= 34); Pay te f Re Phi ee Lig ba aati fg EDINBURGH NEW PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. recat - 1 Broa. ’ >: ct” seated Oe ele eB THE EDINBURGH NEW PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL, EXHIBITING A VIEW. oS THE be 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 ; Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy ; of the Royal Society of Sciences of Denmark ; of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Berlin ; of the Royal Academy of Naples ; of the Geological Society of France; Honorary Member of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta 3 Fellow of the Royal Linnean, and of the Geological Societies of London ; of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall, and of the Cambridge Philosophical Society ; of the Antiquarian, Wernerian Natural History, Royal Medical, Royal Physical, and Horticultural Societies of Edinburgh ; of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland 3 of the Antiquarian and Literary Society of Perth; of the Statistical Society of Glasgow ; of the Royal Dublin Society ; of the York, Bristol, Cambrian, Whitby, Northern, and Cork Institutions ; of the Natural History So- ciety of Northumberland, Durham, and Newcastle ; of the Imperial Pharmaceutical Society of Petersburgh ; of the Natural History Society of Wetterau ; of the Mineralogical Society of Jena ; of the Royal Mineralogical So- ciety of Dresden ; of the Natural History Society of Paris ; of the Philomathic Society of Paris ; of the Natural History Society of Calvados ; of the Senkenberg Society of Natural History ; of the Society of Natural Sciences and Medicine of Heidelberg ; 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 ; of the Natural History Society of Montreal ; of the Franklin Institute of the State of Pennsylvania for the Promotion of the Mechanic Arts ; of the Gunma Society of Pennsylvania ; of the Boston Society of Natural History of the United States ; of the South African Institution of the Cape of Good Hope ; Honorary Member of the Statistical Society of France 3 Member of the Entomological Society of Stettin, &c. &c. &c. JANUARY.... APRIL 1843. VOL. XXXIV. TO BE CONTINUED QUARTERLY. EDINBURGH : ADAM & CHARLES BLACK, EDINBURGH: LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN & LONGMANS, LONDON. 1843. PRINTED BY NEILL & co., EDINBURGH. Art. I. II. ITI. IV. Vi: XI. CONTENTS Fourth Letter on the Glacier Theory to Profes- sor Jameson. By Professor ForBEs, . On the Salt Steppe south of Orenburg, and on a remarkable Freezing Cavern. By Ropr- rick Impey Murcuison, Esq. Pres. G. S. Extracts from a Letter addressed by Sir J. Herschel, Bart., F.G.S., to Mr Murchison, ex- planatory of the Phenomena of the Freezing Cave of Illetzkaya Zatchita, On some Phenomena observed on Glaciers, S84 on the internal Temperature of large masses of Ice or Snow, with some remarks on the na- tural Ice-caves which occur below the limit of perpetual snow. By Sir Joun Herscuen, Bart., F.G.S., &c. Analysis of Caporcianite and Phakolite, tire new Minerals of the Zeolite Family. By THomas Anverson, M.D. . M. Doyerr’s Experiments on the Révivifieation of animals of the types Tardigrada and Ro- tifera, . On the light of the Lampyits Italica. By M. W. PETERS, . On Coral Islands and Heety 4 as dtsoribed by Page 1 17 30 Mr Darwin. By Cuartes Macraren, Esq. F.R.S.E. Communicated by the Author, Remarks on the preceding paper, in a Letter from Cuartes Darwin, Esq.,to Mr Macra- REN, . Description of an Ht dnnproved Tilting pointe for emptying Waggons at the Termini of Rail- ways, Shipping-Places, &c., as used at the Magheramorne Lime-Works, Ireland. With aPlate. By James Toomson, Esq., F.R.S.E., M.R.LA., F.R.S.S.A., Civil Engineer, ci gow. Communicated by the his by Scottish Society of Arts, 4 Description of the Elaps Jamesoni, a Had Spe- cies of Serpent from Demerara. By Tuomas 33 47 ii XII. XII. XIV. XV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. XIX. XX. XXI. CONTENTS. Page S. Trait, M.D., F.R.S.E., M.W.S., &e. Com- municated by the Author, . 53 On the Application of the fit ppolliesis of M. Venetz to the Erratic Phenomena ofthe North; in a Letter addressed to M. Macaire, Counsel- lor of State. By M. Jean DE CHARPENTIER, Fragments of Philosophy. By Sir Wiriiam Hamittron, Bart., Professor of Logic and Me- taphysics in the University of Edinburgh, . 74 Notices of Earthquake-Shocks felt in Great Bri- tain, and especially in Scotland, with inferences suggested by these notices as to the causes of the Shocks. By Davin Mirnzg, Esq., F.R.S.E., M.W.S., F.G.S., &c. Communicated by the Aetna : me Ss, Remarks on Bierthauakes,; in British Tuite con- tained in a Letter addressed to Davin MILNe, Esq. by Lieutenant R. Barrp Smitu, Bengal Engineers, Assistant Superintendent of the Doab Canal, Saharunpore, . ‘ Sz Remarks on two points in the Theory of Gla- ciers. By M. Eviz pp Beaumont, Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, : - 110 On the Slopes of the Upper Limit of the Erra- tic Zone, and on their Comparison with the Slopes of Glaciers and of River-Courses. By M. Exre pe Beaumont, Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences, ee es Description of the genus sag and of Two New Genera nearly ailied to it. By Henry D. 8. Goopsir, Esq. Communicated by the Author. (No. V.) With Three Plates, 119 Description of a Self-Registering Tide-Gauge, invented by Mr Joun Maxton, Engineer, Leith. Witha Plate. Communicated by the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, 5 - 130 Historical Remarks on the first Discovery of the real Structure of Glacier Ice. By Professor Forses, Corresponding Member of the Royal Institute of France. Communicated by the Author, . : 133 On the Natural- Historical Writings of the Chinese. By M.Scuort, . 3 - 133 Or co CONTENTS. iii : Page XXII. The Origin and History of the Red Race accord- ing to Mr Brabrorp, 5 . 155 XXIII. Mean Results of the Thermometer, and thequan- tity of Rain, for 1841, at Alford in Aberdeen- shire—-about lat. 57° 13’ N.; 420 feet above the level of the sea, and 26 miles inland from the sea at Aberdeen. Also, the number of fair days, and of days on which rain or snow fell, more or less. By the Rev. James Far- aquuarson, LL.D., F.R.S. Communicated by the Author, . : , 5 . 159 XXIV. Abstract of Meteorological Observations for 1841, made at Applegarth Manse, Dumfries- shire. By the Rev. Wm. Dunzar, D.D. Com- municated by the Author, 3 161 XXV. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Continued from Vol. XX XIII. p. 197, 163 On the Action of Water on Lead. By Dr Curts- TISON, : . 163 Geological Notes on the ne of Dauphiné, By Professor ForBeEs, ‘ : 2 165 On the Ultimate Secreting Structure of Animals. By Joun Goonsir, Esq., : 167 Results of Experiments on the Specific Heat of Certain Rocks. By M. Reanautr, : 169 On the Effect of Snow in apparently increasing the Force of Solar Radiation. By Professor ForsBEs, . . . . ° 170 On the Structure, Formation, and Movement of ' Glaciers; and the probable cause of their for- mer extension and subsequent disappearance. By James Stark, M.D., < 2 171 On the several ages at which the leaves of tle Assam and China Tea-plants are used for mak- ing the different commercial varieties of Black and Green Tea. By Dr CHRISTISON, . 176 XXVI. Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural History Society. Continued from Vol. XXIII. p. 198, 176 XXVIII. Screntiric INTELLIGENCE— GEOLOGY AND GEOGRAPHY. 1. M. Elie de Beaumont on the former low Tempera- ture of European Winters, . : a 177 2, Determination of the Amount of Depression of the Dend Sea below the level of the Mediterranean, 17S 1Vv CONTENTS. 3. On the Grooves and Polished Surfaces at the con- tact of Ancient Secondary Strata, . 4. Geological Maps of Piedmont, &c., . . 5. Humboldt’s “ Fragmens Asiatiques,” . 6. Heights of Localities in the Holy Land ascertained Barometrically by Russegger, . MINERALOGY AND CHEMISTRY. 7. Dr Traill’s Collection, Z 7 8. Potash and Lime in Flint, . . . 9. Amphodelite, . . . . 10. Andesine, . : 3 : 11. Arquerite, ‘ ; ; i 12. Bromide of Silver in Mexico, . = : 13. Bromide of Silver in Chili, . ‘ : 14. Bamlite, . . F : 15, Calstron-baryte, , : : : 16. Discovery of Euclase in Connecticut, North Ame- Tica, 5 : 17. New Locality of Geokronite, . : . 18. Greenovite, - 5 4 19. Blue Colour of Lapis Lagali, 20. Pennine, F . : 21. Platina in the Auriferous Sand of the Rhine, 22. Villarsite, : : 6 23. Xenolite, 2 - . : 24, Sulphuric and Molybdic Acids, : : 25. Calcareous Rocks pierced by Helices, : 26. On the Residuum of the Combustion of the Dia- mond. By M. PerzHoupt, . ° MISCELLANEOUS, 27. Indian Isinglass, : 28. Ancient Fable of Colossal Kaus pbdaciog Gold, 29, On the Transformations which have been produced in Turf by the Essence of Turpentine, or by a Com- position similar to it. By M. ForcuHammeEr, 30. On the Preservation of Flowers, : XXVIII. New Publications, : 5 ; XXIX. List of Patents, . : 3 B Page 178 {79 179 ExRatvm in M. Studer’s paper on the Geological Structure of the Alps, vol, xxxiii. p. 154, line 10 from bottom ; for “ that we recognise it neither mineralogically nor geologi- cally as the analogue of the macigno of the Apennines ;” read “ that we recognise it both mineralogically and geologically as the analogue of the macigno of the Apennines,” error was in the original French memoir, This CONTENTS. Page Art. J. Sketch of the Writings and Philosophical Cha- racter of Augustin Pyramus Decandolle, Pro- fessor of Natural History at the Academy of Geneva, &e., &c. By Cuaries Davupeny, M.D., F.R.S., &c., Professor of Chemistry and of Botany in the University of Oxford. Com- municated to this Journal by the Author, . 197 Tabular View of the Cruciferz, distributed accord- ing to their Cotyledons and Seed- Vessels, 224 II. Observations on Subterranean Temperature in the Mines of Cornwall and Devon. By W. J. Henwoop, C.E., F.R.S., F.G.S., &¢., &c., &e., 246 III. Summary of Results on the Fossil Animals of the Chalk Formation, still found in a living state. By Professor EnRENBERG of Berlin, . ; 256 IV. On a method of Registering the Force actually transmitted through a Driving-Belt. By Ep- WARD SancG, Esq., F.R.S.S.A., Professor of Civil Engineering, College, Manchester. Com- municated by the Royal Scottish Society of Agts,. . , i : : 3 261 V. On the English Are of the Meridian. By Wit- LIAM GALBRAITH, Esq., M.A., Vice-President of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, F.R.A.S., &e. Communicated by the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, é 2 5 : 263 I. Of the Bases, . ‘ : : ; 265 II. Trigonometrical Results, . : : 267 III. General Remarks, . : : ; 269 Additional Note, . : ‘ . 274 i VET Vil. VIII. IX. XI. XII. XITT. XIV. CONTENTS. Description of a Portable Diorama, which may be viewed by a number of persons at a time. By Georce Tair, Esq., Advocate, F.R.S.S.A. With a Plan. Communicated by the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, Description of a Marine Salinometer for the pur- pose of indicating the Density of Brine in the Boilers of Marine Steam-Engines. Invented by J. Scotr Russe, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.R.S.S.A., Civil Engineer. (With two Plates.) Commu- nicated by the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, Observations on the Llama, Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna. By Marniz Hamitton, Esq., M.D., late of Peru. Communicated by the Author, Vicuna and Guanaco, Llama and Aipaca, On the Existence of Raised Beaches in the neigh- bourhood of St Andrews. By R. Cuamsers, Esq., F.R.S.E., With a Plate. Communicated by the Author, . Brief remarks on the Expediency of Forming Harbours of Refuge on the East Coast of Scot- land, between the Moray Firth and the Firth of Forth. ‘By Joun Fremine, D.D., Professor of Natural Philosophy, King’s College, Aberdeen, F.R.S.E., Member of Wernerian Society, &c. Communicated by the Author, ; On the Formation of the Diamond. By Dr Aurx- ANDER PETZHOLDT, of Dresden, An Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents. By Baron Von Humso.pr, Notice of the Great Explosion at Dover. Con- tained in a Letter to the Earl of Cathcart, by Captain Sruart, 7th Royal Fusiliers. Com- municated by Lord Greenock, On the Introduction into Scotland of Granite, for Ornamental Purposes, by Messrs Macdonald and Leslie of Aberdeen. By Professor Tratrtt, Page 275 278 285 285 290 298 306 317 326 337 CONTENTS, F.R.S.E., M.W.S., &c. Communicated by the Author, 4 , XV. Researches on the Comparative Anatomy of the Chimpanzee. By M. Vrotik, : XVI. On the Rein-Deer of the Laplanders. By Gustav Prerrer Brom, Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences at Drontheim, &c., f XVII. £ Connection of the Physiognomy of a Country, with the Character of its Inhabitants, &c., I. Belgium, II. Holland, IiI. A Midnight Scene on ie peo, -IV. A Scene in Norway, . XVIII. Meteorological Tables for the Years 1842-1843, 364-373 XIX. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Continued from last Number, p. 176, On the Growth of the Salmon. By Mr Anprew Youna, ; : On the Geology of Fane este. By Davip MILngE, Esq., ; On the Property of Transmitting Lens OR pee by Charcoal and Plumbago, in fine plates and par- ticles. By Joun Davy, M.D., &c. : f XX. Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural History Society. Continued from Jast Number, p. 177, XXI. Screntiric INTELLIGENCE— METEOROLOGY. 1, Variation of Temperature during the. Russian Expedition to Khiya, : 2. On the Movement and Structure of the Mer a Glace of Chamouni, . 3. Climate of Malta, - ; 4, Ignis Fatuus (Will-with-a-Wisp, Jack-with-a- Lantern, Spunkie) observed near Bolgona, GEOLOGY. 5. Geological Chronometer, 6. Gold Mines in Ireland, MINERALOGY. 7. Large mass of Native Gold found in the Oural Mountains, : 8. Fahlerz containing Mercury, from Hungary, 359 361 362 363 374 379 380 380 382 383 385 386 386 388 iv CONTENTS. MISCELLANEOUS. 9. Egyptian Bronze, : : 10. On the Production of the Guano of cht as 11. Visit of Columbus to Iceland, in 1477, and his Conyersations there with learned men, 12. Ethnological Society, XXII. The Great Comet, XXIII. New Publications, XXIV. List of Patents for Inventions, granted for Scot- land from 23d December 1842 to 22d March 1843, inclusive, : . : XXV. INDEX, Page 388 389 391 392 393 394 397 401 THE EDINBURGH NEW PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. Fourth Letter on the Glacier Theory, to Professor Jameson. By Professor Forses- Geneva, 5th October 1842. My Dear Sir,—Since my last letter from Zermatt, I have had an opportunity of examining the glaciers on different sides of Monte Rosa, particularly those of Lys and Macugnaga, and those near the Valley of Saas; and on my return to Cha- mouni earlyin September, I devoted a day to each of the glaciers of Trient and Argentiére, before resuming my station at the Montanvert, where I remained until almost the last days of the month. What I think it most interesting now to add as supplemen- tary to my former statements, is not a description of these various glaciers, but, with particular reference to the Mer de Glace, to mention what the extended period of examination which I have been able to give to it, has enabled me to con- clude beyond what is contained in my previous letters, re- specting the Theory of glacier-movement generally. Having accurately observed the condition and motions of this glacier throughout by far the greater part of the season at which it, VOL. XXIV. NO. UXViII.—sanuary 1843. A 2 Professor Forbes’ Account of his recent or indeed any glacier is easily accessible, or sufficiently free from snow for accurate observations,—having also, especially during the month of September, observed it under every cir- cumstance of weather and a great range of atmospheric tem- perature, I believe that I have obtained the chief data neces- sary for basing a theory of its motion, upon sound mechanical principles. The changes which I have witnessed upon its surface, during the period of above three months during which I have studied it, are so great and remarkable, and in some re- spects so unexpected, as to be of capital importance in any theory which may be proposed. I was very greatly struck with the change, in the general appearance of the glacier during my absence, from the 10th August to the 10th September. I left it comparatively high and tumid in the centre, at no great depth below the arréte of its natural boundary, the moraine by its side ; and fissured by crevasses, deep and rather narrow, with well-defined vertical walls.—On my return, the icy mass had most visibly sunk in its bed ; it seemed to me to have a wasted, cadaverous look ; the moraines protruded far higher than before from its sides ; and the ice itself clinging to the moraine at a considerable height above its general level, was covered by the fallen masses of stone and gravel which had rolled down the inclined plane formed by this central subsidence. The whole resembled somewhat the Wye, or some of those narrow tidal rivers whose muddy banks are left exposed by the retreat of the ocean. That this subsidence was in a good measure occasioned by the melting of the ice in contact with the bottom of the valley in which it lies, and by the falling together of the parts in a soft and yielding state, owing to a complete infiltration of the whole mass with water during the warm season of the year, was proved by a variety of circumstances which I shall not stop to detail. I may mention however, that the crevasses were wider but less deep and regular,—excessively degraded on the side to which the mid-day sun had free access, and in many places where several crevasses nearly joined, the icy partitions had sunk gradually towards a level, and thus rendered the fissured parts of the glacier more easily traversed than at an earlier part of the season. It is plain, too, that the fact of the . Observations on Glaciers. 3 more rapid advancement of the centre of the glacier mentioned in my earliest letter, implies a subsidence of that part, and a consequent drain from the lateral ice, to supply the vacuity which it leaves. It will at once be understood that the change of which I speak in the external figure of the ice, its crevasses and ine- qualities, is an effect due to the season, and must be repeated every year. Were the summer considerably prolonged, the annihilation of the glacier would take place from a simple con- tinuation of the process, namely, the increased velocity of the central part, the exaggeration of the crevasses in width, and the falling of their walls, or rather the gradual subsidence of the elevations, softened by the warmth, into the hollows which separate them, whilst the moraine would be left in all its continuity as a witness of the original boundary of the glacier. The ice must possess within itself some reproductive power (Gf the phrase may be permitted,) to restore it in spring to the level from whence it had descended ; and since crevasses thus form, extend, and again vanish,—perhaps in a single season but certainly in a very few years,—we must consider the glacier as a much more plastic body than it has commonly been ima- gined. I state it, then, as a result of observation the most direct, that, in the early part of summer, the glacier level is highest, and the fissures least numerous. The latter form and widen especially during the months of June and July; and, in the beginning of August, the glacier is most difficult to traverse, (generally speaking), owing to the multitude and sharpness of these cracks ; but later, the prolonged sunshine and autumnal rains, not only reduce the ice to water, and thus carry off a part of its surface, but leave the remainder in a softened and plastic state, in which the tendency is to a general subsidence of all the elevations, whilst the prolonged excess of velocity of the central above the lateral parts, causes an increased hollow- ness and subsidence there, and produces a great fissuring, the lateral ice still clinging to the moraines, which it is compelled gradually to uncover. Before spring, by some process which it remains to explain, the level of the ice is restored (supposing the glacier not to be permanently wasting). 4 Professor Forbes’ Account of his recent Another mode of considering the successive conditions of a certain portion of the glacier, will lead also to the admission of the ever-varying state of its aggregation and subdivision. In a glacier, like the Mer de Glace of Chamouni, which pre- sents a great many and well-marked “ accidents” of surface in its different parts, it is yet perfectly well known, that, though continually moving and changing, the distribution of these “‘ accidents’’ is sensibly invariable. Every year, and year af- ter year, the water courses follow the same lines of direction, —their streams are precipitated into the heart of the glacier by vertical funnels called “ moulins ;” at the very same points, the fissures, though forming very different angles with the axis or sides of the glacier at different points of its length, opposite the same point are always similarly disposed,—the same parts of the glacier, relatively to fixed rocks, are every year passable, and the same parts are traversed by innume- rable fissures. Yet the solid ice of one year is the fissured ice of the next, and the very ice which this year forms the walls of a “ moulin,” will next year be some hundred feet far- ther forward and without perforation, whilst the cascade re- mains immovable, or sensibly so, with reference to fixed ob- jects around. All these facts, attested by long and invariable experience, prove that the ice of the glaciers'is insensibly and continually moulding itself under the influence of external circumstances, of which the principal, be it remarked, is its own weight affecting its figure, in connection with the sur- faces over which it passes, and between which it struggles on- wards. Ht is, in this respect, absolutely comparable to the water of a river, which has here its deep pools, here its con- stant eddy, continually changing in substance, yet ever the same in form. With reference to the yet more essential modifications of structure, | mean the veined structure which I formerly de- scribed ; I shewed in my last letter, that it is equally muta- ble and subjected to the momentary conditions of external re- straint ; and, that far from being an original structure in the higher part of the glacier, variously modified in its subsequent course, but never annihilated, it owes its existence at any moment to the conditions of varying velocity in different parts Observations on Glaciers. is of the transverse section of the glacier, and that it is not un- frequently entirely destroyed in one part of the glacier, to be renewed in a totally different direction in another. A mole- cule of ice is as passive and structureless a unit as a molecule of water, so far as it has not that structure impressed by some- thing external at the time. Like the water in the river, my- riads succeed one another, and might be mistaken for the same. Few words will suffice to shew how intimately what I have stated is connected with the first rudiments of a theory of gla- cier motion, which I endeavoured to sketch in my last letter, and the truth of which all that I have since seen has tended greatly to confirm. The centre of the glacier stream is urged onwards by pressure from above (how caused we shall im- mediately consider), which is there resisted less than at the sides and bottom, owing to the comparative absence of fric- tion. The lateral parts are dragged onwards by the mo- tion of the centre, and move also, but it is quite compatible with this idea of semifluid motion, that the bottom of the glacier should remain frozen to its bed, as some writers have supposed to be the case, though I am far from as- serting this to be the fact, or even supposing it probable. Why, then, are the fissures generally vertical, and also where a glacier is most regular, simply fransverse, and not con- vex towards the lower extremity ? The first of these ques- tions had always till lately appeared to me a serious difh- eulty. The fact stated in the second, combined with the posi- tive certainty that the centre of a glacier moves faster than its sides, in the ratio frequently of 5 to 3, shews that an an- swer must be found, and, therefore, that it offers no insur- mountable objection. The explanation is to be sought in the continually varying condition of the glacier, the perpetual re- newal of the crevasses, the action of water in tending to pre- serve verticality, and the really small variation of velocity of different parts of the ice towards the centre of a glacier of im- mense depth. From these circumstances, it follows that a crevasse is either renewed or altogether extirpated before its yerticality is sensibly effected. For the same reason, a stick several feet long, inserted vertically in the ice, remains sensi- 6. Professor Forbes’ Account of his recent bly vertical so long as it stands at all; for the velocity of the surface is sensibly the same as that at 10 or 20, or probably even 100 feet deep in most glaciers. It is only near the bot- tom or bed that the velocity is materially affected, as I have found also, that, in respect to breadth, it is in the immediate neighbourhood of the sides that the velocity diminishes rapid- ly, and that, for half its breadth in the centre, the velocity does not vary by more than from 7, to J; of its amount. It is farther worthy of notice, that whenever a glacier is of no great thickness, and, at the same time, highly inclined, that is, in circumstances calculated to produce a great difference between the motions of points of the glacier in a vertical line, there the fissures are not transverse but radiated, as in almost all glaciers of the second order, and, therefore, the fissures are not liable to distortion. I might put it rather as a direct result of observation than as a hypothesis, that the motion of a glacier resembles that of a viscid fluid, not being uniform in all parts of the trans- verse section, but the motion of the parts in contact with the walls being determined mainly by the motion of the centre ; but it yet remains to be shewn what is the cause of the pres- sure which conveys the motion, whether it is the mere weight of the semifluid mass, or the dilatation of the head of the glacier pushing onwards. The answer to this question involves the fate of the rival theories of De Saussure and De Charpentier. I still entertain the same difficulties with respect to both, which I have stated in an article in the Edinburgh Review; but these difficulties amount, I think, to a proof of insufiicien- cy, if taken in connection with the observations which I have made this summer. On the one hand, if it were possible that the glacier could slide by the mere action of gravity in a trough inclined only 3, or 4, or 5 degrees, it is probable that one of two things would happen ; either it would slide altogether with an accelerated velocity into the valley beneath, or else it would move by fits and starts, being stayed by obstacles until these were over- come by the melting of the ice beneath, or by the accumulated weight of snow above and behind. Now, neither of these things happen; the glacier moves on day and night, or from day to day, with a continuous regulated motion, which, Observations on Glaciers. | I feel certain, could not take place were the sliding theory true. But if possible, still stronger, as well as more multiplied, objections are to be found to the theory of dilatation, and I trust I shall not be accused of levity in thus, as it were, in a few lines, dismissing a theory which has so much prima facie plausibility to recommend it, and which has been maintained with so much ingenuity by men such as Scheuchzer, De Char- pentier, and Agassiz. It is essential to the aim of this letter, that I state briefly the grounds of the conclusions at which I have arrived, whilst it is equally essential that my observa- tions should be confined within small compass. In another place I shall give them all the development that may be re- quisite. . Summarily, then (1.) The motion of the glacier, in its several parts, does not appear to follow the law which the dilatation theory would require. It has been shewn (Ed. Rev., April 1842, p- 77.) that the motion ought to vanish near the origin of the glacier, and increase continually towards its lower extremity. I have found the motion of the higher part of the Mer de Glace to differ sometimes very little from that several leagues far- ther down; whilst in the middle, owing to the expansion of the glacier in breadth, its march was slower than in either of the other parts. (2.) Whilst I admit that the glacier is, dur- ing summer, infiltrated with water in all or most of its thick- ness (a point on which I had last year great doubts), | feel quite confident that, during some months of the year during which the glacier is in most rapid motion, no congelation takes place in the mass of the ice beyond a depth of a very few inches, much less during the cold of each night, and least of all, at a// times, as appears to be now the opinion held upon the subject. Whilst I say that I am confident of this, I will state one proof. Less than ten days since I traversed the Mer de Glace up to the higher part of the Glacier de Lechaud, whilst it was covered with snow to a depth of six inches at Montanvert, and three times as much in the higher part. It was snowing at the time, and for a week the glacier had been in the same state nearly, the thermometer having fallen in the mean while to 20° Fahr. Yet I had abundant evidence that 8 Professor Forbes’ Account of his recent the effect of the frost had not penetrated farther into the ice than it might be expected to have done into the earth under the same circumstances. All the superficial rills were indeed frozen over ; there were no cascades in the “ moulins;’’ all was as still as it could be in mid-winter ; yet even on the Gla- cier de Lechaud, my wooden poles, sunk to a depth of less than a foot in the ice, were quite wet, literally standing in water, and consequently unfrozen to the walls; and in the hollows beneath the stones of the moraines, by breaking the crust of ice, pools of unfrozen water might be found almost on the surface. Is it possible, then, that the mere passing chill of a summer night, or the mere cold of the ice itself at all times, can produce the congelation which has been so much insisted on ? But (3), What was the effect of the congelation, trifling as it was, upon the motion of the glacier? So sharp and sudden a cold succeeding summer weather, must inevitably, it seems to me, were this theory true, have produced an instantaneous ac- celeration of the mean motion of the glacier. But the con- trary was the fact ; the diurnal motion fell rather short of its previous value, and so soon as the severe weather was past, and the little congelation which had taken place thawed, and the snow reduced to water, than the glacier, saturated in all its pores, resumed its march nearly as in the height of sum- mer. (4.) It has beeninferred from the dilatation theory that whilst the surface of the glacier continually wastes, it at the same time heaved bodily upwards from beneath, so that its absolute level is unchanged. My experiments, as well as the most ordinary observation (as has been already remarked) disprove this hypothesis. I find that between the 26th June and the 16th September, the surface of the ice near the side of the Mer de Glace had lowered absolutely rwenry-rive feet 1.5 inches, and the centre had undoubtedly fallen more. The observa- tion of the waste of the surface by the protrusion of a stick sunk to a determinate depth in a hole, is very inaccurate, and gives results below the truth. I am perfectly ready to admit, with M. de Charpentier, that the congelation of the infiltrated water of glaciers is an im- Observations on Glaciers. 9 portant part of their functions ; only, I conceive that it occurs but once a year to any effective extent, instead of daily or con- tinually, as he supposes. Every thing which I have seen on the glacier, during cold weather and when covered with snow, confirms the idea I have always entertained, that the progress of congelation in the mass of the glacier is very similar to that of a mass of moist earth, and that, therefore, the daily varia- tions of temperature can make no sensible impression, with respect to the mass of the infiltrated ice. The prolonged cold of winter must, however, produce a very sensible effect ; and considering that the temperature of the mass is never above 32°, it may be expected that the congelation of the water in capillary fissures in ice will, in the course of months of tran- quillity, reach a great depth. I apprehend that there is only an annual congelation, and that its effect is not to move the glacier onwards by sliding down its bed—for that the friction of so enormous a body seems evidently to render impossible— but (what Mr Hopkins has very well shewn is the only alter- native, and which he has used as an argument against Char- pentier’s theory) to dilate the ice in the direction of Jeast re- sistance, that is, vertically, and consequently to increase its thickness. The tendency of such a force would, therefore, be to restore during the winter the thickness of ice lost during the summer ; and in those winters which are less severe, a less depth of ice being frozen, a less expansion would occur, and a permanent diminution of the glacier would result. Nothing can be more certain than the fact, so well stated by Charpen- tier in his 10th section, that the glacier does not owe its in- crease to the snow of avalanches, nor indecd to any snow which falls on the greater part of its surface. In conclusion, the admission of semifluid motion produced by the weight of the ice itself, appears to explain the chief facts of glacier-movement, viz. (1.) That it is more rapid at the centre than at the sides; (2.) For the most part, most rapid near the lower extremity of glaciers, but varying rather with the transverse section than the length; (3.) That it is more rapid in summer than in winter, in hot than in cold weather, and especially more rapid after rain, and less rapid in sudden frosts ; (4.) It is farther in conformity with what 10 Mr Murchison on the Salt Steppe of Orenburg, we know of the plasticity of semisolids generally, especially near their point of fusion. Many examples will occur to every one of what they have observed of the plasticity of hard bo- dies,—such as sealing-wax, for example,—exposed for a long time to a temperature far below their melting heat, and which have moulded themselves to the form of the surfaces on which they rest. (5.) When the ice is very highly fissured, it yields sensibly to the pressure of the hand, having a slight determi- nate play, like some kinds of limestone, well known for this quality of flexibility. (6.) I have formerly endeavoured to shew how such a condition of semirigidity, combined with the determined movements of the glacier, accounts for the re- markable veined structure which pervades it. I am, my Dear Sir, yours very truly, James D. Forses. Professor JAMESON. On the Salt Steppe south of Orenburg, and on a remarkable Freezing Cavern. By Roprricx Impzry Murcuison, Esq. Pres. G. S.* I. Turs salt steppe is distinguished from many of those which are interposed between the Ouralsk and the Volga, or are si- tuated on the Siberian side of the Ural Mountains, by con- sisting not of an uniform flat resembling the bed of a dried up sea, but of wide undulations and distantly separated low ridges ; nevertheless it is, Mr Murchison states, a true steppe, being devoid of trees and little irrigated by streams. The surface consists of gypseous marls and sands, considered by the author to be of the age of the Zechstein,} and it is pierced in the neighbourhood of the imperial establishment of [lletzkaya Zatchita by small pyramids of rock salt. These protruding * From the Proceedings of the Geological Society, vol. iii. part 2, p. 695; haying been read March 9. 1842. t His extensive surveys of Russia have convinced Mr Murchison, that rock-salt and salt springs occur in all the lower sedimentary rocks of that empire, from great depths below the Devonian, or old red sandstone system to the Zechstein and the overlying marls and sandstones. and on a remarkable Freezing Cavern. 11 masses attracted the attention of the Kirghiss long before the country was colonized by the Russians ; but it is only during a short period that the great subjacent bed has been exten- sively worked. The principal quarries, exposed to open day, are situated immediately south of the establishment, and have a length of 300 paces, with a breadth of 200, and a depth of 40 feet. The mass of salt thus exposed is of great purity, the only extraneous ingredient being gypsum, distantly dis- tributed in minute filaments. At first sight the salt seems to be horizontally stratified, but this apparent structure, Mr Mur- chison states, is owing to the mineral being extracted in large parallelopipedal blocks 12 feet long, 3 feet deep, and 3 wide. On the side where the quarry was first worked, the cuttings presented, in consequence of the action of the weather, a ver- tical face as smooth as glass, but at its base there was a black cavern formed by the water which accumulates at certain periods of the year, and from its roof were saline stalactites. The entire range of this bed of salt is not known; but the mass has been ascertained to extend two versts in one direc- tion, and Mr Murchison is of opinion that it constitutes the subsoil of a very large area ; its entire thickness also does not appear to have been determined, but it is stated to exceed 100 feet. The upper surface of the deposit is very irregular, pe- netrating, in some places, as already mentioned, the overlying sands and marls. In consequence of the salt occurring at so small a depth, every pool supplied with springs from below is affected by it ;* and one of them used by the inhabitants as a bath, is so highly charged with saline contents, that there is a difficulty in keep- ing the body submerged, and the skin, on leaving the pool, is encrusted with salt. This brine swarms with animalcules. II. Mr Murchison then describes the freezing cavern and the phenomena exhibited by it. The cave is situated at the * The abundance of these brine springs in various parts of Russia must lead, the author says, to the abandonment of Pallas’s hypothesis, that the saline pools and lakes are the residue of former Caspians ; though he admits, that some of the vast low steppes of the south formed the bottom of a former condition of the existing Caspian. 12 Mr Murchison on the Salt Steppe of Orenburg, southern base of a hillock of gypsum at the eastern end of the village connected with the imperial establishment ; and it is one of a series of apparently, for the greater part, natural hol- lows, used by the peasantry for cellars or stores. The cave in question is, however, the only one which possesses the singu- lar property of being partially filled with ice in summer, and of being destitute of it in winter. ‘‘ Standing on the heated ground and under a broiling sun, I shall never forget,” says the author, ‘‘ my astonishment when the woman to whom the cavern belonged unlocked a frail door, and a volume of air so piercingly keen struck the legs and feet, that we were glad to rush into a cold bath in front of us fo equalize the effect.” Three or four feet within the door, and on a level with the village street, beer and quash were half frozen. A little fur- ther, the narrow chasm opened into a vault fifteen feet high, ten paces long, and from seven to eight wide, which seemed to send off irregular fissures into the body of the hillock. The whole of the roof and sides were hung with solid undripping icicles, and the floor was covered with hard snow, ice, or frozen earth. During the winter all these phenomena disappear, and when the external air is very cold, and all the country is frozen up, the temperature of the cave is such, that the Russians state they could sleep in it without their sheep-skins. In order to lay before the Society an explanation of these curious opposite conditions of the cave, the author communi- eated with Sir John Herschel, and received the documents which follow this abstract. With respect to the observations in Sir J. Herschel’s letter, Mr Murchison says, he does not conceive that the ice caverns at Teneriffe, in Auvergne and elsewhere, are analogous cases with that at Illetzkaya Zatchita, the frozen materials in the last not arising from the preserva- tion of the snow or ice of the preceding winter, but from the peculiar condition of the cavern during the hottest summer months. He states also, that he particularly urged the au- thorities at Orenburg, as well as the directors of the Salines, to keep accurate registers of the temperature throughout the year, and to ascertain precisely the changes which the cave un- dergoes between the extremes of summer and winter. There and on a remarkable Freezing Cavern. 13 is, he observes, a very marked difference between the climate of the steppes south of Orenburg and that of Ekaterinburg, not merely due to the difference of six degrees of latitude, but arising also from the altitude of the position of Ekaterinburg, and the shortness of its varying summers, as well as from the long droughty summers of the steppes, which are removed from all mountain chains, and possess comparatively no great altitude above the sea. In the southern region, he conceives, a substratum of frozen matter cannot exist, there being a most extraordinary difference between the climate of Yakatsk (lat. 623° N. long 131° E.), and that of Orenburg (lat. 51° 46’ N.), the winter of the former lasting eight or nine months, with the thermometer during long periods constantly 30°, and some- times 40° of Reaumur below zero.* Respecting the explanation that the difference of tempera- ture in the cave is due to the propagation through the gypsum hillock of the heat or cold of the preceding summer or win- ter season, Mr Murchison conceives that the fissures which ramify from the cave into the hill, present difficulties to such a solution. When he was on the spot, the existence of these fissures led him to speculate upon the possibility of the pheno- mena being due to currents of air passing over subterranean floors of moistened rock-salt, and on the effects which would be produced when such currents came in contact with a stream of dry heated air. * Mr Murchison ascertained, during his journey in the North of Russia in 1840, that much remains to be done relative to the circumstances of the recorded frozen substratum of Yakatsk; and he states the following as points requiring attention. Ist, With the exception of about sixty feet of alluvial soil, the whole shaft to a depth of 350 feet, was sunk through solid strata of limestone two to six feet thick, and shale with a little coal ; 2dly, That none of the sinkings took place in summer, although renewed for several years, on account of the foul air generated in the shaft ; 3d/y, That when Admiral Wrangel descended the shaft during summer, and the sur- face was burnt up, he found the thermometer to stand at 6° Reaum. below ZeYO. ( 4 ) Extracts from a Letter addressed by Sir J. Herschel, Bart., F.GS., to Mr Murchison, explanatory of the Phenomena of the Freezing Cave of Illetzkaya Zatchita.* That the cold in ice caves (several of which are alluded to in a part of this letter not published) does nor arise from evaporation, is, I think, too obvious to need insisting on. It is equally impossible that it can arise from condensation of vapour, which produces heat, not cold. When the cold (by contrast with the external air, ¢.e. the difference of tempera- ture) is greatest, the reverse process is going on. Caves in moderately free communication with the air are dry and (to the feelings) warm in winter, wet or damp and cold in sum- mer. And from the general course of this law I do not con- sider even your Orenburg caves exempt, since however ap- parently arid the external air at 120° Fahr.! may be, the mois- ture in it may yet be in excess and tending to deposition, when the same air is cooled down to many degrees beneath the freezing point. The data wanting in the case of your Orenburg cave are the mean temperature of every month in the year of the air, and of thermometers buried, say a foot deep, on two or three points of the surface of the hill, which, if I understand you right, is of gypsum and of small elevation. I do not remember the winter temperature of Orenburg, but for Catherinenbourg (only 5° north of Orenburg), the temperatures are given in Kuppfer’s reports of the returns from the Russian magnetic observato- ries. If any thing similar obtains at Orenburg, I see no difh- culty in explaining your phenomenon. Rejecting diurnal fluc- tuations, and confining ourselves to a single summer wave of heat propagated downwards alternately with a single winter wave of cold, every point at the interior of an insulated hill, rising above the level plain, wili be invaded by these waves in * From the Proceedings of the Geological Society, vol. iii. part 2; haying been read March 9. 1842. Extracts explanatory of the Phenomena, &c. 15 succession (converging towards the centre in the form of shells similar to the external surface), at times which will deviate further from midwinter and midsummer the deeper the point is in the interior, so that, at certain depths in the interior, the cold wave will arrive at midsummer, and the heat wave in midwinter. A cave (if not very wide mouthed and very azry) penetrating to such a point, will have its temperature deter- mined by that of the solid rock which forms its walls, and will of course be so alternately heated and cooled. As the south side of the hill is swnned, and the north not, the summer wave will be more intense on that side, and the winter less so ; and thus, though the form of the wave will still generally cor- respond with that of the hill, their intensity will vary at differ- ent points of each wave-surface. ‘The analogy of waves is not strictly that of the progress of heat in solids, but nearly enough so for my present purpose. The mean temperature for the three winter months, De- cember, January, February, and the three summer months, June, July, August, for the years 1836, 7, 8, and the mean of the year, are for Catherinenbourg as follows :— Winter. Summer. Annual Mean. 1836 | — 10°.93 R. + 11°.90 R. + 17.22. RK. 1837 | ~ 12°.90 + 12°.93 + 0°.30 1838 12°.37 + 12°.37 + 0°.60 Mean 12°.07 R. + 12°.40 R. + 0.70 R- 4°.83 al + 59°. 9 Fahr.) + 33°.57 Fahr. The means of the intermediate months are almost exactly that of the whole year, and the temperature during the three winter, as well as the three summer months, most remarkably uniform. This is precisely that distribution of temperature over time, which ought, under such circumstances, to give rise to well- defined and intense waves of heat and cold; and I have little doubt, therefore, that this is the true explanation of your phe- nomenon. 16 Extracts explanatory of the Phenomena, &c. I should observe that, in the recorded observations of the Catherinenbourg Observatory, the temperatures are observed two-hourly, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m, and not at night. The mean monthly temperatures are thence concluded by a for- mula which I am not very well satisfied with ; but the error, if any, so introduced, must be far too trifling to affect this ar- gument. The works whence the above data are obtained are— Observations Météorologiques et Magnétiques faites dans Vinté- rieur de Empire de Russie, and Annuaire Magnétique et Mé- téorologique du corps des Ingénieurs des Mines de Russie,—works which we owe to the munificence of the Russian government, and which it is satisfactory to find thus early affording proofs of utility to science, in explaining what certainly might be regarded as a somewhat puzzling phenomenon, as it is one highly worthy of being further studied, and being made the subject of exact thermometric researches on the spot, and wherever else anything similar occurs. Sir John Herschel then states, that since he began this letter he had examined some old documents, and found the paper which accompanied his letter. “‘ The date of this manu- script,’ he adds, “as nearly as I can collect it from collateral circumstances, must have been somewhere about the year 1829, or rather before than after. I remain, &c. J. F. W. Henscuen, P.S.—Thermometric observations in the Steppes, of the mean monthly temperature of the soil at different depths, from 1 to 100 feet (at Forbes’ intervals), would be most interesting. At Catherinenbourg, the mean temperature of the air being 33°. 6 Fahr., no permanently frozen soil would probably be reached, but a very little more to the northward that pheno- menon must occur. The ‘thinning out” of the frozen stratum would be most interesting to trace, but in thinning out by decrease of latitude, it might possibly at the same time “ dip” beyond reach, all above it being occupied by soil subject to the law of periodic frost and thaw, and giving room, under favourable circumstances, to ice caverns, pits, or galleries. What deter- mines the distinct definition of the hot and cold alternating layers, is the exceedingly peculiar form of the curve of the monthly temperatures, as given in the tables above referred to. Gi Nie On some Phenomena observed on Glaciers, and on the internal Temperature of large masses of Ice or Snow, with some Re- marks on the natural Ice-caves which occur below the limit of perpetual snow. By Sir Joun Herscuet, Bart, F.G.S. &c.* In a visit to the glacier of Chamouni in the summer of 1821, I was struck with the very remarkable positions of several large blocks of granite resting on the glacier in various parts. They were perched on stools of ice of less diameter than the blocks themselves, which overhang their supports on all sides, asa mushroom does its stalk. The position of these large masses was rendered the more striking when contrasted with that of small fragments of stone, equally (to appearance) ex- posed to all the local heating and cooling influences, but which were uniformly found to have sunk into the ice, and that the deeper (within certain limits) the less their size. On consi- deration, the cause became apparent, and, as it affords a very pretty illustration of the laws of the propagation of heat through bad conductors, and the steps by which an average tempera- ture is attained in large masses from a varying source, I will here state it as it occurred to me at the time. With regard to the sinking of small masses into the ice when heated by the sun, it isthe natural effect of the greater power of absorbing heat which stone possesses beyond ice. When- ever the sun shines, the stone will detain more of its heat than an equal surface of ice would do; and asit gives this out to the ice below nearly as fast as it receives it, a greater depth of ice is melted in a given time beneath the stone than in the parts around. On the other hand at night, ice radiates terrestrial heat nearly or quite as copiously as stone, and thus they are on a par in frigorific power. The elevation of great masses above the general level, which at first sight would appear to contradict this explanation, is however equally a consequence of the laws of the propagation * From the Proceedings of the Geological Society, vol. iii. part 2 ; haying been read March 9. 1842, VOL. XXXIV. NO. LXVII.— JANUARY 1843. B 18 Sir John Herschel on some Phenomena of heat. To conceive this, let us imagine a very large block of stone at the commencement of the summer, to lie on a level surface of ice, in a situation exposed to the direct rays of the sun, where the meantemperature of dayand night is(eveninsum- mer) but little above the freezing point, but where, however, no fresh snow falls during the whole summer. In the day-time then, while receiving the sun’s rays, the upper surface of the stone will be strongly heated, and a wave of heat will be propa- gated slowly downwards through the stone towards the ice, di- minishing in intensity rapidly, however, as it travels, since each superior stratum only divides its excess of temperature with that below. Long before this can reach the ice, however, night comes on. The surface cools below the mean or even below the actual temperature of the air by radiation, and a wave of cold is propagated (or which comes to the same thing, heat is abstracted from stratum to stratum) by the same laws. This follows close on the wave of heat below, and travels with equal velocity. In consequence, the heated stratum parts with its heat, now both upwards and downwards, and thus the in- tensity of the wave of heat diminishes with much greater ra- pidity as it proceeds downwards. It is manifest, that were the thickness of the stone infinite, the wave of heat being a/- ways followed close up by the wave of cold, and a perpetual tendency to an equilibrium of temperature going on between them, they would ultimately reduce each other to their mean quantity, and (not to take the extreme case of infinity) at some very moderate depth, the fluctuations above and below the mean temperature of the air, as the successive nocturnal and diurnal waves pass through a particle of the stone there situated, will be rendered very trifling, and may for our pre- sent purpose be regarded as evanescent. Beyond this depth, whatever mass of stone may exist, may be regarded as a slow conducting mass, interposed between a surface of ice constantly maintained at 32°, and a surface of stone constantly maintained at the mean temperature of the air, which by hypothesis is very little above it. Through this, then, the heat will perco- late uniformly but feebly, and the ice below will be very slowly melted, and the more so in proportion to the thickness of the interposed stratum. Let us now consider what happens to the _--™” observed on Glaciers. 19 ice on the parts undefended by the stone. In the day time these experience the direct radiation of the sun, and therefore melt and run off in water. At night, it is true, the remaining sur- face cools by radiation ; but this cold is propagated down- wards, and on the return of day the superficial lamina is ne- cessarily put in equilibrium with the air and melted by the sun, and however cold the interior of the mass may be, the surface will still be kept all day in a state of fusion. Thus the degradation of the general surface of the ice will be in proportion to the direct intensity of the sun’s rays and the time they shine ; while that of the surface beneath the stone will only be in proportion to the excess of the mean tempera- ture of day and night above 32°, diminished by the effect of the thickness of the stone. This, of course, will produce a difference of level, and a relative elevation of the stone sunk as really observed. One curious, and at first sight, para- doxical consequence seems to follow from this reasoning, viz., that the ice of a glacier, or other great accumulation of the kind, may, at some depth beneath the surface, have a per- manent temperature very much below freezing, though in a situation whose mean annual temperature is sensibly above that point. In fact (continually to use the metaphorical ex- pression already employed), there is no reason why waves of cold, of any intensity below 32°, may not be propagated down- wards into the interior of the ice; but waves of heat above that point, of course, never can. Thus, the cold of winter and the frost produced by radiation in the clear nights of sum- mer, will enter the mass and lower its internal temperature ; while the heat of the summer air, and that imparted by solar radiation, will mainly be employed in melting the surface, and will run off with the water produced. I am not aware of any observations on the internal tempe- rature of glaciers ; they are of course difficult from their usual rifty state ; but the point may not be unworthy the attention of the scientific traveller. May not this be the cause of those natural formations of ice which have been observed in caverns in Teneriffe, and on some elevated points of the Jura chain, below the level of perpetual snow? It is obviously no matter whether the interior mass in the above reasoning be ice or 20 On some Phenomena observed on Glaciers. rock. It is enough that its surface, during the whole or greater part of the year, should be covered with ice, to bring down the mean annual temperature of its interior materially below the temperature due to its elevation, and which it would have were it not so covered. Conceive, now, a mountain whose summit is in this predicament, viz. constantly main- tained at a mean temperature below that due to its elevation. This intense cold will not break off at the level of the line of perpetual snow, which is determined by the mean tempera- ture of the atmosphere due to elevation, but will be propa- gated downwards in the interior of its mass. Hence, if, at a short distance below the line of perpetual snow, where the mean diurnal temperature of the exposed part, taken at a few feet or a few yards deep in the soil or rock, is a little above freezing, we drive an adit, or take advantage of a natural fis- sure, to obtain the internal temperature at a much greater depth from the surface; we ought to find it below 32°, and ice ought constantly to form in such cavities. But even when the summit of a hill is not covered with ice, and when, therefore, this particular principle does not apply, it is easy to see, on the same general grounds, that something of the same kind may obtain. It is obvious, that whenever a change of temperature on the surface of a solid takes place, a wave of heat or cold, as the case may be, will be propagated through its substance ; and if the changes be regularly peri- odic, the waves will be also. Moreover, it is clear that the longer the periods of the external fluctuations are supposed, the greater will be the interval of the waves, so as to make the time taken for the propagated heat to run over them pre- cisely equal to the period of fluctuation. Now the rapidity with which successive waves of heat and cold destroy each other is inversely as the intervals, and thus the fluctuations of temperature, depending on long periods of external change, will be propagated to greater depths than those arising from shorter periods, nearly in the ratio of the lengths of the pe- riods. Thus the depths at which the annual fluctuations of temperature cease to be sensible will be between 300 and 400 times greater than those at which the diurnal ones are neu- tralized. Now it may happen, from the slowness of propaga- Dr Anderson’s Analysis of Caporcianite, &c. 21 tion through so considerable a depth, that the winter wave of cold (consisting of many diurnal waves of alternate, greater and less intensity) may not travel down to the adit or cavern till the hottest period of the next summer, or of many sum- mers; in short, that if at any given time the interior of the mountain were sounded by thermometers down its whole axis, these instruments would exhibit alternate deviations + and — from the mean temperature of the air. Analysis of Caporcianite and Phakolite, two new Minerals of the Zeolite Family. By Tuomas Anpvrerson, M.D. Com- municated by Dr Curistison.* The minerals of the zeolite family have for many years attracted the especial attention of men of science, and the class has been rapidly ex- tended in proportion to the progress made in its study in a ecrystallogra- phic as well as chemical point of view. The first characteristic difference, originally observed long since by Cronstedt, and by him considered to be the distinguishing mark of one single mineral species, which he de- signated Zeolite,—namely, the property of swelling out by heat previous to fusion,—has since been found to belong to a great number of other com- binations. These, although materially different from each other in crys- tallographic form, have proved to be closely allied in chemical constitu- tion, in so far as they consist, without exception, of a silicate of an alkali or alkaline earth in combination with a silicate of alumina and water. It is evident, then, that the relation of the silicic acid to the base, in both terms, as well as the quantity of water, is capable of considerable varia- tion, so that the general mineralogical formula which should embrace all the members of the zeolite family would be urSvy+aerASy+2z2Agq Where r represents the monatomic alkaline or earthy basis, and the terms u, v, 2, y, and 2, are capable of varying within certain limits. The minerals Caporcianite and Phakolite form two new members of the above general formula. Their analysis was conducted in the follow- ing manner :— The finely pulverized mineral was dried for several days over sulphuric acid in an exsiccator, at the ordinary temperature of the atmosphere. A certain quantity of the dry powder was then weighed in a small tube retort, and heated to moderate redness for the space of halfan hour. The water thus driven off was absorbed in a counterpoised tube of chloride * Read before the Royal Society of Edinburgh on April 18. 1842, and published in part 2, vol. xy. of the Transactions. 22 Dr Anderson’s Analysis of of calcium and weighed. Another portion of the dry powder was then dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and evaporated to dryness for the separa- tion of the silicic acid. The dry mass was then moistened with hydro- chloric acid, digested for several hours, and dissolved in water, and the silicic acid filtered off. The purity of the silicic acid was then tested by solution in a boiling solution of carbonate of soda; the undissolved mat- ter, which consisted chiefly of silicate of lime, reproduced by the strong drying necessary for the separation of the silicic acid, was then heated to redness with carbonate of soda ; and alumina and lime were precipitated respectively by ammonia and oxalate ammonia. The precipitates thus obtained, weighed and subtracted from the first weight, gave that of the pure silicic acid. The solution, after the filtration of the silicic acid, was precipitated by caustic ammonia; the precipitate, after being filtered, washed, dried, and weighed, was dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and the silicic acid left undissolved was weighed ; to the filtered solution potass was added in sufficient quantity to redissolve the alumina at first preci- pitated. By this means iron and magnesia were left undissolved, which were again precipitated from a solution in hydrochloric acid, the first by succinate, and the second by phosphate, of soda. The weights of -the silicic acid, peroxide of iron, and magnesia, contained in the phosphate, being subtracted from the first weight of the ammoniacal precipitate, gave that of the pure alumina. The solution filtered from the ammonia- cal precipitate was then treated with a solution of oxalate of ammonia ; and the precipitate of oxalate of lime, after filtration and washing, was heated to strong redness, and treated several times in succession with a solution of carbonate of ammonia at a gentle heat as long as it continued to gain weight ; and the lime was then weighed in the state of carbonate. The solution which was left after the separation of the oxalate of lime, was then evaporated to dryness in a counterpoised platinum crucible, and the ammoniacal salts driven off by a moderate heat ; after which a higher temperature was given for the purpose of melting the remaining salts. These, which consisted of chloride of potassium, chloride of so- dium, and magnesia, were weighed together. By solution in water the magnesia remained undissolved, and was filtered off, washed and weigh- ed ; to the solution, chloride of platinum and spirit were added, when the double chloride of platinum and potassium fell, which was collected on a weighed filter, and from which the quantity of chloride of potassium, and thence that of the potassa, were determined. By subtraction of the weights of magnesia and chloride of potassium from the first weight, that of the chloride of sodium was obtained from which the soda was reckoned. CaporciaNnitTE. This mineral was kindly presented to me for analysis by Professor Berzelius. It was first observed by Dr Paolo Savi at Caporciani, in the valley of the Ceecino, where it occurs in a copper mine worked by two Caporcianite and Phakolite. 23 Englishmen of the names of Hall and Sloane, and has been described by its discoverer in his Memorie per servire allo studio della costituzione fisica della Toscana, parte 2%, § 53. Caporcianite conducts itself before the blowpipe in a manner perfectly similar to other zeolites, in so far as its fusibility and relation to the fluxes are concerned ; but it differs from them in this much, that, previous to melting, it swells out only to a very inconsiderable degree ; for it melts almost at the same instant that the swelling manifests itself. The analysis yielded the following results :— Silicic acid, . 52.8 oxygen contained 27.43 8. Alumina, «21.7 ..ccseeeeeees seen enone 10.15 . : 10.18—3. Peroxide of iron, O.1 ....-:.sseseeeeeeee eee 0.03 } ! Lime, Bee TEST apts conceere enn 3.23 Magnesia, - Osa vides orscakeoss 0.15 65—1. Potassa, A 11 AEE CARENO SOLON 0.22 si Soda, ° (MD ireeaeticclsicck nate res seats 0.05 Water, rie (2S REE Rag ean 11.64 3. 100.7 If we here express by 7 the monatomic bases, then the quantities of oxy- gen in7, A, S, and Aq are to each other as 1 : 3:8: 8, which evidently determine the mineralogical formula to be * g2+8AS824+ 38Aq. This, when transformed to the chemical formula, becomes 7382 + 3 AIST - om It thns appears that Caporcianite stands chemically in near relation with the minerals, Analcime, Ledererite, Potash-Harmotome, Chabasie, and Levyne, from which it is separated merely by the difference in the quantity of water which it contains. All these minerals consist of a bisi- licate of the first as well as of the second term; and the quantity of oxygen in the alumina is in all of them three times that contained in the monatomic basis. The formulz of these minerals are as follows :— Analcime, \ , Ledererite, nS? + 3A8°+ 2 Ag { = Caporcianite, . rS? +3 UNG Potash-Harmotome, rS?+3AS?+5Aq r= K.C. h i P ene \ rS?+3A8? + 6Aq Levyne, = The formula r $2 + 3 A So is thus, then, known to exist in no less than four different combinations with water, namely, with 2, 3, 5, and6 atoms, the second of which results from the foregoing analysis. PHAKOLITE. This mineral occurs in small erystals in the Bohemian Mittelgebirge, and was from crystallographic investigation believed to be nearly related to Chabasie. But the following analysis shews that this supposition is not confirmed by its chemical constitution. 24 Dr Anderson’s Analysis of Caporcianite and Phakolite. Phakolite, which, in its relations before the blowpipe, agrees in all respects with the other zeolites, was analyzed after the foregoing method, with this exception, that the quantity of water was determined simply by the loss of weight sustained at a red heat. The composition was found to be as follows :— : Silicic acid, . 45.628 oxygen contained 23.708. Aluminay = 92 “L9:480) sc scsctics 0. Seeeuevee 9.097 | Peroxide of iron, 0.431 ...............::0es 0.144 § se Lime, ¥ CSBP ES 3.737 | Magnesia, . OVAS TE etc den oes kOe 0.053 4.442 Patassis: Ws Ay Walt... crs. Ree eos 0.222 \ Soda, ie MEBA Sh CE ey: 0.430 Water, ay) BAGO TG wins ety teen tneeaae 15.982. 99.960 This constitution has little resemblance to that of chabasie; for the quantities of oxygen in 7, A'S and A q, are to each other in chabasie, whose mineralogical formula is S? + 3A S? + 6Aq, as1:3:8: 6, whereas those quantities in phakolite are in the relation of 1: 2: 5: 33. If we assume that the quantity of water has come out too high, which is generally the case when it is determined by the simple loss of weight at a red heat, then the constitution of phakolite would be represented by the mineralogical formula ~ S?+2AS + 3Aq, which transformed to the chemical, is 37 Si + 2 A7Si + 9 H. It appears, then, that phakolite belongs to that class of minerals which in the first term contain a tersilicate, and in the second, a simple silicate of the base, along with water. The minerals belonging to this class at present made out are :— Gigantolite, . rS'+ AS+ Ag r= fe, mg, K.N. Harringtonite, . r= CN Mesotype, } Gite ele tee N.C. Lehuntite, . rS?+ AS+3Aq r=(NJC. Phakolite, . rS°+2AS+3Aq r=(C)KN. Mezolite r= Np 2c, Scoleuite, \ Mae ORS \; =o Pyrargillite, . r8'+3AS+4Aq r= fe, mg, K.N. Antrimolite, . rS'+5AS8+5Aq r= CK.) From this table it will be seen that phakolite forms a middle term be- tween lehuntite and mezolite, and differs from them only in the second or alumina term, which in the three minerals stand to each other in the ratio of 1, 2, and 3, while the quantities of silicate of the monatomic bases and water are the same in all three. ( 25 ) M. Doyére’s Experiments on the Revivification of animals of the types Tardigrada and Rotifera. Shortly after the existence of swarms of animalcule in water containing organic matters had been revealed by the microscope, the use of that instrument led to the discovery of another fact, equally unexpected, and more difficult of com- prehension, inasmuch as it still more widely differed from all the results heretofore arrived at from the study of animated beings. In fact, by the examination of dry dust collected from a gutter, Leuwenhoeck ascertained the existence of an animal which, under the influence of desiccation, ceased to move, lost its form, and no longer gave any signs of life ; and which, in this condition, appeared to differ in no respect from a dead body, as it were mummified, by being deprived of the fluids necessary for all animal existence ; and yet which, after having been preserved for a long period in this dried condition, was restored to life by contact with a drop of water. Leuwenhoeck did not perceive the whole extent of the singular fact which he had thus discovered, with respect to the Rotifer of house roofs, and did not pursue his researches farther on this sub- ject ; but a phenomenon of this kind could not fail to excite lively curiosity among zoologists, and to give rise to long con- troversies, as well as to interesting experiments. It may be remarked that the discovery of Leuwenhoeck soon ceased to be an isolated fact in science, for Needham announced that the eels of mildewed corn possessed, like the Rotifera, the faculty of re- viving after having been completely dried; and Spallanzani arrived at the same result, after observation, not only of the Rotifera and Anguillula, but also of another microscopic ani- malcule, to which he gave the name of Tardigrade (R. tardus). The investigations of this skilful observer were numerous, and conducted with the profoundly scientific spirit which cha- racterizes all his labours, and might perhaps have been deemed sufficient to convince naturalists as to the truth of the fact, and to serve as a basis to subsequent inquiries. But the results thus obtained carried little weight, and it would be easy to give a long list of naturalists, who even at present 26 = M. Doyére on the Revivification of Animals of the deny, in the most positive manner, what has been termed.the Revivification of Rotifera. Latterly, it is true M. Schultz has successfully repeated some of Spallanzani’s experiments, and has furnished many naturalists with the opportunity of making similar researches ; but still more lately, M. Ehrenberg has added the weight of his great authority to the opposite opinion ; and having for- mally rejected the opinion of Spallanzani, has attempted to explain the way in which an error of the kind could find its way into science. This interesting and much debated question, then, could not be considered as definitely settled, and appeared to demand _further investigation. It was necessary to examine carefully all the circumstances attending the phenomena described by Leuwenhoeck, Needham, and Spallanzani, to submit to the proof of experiment, the objections and hypotheses presented by others, antagonists of these celebrated observers, and to ac- quire new facts by which one or other of the contradictory opinions of naturalists might be supported or refuted. This difficult task has been undertaken by M. Doyere. The Rotifera and the Tardigrada are found, as is well known, in the moss growing upon roofs, or in the sand found in the gutters of the roof, and are seen in the living state when these matters, after having been for a long time dry, are wetted with water. The fact of the appearance of these animalculz in a living state in dust which had been dry during months, or even whole years, can no longer be disputed, and it is equally well demonstrated that, with these minute beings as with animals of a higher class, evaporation of their fluids, carried to a cer- tain extent, induces the abolition of every sign of vital mo- tion. The partizans of Spallanzani’s opinion regard the re- appearance of these living beings as a sort of resurrection ; and the advocates of the contrary opinion think that the phe- nomena may be explained in a simpler manner ; the opinion is, that the Rotifera, &c. are of an amphibious nature, and ca- pable of living in dry air as well as in water or sand, where the moss with which they are surrounded would preserve them from too complete desiccation, so that in fact, in the above cited instances, the active state of the animalculze would never Types Tardigrada and Rotifera. 27 even be interrupted, and these little animals buried in appa- rently dry dust, would still meet with sufficient humidity to prolong their lives and to allow of reproduction, so that those which have been supposed to become revivified would be in reality, to use the expression of Ehrenberg, only the great grand-children of those observed in the same material at the commencement of the experiment. According to other na- turalists, the desiccation of the sand or moss containing the Rotifera, would infallibly kill the animals themselves, but would not destroy the vital principle in the ova which they may have deposited, and consequently, instead of witnessing the resurrection of the animals themselves, we only see the ova rapidly developed by the influence of the water, and giving birth to animalcule whose growth would be equally rapid. Finally, there are other physiologists who consider that the Rotifera, &c., of dry sand, do not undergo a complete de- siccation, but such a degree of it only, as to plunge them into a sort of torpor, and conceive that these animalcule, although to all appearance dead, yet preserve a latent life, but still a real life sufficient to establish a bond of connection between the active life which precedes the evaporation of the fluids, and that equally active, when they are restored by the addition of humidity, to the full exercise of their functions. The obser- vations of M. Doyére overturn all these hypotheses, and con- firm, in the clearest way, the results obtained by Spallan- zani. Thus, in answer to the arguments employed by Ehrenberg, it is sufficient to observe, that living Tardigrada are never found in the dry dust of gutters ; but that, by the aid of the microscope, corpuscles can be seen which entirely resemble the dead bodies of these animalculs, deformed by desicca- tion ; and that in matters where no living being was previously discernible, living Tardigrada frequently appear on the addi- tion of a little distilled water. M. Doyeére is even assured that it is not impossible to revivify these animalcule, if taken one by one, and dried separately on pieces of glass, without being surrounded by sand or other material, organic or inor- ganic, capable of preserving them from the ordinary effects of eyaporation. In his experiments, he has been able to count 28 M. Doyére on the Revivification of Animals of the them, and to trace in each separate individual all the phases of desiccation ; to observe them gradually assume the appear- ance of dead bodies, and to determine afterwards that these same bodies, dry and brittle, are susceptible of reassuming their primitive form, and of returning to life, under the in- fluence merely of a few drops of water. This experiment appears to be decisive ; but it may still be asked, whether the drying which the animalcule have under- gone has been complete, and if the privation of all the water contained in their tissue, would not render them incapable of resurrection, after having in this way passed years in a state of apparent death ? In order to determine satisfactorily this highly interesting and physiological question, M. Doyérehad recourse to the most powerful means by desiccation employed by chemists in the analysis of organic substances. He suspended for five days, in the vacuum of the air-pump, over a vessel containing pure sulphuric acid, some Tardigrada surrounded with sand, or un- covered and dried upon slips of glass ; and he left others dur- ing thirty days, in the Torricellian vacuum, dried by chloride of calcium ; and in all these instances, he obtained some re- surrections. These results are of great importance towards the solution of the question which M. Doyére had proposed to himself; but he still conceived that they might be con- sidered as offering only a strong probability in favour of the complete desiccation of the animalcule, in which the faculty of becoming revivified was retained ; he continued his experi- ments, and by studying the influence of elevated temperatures upon these singular beings, he arrived at the discovery of most decisive and surprising facts. It is well known that animals perish when their tempera- ture is raised above a certain limit ; inferior, however, to that at which the white of egg coagulates, and which in the ma- jority of cases does not exceed 50° cent. (122° F.) Animal- cule capable of resurrection are not exempted from this law. M. Doyére is satisfied that the Rotifera and Tardigrada perish when the water in which they swim is heated to 45° cent. (113° F.), and that they cannot then be recalled to life by any means. But he has found that this is not the case when the Types Tardigrada and Rotifera, ; 29 animalcule have been previously dried. If, instead of ex- perimenting upon Tardigrada in full life, itis done upon indi- viduals which have lost all their humidity by the ordinary means of desiccation, and which appear as dead, it is possible, without depriving them of the faculty of reviving, to raise their temperature to a degree which would necessarily involve the disorganization of all living tissue containing any water beyond that chemically combined with its constituent principles. In an experiment repeated in the presence of the commission of the Academy, a certain quantity of moss, containing Tardi- grada, after having been properly dried, was placed in a stove, and around the bulb of a thermometer, the stem of which ex- tended out of the apparatus ; heat was gradually applied, until the thermometer thus placed in the centre of the moss indi- cated a temperature of 120° cent. (248° F.) This considerable heat was maintained for several minutes ; nevertheless, some of the animaleule contained in the moss returned to life, and appeared in their usual condition after they had been placed for 24 hours in a suitable degree of moisture. In other ex- periments, M. Doyére submitted some dried animalcule to a heat of more than 140° cent. (284° F.), and still witnessed some of them revive after immersion in water. These facts are in themselves of considerable importance towards the solu- tion of the question at issue, and the result, without doubt, depends upon the circumstance first pointed out by M. Chev- reul, that albumen, deprived of its water by previous drying, can be submitted to a much higher temperature, without, in consequence, losing its solubility, than it could be if exposed to the same temperature in the moist state ; and from the simple fact that a Tardigrade, exposed to the action of a temperature of 120° cent. (248° F.), can still be made to revive, it may be concluded, with great probability, that the whole of the water chemically free in its body had been dissipated, a degree of desiccation which would preclude all idea of vital movement. Thus the Tardigrada and Rotifera, when dry, and retaining the property of living when moistened, cannot be considered as actually alive ; and their mode of existence can only be com- pared to that of a seed, which is organized so as to live, and which will live when exposed to the influence of air, of water, 6 30 M. Peters on the Light of Lampyris Italica. and of heat, but which, in the absence of one of these excit- ants, manifests no sign of activity or life, and can be preserved thus for ages, although the duration of its real life may not exceed perhaps a few weeks. M: Doyéere has also given a detailed and excellent account of the anatomy of these animalcule, including, especially, the nervous and muscular systems; and his work is illustrated with beautiful and exact figures.* On the Light of Lampyris Italica. By M. W. Peters. The Lampyres have been the subject of a great number of researches in reference to their luminous organ; but in regard to the Lampyris Ttalica, we scarcely possess more than the observations of Carrara, ac- cording to whom this species is provided with a particular aérial sac, which, proceeding from the mouth, conducts the air to the luminous organ. ‘This particular apparatus ought to be the cause of the differ- ences in the luminous state, since the species of the North of Kurope diffuse a continuous, equal, and tranquil light, while that of the Italian species is emitted in sparks. “ It is on account of this difference,” says M. Peters, ‘‘ that I had a great desire to find an opportunity of exa- mining the last-mentioned animal. This I at last obtained, during a long stay at Nice, and I did not allow it to escape, in the hope that with a good microscope I should succeed in discovering something positive, both respecting the structure of the phosphorescent part itself, and its relations with the other organs. From the middle of May till the middle of the month of July, when walking in the vicinity of Nice after sunset, one is surprised at the curious spectacle then presented by the millions of small scintillating lights creeping about in every direction, sometimes illuminating the point of a rock—sometimes lighting a deep cavity—sometimes suddenly producing, as with a magician’s wand, a brilliant illumination on the dark trunks of the olive trees,—a scene which, continually shifting and changing, is of the greatest interest. This appearance is renewed every evening ; but it appears to me to be the more brilliant the greater the degree of humidity in the air. The interval between the scintillations is variable,—sometimes longer—sometimes shorter ; and if one of these animals be examined while it is in a phosphorescent state, it is soon seen that the luminosity is intermittent, and that it only appears when * Vide Annales des Sciences Naturelles, 2d Series, 9th year, tome xiv. p- 269 ; tome xvii. &c. p. 193 ; tome xviii. p. 54. Microscopical Journal, vol. ii, No. 20, p. 251. M. Peters on the Light of Lampyris Italica, 31 the aninal has traversed a space of one or two feet, but that while it traverses that space, it emits a permanent light, which produces a band of very brilliant fire. When the animal is in repose, I have often counted from 80 to 100 luminous discharges in a minute ; it then remains for a pretty long time without phosphorescence. There always remains a slight luminosity, which is never wholly extinguished, at the point of the body from which the luminous discharges are made. The luminous region, in the male, extends along the under side of the belly, between the fifth segment (from the anal extremity) and the penultimate one, with very nearly an equal degree of intensity; but, in the female, it seareely occupies more than the fifth segment, and is even concentrated at its sides. If we observe this phosphorescent organ with a glass while it is emitting sparks, we notice in it a tremulous or undulatory move- ment, as when molecules are in motion. If we remove the luminous organs, and expose them to the air free, they shine with the same in- tensity as in the living animal, until their light becomes gradually ex- tinguished. If they be rubbed against some body, the place shines for an instant with a greenish light, which can be made to reappear after becoming extinct by pouring a little water upon it. When the belly of the insect is opened, and the adjacent portions of the intestines removed without injuring the phosphoric organs, the latter continue to shine as before, but this luminosity ceases on the instant that the head is separated from the trunk. According to these observations, are we not permitted to conclude,— ist, that it is not necessary that a globule of air should proceed from the head in order to produce these sparks, since the removal of the anterior and most essential parts of the trunk exercises no influence on the phos- phorescence ; 2d, Since the removal of the head immediately causes the luminosity to disappear, is this nota proof that the phenomenon depends on the will of the animal? I believe it is quite unnecessary, continues M. Peters, to refute in this place the opinion of some observers, such as Roda and Murray, who af- firm that many Coleoptera enjoy the same faculty of absorbing the solar light, and emitting it again at pleasure, since the Lampyris shines in the night even when it has been protected all the day from the solar light. Nay more, I kept some individuals in darkness for upwards of eight lays, and they shone with as much intensity and splendour as before. In order to study the organa lucifera more at my leisure, I carefully removed all the dorsal part of the skeleton, and exposed the intestines, which were filled with air. In the females, the ovaries immediately ap- pear, as they fill a large portion of the interior of the body ; while, in the males, we notice behind the posterior canals the deferential and semeni- ferous canals rolled upon themselves. Neither the bodies nor fluids con- tained in these canals possess luminous properties ; and these two organs, very distinct from those of the phosphorescence throughout their whele 32 M. Peters on the Light of Lampyris Italica. extent, both open into a rectum of a very delicate structure. It was probably this delicate structure of the extremity of the intestinal canal that made Carrara suppose that it communicated with the luminous ap- paratus ; but with the exception of the alternate dilatation of this con- duit, we find no bubble of air throughout its whole extent. The phos- . phorescent organ is even separated from the intestines by a cushion of white fat, which can be easily raised, when we get a view of this organ, the colour of which is sulphur-yellow. On the two penultimate segments, and partially even on that which precedes them, we notice a multi- tude of tracheal ramifications converging, and these, when examined with the glass, appear to consist of round corpuscles closely pressed against each other, in such a way that the whole presents some resem- blance to the electrical organ of the Torpedo, although I am unable to determine the degree of resemblance that may exist between the two organs. Ifa stronger magnifying power be used, we notice in the lumin- ous part regular series of brownish corpuscles, having a silvery white point in the middle, which, seen with a still higher magnifying power, presents itself under the appearance of small ramifications. When a compound microscope is used, we then distinctly see that the whole or- gan consists of a regular bed of small spheres, into which the tracheal ramifications penetrate, and then spread themselves in the most elegant manner, forming, so to speak, the skeleton. Besides that, we see deve- loped in this delicate membrane of small spheres a quantity of molecules, to which is attached the luminous extremity ; the latter, by means of the considerable interlacement of aérial vessels, may receive an enormous quantity of air at once. The luminous substance itself is of a yellow colour; the intensity of the light is in the direct ratio of the change of the yellow colour of the organ, which can be easily shewn when we bring the latter in contact with water. I was unable to trace the progress of the nervous system in it, because the principal branch consisted of a filet of extreme tenuity. It must not be here supposed that we witness, in these spheres pro- ducing the phosphorescence, a transformation of the ordinary corpuscles of the fatty matter, for the former are completely different from the lat- ter, as well in respect of form as of colour ; the same in all their contours, such as they are observed by the microscope ; but it appears to me likely that the principal matter entering into their structure, independently of the ramifications of the trachez, is a fatty matter, and that it is to the latter the luminous and phosphorescent substance is attached. It therefore appears to me demonstrated, says M. Peters in conclusion, that the luminous organ in Lampyris Italica, has the most intimate rela- tion with the organs of respiration ; but I cannot determine if this is equally the case with the sexual organs.” * * From L’Institut. No, 432, p. 127, where the paper is translated from Archiv. fiir Physiol., &c., 1841, p. 229. Spun) On Coral Islands and Reefs, as described by Mr Darwin. By Cuartes Macraren, Esq., F.R.S.E.* Coral islands are one of the wonders of Natural History. That masses of rock, many leagues in extent, should be founded in the depths of the ocean, and built up to the height of hun- dreds of feet, by minute animalcule scarcely visible to the naked eye, is a phenomenon calculated to stagger the unlearned, and which even philosophers were slow to believe. The struc- ture and arrangement of the mineral masses thus produced, are not less singular than their origin, and present problems whieh have puzzled and divided men of science. An excellent work on the latter branch of the subject has been recently published by Mr Charles Darwin, in which this able naturalist has condensed and systematized his own observations and those of his predecessors, and, for the first time, presented us with a complete view of these singular objects. The facts have led him to some new and highly curious conclusions bearing on the past and future physical history of the globe. An outline of these may not be without interest. Corals—What they are.—The term coral includes two objects —the animal, called the Polype or Polypifer, and the tenement in which it lodges, called the Polypidom, or, more usually, the “Coral.” The solid massive corals, which form reefs and islands, are chiefly found in tropical seas, and it is of these we mean to speak. Polypes cannot live unless constantly immersed in water, or beaten by the surf: even a short exposure to the sun kills them; and hence the reefs they build terminate below the surface, sometimes one or two feet, sometimes several fathoms. Different species inhabit different depths. Some slender branching corals are found living (that is, tenanted by living animaleule) at the depth of a thousand feet; but the massive corals which constitute reefs, do not exist at a greater depth than 20 or 30 fathoms; and there are species which delight in the surf, and carry on their labours amidst breakers which would swamp a boat. All the varieties included in coral reefs are not known with certainty. Those found near the top by Mr Darwin were the Porite and Millepore, * This Article is slightly abridged from the original. VOL. XXX1Y. NO. LXvi1.—sanuary 1843, c 34 Mr Maclaren on Coral Islands and Reefs, as and ata greater depth the Madrepore and Astrea are believed to exist. On the exterior margin of the reef at the surface, the Porites were in irregularly rounded masses from four to eight feet broad, nearly of equal thickness, and divided from each other by narrow crooked channels about six feet deep. Other parts of the reef were composed of thick vertical plates (Millepora complanata), intersecting each other at various angles, and “forming an exceedingly strong honeyeombed mass.”’ Between these plates and in protected crevices, a multitude of branching corals live, and the lagoon is inhabited by_a distinct set of corals, generally brittle and thinly branched. The Nulliporz, which have no visible cells, and though resembling corals, are supposed to be plants, occasionally cover the Porites and Millipores up to the level of high water. Coral Reefs and Atolls.—These reefs are submarine rocks of coral, usually ascending so near to the surface of the sea that their existence is indicated to the navigator by breakers. They are found remote from land, are in vast numbers, and often of great extent, and generally affect an irregularly circular form, haying a pool of comparatively still water in the middle, called a lagoon. Storms throw up masses of broken coral upon them, which accumulate to the depth of some feet above high-water, forming chains of islets along the reef. The whole reef in this condition is called a “‘ lagoon island,” or more conveniently an “ atoll,” a word borrowed from the South Sea islanders. Some reefs have many islands upon them, some have few, and some have none. A coral reef may be defined a wall or mound of coral rock, built up in the ocean from a considerable depth, and generally returning into itself, so as to form a ring, with a sheet of still water in the interior. ‘“ Every one,” says Mr Darwin, ‘“ must be struck with astonishment when he first. beholds one of these vast rings of coral rock, often many leagues in diameter, here and there surmounted by a low verdant island with dazzling white shores, bathed on the outside by the foaming breakers of the ocean, and on the inside surrounding a calm expanse of water, which, from reflection, is of a bright but pale green colour.” The wall of coral rock forming the ring, is generally from a furlong to half a mile in breadth, averaging about a quarter of a mile. In one rare case it is three miles. The described by Mr Darwin. 35 diameter of the atoll, or circle formed by the reef, varies from less than one mile to 30 or 40. There is one 50 miles in length by 20 in breadth; so that, if the ledge of coral rock forming the ring were extended in one line, it would be 120 miles in length. Assuming it to be a quarter of a mile in breadth, and 150 feet deep, here is a mound compared with which the walls of Babylon, the great wall of China, or the Pyramids of Egypt, are but children’s toys—and built too, amidst the waves of the ocean, and in defiance of its storms, which sweep away the most solid works of man. The wall of coral is generally breached in one or more places ; and when the breaches are deep enough to admit a ship, the atoll affords a convenient and safe harbour. Some of the atolls are perfect circles. The external side of the reef often plunges to a depth of 200 or 300 fathoms, at an angle of 45 degrees or more. At Cardoo Atoll no bottom was found with a line of 200 fathoms (1200 feet), at the distance of 60 yards from the reef. The internal side, on the other hand, shelves gradually towards the centre of the lagoon, form- ing a saucer-shaped cavity, the depth of which varies from one fathom to fifty. In no instance has it been found entirely filled up. Beyond the line where the coral ceases to grow, the bottom of the lagoon consists of rolled fragments of it, or a whitish mud consisting chiefly of the same substance in a com- minuted state. Much of this mud is supposed to be produced by certain species of fish and molluscous animals which browse upon the coral; grinding it down to fine meal, part of which will pass from them and be deposited by the water. From this description it will be seen that an atoll closely resembles in form the cone of a submarine volcano, the coral reef repre- senting the rim, the lagoon occupying precisely the place of the crater. The islets formed on these reefs are very singular objects. In storms, the sea throws up fragments of coral, sometimes mixed with sand. The outer and lowest stratum of this mat- ter, which is bathed by the sea at high tide, is sometimes con- verted into a brecciated coral rock by caleareous infiltrations from the water. Above this, and generally at the distance of 200 or 300 yards from the outer margin of the reef, the loose fragments cast up in strong gales, mixed occasionally with sand 36 Mr Maclaren on Coral Islands and Reefs, as and shells, accumulate till they form a bank rising from six to twelve feet above high water, with the highest side towards the sea, from which the surface slopes inward to the lagoon. The ordinary width of these islets is under a quarter of a mile, and their length varies from a few yards to several miles. In the above cut, No. 1 is a plan of Keeling Atoll, in 8. latitude 12°., and E. longitude 96.54°, the structure of which Mr Darwin examined with peculiar care. a,d,b, r, i,t, f, the coral reef; the scale being + of an inch to the mile, the largest diameter of the atoll is 9 miles, and the shortest 7. N, the lagoon, which, a little northward of the centre, is 8 fathoms deep, as marked in thefigure. The part south of the dotted line is nearly dry at low water. i, t, the dark space here on the surface of the reef, is a long narrow islet of an irregular figure. There are other two between b and ; smaller ones at f, d, and a; and others of very minute size between f and ¢. There is a wide breach in the reef between 6 and d, and a narrower one. between d and a, either of which admits a ship. described by Mr Darwin. 37 The island abounds in cocoa trees, sprung from nuts brought by the currents of the ocean from Sumatra or Java, 600 miles distant. Turtles browse on the sea-weeds which grow in the lagoon. The islands are inhabited, and these two articles sup- ply the people with food. What is singular, fresh water is ob- tained from wells which ebb and flow with the tides. Mr Dar- win thinks that the rain water being specifically lighter than the salt, keeps floating on its surface, and is subject to the same movements. Barrier Reefs— Besides the atolls, which have merely a sheet of water in the interior, there are many reefs in the Pacific and Indian Oceans which encirele one or more islands of pri- mary, secondary, or volcanic rock. To these Mr Darwin gives the name of ‘‘ barrier reefs,” and the water which separates the islands from the reef is called “‘ the lagoon channel.” These reefs resemble the others inall respects. They support scattered lineal islets; they are pierced by breaches ; their exterior sides are steep and deep, while their interior are shallow and slope gently. Fig. 2. represents one of these (Maurua) on the same scale as the last. 1, f, the reef, with two long narrow islets at its northern end, and some smaller ones at other parts. N, the lagoon channel. The narrow entrance on its south side ha from four to five fathoms of water. L, an island 2 miles long, and 800 feet high in the lagoon. In this instance, the lagoon channel, separating the island from the reef, is of small depth and narrow, the breadth rang- ing from a furlong to a mile; but in other cases, it is 20 miles broad and 60 fathoms deep ; and, instead of one or two islands, almost filling the lagoon (as at Raiatea), there are sometimes four, six, or more, of small size, forming mere spots init. This is exemplified at Hogoleu and Gambier Islands. There are two very remarkable barrier reefs known. The first is that which runs along the north-east coast of Australia 1000 miles in length. It is divided from the land by a lagoon channel from 10 to 30 miles broad, and from 10 to 60 fathoms deep. The other runs parallel to the shores of New Caledonia for a length of 400 miles. It accompanies the shores for 250 miles, and continues for 150 miles more in the same direction, afford- ing presumptive evidence that the island has a submarine pro- 38 Mr Maclaren on Coral Islands and Reefs, as longation of this extent. At some places it is but a few yards from the island ; at others it is 20 miles ; and so steep was its ex- terior side found to be in one instance, that at two ship-lengths from the reef no bottom was found with a line of 900 feet. Double and triple Atolls.—There are small atolls sometimes placed in elliptical rows, with a sheet of water in the centre, and thus becoming constituent parts of a large atoll. This is shewn at fig. 8, where 14 small atolls, each with its little lagoon, are so arranged as to form one large atoll, with a large lagoon, N, in its centre. The figure is ideal, but we have an example in the Maldiva Archipelago, where the combination is carried a stage higher. This group extends over a space of 470 miles in length by 50 in breadth, and forms, as it were, three orders of atolls. First, you have a hundred of these little reefs, with pools in the centre, so disposed as to form one large atoll, 50 or 60 miles long, by 10 or 15 broad, with a lagoon 25 fathoms deep. Next, twenty of these large atolls of the second order, are arranged in the shape of a narrow ellipse, so as to form one vast atoll of the third order, 470 miles in length by 50 in breadth, with a lagoon in the interior of unfathomable depth. The atolls and barrier reefs are dispersed in great numbers over the Pacific and Indian Oceans. Are they the remnants of a former continent which has disappeared, or is disappearing, from that vast watery waste ’—or are they the harbingers of a new continent which is coming into existence? These are the questions which Mr Darwin has discussed with great learning and ingenuity. Fringing Reefs—The third form in which coral-reefs pre- sent themselves is, that of Pringing Reefs, the difference be- tween which and the other two must be pointed out. “ Atolls” are rings of coral-rock, rising nearly to the surface of the sea, with or without islets of drifted coral generally having a great depth of water on the outside, and a lagoon from 5 to 50 fathoms deep in the centre. ‘* Barrier reefs” are exactly similar, except that they encircle one or more islands of sedi- mentary or volcanic rock, from which they are divided by a lagoon-channel, which, like the lagoons of the atolls, is gene- rally from 5 to 50 fathoms deep. “ Fringing reefs” resemble barrier reefs, except that they have a comparatively small Described by Mr Darwin. 39 depth of water on the outside, and small shallow lagoon chan- nels between them and the land. They are generally found in seas that shelve gradually. The distinction between the last two classes of reefs has reference chiefly to theoretical considerations, as will be shewn by and by. Theory of Atolls—Land that has subsided or is subsiding.— It must be kept in mind, as already stated, that reef-building corals do not live at a greater depth than 20 or 30 fathoms, or, to take the extreme in round numbers, say 200 feet. This fact is of fundamental importance in reference to every theory of coral reefs. 1. The earliest opinion was, that these reefs were built up in the ocean from unfathomable depths. But this is at once disposed of by the fact just stated. 2. At amore recent period some naturalists, struck by the generally circular form of the reefs, and the steepness of their exterior sides in many instances, supposed that they were based on the eraters of submarine volcanoes. To this idea there is the conclusive objection, that it does not apply to long narrow reefs like Bow Atoll, 30 miles by 6, or Menchikoft Atoll 60 miles in length, or the larger rings, composed of smaller rings, of the Maldives. That submarine craters, if they reached the proper height, would afford fit foundations for atolls, is probable, and such may exist; but that all the numerous atolls scattered over the ocean rest on such a basis is inadmissible. 3. It has been supposed that the atolls rest on the sum- mits of the submarine mountains. But this fails in explain- ing the existence of those which appear in groups. The low Archipelago, for instance, contains 80 atolls, scattered over a space of 840 geographical miles by 420, and not a single island of ordinary rock. How can we believe that a chain or group of mountains extending over such a vast area had 80 summits, all reaching within less than 200 feet of the surface, and not one rising above it? And this is not a solitary case ; for the objection applies equally to the Gilbert group, 300 miles in length; the Marshall group, 520 miles by 240; and the Maldive and Lacadive group, 1000 miles in length by 100 in breadth—none of which contain a single island of any other 40 Mr Maclaren on Coral Islands and Reefs, as material than drifted coral, resting on the edge of the sub- marine reef. The argument holds equally good against the hypothesis of submarine craters; for so many hundreds of these could not approach within a few fathoms of the surface, without some of them rising above it. 4. Banks of sediment might (as some suppose) serve for a basis to atolls in shallow seas; but to assume the existence of hundreds of such banks of moveable matter in the profound depths of the ocean, is absurd ; and it is positively disproved in the case of those atolls whose exterior sides are steeper than the cone of a volcano, descending, as some of them do, at an angle of 40 or 50 degrees. The theory adopted, whatever it is, should also explain the existence of barrier reefs, which are analogous to atolls in every point, except that of having solid land within them. How, for instance, on any of the theories proposed, are we to account for the great barrier reef of Australia, with 60 fathoms of water even on its inner side, and descending on its outer side to unfathomable depths at a high angle? Are we to assume that there is a submarine precipice here 1000 miles in length, on which it rests. The only hypothesis, Mr Darwin observes, which solves all dif- Jiculties, is that which assumes that the atolls rest on land which has subsided, and part of which was once dry. Detached atolls far from others, may stand on submarine rocks which have un- dergone no change of position; but those found in groups mark the site of land which has subsided. In short, the atolls, according to Mr Darwin’s theory, may be regarded as the ves- tiges or foot-prints of land which has disappeared ; and the islands, encircled by barrier reefs, as remnants of land now partly submer- ged, and perhaps in progress towards final disappearance. As the coral animalculz do not live at a greater depth than 200 feet, it follows that all reefs, however deep, must have begun in shallow seas ; in other words, they must have heen originally of the nature of ‘ Fringing Reefs.” Let us suppose an island 350 feet high to exist in the tro- pical seas. The animalcule commence their labours on some spot, and at a distance from the shore, as turbid water is per- nicious to them. But since they cannot exist at more than described by Mr Darwin. 41 200 feet beneath the surface, they are checked in their pro- gress seaward, and therefore continue their work to the right or left, keeping always within the requisite depth; and thus their instinct guides them to form the reef in the shape of a girdle round the island, following the sinuosities of its shores, keeping nearer them where the water deepens rapidly, and farther off where it deepens slowly. Here we have a reason why reefs may be circular, oblong, or of any other form which islands assume. Mr Darwin’s plates of Raiatea and Vanikoro are good examples of the manner in which reefs adapt them- selves to the outline of the islands they encircle. The little architects carry up their fabric to the level of the low water line, and there they stop. Suppose the island now to subside 200 feet, either suddenly or slowly. They then commence a new fabric on the top of the old, and again carry it up to the low water level. But the island itself, besides losing 200 feet of height, is contracted in breadth from its low shores being covered with water; the channel between it and the reef becomes broader and deeper; and the reef hay- ing its basis at a depth beyond that where living coral exists becomes a “ barrier reef.” Suppose the island to subside other 200 feet. A third fa- brie of coral now rises on the top of the second, till the reef again reaches the low water level. But the island itself has disappeared, and the lagoon which occupies its place, with the encircling reef, now forms an “ atoll.” The subjoined figures illustrate what has been stated, and shew the process by which a ‘‘Fringing reef” passes into a “Barrier reef,’ and a barrier reef into an “ Atoll.” | First Stage—The Fringing reef. aba—A section of an island, roughly copied from one given by Mr Darwin. S 1—The surface of the sea. ry r—A fringing reef formed within a small distance of its shores. A2 Mr Maclaren on Coral Islands and Reefs, as Second Stage—The Barrier reef. a b a—The island haying subsided 200 feet, is now more than halfsub- merged ; but its double summit is still visible. S 2—The surface of the sea in its second position. The fringing reef now raised to the level of S 2, forms 7”, a “ Barrier The small gutter which divided the reef from the island, is enlarged to the wider and deeper cavity n n, and forms a “ lagoon channel.” Lis 72 ae Ae Are 0 ee Third Stage—The Atoll. a b a—The island having subdivided other 200 feet, is now completely submerged. S 3—The sea in its third position. The barrier reef having 200 feet added to its height, now rises to r 7. A broad lagoon n, now occupies the place of the island, and the reef becomes an “ Atoll.” Mr Darwin endeavoured to collect some positive evidence of subsidence in the islands, but it is not very satisfactory. Geology, however, renders it certain that some portions of the earth’s surface have sunk to a lower level. The subsidence assumed, therefore, involves no inconsistency ; and it enables us to account for the otherwise puzzling fact, that though corals do not live at a greater depth than 200 feet, yet numerous reefs are found 1000 feet or more in depth, the basis of which, as the steepness of their sides attest, can scarcely consist of any thing else than coral. It explains also the appearance of the atolls in groups. Suppose a tropical island, like Ireland in size, to sink under the waves by slow stages. The hills being of different heights, the corals would begin their work on those first submerged— that is, the lowest—and new reefs would be founded succes- sively on the higher ones as they descended, one after another, described by Mr Darwin. 43 to the proper depth. When the whole island had disappeared, a group of isolated atolls, scattered over a space of 250 miles by 150, would mark the place it occupied, and indicate its figure. All the atolls would be built up to the level of low water; and while the last founded might be only two or three fathoms deep, the first might be two or three hundred. In this way, the lower hills might have their representative reefs as well as the higher, though the creatures that construct them can work only at limited depths. Again, if the principle be correct, we would expect to find occasionally an unsubmerged remnant of land (an island), ac- companied with Jarrier reefs, in a region where subsidence was going on, that is, amidst a group of atolls. Now, this occurs in the Caroline Archipelago, and one or two other places. Moreover, as the conditions necessary to the life of corals (which are imperfectly known) may cease at some spots where they once existed, we might also expect (admitting the prin- ciple of subsidence) to find reefs, in which the coral being dead, could not raise itself to the low water level. Such a case is met with in the Great Chagos Bank, 90 miles by 70. It has a border from 5 to 10 fathoms under water, a second border, or inner ledge, about 16 fathoms under water, and its central parts, consisting of mud, are from 40 to 50 fathoms deep. It is conceived to be “a half-drowned atoll.” In New Caledonia, as Mr Darwin observes, we seem to wit- ness the effects of subsidence in actual progress. It is an island 200 miles in length by 45 in breadth, quite straight, and consisting of a single ridge of mountains. Now, the coral reefs, which run parallel to its shores on the two sides, instead of turning round the north end and uniting, as we would ex- pect, continue in their original north-west direction for 150 miles beyond it in the open sea. The most probable explana- tion of this anomaly is, that the reefs, in their northern pro- longation, accompany a part of the ridge, which, owing to the island having subsided, is now submarine, but consisted of dry land at an earlier period when the reefs were founded. The reefs, in short, follow the ancient line of the shore, a large part of which is now under water, and the process of submer- gence is perhaps still going on. . Lands recently raised, or still rising from the ocean.—While 44 Mr Maclaren on Coral Islands and Reefs, as ancient lands have sunk under the waves in some parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, Mr Darwin thinks that new lands have risen, or are rising, in others. The corals furnish the evidence of the latter change as well as the former. As all corals are formed in the sea, it follows that when we find them in stu on dry land, they afford distinct proof of the land having been upraised. Now, coral banks are found in most of the Sandwich Islands many yards above the sea. In one they form three strata, each 10 feet thick. In Oahu, Mr Pierce, an intelligent European who has lived there six- teen years, is convinced that elevation is at present going on “at avery perceptible rate.’ Elizabeth Island (S. lat. 24, W. long. 129) 80 feet high, is entirely composed of coral. Five of the “Cook and Austral” islands (S. lat. 20, W. long. 160) are of coral rock. The sixth Mangaia, 300 feet high, is, with the exception of a little basalt, entirely of coral ; and having a flat top with a lagoon-shaped cavity in it, is evidently an upraised atoll. Tongataboo, one of the Friendly Isles, is entirely of coral; Eoua and Vavyao, in this group, the former 200 or 300 feet high, are of the same substance. Anamouka, another, 20 or 30 feet high, with a salt-water lake in the middle, is, in truth, an atoll, only a very little elevated. Savage Island, 40 feet high (south-east of the Friendly group), exhibits tree- shaped corals still unbroken, a proof that its elevation is recent. In the Navigators’ group (S. lat. 14, W. long. 170) large frag- ments of coral were found on a steep hill at the height of 80 feet, embedded in a base of decomposed lava and sand. On the new Hebrides (S. lat. 18, E. long. 168), coral, secmingly of recent origin, is found at a great altitude. New Ireland (S. lat. 4, E. long. 153), which belongs to the Salomon group, pre- sents beds of madreporite rock, with the corals little altered, forming a newer line of coast modelled round an ancient one. In the Mariana group (N. lat. 15, E. long. 146), a succession of cliffs of madreporite limestone present themselves. In the great circular chain of islands extending from the Bay of Ben- gal to Japan, embracing Sumatra, Java, Timor, Ceram, the Philippines, and Loo Choo, corals or beds of sea-shells at considerable heights, afford abundant evidence of elevation ; but for details we refer to Mr Darwin’s book. Where reefs occur on the shores of these islands, they are fringing reefs, described by Mr Darwin. 45 indicating either that the shores are stationary, or that they are now rising. Mr Darwin went painfully over every work in which any account of coral reefs was to be found, and marked by colours on a map to which of the three classes they belonged—of “ fringing reefs,” “ barrier reefs,” or “ atolls.”” On classifying them in this way, the following general facts arrested his at- tention :— 1. They are not mingled indiscriminately, but generally those of each class appear in groups, spread over a considerable area, 2. Where they are mingled, the barrier reefs and atolls, both of which indicate subs¢dence, are found together. 3. On the other hand, fringing reefs and coral beds on terra Jirma, indicating that the land is either stationary or uprising, are generally found together. 4. Active volcanoes, the agents of elevation, are numerous in the stationary or wprising groups, and, except in a very few cases, are absent from the subsiding groups. Mr Darwin was thus led to conclude that the ocean contains areas of elevation and areas of subsidence ; in other words, that in some parts its bottom is sinking, and burying ancient lands under the waves ; while in others, it is rising, and unveiling to us the germs of future islands and continents. Let us pursue this idea into a few details. The Maldive and Lacadive Atolls and Great Chagos Bank, probably mark the former existence of an island extending 1500 miles from north to south, or equal in length to Britain, France, and Spain united. In the Caroline Archipelago, northward of New Britain, we have perhaps the traces of a second island of similar size, of which two or three small portions are still above water ; in the Marshall, and Gilbert, and Ellice groups, traces of a third ; in the Society Isles and Low Archipelago, a few remnants of a fourth ; and in the Fidgi Islands, remnants of a fifth. According to the theory also, New Caledonia and the north-east coast of Australia have subsided, and may still be subiding. On the other hand, Sumatra, Java, Sumba, Timor, with Gil- olo, the Philippines, Formosa, and Loo Choo, which abound in active voleanoes, and perhaps also Borneo and Celebes, belong to the category of uprising lands. If we suppose that the ele- 46 Mr Maclaren on Coral Islands and Reefs, as vatory movement is still proceeding, its ultimate result, some thousand years hence, may be to unite that vast chain of islands to one another, and to the continent of Asia, by the pe- ninsula of Malacca on the one side, and the eastern coast of China on the other, converting the Chinese sea into a vast in- land lake. Further eastward, the Salomon Isles, which are also uprising, may be united into one narrow ridge, 500 miles long ; and the New Hebrides, Sandwich Isles, and Navigators’ Isles, may undergo a similar change. For other examples we refer to the work. This theory explains the phenomena under consideration better than any other which has been proposed, and it is not at variance with the principles of geology, which teach us, that some parts of the crust of the globe are rising, and others subsiding at the present day. It seems to us, however, that it is attended with difficulties, of which some are perhaps ap- parent but others are real. First, The anomalous facts are rather numerous. An in- spection of the map shews that atolls and barrier reefs occur in “areas of elevation,” and fringing reefs and volcanoes in “ areas of subsidence,” unless we confine these areas within very narrow limits. We grant, however, that this objection may admit of an answer. For instance, in an area that is rising, corals may take root upon a subaqueous rock or bank when it comes within less than 200 feet of the surface, and raise upon it an atoll. Again, a volcano like that of Monte Nuovo, near Naples, may break out in an area that is station- ary or subsiding; and thus the indications of elevation and subsidence may be found intermingled. Secondly, If the theory is correct, we would expect to find in areas of elevation, fringing reefs in a great variety of stages —some 2 or 3 feet above low water, some 2 or 3 yards, some with the lagoon channel almost, and others with it al- together, obliterated. That there are examples of this transi- tion from the fringing reef to the coral rock on dry land, and that corals are found at considerable heights, we do not deny ; but they occur, in our opinion, much more rarely than they ought to do, considering that the areas supposed to be upris- ing are of great extent, and many of them often visited and well known. described by Mr Darwin, 47 Thirdly, What seems to us the most serious objection to the theory, remains to be stated. On the outside of coral reefs very highly inclined, no bottom is sometimes found with a line of 2000 or 3000 feet, and this is by no means a rare Case. Tt follows that the reef ought to have this thickness ; and Mr Darwin’s diagrams, pages 48 and 98, shew that he understood it so. Now, if such masses of coral exist under the sea, they ought somewhere to be found on éerra firma ; for there is evi- dence that all the lands yet visited by geologists have been at one time submerged. But neither in the great voleanic chain, extending from Sumatra to Japan, nor in the West Indies, nor in any other region yet explored, has a bed or formation of coral, even 500 feet thick, been discovered, so far as we know. We state this objection, not as conclusive against the theory, but as one deserving the able and ingenious author’s consider- ation. Spesaietien) od falig WNW Soe) eee eee Remarks on the preceding paper, in a@ Letter from CHARLES Darwin, Esq., to Mr Macraren. Down near Broomley, Kent. Dear Sir,—I have been so much pleased with the very clear, and, at the same time, in many points quite original manner in which you have stated and explained my views, that I cannot refrain from troubling you with my thanks. Your third objection appears to me much the most, indeed the only, formidable one, which has hitherto occurred to me. I fear I shall be tempted to reply to it at great length, but perhaps sometime you will find leisure to read my attempted vindication. With respect to the first objection, I can hardly admit that we know enough of the laws of ele- vation and subsidence to argue against the theory, because the areas of different movements are not more distinct. Some have been startled at my view on directly the reverse grounds to your objection, viz. that, according to their notions of probability, the areas of the same movements were too large and uniform. With respect to your second objection, all those who believe that exceedingly slow and gradual elevations are the order of nature, must admit a great amount of contemporaneous denuda- tion, which would tend to annihilate the characteristic form of the fring- ing-reefs during their upheaval, and leave merely a coating on the upraised land of coral-rock either thicker or thinner, according to the original thick- ness, rate of growth of the reef at each successive level, and the rate of elevation ; indeed I am surprised that there exists even one case, viz. at Mauritius, where the peculiar moat-like structure of a mere fringing-reef has been partially preserved on dry land. Your third criticism strikes me as a very weighty and perplexing one. 48 Mr Darwin on Coral Reefs. It had passed through my head, but I had not considered it with nearly the attention it deserved, otherwise Iassuredly would have noticed it in my volume. [had always intended to examine the limestone formations of Eng- land for comparison, but was prevented by bad health ; I was, however, led away from the subject, and baffled when I consulted published accounts, for the limestones all appeared to be uniformly spread out, andmost, if not allof them, to be associated with layers of earthy matter, whereas a formation of the nature of a group of atolls, would consist of separate large patches of calcareous rock, which would be quite pure.—I was thus led from the subject, and did not reflect on their want of thickness. The want of thick- ness, however, in any limestone formation, until it be first shewn to be analogous in structure, form, and composition, to a barrier-reef, an atoll or group of atolls, evidently cannot be brought forward as any argument against the theory of the long-continued subsidence of reefs of these classes. During the elevation of all reefs in open seas, I think there can be no doubt (as is dwelt on at p. 117, 3d. vol.) that a considerable thick- ness of the exterior would be denuded, and the only parts preserved would be those which had accumulated in lagoons or lagoon-channels ; these would be chiefly sedimentary, and in some cases might contain (p. 117) scarcely any coral ; within barrier-reefs such beds would often be associated with much earthy sediment. Mr Lyell, in a note just received, in which he alludes to your criticisms, speaks of the limestones of the Alps and Pyre- nees, as being of enormous thickness, namely, about 4000 feet. Ido not know what their composition is, but I have no doubt that the strata now accumulating within the barrier-reef of Australia and New Caledonia, are chiefly formed of horizontal layers of calcareous sediment and not of coral. I suspect that denudation has acted on a far grander scale than in merely peeling the outsides of upraised reefs. My theory leads me to infer that the areas, where groups of atolls and barrier-reefs stand, have sub- sided to agreat amount and over a wide space. Nowit appears to me pro- bable, thata subterranean change, producing a directly opposite movement, namely, a great and widely extended elevation, would be extremely slow, and would be interrupted by long periods of rest, and perhaps of oscil- lation of level. When I think of the denudation along the fault, which goes across the northern carboniferous counties of England, where 1000 feet of strata have been smoothed away ; when I think how commonly volcanic islands, formed of very hard rock, are eaten back in cliffs from 100 or 200 to 800 or 1000 feet in height, I hardly see where we can stop, with respect to the probable limits of erosion on the comparatively soft, generally cavernous, tabular, though wide, masses of coral rock, standing exposed in great oceans during very slow changes of level. Most of the atolls which have been raised a few hundred feet are mere wrecks, and at the Friendly Archipelago where there are upraised atolls, there are large irregular reefs, also, which I have always thought were probably the basal vestiges of worn down atolls. Many submerged reefs, which may have had this same origin, occur out- side the line of elevation of the Salomon and New Hebrides archipelagoes. The great steepness of the shores of upraised reefs (p. 65. Ehrenberg quoted, and p. 51.) would probably be unfavourable to the growth of new 7 Mr Darwin on Coral Reefs. 49 reefs, and therefore to the protection afforded by them. I can conceive it very possible, that should, at some period, as far in futurity as the secondary rocks are in the past, the bed of the Pacific, with its atolls and barrier reefs, be raised in reefs, by an elevation of some thousand feet, and be conyerted into a continent, that scarcely any, or none of the existing reefs would be preserved ; but only widely spread beds of calcareous matter derived from their wear and tear. As a corollary from this, I sus- pect that the reefs of the secondary periods (if any, as is probable, existed), have been ground into sand, and no longer exist. This notion will cer- tainly at first appear preposterous ; its only justification lies in the proba- bility of upward movements after long periods of subsidence, being exceed- ingly slow and often interrupted by pauses of rest, and perhaps of oscilla- tions of land, during all which the soft coral rock would be exposed to the action of waves never at rest. This notion, preposterous as it will probably appear, would not have occurred to me, had I not several times, from independent reasons, been driven to the conclusion, that a formation to be preserved to a very dis- tant cera (or which probably is the same thing, to be elevated to a great height from its original level over a wide avea) must be of great extent, and must be covered by a great thickness of superincumbent matter in order to escape the chances of denudation. I have come to this conclu- sion chiefly from considering the character of the deposits of the long series of formations piled one upon another, in Europe, with evidence of land near many of them. Ican explain my meaning more clearly by looking to the future; it scarcely seems probable, judging from what I see of the ancient parts of the crust of the earth, that any of the numerous sub-littoral formations (%. e. deposits formed along and near shores, and not of great width or breadth), now accumulating on most parts of the shores of Europe (and indeed of the whole world), al- though, no doubt, many of them must be of considerable thickness, will be preserved to a period as far in the future, as the lias or chalk are in the past, but that only those deposits of the present day will be preserved which are accumulating over a wide area, and which shall hereafier chance to be protected by successive thick deposits. I should think that most of the sublittoral deposits of the present day will suffer, what I conclude the sublittoral formations of the secondary eras have generally suffered, namely, denudation. Now, barrier and atoll coral reefs, though, accord- ing to my theory, of great thickness, are, in the above sense, not widely extended ; and hence I conclude they will suffer, as I suspect ancient coral reefs have suffered—the same fate with sublittoral deposits. With respect to the vertical amount of subsidence, requisite by my theory to have produced the spaces coloured blue on the map, more facts regarding the average heights of islands and tracts of Jand are wanted than all those, even if perfectly known, which this one world of ours would afford ; for the question of the probable amount, or, which is the same thing, the probable thickness of the coral-recf, resolves itself into this,—W hat is the ordinary height of tracts of land, or groups of islands VOL. XXXIV. NO. LXVII—Janvuary 1845. D 50 Mr James Thomson on an Improved Tilting Apparatus of the size of the existing groups of atolls (excepting as many of the high- est islands or mountains in such groups, as there usually occur of “ en- circled islands” in groups of atolls)? and likewise what is the ordinary height of the single scattered islands between such groups of islands >—= subsidence sufficient to bury all these islands (with the above exception) my theory absolutely requires, but no more. In my volume, I rather vaguely concluded that the atolls, which are studded in so marvellous a manner over wide spaces of ocean, marked the spots where the moun- tains of a great continent lay buried, instead of merely separate tracts of land or mountainous islands ; and I was thus led to speak somewhat more strongly than warranted, of the probable vertical amount of subsidence in the areas in question. Mr Lyell in the note alluded to, thinks we are much too irnorant of intra-tropical geology (and ignorant enough we certainly are) to «firm that calcareous rocks of the supposed thickness of coral reefs, do not occur. I am inclined to lay considerable stress on this. I do not expect the foregoing view will appear at all satisfactory to any one besides my- self,—I believe, however, there is more in it than mere special pleading. The case, undoubtedly, is very perplexing ; but I have the confidence to think, that the theory explains so well many facts, that I shall hold fast by it, in the face of two or three puzzles, even as good ones as your third objection. Believe me, my Dear Sir, yours very truly, Cuartrs Darwin. Description of an improved Tilting Apparatus for emptying Waggons at the termini of Railways, Shipping-Places, &c., as used at the Magheramorne Lime-Works, Ireland. With a Plate. By James Tuomson, Esq., F.R.S.E., M.R.1A., F.R.S.S.A., Civil Engineer, Glasgow. Communicated by the Royal Scottish Society of Arts.* The apparatus may be generally described as consisting of three parts, viz :— 1st, The cast-iron brackets or quadrants for supporting the machine, Plate I. aaa. 2d, The tilting-frame upon which the waggon is placed, 6 b,—and 3d, The malleable iron-swings for suspending the frame to the brackets, ¢ ¢. The supporting brackets a aa, are bolted to the wooden frame d d, ofa moveable shipping platform, by means of which * Read before the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, and working model ex- hibited, 10th January 1842, and the Society’s Honorary Silyer Medal award- ed, 14th November 1842, Hdin. New Pl. Journal. M® THOMSON’! fig. 1. : -Z NS Ui) a_i =) SY aa=a=___ SS: TILTING AP ° VAXXXIV FlateL Fage F0. for emptying Waggons at the Termini of Railways, &c. 51 the apparatus is advanced at pleasure, and made to project be- yond the wharf so as to discharge the waggon immediately over the hold of a vessel. The tilting-frame is formed of two cast-iron cheeks or sides, as shewn in fig. 4, having in each two slots or grooves for at- taching to the swings, and for adjustment of the apparatus. These sides of the frame are connected together by two flat malleable iron stays e e, as representel in fig. 3, with two bolts in each end, and a light round iron stay f at the curved ends. The swings are attached to the frame by means of snubs 9g g, Which are bolted vertically to the lower ends of the swings and horizontally to the sides of the frame, the bolts passing through the grooves or slots already mentioned, in which they are moveable—the upper ends of the swings work upon mal- leable iron journals fastened in the top of the cast-iron brackets. When the apparatus is properly adjusted (which is done by moving the tilting-frame forward or backward upon the swings by means of the adjusting slots), the waggon, on taking its position, should be so placed that its centre of gravity may be slightly in advance of the point of suspension. The rails to the tilting-frame are laid with a gentle deeli- vity, so that the waggon may be brought upon it with a slight impetus just sufficient to set the frame in motion—the waggon will then immediately fall into a position ready to discharge, as shewn in fig 2, when by a simple contrivance, which may be effected in various ways, the door of the waggon is opened from behind by a handle and connecting-rod communicating with the door-latch, and the load discharged. While loaded, the position of the waggon will of itself remain the same, being in equilibrio; but immediately after it is dis- charged, and consequently the centre of gravity thrown behind the point of suspension, the tendency of the waggon is then to resume the horizontal position, which, however, it is prevented from doing, by means of the spur /, until completely emptied —the spur is then disengaged, and the waggon resumes its level position ready to be removed. The whole operation of discharging a waggon (of whatever weight) is effected with perfect safety and facility in a few seconds, and one very important desileratum is supplied by 52 Mr James Thomson on an Improved Tilting Apparatis. this apparatus, viz. :—the practicability of discharging waggons of different dimensions and different sized wheels upon the same tilting-jrame. The advantages of the apparatus have been fully tested at the Magheramorne lime-works in Ireland, where they were first applied, and have since been in constant operation for the last three years, discharging waggons of three tons with 24-inch wheels, and waggons of only 20 ewt. and 20-inch wheels, with perfect facility and expedition—the cost of each apparatus not exceeding from £10 to £11 complete. Rerort of the Committee of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, on Mr Thomson's Tilting Apparatus for loaded Waggons. Before the termination of the last Session, your Committee held a meeting to consider the merits of Mr Thomson's im- proved tilting apparatus, and though they were well satisfied with the principle on which the apparatus is constructed, in so far as could be judged from the drawings, yet your Committee deeming it expedient that they should have a report from the persons using the machine in the locality named by Mr Thom- son, deferred coming to a conclusion on the subject, and submit- ted an interim report. Upon this they were instructed to corre- Spond with such persons at Magheramorne as might be consider- ed qualified to give an opinion of the working of the machine. A correspondence was accordingly opened with Mr Maxwell, manager of the lime-works at Magheramorne, and the accom- panying letter, dated 21st October, contains Mr Maxwell’s re- port of the practical working of the apparatus. Your Committee have, therefore, now no hesitation in giving avery favourable opinion of Mr Thomson’s improvements on this tilting apparatus, and they are the more strongly induced to report thus favourably, from having lately learned that the im- proved apparatus is now being introduced upon the coal-wharfs of the Monkland and other canals; and it is, therefore, humbly suggested, that Mr Thomson merits the marked approbation of the Society. All which is humbly reported by your Committee, James Suicut. Convener, Edinburgh, 23¢) October 1842. Professor Traill’s Description of the Elaps Jamesoni. 93 Macuerraworne, 21st October 1842. Sir,—I am in receipt of your favour of the 17th inst., making enquiry in regard to Mr Thomson’s tilting machine, and in reply, 1 am happy in the opportunity of bearing testimony to the great value and usefulness of the invention. Five of them were erected at our works here, about five years ago, and have been in constant and daily use since, and nothing could be more admirable than the ease and simplicity with which they work, or the perfect manner they answer the pur- pose for which they were intended, and in that time, without any of them requiring the replacement of almost a single bolt. Altogether I have seen no apparatus of the kind so well adapted for loading vessels with coals, limestone, or other articles of a similar heavy description.—I am, Sir, your obedient Servant. Tuo, MaxwELu. James Suicut, Esq., Edinburgh. mee i) LSS ee ee Description of the Hlaps Jamesont, a New Species of Serpent from Demerara. By Tomas S. Trait, M.D., F.R.S.E. M.W.S., &e. Communicated by the Author.* Tuts very elegant serpent was received from Demerara many years ago, with a collection of other snakes; and ap- pears to have hitherto escaped the researches of the natural- ists who have published on the animals of Equinoxial Ame- rica. I have lately examined it anatomically, and find it pro- vided with true moveable fangs, and with a gland, not granu- lar, like the salivary glands of innocuous snakes, but very much resembling that of our viper, covered with an albugi- neous tunic, and sending a small but distinct duct to the root of its fangs. Not having met with a description of this spe- cies in any work on ophiology, I consider it as an undescribed species, and propose naming it in honour of the distinguished Professor of Natural History in this University. The general form of this serpent, and length of its tail, ap proximate it to the genus Coluber of M. Schlegel; its physio- gnomy to his genus Lycodon ; but its fangs, the whole structure * Read before the Wernerian Natural History Society, Dec, 10. 1642. 54 Professor Traill’s Description of the Elaps Jamesoni. of its mouth, and the fossule in its nasal plates, indicate that t belongs to the genus Elaps. Perhaps it might form the type of a new genus of venomous serpents; but unless other species resembling it be hereafter found, it is better to avoid the multiplication of genera,—the rage for which has too often greatly retarded the study of Natural History. Ihave, therefore, considered it as an Elaps, and beg leaye to designate it Exars JAMESONI. The onty specimen which I have seen, and which is in my possession, measures Ft. Inches. From the snout to the anus, : : = 6 From the anus to the extremity of the tail, =1 7.5 Extreme length, . ie las Circumference of the trunk where thickest, =0 4.5 Length of the head, . : : - —— 1.3 The trunk diminishes towards the neck and tail. The back is slightly carinated ; the abdomen is large ; the tail tapers gra- dually ; the scales are lozenge-shaped, smooth, and arranged in fifteen rows; the scuta are wide, and number 220+108 (the first, as in Schlegel’s work, indicating the abdominal, the latter the divided caudal scuta). The general colour of the upper part of the animal is of a bluish-grey; but where the epidermis has peeled off, the scales are of a brilliant sky-blue. Each scale on the posterior part of the body, and also on the whole tail, is edged with deep black; and on the latter they are, moreover, tipt with the same colour, giving a very ele- gant appearance to this snake. The general colour of the under parts of the body is yellowish-white, but the abdominal M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. 55 scuta near the anus have their posterior edges black, and the divided scuta of the tail are deeply edged with the same hue. The plates protecting the head are nine, of the normal shape ; the vertical plate is middle-sized; the temporals are rather large; the occipitals very large; the posterior frontals are considerably larger than the anterior pair ; the superciliaries are large; the rostral is rounded, and emarginate below ; each nasal plate has a sulcus, in which are placed the open, lateral nostrils; the frenals are wanting. There are four pos- terior and three anterior orbiter plates. There are eight su- perior and ten inferior labial plates. The eye is rather large and prominent; the pupil orbicular. The fangs are slender, and have a distinct longitudinal fur- row on their anterior convex surface, as in Schlegel’s first subdivision of venomous serpents. They are attached to the maxillary bones, which are, as usual in venomous snakes, moveable by muscles attached to the pterygoid bones. The poison-gland, placed at the angle of the jaw, is covered by a firm albugineous tunic, has a cellular structure, and sends off a slender poison duct, in the usual manner, to the root of the fangs. These particulars are noticed to shew that this serpent really belongs to the true venomous snakes, not to the Lyco- dons, with which a superficial view might readily confound it, as it has several analogies with that genus of harmless ser- pents. Epinpurcu University, March 19, 1842. On the Application of the Hypothesis of M. Venetz to the Er- ratic Phenomena of the North; a Letter addressed to M. Macaire, Counsellor of State, by M. Jean de Charpentier.* Sir—You haye been good enough to take the trouble of %* From the Bibliotheque Universelle de Genéve, No. 78. As we have all along endeavoured, so far as our space permitted, to convey to our readers full information respecting glaciers, and the topics more imme- diately connected with them, we collected, at p. 160 of vol. xxx., references to the most important papers which had appeared in this Journal on the subject ; and we now continue that list, premising the titles of some shorter 56 M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenemena of the North. giving in the Libliothéque Universelle de Genéve an account of my Essai sur les glaciers et le terrain erratique du bassin du Rhéne.* there remarked with much satisfaction that you have perused that work with attention, and have completely understood the ideas which it was my intention to express. In fact, I think it would be impossible to prepare a better ab- stract than you have published of a work which, in some mea- sure, is only a summary of observations. I therefore request you to accept of my sincere thanks on this account, and also for all the kind observations regarding me, which, on that oc- casion, were dictated by your indulgent goodness. If all my readers had considered the subject with the same attention and the same sagacity which you have brought to communications published previously to vol. xxx., but not included in our former note: Vol. xviii. p. 363, Kl6éden on the Origin of the Erratic Blocks of the North of Germany. Vol. xxiii. p. 69, Sefstr6m on the Traces of a vast Aucient Flood (On ésars and Jéittegryttor), Vol. xxiv., p. 438, Von Baer on the Transported Blocks of the South Coast of Finland. Vol. xxix. p- 185, On the Origin of Fissures in Glaciers, and on Sefstrém’s Investiga- tions. Vol. xxx. pp. 160 and 284, Dr Martens on the Glaciers of Spitzber- gen, compared with those of Switzerland and Norway ; p. 194, Dr Buckland on the former existence of Glaciers in Scotland; p. 199, Mr Lyell on the Geological Evidence of the former existence of Glaciers in Forfarshire ; p. 202, Dr Buckland on the former existence of Glaciers in the North of England. Vol. xxxi, p. 38, Dr Black on the Antediluyian Congelation of the Interstitial Water of Rocks; p. 56, Captain Vetch on Icebergs, &c.; p. 77, M. Renoir on the Traces of Ancient Glaciers in Dauphiny and in Northern Russia ; p. 252, M. Robert on the Grooves and Furrows on the Rocks of Scandinavia; p. 253, M. Bohtlingk on the Traces of the last Re- volution in Scandinavia. Vol. xxxii. p. 76, Professor Hitchcock on Glacial Action, &c., in America ; p. 64, Professor Forbes on a Remarkable Struc- ture observed by him in the Ice of Glaciers; p. 105, M. Bohtlingk on the Scratches and Furrows observed on the Rocks of Finland; p. 291, M. Desor’s Account of an Ascent of the Jungfrau. Vol. xxxili, p. 1, Sir G. Mackenzie on an Hypothesis to account for the Origin of Glaciers; p. 36, Professor Bronn on the Glacier Theory of Agassiz; p. 104, M. de Char- pentier on the Glaciers and Erratic Formation of the Valley of the Rhone; p. 124, Mr Murchison on the Glacial Theory ; p. 161, M. Studer on the Di- luvium and Erratic Blocks of Switzerland; p. 217, Professor Agassiz on the Glacial Theory and its Recent Progress ; p. 338, Professor Forbes’ Re- cent Observations on Glaciers ; p. 352, Mr Darwin on the Ancient Glaciers of Caernaryonshire ; p. 399, Professor Agassiz’ Recent Observations on the Glacier of the Aar.—Epir. * Jameson’s Journal, yol. xxxiii. p. 104. M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. 57 bear on it, the hypothesis of M. Venetz, that is to say, the hypothesis which attributes the transport of erratic blocks to glaciers, would certainly by this time have gained a larger number of supporters. There are, it is true, many persons who adopt it for the explanation of the erratie phenomena of the Alps; but this is not the case with regard to the erratic phenomena of the north of Europe. Nevertheless, there seems to me to be so great an analogy between the erratic phenomena of the north and those of the Alps and the Pyrenees, that we may assert that there is an almost complete identity. Not hav- ing visited any of the countries of the north, I only know the erratic phenomenon of Scandinavia by the descriptions that have been given of it, but the most interesting of these had not appeared, or at least had not come under my notice, be- fore the publication of my book. Judging from the descriptions given by skilful observers and good geologists, the difference between the erratic formations of the north and those of the south, consists solely in the extent of the dispersion of the debris ; that dispersion being in the north spread over a sur- face incomparably greater than in the south. It appears, moreover, that in the north, floating masses of ice have had a share in producing this dispersion, whereas in the south, such an agent has been so feeble in its operation, if it existed at all, that traces of its action have not yet been ascertained. Although I am far from pretending that analogous, or even :dentical facts, are always the result of a common cause, it seems to me that the glacier hypothesis explains the erratic phenomena of Scandinavia quite as well as it does those of the Alps. The great repugnance which has hitherto been shewn to the application of this hypothesis to the transport of the erratic debris of the north, proceeds, sf, From the false idea that has been adopted of the mode of formation, the de- velopment, and the movement of glaciers ; and, 2d, From the error of believing that the glacier hypothesis excludes all operation of other agents. Notwithstanding the care I took in the first part of my book to describe, as clearly as was possible for me, the chief phenomena of glaciers, and to explain their theory, it never- theless appears that I have not always been properly under- 58 M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. stood, for there are still many persons who never hear the word glacier, without associating with it the idea of moun- tains, lofty mountains, mountains of many thousand feet in height. Such individuals think that mountains are an indis- pensable condition for the existence of glaciers; but such an opinion is quite erroneous. Mountains do not exercise any direct influence on glaciers, except that they sometimes favour the accumulation of snow drifted by the wind. It is only their cold, snowy, and rainy climate which causes the for- mation, development, and movement of glaciers. Now, then, if from any cause a similar climate existed in a flat country, were it even at the level of the sea, there would be nothing to prevent glaciers from being formed and developed. Nor is the declivity of the surface a necessary condition for their movement ; for, as I have shewn in my Essai (§ 14), gla- ciers do not move by the action of their own gravity, nor by the pressure of the high mevés, or upper snow; this movement being produced solely by the dilation which the ice undergoes, when the water that it has absorbed by means of the capillary fissures traversing its whole mass, becomes frozen. Conse- quently, if a cold, snowy, and rainy climate existed during a long course of years in a region forming part of a flat and smooth country, and if the summer temperature were insufh- cient to cause the complete melting of the winter snows, these snows would not fail to be converted into glacier. If the surface of that region presented a perfectly horizontal plane, the glacier, as it became developed, would extend in the direction of rays from the centre to the circumference ; but if the surface were inclined, that extension, and conse- quently the principal movement, would take place in the direction of the line of greatest inclination (#ssa/, § 22). These considerations render it apparent, that the absence of high mountains, and the presence of immense plains, in coun- tries where the erratic debris of the north have been met with, cannot furnish a valid objection to the glacier hypothesis. The change of climate supposed by the hypothesis, must have occurred after the great catastrophe which has modified the surface of an immense extent of the northern hemisphere, and has given to the principal chain of the Alps, to the Atlas M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. 59 group, to the Caucasus, to the Himalaya, &c., their present configuration.* It must have been the effect, the inevitable consequence, of that revolution (Zssa/, § 82). The facts de- mand this conclusion in so decisive a manner, that it is even admitted by geologists who do not adopt the glacier hypo- thesis. Thus M. Durochert supposes, ‘‘ that the winters in Europe were colder during the geological period which imme- diately preceded the present one ;” that is to say, the epoch during which the dispersion of the erratic debris took place. This opinion is supported in a note at the bottom of the page by M. Elie de Beaumont. Instead, however, of supposing with M. Durocher, the existence of colder winters than those of the present day. I should rather be inclined to believe that they were more snowy than they now are, but that the sum- mers were more rainy and colder, so that the difference between the mean temperature of summer and that of winter was less considerable than it is at present. Such a climate must have been very analogous to that of Terra del Fuego, and the northern coast of the Straits of Magellan ; for, judg- ing from the work of Mr Darwin,} the climate of the most southern portions of America is perfectly similar to that which must formerly have prevailed in the north, if the summers in the former were a little more cold and more rainy, and the winters more snowy. If this were the case, these regions would now present us with the same phenomenon which was formerly exhibited in the north, that of a vast country entirely covered by an immense glacier. There is another difficulty which prevents many persons from adopting the hypothesis of glaciers for the explanation of the erratic phenomenon of the north, a difficulty arising solely from the erroneous idea conceived of the origin of the snow or the ice that must have formed that immense glacier. They, in fact, imagine, that the snow which has formed the ice of a glacier, proceeds entirely from the moun- tain on which it takes its origin ; and they found this opinion * Elie de Beaumont in the French translation of De la Béche, p. 659. + Report on a Memoir by M. Durocher, entitled, Observations sur le Phino- mine Diluvien dans le Nord de? Europe, p. 25. (Comptes Rendus, yol. xiv. p. 101, Edit.) { Journal of Researches in Geology, &e. 60 M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. on the fact, that they find at the foot of the glacier, among the debris brought down by it, fragments of rock evidently detached from that mountain. Starting with this idea, they believe that the hypothesis in question, applied to the erratic phenomenon of the north, obliges them to admit that the ice which formerly covered the countries where the erratic debris are met with, that is to say, the immense extent included be- tween the north of Scandinavia, Moscow, and Leipsic, came wholly from the mountains of Norway or of Spitzbergen, or of some part of the Polar regions. But such a supposition is quite as inadmissible as that which would attribute to the source of the Rhone all the water which that river contains when it falls into the lake, and that because there had been recognised among the wood it transports, trees evidently de- rived from near itssource. The absurdity of this supposition, though based on a fact which is very true, is at once apparent. It is the same thing with glaciers; for the snow which has given rise to the formation of the ice, does not all come from the mountains where they had their origin ; on the contrary, the ice derived from the hauts-névés (Essai, § 3 and § 10) only forms a part, sometimes a very small one, of their en- tire mass. In fact, as the ice of a glacier is chiefly produced by the congelation of the water which, as often under the form of rain as of snow, has fallen on it and been absorbed by it, it is evident that the more surface a glacier presents, the more the portion of ice having that origin ought to be consi- derable, compared with that which has really descended from the mountain. There is therefore no need of supposing that all the ice of the diluvian glacier of the north came from one single point ; on the contrary, that vast glacier would be con- stantly increased by the rain and the snow falling directly upon it, and its increase must have gone on augmenting in proportion. as it acquired a larger surface. We must no longer persuade ourselves that the change in the snows of the north only commenced its operations at one single locality, more or less limited. This change must have taken place simultaneously in the whole region where the summer temperature was not sufficiently high to cause the entire disappearance of the winter snows. Such a state of the M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. 61 climate must have extended over a large surface, which must have comprised, as we shall immediately see, Finmark, Lap- land, Norway, and the greater part of Sweden and Finland. Consequently, a glacier formed at once over so large a surface, must, in a short time, have acquired an immense development. As it crossed the Baltic and extended to the north of Ger- many, Prussia, and the plains of Russia, as far as Moscow, there is nothing extraordinary in supposing that the erratic formation really reaches to Moscow, Stezyka, Oppeln, Leipsic, &c., and that in the indications of the boundary of this forma- tion, it may sometimes have been regarded as identical with the diluvium, as I am almost tempted to believe. These considerations shew us that the supposition of a glacier occupying nearly the whole of Scandinavia, and stretch- ing over a portion of the countries situated to the south of the Baltic, does not imply any thing impossible or contrary to the laws of physics. The only thing that may appear at first sight a difficulty, is the circumstance, that this glacier must have traversed the Baltic and its gulfs, and that sea must un- doubtedly have been, at the period alluded to, of much greater extent than it now is. But what I have said in my Essay (§ 3805) regarding the lakes which occurred in the course of the diluvian glaciers of the Alps, is equally applicable to the sea; while the localities where there were no currents of an elevated temperature, like the Gulf Stream, could not have been an obstacle to the progression of a glacier of such vast breadth as the diluvian glacier of the north. The erratic formation presents itself in the north under the same form as in the Alps, and exhibits the same phenomena. Thus, the debris of the rocks are sometimes scattered widely, which is most frequently the case, and sometimes accumulated in bands or mounds. Fragments of all sizes are met with mixed pell-mell, without any separation, according to their volume. Many of them have their prominent portions well preserved, as well as their surfaces. The rocks, as in the Alps, exhibit marks of wearing and rubbing, smooth surfaces, striz, furrows, and vertical erosions in the form of caul- drons. Deposits of diluvium ave likewise met with, composed of 62 M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. beds of pebbles, of sand, and of mud, and not only within the limits of the erratic formation, but also beyond them, at a great distance to the south. The Scandinavian diluvium, indeed, covers a considerable extent of the north-west of Russia, of Prussia, of Poland, and of the north of Germany. This formation, whose materials have evidently been trans- ported and deposited by water, offers a feature which has not yet been observed in the Alps, and that consists in the pre- sence of well-preserved angular debris, and of large blocks, beyond the domain of the erratic formation. The good state of preservation of their surface, of their angles, and of their edges, as well as the considerable volume of a large number of them, do not allow of their being regarded as having been trans- ported by water. It is therefore to be presumed, that their transport was effected by floating ice. The external configu- ration of the region in which the glacier had its origin, and that of the countries successively invaded, far from being un- favourable to this supposition, render it, on the contrary, very probable. In fact, the masses of ice which must from time to time have been detached from the glacier, and carried away by the water, had not, as in the Alps, to cross narrow defiles, or to follow valleys with numerous windings, in which they would be speedily broken up against the mountains forming the re-entering angle of the bend. The marine shells frequently found in the diluyium, prove that, at the epoch of its formation, the countries where they are observed must have been submerged by the sea. The perfect preservation of these molluscous animals, belonging chiefly to species still living in the seas of the north, and the stratification, often very regular, of these sedimentary de- posits, do not allow us to doubt that the materials were trans- ported by slow currents, or, at all events, by currents of but little rapidity. But those who reject the glacier hypothesis, and wish to explain the erratic phenomena of the north solely by floating ice and currents, fall, in my opinion, into great improbabili- ties. First of all, in order to explain the marks of rubbing and of wearing on the rocks, they are obliged to commence with the supposition of an enormous current, flowing from M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. 63 north and south, and for whose origin they have to seek ‘ to the north of Scandinavia, perhaps even beyond Spitzbergen and the neighbouring islands, towards the polar regions.’’* In order to account for the facts, it is absolutely necessary to admit that this current, like a flowing tide, had risen on the coast of Finmark to the height of 2500 feet above the present level of the sea, because it is at that elevation, on the summit of the mountain of Raipas and on the high plateau of Nor- wegian Lapland, that M. Durocher found polished and grooved surfaces of rock. But pure water cannot polish and scoop out rocks; and we are thus farther constrained to admit, on this hypothesis, that the current was charged with matter from the bottom of the sea to the height of 2500 feet above its present level. I confess I cannot conceive what catastrophe could have produced such a current, a tide so monstrous; nor can [ ima- gine the current itself, especially when I consider that this mass of water could not be confined between the mountains of a valley, but that it must have been accumulated on an open and boundless sea. The supposition of the sowlevement of an island, of a vast island, even of a continent, does not explain to me, in a satisfactory manner, this enormous current. If the sowlévement was gradual, it could not occasion rapid currents, and still less so great an accumulation of water on the surface of the sea. We must, therefore, suppose that this soulovement was as sudden as the explosion of a mine ; but a sudden and instantaneous sowlévement seems to me the least probable occurrence in the world. But leaving aside the difficulties arising from the cause and the mode of formation of this current, let us suppose it to have been such as is required by the hypothesis, that is to say, endowed with great rapidity, and charged with materials for rounding rocks, polishing surfaces to a height of 2500 feet, and forming those accumulations of debris in the form of mounds or causeways, known in Sweden by the name of dsars. In this case, I would ask, What has become of these materials ? Have they, perhaps, been all employed in the construction of * M. Durocher, Mémoire, p. 32. (Comptes Rendus, vol, xiv. p. 108, Edit.) i 64 M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. the dsars? That cannot be, because the total mass of these accumulations is much too small compared with the quantity of rocky debris which the current must have transported. Perhaps this excess, this surplus of materials, may have given rise to the deposit of diluvium which is of such extent in the north of Europe? But neither could that be the case, for the stratification, often very regular, of this formation, and ** good state of preservation of the shells which it contains, not allow us to attribute its formation to a current so sudden and so impetuous as that one must have been which is supposed to have abraded and furrowed the rocks, and to have tra. sported the blocks constituting the dsars. How did these matters not fill up, if not the Gulfs of Scandinavia, at all events the lakes existing in such abundance in the coun- tries invaded by this debacle? I am indeed unable to give a reply to this question. Perhaps an objection to the glacier hypothesis will be found in the quantity of debris composing the erratic formation, for it may be said, and with much reason, that the mountains which rose above the surface of the glacier were too few in number, and presented too limited a superficies, to allow of the eboulements which fell on the glacier, furnishing a mass of debris so considerable as that now found distributed. This objection would, indeed, be unanswerable, if the materials which a glacier transports must necessarily have fallen on its surface. But it is not so, for the fragments of rock which we find on the ridge of a glacier are not all derived from eboule- ments; on the contrary, there are many of them which come from the bottom or bed of the glacier. As to the manner in which these stones arrive at the surface from the bottom or bed of a glacier, I have described it in detail in my Essay (§ 25). Thus, then, undoubtedly, the largest portion of the debris con- stituting the erratic formation and the diluvium of the north, does not owe its origin to eboulements. These fragments have been detached from the rocks at a period anterior to the formation of the ice, by the very revolutions which varied the configuration of Scandinavia, and they have arrived at the surface of the glacier, not from above by a descent, but from beneath, having been elevated by the ice. M. Charpentier on the Evratic Phenomena of the North. 65 The external configuration of the ésars, “ being in the form of long mounds,” is, mm my opinion, much better explained by the glacier hypothesis, than by that of a great current and. of floating ice. It is the same with the fine strie which have been en- grayed on the surface of the rubbed and smoothed rocks. If currents, transporting matter, could produce strie of this de- scription, these ought also to be met with on the naked rock of the beds of torrents, where, however, we never find them. The hypothesis of currents and of floating ice is altogether insufficient to explain the vertical erosions, haying the form of caldrons, so common in Scandinavia, where they receive the name of Jattegryttor, (Riesentopfe, m German) or giants’ boilers.* There is, in fact, no other hypothesis but that of glaciers, which can account in a manner really satisfactory for this remarkable phenomenon (Essai, § 35 and § 80.) If | were not afraid of exceeding too much the limits of a letter, I could adduce other improbabilities and other diffi- culties which present themselves, when the whole erratic for- mation of the north is attributed so/ely to an enormous cur- rent, and to floating ice. I will do this when I continue (ac- cording to my announcement, Hssat, preface, p. 10), my work on glaciers and the erratic formation. I shall then shew that this astonishing phenomenon can be explained even to its most minute details by the hypothesis of glaciers, combining it at the same time with that of floating ice and currents. I must, however, state, that by currents, I do not mean that de- bacle, that enormous tide, which must have reached a height of 2500 feet above the level of the sea, and which I cannot admit; but I suppose the existence of currents similar to those of the seas of the present day, and to the great rivers of flat countries. If we admit the combination of these three causes, against which no valid objection can be made, we shall be able to ex- Miles bin dey aires oS Bi + Bergmann’s Physikalische Beschretbung der Erdkugel, vol. ii. p. 193 ; and Sefstrém, in Poggendorff’s Annalen, vol. Xxxvili. p. 614, and in Jameson’s Journal, vol. xxiii. p. 69. VOL. XXXIV. NO. LXVII.—JANvARY 1843. E 66 M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. plain the dispersion of the erratic debris of the north in as satisfactory a manner as we can that of the Alps and of the Pyrenees. It will be the task of the geologist to assign ap- proximately the share which each of these agents has had in the production of this great phenomenon. The deposits of erratic debris, properly so called, the abra- sion of the rocks, the marks of attrition, the stri, the fur- rows, and the erosions in the form of caldrons, are to be at- tributed to glacier action. Erratic deposits can always be distinguished from the diluvium by the frequency of well- preserved angular debris. The dsars serve not only to prove the existence of the erratic formation in any particular region, but are also of great assistance in determining its limits. For this purpose it would be necessary to delineate on a map the ésars the farthest removed from the north, or, in their absence, to indicate the localities where the debris cease to be mixed pell-mell as regards their volume, and where, con- sequently, a selection, according to relative weight, begins to be perceptible.* The line joining all these localities would indicate the limit of the erratic formation properly so called, that is to say, the limit of the debris dispersed by the glacier. It would also exhibit the form of the glacier at the period of its greatest development. Consequently, the regions com- prised between this line and the north, must have been covered by ice at the epoch of its maximum of extent. The sedimentary deposits, whether stratified deposits of pebbles, of sand, or of clay, situated within or without that line, are, in my opinion, not the erratic formation, but dilu- vium, that is to say, a sediment whose materials have been conveyed and deposited by water. In the countries which were not submerged by the sea, this transport must have been effected by the streams which issued from the glacier, and which, during the period of its melting, doubtless acquired a considerable volume. But in regions covered by the sea, this * It will be found that there is rarely an opportunity of observing marks of attrition in the vicinity of the limit of the erratic formation, because the regions where it terminates being in the plains, the rock constituting the surface is generally covered and masked by the diluyium. M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. 67 transport could only have been effected by an actual sub- marine current, produced by the difference of temperature between the water in the vicinity of the glacier, and that which was more to the south. Looking at the course of the current, it must have assumed a direction from north to south, and traversed the bottom of the sea; the greater part of that sea having probably had but little depth. Carrying along with it the comminuted debris, that current deposited the diluvium which constitutes the plains of the north-west of Russia, of Poland, of Prussia, and of the north of Germany. Beyond the limit of the erratic formation, and dispersed on the surface of the soil or enveloped in the diluvium, we find fragments of rock which have their surfaces and their pro- minent portions in a good state of preservation, Rolled blocks are also met with there, whose volume is too consider- able to allow us to suppose that they have been transported by currents, which, judging from the regularity of the stratifi- cation of the diluvium, cannot have been violent. I attribute, without hesitation, the transport of such matters to floating ice, that is to say, tomassesof ice detached from the glacier, of which some have been transported by rivers, while others, and pro- bably the larger proportion, having fallen into the sea, have been forced to the south by the impulsion of the winds from the north ; in fact, marine currents could not have conveyed them to the south, because, that of the bottom having pursued, as I have already said, a course from north to south, the cur- rent existing at the surface must have hada contrary direction. The formation of the erratic formation must have com- menced from the period when the snow was transformed into ice. But these first deposits were not permanent ; for in pro- portion as the glacier made progress, it overthrew them and displaced them anew. It thas continued to destroy its own work until it reached the maximum of its development. During the time of its greatest extension, it formed the ter- minal moraine, that is to say, the moraine farthest to the south. The circumstance that this moraine probably does not exist along the whole line indicating the shape of the glacier at the period of its greatest development, cannot be an objection to the hypothesis which I defend. In fact, existing glaciers 63 M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. themselves are not uninterruptedly skirted by moraines; f-r the latter cannot be met with except in the localities where the rocky debris have reached the edge of the glacier, and where torrents havenot prevented its accumulation. Moreover, in places where the glacier deposited little matter, the moraine having remained small and but little elevated, has been after- wards buried by the diluvium, and thus removed from the view of the observer. On each occasion when the glacier, during the process of melting, was subjected to some oscillation, it gave rise to new accumulations of debris. In this manner it necessarily formed other frontal moraines ; these are recognised by their direction, which is nearly east and west, and they are known in eastern Prussia by the name of Steinddmme. Having at last retreated beyond the Baltic, the glacier was so much reduced as only to oceupy the regions in which it had originated. The return of a milder climate must also have gradually produced a melting in these countries. We can easily conceive that the lower regions were the first that were freed from ice ; but that the latter kept its ground on the moun- tains and higher table-lands, until the return of heat had also reached such elevated points. Previous to this complete melt- ing, the glacier was, so to speak, lacerated or divided into shreds, forming so many separate glaciers, of which the largest, as happens in the Alps, descended into the neighbouring val- leys, and, depositing on the flanks of the mountains the debris which they transported, caused the formation of the Sceandi- navian ésars of the present day. When the mountain which retained its ice, was more or less isolated, or advanced into the flat country, so that the glacier which descended from it could extend freely over a smooth surface, there would result the phenomenon described by M. Durocher, and which consists in this, “ that in taking each of the rocks which have furnished erratic blocks as the centre of a circle, the region which con- tains blocks derived from that rock, occupies more than a third, and sometimes nearly a half, of the circumference, so that the blocks have followed, in certain cases, a line almost perpen- dicular to the general direction which the power of transport M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. 69 from north to south ought to have” (Mém. p. 17.) I quote this fact, because it explains extremely well the crossing of the striz which is sometimes remarked on the surface of rocks. The localities where the strize cross have been covered at two different times by ice ; the first time, they have been invaded by the great glacier, which has scratched them in the general direction from north to south ; and the second time, they have been so by partial glaciers, whose action has there produced striz, in some degree anomalous, which cross the first in va- rious directions. When two of these partial glaciers became joined together and united into a single one, they would give rise to a super- ficial moraine. (Hssaz, § 20 and § 21.)* The abraded and polished surfaces of rocks, the strie, fur- rows, and caldron-like erosions, could only be produced dur- ing the period when the various localities where they are ob- served were covered byice. The direction of the furrows and strie being generally from north to south, we are authorized in believing that the principal movement of the glacier was in that direction. In order to assign the cause which determined this direc- tion, we must turn our attention to the state of the snow in the north during the epoch of which we are speaking. I have already remarked that the whole erratic phenomenon obliges us to admit that some time after the last great catastrophe which altered the configuration of the northern hemisphere, the cli- mate became so much colder, that in Scandinavia, perhaps from the 60th degree, the summer heat was no longer suffi- cient to cause the complete melting of the winter snows. Ne- vertheless, the liquefaction was not entirely suspended, and the water proceeding from it, as well as that derived from rain, must gradually have converted the snow into a glacier which invaded countries more to the south and having a milder cli- * The dsars which have had this origin may be recognised by the fact that their upper extremity generally rests against the rock or eminence form- ing the termination of the chain of mountains, which, by separating the two glaciers, has given rise to the deposit of the superficial moraine (Essai, p. 55, fig. xii.,c and 1,) This appearance has been supposed to be an evident proof of the formation of Gsars by a powerful current. 70 M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. mate. But it is probable that from the 70th degree the melt- ing of the snow had nearly ceased, or, at least, that it was searcely more considerable than it now is on our most elevated mountains. The snow, beyond the 70th degree, from the im- possibility of its transformation into glacier, must have corres- ponded completely with the most elevated hauts nevés (Essat, § 3). The fact that the larger portion of the polar regions is occupied by seas, is not opposed to this supposition ; for, if these seas, as is very probable, weze then covered by ice, as they are at the present day from the 80th degree, the snow could rest there just as well as on solid land. Nor is there anything which obliges us to restrict the trans- formation of snow into ice to Scandinavia alone. On the contrary, it is more probable that the conditions of climate necessary for the transformation were to be found in the whole zone, comprised between the 60° and 70° parallel. This supposition is supported by the existence of the erratic for- mation in Siberia, and in the North of America. The isother- mal, and particularly the isotheral lines, have, it is true, ma- terially modified the northern limit of this zone of permanent snow; but these modifications, however great they may have been, do not at all influence the theory of the erratic pheno- mena.* * The isothermal lines, and especially the isotheral lines, must have exercised a considerable influence on the formation and on the development of the diluvian glacier of the North. Itis, without doubt, in the direction or course of these lines that we must seek for the cause of the erratic forma- tion not reaching the same parallel throughout the whole of the north ; thus, for example, the limit of this formation advances much more to the south in the north of Germany, than in Russia and in Siberia. It is plain, that the more these lines ascend to the north, the less could the glacier ad- vance towards the south. The exact determination of the limit of the er- ratic formation, would be of great importance for the physics of the globe; it would throw much light on the climatological condition of the north of the northern hemisphere during the earliest periods of the present geological epoch. But in order that this investigation might accomplish its object, and acquire that scientific interest, it is indispensable that the erratic for- mation should be accurately distinguished from the diluvium, because, by confounding these two formations, as is often done, false results are ob tained, and crroncous conclusions deduced, M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. 71 We may admit, therefore, that, some time after the last great revolution of the globe, the northern hemisphere was covered by a sheet of snow, from about the 60° parallel to the pole ; and that the snow of the zone comprised between the 60° and 70° parallels, was transformed into a glacier, which, in its dilatation, could not extend in any other but a southern direction, because, in other directions, it had to encounter the resistance arising from snow and ice themselves (Lssa‘, § 11). The movement of the glacier must, therefore, have been from north to south. This result of the theory is com- pletely confirmed by the observation of facts, for we know that the general direction of the furrows and scratches traced by the great glacier, is nearly in that direction. The slight deviations, sometimes remarked, have been occasioned by the slope and inequalities of the surface. There is likewise an- other fact, which proves conclusively that the movement of the glacier was from north to south. This consists in the fact, that the northern flank of the rocks having been ex- posed to the whole action of the expansive force of the ice, and to that of the movement, presents marks of abrasion and attrition of a much more distinct nature than the flank di- rected towards the south, which, having been more or less sheltered by the body of the mountain, must have experienced to a smaller extent the effect of this action. An argument has been drawn from this fact in favour of the debacle or great northern current ; but the same phenomenon actually takes place under our eyes in the Alps, for, when a glacier encounters a rock or eminence in its passage, we find that the flank turned towards the side whence the glacier proceeds, is always more rounded and more rubbed than that turned towards the opposite direction. Lastly, as to the formation of the diluvium, which is met with not only within the limits of the erratic formation, but also to a great distance beyond it, it must have commenced in the first periods of the epoch which we are now considering, and must have gone on augmenting in proportion as the gla- cier was developed. The materials which were deposited, as much by the rivers as by the submarine current, in the re- gions afterwards invaded by the glacier, experienced new dis- 72 M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. placements ; because, as in the case of modern glaciers, that of Scandinavia must have upturned the soil, and pierced to the solid rock, in the localities where the inequalities of the formation interfered with its movement. But where it could extend freely, and where there was no obstacle to the expansion of the ice, it must have stretched over the diluvium without raising it, if, at least in the upper beds, the latter was of such a nature as to afford the water the means of flowing off quickly (E#ssat, § 16). Although the deposition of diluvium may have been going on during the whole period of the existence of the glacier, it will nevertheless be easily understood, that the largest quantity of boulders, sand, and clay, was transported during the melting of the ice; so that, in many localities, the erratic formation must have been covered by it, especially if it only presented scattered deposits (Hssai, § 47). The transport of fragments of rock, by means of floating ice, must have taken place during the whole period of the ex- istence of the glacier; but it is when the glacier was most in contact with the sea, that this transport must have been most frequent. I have already said, that I attribute to this mode of transport, the angular and well-preserved debris, and the blocks of large size, which are both found beyond the limit of the erratic formation, lying sometimes scattered on the sur- face of the ground, sometimes disseminated in the interior of the diluvium. The first must have been carried thither when the current and the rivers had ceased to convey matters to the locality where these fragments are found; the others, when the transport of boulders, sand, and clay, caused by eur- rents, was still taking place. You are now, Sir, in possession of my opinion regarding the mode of origin of the Erratic Phenomenon of the North, which, however, I have not had an opportunity of examining per- sonally, but only know from the descriptions that have been given, and more especially those of Messrs Durocher, Boht- lingk,* and Sefstrém. However succinct, and therefore im- perfect, may be the summary which I have now offered, of * Jameson’s Journal, vol, xxxii. p. 103. M. Charpentier on the Erratic Phenomena of the North. 73 the manner in which I conceive this great phenomenon to have been caused, it must suffice, I think, to shew that the hy- pothesis of M. Venetz, combined to a certain extent with that of floating ice, accounts for it better than that which attri- butes it to an enormous current, coming from the polar re- gions, and which, at the same time, assigns too important a part in the operations to floating ice. This latter hypothesis, apart from the improbabilities which it presents, is, even in the opinion of its defenders, insufficient to explain many facts that are of importance, and are connected with the erratic phenomenon ; it thus leaves us in doubt and in uncertainty. Permit me, Sir, to terminate this long letter by giving, in a few words, a summary of the principal ideas which I have now offered :-— 1. In consequence of the last great catastrophe which altered the configuration of the surface of the northern hemis- phere over a vast extent, the climate became colder and moister than it was previously, or is at the present day. 2. During the long continuance of this climatological con- dition, the summer temperature was insufficient to melt com- pletely the snows from the 60th parallel. 3. The snows comprised between the 60th and 70th paral- lels were transformed into glaciers. Beyond the 70th paral- lel they remained in the state of névé. ‘4. This glacier having acquired a considerable development, invaded the north of Russia as far as Moscow, Prussia, Poland, the north of Germany, and perhaps the eastern shores of England. 5. It transported and deposited the erratic formation, and produced marks of abrasion, the striae and furrows which have been observed on rocks. The cascades to which it gave rise have caused the erosions in the form of caldrons. 6. The most southern accumulations, having the form of mounds or bands, are the moraines which it deposited during the maximum of its development. 7. Osars are moraines, some having been formed by the oscillations to which the great glacier was subjected during its retreat, others by the ice which remained on elevated mountains and table-lands, long after the low regions had been freed from it. 74 Sir William Hamilton’s Pragments of Philosophy. 8. The matters constituting the diluvium, both those within and those without the limits of the erratic formation, were con- veyed by rivers and by the submarine current. 9. The great mass of diluvium was deposited during the melting or retreat of the glacier. Lastly, 10. The angular debris and the blocks of large size, dispersed on the surface of the ground or embedded in the di- luvium, but both beyond the limits of the erratic formation, have been transported by masses of ice, detached from the glacier. Of these masses of ice, some have been carried along by rivers, and others, floating on the sea, have been propelled towards the south by the force of the winds. Bex, 26th May, 1842. Fragments of Philosophy. By Sir Witttam Hamitron, Bart., Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in the University of Edinburgh.* For some years we have heard much of the Scottish and German phi- losophy, of the former especially, which M. Royer-Collard and M. Cousin have assisted in making known by means of their eloquent lectures ; but it happens in this case, as in so many others, that the word is more fami- liar than the thing, and the first mentioned of these two philosophies not having yet become the fashion, it has hitherto continued in some degree of obscurity, from which it is of importance that it should be freed. The four philosophical dissertations translated in the work, the title of which has been given above, will be fitted to throw some light on this important subject: they are from the pen of Sir William Hamilton, Pro- fessor of Logic and Metaphysics in Edinburgh. This author would have been almost unknown in France until the appearance of the work in ques- tion, had not some of our professors mentioned his writings. Messrs Barthelemy Saint-Hilaire, Cousin, and Jouffroy, have done us this ser~ vice, which is undoubtedly of some value, when we consider that all his productions, published anonymously in the Edinburgh Review, are scarcely known, in regard to their authorship, even in their own country. Sir W. Hamilton is one of those profound thinkers and true friends of science, who never think of publishing their works till they conceive them to be of such a nature as to produce some solid and substantial result. It happens more frequently still, that writers of this description, thinking * Fragments de Philosophie, &c. Translated, with a long Preface, Notes, and Appendix, by L. Peisse. Paris, 1840. Sir William Hamilton’s Fragments of Philosophy. 70 little of the public, are entirely occupied with satisfying the wants of their own mind ; having but little anxiety about the effect of their thoughts on others, their mind dwells only on the intrinsic value of their researches, and they create for themselves, as Maine de Biran said, “a world in their own brain.” By this, however, we do not mean to say that Sir W. Ha- milton is a visionary or a fabricator of fantastical systems ; hitherto, on the contrary, his career has been one of remarkable activity ; but the pledges which he has given to science rest almost entirely on the merits of his teaching ; his publications, hitherto few in number, bear the im- press of true and original powers of mind. The four dissertations col- lected in this volume, have been selected from the pieces which the author has laid before the public ; these pieces altogether do not exceed the amount of a dozen articles, but all afford proofs of a rich philosophi- cal erudition, and an excellent method of investigation. Convinced as we are that the Scotch philosophy is not yet truly known in France, we do not hesitate to offer a succinct analysis of the fragments translated in Mr Peisse’s volume ; it will be the means of familiarizing our readers with this philosophy, which ought not to be strange to us, and also of render- ing’homage to a modest and laborious philosopher. But, before enter- ing upon the examination of the volume, let us supply some particulars regarding the author. Sir William Hamilton belongs to the great family of Hamilton, which has given to France one of its classical writers. He commenced his stu- dies at the University of Glasgow, and concluded them at Oxford. Hav- ing acquitted himself with honour in the examinations requisite for ob- taining University degrees, he entered himself at the bar, obtained the chair of Universal History, and subsequently gave up this charge for another more suited to the nature of his talents and the character of his studies. Thomas Brown died in 1820, after having filled, in the capa- city of assistant, the chair of Dugald Stewart, from which this illustrious professor developed the principles of moral philosophy. Sir William Hamilton was among the candidates, but was unsuccessful, notwithstand- ing the suffrage of Dugald Stewart himself, who had rendered homage to his rising merits. It was not till 1836, in consequence of the retirement of Dr Ritchie, that Sir William Hamilton, now properly appreciated, obtained the vacant chair of logic and metaphysics. It was honourable for France to witness. at this period, one of our professors, M. Cousin, supporting Sir William Hamilton’s claims with his influence. Success crowned his wishes ; M. Cousin had no small influence in the nomination of the Scottish savant, and he deserves the praise of discovering the merit of a stranger whom his fellow-citizens had not always judged of with the favour le deserved. Among the remarkable circumstances in Sir William Hamilton's lite- rary life, may be mentioned the discussion between him and the partisans of the phrenological doctrine, of which the principal representative was Dr Spurzheim. The occasion of it was two memoirs written by Sir Wil- 76 Sir William Hamilton’s Fragments of Philosophy. liam Hamilton in 1826-1827, On the Practical Consequences of Dr Gall’s Theory of the Functions of the Brain. These memoirs, and such as ap- peared in the English reviews, of which we have formerly spoken, com- pose all the literary works which Sir William Hamilton has published ; but of what importance is the quantity of his works? is it not from their effect solely that the public ought definitively to form a judgment ? The general character of this; author’s thought is that which marks the spirit of the whole Scottish philosophy ; the examination of the funda- mental point of metaphysical science. Now, what is this fundamental ontological point? It is the very possibility of philosophy, the determi- nation of its object and its domain. The Scottish school has defined philosophy to be, the natural history of the human mind. According to this definition, all that is beyond the reach of observation, is by that very circumstance without the limits of the science. Sir William Hamilton has illustrated and developed this idea; he has explained the doctrine of common sense. He has skilfully taken up a position between scepticism and dogmatism, and, drawing from the principles of the school of Kant, he has combined them with those of Reid and Dugald Stewart. He has perceived how to avoid the rock on which the Scottish philosophy has struck, the want of a logical tie and connection in the explanation of facts. It is the absence of this systematic method which has subjected this school to the reproach of eluding questions instead of answering them—of sup- pressing difficulties rather than solving them. Restoring dialectic to its true place, he has replaced it in the rank it ought of right to occupy at the head of the sciences. The richest erudition in all matters of phi- losophy likewise distinguishes Sir William Hamilton’s works ; versed in the study of the German philosophy, he has not neglected antiquity, the primary source of all our researches and of our means of comparison. Mr Brandis, a professor of high reputation in Germany, has called him the great master of peripatetism. Finally, Sir William Hamilton, while preserving all the philosophical character of his nation, and losing none of his originality, has been enabled to unite therewith all the benefits that flow from an enlightened criticism, and the examination of the principal scientific results among forcign nations. These preliminary considerations, useful when we are about to enter upon the examination of a work so important as the present, are pre- ceded, in the translator's volume, by some general views of the charac- ter of philosophy in France in the nineteenth century, of which we shall give a rapid exposition. According to M. Peisse, the principal schools may be summed up as the following:—the Sensvalist school, the Spiritualist, the Scotch, German, the Progressive (celledu progres), and another, which combines the attri- butes of Scepticism and Mysticism. In his opinion, the first mentioned of these is the most numerous, the most popular, and the most national. Sensualism prevails among all the learned professions, medicine, the natural sciences, and even in political economy. But, banished from the Sir William Hamilton’s Fragments of Philosophy. 77 Sorbonne, it has particularly established itself in medicine ; it has there created a new category of applications which, under the name of Phre- nology, has brought together a pretty considerable number of disciples. The Spiritualist school, the leading members of which are of considerable. influence, is divided into two branches, the Scotch and German philoso- phy. The first was introduced into France, almost suddenly, after the prelections of M. Royer-Collard (1811 to 1815); afterwards supported by M. Cousin, then by M. Jouffroy, it has brought into France a method founded on experience, having for its object the empirical science of the human mind, facts for its basis, and Bacon and Newton for its masters. It is exclusively scientific, and consequently gives offence to no received opinions, which is perhaps the cause of its reception having been so prompt and easy. Certain points of relation likewise unite it to the sen- sualist philosophy, and it has contracted an alliance with this school, which may have promoted its popularity. ' But the same motives to union did not exist between the Scotch and German school, nor, consequently, between the German school and the French mind of the nineteenth century ; accordingly, the influence of Ger- many has been less considerable than that of Scotland. At no period, moreover, has France much relished the German spirit: Leibnitz, who wrote a part of his works in French, established no school in France, while his cotemporary Locke had little difficulty in making an impression on the mind of the masses. The reason of this is, that the French cha- racter is more curious to know than desirous of assimilating foreign ele- ments ; better calculated to judge of than to appropriate to itself the riches of others. The German philosophy has, nevertheless, taken root among us by means of some works of detail ; numerous works have been translated, and certain professors, among whom M. Cousin may be men- tioned, have adopted a portion of its principles and methods, subjecting them at the same time to considerable modifications. The Spiritualist school is the one which, at this moment, can boast of the greatest number of adepts: represented by professors of no small po- pularity, it has obtained the support of public opinion. M. Peisse does not, however, predict for it a very long futurity. He believes it destined to prevail exclusively within the circle of the official schools. He doesnot think that it possesses sufficient vitality to exercise a continued influence over the mind of the masses, and he accuses it particularly of a false en- thusiasm, and a natural inclination to mysticism and obscurity. The school called the Theological, created by a spirit of reaction, does not ap- pear to him to possess in any higher degree the necessary means of long duration ; but he places more confidence in the elements which consti- tute the doctrine which people have agreed to call the Doctrine of Pro- gress ; a kind of ramification of St Simonism, but which has the merit of extending the field of science, by directing it towards the perfecting of the whole of humanity. We may here use M. Peisse’s own words, as he justly characterizes the influence of this new philosophy, by comparing it 78 = Sir William Hamilton’s vragments of Philosophy. to the known influence of many other systems which have existed in his- tory :— ** We shall now make one concluding observation. This school (that ofjprogress), placing its point of departure in the social action, is evi- dently on the fair way to success and popularity: it rests on the most active interest of our times—the political. At no epoch, in fact, has philosophy (whatever definition may have elsewhere been given to what bears this name), enjoyed any celebrity, splendour, or power, but by its alliances. In the times of antiquity it never emerged from the schools till it began to interfere, by its practical action, with public and private morals, in the forms of Epicurism, Stoicism, and Mysticism. In the mid- dle ages it had no influence on the public mind but through the channels of theology and religion. After the Cartesian reform it identified itself with the scientific movement, and was there almost entirely absorbed. The philosophers of these times were Copernicus, Descartes, Leibnitz, Newton, Galileo, Bacon, Gassendi, Huygens; to these may be added the Academy of Sciences of Paris, and the Royal Society of London. In the eighteenth century, philosophy introduced itself by every possible way into the political order ; it is the sign, the name, the standard, and the lever of the revolutionary movement, in the midst of which we still live. Its three great philosophers are expounders of public law; one writes the Essay on the Genius and Manners of Nations ; the other the Spirit of the Laws; and the last, the Social Contract. Then come Tur- got, Condorcet, that is to say, the Economists and the Constituents. The Theological school also mingles with the spirit of the times, but it is by way of reaction; it is of no influence but by resisting. The Kclectic school abandoned its active part too early and completely, by refusing or neglecting to resolve the social questions, and thereby compromised not only its influence but even,its existence. The St Simonian school, on the contrary, and all its off-shoots, Fourierism, and its connections, again took up (under forms, and by means, which it is useless to attempt to appreciate) the inheritance of the preceding age. Thus, through all, and even in spite of all their deviations, absurdities, and even follies, these sects have struck deep roots ; they have warmed the imaginations, modified the spirit of economical and political science, filled the minds of statesmen and governments ; they have given a colour to general li- terature, and even introduced into language new words which haye almost ceased to be barbarous. “‘ Up to the present time, in truth, all these doctrines have been rather borne up by the spirit of the times than supported by their philosophical value ; they have found no representatives but in minds less original than eccentric, and have been most frequently produced under the extra-scien- tific forms of mysticism and illuminism. In a literary point of view, they have given birth only to works void of taste, infected with neologism, and in which a false originality is an unequivocal symptom of want of power. In general, the resourtes of mind, erudition, reasoning, and Sir William Hamilton’s Mragments of Philosophy. 79 talent in the writers of this school are far from being in conformity with the gigantic proportions of their undertaking.” (Preface, p. 1x.-Lxiii.) M, Peisse’s conclusions regarding the present state of philosophy in France are, that these different schools appear destined to be mutually tolerant of each other ; they live in peace, or rather in a state of mutual indifference. ' & Thus, as I have stated at the commencement, all these schools and doctrines, the existence of which can be discovered by the researches of the critic and the historian, subsist apart from each other ; they seem re- signed to tolerate and reciprocally admit each other in virtue of the right of legitimate concurrence, just as if a place could be afforded for every one in the region of thought, in the same manner as in the region of space. Each of these schools, retrenched within its own private domains, will- ingly consents to make no inroad on the territory of another, provided that other exercise the same forbearance towards it. By this piecemeal proceeding, which likewise affects the higher branches of knowledge and art, philosophy abdicates her highest function, which is a mission at once universal, directive, organizing, and legislative. Reduced by these ad- mitted fractional partitions to the restricted proportions of a subordinate study, she loses her high and independent position. Instead of being the connecting principle, the key, and the common centre of all the sciences, insulated from them, and ruling over them all, she permits herself to be absorbed by them, and can claim no object, notion, orfact which they do not dispute with her. As a branch of study co-ordinate with all others, she is far from being in a position to maintain herself even in this equi- vocal rank, and to advance along with them on a footing of equality ; rejected on all sides as a superfetation which represents nothing, and knows not even to what she should affix her name, she will gradually disappear from the scene; for we may truly say of her, reversing the words of the poet, that she obeys if she does not command, Paret nisi imperat. ‘‘ This tendency to decline betrays itself even materially in the exte- rior means by which it is intended to be taught and propagated. The few chairs nominally designed for a superior kind of instruction in philo- sophy, are almost silent, for the masters whose voice was formerly heard there, have retired and left themempty. ‘The official programme of phi- losophical instruction is otherwise characteristically insufficient, both in regard to the number as well as the nature of the courses. The Faculty of Letters in Paris has only three chairs of philosophy, and two out of these three are deyoted to the history of the science ; and the only dog’ matic chair existing in the capital has been for many years so neglected, that it may be said to be vacant. In the College of France, that great subsidiary to the University, the focus of all the higher studies, philoso- phy could preserve a place in its extensive programme, which forms a complete encyclopzedia, in no other way than by presenting herself as a branch of ancient literature and philology. Finally, there do not exist 80 Sir William Hamilton’s Fragments of Philosophy. throughout all the rest of France more than five public courses of philo- sophy in the five Faculties of Letters. There is not a German university which does not offer almost as many advantages, in this respect, as the whole kingdom. Does the teaching of private individuals offer compen- sation? Jf we examine, we shall find that it affords none, absolutely none. Apart from the means of teaching it, we find the same spectacle, Philosophy has no avowed organ in the immense machinery of the perio- dical press, and this is a fact of the most significant description. Its only public asylum is the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences, where it is, thank God, very worthily represented, but even there it had difficulty in obtaining a portion of the attention and interest which were disputed with it by statistics and political economy. Books still remain, which, by their abundance, may give rise to someillussion, and belie the picture given above; but it must not be forgotten, as I have already remarked, that the great majority of these publications belong to erudition, philolo- gy, history, criticism, in a word, to general literature rather than to phi- losophy.” Preface, p. lxv—Ixviii. It is by this interesting discussion, conducted with skill and sagacity, as well as a careful observance of facts, that M. Peisse introduces us, by a natural transition, to the examination of the following fragments, which will afford us a term of comparison between the works of France and those of other countries, and enable us to judge of the character of the metaphysical sciences in Scotland. We shall ourselves select from these fragments what is most new and original. The first of them, entitled, Cousin-Schelling, is an examination of M. Cousin’s system of philosophy, in its relations with the German philosophy, and in particular with that of Professor Schelling. This article was written on the occasion of the opening of M. Cousin’s course in 1829. Sir William Hamilton endeavours to seize the prominent points in the Professor's prelections ; he attributes to him in part the introduc- tion of the rational philosophy into France, and tries to demonstrate in what these doctrines, viewed as a whole, consist. Going back to the state in which philosophy existed in France at the beginning of the century, he indicates at what point M. Cousin took it up, and in the midst of what influences he announced his own ideas, and endeavoured to construct a new rationalism which, making conscience its starting point, derives from conscience, as interrogated by reason, the whole of the scientific edifice. He scrupulously analyses the Professor’s doctrine ; we shall briefly refer to it here for the sake of those who may have lost sight of the characteristic features of his doctrine. Three elements are found in intelligence, which reciprocally presup- pose each other, all of them essential and inseparable from each other. These elements or principles, recognised by Aristotle and Kant, are the infinite or unconditional, the finite or conditional ; finally, the relation of the finite to the infinite, which forms the integral element of intelligence. Sir William Hamilton’s Fragments of Philosophy. 81 Reason, in which these three principles appear, is not personal nor indi- vidual, it is absolute and divine ; it is the true manifestation of God in man. The ideas of which we are conscious, place us in immediate re- lation with God, and which affords us a means of knowing him; thus God may be conceived of by us, the relation of God to the universe may be manifested to our intelligence. God, the absolute and independent cause of all that exists, may, and must, create ; creation thus becomes necessary, and affords to our eyes the striking proof of the existence and action of the Divinity. These ontological principles are likewise those which govern the moral and material world. Every where these two elements again appear,—the finite, the infinite, and their common rela- tion which forms the third element. In psychology, the essence and point of departure of every science, human and divine, we likewise meet with three terms of the same phenomenon: 1st, The idea of me and of not me as finite ; 2d, The idea of some other thing, as infinite ; 3d, The idea of the relation of the finite to the infinite element. What constitutes psychological science, likewise constitutes the science of the history of philosophy itself, for the latter is just the history of human reason, with all its relations, its laws, and vicissitudes. Four systems or partial views of human intelligence divide history and include all opinions ; these sys- tems are, Sensualism, Idealism, Scepticism, and Mysticism. None of them is false, but in as far as it is incomplete ; thus, all are true, inasmuch as they affirm, and false, inasmuch as they deny ; the electism founded by M. Cousin should reconcile them, and bring together the portion of truth which each presents, without having the power of itself to shew it en- tire. Sir William Hamilton has illustrated and discussed what we have here reduced to a mere skeleton, but the subject has been so often noticed and commented on by the journals of the time, that this will be sufficient to recall it to the mind of every reader in any degree familiar with the progress of philosophical ideas in our times. Sir William Hamilton re- views the most celebrated professed opinions on the subject of the theory of the infinite, as the immediate object of knowledge and thought. These opinions, according to him, are reducible to four: that of the author, that of Kant, that of Schelling, and that of Cousin. The Scotch Professor compares them, and makes use of this comparison to remove the faults and imperfections of those in which he does not concur. He makes an attack, chiefly in reference to M. Cousin, on the definition of the abso- lute by absolute cause, undertakes to demonstrate the falsity of his rational theology, and combats, in particular, his theory of liberty. Ac- cording to the whole of his observations, he considers it impossible to realize the attempt of establishing a general harmony among all the sys- tems ; but, rendering justice to the talents of the author, he pardons him for the bold and vigorous attempt, common to all men devoted to the cultivation of thought, and who, wishing to overpass the limits of our in- VoL. XXX1V. NO. LXVII.—vanuary 1845. F 82. Sir William Hamilton's Fragments of Philosophy. telligence, would attempt, by a sudden bound, honourable to human na- ture, to attain even to the knowledge of the infinite. In a second fragment, still more curious to us, inasmuch as it transports us into a less known field of the Scottish philosophy, Sir William Hamil- ton institutes a comparison between two celebrated metaphysicians, Reid and Brown. Reid, as may easily be scen, obtains all his sympa- thies ; but this does not prevent him, at the same time, judging of Brown with that impartiality becoming a philosopher and a man of letters ; but Reid’s philosophy had been combated by Brown ; and Sir William Ha- milton takes this opportunity of resenting some unjust attacks, which would have been calculated, without his efforts to establish the truth, to lessen, at least for a time, the merit of the founder of Scotch metaphy- sics, and diminish the number of his followers. In order to understand this discussion, it must be remembered that Reid is the founder of a system of philosophy which rests on the obser- vation of the acts of conscience ; and, by interpreting it better, endea- vours radically to destroy the scepticism of Hume. The foundation of Reid’s doctrine, and what constitutes his glory, is his new theory of per- ception, by means of which we are enabled to conceive and analyse the foundations of our belief in the existence of exterior objects. According to him, the act of perception is a pure belief, independent of all demon- stration, and instinctively determined by the natural constitution of the human mind. While Sir William Hamilton assigns to Reid’s doctrine the advantage over that of Brown, he discovers several errors in the former. He blames Reid for having classed consciousness among the other intellectual facul- ties, while all philosophers, Aristotle, Descartes, Locke, have con- sidered consciousness, not as a particular faculty, but as the condition itself of intelligence. Sir William Hamilton finds fault with this distinction as neither very logical nor natural, and he forcibly exposes the defects in the analysis of this philosopher, who limits the sphere of consciousness by as- signing to it only the knowledge of intellectual operations to the exclu- sion of their objects. Reid affirms that we are conscious of an act of knowledge without being conscious of its object. Sir William Hamilton opposes this assertion of the Scotch philosopher, because, after having himself interpreted the part performed by consciousness in the phenomenon of perception, he reduces the number of the different systems of philo- sophy, which this interpretation can furnish, to six, and ranks the opinion of Brown, Reid’s opponent, in the latter of these systems. In this sys- tem one may conceive the object of perception as a simple modification of the perceiving subject ; the consequence which naturally flows from this is the negation of the external world ; and it is against this conse- quence that the author of the system defends himself by endeavouring to establish the reality of external things by various hypotheses. This system may be reduced to the following formula :—The mind has no consciousness nor immediate knowledge of anything beyond its subjective states, In order Sir William Hamilton’s Fragments of Philosophy. 83 to enable us to judge accurately of this system, Sir William Hamilton compares it with all those which the history of philosophy has handed down to us. He judges of it in relation to the opinions of Descartes, Locke, Malebranche, and Leibnitz ; and, with this vigorous analysis be- fore us, it is not difficult to allow ourselves to be drawn over to the opi- nion of Reid, much more popular in France than that of Brown, but of which a more accurate estimate will be formed by an acquaintance with this curious discussion, one which has been so often renewed in the field of the history of philosophy. It will be seen that Sir William Hamilton, although a disciple of Reid, can judge of him with impartiality ; that he can divest himself of all the influence of sect ; and that, while he assigns in this analysis the prefer- ence to Reid’s system, he does not believe it to be free from important defects ; accordingly, the treatise in question is rather intended to refute Brown than to exalt Reid. We have seen with pleasure some pieces of the former of these writers collected at the end cf this article under the form of extracts from his lectures. These extracts form so many vouchers calculated to throw light on the discussion. The fragment on Logic, which follows that on Reid and Brown, is but of accessory interest, notwithstanding the importance of the subject. The author undertakes the task of passing in review the most remarkable works published in England of late years on the teaching of this science. It is a minute critical detail, which only makes us acquainted with the names of some of the professors in the University of Oxford. We here learn that, according to Sir William Hamilton’s testimony, the study of logic has been singularly neglected in the universities of Great Britain. These criticisms are preceded by some general considerations on logic and its importance in the study of philosophy, which divest this treatise of any thing of a technical character which might otherwise have belonged to it. But the best fragment we have noticed in the volume is that in which the author treats of the study of Mathematics. The field which this question opens up is sufliciently vast to merit a serious attention ; our author has accordingly devoted to it nearly a hundred pages in this me- moir, where the subject is thoroughly discussed. This treatise was writ- ten on oceasion of the publication of a work entitled Thoughts on the Study of Mathematics as part of a Liberal Education, by the Rey. Wil- liam Whewell ; Cambridge, 1835. Do mathematics favour the superior development of the mind? Do they form it by enlarging its faculties? Such is the question treated of in this Memoir and answered in the negative. Adducing the testimony of a great number of authors, and the support of numerous examples, Sir William Hamilton undertakes to prove, in opposition to the authority of the Cambridge professor, that mathematics do not afford a general edu- cation to the mind. This opinion, which is maintained by modern Ger- man professors of celebrity, is likewise that of Voltaire and Franklin, 84 Sir William Hamilton’s Fragments of Philosophy. both of whom had cultivated this science. It will probably excite sur- prise to see the authority of Descartes himself likewise turned against mathematics, a science which he had cultivated with so much success ; this is shewn by a fragment of his life by Baillet, quoted in this volume, and in which the French philosopher acknowledges that his own experi- ence had convinced him of the small utility of mathematics, especially when cultivated on their own account, and without applying the means which they afford us to the acquisition of other kinds of knowledge. Sir Wil- liam Hamilton then compares philosophy with mathematics, and ex- amines the aids which they respectively afford to the intellect. Claiming the whole preference for philosophy, he affirms that a too exclusive study of mathematics renders the mind incapable of observation, whether in- ternal or external, of abstraction and of reasoning ; to these disadvantages he adds that of precipitating the mind either into a state of blind eredu- lity, or of irrational scepticism. But, again, if the study of the mathematical sciences cannot, like logic, fortify the reason against the errors of thought, may it not at least strenothen the reason itself? Sir William Hamilton does not think that it can. According to him, the principles of mathematics being self-evi- dent, every step which the mind takes in the process has the same degree of evidence ; every step in a mathematical demonstration can be easily made, and requires only an easy application of thought ; and as a faculty is always developed in proportion to its degree of exercise, it thence fol- lows, according to him, that the mathematics, by submitting the intellec- tual powers to a very feeble degree of activity, develope them in a very limited manner. Further, relying on the opinions of different writers of distinguished character, he undertakes to shew that the study of mathe- matics is accessible to all, and requires no special adaptation. The tes- timonies cited are those of Berkeley, S’Gravesande, D’Alembert, Gibbon, Mme. de Staél, and others, who, although less celebrated, nevertheless lend their authority to countenance this conclusion. He exposes the double ten- dency to credulity and scepticism, which often leads the individual astray who gives himself up exclusively to sciences of calculation. We cannot help thinking that there is somewhat of exaggeration in this assertion, which is very like a paradox skilfully defended ; but it is pleasant to fol- low the animated pen of a writer fully master of his subject, while he draws deductions always well connected, and supported by an accurate acquaintance with the history and minute analysis of human intelligence. Sir William Hamilton concludes by blaming the University of Cam- bridge for giving too much encouragement. to the study of mathematics in preference to the other sciences. Resting his views on the principles already explained, he points out the impropriety of directing the minds of youth to this in preference to every other kind of instruction, seeing that it is of importance to fortify the intellect with resources adapted to be useful in every circumstance of life, and not in some one in particular. Such is the yolume of Fragments we owe to the Scottish Professor. Mr D. Milne on Earthquake Shocks, ke. 85 Every one will peruse with interest this co'lection of four dissertations, all of which throw light on the questions of which they treat, and indi- cate a rare power of analysis, and very uncommon sagacity. We should be glad to see many similar pieces on the moral sciences adorn the pages of our periodical reviews ; such memoirs, without pretension or borrowed splendour, afford real instruction, and familiarize the reader with all the questions of the science. Thus reduced to less extended proportions than in a long and elaborate work, the science becomes sim- plified under a skilful pen, without contracting anything narrow or mean.* Notices of Earthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain, and espe- cially in Scotland, with inferences suggested by these notices as to the causes of the Shocks. By Davip Mityz, Esq., F.R.S.E., M.W.S., F.G.S., &e. Communicated by the Author. (Continued from Vol. XX XIII. page 372.) At Alford Manse, Aberdeenshire, about eighty miles N. E. of Comrie, “the earthquake was felt at half-past 10 p.m. ; but owing to the great alarm occasioned in the family, there may be an error of some minutes. At the moment of the shock, I was sitting reading at a table, with candles before me, nearly in the middle of the dining-room, with my back directly to the south-west, and face to the north-east. Sud- denly I heard a loud noise behind, and also under my feet, and immediately felt my chair raised up, and inclined forward at a considerable angle under me; and as I was catching the table with my hands to save myself from what I conceived to be an impending fall, the motion of the chair was as suddenly reversed, and feeling as if I were in danger of being thrown backwards, I clung to the table, which I had just seized, to escape a backward fall,—but the chair directly settled into its horizontal position without any farther oscillation. As the noise continued, I became instantly convinced that I had felt an earthquake, and any danger from it seeming over, I sat still with the view of analysing, at the moment, all the sensa- tions I had experienced, and estimating the character and * From Bibliotheque Uniyerselle de Geneve, No. 60; Sept. 1642, p. 210-225 86 Mr D. Milne on Karthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain, duration of the noise. I became aware on reflection, and when my attention was no longer arrested by the imminent danger of falling, that the table before me had sustained a vibration similar to that of the chair on which I sat. The south-west side of the table had become elevated above the level, and again immediately became depressed below it. I became particularly sensible of the depression of the south- west, having been impressed with the fear that the cat dles would be thrown down upon me, but the extent of the move- ment was not such as to make the candlesticks ‘otter. I could make no doubt that the whole house had undergone a similar vibration to those of the chair and table of which I was so sensible,—or rather that the vibration of the house com- prebended within it those of the chair and table. “The noise was of two distinct kinds. The front of the house is about directly southwest, and the first noise heard, was as if an immense quantity of small but sharp shingle had been tilted against the foundation of the front wall, and poured inward below the whole house. The shock instantly followed, and was accompanied by a crenking and rattling of the doors, windows, and various articles of furniture, amidst which a sharp rattling of the slates on the roof was distinctly sensible. This latter noise was not of a continuous and uni- form kind, and did not last long—not longer, I think, than about a second; but that which resembled the grinding noise of tilted shingle, extended itself, apparently under ground, on all sides, and became an immense volume of sound, gradually, however, diminishing in intensity, and dying away first in the southwest, and finally in the north-east, after an interval of four or five seconds from its being first heard. « About a quarter of an hour previous to the shock, Mrs Far- quharson had gone into the nursery on the same flat with me, which is that above the ground story ; and a young lady then in the house had retired to her bed-room on the same fiat, while my eldest daughter had retired to hers in the flat just above me. I had scarcely estimated the duration of the noise, when Mrs F. suddenly entered the room where I was sitting, and stated that the young lady on the same flat had risen. from her bed, and come to her in great alarm, saying, that and especially in Scotland. 87 she had certainly experienced an earthquake. At the same moment, my daughter descended from the upper storey, say- ing that there was some person in her room, who, after shak- ing her bed, made several heayy steps across the floor, and had at last fallen down in it. I felt it right at the time to calm these alarms. without acknowledging that there had been any earthquake. In the morning, I learnt from the young lady in the lower flat, that while in bed, which stands lengthwise south-east and north-west, she had felt herself, by the rising of the west side of the bed, suddenly tossed towards the east, and as suddenly again thrown down towards the west. She described the noises she heard at the same time, ina way similar to that in which I have done above. Mrs F. was actively engaged at the moment of the shock, which she felt, and she also heard the noise, but imagined it was a violent gust of wind, of which there had been several in the previous part of the evening. “‘ The house stands upon a bed of shingle, anciently deposited by the small river Leochal. The rocks, only slightly covered, over all this neighbourhood, are micaceous schist and granite.” (5.) Accounts from Districts East of Comrie. Near Avinross, at Shanwell, ‘the residence of the Rev. Mr Coventry, the shock is thus described by him :—* At the time of the shock I was sitting. A noise preceded it as ofa rushing wind, though the air was perfectly still at the time, and this was accompanied by a noise as if of cattle or horses running rapidly past the windows. The duration of the shock was of such a length, as to give Mrs C. and those who felt it, time to speak of it as an earthquake, and to express their feelings in regard to it. She thinks it lasted a minute. The rushing noise seemed to be in the air, as well as the sound like the tramp- ling of horses or cattle. But besides these, and following them, there was heard a rumbling noise as if of carts on a pavement, but more hollow in the sound; and this latter sound was in the earth, and began distinctly on the north-west end of the house, and proceeded gradually to the south-east side, when it gradually died away. The rushing sound in the air was heard both on the north and south sides of the house, 88 Mr D. Milne on Larthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain, the concussion appeared to follow the same direction as the rumbling sound in the earth. With regard to the effects of the shock, Mrs C. felt the floor of the drawing-room to rock and the window to shake; and, in one of the bedrooms, where two of my daughters and a servant were, the floor was felt to beso unsteady, that they were fain to cling to the chimney-piece, and the doors of the wardrobes and the joists of the roof were heard to creak, The inmates of this room complained of being giddy and sick at the time of its occurrence. No ob- servations were made, as to any walls being cracked. The weather was very wet, the barometer high, and the night ex- tremely dark and perfectly still. I understand that at the Old Manse, our friend David Syme’s residence, at Kinross, the shock was very violent, and four distinct rockings were felt. In the town of Kinross, the shock was felt very distinctly by most of the inhabitants, and is thus described by Mr Syme, the sheriff-substitute of that county :—‘I was sitting alone in aroom on the ground-floor in the south-west corner of our house which fronts the south, when, a few minutes after ten P.M., my attention was attracted by a strange hoarse rushing sound inthe south. I laid down my book to listen, and almost immediately heard a louder sound, as if of a heavy body falling gently on the floor of the room above, directly overhead, and continuing to roll along towards the other end—the apparent motion being thus from south to north. I was not sensible of any shock or concussion, and did not think of an earth- quake, but was startled by the strangeness of the noise, and ran up stairs to inquire, and found that Mrs 8., her mother, and two female servants who happened to be in the drawing- room—a very small room on the second floor in the south-east angle of the house (with one window to the south and one to the east), had the instant before felt the shock of an earth- quake most alarmingly. They heard and saw the crystal and china-ornaments on the chimney-piece in motion, and Mrs 8. felt four distinct rockings. She thought that the cas¢ wall was coming ¢o her; and her mother, who was a little farther off, that it was going from her, and all were sensible of a strong undulatory motion. They think it began at the east side, and that the east wall or gable-end was most affected, but there and especially in Scotland. 89 was no rent of the wall, nor have I heard of anything of the kind in this neighbourhood. A second shock was experienced about two o'clock next morning (24th), by some of our neigh- bours, but not by us: though about an hour and a half after the first, I fancied I heard the same rushing sound as before, but less distinctly. At Perth, as the author was informed by several of the in- habitants, the furniture in their houses was shaken, and lamps hanging from the ceilings of their rooms, were made to vibrate. On the side of the Tay, opposite to Perth, a crack was formed during the night of the 23d October, on the side of the turnpike-road, where it runs above a steep bank. This crack was noticed early in the morning of the 24th October, and was such as to endanger the integrity of the road. Two days afterwards, a slice of the road along the line of the crack, for about twenty-five yards in length, slipped down the bank altogether. From S¢ Andrews, in the East of Fife, two accounts were received. Dr Govan of the E.I.C.S. writes,—‘ I had just gone to bed, which was placed, as nearly as I can estimate, N. by W., and S. by E., when I experienced a smart and sudden movement . from below upwards, and as I thought nearly at right angles to the line in which I lay, coming from the S. and W. I im- mediately said, it was a very smart shock of an earthquake, and looked at my watch, which shewed 104, 24’ p.m. An undu- lating movement immediately succeeding, the smart shock was perceived by those in the room, which caused a degree of gid- diness. I immediately went to observe the barometer, which stood unaffected at about 30 inches; without, all was quiet and more still than usual. Dr Mudie of St Andrews writes,—“ Colonel Playfair of the E.I.C.S. was sitting with his family on the night of the 23d Oc- tober. They all distinctly felt the earthquake, and as both the Colonel and Mrs P. had repeatedly felt earthquakes in India, they instantly recognised the nature of the shock. To all of the company, there was the sensation of the earth rising sud- denly up, and vibrating before it returned to its former site. The vibration proceeded from the south-west to the north- > 90 Mr D. Milne on Earthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain, east, and the gas lamp suspended in the middle of the room indicated by its oscillation a movement in that direction. The Colonel instantly pulled out his watch, and found the time exactly twenty minutes past ten; and whilst he was looking at his watch, he distinctly felt a second shock, not so strong as the first, but the vibration was in the same direction. «« Mrs General Farquharson was in bed at the time of the shock, and she felt as if a person was under the bed, and lifted it up; the ewer in the basin gingled with the motion, and when she rung for her servant, she came in great alarm, thinking, from the rattling of the windows, that some person was attempting to break into the house. « A young man, a student in a lodging-house, was awakened by the lifting of his bed ;—and thinking it was a trick by one of his companions, got out of bed, and seizing a golf- club, continued to strike at the supposed intruder under the bed. (6.) Accounts from districts South-East of Comrie. In East-Lothian, near North-Berwick, as Mr Scougall at Bal- gone wrote, “ the noise or sound preceded the shock. The shock was not tremulous, but undulating. Those who were in bed describe it thus: They felt, as if their beds had been swung from the top. ‘The shock lasted about two or three seconds. “Dr Moir of Musselburgh writes,—‘‘ I was sitting in the dining-room of Loretto with Mr Langhorne; but al- though there is a gas-chandelier suspended from the centre of the roof, which readily vibrates in treading across the room, neither of us were attracted by this or any other cir- cumstance. Next morning, however, in making my rounds, I called on Mr Watson of Pinkieburn, who asked me if I had perceived any thing uncommon on the night before. I said, No. He then informed me, that, from ten minutes to a quarter after ten, while seated in his parlour by the table, he distinctly felt his chair move under him; at the lapse of about two seconds another movement was distinctly perceptible, at which time he said to Mrs Watson, who was walking along the floor, * What is that? Did you observe my chair moving under me?’ ‘ No,’ she replied, ‘ but there is and especially in Scotland. 91 somebody knocking at the outside of the house. She then rang the bell for the servant, who was ordered to open the front docr, but saw nobody. Here there were two distinct shocks, between which the noise continued, something like a rumbling wind, and came from the west. « During the same forenoon, while at Prestonpans, the same question was put to me by Mrs Hislop (sister to Mrs Cadell of Cockenzie), who was at the time confined to bed. While alone in her bedroom, at nearly a quarter after ten on the preceding night, she felt as if something was raising up the bed from the floor, and the sensation was so perfect, that she involuntarily seized hold of the curtains near her, when a second, and then a third repetition, caused her to grasp them more tightly, and exclaim—‘ Have mercy on us ? These heavings were accompanied by a sound from the south, which caused one of the windows to rattle during the whole time. A thimble, which happened to be iying on the stand of a mir- yor on the dressing-table, kept rattling, as also an empty jug within the basin of the wash-hand stand. Strange to say, none of the other inmates of the house perceived any thing of this, although Mr Hislop himself was at the time, but not in the same room, only a few yards’ distant. The family then retired to bed, but, in about half an hour after, a deep rumbling noise was heard from the west, both by Mrs Hislop, and by Mr Patrick Turnbull, her nephew, who was awoke by it, and listened for some time, thinking that it was some one sent from the distillery, of which he has the charge, to awake him. “ Lady Harriet Suttie has since told me, that she and Sir George were at Newbyth on that evening, and that the tre- mors and heavings were felt there to a degree, that attracted the attention of every one.” At Trinity, near Leith, Lieutenant Forrest, R. N., felt the shock very distinctly in a house 300 yards from the sea beach. He described his sensations in a memorandum which he wrote down next morning. ‘The following is a copy of it. “‘Juast night, about a quarter past ten o’clock, I had been about ten minutes in bed, when I felt the bed tremble severely under me ;so much so, that | asked my wife (who had been confined 92 Myr D. Milne on Earthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain, to bed for two days previously) if she was taken worse ? my impression being at the moment that ¢hat was the cause. She answered that she was not trembling, but the noise and shak- ing, she thought, was caused by the servants shutting in the doors below (my bedroom is on the first floor) ; the window all this time was rattling as if from a high wind, although it was calm at the time; and the furniture in the room creaked, as if in the cabin of a steamer going over a sea. There was a tin-case with hot water in the bed, which I heard shaken about very distinctly. I observed at the time to Mrs F., that I was convinced it was the shock of an earthquake, and noted the time in my watch. It must have continued nearly a minute, as I had time to sit up in my bed, and make the above remarks during its continuance.” In Edinburgh, the following persons have communicated to the author their several perceptions. Mr Syme, of the Bank of Scotland, when in his house in North Castle Street, felt the shock, and a noise accompanying it. The noise seemed to be above his head, in the upper part of the house. Keys hanging on the key-hole of a book-case were made to dangle. Mrs Swinton, in Athole Crescent, was in bed, and felt the shock. It appeared to come from the north. Her bed rocked twice or thrice. She has felt several shocks in India, of which only one was more severe than this. Mr M‘Callum, of the Bank of Scotland, when in the fifth storey of the bank (about, 120 feet from the ground behind it) felt the shock between 10" 5’ and 10°20’. He first experienced a tendency to fall over towards the east. He distinctly heard the floor near the east gable shake. One window rattled, fac- ing towards the east. At Dunning, about 16 miles SE. of Comrie, the shock is stated by Dr Martin, physician there, to have been felt about 102 14’ p.m. “It was a kind of double shock, consisting of two strokes in quick succession, with about half a second between them. The first was much the strongest blow. In about half an hour after, another shock was felt, but weaker, and of shorter duration. and especially in Scotland. 93 * The first or double shock lasted about 5’; the second about 2” or 3”. ‘© As to the nature of the concussion, it seemed as if some subterranean element had suddenly struck the solid surface of the earth from beneath, with such a force as to make it yield a little upward. The tremor that followed, arose from its own elasticity and the violence of the impulse. It was both a tremor or vibration of the earth’s surface, and an undula- tion of the ground. At the commencement of the shock, it was a sudden double jolt and tremor of the earth’s surface, the result of a subterraneous blow quickly repeated, and, at the end, an undulation or movement of the ground. Objects were more rocked and shaken by the tremulous motion than by the undulation ; but none of them were lifted up and let down again. The surface of the earth and buildings thereon, houses, and furniture therein, were moved simultaneously, and trem- bled or shook altogether as one continuous integral. ** With regard to the points of the compass, the first inclina- tion was nearly in the direction of the north-west. It was the effect of an invisible sudden force, and was quick. The mo- tion back again was slower, and appeared to be the mere re- covery of balance or perpendicularity. “ It seemed to travel with great velocity, and was loudest at its termination. “ The 23d of October 1839 was cloudy, with rain; the hills were foggy; wind east, with calm intervals. Much more rain fell than usual in the autumn of 1839. « About a mile from Dunning, in a farm-house situated on a high level, and founded on whinstone rock of unknown depth, the concussion so marred the swing or vibration of the pendu- lum of the clock, that it stood still. “The mounds of earth covering potato-pits were cracked from end to end, and the water of sundry wells was made drumly.” At Muckhart, situated at the opening of a gorge on the south side of Ochils, and about 20 miles S.SE. of Comrie, Mr Harvey heard and felt the shock. He writes,—‘‘ Having been at Comrie some years ago, when there was a very smart shock, the moment this of the 23d October commenced, I said to a friend with whom I was conversing at the time, ‘ An earth- 94 Mr D. Milne on Larthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain, quake !’—~‘ It is the same sort of sound (he added) that we heard the other day in the harvest field.” I took observation of the time, and all this passed while yet the sound of it was heard; we concluded that it lasted above 50 seconds. As to the sort of sound, it resembled in its approach a multitude of coal waggons on a railroad somewhat as to sound, but chiefly as to the motion produced ; there was a quick vibration. My house stands on a bed of channel. There is another near it on mossy ground, and there the shock was felt as a heave. The inhabitant imagined, being in bed, that some huge ani- mal had got beneath his bed and was bearing up the bed to get from beneath. No walls cracked in this neighbourhood, so far as I can learn, but there were several bursts of earth, and slides on the sides of the hills, and breakings of wellheads. Birds’ cages moved like pendulums. Noise accompanied, pre- ceeded, and followed the shock. The noise was continuous, with variation of the sounds. The sound was first like the distant sound of carriages on the public road ; as it approached it grew deep and hollow from the earth, and passed away like the effect produced by a close body of cavalry in quick march over acommon. It was in the earth. The concussions were most felt in the upper parts of houses. Doors upstairs in my house, were thrown open and moved on their hinges. From all I can collect, it appears it was not so much felt in houses on the hill sides, as in the houses along the bottom of the range ; the houses on the hills are mostly built on rock, those along the bottom of the hills on gravel or loose soil. We had much rain previously. One night, in the end of September, from 8 in the evening to 8 next morning, as nearly as I could ascer- tain, there fell about 1 inch of water in thickness on the ground. Besides shooting stars,some nights after I sawthe most splendid meteor I ever witnessed. It was passing from the west to the east, and proceeded in a line parallel to the earth’s surface.” At Woodeot, near Dollar, about 22 miles S.S.E. from Comrie, the shocks and the state of the weather at the time, are thus described by Mr Walker. “ The first con- cussion felt here was at 10" 10’ p.m. on the 231 of October, the second about half-an-hour afterwards. The noise pre- ceding the first, lasted about four or five seconds ; in the second and especially in Scotiand. 95 the duration of the noise was shorter, and I felt no shock. The concussion of the first appeared to me to resemble more the slight lurch of a ship under way, struck by a wave and righting immediately again, than any other motion. As far as I can judge from the situation of this house (at the imme- diate base of one of the Ochils) and the quarter of it whence the sound and concussion came from, I should say that they both came from N.NW., and went in the opposite direction across the room where I was sitting; I was placed in rather a fayourable situation for ascertaining this, as I was reading at the time, with my arms leaning upon the table, and both it and the chair upon which I was sitting were thrown first to one side and then to the other, or, to speak more correctly, first towards the S.SE. and then back to where they had been ; the noise was very loud. It seemed to me to be very like what would have been occasioned by some one over head dragging some heavy piece of furniture along the floor from one side of the room to the other, the sound gradually increasing and diminishing as it came towards or receded from the position where I was. The weather on the day of the shock, and also the one preceding it, was uncommonly calm, very foggy to- wards the evening, and the air at that time felt much warmer than, the degree of heat indicated by the thermometer would have led one to expect, and I thought (but it may have been fancy) that there was a peculiar odour perceptible. In the year 1824, when I was at Lisbon, I perfectly recollect having remarked the same thing, though, from the difference of lati- tude, the heat and the closeness of the air was much more oppressive ; and I remember well that the inhabitants of that city were much alarmed at the appearance of the weather, the same phenomena haying, they said, been observed imme- diately before the tremendous earthquake in 1755.” In a subsequent letter, Mr Walker adds,—* 1 did not per- ceive any leaning of the house to the N.NW., after recover- ing the perpendicular,—though I have no doubt it must have done so, as your explanation appears to me quite consistent in other respects with what I felt at the time. I was not sensi- ble of the house being lifted up. It appeared to me, as if it had been struck by something which caused it to heel sud- 96 Mr D. Milne on Earthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain, denly to the S.SE.;—indeed I can compare it to’ nothing but the motion of a ship, when she gives a slight lee- lurch.” The gardener of the Dollar Academy has given the follow- ing graphic account of what he perceived. ‘ My family had retired to bed; I alone sat reading, opposite the fire-place, which is in the east side of the room. The candle was burn- ing on the chimney-piece, with the snuffer-tray beside it. I was startled by an unusual noise towards the NW., like the rolling of many carriages, or the sound of distant thunder. It appeared to die away toward the SE., and struck me as being immediately under or on the surface of the earth,—not over head. I still looked in the direction from whence the sound came, and perceived the bed-curtains agitated. The bed stood in the NW. corner of the room. There was a looking-glass in the window, which looks to the west.—It also was shaken. The chair which I sat on, was moved first toward the SE. se- veral times, the candlestick in the same direction. The snuffer- tray was nearly thrown down. The motion of the earth was decidedly undulatory ; and from the circumstance of the bed- curtains and looking-glass being moved first, and my chair being next moved toward the S E., and the candlestick in the same direction, I concluded that the shock was from the NW. to the SE. I was sitting in a position peculiarly favourable for observing it. My feet rested on one side of the grate, and my whole weight was on the chair. My attention was keenly alive at the time. The noise preceding the shock last- ed, I think, about 4”; a shorter time] intervened between the noise and the shock, which lastéd also about 4’.. The strength of the shock throughout appeared to be the same.” At Tillicoultry, a considerable village a little farther to the east than Dollar, also situated on the south base of the Ochil range, Mr Thomson, surgeon there, writes, that ‘ Those in Tillicoultry who most distinctly experienced the shock, agree generally in stating, that there was a decided undulatory mo- tion communicated to their houses, whereby they themselves, and objects on the floor, were, or seemed to be, lifted up and let down again, as if they were rocked in a cradle, or tossed in a hammock at sea. and especially in Scotland. a7 ** Two considerable masses of rock, it is believed, were de- tached from the face of one of the Ochil hills here by the shock of the earthquake, as the shepherd was on the spot where they now lie, on the preceding day, and did not observe them till the morning after the event. One of these is esti- mated at ten tons weight. A large rent, of 4 or 5 yards long, and about one foot and a half wide at its widest part, was ob- served, on the succeeding day, running across a potato-heap, whose whole length might be 12 yards by 2 yards wide. All the houses in our village, which are nearly 300, were more or less shaken. The slates upon certain roofs of the higher houses, and the dishes upon the shelves, clattered against each other—several bells rang—articles hanging from the ceiling oscillated—windows shivered—doors moved on their hinges— individuals walking or sitting, were thrown slightly off their centre. Many who were asleep or in bed, started up in stupid amazement. One man says he was pitched from one side of the bed to the other. In the upper flats of houses, the chairs on which individuals were sitting, and the beds on which they were lying, rocked like a cradle, or a boat gently lifted by a waye. ** It seems to be the prevailing opinion of those who were in a recumbent posture, or in bed, that the couch was first moved from the N. or NE., and that the S. or SW. side was then affected. The motion of dishes,'and the rattling of slates, was on the north side of the houses chiefly. * The majority with whom I have'spoken on this topic, think that the shock came from N. or NE., and travelled to S. or SW. This was the impression of those who were a-bed, and is perhaps confirmed by the following facts. The masses of projected rock referred to took the direction of the S. from the N. (the face of the hill is steep, and slopes southward). The rent or fissure referred to, ran from NE. to SW. The persons felt moved towards the S. who were in bed. “ In the months of September and October, the aurora bo- realis, or northern lights, were uncommonly brilliant, and stretched across the zenith southward farther than I have seen them before; they had a curious fery colour.” VOL. XXXIV. NO. LXviI.—sanuAnry 1843. G 98 Mr D. Milne on Earthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain, At Alva, as the Rev. Mr Drysdale reports, “ I was moved upon my chair from one side to the other. I was within half a foot of a wall-press, the standards and door of which cracked as if breaking. My house is situated within 300 yards of the Ochil range. It faces due south. I was sitting in a room at the west gable. When I heard the noise, I turned my face towards the east, in which direction it seemed to me coming. When it came, as it were, around me, I felt very strange, and as if there was something like a shock of electricity over my body, beginning at the feet and going to the head. Sitting still in this position, after the noise seemed to have passed to the west, I saw the carpet move as it had been a wave of the sea, and as it undulated along to my chair :—then was my chair moved to the west, then to the east.” The Rev. Mr Brown, parochial minister of Alva, who felt the shock in his manse at the foot of the Ochils, says,—‘* What I first perceived was a loud and very singular noise, which lasted 2” or 3’. Immediately after, I felt the house shake violently.”” I may add, “ That before perceiving the shock, or thinking that an earthquake was approaching, I felt, during the continuance of the noise, as if I had been slightly electri- fied. A quivering sensation pervaded my whole body from the feet upwards.” From Alloa, situated on the Forth, about 8. by E. from Com- rie, various communications were received, of which a few may be noticed. One correspondent writes,—* I felt a remarkable sensation come over me at the time of the shock. But whether it was connected with the phenomenon, or merely a sensation pro- duced by the mind, being instantly aware of what the pheno- menon was, which was taking place, I could not determine. The leg of a piano in the room distinctly creaked.” Mr Roy writes,—‘ I was sitting in the dining-room on the ground floor, reading, one of my arms resting on the table, and the other on one of the arms of the chair on which I was sitting, when I suddenly felt a violent shock (as if a very heavy weight had been thrown on an elastic floor), which made the table move as if from under my arm in a southerly direction. I immediately called out, ‘ What was that” to some of the family who were in the room and also felt the shock. The and especially in Scotland. 99) shock was accompanied, or rather succeeded, by a rashing or rumbling kind of noise, resembling the sound of a carriage, passing along the road, which continued for a second or two, and appeared to me to proceed as from north to south or south- east,—at this period, I must say I felt a peculiar sensation just as if I had been suddenly exposed to danger ; and when this had a little subsided, I went to the kitchen to inquire whether the servants had been up stairs making any noise, and found them all alarmed, having heard the noise and felt the shock without knowing the cause ; I therefore concluded it must have been an earthquake.” « Another correspondent says,—‘ The first circumstance that attracted my attention was a sudden and violent gust of wind, accompanied with a more than ordinary rushing noise, as from the north-east, against the window. I then felt the shock, and the doors of the wardrobe, before which I was standing, which are rather loose, rattled sharply four or five times, and the noise seemed to pass to the other side or front of the house, and roll heavily, as if under ground, away to the south-west. The shock excited a most peculiar sickish sensation, such as [ think I never felt before.” Mr Donald, writer in Alloa, communicated several circum- stances of interest. (1.) The landlord of the Tontine Inn there was, when the shock occurred, standing at the door of his stables, which front the west, and was leaning with his back on the south lintel. He very distinctly heard the noise, which he thought came from the north. He then felt a jerk similar to that felt by a person leaning on a steam-boat when it strikes a quay. He was precipitated forward about a foot. The bells in his house were set a-ringing, and the glasses on his tables and sideboard were put in motion. (2.) A steam-boat was lashed alongside of a quay, running nearly east and west. The boat was on the north sideof the south wall of the quay, and the paddle-box was within two feet of the wall. There was about a foot and a half of water between her keel and the bottom of the river. An engineer and a boy were sitting in the steerage cabin, the former reading. Suddenly the boat gave “a heavy jerk” on the pier. These two per~ 100 Mr D. Milne on Earthquake-Shocks felt in Great Britain, sons immediately started on deck, to ascertain the cause. The vessel was then about three or three and a half feet from the pier, the shock having caused her to recoil, and she was then moving back to it again. Just before the collision, the engi- neer heard a distinct rumbling noise, as if under ground, which seemed to proceed towards the south. The engineer on looking at his watch, found the time to be between 10 and 20 minutes past 10 o’clock. The shock was felt at the same moment, by another vessel in the harbour. (3.) Close to Alloa Ferry there is a small watch-house, the back wall of which runs parallel with a wall inclosing the glass-house premises. These two walls are about eleven feet high, and are about four inches apart. The watch-house has a sloping roof, and, in order that the rain falling on it may not run down the back wall, there is an edging of lead which pro- jects from the roof, making the distance between it and the glass-house wall only three inches. The ferryman was, at the time of the shock, sitting in the watch-house, when he was startled by a noise and concussion, produced by something striking against the wall or roof of the house. He supposed, at the moment, that the glass- house people were playing him a trick, by tumbling some heavy body upon the house. This thought, however, was almost immediately dis- pelled by seeing some articles within the house moved, and in particular the cover of a pot, which was shaken from the spar of a small table on which it was placed. The noise ap- peared to come from the N. or NW. On examination of the premises next day, it was found that the leaden gutter or edging on the roof of the watch-house, had been bent upwards by the pressure of the glass-house wall. The glass-house wall runs in a direction NE. and SW. It is built on the thick deposit of diluvial or alluvial clay, which extends through all the low grounds adjoining the river Forth in this part of its course. Considering the height and distance from each other of the two walls just described, it is plain, that if one remained sta- tionary and the other leaned over, the deviation of the latter from the perpendicular, must have been at least 1° 18’, in order and especially in Scotland. 101 to produce simply a contact, but no pressure of the walls, at the height of 11 feet from the ground. If then, this deviation is to be ascribed to a rising of the ground, such as would be caused by the propagation of a wave along the earth’s surface, the surface must have inclined or sloped to at least the extent of the above angle, so that the wave must have formed with the horizon an angie of more than 1° 18’. But is it a probable supposition, that one of the walls would remain stationary, whilst the other leaned towards it? If the wave came from the north, the glass-house wall would, no doubt, be first affected ; but would not the back wall of the watch-house be also made to lean over almost simultane- ously? It is true that the two walls were at the foundations only 4 inches apart; but then the back wall of the watch- house formed one side of a solid building, abutting against two gables 14 feet long. The back wall of the watch-house, therefore, would probably not move until the wave had ad- vanced far enough to affect the whole building. Moreover, it is plain, that the house would not by the supposed wave coming from the north, lean over so much as the glass-house wall. bas wif oh | 3 APY: cock vet Sg aes i. MT Bs : gs i) ayes % al tet gh", M SA % [Ridin Tew Phils. Journal. a | Fig. 2 Martons SUf adding - / Fig. 1. (a We & © go 4 =A tie > > N ‘S Se OMMONMOM MOI OM ON ROMA MMOM MOA CHOW GD OMA OAM ON OFA OF © ROM OM ©, J 2 s 9) 3 5 5 } 5 2 o Ss a i) [) T fe) U S) 2) 3) S S o) 2 So : i D } [S) 2 5 | 2) | ‘©F : . aw Zo oF 4 2 2 ai eae | = a | Ee and Invented by John Maxton, Leith es Tol MD Plate V Fege 130 tine for Registering the Tides. Figs. I Lith + Lithay Fils Description of a Self-Registering Tide-Guage. 131 tides. From the mechanism of the machine the studs on the right hand of the centre or zero line are for registering the height ; and those on the left the lowness of the tides as measured from the half-tide level. The figures on the right and left margins correspond to the days of the month ; and the drawing represents a register for twenty-eight days’ tides, or one lunar month. In figs. 1 and 3, f is a pulley with a cord or small chain passing round it; to one end of the cord is attached a float g (fig. 3.), and to the other end of the cord is a weight / (figs. 1 and 3), which acts as a counter balance to the float. On the axle of the large pulley /, is a pinion 2, and the smaller the diameter of the pinion is, in proportion to that of the pulley, the narrower and more compact the re- gistering plate or table (fig. 1) will be. Letter 7 represents a rack; the number of teeth and revolutions of pinion x, dur- ing the whole range of tide, determining the length of the rack and the proportion of the scales of feet and inches at the top and bottom of the registering plate (fig. 1.) Connected with the horizontal rack j, is a vertical guide or traversing bar 7, which is made to move the whole breadth of the table by its rack and the pinion. At the top and bottom of the vertical bar are pullies 1, for running along the guide-rods n. In the vertical bar there is a groove, in which the sliding bush 2, is made to move freely up and down; to this bush is at- tached a cord, passing over the pulley p, at the upper end of the bar, and a constant strain is kept on the cord over the pul- ley bya weight q, to prevent the bush z, from falling downwards. In the bush z is a pin which projects into the dovetailed grooves, between the feathers 4, and slides easily along in them, as the bar /traverses either way. This pin moves the studscc, to their proper places for indicating high and low tide. Letter 7, as will be explained presently, representsmoveable tongues or switches, having joints at one end, so loose, that when lifted they will fall down again by their own weight. We shall suppose that the machine has registered the tides as far as the second tide, on the 9th of the month, as shewn in the diagram (the studs below this being all shewn as moved to their places, and those in the upper grooves remaining un- moved), and that the tide on the 9th has fallen 7 feet from the datum line (marked o on the seale), to this position, there- fore, the pin in the bush « has moved the sliding stud from the 132 Description of a Self-Registering Tide-Gauge. original position in which it was set. Supposing the tide be- gan to flow when the machine was in this last position, by the float g (fig. 3), rising, it would reverse the motion of pulley and pinion, and bring the rack and traversing bar towards the right, or towards high water, on the table. After having left the sliding piece at its position for denoting low water on the Oth of the month, it is now proceeding towards the sliding piece for denoting high water on the 10th; and when the bush and pin come to the tongue or switch, the pin moves up the inclined plane and on towards the right, moving the slid- ing piece for denoting high water on the 10th to its right po- sition for that tide. Supposing now the tide to ebb, the ac- tion of the float reverses the wheel, pinion, rack, and travers- ing-bar, and when the bush and pin come to the under side of the tongue, towards the left, the pin will lift the tongue by the strain produced by the weight g, on the cord which is at- tached to the bush; and having lifted the tongue, and passed on in a straight line, the tongue falls immediately by its own weight after the pin in the bush z, has passed it; and com- ing back for the next high water, the pin has to move up the inclined plane as before, and so on with the whole of them. The snugs s, are for fixing the machine securely by screws to any convenient place for its reception. There is another way that might be adopted for the float giving motion to the machine than a cord and pulley (see fig. 4.) A vertical rack 0, attached to the float to work a spur- wheel y, which could be of the same diameter at the pitch- line as the diameter of the pulley / so as not to derange the other parts and scales. The vertical rack might be more cor- rect in the event of a cord being apt to stretch, which, how- ever, would be obviated with a chain ; but for high tides, say 20 or 21 feet, a rack would be very unwieldy, for it would re- quire to be equal in length to the highest tides. The full size of the registering part of the machine is about 2 feet square over all, and 23 inches in depth ; and if made of brass (as iron is apt to corrode from the action of the moisture from salt water), the cost of the whole apparatus, including the float and counterbalance, and the pipes in which they work, I have estimated at about L 30. Joun Maxton. Leimn Excint-Works, 177i Nov, 1842. Historical Remarks on the first Di covery of the real Structure of Glacier Ice. By Prorzssorn Forszs, Corresponding Member of the Royal Institute of France. I feel myself most reluctantly called upon to state some cir- cumstances respecting the discovery of a fact in the theory of Glaciers which M. Agassiz has declared, ina paper printed in the last number of the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, to be erroneously claimed by me. The first account of “ a remarkable structure of the ice of glaciers,” by myself, was printed in this Journal for January 1842. A history of this discovery, entirely opposed to mine, appears at pages 265 and 266 of the last number. By the kind permission of the Editor, I have now the opportunity allowed me of stating how the facts really stand, and at the same time of explaining the circumstances under which the publication of the original paper, claiming the discovery, took place,—circumstances which delicacy prevented me from men- tioning at the time, but which it now appears essential to make known. Private report, proverbially exaggerates and misrepre- sents the history of transactions little interesting to any but those immediately concerned. I believe that my own con- duct and its motives have been misunderstood, with refer- ence to the matter in question. A few extracts from the ample correspondence of which I am possessed in illustra- tion of every step of the transaction, will, I hope, suffice to place the matter clearly before such readers as shall feel sufficient interest to follow them. I pledge myself to their accuracy, and to their being fairly extracted in conformity with the tenor of the letters to which they belong. If any doubt shall be raised on this point, I shall have only the disagreeable alternative of publishing the entire correspond- ence, the length of which would render it unsuitable for the pages of a scientific journal. But I repeat my belief that the extracts I shall make, and the narrative with which I shall connect them, will put the matter in a light sufficiently clear ; and for the facts which 1 shall have to state, Iam con- scious of their admitting of no colouring or denial. In the firs¢ place, I shall briefly state the circumstances 134 Professor Forbes on the First Discovery of the under which the observation of THE VEINED STRUCTURE IN THE ICE OF GLACIERS” was made. In the second place, I shall explain the circumstances under which I made it public In the third place, I shall discuss shortly the claims to pri- ority of observation which have subsequently been made. I. In 1840, M. Agassiz invited me to make a tour with him the next summer amongst the glaciers of the Oberland, Vallais, and Savoy. I understood the invitation to extend simply to our mutual companionship on a journey of mutual interest. Of third parties there was no mention ; and it was with diffidence that I requested permission for my friend and fellow traveller, Mr Heath, fellow and tutor of Trinity Col- lege, Cambridge, to increase the number. It was only after all preliminaries were arranged, and after I had agreed, in order to accominodate M. Agassiz, to change the direc- tion in which I proposed to commence our intended tour, that I learned that he had several friends in company with him; and it was not until my arrival at the Grimsel, on tlie 8th of August, that I learned that the plan of a tour, into which I had originally gone, had been abandoned by my fel- low-traveller, for reasons which he did not assign, and that I was expected to unite with the party he had formed at Neuf- chatel, to spend some time on the glacier of the Aar, instead of prosecuting the journey originally proposed. I cheerfully acquiesced, however, in the arrangement, which promised to give me a good insight into the structure of glaciers, which I proposed farther to study by prosecuting alone, or with Mr Heath, my originally projected tour to Monte Rosa and Mont Blane. It is to be remembered that the glacier of the Aar was the one which M. Agassiz had already repeatedly visited in former years, and on which he had constructed a sort of hut in which he had lived for some time. His other friends not having all arrived, M. Agassiz, Mr Heath, and myseif, accompanied by (I believe) a single guide, ascended the glacier on the 9th August 1841. * Soe Edinburgh Philo-ophical Journa', January 1632, p. 69. veal Structure of Glacier Ice. 135 Fact 1. We had not walked for half an hour on the ice, when I directed the attention of my companions to what I called a vertical stratification pervading the ice. It appeared to me so plain, that it scarcely occurred to me that it could be new to M. Agassiz, who had so often traversed the same ground. Fact 2. M. Agassiz having his attention called to the fact, stated that he thought 1 was deceived in considering that it penetrated the ice ; that, indeed, the surface of the glacier seemed to him much changed since last year, but that he had observed superficial linear markings of the same kind on (I think) the Glacier du Bois. Fact 3. At each new crevasse we came to, I took pains to shew him that the apparent strata penetrated into the mass of the glacier; but he seemed incredulous, until I noticed a deep hollow in the ice close to the left margin of the medial moraine between Hugi’s and Agassiz’ cabins, at least 20 feet deep, to which I called M. Agassiz’ attention, in proof of the position I had maintained. Fact 4. To this he assented, but expressed his belief that it would only be found in the neighbourhood of the moraine, and not throughout the breadth of the glacier. Fact 5. In the course of the same afternoon, we ascertained, by conjoint inspection, that the structure in question was traceable all across the glacier of the Finster Aar. Fact 6. M. Agassiz, unwilling to admit that he could for- merly have overlooked so palpable a structure, expressed a frequent doubt whether this structure had not been superin- duced since his last visit. Fact 7. 1 took the fol- lowing means of proy- ing that this could not be the case. I shewed him some crevasses, and asked him how old he supposed them to be? He answered, several years; they certainly had not opened since last summer (1840.) I shewed that the veined structure crossed these 136 ~=Professor Forkes on the First Discovery of the crevasses, and was dislocated by them, as in the margin, and, therefore, must have been anterior to their formation. Let us hear the evidence of Mr Heath and M. Agassiz, the only witnesses present besides the guide. Mr Heath wrote to me thus, on sending him the above statement of facts :— Extract First.—Rev. J. M. Heath to Professor Forbes, (printed by Mr Heath’s permission.) Trinity CoLunGE, Sth March 1842. «© * * But those who were there this summer have yery different evidence that this was a new fact. I remember when it was first re- marked, Agassiz said he had seen it before, but not to such an extent. That it had a peculiar relation to the medial moraines, and would not be found in the centre of the glacier; that it was only superficial, and owing, as he believed, to the sand which placed itself in parallel straight lines, and produced these incisions by melting the ice. The afternoon was taken up in what I then thought a very superfluous endeavour to make out whether it was superficial or not, and I believe he maintained the contrary opinion until the discovery of the great hole of which you have given a drawing.” It will be observed, then, that the whole question lies in this, Whether the lined appearance of the ice was due to an inequality of melting, occasioned by a linear arrangement of sand on the surface, washed from the moraines, and inter- cepting here and there the sun’s rays!’—or, Whether it was occasioned by the unequal action of the weather on alternat- ing vertical bands of friable and of compact ice, of which the glacier is composed. M. Agassiz appears, upon Mr Heath's testimony and my own, to have taken the former view, whilst I took the latter. According to him, the ice was striated on its surface, because the sand lay in lines ; according to me, the sand lay in lines, because the ice has a veined structure through- out its mass. M. Agassiz, the other witness, admitted as much himself, when I requested him to say whether the above-cited facts were accurately stated or not. In a letter to me, dated 29th March 1842, he says,— > veal Structure of Glacier Ice. 137 Exrracr Seconp.—Professor Agassiz to Professor Forbes, 29th March 1842. <‘ Comme vous en convenez vous-méme lorsque nous discutames pour la premiere fois les bandes de glace de teintes diverses que l’on observe dans le glacier, je vous dis que jen avais remarqué DES TRACES SUPERFI- cietixs au glacier des Bois en 1838, ce qui est mentionné dans mon livre p- 121, a l’occasion des moraines médianes.” It appears, then, that Mr Heath’s memory and my own agree thus far precisely with M. Agassiz’. Let us see whether the reference to the “ Etudes sur les Glaciers,” published in 1840, gives any farther evidence. Exrracr Tuirp.—Agassiz, Etudes sur les Glaciers, p. 121-2. “ Les trainées réguliéres et paralléles de grains de sable que Yon pour- suit quelquefois sur de trés grandes étendues, le long des moraines mé- dianes, me paraissent étre un effét de la dilatation de la surface chargée de debris, combiné avec le mouvement progressif de toute la masse. Les petits grains de sable épars, n’agissant pas comme les gros bloes,* tendent 4 former des series [Qu. stries ?] longitudinales et paralléles qui se trans- forment quelquefois en rainures, et qui servent méme souvent de lit aux petits filets d’cau qui coulent le long des moraines. Nulle part je n’ai observé ce phénoméne d’une maniére aussi frappante que sur la Mer de glace de Chamonix en 1888 ; je l'ai également remarqué sur le Glacier de J’Aar, et ce qui m’a confirmé dans l’explication que jen donne, c'est quwici on remarque sur le cété gauche de la grande moraine une petite moraine qui lui est paralléle, et qui me parait détachée de la meme maniere que les trainées de sable dont je viens de parler se détachent des moraines en général.” It appears then, that, after three years of observation of the glaciers, M. Agassiz still entertained, in 1841, the same view of the cause of a fact which he had observed in 1838, and pub- lished in 1840. The fac¢ was the superficial arrangement of lines of sand near the moraines of glaciers, which, according to him, arose from some molecular dilatation of the ice, which he does not very clearly explain ; and its effect was sometimes to produce grooves (rainures), by the heat of the sun acting on . the sand thus arranged. The fact which I pointed out to him on the 9th of August had no reference to the arrangement of sand on the ice, but * This refers to the well-known action of large blocks of stone in de- fending the surface of the ice from eyaporation; here, on the other hand, the sand sunk in the ice. 138 Professor Forbes on the First Discovery of the consisted in a texture which the ice itself presented through- out its mass, of harder and softer layers, whose wasting, when it occurred in the neighbourhood of the moraines where the glacier was covered with sand, occasioned hollow grooves, into which, for obvious reasons, the sand was speedily washed, and there it lay. M. Agassiz was very naturally and properly slow to admit, in explanation of a fact which had for three years been before his eyes, the existence of a prevalent struc- ture to which he had not adverted. Accordingly, his convic- tions were proportionably gradual; and, as Mr Heath observes, “the afternoon was taken up in what I then thought a very superfluous endeavour to make out whether it was superficial or not.” Two days after the discovery of the structure, namely, on the 11th of August, we were joined by Professor Studer, the distinguished geologist of Berne, and by other friends of M. Agassiz. The structure in question having been discussed, it is important to know the impression which it left as to novel- ty or originality upon the mind of so competent a judge. M. Studer writes to me :— Extract Fourtu.—Professor Studer to Professor Forbes, 19th March 1842. Extracted by M. Studer’s permission. «© M. Desor* m’a écrit il y a quelques semaines de cctte contestation de priorité ; je lui ai repondu que je ne me mélerais pas de cette affaire, mais que bien certainement vous m’aviez fait remarquer pour la premiere fois la structure en question, et que javais cru en effét que son importance avait échappée a Agassiz, comme a tous ses devanciers.” I will only cite one other testimony as to the origin of the discovery on the Glacier of the Aar, also by an eye-witness, Mr Robertson of Newton House, near Elgin, a friend of M. Agassiz, whom I did not know before, and whom I have not seen since, but who, having learnt the nature of the contest as to priority which has occurred, generously and voluntarily sent me the following statement of facts, which I have like- wise his permission to publish. * A friend of M. Agassiz. real Structure of Glacier Ice. 139 Exrract Firra.—Mr Robertson of Newton to Professor Forbes. Newton, 4th May 1842. “ Before joining you on the 13th August last year, I was pretty familiar, from reading, with all the ordinary phenomena of glaciers, and, on my walk to the ‘ Cabane,’ examined each as it presented itself. Among others I observed the superficial indications of the ribboned structure ; and, dur- ing the first half hour after my arrival, I recollect perfectly, in walking from the ‘ Crevasse’ at the end of the Finster Aar glacier (where you had been preparing the expcriment on the absorption of ice with red wine) to the left flank of the Lauter Aar (where we exposed, with a hatchet, the contact of the ice and rock, in order to see the sand, &c. between them), having asked Agassiz how it was produced? He told me that the sur- face of the glacier had completely changed since last year, when he had scarcely observed it,—that it was an effect of the moraines, and probably caused by the greater variations of temperature to which they were sub- ject as compared to the rest of the glacier, and that it had nothing to do with stratification. I remember also asking whether the horizontal lines at the end of the glacier were those of stratification? and was told ‘ un- doubtedly.’ “On our return to the ‘ Cabane,’ I pointed out the structure very well marked, at some distance from the moraines, and, on cross questioning Agassiz, saw that he was far from satisfied with his theory. «JT have thus abundant evidence, independent of your ample testimony, to shew, that, at the date I have mentioned, my friend Agassiz was un- aware of the general occurrence of the ribboned structure, through the mass of glaciers; and, in writing to him some days ago, mentioned my conviction that the discovery, certainly the most important of the recent ones, was due to you. J shall be glad to find that, as I believe is the case, M. Desor alone, and not M. Agassiz, could call it in question.” The “stratification” alluded to at the close of the first pa- ragraph of the preceding letter, refers to the twisted planes of structure which I have described in my paper, and which are, in fact, continuous with the veins which, throughout the greater mass of the glacier, run parallel to its sides, when these sides are steep and continuous. The complex form of the surfaces of the shells into which a glacier is divided by these bands of compact and friable ice, I was first able to dis- cover, during a visit to the glacier of the Rhone on the 23d August 1842. I was accompanied by Mr Heath, and Mr Cal- verley Trevelyan, but not by M. Agassiz or any of his party. In the course of a very careful examination of the glacier, | succeeded in satisfying myself completely of the conoidal form of the veined surface, and in explaining the apparent frontal 140 Professor Forbes on the First Discovery of the stratification, which I have since confirmed in every point.* On our return to the Grimsel, I explained my views to M. Agassiz, who copied the sketch I had made, which corres- ponds exactly to that in the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, January 1842, p. 89. A month later, I explained this sys- tem of curves of structure of the glacier of the Rhone to M. Studer at Berne. His penetration immediately perceived its importance, and he expressed great satisfaction at the insulated fact which I had pointed out to him on the glacier of the Aar being thus generalized.| We both agreed that its explana- tion must involve, ina good measure, the true theory of gla- ciers. Ina letter to Professor Bronn of Heidelberg, dated Ist October 1841, a week after I had quitted Berne, M. Stu- der gives an accurate account of my observations, being the first publication on the subject.{ IND I now come to state shortly the circumstances which led to the publication of my paper describing this new structure of glacier ice ; and about which there seems to have prevailed a misapprehension which I am anxious to remove. It has been supposed that I resisted every offer to take a share in a joint publication of the proceedings of the summer, in order to bring forth a separate notice of the structure which I had observed ; that even whilst in Switzerland, I contem- plated such a separate publication ; and having reached Eng- land, hastened to anticipate M. Agassiz. The facts are precisely the reverse. The idea of publish- * See Letters to Professor Jameson in this Journal for October 1842, p. 346. t M. Studer, after quitting the glacier of the Aar, had recognized the structure on several others in the canton of Vallais. I should add that I pointed out the veined structure to M. Agassiz on the glacier of Gauli, in the Urbachthal, on the 20th August, and it was afterwards noticed by both of us on the Oberaar glacier, and that of Aletsch. So that no reasonable doubt re- mained, at least, on my mind, that, having been observed on no less than five contiguous glaciers, it was a general and not a particular phenomenon. This meets M. Agassiz’ statement, that I not only “ erroneously claimed the discovery,” but “ assigned to it a generality which the facts observed by my- self did not at all justify.”—Ld. Phil. Jour., p. 265. t Leonhard’s Jahrbuch, 1841. kiddin! Sew Phitos.Sou Tol ANNM Tale IL lage 140 PLAN OF NG & BRASS WHEEL SECTION RULER, PINION & RACK. S Leith Lithog "Kdin” Drawn by Sames bry son hesestant oint,® to M. Orres. urnal, S Sys- to M, ed its lated e Aar lana- ; gla- dated Stu- x thie h led cture ailed ke a mer, hich tem- ang- lish- ga kite 2! Selo Philos. Journal Drawn by Samesbryson Assistant te M’ Buchanan, DRAWINGS of. HZ Buchanan's PROTRACTING TA BLE | PERSPECTIVE VIEW Til ANAM MlateV age 140 PLAN OF FRAMING & BRASS WHEEL SECTION Zi PARALLEL RULER, PINION & RACK. Seale for Section 2 ¢ FF 6 F F&F 9 LN 12 kes = = pee ~~ = Scale for Pan i o e t 2 J Feet = ~ SS a — Steiths Lithag Fidin™ real Structure of Glacier Ice. 141 ing cither this or any original observation of my own, ona subject so new and so unexpectedly difficult as I found the glacier theory to be, had certainly not entered my imagination during any part of my stay abroad. Paes aki soma al ea bl [Pe red +H F o8'6e | 8T | 99 [SL S$] 96T €1¢| tor | 62] 21 | 22 RS = a= Mahe ML end | A te Sch Pence PB ae & te |—|ot |r | 1% o9i—lelel|s jt \—i — le [etl e | —}—] | —] sca 2 (E IE [soameoea S les f—|6 |e | A glolsiéeiatao had se) Del's | )6)—) | — 09 | 6 eee eee RS Ore) Ps) eye siotle le St lai 112i—li | si] tie) o| tar) tT) 9) ow I aeiro > ee 1 54S. 1 =| S ra ee eA sO a Ge a eS (a requieydag S 109 1S} = i= 1 ee e968 (801 oD Re eS Oe ee ee ne ee p~~gondny ~~ aes Gal 0G 9 at det S00) at 9 4 Sd dob Be LE 7) | 8 al ee | ao Ae S S60 |r| = | eI azuizie|z\i(—l@iLiwi—| Fit iis|s|s|—je it] rics 4 Lime, . : 2 . - 0.53 0.14 i Potash, . : 2 5 . 0.46 Pee rg, ik i eid AS tee 5.80 5.14 1 99.77 Hence the formula is 4 Mg S + Aq, and the Villarsite is to be re- garded as a monosilicate of magnesia. Except that it contains water, this newly discovered substance has the same composition as cryso- lite; but, while the proportion of water is too large to admit of its presence being regarded as accidental, the external, crystallographic, and chemical characters are opposed to its being united with that species. The Villarsite furnishes a new example of a mineral as- sociated with Plutonic crystalline products containing water of crys- tallisation. M. Dufrenoy remarks, that we are already in possession of analyses which prove the presence of water in rocks evidently vol- canic, and hence concludes, that it is not necessary to have recourse to the theory of infiltrations for the explanation of the occurrence of zeolites in basalts, trachytes, and even in traps. 23, Xenolite.—This new mineral is so named from its not belong- ing to the locality where it is found. It occurs along with Wérth- ite, near Peterhoff, in boulders, which are probably derived from Fin- land. It is crystallized in prisms, united together in very delicate fibrous masses. On being separated, the fibres are found to be three-sided prisms, in which two of the sides form an angle of 45° 38’, and the third seems to be at right angles to one of the others. There is a terminal plane. Hardness = that of quartz. Sp. gr. = 3.58. It is colourless, but occasionally presents greyish or yellowish portions. Translucent. Fracture uneven, granular. Lustre vitreous, and, on the more distinct cleavages, pearly, Gives no water before the blowpipe. Infusible in fragments and in powder. Fusible with diffi- culty, along with borax and phosphate of soda. According to an analy- sis by M. Komonen, this mineral consists of silica 47.44, and alumina (with a little oxide of iron) 52.54 = 99.98. (Poggendorff’s Annal. ° 1842, No. 8, from paper by Nordenskiéld in the Act. Soc. Scient. Fennicer, vol. i. p. 372.) 24, Sulphuric and Molybdic Acids—Dyr Thomas Anderson of Leith has lately made some experiments on the relations of these two acids. The molybdie acid dissolves in the sulphuric, but the combination cannot be made to crystallize by evaporation. How- ever, on decomposing mmvlybdate of baryta with an excess of sulphuric 186 = Scientific Lntelligence—Mineralogy and Chemistry. acid, and evaporating the solution over sulphuric acid, a crystallized compound is obtained, which, according to the analysis of Anderson, consists of sulphuric acid 57.3, molybdic acid 32.8, water and loss 9.9. Two isomeric modifications seem to be indicated.—( Berzelius’ Jahres- Bericht, 1842.) 25. Calcareous Rocks pierced by Helices—M. Constant Prévost exhibited to the Société Philomatique de Paris, numerous speci- mens of a very compact grey limestone, which appeared to him to have been deeply perforated by Helices. He collected these speci- mens himself, in 1831, on Donte Pelegrino, near Palermo, at an elevation of about 200 metres above the level of the sea. He at first supposed that the perforations were the work of marine litho- phagous mollusca, and that they indicated one of the levels of the sea at a remote period ; but the irregular and sinuated form of the cavities,—their depth (extending to 12 and 15 centimetres),—their dimensions (being from 4 or 5 millimetres to 4 centimetres in breadth),— and above all, the presence of a Helix of different ages, belonging to the same species, and each individual lodged in a cavity exactly proportioned to the dimensions of the shell,—led him to the belief that the Helices had themselves scooped out their abode. The difficulty, however, of understanding how they could accomplish this, made him hesitate in announcing publicly the fact he had observed, until new facts, and more direct and positive observations, had con- firmed his opinion. He carefully collected fragments of the perfo- rated rock, and the Helices which inhabited it. In 1839, when the Geological Society of France met at Boulogne- sur-mer, M. Constant Prévost, along with Messrs Buckland and Greenough, who attended the meeting, discovered perforations pre- cisely analogous to those of Palermo in an equally hard limestone in the neighbourhood of Boulogne (the mountain limestone), and Dr Buckland, on breaking the perforated rock, found many Helices at the bottom of the cavities. This new instance, although strenothening the presumption aris- ing from the fact observed at Palermo, did not yet definitely settle the question—Had the Helices pierced the stone, or had they merely taken advantage of the old perforations of marine lithophagous mol- luses, and converted them into a residence? At the meeting of the British Association at Plymouth, in 1841, Dr Buckland remarked, in reference to a Memoir by Mr Walker, on the destructive action of Pholades, that all the perforations observed in calcareous rocks are not necessarily the work of marine molluscs, and he mentioned Helices as likewise perforating stones, supporting this assertion by the observation made at Boulogne in 1839, and even adding that Mr Scientific Intelliyence—Mineralogy and Chemistry. 187 Greenough had positively ascertained the action of the Helix aspersa on limestone. To the facts above narrated, and the authorities just cited, M. Constant Prévost adds a circumstance which appears to him to con- firm his first idea, and to render it unquestionable that the Helices have themselves scooped out the long canals at the bottom of which we find them. He pointed out the fact, in one of the specimens presented to the Society, that the bottom of one of the largest ca- vities presented an exact counterpart to the form of the Helix which lodged in it: a small projection corresponds exactly to the depres- sion at the origin of the column, and, by taking an impression of the cavity in plaster, he obtained a relief which in no respect differed from that of the base of the shell. The Helix found at Boulogne-sur-mer was the common H. aspersa. That observed at Monte Pelegrino seemed to be a very remarkable variety of that species, at least it is so regarded by Rosmaesler, who has figured it under that name in his Tconographia of Land and Fresh-water Shells, pl. xxii. It is the Helix described and figured as distinct, under the name of Hilie Mazzuli by Zau and Phillipi, and under that of H. Retirugis by Menke. The same Helix, now found alive in the vicinity of Palermo, is met with in a fossil state in the marine tertiary deposits which surround the base of Monte Pelegrino. M. Constant Prévost further remarked, that it is by maceration, or by chemical action, and not by a mechanical action, that the Helix corrodes the stone. In fact, the compact limestone of Monte Pelegrino, which is a little argillaceous and bituminous, is traversed in every direction by numerous veins of crystalline limestone ; these more resisting parts are seen projecting like a kind of net-work on the interior walls of the cavities, which could not have taken place if the calcareous matter had been re- moved by friction. M. Constant Prévost terminates his communication by shewing how important it is that geologists should not confound the perfora- tions which may have been produced in rocks by marine molluses with those of Helices, since the former, observed at the present time on very elevated parts of continents, indicate ancient levels of the sea, or the relative elevations of the ground, whereas the perforations of the Helex indicate nothing of that nature—From L’Institut., April 1842, p. 132. 26. On the residuum of the Combustion of the Diamond, by M. Petzholdt.—By repeating the experiments of Messrs Dumas and Stass, in order to determine the atomic weight of carbon by the com- 183 Scientific Iutell'gence—Mineralogy and Chemistry. bustion of the diamond, Messrs Erdmann and Marchand have ob- tained, like these chemists, a residuum of very small volume, scarcely perceptible in the case of small diamonds, and which consisted of a reddish substance, the parts of which sometimes presented a brilliant surface, and seemed as if they had been already formed and enclosed in the fissures of the burnt mineral. M. Petzholdt found that this residuum (which was not more than 0.0072 gram. in a diamond of 5.6344), consisted principally of a great number of small plates or scales, among which were found mingled, but very rarely, softer and more rounded parts. Under the microscope these bodies ap- peared some of them black and not transparent, others like- wise black, but passing into brown, and a little transparent ; others also were transparent, light brown, passing into yellow, and, finally, some were yellow or white. With regard to their internal structure, as far at least as it was disclosed by the micro- scope, it appeared to differ in an equal degree, particularly in such as were transparent and semi-transparent; generally it ap- peared granular in those that were transparent and white, radi- ated or plicate in the yellow. Sometimes black masses, similar to grains, might be observed here and there in the substance of the transparent splinters, as well as in the leaflets, which gave these portions a brownish aspect when they were looked at with the naked eye. The most interesting circumstance of all is, that ia a great number of these bodies, we distinctly perceive a delicate net-work, black or deep brown, with hexagonal meshes, many of which often run into each other, and bear an absolute resemblance to those which the researches of the microscope discover in the parenchyma of plants. Sometimes this net-work appears to dis- solve, or rather to have been affected in such a way that its con- tours appear to become confounded and disappear, while in the other parts of the same body it was perfectly entire. These observations give rise to the conjecture, that this net- work, and the black substances which accompany it, are nothing more than the debris of vegetable carbon, the combustion of which could not take place simultaneously with that of the diamond, because they were surrounded by bodies incapable of burning. The analysis of this residuum by means of the blowpipe for sale, shews that it consists of silica, with traces of iron. On examining the diamonds of commerce at Dresden, and those of the mineralogical collection at the Royal Museum, M. Petzhold has again found among many of them the same plates or scales, and, in the middle of one of them, a small brown, transparent, triangular leaflet, in which he remarked one of these Scientific Intelligence—Miscellaneous. 189 reticulations in question, although already in a state of dissolution. This seems to confirm the opinion of Messrs Erdmann and Mar- chand, that these bodies are all formed in the fissures of the diamond in which they are enclosed, and it tends to support the notions which M. Liebig has expressed in his Organic Chemistry, respecting the constitution of the diamond.—From L’Institut., 21st July 1842, p. 260. MISCELLANEOUS, 27. Indian Isinglass—Isinglass, as is well known, is manufactured from the swimming-bladders or sownds of certain fish. Of these the large sturgeon, caught in several rivers of Russia, furnishes the best, or is the best prepared; selling by wholesale at 10s. to 12s. the pound, whilst the Brazilian or North American only fetches from 2s. bd. to 3s. 6d., and there are inferior qualities realizing no more than 9d. The value of this seemingly trifling article to Russia may be inferred from the annual imports into England, which vary from 1800 to 2000 hundredweight. After an occupation of Calcutta of more than a century, and a territorial possession of Bengal of eighty years, an individual, writing anonymously in a periodical, acquainted the Indian public with the nov.1 facts, not merely that the waters of India produced in plenty fishes that would furnish isinglass, but that a trade in this commodity had long been carried on (it turns out from time immemorial) between the Indian fishermen and the Chinese, whe, not satisfied with the products of the Ganges, ransacked the whole of the archipelago for parts of fish yielding isinglass, or a gelatinous substance very much akin to it. They have extended their re- searches even to Bombay ; whence upwards of 5000 hundredweight of “shark fins and fish maws” were exported to China in'1837-88 ; fish maws, though known by name, being quite unknown in their nature till Dr Royle, after great difficulty, obtained specimens through the house of Forbes and Co, “ On examination, these proved to be composed of a sack-like membrane, which had been split open, of a light colour, and semi-transparent, resembling the ordinary qualities of isinglass in appearance.” It is also said that the Chinese, after exporting the roughly-cured Ganges isin- glass, refine some of it, and reimport it at a large profit. Attention has also been paid to the isinglass itself, specimens of which have been forwarded to Europe, some prepared under the inspection of Mr M‘Cleland, of the Bengal medical service. The less scientifically-prepared samples were valued at Is. 8d. and 4s. per pound; that prepared under the inspection of Mr M Cleland, of the Bengal medical service, produecd Is. 7d.; the 190 Seientific Intelligence—Miscellaneous. mere cost of which, in India, including the purchase and prepa- ration, was only Is. 1d. per pound ; but subsequent expenses, and duties of various kinds, rendered the whole cost threefold the amount realized by the sale. Subjected to scientific analysis, the Indian isinglass differs but little from the Russian. It is of so much less market value, partly because it is new and the supply uncertain ; partly from the form in which it has been brought to England, which is favourable to adulteration ; but chiefly from the want of care in the preparation, an unpleasant fishy smell remaining, which renders it impossible to bring it into use here for culinary purposes. Some importations, however, have taken place, nor is the article now unknown to the London brokers; so that there is every prospect of a new and profitable source of com- merce being opened to India, if care and capital be applied to the preparation of the isinglass. 28. Ancient Fable of Colossal Ants producing Gold.*—One pas- sage will satisfactorily explain the extravagant fable related by the Greeks, and repeated by travellers in the middle ages, of ants as big as foxes, who produc» gold. The passage states, that the tribes of various names who dwell between the Meru and Man- dara Mountains, brought lumps of gold, of the sort called paip- pilika, or ant gold,—so named, because it was dug out by the com- mon large ant or pipilika, It was, in fact, believed that the native gold found on the surface of some of the auriferous deserts of northern India had been laid bare by the action of these insects ;—an idea by no means irrational, although erroneous, but which grew up, in its progress westward, into a mon- strous absurdity. The native country of these tribes is that de- sciibed by the Greeks, the mountains between Hindoostan and Thibet; and the names given are those of barbarous races still found in those localities. 29. On the Transformations which have beenproduced in Turf by the Essence of Turpentine, or by a composition isomeric with it. By M. Forchhammer.—Extensive researches have demonstrated that Denmark was formerly covered with a forest of firs, and that this vegetation had already disappeared at a period so remote, that there remains no historical or traditional trace of it. The stems and roots of magnificent firs are now found in the greater part of the peat-bogs of the country; and M. Steenstrup has recently discovered in these some crystals, which have such a resemblance * From a paper read to the Royal Asiatic Society, by Professor Wilson, “ On a portion of the Mahabharata,” &c. seientific Tntelligence— Miscellaneous. 191 to the scheererite of Uznach, in Switzerland, that they were at first taken for that mineral substance. M. Forchhammer, who has studied these crystals, has found that they are composed of two substances, to one of which he gives the name of Tecorctine, on ac- count of the facility with which it enters into a state of fusion ; to the other, that of Phylloretine, because it crystallizes in fine leaflets. ‘These two substances may be separated, by dissolving the crystals in boiling alcohol.—From L’Institut., June 16, 1842, p. 217. 30. On the Preservation of Flowers.—To preserve flowers fresh. It is now, alas! a long eighteen years ago since we first saw, in the drawing-room of a gentleman now no more, in the hot, dry weather of the dog-days, flowers preserved day after day in all their freshness by the following simple contrivance :—A flat dish of porcelain had water poured into it; in the water a vase of flowers was set; over the whole a bell-glass was placed, with its rim in the water. This was a “Ward’s case” in principle, although different in its construction. The air that surrounded the flowers, being confined beneath the bell-glass, was censtantly moist with the water that rose into it in the form of vapour. As fast as the water was condensed, it ran down the sides of the bell-glass into the dish ; and if means had been taken to enclose the water on the outside of the bell glass, so as to prevent its evaporating into the air of the sitting-room, the atmosphere around the flowers would have remained continually damp. What is the explanation of this? Do the flowers feed on the viewless vapour that surrounds them? Perhaps they do; but the great cause of their preserving their freshness, is to be sought in another fact. When flowers are brought into a sitting-room they fade, because of the dryness of the air. The air of a sitting-room is usually something drier than that of the garden, and always much more so than that of a good green-house or stove. Flowers, when gathered, are cut off from the supply of moisture collected for them by their roots, and their mutilated stems are far from. having so great a power of sucking up fluids as the roots have. If, then, with diminished powers of feeding, they are exposed to augmented perspiration, as is the case in a dry sitting-room, it is evident that the balance of gain on the one hand by the roots, and of loss on the other hand by their whole surface, cannot be maintained. The result can only be their destruction. Now, to place them in a damp atmosphere, is to restore this balance ; because, if their power of sucking by their wounded ends is diminished, so is their power of perspiring ; for a damp atmos- 192 Scientific Intelligence—Miscellancous. phere will rob them of no water. Hence they maintain their freshness. The only difference between plants in a ‘ Ward's case,”’ and flowers in the little apparatus just described, is this— that the former is intended for plants to grow in for a consider- able space of time, while the latter is merely for their preservation . for a few days; and that the air which surrounds the flowers is always charged with the same quantity of vapour, but will vary with the circumstances, and at the will of him who has the management of it. We recommend those who love to see plenty of fresh flowers in their sitting-rooms in dry weather, to procure it. The experiment can be tried by inserting a tumbler over a rosebud in a saucer of water.—Gardeners’ Chronicle. NEW PUBLICATIONS. We have received among others the following works, which we recommend to the attention of our readers :— 1, W. E. Redfield on Whirlwind Storms ; with replies to the Objec- tions and Strictures of Dr Hare. New York. 1842. 2. An Introduction to Entomology, or Elements of the Natural His- tory of Insects; by Messrs Kirby and Spence. Two volumes 8vo. Long- man, Brown, Green, and Longmans, London. 1848. The sixth edition of these admirable volumes. 8. Descriptive and Historical account of Hydraulic and other machines for raising water, ancient and modern ; including the progressive deve- lopment of the Steam Engine ; by Thomas Ewbank. Illustrated by nearly three hundred Engravings. One volume 8vo, pp. 582. Tilt and Bogue, Fleet Street, London. 1842. The English edition of a valuable, very in- teresting, and amusing work. 4, Nomenclator Zoologicus, continens Nomina Systematica Genera Animalium, Tam viventium quam Fossilium ; auctore Ju. Agassiz. Fas- ciculus II. continens Aves. Solodur, 1842. This work, when finished, will become indispensable to every naturalist. 5. Sketch of the Geology of Moray ; by Patrick Duff, Esq. 8vo. With Plates. Forsyth and Young, Elgin. A lucid geological account of a small but interesting district. G6. On the Voltaic Cireuit ; by Alfred Smee, F.R.S. 7. Popular Conchology, or the Shell Cabinet arranged, being an Intro- duction to the modern System of Conchology; by Agnes Catlow. Il- lustrated by figures of all the genera. Small 8yvo., pp. 800. Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, London. 4 pleasant, useful, and well il- lustrated volume. 8. The employment of the Microscope in Medical Studies ; by Jolin Hughes Bennet, M.D., Lecturer on Clinical Medicine, &c. Maclachlan New Publications. 1938 and Stewart, Edinburgh. An interesting discourse on a very popular sub- ject. 9. Memoire sur les Kaolins ou Argiles a Porcelaine; par MM. Alex- andre Brongniart et Malaguti. 4to. Paris, 1841. The most philosophical essay on the Porcelain Earth we have met with. 10. Rede zum Andenken an Dr Ignaz Déllinger; von Dr Fr. vy. Wal- ther. Miinchen. 4to. 1841. An excellent biography of a distinguished physiologist. 11. On the Fossils of the Mountain Limestone in Jreland, as compared with those of Great Britain; by R. Griffith, F.R.S.E., &ce. 4to. A valu- able geological document. 12. Recherches sur certaines circonstances qui influent sur la Tempera- ture du point d’ebuillition des liquides ; par W. F. Marcet. 4to. 1842. 13. Elements of Electro-Metallurgy ; by Alfred Smee, F.R.S. Parts 4,5,6,7. Palmer, London. A work now nearly completed, the best on Electro-Metallurgy in our language. 14. Ninth Annual Report of the Royal Cornwall Polytechnic Society. 184]. J. Trathan, Falmouth. The record of the ninth Session of a very useful association. 15. What to Teach, and how to Teach, &c.; by H. Mayhew. 8vo- William Smith, London. 16. American Repertory of Arts, Sciences, and Manufactures. 1841. New York. 17. Proceedings of the American Academy of Sciences of Philadelphia, 1842. 18. Report of a Committee appointed by the British Association “ to consider the rules by which the Nomenclature of Zoology may be estab- lished on a uniform and permanent basis.” 1842. 19. Experimental Inquiry into the advantages attending the use of Cylindrical Wheels on Railways; by W. J. Macquorn Rankine, Esq., Civil Engineer. R. Grant andSons, Edinburgh. The first publication of a young and promising engineer. 20. Memoir of William Maclure, Esq., late President of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia ; by S. G. Morton, M.D. Philadel- phia, 1841. Vhe biography of an excellent man and active geologist. 21. Boston Journal of Natural History. Boston. 22. Professor Silliman’s Address before the Association of American Geologists and Naturalists. Held in Boston, April 25-80, 1842. The best view of the present state of geoloyy in America. 23. Zoology of the voyage of H.M.S. Beagle. Edited by Charles Darwin, Esq., F.R.S. Part V. Reptiles by Thomas Bell, Esq., F.R.S. No. 1. 24, Illustrations of the Zoology of Southern Africa ; by Andrew Smith, M.D., No. 16. 25. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 26. Report of Mr Owen’s Monograph on the Aptervx Australis. 27. The Maryland Medical Journal. VOL. XXXIV. NO. LXvit —JANU_ ky 1843. N 194) List of Patents granted for Scotland from 26th September to 22d December 1842. 1. To Cartes Wittram Fircuiup, of Wesley Park, in the parish of Northfield, in the county of Worcester, farmer, “ an improved propelling apparatus for marine and other purposes.”—26th September 1842. 2. To Epwix Warp Trent of Old Ford Bow, in the county of Middle- sex, rope-maker, “an improved mode of preparing oakum and other fibrous substances for caulking ships and other vessels.” —29th September 1842. 3. To Perer Kacensuscn, of Wetter on Rhur, in Westphalia, in the king- dom of Prussia, dycr, now residing in the parish of Lyth, in the county of York, in England, “ certain improvements in the treatment of the alum rock or schist, and in the manufacture and application of the products derived therefrom.”—29th September 1842. 4, 'To Henry Bewrey, of Dublin, in the county of the city of Dublin, licentiate apothecary and chemist, “an improved chalybeate water.”—4ith October 1842. 5. To Atrrep Jerrenry, of Lloyd’s Street, Pentonville, in the county of Middlesex, gentleman, “a new method of preparing masts, spars, and other wood for ship-building and other purposes.”—18th October 1842. 6. To CLaupE Epwarp Deutscue, of Fricour’s Hotel, St Martin’s Lane, in the county of Middlesex, gentleman, beinga communication from abroad, “jmprovements in combining materials to be used for cementing purposes, and for the preventing the passage of fluids, and also for forming articles from such composition of materials.”—18th October 1842. 7. To Joun Ripspate of Leeds, in the connty of York, “ improvements in preparing fibrous materials for weaving, and in sizing warps,”"—20th October 1842. 8. To Samurt Carson, of York Street, Covent Garden, in the county of Middlesex, gentleman, “ improvements in purifying and preserving animal substances.”—20th October 1842. 9. To Henry Brown, of Selkirk, manufacturer, and Toomas Watrker,of the same place, manufacturer, “ improvements on woollen-carding engines.” —20th October 1842. 10. To ALPHONSE DE Trotssprioux, of Great Russel Street, Bloomsbury, in the county of Middlesex, gentleman, being a communication from abroad, “improvements in lithographic and other printing presses.”—20th October 1642. 11. To Joun Vary, of Colne, inthe county of Lancaster, engineer, and Epmonson Vanrzey of the same place, cotton-manufacturer, “ certain im- provements in steam-engines.”—26th October 1842. 12. To James Hype of Duckenfield, Cheshire, mechanic, and Joun HypE of the same place, cotton-spinner and manufacturer, “ a certain improvement or improvements in the machinery used for preparing cotton, wool, silk, flax and similar fibrous material fer spinning cotton.”—3d November 1842. _— ——s List of Patents. 195 13, To Joux Cray, ef Cottingham, in the esunty of Yerk, gentleman, and Freperick Rosengore of Sculcoates, in the county of York, gentleman, “improvements in arranging and setting up types for printing.”—3d No- vember 1842. 14. To James Pitsrow, of Tottenham Green, in the county of Middlesex, engineer, “ certain improvements in the application of steam, air, and cther vapours and gaseous agents to the production of motive power, and in the machinery by which the same is effected”’—7th November 1642. 15. To Francis Roupitiac Conver, of Highgate, in the county of Middlesex, civil-engincer, being a communication from abroad, “ improve- ments in the cutting and shaping of wood, and in the machinery for that purpose.”—9th November 1842. 16. To Joux M:tcuerz, of Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, steel- pen manufacturer, “a certain imprevement in the manufacture of metallic pens, and a certain improvement in the manufacture of penholders.”—11th November 1642. 17. To Henry Cranks, of Drogheda, in the county of Louth, in the king- dom of Ireland, linen merchant, “ improvements in machinery for lapping and folding all descriptions of fabrics, whether woven by hand or power.”— 17th November 1842. 18. To Joun Spinks, the younger of John Street, Bedford Row, in the county of Middlesex, gentleman, “an improved apparatus for giving elas- ticity to certain parts of railways, and other carriages requiring the same,” being a communication from abroad.—2I1st November 1842. 19. To Tuomas Wriatey, of Bridge Hall Mills, Bury, Lancaster, paper manufacturer, “ certain improvements in machinery for manufacturing paper.”—28th November 1842. £0. To Witti1am Corey Jones of Vauxhall Walk, in the parish of Lam- beth, in the county of Surrey, chemist, ‘improvements in treating or ope- rating upon a certain unctuous substance, in order to obtain products there- from, for the manufacture of candles and other purposes.”—7th December 1842. 21. To Cuarntes MauricE Evizer Saurter, of Austin Friars, in the city of London, gentleman, being a communication frem abroad, “ improvements in the manufacture of sulphuric acid.”—7th December 1842. 22. To Don Pepro Poucuant, of Glasgow, civil-engineer, “a certain im- provement or improvements in the construction of machinery for manufac- turing sugar.”—7th December 1842, 23. To Cuartes Hearp Witp of Birmingham, in the county of War- wick, engineer, “an improved switch for railway purposes.”’—7th Decem- ber 1842. 24. To Joun Brownz, of Charlotte Street, Portland Place, in the county of Middlesex, Esquire, “ improvements in the manufacture of mud-boots and overalls.’—7th December 1842. 25. To Witutam CoLey Jones of Vauxhall Terrace, in the county of 196 List of Patents. Surrey, practical chemist, and Grorer Ferausson Witson of Vauxhall, in the same-county, gentleman, “improvements in operating upon certain organic bodies or substances, in order to obtain products or materials there- from, for the manufacture of candles and other purposes.”—7th December 1842. 26. To WitLi1aM Losu, of Newcastle-on-Tyne, Esquire, “ improvements in the construction of wheels for carriages-and locomotive engines intended to be employed on railways.”—9th December 1842. 27. To Tuomas CarpweE Lt of Bombay, in the East Indies, merchant, “improvements in the construction of presses for compressing cotton and other articles.”—9th December 1842. 28. To CuarLEs Aucustus PRELLER, of East Cheap, in the City of Lon- don, merchant, being a communication from abroad, “improvements in ma- chinery for preparing, combing, and drawing wool and goat’s hair.”—9th December 1642. 29. To Tuomas SEvIL1E, of Royton, in the county of Lancaster, cotton- spinner, “certain improvements in machinery used in the preparing and spinning of cotton, flax, and other fibrous substances.’”’—9th December 1842. 30: To WiLLiam Youne of Queen Street, in the city of London, lamp- maker, “improvements in lamps and candlesticks.”—12th December 1842. 31. To Georce Epmunp DonistHorpe, of Bradford, in the county of York, top-manufacturer, “ improvements in combing and drawing wool and certain descriptions of hair.”—12th December 1842, 32. To Joun Bisyopr of Poland Street, in the county of Middlesex, jew- eller, “improvements in apparatus used for retarding carriages on railways, parts of which are applicable for portioning power, and improvements in steam-cocks or plugs.”—12th December 1842. 33. To IsHam Baaas, of Wharton Street, in the county of Middlesex, chemist, “improvements in the production of light.”—13th December 1842. 34. To Gasriet Hiprortite Moreau, of Leicester Square, in the county of Middlesex, gentleman, “ certain improvements in steam-generators.”— 13th December 1842. 35. To Joun GeEorGE Bopmer of Manchester, in the county of Lancas- ter, engineer, “ certain improvements in the manufacture of metallic hoops and tyres for wheels, and in the method of fixing the same for use, and also improvements in the machinery or apparatus to be employed therein,”— 19th December 1842. 36. To Witit1amM Lomas of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, worsted-spinner, and Isaac SHIMWELL, of the same place, worsted-spinner, “ certain improvements in the manufacture of fringes, cords, and other simi- lar small wares; and also in the machinery or apparatus for producing the same.”—21st December 1842. 37. To Moses Poote of Lincoln’s Inn, in the county of Middlesex, gen- tleman, being a communication from abroad, “ improyements in dressing mill-stones.”—-22d December 1842. 38. To Witt1AM PatmeEr of Sutton Street, Clerkenwell, in the county of Middlesex, manufacturer, “ improvements in the manufacture of candles.” —22d December 1842. THE EDINBURGH NEW PHILOSOPHICAL JOURNAL. 4 Sketch of the Writings and Philosophical Character of Augus- tin Pyramus Decandolle, Professor of Natural History at the Academy of Geneva, &c. &c.* By Cuartes Dauseny, M.D., F.R.S., &c., Professor of Chemistry and of Botany in the University of Oxford. Communicated to this Journal by the Author. Tur name of Decandolle is, I conceive, familiar to the ears _ of most persons of education, as that of an individual eminent in the ranks of modern naturalists—holding a place amongst botanists of the age which has just gone by, similar to that which Linnzus and Tournefort might have filled at an ante- cedent epoch, or which Brown and Hooker occupy in the present. But I question, nevertheless, whether those I now address are in general acquainted with the peculiar grounds upon which his scientific reputation is based, and whether they may not regard him simply as one of those individuals who signalized themselves in their day, either by the discovery of new plants, or by their extensive acquaintance with those which the researches of others had already brought to light. Were such the case, I certainly should not have chosen for the subject of a communication to the Ashmolean Society a topic like the present ; for although prompted to the task * Read before the Ashmolean Society of Oxford, February 13, 1843. VOL, XXXIV. NO, LXYII.—=APRIL 1843, 0 198 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and now entered upon by a sense of the obligations I owe to this great botanist, not only in common with all who have studied his works, but also more particularly for many acts of per- sonal kindness, and much information liberally afforded me during my former residence at Geneva; yet I should despair of being able to interest you in my delineation of his scientific character, if accuracy of observation, and a retentive memory, applied to the subject-matter of botany, had constituted the only traits by which he stood remarkable amongst his fellows. But I flatter myself, that a sketch of his several contribu- tions to science, and of the qualities of mind displayed in his mode of handling the subjects they embrace, will possess some interest, not only as it ‘may lead to a higher estimate of the branch of natural history to which they relate, but also because it will enable you to trace the steps by which a great mind was enabled to ascend to many important gene- ral principles, not by mere happy guesses at truth, but by a gradual and laborious accumulation of facts—a power of as- Similating, as it were, and combining into an harmonious whole, the discoveries of other men, together with a singular sagacity in deducing conclusions from the data he had thus collected. Augustin Pyramus Decandolle was born at Geneva in the year 1778, within a month, it has been remarked, of the death of Linneeus.* He was distinguished from his infancy by a most retentive memory,t and by a fondness and aptitude for study ; but it is remarkable, that his earliest tastes were ex- clusively literary, and that he had acquired in his boyhood a great facility in composing verses, which, indeed, he re- tained ever afterwards, though I am not aware of any poetry having been published under hisname. To these literary oc- cupations of his youth, antecedent to his devotion to natural history, I should be disposed to attribute, the purity of his language, the remarkable clearness and sustained energy of * Also, as Flourens states, two months after the death of Haller, and three months after that of Bernard de Jussieu. t He has been known to repeat every word of a copy of verses after hear- ing them once recited. Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 199 his style, and the absence at once of those affectations, and those involved periods, which too often disgust or embarrass us in the writings of other men of science. Those who have perused the works of the late Sir John Leslie, or of the still more celebrated John Hunter, not to al- lude to men of less name and distinction, will be sensible, by the aid of contrast, how much the reception of scientific truths is promoted by the power which Monsieur Decandolle had acquired, from an early familiarity with the purest models of style, no less perhaps than from his own natural clearness of conception, of presenting before us, without study or pre- meditation, that copious flow of ideas with which his mind was fraught on all subjects connected with his favourite science, in language so perfectly precise, and in an order so completely methodical. At length, after he had in some measure satiated himself with the sweets of elegant literature, a love for botany ap- pears to have been awakened in his mind by an attendance on the lectures of Professor Vaucher* of Geneva, who lived long enough to have the satisfaction, at a later period, of see- ing his former pupil in undisputed possession of the fore- most rank amongst European naturalists. At the age of 18, in the year 1796, he went to Paris,t where a taste for physical science, which had been suspended for a while by the atrocities and by the vandalism of the Reyolu- tion, began to revive. Here he attended the lectures of Vauquelin, Cuvier, Four- croy, and others, and contracted a friendship with Desfon- taines and Lamarck. The former had, in 1787, established that important gene- * Flourens, in his Eloge of Decandolle, which has reached me since the present memoir was drawn up, attributes the awakening of a taste for bo- tany in the mind of Decandolle to another circumstance, namely, to his taking refuge, when a boy, with his mother and brother, whilst the French were besieging Geneva in 1792, in a village situated at the foot of the Jura, where he amused himself in collecting wild plants, The statement given in the text was taken from the sketch of Decandolle’slife given in the Fe- deral newspaper by a distinguished fellow-citizen of Geneva; and it seems probable that both causes may have contributed to give him this early bias. t At the suggestion of Dolomieu, according to Flourens. 200 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and ralization, with respect to the essential differences pervading plants with one cotyledon and with more, which I have ven- tured on a former occasion* to characterize ‘as the key- stone of the natural system, and as holding the same rank in botany, which the discovery of the circulation of the blood, or the distinction between vertebrated and invertebrated ani- mals, claims in zoology.” The latter had already promulgated those singular specu- lations respecting the origin of inorganic matters, intended by him to supersede the new chemistry, which Lavoisier had so recently founded on the basis of experiment. In these it had been assumed, that life was the original cause of all combinations, the antagonist to those natural forces, which tend to resolve the elements of matter into their simplest forms, and which bring about death in organic, and dissolution in inorganic substances. But although such immense effects were attributed to the operation of life, Lamarck had not yet explained to the public how he considered this principle to operate ; and it was only in 1802 that we find him, in his “researches on the organization of living bodies,’’ attributing to that blind im- pulse, or creative energy, which he denominates life, the power of building up, by an indefinite succession of efforts, the com- plicated organization of an animal or a plant. It is probable, however, that these theories were floating in his mind at the time when Decandolle’s intimacy with him commenced, and must have formed the subjects of frequent discussion, thus serving to render the latter familiar with those facts respecting abortive and rudimentary organs, on which the French Naturalist had raised this fanciful and airy superstructure. That a connexion with such persons as I have mentioned, should impart a bias to the genius and pursuits of a young man just entering into life, was unavoidable; but what may be remarked as the peculiar merit of Monsieur Decandolle was, that whilst we may trace in his writings the impress of those principles of science, which might be gleaned from the * See my Inaugural Lecture on the Study of Botany, Oxford, 1834, Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 201 writings of both the above mentioned philosophers, we shall find them in his writings expanded by more extensive infor- mation, and corrected by a sounder and severer judgment. Thus he adopted the distinction between monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous plants from Desfontaines, and the doctrine of abortive and rudimentary parts from Lamarck; but the former truth was exhibited by him, not in the form of the bare announcement of a great principle, but as the very foundation on which all his systems, both in physiological and descrip- tive botany, were based ; whilst the latter never became in his hands the pretext for any such chimerical and dangerous speculations, as were associated with them in the mind of their originator. The earliest publications, however, of a botanical kind in which Decandolle’s name figures, were calculated to display his power of accurately discriminating species, rather than the philosophical character of his genius. In 1802 he published the first part of the description of Succulent Plants, drawings of which were supplied by the ce- lebrated Redouté. He likewise, about the same time, drew up a description of the Liliacez for the same author, and published a folio volume on the Astragalus and its allied genera, In 1804 he obtained his degree of Doctor of Physic, and delivered on that occasion a thesis on the Medical Properties of Plants, which served as the basis of a work on that subject, brought out by him in 1816, shewing that he was already alive to the connexion that subsists between the natural structure of plants and their medicinal virtues. In the same year he delivered, at the College of France, his first course of lectures on the Principles of Botanical Ar- rangement, of which he has given a sketch in the introduc- tion to the Flore Frangaise published the following year. Although this essay may not have attracted all the atten- tion it deserved, in consequence of making part of a Flora, a kind of work in which persons in general do not look for prin- ciples of physiology ; yet it contributed in no slight degree to the establishment of correct principles of classification, and served as the basis of the Treatise which he published on this branch of the subject some years afterwards. 202 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and We thus see that the germs of two of his most important publications existed in the mind of M. Decandolle at an early period of his life, for in 1804, when he delivered his inau- gural dissertation, and gave his first course on Botany, he was only 26 years of age. The basis also of two other great undertakings was laid at a period not much later, for in 1805 commenced, as I have already stated, the publication of the third edition of the Flore Francaise, under the joint auspices of Lamarck and Decandolle ; and in 1806, we owe to the subject of this sketch a Botanical Chart, in which France is divided into six re- gions, distinguished by the character of their respective vege- tations, to which are appended some remarks on the geogra- phical distribution of plants, serving as a prelude to that more detailed exposition of the subject, which we shall find to have been given, in the year 1820, in the Dictionnaire des Sciences Naturelles. The former editions of the Flore Francaise, as Cuvier ob- serves,* had no pretensions to be considered as a complete history of the species of plants indigenous to France,—their aim was rather that of exemplifying, by means of the plants which former botanists had enumerated, the peculiar artifi- cial method of determining the name of a species, which La- marck had proposed as a substitute for the then popular one of Linnzus. This system consists in setting out with the most general forms, dividing and subdividing always by two, and only al- lowing the choice between two opposite characters, so as to conduct the reader, step by step, almost infallibly to the deter- mination of the plant of which he desires to discover the name. The services, therefore, which Decandolle rendered to Bo- tany by associating himself with Lamarck in the publication of the third edition, may be easily estimated by this cirecum- stance alone, that whereas the preceding Floras of France contained an enumeration of only 2700 plants, he had aug- mented the number, in the third edition of this work, to no less than 4700. * See Memoire of M..de Lamarck. Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 203 a This, however, was not all; for although, out of deference to his colleague, he retains, in the first portion of his work, the artificial method of determining a plant by the system of dichotomy which Lamarck had invented, he proceeds, in all the subsequent parts, to arrange them according to the prin- ciples of that natural arrangement which the great Jussieu had first reduced to a system. In his preface to the first volume of the Flore Francaise, published in 1805, we find him thus contrasting the distinc- tive merits of the natural and artificial methods. “ The natural method,” he says, “ endeavours to place each individual object in the midst of those with which it possesses the greatest number of important points of resemblance ; the artificial has no other end than that of enabling us to recog- nize each individual plant, and to isolate it from the rest of the vegetable kingdom. The former, being truly a science, will serve as an immutable foundation for anatomy and phy- siology to build upon; whilst the second, being a mere em- pirical art, may indeed offer some conveniences for practical purposes, but does nothing towards enlarging the boundaries of science, and places before us an indefinite number of arbi- trary arrangements. The former, searching merely after truth, has established its foundation on the organs that are of the greatest importance to the existence of plants, without con- sidering whether these organs are easy or difficult of observa- tion ; the second, aiming only at facility, bases its distinctions upon those which are most readily examined, and, therefore, present the greatest facilities for study.” We thus perceive, that at this early period the mind of Mons. Decandolle was impressed with those philosophical principles which his subsequent labours so materially calcu- lated to establish and to diffuse; and that, at a time when the school of Sir J. E. Smith in England was still shackled by the trammels of the Linnzean system, this great botanist was him- self taking advantage of those methods of arrangement, which, in a more mature form, he afterwards presented to the world for the guidance of others. But I am inclined to regard it as a peculiar proof, at once of the caution and of the self-control which formed a distin- 204 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and guishing feature in the character of this great botanist, that, so much in advance as he appears to have been of most of his cotemporaries, he should have nevertheless abstained for so many years from the publication of any work expressly designed for the elucidation, either of the physiology of plants, or of those principles of classification of which he appears to have had so clear a conception, and should have confined himself, as it would appear, exclusively to a laborious accumulation of facts, calculated to illustrate and to confirm his principles, be- fore he indulged himself in a fuller development of them. From the period at which he became associated with La- marck in the publication of the Flore Frangaise, till the year 1812, he was employed almost incessantly in studying the de- tails of the botany and agriculture of France ; and in the course of that time, as he himself assures us, traversed the whole of that extensive country, herborising in every province, and presenting each year to the Government a report, embodying the results of his labours and researches during the preceding summer. Nor could he have chosen a better method for at once en- larging his views of nature, and putting to the test the truths of his preconceived views ; the compilation of a local Flora, indeed, may only be serviceable in disciplining the mind to habits of accurate observation, but the survey of a country so large as France then was, combining such an extent of geo- graphical range, and so many differences of local position, would also expand our views of nature, by furnishing us with examples of a very large proportion of vegetable forms, speci- mens of the productions of a considerable variety of distinct countries. Thus, the flora of Picardy and Normandy is analogous to that of the neighbouring coasts of England, or of the Nether- lands, that of the centre of France approaches, in the charac- ter of its vegetation, to the south of Germany, and that of Languedoc to the north of Spain; whilst the neighbourhood of Toulon and of Hyéres partakes even of the climate of southern Italy—for the orange and the date, which thrive along many parts of the Gulf of Genoa, do not reappear till we reach a latitude somewhat more southern than that of Rome. Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 205 And whereas the Alps of Dauphiny and the Pyrenees exhibit the influence upon vegetation of an atmosphere rarified by the elevated nature of their position, the long extent of the coast may enable us to contrast the productions of a climate modi- fied by the effect of the sea, with that which belongs more pe- culiarly to the interior of continents. It was not till after the completion of this great work, when his authority, as an accurate, as well as a profound botanist, had been established throughout Europe, both by the estima- tion in which his publications were held, and also by the re- putation of the lectures he delivered at Montpellier, where, in 1810, he had been appointed professor of botany to the Uni- versity, that he ventured upon that admirable Treatise, which was intended, at once to establish a code of Jaws for directing future botanists in their description and arrangement of the species of plants, and to explain the philosophical principles upon which such laws were to be justified. It is far from my intention to ascribe to Mons. Decandolle the sole merit of the views which he promulgated in the work alluded to, for of all men certainly he is the one who least re- quires from his biographer the sacrifice of the reputation of other philosophers, to enhance the glory of his own. Linnezus himself, indeed, had expressed in the strongest terms his sense of the importance of a natural classification, and had thrown together the greater part of the then known genera of plants in groups or families, designated by their ap- propriate names, though without defining the characters of the latter. Bernard de Jussieu, in France, had also exemplified this method, by his arrangement of the plants in the royal garden at Trianon, although he did not reduce to writing the princi- ples on which he had proceeded. Adanson had gone somewhat further, by labouring to estab- lish the necessity of founding a system of classification, not on one, but on all the organs of a plant collectively; but he too stopped short of the mark, by not sufficiently appreciating the relative importance of the several organs, thus placing them all, as it were, upon the same level, and estimating the affini- 206 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and ties between plants, by the number, and not by the importance, of their points of agreement. Lastly, the younger Jussieu, in his important memoirs pub- lished in the years 1777 and 1778, laid down correctly the laws which were to determine the relative value of these or- gans, by which he afforded a clew to the principles which had guided himself and his uncle in the classification which they had adopted. What remained then for Decandolle to achieve, was the re- ducing to certain fixed principles those deviations from the normal structure which are perceived in plants naturally allied —explaining how it happens, that species or genera, which approach each other so nearly in the character of those organs which Jussieu had justly considered the most important, should differ, nevertheless, both with respect to the number, and even sometimes in the entire absence, of parts in the one, which exist in the other. In short, whilst Jussieu established the general principles of a correct classification, it remained for Decandolle to remove the difficulties which interfered with their application to par- ticular cases. Nor was this all—for Jussieu contented himself, with laying down those practical rules which were to guide future bota- nists in grouping together the several objects which present themselves in the vegetable kingdom, and with affording in his works correct models of classification for others to imitate ; whilst the task which Decandolle undertook, was that of refer- ring to their first principles the rules and practice of this school, explaining thereby the reasons on which they were founded, and vindicating the correctness of the models which they had presented for our imitation. “The theory of a natural classification,” remarks Decan- dolle, ‘‘ has never yet been properly set down in print, even by those who have contributed most to advance it. Connected, as it is, with all branches of the science, we can only arrive at it by dint of laborious investigations and continued reflections, of which it ought, at this time of day, to be the groundwork, and not the result. Whatever we are able to learn on the sub- ject may be reduced to certain general ideas, which botanists ’ Philosophical Character of Decandoile. 207 of an higher order have put forth, and that in their conversa- tion, rather than in their writings, being still amongst the number of those opinions which Bacon named floating, be- cause, having never been methodically expounded, they never could be seriously discussed.” Now, the principles on which a natural classification pro- ceeds, are composed essentially of three parts. 1s¢, An estima- tion of the relative importance which we ought to assign to the several organs compared one with the other. 2d, A know- ledge of the circumstances which may lead the observer astray relative to the true nature of these organs; and, 3d, An esti- mation of the importance which ought to be attributed to each of the points of view under which the same organ admits of being regarded. With respect to the Ist and 8d of these,—namely, the importance of the several organs considered relatively, and the importance of the several points of view in which the same organ may be regarded,—Decandolle has done nothing more, than to reduce to a system the rules upon which Jussieu and other preceding botanists had proceeded in their natural arrangements of plants, and to explain the principles upon which their rules were founded, or by which they admit of being justified. But, with respect to the 2d part, namely, the appreciation of the circumstances which may lead the observer astray as to the true nature of the organs themselves, he has the merit of having unfolded a theory, at once ingenious and philosophical, of the highest practical utility with reference to the details of botany, and calculated to simplify, as well as to enlarge, our ideas with respect to the organization of vegetables. In my Inaugural Lecture on Botany I have already presented a sketch of this one of Decandolle’s treatises, which, though concise, may perhaps serve as a sufficient account of it for the present occasion. “The causes which bring about a deviation from the normal structure of a particular part, and thus lead a botanist to take a mistaken view of its nature, or at least of its struc- ture, may be reduced to three: 1s¢, The abortion of some one or more of those organs, which, in the regular course of things, 208. Dr Daubeny on the Writings and are considered as natural to it; 2dly, An alteration in its structure, and consequently in its functions ; 3d/y, The union or coherence of several organs, so as to appear like one. *“‘ These causes are ranked by Decandolle under the three general heads of the abortion of organs, their degeneration, and their mutual coherence; and any one of them may be considered competent to induce such a change in the general appearance of a plant, as shall render it altogether different from another to which it would, on general grounds, appear to be closely allied. «“ That particular organs in plants do frequently become abortive, in consequence of the common accidents of excessive or defective humidity, light, &c., had been before admitted ; but to Monsieur Decandolle we are indebted for assigning a wider influence to this cause, and for shewing, that in many cases there are forces in regular operation which produce a constant alteration zm, or obliteration of, certain parts. «Tf, indeed, we admit, that such effects may and do arise from internal as well as from external causes, from the effect of the mere growth and development of parts connected with its own structure, as well as from the operation of foreign agents, it is plain that they would extend, not to a few only, but to all the individuals belonging to the family of plants possessing the kind of structure which occasions it. “‘ Thus, for example, we observe in the horse-chesnut three seed-vessels or carpels, each containing two seeds ; whilst in the fruit we perceive in all never more than three seeds, and sometimes only a single one. It is evident, therefore, that at least three of the seeds have died away, not from any cause which can be considered accidental, but from something inhe- rent in the very structure of the tree. We may indeed trace the gradual decay of these abortive seeds, by opening the seed- vessel at different stages of its growth. In like manner it is found to be the rule, that in some cases the terminal, in others the lateral buds, will arrive at maturity ; but, that the abor- tion of the one arises merely from the development of the other, and not from any inherent peculiarity of structure in itself, has been proved, by removing the bud, which commonly expands at an early age, by which means the one which is Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 209 commonly abortive is made to develope itself, and to arrive at maturity. “ The reality of this occurrence cannot therefore be ques- tioned, but to pronounce in what cases it has actually happen- ed, becomes a question of great intricacy. “ The first principle on which M. Decandolle proceeds, in order to determine what organs in a particular plant have be- come abortive, or are deficient, is by observing what are called the monstrosities to which the species is liable, or its occasional deviations from the accustomed standard. ** These monstrosities arise in some cases from a return to he primitive type of the species, in consequence of the re- moval, by accident, of those forces which usually modify its natural condition. “ In the horse-chesnut, for example, the six embryos rarely ever grow to maturity, because those which first have acquired -vitality abstract nourishment from the rest, and thus cause them to die away. “ It might happen, however, by some singular accident, that all the six embryos received the principle of life at one and the same instant of time, on which supposition the existence of six mature seeds in the two seed-vessels might occur—a monstrosity which, so far from being a further departure from the natural form, would be in fact a return to it. “ The second method, by which the same point is deter- mined, consists in examining the general analogy subsisting between the plant and others. If, for instance, all those spe- cies, which bear the nearest resemblance to the one we are examining, should have five stamens, whilst this possesses only four, we might reasonably conclude, knowing the great ten- dency of this organ to become abortive, that one habitually dies away, owing to some cause incident to the nature of the vegetable. ‘¢ The abortions which take place, may occur either from the plant being nourished in excess, or defectively. By an ex- cess of nourishment, the growth of the contiguous organs may be so accelerated, that the part itself is prevented growing, or becomes stunted; by defect of nourishment, on the con- trary, the same consequence may directly ensue, and under 210 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and either state of things one of two results will occur, either that the organ is so diminished, as to be incapable of performing its proper office, or that it is entirely obliterated. In the former case it often happens, by a beautiful provision of na- ture, that it is transformed into some other organ, and dis- charges certain other functions. Thus branches, petioles of leaves, petals of flowers, and other parts, degenerate, some- times into thorns, and at other times into tendrils; thus the branches, becoming succulent, acquire the appearance, and perform the functions, of leaves; thus that which is essen- tially nothing more than one of the envelopes of the kernel of the peach, becoming pulpy, is converted into a wholesome kind of fruit. “ The third cause of deviation from the accustomed stan- dard is the mutual adhesion of certain parts, a process similar to that which we produce artificially in the operation of graft- ing, and which often takes place also under natural circum- stances. “It is, therefore, quite intelligible that this same union of parts should also be produced in consequence of their natural proximity. Thus, if two ovaries grow very near each other, it is obvious that they will have a tendency to cohere. M. Decandolle, therefore, contends, that the corolla and the calyx are in fact compound organs, made up of a certain num- ber of petals and of sepals which have grown together, that a seed-vessel is a congeries of as many distinct organs as there are cells, and that a flower is no assemblage of individuals clustered round a common centre.” The sagacity of our countryman, Robert Brown, had al- ready led him to point out this principle, so far as relates to one portion of the subject, for in his Prodromus Flora Nove Hollandiz, published so long ago as 1810, he pronounces, that all multilocular capsules are composed of a number of thece equal in number to the divisions of which they consist, and differ from each other only in the degrees and modes of their cohesion or separation. He also, in his observations on the “ Natural Family called Composite,” published in the Linnean Transactions for 1816, between the publication of the first and second editions of Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 211 Decandolle’s Theorie Elementaire, announces the same truth in more clear and distinct language, stating, that he considers the pistillum, or female organ, of all phenogamous plants, to be formed on the same plan, of which a polyspermous legumen, or folliculus, whose seeds are disposed in a double series, may be taken as a type. “A circular series of these pistilla,” he continues, “disposed round an imaginary axis, and whose number corresponds with that of the parts of the calyx or corolla, enter$ into my notion of a flower complete in all its parts.” Other hints of the same kind thrown out in this memoir, and likewise in his Appendix to Flinders’ Voyages, published in 1814, respecting the family Euphorbiacez, shew, that the doctrine of abortion, which Decandolle has explained so lu- minously, was present also to the mind of Robert Brown, and render it probable, that, in the conception of some parts of the work alluded to, its author may have derived assist- ance from the writings of our countryman. The Memoirs of Cassini on the Composite might also have improved and enlarged, though, as they were brought out in 1814, they could not have originated the ideas of M. Decan- dolle; but the two sources to which he seems to have been peculiarly indebted for the general views, and for the train of thought which he has put forth, were, 1s¢, The system of crystallography which had lately been developed by the Abbé Hauy; and, 2dly, The opinions and speculations of Mons. Lamarck concerning the successive progression of or- ganized beings. The Abbé Hauy had shewn, how a number of secondary forms may be produced by the same mineral species, owing to an assemblage of crystals possessing the same figure being piled up one upon the other in a decreasing series. Thus an octohedral figure may be produced by a mineral whose primitive form is a cube, in consequence of the number of little crystals which go to constitute the aggregate which we see, decreasing in regular proportion from the sides to the centre. This principle suggested to Mons. Decandolle the analo- gous idea of regarding the apparent irregularities of struc- 212 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and ture, which are seen in species of plants belonging to the same common type, as modifications produced by the causes above assigned, just as the apparent irregularity of figure which we observe in the same mineral had been referred by Hauy to certain crystalline laws acting upon molecules possess- ing the same type. Moreover, a similar difference exists between the mode of considering the organs of plants adopted by Decandolle, and by antecedent botanists, as that which prevails between the system of crystallography invented by the Abbé Hauy, and that previously proposed by Romé de L’Isle. According to the latter, each crystal was viewed as in itself a whole, possessing a certain definite figure, which was in many cases modified by truncation, that is, by having its an- gles bevelled off. According to the former, a crystal is an aggregate of a number of molecules, possessing a particular figure, which, clustering together in obedience to certain laws, produce a variety of secondary forms, all, however, bearing some relation to the primary one. So, according tothe old mode of considering plants, the corolla, the calyx, the seed-vessel, &c., was each considered a simple organ, and the petals, the sepals, the carpels, &c. its parts—whereas Decandolle regards each of the former as a compound organ, and the latter to bear the same relation to it, which the primitive molecules in Hauy’s system do to the crystals formed by their union. But the individual, to whom probably Decandolle was most indebted for the germs of those opinions, which he has so ably developed in his Théorie Elémentaire, was his colleague and associate, Lamarck ; and I could hardly fix upon any cir- cumstance in the whole of his scientific career, more calcu- lated to exalt his character morally as well as intellectually, than the use he has made of the ingenious but fanciful views which he obtained from this source, and the discrimination which he exercised in separating the pure metal from the base alloy. It is foreign to the objects of this Society to enter upon any discussions connected with religion, nor indeed, if I were Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 213 to allude to that part of M. Decandolle’s character, should I be able to do justice to him in these respects, not having been honoured with a sufficient degree of intimacy with him in the privacy of his domestic circle, to learn his sentiments on those grave subjects. This, however, I may venture to assert, that whilst there is no passage in any of his numerous works, which can even by implication convey an impression of another kind, there are many which evince a disposition, on his part, to apply, on every suitable opportunity, the truths of his favourite science to the advocacy of the eternal interests of mankind. The use which he and Lamarck have made of the doctrine of rudimentary organs common to them both will serve to illustrate this fact, and evince, not only the greater soundness of M. Decandolle’s judgment, but likewise the moral truth, that food and poison may be extracted out of the very same materials, according to the character of the recipient. The doctrine of rudimentary organs, that is, the notion “that parts which exercise some important function in the or- ganization of animals or of vegetables, may exist in some spe- cies in so imperfect a condition, as to be apparently of no use to the individual,” is one that scarcely can admit of dispute from those who take a wide survey of either of the two king- doms of nature. The mammee of male animals in general, the stumps of wings in birds, which, like the penguin, are unable to fly, the eyes covered with skin belonging to the mole and the Proteus anguinus, and the rudiments of toes concealed under the skin of ruminant animals, are all familiar illustrations of this position. But in the use which has been severally made of the above principle, the genius of the two philosophers alluded to stands remarkably contrasted. By Lamarck it was regarded as a confirmation of that ex- travagant hypothesis of appetencies creating parts, by which, though without directly denying the existence of a Deity, he represented his agency as being as little exercised in the works of creation, as that of the gods of Olympus were according to the system of Epicurus. VOL, XXXIV, NO. LXVINI.—APRIL 1845, P 214 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and - / Out of deference for the opinions of his fellow men, or per- haps from some latent sentiment of religion at variance with his philosophical dogmas, he admitted, that the order of na- ture emanated from the Deity, but supposed that it proceeded to do its work, by blind and imperfect, and merely mechani- eal efforts, productive at first of only rough and abortive draughts of what, in the course of an infinite succession of ages, ripened itself into its present wonderful complexity, and perfection of form and structure. So even Epicurus, out of respect for the common opinions of mankind, the innate ideas, as it were, which existed in the minds of others, admitted that there were gods, but removed them from all share in the concerns of humanity, by suppos- ing the whole structure of the universe to result from a for- tuitous concourse of atoms. How different in these respects was the proceeding of M. Decandolle ! He did not indeed attempt to deny the existence of rudi- mentary organs, from seeing the use which others had made of the doctrine—to have attempted this indeed would have been as hopeless a task, as to deny the deductions arrived at by geologists with respect to the age of the world, because some persons may have perversely availed themselves of such facts as a handle against revelation—but, boldly admitting their reality, and skilfully availing himself of this principle as a clew whereby to trace the affinities between plants, he vindicated it from the imputation of being in any degree inconsistent with the existence of design, or of lending any countenance to the doubts of the sceptie. According to his views, all organized beings, when compared one with another, present groups of greater or lesser extent, which themselves form parts of groups embracing a still wider range, and are divisible into others of a subordinate deserip- tion. Each group is subject to two classes of laws; the first producing that regular order in which its organs are disposed, or in other words the symmetry of its organization ; the second regulating the action of the processes of vitality, from which often results such a degree of derangement in the symmetry of its parts, that their natural disposition may thereby be com- pletely disguised. Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 215 This derangement of the normal structure may be ascribed —either to the abortion of certain organs—to their alteration in form and appearance—or to the adhesions between organs of the same or of different descriptions. The existence, then, of rudimentary parts, is only a conse- quence of those general rules, which the divine Author of Nature has thought fit to impose upon himself in all the arrange- ments of the universe, and can in no wise be regarded as in- consistent with the idea of design, if we only can shew, that the whole proceeds upon a consistent plan, and that plan a wise one, inasmuch as each organ, in the great majority of cases, and in its perfect and developed form, is subservient to some beneficial purpose. As a consequence, of that general analogy which runs throughout the whole of organized nature, and of the inter- ference of causes which in their main result are productive of good, we find parts existing in a rudimentary or abortive state in one species, which in others serve some manifestly import- ant office ; neither would it be any objection to the idea of design, if it could be proved, that in this rudimentary condition they were absolutely useless, although it must be considered as an additional evidence of provision, when, as in many in- stances, we are able to shew, that they become subservient to a new purpose, by being unfitted to their primary one. Thus the parts of the calyx in many composite flowers de- generate into a pappus, or down, which, being of a light and feathery texture, serves to waft the seeds attached to it to a great distance, and in this manner to disseminate the species ; thus the nectaries, which are regarded as degenerated stamens, secrete honey, and by this means attract insects, by whose entrance into the flower, the pollen is dispersed and lodged upon the pistils. Perhaps, had not one of the seed-vessels of leguminous plants been constantly abortive, the seeds would have all been so stunted in their growth, as to have been unfitted for supply- ing nutriment to animals. These, and other facts that might be alleged, prove, that the degeneration or abortion of particular organs, often serves some wise purpose with reference to the plant itself, or to other beings ; and that the same may be the case in other in- 216 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and stances, in which we do not perceive it, jt would be presump- tuous to deny. Nevertheless, it does not seem requisite for the argument as to final causes, to contend, that every organ must have a definite use in all the individuals in which it occurs, since its existence may be regarded, as being nothing more than a con- sequence of that general law of nature above stated, the wis- dom of which there is no ground for impugning. « Tf,” says M. Decandolle,* “‘ on a subject so grave and so elevated, I may be permitted to avail myself of a comparison somewhat mean and trivial, I shall perhaps render my views on this subject somewhat better understood. * T will suppose myself seated at a splendid banquet, and certainly the repast which Nature sets before us may well merit this appellation, “ I endeavour to discover what evidence can be afforded that this banquet is not the result of chance, but has been due to the will of an intelligent being. No doubt, I should remark, that each of the dishes is in itself well prepared (this is the argument of the anatomist), and that the selection of them implies a reference to the wants of the individuals who partake of them. (This is the reasoning of the physiologist.) But may I not likewise observe, that the dishes that constitute this re- past are arranged in a certain symmetrical order, such as is agreeable to the eye, and in itself announces design and volition ? “« Now, if on examining the above arrangement, I should find certain dishes repeated, as for instance in double rows, for no other apparent reason, than that the one might in a manner correspond to the other; or observe, that the places which they should occupy were filled with imitations of the real dishes, which seem of no use with reference to the object of the repast, ought I, on that account, to reject the idea of design ? ** So far from this, I might infer from the very circumstances stated, an attention to symmetrical arrangement, and conse- quently the operation of intelligence. ‘“‘Nowthis is precisely what happens on the great scale in na- * Théorie Elémentaire. 2d edition, page 185. *hilosophical Character of Decandolle. 217 ture. Considerations derived from the symmetry of parts correct in great measure what is deficient in the theory of final causes, and tend, not only to resolve many difficulties, which present themselves in the general economy of nature, but even to transform them into evidences of the existence of this very order.” And here, perhaps, I may be permitted to make a short digression, in order to say a few words with respect to the - general spirit and influence of the writings which have pro- ceeded from the Republic of Geneva. Let others, if they please, censure the laxity of opinion which is attributed to their theologians—my more grateful as well as more appropriate office in this place shall be, to bear testimony to the general moral tone, and beneficial tendency of their literature. Had it not been for the existence of this independent focus of learning and talent, all French publications would have been but a reflexion of the light which radiated from the often cor- rupt atmosphere of Paris; for in France everything centres in the metropolis, and in that country, as a witty writer™ has quaintly expressed himself—the opinions of the provinces are of little more importance ¢han the opinion of a man’s legs.} But Geneva, from its high intellectual eminence, its Pro- testantism, and its independent political position, has always possessed a school, both of literature and science, exclusively its own, so that not only those of her sons who have continued * Heyne. t M. Flourens has unexpectedly supplied me, in his Eloge of Decandolle; with an anecdote which may serve to confirm this position. When Decan- dolle had been appointed by M. Cretet, the Minister of the Interior, to his professorship at Montpellier, the following conversation passed between the minister and Laplace, who,by way of expressing his high admiration of Decan- dolle, began it as follows :—“ Monseigneur,vous nous jouez un mauvyais tour, nous comptions avoir bientét M. de Candolle, a l'Institut.” “ Votre Institut! votre Institut! s’écrie M. Cretet.” “Eh quoi!” repond M. de Laplace, tout etonné, “ Savez vous que j’ai quelquefois envie de faire tirer un coup de canon sur votre Institut ? Oui, monsieur, un coup de canon, pour en disperser les membres dans toute la France. N’est ce pas une chose deplorable de voir toutes les lumiéres concentrées dans Paris, et les provinces en ignorance. J’envoic M. de Candolle 4 Montpellier, pour y porter l’activité.” 218 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and under her wing during life, but even the offsets she has sent forth to other lands, have preserved the impress of those na- tional characteristics which they had acquired from early edu- cation. Thus Necker maintained, even in his financial measures at Paris, the ideas that he has brought with him from Geneva ; and his illustrious daughter was reproached and almost pro- scribed by Napoleon, for the singular reason, that her writings were not written in a French spirit. Nor will an impartial critic deny, that the literature of Geneva, whatever may be its faults, possesses a greater purity and elevation of sentiment, than belongs to the school which was at one time regarded as essentially Parisian. With one lamentable exception, no doubt, which we regret the more, because the gross impurities that sully the works to which I al- lude, are perceived to have been the offspring of a mind, not destitute of ‘ some glorious elements,” * or deficient in high and noble aspirations, the writers who have emanated from the little Republic of which I speak, may fairly participate in the praise which the most eminent of her native historians} claims for himself as his highest merit, namely, “ that of never noticing vice but with the disgust it deserves, never surrounding it with seductive pictures, or treating it as a subject of pleasantry ; and, in the course of the whole of his voluminous publications, of having never written a single passage which a modest female might not read aloud without a blush.” As for Decandolle, he partook fully in that sentiment of nationality which has kept Geneva distinct from Paris, in science and literature, as well as in government. It is related of him, that when, in 1809, he represented the department of Leman in the Assembly of Notables, convened by Bonaparte as Emperor, on being presented to the latter, and asked by him how Geneva was pleased with its union with France, he had the courage to remain silent ; and no sooner had the peace of 1814 secured to his native place an * “ A goodly frame of glorious elements, Had they been wisely mingled.” i See Sismondi’s Preface to his * Histoire des Francais.” Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 219 independent existence, than he gave up his emoluments at Montpellier, and preferred the almost honorary appointment which he henceforth discharged as Professor of Natural His- tory at Geneva, to any more lucrative office in a foreign city. From this period may be dated the commencement of those important works, upon which his reputation amongst Euro- pean botanists is principally founded. In 1818 appeared the first volume of his Systema Naturale, intended to embrace a detailed description of all known plants, arranged according to their natural affinities or design,—an un- dertaking which, since the days of Ray, no botanist had had the courage to attempt. He was not, indeed, unaware of the magnitude and difficulty of such a work, or of the danger lest his labours should be sub- verted by discoveries made during their progress ; but he was encouraged to proceed in it, by the consciousness that a trea- tise of this description, even though imperfect, would be the one of all others most instrumental in spreading a knowledge both of general and special botany. It is indeed a happy circumstance for the cause of science, when an individual, possessing the comprehensive views and the powers of generalisation which belonged to Decandoile, can be induced to enter upon this species of labour; and not one of the least advantages accruing from it I conceive to be, that it relieves the pursuit itself from the imputation of frivo- lousness, to be found worthy of occupying so large a portion of the attention of one, who had already shewn himself, by his previous publications, capable of grappling with the more phi- losophical departments of the science. It may be remarked, that whilst in the Flore Frangaise, and I believe in most other works of antecedent date, found- ed on the natural system, plants of the most simple structure were placed first, and the more complex ones afterwards, the contrary order has been pursued in the Systema Nature of Decandolle. And in this difference of arrangement I think I can trace the influence of those general views which he had adopted in opposition to his distinguished colleague and early master, Lamarck, 220 : Dr Daubeny on the Writings and It was, no doubt, quite natural and consistent in the latter, imagining, as he did, that the more complicated forms of vege- table life had proceeded out of the simpler ones, by a number of successive tentative efforts of creative energy, to imagine that he was following the order of nature in describing, in the first place, those plants which he conceived to be of earliest production ; whilst Decandolle, who regarded the whole vege- table kingdom as equally the result of the same wise and bene- ficial plan, and who had been taught by the researches of Cuvier, that the inhabitants of the early periods of the world were as complicated in their organisation, and as skilfully con- trived for their respective uses, as those at present in exist- ence, was led to prefer that mode of considering the subject, which enabled him to place first before his readers the organs of a plant, in their most complete state of development, and therefore in their most intelligible point of view. He felt, that it was pursuing a mistaken analogy, to ima- gine that the organs of reproduction or of vegetation could be studied with more facility in a moss, than in a flower ; it might be rather said, that in the former they were in a manner in a rudimentary condition, and consequently that their true uses could best be inferred by analogy, after we had fully exa- mined them in plants of a more complicated structure ; just as we should be at a loss to explain the uses of the eye, from exa- mining it in the mole, or of the mamme from a dissection of those in the male subject, instead of beginning with those cases in which the above organs were in a state of the most complete development. Decandolle accordingly commences his system with the fa- mily Ranunculacez, as that in which the natural symmetry of plants belonging to the Dicotyledonous division is in the least degree departed from, the sepals, petals, stamens, and even the pistils, being here separate and distinct; and he then proceeds, step by step, to trace the different degrees and kinds of irregularity which may be perceived in those other natural families which he places before us in succession. Nor are the more technical, or, as it may be termed, the mechanical arrangements adopted in this treatise, selected with dess judgment and discretion. Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 221 In the Systema Nature, the authority for each description is scrupulously given ; and it is stated, by appropriate marks, whether the plant has been observed by Decandolle himself in a dry or in a living state, cultivated or wild. The syno- nymes of each species are appended, with a mark affixed to the name of their author, whenever the identification has been fully made out by an actual comparison of the specimen refer- red to with that on which Decandolle’s description is based. The Aabifat is given with greater accuracy than heretofore, by appending to it the name of the author on whose authority it rests, either in italics, where Decandolle himself has seen the specimen referred to, or in roman letters, included in a parenthesis, where he has not; whilst, where it rests on De- candolle’s personal examination, the locality is given without any name at all. Another pointattended to scrupulously in this treatise was the breaking up of the genera into natural sections, so as to group the species together, as much as possible, according to their natural affinities ; an idea which has been followed out by sub- sequent botanists, with regard to the natural families them- selves, which are now arranged according to their alliances, and thus serve as links whereby to connect in one consecutive chain the most general divisions into classes, with the most subordinate one into species and varieties.’ But even the indefatigable zeal and the steady perseverance of Mons. Decandolle were found unequal to the herculean task of describing, in the detailed manner originally proposed, the enormous catalogue of plants at present enumerated, swelled, as it has been, by the researches of modern botanists, from 8000 species known to Linneus, to more than 50,000 ; and, accordingly, after bringing out two volumes of his Sys- tema, embracing within their compass 11 natural families, he determined on carrying on his work in a more compendious form, under the title of Prodromus Systematis Naturalis. What the extent of his original work would have been, had it ever been completed in its original plan, may be estimated from this calculation alone. The Prodromus, at the time of his death, consisted of six thickly printed volumes, each averaging about 700 pages, and of a se- 229 Dr Daubeny on the Writings and venth of half that size, and yet it includes only 102 natural families ; whereas the whole number comprehended in his son’s enumeration of those belonging to the class of flowering plants is 195. It is true, that one of those completed is the immense order of Composite, which alone hasbeen estimated at nearly a quar- ter of the whole of the Dicotyledonous division; but then, on the other hand, it must be recollected, that, during the interval since the work commenced, such vast additions have been made to the catalogue of plants, that the families hereafter to be de- scribed would be more voluminous in proportion than the earlier ones. We may, therefore, perhaps calculate, that the Prodromus, had it been completed, would have formed 15 volumes of 700 pages each ; but the plants described in the two volumes of the Systema are compressed into 236 pages of the latter work, so that the Systema, if executed on the same plan, would have oceupied no less than 44 volumes octavo. For, if 236 pages = 1 yol. — 10,500 (viz. 15 vols. of 700 pages each) = 44 vols. This great undertaking, commencing with the preparation of the first volume cf the Systema, which was published in 1818, occupied him till his death, which occurred in 1841; but the last portion of it which appeared was the concluding part of the description of the Composite, bearing the date of 1838. We must not, however, suppose, that the whole business of his life during so long a period consisted in the exhausting la- bour of describing and classifying species. From time to time, for instance, during this interval he brought out those admi- rable Monographs, in which he has delineated in so masterly a manner the general characters of particular natural families. These Monographs were intended to serve as fuller expla- nations of the grounds of that classification which he had adopted in his Prodromus, as illustrations of those principles which he had laid down in his Theorie Elementaire, and as cri- ticisms on the plans of arrangement which had been proposed by antecedent writers. They hold an intermediate place between the mere particu- Philosophical Character of Decandolle. 223 lar descriptions of species which are contained in the Prodro- mus, and the general observations on the structure of plants considered in the aggregate, which are found in the Organo- graphie ; constituting the groundwork of the former, and the data upon which the latter was constructed. Thus, in his Memoir on the Cruciferze, he carries us in de- tail through the structure of all the parts, first, of vegetation, and afterwards of reproduction, belonging to this important natural family ; and he shews, that the only distinction which can be relied on for separating its members into natural groups, are drawn, either from the form of the embryo, or from that of the seed-vessel. ~ If we adopt the former as the basis of our system, we shall divide the Crucifere into five natural groups, according to the position of the Radicle with reference to the Cotyledons ; if we adopt the latter, we shall distinguish them into six, according to the position of the valves of the Seed- vessel. This latter method he shews to be preferable to the old Linnean division, depending upon the length of the pod, as the latter admits of no exact limits, and as it places'together gene- ra in no way allied, and divides others which are naturally con- nected ; but he nevertheless regards it as of inferior moment to the distinction founded upon the embryo, both because the latter is an organ of greater importance than the seed-vessel, and because there is not such a gradation in its form, as is found in that of the pod which ineloses it. He adopts, therefore, as the basis of his classification, the principle suggested by Robert Brown, with respect to the manner in which the radicle is folded upon the cotyledons, and afterwards subdivides the groups so formed according to the form and mode of opening of the seed-vessel. He thus, by means of these two characters, constructs twenty-one natural groups, and satisfies himself of the cor- rectness of the principles upon which he has proceeded in his classification, by finding that the genera thrown together by virtue of this arrangement, are really such as stand most nearly allied one to the other. Thus, as in the physical sciences, we commence by making “"t19U0S I9YZ0 g pus *e1oties 19430 Z pus “eroued 10yjOg pur SOAR ‘SONVHAVU “OINOHONV *A11XVO “AJasaoasuvay Surpratq “Wale VvoOnUde ‘HKANVHAVY “WTINOHONV : ‘WONITINVO | = SNOPTOVINAWO'T TE . *OLO}UT Ata} UL SUOTRIZAVd asaoAsUBAy ‘VILLAUON SVOILVISVNV | yj = paystuany ‘A[ [uu |-IpnjiGu0, Zuruedo soape a : = SS “HW AOTLVISVNV | ‘aLVTOLdas = . “SVINAG *RL9UAS TOYO Z pus *Edouas .ogo g puB *edaued IoyjO Z pus | *JUDOSTOPUL > 4 VI1IZ *SILYSI *‘WALdITOog IO JOUTPSIPUL SOATV A 8 ‘Waa VINO “HE ATTIIZ “HW AGLLVST WIGIIOAT | “SNOWOVINAWVOON iva) =, < ey val 7 a . = MUALEU AdoA S “eLOULAS 1oY}0 F puv "BLOTS LoTT}O § puv uorTzared ‘poprosy ‘A] [vu -S *VaMVOAHOVUE “VIMQOHOS puv ANIHOASA Divebceticut ‘TdSVIHL -Ipuytwuoy Surusdo soate, ~ —- Re ae = ae ays “ASO TOOITIS = ‘WaduVOAHOVUE “WANTHOASA “‘WANTCIdTT ‘WACTdSVTHE LddSTLsSnonv : 5, RE WER far: E>: 7 eo oe ee oe Sas s "w : “eIOUas 1aY}O g puv “BLS Tay}ZO GT puv -100 10 JC] SAATVA SSu0TGo $3 “viivi1agas pret aP ee og *VNITINVO SWASSA'LV «0 [BAO domed aR ant -Ipnjyiguoy Surmodo soatvA ~ TENGE te = ‘waruvTagas d “E DTTIA “WONITINVO =| ‘WONISSKTIV | ‘Ed aSILVT a] 55 ar “spoos "elated LaYyZO g pus ‘eiouad .1ay30 9 pue “BLNUNS 19YIO ST puv at]} ULYY opt ‘pazesuoyo 3 “029 ‘V TING OITaH ‘voIssVua B hes ne ‘slavuv “twouly “torjiqaed *ATTeUu Ss -Ipnyisuo, Sutuedo soae A 3 = aS —— a eh (a ‘WA TINAOITaAN fi Ss “WaAOISSVUEL ‘W TIUAWASIS “wale vuv y _JHSONOITIS a ‘WH AAO'TOOITA AC ‘W aAdOTVaIdSs ‘WOO TAOHLYO ‘W ZIHUYOLON ‘W ZIHYOUNA Td (1110 ) (110) (< = : A ; 15” .56 or about 13” in a degree. This error arises from slight inaccuracies in the data as- sumed and methods then practised, but which, by Colonel Colby, the present conductor, have been long ago abandoned. It is much to be regretted, indeed, that the later results and observations have not hitherto been published, for it would be very desirable that every thing connected with the Survey, like the astronomical observations made at the Royal Obser- vatory at Greenwich, and other places, should be annually published at the public expense, since they are undoubtedly public property, and the results would enable civil-engineers, and private amateurs, to reap all the advantages justly expected from so valuable a source. From calculation I have found the station at Clifton 4737.59 feet west of the meridian of Dunnose, when the are is deduced from the azimuth at Dunnose; while, from the azimuth at Clif. ton, the are passing through that station is 4909.95 feet west of Dunnose, or conversely, the station at Dunnose is 4909.95 feet east of the meridian of Clifton. Now, if all the opera- tions and observations have been accurately performed, espe- cially those to determine the azimuths, these numbers ought 270) = Mr Galbraith on the English Are of the Meridian. to be consistent; that is, they ought to be proportional to the radii of their respective parallels. From this analogy 4787.59 feet become é . 6047.71 feet But the calculation from the azimuths is, 4 : 4909.95 ... Difference, . © : : 187.76 feet Now, from Clifton, at t the issn of Dunnose 137.76 feet, would subtend an angle of 27’.42. But the accurate deter- mination of the azimuth by the pole star with the great theo- dolite, is an operation difficult to be performed in the manner described by General Mudge in the first volume of the Tri- gonometrical Survey, page 243. Captain Kater remarks in the new Survey for connecting the observatories of Greenwich and Paris, Philosophical Transactions for 1828, page 183: ‘“« There is, however, another source of inaccuracy to which azimuths by the pole-star are liable, and which seems to have been wholly disregarded—I allude to an error in the line of collimation. This error may, however, be destroyed by inverting the tele- scope, or placing that end of the axis which was on the east to the west ; and taking a mean of the observations of the star in both positions.” Certainly, if this inversion of the axis was omitted, a considerable error might ensue, as Captain Kater justly remarks; and though General Mudge does not directly say the axis was inverted, yet it is difficult to believe that so experienced an observer was likely to neglect it, though it is not impossible, unless he rectified it completely by the usual adjustments, But even though complete adjustment be attempted, yet the experienced observer will never impli- citly trust to this, but will regularly invert the axis, as | am constantly in the habit of doing in all my determinations of angles, whether in altitude or azimuth. Ifthis precaution, how- ever, was really neglected, then it would seem to follow, from | our computations above, that that error had amounted to one- half of 27”.42, or 13”.71, at each of the stations of Dunnose and Clifton. Indeed, from a computation which I have made, if the azimuth at Beachy Head be supposed correct, that at Dunnose would, by computation, differ from the observed quantity, by 13”.93; and conversely, if the azimuth at Dun- nose be considered accurate, that at Beachy Head would, by calculation, differ from the observed quantity by 13”’.93, or Mr Galbraith on the English Are of the Meridian. 271 there is a probability of an error of 7” in each, if considered equal. There is at least, certainly, some inconsistencies in these operations, for which it is difficult to account on any other hypothesis. The effect, however, on the length of the are of the meridian, would be nearly insensible, though it might in some degree slightly vitiate other deductions, such as the latitudes, longitudes, and azimuths, dependent upon it. Indeed it may be remarked, that the peculiar construction of the old theodolite, by Ramsden, is not favourable to the accu- rate determination of azimuths by the pole-star. The altitude and azimuth circle, or transit instrument properly constructed, would, in my opinion, be greatly superior. A good altitude and azimuth circle, I believe to be the best instrument for de- termining the latitude ; and the adoption of a small are, as in the case of the zenith sectors, hitherto employed in this country, has always to me appeared not a little singular. A new zenith sector has lately been proposed by Mr Airy, with several im- provements over the old instrument, which, if I am rightly informed, was destroyed by the late fire at the Tower. Still, however, though in the new instrument the angle be read on opposite arcs, yet it seems to be doubtful if its results can be considered equal to those from a circle of much smaller radius, read from ¢hree or six microscopes, distributed equidistantly round the circumference, when for every pair of observations it is reversed in azimuth, and the repetitions carried to four or six times within proper limits, and nicely reduced to the meridian. Indeed, notwithstanding the general excellence of the mural circle, asnow constructed with microscopes attached to the stone pier for the sake of permanence, yet the circle itself being built ‘up of so many different pieces liable to unequal strain, its ex- ecution is not entirely conformable to sound mechanical prin- ciples.* A transit circle, having both ends of its axis sup- ported on stone-piers, must possess much greater stability, especially if made, with the exception of the axis, of cast-iron, with radiating bars, broad at the axis, and tapering towards the circumference’on which the divisions are cut. The glasses of the telescope, too, ought to be much more substantially * It has little or no stability by braces in the direction of the axis. 272 Mr Galbraith on the English Are of the Meridian. fixed to the circle than in the comparatively slender tube at present in use. The instrument would then be reversed by a proper machine in the same manner as the transit instrument ; while, from the cheapness of the materials, it would be far less expensive. While these general objections are made to English instru- ments, one would be justified in making still stronger to most of the foreign. The French repeating circle, invented by Borda, depends upon a principle of great ingenuity, though in practice it does not equal the sanguine expectations of its greatest admirers. There is a much greater want of stability in its structure than in any of our instruments, which, perhaps, might be improved by the suppression of some of their numer- ous adjustments ; and though in the French arc of the meridian, and in the New Trigonometrical Survey of France, under the title, “‘ Description Geometrique dela France,” it has’played a very important part; yet there are discrepancies in several of the observations connected with some of these fine operations, which would tend greatly to shake our confidence for extreme precision in its final results, deduced from even ¢housands of repetitions. In determining the latitude of the Observatory of Saint Martin d’Angers, as recorded in the Description Geo- metrique, Deuxieme Partie, page 499, Colonel Corabceuf, with a thirteen-inch repeating circle of Gambey, from observations on Palaris, at its upper transit north of the zenith, by about 40° 55’, found the latitude to be . ; 47° 28’ 15”. 21 N. By « Serpentis, 40° 29'S. of zenith, . 47 27 59 AlN. — Half sum or mean, ? L : 47° 28’ 7.31 N. which is accounted the true ietaaee But there is a difference between these results, amounting to no less than 15’.8, one- half of which, or 7”.9 taken negatively, is reckoned the error of the instrument at a zenith distance of about 40° 40’. Again, by @ Ursee Minoris, at a zenith distance of about 27° 23’ N. at its upper transit, the latitude by the same instru- ment was. : 47° 28’ 10’.95 N. By Arcturus, with Z. Dy o7° 23’ S. itwas 47 28 1.41 N. —$—$—$$$ ns Half sum or mean, : ‘ ; A7° 28’ 6.95 N. Mr Galbraith on the English Are of the Meridian. 273 which is accounted the true latitude, and agrees very closely with the preceding result. There is, however; between the two last, a difference of 9’.54, one-half of which, or 4”’.77, is here, at the zenith distance of about 27° 20’, reckoned the er- ror. Hence, for a change of zenith distance of 13° 20’, there is a corresponding change of error of 3”’.13. Some observers find, or think they find, that these errors vary as the sine of the zenith distance ;* while others can detect no such law, though a mean of judiciously chosen observations give remark- ably consistent results, when the observations are very numer- ously repeated. Still, however, in this country, observers ac- customed to British instruments, would greatly suspect their final accuracy, even from very numerous observations, however consistent the individual results might be, whenever they in- volved such remarkable discrepancies. The opposite error seems applicable to our observers. Generally provided with large instruments, having powerful telescopes, they trust per- haps rather too confidently, in a very few observations which they consider good, and neglect to repeat them sufficiently to counteract atmospheric irregularities, for which no power of telescope will compensate. Even the power of the telescope of Roy’s theodolite, by Ramsden, was not great, as he himself states, in the Trigonometrical Survey, vol. i. page 123 ; it only magnified about forty or fifty times, as commonly employed. I have not seen the power of that belonging to the Board of . Ordnance anywhere stated. In taking horizontal angles, “ the errors,” says Captain Kater, Phil. Transactions for 1828, page 197, “ which may arise from lateral refraction, have often been suspected, but never clearly ascertained. In the course of our work, how- ever, we had such evidence of the fact as to leave no doubt of its existence. The angle (measured) between the same ob- jects would differ (when taken) under the most favourable cir- cumstances, about jive seconds on different days, and perhaps a second and a-half, or two seconds, may be considered as the error which may effect an angle from lateral refraction in an ordinary state of the atmosphere.” * This coincides nearly with these examples, the difference being only 0’.78 from this hypothesis. ; 274 Mr Galbraith on the English Arc of the Meridian. These remarks of Captain Kater have been verified by my own experience, and there is no probable way of obviating the effects of refraction on horizontal angles, but by combining the French method of repetition with our own more powerful instruments on different days under various atmospheric cir- cumstances. ADDITIONAL NOTE. The following remarks have been occasioned by the receipt of a part of the Ordnance Survey, since the original paper was delivered to the Secretary :— After a lapse of thirty years, the publication of the results of the Ord- nance Trigonometrical Survey of Britain has been resumed. This has been recommenced by the publication of a part, titled, “ Astronomical Observations, made with Ramsden’s zenith sector, together with a Cata- logue of Stars which have been observed, and the amplitudes of the celes- tial arcs, deduced from the observations at the different stations; and published by order of the Board of Ordnance.” ; Of this work a few copies have been distributed, by presentation, to different individuals, and it is but justice to those employed, to affirm, that all the deductions are made according to the best methods now used in that branch of science. Colonel Colby, the indefatigable conductor, has availed himself of the advice of Mr Airy, the astronomer-royal ; and Lieutenant Yolland, of the Royal Engineers, under the Colonel, has fol- lowed up this advice with diligence and care. The points of which the latitudes and intermediate ares of the meridian are here given, are Dunnose in the Isle of Wight ; Greenwich Observa- tory ; Clifton Beacon in Yorkshire ; Arburyhill in Northamptonshire ; + Delamere Forest in Cheshire ; Burleigh Moor in Yorkshire ; Kellie Law in Fifeshire ; Cowhythe hill in Banffshire ; and, lastly, the station on the small isle of Balta in Shetland, comprehending an arc of the meridian passing from the southern extremity of Britain, to the more northerly of the islets belonging to it, amounting to above ten degrees, or about one- ninth part of the quadrantal are of the meridian from the equator to the pole. This will not only be a most valuable operation for improving the geography of the country,—a thing much wanted from the great inaccu- racy of our maps and charts, but a valuable contribution also to astrono- mical and geodetical science. We are informed by the Colonel towards the close of his preface,—‘** That the terrestrial observations requisite to enable me,” says he, “ to complete and publish the geodetic distances connected with the astronomical results, are now in so advanced a state, that the printing of them will shortly be commenced.” These being com- pared with others of a similar kind in different parts of the world, will enable him to deduce a proper value of the earth’s axes, and thence to fix Description of a Portable Diorama. 275 geodetically, With precision, the latitudes and longitudes of all the im- portant points throughout the British Isles. May all these important labours be speedily brought to a satisfactory conclusion, for the benefit of both agriculture and commerce, since, in the present state of our maps, the most palpable and dangerous errors, not- withstanding all that has been urged for their correction, still continue to exist, as will readily appear by an examination of the maps now sub- mitted for inspection. *,* A few maps and charts were here exhibited, containing glaring and dangerous errors to navigators. Description of a Portable Diorama, which may be viewed by a number of persons at atime. By Grorcz Tair, Esquire, Advocate, F.R.S.S.A. Witha Plan. Communicated by the Royal Scottish Society of Arts.* A portable diorama which I exhibited to the Royal Scottish Society of Arts in November 1841 and April 1842, and which was honoured with their medal, could be viewed by only one or two persons at atime, the pictures being within the boz, and being seen through eye-holes.t I have now made a diorama having the construction modi- fied so that it may be viewed by a number of persons at a time, the pictures being placed upon the front of a box, where they are exposed uncovered. The front light is thrown upon them from without, and the back light from within, the box; and both may be increased or diminished at pleasure. Gas is the most convenient light ; but oil may be employed, by adopt- ing means for properly increasing or diminishing the light upon the pictures. The apparatus is used in a dark apart- ment; and ought to be so placed that the horizon of the pic- tures may be on a level with the eye. The effect of coloured sketches of a variety of changes which I made for the former diorama, is equally satisfactory in this. The following side-elevation and plan represent a small diorama made upon this principle :— * Read before the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, on 23d January 1843, + See the printed Transactions of the Royal Scottish Society of Arts, and the Edinburgh New Philosophical Journal for 1841, 1842. Description of a Rortable Diorama. 276 Description of a Portable Diorama. 277 ABCD, a board to which the apparatus is attached. The length of the board is 18 inches, and that of the painted sur- face exposed, 6 inches,—but the larger the more striking. E F GH, a box for receiving the pictures in front, at E F. J K, opening in the side of the box, by which the pictures are introduced successively into a groove in front, behind a border of black velvet, to absorb stray rays from the front light. [In the former construction, as in this, the pictures may be conveniently entered at ¢he side of the box. Both boxes may be made to receive the same pictures. | L, front light, compact and bright, in a lantern constructed to direct and confine it to the pictures. If the flame be flat and have not a reflector or a lens, its edge may front the pic- tures. A simple swallow-tail burner, No. 0, gives sufficient light for this scale, The inside of the lantern is done with black japan, flat ; and the sides and bottom, and outside of the bottom, and the supports, so far as necessary, are covered with black velvet. M, back light. Swallow-tail No. 1, is sufficient for this scale. ~ A circulation of air is admitted to both flames without al- lowing the escape of light. Their covers are moveable, and are represented on the plan as removed. N O, opening for receiving into a groove a slight frame of tissue paper, to be used when found of advantage ; particu- larly, when any part of a picture, for example the moon, is made transparent. P Q, opening through both sides of the box, for receiving into a groove an opaque slider, of a length equal to about double the breadth of the box, properly pierced, to be drawn gradually across, in order to represent passing gleams of sun- shine ; also for receiving a slider or sliders of tissue paper, painted with various tints in succession, to be drawn gradu- ally across, in order to represent changes of tints, for evening or the like, with the back light, where day is represented by that light, as in fog or snow scenes. The light is not to be allowed to pass over or under those sliders. When a slider is used, the tissue paper N O is to be re- moved ; and the open space in front of the back light is to be VOL. XXXIV. NO. LXVIII.—APRIL 1843. T 278 Mr Russell on a Marine Salinometer for indicating the contracted to about a third part of its breadth, by leaves moved forward for the time, as represented by R S on the plan, or otherwise. A narrow projection immediately before any opening, if necessary, prevents the light within from being seen in front. The box is white within, to reflect light. T M, T L, on the Plan, tubes for gas (the latter consisting of one of the supports of the lantern, hollow), supplied, when in use, by inserting the nozle of a flexible tube at T, or other- wise. U, V, stop-cocks moved by levers attached, which are closed by springs and opened by cords extending to the front. The levers have cheeks adaptable te the variable pressure of the gas, for example, linen threads attached to pins turning in the board, so that either flame, when not required, may be reduced toa blue point. The levers and springs are made to fold back upon the board when not in use. The arrangement now shortly described is given merely as aspecimen. The details of any diorama made upon this prin- ciple of construction, for example the description, number and position of the lights, will, of course, be adjusted according to the judgment of the maker, and will be modified by the size of the apparatus and other circumstances. G. Tart. EDINBURGH, 2d January 1843. Description of a Marine Salinometer for the purpose of indi- cating the Density of Brine in the Boilers of Marine Steam- Engines. Invented by J. Scorr Russert, M.A., F.R.S.E., F.R.S.8.A., Civil Engineer. (With two Plates.) Commu- nicated by the Royal Scottish Society of Arts.* It was very early in the history of steam navigation that the inconvenience of raising steam from salt water was ex- perienced. When the Comet descended below Port-Glasgow * Read before the Royal Scottish Society of Arts 28th February 1842, and the Honorary Silver Medal of the Society awarded 14th November 1842. (944 UL TA PIL NINXY 724 SH =@ | iw BP you) sy] uorp099? HOV) ANTM WO WALTON TVS SUTISS LALOOS alt | | 5 | y inc | | | 11] a I | 1h | | T | | i i il | a or — hail i) i} | ! aM ==. | ; ! | YW ae )) | | , H(i | l MS [Sas ZOU Pd CPT (ilies — Vol. XXX Plate Vi Page 278. ——- es Ds = Hdin. Néw Phil. Journal. Vol. XNAIVPlate VPage 278. M® SCOTT RUSSELL'S SALINOMETER OR BRINE GAUGE peperenee ei ne Mul Water Line Density of Brine in Boilers of Marine Steam-Engines. 279 in 1812, the boiler was found to boil over, or prime, as it is technically called by engineers, when part of the water is forced up so violently, along with the steam, as to pass over into the cylinder of the engine—a circumstance always detrimental, and sometimes destructive to the engines. This arises from the thickening of the water, its density being increased by the retention of the solid substances, which compose sea-water, and which remain and accumulate in the boiler, while the fresh portion of the water is passing off in the shape of steam. This process of accumulation of solid matter in the marine boiler is by no means slow. The whole of the water which a marine-boiler usually contains is evaporated in three or four hours, leaving the solid substances in the cubic content of boiler behind it, and being replaced by salt water, with an equal quantity of depositary matter, accumulating as rapidly as be- fore ; and since it is known the solid matter amounts to as much as jz of the whole mass of water, it would follow, if the process of ebullition could continue so long as 150 hours, there would be deposited in the boiler-a quantity of solid matter equal to the number of tons of water in the whole content of the boiler. Long, however, before this degree of solidification can take place, evils of a different description intervene to impair and put an end to the functions of the boiler. The solid consti- tuents of salt water which are left behind do not diffuse them- selves uniformly over the whole liquid mass, so as to constitute a homogeneous brine ; on the contrary, the new supplies of sea-water, as they enter the boiler, remain secluded from the former more saturated brine, rise by their less specific gravity into an upper stratum, while the denser brine forms a bed in the lower part of the boiler, and surrounds the fire-box and heater- flues occupying the water-spaces and legs, which are usually at a high temperature, and which, in double-tiered boilers, are generally the most intensely heated. The intense heat of the metal expels the water from the brine in contact with it most rapidly in the hottest places, and salt is deposited on the hot- test parts of the furnaces and flues, extending rapidly to those less heated, and so not only diminishing the evaporative power of the boiler, but injuring its substance, and endangering its existence. 280 Mr Russell on a Marine Salinometer for indicating the The remedy for these evils was very early invented. But i have not been able to discover the inventor of the cleansing process commonly called “ blowing down,” or “ blowing off.” It is almost universal, and is performed in the following way : —Yhere is forced into the boiler, at each stroke, rather more water than is required for the supply of steam, so that the boiler becomes too full. Openings are then suddenly made at the bottom of the boiler, and the brine at the bottom being violently ejected, carries with it any solid substances that may have accumulated near the bottom—the boiler is thus cleansed ; and before the water has got too low, the openings are again closed, and the boiler continues to be fed as formerly. Another remedy, pretty generally adopted, is the brine- pump, by which, for every portion of water supplied to the boiler, about one-fourth part of that quantity of brine is with- drawn from it. This process does not so thoroughly carry off all the impurities as the former; but it is attended with a saving of fuel by a contrivance for giving to the feed-water entering the boiler a portion of the heat of the discharged brine. The recent introduction of this process is due to Messrs Maudslay and Field of London. In whatever way the saturation of the water with solid mat- ter may be remedied, it is essential to the accomplishment of this object, that some simple apparatus should be contrived for the purpose of shewing when the cleansing process is re- quired, and whether it is successfully applied. If this be not obtained, the usual consequence of acting on wrong data are sure to follow. A contrivance was patented, which was thought promising, but was found liable to be mechanically out of order when most wanted ;—a ball of greater specific gravity than salt ' water was connected with an external index, by which there was indicated on the outside the fact of the brine becoming sufficiently saturated to float this ball. Another was to place in the glass gauge of the boiler a glass hydrometer bead, which would float when the brine became saturated to a given point, and fall to the bottom in the ordi- nary state of the boiler. But this fails entirely of accuracy, although very elegant, for the brine of which we wish to indi- Density of Brine in Botlers of Marine Steam-Engines. 281 cate the density is in the lower stratum, not the upper one, where the usual glass gauge is placed, and irretrievable mis- chief might be done before the indication would shew any change. I have lately employed, in some large ships destined for transatlantic voyages, a species of brine-gauge, or index of saturation, which is found to possess every advantage, and which I therefore desire to communicate to the public through this Society. The drawings sent are such as may enable any engineer to construct them for himself. The details of the arrangement of the apparatus were made under the direction of Mr James Laurie, formerly one of my assistants ; and he also has obliged me by writing out the annexed description of the operation of using the index. The principle I have used is the well-known law, “ that the heights of equiponderant columns of liquids vary inversely as the densities of those liquids.” If I take open glass tubes bent in the form of the letter U. as in the diagram (fig. 1), and pour one fluid into one of the sides, and another fluid into the opposite side (taking care to use the heavier liquid defore the other); the one being mer- cury, and the other water, they will stand at the height of 1 inch and 13 inches respectively. If I use aleohol and water (fig. 2), they will stand at the height of 10 inches and 8 inches respectively, the height of the one fluid being always greater than that of the other, in the proportion in which its weight, density, or specific gravity is less. Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Fig. 3. | | / ----4 | Alcohol ; 282 Mr Russell on a Marine Salinometer for indicating the In like manner fresh water and salt water (fig. 3) will stand at heights of 40 and 41 inches, shewing a difference of 1 inch. The use which I make of this principle is as follows :—I reckon the best scale of saltness of a boiler to be that which takes the common sea-water as a standard. Sea-water con- tains 1, of saline matter. When the water has been evapo- rated, so as to leave only half the quantity of distilled water to the same quantity of saline matter, I call that two degrees of salt, or brine of the strength of two, and such brine would shew, in fig. 3, the columns 40 and 42, or double the saltness of sea-water, indicated by a difference of 2 inches. A farther saturation would be indicated by a difference of 3, 4, 5, and 6 inches between the columns, and so indicate three, four, five, six, and any further degrees of saltness—a range which may be made to any degree of minuteness by the subdivision of the scale of inches. This scale is that which appears to me most simply applicable here—and it is that which I adopt for marine boilers. The mechanical apparatus which I have employed to give this indication is perfectly simple, and has the advantage of being such as the engineer already perfectly understands. To the marine boiler I apply two water-gauges of glass, instead of one as at present used ; they both serve the purpose of the present glass gauges, and the pair would be valuable for this, if for no other reason, that there would always be a duplicate when one is broken, an accident not unfrequent. To these gauges I simply attach small copper pipes, so that one of them may be placed in communication only with the salt brine in the lower part of the boiler, and the other with the feed-water which is entering the boiler ; the one then holds a column of brine, and the other of pure sea-water, and each inch of dif- ference shews the degree of saturation. Without the use of any attached scale, the engineer, by a little practice, comes to know in his particular vessel what dif- ference in inches can be admitted without danger, and at what difference of height it is imperative to blow off. But it is con- venient to have an attached scale. It may be satisfactory to state, that the practical range of seale in an ordinary boiler in the ordinary working, is 6 to 10 inches, a difference sufficiently great to be easily observed. Density of Brine in Boilers of Marine Steam-Engines. 283 The rule of working them is nearly this :—Continue the operation of blowing off until, if possible, the difference of the columns is less than an inch, it will be unnecessary to blow off again until the difference is at least 6 inches. As a practical rule, I find that it is necessary to blow off when the brine at the bottom has about three degrees of salt- ness. But this will vary exceedingly, according as the con- struction of the boilers is more or less judicious. When the heat is greatest in the lowest portion of the boiler, and the flues return above, they will be most liable to salt, and require the most frequent cleansing. The following is Mr Laurie’s description of the instrument. The drawings give the details of the apparatus.—J. S. R. The fact that the specific gravity of salt-water is greater than that of fresh, and that it increases with the degree of saturation, is what the operation of this instrument depends on; by its means two columns of water, the one feed and the other brine, are poised against each other, so as that any dif- ference of weight betwixt these columns immediately becomes apparent by the lighter of the two requiring an accession in quantity to resist the upward pressure to which both columns are subjected. This is accomplished by having two common glass gauge-tubes close together, each of which is connected with a separate tube ; that inside the boiler descends to the level of the water, the specific gravity of which is to be mea- sured, and having either or both of these tubes so connected with the feed-pipe of the boiler, that by opening a cock one of the pipes will be filled with feed-water, while the other re- mains filled with brine, which cock being shut, the tubes re- main so filled ; but inasmuch as feed-water is of less specific gravity than brine, it will be forced up and stand in the glass tube at a higher level than the brine, which difference of levels increases with the saturation—and hence the index to judge of the saltness. In Plates VI. and VIL, A, B, are the two glass gauge-tubes ; C, one of the tubes forming the connection betwixt one of these glass gauge-tubes and its tube D, that descends inside of the boiler ; H, the tube forming the connection betwixt the upper ends of these tubes and the inside of the boiler ; F, G, two cocks 284 Mr Russell on a Marine Salinometer, &c. so made, as shewn in the drawing, that by their means each of the tubes inside of the boiler may be shut off from the glass tubes, and also may be connected with the tube H, leading from the feed-pipe of the boiler ; I, a cock affording the means of shutting off the tube E from the glass tubes, and also of connecting either of these glass tubes with the tube K, lead- ing to the bilge of the vessel ; each of these cocks has a handle, and when the instrument is indicating, the three handles hang perpendicularly downwards. Tobringthe instrument into ope- o—=s ration, the three handles must first be put in the position ° ° which has the effect of allowing the brine to flow right up the glass tube A, and out through the tube K, into the bilge of the vessel ; this having been done for so long a time as that A and its tube inside the boiler be thoroughly cleansed and filled with brine, the handles are then to be put in the posi- eo tion © ® , which, in like manner, cleanses and fills B and its tube inside of the boiler with brine ; finally, bring the handle of the top-cock into its original position, and put either of the lower handles horizontal, which forming a connection of the feed-pipe with one of the tubes inside of the boiler fills that tube with feed-water ; thus there are in the two tubes inside of the boiler two columns of water of different specific gravities, the one being brine, the specific gravity of which is to be measured, and the other feed-water, the specific gravity of which is pretty nearly constant, so long as the temperature of condensation is the same, and does not vary much let the tem- perature of condensation be what it may; but, inasmuch as these columns of water are of different specific gravities, the pressure on the bottoms of them will force the lighter up the glass tube, until such a quantity of brine has followed it as makes it of equal weight with the other ; and hence, in the two glass tubes, the water stands at different heights, the mag- nitude of which difference becomes known by means of the scale fixed betwixt the glass tubes, and therefore also the de- gree of saturation of the brine. The use of this instrument, which might be called a Sali- nometer, is not confined to this one object, for it answers Dr Hamilton’s Observations on the Llama, &c. 285 thoroughly all the purposes of the common glass gauge, the position of the surface of water in the boiler being midway betwixt the surfaces of water in the tubes. When either or both of the glass tubes is broken, put the eo—=p handles in the position { , and nothing can escape from °e © the boiler. i. WY ee Observations on the Llama, Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna. By Marute Hamitrton, Esq., M. D., late of Peru. Com- municated by the Author. Of all the quadrupeds on the elevated regions of the southern American continent, the most worthy of notice is the Llama tribe, which includes the Llama, Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vi- cuna. The llama and alpaca are seen domesticated in Peru, but the guanaco and vicuna only in the wild state, ex- cept where they are kept as prisoners. When the vicuna has been kept within doors for a time, it becomes an interest- ing, frolicksome creature, but it never acquires the tame and docile habits of the llama or alpaca. A beautiful pet vicuna lived in the house with me for several months, and was in the habit of coming into the public room at stated times, and took bread from my hand, when it often jumped about in the apart- ment, and put itself in the most graceful attitudes. Vicuna AnD GUANACO. The vicuna is much smaller than the guanaco or alpaca, and is more delicate and handsome in every respect. It has a large, prominent, glistening eye, which has a peculiar and expressive softness ; and when running with amazing speed, its neck, which is long and slender, is carried in a curved positicn like that of a swan or the letter S. These creatures are ex- ceedingly difficult to take without having recourse to artifice. They are seen in small bands of a dozen or more, and are found chiefly in those uninhabited regions of the Andes, where 286 Dr Hamilton’s Observations on the Llama, vegetation is hardly sufficient to afford them a scanty subsist- ence. I never saw either a guanaco or a vicuna on the plain of Ururo, which is above 100 miles long, and about 12,000 feet above the sea; nor have I observed them on any part of the table-land of Bolivia. They were seen chiefly on the journey across what is called the Cordillera of the coast, which, tra- velling from Tacna or Arica to Potosi via Oruro, with cargo mules, requires 6 or 7 days before descending to the table- land, on which numerous flocks of llamas, alpacas, and sheep, are seen ; but in the dismal region of the Cordillera the vicuna is found enjoying its freedom, and frequently indulging in its peculiar ery or rather whistle. It would seem to be ever on the watch against danger, for, when on the rout to Potosi, it sometimes happened, that on turning the shoulder of a moun- tain, or entering a ravine, I have seen a vicuna peep round a rock, or view us from an eminence, then immediately its whistle, not unlike that of the boatswain’s, was heard, and a troop of vicunas might be seen bounding in the distance, setting at defiance pursuit. It may be noticed, that the haunts of the vicuna appear to be confined to the more elevated regions of Peru only, for though in the higher lands towards the Equator, about Quito, we meet with the Ilama and alpaca, the vicuna is not found so far north, neither is it met with to the south beyond the tropic of Capricorn. It should also be noticed, that the same sort of food is used by all these species, and that which is most relished by them is called by the Indians Jehu, and grows to the height of several feet; it is a gramineous plant, and is called Jarava in the Flora Peruana. No satisfactory reason has been given for the circumstance of vicunas being seen only within these latitudes. They are found on the elevated parts of the province of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, in the interior of Bolivia, near the junction of that state with Brazil; but they are not seen in the equatorial re- gions of the Andes, nor in Chili, nor farther south. It is pos- sible that the greater altitude of the Punas of Peru, or Bo- livia, where the atmosphere is drier and its pressure less, may be more congenial to the nature of this interésting animal Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna. 287 than other parts of the Cordillera, such as about Quito, where there is more humidity, and several thousand feet less eleva- tion. In some parts of those sterile solitudes frequented by vicunas, even the ichu does not grow; and in such places the mosses afford them a scanty subsistence. In Peru, the guanaco haunts the same secluded tracts ; but it does not mingle with the vicuna. The former is much larger and more powerful, and is found on the high lands throughout nearly 50 degrees of latitude, even to the straights of Magellan. The guanaco weighs, on an average, about 8 arrobas, or 200 lb., and it is much more easily caught or run down than the vicuna; though extremely shy and sensitive on the approach of danger, emitting a sound some- what like the neigh of a horse, warning its companions, and then galloping off. Its skin is covered with a short coarse wool of a reddish-brown colour on the back and sides, running into stripes towards the belly, which inferiorly is white ; and the neck, which is much stronger than that of the vicuna, is carried straight while it is running. Its wool is exported, and is used for domestic purposes. The wool of the vicuna is of a brown or fawn colour; and though it is shorter than that of the alpaca, yet it is much more valuable, being exceedingly fine and soft, so that articles made of it are very handsome. The real wool of the vicuna sells at a high price in Peru; and the best hats, gloves, ponchos, &c. are made of it, being more costly in proportion than the wool ; but that may be a result of no spurious materials being put into the things manufac- tured there, and also from the difficulty of working such fine wool. The city of La Paz, in Bolivia, is famous for the manufac- ture of hats ; the finer sort are very well made, having a very broad brim, and are well adapted both for shading the head from the solar rays, and also from rain. In 1835, the price of hats in La Paz varied from one to fifty dollars each; one of the best, of vicuna wool, cost three doubloons, or L.10 ster- ling. Such a hat is soft and light, and may last many years. Ponchos are sometimes made of the same sort of wool, one of which costs more than fifty cotton ones, which for use serve nearly as well. The ancient sovereigns, the Incas of 288 Dr Hamilton’s Observations on the Llama, Peru, and their families, were clothed with the manufactured wool of vicunas ; for the native Peruvians, and especially the females, in districts far in the interior, near the confines of Brazil, are expert weavers. I have seen cotton goods of superior quality, such as table- covers, quilts, ponchos, &c. from the province of Moxos, but these were sold at a much higher price than similar articles from Europe. The late General Parroisien informed me that he had a poncho of vicuna wool, which cost 700 dollars, or L.140. There is reason to fear that now the vicunas will soon be exterminated, if those who have the power do not adopt measures for their protection, and prevent that indis- criminate slaughter which is now being inflicted on these in- teresting and valuable animals. From time immemorial, the vicuna has been captured chiefly in the following manner :—A number of Indians form themselves into a chaco, or hunting party, together with some of those small dogs of which almost every family pos- sesses one or more. They choose the proper time of the year, and, with a supply of corn and chuno,* resort to those dreary regions where the guanaco and vicuna are found. Havy- ing fallen in with their game, the Indians spread themselves over a wide extent of ground, accompanied by their dogs, and gradually narrow the circle. At a spot previously fixed on, there is a sort of enclosure made with ropes attached to poles brought for the purpose, and which are fixed in the ground at the necessary distances, and with the ropes at such a height as the pursued vicunas cannot pass with their heads elevated. On some occasions, to make the snare more complete, a wide space near the enclosure is surrounded by a number of small red flags, raised a little from the ground, and floating in the air. The result is, that by means of the shouts of the Indians, and their gradual approach to the enclosure, with the barking and movements of the dogs, and the motion of the flags with the wind, the vicunas being naturally timid, are driven into the snare, and, neither jumping over nor stooping under the * Chuno is frosted potatoes in powder, and boiled in water with lard and spice into a sort of pottage, which is nutritive, and much used by the Indians. Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna. 289 ropes, they are taken and slain, and skinned on the spot. In such excursions, the Indians in some cases are many weeks, and even months, in those inhospitable regions, away from the haunts of men, and at all times they suffer great privations. The cold is always severe during night, in consequence of the great altitude, and they are exposed to terrific storms of light- ning and thunder, often accompanied with very large hail, or rather pieces of ice. When unsuccessful in the chase, they may be short of food and suffer severely. Though such expeditions are called hunting, yet sport is not the object in view, but gain only. When the vicunas are captured, they are not shorn as in olden times, and then let go; but are killed, and the skins put aside with the wool on them ; then the Indians gorge themselves and their dogs with the flesh, and if any portion of the carcase is left, the condors devour it. In former times, the Indians were obliged by law to let all female vicunas escape after being shorn, and also the males, except a few which were allowed to be retained for food when necessary ; and thus the continuance of the species was secured. But for many years past, an indiscriminate slaughter has been executed, and of course the number of vicunas is diminishing every year; and if stringent measures are not soon adopted to give protection, there is reason to fear that the race of vicunas will, ere long, become extinct, at least in so far as relates to the obtainment of the wool. The reason assigned for flaying these creatures, instead of merely shearing them, is, that the wool is so valuable, that, when put up in bales, it is fraudulently mixed with other wool similar in colour, which in some cases is obtained both from the llama and alpaca ; and, in these circumstances, mer- chants are not so willing to buy it. The government of Peru and Bolivia should immediately prohibit, under severe penal- ties, the destruction of vicunas. These animals might be shorn of their wool as in the time of the Incas, and as is done now with other wool producers in those parts, such as llamas, alpacas, and the common sheep, of which latter there are millions in Upper Peru. 290 Dr Hamilton’s Observations on the Llama, Lrama anp ALPACA. The llama is at present found all over the southern tropic, from Rio Bamba at the foot of Chimborazo, under the equator, to beyond Potosi, It is a most important agent for the com- fort and convenience of the Indian population of Peru. It affords food, and more especially clothing, and serves as a beast of burden ; but it is not used for riding on, as has been erroneously narrated by some authors, for a Peruvian Indian never makes a journey on any animal, except when he is com- pelled to do so; and then it ison one capable of conveying more than 100 Ibs., which is the maximum cargo for a llama or alpaca. It is not known when these creatures first ap- peared in those lofty regions where they now abound, but it would seem that they were in Peru prior to the appearance of the first Inca, Manco Capac, who reigned in the 12th cen- tury ; for it is supposed that at an earlier period Peru was in the possession of a people who, though less advanced in ciyili- zation, we may conclude were in the habit of spinning the wool of these animals with the distaff; as, in the absence of written evidence, we find in their burial-places distaffs made of wood, indicating an earlier and a more rude state of society than that which existed under the Incas, whose subjects made their distaffs of copper, which have been taken from their huacas, along with the materials for spinning. It is probable that these more ancient people availed them- selves of the wool of the llama tribe for domestic purposes, and that the present race of Peruvians merely copied the ex- ample, or improved on the manufactures of their predecessors. Be that as it may, the llama and alpaca still exist in immense numbers all over the higher regions of Peru and Bolivia, and are a source both of profit and amusement to the natives. None but those who have been on familiar terms with the Peruvian mountaineers, can know the deep interest which they take in their llamas and alpacas: they exhibit a solici- tude in the welfare of these creatures, which seems to have other root than mere pecuniary considerations. The Peruvian Indian is a mild, kindly being, when not under the debasing influence of ardent spirits, of which a great Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna. 291 quantity is now annually consumed in the elevated districts. He is often insulated from neighbours and from his family while tending his flocks on the “ichuales,” or on some long journey with them. In these circumstances, the Indian looks on his charge more as companions than as mere beasts of burden. I have often been amused to hear an Indian speak to a llama or alpaca as if it had understood him; and the plaintive instrumental music of the Indian, called yaravies, consisting of a succession of doleful and monotonous sounds, produced by blowing into one end of a reed, which is held like a clarionet, is supposed by them to be much appreciated by the llama. Those brutal acts of cruelty, which are so often inflicted on the dumb creation in some parts of Europe, are never imposed by the Peruvian on his fleecy charge ; he rather adopts every means in his power to make them happy, and on a march with cargoes, he is ever on the watch to render assistance to a llama or alpaca whose burden may have shifted from its place, or where symptoms of weakness or weariness may appear. Llamas, in their native clime, are on an average rather more than four feet in height from the spine to the ground, and the alpaca is a few inches less ; but the latter is a much more handsome and interesting animal. There is a brilliancy and expression in the eye of the alpaca, as seen when on the punas of the Andes, which are not so striking to the observer who sees it on the coast only. Indeed, there is a greater degree of vigour and vivacity in all the movements of these creatures when on their native soil, where the atmosphere is little more than half the density of that at the sea-level. The llama receives the male in the recumbent position, with its limbs doubled under its body, in the same manner as when asleep or at rest. Gestation con- tinues seven months ; one at atime is produced; it begins to breed the third year, and the duration of life is ten or twelve years. These animals are invaluable to the Indians of the Andes, who cannot afford to keep mules, even did the climate admit, but who, with a troop of llamas and alpacas, manage both to maintain their position in the social circle, and to save money when not plundered by the operations of 299 Dr Hamilton’s Odservadions on the Llama, contending armies. It would appear from the statements of some of the earlier writers on Peru, particularly Acosta, who. wrote soon after the Spanish conquest, that llamas were then used for carrying silver from Potosi to Arica, on the coast of the Pacific Ocean, prior to its being shipped for Europe ; but neither llamas nor alpacas have been employed for any such purpose during a long period, for the distance is so great, and the march of llamas so slow, as to make some other mode of transit necessary. Acosta states that the distance from Po- tosi to Arica is seventy leagues; hence it may be supposed that he never went over the ground, and that some of the earlier writers on Peru, like others of more recent date, often wrote without a competent knowledge of their subject, and drew on the imagination for facts alleged by them. Of late years, much care has been taken to obtain more accurate information as to places and distances in Peru than can be had either from recorded statements or Spanish maps, most of which, either from design or ignorance, were often most erroneously given. The distance from Arica to Potosi, via Oruro, is 170 leagues, or 510 English miles, and the distance between the same places, by the Desert of Caran- ja, which is taking the hypotenuse of the triangle, is 154 leagues, or about 460 miles, by both of which routes I have travelled to Potosi and the coast. On the Desert route there is only one village seen, that of Andamarca, which is occu- pied by Indians, who speak the Amara language, and is seventy leagues from Potosi, and eighty-four from Arica or Tacna, Llamas are not used for the conveyance of silver from Po- tosi to the coast ; but the ¢in, which is obtained from the mines of Oruro, is brought to Arica by llamas and alpacas. The journey from Oruro to Arica, which is 100 leagues, takes one month with these creatures, for with burdens they travel only three or four leagues in twenty-four hours, and there are days of rest. When a llama or alpaca is tired, he gives vent to his feel- ings by a peculiar cry, which is different from the sound which he utters when teased or irritated.* * These Indians believe, that if the cud or saliya which is ejected to a Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna. 293 If he is not allowed to rest, or relieved from his load soon after giving the notice of his weariness, he sinks to the earth in his usual peculiar manner, all his limbs being bent under his body, and there he dies. Nokind treatment can induce him to attempt a renewal of the journey ; and the Indians, knowing this singular characteristic of these animals, are disposed at all times to attend to their complaints, and to halt when ne- cessary. It may be supposed that it would not be expedient to trust to such a mode of conveyance any thing of much intrinsic value. The great motive which the Indian has to employ the llama as a beast of burden, is the total exemption from expense on the journey. They do not cost any thing for food or lodg- ing ; there are no tolls, and the Indian has his own necessaries carried by one of his pets, so that when one of them comes down to the coast with a quantity of tin bars or other goods, he both obtains a sum of money for freight, and also ma- nages to sell some of his aged fleecy friends to the butcher to feed Indians resident on the coast. No locality in Peru was more benefited by the Hama than the city of Potosi during its greatest prosperity. When I was there in 1827, the population of that place was only 9000 souls, of whom only 1000 were employed in the mines ; though so recently as in the year 1800, the population was 80,000, and at that time 20,000 men and boys were engaged in the mines and the works connected therewith. But it appears that about the year 1680 the population of the city of Potosi amounted to 160,000 souls, in consequence of the flourishing state of the mines at that time—for without these mines there never would have been a town or any inhabitants in a loca- lity so very difficult of access as it is, and with such a horrid climate as is there experienced. However, it is wonderful what mercenary men will do to obtain the precious metals, and Potosi, to some extent, still stands a monument of the enterprise and perseverance of the Spaniards. A mint-house, distance by the llama when irritated, touches the human cutis, it produces asrna or itch, or, in the Indian language, carache. But though I have seen the experiment tried, I never knew a case of psoia so induced. ” YOL. XXXIV. NO. LXVIII.—apPnit 1843. U 294 Dr Hamilton’s Observations on the Llama, larger than that at London, a palace, a theatre, court-houses, eighteen parish churches, and other public edifices, still testify what Potosi has been. This may seem to be a digression from the llama; but it is not so, for without the services of that animal, so well adapted to such an extraordinary locality, the mines could not have been wrought to the extent which they weré. ‘To understand how the llama was so necessary there, it should be stated that the cerro of Potosi, whence the silver ore is obtained, is at one end of the city, and all the works, where the ore is pounded, ground, roasted, and the sil- ver extracted, have ever been at the other extremity of the town, and distant about a league from where the ore is brought up to the surface by Indians. All the ore is pounded and ground by means of machinery, acted on by water-wheels, which are moved by water from a very large reservoir placed among the hills above the city. The reservoir is supplied from various sources or ponds among the hills, whence the water is conveyed to the reservoir by means of aqueducts and conduits, and descends from the reservoir to the city by gra- vitation, supplying both the silver works and the town, many of the houses having the water conveyed into them through leaden pipes. But with all these advantages, the mines of Potosi could not have been wrought so easily without the aid of the llama and alpaca; for the ore, in immense quantity, had to be carried from the mines to the works, and that, too, over a most rugged and unequal surface, at an altitude of nearly 14,000 feet above the level of the ocean: no other ani- mals in the world are so well adapted for such work in such a locality. Except water, every thing for the sustenance of man and beast has to be brought to Potosi from a distance of many miles over mountain tracts, the nearest spot where fuel (wood or charcoal) is obtained being thirty miles off. In such circumstances, the llama was invaluable, its food, pajon, é.e. iechu in the dry state, was brought by means of mules and asses, so that these llamas or alpacas cost very little for maintenance while working at the mines. The result was, that many thousands of them were employed in Potosi as beasts of burden between the mines and the places where the ma- chinery is placed ; and, when necessary, the flesh was used Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna. 295 for food by the vast Indian population of Potosi, while the wool was made into warm clothing, so necessary in that rigor- ous climate, where at night the temperature is below the freezing point, though, during the day, the solar rays are often noxious to health. The number of llamas and alpacas in Bolivia and Upper Peru is still very great, amounting to several millions, and the common sheep is also abundant. From the milk of the latter good butter is made by the Indians, but is little used by them, it being mostly put into bladders and sent to places where a good price is obtained for it ; cheese is also made from the same source. The common sheep there affords a large quantity of wool; and if proper means were adopted, the number of llamas, alpacas, and sheep might be increased, and, of course, there would be a corresponding amount of fleeces. The Indians are not much in the habit of slaughtering the llama or alpaca for food so long as they are otherwise useful ; the sheep and lamb are oftener used for culinary purposes, and white men seldom wish to eat llama-flesh a second time if they can get anything better. None of those animals require the use of tar or any unctuous substance while on the punas of Peru. The climate on these heights is very peculiar, for though during a part of the year there is much rain or snow on the western slopes of the Andes, and occasionally where the Ilama and alpaca are mostly seen, yet the air on the punas is singu- larly dry, so that a want of perspiration, even among the hu- man species, is a general complaint there. ‘“ No puedo yoa sudor,”’ is often heard, Thus, the climate where these animals thrive so well, is very elastic, and the reverse of damp or humid, which cir- cumstance, together with the sort of food they get, and the exceeding rare atmosphere in which they live, may be the cause of the fine fleece obtained. When I was in Bolivia much ignorance and carelessness was shewn by most of the proprietors of flocks relative to the management of the wool, which, in many cases, was allowed to drop, or to be torn off, and was not shorn at stated periods, as should be done under a proper system of management. 296 Dr Hamilton’s Observations on the Llama, But latterly there has been such a demand for wool that more attention will be given to the fleece, both of the llama tribe and the common sheep of Peru; and if this important object he taken up by competent parties, both the quality and quan- tity of wools from that quarter may be increased. It has been suggested that attempts should be made to na- turalize the alpaca and llama on a large scale in this country for the purpose of wool-growing, and also for obtaining the flesh of these animals to eat; but as to the latter, not to no- tice its cost, the important question arises, would the flesh of these creatures be relished by people in Britain ; and though I have no desire again to partake of such ‘ venison,’ yet the ex- periment may now be made, seeing that a number of these animals are now domiciled in this country; and as tastes do differ, it is possible that a joint of a llama or alpaca may be- come a welcome dish on the Englishman’s table. But allowing the eatability of alpaca flesh among Eng- lishmen, another question arises, would it be profitable? and also, can the wools of these animals be purchased at a much cheaper rate when sent from Peru than they could be bought at, if purchased from the speculator in llamas or alpacas, who would propose to rear them on a grand scale on the bogs and sterile mountains, or other parts of Britain and Ire- land? These are important points for the consideration of all who would involve capital in sucha speculation. I still hold the opinion expressed at the meeting of the British Associa- tion at Glasgow, 7. e. that the experiment is worth trying by those who are able and willing to risk the necessary expense ; but I fear that it cannot succeed, because, besides other ad- verse circumstances, the climate of Britain is very unlike that of the native country of the alpaca. It may be noticed that many llamas and alpacas are alto- gether white, but more of them, especially alpacas, are wholly black, exhibiting as marked a contrast as the black and white swine which are seen in Piedmont. Party-coloured Ilamas and alpacas are numerous; and wool from them of a brown colour has occasionally been mixed with that of the vicuna. Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna. 297 The Indians of the mountains manufacture themselves nearly all their warm clothing from the wool of their animals ; and so many being all black, they are able to appear in dresses of a sable hue without the aid of a dyer ; and numbers of them of both sexes are dressed in black garments, which circum- stance has induced some persons to suppose, that the Peru- vians of the present day are still in mourning for their Incas ; but the true explanation is the fact just noted. From the wools of different colours, fancy pieces are also made by these Indians, whose mode of weaving, in so far as I saw it, is primitive in the extreme. When passing through the village of Andamarca, I observed a woman weaving a piece of black cloth : her loom was composed of only four short bits of wood, which were stuck into the ground in the open air before her hut; she was resting on both her knees, and stooping at the work, and conveyed the weft from one side of the cloth to the other with her fingers—the piece appeared about 18 inches in width. A few years ago, there was no fixed price in Bolivia for alpacas, &c., for that varied with the locality and other cir- cumstances. In 1827, when on the route from Potosi to the coast, through the desert of Caranja, we were under the ne- cessity of occasionally buying a sheep or llama, for we travelled with a number of mules loaded with silver, and were seventeen days on the journey. We passed some numerous flocks of llamas, alpacas, and sheep, and though not a human habitation was seen throughout one portion of the route of above 200 miles, yet, as was stated by our guides, all these creatures had owners who would miss any which might be taken from their flocks. While on the march one day, our cook first ran down with his mule, and then picked up a sheep from a herd, for which he had not paid, as no person was in sight; but after we had travelled four hours, or above twelve miles from the spot where our mutton was obtained, an Indian overtook us and held out his hand for “ quatro reales,” 2s., the price of the sheep, and was quite happy with his half dollar, though he had to trudge 24 miles for it; at the same time I learned that while half sa dollar was the price of a sheep there, that of an alpaca was a dollar, and two dollars that of a full grown llama. 298 Mr Chambers on the existence of raised Beaches In some parts of those vast solitudes between the eastern and western Andes, there is no vegetation of any sort, but at other places the ichu grows in abundance, and there myriads of llamas and alpacas are seen, thriving in their native but rigorous climate ; and exhibiting a length of fleece (in some cases not shorn for years) which would astonish an English wool-stapler. In these deserts water is rarely seen, except at some of the halting stations, where a hole dug in the ground affords a supply of bad quality. I never saw a llama or an alpaca take a drink. The price of llamas on the coast of Peru varies at different times and places. At Tacna, in 1835, the price was three or four dollars, and I never knew more than six dollars being paid for those which were shipped for Europe. When we consider the expense of conveying these creatures from Peru to England, it is obvious that it will not be profitable to ob- tain wool from the animals so imported; and it has been already stated, that an attempt to rear them in this country, in sufficient numbers, is not likely to succeed. On the Existence of raised Beaches in the neighbourhood of St Andrews. By R. Cuampgrs, Esq., F.R.S.E. With a Plate. Communicated by the Author.* On coming, in May last year, to reside in St Andrews, I was much struck at the very first by certain geognostic fea- tures of the environs, of the same character with those re- mains of ancient beaches which have excited the attention of geologists in other parts of the island, but much more distinct than any which I have had an opportunity of seeing. Afterwards, as I extended my rambles from St Andrews, I was much interested in observing continuations of these re- markable platforms along towards the vale of the Eden, some way up that vale, and on the country immediately beyond it. It seemed to me that St Andrews presented unusual oppor- * Read before the Philosophical Society of St Andrews. UMUPLE WW oe UPYPPUOOIST obunugqog x 28l. oma) burn Pym = —~S Mere, iy Pas. wy "hobo g = p eas =e A \p — S3HOVId GASIVY - —— J ———— (SENANAUOS VAN ) SSS ~ AIIM a (“SMAWANVES J° GCOOHMMO GHISLAIN ) \he 7 his in the neighbourhood of St Andrenrs. 299 tunities for the study of this particular class of geological phe- nomena, and that it might be worth while to direct local attention to these geognostic features, as many young persons, and others who had not given much attention to geology, might thus be enabled, at the cost of little more trouble than that of a forenoon’s walk, to study what is certainly one of the most curious and wonderful results of geological research and speculation which have been laid before the public for some years. The particular superficial feature which first arrested my attention in this neighbourhood, was the platform on which the town stands, with its smooth continuation westwards to Lawpark, and north-westwards to Strathtyrum. The uniform linearity of this piece of country is such as might strike the most careless eye. I also observed that, to the south of the Kinness Burn, there was a continuation of this platform on exactly the same level—a vale of from an eighth to a quar- ter of a mile intervening. It was not long after, that I found a narrow stripe of the same platform extending be- yond Strathtyrum, towards the Guard Bridge, and traced, what appeared, its continuation in Leuchars parish, north of the Eden. I also could plainly trace, on the ascent towards Scooniehill, a second or higher platform, less extensive in all respects, but equally linear and level. Finally, I have found fainter traces of a third, and even of a fourth platform, the last being the narrow stripe on which Mount Melville House and Feddinch Mains are situated. To speak particularly of the first plateau. It may be described as a slope of very slight inclination, rising from the verge of the sea between St Nicholas and the Butts, towards Lawpark, and extending westwards to the site of Bloomhill and Kincaple. The town of St Andrews is situated on the part nearest the sea. But for the deep and wide intersection formed by the Kinness Burn, and a few similar but smaller intersections, it would have been a still more remarkable tract of linearly sur- faced ground. The soil, I am told, is generally of a sandy character, such as might be expected on a tract like Leith Sands, or the West Sands of St Andrews, if these beaches were to be raised above the sea-level, and transformed into 300 Mr Chambers on the existence of raised Beaches dry land. It is observable to every eye, that scarcely any stones occur throughout this tract : the fields everywhere seem composed of a light powdery earth, and the site of the town itself is so sandy, that rain never rests on the streets for any length of time. The second plateau is a comparatively narrow terrace, trace- able on the hither face of Scooniehill, and for a considerable way to the eastward, generally about a hundred feet above the level of the first plateau. I have chiefly observed it opposite to the town, but I learn from Mr Duncan, land-surveyor, that it is clearly traceable along by Brownhills farm, and as far eastward as his own house at Thornbank, three miles from St Andrews. Its western extremity melts into the slope of Scooniehill, at a point a little to the westward of Pipeland farm-house, which is situated upon it. What I think may prove to be a third plateau is the gene- rally level piece of ground on which Ballone and Lumbo farm-houses are situated, and which extends a little to the eastward of Cairnsmill, overlapping (so to speak) the western termination of the second terrace. Cairnsmill is situated in a hollow of this plateau, wrought by the rivulet which passes it on its way to join the Kinness Burn. I have paid less at- tention to the fourth plateau, but deem it also tolerably distinct. As mentioned before, Mount Melville House and Feddinch Mains farm-house are situated upon it. It seems to be less elevated above the third than the third is elevated above the second, or the second above the first; but, on this point, I only speak by the vague information of the eye. From what I had previously seen of the ancient beach along the Firth of Forth, I had, of course, no doubt as to the origi- nal character of, at least, the first and second plateau at St Andrews ; but, as many here, from unacquaintance with the subject, might be unprepared to see the matter as I saw it, and for the sake of accurate information for myself, I re- solved to have the levels along these beaches taken by an unprejudiced and professional hand. Mr Duncan has done me this service in a highly satisfactory manner. It must here be remarked, that to take these levels is a very deli- cate matter, for the plateau is in so many places cut down, in the neighbourhood of St Andrews. —~ 301 or worn away, by rills, that it is difficult to pitch upon spots which may be presumed to be near the line of the original sur- face. When you stand, indeed, upon the plateau itself, you are apt to be confounded by the undulations which you sce near you, and it is when you take a somewhat distant view that the linearity is most striking. There is another effect of time which adds to the confusion, namely, the wearing down of the ancient sea-cliffs above and below, which tends to give the sectional line only a slight wave in some places. It was necessary beforehand to pitch upon places which, at a distant view, seemed unworn by the intersecting rills, and to follow a line sufficiently distant from the ancient sea-cliff, to be unaffected by its debris. Mr Duncan did his best to walk by these rules ; but he could not be expected, in the circum- stances, to work out my wishes with perfect exactness. We must also be prepared to allow for slight discrepancies, on ac- count of presumable slight inequalities in even the original line of the ground. Every here and there, along such an esplanade as the West Sands, we may observe slight swells and depressions of the surface. Besides, an uniform degree of ele- vation is not predicated in the case ; a general linearity with- in a considerable space or tract, is what we may say is looked for by the geologist. The accompanying map (Plate VIII.) contains Mr Duncan’s marks along the lines of the first and second plateau, namely, ten marked levels in the first instance, and nine in the second. Beginning with the first plateauat an interesting crust of it which overhangs the eastern extremity of the East Sands, he goes west- ward in a curving line to the south-east corner of the Strath- tyrum policy, near Balgove, giving the following levels in suc- cession :—60, 62, 654, 683, 70, 683, 70, 74, 69, 74. The sixth of these numbers (683 feet) is given at the spot where the line crosses the Largo road. The eighth of the series (74 feet) is given near Lawpark. I may here observe, that Mr Duncan takes, as a datum line from which to mark his levels, the high- water mark, as presumed to be indicated by the abutment of the arch which crosses the Kinness Burn at St Nicholas. He has also found by the spirit-level, that the gently sloping table- 302 Mr Chambers on the existence of raised Beaches land behind Easter Kincaple is on the same level with the ground immediately south-east of Strathtyrum. Indeed, the identity of surface line which exists between Strathtyrum and Kincaple is remarkable to the unassisted eye, and forms a phenomenon which it would be impossible at present to ac- count for otherwise. Mr Duncan’s marks on the second pla- teau are equally striking, from not only a uniformity in them- selves, but a uniformity in relation to the first plateau. Com- mencing here to the eastward of Kingask, and following a curving line westwards to the termination at Pipeland, he gives the following series of numbers, expressive of the height of the various parts above the present high-water mark :— 156, 154, 154, 157, 161, 156, 155, 170, 166. The extreme variation here is 14 feet ; that between the first and last num- ber only ten, the places pointed to being several miles apart. As in the first plateau, the increase of height is towards the west or inland. Mr Duncan has made some further observations, not by re- gular /evelling, as in these instances, but by his eye only and by the use of the telescopic spirit-level. I here quote from his notes :—‘ Taking up the first old beach where we left off near St Nicholas, we have first (going eastward) a break of about a mile, caused by the steep cliffs and high bold shore under Brownhills. Passing, however, alittle to the east of Kittock’s Den, we again come upon land exactly suiting our level, and an- swering, not only in this particular, but in every other, the cha- racter of an old sea-bed. This almost level surface, I followed out for several miles, with no interruptions but what were perfectly explicable. Where I left off, the same gently slop- ing land was continued onward, and I have no doubt that it would be found to go all the way round above Fife Ness, and for a considerable way up the shores of the Firth of Forth. The soil, almost everywhere throughout what I have inspected of this ancient beach, is of a like nature, being light and dry, and full of small shells, and of excellent quality.” With respect to the country beyond the Eden, he states as follows: ** Commencing my levelling from what was pointed out to me as being nearly about high-water mark, on the in the neighbourhood of St Andrews. 303 Mottrey Burn, at Milton Saw-Mill, I passed by Milton farm- house, ascended the hill or steep bank northward, and conti- ‘nued along its flattish ridge, as far as the small round hollow near its northern extremity. In passing along, I determined the elevation of the under-mentioned objects, principally by directing the telescopic sight of the spirit-level towards them, and making the necessary allowances for dip, &c. This tak- ing the height by observation, it may be remarked, cannot be depended upon within a few feet :— Feet. 1. Elevation of a rounded bank on the Dundee Road, opposite Milton farm-house, : - 5 3 ‘ f : 50 2. Ground on which Leuchars church stands, ‘ = 5 55 3. A flat bank or surface extending from the west end of Leu- chars village northward, along the left of the Dundee Road, ; . . » 5 é 3 - 56 to 60 4. A high flattish bank to the south-west of Milton Saw-Mill, 62 5. A flattish gently-sloping surface, north-east of Pusk (aver- BEE: Scr oucieaes pn ‘ee The Te So Ae ts - | 60 6. Height of Milton farm-bank, near its south end, : : Tie 7. The same, at the north march of the farm, ; 3 F 91" Mr Duncan found some other platforms in this neighbour- hood, which are generally about 107 feet above the level of the sea. This, it will be observed, does not correspond with any beach observable near St Andrews: but this may be ac- counted for in various ways—by none more simple than this, that that beach may not be marked in our immediate neigh- bourhood. As our second plateau is not marked on Scoonie- Hill, west of Pipeland, so may this not have been marked in that situation at all. The other elevations enumerated by Mr Duncan, correspond strikingly with those of our first pla- teau. The remarkable-looking mound on which Leuchars kirk stands, is composed of gravel and other sea-deposited materials. It is clearly a fragment of the last sea-bed, left by accidental causes. Mr Fraser, in his Map of Fife, gives its height as 57 feet, which is just about that of a large part of the platform on which St Andrews is situated. The linea- rity of the surfaces enumerated by Mr Duncan in the Leuchars district, is extremely striking ; and from that place, the lines formed by our own second, third, and fourth terraces, are seen with the greatest distinctness. 304 Mr Chambers on the existence of raised Beaches, Applying the theory of upheaving forces to our vicinage, we must presume, that at one time—a time early as compared with our historical retrospect, but late in geological chrono- logy—certainly later than any of the trap disturbances, or even the age of the diluvium—only the tops of some of the neighbouring hills were above the surface of the sea. The sea then closely surrounded the heights on which Scoonie- Hill farm-house and Feddinch House are situated, and the Drumearrie Hill. It was at that time that the platform on which Mount Melville house and Feddinch Mains stand, was formed. An upheaval, to an extent which I am not able at present to specify, raised a larger portion of the slopes of those and other heights into the air, and then began the for- mation of the second platform—that on which Pipeland and Old Grange are situated. Another upheaval, of about 100 feet, extended the bounds of dry-land still farther, and then began the formation of what I have called the first or great plateau. This may be presumed to have been, in our locality, an extensive sandy-beach, much like that now existing at Leith. The tide must have every day risen and fallen at least a mile, namely, along the ground now covered by the town, and up to the site of Lawpark Cottage, where the traces of the beach terminate in that direction. Afterwards an up- heaval of about 60 feet must have taken place, leaving land and sea in what, generally speaking, may be called their pre- sent relative situations. The last beach was now dry land. At the site of the town and to the eastward, the ocean rested upon the upturned edges of aseries of the lower carboniferous strata, which, in time, it seems to have cut down into the pre- sent beach and overhanging cliffs. To the westward of the site of the town, where these sandstone strata ceased to ap- pear, the sea rested against a bank of clay, which it, in like manner, cut in upon; this is the bank which now sweeps round from Pilmour Row, by Strathtyrum, and along under Bloomhill and Kincaple, to the Eden. At the one place, there was a promontory; at the other, a bay. But as the rocks were worn down at the one place, the bay was filled up with sand at the other. ‘This effect the waves and winds in the neighbourhood of St Andrews. 305 would conspire to bring about. We must not, therefore, be surprised to find the Links of St Andrews, and the whole ground under the Strathtyrum bank, several feet above the level of the sea. The whole of that land is one mass of sand, the lower part of which is probably of aqueous deposition, while the upper part is evidently an accumulation effected by high winds blowing from the sea, after the manner of many similar accumulations in other parts of the world, aided, per- haps, by occasional tides of abnormal height. ‘Towards the mouth of the Eden, another cause comes in to help this for- mation, namely, the silt brought down by the river. The Tents’ Muir, to the north of the mouth of the Eden, is an ac- cumulation chiefly of wind-blown sand, like the Pilmour or St Andrews Links. Both the beaches and cliffs have here, as usual, been much cut by water-courses. We have a cut on each side of Mr Brown’s house of Grange, one on each side of Pipeland farmhouse, a great one in the line of the Kinness Burn, and several others. The vale of the Kinness Burn, below Law- park, has all, of course, been formed since the last upheaval, and it is easy to see why it has taken the direction which we find it has taken. The spot at Lawpark has been the bottom or terminating point of a small bay, where the rivulet was originally received. The direction of this bay was towards St Nicolas, or the site of the present harbour ; that is to say, a line between these two points ran over a somewhat lower part of the beach than the rest. Along this line, the rivulet would proceed at the ebb of tide. After the upheaval it would begin to cut down into its original sandy channel ; and this process would be continued till, with its small accessories, it had carved out the present little vale between the site of the ~ town and the opposite bank, nearly (in some places) a quar- ter of a mile distant. But for the formation of this vale, and the rearing of the town, we should have had at this place a piece of ancient beach clearly perceptible to the eye, of an extent which I have never seen equalled. The apparatus brought before the society in connection with this paper, is an humble attempt of my own to illustrate 306 Dr Fleming on the Expediency of forming Harbours sensibly the upheaving power and its effects. A model in putty of the country near St Andrews, is formed upon a flat plate of iron, which is suspended in a trough partially filled with water, so as to leave the supposed Mount Melville beach on a level with the surface of the water. By mechanism, the plate can be raised till the third beach is brought to the same level, next the second, afterwards the first ; and, finally, by a further elevation, land and sea are shewn in their present re- lative situations, excepting that I have represented, as already formed, that sandy embankment which now keeps the sea most part of a mile away from the Strathtyrum bank. Brief remarks on the Expediency of Forming Harbours of Re- Suge on the Kast Coast of Scotland, between the Moray Firth and the Firth of Forth.* By Joun Fiumine, D. D., Pro- fessor of Natural Philosophy, King’s College, Aberdeen, F.R.S.E., Member of Wernerian Society, &e. Communi- cated by the Author. The subject of the following observations appears to be well calculated to command public attention, whether we consider the amount of human life, or the value of commercial property at stake. That no public enquiry should have been instituted respecting the @xposed state of the East Coast of Scotland, with a view to the formation of Harnours or Rerucr, when it was granted elsewhere, may seem inexplicable, unless we bear in mind that lamentable apathy exhibited by our repre- sentatives in Parliament, wherever Scottish interests of a general character are concerned. The necessity which arises for the construction of harbours of refuge, involves the consideration of the defects of the ex- isting harbours, which have been so long resorted to, and which at one period of our trade might have been deemed sufficient for every ordinary purpose. But to comprehend the true * The substance of the remarks on Harbours of Refuge, was communicated to the Aberdeen Philosophical Society, at their first meeting, February 7. 1840. of Refuge on the East Coast of Scotland. 307 character of these defects, it is necessary to advert, however briefly, to a few clementary truths of physical geography, which may not perhaps be generally attended to, although highly illustrative of the subject. When we examine a Vatuey of any extent with the eye of a geologist, we shall generally find that the rocks which ex- ist in the trough, are softer and more easily acted upon than those which form the bounding ridges. Interspersed portions of harder rock may be occasionally found among the softer materials, but those will merely cause inequalities in the valley, and mark, by their elevation, the resistance which has been offered to the disintegrating forces which have reduced the contiguous portions to a lower level. When we examine a Bay, or indentation on the coast, we generally find analogous appearances. The softer beds have been acted upon, broken up, and removed by the action of the ripple or wind-waves ; while the harder materials remain and constitute those promontories or nesses, which form the lateral limits of the recess or creek. Even in the bay, as in the valley, certain portions of harder rock may have existed, and such will usually be preserved as islets or skerries, to mark the abrasion which has taken place around. If, then, the softness of the strata be the primary condition which gives rise to valleys and bays, we may expect to find in general a valley, on reaching the sea-shore, terminating in a bay, while a bay will be a tolerably sure indication of a landward valley. Several rather interesting examples, in il- lustration of these statements, may be observed in this imme- diate neighbourhood. The bay of Aberdeen, with its lateral nesses of gneiss, seems to have been excavated in a deposit of old red sand- stone, several patches of which occur in the neighbourhood, and attest its former more extended distribution. The bay of Nigg, with similar lateral nesses, appears to have been produced by the yielding of soft strata of mica-slate. The bay of Stonehaven has been excavated in comparatively soft strata of grey sandstone, with its northern ness of compact mica-slate, and its southern ness of old red sandstone con- glomerate. Tothe south of Stonehaven, and in the neigh- 308 Dr Fleming on the Expediency of forming Harbours bourhood of the ancient and celebrated Dunottar Casile, several small bays may be observed, deriving their origin from the beds of soft grey sandstone which alternate with the’ conglomerate, and the latter being less destructible by the action of the sea, forms the bounding nesses, aided in a few places by amygdaloid or porphyry. In general, indeed, it will be found that the observer of nature can seldom traverse any considerable portion of the coast without, here and there, meeting with sandy beaches, at the margin of bays, where all traces of the rock have disappeared, and he may consider himself fortunate if he succeed in detecting the solid materials he is searching after, at low water-mark, or in some inland ravine. The valleys necessarily form the recipients of the rain water, and constitute river basins; and the rivers thus formed by them, and flowing through them, serve, in turn, to augment their capacity, by carrying to a lower level the disintegrated materials which have been produced by atmospheric influence. These materials become accumulated at the junction of the river with the sea, and constitute, in certain cases, those deltas which frequently occasion a subdivision of the main stream. The disintegrated materials of the bay, associated in some places with those of the valley, and which usually consist of sand and gravel,are employed in forming the sea-beach. The irregu- lar but almost constant action of the ripple or wind-waves, produces a uniform distribution of these materials, and as cer- tainly restores the breach which disturbing causes may have produced in its continuity. These materials, thus exposed toa ripple action variable in its intensity and direction, are usually arrested in their pro- gress by the esses which limit the bays, so that the character of the beaches of two contiguous bays may differ considerably from each other. The beach of Aberdeen bay, e. g., is sandy, while that of the neighbouring bay of Nigg consists of very coarse gravel. When ariver, on its way to the sea, reaches a bay with its margin constituted as we have been describing, it has to maintain a constant warfare with this tendency to continuity of the sand and pebbles of the beach. If, during a fleod, the of Refuge on the East Coast of Scotland. 309 river has succeeded in forcing a passage, and in making for itself a channel towards low water-mark, this new course be- eomes exposed to ripple action, and will be speedily obliterated to a certain extent, whenever the quantity and velocity of the water become reduced. This is strikingly illustrated in the condition of many of the rivulets which empty themselves into the bay of Aberdeen, to the north of the river Don, and may be observed with but little modification in the Don itself. In general, therefore, it will be found, that when a river, after traversing a valley, falls into a bay of the sea having its shore covered with moveable materials, it has to contend with this character of the beach, to have its contents continuously dis- tributed, and hence a bar must be formed of the materials carried into deeper water, while its distance from the shore will depend on the weakness or strength of the stream, and its shape be modified by the currents of the passing tides. The banks of rivers invite the settlement of a population, from the superior fertility of the soil in the neighbourhood, the accompanying shelter, and the supply of water for personal and domestic purposes. Hence the early peopling of the banks of rivers. The mouths of rivers were first selected as harbours by the neighbouring population, being in some measure ready-made, contiguous to the most fertile spots, and sufficiently convenient for all the ordinary purposes of a local and limited trade. But, in an expanded state of maritime enterprize, they exhibit de- fects of no ordinary magnitude, such indeed as would justify us in considering a river as a nuisance rather than a benefit to a harbour.* The Jars of sand or shingle, to which we have referred, pro- duce shallow water at the entrance, and prevent the shipping from passing and repassing, with equal facility, at all times of the tide. The river, too, in the state of flood, passes out to * The opinion here expressed receives a practical illustration from the harbour of Leith, originally selected, from being the mouth of the water of Leith. Its inconveniences for modern traffic led to the erection of the Newhayen Pier; then the Chain-Pier; and, lastly, to the magnificent har- bour of Granton,—excellent, because without a river, and destined at no distant period to become the Port of Edinburgh. VOL. XXXIV. NO. LXVIIL.—aAPRIL 1843. x 310 Dr Fleming on the Expediency of forming Harbours sea with a velocity which few commanders of vessels, for ob- vious reasons, care to take advantage of even when the current is in their favour ; and when the current is in opposition, it pre- vents vessels from entering the harbour in states of weather when property and life are in jeopardy. In the range of coast which we have at present chiefly in view, viz., from the Moray Frith to the Frith of Forth, there is not a single harbour which can be taken at all times of tide. Some have no obstacles, such as bars or river-floods, charac- ters which destroy the value of Aberdeen, Montrose, and Dun- dee, as harbours of refuge. But, in the absence of these evils, the remaining harbours become dry, or nearly so, at low water ; and, consequently, can only be approached towards high wa- ter. In such circumstances are the tide-harbours of Peter- head, Stonehaven, Aberbrothick, and St Andrews. Should a sailing vessel be overtaken by an easterly gale, when off the intermediate part of the coast, between Fifeness and Kinnaird’s Head, her situation would be dangerous in the extreme. In but few cases could the tide harbours and those having bars, or under the influence of floods, be approached with any prospect of safety. She must either stand out to sea or bear away, if practicable, for Cromarty Bay or the Frith of Forth. If her course be northward, she has to dread the possibility of being unable to weather Kinnaird’s Head, as the turning point of the Moray Frith ; or if she steer for the south, she has Fifeness as the turning point of the Forth to weather. Should a failure at either of these points take place, very little chance would be left of saving either life or property.* When we consider the vast amount of shipping, at all sea- sons of the year, frequenting the coast referred to, and keep- ing in view, that in its whole extent of upwards of a hundred miles there is not a single harbour of refuge, the expediency of directing public attention to so great a defect, must at once be obvious. Besides, it deserves to be kept in view, that, in * Even steamers are not exempt from the evil above referred to. The London Steamer, which last week should have delivered her goods and passengers at Aberdeen on Tuesday morning (February 21st), was obliged by the easterly gale to seek for shelter in the Frith of Forth, and could not enter her port until Friday morning (February 24th.) of Refuge on the East Coast of Scotland. 311 this locality, vessels are exposed to “‘ encountering a sea and tide (to use an expression of a committee appointed by the In- corporation of Traders in Leith, relative to the expediency of erecting a light-house on the Bell-Rock), surpassed in few places on the globe.”* The truth here stated is too fully cor- roborated by the shipwrecks which ever and anon are occur- ring on the portion of the coast referred to, whereby a con- siderable amount of life and property is annually sacrificed, which the existence of suitable harbours of refuge might great- ly reduce. It is true, that the erection of light-houses on the different parts of the coast under consideration, from their sites being ju- diciously selected, and all their arrangements satisfactorily re- gulated, has furnished to the shipping an important amount of security. But, in its character, this security is essentially different from that which a harbour of refuge would afford, The former merely enables the mariner to ascertain his posi- tion or his danger, the latter receives him into safety. Se- parately, each has its excellencies, but when conjoined, then only is the maximum of protection furnished to the seaman. The questions respecting the suitable positions, forms, and materials of the harbours of refuge, cannot, in the present state of our information, be expected to receive a satisfactory reply. We take it for granted that the object in view can only be accomplished by means of a breakwater, protecting a bay or convenient portion of the coast from the fury of the waves, and permitting vessels to ride at anchor therein, with- out strain on their cables, and in comparatively still water. It may also be assumed that the materials for the construction of the breakwater must be s¢ones. Logs of timber, it is true, have been proposed as suitable materials for the construction of breakwaters, and their claims on this score have met in some quarters with considerable favour. But although White’s Break- water, and all its subsequent modifications, may be advanta- geously employed for a few months, to shelter bathing ground, or protect a fishing-station ; yet the perishable character of the timber, in sea-water, must not be forgotten, when the import- * Steyenson’s Account of the Bell-Rock Light-house, p. 96. 312 Dr Fleming on the Expediency of forming Harbours ence of the permanency and stability of a breakwater are duly considered. The little crustacean, termed Limnoria tcrebrans, which feeds on timber in the sea, and propagates with amazing rapidity, would prove a foe to breakwaters of such materials, and render their maintenance troublesome, precarious, and expensive. Séones, therefore, must be em- ployed as the material in the construction of the breakwater ; and fortunately blocks of sufficient magnitude and durability are not wanting at various places of the coast. The best positions for harbours of refuge could be ascer- tained, with the greatest certainty, by an examination of those mariners who have been accustomed to navigate the coast, and who are, in consequence, familiarly acquainted with the dangerous winds, the se¢s of the tides, and the depths of water. Towards the turning point of the Moray Frith, a situation oceurs in many respects excellent for the formation of a har- bour of refuge, viz. Sandford Bay, bounded on the north by Peterhead, and on the south by Buchanness. Here, by means of a breakwater, this Bay, which possesses excellent anchor- age ground, with sufficient depth of water, and affords in its present state a great amount of protection against westerly ales, could be made a haven of security equally convenient both for size and proximity to the ship-stores of Peterhead. Ma- terials well adapted for the construction of a breakwater are abundant in the neighbourhood, and the lighthouse on the south side of the bay at Buchanness, would furnish satisfactory directions to the mariner running to it for shelter. There are here no shifting sands to contend against, although an objec- tion may be urged against the locality, as too near the turning point into the Moray Frith. The Bay of Aberdeen offers apparently but few conve- niences for the construction of a harbour of refuge. The quan- tity of shifting sand ranging along the coast from Slains on the north, to Girdleness on the south side, would form obstacles which, probably, no arrangement of walls could prevent from accumulating injuriously. The Bay of Nigg, immediately to the south of Aberdeen bay, seems to possess several advantages. It is not incom- moded with moveable sands, has abundant materials for the of Refuge on the Hast Coast of Scotland. 313 construction of the breakwater in the immediate neighbour- hood, and possesses a lighthouse on its northern ness. Be- sides, vessels finding shelter in this locality could readily ob- tain from Aberdeen a supply of stores, or be taken to the har- bour by the steam-tug, to receive the necessary repairs. But it may be added, that the bay itself is rather limited, and tie depth of water, perhaps, not altogether suitable for vessels of great draught. The forms of the bays of Stonehaven, Bervie, and Mon- trose, do not seem peculiarly adapted for the purpose in view. Lunan Bay, on the other hand, may lay claim to some consi- deration. In westerly gales, its south side affords anchorage and shelter for small craft; but when the wind is easterly, it is exposed to a heavy sea, and its sandy beach has been the grave of many seamen. If now we pass over Aberbrothick, which does not hold out any advantages, the coast exhibits nothing but moveable sand onwards to St Andrews. Here a rocky coast commences, ex - tending to Fifeness, and might probably furnish in some spot a site for a harbour. But in such a locality the harbour would be close to the turning point into the Frith of Forth, and might be speedily injured by shifting sands. There would be little difficulty, even in the absence of a survey executed for the specific object, in making a tolerably close approximation to the best sites for harbours of refuge, if the sea-charts were constructed as they ought to be. But, alas! those in use, at present, are not fitted to convey the re- quisite information respecting the depth of water, or the pre- vailing currents, and can scarcely be considered adequate for the ordinary purposes of navigation ; nor have we a near pros- pect of getting our condition bettered. True it is, that suit- able materials for the purpose are known to exist; but these are withheld from the public, and will probably continue to be so, unless the public voice demands their production. A Government survey of the east coast of Scotland has been in progress during the extended period of the last score of years. This survey is understood to have been completed northwards to the Pentland Frith. The instruments furnished have been of the best construction, and entrusted to individuals qualified 314 Dr Fleming on the Expediency of forming Harbours to use them with success; and I have been informed by com- petent judges, that the observations and drawings which have been produced, possess uncommon merit. Yet have the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty hitherto kept the produce of so much expense and labour in their repositories, regardless alike of the interests of the shipowners and of science. Like other public boards, in the absence of a little pressure from without on the subject, they have become inactive ; while a share of the reproach ought probably to attach to the cor- porations of the shipping ports of the east of Scotland, who have witnessed the survey proceeding, and have failed to en- quire after the results. Let the magistrates of the burghs and sea-ports interested, bestir themselves, and accurate trust- worthy charts would soon be accessible to the mariner, an additional protection furnished to life and property, and the limits of physical geography greatly extended. Having referred to the inactivity of the Lords Commission- ers of the Admiralty, in not providing accurate charts for the east coast of Scotland, even after excellent materials have been procured, I shall close this communication by a few re- marks on the “time of high water on the full and change of the moon,” at different places on the said coast, as given in the Nautical Almanack for the year 1843, p. 556. As the Zetland Islands are in some degree without the limits to which the preceding remarks apply, we shall merely ob- serve that the time of high water at Scalloway (introduced into the Almanack for the first time in 1841) is made to agree with Balta in Unst, nearly thirty miles to the north of it, both being marked 95 45". When the direction of the flood-tide is considered, the more westerly position of Scalloway will not explain the coincidence in apparent time. But how shall we account for the entries relating to “ Brassa Sound,” and ‘‘ Lerwick harbour,” the former having its high water assigned at 10" the latter 10" 30"! How few who have paid any at- tention to the harbours of the coast, are ignorant that ‘ Brassa Sound” is ‘‘ Lerwick Harbour,” and that the two names deno- minate the same commodious haven ! In approaching nearer the scene to which our remarks have a more immediate reference, the “‘ Orkney Isles” have a place of Refuge on the East Coast of Scotland. 315 in the tide-table, the time of high water being 10" 30™ and then, strange to observe, “ Cairston” and “ Stromness” in the “Orkneys” have each their time of tide set down at 9". The time of high water of the ‘“ Pentland Frith’’ is stated at 108 30", while “ Duncansby Head,” the prominent easter- ly shoulder of the Frith, has its time of high water set down abe" A5™. Passing southwards we find “ Peterhead’’ inserted for the first time in the Almanack in 1839, having its time of high water 05 45™, while “‘ Buchanness” is recorded, as of old, at 12™. A difference of 45™ in the time of tide between two places not a couple of miles apart, and the one situate farthest to the north, whence the flood-tide proceeds, receiving it later, may well excite some degree of surprise. The port of Aberdeen has evidently attracted considerable notice. In 1839 the time of high water was changed from its ancient period of 0» 45™ to 1» 12™, and in 1841 reduced by 1™, and now appears as 14 11™. Proceeding southwards along the coast, we find by the table the time of high water stated as the same for ‘‘ Mon- trose” and “Tay Bar,” viz. 1" 45™. The distance between the two places, in the direction of the flood-tide, being about eighteen miles, and the latter being, in time, behind, the for- mer less than one minute, we should have here, on the sup- position that the entries in the table are correct, a velocity of tidal wave at this part of the coast, greater than any known tidal velocity on the globe, and about thirty-six times greater than its ordinary velocity in the German Ocean in the neigh- bourhood, which is stated by good authority to be about thirty miles an hour, although there is an authority which fixes its rate at sixty miles. High water at ‘“‘ Dundee” is stated at 2" 22™, or 37™ later than “ Tay Bar.” ‘Taking into account the westerly position of Dundee, the difference will be nearly 38". If we consider the distance between the two places as little more than a dozen of miles, we shall here have an example of retardation, compared with the former acceleration of the tidal-wave, of truly unlooked for extent, even keeping in view the influence of depth of bottom. High water at “ Leith” is likewise stated as 37™ later than 316 Dr Fleming on the Expediency of forming Harbours, &c. at “Tay Bar ;” now the total difference in time from the po- sition of Leith would not reach 39™, while the distance is about forty miles. This would make the velocity of the tidal- wave from “ Tay Bar” to Leith, compared with its velocity from “* Tay Bar” to “ Dundee,” nearly as three to one, and the former more than double its ordinary velocity in the Ger- man Ocean. As all the Establishments of the Ports, in the table, are set down to apparent time, and the actual times of high water when the moon passes the meridian at the same time as the sun, it is probable that, inthe reduction, errors may have been introduced rather than corrected, from the state of the data, and that the angular distance of the moon from the sun at the times of obser- vation, may have been overlooked. But some of the anomalies which have been pointed out, in all probability arise from the different standards employed for determining high water, known to be in use. Thus we have the time of high water marked by one observer, when the tide-wave has reached its highest elevation, by another when s/ack tide occurs, and by a third when the reverse current begins to prevail. There is no- thing, however, in the table to indicate the employment of a common standard. In illustration of the influence which a variable standard may exercise on the time of tide, I may re- fer to that excellent hydrographer, Mackenzie, who, in refer- ence to the Pentland Frith, says, ‘* On the shore of Swona, it flows till half-past nine on the east side, and till ten on the west side, on the days of new and full moon. In the middle of the Pentland Frith it is séé// or slack water, on the change days at half-past eleven, but the tide does not turn till twelve.” Now, whatever be the cause of the anomalies thus apparent in the tide-table of the Nautical Almanack, it is surely of im- portance, for the credit of such a national work, that the en- tries which it contains should be accurate and intelligible, or that no tide-table of doubtful character should have a place there. I should be sorry if these remarks on the charts and tide- table of the east coast of Scotland, even although not re- motely connected with the object in view, led the mind of the reader away from contemplating the necessity of establishing Dr Petzholdt on the Formation of the Diamond. 317 Harzours or Rerucz. This is, indeed, a subject which the shipping interest, and the friends of humanity, are equally bound to bring under the notice and favourable consideration of the British public, and it will be to me a source of pure en- joyment if the preceding remarks tend in any degree to the accomplishment of an end in so many respects desirable. Joun Fiemina. Kine’s CoLtLeGEe, ABERDEEN, March 2. 1843. On the Formation of the Diamond. By Dr Atexanvrr Perzuo.upt, of Dresden. Notwithstanding the great diversity of opinion expressed by authors regarding the mode of formation of the diamond, yet all the different views entertained may be included under two principal divisions, viz., those which suppose that it is the direct product of the action of heat on carbonic acid or car- _ bon, and others which support the idea of its being the result of the slow decomposition of plants. It may not be out of place to give a brief account of the most important of these views, previous to communicating my own observations. While Leonhard* asks, if we may not believe that the origin of diamonds is to be ascribed to carbonaceous sublimations from the interior of the earth, a question which must, on che- mical grounds, be answered decidedly in the negative, because carbon is not in the slightest degree volatile ; Parrott regards diamonds as products of volcanic action, as the result of the operation of the heat on small fragments of carbon. Parrot was first of all led to this view, by his minute examination Cr * Leonhard’s Populirische Vorlesungen, vol. iii. p. 498. t Parrot’s Notice sur les diamans de V Oural, in the Mémoires de V Academie Impériale des Sciences de St Pétersbourg. Série dixidme. Sciences Mathe- matiques, tom, i.. p. 32. He says, “ Diamonds are the products of vol- canic action exercised on small portions of carbon, or on a substance com- posed of much carbon and very little hydrogen.” See also Leonhard’s Juhr- buch, 1838, p. 541, where portions of Parrot’s Memoir are published. 318 Dr Petzholdt on the Formation of the Diamond. of Russian diamonds, in the course of which he came to the opinion, that the only way of explaining certain structural phenomena, such as cracks and flaws in the interior, and a scaly appearance on the external surface, combined with black structureless included portions of matter supposed to be car- bon, was to assume that a strong red heat had fused the car- bon, and that, in consequence of subsequent rapid cooling, the cracks in the interior, and, owing to the separation of indi- vidual pieces from the outer surface, the scaly structure, were produced.* The black masses recognisable in the interior are consequently imperfectly fused, condensed, or crystallized car- bon. Now, although it cannot be denied that, as regards the Russian diamonds, there is some probability for the supposed mode of formation, because geognostical investigations have proved the vicinity of dolomite, a rock whose origin is gene- rally believed to be connected with volcanic action, and have shewn the probability of the diamonds having been transported by water, from their original matrix in that substance, to their present situation, not to take into consideration the circum- stance that, according to my own investigations, no well-found- ed objection can be made to the possibility of a fusion (softening, liquefaction) of vegetable carbon under certain circumstances ; yet, nevertheless, much may be urged in opposition to Parrot’s view. First of all, no signs of volcanic activity are to be met with in the diamond districts of other countries, although, in the diamonds produced by them, the same cracks, flaws, and other peculiarities of structure are equally observable ; hence, a different mode of origin must, at all events, be assigned to the non-Russian diamonds. Secondly, no diamonds have been found actually embedded in the dolomite of the Adolphskoi valley. Thirdly, the presence of internal flaws and cracks, and of the scaly structure of the exterior, by no means neces- sarily involves the assumption of great heat and subsequent rapid cooling in the formation of diamonds ; and we may more * See Peteholdt’s Erdkunde (Geologic). Leipsic, 1840, p. 189; Petzholdt, de Calamitis et Lithanthracibus. Dresdae et Lipsiae, 1841, p. 31; and Pete- holdt, iiber Kulamiten und Steinkohlenbilding. Dresden and Leipsic, 1841, p: 27. Dr Petzholdt on the Formation of the Diamond. 319 naturally ascribe the cracks, &c., to the blows received during the transport of so hard and brittle a substance as diamond, and the external scaling off is solely owing to imperfect crys- tallization, for the instances of it I have seen have always been in the modified crystalline forms of the diamond (to which all the Russian specimens examined by Parrot belong), and never in the simple octahedrons. Gébel’s* view of the origin of the diamond is, it is true, supported by chemistry, in so far that carbon can be obtained from carbonic acid at a high temperature, by means of the action of reducing substances, such as magnesium, calcium, aluminium, silicium, or iron, and a direct experiment of mine regarding the power of iron to reduce carbonic acid is also in its favour;t but the geognostical relations in which diamonds are found, by no means confirm this opinion; for we either find no phenomena whatever connected with the occurrence of the diamond, which indicate so high a temperature as would be requisite for the decomposition of carbonic acid, or where such present themselves, as in the case of the dolomite of the Ural, diamonds have not actually been found in the rock. We have not taken the fact into consideration, that when carbon is separated from its combinations, as from carbonic acid, it is always obtained in the form of a black powder.t Lastly, the opinion expressed by Hausmann§ must not be passed over in silence, as it is the view entertained by so com- petent a judge. According to him, electricity has operated in the formation of diamonds, and that by lightning decom- posing carbonic acid ; and the argument for this is, that, ac- cording to the assertion of the oldest diamond seekers, fulgu- rites or lightning tubes are most frequently met with where the diamonds are most numerous. Though we should assent to the possibility of such a decomposition under certain cir- cumstances, yet we cannot regard as at all admissible, the * Englehardt’s Lagerstitte der Diamanten, &c.; the chemical portion of that essay was edited by Gobel, and an extract from it is published in Pog- gendorfl’s Annalen, 1830, vol. xx., p. 539. t See Petzholdt’s Hrdkunde (Geologic), p. 133. } See Lrdmann’s Chemie, 1840, p. 133. § Ersch and Gruber, Allgemeine Encyclopédie, article “ Diamant.” 320 ~=Dr Petzholdt on the Formation of the Diamond. formation of the crystal from the separated carbon during the short continuance of the electrical action of lightning. The formation of a crystal undoubtedly requires infinitely more time than could be afforded during a flash of lightning, and there is not a single instance known of a body crystallizing suddenly during the continuance of an electric spark. With regard to the series of opinions according to which the diamond is of vegetable origin, it seems proper to place at their head that of Newton, because, so far as Lam aware, it is the oldest, and is at the same time extremely acute. From the great refractive power of the diamond, he concluded it to be a coagulated fatty or unctuous body,* and this idea was started at a time when nothing was known of the chemical constitution, or as to the combustibility of the diamond. This, then, was the first hint of its vegetable origin. Jamesont spoke more decidedly on the vegetable origin of the diamond ; for he expressed the opinion, that it must have been separat- ed, as a form of pure carbon, from the sap of some plant, just as silica, in the form of tabasheer, is deposited in the joints of the bamboo and other plants. He adduced, as another proof of his opinion, the remarkable hardness of some woods, as, for example, the Metrosideros vera and others, which he ascribed to carbon approaching the condition of the diamond. Lastly, Brewster adhered to the hypothesis of the vegetable origin of the diamond, and thought he was enabled to conclude, from its polarising properties.} that it must at one period have been in a soft or pasty condition, but in no degree a product of fire. He further asserted that the former softness of the diamond must have approached most nearly that of hardened gum, and that, like amber, the diamond must have had its origin in the vegetable kingdom, and been the result of decomposition. The * Murray’s Memoir on the Diamond, p. 13; and Froriep’s Notizen, vol, xvi. No. 22, March 1827. + Jameson’s Speculations in regard to the Formation of Opal, Woodstone, and Diamond, in the Memoirs of the Wernerian Society of Edinburgh, vol. iv. p. 556, and translated in Froriep’s Notizen, vol. xvi. No. 22. + Quarterly Journal of Science, Oct. 1820. Froriep’s Notizen, vol. xvi. No. 22. Philosophical Magazine, 3d Series, vol. vii. p. 249. Poggendorff, yol. xxxvi. p. 564. Leonhard’s Jahrbuch der Mineralogie, 1834, p. 225. Dr Petzholdt on the Formation of the Diamond. 321 crystalline structure of diamonds does not militate against this conclusion ; for honeystone is regularly crystallized, although it is undoubtedly of vegetable derivation, as is proved not only by its chemical composition, but also by its mode of occur- rence. Lastly, we now arrive at our own view of the formation of the diamond, and it coincides completely with that of New- ton, Jameson, and Brewster; but we base it neither on its strong refractive power, nor on the great hardness which the carbon has acquired in the diamond, nor on its polarising pro- perties, for we are supported by entirely different considera- tions. We believe that, according to the present state of our knowledge, the diamond is a product of the newest geological period, resulting from the slow decomposition of a vegetable substance. Let us now shortly adduce the proofs of this opinion. That the diamond must be a product of the youngest geolo- gical epoch, of the so-called historical epoch* in a geological sense, appears from the fact, that hitherto it has only been met with in stony deposits, which decidedly belong to the youngest formations, as I have more fully stated in another place. Its primary repositories, that is to say the places where it was formed, cannot be very different nor very remote from its secondary repositories, that is, from those places where we now meet with it; and all the mineral bodies which we are in the habit of regarding as the more or less constant asso- ciates of the diamond in diamond sands, are merely accidental, if I may so express myself. There is not the slightest reason for assuming that the formation of the gold or platina, &c., stands in any nearer connection with the diamond, for platina and gold are found in many localities without diamonds. These bodies were either atthe locality when the diamond was formed, or they were transported along with that substance by water. And although it cannot be denied in regard to some of the other ingredients of the diamond-sand, such as some of the minerals belonging to the quartz genus, viz., quartz, caleedony, and hornstone, and also brown ironstone, that they were formed | tetas ope coy tee EEA ih apes 2 eA) * Petzholdt’s Exdkunde (Geologic), p. 87. 522 Dr Petzholdt on the Formation of the Diamond. contemporaneously (in a geological sense) with the diamond ; yet this circumstance by no means tends to support the idea of any sort of connection between their formation and that of the diamond, because the recent formation of these bodies can be observed every where, and where no diamonds are to be met with. The association of all these substances, which we have termed accidental, is merely caused by the geognostical constitution of the district through which the river-course of the present day extends, by the nature of that course itself, by specific gravity, and by many other circumstances having not the smallest concern with the formation of the diamond. The strongest proof, however, of the recent origin of the dia- mond, is its occurrence in the loose rolled matter in which and with which it was formed, combined with the want of sue- cess that has hitherto attended the search for the diamond embedded in those rocks, regarding which it is so easy, on the other hand, to prove that from them all the other rolled bodies had their origin. We leave entirely aside the question, whe- ther the prevalent popular belief in the East Indies and Brazil, that diamonds are still produced,* be an instinctive percep- tion of the truth, or a deceptive notion. Further, the diamond must have been formed in the moist way from a liquid, because otherwise it would have presented none of the included splinters of quartz of which I have spoken in another place,t and of which some even exhibit the vegetable cellular texture. Lastly, from all that we know, the material from which the diamond was formed, by the separation of crystalline carbon, could only have been a substance rich in carbon and. hydrogen, such as, owing to the requisite chemical properties, can only be looked for in the vegetable kingdom ; and we are forced to consider the diamond as produced from this substance, con- sisting of carbon and hydrogen, by means of decomposition. The determination of the nature of this process is ‘solely a chemical matter; and Liebig, who has undeniably rendered the greatest service to our knowledge of the decomposition of * See Leonhard’s Populdre Vorlesungen iiber Geologie, vol. iii. p. 497. + Vide Jameson’s Journal for January 1848, p. 187. Dr Petzholdt on the Formation of the Diamond. 323 organic bodies, makes the following remarks :*—* If we sup- pose decay to proceed in a liquid, which contains both carbon and hydrogen, then a compound containing still more carbon must be formed, in a manner similar to the production of the crystalline colourless naphthalin, from a gaseous compound of carbon and hydrogen. And if the compound thus formed were itself to undergo further decay, the final result must be the separation of carbon ina crystalline form. Science can point to no process capable of accounting for the origin and forma- tion of diamonds, except the process of decay. Diamonds cannot be produced by the action of fire, for a high tempera- ture, and the presence of oxygen gas, would call into play their combustibility. But there is the greatest reason to be- lieve that they are formed in the humid way, that is, in a liquid ; and the process of decay is the only cause to which their formation can with probability be ascribed.” As yet we are ignorant of the nature of the vegetable sub- stance, rich in carburetted hydrogen, by whose decomposition the diamond was formed, and as to what were the particular conditions necessary for the appearance of crystalline carbon. This only we know, however, that the whole process was an extremely slow one, and that it could not in any way be has- tened by an increased temperature, for in that case the carbon could not have crystallized, but must, on the contrary, have been separated in the form of a black powder. The conclusion deduced by Newton from certain optical properties of the diamond, viz., that it has been produced from an oily body, is very beautifully confirmed by the newest and most accurate investigations of chemistry, for, according to them, the so-termed oily bodies are proved to be the richest in carburetted hydrogen ; and chemistry, which can alone explain the decompositions of bodies, and their formation from their elements, just requires for the formation of the diamond the decomposition of a substance rich in carburetted hydrogen. There are two different phenomena connected with the above * Liebig’s Organische Chemie in ihrer Anwendung auf Agricultur und Phy- siologie. Braunschweig, 1840, p. 285 ; and Playfaix’s Translation, p, 143. 824 Dr Petzholdt on the Formation of the Diamond. explanation of the origin of the diamond, which cannot be left unnoticed, as they are well calculated to place the truth of our assertions in a clearer point of view. As I have already stated elsewhere, diamonds not unfrequently exhibit at their surface blackish spots, which disappear on the application of heat ;* and, moreover, they very frequently present in their interior perfectly black, amorphous bodies, which cannot be considered as any thing else but uncrystallized carbon,— a fact observed in the course of Parrot’s investigations, as well as my own. This phenomenon can only be explained by as- suming a somewhat accelerated decay of the matter containing carbon and hydrogen ; in the course of which the carbon has been produced in the form of a black powder, instead of being separated in a crystalline state. On the other hand, I have on several occasions had an opportunity of convincing myself of the tendency of carbon to crystallize, when the combustion (the accelerated decayt) of a substance rich in carbon and hydrogen is retarded. Thus, on the wicks of badly burning tallow candles, I have seen the well-known accumulations of carbonaceous matter (soot), which have generally globular or semi-globular forms, assume distinctly an octahedral shape ; and I believe that this appearance has long been observed by others, for it is only by the resemblance of an octahedron to the envelope of a letter that I can explain the popular say- ing, of there being a letter in the wick of a candle. I have even preserved, for some time, one of these tolerably well- ‘defined octahedrons, and exhibited it to my class ; but it was at last broken, and it then appeared that the fragments were harder than the ordinary soot, although they could still be easily bruised between the fingers. Lastly, let me add a few words regarding the experiments made in recent times on the production of artificial diamonds, for [I believe that I may say, without exaggeration, that, since it was discovered that the diamond consists of pure carbon, * See Parrot, Wotice sur les Diamans, p. 30 and 31. + That combustion is only a rapid decay, and decay only a slow combus- tion, is known to all chemists. Above all, see Liebig’s remarks on this subject in the second part of his Organic Chemistry. Dr Petzholdt on the Formation of the Diamond. 3825 there is hardly any chemist ‘who has not performed more or less extensive experiments on the subject. That the results of such investigations have been published by but few chemists, is no proof that few experiments have been made, for human nature and vanity prefer silence to publicity, where investiga- tions have failed, and hopes have been disappointed. All the experiments to form artificial diamonds may be re- ferred to two methods, viz. the attempt to fuse carbon, and the endeavour to separate carbon in a crystalline state from a highly carbonaceous compound, by means of decomposition. It need hardly be remarked that all the trials have hitherto been invain. The experiments made with the first view have been rendered unsuccessful by the infusibility of carbon, and the others proceeding on the second idea have always resulted in the pro- duction of carbon in the form of a black substance.* Lastly, if any one should be of opinion that, by the assistance of a constantly operating electrical stream, highly carbonaceous bodies might be decomposed so slowly that carbon might be separated in a crystalline condition, that is, in the form of diamond, just as copper and the other metals have been re- cently obtained, in a crystalline state, from solutions, by Jacobi’s method, such an expectation will prove to be a vain one; for, on the one hand, the substances most suited to galvanic de- composition are non-conductors of electricity, as, for example, sulphuret of carbon, oil of turpentine, copaiva balsam, &c. ; and on the other, if we should be successful in separating, from any compound, crystalline carbon on the conducting wire, yet, according to theory, at the very moment when even the most delicate covering of crystalline carbon should be deposit- ed, all further action on the decomposing liquid would be inter- rupted, for the matter of diamond itself is known to be a non- conductor of electricity.t * A pretty extensive collection of the experiments on this subject, to- gether with the references, is to be found in Ersch and Gruber’s Allgemeine Encyclopidie der Kiinste und Wissenchaften, under the article Diamant. See also in Gmelin’s Handbuch der Theoretischen Chemie, vol. i. the chapter on Car- bon. t From Petzholdt’s Beitrige zw Naturgeschichte des Diamantes, 1842, VOL. XXXIV, NO. LXVIII.—-APRIL 1843. ¥ ( 826 ) An Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents. By Baron Von Humsotpr. Art the meeting of the Berlin Academy of Sciences, on 18th July 1842, a memoir by M. de Humboldt was read, of which we think it necessary to give asomewhat lengthened account. It is entitled “ An attempt at determining the mean height of Continents.” « Among the numerical elements on which the progress of physical geography appears more particularly to depend, there is one which no attempt has been hitherto made to determine. The notion which seemed to prevail, that it was impossible to come to such a determination, has perhaps been the prin- cipal cause of the subject being neglected. However, the ex- tension of our orographical knowledge, as well as the great- er accuracy of the maps which represent large portions of country, determined me, says M. de Humboldt, to undertake, some years ago, a work of great labour, and in appearance barren in results, the object of which is the knowledge of the mean height of continents, and the determination of the mean height of the centre of gravity of their volume. Yn such a case as this, as with many others, such as the dimensions of the globe, the probable distance of the fixed stars, the mean tem- perature of the poles of the earth, the thickness of the atmo- spheric stratum above the level of the sea, or the enumeration of the general population of the globe, we arrive at limited numbers, between which the results must fall. In like man- ner, it is by the perfect knowledge of the geometrical and hypsometrical surface of a country, of France, for example, that we may thus be led, by analogy, to extend the conclu- sions toa great part of Europe and America, and are en- abled to establish numerical data, which have recently been completed in a very satisfactory manner in regard to central and western Asia. “ It was likewise necessary to collect, with the greatest care, astronomical determinations of the height of places, in order to establish, to about 300 or 400 metres of absolute height, the limits between the acclivities of the mountains and the edges of the valleys. I long since demonstrated the possibi- Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents, 327 lity of such a determination of limits, and, from the comparison which depends on it, I have deduced the extent of the surface of the plains, and the horizontal and flat portions of moun- tains, in my geognostical researches on South America ; a por- tion of the globe in regard to which the length of the im- mense wall which forms the Cordillera of the Andes, and of the elevated masses of Parima and Brazil, was so incorrectly limited and circumscribed on all maps. In fact, there is a general tendency in all graphic representations to give the mountains a greater degree of breadth than they really pos- sess, and even in the flat portions to confound plateaux of va- rious kinds with each other.” M. de Humboldt published, in 1825, two memoirs inserted in the Memoires dé Il’Académie des Sciences of Paris, on the mean height of continents, and an estimate of the volume of the elevated ridges of mountains, compared with the extent of the surface of the lower regions. An assertion of Laplace in the Mécanique Céleste (vol. v., book xi. chap. i. page 13), gave rise to these researches. This great geo- meter had established in principle, that the agreement ob- served between the results of experiments made with the pen- dulum and the compression of the earth, deduced as well from the trigonometrical measurement of the degrees of the meridian as from the inequality of the moon, furnished a proof * that the surface of the terrestrial spheroid would be nearly that of equilibrium, if that surface became fluid. Hence, and from the consideration that the sea leaves vast continents uncovered, we conclude that it cannot be of great depth, and that its mean depth is of the same order as the mean height of the continents and islands above its level, a height which does not exceed 1000 metres” (or 3073 Parisian feet, that is to say, only 463 feet less than the sum- mit of the Brocken, according to M. Gauss, or a little more than the most elevated mountains of Thuringia). Laplace further adds, “ This height is, then, a small fraction of the excess of the radius of the equator over that of the pole, an excess which exceeds 20,000 metres. Just as high moun- tains cover some parts of continents, so there may be great cavities in the bed of the sea; but it is natural to suppose 528 Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents. that their depth is less than the elevation of high mountains, as the deposits from the waves, and the remains of marine animals, must have tended, in the lapse of time, to fill up these great cavities.” Considering the profound and extensive knowledge which the author of the Jlécanique Céleste possessed in the highest degree, an assertion of this nature was the more striking, as he could not be ignorant that the mostelevated plateau of France, that from which the extinct volcanoes of Auvergne have risen, does not rise, according to Ramond, to more than 1044 feet, and that the great Iberian plateau is not, according to my own measurements, more than 2100 feet above the level of the sea. Laplace has therefore fixed the upper limit at 1000 metres, merely because he has considered the extent and the mass of the elevations of mountains to be much greater than they really are, inasmuch as he has confounded the height of the insulated peaks or culminating points with the mean height of the mountain ridges; he has admitted much too low a number for the depth of seas, because, in his time, data could not be found on the subject, and he has thence inferred the proportion of the extent of the surface (in square miles) in re- gard to all continents, to the extent of the projection of the surfaces covered by mountains. A very exact calculation has shewn that the mass of the chain of the Andes, in South America, from where it leaves the whole portion of the eastern plains of the pampas and forests, regions whose surface is one-third larger than that of Europe, does not rise above 486 feet. M. de Humboldt hence con- cludes, ‘* That the mean height of continental lands depends much less on those chains or longitudinal ridges of little breadth which traverse continents, and on their culminating points or domes, which attract common observation, than on the general configuration of the different orders of plateaux and their ascending series, and on those gently undulating plains with alternating slopes, which have an influence, by their mass and extent, on the position of a mean surface, that is to say, on the height of a plain placed in such a manner that the sum of its positive ordinates shall be equal to the sum of its negative ordinates.” Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents. 329 The comparison which Laplace has instituted in the pas- sage quoted from the Mécanique Céleste between the depth of the sea and the height of continents, recalls a passage of Plu- tarch, in the 15th chapter of his Life of Aimilius Paulus (ed. Reiskii, vol. ii. page 276),—a passage the more remarkable, as it makes us acquainted with an opinion which generally pre- vailed among the philosophers of the Alexandrian school. After quoting an inscription found on Mount Olympus, and giving the result of the measurement of its height by Xenago- ras, Plutarch adds, “ But geometricians (probably those of Alexandria) believe that here is no mountain higher, and no sea deeper, than ten stadia”’ We can entertain no doubt about the exactness of the measurement made by Xenagoras ; but it is striking to observe, that the philosophers of this school esta- blished in the structure of the earth a perfect equality be- tween the heights or positive and negative ordinates. Here the maximum of the heights and depths is alone taken into account, and not the mean height,—a consideration which rarely presented itself to the mind of the ancient philosophers, and which, for variable magnitudes, was applied in a useful manner to astronomy by the Arabs. Even in the Metereologius of Cleomedes (i. 10), we meet with an assertion similar to that of Plutarch ; while in the Meteorolcgicis of the philosopher of Stagira (Arist. Met. ii. 2), the only point considered is the in- fluence of the inclination of the bottom of the sea, from east to west, on its currents. When we try to determine the mean height of the elevation of continents above the present level of the seas, it means that the object is to find the centre of gravity of the volume of these continents above that level,—an investigation very dif- ferent from that which consists in searching for the centre of gravity of the volume of the continental mass, or the centre of gravity of the masses, seeing that the portion which rises above the sea, in the crust of the globe, is by no means of the same density, as has-been demonstrated both by geognosy and ex- periments with the pendulum. The mode of simple calculation is as follows :—Each chain of mountains is considered as a tri- angular prism placed horizontally, The mean height of the defiles or passes, which determine the mean height of the crest 330 Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents. of the mountains, is the height of the ridge of the prism ver- tically above the surface, which constitutes the base of the chain. The plateaux are calculated as straight prisms, in or- der to establish their solidity. For the purpose of giving an example, taken from Hurope, of this kind of calculation, M. de Humboldt states, that the surface of France contains 10,087 square geographical miles. According to M. Charpentier, the Pyrenees cover 430 of these square miles ; and, although the mean height of the summits of the Pyrenees rises to 7500 feet, M. de Humboldt makes a reduction upon it, on account of the erosions produced on the prism supposed to be lying horizontally, and which have tended specially to diminish the size of the deep transverse valleys. The effect of the Pyrenees on the whole of France is not more than 35 metres or 108 feet ; that is to say, it is to that extent that the normal surface of the entire plain of France would be increased, and the elevation of that surface by the comparison of a great number of very accurate measurements at places towards the centre (such as Bourges, Chartres, Nevers, Tours, &c.) has been found to be 480 feet. This calculation, which M. de Humboldt has made along with M. Elie de Beaumont, furnishes the following general result, in measures thus given by the author :— \ Toises. 1. Effect of the Pyrenees, . 18 2. The French Alps, the Jura, and the Vosges, a tow toises more than the Pyrenees ; common effect, 20 3. The plateaux of Limousin, Auvergne, the Cevennes, Aveyron, Forez, Moryant, Cote d’Or; common ef- fect, nearly equal to that of the Pyrenees, - 18 Now, as the normal height of the plain of France is at its maximum about : : : ; 80 ——— It follows that the mean height of France does not ex- 3 ceed . ; ; : ; . 186 toises, or 816 feet. The Baltic, Sarmatian, and Russian plains are separated from those of the north of Asia only by the meridian chain of the Oural. It is for this reason that Herodotus, who was acquainted with the connection of the southern extremity of Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents. 331 the Oural in the country of the Issidones, called the whole of Europe to the north of the Altai Mountains, Asia. In the neighbouring region of the Baltic plains, near the shores of the Baltic Sea, there are partial elevated masses which deserve particular attention. To the west of Dantzic, between that town and Butow, at the point where the shore of the sea ad- vances much to the north, there are many villages situated at a height of 400 feet ; the Thurmberg, moreover, the measure- ment of which has given rise to many hypsometrical contro- versies, rises, according to the trigonometrical observations of Major Baeyer, to 1024 feet, which is perhaps the greatest elevation to be found between the Harz and Oural. It is sur- prising that, according to the measurements made by M. Struve of the culminating point of Livonia, the Munamaggi, this mountain rises only 4 toises higher than the Thurmberg of Pomerania ; while, on the other hand, according to Captain Albrecht’s chart, the greatest depth of the Baltic Sea, between Gothland and Windau, is not more than 167 toises, a mea- surement almost identical with that of the Thurmberg. The flat countries exclusively European, the normal height of which cannot be estimated at more than 60 toises, occupy, according to exact measurements, a surface nine times that of France. The extraordinary extent of this low region is the cause of the mean continental height of all Europe, over an extent of 17,000 square geographical miles, being 30 toises below the result we have found for France. As tothe rest, not to occupy more time with numbers, M. de Humboldt adds, that an important consideration in the study of the general phenomena of geology is, that the elevated masses, over ex- tensive countries, in the form of plateaux, produce an entirely different effect on the elevation of the centre of gravity of the volume from that of chains of mountains, when they have the same importance in breadth and in height. While the Pyrenees produce scarcely the effect of a single toise on the whole of Europe, the system of the Alps, which cover a surface almost quadruple that of the Pyrenees, has the effect of 33 toises ; the Iberian peninsula, with its compact massive plateau of 300 toises, produces the effect of 12 toises. The plateau just named, therefore, has an effect on the whole of 332 Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents. Europe four times more considerable than the system of the Alps. This result of calculations is the more satisfactory as it appears to be deduced without reference to any pre- vious hypothesis. We have recently acquired many new ideas respecting the configuration of Asia. The effect of the elevated colossal masses of the southern portion is found to be weakened, since one-third of the whole continent of Asia, a portion of Siberia, whichalone exceeds by a third the entire surface of Europe, does not reach a normal height of 40 toises. This is, likewise, the height of Orenbourg, on the northern shore of the Cas- pian Sea. Tobolsk does not attain the half of this height, and Casan, which is five times more distant from the shore of the Icy Sea than Berlin is from the Baltic, is scarcely half the height of the last mentioned city. In Upper Irtysch, be- tween Buktormensy and Lake Saysan, at a point nearer the Indian than the Icy Ocean, M. de Humboldt has found that the plains only reached a height of about 800 feet ; this, how- ever, has been called the plateau of Central Asia, and is not half the height of the streets of the city of Munich above the sea-level. The celebrated plateau between Lake Baikal and the Wall of China (the stony desert of Gobi and Cha-mo), which the Russian academicians, MM. Bunge and Fuss, have measured with the barometer, has a mean height of only 660 toises, which is nearly the same as that of the Miiggelsberg at the summit of the Brocken. There is, moreover, in the centre of this plateau, at the point where Ergi is situated (lat. 45° 31’) a cauldron-shaped depression, the bottom of which descends to 400 toises, that is to say, the height of Madrid. ‘“ This de- pression,” says M. Bunge, in a memoir not yet published, “is covered with Halophytes and species of the genus Arundo, and, according to the tradition-of the Mongolians who ac- companied us, it was formerly a great inland sea.” The two extremities of this ancient inland sea are bounded by steep rocks, just like an ordinary sea, in the neighbourhood of Olonbaischan and Zukeldakan. The surface of Gobi, in its masses of uniform elevation, and from the south-west to north-west, is twice as large as that of all Germany, and will raise the centre of gravity of Asia Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents. 333 20 toises ; while the Himalaya and the Houen-lun, which is a prolongation of the Hindoo-Kho, with the plateaux of Thibet, which connect the Himalaya with the Kouen-lun, will only pro- duce an effect of 56 toises. In the examination of the consi- derable relief between the plains of the Indus and the de- pressed plateau of Tarim, which, on leaving Kaschgar, in- clines to the east towards Lake Lop, it is necessary to exa- mine with more care the point near the meridian of Kaylasa, and the two sacred lakes of Manasa and Ravana-Brada, on leaving which the Himalaya no longer runs from east to west parallel with the Kouen-lun, but takes the direction from south-east to north-west,and reunites at the projecting ridges of Tsun-ling. The altitudes of the numerous passes of Bamian, as far as the meridian of Tschamalari (24,400 feet), by which Turner reached the Thibetian plateau of H’Lassa, are likewise known for an extent of 21° of longitude. The greater part of them present a very uniform height of 14,000 English feet, or 2200 toises, a height which is not of rare occurrence in the passes of the chain of the Andes. The great route which M. de Humboldt followed from Quito, on his way to Cuenca, was, for example, at Assuay (Ladera de Cadlud), and without snow, of the height of 2428 toises, that is to say, 1400 feet higher than this pass of the Himalaya. The passes, as has been stated, give the mean height of mountains. In a memoir on the relations between elevated summits or culminating points, and the height of mountain chains, M. de Humboldt has demonstrated that the chain of the Pyre- nees, calculated from twenty-three passes, was 50 toises high- er than the mean chain of the Alps, although the culminating points of the Pyrenees and the Alps were in the proportion of 1 tol. As the insulated passes of the Himalaya, for ex- ample, the Niti-Gate, by which-we penetrate into the plain of the Cashmere goats, rise to the height of 2629 toises, M. de Humboldt has not admitted for the height of the Himalayan chain 14,000 English feet, but he proposes to fix it, although perhaps the elevation may be still too considerable, at 15,500 feet, or 2432 toises. The plateau of the three Thibets of Iscardo, Ladak, and H’Lassa, is a prominence between two chains which unite with each other (the Himalaya and the 334 Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents. Kouen-Lun). Mr Vigne’s travels in Baltistan, which have just appeared, the journal of the brothers Gerard, published by Lloyd, as well as the recent investigations undertaken in India respecting the relative height of perpetual snow on the Indian and Thibetian declivities of the Himalaya, have demonstrated that the mean height of the Thibetian plateaux has hitherto been greatly exaggerated. In his work entitled “ Central Asia,” of which only a few pages of the third volume have been yet printed, and which will be accompanied by a hypso- metrical map of Asia from the Phasis, as far as the gulf of Petcheli, and from the common embouchures of the Ob and the Irtysch to the parallel of Delhi, M. de Humboldt thinks that he has demonstrated, by bringing together a multitude of facts, that the prominence between the Himalaya and the Kouen-Lun (chains which form the southern and northern limits of Thibet), does not rise above the mean height of 1800 toises, and that it is, consequently, 200 toises lower than the plateau of Lake Titicaca. The hypsometrical configuration of the Asiatic continent is perhaps still more remarkable for its plains and depres- sions, than for its colossal heights. This continent is distin- guished by two principal characteristic features; 1st, by the long series of meridian chains, which, with parallel axes, but alternating with each other (having perhaps been pro- jected comme des filons) extend from Lake Comorin, opposite Ceylon, to the shores of the Icy Sea, in a uniform direction from south-south-east to north-north-west, under the name of Ghates, the Soliman chain, Paralasa, Bolor, and Oural. This alternating situation of auriferous meridian chains (Vigne has recently visited, on the eastern declivity of Bolos, in the valley of Basha, in Baltistan, the auriferous sands mined, according to the Thibetians, by marmots, and, according to Herodotus, by large ants) reveals to us this law, that none of the meridian chains just named, between 64° and 75° of longitude, extend themselves upon the adjoming ones, either towards the east or the west, and that each of these longitudinal elevations does not begin to shew its extent, until a point is reached where the preceding has completely disappeared. 2d, Another cha- racteristic trait in the configuration of Asia, and which has- Attempt to determine the mean height of Continents. 335 not been sufficiently observed, is the continuity of a consider- able elevation, east and west, between 35° and 363° of lati- tude, from Takhialoudag, in ancient Lycia, as far as the Chinese province of Houpih, an elevation thrice intersected by meridian chains (Zagros, in Western Persia, Bolos, in Affghanistan, and the chain of Assam, in the valley of Dzangho) from the west to the east of this chain, from the parallel of Dicearchus, which is at the same time that of Rhodes, Taurus, Elbrouz, Hindou- Kho, and Kouen-Lun or A-Neoutha. In the third book of the geography of Eratosthenés, we find the first germ of the no- tion of a chain of mountains (Strabo, xv. p. 689, Cas.) run- ning in a continuous manner, and dividing Asia into two parts. Dicearchus perceived the connection between the Taurus of Asia Minor and the snow-covered mountains of Asia, which had acquired so much celebrity among the Greeks by the false accounts of those who had accompanied the Macedonians. Importance was assigned to the parallel of Rhodes, and to the direction of this endless chain of moun- tains. The chlamyde of Asia ought to be found further on under this parallel (Strabo, xi. p. 519), and perhaps, says Strabo, a little more to the east there may be another continent. The Taurus and the plateaux of Asia Minor disclosed for the first time to the Greek philosophers the influence of height on tem- perature. ‘ Even in the southern latitudes,” says the great geographer of Amasis, (Strabo, ii. p. 73) when the climate of the northern coasts of Cappadocia is compared with that of the plains of Argaios, situated 3000 stadia further south, the mountains and all the elevated lands are cold, even when these lands consist of plains.” Strabo is the only one among Greek authors who has made use of the word ogoreda@ or mountain plain. According to the final result of the whole of M. de Hum- boldt’s investigations, the maximum assigned by Laplace for the mean height of continents is too considerable by two-thirds. He found the following numerical elements for the three quarters of the world which have been the object of his cal- culations (Africa not yet presenting a sufficient number of data to be included). 336 Adtempt to determine the mean height of Continents. Europe, 105 toises (205 metres). North America, 117 ... (228 ... ). South America, 177... (845 .. ). Asia, 180: SatT(SEN at For the whole of the new continent we have 146 toises (285 metres), and for the height of the centre of gravity of the volume of all the continental masses (Africa excepted) above the level of the present seas, 157.8 toises or 307 metres. Von Hoff, who has measured with extreme accuracy 1076 different points, the greater part of them in the mountainous portion of Thuringia, over an extent of 224 square geographical miles, estimates that there are about five heights for each square mile, but that these heights are unequally scattered. M. de Humboldt has asked Von Hoff, always for the purpose of verifying Laplace’s hypothesis respecting the mass of con- tinents, to calculate the mean height of the hypsometrical measurements which he has made. This philosopher has found it to be 166 toises, that is to say, 8 toises more than the result at which M. de Humboldt had arrived. We ought thence to conclude, that, since a very mountainous country of Thuringia was measured, the number, 157 toises, or 942 feet, is a limit rather too high than too low. In the certainty in which we now are respecting the. pro- gressive and partial rising of Sweden (one of the most im- portant facts in physical geography, for a knowledge of which we are indebted to M. de Buch), we may suppose that the centre of gravity will not always continue the same. At the same time, considering the smallness of the masses which are raised and the weakness of the subterranean forces in action, it may be presumed, regarding such variations, that they will in a great measure compensate each other, and that the posi- tion of the centre of gravity above the ocean will not be much changed ; but a new circumstance, which appears to result from the numerical calculations of this hypsometrical labour, is, that the smallest heights in our hemisphere belong to the continental masses of the north. Thus Europe has furnished 105 toises, North America 117 toises. The prominent cha- racter of Asia between 28° and 40° of latitude compensates the subtractive effect of the lower portions of Siberia. Asia Notice of the Great Explosion at Dover. 337 and South America give 180 and 177 toises. We thus read, so to speak, in these numbers, in what portions of the surface of our globe vulcanism, that is to say, the reaction of the interior on the exterior, has been felt with greatest intensity in the ancient soulévements. (L’ Institut, 5th Jan. 1843 p. 4.) Notice of the Great Explosion at Dover. Contained in a Letter to the Earl of Carucarr, by Captain Sruarr, 7th Royal Fusiliers. Communicated by Lorp Greenock. Dover, 26th January 1843. My Dear Lorp,—An operation in engineering was success- fully performed near Dover to-day, which, from its magnitude and novelty, must be a subject of deep interest to every person acquainted in the least degree with practical science. It was the removal of an enormous mass of the cliff facing the sea, which formed an obstruction to the line of railroad. To give you a distinct idea of its position, it may be necessary to in- form you, that a portion of the cliff which was penetrated by the tunnel made through Shakspeare’s Cliff gave way about two years ago. About fifty yards of the tunnel were carried away, and a clear space was so formed for the line of railroad, with the exception of a projecting point, which, prior to the slip alluded to, was the extremity of the part of the cliff pierced by the tunnel, and to remove which was the object of the ope- ration in question. Mr Cubitt is the engineer, under whose management it took place. The expense of clearing it away by the tedious process of manual labour, would have exceeded L.12,000, and this consideration, as well as the time that would have been lost, induced him to try the bold experiment of blowing it away with gunpowder. It cannot be denied, that there was apparent danger in the undertaking, for the weight of the mass to be removed was estimated at 2,000,000 tons, and the quantity of powder used was more than eight tons, or 18,000 Ibs. 12,000 Ibs. was the quantity used in blowing up the fortifications of Bhurtpore, and this, I believe, was the greatest explosion that ever (previously) took place for any single specific object. I had several opportunities of 338 Notice of the Great Explosion at Doves. seeing the preparations for this grand event. The front of the projection was about 100 yards wide; this front was pierced with a tunnel about six feet in height, and three in breadth ; three shafts equidistant from each other and from the entrances to the tunnel, were sunk to the depth of seven- teen feet, and galleries were run, one from each shaft, paral- lel with each other, and at right angles with the line of the tunnel. These galleries varied in length, the longest having been 26 feet, the shortest 12 feet, and, at their extremities, chambers were excavated in a parallel direction with the tun- nel. The following rude sketch may give a clearer idea of it. 1 2 2 2 5 ee * 1. The Tunnel. 2, The Shafts, 3. The Galleries. 4. The Chambers. In the chambers, the powder was deposited in three nearly equal quantities ; it was done up in 50 lb. bags, and the pro- portion in each chamber was contained in a wooden case nearly as large as the chamber itself. Ignition was commu- nicated by means of a voltaic battery. Conductors 1000 feet in length were passed over the cliff, one to each chamber, and the electric fluid was communicated in a shed built for the purpose on the top of the cliff about fifty yards from the edge. The explosion was conducted by Lieutenant Hutchinson, R. E., who, you may recollect, was engaged under General Paisley, in blowing up the wreck of the Royal George. Two o'clock p.m. of this day, the tide being then at its lowest ebb, was fixed on for the explosion to take place. The arrangements were the best that could be made to preserve order, and as far as possible prevent danger. A space was kept clear by a cor- don of the artillery, and the following programme was issued : Signals, Janwary 26. 1843. 1st, Fifteen minutes before firing, all the signal flags will be hoisted. 2d, Five minutes before firing, one gun will be fired, and all the flags will be hauled down. 3d, One minute before firing, two guns will be fired, and all the flags (except that on the point which is to be blasted) will be hoisted again. Notice of the Great Explosion at Dover. 339 These signals were given exactly at the specified time, and when the expected moment arrived, a deep subterranean sound was heard, a violent commotion was seen at the base of the cliff, and the whole mass slid majestically down, form- ing an immense debris at the bottom. The success of the undertaking equalled the most sanguine hopes, and exceeded the expectations of all. It was a splendid triumph of skill, and reflects the highest credit on Mr Hutchinson and Mr Cubitt. Sir John Herschel also gives an account of this Explosion in the following letter, addressed tothe Editor of the Athenzeum :— Having witnessed the great explosion at Dover, on Thursday the 26th, from the summit of the cliff next adjoining it to the southward, and from the nearest point to which any access was permitted, I would gladly place on record, in your valuable journal, some features of its magnifi- cent operation, which struck me at the time as extremely remarkable, and which have not, I think, been adequately placed before the public in any account that I have seen. These features are, the singular and al- most total absence of all those tumultuous and noisy manifestations of power which might naturally be expected to accompany the explosion of so enormous a quantity (19,000 lb.) of gunpowder, and which formed, I have no doubt, the chief attraction of many who came from great distances to witness it,—viz. noise, smoke, earthquake, and fragments hurled to vast distances through the air. Of the noise accompanying the immediate explosion, I can only de- scribe it as a low murmur, lasting hardly more than half a second, and so faint, that had a companion at my elbow been speaking in an ordinary tone of voice, I doubt not it would have passed unheeded. Nor was the fall of the cliff (nearly 400 feet in height, and of which no less than 400,000 cubic yards were, within an interval of time hardly exceeding ten seconds, distributed over the beach, on an area of 18 acres, covered to an average depth of 14 feet, and in many parts from 30 to 50) accompanied with any considerable noise, certainly with none which attracted my own attention, or that of several others similarly stationed, with whom I after- wards compared notes. A pretty fresh breeze from the south-west might be regarded as influential in wafting it away, were it not that the fall took place under the lee of the cliff on whose edge we were stationed. The entire absence of smoke was another and not less remarkable fea- ture of the phenomenon. Much dust, indeed, curled out at the borders of the vast rolling and undulating mass, which spread itself like a semi-fluid body, thinning out in its progress ; but this subsided instantly ; and of true smoke there was absolutely not a vestige. Every part of the surface was 340 Notice of the Great Explosion at Dover. immediately and clearly seen—the prostrate* flagstaff (speedily re-erected in the place of its fall)—the broken turf which a few seconds before had been quietly growing at the summit of the cliff, and every other detail of that extensive field of ruin, were seen immediately in all their distinct- ness. Full in the midst of what appeared the highest part of the expand- ing mass, while yet in rapid motion, my attention was attracted by a tu- multuous and somewhat upward-swelling motion of the earth, whence I fully expected to’see burst forth a volume of pitchy smoke,{and from which my present impression is, that gas, purified from carbonaceous matter in passing through innumerable fissures of cold and damp material, was still in progress of escape ; but, whether so or not, the remark made at the mo- ment is sufficient to prove the absence of any impediment to distinct vi- sion. Ag regards the amount of tremor perceived, I must confess having speculated with some little anxiety on the probable stability of the abrupt and precipitous ridge on which I stood; and might, therefore, have somewhat underrated the exceedingly trifling movement which actually reached that point, and which I think I have felt surpassed by a heavy waggon passing along a paved street. The impression, slight as it was, was single and brief, and must have originated with the first shock of the powder, and not from the subsequent and prolonged rush of the ruins, which I can positively say communieated no perceptible tremor whatever. I have not heard of a single scattered fragment, flying out as a projectile, in any direction ; and altogether the whole phenomenon was totally un- like any thing which, according to ordinary ideas, could have been sup- posed to arise from the action of gunpowder. Strange as it may seem, this contrast between the actual and the expected effects, gave to the whole scene a character rather of sublime composure than of headlong violence, of graceful ease than of struggling effort. How quietly, in short, the gigantic power employed performed its work may be gathered from the fact, that the operators themselves who discharged the batteries were not aware that they had taken effect, but thought the whole affair a fail- ure, until re-assured by the shout which hailed its success. The remarkable absence of noise and tremor which characterized this operation is explained by the structure of chalk as a material, and by the rifty state of the cliffas a body. Of all substances, perhaps, chalk is the worst adapted for conveying sound, and the best for deadening the vibra- tion propagated through it by a heavy blow. The initial lfammer-like im- pulse of the newly-created gas on the walls of the chambers of the mines (of which it must be recollected there were three, simultaneously explo- ded) was doubtless thus deadened by traversing at least 75 feet of chalk, even in the shortest direction, or line of least resistance ; and this must have taken place before the mass could have been sensibly moved from * It has been stated, that the flagstaff continued erect, but this (if I can credit the distinct evidence of my own senses) is incorrect. On the Introduction of Granite into Scotland. 341 its seat by the expansive force generated, which, however vast, proved incapable (as, indeed, it was expressly provided it should be) to commu- nicate to its enormous load any greater velocity than barely sufficient to rift and bulge it outwards, leaving gravity to do the rest. Nothing can place in a more sigaal light the exactness of calculation which (basing it- self on a remarkably simple rule, the result of long practical experience) could enable the eminent engineer (Mr Cubitt), by whom the whole ar- rangements are understood to have been made, so completely to task to its utmost every pound of powder employed, as to exhaust its whole effort in useful work—leaving no superfluous power to be wasted in the produc- tion of useless uproar or mischievous dispersion, and thus saving at a blow not less than L.7,000 to the railway company.—I have the honour to be, &e. J. F. W. Herscaer. Collingwood, Jan, 31, 1843. On the Introduction into Scotland of Granite, for Ornamental Purposes, by Messrs Macdonald and Leslie of Aberdeen. By Professor Traitt, F.R.S.E., M.W.S., &e.* Communi- cated by the Author. The first idea of employing the refractory, but enduring, material, granite, in sculpture appears to be due to the ancient Egyptians. Those who have enjoyed opportunities of exa- mining their colossal buildings have acknowledged the preci- sion, and even delicacy, of the figures and ornaments, with which that ingenious people contrived to enrich their archi- tecture. Specimens of their sculpture in granite, which have for 3000 years resisted the action of the elements, and the yet more destructive influence of barbarous invaders, still astonish us by the high polish of their surfaces, and the deli- cate finish of their details. Even a visit to the Egyptian Sa- loon of the British Museum, will prove that in accuracy of mus- cular delineation, and in the communication of absolute fleshi- ness to the lips and features of some of the figures there pre- served, the ancient Egyptians evinced a high perfection in the art of sculpture, in a material of the most imperishable kind, on which few succeeding artists have ventured to em- ploy the chisel. * Read to the Wernerian Society 18th March 1842. VOL. XXXIV. NO. LXVIII.— APRIL 18438. % 342 Dr Traill on the Introduction into Scotland of . In our own times, the fabrication of slabs, pedestals, and vases, in hard porphyries, and in granite, has been carried to great perfection in Sweden. The quarries of Blyberg at Elfda- len, for many years, have furnished materials for Swedish inge- nuityandskill. The elegantforms and high finish of their works in those refractory materials have contributed greatly to the, splendour of the Swedish Capital, and are known and admired over Europe. Yet, though our own mountains yield no less beau- tiful and durable materials, it is surprising how long we have re- mained without any attempt to apply them to the purposes of or- namental art. It is true, that, for more than half a century, Aberdeen has exhibited a city chiefly built of blocks of hewn granite ; that more lately, this same material has been employ- ed in the construction of Waterloo Bridge in London, and in a few other works; and that Cornish granite appears in the pedestals of a few statues in some of our towns. But the idea of giving a polish, equal to that of ancient Egypt, to our granite in works of considerable size, of introducing this splen- did material as a domestic ornament in our halls and saloons, and as lasting memorials of departed worth in our cemeteries, is undoubtedly due to two citizens of Aberdeen, Messrs Macpno-- natp and Lesuiz, who carry on extensive works in that town ; where the grey granite of Aberdeen, and the rich red granite of Peterhead, are cut into an endless variety of ornamental articles, which receive the highest polish. A late visit to their establishment convinced me, that these - gentlemen have reduced to practice the difficult problem of giving any required form to so stubborn a material as granite, and of communicating to its surface an exquisite polish, which shew it to be well suited for domestic ornament, and as a su- perb decoration for the abodes of rank and opulence. The rich warm tint of the Peterhead granite, in particular, will harmonize better with the gilded ornaments and gorgeous hangings of a modern gallery or superb saloon, either as tables or as pedestals for works of art, than furniture made of the most costly woods, or even than the snowy marble of Car- rara. For monumental work, this enduring material possesses ad- . vantages over the best marble. In our climate, the effects of Granite for Ornamental Purposes. 343 rain, sudden frosts, and succeeding thaws are soon perceptible on Carrara marble, or any other kind exposed freely to the weather. Marble thus soon loses its glossy surface, it con- tracts greenish stains from the vegetation of minute Byss?, and inscriptions, in a few years, from these causes, become ille- gible. The-polished granite of Aberdeenshire retains its po- lish most perfectly under all atmospheric changes, does not contract any stain from vegetation; and, unless wantonly mutilated, will transmit the inscription engraven on it to dis- tant ages. The sharpness of the Egyptian hieroglyphics, carved ina very similar rock 3000 years ago, at this day, proves the durability of granite carving. A beautiful cenotaph of red granite, from the works of Messrs Macdonald and Leslie, has been exposed to all the vicissitudes of our changeable cli- mate, for six or seven years, in the church-yard of Falkirk, and appears in the full lustre of its pHginat polish, as if it were erected yesterday. Fine specimens of granite monuments by the same artists may be seen in the noble new cemetery at Glasgow, which are chaste in design, beautiful in execution, and seem calculated to bid defiance to every destroying influence, except wilful injury. On visiting the establishment of Messrs Macdonald and Leslie at Aberdeen, I saw several finished specimens, and many works of this material in progress, as I was conducted through the different departments, by the intelligent, and most respectable head of this interesting and new employment of na- tional art and industry. - The grey granite is-of a close grain, and contains more mica than the red. Itis brought from quarries on the Dee, a short way above Aberdeen. The red granite is of a larger grain, abounding in felspar and in quartz, intermingled with small specks of mica, and bears astrong resemblance to the syenitic rock, of which the finest ancient Egyptian monuments are fa- bricated. This ‘comes from the vicinity of Peterhead, and is brought byseato the works. Both aresusceptible of afine polish, which they retain unimpaired bythe weather. Blocks of almost any size may be obtained free of flaws or imperfections. In the sawing room, several blocks were then under the machines, which are moved,by a14-horse power steam-engine. I observed one block, 10 feet long, cutting into 6 or 8 slabs. The saws 344 Dr Traill on the Introduction into Scotland of are, as usual in such works, of soft iron-plates, secured in a frame; and operate on the stone by means of quartz-sand and water, applied as in slicing marble. No emery is requisite in these operations, the particles of siliceous sand being sufficient to cut the quartz, the hardest material in the granite. Fre- quently 14 saws are used in a single frame ; and occasionally they have had as many as 18 employed at once on a single block of stone. The progress of the work. of course, is slow ; it requiring a whole day to eut a groove two-thirds of an inch in depth in thé granite. The slabs, when cut, are polished by moving one over the other, by appropriate machinery ; siliceous sand being first interposed, and then emery of various degrees of fineness, until the requisite degree of lustre is obtained. The first dressing of the granite blocks into parallelopipeds, cylindrical masses or other curved forms, is performed by hand-picks, with short handles, and heads about 4 pounds in weight ; which the workmen, from long habit, wield with sur- prising accuracy. The surfaces are then reduced to a regular form by means of well tempered chisels, urged by iron mallets ; the chisels require a very particular temper, which must be neither very hard nor very soft, else they would either lose their edge by chipping, or fail to cut the stone. I observed that they frequently require sharpening in the more delicate kinds of work. The chisel is held by the workman very ob- liquely to the surface of the stone, and he separates very small particles at a time. I have already described the polishing of plane surfaces. Circular forms, such as sfel@, frusta of columns, as pedestals for busts, vases, and the like, are fixed in well-contrived lathes, and are whirled round by machinery, while the sand and emery are applied to their surfaces by means of thick plates or bars of iron, previously forged to their various cur- vatures, when they are not cylindrical. I saw a large vase, about 4 feet in diameter, prepared by the chisel for the process of polishing. Its graceful curves were beautifully and accurately cut by the chisel; the iron bars, 1 or 13 inch in thickness, neatly forged to its various curves, lay beside it ready to be applied, when it was fixed in the lathe. In the warerooms were many finished articles of great Granite for Ornamental Purposes. 345 beauty and elegance, such as well executed pedestals for busts or vases, of red and grey granite ; chimney pieces of the same material, numerous slabs, tables and seats for halls, and beau- tiful vases, in a considerable variety of forms, rivalling those of classic Italy in shape, mural tablets for monuments, and some altar-formed tombs of magnificent size. These last were made to order. Some of the chimney-pieces are intend- ‘ed for the Earl of Lauderdale’s residence, Thirlstane Castle, and some of the slabs for Sir Robert Peel, &c. &e. I was surprised at the neatness of the /edéering on all the monuments ; and saw the men at work. The monument is first finished in other respects: the letters are carefully traced with a dark or light crayon, according to the colour of the stone, and the workman traces the outline of the letter on the stone by light strokes of a fine-edged chisel, held nearly vertically ; deepens the lines by a succession of similar blows, while the chisel is held very obliquely, removing the stone in the state of powder, so as to avoid chipping. Roman capitals are thus easily formed ; but I saw old English, or German letters, with a superfluity of curved lines, carved on the eranite with equal precision. But the most remarkable work which I saw in this estab- lishment was, the neatly finished statue of the late Duke of Gordon, intended to be erected in one of the streets of Aber- deen. It is 11 fect high, of a single block of granite. This statue was modelled by Mr Thomas Campbell, the sculptor ; and has been transferred from the model to the granite by Messrs Macdonald and Leslie. Two men were at work on the drapery, at the period of my visit. They worked with fine chisels, held very obliquely, and urged on by iron mallets of two or three pounds in weight. The attitude of this statue is simple, and the features are said to be very like the original. This, which may be considered as the first specimen of a Bri- tish statue of a single block of granite, in emulation of the durable monuments of ancient Egypt, is a memorial by the County to the late noble and gallant Officer; and, when erected, will be a distinguished ornament to Aberdeen. Another great public work, executed by the same artists, is already erected in that town. In 1842, the splendid public 346 = On the Introduction of Granite into Scotland, markets of Aberdeen, excelled by none in Europe in elegance, were first opened. The great saloon, containing the fruit and vegetable market, a magnificent hall 300 feet in length by 100 feet in breadth, has within it a noble fountain of highly polished Peterhead granite: An octagonal basin, constructed of polished blocks, stands about one-third the length of the hall from the southern extremity. From the centre of this. basin, rises a shaft 10 feet high, supporting two circular cups or shallow vases, one placed over the other. The lowermost is formed out of a single block, 7 feet 3 inches in diameter ; and the upper has about half that width. A constant-jet: of water rises from the centre of the upper cup, flows over its edges into the lower vase, which also overflows, in a thin sheet of limpid water, into the basin below ; whence water is drawn for all the purposes of the market. I have seen no fountain in Britain so fine as this. It resembles in form, and surpas- ses in material; the finest fountains I saw in Spain: yet it was erected by Messrs Macdonald and Leslie for L.200. The same artists are at this moment engaged in executing a similar fountain for Lord Prudhoe, which, I understand, will cost about L.200. Indeed, considering the difficulty of working so hard a ma- terial, I was surprised at the moderation of their prices, for articles produced at their interesting establishment. For instance :— 1. A hall-table slab of polished granite, measuring 4 feet long by 212 inches wide, costs L.4, 15s. It may be stated, that slabs may be furnished, of any re- quired size, for from 12s. to 14s. for each square foot. of sur- face. 2. Pedestals for busts, square or columnar, with plinth, and an ovolo when columnar, of the usual size, for L.10. - 8. Mural monumental tablets, with vase, trusses, &c., from L.6 to L.9, according to the size. 4. Mural tablets, with base, cornice, and ysis top, from L.10 to L.12. Lettering, of the usual size, is charged 4s. ‘6d. per dozen of letters. 5. An elegant Tazza-formed vase, of classic shape, 4 feet Researches on the Anatomy of the Chimpanzee. 347 9 inches in diameter, and standing 2 feet 9 inches high on a beautiful pedestal, costs L.40. 6. They have also executed columns of granite for halls and vestibules, at prices equally reasonable, in proportion to the size and style of decoration. But of all the purposes to which they have hitherto applied the granite, it seems espe- cially suitable for monuments of every kind, both from the beauty of the highly polished material, and its imperishable nature under all vicissitudes of the weather. The extent and perfection to which these gentlemen have carried the working of this very refractory but beautiful stone, may be considered as forming an era in British art ; and re- quire only to be more generally known, to be appreciated and encouraged by public taste and munificence. 13 GLovucestER PLace, Epinpures, March 18, 1843. Researches on the Comparative Anatomy of the Chimpanzee. By M. Vrouix.* Tf, in the natural sciences, the study of facts ought to serve as the basis of general views and as the means of appreciating natural phenomena taken as a whole, the investigations un- dertaken with the view of throwing light upon some particu- lar points of science, and supporting in some way or other a special object, deserve more than ordinary attention. The physical sciences geology and botany, present us with nume- rous examples of these monographs, many of which have been the means of acquiring the highest reputation to their authors. Zoology, and, in particular, Comparative Anatomy, are less rich in works of this description ; it is therefore a duty to no- tice particularly works which, like M. Vrolik’s Researches on the Comparative Anatomy of the Chimpanzee, combine a profound study of the subject with new views and ingenious specula- tions ; the more especially when, in addition to these recom- mendations, the mode of execution, the form, and the plates, * The yaluable work noticed above is entitled, Recherches d’Anatomie Comparée sur le Chimpansé. Par W. Vro.ix, Chevalier de l’Ordre Mili- taire de Guillaume, Membre de la Premiere Classe de l’Institut Royal des Pays-Bas. 1 vol. fol. ayec 7 Planches. Amsterdam, 1841, 348 M. Vrolik’s Researches on the Comparative are such as to render it worthy of a place by the side of the most remarkable works of the class to which it belongs. M. Vrolik enters into no details either respecting the ex- ternal characters or natural history of the Chimpanzee. Sup- posing these to be sufficiently known, he devotes himself to the anatomical examination of this animal, which is rendered singularly interesting by its great resemblance to man. Avail- ing himself of the advantages supplied by the fine anatomical collections of Holland, both public and private, as well as those offered by the Zoological Garden of Amsterdam placed under his direction, he has added anatomical observations on many other species of monkeys, compared their organization with that of other quadrupeds, and contrasted it with that of man, in such a manner, that the work we now introduce to the notice of our readers almost amounts to a treatise on the comparative anatomy of the quadrumana, and a pretty com- plete essay on the comparative myology of the Mammifera. A work of this nature, whose merits depend chiefly on the number and exactitude-of its details, cannot easily be sub- jected to analysis. A few quotations of general interest will render it best known, and will, we doubt not, excite the desire of studying, in the work itself, the very peculiar organization of the large quadrumanous animal in question. The seven beautiful lithographie plates which accompany the descrip- tions, render them, besides, much more intelligible. After long and interesting details respecting the osteology and myology of the Chimpanzee, as well as the comparison of the organs of motion among different species of monkeys and other mammifera—between these and the corresponding parts of man—the following are the general considerations arrived at by the Amsterdam Professor :— “In short, it appears proved that the muscles of the ante- rior extremities become simplified in proportion as animals re- cede from the human form. Their number and disposition are modified according to the functions for which these ante- rior extremities are adapted. In man they are not intended to support the body. In him they are attached in such a manner, from the top of the head to the heel, that there is no part of the individual to which they cannot reach. By the Anatomy of the Chimpanzee. 349 nature of this attachment, and by all the peculiarities of their structure, we perceive that they are given to him as instru- ments adapted either for pushing away from him, seizing, or embracing objects, and, in particular, as organs of touch. It is to the hand, in particular, that the duty of fulfilling these offices is assigned. Every thing concurs, in man, to render it an organ of the greatest perfection, and in this respect no ant- mal can rival him. Let us observe, accordingly, that it is for the purpose of executing these different functions that the palm is enlarged, radiating, and terminating in fingers, each phalange of which has its proper motor; that the thumb has a different direction from the other fingers, is not placed on the same line with them, but can be opposed to each of them ; that the hand not only exercises a movement of extension and flexure, but can be turned forwards and backwards, by a me- chanism peculiar to the wrist; that the articulation of the shoulder is formed in such a manner that the movements of the humerus, and consequently all the upper extremity, be- come as extensive as possible; that the muscular sides of the palm are so disposed, that the hand can form the palm into a hollow. All these arrangements are found in the greatest perfection in man, and the first result of them is, that he has the power of seizing an object with only one hand, while the other mammifera, whose fore-feet have some resemblance to the upper extremities in man, cannot hold objects but by using both hands. To this monkeys are the only exception. In tham the fore-foot resembles the human hand, although it is Vary inferior to the latter, The palm is longer, and not so broad ; the fingers are more elongated, and less insulated in their movements; the thumb is placed farther backwards, and, in its direction, less opposed to the fingers. Among them, © consequently, the hand becomes less an organ of touch and prehension, than a means of aiding them in their movements while climbing trees. This imperfection is seen in its greatest degree among the sapajous and sajous. This is perhaps the reason why they are possessed of an accessory organ of mo- tion, formed by the prehensile tail. In the ourang-outang, cn the contrary, and still more in the Chimpanzee, the hand makes a much yearer approach to that of man. Although 350 M. Vrolik’s Researches on the Comparative pretty perfect in the ourang-outang, it exhibits in that animal a disproportionate length ; but in the Chimpanzee the fingers are shorter, the thumb better formed, and the palm of the hand broader. I cannot determine whether the palm of the Chim- panzee can form a hollow, like that of man, but I have often satisfied myself that that of the ourang-outang is incapable of doing so. When the ourang-outang of our Zoological Garden makes use of his hand, whether it be to seize on any object, or in any of the artificial movements he is caused to execute, he does it with a certain degree of awkwardness, which demon- strates his inferiority in this respect as compared with man. The last director of our menagerie amused himself by making it dine at his table ; but although it had learned to imitate all the movements of a civilized man, to present its empty plate, hold out its glass, and eat with a spoon, it sufficiently shewed that its hand would not allow it to attain the dexterity of man. For example, in taking a plate or any other object, it never held its hand extended and open, as a man does, but closed the hand, bending the fingers very much. This mode of curving the fingers was extremely familiar to it. I never recollect of seeing its fingers completely extended. All this shews us that the hand of the ourang-outang is well adapted to grasp the branches of a tree; that in this respect it is an organ of mo- tion of great perfection, and in every respect appropriate to the animal’s mode of life, but that, in all other respects, it is inferior to that of man. I remarked the same thing in the ash-coloured gibbons of our menagerie. This inferior degree of aptitude in the hand of animals to serve all the purposes which it fulfils in man, is owing to the disproportionate length of the fingers, and, in particular, the inferior perfection and the situation of the thumb. By the disposition of its muscles the thumb of monkeys is not made for that variety and great freedom of motion peculiar to man. Certainly that of the Chimpanzee approaches nearest the human thumb, and yet the great flexor muscle is sometimes wanting, and the smaller abductor and antagonist of the thumb are much less developed than in man. In the other monkeys, the great abductor and small extensor of the thumb are confounded, in so much that there appears there, as in all the other muscles of the anterior oY Anatomy of the Chimpanzee. 351 extremities, a great tendency to become simplified. In man they are undoubtedly most complicated ; in him also the move- ments they perform are most varied.” After the description and detailed comparison of the poste- rior extremities of the Chimpanzee and other Mammifera, we find the following considerations respecting these organs. « By this comparative description of the myology of the posterior extremities, I think I have demonstrated that their muscles become simplified in animals in proportion as we re- cede from their perfection in man. And if we consider atten- tively what is peculiar and distinctive in the organization of these posterior extremities, we cannot doubt for a moment that they are destined to support and move the body. It is for this reason that the arrangement of their muscles is entirely dif- ferent from that we have observed in the anterior extremities. For while we see the force of flexion prevail over that of ex- tension in the anterior extremities, we witness, on the con- trary, that of extension prevail over flexion in the posterior extremities. It is particularly in man that this fact is shewn in the most conspicuous manner. We have only to compare the development of the extensor muscles of the leg with that of the flexor muscles, to be convinced of this, or, if we wish a proof more conclusive still, we have but to examine the mus- cles of the leg. It is principally to the great strength of all these extensor muscles that man owes the power of holding himself erect and walking on two feet. We again find it, for that same reason, in animals whose trunk is straight, and whose movements are principally made with the hinder feet ; the examples of the kangaroo and sloth prove this. I do not add the example of the monkeys, because there is none of them that can hold itself upright and walk without any other support than the hinder feet. They are all quadrupeds, with this modification, that the four feet are but ill fitted to support and move the body on a horizontal plane, but rather for making it ascend a vertical plane. The movement they perform in the act of grasping is their true attribute. We have only to notice the manner in which they grasp the bars of their cage to be assured ofthis. Their feet are modified for the purpose quite in a peculiar manner, as I have fully stated in 352 On the Rein-Deer of the Laplanders. the osteological part of this work. And it is for the same reason that their muscles have the special character which I have assigned them in this chapter.” On the subject of the laryngeal pouches, the existence of which M. Vrolik has shewn in many species of monkey, he brings forward a new opinion as to their use. He supposes that these pouches “ are organs fitted for facilitating motion. Their situation among the muscles of the neck, the prolonga- tions which they often form in the arm-pits, their increase in size with age, appear to me so many proofs,” he says, ‘that they are reservoirs of air, made for the purpose of dimi- nishing the specific gravity of the upper part of the body, and consequently to facilitate the act of grasping, in the same manner as reservoirs of air in birds favour flight.” * On the Rein-Deer of the Laplanders. By Gustay Peter Brom, Member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Dron- theim, &e. The Laplanders are originally a Nomadic race, supported by rein-deer, and their principal branch still follows the same mode of life. Poverty, however, has forced many Laplanders to quit their native haunts in the mountains, and to descend to the Norwegian coasts, or to the plains of Lapland, to seek for the means of living. Thus two kinds have sprung up in Norway: the Sea-Laps, who live on the coasts, aud are occupied with fishing, and the Boe-Laps, who have settled in the valleys, have brought small tracts of land into cultiva- tion, and support themselves by agriculture and the rearing of eattle, combined partly with the rearing of rein-deer. The Laplanders who have withdrawn to Lapland may again be divided into two kinds; the /orest-Laps, who keep rein- deer, but take them along with themselves only within a cer- tain region, and who at the same time are hunters; and the Fisher- Laps, who have established themselves on the shores of the great rivers and lakes of Lapland, and are engaged in the taking of fish. The best shots are among the Forest-Laplanders, who furnish the yearly markets of Vitangi * From Bibliotheque Universelie de Geneve, No. 83, p. 170. On the Rein-Deer of the Laplanders. 353 and Kengis with a large quantity of game, which is carried to Stockholm by way of Torneo. The rein-deer is the support of the Laplanders, and the ob- ject of their pride ; in it consist their wealth and their hap- piness. Whoever is the possessor of many hundred rein-deer, has attained the highest pinnacle of good fortune; but he never on this account alters his mode of living in the slightest degree, or increases his enjoyments, except, perhaps, as re- gards the quantity of brandy he consumes. Besides the rein- deer, the whole wealth of the Laplander consists of few ar- ticles of clothing, his tents for living in and for keeping his stores, a few wooden stakes with which he forms a kind of fold, into which the rein-deer are driven when they are to be milked, a few bed-covers made of rein-deer skins, a copper vessel in which his food is cooked, a few wooden dishes, and his provisions, consisting of rein-deer-cheese and milk, which latter he preserves for the winter in rein-deer stomachs. When he alters his abode, the whole of this splendour is placed on the pack-rein-deer, and conveyed to the new place of re- sidence, The rein-deer is the most important possession of the Lap- landers, for it supplies them both with nourishment and cloth- ing. The Laplander spends his superfiuous money chiefly on the increase of his herd; and it is only when that is suffi- ciently large, that he begins to think of collecting silver and burying it ; but he never dreams of procuring greater personal comforts, for their value is unknown to him. The Laplander lives in a tent of a circular conical shape, provided with an opening above for the escape of the smoke. The tent is made of coarse woollen cloth, sometimes also of rein-deer skins, and the richer individuals construct their ha- bitations with a double covering. The door consists of a curtain of the same material, The internal arrangement of the tent is just as simple ; in the middle there are a few stones which form a sort of fire-place, and at the sides round about, twigs of birch are strewed, and rein-deer skins spread over them, so as to forma sofa during the day, and a bed at night. The dogs also partake of this place of repose. ‘The dishes and kettles lie scattered about in the tent, and above are suspended 354 On the Rein-Deer of the Laplanders. the rein-deer stomachs filled with milk, which are completely blackened by the smoke. It is to be expected that cleanliness should not exist in such miserable dwellings, but the Lapland- ers have in fact no idea of it. A few of the race, who pasture their rein-deer on the coasts every summer, have built earthen huts in the form of tents; but these have no advantage’ over their usual abodes. _ It is only in autumn that the Haas kills his rein-deer, for it is only at that season that they are fat, and their flesh palatable. . In spring the rein-deer has much to endure from the so-called rein-deer fly,—an insect which penetrates into the skin of the animal, and deposits its eggs, from which larve are produced. The animal is thus so much tormented, that it becomes lean in summer, and the skin is of no value so long as the larvae exist in it. The insects produce larger or smaller. tumours on the backs and sides of the rein-deer, and the poor animals fall on their knees, on oceasion of the slightest touch, in order to escape the pain. The female produces its young in the month of March, and from that time it is milked, by some of the Laplanders once, and by others twice a-day. The milking of the rein-deer-is one of the most interesting scenes inthe whole economy of the Laplanders. Towards evening the rein-deer are driven from the moun- tains-to the tents. Their arrival is first announced by the’ barking of the dogs, who run round the herd, to keep the ani- mals together. Soon the whole herd is descried, forming a closely packed mass, which moves along like a grey cloud. As the animals approach nearer; the horns become a promi- nent object, resembling a moving leafless forest, and very va- rious in their form and size. The fawns push through among the full-grown animals, and we at last hear a crackling noise, pro- duced by the movement of their legs, and resembling the sound of burning fir-trees, or rather that of electric sparks. Here and there is heard a sound somewhat like the grunting of swine. Near the tents there is a circular enclosure, pro- vided with two openings or doors. When the rein-deer ap- proach it, they press closely together in order to enter, and one sees only the moving mass and the projecting horns. Should a deer or a fawn remain behind, or take a wrong path, On the Rein-Deer of the Laplanders. 355 a dog immediately pursues it, and the deserter is soon seen running back to the herd at full pace, followed by the dog. The animals now stand closely packed together within the fence, and are so tame that a stranger even can touch them without trouble or danger. In the centre of the enclosure there is a small erection to which the animal is strongly bound during the milking, in order that it may not become unruly, and upset both the milk and the milker. The milking is per- formed by men, women, and children ; but the task of bring- ing the animals to the milking place belongs exclusively to a particular man, and is accomplished in the following man- ner :— This individual is accurately acquainted with every animal, even in a herd of several hundred, and knows if it is a male or female, and if it is milked or not. He goes with a noose in his hand, and throws it so dexterously over the horns of the animal he’ wishes to secure, that he never fails in his aim, even at a distance of fifteen or twenty yards, and when many other individuals are standing between him and his object. So soon as the noose is fastened round the horns, the animal is dragged to the milking-place, and there securely tied ; ano- ther animal is afterwards taken in the same way, and so till all have been milked. ‘The skill of the Laplanders in the use of this noose can only be compared to that of the savages of Africa, or the bull-takers in Brazil. But little attention is paid to cleanliness in the milking, and indeed generally in the economy of the Laplanders. During the summer, loose hairs fall abundantly into the milk, and these are but partially removed by sieves. The milk not used is poured into rein-deer stomachs and suspended in the tent. The rein-deer understands how to keep back the milk ; and, in order to prevent her doing so, the Laplander often strikes her repeatedly with his fist, and thus much additional hair drops into the milk. But little milk is obtained ; it is, however, as rich as cream, and the taste is by no means disagreeable, re- sembling that of the ewe. An exceedingly palatable cheese is prepared from it, which is used medicinally as a certain cure of boils produced by frost. An important animal in the economy of the Laplanders ix 306 On the Rein-Deer of the Laplanders. the dog, and every Laplander has a number proportionate to that of his rein-deer, amounting to twelve or more. These dogs protect the rein-deer from wild animals, gives a signal when these approach, keep the herd together, so that they may not become scattered, and thus lose themselves in the mountains, and go in search of them when the latter occurs. They drive the deer by their barking, but when that is not sufficient, they bite their legs. In order to prevent injury be- ing thus inflicted, the canine teeth are extracted when the dogs are young. It is rather a natural instinct than a regular training which teaches the dogs their duty. They have a na- tural inclination to the rein-deer, and so soon as the latter are in motion, are ready to follow. The dogs are divided into two sections, of which the one accompanies the herd, and the other remains in the tents. As soon as the rein-deer return from their pasture to the tents, the dogs which have been re- posing start up and enter upon their duties, and those which are thus relieved lie down quietly in the tents. The Lapland dog is not large, has long hair, a sharp snout, a long-haired tail, and erect ears; it has no claims to beauty. The domestic rein-deer are not always of a grey colont; like the wild, but vary in this respect like ail domesticated animals. Although the prevailing colour is grey, there are rein-deer of a white colour with blue spots. For the most part they have white markings on the head and feet, by means of which they are recognized by the Laplanders, and by which the possessor can not only distinguish his own from strangers, but even every single animal in his herd. Males only are used as beasts of burden, and chiefly those which are castrated, as they are the strongest. The female is too tender for such work. The rein-deer is most valuable for dragging, for its power of carrying is not great, and while its progress when loaded is slow, the burden must also be small. On the other hand, when the snow is in a good state, it drags large loads with great rapidity. As is well known, travelling in Lapland in winter is only performed by means of rein-deer, and is accomplished at a very quick pace. The horse is useless at this season, because there are no made roads, and no places for repose or feeding. Such accommodations 7 On the Rein- Deer of the Laplanders. Soe are not required for the rein-deer ; for it runs on the untrodden snow, and when unyoked from the sledge, it scratches the snow with its feet and refreshes itself with the moss, which it is always able to discover on the mountains. The knowledge of locality is just as remarkable among the Laplanders, as their power of recognising their rein-deer, and arises from the same cause, viz., from the development of their senses and perception, which is promoted by the necessity that exists among them, as among all people in their natural state, for relying on themselves for extrication from difficulties. A1- though the Alps of Lapland, and more especially the plains, offer but few objects which can fix attention, there is no ex- ample of a Laplander losing himself on a journey; if he has once travelled over a tract, it becomes known to him for his whole life. Fog alone, or drifting snow, can lead him into error; but he takes good care not to travel in such weather, and his meteorological knowledge enables him to foresee when anything of the kind is to be dreaded. His acuteness of vision allows him to descry objects at very great distances, and thus to pilot himself. His eyes, however, become weakened at an early period, owing to the smoke in his tent, and partly to the dazzling whiteness of the snow. When a Laplander is caught, during a journey by night ora storm, he throws his kaftan over his head, lies down on the snow, and covers him- self with it, waiting patiently for a more favourable opportu- nity of prosecuting his journey. The mode of living of the Laplanders is simple in the highest degree, especially in summer ; for at that season they are sup- ported almost exclusively on rein-deer milk, and a kind of sor- rel, which they find in abundance in the mountain valleys, and cook along with milk in an uncoated copper vessel, without, on that account, suffering bad effects in the stomach. Fish are very welcome to the Laplanders, but are a dainty which they do not often enjoy, as the Alpine Laplander occupies himself but little with fishing. A favourite kind of food is the stalk of the Angelica archangelica, here named slécke, which the Laplander eats raw, after removing the outer fibres. This plant is alsomuch eaten by the Northmen, and is consi- dered as a good preservative against scurvy. YOU. XXXIV. NO. LXVIIT.—APRIL 1843, 2A 358 On the Rein-Deer of the Laplanders. Meal is not used in summer ; but in winter, the Laplander exchanges his rein-deer flesh for meal in the markets and coast districts; and he then eats the flesh, or the preserved milk, cooked with meal, or a kind of soup made of rein-deer blood and meal. His food in winter is very nourishing, and it is thus that he is able to endure the hardships and severe weather with which he has to contend. Many travellers, and among them Brooke,* have asserted, that the Laplanders proceed yearly with their rein-deer to the coasts of Norway, and that it is a matter of necessity that the animals should drink sea-water every year ; but this is not the case. The wandering of the Laplanders is by no means re- gular, and many rein-deer—nay, the greater number—have never tasted sea-water. It entirely depends on the locality, whether the Laplander goes to the sea-coast or not, and whe- ther this takes place in summer or winter. — In the districts Namdalen and Senjen, whose coasts are surrounded by islands having high cliffs, the Laplander drives his rein-deer to the coasts, and thence takes them to the islands in order to pro- cure food for them. This transport presents an interesting spectacle. The Laplander attaches one or several rein-deer to his little boat by means of a rope, which is secured round the horns. He then rows across the sound, which is often more than an English mile broad ; and the rest of the animals having been driven into the sea, swim after their leaders to the opposite coast. In other localities, the Laplander goes to the coast in the winter season, when the snow is too deep on the mountains, and he again quits it in April or May. In a valley, an English mile or two from the town of Tromsée, a Laplander remains till the beginning of August, with 700 rein-deer. It is evident, from what has now been said, that no particular natural impulse takes the rein-deer at fixed seasons to the sea; on the other hand, it is an undoubted fact, that the rein-deer will not remain longer than about the end of August in the coast regions and in the Norwegian pas- tures—nay, that if the Laplander does not hasten, before the 20th August, towards the mountains, his herd will desert him, and proceed on their journey to the plains of Lapland. * For a portion of Brooke’s Account of the Rein-Deer, see Jameson’s Journal, yol, iii., p. 30. __ Connection of the Physiognomy of a Country, &c. 359 The wanderings of the Laplanders generally take place in the following order: In winter, they remain partly in the vast moorish tracts, partly in the forests of Lapland ; and in spring, the torment caused to the rein-deer by gnats and rein-deer flies, forces them to remove to the Norwegian confines, where these insect-enemies are less troublesome, and where the ani- mals may enjoy the snow. Some Laplanders proceed to the val- leys, and to the islands near the coast, In autumn, they re- turn to the Lapland plains. In some districts, they spend the winter in the Norwegian Alpine valleys ; but so soon as the snow drives them away, they seek the coasts, until the spring again renders the Alps passable. The Laplander always pitches his tent in the neighbourhood of a forest, in order to obtain fuel; while in summer, the presence of a river or a spring, is a necessary condition in the choice of a residence— melted snow supplying the necessary water in winter. The fondness of the Laplanders for silver money is well known, and it is only those who have intercourse with the in- habitants of the coasts who take paper money. It is asserted, that they are still in the habit of burying their money in the mountains, which is easily understood, when we consider, on the one hand, their timidity and mistrust; and on the other, that it must be extremely difficult for them to carry articles of value about with them during their constant wanderings. The natural consequence is, ‘that considerable sums are lost among the mountains, as death frequently surprises the Lap- lander before it is possible for him to reveal to his relations the spot where the treasure is buried ; and as it is not possible to indicate it without being actually at the locality—a cireum- stance which does not often occur.* I. Connection of the Physiognomy of a Country, with the Cha- racter of its Inhabitants —I. Belgium.—ITI. Holland.—ITII. Midnight Scene on the Ocean.—IV. A Scene in Norway. I. Belgiwm. Mr Trollope indulges in much censure of the manners and morals of the Belgians, arid commits the customary blunder of English travellers, in im- * From Blom’s Kénigreich Norwegen statistisch beschrieben, 1843. 360 Connection of the Physiognomy of a Country, puting the extortions of tradesmen to the character of the people. The Belgians have always appeared to us remarkable for stolidity and plod- ding industry, without much refinement of mind or feeling, or, on the other hand, any extreme stupidity or coarseness. They are, in our judg- ment, a race deficient in marked features of character, rather than ob- noxious to the imputation of any prominent vice. Without pretensions to high virtues, they are generally exempt from characteristic crimes. Whether there is any natural connection between scenery and character, we will not undertake to pronounce ; but a striking analogy prevails be- tween the productive flatness of the land and the utilitarian mind and capa- city of the inhabitants. It is no uncommon thing, especially in Flanders, to see four miles of road with a strip of pavement in the middle, and a ditch on each side straight before you, and a dead level right and left as far as the eye can reach. The land, if it be in summer, is blooming with bean blossoms, or gilded with the rich and ripening corn ; and very agri- culturally interesting it doubtlessly is, to see so much goodly produce and evidence of fertility ; but where the land is a dead flat, and roads and trees run in perfectly straight lines, it is tiresome work to travel there, and very soporific. To be sure, one does occasionally see a church at the end of an interminable looking road. You watch it (for it forms a pleasing variety in the landscape), gradually developing itself, as you jog nearer and nearer to it, till at length its form, then its shape, its colour, its weathercock, and its cherubed waterspouts, one by one appear; and at last the grim countenances of the weather-beaten saints scowl out of their niches at you as you pass; you then make a slight turn, and another long flat line opens upon you. The lives of the Flemish women are, at any rate, akin to the intense sameness and monotony of scenery ; and Mr Trollope’s description is not very wide of the truth. A Flemish wife rises in the morning and drinks her coffee, dresses the children and herself, sends the former to school, and goes to market, where the entire mental exertion of her life centres ; and something faintly approaching energy and animation is observable as she higgles in succession with the poultry woman, the fruit and vegetable women, the butcher, and the egg merchant. If she be of the easy class, her servant follows and baskets the purchases as the mistress makes them. When completed, she repairs forthwith home ; or if she has no servant, with basket on her arm, goes to church and says her prayers, The personal superintendence of the preparations for dinner occupy her till noon, when the husband returns ; and that great event of the day haying been achieved, and the children, if any, been again dispatched to school, the knitting-needles are plied in- cessantly till evening, enlivened by a cup of coffee at about four o’clock. When the husband returns, occasionally in summer half an hour’s walk is indulged in, or they visit a garden, where the husband smokes and the wife not unfrequently knits. Supper is served at seven, the children are sent to bed, and the wife, after another batch of knitting, follows at nine or ten o'clock, having performed her functions much after the fashion of the clock, by whose mechanism her own moyemeats are regulated. A with the Character of its Inhabitants. 361 more mindless set of women it is difficult to find. Their virtues consist in docility, evenness of temper, and domesticity —Atheneum, No. 779, p. 848. II. Holland. Holland, the land of cheese and butter, is, to my eye, no unpicturesque, uninteresting country. Flat it is ; but it is so geometrically only, and in no other sense. Spires, church-towers ; bright farm-houscs, their windows glancing in the sun ; long rows of willow-trees, their bluish foliage ruffling up white in the breeze; grassy embankments of a tender vivid green, partly hiding the meadows behind, and crowded with glittering gaudily-painted gigs and stool waggons, loaded with rosy-cheeked laughing country;girls, decked out in ribbons of many more colours than the rainbow, all a-stream- ing in the wind; these are objects which strike the eye of the traveller from seaward, and form a gay front view of Holland, as he sails, or steams along its coasts, and up its rivers. On the shore, the long continuity of horizontal lines of country in the background, each line rising behind the other to a distant, level, unbroken horizon, gives the impression of vast- ness and of novelty. Holland can boast of nothing sublime; but for picturesque grounds, for close, compact, snug home scenery, with every thing in harmony, and stamped with one peculiar character, Holland is a cabinet picture, in which nature and art join to produce one impression, one homogeneous effect. The Dutch cottage, with its glistening brick- walls, white painted wood-work and rails, and its massive roof of thatch, with the stork clappering to her young on her old-established nest on the top of the gable, is admirably in place and keeping, just where it is, at the turn of the canal, shut in by a screen of willow-trees, or tall reeds, from seeing or being seen, beyond the sunny height of the still calm water, in which its every tint and part is brightly repeated. Then the peculiar character of every article of the household furniture, which the Duteh- built house-mother is scouring on the green before the door so indus- triously ; the Dutch character is impressed on every thing Dutch, and intuitively recognised, like the Jewish or Gipsey countenance, wherever it is met with; the people, their dwellings, and all in or about them, their very movements in accordance with this style or character, and all bearing its impress strongly—make this Holland, to my eye, no dull un- impressive land. There is a soul in all you see; the strongly marked character about every thing Dutch pleases intellectually, as much as beauty of form itself,—what else is the charm so universally felt, requiring so little to be acquired, of the paintings of the Dutch school? The objects or scenes painted are neither graceful, nor beautiful, nor sublime ; but they are Dutch. They have a strongly marked mind and character im- pressed on them, and expressed by them, and every accompaniment in the picture has the same, and harmonizes with all around it. The Hol- lander has a decided taste for the romantic ; great amateurs are the Myn- 362 Connection of the Physiognomy of a Country, heers of the rural. Every Dutchman above the necessity of working to- day for the bread of to-morrow, has his garden-house (Buyteplaats) in the suburbs of his town (for the Dutch population live very much in ‘town surrounded by wet ditches), and repairs to it on Saturday evening with his family, to ruralize until Monday over his pipe of tobacco. Dirk Hatterick, we are told, did so—it is the main extravagance of the Dutch middle-class man, and it is often an expensive one. This garden-house is a wooden box gaily painted, of eight or ten feet square; its name, “ My Delight,” or “ Rural Felicity,” or ‘‘ Sweet Solitude,” stuck up in gilt tin letters on the front ; and situated usually at the end of a narrow slip of ground, enclosed on three sides with well-trimmed hedges and slimy ditches, and overhanging the canal, which forms the boundary of the garden-plot on its fourth side. The slip of land is laid out in flower- beds, all the flowers in one bed being generally of one kind and colour ; and the brilliancy of these large masses of flowers, the white and green paint work, and the gilding about the garden-houses, and a row of those glittering fairy summer lodges, shining in the sun, upon the side of the wide canal, and swimming in human brilliancy in the midst of plots and parterres of splendid flowers, and with the accompaniments of gaily dressed ladies at the windows, swiftly passing pleasure-boats with bright burnished sides below, and a whole city population, afloat or on foot, enjoying them- selves in their holiday clothes, form, in truth, a summer evening scene which one dwells upon with much delight. I pity the taste which can stop to enquire if all this human enjoyment be in good taste or bad taste, vulgar or refined, I stuff my pipe, hire a boatman to row me in his schuytje up the canal to a tea-garden, and pass the evening as Dutchly and happily as my fellow-man.—Laing’s Notes of a Traveller. Ill. A Midnight Scene on the Ocean. One more of the beautiful and poetical pictures which Professor Steffens paints with so vivid yet so soft a touch—once more let us rock our ima- ginations on the bosom of the deep, before we go back to the world of men and things. We know of few attempts in prose or verse to describe the undescribable, the awful majesty, and the profound, mysterious at- traction of the ocean, equal to the following. Our author was good- naturedly invited by a party of six fishermen to accompany them on an expedition to a sand-bank, at a distance of six or seven Norwegian miles from shore, where they were to pass the night. They sailed in a serene and beautiful morning: the wind afterwards rose, and the sea was agitated.* “The night I passed there I shall never forget. As twilight closed around us on the tossing waves, we became more and more silent ; the masts were lowered ; the fishermen were contented with their day’s work, and I now threw out my net once more ; the kind-hearted fellows pressed eee eee ee * British and Foreign Review. with the Character of its Inhabitants. 363 round me with friendly curiosity as I emptied my rich booty into the tub, and began to examine it. Ihad to give a popular lecture on the new and rare productions I had caught. Meanwhile, though the sun had sunk below the horizon, the bright evening red remained visible the whole night in the far west, and played on the waves around us — now gleaming, and then vanishing like a soft lightning. The oars lay still ; the boat, left to itself, rocked on the waves ; the conversation fell into monosyllables ; my companions sung a hymn ; T heard the murmur of their prayers, and then each, folding himself in his cloak, lay down to sleep: they slept the deep sleep of tired men. The billows dashed against the boat, and the night-air closed over our heads ; the consciousness that a fathomless abyss might at any moment swallow up our small bark kept me awake, and the power of the wondrous ocean—Solitude took posses- sion of me. It was as if I belonged to the deep whose inhabitants I had disturbed with my daring curiosity. The dim horizon of my precarious future—a thousand pictures of the past, appeared and vanished again. Neither sorrow nor joy could assume a distinct form ; all feelings blunted each other—all images rocked like the boat, and melted into each other like the waves: it was a feeling such as I never experienced before or since. In the twilight, I could not discern the distant shore ; and here I learned the deep, unfathomable might with which Nature rules the soul—here, as in no other situation. By degrees all images became dimmer and more shadowy—the rocking motion of my thoughts more tranquil, gentle, and calm; the plashing of the waves sounded like a lullaby, and I sank, like my comrades, into a deep sleep.” —Steffens, in his “ Was ich erlebte.” IV. A Scene in Norway. Tn one of these wanderings, I remember,” says Steffens, “ to have spent the night in a valley so entirely shut in on all sides by naked, abrupt, precipitous rocks, that the sun was only visible a few hours in the middle of the day. A hut of unusual neatness stood in this valley ; the grass was fresh, green, and luxuriant, from constant moisture ; oats and barley were growing in sheltered spots ; a few cows were feeding in the little meadow: everything breathed repose and comfort. The inha- bitants of this peaceful nook—a hale, active old man, with a white beard, a good-natured old woman, a married son, with his wife and children— were so cordial, so delighted at the rare event of a visit from a young traveller, that I determined. after seeing the early setting of the sun, to stay for its late rising. «The old people had not left their valley for years; the young woman haa seldom been as far as the shore of the island. The son alone some- times made journeys of business as far as Bergen; but these were by no means frequent, and their peaceful lives flowed on in the most complete seclusion. The incident made an indelible impression on my memory ; because I never had so near a view of the riches of an apparent uniformity 364 Meteorological Tables. of life—of the completely enclosed tranquil fountain of a simple existence, cut off from all turbid and stormy waters, as here. Both father and son had been seamen in their youth. They had seen the world ; knew France, Spain, and the ports of the Mediterranean, as sailors know them ; they had carried back into their lonely valley a general picture of the relations of the external world; but the old man had lived here very long, and even the son for more than ten years. The events that then convulsed the world lay at an immense distance. Intervals, whether of time or space, appeared to have lost their significancy ; and even the events of their own country and neighbourhood were as strange to them, and seemed as entirely severed from their own existence, as the events of the most distant lands. And yet these remote things were as vividly present to their simple minds, and affected their transparent souls as deeply, as if they belonged to their own most intimate being. As the infant stretches out its hands to grasp the most distant object as if it were to close it, so did their warm guiltless hearts embrace the remotest events as if they regarded themselves. They asked me a thousand questions. The whole existence and mind of these people was of such a limpid clearness, that I knew in a moment what incidents to relate, and how to describe them. Never had I a more attentive audience—never did I hear sounder judg- ments. The time passed with extreme rapidity in this soft physical and mental twilight, and yet, when I left the hut, I felt as if I quitted a long- accustomed home.”’—Steffens, in his “ Was ich erlebte.” Meteorological Tables for 1842. East sIDE oF SCOTLAND. Mr R. D. Pauvt’s Table. MerrTroroLoGicaL TaBLe, kept at Edinburgh, in North Latitude 55° 57’ 20”. Mean Temperature b. f 2S: SPM. Six’s rae a si 1842, _ —<$ $$ | —————_ | —_______________|Rain,| Snow. | Hail.| Days Barom. | Ther. | Barom. | Ther. | Max. | Min. | Mean. Fair, Jan, = Se “a is 45° 20° |33.40°|} 4 12 4 17 Feb. ag 533 29.62] $a3 52 92 |38.89 | 10 S Algal. LT March sists ase 29.506 sec 59 2 43.23 | 22 6 4 8 April oie ast 89.026 sae 68 33 | 47.84 5 ] 1 | 24 May 29.691 |52.89°|} 29.705 |51.00°| 67 40 |53.52 | 19 1. 12 June 29.855 | 56.20 | 29,817 | 51.50 76 45 |58.04 | 16 edt) LA July 29.748 | 56.93 | 29.753 | 58.96 W7 4G (57.88 | 14 awe 1}; 17 August | 29.802 | 59.25 | 29,833 | 58.16 73 43 (59.88 | 14 ake eect LT Sept. 29.729 |54.33 | 29.744 | 53.60 69 41 /|54.81 | 18 a Ee 2 October | 29.780 | 45.38 | 29.770 | 44.41 60 28 |45.41 8 2 2.) 22 Nov. 29.543 | 39.83 | 29.574 | 39.20 55 27 «=| 39.63 | 13 3 2) 16 Dec. 29.€83 | 44.00 | 29.700 | 45.03 55 28 |44.80 | 22 1 QT 1 Average} 29.728 |51.10°| 29.731 | 50.20°| 63.00° 33.58°| 48.06°| 165 28 22 |187 Meteorological Tables. ANNUAL RESULTS. MORNING, BAROMETER, THERMOMETER, OBSERVATIONS. Winp. | . OBSERVATIONS. Highest, 7th January, 30.38, NW. | Highest, 1@th August, 66°, Lowest, 25th November, 28.65, EE. Lowest, 6th January, 20°, é EVENING. Highest, 8th October, 30.37, NW. | Highest, 13th June, 70°, Lowest, 22d October, 28.62, W. | Lowest, 23d November, 29°, ExtreME CoLp anp Heart sy S1x’s THERMOMETER. Coldest, 6th January, . . - : Wind NE. ° Hottest, 23d July, . : . Do. NW. Mean temper ature of the year 1842, = 3) 6s . . . WEATHER. Days. WIND. Fair, . ; 3 ° 187 N.and NE. . . Rain, &e. . . ‘ 178 E.and SE. . . S. and SW. - . 365 W.and NW. . . 365 TIMES. “47 72 96 140 Barometer during the first four months of the year taken at noon, and the mean height for that time is 29.850 inch. The aurora borealis was observed but six times during the year, viz., on the Ist and 15th February, 3d and 12th April, 18th July, and 26th October. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE, Extracted from the Register kept at Kinfauns Castle, 56° 23’ 30” N. L. Mean Temperature by PAST 8 A.M. 8 P.M. B + Six’s Thermometer. ! Barom. . |Barom. : : in. | Mean. Jan. 29,823 | 32. 29.821 | 32. 33.35 Feb, 29.632 | 37.71 |29.616 20 39.28 March |29.525 | 40.00 |29,499 | 29.32 41.48 April 30.013 | 43.63 |30.023 | 42.2 44,70 May .685 | 50, 29.735 | 48. 51.38 June 29,804 | 57.40 |29.738 | 55. 55,86 July 29.759 | 57.22 |29.730 - 56,58 Aug. 29.842 | 58.15 |29.829 5 60,19 Sept. (29.741) 54.56 |29.762 | 50. ; 54.16 Oct. |29.766 | 43.00 |29.749 | 39.: 23 43.70 Nov. |29.582 | 38.96 |29.580 | 37, 39.96 Dee. 29.635 | 42,12 |29,707 | 39, 42.74 Average | 29.732 | 46,29° |29,732 6 i4, 30.50°| 46.94° 366 Meteorological Tables. ANNUAL RESULTS. é MORNING. BAROMETER. THERMOMETER, OBSERVATIONS. WIND. OBSERVATIONS. WIND. Highest, 7th January, 30.41, N. | Highest, 13th August, 64°, We Lowest, 23d October, 28.56, N. | Lowest, 15th January, 23°, E. EVENING. Highest, 7th January, 30.40, N. | Highest, 31st July, 65°, N. Lowest, 22d October, 28.56, W. | Lowest, 15th January, 24°, E. Extreme Coup Anp Haat By S1x’s THERMOMETER. Coldest, 16th January, .........scscsccsceseerserceccesenccess ‘Wind, Bi -cceueceeves Loe Hottest, 18th August, ......csc.cscccsseeeees Neesvtiase Bos | S924. BI 80° Mean Temperature of the year 1842, .........-:.s.sseeeseeee tees 46.94° WEATHER. Days WIND. TIMES. Waiter gece tein dcce cusses sasiesiceess 243 IW. RNG UINE Ie re svc tate ee teenie 45 LEC TIO COC Es aaet Bey ae geen See cesgnengn 122 aM B:, wis ceee asta tewenceniernt 125 — agin SW: .¢i en. coe etal wise 99 365 Wand: NWe)\ accc.sccvacowedaie 96 365 The amount of rain last year at Kinfauns Castle was 31.10 inches; whereas during 1842, but 23.10 inches fell: the difference being 8.00 inches. During 1839, a great quantity of rain fell, but was succeeded by a very dry year ; but the quantity of rain, even then, was greater than during 1842. The mean tempera- ture of 1841, by the Kinfauns Register, was 45.88 ; 1842 warmer by 1,06°. RESULTS OF A METEOROLOGICAL JOURNAL, KEPT AT HARRABY, NEAR CARLISLE, BY JosePH ATKINSON, In 1842. BAROMETER. Mean height at 9 A.M. ........... Mean height at 9 P.M. Mean height of both............. Highest a.m. on the 8th Oct, .. Lowest A.M. on the 25th Nov... Highest p.m. on the 9th April.. Lowest P.M. on the 23d Oct. .. THERMOMETER. Mean of Maximum Mean of Minimum Mean of both Lowest, on the 21st October Total quantity Average quantity for the same month for seven years ...... Number of days on which rain fellas conta dawn cvusilenivese hows. Average number of days for seven years eee ee ener tneeeee Highest, on the 18th August .. 29,840 . 29.821 . 29.826 30,509 .28.659 30.563 .28.465 ..08,0 48,5 48.5 81.3 14,8 21.825 \ 33.056 186 } 224 WIND. NuMBER oF Days. N....14} E....22} 8. ... 82) W.... 86 NNE.4} ESE.3} SSW.24} WNW.12} NE. 36} SE. 40} SW. 702 NW....163 ENE.63 SSE.23 WSW.20i NNW. 13 Days. Total Masterlys.i2i. sesttde. seen 1505 Total Westerly | 6 30.21 Highest, . ! ~ §1° Lowest, * ; > 28.23 Lowest, . F Ps 23° Mean, . : : 29.380 Mean, A Y 4 36.67 WINDS. W.7; N.W.7; N. 4; N.E. 0; E.0; S.E. 2; 8.1; S.W. 10. Memoranpa.—January 1. 2. fine. 3. Cloudy; windy p.m.; thermo- meter 4 p.m. 87°. 5. Windy p.m. 6. Morning hazy. 7. Stormy at in- tervals, during day, with rain and sleet; snow 7 P..; night stormy. 8. Heavy snow; windy. 9 Snow a.m.; heavy gale after 1 p.m.; snow Meteorological Tables. 371 again, during night. 10. Fine. 11. Fine; hazy; large lunar halo half-past 7 p.m. 12. Hazy; a colourless ring round the sun all day; 8 P.M, ground thickly covered with hoar frost ; barometer commenced to sink 11 p.m., the wind at the same time rose from S.E., and an hour or two afterwards, increased to the most violent storm, probably ever re- collected, and, at the same time, considering the short time it lasted, was productive of immense loss both of life and property, 15. Seven a.m. stormy, snow occasionally during day, but calm; sleet 10 p.m. 14. 15. Frosty. 16. Barometer rose very rapidly during last night, followed by athaw. 17.18.19. Cloudy. 20. Cloudy ; thermometer at 5 p.m. 39°. 21. Fine ; thermometer 6 p.m. 82°, but by 10 o’clock p.m. had risen to 88°; night cloudy. 22. Cloudy. 28. Cloudy; stormy at 8 pm. 24. Windy ; rain 9 p.m. 25, Windy; night stormy. 26. Ditto; tempera- ture; 1l p.m. 47°. 27. 28. Stormy. 29. The same; barometer again began to sink at 9 p.m.; wind much higher, with heavy and constant rain. 80.31. Stormy; nights of both days especially so. In London the storm of the 13th January last was severely felt. About three o’clock a.m. a sharp wind sprang up from south, southwest, and shortly before four o’clock a heavy rain began, which continued until daybreak. About nine o’clock there was a heavy fall of hail; and as the forenoon advanced, the wind increased in violence, until between twelve and one o’clock, it blew a perfect hurricane from the southwest, which lasted for nearly an hour. Liverpool, Jan. 14.—During the whole of yesterday the falling of the barometer gave unerring symptoms of the approach of a severe storm. The gale increased as the night advanced, and from twelve until five this morning, a hurricane raged, hardly less fierce, but fortunately less de- structive as regards life and property, than the memorable one of the 7th January 1839. At noon, on the 14th, barometer at 28.80, having fallen from 28.85, at which point it stood at 9 a.m. The great and long-continued depression of the barometer, during this month, came to acrisis on the 16th instant. In the morning, it again began to sink after a sudden rise the night before, the wind having veered to north. In the evening of the 16th instant, the barometer was again below 29 inches, and towards midnight the wind went to 8.W., when the frost went entirely off, the temperature of the atmosphere becoming extremely mild, without frost even by night ; but to make up for this, constant gales and rain prevailed, until the morning of the 2d February, when the frost returned, accompanied by snow from N.W. The de- pression of the barometer on the 18th was very extensive, the storm not only extending throughout the kingdom, but also on the Continent, where it was, in many parts, more destructive than in Britain. 372 eA ELS NE FT LI OIE TTT TENS ORE RT EIT IT ET ABP FSET ee Awl ee WO fer aL KW Vie Om ae - Meteorological Tables. TasiE [J.—FEBRUARY. Ther. | Ther. | Ther. Barom. Therm. | Bar. | Ther. Max. | Min. | Med. |dp.8 A. m.J} p.8 A. M.|8 P.M.| 8 P.M. .1.| 43 | 32 |37 | 2938 | 38° {29.18/38 . |W. 2.| 33 30 31 29.08 32 29.11 | 32 . |N.W. 3.| 32 19 25 28.89 30 29.13 | 32 F ANEW, 4.| 34 29 31 29.53 32 29.81 | 29 .| N 5.| 35 20 27 29.80 31 29.87 | 27 Aiba 6.| 35 33 30 29.93 22 29.96 | 33 .|N.E 7.| 38 37 3 30.10 38 30.15 | 37 .|N.E 8.| 38 36 37 30.10 33 30.05 | 38 .|N.E 9.| 36 30 33 30.08 | 36 30.11 | 32 .|N.E 10.| 35 34 35 30.09 33 30.08 | 34 r|NVE 11.} 38 36 37 30.10 36 30.10 | 36 .|N.E 12.| 40 3 36 30.11 38 30.08 | 35 E 13. |. 35 25 30 29.93 33 29.73 | 32 W. 14.| 28 16 22 29.69 27 29.89 | 21 N 15.) 27 18 22 29.41 24 29.17 | 23 WwW 16.| 28 19 23 29.13 23 29.27 | 24 N 17.) 3: 21 26 29.49 23 29.59 | 28 N 18.| 34 29 31 29.61 25 29.60 | 31 NE 19.| 37 32 34 29.60 30 29.50 | 32 E 20.) 38 35 36 29.41 36 29.39 | 36 E 21.) 37 35 36 29.39 35 29.41 | 35 E. 22.) 39 34 35 29.41 37 29.40 | 35 E.E 23.} 38 35 36 29.49 36 29.52 | 36 E 24.) 39 35 37 29.60 38 29.65 | 35 E 25.| 38 33 35 29.65 36 29.62 | 34 E 26.) 36 33 34 29.57 34 29.38 | 35 E 27.| 35 31 33 29.18 33 29.09 | 34 S.E 28.| 36 27 31 29.22 32 29.49 | 33 N.E Means, | 35.53] 29.53] 32.21] 29.605 | 32.30 | 29.608/32.39 | 11 4 113 | RESULTS. BAROMETER. THERMOMETER. Highest, . 5 - 30.15 Highest, . = 42° Lowest, : : : 28.89 Lowest, . 2 . 16° Mean, ; < 29.606 Mean, : 5 32.21 WINDS. W.3; N.W.2; N.5; N.E.8; E.9;8.E.1; 8.0; S.W. 0. Memoranva.— Meteor.—Shortly after eight o’clock, on the evening of the 5th, a brilliant meteor passed over a considerable part of the north of the county of Nottingham. Its course was from N.W., and in its direct path it’ went a little to the east of Grove, near Retford. Its colour was a dark red, and its velocity not less than 50 or 60 miles in a minute. —WNottingham Journal. Tar Late Gates.—Feb. 18.—During the last six weeks, the sacrifice of life and property at sea has been without parallel in the history of our mercantile affairs. Upon reference to Lloyd’s books, it appears that the total number of vessels wrecked during the storm of the 13th January, was 180, and the number of persons lost, 453. On the coast of Kngland 154 vessels, and 190 lives. On the coast of Sectland, 17, and 30 lives. On the coast of Ireland 5, and 104 lives, and on the coast of France 4 vessels, and 100 lives. The value of the vessels and cargoes have been ae estimated at L.585,000, viz. vessels at L,405,000, and cargoes at -180,000. Rain.| Hail.| . | Wind.| Meteors. } Lightning Do. a ee ee en ee ee ee ee Ts — 4 4 % 4 | ‘uoney |! 99 | 6 | 09% | soe] * | 6rores | | | Oke | onde | Letgr |" ‘sueoyy -radxa puofaq popasoons sey 4t STY} UL puv ‘syjUOUE 1azUTM ayy 373 jo aanyuredure} woz ort Suyanp |} * g itd cy || zco'ez | grea | seo'ez || ot | es | sa'6z £62 | 90'6S || ‘equiedeqy AA ae! ae 8 9 91 | sor] szez | oes | oto'6s || st | 9 | sLee soe | ee'se || ‘oquioaon asodand oy} soz dn payyy uoaq |} € ez | oft] ose | sees | LZo'ez | se | 69 | srer | ILer | erer |" “teqo~O Mat rtoe cova abut ig g 12 | ele || O48 | 886s | GOT'6S | SE €8 OLS AS Lg || Saquiaydag 2 eee ott £ | es | ie | ke] sees | ones | estes} of | re | tr99 | 9:99 | ae'99 [i sneny x 7 € $3 sy | es'ec | ores | eres | of | 68 sL9 | Lo'99 | #erZg | Aine Pe Riis tated iso weeyy 28 9 91 oe || tLe | ge | seo'es | Ze | I8 | seer | see 6709 | foune = g I 8% Go | 02:82 | eh6z | Gro'Gs || Ze | OL | g¥es | Osea | sree [i Ke 3 oa cee € 9 16 ee || go'ez | ee'6s |ozeo'es | e¢ | L8 “Ly slr | ovr fi Tady 3 Baarh ye TST L v 0% | Sta || SS°8z | SFES | 90°66 | ST OL €l'0F Le‘or | eee | “Wore be ie ieeetoene ¢ t 1 | zz onez | Lees | Lreez | 8 o¢ | ite | oose | astog |" ‘Arenazqog mf SORE BE8I L € 12 | srs] og'82 | gFez | Zze'8s | St | 9 | ceote | OTe | groe |" ‘Arenuer * Les'pp 8" LE8T a i ki: ha ee ey aie Gea ses Shoe | “she |-sonour | ‘sayout |-yquoy |qquoyy| “WOdJo | * “db ay jo eanjzetoduroy, weoy ata ees Seeadint aaaeer qomOT, | “S8°USTEL sae E jeanort seater aval be wat || anes | © ‘Suva *‘NIVY *UTLAKOUV | ‘UALENONUAH J, ‘uooSing “bsy ‘atorvag "wy Aq ‘*SPQL M9t 02 Hof ‘Qs044 DpoUny ‘lazsvoUFr 3p SuorDAw.2SQQ 2vObopOLOHaTY fo syQRS2Yy WHATT VOL. XXXIV. NO. LXVt1.—aprrit 1845. (. 874.) Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. (Continued from last Number, p. 176.) 1842, December 5.—Sir T. Maxpoveart Briszanez, Bart., President, in the Chair. 1. On the Construction of a New Music Hall. By Sir George S. Mackenzie, Bart. December 19.—The Right Honourable Lord Greenock, Vice- President, in the Chair. 1. Letter on Terrestrial Magnetism, addressed to the Secre- tary. By Professor Hansteen of Christiania. 2. Notice of the occurrence in Scotland of the Tetrao medius, shewing that supposed species to be a hybrid. By James Wilson, Esq. There exists in several northern continental countries a peculiar kind of grouse, called by foreign naturalists Tetrao medius, on ac- count of its exhibiting, as it were, a combination of the characters of the wood-grouse or capercailzie on the one hand, and of the black- cock on the other. It is never found except in countries inhabited by the two species last named; and as it presents a union of their characters, several naturalists have inferred that it is not itself a distinct kind, but a hybrid, resulting from the casual intercourse of the other two. But most naturalists have maintained that it is a distinct species, chiefly upon the principle, that, in the wild state, birds of different species do not intermingle sexually with each other. Mr Wilson, however, having discovered that, in certain districts of Scotland into which Lord Breadalbane has lately introduced the capercailzie, and in which the black-cock previously existed in abund- ance, this so-called intermediate grouse has also now made its appear- ance, he draws the conclusion, that it is not a distinct species, but a hybrid or mule. ‘It had not been previously known in Scotland, at least in our times,—it has not been introduced by any one from abroad,—and yet here we now find it in the very districts inhabited by the other two.” Mr Wilsou exhibited a specimen recently killed on the estate of Dunira, and shewed its entire agreement with the foreign T. medius, by comparing it with a specimen from Norway. 3. On the Coloration of the Blood. By the late Daniel Ellis, Esq., F-R.S.E. Communicated by Dr Christison. On the Growth of the Salmon. 375 1843, January 9.—Dr Axszrcromsiz, Vice-President, in the Chair. 1. On the Growth of the Salmon. By Mr Andrew Young, In- vershin, Sutherlandshire. Communicated by James Wilson, Esq. Mr Young has here taken up the subject of the salmon’s growth where it was necessarily left off by Mr Shaw. So far as the earliest or fresh-water state of the fish is concerned, he entirely agrees with the observer just named. He then states the various opinions which prevail regarding the more or less rapid growth of smolts and grilse, and shews by tabular lists (the result of frequently repeated experiments), that the increase in their dimensions is ex- traordinary so soon as they descend into the salt water. So far back as the months of April and May 1837, he marked a number of de- scending smolts, by making a peculiar perforation in the caudal fin, by means of small nipping irons constructed for the purpose. He re-captured a considerable number of them ascending the rivers as grilse, in the course of the ensuing months of June and July, and weighing several pounds each, more or less according to the differ- ence in the length of their sojourn in the sea. Again, in April and May of 1842, he marked a number of descending smolts, by clipping off the little adipose fin uponthe back. InJune and July he caught several of them returning up the river, and bearing his peculiar mark,—the adipose fin being absent. Two of these speciméns were exhibited to the Society. One marked in April, and re-captured on the 25th of July, weighed 7 lb.; the other, marked in May and re- captured on the 30th July, weighed 33 lb. As the season advances grilse increase in size, those being the largest which abide the longest in the sea. They spawn in the rivers after their first ascent, and before they have become adult salmon. Mr Young also described various experiments instituted with the view of shewing the transition of grilse into salmon. He marked many small grilse after they had spawned in winter, and were about to re-descend into the sea, He re-captured them in the course of the ensuing summer as finely-formed salmon, ranging in weight from 9 to 14 |b., the difference still depending on the length of’ their sojourn in the sea. He has tried these experiments for many sea- sons, but never twice with the same mark. A specimen marked as a grilse of 4 lb. in January 1842, and re-captured as a salmon of 9 lb. in July, was exhibited to the Society. It bore a peculiarly twisted piece of copper wire in the upper lobe of the caudal fin. 376. Proceedings of the Royal Society. Those marked and re-taken in 1841 were marked with brass wire in the dorsal fin. With these and other precautions Mr Young avoided the possibility of any mistake as to the lapse of time. Both grilse and salmon return uniformly to their native streams ; at least it very rarely happens that a fish bearing a particular mark is found except in the river where it was so marked. Salmon in the perfect state as to form and aspect, also increase rapidly in their dimensions on again reaching the sea. A spawned salmon weighing 12 lb. was ~ marked on the 4th of March, and was re-captured on its return from the sea on the 10th of July, weighing 181b. Mr Young is of opinion that salmon rather diminish than increase in size during their sojourn in rivers; and he illustrates this and other points of his subject by numerous experiments and observations. 2. On the Geology of Roxburghshire. By David Milne, Esq. Mr Milne divided his paper into two parts ; the first comprehending a description of the leading geological features of the district ; the second containing the inferences of a cosmological character, which the facts related in the first part seemed to warrant. In describing the geology of Roxburghshire, Mr Milne referred, first, to the stratified rocks; secondly, to the igneous rocks; and, thirdly, to the superficial, or (as they have been sometimes termed) the diluvial deposits. The stratified rocks were stated to consist of the following series, beginning with the oldest, viz.—greywacke, old red sandstone, and the coal measures. As to the long-disputed question regarding the existence of the new-red sandstone formation in this county, Mr Milne, whilst not wishing to affirm absolutely the non-existence of any strata whatever belonging to this epoch, referred to the older for- mation the great mass of the red sandstones abounding in the dis- trict, adding that he had himself seen none which necessarily be- longed to a later epoch. It was stated that no fossils had been found in the greywacke strata, but that in the old red sandstone formation, scales and bones of the Holoptychius had been found embedded both in the red and the white coloured strata. The igneous rocks consist of all the varieties of felspars, basalts, and greenstones, known in other parts of Scotland, the first men- tioned of these being the oldest. All these rocks occur in the form of dykes, as well as hills, of which the Eildons and Cheviots are the highest and most extensive. On the Geolegy of Roxburghshire. 307 The superficial deposits consist, beginning with the oldest, of the boulder clay, well known in the Lothians,—of sand and gravels,—and of great blocks or rounded fragments of rocks, all strewed over the surface. It was mentioned, that, whilst the boulder clay was depo- sited in tumultuous waters (presenting no signs of stratification), the sands and gravels being for the most part stratified, have been depo- sited by waters not in violent action. The greater number of boul- ders in Liddesdale consist of grey granite, very similar to that of Criffel, situated between thirty and forty miles to the westward. In part 2d, the author observed, that the greywacke formation, presenting as they do enormous foldings, in consequence of which the formation is traversed by ridges and valleys, all running east and west by compass, must have been acted on here, as throughout the rest of this part of the island, by a force or system of forces, which acted in a particular direction; and that as hardly any igneous rocks whatever occur, within the limits of this formation, it seemed that the greywacke strata had not been elevated and folded together by igneous action, but more probably in consequence of changes in thie form of the earth’s nucleus, as suggested by Elie de Beaumont. The elevation of the greywacke ranges was followed by eruptions of felspathic and a few greenstone rocks, which took place chiefly on the outskirts of that formation; and from the sediment afforded by the wearing down of these rocks, still at the bottom of a sea, the stra- tified rocks surrounding and partly covering these older rocks were formed. As the heaviest sediment would be deposited first, the sand- stones filled with oxide of iron, and now constituting the principal beds of the old red sandstone formation, would girdle the hills of greywacke and older felspathic recks ; whilst the strata of white sand- stone, shales, and limestones, being composed of lighter sediment, would be carried farther, and become members of the coal measures situated in Liddesdale, Northumberland, and Berwickshire. The formation of the whinstone dykes, one of which was described as running in a NW. direction, for about twenty-four miles, was ascribed by the author to the irruption of igneous matter into fissures previously formed in the earth’s crust. The beds of gravel and sand, as well as the boulders, the author thought might all be explained on the supposition, that the district had been covered by the waters of the ocean, when they were depo- sited. He adduced facts and arguments for the purpose of shewing that certainly none of these deposits could have been formed by gla- cial action, and that probably submarine currents, or great waves, such as are known to have been produced by submarine cruptions, would be sufficient to account for all the phenomena. 378 Proceedings of the Royal Society. 8. On the Property of Transmitting Light, possessed by Charcoal and Plumbago, in fine plates and particles: By John Davy, M.D., &c. The charcoal of the pith of the elder consists of plates of extra- ordinary thinness. It was in examining this charcoal, that the author first observed the property which is the subject of his paper. He detected it by means of the microscope, using a high magnifying power. By analogy, he was led to infer that the power of transmit- ting light must belong to charcoal in general, in all its varieties, when reduced to the state of fine powder or filaments,—an influence which he found confirmed by experiment in a number of different instances, as the charcoal of the pith of the sycamore, of the pith of the rush, the fibre of cotton, flax, &c. He also found it to belong to lamp-black, to cork in very fine powder, to anthracite, and plumbago. The light transmitted he found to vary in its hues, from almost white, as in the instance of the thinnest plates of the charcoal of the pith of the elder, to brown and red of various shades, in the instances of lamp-black, anthracite, and plumbago. He considers the property of translucency belonging to charcoal and plumbago, in their finely divided state, as favourable to the opinion now commonly received, that these substances and diamond owe their marked peculiarities not to difference of chemical mixture, but of mechanical structure. Incidentally, he notices the specific gravities of these substances,—stating, as the result of his own ex- periments, that the specific gravity of charcoal, cork, and anthracite, is about 1.5; and that of plumbago about the same, making allow- ance for the ferruginous and earthy matter with which the carbon in this mineral is mixed. Tn conclusion, he offers the conjecture, that the coloured tints of vapour and fluids in which carbon is suspended, may be connected with the translucency of this substance, and that other bodies, hither- to considered opaque, may be found capable of transmitting light, when examined in a manner similar to that which he has employed. January 23.—The Very Reverend Principal Lez, V-.P., in the Chair. 1. Chemical Observations on the Flowers of the Camellia Japonica, Magnolia grandiflora, and Chrysanthemum Leucanthemum; and on three proximate principles which they contain. Part I. By Dr. Hope. Proceedings of the Wernerian Society. 379 2. On the Law of Visible Position in Single and Binocular Vision, and on the Representation of Solid Figures, by the union of two dissimilar plane figures on the Retine. By Sir David Brewster, K.H. Part I. eee ee Proceedings of the Wernerian Natural History Society. ~ (Continued from last No., p. 177.) December 10. 1842.—_Professor Jameson, President, in the Chair. Mr Torrie read Mr Henry Goodsir’s account of two new genera of Crustacea, found by him in the Firth of Forth, and to which he has given the names of Bodotria and Alauna (published in the last No. of this Journal, p. 119); also Dr Traill’s description of a new species of Serpent from Demerara, which he has named Elaps Jamesoni (published in the last No. of this Journal, p. 53). There was exhibited a very fine specimen of the Squalus vulpes, or Fox- Shark, 13 feet long, taken in Largo Bay in August last. January 28. 1843.—The Right Honourable Lord Greenocr, V-P., in the Chair. Dr Neill read a notice regarding the ventriloquistic song of a red- breast, contained in a letter addressed to him by James Heriot, Esq. of Ramornie. Dr Hamilton read a paper communicated to the So- . ciety, entitled, The Ancient Chronology of the World, and its ap- plication to Geology and the Natural History of Man. February 25.—Sir Wii1am Newsieeine, V.P. in the Chair. Mr Torrie read Dr Mathie Hamilton’s observations on the Llama, Alpaca, Vicuna, and Guanaco of Peru (published in the present No. of this Journal, p. 285). Mr John Goodsir read a paper by his brother, Henry D. G. Goodsir, Esq., surgeon, describing the Madre, or vast accumulation of minute marine animals which precedes the appearance of a herring shoal, as observed off the Isle of May; and detailing the characters of a new species of Cetochilus. ‘° Mr Torrie read Dr Mathie Hamilton’s remarks on the production, &c. of the Guano of commerce. March 18.—Professor JAMESON, President, in the Chair. Mr Torrie read an account of the great explosion at Dover, by Captain Stuart, communicated by Lord Greenock (published in this No. of Journal, p. 337). Dr Traill read his paper on the introduc- 380 Scientific Intelligence—Meteorology. tion into Scotland of granite for ornamental purposes by Messrs Macdonald and Leslie, Aberdeen (published in this No. p. 341). Mr Torrie read a communication on the habits and structure of the Tinamus Guianensis by Dr Frazer, late of Demerara. Various Meteorological Tables were laid on the table. SCIENTIFIC INTELLIGENCE. METEOROLOGY. 1. Variation of Temperature during the Russian Expedition to Khwa.—lIt has been stated to the Academy of Sciences by a Russian officer who had accompanied the army to Khiva, that dur- ing the expedition, the thermometer fell to — 43°C. (— 48°.4 Fahr.) ; that for more than three months the mean temperature was between — 17° and — 18° (+ 1°.4 and — 0.4 F.); and that dur- ing their return, in the month of June 1840, the thermometer rose to + 46° C. (+ 114°.8 F.) Thus, in the course of a few months, the troops were exposed to a variation of 89 degrees Centigrade, or 160 degrees Fahrenheit. 2. On the Movement and Structure of the Mer de Glace of Cha- mount.—On the 27th February 1843, Professor Forbes read a me- moir before the Royal Society of Edinburgh ‘ On the Motion of the Mer de Glace of Chamouni.” The author detailed in this paper the methods of observation by which he was enabled to ascertain the daily and even hourly motion of different parts of the glacier. The following are some of the principal results :— I. In the particular case of the Mer de Glace, the motion of ie higher parts of the glacier are on the whole slower than those of its lower portion, but the motion of the middle region is slower than either. The following table, the result of observations at a series of ascend- ing stations, will authorize this conclusion. Velocity. Lower part, .....s..s.ss00s { ee Midd e:dos, occ ccnsscun ses 0.479 igher d., eiscncies vetpevee 0.674 II. The Glacier du Géant moves faster than the Glacier de Lechaud in the proportion of 7 to 6. III. The centre of the glacier moves faster than the sides. When Scientific Intelligence— Meteorology. 361 two glaciers unite, they act as a single one in this respect, just as two united rivers would do, The author measured the velocities at different places in the breadth of the glacier, and it was found to increase towards the centre. The following are the numerical results, assuming the motion of the ice near the edge as the standard or the unit of reference, Side. Centre. 1.000 1.332 1.356 1.367 IV. The difference of motion of the centre and sides of the gla- cier varies (1) with the season of the year, and (2) at different parts of the length of the glacier. 1. From the observations made, the author concludes, that “the variation of velocity diminished as the season advanced ; and that it was proportional to the absolute velocity of the glacier at the same time.” 2. The variation of the velocity with the breadth of the glacier is least considerable in the higher parts of the glacier, or near its origin. V. The motion of the glacier generally varies with the season of the year and the state of the thermometer. Perhaps the most critical consideration of any for the various theories of glacier motion is the influence of external temperature upon the velocity. It is shewn in this paper, by a direct numerical comparison, and by projected curves, that in nearly every instance the velocity of the glacier, during any period of days, has a refe- rence to the temperature of the same period. If the thermometer fell, the glacier advanced slower, and vice versa. It is not, how- ever, to be inferred that at the same external temperature the velo- city will always be the same; only at any season, the change will always be in the same direction, and governed by the thermometer, though not always the same in amount. The author also deduced from various indirect considerations, that it is very improbable that the glacier stands still in winter. Onthe contrary, he supposes that though its velocity is less than in summer, it still bears a considerable proportion to it. On the 20th March 1843, Professor Forbes read a memoir to the Royal Society of Edinburgh, on the structure of glaciers and the cause of their motion. With reference to his former paper of the 27th February, the author stated that he had received a most satisfactory confirmation of his opinion respecting the motion of glaciers in winter. From 382 Scientific Intelligence— Meteorology. observations made by his direction on the Mer de Glace of Cham- ouni, and in which he places entire confidence, it appears that the ice moved no less than 76 feet between the 12th December 1842 and 17th February 1843, or at the rate of 134 inches, per diem, whilst its mean motion during the summer was 174 inches. The author then explained the manner in which he conceives the conoidal structure of glaciers to be due to the varying velocity of different points of their section producing discontinuity by minute fissures, which are infiltrated and ultimately frozen. He had before satisfied himself that the forms of these surfaces are such as the mo- tion of the particles of a viscid fluid, obstructed by the sides and bot- tom of the canal in which it moves, would engender. But to make this more palpable, he has endeavoured to imitate the motion of a glacier, by causing a plastic fluid of different colours to mould itself by the action of gravity in an inclined bed, and he has thus succeed- ed in reproducing the forms of the structural surfaces of glaciers so precisely that they cannot be distinguished from the curves which he had drawn as representing the actual phenomena.—Sce Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, Oct. 1842, pages 346, 347.* Professor Forbes recapitulated the proofs that the glacier moves as a plastic mass, the friction of whose parts is less than their fric- tion upon the surface over which they tend to slide ; and he bases his theory upon three classes of facts, which he considers that he has demonstrated. 1. That the glacier moves like a stream, fastest at the centre. 2. That its velocity is immediately governed by the external temperature and the state of infiltration of the ice by water at the time. 3. That the forms which its veined structure assumes are those due to the movement of a semi-solid mass in the manner supposed. 3. Climate of Malta—Many of the remarks which have been made on the Ionian Islands, in relation to climate and seasons, are necessarily applicable to Malta. Situated farther south, its mean annual temperature is higher; its surface being less elevated, its highest hills not exceeding 600 feet; and being farther removed from lofty mountains, and surrounded by a greater expanse of sea, its temperature during the greater part of the year is more equable ; and lastly, being nearer to the coast of Africa, it is more liable to be invaded by hot winds, and in summer to experience excessive de- grees of heat. * Our readers are requested to correct a typographical error at line 6, p. 352, vol, xxxili, viz., for annular rings, read annual rings.—EpIT. Scientific Intelligence—Meteorology. 383 As regards temperature, in considering the climate of Malta, it is necessary to distinguish between the town and the country, the cir- cumstances of the two being in many respects peculiar, and occa- sioning a marked difference in the results of the thermometrical ob- servations. The town of Valetta, by its massive buildings and com- paratively narrow streets, is well fitted to equalize temperature. The country, on the contrary, being almost entirely destitute of wood, its surface rocky, its soil scanty, is better adapted to radiate heat. This distinction is commonly neglected, and, in consequence, the observa- tions which have been made in the city have been applied to the whole island; and an exaggerated idea has been formed of the equability of the temperature of Malta, and especially during the heats of summer.* 4. Ignis Fatuus (Will-with-a-Wisp, Jack-with-a-Lantern, Spunkie) observed near Bologna.—In the Annali di Fisica, &c. (vol. iii, p. 36), there is an interesting notice respecting this phe- nomenon by Dr Quirino Barillic Filepauti, from which we think it proper to make the following extract :— «« The painter Onofrio Zanotti assured me, that one evening, as he was walking with some one in the street Lungo-Reno, he saw, near the house of Professor Santini, globes of fire, in the form of flames, issuing from between the paving-stones of the street, and even among his feet. They rose upwards and disappeared ; he even felt their heat when they passed nearhim. According to the infor- mation I have collected from many individuals, I have ascertained that St Elmo’s fire is often seen in the neighbourhood of the town, * Mountains and valleys, the former considerably below the region of perpetual snow, the latter moderately open and exposed to sunshine, appear to have an effect in equalizing temperature somewhat similar to that of massive buildings in towns and narrow streets. In travelling on the continent late in autumn, and in the depth of winter, in passing from a low plain country, as from France into Savoy, or from Lower into Upper Austria, I have been struck with surprise at the mild- ness of the air of the mountain valleys compared with the cold experienced in the lower and open country. But, on reflection, is not the difference such as might be expected, considering the causes in operation which have an effect on atmos- pherie temperature, and especially those connected with the radiation of heat ? The damp mountain forests, in absorbing and giving out heat, may act like moun- tain lakes and streams. The rocks on the mountain sides, besides absorbing and giving out heat, must throw back heat which they receive from the valleys. In the economy of nature, the circumstances alluded to seem to be a beautiful provi- sion for softening the severity of winter, and rendering habitable regions which the imagination is disposed to conceive the seat of storms and inclemency during the winter season.—Dr Dary on the Ionian Islands and Malta, vol, i. p, 257. 384 Scientific Intelligence—Meteorology. and I have learned in what places it appears most frequently. I have therefore gone in the evening, sometimes to one place, sometimes to another, and continued my observations for many days, both during a clear and cloudy sky. I took up my station chiefly at the entrance to the cemetery, because I was assured that it was there in particular where it appeared, although, in fact, I did not notice one at this point. These researches were undertaken in the autumn, when, according to the general opinion, this luminous phenomenon shews itself more frequently than at any other season, perhaps on account of the rapid changes of the atmospheric pressure, which allow the gases enclosed in the earth to escape more easily, by fa- vouring their natural elasticity. I perceived only three of these lights, but on different nights. The first was one of those which issue from the ground, rise to a certain height, and then suddenly become extinguished. I can say nothing more respecting these than that they rise rapidly in a vertical line to a height of three or four metres, and then become extinct with a slight detonation. The second moved in a horizontal direction, and I could not long follow it. The wind carried it to the banks of the river Idice, where it disappeared. With regard to the third, which afforded me the opportunity of making the experiments I wished, I must enter into more circumstantial details. A place fruitful of ignes fatui is the parish of San-Donino, parti- cularly in the neighbourhood of the small church of Ascension, about two miles from Bologna, and especially quite close to a pool, ina rivulet where, three years ago, three sacrificial vessels of fine Roman workmanship were found. On many successive nights I have re- paired to this spot, but in vain. However, one evening in October, which was succeeded by an aurora borealis and rain, I entered the house of a peasant on the field where the pool occurs. Shortly after, I opened the window, which overlooks the place where the phenome- non most commonly shews itself. About 11 o'clock I saw the light appear which I was desirous to observe ; and I instantly seized the stick which I always kept ready for the purpose, and which had some flax attached to its extremity, and speedily repaired to the spot indi- cated. When I was not more than about twenty feet from the light, I stopped a moment to observe it. It had the form and colour of an ordinary flame, with a slight discharge of smoke, Its thickness was about a decimetre ; and it was moving slowly in a direction from south to north. When I approached nearer it changed its direction, retired from me, and began to rise upwards. TI hurried forward with Scientific Intelligence—Geology. 385 my stick, and thrust it into the flame, which kindled the flax, Soon after, the Jack-o’-lantern became extinct at a height of about two or three feet above the stature of a man. It soon after reappeared of smaller size (for I was led to believe that it was the same), on an- other pool placed at a little distance. I ran immediately towards it, but in vain, as it vanished in a few seconds. I saw no others that night. The remains of the flax had not that garlick-like smell pe- culiar to phosphorus, but a faint peculiar odour which I cannot de- fine, and which appeared to me to be rather of a sulphureous and am- moniacal nature.* GEOLOGY. 5. Geological Chronometer.—The Atheneum gives an abstract of a paper, read by Mr Lyell to the Geological Society, which affords some data for guessing at the period when the Mastodon lived, the gigan- tic quadruped whose bones are found in the soil in various parts of North America. Near Goat Island, which is close to the Falls of Niagara, and at the Whirlpool, which is four miles further down, Mr Lyell found a fluviatile deposit, 40 feet thick at the latter locality, consisting of beds of sand, and containing many recent shells, with remains of the Mastodon. When the deposit was formed by the river, its waters must have been 300 feet higher than at present. Tt follows, that the deep channel from the Whirlpool to Goat’s Island was then uncut, and that the Falls were below the Whirlpool. Hence, it appears, that since the bones of the Mastodon were depo- sited in these beds, the Falls have receded (according to maps in our possession) four miles, and possibly much more, for when the depo- sit was formed, the Falls may have been, not at the Whirlpool, but some miles below it. According to an estimate made some years ago, the Falls recede (by undermining the rock) about a yard per annum, but Mr Lyell assigns a foot as the more probable amount ; and as they have receded in this case four miles, or 20,000 feet, we may infer that 20,000 years haye elapsed since the bones were de- posited in the fluviatile sediment, and since the animal lived. If the estimated rate of recession is accurate, the time cannot be less than this, but it may be more. The result, though wanting precision, is not without its value; and there is little doubt that by the aid of such natural Chronometers as N iagara Falls, and other means, we shall by and by be able to measure by centuries geological periods of a en a els Oo) ah * T Institut, No, 471, 5th January 1843, p. 8, 386 Scientific Intelligence—Mineralogy and Geology. the length of which at present we can form no distinct conception. Mr Lyell also describes ‘‘ the boulder formation on the borders of Lakes Erie and Ontario, and in the valley of St Lawrence, as far down as Quebec. Marine shells were observed in this drift, in se- veral localities at Montreal, attaining a height probably exceeding 500 feet above the level of the sea, Similar shells were found as far south as the western and eastern shores of Lake Champlain. They are all northern species, and imply a former colder climate. Rocks in contact with the drift are smoothed and furrowed, as be- neath the drift in Northern Europe.’’—Scotsman. 6. Gold Mines in Ireland.—The origin of the discovery of gold (in the county of Wicklow) is variously told. Tradition attributes it to a schoolmaster, who, in consequence of his perpetually wandering about the adjacent streams, was considered by his neighbours to be » insane. He grew gradually rich, however; but at length the secret of his wealth became known, and a similar madness seized the whole population for many miles round the place where Nature had depo- sited her treasure. It does not appear that gold was found in any quantity until the autumn of 1796, when ‘a man crossing a brook found a piece in the stream, weighing about half an ounce.” The circumstance was noised abroad, and almost every river, stream, and rivulet, for miles round the spot, was thronged by eager searchers after wealth ; the news ran like wildfire through every district of the country. Young and old, of both sexes, from the bed-ridden to the babe that could scarcely crawl, were to be seen raking the gravel in the waters, or pulling away the clay from the hill sides, washing it, and peering into it for the ‘* sparkles of golden splendour.” Their search was not unsuccessful: during the period which elapsed between its commencement and the occupation of the place by troops stationed there by Government—less than two months—it is conjectured that 2500 ounces of gold were collected by the peasantry, principally from the mud and sand of Ballinavalley Stream, and disposed of for about L.10,000.—Mrs S. C. Hall’s « Ireland.” MINERALOGY. 7. Large mass of Native Gold found in the Oural Mountains. —Humboldt lately transmitted to the Academy of Sciences of Paris, a notice by M. de Koscharoff, an officer of the Russian Mines, re- garding a mass of gold of large size, recently found-in the Oural. The largest mass of native gold, which had previously been found Scientific Intelligence—Mineralogy and Geology. 387 in the Oural Mountains, weighed about 10 kilogrammes (24 Rus- sian pounds and 69 zolotnies = 10.117 kil.), or upwards of 22 lb. English ;* and it is that of which there is a plaster model in the Muszum of Natural History at Paris. On the 7th November last, however, there was found in the same mountains a mass of native gold, weighing more than three times as much, viz. 36.025 kil. (2 pouds, 7 Russian pounds, and 92 ‘zolotnies) = about 80 pounds English. The mines of Zarevo-Nicolaefsy and of Zarevo-Alexan- drofsy, situated in the alluvial auriferous deposits of Miass, on the Asiatic side of the southern portion of the Oural, have already af- forded more than 6500 kilogrammes of gold. It was in this allu- vium that, in 1836, the large mass of 10 kil., and several others, of from 4 to 62 kil. were found at a depth of a few centimetrest under the surface. Subsequently to the year 1837, the mines of Nicolaefsy and of Alexandrofsy seeming exhausted, new explorations were made in the neighbourhood, and especially along the river Tachnou-Targanna. Great success attended the search for gold in that marshy plain, and the whole valley had been searched except that part of it occupied by the building in which the washing ope- rations were carried on. In 1842 it was resolved to remove the houses, whereupon sands were met with of immense richness, and lastly there was discovered under the very corner of a building, and at a depth of three yards, the enormous mass of gold_ weighing 36 kilogrammes, This mass is already placed in the collection of the Corps ces Mines at St Petersburgh. According to the information given by M. de Humboldt, in the third volume of his Examen critique de la Géographie du nouveau Continent, the mass of gold found in the Oural in 1826 was inferior in weight to that discovered in 1502 in the alluvium of the Island of Haiti, and inferior also to that found in 1821 in the United States, in the county of Cavarras, and described by M. Zoehler, a pupil of the Freyberg School of Mines. The mass found at Miass, fifteen years ago, weighs 10.117 kil. ; that of Ca- varras 12.600 kil.; that of Haiti 14 to 15 kil.; but the mass of gold found in November 1842 in beds of alluvium reposing on dio- rite is more than twice the weight of the largest of these, as it weighs no less than 36 kilogrammes. Such has been the prodi- gious increase of the quantity of gold obtained by washing in Rus- sia, and especially in Siberia, to the east of the southern chain of $$$ rn ne Sf * A French kilogramme = 2.20548 Ib. avoirdupois.—Enpir. t+ A centimetre = 0.393708 inches.—Epir. 385 Scientific Intelligence —Miscellanéous. | the Oural, that, according to very accurate data, the total produce during the year 1842 amounted to 16,000 kilogrammes (970 pouds = 15,988 kil.) = upwards of 35,000 lb. English, of which Siberia alone, to the east of the Oural, furnished more than 7800 kil. (479 pouds = 7846 kil.).—L’ Institut, No. 472. 8. Fahlerz containing Mercury, from Hungary. — Professor Zeuschner procured this remarkable Fahlerz during his geognostical tour in Hungary, and wished it to be analyzed, on account of its con- taining mercury. It occurs at Kotterbach, in the vicinity of Iglo, and is very probably the same compact Fahlerz, containing mercury, from Poratsch, in Upper Hungary, which Klaproth analysed. The ore is only found in a massive state, and is frequently interspersed with cop- per pyrites, from which the portions destined for analysis were carefully purified. Hr. Scheidthauer performed the following three analyses of the ore in the laboratory of Professor H. Rose, but it was only in one of them that all the component parts were determined, In the second analysis, from particular causes, the whole amount of mercury could not be obtained ; and in the third the sulphur alone was de- termined :—~ 1. EE Ii. Sand or grains of quartz, . F 2.73 1,82 1.87 Antimony, . ‘ > - 18.48 18.50 Arsenic, - = : = 3.98 4.10 Tron, . 5 ° C 4.90 5.05 Zine, : - : : ; 1.01 1.02 Copper, . 3 . : » 35.90 85.87 Mercury, 2 . ° : 7.52 Sis ae Sulphur, . . . - 23.34 73.70 23.90 Silver and lead, : : -\ traces. 97.86 —Poggindorf’s Annalen, 1843, No. 1, p. 161. MISCELLANEOUS. 9. Egyptian Bronze-—Egyptian bronze consists of copper and tin, and occasionally a small proportion of silver, For large tools, it was probably a mixture of the two former metals only, _ This alloy, when first cast, would be extremely brittle and hard, but may have been tempered, as the Chinese now temper their bronze articles, viz. by plunging them repeatedly into cold water whilst at a red heat. To this operation, perhaps, Homer alludes in his simile of an armourer's forge, though it has been adduced to prove the use of iron ; but the metal does not, at the later period of the Trojan war, seem to have been in general use. It even Scientific Intelligence— Miscellaneous. 389. then seems to have been viewed as one of the precious metals, as Achilles proposed a ball of iron as one of the prizes to be awarded to the victor of the games instituted in honour of Patroclus ;—offer- ings of iron implements were also made to the gods, With regard to the early use of bronze in preference to iron, we cannot forbear transcribing some remarks from Robertson’s History of North America :—* Gold, silver, and copper, are found, in their perfect state, in the clefts of rocks, in the sides of mountains, or the channels of rivers. They were accordingly first known and first ap- plied to use. But iron, the most serviceable of all metals, and to which man is most indebted, is never discovered in its perfect form ; its gross and stubborn ore must feel twice the force of fire, and go ’ through two laborious processes before it becomes fit for use. Man was long acquainted with other metals before he acquired the art of fabricating iron,”’ Several small articles of iron have been found in Egyptian tombs ; but though acquainted with it, they do not appear to have applied it to any practically useful purpose. In the British Museum are several chisels, saws, and other tools of bronze; and the author has a fish-hook of the same material, found in a tomb, and also several pins of the latest modern improve- ment, namely, with solid heads. A small bronze knife, found at Thebes, was highly elastic, and the edge, after being buried at least 2000 years, so perfect, that it was used for a penknife for several months after its exhumation.—The London Journal and Repertory of Arts, Sciences, and Manufactures, No. exxv. No. 296. 10. On the Production of the Guano of Commerce.—The Moro of Arica is situated close to the town, on the south, and is a bold pro- montory projecting towards the sea, its base being washed by the surf of the Pacific Ocean, and its summit being about 600 feet above it. This Moro presents a precipice nearly perpendicular, with numerous cliffs or ledges, which during ages have been occupied by myriads of sea-fowl, called Garza by the Spaniards, but better known by the Peru- vian name, Guwano,—a term which is also used by the Indians for the dung of these birds. The front of the Moro of Arica is a most conspicuous and important object to mariners, who wish to call there ; for when vessels coming from the south, or windward, as it is there called, are allowed by those on board to pass the port, the Space gone over in a few hours may be such as to require several VOL, XXXIV. NO. LXVIII.—apnriL 1843. 2c 390° Scientific Intelligence—Miscellaneous. days to beat up again to the roadstead. But in consequence of Guanos nestling on the face of the Moro, it has a white appearance, from the accumulation of their droppings, which, when recent and dry, as it always is in that locality, is of a grey-white colour, and serves both as a beacon to the navigator who approaches the place, and also as a magnificent object, when seen under the rays of the set- ting sun. The dung of the guano has been used for manure by the Peruvians, from time immemorial, and is highly prized by them, on account of its fertilizing properties, which are very great. I have seen some of these inoffensive beings, who had come several hundred miles, having traversed ravines and tracks over all but impassable mountains, each one with his donkey or llama, for a quintal of guano, with which he had to march back again, trudging on foot, and often rejoicing over his odorous cargo. The guanos were still to be seen in vast numbers on the Moro of Arica, during my first’ residence there in 1826, but not in such abundance as they were a few years prior to that period; for during the war for independence, Arica was several times attacked, both by sea and land, when the cannonading had the effect of scaring the guanos from their haunts on the Moro, Since 1826, Arica has been much frequented by foreigners, some of whom often fired at, and other- wise annoyed these birds, which now have all but totally abandoned that part of the Peruvian coast. The guanos have hitherto existed on the coast of the Peru, in numbers which would appear incredi- ble, except to those persons who have seen them. The greatest mass of guanos I ever saw was in 1836, at the Chincha Isles, which are only barren frocks in the Pacific Ocean, off Pisco, and about 100 miles south from Callio. I saw the birds through a glass from on board a vessel under easy sail, when the rock appeared to be a living mass; for the guanos seemed to be contending among themselves for a resting-place. They live on fish, and are expert fishers, for which they are beautifully formed by nature. The bill is three or four inches long, according to the age or size of the bird, and it is about one inch broad at the extremity, much curved, and altogether well adapted for hooking up the food, which rarely escapes. The quantity of guano manure accumulated on the Peru- vian coast must have been very great, and may be estimated thus: Allowing the average number of these birds to be one million, which I consider is much within bounds, and that each guano has one Scientific Intelligence—Miscellaneous. 391 ounce droppings per day, we shall have not less than above thirty tons, and deducting one-half of the above supposed quantity, for evapo- ration,an d other casualties, there will still be above fifteen tons of this valuable substance produced every day- From what has been observed as to the habits and numbers of the guano, their frequent- ing promontories, declivities, and insulated rocks, it follows, that their excrements in certain localities must have accumulated to such an extent, as might induce those persons who may not have con-. sidered the subject, to expect that the guano is to be had in un- limited quantity ; but for obvious reasons, that must be a fallacious expectation. —Communicated by Dr Mathie Hamilton, late of Peru. 11, Visit of Columbus to Iceland, in 1477, and his Conversations there with learned men.—Karl Wilhelmi, in his recently published work on the Northmen, has the following curious passage regarding Columbus :— The most remarkable, and the most peculiar state founded by the Northmen, was that in Iceland, as well on account of the particular northern mode of life which was there freely de- veloped to its fullest extent, and which preserved, unimpaired for cen- turies, its laws, language, eloquence, music, and poetry, as of the dis- covery of America, which was made from that country five hundred years before Columbus. That immortal Genoese himself sailed from England, in a ship from Bristol, in the year 1477, and visited the island of Iceland, where he was confirmed in his conviction of the existence of land in the West, by the conversations he carried on in the Latin language, with the Icelandic priests, and other learned men.” * In regard to this subject, Washington Irving, in his Life of Columbus, vol. i. p. 69, says,—‘* While the design of attempting the discovery in the West was maturing in the mind of Columbus, he made a voyage to the north of Europe. Of this we have no other memorial than the following passage, extracted by his son from one of his letters :—* In the year 1477, in February, I navi- gated one hundred leagues beyond Thule, the southern part of which is seventy-three degrees distant from the Equator, and not sixty- three, as some pretend ; neither is it situated within the line which includes the west of Ptolemy, but is much more westerly. The a ee ee ROT Te a ee eee SE Se eT ee ee * Island, Hvitramannaland, Grénland, und Vinland, oder der Norrmdnner Leben auf Island und Grénland, und deren Fahrten nach Amerika schon tiber 500 Jahre vor Columbus. Heidelberg, 1842. 392 Scientific Intelligence—Miscellaneous. English, principally those of Bristol, go with their merchandize to this island, which is as large as England. When I was there the sea was not frozen, and the tides were so great, as to rise and fall twenty six fathoms.’* The island thus mentioned as Thule, is generally supposed to have been Iceland, which is far to the west of the Ultima Thule of the ancients, as laid down in the map of Ptolemy. Nothing’more is known of this voyage, in which we dis- cern indications of that ardent and impatient desire to break away from the limits of the Old World, and launch into the unknown regions of the ocean.” 12. Ethnological Society—We are happy to announce the forma- tion in London of a society, which promises much for an important but hitherto much neglected branch of knowledge, The following was communicated to us by the Secretary :-— “It is submitted, that among the numerous Literary and Scien- tific Societies established in the British Metropolis, one is still want- ing to complete the circle of Scientific Institutions, whose sole ob- ject should be the promotion and diffusion of the most important and interesting branch of knowledge, that of man, viz. ErHnonoey. —* That a new and useful Society might therefore be formed, under the name of ‘ The Ethnological Society.’ — That the interest excited ‘by this department of science is increasingly felt ;—that its advantages are of the first importance to mankind in general, and paramount to the welfare of a mari- time nation like Great Britain, with its numerous and extensive Colonies and Foreign Possessions. —* That although there is a great amount of Ethnological in- formation existing in Great Britain, yet it is so scattered and dis- persed, either in large books that are not generally accessible, or in the bureaux of the public departments, or in the possession of pri- vate individuals, as to be nearly unavailable to the public. ‘« The objects, then, of such a Society as is now suggested would be— “1, To collect, register, and digest, and to print for the use of the members and the public at large, ina cheap form, and at certain intervals, such new, interesting and useful facts as the Society may have in its possession, and may from time to time acquire. * Hist. del Almirante, c. 4. The Great Comet. 393 «2. To accumulate gradually a Museum illustrative of the varie- ties of mankind, and of the arts of uncivilized life—a Library of the best books on Ethnology—a selection of the best Voyages and Trayels—a complete collection of Dictionaries and Grammars bear- ing upon the subject—as well as all such documents and matcrials as may convey the best information to persons intending to visit Foreign Countries: it being of the greatest utility to those who are about to travel, to be aware of what has been already done, and what is still wanting, in the countries which they may intend to visit. “3. To render pecuniary assistance, when the funds will permit, to such Travellers as may require it, in order to facilitate this parti- cular branch of their research. “ 4. To correspond with similar Societies that may be established in different parts of the world, with Foreign Individuals engaged in Ethnological pursuits, and with the most intelligent British residents in the various remote Settlements of the Empire.” a ap Spear THE GREAT COMET. To the Editor of the Times. TimEs, March 21. 1843. Sir,—I wish to direct the attention of your astronomical readers to the fact, which I think hardly admits of a doubt, of a comet of enormous magnitude being in the course of its progress through our system, and at present not far from its perihelion. Its tail, for such I cannot doubt it to be, was conspicuously visible, both last night and the night before as a vivid luminous streak, commencing close beneath the stars kappa and lambda (% and A) Leporis, and thence stretching obliquely westwards and downwards between gamma and delta (y and 6) Eridani, till lost in the vapours of the horizon... The direction of it, prolonged on a celestial globe, passes precisely through the place of the sun in the ecliptic at the present time,—a circumstance which appears conclusive as to its cometic nature. As the portion of the tail, actually visible on F riday evening, was fully 30 degrees in length, and the head must have been beneath the horizon, which would add at least 26 degrees to the length, it is 394 Nen Publications. evident that if really a comet, it is one of first-rate magnitude; and if it be not one, it is some phenomenon beyond the earth's atmo- sphere of a nature even yet more remarkable. I have the honour to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, J. F. W. Herscuet. Cotuincwoopn, March 19th. P.S. Had there been any post last night, this communication would have been made a day earlier. 8 p.m., March 19.—The tail of the comet, for such it must now assuredly be, is again visible, though much obscured by haze, and holding very nearly the same position ! NEW PUBLICATIONS. The following publications have been received :— 1. Essai sur les Glaciers et sur le terrain Erratique du Basin du Rhone, par Jean de Charpentier. One volume 8vo, pp. 363. With Maps and Plates. 1841. From the Author, This valuable work is already well known in Britain, through the medium of this Journal and the writings of our geologists. 2. The Year-Book of Facts in Science and Art, exhibiting the most important discoveries and improvements of the past year. 12mo pp. 283. With numerous Engravings. London, Tilt and Bogue. 1843. From the Publisher. 3. Travels in New Zealand ; with Contributions to the Geography, Geology, Botany, and Natural History of that country ; by Ernest Dieffenbach, M.D., late Naturalist to the New Zealand Company. In Two yolumes 8vo. London, John Murray, Albemarle Street. 1843, From John Murray, Esq., Albemarle Street, London. To those who wish to become acquainted with this interesting country in a statistical, commercial, and natural-historical point of view, we particularly recommend this valuable work, New Publications, 395 _ 4, Explication de la Carte Geologique de la France redigée sous la direction de M. Brochant de Villiers, Inspecteur-General des Mines. Par M.M. Dufrenoy et Elie de Beaumont, Ingenieurs en chef des mines. Publié in 1841 ; par ordre de M. Teste, ministre des travaux publics, Tome Premiere. Quarto, pp. 825. Witha large coloured Geological Map of France, and numerous illustrative cuts. Paris. Imprimerie Royal. 1841. From the Authors. This first volume of a national work, which may be termed the Geognosy of France, is rich in important facts and generali- zations. 5. Geological Report on Londonderry, and parts of Tyrone and Fer- managh; by J. E. Portlock, F.R.S., &c. &c., Captain of the Royal En- gineers conducting the Geological Branch of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland. One Volume 8vo. pp. 784. With a Geological Map, and nu- merous tinted Geological Sections. Dublin, Hodges and Smith, College Green; London, Longman, Brown, Green and Longmans, 1843. From the Board of Ordnance. 6. Rapport sur un Memoire de M. A. Bravais relatif aux Lignes d’An- cien niveau de la mer dans le Finmark. Commissaires, M.M. Biot, &c., Elie de Beaumont rapporteur. 2to. From the Author. 7. The American Journal of Science and Arts ; conducted by Professor Silliman and Benjamin Silliman jun. Up to January 1843. From the Editors. 8. Annalen der Physik und Chemie. Herausgegeben zu Berlin, Von J. C. Poggendorf. Received up to No. I. 1843. From the Editor. 9. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal ; edited by the Secretary. From the Editors. 10. Bibliotheque Universelle de Genéve. Received up to No. 84. 18th January 18438. 11. Interment and Disinterment ; or a further Exposition of the Prac- tices pursued in the Metropolitan places of Sepulture, and the Results as affecting the Health of the Living ; by G. A. Walker, Surgeon, London. Longman and Company. 1843. From the Author. 12. Explanation of Gravity, or the Great Power causing Gravitation, Form, and Motion. Glasgow. From the Author. 13. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. From the Academy. 14. Physical, Chemical, and Geological Researches on the Internal Heat of the Globe; by Gustav Bischof, L.L.D., Professor of Chemistry and Technology in the University of Bonn. 8vo. pp. 315, Longman, Orme, Brown, Green and Longman, London. This eacellent volume, the standard work on the subjects enumerated on the title page, will be found equally acceptable to the geologist and natural philosopher. No geological library ought to be without it. 15. Vollstandiges Handbuch der Mineralogie ; von August Breithaupt. Second Volume, 8vo. pp. 406. Dresden and Leipzig. 1841. From the 396 Nei Publications. Author, An original and valuable work, We much regret the delay in pub- lishing the remaining volumes. 16. Rapport sur les Poissons Fossiles et l’Osteologie du Genre Brochet ou Esox ; par L. Agassiz. Neuchatel 1842. 2to. From the Author. 17. Recit d’une Course faite aux Glaciers en Hiver ; par M.M. Agas- siz et E. Desor. 1842. From the Authors. 18. Remarques sur deux Points de la Theorie des Glaciers; par M. Elie de Beaumont. 1842. From the Author. 19. Description of an extinct Lacertine Reptile, Rhynchosaurus Arti- ceps (Owen) ; by Richard Owen, F.R.S., G.S., &c. Hunterian Professor in the Royal College of Surgeons. 1843. From the Author, 20. Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscow. An- née, 1842. N. iii. Moscow, 1842. From the Societe Imperiale des Natu- ralistes dz Moscow. 8vo. 21. Apercu General de la Structure Geologique des Alpes; par M. Studer. Mars, 1842. From the Author. 22. Elements of Electro-Metallurgy ; by Alfred Smee, Esq., F.RS. No. viii., which completes the work. From the Author. 23. The Climate of the South of Devon, and its Influence upon Health. With a Geological Map ; by Thomas Shapter, M.D. Small 8vo. John Churchill, London. From the Author. In preparing this interesting little volume, our former pupil, Dr Shapter, has hadin view to illustrate the Medz- cal Topography of the South of Devon, in a manner similar to that in which Dr Forbes has treated of the Land’s-End, and Drs Carrick and Symonds ‘of Bristol and Clifton. The author has bestowed much pains in deducing the averages of climate from the best registers to which he had access, and in the preparation of his Tables of the Statistics of Life and Disease. The Geology of South Devon forms a useful chapter of the work. 24. L’Institut, Journal Universel des Sciences. Paris. Received up to March 2d. 1848. From the Editor. 25. Bibliotheque Zoologique et Paleontologique. Folio. Neuchatel ; par L’Agassiz. From the Author. 26. Bulletin de la Societe Geologique de France, up to November 1842. From the Society. 27. Comptes Rendus des Séances de |’ Académie des Sciences. Up to the end of 1842. From the Academy. Pao ie) oo “I Y List of Patents for Inventions granted for Scotland from 23d December 1842 to 22d March 1843, inclusive. 1. To Ropert Wixson, manager at the works of Messrs Nasmyths, Gaskell, & Co., Patricroft, near Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, engineer, “ certain improvements in the construction of locomotive and other steam engines.”—27th December 1842, 2. To Garret Hrppotyte Moreav of Leicester Square, in the county of Middlesex, gentleman, ‘“ certain improvements in propelling vessels.” —27th December 1842, 3. To James Morris of Cateaton Street, in the city of London, mer- chant, being a communication from abroad, “ improvements in locomotive and other steam engines.”—27th December 1842. 4. To Henry Samuer Rusu of Sloane Street, in the county of Middie- sex, mechanic, “improvements in apparatus for containing matches for obtaining instantaneous light.”—29th December 1842. ° 5. To Joun Ranpv of Howland Street, Fitzroy Square, in the county of Middlesex, artist, “improvements in making and closing metallic col- lapsable vessels,’—29th December 1842. 6. To Henry Beaumont Lerson of Greenwich, in the county of Kent, doctor of medicine, “ improvements in the art of depositing and manufac- turing metals and metal articles by electro-galvanic agency, and in the apparatus connected therewith.”—30th December 1842. 7. To Roserr Locan of Blackheath, in the county of Kent, Esquire, «improvements in obtaining and preparing the fibres and other products of the cocoa nut, and its husks.’’—9th January 1843, 8. To CuarLes Hancock of Grosvenor Place, in the county of Middle- sex, artist, “ certain improvements in printing cotton, silk, woollen, and other fabrics.”—11th January 1843. 9. To James Garpner of Banbury, in the county of Oxford, ironmonger, “ jmprovements in cutting hay, straw, and other vegetable matters for the food of animals.”—11th January 1843. 10. To Joun Stepuen Bourtier of Sherborn Street, Blandford Square, in the county of Middlesex, engineer, being a communication from abroad, “certain improvements in machinery used in printing calicoes, silks; paper-hangings, and other fabrics.”—12th January 1843. 398 List of Patents. 11. To Witton Grorce Turner of Gateshead, in the county of Durham, doctor in philosophy, “improvements in the manufacture of alum,”’—12th January 1843, 12. To Wirxu1am Woop of Holborn, in the county of Middlesex, ear- pet-manufacturer, “ a new mode of weaving, carpeting, and other figured fabrics.” —13th January 1843. 13. To Marturew Grecson of Toxteth Park, Liverpool, in the county of Lancaster, Esquire, being a communication from abroad, “ an invention or improvement applicable to the sawing or cutting of veneers.”—I16th January 1843. 14, To Samvuet Hatz of Basford, in the county of Nottingham, civil engineer, ‘‘ improvements in the combustion of fuel and smoke.”—18th January 1843. 15. To JosepH Beaman of Smethwick, in the parish of Harborne, in the county of Stafford, iron-master, “ an improvement in the manufacture of malleable iron,””’—18th January 1843. 16. To ALExANDER Jounston of Hillhouse, in the county of Edin- burgh, Esquire, “‘ improvements on carriages, which may also be applied to ships, boats, and other purposes where locomotion is required.’”—20th January 1843. 17 To Joun Tuomas Betrs of Smithfield Bars, in the city of London, gentleman, being a communication from abroad, “ improvements in cover- ing and stopping necks of bottles and other vessels.”—23d January 1843. 18. To Tuomas Tompson of Coventry, in the county of Warwick, weaver and machinist, “‘ certain improvements in weaving figured fabrics.” 23d January 1843. 19. To Junian EDwaxrp DisBproweE Ropsers of Upper Eburv Street, in the county of Middlesex, chemist, “ certain improvements in the se- paration of sulphur from various mineral substances,”—25th January 1843. 20. To Grorcze BEengamin TuHornEycrort of Wolverhampton, iron- master, “‘ improvements in furnaces used for the manufacture of iron and in the mode of manufacturing iron.”—Ilst February 1843. 21, To James BoypEut Junior of Oak Farm Works, near Dudley, in the county of Stafford, iron-master, “improyements in the manufacture of metals for edge-tools.”—I1st February 1843. 22. To James Cxiark, power-loom cloth manufacturer in Glasgow, “an improved mode of manufacturing certain descriptions of cloths.’”—2d February 1843. 23, To TAVERNER JOHN Miner of. Mill-Bank Street, Westminster, i List of Patents. 399 oil=merchant, “ improvements in apparatus for supporting a person in bed _ or when reclining.”—13th February 1843. a 24, To Samuet Kirk of Stalybridge, in the county of Lancaster, cotton- spinner, “ certain improvements in machinery, or apparatus for preparing cotton and other fibrous substances for spinning.”’”—13th February 1843. 25. To Cuartes Tuatcuer of Midsomer Norton, in the county of So- merset, brewer, and Tuomas Tuarcuer, of Kilmersdon, in the said county, builder, “certain improvements in drags or breaks to be applied to the wheels of carriages generally.”—22d February 1843. 26. To Joun Craia of Stanhope Street, in the county of Middlesex, gentleman, being a communication from abroad, “ certain improvements in machines or apparatus for weighing.” —28th February 1843. 27. To Epwarp Bett of the College of Civil Engineers, Putney, in the county of Surrey, Professor of Practical Mechanics, “ improvements in ap- plying heat in the manufacture of artificial fuel, which improvements are applicable to the preparation of asphalte, and for other purposes.”’—2d March 1843. 28. To Grorce Bett of the city of Dublin, in that part of the United Kingdom called Ireland, merchant, “ certain improved machines which fa- cilitate the drying of malt, corn, and seeds ; also the bolting, dressing, and separating of flour, meal, and all other substances requiring to be sifted.” —2d March 1843. 29. To James Buttoven of Blackburn, in the county of Lancaster, overlooker, “ certain improvements in the construction of looms for weav- ing, and also in possession of certain improvements in the same which have been a communication from abroad.”—4th March 1843, 30. To Jonn Tuomas Bers of Smithfield Bars, in the county of Middle- sex, gentleman, being a communication from abroad, “ improvements in the manufacture of metal covers for bottles, and certain other vessels, and in the manufacture of sheet-metal for such purposes.”—7th March 1843. 31. To Jures Le Jeuns of North Place, Regent’s Park, in the county of Middlesex, engineer, “ improvements in accelerating combustion, which improvements may be applied in place of the blowing machines now in use.”’—7th March 1843. 32. To Tuomas Howarp of Hyde, in the county of Cheshire, manu- facturer, “certain improvements in machinery for preparing and spinning cotton, wool, flax, silk, and similar fibrous materials,’—11th March 1843. 33. ‘To Cuartes Payne of South Lambeth, in the county of Surrey, chemist, “improvements in preserving vegetable matters when metallic and earthy solutions are employed.”—13th March 1843. 400 List of Patents. 34. To Witu1am Lonomarp of Plymouth, accountant, “ improvements in treating ores and other minerals, and in obtaining various products therefrom, certain parts of which improvements are applicable to the ma- nufacture of alkali.”—13th March 1843. 35. To WiLttAmM Barker of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, mill-wright, “ certain improvements in the construction of metallic pis- tons.” —16th March 1843. 36. To JosepH Wuitwortu of Manchester, in the county of Lancaster, engineer, “ certain improvements in machinery, or apparatus for cleaning oads, and which machinery is also applicable to other similar purposes.” —22d March 1843. ( 401 ) INDEX. Alford, in Aberdeenshire, meteorological observations made there, by Dr Farquharson, 159 and 367. Alps of Dauphiné, observations on, 165. Amphodelite, account of, 181. Anderson, Dr Thomas, his analysis of caporcianite and phakolite, 21. Andesine, analysis of, 181. Ants, ancient fable of, producing gold, 190. Applegarth Manse, in Dumfriesshire, meteorological observations made there, by Dr Dunbar, 161 and 368. Arquerite, analysis of, 181. Beaches, raised, near St Andrews, described by R. Chambers, Esgq., 298. Beaumont, Elie de, remarks on two points in the theory of glaciers, 110. —, on the slopes of the upper limit of the erratic zone, and on their comparison with the slopes of glaciers and of river courses, 115, , on the former low ie OS of European winters, 177. Bamlite, analysis of, 182. Blom, Gustav Peter, member of the Royal Academy of Sciences of Drontheim, on the rein-deer of Lapland, 352. Bradford, M., on the history and origin of the red race, 155. Bromide of silver in Mexico, 182. Bromide of silver in Chili, 182. Bronze, Egyptian, 388. Calstron-baryte, account of, 183. Calcareous rocks pierced by helices, 186. Chalk fossils, account of, by M. Ehrenberg, 256. Chambers, R., Esq., F.R.S.E., on raised beaches in the neighbour- hood of St Andrews, 298. Chimpanzee, account of, by M. Vrolik, 347. Chinese, their natural historical writings noticed, 153. 402 Index. Christison, Dr, on the Assam and Chinese tea-plants, 176—on the action of water on lead, 163. Climate of Malta, 382. Columbus, his visit to Iceland in the year 1477, 391. Comet, great, notice of, 393. bl Coral islands, account of, by Messrs Darwin and Maclaren, 33, 47. Craigie, William, meteorological register in Canada, 378, Daubeny, Professor, his biography of Decandolle, 197. Davy, Dr John, on the property of transmitting light possessed by __ charcoal and plumbago, 378 ; and on the climate of Malta, 382, Dead Sea, its depression below the level of the Mediterranean, 178. Decandolle, Professor, his biography, 197, Diamond, on the residuum of its combustion, 187—on its formation, S17: | Diorama, a portable one, described by George Tait, Esq., 275. Doyere, M., his experiments on the revivification of animals of the types Tardigrada and Rotifera, 25. Earthquakes, notices of, especially as they occur in Scotland, by David Milne, Esq., F.R.S.E., 85—earthquakes in British In- dia, by Lieut. R. B. Smith, Bengal Engineers, 107. Ehrenberg, Professor, on the fossils of the chalk-formation, 256. Elaps Jamesoni, a new species of serpent, described by Dr Traill, 53. Ethnological Society of London, its formation, 392, Euclase, its discovery in Connecticut, North America, 183, Explosion, great, at Dover, described, 337, Fahlerz containing mercury, from Hungary, 388. Farquharson, Dr, his meteorological table for 1842, 159. Fleming, John, D.D., Professor of Natural Philosophy, King’s Col- lege, Aberdeen, on the expediency of forming harbours of re- fuge on the east coast of Scotland, between the Moray Firth and the Firth of Forth, 306. Flint, contains potash and lime, 180. Flowers, on the preservation of, 191, Forbes, Professor, his fourth letter to Professor Jameson on the glacier theory, 1. historical’ remarks on the first discovery of the real structure of glaciers, 133. a Index. 403 Forbes, Professor, on the effect of snow in apparently increasing the force of solar radiation, 170. —_—— on the movement and structure of the Mer de Glace of Chamouni, 380. Galbraith, Wm., A.M., on the English are of the meridian, 263. Geokronite, new locality of, 183. Geological chronometer, 385. Glaciers, on the structure, formation, and movement of, by Dr James Stark, 171—on the glacier theory, 1; and the discovery of the structure of glaciers, by Professor Forbes, 133—on some phenomena of glaciers, by Sir John Herschel, 14. Gold-mines in Ireland, 386. Gold, large mass found in the Ourals, 386. ee oF \ \ Granite, its cutting and polishing, as effected at Abétdeen, by ‘Messrs Macdonald and Leslie, described, 341. Greenockite, account of, 183. Grooved and polished surfaces at the contact of ancient secondary strata, by Professor Rogers, 178. Guano of commerce, Dr Mathie Hamilton’s account of it, 389. Hamilton, Mathie, M.D., on the Llama, Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna, 285. Harbours of refuge on the east coast of Scotland, by John Fleming, D.D., 306. Helices pierce calcareous rocks, 186. Herschel, new comet discovered by, 393. Holy Land, heights of mountains in, determined barometrically, Lie M. Russegger, 179. Humbuvldt, Baron, on the heights of continents, 326. —— his Fragmens Asiatiques, announced, 179. Ignis Fatuus observed near Bologna, 383. Isinglass, Indian, remarks on, 189. Khiva, variation of temperature during Russian expedition to, 380. Lapis Lazuli, nature of its blue colour, 183. Llama, Alpaca, Guanaco, and Vicuna, described by Dr Mathie Hamilton, 285. Mer de Glace of Chamouni, Professor Forbes on its movement and structure, 380. Meteorological Tables, 161, 364. Milne, David, Esq. F,R,8,E., on Earthquakes, 85. oe Lh? 404 Tiidex. Milne, David, Esq., F.R.S.E., on the geology of Roxburghshire, 376, - Patents, list of, 194, 397. Paul, R. D., his meteorological tables, 364, 370. Pennine, its chemical composition, 184. Petzholdt, Alexander, Dr, on the formation of the diamond of, 317. Physiognomy of a country as connected with the character of its in- habitants, 359. Platina in the auriferous sand of the Rhone, 184. Publications, New, 192, 394. Rein-deer of Lapland, account of, by Gustav Peter Blom, 352. Royal Society, Proceedings of, 163, 374. Russegger, M., on heights of mountains, determined by the barometer, in the Holy Land, 179. _ Russell, J. Scott, Esq., F.R.S.E., his description of a marine sali- nometer, 278. Salinometer, marine, for the purpose of indicating the density of brine in the boilers of marine steam-engines, with two plates, by John Scott Russell, Esq., F.R.S.E., 278. Sang, Edward, Esq., his observations on a method of registering the force actually transmitted through a driving-belt, 261. Scientific Intelligence, 177, 380. Steffens, Professor, midnight scene on the ocean, and scene in Nor- way, 362, 363. Traill, T. S., Professor, the sale of his collection of minerals an- nounced, 180. » ———— on the establishment at Aberdeen for the cutting and po- lishing of the granites of Peterhead and Aberdeen, 841. Turf or Peat, on the transformations produced in it by the essence of turpentine, 190. V illarsite, account of, 184. Vrolik, M., his remarks on the comparative anatomy of the Chim- panzee, 347. Wernerian Society, Proceedings of, 176, 379. Wilson, James, Esq., on the Tetrao Medius, 374. Xenolite, account of, 185. Young, Mr A., on the growth of the salmon, 375. PRINTED BY NEILL AND €O,, EDINEURGH. te FY Me AES NR it) Ree RAL id! Coanen War aad Panu? - xe tre"? f Wa mentee elo 0 Aen Mam Ui ne LAE "eoren ety 1 Bh ay at WV 7 s ie wiih ‘Mya ate gent We Se) i . a) 's ry sana eu x ip Deak fi eiey 4 Woe cn tA At eles Misti ¢ ae tts ral Teteet tte |ty Wah anbiii ri