdles Pe the ber of Woo. Fig. / Lig. 2. Solar Compass. Jublished by ABlack Edin’. 182 7. EMitchell voulp: ys Mr Watt on a New Magnetical Instrument. 17 From observing, in particular, the daily variation of the baro- meter and the magnetic needle, and remarking that a similar series of alternate changes was more or less observable in every instru- ment capable of indicating a slight alteration in the impressions made on them, as the hygrometer, zethrioscope, photometer, &c. ; and that these diurnal changes bore a proportionate relation to the _ latitude in which the instruments were placed, or to the degrees of solar influence that might exist in the regions in which they were used, and of which they would partake; and. from_noti- cing, in coincidence with these movements, the daily expansion and contraction of the petals and leaves of most plants, and. that the different species of the heliotropium and chrysanthemum turned their corollz round toward the sun for many hours du- ring the day, when the atmosphere was. clear, I could not help concluding, for a long time past, that what was thus partially’ exhibited by some instruments, and more perfectly by the co- rollz of plants, might be still more clearly shewn, by an instru- ment constructed upon principles nearly similar to the laws which regulate these motions in plants; and that one might be formed, that would, when suspended, move to the sun’s appa- rent course, or that would, from the attracting or repelling in- fluence of the solar rays, stand still, in opposition to the diurnal revolution of the earth. _ Having an opportunity, last spring, of making some simple experiments in pursuit of what had become with me rather a plausible idea, I commenced, by attempting to trace the gene- ral connection that appears to subsist between the solar rays, electricity, magnetism, and the radiation of caloric, in as far as they had any reference to the object I had in view; to mark their natural effect on plants, and to observe if metals, or other substances, when placed in favourable circumstances, were not susceptible of similar impressions from these general agents, | at: least so far as to indicate by their motion when suspended, the same attraction or repulsion, in respect to the sun’s influence that the daily alterations in the positions of the corolle of plants evinced. | In the course of those investigations, I observed, amongs other thmgs, (which it would be unnecessary here to detail. OCTOBER—DECEMBER 1827. RP 18 Mr Watt on a New Magnetical Instrument, that the leaves, petals, and stamina of all plants, were, when growing, strongly attracted by any good electric, when it was rtibbed ; and that, particularly, when any of the precious stones that were transparent, were rubbed and presented to the leaves or petals of plants, that they sprung to it, and stuck to it, as a piece of iron to the magnet, and they remained attached to it as jong as the electricity was retained by the stones*; sometimes half a minute. I also found, that all electrics attracted the magnetic needle in proportion to their powers of retention, and that, consequent- ly, the magnet attracted all electrics when charged with electri- city ; and that all feathers of birds, hairs of animals, and pistils, petals, and stamina of plants, were strongly attracted by elec- trics ; and when in contact with any body that retained electri- city, were more or less attracted by the magnet ; and that, there- fore, they might all be considered, in a certain sense, natural magnets,—being all attracted to, or attracting, light, caloric, electricity, and the magnetic fluid. In illustration of these observations, I would mention, that when a piece of wax or amber is rubbed, it attracts the compass needle. A Brazilian topaz will attract the magnetic needle if only once or twice passed over a piece of woollen cloth. If rubbed a few seconds, it makes the needle move round on its pivot, in the same manner as a magnet would. The topaz, amethyst, and sapphire, also, when rendered electrical by fric- tion, suspend small pieces of iron or steel. A topaz of an inch square will suspend six common sewing needles horizontally, for an hour or two; and if this is frequently repeated, the stone being rubbed for half a minute or so each time, the needles ac- quire the magnetic property ; and if they are placed gently on the surface of water, so as to swim, they will all arrange them- selves parallel to the magnetic meridian ; this smi they seem to lose in a day or two. If a piece of clear amber, of an oblong shape, be subjected to tapid friction for half a minute, it will, when made to swim on .* The conducting power of living plants, in favouring the rapid distibu- tion of electricity, has been reckoned three millions of times eater than that of water. T should conceive from this fact, that the conde ng power of living plants was too highly rated. and Remarks on the Theory of Magnetism. 19 still water, indicate polarity, by poiting according to the mag- netic meridian. Feathers, hair, and, the pistils of large plants, as the digitalis and antirrhinum, appeared to me, when treated in the same way as the needles, to indicate a similar disposition. If the downy part of feathers, fine hair, or the) large thistle down, is laid upon an electric, after friction, the parts that pro- ject beyond the sides of the electric, are considerably attracted by the magnet. _ All electrics evince polarity, and those that have the power of retaining electricity long, demonstrate this, by pointing north and south, if formed into an oblong, and made to swim by means of a thin piece of cork on water, after being excited. to an electrical state by friction. The tourmaline, ruby and brazi- lian topaz readily exhibit this. The affinity of iron to all the imponderable substances seems greater than that of any other body, electricity, galvanism, heat produced by percussion, and coloured light, rendering the iron magnetic ; and the magnetic preperty, when once acquired, con- yeying such a sensibility to the metal, to all the impulses of these bodies, that I found, when a number of small needles were rendered magnetic, and so placed as to traverse freely, being connected together at small distances by any light substance, and so arranged in reference to each other, that none of the needles could shew its tendency to the poles of the earth; they then indicated, by their motion, the impressions they received from the sun’s rays, the radiation of caloric, and the other sub- tle. bodies alluded. to; but this will be easier apprehended by stating the following experiments. Twelve or fifteen needles (of the size marked No. 10, used for sewing) were rendered magnetic, and stuck into a thin cir- cular slice of cork, of an inch diameter, at the distance of one- sixth of an inch from each other. The heads of the needles were so’ fixed into the piece of cork, that they stood perpendicularly ; and. all the pomts being south poles, stood uppermost. The cork was then placed on the centre of a surface of water, 14 feet in diameter. . The needles, in this situation, being prevented from eyineing..any polar attraction by their perpendicular posi- tion, were attracted by a moderate degree of light, heat, or elec- tricity, but were repelled by the more powerful impulses im- BR 20 Mr Watt on a New Magnetical Instrument, parted by the concentration of any of these bodies.’ When the rays of the sun-were collected into a foeus by a lens, and made to impinge ‘on’ the needles, they moved rapidly on the water from the solar beam. The same effect was produced by a piece of metal heated, and held over the points of the needles. - Elec- tricity. also eines! to attract | or repel them, in pHopottitin to its force. I also found, that, if the small seeds of plants are dried, and Jaid upon any good electric, which has been smartly rubbed, and the poles of a strong horse-shoe magnet is moved slowly over the seeds, they will spring from the electric to the magnet more readily than to any other body not magnetic. Observing, therefore, a considerable similarity between the effects of all these imponderable bodies on plants (the petals of which contain iron), and on iron, I formed a thin piece of silver- plated copper into the shape of the calyx of a flower, and fitted a-thin circle of ‘cork to the edges of the copper cup. Into this circle I fixed twenty needles, highly magnetic, at equal distan- ces from each other, in the form of the extended radii of the circle (as represented by the first sketch), with all their south . poles pointing outwards, and their north poles directed to the centre of the circle, (destroying by this arrangement their power of indicating their polarity, in respect to the earth). I suspend- ed this by a very delicate filament of silk, from the ‘centre of a glass cover, excluding any current of air, by fixing the cover to a smooth board by wax. I exposed this star of needles to the influence of the solar rays, and it continued first to revolve, and then to vacillate, for the most part of the day ; ; exhibiting, however, when’ it ceased to revolve, a movement cor responding to the position of the earth in reference to the sun, as the sun was always found opposite to the centre of the arc of vibration. After repeating the experiment for four or five days, the vibra- tions diminished in the extension of the arc they described ; and the movement corresponding to the rising and setting of the sun was more regular and certam. The first combination of this sort which I. made was very light. The next I formed in- tentionally of an ounce weight, to mark the extent of the influ- ence of the solar rays. It was formed in the same manner as the first, with the addition of a circle of zinc round the copper al a a eT and Remarks on the Theory of Magnetism. 2) -eup, which I conceived might possibly. increase its. sensibility, by creating a slight degree of electricity or galvanism. This combination of metals also moved regularly to the apparent motion of the sun; and continued to vacillate as long as the rays of the sun impinged upon the metals; the vibrations diminish- ing and encreasing with the sun’s altitude, being greatest when the sun was near the meridian, and decreasing as the number of the degrees decreased that the sun was above the horizon. The next form of the instrument I tried, was. twenty-five needles fully impregnated with the magnetic fluid, fixed into.a circular ring of cork, of about three inches diameter. They were placed at equal distances round the circumference of | the circle, with their north and south poles placed outwards alter- nately. This circle was affixed to a light slip of wood, five in- ches long, and one-fourth inch broad, by a piece of copper-wire, of a semicircular form, tle extremities of which passed through the opposite sides of the cork circle; and the slip of wood was attached to the centre of the wire. Into the centre of the bar of wood was. fixed an agate cap ; and the whole traversed like.a compass needle upon a fine steel point, the bar of wood being equipoised by a small weight at the other end of it, equivalent to the weight of the eedles (as represented by fig 2. Pl. I.) This instrument was placed under a glass cover, of a conical shape, and secured from any passage to the air. - When first exposed to the sun’s rays, the instrument con- tinued to revolve upon the pivot for several hours, and then settled with one side of the circle pointing toward the sun, in such a position that one-half of .the external part,of the circle was illuminated by the solar beams, and one-half of the internal part of the ring. In this situation it continued to stand still, in opposition to the diurnal motion of the earth, till the sun sunk beneath the horizon ; the points of the needles on, the edge of the circle pointing always to the sun, so that the solar rays fell in a direction nearly parallel to the plane described by the star of needles. This instrument (like all other magnetical instruments that I have made experiments upon) accommodated itself to the pecu- liarities of its construction. For the magnetic needle, when placed in any situation, that may be termed new to it, in respect 22 Mr Watt on a New Magnetical Instrument, to the influence that may affect it, always indicates a greater de. gree of disturbance during the first experiments that are'made upon it, than it does after beimg subjected to a repetition of them. In a few days, therefore, this instrument ceased to. re- volve for such a length of time; and after being exposed to the solar rays for five or six days, only revolved for a few minutes, when first it met their influence, but continued to remain sta- tionary, while the ‘pivot moved with the earth, as long as the sun remained unclouded. 'Towards the sun’s meridian altitude, however, when the thermometer was high (about '70°), as if sur- charged by the solar rays, it sometimes vacillated a little, or turned quite round, but rested in its usual position ultimately. I found this instrument extremely sensitive, quickly indicating by its motion an increase of -heat, light, electricity, galvanism, or a change of colour in the light that shone upon it. It moved readily to any electric, when very slightly rubbed and held near one side of the circle of needles; and to all the prismatic co- lours, and particularly to the solar beam, when concentrated by a lens, and passed through coloured glass or silk. The violet and red ray had the greatest effect upon it. When a piece of scarlet dark-blue or purple coloured adie, of a circular shape, is placed over the face of the instrument, so as to cover the needles, the sensibility of the instrument is great- ly increased. When first placed with a disk of purple-velvet across the needles, in the sun’s rays, it continued to revolve nearly the whole of the day, moving always in the direction from east to west by south, in the course of the sun’s apparent motion. It was attracted by a piece of coal or wood, ignited to red heat. It moved also 40° or 50° to the light ef a single candle, held close to one side of the circle. All these experiments were made when the instrument was inside the glass-bell, and the bodies affecting it outside. The same phenomena were exhibited when the needles were all placed inside of a circle, all their points nearly meeting in the ‘centre, and no part of the needle appearing outside the circum- ference of the ring. When suspended, it turned always one side of the circle to the sun *. | * These experiments were made in May and June 1827, and Remarks on the Theory of Magnetism. 23 _ One circle of needles, affixed to a small bar of wood, appears to be the best for making experiments with ; but the most pre- ferable form of the instrument for shewing the influence of the sun simply, is to affix two circles of needles to the bar of wood, one at each end, in a perpendicular position*. As the circles always turn their edges to the sun, the bar of wood in this form " will be directed to the sun, or to the angle of incidence described by its rays. _ In constructing the solar compass, the wood should be of the lightest kind, as willow or British fir. An agate or ruby cap, and a fine steel point, are requisite to facilitate the traversing of the instrument; and fine long shaped needles should be used. Magnetism is easily communicated to the needles, by two ‘magnetic bars, in the usual way. A paper-full of needles, con- taining twenty or fifty needles, may be used, as the magne- tism can readily be conveyed to the needles at once through the paper: this can be performed by one holding down the pa- per with the needles, by placing a knife or thin slip of wood up- on the centre of the paper, and drawing the bars along it about twenty or thirty times. If they are rendered sufficiently strong, they will spring asunder as soon as the paper is opened, similar poles being in contact. It is necessary that the needles should be fully impregnated with the magnetic fluid. A piece of clear amber, formed into a convex lens, if fixed in- _to a circle of cork, and suspended, by any fine hair or filament, under a glass cover, will also be so arrested by the incidence of the solar rays, that it will continue to present its surface to the sun, if unclouded, as long as he is visible above the horizon. And if, in addition to the lens, there is added a few small bars of amber, attached horizontally to the edges of the circle, it ra- ther increases its aptitude to exhibit the solar influence. The amber I exposed to the beams of the sun, in this form, never ceased to vacillate a little the whole of the day, the sun’s posi- tion, however, being opposite always to the centre of the arc of vibration. The power of the solar compass does not seem diminished, * Represented by Fig. 3. Pl. I. i 24 Mr Watt on a New Magnetical Instrument, but rather increased, by augmenting the number of the needles. I have tried it with about three hundred Leman and obtained the same results. It appears to be, to a certain dente affected bx the light of the moon, when full, and also seemed at times, when first formed, to be strangely influenced by the different states of the atmosphere during the night, when the moon was not in our hemisphere. Once or twice, when placed in the open air, in a clear atmosphere, it continued for a considerable time to re- ~ volve upon its pivot, stopping occasionally, and then commen- cing its circular movement. What occasioned this motion I could not discover, except it was some change in the electrical state of the atmosphere. This strument, besides exhibiting clearly the power of Miles: mfluence on magnetic needles, perhaps might be rendered a good photometer. It might be used in climates where the sun is seldom shrouded by clouds as a moving dial. Its dip, which is visible when formed of one star of needles, may be useful at sea; and I conceive it is possible, that it may be ultimately made so sensi- tive as to be attracted or repelled by the sun’s influence through its partial obscuration by mist or clouds, and then its utility at sea would be of great service. . The instrument is at present affect- ed by the solar rays,through thin clouds ; and if a piece of cork, of six inches diameter, is cut into a circular shape, and its two flat surfaces made a little convex; and if about two hundred magnetic needles are fixed into one of the surfaces of this lens- shaped piece of cork, radiating from the centre like the petals of a double anemony or daisy, and all the south poles of the needles, placed so as to point to the circumference of the circle ; and if this star of needles is suspended under a glass cover, they are affected so far, by the light afforded by a window, that, whether the sun shines clearly or not, the side of the cork on which the needles are placed will not rest opposite to the light, but the cir- cle will either turn its edge or the side without the needles to- «wards the window, before it remains stationary. And here I feel inclined to offer a few remarks on the theory .of magnetism, which are naturally suggested by the facts which have been stated. The great similarity that subsists amongst the general charac- a at ee ee ee and Remarks on the Theory of Magnetism. 25 teristics of the laws that govern many of the phenomena exhi- bited by light, heat, electricity, galvanism, and magnetism, has led many to conclude that they were only a modification of the same subtle fluid, or that the principal material that occasioned the effects these agents produced, was variously mixed in close affinity with other substances too etherial for us to detect. What ‘I have already detailed seems to favour this conclusion. The most prevalent idea that has long existed respecting the theory of magnetism, is, that the magnetic influence proceeded _ from the north pole of the earth, and was originated either from the abundance of magnetic and iron ore, that was likely to be _ found there, or from some fluid which unceasingly emanated from the north, similar to the aurora borealis. And, latterly, the polarity of the needle has been referred to the magnetism of the whole earth, or to a Jaw of nature, similar in its simplici- ty to gravitation. ‘The north pole* has, however, been consi- dered the most important of the two poles of the magnetic needle, and the north the great seat of magnetic attraction, even by the latest writers. I cannot perceive, however, that the grounds up- on which this hypothesis is framed are conclusive, or that they do not admit of as clear an explanation being given of the chief phenomena of magnetism, by taking an impartial view, in some respects the reverse of that which is. generally maintained, at least in so far‘as regards the notion that the north pole is the chief magazine of magnetic attraction. M. Prevost and others, who conceive that the magnetic fluid is composed of two distinct substances, one of which tends to the north, and the other to the south, suggest that the sun is most probably the source of one of these substances; and I would humbly propose, but with the utmost deference to those who are more able to judge, whether we may not reasonably enter- tain the idea, that the sun is the chief source of magnetism ? If we take into consideration both the facts already alluded to, and also take a combined glance at the facts already generally known, and explain them upon this principle ; it appears much more clear and plausible than we would at first be inclined to apprehend. * I use the term North Pole in the same sense as the French writers, for the pole which points to the north. 26 Mr Watt on a New Magnetical Instrument, If we simply consider that the south pole of any magnet pos- sesses as great a power of attraction and repulsion as its north pole, that the compass needle diminishes in its variation as it ap- proaches the equinoctial line, and increases both in>its annual and daily variation as it advances towards the north pole; and, after passing a certain degree of latitude, loses its power of ex- hibiting its polarity altogether ; reasoning analogically, we should be led to a conclusion the opposite of that usually held,» The fact, that the sun in the Arctic Regions produces a more visible and extensive variation in the magnetic needle than in the latitudes near the equator, seems to indicate, that the needle within the Arctic Circle is more free to move to any incidental impulse, than when near the Torrid Zone; and we would, na- turally be inclined to conclude from this circumstance (nihil contradicente) that it possessed near the Arctic Regions, both less polar attraction and less local, than when near the Equa- The observations made by Captain Parry and his officers de- monstrate, that the needle, in its diurnal variations, was influ- enced by the sun, and that the south pole of the magnet was at- tracted to the sun; the maximum Westerly. variation of the north pole of the needle having been observed to occur at Port Bowen, between 10> a. mM. and 1" p. u., and the minimum be- tween 8) p. m. and 2" a. m.; and the diurnal variation some- times amounting to 6° and 7°. It was likewise discovered, that an increase of, magnetic in- tensity was exhibited from the morning to the afternoon, and a decrease from the afternoon to the morning, Captain Parry farther observed, ** that it appeared that the sun, and, as we chad reason to believe, the relative position of the sun and moon, with reference to the magnetic sphere, had a considerable influ- ence, both on the intensity and diurnal variation,” (of the needle)*. It therefore appears to me to be perhaps as consonant to ge- neral observation, if not more so, to conclude, that when the * One of Captain Parry’s officers, who was frequently employed in watch- ing the movements of the needle at Port Bowen, mentioned to me, that he sometimes obseryed a considerable deflexion of the needle just at sun-rise, when the atmosphere was clear, . ~ aia Pe a ey ae ee neat — 2K and Remarks on the Theory of Magnetism. 27 compass needle ceases to act, in the most northern latitudes, it is because the magnetic influence there. is feeble and unequally supplied, and not because the needle is then placed over the ‘very seat of magnetism. And that the) cause of the needle’s pointing due north and south when near the. Equator without any diurnal variation is, because it is there always fully acted ‘upon by that combination of light, heat and electricity, or the component parts of those bodies, that may produce the mag- netic fluid ;_ and which are so abundantly and constantly gene- vated around the Torrid Zone ; and which eyer exist there more ‘or less, in such foree as to render the direct diurnal influence of ‘the sun comparatively inferior upon the compass needle, and therefore incapable of producing much daily variation. It is evident that there must be an everlasting emanation of ,caloric, light and electricity from the Equator, verging to the north and south poles of the earth. And it.is obvious, that whether they are distinct. bodies, or only states of bodies, that ‘the sun is the great agent that produces these phenomena, or regulates their movements. And, as this must create a conti- nual flood of light, heat and electricity, advancing in the direc- tion of the meridional lihes to the north and south, and. pervad- ing the whole of the atmosphere and surface of the globe; and as the magnet is attracted and repelled by these bodies, accord- ing to their various modifications, it is not perhaps unreasona- ble to conclude that it is highly probable, that the unceasing ‘motion of those bodies from the central.line of the earth to the ‘poles, may be the principal cause of most of the phenomena that are connected with the polarity of the magnetic needle. The property which Mr Barlow’s plate possesses, of causing the needle to continue its action beyond the degree of latitude where it would otherwise cease to act, appears to me to be a far- ther confirmation of this view of magnetism, as iron seems to re- - tain always more or less of the magnetic fluid, or something very analogous to it, and the rectifying plate will therefore fora time supply the deficiency at the poles of the earth, If this view of this branch of magnetism is correct, it would not be difficult to conceive why a magnetic needle should assume a position parallel to the magnetic meridian, or nearly parallel to the true meridian of any part of the earth, as it would, being 28 Mr Watt on a New Magnetical Instrument, attracted by the magnetic fluid, necessarily place itself parallel to the direction of the current of that fluid. But this will be still more easily comprehended if we attend to the manner in which magnetism is communicated to a bar of steel ; and we would observe that the general notion, that the poles of a magnet, when used in communicating magnetism to a bar of steel, produce their opposites, is not literally true, as ei- ther the North or the South Pole of the magnet produces al- ways both a North and South Pole. And it depends entirely on what part of the bar, to be rendered magnetic, we first place the pole of the magnet, to determine where any of the poles shall be. If, for example, we place the south poles of two magnets upon the extremities of a bar of steel, and draw them towards the centre of the bar, we render, by a repetition of this ope- ration, both the extremities south poles, or similar to the poles used ; and the two north poles will be found at the centre of the bar of steel; and a needle thus treated will stand east and west, or north and south. And as any single pole of a magnet will communicate both a north and south pole to any bar of iron, the part of the bar it touches first being always a pole si- milar to itself; and the part it is in contact with last, being ne- cessarily of the opposite description ; this seems unfavourable to the idea that there are two magnetic fluids. The magnetic fluid simply seems to follow the first direction that is given to it along any piece of steel ; and which can only» be changed by drawing a magnet along it in an opposite direc- tion, as almost all our compass needles are rendered magnetic by drawing the north and south poles of two magnets from the centre of the needle to its extremities. Each of our compass needles possess actually four poles ; they have a north and south pole at their centre, and the same at their extremities. — It is evident, therefore, that the magnetic fluid (or whatever it may be), will run along a bar of steel, in any way it is direct- ed. It will commence at both the extreme points of the bar, and give out at the centre; or it will commence at the centre, ‘and run off by the extremities ; and the ends of the same bar may be made both north poles; or they may be rendered both south; or alternately north and south. If this theory of magnetism be correct upon the whGlog line! and Remarks on the Theory of Magnetism. 29 if we find that the south pole always receives the magnetic fluid, and the north gives it out, it follows that it must necessarily point north and south, according to the cneetieRy of the current that moves it. » Upon this principle also, we would readily conceive why the atedle dips when rendered magnetic, as it will be disposed to dip to the inclination, which the stream of the subtle bodies, al- ready alluded to, must assume in passing ‘continually from the sun and central parallel line of the earth, to the north and south poles, | _ The sun, indeed, ina clear atmosphere, has a visible effect on the dip of the needle. And if we take a thin bar of steel, about the thickness of \the main-spring of a watch, and two feet in length, and render it magnetic, and balance it on a fine pivot, we can observe a slight variation occasionally in the dip of the needle, by a graduated scale, placed opposite one of its extre- mities, corresponding to the clearness of the atmosphere and time of the day. _ Upon the same principle also, the annual variation of the magnetic needle may be partly accounted for, by the radiating heat produced by the sun, and the other fluids already mention- ed, being conducted in greater proportions for a course of years towards the western part of our hemisphere, from a combina- tion ot causes. no doubt similar to those which sometimes pro- duce a series of warm seasons to the west, and sometimes to the east. of the, world; and perhaps this may be affected by the comparative progress of cultivation in the different nations of the earth... And this seems to coincide with the accounts of our late navigators, who have found the ice more melted toward the west than toward the east of the North Pole. I should conceive it to be but a very imperfect method of determining the magnetic intensity at any place, to subject the needle to vibration or torsion, as the state of the atmosphere, the influence of the sun at different periods.of the year, and at different times of the day, local attraction, the attraction of gra- vitation, and the law of the vibration of the pendulum, must all have their share in the calculation ; and all these may be modi- fied by circumstances not readily perceived. Bricuton Crescent, PortoBELLO, lst October 1827. (80 ») On’ the Semamith of Solomon, Prov. xxx. 28. By the Davin Scor, M.D. M.W.S. F. Hi. S. E. cdl ~ by the Author *. ’ ty ti.3 yO SAR We are told in the 25th verse of the 30th denied the Proverbs of Solomon, that there are four things’ little: on the earth, but endowed with great wisdom ; and in the 28th verse of the same chapter, we learn that the last of these four things is called semamith, which lays hold with its hands, and is’in: wos palaces. As no other instance of this word semamith occurs in thdikie. brew Bible, several absurd interpretations of it have been given — by the Jewish doctors. | All these we shall not spend time in - considering, but only notice two of the least es 8 im addition to the commonly received interpretation. The first of these makes the semamith a swallow, but iin no other reason, which we can conceive, than a similarity of sound in senunith, the Chaldee name for that bird. There may be cases, in which the meaning of a word may be learned from an- other, resembling it in sound ; but in — anche a event will lead into gross mistakes. The swallow, to be sure, builds its nest in the nian ve sometimes the chimneys of our houses, and they may do so in Palestine ; but such a fact would not warrant the declaration, that they lay hold with their hands, and are in’ kings” palaces, as ‘it would be grossly absurd to talk in that manner: nop any — animal. — The other interpretation witerveil to makes the semamith an ape; which is a very shrewd animal, occasionally a favourite of princes, and also furnished with two fore-legs, with which it can seize objects, which, in a loose way of van i be ealled hands. An ape, perliahe, may not be pec too Lergle for tein called a little thing on the earth; and most will agree that it may excite attention, if not wonder, by its tricks; but it’ does not go into palaces, unless by constraint. These must be desert- ed, before it choose them for its ordinary residence. = 9 * Read before the Wetherian Natural History Society 4th ew iszj. i MOE Rev. Dr Scott on the Semamith of Solomon. 31 To avoid these incongruities, recourse has been had to the spider, and certainly this insect can quote a host of names in its favour, With a surprising uniformity, its cause has been sup- ported by Levi, Elias, and Kimchi among the Jews; by Santes, Arias, Mercer, Munster, Castalio, Junius and Tremellus among Christians: in short by the English, Italian, and Geneva trans- lators. ‘That the spider is found in kings’ palaces as well as in the houses of meaner men, is unquestioned. ‘The species of spiders are numerous, and one of these has the peculiar attribute of the house spider. This species of spider, however, is oftener in a cottage than a palace, because there is less tolerance for such an insect in those buildings where there is more scrubbing and sweeping. In neglected forsaken apartments, containing useless or forgot- ten lumber, they are most ready to take up their abode. But granting that palaces were not kept so neat and clean in ancient as in modern times, or that in warm climates it is more difficult to free buildings even of the better sort from insects, yet, we apprehend, that the spider, which is larger of size in warmer climates, and multiplies faster, will neither be a welcome nor a frequent guest in kings’ palaces. It will oftener obtain an entrance into mean houses. It is encouraged by the careless- ness which prevails among the inmates, or the quietness which reigns through the apartments. In this manner, at least, Plau- tus, in the Awlalaria, talks of the dwelling of poor Euclio : heddde saghoc *¢ nihil est questi furibus, ; Ita inaniis sunt opplete et araneis.” Nay, when spiders abounded about one’s house or furniture, the circumstance was deemed a sign of poverty s ; thus, Afranius, quoted by Festus, “ Tamque arcula tua plena est aranearum ;” In these terms Catullus excuses the meanness of an entertain- ment to a friend, “ ‘Tui Catulli plenus est sacculus aranearum ;” And old Hesiod exhorts, in the 474th line of his works and days, Ex 0 dvyewy truris agarrie. “ You must drive away spiders from your vessels,” @. ¢. banish poverty from your houses. 82 Rev. Dr Scott on the \Seinamith of Solomon. These quotations seem to shew, that, according to the expe- rience of mankind, spiders are rather found in the cottages of the poor than in the palaces of kings; but quite the reverse is the testimony of Solomon, who had seen so much of life, and thought so much of nature, if his ordinary — ie done him justice. The semamith, which is commonly interpreted the spider, is said to take hold with its hands, while in kings’ palaces, The house, as well as many other spiders, has eight legs, and, from the structure of these, it can move along the under surfaces of the planks and rafters of a house, like the common fly, and se- veral animals of the lizard tribe. Now, the legs with which this operation is carried on, have sometimes been called fingers. ‘They are so called in the Frogs, a comedy of Aristophanes, and in the 6th book of Ovicks Meta- morphoses. ‘These are the words of the latter : ell aya “ In latere exiles digiti pro cruribus hzerent.”’ Even when these are called fingers, the language is highly fi. gurative ; but the figure would border on absurdity, if it made the row of feet on each side a hand, to which it has not the least resemblance. Indeed, we do not recollect a passage in any au- thor, in which hands are assigned to the spider, though we recol- lect one in which there is a direct assertion to the contrary. The spider itself speaks, pl « Nulla mihi manus est, pedibus tamen omnia fiunt.”” Among the feet with which, according to this assertion, it per- forms every thing, the two feélers may be included. These are not organs by which it moves, but sometimes assistants when it seizes its prey with its teeth. We do not know how poets or orators would describe this action; but if they should say that it lays hold with its hands, the language would neither be very obvious nor very intelligible. If, however, laying hold with the hands is to be viewed as a figurative description of the spider’s spinning its ‘thread, and weaving its web, these actions are seen with far more advantage in the country than in a palace. In a misty morning during summer, the webs of the field spider are hung from twig to twig, among the surrounding thorn hedges and whin bushes, as far as the eye can reach; but though admiration may be thus- Rev. Dr Scott on the Semamith of Solomon. 33 » awakened at the thought of the industry as well as the numbers of this insect, yet the chilling recollection is apt to steal.on, that all these webs are instruments of destruction, snares for catching as prey, those little unfortunate beings who happen to be en- tangled. These operations of the field-spider have been beautifully il- lustrated by the Abbé Pluche, in a work once very popular, but now little read, entitled, Spectacle de la Nature, or Nature Displayed. But whatever occasion these operations of the field spider may give to ornamented description, they have nothing to do with the proceedings of the semamith, as mentioned by the wise king of Israel; and, therefore, that his account may be consistent, we are forced to look about for some other animal. To the lovers of truth, we will be justified in so doing, after they understand that the semamith is not the ordinary name of the spider in the Hebrew language. This is ocubish, which has become ocubim in Chaldee, and unkubus in Arabic, both of which signify a spider. — In the Hebrew Bible, there are two passages in which the spider, under the name of ocubish, is mentioned. One of these is in Job viii. 14, “* The hypocrite’s hope shall be cut off, and his trust shall be a spider’s' house or web.” The other is in Isaiah lix. and 5, “ they hatch cockatrice eggs, and weave the spider’s web.” In these passages, every one-sees that the pro- per work of the spider is noticed. We allow that this insect, or any other thing, may have two names, provided that the one recall some idea which is not sug- gested by the other ; and we would not object to semamith, as the name of the spider, more than to ocubish, if the accounts accompanying the use of the former, corresponded as well with the habits of the insect, as they do when the latter is used. _ From the want of this correspondence, several ancient as well as modern interpreters have been persuaded, that the animal denoted by semamith belongs to the lizard, and not the insect tribe. The Septuagint translators, who are more ancient than any other, and whose authority is entitled to high regard, have rendered semamith by the term calabotes, which Hesychius the OCTOBER—DECEMBER 1827. Cc 34 Rev. Dr Scott on the Semamith of Solomon. lexicographer declares to be a certain fish or a lizard, swyOve ola web THVEO- As lizards are not unlike fishes in shape, om some of them live in water as well as on land, that expositor was to be excused, who contended that Solomon meant a fish by semamith, though it required no great reach of thought to discover, that fishes are not the residents of a king’s palace, however they may inhabit his ponds. The calabotes of the Septuagint is rendered stellio by the Vulgate interpreter; and many lizards may be called: stelliones, because of the variegations in the colour of the skin, peculiarly brilliant in warm countries. Hence, Ovid says of the psnchets ecvescosscncsceeesss “ aptumque colori Nomen habet, variis stellatus corpora guttis.’’ This rendering of the semamith by the Septuagint and Vul- gate is supported by the Syriac, Chaldee and Samaritan’ trans- lators. ‘The term which each employs signifies stellio, or a spotted lizard. Bochart, in his Hierozoicon, says, that there are two species of stellio, the one poisonous and the other harmless; but doubts which was meant by the semamith. If it be the stellio reputed poisonous, sem with a samech, which is convertible with sin, according to some, will signify poison, and of course the sema- mith*will be the poisonous lizard. Others, however, pronounce shemamith, and bring it from a verb, which signifies to stun or stupify ; and they think this lizard is‘so called, because it stuns or stupifies the scorpion, to which it is said to be a determined and terrible enemy. So Galen, De: 'Theriaca ad Pisonem, as- serts, that. “* the stellio, as soonas seen by scorpions, stuns, and so destroys them ;” and Alian and Isidore, &c. agree with Ga- len in ascribing to the stedlio this power over the scorpion, But what is still more to our purpose, in‘ proving the sema- mith to be a stellio, is this sentence of the Talmud, treatise on the Sabbath, chap..8. “ The terror of the semamith is upon‘ the scorpion,” a-sentence which cannot be predicated of any spider, however formidable. Every spider has no other way of catch: ing its prey; but by entangling it in its web; and ‘the seorpion must have a far stronger and fiercer creature to deal‘-with, when it is almost deprived of sense and life, at its very sight. fos Ts Rey. Dr Scott on the Semamith of Solomon. 35 Now, if the semamith be a lizard reputed poisonous, Bochart informs us, that the Arabs have a lizard to which they give the name of samabras, signifying a spotted lizard, or the lizard which has spots like a leper, and to which the semamith, if ac- counted poisonous, may answer. If, however, the semamith be the stellio accounted harmless, Bochart thinks it may be the wezg'w, which is less in size than the samabras, and so far suits the account which Solomon gives of the semamith, that it is a thing little upon the earth. But whether the semamith be the samabras or wezgu, as Bo- . chart has endeavoured to establish, lizards are most abundant in warm and dry countries; and as Arabia does not yield to any country in these respects, it may be called the land of lizards. They are present wherever a tent is pitched or a house is rear- ed. The Arabs, who are continually infested with their presence, have a name for every species; and we believe, that, in no lan- guage spoken on the face of the globe, is the nomenclature of this tribe of animals more perfect than in Arabia. With or without reason, this creature is detested by the Arabs, as it was by the Greeks and Romans, Jahius, the son of Chomer, asserting, that the man who killed 100 séelliones, would be dearer to him than he who redeemed 100 slaves ; and Antonius Libe- rales, that they were abhorred by gods and men, and that he that slew one of them, did a most acceptable service to Ceres. All lizards, into whatever divisions, stelliones, geckos, igua- nas, &c. they may be marshalled, have four feet. The hind, but especially the fore feet, very much resemble the arms and hands of aman. Whoever has seen any of the lizard tribe, will be instantly struck with this resemblance ; and on this ac- count, all the individuals of the tribe, which are very numerous, have been properly and strictly called Lacerta, that is, creatures with arms or hands. Supposing the semamith of Solomon a lizard, it is most con- sistently said to take hold with its arms or hands, in moving from one place to another, that it may catch flies, which are its ordinary food, elude the pursuit of its enemies, when it moves along places which they cannot reach, or secure its safety, if its back be undermost. In these respects it was natural for him c2 36 Rev. Dr Scott on the Semamith of Solomon. to admire its dexterity, and declare that it discovered great wis- dom, though it was little on the earth. Indeed, every reflecting person would be filled with amaze- ment, when he beheld this little animal creepmg up the walls, or along the ceiling of a house, grasping, as it would seem, the inequalities of the timber, and roughnesses of the stones, that its fall might be prevented, and its journey, perilous, at least, if not impossible to other creatures, accomplished. The animal, which performs such feats of daring and skill, loves to frequent houses of every name, new houses as well as old, palaces as well as cottages. Aristotle says, that it dwells in stables ; Antonius Liberalis, that it is found near common shores ; Pliny, that it resides in slaughter-houses, windows, cayerns and tombs ; Arnobius, that it nestles in the cavities of statues; and Mathiolus, that it lodges in the holes of walls near the ground. With great propriety, then, it has been called the house-lizard, by Porphyry, as quoted by Eusebius, by Suidas, by the Ety- mologist, and Phavorinus, among the Greeks; and by Alhasim, an Arabian physician of Bagdat. Aristophanes, Dioscorides, and Avicenna declare, that this li- zard fastens itself by its hands to the roofs of houses, but some- times losing its hold, drops down among the dishes on a table, and poisons the liquor of the cups, if it happens to touch it. Those may believe this account who can, but our faith is not strong enough to credit what Bustamentinus of Complutum as- serts, that, when, by some accident, these animals have been mingled with the food, they have poisoned whole nations. Many are the remedies prescribed against these poisonous results by /Etius, Paulus Aigineta, and Avicenna, but whether they be dictated by knowledge or error, is another matter. That lizards of all kinds are very numerous in Syria, these words of Bruce demonstrate: ‘“ I am positive that I can say without exaggeration, that the number, I saw one day in the great court of the Temple of the Sun at Balbec, amounted to many thousands. The ground, the walls and the stones were covered with them; and the various colours of which they con- sisted, made a very extraordinary appearance, glittering in the sun, in which they lay sleeping and basking.” 29 Rev. Dr Scott on the Semamith of Solomon. 37 Where lizards are so numerous, there must be many species ; and, after all that has been done to clear up differences, consi- derable confusion must still remain, two or more species being described as one, while the same name is given to two or more species. While we acknowledge our obligations to Bochart for the chief materials of this essay, we regret that we have not had the power of perusing Scheuchzer, who has treated at great length the natural history of the Bible; and we have not read or heard of any, who has attempted to point out the kind of lizard which corresponds with the semamith of Solomon. Cuvier’s Stellio of the Levant may be mentioned, the synonyms of which are the Stellio lacerta of Linnzus, the Koscordylos of the modern Greeks; though not the Hardun of ‘the Arabians, if we mistake not, which rather answers to what is called the land crocodile. It is this Stellio of the Levant, which is often killed by the Mahometans, for mocking them, as they suppose, by lowering its head, when they say their prayers. Or Solomon’s semamith may be the Gecko des murons of Cuvier, the synonyms of which are the Gecko of Hasselquist, the Gecko lobatus of Geoffroy, the Lacerta Hasselquista of Schneider. It is very frequent in the houses of all those coun- tries, bordering on the Mediterranean to the east and south. At Cairo, it is called Abou burg, or father of the leper, because it is supposed to communicate the leprosy to those who eat the food which it has touched with its feet. When it creeps over a per- son’s hand, the skin inflames; more, perhaps, says Cuvier, from the delicate sharpness of its nails, than the deleterious matter which it communicates. We know not whether the Lacerta ocellata, as it has been called by some, be different from the lizards just mentioned. It is about a span long: the feet are short, and five-toed in gene- ral: the colour is greenish-grey, with brown spots or disks. It is a native of Egypt, we presume also of Palestine, and frequents houses. Upon the whole, both authority and probability favour the idea, that the semamith of Solomon is a house lizard, and not a house spider ; though at present we are unable to say which spe. cies of house lizard has a preferable claim to every other, ( 38) On Vegetable Substances growing on-the bodies of living Ani- mals. In a letter from Dr Samuel S. Mitchill of New York to Pro- fessor A. P. De Candolle of Geneva, in Silliman’s Journal, ‘March 1827, there are some interesting observations stated with regard to vegetable substances growing on the bodies of living animals. ; His attention was called to these curious appearances in the year 1808, when W. A. Burwell, Esq. brought him, from his own plantation in Virginia, the larva of an inseet, upon which a vegetable had fixed itself, and grown to a considerable size. From its appearance, he was induced to consider it as belonging -to the species of “Melolontha, whose grub is destructive at times ‘to the roots of grass, in meadows and pastures. The vegetable was single, and, although somewhat injured, yet the lower part of the stem and the point of attachment, were very distinct. Some years afterwards, another vegetating insect was present- ed. to him by Dr W. M. Ross, who obtained it in Jamaica, du- ring his residence there. It was a full grown Sphynx, whose whole -body had been covered with a'vegetable crop, issuing thick from the thorax and abdomen. Another Sphynx, similarly covered with vegetables, was sub- sequently shewn him by Dr J. B. Ricard Maddiana, who brought it from, Guadaloupe. | This gentleman also gave him several vegetating wasps, pro- cured by himself in the same place. On the 16th June 1823, while on a botanizing excursion at Bay Mahaut in the above island, he saw lying on the ground a wasp’s nest, which had fallen from,a branch of Laurus persea. Some of the animals were flitting 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 percei- ved. vegetables proceeding from.their bodies,.and this uniformly from the anterior part of the sternum or thorax. Some of the cells still contained young wasps in the larva state, and which had not reached the last stage of their metamorphosis. “He M1 be F P > 5 On Vegetable Substances growing on living Animals. 39 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 chrysalis. It was remarked, that ‘rarely or never was there more than one vegetable on a single wasp. He then satisfied himself why the vegetable parasite was si- tuated on the fore-part of the body. Botanists have pronounced this production to be a species of Spheria, belonging to the na- ‘tural order of Fungi. Upon the supposition that it is propa- ‘gated by seeds in the ordinary mode, these seeds would natu- -rally alight upon the most exposed part of the unhatched insect ‘that was accommodated for their reception. This would of course be near the head. Being fixed there, it would increase ‘with the enlargement of the animal, and drawing nourishment ‘from its body, would continue to grow even after it had attain- -ed its last and perfect state, until the Spheria had destroyed the life of the wasp. The mind becomes reconciled to the idea of a vegetable sus- taining itself upon a living animal, by considering the history of ‘the Ichneumon, an insect of the Hymenopterous order. It is ealled pupivorous, on account of the voracity with which its arvee devour the larvee, chrysalids, and even eggs of other in- -sects, more especially those of the Lepidopterous order. Some ‘of them penetrate the bodies of their prey, and, with their num- *berless brood, slowly consume, and at last kill them; while others, the Ophions, are attached to the skin of the larva by the “footstalk of a cocoon, through which their heads pierce the in- ‘ternal parts, while their tails remain in their own is already executed.”—“ The Treasury have not, however, directed me to prepare, for present publication, any part of the work, except what re- lates to the law of mortality, and such tables of the values of annuities on single lives, as may be sufficient to illustrate its practical effects. The rest of the work, when finished, is intended for official purposes at the National Debt Office, and may or not be printed, according as I shall-receive their Lordships’ directions.” He hopes that his tables “ will supersede all the ta- bles now in use; and with good reason, for they have been eight years in pre- paration, with all the means for perfecting them which the Government could ply, and to which no private individual has hitherto had access.”--“ The itference between the sexes, in regard to mortality, leads to a most important conclusion, as respects the practical purposes of societies for granting pensions to survivors. By my tables, it may, generally speakin.z, be said to result as follows: Supposing a mother were to leave a pension to her son, the value of such a pension would only be two-thirds of a pension left by a father to his © daughter, the relative oo of the children and parents being precisely the same. It follows, therefore, that any society making no distinction of sex, and ting pensions to widows, according to the strict arithmetical result, would inevitably be ruined.” 5 The above summary of the evidence has extended to a greater length than was at first anticipated, or may appear well adapted for the pages of a Philoso- phical Journal; but such a detail has been deemed necessary, in order that the interesting and important information communicated by so many intelligent and highly respectable witnesses might be duly appreciated. It would have been also very desirable to have inserted some of the tabular views of the different rates of mortality, and other illustrative documents, contained in the Appendixes, perhaps the most valuable portions of these Reports; but as we have already exceeded our limits, all that can be given additional at present, is the following table, exhibiting the expectation of life at every age above 20, deduced from tables of mortality which have been founded upon obser- vations made in this country. 86 Mr W. Fraser on the History and Constitution of TABLE of EXPECTATION of LIFE, at and after the Age of 20 Years, according to the Northampton and Carlisle Tables of Mortality ; as also, accord. ing to the Table (p. 76), deduced by Mr Joun Lyon, for the Highland Society of Scotland, from a medium of the Northampton, Carlisle, and Swedish Tables, —according to that constructed by Mr Grirritu Davies, from the experience of tie Equitable Society of London,—and according to the rate of Male and Fe- male Mortality found by Mr Joun Fixxatson to have prevailed among the Government Annuitants for the last 45 years. The Exrrcration or Mean Duration of life is the number of years which a body of s taking them one with «nother, may be considered as sure of enjoying,—those who live or survive ond that period enjoying as much more time, in proportion to their number, as those who fall short of it enjoy less;—or the portion of future existence which an indi- vidual at any age may seeponatty expect to enjoy. This ‘* expectation of life” is found by dividing the total years by the number alive at the age whose expectation is ce pee de- ducting half unity or .50 from the quotient, on account of the chance equal, @ person shall die in the beginning or end of the year. ‘Thus, in the Table of Mortality, iP 76), 34,895 is the sum of the second column, at and after 25 years of age, and 965 the number living at that age; therefore, 34,895 being divided by 965, the quotient will be 36.16, and the half of 1, or .50, being subtracted from this latter number, it will leave tale, wae is the expectation of life, according to the Highland Society’s Table of Mor- y, Of a person aged 25. The PROBABILITY of on. or the chance of a person living from one age to another, is found by dividing the number living at the latter age by the number living at the former age, according to any table of mortality which may be adopted. Hence the VauvE of an Annuity, commencing at any given age, or a Sum payable at Death, obviously depends pon the number of years which, according to such expectation and pro- u bability, a person of any age has to live. Government Annuitants, Age. Pieters Carlisle. Highland — according to Mr FINLAISON. \ Male, Female. Mean. 20 | 33.43 | 41.46 41.06 | 38.39 | 43.99 | 41.19 21 32.90 49.75 38.16 40.33 37-83 43.36 40.60 22 32.39 40.04 37.54 39.60 37.34 42.73 40.04 23 31.88 39.31 36.91 38.88 36.87 42.09 39.48 24 31.36 38.59 36.29 38.16 36.39 41.45 38.92. 25 30.85 37.86 35.66 37.44 35.90 40.81 38.36 26 30.33 37.14 35.02 36.73 35.41 40.17 37.79 27 29.82 36.41 34.39 36.02 34.86 39.52 37.19 28 29.30 35.69 33.75 35.33 34.31 38.87 36.59 29 28.79 35.00 33.11 34.65 33.75 38.22 35.99 30 28.27 34.34 32.47 33.98 33.17 37.57 35.37 31 27.76 33.68 31.93 | 33.30 32.59 36.91 34.75 32 27.24 33.03 31.17 32.64 32.00 36.26 34.13 33 26.72 32.36 30.56 31.98 31.40 35.61 33.51 34 26.20 31.68 29.82 31.32 30.79 34.96 32.88 35 25.68 31.00 29.31 30.66 30.17 34.31 32.24 36 25.16 30,32 28.68 30.01 29.54 | - 33.68 31.61. 37 24.64 29.64 23.05 29.35 28.91 33.04 30.98 38 24.12 28.96 27.42 28.70 28.28 32.40 30.24 39 23.60 28.28 26.78 28.05 27.65 31.76 29.71 . 40 23.08 27.61. 26.17 27.40 27-02 31.12 29.07 41 22.56 26.97 25.56 26.74 26.39 30.46 28.43 42 22.04 26.34 24.94 26.07 25.74 29.81 27.78 43 21.54 25.71 24.32 25.40 | 25.08 29.14 27.11 44 21.03 25.09 23.70 24.75 24.42 28.48 26.45 45 20,52 24.46 23.08 24.10 23.75 27.81 25.78 46 20.02 23.82 22.48 23.44 23.07 27.13 25.10 47 19.51 23.17 21.87 22.78 22.38 26.44 24.41 48 19.00 22.50 21.27 22.12 21.68 | 25.75 23.72 49 13.49 21.81 20.65 21.47 20.98 25.06 23.02 50 17.09 21.11 20.04 20.83 20,30 24.35 22.33 eh ow Benefit or Friendly Societies. 87 TABLE—continued. Government Annuitants, a Northamp-| Carlisle. | Highland | Equitable | according to Mr FINLAISON. ge. ton. Society. | Society. Male. Female. Mean. 51 17.50 | 20.39 19.42 | 20.20 | 19.62 23.65 | 21.64 52 17.02 19.68 | 18.82 19.59 | 18.97 22.93 | 20.95 53 16.54 | 18.97 18.22 19.00 | 18.34 22.22 | 20.28 54 16.06 | 18.28 17.62 18.43 | 17.73 21.50 | 19.62 55 15.58 17.58 17.01 17.85 | 17.15 2079 18.97 56 15.10 16.89 16.43 | 17.28 | 16.57 20.08 | 18.33 b7 14.63 | 16.21 15.84 16.71 16.02 19.38 17.70 58 14.15 15.55 15.25 16.15 15.47 18.69 17.08 59 13.68 14.92 14.65 | 15.60 14.93 18.00 | 16.47 60 13.21 14.34 14.07 15.06 | 14.39 17.32 15.86 61 12.75 13.82 13.49 14.51 13.84 16.64 15.24 62 12.28 13.31 12.99 13.96 13.28 15.96 | 14.62 63 11.81 12.81 12.33 13.42 12.72 15.30 | 14.01 64 11.35 12.30 11.76 12.88 | 12.17 14.64 | 13.41 65 10.88 | 11.79 11.21 12.35 11.63 14.00 12.82 66 10.42 11.27 10.68 11.83 11.10 13.37 12.24 67 9.96 | 10.75 10.17 11.32 | 10.61 12.76 11.69 68 9.50 | 10.23 9.69 10.82 10.14 12.16 11.15 69 9.05 9.70 9.24 10.32 9.67 11.57 10.62 70 8.60 9.18 &81 9.84 9.22 10.99 | 10.11 71 8.17 8.65 8.40 9.36 8.79 10.44 9.62 72 9.74 8.16 8.01 8.88 8.37 9.92 9.15 73 7.33 7.72 7.63 8.42 7.96 9.41 8.69 74 6.92 7-33 7.24 9.97 7.54 8.92 8.23 75 6.54 7.01 6.87 7.52 7.12 8.46 7.79 76 6.18 6.69 6.50 7.08 6.69 8.00 7.35 77 5.83 6.40 6.16 6.64 6.23 7.58 6.91 78 5.48 6.12 5.82 6.20 5.78 7.19 6.49 79 5.11 5.80 5.48 5.78 5.35 6.83 6.09 80 4.75 5.51 §.14 5.38 4.94 6.50 5.72 81 4.41 5.21 4.81 5.00 4.55 6.20 5.38 82 4.09 4.93 4.49 4.63 4.18 5.89 5.04 83 3.80 4.65, 4.18 4.30 3.82 5.57 4.70 84 3.58 4.39 3.77 4.00 3.46 5.22 4.34 85 3.37 4.12 3.62 3.73 3.12 4.84 3.98 86 3.19 3.90 3.32 3.50 2.81 4.44 3.63 87 3.01 3.71 3.04 3.31 2.53 4.03 3.28 88 2.86 3.59 2.80 3.11 2.31 3.62 2.97 89 2.66 3.47 2.50 2.91 2.12 3.21 2.67 90 2.41 3.28 2.21 2.65 1.95 2.83 2.39 91 2.09 3.26 1.92 2.36 1.83 2.49 2.16 92 1.75 3.37 1.62 2.03 1.65 2.21 1.93 93 1.37 3.48 1.30 1.70 1.49 1.97 1.73 94 1.05 3.53 0.83 1.31 1.34 1.95 1.55 95 0.75 3.53 0.50 1.05 1.18 1.55 1.37 96 0.50 3.46 0.00 75 0.97 1.32 115 97 3.28 50 0.75 1.12 0.94 98 3.07 0.50 0.94 0.72 99 2.77 0.00 0.75 100 2.28 0.00 0.50 101 1.79 102 1.30 108 0.83 88 Mr W. Fraser on the History and Constitution of From the imperfect account which has now been given of the various investigations into the probable duration of human life, some idea may be formed of the difficulty and importance of ob- taining accurate tables of mortality. ‘The Northampton tables were the result of many years’ arduous research and observa- tions, and were consequently long considered as representing the rate of mortality in this country more accurately than any others. Whether those tables may still be the most correct for the population at large, it were needless for our present purpose to inquire; but it is obvious, from the long experience of the Equitable Society of London, and of that of the Government annuitants,—from the concurring testimony of Messrs Milne, Naylor, Gompertz, Davies, Babbage, and Finlaison, all men of the highest eminence,—and from the opinions of seve- ral other’ persons well informed in these matters, that the Northampton tables are unfit for the practical purposes of Health and Life Assurance. Messrs Morgan and Becher, no doubt, have endeavoured to support these tables, and have cer- tainly urged all that can be stated in their defence; but, as is remarked in the Committee’s last Report, there “is not, in truth, even a prima facie case made out in their favour. It is admitted that those tables were originally formed in a degree upon hypothetical data ; the observations upon which they were founded come down no farther than the year 1780, or at the latest to 1791 ; and it is not affirmed that they have been verified by any actual and subsequent observations, or by the experi- ence of any society which has endured for a period sufficiently long to bring to sure test the accuracy of its calculations ;"— and to the evidence of Mr Milne and Mr Naylor the Commit- tee more particularly refer for the objections to the Northamp- ton tables, {pages 80, 82 of this Journal.) {n illustration of their effects, it is stated, that, according to the tables, out of 1000 persons existing at the age of 25, 343 will sur- vive at the age of 65; while, by the Carlisle tables, which appear to approach very near to the truth for the higher classes, no fewer than 513 will survive that age. Hence a society which should adopt the Northampton tables for annuities, would inevitably go ultimately to ruin, for it would in all probability have three annuitants where it calculated only upon two; and of the 343 lisle tables. Benefit or Friendly Societies. select those of this country. 89 persons who would be annuitants, 98 would live for 15 years ac- cording to these tables, while 162 persons would survive through that period, and attain the age of 80 years, according to the Car- There is also given in the Report a comparison of the results of various tables of mortality, constructed from observations made in Britain, in France, and in Sweden ; but we shall only By Mr Finlaison’s Tables, founded on the Experience of By Dr Price’s [By Mr Milne’s|By Mr Griffith|*®® Government Life Annuit. Table, found- |Table, found- Davies's Table, ed on the Re-|ed on the Mor-|founded on the| According to|According to of Births|tality observed|Experience of|his First In-|his Second In- and Burials at jat Carlisle. jthe Equitable|vestigation, as|vestigation, as Northampton. ife I tioned in |mentioned in Office. his evidence in| his evidence in 1825, 1827. Mean of both | Mean of both Of 100,000 persons sis yeas ner P ee a 34,286 | 51,335 | 49,330 | 53,470 | 53,950 at the age of 65 Of 100,000 persons ae pd ct 28,738 | 31,577 | 37,267 | 38,655 | 37,355 at the age of 80 Years. Years Years, Years. Year: e . . ‘Se ace oflife t | 30.85 37.86 31.45 38,35 38.52 eo ap} 10.88 11.79 12.35 12.81 12.50 Value of an annui- bel hy Mor £15,438 | £17,645 |£17-494 | £17594 | £17,634 at 4 per cent. Value of an annui- ty of ~ 1 “oe Sis £7.76. | £8307 | £8635 | £8896 | £8.751 aged > at 4 per cent. Value of a defer- ; red annuity of £1 / Go ta a tif now ¢’| £ 0-55424 | £ 0.88823 | £ 0.88723 | £0.99078 | £ 0.98334 25, interest at 4 per cent. com an equal or nearl Davies’s Table tien from the nd Note.—In the above Tables, it is to be observed, that the mortality is deduced from ual number of each sex; with the sin e exception of Mr ed on the experience of the Equitable, in which office, ical objects of Life Insurance, it is evident the male sex must have the vast majority of lives subjected to mortality. But as it is on all hands, that the duration of life among females exceeds that of males, it follows that the results of Mr Davies’s Table fall materially short of what they would have been, if the facts on which he has reasoned had comprehended an equal number of each sex. eed No comparison is here given of the different values of sums payable at death; but it may be stated that a society, whose 90 Mr W. Fraser on the History and Constitution of premiums were calculated by the Northampton tables, and by interest at 4 per cent., would take from a person insuring at the age of 25, either a single sum of £367 : 15:5, or an annual pay- ment during life of £22:'7:5, for £1000 payable at death ; while, by the Carlisle table, and assuming the rate of interest to be also 4 per cent., one single payment of £ 282:17: 8, or an annual one of £15: 3: 5, would only be required. “ Upon the whole, your Committee are of opinion, that the Carlisle Tables may prudently be adopted for general purposes, including that now in view, ~ the valuation of an allowance in old age. Mr Finlaison’s, which are the most recent of all the Tables, would, in all cases, give a higher expectation of life, and consequently require a larger payment from the members of a Friendly Society ; but the objection arising from selection does apply, in a considerable degree, to these Tables; and Mr Finlaison himself bears testimony to the sufficiency of the Carlisle Tables.” —Report, p. 8. This opinion, with the immense mass of documentary and _ other evidence which has been obtained in the coztrse of the late inquiries, cannot fail to be of the utmost importance to all ranks of the community, and to the higher classes m particular, as shewing both their rate of mortality from their own experience, and also the excessive premiums which they have usually been - charged for assurances at death. - While, however, the mortality of those in the better ranks of life has been found to correspond very nearly with that repre- sented by the Carlisle tables, it is by no means clear that the same rate prevails among the members of Friendly Societies. — Regarding this contingency, no results from their experience have as yet been obtained ; but as sickness and accidents are undeniably increased among the working classes, by noxious and dangerous employments, by ill ventilated dwellings, scarcity of food and clothing, and by many other causes, from all of which the higher classes are in a great measure, if not altogether, free, so it necessarily follows that the mortality will be greater among the members of these Societies than among those of Life Assu- rance Associations. Nor can we reconcile the idea of a high rate of sickness with that of a low rate of mortality, as has been virtually done by Messrs Finlaison and Davies, in calculating their proposed rates of contributions and benefits for the mem- bers of Friendly Societies. x ¥: ¥ . ‘ i . i- rn 4 4 sj 7 [ - @ i. é * Benefit or Friendly Societies. 9t _ Taking, therefore, those circumstances into view, and more especially that not nearly the same: attention will be paid by these societies in the selection of their members, as is done by Life Assurance Companies, it is evident that a somewhat higher table of mortality should be adopted for the purposes of the for- mer than of the latter class of assurers. Security, no doubt, ought always to be a principal object of these societies; but, as is remarked by Mr Babbage, “ Safety is much more certainly se- cured by judging as nearly as possible the true risk, and adding an additional sum for security. If tables not representing the mortality of the class for whom they are designed are employed, every step in the reasonings which are deduced from them is liable to increased error ; and if- the calculations are at all com- plicated, the errors so introduced may not improbably act on the opposite side to that which they were introduced to favour.” By referring, then, to the table of expectations of life at p. 86, it must be obvious that the rate of mortality adopted in the Re- port of the Highland Society of Scotland will represent pretty accurately that of the working classes, and consequently that their table is the most suitable for all the purposes of Friendly Societies. 3 ( To be continued. ) Sketch of the Physical Geography of the Malvern Hills. By Wittram Ainswortu, Esq. Member of the Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, &c. (Communicated by the Au- thor). Tue Malvern Hills form a range running nearly due north and south, through part of the three counties of Gloucester, Worcester and Hereford, and seldom attaining any great height ; but their rugged outline, and bold acclivity, rising abruptly in the centre of a champaign and level country, make them re- markable, giving to the eye of the stranger the same impres- sions of independence of origin and formation, as their difference of structure does to the judgment of the geognost. They have not unaptly been compared to the Sierra of the. Spaniards, 92 Mr Ainsworth on the Physical Geography From their peculiarity of outline, height, and pointed summits, they are fully entitled to be called mountains, though, as La- mouroux ( Cours elementaire de Geogr. Phys.) would say, moun- tains of the second and third order. They are one continuous range, having no lateral branches; they have no pseudo or ex- tinct volcanoes, or ignivomous mountains; nor do they present any mineral allied to the products of volcanic action, excepting in as far as they are composed of primitive granite (Daubeny on Volcanoes). 'Their form varies but little: the Worcester- shire Beacon, and the two most southern hills, have the most acute pointed summits. 'The Herefordshire Beacons have been altered by the labours of the Romans, digging trenches in the talus for their encampment ; while the adjoining hills, which will be found to be the oldest districts of the range, present the most rounded tops, as being formed of more easily decom- posed rock. ‘T'wo of the hills are cultivated to their very sum- mits: the ground is tilled by means of three-pronged forks ; and there is but a very slight difference between the abundance and date of ripening in the crops reared on the hills, and those vegetating in the valleys below. The summits are not dis- tinctly marked out from the acclivity: there are about sixteen in the whole range; a few are isolated, but more generally they are connected, as in the hill between the Whyche and the Sedbury and Upton road, which, rising gradually from the south, forms five summits, before it reaches the highest point, where it forms an insulated prominent head, which the Nor- wegians, whose language is rich in names for the different forms of mountains, call Kullen, while a round or less promi- nent hill is Nuden (Von Buch, p. 52.). From this point it afterwards descends, forming another rival series of summits, to where the pass is hewn out of the solid rock for the Whyche road *. The rock in this case every where rises to the north, so that one of the extensive slopes lies in the direction of the dip of the mountain rock, another in a direction contrary to * The last southern summit of this range, descending towards the Here- fordshire Beacon, makes a curve round to the west, forming a table land, on which houses are built, and part laid out in gardens. The Herefordshire Bea- con descending with a gradual slope to the east, bends slightly round in that direction; the convexity of the first corresponding with the concavity of the of the Malvern Hills. 93 that dip, and on that side the summits are more abrupt, and the acclivities less clothed with vegetation. The highest hills of the range, viz. the North Hill and the Worcestershire and Herefordshire Beacons, have a more perpendicular slope to the north ; and throughout the whole range, the angle of the acclivity is greater on the southern and eastern than on the nor- thern and western aspects. The ridges are also much more nu- merous and distinctly marked on the north-east, than any where else. There are, strictly speaking, only five valleys, and all of these run in transverse directions; nor is there a single valley to be met with running longitudinally with the mountain-range. Wherever they occur, roads are cut through them: the deep- est is the one through which the road passes from’ Sedbury to Cheltenham. No boulder-masses or field-stones are found in these valleys; and the alluvial or transported soil seldom ex- ceeds twenty or thirty feet in depth on the base of the hills. No river of any magnitude takes its rise from this range. The springs are numerous: there are eight to the west, and as many if not more to the east; they have long been remarkable for their purity, but have only met with a few advocates for any pe- -culiar medical efficacy, their chemical analysis not favouring any such views. ‘They are so superficial, that experiments on their temperature did not afford an approximation sufficiently identi- cal, or approaching to the mean temperature of the latitude or locality, to be worth recording. ‘Those rising on the east run their course immediately into the Severn: those on the west, on the contrary, divide in their direction from the Herefordshire Beacon, which is thus shewn to be, though not the highest hill, yet the most elevated part of the range corresponding to its geo- gnostical importance. Those to the south run into a stream which joins the Severn at Gloucester: those on the north join ‘the river Cadwell, which unites with the Terne, the latter fi- nally emptying its waters into the Severn at Leigh near Wor- cester. latter, exemplifying that the same rules exist with segments of spheres, as Buffon has laid down with respect to angles, and thus the valley through ~which passes the Sedbury road is formed. 94 © Mr Ainsworth on the Physical Geography An examination of the geognostical structure of the Malvern Hills offers the following positions : 1s¢,’That, throughout the whole range, the various rocks entering into the composition of the mountain-masses contain no organic remains. 2d, 'That in no place are they found superimposed on, or alternating with, rocks containing organic remains, or which, from mechanical analysis, are known to be formations deposited subsequent to the 2 siategiad of organization. From the most northerly point to as far as their structure can be investi- gated in the south, they present an uniform series of primitive rocks, from highly crystalline granite to the more compact chlorite-slate ; and the transi- tions between these two rocks may, with a little patience of research, be traced throughout all their gradations ;—not that these gradations occur exactly in accordance with the relative situation of the mountain-masses, but that, in particular localities, such transitions are distinctly marked out. ‘The central part of the range, comprising the Herefordshire Beacon and its table land, the hill extending to the north to Whyche road, and the hill above Eastnor Wood to the south of the Beacon, are all composed of granite, with slight lo- cal variations of texture. Dr MacCulloch has remarked, that specimens may frequently be obtained from beds of gneiss, undistinguishable from genuine granite, an example of which he mentions as occurring in South Uist ; and fur- ther remarks, “* that the views of the geologist, embracing a wide field, must not be limited by variations which are minute, irregular, and inconsistent, and which do not affect the broader principles that regulate his investigations.” However just these remarks may be, they admit of too much latitude of ex- pression to accord with the severe science of a philosophy founded on obser. vation alone. From the slaty appearance which these rocks sometimes pre- sent,—from the general tendency which, throughout the whole mountain range, they show towards assuming the appearance of gneiss, the more crys- talline portion of the series might be considered as mere varieties of that for- mation. This suggestion I would, however, strongly oppose. ‘T'o assign the proper denomination to a rock whose connexions and mechanical texture offer distinctive and recognizable characters, is a basis to all strict geognostical science. When, therefore, we find‘a rock in all its characters a representa- tive of granite, assuming the highest situation in the range, independent in itself, and only varying through gradual transitions into subordinate forma- tions, it becomes a genuine granite, and in situation and chemical constituents marks itself out as the oldest rock and basis of the mountain range. Its in- vestigation ix situ is interesting, and affords in its localities very marked dis- tinctions. The hills which it forms, though bold and rugged in their outline, are nevertheless the most rounded at their summits of any in the range. The Herefordshire Beacon, which I have already mentioned, may be divided into two summits, each having the remains of a Roman encampment on it, as well as the neighbouring southern hill, formed of a red granite, in which flesh-coloured felspar is by far the most abundant ingredient, mica being a rare component, and often entirely wanting. ‘The whole rock appears so liable to decomposition, that near Eastnor Wood it is quarried and sieved for gra- vel. It bears a great analogy to the red granite met with between Loch 2 ee ee <= cea s ? 3 ‘ Alo cual . = of the Malvern Hills. 95 Gilphead and Inverary ; but its effects in destroying vegetation on the sides of the hills are not so remarkable as in the Grampians,— a circumstance most probably owing to the diminished height, less perpendicular slope, and more genial clime of the Malvern Hills, than to any material difference in the con- stituents of these two rocks. It is worthy of remark, that the ridges by which the Roman ehcampments are still so distinctly traced, are scooped out of the granitic rock itself, and that the walls are not, as might be supposed, the gra- vel, and oth ¢ residue of digging the furrow, but always formed of the native rock, which, to the present day, crops out in some situations hard and un- changed by the lapse of years, and must have presented a much more secure barrier than the unconnected residue of their operations, placed without sup- port on an abrupt and oftentimes precipitous acclivity. On the hill between the Sedbury and Upton, and the Whyche road, which rises from the two opposite points of the compass to a summit which attains an elevation of more than 1500 feet above the level of the sea, this granite becomes more compact, retaining, however, on the summit, the same charac- ters; but on the road, where several extensive sections are to be met with, becoming much changed, and at times its constituents are almost amalga- mated the one into the other, being at some points, more especially at a quarry on the Sedbury road, very nearly allied to a chlorite-slate. ‘This quar- ry, towards its upper part, presents very much the appearance of distinct stra- tification. In fact, wherever large sections of this or the former rock occur, they may distinctly be perceived to have a dip towards the south, and invo- luntarily give to the mind of the geologist the idea of a once stratified rock heaved up, deranged in the parallelism of its strata and the uniformity of its direction, yet still preserving the same dip and inclination. Not fifty yards from the milestone near the last-mentioned quarry, a vein of the same com- pact feldspathic rock may be seen rising in an almost vertical direction, and traversing the adjacent strata almost at right angles: it is scarcely two feet broad. At the section made through the rock, affording a passage for the Whyche road, the red granite may also be perceived occupying apparent- ly distinct localities, presenting the appearance of beds in the more com- and frequently ironshot mountain-rock. The mica at this point becomes more abundant, and soon forms the principal constituent. The red gra- nite is frequently almost entirely feldspathic; beyond the hill crystals of hornblende first make their appearance, and becoming gradually more abun- dant, have led the English geognosts to consider the whole as a sienitic for- mation. Undoubtedly if in any part of the range such a rock occurs, a few partial beds are to be met with here, but not in sufficiently extensive forma-~ tions to be-considered as the basis of the range; but to this I shall have oc- easion to refer afterwards. The investigation of the geognostical structure of the two most northerly , hills in the Malvern range, though interesting, presents little variety. Known by the names of the Worcestershire Beacon and the North Hill, they lie nearly due north and south of one another, the latter being the more nor- therly, and intersected by a narrow valley, deeper and more abrupt on the eastern side. No stratification is discernible excepting on the western aspect, where a gentle dip to the north may be perceived, and a direction of its strata ‘ 96 Mr Ainsworth on the Physical Geography apparently east and west. On the eastern side, the new red conglomerate * makes its appearance, covering the sides of the Worcestershire Beacon. The occurrence of this formation implies either a breaking and elevation of its strata, by causes similar to those to which perhaps the Malvern Hills owe their existence, or the deposition of the sandstone subsequent to the hills, a supposition implying a stratification of the last-mentioned rock nearly paral- lel to the acclivity of the hill, or in a more or less concave form filling up its base, neither of which last mentioned appearances are presented by this reck ; and, in the second place, implying an elevation of the formation, which, ac- cording to Werner, in common with aH floetz rocks, is at once chemically and mechanically deposited, little supported by the confined limits of the forma- tion. To the north-west low hills of limestone are found running nearly parallel with the portion of the range which they face. The rock interposed between them and the granite is old red sandstone, and in their organic remains and texture they bear too remarkable an analogy with the hills of the same for- mation which crop out, bounding at intervals the red marl across the whole of England, not to be referred to the same formation which at Caleford is as- sociated with the old red sandstone, and with greywacke at Chepstow and Monmouth. The mechanical analysis of the rocks forming these two hills, indicates that both are mountain-masses of granite, presenting, however, great variety of texture, and appearances, with difficulty associated by the geognost, The granite is generally speaking close-grained, containing both mica and horn- blende, the latter, however, often entirely wanting; highly crystalline gra- nite, with little mica and no hornblende, becoming as much a part of the mountain-mass as that formation. It occurs principally en jfilons, which is particularly remarkable at the pass through which the Whyche road is cut. If, with Jameson, we consider strata as similar contiguous masses, and beds as dis- similar, these jilons will come under the latter denomination, ind so we may avoid exciting prejudices by adverting to the stratification of granitic rocks. In these beds felspar is the most abundant constituent,—not, however, oc- curring in prisms, disseminated through a quartzose basis, but rather itself forming a basis for imperfectly crystallized quartz, with now and then partial scales of mica. On the Worcestershire Beacon, a vein of quartz, of a few feet in breadth, occurs traversing the rock in a nearly vertical direction. On the southern part of the hill, a hole has been dug, with a view of obtaining for strangers visiting these hills specimens of mica, which, from their highly me- talline lustre, have been called gold+. This is a bed traversing the granite * This formation, the variegated sandstone (Bunter sandstein) of Werner, has not unaptly been called by the English geologists Red Marl, as, whenever I have applied acids, the application has been accompanied with effervescence. Though, as its name imports, its general colour is red, yet it almost everywhere, where large sections are presented to the eye, exhibits streaks of a more compact sandstone, of a light blue or cream colour. + The decomposition of granite first commences from a chemical change taking place in the iron, which, in however small quantities, is yet universally distributed through the mineral king- dom. The water and extraneous moisture gaining access to it, converts it to a state of hydrate and peroxide, increasing its bulk, and thus destroying its amalgamating effect on the rock, and, at the A of the Malvern Hills. 97 in a direction nearly at right angles. Wherever I could examine it, it was so weathered as to render my decisions very fallacious. It has, however, to all appearances a decomposed basis of felspar (clay-slate) with folia of mica, to- wards the surface, and, when exposed to decomposing agents, possessing a high metalline lustre, becoming towards the centre of the rock, dark and shining. Ifthe formation was sufficiently extensive, it would be called a porphyry. I have only met with an account of asimilar rock occurring near Felsobanya in Transylvania, and in Saxony. With respect to the accuracy of denominating these formations Sienite, I need only remark, that, notwithstanding it has been proved that the rock from which a supposed similar series has received its name from the time of Pliny, is not a compound of hornblende, quartz and felspar, as first advanced by Werner, and that this name becomes no longer applicable to the same set *, still, under all circumstances, this rock has no claim to that title: the dissemination of hornblende is not universal, though in some places abundant, yet it is regulated by particular localities. The existence of mica, in some places so abundant, is at once decisive as to its real characters; and though hornblende is met with as a mineral occur- ring often in abundance, but yet not so universally as to be entitled to be called a mineral constituent, or to give to si formation a name depending on its occurrence. Under these circumstances, Worcestershire Beacon and North Hill, like Hereford Beacon, will be formed of granite, containing occasionally crystals of hornblende, and associated with gneiss, which, with little variation, forms the northern part of the Beacon, and the whole of the North Hill. I did not perceive it any where alternating with the granite. To the north, then, the central granite varies slightly in its appearance, becoming slaty-granular, yet scarcely ever losing its distinctive characters. Towards the south, however, it presents more remarkable differences, and be- comes scarcely recognisable in the more compact and less crystalline rocks forming the southern outline of the mountain-range. On the hill to the south of Hereford Beacon, a cave has been artificially hewn out of a portion of the mountain rock, which juts out beyond the regular acclivity, bar- ren, and covered only with a few stunted lichens. In this cave, though not many feet deep, the Hypnum splendens and lutescens, and a Bryum, put forth their leaves to a vegetation never exceeding five or six lines in length, and then wither. This portion of the rock is more compact than the body of the hill, and proves that the nature of the mountain must not be judged of by the examination of a portion which, by the opposition its structure of- fers to decomposing agents, is barren, and unclothed with vegetation, offering, same time, by the increase in size thus given to its particles, disseminated so generally through the mass, uniting chemically and mechanically to destroy the cohesion, and influence the further de- composition of the rock itself. In a close-grained granite, the felspar becomes of a redder hue, and is gradually reduced to an impalpable powder, or from the quantity of alumina entering into its com- position, forms a basis of slate-clay: the pieces of quartz change gradually their form, and gene- rally roll off in the shape of pebbles; while the lamelle of mica, the last to be decomposed, often exhibit a metalline lustre. a M. de Humboldt has proposed the name of Sinaite. OCTOBER—DECEMBER 1827. G 98 Mr Ainsworth on the Physical Geography at the same time, great facilities to the geognost ; for, as in this case, they will generally be found to vary a little in their structure,—circumstances which, of themselves, account for their svlitary bleakness, when compared with the other side, and oftentimes the adjacent portion of the hill. The first transi- tion is, when the quartz becoming less extensive, and the mica more abun- dant, at the same time assumes gradually a more lamellar aspect, and becomes a distinct gneiss. This transition may be observed on the hill forming the third summit to the south of Hereford Beacon. Its next transitions are two- fold, on the one hand losing almost all parallelism of lamellze, the mica less dis- tinct, and becoming more or less amalgamated with the other constituents, forming a blue chlorite-slate, at times very much resembling the same forma- tion as it occurs on the north of. Tarbet Bay, in the Mull of Cantyre, and known to Faujas St Fond and other old geologists by the name of Lapis ol- laris. It is this rock, which some authors, mentioning the occurrence of green- stone in these hills, have, I suppose, mistaken for it. On the other hand, the mica becomes still more prevalent in the rock, the slaty structure more decidedly marked, and in all its characters it approxi- ‘mates to mica-slate. This may be most distinctly seen in the London road that crosses the southern extremity of the hills. De Saussure has very ex- pressively called gneiss Granite veiné. The term conveys the ground of dis- tinction between gneiss and mica-slate; yet the distinctive characters of this rock are not sufficiently well marked out to warrant its receiving the latter appellation. To the west, it again becomes very compact, and less crystal- line, the mica becomes almost entirely lost, and the rock becomes a dark quartzose mass. Finally, this last hill is divided by the deep valley through which courses the London road from a mountain-mass of gneiss and chlorite. slate, whose compact structure, and power of resisting decomposition, have given to the last-mentioned hills more acute summits than any others in the range. The transition of the gneiss into green chlorite-slate, I did not ac. tually trace in situ; but, by fracturing some of the larger pieces rolled down the sides of the hills, or even examining the broken stones on the road, many examples will be found, fully demonstrating that it is a mere transition of the first-mentioned rock into a more compact and less distinctly lamellar mass. Beyond this, cultivation has effaced the bold outline and rugged grandeur of the primitive mountains, and the line between the old rocks and the super- incumbent formations becomes totally lost. From these investigations, the following general facts may be deduced : I. That the Malvern Hills are composed of that class of rocks denominated primitive, including granite, gneiss, and chlorite-slate. 2. That these rocks are indefinitely stratified, having generally a direction from east to west, and rising with little variation to the north. 3. That they contain no organic remains, nor are ever found alternating with or superimposed on rocks of a more modern formation, and that they are of a formation much more ancient than the surrounding rocks; and though theoretically, it is not impossible that they might have assumed their present situation at a period more modern than the deposition of the old red sandstone, or even of the red marl, that they nevertheless am - ae ~ oa OT ala 9 i ie of the Malvern Hills. 99 are neither chemically or mechanically connected with those formations, but of a much older date. _ 4. That as they are older, so they assume a more lofty situation than the sur- rounding more modern formations, even than the oolite capping the summits of the Cotteswold range, or the transition limestone of Bristol _and Calesford. 5. and lastly, That, in their nature, situation, and. appearance, they bear evi- dence with the granitic hills of Cumberland, North Wales, Anglesea, Cornwall, and more especially Mount Sorrel in Leicestershire, that the intricate and numerously alternating modern formations of England, lie upon rocks of granite *. In their mechanical analysis, the Malvern Hills afford A highly crystalline compound of flesh-coloured felspar and quartz. Of felspar, quartz and mica. Of felspar, quartz, and hornblende. Of felspar, quartz, hornblende, and mica. Of felspar and mica. These are all referrible to the class Granite; varying in the predominance and proportion of the ingredients. In the next transition, the rock becomes more compact in its texture; and the folia of mica ranging themselves in lamine, give a veined appearance to the formation. This is genuine gneiss, distin- guishable, as found on the Malvern Hills, into lst, Gneiss, in which felspar and quartz are the most abundant ingredients. 2d, In which felspar and mica alternate in layers. 3d, In which mica becomes the predominant ingredient, verging into mica- slate. The compounds of felspar and mica exist, Ist, In a highly crystalline state. 2d, In a state in which the felspar becoming decomposed, offers a clay-slate basis to crystals or folie of mica. 3d, In which the felspar is almost entirely lost, and the mica assumes a metallic lustre and appearance. The gneiss varies from its veined structure into a compact granular green rock, whose principal ingredient is generally quartz, at first slightly lamellar, and soon becoming small-grained lamellar, and more indistinctly crystallized (chlorite-slate). The geographical distribution of Plants on the Malvern Hills does not offer any very remarkable features. Their height does not allow of the growth in a single latitude of plants of a whole zone; and the temperature at the sum- mits of the hills differs too little from that of the valley, to afford much diffe- rence in the nature of its vegetation. The plants of the genus Erica are rare for apparently so favourable a situation. Bushes of the Spartium scoparium are to be met with above Little Malvern, and to the south of the hills. Specimens of Genista Anglica, Ononis arvensis, Ulex europeus and nanus, are scattered about the hills; but excepting the Grasses, the Ferns are by far the most abundant plants filling the valleys, while the dwarf fern gives a green covering to the * According to these views, the formation south of London, more especially the chalk traced by Mr Conybeare as far as Prussia, would still come under this clause, as in Great Britain they lie on their north-western boundary on granite; and on their eastern, their relation is finally every where the same, G2 * 100 Mr Meikle on a proposed Improvement rocks above. I did not meet with the Viola lutea. I visited the hills in Sep- tember: at the time of flowering it is likely it might be found; the V. trico- lor was flowering in abundance. To offer a list of the plants growing on the hills themselves, or at their base, is needless, as it would embrace half the compendium of British plants. I shall allude only to the rarer ones. The most remarkable, and those which seem to have claimed these hills as their own, are the Digitalis purpurea, of which a white variety is often met with, and the Hyoscyamus niger, most abundant on the North Hill, and above East- nor Wood a variety occurs with five racemes: whenever the soil has been ac- eidentally disturbed, it sends forth its leaves, and, like the Digitalis, abounds most in those stony spots which the Motacilla enanthe has marked out as his abode. In the moist places towards the base of the range, Marchantia poly- morpha, Serapias longifolia, Orchis bifolia, O. conopsea, O. ustulata, Ranunculus lingua, Myosotis minimus, R. parviflorus, Colchicum autumnale, Polygonum minus, P. aviculare, P. viviparum, Scirpus acicularis, Satyrium viride, Campanula rotun= difolia, patula, latifolia, &c. In the woods, Galanthus nivalis, Chlora perfoliata, Aquilegia vulgaris, Acer campestris and pseudo-platanus, &c. &c. The brambles and briars are covered with the Clematis and Tamus communis. On the hills, Arenaria tenuifolia, Drosera rotundifolia, Fumaria claviculata, Cistus helianthe- mum, C. polyfolius, Helleborus viridis, Hypericum androsemum, &c. On the granite rocks, were found the Sedum album, and Cotyledon umbilicus. On the limestone rocks the Potentilla verna flowers prettily; and the following list of the Lichens which I obtained, is a pretty accurate list of those which are to be found on this range: Lichen geographicus, L. islandicus, L. parellus, L. physodes, - E. plicatus, L. pustulatus, L. rangiferinus, L. scrobiculus, and L. scrobiculatus. 1. Proposed Improvement in the Theory of Sound, and in the mode of Measuring its Velocity. 2. On the Theory of the Variation of the Barometer. By H. Mrrxuz, Esq. Com-— municated by the Author. Tue propagation of sound through elastic fluids, was first considered by Sir Isaac Newton; but his investigations led to a result considerably short of 1142 feet, the experimental velocity in a second, so long received in this country, and which, owing to some inaccuracy, was far above the truth; for the mean ve- locity is now found by experiment to be only about 1100 feet. Newton’s result still lay much below the latter number ; but those who have investigated-the velocity from the same data, have ac- quiesced in his conclusion, It was not known in Newton’s days, that, when air undergoes a change of volume, it at same time changes its capacity for heat, becoming warmer by compression, — ae) a in the Theory of Sound. 101 and colder by rarefaction. The want of acquaintance with this - circumstance, has Jed him and many others into the erroneous conclusion, that the particles of elastic fluids repel each other with forges inversely as their central distances, which could never be the case, if the capacity be affected, no matter in what manner or degree, by achange of density. Newton himself has shewn in his Principia, that, if the cube of the pressure in an elastic fluid were as the fourth power of the density, the particles must re- pel each other with forces inversely as the squares of their central distanees. Now, the experiments of the French philosophers near- — ly agree with such a relation subsisting between the pressure and density of air. Numerous experiments which I have made on this subject, answer almost exactly, and this was far from my expecta- tion ; for, till these experiments were made, I had conjectured _ that the true result would lie quite on the contrary side of those obtained in France; but on perceiving that my result accorded - with the existence of a repulsion between the particles of air in- versely as the squares of their distances, which is such a general law of nature, I was led to adopt this as the true law of gaseous repulsion. MM. Desormes and Clement have given a particu- lar description of their apparatus and mode of experimenting, in the 89th volume of the Journal de Physique. But I am not aware that any intelligible account has been published of the apparatus employed by MM. Gay-Lussac and Welter ; though, from the brief and obscure hints given in the 12th book of the Mecanique Céléste, I still suspect they are liable to some of the inaccuracies which I hinted at in the Number of this Journal for April last, and used every means to avoid, in my own ex- periments. The late celebrated Marquis Laplace had often directed his attention to this subject ; and reflecting that sound is propagated by aérial undulations, which cause a compression of the air as they move along, he conjectured that such compression, by ge- nerating an increase of temperature, augmented the elasticity of the air, and consequently the velocity of sound ; and that this was the reason why Newton’s result fell short of experiment. According to Laplace, the velocity of sound, as deduced by Newton's theory, and which is about 916.3 feet, should be mul. tiplied by the square root of the quotient obtained by dividing 102 Mr Meikle on a proposed Improvement the specific heat of air under a constant pressure, by its specifie heat under a constant volume, viz. 1.1547. Still, however, this multiplier, as obtained from the experiments above mentioned on the specific heat of air, gives the velocity of sound too small. The object of the present article is to suggest a reason for this deficiency. The theory of sound, as improved by Laplace, supposes it to be propagated by a wave of air, having an increased temperature, without any addition to its quantity of heat ; but as each portion of the air forming the wave is warm when it communicates mo- tion to the next, it must also impart to it a portion of its heat *. Hence, sound is propagated by a wave of air, having not mere- ly its temperature increased by compression, but having also an addition to its quantity of heat. In this way, a wave of heat accompanies sound through the air; and I presume, that to it we owe the excess of the experimental, over the theoretical, ve- locity of Laplace. The theory of this distinguished philosopher ° lays no stress on the amount of the rise of temperature ; but such amount must depend on the degree of compression, that is, on the intensity of sound ; and as the transference of a quan- tity of heat from each portion to the next, will be greater as its excess of temperature is greater, it is clear that the velocity of sound must be greater when it is more intense. I am perfectly aware, that some suppose sounds of all intensities to be propa- gated with the same velocity, and allege as a proof, the undis- turbed succession of musical notes, when heard at a distance. So far as regards the present inquiry, I need only remark, that musical notes, or the differences of their intensities, are mere playthings, when compared with the penetrating report of a cannon issuing from the flames. From the account of experiments made in Holland by Dr Moll, with many excellent precautions, and published in the Phi- losophical Transactions for 1824, p. 424, it appears that sound moved slower from Kooltjesberg to Zevenboompjes, than in the * Heat cannot be here lost laterally, because sound is propagated, not in an insulated line of air, but rather as in a pyramidal figure, or something like a spherical sector, having the sonorous body for its centre, as is plain from sounds being heard over a considerable lateral extent. A line of air, there. fore, which is not near the outside of the sector, will lose no heat laterally. in the Theory of Sound. 103 opposite direction. For, on the 25th June, p. 452, the interval is longer, even when sound could not be heard in the opposite direction, than the mean of both directions on the 27th and 28th June *. This difference, I apprehend, has arisen from the dif- ference of the guns,"or of the mode of charging and firing them. When the production of sound is accompanied with intense heat, as in the firing of guns, there is reason to think that a portion of such heat is propagated from one portion of air to another along with the sound. On this account, I conceive that the report of a gun moves faster than-the sound of a bell, over and above what is due to superior intensity. As, however, a bell is not heard at such a distance as a gun, and the methods hitherto employed are too complicated for measuring with ac- curacy or facility the minute interval of time in which a sound passes over a small distance, the exact velocity of sound from bells has not yet been determined. I therefore beg to propose the following simple expedient, by which I presume the diffi- culty of measuring the minute interval of time would be entirely obviated. I shall begin with a very familiar illustration of the principle. Suppose a hammer, moved by clock-work, to strike a bell at equal short intervals, as seconds, and that an observer sees the hammer just touch the bell, at the very instant when he first hears the sound. It is evident, that he must be either quite near the bell, or at such a distance as requires exactly one se- cond, or a whole number of seconds, for the sound to reach him +-. By removing himself a very little farther off, the sound will ar- rive too late, and by approaching rather nearer, the report will precede the visible stroke. In short, a very small varia- tion on the distance will sensibly disturb the coincidence ; and * In pages 430, 431, some experiments are mentioned as made in January 1823, which, from the rest of the article, seems so exceedingly improbable, that I think the author or translator, not being alike familiar with both lan- guages, has put January several times for June. + I here mention seconds for convenience ; but in practice, I suspect the intervals must be at least of sufficient length to keep the sounds of the strokes quite distinct ; which, at any rate, will require very small intervals. If the vibrations caused by music were quite clear of each other, the velogi- ties of the notes might not be so nearly equal. 104 Mr Meikle on a proposed Improvement as this experiment might be often repeated in the course of a few minutes, ample opportunity would be afforded for deter- mining the exact distance which should make the two sensations perfectly harmonize. : - But instead of watching the motions of the hammer itself, a more precise and conspicuous signal might easily be contrived ; such as a long index, completing a revolution during each in- terval between the strokes, and then passing or covering some conspicuous mark or line. For experiments in the dark, a small hole might be opened, and instantly shut by the clock-work, at the very nick of time to allow a lamp placed behind a screen sending a momentary ray to the observer. . This. brief outline, I hope, will make it evident, that such machines, in proper hands, would tend in a great measure to obviate the uncertainty inseparable from hurriedly measuring the short interval of time which elapses during the motion of the sound of bells over small distancés. _ For, if the visible sig- nal be observed exactly to agree with the sound, we are sure of the true elapsed time, from the rate of the clock, without flus- tering ourselves to measure it at the moment. ‘The observer, in this mode of operating, would merely be required to walk a very little backward and forward till he found himself. at the exact distance. But, as neither eyes nor ears are in all per- ‘sons. equally acute, several observers might be employed at each station; and if they did not exactly agree about the dis- tance, this might lead to a more minute investigation of the cir- cumstances, For the better obviating the effects of wind, a clock sea be required at each end of the base over which the sound was to pass.. They need only be pieces of strong machinery, without any compensation to the pendulums; and yet from them the minute interval of time could be obtained, to a degree of exaet- ness to which the nicest chronometer, when used as formerly, can have no pretensions: For the method now proposed pos- sesses the same sort of advantages over the former method, that Hadley’s quadrant does in measuring angles at sea over the old instruments. ®The theory of sound is besides very se ape otherwise it would not leave us so much in the dark regarding the sovereign —— ee in the Theory of Sound. 105 evontroul which wind exercises over the intensity of sound, and _ which is the more remarkable, considering the vast dispropor- tion of their velocities. It is generally supposed that the rela- tive velocity of sound and wind is not affected by the motion of the latter ; but this opinion stands much in need of confir- mation. It is clear, that the effect of wind on sound is very different from merely bearing it along, as a current in the ocean does a floating body. For in this way, the intensity would un- dergo no sensible-change ; whereas, we know, that, in most cases, wind annihilates sound, when opposed to it, and magnifies it pro- digiously when moving in the same direction. The most natu- ral inference which we can draw from this is, that wind reflects sound in the opposite direction; something in the way that the tide sends the bore up a river. The tremendous explosion of the Stobbs Powder Mills in 1824, shewed, in a very striking light, how feebly, and to how short a distance, sound moves against the wind, while it is pro- digiously strengthened to leeward. A moderate breeze then blew from the south-west, and, although in the opposite direc- tion, the report was loud, and the houses sensibly shaken, to the distance of thirty miles, yet very few heard it, and that feebly, three miles to windward. Chap. III. Book xii. of the Mécanique Céleste, is devoted to the theory of sound, and forms a continuation of the author’s speculations on heat and gases contained in the two preceding chapters. In it, particularly pages 127, 128, occur some of the formulze that are employed in the memoir of M. Poisson on the same subject ; and which are closely allied to what I commenced with in the Number of this Journal for October 1826. I then pointed out an error into which these eminent mathematicians had fallen, in determining the proper form of the integral of a differential equation; and which error arose from their intro- ducing a needless and erroneous hypothesis, at variance with the conditions of the problem. The mistake to which I allude admits of being placed in a still clearer point of view; and this becomes the more necessary, considering the very unfair repre- sentation which Mr Ivory has given of what, in the Phil. Mag. for April last, he calls the equations of the Mécanique Céleste ; though, in fact, the equations which he has produced there, to- 106 Mr Meikle on a proposed Improvement gether with the errors he complains of, are the offspring of his own contradictory hypotheses, and do not proceed from the real _ nature of the subject. This will be rendered evident from the perfect consistency of the following plain view of the case, in which no hypothetical work is introduced. Let ¢ be the temperature, or rather the indication on the common scale of an air thermometer, p the corresponding pressure, and ¢ the density of a mass of air; then a being the expansion for one degree, and 4 another constant, we have, from the law of Boyle, = be (1 +a%)......(A,) Whilst the quantity of heat in any body undergoes the minute variation dq, the corresponding variation d? in its lemperature must obviously be in- versely as its specific heat. Hence, d dt: 1°::dq: 4 0, the last term of which is the general expression for the specific heat of any body ; especially if the volume and pressure do not vary at the same time, for in that case, the variation of heat might not change the temperature. But differentiating equation (A) with p constant, we obtain dé=—=— 1 +a - dg, ae ‘. and substituting this value of dt in the general expression, the specific heat of air under a constant pressure, relatively to a degree of the scale to which t belongs, is Differentiating, again, equation (A) with ¢ constant, and supposing that the miass of air undergoes the same variation dq in its quantity of heat as in the former case, we obtain for the specific heat of air under a constant volume, for the same degree of the thermometer, + Ba SP ye dp 1+ at Now, it is admitted by all parties, and corresponds with experiment, that these specific heats have to each other an invariable ratio; or, in other words, that the relations of the differentials is of a known and determinate charac- ter. Hence, they are of the fittest possible sort for integration. gi this constant ratio that of k: 1, and we get dq. ap ° dq ee ald ° We epee eee ee — xi =e. dp. l+aét ys 1 +ait From the conditions under which we have obtained this equation, dg has the same value in both terms. The degree of the common scale, considered as a linear quantity, is constant, and is likewise the same in both terms. Hence, dividing by the common factors, we obtain dp — _, 7, P 4 in the Theory of Sound. 107 an extremely simple equation, the integration of which is free from all ambi- guity, and gives p= ¢* ; supposing p and ¢ to become each equal to unit at the same instant*. It hence follows, that the “general expression for g, or for any change which occurs in the quantity of heat contained in the air, is no “ arbitrary function,” such as we might modify at our whim or fancy, but a determinate function, fixed down by the above condition ; that the pres- sure vary as the k power of the density, in every case whatever, in which the quantity of heat in the mass of air undergoes no change, or when g = 0; and this condition will accord with no other form but what I formerly gave, viz. gq = B dog p—k log e) + C. It is very remarkable, that four of the greatest mathematicians of the age should have been so completely bewildered regarding this integration. sé, The Marquis Laplace, Mec. Cel. tome v. p. 127.; 2d, M. Poisson, Annales de Chim. xxiii. 338.; 3d, Mr Herapath, Phil. Mag. Ixii. 329.+ ; and Mr Ivory even after the only possible form of the function had been clearly pointed out, as I have shewn at length in the Number of this Journal for July last. 2. On the Theory of the Variations of the Barometer. In the Supplement to the Encyciopedia Britannica, Profes- sor Leslie has proposed a theory of the depressions of the baro- meter, in which he supposes, that the wind describing a curve in passing over the surface of the globe, acquires a centrifugal force sufficient to diminish the pressure of the air on the earth’s surface, and consequently to depress the barometer. Mr Da- niell, in his Meteorological Essays, has endeavoured to contro- vert this theory; but I am not sure that I have caught the meaning of either of these gentlemen in their respective argu- ments, and therefore do not pretend to decide on their merits. If we proceed to compute the centrifugal force of air, as if con- sisting of detached particles like sand, revolving in circles about the earth’s centre, the result is by no means considerable ; but, to * This supposition has nothing to do with the value of the results: it merely gives the formula a neater appearance. + It is but justice to M. Poisson to observe, that Mr Herapath, in his first note, page 328, accuses him of setting out with the hypothesis, that the increments of expansion, under a constant pressure, are proportional to the increments of heat; whereas nothing of the kind is assumed, till he had got to p. 330, after haying obtained the “ arbitrary function,” as they are pleased to call it. 108 Mr Meikle on the Theory of the admit the correctness of such a conclusion, would be taking for granted, that the fluidity and the mutual action of the particles on each other do not affect the result. Mr Tredgold has lately shewn, that Newton’s overlooking this circumstance, in investi- gating the laws of the resistance of fluids, has led him and his followers into very erroneous conclusions ; and, by hastily pur- suing a similar path, we should have reason to fear the like consequences. It was probably considerations of this nature which induced Mr Leslie not to apply the ordinary mode of es- timating the centrifugal force of solids to the fluid atmosphere. There is, however, a very important circumstance connected with the centrifugal force of wind, which does not appear to have been yet attended to, and which throws a very different light on the subject, though still adding greatly to the probability that the barometer has to do with the centrifugal force. ‘The circumstance to which I allude is, that the curvilinear motion of wind, describing a circle about the earth, in place of always lowering the barometer, ought frequently to augment the pres- sure of the atmosphere, and consequently to raise the barometer. At first sight, this may seem paradoxical enough, if not tho- roughly absurd ; but to solve it, we have only to consider, that, when the wind is from the east, its diurnal motion round the earth’s axis is thereby lessened, its centrifugal force will be of course weakened ; and so the air will be more at liberty to gra- vitate or press freely on the earth’s surface, and consequent- ly to raise the barometer. Westerly winds, on the contrary, by conspiring with the diurnal motion, increase the centri- fugal force, and diminish the pressure. Hence the reason why the barometer is commonly lower with westerly winds than east- erly. Such difference-of effects in opposite winds, so far as centrifugal force is concerned, will become smaller as the lati- tude increases, and the currents approach nearer to the direction of the meridian. But cold air from a higher latitude raises the barometer, from its being heavier than the comparatively moist and warmer air of a lower latitude. Hence, from the combina- tion of these two causes, the barometer in this country is usually highest with a north-east, and lowest with a south-west wind. But the effects just mentioned are liable to be modified or overruled, by various causes of a less general nature. The de- Oe PT ie oe ee bane ni ea eT ae Variations of the Barometer. 109 scent of the barometer during storms, I conceive to be frequent- ly influenced in no small degree by the reaction of the wind on the acelivities of the earth’s surface. When a horizontally moving wind encounters an inclined plane, its direction is there- by more or less elevated, and an increase of pressure necessarily takes place on the reflecting surface. The whole pressure on the inclined plane, when estimated in the vertical direction, is obviously reduced in the ratio of the cosine of the inclination to radius; but still the vertical force exerted within a horizontal square inch will, from the principles of hydrodynamics, be the same as the pressure on an inch of the inclined surface. If the one be equal to a columa of 35 or 40 inches of mercury, so will the other. This vertical pressure, therefore, exceeds that of the barometer, in a sheltered place on the same level, in the same ratio as the direct force on the inclined plane does. Even a wall or precipice opposed to the wind, will occasion a greater pressure on the ground at the windward side of its base. Hence the mcan of the whole vertical pressures over an extensive dis- trict, exceeds what is indicated by the barometer in a sheltered spot. fs Since, then, these” surfaces, on which the wind forcibly acts, sustain a weight greater in proportion to the part of the horizon which they occupy, than the rest of the district does, a part of the weight of the atmosphere is, as it were, supported on pillars during a storm ; but the pressure indicated by our barometers in sheltered spots, being only the diminished pressure between the pillars, is therefore too small. This affords one very satis- factory reason why the barometer should so often be depressed during storms, especially where the surface of the country is uneven, and sometimes likewise in a ship riding among moun- tain-like waves. Between the tropics, the wind usually blows from the east, diminishing the centrifugal force, which so far accounts for its not depressing the barometer. And if, as is believed, the aérial currents from the south-east and north-east, by meeting near the equator, unite in a current directly from the east, which has no other mode of escape but by accumulating upwards, and flow- ing back to the tropics, this will afford a farther explanation. For the greater the wind, the more will it tend to accumulate 110 Mr Stevenson on British Harbours. the air about the equator. So that the depression of the baro- meter, due to the action of the wind on the acclivities of the sur- face, seems to be prevented in the vicinity of the equator, by the weight of a greater mass of air. But this, after all, is attended with some difficulties. Excerpt from a Memoir on British Harbours, drawn up in the year 1824. By R. Stevenson, Esq. F.R.S.E. & M.W.S. &c. Civil Engineer. With a Plan. (Communicated by the Author *.) Lerrn Roaps—QOUR nautical readers know that the Frith of Forth is a principal rendezvous for shippmg during the storms ~ which affect the eastern coast of Great Britain; and as a naval station, especially in the event of war with any of the northern " powers, it is of primary importance to the best interests of the nation. To those who are not locally acquainted with this great estuary, we may notice, that its access is obvious, and its navigation easy. Leith Roads, which afford its chief anchor- age, are ample and commodious, possessing a soft bottom, with a depth of water varying from three to upwards of seven fa- thoms, and, for larger vessels, to sixteen and eighteen fathoms. Connected with this extensive roadstead there are other valuable mooring grounds above Queensferry, which resemble the higher _ parts of Plymouth Sound and Portsmouth, in regard to the shel- ter and security which they afford to shipping. Leiru Harsour.—Leith Harbour, the subject of the pre- sent section, is situate on the southern side of the Roads above described, at the embouchure of the river Leith, about two miles north from Edinburgh, of which it is the port. The advance- ment of this harbour is consequently an important object with -the corporation of that capital, and~also with the constituted __ * Mr Stevenson communicated to us his Memoir on British Harbours nearly three years ago; but from the state of the Léith Harbour Bill, then before Parliament, and other considerations of delicacy, the author requested us to delay its publication, There being now a variety of opinions regarding this ohject of great commercial importance, we have obtained Mr Stevenson’s consent to the publication of an excerpt of the Memoir..Eprr. PEST LOPT APPL V AG PEYUSHYOL { wie a sl ocean Ht 12 ~ GOIS PANT —* Be . FS SS 2 Es | NIAVHMAN eas) 4 a. eo LNOGAD TT Pepurqey J 4 7 ~ L27DM MI] WD Adp SPUny ‘ ‘HMOAOdUVH HIATT op eountazar U2 NVId HOLGYS OSES es Mr Stevenson on British Harbours. lil authorities of the town of Leith. I am now, therefore, to give some account of it, and to state what appears to me most suit- able for its improvement. At high-water of ordinary neap-tides there is a depth of only . about eight or nine feet at the present entrance of Leith Har- bour, and in spring-tides the depth is about thirteen or fourteen feet. From the peculiar form of its piers, and, particularly, ow- ing to a considerable extension of the eastern pier beyond the western one, as will be seen from the accompanying sketch-plan, vessels are by this means often shut up for a length of time with north-westerly winds. Till of late years the birthage of the harbour was confined to the bed of the river, and had be- come so extremely incommodious from the increase of shipping, that its enlargement became indispensable. An additional reve- nue was accordingly provided ; and two spacious wet-docks, ex- ‘tending to ten acres, were formed. These docks have proved a vast accommodation to the port; but a great desideratum still remains, in the want of a sufficient depth of water, and a more commodious entrance for the reception of large ships. If we inquire into the cause of the shallowness of the water at Leith, and generally along the southern shores of this frith, it may be accounted for, on the great scale, by the set both of the flood and ebb tides, in the following manner. The strongest current, for example, of the flood-tide, in its course from the At- _ lantic Ocean, runs along the coasts of Caithness, Aberdeen, and. - Kincardine, to the higher parts of the Frith of Forth, meeting with comparatively few obstructions on the northern side; whereas the stream of tide which supplies its southern shores, separates off St Abb’s Head, in Berwickshire,—one branch of the tide pro- ceeding to the English eoast, and the other along the Lothians up the Frith. Tis last, however, has more the character of an eddy-tide, having changed its course almost at right angles, at or near St Abb’s Head, and being further intersected in its pro- gress by the Bass and other islands lying off the coast of Had- dingtonshire. At Gullen Ness, which forms one of the chops of the inner part of the Frith, the channel suddenly expands into the comparatively great bay of Musselburgh. This expanse gives another check to the velocity of the tide, which at Leith is again obstructed by a chain of rocks extending toward Inch. keith, throwing the currents, both of flood and ebb, still off the 5 112 Mr Stevenson on British Harbours. southern shore. Between Leith and the Narrows at Queensferry, the incumbrance is continued by the interposition of Cramond Island and the foul grounds of Mickery and Oxscares, which altogether are fhivoitiabls to the process of deposition on this Shore ; while the force of the current and consequent depth of water are increased upon the northern side. Of this we have an anomalous example at Queensferry, where the soundings are about thirty-five fathoms in depth, and consequently greater than on the same parallel of latitude any where between the Frith of Forth and the opposite coast of Denmark. The great obstacle to the improvement of the present entrance of Leith harbour arises from the extensive flat or bank trend- ing northward to the rocky grounds called the Symonds, lying seaward of the Martello Tower, as delineated on the annexed Sketch of the shore between Leith and Newhaven, shewing the figure of the bank and the position of the respective rocks in the offing. On the southern side of the Frith, immediately above . Newhaven, the scouring effect of the tide is chiefly with the ebb, and thus we account for the peculiar form of the sand-bank off Leith, and ‘the greater depth of water off Newhaven: at this place the bank is comparatively narrow, and it attains its great. est breadth off the entrance to Leith Harbour. The scouring effects of the river Leith are, no doubt, benefi- cial to its alveus; but if we carefully examine this matter, we shall find, from the extent and flatness of the ground, that its influence is, upon the whole, languid. The bar does not consist of mud, but of sand, similar:to that which is deposited above and below Leith. It is not a particular ridge, but an extensive flat, which has its origin in the local set of the tides, arising from the configuration of the shores opposed to the tidal current. I am therefore of opinion, that every effort to Geepen the present entrance of the harbour, which stops short of carrying two con- tinuous piers at a very moderate distance from each other, sea- ward of the Symond Rocks, or to the extent of about a mile from the shore at Leith, will not only prove ineffectual, but that. one pier, of any form, which extends much beyond the other, will prove ruinous to the best interests of the port. I would not, however, be understood as’ recommending so extensive a plan of operations, as the extension of piers to the Symond Rocks, 2 2 Mr Stevenson on British Harbours. 13 but merely as stating what humbly appears to be the only prae- ticable mode of deepening the present entrance to the harbour of Leith. ~ In quest of this object, some have projected the extension of a single pier, in various lines of direction, toward the Martello Tower, as a weir to the current. Others, with somewhat more plausibility, carry two piers to a certain extent over the sand- bank, and then proceed with one pier to the Martello Tower, as shown in dotted lines upon the Plan. I confess that I have ne- ver been able to satisfy myself upon this point, either as to its beneficial effect upon the bar, or its proper influence upon the accessibility of the harbour. ‘To illustrate this, we simply refer to the present state of things. For example, every one conver- sant with the nautical localities of Leith knows the difficulty ex- perienced in leaving the port with north-westerly or favour- able winds down the frith. In such cases, a vessel must cast off, or make sail, from the western pier, beyond which the east- ern one projects about 100 yards. But let us imagine that this single pier were extended to a mile, or even 1000 yards, and then, according to our views of seamanship, the difficulties at- tending the access of the harbour would be increased tenfold ; or, as before noticed, ‘it would prove ruinous to the best in- terests of the port.” To obviate this state of things, it has been proposed to pro- ject a pier from Newhaven, till it meets the continuation of an eastern pier beyond the Symond Rocks, or seaward of the Mar- tello Tower. By this means, several hundred acres of sand-bank, which dries at low-water, would be included in the form of a great outer harbour. In this case, it appears to be impossible to avoid the silting up of so large a space as would thereby be included by the two piers projecting respectively from Leith and Newhaven, while the effect of the winds, at high-water, upon a surface of about one mile in breadth, would render it extremely difficult to transport vessels through it, to or from the interior harbour. It is therefore to be feared, that, after ha- ving expended a very large sum in either of these diversified operations, we should only have an incommodious, if not im- practicable, harbour. Having made these observations on the set of the tides, and the natural situation of Leith harbour, in allusion to various OCTOBER—DECEMBER 1827. H 114 Mr Stevenson on British Harbours. plans latterly suggested for its improvement, we shall now en- deavour to inquire into the effect and tendency of executing in whole, or in part, the apparently abandoned plan of the late eminent Mr Rennie, and upon which, it is believed, upwards ef £200,000 have already been expended. When Mr Rennie was consulted on this subject, about the year 1800, he had before him an early design by Mr Whitworth, a celebrated engineer of his day, who had proposed to extend the birthage of the harbour, by following the course of the river above Leith Saw-mills. But when Mr Rennie maturely considered this subject, and took into view the natural difficulties which present themselves, to ~forming a deep-water entrance to Leith harbour from which the tide ebbs to the extent of about one mile, he was properly induced to form a design suitable for vessels of a greater draught of water than were generally in use in Mr Whitworth’s time, by opening a communication at Newhaven. Now, as the greatest breadtlr of the sand-bank above alluded to is immediately off the present entrance to Leith harbour, and as the bank becomes narrower as we approach Newhaven, a more commodious line of direction is evidently by the erection of a continuous sea-wall toward Newhaven; where a sufficient depth of water may be obtained for His Majesty’s ships of war. After therefore consulting with that eminently scientific naviga- tor, the late Captain Huddart, who made a survey of Leith, Mr Rennie ultimately determined upon placing the deep-water ac- cess to the harbour near Newhaven, as delineated in dotted lines upon the:accompanying Plan. I have endeavoured to give the subject of the improvement of this harbour every possible atten- tion, and I am humbly of opinion, that no design for this pur- pose has yet been submitted to the public, which seems to warrant the total abandonment of Mr Rennie’s plan. I am also confi- dent that it may be satisfactorily shown, not only to be the best which, under all circumstances, can now be followed ; but also, that the least expensive mode of obtaining a deep-water entrance is to continue the sea-wall from the docks westward; for I do not now propose a suite of docks from Leith to Newhaven, but merely a tide-harbour, which might be ‘occasionally scoured from the present wet-docks. To take a practical example of this, let it be observed that a sea-wall from the wet-docks toward Newhaven would not be more than two-thirds of the extent of the pier required, to carry a ship to a similar depth of water Mr Stevensomon British Harbours. 115 off the Martello Tower, as may be seen from the accompanying - We are aware that the proposed entrance at Newhaven is dis- tant from the chief seat of business in Leith, and that it is dif- ficult for those accustomed to the present state of things to look favourably upon any other view of the subject ; but, in point of fact, the pier-head near Newhaven would not be more distant from the central parts of Leith than a pier at the Martello Tower, while the former would be much more commodious and acces- sible than the latter: In every extended port, more or less in- conveniency of this description is felt ; and if the situation of the merchants of Leith be contrasted with that of their brethren of London, Liverpool, Dublin, and many others, they will appear to have little cause to complain, although the entrance of the harbour were at Newhaven. “Upon the whole, I hesitate not to recommend that the en- trance to Leith harbour should forthwith be improved upon a moderate scale. Its present condition is a source of much incon- veniency to the trade of Leith, having, perhaps, as difficult and awkward an access as I have anywhere met with in the whole course of my survey, aiid personal observation, on ‘¢ British Harbours ” between the Shetland and Scilly Islands. I am fur- ther of opinion that a sea-wall should be extended from the wet- docks toward Newhaven, and that a deep-water entrance should there be'formed, upon the principle, if not the form, suggested by Mr Rennie. This, as formerly stated, I conceive to be the most proper and convenient mode of acquiring a sufficient depth of water, and also the most economical mode of improvement of - which the port of Leith is susceptible. Observations on the Coal-field, and accompanying Strata, in the vicinity of Dalkeith, Mid-Lothian. By Rosert Baton, Esq. F.R. S, E., M. W.S., &e. Maning- Engineer®. (Com- »municated by the Author.) : A in a former paper, which I read before this Society, made several observations upon the Mid-Lothian Coal-fields, I have, since that time, made many investigations of this very in- teresting district ; and these confirm the ideas I had formed of * Read before the Wernerian Natural History Society 7th April 1827, b: a4 116 Mr Bald on the Coal-field the coal strata in the vicinity of Dalkeith, viz. that the edge- coals, and accompanying strata, found at the collieries of Drum and Gilmerton, four miles south of Edinburgh, with the well- known bed of limestone, which lies immediately under all the workable coals, decline into the centre of the valley, southward, to'a very great depth, and then deflect, rising to the south, and are again found at Dalkeith, where the lime rock, under the lowest workable coal, is found, and wrought extensively. We therefore conclude, that the bed of lime-rock in the lower part of the Dalkeith section, is a continuation of the lime-rock at Gil- merton; that the coal named the Parrot Coal in the sections, corresponds with the lowest coal at Gilmerton, next the lime- rock, named the North Green Coal; and that the several cvals above the parrot-coal in the section correspond with the edge- coals which lie above the said north green coal. : The following minute section of the strata was made in the course of running a day-level some years ago from the South Esk, to.drain the Marquis of Lothian’s coal-field along the Ro- man-camp Hill. The strata cut through had a dip of from one in four to one in three; but the section now exhibited shews the strata in a perpendicular line at the South Esk, calculated from the horizontal section ; which perpendicular section extends to the depth of 387 fathoms to the lime-rock. In it are found no less than 27 beds of coal, making a total thickness of 82 feet 8 inches. ‘The different beds of separate and distinct coals passed through are of various thickness, extending from 6 inches to 9 feet, and lie at very various distances from each other, as is com- mon in all coal-fields. Section of the Coals, and their accompanying Strata, beginning at the surface. Fath. Ft. In. Fath. Ft. In. 1. Alluvialsoil - - 20 0 Brought forward 10 4 6 Slate sandstone - 2 0 0} 10. Coal - - - 0 0 6 White sandstone - 604 0 Indurated clay a Roe a O Red sandstone - ae i | Do. do. hard - 100 5. Blue sandstone . ee ee Coal Gal = a el eg White sandstone - 0 4 0 Indurated clay mae ee Red sandstone - © 5 01 \5. White sandstone - 0 1 6 Slate sandstone - 0 3 0 Red sandstone 7 5 3 0 Slate clay Se ee ee Slate clay «eae 4.0 Garry forward 10 4 6 Carry forward 20 2 6 ‘ > . in the vicinity of Dalkeith. Brought forward White sandstone - Slate clay oN 20. White sandstone - Slate clay, very hard Do. do. soft - €oal a he _ Indurated clay 4 25. Red sandstone - Slaty sandstone : White sandstone - Slaty sandstone - Slate clay with Coal 30 Slaty sandstone - Red sandstone - Slate clay with Coal Indurated clay - Coal 7 aS 35 Indurated clay - Red sandstone - Indurated clay - Red sandstone - Bituminous clay = - 40 Red Sandstone - Indurated clay - Red Sandstone - Bituminous shale - Red sandstone - 45 Slate clay ee oe Red sandstone - Slate clay I eae Red sandstone - . Slate clay x = 50 Red sandstone - Slate clay, very dark Do. lighter - Indurated clay, coarse White sandstone - 55 Slate clay, very dark ~ Do, light - Do. white - Red sandstone =—.- Slate clay Migr 60 Grey Sandstone - Slate clay ye Red sandstone - Slate clay a nilty Carry forward onNnWreroococo,r so _ - Ccm Om me IP ooor Or KF OW SOF OWN OW — Scacwrer Or NOOK We wD —_ bo -_ aA WR WOK KH WRWWH OCHwWUWWONnNORHR PR HK RRR RK NY OCHWWND WE WOW WH ROW dD & dD ~ ecocoosoocoecoososoooosooseososeosososesosesoSseososeosoeve soaecosesosoeseseseseo oe oseoooS ao 65 70 75 80 85 90 95 100 105 Fat . Brought forward 121 Indurated clay with Coal 0 Bituminous shale —_- Do. very hard White sandstone - Indurated clay - White sandstone - Indurated clay - Do. soft - White sandstone . Red sandstone - White sandstone - Coal : - - Indurated clay ¥ White Sandstone, hard Slaty sandstone - Slate clay AE et Grey sandstone . Slate clay - - Red sandstone - Slate clay - - Grey sandstone - Coal SE ia atti Indurated clay - Whitish sandstone - - Slate clay with ironstone balls - = e White sandstone - Slate clay - - White sandstone - Slate clay eae White sandstone - Slateclay -- - White sandstone - Slate clay with ironstone Bituminous shale, coarse Slate clay with ironstone Red sandstone - Coal ie dalmiband Slate clay Bilge White sandstone - Do. - . Do. = % Slate clay tas eh hi White sandstone» Blue sandstone - Red sandstone = I os oO Carry forward 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 3 0 2 1 1 0 8 2 0 1 3 mem OSs DD | Sie +See ene > 117 = ig = og Or WOSCSOHmMOROWEDNDOWROWARR AW SH pp Scocococoooaoeoasseosoaseoooeososoosooaut mRrRrOSoCR WOR WRKROSCKENOWwWHWAR OS Qoeococeococcoecooceoagoaceceoososoe x» on 118 Mr Bald on the Coal-field Fath. Ft. In. Fath. Ft. In. Brought forward 148 3 5 Brought forward 293 3 11 Slate clay eo Fees 0 White sandstone - 4 4 6 110 Coat Sica austen ciara tet Wi Coal =e eee eo Slate clay with ironstone 2 0 0 Slate clay ee Ny Eee White sandstone - 1 3 01145 Coal - é “ 00 6 Slate clay with sandstone 2 2 0 White sandstone - 3 3.0 Slate clay - - 03 0 Slate clay with Coal 0 4 6 115 Goel ew 8] Blateclay 8. nO Indurated clay «0.23 Coal | es White sandstone - 1 4 01150 Slate clay ec 100 Slate clay, hard - 2.3 0 White sandstone - 3 4 0 Coal ik. me 0.3.0 Cosel = se ene, 120 Indurated clay - 0 3 0 Red sandstone * 40 0 Red sandstone Sa eS PP ee ie a peste eg er Slateclay . - = 1 ROR cai Soa See eae og Total ascertained depth 316 2 7 Indurated clay ice eae Various strata «i Sees O 125 Red sandstone with a bed A Goal - - 0 3 6 ofslateclay . - 9.4 6 Various strata - 6 0 0 Coal - - 1 3 0} B Coal - - ts 100 Indurated Clay - 0 2 6 Various strata, depth not White sandstone - 05 0 precisely ascertained ; Slate clay - - Onno but the coals marked 130 Coal = - shire dei oO A; B,_C, D,, BE, pare White sandstone - 2 3 0 trom the best informa- Slate clay. wiih ae: Meet 4. tion that could be ob- i Coal - “ . 020 tained, - - eed O 9 Indurated clay - 6 1-6] C Coal - - 0 5 3 135 Slate-clay die aed pers, Sal Various strata -iaging. g Coat - = = 0 3 O} D Second Splint Coal orn. o - Slate clay - - 2.91.0 Various strata - 59°30 Goal - - - «9 4 6] E Parrot Coat - @ 3 0 Slate clay, light RS a Various strata <2 ee @ 140 Do. dark - cae ame . Do. light s 02 3 Total supposed — 367-1. 1 ples Lt aah { Then the ai forward 293 311] (LIMESTONE ROCK, &c. But great and valuable as this section shews the Mid-Lothian coal-field to be, it only comprehends the class of Edge-Coals on both sides of the coal basin with the underlying bed of lime- rock. None of the very valuable coals, termed the Flat Coals, which chiefly supply Edinburgh, are comprehended in it; for hitherto the strata betwixt the upper coals in the section and the flat-coals, which lie above these, have not been accurately ascer- in the vicinity of Dalkeith. — 119 tained, but the chief of these coals are presently working at the collieries of Sheriff-hall and Edmonstone in the middle of the valley, and are well known in the Edinburgh market; particu- larly the two named the Diamond and the Jewel coals, which are of very superior quality. “The following is a Section mf the Coals in the Edmonstone Colliery district. ROCKS. COAL. ‘. Fath. Ft. In. Ft. In. Alluvial cover . ~ 8 0 0 Rock strata p i le GO Coal - : 0 5 0 5 0 Various rock strata (containing Coals) 31 0 0 Splint Coal : 05 0 5 0 Various strata - - 6 4 6 Coal, named Coal-Rough -. 0 4 6 4 6 Various strata * ° cis er Coal named Beeffy Coal os 6 3 0 Various strata) - - 2.16 Diamond Coal - « 0 5 0 5 0 Various strata . - BE BOG Jewel Coal * > 0.) & 0 5 0 ; 78 2.0 27 6 There is a coal said to be much mixed with pyrites, named the Gold Coal, which lies under the jewel coal, but it never has been wrought, nor the strata explored accurately under it. The strata betwixt the upper coal in the Dalkeith section and the pavement of the jewel coal have not yet been ascertained. Of the twenty-six coals in the section only two are unwork- able to profit, from their thinness being only six inches thick. The thinnest coal reckoned workable is one of 18 inches thick. Hence, if the thickness of all the workable coals ascertained in the Dalkeith district be added together, they amount to the un- common thickness of 109 feet 6 inches ; viz. Coal in the section, . i ~ $2 0 - Flat coals ascertained, : “ 27 66 Total, ‘ 109 6 120 Mr Bald on the Coal-field This exhibits a body of workable coal altogether uncommon, and is of the highest importance and value to the capital of Scotland for affording a supply of coal for many generations. It is, however, particularly to be remarked, that this astonishing thickness of coal is found not to extend the whole length of the basin, from the sea at Fisherrow to its western extremity at Magbie Hill and Carlops: the coals continue only to the great road leading from Edinburgh to Dalkeith at Sheriff-hall, where there is a dislocation, which throws the coal strata up to the west, and has the effect of throwing off all the valuable flat coals, as they are not to be found westward of that line; and it appears that the flat coals found at Eldin, Polton, Dalhousie, and Whitehill collieries, are part of the edge-coals rendered flat by the slip or dislocation. This coal-field extends to the south side of the Roman-camp Hill near Dalkeith, and takes a reverse dip to the south; then deflects, and rises again to the south near the village of Ford. I have now to make the following remarks on this coal-field and sections. All the coals are of the common bituminous kind, partly splint and partly cubical coal. The strata betwixt the coals are various shades of yellow, white, grey, and bluish coloured sandstone, argillaceous schistus, bitu- minous shale, argillaceous earth,named Fire-clay, and a little coarse clay limestone in some places. All the coals are of open burning quality :—no caking coals have ever been found. The coals lie, in general, at the common distances from each other, as in other coal-fields, with this remarkable exception,*that betwixt the coal marked No. 34. in the section, and the next coal under it, marked No. 75., the distance is no less than 90 fathoms, or 540 feet, in which space there is no coal. I know of no such thickness of strata in a coal-field without a coal being found ; and it is a fact of great importance in the searching of a district for coal. There are no beds of greenstone found in the strata hitherto explored, although there are several vertical dikes or veins of this rock, which intersect the strata seen in the Port-Seaton dis- trict along the shore. - ¢ in the vicinity of Dalkeith. 121 There is very little ironstone found in the strata, less than in any other Scotch coal-field ; so much so, that none has been got for the purpose of making iron in the district now treated of. Bands and balls of good ironstone have been found, and a little wrought, at the verge of the coal-field near Aberlady and Goss- ford, on the estate of Lord Wemyss. Lastly, it is a remarkable fact, that no inflammable air has been found in any of the mines of this district, however deep, though found in abundance in the coal mines in the counties of Stirling, Lanark, Renfrew, and Ayr. The Lothian mines, being free from this most destructive pestilence, is a great comfort, and no common blessing to the miners. Carbonic acid gas is fre- quently found, but happily few misfortunes arise from it. As the carburetted hydrogen is certainly produced from the coal, we might have expected it in the Lothian coal-field, which affords parrot or cannel coal of the best quality for producing the greatest quantity of gas, as each pound of this coal produces from 4 to 5 cubic feet of gas. With regard to the depth of the coal strata of this coalfield, in which the beds of coal and organic remains are found, I am of opinion, that in the deepest part of the basin it will extend to at least 500 fathoms or 3000 feet, which shews how very deep the valleys have probably once been; and the more so, if the theory of the mountains having been at one period much higher than they now are, is taken into account. In an economical point of view, relating to the quantity of coal in Great Britain, upon which the numerous manufactories and population depend for fuel,—it is frequently asked, Will not the coals in the kingdom be soon exhausted? That they ' are rapidly exhausting, is evident to any one of the least obser- vation, particularly from the increased depth of the coal-pits ; and it being estimated that more coal has been wrought during the last hundred years, since the general application of the steam-engine, in working the mines, and at manufactories, than was wrought and used for the 500 years preceding, when coals first began to be commonly used for domestic purposes. Never- theless, great as the consumption is, and greatly as this has been increased during these last twenty years, still the quantity of coals remaining to be wrought is uncommonly great, so that the 122 Mr Bald on the Coalfield in the vicinity of Dalkeith. period when it will be exhausted is yet very remote, and not easily calculated. In confirmation of which, I have to state, that, from investigations lately made, as to the quantity of work- able coal in the estate of Newbattle, near Dalkeith, the proper- ty of the Marquis of Lothian, there is in it alone as much coal as would serve the city of Edinburgh, at the rate of 350,000 tons yearly, for the long period of 500 years. This statement I made from practical data and measurements, and it gives a very wonderful view of the aggregate quantity of coal in the Mid-Lothian basin. In this estimate many of the coals caleu- lated are at a great depth, much greater than any coals have yet been wrought. There is, however, no doubt that the abso- lute necessity of having a supply of coals, the progressive im- provement of the steam-engine, and of mining, will induce’min- ers to adventure much deeper than the state of the coal-mines and present prices lead them to contemplate. ‘There are yet no coal-mines working in Scotland aboye eighty fathoms deep; but in the vicinity of Newcastle coals are now working at the depth of 200 fathoms ; and the engineers now contemplate going much deeper, and that is to be expected, according to the progressive improvement in mining. Not thirty years ago, in working the Newcastle coals, from a fourth to a third of the whole coal was lost in pillars; where- as at present in the best regulated mines, only about an eighth part of the whole bed of coal is left under ground. ‘This shews, in a strong point of view, how coal-fields may, within a certain limited area, produce much more coals than formerly from the same space,—simply by the improved system of conducting coal- mines, and that under a cover of rock 200 fathoms in thickness. From this we may conclude, that the capital of Scotland is not likely to be in want of fuel for a very long succession of years; for, besides having the Lothian Coal-field, the Union Canal connects it with the Western Coal-fields ; and the port of Leith connects with it the Fife, Stirling, and Clackmannanshire Collieries, and also those of the north of England. ( 128) apt A On the Covering of Birds, considered chiefly with reference to ___ the Description and Distinction of Species, Genera and Or- _ ders. By Mr W. Maceitiivray, M. W.S., &c. Continued _ from former Number, p. 263. . erent considered with regard to their uses, may be dis- tinguished into two kinds. Those which are more especially employed as the medium of locomotion, are much stronger, more compact, and more elongated than the others. Of this kind is the row of feathers bordering the wing behind, and that terminating the rump or tail. The names of quills, penne, pennes, ought to be applied to these alike, although it is usually confined to the former. The feathers which lie immediately over the wing-quills, on both sides of the wing, partake in this respect of the nature of the quills themselves ; ‘has those which lie over the tail-quills are seldom, if ever, of so dense a texture. The rest of the feathers are not, in this most general sense, distin- guished by any particular name in our language, although, by ornithologists who write in Latin, they are termed plume, and by the French plumes. 'The word plume, however, being with us the poetical name for a feather, or being used to Fas hy such feathers as are applied to the decoration of hearses and heads, it cannot well be proposed as an ornithological term. It has been mentioned that the accessory feather is always downy, excepting in those birds in which its developement is equal to that of the feather itself. It has also been remarked, that the part of the webs nearest the tube is always of a looser texture than the rest. In the feathers of many birds, the downy part occupies by far the greater portion ; in some it is merely the tip that is compact, while in others the loose part is limited to a very small extent, and in others scarcely exists. As an example of feathers all downy, may be mentioned the subcaudal feathers of Pavo cristatus, and the abdominal feathers of Strix bubo, and owls in general. The abdominal feathers of Falco albicilla, and eagles in general, are nearly all of this loose texture. The gal- linaceous birds haye a very large proportion of down upon their feathers, and the Columbz are the same in this respect. Of such as have yery little down of this kind, may be mentioned 124 Mr W. Macgillivray on the Covering of Birds. the different species of Aptenodytes. The crest feathers of Pa- vo japonicus are almost destitute of these soft barbs at the base ; and this is, in general, the case with all those elongated feathers which, by the French, are termed Plumes de luxe, on whatever part of the body they grow. In quills, there is, in general, scarcely any downy part. In the downy barb, the filament is nearly equal in all its diameters, and is extremely attenuated. The barbules are also elongated, in many of the gallinaceous birds, for example, being twenty times the length of the bar- bules of the apicial part of the feather. These barbules are, in all cases, biserial, like the others, but very frequently they as- sume a direction the reverse of these, coming off from the fila-. ment, not in the plane of the web, but at right angles to it, or, in other words, from the face and back of the web, so as to pre- sent on these surfaces a layer of minute silky filaments. This arrangement is especially remarkable in the gallinacee. Fre- quently the filament becomes spirally twisted ; in which case the barbs seem to have a circular arrangement, although they are still biserial. With respect to relative magnitude, the following is an ac- count of the ordinary distribution of feathers in birds. From the head, backwards to the tail, they increase in length and size; those on the face, or around the base of the beak, being smallest, the tail-coverts longest. The wing-feathers are much shorter than those of the body, and also increase backwards. Those of the upper or dorsal half of the body are almost always shorter than those of the under or abdominal ; and the dispro- portion seems to have reference to the degree of obliquity of the body in its ordinary posture; for, in those birds which have a nearly vertical position, such as penguins, auks, guillemots, the feathers of the ,under surface are scarcely longer than those of the upper. The feathers of the upper parts are also more com- pact than those of the lower. There is at least as great a difference as to size among fea- thers, as there is among the hairs of {quadrupeds. ‘The margi- nirostral feather of Trochilus moschitus is about one-sixteenth of an inch, while the middle caudal feathers of the Argus are three feet in length. In the same hird, also, the disproportion is of- ten extremely great. For example, the frontal feathers of Pavo Mr W. Macgillivray on the Covering of Birds. 125 cristatus are not more than a quarter of an inch in length, while some of the posterior dorsal exceed two feet. Even in the same part of two species of the same genus, the greatest difference is often observable in this respect. Compare, for example, the scapulars of Ardea cinerea and Ardea garzetta. Besides the feathers properly so called, there enters into the constitution of the plumage or general envelope, another modifi- cation of the same general nature. On removing the whole of the feathers whose tips appear externally, in certain orders, and especially in the aquatic birds, we find the skin still covered with a more or less dense envelope of a very soft, filamentous, highly flexible, and very elastic substance. This is the down, tomentum, duvet. It also consists of individual parts, for which we have no general name in our language, nor indeed in any other that I am acquainted with. The name which seems most applicable to this sort of feather is plumule. A plumule, plumula, plumule, consists of two parts; a small tube, less perfect in form and texture than in the feather, being very narrow, soft, and not well defined in its lower or proximal part, and having its walls composed rather of soft scales than of one continuous piece; and a pencil of filaments issuing from the base of this tube internally, without any connecting shaft. These filaments vary in length and number, according to the spe- cies. In all cases they are extremely slender, pliant, sinuous, and more or less spirally twisted. They consist of an extreme- ly delicate shaft, along the sides of which there come off, in ge- neral, two sets of short delicate filaments. The former may be denominated the filaments, the latter the filamentules, ‘corres- ponding to the barbs and barbules of the feather. These fila- mentules have the same relation to the filament, their shaft, that the barbules of the feathers have to their barb, and are, in ge- neral, equally distichous ; but they enter into no connection, re- maining perfectly loose, and, owing to the manner in which the shafts are twisted, have the appearance of coming off all round them. ‘The general arrangement, as has been observed, is in two rows; in the down of Sula alba it is in three, one row con- sisting of filamentules somewhat shorter than the others, and di- rected toward the end of the filament. The filamentules of 126 Mr W. Macgillivray on the Covering of Birds. the plumules, unlike the barbules of the feather, come off in ge- neral at right angles to the filaments. The uses of the down are not well understood. As it is well known, however, to be a bad conductor of calorie, it is presum- ed that it serves in the aquatic birds, and particularly in those of cold climates, ‘to retain the heat generated in their bodies. In birds which are not furnished with down, but which yet in- habit cold countries, the deficiency might be supposed to be sup- plied by the downy feathers which we observe in those birds, as ‘in Strix bubo, Strix nyctea, Falco albicilla, and Falco chrysaetos. In the gallinaceous birds, the accessory feather might, in’ like manner, be imagined to be subservient to this purpose. But when we reflect that the eagles, owls, and gallinaceous birds of cold climates, are at least not much better furnished with down or downy feathers than species of the same genera inhabiting warm climates, we naturally look for some other reason for which birds are furnished with down; and when we observe ‘that the AJca impennis of the arctic seas is not more plentifully supplied with plumage than the penguins of the pacific ocean, nor the Sturnus vulgaris of Europe than the Sturnus capensis of Africa, we suspect that other principles than heat have been ss 0 in modifying the nature and quantity of the plumage. In the gallinaceous birds, the omnivorous, and many others, in fact, in land birds in general, there is no general layer “te down immediately covering the skin. In the genus Falco, and many ‘others, and especially in the larger sponiod) F. albicilla, for. example, F. chrysaetos, and F. peregfinus, besides down of the above description, there exist plumules of the following structure. From the upper part of a short tube, there issue two filamentary shafts, which are flat- tened, and exceedingly delicate. From these there branches out on either side a series of extremely delicate filaments, having each two lateral series of filamentules. 'The whole has the ap- pearance of a single tuft of extreme fineness, and silky texture. The filaments have a very considerable degree of elasticity. The tube is open above, between the two shafts, there being a direct continuation of it on either side into the shafts; and at this opening the pith comes out and terminates. These plu- ‘mules being largest on the belly, may be best seen there; they 2 Mr W. Macgillivray on the Covering of Birds. 127 exist, however, in the other parts of the body, but are not readily distinguishable from the down-feathers properly so called. If it be necessary to give these feathers a name, they may be called Flake-feathers. In most birds, after the feathers have been pues we find a sort of envelope, consisting of hairs as it were, set so widely and so small in themselves, that they might readily be overlook- F -. ed. These are the hairs that are singed off in a common fowl after it has been plucked. In Phasianus colchicus their struc- ture is as follows : from a very short bulbiform tube rises a very slender roundish piliform shaft, resembling a hair of the human head, but much smaller and straight, which, at the extremity, gives off two or three short simple barbs on either side. This is the most simple modification of the feather, if we except the quills of the Cassowary. In all nestling birds, before they have received their full plu- mage, the skin is covered with a greater or less quantity of down, resembling that described above as occurring in adult birds. This down is generally more or less developed, even be- fore exclusion from the egg. It consists of two orders of plu- mules. One set, which is connected solely with the skin, is’ si- milar in structure and relations to the down of the adult bird, each plumule consisting of a tube, out of which issues a pencil of filaments, furnished with filamentules. The other set, which, at first sight, is not distinguished from the former, being blended with it, is of the following nature. The plumules at first arise from the skin in the ordinary manner and form, but having fewer filaments than the others. Shortly after, wheh the feathers begin to sprout, they are observed to be elevated from the skin, being borne upon the tips of the feathers. The tips of the extreme barbs of the feathers are drawn together, and united into a point by a scaly envelope, similar to that which - incloses the feather itself during the first stages of its growth. From this point there proceeds a pencil of filaments, consisting of a variable, but generally small number. These filaments have two lateral series of filamentules, and are loose and float- ing, and more or less spirally twisted. The filaments are con- tinuous with the tips of the barbs, as is proved by discussing the point of adhesion with a needle, when the scales fall off, and the filaments remain attached to the tips of the barbs, and 128 Mr W. Macgillivray-on the Covering of Birds. continue so until rubbed off, which, in some species, and in cer- tain parts of the body, the head, in particular, does not take place until the bird has been fully fledged. To recapitulate, the plumage consists of feathers, properly so called, which are ordinary or quills, the former sometimes sim- ple, more frequently furnished with an accessory feather ; of plw- mules or down feathers ; sometimes mixed with feathers having a structure intermediate between the double feather and plu- mule, and denominated flake feathers ; and of piliform feathers, or feathers resembling hairs ; the plumules, flake-feathers, and hair-feathers, being always, as well as in almost “every case, the accessory feathers, concealed among the true feathers, the extre- mities of which alone form the surface of the plumage. Having now briefly described the general structure of the plumage, I shall proceed to the particular details, which may be rendered subservient to the purposes of description and classifi- cation. And, in the first place, it will be necessary to define the situation of the feathers, denominating them according to the parts of the surface oa which they are placed. Considered with respect to situation, feathers may be named as follows : : CapitAL, on the Head. Frontal, on the fore-part of the head. Vertical, on the upper-part of the head. Occipital, on the hind-part of the head. Genal, on the side of the head, under the eye. Loral, on the space between the beak and the eye. Marginirostal, round the basilar margin of the beak. Upper marginirostral, at the base of the upper mandible. Lower marginirostral, at the base of the under mandible. Auricular, about the aperture of the ear. Palpebral, on the eyelids. Ciliary, on the edges of the eyelids. Cervical, on the Neck. Posterior cervical, on the back-part of the neck. Anterior cervical, on the fore-part of the neck. Lateral cervical, on the sides of the neck. Each of these may be subdivided into upper, middle, and lower. ON THE BODY. Dorsau, on the Back. Anterior dorsal, on the part of the back nearest the neck. —————————=—a- Mr W. Macgillivray on the Covering of Birds. 129 Middle dorsal, on the middle part of the back. Posterior dorsal, on the part of the back nearest the tail. ee PEecroRaAL, on the Breast. Anterior pectoral, on the fore-part of the breast. Middle pectoral, on the middle-part of the breast. _ Posterior pectoral, on the part of the breast next the belly. Lateral pectoral, on the sides of the breast. ABDOMINAL, on the Belly. These may be divided according to their relative situation ; but this is searcely necessary. Hypocuonnpriat, on the sides of the Body under the Wings. _ "The same remark applies to these as to the abdominal. ALAR, on the Wings. Upper Alar, on the upper part or dorsal aspect of the wings. Under or Lower Alar, on the under part or sternal aspect of the wings. These feathers are usually termed wing coverts. ‘The name is absurd, because all feathers are coverts, and .the cervical or dorsal feathers _ might_as well be called neck coverts and back coverts. Alar Quills, feathers growing from the posterior edge of the wing. 'These are best defined according to their connection with the bones of the wing. Primary Quiils, the first ten, counting from the outer end of the wing, situ- ated upon the digital and carpal bones. Secondary Quills, those situated upon the brachial bones. Tertiary Quills, those situated along the humeral bone. Quill Coverts, a row of feathers immediately covering the base of the quills. They approach in compactness and strength to the quills, and may, therefore, with propriety be distinguished from the other wing feathers. Primary, secondary and tertiary Quill Coverts, according to the rank of the quills over which they lie. Upper and Under Coverts, on the dorsal and sternal aspect of the wing. Scapulars, a bunch of long feathers, situated at the proximal extremity of the os humeri on the back. Axillary feathers, a bunch of long straight feathers, situated at the proximal extremity of the humerus, under the wing. ON THE LEGS. Tibial, feathers covering the tibia, or what in ordinary language is called the thigh. Tarsal, covering the tarsus. _ Digital, covering the toes, , Caupat, on the Tail. Caudal feathers or rather Quills, feathers terminating the body behind. Caudal Quill Coverts, upper and lower, feathers covering the caudal quills at their base, above and beneath. OCTOBE R—DECEMBER 1827. I ( 130) A Tour to the South of France and the Pyrenees in the year 1825. By G. A. Warker Arnott, Esq. F.R.S.E. F.L.S. M.W.S. &c. (Continued from former Volume, p. 356). } 5: Boe remained two days at Perpignan, to dry, pack up, and send off the plants we had by this time gathered (to the amount of 7600 specimens), we set off on the 10th June for Arles in Roussillon. As the distance of Arles from Perpignan is not very great, we arrived in sufficient time to make a short excursion toa hill a little to the south of the village. It was in this walk that we first began to meet with Pyrenean plants, more strictly speaking, as those we had already seen are to be found all around the Medi- terranean. On this hill we found the Ramondia pyrenaica, Pas- serina dioica, Antirrhinum asarinum, Teucrium pyrenaicum, Achillea odorata, and Globularia nana. This last is usually united to G. cordifolia ; but if they be not distinct species, they are certainly most marked varicties. In all the herbaria I have examined, I have never seen one specimen of G. nana from Switzerland ; and, on the other hand, the G. cordifolia is so ex- tremely scarce in the Pyrenees, that I have only observed it in one spot, the Port de Benasque. I have also a specimen of the G. nana from the garden of Perpignan, much larger than the usual size of the wild plant; but even cultivation does not shew the characters of the Swiss plant. Among the Acotyledones, we observed little worthy of notice. Aspidiwm Halleri and Hypnum rugolosum, W.M. may, however, be mentioned. On the 11th, having experienced wretched accommodation, we quitted Arles at an early hour. Approaching now the moun- tains, we found the roads no longer practicable for wheel-car- riages. We therefore resolved in future to travel almost entire- ly on foot, followed by mules, to carry the paper, plants, and provisions we found necessary to transport from station to sta- tion. Notwithstanding we had left Arles by five, the sun was already very hot, and annoyed us excessively, and that, joined to the number of good plants we gathered along the road, re- tarded us so much, that we did not arrive at Prats de Mollo to breakfast till one o’clock. In this course, we observed for the first time Prunella grandiflora, Silene nutans, Veronica Mr Arnott’s Tour to the South of France. 181 urticafolia. Medicago suffruticosa* occurred in the bed of a torrent. But what principally delighted us, was Cardamine latifolia, and a new species of Santolina (S. pectinata, Benth. Cat.). This is a remarkable species, closely allied to S. alpina and S. eriosperma, and agreeing with them in having the leayes » pinnatifid, but differing in being a shrub, and having the scales of the involucrum nervose and slightly pubescent. Prats de Mollo is a very pretty small town, situated in an agreeable and picturesque valley. With the exception of a short walk the evening of our arrival along the banks of the river that passes the town, in which we found Scrophularia Scopolit, Thalictrum aquilegifolium, Saxi- Sraga rotundifolia, Cardamine latifolia, Lamium stoloniferum, Lap. (which is certainly the same with L. maculatum, Linn. and L. hirsutum, Lam.), and Buniwm pyrenaicum, Lap. ( Myrrhis pyrenaicum, Spr. but not distinct even as a variety from the common M. Bunium, Spr.), we made no excursion but to the Tour de Mir, an old watch-tower on the sumnut of the hill to the south of the town. As Prats de Mollo is about 500 toises above the level of the sea, and the Tour de Mir is still more con- siderably elevated, I should not suppose it to be at a less elevation than 4000 feet, and of course we expected plants of a somewhat different description than we had as yet encountered. On our ascent, we deviated slightly from the road, to seek for the Se- dum divaricatum, Lap. and Orobanche pruinosa. 'The former was not ‘yet in flower; but notwithstanding the long argument held forth by Lapeyrouse in the Supplement to the “ Histoire abrégée des Plantes des Pyrenées,” it was perfectly clear that De Candolle was right in saying that it was identical with S. saxatile of other authors ‘+. As to Orobanche pruinosa, this locality was interesting, as being the only one in France, and the only one known to Lapeyrouse when he described the spe- cies. The plant had, however, been imported along with beans from Catalonia; and it is not probable that the farmer here shall * The flowers of this are yellow, not blue, as Lapeyrouse says. Can his M. tornata be the same plant ? + Such I state as my own opinion, after a careful comparison of numerous specimens gathered principally in the Vallée d’Andorre, with the Swiss S. sax- atile. My friend Mr Bentham, however, considers the two as very distinct, 12 132 Mr Arnott’s Tour to the South of France ever be rid of the nuisance, unless he takes the advice we gave him, that he should refrain from sowing beans in the neigh- bourhood for at least a season, and at the same time procure new seed from a distance. Soon after leaving the farm on which these plants are found, we met with Ramondia pyrenaica and Erinus alpinus. Hieraciwm auricula was also in the neigh- bourhood ; and on some rocks near the summit Globularia nana was abundantly in flower. But the most interesting plant we observed was Sawvifraga media, Gouan (S. calyciflora, Lap.), which was abundant in the crevices of the walls of the tower; and along with it also on the summit, are found Moehringia muscosa, Lonicera pyrenaica, Festuca flavescens, and Valeriana tripteris and montana. 'Vhese two last are surely but one spe- cies: .they here were mixed together, with innumerable states between them. On our descent, we also observed several plants of interest, as Avena versicolor, DC. (Av. sempervirens *, Lap. and Vill. not Schrad.), Helleborus viridis, Arabis alpina, and Alchemilla hybrida, Hoffm. or A. pubescens, Lap. Notwith- standing the elevation, it will be seen that the plants were not very alpine. During the few days we made Prats de Mollo our head-quar- ters, we experienced the utmost kindness and attention from M. Xa- tard, Juge de Paix of the canton. He has been long oceupied with the botany of this department of the Eastern Pyrenees, and it was he who furnished Lapeyrouse with all the plants he has cited to grow about Collioure, Bagnols, and Prats de Mollo. He not only allowed us to examine his herbarium, in order to determine some of the plants that Lapeyrouse had in view, but procured us the guides whom he himself usually took, and who were con- * Av. sempervirens has, in some way, got strangely confounded with De. yeuxia sedenensis, Clar. although in this last there is only one fertile floret ac- companied by a sterile one, or subulate pilose process, as is well represented in P. de Beauvois’ figure, and which accords precisely with my specimen. Av. longifolia, Thore, has also been confounded with Av, sempervirens, but its. glumes contain only two florets, and only one of them is provided with an awn or arista. I may here mention, that Deyeuwia sedenensis does not appear to me to differ from D. montana, the figure of which last in Pallissot, is not correct. Several other species of what are put into the genus Calamagrostis, have the twisted geniculate awn ; and the whole of that genus, having the inner valve of the corolla bicarinate, has been erroneously arranged by Kunth. near Agrostis. : Se Te a ge re Pe EE and the Pyrenees, m 1825. 133 sequently acquainted with the localities, and, even with the plants we were chiefly in quest of. One peasant we dispatched to the Hermitage of St Andiol, to procure us the Lithospermum oleefo- tium, while another was sent off to the Bac del Fau, to gather the Anthyllis erinacea.. Both these localities are at a considerable distance, and on the Spanish frontier. The first of these guides _ returned with a good cargo; but the other informed us that the plant was not in flower, but that he had pulled off the seed, and brought it. A moment’s inspection of the contents of his box shewed that the plants had been in flower, for the fruit he had gathered was the inflated calyx. Our disappointment was no doubt great, but it was resolved to send off the man again the following morning, with one of our party, while the others should be employed in arranging and drying what plants we already had. This second attempt was successful, notwithstanding the badness of the day. The Anthyllis formed hemispherical masses on the ground, the spinous and rigid branches rendering it very difficult to be laid hold of, without the aid of a sharp hook at- tached to the extremity of a cane, and with which it might first be cut to pieces. The guide yesterday had destroyed the greater part of the flowers, so that Bentham, who volunteered this ex- cursion, only procured the young fruit. At the Bac del Fau, Mr Bentham met with nothing else of note, unless Campanula speciosa, Ramondia pyrenaica, and Onosma echioides be men- tioned as such. The guide who went to St Andiol brought with him a specimen or two of our new Santolina. Prats de Mollo is one of the best points for a botanist’s resi- dence in the Eastern Pyrenees. But in order to examine the warm valleys on the Spanish side of the mountains, one ought to be there a few days earlier than we were; while, again, to botanize on Costabonna, and the other elevated mountains in the neighbourhood, one must be at least a fortnight later. To make the excursion in search of the Anthyllis, which ought not to be neglected, one ought, on account of the distance and fright- ful roads, to sleep at St Laurent de Cerda, or at Custoja, and devote to it at least three days; nor would the excursion to St Andiol require less. On looking over M. Xatard’s herbarium, principally named - by Lapeyrouse, we observed many mistakes which that author has made in his “ Histoire abrégée.” His Mr Arnott’s Tour to the South of France _ Bromus glaucus is B. erectus. geniculatus Festuca myurus. Hedysarum herbaceum Onobrychys supina. crista galli a —— caput galli. Ranunculus Xatardi R. trilobus. Stachys barbuta S. heraclea. Centaurea cerulescens C. maculosa, Galium suaveolens megalospermum is G. villarsit, Req. eometerhizon papillosum G. leve. Phyteuma Scheuchzert P. orbicularis. Poa serotina P. trivialis. Trifolium gemelium T. Bocconi. vesiculosum T. resupinatum. Aatardi T. maritimum *. intermedium T. hybridum, Savi t. On the 14th June, having packed up and sent by the more common and accessible road the greater part of our baggage, we left Prats de Mollo, accompanied by a mule, loaded with as much paper and provisions as might suffice for three days for the whole party, and a guide to conduct us across the Canigou to Prades. After experiencing some inconvenience from stormy weather, we at length reached the Hermitage of St Guilhem. The view from the top of the ridge was extremely fine, extending a great way down the valleys and the lower Pyrenees to the east, or rather, I may say, to the Albéres mountains. At the sum- mit of this ridge, too, the vegetation was changed in a great de- gree. We now observed truly alpine plants, among which were Polygonum alpinum, Thymus alpinus, Epilobium alsinefo- lium, and Jasione humilis. This last species, I may remark, has been confounded by some with J. perennis, but really ap- pears very distinct. J. perennis has, on the other hand, been united by some to J. montana, but that is an annual species. I do not know what Sir J. E. Smith's opinion is; but even in his * Mr Bentham remarks with justice, in his Catalogue, p. 125. that 7. Xa- tardi var. «. in DC. Prod. is precisely the 7. maritimum, but that his var. 6, or T. beticum, seems a distinct species. t The 7r. hybridum, Savi and DC. Prod. is not 7. hybridum, Linn. To this last 7. michelianum, Savi, isasynonym. For the plant in question, there- fore, the name given by Lapeyrouse, 7. intermedium, must be retained, and the 7. intermedium, Gussone and DC. Prod. must (if a legitimate species) be ew named. Sash ine Mast eas Nye ee eee a a ee ae eT . and the Pyrenees, in 1825. 135 late work, he has given no specific character to J. montana, thereby seeming to declare that there is but one species of the genus. We obtained shelter during the night in the hermitage. As the morning was very foggy, and the rain continued to fall in torrents, we did not dare to attempt the passage of the Cani- gou, but contented ourselves with gathering what we could in our vicinity ; and there were, indeed, some species that were prized very much. Convallaria verticillata, Orchis ustulata, Urtica hispida, Asphodelus albus, and Lilium pyrenaicum, were all of them desirable. Scrophularia Scopolit and Quercus mi- crocarpa? Lap. also occurred *, and likewise Apargia hispida. About mid-day, the mist cleared away, and the weather be- gan to improve, so that we now resolved to cross the Canigou. On our ascent, we found a great many alpine plants: Gentiana acaulis verna, Primula integrifolia, Aretia carnea, and Ranun- culus pyreneus, covered all the wet banks, and T'rifolium al- pestre all the dry. The plants we observed to extend to the greatest elevation, were Aretia carnea and Sempervivum monta- num, not yet in flower; the leaves of the latter were covered _ with Uredo sempervivi. * I may mention, that, we also observed here, as well as on our ascent to the Treizabents, Veronica fruticulosa, var. Linn. and Sm. (a variety of V. saxa- tilis, Lap. DC. Fl. Fr., and Hook. Fl. Scot., but not so according to Smith, nor, apparently, Brown). This, which appears to be the plant found on Ben Lawers in Scotland, and which, alone, of the allied species, we found (and that hot merely in different places on the Canigou, but also in the Vallée d’Eynes, and on the ascent to the Port Negre in the Vallée d’Andorre,) in the Pyre- nees, is nearly intermediate between the true V. savatilis and the cultivated V. fruticulosa, which last, alone, is that of De Candolle, and agrees with Haller, Hely. t. 15. The only character, however, that I can see between V. fruticu- losa and sazatilis, is, that in the former the leaves are always somewhat lanceo- late (though often at the same time obtuse and entire), and in the latter they are nearly round or ovate. In V. fruticulosa, the peduncles are scarcely so long as the bracteas, while in the other, they are usually much longer, which gives the spike, or rather raceme, a lax appearance. I have only to add, that the cultivation of V. sazatilis of Scotland for three or four years in my own garden at Arlary, has so much approached it to the Pyrenean plant, that, had I not, I think with considerable accuracy, ascertained on the subject the opi- nion of Sir J. E. Smith, I should have preferred uniting the latter to V. saza- tilis, if, indeed, V. saxatilis and fruticulosa be really distinct species. From V. saxatilis, the V. nummularia, Gouan (V. irregularis, Lap.), differs, by its 136 Mr Arnott’s T'our to the South of France. ‘In addition to what I have mentioned as the more common, we found scattered the [beris garrexiana (1 cannot believe that this differs from Zberis sempervirens), Plantago sericea, W. et K. Cardamine resedifolia, Spergula saginoides, Pyrethrum al- pinum, and Primula viscosa, all which we procured as we fol- lowed the mule along the footpath to the summit of that part of the mountain called the Treizabents. The scene at this poimt was grand. Our view extended far down into Spain, to Girona, Fi- gueras, and the Bay of Rosas. Looking back towards the her- mitage, we had at some distance on our left the true summit of the Canigou, about 300 feet still above us; but as the snow seemed newly melted from off it, and no appearance of» vegeta- tion, we felt no inclination to go out of our road, for the sole purpose of mounting to the top. On our right was another point of the mountain called: the Sept Hommes. | The highest ' part of the Canigou is said to be about 1450 toises, or 8700 feet above the level of the sea: it is the most elevated mountain in the Pyrenées oriéntales, and is. seen even from Montpellier. We now descended the north side, and, though we found again several of those we picked up in our ascent, yet, compa- ratively speaking, few specimens were in flower, owing to the large masses of snow that still lay unmelted. According to our guide’s account, there was even more snow now than had been a month before, owing to a second storm. Indeed, we ‘saw proofs of it in the beautiful Senecio leucophyllus, which appa- rently had almost been in flower before the last storm came on, but that so buried it beneath the snow, and checked its progress, that, even at this advanced season, we could not procure one good specimen. As, however, we came down to the more shel- tered and warmer spots, we found abundance of other plants, among which were Sisymbrium pinnatifidum, Anemone alpina, var. sulphurea, Rhododendrum ferrugineum, Paronychia poly- gonifolia, Reseda sesamoides, besides the Azalea procumbens * in profusion. At length, after a fatiguing, if not a long walk, -we arrived at Cady, a small summer cabin for the shepherds at the entrance of the wood, and at the base of the Penge sum- mit of the Canigou. Having passed here a pretty good night, thanks to thie fa- * TI agree with Mr Don in thinking this to be the only legitimate species of Asgalea, and that all the others form a section of Rhododendron. —— eS ee ee ; ’ , J ; and the Pyrenees, in 1825. 137 tigues of yesterday, to some armfuls of straw that the shepherds had left last year behind them, and to the fires we kept up all night both outside and inside the hut, we commenced the la- bours of the 16th at break of day, by gathering specimens of Ranunculus montanus and Stellaria cerastoides that were grow- ing before our hovel, and at a short distance Genista purgans. As we alternately ascended and descended through the wood, we procured very few plants worth mentioning (among them, however, were Linaria alpina, Lonicera nigra, Ribes petraum, Saxifraga geranoides, and Apargia alpina ), but were well re- compensed by the delightful and varied views we had. The finest’ perhaps of all, was at the summit of the last slight eminence we mounted, before beginning our rapid descent to the country below. Behind us was the Canigou, with its bare rugged tops, and snow lying in the ravines: on the one side -was the Pla Guilhem, and on the other a steep bank, with a torrent and cascade at the bottom, beyond which were a series of aiguilles, or needle-shaped ridges, boasting only of a few straggling trees of the Pinus wncinata (the common pine of this mountain) ; before us lay a long and winding descent towards ‘Vernet. Before we arrived at Vernet, we saw on the left perched up on a ridge of the mountain the St Martin de Canigou, inha- ited by a hermit. The castellated appearance of the house, which is of a pure white colour, has a fine effect from the road, and on the whole renders it a much more desirable place of re- sidence than the hermitage of St Guilhem, at which we slept two nights ago. On our descent, we observed Sambucus racemosus, Potentilla rupestris, Viola biflora (the scapes were uniformly 1-flowered), Urtica hispida, Festuca spadicea, Prunella grandiflora, and Draba nemoralis, and close to Vernet Sempervivum arachnoi- _deum. We reached Vernet about three o’clock, and, after the delay of an hour or two, in which time we procured with diffi- culty some refreshments, we pushed on, and, passing Ville- franche, arrived at Prades about eight o’clock in the evening. Villefranche is a remarkably strong place; not only does the fort on an eminence command the town, but the only passable “roads to Vernet and Mont Louis pass through it. ‘The gates of the town are also shut every evening at nine. Between Ver- 188 Mr Arnott’s Tour to the South of France net and Villefranche we found Quercus tauzin, Hypecoum gran- diflorum, Benth. and Myosotis lappula, and about Villefranche Galiuwm maritimum ! Bupleurum fruticosum, Cnidium pyrenee- wm, Spr. and Galium leve. At Prades we made acquaintance with M. Coder, a zealous botanist, who, during our stay at this place, procured us every possible facility for the excursions and researches we had to make. Like M. Xatard of Prats de Mollo, he opened to us his collection of plants, particularly of the department we were in, and shewed us also several specimens that had served M. De Lapeyrouse wherewith to make several of his species. He ac- companied us also in a part of our excursions, and got us ex- cellent guides for the others. The most important we made were to the Trancade d’Ambouilla and the Font de Comps. The former is close to Villefranche, and, with the assistance of M. Coder, we procured a few good plants, though the greater part had long since done flowering :—Salsola prostrata, Buffo- nia perennis, Galiwm glaucwm, Lysimachia ephemerum, Ge- nista hispanica, Antirrhinum latifolium, all occurred here. Bupleurwm petiolare, Lap. a mere variety of B. falcatum, was also met with. One specimen was got in an advanced state of Orobus filiformis *, Lam. and a few of Alyssum halimifolium. This plant, though De Candolle quotes this exact locality for his A. macrocarpum, is nevertheless the true 4A. halimifolium, Linn, at least it accords precisely with what is found under that name . in the maritime Alps; but 4. pyrenaicum, Lap. is, on the other hand, a variety, if not identical with the true 4. macrocarpum from the Cevennes, as De Candolle properly judged in the Sup- plement to the “ Flore Frangaise,” but which, by some mistake, he has kept up as a good species in his ‘‘ Systema. +” * Mr Bentham refers this to O. albus, but Seringe in DC. Prod. to O. ca- mescens. My specimen is too far gone for me to determine to which it belongs. I may state here, that, in the three first varieties of O. canescens of Ser. the alze of the corollz are in part soldered to the carina, which is not the case with O. albus. The style in his var. y is nearly linear; but in his var. , it is ex- tremely broad towards the apex. Perhaps this last is a distinct species, and to-be referred to Lathyrus. + At the Trancade d’Ambouilla, we also met with Hippocrepis comosa. I merely mention the circumstance here, in order to state what Mr Ben- tham and I only ascertained lately, that Hippocrepis scorpioides, Req. in Benth. Cat. and in the former part of this journal, is identical with H. glauea, Ten. ae ee —— ae! and the Pyrenees, in 1825. 139 The excursion to the Font del Comps was made by two of the party only, the other remaining at Prades, to change the plants ; and indeed those who remained behind were the most fortunate. About mid-day, as had been the case every day for upwards of a week, a thunder-storm commenced, with so much rain, that those who collected the plants were obliged to take shelter in caverns the greater part of the time they were out on the mountain; and it was with the utmost difficulty a very few specimens of Alyssum pyrenaicum, Lap., Lavandula pyrenai- cum, Senecio doronicum, Linum alpinum, Globularia nudicaulis, Adonis flava, Passerina dioica, and Cynoglossum sylvaticum, were procured. ‘The last plant alluded to, seems to be the true C. syloaticum, Heencke (C. Henckii, R. & S.), in which the car- pels are rugose between the bristles. C. sylvaticum, Sm., on the other hand, is identical with C. montanum, Lam. (a name which must therefore be retained), and has the fruit even (Je@vis) be- tween the bristles: with Lamarck’s plant must also be ranged C. pellucidum, Lap. Dracocephalum austriacum was sought for diligently, but without success. Saxifraga media and Ono- pordum pyrenaicum were, however, observed. The mountain takes its name from a small spring, close to where the best plants were found, so very inconsiderable as scarcely to supply water enough for breakfast. While these expeditions were made by ourselves, we dispatch- ed a guide whom M. Codére was in the habit of employing in a similar way, to Serdynya, to bring us a panier full of Onopor- dum pyrenaicum: he returned with nothing else. This plant differs essentiaily from the O. acaulon, Linn., that having one large sessile flower in the centre of the leaves, whereas the Py- renean plant has at least ten or a dozen, also sessile, among the leaves. On the 21st, after some days residence at Prades, MM. Re- quien and Audibert, finding that they could not afford time suf- ficient to penetrate farther into the mountains, determined to re- turn home by Perpignan, whilst Mr Bentham and I should continue our course to Mont Louis. We accordingly set about making preparations, in order that we might separate the fol- lowing morning. oe (To be continued. ) (140° t Account of Harris, one of the Districts wie the Outer Hebrides. Communicated by the Author *. Ar a short distance from the mainland of Scotland, and along the western shores of its northern and middle divisions, lies scat- tered an interrupted series of islands of various sizes. These are denominated the Inner Hebrides. Beyond these, and sepa- rated from them by a channel, called the Minch, of variable breadth, from. fifteen to forty miles, is extended a continuous range of islands, consisting of five principal masses, with a pro- digious multitude of small islets, from three or four miles dia- meter to a few yards. The direction of the range is north-east and south-west. From the Butt of the Lewis, the most northern point, to Berneray of Barray, otherwise called Barra Head, the most southern, the distance is about 130 miles. It is bound- ed on the east by the Minch, on the west by the Atlantic Ocean. The districts of this range are the following :—Lewis, Harris, North Uist, Benbecula, South Uist, and Barray. Lewis, the most northern, and Harris, form but one island. The others are distinct islands, although a passage at low water may be made from North Uist to Benbecula, and from the latter to South Uist, over the sands by which they are separated. The mainland of Harris is about twenty miles long, and is naturally divided into two districts. The northern, joining Lewis at a boundary of about eight miles, extended from the head of Loch Resort on the west coast, to the turn of Loch Seaforth on the east, and uniting with the southern at an isth- mus named Tarbert, about a quarter of a mile across, consists of a range of lofty, rugged, and sterile mountains, running from east to west, or nearly at right angles to the general direction of the island. One of these mountains, named Clisheim +, is the * Read before the Wernerian Natural History Society, December 1827. ~ Dr Macculloch, who gives this mountain the name of Clisseval, esti- mates its height at 2700 feet. He found that of Langa, in its neighbourhood, to be 2407, and, if this be correct, Clisheim, being apparently at least 800 feet higher, is probably nearer the above estimate than the Doctor’s. ee Account of Harris. 141 highest ground in the Outer Hebrides, and appears to be some- what upwards of 3000 feet above the sea. ‘This mountain range is crossed by several deep valleys, on the sides of which, aiid in other places, are some of the most magnificent rocks to be seen in Scotland. The pass of Miavag presents a terraced pre- cipice about 1000 feet high ; and in the Glen of Ulladil, there is a rock, of not much less elevation, at one place overhanging its base many yards. These mountains are in general bare and rocky. The soil is universally peat of different varieties, and the. vegetation consists chiefly of heath, with carices, junci, scirpi, and an abundance of lichens. In the whole of this tract there is not a piece of good arable land of the extent of four acres. There are several lakes in the valleys, at various alti- tudes, and of various sizes, none exceeding two miles in length. The water of all these lakes is of a deep-brown colour, as is that of the numerous rills and brooks which descend from the mountains. There is at present no wood, although the roots and stumps of the common fir are seen in many places. At the eastern extremity of the range is the low, swampy, and heathy ‘sland of Scalpay, on the point of which, that projects farthest into the Minch, is built a lighthouse ; and at the western ex- tremity, the high and rocky island of Scarp, both separated by a very narrow channel. There are many other small islands, es- pecially on the eastern side, which it is not necessary to enume- rate. The shores are rocky, but in general low. Many of the harbours are excellent ; those of Scalpay, more generally known among mariners by the name of Glass, are well known, as well as East Loch Tarbert; but there are others equally good to the west of Tarbert, and in fact round the whole district. This di- vision is in the country termed Na Beannibh, 2. e. the moun- tains. It is also called the Forest, not probably so much on account of its having been formerly wooded, as because it was the resort of great numbers of red deer. The other, or southern division of the mainland of Harris, commences at the isthmus above mentioned, which in many maps is erroneously made the boundary between Harris and Lewis, and extends to the channel which separates Harris from North Uist, It is entirely mountainous, but the mountains are not so high as those of the Forest, the most clevated, Ronaval, 142 . Account of Harris. Bencapval, and Ben Loskentir, not exceeding 2000 feet. The aspect of this region, as seen from the Minch, is singularly un- inviting, almost the whole surface appearing to consist of bare white rock. Indeed, a more perfect picture of sterility can scarcely be imagined. Viewed from the west, however, this dis- trict has a very different appearance, the shores being in general . sandy, and the hills for the most part covered with a green ve- getation. Along the east coast, which is everywhere rocky and low, there are numerous inlets and creeks, here denominated bays, that word being supposed to correspond to the Gaelic baigh, which latter, however, appears to be nothing else than a corruption of the Danish voe. Many of these afford good har- bours. Many small islands lie along this coast. The southern shore partakes in a great measure of the nature of the eastern, being rocky and low, but toward the west side it exhibits a few sandy beaches, and ends in a tremendous precipice, with a high neck of land running out from it, in which there are two fine caves. On the west coast there are, besides several sandy beaches, two great sands or fords, as they are here called, name- ly, the sand of Northtown and that of Loskentir. They consist of nearly level expanses, each extending upwards ef a mile from the sea. At their mouth there is a long bar formed by the surf and winds, broken only in one place, close to the adjacent rocky land, where a channel is formed, which admits the waters of the sea at each tide. These, at spring-tides, cover the whole sands. The rest of the coast is rocky, but low, excepting to- ward Tarbert, where there are tremendous cliffs. This division is intersected by two great valleys, one passing from the sand of Luskentor to the east coast, the other from the farm of Borg. The bottom of a great portion of the latter is occupied by a lake about three miles long, the largest in the district. There are thus formed three natural subdivisions ; that to the south of the lake mentioned consists of six mountains, including the peninsu- lar one of Ben Capval, which are separated by broadish valleys. The vegetation here is tolerable, excepting on Ronaval, which is rocky and bare, and exhibits on its eastern side a fine excava- tion, resembling the crater of a volcano. It is chiefly heathy, however, excepting along the west side, where the pasturage is rich and varied.. The middle division, from Loch Langavat to why Account of Harris. 143 the northern valley, is marked by a ridge of very rugged moun- tains, running in the general direction of the range, and situated nearer the western side. Along the west coast of this subdivi- sion, there is some good pasture, but on the eastern side, the only soil being peat, and even that existing only in patches among the rocks, the vegetation is extremely coarse and scanty. From one of the summits of the ridge mentioned, I have counted upwards of eighty small lakes on its eastern side. The northern subdivision consists of Ben Loskentir, which gradually lowers to the eastward. The lakes in the low grounds on its eastern part are also extremely numerous. The water of all these lakes is brown. There are no harbours on the west coast of this southern division of the mainland of Harris, and it is even very difficult for boats to land on the beaches, owing to the high surf. It possesses no sylvan vegetation, excepting a few bushes in ruts and on islets in the lakes. The principal island is Taransay, on the west coast, the greater part of which is rocky, although it contains good pasture. This division has no general name applied to it in the country, but its western part is called the Machar, i. ¢. the sandy district, and its eastern, Na Baigh, the Bays, or more correctly the Voes. The Mainland of Harris is separated from the large island of North Uist, by a channel about 8 miles broad, denominated the Sound of Harris, over which lie scattered a prodigious mul- titude of islands and rocks, interspersed with reefs, shoals and sand-banks. Of these islands only four are inhabited: Pabbay, Berneray, Kelligray and Ensay. Pabbay, the most western, is a high conical island, about 2 miles in diameter, rocky in its northern and western parts, sandy on the eastern, and pretty well covered with good soil on the southern, which is low. Ber- neray lies to the south of Pabbay, at the distance of about 3 miles, and is situated close upon Uist, the intervening channel, about a mile over being named the Kyle or Strait of Uist. It is about 4 miles long, and from 2 to 1} broad. The western coast is sandy, and along it, as well as on the east coast of Pab- bay, the sand has committed frightful ravages. The rest of the island is in general fertile, and the pasture grounds are covered with a fine, short, green vegetation. ‘'T’o the east of Berneray lies the small island of Kelligray, which is low, sandy and fer- 4 144 Account of Harris. tile at its northern end, heathy and covered with peat at the southern. 'T'o the north of this island, and separated by a nar- row and most rapid and boisterous channel, is the island of En- say, which is perhaps the finest of its size in the Outer Hebrides, being covered with a beautiful vegetation, and for the greater part cultivated. To the eastward of these larger islands lie a multitude of smaller, which, extending from the mainland of Harris to the immediate vicinity of North Uist, present, from their number and diversified appearance as to size and form, one of the most singular scenes that occurs on any part of our coasts. Hydrography.—The ocean exhibits no other appearances than such as are common to the west coast of Scotland in gene- ral. From the prodigious swell that follows a western gale in ‘winter, to the glassy smoothness of a summer sea, there are many varieties of surface operated, but these require no parti- cular notice. The bottom of the sea is generally sandy along the west coast, and in the sound ; in some parts sandy, in others muddy or gravelly on the eastern coast, with numerous sunk rocks, reefs, and shoals. The water is always clear, even after astorm. 'The bottom may be seen to a great depth, and where it is sandy, it is pleasant to look down and watch the motions of the great shoalsof sandeels, cuddies (Ammodytes Tobianus and the fry of Gadus carbonarius) and other fishes, or from an elevation near the beaches to observe the mergansers, shags, divers, and other aquatic birds pursuing them under the water, with almost incredible velocity, and using the same motions as if flying in the air, only that the feet as well as the wings are called into action. In the sound the currents are extremely rapid, and at spring- tides, when they have to contend with a contrary gale, rise into short and jumbling waves, highly dangerous to boats. A most violent agitation of this kind is also produced when a great swell rolls in from the west meeting the streamof ebb. I need scarcely mention that in the sound, the flood passes eastward into the Minch, and the ebb westward into the ocean. In au- tumn the sea swarms with Medusz of various species, some of enormous size. Some of these emit at night a beautiful pale light resembling an electrical flash, seeming to permeate, or be emitted by, their whole substance. The usual sparkling lumi- © 3 . Hydrography. 145 ousness of the sea is also frequently very remarkable at that sea- son. Wrecks are not frequent on this most boisterous and rugged : coast, because it is out of the line of navigation between North 4 America and the west coast of Scotland, and the east coast, a- long which a considerable number of vessels may often be seen passing, is provided with abundance of good harbours. Logs of various kinds, chiefly fir, pine, and mahogany, are, how- ever, frequently cast ashore on the west coast, with occasionally a hogshead of rum or sugar, as well as bales of cotton and bags of coffee. Several species of nuts from the West Indies are not unfrequently found along the shores, as well as a few foreign : shells, such as Janthina fragilis and Spirula Peronii. Pumice and slags also occur in small quantities, and I have seen pieces of bitu- minous wood found on the shores, resembling the surterbrand of Iceland, which renders it probable that these substances may have come from that island. Being on the subject of water, it may not be amiss to say a word respecting the lakes and brooks. Of the former, I need only add to what has already been said, that, in most cases, their bot- toms are gravelly, or consist of angular or rounded pebbles, intermixed with mud, and sometimes muddy, or of peat. The streams are in winter seen gushing from every hollow in the hills ; but in summer there are few that remain permanent, if the 4 weather continue dry for many weeks, which, however, is sel- } dom the case. There are no rivers of any great size: that which f empties itself into Loch Resort, however, is at least equal to the Water of Leith, and there are several others not much inferior. Springs are by no means rare, although all that I have seen are small. Many of them are chalybeate * * In the island of Pabbay, there are at least ten springs, some of them pretty large. In the peninsula of Ben Capval, there are five. From Cosladir to Nisbost, along and close to the road, in a line of 5 miles, there are five good springs. In as far as I have been able to observe, the rest of the coun- try is equally supplied with springs ; but Dr MacCulloch perhaps thought it necessary to suppose that spring water should not exist in the Outer Hebri- des, because the rock there being every where the same “ eternal gneiss,” the rain waters were unable to penetrate it. This, to use the Doctor’s own . OCTOBER——DECEMBER 1827. K za 146 Account of Harris. Climate.—The climate of Harris may be said, in a general sense, to be extremely varied ; for a great part cold and boiste- rous, with a very large quantity of rai, and but little snow, considering its high latitude *. Spring commences about the 20th of March, when the first shoots of grass make their ap- pearance, and the Draba verna begins to unfold its small white blossoms. It is not until the end of May that the pasture- grounds have fairly exchanged the grey and sad livery of winter for the green and lively hue of summer. From the beginning of July to the end of August may be considered as the summer season, when the sandy pasture-grounds of the west coast and islands are decorated with the most diversified hues. The end of October terminates the autumnal season. The rest is winter. During the whole spring season easterly winds prevail; at first interrupted by blasts from other quarters, accompanied with sleet or rain, but, as the season advances, becoming more steady, words, “ offers a strong example of the necessity which the geologist is under of taking nothing on trust, and of concluding nothing from inductions, when the evidence of contact can be obtained.” Western Islands, vol. i. p. 143. * We have as yet no data for ascertaining the temperature of any portion - of the Outer Hebrides.. It would scarcely interfere with the labours of the clergy there, to pay some little attention to the natural phenomena around them, nor would they be acting more inconsistently with their character in marking the indications of a barometer or thermometer, than in attending to their cows, and superintending the cultivation of their farms. I am not certain that there ever was a thermometer in Harris, excepting an unfortu- nate one which I carried there in 1820, and which one of the fair natives . broke to pieces, with the view of ‘appropriating its envelope as a needle case, before I had made any other use of it than ascertaining the temperature of a few springs, which I found to be as follows : ’ Springs. Date. Water. = air. Spring at North Town, . - June 2. 2Pp.m.. 51° . 52° Ditto, f Pe ee ee | Ditto, - . . Oct. 10. - Noon. 51 48 Mineral welt at Big ~— ead June 3. Sam. 483 47 Ditto, ° - * Pere 485 — Ditto, - > - —- Noon. 485 61 Mineral spring at Drumnancaorach, — 3. Noon. 48 49 Mineral spring, south side of Loch Langa- wats . - - —3 lpm 49 48 Ditto, " ‘ 3 peaked 9: 1 ee es Spring at Drumaphuinnd, _ - — i. 3pm. 49 50- Tobar-a-chladich, Nisbost, - ——--=-| Noon. 49 59 ae ee Mie IE a eereeppea Z oR Climate. 3 147 and accompanied with dry weather, occasioning much sand-drift. The first part of summer is sometimes fine, but not unfrequent- ly wet, with southerly and westerly winds. There is seldom any thunder at this season; nor does the summer temperature scarcely ever rise so high as to be oppressive. Frequently the wet weather continues with intervals till September, from which period to the middle of October the weather is generally fine. As the winter advances the westerly gales become more boiste- rous and continued, and, in this season, there is frequently a good deal of thunder. One of the finest thunder blasts I ever met with occurred at Harris in December of 1820, at midnight, during a very hard gale of westerly winds. ‘The lakes seldom freeze in winter; and, although the hills are often tipped with snow, it is seldom that a general covering takes place. After continued westerly and northerly gales, enormous billows roll in from the Atlantic, dashing upon the rocky shores with astonish- ing violence ; I have seen the spray driven over rocks a hundred feet in height, to a great distance inland. Even in summer the spray is sometimes carried inland, so as to injure the vegetation ; and I have known a farmer, who had injudiciously planted his potatoes too near the shore, lose his whole crop, in one night, from such a cause. A winter in the Outer Hebrides is dreary in the extreme. Tempests and gloom alternate, with days of sunshine, and sometimes of calm, when the hollow roar of the breakers, occasionally interrupted by the shrill scream of the * wandering sea-bird, inspires a melancholy, unfelt during the rage of the tempest. There is not a grander spectacle than that which the great ocean presents at this season, boiling and foam- ing as far as the eye can reach, rolling its long and widely se- parated billows into the sounds, and breaking upon the head- lands with inconceivable fury, shaking the solid rocks to their foundations ; while, along the surface, sweeps the western blast, scattering the broken summits of the waves into spray, and athwart the threatening sky are driven, in confusion, enormous masses of black clouds, charged with electrical matter, and pouring forth rain, sleet and hail. So violent are the winter tempests, that the huts are frequently unthatched, sometimes unroofed ; boats have been raised into the air, and shivered to pieces, and cattle car- ried off their legs. In those sudden blasts, one has sometimes K 2 148 Account of Harris. to fall flat, on hearing it approach, and cling to the ground- But, if there be much gloom, there are also glimpses of sunshine. And he who, from the summit of Clisheim, can view the long range of islands laid out at his feet, sending up their thousand thin‘streams of white smoke from the kelp-kilns; and, turning toward the east, behold the mountains of Skye, and, beyond them, of the mainland from Knoydart to Cape Wrath, like the unconquerable barrier of some enchanted land, with the smooth waters of the Minch flowing between; or, directing his view to the west, see the magnificent ocean, glowing with the splendour of the setting sun, and the lofty isles of St Kilda rearing their giant heads afar,—can look and not be moved to extasy, is of a more leaden temperament than is commonly to be met with. In the short nights of summer, the sweet and melancholy song of the throstle has scarcely ceaSed on the hill-side, when the merry carrol of the lark, couched among the soft herbage, commences, and the snipe and curlew sound their shrill notes. ‘To enliven the long nights of winter, the northern heavens are sometimes illumined by the polar lights. At one time, a great arch, of 2 white and cloudy aspect, stretches from east to west ; at another, flashes of pale light emanate from the pole to vanish in the ze- nith, sometimes a thousand streamlets’ spread over the starry sky, ever changing with inconceivable rapidity ; armies, as it were, are seen encountering in the heavens; and I have been gravely told by the natives, that, after such exhibitions, the moss on the moors has been seen tinged with red from the blood that has fallen during the conflict *. Again, how delightful a mid- night walk by moonlight on the lone sea-beach of some secluded isle, the glassy sea sending, from its surface, a long stream of dazzling light, no sound, save the small ripple of the wavelet, or the scream of a sea-mew watching the fry which swarms along the shores. Even in this desolate land there is beauty ; and even here might man be happy, did not selfishness mar the ae of providence f- * Tufts of Sphagnum obtusifolium on the moors are frequently of a bright red colour, which the natives attribute to the cause mentioned. + The effects of mirage, as exhibited among the islands, are often extreme- ly striking; but, as they are well known, it is unnecessary to describe thenr here. I shall only remark, that this phenomenon is best seen the nearer the Geology. 149 ycsGineiss i is the predominating rock in Harris. All the inhabited islands consist of it. In the Forest there are nu- merous beds and irregular masses of hornblende rock, horn- blende mixed with black mica, and scaly mica. At Marig, on Loch Seaforth, there is a deposit of hypersthene rock, of consi- derable extent ; and in the island of Scalpay, close to the light- house, a bed of serpentine and potstone, with veins of green tale and flexible asbestus. The northern part of the second division is gneiss, the greater part of the middle portion granite, and the southern part chiefly gneiss, with masses of. syenite and garnet rock. At the junction of the granite with the gneiss, along the north side of Loch Langavat, there commences between Finsbay and the eastern extremity of that lake, an irregu- lar bed of indurated talc, with tale slate and asbestous ac- tynolite. Close to the eastern extremity of the lake, it forms a considerable eminence named Scaire-ruadh, and, proceed- ing westwards, appears, at long intervals, in the form of great nodular masses, and terminates in the Dun of Borg, near the west coast. It contains immense quantities of actyno- lite of several varieties, hornblende, rigid asbestus, and dark- green mica. The varieties of the gneiss are endless. The prin- cipal minerals which enter into its constitution are quartz, fel- spar, hornblende, mica, and garnet.. The most beautiful kinds are those which contain garnets, of which fine examples are seen in the Glen of Rodill, in the Corry of Ronaval, at Big Scarista, and in Ben-Capval. In the northern part of the latter mountain, a variety of garnet, much resembling cinnamon-stone, forms a principal ingredient in the rock. The most remarkable geological appearances are those presented by the veins, which are of two kinds, greenstone and granite. Of the former, the finest is a great vein, running from Shelibost, near the sand of Loskentir, to the observer is to the level of the sea, and in calm weather with sunshine, when a sort of exhalation is expanded over the surface, in which rapid and minute motions are presented, very much resembling the appearance produced when a quantity of alcohol is poured into water. The mirage is common on the sands of the west coast, where it always presents the appearance of water, and, by distorting and amplifying the sand-banks, rocks, sea-birds, and other bodies, produces fairy landscapes, in which lakes, trees, ruins, and fantastic’ dwellings, are mingled in strange disorder. 150 Account of Harris. east coast. It is about thirty feet thick, and in general rises seve- ral feet above the surface, presenting the appearance of an enor- mous wall, and in some places of the ruins of castles. Unlike most’ of .the ‘others, it is very large grained. Of the granite - veins, the largest is that which runs across the face of Ben- Capval, over an extent of a mile and a-half. There are others. of the.same kind in Ronaval, in Taransay, and in many other places.. "The ingredients are of large size, and consist of red or white felspar; quartz of various colours, sometimes granular, and mica in large plates *. The simple minerals which I haye observed in the country are the following. Quartz of various colours, grey, white, brown, milky, and pale-rose- Fel- spar, generally flesh-coloured in the granite veins, and whitish in the gneiss. -Moonstone, in granite veins opposite the rock of Stromay. Mica, grey, brown, dark-green, black, in plates of upwards of nine in- ches, also scaly. Garnet, of numberless varieties, and of all sizes from four inches downwards. Cinnamonstone. Hornblende, in the gneiss, also as’ hornblende rock, and crystallised. Hypersthene, at Marig. Common and asbestous Actynolite. Flexible and rigid asbestus in im- mense quantities. Talc, common green. Indurated Talc. Potstone. Limestone. Sahlite and Coccolite in the limestone at Rodill. Beryl, white, opaque, in the granite vein of Ben-Capval. Zeolite, in the trap veins. Calcedony, in small specks in the trap-veins. Clay, of a light green colour, chiefly on the deelivities, seldom of great depth, and com- monly mixed with fragments of gneiss. Porcelain earth, forming a de- posit under peat, as well as the bottom of a lake, between Rodill and Finsbay, and which the inhabitants of the village of Rodill, now depo- pulated, formerly used for white-washing their huts. Bog-iron-ore, dark-brown, compact, with vesicular cavities, in considerable abundance, in many parts-of the Forest, and southern division. Titanitic iron-ore, in granite veins. Iron-pyrites. Zircon, discovered by Mr Nicol ; see for- mer Number of this Journal. Peat and sand form the principal ingredients of the soil of Harris... The upper parts of most of the mountains are covered _.™ It.is remarkable of these veins, that the trap ones generally present distinct lateral surfaces, while the granitic, in all cases that I have examined, pass by a rapid transition into the bounding gneiss rock. "+ Dr MacCulloch mentions the occurrence of asbestos at Nishishee (Inis- sith, pronounced Inishshee), which he conjectures to have been derived from a bed of serpentine. At Inishshee I found neither asbestos nor serpentine; but of the former I have seen enough in the country to load an Indiaman. It occurs in a large perfectly isolated mass in granite in the hills of Little Borg, = a. eee ee sr ee a Geology. 3 151 with fragments of gneiss, and their lower parts with peat, upon a subsoil. of clay or angular. gravel.. The valleys, where the rock does not occupy the surface, are covered with’ peat, com- -monly:thin; but, in some places, where the surface is pretty level, from:three to-eight feet deep. There are no extensive tracts of flat peat. It is not necessary to describe the humerous varieties of this substance that occur in Harris ; and I shall on- ly mention that some. of them are very little inferior to’ coal as fuel....In a few places, such as the Glen of Rodill, part of the farm of Strond, and part of Ob, the soil is gravelly, with a mix- ture of vegetable mould and¢lay.. The sand of the wést coast consists entirely of comminuted shells. Fragments of mytili, myze, venuses, mactree, and. other common shells, are easily dis- tinguishable in it ; and the shells of Patella vulgata and Cardium edule occur even to a great distance from the shores, in a scarce- ly altered state. This calcareous or shelly sand varies conside- rably in fineness; that near the sea is in general the coarsest. By the attrition which its particles undergo in blowy weather, it is sometimes, and especially in the spring season, reduced to a very fine powder ; and from the west side of the island of Ber- neray, and the east side of Pabbay, may often be seen carried out several miles to sea, in the form of a dense white mist. I have already mentioned the two large flats formed by this sand on the west coast. In other places it is heaped into banks, sometimes upwards of twenty feet in height ; and wherever it abounds, it is mixed by drifting with the peat or earthy soil im- mediately behind it, producing excellent pasture ground. Population.— According to the census of 1821, the population of Harris was 3909. As in most of the other Hebrides, it is entirely maritime, there being scarcely a hut in the country 500 yards distant from the shore. The inhabitants exhibit conside- in a small eminence on the farm of Middle Borg, in a vein near the houses at Big Borg, in the Dun of Borg; and from thence to the east side of the coun. try, in a dozen different localities, in the irregular deposit, of which Scaire- ruadh forms the most remarkable point. I mention these localities as being all in connection ; but it occurs moreover in many others. As to serpentine, I have never seen any in Harris, excepting the bed in the island of Scalpay. 152 Account of Harris. | rable diversity in their appearance. In general they are of small stature ; those individuals who are considered by them as exceed- ing the ordinary size, and accordingly designated by the epithet Mor, or Big, seldom exceeding 5 feet 10 inches in height.: Scarcely any attain the height of 6 feet ; and many of the males are not higher than 5 feet 3 or 4 inches. They are in general robust, seldom, however, in any degree corpulént, and as sel- . dom exhibiting the attenuated and pithless frame so common in large, and especially in manufacturing towns. The women are proportionally shorter, and more robust, than the men. There . is nothing very peculiar in the Harrisian physiognomy; the cheek-bones are rather prominent, and the nose is invariably short ; the space between it and the chin being disproportionate- ly long. ‘The complexion is of all tints. Many individuals are as dark as mulattoes, while others are nearly as fair as Danes. ‘In so far as I have been able to observe, the dark race is supe- rior to the fair in stature and strength. It is scarcely possible to conceive a constitution more callous to all sorts of vicissitudes and hardships, than that of the He- bridians in general. A native of Harris thinks nothing of labour- ing in a cold and boisterous spring-day with his spade, up to the ankles in water, and drenched with rain and sleet. Nor is there to be found a race more patient under privation. A small quantity of coarse oatmeal and cold water will suffice to support him under fatigues that would knock up a pampered English- man or Lowlander. In respect to intellect, they are acute, ac- curate observers of natural phenomena, quick of apprehension, and fluent in speech. In their moral character, they are at least much superior to the population of most of the lowland parishes. Murder and robbery are never heard of among them; and if petty theft be sometimes practised, it is by no means com- mon. ‘They are of an obliging disposition, hospitable in the highest degree, charitable to their poor. The spirit of inde- pendence, however, which characterizes the Englishman, is un- known among them, and, accordingly, their respect for their superiors degenerates into servility. They are, in general, not a little addicted to flattery and scandal. In their quarrels they are profuse in abusive epithets; but it is seldom that they come — ae 5: a lamer Ss OO — 162 M. Lesson on the Natural History of the long drought had very much diminished the depth of its waters. It was fordable in most places. The Ornithorynchi, which are called Water-Moles by the colonists, and Mouflengong by the natives, inhabit. the banks of this river im considerable abun- dance, while they have become very rare on those of the Ne- pean. They are still pretty numerous at the proper season in Campbell and Macquarrie Rivers, and at Newcastle. ‘The specific name of paradoxus has been given to this singular ani- mal *, of which Shaw has made his genus Platypus, and Blu- menbach the genus Ornithorynchus. Its extraordinary forms seem to sanction this name. Dr Knox, when he announced to the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, his beautiful diseo- very of the crural gland, which communicates by a canal with the spur with which the hind feet are armed, was virulently attacked by a physician of Port Jackson, in the Sydney Ga- zette. The Australian doctor denied the existence of the gland and its duct, and supported his opinion by the con- sideration that there was no proof that a dangerous wound had ever been inflicted in the country. He asserted, that these spurs, of which the female individuals never have any, are in- tended for the purpose of assisting the males to lay hold of the females, and to keep: them immoveable during the act of gene- ration.. Subsequent observations have reduced these assertions to their true value. The colour of the fur of the ornithorynchus is ordinarily dark brown. Some varieties of age or sex that have been considered as species, are of a reddish colour. Mr Mur- doch, the superintendant of the farm of Emeu Plains, assured me that he had found ornithorynchus’s eggs, and that they were of the size of those of a domestic fowl. After having waited for several hours in a state of perfect immobility, to see if any of these animals would make their ap- pearance, I left the banks of Fish River, and the small rocks on a level with the water, to which they resort on issuing from their holes. I was afterwards informed, that, at this season of the year (January and February), the ornithorynchus remains close in its burrow, and only appears at the time of the great * See Peron, Voyage aux Terres Australes; Desmarest’s Mammiféres ; Vanderhoeven, Nov. Act. Acad’ Cees. Leop. Cavol. t. xi. Knox, in the Me. moirs of the Wernerian Society, and the Annales des Sciences Naturelles ; Sir Everard Home; Blainville, &c, &c. = Pe ee Blue Mountains in New South Wales, 163 rains, which, by causing the waters of the rivers which it inha- bits to swell, drive it out, and force it to keep upon the surface of the water, and among the rushes, which edge the banks. Dr Jamieson, who lives at Regent Villa, and who is busy collect- ing the productions of New South Wales, has in his possession a considerable number of ornithorynchuses preserved in spirits of wine. He had the politeness to promise my companion and myself some of them; but he has without doubt been unable to fulfil his promise. It is difficult at present to procure this ani- mal; and the skins which one gets in the country, from being ill prepared, and notcovered with preservativesubstances, easily spoil. On the encalyptuses of the neighbourhood of Fish River, I ob- served several large King’s-Fishers (Dacelo fulvus), which emitted a deafening noise, that was still more increased by the echoes. Their cry is sharp and prolonged ; and these birds are stupid and fearless. Although the edges of Fish River are pretty agreeable, they yet present that monotony which is universally characteristic of the vegetation of these countries. Besides, about a score of spe- cies of Encalyptus, the appearance of which is very much alike, there are only to be seen, and with no variety, Mimosa, Metro- sideroses, Protea, Casuarina, and a very few European genera along the edge of the waters. Hence the forests of Austral- asia have a sad and lugubrious aspect. In crossing the Blue Mountains, one cannot fail to remark the uniformity which nature has given to the leaves. Their form, excepting perhaps that of some mimosz with bipinnated foliaceous expansions, is generally simple, and they are more or less dry, stiff and smooth. She would seem to have accommodated them to the dryness of the soil, by giving them an oblique direction, for the purpose of presenting the greatest possible surface to the air, which must furnish their principal nutriment. New Holland alone presents the singular phenomenon of entire leaves or foliaceous petioles in trees which are every where else remarked for the extraor- dinary elegance of their divided foliage. Another remark, which is not new, it is true, is, that the Blue Mountains, as well as the whole surface of New Holland, are entirely destitute of ali- mentary fruits, excepting the Sorose, a bramble allied to Rubus FSruticosus, and a small berry, of which the Europeans make a 12 4 7? 164 M. Lesson on the Natural History of the very good preserve, and which is produced by the Leptomeria Billardieri of Brown ; all the fruits of this country are woody and coriaceous*. For this reason, the natives have been forced to inhabit the banks of the river, and to follow their course in. wandering tribes, according as the resources of the chase or fishing become exhausted. Whence arises that absence of art, that profound barbarism, in which the black race of this country is immersed, which drags on a miserable existence, ap- proaching that of the brutes. How different from the half- civilized state of the happy islanders of the Oceanic race, whose soil, rich and fertile in nutritious fruits, is sufficient to ensure the existence of tribes, which do not require to provide for their daily subsistence by suclr fatigues. The encalyptuses which cover the eminence, before arriving at Sidmouth Valley, present this peculiarity, that their bark is white, satiny, and torn into long straps, which hang from the branches, and make a peculiar noise. They afforded a refuge to a great number of small green parrots with red heads, and of the size of a sparrow, ( Psittacus pusillus, Lath.), which cried all together at sun rise. On crossing Fish River, at a distance of ten miles from the farm of Renneville, we found in the wa- ters, which ran over granite pebbles, a considerable number of insects of the genus Gyrinus, and a species of leech, the body of which is brown, and marked with two broad, longitudinal, yel- low bands. This animal manifested a great avidity for blood. Presently there opened upon us Bathurst Plain to the right, and Macquarrie Plain to the left. The former of these, in the middle of which is situated the establishment which bears the name of the present minister for the Colonial Department in England, is of great extent, and entirely clear of wood. It is covered with Gnaphalium and Xeranthemum bracteatum. Clouds of Crickets, the elytra of which produce a peculiar clatter, flew off at every step. The Coturnia australis of Temminck is very common here ; its white and delicate but flavourless flesh is highly esteemed. We saw several species of Hawks (Auturs- set Eperviers), but did not kill any of them. We remained * M. D’Urville, equally distinguished as an able officer and naturalist, has elicited general conclusions of great interest with respect to this subject. ee ee ee er Blue Mountains in New South Wales. 165 at Bathurst two days. Mr Morinet, who commanded there, received us with urbanity, and afforded us all the assist- ance in his power. Bathurst Plain is watered by Macquarrie River, which is the same as Fish River. Its height above the level of the sea is 1970 English feet. It contains about 6000 acres of good arable or meadow ground, which allows a large stock of cattle to be reared. It is here in particular that the Spanish breed of sheep has been propagated, which affords a beautiful wool, but which has never to this day been transported to England without being damaged. A hundred miles from Bathurst, in the interior, Wellington Valley has been cleared, and here a post of incorrigible convicts has been established. In the south-west, far beyond Mount Mole, common limestone has been discovered, a mineral substance of which New South Wales seems destitute, and of which the English are in the greatest need for the building of their houses, as the shores do not afford enough of shells for that purpose. ‘This article was ardently sought for, and it was not without the greatest satis- faction that the cave was discovered which lies to the north of Bathurst, at the distance of sixteen miles, of which the roof is lined with thick stalactites of a calcareous alabaster, furnishing an excellent lime. Ten miles from this establishment, at Pine- ridge, there is a forest entirely composed of cedars, (Callitris spiralis of Brown), the wood of which is excellent for building. Macquarrie River, which is neither deep nor broad, has its banks covered with- European plants. There are found here po- tamogetons, aquatic Ranunculi, the Lythrum Salicaria, the Sa- molus, the Verbena officinalis, the Polygonum aviculare, or a species closely allied to it, &c. I found fishes in this river which form two new genera; the first’ species, named Gryptes Brisbanii of the family of perches, and the second named Mac- quarria Australasia *. They attain a large size, and are much esteemed as food. The Gryptes is often three feet long, and nearly sixty pounds weight. An Emys (the Testudo longicol- * So named by MM. Cuvier and Valenciennes, in the catalogue of the Collections which we brought to the Museum. I have proposed the name of Grypies Brisbanii for the first, in honour of the Governor of New South Wales, who received us with the greatest kindness. 166 M. Lesson on the Natural History of the lis of Shaw), entirely black, with a very flat shell, and a long neck, is also found in Macquarrie River. 'This species does not draw its head under the carapace, but lodges it upon one of the sides, between that part and the plastern, which thus afford it protection. The pretty Rainette dorée of Peron, a Physa (P. australis), and a Lymnea with a very brittle-shell, enriched our collections, On the banks of this river I observed a species of Loptimg which was extremely wild. It is called the Spur-winged Plover by the English, and is probably the Charadrius pectoralis of Cuvier. The colonists know a reptile with a very slender body under the name of Thread-Snake, the bite of which is followed by almost instant death ; and I have been assured that horses will not live beyond fifteen or twenty minutes after being bitten by it. Tam not aware that this serpent is mentioned by any author, and it would be interesting to confirm its existence. We have not thought it necessary to give any particular ac- count of the general aspect of the country. Details of this na- ture would be out of place here ; and we prefer briefly mention- ing some of the geological objects which we had an opportu- nity of seeing during our short stay at Sydney. We shall, in the first place, make a few remarks on the race of the human species which inhabits this country. To judge by his external appearance and intellect, the native of New South Wales would seem to have been degraded from the true rank of man, and to approach the nature of the brute. Whatever may be the opinions of writers with regard to their history, and the numerous differences by which they have supposed them to be separated from other tribes of the black race, after having properly considered our data, and viewed them in every light, we here state the result of our reflections, without attaching any other importance to it. The Australian Negro race, which is peculiar to New South Wales, does not appear to us to differ in any thing essential from the Oceanic Negro race *, of which the Papous alone form another somewhat distinct branch. It presents the most perfect similarity of form and external characters to the inhabitants of » New Britain, New Ireland, and very probably to those of New * The melanitic species, Homo melanianus of M. Bory de St Vincent, Art. Homme, in the Dict. Class. d’ Hist. Nat. Pt ae ae ee eae ke a “ oo a Blue Mountains in New South Wales. 167 Caledonia. Their hair is woolly, thick, and arranged in hanging locks; their size is variable, but in general moderate, their average height being five feet four inches. Their cheek-bones are prominent, the nose broad and flat, the mouth large, the lips thick ; their extremities, although slender in the greater number of cases, are often regularly proportioned. Separated into scat- tered tribes, without mutual communication, and wandering about in search of a precarious subsistence, each tribe has creat- ed a language of its own, or has been influenced by its local po- sition in the developement of its industry, which is always very limited. The poverty of the soil, and the rigour of the climate, must have exerted an influence upon the race, and deteriorated it; and it is from this source that the slight differences arise, which seem to separate it from the African negro race, with which, however, an attentive examination shews it to be identi- cal. One may conceive the influence which, in the course of time, a country must have, which produces no eatable fruit : the inha- bitants must have betaken themselves to hunting and fishing, and become nomadic; they would, therefore, have regarded as useless the formation of permanent villages, and must have con- fined themselves to temporary places of shelter. They would also have chosen the most indispensable and the most simple im- plements; they would have constructed their canoes of enca- lyptus bark, tied at the two extremities,—or made use of logs, in the form of rafts, to go into the bays and creeks. The negro race, besides, no where shews itself remarkable for its intellect, and every thing announces it to be stationary in its ideas. It has characters which are peculiar to itself, in whatever part its branches are met with. These characters are, the divergence of language of each particular tribe; their common taste for raising conical eminences upon the skin, which is found to pre- vail as well in Congo, Madagascar, and New Guinea, as in all the parts of New Holland,—and never in the yellow Oceanic race; a peculiar and general custom of marking the face with red and white powders in broad streaks, or of covering the hair with ochre; the habit of not concealing the organs of genera- tion*; that of passing a stick through the septum of the nose ; &c. These essential characters are in opposition to those of the * In all those which have not had any long continued communication with Europeans. 168 On the Natural History of the Blue Mountains. two races of the Oceanic Isles, which we designate by the names of the Oceanic and Mongolian branches. We shall unfold our ideas on this subject more particularly in a separate essay. In the mean time, it is probable that the negroes of New Holland have extended into the Australian Continent by New Guinea and the eastern islands, and that their migration has been made from the coast of Africa by the great island of Madagascar, which had itself, at a later period, received men of other races. Be this as it may, the number of inhabitants of the county of Cumberland is rapidly diminishing ;—and these stupid savages, insensible to all that has been tried for their improvement, have only derived from the Europeans vicious habits, which hasten their destruction, such as an inordinate taste for spirits. Syphilis and. smallpox have also at length committed their ravages among them. If the number of native inhabitants is diminishing, that of the indigenous animals is also decreasing in a remarkable manner, and the period is not far distant when all the civilized parts will be destitute of kangaroos, ornithorynchuses, &c. Already the emeu (Casuarius australis, Shaw) no longer inhabits the plain called by its name, and which it formerly filled. This enormous gallinaceous bird has fled beyond the Blue Mountains, or beyond the limits of cow pasture. The great kangaroo (Kangurus la- biatus, Geoffr.) is now only seen in a state of domestication. I observed several of them feeding at large in the west park of Rose Hill, at Paramatta, raising themselves upon their hind feet, to observe what was going on around them, and flying off, when disturbed, by long bounds, lighting, at the same time, up- on their short fore feet. This animal, the hard and coriaceous flesh of which is in little estimation, as it is only the hind quar- ters that are employed for making ordinary soups, is tamed with extreme facility. One was shewn me at Port Jackson, which had been brought up by a soldier of the garrison, and which punctually obeyed the orders of its master. It was a great adept at boxing. ‘This kangaroo shewed a great degree of cou- rage, did not hesitate to attack a dog, and made use of its hind legs or tail for striking those whom it wished to fight, by throw- ing itself upon them with a sudden and very high bound. With its master it betook itself to sport, and played only with its two fore feet, without seeking to injure him. ( 169 ) Analyses made in Colombo of Ceylonese Varieties of Ironstone and Limestone. By GzoncE MippieTon, Esq. Apothecary to the Forces. (Communicated by Sir James M‘Gricor.) 1. Reniform, or Kidney-shaped, Brown Clay Ironstone.— Ir occurs massive and globular: sometimes these are hollow, (a hollow globular ball, weighing upwards of 21 Ib. is in the Museum at Colombo), surface sometimes marked with impres- sed forms. Fracture conchoidal; lustre semi-metallic ; ad- heres slightly to the tongue; streak pale-brown. Sp. gr. = 3.793, of a specimen from Matelle, and forwarded by Dr Knox for the museum; 4.06 of a specimen from the eastern part of the island. The constituent parts, after two careful analyses, are as follows :—Silica, 10; alumina, 3; lime, 22.5; magnesia, 8.5; oxide of iron, 50; water, 4; loss, 2. = 100. 2. Granular Foliated Limestone.—Is white and translucent. Sp. gr. = 2.853; constituent parts, lime, 50; carbonic acid, 42; silica, 2; magnesia, 2; water, 2; loss, 2.— 100. It is quarried at Kandy, and employed for building purposes. 3. Common Compact Limestone.—lIts colour is greyish white. Sp. gr. = 2.578 to 2.6; constituent parts; lime, 52; carbonic acid, 42; magnesia, 1.5; water, 2.5; Loss, 2.=100. This limestone was brought from Pozloor Cavern, near Jaffna, and was part of a collection of minerals sent by Governor Sir E. Barnes to the Museum at Colombo. We have much pleasure in communicating the preceding analyses to our readers, as they are probably among the first regular analyses of minerals hitherto made in India. We feel confident that Dr Collier, President of the Colombo Museum, to whom Mr Middleton’s communication was addressed, who is an intelligent naturalist, and active medical officer, will continue to encourage the taste for natural history and chemical minera- logy in the East. C MO4 Letter from Professor Lusuie to the Editor on. Mr Ritchie's Experiments on Heat, and New Photometer. My Dear Srr, These long projected the publication of a complete Trea- tise on the Theory and Application of Heat, I have generally overlooked such statements as have gone forth tending to limit, modify, or contradict the principles I had already established, being convinced that the precise and decisive experiments which I shall produce, must dispel every shadow of doubt. My anxiety to advance nothing except what was ascertained by the most scrupulous accuracy, has hitherto retarded the appearance of that work; but I purpose, without further delay, to perform the task thus imposed. In the mean time, I may stop to notice a circumstance which has been sedulously turned against the doctrines which I had propounded. If ared-hot ball be held behind a glass-screen, in front of a metallic reflector, a considerable impression of heat is concentrated at the focus ; from which it has been hastily con- cluded, that the calorific rays emitted from the ball (I borrow the usual language, though it involves an assumption) pass freely through the glass. But the fact is readily explained, from the established principle, that the screen becoming much heated, soon acts upon the reflector by its own radiation. Mr Ritchie, Rector of the Academy at Tain, has, in a paper printed in the first part of the Philosophical Transactions for the present year, endeavoured to oppose this explication by some other ex- periments. Suspending the hot-ball behind a very thin disc of glass, he found a delicate thermometer placed before it to be sensibly affected, though he kept blowing against the dise with a bellows. Now, here lies the fallacy of the experiment; for the current would certainly not make the screen colder than the air of the room, as Mr Ritchie supposes, but only prevent it from acquiring so high a temperature as in a still atmosphere. I have elsewhere shewn, that a wind of eight miles an hour only doubles the dissipation of heat from the surface of a body. The continual accumulation from the ball would therefore still enable the disc to radiate profusely. Si a ce Sa Leiter from Professor Leslie to the Editor. 171 It would be unnecessary to follow the rest of the experiments brought ferward by Mr Ritchie, which seem neither happily devised, nor capable of much accuracy. But a very simple and unexceptionable experiment will set the question at rest. I had a differential thermometer, with pa- rallel branches, constructed of rather large dimensions, one of the balls blown as thin as possible, and the other extremely thick, perhaps the fifteenth part of an inch in thickness. Into the cavity of this ball, sulphuric acid, tinged with carmine, was in- troduced, sufficient to fill both branches; and the tubes being united, and properly bent, the liquid was adjusted to stand about the middle of the stem, under the thin ball. On placing the instrument near a clear strong fire, the thin ball being more quickly affected, the liquid sank rapidly in the stem, but again rose gradually, and in the space of about ten minutes recovered its station. There it remained, but with a slight fluctuation, owing to some occasional variation in the strength of the fire, or to the fluctuation in the air of the room. On withdrawing this differential thermometer again, the liquid mounted swiftly into the thin ball, but again subsided gradually to its stationary point. Since both balls, then, were placed in exactly similar circum- stances, it follows, that they were equally affected by the afflux of heat, and that no portion of this heat had been transmitted through either of them. _ When this differential thermometer was employed as a pho- tometer, it indicated a different effect. Placed in the inside of a room, but close to a south window at noon, the liquor always mounted several degrees, a sensible portion of the light of the sun being absorbed by the thick ball, while it passed without interruption through the thin ball. I have only to add, that the instrument which Mr Ritchie proposes in the same volume, as a new and peculiarly delicate photometer, is only one of the various modifications of the diffe- rential thermometer, which in my earlier experiments I tried for measuring small quantities of light,-but which I soon laid aside, on finding its performance to be quite irregular and un- certain. 172. = Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants. It is not difficult, indeed, to contrive that an instrument shall have a wide range; but the obstruction to its motion is hence increased, and its power of action is yet proportionally di- minished. Accordingly, the simple barometer is esteemed now by far the most accurate; while those barometers of a complex construction, but with large divisions, have deservedly fallen in- to disrepute. QuEEN STREET, 10th Dec. 1827. Description of several New or Rare Plants which have flowered - im the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, during the last three months. Communicated by Dr Granam. — 10th December 1827. Buddleia madagascarensis. Lamarck, Encyclop. Method. vol. i. p. 513.—Tableau Encyc. et Method. vol. i. p. 291. t. 69. fig. 3. B. madagascarensis ; ramis sub-tetragonis, tomentosis ; foliis integerrimis, ovato-lanceolatis, petiolatis, supra nudiusculis, venoso-rugosis, subtus albido-tomentosis; paniculis terminalibus, pedicellis sub-trifloris. DeEscripTion.—Shrub erect, with long, slender, diffused branches; bark pale brown. Younger branches, petioles, back of the leaves, peduncles, pedicels, calyx, and even the outside of the corolla, though this in a smaller degree, covered with dense, white, soft tomentum, which often becomes partially brown. Leaves decussating, petioled, oyato-lanceolate or slightly cordate at the base, acuminate, soft, on the upper side dull sap-green, and sprinkled rather sparingly, especially on the young leaves, with white tomentum, slightly wrinkled, reticulated, middle rib and the veins prominent below, channelled above. Panicle handsome, (7 inches long from its first branch to the apex,) terminal, erect, bracteate, with two long opposite branches at the base, subdivided like the leading stalk. Pedicels like little corymbs, generally supporting three flowers, though often only one near the apex, and sometimes four below. Lower bractee below the branches at the base of the panicle, resembling small leaves, the others subulate, one below each pedicel, and nearly as long as it, smaller upwards, similar ones at the sides of the lateral flowers. Ca- lyx small, (scarcely one-eighth of an inch long,) ovate, 4-toothed. Co- rvolla, tube (three-eighths of an inch long), cylindrical, white, slightly hairy within ; dimd 4-cleft, perfectly naked above, segments nearly half the length of the limb, blunt, linear, spreading and yellow when first expanded, afterwards reflexed, revolute in their edges, and deep uniform orange colour, faintly and not agreeably perfumed. Anthers 4, sessile in the throai of the corolla, linear, pollen whitish. Germen round, green- ish, and with the filiform, colourless style somewhat hairy; stigma green, vblong, bilobular, subexserted. Our specimens of this very handsome species were several years ago sent to usswith a liberality by which I often profit, and which I am always happy to acknowledge, from the Royal Botanic Institution of Glasgow, and introduced into it, I believe, direct from India. The tomentum,’ by which it is so generally covered, is pure white, and could only have Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants. 173 been described as rusty, from the characters formerly given having been taken from dried specimens. Even these, however, if they have been carefully prepared, remain white. 'To the same cause I would attribute the sparing tomentum on the upper surface of the leaves having been overlooked, and the slight difference in the form of the limb of the co- rolla in Vahl’s description (Symbol. Botan. Pars iii. p. 14.), and in La- marck’s figure, from that which I have observed. Cassia opaca. 4 C. opaca ; calycis foliolis obtusis, bracteolis solitariis infra pedicellos, an- theris biporosis, glabris; foliis 5-6 jugis, foliolis oblongo-ovatis, ciliatis, nitidis, glandula acuta, pedicellata, inter 1-3 paria inferiora; stipulis ovatis, magnis, erectis, deciduis; racemis axillaribus, pedicellis patenti- bus. . DescriptTron.—Shrub, erect. Branches scattered, and slightly flexuose, q n, and somewhat pubescent when young; bark on stem and older ere tem brown. Leaves scattered, spreading or divaricated, leafets in 5 or 6 pairs, oblong-ovate, dark green above, pale below, slightly revo- lute and ciliated on the margin, every where else smooth and shining. Petiole swollen, but having no gland, at its base, a small pointed stipitate land between one, two, or three of the lowest pairs of leafets. Stipule nes ovate, erect, and embracing the axil of the leaf, dciduous. Ra- cemes axillary, collected towards the extremities of the shoots, erect, half the length of the leaves ; peduncle without flowers for a considerable distance above its origin, pubescent ; pedicels pubescent, long, straight, spreading nearly at right angles to the peduncle. Flowers Tooling down- wards, handsome, every part except the receptacle, anthers, and germen, of orange-yellow colour; receptacle yellowish-green, and large. Calyx ents smooth, blunt, of the same colour as the corolla, concave, two outer phylla smaller. Corolla; petals clawed, three upper subrotund, notched, undulated, 3-nerved, the lateral nerves branched from their base, and reticulated towards the edge of the petal, central petal the a lend lower boat-shaped, blunt, without notch or undulations, veins indistinct.. Stamens very unequal. Anthers large, dark brown, smooth, opening by two pores at the extremity. Pistid bent down; germen green, curved upwards, compressed, many-seeded, having on its surface a few adpressed hairs. This is a very handsome species, the orange coloured flowers contrasting rice ak xp-amad with the opaque deep green shining foliage. We received a plant from Raith this season, it having been raised by Mr Ferguson’s gardener from South American seeds, communicated by Professor Leslie in 1825. Leonotis nepetifolia. L. nepetifolia ; ‘* foliis cordatis, acutis, inciso-crenatis ; calycibus aristatis, octo dentatis, dente supremo maximo, caule herbaceo.”—Bot. Reg. f. 281. Descrirtion.—Annual. Stems herbaceous, erect, green, simple, but with the rudiments of branches in the axils of the leaves, tetragonous, angles very obtuse, sides deeply channelled. Leaves bright green, petioled, de- cussating, spreading, cordate, slightly decurrent along the petioles, deeply serrato-crenate, reticulato-veined, soft, inodorous, covered with fine short ‘ and soft pubescence on both sides, veins and their reticulations prominent below, slightly channelled above ; petioles as long as the leaves, and spread- ; ing at right angles to the stem. Spike terminal. Flowers nearly sessile, in dense, nearly globular, distant whorls, the upper flowers in each ex- [ 7 s) e @, Paiste mit e Mi aaa panding first. Bractee numerous, surrounding the base of the whorl, and nearly hid by it, reflected, keeled, linear, mucronate. Calyx curved, subventricose and cucullate, enlarging after the corolla falls, 10-nerved, bilabiate ; the upper mY 3-nerved, tapering into one long, straight tooth ; * the lower lip about half the length of the upper, 3-nerved, and divided inte three teeth, spreading nearly at right angles to the tube; throat 174 Dr Graham’s Descriptien of New or Rare Plants. with two teeth on each side nearly as long as those of the lower lip, at first spreading, but as the corolla fades, becoming erect, and finally, with the sides of the calyx, advancing so as to contract its throat; all the teeth terminated by hard bristles, whole calyx slightly pubescent an the outside. Corolla bilabiate ; lower lip short, 3-lobed, withering almost immediately after expansion ; upper lip elongated, equal in — to the tube, nearly straight, but slightly arched at its extremity, and 2-toothed, the whole of the corolla except the lower lip and base of the tube, which are smooth, thickly covered with red shaggy hairs, diminishing from the apex of the upper lip downwards. Stamens 4, didynamous, rather longer than the upper lip, and hanging loosely ; filaments arising from the throat of the corolla, subulate, nearly colourless, slightly pubescent; anthers crescent- shaped, pale yellow, attached by their backs to the filaments, smooth. Germen elongated, and truncated; style filiform, nearly as long as the stamens; stigma cleft, one of the segments very small. The figure in the Botanical Register is very good, and the description gene- rally correct, though both were made from a dried specimen. ‘There is a wide range over which it appears that this species is found native. It is certainly the same as the East Indian plant, as is remarked in the Bo- tanical Register. From the statement in the same work, there is rea- son to believe that it grows in the neighbourhood of the Congo. In the Herbarium of this University, there is.an indigenous specimen from Dominica, communicated, along with a valuable collection, by my friend Staff-Surgeon Lyons ; and our plants in the Botanic Garden were raised from seeds, collected by Dr Gillies, in South America, and received through Patrick Neill, Esq. in May last. They have been kept in the stove. Loasa patula. ‘. L. patula ; capsula contorta, quinque loculari; calyce marcescente. Descriprion.—Root branching, fibrous. Stems herbaceous, numerous, spreading wide, ascending, branched, 4-sided, pale, succulent, semipellu- cid, streaked with deep green. Leaves opposite, decussating, petioled, spreading, 3-lobed, the middle lobe by much the longest, lobes doubly in- cised, each with a strong branching middle rib; petioles channelled, and stem clasping. Peduncles axillary, erect, tapering, round, longer than the leaves. Bractee, 2 at the top of the peduncle, small, subulate. Flowers nodding. Calyx of 5 subulate segments, marcescent. Corolla 5-petaled ; tals white, spreading at right angles to the axis of the flower, cucul- fia: compressed, clawed, with one, sometimes two teeth, on each edge, at the lower part of the limb, and one at the extremity. Stamens numerous, inserted into the receptacle, inclosed by the petals, till the pollen is ripe, when they become erect, and advance to the centre of the flower ; filaments reaching half-way up the hollow of the petals, filiform, colour- less, united into tive bundles at the base; anthers short, bilocular, burst- ing at the side, greenish-yellow; pollen white. Germen inferior, ob- ovate, twisted, green, quinquilocular, seeds numerous, and attached to the dissepiments ; style straight, cylindrical, pointed at its extremity, at first shorter than the nectaries, afterwards nearly twice as hs“ stigma very minute; nectaries ten, slender, flattened, curved, half the length of the filaments, and included in pairs in five sheaths, which are erect in the centre of the flower around the style, opening longitudinally on their inner side, yellow, with two reddish-orange bands passing a- cross them near their apex, and two terminal oblong spots: the first band consists of short broad streaks, arranged side by side, and longi- tudinally in reference to the sheath; the second of a continuous, somewhat projecting edge. At the base of each sheath, and equal to more than half its length, there are three spreading yellow threads, and at the apex two smaller, and colourless; the last at first exect, afterwards recurved. Whole plant, even to the corolla, covered with inverted stinging hairs, which arise from glands, and transmit 2 Ee, = oe es > ae a b ¢ = ze Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants. 175 them a transparent fluid secreted by these. This fluid is also — bel seen with the microscope scattered over the plant in little receptacles - under the cuticle. There are besides these hairs, others, smaller, barbed along their whole length, but not proceeding from obvious glands. Si- milar hairs are observed in greater numbers in L. nitida, and probably in other species. They are possibly merely abortive appearances of the more formidable pubescence.: We received seeds of this plant, under the name of Blumenbachia insignis, from Dr Fischer of Gottingen, in February 1827, without any notice of its native country, which, however, without doubt is South America. The peculiarities of the germen and calyx which I have adopted as the spe- cific character, may be considered enough to constitute this a genus dis- tinct from Loasa ; but however true it is that natural genera are formed in innumerable instances on modifications of these parts, yet I conceive that this is an example, among many others, in which a good rule, if ap- indiscriminately, would disunite individuals among whom nature established the closest affinity. In the whole habit, appearance and structure, with the exceptions above stated, this is a Loasa. ; Polemonium Richardsonii. P. Richardsonii ; cauli piloso, angulato, erecto; foliis pinnatis, multijugis, pinnis oyato-rotundatis, mucronulatis, subtus pubescentibus; floribus corymbosis, nutantibus, corollz segmentis obtusis, crenulatis; radice subfusiforme, longissima. Derscrirtion.——Root perennial, very long, in the old plant 3 or 4 feet, yellow, about as thick as the finger, somewhat branched at the apex, descending deep into the sand, and tending to bind it together, very much resembling liquorice. Stem erect, herbaceous, green, purplish at the base, branched: Branches axillary, chiefly from the lower part of the stem and the crown of the root, ascending, as well as the stem an- gular, and having a slightly prominent line along each flat side. Leaves aos with an odd leafet ; common footstalk channelled, from the ets being narrowly,decurrent, and forming a border on each side ; pinnze very numerous 0n the root-leaves (10 or 12 pairs), fewer on the stem-leaves, quite entire, a very few shewing a tendency to become sessile, rotundato-ovate, mucronulate, oblique, pubescent below, naked above, somewhat fleshy, middle rib channelled, veins obscure ; root-leaves depressed, and spreading, star-like, on the ground, at least when the plant is young. lowers in terminal corymbs, buds nodding, -when fully expanded fronting outwards, large, pedicels round. Calyx persisting, ovate, as well as the stem, branches, and pedicels, villous, and aig viscid, 5-cleft ; segments ovate, pointed, spreading a little while the corolla is fully expanded. Corolla slightly marcescent, but soon after falling, perfume faint but disagreeable, salver-shaped ; tube nearly as long as the calyx, yellow and somewhat plaited in its upper half, colourless below ; /imb of five broad, obovate, spreading segments, minutely crenated, pale purple marked with deeper veins, darker at its base, where on the outside it is very slightly pubescent. Stamens five, included ; filaments connivent, slender, flattened, awl-shaped, contracted at the base, inserted into the apices of small, connivent, hairy valves, which arise within the throat of the corolla, alternately with the seg- ments of the limb ; anthers sagittate, curved inwards, large, white; pol- len white. Germen small, ovate style filiform, equal in length to the fi- laments ; stigma in most of the flowers 4-cleft, revolute, pubescent. Seeds gathered by Dr Richardson in 1825, from plants rowing in deep e, sandy soil on Great Bear Lake, in 66° North Latitude, and received from him in this country in 1826. The species flowered in a cold frame at the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh, in the beginning of October 1827. PE se I have a double reason for dedicating this species to our excellent and in- defatigable countryman. It is the first which has flowered among the 176 Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants. lants raised from seeds received from him last year ; and while I was in the act of writing the description, I received information of his ha- ving arrived in Edinburgh from his last successful survey’of the shores of the Arctic Sea. Salpiglossis atro-purpurea. S. atro-purpurea ; foliis lanceolato-ellipticis, convexis, sinuatis, superiori- bus integerrimis, linearibus; stylo edentulo. DEscripTion.—Stem herbaceous, procumbent for a little way at the base, afterwards erect, 2 feet high, somewhat flexuose, branching. Branches ascending. Leaves scattered, varying considerably in shape, the larger (3-4 inches long, 14-14 broad) lanceolato-elliptical, often A ellipti- cal or ovato-elliptical, flaccid, and folded back from the middle rib, si- nuated, the segments generally blunt and entire, sometimes sharp and occasionally toothed on their sides, decurrent along the petiole, which is nearly equal in length to the leaf; upper leaves pI and entire, and on the flowering branches passing into linear bractee. Flowers on loose terminal panicles. Pedicels opposite to, or alternate with, the bractez, stout, slightly curved upwards, as well as the stem and branches, cylindrical. Calyx persisting, oblong-ovate, 5-cleft, segments acute, , 5-angled, angles deep green, the intervening spaces vl and rugose. Corolla large, inserted into the receptacle, veined, rich deep purple with. in, more lurid on the outside, funnel-shaped ; tube cylindrical, twice the length of the calyx ; throat much inflated, a little more on its lower side, and half as long again as the tube ; imdb spreading, 5-cleft, segments ob- cordate, the largest above, the two smallest below stamens four didyna- mous, with the slender rudiment of a fifth betwe *\the two lo: , in- serted into the orifice of the tube of the corolla; | wments sligh y flat- tened, purple towards the anthers, paler below; an: /2rs very , yel- low, ovate, bi-lobular, bifid at the base, the outer lobe always the Tarpeat ; pollen yellow. Germen conical, channelled on both sides, bilocular, green ; style single, termiual, slender below, transversely flattened and much ex- panded above, without lateral teeth, pale#igreen, longer than the fila- ments, included; stigma truncated, cleft along its extremity, green. The stem, branches, leaves, pedicels, and calyx, are covered with a soft, glan- dular, glutinous pubescence, which appears more sparingly on the out- side of the corolla, and on the filaments. When fading, the upper part of the corolla is nearly deliquescent, the decay beginning in round trans- parent spots, the lower part is somewhat marcescent. It is impossible to suppose this the same species with the S. straminea of Hooker, Ex. Fl. t. 229.; yet as the leaves probably vary, it may not be easy to find good specific characters. It seems a larger and more robust plant, the branches and pedicels being considerably stouter and more straight, and the stamens inserted higher in the tube. It first flowered in the greenhouse of Mr Neill, Canonmills, Edinburgh, from seeds sent by Dr Gillies from hills fifty miles beyond Mendoza. Both the species have flowered freely in the stove of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edin- burgh, in September and October, the seeds having been sent from the Cordillera by Mr Cruckshanks in 1826. Both differ from the Salpiglossis figured by Ruiz and Pavon, Prodr. Fl. Peruv. et Chil. t. 19. in the seg- ments of the corolla being larger, more spreading, and obcordate rather than emarginate, and in the absence of teeth on the style. Our speci- mens of S. straminea have the tube of the corolla as long as in the S. aéro- purpurea, which is considerably longer than in Dr Hovker’s figure; and in this respect both agree with the figure of Ruiz and Pavon. Verbena barbata. V. barbata ; caule suffruticoso, erecto, tetragono, angulis barbatis; foliis petiolatis, cordato-ovatis, acutis, crenato-serratis, utrinque pubescenti- bus ; spicis terminalibus, strictis, gracilibus. 3 Oe ee —— rr Celestial Phenomena from Jan. 1. to April 1.1828. 177 Description.—Siem somewhat woody below, square, contracted at the origins of the leaves, streaked, rough, angles prominent, and covered with hard spreading hairs. Our re branched at the bottom; but as the branches are herbaceous, an stand right up like as many stems, without ag Real divided, it is possible that both the woody structure, and the ching, may have arisen from the leading shoot sypides. Shes cut down. Leaves petioled, opposite, decussating, spreading, cordato-ovate, reticulato-veined, pubescent on both sides, rather unequally crenato- serrated. Spikes terminal, solitary, slender. Bractee subulate, longer than the little pedicel. Flowers small, solitary. Calyx green, channel- led, more than twice the length of the bractez, pubescent, hairs erect. Corolla pale pink, funnel-shaped, pubescent, hairs reflexed ; tube twice the length of the calyx; limb erect. Anthers included ; filaments in- seeted into the tube of the corolla. Germen ovate; style filiform; stigma hooked, exserted just before the bud fully expands, but afterwards in- cluded by the elongated corolla. This species has no beauty, nor does it possess any interest except that it isnew. We received the plant from Mr Hogg at New York last spring, under no name, but with the information that it had been procured from Mexico. Celestial Phenomena from January 1. to April 1. 1828, calcu- — Seo 10. il. li. 11. 12. 12. 12. 12. PP SAPP aWNE lated for the Meridian of Edinburgh, Mean Time. By Mr Georcer Innes, Aberdeen. The times are inserted according to the Civil reckoning, the day beginning at midnight. --The Conjunctions of the Moon with the Stars are given in Right Ascension. JANUARY. H. ‘ D. Mi ag 54715 ©FullMoon. {13 103654 g¢ pr Ml 18 36 37 d ) 16. 2 27 22 6 ork 15 22 2320’N. of g] 16. 51210 )% 175753 =¢ )jlags 16. 6 33 51 h 3/18” S. of 3 IF 19 3 0 d p2aam 17 0 20 48 @ New Moon. 16 24 10 Bd DON 17. 3 53 28 6) H 2 29 45 BVT 17. 12 16 52 dot 05912 Oh 18. 64417 Im.I. sat. , 5.5639 S)uKN 1% 9245 gp? 17 30 37 6 es 19. ‘a d6® 436 8 Im.II. sat. 7/ 20 23 44 21 © enters ss 7.941 (Last Quarter.| 22. 114151 gg Dex 11 17 37 d Dam 23. 2044 4 ) First Quarter. 45051 Im.L. sat. 7/ 24, 54718 42a ll ll 0 d paTty 26. 10 2 7 dd 4te 22 53 6 dg pu 26. 13 33 25 d Ded 1 21 48 gd p2ex 27. 3 6 7 = Inm.I. sat. X 5 23 56 6) 29. 22.27 22 d)h 18 36 24 6 p4t% 30. 1 514 dgxx 19 30 9 fo ae a} OCTOBER—DECEMBER 1827, M 178 Celestial Phenomena. from Jan. 1. to April 1. 1828. FEBRUARY. He 4. 4 , 0210 << )jlagw 1 452 ©Full Moon 1 7 28 d )2aa5 1222 face 235 J)oQ 82336 d) 459 32 Im.I. sat. 2 717 - Sup. ¢d ©% 24211 Em. III. sat. 5 19 55 foe 104428 ¢)vuQ 12235 0 gQess 174546 g¢)aty 82050 d)2«x 102250 ¢)7 19 56 17 ( Last Quarter. 221317. ¢fgem 29M 6)4tes 104533 ¢g)s= 17 852 «S)S 185529 ¢)»M 4 3 45 Im. II. sat. 2/ 42917 Im. IIT. sat. 2/ 1178 f¢gg°M™ 12116 Im.I. sat. ¥ 1719 4 $)H 20220 J)eK 10 46 51 @ New Moon. 43523 6)% 3.36 Sy)? 21 5 30 dpe 1240 So)tx 31444 Im. 1. sat. 7/ 143819 © enters 14 39 39°) First Quarter. 173815 ¢g)i2y 18 9 45 Sb p22 8 203432 &)r 010% ¢)h 5 813 Im. I. sat. 7/ 64642 ¢)lac 752 4 G)2ean 5139 ?P@)oKN FP SL EPS FS aes MARCH. Pai 14'50'85" 6 322 18 52 58 © Full Moon. % greatest elong. 1651 0 Sy)UKN 83918 929”.5N.of¢ ¥ 231031 Go )aty 130 9 Im. TL. sat. 7 134719 ¢)2ax 16585) ¢)pxy 058 44 = Im. IL. sat. ¥f 74444 g)4ta 162757 ¢)s= 21350 ¢)¢ 51554 ( Last Quarter. 41740 4)H 51430 ¢)sK - 323 43 Im. I. sat. 7/ 33148 Im.II. sat. 7/ 21 33 49° @ New Moon. 32344 ps 723 8 g)sx 11 3823 «6G )tX 01715 Im. III. sat. 7/ 226 1 Em. III. sat. ¥ 615 - Su.¢d@98 144216 G@enters 7 2448 ?S)l2y 23544 g)2ey 4 57 40 3d Dt dD 23 45 44 Im. I. sat. 7/ 955 56 _—s+) First Quarter. 8.050 S)h 41453 Im. EID sat. ¥ 2 7 27 2 nearp 142447 gg )lec 45 30 27 & p2aaq 24232 AM)poN 241 0 S)rKQ 13928 Im. L sat. 7 11524 628m 0221 S)wvQ 10 22 37. ©) Full Moon. 4 a 4 « 2 ‘Celestial Phenomena from Jan. 1. to April 1, 1828. 179 ; Times of the Planets passing the Meridian. a ‘JANUARY. : Mercury. Venus. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. Georgian. i ot 2 ae Bi es a : Sh H. 1} 10 44 13 34 7 44 7 51 0.33 13 17 : 5}. 10 52 13 40 7 37 7 37 015 13 2 - 10] ll 6 13 45 7 30 7 20 23 54 12 44 : 15} 11 20 13 51 7 22 7:3 23 33 12 21 20) He 34 13 55 7 14 6 45 23.11 12. 3 25) 11 50 13 59 726 6 27 22 49 ll 43 , FEBRUARY. Mercury. Venus. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. Georgian. : D}| He. , He 6; Bee : One aA H. He z 1} 1214 14 5 6 55 6 3 | 2221 11 23 F 5} 12 22 14 7 6 49 5 48 22 64 ll 8 10] 12 38 14 10 6 41 5 30 21 44 10 49 15} 12 54 14 12 6 33 5 11 21 23 10 31 20; 13 6 14 15 6 25 4 52 21 3 10 12 25) 13 16 14 17 6 17 4 33 20 42 9 54 MARCH Mercury. Venus. Mars. Jupiter. Saturn. Georgian. jo] a , Meee ak a. cy, Fc, Nig At 1) 1317 14 20 6 10 414 20 22 9 36 5| 13 9 14 21 6 2 3 58 20 6 9 20 10} 12 50 14 24 5 54 3 38 19 45 + BS | 15) 12 21 14 26 5 45 3.17 19 25 8 44 (420) Ll 45 14 29 5 37 2 57 19 6 8 24 25} 11 13 14 32 5 28 2 35 18 47 8 5 : I observed the end of the Lunar Eclipse of the 34 November, at 18" 21/44” Mean Time, allowing for a small error of the clock. During the eclipse, the ; Moon’s dark limb was so well defined, that it was difficult to determine ex- ; actly when the Earth’s shadow left the Moon’s north limb, as the penumbra continued for several minutes after the termination of the eclipse.—G. I. Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural History Society. Continued from p. 183. of the preceding Volume. 1827, April '7.—Rosert Jameson, Esq. President, in the chair.—Mr W. A. Cadell read a description of the Hindoo Smiths’ Bellows, with remarks on the occurrence of a similar bellows in Europe, as illustrative of the Indian origin of the Gypsies.—|'This paper will be found in the preceding Volume M2 180 Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural History Society. of this Journal, p. 84, e¢ seq.|—Mr Robert Bald, mining engi- neer, read Observations on the Coal-field and accompanying Strata in the vicinity of Dalkeith in Mid-Lothian, and exhibited a-section of that coal-field.—{'This interesting communication is printed in the present Number, p. 115. to p. 122.]—The Rev. Dr David Scot of Corstorphine, then read an essay on the Se- mamith of Solomon, Prov. xxx. 25., commonly translated spider, but which he shewed to be a species of lizard.—['This paper is also‘printed in the present Number, p. 30, e¢ seq. |—-At this meet- ing, Mr James Alexander Vintress exhibited a new Stereometer, or instrument for ascertaining the specific gravity of powders, m- vented by him. April 21.—The PresipEnt in the Chair.—The Secretary read an account of interesting Works of Art lately discovered in the ruins of Selinus, by two English architects, Messrs Harris and Angel; communicated by Dr Traill of Liverpool.—{This communication will be found in the preceding Volume of this Journal, p. 165, et seq.|—Likewise a notice by James Wilson, Esq. regarding a living specimen of the Puma, or American Lion, lately presented to Professor Jameson. The Rev. Dr Scot then read a memoir on the “ Hyssop” of the Sacred Writings—Dr R. E. Grant exhibited several living speci- mens of the Virgularia juncea of Lamarck, from deep places in the Frith of Forth, and made some remarks on the struc- ture of this zoophyte. Professor Jameson then exhibited and described a specimen of the Ibis sacra of Africa, brought home by Major Denham; the horns of a Wapiti Deer, brought from California by Captain Ferguson ; a Balsa, or boat or float, made of two bundles of straw or reeds, used in Peru for cross- ing rivers, or passing through the surf on the coast ; and a spe- cimen of the Peccari Hog, presented to the College Museum by Mr Shenley. May 19.—Rev. Dr Brunton, V. P. in the Chair—At this meeting the following communications were read. 1. An ac- count of experiments on the Magnetic Influences of the Heat produced‘by the solar rays, by Mark Watt, Esq.—[Preceding Volume of this Journal, p. 170. e¢ seg.| 2. Notice of a remark- able marine animal, probably of the cetaceous tribe, observed in the Mozambique Channel, communicated by Dr Trail of Liver- Se Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural History Society. 181 pool, with a drawing. 3%. Notice regarding the native country of the Potato, Solanum tuberosum; communicated by Aylmer Bourke Lambert, Esq.—{Printed in the preceding Volume of this Journal, p. 192.] 4. Account of the trachea of the Emu of New Holland, and of the laryngeal pouch of the Rein-deer, by Dr Traill. 5. Description of a remarkable Aurora borealis, seen at Edinburgh: 16th January 1827, by Mr Blackadder. [ Printed in the preceding Number, p. 342, &c.] The Rev. Dr Fleming of Flisk, being present, laid before the meeting some remarks on the genus Scissurella, with a de- scription of a recent British species found by him in Shetland.— A living specimen of the Lemur tardigradus, or Tailless Ma- cauco, brought from China by Mr Baird, was exhibited ; and some notes by that gentleman regarding its peculiarities, were read.—[See this Journal for April-June 1827, p. 195.] A living specimen of the Viverra Mungos, or Mongouste, from Madras, was also exhibited; and some remarks, by Mr Alex- ander Adie junior, on the habits of the animal since it came in- to his possession, were read. Lastly, Specimens of native alum from Chili, and of limestone, containing shells, from the Inca’s Bridge, at a very great elevation, sent home by Dr Gillies of Mendoza, were laid before the meeting. ‘Nov. 24.—The Society met for the election of Office-bearers for the year 1828, when the following gentlemen were unani- mously chosen. PRESIDENT. Rosert Jameson, Esq. VicE-PRESIDENTS. ‘David Falconer, Esq. Dr Robert Knox. Major-General Straton. G. A. W. Arnott, Esq. Secretary, Pat. Neill, Esq. Librarian, James Wilson, Esq. Treasurer, A. G. Ellis, Esq. Painter, P. Syme, Esq. Councin. John Stark, Esq. Henry Witham, Esq. Dr Andrew Coventry. Dr John Aitken. Dr R. E. Grant. Dr Walter Adam. Dr John Boggie. E. W. A. Drummond Hay, Esq. Major-General Straton, V. P., in the chair.—The Rev. Dr Scot of Corstorphine read a communication, shewing, that the Nitre of the Sacred Scriptures is the same substance as the Na- 182 Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural History Society. tron of the ancient Egyptians, or the Native Soda of moderti chemistry.—Professor Jameson then read an account of a new magnetical instrument called the Solar Compass, invented by Mark Watt, Ksq., and exhibited the instrument itself,—['This interesting paper is printed in the present Number of this Jour- nal, p. 16, e¢ seq.; and a figure of the Solar Compass is wae in PlateI.] SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. METEOROLOGY. 1. Great Fall of Rain at Bombay.—In a letter from Mr Scott jun. of Bombay, he says, that, during the first twelve days of the rainy season, 32 inches of rain fell, and that then all the roads became like rivers, In England, the average fall for the whole year is 32 inches,—the quantity which fell at Bombay i in the course of twelve days. HYDROGRAPHY. 2. Colour of the Red Sea.—The colour of the Red Sea has given rise to various investigations. Dr Ehrenberg, who accom- panied Dr Hemprich, ascertained that it was caused by a spe- cies of Oscillatoria, one of those small plants which are interme diate between animals and plants. 3. Melted Snow employed as Drink —A fact related by Gain tain Parry, proves that melted snow is not so unwholesome a drink as it has hitherto been stipposed. He and his crew made use of it for three years without being affected with the glandu- lar swellitigs to which, according to the common opinion, they should haye been exposed by employing this beverage. _ 4, Notice regarding the Falls of Rewah, and a remarkable Conical Hill at Myhur.—I \eft Renares with my regiment on the 5th of October, and arrived at Jubbulpoor oii the 9th of November 1826. Our route lay through Mizapoor, Rewah, and Myhur. When at Rewah, I left the corps for two days, and; in company with some of our officers and their ladies, went to visit the stupendous falls of the Lounse, or Loonse, generally called the falls of Rewah. ‘They are three in number, and the _ Scientific Intelligence. Hydrography. 183 largest of them is allowed to be the grandest yet discovered, Niagara not excepted. You may hear the noise of the fall at the distance of many miles; but the sight which is presented to you on your nearer approach is grander than I can possibly find words to express. ‘The water dashes over a perpendicular rock 173 feet high, in one unbroken stream ; and the vapour which rises from the bottom appears like an immense cloud of white smoke, and will wet one to the skin 500 yards off. The second fall is not quite so grand in respect to height, but I think more beautiful in appearance. In the very middle of it stands a rock, in the shape of a tall pillar, and so slight that you would expect to see it washed over by the stream which continually dashes around it, The top of it may be about seven or eight feet in diameter ; and on that pinnacle lives an old Fakeer, who has not been off it for the last thirty years. He is supplied with food by some of the neighbouring villagers, who regard him as con- stantly employed in contemplation of the deity. At Myhur we halted a day, which I spent in visiting the town, and some adja. eent ruins, which are well worthy of note. About a quarter of a mile to the south-west of the town, there is a very curious hill, in the shape of a cone, very steep on all sides, and on the top of it is erected a small Hindoo temple, to which you ascend by a stair built in a straight line up one side of the hill, which is nearly perpendicular. It consists of 523 steps, each about 14 inches high. On going up I had to rest very frequently ; and, on looking down, I sometimes felt myself so giddy, that had I not been supported by the bushes at each side, I dare say I should have rolled down to the bottom. This place was built long ago by one of the Myhur’s Rajahs, and has always been looked upon by the Hindoos as a most holy spot. From thence to Jubbulpoor the country is almost all jungle, and the roads very bad; and we were all highly pleased when we arrived at the end of our journey.—Letter from an Officer of the 5th Ex- tra Regiment of Native Infantry, to his Father. NATURAL PHILOSOPHY. 5. Distances at which Sounds are heard.—I recollect of be- ing, many years ago, at the west end of Dunfermline, and hear- ing part of a sermon then delivering at a tent at Cairneyhill. I 184 Scientific Intelligence.—Natural Philosophy. did not miss a word, although the distance must be something about two miles. It was the late Dr Black of Dunfermline who preached, and who perhaps has seldom been surpassed for distinct speaking and a clear voice. The sound was such as I should have expected, in favourable circumstances, at a quarter of a mile. The wind, which was steady, but moderate, came in the direction of the sound. ‘There are some miraculous stories of sermons being heard at many miles distance ; but I did not view it in that light. I was riding westward, and at length saw the Doctor finishing his sermon, otherwise I should have doubted whether he had been at such a distance. Whether the sound had run along the road, as in a tube, I cannot say. I recollect little of what sort of road it is; part, I think, has pretty good dikes, which might guide and confine the sound, aided by the wind. Some gaping ploughmen may surely be heard calling to their horses more than two miles; and, were fishwives in the open country, their eloquence would probably extend still far- ther. Unfortunately, most people, when they call loud, are not intelligikle. In Scripture, there seem to be instances of persons being heard far speaking from mountain tops, but perhaps sige used a trumpet.—H. M. 6. Capillary Action—From a series of interesting experi- ments performed by Magnus, and recorded in Poggendorf’s Journal, St. 5. 1827, it follows, that the rising of fluids through a bladder, as detailed in some well known experiments, is an ef- fect of capillary action, and that it can be explained, if we ad- mit that different fluids force their way through capillary open- ings more or less easily, according to their degree of tenuity. 7. Farther Observations made on the Solar Compass.—1. That the effect produced by the hairs or piles of velvet is much greater when the velvet is placed over the points of the needle, than when it is made to surround the cirele of cork imto which the needles are fixed. 2 That it seems a farther improvement to place south and north poles alternately outwards. 8. I have twice observed it move about 10° to the influence of the full moon, when the atmosphere was very clear. 4. That its sensi- bility seems greatly diminished by cold, and that when the ther- mometer stood at 30° in the shade, it did not move to the influ- ence of the sun at this season, above three hours, from 11 a. M. . Scientific Intelligerice —Chemistry. 185 to2».m. 5. That, at this season of the year (November), a circle of cork, with 20 or 30 needles fixed inside of the circle, having all their points nearly meeting at the centre, and sus- pended by any very tenuous filament, is more sensitive than that form of the instrument which traverses on a pivot.—M. W. CHEMISTRY. 8. Metal of Alumina.—M. Oersted is stated to have ob- tained the metal of alumina, by employing the chloride of that earth. Pure alumina is heated to redness, and then intimately mixed with powdered charcoal ; the mixture is introduced into a porcelain tube ; and, after heating to redness, dry chlorine gas is passed over it. The charcoal reduces the alumina, the metal combines with the chlorine, and oxide of carbon is also formed. The chloride of aluminum is soft, crystalline, and evaporates at a little above the temperature of boiling water; it readily at- tracts moisture from the air, and becomes hot when water is added to it. By mixing with an amalgam of potassium, con- taining much of the latter, and immediately heating the mixture, chloride of potassium is formed, and the metal of the alumina combines with the mercury. The amalgam quickly oxidises by exposure to the air. Being subjected to distillation, out of the contact of air, the mercury is volatilized, and a metallic button is left, which has the colour and splendour of tin. M. Oersted has ascertained many properties belonging to the new metal, and its amalgam, which he promises to publish speedily. —Phil. Mag. Nov. 1827. MINERALOGY. 9. Largest known masses of Nutive Platina.— Before Hum- boldt’s return from America, small grains only of platina were known to naturalists. On his arrival in Prussia, he deposited in the Berlin Museum a native specimen of Peruvian platina, weighing 1083 grains. For twenty years, this remained the largest specimen in Europe. Since 1822, the Museum of Ma- drid has been enriched with another American mass of platina, weighing 11,641 grains. A few months ago, a still more re- markable mass was discovered in the Urals, weighing 10§¢ Russian pounds. It is deposited in the Museum of St Peters- 186 Scientific Intelligence.-Mineralogy. burg. The relative weights of the iy of Ration Madrid and Petersburg are as 1, 11, 75. . 10. On the Ostrunite, a New Mineral Species ; by Aug. Breit- haupt.—This substance has only as yet been found in the erys- tallized state, and in the form of a right rhomboidal prism, slight- ly modified on the acute lateral edges, and deeply truncated on the angles of the bases. M. Breithaupt derives this form from a rhomboidal octahedron, in which the three axes are to each other as the numbers 1000, 2059, and 1854. The adjacent faces on the same pyramid form between them angles of 128° 14, and 138° 42’. Their inclination upon. the base is ‘71° 56’. The angles of the rhomboidal prism are 96° and 48°... There isa seareely perceptible cleavage parallel to the small diagonal of the base. The lustre of the ostranite is yitreous; its colour is clove- brown, Its hardness is intermediate between that of orthoklase and quartz. It is very brittle; its specific gravity varies between 4.32 and 4.40. The crystals of this substance, which served as a basis to the preceding determination, were about an inch long; they formed part of the collection of the Chey. Heyer, of Dres- den, ‘They came from Norway, whence they were brought by M. Nepperschmidt, of Hamburg. Nothing is known precisely with regard to their geognostical relations. Some trials of this substanee have been made with the blowpipe. Treated alone, it does not melt, but its colour becomes paler. With borax it melts, but with difficulty, into a transparent glass ; it is insoluble in nitric acid. From these characters, and the place which it occupies in the system, M. Breithaupt presumes that this sub- stance is a new metallic oxide. He gives it the name of ostranite, derived from that of the goddess Ostra, in order that, should a new metallic base be discovered in this oxide, the name of Ostran may be given it, as has been done with reget to titanium and titanite, tantalum and tantalite, &c. 11. On the Rose-coloured Petrosilex of Sahlberg ; by M. Ber- thier.—M. Berthier proposes to submit to a chemical examina- tion the petrosilex of Sahlberg, in Sweden. This mineralogist observes, that the petrosilexes are erroneously considered as va- rieties of compact felspar. It{is one of those vague denomina- tions with which science is still disfigured, and which only serve to lead into error, or to deceive us with regard to what we are ig- Scientific Intelligence.—Geology. 187 tiorant of. The petrosilex of Sahlberg, not only does not be- long to compact felspar, but constitutes a new species, composed. of silica, alumina, soda, and magnesia.—Buillet. Univ. Aout 1827. . GEOLOGY. 12. From what Countries have the Islands in the West In- dies derived their Plants ?—M. Moreau de Jonnes, who sup- poses that the deposits, whether calcareous or volcanic, of the Antilles, have been left dry by the sea at a later period than the great continents, had, in support of this opinion, to inquire into the origin of their vegetable population, and to endeavour to find out by what agents, and from what countries, each of their plants, was transported to them. For this purpose he prepared, during his residence at Martinique, mixtures of earth adapted for vegetation, and in which, he was well assured, there existed no germs of plants. He exposed them with the requi- site precautions, and separately, to the action of tempestuous rains, to that of different winds, of birds of passage, and of va- rious currents, and counted, as far as was possible, the number of species which each of these causes produced: He also en- deavoured to estimate how far man himself may contribute to this end, by transporting seeds or germs of plants in the water brought from other countries in ships for the use of their crews, among the matters used for packing foreign goods, among wood and fodder, as well as in ballast, and among the hair of aniinals. The most powerful and constant of the natural agents appears to him to be the great equatorial current of the Atlantic. He found that, in the space of two months, it brought seeds of 150 different species; but all seeds are not capable of being equally transported by all the agents, and to be able to arrive at a given distance in a condition to reproduce their species, they require to possess certain conditions of lightness, mobility, resistance to destruction, difficulty or facility of germination, and others of a like nature. Thus, among the 150 species of seeds brought by the current, there were only twenty-six that germinated. With regard to the action of man, M. de Jonnes thinks it much su- perior to that of natural agents, and imagines that, in a few 188 Scientific Intelligence.—Geology. centuries, it is capable of entirely changing the relations esta- blished by them in’a country immediately after i its origin. — Hist. de T Acad. Roy. des Sc. t. vi. p» cxiii. 13. Fossil Skeletons of Guadaloupe.——Cuvier finds that the calcareous mass in which these human skeletons is imbedded, contains land-shells and sea-shells of the same species as those met with in the neighbouring sea and adjacent land ; that, there- fore, the mass is modern, and the product of some encrustin springs which run towards the place where the skeletons are met with. 14, Organic Remains of the Alluvium and Diluvium of Sussev.—In the alluvial and diluvial deposits of Sussex, the remains of animals hitherto discovered are very few, compared with those found in other countries of England. Mr Mantell mentions but two kinds as having been noticed (Geology of Sussex, p. 284.), viz. the elephant and horse. A short time since some labourers, who were employed in deepening the bed of the river Ouse, which flows through a chalk valley by Lewes, and empties itself into the sea at Newhaven, discovered, in a bed of sand beneath the blue alluvial clay that forms the marshy tract called Lewes Levels, the entire skeleton of a deer of a very large size. The horns were quite perfect, and mea- sure 3 feet in height, and 3 fect 2 inches at their greatest width. The antlers had seven points, and resembled in their form those figured by Cuvier of the Canadian deer. The greater part of the skeleton was destroyed by the carelessness of the workmen, and a few bones only preserved. Of these, the tibia measures 144 inches in length, and the ulna 15 inches to the end of the olecranon. ‘The ramus of the lower jaw (imperfect) 11 inches. These remains are in Mr Mantell’s collection at Castle Place, Lewes. Still more recently, bones of the deer have been found in the diluvial gravel that forms the low line of cliffs to the west of Brighton, at Copperas Gap near Southwick. ‘These, like all the other bones that have been discovered in this bed, were broken, and promiscuously intermingled with the soil. Two teeth of a species of deer, and portions of several humeri, were identified. Part of the tusk of an elephant was also found with them, and pebbles of granite, in a state of decomposition. Teeth of the Asiatic elephant have been met with in the loam- Scientific Intelligence. —Geology. 189 pits at Hove. The Reverend H. Hoper of Pontslade has these interesting remains in his possession.—Phil. Mag. Nov. 1827. 15. Hansteen’s projected Journey to Siberia.—Our distin- guished correspondent Professor Hansteen of Christiania writes to us as follows: “ I am still living in hopes that I shall be able to set out on my journey through Siberia to Ochotz in Fe- bruary or March 1828. Being myself not sufficiently expe- rienced in natural history, I shall be accompanied by a young mineralogist, Keilhau, of this place (Christiania); and Profes- sor Erman of Berlin has offered me the company of his son Dr Erman, and assures me that Baron von Humboldt and Baron von Buch are ready to furnish him with the necessary instruc- tions in geological and geognostical science.” 16. Parich’s Journey through Transylvania.— Partch of Viemna, an active and acute geologist, was sent by the Austrian government, in 1826, into Transylvania. He remained in that very interesting, but much neglected, part of Europe from April 1826 to February 1827. In defiance of all the difficul- ties opposed to him in his progress through a country without roads, covered with extensive forests, and affording only the most miserable accommodation to the traveller, he made a full survey of its mines and saline districts, and of the rock forma- tions over great tracts. Boué gave him the use of the geological maps he constructed during his perilous expedition through that country. He is inclined to refer the saliferous sandstone of the middle districts to the tertiary class of rocks. Boué asks, in a communication to us, Is there not, in Transylvania, a saliferous deposite in the Carpathian sandstone, of the same age with the secondary salt formation, or of some of the gypsums of the Alps, and also a more recent deposite connected with that tertiary mo- lasse which is of the same age with the salt in the blue marl of the Appenines and of Sicily? Boué is of opinion that nearly the whole of the molasse takes the place of the blue tertiary marl, which is higher or newer in the series than the Paris coarse ma- rine limestone : still the position of the lower Nagelfluhe along the Alps is dubious. 17. Fossil Remains of Quadrupeds in the Tertiary Rocks of Vienna.— During the course of last summer, there was found in the tertiary sand (above the blue marl with shells), near to 190 Scientific Intelligence —Geology. the Botanic Garden at Vienna, fragments of the Mastodon an- gustidens, and also of the Anthracotherium. M. Fitzinger has described and figured them in a pamphlet lately published. An under jaw of the anthracotherium has been found in the lignite or brown coal of Schauerleithen, near Neustadt, in the vicinity of Vienna, which lignite lies in the blue marl. It is also worthy’ of remark, that such bones are also found in the coarse shelly tertiary limestone, under the blue marl ; so that, judging from the bones alone, we would be disposed to consider both as belong- ing to the same formation,—an opinion which cannot be enter- tained. 18. Von Buch’s Observations and Speculations in reeird to the Alps——Von Buch, during last summer, visited the Bavarian Alps and the Suabian Alps or Jura, and seems disposed to con- sider the alpine limestone ridge as recent, probably partly Ju- rassic and partly chalk. The same distinguished geologist read to the Academy of Munich a paper on the Hippurites found at Reichenhall ; and, in Poggendorff’s Annals for 1827, he has an interesting memoir on the boulders of granite, &c. spread over the Jura and neighbouring countries, in which hg maintains they have reached their present situations at the time of the rising from below of the primitive mountains, which he consi- ders newer than the tertiary. It is worthy of notice, that De Lue of Geneva published at the same time (May last) a simi- lar memoir in the Memoirs of the Soc. de Phys. de Geneva, yol. ii. 1827, in which he states, as his opinion, that the Alps were formed after the tertiary rocks, and that the boulders were dispersed by that great rising from below of the land. _ 19. Boué’s Memoir on European Formations, and their probable Origin—One of the most interesting memoirs lately published, is that whose title we have just given. It appeared in the Journal of Leonhard for July 1827. Unfortunately the promised map has not been published. 20. Dr Boué on Secondary Rocks.—Dr Boué, during a vi- sit to Solothurn, saw, along with Professor Huggy, the shell limestone (muschel kalkstein) forming protuberances under the Jura limestone, and the rauchwacke, or porous magnesian lime- stone, with cuneiform masses of gypsum. Above these he found the following arrangement :—lias and its marl; the sand ff “ew Chas ‘7% # ee oe a Scientific Intelligence —Botany. 191 of the inferior oolite ; then great masses of oolite and compact limestone ; a thick bed of contorted, unstratified, rather crystal- line, limestone, without shells; and above this, near to Solothurn, an upper Jurassic deposite, with ammonites, encrinites, croco- diles, and tortoises. Dr Boué is of opinion that the Swiss Ju- ra does not contain any Jurassic deposites newer than the coral rag; and further, that the equivalent for the coral rag is near- ly wanting in the German Jura. - BOTANY, 21. Signs of Increase, Maturity, and Decay in Trees; by M. Baudrillac—The qualities of wood depend much on the state of the tree when cut down. It appears from the experi- ments of M. Hartig upon wood applied as fuel, that trees which have attained maturity without passing into decay, are the best for the production of heat. Thus the value of an elm of 100 | years is to that of one of 30 years, as 12 is to 9; that of an ash of 100 years to one of 30 years, as 15 to 11. When the trees begin _ to decay, their value rapidly diminishes: thus, if an oak of 200 years yieldg wood worth 15 francs per corde, a tree of the same kind passing to decay yields wood only worth 12 francs. When the wood is used for other purposes, the advantages conferred by a mature and healthy state are still more considerable. The common elm, growing in a forest, and in good earth, acquires its full increase in 150 years; but it will live many ages, even 500 or 600 years. Large forest elms are cut down with ad- vantage when of an age between 100 and 130 years, and then furnish a large quantity of building wood. The duration of the life of the elm depends much upon the soil ; in a dry soil it be- comes aged, as it were, in forty, fifty, or sixty years. Elms which have been lopped live for a shorter period than the others, Those which grow by the roadside, or in their plantations, may be cut when seventy or eighty years of age. In general, the increase of hard woods, as the oak and elm, is small at first ; it successively augments until the twentieth or twenty-fifth year, is then uniform until the age of sixty to eighty years, after which it sensibly diminishes. For these and other reasons, it is important that trees should be cut down when they are at their mature state, and not simply when they undergo no fur- — 192 —_—_— Scientific Intelligence. —Botany. ther increase. “When the period has arrived after which the increase of the tree would be less and less from year to year, then the tree should be felled, for no advantage accrues from its remaining longer in the ground. ‘The indications of the mature state of a tree are by no means so evident as those of decay, but still certain signs of these states, as well as of the vigorous condition of the tree, may also be observed. : I. Signs announcing the Vigour of a Tree.—The branches, especially towards the top, are vigorous; the annual shoots strong and long; the leaves green, vigorous, and thick, princi- pally at the summit, and falling late in autumn; the bark is clear, fine, united, and nearly of the same colour from the foot to the large branches. If at the bottom of the veins or divi- sions of the thick bark there appear smaller divisions which follow from below upwards, in the direction of the fibres, and live bark be observed at the bottom of these divisions, it is an indication that the tree is very vigorous, and rapidly increasing in size. If some of the lower branches, stifled by others, are yellow, languishing, and even dead, this is an accidental effect, _ and is no proof of the languor of the tree. Finally, It is a sign of vigour when branches are seen at the summit of the tree rising above, and being much longer than the others; but it is to be observed, that all trees with round heads do not throw out branches with equal force. II. Signs which indicate that the Tree is mature.—General- ly the head of the tree is rounded ; the shoots diminish in length each year, and the furthest: shoots add to the length of the branches only by the length of the bud; the leaves are put forth only in spring, and become yellow in autumn before those of vigorous trees, and at this time the lower leaves are greener than the upper. The branches incline towards the ho- rizon, and form angles sometimes of sixty or seventy degrees. These apparent signs, and the thinness of the layer deposited by the sap, indicate that the tree makes but small additions to itself, and now it should be cut down. The nature of the earth should be examined, as well as the kind of tree, to enable a judgment whether the tree should be left to increase still fur- ther, or whether it will be more proper to fell it. An exact age cannot be assigned for each species; but it has been ob- 4 » : Scientific Intelligence.—Botany. 193 served, that an elm, situated in an insulated plantation, may be felled with advantage when between seventy and eighty years of TIL. Signs of Decay in a Tree.—When a tree becomes crowned, i. e. when the upper branches die, it infallibly indi- cates, especially for isolated trees, that the central wood is un- dergoing alteration, and the tree passing to decay. When the bark separates from the wood, or when it is divided by separa- tions which pass across it, the tree is in a considerable state of degradation. When the bark is loaded with moss, lichen, or fungi, or is marked with black or red spots, these signs of alte- ration in the bark justify suspicions of alterations in the wood within. When sap is seen to flow from clefts in the bark, it is a sign that the trees will-soon die. As to wounds or gutterings, * these defects may arise from local causes, and are not necessa- rily the result of old age—Biblioth. Phys. Econom. 1826, p. 13. 22. Botanical Excursion in Sutherlandshire.—In an excur- sion which Dr Graham took with part of his pupils into the North of Scotland, in August last, the following stations for rare Scotch plants were ascertained. Alisma ranunculoides, ditch north end of Cromarty Frith. Radiola millegrana, abundant on road sides near Tain. Senecio lividus, abundant along with S. sylvaticus, on road sides near Lairg, Loch Shin. Senecio Jacobea, var. with- out ray, abundant on sand-hills behind the manse of Farr, as well as in the station at Strathy where it was observed by Dr Graham two years ago. Scheenus nigricans, very abundant on sides of Loch Shin, and many other a nee in the west of Sutherlandshire. It is also extremely common in the sle of Skye. Carex pauciflora, bogs, side of Loch Shin; Ben More, Assynt ; and in several other stations in Sutherlandshire. Utricularia intermedia, bog on Ben More, Assynt; small loch two miles east of Farr church. Apar- gia alpina, Ben More, Assynt ; as well as on Fonnivan, a mountain at the top of Loch Inchard, in the same station in which Dr Graham observed it two years ago. There is not a doubt that this is the plant known as A. al. pina on the Continent, as has been proved by comparing it with authenti- cated specimens from several stations on the Alps and Pyrenees ; but whe- ther it be really specifically distinct from A. autumnalis, is a different ques- tion. There seem to be intermediate varieties, and it is more than pro- ‘bable that this genus, and Leontodon in particular, are subdivided by the Continental botanists beyond what is justifiable. In neither of the stations mentioned is the plant abundant. Poa alpina, and Hieraci lpinum, Ben More, Assynt ; neither of these plants were observed any where else in Sutherlandshire. Drosera longifolia, bog north side of Ben More, Assynt, far less common than D. anglica, which is more abundant in the north and * west of Scotland than D. rotundifolia. Cerastiwm alpinum, Ben More, Assynt ; and several other mountains in Sutherlandshire. Aira alpina, Ben More, Assynt; and Fonnivan, near the top. Cherleria sedoides, on all the moun- tains in Sutherlandshire, in the utmost profusion. | Arbutus alpina, abun- OCTOBER—DECEMBER 1827. N 194 Scientific Intelligence.— Zoology. dant in Sutherlandshire, generally on the tops of the low shoulders of’ the mountains. Vaccinium uliginosum, many of the mountains in Sutherland- ‘shire. pipactis latifolia, on limestone rocks in Assynt, and at Keoldale, parish of Durness, on the north sea. In the last place very abundant, though no station so far north in Scotland is quoted. At this place Dryas octopetala, Thalictrum alpinum, Primula scotica, and Glaux maritima, growing in contact, form a group which can be seen no where else in Britain. Pyrus Aria, limestone rocks, Assynt ; Glencoe. Phalaris arundinacea, var. colorata, Island of Handa, off Scourie, west coast of Sutherlandshire.. Arabis hispida, in abundance on several of the mountains in Sutherland, always in per- fectly dry stations, and generally among broken quartz. On Benhope alone, in micaceous soil, and there only hairy; every where .else quite smooth, and on Ben Hope every specimen observed was hairy. Eleocharis multicaulis, pools between the head of Loch Inchard and Arcle, abundant. Scilla verna, in profusion at Far-out-Head, and on a knoll behind the manse at Farr; in both situations growing in dry peat-turf, mixed with sharp white sand. Primula scotica, profuse in many places along the north coast. Pyrethrum maritimum, abundant on sea-cliffs at Far-out-Head, and behind the manse of Farr. Potentilla alpestris, Ben Hope. Astragalus ura- Zensis, abundant on sand-hills behind the manse of Farr. Hieracium wn- bellatum, rocky knoll behind the manse of Farr. -Asplenium marinum, sea- cliffs behind the church of Farr. Juncus arcticus, cliffs behind the church of Farr, arid in several places in the neighbourhood of Cape Wrath and rogers Sagina maritima, ruined castle on the cliff behind the manse of arr. : ' It is not long since the Senecio tenuifolius was ascertained to be a Scotch plant, growing at Woodhall, near Airdrie ; Dr Graham has lately received speci- mens from Mr Baird, who has found it abundantly in the parishes of Lady Kirk and Swinton, particularly on the farm of Little Swinton._-R. G. ZOOLOGY. 23. On the tendency of Matter to become Organized—We noticed, on former occasions, M. Bory de St Vincent’s obser- vations on those. ambiguous beings, which, during a part of their life, are collected into filaments, whose colour and gene- ral aspect are those of vegetables, and which, at certain pe- riods, separate and assume the voluntary motion of animals. M. Gaillon, an enlightened observer, the author of an inte- resting memoir on the cause of the green colour in oysters, has discovered that it is produced by the Conferva comoides. He has seen the greenish corpuscules, which form its axis, be- come detached, advance with more or less rapidity, change place, and, in short, act in all respects like enchylides and cyclidia. Taking entire filaments, he forced these minute beings to sepa- rate before the time ; and, in this case also, they manifested the same voluntary movements. Their propensity to associate is so great, that, whenever the young can do so, they arrange them- selves, one after another, in a single line; and, when in this po- sition, M. Gaillon thought he observed them to exude from i SN Sy i I gS et . Scientific Intelligence. —Zoology. 195 their substance a mucosity, which forms itself into a membrane, and entirely envelopes them *. M, Bory de St Vincent has con- tinued to occupy himself with these microscopic transformations, having in view to penetrate to the first combinations of matter to which these corpuscules seem so near. Observing the appear- ances successively presented in water exposed to light, he thought he saw, for the first time, matter assume the aspect of a simple mucosity, without colour or form. If the water contains any animal substance, it produces a pellicle of this mucosity at its surface, then becomes turbid, and discloses an infinity of living atoms, if we may so call those monads, which, after being mag- nified a thousand times, are not so large as the point of a nee- dle, and which yet move in all directions, with prodigious velo- city. This is what M. Bory names matter in the living state. When the water is exposed to the air and light, there quickly forms what is named the green matter of Priestley, which many observers have supposed to be the first state of certain confervee, or plants of a like nature. M. Bory thinks that it is a combi- nation of a more general form, and only susceptible of entering into the composition of these plants, as well as of the animal- cules which issue from it, and which produce them. He names this combination matter in the vegetative state. It is by it that the infusory animals are rendered green. Those which colour oysters, according to M. Gaillon’s observations, produce this ef- fect, as M. Bory says, only because they are themselves colour- ed by the green matter. It colours, in the same manner, the water and the shells of these oysters; and it would not be im- possible to find some tinged directly by this matter, without any animalcules having penetrated into them. It is so difficult to render observations of this kind complete, and one may always so easily suppose an anterior state, still more attenuated, and which may have escaped every microscope, or invisible germs, which the necessity of the concurrence of air prevents from se- parating, that many philosophers will probably refuse to admit * M. Mertens, a botanist of Bremen, has observed similar facts on the Con- Serva mutabilis. On the 3d August, he says, it was in its vegetable state; on the 5th it resolved itself into molecules possessed of mobility ; on the 6th some of these molecules united into simple articulations ; and, on the 11th, it was restored to its original form. n 2 196 Scientific Intelligence.— Zoology. the consequences, which the author would draw from these facts, for attributing to matter a general disposition to become orga- nised, which would be independent of the ordinary mode of ge- neration.—Mem. del Acad. Roy. des. Sc. t. vi. p. CXXie 24. On the Animalcules that colour Oysters Green.—M. Gail lon has sent new observations on the animalcules which colour oysters, and which, after M. Bory de St Vincent, he names Na- vicules vertes. He has remarked other species, which also pe- netrate into the substance of the oyster, and give it different co- lours, rendering it grey, brown, or yellowish. Among these are the Vibrio bipunctatus, and tripunctatus of Miiller. It is re- markable, that the green navicule does not exist in the waters of the sea, nor even in the fresh water of the neighbourhood of Dieppe. It only multiplies, in a certain degree, of saltness and stagnation of the water, such as is known to produce it in the parcs, where the colouring in question is produced. _M. Gaillon, however, has seen some that issued from a conferva of the genus Vaucheria found in fresh water about Evreux. ide 25. Beaver.—The beaver of Europe M. Cuvier is now og posed to consider as specifically distinguished from that of Ca- nada, by the form of its head. Viewed in profile, instead of pre- senting a nearly uniform curve from the occipital bone to the end of the ossa narium, its outline is almost straight, being in- flected only towards its middle; its sagittal and occipital project strongly, the zygomatic arch is broad, and much depressed, the whole cerebral portion is considerably elongated backwards, and the nasal bones advance far beyond the orbitar process of the os frontis. These parts are obviously less developed in the Ame- rican beaver, which also appears to be one-sixth smaller at the same age than the living European one now in the Jardin du Roi. In their habits there appears to be less to distinguish them than has hitherto been supposed. ‘The European species evinces the same aptitude and ability in constructing a habitation as are exhibited by the beaver of Canada, anecdotes in proof of which are given by M. F. Cuvier ( Zoological Journal). On these observations by M. F. Cuvier, we would observe, that, on compar- ing the skull of a Canadian beaver with the very fine specimen which was dug up some years ago in Scotland, and which, in all probability, belonged to an individual of the European variety ese a ee ons a? 3, Scientific Intelligence.— Zoology. 197 or species of beaver, the differences pointed out by M. Cuvier can scarcely be said to exist. 1st, The skull is considerably larger than the Canadian variety; but this is not any specific difference. 2d, The profiles very nearly correspond. $d, The sagittal crest is strongest in the Canadian skull; the occipital strongest in the Scottish. 4¢h, The nasal bones differ conside- rably, and the observation of M. Cuvier is quite correct in this respect.—R. Knox. . 26. On the Culture of Bees in Forests, by M. Buttner.— It has been a custom in Livonia, from time immemorial, to make cavities in the trees of a forest, for the purpose of receiving and rearing the swarms of bees. Some of the proprietors have hun- dreds, and even thousands, of bee trees. Those which are cho- sen for this purpose are large oaks, firs, pines, alders, &c. It has been objected to this system, that it destroys the forests and di- minishes the quantity of building wood; but M. Buttner ob- serves, that it is not necessary to choose the finest trunks, and that stunted trees are equally serviceable for this purpose, if they have sufficient size. He states also, that a bee tree is worth — more than if sold for wood; that the old hollow trees, which will serve for an age or two, spread seed around, and cause the production of young seedlings, which would be obtained with dif- ficulty, by destroying the old trunks. He adds, that the pure air of the higher regions agrees better with the bees than the air inclosed in hives, which receive the exhalations of the earth, and in which contagious diseases sometimes make great ravages. The proof he offers is, that, when garden bees swarm, they are directed instinctively towards the woods, whilst the bees of the wood never swarm towards the gardens.—Bull. Univ. D. vii. 34. 27. Peculiar Cases of the Use of Milk as Food.—The giraffe which was sent to the king of France by the Pacha of Egypt, was observed never to drink the smallest quantity of water, but only milk. This odd circumstance is explained by the person who describes its habits and manners, as resulting from the cir- cumstance, that, being taken whilst young, it was, probably, supplied with milk, which, not having been discontinued, has occasioned this permanent inclination in the animal. It appears very probable, that. animals which drink but little naturally, will not drink water, if a sufficient quantity of milk be supplied 198 — Scientific Intelligence.—Zoology. to them. Milk was offered to the young asses which had been separated from their dam for some time, and they drank it with pleasure. It was then offered to a young mule, and to a horse five years of age; both drank of it. Being offered to a monkey, it seemed never to have taken enough. Pigs, dogs, cats, and rats, drink milk with avidity. ‘I will quote, on this occasion, a curious fact, but little known, that of a goat, which sucked itself, and which was, with difficulty, broken off this bad habit.” Now, as there are so many animals which are fond of milk, with- out having preserved the habit of drinking it, it will not seem surprising that the giraffe, a herbivorous animal, which has been continually supplied with this drink, should prefer it'to all others. —Mem. du Museum, xiv. p. 74. 28. On the predestination of the Sex; by M. Hufeland.—In a memoir printed in his Medical Journal, in 1819, M. Hufeland shewed that the numerical relation of the individuals of the two _ Sexes in man (21 : 20) is the same over the whole surface of the globe ; that this relation does not depend either upon climate or planetary influences, or upon the generative act, but that the sexual difference already exists in the germ formed beforehand in the mother, and that the fecundating principle has only to give animation to it. To the recent inquiries made in France, by MM. Olivier, Prevost, Dumas, and Girou de Buzamique, and the conclusions which they have elicited, M. Hufeland op- poses several objections, viz. 1st, The sexual union of a middle aged man with a younger woman, being, for very natural rea- sons, the most frequent of all, there ought to result a very great excess of male children, which, however, is by no means the case ; 2d, In long wars, where the class of young men is nearly ex- hausted in a nation, a marked excess ought to manifest itself on the side of the female sex, which, however, is never observed ; 3d, The conjugal unions in which the parties are of equal age, ought to produce an equal number of male and female descen- dants, through the whole duration of life, which is not the case. 4th, Experience shews conjugal unions of middle aged men with young women, by which, however, there have been only female children ; 5th, Even allowing all the combinations established up- on the influence of the relative age of the father and mother, they are not sufficient to explain the constant relation of 21: 20 2 Scientific Intelligence.—Zovlogy. 199 between the sexes. ‘The same objections may also be made to the influence attributed to the relative power of the constitution of the male and female, which has been estimated for the pur- pose of levelling the exceptions. With regard to experiments upon animals, it is ‘clear that they are inapplicable toman. The numerical relation between the two sexes does not depend upon accidental circumstances, but is founded upon a superior law of nature, constant in all climates, and at every period of time, and always the same in all its relations. 29. Growth and Habits of a Young Rhinoceros——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 greatest 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 se- ven inches in circumference. From fourteen to nineteen months, four inches in height, one foot four inches and a half in length, and two feet four inches in circumference,—the rhinoceros be- ing, 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 in circumference. The general aspect of the cub now resembles the mother, the heavy folds of the skin, which were wanting in July, being fully formed in December. The nasal horn, at the latter period, scarcely protruded two inches beyond the skin. The observations made by Mr Hodgson, sur- veyor-general of India, 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 au- thentic 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 ar- riving at its adult size,—a supposition which is also rendered probable by its seventeen months’ gestation, and the slow growth 200 “Scientific Intelligence.—Physiology. of its horn. Mr Hodgson, in pursuing his inquiries, has had reason to remark the amiableness of the young animal’s disposi- tion, both towards his keeper and strangers; an instance, he ob- serves, of the power possessed by Asiatics, through their tran- quil 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 herbivorous animal seem in any way a matter of surprise, when we know that the fiercest of the carnivorous tribe have be- come the attached companions of their master, if the rhinoceros had not been held up by writers of every age and country as a standard of brutality and untameable fury. India exhibits nu- merous proofs of false conclusions by natural historians regard- ing the habits and temper of animals, and affords a field of in- teresting inquiry respecting their instinct, as contradistinguished to what might be called their educatable faculties. This sub- ject 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. 80. Cuvier’s Great Work on the Natural History of Fishes.— This very important work, in which Cuvier and Valenciennes have been so long engaged, and which will contain descriptions of five thousand species of living-and fossil fishes, is now in the press, and will soon appear. 31. 4 New Species of Pentacrinus discovered in the West Indies.—We are informed that a naturalist of St Vincent’s, we presume Mr Lansdown Guilding, has found in the Caribean Sea, a new species of this tribe. This fact is the more interest- ing, when viewed in connection with the discovery of a British species, described by Mr Thomson in his memoir, noticed in the present number of this Journal. PHYSIOLOGY. 32. Distribution of Nerves in Muscular Fibres—In a me- moir on muscular action, MM. Dumas and Prevost have com- municated some very interesting microscopical observations on the distribution of the nerves in the muscular fibres, and on the forms which these latter assume during their contractions, They 3 Scientific Intelligence.—Anatomy. 201 placed a thin piece of muscle, retaining its nerves, under the mi- ‘croscope, and made it contract by means of galvanism. The fibres contracted by bending in a zigzag manner, and the last nervous filaments were seen to proceed parallel’ to each other from the branch giving origin to them, to be inserted precisely at the points where the fibres form their angles. ANATOMY. 33. Sabulous Formation in the Brain.—Dr Bergmann of Celle, in a memoir transmitted to the Royal Society of Gotten- gen, gives an account of twenty cases of earthy granulations oc- curring in the plexus choroides of the lateral ventricles of the brains of insane persons. These earthy granulations resemble those of the pineal gland. Mr Stromeyer examined both va- rieties, and found their constitution similar, and of the following nature: Phosphat of lime in large quantity, phosphat of mag- nesia in small proportion, traces of carbonate of lime, and an animal substance of an albuminous nature.— Bullet. Univ. c. x p. 128. ARTS, 34. Water Works of the Ancient Romans.—lIt is an errone- ous, but at the same time a prevailing opinion, that the ancient Romans were unacquainted with some of the simplest laws of the motion and pressure of water. This is, however, unfound- ed, as Pliny informs us, as a general principle, viz. that water, conducted in pipes or tubes, will always rise to the same height with the fountain from which it flows. The water was con- ducted by the Romans into their buildings, either by channels constructed of masonry, or by means of wooden pipes, or even of earthen ware; and allowed a descent of one foot in sixty for the flow of water, which was admitted into a reservoir, divided into three equal compartments, after it had been brought within the walls of the city ; one to supply the pools and fountains, .a second for the baths, and a third for the palaces and private houses. ‘The pipes used by them were of lead, about ten: feet long, seven inches and a half in the bore, and a quarter of an inch thick *. However, they were very averse to the use of * Specimens of Roman leaden pipes are preserved in the Museum of Na~ tural Philosophy in the University. 202 Scientific Intelligence.—Arts. leaden pipes, knowing them to be of an unwholesome nature. They were made of thin plates. of lead, bent in the form of a cylinder, and soldered at the edges: casting, as practised at present, was unknown. The supply of water was regulated by the dimensions of the spouts ; these were of twenty-five descrip- tions. The standard spout seems to have been about nine-tenths of an inch in the bore, and its length about eight inches and. seven-tenths ; and, if that was also the height of the column of water, 1970 cubic feet would be discharged in the space of twenty-four hours. 35. Manner of Bronzing Statues, Medals, and Ornaments, made of Copper or Bronze.—The receipts for communicating to newly cast bronze a colour which gives it the appearance of old bronze, vary more or less. We shall here give the method employed by Jacob, one of the best artists of Paris. Take two gross of sal ammoniac, half a gross of salt of sorrel, which dis- solve in a demi-setier (400 grammes) of white vinegar: after cleaning the metal well, dip a pencil slightly in the solution, and rub it continually on the same place, until the colour is dry, and the tint has acquired the desired intensity. That the drying may take place more quickly, this operation is per- formed by exposing the object to the sun or in a stove. The bronze colour becomes deeper, in proportion to the length of time occupied in passing the,brush over the same place.—Journ. des Conaiss. Usuel. et Pratig. n. 27. t. v. 1827. 36. Loss of Gold and Silver in Gilding and Plating.—Fifty thousand pounds worth of gold and silver are said to be annu- ally employed at Birmingham in gilding and plating, and which is therefore for ever lost as bullion. 37. Piney Tallow—Piney tallow is a vegetable product, which resembles common tallow in many of its properties. It is obtained from the piney tree (Vaterica Indica), by boiling the fruit in water, when the tallow is soon found to rise to the top ina melted state, and, on cooling, forms a solid cake. The colour of the tallow is generally white, but sometimes yellow ; it is greasy to the touch, with some degree of waxyness; it is al- most tasteless, and has an agreeable odour. It melts at a temperature of 9'73° and consequently remains solid in the cli- mate of India. The piney tallow is used only for medicinal purposes at Mangalore, but the tree is common throughout the Scientific Intelligence.—Aris. * 203 western coast of the peninstila of India, at least as far northward as the boundaries of the province of Canara; and there would no doubt be sufficient to supply a considerable demand for this valuable product. The piney tallow has been made known in this country by Dr Babington, according to whose analysis 100 parts contain carbon 77, hydrogen 12}, oxygen 10%, = 100.— London Mechanics’ Register. 38. Indelible Writing Ink.—The following, recommended as a process for preparing indelible writing ink, or at least as a sort of approximation to it, is copied from the last number of the Royal Institution Journal. “ Let a saturated solution of indi- go and madder in boiling water be made in such proportion as to give a purple tint ; «add to it from one-sixth to one-eighth of its weight of sulphuric acid, according to the thickness and strength of the paper to be used. This makes an ink which flows pretty freely from the pen; and when writing which has been executed with it is exposed to a considerable but gradual heat from the fire, it becomes completely black, the letters being burnt in and charred. by the action of the sulphuric acid. If the acid has not been used in sufficient quantity to destroy the texture of the paper, and reduce it to the state of tinder, the colour may be discharged by the oxymuriatic and oxalic acids and their compounds, though not without great difficulty. When the full proportion of acid has been employed, a little crumpling and rubbing of the paper reduces the carbonaceous matter of the letters to powder, but by putting a black ground behind them they may be preserved ; and thus a species of in- delible writing ink is procured (for the letters are, in a manner, stamped out of the paper), which might be useful for some pur- poses, perhaps for the signature of bank notes.” 89. Lardner’s Lectures on the Steam-Engine.—A short series of popular lectures on the steam-engine, by Dr Lardner, the Professor of Mechanical Philosophy in the London College, is announced for publication. 'The author professes to have treat- ed the subject in the most familiar style, and to have stripped it so far of mathematical reasoning and technical phraseology, as to render it at once intelligible and interesting to the general reader. 40. Carter’s Patent Cast-Iron Roofing.-—Carter’s patent cast- iron roofing is represented by the patentee as well adapted for 204 Scientific Intelligence.— Arts. covering public buildings, private dwellings, and warehouses. The expence of this cast-iron roof, compared with one of lead, including deductions for the want of close boarding, which is indispensable for a lead covering, is quoted at not more than one-third of the expence of a leaden roof. At the Toll-end fur- naces in Staffordshire, the expence of these cast-iron plates is stated at L. 11, 10s. per ton, and the freight to London at L. 1, 10s., and about one-third less to Bristol, Liverpool, and Hull. It is also said, that, owing to these plates being small, and loose- ly fitted together, they are less subject to fracture from changes of temperature than lead, which is frequently confined, and does not allow room for the contraction and expansion occasioned by changes of temperature. A slate roof is estimated by the pa- tentee to last about fifty years; while, in that time, thé iron would scarcely be deteriorated ; and in case, he adds, of destruc- tion of a building by fire, the old iron will be worth nearly half of its original cost. A square of 100 feet of these plates is es- timated to weigh 1000 lb., while the same one of copper roofing weighs, according to Tredgold, 100 lb. of lead, 800 lb. of large slates, 1120 lb. of ordinary slates, 900 lb. to 500 Ib., and of pan tiles 1'780 Ib. to 650 Ib. It is particularly suited, in point of taste, to the Grecian style of architecture, inasmuch as it re- quires to be laid at a less angle than is common with any other metallic covering. The effect also produced by the simple and regular form of the parts composing this covering, is said to be pleasing ; and the eyeis relieved by the lights and shades which arise from the alternate projection, the apparent thickness, and from the gradation of the plates. The patentee recommends that the plates be three-sixteenths of an inch in thickness, and that they be cast in squares of two feet, with flanges of two inches in depth. The weight of these plates will be about 10 lb. per square foot ; and he conceives that this roof will require no fas- tening, but that their weight and particular construction will se- cure them against the effects of high winds. But should any one be doubtful of this, he proposes to cast a loop in the under side of each plate of the raised row of plates, by which they may be hooked or chained down to the rafters. It must be ob- vious that the raised rows would effectually secure the sunk ones in their places. This contrivance we consider as ingenious, Scientific Intelligence.—Arts. 205 and the application of the plates to be extremely simple; but the roof should be more substantially fixed to the rafter than is proposed by the patentee. Upon making a model of these plates, there appears to be a want of cover at every angular junction of four plates, by which an opening, whose area will depend upon the nicety with which the plates are fitted, is left at each end of the upper edge of the plates of the sunk row. At this junction, some additional cover seems necessary to en- sure a water-tight roof. Perhaps, for our climate, the flanges of these plates should be three or four, instead of two inches deep, as in coverings a drip of even three is found to be small enough. The price of old iron seems also to be overrated, at least it sel- dom, in Scotland, brings more than a one-fifth of its original value. With regard to the period assigned for the duration of slates, it may be mentioned, that, for good slates, even 100 years would be considered as a safe calculation. Upon the whole, we are of opinion that it would be well to practise this mode of roofing upon sheds and other temporary erections, un- til experience shall have shewn it to be an efficient water-tight oe STATISTICS AND GEOGRAPHY. 41. Civilization of the Aborigines of Newfoundland.—Our ac- tive and enterprising friend Mr W. E. Cormack,whose interesting journey across Newfoundland appeared in a former Number of the Journal, is about to embark in another undertaking, which will, we hope, prove successful. He writes to us as follows: “ Ea- ploits, Newfoundland, October 27. 1827.—I have been looking forward to communicate with you on the condition of the Bzxo- thicks or Red Indians, the aborigines of Newfoundland. I am here with three Indians,—a Micmack, a mountaineer, and a Bennakee (Canadian),—equipped and ready to set off into the interior, in search of some of the Bwothicks, to endeavour to obtain a friendly interview with them, as a step to commence bringing about their civilization. I leave the sea-coast to-mor- row, and intend to devote a month in traversing those parts of the country where they are most likely to be met with. The season of the year will not admit my traversing every place where they may be found, but I ‘expect to come up with some of their encampments within a month hence. Government made 206 Scientific Intelligence-—New Publications. one vain attempt to reconcile this tribe to the approaches of civi- lization about sixteen years ago ; but to civilize a long persecuted tribe of savages requires repeated attempts of this kind. 42. Captain Parry's reported Second Expedition to the North Pole.—Although it has been generally believed that Captain Parry was next season to resume his attempt in reaching the North Pole, we can assure our readers that no such plan ever was entertained by the Admiralty. The report may have ori- ginated in Captain Franklin’s having expressed a wish to be al- lowed (by means of a ship sent by Bering’s Strait), to finish the very small portion of the north coast now remaining unex- amined; and, at the same time, a similar patch on the Asiatic side, respecting which a doubt has hitherto existed. But we are informed there will certainly be nothing undertaken until Cap- tain Beechy’s return with the Blossom. NEW PUBLICATIONS. 1. Introduction to Comparative Anatomy. By Professor Ca- rus of Dresden. ‘Translated from the German by R. T. GoreE, Esq. 2 vols. 8vo, with a Quarto Volume of Plates. Longman & Co. London, 1827. N OTWITHSTANDING the number of contributors to compara- tive anatomy in this country, it is somewhat remarkable that the translations of Blumenbach, Cuvier, and Carus, are almost the only elementary works on this highly interesting and useful branch of science, which exist in the English language. Pro- fessor Carus, the author of the manual now béfore us, was for- merly teacher of the science at Leipsic; he has travelled and examined animals, both in their recent state, and prepared in museums, particularly in the extensive museum of comparative anatomy under the care of Rudolphi at Berlin, and he is the | author of various memoirs and treatises on this subjeet. 'The splendid illustrations of comparative anatomy, now publishing at Leipsic, in large folio fasciculi, is the production of Carus, and most of the plates of that work are drawn by him from na- ture; but his reputation is chiefly founded on his recent im- Scientific Intelligence—New Publications. 207 portant discoveries of the circulation of the blood in different orders of insects. His present elementary work contains a com- prehensive sketch of the actual state of the science, and the ma- terials are arranged according to new and peculiar views. | In place of commencing with the most complex animals, and exa- mining their structure in a descending series, as is usually done, , he has traced tlie gradual and successive developement of the different organs of the body, from their first and simplest ap- pearance in the lower classes, to their most complex and perfect forms in the higher orders of animals. By keeping constantly in view the functions of animals, and the modifications which entire systems of organs present in the different classes, he has rendered this work a highly interesting and useful introduction to comparative physiology. The treatise commences with a me- thodical list of the principal works and memoirs which have appeared on this subject up to the present time ; and although the limits of this compilation have prevented the author from tra- cing the progress of discovery in any department of the science, the deficiency of his references is amply supplied by the nume- rous notes and extracts of his judicious and intelligent transla- tor. Mr Gore, who is likewise the translator of Blumenbach’s Natural History, has added to his translation of Carus copious extracts from the works of Rudolphi, Meckel, Teidemann, Blumenbach, Reil, Weber, Spix, Camper, Soemmering, Geof- froy, Desmoulins, Cuvier, De Serres, Blainville, Home, and al- most every other continental or British authority, which render it greatly superior to the original as a work of reference. The accompanying plates contain 330 figures, which are executed on a small scale, to adapt them for more general circulation. Two hundred of these figures were drawn by Carus from nature ; the rest are selected from Trembley, Cavolini, Spix, Gaede,. Teidemann, Cuvier, Swammerdam, Scarpa, Rudolphi, Rosen- thal, Herold, Treviranus, Geoffroy, Arsaky, Meyer, Mery, Emmert, Nitzsch, Blumenbach, Daubenton, Fisher, Albers, Kieser, Wolff, Hunter, Home, Macartney, and Carlisle. In the table of classification, and throughout the work, Professor Carus has adopted a new arrangement of the animal kingdom, modified from the Regne Animal of Cuvier, by the author’s own fesearches concerning the ‘structure of insects. From the 208 Scientific Intelligence.—New Publications. discovery of the circulation in certain neuropterous, coleopterous, dipterous, and orthopterous insects, and from the extent of respiration in this class, he has placed them, along with the Crustacea and Vermes, at the head of invertebrate animals, as possessing a more complicated and perfect organization than the mollusca. By this arrangement it follows that the Planaria, the Thalassima, the Teenia, and even the Hydatis, are more perfect animals than the Sepia, the Loligo, and the Octopus. Although the existence of a circulation in insects does not war- rant conclusions so extraordinary, it is a highly interesting fact, and shews a further analogy between them and the Crustacea, in which it has been long known to exist. The first volume of the work is devoted to the consideration of the organs of ani- mal life, including the nervous system, and the organs of sense and motion, which are examined first in invertebrate animals, from zoophytes to insects, and then in the four classes which possess a skeleton with brain and spinal marrow. The second volume treats of the organs of organic (or vegetative) life, in- cluding those of digestion, respiration, secretion, circulation, and reproduction, which are examined in the same order, from the lowest animals upwards to the most perfect. This mode of considering animals in an ascending scale, appears the most na- tural, as it leads us from simple to more complex objects, it is the order of their creation, as pointed out by their fossil remains, by sacred testimony, and by all the phenomena of organized bodies, and it is the arrangement so admirably developed in the system of Lamarck. Notwithstanding occasional errors, insepa- rable from a work which embraces the structure of all existmg animals, we consider this treatise of Professor Carus as a valu- able contribution to comparative anatomy, and the translation by Mr Gore, as an excellent outline of the present state of the science, calculated to serve as a work of reference, and to sup- ply a great desideratum in our language. 2. Conversations on the Animal Economy. By a Physician; in Two Volumes 8vo. Longman & Co. 1827. Mrs Marcert’s admirable Conversations on Chemistry, Na- tural Philosophy, and Political Economy, are well known, and much esteemed by the public. The present volumes are imimi- Scientific Intelligence—New Publications. 209 tation of that accomplished lady’s writings. ‘The author, in our opinion, has succeeded in producing for the instruction of the neral reader, and even the learned, an accurate, interesting, and highly amusing account of the animal economy. 3. Memoir on the Pentacrinus europeus; a recent Species discovered in the Cave of Cork, July 1. 1823 ; with Two il- lustrative Plates. By Joun V. Tuompson, Esq. F.L.5., Surgeon to the Forces. King and Ridings, Cork ; and Treut- tel and Wurtz, London. 1827. Untit the publication of this valuable memoir, naturalists were acquainted with only one living species of this very rave and curious tribe of invertebrate animals. The P. europeus, described by Mr Thompson, is about three quarters of an inch in height, slender in proportion, and has been hitherto found attuched to the various species of Sertularia and Flustra, which occur in the deeper parts of the harbour of Cork, viz. in from eight to ten fathoms. He is of opinion, and we think he is right, that the Pentacrinus is a stipitate Asterias, most nearly allied to the genus Comatula. The remarks in the memoir, in reference to the fossil animals of this group, are, deserving the attention of the geologist ; and the neatly executed accompanying plates add to the value of these and other observations of our author. We are happy to find Mr Thompson is about to pub- lish, in a series of numbers, accompanied with figures, a work, entitled, ** Zoological Researches and Illustrations;” which, judging from the present memoir, promises to add much to our knowledge of the natural history of the tribes of animals to which Mr Thompson has devoted his attention. 4. Anatomical Description of the Human Eye. By ALEXANDER Warson, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons, &c. Illustrated by a Coloured Plate. Maclachlan and Stewart, Edinburgh. 1827. Tue description of the human eye in this memoir is accu- rately and neatly executed. The accompanying coloured plate contains a series of views, illustrative of the structure of the eye, drawn with great accuracy, and beautifully coloured. — ‘This little work will be useful to the student of anatomy and surgery ; OCTOBER——DECEMBER 1827. 0 210 Scientific Inteligence.—New Publications. and we can safely recommend jit to the-student of natural history, and also to those interested in natural philosophy. Forthcoming Transactions of Foreign Societies. Tue Helvetic Natural History Society, at their meeting in August last, decreed that their Memoirs should be printed. The first volume is at present in the press; and, besides many interesting memoirs, contains an important paper by De Lusser of Altdorf, on the Suite of Formations extending from St Go- thard to the Mollasse. A second volume of the New Alpind, an interesting Swiss work, has just appeared: it contains many zoological and two mineralogical papers. De Caumont, Secretary to the Linnean Society of Calvados, announces a third volume of the Memoirs of the Linnean So- ciety of Calvados, with Geological Maps of that country, and Memoirs of Desnoyers, Marcel de Serres, and Prevost. He has taken charge of printing the Memoirs, and as he is rich and ac- tive, he cannot fail to be useful to the sciences. Ferussac intends still farther to enlarge the plan of his excel- lent Bulletin, so that it may flourish after his death. 'The acti- vity of this man is truly wonderful, when we recollect that he was shot through the chest during the Spanish war, and is labour- ing under the effects of that nearly fatal accident. List of Patents granted in England from 17th August to 20th November 1827. 1827, Aug. 17. To Lemur, WEtitMan Wricut of Mansfield Street, Borough Road, Surrey, for improvements in the construction of Cranes. 21. To Lemuet, WELLMAN Wraicut of Mansfield Street, Borough Road, Surrey, for improvements in machinery for Cutting To- bacco. To GasrreL pE SEerras of Leicester Square, Stacey Wisk, and Caries Wise, of Maidstone, paper-makers, for certain improve- ments communicated from abroad, in Sizing, Glazing, or beauti- fying the materials employed in the manufacturing of paper, paste- board,’ Bristol-boards, &c. Qi ae .: ; List of English Patents. 211 Aug: 30. To Joun Hacve of Cable Street, Wellclose Square, for a new me- thod of working Cranes or Tilt Hammers. To B. M. Comss of Birmingham, for certain improvements on, or additions to, a Pulley Machinery, and apparatus used for securing, fixing, and moving curtains, and roller and other blinds. To Witt1am Dettmer of Upper Mary-le-Bonne Street, Fitzroy Square, pianoforte-maker, for improvements on Pianofortes. Sept. 6. To Wrt11am J. Forp of Mildenhall, farrier, Suffolk, for improve- ments in the make, use, and application of Bridle-bits. To Grorce Crymer of Finsbury Street, for an improvement in Typographic Printing between plain or flat surfaces. Oct. 11. To JoserH Hart and Tuomas Hatx of Leeds, for an improve- ment in the making of Metallic Blocks for drawing off liquids. To Ex1as Carrer of Exeter, for a new covering for the Roofs of Houses, &c. To Josuvua Horton of West Bromwick, boiler-maker, for a new method of forming and making of Hollow Cylinders, Guns, Ord- nance, Retorts, and various other hollow and useful articles in Wrought-Iron, in Steel, or composed of both these metals. To Gotpswortuy Gurney of Argyle Street, Hanover Square, surgeon, for improvements in Locomotive Engines, and other ap- paratus connected therewith. To James Sroxes of Cornhill, London, for improvements in ma- king, boiling, burning, clarifying or preparing Raw or Muscovado bastard Sugar and Molasses. To Jotun Wnicurt of Prince’s Street, Leicester Square, for im- provements in Window Sashes. Noy. 6. To James Smetuunrst of New Bond Street, for an improvement upon Lamps. To FrepEericxk Foveaux Weiss of the Strand, surgeon’s-instru- ment-maker, for improvements in the construction of Spurs. 8. To James Wurre of Paradise Street, Lambeth, engineer, for a ma- chine or apparatus for filtering, which he denominates an Artifi- cial Spring. _ 10. To Joun Puarr of Salford, near Manchester, fustian-dresser, for certain improvements in machinery for Combing Wool, and other fibrous materials; communicated from abroad. To Wittram Cottier of Salford, fustian-shearer, for certain im- provements in the Power-Loom for weaving ; communicated from abroad. 17. To Joun Warxer of Weymouth Street, Mary-le-Bonne, Esquire, for an improved Castor for furniture. To Henry Prnxvs of Philadelphia, for an improved method of Pu- rifying Carburetted Hydrogen Gas for the purpose of illumination. 20. To Samvurr Servite of Brownshill, in the parish of Bisley, Glou- cestershire, clothier, for his himprovements applicable to raising the Pile, and dressing Woollen and other Cloths. i ( 212 ) List of Patents granted in Scotland from 8d October to 6th December 1827. 1827, Oct. 3. To Peter Burr of Waterloo Place, in the parish of St Ann, Lime- house, in the county of Middlesex, mathematical instrument- maker, (in consequence of a communication made to him by a cer- tain foreigner residing abroad) for “ an improvement on Steam- ¢ Engines.” 24. To Josuua Horton of West Bromwick, in the county of Stafford, boiler-maker, for “‘ a new and improved method of forming and making of hollow Cylinders, Guns, Ordnance, Retorts, and various other hollow and useful articles in wrought-iron, in steel, or com- posed of both of these metals.” 8 Nov. 2. To Samuet Pratt of New Bond Street, in the parish of St George, Hanover Square, in the county of Middlesex, camp-equipage-ma- nufacturer, for “ certain improvements in Bedsteads, Beds, Couches, and other articles of furniture, principally designed to- be used on shipboard.” To Tuomas Brerpensacu of Birmingham, in the county of War- wick, merchant, one of those designed Quakers, for “ certain im- provements on Bedsteads, and in the making, manufacturing or forming articles to be applied to or used in various ways with bed. steads, from a material or materials hitherto unused for such ag pose.” 22. To Witi1am Fawcett of Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, engineer, and Martnew Crarx of the island of Jamaica, en- gineer, for “ an improved apparatus for the better manufacture of Sugar from the Canes.” 28. To Benner Woopcrort of Manchester, in the county of Lancas- ter, manufacturer, for “‘ certain processes and apparatus for print- ing and preparing for manufacture Yarns of Linen, Cotton, Silk, Woollen, or any other fibrous material.” 29. To Lemuen Weti~Mann Wnaicut of Mansfield Street, Borough Road, in the ‘county of Surrey, engineer, for “ certain improve- ments in the combination and arrangement of Mechanical Powers, applicable to the purposes of driving machinery, and lifting and moving heavy bodies.” 29. To Lemver Wetiman Wricut of Mansfield Street, Borough Road, in the county of Surrey, engineer, for “ certain improve- ments in the combination and arrangement of machinery for ma- king Metal Screws.” Dec. 6. To Josuua JENouR junior of Brighton Street, in the parish of St Pancras, in the county of Middlesex, gentleman, for “a Cartridge or Case, and Method of more advantageously inclosing therein, shot or other missiles, for the purpose of loading fire-arms and guns of different descriptions.” IIE ALS THE EDINBURGH NEW PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Parxas, Counsellor of State to his Imperial Majesty of all the Russias. By Baron Cuvier, Knight, Professor, &c. W uen a man has devoted his whole life to science, when, being occupied solely in observing and writing, he has only in- termitted his researches during the time necessary for their pub- lication,—it might be expected that his career would not be marked by any remarkable incident, and that the analysis of his works would, in a manner, present the history of his life. But if, labouring only for those engaged in the same pursuits, he disdained to render his writings attractive to others; if, with the view of presenting the greatest number of facts in the short- est space, he uniformly stated them in the simplest manner, and left to others the easy merit of deducing their results; this very analysis becomes a matter of extreme difficulty, and to give any distinct conception of his works, it would be necessary to tran- scribe them. | Such was Patias. Separated in his youth from his family and country, a third of his life was passed in the deserts, and the rest in his cabinet ; and in both situations he made a prodi- gious number of observations, and produced a multitude of me- moirs and volumes. ‘I'he whole of his writings, though desti- tute of embellishment, are full of- novelties and truths; they have placed the name of their author in the first rank among naturalists, who are continually turning them over, and quoting JANUARY—MARCH 1828. Pe 214 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. them in every page ; they are received and consulted, with equal interest, by historians and geographers, by those who study’ the philosophy of languages, and the character of nations. But it is precisely this multiplicity and this diversity of his labours that obliges me, at present, to reduce his eulogium almost to a mere table of contents, which it would be impossible for me even to read in full, and for which L-entreat, beforehand, the indulgence of my auditors. : Peter Simon Pallas, Counsellor of State of the Emperor of Russia, Knight of the order of St Volodimir, member of the Academies of Science of Petersburg, London, Berlin, and Stock- holm, and Foreign Associate of the Institute of France, was born at Berlin on the 22d September 1741. His father was Si- mon Pallas, Professor of Surgery in the University of Berlin, and his mother, Susanne Leonard, who was of French extrac- tion, but born in the Colony of French Refugees established at Berlin. Being destined by his father for the medical profession, he was, at an early age, instructed in various languages, and made such rapid progress, as, in a short period, to be able to write, with nearly equal facility, in Latin, French, English and Ger- man. This faculty, which is more easily acquired im youth, will, without doubt, every day become more general, more especially as the sciences have ceased to possess a common language, and as. there is not a single great empire in Europe in which several are not, spoken, It cost so, little trouble to the young Pallas, that, he was always at the head of his companions in their other studies, and, not, content with what his masters, assigned him, he occupied his leisure hours in Natural History, and with so much success, that, at the age of fifteen, he sketched ingenious divi- sions of several classes of animals. After attending the lectures of Gleditsch, Meckel and Roloff at. Berlin, and. of, Roederer and Vogel at Gottingen, he went. to, Leyden. to finish his medical studies under Albinus, Gaubius and. Muschenbroeck. At, this period, the possession of numerous. colonies in both Indies, and. the command of the commerce of the world, for, two centuries, had accumulated in the Dutch collections the rarest 1S a a GS Sr en Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. 215 productions of nature; and the taste for natural history, for which the mother of the last stadtholder was so much distin- guished, gave a new impulse to its study. With the decided predilection which Pallas brought with him into such a country, it was impossible that his ardour for that science should not be increased. A voyage to England still far- ther strengthened and increased it, and, having formed the reso- lution of making it henceforth the occupation of his life, he so- licited his father’s permission to settle at the Hague. It was there that he published, in 1766, Elenchus Zoophyto- rum, or table of zoophytes, the first of his great works. Five-and- twenty years before this time, corals had been generally considered as plants; and the discovery which Peyssonnel made of their ani- mal nature appeared to Redumur so paradoxical, that, in publicly mentioning it, he’did not venture to name its author. But, shortly afterwards, the more astonishing discoveries of Trembley, regard- ing the divisibility of the polypus, and the detailed observations of Bernard de Jussieu and Ellis, on the corallines of our shores, dispelled every doubt'on the subject. With the consent of all naturalists, an entire order of organised beings passed from one kingdom to another : Linnzeus inscribed them among the ani- mals; the young Pallas undertook to arrange them, and draw up their catalogue. The Dutch collections furnished him with a rich harvest of them, which he arranged with a rare degree of sagacity. The preciseness of his descriptions, and the care with which he referred the synonyms of other authors to his species, were very remarkable in an author of only twenty-five years of age. His introduction was still more so. He rejected the old division of natural objects into three kingdoms, and shewed that plants have not marked classes like animals, insomuch that they are only, so to speak, one of the classes of the great organic kingdom, as quadrupeds, fishes, and insects severally are; a truth-with which our botanists seem scarcely impressed at the present day. In maintaining this approximation of the two kingdoms, he did not, however, also adopt the single scale of be- ings, which the genius of Bonnet had rendered so popular ; on the contrary, he presented the tree of organisation as producing a, multitude.of lateral. branches, which it would be impossible to arrange in linear continuity, without doing violence to nature. PQ 7 216 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. With regard to corals, in-particular, he shewed the error of the definition which was then almost generally received, as if they were hives of polypi; he demonstrated their trunk to be itself a living substance, a sort of animal tree with several branches and heads ; a compound animal, the stony part of which is only the common skeleton, which grows at the same time as the indivi- dual animals, but is not fabricated by them. Linnzeus was the first to support these bold ideas, which are now pace re- ceived *, The Miscellanea Zoologica, which Pallas os pala the same year as his Elenchus, added still more to his reputation. Se young an author was seen with astonishment, uniting in himself all the merits of the great masters who then divided among them the empire of science ; boldly assuming as his models the great French naturalist and his fellow-labourer Daubenton ; taking upon himself their conjoined labour, and, without allowing him- self to be swayed by their authority, combining, with the pro- found sagacity of the one, and the patient accuracy of the other, those methodical and strict views condemned by both. But what would have excited still more astonishment, had the public mind at this period been capable of estimating it, was the sudden light which he threw upon the least known classes of the animal kingdom, those which were confounded under the common name of Worms. Not allowing himself to be imposed upon by the errors of Linnzeus, any more than by those of Buf- fon, he shewed that the presence or absence of a shell cannot afford the true basis of their distribution, but that the analogy of their structure ought to be first consulted; that, in this re- spect, the ascidize, and not the tethyses, as Linnzeus imagined, are the true analogies of the bivalves; that the teredo, as Adanson - had already shewn, ought also to be united with them; that the univalves, on the contrary; are more allied to the slugs, the do- rises and scyllez ; lastly, that the aphrodite, of the anatomy of which he at the same time gave an excellent account, ought to be placed near the nereides, the serpule, and other articulated vermes, whether these possessed shells or not. * The Elenchus Zoophytorum has been translated into Dutch by Boddart, and into German by Wilkens. Herbst has published the latter translation with additions and plates. Nuremberg, 1787, 4to. . Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. 217 Assuredly the naturalist whose first glance was so penetrating, would have cleared up the chaos in which these invertebrate animals were enveloped, had he continued to pursue the inves- tigation ; but unfortunately, he published his ideas before they “were sufficiently matured. He did not separate the sepise from the slugs so much as they should be separated; he imagined the meduse to have an affi- nity to these two genera which they do not possess ; he admitted also an affinity, which does not exist, between the bivalves and the echinodermata ; and, lastly, he associated with these latter, on the one hand, the actiniz, which are zoophytes ; and, on the other, the sea-acorns or balani, which are much more closely al- lied to the bivalves. These errors, which a little more examination would have en- abled him to have avoided, contributed, perhaps, to reserve for other times a necessary revolution in the track to which he was ad- vancing,—so much are the conquests of mind, like other con- quests, subject to be arrested by the smallest accident. The most astonishing circumstance is, that he himself should have over- looked these beautiful perceptions. Having returned to Berlin in 1767, he reprinted, with many additions, his Miscellanea, under the title of Spicilegia Zoologica, and omitted unquestionably the most valuable memoir of the first collection ; nor did he ever again turn his mind to the subject. These two works spread wide the reputation of Pallas, and various governments made proposals to him. Perhaps he would have preferred his own, had he received the least encouragement from it; but, as too often happens, it was in his own country that his value was least appreciated. When thus under the ne- cessity of quitting his native land, he did not hesitate what other to select. 'The country which presented a newer field to his re- searches was preferred, and he accepted a place which was of- fered him by Catherine IT. in the Academy of Petersburg. The Russian Empire, in the ninth century, the period at which history begins to speak of it, already almost extended from the Baltic to the Euxine Sea. Its existence was first an- _ nounced to Europe by its bold enterprises against the Turkish Empire. Being soon converted to christianity, its sovereigns allied themselves with the Kings of France, and entered into po- 218 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. litical relations with the other potentates. An imprudent divi- sion gave rise to discord in their states, their best provinces were conquered by the Poles, and they themselves became tributary to the Tartars for three centuries. They at length cast off this yoke, and became conquerors in their turn; but, during their subjection, literature and civilization had reappeared in Europe, and Russia, at her restoration to freedom, found herself at an immense distance behind the other christian states. ‘The first English who landed there, in the sixteenth century, considered it almost as a new discovery. Peter the Great made astonishing efforts to introduce into it the customs and knowledge of Europe. After passing through all the ranks, to habituate his great no- bles to military subordination, after working as a carpenter, in order to form a marine, he wished to be admitted as a member of the Academy of Science of Paris, for the purpose of inspiring his people with a taste for instruction ; but, in the accomplish- ment of these objects, his success was not equal: The army was promptly subjected to the German mode of discipline; the court quickly assumed the French manners ; while, to have an aca-. demy, it was necessary to bring its members entirely from other countries, and to keep it up for a long time Gi =, recruits from them. Germany, where the numerous cities and universities pro- duced in some measure a superabundance of instruction, con- stantly supplied these deficiencies, and many of her most illus- trious literati found in Russia a fortune, and means of prosecu- ting their favourite pursuits, which, perhaps, they could not have enjoyed in their own country. It was thus that Bernoulli, Bayer, Euler, Gmelin, Miiller, Amman, Lowitz, Duvernoy, gave to Europe that beautiful series of labours, under the title of the Memoirs of the Academy of Petersburg; it was thus that they laid open to us, in all its relations, the immense territory of Russia, and, it may be said, mae it known to the Russian Go- vernment itself, In fact, no sooner had the Grand Dukes of Russia obtained possession of the throne and title of the Czars of Tartary, their ancient sovereigns, than some enterprising adventurers pushed their way toward the East. The most prudent settled among the mountains rich in ores of every description, which form the Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. 219 true boundary of ‘Europe and Asia; while others attacked the only remaining princedom of any consequence that existed in these barbarous regions, and delivered up his states to their Czar. As soon as the Russians had gained a footing on the Irtisch and Oby, their inquiries after furs and mines drew them farther on ; by degrees they imposed some tributes upon the wandering tribes of those vast solitudes ;—and thus, in less than a century, established that strange empire which, in its extreme limits, touches America, J apan and China, and in which a few thou- sands of soldiers are sufficient to guard 1500 leagues of coun- tr "bs to enjoy in reality the possession of such a territory, it was necessary to become properly acquainted with its nature and resources, and, after having conquered it, it became expedient to commence its real discovery. To the genius of Peter the Great this task also was reserved. He was the first European monarch to whom the glory belongs -of having conceived those purely scientific expeditions, on a great scale, in which men possessed of various kinds of know- ledge, and aiding each other in their labours, examine a coun- try in all its relations, expeditions of which antiquity presents some examples, but which France and England carried to their greatest perfection at the end of the last century, by limiting their objects solely to that of enlightening Europe, and present- ing to savage man some of the advantages of civilization. Hence, Messerchmidt of Dantzic traversed the whole of Sibe- ria, between the years 1720 and 1725; and brought back an immense collection of observations; but the death of the Czar proved fatal to his prospects, his labours were neglected, and he died in misery. In 1733, the Empress Anne Iwanowha, niece of Peter the Great, who displayed on the throne a character very different from that which those who caused her to mownt it imagined her to possess, resumed the projects of her uncle. A more numerous comission, which lasted ten years, procu- red for natural history the excellent memoirs of Steller, and those of John George Gmelin, the head of a more numerous fa- mily, and not less celebrated in that science than the Bernoullis were in mathematics. The troubles which followed the death of Anne, and the ne- ¢ 220 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. glect and discouragement which foreigners met with in the reign of Elizabeth, occasioned these first attempts to be lost sight of; but Catherine II, who had in view to make the path by which she came to the throne forgotten, amid. the glory of -every kind with which she invested herself, could not overlook so efficacious a means. Besides, her attention was roused to this object by a particular circumstance. At the time of the first transit of Venus, in 1763, France had sent the Abbé Chappe d’Auteroche to Tobolsk, in order to make astronomical observations. On his return he published a narrative, the sarcastic tone of which so irritated the Em- press, that it is said she took the trouble of refuting it herself. She was therefore unwilling that foreigners should undertake the observation of the second transit, which was to take place in 1769 ; and, in selecting for this object astronomers from her own academy, she judged it necessary to send along with them naturalists capable of examining the country.. ‘Pallas had the good fortune to see himself appointed to take a part in this undertaking. Good fortune I call it, because he looked upon this appointment as such. A distant jour- ney cannot fail to be attractive to a young man, and more espe- cially to a young naturalist; and this desire of searching for new productions has probably deprived us of many discoveries of the mind. Pallas himself furnishes a proof of this; for al- though endowed with an activity that knew no limits, and less exposed than any one to allow himself to be distracted from his meditations by fatigue, it cannot by any means be doubted that he would have rendered more benefit to science by his ge- nius than by his journeys. . He displayed in a striking manner the union of these two qua- lities during the space of about a year that he remained at Peters- burg. In the midst of all the preparations for so great a journey, he digested several new writings *, and gave to the Academy his famous memoir on the bones of large quadrupeds that are found in such abundance in Siberia, in which he shews that there oc- cur in that country elephants, rhinoceroses, buffaloes, and many other southern genera, and that their quantity is almost incalcu- * Printed at Berlin during his journey from 1769 to 1774. Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. 221 lable * ; facts which first excited the attention of naturalists to these astonishing objects, and which laid the foundation of that beautiful superstructure which has since been reared. 'The expedition, however, after receiving its instructions from the Count Wladimir Orlof, president of the academy, set out in June 1768. It consisted of seven astronomers and geometri- cians, five naturalists, and several students, who were to proceed in different directions over the immense territory which they were destined to traverse. Pallas, in particular, after traversing the plains of European Russia, and wintering, in 1769, at Simbirsk, on the Wolga, in the midst of the Tartar tribes, the ancient conquerors of the Russians, and now in a great measure agriculturists, stopped at Oremburg on the Jaik, the rendezvous of those still nomadic hordes, which wander in the salt deserts, to the north of the Caspian Sea, and of the caravans which carry on the trade be- tween India and Europe. . . Descending from the Jaik, he remained for some time at Gouriel on the Caspian, and observed with care the nature of that great lake, which, according to him, was formerly of much greater extent, and whose ancient banks are still to be recognis- ed at a great distance toward the north and north-west. The year 1770 was employed in visiting the two sides of the Uralian Mountains, and the numerous iron mines which are wrought in them. It is here that Russian adventurers have ac- quired, in a few generations, fortunes which have put them on a level with the greatest nobles of Europe. After visiting Tobolsk, the capital of Siberia, Pallas wintered at Tcheliabinsk, in the centre of the more important of these mines. From this place he proceeded in the spring of 1772, to ano- ther district, rich in mines, viz. the government of Koliwan, which is situated on the northern slope of the Altain Moun- tains, a great chain which extends from east to west, and which, by repelling the winds from the south, renders the climate of Si- beria much colder than might be expected from its latitude. In these mines many traces of old workings are found, which * Nov. Comm. Petrop. xiii. 222 = =§=Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. Bailly attributes to the ancient northern tribes, in his opinion the first inventors of the arts and sciences. Pallas proves, on the contrary, that these works were carried on by the ancestors of the Hungarians of the present day, who, itis known, derive their origin from a nation that arrived in these countries in the seventh or eighth century. This journey terminated at Krasno- jarsk on the Jenissei. The year after, our traveller, always proceeding eastward, crossed the great Baikal Lake, and passed through the mouns © tainous country, known by the name of Daouria, which extends to the Chinese frontiers. It was only here that he began to ob- serve the productions of nature, to assume an appearance entire- ly different from those of Europe. The plants exhibit singular forms ; animals of genera unknown to us, clamber among the rocks, or sometimes stragele thither from the great deserts of cen- tral Asia. Pallas, after viewing a multitude of half savage tribes, at length came once more upon a civilized nation, the civilization of which, however, in none of its forms resembles that of Europe. He could not help considering the Chinese as a race which has been separated from us, at least since the last catastrophe of the globe, and which has followed in its development an — isolated course. After retracing nearly his former steps, and passing the frit. ter a second time at Krasnojarsk, our traveller returned in 1773, to the Jaik and the Caspian Sea, visited Astracan, and examined the Indians, the Bucharians, and the other inhabi- tants of the centre and south of Asia, who were mingled with the heterogeneous population of that city: He approached the Caucasian chain, the native country of the white race of men; as the mountains of Daouria appear to be of the yellow race; passed another winter at the foot of the branch of mountains which se- paratés the Wolga from the Tanais, and at length returned to Petersburg; on the 30th July 1774. - While thus pursuing the;principal route, he sent off in various difections pupils who were under his direction. Pallas employed the leisure of his winter quarters in dtawing up his journal; and , according to the plan. prescribed by the Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. 223 Count Orloff, he sent it every year to Petersburg, where its vo- lumes were successively published *. It may be conceived that, labouring in this hurried manner, and destitute, in these solitudes, of books, and of every means of comparison, he would necessarily be exposed to fall into some mis- takes, would bring forward things already known, as if they were new, and would repeat the same things several times. We must allow, too, that he might have given more animation to his narra- tive, and presented the interesting objects of which he treats ina more prominent manner. His long and dry enumeration of mines and forges, his repeated list of common plants which he gathered, or of ordinary birds which he saw passing, do not form agreeable reading. He does not transport his reader along with him ; he does not place, as it were, before his eyes, by the power of his style, as more happy travellers have done, the grand scenes of nature, or the singular manners which he witnessed ; but it will undoubtedly be allowed in excuse, that the circumstances under which he wrote, were not of the most inspiring description. Winters of six months’ duration, passed in huts, far from any thing connected with literature, with black bread and brandy for his only restoratives; a degree of cold so intense as to cause mereury to freeze; summers insupportable from their heat dur- ing the few weeks which they lasted; the greatest part of the time of his journey employed in scaling rocks, fording marshes, in making his way through woods by felling trees; those my- riads of insects which fill the atmosphere of northern countries, covering him every moment with blood; tribes of men ims pressed with all the miseries of the country, disgustingly slovenly, often frightfully ugly, and always stupid in the highest degree ; the Kuropeans themselves brutalised by the climate and by indolence—all this might well have cooled the most lively ~ After a long voyage, the smallest spot of earth, the slightest appearance of verdure, seem a paradise to the navigator, and when it is on the Friendly Islands, or at Otaheite, that he lands, * The first volume appeared iti 1772, in quarto; the second in 1773, and the third in 1776, in German, with a great number of plates and maps. There is a French translation by M. Gauthier de la Peyronie, in four volumes, quarto, Paris 1777; and a second edition with notes by MM. Lamarck and Langles, Patis, second year of the Republic, eight volumes octavo, with an Atlas. 224 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. he becomes a poet in spite of himself. At Kamtschatka, is it not enough that one have barely the power to write ? Pallas, young and vigorous as he was, returned enfeebled by the sufferings consequent on so painful a journey. At the age of thirty-three, his hair was grey ; repeated dysenteries had di- minished his strength ; obstinate ophthalmia had threatened him with loss of sight. “His companions were still more exhausted and reduced ; scarcely any;of them lived long enough to publish his narrative himself, and it was upon Pallas that the task of rendering this tribute to their memory also devolved. The great objects which he had seen, had impressed them. selves too forcibly upon his mind, to allow him to remain con- tented with the journal which he had hurriedly traced of them. He had profoundly observed the earth, the plants, the animals and the men; his observations, cherished and combined by re- flection, became to him the subjects of so many works, in which he clearly displayed his power. He gave the history of some of the most celebrated animals of Siberia, the musk, the glutton, the sable, the white bear * ; and. this history is so full and so well related, that it may be said there is not a quadruped, not even the most common, so well known to us as these. The glires alone furnished him with matter for an entire vo- lume, so numerous were the species which he had discover- ed. Their history and anatomy were treated with all the rich- ness of which Buffon and Daubhenton alone had hitherto given an example ; and although, from modesty, he did not form new genera of them, his descriptions were so well executed, that any intelligent systematist could readily extract the generic characters. The class of quadrupeds also owes to him the accurate know- ledge of a species of solipede, intermediate between the ass and the horse, a sort of natural mule which is propagated in the de- serts of Tartary +; that of a new species of wild cat from which he thinks our Angora cats are derived |; it owes also,to him more perfect ideas than had previously been formed. regarding the wild ass of these deserts ||, regarding the small buffalo, whose “ These last four numbers appeared from 1773 to 1780. M. Rudolphi mentions that he intended to print six more of them. + Equus hemionus, Nov. Com. Petrop. xix. p. 394. pl. 7. + Felis Manul, Ibid. 1781, Parti. || In the new Nordische Beytriige, v. ii. p. 82. pl. 1, and in the Act. Pes trop. I. Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. 2995 tail, furnished with long hairs like that of the horse, supplied those marks of military dignity which the Turks have borrowed from the Tartars, their ancestors *, and regarding the small yel- lowish foxes of the deserts of the north of India, which some have imagined to be the pretended auriferous ants of Herodotus. {t is much to be regretted that Buffon took no notice of these valuable accounts of quadrupeds; their unaltered translation would have formed a beautiful ornament to a work which Pal- las took as his model, and to which he certainly is not inferior in the parts which he has treated. ; It is impossible for us to enter into a detail of all the birds, reptiles, fishes, mollusca, worms and zoophytes, of which he was the first who published descriptions. The mere enumeration of the numerous memoirs which he printed among those of the academies of which he was a member, would much exceed the limits that are prescribed to me. He was not even frightened — at the immense project of a general history of the animals and plants of the Russian Empire, and had even put it in execution to a great extent, although such an undertaking must have presented more difficulties to him than any other. In fact, it was, so to speak, when on his journey that he be- came a botanist ; for, until then, the history of animals was the study that he preferred. ‘The descriptions of plants, also, which accompany his journal, have incurred some censures; but he had scarcely arrived, when he engaged with ardour in this pur- suit. ‘The Empress, whose taste the Flora Rossica flattered by its magnificence, ordered to be transmitted to the author the herbaria collected before his time by the travellers that had been sent out by the government, and took upon herself the expence of the engraving and printing. He himself had made considerable collections of plants, and the work promised to extend, in a re- markable manner, our knowledge of the vegetable kingdom ; but no more than two volumes of this work were published +, which principally contain the trees and shrubs. There are only a few plates of the third, because in Russia, as elsewhere, the * Bos grunniens. Act. Petrop. I. Part. ii. p. 332. + Canis Corsac, Neue Nordische Beytrage, i. p. 29. + Flora Rossica, seu Stirpium Imperii Rossici, per Europam et Asiam indi. genarum, Descriptiones et Icones. Folio, Petersburg, 1784 and 1788. 226 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. smallest change in the administration stops the most important publications, when they have no immediate connection with the interests of the government at the time. Pallas afterwards gave to the world a part of his. botanical discoveries in works that were less magnificent, but which he was able to publish wera foreign aid. Of these his history of the Astragali was. the first * ba le then gave a history of the Halophytes, or those maritime plants of the family of the Salicornize, so abundant in the steppes, or plains of sand impregnated with salt, which:cover the, southern parts of Russia-+-. The Absinthiz and Artemisize which are not less abundant on these steppes, and which had already been remarked there by the ‘ancients, were to form a sequel to the Halophytes; but the misfortunes occasioned. by the war in Germany stopped it at the 59th plate. The interruption of his great Flora of Russia did not pre- vent him from undertaking a work, equally general, on the ani- mals. of that empire, a country which produces almost all those of Europe, the greater part of those of Asia, and which, more- over, possesses a great number peculiar to itself. A volume of this work was printed in Petersburg, but it has. not been pub- lished +. Pallas laboured at it until his last moments, and has left the whole manuscript relating to the vertebrate animals. M. Rudolphi, who knew him, asserts, and it will easily be believed, that it contains several new species, and many interesting ob- servations, He had commenced a distinct work on the Insects of Russia, of which only two numbers have appeared §. It is seldom that men so laborious, occupied with conducting at once so many: undertakings, have their judgment sufficiently exercised. to conceive those fundamental ideas whieh are calcula- ted. to produce revolutions in science ; but Pallas forms an excep- tion to this rule. We have seen how-near he was to effecting a * Species Astragalorum Descripte et Iconibus coloratis instructs. Fol. Leips. 1800. + Illustrationes Plantarum imperfecte vel nondum cognitarum. Fol. Leips. 1803. : + Fauna Asiatica-Rossica, Petrop. 1811 and 1812. § Icones Insectorum preesertim Russise Sibirieeque peculiarium; Erlang, 1781 and 1782. 4to. Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. Q27 change in the aspect of zoology ; and in that of the theory of the earth he effected a real change. An attentive consideration of the two great mountain chains of Siberia enabled him to discover the great law which has since been found to hold good universally, of the succession of the three primitive orders of mountains, the granitic in the middle, schistose on their sides, and limestone mountains outermost. It may. be said, that this great fact, dis- tinctly expressed in 1777, in a memoir * read to the Academy in the presence of Gustavus III. of Sweden, was the origin of the present system of geology: Saussure, Deluc and Werner, set out from it to arrive at the true knowledge of the structure of the earth, so different from the fanciful ideas of preceding Pallas, besides, rendered a very great service to geology by his second Memoir on the Fossil Bones of Siberia+, in which he brings together all that he had observed concerning them during his journey, and especially relates the fact, then almost incredi- ble, of a rhinoceros having been found entire in the frozen earth, with its skin and flesh. ‘The elephant discovered on the sea-shore in a mass of ice, and in such good preservation that the dogs eat its flesh, has confirmed this important observation, and given the final blow to Buffon’s theory regarding the gra- dual cooling of the polar regions. Pallas was not so happy in his hypothesis of an eruption of waters coming from the south-east, which might have. transport- ed and buried in the north the animals of India. It is now clearly demonstrated, that the fossil animals are very different from. those of India, The great mass. of iron which he observed near the. Jenissei, was also an entirely new, phenomenon in mineralogy}. This mass lay isolated on the. surface of the,ground, on the summit of a mountain, far from. any vestige of a volcano. or.of mining operations. It weighed, 1600,pounds. The metal, which. was perfectly malleable when. cold, was vesicular, and contained vi- treous matters §. The Tartars said it fell from heaven, and re- * Observations on the Formation of Mountains; Act. Petrop. 1778. Pars I. &c.; and separately in 12mo. Petersburg, without date, reprinted at Paris: in 1779.and 1782." + Nov. Comin. Petr. xvii. $ Act. Petrop. Pars I. § This vitreous matter is olivine——Ep. 228 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. garded it as sacred. It also contributed to make known M. Chladni’s conjectures respecting the truth of the falling of stones from the atmosphere; a conjecture now as plainly eon- firmed by the observations of a few years, as the most anciently announced truths could be. Pallas’s memoir on the degeneration of animals * also presents many ideas, which, if not demonstrated, are at least original. The unvarying character which horses, oxen, camels, and other domestic animals, which have few allied species, or whose hy- brids are sterile, present, compared with the infinite variety of races of dogs, goats and sheep, whose genera consist of numer- ous species which produce with one another hybrids capable of propagating, leads him to suppose that the three last species of animals are in a manner factitious, being produced by the diver- sified alliances of natural species. He thinks, for example, that the shepherd’s dog, and the wolf-dog, owe their origin to the jackal, the animal which appears to him, as well as to Gulden- stedt, the most closely allied to the dog, such as we now see him ; the mastiff seems to him, on the contrary, to come from a mix- ture with the hyena; the small dogs with sharp muzzles, from the fox. But the writings we have hitherto noticed are only important to the naturalist: his history of the Mongol nations ought to prove interesting to every man of education +, for it is perhaps the most classical piece of composition that exists in any lan- guage on the subject of the origin of nations. The name of Mongols might be extended to all those tribes of the northern and eastern parts of Asia, whose oblique eyes, yellow tint, black and lank hair, spare beard, and prominent cheeks, render them so hideous in our eyes, and of which a tribe devastated Europe, under Attila, in the fifth century. It be- longs, however, in a more peculiar sense, to another tribe, which, under Gengis Khan, in the eleventh century, laid the bases of the most formidable dominion which has yet existed upon the earth. China, India, Persia, and all ‘Tartary, were successively subjected by them ; they rendered Russia tribu- * Acta Petrop. 1780, pars ii. p. 62. + Collection of Historical Documents regarding the Mongol Tribes; in German, 2 “* 4to, with many plates. Petersb. 1776 and 1801. | Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. 229 tary, and made i iruptions into Poland and Hungary. But after a few centuries, fortune became adverse to them. Driven out of China and Persia, destroyed in India, subjected to the Russians in the western parts of their ancient conquests, and to the Chinese in their original country, they have only pre- served independent establishments in some districts to the west of the Caspian Sea. Having returned to the pastoral life, most of them wander, like their ancestors, in the vast deserts of central Asia, waiting until the discord or decay of the neigh- bouring empires permits some enterprising adventurer to collect them for new conquests. This is what Russia and China seek to prevent, by dividing them, reducing their number, and sometimes transplanting them, when they mutiny, to enormous distances. And yet, in this state of subjection, these unfortunate beings preserve the pride of rank and nobility ; they have long genealogies ; their chiefs cabal against one another, and intrigue at the court of their sovereigns for augmentations of authority. The Grand Lama, who governs the consciences of all these tribes by a hierarchy almost as absolute as that of the Romish church, gives a sacred character to this authority by his patents, which thus become in his hands a means of intrigue and of disturb- ances. These continual agitations cannot be better represented than by the recital of an event which Pallas relates in detail, and which may even afford us an idea of those famous migra- tions of tribes which form so remarkable an epoch in the history of Europe. : An entire tribe, which, after the conquest of the last Emperor of China, Kien-Long, had taken refuge in the Russian territory, and which had settled, in 1758, in the deserts of the country of Astracan, having somehow become discontented, and being more- over excited by the intrigues of their principal Lama, resolved, twelve years after, to return to the countries subjected by the Chinese. ‘The preparations necessary for their journey were continued during several months, without any one divulging the sect. At length, on a fixed day, in the beginning of 1771, the whole nation, men, women, and children, to the number of more than 60,000 families, emigrated in three divisions, carry- ing away their tents, their flocks, and their baggage, and taking JANUARY—MARCH 1828. Q 230 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. with them whatever they met with on their route, whether men or treasure. In this manner, they travelled upwards of 500 leagues, without being arrested either by the troops that were sent after them, or by the rivers, the attacks of the tribes which they met with, or the mortality of their people and animals. Nothing like this had occurred since the flight of the Children of Israel from Egypt. Pallas not only treats of the origin and physical characters of these tribes, their manners and government, but also devotes a - great part of his work to the exposition of their religion,—a re- ligion of a singular nature, which had been banished from Indos- tan by the Bramins, in the first century of our era, and which, at the present day, beimg the predominant religion in China, Ja- pan, the half of Tartary, Ceylon, and the whole of the penin- . sula beyond the Ganges, almost equals, in point of extent of territory, Christianity and Mahomedanism. The metaphysical doctrines on which it is founded, its dogmas, its moral maxims, its canonic right, its ceremonies, and even the vesture of its clergy, have so great a resemblance to Christianity, as to have astonished, and sometimes deceiyed, our missionaries; but, at the best, it would merely be a Christianity altered by the most monstrous adulteration. ‘The supreme chief is not only the vicegerent of God, he is God himself, who is successively incarnated in all the individuals raised to this dignity. Some of the inferior chiefs al- so partake of divinity. The Chinese monarch acknowledges this claim to it; but, to prevent their abusing it, he has taken care to make himself master of their sacred cities, and their spiritual authority is only exercised under his influence. In this religion, as in many others, a schism has taken place, and, for about two centuries back, there have been two independent Grand Lamas. As in some other religions also, these two chiefs long denounced each other; but the singular circumstance, and one which they alone have exhibited, is, that they have become reconciled to each other; that they mutually recognise each other as gods, and that their partisans live peaceably together throughout all Lar- tary. The schism originated in a reigning Lama picieding to admit women to the honours of the priesthood. ‘The rigid fol- lowers of the ancient customs would not pardon him for such 4 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. 231- a scheme, and the consequence was, that he lost two-thirds of his empire. Pallas does not leave us ignorant of any of the mysteries or rites of this religion. In general, he displays as much capacity for detailing the customs and opinions of nations, as he proved himself qualified, in his first works, to describe the productions of nature. It is difficult to comprehend why this work has not. been translated, while so maf insignificant journeys are daily "issuing from the press. _ An essential part of the history of nations, that which leads us farther back than all written documents, is the knowledge of their languages. It is by this, and not by any traditions, that we may be enabled most successfully to judge of their descent, and to trace their genealogy; and there is no government in existence better calculated to favour this important study than the Russian, the subjects of which speak more than sixty dif- ferent languages. The Empress Catherine II. formed the inge- nious idea of getting comparative vocabularies drawn up of all. the tribes subjected to her sceptre *; she herself laboured at it for some time, and directed Pallas, who of all her literati had seen most tribes, and learned most languages, to collect the Asiatic vocabularies, restricting him, however, to the list of. words which she had drawn up. It will not afford matter of surprise, that a woman and a sovereign should not have selected these words so usefully, and with such profound views, as a pro- fessed etymologist would have done; and it is difficult to ima- gine how those whom she appointed her fellow labourers in this work, had not ventured to represent to her the defects of her plan. Besides, it will be perceived that a mere vocabulary could not afford an idea of the mechanism and spirit of Jan- guages ; but still it was a valuable work, and one that has been highly useful to other literati in their researches. “The Empress bestowed on Pallas many other marks of her confidence. He was an active member of the Commission appoint- ed. in 1777, with the view of making a new Topography of the Empire ; he was named Historiographer of the Admiralty, a si- tuation which obliged him to give his opinion on scientific ques-: * Linguarum totius orbis vocabularia comparativa, Augustissimee cura collecta, 2 vols. 4to. Petersb. 1786 and 1789, a2 232 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. tions relative to the navy; the Grand Duke Alexander, after- wards Emperor, and his brother Constantine, received instruc- tions from him in natural history and physics. Employed in so honourable'a manner by the Government, decorated with titles proportionate to his employments, applaud- ed by the learned world, Pallas enjoyed at Petersburg all the consideration that could be allied with his quality of foreigner and. his state as a mere literary character ; but it appears that the habit of travelling, like that of the savage life, renders an abode in cities difficult to be endured. Equally fatigued with his sedentary life, and with the crowd of people of the world and of foreigners, for whom the house of so celebrated a man was a natural rendezvous, he seized with avidity the opportunity which the invasion of»the Crimea af- forded: him of visiting new countries, and employed the years 1793 and 1794 in traversing, at his own expat the southern provinces of the Russian empire *. . He revisited Astracan, and traversed the frontiers of Circas- sia, a mountainous country, which produces the most beautiful of all the races of the human species, and the singular manners: of whose inhabitants may have given rise to the fable of the Amazons ; the married men can only see their wives in secret, and by introducing themselves under night through their win- dows. ‘This country is besides singularly remarkable for the multitude of tribes, differing from each other in their forms and languages, that inhabit its defiles, forming the remains of the tribes which passed through it at the time of the great migra- tion of the nations. 'The Huns, the Alans, the Uzes, the Ava- res, the Bulgarians, the Coumanes, and Petchenegres, and those other barbarians, whose names were almost as frightful as their cruelty, have left colonies amidst the rocks of the Caucasus, and there Man may be gathered as it were by specimens. _. . But Pallas did not chuse to risk himself among tribes, which, although interesting in a high degree, are yet very dangerous. * We have the account of this Journey also in German and French, 2 vols. 4to. Leips. 1799 and 1801, with many beautiful coloured plates, and there has~—lately appeared a new French translation, with notes, by MM. de la Boulaye and Tounelier. Paris 1811. 3 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. 238 He afterwards proceeded to the Crimea, the ancient Tauris, a singular peninsula, flat, and arid on the side by which it is con- nected with the continent, and raised on the opposite side into mountains which inclose beautiful and fertile valleys. For- merly civilized by Grecian colonies, occupied during the middle ages by the Genoese, afterwards inhabited by the 'Tartars, who at length acquired tolerably peaceable manners, it has of late fallen into the hands of the Russians. It is well known with what preparation Potemkin led the Empress into this new con- quest, and by what prodigies of expence and despotism this fa- vourite gave for a few days to deserts the appearance of fertile and flourishing countries. It may be said that Pallas partici- pated in the illusion of his sovereign, or perhaps the contrast between the pleasant valleys of the coast, opening to the south, enjoying a view of the sea, and planted with vines and roses, and the melancholy plains of the north of Russia, struck him too forcibly. He drew an enchanting picture of the Tauris*, and, as a proof that he was sincere in his praises, hastened to ob- tain for himself a retreat in it. Repose, which he had so long shunned, had now become necessary to him. In his last journey, wishing to examine the banks of a river, the surface of which was frozen, the ice broke under him, and he sunk in the water to the middle. Re- mote from all assistance, and during a very intense cold, he was obliged to travel for several leagues, without a change of dress. This accident occasioned pains, which he hoped would be alle- viated in a milder climate than that of Petersburg; but his change of residence, far from producing this effect, only added to his physical sufferings evils more insupportable, chagrins and cares of all kinds. ° The empress, informed of the ‘hein which Pallas shewed of living in the Tauris, very handsomely presented him with two villages, situated in the richest district of the peninsula, and a jarge house in the city of Achmetchet, named by the Russians Sympheropol, which was then the chief place of the country, and with a considerable sum of money for his establishment. * Tableau Physique et Topographique de la Tauride (Nov. Act. Petrop. tom. x.), re-printed at Paris in the year vii. (1800.) 234 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. Pallas betook himself thither in the end of 1795; but this climate, which had appeared to him so fine during a short resi- dence, proved, after more experience of it, inconstant and moist. The beaulite’ valleys were Paederne pestilential i in autumn by the nant and of the south were felt in it. Besides, property bestowed somewhat loosely, because it was thought entirely de- pendent upon the old demesne of the Khans of the Crimea, be- came in part liable to be disputed, and involyed the new pos- sessor in endless processes. Lastly, and worst of all, Pallas had not sufficiently considered what a void he would experience, when, being removed from all the learned world, he would find it impossible to communicate his ideas. He was quickly unde- ceived, and expressed his chagrin with bitterness i in the preface to the second volume of his second journey. He passed, however, nearly fifteen years in the Crimea, oc- cupied with the continuation of his great works, and: with the exercise toward strangers of the ancient hospitality of the coun- try ; labouring especially at a project of the highest i importance to Russia, that of improving the culture of the vine, of which he had made great plantations in the valley of Soudac, the an- cient, Saldaca of the Genoese. , He judged the country so much the better adapted for this purpose, that he thought he had found the vine in a wild state in it, although what he saw was per- haps nothing else than the remains of the ancient vineyards of the Greeks. . But no occupation could reconcile him to so melan- choly a life; and the marks of esteem which he received from Europe, only served to increase his regret at having left it, and made him the more sensible of what he had lost. by doing so, At length, resolved to tear himself from his situation, he sold his lands at a very low price, bade adieu for ever to Russia, and re- turned, after an absence of forty years, to close his life in his native city. To a man who had Tved fifteen years in Little Tartary, this was like coming back from the other world. Some old friends whom he found seemed to him to recal his youth ; he resumed his former warmth and eloquence when he was informed of the new advances of science, the rumours of which had but imper- — Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. 285 fectly made its way to his retirement. His depressed spirits seemed entirely to revive with these sudden enjoyments. The young naturalists, formed by his works, brought up in the admiration of his genius, but to whom: he had been but an invisible oracle, listened to him as to a superior being come to judge them; for his long absence had multiplied the time, and put as it were several generations between them and him. They assert, that, in the frank and prompt approbation which he gaye to the new discoveries, there was in fact to be recognised in this good old man, a mind superior to the prejudices natural to his age. He treated his new disciples as a father, and not with the dogmatism and superciliousness of an old master. It is a beautiful trait in his character, that he was little disposed to criticise, and willingly gave to his contemporaries the praises which they deserved,—an effort fully as meritorious as that of giving them to his pupils. He is also perhaps the least criti- cised by others of any distinguished writer of the eighteenth cen- tury. He has sometimes been reproached with somewhat of keenness and severity, for bringing together, for engrossing, as it were, by every possible means, the observations or the objects of study collected by others,—a quality calculated to displease those whose particular labours might be lost in the mass of glory, which legitimately belongs to the man who has conceived a great plan, but without which a multitude of facts, useful only from their association, would have been lost to science. Nor did he ever make use of the observations of others, nace explicitly ren- dering justice to their authors. Having thus returned to the country which had given him birth, and to friends who appreciated his merits; having again . drawn near to an elder brother, toward whom so long a separa- tion had only caused his natural attachment to become stronger ; attended by his only daughter, who cherished him with the greatest tenderness, Pallas still had the prospect of some happy years. He read with interest the new works on Natural His- tory; he proposed to visit the cities of France and Italy that were richest in instructive collections, to form acquaintance with the distinguished men which they possessed, and thus to collect new materials for a concluding work. But the germs of dis- eases which he had contracted on his journeys, and during his 236 Biographical Memoir of Peter Simon Pallas. residence in the Crimea, developed themselves sooner than had been anticipated. His old dysenteries returned to such a de- gree, as to make him easily foresee that he could have no longer any resource, and, without tormenting himself with useless re- medies, he employed his last days in making the necessary ar- rangements for ensuring the continuation of thie works which he left incomplete, and for disposing usefully of what there remainéd with him of objects and obServations to be published. He‘ died on the 8th September 1811, aged seventy years, within a few days. He was twice married, and left a daughter, whom he had by his first wife, and who is now widow of the Baron Wimpfen, Lieutenant-General in the service of Russia, who died at Lune- ville, in consequence of Ber oe received at prs battle om — terlitz. | , From the distance at which Pallas always lived from us, it would be difficult to collect enough, respecting his character, to describe it with certainty. It may be seen, by what he has pro- duced, to what degree he united sagacity with the ardour for labour. ~'The peace in which he lived with his rivals mdicates mildness of ‘disposition, for it is difficult to'attribute it to mere prudence ; and although nothing so much disposes one to exer- cise benevolence as his experiencing it himself, yet there is more in his never having attacked any person, than merely that no one ever attacked him: ‘Those who knew him, moreover, boast of the equanimity of his temper and his cheerfulness; he loved pleasure, it is said, but only as‘relaxation, and without thinkmg it worthy of disturbing his repose. Ina word, he appears al- ways to have lived as a man of science’ should, occupied: solely in seeking after truth, and leaving the rest to the chances of this world. ‘The more experience one has, the more will he be sen- sible that such a mode of life is, on this earth, the surest means of neither endangering his well-being nor his conscience. ( 237) Observations on the Large Brown Hornet of New South Wales, with reference to Instinct. By the Rev. Joun M‘Garvieg, A.M. Ina Letter to James Duntor, Esq. Paramatta *. Dunne oceasional hours of relaxation from more import- ant engagements, I have amused myself of late in studying the habits and history of the large brown and black hornets of this country, which I know you have also done with much success. But as my views on the subject do not entirely coincide with yours, I cannot permit this, perhaps the last opportunity for many months, to escape without making a few remarks upon it, especially as the excellent microscope I received from you (a present of inestimable value in this country), will enable me to prosecute the subject with more precision than I have yet been able to accomplish. _. There are few subjects that have occasioned more discussion to the naturalist and the moralist than instinct. The one, desirous of resting his knowledge on a few mechanical principles, is unwil- ling to admit instinct as a direct operating agent in animals, and particularly in insects, if any cause can be discovered that will ~ account, even imperfectly, for their operations. The moralist, on the other hand, assigns to instinct every thing that indicates an ultimate design, though it cannot be a question with any man, that the same veneration for the Author of Nature would be excited, were every act of instinct reduced to the commonest laws of matter and motion. For He who implanted instinct, on the common view of the matter, must have implanted also the power of acting in conformity to known laws ; and these actions, of course, become infallible proofs, that the laws which these individuals follow in their operation, existed before the indivi- duals themselves ; giving thus a proof, if any were wanting, that both were created by the same beneficent hand. Instinct, therefore, we conceive, should always be considered as assisted or modelled by organic structure. Of all the works of instinct, none have excited more sur- prise than those exhibited by Bees, Hornets, and other creatures of the same kind, which form their hexagonal cells with such * Read before the Wernerian Natural History Society 12th January 1828. 288 Rev. J. Macgarvie on the Brown Hornet of regularity and skill, that the most expert artizan might in vain attempt to imitate or surpass them. Why is it they have cho- sen this best of all forms ‘ st¢pare roscida mella,” by which every atom of their labour becomes of use ? . Why do they never de- viate from this rule? Why have they never advanced in im- provement since the first of the race completed his primitive cell? This, of itself, in place of leading us to assign the ef- fect to instinct, should lead us to ascribe it to the structure of the race, impelled by some paledpae beyond the ree of i inves. tigation. Instinct implies a power of action for producing some effect, by mechanical means, without the agency of intelligence. To this view of instinct we are not disposed to object, if men do not stop at proximate causes; for, whilst bodily conformation and structure may serve to attain certain ends, the principle se which these flow may still be denominated Instinet: " _ The hornets of which we speak, are of several kinds. There isa: euiall black species which forms a quadrangular cell, about a quarter of an inch in the side, and from which a number of young ones, to the amount of ten or twelve, may sometimes be taken, of a dry, hard, brittle structure and glossy aspect, with- out wings, and the head very indistinctly formed. This nest is often attached to the leaf of a wattle, or gum-tree, in which case it is often hid by the leaves. It is firmly attached to a leaf by a thin gluten. There is another very beautiful small nest, whose inmates we have not ascertained, but the form of which is more regular and surprising than that of the ‘bee itself. It is six-sided, and oe edges of the angles are formed into a rounded ridge. i The nest of the large black and brown hornet is extremely curious. It is fastened to the branch of a tree, sometimes a peach-tree, and sometimes to the twigs of a low shrub, close to the ground, and hid by high grass, being attached by a small button-shaped protuberance of dry, tough, gummy matter, which is impervious to rain or moisture, and which is, when taken off, in scales similar to the scales of a fish, but of a very different structure. They work downwards for about an inch, and then commence their cells, attaching the button of each cell to the stalk attached to the tree. They have sagacity enough to know New South Wales. 239 that, as the weight below increases, the stalk and button must also be increased above, which they may be seen augmenting with great perseverance, They then increase the number of the cells, making them nearly equal in length, which is generally one inch and a half or two inches. _ The surface next the tree, that is, the bottom of the cells (for the open end is always downmost, and they build downwards), is covered carefully over with a gummy substance of a silky aspect, but dry and brittle. The bottoms of the cells externally are distinct and circular. The button and stalk are of a pyramidal figure, very broad near the base, and contracting as they approach the upper end next the tree. At the bottom of each cell, and covered with a thin substance, like tissue-paper, is a dark brown substance, composed of parti- cles of wood comminuted, and similar to saw-dust. It certainly is not the young animal, but it may be stored up as food for it in. its earliest stages of existence. Each cell is cemented to those next it by a hard glutinous matter, which may be obtained in considerable quantities near the bottom of the cells, as they are all tapering below, and wide above, and the interstices are filled with this substance, by which they are joined to one another, and to the covering that spreads out from the stalk, by which it. is fastened to the tree. The nests themselves are rounded be- low, and circular horizontally. The cells are not always exactly hexagonal ; they are, however, placed in very distinct rows, but, they are neither so elegantly formed as the cells of bees, nor do they contain any liquid, nor is any use made of their contents. The cells are about two-fifths of an inch diameter, of different lengths, and the breadth of the whole nest is seldom more than. that of the crown of a hat. The insects connected with one nest are not numerous,. sometimes amounting to twelve or twenty, sometimes to a few more. When the cells are formed, they seem to take great plea- sure in going over them in succession, pushing their heads into the cells, and adding small portions to them by means of their long tongues, palpi, and forceps. They hatch their young in . these ; and, when the young animal is in the cell, they close the mouth of it with the fine tissue-paper like substance, of which the sides of the cells are composed. 240 Rev. J. Macgarvie on the Brown Hornet of The stings of these insects are extremely painful, causing a fulness and deadness of the place affected, that is almost intoler- able. Their sight is ‘sharp and quick. \ They fly directly to the face. One man was stung, not long ago, in the centre of the eye. They attack the cattle in the field, which are terrified for them, except the pig, which is blessed with a happy insensi- bility to all their attacks, as he merely shakes his sides and his tail, and continues to eat peaches as before. This insect has a beautiful appearance in the living state, - having a number of yellowish-brown segments, on a black ground, around his body; his legs and wings being of the same colour ; a fine yellowish colour presents itself on each shoulder, at the root of the wings, and there is a yellow stripe on the forehead. The rest of the body is a beautiful velvet-black, and the tips of the wings are tinged with a light purple colour. It has six legs, the two first of which it uses with great dexterity as hands. ‘They may be seen frequently rubbing them, and thrust- ing their foot into their mouth, to besmear it with aa unctuous substance, which may enable it to seize a firmer hold of its ob- ject. It is from the structure of the fore-legs, which are admirably adapted for the purpose, that, in my opinion, the hexagonal cells derive their character of regularity. When the sun is hot, you may see the insect traversing round his cell, seizing the edge of it in his mouth, and adding a small piece to the sides.. When he has done this, he sets his body close toa side, and clasping the cell firmly in his fore-arms, he continues rubbing it upwards and downwards for a considerable time; and as one, cell jis.al- "ways @ little higher than the one nexttit, he proceeds thus from side to side, and gives 4 six-sided form simply by*rabbing and working upon the’ soft materials with his arms. — A very little attention will shew, too, that he can give it no other form than this or the circle. For his arms are so:constructed, that if he acts uniformly upon any of these sides or angles, as we have repeatedly seen him do, he must form a spe figure, if the materials are pliant. The arms are first composed of a sitet near the body, « ex- tending a little outward, and moveable in every direction. To this is attached the arm, which is smooth, and somewhat power- New South Wales. 241 ful. Next this is the fore-arm, and. next it are the feet, which have three hooks, a small one on each side, and a larger in front. Between each of these is a powerful joint, and they are confined to a large angle, as they cannot be extended into a straight line. When the animal, therefore, has made the sides.of his cell inacircular shape . by the gluten from his mouth, and a quan- tity of pipe-clay, which he frequently em- ploys in the building of it, he applies his body to it, and, placing the fore-arms around it, at an angle most convenient for itself, he continues to rub up and down till the shape has been given to the cell. |The first angle is formed by the body and the arm ; the second by the arm and fore-arm, and ‘the third: on each side by the angles formed: - the.fore-arm, and the feet or claws*. - In’ proof of this, it may be stittetendi that sis deahicen of the cells is round, and the hexagonal form does not: commence till the cell has attained a sufficient height to admit of the applica- tion of the animal’s body and legs to the outside of the cell, after which, to the top of the cell, the hexagonal-form is remarkably distinct. Besides, to leave no doubt about the matter, we have measured the legs of a full grown hornet, and then applied them to the sides of the cells, and out of 160 cells in one nest, found only half a dozen near the outside that did not correspond exactly with the length of the arm sneiiinienty and these were probably injured or dried up. In this respect, therefore, I think, ats instinct may be pushed one step farther back from the demesnes of philosophy, since this very complicated and regular exhibition of animal sagacity may be accounted for from the organic structure and formation of the animal. The wonder still remains, why it should have. been constituted with such powers. But this wonder is in common with that of every thing around us ; and:is continually excited in examining the wonders of the lower creation, especially in ento- mology, which, in this country, above all others, would require * The figure is considerably larger than nature. 242 Rev. J. Macgarvie on the Brown Hornet. the united energies of a score of naturalists for many years. Its treasures are inexhaustible, and are almost entirely unknown. When, upon this subject, allow me to allude to a circumstance connected with the beautiful Atropus Belladonna. This butter- fly, in the state of a grub, as it is here called, forms a pyra- midal and sometimes a circular nest of small twigs, which it may be seen occasionally dragging up a tree, by short and easy stages. ‘This is the case with the same insect when very small ; but in both stages, it may be seen moving about its head before it commences its journey, and stopping at regular intervals as if to reconnoitre. -One unacquainted with its natural history, might suppose it was apprehensive of danger. But the fact is, that when it moves its head from side to side, it is spinning for itself a thread, which it fixes to the tree, and, when it is strong enough, it stretches out its fore claws, seizes hold of the thread, and raises itself upward, on the principle of the common rege baltler. When you examine its path attentively, you see these steps placed. at the most. regular distances, as regular as if made by the hand of art; and intertwined im such a way, that if one should -break, the next will keep the animal up. This is ‘cer- tainly instinct in one sense, but is common mechanics in another. For the animal seizes hold of the thread by the second pair of feet, stretches his head upwards, and makes the distance between’ the two steps of the ladder precisely that of the distance between his mouth and his second pair of arms, which is exactly one-fifth of an inch ina common sized animal. ~ We have watched him ascending a smooth surface by this means, when it would have been thought impossible to raise a large cireular eylindrical nest, with so much dispatch on such a surface. Such doves you ’ have probably yourself seen long ago: Ascribing effects: to instinct, therefore, is a eee source’ of error in natural history, and should not be tesortéd to, éxeept in those cases in which no rational account can be given of the ¢ffect’ we contemplate ; for ifmen were to stop short at second causes, every effect. in nature might be denominated instinctive. The best possible means have been always adopted to produce the best possible ends. It is the business of philosophy to discover the latter, and trace them, by that means to the grand intelli- gent source whence they originated. J am, &c. ~ ( 243) Analysis of the Gil-i-toorsch, or Sour Clay, used in acidulating Sherbet, in Persia. By Epwarp Turner, M. D.F.R. S. E. Professor of Chemistry in the University of London. Com- municated by the Author. Our intelligent young friend, and former pupil, Lieute- nant Alexander, in his lately published Travels from India to England, a work highly creditable to him as a writer and observer, says, “ The road to Dalkee is exceedingly stony ; and, at eight miles from it, is a capital sporting tract, with a date jungle and swamp on the left. We were here assailed by an insufferable sulphureous effluvium, shortly after we crossed, from several naphtha and sulphureous streams, which issued from the hills, round the bases of which the road winds, At the fountain head the water is lukewarm. ‘The streams have, on their mar- gin, a whitish-grey earth, which is of an acid and saltish taste ; it is termed Gil-i-toorsch, or Sour Clay. The taste is probably oceasioned by a mixture of alum and sal ammoniac. It is used in acidulating sherbet. I brought away a small quantity of this. substance for my esteemed preceptor Professor Jameson *.” Some time ago, the specimen of gil-i-toorsch was sent to me by Lieutenant Alexander. I requested my friend Dr Turner to’ analyze it, and the following is the Doctor’s report :—<‘ The gil-i- toorsh consists partly of a.coarse earthy powder, and partly of ir-. regular grains, of about the size of a pea. The interior of the lat- ter is of a white colour, as described by Mr Alexander, but the surface of the particles is brown. This colour is owing to iron ;- for the earth has been kept in a vessel of tinned iron, which is strongly corroded. The earth is slightly moist, and has a sour. and inky taste. With distilled water, it yields a solution con-- taining a considerable quantity of free sulphuric acid and sul. phate.of iron. With nitrate of silver, it gives scarcely a trace of muriatic: acid, and it is almost equally free from alumina. It does not, therefore, contain either sal ammoniac or alum. By the action of pure potash, a trace of ammonia was detected. The earthy matter contains some silica; but its chief constituent, es- pecially of the larger grains, is sulphate of lime, some of which * ‘Travels from India to England, compreliending a visit to the Birman empire, by James E. Alexander, Lieutenant in his Majesty’s 13th Light Dra- goons. 4to. Parry & Allen, London 1827. 244 Mr Ramage on the Excavations made at Pompeii is distinctly crystalline. It emits a faint but distinct odour of sulphur, when moderately heated. Considering the use to which the gil-i-toorsch i is applied, I presume all the iron found in the specimen sent tome, must be derived from the box which con- tained it. I therefore infer, that it consisted originally of sul- phate of lime, with a little siliceous matter, acidulated by free sulphuric acid. ‘I'his acid can scarcely have originated in the de- composition of metallic sulphurets, but must, I apprehend, have been derived from the combustion of sulphur, The sulphureous VADOUE noticed in the Mee Ad of the earth, confirms this opi- nion.” Account of Excavations made at Pompeii from December 1826 to August 1827. By T.C, Ramacer, Esq. Communicated by the Author. J T was in the autumn of 1825 that I first paid a visit to Pom- peii, and the impression it then made on my mind was by no means equal to what I had expected. 1 retiirned, however, se- veral times, and found that every examination only increased my desire to investigate it more minutely. You are aware that Pompeii is about fourteen miles from Naples, and five from the crater of Vesuvius. Through it ran the Via Consularis, a branch of the Via Appia, which, striking off from Capua, passed through Naples and Pompeii to Solerno. On entering the suburbs you set your foot on this ancient road, which, like all the other Ro- man ways, is composed of large unhewn blocks of stone. In Pompeii the pavement has been composed of lava, and shews that Vesuvius must have been a volcanic mountain in some early period of the world, though history has left us no account of it. Alighting at the barrier, where a guard is placed, you enter its suburbs, which have been ealled Augustus Felix, and appear to have been founded by the colonies of Sylla and Augustus, whose names have been discovered on many of the monuments. One single villa has been completely excavated, and many others no doubt surround it, which will hereafter be exposed to view. The first coup d’cil is remarkably striking, and well fitted to make an impression on the mind; you see at onee the whole length of the street, which is lined on both sides by . oie ea te Srom December 1826 to August 1827., 245 tombs, some entire, and some in ruins. They are chaste in de- coration, classical in design, and prove that they must have been erected before the taste of the Romans had become corrupted by the love of magnificence and grandeur, which they carried even to the grave. There rest whole families in eternal repose, as if they were still enjoying themselves around their Penates, and solemnising some of those annual ceremonies in which all took a part. The mother is there stretched at the side of the father, and the children, according to their several ages, in re- gular order beside the mother. Some of the tombs are most magnificent, and have been erect- ed by a grateful country to citizens whose merits had entitled them to such a distinction ; they are adorned with the palm and the laurel, and present the elegant forms of the lectisternium and biselliam. ‘These’ noble: monuments may be considered as al- tars erected by the Genius of Arts to the honour of Mystery and Death. ~ It was here that the ssilinbitanis enjoyed themselves at even under the shade of the cypress, which waved its mournful head over the tombs of their ancestors ; it was here that they caught those genial breezes, which were so grateful after the heats of the day. What a strange contrast must their games, diver- sions, and tumultuous joy, have formed to the calm and silence which reigned in the graves where slept those who had once been as gay and as merry as themselves ! - But as you have most probably seen a detailed account of the discoveries made previous to December 1826, I proceed now to give a short, view of the progress that has been lately made in, disinterring the ancient city of Pomes from December naar to August 1827. _At present there is every appearance that we bate at let, ad- vanced to a part of the town occupied by the more opulent class of citizens, and we are in hope of making some valuable acquisitions to our stock of antiquities. The streets have be- come more spacious, and the houses begin to have an air of splen- dour and neatness, far exceeding that of the houses situated along the sea. coast. Indeed, as we know that the shops and taverns must have been in the wicinity of the Forum and public JANUARY—MARCH1 828, R 246 Mr Ramage on the Eacavations made at Pompeii buildings, and as these are almost. the only edifices that have been as yet uncovered, we may conclude that the private villas are still concealed from our view. The articles that have been found in these houses are generally superior, both in richness of material and beauty of workmanship, to any that the Royal Museum has yet acquired, and display in a very remarkable manner the labour and ingenuity bestowed by the Romans even on their commonest utensils. = The excavations have taken place principally i two diree- tions,—in that street which is called the Street of the Arch, and towards the angle of the Forum, opposite the Basilica. In the winding lane which leads to the portico of the theatre, there have been several small houses excavated, exhibiting a consi- derable degree of ingenuity in the just arrangement, and agree- -able union of all parts of the edifice, and a most extraordinary economy in the employment of ground. It may indeed be af- firmed of them, what Pomponius Atticus said of some old houses he possessed in Rome, that there had been more ingenuity than money expended. in their erection. One cannot help. admiring the solidity with which many parts have been built, and the beauty of the opus reticulatum, which is equal even to thé ce- tebrated specimens of this sort of work in the gardens of Sallust at Rome. Here also, were found several Ionic chapters, of a style purely Grecian, which you know is a very unusual occur- rence in Pompeii. Their volute resembles the calyx of a flower, attached to its stem, which, turning downwards at the point, where the junction of the volute takes place, winds round the higher part of the shaft of the pillar,—an elegant device, wie new to us. Ii the street of the Arch, the houses are larger and. more splendid. One of them has its front decorated, with representa- tions of baskets, carved in a greyish coloured volcanic tufa, ealled by the Italians Tufo of Nocera, from. the quarries being discovered in the vicinity of that. town..These baskets, exhi- biting great accuracy of outline, are still in some parts covered with the stucco, which had been applied to them. to, furnish moulds for others. intended: to imitate the tufa.. The cornice, formed of the same: material, is lying on the ground, and. fur- nishes a beautiful. specimen of elegance im architectural disposi- . “from December 1826 to. August 1827. Q4r7 tion On entering this: house, we look across. the atrium and the summer parlour. At the bottom of the peristylium, there is'a fountain encrusted with shells and glass mosaic, similar to the one excavated some time ago. Near the outer door there is a small staircase, leading to the upper storey, or rather to the roof, as its diminutive size prevents us from supposing the ar- chitect could intend it for any nobler purpose. The atrium is ‘Tuscan, painted grotesquely with little flying figures on a: red ground > among them the most remarkable are the figure of a winged female, with a garland of flowers im one hand, and a young boy in her arms); a little figure of a female in flowing drapery, with a palm branch in her hand; and a harp-player seated at her instrument. In the summer parlour, enriched by a beautiful mosaic pavement, the walls are ornamented with a variety of fruit and richly plumed birds. The portico, fur- nished with only two rows of pillars, has on: the opposite walls a representation of the same number of columns, corresponding with the real ones, and between them there are landscapes: sketched with great spirit, and of a much larger size than any hitherto discovered. ‘These are chiefly views taken on the sea- coast. On the left appears a large harbour, with several vessels at anchor : ‘there is a building erected on a small island, united to the adjoining land by a singular bridge, which is approached by means of a stair, removeable hike a draw-bridge. In front is seem a two-oared bark, with sails exactly similar to those used at present in the Bay of Naples. At the side of this there is a building constructed on some rocks: im the middle of the water, with @ fisherman seated, and in the act of drawing his net. Among many other sketches there is one of a man on horseback, followed by a large dog, and wearing a hat. which bears a-con- siderable resemblance: to: those pomted ones: which the peasants of Campania have at present. In the centre of the colonnade opposite the door, there is a fountain, im the form: of a small. al- tar, with its niche and top richly decorated with mosaic and shells. In the middle of the semicircular basin of this fountain, there was found, on a round pedestal, a little winged boy of bronze, with one hand raised, and embracing with the other a goose, which was im the act of flapping with its wings, and eject- ine a stream of water into the basin. ‘Towards the centre of rn 2 248 = Mr Ramage on the Excavations made at Pompeii, the niche there is in the wall a scenic mask, from the mouth of which flowed another jet of water ; and on the edge of the ba- sin there was found another statue of bronze, three palms high, representing a fisherman seated with a small basket of fish in one hand, and extending the other, in the act of raising the net. From a rock completely encrusted with shells; on which the fisherman is seated, another jet of water has evidently been thrown. The features of this little figure are strongly marked, and full of expression. Besides a Caryatides of marble, there was found another figure of the same material, representing a young fisherman asleep, and covered with a sailor’s mantle, such as is generally worn by the fishermen of the present day. . The remains of the leaden pipes, with their stop-cocks, are plainly seer. In this house there was also discovered a beautiful marble. table, of Greek workmanship. * Many rich candelabra, bracelets, rings, ear-rings, and medals have been the reward of these excavations. But the most cu- rious discovery of all is that of two glass vases, one of which contained olives, with the oil in which they had been placed eighteen centuries before ; and the other nothing but pure oil. It may not be uninteresting to give the chemical analysis of these substances by Professor Covelli of Naples. Analysis by Professor Covell. The olives were found in a quadrangular glass vase, with a large mouth. The oily substance was inclosed in a cylindrical glass vase, with a narrow neck, and a small handle. Examination of the Olives.—The upper half of the vase con- taining the olives, was full of volcanic ashes and pebbles; the ° olives, mixed with a kind of buttery substance, occupied the lower half. They have the form and size of that variety com- monly called Spanish Olives; some of them have even still their pedunculus or flower-stalk. ‘The kernels are less oblong than those of the Neapolitan species, and also more swollen ; the lon- gitudinal streaks are more strongly marked. Their colour is black, but mixed with small particles of a greenish matter, which, with the aid of a powerful lens, it was discovered were those lichens produced on organic substances in a state of putre- faction; but these little plants were not observable at the mo- Jrom December 1826 to August 1827. 249 ment of their discovery, and have no doubt arisen from the ac- tion of the air, which in a few hours had produced such an al- teration in their superficies, as had not been accomplished by the influence of so many centuries. This is a proof that these olives, gathered eighteen centuries before by the subjects of Ti- tus, are as fresh and sweet as those produced by Francis I. Indeed, these ancient olives are still soft and pulpy ; they have a strong rancid smell, a greasy taste, and leave upon the tongue an astringent and sharp sensation. They are so light, that they swim upon water ; the pericardium or seed-vessel shews still its organic texture, though the parenchyma is in that state of alte- ration which the maceration of a few months usually produces. The kernels are still hard, and so much so that a knife can scarcely penetrate them. The oily part of the parenchyma, though in very small quantities, when analysed carefully in the usual method, has been found to be changed entirely into oleic and margaric acids, which are the fundamental principles of the fixed oils, acidified by oxygen, and form the basis of our soaps. These changes happen generally in oils exposed for some time to the air. This proves that the action of eighteen centuries, which has left untouched the fundamental principles of the oil, has effected no greater change than what is thon by a few months. - The kind of oily substance in which the olives are seul is of a brownish-yellow colour, soft like butter, has a strong rancid smell, soils paper like fixed oils and greasy substances, is melted by a moderate heat (60° or 70° cent.) warmed on a deaf of platina; it burns with a beautiful white flame, without leaving any thing but small white flaky ashes, so light that the smallest puff disperses them. With the alkalies it forms soap ; distilled in close vessels, it gives out carburetted hydrogen gas, acetic acid, carbonic acid, carbonic acid gas, and a residue of carbon. This buttery substance, tried by Cheuvreul’s method; is found to be composed of oleic acid in large quantities, a small portion of margaric acid, and a substance analogous to the sweet principle of fixed oils, but which differs in many respects, and which may be a new production ; and, lastly, an earthy sub- stance, in very small quantities, arising from the volcanic ashes which filled the upper half of the vase. 250 Mr Ramage on the Excavations made at Pompeii. Eaamination of the Buttery Substance found in the narrow- necked Vase-—'Dhis substance is much softer than the jprece- ding: it has a yellowish-green colour, has a strong’rancid smell; and exhibits im the mass a number ef brown globules, similar to the spawn of fish, but which cannot be made out even by a power- ful lens. This substance resembles that found with the olives: it 1s composed of the same principles, though it may ‘contain a larger quantity of oleic acid, and of that unknown substance analogous to the sweet principle of fixed oils. It appears, im- deed, to have been nothing else but the oil of clue, eeneeanns some vegetable salt. — Sketch of the Natural History of the Salmo Salar, or Com- ‘mon Salmon. 1. Of the Process of Spawning, anil sub- “sequent evolution of the ova; 2. Of the growth and move ments of the Young Brood, to and from the sea during: the first year of life; and, 3. Of the migrations of the Salmon betwixt the River and the Sea. By Dante ns Esq. F.R.S.E., ‘&e.* Since the year 1824, a Committee of the House of som: mons has been employed, during several sessions, in making. in- quiries into the present state of the salmon fisheries through the United Kingdom. The Committee, in a great degree, origina- ted from numerous petitions presented to the House from Scot- land. To gain the necessary information, they, in the first place, prepared and distributed certain queries. regarding the present, state of the fisheries in the several rivers, estuaries, and adjacent seas; the laws, usages, or regulations acted on, or applicable to these fisheries; the extent to which the law is or can be enforced, and the customs and practices which oppose or counteract it ; the modes of salmon-fishmg now in use; and the actual day on which it commences and ceases in each fishery ; at what periods ‘of the year it ought to commence and cease, so.as to obtain the greatest supply of good salmon, and preserve most effectually the breed; whether these periods should be the same for all * Drawn up from the evidence contained in two Reports of a “ Select Com- mittee of the House of Commons, on the Salmon Fisheries of the United King- dom.” Ordered by the House to be printed in 1824 and 1825. - Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. 251 rivers, estuaries, &c. or should vary in different rivers; and, lastly, what regulations can best provide for the safety of the parent fish during the breeding season ; proteet the spawn after its deposition; and finally secure the descent of the young fry down the rivers to the sea. The answers returned to these queries enabled the Committee to summon before them persons from all parts of the kingdom, the best qualified to give the desired information ; and the evi- dence collected is contained in the above mentioned Reports. This evidence goes to prove, that the productiveness of the sal- mon fisheries has decreased, and is decreasing, in almost all the rivers in the United Kingdom ; but that this decrease arises, not so much from any changes in the habits of the fish, or in the condition and circumstances of our rivers, as from the operation of injudicious laws in relation both to the times and modes of fishing; from the prevalence of most destructive practices, and incredible abuses in almost all our rivers; and from the indul- gence of a too greedy spirit of gain, which, instead of waiting for the natural production of the golden egg, cuts up at once the animal that can only daily produce it. The facts brought out in these Reports, respecting the natural history of the sal- mon, particularly as regards the propagation of the race, their rate of growth, and their several migrations between the rivers and the sea, are far more complete than any we before possessed ; and, as they are not only curious in themselves, but of the ut- most importance in any legislative measures that may be adopt- ed for the future regulation of the salmon fisheries, I have thought that the collection and arrangement of them would form no unsuitable article for the Philosophical Journal, and per- haps prove acceptable to many of your general readers. Naturalists enumerate several species of the genus Salmo, of which a distinguished zoologist, Dr Fleming, mentions seven as met with in the estuary of the Tay *. These are, 1. Salmo salar, or Common Salmon. 2. Salmo hucho, or Bull Trout. 3. Salmo eriox, the Gray or Shewn. 4, Salmo trutta, or Sea Trout. 5. Salmo albus, the Whiteling or Finnock. 6. Salmo fario, or River Trout. 7. Salmo eperlanus, the Spirlin or Smelt, * Report II. p. 63. an 252 Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. On the present occasion, it is proposed to speak only of the first species, viz. the Salmo salar, or common salmon; and. this we shall do, by treating, 1st, Of the process of spawning, and subsequent evolution of the ova; 2d, Of the growth and move-: ments of the young brood to and from the sea, during the first year of life; and, 3d, Of the migrations of the salmon neaint the river and the sea. Of the process of Spawning, and subsequent evolution of the Ova. sake The salmon is a very prolific animal. Both the male and fe- male frequently propagate their kind during the first year of their age ; while the older fishes, which inhabit alternately the seas and lower parts of rivers during the winter and spring months, ascend to the higher parts of rivers in autumn to exer- cise the same function. Early in spring the milt, or: repro- ductive organ, appears to be forming in the male and the roe in the female salmon, but both are then small im size ; they in- crease in each sex through the summer months, and towards autumn the male and female become respectively full of milt and roe. In proportion as these bodies advance to ripeness, the salmon fall off in condition. Before the spawn is of great size, the belly of the fish, says Dr Fleming, is loaded with fat; but when the milt and roe have become ripe, that fat has disappear- ed from the belly, and it is little else but skin, This change furnishes a test by which we may know whether a kippered salmon had been in good or bad condition at the time it was so prepared ; for the thinner the edges of the belly may be, the presumption is, that the nearer was the fish to a spawning state*. In a general way, the evidence obtained from all parts of the United Kingdom goes to prove that, towards the months of August, September, and October, the reproductive organs, both in the male and female salmon, have, more or less, completely reached maturity, at which period the roe in the female is found, on the average, to contain from 17,000 to 20,000 ova or eggs. When arrived at this state, the instinct of propagation impels them eagerly to seek rivers, and to ascend nearly to ther sources, in order to find a place suitable for the deposition of their spawn, * Report II. p. 72. Mr D. Ellis on the Nutw al Arstory of the Salmon. 258 They no longer, as in the winter and spring months, roam over the coasts and shores, and return backwards and forwards with the flowing and ebbing of the tide, but pursue the most direct route by the mid-channel up the river, and make the greatest efforts to overcome every obstacle, either natural or artificial, that may impede or obstruct their course. ‘ I have often seen them leap a fall, near my residence,” says Sir G. S. Mackenzie, ** of about 30 feet high, but they seldom spring out of the water more than 8 or 10 feet. I have seen them leap over a dry rock of considerable height, and drop into the water behind it. After having entered a river, the object of salmon appears to be to push as far up towards the source as possible, in order that they may deposit their spawn in the small streams that form their sources ; and which, on account of their being near the springs which supply them, are neither so apt to run dry as the river lower down, where the effect of evaporation is greater, nor to be so affected by frost as to stop the water from running. The water is always steadier in its temperature near the sources, varying little throughout the whole year; and these small streams are fitted peculiarly for vivifying the spawn, as they form a constant succession of rills, by which the water is kept fully saturated with air *.” It is not always, however, that the spawning fish are able to reach these sources, but are obliged to deposit their spawn in the shallow fords in the beds of rivers, and sometimes in the streamlets of mill-dams. The process of spawning itself has been observed with much accuracy by Mr Halliday in the river Annan in Scotland, and by Mr Little in the Bann in Ireland. It is principally accom- plished in the months of November, December, and January. According to Mr Halliday, when the parent fishes have reach- ed the spawning ground, they proceed to the shallow water, generally in the morning, or at twilight in the evening, where they play round the ground two of them together. After a time they begin to make a furrow by working up the gravel with their noses rather against the stream, as a salmon cannot work with his head down the stream, for the water going then into his gills the wrong way, drowns him. When the furrow is made, the male and female retire to a little distance, one to the one * Report I. Appendix, p. 17. 955 Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. side and the other to the other side of the furrow: They then throw themselves on their sides, again come together, and, rub- bing against each other, both shed their spawn into the furrow at the sametime. This process is not completed at once: It re- quires from 8 to 12 days for them to lay all their spawn, and when they have done they betake themselves to the pools to recruit themselves. He has seen three pairs on a spawning. bed at one time, and stood and looked at them while making the furrow and laying the spawn *. , The account given of the same proccss by Mr Little, agrees with that just stated. He observes that the spawning commen- ces in November in most rivers, and is continued through De- cember and January; that, when a pair of salmon are about to spawn, they make a furrow in the shallow part or current of the water into which the spawn is deposited, so that they work against the stream, increasing the number of furrows, until they have formed a bed of perhaps 12 feet by 8 or 10; the bed be- ing at first very little, but enlarging every day. He observed the salmon to go leisurely down the side of the bed, and, turn- ing round at the place where they had thrown up the gravel, come back to that point next the stream ; they then threw them- selves on their sides in the manner previously described, depo- siting their spawn in the furrow as they moved upward, and, at the same time, covering it over with the gravel as they went along. In this manner they continued working for several days till they completed their bed; and if it so happened that they were frightened, they would swim away, and in a little time re- turn to it again; or, in some instances, would desert it alto- gether, and begin at another place +. Dr Fleming has never himself seen the process of spawning so completely as to be able to describe it minutely ; but he is satisfied that the description given by Messrs Little and Halliday is accurate. Notwith- standing the number of eggs to be deposited, they must, he adds, be excluded one by one, which accounts for the long con tinuance of the process ; and if, during the act of spawning, the male fish be destroyed, the female leaves the bed, and in the deep pools endeavours to find another male + * Report I. p 61-2. + Ibid. I. p. 108. + Ibid II. p. 66. Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. 254 In the statement of Mr Little, both the male and female fish are said to assist in forming the bed; and Mr Halliday has often taken these fish, on their return to the sea, with the skin rubbed off below the jaws, of the size of a half-crown piece, occasioned by rubbing up the gravel and making furrows for the spawn *. At this particular period, the head of the male has been said to be furnished with a long hard bill on his under jaw, and which again decreases as the spawning season passes off. This bill or hook has been deemed by some an extra- ordinary provision of nature, toenable the male more effectually toaid in preparmg the furrow destined to receive the spawn. But Dr Fleming says it is the under jaw itself of the male that is thus turned up; that it appears to be a distinguishing mark of sex, and not produced by any mechanical means +. ‘The spawn is, as we have said, deposited im furrows formed in ‘the gravel, and is afterwards cpvered over with loose gravel, so'as to resemble, says Mr Little, an onion bed in a garden. In this state the ova remain for weeks, or sometimes much longer, apparently inert, like seeds buried in the soil. The pe- ried at which the young fry begin to rise, depends much on the season of the year. They remain in the bed, says Mr Little, till some natural warmth comes into the river in the spring of the year. In.an early spring the fry come forth early, and later when the spring is late. Generally they begin to rise from the bed about the beginning of March, and their first movement is usually completed by the middle of April. Mr Little has never himself seen the first appearance of the beds after evolu- tion has commenced, and previously to the fry quitting them; but persons employed by him to protect the beds in the wpper branches of the rivers, describe the young animals as rising from the beds like a crop of oats or thick braird of grain, rushing wp im very great numbers. The tail first rises up, and the young animalsoften leave the bed with a portion of the investing mem- brane of the ovum about their heads +. Mr Halliday states also, that the fry generally come first into life from about the 10th of March to the 10th of April. They do not all, however, come into life exactly at one time, but nearly-so, and some appear to * Report I. p. 62. + Ibid II. p. 67. t Thid p. 109. 3 256 Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. be much larger than others. He, too, has seen them, when dis- engaged from the spawning beds, with a portion of the skin of the ovum sticking to their nose like a scale *. ~ During the winter 1824, Mr Hogarth jun. observed fre- quently the spawning beds in the River Don, and had the spawn taken from them occasionally to examine the state it was in, and found it advancing gradually. The first particular change observed in the roe, was the appearance of two black specks. ~ In this state, a portion of it was taken up and put into phial bottles; and, by supplying these with frequent changes of fresh water, many of the ova came into life. The young ani- mals lived in the bottles, and appeared very vigorous for about three weeks, the water being frequently changed. After this, they became restless and uneasy, would not eat, and died when they had attained the length of an inch. He procured an artist to make sketches of the appearances exhibited by the ovum in the successive stages of its evolution, as represented in Plate III. When a portion of the roe was put into salt water, none of the ova ever came into life; and when a young fish, that had been hatched in fresh water, was put into salt wa- ter, it shewed symptoms of uneasiness, and died in a few hours. Whence it is inferred, that the spawn of salmon, if deposited in the sea, would not be evolved ; neither would the young fish, in the earliest periods of its life, be able to exist there. + Sect. II. Of the Descent of the Fry to the Sea, and of their subsequent growth and movements. Having thus described the process of spawning, and traced the series of changes exhibited in the evolution of the ovum, we have next to follow the progressive movements of the young fry from the place of their birth in the river, to their arrival in the ocean. When their evolution is completed, and they have dis- engaged themselves from the spawning beds, they keep at first in the eddy pools till they gain strength, and then prepare to go down the river, keeping, says Mr Little, near to its sides, and proceeding on their way till they meet with the salt water, * Report I. p. 62. + Report II. p. 92. Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. 25% when they disappear. * Whether the river be early or late, the descent of the fry is made much about the same time in all. It begins in the month of March, continues through April and part of May, and sometimes even to June. + Mr Halliday also describes the fry as making towards the edges of the river soon after their birth, and keeping in the easy fresh water about its sides: afterwards, as they become stronger, they go more to- wards the mid-stream ; and, when the water is swelled by a lit- tle rain, they move gradually down the river. On meeting the tide, they remain for two or three days in that part where the water becomes a little brackish from the mixture of salt water, till their constitutions become inured to the change, when they go off to sea all at once, sinking down in the bed or channel in the middle t. From the end of March till the middle of May, he has seen them thus descending; and, in particularly dry seasons, when no floods occur, they sometimes could not get down for want of water until the month of June §. That the young fry descend rivers at the times and in the manner above stated, is proved by the evidence of various wit- nesses, and more especially by Messrs Shepherd and Sime. To ascertain the precise course of their descent, both in rivers and in their estuaries, Messrs Shepherd and Sime were many years ago specially appointed, under legal authority, to. exa- mine the river and estuary of the Tay, by going up the said estuary and river in the month of April, when the fry were de- scending, till they should find the fry, and see them distinctly making their way downwards. They accordingly proceeded up both sides of the Frith, from one end to the other, but could there meet with no salmon fry between high and low water mark. A little above a place called Carpow-bank, however, where the frith appears to begin, they met with the fry at the sides of the river, where they disappeared in the deep water, and where, with a small net, they caught many of them in the very middle of the channel. Above this point, and all the way upward to Perth, the fry were visible to the eye along the sides * Report I. p. 109. } Ibid. p. 62. $ Ibid. p. 115. § Ibid. p. 63. 258 MrD: Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. of the river.* The reason why the fry thus descend by: the margir in rivers, and by the mid-channel im estuaries, is: appa- rently, says Dr Fleming, because: the margin of the: river is the easy water, and consequently best suited to their young and weak state: but whem they reach the estuary or tideway, then the margin of the water being there most. disturbed, the fry avoid it, and’ betake themselves to: the deepest part of the channel, disappearing alike from: observation and capture, and so go out to sea. Hence they are never seen im the pools on the banks of the estuary, nor caught im any of the nets: used there in taking the small’ fish +. The young fry, at this period of thea growth, are ealled sometimes Smolts or Samlets. They are of very different size and weight, according to the age, varying from half an ounce to twoor more ounces. As.they are never seen or takem by salmon fishers after they enter the sea, it is probable, says Dr Fle- ming, that they go mto deep water at a distance fromthe shore: After remaining some weeks in the sea, the samlet returns to the coasts and rivers, and is sometimes seen as early as: May in some rivers, being then about 2 pound or a pound and a half im weight ; in Scotland it is then termed a Grilse. The grilses seldom, says Mr Little, appear till nearly the middle of June, and weigh them ftonr two to two and a: half or three pounds, in- creasing in size half'a pound a week. By theend of the fishing season, they weigh from seven to nine pounds t. In the river Severn, they are said to return from the sea towards the end of June or beginning of July, weighing’ ther from two and a half to three pounds, rarely four pounds; but. by the end of August, says Mr‘Ellis, they have grown so large-as'to weigh from four to eight pounds §. At this stage of growth they are called Botchiers ; of these, some of the larger ones go up the river to spawn ; others are considered to return to: the sea, and come up again the next spring of the year ||; they then weigh: from tere to fifteen pounds, when they take the name of Gillmgs. Many experienced fishers, examined by the Committee, con- sider the grilse as a fish altogether of a different species from the salmon, while others regard it as the samlet i in its progress to " Report I. p- 93. t Ibid. p. 111, 112. $ Ibid. § Ibid. II. Appen. p. 13. {| Ibid. Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. 259 form the salmon. At the commencement of the grilse season, only small ones are taken, which inerease gradually to the weight of seven or eight pounds. Now, were the grilse a dis- tinet species, we might, says Dr Fleming, expect to meet with some of them the following year as old fish, weighing nine or ten pounds, whereas, we get them only of small size, from one and a half to two or more pounds *. ‘To ascertain the fact by experiment, Mr G. Hogarth jun, in the month of May 1824, ° when the samlets were going down the river Don, caused a num- ber of them to be taken and marked by cutting off the mort or dead fin. In the course of the month of July, several grilses were taken without that fin; whence he inferred, that they were some of the fishes he had previously marked. Not only did samlets thus become grilses in a few weeks, but, in the following year (1825), he got three salmon, marked in the same way, which he also considered to be some of those indi- viduals he had marked originally as samlets. Farther, in the month of September in the year 1824, he caught ten or twelve grilses, which were put into a salt water pond. Owing to some very high tides that season, some of these fish made their escape, but there were three still alive in May of the following year.. These he had taken out and examined in the presence of many competent judges, who all were decidedly of opinion that they were real salmon. + These experiments con. firm the statements already made, proving not only the growth of the smolt or samlet into the grilse or botcher, but also. that of the grilse into the gilling or salmon of one. year’s growth. With respect to the subsequent growth of the salmon, it is con- sidered that, in the river Severn, the young salmon, which, in the spring of the year, weighs from ten to fifteen pounds, has increas- ed, in the following months of December and January, to eighteen and twenty-five pounds, and in another year would attain the weight of thirty-five or forty pounds, which is as large as they are now ever taken in that river. Itis not doubted, however, that if they escaped the nets of the fishers, they would grow to a still greater size, a salmon having heretofore been taken which weighed fifty-two pounds when oud of season ; and which would doubtless. have been, of greater weight had he been taken while in the condition of a clean fish: In the river Lee in Ireland, * Report II. p. 92. + Report II. Appen. p. 13. 260 Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. Mr G. Shepherd also states, that the grilses, or peels, as they are there called, which retreat to the sea, weighing from eight to ten pounds, make their reappearance in the river during the follow- ing autumn, bi ae Wout twenty-four t to thirty, « or even thirty- four pounds *. TES ° Were we entitled from thése facts and statements to estimiate the rate of growth of the salmon from birth to the maturest state in which it comes to our tables, we might perhaps say, ‘that, i in the first five months of its existence, that is, from ‘April t to Au- gust, both inclusive, it reaches, in favourable circumstances, to about eight pounds in weight, or grows at the average rate of about one pound nine and a-half ounces per ‘month : that, from September following to March, seven months, it a acquires seven pounds additional weight, or one pound per ‘month : - that, from’ April following to December, or nine months, it gains ten pounds additional weight, which is at the average rate of about one pound one and three-fourth ounces per month: and, lastly, that, through the next twelve months, it gains _ ten ‘pounds n more, or weighs thirty-five pounds, which is somewhat more than thir- teen eubfurth ounces per month. According to this ‘calculation, the rate of growth is greatest in the first period, diminishes a as the age increases, and is about one-half ere the salmon has attained to the third year of his age ; and by dividing the total weights by the total months, it will be found that the salmon acquires a weight of about thirty-five pounds in thirty-three’ months, which, on an average of the whole period, is nearly at the rate of one pound one ounce per month. We give ‘this only as as ‘an approximation to the truth; for the data assumed, both as to the periods of time taken, and the actual weights of the salmon at those periods, may not be the most correct; and, regarded as an inference generally applicable, much variation in the result may exist in reference to salmon taken in different rivers, and even in the same rivers, under circumstances that vary the period. of their birth, or their facilities in getting to the sea, where alone they ‘seem able to procure a due supply of food. Experiments, like those described by Mr Hogarth in the preceding paragraph, if sufficiently extended and varied, and made with all the requisite accuracy as to dates and weights, and with due care to identify and distinguish the individual fishes experitaented upon, would * Repor II. p 148. a . elie pa ss Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. 261 be the best adapted for ascertaining the proportionate rate of growth in these animals. Unfortunately, however, in the present practice of salmon fishing, experiments of this kind can hardly be continued for a sufficient length of time to obtain the required results. Many of the witnesses state, that the skill and perseverance of the fishers are now so great, that, under the stimulus which ready markets and high prices afford, very few of the clean salmon, which once pass up our rivers, are again permitted to return to the sea; and, consequently, few salmon are now taken of more than one year’s growth. In all the fisheries, north of the Tay, with which Mr Hogarth is acquainted, the proportion of grilses to salmon has, for many years past, been gradually increasing ; so that, though the total weight of fish taken may not have di- minished, the quantity of salmon has, and this deficiency has been compensated for only by the increased weight of grilses. The cause of this decrease in the proportion of salmon is owing, continues Mr Hogarth, to the too assiduous and close manner of fishing, by which both the number and size of salmon have diminished. I am quite satisfied, he adds, that all our rivers are overfished, even those as to which the total weight of fish has increased *. The great proportion of grilses to salmon in some of the Irish rivers, is remarked by Mr Halliday +; and Mr Little states, that, though the total weight of fish in the river Foyle, in Ireland, has much increased, yet it is mostly made up of grilse, it being seldom that any large salmon is taken in it. In the Shannon, the fish are a great deal larger, few of them being under twenty, and many thirty-five or forty pounds, and upwards f. After the process of spawning is completed in the river, the parent fish, says Mr Halliday, retire to the adjoining pools to recruit. In two or three weeks from that time, the male begins to seek his way down the river; the female remains longer about the spawning ground, sometimes until April or May. The fishes which have thus spawned are denominated kelts. These kelts, or spent-fish, come down the river, says Dr Fle- ° Report II. p. 104, 109. t Report I. p. 64. t Report I. p. 112. JANUARY—MARCH 1828, $ 262 _ Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. ming, during the spring months, from February to May inclu- sive; so that two or three months may intervene between the deposition of the spawn and the descent of the parent fish, vary- ing, probably, according to the degree of strength in the fish to undertake such migration, and the condition of the river. in re- gard to the quantity of water. In their progress to the sea, when they reach the estuary, they pursue a course precisely. si- milar to the fry, not roaming about the banks like clean fish, but keeping in the mid-channel. They are at this time compara-. tively weak; and, im thus betaking themselves to the. deepest parts of the channel, they are better enabled to resist the de- ranging motion of the flood-tide, and to take advantage of the ebb-tide in accelerating their migration to the sea *. _ It would seem, from a fact mentioned by Mr Liptasiinhes some of the kelts, which may have gone down in the. spring months to the sea, return again in autumn, in breeding condi- tion. He states, that the person, from whom he purchased the fisheries at Dumfries, told him, that he orie year marked a great number of kelt-salmon going down to the sea, and they returned to him again that season, in full condition, going up the river to breed *.. This rapid recovery of the kelt-salmon, after it reaches the sea, and speedy redevelopement of its reproductive organs, is not more remarkable than the early growth of these animals, and the developement of those organs in them, during the first months of their existence; by which they are enabled, as is tes- tified by many witnesses, either to pair together, or with older fishes, and so to propagate their kind. These facts, concerning the propagation of the ealniont, and the movements and growth of the young fry, are not only in- teresting in themselves, but derive additional importance from the generality of their occurrence, and their applicability to all the rivers in the United Kingdom, with such modifications only, as local circumstanees and conditions may occasionally introduce. Nature has ordained that, in these, as in other animals living in their pristine state, there shall be one seasonof the year in which the. organs of reproduction are fully developed: a second, in which the sexual function shall be discharged: and a third, in -which the young progeny shall spring into life, and-go through * Report II. p. 68. + Report I. Appendix; p..13. i aaa a ee Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. 268° their, destined changes. 'These periods niay be varied, to a cer- tain extent; by accidental circumstances, or the purposes-of na- ture be in some instances entirely frustrated; but such aéci- dental decurrences only partially disturb, but do not counteract, the' operation of general laws, In certain seasons, for example, a deficiency of water in ‘any particular river may, in the first instance, prevent the parent fishes from ascending. to deposit their spawn, when, by nature, they are prepared to do so; and ‘ the proper season for spawning may thus be delayed, or some~ times entirely lost. In other instances, obstacles, either natural or artificial, may oppose the ascent to the ‘spawning grounds ; and the female be constrained, as she sometimes is, to discharge the ova in the deep water of rivers, or in the sea, where they are wholly lost. Even when she gains the upper parts of rivers, some time may elapse before she finds a suitable place to depo- sit the spawn, or a male to impregnate the ova: or the bed, in which the impregnated ova may have been duly deposited, may not retaina suitable quantity of water: or the water itself may become contaminated, and not furnished with air fitted to carry on the evolution of the ova: or, though the water and air be duly supplied, a difference of temperature, arising from season, from elevation above the sea, or from the prevalence of winds, may check the progress of developement, and proportionably re- tard, in particular rivers and situations, the appearance of the young fry, or even prevent it altogether.. Even when the evo- lution of the ova may have been accomplished in due time and. manner, the want of water in rivers, during very dry seasons, may retard their descent to the sea until a later period ‘than usual, or sometimes altogether prevent it.. : ” Making, however, all due allowance for these varying: cir cumstances and their corresponding results, there seem to be some rivers in which the breeding period of the salmon. is. uni- formly earlierthan in others. ‘Thus, says Mr Little, the rivers Annan, Esk:and Nith, do not afford salmon in perfection until a full month after the Dee, which is adjacent to them ; and the salmon caught in the Dee are in bad condition nearly a month sooner than in the) other rivers; they are full bellied, and in worse condition. So, likewise, the salmon taken in the river, Shannon in Ireland, are in greatest perfection in February, $2 264 Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. March and April; and the fishing there is nearly over by the middle of May *. A similar remark is applicable to the Lee, and other rivers in Ireland; to the Eden, Severn, and some others in England ; and to the Ness and Thurso in Stotland.’ This may probably arise from these rivers possessing a higher mean temperature at the season alluded to, the direct operation of heat, in accelerating the developement of the reproductive or- gans being not less marked and striking in the animal, than it is in the vegetable kingdom. Section 3.—Of the Migrations of the Salmon betwiat the Rivers and the Sea. We have seen, that the brood of the salmon, after a dents re- sidence in the sea, return to rivers greatly increased in size. Many practical fishers, those especially connected with river fisheries, contend, that not only the young brood, but the older salmon, always make efforts to revisit their native rivers. That many do so is proved by the facts already stated, of salmon, which, having been marked on going down to the sea, have been _ afterwards retaken in the same river, and identified’: But it is equally certain, that numbers of fish, thus previously marked, have never been retaken in their native rivers, but sometimes in another that adjoins it ; and when we consider, says Dr Flem- ing, the numerous foes which unceasingly persecute the salmon during its abode in the sea, which must necessarily mix the fa- milies or tribes belonging to different estuaries and rivers, it seems difficult to conceive, how, after such imtermixture, the breeds of different rivers could again separate and collect into their original groups++.. The assertion made by several expe- rienced witnesses, that they can discriminate the salmon of dif- ferent rivers by original peculiarities of form, may be met by that of others, equally experienced, Mr Halliday for example, who denies that any such distinction is practicable. That sal- mon, however, do frequently differ considerably in point of form from one another I have repeatedly witnessed, says Dr Flem- ing, by looking at the fish taken at the same place by the same net, and collected together in a boat; but these variations are not greater than in other species of animals, subject to variations * Report I. p. 114. t Report II. p. 70. Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. 265 in the place of their residence, and in the quantities and quali- ties of their food *. | ' The migration of the salmon from the sea to the river, and back again from the river to the sea, would seem, in certain ri- vers, to take place at short intervals, through every period of the year. During all the spring and summer. months, says Mr Little, salmon continue to visit the rivérs from the sea. When they thus enter the river early, they would soon go back if they were not killed. After being some little time in the river, they would naturally return to the sea as soon as there was a little flood. He has known them taken in the river Annan when thus going down again to the sea-++;—a fact confirmed by Mr Halliday, in the most distinct terms. He fished the river An- nan for several years; and states, that there is one pool in par- ticular in that river, whichhe had often fished, quite clean before rain came on; yet, whenever the rain did come, he continued fishing till the water rose so high as to stop the operation ; and all the time he caught salmon coming down the river, some of them much exhausted, and quite changed in colour, as if they had been hung in a, smoky chimney, and others very red in the skin. He has taken more than a hundred fish, in one night, in that pool, after the rain had commenced, although it had been fished clean immediately before }. But, though the disposition in salmon to enter rivers, at short intervals, may be universally the same under similar circum- stances ; yet the fact, that they are found in different rivers, at different times, seems to point to some differences in the circum- stances and conditions of those rivers, which counteract these natural dispositions. Thus, in the rivers Ness and Thurso in Scotland ; in the Severn, the Eden, and others in England ; and in the Shannon and Lee in Ireland, the months of December, January, and particularly February, are declared, by various witnesses, to be the best times in which. salmon are taken in those rivers, both in regard to the quantity and quality of the fish ; and some of these rivers begin to fall off after this period, and, towards April and May, yield few or no fish. Other rivers again, as the Tay and the Tweed, do not yield fish so soon as the former, but continue to afford them, in a marketable condi- * Report II. p. 70. + Report I. p. 108. $ Ibid. p. 61. | 266 Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. tion, till September ; and others are said not to repay the ex- pence of fishing them till March, or even a and to yield the best fish in May and June. ‘This difference of time, in the appearance of the ‘tinal’ in. different rivers, cannot be ascribed to any difference in geogra- phical position, as faras regards \these islands; for the Ness, which is: one of the earliest rivers in Britain, is ‘situate in the highest latitude. It must therefore be sought for in some local cireumstances and conditions, which more or less adapt particu: lar rivers to the taste and habits of the fish. Now, the Ness, we are told, flows out of a lake of great depth, which never freezes. In the year 1807, Mr Alexander Fraser states, that, at Inverness, the temperature, for ten days, was from 23° to 80°, or more, below the freezing point; yet this intense cold made no impression either on the river or the lake; and clean fish, he adds, pass up the Ness every month in the year; except May and June *, It is probable, therefore; that the comparatively high temperature of the Ness, during the winter months, in- duces salmon to enter it at a time when they are repelled from other rivers, which, either from their shallowness, or from re- ceiving large quantities of water produced by the melting of snow, are reduced to a temperature unsuited to the economy and habits of the fish. It is well known, says ‘ Sir G. Macken- zie, that, while snow is melting on the mountains, few fish go up rivers. Whether it be its coldness, or any other cause, that makes them dislike snow water, I cannot tell; but the fact has been noticed, and is consistent with my own observation +. As these fishes seem thus to decline entering rivers when much reduced in temperature, so, at other seasons, they seem equally to avoid them when their temperature is too high. During the summer season, the water, in many rivers, becomes so small, and gets so hot, that the salmon will not enter them, but linger upon the coasts, and about the mouth of the river. In one very dry and warm season, when stake-nets were in use in the estuary of the Tay, the salmon, says Mr Halliday, did not even approach the highest stake-net during the neap-tides ; but, when the spring-tides became high, the fish then came up to those nets, and were taken; when, again, these latter tides fell off, the nets on the lower parts of the frith caught a great * Report IL. p. 43. + Report I. Appendix, p. 17. Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. «267 deal more fish, which did net then float up so high as the upper ‘nets*. Many other witnesses give a similar testimony, as to ‘the refusal of salmon ‘to enter rivers when much heated. The of the sea is probably that best suited to the econo- my of these animals; and those rivers, therefore, which come nearest to that temperature, will probably be preferred by them ; and as the ordinary heat of fishes is very near to that of’ the medium in which they live, a temperature, either much above or below that of the sea, is, in all likelihood, unsuited to their nature. If, however, freshes and floods occur in any particular river during the hot season, salmon then move up them, even many months before the spawning season. Some of these may re- main in the upper parts of rivers, if they find water sufficient to harbour and protect them, until that season arrives; but others, as ‘we have seen, avail themselves of subsequent floods to revisit the sea, in which alone they may be said to thrive. It is not, however, the freshes and floods in all rivers that induce salmon to enter them; for sometimes the water brought down certain rivers, is impregnated with matter disagreeable to the fish. The rivers Ness, Ewes, Shin, and Thurso, says Mr Stevenson, supply the earliest fish in Scotland: the Tweed and Tay also supply early fish, but not so early as the former rivers. Now, the four first rivers are discharged from the largest lakes in Scotland, and in these lakes the water is@purified before it is sent down the rivers, in the winter and spring months. So like- wise the Tweed and Tay run principally through clayey soils, and their waters, in spring floods, are not impregnated with matter disagreeable to the fish. But rivers which run through a mossy district, and discharge their waters into the sea, ‘with- out’ previous purification in large reservoirs or lakes, as the Findhorn, Conon, Beauly, Spey, and many others,—such rivers, when swollen by the melting snows in the spring months, are turbid and disagreeable to the salmon until about the month of April, when they begin to discharge light spring rains, sweet, and comparatively free from the impurities of an earlier period. It is then only, he adds, that these latter rivers begin to yield fish, that is, not’till the lake-rivers are beginning to fail; indeed, * Report I. p. 72. 268 Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. when the seasons of some of them have been terminated. From observations and facts which have come within his own know- ledge, the witness is convinced, that, if an account of the quan- tities of fish taken at the various fisheries in Scotland, and the exact periods at which they are taken, were obtained, it would be found that all the rivers discharged from lakes, produce fish at an early period of the year; whilst those discharged from a mossy country, do not produce fish until they commence to send down the sweet spring rains. When, therefore, it is supposed that salmon is in season at different periods of the year, in different rivers, the supposition is so far correct: it does not, however, depend upon the state in which the fish is at that period, but on the state the river isin. Salmon are extremely nice, and only go into fresh water when it is exactly to their taste; and when the river is in a state to induce fish to enter it, they are gotten of much finer quality than at a period when they do not enter so readily *. In accordance with these views, another respectable evidence, Mr Moir, states, that sal- mon will not enter foul water if they can avoid it; in proof of which, a case exactly in point, says he, occurs in this neighbour- - hood. .The bay of Nigg is perhaps the most productive sea- fishery on this coast (Aberdeen), yet, when the river Dee is dis- coloured by peat-bog water, that water is carried into the bay of Nigg by the flowing of the tide: at such times not a single salmon will enter ig, and the fishing is frequently ieee for several days together from this cause +. | In the migrations of salmon, from the sea to the river in the winter and spring months, their course through the estuary seems altogether different from that which they pursue in au- tumn. In the latter period, impelled by the instinct of propa- gation, they pursue their route in the most direct way through the mid-channel, rushing up with the greatest eagerness, where there is water sufficient to convey them, and braving all obstacles to their ascent: in the former, they roam over the banks of the estuary and of the mouths of rivers, borne up with the flowing tide as far as it will carry them, and often returning again to the sea with the ebb tide. It is indeed only when thus roaming over the banks that salmon are taken in the estuaries, where . * Report IT. p. 121-2. + Report II. Appendix, p. 173. Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. 269 stake-nets are employed, these nets being made to extend upon the coasts between high and low water-mark.. That salmon move upwards and downwards with the tide, is testified by many witnesses, who have seen and intercepted them in their down- ward course: and, by the fact, that stake-nets are commonly provided with ¢bb as well as with flood courts, on purpose to meet this disposition in the salmon, and do actually catch some- times as many fish in their downward as in their upward course. Hence, too, it is, that when, in autumn, salmon become full of spawn, and desert the coasts, betaking themselves more to the mid-channel, in order to ascend rivers, few are taken in stake- nets; and, for the same reason, as the kelts or spawned fish’ descend, like the fry in the mid-channel, they are rarely, if ever, intercepted by the stake-nets. But why, it may be asked, do salmon thus visit the coasts of the sea and of the estuaries of rivers, linger upon them, and seem indifferent about entering rivers, unless they are, in all re- spects, suited to their taste? To this they are apparently im- pelled by the strength of the appetite, which, next to that of propagation, exerts the greatest force over the movements of animals, viz. that of hunger. On the banks of: estuaries, sal- mon, says Mr Halliday, find a great deal of food ; he has taken a great many salmon in the frith and estuaries with worms pass- ing through them; such worms as are to be seen on those banks*. During the fishing season of 1823, Mr Moir received all the salmon caught in the stake-nets set between the rivers Don and Ythan ; also the whole of the fish taken in the bay of Nigg ; those taken, likewise, at the bridge of Dee, and at nine other small fisheries in that river. As all these fish were cut up for the purpose of being preserved in a fresh state, he had an op- portunity of examining their stomachs. In the stomachs of those taken in the upper river fisheries, he could never detect any kind of food; whereas, those taken in the sea were fre- quently gorged wi.h food, which was principally sand-eels (Ammodytes tobianus of Lin.) : The different appearance of the fishes corresponded with that of their stomachs, those taken from the river being softer and inferior to those got from the sea. Whence he concludes, that salmon frequent the flat sands Report I. p. 61. 270 © Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. between the Don and Ythan, for the purpose of feeding ; and, for the same reason, he adds, they frequent the coasts at Mosel. burgh and Aberlady, which abound with sand-eels, and are stic- cessful stations for the stake-net, though the one place is: aay, and the other forty, miles from-a spawning river*. That salmon do obtain the chief part of their food during their residence in salt water, seems certain from the fact, attest- ed by various persons, that they are in greatest perfection when taken out of the sea, or very shortly thereafter; and that they fall off in condition in proportion to their abode in rivers. ‘Sal- mon taken in the sea, says Mr Halliday, are by far the richest and best ; they are both weightier and fatter, and in firmer con- dition. If detained in fresh water at any season, they become unsound, and if this happen during the warm weather of sum- mer, they are soon rendered unfit for food +. ‘The largest fish are usually got at sea-fisheries, says Mr Stevenson, and the nearer ‘they are got to the .salt water the finer is their quality ; so much so, that any one versed in the state of salmon, would at once be able to pick out, from 500 head of fish, those that had been more than two or three days in the river. As it thus appears that the stomach of the salmon is filled with food, and his condition the most perfect, while roaming over the coasts of the sea and the banks of estuaries ; and that he is found with an empty stomach, and in very inferior condition, after a short residence in fresh water, we readily see not only why he visits the coasts of the'sea, but lingers upon: them ; why, if he is in- duced to move upwards with the tide, ‘he again returns with it; and why, when he may have pushed up: rivers during floods, he soon tries again to revisit the sea, where alone he is enabled to find proper and sufficient food to satisfy his —— es ade. | quately support his growth. » From the facts thus stated respecting the migrations of the salmon, at different periods of its life, it would seem that it can begin to live only in fresh water, and that, in the earliest period of ‘its existence, salt water is fatal to it; that, at a period some- what later, it descends rivers on its way to the sea, where it in- creases rapidly i in size, and in two or three months returns again to the river. ‘ Rey * Report IL. p. 171. + Report I. 79- + Report IL. p. 122. ein aii Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Sabnon. 271. During the summer months, salmon from the sea proceed sometimes high up those rivers, which are furnished with a due supply of water, either permanently, or during occasional floods ; and in subsequent floods they try again to return to the sea: at this time of the year, however, their migrations into rivers are often limited to the point to which the tide flows, and they re- turn again to the estuary and sea with the ebb-tide. In autumn, again, the male and female salmon ascend to thi shallow fords and sources of rivers to breed, remaining there during the winter months, the male, however, returning early in the following year, and the female not till March or April. Beside the breeding-fish, which descend in the winter and early spring months, clean salmon from the sea are constantly ascending and descending those rivers, which, by the quantity, quality, and temperature of their water, are fitted to receive them. With respect to the causes which influence these alternate migrations of salmon, it would appear that they moye towards the sea chiefly in search of the food found on .its coasts, and. on those of estuaries; whilst the chief impulse that. urges their movement up rivers, is the propagation of their kind, where alone the spawning process can be duly exercised. ..As to the cause of their seeking fresh water, when not urged by that ims pulse, we can offer no other reason than that of a sort.of instinct, which incites them to remove occasionally into fresh water, in which alone they were at first able. to exist; whilst the appetite for food calls them again back to the sea. Perhaps, if the water of rivers were always in sufficient quantity, and per- fectly suited to the taste’ and. economy of salmon, they would be moving backwards and: forwards from the sea to the river, and from the river to the sea, at intervals more or less great ; and, therefore, the different periods in which ‘they appear in different rivers, is owing to the different circumstances and con- ditions in which those rivers may be, rather than to any na- tural difference in the economy or habits of the fish. How far they move into the deep sea is not known, but that they roam over the coasts, at great distances from the mouths of rivers, is certain from the fact of their being captured in such situations. 3 272 Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. Description of Plate III. exhibiting the Evolution of the Ova : of Salmon. . . Fig. 1. The ovum of the natural size, after the embryo has become quick in it: at this stage, the body of the embryo has a pinkish tinge, and the eyes are disproportionably large. | Fig. 2. The shell just burst, and the head of the embryo protruding. Fig. 3. State of the subject eight hours after it had burst the shell, at which time the pulsations of the heart are very visible. Fig. 4. The shell just thrown off, with the tail drooping: before the shell bursts, the tail envelopes the yolk or bladder, which is seen attached to the body of the fish. The shell itself is transparent, and about one-third part of it is fractured by the fish in extricating itself. Fig. 5. The tail of the young fish has now become straight ; the mouth is distinct, and the lower jaw and pectoral fins, which are quite transparent, are in motion, and keep time with the heart, which beats from 60 to 65 times in a minute: At first, the body of the fish is colourless, with slight marks of articulation of the bones, or of stripes on the skin; the bag attached to the fish is transparent, and is filled with a light amber-coloured albuminous fluid, with some drops of a clear rose-coloured oil in it. Fig. 6. Represents fig. 3. magnified. ‘The bag beneath the belly is ex- tremely soft and yielding, and the shell is still seen bind- ing the young animal. Fig. 7. Represents fig. 5. magnified. The heart is placed before the pectoral fins, and under the throat, and is connected with a large bloodvessel that runs along the front and bottom of the bag, as is more clearly seen in fig. 8. ‘The bag, which — was at first round, becomes, in a day or two after the fish leaves the shell, more and more elongated ;. with a micro- scope, the circulation may be seen. The blood flows from under the body of the fish, through vessels which ramify upon the sides of the bag, and from these it is collected, and continued into the large vessel before mentioned, which is connected with the heart: from the heart the blood is again thrown, with regular pulsations, into the vessels of the head and throat, where it is seen to assume a darker hue, ,» as well as to the other parts of the body : air, it is said, or some transparent fluid, is seen to circulate, in equal quan- i. - Eedin™new Phil. Jour Vel Mop 97. “Lvelution of the Ovach the Saline Salarer Commun. Salmen. “halt eae | wide ees Btn j ate ae i TRY bhe Phe Mage sgh Sees yh) ie Mr D. Ellis on the Natural History of the Salmon. 273 tity with the blood. The rays of the gills are distinctly seen, and the body of the young animal begins to assume & brownish colour. Fig. 8. A sketch of fig. 5. magnified, to shew more distinctly the cir- culation of the blood. We have no doubt of the general accuracy of these representations of the changes exhibited in the evolution of the ovum of the salmon. But the reader will bear in mind that they are not made by an anatomist, and cannot therefore be expected to present that minuteness of observation, and extent of description, into which one familiar with such subjects would have entered. On the Temperature of the Interior of the Earth. By M. L. Corpi1Er, Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, on Professor of Geology in the Garden of Plants *. Tue supposition of a central fire is extremely ancient. It is perhaps coeval with the first dawnings of civilization, and has furnished a basis to some of the fables in which the infancy of the human race has been cradled, traces of it being found in the mythology of almost all nations. It originated from the very imperfect observation of certain natural phenomena, too obvious to have at any time escaped the notice of the vulgar. Confound-. ed for ages amidst vague and conjectural notions, which con- stituted nearly all the physics of the ancients and of the middle ages, this hypothesis only began to assume some consistency, af- ter the discovery of the laws of the planetary system. Descartes, Halley, Leibnitz, Mairan,'Buffon especially, and several other phi- losophers of modern times, adopted it, resting chiefly upon consi- derations deduced from the figure of the earth, from certain astronomical phenomena, from the mobility of the subterranean ~ principle which produces magnetic action, from the comparison of the temperatures of the surface with those vbserved at small depths, and from various experiments on the cooling of incan- descent bodies. The inferences derived from these sources not constituting a body of demonstration sufficiently direct to carry conviction with it, many learned men who were contemporary with those men- tioned, remained undecided, while others supported the old opi- nion, which attributed to the earth no other heat than what it * Read to the Academy of Sciences 4th June 1827. 274». M. L: Cordier, on the Temperature of may’ receive from the: solar: rays. .'The' latter opmion at length -became the prevailing one: It owed its success in a.great mea- sure to the influence of the celebrated) geoldgical system pro- diced about the middle of the last century, of which Pallas, Saussure and Werner were the principal promoters,» and which for a long time met with no opposition. This system: supposes that the’ original fluidity of the globe took place through the medium of water, that the whole mass was consolidated, stratum after stratum, from the centre to the circumference, by. aqueous crystallization ; and that the volcanic phenomena are mere > local effects. » The opinion on this-subject has undergone a great change within these few years. This change, which has been extremely slow in its progress, so great were existing prejudices, commen- ced at the end of the last century. It is to be chiefly attributed to the following circumstances: Important discoveries have been made in geology; the relative position of the materials compos- ‘ing the oldest formations of the crust of the globe, has been found to be different from what had been formerly asserted; it has been proved that the volcanic agents reside under the primitive rocks; the true nature of lavas, and their identity in all parts of the earth, have been discovered; the analogy of a multitude of strata of all ages to lavas has been demonstrated ; the facility with which all these originally fluid and incandescent matters have crystallized by mere cooling, has been proved and under- stood ; and the theory of aqueous crystallizations has. become perplexed. On the other hand, accurate and numerdus facts relating to the motion of radiant heat, and of the heat which is propagated. in. bodies from one molecule: to. another, have been made known by satisfactory experiments. ‘These facts have been connected by mathematical theories of the most general nature; Ingenious observations have placed beyond doubt the continual radiation of the superficial heat of the earth ito celestial space: The ideas which have been long entertained in regard’ to the inconsiderable depths to which the horary, daily, monthly and annual variations of temperature reach in the soil or strata of different countries, and the level at which a fixed ‘temperature commences, have been. carefully verified. Lastly, mew: experi. ments have been undertaken regarding the temperature of deep places accessible to.us, and that of the waters coming from them. . the Interior of the Earth... - 275 The results have been compared with one another, and with the mean temperatures of the surface, and the important conclusion has been drawn, that, proceeding from the level at which the fixed temperature commences in the soil of each country, the heat increases rapidly as the depth advances, and this in a quan- tity which has been valued at 1° re for every thirty or forty metres *. These fisidsitkable facts, consid partially by some, and grouped in various ways by others, have carried with them all who had a predilection for the hypothesis of central heat. The common conclusion is, that the earth possesses in its interior a temperature, incomparably more elevated than the compound: temperature which is observed at the surface; and even accord- ing to some, that beyond a certain depth, there probably exist — an -incandescence and a fluidity, whose origin has been coeval with the commencement of things. . La Grange and Dolomieu were the first who revived the hypothesis of central heat. Hutton and his able commentator Playfair, must also be mentioned, notwithstanding the obscurity in which they involved their opinion, and the errors into which they fell when employing this principle in the support of geolo- gy. ~More lately, this great question has been investigated by the illustrious geometrician whose loss the sciences have to de- plore, M. de La Place, and before him, by Mr. Fourier, who was naturally led into the subject by his memorable researches regarding the general theory of heat. Other authorities would. not be wanting, were it possible to make mention here of the many learned men, especially in England, who, during the last: twenty years, have successively adopted the same opinion. Thus the hypothesis of subterranean heat now presents itself, supported by a mass of authorities and facts which no: longer permits us to view it as a creature of the imagination. In the state in which the subject now stands, this hypothesis seems to merit the particular attention of the learned world. If the proofs adduced in its fayour are insufficient, recourse must’ be had to new observations; if they suffice, we must hasten to as: dopt the principle, determine its characters, develope its conse- quences, and if it be possible elicit its applications. * Metre is 3 feet and 3.371 inches English, or 39.371 iriches. ” 276 M. L. Cordier on the Temperature of If we examine the data of this great problem, it is easy to see that only one of them might lead to uncertain results. ‘This datum, which is at the same time the most direct and the most decisive, is that which is grounded on the experiments from which it has been inferred that the temperature of the earth _ augments progressively from the surface toward the centre. It may be asked, if these experiments are accurate, if they have been suitably discussed, if they are sufficient, and if the infe- rences that have been drawn from them leave nothing to be. de- sired ? I have thought that it would be useful to settle these dolifits, and this for the interest of science in general, more than for that of an opinion which I have myself cherished for a very long time, and to which I have already paid the tribute of my researches in other points of view. Such is therefore the principal object of the memoir, which I have now the honour of communicating to the Society. ~ M. Cordier then proceeds to a very interesting examination of the various experiments on subterranean temperature, hitherto published, in which he discusses all that is known in regard, 1st, To the temperature of the water, whether running or standing, met with in mines; 2d/y, To the temperature of the air in the shafts, galleries, and levels of mines ; and, 3dly, 'To the tempe- rature of the air in caves, as in those for instance under the Ob- servatory at Paris. From these details he draws the following conclusions :—1: If we except a certain number of observations, as not sufficiently satisfactory, all the others announce, in a more or less positive manner, that there exists a remarkable increase of temperature, proceeding from the surface of the earth towards the interior. 2. The results obtained at the Observatory at Paris, are the only ones from which a numerical expression of the law, which this increase follows, may be deduced with cer- tainty. This expression carries to twenty-eight metres, the depth which corresponds to the increase of 1° of subterranean heat. It results from this, that, at the depth of 2,503 metres under Paris, we would reach a temperature of 212° of Fahren- heit’s seale. 3. A small number only of the other results fur- nish numerical expressions, sufficiently near the law in question to be admitted. These expressions vary from 57 to 18 metres, the Interior of the Earth. .— . QUI for 1° of increase ; their mean announces in general a more ra- pid increase than that. hitherto admitted. ), 4. Lastly, in group- ing by-countries, all, the admissible results, I am led.to.a new and, important. idea, which is,that. the differences between the results collected.in the same place, do not depend solely upon the imperfect nature of the experiments, but also upon a certain irregularity. i in the, distribution of the sabierranesn heat.in_ dif- ferent. countries. | In the second part of the memoir, M. Cordier gives, a detailed account of his own experiments on subterranean temperature, made . in coal-mines in France. These were conducted, with great care, and are apparently the most accurate hitherto made. From these experiments, and those enumerated in the first part of * the memoir, he draws the following conclusions :— 1, Our experiments fully confirm the existence of a subterra- nean | heat,, which is peculiar to. the terrestrial globe, does not de- pend on the solar rays, and increases rapidly with the depth. 2. The i increase of the subterranean heat does not follow the same law over, the whole earth ; it may be twice or three times as much i in one country as in another. 3. These differences are = in constant relation, either with the latitudes or longitudes. La Lastly, The increase is certainly more. rapid than has been ba. 3, it may go so high as.a degree for every 15 or. even 13 m etres, in certain countries ; provisorily the mean term can-. fa be. fixed at less than 25 metres. These important. con- sions, M. Cordier remarks, fix the bases, at the same time eee ng them considerably, according to. which the mathe- ama theory of the dispersion of heat, in bodies of large di- mensions,, may be applied to the earth, They are in harmony: with the inferences derived from phenomena, of so very dif- ferent. a nature, which have long afforded evidence of the inter- nal incandescence of the earth. Brought i into mutual connec-. tion, these different elements give rise to new combinations, and to ‘remarkable applications. _ In our opinion, there may. be eli- cited from. them numerous inductions, calculated to throw light on the most obscure, and, at the same time, the most essential parts of geology. ‘The following are the principal of these in- ductions : ing "D JANUARY—MARCH 1828. T 278 M. L; Cordier on the Temperature of “J. All the phenomena observed, being’ in_ accordance with the miathématical theory of heat, annotince that the interior of the eftth is furnished with: a very elevated temperature, which is peculiar’ to it, anid which ‘has belonged to it since’ the origin of - things 5 and, off the other hand, the volume of the earth’s mass being infinitely @réater than that: of the mass of waters (about ten thousand tinies greater), it is very probable that’ the fluid- ity which the globe incontestibly possessed, before sarang: its spheroidal form, was owing to heat. 2) This heat was excessive, for that which may at present exist at the centre of ‘the earth, supposing a continued increase of 1 degree for every 25 métres of depth, wotild exceed 500° of Wedgwood’s pyrometer (upwards of 250,000° centigr.) 3. It must be admitted that the temperature of 100° of Wedg- wood’s. pyrometer,—a temperature capable of melting all the lavas} and a great part of the other known rocks, exists at a depth which is very small, compared with the diameter of the earth; and, for example, from my experiments, that this depth: is less than 55 leagues, of 5000 metres, at Carmeaux, 30 leagues at heoge and 23 leagues at Decise, numbers which correspond to 445 p45 and ¥; of the méah radius of the earth. 4. There is, therefore, every reason to believe, that the inter- nal mass of the globe is’still possessed of its original fluidity, and that the earth is @ cooled star, which has been extinguished ome at its surface, as Descartes and Leibnitz thought. . $v If there be considered, on the one hand, the extent which Dolenien’é: observations on the seats of volcanic foci *, and our own experiments on the composition of lavas, have given to volcanic phenomena +, and, on the other, the great fusibility of the matters which all the volcanoes of the globe at present throw up; or even of those which they ejected long ago; it must be inferred that the internal fluidity commences, at least in many points, at'a depth much less than that at which the temperature of 100 degrees of Wedgwood’s pyrometer. 2 * Dolomieu, Rapport sur ses Voyages in 1797. Journal des Mines, t. vii. 385. f + Recherches sur Differens Produits Volcaniques. Journal des Mines, t. xxi, p. 249. and t. xxiii. p. 55.—Memoire sur la Composition des Laves de tous les Ages. Journ. de Phys. t- lxxxiii. p. 135- the Interior of the Earth. 279 ' 6 The crust of the earth, not including the superficial and incomplete: pellicle, which is named secondary, being formed by refrigeration, it follows that consolidation has taken place from without inwards, and consequently that, the layers of the original rocks nearest the surface are the oldest. In other terms, the primordial formations. are so much the more recent, the deeper the level at which they occur, which is just the reverse of what has hitherto been admitted in geology. 7. M, Fourier, on considering the distribution of subterranean heat atthe depths which are accessible, the temperature of the poles, and the existence of radiation toward the celestial spaces, has demonstrated that the earth continues to cool *. ‘This cool- ing is insensible at the surface only, because the loss of heat there is'continually compensated by the effect of a propagation, which uniformly: proceeds from without inwards, a compensation which is nearly perfect, which continually approaches the state of equi- librium, and which experiment and theory perfectly explain. The loss of heat has therefore no influence but at great depths, whence there results, that the crust of the globe daily continues to increase internally by new solid layers, ‘Thus, the formation of the primordial strata has not yet ceased ; nor will it cease until after an'immense period of time, that is to say, _ when the onalgy ‘shall have attained its limit. 8. If the crust of the earth has been Fatal in the manner in which we suppose it, the primordial strata with which we are acquainted ought to be disposed nearly in the order of their fusibility; I say nearly, for some influence must be attributed to the rapid action with which the cooling must have been carried on at the commencement of things, and that of chemical affini- ties operating upon ‘such large masses. Now, the magnesian, caleareous and quartzose strata, are in fact the nearest to the sur- face. f i ; : ; “9. According to what has been stated above, the mean thick- ness of the crust of the earth probably does not exceed twenty leagues of 5000 metres each. I would even say, that, according to * General Remarks on the Temperatures of the Globe and Planetary Spa- ces, by M. Fourier; Annales de Chimie et de Physique, t. xxvii. 1824, p- 136.; and Resumé theorique des Proprietés de Ja Chaleur rayonnante, by the same, same volume, p. 275. T2 280 M. L. Cordier on the Temperature of several geological data, not yet interpreted, and of which F shall speak on another occasion, it is probable that the thickness: is still smaller. Keeping to the above result, this mean thick- ness would not be equivalent to the sixty-third part of the mean radius of the earth. It would only be the four hundredth: = of the developed length of a meridian. et 10. The thickness of the crust of the earth is probably. aibes unequal. This great inequality appears to-us to be announced. by the inequality of the increase of the subterranean tempera- ture in different countries. The different conducting powers of the strata cannot of themselves account for the phenomenon. Many geological data lead us equally to presume, that the a ness of the earth’s crust is very variable. 11. The heat which the soil of! each place eibetiiitillan Pat gages, being the fundamental element of ‘the climate which is: established there, and, according to our ideas, the quantities of this disengaged heat not occurring in a constant relation in diffe- rent countries, itis now understood why countries, situated in the same latitude, have, other cireumstances being the same, diffe- rent climates, and how Mairan, Lambert, Mayer, and other philosophers, have erred in attempting to represent by formule: the gradation, supposed by them to be regular, which the mean. superficial temperature follows from the: equator. to the. poles. There is thus also a new cause added to those which’ oceasion the singular inflexions which the isothermal-lines present. “2. Whatever be the nature'of the astronomical, forees or events which have formerly disturbed the stability-of the conti- nents, and occasioned the general state of dislocation and over- turning which the structure of the earth’s. crust exhibits, it is. easy to conceive that all the parts of this crust: floating, if we may so express ourselves, around a perfectly fluid sphere, and being moreover infinitely subdivided, in consequence of stratifi- cation, and especially from the innumerable» contractions which. refrigeration has produced in each stratum, may have been dis- located and overturned in the manner in which we see. them. These effects are incapable of being explained by the generally received opinion, that the superficial strata were the last conso- lidated, and that the globe is solid to the centre. 13. In considering the probable fluidity of the central. mass, the Interior of the Earth. 281 the phenomena of earthquakes, the thinness of the consolidated crust, and especially the innumerable solutions of continuity, by which it is broken up, and which result from stratification, the contraction arising from progressive cooling, or from the overturnings that have taken place, we long ago conceived it probable that this crust possesses-a certain flexibility. We de- veloped ‘the elements of this singular property in a. memoir read to the academy in 1816, and which had the disadvantage of being presented at a period when people’s minds were not ‘sufficiently prepared for attending to researches of this nature. Now, this property is at the present moment more probable than ever. Itis further conceived, from the fluidity which is to be at- tributed to the central matters that serve as a support to the crust, that the flexibility in question may be put into action with- out its being possible for us to perceive it. In fact, to produce a change of figure in the spheroid capable of raising the equator a metre, by proportionally shortening the earth’s axis, it would be sufficient, in as far as concerns the plane of the equator, that each of the imumerable solutions of continuity which intersect the consolidated crust, and which I shall suppose to be five me- tres from each other at an average, should be subjected to a se- paration equal to the 1276th part of a millimetre, a quantity which is excessively small. _ 414. The probable flexibility of the earth’s crust is supported by two principal causes, the one general and constant, the other local and transitory. The latter cause, during the last thirty years, has not spared any country. Sometimes it has shaken, almost at the same time, the twentieth part of the surface of our continents, or it has made the soil undulate in directions equal to the sixtieth or seventieth portion of a meridian ; I speak of earthquakes. Since the commencement of authentic history, there have been rec- koned upwards of six hundred, whose violence or extent have ‘rendered them memorable. The second cause depends upon the circumstance, that the permanent diminution of the earth’s heat no longer produces any sensible contraction in the subterra- nean regions in the vicinity of the surface, while it continues its effects in the deeper parts, whether for augmenting the separa. tion of the masses which have experienced the first effects of 282 ~ M. L. Cordier on the Temperature of contraction, or for occasioning new ‘solutions of continuity in these masses. Let it be added, that the’slow formation of new solid’ strata in the interior, must be conformable to the general rule, in virtue of which ‘substances in the fluid -stateexperience — a great diminution of volume in passing to the solid-state. > 15. The least flexible ‘regions of the’ earth’s crust aré neces: sarily those near the surface, for the transverse ‘solutions of eéon- tinuity which they contain, have long sitice attained:and lost their maximum of separation. It is evident that the»central: forces tend to bring nearer to each other the elementary masses of ‘the superficial regions, in proportion as the cooling contracts more and more the volume of all the internal parts of the’ globe: This approximation would act in a ‘uniform manner, if the strata of the consolidated crust were concentric, and if all the transverse solutions of ¢ontinuity were directed in planes perpendicular to the stirface ; but this is not the case. ‘The shattered state of the primordial crust is such, that,considering it in the great s¢ale,I can only define it asa heap of fragments pressed against each other, and of which the strata are always very much inclined:or vertical. Since'the establishment of this state, the obliquity of an innumera- ble quantity of solutions of continuity, of which some ‘have an im- mense extent, forms an obstacle to ‘the establishment in all points of an approximation of the elementary masses that might be uni- formand proportionate to thecentralcontractions. Changesof level of no great extent, but which may have affected great continen- tal surfaces, have'been substituted ‘for this approximation. Many gedlogical ‘facts agree with this hypothesis,” ‘It is tobe presum~ ed that this effect still subsisis at the present day, although in an imperceptible manner. If the secular raising of the basin of the Baltic is constant, it may be accounted for im this manner. The above hypothesis will also explain the change ‘inthe level of the Mediterranean, which weobserved with Dolomieu on the shores of ‘Egypt*!’ °There’is reason to think; according to!our opinion, that at present this part of the African continent is un- dergoing a progressive lowering, which may amount to two or three centimetres in a century. 16. M. de Laplace, estimating’ the astronomical observations * See my description of the ruins of San (the Tanis of the dnciontel Gt the great work on Egypt. the Interior of the Earth. 283 _ made inthe time of Hipparchus to be sufficiently accurate to af. ford evidence that the duration of the day has not diminished 3} of a centesimal second for twenty centuries, thought that the contraction which is actually produced ‘by the secular cool- ing of the globe, is not sufficiently great to increase the velocity of rotation in a sensible degree. This opinion gives us a useful limit of the actual effect of the general refrigeration. 17. But if the effects of contraction since the commence- ment of the cooling are considered, one’ carinot help admitting that it has exercised a certain influence in the above point of view. Qn the one hand, the duration of the day has succes- sively diminished a small quantity ; and, on the other, the figure of the earth must have undergone a slight alteration, in conse- quence of the. acceleration of the velocity of rotation, provided the flexibility of the consolidated crust has been sufficient to per- mit the change of figure, which we admit as being the case. » Thus at present the day isa little shorter, and the spheroid a little flatter toward the poles, than at the commencement of things... .If these data are correct, it is evident that the two ef- fects continue. « | VIIT. | 43] 53.) 631)72 0 9] ZS iV. |018| 9 4 IX. }5 | 64 | 74 | 83]}010] 3 TX PP 6-foge S X. | 53/62) 8h} 98/01] F Kornfeld | XE 16 | 72/9. log] 1 oO L, MIwty, blend dae “¢ N. B. The ages in this and the following tables are the ages at admission, and the contributions at admission are reckoned to, continue invariable till they cease at sixty-five *.” It is here to be remarked, that the contributions and benefits for sickness are both intended to stop at the age of 65 ; and that the “following tables ” allud- ed to in the note, refer to annuities or superannuation allowances, which were to supersede those for sickness, at the age of 65.. The proportions which the allowances bore to each other, were, 12s. per week bed-lying pay @. e when disabled); 6s. per week walking pay (or when not totally disabled) ;. 6s. per week after 65, whether ill or well ; and this latter sum doubled at 70,—a mem- ber being considered to be then totally unfit for labour. The contributions * Priceon Reversionary Payments, 7th edit. vol. ii. p. 477. Benefit or Friendly Societies. 301 for annuities were combined with those for sick allowances, and calculated to commence at 21 years of age; and the contributions for both sickness and annuities, were entirely to cease at 65, when the superannuation allowance became payable. By this plan, however, of combining the payments for sick- ness and annuities, many societies, and even some actuaries, were led into er- ror, it having been supposed that the contributions in the above table were suitable for sickness during the whole period of life, instead of only to the age of 65*. But the general failure of Friendly Societies cannot be wholly attri- buted to this mistake, by far the greater number of them coreeng aicging no solennelee whatever. The Committee of the Highland Society of Scotland having taken as a standard the average of the whole sickness in each decade reported to them by Friendly Societies, resolved, fur sufficient reasons stated by Mr Oliphant in his Report, 1sé, To commence their computations at the 21st year of age ; 2d, To present a view, in the simplest form, of the course of a society’s af- fairs, supposing that 1005 members would enter in the 21st year of their age, that all would continue till death, and that no new members would be admit- ted; 3d, To assume that the various contributions should be payable whether in pts or in health ; 4th, To institute computations for annuities or super- annuation allowances to such members as should survive their 70th year of age ; 5th, To found the calculations upon a medium rate of mortality derived from the Northampton, Carlisle, and Swedish Tables; and, 6th, To consider 4 per cent. as the rate of interest which would be received for the society’s stock. The society was supposed to embrace fowr schemes. 1st, For Weekly sick al- lowances, both the contributions and benefits commencing at the 21st, and ter- minating at the 70th year of age; 2d, Life annuities, the contributions com. mencing at the 2st, and terminating at the 70th year of age ; but the annui- ties only commencing at the 70th year, and then continuing during life; 3d, A’sum payable at death, the contributions for which, commencing at the 21st, and terminating at the 70th year of age, should a member live so long; and, 4th; Annuities to widows, the contributions commencing at the 21st, and ter- minating at the 70th year of age. All, or only some of these schemes, how- ever, and one or more contributions for the whole, could be adopted or consoli- dated, as a society might judge proper. Both contributions and allowances were considered to be payable in the middle of the year, as the payments to “ societies are usually made monthly or quarterly, and the disbursements weekly through the whole year. In order that all the members of any actual society may be placed on a just and.equal footing, it is shewn to be necessary “‘ either, 1s¢, That all shall enter at the same age; or, 2d, That the difference of age shall be compensated in one way or other: And there are three ways in which later entrance may be compensated, 1st, By the party paying an equalising fine at entry ; or, 2d, By © paying a higher rate of annual contribution, according to his age ; or, 3d, By receiving a lower rate of allowance +.”” Thus, should an annual contribution * Errors of Actuaries, by an Actuary. Colchester, 8vo. 1s. + Highland Society’s Report, p. 81. Constable & Co. Edinburgh, 1824, 6s. 302 Mr W. Fraser on the History and Constitution of of L.-1, from an entrant at 21 years of age, be calculated to afford a weekly sick allowance of L. 1, or any other benefit, it may easily be ascertained what will be required from entrants at any later age, for the same, or higher or lower rates of allowance. Full allowances were calculated to be paid in sickness during the whale period between 21 and 70 years of age ; but, should societies wish to know the effects of varying the allowances, according to the intensity or duration of sickness, it was stated, that, although the returns to the Highland Society did not give the different kinds of sickness with sufficient precision to afford cor- rect data for shewing those effects, yet that an approximation had been drawn from those returns, whieh might be adopted for ascertaining the average of the whole, until a better standard could be obtained. Thus, as formerly remarked, of 10 weeks of sickness among persons of all ages under 70, 2 might be assumed as bedfast, 5 walking, and 3 permanent,—in all 10 weeks ; or, if the allow- ances were to be regulated by the duration of sickness, ‘2} weeks would be of the first quarter, 3 weeks of the second and third, and 4} weeks of unlimited duration,—in all 10 weeks. If, then, such rates were agreed to be adopted by any society, and if the allowance for Bedfast sickness were “ig 2 spuliatied by 5s. would equal 10s. Walking ditto, a. then {3 ; REPS Permanent ditto, Is. ad. 3 : : Is, 30. > TO “30s. And which 30s. being divided by 10, would give 3s. for the uniform rate of allowance. . me Again, if the allowance were, for Sickness of the 1st quarter, 6s. 23 oun wes by 6s. would sesitt lbs. Ditto 20.91 dn. 30} § J a) iv Reio0t -cily an ae Do. of unlimited duration, _ 1s- A43 ‘ 24) ke , - _4s. 6d. 10). 28s. 6d. And which 28s. 6d. being divided by 10s. would give 2s. 10d. for the uniform rate of allowance *. Hence by the above method, it, fs easy indiee any new society to aacbirtain pretty accurately the average rate of payment, and the aati contri- bution, until its own experience afford more correct data. These preliminary \points being fixed, various tables were prepared sy Mr John Lyon—which. were subsequently revised and approved of by several eminent calculators—for the use of Friendly. Societies, with ex- planatory remarks as to their construction, uses, and application. In these tables is shewn the condition of the supposed society in every stage during its, progress, and. means are thereby afforded of instituting comparisons with the successive steps in the past or future progress of actual societies, as. they advance from the lowest state of burden, with increasing capital, to the high- est state,of. burden, when the capital ceases to accumulate, begins to decline, and is ‘finally,exhausted- . From those tables the following one has been de- duced. roe Red aboes .* Highland Soc, Rep. pp. 108, 196. ; : ‘ 4 : ‘ Benefit or Friendly Societies. 303 TABLE shewing the Single and Annual Contributions (the latter payable quarterly ) for assuring Ten Shillings* per week during Sickness till 70 years of Age; Ten Pounds per annum for life after 70; and Ten Pounds at Death. Assurance of Weekly | Assurance of an ne Assurance of £ 10 on Tora. oe Pay in Sickness. © of £10 after 70. Death. Single Single Annual Contrib. Contrib. Conteib, Contrib. Contain Contrib. Contrib. Contrib lL. & De |i. 8S. D]Is S D/L & De[ke S. DJL. & Ds] Le 8 D.|/Le S Dp 21/9 1. 2/010.-0)3 2 530 3 53/3 0 5/0 8 O3)15 4 1/016 93 22; 9 4 131010, 2313 5 730 3 73/3. 1, 44/0. 3 51511 1,017 3} 23/9 7 231010 6/3 8 1140 3110/3 2 4410 3 6 1518 6 |0 17 10 24;910 5/010 91/3 12 531/10 4 113 3 4810 3 7116 6 3/018 5} 25| 913810 |O0 11 03/316 1310 4 413 4 51/0 3 °8 16 14 43/019 Of 26/917 440 11 4444 0 0/0 4 713.5 64/0 3.9 ]17 211/019 8} 27110 1 OF} 11 Sj 4 4 O20 4103}3 6 8 JO S10 }17 11 MSL O 4a) 28 110 4 we 012 O}]4 8 430 5 213 8 1310 311318 1 531 1 13 29 |10 8108/0 12 44) 4 1211/0 5 613 9 OF|0 4 1 418 10 103/11 1 133 30 |10 13 0}}0 12 9 |} 4 17 83/0 510/310 4/0 4 2319 1 Of 2 98 31 |1017 311013 2])5 2 83/0 6 23)3 11 73/0 4 4]19 11 71 3 8h 32j11 1 8 013 7] 5 8 08/0 6.741313 O110 4 53/20 2 83/1 4 73 33 |11. 6 54/0 14 -0$)513 91/0 7.03)3 14 31/0 4 7 ]20 14 Gil 5 8 3411 11 5h)0 14 6h] 519 9310 7 61315 WO 4 9 j21 6 10}|1 6 9} 35 11 16 73/015 03/6 6 2310 8 043 16 1123/0 411 ]21 19 9})1 7 113 36 |12 111 |0 15 74)612113/0 8 643 18 43/0 5 1132213 3/1 9 23 37 |12 7 53/0 16 23) 7 0 03/0 9 2731910 0 5 3/23 7 al 110 7} 38 |12.13. 24/016 93) 7 7 73/0 9 9474 1° 44/0,5 524 2) 231 2 0} 39 12 19 431017 6|71510 010 6/4 3 08/0 5 7 j2418 33113 7 4013 5 93/0 18 23)8 1 O20 11 3j4 4 63/0 5 Oh25 11 4311 15 3 41 [13 12 4310 18 113}813 8}/012 1]4 6 I|0 6 0 2612 2311 17 03 42 11319 2 j0 19 of 9 3 5/013 O0}4 7 8310 6 23127 10 33/1 19 O 43 |14 6 O0F/1 0 81913 9/014 074 9 4810 6 53/28 9 2/2 1 13 44 |14 172 114/1 1 7 flo 4 83/015 1/411 14/0 6 83/29 8 93/2 3 43 45 |14 19 93/1 2 63}10 16 43,0 16 34)4 12 1143/0 7 0430 9 1/2 5 10} 46 }15- 6103/1 3.7 [11 9 OF017 i414 8 10 7 3hI31 10 71/2 8 5% 471513 8))1 4 8 12 2 641019 11/416 35310 7 7 18212 Sii2 11 4 48 |16 0 2k/1 5 94/12 16 11 |1 0 83/418 4 10 TIL {383 15 She 14 5 49 |16 6 44/1 7 O13 12 ‘241 2° 645 0 3 10 8 33/3418 10/217 9% 50 |16 12 1/|1 8 3,14 8 7 {1 4 64s 2 33/0 8 83136 21133 1 6 The payments required for annuities to widows have been here omitted, because — the tables for that-scheme were-caleulated-upon the supposition, that, in practice, i 5 va Ag for the different benefits.would be conjoined, and, therefore, -although a-member should become-a widower, -he-would still be under the niu ‘of making full payment to all the schemes. It is but natural to suppose, however, that few would continue to contribute to a fund from which they could never derivé any benefit, and, by abandoning the society, would render all the cal- culations forthe scheme useless. The payments for such benefits, therefore, should be ‘entirely distinct from all other contributions, and calculated to cease at the death-of -the-wife,-as-well-as‘at the death of *the husband ;—but, it is presumed, that very*few of the'working classes will be found to insure for this benefit, the same amount of contribution being required for a widow’s annuity of L. 10 per annum as for L. 100 at the death of her husband ; besides, that the former benefit is uncertain, while .the latter is:certain,and also of more advantage to the widow. * It was found, that an annual contribufion of 10s. would afford a weekly sick allowances of 10s. 3ad, from 21 to 70 years of age, but it was recommenided, that 10s. only should be the stipulated allowance. 304 Mr W. Fraser on the History and Constitution of By the above table, then, an entrant at the age of 29, for a weekly sick al- lowance of 10s. from that age till completing his 70th year, will require to pay either an annual contribution of 12s. 43d. during the same period, ifhe live so long, or a single payment of L. 10: 8: 104 at entry, to supersede all future contributions ;—for an annuity of L. 10 during life after 70, either an annual contribution of 5s. 6d. till 70, or a single payment of L. 4 : 12: 11; and for L. 10 at death, either an annual contribution of 4s. 1d. till 70, or a single payment of L. 3:9: 03. Thus all the contributions are to cease at 70, and each member is supposed to become free (i. e. entitled to benefit, in the event of sickness or death) immediately upon entry ; but numerous rules and problems are given in the Repost, by which societies may determine—the rates of contributions or al- lowances, should members not become free until after a certain number of years —the effects of varying the rates of allowances according to the intensity or duration of sickness—the mode of ascertaining the’ stock which any ‘society et ought to be possessed of, in order to fulfil all its engagements,—and, in short, bs every requisite information is afforded for the proper management of Friendly Societies. For all these details, however, we must refer to the irae ‘it. self. The tables which may next be considered, are those constructed by the Reverend John Thomas Becher, of Southwell in Nottinghamshire. This gentleman has, of late years, devoted much time and attention to the im- provement of Friendly Societies, and was the founder of the Southwell So- ciety in 1823. In his calculations, he adopted, as formerly remarked, rather a higher rate of sickness than that which had been assumed by Dr Price— the Northampton rate of mortality—4 per cent. interest on payments for allow- ances during sickness and old age—and 3 per cent. on, those for allowances at death. , The contributions in his tables were therefore higher than in those of the Highland Society. The following statement by Mr Becher will shew the difference between the two, upon the annual contributions payable by twenty-five persons, from the 21st to the 45th years of age. C Allowance of Annuity Assurance _ 10s. Weekly ch , — Fay of 5s. Weekly | of L.10 on Total. Ages from 21 to 45 Years, wy Pay in after 70. Death. both inclusive. Annual Annual Annual Annual Contribution. | Contribution. | Contribution. £8 BAL, 8, B41 Le eae ea ae Southwell Tables, . . . | 19 8 9/1715 3] 9 0 0) 46 4 © Scoteh Tables, . 2 i... 5 «if 3.0/9 114) 13 0 33) 5 19 sie! 32 10 | Excess of Southwell Tables,} 5 18 93] 414114, 3 0 uy 13 13 104] Note by Mr Becher.——‘* The Scotch Tables give the Annual Contributions for a permanent Allowance in Sickness, without reference to Bed-lying Pay, or Walking Pay, which must be ad- justed according to circumstances. Therefore I have here taken the contributions according to the Scotch Tables, for 7s. 6d. weekly permanent pay in sickness, of every denomination ; assuming for our present purpose, that this equals a weekly allowance of 10s. Bed-lying pay, and 5s. Walking pay, being the medium between these two last mentioned allawances; or, in other words, that the periods of sickness entitling a member to Bed-lying pay and to Walking pay, correspond with each Benefit or Friendly Societies. 305 ther. This hypothesis advances the annual payments of the Scotch Tables for sickness higher than they ought to stand, and consequently raises the amount nearer to the Southwell Tables.’’ * “It thus appears that the difference in the annual contribution is no less than 42 per cent. The tables of the Southwell Society, tuo, are only gra- duated quinquennially, while those of the Highland Society are graduated annually ; that is, by the quinquennial scale, one person entering at 30 years of age, and another at 34, would beth pay the same sum for the same benefit ; while, by the annual scale, the payments are either increased, or the allowan- — ces diminished, for each year an entrant is older than the minimum age for entry. In this respect, therefore, the Southwell tables are certainly defec- tive. One of the peculiarities of Mr Becher’s system, however, and worthy of being imitated by such societies as combine all their payments, is, that ‘ the tables of calculations are so framed, that whoever makes an assurance in sickness (which terminates at 65) must, at the same time, assure an annuity after 65, and a payment on death, which combination has been devised, with an inten- tion of preventing imposition or inequality. Thus, were a sickly person to effect an assurance, what was gained in sickness would be lost in the annuity. On the other hand, should the healthy members receive but a small portion of the pay in sickness, there is a greater probability of their living to enjoy the annuities. By a similar arrangement, the annuities and the assurances on death reciprecally co-operate. If the member dies prematurely, the con- tributions on account of the annuity become available towards discharging the payment on death ; but if the life be prolonged, the assurances on death, after a certain period, may be regarded as applicable towards the annuity. So that, by introducing a system of balanced interests, it seems scarcely possible to de- fraud the institution, or to preclude the attainment of its benevolent objects ¢.” Since the institution of the society at Southwell, several other societies haye been formed in the neighbouring counties, upon a very extensive scale, and all of whom have adopted the Southwell tables. Mr Becher was very minutely examined by the Committee of the House of Commons in 1825, with regard to the calculations of these tables, and the data on which they were founded. Several objections were stated to them by some of the — other gentlemen examined, particularly as to the rate of mortality and inte- rest Mr Becher had assumed ; in which objections the Committee ultimately concurred, but approved of the rate of sickness. He was again examined in 1827, and his evidence, together with the opinion of the Committee, respect- ing the rate of mortality, will be found in the former number of this Journal. Mr Becher subsequently communicated a set of tables to the Com- mittee, which he had furnished to a society in Dorsetshire, and from which the following table is extracted. With reference to this table, Mr Becher remarks, that the contributions are to be invariable, and payable once in every calendar month, till the age of 65, when the contributions for the whole benefits, as well as the allowances during sickness, are to cease. The table is founded upon the same principles as the Southwell tables, except that in this table an annual graduation of ages, and interest at the rate of 3§ per cent. have been adopted. Although the Northampton rate of mortality has still been taken, it is said that the adop- tion of 33 per cent. interest, raises the contributions for sickness and annui- * Observations on the Report of the Select Committee of the House of Commons on the Laws of Friendly Societies in 1825. Newark 1926. 4s, + Parliamentary Report in 1825, p, 176, 306 Mr W. Fraser on the History and Constitution of ties in old age as high as if the premiums had been computed by the Carlisle tables, or those constructed upon the experience of the Equitable Society of London, at the rate of 4} per cent. interest. It may here be remarked, how- ever, that the single payments required from entrants to the sickness fund, seem to have been calculated upon some principle very different from that adopted by the Highland Society. By their table, p. 305 of this Journal, these payments progressively increase with the advance of age, whereas by Mr Becher’s table they periodically decrease. ‘Thus, according to him, the single payment from an entrant at 21 years of age is £1:17: 3, and at 2# only £1:16:1; at 30, £2: 8:5, and at 39 only £2:1:5; at 40, £22639, and at 49 only £1: 15:7, or Is. 8d. below the sum payable at the age of 21. From Mr Becher’s abilities as a calculator, there can be little doubt of the total results of his tables being found correct by such societies as combine all their schemes ; but it is obvious that this scale of single payments for benefit during sickness could never be acted upon by societies who shou!d keep'all their pay- ments and benefits separate—a system which it is most desirable to introduce. TABLE shewing the Single and the Monthly Contributions for assuring Two Shillings per Week during Sickness Bed-lying Pay, and One Shilling per Week Walking Pay: a Weekly Allowance of One Shilling after the Age of 65, and Two Pounds on Death. [Assurance of Weekly} Assurance of Is. Assurance of L. 2 , Pay in Sickness. {Weekly Pay after 65. on Death. ToTAL. lis Day. i OT Sete. [Contrib] Conti. |Conttib| contin. [Contribs] Contab. | Conte £ .&. de} 8. de JL. S. de} 8... da iL, se. de} 8.» do | & Se. del Send 21 3117 3/0 24)1 11 10/0 2 {0 15 10)0 Lj 4 41150 5} 92 {11610/0 23/113 610 2 1016 0|0 1 | 4 6 0 | 23 {1 16 6)O 231/115 1/0 241/016 3/0 1 74 71 547 24 {116 1/0 24)}1 1610/0 24/016 5/0 14], 4 9 410 5S), 25 |2 3 810 28]1 18 9/0 23/016 7jO 14)419 0 Gi 26 |2 3 2/0 23/2 0 8/0 29/0 1610)0 14/5 O 0 63 27 |2 2 7/0 23/2) 2 9/0 23/0 17 O10 1475 2 0 63 28 |2 2 1/0 28/2 5 O18 3 1017 3/0 14),5 4 ey ke 4 29 {2 1 G6lO 23/2 7 3/0 3310.17 5\0. 14)5 6 0. 74}. 30 (2° 8 510 3/2 9 9/0 331017 8/0 131515 10/0 8 31 12. 7 910 33}2 12 6)0 33/017 11/0 13) 5 18 0 8 32 |2 7 O10 3312 15 2/0 41018 1/0 1 578 Stee 33 |2 6 4/0 34/218 1/0 43/018 4/0 13/6 2 0 9 34 ]2 5 7/0 B11/3 1 2/0 4410 18 7/0 1b)6 5 oe 35.12 4 9/0, 34/3. 4 6/0 4231/0 18.10/0 13/6 8 1/0 9% 36 |2 4 0/0 3311/3 8 0/0 531019 1/0 13]6 11. 1/0 10 37 |]2 2 2/0 33/3 11 91/0 5$]/0 19 4/0 13} 6 13 0 1037 38 |2 2 4/0 311/315 8/0 6 |0 19 7|0 2 | 617 0 114) . 39) 12:1 5/0. 33}3:19 11/0 63)019 10;0 2 )7 1 0.113 , 40 |2 6 910 3814 4 510 741.0 010 2 },7 11 1, 0% 41. J2 5 8/0 33/4 9 3/0 7§]1 0 L)0 2 47 15 kL. 14 42 |2 4 6/0 331/414 5|0 83/1 0 810 24719 Jl 2) 43 12 3 4)0 3315 0 0/0 9 |j1 O11/0 27/8 4 1 23 44 22 210 33/5 5 11/0 92/1 1 3/0 2°78 9 Yr 33 45 j2 1 010 33/5 12 3/0 10$)1 1 .6)0 2b) 8.14 1 4}: 46 |1.19 910 33]/5-19 L/O 11g)/1 1110/0, 2419 0 1. 63) 47 1118 4/0 33/6 6 5)1 O8)1 2 2)0 2319 6 11hl 6F 48 }1 17 0/0 33/6 14 S|T 24/1 2 5/0 2379 13 1 8} 49 |1 15 7/0 33/7 2 O97) 33/1 2 9/0 25710: 1 110 a, a rey ' Benefit or Friendly Societies. 307 The suins in this table, as well as those in the one deduced from the tables. of the Highland Society, are necessary for defraying the benefits, without allowing any thing for management. The Committee of the latter body, however, recommended that a sum equal to 10 or 12'per cent. on the contributions should be levied, in one way or other, for this purpose; and Mr Becher states, that, in those societies in which he has been engaged, each mem- ber must, be one year in the society before being entitled to benefit, which is equal to about 63 per cent. on the annual contributions;—that’ the difference between the excess of interest received from government above that ealeu- lated in his tables, is equal to a profit of rather more than 1 per cent. ;—that the difference between paying the contribution monthly, and paying it at the conclusion of the year, is equal to about 2} per cent;—that in converting deci- mals or other fractions into money a considerable surplus arises, by always making the even sums in favour of the society ;—and, that fines and forfei- tures are considerable sources of emolument. It is therefore assumed, that 123 per cent: computed upon the annual income of such institutions, or 2s. 6d. in the pound, may be applied by societies; placed’ in. such circumstances, to- wards defraying the expences of management, and medical attendance ; and that should the management exceed that amount, such excess must be de- frayed either by voluntary donations or subscriptions, or by calling upon each member for an additional.contribution *. The Committee of 1825, however, consider it as “ of some importance, that the addition made for management should not be, as in some instances it is, a per-centage upon the contribution, inasmuch as the expence of management: bears a proportion rather to the number of the members than to the amount of their payments t.” The only other table of authority for the use of Friendly Societies, is one constructed by Messrs Finlaison and Davies, actuaries. ‘These gentlemen were required, by the Committee of the House of Commons in 1827, to con- struct tables, “ shewing the single and monthly payments to be made by males and females respectively, of every age, from 18 to.50, to insure a weekly pay- ment in sickness of 10s. bed-lying pay, and 5s. walking pay ;.and. to. insure also a superannuation allowance of 5s. weekly to commence at -70,, at. which age the sickness allowance was to cease, as well as the monthly payments of members on account thereof;—also another table, shewing the single and monthly payments to be made fill death, by males.and females respectively.of every age from 18 to 50, to insure a sum of L.10 on death.” This desire was accordingly complied with, except in so far as regarded a separate table for sums payable at’ death, the actuaries having conceived it to bemore expe- dient that all the three benefits should be combined. ae _ With reference to the data on which their calctilations were founded, those gentlemen remark, that: the rate of sickness whith they had adopted was a medium of that resulting from the returiis made ‘to the Highland Society of Scotland by Friendly Societies, and of' that from the Returns made to the Adjutant General’s Office as experienced’ by the whole Army quartered in England during the ‘years'1823-4. ‘Such a méan exhibits 1,59, weeks under the age of 505; 2 5 weeks from 50 to'60; and 7,%,7, weeks from 60 to 70. It will herebe observed, that the annual sickness at ‘all ages between 20 and 50 is considered 'to be ati the same rate,— Mr Finlaison being of ‘opinion, that * Report of 1827, p. 21. and 121. + Report of 1825, p. 15. ¢ 308 Mr W. Fraser on the History and Constitution of whether one uniform rate of sickness under 50 be assumed, or a graduated rate, increasing according to age, the result, from the nature of the calcula- tion, will not materially differ, as far as practical purposes are ‘concerned. This rate of sickness under 50 is the same as that assumed for the construc- tion of the Southwell tables; and which rate, as formerly remarked, is double the average of the sickness for those ages reported to the Highland Society. The actuaries, although perfectly aware of the difference between the mortality of males and that of females, nevertheless determined, for several reasons, to adopt the average mortality of the two sexes,—Mr Davies taking the Carlisle observations, and Mr Finlaison the mean of what he had ob- served to prevail among the separate sexes of the government annuitants. They conceived that no practical danger would result from this course of pro- ceeding, as the rates would be sufficient for any society composed of equal numbers.of each sex; and rather more than sufficient in ordinary — as in general the males greatly predominate in Friendly Societies. The rate of interest calculated upon is not stated, but it is pic from a former communication by Mr Finlaison *, to be 3 per cent. In that communication he stated, that, as Friendly Societies are subject to loss by im- position and other disadvantages, it was but. proper to secure three chances in their favour. These were, Ist, To assume that money can only be improved at the rate of 3 per cent. per annum, such interest being payable half yearly; _ 2d, That the decrement of life among Friendly Societies should be taken at the same rate as that which prevails among the Government annuitants, who are all in the higher or better ranks of life; and, 3d, That, in calculation, no abatement ought to be made for a reduced allowance, called Walking Pay, during convalescence, or any protracted chronic illness.. The savings arising from such sources, Mr Finlaison conceived should be considered as a resery- ed profit, to stand against imposition, or to counteract any unforeseen . disas- ter ; and in this opinion Mr Davies concurs. Proceeding, then, upon the above data, these gentlemen ma their eal culations separately ; and, upon the results being compared, they were found so nearly to agree, as that if an entrant, at any age between 19 and 41, were charged by Mr Finlaison’s tables, according to his age at the last birth. day, and by Mr Davies’s tables, according to his age at next birth-day, the rate would be within one farthing of the same sum. A mean was therefore taken of their separate calculations, and the following Rules and Tables are, the result. : “ RULES and TABLES recommended by Messrs F1NLAIsoN oa Daines, Sor adoption by Friendly Societies in general. “ The Select Committee of the Honourable House of Commons, on Friend- ly Societies, having required us, the undersigned Actuaries, to consult to- gether, and jointly to recommend such a scale of rates as might be sufficient, in practice, to warrant the benefits undermentioned; we have accordingly, for the reasons set forth in the annexed paper, concurred in recommending the rates comprehended in the following brief rules, which, with ordinary precautions to prevent abuse, will, in our judgment, be found adequate to in- sure the objects in view. “ 1, Any Society, formed for the mutual relief of its members, in sickness * Report in 1825, p. 137. _ Benefit or Friendly Societies. 309 and old age, may consist of persons of either sex ; the females to be admitted on precisely the same terms as the males.—2. Its objects should be limited to Three benefits; viz. A Weekly allowance of Ten shillings in sickness, ceasing at the age of 70; a Weekly allowance of Five shillings, commencing at the age of 70, and continuing for life afterwards; and a sum of £10 for Burial money, payable whenever a member shall decease.—3. No one shall be received a member who is more than 50 years old, or who is in any degree unhealthy at the time when proposed for admission.—4. No payment shall be required from any member after the age of 70; but up to that age, every contribution is payable, whether the party be in sickness or in health.—5. Who- ever is admitted at 31 years of age, shall afterwards pay a monthly contribu- tion of three shillings and three halfpence.—6. Any one admitted younger than 31, shall pay three farthings /ess every month, for each year of age short of 31.—7. Any one admitted older than 31, shall pay seven farthings more every month, for each year of age above 31, and under 41.8. Whoever is admitted at 50 years of age, shall pay seven shillings and nine-pence every month.—9. But whoever is admitted between 40 and 50, shall pay four-pence less every month, for each year of age short of 50.—10. None of those contri- butions shall ever be applied to any purpose, but to the three objects above stated: And the expence of management, and all other charges whatsoever, shall be defrayed from the subscriptions of honorary members, if any ; from admission-fees and fines, or by means of separate assessments expressly made for the occasion.” The following Practical Table is then given: ‘“* TABLE of the Single and Monthly Payments, for insuring in Sickness a Week- ly Allowance of Ten Shillings Bed-lying Pay, and Five Shillings Walking Pay, ceasing at the Age of 70: An Allowance for Life of Five Shillings Weekly, after the Age of 70, and a Sum of £10 payable at Death.—The Monthly Payment to cease at the Age of 70. “Bicthday: ‘Secndey " y | Single Monthly irihday Single Monthly — Admission. Payment. Payment. a a Payment. Payment, £ s a S Ae Soo . ey Soe 8s a. 18 | 2418 8 | 0 2 38 34 | 33 8 53] 0 3 6} 19 25 5 J 02 4 35 34 4 4 0 3 8 20 | 2513 0 0 2 44 36 35.1 Ger 21 26 0 10 0 2 5} 37 35 19 1 0 3ii1 38 | 3618 5 | 0 4 13 22 26 3 11 Oo 2. ¢ 39 3 718108} 0 4 4 23 | 26 17 02 6 40 | 3904/1046 24 | 27 6 7 | 0 2 7 25 | 2716 03] 0 2 8 41 | 40 3 5 | © 4 88 26 28 5114] 0 29 42 41 8 68] 0 41143 27 | 2816 34] 0 2 93 43 | 4214 7h] 0 5 28 29 7 4 on ie 44 4412 4 0°65 6 29 2919 0 O 2 113 45 45 11 6 0.5 93 30 30 11 4 03 14 46 47 2 24) 0'6 13 31} 314 6] 0 3 2} SP Aaaniee:) 48} e., 8.9 48 | 50 8 5h] 0 611} 32 | 3118 53| 0 3 33 : 33 32 13 2 a. 2 5 49 562 411 0 7 4% 50 | 54 3 3h] 0 71 *“* We recommend the above, as a Practical Table, which may be JANUARY—MARCH 1828. x 310 Mr W. Fraser ow the History and.Constitution of used by Friendly Societies. If any other amount of benefit. than, those to which it refers, should be desired, the single or monthly payments. are to be increased or diminished accordingly ; but the several sorts of benefits are al- ways to bear ie same InN one nite o- — which they bear in this Table. : bos OF togye odd 'tc (Signed) “¢ aici eileen Actuary of the National Debt.” “ Gairerrit Davies, Guardian Assurance Office.” : rode vutlt od? 30 oiteedioss Such, shots is a brief detail of the principal ‘rates of contributions which have been proposed for allowances to the members of Friendly Societies, during sickness, old age, and at death. Regarding the Tables inthe Re- port of the Highland Society, the Parliamentary Committee of 1827 have given no opinion; but it is to'be presumed that they coneur ‘with the‘Com- mittee of 1825, in considering that the rates of sickness and ‘mortality-adopt- ed in the construction of those tables would be unsafe to caleulate upon for societies in England, The Committee, however, conceive, that either the tables of Mr Becher, or that of Messrs Finlaison and Davies, may be safely ees by such societies, their remarks upen both being as follows:=""~ eal (erie ete -“ On the whole, then, your Committee aré of opinion, t that the. tables, or Mr Becher’s new tables, having the annual gradua tio m may a aly be adopted ; provided, Ist, That a separate provision be made for management, by fines, admission fees, voluntary contributions, “Or sae . f 2dly, That the proportion of females do not greatly exceed one-third o whole number of members. 3dly, That the asstirance for a cipal allowance be always connected with a life assurance requiring a monthly pay- ment of half its amount. 4thly, That the present rate of interest: allowed on debentures be continued. . SAY iis “ Your Committee are decidedly of opitiion, that ‘the societies should be formed upon the largest scale possible.” It is very difficult to fix a number: members below which no society ought to exist; but if they were required give an opinion upon this point, they would say that it would be to establish a society with fewer than two hundred members. q * It will be particularly desirable for the smaller societies, indeed it be expedient for all new societies, to make seventy the age of s perann tion ; up to that age, many men are very capable of maintaining th by work. The payment necessary for such an allowance coming g at. age of 70, is little more than two-thirds of that which is requi if the lowance commences at 65. But, on the other hand, the sickness paym must be soniewhat increased, if it is to provide’ for ‘sickness’ ‘occurring tween 65 and 70. And if the superannuation be made perfectly safe, there will be no.necessity to have recourse to a life assurance for supplying its de- ficiency. It is assuredly much better, that the contribution for each tingency should be sufficient in itself; and though your Committee agree with that of 1825, in deeming it highly important, with the view of avoid. ing pauperism, that a superannuation allowance should always be provided, they do not think it absolutely necessary that a sum should be assured on death. eR Benefit or Friendly Societies. 311 “The actuaries, however, Mr Finlaison and Mr Griffith Davies, whom they desired to, prepare tables upon these principles, have found it more expe- dient to combine the three contingencies ; and your Committee recommend, with much confidence, the Rules and Tables of Payments which these gen- tlemen have prepared, with a view to their adoption by new societies.” * There are few other observations in this Report requiring here to be no- ticed. It is suggested that the provision in the act of 1819, requiring the tables of every society who may wish to enjoy the benefit of that att to be cer- tified by two actuaries as correct, should be repealed ;—that, for insuring ac- curacy, a direct reference of the rules of societies requiring sanction should be made to the National Debt Office through the Clerks of the Peace ;—that returns of the states of societies’ affairs should be rendered as often as. the magistrates in Quarter Sessions may require, or, at any rate, once in five years ;—and that the penalty in these, and all other cases of default, should be the deprivation of the benefit of 4} per cent. interest for their mo- ney. It is likewise suggested that the interference of two justices in petty sessions might properly be applied not only to the case of an unauthorised di- vision or, misappropriation of the funds, but to all other proceedings leading less directly to a misappropriation of the funds, particularly the admission of members beyond the age authorised by the rules, and thereby endangering the stability of the society. Lastly, the Committee concur in most of’ the other suggestions contained in the-Report of 1825, and recommend to the House their being formed into an act, which shall likewise consolidate all the former enactments with regard to such societies as have been enrolled subse- quently to the act of 1819. To the foregoing summary a very few additional observations will at present suffice. By the late investigations, the utility and principles of Friend- ly Societies have been fully developed, and means have» been pointed. out, by which their schemes may be as permanently and beneficially conducted as those of any of the higher classes of mutual assurance associations, Although some difference of opi- nion still exists as to the rates of sickness and mortality which should be adopted for the calculations of such societies, yet the data and tables that have been already procured may be safely taken as standards, until, from farther experience, more satis- factory guides can be obtained, As the tables of contributions, however, materially differ from each other, it may become a question which of them is best adapted for the practical pur- poses of societies ; but it will be obvious that this must greatly depend upon the circumstances in which the members of any particular society may be placed,—whether situated in the coun- try or in towns, in high or low situations ; and whether engaged * Report in 1827, p- 10. x@ SIZ = Mr W. Fraser on the History and Constitution of m healthy or unhealthy, dangerous or not dangerous, employ- ments. Any society or societies keeping these circumstances in view, and also considering the vast importance of at first secur- ing the permanency of their schemes, may easily judge of the rates most suitable to themselves. But, even with the most cor- rect calculation of which the subject will admit, differences be- tween the actual and estimated expenditure will frequently oc- cur, arising either. from the members being too few in number to afford a fair average of sickness and mortality, or from epi- demics, and other similar causes. “ It is therefore desirable, that societies should be made fully aware, that, while correct calculation may do much in placing their schemes on a more secure footing than hitherto, still there are contingencies a- gainst which calculations made beforehand cannot guard, which ean only be obviated by attention on their own part to the pro- gress of the societies’ affairs, and by accommodating their ar- rangements to their circumstances as occasion may require *.” For this purpose, a correct record must always be kept of the society’s transactions, particularly the ages of the members, and the sickness and mortality which occur at the different ages. These being known, the affairs of any society may be periodi- cally balanced, the amount of the past and future contributions compared with the value of the future allowances, and the abi- lity or inability of the society to fulfil its engagements correetly ascertained. By the statute 49th Geo. IIT. ¢. 12, it is enacted, that where the rules of any society provide for all disputes between the in- dividual members and the society being decided by arbitration, the opinion or order of such arbiters shall be final and binding on all concerned, without the power of appeal to any court what- ever; and it is very properly recommended by the Committee of the Highland Society, that it should be an indispensable rule in every Friendly Society, that all disputes between the society and any of its members shall be referred to arbitration. The great utility of such a law must be evident to every one in the least acquainted with these institutions, not only on account of a great expence being thus saved both to societies and indivi- duals, but also on account of such questions being generally more maturely considered’ by arbiters, than by the inferior judica- * Highland Society’s Report, p. 281. Benefit or Friendly Societies. 3138 tories to which they are limited,—a striking illustration of which shall be given in our next Number. It is not, there- fore, without regret that we see it recommended by the Com- mittee of 1825 that the law of arbitration should be repealed. If this suggestion be adopted, Friendly Societies will be deprived of one of their greatest safeguards, and be subjected to the irre- vocable decisions of the Petty Sessions of the Peace, which are frequently composed of persons but very imperfectly acquainted with the principles of the contract of mutual assurance govern- ing such institutions, and but too apt to pay little or no atten- tion to the regulations which they themselves have sanctioned, and on which alone they ought to found their decisions. It has been already remarked, that the statute by which Friendly Societies in England are allowed 43 per cent. from Government for their money, does not extend to Scotland. If this important benefit is still to be granted by the statute of which notice has been already given by Mr Courtenay in the present session of Parliament, it is trusted that the Friendly Societies of Scotland will not be again excluded. If they are willing to comply with all the conditions required from those in England, it is but fair that they should be likewise entitled to the same privileges. Both kingdoms are under the same government—both are under the same system of taxation ; therefore, “‘ where all contribute alike, all should receive alike ; and it is only where double benefits are wanted, that they should be refused, or paid for accordingly.” Friendly Societies are exempted by statute from all stamp- duty upon bonds granted by their treasurers; and it is pre- sumed, that it was only from their payments being hitherto so small as not to require stamps, that they were not exempted from all stamp-duty whatever. As these societies, however, will be now upon a more extensive scale, and be managed upon the same principles with the higher assurance companies, it is to be feared that receipt, policy and other stamp duties will become a very heavy burden, and one which they will bell able to bear. It is therefore also hoped, that this subject will not be overlooked by the legislature in the enactment of any new law for the be- nefit and encouragement of these laudable and highly useful in. stitutions. ( To be continued. ) (3147) A Short Sketch of the Geology of Nithsdale, chiefly in an Eco: nomical point of View, and contrasted with that of the Neigh- bouring Valleys. By James Sruart Mentearu, Esq. Young- er of Closeburn, Member of the Wernerian Natural History Society. * 1. General account.—2. Basin of New Cumnock. —3. Basin of Sanquhar: —4. Basin of Closeburn.—5. Basin of Dumfries.—6. Upper and Low- er Basin of Annandale.7. Upper and Lower Basin of Eskdale.— 8. Annandale and Eskdale contrasted with Nithsdale«9. Basin of the Dee contrasted with Nithsdale, 1. Tre county of Dumifries is traversed from N. to S. by three rivers, viz. the Nith, Annan, and Esk. ‘These rivers, in their course from the mountains to the Solway Firth, ‘pass through a country in which ‘not only the mountains, hills, and valleys, but also the rocks and soils, exhibit mach to interest the geologist and agriculturist. "The general features of the county have been already detailed by Professor Jameson in the “ Mineralo- gy of Dumfriesshire.” "We propose, ‘therefore, in the follow- ing remarks, to confine our attention principally to the districts traversed by ‘the river Nith. The Nith, probably the most beautiful river in the county, rises in Ayrshire, and flows through the basin of Cumnock, in that county, into Dumfriesshire. In its progress, through this county, it flows through other three basins, viz. those of Sanquhar, Closeburn, and Dumfries, before it reaches the Sol- way Firth. Having described ‘the ‘Nith as rising in the hills of Ayrshire, and flowing through ‘the valley of New Cummock before it en- ters Dumfriesshire, it nay be’ proper first to consider ‘the basin of New ‘Cumnock. 2. Basinof New Cumnock.It is bounded'on the west, north, and ‘east; by greywacke, forming rather low hills, which ‘are far from pleasing in their appearance. It. is separated from the basin of Sanquhar by a ridge of greywacke, ‘nearly three iniles broad. The length of the basin is about ten miles, and the breadth five miles. The coal formation fills all the central parts of this basin, and ‘even spreads itself on the east over the * Read before the Wernerian Natural History yer 9th February 1628. ~ a oy ai a iv ele Se Mr, Menteath on the Geology of Nithsdale, a sides of ,the\greywacke hills... .Coal,is, worked, in several places. It, oceurs,near, the, surface, in, thick, seams, from, nine feet to twelve,, but.as yet, no accurate borings have been made \to ascer- tain the number. of ,beds of it, which; this basin contains... The best/sort,.is found, at the, great, elevation, of upwards of 1000 feet above the sea, at Mansfield, on the north side of Corson- secon Hill,,.,The, coal of Mansfield isa cubical and splinty coal, raised in-very large square pieces. There are three principal beds, of nine, eleven, and twelve, feet in thickness.. Not far from the.pits. where the’ coal is now raised, there occurs a curious. coal deposit, ‘which appears to be a small isolated basin. This bed, which is. believed to, be the three above mentioned beds united into, one; is, no» less than thirty feet thick, and is immediately under a peat-moss, which does not exceed twenty feet in thick- ness, and is in a,.complete state of decomposition. , Imbedded in the seam of coal of twelve feet in thickness, we meet, with a bed. of cannel-coal sixteen inches thick; and lately atiother bed of the same coal, twenty-two inches in thickness, has been found in an. isolated situation. Both these are very free of sulphur... To the westward, nearly between the sources of the Afton and Nith, a bed of .cannel coal, three feet thick, is met with, but being sulphurous, is not adapted for the prepara- tion of gas. On the estate of Mansfield, there is.a bed,of glance coal or anthracite (blind coal) four feet thick. "Lhe 'coal.is associated with slate-clay, bituminous shale, and sandstone. | The sandstone is of a yellow colour, but soft, and therefore of inferior quality. ~The-carboniferows or mountain limestone which underlies the eoalnil the New Cumnock basin, is found in great quantities, and may be said to fringe the coal.of this basin. There are se- veral limeworks in it, where it is burned and prepared for mar- ket, /. On the side of Consonscon Hill, which is greywacke, and at a considerable elevation, the limestone, which. is,of an excel- lent quality, cropsout. It is burned, and supplies a great range of country, not only in this basin, but that of Sanquhar. ‘On the banks of the Afton, one of the,tributaries,of the Nith, before it leaves the New Cumnock Basin, galena or lead glance occurs in transition rocks, and has been wrought for a consider- able time, but to no great extent. 316 Mr Menteath on the Geology of Nithsdale. The soil of New Cumnock Basin is clayey, stiff and tena- cious, such as is generally found covering the coal formation. The herbage, though abundant, is coarse. It is, however, well adapted for the food of the dairy cow ; and, accordingly, the farmers of this basin have availed themselves of this natural ad- vantage of their situation, and employed the lime which is found every where at hand in ameliorating the soil, and improving the pasture. Much has been ploughed far up the hills, and artifi- cial grasses introduced ; and, following up this system, they have, by great care and expense, collected a breed of the Cunynghame or Dunlop cow, a small short horned animal, unequalled; per- haps, by the breed of any other district of Ayrshire. They make _ great quantities of butter and cheese, which is exported to all parts of the kingdom. The Basin of New Cumnock, though described as one of the series of basins in the course of the Nith, cannot correctly be viewed as a separate coal formation, but as forming a part of that of the great basin of the Ayr, which extends from Muir- kirk, (where great quantities of argillaceous carbonate of iron are found, raised, and smelted), all the way to the sea, including the greatest part of the county of Ayr, which great coal-field is epeitetil from that of the Clyde and Forth by a narrow ridge of the Strathavon and Loudon Hills. It may not he uninteresting to state, that, not far from the borders of the New Cumnock Basin, near Old Cumnock, gra- phite is found in considerable quantity in the coal formation *, and it might probably be found in this basin also. Notwithstanding the great abundance of coal in the New Cum- nock Basin, the demand for it has been inconsiderable, owing to its being thinly inhabited, and opening on the north and south into a coal country. In one instance, however, the case has been different. A coal occurs near the source of the Nith at Auld- know, ‘considered excellently adapted for the working of iron. With this view, therefore, it is carried in considerable quantity over a great part of the counties of Ayr, Dumfries and Kirkeud- bright, often to a distance of fifty or sixty miles, thus forming the * A Geognostical description of the Cumnock Graphite will be found in Professor Jameson’s Mineralogical Description of Dumfriesshire, pp. 158-162. bd + Mr Menteath on the Geology of Nithsdale. 317 chief export from this basin. But, as the road communicating with Dumfriesshire to the eastward of Consonscon Hill is repair- ed, and having a considerable descent all the way to Kirkcon- nel, it is probable that the Mansfield coal situated in this basin will be consumed in Nithsdale. This coal is very carbonaceous and highly bituminous, with little or no pyrites. Its unsulphu- rous nature renders it a most valuable article to the gas-maker, maltster, lime-coke burner, smelter of ores, and to all who in- dispensably require purity of fuel in their operations. It is at present employed to prepare the gas for lighting the streets of Dumfries, though at a distance of more than thirty miles; and its coke is carried as far as Ayr. 3. Basin of Sanquhar.—The river Nith, after leaving the Basin of New Cumuock, crosses a greywacke ridge through rather a narrow ravine, and enters the Basin of Sanquhar. In this ridge amygdaloid occurs. The hills which surround this basin are of greywacke. They are loftier, and of more pleasing form than those of New Cumnock. The Killa, the Youchan, the Crawick, and the Menock, have their sources among them, and in their course, before falling into the Nith, afford sweet pastoral scenery. ; The secondary rocks in the Sanquhar Basin are the coal for- mation, and secondary trap. The coal formation occurs only on the bottom of the basin. It stretches along both sides of the Nith for about seven or eight miles, but scarcely exceeds two miles and a-half in width. Its position is very irregular. The strata are frequently broken, thrown down, and, as the collier expresses it, are full of troubles. They are crossed by two dikes or veins of secondary trap or greenstone, which, in their course, alter the position of the strata. Near to these dikes the coal is char- red, and of inferior quality.* ‘The coal of this basin has a splin- ty character, is generally sulphureous, and leaves a great quan- tity of slaty ash after combustion. Of the twelve beds, + ascer- * Professor Jameson remarks, that a little above Crawick Bridge, there is a bed, about four feet thick, of columnar glance-coal or graphite: it is traversed by a vein of greenstone.—Mineralogy of Dumfriesshire, p. 89. _ } According to the survey made by Mr Maclaren. 2 318 Mr Menteath on the Geology of Nithsdale, tained by borings in different parts of the basin, the thinnest. is only a few inches, and. the thickest does not exceed five feet... At the north-west corner of this basin, a kind of coal is found, which is considered of a superior) quality, and) is chiefly em- ployed by blacksmiths. A small deposite of limestone, withicoal, occurs near the Menock, and appears separated from the coal- field of Sanquhar by a ridge of greywacke. It is of such an impure quality as to forbid its use in agriculture... ‘The ochry sandstone of the coal-field occurs on both sides. of the Nith. ‘That which is on the east side of the river is of a bad, quality, hardly turning wet; but that which is found on the west side, as near the mouth of the Youchan, of a yellow-whitish colour, is an excellent building material. Some traces of iron-ore are observed near Crawick Bridge, but as yet this ore has not been turned to account. The soil of the valley of Sanquhar is clayey, partaking of ail the properties of that which usually lies upon the coal formation. It is stiff, tenacious, and impervious to water, requiring much drainage, and much liming, to loosen its texture, and fit it for the growth of good herbage. It is, however, distant from lime, a circumstance which .has hitherto retarded its improvement. There is little or no wood in this valley, which makes the cli- mate bleak and the scenery uninteresting. The Sanquhar coal formation, though of no:great seven has long supplied a considerable range of country, as it has afforded a’ principal part of the fuel of Dumfries and the neighbour- hood *. But, it is probable that in future the extension of market of ‘the Sanquhar coal will not be increased, the Ayrshire coal ‘being now accessible, and the lower part of Nithsdale derivingia --'* "That this coal-field, though of but very limited extent, is fitted to sup- ply the ‘district ‘in which it is placed for a very long period, a/short caleula- tion will be ‘sufficient to show. It.has been stated, that the coal-field of Sanguhar is , about 8 adios Jong, and scarcely 2} in breadth. This will give in all about 20 square miles, or 13,000 square acres. Now, the sears of coal, which are twelve in number, as has been :ascertained,by,accurate, borings, amount in all to only 18 feet in thickness. But.of these several are only a few.inches thick; and the four workable seems searcely'amount to more than 15 feet or five yards. Taking, then, the workable coal at this thickness, or nearly so, it will give us in each acre 24,200 cubic yards of coal, or in all 314,600,000 cubic yards. But each cubic yard of coal, as I have been informed by an experienced engineer, Mr Mr Menteath vn the Geology of Nithsdale. 319 considerable supply from England, since’ the Bey ig sttOrs of the Nith has been improved. Lying to the eastward of the valley of Sanquhar, ih the prey wacke mountains, are the great lead-mines of Wanlockhead and Leadhills. ‘The former are in Dumfriesshire, and the property of the Duke of Buccleuch ; the latter, belonging to the Earl of Hopetoun, are in Clydesdale. The principal ore at both places is galena or lead-glance, which is found in great quanti- ties. Specimens of many of the more beautiful and rarer of the spars of lead are met with ; * and, of late years, mineralogists have described new species of lead spars as natives of these mines. Silver is contained in the lead, and about 7 or 9 oun- ces of it ‘can be extracted from the ton. In 1809, the pro- duce of the mines of Leadhills was 25,000 bars,—of Wan- lockhead, 15,000 bars, each weighing 9 stones avoirdupois, and the ‘price being L. 82 the ton, the gross produce exceeded 1. 80,000 in that ‘year. Since that period, I believe the an- nual returns have been far below those of the year 1809. ‘They must, however, since’ they were opened, have yielded millions of revenue. “Gold is found in the sand of the streams in the vicinity of these mines. By washing the sand, the miner in his leisure hours collects a small quantity of this precious metal. It is said Bald, may be considered as about 18 cwt., and, therefore, in each acre there Will be about 22,000 tons of coal. But, deducting even jth for pillars left in working the coal, which is the utmost ever lost, we shall have of coal for use 16,600 tons in each acre. Now, it-has been ascertained from accounts of the sales, that not more than 13,000 tons are annually required for the whole district. One square acre would therefore supply this demand for one year and a quarter; and, conse- quéntly, the 20 square miles, or 13,000 square acres, will be sufficient for upwards of 16,000 years. But, deducting 1000 acres for that which has been already wrought, and for whinstone-dikes, and such like in this field, we shall have 12,000 actes still to break, which, according to the highest. rate, of demand that has hitherto taken place, will supply this district for 15,000 years, a pe- riod much more than twice as long as that since man ‘has yet existed. But, if we take into account the coal of the New Cumnock Basin, which, though not hitherto accurately ascertained, seems to be much more extensive than that of the Sanquhar, the treasure of fuel which this district of Niths- dale possesses, appears almost unlimited, according to the present rate of de- mand. * A fine collection of these has been made by the company at Wanlockhead, and may be seen on application to the overseers. 320 Mr Menteath on the Geology of Nithsdaie. that, in the reign of James V., as much as amounted to the sum of L. 100,000 was obtained in one year. It is very interesting to observe, that this spot, not more than two miles each way, n" the county of Dumfries, where a hut would perhaps scarcely have been seen but for the mineral treasures there deposited, has for more than a century support- ed an industrious and comfortable population. The miners at Leadhills have a library of 1200 volumes. At Wanlockhead is another of '700 volumes.* The intelligence of the miner is well exemplified by the skill with which he cultivates his small plot of ground. Elevated as is his residence, by industriously raising the Alopecurus pra- tensis, or the Meadow foxtail, he has early in the spring green food to give his cow before the lowland farmer. The rocks which separate the Sanquhar and Closeburn basins assume more the appearance of greywacke slate than in most other parts of the range. The stratification is in many places nearly vertical, and runs from NE. to SW. The stratification is very loose, having the seams filled with a red ochrey earth, which is found principally in this quarter. At Burnmouth, a place about the middle of this ridge, which separates the basins of Sanquhar and Closeburn, it has the appearance of indifferent slate; and at Arkland, in the parish of Tynron, a few miles to the west, slates for roofing have been raised. Thus there seems a slaty structure to extend from Glenochar, a slate quarry in Lanarkshire, across the whole of Dumfriesshire in this direction. 4. Basin of Closeburn.—The river Nith, after a tumultu- ous course of more than five miles through a rocky. chan- nel, exhibiting scenery of the most romantic kind, and beau- tifully adorned with a great variety of natural wood, enters the basin of Closeburn, which ‘is completely enciteled by’ grey- wacke hills, that exhibit a pleasing outline. Of these the Low- ders are the most striking. They rise to a considerable eleva- tion, with a smooth grassy slope to the west; and, by means of a road now opened through them: into Lanarkshire, afford: one of *,-These volumes, in the wild regions of the Leadhills, we believe, are more thoroughly read, and more anxiously sought after, by the poor miners, than are the numerous and splendid volumes in many of the libraries in the low country: hence these people are comparatively well informed, Mr Menteath on the Geology of Nithsdale. 321 the most picturesque passes in the south of Scotland.. This is denominated the Pass of Dalveen. By much ingenuity and labour, a beautifully winding road has been cut out along the sides of the mountains; and from the great height to which it gradually conducts, the traveller, with no little tre- pidation, looks down on a small stream or burn, winding like a silver thread, about 300 feet beneath him. Nowhere, perhaps, in Great Britain is a scene more pleas- ing, more placid, more interesting, presented, than in this long, narrow, mountain pass. The sides of its hills, without any clothing of wood, are smooth, covered with a short velvet turf, fresh and green during the greater part of the year, af- fording abundance of food to the flocks which graze their decli- vities. In the bottom of the valley, between these agreeably shelving hills, is the Carron Water, here but a small rivulet, pure and limpid, and, like the many other burns of Scotland, characterizes and enlivens this romantic dell. Few more delightful scenes are offered to the lover of land- scape, than he will enjoy in lingering i in this beautiful pass of Dalveen, in a calm summer’s evening, when the lights and long shadows of a setting sun fall on its mountain sides, enlivened by numerous variously grouped flocks. To the southward of Dalveen, in the same range of hills, the Lowders, is another pass, called the Walpath, communicating with England and the northern parts of Scotland, through which the Romans carried their road, and of which traces still re- main. ‘This road, scarcely at present more than a tract, passes close to the village of Durisdeer, in the church of which the traveller will be interested by some fine sculpture in the tomb of the Queensbery family. It is, however, far inferior in wild picturesque scenery to that of Dalveen; and, offering many ob- stacles to the modern road-engineer, was deemed by him unfit for opening a communication through the Lowders into Lanark- shire. Dalveen Pass was therefore preferred; and happy it is for the traveller that utility and sweet pastoral scenery could be united. There is more wood in this basin than in the two we have just described ; the banks of the Carron, the Cample, the Scar, and’ the Shinnel, tributaries of the Nith before it quits the ‘valley of Closeburn, being all beautifully fringed with natural wood. 322 Mr Menteath on the Geology of Nithsdale. The bottom of the valley of Closeburn is covered with second+ ary rocks. These are sandstone and, limestone... The. most abundant rock is sandstone... Of it there are. three varieties, the red, white, and grey. The red appears to be the new red sand- stone, and is by far the most, abundant... It varies much in its texture, being sometimes hard, but oftener soft and friable. It lies over all the other strata’ of the basin, but. is almost. entirely confined to the east side of the, Nith, as) scarce- ly any of it is seen-on the west. One of the best examples of the appearance of its varied structure, and the wregularity of its dip, may be seen at the Gateley Bridge Quarry on the Cample, where this red sandstone exhibits its beds lying in,all. manner of directions, horizontal, upright, and variously inclined., In this quarry roofing-flags are raised, which are carried to a great dis- tance, and even exported to England. Being pervious to water, they are unfit for roofing until they have. been, brushed oyer with coal-tar, when they become an excellent substitute for slate, Not only flags for roofs, but also lintels of doors, windows, &¢.are here prepared, and supply the whole neighbourhood. At Crigup Linn the new red sandstone covers the other strataof the basin, which are to be seen rising from underneathit. ‘he red sandstone, easily worn away by the running water, is at the Crigup Linn, by the continual chaffing of the Crigup, scooped into a very deep ravine, its sides presenting rocks of every’ picturesque form, and overhung by rich foliage... It was to this romantic dell that the unjustly persecuted Covenanters fled for shelter in their des: perate fortunes. And the pen of the inimitable Sir Walter Scott has lately given this linn a classic interest, by having, in his tale of Mortality, made the Crigup Linn the retreat of | tlie da- ring Balfour of Burleigh. The red sandstone of this. valley i is, in general, a good: -bisild. ing stone. The most esteemed. is that, raised at the Gateley Bridge quarry, where it is hard, tough, and very durable, re- sisting, in those houses built of it, the action of the weather, and indicating no appearance of waste or decay. Other but less frequent varieties of this sandstone, are soft, and decay on exposure to the weather. Of this a striking proof may be ad- duced in the case of Drumlanrig Castle, which was built at the same time with Heriot’s Hospital, by the same architect Sir Mr Menteath on the Geology of Nithsdale. 38 Inigo Jones, but is in a decayed state compared with that Not far from the Gateley Bridge, red sandstone quarry, a mile, up the Cample, basalt occurs in pentagonal columns. It appears to form a narrow ridge or dike, traceable from Mor- ton-Mains Hill on the north-east of this spot, and it seems to take the direction of the Linburn Hill on the south-east *, The white and grey sandstones, under the red sandstone, are not found in any considerable quantity. _The white, which, oc- curs very seldom, is hard and compact in its texture, and well fit-. ted to resist the effects of the weather. Of the grey more is found, and it partakes much of the characters and qualities of the white. The limestone is found only at the south end of the basin of Closeburn on both sides of the Nith, as at Closeburn and Bar- Jans but at the latter in much less quantity (To be sonoluded.§ in our neat Number. ) A Proposition for iaiyiig on a Course of Experiments, with a view to constructing, as a National Instrument, a large Refracting Telescope, with a fluid concave Lens, instead of . the usual Lens of Flint Glass. Addressed to his Royal High- ness the Lord High Admiral, and the Right Honourable and | Honourable Members of the Board of Longitude. By PrrEr - Bartow, F.R.S. Mem. Imp. Ac. Petrop., &¢. &c. ~ [This Memoir has been presented to the Board of Longitude ; and we are gratified to add that the members have ordered the experiments to be pursued. Mr Barlow is accordingly, as another step, attempting an eight inch aperture, of ten feet in length, but with a focal power of about sixteen feet.] Is a memoir I had the honour to present to the Royal Society in the early part of the year 1827, which was published in the * In this valley there are no fixed rocks of granite, and indeed none nearer than perhaps thirty miles. It is very curious, however, that there are round- ed blocks of it found in many places on the surface, some of them exceeding a ton in weight. The same occurs in other districts, where the distance from the granite formation is still greater, as in Cheshire. ‘The existence of these masses in such situations, has never yet. perhaps been satisfactorily accounted for. Two explanations have been offered ; according to the one, they are of lacustrine origin—while the other connects them with the Mosaic deluge. 324 Professor Barlow on the Construction of last Part of the Philosophical Transactions, I have given an ac- count of a series of experiments I made, assisted by the praeti- cal skill of Messrs W. and 'T. Gilbert, instrument makers to the Honourable East India Company, on the construction of refraet- ing telescopes; in which memoir I have also described a new in- strument for simplifying the determination of the dispersive power of glass, and I am in hopes that I have so far succeeded in removing from the several formulz those terms which involve quantities too refined to be followed out in practice, that no dif- ficulty of calculation can be said to remain in the construction of this instrument : nor is there any practical one which the inge- nuity of our opticians would not overcome, provided glass could be obtained of sufficient size and purity. But here, unfortu- nately, an impediment interposes; and therefore, with a view to avoid an obstacle we have not at present been able to overcome, I turned my attention to the adoption of some fluid to supply the place of the flint lens. The construction of flint object glasses, retaining, however, the flint lens, had been formerly at- tempted by Dr Blair with considerable success, but which, for some reason, was not afterwards pursued *. I was not at first fully aware of the fluid employed by this ingenious philosopher, — and moreover it was at least possible that some other might be found equally well, if not better, suited to the purpose. I there- fore determined to begin de novo, and ascertain with my new in- strument, which was easily made applicable to the purpose, the re- fractive index and the dispersive power of every fluid which ap- peared to possess properties likely to answer my intended pur- pose. I had proceeded some way in this inquiry, with several oils, acids, &c., when I made trial of the sulphuret of carbon, and here I found at once a fluid which appeared to possess every requisite I could desire. Its index being nearly the same as that of the best flint glass, with a dispersive power more than double, perfectly colourless, beautifully transparent, and, although very expansible, possessing the same, or very nearly indeed F-, * Tt appears from an article published since this was written, that Mr Blair, the son of Dr Blair, is at present engaged in pursuing his father’s views. + I have never found any appreciable numerical difference in the refrac- tive index of this fluid between the temperatures of 31° and 84°, the fluid being hermetically sealed. a Large Refracting Telescope. 325 the same optical properties under all temperatures to which it is likely to be exposed in astronomical observations, except per- haps direct observations on the solar disc, which will probably be found inadmissible. I felt so confident, from the result ob- tained with the dispersive instrument, of the applicability of this splendid fluid to the purposes I had in view, that after some trials as to the best method of inclosing it, and of applying the correcting lens, I attempted at once a telescope of six inches aperture and of seven feet length; but some unforeseen difficulty having interposed, after several unsuccessful trials, I laid it by, and undertook one of three inches aperture. I was here more fortunate, having, with this instrument in its first rude experi- mental form, without any adaptation or selection of glasses, se- parated a great number of double stars of that class which Sir William Herschell has pointed out as tests of a good three and a half inch refractor ; I can see with it the small star in Polaris with a power of 46, and with the higher powers several stars which are considered to require a good telescope, as, for example, 70, p Ophiuchi, 39 Bootis, the quadruple star « Lyre, ¢ Aquarii, « Herculis, &c. Encouraged by my success on this instrument, I again attempted the six inch object glass, with a different man- - ner of adjusting and securing the lenses; and the result of my endeavours I lay with confidence before the Board of Longi- tude, feeling convinced that every proper allowance will be made for the imperfections of a first attempt, at a novel construction, ona considerable scale, and which professes only to prove the ap- plicability of the principle, and not the completion of the expe- riment. With this instrument the small star in Polaris is so distinct and brilliant with a power of 143, that its transit might be taken with the utmost certainty. But as this and the former instruments are both before the Board of Longitude, and have been examined by some of its members, I would much. rather they would report their opinion of the performance of them, and more particularly of the promise they hold out, than to give my own. I shall therefore proceed at once to describe the prin- ciple of the proposed construction, which possesses some novel- ty, and offers some advantage not to be obtained with any glass ever made, or likely to be made; although I am quite ready to . admit, that if glass could be obtained of sufficient purity and size, the permanent nature of that material would, probably, JANUARY—MARCH 1828. Y 326 - Mr Barlow on the Construction of give it a preference before any other in the construction of re+ fracting telescopes. My object is (as I wish distinctly to be un- derstood) not to supplant the use of flint glass in the construc- tion of this instrument, but to supply its place by a valuable substitute in cases where the former cannot be ‘obtained suffi- ciently large, or where it can only be obtained at an expence which must always limit the possession of a good astronomical telescope to persons of fortune and to public institutions. Principle of Construction. In the usual construction of achromatic: telescopes, the two or three lenses composing the object-glass are brought into im- mediate contact, and in the fluid telescope proposed by Dr Blair, the construction was the same, the fluid having been in- closed in the object glass itself. Nor could any change in this arrangement in either case be introduced with advantage ; be- cause the dispersive ratio between the glasses in the former in- stance, and between the glass and fluid in the latter, is too close to admit of bringing the concave correcting medium far enough back to be of any sensible advantage. | The case, however, is very different with the sulphuret of carbon. The dispersive ra- tio here varies (according to the glass employed) between the limits -298 and -334; which circumstance has enabled ‘me to place the fluid correcting lens at a distance from the plate lens equal to half its focal length; and I might carry it still farther back, and yet possess sufficient dispersive power to render the object glass achromatic. .Moreover,. by. this; means ‘the’ fluid lens, which is the most difficult part of the construction, is re- duced to one-half, or to less than one-half of the size of the plate lens; consequently, to construct a telescope of ten’ or twelve inches aperture involves no greater difficulty in the manipulation, than in making a telescope of the usual description of five’or six inches aperture, except. in the simple plate lens itself; and, what will be thought perhaps of greater importance, a telescope of this kind of ten or twelve feet length, will be equivalent in its focal power to one of sixteen or twenty feet.» We may, therefore, by this means, shorten the tube several feet, and yet possess a focal power more considerable than could be conveniently given to it on the usual principle of construction, — This will be better understood from the annexed diagram. | a Large Refracting Telescope: S27 In this figure A B C D represent the tube of the 6 inch telescope, C D the plate object’ glass, ¥F the first focus of rays, d ¢ the fluid concave lens, distant from the former 24 inches. 'The focal length M F being 48 inches, and, consequently, = == as 48:6:: 24:3 inches, the diameter of the fluid lens. ‘The resulting compound focus is 62-5 inches ; it is obvious, therefore, that the rays df, ef, arrive at the focus under the same convergency, and with the same light as if they proceeded from a lens of 6 inches diameter, placed at a distance beyond the object glass C D, (as C’ D’), deter- | mined by producing these rays till they meet the sides of the tube produced in C’ D’, viz. at 62.5 inches beyond the fluid lens. Hence, it is obvious, the rays will converge as they would do from an object. glass, C’ D’, of the usual kind, with a focus of.10 feet 5 inches. We have thus, therefore, shortened the tube 38°5 inches, or haye at least Be .. the advantage of a focus 38°5 inches longer thanour 7 tube ; and the same principle may be carried much farther, so as to reduce the usual length of refract- ing telescopes nearly one-half, without increasing the aberration in the first glass beyond the least that can possibly belong to a telescope of the usual kind of the whole length. It should, moreover, be observed, that the adjustment for focus may be OK=> made either in. the usual way, or by a. slight movement of the fluid lens, as in the, Gregorian reflectors, by means of the small speculum. In the latter case, the eye-piece is fixed, which may pro- bably be convenient for astronomical purposes, in consequence of the great delicacy of the adj justment. fj “Thus far every thing i is in favour of ‘the pro- i posed construction ; but some doubtful points may probably present themselves, viz. Is not the opening of the lenses to so great a distance calcu Obe-WA lated to produce an irrationality in the two spectra ; G2 ee es |) 328 Mr Barlow on the Construction of or, is there not in the beginning such an irrationality? Se- condly, May there not be a great loss of light by reflection at. the second lens, considering the density of the rays at the place of incidence? The best reply to these questions is a reference to the two telescopes already constructed, which exhibit no remark- . able defect of either kind *, at least that I am aware of; on the contrary, with regard to the latter, the quantity of light is rather in excess than in defect, compared with the usual construction. Other queries relative to the ultimate success of this proposition may also reasonably be anticipated; as, for example, can the fluid be permanently secured? and, if so, Will it preserve its transparency, and other optical properties ? Will it not act upon and destroy the surface of the glass, &c.? To these and similar queries I reply, that, with any particular fluid which has not been submitted to these trials, experience is the only test we can have. Our spirit levels, spirit thermometers, &c. show that some fluids at least may be preserved for many years, without experiencing any change, and without producing any in the ap- pearance of the glass tubes containing them. I beg, however, to add, that, should any of these happen except the last, nothing can be more simple than to supply the means of replacing the fluid at any time, and by any person, without disturbing the ad- justment of the telescope ; and the same means may be resorted to (if they should be found necessary in constructing a very large instrument), to prevent the external pressure of the atmosphere distorting the figure of the glasses containmg the fluid. Such experiments as these, however, and the construction of an achro- matic fluid’ refracting telescope, with a proper stand, on the scale which I feel every confidence in being able ultimately to accomplish, viz. one of at least 12 or 14 inches aperture, involve expences which can only be conveniently borne by men of fortune and public institutions, I have therefore done my- self the honour to submit my proposition, with the results al- ready obtained, to the Board of Longitude; and if these first results, although not every thing that could be wished, should still be such as to prove the practicability of the Proposition, and . * Mr Barlow has since presented a Memoir to the Royal Society, illus- trating, on theoretical principles, the tendency of this construction to destroy , the secondary spectrum, an imperfection inseparable from the usual form of , refracting telescopes. a Large Refracting Telescope. 829 to justify farther attempts, I have no doubt the Board will, as far as is consistent with its constitution, forward the prosecution of the experiments, and ultimately the construction of an achro- matic telescope, which shall exceed in aperture and power any instruments of the kind hitherto attempted. It is hardly neces- sary for me to add, that in such case it will give me great satis- faction to undertake the direction of these operations, with the aid of Messrs W. and T. Gilbert, to whose liberal and scientific views, as well as to their practical skill and ingenuity, I have been much indebted for having thus far proved the practicabi- lity of my proposition. Peter Bartow. Royat Mititrary AcaDEMy, 13th October 1827. On the Principal Causes of the Difference of Temperature on the Globe. By Baron ALExANDER Von Humpoxpr. * Tue distribution of heat over the globe, has for many years formed one of the principal objects of my researches. ‘This sub- ject is intimately connected with the local differences of the pro- ductions of nature, with the agriculture and the commercial in- tercourse of nations, and even, in several respects, with their mo- ral and political situation. The time is past when we were satis- fied with some undefined views on the difference of geographical and physical climates, and when all the modifications of tempera- ture were ascribed either to the shelter afforded by ridges of mountains, or to the various elevations of the surface of the earth. We have seen, that the remarkable differences of climates which we perceive in large tracts of country, under the same latitude, and on the same level above the surface of the sea, do not arise from the trifling influence of individual locali- ties, but that they are subject to general laws, determined by the form of the continents in general, by their outlines, by the state of their surface, but particularly by their respective positions, and the proportion of their size, to the neighbouring seas. The * Extract from a public Lecture delivered in the Royal Academy at Berlin, on the 3d of July 1827. 2 $30 M. Humboldt on the Difference of the relative position of the transparent and opaque, of the fluid or solid parts of the earth, modifies the absorption of the solar rays falling under the same angles, and at the same ‘time the produc: tion of heat. These circumstances, the winter cover of ice atid — snow, which is peculiar to the continents, and to a very small part only of the seas ; the slowness with which large masses of wa- ter are heated and cooled ; the radiation from smooth or rough surfaces, towards a cloudless sky ; the regular currents of the ocean and of the atmosphere, by which water and air from dif- ferent latitudes and different depths and heights are mixed ; all concur to produce the peculiarities of climate. It may therefore be said, that every place has a double climate, one depending on general and remote causes, on the general position and shape of the continents, and another determined by the peculiar relations of its locality. Since the problem of the geographical distribution of heat has been. considered upon. general principles, meteorological ob. servations have been conducted in a more efficient manner. A smaller number of them now lead to certain results; and the discoveries made within the last twenty years, in the most remote parts of the globe, have gradually enlarged ‘the point of view. Physical and geological inquiries have now: become equally important objects’ of all extensive voyages and ‘tra- vels.. To begin with the extreme north, I shall‘ here, im the first place, mention ‘a man, whom the dangerous and trouble- some occupations of whale-fishing, which were the object of his voyage, have not prevented from carrying on the most refined meteorological and zoological observations. Captain Scoresby has, ‘for the first time, determined the mean atmospheric’ tem- perature of the Polar: Seas, which he has taken between ‘the volcanic Island of Jan Mayen, and that part of East Greenland discovered by himself. In endeavouring ‘to discover a north- west passage, the English government has succeeded in affording to geography, to climatology, and to the theory of ‘magnetism, services which were originally promised ‘to the commercial inte- rest’ of ‘nations. Parry, Sabine, and Franklin have, ‘forseveral years, been employed in investigating the temperature of the at- mosphere, and of the sea, in the polar regions.; they have: pene- rated to Port Bowen and Melville's Island, consequently nearly to” Temperature of the Globe. 331 75° N. Lat.; and they have, in this arduous task, displayed a perseverance, of which we find hardly a parallel instance in the history of human exertions and struggles against the elements. Captain Weddell has recently destroyed the ancient prejudice, sanctioned by Cook’s illustrious name, that the South Pole is, on account of a more extended mass of ice, less accessible than. the North Pole. The discovery of a new archipelago to the SSE. of Terra del Fuego, has led to an expedition in which Captain _ Weddell found a sea completely free from ice, under the 74° Lat: (far beyond two solitary islands discovered by the Russian Captain Billinghausen.) In turning to the temperate zone, we find a great many points where the average temperature, which hitherto was considered to be invariable, has been measured. Various astronomers in New Holland, and-on the foot of the Indian Himalaya, Catholic and Protestant missionaries at Macao, in Van Diemen’s Land, and in the Sandwich Islands, have furnished us with new facts towards comparing the northern and southern, the eastern and western hemispheres, in the torrid and temperate zones, consequently those parts of the globe which are most abundant in water, as well.as those which are most abundant in land. In the same manner, the proportion of heat under the line, and in both the tropics, has been determined. These points, as ascertained in numbers, are particularly important as fixed points, because they may; like the zone of the warmest sea-water, (between 84° and 87° Fah.; 23° and 24° 5’ R.), in future ages serve to determine the much disputed variability of the temperature of our planet. It is necessary to mention here, that we have been long in want of climatological determinations in the most southern parts of the temperate zones, between the 28° and 30° lat. ‘This part of the world forms as it were an intermediate link between the climate of Palms, and that region in which, according to the tradition of the east, mankind, along the Mediterranean, in Asia Minor, and. Persia, first awoke to intellectual develope- ment, to mild manners, and to taste in the cultivation of the arts: The observations of Niebuhr, Nouet, and Coutel in Egypt; those of my unfortunate friend Ritchie in the Oasis of Murzuk, could, on account of local circumstances, only lead. to a boa. 382 M. Humboldt on the Difference of the erroneous results. The large and classical work on the Canary Islands, for which we are indebted to Mr Leopold Von Buch, has now also filled up this blank, in the same way as his travels in Lapland and to the most northern promontory of Europe, — first furnished us with a clear illustration of the causes which, in the Scandinavian peninsula, beyond the polar circle, diminish the severity of the winter cold, and preserve to the springs the temperature which they had received from deeply seated strata, and which occasion, under the influence of a continental climate and that of the coast, an unequal elevation of the snow line, and of the upper limit at which different species of trees grow. If we follow the current of the sea, which traverses the great valley of the Atlantic Ocean, from east to west, we find almost unexpectedly rich sources of instruction in the New World, from Russian America, and the settlements of the Canadian hunters, to the River La Plata, and the most southern parts of Chili. It is no longer foreign naturalists who commu-_ nicate to us the notices they have been able to collect during a short residence in plains, rich in wood and grass, and on the ice-covered ridges of the Cordillera; we have no longer need to judge of the mean temperature of the whole year by that of single months or weeks; here we obtain every where solid and complete information from the inhabitants themselves. > The executive power of the United States of North America has ordered meteorological observations for five years to he made three times a day, at seventeen different points, occupied by mi- litary garrisons, between the 28° and 47° lat., between the Mis- souri and the Alleghanys, the lake Michigan, and the coast of Pen- sacola; and from these observations, the average temperature of days, months, and of the whole year, is drawn. 'These obser- vations calculated by Mr Lovell, surgeon-general of the army, have been published at the expense of the American) govern- ment, and have been distributed to all scientific institutions in Europe. If this excellent example was followed in the eastern part of our continent, and if, by the command and at the ex- pence of a powerful monarch, similar comparative theometrical. observations were carried on in well selected points in the ex: tensive district situated between the Vistula and the Lena, the aa Fe here AAT eee ay oe i ei iermaypees Fe, “, y , . Ee a ee T'emperature of the Globe. $35 whole science of climate would in a few years appear in a new and much improved form. The zeal by which the United States of North America are animated, has arisen equally strong in the lately emancipated Spanish America. Journals, printed 9,000 feet above the level of the sea, give daily the height of the thermometer, barometer, and hygrometer, taken with very exact instruments, made at Paris and London, in the enormous extent from the 28° N. to the 40° S. lat. ‘Thus the political revolution of these countries has not only improved their own condition and the industry of Europe, but it will also, when the population increases, and scientific knowledge spreads, over so many mountains and ele- vated plains, lead to a better knowledge of the higher regions of the atmosphere. In those countries, whole provinces rise like islands in an ocean of air, to the height of Etna, or the Peak of Teneriffe: in the old continent, where the travelling natu- ralist erects his tent near the line of permanent snow, a gn towns are found in America. In modern times Africa, which the ancients represented upon coins and monuments as the kingdom of palms, has been’ found rather deficient in this tribe of trees; and, in the same manner, later travellers’ have modified in a singular manner the be- lief in the constant uniform tropical heat of the African de- serts. In the Oasis of Murzuk in Fezzan, Ritchie and Lyon found, during several summer months, the thermometer in the shade, at from 5 to 6 feet above the ground, to indicate 86° to 91° ‘Fahr. ( 24° to 26° R.), at 5 o’clock in the morning, and from 118° to 129° Fahr. (38° to 43° R.) at noon, a temperature which probably arose from the radiation produced by the sand floating in the air; and, in the same place, Dr Oudney died of cold in the end of December. This spot is situated in the centre of Af: rica, on the frontiersof Bornou, under the 13th degree of lat., and, according to barometrical measurement is not 1200 feet above the level of the sea, It is said that the water in the leather bottles, which Oudney’s caravan carried along with them, was frozen this same night. But Major Denham, Clapperton’s companion, whom I desired, after his return from the lake T’chad, to give me some oral explanation, told me, that, in the morning, some hours 334 M. Humboldt on the. difference of the after Dr Oudney’s death, the temperature of the air was not be- low 49° Fahr. (74° R.). In South America, at a less distance from the equator, near Bogota and Quito, I saw the water free from ice, at the height of 8500 and 9000 feet, notwithstanding the strong effect of the radiation of high plains in producing cold. In the manuscripts. of. young Beaufort, who died lately i in Upper. Senegal,,a victim to scientific zeal, I find that under the 16th. degree of latitude, the thermometer marked in. the shade on the same day 113° Fahr. (36° R.) at noon, and 59° Fahr. (12° R.) early in the morning. The temperature of the air in the plains of America never sinks so low in the same northern latitude... In. laying. before the Academy last year, a detailed account of the excellent labours of Ehrenberg and Hemperich, I have already mentioned the cold to which these learned travellers were exposed, when in the Desert of Dongola under the 19th degree of latitude.. North winds penetrated into this southern tropical, country, and, in December, the thermo- meter sunk to 38° Fahr. (2° 5’ R.) above the freezing point, con- sequently 12° of R. lower. than it had ever been observed, under the. same latitude, in the West Indies, according to the accounts carefully collected by myself... It.is astonishing: to find Africa in its deserts.colder than. America, with all its rich vegetation, and this not on the margin of the tropics, but at the very centre of. them... The, true causes of this., singular . cooling, process have not. yet been’ sufficiently explained. Perhaps it is the ra- diation of heat from the soil through the dry air towards a cloud- less sky, or a sudden expansion’ produced: by the pouring of humid strata into this. dry air, ‘and: the descent’ of the upper parts. of the atmosphere. : It'is generally known that more than. two-thirds of our planet are covered by a body of. water, which, by its contact with the at- mosphere; exercises the most powerful influence upon the climate of the.continents: The rays from. the. sun.produce heat according to different laws, as they fall either upon the, water or, upon, the solid .surface.of the earth. The. mobility ofthe particles of which. we, imagine fluid bodies to ‘be composed; produces cur- rents and an unequal distribution of temperature; cooled and con- densed. by radiation; the particles of water sink,.to the bottom, By ascending in balloons, climbing upon insulated peaks of Temperature of the Globe. 335 mountains, by thermoscopic apparatus sunk into the sea, it has been possible to determine the velocity of the cooling process which takes place at different seasons, from below upwards, in the atmosphere, and from above downwards, in the occean, and in fresh water lakes. The animals, therefore, which dwell im both these elements, find on each point of the globe, in the aeriform and liquid elements, the most heterogeneous climates, placed :in strata one above another. In the depth of the sea, under the Line, and in alpine lakes of the temperate zone, there is always:a fixed degree of cold, viz. that degree at which the water attains the greatest density. The experiments of Ellis, Forster and: Saus- sure, have been repeated under all zones and in all depths ; but what: we know of the lowest temperature of the air, and of sea- water, as well as of the greatest effect of the radiation of heat 'be- tween the tropics, serves “as an infallible proof that the ¢old which there exists near the bottom of: the sea, is produced by a current which, in the depths of the ocean, passes from the poles towards the equator, and cools the inferior strata of water in the southern ocean, like the current of air in the upper atmosphere, which moves from the equator to the poles, to temper the cold of the winter m. the northern regions. The immortal Benjamin Franklin first taught’ us that’ sand+ banks are sooner: recognised’ by the thermometer than by the sounding line. © They are islands of the submarine land, which the elastic subterranean powers had not been able’ to’ elevate above the surface of the water.. On the declivity of the shoals, the inferior and colder strata ascending by impulse, are mixed with the upper and: warmer ones ; and thus the sudden cold of the sea-water shews to the navigator that danger is near. The shallows, by their temperature, act on the air above them, in which they produce fogs and groups of clouds, which are per- ceived ata great distance. Before more extensive investigations: had been made’ on the distribution of heat‘over the globe, it was believed that the cliz mate of two places could be determined by the’extremes of the temperature in summer and winter. ‘This’ view of ‘things has still been, preserved in popular opinion, whilst naturalists have long:ago renounced it'as erroneous ; for; although undoubtedly the extremes of ‘single days and nights are in a certain propor- 836 M. Humboldt on the Difference of the tion to the mean temperature of the year, yet the distribution of heat in the different seasons is strikingly different, although the mean annual temperature be one and the same,—a circum- stance which has a very great influence on the growth of plants and on the health of man. I have endeavoured to determine the law of this distribution, according to different situations and heights. But comparative results in numbers ought to ¢on- tain the mean temperature of every month, derived from the two extremes of every day, supposing an arithmetical series to be formed. This method was first adopted by Reaumur in 1735 : he compared the produce of two harvests, not (like Her- schel) with the numbers and size of the spots in the sun, but with the quantity of heat which the corn received in the time of vegetation. Many labours have of late been directed towards as- certaining the hour, the mean temperature of which expresses also that of the whole year. I here only mention the observa- tions carried on in Scotland at Leith Fort. The night watch of a military post has been employed for establishing observa- tions of the thermometer during two years, from hour to hour ; and from the mass of these observations, which ought to be re- peated in other latitudes, it has been calculated, that, in the la- titude of Edinburgh, a single daily observation at 9 o’clock 13 minutes in the morning, and in the evening at 8 o'clock 29 mi- nutes, would be sufficient to fix the average heat of the year *. Of the months, it is April and October which give this important result (a fact, first discovered by Leopold and Von Buch, which is connected with remarkable modifications of the upper currents of the atmosphere), except when, as in the island of Grand Ca- nary, local causes carry the maximum of heat to a later period, and place it in October. If I frequently allude to the great increase of meteorological observations within the last twenty years, I by no means wish to express an opinion that the perfection of climatology is ‘parti- cularly founded on such an increase. Here, as in all collec- _ tions of knowledge derived from experiments, which are too soon denominated sciences, every thing depends on “ an accu- “A result, which does not differ from the true by one-half degree of Reaumur’s thermometer, is also obtained by the mean of two hours of the same denomination.—Results of the Thermometrical Observations made at Leith Fort every hour of the day and night during the years 1824 and 1825, p. 19. SE a ee Temperature of the Globe. | 337 rate conception of nature,” and a just view of the conse- quences to be drawn from well-arranged facts. If we attempt to conceive the problem of the distribution of temperature in its most general sense, we may imagine the planetary heat either (as in the present oxydised, hardened surface of the earth) to be a consequence of the position in relation to a central body, which excites heat ; or (asin the first state of the condensation of matter dissolved in the form of vapour) the consequence of internal processes of oxidation, precipitation, change of capacity, or elec- tro-magnetic currents. Many geognostical phenomena, which I have mentioned in another paper, seem to indicate such a de- velopement of internal heat, produced by our planet itself. More- over, the doubts raised against the peculiar heat in mines in both parts of the world, have been entirely removed by recent experiments of an ingenious astronomer M. Arago, on water rising up through deep borings in what are called Artesian Wells. The greater the depth from which the water ascends, the warmer it has been found. In this case, there can be no suspicion of strata of air sinking down and being condensed, and consequent- ly disengaging heat ; nor can the neighbourhood of men, or of the lanterns of miners, exercise an influence in this case. The waters earry along with them the heat which they have acquired by a long continued contact with rocky masses at different depths. These important observations shew how, independently of the obliquity of the ecliptic in the earliest, and, as it were, youthful state of our planet, the tropical temperature and tropical vege- tation could arise under every zone, and continue, till, by the radiation of heat from the hardened surface of the earth, and by the gradual filling up of the veins with heterogeneous minerals a state was formed, in which (as Fourier has shewn in a pro- found mathematical work) the heat of the surface, and of the atmosphere, depends merely upon the position of the planet to- wards a central body, the sun. We gladly resign to other na- tural philosophers the task to decide, how deep below the oxi- dised and hardened surface of the earth the melted fluid masses lie, which are poured out through the apertures of volcanoes, which periodically agitate the continents and the bottom of the ocean, and force hot mineral springs upwards through clefts in granite and porphyry. ‘The depth of our mines is too inconsi- 338 M. Humboldt on the Difference of the derable to enable us, from the unequal inerease of temperature which has been hitherto observed in them, to give the satisfac- tory numerical solution of a problem which occupies the eu- riosity of men who live, as it were, upon a vault of rocks. Suf- fice it here to point out how the recent views of geologists have revived the old mythus of Pyroplegeton and of Hephastos, _ When a planet is everywhere surrounded by aérial strata, and when the oxidised surface of the earth,. with its clefts almost everywhere closed or filled up, by a long radiation of heat, has arrived at a state of equilibrium between receiving and losing, in such a manner that its external temperature and the difference of climates arise solely from its position towards the sun, towards a larger central body which is perpetually ge- nerating light, then the problem of the temperature of any place in its most general form, may be considered as dependent solely upon the manner in which the influence of the meridian height of the sun manifests itself. This height determines, at the same time, the magnitude of the semidiurnal circles, the density of the aérial strata, through which the rays of the sun pass, before they arrive at the horizon ; it also determines the quantity of the absorbed or calorific rays (a quantity which rapidly increases with the size of the angle of incidence) ; and, lastly, the number of the rays of the sun, which, mathematically considered, a given horizon receives. The production of heat, as far as a greater or less is concerned, can accordingly be considered as proceeding from the illuminated surface of the earth. The absorption which the rays of the sun undergo in their passage through the atmosphere, or (to express it in another mannér) the production of heat by the diminution of light is extremely small ; but never- theless is perceptible on: the ocean, where, at a great distance from the. coast, and even when the water was colder than the atmosphere, I observed the temperature of the latter increasing at noon with the height of the sun *. Recent researches+ have shewn, that, in both continents, * Mr Arago has first called my attention to this remarkable effect of the absorption of light in the atmosphere.—Con. des Tems pour 1828, p. 225. + Essai Politique sur l’Isle de Cuba, 1826, t. ii. p. 79-92. where I think I have obviated the doubts raised by Mr Atkinson.—Mem. of the Astron. Soe. vol. ii. p. 137, 187. ae Temperature of the Globe. 339 under the equator, where the mean temperature rises to 82°. Fahr. (22°.2 R.) it is not much warmer than it is in: 10° north and south latitude. According to the Commentary of Geminus on the Astronomical Poem of Aratus *, some Greek philosophers believed the temperature of the tropics even to sur- pass that of the equator. M. Arago has, in a very ingenious manner, demonstrated, by numerous optical experiments, that, from the vertical incidence to a zenith distance of 20°, the quan- tity of the reflected light (and the lesser heating of the illumi- nated body depends on this quantity), remains almost the same. In comparing the mean annual temperatures with one another, I find, that, in the western part of the old continent, the temperatures diminish from the south towards the north in the following proportion + : From 20° to 30° north Latitude. 3°.2 Reaum. 300s 40 3 .6 40 50 5.7 50 ~~ «60 4.4 In both the continents, the region where the diminution of heat is most rapid, is to be found between 40° and 45° latitude. In this result, the observation agrees in a remarkable manner with the theory; for the variation of the square of the cosines which expresses the law of the mean temperature, is largest at 45° lati- tude. This circumstance, as I have shown in another place, has exercised a very beneficial influence on the state of civilisation of those nations who live in the mild countries, under this, the medium parallel of latitude. There the district where the vine grows, borders upon that of the olive and orange tree. No- where else upon earth (in proceeding from the north to the south) does the heat increase more rapidly with the geographi- cal latitude ; nowhere else do the various vegetable productions, used in gardening and in agriculture, succeed each other more * Esig. in Aratum eays. 13. Strabo, Geogr. lib. ii. p. 97. + In the eastern parts of the new continent, the diminutions of the mean temperature are as follows : From 20° to 30° Latitude, 5° Reaum. 30 40 5.7 40 +50 7 2 50 60 5.8 340 M. Humboldt on the Difference of’ the rapidly. This variety animates industry and the commercial intercourse of nations. We may here siate that partial, daily; and eaonthly: changes of temperature are, on account of the motion of the atmosphere, produced by the transportation of colder or warmer strata, by greater or less electric tension, by the formation of clouds or the diffusion of vapours ; in short, by an almost infinite number of va- riable causes, acting at a greater or smaller distance. The study of meteorology has, unfortunately, begun in a zone where the causes are most complicated, and the number and intensity of the disturbing powers greatest. If ever civilization, as may now be expected, shall establish one of its principal seats in the tropics, it is to be presumed that these phenomena, which are so simple there, will be more easily ascertained than in our climates, where the play of many conflicting causes has so long concealed them from our view. From that which is simple it is easy to proceed to what is complicated, and we may imagine a scientific meteorolo- gy as returning from the tropics to the north. In the climate of palms, a feeble east wind always brings strata of air along with it, having generally the same temperature. The barometer shows, like the progress of the needle, the hour of the day. | Earthquakes, tempests, and thunder-storms do not disturb the small but periodical tides of the atmosphere. The changed decli- nation of the sun, together with the upper currents of the air, from the equator towards the pole, modified by this declina- tion, determine the beginning of the rainy season and the elec- tric explosions, which both begin at regular periods. The tra- veller may know his way almost as well by the direction of the clouds as by the compass; and, in the dry season, the appear- ance of a cloud on the deep blue sky would, in many districts of the tropics, astonish the natives as much as the fall of an aéro- lite or of the red polar. snow would do us; or as the crash of thunder in Peru ; or, in the tropical plains, a hail storm. This simplicity and regularity in the meteorological phenomena allow us to expect an easier and more favourable insight into the re- lation of their causes. | As long as the observations on the magnetic inclination, de- . clination and intensity of forces, remained dispersed in the re- ports of travellers, and had not been united by magnetical lines, Temperature of the Globe. 341 the doctrine of the distribution of magnetism on the earth could not be expected to make any important progress. Supported by analogy, it has been attempted to simplify by a careful employ- ment of well ascertained facts, the complicated doctrine of the distribution of heat. Places having an equal mean temperature of the year, of summer, or of winter, have been connected with one another by curves. This was the origin of the system of isothermal lines*, of which I published a full account in the year 1817. They descend towards the equator, because in Eastern Asia and the eastern parts of North America we find, on an equal level above the sea, and in a more southern lati- tude, the same temperature which we meet with in the centre of Europe, in a more northern latitude. The remarkable cir- cumstance, that the highest civilization of the species to which we belong has developed itself, almost under the same latitudes in the temperate zone upon two opposite coasts, the eastern coast. of the new and the western of the old continent, must early call our attention to the difference of heat under the same latitudes. The question arose by how many thermometrical de- grees the old world was warmer than the new, and it is not long since it was known, that the isothermal lines from the la- titude of Florida to that of Labrador, do not run parallel, and that the eastern and western coasts of North America are al- most as different from one another as those of Western Eu- rope and of Eastern Asia. The shape and grouping of the continents, and their relation to the neighbouring seas, are the principal causes which determine the inflection of the isothermal lines, or the direction of equally warm zones, into which we may conceive the whole globe to be divided. The predominance of west winds in the temperate and cold re- gions determines the difference of climates on the eastern and western coasts of one and the same continent. The western winds, which are considered as reactions of the tropical trade- winds reach an eastern coast, after having traversed in winter a continent covered with snow and ice; to the western coasts, on the contrary (in Europe as well as in New California and * De la Distribution de la Chaleur sur le Globe.—Mem. de la Société d’Arcueil, t. iii. JANUARY—MARCH 1828. Z ~ $42 M. Humboldt on the Difference of the Nootka), western winds carry strata of air, which even in the severest winter have been heated ‘by contact with the vast surface of the ocean. Led by these ideas, I have considered it of ‘importance to obtain a knowledge of the lowest temperature to which’ the Atlantic siriks, out of the Gulf Stream, between 40°’ and’ 50° north latitude (consequently: m the latitudes of Spain, France and Germany). I have found that, in the month of January, in 40° latitude, the water of the sea does not “sink below 56° Fahr. (10°.7 BR.) and in 45° latitude not below 54° Fahr. (9°.8 R.) The much esteemed geographer of India, Major Rennel, who for thirty years has been employed in study- ing the direction of the currents of the Atlantic, and who, during my last visit to England, communicated to me a part: of his ma- fuscript materials, has, in 50° latitude, consequently in the zone . of the north of Germany; observed in winter a temperature of the 'sea-water, to which the atmosphere does not reach in the month. of January, even in the mild climate of Marseilles. If the relative extent of Asia and North America, of the Pacific and the Northern Atlantic; was different from, what it is, the whole ‘system of winds in the northern hemisphere, would, by the unequal heating of the solid, as well as of the fluid, parts of the surface of the ae be uur ae in their direction as eel as in’ their’ intensity: 4 i Europe is indebted for its ithder asta to its viimg on the globe (the position in which it stands in regard to the neighbour- ing seas)'and to its peculiar form. Europe isthe western part of the old continent ; and consequently the great Atlantic Ocean; whicl already in itself has the power of diminishing the cold, and which is besides partly warmed by the Gulf»Stream, lies to the west of it. That»part of the world: which: of all others,enjoys the gteatest share ofa tropical climate, the sandy, Africa, is: so situate’ that Europe is: heated: by:the:strata of: airy which, as- cending from Africa, move from: the Equator towards the North Pole.’ Had the: Mediterranean not existed; the mfluence of Aif: vieaon the? temperature-and: the geographical. distribution :of plants arid‘animals:in Europe, wouldshave‘been) still: more consis derable., ‘The third principal cause of the milder climate of Eu- rope 1s, that this part of the world does not appepach the. orth, Temperature of the Globe. 343 Pole nearly as much as America and Asia do ; and that, on the eontrary, it lies opposite the greatest extent ‘of sea-water, free from ice, which is known in the whole polar zone. The coldest points of the earth, which have lately been improperly called Poles of Gold, do not coincide with the magnetic poles, as Dr Brewster has endeayoured to prove in the English version of my paper on the Isothermal, Lines. According to Captain Sabine’s researches, the minimum of the annual mean temperature on the surface of the earth; is to the NW. of Melville’s Island; in the meridian of Behring’s Straits, probably in 82° to 83° north Lat. ‘The sum- mer boundary of the ice, which, between Spitzbergen and East Greenlarid,. recedes to 80° and 81° north Lat., is in about ‘75° N- Lat. every where between Nova Zembla, the Bone Islands of New Siberia and Icey Cape, the most western cape of America. Eyen the winter boundary of ice, the line on which the ice ap- proaches the nearest to our continent, scarecly surrounds Bear Island. From the. North Cape, which is heated. by.a south- western current of the sea, the navigation to the most southern promontory of Spitzbergen is never interrupted, not-even m the most. severe winters....The polar ice diminishes an quantity wherever it finds an opening to flow out,,as in Baffin’s Bay, and between Iceland and Spitzbergen..)) ‘Fhe situation.of the Atlan- tic, Ocean exerts a most beneficial influence on the existence: of that sea-water, free from ice, im the meridian of: East! Green- land and Spitzbergen, which has so, ecicadiaana an, ase een she climate of the north of Europe. >» ces » On the other hand, the icebérgs, which are dsiiven from Baf. Gta Bay, and Barrow’s Straits to the south, accumulate in that large. mediterranean sca, which. geographers designate by the nameof Hudson’sBay. "This accumulation of ice increases the cold .of the neighbouring continent, so. much, that; as reported by Captain Franklin.in his latest MS., im York Factory, and at the mouth..of Hayes’ River; which lie in the same latitudes as the north! of \Prussia and) Courland, in digging» wells, ice 4s found everywhere at‘the depth of four feet. The most northern and-most-southern boundaries of the fixed: polar ice, that is, the summer and winter boundaries, on. the situation of which the temperature of the northern continents depends, seem to have changed but little, as far as historical records go; which faef 42 4 te 344 M. Humboldt on the Difference of the - has been recently confirmed by careful’ inquiries. The in- jurious influence which small isolated masses of ice, driven sometimes by currents into the neighbourhood of the Azores, exercise, as it is said, upon the continent of Europe, is one of those tales, first derived from philosophers, and received by the vulgar, after the former have long ceased to believe in them. In the same latitudes, where, in the north of Europe, agri- culture and gardening are carried on, we find in North America and North Asia only marshes and tracts of land co- vered with mosses: in the interior of Asia, on the other hand, the powerful radiation of heat, between the almost parallel chains of the Himalaya, the Zwngling and the Himmelsgebirge, (a country on which Klaproth’s geographical researches have thrown great light), exercises the most beneficial influence on the Asiatic population. The line uf permanent snow, on the northern declivity of the Himalaya, lies 4000 feet higher than on the southern; and the physical explanation which I have given of this singular phenomenon *, has, according to a report of Mr Colebrooke, been confirmed by recent measurements and observations in the East Indies. Millions of men of Thibetian ongin, of a gloomy religious cast of mind, occupy populous towns, in a country where fields and towns would, during the whole year, be buried in deep snow, if this high table-land was less extensive and less continuous. As the currents of the atmosphere are modified in many dif- ferent manners, by changes in the declination of the sun, and by the direction of the chains of mountains on the declivities of which they descend, the currents, also, of the liquid ocean carry the warmer waters of the lower degrees of latitude into the temperate zone. I need not here mention how the waters of the Atlantic, always moved in the same direction by the trade-winds, are carried against the dike formed by the isthmus of Nicaragua, then turn to the north, make the round of the Gulf of Mexico, flow out through the Channel of the Bahamas, proceed as a current of warm water to the north-east towards the banks of Newfoundland, then to the south-east, towards the group of the Azores; and, when favoured by the north-west * Annales de Chimie et de Physique, tom. iii. p. 297; tom. ix. p. 310; tom. xiv. p. 6. —————————————— Cs eS ae ie Ze Temperature of the Globe. 345 wind, carry along with them the fruits of palm trees from the An- tilles; casks of French wines from wrecked ships; nay, even living Esquimaux in their leather boats from East Greenland, which they cast on the coasts of Ireland, of the Hebrides, or of Nor- way. A travelled astronomer, Captain Sabine, who, after re- turning from the Polar Regions, performed experiments with the pendulum in the Gulf of Guinea, on the African Island of St Thomas, informed me, how casks of palm oil, which had been lost by shipwreck at Cape Lopez, a little south of the Equator, were carried onwards, first by the equatorial current, and then by the Gulf Stream, crossing the Atlantic twice, from east to west, and from west to east, between 3° and 50° N. Lat., safely arrived on the coasts of Scotland. The well preserved mark of the African proprietors left no doubt as to the direc- tion the casks had taken. In the same manner, as in this case, the equatorial waters in the Atlantic are carried north by the Gulf Stream, I have, in the Pacific, in its southern hemisphere, observed a current (along the coasts of Chili and Peru), which carries colder water from higher latitudes to the Tropics. In this current I saw the thermometer, in the port of Truxillo, in the month of September, fall to 61° Fahr. (12°.8 R.) and in the port of Callao, near Lima, at the end of November, to 60° Fahr. (12°.4 R.) A distinguished young. officer of the Danish navy, Baron Dirckinck von Holmfeldt, has, at my request, at different seasons of the year 1825, observed this singular phe- nomenon, to which for so long a time no attention had been paid. Making use of thermometers, carefully compared by Mr Gay Lussac and myself, he again found the water of the sea, in the port of Callao, in August 603° Fahr. (12°.6 R.) andin March 674° Fahr. (15°.7 R.) Whilst, out of the current, at the pro- montory of Parina, the calm sea, as usually in those latitudes, showed the great heat of 793° to 81°.5 (21° to22°R.) We cannot, in this place, explain how this stream of colder water, which increases the difficulty of the southern navigation from Guayaquil to Peru, and from Peru to Chili, is for some months modified in its temperature by the Garua, i. e. the vapours which constantly veil the sun; and how it renders the climate of the plains of Peru cooler. nth As all human attempts to arrive at a scientific view of the 346 Mr Neill on the Habits of a — phenomena: ‘ef nature can have for their final object: only a: clear “eonception of our own nature, thus the investigation, with’ the principal topics of which we have now been occupied, at last leads us to consider, how the differences of climate manifest themselves in the character, in the civilization, and, perhaps, ‘even: in ‘the development of the language of different tribes of the human race, "This is the point where the important doetrine of the dis- tribution of heat over the globe comes to be connected with the history of mankind, and beyond which it ceases to be’ an ‘ob- : ject of ‘purely Physical i inquiry. Some Account of the Habits of a Specimen of Siren lacertina, which has been kept alive at Canonmills, near Edinburgh, Jor more than two years past. By Patrick Nett, A. M., F. os 5. 2 and Sec. W. 5": Piguet or ~ Author. I T is: more than half-a eaukeeny since’ Dr ‘Aleriitiincteghiile of Charleston, South Carolina, sent to the distinguished Mr John Ellis of: London, specimens of a reptile found im marshes in bis neighbourhood, remarkable for possessing both external gills and internal lungs, and for having fore-feet but no hind-feet. Dr Gar- den stated, that he had seen specimens of very different sizes, all possessing the gills, and having only fore feet; and-that there did ‘not exist in South Carolina any lizard, of which this animal could be regarded as the larva. ._Mr Ellis, in his’ excellent’ ae- count of the reptile in the Philosophical: 'Transactions, vol. lvi., accordingly describes and figures. a young ‘one, 9 inches long, and one full grown, or 25 feet long ; ‘yet both possess the’ gills, and both have two feet only ; the fet have four toes, and each toe is furnished with a claw; and he mentions that the animal emits a‘ croaking noise or sound,” while the possessing of any kind of voice is not characteristic of a larva. These facts,/and the examination of a dead specimen, transmitted by Mr Ellis to the illustrious Swedish naturalist Linnzeus, were enough te satisfy him that it was not a larva, but a perfect’ animal of the most truly amphibious character; and he therefore: created for it a new order, Meantes, among his Amphibia. Several distin- * Read before the Wernerian Natural History Society, 12th January 1828. | : | ’ L | - living Specimen of Siren lacertina. 347 guished’ naturalists, however, have disputed the opmions of Gar- den, Ellis, and Linneus ; ‘particularly Camper, ‘Pallas, Schnei- der, and De Lacepede. | All of these have held, that the siren is not a perfect animal, but merely the larva of some Proteus or Lacerta, which, as it should approach maturity, would throw off the branchize, and perhaps also develope hind-feet. . De La- cepede was the most positive in this opinion; but he was soon met by another French 8 He of greater acumen and of _ higher name. r & inex » Tha memoir read to the Tubéinite of renee n in 1807, Rerne G. Cuvier concluded, from:a minute anatomical examimation, that the siren was the type of a distinct genus, the osseous strue- ture of which differed essentially from that of the salamander or of the proteus; the skeleton proving that the animal was not destined ever to develope hind-feet, while there appeared. no provision for the throwing off of the branchize. . Cuvier ¢on- firmed, in short, the opinion which Linneeus had formed from studying its external characters and from Dr Garden’s account of the habits of the animal. - ja Bc ~The controversy has been cited with imal hi spite The distinguished Italian naturalists Configliachi and: Rusconi, from considering the analogy between the Siren and the larvee of other Batrachia, have disputed the conclusions of Cuvier, and still regard it as an imperfect animal. Among other argu- ments, they adduce the following, which shall be quoted in their own words: ‘* Before this canal (the nostril) 1s.se formed (as to open into the mouth), such larva: are unable to respire atmos- pherie air, and if taken out of the water they soon die ; and, therefore, guided by analogy, we incline to believe that to the siren the same thing ought to happen *.” That excellent zoologist our countryman Dr Fleming of Flisk * See account of Configliachi and Rusconi’s Memoir, by Daniel Ellis, Esq., in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. v. p. 105. e¢ seg. The ori- ginal passage runs thus: ‘“ Sin tanto che questo canale non si é formato” (in such a manner that its posterior extremity may. open into the mouth), “ le larve delle salamandre non possono respirare Varia atmosferica in modo ni uno, e quindi se vengono tratte all’ asciutto, si muojono; per lo che noi, gui- dati sempre dalla analogia, incliniamo a credere che alla sirena, le cui narici “ne penetrent point dans la bouche,” debba pure accadere lo stesso.”——Del Proteo anguino di Laurenti Monografia ; Pavia, 1819, p. 104. 4 348 “Mr Neill on the Habits of a (whose fame will be greatly. raised by his recent work on ‘* British Animals”) adopts the reasoning of the Italian natura- lists, and vindicates their conclusions, in his ‘ iusto of Zoology,” vol. ii. p. 297. It is remarkable that some parts of the natural bietate of the siren should still be very imperfectly known, not only to eminent European naturalists, but even to acute observers residing in the United States. We have seen that. Configliachi and. Rus- coni are of opinion that the siren, if taken out of the water, would soon die; and we may add, that the author of the article Herpetology in the Edinburgh. Encyclopzedia observes, that the Siren lacertina “ appears to reside entirely in the water. It was supposed by Linnzeus, from the form of its feet, that it can also move with tolerable ease upon the land; but we believe it has never yet been seen in that situation.” In a paper on the genera of batrachian animals, by Mr Barnes, secretary of the New York Lyceum (published in Silli- man’s American Journal, October 1826), we have the most re- cent notice regarding the siren. After describing the animal, he mentions some facts illustrative of its habits, and alludes to some of the opinions entertained concerning it, We are told, that “a specimen in Scudder’s Museum (New York) has al- ready lived several years in a glass jar of clear water;” and others an equal length of time “ in a tub containing mud brought from their native marshes in Carolina.” These, “ when taken from the mud, immediately struggle to return, and seem contented only when they are in their natural element. . When they are concealed in their retreat, the place of the head and gills is readily known by the rising of small air-bubbles from their spiracles ;—a fact which may lead to the determination of the function of these doubtful organs.” ‘ Several authors affirm that sirens thrown on the ground break into several pieces.” While Mr Barnes hesitates to believe this, he adds, << But the want, or the. high value of specimens among us *, * The siren, though not uncommon in the days of Garden, seems now to have become a rare animal even in South Carolina. M. Bosc, in the New Dictionary of Natural History (xxxi. p. 317), mentions that, during a resi- dence of a year and a-half near Charleston, he was not able to find one living specimen, although he was desirous of studying the habits of so curious ay animal. 1 Sania SMES ia BEY a aad Ty ey ae living Specimen of Siren lacertina. 349 will probably prevent this fact from being proved or disproved by actual experiment.” Lastly, it is said, “ It does not appear, by the most. careful observations of modern naturalists, that the animal has a vow cantillans, and the idea which produced the generic name is therefore imaginary.” In the early part of the summer of 1825, Dr Farmer of Charleston, South Carolina, sent to Dr Monro, Professor of Anatomy and Surgery in the University of Edinburgh, a li- ving specimen of the animal. It was nearly a foot and a half long, and was four inches in girth where thickest. It came in a small barrel, which was half filled with mud and water, and per- forated above. On its arrival in this country it seemed in a slug- gish state ; and it was not observed to eat any thing whatever for many weeks. Dr Monro being desirous that the animal should, if possible, be preserved alive, and its habits noted, confided the charge of it to me; and I certainly feel much indebted to the Doctor for placing so rare and curious an animal in my hands. Although, during the two years and a-half it has been im my possession, no perceptible change has taken place in the form or size of the fimbriated branchiz, and although I cannot boast of having made any new or very striking observations, yet perhaps I am able to add a little to our stock of knowledge regarding this singular animal, and to confirm some and refute ethers of the opinions above related. _ Immediately on receiving the specimen, a large wooden box was prepared, with an inclined plane at one end of the interior, so that the animal might, when it chose, raise itself out of the wa- ter more or less, and repose in that situation. At first we placed a quantity of sand in the bottom of the box, in the expectation that the siren would burrow in it; but we after- wards found that tufts of mosses (hypnum or sphagnum) were better suited to the taste and habits of the animal, as it evident- ly delighted to hide itself under the moss, to lie upon it, and to root amongst it. s Soon after it came into my possession I found that, in a warm day, it would eat one or two small earth-worms, when placed close by its head, so that the struggles of the worm, in drowning, should attract its attention (for its eyesight does not seem acute); but that it would take no more food till after the lapse of per- 350 - Mr Neill on the Habits of a: haps a week or ten ‘days. At this time’ it swallowed its food: very slowly and gradually, sometimes allowing oné-half ofthe worm ‘to continue wriggling about ‘its’ nose: for ‘some minutes, while the other’ half was in its mouth and gullet. «On one oeca- sion, some small banstickles were put into the: box alive: after a day or two, the:largest of ‘these ‘was found floating dead, with a considerable piece apparently bitten from its side, the wound being nearly equal to the width of. the siren’s jaws.’ “Although the siren ‘was not .actually observed to» attack’ the banstickle, there can be little doubt that he had seized: ity andtaken. the piece from its side; more-especially since’ Dr Garden mentions that, on one occasion,.a siren was “ caught by a-hook baited with a small fish.” . The ‘smaller banstickles were’ never more! seen; and two or three of the larvae of the Lacerta aquatica, which were placed in the box soon afterwards, likewise disappeared. For the first year and‘a half, the’ box was’ kept in aigreen- house, adapted for keeping Cape of Good Hope ‘and New Holland plants, or where it is merely desired to exclude the frost of our winter: ~ In this situation, the siren declined: eating from about the middle of October till the beginning of May ; and for ithe six’ intervening cold months he remained exceedingly slug- gish, seldom changing his place, except -when roughly touched. It may here be remarked, that: the tail seems to be the most sensitive part of this animal. I have often gently stroked the back, near the head, with my fingers, without disturbing him in the least ; but the moment the tail was touched, some air-bubbles were thrown up, and he moved slowly away. 8% ohh In April 1827, the box was placed in a hot-house, intended for the culture of tropical plants, where the temperature is kept up so as to range from 60° to 80° F., and may be stated as @eneral- ly about 65°." Here the animal became more lively: He soow began to croak like a frog, uttering a single ‘cry at a time; and without any change of note. He continued thus to call for some weeks; and, considering the time of the year, it seems: pro- bable that this was the call of love. During this summer he ate two, three, or'even four, ‘small: earth-worms at # meal, devour- ing them much more quickly than formerly. :Tt-was now ob- served, that after the siren got his eye on the worm, he approach- ed very cautiously, remained motionless’ for a moment, as if 4 living Specimen of Siren lacertina. 351 watching, and then made 'a sudden dart: upoti’ the prey: - Still, however, he did not care for food’ oftener than once in a week or ten days! “When touched, he ‘now changed his ep with a Jerking’ motion, causing the water to spurt. 6 © - “Although I certainly would not have made the” eiepertanelt of the fragility of the siren, by: throwing it on the ground’; and although *I would -have hesitated to keep the’ animal out of the’‘water for several hours, while I- knew that‘ respectable naturalists doubted if it would live more than-a few minutes out of that element, yet it so happened, that the animal, on one occasion,'made, of his own accord, ‘an experiment (if it may be's6 called) illustrative of both-points: This was onthe 13th of May 1826 (for the fact was recorded in my adversaria at the time), soon after he had begunto ‘be active and to take food for the season.’ The water-box itself was ten inches ‘deep : it was placed-on a plant-trellis or_ shelf, close by the lower-end’ of» the sloping roof-sash,of the greenhouse, and thus stood nearly three feet from the ground. - At that period the box happened to leak; and the gardener therefore filled it up: with water between se- ven and eight o’clock mthe evening, at which time the-siren was seen safely lodged in the box... "The door of the greenhouse was locked, as usual, over night, and before it was opened in the morning, the siren, tothe ‘great surprise of the gardener, was found lying on a foot-path which passes round the exterior of the'greenhouse. - I was speedily apprised. of -the circumstances - and, on examining the spot, we could: most distinctly trace, by a shining glaze derived from his skin, the passage of the animal through an edging of heath ¢ Krica herbacea), and:across-a nav- row-flower-border, te a; hole which he hadiscooped out! under the brick-wall of the greenhouse, in escaping from within,’ ‘The foundation of this wall, it may be remarked, had intentionally been made shallow or near to the surface, for-the purpose of per- mitting-the roots of some shrubs, planted: in the rove aml style within, to penetrate to the exterior border. ital ‘We: possess no data for fixine with certainty the number of hours during which the ammal had been out-of the water.’ The box, as already mentioned, being leaky, was filled near to the _ brim-between 7 and 8 in the evening : it seems likely’ that this filling up had disturbed the animal, and that it had been ena- bled partly to crawl and partly to glide over the margm, while 352 Mr Neill on the Habits of a the water yet stood high, or early in the night; for the water had subsided five or six inches before morning. | The escape of so much water, had formed, of the soil below, a kind of sludge, probably somewhat analogous in character to the “ stiff clay” of its native swamps, in which it is said sometimes to burrow ; and this must have greatly facilitated the first. under-ground operations of the siren. Still, however, as the excavation made was not less than eight inches in depth, and nearly three feet in length, for the ascending aperture on the outside sloped at an angle of about 30°, it seems reasonable to conclude that the siren must have been several hours hard at work in forming so extensive a tunnel for itself. In farther proof of its exertions, it may be observed, that a considerable part of the dark-coloured epidermis, or covering of minute indistinct scales, was worn off its snout, and the skin of the upper part of the back was, in different places, ruffled.—In passing, it may be noticed, that these facts indicate that its progress had depended more on rooting with the nose and shoving with the shoulders, than on digging or scraping with the fect and toes, the claws or oails of which are indeed rather of a delicate texture. | Mr Barnes was evidently right, thetedcney i in ni a the fragility of the siren as “ improbable ;” for, far from being broken in pieces, by its fall of more than three feet and a-half from the upper margin of the box, it is abundantly evident that the animal had suffered nothing from this fall, else it would not immediately afterwards have made such progress in mining. In justice to Dr Garden, however, who was evidently an accu- rate observer, it should be mentioned, that he does not allege that the siren, if merely “ thrown on the ground,” will break in pieces ; but only states that, on one occasion, a specimen did so when “ dashed forcibly against the ground,” by his servant, with the view of killing it. The morning was very cold, and the mercury in a register- thermometer, kept in the greenhouse, had been as low as 33° Fahr. at one period of the preceding night. The animal was observed about 7 a.m. lying doubled, or with the body bent round, but not coiled, on the foot-path. He was exceedingly benumbed, being just able to shew signs of life when lifted by the gardener. Considering the evidence of long-continued ac- tive exertions during the night, it seems reasonable to ascribe PE LO A living Specimen of Siren lacertina. 353 his almost torpid state when found, to the freezing cold which he had encountered when he had made his way fairly to the outside. When first restored to the watery element, the animal breathed hard, rushing to the surface, and opening his mouth with a wide gape to inhale air. He soon after sunk down, and let se- veral strings of air-bubbles escape. The branchiz were doubt- less to a certain degree dried, and thus obstructed; and it evi- dently took some time before they could freely perform their accustomed office. When, however, I again examined the ani- mal, several hours afterwards, he seemed perfectly contented to remain wholly under the water; and, on being touched, ap- peared as lively and as well as ever. The decorticated portions of the back and snout shewed us the colour of the true skin below, which was of a pale leaden hue. In the course of changing the water and moss, we have oc- casionally placed the siren on the floor of the hot-house, or on the dry ground. He certainly did not on these occasions seem adept at progressive motion: but, on the contrary, tumbled about rather awkwardly. From the exertions he made, how- ever, we were inclined to think, that among wet grass he might probably get on pretty well; for he exhibited no indications of pain or uneasiness, but merely a desire to escape or get under cover. ; ; We have often remarked this fact, that, if the animal be left in undisturbed tranquillity, he will lie at the bottom of the deepest part of the box, where the water is generally six inches deep, for hours together, without coming to the sur- face, and without discharging air-bubbles: but on these oc- casions, on looking attentively into the water, as I have done for twenty minutes at a time, a slight current may be observed to be excited behind the gills, about twice in a minute. The current is sometimes so gentle, that it is only to be observed by noticing the motion of minute particles of decayed moss which come within its influence. The moment his tail is touched, the animal exerts himself; air-bubbles escape, and he soon after — comes to the surface to take in air by the mouth. When the box is to be cleaned out, which is done about once a fortnight, the siren is placed in an oval jar among water ; here he moves about with rapidity, and very frequently projects his nose and mouth above the surface, evidently to inhale air. 354 Mr Neill on the Habits of a The animal has, since it, came into, my possession, decidedly increased in volume, particularly in thickness’ or plumpness ; but Tam not, as already noticed, aware. of the least change haying taken place in the appearance of the fimbriated branchise, where a change: should ‘first ,be-looked. for. were the animal a larva. |. . ‘The.scars.of the. injuries which he received. in, his subterra- neanexeursion of May 1826, remained. visible fora year:after the occurrence; but they have now (January 1828),completely disappeared, and the whole-body is covered witha dark, glossy epidermis, consisting of very minute, soni and marked with small, dots of white. ,. , shou yioskyrartaeyort.os . ‘The results:of the snore now ain He seem hates as Dr. Monto’s. specimen’ of the Siren -lacertina did.not ‘soon die when out of the water,”—-did mof, Jike .the ,Italian,, pro- teus, ,“‘ die as fishes do,” when remoyed from that element,——but, on the contrary, lived many hours out-of the water, .respiring atmospheric air by means. of its lungs; and as it has often’ been observed to remain for hours under the water without.coming to the surface: to breathe, Baron.Cuvier is.xight m(regarding the siren asa perfect. animal;,of\a truly amphibious. character, destined. to. breathe, through: life either by. ~means of vyexternal branchize or of internal pulmonary: apparatus, according: tothe situation it may for the time occupy in its native marshes:— That Mr Barnes was right in doubting the story of ,its being a fragile animal:—That, it-has.a voice, like the eroaking} of .a frog, | but not, a -vox, cantillans, if. -this -last. imply ai » thing musical; .but here it should be, remarked, that Mr n Ellis accurately characterizes it as,a “ eroaking, noises or sound :”°— That,..as,ityattacked.a large. banstickle,, and. _ probably, devoured some. small ones, as.,well.as, larvee of. Lacerta, aquatieas. it»may, in its native lakes,and swamps; attack smallifishes) or ¢ven srhall serpents,.as mentioned by some. naturalists: — That Configliachi and: Rusconi haye.been misled -by:; trusting to.“analogy,;” and, by anyerror of ‘Dr. Pockels, who mistook, the Arhphiuiia means, which /he,saw in, the Hunterian, collection at Lordony.foraspers feetly. developed siren.; -+ These naturalists expressly admits: that they: had*not.themselves, enjoyed. ah opportunity of, disgecting»d siren. {po 96: Note)5) and. it,is,also evident from, other — their. MODOBT AP that sites pes never Been a! living: specumens «| = ARR PES ee living Specimen of Siren lacertina. 355 _P.S. Since this paper was read to the Wernerian Society, I have seen, in Silliman’s American Journal of Science, Septem- ber 1827, p..70. an additional notice regarding the siren by Mr Barnes; im which he says, ‘‘ Captain Le Conte has dissected ‘a large siren alive, and has actually seen the expansion and con- traction of the lungs in the act of respiration, just as in the frogs and tortoises. ‘They are ¢rue lungs; and not merely air sacks, and their connection with the heart and the arteries was distinct- ly observed.” I A Tour to the South of France and the Pyrenees in the year 1825. » By G. A. Warxer Arnott, Esq. F.R.S.E. P.E.S. M.W. S: &e. iisemesiie from last agai ‘ad wee! On the lst June, “eae with ‘cai octal seen our two friends MM. Requien and Audibert set off in. the diligence for Perpignan, we ourselves also left. Prades, and ascended the Couf- flent towards Mont Louis. On our route we again passed the Traucade d’Ambouilla, and though we did not, find it eonve- pient to leave the road, we nevertheless observed there Tortula chloronotos, probably the identical station from whence Bridel procured his specimens when he first described the species; and though small specimens have since been found in Teneriffe, and published by Dr Hooker as Tortuda membranifolia, and though, as I think I have already mentioned, I have found it not un- common in the. olive district of the south of France *,, this’ loca- lity was yet very interesting. In its neighbourhood also; we saw Buffonia perennis, Galium glaucum, and Alyssum.halimi- foliwm, all of which, however, we had. observed on. other! parts ofthe Traucade a few days before., Passing, through. Ville- -franehe, we saw in profusion Sarcocapnos. enneaphylla,.an. ele- gant plant, closely allied to. Fumaria: this.occurs both on the church walls and on the wall of the town, outside of. the south gate. .Weé now. crossed the Teta, and proceeded up-the western © © Tt had dlso'heen found in Switzerlind,’and is the. 7. mniniddis, var. Taney nosd, of some of. the Swiss collectors ; ‘and it even‘exists in Beauvois’ herba- rium from the neighbourhoud) of, Paris, under, the name of Tortula caneseens, P. B... | , 356 Mr Arnott’s Tour to the South of France, bank, without observing: any thing worthy of notice, till we ap- proached the village of ‘Serdynia. ‘On the mountain close to this is found the Onopordwm pyrenaicum ; and, soon after quit- ting the village, we met with the curious Achillea chamemeli- Solita, Pourr: growmg on the bank on the right. "This species ‘Lapeyrouse has unfortunately: described three times in his Blora of the Pyrenees : it is his 4. chamemelifolia, A. c . fileata. This latter state of it has the segments of the leaves more or less curved backwards, and has been sometimes given to botanists by Lapeyrouse himself with the name of A. recur- vifolia attached. From Serdynia to Olette, where we break- fasted, we did not observe any other plant that interested us. I have already alluded to the tremendous. storms that had occurred every day for some time past. Although the morn- ings were unclouded, and the sun shone forth in full power, the sky began to darken about two o’clock, and thunder, lightning, and rain raged with the utmost fury for about two or three hours, after which we usually had delightful evenings. Aceus- tomed to judge of the violence of the storms according to ‘the extent of our exposure to them, we, having been the greater part of the day in the house, had allowed that of yesterday to pass almost unheeded. ‘To-day, however, about Olette we were led to understand that its violence had been much’ greater, and of longer duration, than those of any of the previous days. ‘The effects indeed were tremendous.’ Huge masses of stone had been brought down from the hills by the torrents of rain, and now lay scattered along the road: the upper soil of the vine- yards had been completely washed away, while the vines them- selves lay scattered in every direction. The peenanes already saw the hopes of a harvest blasted. 4 Odd es Leaving Olette, the road again crosses the etn, ind dhe ascent becomes very steep, until we arrive at the Graux d’Olette, a‘ro- mantic spot, where we found Buffonia perennis, and the nartow- leaved variety of Centraullius ruber (C. angustifolius of ‘au- thors). From this the river begins to present several small but beautiful cascades, and although the road. descends a little at the Graux, it soon again begins to ascend rapidly. . Passing the village of Thues, we saw Ligusticum (Cnidiwm Spr). pyrenar- cum abundant; and towards Fontledrouse and Cassagne we le a ee, 4 and the Pyrenees, in 1825. 357 observed in the meadows a rough-scaped Armeria, that we had previously observed at Bellegarde and La Jonquiere : it is pro- bably A. plantaginea, if indeed the whole genus Armeria be not reducible to one species. Although the morning had hitherto been fine, the clouds and mist now began to gather on the hills, and indicated an ap- proaching storm. This induced us to neglect botany, and hur- ry onwards. About a mile from Mont Louis we again crossed the Teta. At this point there were close to us some consider- able water-falls ; but the noise of the water was not sufficient to ‘conceal that of the thunder, which at the instant burst upon us in awful grandeur. For a few seconds we attempted to pro- cure shelter under a projecting rock, but immediately deemed it more prudent, being thoroughly wet, to proceed. - Whilst there, two bolts must have burst within a few yards of us, so imstantaneous were the flash and the peal. We arrived, how- ever, safely at Mont Louis, or rather at the cabanasse or vil- “lage close to the fortress, where indeed we were to procure ac- commodation, being more convenient for us than the fort, on account of their shutting the gates, and pulling up the draw- bridge, at night. Our horses had arrived a short time before us, without much damage done to either our paper or plants, a circumstance which now interested us more than ourselves. . To-day in our ascent we saw abundance of Sempervivum arachnoideum in flower: S'. montanum also occurred: Sedum - brevissimum, DC. was observed, but in small quantities. Be- tween the Graux d’Olette and Thues, we found Cistus lauri- Jolius in profusion on both sides of the road, and it is not im- probable that the few plants of this species we formerly found at Perpignan, may have been carried down there from this sta- tion by the stream. Medicago suffruticosa has been every where abundant since we entered the mountainous district. I have already stated, that our new species M. deicarpa resembles this closely, but differs by the glabrous fruit. I may remark here in addition, that M. leiocarpa always grows on the chalky or limestone range, while the other species, M. suffruticosa, is found only on the schistose and older formations. We have occasionally observed a few plants of the latter, it is true, down JANUARY—MARCH 1828. Aa 358 Mr Arnott’s Tour to the ‘South of France, in. the plains, but always in the beds of mountain rivulets, indicating. that these were stragglers,” and had been carried down by torrents. On the 23d, being rainy and disagreeable weather,iou our excur- sion was short, confining ourselves to the immediate vicinity of the cabanasse, In meadows, however, close to the road that leads to Mont Louis, we met with Dianthus atrorubens, Pedicularis verticillata, and Trifolium spadiceum, all abundant, and in an excellent state for preservation. Near them also was Vicia ono- brychoides. Descending the road we had come by yesterday for a little way, we then crossed a‘small stream on the right, and found on a bank beautiful specimens of Didymodon glaucescens, Genista* sagitialis and purgans, and Draba nemoralis. There * I take this opportunity of stating, that Cytisus heterophyllus, Lap., is, I think, identical with Genista prostrata, Lam. and DC. Prod. This plant must not, however, be confounded, as has been done by Willdenow, and even by De Candolle in the Flore Francaise, with G. decumbens, W- M. De Candolle, in the Supplement to the Flore Francaise, himself desires this synonym to be excluded ; and though he does not cite Willdenow’s plant under G. pros- trata in the Prodromus, 2. p. 152, he leaves it as undetermined, or, in other words, he omits all notice of it. Willdenow, in his description (vol. iii. p. 943), points eut how his plant differs from G. procumbens, W. K.; and I think there are few who have seen Lamark’s G. prostrata, that will not immediately re- cognise it and G. procumbens, W. K., and DC. Prod. to be one and the same. The G. proewmbens of Schleicher is also G. prostrata ; but G. decumbens of the same is G. pilosa, Linn. As to G. decumbens, W., or Spartium decumbens, Ait., it may be distinguished by verbatim the same charaeter that Sprengel applies to G. prostrata (v. iii. p. 220.): he adduces, however, G. deeumbens. W. as a sy- nonym, and his description was probably drawn up with a view to that plant. Tt will also be easily perceived that A gagier vob Cytisus procumbens (iii. p. 224.) is the true G. prostrata. I shall here also notice another mistake that has crept into the Didivions: . in the allied genus Cytisus. (. eapitatus is inserted m the Flore Francaise ; but in the Supplement, De Candolle points out the error, and states that it is C. swpinus that has been taken for it ; yet it is to the C. supinus he alludes in the Prodromus, when he says that it grows in the east of Burgundy, and that its “ Flores interdum autumno laterales evadunt.” As to the C. supinus in the Prodromus, he has both kept it as a good species, and at the same time reduced it to C. biforus. Lastly, his character of C. supinus, in the Sup ment to the Flore Francaise, p. 549, “ la lévre superieure a 3 dents, V’infe- rieure a 2 parties,” is extremely incorrect. C. hirsutus, Schleicher, is C. su- pinus. C. supinus, Lapeyr. on the other hand, is the true C. capitatus; but what his C. capitatus is 1 am not sure; probably a mixture of C. capitatus. and C supinus. Sn ee a phe RI ina OLNN oe Th es eeete and the Pyrenees, in 1825. 359 was here a thicket of Lonicera Xylosteum, and some pretty spe- cies of the genus Rosa, but of which at present we did not ga- ther any. Thilaspi alpestre, Asperugo procumbens, and Apar- gia pyrenaica, we observed, but sparingly. There were alse here some alpine mosses, as the piliferous variety of T'richosto- mum patens, Grimmia ovata *, particularly that state called Dicranum ovale, Orthotrichum rupincola, Tortula mucronifo- fia, and Encalypta ciliata. “ 26d June.—The two principal excursions to be made around Mont Louis are to the Vallée d’Eyne, and to the mountain of Cambredazes. The unpleasant weather we experienced yesterday had induced us to postpone our visit to the first of these ; but this morning the sun shone forth so clearly, and the sky was so pure, that we almost regretted the relinquishing a plan we had formed even before our departure from Prades; the specimens, however, we had procured during these two last days would be all the better, and certainly nothing the worse, of this delay. We now also, that the hazy weather had left us, began to see somewhat about us. The cabanasse is situated in a large tract of alpine meadows, On the north is a low hill, with the fort of Mont Louis on its summit, and to the south the mountain of Cambredazes, celebrated in the Flora of the Pyrenees. This does not appear of great height ; but that may be partly owing to our being at present at a considerable elevation, most proba- bly much more than 4000 feet above the sea: indeed, the plants we had observed, particularly the appearance of the Rhododen- drum ferrugineum and Juncus trifidus (which were found to- day north of the fort), the coldness of the springs (about 45° Fahr. or scarcely 6° Reaum.) indicate at least that altitude, as well as does the sharpness of the air, which, when we were not exposed to the sun, we felt to be tolerably chill. To the west of us is French Cerdagne, and indeed not a mile from the ca- banasse, the rivulets flow into Spain. ** The 24th we undertook the botanical examination of the Vallée d’Eyne, accompanied by a mule loaded with as much provisions as we thought might suffice for three days, with our cloaks, and with two or three reams of paper. The first day * I do not here allude to 7. funale, Schw., a very different plant, between which and Grimmia spiralis I can find 1 no difference. Aa — 360 Mr Arnott’s Tour to the South of France, was passed in botanising among the banks and rocks that are chiefly to the right of the stream that traverses this rich valley, and in crossing the Col or Cueillade de Norin which terminates it. Descending then the Cueillade towards Catalonia, we ar- rived in the evening at the hermitage of Nouri, but, unfortu- nately for us, a day too early. The Curate of Querals, who passes always the summer in this vast building, was not to ar- rive till the next day ; the few beds that were there were locked up, and we found merely four shepherds, whose united stock of furniture consisted of two coarse blankets or rugs, one kettle, one porringer, and two wooden spoons. Finding we were to receive no benefit from these our companions, wrapping our cloaks around us, we stretched ourselves out as well as we could on some long, narrow, and sufficiently hard wooden benches around a large fire, which we found it necessary to keep blazing the whole night *, to prevent our suffermg from the sievaee cold, for we could scarcely be less, whatever more, than 2000 feet above the level of Mont Louis. ‘«‘ Notwithstanding our precautions and the fatigues of yes- terday, having slept little, we amused ourselves in the morning, until day-light, in observing the culinary proceedings of the poor shepherds, and in listening to the anecdotes they told us of the visit that Mina paid to this place during the last war. It ap- peared that this general, repulsed and surrounded on all sides by different bodies of the French soldiery, passed here three days, while the snow lay deep on the ground, in making useless attempts to regain the plains below, without encountering his enemies. Having at length consumed all the provisions, seeing his followers fainting with cold and fatigue, and after having burned the doors, window-shutters, tables, chairs, and, in short, every thing that was combustible, in order to warm themselves, he formed the scheme of causing his band to separate, and ap- pointed Seo d’Urgel as a rendezvous. He himself with one party made an attempt to pass by the walls of the town of Puy- cerda, where the Baron d’Eroles then was with the Spanish * Throughout the interior of Catalonia, the fire is on the ground, and the chimney (as was formerly to be seen in every farm-house in Seotland, though now of less frequent occurrence), broad at the base, and contracted at the top, arises perpendicularly above the fire. en mt Sawn SS NE and the Pyrenees, in 1825. 361 royalists, and from whence he made no movement to arrest Mina, ‘as is supposed, through jealousy of the French, Such at least is the account that the inhabitants give (and perhaps think it the most plausible) when a stranger asks them what has be- come of the forty beds and of the furniture, of which this im- mense pile of building used formerly to boast. « On the 25th, we descended slowly along the wild and_pic- turesque valley of Querals, and soon encountered the first part of the retinue of the Senor Rector, composed of a man armed with a gun, and three others with pick-axes, to repair the path where the winter storms had rendered it impassable for mules. So soor. as they perceived us at a distance they made a halt, gazing on us open-mouthed, and whilst we passed them, they could scarcely reply to the customary salutation of ‘* Dios guar- da” that we made them. In the evening, indeed, they acknow- ledged, that, seeing us both dressed in grey from top to toe, armed - with our boxes and cartons, holding an open knife in one hand; and a stick shod also with a knife in the other, they took us for some new kind of banditti, and were so completely terrified, that, as the valiant fellow with the musket declared, if he had had the power, he would have thrown away his piece, and taken to his heels. ** About a ‘mile lower dewn, we met the rector himself, with the greater part of his suite, composed of eight or ten men, three young and handsome maid-servants, and seven or eight mules, loaded with provisions and kitchen utensils. ‘The curate, far from corresponding to what one expected from such a retinue, was dirty and disgusting in the extreme, and, like many of his brethren in that country, his ignorance, his want of religion, and his licentiousness, were but feebly concealed by a few su- perstitious rites. * Returning in the evening to Nouri, having spread out our plants, we petitioned for a bed for that night; and _perceiv- ing that our provisions were nearly exhausted, we asked the curate if he would provide us with supper ; but aware that, in Roussillon, the curates are accustomed to welcome a traveller to their table in those districts where there is no inn, it was not without some fear of offence that we hinted that we should pay for what we should have. But he was not so easily affronted, 3 $62 Mr Arnott’s Tour to the South of France, &c. “ S’death, I suppose so,” shouted he in’ his abominable Ca- talonian tongue, and next morning he presented us with the fol- lowing account :—One pound and a half of (black) bread, one piécete* ; half a pound of rostes}, one piécete ; sopast for three (of course for the liquid alone, as we had a separate charge for the bread), one piécete ; three bottles of rancio § (for our sup- per and next day’s travelling), each one piécete: total, six pic-_ eetes. “ And then,” added he, “as I do not charge you for the bed, you can give something to the servants.” No innkeeper could have made up a more exorbitant account, for all we had got was not worth more than one shilling; but it was of no use to remonstrate, his only answer to our objections being, that witha] we were very fortunate in procuring any kind of or in so wild a country. “ The 26th, having again crossed the Cueillade de Nouri, and redescended the Vallée d’Eynes (instead of returning by the Val- lée de Lhou, which we intended to have done had the weather been fine), we arrived late in the afternoon at the eabanasse loaded with plants. This excursion was the richest in oar whole tour, as much in the number of specimens as in the va- riety of species. Daring the three days we gathered 5500 spe- cimens. We were, no doubt, in the most favourable. season ; and this excursion being only the second we had yet made, strictly called Pyrenean, it was to be expected that we should find many species scattered throughout the chain; but there were also many very rare species.”—-BenTH. (To be continued. ) * The piécete is precisely a shilling sterling + Rostes: ham usually very dry, and-extremely salt, fried in olive-oil, which, both in Roussillon and Catalonia, is almost always rancid. + Sopas 4 Vaigo, literally water-soup. In a pot containing about four bottles of wntials a liead of garlic is boiled, with about two ounces offat of bacon and a little salt. This liquor is poured on slices of black bread. The happy pea- santry prefer the addition of a few spoonfuls of rancid oil, and this constitutes their sopas a l’oillé. * Rancio, wine at first black and thick, made in the maritime districts of Roussillon and Catalonia. At the end of ten or twelve years in the plain, or of two or three in the mountains, it becomes clear, loses much of its colour, and acquires a peculiar flavour, which is called rance, It is then an ex. cellent wine, and of great value ; but the honest curate of Nouri pocketed at least 150 per cent. on what he provided us with. ( 363°.) Narrative of an Attempt to reach the North Pole, in Boats fit- ted for the purpose, and attached to His Majesty's ship Hecla, _ in. the year 1827, under the command. of: Captain .W.E: _ Parry, R.N., F.RS.L., &c. 4to. “Murray 1828. A cory of Captain Parry’s Narrative having just reached us, we hasten to lay before our readers a few of the many interest- ing details it contains. This remarkable enterprise was under- taken under the auspices of the Lords of the Admiralty, at the suggestion of Captain Parry, and the recommendation of the Royal Society of London. Its professed object was to attempt reaching the North Pole, by means of travelling with sledge- boats over the ice, or through any space of open water that might occur. So early as the year 1815, the celebrated navi- gator William Scoresby jun. in a highly interesting memoir, read before the Wernerian Society, and published in the second volume of their memoirs, proposed a plan for travelling over the ice to the North Pole. Afterwards, a similar project was sug- gested by Captain Franklin; and this finally led to the proposal of Captain Parry, which met with the approbation and support. of Government. The Hecla, already famous in the annals of Arctic enterprise, which had so often braved the storms and ices of the north, was again commissioned. A crew and officers familiar with the Arctic Seas were selected, and every arrangement made to se- cure their health and comfort, The Chief of the Admiralty, Lord Melville, having visited the Hecla, and expressed his ap- of the equipment, orders for sailing were issued. On the 4th of April 1827 the expedition left the shores of Eng- land, bearing with it the wishes and hopes of Britain, and indeed of the civilized world, for its safety and success, After an agreeable voyage, they reached the interesting station of Hammerfest, at the northern extremity of Norway, on the 19th of April. Here they remained until the 29th, on which day they set sail for Spitzbergen. After encountering much opposition from the ice and the weather, Captain Parry succeeded, but not until the 20th of June, in securing the Hecla, in a harbour in Spitzbergen, which he named HeclaCove. On the 21st of June 364 Narrative of Captain Parry's Attempt he left the ship, with two boats, which he named the Enterprize and Endeavour, Mr Beverly being attached to Captain Parry’s, and Lieutenant Ross, accompanied by Mr Bird, to the other. “¢ Besides these,” says Captain Parry, “ I took Lieutenant Crozier, for the purpose of carrying some of our weight as far as Walden Island, and also a third store of provisions, to be deposited on Low Island, as an intermediate station between Walden Island and the ship. As it was still necessary not to delay our return’ beyond the end of August, the time originally intended, I took with me only 71 days’ provisions, which, including “the boats, and every other article, made up a weight of 200 Ib. } per man 5” and, as it appeared highly improbable, from what we Sea seen of the very rugged nature of the ice we should first have to en- counter, that either the rein-deer, or the’ snow-shoes, or the wheels, would be of any service for some time to come, T gave up the idea of taking them. _ Having received the usual saluta- tion of three cheers from those we left behind, we paddled through a quantity of loose ice at the entrance of the bay, and we stored in a perfectly open sea, and with calm and beautiful weather, for Low Island, which we reached at half past two in the morning of the 22d June. Having deposited the provisions, we set off for Walden Island, which was soon reached, and another deposit of provisions made.” Lieutenant Croziernow parted from them, and the boats pursued their course northwards. The following is Captain Parry’s account of their mode of travelling *: “ Our plan of travelling,” he says, speaking of the journey over the ice af- ter leaving the Hecla, “ being nearly the.same throughout this excursion, af- ter we first entered upon the ice, 1 may at once give some account of our usual mode of proceeding. It was my intention to travel wholly at night, and to rest by day, there being, of course, constant daylight in these regions du- ring the summer season. The advantages of this plan, which was occasional- ly deranged by circumstances, consisted, first, in our avoiding the intense and oppressive glare from the snow during the time of the sun’s greatest altitude, so as to prevent, in some degree, the painful inflammation in the eyes ¢alled ¢ snow-blindness,’ which is common in all snowy countries. We also thus enjoyed greater warmth during the hours of rest, and had a better chance of drying our clothes ; besides which, no small advantage was derived from the snow being harder at night for travelling. The only disadvantage of this plan was, that the fogs were somewhat more frequent and more thick by night than by day, though, even in this respect, there was less difference than might have been supposed; the temperature during the tentyafour ae under- * Narrative, p. 55. to reach the North Pole in 1827. — 365: going but little variation. This travelling by night, and sleeping by day, so completely inverted the natural order of things, that it was difficult to per- ourselves of the reality. Even the officers and myself, who were all furnished with pocket chronometers, could not always ‘bear in mind at what part of the twenty-four hours we had arrived; and there were several of the men who declared, and I believe truly, that they never knew night from day during the whole excursion, When we rose in the evening, we commenced our day by prayers, after which, we took off our fur sleeping-dresses, and put on those for travelling ; the former being made of camblet, lined with ra- coon-skin, and the latter of strong blue box-cloth. We made a point of al- ways putting on the same stockings and boots for travelling in, whether they had dried during the day or not; and I believe it was only in five or six,in- stances, at the most, that they were not either still wet or hard-frozen. This, indeed, was of no consequence, beyond the discomfort of first putting them on in this state, as they were sure to be thoroughly wet in a'quarter of an hour after commencing our journey ; while, on the other hand, it was of' vital importance to keep dry things for sleeping in. Being ‘rigged’ for travelling, we breakfasted upon warm cocoa and biscuit, and after stowing the things in - the boats and on sledges, so as to secure them as much as possible from wet, we set off on our day’s journey, and usually travelled from five to five anda half hours, then stopped an hour to dine, and again travelled ‘four, five, ‘or even six hours, according to circumstances. After this we halted for the night, as we called it, though it was usually early in the morning, selecting the largest surface of ice we happened to be near for hauling the boats on, in order to avoid the danger of its breaking up, by coming in contact with other masses, and also to prevent drift as much as possible. ‘The boats were'placed close alongside each other, with their sterns to the wind, the snow or wet cleared out of them, and the sails, supported by the bamboo masts and three paddles, placed over them as awnings, an entrance being left at the bow. Every man then immediately put on dry stockings and fur boots, after which we set about the necessary repairs of boats, sledges, or clothes; and, after ser- ving the provisions for the succeeding day, we went to supper. Most of the officers and men then smoked their pipes, which served to dry the boats and awnings very much, and usually raised the temperature of our lodgings 10 or 15 degrees. This part of the twenty-four hours was often a time, and the on- ly one, of real enjoyment to us; the men told their stories, and ‘ fought all their battles o’er again,’ and the labours of the day, unsuccessful as they too often were, were forgotten. A regular watch was set during our resting.ti to look out for bears, or for the ice breaking up around us, us well as to attend to the drying of the clothes, each man alternately taking his duty for one hour. We then concluded our day with prayers, and having put on our fur dresses, lay down to sleep, with a degree of comfort which perhaps few. per- sons would imagine possible under such circumstances; our chief inconve- nience being, that we were somewhat pinched for room, and therefore obliged to stow rather closer than was quite agreeable. ‘The temperature, while we slept, was usually from 36° to 45°, according to the state of the external at- mosphere; but on one or two occasions, in calm and warm weather, it rose as high as 60° to 66°, obliging us to throw off a part of our fur dress. After we 366 Narrative of Captain Parry's Attempt had slept seven hours, the man appointed to boil the cocoa roused us, when it was ready, by the sound of a bugle; when we commenced our day in the manner before described. Our allowance of a oe was as follows: > Biscuit - - - 10 ounces, Pemmican - - 9 do. Sweetened Cocoa Powder - _1 do. to make one pint. Rum - < . 1 gill. Tobacco - 3 - 3 ounces per week. Our fuel consisted entirely of spirits of wine, of which two pints pamer our daily allowance, cocoa being cooked in an iron boiler over a shallow iron lamp with seven wicks,—a simple apparatus, which answered our purpose remark- ably well. We usually found one pint of the spirits of wine sufficient for preparing our breakfast; that is, for heating twenty-eight pints of water, though it always commenced from the temperature of 32°.. If the weather was calm and fair, this quantity of fuel brought it to the boiling point in about an hour anda quarter ; but more generally the wicks began to go out before it.had reached 200°. This, however, made a very comfortable meal to persons situated as we were. Such, with very little variation, was our regular rou- tine during the whole of this excursion.” i The quantity of rain which fell was. truly extraordinary. Captain Parry remarks, on the 26th June, that they had al- ready experienced, in the course of this summer, more rain than during the whole seven previous summers taken together, though passed in latitudes from 7° to 15° lower, than this. The expedition, in its progress northwards, experienced per- petual difficulties and delays from the broken state of the ice, and from its nowhere occurring in fields. The following observa- tions SEEK a striking picture of the nature of their travel- ling * : ** As soon as we landed on a eee) Lieutenant Ross and myself gene. rally went on a-head, while the boats were unloading and hauling up, in order to select the easiest road for them. ‘The sledges then followed in our track, Messrs Beverly and Bird accompanying them, by which the snow was much trodden down, and the road thus improved for the boats. As soon as we ar- rived at the other end of the floe, or came tu any difficult place, we mounted -one of the highest hummocks of ice near at hand, (many of which were from fifteen to five and twenty feet above the sea) in order to obtain a better view around us; and nothing could well exceed the dreariness which such a view presented. ‘The eye wearied itself in vain to find an object but ice and sky to rest upon; and even the latter was often hidden from our view by the dense and dismal fogs which so generally prevailed. For want of variety, the most trifling circumstance engaged a more than ordinary share of our atten- * Narrative, p. 67. 5 ’ 4 td o ge = + to reach the North Pole in 1827. 367 tion ; a passing gull, or a mass of ice of unusual form, became objects which our situation and circumstances magnified into ridiculous importance ; and we have since often smiled to remember the eager interest with which we regarded many insignificant occurrences. It may well be imagined, then, how cheering it was to turn from this scene of inanimate desolation, to our two little boats in the distance, to see the moving figures of our men winding with their sledges among the hummocks, and to hear once more the sound of human voices breaking the stillness of this icy wilderness. In some casés, Lieutenant Ross and myself took separate routes to try the ground, which kept us almost continually floundering among deep snow and water. The sledges having then been brought up as far as we had explored, we all went back for the boats ; each boat’s crew, when the road was tolerable, dragging their own, and the officers labouring equally hard with the men. It was thus we proceeded for nine miles out of every ten that we travelled over ice: for it was very rarely indeed that we met with a surface sufficiently level and hard to drag all our loads at one journey; and in a great many instances, during the first fortnight, we had to make three journeys with the buats and baggage; that is, to traverse the same road five times over. We halted at eleven” r. . on the Ist, having traversed from ten to éleven miles, and made good, by our account, seven and a half in a N. by W. direc- tion. We again set forward at ten a.m. on the 2d, the weather being calm, and the sun oppressively warm, though with a thick fog. The temperature in the shade was 35° at noon, and only 47° in the sun; but this, together with the glare from the snow, produced so painful a sensation in most of our eyes, as to make it necessary to halt at one P. m. to avoid being blinded.. We there- fore took advantage of this warm weather to let the men wash themselves, and mend and dry their clothes, and then set out again at half-past three. The snow was, however, so soft as to take us up to our knees at almost every other step, and frequently still deeper ; so that we were sometimes five minutes together in moving a single empty boat, with all our united strength. It being impossible to proceed under these circumstances, I determined, by de- grees, to fall into our night travelling again, from which we had of late insen- sibly deviated. We therefore halted at half-past five, the weather being now very clear and warm, and many of the people’s eyes beginning to fail. We did not set out again until after midnight, with the intention of giving the snow time to harden after so warm a day; but we found it still so soft as to make ‘the travelling very fatiguing. Our way lay at fitst across a number of small loose pieces, most of which were from five to twenty yards apart, or just sufficiently separated to give us all the labour of launching and hauling up the boats, without the advantage of making any progress by wa- ter; while we crossed, in other instances, from mass to mass, by laying the boats over as bridges, by which the men and the baggage passed. By these means, we at length reached a floe, about a mile in length, in a northern di- rection; but it would be difficult to convey an adequate idea of the labour required to traverse jt. The average depth of snow upon the level parts was about five inches, under which lay water four or five inches deep; but the moment we approached a hummock, the depth to which we sank increased to three feet or more, rendering it difficult at times to obtain sufficient footing 368 Narrative of Captain Parry's Attempt for one leg to enable us to extricate the other. The pools of fresh water had now also become very large, some of them being a quarter of a mile in length, and their depth above our knees. Through these we were prevented taking the sledges, for fear of wetting all our provisions ; but we preferred transport- ing the boats across them, notwithstanding the severe cold of the snow-water, the bottom being harder for the “ runners” to slide upon. On this kind.of road we were, in one instance, above two hours in proceeding a distance of one hundred yards.” In defiance of these overpowering difficulties, they continued to struggle towards the north, but with little success. ‘Their progress was very slow ; the quantity of rain which fell astonish- -ed every one ; and the high state of the thermometer was equal- ly a subject of wonder. But a principal obstacle to their pro- gress northward, and one which at length forced Captain Parry to return, was the set of the arctic water towards the south. It moved at the rate of 4 miles per day ; and, when assisted by a northerly wind, which unfortunately set in, forced the floating ice on which they dragged their boats, nearly as fast south as they dragged them north. On the 10th of July, they met with fresh-water lakes on the ice, as mentioned in .the following ex- tract from the narrative. “ Soon after midnight, the rain being succeeded by one of the thickest fogs I ever saw, we again proceeded, groping our way almost yard by yard from one small piece of ice to another, and were very fortunate in halting upon some with level surfaces, and also a few tolerable sized holes of water. At half-past two we reached a floe, which at first appeared a level and large one, but on landing we were much mortified to find it so covered with immense ponds, or rather small lakes of fresh water, that, to accomplish two miles in a north direction, we were under the necessity of walking three or four, the water being too deep for wading, and from 200 yards to one-third of a mile in length. ‘Towards the northern margin, we came among large hummocks, having very deep snow about them, so that this floe, which had appeared so promising, proved very laborious travelling, obliging us, in some parts, to make three journeys with our loads; that is, to traverse the same road five times over *.” On the 12th July, they reached north Lat. 82°14 28.’ The: day was a rent clear and fine, and the thermometer yhien 35° to 36° F “ Setting out again (says the narrator) we crossed a small lane of eae to another floe, but this was so intersected with ponds, and by streams run- ning into the sea, that we had to make a very circuitous route, some of the ponds being half.a mile in length. If any thing could have compensated for the delay thus occasioned us, it would have been the beautiful blue « colour * Natrative, p- 76. to reach the North Pole in 1827. 869 peculiar to these superglacial lakes, which is certainly one of the most pleasing tints in nature. Notwithstanding the immense quantity of water still upon the ice, and which always afforded us a pure and abundant supply of this in- dispensable article, we now observed a mark around the banks of the pond, shewing that the water was less deep in them by several inches than it had been somewhat earlier in the summer; and, indeed, from about this time, some small diminution of its quantity began to be perceptible to ourselves.*”” On the 14th and 15th July, the rain was excessive, at times pouring down in torrents, and this, too, in the arctic ocean, be- yond north Lat. 82°14. On Monday 16th July, in north Lat. 82° 26’ 44”, east Long. 20° $2/ 13’, the thermometer in the shade was 373°, in the sun 47°; a blackened bulb raised it to 513°; and the same thermometer when held against. the black painted sides of the boat rose to 584°. They saw a mallemuck and a Ross gull, and a couple of flies were found upon the. ice. At seven o'clock on the evening of the same day, it was so warm in the sun, though the temperature in the shade was only 35°, that the tar was running out of the seams of the boats ; and a blacken- ed bulb, when held against the paint-work, raised the thermo- meter to 72°. The temperature of the sea was 34°. July 17., in north Lat. 82° 32’ 10”, Captain Parry remarks, “ prov- ed one of the warmest and most pleasant days to the feelings, that we had during the whole time we were upon the ice; the thermometer in the shade being from 36° to 40° for several hours, and in the sun from 42° to 51°.” On the 19th July, towards midnight, they had smart showers of rain, with dry clear intervals between them, just as on an April day in Eng- land. This kind of weather, which continued for several hours, harassed the men very much. On the morning of the 20th July, it is remarked, ‘* we halted at 7 a. m., having by our reckoning accomplished 63 miles in a N. N. W. direction, the distance traversed being 10} miles. It may, therefore, be ima- gined how great was our mortification in finding that our lati- tude, by observation at noon, was only 82° 36’ 52”, being less than five miles to the northward of our place at noon on the 17th, since which time we had certainly travelled twelve in that direction.” On the 23d July, their latitude was not more than 82° 43/ 32” north, notwithstanding the distance which they had travelled over the ice On the afternoon of this day, a beautiful natural phe- * Narrative, p. 80. 370 Narrative of Captain Parry's Attempt nomenon was observed. A broad white fog-bow first appeared op- posite the sun, as was very commonly the case ; "presently it be- came strongly tinged with the prismatic colours, and soon after- wards no less than five other complete arches were formed within the main bow, the interior ones being gradually narrower than those without, but the whole of them beautifully coloured. The larger bow, and the one next within it, had the red on the outer or upper side of the circle, the others on the inner side. Lieu- tenant Ross measured the altitude of the outer arch, which was 20° 45’ in the centre, its extent at the horizon 724°; the altitude of the sun, which was bright at the time, being 20°40. The fog was quite wet, while the smaller bows were visible, which was only twenty minutes; though the large one remained, as usual, for hours together. On the 25th Jtily, it is remarked, << so small was the ice now around us, that we were obliged to halt for the night at 2 a. m., being upon the only pieee in sight in any eration? on which we could trust the boats while we rested.” Such was the ice in the latitude of 823°. The drift to the southward being much increased by a north- erly wind, and little or no progress being made, Captain Parry, on the 26th July, determined on abandoning this most hope- less undertaking. “Tt had for some time past been too evident that the nature of the ice with which we had to contend was such, and its drift to the southward, espe- cially with a northerly wind, so great, as to put beyond our reach any thing but a very moderate share of success in travelling to the northward. Still, however, we had been anxious to reach the highest latitude which our means would allow; and, with this view, although our whole ebject had long be- come unattainable, we pushed on to the northward for thirty-five days, or until half our resources were expended, and the middle of our season arrived. For the last few days, the eighty-third parallel was the limit to which we had ventured to extend our hopes; but even this expectation had hecome considerably weakened since the setting in of the last northerly wind, which continued to drive us to the southward, during the necessary hours of rest, nearly as much as we could gain by eleven er twelve hours of daily labour. Had our success been at all proportionate to our exertions, it was my full in- tention to have proceeded a few days beyond the middle of the period for which we were provided, trusting to the resources we expected to find at Table Island. But this was so far from being the case, that I could not but consider it as ineurring useless fatigue to the officers and men, and unneces- sary wear and tear for the boats, to persevere any longer in the attempt. I determined, therefore, on giving the people one entire day’s rest, which they very much needed, and time to wash and mend their clothes, while the offi- RE a to reach the North Pole in 1827. 371 cers were oeeupied in making all the observations which might be interesting in this latitude; and then to set’ out on our return on ths following day. ‘communicated my intentions to the people, who were all much dis- appointed in finding how little their labours had effected, we set about our respective occupations, and were much favoured by a remarkably fine day. ** The dip of the magnetic needle was here 82° 21’ 6”, and the variation 18° 10’ westerly, our latitude being 82° 40/ 23”, and our longitude 19° 25’ east of Greenwich. The highest latitude we reached was probably at seven A.M. on the 23d, when, after the midnight observation, we travelled, by our account, something more than a mile and a half, which would carry us a litile beyond 82° 45’. Some observations for the magnetic intensity were obtained at this station. We here found no bottom with 500 fathoms of line; the specific gravity of some water brought up from that depth was 1.0340, being at the temperature of 37°, when weighed. A Six’s thermometer attached to the lead failed to indicate the temperature below, owing to the mercury rising past the index. The sea-water from the surface was, as usual, near the ice, in the summer time, so nearly fresh as to require only three grains to be added to the hydrometer; and at six fathoms below the surface, it was 1.0225, at temperature 37°. At the extreme point of our journey, our dis- tance from the Hecla was on'y 172 miles in a S. 8° W. direction. To accom- plish this distance we had traversed, by our reckoning, 292 miles, of which about 100 were performed by water, previously to our entering the ice. As we travelled by far the greater part of our distance on the ice three, and not unfrequently five times over, we may safely multiply the length of the road by 23; so that our whole distance, on a very moderate calculation, amounted to 580 geographical, or 668 statute, miles, being nearly sufficiertt to have reached the Pole in a direct line. Up to this period we had been particularly fortunate in the preservation of our health; neither sickness nor casualties having occurred among us, with the exception of the trifling accidents already mentioned, a few bowel complaints, which were soon removed by care, and ‘some rather troublesome cases of chilblains, arising from our constant expo- ' sure tu wet and cold, “ Our day of rest proved one of the warmést, and most pleasant to the feelings, we had yet had upon the ice, though the thermometer was only from 31° to 36° in the shade, and 37° in the sun, with occasional fog; but to per- sons living constantly in the open air, calm and tolerably dry weather affords absolute enjoyment, especially by contrast with what we had lately experi- enced. Our ensigns and pendants were displayed during the day ; and sin- cerely as we regretted not having been able to hoist the British flag in the highest latitude to which we had aspired, we shall perhaps be excused in ha- _ ving felt some little pride in being the bearers of it to a parallel considerably beyond that mentioned in any other well authenticated record *.” — The journey back to Spitzbergen, although more expeditious than that towards the Pole, was attended with great fatigue and much danger. On the 2d of August the travellers met with red snow, of which the following account is given : * Narrative, p. 102-105. 572 Narrative of Captain Parry's Attempt “ In the course of this day’s journey we met with a quantity of snow ting- ed, to the depth of several inches, with some red colouring matter, of which a portion was preserved in a bottle for future examination. This cireumstance recalled to our recollection our haying frequently before, i a ar. journey, remarked, that the loaded sledges, in passing ov now upon it a light rose coloured tint, which,’ atthe time, dei ; "£6 the colouring matter being pressed out of the birch of Saciodaaaal To- day, however, we observed, that the runners of the boats, and even our own foot-steps, exhibited the same appearance ; and, on watching it more 1 ly afterwards, we found the same effect to be produced, in a greater or less de- ; I J gree, by heavy pressure, on almost all the ice over which we passed, han _a magnifying glass could detect nothing to give it this tinge. The’colour of the red snow which we bottled, and which only occurred on two or three spots, appeared somewhat different from this, being rather of a than of a rose, ay but both were so striking, as to be subject ‘of aon re- mark *.” On Sunday, the 5th August, in Latitude 81° Bay 47! ‘the air, in the shade, at noon was 35°, and in the sun 42°. -This day they rowed across a lake of fresh water’on the ice. © It was a quarter of a mile long, and varied indepth from two to ‘four feet, which, together with an island situated in the middle of it, the rugged ice, by which it was bounded, and. the beauti- ful blue of the water, gave it a singular .and, picturesque’ ap- pearance. On the 11th of August they observed such indica- tions of an open sea as could not be mistaken, much of the ice being ‘‘ washed” as by a heavy sea, with small rounded fragments thrown on the surface, and a good deal of dirty. i ige occurring. “ We also,” Captain Parry remarks, “ met with several pieces of drift wood and birch bark, the first time since we had entered the ice ; and the sea was crowded with shrimps aid other sea insects, principally the Clio borealis and Argonauta arctica, on which numerous birds were feeding. After. pass- ing through a good deal of loose ice, it became gradually more and. ‘more open, till at length, about a quarter before eleven a:m., we heard ‘the first sound of the swell under the hollow margin of the ice, and, in a quarter of an hour, had reached the open sea, which was dashing with heavy surges against the outer masses. We hauled the boats upon one of these to eat our last meal upon the ice, and to complete the necessary supply of water for’ our little voyage to Table Island, from which we were now distant fifty miles, ‘our la- titude being 81° 34’, and longitude 181°. A light air springing up from the _ north-west, we again launched the boats, and, at eight “a.m. finally quitted the ice, after having taken up our abode upon it for forty-eight days}? On the 12th August they reached the island, or rather rock, to the northward of Table Island, where eiigie provisions had * Narrative, p. 109, + Narrative, p. 118, to reach the North Pole in 182’. 373 been deposited ; ‘‘ and,” says Captain Parry, “ I cannot de- seribe the comfort we experienced in once “more feeling a dry and solid footing.” ‘Having got the stores ‘into the boats, an ‘attempt was made to land on Table Island, but without. suc- cess;—they then bore. away for Walden. Island: The. islet which lies off Little Table Island, and which is interesting, as being the most northern Jand known upon the globe, Captain Parry named Ross's Islet, in honour of Lieutenant Ross, a young officer, distinguished for his great activity, zeal, and in- telligenee. In a few hours they reached Walden Island, and made good a landing. “ Every thing,” says the narrative, “ belonging to us was now completely drenched by the spray and snow; we had been fifty-six hours without rest, and forty-eight hours at work in the boats, so that by the time they were un- loaded, we had barely strength left to haul them up upon the rock. We no- tieed, on ‘this occasion, that the men had that wildness in their looks which usually accompanies excessive fatigue, and, though just as willing as ever to obey orders, they seemed at times not to comprehend them. However, by dint of great exertion, we managed to get the boats above the surf; after which, a hot supper, a blazing fire of drift wood, and a few hours’ quiet rest, quite restored us.” . The next morning a party, ander Lieutenant Ross, was sent tothe north-east part of the islet, to launch the spare boat left there ‘by Captain Parry’s orders, and to bring round the provi- sions deposited there. Every thing was found undisturbed. At 10a. m., on the 14th August, they left Walden Island in three boats, and:next morning landed on Low Island. On the 16th the expedition set off for the Hecla, but were forced back to Low Island, and could not finally escape from it until the Qist. rf *“ Having now, by means of drift wood, converted our paddles into oars, and being occasionally favoured by a light breeze, with a perfectly open sea, we made tolerable progress, and, at half-past 4 Pp. m., when within three or four miles of Hecla Cove, had the gratification of seeing a boat under sail, coming out to meet us. Mr Weir soon joined usin one of the cutters; and, after having good accounts of the safety of the ship, and of the welfare of all on board, together with a variety of details, to us of no small interest, we ar- rived on board at 7 rp. m., after an absence of sixty-one days, being received with that warm and cordial welcome which can alone be felt, and not describ- ed. The distance traversed during this excursion was.569 geographical miles, but allowing for the number of times we had to return for our baggage du- ring the greater part of the journey over the ice, we estimated our actual JANUARY—MARCH 1828. Bb 3T4 Narrative of Captain Parry's: Attempt travelling at 978-geographical miles, or 1127 statute miles. Considering our constant exposure to wet, cold and fatigue, our stockings having generally been drenched in snow water twelve hours out of every twenty-four, I had great reason to be thankful for the excellent health in which, upon tie whole, wereached the ship.” ERED p Diiting thé ‘absence of Captain Parry, the oticonie ante: Hecla were actively employed in making observations on the natural history of Spitzbergen, and experiments on magnetism. But for these we cannot afford room at present. The following ; observations on the climate of Spitzbergen, are novel and inte- resting : : “The officers who remained on board the Heela du- ring the summer, described the weather as the most - beautiful, and the climate altogether the most agreeable, they had ever ex- perienced in the polar regions. Indeed, the Meteorological Journal shews a temperature both of the air and of the ‘sea- water, to which we had before been altogether strangers within the Arctic Circle, and which goes far towards shewing that the climate of Spitzbergen is a remarkably temperate one for ‘its latitude *. It must, however, be observed, that this remark is principally applicable to the weather experienced near the land, that at sca being rendered of a totally different..character by the almost constant presence of fogs; so that some of our most gloomy days upon the ice were the finest in Hecla cove; where, however, a good deal of rain fell in the course of the summer.” The Hecla left Spitzbergen on the 28th of August, but on nl arrive in the Thames until the 16th of October. | The following judicious remarks on the nature and retiane bility of the enterprize in which he had been engaged, which close the narrative, we give in the celebrated navigator’s own words, ntl § # bios | reves cour eb + < On the nature and practicability of the attempt to reach the North Polelav hat the object is of still more difficult attainment than was before supposed, even by those persons who were the best qualified to judge of it, will, I bélieve, ap- pear evident from a perusal of the foregoing pages; nor can I, after mich consideration, and some experience of the various difficulties which belong to it, recommend any material improvement in the plan lately adopted. ' Among the various schemes suggested for this purpose, it has ‘been proposed’to set out from ‘Spitzbergen, and to make a rapid journey to the ‘northward; with « Mr crows of Hammerfest, who lately passed a winter on the south-western ‘coast “at Spitz- bergen, in about Lat. 78°, informed me he had rain at Christmas; a phenomenon which indeed would have astonished ius at any of our-former wintering-stations im a much Jower latitude. Per+ haps the circumstance of the reindeer wintering at Spitzbergen, may also be considered a ror of a comparatively temperate climate. eS ve ee Oe ee eee —— to reach the North Pole in 182%. 875 sledges or sledge-boats, drawn wholly by dogs. or reindeer; but, however feasible this plan may at first sight appear, I cannot say that our late expe- rience of the nature of the ice which they would probably have to encounter, has heen at all favourable to it. It would, of course, be a matter of extreme imprudence to set out on this enterprize without the means of crossing,—not merely narrow pools and “lanes,’’—but more extensive spaces of open water, such a8 we ineet with between the margin of the ice and the Spitzbergen shores; and I do not conceive that any boat sufficiently large to be efficient and safe for this purpose, could possibly be managed upon the ice, were the power employed to give it motion dependent on dogs or reindeer. On the contrary, it was a frequent subject of remark among the officers, that reason was @ qualification scarcely less indispensable, than strength and activity, in ‘travelling over such a road ; daily instances occurring of our having to pass over difficult places, which no other animal than man could have been easily prevailed upon to attempt. Indeed, the constant necessity of launching and hauling up the boats (which operations we had frequently to perform eight or ten, and on one occasion, seventeen times in the same day) would alone ren- der it inexpedient, in my opinion, to depend chiefly upon other animals; for it would certainly require more time and labour to get them into and out of the boats, than their services in the intervals, or their flesh ultimately used as food, would be worth ; especially when it is considered how large a weight .. of provender must be carried for their own subsistence. * In case of employing reindeer, which, from their strength, dnciiity: and hardy habits, appear the best suited to this kind of travelling, there would-be an evident advantage in setting out much earlier in the year than we did; perhaps about the end of April, when the ice is less broken up, and the snow much harder upon its surface, than at a mere advanced part of the season. But this, it must be recollected, would involve the neeessity of passing the previous winter on the northern coast of Spitzbergen, which, even under fa. vourable circumstances, would probably tend to weaken in some degree ‘the energies of the men ; while, on the other hand, it would be next to impossible to procure there a supply of provender for a number of tame reindeer, syffi- cient even to keep them alive, much less in tolerable condition, during a whole winter. In addition to this, it may be observed, that any party setting out earlier must be provided with a much greater weight of warm clothing, in order to guard against the severity of the cold, and also with an inereased proportion of fuel for procuring water by the melting of the snow, there being no fresh water upon the ice, in these latitudes, before the month of June. In the kind of provisions proper to be employed in such enterprizes,— a very important consideration, where almost the whole difficulty may be said to resolve itself into a question of weight,—I am not aware that any improve- ment could be made upon that with which we were furnished ; for I know of none which appears to contain so much nutriment in so small a weight and compass. It may be useful, however, te remark, as the result of absolute ex- perience, that our daily allowance of provisions, although previously tried for some days.on board the ship, and then considered to be enough, proved by ne ern Aer en Seneruaer’ tbe stems of men living constantly in the open air, exposed to wet and cold for at least twelve hours a-day, seldom enjoying Bb2 376 Narrative of Captain Parry's Attempt the luxury of a°warm meal, and having to perform the kind of labour to which our people were subject. I have therefore remarked, that, previously to our return to the ship, our strength was considerably-impaired ; and, indeed; there is reason to believe, that, very soon after entering upon ‘the ice, the physical energies of the men were gradually diminishing, although, for the first few weeks, they did not appear to labour under any specific complaint. This diminution of strength, which we considered tobe principally owing the want of sufficient sustenance, became apparent, even after a eit the lifting of the bread-bags and other heavy weights ; and Ihave no doubt that, in spite of every care on the part of the officers, as well as Mr Bever- ly’s skilful and humane attention to their ailments, some of the men, who had begun to fail before we quitted the ice, would, in a week or two longer, have suffered: very:severely, and become a serious incumbrance, instead of an as- sistance, to our party. As far as we were able to judge, without furtlier trial; Mr Beverly and myself were of opinion, that, in order to maintain of men thus employed, for several weeks together, an addition would bé-re- quisite, of at least one-third more to the provisions which’ we daily issued. I need scarcely remark how much this would increase the difficulty of equip- ‘ping’such an expedition.» |. Vi % Lil gy 4 “TI cannot dismiss the subject of this exieciapatans swisha attempting to ex: plain, as far as I am able, how it may have happened that the ‘ice over’ which we passed was found to answer so little to the description’ of ‘that observed by the respectable authorities quoted in a former part of ‘this:volume. © It frequently occurred to us, in the course of our daily journeys, that this may, in some degree, have arisen from our: navigators having generally viewed the ice from a considerable height. ‘The only clear and commanding view on board a ship is that from the crow’s-nest ; and. Phipps’s’ most» important re. marks concerning the nature of the ice to the north of Spitzbergen, were made froma station, several hundred feet above the sea ; and,vas itis well known. how much the most.experienced eye may thus be deceived, itis poss sible.enough that the irregularities which cost us so much time and labour, may, when viewed in: this manner, have entirely escaped notice, and the whole surface have appeared one smooth and level plain. 4) “ It is, moreover, possible that the broken state in which we unexpectedly found the! ice may have arisen, atleast in part, from an unusually. wet season; preceded, perhaps, by a winter of less than erdinary severity. | Of the latter we have no means.of judging, there being no record, that 1 am aware of, of the temperature of that or any other winter passed in the higher latitudes; but, on comparing our meteorological register with some others, kept during the corresponding season, and about the same latitude*, it dees appear, that; though no material, difference is observable in the mean temperature of the atmosphere, the quantity of rain which we experienced is. considerably greater than usual ;.and itis well known how very rapidly ice is dissolved by afallof rain. At all events, from whatever cause it may have arisén, it is cer- tain, that, about the-meridian on which we proceeded northward in the boats, the sea was in a totally different state from what Phipps experienced, a as may * Particularly that of\Mr Scoresby during the month-of July; from 1812 to 1818 inclusive, and Captain Franklin’s, for J uly and August 1818. ee to reach the North Pole in 1827. S77 be seen from comparing our accounts, his ship being closely beset, near the Seven Islands, for several days about the beginning of August; whereas the Hecla, in the beginning of June,, sailed about in the same neighbourhood without obstruction, and, before the close of July, not a piece of ice could be seen from Little Table Island. I may add, in conclusion, that, before the middle of August, whic we »left the ice in our boats, a ship might have sailed to the latitude of 82°, almost without touching a piece of ice; and it was the general opinion among us, that, » by the end ofthat month, it would probably have been no very difficult, mat- 7 omega ~_ parallel of 83°, about the meridian of the Seven Islands. “tiki dppendix of eighty pages accompanies the narrative, con- ea %: Meteorological journals ; 2. Notice respecting chrono- meters ; 3. Observations on the dip of the magnetic needle; 4. Observations: on the variation of the. magnetic needle. made on shore, or on the ice; 1827; 5. Observations on the diurnal! varia- tion of the horizontal magnetic needle at Spitzbergen 1827 3° 6. Observations on the diurnal changes of intensity in the horizon- ‘tal magnetic needle at Spitzbergen 1827; 7. Temperature and specific gravity of sea water below the surface, 1827. .'To these - follow observations on’ zoology by Captain Ross; ‘on’ the~plants collected during the expedition by Dr Hooker, and on’ the rocks | on minerals by Professor’ Jameson, niBhaving sal greatly dubésiled our pedinaitia we must dvalblay giving an account of the more scientific department of the work ‘until a future opportunity. The plan of reaching the North Pole being for the present, abandoned, we, hope: that. Govern- ment will not allow the experience and skill acquired: by Cap- tain Parry and his officers in the Arctic Regions to be lost. “It is therefore the duty, as it is, we trust, the intention of the Admi- ralty, speedily to call them again to similar enterprizes. .The © . examination of the east coast of West or Old Greenland, of Spitzbergen, and the sea and fishing-ground to the eastward of that i ‘interesting island, are objects worthy the attention of the ~ mation, and the accomplishment of which would shed a lustre on the name, and a ranks: of the Lord ps Mie Astrairah of England. - 378 "Prof. Carus’s Observations on ‘the presi and Observations on the Dissecting pain Preparing of the Bases of Animals. By Professor Carus *; 7 (tid eoieiagee ‘T nouGu the art of anatomising the bodies of animals is. essen- tially the same as that practised upon the body of man, and though want of space precludes me from treating the te “minutely, I conceive that a few remarks may not be altogether unacceptable to those who feel desirous of pursuing such studies for themselves. The first thing that I have to ebusitve is, that all isonaess of -small and soft objects, e. 2. worms, zoophytes, insects, mol- lusca, and embryos, where it is desirable to obtain even tolerably accurate results, should be performed wrder water, by which the parts are kept floating and separated from each other, and, consequently, présent themselves more distinctly. A very sim- ple contrivance for investigations of this kind may be prepared in the following manner :—A mass of tough wax (not too soft) is to be laid upon one, or more, porcelain saucers or capsules of different sizes, which ate then to be put in a warm place until the wax melts so as to cover the surface evenly to the depth of a half or one-third of an inch. If the object to be examined be laid upon this surface, it may be fixed by needles in any po- sition that is wished, and, when covered with clear water, de- veloped and dissected by means of suitable instruments, Of them, the best are. very delicate forceps ; pointed, well made, ' sharp-cutting scissars; and small knives like cataract-needles, _ some round, others with cutting edges, and fixed im slender wooden handles. For separating parts I have also employed small horn probes and fine brushes ; whilst, for examining them, a good magnifying glass is frequently indispensable. If it as wished to preserve a preparation thus made, wax, coloured at pleasure as for the purpose of injections, is to be formed into little tablets about one-fourth of an inch thick: one of these is then to be placed upon the saucer or capsule containing the pre- paration ; the latter may then be transferred to it, arranged suit- ably upon it, fixed there by means of short needles, and both * From Introduction to Comparative Anatomy by Professor Carus, trans- Jated by Gore, vol. ii. p. 389. ; " : : j : Preparing of the Bodies of Animals. 379 together then placed in alcohol. Nor must I forget to mention, that the examination of very delicate organizations may fre- quently be conducted with greater, facility ; and, ACCULACY, if the object be previously allowed to remain some time in spirits, and thereby to become harder and contracted. This applies parti- cularly to the dissection of nervous organs, and to the examina- tion. of very small embryos, of mollusca, and. worms. | _.'There are various modes of destroying worms, insects, mol. lusea, &c. for the purpose of dissecting, without injuring their organization: Mollusca, snails, for instance, as Swammerdam has remarked, are to be allowed to die in water, because by that means their body swells, and all the parts become more dis- tingtly yisible ; they may afterwards be. kept in spirit (though not too long) for dissection.. Worms, the larger zoophytes, (for the smaller must be examined whilst alive), caterpillars, &c. and also the smaller amphibia and:fishes, are best destroyed. by means of spirit: Insects, on the contrary, by being dipped ra- pidly in boiling water, or in oil of turpentine. : As regards the dissection of larger animals, we may. here use wi advantage knives of a large size, and instead of forceps, suitable hooks with handles. In animals of considerable size we can generally | make artifi. cial skeletons only, after the bones have been sufficiently clean. ed by boiling or maceration, In smaller animals, on the con- trary, such as birds, amphibia, and fishes, of which last it is very difficult to make good skeletons, the object will be best ac- complished by at once making the bones as clean as possible, without i injuring the capsular ligaments, soaking the preparation in water that is incessantly changed, and, lastly, bleaching it. for some time in the sun. _ Lastly, we may mention injections as affording a very essen- tial assistance in zootomical investigations for physiological pur- poses: in small animals, and in the more minute parts, these must consist of compositions with wax, yery fluid and coloured ; but above all of mercury. The latter, however, is not suitable for very soft bodies, ¢. g. meduse, &c¢. in which cases we may employ injections of coloured milk, and similar substances. ( 380 ) | $f On. the Irritability of the Sensitive Plant. By M. Durnocugr. » Durrocuer has collected, into a singie volume, the long and important researches which he has made upon the moving’ powers which act in organised bodies. His experiments on the sensitive plant occupy an’ essential part of this work.) A new procedure, which he has employed in vegetable anatomy, has led him to results which would tend to invalidate a celebrated the- ory. He asserts, that all the elementary organs of plants, that is to say, the cellules and tubes, of which their body is composed, have an independent existence, and form circumscribed organs ; so that these organs would only have, to each other, relations of vicinage, and would not form, by their assemblage, a really con- tinuous tissue. He affirms that there are neither pores nor fis- sures visible to the microscope in the cellular tissue, any more than in the fibres of vegetables. There are only seen on the walls of these organs, small semitransparent globalar bodies, and linear bodies, which become opaque from the action of acids, and are rendered transparent by that of alkalies... M. Dutrochet con- siders these small bodies as the elements of a. diffused. nervous system. ‘Io the analogies of intimate structure and chemical nature, which he brings forward to support this opinion, the au- thor adds physiological considerations, taken from experiments, which are peculiar to himself, and which, in his opinion, prove that the motions of vegetables are spontaneous; in other words, that they depend upon an internal principle, which immediately receives the influence of external agents. Refusing to admit sensibility in vegetables, M. Dutrochet substitutes fon oie term, that of mervimotility. 1 HE Satie With regard to the organ of motion in si leities of shown, sitive pla, M. Dutrochet has proved, by decisive experiments, that it consists in a bulging of the parenchyma, or of the cortical medulla, which is situated at the base of the petiole, and at.the base of each of the leaflets of which the leaf is composed. :-He has discovered, that this organ, to whieh'he has given the name of bourrelet, is composed of globular cellules, disposed in longitu- dinal series, and filled with a coagulable fluid. Its notyby means of joints that the sensitive plant, any more than the other irritable vegetables, moves its mobile parts; but by means of a FS | ee M»Dutrochet on the Irritability of the Sensitive Plant. 381 curvature impressed on these parts in the place where the organ of motion occurs. Thus, in the sensitive plant, it is the bourre- lets alone, that, by curving, produce the folding of the leaves. M. Dutrochet has found, that this curvature is the result of a vital elastic power, which even manifests itself in the thin slices that are taken from these bourrelets.-. He has given the name of incurvation to this phenomenon.» Thus the vegetable irritabi- lity: consists only in an elastic incwrvation, which is sometimes fived'and ‘sometimes oscillatory. | For example,. this ‘elastic in- curvation is fiwed in the tendrils of vegetables, im the valves of the ovarium of the balsamine, ‘&c. ; it is oscillatory in the vege- tables that are named irritable,—vegetables which present, in their mobile parts, a state of alternating incurvation and straight- It has lone been known that the sensitive plant presents a phenomenon of sympathic transmission. If one of the leaflets of this plant be slightly burnt with'a burning glass, all the leaf- lets belonging to the same’ stalk will fold themselves:one after another. ‘This motion deserves to be carefully examined ; and, in order to determine the part of the stalk by which the trans- mission in question is operated, M. Dutrochet made several ‘very delicate experiments, from which there results, that it is neither produced by the pith nor the bark, but that it takes place ex- clusively by means of the woody part of the central system. Inquiring afterwards: what, in this woody part, are the special organs of the transmission in question, he arrives at the conclu- sion of its being effected through the medium of the’sap‘con- tained in the tubes, which he names corpusculiferous. \He has found, that the maximum of velocity of this motion of transmis- sion is fifteen millimetres per second in the petioles of the leaves, and only three millimetres per second in the body of the stalk. The state of the temperature does not appear to have a in- fluence upon its velocity. Light exercises a very remarkable influence upon ‘the irrita- bility of the sensitive plant, the observation of which equally belongs to M. Dutrochet. If a sensitive plant be placed in complete darkness, by covering it with an opaque vessel, it will entirely lose its irritability, and that in a variable time, ac- cording to a certain state of depression or elevation of the sur- 382 M. Dutrochet on the Irritability of the Sensitive Plant. rounding temperature. ‘Thus, at a temperature of from 20 to 25 degrees of Reaumur, it requires only four days of darkness to destroy completely the irritability of a sensitive plant; while fifteen days of darkness are required to produce the same effect when the surrounding temperature is within the limits of 10 and 15 degrees; so that, on only taking the degrees of temperature in which the sensitive plant can live, it may be established that the extinction of the irritability of that. plant in darkness is ope- rated in a period, the duration of which is in the inverse awe! the elevation of the temperature M. Dutrochet has observed, that the sensitive plant, eae of its irritability by-means of darkness, recovers it by exposure to light ; and that this restoring of the conditions of irritability is more rapidly effected, by exposing the plant to the direct light of the sun, than by exposing it merely to the light of day, such as it exists in the shade. From these observations, M. -Dutrochet considers light.as the external agent from the. in- ‘fluence of which vegetables draw the renewal of the conditions of their irritability, or, more generally, of them motility,—con- ditions which are subject to deperdition in the natural —_ and which thus require to be continually repaired. seh i pum. of on Improved Aie-Purog, By Mr Joun toma Optician, Edinburgh *, With a Plate. In the course of my business, having often heard it regretted that the cost of apparatus prevented many gentlemen from en- gaging in philosophical pursuits, IT have made it my study to simplify the construction of those which I have been employ ed to. make, wherever this could be done without | impairing | the accuracy of their performance. _ One of my first efforts was directed to that most valuable a strument the air-pump, which I shall endeavour to shew Tha improved so very materially, as to be able to furnish ¢ one ea, ble of effecting as complete an exhaustion as the most perfect form of the instrument hitherto devised, and, at the same time, nearly as simple. and. as cheap as its most. imperfect form. — sig | __* Readsbefore, the Society for the Encouragement of the Useful Arts, 19th December 1827. x Eilin new Phil JourVel.Wep389. DUNN'S IMPROVED AIR PUMP. _4/\p Lit it ot = LAL F re ee cee ri ae bits: Fae ay 75 4 oF hs a Pan ee y ier fags va ( eainat sent te ied wail: Pilate Sap iikeng ie Me i ik puitonits sianiaed | optcaeh aah ep on ssofeiaiy ‘ont ick ti aie ott oF qth bet ptogt ayes tod ods of victauaaiaaly dt coined gees bax oy law ee sb fRh! ure Siar j | Mean iduciwontl ated bat as da X' at ene eS bon ewok rey Mr Dunn’s Description of an Improved Air-Pump. 383 mentioned my views on the subject to several gentlemen quali- fied to judge of their correctness, and. soon had an opportu- nity of putting them to the test of experiment. I received an order to make one for Mr Lees, lecturer on mechanical philoso- phy in the School of Arts here, on condition that he was to be permitted to return it, if, on trial, it was not found capable of executing all that I had taught him to expect. This pump, through the kindness of Mr Lees, in whose possession it has been for the last eighteen months, was exhibited to the Society for the Improvement of the Useful Arts, on 19th December L827 *) 6) © - That the peculiarities of the construction of my pump may be more readily perceived, I shall first shortly describe the com- mon construction, and then its most perfect form, as saepncenat by Cuthbertson. The common airpump consists of two heebinelé AA’, Fig. 1., Plate IV, in which the pistons PP’ are fitted and moved by the racks RR/ and pinion O, the pistons being thus raised and depressed alternately by turning the winch W. In the bottoms of the barrels there are openings, communicating with the re- -eeiver or bell-glass; over these openings valves of waxed silk or bladder are so placed as to admit of the passage of the air from the receiver through them, but to oppose its passage from the barrels to the receiver. It is obvious, that, on drawing up either of the pistons, a vacuum will be formed under it till the air from the receiver, by its elastic force, opening the valve V or V’, distributes itself equally betwixt the barrel and receiver. Now, as the pistons are furnished with valves PP’ of the same kind, and opening in the same direction as VV’, on pushing either piston down, the air in the under part of the barrel being prevented by the valve at the bottom from returning to the re- ceiver, will open the piston-valve and escape into the apartment, with the air of which the piston-valve communicates ; and these effects will follow the raising and depressing of the pistons, as long as the air in the receiver has sufficient elasticity to open * The instrument had been previously submitted to the examination of Dr Turner, one of the Secretaries of the Society of Arts, who reported that he had minutely examined it, and was perfectly satisfied with its performance. On his representation to the Council of the London University, I have since received an order to make one for the chemical class of that institution. 384 Mr Dunn’s Description of an Improved Air-Pump. the valves VV’. When it can ‘no longer effect this, the exhaus- tion must cease, and; consequently, a near approximation to a vacuum cannot be obtained by means of this construction. > The best method» hitherto. proposed ‘for effecting ‘a more per- fect exhaustion, is that of Cuthbertson, which ‘proceeds upon the principle of opening the valves independently of the elasti- city of the air ; and, accordingly, he substitutes in the) place of the bladder-valves VV’, Fig.:1., the metallic ones VV’ Fig. 2. *, having the wires WW’ attached to them, which. slip stiffly in stuffing-boxes in the piston-rods: On raising either piston, the valve V or V’ is,opened by, the friction of its wire in the stuffing- box; and,is shut by:its depression; in the former case leaving a free communication betwixt the part:of the barrel under the pis- ton, and in the latter case: cutting it-off.. In the pistons he also places metallic valves PP’, to be opened by. the descent of the piston-rod, and to be shut by its.ascent; the valves in the pistons thus opening and continuing open, while those,at the bottom of the barrels are shut, and vice versa. ‘Now, as the. piston-valyes are opening while those at:the bottom of the,,barrels, are shut- ting, Cuthbertson found it necessary (though. this is not required in the common pump) to exclude the external air _ the barrels. | For this purpose be i airtight covers | SCC! over the aepelés and made the piston-rods move in the air-tight ‘stuffing boxes BB’, and placed metallic valves MM’ in the. covers for the egress of the airy to be opened: either by its elasticity or by. the pistons ene against the projecting points pp’ of these valves. . It is also necessary to prevent the return of the, air into, the pump during’ the shutting of these valves, which «is ‘aie by he ving them immersed. in oil. ‘This construction is certainly, i in shacney ia as near, vihetiot: as we are likely to reach by:-any form of pump, butjit.is.as certainly very complex, and, consequently, very: expensive, and liable ,to go out of repair,—an objection of which, those, who, inegeegbeen engaged in making these pumps best know: the force...) 1 \;). Believing the only useful part of Cuthbertson’s invention to he the contrivance for opening the valves at the bottoms.of the bar- rels mechanically, I was of opinion a pump would perform, near- * In figures 2d and 3d only one of the barrels are represented. hgur y oa siep — Sa Mr Dunn's Description of an Improved Awr-Pump. 385 ly, or altogether as well, divested of all the other peculiarities of tis instrument, and possessing the decided advantages of be- ing cheaper and much more easily kept in order. » Fig. 8. is a section of the barrels of my pump, in which Lem. ploy metallic valves v v’ at the bottom of the barrels, and waxed silk ones $ S$’ in the pistons, laying aside Cuthbertson’s metal- lic valves in the pistons, removing all his apparatus from the of the barrels, and leaving the pistons exposed to the atmo- , as I consider all those contrivances to be unnecessary, -al- though it has been uniformly held essential to a good air-pump, since the time of Smeaton’s invention, that the pressure of the atmosphere should be taken off the piston-valves ; and my rea- son fér doing so'is, that the air will be always so compressed in the barrels, ‘by the descent of the pistons, as of itself to have sufficient elastic force to open the silk valves in the pistons, the eapacity of the barrels being each several thousand times greater than’ the space betwixt the two valves, when the piston is at the bottom! In fact; by making the under side of the piston and the bottom of the barrel fit each other, which, with the assist- ance of the oil employed in the barrels may be done. perfectly, y esc - no space - but the small hole in the a to its valve. For saeeetaileen let us suppose the stroke wie 12 inacashi and the’diameter of the barrels 2} inches, or 25: tenths (as is the case in Mr Lees’ one), the diameter of the hole ¢ one-tenth of an inch, aiid’ its length 1 inch, ‘their circles: being:to each ‘other a8 thé’squares of their diameters, wehave 1 x 1 = 1 for the capacity of the hole, and 25.x 25 x 12 = '7500. for the:ca- pacity of the barrels ; and consequently air, which, in the recei- ver was '7000 times rarer than the atmosphere, would have suf- ficient elastic force to open the valve in the piston; but.as.this ‘is a degtee of rarefaction far beyond what has ever been attained, or even expected, it follows that any greater nicety of construc- tion here is unnecessary. -'The above plan may, however, be objected to, on account tof its still leaving something to depend on. the elastic force of the air which, should any one consider desirable to be removed, can be so done by adapting metallic valves I I’ with projecting ‘points p’ p’, to strike’against the bottom of the barrels, having the spaces O’ 'T’, OT, filled with oil, to’exclude the external air 386 Mr Dunn’s Description of an Improved Air-Pump. : during their shutting ; _ even neta acidition —— , wholly unuecessary. tf bernh eee Fig. 4. is a perspective’ wtih ofthe: one I ile tatiges which is the best method pa em ms — pret — a to — vanes “iby Nite oe ages Cs: his ee ETM hesett Rar rer etet SL SIGE ko Remarks upon the wasting womens ¢ the’ sei on the shore of Cheshire, between the rivers Mersey and Dee*.” By Roseit Stevenson, Esq. Civil-Engineer, FR. 8.'E., M. Ww. —— Communicated Py the casey oe — : Se i Hayy 4 On a former occasion, I had the honour to make a indies vations, which appeared in the 2d volume of: the Society’s Me- moirs, regarding the encroachment of the sea upon the land ge- nerally. ‘The present notice ‘refers only to that portion of the coast which lies between the rivers Mersey and Dee, ‘extending to about seven miles. ‘To this quarter my attention, with that of Mr Nimmo, Civil Engineer, had been: professionally directed in the course of last‘month.' In our perambulatory survey we were accompanied by Sir John Tobin, and. William Laird, Esq. of Liverpool, along the Cheshire shore, and its connecting*sand banks, between Wallasea Pool, in the Mersey, and’ Dalpool, in the river Dee. Within these estuaries, the shores maybe ‘de- scribed as abrupt, consisting of red clay and marl, containing many land or boulder stones, of the cubic contents of several tons, and very many’ of much smaller size; diminishing: to coarse gravel. But the foreland, or northern shore; between these rivers, which I am now to notice, is chiefly low'ground, and, to a great extent, is under the level of the highest tides. The beach, or ebb, extends from 300 to! 400 yards seaward, and, toward low-water-mark, exposes a section of réd clay; but, toward high water, it consists of bluish eoloured ‘marl, with peat or moss overlaid by sand. This beach, at about half-tide level, presents a curious and highly interesting spec- tacle of the remains of a submarine forest. The numerous roots of trees, which have not been washed away by the sea, or carried off by the neighbouring inhabitants for firewood, arein a very decayed state. The trees seem to have been cut off * Read before the Wernerian Society, 8th March 1828. ' Mr Stevenson on the Coast of Cheshire. 387 about two feet from the ground after the usual, practice in fell- ing timber, and the roots are seen ramifying from their respec- tive stumps, in all directions, and dipping towards the clay sub- soil. . They seem, to have varied im size from 18 inches to per- haps 30 inches in diameter, and, when cut with a knife, appear to be oak. Several of the boles or trunks have also been left upon the ground, and being partly immersed in the sand and clay, are now in such a decomposed state, that, when dug into with a common spade, great numbers of the shell-fish called Pholas_ candida, measuring about three-fourths of an inch in length, and two mches in breadth, were found apparently. in a healthy state. These proofs of the former state of this ebb or shore, now upwards of 20 feet under full tide, having been once,dry land to a considerable extent beyond the region of these large forest. trees, were rendered still more evident by the occurrence of large masses of greenstone, which, at a former pe. riod, had been imbedded in the firm ground here, and especially on the shore within the river Dee... It may farther deserve no- tice, that the inhabitants of this district have a traditional rhyme, expressive of the former wooded state of this coast, where. not a tree is now to be scen, viz. “ From Halbre Isle to Birkenhead a squirrel may hop from tree to tree ;” that is from the Dee to the Mersey, now presenting a submarine forest. __ As these evidences of great changes upon the state: ia hens mer appearances of the land were highly interesting to the par- ty, and intimately connected with the professional inquiries of myself and colleague, it seemed desirable to get them, if possible, corroborated by oral testimony. Sir John Tobin accordingly, very obligingly, took measures for examining the oldest people in. the neighbourhood, as to their recollection of the former state ofthese shores.. In particular, Thomas Barclay, aged 93 « all but two months,” by profession a mason and measurer of coun- try work; Henry Youd, labourer, aged 86; and John Crook- san, labourer, aged 80, were examined. Barclay stated, that he, had. been employed at the erection of the Leasowe land- ward Lighthouse in the year 1764; that there were then two lighthouses near the shore, for a leading direction to shipping. through the proper channel to Liverpool; and that the Seaward Light became uninhabitable, from its being surrounded by the sea. A new light was then built upon Bidstone Hill; and the 888 =-Mr Stevenson on the Wasting Effects of the Sea present Leasowe Lighthouse, formerly the landward light, which he had assisted in building, became the seaslight. . renin wok 90 condescend upon. the distance between’ the two origin; but was certain that it must have *been several: that he knows.that, in. the. course*of* thirty’ ry the Leasowe lost, dy measwrement;.eleven' Cheshire roods, ‘or 88 yards; and verily. believes, thatyisince‘he knew this sho: ‘it has lost upwards of half-a-mile of firm grounds "Do the: ess of these statements, the other. \twovagedmen gave” ‘testi- may, 5 Henry Youd having also worked iat the Li use.” As to the present, state of | things, the party alluded to were eye witnesses of the tides, onthe 16th, 47th and 18th of Péb- ruary 1828, having exhibited a very alarming’ exaniple6f “the encroachments of the sea upon the Leasowe shore: At high- water it came over the bank, and ran in a stream of about half- a-mile in breadth, surrounded the lighthouse; and: continued its course through the low grounds toward Wallasea ‘Pool, on the Mersey, thereby forming a new channel, and threatening to lay several :thousands of acres of rich arable and pasture lan the state of a permanent salt lake. The present Leasowe Lig house, which, in 1764, was considered ° far above ‘the reseh of the'sea, upon the 17th of February last was thus’ surrounded by salt water, and must soon: be abandoned “unless “some very extensive works be widertaken for the defence »of the beach, the whole of the interior lands of the Leasowe being considerably under the level of high-water of spring-tides:¥ 4 This coast, with its sand banks in the offing; its ‘submarine forest; and the evidence of living witnesses as to the ‘eneroac ment of: the sea upon the firm ground, is altogether highly in- ine teresting to the geological and scientific : enquirer. The remains of: forests in the bed of the ocean oceur in several: parts ‘of the British coast ; particularly off Lincoln ; on the fthe Tay, near Flisk ; at Skiel, in the Mainland of: Orkney, and in other places, noticed in the. Transactions ‘of this Society, .and are strong proofs of the encroachment’ of the ‘sea’ upon ‘the land. However difficult, therefore, it may be to reconcile the varied appearances in nature, regarding the sea having at one time oc- cupied a higher level than at present, yet its ‘encroachment as a general, and. almost universal preetpiayed seems to ‘be: Trane ~ on the Coast of Cheshire. 389 doubt in the present day. Since I had last the honour of ad- dressing the Society on this subject, opportunities have been af- ed. me of making many additional observations on the Bri- and of personally extending these to almost every port on the. Continent, between the Texel and the Garonne. I si also, through the obliging communications of friends, been to extend my inquiries to other quarters of the globe ; m= Tam now prepared to state, that, with a few comparatively trifling exceptions, the sea appears to be universally gaining upon, the land, tending to confirm the theory, That debris, arising from the general degradation of the land, being depo- sited in the bed. of the minor seas, is the cause of their present tendency to. aren their banks. | dak, eee spires (LY u nit Hewraehs) he d of see New or ‘Rare’ Plants which have flowered ere in , the Royal. Botanic Garden, elinburgh; during the last of Sete: | By Dr Granam. ‘Avalon: nein’ althets 100k March 1828. ta. raty tis capi herba fifloss; par radicanti ; ; ‘floribus capitatis. 6 ON.—Stem herbaceous, jointed, rooting, ascending, cylindrical, » purple. Leaves . posite, petioled, ante (ig inch long, above a tly decurrent is 4 the petiole, veined, forwards ; *yetiole acme than half the length of the leaf: nr inches) long, sometimes exceeding, sometimes wen A the round, tapering a little, spreading. Stipule fili- orm, opposite, alternate with the leaves (4.an inch long). Capitulum “ teate t it idowcres, few flowers expanded at a time.’ Pedicels very short. Calyx stent to the sides of the germen, extended into four te, distant, subereet, persisting ents, ual i in he tau th the corolla. Corolla funnel-shaped, 4-cleft, slight] ube ree nce somewhat reflected, tube cylin rical, * ted, lined with close yellow pubescence just above the tube ; limb > while bud green, afterwards lilac, white towards the throat, seg- whee 6 Bical, spreading, revolute, and smooth above. Sta- ering "lone the inside of the tube of the corolla, free ad oy he the to top a batt the length of the anthers, to the back oe are attached ; anthers oblong, sometimes nestling among "oe the: 88 in the throat of the corolla, in other instances carried up the divisions of the limb, but the ge oe of the free portion of ts not vary ; gi globular, white. Pistil single ; ote e, pubescent, white, c eft, segments revolute ; style beyond the anthers, but shorter than the lim ‘t the h permien inferior, obovate, slightly flattened, bilocular, s, leaves, stipulz, petioles, peduncles, and outside of the - are very hairy, inside of these last less so ; hairs long, _somewhat harsh, very slightly glutinous, at least on the parts of of the flower. ; JANUARY—MARCH 1828. ce iat pee Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants. Bory was raised last from seeds. received in 1826 ty Cental iam of his Majesty’s Packet Service from Mr Harris at bot It has been kept in the eroey and has flowered in February and March. T cannot but doubt the propriety of uniting; under one pitiedte, fini so very different from each other as Cxyinetia lonyifiora of —— and Bouvardia triphylla; and. I would be omar to place greater reliance than T do on the intervening teeth of the calyx, as Bou. vardia, and distinguishing it from Aiginetia, were it not, that this would separate twe plants very intimately allied, Bowvardia triphylla and B. ver- sicolor, carrying the last to Aiginetia, which also it en the other does in the form of corolla. Wipspenes may be made of rot subject of the present article must, I think, belong to the ep ge- Agvietia long'fiora, the parts of the flower « er e comparatively short tube of the-corolla, . a ‘Anoarpus integrifolia ; Entire-leaved Bread trae tree ~ ey integrifolia ; liis obovato-oblo $, acuminatis, spat i Valve inte- gerrimis, amentis masculis patentibus. apt Ney i of great size in its native country. (East Indies); our en about seyen feet high, with brown bark, green on the young: ‘ ovts, annular, a slight linear urrow passing quite round the stem from the base of each leaf, and bein distinct years after the leaf has fallen. Leaves vse , petioled, crow em the ames mcr . ovato-oblong, acuminate, thick, smooth, shining, 6 _ Tong}, middle rib strong, and with the oblique veins prominent behind, ‘veins united by conspicuous arches near the margin, and by transverse less distinct reticulations ; margin quite entire. Male. spadix stipitate, Neca Rae inelosed, previous to evolution, within the same pointed, deciduous ‘stipulze as the terminal bud, club-sha) round, above two inches long by three-fourths of an inch near- ly in a-straight line from the extremity of ‘the fi covered with ’ innumerable flowers, dull green, its substance soft and spongy, the foot- stalk passing through its axis, but lost about\the middle in the spon structure around. Pedunele about half the: of the spadix, axi lary, spreading, stout, green and shining, the leaf from the axil of which it springs deciduous. Flowers monandrous, very small, green.’ Perianth sessile, club-shaped, slightly compressed, somewhat succulent, 2-cleft, ping ‘slightly, ee t. Corolla awanting, filament arising ~~ ah haan he perianth, and eerendernenh renup a — short, yellow. A plant is knewn in collections sudan the name: oft Artooargixintegrifolia, with rough leaves oceasionally lobed; but in ours. the leaves are all en- tire, and smooth on- beth sides. Et was recé¢ived from: Kew-in 1814, and in January and March this season has for the first Lemar pan seve- ral male spadices, but none with female flowers. vb nl Dodoneea attenuata. f mir tae pisses. cgay’ in Field’s Account of N. S. Wales, 353. D. attenuata ; foliis lanceolato-spathulatis, apice eB bast atte- nuatis, rigidis, verrucosis, denticulatis ; begar omen dioicis, racemosis, axil- laribus terminalibusque, calycibus reflexi pike sub-viscidis. ' DEscrrPt10N.—Shrud erect, stem round; bark : ced; _ ‘scattered, slightly compressed, tw Leaves SC Tong, 4 of an inch broad,) sprea ng, 1cec cit Sone { iaucro at the apex not always distinc Back’ attenuated at rigid; rough, with warty abe talitats on the upper side, middle ib s strong, . and projecting .both above and below, aps few and 0 e, Margins” slightly reflected, toothed. Racemes t rel} bracteate, rachis, pedicels, and calyx, slightly. hairy and ai subulate, solitary at the base of each pedicel, and _s orter than flowers nodding. Calyx segments acute, reflected, « concave, aan econ falling along with the other parts of the flower by a division of top Dr Grahams Description of Newor Rare Plants. 391 of the'pedicel. Stamens 8 ; filaments very shorts anthers large, bilobular, ‘. and each~lobe d y grooved; bursting along; the sides, arranged in a / )esquare form aro th centre of the flower, yellow ; pollen abundant, yellow. Pistil abortive. Feniale flowers oe Calyx. segments closely reflected, straight.or bent, bake ‘ise in the ditineinc » Pistil single, stigma, 3-cleft. sention style spe rt wnnelled, eo otwisted; somewhat contracted, near en, warted, .v (half arf -superior, mae eben by the x calyx, jerew| green, warted, surrounded lag yo abortive ed cay, 196 were, in 1824, received from Mr Fraser, Colonial Bota- od? Snist,: Wales, who, im communicating a dried specimen, stated oe! it tocbe “a tallyshrub, native ofthe. interior.” . In this. specimen, the we Y nnltenibate beige seelarh teclinest: than in the plant described ;,but there rots ene to:thinkithat: the; leaves.vary somewhat. in shape, for in pean A raised from, the same, package, the lower leaves are om ber, | sr nary ree and-somewhat lobed, while the upper ys are or 1d y resembling the native specimen. | Both male das Be Penitule hae red rely in the greenhouse i in the.end of Febru- | T should des fe pint with a mark of doubt ‘as’ D. angustissima, Decand. got not ey excellent friend Dr Hooker, whoin nothing escapes, nae attention to the fa species described ‘in the work above quoted. u Si! ~ J j ‘ . .: ’ i. 0 HL. fualgens ellipticis, mucronulatis, subtus sericeoferrugineis, se- ty tie glandularum versus margines notatis, superne pilis deciduis ferru- 11 10 gineis tectis, medio bi-glandulosis; xamulis verrucosis, sumque ad Remi eer y paniculis terminalibus. oD scandent \bark ri Brey Branches warted, com- on ‘pres x Shoots pubescent: Leaves Opponiiay on short,petioles, el- aa o aly inches. long), isubcoriaceous, an ewhat-undulated, mu- o) @:erenulate, veined; above full -preens with a deciduous adpressed pubes- ssoqecences belowa-permanent adpressed silky pubescence, mixed with a © few eoarser and more. iciigaisuy hairs, anda loose row of small glands shal p ‘ie but arin WPetioles with two green glands, generally about the ene but both in number.and position, yet, never awanting in 9 our oung always yielding sigico eof viscid honey, en bat yand then appearing, a e. Panicle large, ogy terminal, ba “bracteate, b ranches decussating, spreading, two or three ya within each other from the axil of the same bractea,cymose. Brac- wy a ' or three: at the bottem.of the panicle in all at oat com- voids mon leaves; above become. small and subulate, generall rather ex- ~ + @éeding the longest} peduncle from their axil; but the petiole-is less al- tered; and:retains orem raph Pedicels vising from the axils of small su- bulate bracteze, and havi ma 8 opposite ones about their.middle, from the axils of which pedicels arise, with similar structure, and Ye. Sra tiosee thet a series lengthening with the r of the hers gay in cs eth Pre the pubescence on ETE a es > plan rem caen a jm the pedlicttn tise Aa Moge, and St Garba ‘of the leaves Flowers, few expanded at a time. 2 ts mp snl al nl punted eet connivent at their apices, and core tg ands 8; large, oblong, green, and pairs on the of Sout t the segments, with occasion- ally 1 ne rr a fifth pair én the back of the fifth segment, which, posed most frequently without glands. Petals 5, clawed, oblong, uneven on the surface, ramet and reflected at their edges, sprea ee from between the ne ee —_ — d of un yellow, ma rhe anid yellow only at Sta- mens phe $ filaments much dilated at the base, brown; and united, | a above st te, yellow, besa’ sented to the germen’; anthers reflected, Bos ahs x ; ce 9 392 Dr Graham’s Description of New or Rare Plants. tas oblong, bilocular, yellow on their inner ‘side, brown without. Sti capitate. Styles 3, stout, equal in length to the stamens, somewhat __ verging. ‘Germen’ round, su superior, covered with’ loose yellowish-brown ““tomentum, trilocular, loculaments nionbspernrous; ° ovulu dulous “from the central column, ras bericht pai Mae ia “This climber has been long in the Stove of the: ‘Botanic “Tati is now for the first time in flower ; ui nti * Fn this, and in other collections, it has been ing probably ‘supposed the plant’ described u that name considered by Decandolle a variety of B. mi nes the B. fulgens-of Linnzeus. It may. be Heleropteris . Reg: t.-950. (Banisteria of the index): | I T haa referred it od st to-tHolenoperi chiefly. from the form of the style ;.and I am since confirmed. ats. b, > _ finding that the. fruit, the only, sure..mark, exists in Dr, Hooker’s,her- ' barium... The universality) of; the petiole. glands the. Henan seat leaf, the less dense, differently branched inflorescence, the much smaller num- »» ber of flowers expanded on’ panicles -twice the size, es that, figured, and _ the constant deficiency in the calyx glands, make me doubt whether a , _is the plant of the Register; and though it should, prove the same, I shall regret less having described it under adifferent, name; as. sisid there \yeloonlelered Ey M AUP ) Kotla tis firea’: huleoe Geeeele Lobelid racemosa. EP ne ee Bot. Mag. t. 2137. : shi 1. racemosa ; caule suffruticoso, erecto ; fois lancer ee sbtei¢uppicr- ae racemo terminal, pedicellis: floreém wequant! a pea demum ; inflexis, _DEscriprion.—Stem ‘ erect, half woody, ‘yourid 2 feet yh), branching “from the axils of the leaves near the top as the flower fades. Leaves lanceolate, tooth-spinous @ inches long by 1} broad), attenuated at both ‘their extremities, sessile, subdecurrent, scattered, crowded. © white fl con- tinuous with the stem, and resembling it » greatly elor ing @t Jength 2 feet long), i slowly. Pedicels , very numerous, crowded and spreading while in flower, after $s removed ~ to a greater distance from each other by the elongation of the tachis, ‘and curyed upwards and inwards, flattened, somewhatwinged the middle, where each supports two opposite bractee, leaves (} of an incl long), each also prings from the ee a similar _ but much larger dractea, 8) at, the lo ad vias of the unio nie __.than the pedicel, but oe the tO} only its length. ments _ fwl-sha , sharply serrated, spreading wide, at last Tote 1, persisting. “Corolla (1 ‘ich long) somewhat plaited, cleft to its base alor ie up- per. ‘side, divided. nearly ‘to its middle into three s ts, whic coiled up backwards, the lateral ones entire and pointed, tl _ toothed. “Stamens unconnected only at their base, every where else united by their filaments and anthers into a tube ensheathing the whole of the style ; anthers pale leaden coloured, ciliated at their extremities, bursting on ‘their inner ‘side, a Argyl oy at the extrem hae. the tube a large quantity of white Stipa Vatge, capitate, ciliated a a the base, at first included’ an ere by a fegehea hin 3p fissure, afte "wards projected just beyond the tube of the anthers, 2 it avided into _.two short, broad, revolute segments, covered on their pper § short, close, glandular pubescence. - Style flattened, sli, tall ary nga little upwards (about 1 inch ong). \Germen halt inf ‘nical in its upper part, broad and Rirvowenbeieeton He Hie uo ‘of the seeds large, attached to the sides of the 38 : sverse ee cordate. Seeds very numerous, © ae Gitte f the anthers-and stigma, and upper strive df tue bevel sti white; every other part of the plant, except the anthers, rat whole smooth, except the upper surface of the stigmaiafter become revolutes alsothe, Is.and upper part oh the rachis,, hpi are * ‘slightly pubescent, .The whole yields a milky, fetid juice, when broken. ii Dr Graham’s Description, of New or Rare Planis... 393 --T haye; not any where seen a detailed description of this and the Get de leaves, as stated in the. Paar character in pr Botanical does not agree with our plant, or with the figure. given. characteristic, and was taken from a plant, procured er’s in. the ‘West Indies, Our plant was received from 0 de ‘Janeiro, by Captain Graham of his Majesty’s Pac- B26, andi ad sways been kept in the AYER xo sverdeto peat d-fido, ovato; coro 4-fida, subre- ¥ filathentis: pina ilis. articulatis: medio cinc- iaieesoaicie aheringly and distantly serrated eral cngine oa ag only one setrature on each side, que hree, spreading, veinless, ° flat, slightly ‘ very minute, reflected, ‘adpressed ‘pubescence ; Sore, keeled, aff ving Ye with minute glandular dots we -Inflo- rescence a terminal capitate spike. Bractee, one at the base of each flower, ggg hairy, and strongly ciliated, concave, conni- aiain t, the . oi and_as long as the calyx. Calyx ovate, inflated, . Les ry, connivent, pointed. Corolla, 4-toothed, 12 ah Y, aments “A ice ?), longer than the cally pink. ments ; equal, connivent ; anthers like ation ah ieboran brown, bursting ina line i. uN having in their 1 Riddle a whodl of of hairs, ifyin, power, like strings of round beads. 3 “exse ; Stigma cleft, segments large and ay imbedded in the base of the corolla. t were obtained from ‘Nepaul by Captain Macgill, on aly o e, and neyer transplanted. ‘Unfortunately the whole damped 1 regal z wid ta ae as well those which did not flower i to. Pind a fae volume of Flora Indica, pointed out its close res api a it to, Columnea heterophylla, and also to Mentha verticillata, an Shs sey Siffers from M, verticillata of Don’s Prodromus. oiFlor, N Nepal., cae in. size. ent Columnea it is of guished by be rmous. My difficulty about the 1€ oa corolla being, if not absolutely, at least ora egular ; h served h in the 1 very ne ‘Tegt om my no aving observed a notch in the lower oe nt oF t 62 af Def ft te tt d. =, sm aD about the’ generic naine of this plant. Dr Hooker, y sent | the former ; from the inure closed, the four segments oa. at the apex ; and especi ially from the structure’of the anthers, ONES it lar. my examination of them was correct, which I have no ou ubt. Dr Hooker. however, feels sure of its being as good a et ‘Mentha as any of | the verticelled species; and in deference to that acute observer I leave it in this genus. cannot, however, think it is either the cillata of his MS. volume or of Don, which differ from each other. from the first in the form of the leaves, and in the pubescence nts. being confined to a whorl, and from both by having . uni four leayes in a whorl. I cannot think this last arises from the specimens iat oer and than natural, because we had many plants, ower, sng there was Rat one exception t@ this struc. oe a. SAP Yooh Puede chalice, Be silt 30 90453 id -P. verticillata ; foliiy wlabris, erectis, spithuluto-chomboldelss rugosis, per petiolos longos decurrentibus, ineiso-biserratis, acutis, subtus fari- - nosis; floribus verticillatis, tubo corolle pedicellum sequanti, laciniis crenulatis (vel integris ?); involucris foliaceis, pentaphyllis, pedicello longioribus. 394 Celestial Phenomena Srom April \. to July 1. 1828. Descriptio n.—Root supporting several scapes. Leaves suberect, rhom- boideo-spathulate, decurrent along petioles than themselves, in- cised, and divisions serrated, convex above, soft, much yeined from the middle rib, and somewhat bullate. Scapeerect, round. | Flowers verti- celled, ‘five in each whorl, bracteate. Bractew, one\to each ses- . » silej lancéolate, Bouyss serrated, but less so than the mh and veined. » Pedicels Pa. as the bractew. Calyw 5-cleft, segments wee ayted Teng, ah and serrated. Corolla yellow, scarce- erfumed ; tube ($ths of an aie long) twice as el as the calyx, round ied slightly swollen where it covers the gert in nt ad insane the. stamens, distinctly 5-sided;between these nh Be above the. ep throats ed; limb s preading a Ui aL Het angle - pak ie per third of the (less than an inch across), ents beards ‘Gr entire ?). thers oblong,’ aeely sessile in the up tube. Stigma cup-shaped, included, but carried above ag stamens ; style filiform ; germen globular, green; ovules extremely numerous, round the central receptacle, a slender process from which is continued with the’style, and may be easily unsheathed from ae lower pa of this. The outer side of the corolla, both sides of the calyx d scape, ‘the bracteze and leaves, particularly on their’ ae . | Sogoill nisi 16. 14-4419 9 FE 20, bib 2% vince Fe BP SIT 6. WH: civ 0 d,,). 17. 12.18 50 oy ey AEE “821 33 4 ).8 i it 17. 22/3120 “yr ae a 161 m. I. sate od) om } io? I it 0 iw eVRt ri ashe “eo 17.93 0123048) . 19.5 ::515 50) 45), «di rw te 39 Mary will, be, in) to. the © at 2 20... 14 48 45, st Quarter, oA oe of July. 21. 11 87 3 ‘ ) enters 2 1A. GR SR ei a ee i yet nozdHt lsoigOrnos to Japopemas la fisigtl to teao9. dixon ont To nose va hie shiek -yuid LMiy y Broan gh les Rloncte passing the: Meridian. 192 Sas 163 at: RG XG CAMS EV PRASSEAZIED FE - BAIO ER SIL IURY sett pire he Tt rey como : . APRIL. : r To ye Mercury. © Ven Mars. Jupiter. pony bieeeres Ease cour fe LE ott it Sine a fad wig Di oF Lotte gawd oBimesad oh? 4 1} 10 48°] ras] BEd Oe 6 5) 1082 Sy} wl4iAhewd 6 afeb 1,48 ») rT 10}. 10 25 . 14 44. 4.56 1 26 15] 10°93 oye 4gl'Y) alag epost yy 97) 20 Fo nds ney I 14,53 J 4 355 0. 43 a) 25| 10-29 ~| 14 58 4 22 0 17 Tit aes Serer Sit ot TOT RETO OT LAL & <= MAY — “rit i tS eal Pte ty bh ee pom 201 HE 4002} 151434 |, if 122.27. byidbo@heode roPFeake 25} 12° 6. | 15 14 | 22.5 5 4 48] ren; y JUNE. | oe | f 1 3 jaw, bas r irc i he yale ana 1339s ss ie 25ie Wy De} (Hy hey Ei Be’) | Be, Lai Bs vit Di tT i > Fes ige@o iri: i} 12 42°) 15 12 oad bangs” pega ga | "Sas 5| 13° 2 1M VRE & lode at Mise: ars 4:26 1) Pyose id 4 149 1) BA SL Mod aida . 12615003870) C1seet [aaa 20 ie 48 Tp 14 48) - ouk r2y fearrieehe ke ances oe i i 0 36 4.4% : 1955) | 13.17. 7 — 3rttes (ft a Test forthe th (897) Proceedings of the Wernerian Netweak History nse Con- tinued fom p- 182. 1827, Dec. 15. A. W. Arnott, Fs, V. P. in the chair. aye 3) jecr Secretary read an account of a peculiar species of .Por- pesse (Delphinus Peronii?), which abounds off the -coast of Tor Dieman’s Land; communicated by the Rev. John Mac- garvie, A. M. The ne&t paper was an account of the Climate and. of the. Geology of the Harris Islands ;_ by Mr William Macgillivray, who resided there for several years. (For. inte- resting extracts from this paper, see last. Number of ‘this Jour- nal, supra, p. 140, eé seg.) At the same meeting there was read an account of an Optical Illusion or Mirage, called the Fairy Islands, frequently seen off the north coast of Ireland, near the Skerry Islands of Antrim; communicated by Mr Sa- muel-Thomas Greig And-also,-a-notice from Lieutenant-Ge- neral the J Honourable Sir Charles Colvile, regarding a fine spe- _ cimen of Hindoo- sculpture, presented to. the University Mu- seum., by the General. The specimen was exhibited to the meeting. It represents the goddess Bhowanee, with her usual attendants. It was found among the ruins of a Brahminical temple in the ancient city of CChandwartie, and apparently be- longs to a period repress to the beginning of the 12th cen- tury of our era. 1828, jah 0 Dias re RR Esq. V..P. in ihe chair. —The Secretary read an account of the habits of a specimen of the Stren lacertina, which has been kept alive at Canonmills, near Edinburgh, for more than two years past. (This paper is printed i in the present number of this Journal, p. 346, et seq.) At the same meeting was read a paper by the Rev. John Mac- garvie, on-the habits of the large brown Hornet of New. South -Wales, with a reference to instinct, and particularly illustrative - of its mode of forming its hexagonal cells. (This paper is like- ' wise printed in. ‘the present Number, p. 237, &c.) — » ‘Professor Jameson then exhibited some of the birds collected by Captain Parry during his last voyage to the Arctic Regions, -two- of them (alittle auk and a guillemot) killed beyond north »Jatitude 81°; and specimens of the rocks of Ross Island, chiefly gneiss, the most northern known land of the globe. 398 Scientific Intelligence:—Astronomy. Jan. 26.—Rozert Jameson, Esq. P. in the chair.—Dr Grant read the first part of his account of the anatomy of the Perameles nasuta. of Geoffroy, arare marsupial animal from New Holland, The Rey. Dr Dayid Scot, of Corstorphine then read a memoir on the Emerald of the Ancients. At the same meeting was read a notice by Mr G, Milroy, regarding the ha- bits of a living specimen of the Jacchus vulgaris or Ouistiti, lately brought by him from Bahia ; sit the a was gant. bited to the meeting. Feb. 9.—Roxsert Jameson, Esq. P. in the chair.—The Se- cretary read a notice respecting the occurrence of a rare bird, the Cursorius isabellinus, or swiftfoot, in Leicestershire ; com- minicated by Prideaux John Selby, Esq. of Twizel: House, Mr James Stuart Menteath, younger of Closeburn, then read a memoir on the Geology of Nithsdale, chiefly as connected with useful purposes, and contrasted with that of the n bour- ing valleys ; illustrated by maps and specimens. (The fi t part of this interesting communication will be found i in the present Number of this Journal, ‘p. 614, key)" ee vi ait = | Sob: SCIENTIFIC IN URUDIGRNGE: | ASTRONOMY. | I. Appendia to the Nautical Almanack: —'The Roded of Son. ginide has published an appendix to the Nautical Almanack for 1828, which contains a list of moon-culminating stars, "This has been done as the beginning of an experiment which will be con- tinued, until it is ascertained whether sucha a list is likely to be permanently useful, 2. Reduction of \ the Observations mingle = Siri Ty M Bris- bane in the Southern Hemisphere.—The Royal Society of Lon- | don is about to undertake the reduction of the observations. made by Sir T. M. Brisbane in the Southern Hemisphere. ‘Tt is ex- pected that this labour will tend to,settle the places of the prin- cipal stars in that region of the heavens, a thing much wanted. 3. Voyage of Experiment and Discovery.—Captain H. For- ster is appointed to the command of the ship Chanticleer, for a Scientific Intelligence.—Mcteorology. 399 voyage of experiment and discovery. He will probably sail round the world before. he ‘return: He takes out a great number of chronometers, pendulums, and various other instruments: 4. Charts of the Zodiacal Stars.—A member of the ‘Astrono- mical Society in London, distinguished for his zeal and liberality — in whatever relates to that science, has undertaken a set of charts of the zodiacal stars contained in the catalogue of’ the Astrono- mical Socidty! "One is already engraved, a poddtbiee rindi oO) 6% ME®TEOROLOGY. al Table, extracted’ from the Retr sap at mavinek Britain: Lat. 56° 23" 30. ’ ‘Above the rio isha Feet." one $Y Sneath Me MMFUdoshNY ty Iona : shy pe etn sil | Even.4 past 8. — 1 Ki No, of Days. ;; =e nat of Gtain 9) Rain or)- 5 9) m.| Barom. | Therm. : -606/37.613 | 37.516) 2.50. 4.14, 36. {Bosse 536 a8) 1.90 ripe 24 cael peptaeh 40.742) 2-70 17 fda 4 .734/45.200 [46.500] .3.70 | 14 | 16 50.935 | 51.452] 3.20] 17 | 14 56.667} 1.50... 11 | 19 58.806] 2.90] 10 | 21 58.226] 2.70] 13 1 18 56.7677 150} 10 | 20 52.710) 5.70} 17 | 14 .776)45,233 | 39.566) 2.20] 7 | 23 29.37 1/43.742 | 43.677] 4.40 | 17 | 14 48.122 10.259 34.90 } 154 | 211 oie _ ANNUAL RESULTS. “MORNING. : aio! 2 WindSW. | High tngenet mye H 9 5 in ighest, 16th July, 68° Wind SW. - Lowest Mat. be: dae Ay: Lowest, 16th Keb. 28 W. TY “EVENING. Highest, 8th Feb. ‘Sica ‘Wind SW. | Highest, 25th hb Tuly, 64° Wind Nw. Lowest, ‘6th Mar. 28.58. - sw. ; Lowest, 3d Jan. 20 Sw. 14 Weather. i tot Days. \. Wind. . Time. Fair, hed - - 211 N. & NE. 2 be 7 Rain or Snow, - § 154 E. & SE. - - 105 Y tj ‘ 3 5 dpm 8, & SW. ite 146 365 W.&N,NW. - - 107 365 400. Scientific Intelligence.—Meteorology. rf } a "'Ratreme Cold and Heat by Six’s Thermometer. shits Coldest, 334 January" cea ai hap rN rien Hottest,’ Duly it joins “— Inseeisets. " io MASA GSAS 54° 2h) “toaster eels emo: Bdtiedy: “ye 8 40 Dipset ont 8 Heit of Tebo Rain’ Gaigess 2am ib c.sottee eh . prairie Kinfauns Gatites ‘about 20 feet above ‘the level of the * sais 4: Realy: .visH pm: 1s 2. "Square " Tower, Kinf uns Castle, about 140 fect, 44 7 dun sh OU Sh MiISIGOS Diaols + spo, oritiaray 40rr 6. Mr Watt's iSlalon and. Lunar. Compasses.—-Mr Watt, ha- ving observed thatthe forms.of ‘the, solar, compass; which were described in a preceding number of this, Journal, although. they exhibited: well the phenomena mentioned from. the, vernal, to, the autumnal equinox, yet did not move so,readily,when ‘the sun's declination became 'greater, finds, _that, the. motions become very distinct; by adopting the following improvement...) Stretch a circular disc of: dark-coloured velvet, of about four inches. dia- meter, upon: two | very thin slips of light, wood, or upon two fea- thers, placed across each ,other| at wight, angles, render about 25 grains weight of pure filings of steel magnetic, by putting them between the folds of .a. piece. of ‘paper, and. (drawing: the ends of two magnets: about thirty: times: across them... Rub, the filings‘over the whole face of the velvet disc, they»will then, sink into the spaces formed: by the. pilesiof ‘the silk, Letythis be af- fixed to the endvof avery: light: bar of woods; or:to the opaque part of a writing quill,’ four’ inches long, by-a fine needle passed through the disc; ‘make a small \perforation,in the wood or quill, at the distance of one-third of. its, length: aneasuring,from the point to: which the disc is attached: press,a small. agate or glass capsule into the aperture: without any. wax) or fixture;.the: -elas- ticity of the’wood..or quill keeps it sufficiently firm; balance it ona fine steel poimt, and. let the cover be put-over its; This: in- strument) moves to the influence of, the solar .beam-from morn- ing to eyening, on our shortest days,'even.when the thermometer stands at freezing, and though the: rays fall upon.itthrough.the glass of a window and the:glass of ‘the cover:-and, thesmotion of the balancing bar is as Pi SONS and constant, when the sky is,clear,.as the shadow of the gnomon, of a. dial. Watt pn also , observed, that this ney and | sev ra other . = Pa Mee clearly indicate by their motion the attractive influence of the lunar beam. An account of the experiments, directed to ascer- Scientific Intelligence —Chemistry. 401 tain this property? in the lunar aed will be communicated after- woaaaian | cuemisrry, | wee vir Matter Wis Mineral Waters. mal) preci matter is deposited from the water of the hot alkaline’ sprig’ of Vichy, in France. It was analyzed by Vauquelin, who found it to re- semble the white of an egg. It.is worthy.of remark, that springs iii the south of France, and in the north of Italy, which issue from primitive rocks, should contain this. substance, ne com- position’ is so nearly the'same'as that of organic matter.\\ |) 8. Crystals*of Oxalate’ of Lime'in Plants.—M. salaieliie read a memoir to the Academy of Sciences, to prove the analogy which’ exists in’ arrangement between the crystals of silica, which are found in sponges, ‘and those of oxalate of lime occurring in the’ tissue of phahérogamous’ plants. «The latter crystals:were observed; for'the first'time,: by Rafn and Jurine, who regarded them as organs of whith they ‘knew not the use. »'They! were then observed by: ‘Mi de 'Candolle; who called them raphides, and gave afigure of them; which, however, isinaccurate., These crystals are réally°very regular tetraedrons; In many plants, ‘as Oréhis; Panddntis, Ornithooulum; Jacinthis; Phytolacca decan- dra sab conibiajdnithemeaie® deltoides, | Sve. they “are very’ small, not being more’thdn 54; of a’ millimetre’ (0002 of an inch) in width} $4°(0004 ofan inch) in length, /Buty’in the tubercles of the Florence Tris, they areas much as; 2,’ (0008 of an inch) in width, and°}'(.01312’of an‘inch) in length, so as to be pions ey pable of exainination. x Bullet Unive Boxe 876000 9) occ 9. Todine in Cadmium.—lodine is found in» in siete zine foundry at’ Konigshute, in Upper Silesia, in the ee which ps menpat the zine’ ores:++ Poggendorf’s' Journal. 100 New Mode of preserving crystals of Salts. =Mr Diarchiy in’'a@ communication ‘tothe Wernerian Society, “mentions, that crystals ‘of' ‘efflorescent and’ deliquescent salts can’ be preserved from decay)! if! the ‘air in the jars in which they are’ kept is im. pregnated with vil of turpentine. | 'Thisis effected by pouring a very smalliquantity of the oil err ea oe loveenhy te now AnBi2ioo hp ‘Ghotod Mu ie seised vannriad ads alm vi sleih fio rio’ oe sf fot ep Rath TH Be. Cis ee ring for sa Par ae ck yA Hil oe hio, about a mile’ ‘and: a half 402 Scientific Intelligence.— Geology. from Lake Erie, after proceeding to the depth of 197 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 acloud ; and, by ignition, occasioned by the fire in. the shops of the work- men, consumed and destroyed every thing: in. the vicinity.— Trans. of the Phil. Soc. of New York. Unciio2 ane oak 3, 12. Inflammable Gas from Salt Mines, employed. for produ- cing Light—In the salt mine of Gottesgabe, at Rheine, in the county of Tecklenbourg, there has issued; for sixty years, from one of the pits (which has, on this account, been called the Pit of the Wind), a continued ‘current of inflammable gas... The same gas is produced in other parts of the mines... Me Reeders, the inspector of the: salt-mines, has used this gas:for two years, not only as.a light, but-as fuel for all the purposes of cookery. He collects it in pits that are no longer worked, and» conveys it in tubes to his house, It burns with a-white:and brilliant flame. Its density is about 0.66. | It: contains: only traces ,of; carbonic acid and sulphuretted hydrogen, and therefore should ¢onsist of carbonetted hydrogen and olefiant gas—Journal of Science. 18: Analysis of Peat.—Bergsma has published, :in:Buchner’s Repertorium, xxi. p. 498, an analysis. of peat. 'He’found. it composed of the following substances :+ Woody mattety 49:2 ; ulmin, 19.00; resinous matter, 1.80 ; oxide of iron, 0.42 ;:sili¢a, 3.8 ; sulphate of lime, 4.5; phosphat of lime @.7 5 watery 125. Berzelius remarks, that the substance named ulmin by Bergsma, is nothing more than the extractive matter of ‘soiljawhith,,on,ac- count of ‘its properties, is precipitated by acids. "his peataf- fords, by distillation, 0. ell of wopyomnet ligneous acid, and 0.37 carbon. wee Pole | ey guondt 14. Geology of the Bisaine Mountains: —<‘ A very. extensive report upon the geology of the Himalaya Mountains, byyCap- tain Herbert, superintendent of the Geological Survey, was.com- municated by government to the society. .The ‘copiousness: of this report did not admit of its being read, and the attention of the meeting was restricted to some of; the principal results. The paper consists of an introduction and five sections/. -The first is chiefly geographical, and describes the physical. aspect and arrangement; the second furnishes geological details; the Scientific Intelligence. — Geology. 43 third takes a general view of the geological structure ; the fourth exhibits the conclusions drawn by Captain Herbert, from his ob- servations, as compared with theory and inquiries in other countries ; and the fifth enumerates the mineral productions of the mountains, as far as yet ascertained... In. the first. division of his subject,Captain Herbert adverts to the supposed elevation of the great central table of Asia, whence arise so many consi- derable streams, and which, although surrounded. by lofty bar- riers, ismot necessarily of the great height which has been ima- gined.) His observations, however, are restricted to a part only of the barrier; which is not among its least important portions. He estimates the superficial-extent of the mountainons region, now comprised within the boundary of British India, at about 23,000"square miles. The: whole of this is mountainous, but the’mountaims do not offer, to an ordinary observer, the idea of regular chains ; and)it is only with reference to the course of the rivers that their principal branches can be discriminated from eachother. They are then distinguishable into different. ranges, of which the Indo=Gangetic chain: is the most,extensive,,. With — respect to elevation, \Captain Herbert observes, that, whilst in South America, thére; is but one peak, Chimborazo, which ex- ceeds 20,000 feet, and not more than five which, are about 18,000; there are no fewer than twenty-eight peaks in. the Himalaya, which overtop Chimbarazo, one of which is about 25,000: feet, forty-four which exceed the three next of the American: elevations, and more than a hundred which tower above. ‘the next.in height: facts which he justly considers as more ; satisfactory, proofs,.of the ,superior elevation of these mountains than the greater. loftiness of an. isolated , summit. Through this range: the only rock sufficiently extensive to be characteristic of its.formation is gneiss, the other rocks occurring only in yeinsor beds... It, occurs in three principal, states, or laminated, granular, and what Captain. Herbert terms glandu- lar. Granite veins are numerous in some, positions, but this minéral does not form a leading feature.of these mountains, in which they offer a remarkable difference from, the structure of the Andes.-. Various other differences, equally remarkable, oc- Fh: one of. iad is, the total absence of volcanoes in the Hi- 404. Scientific Intelligence —Geology. malaya *. Captain Herbert considers, also, that no fossil re- mains are found within that tract of the Himalaya, which he re- gards as the tract of primitive formation, although ammonites are met with beyond the zone of gneiss; and with regard to the fossil bones, brought, as supposed, from the neighbourhood of the Niti Pass, nothing is known of their origin beyond the fact of their not having been discovered to the south of that pass. These bones were recognised by Professor Buckland as belonging to the same era as those of the caves, the history of which he has so ably illustrated. Our limits will not allow us to enter further into the details of this very interesting and important document, and we must content ourselves with enumerating the following as the mineral productions hitherto discovered in the mountains. They are sulphur, alum, plumbago, bitumen, gyp- sum, potstone, granite, borax, rock salt, gold dust in small quantities, copper, lead, and iron, in some abundance, and anti- mony, combined with lead and sulphur, and mangas onthe iron.”—Calc. Gov. Gaz. 15. Natural Gas-Lights at Fredonea—This vilalees on the shores of Lake Erie, is lighted every night by inflammable gas from the burning springs, as they are called, in its vicinity. Captain Hall has visited this village, and wn, no sane give us an account of it on his return. BOTANY. 16. Eriophorum pubescens, Smith.—This very rare species grows, in tolerable abundance, in a boggy field about three miles north of Berwick. It grows in the bog, and flowers in Pithe months of June and July. 17. Rhodiola and Scilla.—Dr George Johnston of Berwick, has found the Rhodiola rosea, a northern plant, on Fast Castle, and on rocks near Berwick, being the most southerly ‘station hitherto observed.—The Rev. A. Baird observes, that the Scilla verna, which is generally considered peculiar to our northern and western shores, grows plentifully on the seabanks at Guns- green, near Eyemouth, — * This statement affords a distinct contradiction to an account published in some of the Bengal papers, of a volcano said to have burst forth in the highest snowy peak of the Himalaya mountains, which excited much curiosity in Europe, and has led to some interesting speculations. ea =o RS Cen elie eal ie ie Scientific Intelligence.—Zoology. 405 ZOOLOGY. ‘18. Recovery from Drowning. — M. Brianyoois had occa- sion to give assistance in a case where, after a person had been _twenty minutes under water, he was taken out, and, by a -very common, but serious mistake, carried with bis head down- wards. ‘The usual means were tried unremittingly, but unsue- cessfully, for a whole hour, but at the end of that timea little blood flowed from a vein that had been opened, and a ligature being placed on the arm, ten ounces of blood were withdrawn : the circulation and respiration were then gradually re-establish- ed, horrible convulsions, and a frightful state of tetanus, coming on at the same time; copious bleeding was again effected, after which a propensity to sleep came on: a third bleeding the fol- lowing morning was followed by the recovery of the patient. ‘Hence M. Bourgeois concludes, that the means of recovering a drowned person should never be abandoned until the decompo- sition of the body has commenced.—Bull. Univ. c. xi. 213. 19. Preservation of Skins.—A tanner in Hungary uses with great advantage the pyrolignous acid in preserving skins from putrefaction, and in recovering them when attacked. They are deprived of none of their useful qualities if covered by means of a brush with the acid, which they absorb verp readily. 20. Stupendous Lizard.—Mr Bullock, in his: Travels (just published), relates, that he saw near New Orleans, ‘‘ what are believed to be the remains of a stupendous crocodile, and which are likely to prove so, intimating the former existence of a lizard at least 150 feet long ; for I measured the right side of the un- der jaw, which I found to be 21 feet along the curve, and 4 feet 6 inches wide; the others consisted of numerous vertebree, ribs, femoral bones, and toes, all corresponding in size to. the jaw; there were also. some teeth; these, however, were not of proportionate magnitude... These remains were discovered. a “short time since, in the swamp near Fort Philip, and the other parts of the mighty skeleton are, it is said, in the same part of the swamp.” 21. Sea Serpents avid Colossal Medusa Ihave read with great pleasure your very highly interesting communication about the sea serpent, as also, the very profound and learned disquisi- JANUARY—MARCH 1828. DD ‘ 406 Scientific Intelligence.— Zoology. tion on that and similar subjects by your eminent friend, S. S. Duncan, Esq. (of Oxford.) Every person who has been much in the Bombay trade must have seen countless shoals of sea-serpents off that coast. I myself have seen them for hours accompanying the ship I was on board: of in 3809, when going to” Bombay, and every person I have spoken to on the point here has ap- peared surprized that any doubt could exist about it. ‘Those which I saw might be about 40 feet long, from estimation; they were beautifully coloured, and moved as rapidly as the ship, going seven or eight miles an hour: smaller ones still more common. On the coast of this island an immense medusa was - thrown on shore, in a violent gale, of wind, in 1819; it was with- in seven miles of my Belomber estate. It must have weighed many tons. I went to see it when the gale had subsided, which was not for three days after its being cast upon the sand, but it had already become offensive, and I could not distinguish any shape. The sea had thrown it high above the reach of the tide, and I instructed the fishermen who lived in the immediate neigh- bourhood to watch its decay, that if any osseous or cartilaginous part remained it might be preserved ; it rotted, however, entire- ly, and left no remains. It could not be less than nine months before it entirely disappeared ; and the travellers were obliged to change the direction of the road for nearly a quarter of a mile to avoid the offensive and sickening stench which proceeded from it.”—-Extract of a Letter from C. Telfair, Esq. July 20. 1827, to R. Barclay, Esq. of Bury Hill. 22. Chinese method of fattening Fish.—* The Chinese are ce- lebrated for their commercial. acumen, indefatigable industry, _and natural adroitness, in making the most of every gift of na- ture bestowed on their fertile country. Useful as well as orna- mental vegetables engross their every care; and animals which are the most -profitably reared, and. which yield the greatest quantity of rich and savoury food, are preferred by them for supplying their larders and stews. Their hortus dietetica would form a considerable list ; and though they do not use such a va- riety of butcher’s meat and fowl as Europeans do, yet, in. the articles of pork, geese, and ducks, they surpass ; in the use of fish they equal us; and in their domestication and management Scientific Intelligence — Zoology. 407 of them; they excel.all other ‘nations. .A few observations on their piscinas, or fish-stews, is the design of this paper ; not merely as ‘a historical description, but as an object for imitation in this or any other country. For twenty or thirty miles round Canton, and as far as the eye can reach on each side of the river _ on which that city stands, the general face of the country ap- pears nearly a level plain, with but little undulation of surface. The level is, however, richly studded with beautiful hills, which 3 diversify. the landscape, and seem to rise out of the plain so abruptly, that they form the most picturesque features, united with the most pleasing combinations. The soil of the plain con- sists of a pure alluvial earth, of great fertility and depth, and very retentive of water ; which, by the way, is a proof that, not- withstanding their claim to high chronological antiquity, the waters of the delage remained much longer (perhaps for ages) on this portion of the continent of Asia, than it did in the inte- rior: and the circumstance of many of their hills being culti- vated to the very top, their numerous water-plants, and their almost amphibious habits as to their domiciles, are still further proofs that the country was once, more of an aquarium than it now is. Hence the facility of making canals, which are their high-roads (as wheel- -earriages and beasts of draught are too ex- pensive appendages for the systematic economy of the celestial empire !) and hence the ease with which a pond may be made in any otherwise useless corner. Such tanks, or ponds, are generally met with in market-garden grounds, where they serve the double purpose of a reservoir, and a stew for rearing and fattening fish. —When a pond is made for this purpose, and filled with water, the owner goes to market, and buys as many young store-fish as his pond can conveniently hold ; this he can easily do, as al- most all their fish are brought to market alive. Placed in the stew, they are regularly fed morning and evening, or as often as the feeder finds it necessary ; their food is chiefly boiled rice, to which is added the blood of any animals they may kill, wash from their stewing-pots and dishes, &c.,—indeed, any animal offal or vegetable matter’ which the fish will eat. It is said they also use some oleaceous medicament in the food, to make the fish more voracious, in order to accelerate their fatten- pnd2 408 Scientific Inteligence.— Zoology. ing; but of this the writer could obtain no authentic account. —Fish so fed and treated, advance in size rapidly, though ‘not’ to any great weight; as the kind (a ‘species of perch) which: came under observation, never arrive at much more than a pound avoirdupois ; but from the length of three or four inches, when first put im, they grow ‘from eight to nine in afew months; and are then marketable. Drafts from the pond are then ocea-) sionally made; the largest are first taken off, and conveyed in . large shallow tubs of water to market; if sold, well; if mot, they are brought: back, and replaced in the stew, until they cam be disposed of. This business of fish-feeding is so managed, that the stock are all fattened off about the time the -water. is most wanted for the garden crops. ‘The pond is then cleaned out, the mud carefully saved, or spread as manure,—again filled. with water, stocked with young fry, and fed as before: —An intelligent Chinaman, from whom the writer had the above detail, and who shewed him:as much of the process as could be seen during a residence of three months, declared, ‘as his belief, that a spot of ground, containing from twenty to thirty square yards, would yield a greater annual profit as a stew, than it would. in any other way to which it could possibly be applied. —That fish maybe tamed, suffer themselves to be caressed, and even raised cut of their natural. element by the hand, has been long known to naturalists; witness the famous old- carp formerly in the pond of some religious house at Chantilly, m m France, with many other instances on record. But it is: pro= bable no people has carried the art of: stew-feeding fish, and practising it as a profitable concern, to such lengths, as is done by. the Chinese at this day.” Quarterly Journal of Science. 23. Leacia lacertosa.—The animal: described under this name in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, vol. xiii. p. 220,'is the Oniscus longicornis of Sowerby’s British Miscellany. As. it is certainly not an Oniscus, the genus Leacia, rn asia 3 ond Johnston, ought to be allowed to remain. GEOGRAPHY... 24. Mr Cormack’s Journey in inti of the Red. bts The following particulars of the expedition of our friend Mr Scientific Intelligence-—Geography. 409 Cormack are extracted from the Newfoundland Journal of De- cembet last. —‘ That enterprising gentleman, W. E. Cormack, Esq: who, it will be remembered, left this place about the middle of September last, for the purpose of taking an excur- sion into the interior of the country, with a view to discover the retreat of the Red Indians, and with the ultimate object of in- troducing them to civilized life, returned to this town on Wed- nesday last, in a small. schocner, from Twillingate. We have had’ some conversation with Mr Cormack, and the follow- ing. may be regarded as a brief outline of the route which this gentleman has taken.—* Mr Cormack, accompanied by three Indians, entered the mouth of the river Exploits, at the north- westiarm, and proceeded in a north-westerly direction, to Hall’s Bay, distant about forty or fifty miles. At about half-way, namely, at ‘Badger Bay Great Lake, he was encouraged by finding some traces, indicating that a party of the Red Indians had been at that place some time in the course of the preced- ing year. From Hall’s Bay, a westerly direction into, the inte- rior was taken, and, about thirty miles were traversed, towards Bay of Islands, and to’ the southward of White Bay, when, discovering nothing ‘that' could assist him in his inquiries there, Mr Cormack proceeded southwardly, to the Red Indians’ Lake, where he spent several days, examining the deserted encamp- ments, and the remains of the tribe. At this place were found seyeral wooden cemeteries, one of which contained the remains of Mary March and her husband, with those of others; but, discovering nothing which indicated that any of the living tribe had recently been there, Mr Cormack rafted about seventy miles down the river, touching at various places in his way, and again reached the mouth of the Exploits, after an absence of thirty days, and having traversed nearly 200 miles of the inte- rior, encompassing most of the country which is known to have been hitherto the favourite resort of the Indians. Mr Cormack is decidedly of opinion that the tribe have taken refuge in some sequestered spot in the neighbourhood of Bay Islands, west of White Bay, or in the south-west part of the island ; and, haying found where they are not, he apprehends very little difficulty in finding where they really are. Mr Cormack has engaged 410 Scientific Intellience,— Geography. thred of the mob intelligent ‘of ‘the other Indians to follow: up his search in the ensuing year; and he feels persuaded that the pursuit will be ultimately attended with corliplers —— ) ne Ledger. I) 25. Mr Thomas Park's i Jouiney into the Phsersor of Afro —Our young friend, and former pupil, Mr Park, son of the celebrated traveller Mungo Park, by this time far in the inte rior of Africa, writes to us as follows.—“ Acera, 11th September 1827.—I intend to set off to-morrow morning. I have been nearly three months here, during which time I have been prin- cipally busy with the study of the Ashantee language. Some time ago I made an excursion of about fifty miles into the inte- rior by way of experiment, and did not fail to look around me, and notice the rocks and other natural productions. I have only time to say, that the valley of Accra is about twelve miles in breadth, and fifty in length; the bottom is covered with a soft sandstone, and this sandstone in one place was observed resting upon clay-slate. The mountains bounding the sides of this long valley, as far as I could observe, appear composed of quartz- rock and clay-slate alternating with each other, and Paik eet in strata ranging SSW. and NNE., the dip from 30° to 80° (the direction of the dip not given). The quartz-rock contains grains of gold, as I ascertained by careful examination. In some blocks of rock (syenite) I noticed a good many crystals of sphene, and in one place I saw what I imagined to be black manganese ore. It is very hard and heavy, and is fashioned by the Ashaiitees into balls. The cover of alluvium, in the bottom of the valley, and extending down to the sea-coast, is of such a nature as to lead me to conjecture that it is of marine origin, and, therefore, that the sea formerly extended a long way inland. ' The bases of the hills are richly clothed with trees; but these diminish in number towards the coast, where there occur only a bush here and there.” : ARTS. 26. Manufacture of Ultramérine —M. Gay Lussac annouticed to the Academy, that M. Tunel, inspector of gunpowder and saltpetre, had succeeded in the direct formation of ‘ultramarine, — Scientific Intelligence—Arts. 441 and that what he. obtains by this. process is finer and more bril- liant than the natural colour. It was by following the analysis -M. Clement. Desormes that the inyentor accomplished this desirable object... M. Tunel has already been.able to sup- ply. the public with ultramarine at 25 francs the ounce ; the ce- lour having hitherto been sold for 50 or 60 francs the ounce: He, hopes:that he shall be able to sell it at a still more moderate price. “M. Tunel has thought proper to keep this process secret for a certain, time—Le Globe, Fev. 9. 1828. 27. St Helena Silk.—... sf To Lieut, A. M. Surin of se ae Street, for “ an i it in propelling Vessels, and for working undershot Water-m >” 18. To J. L. Srzvens of Plymouth, for, “ a new ‘Method of poten Vessels by the aid of Steam, or other means, and for its applica- tion to other purposes.” To T. TYNDALL of Birmingham, for « improvements in chinery for making nails, brads and screws; communica: poi abroad.” To J. Grorex of Chancery Lane, Esquire, barrister-at-law, for his “ invention for preserving Decked Ships or Vessels, so as to ren- der them less liable to dry-rot, and for preserving goods on board . such ships and vessels from damage by heat.” ' 19. To T. S. Horxanp of the city of London, Esquire, for « combina. tions of Machinery for generating and communicating Power and Motion, applicable to propelling of fixed machinery, as also float. ing bodies, carriages, and other locomotive engines,” _ 21. To W. Hartanp, M.D. of Scarborough, for “ improvements i in Apparatus for propelling Locomotive Carriages ; which improve- ments are also applicable to other useful purposes.” © “a 22. To C. A. Fureuston of Mill Wall, in the parish of All Saints, Poplar; mast-maker, and J. Fa.coner ATLEE of Prospect Place, Deptford, for their “ improvements in the construction of made Masts.” 27. To W. Hate of Colchester, for his “ improvements i in Machinery . for propelling Vessels.” 1828, Jan. 2. To W. Gossacz of Leamington Priors, Warwickshire, for ey improve- ments in. the construction of Cocks for the passage of Fluids.” To T. Borrizxp of Hopton Court, Salop, for “ improvements in making Tron, or in the method or methods of smelting and making of Iron,” m9 To J, Haun junior of Ordsall, near Manchester, : for «“ ‘ improvements in. Dyeing Piece Goods by machinery,”” To J. Cu. DanrExt of Stoke, Wilts, for “ improvements in Dressing Cloths, and im the machinery applicable for that purpose.” “ 9. To W. Monrzey of Nottingham, for “ improvements and additions _ to Machinery now in use for making Lace or Net.” To J. A. Hunt Grune of Stanton, St Bernard, Wilts, clerk, for “a transmitting Heat Wall for the ripening of Fruit,” 15. To J. Giuperrson of Hertford, for “ an improvement i in the con- struction of Furnaces, by which they consume their own smoke.” To C. Hoorrr of Spring Gardens, in the parish of Marston Bigott, To J. Evans the younger, of Moreton Mills, near Wallingford, Berks, for “ improvements on Steam-Engines.” — List of English Patents. 41S > >5. \Somersetshire, for eS eT eee “ping Woollen and other Cloths.” that dam 15. Tod. Braves of: Clapham, Surrey, for & gn imaproveindiit in rd old | Water Proof Stiffening for Hats ; communicated frém abro: ‘oie bere To W. Newrow of Chancery Lane, for “ an Fer gyn gg Chair. bed, with various appendages.” “To G. D. Haris of Field Place, near Stroud, Cllotacdatershite, for _\. » improvements in Dressing and. Preparing Woollen Yarns, and » @leaning} dressing and preparing woollen cloths, &c. atid in the ap. paratus for performing the same.” | To J. Fatconer AT Lex of Prospect Place, Deptford, for “ improve- ments on Bands or Hoops for securing made and other masts, iy » bowsprite and. yards, and applicable to other purposes.” To W. Ersxrxe Cocnrane, Esq. of Regent Street, for “ improve- | tients in certain apparatus for Cooling, and other purposes.” “ 19. 'T6 J. Tavtor ‘Beare of Church Lane; Whitechapel; and G. Ri- - eHaRpsow Porter of Old Broad Street; for “ their new mode of eommunicating Heat, for various purposes.” f To W. Percrvat of Knightsbridge, for “ Jiinettiveanenity i in the con- -struetion and application of Shoes; without nails, to the feet of horses, and certain other animals.” : To G. Jacxson of St Andrew, Dublin, for “ jmprovefnents in Ma- chinery for propelling Boats and other Vessels; which iniprove- |. mehts are also applicable to Water Wheels, and other purposes.” _ 2 To J. Wetss of the Strand; for “ improvements on Instruments for bleeding horses and other animals.” To Aveustus Arriecatn of Crayford, Kent, for his “ improve- ments in Block-printing.” 31. To Donatp Currie of Regent Street, Esquire, for “a method of preserving Grain, and other vegetable and animal substances and esauat iio? ES 5a A Si i List of Patents granted in Scotland from 6th December 1827 to 23d atest mnt A 1828. 1827, Dec. 6. To Josuva Jesotik jidhide of Briglltei Street, in a Sasi of St Pancras, Middlesex, gentleman, for “ a Cartridge or Case, and ~ method of more advantageously inclosing therein Shot 6 or other ihissiles, for thé purpose of loading fire-arms and died of different descriptions.” 1828, Jan. 4. To Ropert WaeEeE eR of High Wycome, in the county of Bucks, brewer, for “ an improvement or improvements on or in Refri- gerators for cooling Fluids.” 416 List of Scottish Patents. Jan. 4.'To Tuomas Bonner of Monkwearmouth Shore, in the county of ~ Durham, merchant, for an “ improvement in Safety Lamps.” 10. To Witt1am Parkinson of “Barton-upon-Humber, in the county of Lincoln, gentleman, and Samuret Crossiey of Cottage Lane, ' City Road, in the county of Middlesex, gas apparatus manufac- turer, for “ an improvéd method of eee and ew ‘an _\. Engine for producing power and motion.” = 17. To Wittt1am Narrn of Davie Street, Edinburgh, site county of Mid-Lothian, wright, for “a new or improved method or methods of propelling Vessels through or on ssn water n> —_ aid of Steam or other Mechanical Force.” 22. To Greorer Dickinson of Buckland Mill, near Dandi in ‘the coun- “ty of Kent, paper-maker, for ‘* an rea Ra or rr ifm soca ’ in making paper by machinery.” . ' 29. To’ Ratpn Rewcast re of Aoweuatikinlebcl ED mnill-wright, for ; ““ a new and improved method of Ballasting Ships or. Vessels.” Feb. 13. ‘To Rozert Srey of Regent Street, Oxford Street,:in the county of Middlesex, for ‘* an improvement i in applying ste to the pur- ~~ 0) © pose of Distillation.” , To Tuomas Bovsor tac taeues of Fariworth = the ‘eounty of Lancaster, paper-maker, for “ certain improvements in that part of the process of paper-making which relates to the cutting.” 23. To GrorcE Jackson of St Andrew’s Street, in the city of Dublin, attorney-at-law, for “ certain improvements in Machinery for _ propelling Boats and other Vessels; which improvements are also ‘applicable to water-wheels, and other purposes.” LIST OF PLATES IN THIS VOLUME. Piate I. Mr Mark Watt’s Solar Compass. ia Il. Ilustrative of Mr Stevenson’s Plan for improving Leith Harbour. III. Evolution of the Ova of the palit IV. Mr John Dunn’s buproved ‘Air-Pumpi dant si aL ; af! The Plate ( belonging to preceding Volume ) illustrative of Mr Blackad- _der’s Account of the Aurora borealis of Tara 188%. as also given with this Number. ¥ (. 417.) IN DEX, Aborigines of Newfoundland, Mr Cormack’s exertions, with a view to their civilization, 205, 408. Ainsworth, W. Esq., on the physical geography of the Malvern Hills, 91. Air-pump, Mr Dunn’s account of an improved, 382. Alps, Von Buch’s observations in respect to the, 190. Alumina, metal of, 185. Anatomy, notices in, 201. Animal matter in mineral waters, 401. - Animals, Prof. Carus on the dissection and preparation of, 378." cea M. Fred. Cuvier on the dotgbatication of, 45, 292. table substances growing on the bodies of, 38. Arnott, G. A. W. Esq, his account of a tour in France: &e. 130, 355. Arts, notices in, 200, 410.” Astronomy, notices in, 398. Ava, fossil remains found in, 63. Bald, Robert, Esq. his observations on the coalfield of Dalkeith, 115. - Barlow, Mr, on proposed experiments, with a view to the construction of | a national refracting telescope with a fluid concave lens, 323. Barometer, Mr Meikle, on the theory of the variations of the, 100. Baudrillac, M., his signs of the increase, maturity, and decay of trees, 191. Beavers, the European and Canadian, different, 196. Bees, M. Buttner’s remarks on their culture in forests, 197. Biographical account of Sir William Herschel, 1.—of Pallas, 213. Blue Mountains of New South Wales, M. dienoi on thes 156. Botany, notices in, 191, 404. Brisbane, Sir Thomas, rédintion of his. astronomical observations, 398. Bronzing statues, &c. manner of, 202. ‘Cadmium, iodine in, 401. Capil action, 184. Carus, fessor, on the dissection and preparation of anitrials, 378. — “onl thé: proportions of certain parts of the eye ‘of the fetus, 41. ~ Celestial phenomena, from January 1. to = 1. 1828, 177 fiom April 1. to July 1. 1828, 396. Chara, newly discovered fossil capsule of the. gétius 60. fohai lal Chemistry, notices in, 185, 400. 9 st onibol Coalfield of Dalkeith, Mr Bald’s. observations on: they 118) fork Cormack, Mr, notice respecting: his j ) journey: ‘in Nevwfoundlai(, 409. te Cordier, M. L., on the temperature’of the interior of the earthy) 273. tm Cuvier, M. F., on the domestication of mammiferous animals, 45, 2921! Cuvier, Baton. G., his biographical memoir igé Sir William Herschel, a of Pallas, 213... Cuvier and Cordier, Messrs, their report Paipecting M. C. Provost m- _., .moir on the submersion of the continents, 66. Dissection of animals, Professor Cuvier’s observations on the, 378. Domestication of mammiferous animals, M. FP. Cuvier on, tlie,.292, 45. - 418 INDEX. Don, Mr David, his remarks on the irritability of the stigma, and on the origin and nature of certain parts of the fructification of pinus larix, 43. Drowning, recovery from, 404. . Dunn, Mr John, his description ‘of an improved air-pump, 382. Dutrochet, M. his remarks on the irritability of the sensitive tte: 380. Efflorescence, M. Gay Lussac’s remarks on, 400. » Ellis, Daniel, Esq. | his sketch of the natural histor y, . the ae, 350, Eriophorum pubescens, locality of, 404, European formations, Dr Boue’s Métnoiy OH; FOO. ee Hic i tid Eye of the fetus, Professor Carus’s observations. on Mi pe ld Falls of Rewah, account of the, 182. Feathers, Mr Macgillivray’s account of, 123. Fish, Chinese method. of fattening, 407. Fishes, notice respecting Cuvier's great, work on, 200, Fossil remains found in Ava, 63. France, Mr Arnott’s account of a tour in, 180; 355. Fraser, Mr W. his account of benesit or “ea Lait Phe 208. Gas light, natural, 404. ii Geology, notices in, 187, 401. Bibel Geography, notices in, 205, 408, 4 Gil-i-toorsch, or sour-clay, analysis | of, 243. - Gilding and plating, quantity of metal employed in, 202, Graham, Dr, his descriptions of new and oP pants ¥¥2, #4 a, Green colour of oysters, 196. 9 1 helt Gyrogonite, M. C. Prevost on a new, 60.. patent — Harris, account of, 140, eT «| i r Harbours, British, Mr Stevenson’s reneis on,” 0, soon [adi Heat, Professor Leslie's remarks on Mr Rilben: experiments 0 on, MW I. Herschel, Sir W., biographical account of, l. ef sonik Himalaya Mountains, geology of, 402. sus! odT iB Hornet, Mr Macgarvie’s observationson the, 23%.. iit peak se Som) * Hydrography, notices in, 182. wee a a. Inflammable gas from salt-mines, em ee for producing, light, 402. Innes, Mr George, his calculations of celestial; Phepamansy: 147; a0, Inflammable gas, after boring for ats in Qiies 4@hyink, of 1 lit Ink, indelible writing, 203. iw Todine in cadmium, 401. ar viteiensdl Iron, native, discovered in Connecticut, 154. 9° fo a Ironstone, Mir Middleton’s analysis: of, 167. ‘oa 4 shear Irritability of the stigma of pinus larix, Aa. Irritability of sensitive plant, 380. Kinfauns, meteorological register for 1827 pine at; ‘399. Knox, Dr Robert, his remarks on the beavers of Europe and Ameria, 196. Leacia lacertosa, 409. Leslie, Professor, his remarks on Mr Ritchie's experiments on heat, 171. Lesson, M. R. P., his observations made among the Blue Mountains of New South Wales, 156. INDEX. « 419 Limestone, Mr Middleton's analysis of, 167. Lizard, a stupendous one found in America, 405. . Lord President, his facts relating to the swallow and partridge, 290... Macgarvie, Rev. John, his observations on the large brown hornet, 23. Macgillivray, Mr W., his account of the covering of toidcdag: 128. loihbod A Mahogany, size and value of, 411. Malvern Hills, Mr Ainsworth’s sketch of their shsaical ieee Pe? Mammiferous animals, M. FY. Cuvyier's on the domestication of, Pees! Matter, its tendency to become organised, 194. Medusa, account of a colossal one, stranded in India, 405. Meikle, H. Esq. his proposed improvements in the theory of sound, 100 ; remarks on the variation of the barometer, 100. Menteath, J. S. Esq. his sketch of the geology of Nithsdale, 314. Meteorology, notices in, 182, 399. Middleton, G. Esq. his analysis of Ceylonese ironstone and limestone, 1Ry 4 Milk, used as food, peculiar cases of, 197, Mineralogy, notices in, 185, Natural philosophy, notices in, 103. Nautical almanack, appendix to the, 398. Neill, P. Esq. his account of the habits of a specimen of siren lacertina, 346. Waveas, their distribution is muscular fibres, 200. Newfoundland, notice respecting Mr Cormack’s journey im, 408. Nithsdale, Mr Menteath’s account of its geology, 314. Organic remains found in Sussex, 188. Ostranite, description of, 186. ters, cause of their green colour, 196. Oxalate of lime in plants, 401. Pallas, Pierre Simon, biographical account of, 213. Park, Mr Thomas, his African journey, 410. Parry, Captain, his narrative of an attempt to reach the North Pots, 365. —— his reported polar expedition, 206. artridge, facts relating to its history, 290. oleh English, 210, 413.—Scotch, 212, 416. Peat, analysis of, 402. Puitdetaes, red species discovered in the West Indies, 200. Petrosilex of berg, 187. Physiology, notices in 200. Piney Tallow, 202. Pinus larix, Mr Don’s remarks on its fructification, 43. Plants, new and rare, Dr Graham's pease ray * 172, 389. —— rare Seotch, 193. —— oxalate of lime in, 401, a ot ru West Indies, their origin, 187. Platina, | known masses of native, 185. Polar expedition, review of Parry’s account of the late, 365. Pompeii, Mr Ramage’s account of excavations lately made at, 244. Prevost, M. C. his account of a new gyrogonite, 60. his memoir on the submersion of the continents, 66. Publications, new, 411. 420 | . INDEX. . Quadrupeds, remains of, in the tertiary rocks of Yanan 189. dapat Rain, great fall of, at Bombay, 182. . 6 beeen Ramage, T.C., Esq. ., his account of excavations lately made at Pompei, 244. Rhinoceros, growth and habits of a young, 199.0 Rhodiola rosea observed at Fast Castle, 404.