HST! | ony rentks) a? Jour BT % No. 159. Publish dd the Last Dep of every ry Month, [PRICE 25, 6d.] ia. , THE oe Pap HLOSOPHICAL MAGAZIN ae “a . : COMPREKERDING | THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, GEOLOGY, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE, if ¥. 3 en NUMBER CLIX. For FUL ¥ 181 NTAINING By IE FOLLOWING ENGRAVINGS BY PORTER: aN SS Hl. Mr. Donxin’s 7achometer. i Mr. AxyAn’s Plathematical Dividing Engine. : A 4to Piate (iitended to have been given in the preceding volume), con % Mrs figure? illustrative of Mr. Lsgscuntan’ 3 ratent ine cates yh ai and ston’, Patent Enharmonic Organ, BY. ALEXANDER: TILLOGH, | MUR.LA. F.S:A. EDIN| AND PERTH, &c. So ne an as cena paper mate poqenaacieesnae LONDON: PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR AND CO.,, SHOR LANE zAndsold by Ricuarpsoss; Capecy and Davies; OTR - Huxsr, Rers;Oxme & Brown; Vraenon, Hoop & Suarez; A Murray; Hiesvey; Surawoop and Co.; Hanbine; London : (Xe Const abe and Co. Edinburgh; Baash and Rein, and SW D. Naret Glasgow : spacer 9 and Hopcers, Dublin. ‘ ENGRAVINGS. 5 Sea wi P : . ‘ 5 » Vol. XXIX. is embellished with a Portrait of the late Dr. Darwin; from an original Picture in the Pussession of Dr. THornron-——A New Mi- _ crometer, invented by Mr. Brewster—A Representation of the Comet — now visible —Mr. Fierp’s Plan for Building ‘Towns and Villages com- | osed of Circular Buildings—Mr. Perys’s New Eudiometer—A Quarto 7 Plate of the Apparatus employed by Messrs. ALLEN and Pepys in their Ex~_ periments on Carbonic Acid-——A fourth Plate to illustrate M. Cuvigr’s — Paper on Elephants—Lient, Col. Cricuron’s Bed for the easy Conveyance of Sick: and Wounded Soldiers: engraved by Porver—And Capt. Pas- Ley’s Improved Telegiaph: engraved /by Porter. + ee Vol. XXX. Sir'H. C. Encrerrerp’s Mountain Barometer, engraved by Lowny-—A Plate to illustrate M. Cuvier’s Paper on Elephants—Another Plate on the same Subject.—1 and 2. ‘Iwo Plates to illustrate M. Cuvisr’s Paper‘on Elephants, engraved by Porrex.—3. Figures to illustrate Mr, Herscuer’s Paper on Coloured Ringsx—A Skeleton of the American ~ Mammoth, engraved by Porter,—A Portrait of M, Caznot—The Oil- mill of Bangalore. : yy Vol, XXXI. Mr. Davy’s new Evdiometer—Geological Sections of Strata, in Niatlock, Derbyshire, by Mr. Waiteuursr and Mr. Warey— Ilustration of the Chinese Method of pripagating Fruit Trees by Abscs- sion—And Mr. Broap’s Gauge for measuring Timber,—lllistration of Mrs. D’Oyxey’s Method of breeding Poultry; Mr. Drew's Balance Level for laying-out Land for Irrigaticn ; and au Expefiment in Opiics.—M. E. © Turxece’s. Construction. of Chemical Muffles.—Mr. Gripin’s Mahine for raising’Coals and Ores.—Wu1sox’s Secure Boat, or Life Boat) and Boswe i's improved Capstan’: engraved ty PortTen —PEpys’s A ppiratus for Decomposing the Aikalis under Naphtha, engraved by Lowy.— Arkins’s improved Hydrometer for weighing Seids and Finids. Vol. XXXU. Mr. Crzatv’s Machine for thrishing Hemp; an Mr, Bonn’s Machine for breaking Hemp.—-Mr, Warp’s Compensatior Pen- dulum.—Mr,. GroomBripce’s Diagram of the Moton of the Planet Vesta, —A_ 'g-trait of Sir H. ©, Encreriegp.—Mr. Gyarces Le Cian’s Tram-iates—and Mr. Corrrer’s Ship Stove—Apyaiatus employed by Messrs. ALLEN and Pepys in their #xperiments on Kespiration.—Mr. - | Hexry’s Apparatus for Decomposing Compound Infammable Gases. — Apparatus empoycd in the Royal Institution for the Decomposition of a Potash by Iron.—Berx’s Method ef saving Shipwrecked Marines, : Vol. XXXIT. Mr. James Exmes's Portable Bridge—Mr. Butsyt’s «| new Method of training Fruit Trees Mr. Henscuge’s Vigures of the Comet of 1807 —Two Plates to.illustrate Dr. Wirtiam RicuarDsOn’s Paper on the Basaltic Surface of the Counties of Derry and Antrim : viz. A View of Portmoon. —A View of Pieskinx, on the N. W, Side of Ben- gore Promontory.—Mr. CLege’s Apparatus for making Carbonated Hydro-’ gen Gas, from. Pit-Coal.—Mr. Ricuarpson’s Machine for raising large” Stones out of the Earth ;—and. Mr. Gouen’s new Hygrometer.—PiLTon’s Light Fence for Inclosures, which becomes invisible at-a short Distance.— Proposed Improvements in Telescopes, by M. Buacxuarvr and by Dr. Brewsrtr; and M, Bouttay’s Apparatus for Phosphoric Ether.—Major. Le Harpy’s Telegraph._—Capt. Botvon’s improved Jury Mast; and Capt, Bauxt's Method of Fishing Anchcrs.—Plan and Section of the Phames. Archway.—Plan of Stonyhurst Scientific Establishment—Mr. 'Tap’s Me- thod of causing a Door to open over a Carpet ;—and Mr. Barvow‘s Wrench. lor ccrew Nuts of any Size. Aya VoL. 38. ss Peay pe TS Published the Last Day of every Month, [PRICE 9s. 6d.] Serres THE ; |) PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE:\ aa COMPREHENDING ‘ fs THE YARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL-AND FINE ARTS, GEOLOGY, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE. Se NUMBER CLX. RR For AUGUST’ 1811. CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING ENGRAVINGS BY PORTER: 1. A Plate to illustrate M. Havy's Paper on the Electricity of Minerals. uf 2. Mr. Warxrr’s improved Micrometer, at 4 3. Mr. VMourt’s Filtering App=ratus, [ Cart. ee 4. Wir. Sutitu’s Method of ehostaets Horse fallen in the Shafts ofa loaded i 5. Mr. Tayror’s Air-Exhauster for Mines, 4 x eee BE A EEX ANDER TILLOCH, iB M.R.1.A. P,S.A, EDIN. AND PERTH, &c. ) LONDON: PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR AND CO., SHOE LANR: ép And sold by Ricuarpsous; Capgte and Davigs; Loneman, & /Houxsr, Regs, Ome & Brown; Vernor, Hoop & SHARPE} ay URRAY; Hicuiex; SHerwodp and Co.; Harprne; London : | Constazie and-Co. Edinburgh: Brasn and Rerp, and _ D.Niven, Glasgow: and Girbsrr and Hopegs, Dublin. THEATRE OF ANATOMY, Blenheim-Street, Great Marlborough-Street. HE AUTUMNAL COURSE of LECTURES on ANATOMY, PHYSIOLOGY, and SURGERY, will be commenced on Tuesday the rst_of October, at Two o’Clock, By Mr. BROOKES. In these Lectures the Structure of the Human Body will be demonstrated | on recent Subjects, and further illustrated by Preparations, and the functions of the different Organs wi!l be explained. The Surgical operations are performed, and every part of Surgery so elu- cidated as may best tend to complete the operating Surgeon. | The Art of Injecting, and of making Anatomical Preparations, will be taught practically, Gentlemen zealous in the pursuit of Zoology, will meet with uncommon opportunities of prosecuting their researches in Comparative Anatomy. Surgeons in the Army and Navy may be assisted in renewing their Ana tomical Knowledge, and every possible attention will be paid to their accom- modation as well as instruction. Anatomical Converzationes will be held weekly, when the different Sub- jects treated of will be discussed familiarly, and the Students’ views forwarded, —~To these none but Pupils can be admitted, 3 . Spacious apartments, thoroughly ventilated, and replete with every con- yenience, are open all the Morning for the purposes of Dissecting and In- jecting, where Mr. Brookes attends to direct the Students, and demonstrate” , the various parts as they appear on Dissection, An extensive Museum, containing Preparations illustrative of every part _ of the Human Body, and its Diseases, appertains to this Theatre, to w ich Students will have occasional admittance.—Gentlemen inclined to support - this School by contributing preterna‘ural or morbid parts, subjects in Natural History, &c. (individually of little value to the possessors) may have the pleasure of seeing them preserved, arranged, and registered, with the Names of the Donors. Terms. é ha Ss For a Course of Lectures, including the Dissections, 5. 5 Fora perpetual Pupil to the Lectures and Dissections, 10 10 The Inconveniences usually attending Anatomical Investigations, are counteracted by an antiseptic Proces:, the result of Experiments made by. Mr. Brookes on Human Subjects, at Paris, in the year 1782, the account of which was delivered to the Royal Society, and read on the 17th of June, 1784. [his method has since been so far improved, that the florid colour of the Muscles is preserved, and even heightened. Pupils may be accom= modated in the House. Gentlemen established in Practice, desirous of re- “newing their Anatomical Knowledge, may be accommodated with an Apart: ment to dissect in privately. ; : ah oe VoL. 38. fae at ‘SEPTEMBER 1811. No. 161; Published 1 the Lag Day ve every Month, [PRICE 2s. 6d2} - THE e ) PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE: py COMPREHENDING THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, GEOLOGY, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE. NUMBER “CLXI. For SEPTEMBER 1811. ASQ CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING ENGRAVINGS BY PORTER: 1. A Representation of the Comet now visible in Ursa Major. 2) Sir Howarp Dovctas’s Patent Reflecting Semicircle. BY ALEXANDER TILLOCH, M.R.ILA. F.S.A. EDIN. AND PERTH, &G. LONDON: PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOK AND CO., SHOE LANE? mAndsold by Ricwarpsows; Capere and Daviss; Loneman, 3, Hunsr, Rees, Orme & Brown; Vernon, Hoop & Suarre; Wires Murray; Hicniey; SHrrwoop andCo.; Harpine; London; ComsvAzve and Co. Edinburgh: Baasn and Rein, and ' D. Niven, Glasgow : and G1 err and Hopses, Dublin. $ ‘This Day is published, in Five large Volumes, 8vo. Price 31. 153. in Boards, (A Fourtn Edition, greatly improved and enlarged, of) A SYSTEM of CHEMISTRY, By THOMAS TROMSON, M.D. F.R.S.E. Printed for Bell and Bradfute, Edinburgh; John Murray, Fleet-street, Lordon; and Gilbert and Hodges, Dublin, GOOD anp GREGORY’s NEW CYC LOPEDIA, ENTITLED PANTOLOGIA, HE Thbirty-ainth Part of this conyprchensive and interesting Work wis published on ‘Fuesday the fst of O&ober, price Six Shillings; and arrangements are now made to ensure the regular publication of a Part every Month until the Work iscompleted. The whole will be comprized, as nearly ~ as possible, consistently with perspicuity and utility, in Fifty Parts, making Ten elegant Volumes in Royal Oétavo. Any one or more of the Parts already published may be procured of the Proprietors. London: Printed for G, Kearsley; J. Walker; J. Stockdale; R. Lea; E. Jeffery; Crosby and Co.; Sherwood, Neely, and Jones; Suttaby and Co.; W. Lowe; and J. Blacklock. : *,* This publication, which is by far the most comprehensive, correct, and Rebel of its size and price, is conducted by J. M. GOOD, Esq. F.R.S. Member of the American Philosophical Society and of the Linnean Society of Philadelphia; OLINTHUS GREGORY, LL.D. of the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich; and Mr. NEWTON BOSWORTH, of Merton Hall, Cambridge ; gentlemen of established eminence in their respective departments; and assistcd by others of scientific pre-eminence and skill. The authors have devoted muny years to the preparation of the work ; and have uniformly been guided by the principle of omitting nothing essenbialy ‘and aamilting nothing extraneous or useless. The several articles and treatises in the cepartments of Boraxy, Cuemistry, Mepicing, Macuinenry, MaruHemaTics, SuRGERY, Foorocy, &c. may challenge a comparison with articles on similar svbjects in every other Encyclopaedia, English or Foreign, The Brogravutcat articles are prepared with great caution and impartiality: cud the most scrupulous attention has been exercised to prevent the admission of a single line unfavourable to the interests of just government or of sound religion. Many hundred important technical words will be found jnthis DicTionar¥ wheh have not been inserted in any oth-r Cyclopedia extant. ‘ ‘lhe Geo- gtaphical articles, with the Gizetteer, will be found to contain the latest and most correct information ; and a special atteniion has been paid to the department of Statistics. The Plates on subjects of Mech inism ase from, drawings by Farsy, jun.: and those in Natur.l History (forming nearly half) are accunptely coloured from life, the drawings by that skilful artist Nir, Sypensamfpwarns. These are afew of the more prominent advantages held out to the purchasers of the PanrotoGia; advantages the whole of which are not to be obtained in works of double the price, and several of which are not derivable from the perusal of any other work whatever, The Fortieth Part of the Pay rotoera will contain an original and yaluab’e krease se on Navigation, by that able mathematician Mr, Grew Wah Sod of « Naval Hospi tal, Yarmouth. ; OcTosBerR 1811. No. 162. % tas TED o > - : Bs = SL : pres +e Published the Last Day of every Month, [PRICE Qs. 6d.} THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE: COMPREHENDING THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, GEOLOGY, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE. NUMBER CLXI. For OCTOBER 1811. CONTAINING THE FOLLOWING ENGRAVINGS: SN Nit. A coloured Map to illustrate Dr. Campnety’s Paper on the Sas) inferior Strata of the Earth occurring in Lancashire. : rae 2. Mr. Sapter’s Apparatus for Smelting of Lead. Je ape Br: ALEXANDER TILLOCH, M.R.U.A,. F.S.A. EDIN. AND PERTH, &c. LONDON: PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR AND CO., SHOE LANE: And sold by Ricuarpsons; Capere and Davies; Loneman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown; Vernor, Hoop & Suarpe; Murray; Hicutry; SHerwoop andCo.; Harpine; London: Coxstazre and Co. Edinburgh: Brasm and Retp, and %& . D. Niven, Glasgow: and Gitperr and Honces, Dublin.. © Fem UO VG Tae CREA RY RM 6 NM, [aN VE ; Soe ae ay she MILE GIN REE GIES scp e red Loris wate we Aste Uf nee oe Sardine Cred : No, 9,345 ’ ’ : ‘ ; a. nf 3 ON e Ps sg sae > f. wo ry BR oh BOnal bod ‘ , var . athe 3% nt . ob a 4 Dak i] a M é ‘ 1)4 « . “é ’ i : ee oe oon, “WHERE Faas si 5 “TICKETS AND SHARES nerdy), “ARE “SELLING FOR, THE t Lega iran : FS “oakho ln, pire! _, K om. Vb “Boulter os f- ; Lublished by A. Tilloch March, 2.1803. THE PHILOSOPHICAL MAGAZINE: ‘COMPREHENDING THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF SCIENCE, THE LIBERAL AND FINE ARTS, GEOLOGY, AGRICULTURE, MANUFACTURES AND COMMERCE. BY ALEXANDER TILLOCH, M.R.ILA. F.S.A. Epin. anp Pertu, &c. ee —— ‘* Nec aranearum sane textus ideo melior quia ex se fila gignunt, nec nostec yilior quia ex alicnis libamus ut apes.” Jus. Lirs. Monit, Polifulibyde cap. 1. VOL. XXXVIII. For JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER, and DECEMBER, 1811. Sa ERERiineipenie -_cnceaeiiieaaaiaaenemel -LONDOWN: PRINTED BY RICHARD TAYLOR AND CO., SHOE LANE: And sold by Ricnarpsons; CADELL and Davies; Loncman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; Vernor, Hoop, and Suarre; Mure nay ; Hicuey ; Suerwoop and Co.; Harpine; London: ConsTaste and Co, Edinburgh: Brasm and Reip, and Niven, Glasgow: & Gitaert & Hoposs, Dublin. Te ‘sa * - ad 'y eee: | ; : moe 2 40 2IV OV AAG & JOMLAY aut . BART), Wide 7 THA ary .oMaaagtaat aT. ae ¢ iis + fe is His Se ie BY Bhi ae be 4 : aK: . ; Beran: « . ‘enedaoan 0 x a +t iat cae ae ee ndiwaton aan SI a mre ee aiid FRAY. peas oti oT D at fy SDE zo. Shia gait 7 house sis siakve oe : % : = {bie wae & not ATIS es ails lo: ayst py ane detit Bis Ahh) seodt tb. isi le aria’ : fish GION WN te yoiic ak sets A AREA ier cage inp ae 34002: 8 Awaba irate Fishes: mn : = / ver peg pS aaa Bete aed Sas - 3 Sse es rt Setaats # CONTENTS OF THE THIRTY-EIGHTH VOLUME. E-XTRACT from a Memoir on Phosphorescence, pre- sented to the Institute, ly M. feeling on April 5, i809 sa ee ee Pe = ere 3 On a Combination of Om ymuriatic ds ‘ad ote, ygen Gas 13 On the Non-existence of Sugar in the Blood of Persons la- touring under Diabetes Militias: HON, ML ps On the Decomposition of the Muriate of Soda, by means of the Waters flowing from the Lixiviation of the efflorescent pyreinris ceraeens! 13 SE ETON be ee 87 On the Composition of Zeolite gee 30 Report made to the Institute on a iii ie uM. aviys on the Composition of Writing Ink ade 34 Experiments to prove that Fluids pass dros pei the Stomach to the Circulation of the Blood, and from thence into the Cells of the Spleen, the Gall Bladder, and Urinary Bladder, without going through the Thoracic Duct 37 Description of an Instrument to ascertain the Velocities of Machinery... . fis, tee Meet) wor 42 Description of the Dini ings eof Mr. LorscuMan’s Patent Harmonic Piano-Forte Sher Mare Pee eye Pree eee On Rail Roads 3 et ss eater re Nera thee Oe Observations on the asennad Contraction of Water 54 Description of pie ian in a Mathematical Dividing Pee. ss ce ARREST Cee! dre eRe Extract from a Sichct on Vegetable bia Animal Ana- lysis . ef . . ee ee ee ee ee 60 Vol. 38. No, 164. ie 1811. a On CONTENTS. On the Influence of the Atmosphere in certain Diseases 68 Memoir on the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat 70, 109 On Heating Buildings by Steam .. .. 4. «. 76 On the Electricity of Minkrals» 9.0)... . ee Experiments and Observations on the different Modes in’ which Death is produced by certain vegetable Poisons 85, 171 - History of fatal Effects from the accidental Use of White eS SA ee eee oe nr ae! Memoir on the Existence i a Cenislsadsion t of Tannin and a vegetable Matter in some Vegetables .. .. 100 On a Case of nervous Affection cured by Pressure of the Ca- rotids; with some physiological Remarks .. .. 105 Letter from Dr. Hurron on the Calculations for ascertain- ing the mean Density of the Earth .. .. «. 112 Description of a new Method of applying the Filtering Stone for purifying Water... .. os’ «s ee 116 Method of raising a loaded Cari when the Horse in the Shafts has fallen .. .. .. Re per Ty Method of Veniilating Mines or apeiras, by extracting the foul fic froin theme onc aisle’ sales cande sae Description of an improved Wie ates Tee mim, Hn Yd Observations on some of the Strata in tie Neighbourhood of London, and on the Fossil Remains contained in them 130 Report of the National Vaccine Establishment 153, 215 Account of the Pitch Lake of the Island of Trinidad 161 An Account of “ The Sulphur,” or ** Souffriére,” of the Island of Montserrat .. .. . > ranean Description of the Patent reflecting Suaicnhe invented by Sir HOwArp DouGLAS, Burts. 00 oo ean acuekee Description of an Ourong Outang: with Observations on its mmbellegtial Faculties ro iag scaal As cc tie. :+*0, a Notes relating to Botany, collected from the ecunie ipts of the late PerER Cotuinson, Esq., F.R.S. .. .. 199 Memorandum on the Subject of the Earl of Evarn’s Pure maauits in Grecter << Pas ne ¢o one! ys, SOBRE Olsen CONTENTS. Olservations on the Article ‘* Fermentation,’’ contained in M. Cuarra’s Nouveau Cours complet d’ Agriculture, 921, 246 On the new Nomenclature adopted by ihe Royal College of Physicians in the new Edition of the London Pharmaco- pod .. otc pia pele ie pe se. net) wi ree SE Some , . ° cidevant Belgium may be easily conveyed thither. Several chemists have already erected manufactories in these fa- vourable. districts, and bid fair to succeed in furnishim, France with an ample supply of seda in future. V. On the Composition of Zeolite. By James SMITHSON, Esq. P.R.S* Minsnaz bodies being, in fact, native chemical prepara- tions, perfectly analogous to those of the laboratory of art, it is only by chemical means that their species can be as- certained with any degree of certainty, especially under all the variations of mechanical state and intimate admixture with cach other to which they are subject. And accordingly we see those methods which profess to supersede the necessity of chemistry in mineralogy, and to decide upon the species of it by other means than hers, yet bringing an unavoidable tribute of homage to her superior powers, by turning to her for a solution of the difficulties which continually arise to them, and to obtain firm grounds to relinquish or adopt the conclusions to which the princi- ples they employ lead them. Zeolite and natrolite have been universally admitted to be species distinct from each other, from Mr. Klaproth having discovered a considerable quantity of soda and no lime in the composition of the latter, while Mr. Vauquelin had not found any portion of either of the fixed alkalies, but a considerable one of lime, in his analysis of zeolitet. The natrolite has been lately met with under a regular crystalline form, and this form appears to be perfectly si-. ilar to that of zeolite, but Mr. Haiiy has not judged him- self warranted by this circumstance to consider these two * From the Philosophical Transactions for 1811, Part L 4--Jdaurnal des Mines, No. xliv. bodies On the Composition of Zeolite. 31 bodies as of the same species; because zeolite, he says, *¢does not contain an atom of soda*.”’ I had many years ago found soda in what I considered to be zeolites, which I had collected in the island of Staffa, having formed Glauber’s salt by treating them with sul- phuric acid; and I have since repeatedly ascertained the presence of the same principle in similar stones from various other places; and Dr. Hutton and Dr. Kennedy: had like- wise detected soda in bodies, to whieh they gave the name of zeolite. - There was, however, no certainty that the subjects of any of these experiments were of the same nature as what Mr, Vaugquelin had examined, or were of that species which Mr, Haiiy calls mesotype. Mr. Haiiy was so obliging as to send me lately some specimens of minerals. There happened to be amongst them a cluster of zeolite in rectangular tetrahedral prisms, terminated by obtuse tetraliedral pyramids whose faces co- incided with those of the prism. These crystals were of 2 considerable size, and perfectly homogeneous, and labelled by himself ** AMesotype pyramidée du depart. du Puy de Déme.”’ 1 availed myself of this very favourable eppor- tunity, to ascertain whether the mesotype of Mr. Haiiy’ and natrolite, did or did not differ in their composition, and: the results of the experiments have been entirely unfavour- able to their separation, as the following account of them will show. Ten grains of this zeolite being kept red hot for fivé mi- nutes lest 0-75 grains, and became opake and friable. [n a second experiment, ten grains being exposed for ten mi- nutes to a stronger fire, lost 0°95 grains, and consolidated into a bard transparent state. Ten grains of this zeolite, which had not been heated, were reduced to a fine powder, and diluted muriatic’acid poured upon it. On standing some hours, without any) application of heat, the zeolite entirely dissolved, and some hours after, the solution became a jelly: this jelly was eva- porated to a dry state, and then made red hot. Water was repeatedly. poured on to this ignited matter till nothing more could be extracted from, it. This solution was gently evaporated to a dry state, and this residuum made slightly red hot. It then weighed 3:15 grains. It was muriate of soda. The solution of this muriate of soda being tried with so- fee 4 * Jouinal des Mines, No. c's Juin 1810, p. 458. Jutigns 32 On the Composition of Zeolite. lutions of carbonate of ammonia and oxalic acid, did not afford the least precipitate, which would have happened had - the zeolite contained any lime, as the muriate of lime* would not have been decomposed by the ignition. The remaining matter, from which this muriate of soda had been extracted, was repeatedly digested with marine acid, till all that was soluble was dissolved. What remained was silica, and, after being made red hot, weighed 4°9 grains. The muriatic solution, which had been decanted off from the silica, was exhaled to a dry state, and the matter left made red hot. It was alumina. To discover whether any magnesia was contained amongst this alumina, it was dissolved in sulphuric acid, the solution evaporated to a dry state, and ignited. Water did extraet some saline matter from this ignited alumina, but it had not at all the appearance of sulphate of ‘magnesia, and proved to be some sulphate of alumina which had escaped decom- position; for on an_ addition of sulphate of ammonia to it, it produced crystals of compound sulphate of alumina and ammonia, in regular octahedrons. This alum and alumina were again mixed and digested in ammonia, and the whole dried and made red hot. The alumina left, weighed 3°1 grains. Being suspected to contain stil] some sulphuric acid, this - alumina was dissolved in nitric acid, and an excess of ace+ tate af barytes added. A precipitate of sulphate of barytes fell, which, after being edulcorated and made red hot, weighed J*2 grains. Jf we admit one-third of sulphate of barytes to be sulphuric acid, the quantity of the alumina will be = 3:1 — 0-4 = 2°7 grains. From the experiments of Dr, Marcet f, it appears that 3°15 grains of muriate of soda afford 1-7 grains of soda. Hence, according to the foregoing experiments, the tem grains of zeolite analysed, consisted of Sion (es 2. 6s o Pde a Meld My. ott 4090 AMUMAG yiilosi.w csidwadeh ws aloes -2I7D Soda Ai. bi Glee ltt- Mee Biltaae's 0 17RO JOG oo dice rite bree bee ee bie ers 1 OOS 10°25 4 * These names are retained for the present, as being familiar, though, since Mr. Dayy’s important discovery of the nature of what was called oxy- muriatic acid, the substances to which they are applied are known not to be salts, but metallic compounds analogous to oxides. { Philosophical Transactions, 1607. As ae ee ae ee. ex On the Composition of Zeolite. 33 _ As these experiments had been, undertaken more for the purpose of ascertaining the nature of the component parts of this zeolite than their proportions, the object of them was considered ',as, accomplished, although perfect accuracy it the latter respect had not been attained, and which, in- deed, the analysis we possess of natrolite by the illustrious chemist of Berlin renders unnecessary. _ Lam induced to prefer the name of zeolite for this species of stone, to any other name, from an unwillingness to ob- literate entirely from the nomenclature of mincralogy, while arbitrary names are retained in it, all trace of one of the discoveries of the greatest mineralogist who has yet ap- peared, and which, at the time it was made, was considered ‘as, and was, a very considerable. one, being the first addi- tion of an earthy species, made by scientific means, to those established immemorially by miners and lapidaries, and hence having, with tungstcin and nickel, led the way to the great and brilliant extension which mineralogy has since received. And of the several substances which, from the State of science in his time, certain common qualities in- duced Baron Cronstedt to associate together under the name of zeolite, itis this which has been most immediately understood as such, and whose qualities have been assumed as the characteristic ones of the species. Indeed, I think that the name imposed on a substance by the discoverer of it, ought to be held in some degree sacred, and not altered without the most urgent necessity for doing it. It is but a feeble and just retribution of re= spect for the service which he has rendered to science. Professor Struve, of Lausanne, whose skill in mineralogy is well known, having mentioned to me, in one of his let- ters, that from some experiments of his own he was led to suspect the existence of phosphoric acid in several stones, and particularly in the zeolite of Auvergne, I have directed my inquiries to this point, but have not found the phos- phoric, or any other acknowledged mineral acid, in this zeolite. ; Many persons, from experiencing much difficulty in com- prehending the combination together of the earths, have been led to suppose the existence of undiscovered acids in stony crystals. If quartz be itself considered as an acid, to which order of bodies its qualities much more nearly assi- milate it than to the earths, their coniposition becomes readily intelligible. They will then be neutral salts, sili- cates, either simple or compound. Zeolite will be a com- pound salt, a hydrated silicate of alumina and soda, and Vol. 38. No, 159. July 1811, Cc hence 34 On the Composition of Writing Tnk. hence a compound of alumina not very dissitnilar to alum. And wopaz, whose singular ingredients, discovered by Mr. Klaproth, bave called forth a query from {UE celchiaed Mr. Vauquelin, with regard to the mode of their existence together™, will be likewise a compond salt, consisting of silicate of alumina and fluate of alumina. Xi Our acquaintance with the composition of the several mineral substances is yet far too inaccurate to wHtes it possible to point out with any degree of certainty the one of which zeolite is an hydrate; however, the agreement of the two substances in the nature of their constituent parts, and in their being both electrical by heat, directs conjecture towards tourmaline. St. James's Place, Jan. 22, 1811. Addition to the Account of natiwe Minium. Afier I had communicated to the president the account of the discovery of native minium, printed in the Philoso- phical Transactions for 1806, I Jearned that this ore came fron: the lead mines of Breylau in Westphalia. VI. Report made to the Institute on a Memoir; ly MM. Tarry, on the Composition of Writing Ink. By Messrs. Brex- THOLLET, VAUQUELIN, and Deyeux ft. "Pee obiéct proposed by M. Tarry in his memoir is to ex- plain : : Ruoh, 1. The processes employed for discharging writing from paper. f “ 2. The processes for revividg writings which have been apparently obliterated. : Z 3. The best way to improve common ink. 4. Finally, the discovery of an jiuk which should resist all. chemical agents. i Ve shall now give an abridgement of these four articles; ARTICLE I. Processes for discharging Writing.—The art of discharging: writing is very ancient, and the means employed are very simple. In fact, we know that itis sufficient to moisten: & written paper with any acid, when the writing will gradually disappear. But all the acids cannot be eniployed with equal success. ~Some leave a stain on the’ paper which is not * Annales du Museum d’ ist. Nut. tome vi. Pp. 24 ¢ druaies de Chimie, tome lixv. p. 194. easily ——_—s ss ee. ll ee On the Composition of Writing Ink. 35 easily removed: others corrode and render the paper unser- viceable. The way to ayoid these inconveniences 1s to make choice of an acid which shall act on the writing only, with- out injuring the pa er or giving it acolour dillerent from that which it had before it was written upon. In order to discover such. of the acids aa are best suited for the operation in question, the author determined to sub- mit common writing ink to the action of different acids, and to observe carefully the phtenomena which these bodies pre- sent at the time of their mixture. According to him, the sulphuric acid easily takes out writing, but at the same time it gives an oily tint to the paper. ‘The acid oxalate of potash produces more certain and more prompt effects. ‘The oxygemized muriatic acid, if it be newly made, seems to be preterable to the above two acids, because at the same time thatit takes out the writing it bleaches the paper without altering it. ~ It is not the same case with the nitric acid, which al- ways takes out the ink, but soon penetrates the paper and forms above it undulated lines of a yellow colour. We may succeed, however, in softening both these effects, by taking the precaution to dilute the nitric acid witha sufficient quantity of water, or to wash the paper imme- diately after the writing has beea taken out. A mixture of the muriatic and nitric acids has but a slow action upon writing. It bleaches the paper and does not oppose its desiccation, as when we empioy the nitric acid alone. In general, whatever be the kind of acid employed to discharge writing, it is always proper when the operation is performed to dip the paper in water, in order to dissolve the new combinations which the acids have formed with the particles of ink which have heen discharged. M. Tarry, at the conclusion of this article, does not fail to observe that China ink does not act like common ink with the acids, as iis composition is quite different from that which we use for writing of all kinds. So far from the acids attacking China ink, they make it, on the contrary, of a deep black: it cannot be discharged therefore without crasing It. ARTICLE II. Processes for ascertaining what Writing has been substituted for something taken out, and Methods of reviving the Writing which has disappeared. Te All the methods which have been given for discharging G2 writing Ls ey ’ r \ ‘ ri ‘ 36 On the Composition of Writing Ink. writing consist, as abovementioned, in decomposing thé * ink and in forcing its constituent parts to form other com- binations. These combinations, being decomposed in their turn by different agents, may regain a tint, which, if it be not that of ink, at Jeast exhibits a shade which becomes perceptible enough for ascertaining the letters and words which had been traced on the paper before it was touched by the acids... ) The gallic acid is, according to the author, one of those agents, which in this case succeeds very well. . The liquid prussiate of lime also produces a good effect. It is the same case with the alkaline hydrogenated sul- phurets. But it is very certain that we never obtain any success from the employment of these agents, when we have left any acid long in contact with the writing, and particu- Jarly if we have washed the paper afterwards. In short, we may easily conceive, that in this case the constituent parts of the ink which were combined with the acid, and had formed with it compounds soluble in water, having been taken up by this fluid, ought not to leave any trace of their existence longer; and consequently it 1s im- possible that the ‘agents employed for discovering them can render them visible. It is also for this reason that the gallic acid, the liquid prussiate of lime, the alkaline hydrogenated sulphurets, and so many other reagents which have been so much praised, can no longer be regarded as infallible methods for reviving writing. ARTICLE III. Improvement of Common Ink. Most of the inks now in use are of a bad quality. Some are spontaneously destroyed; others imperceptibly lose their black colour, and assume a yellow one; several, after a length of time, enter into the paper, and spoil it: lastly, there are some which are first pale and then become very black. All these differences arise from the nature of the sub- sans which have been employed in the making of the ink. Convinced of the advantage of having a good article of this kind, the author commenced a series of experiments, but is forced to admit that he has not discovered any recipe superior to that which has been published by Lewis. This ink, according to our author, combines every advantage: but we must observe that it is no more exempt than the rest from being dissolyed in the acids, and in this respect it has au ic greta = * Pa Te Experiments on Fluids, &c. 37 an inconvenience which those who wish to discharge wri- ting from paper know very well how to profit by. This circumstance, no doubt, induced M. Tarry to make some new experiments in order to obtain an ink which should be inalterable by chemical agents ; and he appears to us to haye succeeded in his object. ARTICLE IV. Discovery of an Ink which resists the Action of chemical Agenis. The author describes his invention in the following words : “* My ink is founded upon principles different from those of all others. It contains neither gall-nuts, -Brazil wood, or Campeachy, gum, nor any preparation of iron: it is purely vegetable, resists the action of the most powerful vegetables, the most highly concentrated alkaline solutions, _and, finally, all the solvents. *¢ The nitric acid acts very feebly upon the writing per- formed with this ink. The oxymuriatic acid makes it as- sume the colour of pigeons’ dung. After the action of this last acid, the caustic alkaline solutions reduce it to the colour of carburet of iron: the characters of the writing nevertheless remain without alteration, and it cannot pass through these different states except after long macerations. The principles of which it is composed render it Incor- ruptible, and it can retain its properties many years.” The results which we obtained, coincided entirely with those of the author, and we have uo hesitation in saying, that his is the best we have ever seen of the kind which is called indelible ink. It ig liable, however, to deposit a sediment, a disadvantage which we think might be removed by M. Tarry after a few more experiments. We have tried to discharge it with all the known chemical agents, but without effect; and we think the inventor deserves the thanks of the Institute, and of the community at large. VII. Experiments to prove that Fluids pass directly from the Stomach to the Circulation of the Blood, and from thence into the Cells of the Spleen, the Gall Bladder, and Urinary Bladder, without going through the Thoracic Duct. By Everarp Home, Esq. F.R.S.* Havine on a former occasion laid before the Society. some experiments, to prove that fluids pass directly from the cars * From the Philosophical Transactions for 1811, Part f. C3 diac 88.35 Experiments on Fluids, &c. diac portion of the stomach, so as to arrive at the circula- tion of blood without going through the thoracic duct, the only known channel by which liquids can arrive there; the present experiments are brought to confirm that opinion: but in stating them, I wish to correct an error | was led into, in believing that the spleen was the channel by which they are conveyed. At the time I made my former communications, T was conscious that the facts I had ascertained were only, sufhi- cient to open a new field of inquiry; but as I might never be able to make a further progress in an investigation be- set with so many difficulties, | thought it right to put them on record. Since that time I have lost no opportunity of devising new experiments to elncidate this subject ; and the circumstance of Mr. Brodie, the assistant of my philosophi- cal as well as professional labours, having tied the thoracic duct in some experiments which will come before the So- ciety, suggested ta. me the idea, that if the thoracic duct was tied, and proper experiments made, there could be no difficulty in ascertaining whether there was any other channel between the stomach and the circulation of the blood. With this view TI. instituted the following experiment, which was made on the 29th of September 1810, by Mr. Brodie, assisted by Mr. William Brande and Mr. Gatcombe. 1 was unavoidably prevented from being present during the time of the experiment. Experiment 1.—A ligature was passed round the thoracic duct of a rabbit, just before it enters at the junction he- tween the left jugular and subclavian veins: an ounce of strong infusion of rhubarb was then injected into the sto- mach. In three quarters of an hour some urine was voided, in Which rhubarb was distinctly detected by the addition of potash. An hour and a quarter after the injection of the rhubarb the animal was killed: a drachm and a half of urine was found in the bladder highly tinged with rhubarb, and the usual alteration of colour took place on the addition of potash. The coats of the thoracic duct had given wav opposite the middle dorsal vertebra, and nearly an ounce of. chyle was found effused into the cavity of the thorax, be- side a considerable quantity in the cel!ular membrane of the posterior mediastinum. Above the ruptured part the tho- racic duct was entire, much distended with chyle; and-on tracing it upwards, the termination of the duct in the vein was found to be completely secured by the ligature. The Jacteal and lymphatic vessels had given way in seyeral ae ae Experiments on Fluids, €#c. 39 of the abdomen, and chyle and lymph were extravasated underneath the peritoneum. ] i ; In this and the following experiments the infusion of rhubarb was employed in preference to the prussiate of pot- ash, in consequence of its having been found in those I for- merly made, that one drop of tincture of rhubarb could be detected in half an ounce of serum, and nothing less than a quarter of a grain of prussiate of potash in the same quantity could be made to strike a blue colour when the test was added. Experiment 2.—The experiment was repeated wpon a dog. In this Twas assisted by Mr. Brodie, Mr. William Brande, Mr. Clift, and Mr. Gateombe. After the thoracic duct had been secured, two ounces of strong infusion of rbubarb were injected into the stomach, and in an hour the ‘dog was killed. The urine in the bladder, on the addition of potash, became deeply tinged with rhubarb. The bile in the gall bladder, by a similar test, was found to contain rhubarb. The lacteal vessels in several parts of the mesen- tery had burst, and chyle was extravasated into the cellular membrane; the thoracic duct had given way in the lower part of the posterior mediastinum, and chyle extravasated. Above the ruptured part of the thoracic duct was much distended with chyle; it was readily traced to the ligature, by which it was completely secured. These experiments appeared to establish the fact, that the thoracic duct was not the channel through which the in- fusion of rhubarb was conveyed to the circulation of the blood, and it now became easy to ascertain, whether it passed through the spleen, by extirpating that organ, and repeating the last experiment. On the 21st of October, 1810, the following experiment was made, with the assistance of Mr. Brodie, Mr. Clift, Mr. Gatcombe, and Mr. Money. Experiment 3.—The thoracic duct near its termination was secured in a dog whose spleen had been removed four days before, and three ounces of infusion of rhubarb were injected into the stomach: in an hour and half the dog was killed, and the urine was found ‘strongly impregnated with rbubarb; and on examination the thoracic duct was found 10 be completely secured by the ligature. | Several of the Jacteals had burst, but the duct itself had not given way 5 it was vreatly distended with chyle and lymph. By this experiment it was completely ascertained that the spleen is not the channel through which the intusion of rhubarb is conveyed into. the circulation of the blagd, as C4 1 had 40 Experiments on Fluids, 3c. I had been led to believe, and therefore the rhubarb, in my former experiments detected in the spleen, must have been deposited there in the same manner as in the urine and in the bile. | The detection of this error made me more anxious to avoid being misled respecting the thoracic duct; and there- fore, although there was little probability that the infusion of rhubarb could have passed into the lymphatic vessels, which open into the blood-vessels of the right side of the neck, I thought it right, before 1 proceeded jurther, to re= peat the experiment, securing the termination of the tho- racic duct on the left side, and the lymphatic trunk of the right side, where it empties itself mto the angle between the jugular and subclavian vein. This was done on the 28th of October, 1830, with the assistance of the same persons as in the last experiment. Experiment 4.—The thoracic duct of a dog was tied, as in the former experiment; in doing it the duct was wound-_ ed, and about a drachm of chyle flawed out; the lymphatic trunk of the right side was then secured. After this, three ounces of inftsion of rhubarb were injected into the sto- mach, and in an hour the dog was killed. The urine and the bile were found distinctly impregnated with rhubarb. On opening the thorax, some absorbent vessels, distended with lymph, were seen on the right side of the spine, en- tering an absorbent gland on the second dorsal vertebra, and the vasa efferentia from the gland were seen uniting with other absorbent vessels, and extending towards the right shoulder, where they formed a common trunk with the absorbents from the neck and axilla; this trunk was found included in the ligature. The thoracic duct was mo- derately distended with a mixture of chyle and lymph; in tracing it upwards, an opening was seen in it immediately below the ligature, through which the contents readily passed out when pressure was made on the duct: above this opening the duct was completely secured by the liga-> ture. Nearly a drachm of the fluid contained in the tho- racic duct was collected and tested by potash, but there did not appear to be any impregnation of rhubarb. Experiment 5.—The last experiment was repeated on another dog, on the 21st of January, 1811, with the assist- ance of Mr. Brodie, Mr. W. Brande, Mr, Clift, and Mr.» Gatcombe. The dog was killed an hour after the thoracic duct and lymphatic trunk had been secured, and the infu- sion of rhubarb had been injected into the stomach. Jn tying the right Jymphatic trunk, a lymphatic vessel, | from ¥ Experiments on Fluids, &c, Al from the thorax going to join it, was wounded, from which chyle fiowed out in considerable quantity during the whole time of the experiment: a short time before the dog was killed, some of it was collected, but on testing it with potash. no rhubarb was detected in tt. The urine was found impregnated with rhubarb, as was also the bile from the gali bladder; but both in a less de- gree than in the last experiment. The lacteal vessels and mesenteric glands were much distended with chyle; and on cutting into the glands chyle flowed out in considerable quantity. Some of this was collected and tested with pot- ash, but showed no evidence of rhubarb being contained in it. The thoracic duct was much distended; it was’ traced to the ligature, and was found to be completely se- cured. Lymphatic vessels from the right side of the posterior mediastinum were seen extending towards the ligature that had been tied om that side; they were nearly empty; and the trunk formed by the junction of these with the lym- phatic vessels from the right axilla, and from the right side of the neck, was seen distinctly included in the ligature. While Mr. Brodie was tracing the thoracic duct, Mr. William Brande was making an infusion of the spleen, and showed me a section of it, in which the cells were larger, and more distinct, than I had ever seen them in a doe. There was a slight tinge of rhubarb in the infusion from the spleen. A similar infusion was made of the liver; but the. quantity of blood contained in it being much greater than in the spleen, the appearance was not sufficiently distinct to decide whether it.contained rhubarb or not. These ex- periments appear completely to establish the fact, that the thubarb did not pass through the thoracic duct, and there- fore must have got into the circulation of the blood by some other channel. They likewise completely overturn the opinion I had adopted, of the spleen being the medium by which the rhubarb had been conveyed, and show that the spleen aitswers some other purposes in the animal ceco- nomy. The rhubarb found in the spleen docs not arrive there — before it enters the circulation: it is therefore most probably afterwards deposited in the cells in the form of a secretion. That the rhubarb goes into the circulation is proved by my former experiments, in which it was detected in the splenie vein. The prussiate of potash is hardly to be discovered in the blood of a living animal, since the proportion which strikes a blue colour on the addition of solution of iron, is greater 42 Description of an Instrument io ascertain greater than the circulating fluids can be expected to con- tain at any one time, as it 2068 off by the secretions nearly as fast as it is received into the blood-vessels.. In a mo- derately sized ass, more than two drachms must be dissolved in the blood before its presence there can be detected. That the fluid contained in the cells of the spleen: is se- creted there, is. rendered highly probable, since it is most abundant while the digestive organs are employed, and scarcely atall met with when the animal has been some time without food. The great objection to this opinion is, there _being no excretory duct but the lymphatic vessels of the spleen ; these, however, are both larger and more numerous than in any other organ; they are found in the ass to form one common trunk, which opens into a large gland on the side of the thoracic cack, just above the receptaculum: chyli; and when the quicksilver is made to pass through ‘the branches of this gland, there is a trunk equally large ‘on the opposite side, which makes an angle, and then terminates in the thoracic duct. ‘This fact I ascertained at the Vete- rinarv College, assisted by the deputy professor Mr. Sewell, and Mr, Clift. These lymphatic vessels are equally as large as the excretory ducts of any other glands, and there- fore sufficient to carry off the secretion formed in the cells of the spleen; and where a secretion is to be carried into the thoracic duct, it would be a deviation from the general pian of the animal ceeconomy, were any but lymphatic yes- sels employed for that purpose. It is a strong circumstance in favour of the secretion be- ing so conveved, thats in the'last experiment, the lacteals and cells of the spleen were unusually turgid, being placed under similar circumstances, the thoracic duct being so full as not to receive their; coptemiss The purposes that are answered by such a secretion from the spleen into the thoracic duct cannot at present be ascer- tained. VUI. Descripiion of an Instrument to ascertain the Velo- cilies of Machinery. By Mr. Bryan DonkIn*, Sir, I BEG leave, through vour means, to lay before the Society of Arts, &c. an instrument of my invention, for indicating the velocity of machines, and which may not * From Transactions of the Society for the Encourazement of Arts, Manufac- tures, and Commerce, for 1810.—~The Society voted their gold medal to Ir. B. Donkin for this inveation. im properly the Velocities of Machinery. 43 improperly be called a tachometer. You will at the same time receive a drawing, with an account of the instrument, and the mode of its application. I] am, sir, most respectfully, Your obedient humble servant, Fort Place, Rermondsey, Bryan Donkin, April 11, 181). To C. Taylor, M.D. Sec. Reference to, and Description of, 14r. Doukin’s Tachometer, or Instrument for indicating the Felociti 'y of Machinery, a In the employment of machinery it is-evidently of great importance to be provided with an easy and ready method for discovering at all times whether the motion of the ma- chine is quicker or slower than what is known to be best adapted for the object in view, This advantage, it is hoped, may be derived from the tachometer; for it is an instrument which requites only to be adjusted once for all, to any par- ticular machine, and then it will always be ready without the help of calculation or of a time-piece, to indicate in- stantly upon inspection the slightest excess or defect in the actual velocity. A front view of the tachometer is represented in fig. 1, and a side view in fig .2, of plateI. XYZ, fig. 1, is she vertical section of a wooden cup, made of box, which is drawn in elevation at X, fig. 2... The whiter parts of the section, in fig. 1, represent what is solid, and the dark parts. what is hollow. This cup is filled with mercury up to the ‘Tevel LL, fig. 1. Into the mercury is immersed the lower part of the “uprigh it glass tube AB, which is filled with co- ~ Joured spirits of wine, and open at both ends, so that some of the mercury in the cup enters at the lower orifice, and when every thing is at rest, supports a long column of spirits, as represented in the figure. The bottom of the cup is fas- tened by a screw toa short vertical spindle D, so that when the spindle is whirled round, the cup, (whose figure is a solid of revolution,) revolves at the same time round its axis, which coincides with that of the spindle. In Bepsrarence of this rotation, the mercury in the cup acquires a centrifugal force, by w hich i its particles are thrown outwards, and that with the greater intensity, according as they are more distant from the axis, and according as the, angular velocity is greater. Hence, on account of its fuidity, the mere ury rises bigher and higher as it recedes from the axis, 44 _ Description of an Instrument to ascertain axis, and consequently sinks in the middle of the cup; this elevation at the sides and consequent depression in the mid- dle increasing always with the velocity of rotation. Now the mercury in the tube, though it does not revolve with the cup, cannot continue higher than the mercury imme- diately surrounding it, not indeed so high, on account of the superincumbent column of spirits. Thus the mercury in the tube will sink, and consequently the spirits also ; but as that part of the tbe which is within the cup Is much wider than the part above it, the depression of the spirits will be much greater than that of the mercury, being in the same proportion in which the square of the larger diameter exceeds the square of the smaller. Let us now suppose, that by means of a cord passing round a small pulley F, and the wheel G, or H, or in any other convenient way ; ‘the spmdle D is connected with the machine whose velocity is to be ascertained. In forming this connexion, we must be careful to arrange matters sO, that when the machine is moving at its quickest rate, the angular velocity of the cup shall not be so great as to de- press the spirits below C into the wider part of the tube. We are also, as in the figure, to have a scale of inches and tenths applied to AC, the upper and narrower part of the tube, the numeration being carried downwards from zero, which is to be placed at the point to which the column of spirits rises when the cup is at rest. Then the instrument will be adjusted, if we mark on the scale the point to which the column of spirits is depressed, when the machine is moving with the velocity required. But, as in many cases, and particularly in steam-engines, share is a continued oscillation of velocity, in those cases we have to note the two points between which tbe column oscillates during the most advantageous movement of the machine. Here it is proper to observe, that the height of the co- Jumn of spirits will vary with the temperature, when other circumstances are the same. On this account the scale ought to be moveable, so that by slipping it upwards or downwards the zero may be placed at the point to which the column reaches when the cup is at rest; and thus the instrrment may be adjusted to the particular temperature with the utmost facility, and with sufficient precision. The essential parts of the tachometer have now been men- tioned, as well as the method of adjustment; but certain circumstances remain to be stated. The form of the cup is adapted to render a smaller quan- tity the Velocities of Machinery. 45 tity of mercury sufficient, than what must have been em- ployed either with a cylindrical or hemispherical vessel, In every case two precautions are necessary to be observed: —First, That when the cup is revolving with its greatest ve- locity, the mercury in the middle shall not sink so low as to allow any of the spirits in the tube to escape from the lower orifice, and that the mercury, when most distant from the axis, shall not be thrown out of the cup: Secondly, That when the cup is at rest, the mercury shall rise so high above the lower end of the tube, that it may support a co- lumn of spirits of the proper length. . Now in order that the quantity of mercury, consistent with these conditions, may be reduced to its minimum, it is necessary—first, that it MM, fig. i, is the level of the mercury at the axis when the cup is revolving with the greatest velocity, the upper part MMXY of the cup should be of such a form as to have the sides covered only with a thin film of the fluid; and secondly, that for the purpose of raising the small quantity of mercury to the level LL, which may support a proper height -of spirits when the cup is at rest; the cavity of the cup should be in a great measure occupied by the block KK, having a cylindrical perforation in the middle of it for the immersion of the tube, and leav- ing sufficient room within and around it for the mercury to move freely both along the sides of the tube and of the vessel. The block KK is preserved in its proper position in the cup or vessel XYZ, by means of three narrow projecting slips or ribs placed at equal distances round it, and is kept from rising or floating upon the mercury by two or three small iron or steel pins inserted into the underside of the cover, near the aperture through which the tube passes. It would be extremely difficult, however, nor is it by any means important, to give to the cup the exact form which would reduce the quantity of mercury to its minimum; but we shall have a sufficient approximation, which may be executed with great precision, if the part of the cup above MM is made a parabolic conoid, the vertex of the generat- ing parabola being at that point of the axis to which the mercury sinks at its lowest depression, and the dimensions of the parabola being determined in the following manner: Let VG, fig. 3, represent the axis of the cup, and V the point, to which the mercury sinks at its lowest depression ; at any point G above V, draw GH perpendicular to VG; fet x be the number of revolutions which the cup is to per- form 46 On the Velocities of Machinery. form in 1” at its quickest motion; let v be the number of inches which a body would dekeribe uniformly in 1%, with the velocity acquired in falling ag rest, through a height == 10 GV, > and make Gil = Pra be determined is that which has v for its vertex, VG for its axis, and GH for its ordinate at G. The cup has a lid to prevent the mercury from being thrown out of it, an event which would take place with a very moderate velocity of rotation, unless the sides were raised to.an inconvenient height; but the lid, by obstructing the elevation at the sides of the eup, will diminish the depression | in the middle, and consequently the ¢cpression of spiriis in the tube: on this account a cavity is formed in the block immediately above the level LL, where the mercury stands when the cup is at rest; and thus a receptacle is given to the fluid which would otherwise disturb the centrifugal force, and impair the: sen- sibiity of the mstrument. It will be observed, that the lower orifice of the tube is turned upwards. By this means, after the tube has been filled with spirits by suction, and its upper orifice stopped with the finger, it may easily be conveyed to the eup and immersed in the quicksilver without any danger of the spirits escaping, a circumstance which oiherwise it would be extremely ditheult to prevent, since no part of the tube can be made capillary, consistenily with that free passage to the fluids which is essentially necessary to the eperation of the instrument. We have next to attend to the method of putting the tachometer in motion whenever we wish to examine the velocity of the machine. The puiley F, which is continually whirling during the motion of the cauldhinigs has no con- nexion whatever with the cup, 80 long as the lever OR 1s left to itself. But when this lever is raised, the hollow cone T, which is attached to the pulley and vehi’ arong with it, | is also raised, and embracing a solid cone on the spindle of ahe cup, communicates the rotation by friction. When Gur observation is made, we have only to allow the lever to drop by its own weight, and the two cones will be cisen- gaged, and the cup remain at rest. The lever OR is connected by a vertical rod to another lever S, Laving, at the extremity S, a valve; which, when ; the lever OR 1s raised, and the mmeborieten ; is In mMouoNn, 13s Jifted up from the ip. of the tube, so as to admit the exter- wal air wom the depression of the, spirits; on the other hand, Then, the parabola to On the Drawings of the Patent Harmonic Piano-Forte. 47 hand, when the lever OR falls, and the cup is at rest, the valve at S closes the tupe and prevents the spirits from be- ing, wasted by evaporation. It is lastly to be remarked, that both the sensibility and the range of the instrument may be infinitely increased ; for, on the one hand, by enlarging the proportion between the diameters of the wide and narrow parts of the tube, we enlarge in a much higher proportion the extent of scale corresponding to any given variation of velocity; and on the other hand, by deepening the cup so as to admit when it is at rest a greater height of mercury above the lower end of the tube, we lengthen the column of spirits which the mercury can support, and consequently enlarge the velocity, which, with any given sensibility of the instrument, is re- quisite to depress the spirits to the bottom of the scale. Hence the tachometer is capable of being employed in very delicate philosephical experiments, more especially as a scale might be applied to it, indicating equal increments of velo- city. But in the present account it is merely intended to state how it may be adapted to detect in machinery every deviation from the most advantageous movement. — IX. Description of the Drawings of Mr. LonscuMan’s Patent Harmonic Piano-Forte. [Continued from last volume, p. $27.] Nore,—tThis description, in the specification which is en- rolled in the Six Clerks’ Office, is written upon the drawings annexed to the specification of Mr. L.’s patent. ‘As it would exceed the limits of three, or indeed four of our plates, to have given the figures of sufficient size to have engraved the names of each part upon the drawings, we are compelled to omit these names in the plate; but to render the whole equally explanatory, we have put the references in this form. The reader must be aware that on this account jt is not to be considered as an official copy, though it con tains the substance of the specification, indeed the same words, but in a diferent torm. pe In the profile or longitudinal section of this instrament, (Plate IX, fig. 1, vol. xxxvii.) the following parts are the ame as the instruments now in use: A the finger-keys, B the raised bluck keys for flats or sharps, C centre-piece of the keys, and D centre-pins; Ethe key-frame, F the bottom of the instrument, G the name-board, H the rest- pin bluck, and 4 the pins for the strings; 7 the leaver at- tached 48 On the Drawings of the Patent Harmonic Piano- Forte. | tached to the keys for throwing up the hammers, k the sockets for guiding the levers, / is the receiver for the ham- mers attached to the keys, m the dampers, and nz its sock- ets fixed to the block o which supports the sounding- board p; q is the bridge for the strings. The upper move- ments, marked 1,2,3, are fastened with screws and small brass plates upon the standard block 4. These by the three left-foot pedals bring on the flats from the bass to the treble. _. The three under movements, marked a, J, c, are fastened with screws, as the upper movements. The first of these three movements (a) is let into a groove in the standard block. 4, under the upper movements. The second movement (0) is under the standard block. The third movenient (c) is fastened on the bevel of the standard block. These bring on the sharps, by the three right-foot pedals, from the treble to the bass. These move- ments or pedals* may be reversed, the same purpose will be answered, The regulating screw 5, im the regulating board 6, is for regulating the hammers 8. 9 is a small double square of iron, one end of it is screwed to the standard block 4, the other end is screwed to the regulating board 6, to keep it steady: each hammer has a separate centre-pin fastened in a piece of brass marked 10. Two of these pieces of brass with the hammers are screwed to each of the six movements (1, 2, 3 and a, b,c) within the octave. : The keys are independent of the hammers, and the action. In the two profiles (fig. 2), which are taken ona plane parallel to fig. 1, but at the opposite ends of the movement; sss are the springs acting on the ends of the respective movements I, 2,3 and a,l,c, the springs are fastened to the action stool 4; pp are the pedal irons for the same: these are fastened under the bottom of the instrument, and go’ throygh the bottom of the right and left side of the action- stool, as is described in the profiles ; when therefore a right- or left-foot pedal presses the movement, a spring at the other end, belonging to the movement, will, (when the pedal is left off,) bring the movement in an instant to its former place. Z Fig. 3 is a plan looking down upon the movements, when there are 6 of them or 6 pedals, 1, 2, 3 are the move- ments, the same as in the former figures, 8 the hammers, and 10 the pieces of brass supporting them, and affixed with the movements. the letters in the row 14 (which are sup= posed to be marked on the hammers) are the 12 standing or fixed notes as in our common compass within the ci three - On the Drawings of the Patent Harmonic Piano- Fortes 49 cree sharps, two flats, and seven naturals: the letters in the upper row 15 are the 12 additional notes which I have m- troduced, the six sharps are obtained by the three right-foot pedals, the six upper flats are obtained by the three left foot pedals. We have, therefore, twenty-four notes 10 the octave with our common scale. + - Fach of the three right-foot pedals for the sharps bring on in addition, two sharps in the octave from the treble to. . the bass, as follows : The first right-foot pedal brings on by |Dx Ax the piece of brass marked in fig. 3 }10'** 10't | When ‘ drawn MIE BECOME. b\5, 08/240 » ajc eAO, ole)s boc: |Ex Bx \ iowands By the braga' +. 0.2 +.6-+,6)4,0%4 | Jax the bass The third. .......do...ido.. .. 6 [Faw Can | end. By the brass ..... we /1034) 1034 ) ‘Tn like manner, each of the three left-foot pedals for the flats, brings on in addition two flats, in the octave, from the bass to the treble. The first Jeft-foot pedal.......... | Ab Db ( When | drawn DHE SCO is cer eweeinnynessielgok> [Gbps Cby< towards : > the tre- REE Sr aiee cas htch ce peee Tre ue Bete Tn fig. 4, the range of letters marked 14, are the 12 standing or fixed notes as in our common compass -within the octave, viz. three sharps, two flats, and seven naturals; of the eight upper additional notes, the four sharps are ob- tained by two right-foot pedals, and the four. flats are ob- tained by two left-foot pedals: we have, therefore, only twenty notes in the octave with our common. scale, and they are obtained in the same manner as before described of fig. 3, with 6 pedals. But, 4 of the standing or fixed notes, viz. G, A, D,£, remaining unmoveable, being fast- ened to the standard block 4, as is shown also in fig. 1, whereby we cannot obtain Pex, Cxx, Fo, Bob. We may reverse the movements or the pedals to bring on. the flats from the treble to the bass, and the sharps from the bass to the treble, by which contrivance we gain the same end. _In fig. 3, with 6 pedals marked 1,2, and 3 movements; and in fig. 4, with 4 pedals marked 1,2 movements, will be easily and clearly shown how 2 notes in each octave are fastened to each movement, and how the movements Bee io brass plates under screw heads when used by the pedals. Vol. 38. No. 159. July 1811. D Descrip- 50 On the Drawings of the Patent Harmonic Piano- Forte. . Description of the Drawings of LorscuMAn’s Patent Har- monic Organs Fig. 5, of Plate IX, is a profile of the keys and move- ments, showing the new Improvements; but the parts com- mon to all organs being first potnted out will render what follows mere explicit: these are, A the finger keys, B the key- frame, 38 the stickers, which are double the number of those in the organs now in use, and D their sockets, E the back- falls for opening the valves of their respective pipes. The front movements 1, 2, 3 above each other are about three-fourths of an inch above the keys, and they are fast- ened upon the standard block 4, in the same manner as described in the piano; but the sloped end of the three movements marked 5, rest bebind upon the keys behind, and they are hinged to the front part of the three move- ments. The block 6, underneath the stickers 8, works in the centre-pin 7; it is fastened beneath the under socket D, and it rests upon the upper end of the movement 5, the lower end of the sticker 8 rests upon the centre block 6. The backfalls are fastened to the upper end of the sticker 8; therefore when a key is pressed down in front, the keys be- hind lift up the part of the movement 5, with the centre- block 6; and the sticker 8, with the backfall, which opens the pallet to give the desired note; but when more sharps are wanted, by pressing the right-foot pedal, the front move- ment with the hinged part of the movement 5, will shift itself to the back end of the centre-block 6, which will give the note that is wanted in the same manner as before, only that the front note is now silent. The mariner of this is shown in the plan, fig. 6, where 1 is the movement, and & a bar to which the movements 5 are hinged: when 1 is moved endways by a pedal under its screw-heads, it throws k away from it, under its screw- heads / by means of the brass rods mm. This motion shifts the movement 5, fig. 5, from beneath, one end’of the centre-block 6, to the other. : The back movementsact towards the front in the very same manner as the front movements which have been described. Instead of the centre-block, No. 6, it may be made with springs placed in diferent ways, on a strong under-block, as is shown in elevation at X, fig. 7, and in the plan, fig. 8. TVhe six movements may be placed together in front, above the kevs, or behind the keys, the flats and sharps may also he produced in the same manner as in the pianos, the effects will be the same. The Per er ee . opr On Rail Roads. 51 The springs and pedals to the‘organ act in the same man- ner as in the pianos. The pedals for the organ as well as for the piano may be fastened, if those notes made by pedals are wanted to be used for a length of time in playing, in the same manner a3 on harps. The mechanism in the or- gan and piano, for the flats as well as for the sharps, is so constructed that. the pedal 3 must likewise bring on the notes belonging to pedal No. 2 and 1; and the pedal 2 must also bring on the notes belonging to pedal 1. This ‘effect may also be obtained by the tread of the pedals. _ Note.—In the specification, another large drawing of the harmonic organ is given. It describes a second method of per- forniing the same ovement, az above described: the chief difference is, that the stickers 8 8 are all arranged side by side in one row, instead of two; but as this method crowds the organ up very much, it has never been put in practice by the patentee : on this account, and that it would exceed the limits of our plate, we have omitted this second drawing; it contains nothing material which is not shown by the figures we have given. X. On Rail Roads. By a CORRESPONDENT. To Mr. Tilloch. Sir, As the proposed railway from Sanquhar to Dum- fries bas been of late the subject of some conyersation, it is hoped the following short account of that useful inven- tion will not be unacceptable to some of your readers. I am, sir, Your most obedient servant, Dumfries, July 2, 1811. Xa Wir Z, J Rail-ways are roads of very easy inclination, having cast- fron rails, on which waggons, with wheels adapted to those rails, move. ) These rails are usually about three feet long, and are rested at each end on stone, wood, or cast-iron, The origin of this invention may be traced back to the year 1680. About that period, coal came to be substituted for wood as fuel in London and other places. ‘The conse- quent consumption of Newcastle coal became so consider- able, that the difficulty and expense of maintaining a great number of horses employed to convey the coals from the pits to the vessels, and the cost of maintaining the roads, gave rise to the introduction of waggon-roads, or wooden rail-ways. On these rail-ways, a horse could draw a wag- : D2 gon 352 On Rail Roads. gon of a large size, owing to the recular and easy descent with which the rails were laid. It was not until the year 1738 that this improvement was introduced at the White- haven collieries, Afterwards, attempts were made im dif- ferent parts to introduce cast-iron instead of wooden rail- ways, but, owing to the great weight of the waggons then in use, these attempts di d not succeed. About the year 1768, a remedy was contrived for the principal objection to cast-iron rail-ways; namely , the making use of several small waggons linked together, instead of one Jarge one; thus difusing the weight over a greater surface of the road, and consequently, throwing less stress‘on any one part of it. Soon after the year 1797, they began to be constructed as branches to canals: since that period they have rapidly increased, and their great utility: 1s now un- questionably asianeher As on canal Is, decks are required in order to raise the ves- sels from a lower to a higher level, and vice versd; so, on rail-ways, what are called ‘inclined planes are often necessary to attain the difference of level. Thes¢ inclined planes are generally, compared with the rest of the rail-way, very steep. A ‘perpetual chain raises and lowers the waggons. It is so contrived, that the wag- gons disengage themselves the moment they arrive at the upper or lower extremity of the inclined plane. In some cases, the laden waggons descending serve as a power to bring up the empty ones; but where there is an ascending as well as a descending traffic on the rail-way, steam-en- gines, water-wheels, or other machines to answer the same purpose, are used. At Chapel Je Frith; there is an inclined plane about 550 yards long, so that the chain extended is, of course, more than double that length. . Most rail-ways of considerable extent require the use of this species of machinery for attaining the difference of level requisite, more particularly in cases where minerals form any considerable part of the trafic. On the proposed rail-way between Glasgow and Berwick, several inclined planes will be required; the summit of that rail-way being 753 feet above the lege} of the end of Berwick quay. The waggons are constructed on various plans, and are probably, in most cases, far from the degree of impreve- ment of which they are susceptible. But, with all their disadvantages, the following facts will evince the great say- ing of animal force to which rail-ways gave rise... 1. With 14 inch per yard declivity, 0 one horse takes downward three. waggons, cach containing two tons. =p: 2. In ad) : V On Rail Roads. — 53 2. In another place, with a rise of 1,8,inch per yard, one horse takes two tons upwards. i 3. With 8 feet rise in 66 yards, nearly 14 inch per yard, one horse takes two tous upwards. ~ 4, On the Penrhyn rail-way, (same slope as the above,) two horses draw downwards 4 waggons, each containing one ton of slate*. 5. With a slope of 55 feet per mile, one horse takes 12 to 15 tons downwards, and 4 tons upwards, and all the empty waggons f. 6. At Ayr, one horse draws on a level 5 waggons, each containing a ton of coal, t 7. On the Surry rail-way, one horse, on a declivity of one inch in ten feet, is said to draw 30 quarters of wheat f. Other actual cases might he given, but these will suffice to show the great saving of animal force. _ From these cases, and the known laws of mechanics, we may perhaps safely infer, that where the apparatus is tolerably wel] constructed, and the slope 10 feet per mile, one horse may draw 5 tons upwards, and 7 tons downwards, Now, if I am rightly informed, horses at present draw from Sanquhar to Dumfries only about 93 cwt. of coal at an average each. But say half a ton; then, on the slope stated above, one horse would, taking weight upward, do the work. of ten on the turnpike road, and downward, of fourteen. Hence, in this point of view, it may be said that a rail- way would bring the coal-mines ten times, at Jeast, nearer to Dumfries than they are at present. ; The principal rail-ways in England and Wales, a short time ago, were —the Cardiff and Merthyr, 263 miles long ; runs very.nearly by the side of the Glamorganshire canal, The Caermarthenshire.—In the deep cuttings for this, rail- way, several unknown veins of coal were discovered, and some of lead ore. The Serhowry, 28 miles, in the counties of Monmouth and Brecknock. The Surry, 26 miles, — The Swansey andOystermouth, 74 miles; and many others, as branches to canals. Since these were executed, many have been added, and they are daily increasing in number. In Scotland they haye been long used about some of the coal-works, and are now fast increasing. . A public rail- way is now nearly completed between Kilmarnock, and the Troon harbour, e * Sce Plymley’s Agricultural Report of Shropshire. om + Repertory of Arts, &c. vol.tii. 2d series. $ Malcolm's Agricultural Report of Surry, D3 1. Ob- [ 34] XI. Olservations on the Expansion and Contraction of Water. By Wittiam Crane, F.R.M.S. Edin. Evry deviation from the general cffects of caloric forms an important subject for investigation, and claims the at- tention both of the'student and the philosopher. Amongst these curious and interesting facts, that water at the tempera- ture of 40° has its maximum density, and on being reduced to a lower, degree begins to expand until it is converied into ice, has given rise to many hypotheses and. theories respecting its cause. Some have supposed this to be owing © to the contraction of the vessel in which the water is con- tained. ‘One of the most strenuous supporters of this inion is Mr. Dalton, who says, ¢ it is only apparent; ” ohnaae the experiments both of Dr. Hope and Count Rumford were made with the greatest care and precision, as were also those of Lefevre Gincau. ‘The result of Mr. Dalton’s experiments, when a glass vessel is employed, is certainly very much in favour of what he maintains, as, ac- cording to the tables in Dr. Thomson’s Chemistry, the con- traction of the glass and the expansion of the water coin- cide; yet this is not the result of the experiments made upon water contained in different vessels, as in brown earthen ware, queen’s ware, iron, copper, &c. The coinci- dence, therefore, as the doctor observes, is only apparent 5 for the other Hedies deviate as their expansion increases. Mr. Leslie, in his Inquiries upon the Nature, &c. of Heat, seems to be nearly of the same opinion. Others have adopted the idea of its arising from a peculiar arrangement of its particles which observe a certain polarity, as is shown by the position of its crystals; and this was ihe opinion of the illustrious Dr. Black. As water is a body the particles of which possess great mobility among themsely es, and the shape of a body that moves with the greatest ease being a sphere; Jet us consi- der that this is the form of a particle of water when at the 40° and above, or, according to Mr. Dalton*, at the 36°, which he estimates to be its maximum density. In the following part of this paper I prefer the 40°, as between that and 39° is the point agreed to by the majority of w riters, and which agrees with the experiments I have made. The difficulty of proving this to be the shape of an atom of wa- ter is petha ps in some measure removed by considering the firure which a globule ef water assumes when throwh * Dr. Henry's Elements of Chemistry. upan On the Expansion and Contraction of Water. 55 upon a hot iron, Haiiy * observes that this was the opi- nion of Descartes, who thus endeavoured to account for the formation of the six radii which are observed to form a floccule of snow. But Descartes says, when treating on the shape of the particles of water, ** Deinde + suppono exiguas illas-partes, quibus aqua componitur, longas, leves et lubricas esse apguillaram parvularum instar, &c.:” and that they only assumed the shape of a sphere when con- verted into vapour, from the rapid motion into which they are thrown, in these words; ‘* Sed{ contra quum vaporis formam habent, agitatio illarum adeo est concitata, ut ce- lerrimé rotentur in omnes partes, et eadem opera in longi- —tnudinem suam porrigantar; unde fit at singule illaram re- liquas suis simules, irruptionem in parvas splierulas, quas describunt, molicntes, arcere atque abigere possint, &e.”’ Hence he had recourse to this reasoning to aceount for the formation of the radii already mentioned, as his theory re- specting the particles of water could not be adapted to this phenomenon.—But to return to our subject. Then, at the degree above mentioned, I-would say that the particles of water are in contact only at certain points; but from the caloric, granting it to be a fluid, filling up the in- terstices, their mutual affinity is. prevented from acting so forcibly as to change their figure. In illustration of this, we may take a pile of balls, as a rough comparison, each ball having for those around it a strong affinity, and which are prevented from acting upon each other, or running into a solid mass, by sand or some substance being poured into the various crevices. which nevertheless does not prevent their touching in certain points. But as by the reduction of temperature part of the calorie is withdraw, which being interspersed throughout the water, as just explained, prevenied these particles from affecting each other, the affinity they exert among themselves. now begins to take place, and their shape becomes altered from that of a sphere to some other figure, Hence, as a sphere contains the greatest quantity of matter under the least given super- ficies, the superficial contents of these atoms will be in- creased in proportion as they deviate from that form. Although they are thus enabled to act upon cach other, still they attract around them a quantity of caloric, by means of which they are kept so far separate ay to remain * Hiaiiy’s Natural Philosophy ; trans, by Dr. O. Gregory. ‘ } Kevati des Cartes Specimiina Philosophie: Amstelodami, anno cid iz¢ Ixxii. : $ ibid. D4 in > 56 On the Expcansion and Contraction of Water. ina fluid state. Put owing to the reciprocal affinity of these molecule this attraction is very feeble, and on sud- denly shaking the water they rush together, forming @ crystalline mass, setting tree the caloric they held around them, causing by that liberation a rise in the thermo-= meter. In the same manner we can bring so near as to touch, globules of mercury, which have been previously moistened with water, without their running into one ho- mogeneous mass; but giving the vessel in which they are placed a sudden shake, they become united, parting with the water each had attracted around it. This experiment is easily shown by throwing quicksilver ppon any dat sur- face that has had some water poured upon it ; then gently pushing the globules of mereury, so-as just to touch each other, they will not unite, owing to the pellicle of water which surrounds each. “Upon the vessel being agitated, an union instantly takes place. . . ~ The next remarkable occurrence is the great and sudden. expansion that takes place upon the water being converted into ice. IT would now suppose that these atoms have reached their maximum of expansion, or that they deviate in the greatest possible degree from their spherical shape, and assume probably that of the primitive crystal. For after having obtained the primitive crystal of any body, we have, if we continue the chipping and diminish it ever so much, always the same figure. Again, if we apply heat,, from the 32° there is observed a contraction, until the ther- mometer rises to the 39° or 40°, owing to these integrant molecules of the crystals again assuming the spherical form: after this the water begins to expand, which I should imagine is owing to the caloric gradually forcing these spheres further apart, and, if continued, separates them beyond the limit of the attraction they exert amongst them- selves. These atoms, being lighter than air, fly off in a state of vapour; and as they are now out of the sphere of each other’s attraction, they are enabled to attract more forcibly around them the particles of calorie ; and hence the increase of capacity for caloric which is observed to take place when water 13 converted into vapour, {n the above paper, the words contact and touch have been frequently employed: these terms are not to be un- derstood im an abstract sense, but merely to denote that the particles of matter approach each other extremely near;—-as in the experiment on the globules of mercury it is said they are placed so near as to touch, That this is not the case is evident, 2 eae eee Improvements ina Mathematical Dividing Engine. 57 evident, for they are separated by the peilicle of water around each. Lavoisier, in his Chemistry, says, that the particles of the hardest bodies are not in actual contact. If that were the ease, it is probable that their cohesive af- finity would be so powerful as not to be affected by ca- loric. 7 Sat XII. Description of Improvements in a Mathematical Di- nig viding Engine. By Mr. J. ALLAN*. Sin, I BEG leave to send to you, herewith, for the inspee- tion of the Society of Arts, &c. a model of my improvement on the mathematical dividing engine which I have lately made, containing that part which differs in principle from those made by ihe late Mr. Ramsden and others; the draw- ings or engravings of which are, [ suppose, in the Society’s possession. 1 therefore am of opinion the Society will think that the wooden wheel I have sent with the moveable ring on its edge, will be sufficient to demonstrate its good effect in correcting the teeth or rack where the screw acts, You will please to observe, that it is cut by a screw-cutter, and it is required to go many times round the engine before _ the teeth are full. To effect this, I reversed the moveable ‘ring not less than twenty times, so that [ have not the least doubt of the one ring having corrected the other to a degree of perfection which had not hitherto been obtained in en- gines. — This simple, easy, and correct way of making engines, may be applied with great advantage to circular instruments, for the purposes of astronomy and land-surveying. If the Society will do me the honour to appoint a committee to view the engine itself, I will demonstrate its effects. I am, sir, Your very humble servant, No. 12, Blewit’s Buildings, JAMES ALLAN, Fetter-Lane, Nov, 20, 1809. Divider of Mathematical Instruments, To C. Taylor, M.D. Sec. Mr, Allan’s Description of his Mathematical Dividing En- gine, and his Method of forming it. My engine is of bell-metal, thirty inches in diameter. I turned a brass ring about ihree-sixteenths of an inch thick, * From Transachions uf the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Maru- artures, and Commeree, vol. xxviii.——'The Scciety voted the gold medal to Mr. Allan for thes coinmunication. and 58 Improvements in a Mathematical Dividing Engine. ‘and fitted in on the underside of the above bell-metal wheel, which I made fast by twenty-four rivets; I then fixed in the axis, and turned the wheel and ring together on the Jathe, as nearlyras possible to the required shape on its own axis. This being done, and having mounted it on its own stand, where it now acts, I fixed a tool, with an adjustment to turn the edge of the bell-metal wheel where the upper- most or moveable ring of the same thickness as the other is fitted on; for if the circle, where the moveable ring fits the bell-metal, is not turned as true as possible, (which can- not be done properly by any other means than by a fixed tool,) the moveable ring will not reverse correctly. When this was done, | fitted 6n the moveable ring. I then divided the lower under ring into twenty-four parts, for the screws which keep the rings together. IT also divided it into four “parts for the steady pins, the holes of which I made by an upright drill fixed and adjusted for the purpose. I then cut two opposite divisions, in order to reverse the uppermost ring correctly, which were my guide in broaching for my steady pins, and which I did with a broach to a stop fixed onit. In broaching I reversed the moveable ring many times, taking care at the same time that my opposite divi- sions were correct, My first idea was to have two wheels or circles, acting on the same centre, so as to constitute a double edge, to afford me an opportunity to reverse in the act of cutting the rack or teeth; but I thought the method in which I have done it would with care be equally correct. Either of the methods comes to the same point, and [ preferred the way IT have employed, thinking it the least expensive. By this self-correcting method, instruments may be made for astro- nomical purposes, racked and divided on their own centre, and if carefully done would border on perfection itself, con- sequently I consider it to be the greatest improvement ever made in the art of dividing. I call it self-correcting, be- cause every time it is reversed in cutting the teeth, the screw has a fresh opportunity to correct errers insensible to the eye. J have well considered the subject, and think that a circle of twelve inches diameter, made on this principle, would measure angles equally if not more accurately than astro- nomical instruments divided by engines, or by any other methods hitherto used by instruments of any size. It is therefore my opinion, that the supposed necessity of making very large circles, for the sake of obtaining correct divisions, will be done away. JAMES ALLAN. Sir,— Improvemenis in a Mathematical Dividing Engine. 59 Sir,—Tue method you have taken to produce a perfect equal racking, for the constructing an accurate dividing en- gine, is the greatest advance towards pertect.on that 136 been communicated to the public within my knowledge, and I believe it to be a method never before practised in this country. It is applicable to the construction of machines of any dimensions, that mathematical or nautical instru- ments can be graduated by. one ee: }t is my beliet, that the greater number of the machines now in use, are far short of the perfection they are reputed to have. 7 I am, sir, your humble servant, Piccadilly, Jan. 8, 1810. M. Bence. Reference to the Drawing of Mr. Allan’s Improvement on the Dividing Engine of Ramsden. P\.1f. The dividing engine invented by Mr. Jesse Ramsden, and for which he received the reward of the Board of Longitude in the year 1775, 1s minutely explained in a quarto pam- phlet, published by order of the Commissioners of Longitude; also, in the article Engine, in Dr. Rees’s New Cyclopedia, as well as some other works of a similar nature; it there- fore becomes unnecessary for the Society to give any more of Mr. Allan’s engine in their drawings than 1s explanatory of the improvement, the engine being used in the same manner as Kamsden’s: this part is the great circle upon which the arch to be divided 1s placed, and the circle turned about a determinate quantity at each division, by means of ascrew whose threads engage fine teeth, cut around the periphery of the circle. The improvement by Mr, Allan consists in the method of cutting or racking these teeth, to ensure their being perfectly of equal size in all parts of the circle, - The plan, fig. 1, in Plate IT, represents the upper surface of a bell-metal circle mounted upon an axis, A, fig. 2, and its surface made truly_plane, and perpendicular to the axis: the section shows the figure of the axis, and the ceutral ring * B, to give the greatest strength to the circle; C is a section of a portion of the frame of the engine; and D a socket into which the axis A is fitted; the circumference of the large circle is turned to such a figuic as to receive a ring of brass, a, fig. 3, which is united firmly to it by a number of pins, one of which is shown in the figure.” Upon this ring, a second b is placed, the two making the same thick- ness as the circle. ‘Ihe inside of the ring 6, and the out- side 60 On Vegetable a2 Animal Analysis. side of the bell-metal circle, are fitted to each other with the utmost accuracy, and great’ care*taken to turn the said truly fitting concentric with the axis of the circle; the brass rings a and & are held together by twenty- four Screws, as shown i in the plan 3 anda groove, corresponding to the cur- vature of the screw which moves the circle, is turned in the outside of the two: in this state the racking of the teeth is performed by a screw similar to that afterwards used to turn the circle to its divisions, but notched across the threads so that it cuts like a saw, when pressed against the circle and turned round, and removes the metal from the spaces be- tween the feoth, which are by this means formed around the edge of the circle; when this has been performed all round, two fine lines are drawn across the brass and bell- metal circles, diametrically opposite each other ; the twenty four screws are then withdrawn, and the upper brass ring * turned exactly half round, which is determined by the lines before mentioned ; and by this means the teeth of the cir-- cle are divided into two thicknesses, and being put together again in opposite directions, if any error arose in racking the teeth, it would be shown by the upper and lower halves of the teeth not coinciding w hen reversed, and. by racking them while reversed the screw would cut aw ‘ay the inequali- ties, and make all the teeth of the same size and distance from each other: this reversing the teeth is performed se- veral times, til] the teeth are Brought to a perfect equality in ail parts of the circle; four steady pins are accurately fitted into the two rings to hold them ‘together i in any of the positions in which they have been racked together, and it is upon these the dependence is placed for the coincidence of the teeth, the twenty-four screws being merely to hold them fast together, and fitted rather loosely i in their holes, that they may not strain the steady pins. XII. Fenced for a Memoir on Vegetable and Animal Analysis. By MM. Gay- Lussac and THENARD. Read at the Institute 15th January, 1810*. W uen we had conceived the project of analysing animal and vegetable matters, the first consideration which pre- sented itself to our serious attention was to transform, by means of oxygen, the vegetable and animal substances into water, carbonie acid,» and azote... It was-evident that if we ® Annales de Chimie, tome lxxiv. p.47. could On Vegetable and Animal Analysis. 61 could succeed-in operating,the transformation so as to col- lect all the gases, this analysis would be accomplished with very great precision and simplicity. Two obstacles pre- sented themselves: one was to burn completely the hydro- gen and the carbon of these substances, and the other to operate the combustion in close vessels. : We could expect to surmount the first difficulty only by means of the metallic oxides which easily give up their oxygen, or by the hyper-oxygenated muriate of potash. Some experi- ments soon made us give the preference to the above salt, which succeeded beyond all expectation. It was not quite $o easy, however, to overcome the latter difficulty; for we could not attempt combustion in a retort full of mercury. To prevent the matter from being burnt, the retort must have been broken: it became necessary to find an apparatus, therefore, in which we might— 1. Burn portions of substance so small as not to fracture the vessels. 2. To make a great number of successive combustions, in order that the results might be perceptible. $. To collect the gases as they were formed. We now exhibit to the class an apparatus of the ahove description. It is formed of three distinct pieces: one is a very thick glass tube, closed at its lower extremity by the blow-pipe, and open at its upper end, about two decimetres in length, and eight millimetres in breadth; it has. laterally five centimetres from its aperture a very small tube also of glass, which is soldered to it, and which resembles that » which we should adapt-to a retort for receiving the gases, The other piece is a copper ferule into which we insect the open extremity of the large glass tube, and with which it is united by means of a mastic which melts only at 40°. The last piece is a peculiar kind of stopcock, in which the whole merit of the apparatus consists. The key of this stop- cock has no hole through it, and turns in every direction without giving vent to the air: there is simply about the middle of it a cavity capable of receiving a small pea: but this cavity is such that being in its upper position, it cor- responds to a small vertical funnel which penetrates the socket, and of which it forms in some measure the extremity of the beak, and which when brought back to its Jower po- sition communicates with, aud is a continuation of, the body of the stop-cock, which is hollow, and is screwed to the ferule. Thus, when we put small fragments of any matter into the funnel and turn the key, the cavity 1s soon - filled, and carries tne matter into the body of the siop-eock, from 62 On Vegetable and Animal Analysis. from which it falls into the ferules and: from thence: to the bottom of the glass tube. . If this sukstance, therefore, he a mixture of hyper- oxy- genaied muriate of potash andof vegetable substance i pro- per proportions, and. if the lower part of the glass tube be sufficiently warm, it will briskly take fire: the vegerable: substance will then be tnstantaneously destroyed and trans- formed into water and carbonic acid, which will be collected over mercury with the oxygen gas issuing by the small Ja- teral. tube. In order to execute this operation easily, we may conceive that it is necessary that the matter be detached entirely from: the cavity. ‘and fall to the bottom of the iube. For this purpose it is made up into small balls, as will be men- tioned presently: we may also conceive that it is necessary to inquire what is the proper quantity of hyper-oxygenated muriate for burning completely vegetable substance. We must even take the. precaution to employ at least one half more than this substance requires; in order that the com- bustion may be complete. But of all the inquiries which ought to precede the opera- tion, the most important is the analysis of the hyper-oxy- geoated muriate employed; for upon this all the calculations of the experiments are in a areat mea¥ure founded, All this being well understood, it willbe easy to analyse a vegetable substance with the hyper- oxygenated muriate. The substance is to be ground on a porphyry slab with the _ greatest care, as also the hyper: oxygenated muriate; quan- tities of both are to be weighed-1n very accurate scales ; they are to be well mixed, moistened, and rolled into cylinders ; these are to be Aaa into small balls, which are to be ex- posed to a boiling. heat in order to acer them as dry as the original materials were. Ifthe substance to be analysed isa vegetable acid, it is to be combined with lime or barytes before mixing it with the hyper-oxyeenated muriate: the salt which results is tobe analysed, and an account isto be taken of the carbonic acid w hich remains united to the base aller the experiment: lastly, 1 the substance to be analysed contains some bodies which are foreign to its na- ture, they are alsa to be taken account of. Thus we know accurately that a given weight, of>this mixture represents a known weight of hvper-oxygenated murate, and of the substarice which we wish to analyse. Now im order to finish the operation, nothing. more is requisite than to make the bottom, of the tube red hot; to drive off all the air by means of a certain number of balls, which On Vegetatle and Animal Analysis. 63 Which we do not weigh, and which we throw in one after another; then to decompose in the same manner a weight of them precisely determined, and carefully to collect all the gases in flasks full of mercury and gauged beforehand. If all the flasks are of the same capacity, they will be filled with gas by equal weights of mixture; and if we examine these gases, we shall find them perfectly identical, an evident proof of the extreme accuracy of this method of analysis. The tube onght to be kept during the whole operation at the highest degree of heat which it can support without melting, in order that the gases’may not contain any oxy- carburetted hydrogen gas. In ail cases the analysis ought to be performed over mercury. This is a proof to which it is indispensable to subject them: for this purpose it is suf= ficient to mix them with one-fourth of their volume of hy- drogen, aud to pass an electric spark into them, As they contain a great excess of oxygen, the hydrogen which we add, and of which an account must be kept, burns as well as the whole oxy-carburetted hydrogen which they. may contain; and we thus acquire the certainty that they are no longer formed of any thing but earbonic acid and oxygen, which must be separated by potash. ‘ But this necessity of raising the temperature obliges us on the other hand to take some precautions in order that the stop-cock may not be heated. Wath this view the glass tube is passed through a brick to which it is fastened with clay, and which at the same time gives solidity to the apparatus: besides this, we must solder to the body of the Stop-cock a small hollow cylinder in which water is put, or rather ice. 4 ~ We have thus all the necessary data for knowing the proportion of the principles of the vegetable substance: we know how much of this substance has been burnt, since we have the weight of it to a demi-milligramme: we know how much oxygen is wanted to transform it into water and into carbonic acid, since the quantity of it is given by the difference which exists between that contained in the hyper-oxygenated muriate and that contained in the gases; lastly, we know how much carbonic acid is formed, and we calculate how much water ought to be formed. By following the same order of analysis, we also succeed in determining the proportion of the constituent principles of all the animal substances. But as these substances con- tain azote, and as there would be a formation of nitrous acid gas, if we employed an excess of hyper-oxygenated muriate 64 On Vegetalle and Animal Analysis. muriate in order to burn them, we need only employ a quantity sufficient for reducing them completely into car- bonic acid gas, oxy-carburetted bydrogen, and azote, of which we perform the analysis in the eudiometer with mer- cury by the common methads, and from which we may conclude exactly that of the animal substance itself, The method in which we proceed to the analysis of ve- getable and animal substances being exactly known, we can‘tell what quantity of it we decompose without any fear of weakening the confidence which-we onght to have in our results. This quantity rises at most to six decigrammes : besides, if there was the smallest doubt as to their exactness, we conld get rid of it upon recollecting ahat we fill suc- cessively with gas, two and sometimes three flasks of the same capacity; that these gases are identical, and always~ proceed from one and the same weight of mplcriale: We might add, that the exactness of any analysis consists tather in the accuracy of the instruments, and of the me- thods which we employ, than in the quantity of matter upon which we operate. The analysis of ihe air is more exact than any analysis of the salts, and yet it is performed upon 2 or 300 times less matter than the latter. This is because in the former, where we judge of weights hy volumes which are very considerable, the errors which we may commit are. perhaps 1000 or 1200 times less perceptible than in the Jatter, where we are deprived of this resource. Now as we transform into gas the substances which we analyse, we bring our analyses not only to the certainty of the com- mon mineral analyses, but to that of the most precise mi- neyal analyses; more particularly as we collect at least a litre of gas, and as we find even in our way of proceeding the proof of an extreme exactitude and of the most trifling errors. We have already methogically analysed, with all the pre- cautions just mentioned, sixtcen vege table substances 3 vize the oxalic, tartarous, mucous, citric “and acetic acids; tur- pentine in resin; copal, wax, olive oil; sugar, gum, starch, svgar of milk, oak and e) wood, Bae the crystallizable principle of manna. The results which we obtained seem to us to be of the first rate importance, for they led to three very remarkable laws to which the composition of vegeta- bles is subjected, and which may be thus expressed ; First Law.—A vegetable substance is alu ays acid when. the oxygen is to the hydrogen in a greater proportion than in waier. Seconp Law. - A vegetable substance is always resinous, oily, On Vegetable and Animal Analysis. 65 oily, or alcoholic, &c. when the oxygen is in a less pro- portion to the hydrogen than in water. Tutrp Law.—Lastly, a vegetable substance is neither acid nor resinous, and is analogous to sugar, gum, starch, sugar of milk, to the ligneous fibre, to the crystallizable principle of manna when the oxygen is in the same pro- portion as in water. Thus, supposing for a moment that hydrogen and oxygen - were in the state of water in vegetable substances, which we are far trom thinking is the case, the vegetable acids would be formed of carbon, water and oxygen in various propor- tions. The resins, the fixed and volatile oils, alcoho! and ether, would be -formed of carbon, water and hydrogen, also in various proportions. Lastly, sugar, gum, starch, sugar of milk, the ligneous fibre, the crystallizable principle of manna, would only be formed of carbon and water, and would only differ in the greater or less quantities which they contained. This may be shown by citing various analyses of acid and resinous substances, and of substances which are neither acid nor resinous. One hundred parts of oxalic acid contain: CaPbOn ss: Ses owe sgh 2a OU Carbon .... 26°566). . xyeen and hygroeen Oxygen .... 70-689 | 2 | in the proportions in Hydrogen... 9:745 $3 < which they exist in 1} Water” p.nyeccsee «+ 22°87 6 | Oxygen in excess....,. 50°562 U 100 | i100 Ss J One hundred parts of acetic acid contain : ( Carbon’. 05... 42 ste 50028 Oxygen and hydrogen in the proportions in y which they exist in Water sevseevecees 46°91] Oxygen im excess..... 2865 Carbon .... 50°224) Oxygen.... 44°147 | fiydrogen.. 5°629 100 100 The oxalic acid contains, therefore, more than half its weight of oxygen in excess, in proportion to the hydrogen, whereas in the acetic acid this excess is not quite three centiemes, These two acids occupy the extremes of the series of the vegetable acids: of all the acids the one is.the most, and Vol. 38. No, 159. July 1811. E the 66 On Vegetable and Animal Analysis. the ather is on the contrary the least oxygenated: this is the reason why it requires so much nitric acid to convert sugar and gum, &c. into oxalic acid; and this is the reason, on the contrary, that so many vegetable and animal sub- stances produce so easily acetic acid in a great many cir- cumstances, and that wine in particular is changed into vinegar without any intermediate acid being formed; a phe- nomenon which had not been hitherto explained, because vinegar has been regarded as the most highly oxygenated of all the acids. Ove hundred parts of common resin contain: CATS thede ctesecs pvacaha austere eogce' eo fre, carta ne Weta allay Am ene Hydrogen and oxygen in the proportions in which they exist im water.....,....-.++- 15°156 Hydrogen im excess. ..eeseseeeeeserereees 8°900 100 One hundred parts of olive oil contain: Garboniz..nn ues SA hi Spr cele dita eg LOR ei . 77°213 Hydrogen and oxygen in the proportions in which they exist im water... .......0002. 10712 Hydrogen in €xcesS sees seeseeeeseceessee 12°075 : 100 One hundred parts of crystallized sugar contain: (Carbon... s.icsias «=» ee Ounee Carbon .... 40°704) 5 Hydrogen and oxygen Oxygen.... 52101 |< in the proportions in Hydrogen... 7°105 >€ which they are in een ee Walter. .ccccscncc cis GreUe Oxygen in excess..... O° (Hydrogen in excess ... 0° 100 =J° - 100 One hundred parts of ash wood contain : ; ( Carholt .. cis... eee Carbon .... 51°192 Hydrogen and oxygen Oxygen.... 42°95) | in the proportions in Hydrogen... 5°857 >@< which they are in , es Waler ..ceceeseees 48°808 100 J | Oxygen in excess..... O° Hydrogen ih excess... ‘O° ae 100 _ These results prove a very important fact: viz. that water per se or its principles are seized upon by the vegetable in the OO ee On Vegetable and Animal Analysis. 67 the act of vegetation: for, all the vegetables being almost entirely formed, of ligneous fibres and mucilage, which. con- tain oxygen aud hy drogen i in the same proportions as water, it.is evident that when carried into the substance of the vegetable it is then combined with carbon in order to form them. If, therefore, it were in our power to unite these two bodies in every given proportion, and to bring their mole- cules together in a proper manner, we should certainly make all the vegetables which hold the middle rank between the acids and the resins, such as sugar, starch, the ligneous fibres, &c. Among the animal substances, we have only as yet ana- lysed fibrine, albumen, gelatine, and the caseous substance. It results from our analy ses, that in these four substances, and probably in al analogous animal substances, the hydro- gen Is in a greater proportion to the oxygen than in water ; that the greater the excess of hydrogen, the greater is Lee quantity of azote which they contain also; that these two quantities are almost. both in the same proportion as in ammonia, and that itis probable that this proportion, which we nearly approach, does actually exist: the more, probably, because we always find a little too much hydrogen, and as all the errors which we can make tend to increase the quan- tity of it, We shall judge of this by the two following analyses. One hundred parts of fibrine contain: CAPTEDI 55.5101 9'6 ersrornse vis o ors amieye 22h 51203 sseeeeeces 51675 Hydrogen and oxygen in the proportion in which ROTR CXAS MANU ALCE’. 0 ns 19 ys > eysfenes es 1190 sianeis y= s18 SOD BEMENOBAD AI EXCESS. 3), joe. bymirnjesenyeye oso aciyie nai? Gah 8S lle RR Ss a et as ks AP A (AEE 100 One hundred parts of caseous matter contain : Carbon .. erred 0-7 Olay & Vener Aco Hydrogen and oxygen in the proportion in which TUG RARU I: WALCE, sac. 0) & s+ wie.9 sai nalsipine aie.anin SALTS UE TE IIE ECR 6 a cwsase {0 a 0)%91¢) mAb, eye esels mon nck 9 eR OO ee eee 18°352 100 Admitting this report to be correct, these substances would correspond, with respect to the rank which they ought to hold among the animal substances, to the rank occupied by sugar, gun, ligneous fibre, &c. among the vegetable E2 substances: » aia mie D 68 On the Influence of the Atmosphere in certain Diseases. substances: for in the same way as hydrogen and oxygen, the gaseous principles of the former, may be reciprocally saturated and form water; in the same way hydrogen, oxy- gen and azote, the gaseous principles of the latter, may be also reciprocally saturated and form water and ammonia: so that the carbon, which is theonly fixed principle which all of them contain, does not possess any property relative to that saturation. If we are guided by analogy, we might compare under this point of view the animal acids with the vegetable acids, and the animal fats (if there are any which contain azote) with the resins and vegetable oils: conse- quently the hydrogen could not be in a sufficient quantity in the uric acid, for saturating the oxygen and azote which this acid contains, or to form water and ammonia by combining with these two bodies, and the contrary would take place in the animal fats. A numerous train of con- sequences may certainly be drawn from all the preceding results ; but we shall deter the further consideration of the subject till a future occasion. XIV. On the Influence of the Atmosphere in certain Dis- eases. By THOMAS Forster, Esq. : * Sir, ds your last Number, you did me the favour to print some observations on the effects produced, by varieties in the state of the atmosphere, on M. De Luc’s electric co- Jumn: allow me to trouble you with some further reflec- tions on this subject, which [ request your insertion of, rather with a view to excite the attention of others to se- vera] circumstances connected with this pbaenomenon, than because I think my observations of any value in them~ selves. That a variety of disorders are produced by the influence of the atmosphere is, J believe, very generally admitted : such a supposition is indeed founded on reason; for if 2 great number of persons, at different places, of divers ages, and of various constitutions and habits of life, become at the same time the subjects of a very similar kind of dis- order, it 18 rational to attribute their. malady to some general cause then prevailing. The recurrence of such disorders at certain times of the year, or on the return of particular kinds of weather, naturally suggests an idea that such cause re- sides in the air. Thus, for example, such disorders as are usually calied cholera morbus, colica, &c. usually occur in Augustamd September; many persons are subject to cu- taneous \ ey On the Influence of the Atmosphere in certain Diseases. 69 taneous eruptions every spring; numbers of people are much affected by the prevalence of particular kinds of wea- ther, and the stomach often feels uneasy before thunder- storms. Europeans, whose health suffers deterioration from removal into tropical climates, are affected with different kinds of disorders in different countries situated in nearly the same latitudes, and in which the mean heights of the ther- mometer may be nearly the same. ‘Ihese and many similar observations which I am about to relate, have induced me to think that those disorders which occur apparently in consequence of atmospheric influence, are not caused chiefly by the heat or frigidity, dainpness or drought of the air, nor by changes from one to another of ihese states ; but are produced, or rather excited, by the operation of certain peculiarities in the electric state of the atmosphere with which we are at present but little acquainted. In a recent publication, Mr. Abernethy has shown that, though there may be pre-established tendencies in the constitutions of various persons to peculiar forms of disease,—neverthe- less most, if not all those complaints which are termed lo- cal, as well as those usually denominated constitutional, are excited by a disordered state of the systemin general, which seems to consist in a combination of nervous irritability and weakness with disorder of the digestive organs in par- ticular *, That the opinions advanced by this ingenious and emi- nent gentleman were correct, I should have been ready to admit on the authority on which they rest, even had I not been previously induced to think so, from the accidental occurrence of a particular circumsiance, by which my at- tention was strongly excited towards disorders of the chy- lopoietic organs. But still the various causes which operate to the production of such a state of the system remain to be reflected on. The various evil habits of artificial life ; such as sedentary occupations, bad air, stimulating diet taken in too great quantity, the too free use of spirituous and fermented liquors, and indeed excessive indulyence and Juxury of every kind, may cooperate to produce such a state of disorder, which mav be aggravated, and often at first caused, by the great influence of the mind upon the di- gestive functions. But we must recollect that the existence of any one of these causes of disorder must render our bodies more susceptible of the operation of any of the rest; * Irefer your readers to “ Surgical Observations on the constitutional Origin and reatment of Local Diseases, cc. by Joha Aberaethy,” &c. London, 109, E3 and Se Rey Se: etre Ter TS Se he Oe Same Re NT my wee 70 On the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. and that when a state of weakness and irritability is induced by the joint influence of a great many, we shall be rendered more liable to be affected by peculiarities in the state of the atmosphere than when living natural lives and in strong health. That such varieties of-weather actually do become powerful agents in the production of disorders, every day’s experience must teach us, but the manner and extent of their operation appears at present less easily demonstrable: it may deprive persons already weak of a portion of their electricity, and thus diminish the energies of the brain ; or, the atmospheric electricity being unequally distributed, or propagated downwards in pulsations, the electric fluid may be irregularly distributed in our bodies, and this may eause an irregularity of function. Such a state of the air would be indicated ‘by the irregular action of De Luc’s electric column, and the multiform appearances of the cirrus cloud occasionally attended by the other modifiations, the appearance of meteors*, &ce. And I may remark that, during the prevalence of such kind of weather last autumn, when the action of De Luc’s electric column was very irregular, some of my medical friends informed me that bilious disorders with hypochondriacism were remarkably numerous.—I must now conclude with apologizing for de- taining you so longion this subject, and with saying that, if the opinions advanced appear novel and useless, | desire the reader not to forget my object, which is to excite the attention of superior minds to my own, to this interesting, and, I believe, important subject. I remain, sir, yours, &c. Clapton, July 20, 1811, Tuomas ForsTER. XV. Memoir on the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. By M. Witpesranpf. Bere convinced that experiments and observations upon the spontaneous analysis of organic bodies are very instruc- tive, and throw considerable light upon the nature of those bodies, I have always endeavoured in my ‘course of chemistry to make my pupils understand how the elastic flu:ds, sur- rounding bodies subjected to putrefaction, can operate in retarding or hastening that natural process. With this view I have been inuced to extend my researches upon this * The flaccidity, dryness, closer contact, and diminished size of the hairs on the head, during many disorders, may not be unworthy of notice. 4 Journal de Gehien. subject, i ah Sle ee On the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. 71 subject, and I now venture to present a course of experi- ments which I flatter myself will conduce in some measure to the advancement of scieice. I must previously observe, Ist. That [ constantly em- ployed the same kind of flesh, viz. beef, in order to be cer- tain that the differences noted could only proceed from the action of the different elastic fluids ; that this flesh was taken from the same animal, and even ‘from the same muscle ; that it did not contain the least fat, bat only the muscular fibres; that the pieces were all of equal size, cut into paral- Jel strips, and proportioned to the size of the vessels. ad, ‘That I always employed the flesh of an animal that had been killed two hours. 3d. That I preserved only the last portions of disengaged gas, in order to have it free from any mixture of the atmospheric air contained in the re- ceiver, and that I always made use of the gas a little while after it was prepared. The atmospheric air was taken from a spacious open garden. 4th. [I placed the vessels ina room inaccessible to the sun, the windows of which fronted the north and were very sm: all, so as to exclude the action of light, which I propose to examine at some other oppor- tunity. The temperature of this room is cool in summer, and in winter it 1s above the freezing point; if, however, frost was to be apprehended, | removed the vessels into my study, which was by the side of the room. employed three methods of subjecting the flesh to gas ; and to avoid‘repetition, I shail designate them as’ follows: eist. above water, 2d. above mercury, and 3d.in an empty bottle. wo Ist. (Experiment over water.) T filled cylindrical re- eeivers which contained from 92 to,98 cubic inches Paris “measure, over the pneumatic trough. I then introduced ‘into them pieces of the flesh 31 inches long, ¥ inch broad, and 3 of an inch thick. To support the flesh ; I made use of a brass stand formed of two plates, which crossed: each other. The top of this stand was made of the sameuetal, the plates being joined by a piece of the same, placed per- _ spendicularly ; these iwo upper plates bad a point half an ~«ainch Jong, upon which the picce of meat was suspended. When the stand was thus prepared, I passed it under water and introduced it into the receiver, f then passed a plate under water and placed the recipient above, so that | might take:it from the trough and place it upon atable. As the water rose, which happened when the temperature was di- eminished, or when gas was absorbed, Lb took care to add niore, so as to prevent the access, of atmospheric air, By . 4 xs this 72 Ox the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. this method the contact of atmospheric air was avoided ; but there was this inconvenience, that the whole surface of the flesh was moistened, and that both it and the gas wese in contact with the water which surrounded the recipient. 2d. (Experiment made in an empty vessel, that is to say, which contained neither water nor mercury.) I took bot- iles similar to common wine bottles but with larger necks. I filled them with gas in the pneumatic trough, and intro- duced the meat, keeping the mouth of the bottle above the water. J then corked it as speedily as possible, taking care to lute the cork with pasted paper when the neck of the bottle was put into water. By turning the bottle, the piece of flesh fell to the bottom, where it generally adhered on account of its moisture, By this method I avoided wetting the meat; and the gas also as well as that, was not in con- tact with the vapour of the water; but this method has the inconvenience of bringing some atmospheric air in contact with the meat, and a little of it always gets m when the bottle is corked. This method could not be followed when nitrous gas was employed. 3d. (Experiment over mercury.) TI filled over mercury small recipients of three or four cubic inches, with gas me tended for the experiment. I then introduced into it small * pieces of flesh an inch long, half an inch broad, and two. inches thick; I passed the meat through the mercury with my fingers, and put it under the receiver; by these means it was preserved from the contact of atmospheric air, and also of the vapour from water, the gas having been obtained over mercury. But I could only operate on a small scale, having but a small quantity of mercury. It was necessary always to leave a little water or mercury in the recipient, so that the air when it came to dilate might not escape from the vessels. In the experiments over mer- cury it had this advantage, that the vessels were prevented from being overset. The first set of experiments began the 25th of March, and ended the 4th of April 1808. The temperature of the external air was always between the 8th degree of Reaumur and the 5th degree of the same thermometer in the shade. The first extreme was on the 30th of March ia the morning, the latter on the 25th of March at noon, . Ist. Oxygen Gas. This was obtained from nitrate of potass. The experi- ments were made over water. , f The On the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. 73 The first day, 25th March. The flesh is become sensibly redder, and even of a more beautiful red than with nitrous as. 2d and 3d days. Thered colour has diminished, but it still looks bright. 4th and Sth days, the same. 6th and 7th days. The redness has gradually diminished ; the flesh is more moist than that put into nitrous and hydrogen gases. 8th day. The meat becomes quite moist, and begins to appear livid; 1 can discern upon its surface some isolated -drops, semi-spherical and almost transparent. 9th day. The little drops are increased in number, and gradually become opake and whitisa, so that the flesh ap- pears as if it was covered with the smali-pox. loth and 11th days. Putrefaction makes sensible pro- gress, the flesh has become flabby, the moisture increases, and the surface dissolves ; however, the little drops may still be discovered on the surface of the liquor, which covers the whole of the flesh. On the evening of the eleventh day I took out the meat, removing the recipient 2dove the trough. It gave outa putrid garlic odour, which haa some resemblance to that of phosphorated hydrogen gas. The ‘Meat continued to putrety in the atmospheric air, just as if it had been exposed to it from the first. The volume of the oxygen gas was not diminished, it no Jonger inflamed a candle, nevertheless one burned in it for an instant with a little brightness. 2d. Hydrogen Gas. This was prepared by dissolving zinc in sulphuric acid diluted with water. Ist day, 25th March. The flesh took on a palish colour at the end of a few hours, afterwards it became brown, like meat that is smoked after having been salted witu pickle that did not contain nitre. From the second to the eleventh day no external change was observed in the flesh; it neitiuer became flaccid nor moisi; its cohesion seemed even to in- crease; it appeared to be harder and drier. It lost its red colour more and more; it became more brown than meat exposed to carbonic acid, [ took out the meat the evening of the eleventh day; there was not any sign of puiridity, nor had it the least bad sinell; at the most, one could only say it had a slight acid odour; exposed to thé atmospheie it did not puirefy, but became dried; nevertheless, upon its surface might be ob- “ee served ae 74 On the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. served some white spots of mouldiness. The gas inflamed when the recipient was turned up and carried near a candle. 3d. Carbonic Acid Gas prepared by dissolving Chalk .in Nitric Acid. ist day, 25th March. At the end of a few hours the meat had a palish tint, it then became brown, but it con- tinued more pale than in the hydrogen gas. From the se- cond to the eleventh day: in the first days it appeared to become flabby and livid, then no further change could be observed. I could not see that the surface became moist: The carbonic acid gas employed for the experiment was absorbed by the water; more readily it appeared than when it was purer, for I was obliged daily to add more gas to prevent the water touching the meat. The evening of the eleventh day I took out the meat, which had not the least sign of putridity; it réseinbled cooked meat, it was flexible, but neither inoist nor sticky: it had a slight acidulous odour, something like sour yeast ; exposed to ‘the atmosphere it did not putrety, but dried, and its surface was covered with small white spots. 4. Nitrous Gas oliained from Copper and Nitric Acid over ‘ Water. 1st day, March 25. The meat became of a more beauti- fil ted: thanin® the atmospheric air, and could not be di- stinguished from that in the oxygen gas for several hours. ad and 3d days. There was “pot” any alteration. 4th, 5th, and 6th days, the red colour was a little diminished, but it was still very bright. 7th to the 11th day I could not perceive any change, except that the meat became a Jittle moist, but it was not dissolved upon its surface. Its cohesion even appeared to be increased. On the evening of the eleventh day I took out the meat; it was of a fine red colour, firm, and had not the least smell, not even of nitrous gas. - Exposed to the air, it lost its red colonr in a few hours, became brown, and dried up more speedily than — the meat in the two former experiments. Its surface was not covered with white spots. The gas tried’ with oxygen gas gave out red vapours, and was greatly diminished in its volume. It did not sensibly differ from common nitrous gas. Second Set of Experiments from the 5th of April to the 10th of June. The temperature of the external air was on the morning 4 OF ; : f On the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. 75 ‘of the 18th of April, 2° 5, and on the 17th of May, at noon, 23° 3. The temperature of the room was between 7° and 20° (Reaumur.) The meat employed tor these experiments was paler than the former, and appeared to have been taken from a younger ox. Oxygen obtained from red Oxide of Mercury. The Experi- ment made over Mercury. Ist day, April 5. The meat had hecome much redder ; ad and 3d days, no sensible change; 4th and 5th days, the meat was of a paler colour; 6th to 8th day, the colour was quite destroyed, and the meat locked as if it had been washed. 9th day. Small drops appeared upon its surface, as in the first experiment. 18th day. The drops are be- come opake, and resemble pustules of the small-pox. The Meat preserves its consistence without dissolving, although the temperature was higher than in the last experiment. igth to the 51st day “(25th of May). 1 could observe very evident signs of putrefaction at the surface, the g globules had united, and the surface was become black. An acci- dent having occasioned the overthrow of the vessel, the gas escaped, aad filled the whole house with such an offen- sive odour, that I was obliged to make use of the strongest perfumes to overcome it. Oxygen obtained from Nitrate of Potass.. Experiment made in an empty Vessel, close.stopped with a Cork Stopper. Ist day to the 3d. The meat did not become more red. 4th day it was paler. 5th day to Sist. T could not observe any globules, the meat HBTASUaNNY grew paler, putrefied, and dissolved at the surface. At Jast a considerable quantity of fluid was formed. of a bad colour, which ran into the neck of the bottle. The meat was covered with moisture; the odour was less strong than that from the meat putrefied i m the oxygen gas, and of a different kind. Atmospheric Air, Experiment made over Mercury. Ist and 2d days, (Sth aud-Gih of April). No remarkable change. 4Athday. Lhe meat had become very Pale, much paler than in the oxygen gas. 5th to Sist day. No drops of liquor could be perceived. From the Sth day the meat was moist and dissolved on the surface, but less so than in the te gen gas; and at the end of the expermment it was not so black Be that in the pure oxygen gas. When it was ta Vda out of the recipient, it did 76 On Heating Buildings ly Steam. did not smell so strong, and its colour, was much redder when cut into. Pure Hydrogen Gas obtained from the Vapours of Water, passed over red-hot Iron. Over Mercury. ist day, (April 5). The meat became of a crnnson red. od to the 51st day. No other change could be observed than that the meat became a little brown, but it had not a livid colour. It is remarkable that this meat preserved its red colour and retained an appearance of freshness, while the pieces put into the oxygen gas and atmospheric air grew pale. When it was taken out of the receiver, it had not the least smell. The gas at the end of the experiment ren- dered lime water turbid. Pure Hydrogen Gas, in a Bottle with a Cork Stopper. From the ist to the 51st day the meat was not in the Jeast brown, it preserved its colour, and only appeared a little moist. When taken out on the 5Ist day it had not the least bad odour; its smell something resembled that of smoked meat. ‘The gas tried by nitrous air was not sensi- bly diminished, it rendered lime-water slightly turbid, and afterwards burned with great vivacity. [To be continued. ] XVI. On Heating Buildings by Sieam. To Mr. Tilloch, Dear Sir, Havyine frequently troubled you on the sub- ject of heating buildings by steam, 1 beg leave to mention that considerable progress has been made in it since the publication of my Essay on Fuel, and since I last wrote to you. A place of worship has been for a consider- able time heated by steam on a most simple plan, so as to require little or no attendance, and does not require any water whatever to be added to that first put into the boiler above thrice in a winter. This is an important fact, and so is the following. I.have seen another mode, by which a fire of three hours in the morning serves for heating the whole of the rest of the day. This does away the objection to the use of steam as formerly applied for many purposes, such as hot-houses, &e, and is an introduction of a new principle, it 1 may use the expression, from which important practical benefits may arise, Jam your most obedient, RoBveRTSON BUCHANAN, Civil Engineer, Glasgow. XVII. Pro- LAr XVII. Proceedings of Learned Societies. ROYAL SOCIETY. June 27. Tue President in the chair. Professor Playfair furnished a lithological survey of Shehalean, one of the Grampian mountains in the north of Scotland, on which the late Dr. Maskelyne made his ingenious experiments to ascertain the attraction of the mountain on a plummet, and also the mean density of the earth. Part of this paper con- sisted of mathematical tables of a nature not to be read. The professor discovered with some difficulty the parts where Dr. M, had taken his angles from, and then pro- eceded to examine the rocks which coinpose the mountain: these he found to be chiefly granular quartz and micaceous schist, with their varieties. Mr. P., atter taking a general survey of the position, bearings, surface, elevation and per- pendicular sides of the mountain, collected specimens of the different rocks which compose it, and ascertained their specific gravity with great care and miuuteness. July 4.—A paper by Dr. Wells was read ou vision, The purport of the author’s observations was, that the focal di- stance of the eye depends chiefly on the contractibility of its muscles, and that the latter is much greater in youth than in persons of more advanced years. In youth the eye is capable of accommouating itself to the light and the distance of external objects, but in old age this contractile power of the muscles ceases, and the focal distance of the eye becomes shorter, and more fixed toa determinate point. Dr. Wells has made some experiments both when young and old, and caused others to make similar ones, with bella donna applied io the eyes: this plant increased the action of the ocular muscles in the young, but not in the old sub- ject. Hence he inferred that short sight is less owing to the prominence or figure of the pupil, than to the flexibility of the muscles which direct it. The Society then adjourned, during the long vacation, till Tharsday the 10th of November next. ———————— XVIII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. Tue eleventh Number of Levbourn’s’ Mathematical Re- Pository contams, 1. Solutions to the mathematical ques- tions proposed in. Number [X; 2. Solutions to 2 curious problem in dynamics; 3. Expansion of a formula con- nected Pal SO Ree 78 Method of extracting the Cataract. nected with the inquiries relating to physical astronomy 5 4. On the sine and cosine of the multiple are; on the sine and cosine of an arc in terms of the arc itself, and a new theorem for the elliptic quadrant; 5. On magic squares ; 6. An account of an experiment for determining the uni- versal attraction of matter; 7. Observations on polygonal” numbers; 8. On the irreducible case of cubic equations ; g. The Senate-house problems given in the university of Cambridge to the candidates for honours during the ex- amination for the degree of B. A. im January 1811 3 10, Continuation of Legendre’ s Memoir on elliptic transcen- dentals; and 11. A series of new questions to be answered ina subsequent Number. The Royal College of Surgeons in London have awarded theJacksonian prize of £ 10. and an extraordinary pre- mium of £10. to Mr. Jobn Smith Soden, of Coveniry, and Mr. James Gillman, of Highgate, both members. of that College, for their Dissertations on the Bite of a rabid Animal, from the consideration that such two dissertations are highly meritorious productions, and are equally worthy of the Jacksonian prize. Dr. Quadrie, professor of anatomy at the university of Bologna, lately performed, while on his journey to Padua, two operations upon two individuals entirely blind, in the presence of the professors Socrafi and Brera and all their pupils. In these operations he demonstrated the advan- tages of a method invented by himself for extracting the cataract, without injury either to the transparent cornea or the iris. His method was acknowledged to be superior to that of Wenzel, and to that by simple pressure. His patients recovered their sight. The foreign professors loudly extol the new method, as easy, more practicable, and less hazardous, than that of simple | pressure of the cata- ract. Dr. Quadrie has promised to make his method public. M. Carnot, in his new Treatise on the Defence of For- tified Places, recommends the besieged to fire howitzers Joaded with grape-shot or musket-ball, at an elevation of 45 degrees, when the enemy have made icbair approaches to within a certain distance, which may be effected without their being exposed, and the shot will do more execution, not being stopped by. the enemy’s works. M. Camot’s suggestion has been adopted in France, and now forms. part -of the artillery exercise. Some Fall of a Meteorie Stone in Russia. 79 Some time since alabouring man engaged in ploughing in a field at Bignor, near Petworth, in Sussex, found the plough obstructed by a heavy stone, which he obtained assistance and removed ; it is of marble, and beneath it a flight of steps of the same, leading to a large arched pas- sage, when they discovered an entire Roman bath, with tessellated pavement in perfect preservation. The bath is of a hexagonal form, surrounded with seats ; in the centre is a metallic pipe; the bottom of the bath is about two feet below the pavement, and five feet wide; the tessellated floor represents various figures in dancing attitudes, most beautifully wrought. In digsing further, they found a dolphin and various other antiquities of the most costly materials. It is supposed to be the remains of a Roman palace. A Roman road has also been discovered leading through the field, and supposed to extend much further, but itis not at present suffered to be explored. A gentleman in the vicinity has an ancient manuscript which particularly speaks of this place, and many aitempis have been made to discover it, before it was so fortunately accomplished by accident. In this manuscript many other curiosities are spoken of, which are expected to be discovered on a fur- ther exploration. Numbers of persons have been to ex- amine the place. A very considerable sum has been offered for the field on a speculation, but refused. M. Henz, an eminent tanner at Srzensk, in Poland, has ascertained that the leaves of the oak may be advantageously substituted for the bark, in tanning leather, provided they are used in the month of September, when they possess the bitter sap which they afterwards lose. FALL OF A METEORIC STONE IN RUSSIA, A meteoric stone, of the weight of fifteen pounds, fell to the earth on the Ist of March, in the village of Konleg- howsk, dependent on the town of Romea, in the govern- ment of Tschernigoff, in Russia, and making part of the domains of Count Golovkin ; its fall was preceded by three violent claps of thunder. When it was dug out from the depth of more than three feet, through a thick layer of ice, it still possessed heat: it was remarked, that at the third clap of thunder there was an extraordinary explosion, with a loud hissing noise, and throwing out a great quantity of ‘sparks, MET EORO=- Pa el A ia 4 oo tte 80 Meteorology: METEOROLOGICAL TABLE, . By Mr. Carey, OF THE STRAND, For July 1811. Thermometer. ra! | ad: eee Qg2 Days of 132) 2 [22 ln Baom| SLE | Weather "1951 2 |Se | Inches 22 & ee a id Wee «a ~ D ef ce hy ea oa (Se Ma fe June27|} 61 | 68°} 53°] 29°88 20 (|Cloudy 28} 63 | 63 | 60 "82 o |Rain 29| 61 | 66 | 60 ‘85 | 29 Cloudy. 30} 60 | 64 | 60 85 36 |Cloudy July 1] 62 | 66 | 64 "82 27 \Cloudy 9} 64 | 73 | 56 °87 33 |Fair 3] 60 | 66 | 54 "92 o {Rain 4| 55°| 60 | 54 | 30°03 G {Rain 5; 56 | 66 | 55 "10 57. \Fair $ 6) 55 | 68 | 54 02 70. =|Fair 7| 54 | 67 | 52 | 29°94 50. Fair 8| 54 | 68 | 66 ‘92 62 (Fair 9} 57 | 71 | 66 | 30°01 46 Fair 10\ 66 | 74} 62} ‘03 | 56 “Fair 11} 64 | 79 | 66 “13 64 |Fair 12| 66 | 79 | 65 ‘07 71 {Fair 13] 66 | 76 | 66 | 29°95 56 jFar 14| 67 | 68 | 60 °85 32 |Cloudy 15} 63 2 | 66 “90 37. |\Showery 16,66 | 72/60} -ot | 38 [Fair 17| 65 | 72 | 61 “gl 61 {Fair ia 64. | 71 | 67 *82 47 |Eair 19| 68 | 73 | 68 "83 51. |Fair 90! 60 | 57 | 55 *83 o |Rain = 57 | 57 | 56 ‘79 © {Rain 22) 61 | 66 | 56 | 30°04 29 «|Fair 23) 55 | 70 | 61 04 46 {Fair 94) 62 | 72 | 55 16 69° |Fair 25| 60 | 73 | 63 17 60 |Faie Z 26) 66 | 73 | 67 25 46 \Fan . N.B. The Barometer’s height is taken at on? o'clock, oo Tee De rat es) _ = AIX. On the Electricity of Minerals. By M. Havy*. Tix property which certain natural bodies possess of be- coming elecinecal by the intermedium of heat, furnishes mineralogy with one of the most advantageous characters for ascertaining what they are, and also gives rise to ex- periments which are interesting, in so far as they serve to Manifest a remarkable co-relation between the crystalline forms of the same bodies and the positions of their electri- eal poles. But these experiments are at the same time de- licate, particularly when we employ crystals of borated niagnesia, which, with a volume scarcely exceeding two or three mhilliinetres, have eight poles opposite to each other; m pairs; the powers of w hich have little eneray, and reside each in a single point. Previously to the publication of my Treatise on Mineralogy, I was occupied with the construc- ‘tion of an apparatus w vhich should be at the same time con- venient, and sufficiently sensible to leave no doubt as to the results of the experiments 10 question. That which T have described in my Treatise, tome i. and in which I afterwards made a change as subsequently described in a former volume of these Annals, would appear to be perfect in every respect, if its effects were not subject, like those of all electrical machines, to be affected by the state of the atmosphere. T shall briefly mention here, that this apparatus consists of a small needle (PI. LIL. fig. 1.) of copper or silver, terminated by two globules, moveable ona pivot, and isolated, to which we give at pleasure the vitreous or resinous electricity, by the action exercised upon it by an idio-electrical body to which friction has communicated the contrary e electricity, Tf this body is a stick of wax, for instance, we present it at a few centimetres distance from the stalk which supports the small needle, at the same time that we keepa finger applied to the foot a of this stalk: we afterwards remove the finger, then the stick of wax, and in this case the ap- paratus is vitreously electrifed. Now, when the air is Joaded with aqueous vapours, its infltience on the metallic needle destroys in’ an’ instant the electrical virtues of the Taiter, or renders it so feeblé and fugacious, that the opera- tor is compelled to abandon the experiment, and to wait for dry weather. In a public lecture-room, a numerous audience produces a similar effect to that of dampness. I have on such occasions tried in vain to electrify by friction ¥ Ann. du Museum d'/iistoive Naturelle, tome xv. p. 1. Vol. 38. No. 160. dugust 1811. F a stick « f 4 82 On the Electricity of Minerals. a stick of wax or gum lac, particularly in the great heats of summer. These inconveniences suggested the idea of employing in the experiments relative to the object in question, only bodies susceptible of being electrified by heat, and to make their mutual capacities subservient to the development of their properties.. As the two fluids which compose the uatural electric fluid of these bodies, before the experiment, remain engaged in their pores; after being extricated by the effects of heat, they are removed from all external influence, and the electrical state of the bodies is kept up in the midst of the dampest air. I do not know if there is not even something more striking in those experiments which con- nect the functions of bodies electrical by heat, with those of the magnet, to which they have so great an analogy, either in consequence of their double polar virtue, or by the Jaw to which the distribution of the two fluids is subjected in their interior. T shall now describe the new apparatus which I employ in the experiments in question, and which was made with much care by M. Tavernier, an eminent watch-maker. It is composed of two principal pieces; the one 1s a stalk of silver, al (fig. 2.) fixed ona round piece of the same metal, and having at its upper extremity a very sharp-pointed steel needle, ag: the other piece consists principally of a rect-_ angular plate of silver, AA, turned up at both ends, where holes have been made at or. This silver plate is pierced in the middle by a circular hole, in order to receive a small cover of rock crystal which is held by a circle of silver, and by means of two screws, s, %. Towards the extremities of the inferior surface of the plate Ak, are fixed two silver wires mi, ny, directed a little obliquely to this surface, and terminated by two globules J, p of the same metal. Fig. 3. represents this plate seen from below, and fig. 4, represents the stalk, with the steel needle by which it 1s terminated, When the apparatus is fixed, as we see in fig. 2, the needle in question perfornis the office of a pivot, which en- ters into a small aperture made in the under surface of the rock crystal cover. The two holes 0,7, are destined to re- ceive atourmaline f¢’, or any other body of an oblong form, susceptible of being electrized by heat; and such 1s the sensibility of the apparatus, that a small force which acts by attraction, or by repulsion, on either extremity of the body ¢/’, instantly produces a very perceptible rotatory motion in this body. To On the Electricity of Minerals. 83 To proceed to the experiments: let us suppose in the first place that we wish to determine the positions of the electrical poles of a tourmaline, which is of a thin and ob- long form, like all the tourmalines of Spain. After having heated it, we shall place it in the apparatus, and present successively, at a small distance from its two extremities, another body which has been celectrized by friction. I prefer employing for this purpose the Saxon or Brazil to- pazes, because these minerals, as I have remarked in my Treatise on Mineralogy, are extremely sensible to the action of friction in order to excite the electrical virtue in them, so that not only a damp atmosphere does not hinder them from acquiring it, but they preserve it for a considerable time. The kind of electricity in question being of the same nature with that of glass, the pole of the tourmaline which the topaz will repel will be the vitreous pole, and that upon which it will act by attraction will be the resinous pole. It is sufficient to have a tourmaline susceptible by its form of being placed in the apparatus, and the poles of which are known, in order that it may serve as a term of comparison to all the bodies of the same species, or of dif- ferent species, which’ share the property in question, what- ever in other respects are the forms and dimensions of such bodies. After having heated that which we wish to exa- mine, we bring it successively by its two extremities near hoth of those of the tourmaline, and the consequence of the result is presented of itself, agreeably to the principle com- mon ‘to electricity and to magnetism, viz. the pole soli- cited by homogeneous fluids is repelled, and those in which heterogeneous fluids reside are attracted. The adyantages of the apparatus which I have described, are particularly feltin the experiments relative to borated magne- sia, which, in order to succeed, require very favourable cir- cumstances, when we use the metallic needle which I first mentioned. It is necessary that we should wait until the ac- tion of the tourmaline placed in the apparatus has been dimi- nished, by cooling, to the point of being found in proportion to the feeble virtue of the crystal of borated magnesia; and we must also take care to keep the crystal in such a position, that, the axis which passes by the pole which we present to the tourmaline being perpendicular to the length of the latter, the same pole corresponds to the centre of action of the tourmaline, which we know to be very near the ex- tremity. This apparatus may be aiso employed for determining the kind of electricity which a body acquires by means of fric- Fe tion, 84 On the Electricity of Minerals. tion. IJfit repels the pole of the tourmaline to which we first present it, this only indicates that the body is itself in the electric state, and also that its electricity is contrary to that of the pole in question. But if the tourmaline was attracted, we could conclude nothing from it, because a body which is even in the natural state, acts always by at- traction on an electrized body, whatever be the kind of electricity which this last requires. In this case, therefore, we must afterwards present the- body to the other pole of the tourmaline ; and if the repulsion succeeds the attraction, we shall have a proof that this body is in .a state opposite to that of the pole which has been repelled. When we employ the electricity acquired by heat, solely as a mineralogical character, the small metallic needle re- presented (fig. 1.) is sufficient for the experiments relative to this character, without its being even necessary to isolate this needle. We judge that a mineral is endowed with the property in question, according as it attracts the needle to it, or leaves it fixed when placed at a small distance from it. I recently made use of this method for comparing various minerals, relative to the faculty which they have of pre- serving for a longer or shorter time the electricity acquired, by friction. After having put them in the electrical state, I placed’ them on any stone, (marble for instance,) so as to make the surface which had been rubbed, opposite to that which Jay upon the stone, and from time to time I took them with my fingers or with pincers, by a corner which was far from the electrized part, in order to present them to the small needle. The topaz, of all the minerals which [ tried, seemed to preserve electrrcity longest. A cut piece of the limpid Brazil kind acted upon the needle at the end of 32 hours. In the hyaline corindon, called ortental sapphire, the emerald, the spinel, and other stones which are made into trinkets, the duration of the electrical virtue generally exceeded five or six hours: it exceeded 24 hours in an emerald from Peru. But T met with two mi- nerals which differ from the above inca striking manner by a less coercive force with respect to the electrical fluid,—the one is the diamond and the other rock crystal,—and I re- marked that their electrical virtue was extinct in 15 or £0 minutes. Some crystals of quartz, however, preserved it for about 40 minutes. ae The limpid Brazil topaz, already mentioned, seems to re- semble the diamond in the liveliness of its lustre, where it has been cut. It is the’same with the hyaline corindon called white sapphire. . The foregoing results might be em- . ployed On vegetable Poisons. 85 ployed in such cases, at least as auxiliary characters, to assist us in distinguishing substances’ which are so differentin their nature. Coloured glass possesses but feebly the faculty of pre- serving electricity; and if there does not exist in this re- spect any verv marked difference between such substances and quariz, we shall at least avoid confounding with the emerald, the topaz, or the sapphire, factitious stones which sometimes present imposing imitations of these gems. « L know that the specific gravity, the hardness, and the refrac- tion of these substances present much more palpable means of detection than the above; but we cannot too much mul- tiply indications which may assist us in ascertaining a ml- neral substance, when the artist has stripped it of the ex- terior which nature had given it, or rather of that form Which cannot be imitated by any other. XX. Experiments and Observations on the different Modes in which Death is produced by certain vegetable Potsons. hy B.C. Bropiz, Esg. F.R.S. Communicated by the Sociely for promoting the Knowledge of Animal Che- mistry *, . ‘ hy I we following experiments were instituted with a view to ascertain, in what manner certain substances‘act on the animal system, so as to oceasion death, independently of mechanical injury. . I was led to the inquiry, from the sub- ject of it appearing to be of considerable interest and iin- portance, and froma hope, that, in the present improved state of physiological knowledge, we might be enabled to arrive at some more satisfactory conclusions than had been deduced from any former observations. The substances which act as poisons when applied to the animal body are very numerous. — In the experiments which I have hitherto made, I have employed vegetable poisons only. Of these I have selected such as are very active and certain m producing their effects, believing that, on this account, the exact nature of those effects would be | more readily ascertained. The principal objects which [ have kept in view have been to deiermine, on which of the vital organs the poison employed exercises its primary influence, and through what medium that organ becomes affected. I have also endeavoured to ascertain by what means the fatal consequences of some poisons may be pre- * From the Philosophical Transactions for 1811, part i. ‘ F3 vented, 86 On the different Modes in which Death vented. With some of the conclusions which J have ven- tured to draw, so far as IT know, we were not before ac- quainted; and others of them, though not entirely new, had not been previously established by satisfactory experi- ments. I shall relate first those experiments in which poisons were applied internally, that is, to the mucous membranes of the tongue or alimentary canal, and afterwards those in which poisous were applied to wounded surfaces. IJ. Experiments with Poisons applied to the Tongue or ali- mentary Canal. Experiments with Alcohol. When spirits are taken into the stomach, in a certain quantity, they produce that kind of delirium’ which con- stitutes intoxication: when taken in a larger quantity, it is well known that they destroy life altogether, and that in the course of avery short space of time. Intoxication is a derangement of the functions of the mind, and, as these are in some way connected with those of the Eh it seems probable, that itis by acting on this organ, that a rits when taken into the stomach occasion death. In order to ascertain how far this conclusion is just, 1 made the fol- lowing experiments*. Exp.}. I poured two drachms of proof spirits down the esophagus of a cat: Instantly he struggled violently ; then lay on one side, perfectly motionless and insensible ; the breathing was laboured and stertorous, and the pulsa- tions of the heart were very frequent. He continued in this state for seven or eight minutes; then began to re- cover; the respirations became easier, and presently he stood up, and was able to walk. Exp.2. 1 injected an ounce and a half of proof spirits into the stomach of a large full-grown rabbit, by means of an elastic gum tube passed down the cesophagus. The same symptoms took place as in the last experiment; but the animal did not begin to recover from the state of insensi- bility until forty minutes had elapsed from the time of the injection. Exp. 3. Seven drachms of proof spirits were injected * Tam indebted to Dr E. N. Bancroft for his assistance in many of the experiments which Iam abont to detail, Mr. W. Brandé lent me his assist- ance in the greater part of those which were.made. I have been further assisted by Mr. Broughton, Mr. R. Rawlins, and Mr, R. Gatcombe, and by several other gentlemen. ipto is produced by certain vegetable Poisons. 87 into the stomach of-a younger rabbit. Two minutes after- wards, he evidently was affected by the spirits, and in three minutes more he lay on one side motionless and insensible. The pupils of the eyes were pertectly dilated; there were occasional slight convulsive motions of the extremities ; the respiration was laborious, it was gradually performed at Jonger and longer intervals, and at the end of an hour and fifteen minutes had entirely ceased. Two minutes after the animal was apparently dead, I opened into the thorax, and found the heart acting with moderate force and Ire- quency, circulating dark-coloured blood. I introduced a tube into the trachea, and produced artificial respiration by inflating the Jungs, and found that by these means the action of the heart might be kept up to the natural standard, as in an animal from whom the head is removed. Exp. 4.) 1 injected, into the stomach ofa rabbit two ounces of proof spirits. The injection was scaicely com- pleted, when the animal became perfectly insensible. Pre- cisely the same symptoms took place as im the last experi- ment, and at the end of twenty-seven minutes, from the time of the injection, the rabbit was apparently dead; but on examiving the thorax the heart was found still acting, as in the last experiment. It has been shown by M, Bichat, and the observation has been confirmed by some experiments which I have lately had the honour of communicating to this learned Society, that the brain is not directly necessary to the action of the heart, and that, when the functions of the brain are de- stroyed, the heart continues to contract for some time after- wards, and then ceases only in consequence of the sus- pension of respiration, which is under the influence of the brain. It would appear, from the experiments which I have just detailed, that the symptoms produced by a large quan- tity of spirits taken into the stomach, arise entirely from dis- turbance of the functions of the brain. The complete in- sensibility to external impressions; the dilatation of the pu- pils of the eyes; and the loss of motion, indicate that the functions of this organ are suspended; respiration, which is under its influence, is ill performed, and at last altogether ceases; while the heart, to the action of which the brain is not directly necessary, continues to contract, circulating dark-coloured blood tor some time afterwards, There is a striking analogy between the symptoms arising from spirits taken internally, and those produced by injuries pf the brain, F4 Cons 88 On the different Modes in which Death Concussion of the brain, which may be considered as the slightest degree of injury, occasions a state of mind re- sembling intoxication, and the resemblance in some in- stances is so complete, that the most accurate observer can- not form a diagnosis, except from the history of the case. Pressure on the brain, which is a more severe injury than concussion, produces ‘joss of motion, insensibility, dilata- tion of the pupils; respiration becomes laboured and stere torous, is performed at ‘ong intervals, and at last altogether ceases, and the patient dies, It forms an interesting matter of inquiry, whether spirits when taken into the stomach produce their effects on the brain, by being absorbed into the circulation, or in conse+ — quence of the sympathy that exists between these organs by means of the nerves. The foliowing circumstances Jead me to conclude that they act in the last of these two ways. 1. In experiments where animals bave been killed by the injection of spirits into the stomach, I bave found this er- gan to bear the marks of great inflammation, but never found any preternataral appearances whatever in the brain. 2. The effects of spirits taken into the stomach in the Jast experiment were so instantaneous, that it appears impossi- ble that absorption should have taken place before they were produced. 3. A person who is intoxicated, frequently be- comes suddenly sober after vomiting. 4. "Tin the expert- ments which I have just related, I mixed tincture of rha- barb with the spirits, knowing from the experiments of Mr. Home, and Mr. William Brande, that this, when ab- sorbed into the circulation, was readily separated from the blood by the kidneys, and that very small quantities might be detected in the urine by the addition of potash ; but, though I never failed to find urine in the bladder, I never detected rhubarb in it. The including the termination of the thoracic duct in a ligature does not prevent spirits, when taken into the sto- mach, from producing their usual effects on the nervous system; bat subseyuent observations, which Mr. Home has already ‘ecknthienidated to this Society, have shown that no conclusion can be drawn trom this experiment. That a poison may affect a distant organ, through the medium of the nerves, without entering the circulation, is proved by the well-known, circumstance of solution of the extract of bed/adonna, when applied to the tunica conjunc- tiva of the eye, occasioning dilatation of the pupil of the same eye, though no other part of the system is affected. -« It aS. +2 street. is produced ly certain vegetable Poisons. 89 Tt has been formerly supposed by Dr. Mead and other physiologists, that a poison may produce death by acting on the extremities of the nerves of the stomach and intes- tines, without being absorbed into the circulation. That it should by these means be capable of affecting the brain is not 10 be wondered at, when we consider the numerous and various sympathies between this organ and the alimen- tary canal, evidently independent of any other communi- cation than the nerves. _ Experiments with the Essential Oil of Bitter Almonds*. Exp. 5. One drop of the essential oil of bitter al- monds was applied to the tongue of a young cat. » She was instantly seized with violent convulsions; then lay on one side motionless, insensible, breathing im a hurried man= ner; the respirations became laboured, took place at longer and longer intervals, and at the end of five minutes, from the application of the poison, had entirely ceased, and the amjimai was apparently dead; but, on opening the thorax, the heart was found acting regularly eighty times in a mi- nute, circulating dark-coloured blood, and it continued to act for six or seven minutes afterwards. Exp. 6. 1 injected into the rectum of a cat half an ounce of water, with two drops of the essential oil. In two mi- nutes afterwards, he was affected with symptoms similar to those which occurred in the last experiment, and at the end of five minutes, from the injection of the poison, he was apparently dead. Two minutes after apparent death, the heart was found acting eighty times in a minute. On dissection, no preternatural appearances were found either im the internal membrane of the rectum, or the brain. The symptoms produced by this poison, and the circum- stance of the heart continuing to contract after apparent death, lead to the conclusion that it occasions death by disturbing the functions of the brain. While engaged in these last experiments, I dipped the blunt end of a probe into the essential oil, and applied it to my tongue, meaning to taste it, and having no suspicion that so small a quantity could produce any of its specific effects.on the nervous system; but scarcely had I applied it, when I experienced a very remarkable and unpleasant sensation, which I referred chiefly to the epigastric region, * The essential oi! of bitter almonds does not appear to differ from the essential oil of laurel. 1 was furnished with a quantity of jit, first by my friend Mr. William Brande, and afterwards by Mr. Cooke of Southampton- but 90 On the different Modes in which Death but the exact nature of which I cannot describe, because I know nothing precisely similar to it. At the same time there was a sense of weakness in my limbs, as if 1 had’ not the command of my muscles, and I thought that I was about to fall. However, these sensations were momentary, and I experienced no inconvenience whatever atterwards. I afterwards applied a more minute quantity of the es- sential oil to my tongue several times, withont experiencing from it any disagreeable effects ; but on applying’a larger quantity, | was affected with the same momentary sensa- tions as in the former instance, and there was a recurrence of them in three or four seconds after the first attack had subsided. . From the instantaneousness with which the effects’ are produced; and from its acting more speedily when applied to the tongue than when injected into the intestine, though the latter presents a better absorbing surface, we may con- clade that this poison acts on the brain through the medium of the nerves, without being absorbed into the circulation. Experiment with the Juice of the Leaves of Aconite. Exp.7. An ounce of this juice was injected into the rectum of acat. Three minutes afterwards he voided what appeared to be nearly the whole of the injection; he then stood for some minutes perfectly motionless, with his legs drawn together; at the end of nine minutes, from the time of the injection, he retched and vomited; then attempted to walk, but faltered and fell at every step, as if from gid- diness. At the end of thirteen minutes, he lay on one side insensible, motionless, except some slight convulsive mo- tions of the limbs. The respiration became slow and la- boured; and at forty-seven minutes from the time of the injection, he was apparently dead. One minute and a half afterwards, the heart was found contracting regularly. one hundred times in a minute. It appears from this experiment, that the juice of aconite, when injected into the intestine, occasions death by de- stroying the fuactions of the brain. From the analogy of other poisons, it is rendered prooable that it acts on the brain through the medium of the nerves, without being absorbed into the circulation. Thts opinion is confirmed by the following circumstance : if a sinall quantity of the leaf of aconite is chewed, it occasions a remarkable sense of numbness of the lips and gums, which does not subside for two or three hours. Experi- is produced by certain vegetable Poisons. 91 Experiments with the Infusion of Tobacco. Exp.8. Four ounces of infusion of tobacco were in- jected into the rectum of adog. Four minutes afterwards he retched, but did not vomit; he then became faint, and lay motionless on one side; at the end of nine minutes from the time of the injection, the heart could not be felt; he gasped for breath at long invervals; and in another mi- nute there was no appearance whatever of life. I imme- diately laid open the cavities of the thorax and abdomen. The heart was much distended, and had entirely ceased to contract; there was no peristaltic motion of the intestines. Exp.9. An ounce of very strong infusion of tobacco was injected into the rectum of a cat. Symptoms were produced similar to those which occurred in the last ex- periment, and the animal died at the end of seven minutes from the time of the injection. On opening the thorax immediately after death, the heart was found extremely dis- tended, and to have entirely ceased acting, with the ex- ception of a slight tremulous motion of the auricles. Exp.10. Three ounces of infusion of tobacco were in- jected into the rectum of a doy. He was affected with symptoms similar to those in the former experiments, and died at the end of ten minutes. On opening the thorax immediately after death, I found the heart much distended, and to have entirely ceased contracting. Exp.11. Three ounces of infusion of tobacco were in- jected into the rectum of a dog. Immediately there took place tremulous contractions of the voluntary muscles. Five minutes afterwards the injection was repeated in the same gnantity. The dog then was sick, and threw up some of the infusion, with other matter, from the stomach; he became faint, and died ten minutes after the second injec- tion. Immediately after respiration had ceased, I opened the thorax, and found the heart extremely distended, and without any evident contraction, except of the appendix of the right auricle, which every now and then contracted in a slight degree. I divided the pericardium on the right side. In consequence of the extreme distension of the heart, this could not be done without irritating the fibres with the point of the scalpel. Immediately both auricles and ven- tricles began to contract with considerable force, so as to restore the circulation. Artificial respiration was produced, aud the circulation was kept up for more than half an hour, beyond which time the experiment was not continued. ts ; € 92 On the different Modes in which Death We may conclude from these experiments, that, the effect of the infusion of tobacco, when injected into the intestine of a living animal, is to destroy the action of the heart, stopping the circulation and producing syncope. It ap- peared to me that the action of the heart ceased even before the animal had ceased to respire; and this was confirmed by another experiment, in which, in a dog killed by thean- fusion of tobacco, | found the cavities of the left side of the heart. to contain scarlet, blood, while in those of the mght side the blood was dark-coloured.. This poison therefore, differs materiaily frou alcohol, the essential oil of almonds, and the juice of aconite, which have no direct influence on the action of the heart... The infusion of tobacco renders the heart insensible to the stimulus of the blood, but it does not altogether destroy the power of muscular contrac- tion, since the heart resumed its action in one instance on the division of the pericardium, and J have found thatthe voluntary muscles of an animal killed by this poison, are as readily stimulated to contract by the influence of the Voltaic battery, as if it had been killed in any other manner. At the same time, however, that the infusion of tobacco de- stroys the action of the heart, it appears to destroy also the | functions of the biain, since these did not return in the last experiment; although the cirenlation was restored, and kept up by artificial respiration. . Since there is no direct communication between the in- testinal canal and the heart, I was at first induced to sup- pose that the latter becomes affected in couscquence, of the infusion being conveyed into the blood by absorption. Some circumstances in the following experiment have since led me to doubt whether this is the case. Exp. 12. In a dog, whose head was removed, I kept up the circulation by means of artificial respiration, m the manner already described in the account of some experi- ments which I Jately communicated to this Society. IT then injected into the stomach and intestines nine ounces of infusion of tobacco. At the time of the imjection, the body of the animal lay perfectly quiet and motionless on the table; the heart acted regularly one hundred times in a minute. Ten minutes afterwards the pulse rose to one hun- cred and forty ina minute; the peristaltic motion of the intestines was much increased, and the voluntary muscles in every part of the body. were thrown into repeated and violent spasmodic action. The joints of the extremities were alternately beyt and -extended; the muscles of the spine, 1s produced by certain vegetable Poisons. 93 spine, abdomen, and tail alternately relaxed and contracted, so as to turn the whole animal from one side to the other. T have observed, in other instances, spasmodic actions of the muscles, where the circulation was kept up by artificial respiration, after the removal of the head, but not at all to be compared, either in strength or frequency, with those which took place on this occasion. _1 made pressure on the abdominal aorta for more than a minute, so as to ob- struct the circulation of the blood in the lower extremities 5 but the muscular contractions were not Jessened in conse- quence. Half an bour after the injection of the infusion, the artificial respiration was ‘discontnyed. The heart con- tinued to act, circulating dark-coloured blood; the muscu- lar contractions continued, but gradually diminished in strength and frequency. | I tied a ligature round the vessels at the base of the heart, so as to stop the circulation; never- theless the muscular contractions still continued, though less frequent and forcible than before, and some minutes elapsed betore they entirely ceased. In this experiment, the disposition to contraction in the muscles was very much increased, instead of being dimi- nished, as in those just related. If the infnsion of tobacco influences the heart from being absorbed into the blood, and thus coming into actual contact with its fibres, there is no evident reason why the removal of the brain, and the em- ployment of artificial respiration, should occasion ‘so ma- terial a difference in its effects. If the contractions of the voluntary muscles had depended on the infusion circulating with the blood, it is reasonable to suppose that the pressure ‘on the aorta would have oceasioned some diminution of them, and thatthe complete obstruction of the circulation would have caused them to cease altogether. From these considerations, Iam induced, on the whole, to believe that the infusion of tobaeco, when injected into the intestines, influences the heart through the medium of the nervous system; but I have not been able to devise any experiment, by which the truth or fallacy of this opinion might be put beyond the reach of doubt. Lt appears remarkable, that the brain and nervons system, although not necessary to the action of the heart, should, when under the influence of the infusion of tobaceo, be capaole of influencing this organ so as to stop its action; but this is analogous to what we sce occur in consequence of violent emotions of the mind. Those stares of the nervous system, which accompany the passions of joy, fear, er eee or Lanse 7 = 94 Fatal Effects from the or anger, when existing in a moderate degree, render the heart more sensible to the stimulus of the blood, and in- crease the frequency of its contractions; while, when the same passions exist in a greater degree, the heart is rendered * altogether insensible to the stimulus of the blood, and syn- cope ensues. [Yo be contiuued.] XXI. History of fatal Effects from the accidental Use of White Lead; in a Letter to the President. By Joun Drerine, Surgeon, F.M.S.; with additional Remarks ly WiLttaAM SHEAKMAN, M.D.F.M.S.* Ar the sitting of January 30, 1809, a verbal communica- tion was made to the Society, by the author of the following memoir, of some extraordinary symptoms, followed by the death of several individuals of a family whom he had at- tended. It appearing to the members present highly pro- bable that these unfortunate events originated from the poison of leadt, a committee was deputed to investigate and to endeavour to detect the real cause of the fatality ; which the following relation fully and satisfactorily explaims. Aldersgate Street, Oct. 4, 1809. If the following narrative do not convey any important medical information, It may not be wholly uninstructive, as it relutes to.a domestic calamity, occasioned by a cir- sumstance which at the time was wholly unsuspected; and it may at Jeast inculcate the necessity of a closer investiga- tion of symptoms from causes not fully ascertained, and at the same time evince the fallacy of hasty prognostics. On the 21st of October last, was desired to visit Mrs. R., the wife of a respectable’ tradesman in Aldersgate-street, who complained of violent pain in the scrobiculus cordis, with great soreness of the epigastric region when pressed upon. She had vomited a considerable quantity of bilious matter, and at the same time her bowels were constipated : the pulse was calm and regular, the tongue clean and moist, and there was no symptom of fever present. She imme- diately took a cathartic, which operated, ana an opiate in the evening. The following morning the patient appeared * From the Transactions of the Medieal Society of London, vol. i. parti. + On the following evening Dr. Shearman celivered the annexed com- munication, which served to confirm the probability of these suspicions; although Mr. D. had been hitherto unsuccessful in dececting the precise crigin of the exciting cause. ; relieved; accidental Use of White Lead. 93 relieved; in the evening, however, the pains and vomiting recurred, and these symptoms continued for some succes- sive days, in so distressing a degree, that it was deemed advisable to consult the family physician, which was done on November 4, 1808. At this time these symptoms con- tinued as already intimated, without any appearance of fever, and hence the physician was induced to consider the affec- tions as of a rheumatic and spasmodic nature. In a few days, in consequence of the amendment of the patient, he discontinued his visits. In about a week after this period, a boy in the same family, nearly sixteen years of age, was seized with symptoms exactly similar to those of the preceding case, and similar remedies aforded only partial relief, till at length he was removed into the country, and thereby recovered his health. A week after the attack of this youth, the eldest child, a boy six years, old, was also seized with analogous sym- ptoms, and, the mother having relapsed into her former state, the physician was again consulted on the 19th of November. At this time three other persons in the family laboured under similar affections, and suspicions were now entertained that some poisonous substance might have caused this general indisposition of the family; but after minute investigation no one circumstance was discovered to confirm this suspicion, or to elucidate the source of sa extensive a calamity. The sickness and pain continued unabated in Mrs. R.; but the son, after the period of a fortnight, was deemed in a state of convalescence by his physician, who discontinued his atrendance; he was, however, soon after seized with convulsions, and expired within a few hours. Unexpected and severe as this shock was, Mrs. R. afterwards gradually grew a little better. She had hitherto continued to suckle her child, which, it being fifteen months old, she was ad- vised to wean: to this she reluctantly consented. In about ten days afterwards the child became somewhat costive, without any other apparent indisposition; but at this period it was seized with vomiting and convulsions, and suddenly expired. The unhappy parent now experienced a return of her complaints, and, under a persuasion of the inefficacy of professional aid, she was prevailed upon to consult an empiric, whose attendance, though continued to the end of the year, proved unavailing; and on the 3d of January, 1809, she had the advice of Mr. Chevalier, an experienced surgecn, who considered the patient’s complaint to be chronic rheumatism; and by the use of clysters of warm water, a ig 96 | Futal Effects from the water, oily mucilaginous medicines, fomentations, and ve- sicatories, she appeared to experience more relief than at any period since the first attack ; but, although the voinit- ing aud sickness were less violent and frequent, the pain and soreness of the abdomen, first complained of, never entirely subsided: she was, however, able to sit up and amuse herself with a little needlework, and even to go about the domestic concerns of the family, and Mr. Che- valier had proposed to pay his final visit on the 2ist. On the morning of this day she rose at ten o’clock, and within the space of an hour afterwards, whilst standing near the desk of drawers, she suddenly exclaimed, [ am dying!” She was seized with convulsions, which continued till five o’clock inthe afternoon, when she expired. 6 On the subsequent day, Mr. Chevalier, whose anatomi- eal skill is weil known, examined the body by dissection. Neither the thoracic and abdominal viscera, nor the brain, upon the most minute examination, exmbited the least ap- pearance of disease; in short, not’ the least trace could be discovered of any morbid affection. With respect to the three other persons already mentioned to have been indisposed, the servant maid, one of them, was conveyed to her friends, and recovered. A sister-in-law of Mrs. R. also recovered; but the third, who was ber mother- in-law, died, after lingering under disease ull March. These circumstances having been cursorily communicated to the Medical Society, Dr. Adams, Dr. Hamilton, and Mr. Lawrence, were requested to visit the house of this unfortunate family, and to endeavour to ascertain the eause of the calamity. ‘Every culinary article and the whole pre- mises were accurately examined, but without its leading to any discovery. Jt appeared, ended) that Mr. R. ., the hus- band of the deceased lady, bad purchased a casn of sugar at a sale, a considerable part of which bad been disposed of to some ftiends in. the country, who had used it without inconvenience, and hence no suspicion was entertained of this article having produced the fatality in Mr. R.’s family. In this state of uncertainty, Dr. Laird, another member of the Medical Society, visited the ole ¢ and, on ex- amining the cask which had contained the sugar, he ob- served a white powder adhering ‘to’ its inner surface, and which, on being heated by the blow-pipe on charcoal, af forded globules “of lead in the metallic state. ‘ng The inystery was thus at length developed. The: sugar had beew injudiciously put into’a cask which had’ previously “contained white lead. That part of the ‘sngar’ which was e sent accidental Use of White Lead. 97 sent into the country had probably been taken out of the middle of the cask, and had never come in contact with the lead ; whilst that which was used by the family, having been taken from the side, was impregnated with this metal, and doubtless was the source of the fatal events described. Of nine persons in this family, who were more or less indisposed, four died, and the effects of the poison appear to have been nearly in the ratio of their respective ages. The infant, fifteen months old, was attacked and expired within the space of twenty-four hours; the child six years of age survived a fortnight; Mrs. R., aged forty, lingered three months before the fatal event took place; and the mother-in-law, aged sixty-seven, died four months after the attack. , The symptoms in each were very similar. The vomit- ing, pain in the stomach, and costiveness, marked the at- tack of the disease; and the soreness of the epigastric re- gion in those who recovered was not removed by medicine, but seemed rather gradually to wear away by time or change of air. The matter vomited was usually of a dark yellow colour, though sometimes green; the faeces were in, general dark-coloured; but in the case of Mrs. R. they were com- pletely white during the space of twenty-four hours only. There was a considerable sameness in the medical treat- ment. The opiates which were given afforded no mitiga- tion of the symptoms, unless joined with cathartics, and aided by fomentations, &c. The countenances of all the patients exhibited a pale, sickly, wan aspect. The pulse in each was slow and regular, rather indeed sluggish, and generally below the natural state; but im no instance was there any symptom of paralysis. J. DEERING. i. ~~ Further Observations on the same Subject. By WiLL1AM ; SuearMAN, M.D.F.M.S. Tue circumstance related in the preceding communica- tion of several persons in the same family being attacked with similar symptoms, differing only in degree, and re- sembling in appearance those of the colica pictonum, the exciting cause of which could not be discovered after the most accurate research, brings to my recollection an occur- rence which happened within. my observation several years ago, where this disease raged with different degrees of vio- Jence among a great number of people, produced in all of them by the same unsuspected cause, and which, in its in- Vol. 38. No. 160. August 1811. G cipient 98 Fatal Effects from the cipient and milder state, from its general prevalence, was not recoguised either by the other practitioners of the town where I then resided, or myself; to be the genuine painters’ colic. This town, a sea-port in Essex, contained between three and four thousand inhabitants, and at the time I speak of, very many. people, chiefly adults, and a greater proportion of them men, complained of occasional violent colic pains, chiefly occurring atter meals, attended with an obstinate costiveness ; and although these symptoms were for a time relieved by the use of purgatives and other means, they al- most universally recurred. The progress of the disease, even in those cases where it attained its utmost violence, was in almost every instance so insidious and so slow, as to leave us unapprehensive of its true character; which, however, was at length brought to light in the following manner : An infant, under twelve mouths, at the breast, who had been subject to complaints arising from acidity of the food, was tormented with most excruciating pain, apparently in the bowels, attended by a very great degree of constipation, and accompanied with violent. straining efforts at evacua- uon, resembling tenesmus. The sufferings of this poor little child were in the highest degree distressing, and it ‘ obtained but temporary relief from the warm bath, laxative injections, those of an anodyne quality, the throwing up into the rectum warm oil, opiates and purgatives combined, or from any treatment whatever that could be suggested. The seeing so unusually severe a case, suggested to my mind the probability that some improper substances had been exhibited to the little patient, and I was earnest in my inquiries to this point. All my endeavours only ascer- tained that the nurse had occasionally given the child a tea spoonful or two of ardent spirit in its food; a practice, which, although I much reprobated, 1 knew to be too com- mon among narses, solely to account for this violent dis- ease. My patient at length fell a victim; and a very short time after, the father of the child regretting to me the mis- management of its nurse in giving it spirits, observed, that he himself was occasionally tormented with pains in his bowels, which he was inclined to attribute to drinking a single glass of Hollands and water every night. This in- duced a suspicion in my mind; and upon dropping into a small quantity of the spirits a single drop of the volatile tincture of sulphur of the old London Pharmacopeeia, it assumed a very dark colour, affording a certain evidence of its a accidental Use of White Lead. 99 . its containing a metallic poison. This Hollands geneva had been bought at the king’s excise warehouse in the town, whiere many hundred gallons were annually sold, that bad been seized by the excise officers from persons attemplng to smugele it into this country, The gentleman, grieved at the loss of his child, which he could no longer fail to attribute to its true source, brought up the chief managing officer before the magistrates; when he confessed that the whole of the quantity of Hollands sold at the last sale had been impregnated with sugar of lead, for the purpose of depriving the spirit of the colour which it always obtained by being kept for some time in the tubs in which it.was rought over sea by the smugglers, and the loss of which colour enhanced its price by three or four shillings a gallon. This circttmstance afforded an easy explication of the cause of the malady which had so generally prevailed 5 and hence- forth none other than coloured Hoilands were exposed to sale at the excise warehouse, as had been the custom pre- vious to this scientific attempt of the above officer, at once to increase the king’s revenue and his own. This recital strongly illustrates the obscurity in: which the occasional causes of disease may sometimes be invol- ved; and, as 4 proof of the difficulty of raising suspicion of the deleterious quality of substances, I may mention, that among those who died on this occasion was a dissent- ing clergyman, about sixty years of age, a man of good sense and observation, of temperate habits (if the daily cus- tom of. taking a glass of spirits and water after supper is not to be considered a deviation from the rules of temper- ance), whose wife carried on the business of a druggist 3 and it may be supposed they were both acquainted with the noxious qualities of the preparations of lead: yet it ap- peared that the sugar of lead with which this spirit was im- pregnated had been bought at their house by the exciseman himself, and in. quantities of 2glbs. at a time but it did not occur to either of them, or to his medical attendant, that the disorder was connected with the drinking of the Hollands. It is t# be remembered, that in the early staces we have no certain diagnostic signs by which the colica pictonum can be distinguished from the other species of colic; it is only by its ultimate effects, or by a knowledge of its exciting causes, that we can confidently pronounce concerning the existence of the disease. W. SHEARMAN, : . G2 XXI. Me. [ 100 ] XXII. Memoir on ihe Existence of a Combination of Tan- nin and a vegetable Matter in some Vegetables. By Messrs. Fourcroy and VavQuELin*,. § I. Subject of our Inquiries. Tr was natural to suppose that when there were formed, either successively or simultaneously, tannin and animal sub- stances in vegetables, these two compounds would unite when they met: nevertheless, although the knowledge we have acquired on the subject of tannin and the animal sub- stance give great probability to this opinion, no chemist has yet announced the existence of this species of combination in plants. Upon analysing several vegetable matters more or less different from each other, and particularly the Indian ches- nut, garden beans, lentils, &c., we discovered the com- pound in question, and we shall now give the result of our experiments. The facts which we are about to describe seem interest- ing, because they afford an explanation of a great num- ber of pheenomena observed in the analysis of vegetables, as well as in their employment in dyeing or in other arts, — phenomena which the chemists have not yet been able to account for. § If. Examination of the Skin of Garden Beans. Tt was in the skin which covers the cotyledon of the bean that we first ascertained the combination of tannin with an animal matter, When macerated in tepid water for 24 hours, this tunic communicated to the water the property of reddening turn- sole tincture, that of precipitating the solution of sulphate of iron blue, the solution of glue in yellowish-white, lime water in red flakes like oxide of iron, the acetate of lead in yellowish-white, and at the same time the property of experiencing no effect from the infusion of gall-nuts, The characters of this water prove that it contains a free acid and tannin. We must here remark, that pure tannin precipitates iron brown, and that when it is joined with an acid it precipitates it blue. The skins of garden beans submitted four different times to the action of large quantities of boiling water always communicated to it the above properties, but im a remarka- bly decreasing ratio. * Annales du Museum d'Hist. Nat, tome xv. p. 77. When * ti ie on Combination of Tannin and a vegetable Malter. 103 When they no longer furnish any thing to the water, they preserve the property of becoming instantly of a deep black by the application of a little sulphate of iron: even when reduced to pulp and washed with boiling water, they still become black when in contact with this salt. § III. First Result of the foregoing Trials : ulterior Experi- ments on the same Bodies. These experiments began to make us suspect that the tannin to which the effects above described are manifestly owing, was combined in the pellicles of the garden beans with some substance which opposed its solubility in water. In order to ascertain, 1f possible, the nature of this sub- stance, we put into a slight solution of potash a portion of pounded pellicles, and heated the mixture gently. The li- quor soon became of a purple-red colour, as well as the substance of the pellicles. When filtered, and mixed to satu- ration with the acetic acid, this liquor precipitated a reddish matter in the form of flakes, having a gelatinous appearance ; and it preserved but a very feeble colour itself. The alkaline lixivium, thus cleared by the acetic acid of the substance which it had taken up from the pellicles of gar- den beans, did not give a blue colour to the solution of sul- phate of iron; the mixture merely assumed aslight brownish colour; but the matter precipitated, on the contrary, became intensely black with this metallic solution, so that the tan- pin was really dissolved by the potash with the matter to which it was united, and afterwards precipitated with this same substance by the acetic acid, the action of which is here confined to the saturation of the potash. The pellicles of the beans, when cleansed by repeated washings, and distilled in a slow fire, furnished a liquor slightly acid, but from which caustic potash extricated a great quantity of ammonia: the produce of the distillation, before being thus mixed with the potash, gave a blue precipitate with sulphate of iron. From these last experiments, it appears no longer doubt- ful to us, that the skins of garden beans actually contain a combination of tannin and an animal substance: we are even inclined to think that the greatest part of the paren- chyme of those skins is formed of this combination, heir charcoal yielded upon incineration a small quantity of ashes formed of carbonate of lime, phosphate with the same base, and oxidated iron. The envelopes of the lentils presented precisely the same G3 properties 102 On the Existence of a Combination of Tannin properties and the same results with those of garden beans ¢ we sha.] therefore dispense with any further details on this head. § IV. Examination of the Leaves of the Indian Chesnut-tree. The leaves of the chesnut-tree, when deprived by alcohol of all which was soluble in it, having been afterwards snb- jected to the action of boiling water, communicated to it a light-brown colour, viscosity, and the property of frothing on agitation, This liquor, when evaporated to dryness, left a small quan- tity of brownish matter, which was attached to the capsule in a thin shining layer like a gum, which burned with a crackling noise, exhaling a fetid vapour sensibly ammo- niacal. Its solution in water precipitated iron black, and the acetate of lead ye'low, but produced no effect in alue, nor in the infusion of gall -nuts. We are of opinion that this substance is also a combina- tion of animal matter and of tannin insoluble in alcohol, and by no means a gum, as the appearances denote; and this combination, as is the case with the pellicles of warden beans and lentils, is accompanied by a superabundance of tannin, which alcohol takes up. Thus, when we treat these substances directly by water, the free acid and tannin favour the solubility of those combinations saturated with the ani- mal matter and tannin, which for the greater part remain insoluble, in the case in which we first treat these vegetable matters with alcohol. The leaves of the chesnut-tree, when suceessively freed by alcohol and by water of every thing which is soluble in these two menstrua, and when dried and afterwards distilled, furnished an ammoniacal vapour so strong as to be scarcely supportable, and a very alkaline liquor. This last, when saturated by the muniatic acid, precipitated the solution of sulphate of. iron in blackish blue; which proves that there still remained in these leaves a certain quantitv of the com- bination of animal matter and tannin, which neither the aicohol nor the water could dissolve, gV, girnis made to imitate the vegetable Compound above described. Although we were well convinced, by the properties which we have detailed, and by various other experiments on the leaves of the chesnut- tree, that the matter in ques- tion is a true combination of animal principle and tannin, ‘ we COA ean and a vegetable Matter in some Vegetables. 103 we were nevertheless at a loss how to account for its solu- tion in water; this combination being in fact. but very little so of itself. " Supposing that the acids, which frequently exist in the plants, and the tannin itself when it is in excess, could fa- your this solution, we thought it right to make some ex- periments to verify this conjecture : after having saturated therefore a solution of the tannin of gall-nuts with animal Jue dissolved in water, we treated the precipitate, when well washed, with acetic acid on the one hand, and with phosphoric acid on the other: these two acids produced, by means of a slight heat, the complete solution of the ‘axnate of gelatine, or tannated gelatine. The following are the properties exhibited to us by the solution made with the acetic acid: 1. If we raise the tem- perature to the boiling point, it becomes turbid and white _ like milk, but precipitates nothing : 2d. Neither the solution of gelatine nor that of tannin produces any change in it: 3d. It precipitates iron black, and the acetate of lead yel- Jow: 4th. Alcohol very much dephlegmated precipitates the tannale of gelatine from its acid solution in white flakes, which become brown when they unite. This last experiment shows, that when we treat with al- cohol paits of vegetables which contain at the same time acids soluble in this agent, and tannate of gelatine or albu- men, the first are taken up, and the other becomes insoluble in the water, if there is not in the vegetable matter some other acid insoluble in alcohol.» Thus, when we treat these kinds of plants directly by water, we obtain, as we have said above, much more of the combination of tannin and ani- mal matter existing in the solution. It will be found from what precedes, that there is the most remarkable analogy between the properties of tannin and animal gelatine, and those of the natural combination which we have discovered in several astringent vegetables: only there is more tannin in the natural combination: the arti- ficial contains more animal matter, and yields more am- monia upon distillation, § VI. View as to the Existence of this Compound in many Vegetables, and as to its Uses. Although we have only examined the combination in question in a small number of vegetables, we have reason ‘to think that it is very common among allof them. It is ae that which sometimes makes the vegetable infusions turbid, ° or is separated from them in the form of pellicles of various G4 thickness, 104 Combination of Tannin and a vegetable Matter. thickness, when they are boiled or evaporated. It is to this that the sediments are owing which are formed in some infusions when they cool, and which are dissolved after- wards with more or less difficulty. It is this substance also, perhaps, which, as well as some other combinations of different vegetable principles with which it may be mixed, has been taken for more than half a century for a peculiar principle, and which has been denominated the extract of plants. This is certainly the case with the astringent plants, and particularly the roots, wood, bark, &c. which have this character. It would be very interesting to examine with care, and with the views above pointed out, the extracts which are prepared by the apothecaries, and to inquire if the name of extractive matter, adopted since 1787, in order to designate homogeneous principle in plants, ought to be retained in the present state of science. While we expect that something more will be done on this subject, we beg leave to assure our readers, that the vegetable substances employed as body-colours in dyeing, and in giving a brownness to common cloths, contain a combination of tannin and animal matter: of this number are chiefly the - bark of the alder tree, of the ash, the green shell of wal- nuts, &c.: to these we may add the Indian chesnut-tree, since the compound of tannin contained in its leaves unites very easily with wool, silk, and even cotton; and the co- lours thus given appear very solid. Weare inclined to think, therefore, that the theory of dyeing may acquiresome improvements from a precise know- ledge of a compound hitherto unknown in plants, and which acts a peculiar part in the production of colours ap- plied without previous preparation upon cloths. It results, for instance, from our inquiries, that, in order to fix the colouring matter of woods and barks upon cloths of vegetable origin, it would perhaps be advantageous to prepare them first with animal liquors, in order to precipitate more abundantly the tannin and the tannated substance, which it renders more soluble: there is even reason to be- lieve that this process is already in use in some manufac- tories. Might we not also be permitted to ascribe to the same combination a physiological use with respect to seeds, and to acknowledge in the chemical composition of their en- velopes an anxiety on the part of nature to preserve them by covering them with an insoluble and imputrescible sub- stance? What we have discovered as belonging to the skins of Nervous Affection cured by Pressure of the Carotids. 105 of garden beans and lentils, will unquestionably be found in a great variety of other vegetables when subjected to the game examination. Those which do not present a similar nature in their envelopes, sometimes exhibit ligneous or horny envelopes, or dry pellicles clothed or penetrated with a waxy substance, or with bitter and aromatic oils, in which the naturalist will recognise a similar defensive and preser- yvative property. XXIII. On a Case of nervous Affection cured by Pressure of the Carotids; with some physiological Remarks. By C. H. Parry, M.D.F.R.S.* Orservine that the Royal Society, of which T have the honour to be a member, occasionally receives communica- tions illustrative of the laws of animal life, which are indeed ihe most important branch of physics, I take the liberty of calling their attention to a case, confirming a_ principle which I long ago published, and which, I believe, haa never till then been remarked by pathologists. About the year 1786, I began to attend a young lady, who Jaboured under repeated and violent attacks, either of head- ache, vertigo, mania, dyspnoea, convulsions, or other sym- ptoms usually denominated nervous. This case I described at large to the Medical Society of London, who published it in their Memoirs, in the year 1788. Long meditation on the circumstances of the case led me to conclude, that all the symptoms arose from a violent impulse of blood into the vessels of the brain; whence I inferred, that as the chief canals conveying this blood were the carotid arteries, it might perhaps be possible to intercept a consi- derable part of it so impelled, and thus remove those sym- ptoms which were the supposed effect of that inordinate influx. With this view, I compressed with my thumb one or both carotids, and uniformly found all the symptoms removed by that process. Those circumstances of rapidity or intensity of thought, which constituted delirium, im- mediately ceased, and gave place to other trains of a healthy kind; head-ache and vertigo were removed, and a stop was put to convulsions, which the united strength of three or four attendants had before been insufficient to counteract. That this extraordinary effect was not that of mere pres- sure, operating as a sort of counteracting stimulus, was evi- * From the Philosophical Transactions for 1811, part i. dents 106 On a Case of nervous Affection cured dent; for the salutary effect was exactly proportioned to the actual pressure of the carotid itself, and did not take place at all, if, in consequence of a wrong direcnion either to the right or left, the carotid escaped the effects of the operation. This view of the order of phenomena was, in reality, very conformable to the known Jaws of the animal ceco- nomy. It is admitted, that a certain momentum of the circulating blood in the brain is necessary to the due per- formance of the functions of that organ. Reduce the mo- mentum, and you not only impair those functions, but, if the reduction go to a certain degree, you bring on syncope, in which they are for a time suspended. On. the other hand, in nervous affections, the sensibility and other func- tions of the brain are unduly increased ; and what can be more natural than to attribute this effect to the contrary cause, or excessive momentum in the vessels of the brain? If, however, this analogical reasoning has any force in as- certaining the principle, I must acknowledge that it did not occur to me till twenty years afterwards, when a great number of direct experiments had appeared to me clearly to demonstrate the fact. From various cases of this kind, I beg leave to select one which occurred to me in the month of January 1805. Mrs. T. aged 51, two years and a half beyond a certain critical period of female life, a widow, mother of two chil- dren, thin, and of a middle size, had been habitually free from gout, rheumatism, hemorrhoids, eruptions, and all other disorders, except those usually called nervous, and occasional alae one of which, about two years and a half before, had been accompanied with considerable cough, and had still Jeft some shortness of breathing, affecting her only when she used strong muscular exertion, as in walking up stairs, or up hill. In February 1803, after sitting for a considerable time in a room without a fire, in very severe weather, she was so much chilled as to feel, according to her own expression, — “as if her blood within was cold.” In order to. warm herself, she walked briskly for a Se tae time about the house, but ineffectually. The coldness continued for several hours: during w hich she was seized with a numb- ness or sleepiness of her left side, together with a mo- mentary deafness, but no privation or hebetude of the other senses, or pain or giddiness of the head. After the deafness had subsided, she “became preternaturally sensible to “sound in - by Pressure of the Carotids. | 107 jn the ear of the affected side, and felt a sort of rushing or tingling in the fingers of the left hand, which led her to conclude that ** the blood went too forcibly there.” Though the coldness went off, what she called numbness still continued, but without the Jeast diminution of the power of motion in the side affected. In about six weeks, the numbness extended itself to the right side. Among various ineffectual remedies for these complaints, blisters were applied to the back, and the inside of the left arm above the elbow. The former drew weil. The latter inflamed without discharging; so that a poultice of bread and milk was put on the blistered part. After this period, the muscles of the humerus began to feel as if contracted and sti; and these sensations gradually spread themselves to the neck and head, and all across the body, so as to make it uncomfortable for her to lie on either side, though there was no inability of motion. She now began to be affected with violent occasional flushings of her face aud head, which occurred even while her feet and legs were cold, together with a rushing noise in the back of the head, especially in hot weather, or from any of those causes which usually produce the feelings of ‘heat. It is difficult to give intelligible names to sensations of a new and uncommon kind. That which this lady dero- minated numbness, diminished neither the motion nor the sensibility of the parts affected. It was more a perception of tightness and constriction, in which the susceptibility of fecling in the parts was in fact increased; and the skin of the extremities was so tender, that the cold air produced a sense of uneasiness, the finest flannel or worsted felt dis- agreeably coarse, and the attempt to stick a pin with her fingers caused intolerable pain. In the month of September 1803, not long after the ap- plication of the blisters, she experienced, in certain parts of the left arm and thigh, that sensation of twitching which is vulgarly called the “life blood,’”? and which soon ex- tended itself to the right side. Shortly alterwards, she be- ' gan to perceive an actual vibration or starting up of certain portions of the flexor muscles of the fore-arm, and of the deltoid on the left side; not so, however, as to move the arm or hand. This disorder had continued with Iittle variation to the period of my first visit. “The vibrations constantly existed while the arm was in the common posture, the fore-arm and late 108 Nervous Affection cured by Pressure of the Carotids. and hand leaning on the lap. If the arm were stretched strongly downwards, the vibration of the flexors ceased, but those of the deltoid continued. The arm being strongly extended forwards, all ceased; but returned as soon as the muscles were relaxed. The vibrations were of different de- grees of frequency, and at pretty regular intervals, usually about 80 ina minute. They were Tcrea sens in frequency and force by any thing which agitated or heated the patient, and were always worse after dinner than after breakfast. The pulse in the radial artery was 60 in a minute, and ra- ther hard. That in the carotids was very full and strong ; and each carotid appeared to be unusually dilated for about half an inch in length, the adjacent portions above and be- low being much smaller, and of the natural size. I much regret that I find in my notes of this case, no inquiry whe- ther there was any coincidence between the systoles of the heart and the muscular vibrations. The patient’s feet were usually cold, and her head and face hot. The feeling in her limbs was much as I have above described, except that the sensibility was somewhat less acute than it had been, and she complained of a tightness all over her head, as if it had been bound with a close night-cap. Her sleep was usually sound on first going to'bed, but afterwards, for the most part, interrupted by dreaming. Bowels generally costive: appetite moderate: no flatulency or indigestion : tongue slightly furred, without thirst; urine variable, but generally pale. The late Mr. George Crook, surgeon, was present while T made these examinations; dad akan, We afterwards con- versed together, I remarked to him, that if my theory of the usual cause of spasmodic or nervous affections were well founded, I should probably be able to suppress oF restrain these muscular vibrations of the left arm, by compressing the carotid artery on the opposite or right side; while little effect might perhaps be produced by compressing the ca- roud of the side affected. The event was exactly conform- able to my expectation. Strong pressure on the right ca- rotid uniformly stopped all the vibrations, while that on the left had no apparent. influence. I may add that these experiments were afterwards, at my request, repeated on this Jady in London by Dr. Baillie, and, as he informed me in a letter, with a similar result. It is perfectly well known to many of the Jearned mem- bers of this society, that irritations of the brain, when of moderate force, usually exhibit their effects on the nerves or muscles é ; On the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. 109 muscles of the opposite side of the body; and in the case before us, it is dificult to understand how the suspension of these automatic motions could have been produced by this pressure of the opposite carotid, in any other way than by the interruption of the excessive flow cf blood through a vessel morbidly dilated; in consequence of which inter- ruption, the undue irritation of the brain was removed, and the muscular fibres permitted to resume their usual state of rest. From these and many other similar facts, 1 am disposed to conclude, that irritation of the brain, from undue impulse of blood, is the common though not the only cause of spasmodic and nervous affections; and I can with the most precise regard to truth add, that a mode of practice con- formable to this principle has enabled me, during more than twenty years, to cure a vast number of such maladies which had resisted the usual means. An investigation of all the modifications of the principle itself, and of its numerous relations to therapeutics, would be inconsistent with the views of the Royal Society, and must be reserved for another place. Bath, Dec. 8, 1810. XXIV. Memoir on the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. By M. Hitpesrann. {Concluded from p. 76.] Pure Carlonic Acid Gas obtained by the Calcination of Chalk, Over Mercury. fF Ist day.— ie meat became of a crimson red, similar to that in the hydrogen gas. 2d to the ith day there was not any sensible change; the meat had the appearance of being quite fresh. 15th to 22d day, it became paler. 5ist day, the meat has become uniformly pale, and has the ap- pearance of cooked meat, and something of the same con- sistence ; it has not the least smell nor any mark of putri- dity, itis neither moist nor sticky. The gas was absorbed by lime, except a small residue which did not amount to more than O'O1. If this experiment is repeated in vessels stopped with cork, arid some meat is shut up in one bottle while the gas is hot, and iv another not until after the gas is become cold; it will be ‘found that the meat put into the cold gas will be in good preservation on the 60th day, but will have acquired a disagreeable odour, whereas that shut up 110 Onthe Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. up in the hot gas putrefies on the 30th day, and is entirely’ spoiled by the 60th. Nitrous Gas. Above Mercury. Ist day. The meat appeared much redder. 51st day. The meat had preserved its fine colour, and was very firms the liquor which trickled from it had a fine red colour, and had deposited a small quantity of whitish matter, resem- bling fat, although the meat did not contain any. 671th day, June 10. The meat still kept its bright colour, there- fore | had not taken it out, in order to sce how long time was required for its decomposition. Third Set. The temperature was the same as in the last set of experi- ments. Oxygen Gas placed over Ti7ater, the Recipient containing 28% Cubic Inches. ist day. The meat became of a beautiful red colour. 2d, 8d, and 4th days, the meat preserved its colour, and did not begin to putrefy. 6th day, I could distinguish small transparent Grops: these increased in size and number the 7th day; on the 8th they were turbid, and appeared red. oth day. Putrefaction is apparent on the whole surtace,: which begins to liquety. The gas is much diminished in bulk. There can be no doubt but that the increase of tem perature is the cause of the more speedy putrefaction. 10th day. The gas when measured by the gasometer had diminished 7 cubic inches. Having subjected it to the action of lime water, it diminished 62 inches more. Supposing that the 7 cubic inches absorbed by the water were carbonic acid gas, we see that there were 13% cubie inches of oxygen consumed, which must have formed 18°75 cubic inches of carbonic acid gas. Having examined the remaining 15 cubic inches with nitrous gas, IT found that they cousisted. of 5*4 of azotic gas and 9°6 of oxygen; the 284 cubic inches of oxygen then were thus accounted for + 13°5 in the carbonic acid. 5°4 in the azotic gas. 9°6 oxygen remaining. 28°5 Aimospheric Air. The meat putrefied and was deconiposed on the 48th day; the water rose up considerably, and absorbed 21 cubic inches a * = a 9 Le om a é On the Action of Elastic Fluids upon Meat. 111 inches out of the 96 which the receiver contained. The experiment being interrupted, I had no opportunity of con- tinuing my observations. Pure Hydrogen Gas. Ist day. The meat became of a red poppy colour. 4th day. No alteration, except that the meat appeared to be dried up. 6th day. Some mouldiness might be observed, which was increased on the 7th day. From the 8th to the 41st day no change could be perceived, except that about the 20th day the mouldiness disappeared. Lhe flesh re- sembled meat that had been salted without nitre, and after- wards smoked; there was not the least bad scent. The gas did not render lime water turbid; it burned with con- siderable force. It will be seen by this recital how necessary it is to re- peat these experiments separately, in order to obtain cor- rect results. The following conclusions may be drawn from thein : 1. That hydrogen preserves and even increases the co- hesion of dead flesh by drying it; that, on the contrary, oxygen diminishes this cohesion by rendering the meat moist and flaceid. It is remarkable that hydrogen pre- serves the cohesion of the fibres, even above walter, when the gas is loaded with humidity. 2. That the meat undergoes alteration, and becomes dis- solved much sooner in oxygen when it contains azote, as in atmospheric air, and in the vas obtained from nitrate of potass, than when the gas is quite pure. 3. That nitrous gas strongly resists putrefaction, holding the next place to hydrogen, and after it carbonic acid gas. 4. That meat becomes putrid less readily in oxygen was than in atmospheric air; but that when putrefaction does once take place, it goes on more rapidly than in atmo- spheric air, and the vapour arising from it is much more offensive. 5. That the colour of meat becomes brown in hydrogen and grows brighter in oxygen and azotic gas. uy 6. That hydrogen gas, nitrous and carbonic acid gases, do not appear to suffer any change by being enclosed over meat. 7. That oxygen gas, either pure or combined with azote is converted into carbonic acid gas. ; 8. That one part of the oxygen gas still retains its pro- perties as in other combustions. 9. That during the putrefaction of meat in oxygen gas, \ azote 112 On the Mean Density of the Earth. azote is obtained, and that this azote is either disengaged from the meat, or the oxygen is converted into azote. 10. When the mea: begins to corrupt in the hydrogen, there is disengaged from it carbonic acid; but when putre- faction did not take place, none of it was formed. 11. That upon the meat in oxygen gas are formed small drops of water, which resemble the pustules of the small- pox My next researches shall be directed to ascertain all these facts I have announced, and especially to satisfy myself, if the carbonic acid gas found in the hydrogen exists in the Meat; to determine the influence of light, and the shining properties of putrid meat. XXY. Letter from Dr. Hutton on the Calculations for ascertaming the Mean Density of the Earth. To Mr. Tilloch. Sir, Accustomep, as I constantly am, to peruse with much pleasure and profit, the numerous valuable philoso- phical dissertations that adorn your Magazine, I am truly sorry to have occasion to make a remark on a paragraph in your Number for the month of June last, which has not done justice to my labours, and which has doubtless been admitted unawares into your work ; as I cannot for a mo- ment suppose it possible, that either yourself or Mr. Davy would intentionally write or say one word to do injustice or to give pain to me or to any one else. The paragraph alluded to is in your excellent account of Mr. Dayy’s very ingenious Lectures on Geology, given at the Royal Institu- tion, being in page 469 of your last volume ; and runs thus: “But what are the agents concerned in these great and awful elevations? The discoveries of Mr. Davy prove that the earths and alkalies consist of metals united to oxygen, or pure air; and these metals are highly inflammable, some of them so much so as to burn even in contact with water. The mean density of the earth, as determined by Mr. Ca- vendish and Dr. Maskelyne, would Jead to the conclusion that the interior consists principally of metallic matter, which may be alloys of the metals of the earths and alkalies with the common metals:—and such an assumption, says Mr. Davy, would offer a ready explanation of subterranean heat and volcanic explosions ; for, supposing water from the sea or lakes to act upon these inflammable masses, elastic matters “wry eon, They On the Mean Density of the Earth, * shia matters would be rapidly disengaged, the surface would be broken, air would act upon the metals, inflammation.would take place, and the result would be Java, the metals of the earths combined with oxygen.” Now, Mr. T., will it not be understood by every reader of this paragraph, who may not haye been peer ise 1nformed , on these matters, that Mr. C. and Dr. M. have been the only, or the first, or the principal determiners of the mean density of the whole earth, and° the authors of the idea of immense quantities of metallic matter about the central parts of it? I cannot suppose that the paragraph has been so worded by suppressing his name, purposely.to throw the slightest disparagement on the labours of the person who first-and chiefly computed that density, and suggested in consequence that idea of the metallic interior parts : o Vek. it seems strange that the name of Dr. Hutton should be omitted in the mention of a circumstance in which he was the chief efficacious person, especially when other names, of inferior ccncernment in the business, are so pointedly announced. J trust, therefore, that Mr. T. will have the oodness to allow: me the favour of doing myself barely justice, in thus publicly stating the claim to which my la- bours have entitled me, as will appear in the following short history of this PRE About the year 1774, there was much. conversation among some of the sake scientific members of the Royal Society, about the universal attraction of al] matter, and in ‘devising some general and familiar proofs of it. It was then concluded that it would he a very decisive, and, in- deed, palpable proof, if it could be experimentally shown that any hill attracted a,plummet, drawing it sensibly aside from the perpendicular direction, towards itself. In pur- suing this idea, it was soon perceived, that as any hill, es- pecially in this country, is very small in compamasn with the whole earth, the effect of its attraction, in drawing the plummet aside, must be extremely small, probably but a very few seconds of a degree. Besides the m: agnitude of a hill, it was considered that the effect would be increased by the circumstances of its shape; such as, that it should be of a form very long and narrow, the sides very steep and lofty; on all which accounts it might be, expected to, produce the greater effect on the plummet placed near the middle of a side of the mountain. The trial having been resolved on, several persons were directed to search through ; the island, and to make inquiries for hills having properties, nearest approaching to those above mentioned, After 3e~ _ Vol. 38. No. 160. August 1811. H veral aie.” On the Mean Density of the Earth. veral reports to the Royal Society, Mr. Smeaton announced that be had discovered the mountain Schehallien, one of the Grampian hills in the north of Scotland, possessing the desired properties in a very eminent degree; being a very lofty and narrow ridge, very steep, extending a great length east and west, and very narrow from north to south, This hill was in consequence deemed sufficiently con venient for making the experiment; and a person, who had been an assistant to Dr, Maskelyne at the Roya! Ob- servatory, was engaged by the Society, and sent down to - Scotland to take the necessary measures about the hill, to ascertain its shape and magnitude by horizontal measure- menis, and by vertical sections in a great many directions and situations; and lastly, by placing a proper instrument and plummet against the middle of the sides of the hill, to observe, by zenith distances, the deviation of the plaumb-line towards the hill. Before the survey and observations were quite completed,—at the request of the Society, Dr.Maske- lyne himself went down to Scotland, to see how the busi- ness was carried on; and brought back the’ account of the survey, with the report that, having tried the plummet on the opposite sides of the hill, each side attracted it between 5 and 6 seconds from the perpendicular, and, in fact, that the sum of the two opposite attractions was just equal to 11,6, seconds. : Thus, then, the original question was satisfactorily an- swered in the affirmative, viz. that the hill, a mass of dense rocks, did sensibly attract the plummet, and draw it aside from the perpendicular direction of the earth’s gravitation, and that by a certain quantity. yet The next consideration was, whether and how these ob- servaiions and measurements could be employed, in com- parison with the magnitude and effects of the whole globe of the earth, to determine its mean density, in comparison with that of the mountain. This indeed was the grand question, a point of the highest importance to natural phi- losophy, of novel and of the most delicate and intricate consideration, as well as a work’of immense labour. Here were to be calculated mathematically the exact magnitude of the hill, its shape and form in every respect, the position and situation of all its parts, the various elevations and de- pressions, and the attraction on the plummets, by every point and particle in the hill, as well as of the neighbouring mountains on every side of it. Then there was to be cal- culated, in like manner, the attraction of the whole magni- tude and mass of the earth, on the same plummets, Lastly, he the + On the Mean Density of the Earth. 115 the proportion of these two computed attractions was to be - compared with that of the observed effects on the plummets, viz. the lateral deviation by the hill in comparison with the perpendicular direction of gravity, which comparison of the computed and observed effects would give the ratio of the densities, namely, of the hill and the earth. The magnitude and novelty of these nice calculations, the requisite portion of science and ingenuity for making them with effect, were such as appalled every mind, and every one shrank from the task; when, at the request of the President and Council of the Society, I undertook the per- formance; and after incessant labour, during the course of a year, produced the result of the whole, to the entire satis~ faction of all the Society. The account of these calcula- lions was published in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1778, and in volume xiv. of my Abridgement of these Transactions; and, though in a very condensed form, occupied no Jess than a hundred quarto pages in that work, containing only the results of many thousands of intricate calculations. The conclusion from all which was, that the mean density of the whole mass of the earth is nearly double that of the mountain, being to the former in the pro- portion of 9 to 5; whence it appears that the density of the earth is about five times that of water, considering the spe- cific gravity of the rock of the hill as between 2°7 and 2:8, as it really is ; and hence also | inferred, as a probable de- duction, the necessity of the interior of the earth consisting, in a great measure, of metallic matter. Thus, then, this grand desideratum was minutely determined, for the first time, by the English nation, and on a large scale of mea- surement and calculation. Besides the above computation, no other experiments have been made for the same purpose, except an attempt made many years afterwards by Mr. Cavendish, and pub- | lished in the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1798. ~ This method was by means of two halls of lead fixed to the ends of a straight bar, which was suspended horizontally at its middle point by a fine wire, Then another ball be- ing held in a position opposite to one of the former, its _ minute attraction was supposed to cause, after a long time acting, a very small torsion or twisting of the wire, sup- pose about a quarier round; from which twisting Mr, C. deduced nearly the same conclusion as by the former grand experiment, viz, that the density of the earth is about five times the density of water. 4 # Hi 2 Thus 116 New’ Method of applying the Piltering, Stone. Thus then, it appears, sir, that Dr. Maskelyne never de- termined the mean density of the earth: that Mr Cayen- dish’s Jate attempt can be considered only as a pretty and amusing little experiment, tending to corroborate the result of the calculations made on the large experiment, by, sir, Your obliged humble servant, CuarLes Hutron. London, August 14, 1811. XXVI. Description of a new Method of applying the Fil- tering Stone for purifying Water. By Mr. WiLtIAM Moutt*, : Sir, I; you think the following information, relative to a new method of filtering water, is deserving of the attention of the Society of Arts, &c. I wish you would lay it before them. My objections to the old method of filtering by putting wa- ter into the filtering-stone are, that the dirt falls to the bot- tom, and fills up or chokes the pores of the filtcring-stone, so that the stone requires frequently to be cleaned with a brush and sponge to allow the water to pass, after which the water passes through the stone in a muddy state for two or three days; it likewise requires to be frequently filled, and as it empties, less water comes in contact with the stone, and therefore a smaller quantity only, in such a state, can pass through. Likewise a filtering-stone used in the com- mon way soon becomes useless, from the filth insinuating itself into the internal parts of the stone, out of the reach of the brush. . é In the method I propese and practise, the filtering-stone is placed within the water to be purified, which presses upon the outside of the filter, and the stone does not require to be supported.in a frame, as it needs only to stand within the water cistern; it will thus filter, in an equal time, double the quantity of water procured in the common mode; it fills itself, and requires nocleaning. I have upon this plan used one for more than three years with great success. I am, sir, Your humble servant, No. 37, Bedford-square, April 18, 1810. Wiuittiam Moutt. To C. Taylor, M.D. Sec. * From Transactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Mamiface tures, and Commerce, for 1810.—-The Society voted their silver medal to Mr. William Moult for this communication, . Ree | | Le On raising a loaded Cart when the Horse has fallen. 117 _ Reference to the Drawing of Mr. Mout’ s Filtering Appa- ratus, Fig. 1, Pl. LV. AA is the cistern containing the water to be filtered ; the filtering-stone B is suspended in the cistern by a ring avolind the inside of it; which catches the projecting part of the stone; the water in the cistern filters through into the stone. D is a syphon which conveys the filtered water from the inside of the stone into a cistern E, which is the reservoir for clean water. dacock to draw it off as it is wanted. By this mode of filtration the impurities of the water are deposited in the bottom of the cistern A, instead of being left in the bottom of the stone as in the usual mode. XXVIII. Method of raising a loaded Cari when the Horse | in the Shafts has fallen. By Mr. BrxsaMin SMITH*. Sir, I HAVE taken the liberty of sending you a model with a brief explanation of the utility of my invention, in order that it may be laid before the Society instituted for the En- couragement of Arts, &c. to whose comprehensive jJudge- ment and abilities I wath great deference submit it for their determination, whether they think it likely to be attended with the success and ut ility which I flatter myself it de- serves. From the simplicity of the construction and the’ trivial expense attending it, I presume there will be no bar to’ its universal adoption. I respectfully submit it to. the discernment and decision of the Society, who will, I am convinced, give it all the merit and approbation it may de- serve: - The reason which prompted me to undertake this business is, the having seen a horse which had fallen down under _ the immense weight of a heavy loaded cart, where it Jay for a considerable time in that painful and dangerous situation, which naturally excited compassion even in the most, ob- durate heart. Every person frequenting the streets of this metropolis must have witnessed similar scenes; and indeed it surprises me that long before now some expedients have not been publicly suggested to remove the mischief arising ‘from such dccurrences, considering the great encouragement that is given in this enlightened age to all useful improve- ments. * From Transactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Mami fac-, » and Commerce, for 18:0.—The* Society voted fifteen guineas to Mr, Bes Smith for this communication. H 3 Having 118 On raising a loaded Cart when the Having conversed on this subject with persons who pos- | sess considerable knowledge of horses, and who constantly employ these noble animals, I find that horses remaining so long as they usually do in such improper positions, and from being often dragged a considerable distance by fruit- less endeavours to raise “them, are much endangered in their health and lives, and that their situation upon the stones 1s, more prejudicial than the injury received by the fall. I flatter myself that my method will be found to raise the whole weight of the cart, and a considerable part of that of the horse, in the short space of three or four minutes. from the moment of the accident, by means simple and useful, and within the reach of the meanest capacity to exe- cute ; ‘and that the whole apparatus will not cost above fifty shillings, and will last many years. Requeyie your kind attention, I am, sir, Your most obedient servant, No. 11, Turnham-Place, Curtain-Road, BENJAMIN SMITH. Shoreditch, London, Dec. 13, 1809. To C. Taylor, M.D. Sec. Advantages derivable from this Invention. 1.—The invention is of itself so simple, and the opera- tion so conspicuous at the first view, that the whole process may be easily comprehended and executed. 2.—The apparatus may be fitted with little difficulty to any cart now in use for heavy loads, such as bricks, coals, corn, or the like. 3.—The chains which lead from the uprights at the back part of the cart to the fore part of it on each side are for the purpose of taking the purchase therefrom, and making the back part of the cart act as a lever at the time the horses are drawing behind, which without fail, with the strength of one, two or three horses fastened here to raise the one which is down in the shafts, will instantly assist him to get upon his feet. 4.—The number of horses to draw a cart are usually io proportion to the weight contained therein; therefore sup- posing three horses are employed to draw it, and the shaft- horse falls, the carman has only to unhook cS two leaders and then hook them to the short chain at each side of the back of the cart, and with their strength the fallen horse will be so relieved from the weight as to raise himself bi out further assistance. 5.—The Horse in the Shafts has fallen. 119 5.—The same principle may be applied in. different ways from what I have shown in the model; for instance, an- - other mode may be adopted by framing the tail-board of the » cart strong enough to bear the purchase, and with the use of the two side-chains above mentioned it may be made to answer the purpose. Another plan, though more expensive, 1s by obtaining two wrought-iron uprights to be fixed as substitutes for the truss-staffs at the back part of the cart, with a hole in the.top of each to receive an iron rod, which is occasionally to be introduced, reaching from one side of the cart to the other, connecting the two uprights together ; when in ac- tion the two side-chains to be used as in other cases. Reference to the Drawing of Mr. Smith's Method of raising ‘wp a Horse when fallen down in the Shafts of a loaded Cart, Fig. 2. PI.1V. A is the wheel, and B the shafts ofa cart, such as is used in London; c the side-rails; at the end of the body an iron stancheon or truss-staff, a, is fixed by a hinge at the lower end, and at the upper end it is supported by a.chain 6, extended from the fore part of the body of the cart: this _diaconal chain forms a firm support to the stancheon. This . S - * + . . is all the addition made to the common cart, and is used in the event of the shaft-horse falling. by hooking the traces of the other horses to a chain d, also fixed to the stancheon: the power of these horses, applied at this height above the fulcrum, will have a great purchase to clevate the shafts and set the fallen horse at liberty, as is evident from an in- spection of the figure. The stancheon moves on a joint on ite lower end, and the oblique chain unhooks at 6; the end can be connected with a short piece of chain e fastened to the Jast of the side-rails; the stancheon now takes the position of the dotted lines f, and the short chain which hangs down perpendicular from the end of it, may be taken hold of by any number of men, to.weigh upon and raise the cart in cases where the horses cannot conveniently be applied; the men will in this manner have much greater effect than merely (as is the common practice) weighing on the hind part of the cart. When the chain is completely detached, and the stan- cheou suffered to hang down perpendicularly, it forms a prop to support the cart steady whilst it is unloaded. It should be observed, that though only one stancheon appears in the figure, there are in fact two, one being placed on each gite of the cart. 5 14 XXVIIT. Method _ [ 120 ] XXVIII. Method of Ventilating Mines or Hospitals, by extracting the foul Air from them. . By Mr. Joun - Tartor, of Holwell- House, near. Tavistock *. Sir, if SEND you herewith a drawing and description of a machine of my invention for the ventilation of mines, with a view to their being laid before the Society for the Enccu- ragement of Arts, &c. and hope they will meet with their approbation. I am, sir, Your obedient servant, Joon TAYLor, To C. Taylor, M.D. Sec: : Hilwell, April 9, 1810. On the Ventilation of Mines, with the Description of a new Machine for that Purpose. See P|. lV. Fig. 3. Next in importance to the means employed for draining underground works from water, may be reckoned those which are intended to aflord a supply of pure air, sufficient to enable the workmen to continue their operations with ease and safety to themselves, and to keep up, undiminish- ed, the artificial light upon which they depend. — It is well Rebiwne indeed, to all who are practically engaged in con- cerns of this kind, that men are frequently obliged to per- severe in their ee where a candle will scarcely burn, and where not only their own health materially suffers in the end, but their employers are put to considerable addi- tional expense by the unavoidable hindrance and the waste of candles and other materials. I mean to confine the following remarks to such mines as are worked upon metalliferous veins, according to the practice of this district, and that of the great seat of mining in the neighbouring county of Cornwall, from which in- deed ours 1s borrowed. We find then that a single shaft, not communicating by levels to another, can hardly be sunk to any considerable depth, nor can alevel (or, as the foreion miners call it, a gallery) be driven horizonially to any great distance, ar some contrivance being had recourse to for procuring currents of air to make up the deficiency of oxygeu, which is so rapidly consumed by respiration and combustion in situations like these, where otherwise the whole remains in nearly a stagnant condition. * From Transactions of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufac- tures, and Commerce, for 1810. The Society’s silver medal was voted to r. John Taylor for this communication, : We . , On Ventilating Mines or Hospitals. 121 We are here unacquainted with the rapid production of those gases which occasionally in the collieries are the cause of such dreadful effects; such as hydrogen gas, or the fire- damp; carbonic acid, or the choke-damp; the inconvenience we experience takes place gradually as we recede from the openings to the atmosphere, and seems to arise solely from the causes which I have betore assigned, though it is found to come on more rapidly in certain situations than in others. The most obvious remedy, and that which is most fre- quently resorted to, is the opening a communication either to some other part of the mine, or to the surface itself; and as soon as this is done, the ventilation is found to be com- plete, by the currents which immediately take place, often with considerable force, from the different degrees of tem- perature in the subterranean and upper atmospheres ; and these currents may be observed to change their directions as the temperatures alternate. The great objection to this mode of curing the evil is, the enormous expense with which it it most commonly at- tended. In driving a long level, or tunnel, for instance, it may happen to be at a great depth under the surface, and the intervening rock of great hardness; in such a case every shaft which must be sunk upon it for air alone, where not required (as often they might not) to draw up the waste, would cost several hundred pounds; or in sinking a shaft it may be necessary, at an expense not much less, to drive a level to it from some other for this purpose alone, To avoid this, recourse has been had to dividing the shaft or level into two distinet parts, communicating near the part intended to be ventilated, so that a current may be produced in opposite directions on each side the partition s and this, where room is to be spared for it, is often effectual to a certain extent. It is found, however, to have its limits at no very great distance, and the current at hest is but a feeble one, from the nearly equal states of heat in the air on each side. The only scheme besides these, that I know of, has hitherto been to force down a volume of purer air, through a system of pipes placed for the purpose, and a variety of contrivances have been devised for effecting this; most of them are so o!d that they may be found deseribed in Agricola’s work De Re Metallica. The most common are by bellows worked by hand; by boxes or cylinders of va- rious forms placed on the surface with a large opening against the wind, and a smaller one communicating with the air-pipes by a cyliuder and piston working in it, which when driven by a sufficient force has great power. But the e cheapest « "329 On Ventilating Mines or Hospitals, cheapest and most effectual scheme for this purpose, where circumstances will admit of its being applied, is one which ] adopted some time since in the tunnel of the Tavistock canal. It is by applying the fall of a gtream of water for this purpose, and it has been long known that a blast of considerable strength may be obtained in this manner, which has the advantage of being constant and self-acting. The stream being turned down a perpendicular column of pipes, dashes in at a vessel so contrived as to let off the water one way, with an opening at another part for the air, which being pressed into it by the falling water, may be con- veyed in any direction, and will pass through air-pipes with a strong current, which will be found efficacious in ventilating mines in many instances, as it has likewise, in some cases, been sufficient for urging the intensity of fires for the purposes of the forge. . It is easily procured where a sufficient fall is to be had; and the perpendicular column can be so fixed as that the water from the bottom may pass off, while the air is forced into a pipe branching from the air-vessel, and which is to be continued to the part of the mine where the supply of fresh air is required. - [ have found, however, that the forcing into vitiated air a mixture of that which 1s purer, even when the best means are used, though a measure which affords relief, is not in bad cases a complete remedy; and, where the operation de- pends on manual labour, or avy means that are not unre- mitted in their action, it becomes quite ineffectual. The foul air, charged with the smoke of gunpowder used in blasting, and which it strongly retains, 1s certainly amelio- rated by the mixture of pure air, but is nat removed. While the blast continues, some of it is driven into the other parts of the mine; but when the influx of pure air ceases, it re- turns again or if during the influx of pure air a fresh vo- Jume of smoke be produced by explosions which are con- stantly taking place, it is not until some time afterwards that it becomes sufficiently attenuated for the workmen to resume their stations with comfort. A consideration of these circumstances led me to think that the usual operation of all ventilating engines ought to be reversed, to afford all the advantages that could be desired ; that, instead of using the machines which serve as con- densers, exhavsters should be adopted ; and thus, instead of forcing pure air into that in a vitiated state, a complete remedy could only be had by pumping out all that was impure as fast as it became so. ) Many modes of doing this suggested themselves to ha y ee. 6 ir ie co by extracting the foul Air from them. 128 by the alteration of the machines commonly applicd, and by producing an ascending stream of air through pipes by a furnace coustpucted for the purpose. The latter mode would , however, have been here expensive.in fuel as well as in attendance ; ; and the others required power to overcome the friction of pistons, and so on, or considerable accuracy in construction. I at last erected the machine, of which the annexed is a drawing ; which, while it is so simple in construction, and requires so small an expense of power, is so complete in its operation, and its parts are so little liable to be injured by wear, that, as far as [can imagine, nothing more can be desired where such an one is applied. This engine bears considerable resemblance to Mr. Pepys’s gazometer, though this did not occur to me until after it was put to work. It will readily be understood by an inspection of the drawing, (Pl. 1V. fig. 3,) where the shaft of the mine is represented at A; and it may here be observed, that the machine may be as well placed at the bottom of the shaft as at the top, and that in either case it is proper to fix it upon a floor, which may prevent the return of the foul air into the mine, after being discharged from the exhauster: this floor may be aia with a trap. door, to be opened occasionally for the passage of buckets through it. B, the air-pipe ‘from the mine passing through the bottom of the fixed vessel or cylinder C, which is formed of timber and bound with iron hoops ; this is filled with water nearly to the top of the pipe B, on which is fixed a valve opening upwards at D. E, the air- or exhausting-cylinder made of cast-iron, open at the bottom and suspended over the air-pipe, immersed some way in the water. It ts furnished with a wooden top, in which is an opening fitted with a valve likewise opening upwards at F. The exhausting-cylinder has its motion up and down given to it by the “bob G, connected to any engine by the horizontal rod H, and the weight of the cylinder is balanced, if necessary, by the counterpoise [. The. action is obvious.—When the exhausting- cylinder is raised, a vacuum would be produced, or rather the water would likewise be raised in il, were it not for the stream of air from the mine rushing throu; zh the pipe and valve D. As soon as the cylinder begins to descend, this valve closes, and prevents the return of the air which is disc charged through the valve F. The quantity of air exhausted is calculated of course from the 194 On Ventilating Mines or Hospitals, the area of the bore of the cylinder, and the length of the | stroke. The dimensions which I have found sufficient for large works are as follow: ‘ The bore of the exhausting cylinder two feet. .The length six feet, so as to afford a stroke of four feet. The pipes which conduct the air to such an engine ought not to be less than six-inch bore. : The best rate of working is from two to three strokes a minute; but if required to go much faster, it will be proper to adapt a ecapacious air-vessel to the pipes near the machine, which will equalize the current pressing through them. Such an engine discharges more than two hundred gallons of air in a minute; and I have found that a stream of water supplied by an inch and a half bore falling twelve feet, is sufficient to keep it regularly working. A small engine to pump out two gallons at a stroke, which would be sufficient in many cases, could be worked by a power equal to raising a very few pounds weight, as the whole machine may be put into complete equilibrium before it begins to work, and there.is hardly any other friction to overcome but that of the air passing through the pipes. The end of the tunnel of the Tavistock canal, which it was my object to ventilate, was driven into the hill toa distance of near three hundred yards from any opening to the surface ; and being at a depth of one hundred and tweniy’ yards, and all in hard schistus rock, air-shafts would have been attended with an enormous expense; so that the tunnel being a long one, it was most desirable to sink as few as possible, and of course at considerable distances from each other. Thus a ventilating machine was required, which should act with sufficient force through a length of near half a mile; and on the side of the hill where it first became necessary to apply it, no larger stream of water to give it motion could be relied on, than such an one as [ have men- tioned after the description of the engine, and even that flowed at a distance from the shaft where the engine was to be fixed; which made aconsiderable leugth of connexion- rods necessary. Within a very short time after the engine becan to work, the superiority of its action over those formerly employed was abundantly evident. The whole extent of the tunnel, which had been uninterruptedly clouded with smoke for some months before, and which the air that was forced in never could drive out, now became speedily so clear, that ~ the day-light and even objects at its mouth were distinctly . seca 5 f a by extracting the foul Air from them. 125 seen from its furthest end. After blowing up the rock, the miners could instantly return to the place where they were employed, unimpeded by the smoke, of which no appear- ance would remain underground in a very few minutes, while it might be seen to be discharged in gusts, from the valve at the top. of the shaft. Tie constant current into the pipe, at the same time effectually prevented the accumu- lation of air unfit for respiration. The influx of air, from the level into the mouth of the pipe, rushes with such force as instantly to extinguish the flame of a large candle; and any substance applied, so as to stop the orifice, is held tight. by the outward pressure. It is now more than two years since the machine was erected, and it has been uninterruptedly at work ever since, and. without repair. The length of the tunnel has been nearly doubled, and the pipes of course in the same propor- tion, and no want of ventilation is yet perceptibie. Two similar engines have been since constructed for other ” parts of the same tunnel, and have in every respect answered the purpose for which they were designed, The original one is worked by the small stream of water before mentioned, by means of a light overshot-wheel twelve feet in diameter, and about six inches in breast. —The two others are attached to the great overshot-wheel which pumps the water from the shafts which are sinking upon the line; and _ as their friction is comparatively nothing, this may be done in any case, with so little waste of power for this pur- pose as not to be an object .of consideration, even if the power be derived from more expensive means. The size of the exhauster may always be proportioned to the demand for air; and by a due consideration of this cir- cumstance, this engine may be effectually adapted not only to mines and collieries, but also to manufactories, ‘work- houses, hospitals, prisons, ships, and so on. Thus, if it were required to ventilate a shaft of a mine, or a single level, which is most frequently the case, where three men are at work at one time, and we allow that those three men vitiate each twenty-seven and a half cubic inches of air per minute, (as determined by the experiments of Messrs. Allen and Pepys,) and allowing further that their candles vitiate as much as the men, there will be six times twenty-seven and a half cubic inches of ait to'be drawn out in a minute, equal to one hundred and sixty-five. Now a cylinder five inches in diameter, working with a troke at nine inches, will effect this by one struke in a mi- nute 5 ’ Ph 4 ; : a ~ 196 . On Ventilating Mines or Hospitals. ‘, mute; though it would certainly be advisable to make it dJarger. , Not being practically acquainted with collieries, or mines that suffer from peculiar gases that are produced in them, Icannot state, from actual’experiment, what effect this ma= chine might have in relieving them; but it must appear, J conceive, evident to every person at all acquainted with the first principles of pneumatics, that. it must do all that - ean be wished, as it is obvious that such a machine must in a given time pump out the whole volume of air contained in a given space, and thus change an impure atmosphere for a better one. And in constructing the machine it is only necessary to.estimate the volume of gas produced in a cer- tain time, or the capacity of the whole space to be ventilated. Ttis easy to judge how much more this must do for such cases as these, than such schemes as have lately been pro- posed of exciting jets of water, or slaking lime, both of which projects, likewise, must fail when applied; as one of them has, I believe, when applied to the case of hy- drogen gas. But with such a machine as this, if the dread- ful effects of explosions of this air are to be counteracted, it may be done by one of sufficient size to draw off this air as fast as it is generated ; and by carrying the pipes into the elevated parts of the mine, where from its lightness it would collect. If, on the other hand, it 1s desired to free any sub- terraueous work from the carbonic acid gas, it may as cer- tainly be done by suffering the pipe to terminate in the lower parts, where this air would be directed by its gravity. In workhouses, hospitals, manufactories, &c. it is always easy to calculate the quantity of air contained in any room, or number of rooms, and easy to estimate how often it is desirable to change this in a certain number of hours, and ~ to adjust the size and velocity of the engine aceordingly. Where this change of foul air for pure 1s to take place in the night, means for working the machine may be provided by pumping up a quantity oi water into a reservoir of suffi- cient height to admit of its flowing out during the night in a small stream, with sufficient fall, so as to give motion to the engine; or by winding up a weight of sufficient size, or by many other means which are easily devised. If, for instance, a room in which filty persons slept was eighty feet long, twenty wide, and ten high, it would con- tain 16,000 cubic feet of air, and if this was to be removed twice in eight hours, it would require a cylinder of thirty inches diameter, working witha four-feet stroke four times # .* i ‘ v in” o i _ 4% ‘ i, ; } . “a Description of an improved Micrometer. 127 in a minute, to do it; or nearly that. Such a cylinder could be worked by the descent of ten gallons of water ten feet in a minute; or, for the whole time, by eighty hogsheads fall- ing the same height. But this is a vast deal more than could be required, as the fifty people would in eight hours vitiate only three thousand gallons of air, which could be removed by one hundred and fifty strokes of a cylinder, twelve inches dia- meter, with a four-feet stroke, which would not require an expenditure of more than one thousand five hundred gallons of water properly applied, or about twenty-eight hogsheads. Holwell, near Tavistock, Feb. 7, 1810. Joun TAYLor. Bee babe Description of an improved Micrometer. By E. Wacker, Esq. To Mr. Tilloch. Sir, Aw exact method of taking. small angles is a subject of the greatest importance in various branches of practical astronomy and philosophy. For this purpose the micro- forms and on different principles ; but even the best of them are very complex in their construction, aud consequently too expensive to be of general utility. To obviate these inconveniences ‘Mr. Tiberius Cavallo invented the telescopic mother-of-pearl micrometer, “ which consists of a small semitransparent slip of mother-of-pearl about the 20th part of an inch broad, and of the thickness of common writing-paper, divided into a number of equal ‘parts by parallel lines.” A full description of this micro- ~ meter and the uses to which it may be applied have been _ published in the 8tst volume of the Philosophical Trans- actions for the year 1791, and in a separate pamphlet pub- ished in 1793. This simple instrument possesses many valuable pro- | perties; and when the extremiues of the object to be mea- sured fall exactly upon two lines of the scale, it is very ac- curate: but as the fractional parts of a division on the scale cannot be known but by estimation, it falls far short of that _ accuracy which is obtained by other micrometers. _. . The micrometer that I have contrived is constructed at a small expense, and yet it is very accurate. It consists of a npr of parallel lines drawn upon a piece of plane glass : with meter was invented, which has been constructed of various — -% 128 Description-of an improved Micrometer. with the point of a small diamond, at the distance of ++,dth part of an inch from one another. This micrometer is placed in the focus of the eye-glass of a telescope or mi- croscope, just where the image is formed when the instru- ment is adjusted to the object. The telescope to which | have adapted this micrometer is a 30-inch achromatic with a compound eye-piece, consist- ing of a short tube containing two glasses*. Now it is a property of telescopes of this « construction, that as the eye- piece is drawn out the magnifying power of the telescope is increased, and consequently the 1 image of the object upon the micrometer is enlarged. By this means the fractional parts of a division on the scale may be determined in a very easy and expeditious manner, and to a very great degree of exactness. The value of the divisions of the micrometer in the tele- scope which L use, magnifying 23 times, was ascertained by observations on the sun, in the following manner. When the eye-tube of the telescope was drawn out qisth of an inch, the solar image extended over 19 divisions ‘of the micrometer. Then the diameter of the sun on the day of observation, being taken out of the Nautical Almanack, and divided by 19, gave 99”°6, which is the value of one diveuan of the micrometer. After this value had been determined by a great number of observations, I drew out the eye-piece and re- adjusted the telescope until the image of the sun ex- ~ tended over 20 divisions on the Taternimeree ; and on mea- suring the eye-piece I found that it had beat drawn out se7-dth parts of an inch further than before. Then = = T000 3045 = one inch of the eye- piece. Consequently, sth of an inch on the eye-picce is = 3045 vay ee eh Since sia ne 0 == 18 Oe alg Sethoor ditte 1... set). Gaewareee = OOO rete dth, of ditto 7... guess « ds 19a) Shae i oo A micrometer, with lines drawn at the distance of -1,dth of aninch from one another, was adapted to a 32 feet achro- matic telescope magnifying from 45 to 60 times, with the! same glasses. When the eye-piece was drawn out jijths ofan incharemote land object extended over 23 divisions of the mi- crometer, and when it was drawn out =57,.-dth parts of an inch further than before, the same object extended over 24 divi- sions of the micrometer. . Each djvision of the scale, in this * Called the Huygenian eye-picce. » telescope, “Description of an improved Micrometer. 129 Scope, subtends an angle of 30 seconds, which being di- ‘vided by 575 the quotient is 52”, the value of one inch of the eye-tube. Consequently, goth of an inch on the eye-tube is = 57°2) 2: Pee C8 UPN. a. Ss 2s: aes: ee Go eirth of ditto oF 62), ted es a baal lof ditt? os) 0. 1s See) OY The fractional parts of an inch on the eye-tube were ob- tained very exactly, by means of a pair of fine pointed com- passes and a diagonal scale.—But it may be alleged, that the telescope cannot be adjusted a number of times to the same object hy means of the eye-piece, so that it shall be drawn out precisely to the same point. Errors in these ad- justments will frequently take place, but they may be cor- rected. The astronomer takes a mean of a number of his observations; and errors arising from adjusting the tele- “scope to the object may be corrected in the same manner, The following observations, which were taken of the ‘sun’s diameter with my 30-inch telescope, will show the “limits of these errors. ‘ The telescope was adjusted six different times to the sun, so that his image extended over 20 divisions on the micro- ‘meter, and the lengths of the eye-tube drawn out each time, in parts of an inch, were 0°42...0°42...0°44...0°42... “0°42.. .0°43; the mean of these different measures is 0°425, which differs only 0°0!5 from the extreme: and other sets of observations were taken with the same precision, But, to obtain correct observations, it is necessary that ihe telescope should be a good one, and mounted upon a proper stand. The angular distance between two contiguous objects, at a remote distance, may be determined thus: Direct the telescope to the objects, and if the angular _ points do not fall upon two lines of the micrometer scale, Shich will but seldom happen, draw out the eye-tube till they do. Then multiply the value of one of the divisions Dyrby the number of divisions, from which product subtract _ the number of seconds indicated by the eye-tube, and the remainder will be the angle sought. _ Example 1.—Suppose the image of the full moon ex- __ tended over 18 divisions of the micrometer, when the eye- _ tube was drawn out +15,dth parts of aninch: What was her apparent diameter? __ Each division contains 99'6 seconds; but when this value _was determined the eye-tube was drawn out 75th part of an twch, which must always be deducted from the whole length - _ Vol. 38. No. 160. dugust 1811. I of Bar ‘ 130 On some of the Strata in the Neighbourhood of Londort, - 15 1 5 of the tube drawn out. In this example joo 7 10> i0= 1 : 5 =p? Which by the table is = 15-22 seconds. Then 996 x 18 — 1592 = 177758 = 2937-58 = the apparent diameter of the moon at that time. Example 2.—Suppose the distance between two stars was observed to extend over more than 15 divisions of the micro- meter, but not 16, the eye-tube being drawn out +!,th of an - 3 > inch; but on drawing out the eye-tube ,22,dth parts of an 100 inch, their distance extended over 16 divisions: What was the apparent angle subtended by those stars ? 9 100 ~~ is on sat? which are = 81/9. Then 99-6 x 16 — 81-9 =1511-7 = 25’ 11”+7, which is the apparent angular distance between the two objects. This micrometer is represented in fig. 5, Pl. III. The middle part of the scale is divided into 20 equal parts by parallel lines drawn at the distance of ~4,dth part of an inch _ from each other, and the large divisions on the sides are each = ;2-dth parts of aninch. These lines are drawn as fine as possible to appear distinct. ' Angles may be taken in any direction by this micrometer, as it is easily turned round upon its axis; and as it is fixed ‘against the eye-stop only by a ring of wire, in the same manner that glasses are fixed in ordinary instruments, it may be taken out and put im again with as little trouble as any other vlass in the telescope. I am, sir, Your obedient servant, Lynn, August 14, 1811. E. WALKERS In this example XXX. Observations on some of the Strata in the Neigh- Lourhood of London, and on the Fossil Remains contained mm them. By James Parkinson, Esq. Member of the Geological Society*. p Dr study of fossil organized remains has hitherto been directed too exclusively to the consideration of the speci- mens themselves; and hence has been considered rather as an appendix to botany and zoology, than as (what it really 38) a very HMportant branch of geological imquiry. From 2 comparison of fossil remams with those living or extant beings to which they bear the closest analogy, great * Prom the Transeciions of the Ccological Society, vol.i. ; i resem- und on the Fossil Remains contained in them. 131 resemblances and striking differences are at the same time perceivable. In some instances the generic characters ma- terially differ, but in most they very closely correspond ; whilst the specific characters are very rarely found to agree, except when the fossil appears to have existed at, compara- tively, a late period. Of man, who constitutes a genus by himself, not a single decided remain has been foand in a fossil state, Chemical analysis has been called in to the aid of the na- turalist, in order to account for the perfect state of preserva- tion observable in remains organized with the most exqui- site delicacy, and which there is every reason for supposing to have been readily decomposable ia tveir recent state. From this investigation we learn the manner in which these. memorials of the old world, so interesting aud: so frail, have been preserved. Some have been impregnated with cal- careous matter, others with siliceous, and others with iron - oF copper pyrites. ; But these facts, however important and interesting, can- not, when considered by themselves, add much to our knowledge respecting the formation and structure of the earth. To derive any information of consequence from them, on these subjects, it is necessary that their examina- tion should be connected with that of the several strata in which. they are found *. Already have these examinations, thus carried on, taught us the following highly instructive facts. That exactly si- milar fossils are found in distant parts of the same stratum, hot only where it traverses this island, but where it appears again on the opposite coast: that, in strata of considerable comparative depth, fossils are found, which are not dis- * This mode of conducting our inquiries was long since recommended by Mr. W. Smith, who first noticed that certain fossils are peculiar to, and are only found lodged in, particular strata ; and who first ascertained the constancy in the order of superposition, and the continuity, of the strata of this island. It will appear from the following quotation, that these observations have lately ‘also occurred to Messrs. Cuvier and Brongniart, whilst examining into the mature of the strata of the neighbourhood of Paris. ‘* Cette constance danis Yordre de superposition des couches les plus minces, et sur une étendue de 12 myriamétres au moins, est, selon nous, un des faits les plus remarquables "que nous ayons constatés dans la suite de nos recherches. I doit en résulter pour les arts et pour lagéologie des conséquences d’autant plus intéressantes qu’elles sont plus sires. . “Le moyen que nous avons employé pour reconnoitre au milieu d’un si _ grand nombre de lits calcaires, un lit déja observé dans un canton trés-éloigné, est pris de la nature des fossiles renfermés dans chaque couche: ces fossiles sont toujours généralement les mémes dans les couches correspondantes, ot Bice des différences d’espéces assez notables d’un systéme des couches un autre systtme. C’est un signe de reconnoissabce qui jusqu’a présent _ Be nous a pus trompé.”—Aanales du Muséum d’ Rist, Nat. tome x1. p. 307. Pe 12 covered * ~ 132 On someof the Strata in the Neighbourhood of Londorts covered in any of the superincumbent beds: that some fos- sils, which abound in the lower, are found in diminishing numbers ‘through several of the superincumbent, and are entirely wanting in the uppermost strata: that some fossils, occurring in considerable numbers in one stratum, become very rare in the adjacent portion of the next superincum- bent stratum, and afterwards are lost: that fossils of one particular genus, which exist abundantly in the lower strata, and occur in several of the superincumbent ones, are not found in the three highest strata; whilst one species of that genus, but which has not been found’ in a fossil] state, ex- ists in‘our present seas: and lastly, that most of the remains which are abundant in the superior strata, are not at all found in the lower. . These general facts lead us to hope, that geology may derive considerable assistance from an examination of fossils, made in connexion with that of the strata to which they belong. The following is an attempt to investigate on this plan some of the upper strata in the vicinity of the metropolis with their contained fossils; and, although by no means complete, it will, it is hoped, induce others, who possess superior abilities and opportunities, not only to re-examine more correctly these strata, but to extend their researches to the subjacent strata. The whole of this island displays evident marks of its stratification having, since its completion, suffered consi- derable disturbance from some prodigious and mysterious power. By this power all the known strata, to the greatest depths that have been explored, have been more or less broken and displaced ; and in some parts have been so lifted, that some of the lowest of these have been raised to the surface; whilst portions of others, to a very considerable depth and extent, have been entirely carried away*. From . these circumstances great difficulties and confusion fre- quently arise in examining the superior strata: the counties however immediately surrounding the metrgpolis, as well as that on which it stands, having suffered least disturbance, are those in which an investigation of these strata may be carried on with the smallest chance of mistake. ; Real alluvial fossils, washed out of lifted or original su-_ perior strata by strong currents, and which in other parts * See several essays on this subject in the Philosophical Magazine, by Mr. Farey, and the Report on Derbyshire, vol. i. p. 105, Also A Letter on the Alterations which have taken place in the Structure of Rocks, on the Surface of the Basaltic Country in the Counties of Derny and Antrim, by William Richardson, D.D, Phil. ‘Trans, 1808, * ‘ and on the Fossil Remains contained in them. ~ 133 are very abundant, are rarely seen in the counties adjacent to the metropolis. This temark is rendered necessary, since those widely extended beds of sand and gravel, with sandy clay, sometimes intermixed and sometimes interposed, aud which have been generally hitherto considered as alluvial beds, are here assumed to be the last or newest strata of this island, slowly deposited by a pre-existent ocean: with the strata, therefore, of this formation, these remarks com- mence. Bens oF SAND AND GRAVEL.—The sands of this forma- tion vary in colour from white, which is most rare, through different shades of yellow up to orange-red: the colour pro- ceeding partly from a ferruginous stain on the surface of the particles of sand, aud partly from the intermixture of vellow oxide of iron. Particles of those sands, which are disposed in distinct seams or beds, when examined by the micro- scope, are found to be transparent, most of them angular, but some a little rounded, with all their surfaces smooth, having no appearance of fracture, and resembling, in every respect, an uniform crystalline deposition. Those sands on the contrary, which. blended with broken and unbroken pebbles form gravel, appear, when thus examined, to be mostly opake, to be variously coloured, and to be marked with conchoidal depressions and eminences, the result of fracture. The pebbles of this formation appear to be of four kinds; Ist. Various pieces of jasper, gritstone, white semi trans- parent quartz, and other rocks. These have acquired, in - general, smooth surfaces and roundish forms, evidently from attrition, and exhibit no traces of organization, except when, as is very rarely the case, the substance of the pebble is jasperized wood. The white quartz pebbles, like quartz ery- stals, on being rubbed together, emit a strong white lambent light, with a red fiery streak on the line of collision, and an odour which mnch resembles that of the electric aura. 2d. Oval or roundish, and rather flat siticeous pebbles, generally surrounded by a crust or coat differing in colour and degree of transparency from the internal substance, which also varies in different specimens, in these respects, as well as in the disposition of the parts of which the sub- stance is composed. In some this is spotted, or clouded, in very beautiful forms; in others it is marked by concen- tric striz, as if the result of the successive application of distinct laminz: the prevailing colours in most of these pebbles being different shades of yellow. In several the traces of marine remains are observable: these are, in some 13 the 134 On some of the Strata in the Neighbourhood of London, the casts of anomie, and the impressions of the spines and plates of echini; and in others, which generally possess a degree of transparency, the remains of alcyonia. The im- pressions, theugh frequently on the surface of the pebble, seldom, if ever, appear to be in the least rubbed down ; thus seeming to prove decidedly, that these pebbles have not been rounded by rolling, but that they owe their figures to the circumstances under which they were originally formed : it is apprehended therefore, that these pebbles have each been produced by a distinct chemical formation, which, it may be safely concluded from the remains of marine ani- mals so frequently found in them, took place at the bottom of the sea, while these animals were yet living. The formation of these fossils at the bottom of a former sea, and perhaps on the identical spots in which they are now frequently found, is’ more plainly evinced by pebbles agreeing in some peculiar characters being found together in particular spots. Thus those in the county of Essex, ten miles northward of London, contain a much greater pro- portion of argil and iron than those met with in many other places; hence their colours are darker, and the delineations which their sections display are very strong and decided, sometimes closely agreeing with those seen in the Egyptian pebbles *. Passing on into Hertfordshire, pebbles of a very different eenneter are found: their crust is nearly black, and their section displays delicate tints of blue, red, and yellow, disposed on a dead-white ground in very beautitul forms. Jn another part of the same county occurs the pebble of the pudding-stone, which also presents peculiar characters of colour, &c. 3d. Large tuberous, or rather ramose, irregularly formed flints, somewhat resembling in figure the flints which are found in chalk, materially differing however from them, not only im dis. colour of their external coat, which is of various shades of brown, but also in that of their substance, which is seldoin black, but exhibits shades of yellow or brown, in which red likewise is sometimes perceptible. The traces of organic structure, particularly of the alcyonium, occasionally” seen In these stones, determine them also to have been formed at the bottom of the sea. Ath. Pebbles, owing their form to an investment and * The gravel pebbles of Epping Forest are of this description; and on most of the grounds leading down from the forest to the hamlet of Seward- stone and to the town of Waltham, white, opake, and partly decomposed pebbles are frequently seen, in which the argil and iron have been removed, and the silex only has remained. impregnation and on the Fossil Remains contained in them. 135 impregnation with silex of various marine animals of un- known genera, but bearing a close affinity to the aleyonia. These stones display, in general, not only the external form but the internal structure also of these animals. The con- gregation of many pebbles of this genus, and indeed of the same species, in particular tracts, warrants the conclusion, that these animal substances were thus changed, whilst in- habiting that hottom of a former ocean, which now forms the stratum the contents of which are here sketched. Peb- bles of this description are most frequently found in the gravel pits of Hackney, Islington, &c. Among the traces of organization discoverable in this stratum are casts of echint, which are frequently found among the gravel, and which have generally been supposed to have been washed out of the chalk. But these casts have their origin plainly stamped on them. Their substance is covered with iron; they are almost always of a rude and distorted form, aud I apprehend that they are never found with any part of the crust of the animal converted into spar, adherent to them, as is commonly the case with the casts of echini found in chalk. A sufficient proof, that these several strata of gravel, sand, &c. have been deposited by a former ocean, is to be found in a circumstance which does not appear to have been hi- therto sufficiently adverted to. This circumstance is. the existence of fossil shells belonging to, and accompanying, the superior part of these strata in particular spots; their absence in other parts being, perhaps, attributable to the re- moval of the upper beds. These fossil shells are still found disposed over a very considerable extent. Their nearest situation to the metro- olis is at Walton Nase, a point of land about sixteen miles . E. of Colchester. Here a cliff rises more than fifty feet above high-water mark and the adjacent marshes. It is formed of about two feet of vegetable mould, twenty or thirty feet of shells, mixed with sand and gravel, and from ten to fifteen feet of blue clay. The bed of shells is here exposed for about three hundred paces in length, and about a hundred feet in breadth. Immediately beyond the Nase the shore suddenly re- cedes and forms a kind of estuary, terminated towards the east by the projecting cliff of Harwich, which is capped in a similar manner with beds of these shells. The height of this cliff is from forty to fifty feet, about twenty-two feet of the lower part of which is the upper part of the blue clay stratum ; ‘* above which,” as Mr. Dale observes, ‘* to with- 14 in 136 On some of the Strata in the Neighbourhood of London, in two feet of the surface, are divers strata of sand and gravel mixed with fragments of shells, and small pebbles ; and it is in some of these last-mentioned strata that the fos- sil shells are imbedded. These fossils lie promiscuously together, bivalve and turbinate, neither do the strata in which they lie observe any order, being sometimes higher and sometimes lower in the cliff; with strata of sand, gravel, and fragments of shells between. Nor do the shells always: lie separate or distinct in the strata, but are sometimes found in Jumps or masses, something friable, cemented together with sand and fragments, of a ferruginous or rusty colour,, of which all these strata are *.”’ The coast of Essex is here separated from that of Suffolk: by the river Stour, by which the continuity of this stratum ‘is necessarily interrupted. It however occurs again on the opposite side of the river, and through Suffolk and great part of Norfolk the same bed of shells is found on digging ; thus appearing to extend over a tract of at least forty miles in length. These shells are in general found in the same confused mixture as is described by Mr. Dale; but they are also sometimes sc disposed, that patches of particular genera and species appear to be now occupying the very spots where they had lived. This seems particularly the case with the small pectens, the mactre, and the left-turned whelk. From the excellent state of preservation in which many of these shells have been found, it has been thought that they could hardly be regarded as fossil. Many acknow- ledged fossil shells, however, have undergone much less changes than those of this stratum; the original coloured markings are entirely discharged, and the external surfaces are deeply penetrated with a strong ferruginous stain; the inner surfaces also are considerably changed. their resplen- dence being superseded, to a considerable depth, by a dead whiteness, the consequence of the decomposition of this part of the shell. Like the fossils of most other strata, this assemblage of shells manifests a peculiar distinctive character. A few shells only, which may be placed among those which are supposed to be lost, or among those which are the inhabi- tants of distant seas, are here discoverable; the greater number appearing not to differ specifically, as far as their altered state will allow of determining, from the recent shells of the neighbouring sea. * Appendix by Samuel Dale to the History and Antiquities of Harwic and Dovercourt by Silas Taylor, 1732. °° : ee Bi - Among : , tat aes * « and on the Fossil Remains contained in them. 137 - Among those of which no recent analogue is known, appears to be the derebratula, figured in-Dale’s History and Antiquities of Harwich, &c. tab. xi. fig. 9, p. 294, and de- scribed, Phil. Trans. No. 291, p.1578. Mr. Dale describes this shell as Concha longa fossitis fasciata, and remarks that he has not observed ‘¢ either in Aldrovandus, Rondeletius, Belonius, Gesner, Johnson, Lister, or Bonatius, any shell that resembles this our fossil, unless it is one of those figured by Lachmund, p. 43, No. 6 and 7, the inward part resembling our fossil.’”? The shells figured by Lachmund are undoubtedly terebratule, but they manifest no particular agreement with this fossil. This shell appears to be figured by Lister, Histor. Con- chyl. tab. 211, fig. 45, and is assumed by Gmelin as Ano- mia spondylodes. The other shells, fig. 46, of the same plate, referred to by Gmelin as Anomia psitiacea, appear to be mutilated specimens of the same shell. This opinion is corroborated by the tint given by the accurate artists to the whole of the shells contained in this plate, agreeing with the dark colour of the Essex fossil; and by the cir- cumstance of their being generally found in the mutilated state in which they are here figured by Lister. Besides, neither of Lister’s specimens at all agrees with the pellucid shell, with a triangular foramen, of Anomia psittacea, but thev all agree with the oval antiquated shell, with an obtuse canaliculated beak, of Anomia spondylodes. In consequence of this agreement, it seems proper to consider this fossil shell as forming the species Anomia spondylodes. But as the channelled beak is not natural to it, but is the consequence of injury; and as this part, in its natural state, is pierced with a large round foramen, a cor- respondent change should be made in the description, and it may be placed under the more appropriate genus of tere- bratula, as Terebratula spondylodes, with an oval antiquated shell, the beak pierced by a large round foramen. This shell is, in general, about an inch and a half long, thick, nearly oval, roughly striated transversely, and has its large foramen defined by a distinct border. Jt appears to differ from every known recent or fossil terebratula. Another of the probably lost shells of this stratum is the fossil oyster, figured Organic Remains, &c. vol. iii. pl. xiv. fig. 3, and which is there conjectured to be the same oyster as that which Is described by Lamarck as Ostrea deformis. The volute, Organic Remains, vol. iii. pl. v. fig. 13, is another shell belonging to this stratum, of which it is be- lieved that no recent analogue has been yet found. This ovate 138 On some of ihe Strata in the Neighbourhood of London, ovate and rather fusiform shell appears to have been smooth; _ and at its full’ size about four inches in length: the colu- mella has four folds, and the shell is formed by about six. spiral turns, the last of which makes two thirds of the shell, dilating at about its centre, and contracting nearly equally upwards and downwards. The specimens yet seen give no opportunity of judging of the lip, or of the termination of the spire. The Essex reversed whelk, as it has been termed, Mu- rex contrarius, Linn. Hist. Conch. of Lister, tab. 950, fig. 44. b.c. which is here very abundant, does not appear to be known in any other straium of the island. The fos- sil shell, with the whirls in the ordinary direction, is some-. times fnmnd} in this stratum*, It has been said that the recent analogues of both these shells are found in the adjotming sea. A recent shell is indeed found, which very nearly agrees with the ordinarily turned shell in its general characters: but there appears no authority for supposing that the analogué of the left-turned variety has been discovered there. Among those recent shells, the resemblance of which to. the fossil ones of this stratum is such as appears to render a comparison by an experienced conchologist necessary, may be enumerated : Patella ungarica, Patella militaris, Patella sinensis, (Ca- lypirea, Lai.) Patella fissura, (Emarginula, Lam.) one or two species of Patelle, wiih a perforation i in the apex, (Fissurella, Lam.) Nerita giaucina, Nerita canrena, (Na- tica, Lam.) Turbo terebra, (Turritella, Lam.) Murex cor- neus, Murex erinaceus, Strombus pes pelicant, Cyproea pedi- culus, with no sulcus along the back, Pholas crispatus, in fragments, Solen ensis, and Solen siliqua, in fragments, Cardium edule, Cardium aculeatum? bearing the size and form of this shell, but having from thirty- four to thirty-six ribs, with no depressed line down their middle, nor vestiges of spines; Mactra solida, Venus exoleta, Venus scotica 2 Fenericardia senilis, Lam. Arca glycemeris, Arca nucleus. ».. Besides these remains of marine animals, the fossil hollow tubercles, having lost the spines, of the fhornback are here found ; also fragments of the fossil palate, (Scopula littoralis of Lhwydd) and fossil remains of sponge and alcyonia, par- ticularly a very fair see sae nf the reticulated alcyontum. Org. Rem. vol. ii. pl. ix. fig. * It is erroneously stated, Organic Remains, vol iii. p. 66, that this shell ‘ has not been yet menticned, as found in this stratum}, since it is so particu~ Jarised by Dale, Tn and on the Fossil Remains contained in them. © 139 In this bed, among the gravel and the shells, are frequently found fragments of fossil Lone, which possess some striking peculiarities. They are seldom more than half an inch in thickness, two inches in width, and twelve in length; al- ways having this flat form, and generally marked with small dents or depressions. Their colour, which is brown, light or dark, and sometimes inclining to a greenish tint, is evi- dently derived from an impregnation with iron. From this impregnation they have also received a great increase of weight and solidity; from having been rolled they have ac- quired a considerable polish; and on being struck by any hard body they give a shrill ringing sound. These frag- ments, washed out of the stratum in which they had been imbedded, are found on the beach at Walton, but occur in much greater quantity at Harwich. OF the flat rounded pieces described above, no conjecture can be formed as to the particular bone or particilar animal to which they belonged. But within these few years an Essex gentleman found, on the beach at Harwich, a tooth which was supposed to have belonged to the mammoth. This fossil was kindly obtained, at iny request, for the pur- pose of being exhibited to the members of the Geological Society, by my late friend Dr. Menish; and certainly it appeared to be part of a tooth of that animal. It had been broken and rounded by rolling, but its characters were still capable of being ascertained. It possessed, in the softer parts, the colour and appearance of the Essex mineralised bones so distinctly, as to leave not a doubt of its having been imbedded in this stratum; whilst in the enamel it manifested decided characters of the tooth of some species of the mammoth, or mastodon of Cuvier. The actual limit of this stratum has not been ascertained ; it is however known to extend through Essex, Middlesex, part of Kent, and Surry, and through Hertfordshire, Buck- inghamshire, and indeed much further both to the north- ward and westward. In mauy parts its continuity has been interrupted, apparently by partial abruptions of it, together even with a portion of the stratum on which it rests. The shells of this stratum have hitherto been discovered only in the parts already noticed. Brive Cray Srratum.—tThis, the next subjacent bed, is formed of a ferruginons clay exceeding two bundred feet in thickness. Its colour for a few feet in the upper part is a yellowish-brown, but through the whole of its remaining: depth is of a dark-blucish gray, verging on black. It is not only characterized by these circumstances, but by the numerous 140 On some of the Strata in the Neighbourhood of London, numerous septaria which are dispersed through it, and by the peculiar fossils which it contains. _ The difference of colour observed between its superior and inferior part, and which has generally been supposed to be owing to a difference in the degree of oxidation of the iron present in it, appears to be the result of a difference in the quantity of it, occasioned by the washing away of this metal in the upper part by the water which percolates through it, aad which runs off laterally by the numerous drains made near the surface. The dark-red colour of tiles made from the blue clay, the reddish-yellow colour of the place bricks made of the yellowish-brown clay, and the bright-yellow hue of the washed malms, those bricks which are. formed of the yellow clay which has been exposed, to repeated washings, are thus accounted for. The septaria he horizontally, and are disposed at unequal distances from each other in seemingly regular layers; and, as has been just observed of the stratum itself, they become of a paler colour, and it may be added suffer decomposition, when placed so high in the stratum as to be exposed to the action of percolating water. They frequently include por- tions of wood pierced by the Teredines, Nautili, and other shells; and it is a fact that may be worthy of being attended to, whilst inquiring into their formation, that the septa of calcareous spar frequently intersect the substances enclosed in the septaria. This stratum is to be found not only wherever the pre- ceding deposition extends, but in other parts also where that has been removed. The cliffs of this clay, at Shepey, extend about six.miles in length; the more elevated parts, which are about ninety feet in height, being about four miles in length,and declining gradually as they terminate towards the east and west. , The fossils of this stratum have been already carefully particularised. A catalogue of those found at Shepey, was added by Mr. Jacobs to his Plante Favershamienses; and an account of several of the fossil fruits found at Shepey was published by Dr. Parsons in the fiftieth volume of the Philosophical Transactions. The fossils of Hampshire have been scientifically described by Dr. Solander, in the Fossilia Hanioniensia of Mr. Brander, where the fossils themselves are very exactly figured. It was not supposed, even after the publication of these accounts, that the fossils of Shepey and those of Hampshire were of the same stratum, . Among the Hampshire fossils no mention is made of crabs, lobsters, tortoises, nautili, nor and on the Fossil Remains: contained in them. 144 nor of the heads or bodies of fishes so abundant at Shepey; whilst the Murex pyrus, Murex longevus, Strombus. amplus, &ec. of the Hampshire cliff had never, perhaps, been enu- merated among the Shepey fossils. The identity of the stratum at Shepey and in Hampshire has, within a few years, been decided by digging into this same stratum at Kew, where several of the fossils, which had hitherto been supposed peculiar to Shepey, were found in the same pit with those which had been considered as peculiar to Hampshire. In the present year, on cutting through a mound of this stratum which forms Highgate-hill, this identity has been still further manifested by the discovery of great numbers of those fossils mingled together which had been generally distinguished into “Hampshire and Shepey fossils; as crabs, nautili, &c. like those of Shepey, together with several shells which had been generally regarded as peculiar to Hampshire, and in particular that uncommon alated shell, Strombus amplus, Solander. (Rostellaria macroplera, Lamarck. ir In examining this stratum, the curious fact that certain organic remains are peculiar to particular depositions, is first observed. Very few indeed of the fossil’shells of the gravel strata are to be found in the bed of blue clay. In the gravel strata, by far the greater number of the shells bear a close agreement with those which now exist in not very distant seas; but in this clay stratum, ‘ very few of the shells are known to be natives of our own, or indeed any of the European,.shores, but the far greater part of them, upon a comparison with the recent, are wholly unknown to us*,” But although this clay stratum contains fossils of a much older date than those of the gravel stratum, it possesses other marks which agree with its position in showing that it is of comparativ ely. modern formation. It includes none of the remains of any of the lost fossils, such as the Cornu ammonis, Encrinites, &c. Mr. Jacobs indeed speaks of one imperfect specimen of Belemnites and of Asiroire hav- ing been found, but at the same time as being very uncom- mon. Mr. Brander bowever does not appear. to have met with any of these older fossils; nor have any of them been discovered either at Kew or at Highgate. Hence it seems reasonable to conclude, that the single imperfect belemnite and the few astroite were not inhabitants of the sea at the period when this stratum was deposited, but were washed O° % Pissilia Hantoniensia, p. 5. . s ita od out es a 142 On some of the Strata in the Neighbourhood of London, out of some of the more ancient strata, and lodged by acs cident in the bed where they were found*. The quantity of fruit or ligneous seed-vessels and berries, which has been found in this stratum at Shepey, is pro- digious. Mr. Francis Crow, of Feversham, has procured from this fertile spot a very large collection ; and by care- fully comparing each individual specimen ly their internat as well as their external appearance, he has been enabled to select seven hundred specimens, none of which are dupli- cates, and very few agree with any known seed-vessels. These vegetable remains have also been found on the oppo- site Essex shore, but in very small numbers. They have also been met with in that part of the stratum which has been examined at Kew. At Highgate and at Shepey a re-- sinous matter, highly inflammable, of a darkish-brown co- lour, and yielding, on friction, a peculiar odour, has also been found. This substance has been conjectured to exist in an unaltered state, and this indeed seems to be the fact from its resinous fracture; but it must be observed, on the other hand, that pieces of it occur which are penetrated by Iron pyrites. This stratum is also rendered exceedingly interesting by its surface appearing to have been the residence of land animals; not a single vestige of which secms to have heen found in any of the numerous subjacent strata of the British series. Mr. Jacobs relates that the remains of-an elephant were found at Shepey. The reniains of the elephant, stag, and hippopotamus have also been dug up at Kew. At Walton in Essex, not only the remains of the elephant, stag, and hippopotamus have been discovered, but also remains of the rhinoceros, and of the Irish fossil elk. Org. Rem. vol. iii. p- 366. It has been generally supposed that these reinains were contained within the stratum of blue clay; but the cir- cumstances under which they are found seem rather to warrant the conclusion, that they were deposited on the surface of those low spots where abruptions of the su- perior part of this stratum had taken place. Thus the re- mains of the elephant mentioned by Mr. Jacohs were not in the cliff, but in a low situation at a distance from it: so * It appears to be necessary to guard against two sources of error whilst appropriating fossils to their respective strata: one is the circumstance here alluded to, where the fossils of a preexistent stratum have been washed out by the waters while depositing a more recent stratum: the other is where, at a of junction of two strata, the animals of the one are found within the borders of the other stratum; a circumstance by no means difficu!: to be conceived or explained, j also 7 and on the Fossil.Remains contained in them. 143 also the remains of land animals in Essex occur a little be- low the surface, in a line with the marshes, which are a very few feet above high-water mark. By a communication of the late Mr. William Trimmer of Kew, it appeared that he found, under the sandy gravel, a bed of earth, highly calcareous, from one foot to nine feet in thickness; beneath this a bed of gravel-a few feet thick, containing water, and then the main stratum of blue clay. At the bottom of the sandy gravel, he observed that the bones of the hippopota- mus, deer, and elephant were met with; but not in those parts of the field to which the calcareousbed did not extend. Here also a considerable number of small and apparently fresh-water shells, and at the bottom snail-shells, were. found. Does it not seem that the first appearance, or crea- tion, of Jand-animals was on the dry land of this stratum, and that they were overwhelmed in these spots by that sea which deposited the present superincumbent strata of gravel ? STRATA INTERPOSED BETWEEN THE CLAY AND THE CHALK. It is almost impossible to speak with precision of the subjacent strata, which are situated between the ciay and the chalk, since very considerable variations occur as to their thickness, and indeed as to the form in which their consti- tuent parts are disposed ; and since there exist but few sec- tions, at least in the neighbourhood of the metropolis, which present a view of the strata composing this formation. They are included in the following account by Mr. Farey: “ A sand stratum, of very variable thickness, next succeeds, and lays immediately upon the chalk, in most instances, as between Greenwich and Woolwich, on the banks of the Thames; which has often been called the Blackheath sand: it frequently has a bed of cherty sandstone in it, called the gray- weathers *,” On the upper part of a mound at New Charlton some traces of the lowest part of the blue clay appear, covered by not more than a foot of vegetable earth. This layer of clay does not seem to exceed two feet in thickness, which, in- deed, it possesses only on the top of some of those mounds, which occur so frequently as to render the surface in this district very irregular. In this clay, oysters of different forms are found ; some approaching to the recent species, and others longer and somewhat vaulted: but they are in general so tender as to render it very difficult to obtain a : Report on Derbyshire, &c. vol. i. p. 111. tolerable .* 4144 On some of the Strata in the Neighbourhood of London, tolerable specimen. With these also occur numerous Ceré- thia, Turritelle and Cytheree, Lam. all of which are in a similar state with the oysters, and appear to be shells strictly belonging to the subjacent stratum, but which, having Jain uppermost, became involved in the first or lowest deposition of the blue clay. Feneticrcty beneath the clay there is found a line of about three or four inches of the preceding shells imbedded in a mass of calcareous matter, the result of their disinte- gration. Beneath this are numerous alternating layers of shells, marl, and pebbles, for about twelve or fifteen feet. The shells are those which have been already mentioned ; but are very rarely to be met with whole, and when entire are so brittle as to be extricated with much difficulty. In some of these layers scarcely any thing but the mere frag- iments of shells is to be found, and in others a calcareous ~ powder only is left. ’ The pebbles are almost all of a roundish oval form, many of them being striped, but differing from those of the su- perior gravel stratum, in being seldom broken, in there be- ing few large ramose masses, ‘and in their not bearing’ any marks cr traces of organization. Many of these pebbles are passing into a state of decomposition, whence they have in some degree the appearance of having been subjected to the action of fire: smal] fragments of shells are every where dispersed amongst them. Beneath the pebbles is a stratum of light fawn-coloured sand of about ten feet in depth, and immediately under this is the stratum of white sand, which is about five-and-thirty feet deep, and is here seen resting immediately on the chalk. At Plumstead, about a mile distant in a south-eastern direction, there is a pit, in which the shells, about two years ago, were to be obtained in a much better state of preservation, than at New Charlton; but this seam of shells, as the pit has been dug further in, has by degrees become so narrow as to be now nearly lost. In this pit, not onlythe shells already mentioned were found, but many tolerably perfect specimens of Calyptrea trochifor mis, Lam. frochus aperius, Brander. Arce glycemeres, Arce Natice, avd many minutes sbeils in good preservation. All these sheils appear to have entirely lost their animal Toatter; and not having become imbued with any connecting impregnation, they are extremely brittle. On examination with a lens, it also appears that in most of the specimens nothing of their orginal surface remains, it_ having been every where in- dented with impressions of the surrounding minute sand, made » i — ae and on the Fossil Remains contained in them. 145 made whilst the shells were in a softened state. This cir- cumstance is particularly evinced in the Cyclades, in which a particular character in the hinge was thus concealed: in a mass of these shells from the Isle of Wight, it appears that the lateral teeth ‘are crenulated, somewhat similar to those of the Mactra solida in the gravel stratum; but in the Cyclades of Plumstead this was not discoverable, from the mjuries which their surface bad sustained from the sand. The fossils of this stratum evidently agree with those found by Lamarck and M. De France above the chalk at Grignon, Courtagnon, &c. and they have been just shown, incidentally, to exist in the Isle of Wight. In an eastern and southern direction trom: London this stratum with its fossils is frequently discovered. On the heath near Crayford, about four miles eastward of Charlton, long vaulted oysters are found similar to those already mentioned. About two miles further, in the parish of Stone, is Cockle-shell- bank, so called, as Mr. Thorpe, the author of Custumale Roffense, says, p. 254 of that work, “« from the great number of small shells there observable.”? These are the Cyclades already spoken -of, and which Mr. John Latham, author of The general Synopsis of Birds, thought bore some resemblance to Tellina cornea Linn. Histor. Conchyl. of Lister, tab. 159, fig. 14. Mr. Latham here also met with a species of Cerithiwm, and another of Turritella. Fragments of these shells are also frequently turned up with the plough in that neighbourhood. They have likewise been found at Dartford, at Bexley, and at Bromley, to the southward. Mr. Thorpe also relates that in the parish of Stone there was a large mass of stone, of some hundreds weight, full of shells, which was brought froma field, and used as a bridge or stepway over a drain in the farm-yard. (Custumale Rof- Sense, p. 255.) In several spots in the neighbourhood of Bromley, stone is found near the surface, formed of oyster-shells still ad- hering to the pebbles to which they were attached, and which are similar to those which have been just described as occurring at Plumstead and at Charlton; the whole bee ing fornjed. by a calcareous cement into a coarse shelly lime- stone containing numerous pebbles. The only quarry of this stone which has been yet worked is in the grounds of Claude Scoit, Esq. The opening hitherto made is but small; it is however sufficient to show that the stratum here worked has suffered some degree of displacement, as it dips with an angle of about forty-five degrees. Vol, 38, No, 160, August 1811. K At 146 On some of the Strata in the Neighbourhood of Londons At Feversham, over the chalk, Mr. Francis Crow has discovered a bed of dark-brown sand, slightly agglutinated by a siliceous cement, and intermixed with a small portion of clay. In this stratum, which has been hitherto but little “explored, he has found in a siliceous state specimens of Strombus pes pelicani and a species of Cucull@a, nearly re- sembling those which are met with in the Black-down whetstone pits. Patches of plastic clay are frequently found over the chalk : some of these are yellow, and employed for the common sorts of pottery; but others are white, or grayish-white, and are used for finer purposes. The coarser clay is very fre- quently met with, nor are the finer kinds of very rare occur- rence. In the Isle of Wight two species of plastic white clay are worked for the purpose of making tobacco-pipes. A similar clay, which is used for making gallipots, 1s dug from the banks of the Medway. ‘A fine, light ash-coloured nearly white clay, which is employed in pottery-works, is ‘also dug at Cheam near Epsom in Surry. The uperER or ELINTY CHALK, which is the next older stratum, is extremely thick, forming stupendous cliffs up- wards of six hundred and fifty feet high, on the south- eastern coast of the island. It extends nearly through al- most/al] that part of the island which Jies south of a line supposed to be drawn from Dorchester in the county of Dorset to Flamborough-head in Yorkshire. - In this stratum there is a great quantity of flint, chiefly in irregularly formed nodules, disposed in layers, which pre- serve a parallelism with each other and with continuous seams of flint, sometimes not exceeding half an inch in thickness. The chalk contains a fine sand, which may be separated by washing*, The fossils of this stratum are for the most part peculiar to it; very few of them being found in any other. They also appear to agree very closely with those species found in the chalk of France, by Messrs. De France, Cuvier and Brongniart. The number of fossils noticed by these.gen- - tlemen amounts to fifty; but they have as yet only parti- cularised.a part of them. These are here compared with what appeared to be the correspondent fossils in the English part of this stratam; and some others are also pointed out, which these gentlemen have not yet mentioned as being found in the neighbourhood of Paris. » Sa * The chalk in the neighbourhood of Paris contains, according to M. Bouillon La Grange, magnesia 0:11, and silex O 19, In ~~ ee and.on the Fossil Remains contained in them.. 147 Tn the French stratum there occur, Two Lituolites. No species of this genus is noticed as having been seen in our English chalk. But research has not been made with the necessary precision. Three Vermiculites. The fossil figured Org. Rem. vol.1i. pl. vii. fig. 11, was considered as a vermiculite, until by re- moval of the chalk and opening different specimens it was found to be a chambered and an adherent shell. Should these gentlemen not have perceived these circumstances in the specimens they met with, they would certainly regard this fossil asa vermiculite, It must also be observed, that from the different forms in which the spiral part is disposed, its division into two or three species might be authorised. _ Belemnites. These, according to M. De France, are dif- ferent from those which accompany the ammonites of the compact limestone. The elemnties of our chalk are smalier ' than those of the limestone, besides which they are different in form, being narrower and more elongated. But M. De France may also have confounded with them the spines of the echinus, which so closely resemble the lelemmnite: if that gentleman should not have met with perfect specimens, he might not be able to remark the difference between these two fossils. The characters which he has noticed are how- ever sufficient to lead to the belief of a correspondence be- tween the French and English fossils. Fragments of a thick shell of a fibrous structure —The doubts expressed respecting the nature of this shell, and the observations made with regard to it, offer another strong point of agreement between the shells of the two strata, The shell here alluded to is most probably that represented ‘Org. Rem. vol. iii. pl. v. fig. 3; the structure of which agrees exactly with that mentioned as found in the French stratum of chalk. That shell is however described as being of a tubular form; it is therefore right to observe, that fos- sil pinneé do sometimes possess this peculiar structure. ~ A Muscie. No instance appears in which any shell] of this genus has been found in our chalk. , Two Oysters. The Kentish chalk-pits yield at least three species of this genus. One of them bearing very much the form and appearance of Ostrea edulis, but being only about a fourth of its size; one smaller, the serrated edge of which places it in the family of Criste galli; and the third sull smaller, not half an inch in length, crenulated on each side of the binge. A species of Pecten, , There are two or three small species ei K2 of 148 On some of the Strata in the Neighbourhood of Londons of pecten in the English chalk ; besides a shell, with long slender spines, which may be safely classed with the pecten. A Crania (Anomia craniolaris Linn. Crania personata Lam.) This fossil is not known in the English chalk ; nor indeed could it be easily ascertained, unless the inferior valve happened to be well displayed. Three Terebratule. T. sulcata and a terebratula agree- ing with Anomia terebratula Linn. are frequently found in our chalk ; and sometimes another species, hardly half an inch in length, with remarkably acute and well defined ribs. . A Spirorlis. Traces of these shells are frequently found on the surface of the echinite. . Ananchite (Echinus ovatus). The crustaceous covering of which, it is remarked by MM. Cuvier and Brengniart, remains calcareous, and has assumed a sparry texture, whilst the middle alone is changed into silex. No actual change has however taken place, as far as respects the flinty part of the fossil, the flint having merely filled up the hollow of the sparry crustaceous covering. This fossil is frequently found in the English chalk. Porpite. These also occur in the English chalk. Five or six different fossil bodies called by the French oryctologists Polypiers, one appearing to belong to the genus Caryophyllea. Several of these bodies, from the English chalk, have been figured in the Org. Rem. vol. ib pl. xi. fig. 70 to 79. : Another is supposed to belong to the genus Millepora. This is generally brown, and is in the state of oxidized iron, as resulting from the decomposition of pyrites. These fos- sils exist in the Wiltshire soft chalk. Lastly, Shark’s teeth. These also occur frequently in the English stratum. Messrs. Cuvier and Brongniart state, that there are many more fossils in the chalk stratum of France than those which have been just referred to. This is also the case with the fossils of the English chalk; since the following may be enumerated as occurring in this stratum. Rugous palates, and, though rarely, the scales and vertebre of fishes. Three or four species of stelle marine. A long saccular bivalve, with an uncommonly thin shell, of which so little has been hitherto saved, as not to give a chance of gaining a knowledge of its general form, or the structure of its hinge. 4 Livalve, which approaches to a ‘circular form, but is so thin as to afford but little hope of discovering its genus. om ‘. and on the Fossil Remains contained in them. 149 genus. A bivalve, nearly circular, the margin turning up- wards so as to give it a patella or disk form, with numerous long processes passing from the margin and external sur- face, and fixing it to other bodies. A small pecten with sharp angulated ribs, not exceeding a quarter of an inch in length. A bivalve, not an eighth of an inch in length, finely striated longitudinally, bearing a bright polish, and seeminyly possessing its original light brown colour. Plates of the tortoise echinile, and several remains apparently of other species of this genus. When to these are added the remains of various echini, such as conulites, cassidites, and spatangites, and the different spines of echini which are found in this stratum; and when it is also considered that the present account is drawn up almost entirely from.the productions of chalk cliffs, of not more than two miles in lengih, it will not be difficult to conceive, that the number of these fossils is not Jess in the English than in the French chaik. The state in which these fossils are found, plainly evinces that the matrix in which they are imbedded was formed by a gradual deposition, which entombed these animals whilst living in their native beds. The fine and delicate spinous projections of the shells are unbroken, and the spines are still found adhering to the crustaceous coverings of the echini; neither of which circumstances could have occurred had these bodies been suddenly and rudely overwhelmed by these investing depositions, or had they been brought hither from distant spots. | It may be said that the specimens possessing the characters here alluded to are rare. With respect to the spinous shells, however, they certainly occur often, although it is almost impossible to extricate them unbroken from their surround- ing chalk ; and the rarity of the specimens of echinites with their attached spines, depends in a great measure on the mode in which these specimens are obtained. The speci- mens seen in cabinets are seldom found by the naturalist himself, bat are preserved by the work people, who break the chalk when any uncommon appearances catch their eye. But it frequently happens that these marks are not. seen until the piece is broken by their tool, and with it, perhaps, the entire animal. 6D. Se The perfect state of the surfaces of the chalk fossils proves also that thie’ deposition proceeded from the surrounding fluid, and that it was not derived from the immediate action of any chemical’agent on the shells and other calcareous coverings of the animals sie at the bottom of the sea. . 3 In 150 On some of the Strata in the Neighbourhood of London, Tn the fossil animal bodies found in chalk, not the least di- ‘minution of the shar rpuess of their ridges or points is ob- servable, nor is the least dulness of the delicate lines and enmbossments of the crusts, or of the spines of the echini, to be detected. That the deposition of chalk and of flint was sometimes alternate, and even, ce it isexpressed by Messrs. Cuvier an® Brongniart, periodical, appears from the seams or strata of finty” tiodules, and particalarly from the widely extended flat or tabular flinty depositions interposed between the chalk. Bat that the chalk.was permeated by the silex at some di- stange of time after the deposition of the former, seems also to be proved by the state of the fossils of this stratum. There does not appear to be a single instance in which the animal remains are impregnated with silex. On the contrary, the substance of all these fossils has beeome calcareous spar, and their cavities have been filled with flint; thus plainly evincing that sufficient time must have elapsed for the ery- stallization of the calcareous spar, previously to the infiltra- tion of the flint. It may not be improper to remark, that in no instance does the flint, although in contact with the caleareous spar, appear to have become mixed with it. The reverse of this is the case with the chalk, since this lafter may be seen in almost every degree of union with the flint; from being blended with its * substance, to being merely united with its surface, and forming the white coat of the flint. It has been, without doubt, from certain appearances resulting from this union, that M. Carrosi and others have been led to believe in the change of lime to flint. There can be hardly any hesitation in agreeing with Mr. Jameson, that the most probable explanation of the forma- tion of imbedded flint is that which was first proposed by Werner, ‘that during the deposition of chalk, air was evolved, which, in endeavouring to escape, formed irregular eavities, that were afterwards filled up, by infiltration, with flint*.”’ The decomposition of the softer parts of the ani- mals, which were thus entombed, may be considered as a very probable source of a part, of those gaseous maiters which formed these cavities: and the connexion of the animal remains witb these nodules of flint is easily explained by supposing the shells, crusts of the echint, &c. to have projected into these cavities, or to have been adherent to . Bpecendet ee ae by Prof. Jameson, vol. i. p. 172, - their and on the Fossil Remains contained in them. 151 their sides, at the period at which this infiltration took place. : That the separation and deposition of the matter forming these siliceous nodules have been the work of crystallization, is rendered evident by the cavities left either in these no- dules, or in the fossils, being gencrally lined with quartz crystals. h Whilst endeavouring thus to explain the formation of these flinty nodules, and the filling up of the cavities of the fossils with flint, a difficulty arises fram observing these bodies, insulated as it were in their bed of chalk; it not be- ing easy to conceive, how so copious an infiltration should have taken place into these cavities, whilst the surrounding chalk should only have received a slight intermixture of si- liceous grains. _ Something analogous is however observable in the forma- tion of the calcareous stalactite; since in those caverns mm which these concretions have been forming for a very long period, the infiltration by which they are formed is found to continue to the present day; proving that the interstices of the superincumbent stone have nor yet been filled by the concreting of the earthy particles held in solution in the percolating fluid, by the crystallization of which these bodies have been formed, and are now augmenting. The Oberstein nodules of agate appear to have been formed under somewhat similar circumstances; since it is in ge- neral evident from their external surfaces, that they also have had very little adherence to their matrices; which would hardly have been the case had these been bighly im- -pregnated with silex. The HARD CHALK lies immediately beneath the soft chalk. In this stratum there are no flint nodules.‘ Its beds,” according to Mr. Farey, ‘* increase in hardness, un- til near the bottom where a whitish freestone is dug, at Totternhoe in Bedfordshire, and at numerous other places: that brought from Ryegate and other quarries, of this stra- tum, south of London, is used as a fire stone*.”’ It has been gencrally supposed that these two strata of chalk are of one formation: but not only the absence of the flints but the characters of their fossils prove them to be of distinct formations. No fossils indeed are marked by more decidedly peculiar characters than those of this stratum ; since hardly a single fossil has been found in it, which has been met with in the soft chalk, or any other stratuin. jot . : * Report on Derbyshire, &¢. p. 112. Ka Tt 152 On some of the Strata in the Neighbourhood of London, It is in this chalk that the genus Ammonites is first met with ; or, in other words, it appears that the water which formed this stratum was that in which this genus last ex- isted, no traces of it having been seen in the soft chalk or in the other superior strata, The chief, and perhaps the only circular species of this genus which has been found in this stratum, is of a large size, with nodular projections on its sides, towards the back, which is generally flat, This fossil appears to be of a different species from any of those that are found in the subjacent strata. It is very remarkable that in this stratum, the last in which the genus ammonites is met with, so remarkable a deviation from the original form of the genus should occur, as almost to claim its being considered as the characteristic of another genus, In the fossil here referred to, which possesses all the other characters of ammonites, the spiral coil is disposed in a form rather approaching to that of the oval than the circle*, In another fossil of this stratum, a still more extraordinary deviation exists. This fossil possesses the concamerations and the foliaceous sutures of ithe cornu ammonis; but, in= stead of being spirally coiled, it bas its ends turned to- wards each other, somewhat in the jiorm of a canoe. This peculiar form has led to the placing of this fossil under a Separate genus, which has been named Scaphitest. Of the extent of this stratum no correct account has been given; but there is sufficient reason for believing that it accompanies the other chalk in its range through this island. It also appears that its peculiar fossils exist in it at very considerable distances. Thus the oval ammonite, which is found in the Sussex hills, hkewise occurs in the hard chalk of Wiltshire; and the scaphites, another inha- _ bitant of the Sussex hills, bas also been discovered in Dor- setshire. On comparing the preceding sketch with the Essay om the Mineralogical Geography of the Neighbourhood of Paris, by Messrs. Cuvier and Broneniart, some important variations will be perceived between the strata found above the chalk in this island and in France. Jn France, the strata above the chalk differ both in number and quality from those which have been hitherto observed in a similar situation in England. Jn France, too, several strata of sand and sand- stone exist ahove the strata of the gravel formation, which jn this island appear tobe highest. # Organic Remains, vol. iii. pl.ix. fiz.6. — f Wid. vol. iii. pl. x. fig 10 & 11. The - fe Report of the National Vaccine Establishment. 153 The first of these differences appears to result chiefly from the existence of numerous beds or patches, the formation of which must haye depended on certain local circumstances, such as the existence of fresh or salt water lakes, at the period of the drying up of a former ocean; the different chemical combinations which might thence have taken place, &c. But the occurrence of such variations can hardly be considered as interrupting the continuity of the stratifi- ¢ation. Indeed, when it is considered that in France much more frequent opportunities are afforded of examining the strati- fication immediately above the chatk than in England, it will not be regarded as improbable, that several of these beds or patches may exist here, the discovery of which would render the accordance of the two series of strata much more close, Even from the examinations which have been already made, the identity of the French and English chalk is esta- blished. The British strata above the chalk are also found to contain patches of plastic clay, of most of the varieties mentioned in the French strata, as well as patches of coarse limestone, with its accompanying sand and its peculiar fos- sil shells, such as are found to exist in the corresponding French strata. The other difference, the existence, in France, of beds of sand and of sandstone above those of gravel, which are the highest strata of this island, is very remarkable. May it not be attributable to the abruption, from this island, of the superior strata or beds of this formation, by that catastrophe, Instances of the astonishing force of w hich have been al- ready noticed ? XXXI. Report of the National Vaccine Establishment. f eel Board of the National Vaccine Establishment having learned that great interest has been excited in the public mind, by the occurrence of small-pox afier vaccination, in the badadhin of the Earl of Grosvenor and of Sir Henry Mar- tin, Bart. haye thought it their duty to lay the following cases before the public, accom panicd with some observa- tions, and a statement how far, in their opinion, these cases gifected the general advantages of vaccination. The case of the Hon. Robert Gi rosvenor, third son of the Earl of Grosvenor, was progured throngh ‘the fayour of Sir Henry 154 Report of the National Vaccine Establishment. Henry Halford and Sir Walter Farquhar, the physicians who attended the young gentleman during his illness; and the case of the son of Sir Henry Martin was obtained through the favour of Dr. Heberden. Both of these cases were also visited by the Director of the Vaccine Establishment. ° I. The Case of the Hon. Robert Grosvenor. On Sunday, May 26, 1811, the Hon. Robert Grosvenor, who was recovering from the hooping-cough, became much indisposed, and threw up his dinner. Fever followed, and he complained most particularly of excruciating pain in his back. He dwelt on this symptom until Tita: when he became delirious, and there were observed on his face about twenty spots. . He had been vaccinated by Dr. Jenner, in his infancy, about ten years ago, and the mark left in his arm indicated’ a perfect disease. On Friday morning, the eruption had not increased ma- terially in point of number; but the appearance of the spots, and the previous symptoms, suggested strongly a suspicion that the disorder was the small-pox. Sir H. Halford had occasion to go to Windsor in the af- ternoon of Friday, and did not see Mr. Robert Grosvenor until the Monday following (June 2d); but he. learned from Sir W. Farquhar, who attended him most carefully during Sir Henry’s absence, (and subsequently,) that the eruption had increased prodigiously in the course of Friday; that on the evening of that day Mr. Robert Grosvenor began to make bloody water, and that he continued to do so uutil Monday morning. ‘ On the tenth day of the disease the pustules began to dry upen the face, which was swollen to a considerable degree, but not to the extent of closing his eyes, and was attended by a salivation, which lasted several days. Petechiz had occurred in the interstices of several of the spots, particu- Jarly on the limbs, and there was that particular smell from the whole frame which is remarkable in bad cases of con- fluent small-pox. It was obvious that the first symptoms of which Mr. Grosvenor complained, were such as mdicated a violent dis- ease about to follow ; and Sir Henry confesses that he cn- tertained a most unfavourable opinion of the issue of such a malady, when it was fully formed; having never seen an mstance of recovery under so heavy an eruption attended by such circumstances. It seemed, however, that the latter, stages of the discase were passed through more rapidly in this Report of the Nationai Vaccine Establishment. 155 this case than usual ; and it may be a question whether this ~ extraordinary circumstance, as well as the ultimate recovery of Mr. Grosvenor, were not influenced by previous vac- cination.- Henry Hacforp. WALTER FarQuHar. In addition to the preceding account, the Board have authority to state, that during the illness of Mr. Grosvenor, the other children of the Earl of Grosv enor, who had been previously vaccinated, were exposed to the contagion of the smal|- “Pox under which their brother was suffering, and were also submitted to small-pox inoculation without ef- fect. II. The Case of the Son of Sir Henry Marlin. Sir Henry Martin’s son, aged cleven years, was vaccinated by Mr. Tegart i in the vear 1801, and sehilined all the’usual marks of that disorder in a complete-and satisfactory man- ner. He still retains on his arm the characteristic scar. This boy was taken il on Saturday the 22d day of June, 18113; at the period of the attack he was recovering from hooping- cough. 23d. Continued to be feverish. 24th. Mr. Tegart was sent to. 25th. The fever increased, and at night he became de- lirious, 26th. An eruption was perceived chiefly about the mouth, at the same time his eyes and throat were slightly inflamed? The fever continned. 27th, or 2d day of the eruption, the pustules increased, so as to afford suspicion of the chicken-pox. 3d day of the eruption, the pustules increased, the fever decreased. 4th. At the close of the fourth day Dr. Heherden first saw this boy, with a djstinct eruption of the most perfect kind of small-pox, all pretty uniform in size, well filled with a fluid: already beginning to grow yellow, and sur- rounded by a rose- coloured margin precisely like small-pox of the fifth day. There were about one hundred pustules on the face, and perhaps twice as many on the limbs, but the trunk was almost free: the features were swollen, but not very much so. The skin was hot, and the pulse quick: Sth day. The pustules were more uniform, and yellow, and the patient complained of soreness; but he was cooler, and his pulse was quieter. 6th day. The fever had entirely subsided, and the pock began to turn. Sth. 156 Report of the National Vaccine Establishment. Sth. The pustules were dried, and continued to fall off from the face. The boy continued quite well. Pall Mall, July 4, i811. W. HEBERDEN. With a view of obtaining the most accurate knowledge of the early symptoms of this case, which did not come under the immediate observation of Dr. Heberden, the Board have procured, through the favour of Mr. Tegart, of Pall Mall, an account of the commencement and course of the disorder, which corroborates the above statement. And from the same source they have been informed, that Miss Martin and a nurserymaid of Sir H. Martin’s family, who had both been vaccinated, were inoculated wiih matter taken trom Master Martin on the fifth day of the eruption, and’ were exposed to the contagion of the small-pox daring the course of his disorder, without effect. The Board are of opinion, that the case of the Hon. Ro- — bert Grosvenor was a case of confluent small-pox. That the attack and progress of the disorder were attended by symptoms which almost invariably announce a fatal termi- nation. But they observe, that the swelling of the face, which is generally so excessive as to close the eyes, and is considered as a favourable symptom, was slighter than usual; that on the tenth day the pustules began to dry upon the face; and that from that time the disease passed with unusual rapidity through the period when life 1s generally esteemed to be in the greatest hazard. Those who are acquainted with the nature of the con- fluent small-pox, are aware that this peculiarity cannot be attributed to the effect of medical treatment. The case of the son of Sir Henry Martin exhibits a mild form of distinct small-pox occurring after vaccination. | In most cases of small-pox which have succeeded to vac- cination, the pustules have been observed to dry more ra~ pidly, and the disorder has concluded at an earlier period than usual. If allowance be made for the relative periods in which the confluent and distinct small-pox complete their course, the rapid progress towaids recovery through the latter stage of confluent small-pox, as exhibited in the case of Mr. Grosvenor, may be compared with the rapid desiccation of the pustules in the distinct and peculiarly mild form of the disorder which 1s considered as small-pox modified by vac= . cination. Both forms of the disorder proceed in the usual course, the one attended with violent, the other with mild symptoms, till they arrive near to the height; when they appear Report of the Nattonal Vaceine Establishment. 157 appear to receive acheck, and the recovery is unusually rapid. From this correspondence of circumstances, the Board are induced to infer that in the case of Mr. Grosvenor, which has been more violent than any yet submitted to them, the progress of the disease, through its latter stage, and the consequent, abatement of symptoms, were in- fluenced by an antivariolous effect produced upon the con- stitution by the vaccine process. The occurrence of small-pox after vaccination has been foreseen and pointed out in the Report on Vaccination made to Parliament, by the College of Physicians, in the year 1807, to which the Board are desirous of calling the attention of the public; wherein it is stated that, *¢ The security derived from vaccination against the small« pox, if not absolutely perfect, is as nearly so as can perhaps be expected from any human discovery ; for amongst several hundred thousand cases, with the results of which the Col- . lege have been made acquainted, the number of alleged failures has been surprisingly small, so much so as to form certainly no reasonable objection to the general adoption of vaccination ; for it appears that there are not nearly so many failures in a given number of vaccinated persons, as there are deaths in an equal number of persons inoculated for the small-pox. Nothing can more clearly demonstrate the superiority of vaccination over the inoculation of the small- pox than this consideration; and it is a most important fact, which has been confirmed in the course of this in- quiry, that in almost every case in which the small-pox has succeeded vaccination, whether by inoculation or by casual infection, the disease has varied much from its ordinary course; it has neither been the same in violence nor in the duration of its symptoms; but has, with very few exceptions, been remarkably mild, as if the small-pox had been deprived by the previous vaccine disease of its usual malignity.”—~ Vide Report of the College of Physicians. The peculiarities of certain constitutions with regard to eruptive fevers, form a curious subject of medical history. Some individuals have been more than once affected with scarlet fever and measles, others have been through life ex- posed to the contagion of these diseases without effect ; many have resisted the inoculation and contagion of smalls +4 for several years, and have afterwards become susceptie le of the disorder, and some have been twice affected with small-pox. Among such infinite varieties of temperament it will not appear 158 A new Comet. appear extraordinary, that vaccination, though so generally successful, should sometimes fail of rendering the human constitution unsusceptible of small-pox, especially since it has been found that in several instances small-pox has oc- curred to individuals over whom the small-pox inoculation had appeared to have produced its full influence. Three instances of this kind have taken place within the last month, and in another instance the natural small-pox has occurred a second time. XXXII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. A NEW COMET, Tae last French papers contain the following account given by the astronomer Bouvard, and dated from the Im- perial Observatory, August 21:—‘*The comet discovered at Viviers, on the 25th of last March, by M.de Flauguergues, ~ and seen till the end of May, when it ceased to be visible, in conscquence of its proximity to the Sun, has again ap- peared this morning in the constellation of the Little Lion, {ts motion, almost entirely in declination, carries it towards the north, close to the constellation of the Great Bear, where it will then be visible every night, even to the naked eye. This morning, between three and four o’clock, I discovered this’ comet very near the horizon; its position was nearly that laid down in the elements calculated by M. Burckhardt; and according to my observations, I have determined it as follows :—Right ascension, 147 deg. 18 min.; North decli- nation, 32 deg. 53 min.” The following is a letter from Dr. Olbers, of Bremen, to Prof. Boden, on the same subject ; — ‘¢ The comet which M. Flauguergues discovered on the 25th of March at Viviers, and M. Pons on the 11th of April at Marseilles, and which was scen on the 20th of May at Paris, will re-appear before the end of August. It will be muck more visible then than in the spring. Its greatest brilliancy will be in October, and‘it may be visible still in December. In September and October it does not quit with us the southern part of the heaven.” LECTURES. Dr. Clutterbuck will begin his Autumn Course of Lec- tures on the Theory and Practice of Physic, Materia Medica, and Chemistry, on Monday, Oct. 7th, at Ten o’clock in the Morning, at his Hlouse, No. 1, Crescent, New Bridge-street, where they will be continued daily at the same Hour: viz. ; Theory . —_ ft - A Lectures. 159 ‘Theory and Practice, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fri- days ; Materia Medica and Chemistry, on Tuesdays, Thars- days, and Saturdays. Clinical Lectures will be given occasionally during the Winter, on the most remarkable cases that occur in the practice of the General Dispensary ; and Gentlemen pre- paring to pass the Army and Navy Medical Boards will be ‘admitted to private Examinations previously, if desired. /A Syllabus of the Course, with the Terms of Admission, may be had on application as aboye. Dr. Clarke’s and Mr. Clarke’s Lectures on Midwifery, and thie Diseases of WVomen and Children. Dr. Clarke and Mr. Clarke will begin the Winter Course of their Lectures on Friday, October 4th. The Lectures are read every Day at the House of Mr. Clarke, No. 10, Upper John-street, Golden-square, from a Quarter past Ten o’clock im the Morning till a Quarter past Eleven, for the convenience of Students attending the Hos- itals. The Students will be provided with Cases when properly qualified. For Particulars apply to Dr. Clarke, No. 1, New Bure lington-street ; or to Mr. Clarke, No. 10, Upper John-street, Golden-square. Medical and Chemical Lectures, St. George’s Hospital, and George Street, Hanover Square. These Medical Lectures will recommence, as usual, in the First Week of October, at Eight o’clock in the Morning, and the Chemical at a Quarter after Nine o’clock, at No. 9, George-street, Hanover-square. . ~ Clinical Lectures are given on the Cases of Patients re- gistered in St. George’s Hospital, every Saturday Morning at Nine o’clock, by George Pearson, M.D. F.R.S. Senior. Physician to St. George’s Hospital, &c. &c. The Terms of the Lectures, and of Physicians’ Pupils, with other Particulars, may be known from the Proposals to be had at St. George’s Hospital and in George-street. St. Thomas’s and Guy’s Hospitals. The Winter Courses of Lectures at these adjoining Hos- pitals will commence the First Week of October, viz. At St. Thomas’s. Anatomy, and the Operations of Sur- gery; . 160 Leciures.—Patents. gery, by Mr. Cline and Mr. Ashley Cooper.Principles _ and Practice of Surgery, by Mr. A. Cooper. Ai Guy’s. Practice of Medicine, by Dr. Babington and Dr. Curry.—Chemistry, by Dr. Babington, Dr. Marcet, and Mr. Allen.—Experimental Philosophy, by Mr. Allen. —Theory of Medicine, and Materia Medica, by Dr. Curry and Dr. Cholmeley.—Midwifery, and Diseases of Women and Children, by Dr. Haighton.—Physiology, or Laws of the Animal Ciconomy, by Dr. Haighton.—Structure and Diseases of the Teeth, by ‘Vir. Fox. . N.B. These several Lectures are so arranged that no two of them interfere in the hours of attendance; and the whole is calculated to form a complete Course of Medical and Cbirurvical Instraction. Terms and other Particulars may be learnt at the respective Hospitals. . LIST OF PATENTS FOR NEW INVENTIONS. To Timothy Sheldrake, of the Strand, Westminster, in the county of Middlesex, mechanic, for certain wheels,which, when combined together, will constitute a moving power of great force, by the application of which to many engines, machines, and machinery, that are now set in motion by steam, wind, water, or animal power, the effect of the said known powers will be greatlyincreased, and the labour of men or horses that are now employed on the said engines, machines, or machinery, will be diminished ; which wheels may be introduced, in. part or in the whole, into many en- gines, machines, or machinery, for whatever uses they may be employed, mstead of the wheels and pinions by which such engines, machines, or machinery, are generally kept in motion ; and which wheels, when so introduced, will work with much less friction, and much greater velocity, than those which are usually employed.—June 15, 1811. To Charles Hamond, of Milk-street, Cheapside, London, gent., for his improved machine for sawing, cutting and planing wood,—June 27. t ee To Thomas Attwood, of Birmingham, esq., and Benj, Cook of the, same place, gilt toy makers, for their new method of combining and connecting together different kinds of metals, and of combining and connecting metals and wood together, in such way as to make the combina- tion thereof, whether the same be of metals or of metals and wood, have one appearance or representation only.— June 27. To Sir Howard Douglas, of High Wycombe, in the county of Bucks. part. for his improyed reflecting circle or semicircle.—July 2. —_—_— eee [261 J XXXIII. Account of the Pltch Lake of the Island of Tri- nidad. By Nicnoutas Nucent, M.D: Honorary Mem- ber of the Geological Society*. Berne desirous to visit the celebrated lake of pitch, pre- viously to my departure from the Island of Trinidad, I em- barked with that intention in the month of October, 1807, in a small vessel at Port Spain. After a pleasant sail of about thirty miles down the Gulf of Paria, we arrived at the point Ja Braye, so called by the French from its charac- teristic feature. It is a considerable headland, about eighty feet above the level of the sea, and perhaps two miles long and two broad. We landed on the southern side of the point, at the plantation of Mr. Vessigny: as the boat drew near the shore, I was struck with the appearance of a rocky bluff or small promontory of a reddish-brown colour, very different from the pitch which I had expected to find on the whole shore. Upon examining this spot, I found it composed of a substance corresponding to the porcelain jasper of mineralogists, generally of a red colour where it had been exposed to the weather, but of light slate-blue in the interior; it is a very hard stone with a conchoidal frac- ture, some degree of lustre, and is perfectly opake even at the edges; in some places, from the action of the air, it - was of a reddish- or yellowish-brown, and an earthy ap- pearance. I wished to have devoted more time to the in- vestigation of what in the language of the Wernerian school is termed the geognostic relations of this spot, but my com- panions were anxious to proceed. We ascended the hill, which was entirely composed of this rock, to the planta= tion, where we procured a negro guide, who conducted us through a wood about three quarters of a mile. We now perceived a strong sulphureous and pitchy smell, like that of burning coal, and soon after had a view of the lake, which at first sight appeared to be an expanse of still water, frequently interrupted by clumps of dwarf trees or islets of rushes and shrubs: but on a nearer approach we found it to be in reality an extensive plain of mineral pitch, with fre- quent crevices and chasms filled with water. The singu- larity of the scene was altogether so great, that it was some time before I could recover from my surpfise so as to in- vestigate it minutely. The surface of the lake is of the co- lour of ashes, and at this season was not polished or smooth * From Transactions of the Geological Society, vol. i. Vol. 38. No, 161. Sept, 1811. L so , 162 On the Pitch Lake of the Island of Trinidad. so as to be slippery; the hardness or consistence was suclt as to bear any weight ; and it@vas not adhesive, though ft partially received the impression of the foot; it bore us without any tremulous motion whatever, and several head of cattle-were browsing on it in perfect security. In the dry season, however, the surface is much more yielding, and must be in a state approaching to fluidity, as is shown by pieces of recent wood and other substances being enveloped in it. Even large branches of trees which were a foot above’ the level, had in some way become enveloped in the bitu- minous matter. The interstices or chasms are very nu- merous, ramifying and joining in every direction, and in the wet season, being filled with water, present the only obstacle to walking over the surface: these cavities are generally deep in proportion to their width, some being only a few inches in depth, others several feet, and many almost unfathomable: the water in them is good, and uncontaminated by the pitch; the people of the neigh- bourhood derive their supply from this source, and refresh themselves by bathing in it; fish are caught in it, and par- ticularly a very good: species of mullet. The arrangement of the chasms is very singular: the sides, which of course are formed of the pitch, are invariably shelving from the surface, so as nearly to meét-at the bottom, but then they bulge ont towards each other with a considerable degree of convexity. This may be supposed to arise from the ten- dency in the pitch slowly to coalesce, whenever softened by the intensity of the sun’srays. These crevices are known occasionally to close up entirely, and we saw many marks or seams from this cause. How these crevices originate it -may not be so easy to explain. One of our party suggested ,that the whole mass of pitch might be supported by the water which made its way through accidental ‘rents ; but in the solid state it is of greater specific gravity than water, for several bits thrown into one of the pools immediately sank*. The lake (I call it so, because I think the common name appropriate enough) contains many islets covered with long grass and shrubs, which are the haunts of birds of the most exquisite plumage, as the pools are of snipe and plover. Alligators are also said to abound here; but it was not our * Pieces of asphaltum are, I believe, frequently found floating on the Dead Sea in Palestine ; but thisarises probably from the extraordinary specific gra- vity of the waters of that lake, which Dr. Marcet found to be 1-211. Mr. Hatchett states the specific gravity of ordinary asphaltum to vary from 1:023 to 1:165, but in two varieties of that of Trinidad it was as great as 1°336 and 1-744, which led Mr. Hatchett to forma conjecture which | shall afterwards notice. lot On the Pitch Lake of the Island of Trinidad. 163 lot to encounter any of these animals. It is not easy to state precisely the extent OF this great collection of pitch ; the line between it and the neighbouring soil is not always well defined, and indeed it appears to form the substratum of the surrounding tract of land. We may say, however, that it is bounded on the north and west sides by the sea, on the ,south by the rocky eminence of porcelain jasper before mentioned, and on the east by the usual argillaceous soil of the country; the main body may perhaps he esti- mated at three miles in circumference; the depth cannot be ascertained, and no subjacent rock or soil can be disco- vered. Where the bitumen is slightly covered by soil, there are plantations of cassava, plantains and pine-apples, the last of which grow with Juxuriance and attain to great per- fection. There are three or four French and one English Sugar estates in the immediate neighbourhood : our opinion of the soil did not, however, coincide with that of Mr. An- derson, who in the account he gave some years ago thought it very fertile. It is worthy of remark, that the main body of the pitch, which may properly be called the lake, is situ- ated higher than the adjoining land, and that you descend by a gentle slope to the sea, where the pitch is much con- taminated by the sand of the beach. During the dry sea- son, as I have beture remarked, this pitch is much softeneds so that different bodies have been known slowly to sink into it: if a quantity be cut out, the cavity left will be shortly filled up; and J have heard it related, that when the Spaniards undertook formerly to prepare the pitch for ceco- nomical purposes, and had imprudently erected their caul- drons on the very lake, they completely sank in the course of a night, so as to defeat their intentions. Numberless proofs are given of its being at times in this softened state : the negro houses of the vicinage, for instance, built by driv- ‘ing posts in the earth, frequently are twisted or sunk on one side. In many places it seems to have actually overflown like laya, and presents the wrinkled appearance which a sluggish substance would exhibit in motion. This substance is generally thought to be the asphaltum of naturalists: in different spots, however, it presents different appearances. Insome parts it is black, with a splintery con- choidal fracture, of considerable specific gravity, with little or no lustre, resembling particular kinds of coal, and so hard as to require a severe blow of the hammer to detach or break it; in other parts, it is so much softer, as to allow one to cut out a piece in any form witha oe or hatchet, and in the interior Br is 164 On the Pitch Lake of the Island of Trinidad. is vesicular and oily : this is the character of by far the greater portion of the whole mass; in 6ne place, it bubbles up in * a perfectly fluid state, so that you may take it up in a cup; and I am informed that in one of the neighbouring planta- tions there is a spot where it is of a bright coiour, shining, transparent and brittle, like bottle-glass or resin. The odour in all these instances is strong, and like that of a combina- tion of pitch and sulphur. Nosulphur, however, 1s any where to be perceived; but from the strong exhalation of that substance and the affinity which is known to exist be- tween the fluid bitumens and it, much is, no doubt, con- tained in a state of combination: a bit of the pitch held in the candle melts like sealing-wax and burns with a light flame, which is extinguished whenever it is removed, and on cooling the bitumen hardens again. From this property it is sufficiently evident that this substance may be con- verted to many useful purposes, and accordingly it is wni- versally used in the country wherever pitch is required ; and the reports of the naval officers who have tried it are fa- vourable to its more general adoption : it is requisite merely to prepare it with a proportion of oil, tallow, or common tar, to give it a sufficient degree of fluidity. In this point of view, this lake is of vast national importance, and more especially to a great maritime power, It is indeed singular _ that the attention of government should not have been more forcibly directed to a subject of such magnitude: the at- tempts that have hitherto been made to render it extensively useful have for the most part been only feeble and injudi- cious, and have consequently proved abortive. This vast collection of bitumen might in all probability afford an inexhaustible supply of an essential article of naval stores, and being situated on the margin of the sea could be wrought and shipped with little inconvenience or expense *. Tt would however be great injustice to sir Alexander Cochrane not to state explicitly that he has at various times, during his long and active command on the Leeward Island station, taken considerable pains to insure a proper and fair trial of this mineral production for the highly important uses of which it is generally believed to be capable. But whether it has arisen from certain perverse occurrences or from the prejudice of the mechanical superintendants of the colonial dock-yards, or really, as some have pretended, from an ab- solute unfitness of the substance in question; the views of ® This island contains also a great quantity of valuable timber, and several plants which yield excellent hemp. the On the Pitch Lake of the Island of Trinidad. 165 the gallant admiral have, I believe, been invariably thwarted, or his exertions rendered altogether fruitless. I was at An- tigua in 1809, when a transport arrived laden with this pitch for the use of the dock-yard at English Harbour: it had evidently been hastily coJlected with little care or zeal from the beach, and was of course much contaminated with sand and other foreign substances. The best way would pro- bably be to have it properly prepared on the spot, and brought to the state in which it may be serviceable, pre- viously to its exportation. I have frequently seen it used to pay the bottoms of small vessels, for which it is particu- larly well adapted, as it preserves them from the numerous tribe of worms so abundant in tropica! countries*. There seems indeed no reason why it should not when duly pre- pared and attenuated be applicable to all the purposes of the petroleum of Zante, a well-known article of commerce in the Adriatic, or that of the district in Burmah, where 400,000 hogsheads are said to be collected annually f. It is observed by Capt. Mallet,in his Short Topographical Sketch of the island, that *‘ near Cape la Brea (la Braye) a little to the south-west, is a gulf or vortex, which in stormy weather gushes out, raising the water five or six feet, and covers the surfacé for a considerable space with petroleum or tar :’”’ and he adds, that ‘‘ on the east coast in the Bay of Mayaro, there is another gulf or vortex similar to the for- mer, which in the months of March and June produces a detonation like thunder, having some flame with a thick black smoke, which vanishes away immediately: in about twenty-four hours afterwards is found along the shore of the bay a quantity of bitumen or pitch, about three or four inches thick, which is employed with success,” Captain Mallet likewise quotes Gumilla, as stating in his Description of the Orinoco, that about seventy years ago ‘a spot of land on the western coast of this island, near half way be- tween the capital, an Indian village sank suddenly, and was immediately replaced by a small lake of pitch, to the great terror of the inhabitants.” I have had no opportunity of ascertaining personally whe- ther these statements are accurate, though sufficiently pro- bable from what is known to occur in other parts of the * The different kinds of bitumen have always been found particularly ob- noxious to’the class of insects. ‘There can be little doubt but that they formed ingredients in the Egyptian compost for embalming bodies, and the Arabians are said to avail themselves of them in preserving the trappings of their, horses. Vide Jameson's Mineralogy. + Vide Aikin’s Dictionary of Chemistry, quoted from Captain Cox in the Asiatic Researches, L3 world; 4 166 On the Pitch Lake of the Island of Trinidad. world; but I have. been informed by several persons that the sea in the neighbourhood of La Braye is occasionally covered with a fluid bitumen, and in the south-eastern part of the island there is certainly a similar collection of this bitumen, though of less extent, and many small detached spots of it are to be met with in the woods: it is even said that an evident line of communication may thus be traced between the two great receptacles. There is every proba- bility, that in all these cases the pitch was originally fluid, and has since become inspissated hy exposure to the air, as _ happens in the Dead Sea and other parts of the East. It is for geologists to explain the origin of this singular phznomenon, and each sect will doubtless give a solution of the difficulty according to its peculiar tenets. To frame any very satisfactory hypothesis on the subject, would re- quire a more exact investigation of the neighbouring coun- try, and particularly to the southward and eastward, which T had not an opportunity of visiting. And it must be re- membered that geological inquiries are not conducted here with that facility which they are in some other parts of- the, world : the soil is almost universally covered with the thickest and most luxuriant vegetation, and the stranger is soon ex- hausted and overcome by the scorching rays of a vertical sun. Immediately to the southward, the face of the country as seen from la Braye, is a good deal broken and rugged, which Mr. Anderson attributes to some convulsion of na- ture from subterranean fires, in which idea he is confirmed by having found in the neighbouring woods several hot springs. He is indeed of opinion that this tract has ex- perienced the effects of the volcanic power, which, as he supposes, elevated the great mountains on the main and the northern side of the island*. The production of all bitu- minous substances has certainly with plausibility been at- tributed to the action of subterranean fires on beds of coal, being separated in a similar manner as when effected by artificial heat, and thus they may be traced through the va- rious transformations of vegetable matter. I was accord- ingly particular in my inquiries with regard to the existence of beds of coal, but could not learn that there was any cer- - tain trace of that substance in the island; and though it may exist at a great depth, J saw no strata that indicate it. A friend, indeed, gave me specimens of a kind of bituminous shale mixed with sand, which he brought from Point Cedar, about twenty miles distant, and I find Mr. Anderson speaks / * Vide Philos. Trans. vol. Ixxix. or Ann, Register for 1789. of On the Pitch Lake of the Island of Trinidad. 167 of the soil near the pitch Jake containing burnt cinders, but I imagine he may have taken for them the small fragments of the bitumen itself. . An examination of this tract of country could not fail, I think, to be highly gratifying to those who embrace the Hattonian theory of the earth; for they might behold the numerous branches of one of the largest rivers of the world {the Orinoco) bringing down so amazing a quantity of earthy particles as to discolour the sea in a most remarkable manner for many leagues distant*; they might see these earthy particles deposited by the influence of powerful cur- rents on the shores of the Gulf of Paria, and particularly on the western side of the island of Trinidad ; they might there find vast collections of bituminous substances, beds of porcelain jasper and such other bodies as may readily be supposed te arise from the modified action of heat on such vegetable and earthy materials as the waters are known actually to deposit. - They would further perceive no very vague traces of subterranean fire, by which these changes may have been effected and the whole tract elevated above the ordinary level of the general loose soil of the country: as for instance, hot springs, the vortices above mentioned,’ the frequent occurrence of earthquakes, and two singular semi-volcanic mounds at Point Icaque, which, thongh not very near, throw light on the general character of the coun- try. Without pledging myself to any particular system of geology, I confess an explanation similar to this appears to me sufficiently probable, and consonant with the known phenomena of nature, A vast river, like the Orinoco, * No scene can be more magnificent than that presented on a near ap- proach to the north-western coast of Trinidad. ‘The sea is not only changed from a light green toa deep brown colour, but has in an extraordinary de- gree that rippling, confused and whirling motion, which arises from the violence of contending currents, and which prevail here in so remarkable a manner, particularly at those seasons when the Orinoco is so swollen by pe- riodical rains, that vessels are not unfrequently several days or weeks in stem- ming them, or perhaps are irresistibly borne before them far out of their destined tract. ‘The dark verdure of lofty mountains, covered with impene- trable woods to the very summits, whence, in the most humid of climates, torrents impetuously rush through deep ravines to the sea; three narrow passages into the Gulf of Paria, between rugged mountains of brown mi- caceous schist, on whose cavernous sides the eddying surge dashes with fury, and where a vessel must necessarily be for some time embayed, with a depth of water scarcely to be fathomed by the lead,—present altogether a scene which may well be conceived to have impressed the mind of the navigator who first beheld it with considerable surprise and awe. | Columbus made this land in his third voyage, and gave it the name of the Bocas del Dragu. From the wonderful discoloration and turbidity of the water, he sagaciously cons cluded that a very large river was near, and consequently a great conti- pent. L4 must 168 On the Pitch Lake of the Island of Trinidad. must for ages have rolled down great quantities of woody and vegetable bodies, which from certain causes,—as the in- fluence of currents and eddies,—may have been arrested and accumulated in particular places ; they may there have un- dergone those transformations and chemical changes which various vegetable substances similarly situated have been proved to suffer in other parts of the world. An accidental fire, such as is known frequently to occur in the bowels of the earth, may then have operated in separating and driving off the newly formed bitumen more or less combined with . siliceous and argillaceous earths, which forcing its way through the surface, and afterwards becoming inspissated by exposure to the air, may have occasioned such scenes as I have ventured to describe. The only other country ac- curately resembling this part of Trinidad, of which I recol- lect to have read, is that which borders on the Gulf of Taman in Crim Tartary: from the representation of tra- vellers, springs of naphtha and petroleum equally abound, .. and they describe volcanic mounds precisely similar to those of Point Icaque. Pallas’s explanation of their origin seems to me very satisfactory ; and I think it not improbable that the river Don and Sea of Azof may have acted the same part in producing these appearances in the one case, as the Orinoco and Gulf of Paria appear to have done in the other*. It may be supposed that the destruction of a forest or perhaps even a great savanna on the spot, would be a more obvious mode of accounting for this singular phenomenon; but, as I shall immediately state, all this art of the island is of recent alluvial formation, and the and all along this coast is daily receiving a considerable accession from the surrounding water. The pitch Jake with the circumjacent tract being now on the margin of the sea, must in like manner have had an origin of no very distant date; besides, according to the above representation of Capt. Mallet, and which has been frequently corrobo- rated, a fluid bitumen oozes up and rises to the surface of the water on both sides of the island, not where the sea has encroached on and overwhelmed the ready-formed land, but where it is obviously in a very rapid manner depositing and forming a new soil. From a consideration of the great hardness, the specific gravity, and the general external characters of the specimens submitted a few years ago to the examination of Mr.Hatchett, ¥ Vide Universal Magazine for February 1808, Mrs. Guthrie's Tour in the Tauride, or Voyages de Pallas. : that On the Pitch Lake of the Island of Trinidad. 169 that gentleman was Jed to suppose that a considerable part of the aggregate mass at Trinidad was not pure mineral pitch or asphaltum, but rather a porous stone of the argil- Jaceous genus, much impregnated with bitumen. Two spe- cimens of the more compact and earthy sort, analysed by Mr. Hatchett, yielded about 32 and 36 percent. of pure bitumen : the residuum in the crucible consisted of a spongy, friable and ochraceous stone ; and 100 parts of it afforded, as far as could be determined by a single trial, of silica 60, alumina 10, oxide of iron 10, carbonaceous matter by esti- mation 11; not the smallest’traces of lime could be dis- covered ; so that the substance has no similarity to the bitu- minous limestones which have been noticed in different parts of the world*.. I have already remarked, that this mineral production differs considerably in different places. The specimens examined by Mr. Hatchett by no means correspond in character with the great mass of the lake, which, in most cases, would doubtless be found to be in- finitely more free from combination with earthy substances 5 though from the mode of origin which I have assigned to it, this intermixture may be regarded as more or less una- voidable. The analysis of the stone after the separation of the bitumen, as Mr. Hatchett very correctly observes, ac- cords with the prevalent soil of the country; and I may add, with the soil daily deposited by the gulf, and with the composition of the porcelain jasper in immediate con- tact with the bituminous mass. “All the country which I have visited in Trinidad is either decidedly primitive or alluvial. The great northern range of mountains which runs from east to west, and is con- nected with the Highlands of Paria on the continent by the Islands at the Bocas, consists of gneiss, of mica slate containing great masses of quartz, and in many places ap- proaching so much to the nature of tale as to render the soil quite unctuous by its decomposition, and of compact blueish gray limestone, with frequent veins of white crystal- lized carbonate of lime. From the foot of these mountains, for many leagues to the southward, there is little else than a thick fertile argillaceous soil, without a stone or a single pebble. This tract of land, which is low and perfectly level, is evidently formed by the detritus of the mountains, and by the copious tribute of the waters of the Orinoco, which being deposited by the influence of currents, gra- dually accumulates; and in a climate where vegetation is astonishingly rapid, is speedily covered with the mangrove * Vide Linnean ‘Trans. vol. viii. and 170 = On the Pitck Lake of the Island of Trinidad. and other woods. It is accordingly observed, that the lee- ward side of the island constantly encroaches on the gulf, and marine shells are frequently found on the land at a con- siderable distance from the sea. This is the character of Naparima and the greater part of the country I saw along the coast to la Braye. It is not only in forming and ex- tending the coast of Trinidad, that the Orinoco exerts its powerful agency ; co-operating with its mighty sister flood, the Amazons, it has manifestly formed all that line of coast and vast exteut of country included between the extreme branches of each river. To use the language of a writer in the Philosophical Transactions of Edinburgh: “¢ If you cast your eye upon the map, you will observe from Cayenne to the bottom of the Gulf of Paria this immense tract of swamp, formed by the sediment of these rivers, and a si- milar tract of shallow muddy coast, which their continued operation will one day elevate. ‘The sediment of the Ama- zons is carried down thus to leeward (the westward) by the constant currents which set along from the southward and the coast of Brazil. That of the Oroonoko is detained and allowed to settle near its mouths by the opposite island of Trinidad, and still more by the mouitains on ‘the main, which are only separated from that island by the Bocos del Drago. The coast of Guiana has remained, as tt were, the great eddy or resting-place for the washings of great part of South America for ages; and its own comparatively small streams have but modified here and there the grand de-~ posit *.” Having been amply gratified with our visit to this singular place, which to the usual magnificence of the West Indian landscape unites the striking peculiarity of the local scene, we re-embarked in our vessel, and stood along the coast on our return. On the way we landed, and visited the plan- tations of several gentlemen, who received us with hospi- tality, and made us more fully acquainted with the state of this island: a colony which may with truth be described as fortunate in its situation, fertile in its soil, and rich beyond measure in the productions of nature; presenting, in short, _by a rare combination, all which can gratify the curiosity of the naturalist, or the cupidity of the planter; restrained in the development of its astonishing resources, only by the inadequacy of population, the tedious and ill-defined forms of Spanish justice, and the severe, though we may hope transient, pressure of the times. * Vide Mr. Lochhead’s Obsery. on the Nat. Hist. of Guiana, Edin. Trans. vol. iv. XXXIV. Ex- { 171 ] XXXIV. Experiments and Observations on the different Modes in which Death is produced by certain vegetable Poisons. By B.C. Broviz, Esg. F.R.S. Communi- cated ly the Society for promoting the Knowledge of Animal Chemisiry. [Concluded from p. 94.] Experiments with ihe Empyreumatic Oil of Tobacco*. Exp. 13. Less than a drop of this oil was applied to, the tongue of a young cat. Instantly violent convulsions took place in all the muscles, and the respirations became very frequent. In five minutes after the application, she lay on one side insensible, with slight spasmodic actions of the muscles. At the end of eleven minutes she retched, but did not vomit. In a quarter of an hour she appeared to be recovering. I repeated the application of the poison, and she was again seized with violent convulsions, and became insensible, breathing at long intervals ; and in two minutes from the second application respiration had entirely ceased, and she was apparently dead. Qn opening the thorax, I found the heart acting with regularity and strength, circu- Jating dark-coloured blood. I introduced a tube into the trachea, and produced artificial respiration; the contractions of the heart became augmented in force and frequency, and there was no evident diminution in six or seven minutes, during which the artificial respiration was continued, On dissection, nothing remarkable was found in the ap- pearance of the tongue or brain. The symptoms and mode of death, in this experiment, did not essentially differ from those produced by the essential oil of almonds. I was surprised to find the effects of the empyreumatic oil so entirely different from those of the in- fusion of tobacco. Supposing that this difference might arise from the poison being more concentrated in the oil than in the infusion, I made the following experiments. Exp. 14. A drop of the oil of tobacco was suspended in an ounce and a half of water by means of mucilage of gum arabic, and the whole was injected into the rectum of a dog. In two minutes afterwards he became faint, retched, but did not vomit. He appeared to be recovering from this state, and in twenty-five minutes-after the first injection it was * Iwas furnished with the empyreumatic eil of tobacco by Mr. W. Brande. It may be procured by subjecting the leaves of tobacco to distillation in a heat above that of boiling water: a quantity of watery fluid comes over, on the surface of which isa thin film of unctuous substance, repeated ‘ 172 On the different Modes in which Death repeated in the same quantity." He was then seized with symptoms similar to those in the last experiment, and in two minutes and a half he was apparently dead. f Two minutes after apparent death, on the thorax being opened into, the heart was found acting regularly one hun- dred times in a minute, and it continued acting for several minutes, Exp. 15. A drop of the empyreumatic oil of tobacco with an ounce of water was injected into the rectum of a cat. The symptoms produced were in essential circumstances similar to those which occurred in the last experiment. The animal was apparently dead in five minutes after the injection, and the heart continued to contract for several minutes afterwards, We may conclude from these experiments, that the em- pyreumatic oil of tobacco, whether applied to the tongue or injected into the intestine, does not stop the action of the heart and induce syncope, like the infusion of tobacco ; but that it occasions death by destroying the functions of the brain, without directly acting on the circulation. In other words, its effects are similar to those of alcohol, the juice of aconite, and the essential oil of almonds. HI. Experiments with Poisons applied io wounded Surfaces. Experiments with the Essential Oil of Almonds. Exp. 16. I made an incision in the thigh of a rabbit, and introduced two drops of essential oil between the skin and the muscles. In four minutes after the application, he was seized with violent convulsions, and became insensible, and in two minutes more he was apparently dead; but the heart was felt through the ribs acting one bundred and twenty times in a minute, and it continued acting for several minutes. There were no other appearances in the limb, than would have resulted from an ordinary wound. Exp.17. Two drops of the essential oil of almonds were introduced into a wound in the side of a mouse. Two mi- nutes afterwards he was affected with symptoms similar to those which occurred in the Jast experiment, and in two minutes more Jhe was apparently dead, but the heart con- tinued to contract for some minutes afterwards. From the experiments which I have just related, and from others which it appears unnecessary to detail, as the general results were the same, I have learned that where the essential oil of almonds is applied to a wound, its effects are not so instantaneous as when it is applied to the tongue; otherwise és produced by certain vegetable Poisons. 173 otherwise there is no difference in its effects, in whatever manner it is applied. Experiments with the Juice of the Leaves of Aconite. Exp. 18. | made a wound in the side of a young rabbit, and introduced, between the skin and muscles, about twenty drops of the juice of aconite. Twenty-three minutes after- wards he was.affected with symptoms in all essential re- spects similar to those which occurred in an experiment already related, where the juice was injected into the rectum, and at the end of forty-seven minutes from the application of the poison he was apparently dead. Two minutes after apparent death, the heart was found contracting, but very feebly. Experiments with the Woorara*. Exp. 19. A small quantity of the woorara in powder was applied to a wound in the side of a Guinea pig. Ten mi- nutes afterwards the animal was unable to walk; then he became quite motionless, except some slight occasional convulsions. He gradually became insensible; the respira- tions were laboured, and at the end of fourteen minutes from the application of the poison the respiration had en- tirely ceased, and he was apparently dead; but on opening the thorax, the heart was found acting seventy times in a minute, circulating dark-coloured blood, and it continued to contract for several minutes afterwards. On dissection no preternatural appearances were observed in the brain, nor was there any other appearance in the limb than would have arisen from an ordinary wound. Exp.20. I made a wound in the side of a Guinea pig, and introduced into it about two grains of the woorara in powder. At the end of twenty-five minutes, symptoms took place very similar to those which occurred in the last experiment, and in thirteen minutes more the animal was apparently dead; but the heart continued to contract one hundred and eight times in a minute, and by means of arti- ficial respiration the circulation was kept up for more than twenty minutes. The results of other experiments which I have made with the, woorara were similar to those just described. The heart continued to act after apparent death, and the circulation * The Woorara is a poison with which the Indians of Guiana arm the points of their arrows. Jt appears not to differ essentially from the Ticunas, which was employed in the experiments of the Abbé Fontana. I am in- debted to Dr. FE. N. Bancroft, who not only furnished me with some of the woorara which he had in his possession, but also lent me his assistance in the experiments which were made with it, might 174 On the different Modes in which Death might be kept up by means of artificial respiration. It is evident that this poison acts in some way or other on the brain, and that the cessation of the functions of this organ is the immediate cause of death. I found in these experiments, that the best mode of ap- plying the woorara is when it is dissolved in water to the consistence of a thin paste. I first made the wound, and then smeared the poison over it with the end of the scalpel. T found that the animal was more speedily and certainly af- fected, if there was some hemorrhage, unless the hemor- thage was very copious, when it produced an opposite ef- fect, by washing the pcison away from the wound. When the poison was applied in large quantity, it sometimes be- gan to act in six or seven minutes. Never more than half an hour elapsed from the time of the poison being inserted, to that of the animal being affected, except in one instance, where a ligature was applied on the limb, which will be mentioned afterwards. The woorara, which I employed, had been preserved for some years, which will account for its having been less active than it has been described to be by those who had witnessed its effects when in a recent state. Experiments with the Upas Antiar*. Exp. 21. About two grains of this poison were made into a thin paste with water, and inserted into a wound in the thigh of a dog. Twelve minutes afterwards he became languid; at the end of fifteen minutes, the heart was found to beat very irregularly, and with frequent intermissions ; after this, he had a slight rigor. At the end of twenty mi- nutes, the heart beat very feebly and irregularly; he was languid; was sick and vomited; but the respirations were as frequent and as full as under natural circumstances, and he was perfectly sensible. At the end of twenty minutes he suddenly fell on one side, and was apparently dead. I immediately opened into the thorax, and found the heart distended with blood in a very remarkable degree, and to have entirely ceased contracting. There was one distinct and full inspiration after I had begun making the incision into the thorax. The cavities of the Jeft side of the heart contained scarlet blood, and those of the right side contained dark-coloured blood, as in a living animal. Exp. 22. A small quantity of the upas antiar, prepared * We are informed that the island of Java produces two powerful vege- table poisons, to one of which the natives give the name of Upas tiewté, and to the other that of Upas antiar. I was supplied with a quantity of the latter through the kindness of Mr. Marsden, who had some of it in his possession. é as is produced by certain vegetable Poisons. 175 as before, was inserted into a wound in the thigh of a young cat. She appeared languid in two minutes after the poison was inserted. The symptoms which took place did not essentially differ from those which occurred in the last ex- periment, except that there were some convulsive motions of the limbs. At eight minutes after the poison was in- serted, she lay’on one side motionless and insensible, the heart could not be felt, but the respiration had not entirely ceased. On opening into the thorax, I found the heart to have ceased contracting. It was much distended with blood: and the blood in the cavities of the left side was of a scarlet colour. There were two full inspirations after the incision of the thorax was begun. On irritating the heart with the point of the scalpel, slight contractions took place in the fibres of the appendices of the auricles, but none in any other part. Exp.23. The experiment was repeated on a rabbit. The symptoms produced were similar to those in the last experi- ment; but the animal did not vomit, and.the convulsive motions were in a less degree: he died eleven minutes after the poison was inserted. On dpening the chest, the heart was found to have entirely ceased contracting; it was much distended with blood; and the blood in the cavities of the left side was of a scarlet colour. On irritating the heart with the point of the scalpel, the ventricles contracted, but not sufficiently to restore the circulation. a Exp. 24. About a grain of the upas antiar was inserted into a wound in the side of a rabbit. He was affected with symptoms similar to those before deseribed, and died in ten minutes after the poison was applied. On opening the thorax immediately after death, the heart was found to have ceased contracting, and the blood in the cavities of the left side was of a scarlet colour. It appears from these experiments, that the upas antiar, when inserted into a wound, produces death (as infusion of tobacco does when injected into the intestines) by rendering the heart insensible to the stimulus of the blood, and stop- ping the circulation. The heart beats feebly and irregularly before either the functions of the mind or the respiration appear to be affected. Respiration is performed even after the circulation has ceased; and the left side of the heart is found after death to contain scarlet blood, which never can be the case where the cause of death is the cessation of the functions of the brain or lungs. The convulsions which occur when the circulation has nearly ceased, probably arise ‘from the diminution of the supply of blood to the brain, resembling 176 On the different Modes in which Death resembling those which take place in a person who is dying frony hemorrhage. | Tt There remains an interesting subject of inquiry, ‘through what medium do poisons influence the brain when applied to wounds?” That poisons applied in this manner do not produce their effects: precisely in the same way as poisons taken internally, is rendered probable by this circumstance; that some poisons, which are very powerful when applied to wounds even in small quantities, are either altogether in- efficient when taken internally, or require to be given in very large quantities, in order to produce their effect, and wice versi. si A poison applied to a wounded. surface may be supposed to act on the brain in one of three ways, 1. By means of the nerves, like poisons taken internally. 2. By passing into the circulation through the absorbent vessels. 28. 3. By passing directly into the circulation through the divided veins. Exp.25. In order to ascertain whether the woorara acts through the medium of the herves, I exposed the axila of a rabbit, and divided the spinal nerves supplying the upper extremity, just before they unite to form the axillary plexus. The operation was performed with the greatest care. I not only divided every nervous filament, however small, which I could detect, but every portion of cellular membrane in the axilla, so that the artery and vein were left.entirely in- sulated. I then made two wounds in the fore-arm, and inserted into them some of the woorara formed into a paste, Fourteen minutes after the poison was applied, the hind legs became paralytic, and in ten minutes more he died, with symptoms precisely similar to those which took place in the former experiments, and the heart continued to act after apparent death. On dissection, the nerves of the upper extremity were particularly examined, but not the smallest filament could be found undivided. I made the following experiment, to ascertain whether the woorara passes into the circulation through the absorbent vessels, f Exp.26. I tied a ligature round the thoracic duct of a dog, just before it perforates the angle of the left subclavian and jugular yeins. I then made two wounds in the left hind leg, and introduced some of the woorara in powder into them. In less than a quarter of an hour he became affected with the usual symptoms, and died in a few minutes after- wards. After is produced by certain vegetable Poisons. 177 After death, I dissected the thoracic duct with great cares I found it to have been perfectly secured’ by the ligatures It was very much distended with chyle; an d about ‘two inches below its termination its coats had given way, and chyle was extravasated into the cellular membrane. The lymphatic vessels im the left axilla were distended in a very remarkable degree; and on dividing them, not less than a drachm of lymph issued from the divided ends. Since neither the division of the nerves nor the.obstruc- tion of the thoracic duct interfere in the slightest degree with the effects of the woorara, tnere is presumptive evi- dence that it acts on the brain by entering the circulation through the divided veins. I endeavoured! to ascertain, by experiinent, whether this 1s really the case. To apply ligatures to the large vessels of a limb only would evidently lead to no satisfactory conclusion, since the anastomosing vessels might still carry on the circulation. The only way which | could devise of performing. the ex- periinent, was to include all the vessels, smail as well as large, in a ligature. Exp.27. In order to make the experiment more satis- factorily, I exposed the sciatic nerve of a rabbit in the upper and posterior part of the thigh, and passed under it a tape half an inch wide. I then made a wound in the leg, and having introduced into it some of the woorara mixed with water, I tied the tape moderately tight on the fore-part of the thigh. Thus I interrupted the communication between the wounds and the other parts of the body, by means of the vessels, while that by means of the nerve still remained. After the ligature was tightened, I applied the woorara a second time, in another part of the leg. The rabbit was not at all affected, and at the end of an hour J removed the ligature. Being engaged in some other pursuit, I did not watch the animal so closely as I should otherwise have done; but twenty minutes after the ligature was removed, I found him lying on one side, motionless and insensible, evidently under the influence of the poison ; but the sy mptoms were less violent than in most instances, and after lying in this state he recovered, and the limb became perfectly warm, and he regained the power of using it. Exp. 28. 1 repeated the last experiment with this differ ence, that after having applied the poison, I made the liga- ture as tight as Tcould draw it. | removed the ligature at the end of an hour and twenty minutes, but the animal was not at all affected either before or after the removal of the Vol. 38. No. 161. Sept. 1811. M ligature, 178 On the different Modes in which Death ligature, and on the following day he had recovered the use of the limb. Exp.29. 1 repeated the experiment a third time, draw- ing the ligature very tight. At the end of forty-five minutes the animal continued perfectly well, and the ligature was removed. I watched him for three quarters of an hour af- terwards, but there were no symptoms of his being affected by the poison. On the following day the rabbit died; but this T attribute to the injury done to the limb and sciatic nerve by the ligature, as there was the appearance of in- flammation in the parts in the neighbourhood of the liga- ture. These three experiments were made with the greatest care. From the mode in which the poison was applied, from the quantity employed, and from my prior experience, I should have entertained not the smallest doubt of the poison taking effect in every instance in less than twenty minutes, if no ligature had been applied. In two of the three, the quantity of woorara was more than had been used in any former experiments. I have not judged it necessary to make any more experi- ments, with the ligature on the limb, because the numerous experiments of the Abbé Fontana on the ticunas, coincide in their results with those which have just been detailed, and fully establish the efficacy of the ligature in preventing the action of the poison. It is not to be wondered at, that the ligature should sometimes fail in its effects, since these must evidently depend on the degree in which the circula- tion is obstructed, and on the length of time during which the obstruction is continued. There can be little doubt that the woorara affects the brain, by passing into the circulation through the divided vessels. It is probable that it does not produce its effects, until it enters the substance of the brain, along with the blood, in which it is dissolved; nor will the experiments of the Abbé Fontana, in which he found the ticunas produce almost instant death when injected into the jugular vein of a rabbit, be found to militate against this conclusion, when we consider how short is the distance which, in so small an animal, the blood has to pass from the jugular vein to the carotid artery, and the great rapidity of the circulation ; since in a rabbit under the influence of terror, during such an experiment, the heart cannot be supposed to dct so sel- dom as three times in a second. I have made no experiments to ascertain through what medium ts produced by certain vegetable Poisons. 179 imedium other poisons when applied to wounds affect the vital organs, but from analogy we may suppose that they enter the circulation through the divided blood-vessels. IV. The facts already related Jed me to conclude that alcohol, the essential oi! of almonds, the juice of aconite, the oil of tobacco, and the woorara, occasion death simply by destroy- ing the functions of the brain. The following experiment appears fully to establish the truth of this conclusion. Eap.30. The temperature of the room being 58° of Fahrenheit’s thermometer, I made two wounds in the side of a rabbit, and applied to them some of the woorara in the form of paste. In seven minutes after the application, the hind legs were paralysed, and in fifteen minutes respiration had ceased, and he was apparently dead. Two minutes af- terwards the heart was still beating, and a tube was intro- duced through an opening into the trachea, by means of which the lungs were inflated. The artificial respiration was made regularly about thirty-six times in a minute. At first, the heart contracted one hundred times in a minute. At the end of forty minutes, the pulse had risen to one hundred and twenty in a minute. At the end of an hour, it had risen to one hundred and forty in a minute. At the end of an hour and twenty-three minutes, the pulse had fallen to a hundred, and the artificial respiration was discontinued. At the commencement of the experiment, the ball of a thermometer being placed in the rectum, the quicksilver rose to one hundred degrees; at the close of the experiment it had fallen to eighty-eight and a half. During the cuntinuance of the artificial respiration, the blood in the femoral artery was of a florid red, and that in the femoral vein of a dark colour, as usual. It has been observed by M. Bichat, that the immediate cause of death, when it takes place suddenly, must be the cessation of the functions of the heart, the brain, or the lungs. This observation may be extended to death under all circumstances. The stomach, the liver, the kidneys, and many other organs are necessary to life, but their con- stant action is not necessary; and the cessation of their functions cannot therefore be the immediate cause of death. As in this case the action of the heart had never ceased ; as the circulation of the blood was kept up by artificial respi- M2 ration 180 On the different Modes in which Death ration for more than an hour and twenty minutes after the poison had produced its full effects ; and as during this time the usual changes in the colour of the blood took place in the lungs; it is evident that the functions of the heart and lungs were unimpaired: but that those of the brain bad ceased, is proved by the animal having continued in a state of complete insensibility; and by this circumstance, that animal heat, to the generation of which I have formerly shown the influence of the brain to be necessary, was not generated, Having learned that the circulation might be kept up by artificial respiration for a considerable time after the woorara had produced its full effects, it occurred to me that in an animal under the influence of this or of any other poison that acts in a similar manner, by continuing the artificial respiration for a sufficient length of time after natural re- spiration had ceased, the brain might recover from the im- pression which the poison bad produced, and the animal might be restored to life. In the last experiment, the ani- mal gave no sign of returning sensibility; but it is to be observed, 1. That the quantity of the poison employed was very larye. 2. That there was a great loss of animal heat, in consequence of the temperature of the room being much below the natural temperature of the animal, which could not therefore be considered under such favourable circum- stances as to recovery, as if it had been kept in a higher temperature. 3. That the circulation was still vigorous when I left off inflating the lungs, and therefore it cannot be known what would have been the result, if the artificial respiration had been longer continued, Exp. 50. A wound was made in the side of'a rabbit, and one drop of the essential oil of almonds was inserted into it, and immediately tte animal was placed im a temperature of 90°. In two minutes he was under the influence of the poison. The usual symptoms took place, and in three mi- nutes more respiration bad ceased, and he lay apparently dead, but the heart was still felt beating through the ribs. A tube was then introduced into one of the nostrils, and the lungs were inflated about thirty-five times in a minute, Six minutes after the commencement of artificial respira- tion, be moved his head and Jegs, and made an effort to breathe. He then was seized with convulsions, and again Jay motionless, but continucd to make occasional efforts to breathe. Sixteen minutes after its commencement, the artificial respiration was discontinued. He now breathed spontaneously seventy times in a minute, and rage Ua ea as produced by certain vegetable Poisons. 181 head and extremities. After this, he occasionally rose, and attempted to’ walk. In the intervals be continued in a dozing state; but from this he gradually recovered. In Jess than two hours he appeared perfectly well, and he con- tinued well on the following day. The inflating the lungs has been frequently recommended in cases of suffocation, where the cause of death is the ces- sation of the functions of the lungs: as far as I know, it has not been before proposed in those cases, in which the cause of death is the cessation of ihe functions of the brain*. _ It is probable that this method of treatment might be em- ployed with advantage for the recovery of persons labouring under the effects of opium, and many other poisons. V. The experiments which have been detailed lead to the following conclusions, 1. Alcohol, the essential oil of almonds, the juice of atonite, the empyreumatic oil of tobacco, and the woorara, act as poisons by simply destroying the functions of the brain; universal death taking place, because respiration is under the influence of the brain, and ceases when its func- tions are destroyed. 2. The infusion of tobacco when injected into the intes- tine, and the upas antiar when applied to a wound, have the power of rendering the heart insensible to the stimulus of the blood, thus stopping the circulation; in other words, they occasion syncope. 3. There is reason to believe that the poisons, which in these experiments were applied internally, produce their effects through the medium of the nerves without being absorbed into the circulation. 4. When the woorara is applied to a wound, it produces its effects on the brain, by entering the circulation through the divided blood-vessels, and, from analogy, we may con- clude that other poisons, when applied to wounds, operate in a similar manner. f 5. When an animal is apparently dead from the influence of a poison, which acts by simply destroying the functions * Since this paper was read, I have heen favoured by the Right Hon. the President with the perusal of a Dissertation on the Effects of the Upas Tieute, lately published at Paris by M. Delile, by which I find that he had employed artificial respiration for the purpose of recovering animals, which were under the influence of this poison, with success, M. Delile describes the Upas Tieuté as causing death, by oceasioning repeated and long-continued con. tvactions of tle muscles of respiration, on which it acts through the medium of the spinal marrow, without destroying the functions of the brain. M3 - of 182 On vegetable Poisons. of the brain, it may, in some instances at least, be made te recover, if respiration is artificially produced, and continued for a certain length of time. - From analogy we might draw some conclusions respect- ing the mode in which some other vegetable poisons pro- duce their effects on the animal system; but I forbear to enter into any speculative inquiries; as it is my wish, in the present communication, to record such facts only, as appear to be established by actual experiment, Addition to the Croonian Lecture for the Year 1810. In the experiments formerly detailed, where the circula- tion was maintained by means of artificial respiration after the head was removed, I observed that the blood, in its passage through the lungs, was altered from a dark toa scarlet colour, and hence I was led to conclude that the action of the ajr produced in it changes analogous to those which occur under ordinary circumstances. J have lately, with the assistance of my friend Mr. W. Brande, made the following experiment, which appears to confirm the truth of this conclusion. An elastic gum bottle, having a tube and stop-cock con- nected with it, was filled with about a pint of oxygen gas. The spinal marrow was divided in the neck of a young rab- bit, and the blood-vessels having been secured, the head was removed, and the circulation was maintained by in- flating the lungs with atmospheric air for five minutes, at the end of which time the tube of the gum bottle was ins serted into the trachea, and carefully secured by a ligature, so that no air might escape. By making pressure on the gum bottle, the gas was made to pass and repass into and from the lungs about thirty umes in a minute. At first, the heart acted one hundred and twenty times in a minute, with regularity and strength ; the thermometer, in the rec- tum, rose to 100°. At the end of an hour, the heart acted as frequently as before, but more feebly; the blood in the arteries was very little more florid than that in the veins 3 the thermometer in the rectum had fallen to 93°. The gum bottle was then removed. On causing a stream of the gas which it contained to pass through Jime-water, the pre- sence of carbonic acid was indicated by the liquid bein instantly rendered turbid. The proportion of carbonic a was not accurately determined; but it appeared to form about one-half of the quantity of gas in the bottle. B. C. Bropie. XXXY. An as XXXV. An Account of The Sulphur,” or * Souffriere,” of the Island of Montserrat. By NicHoLas NuGent, M.D. Honorary Member of the Geological Society *. Ox my voyage last year (October 1810) from Antigua to England,{the packet touched at Montserrat, and my curiosity having been excited by the accounts I received of a place in the island called ‘* The Sulphur,” and which, from the de- scriptions of several persons, I conceived might be the crater of an inconsiderable volcano, I determined to avail myself of the stay of the packet to visit that place. The island of Montserrat, so called by the Spaniards from a fancied resemblance to the celebrated mountain of Cata- Jonia, is every where extremely rugged and mountainous, and the only roads, except in one direction, are narrow bridle-paths winding through the recesses of the mountains: there is hardly a possibility of using wheeled carriages, and the produce of the estates is brought to the place of shipment on the hacks of mules. Accompanied by a friend, T accord- ingly set out on horsevack from the town of Plymouth,which is situated at the foot of the mountains on the seashore. We proceeded by a circuitous and steep route about six miles, gradually ascending the mountain, which consisted entirely of an uniform porphyritic rock, broken every where into fragments and large blocks, and which in many places was so denuded of soil as to render it a matter of astonishment how vegetation, and particularly that of the cane, should thrive so well. The far greater part of the whole island is made up of this porphyry, which by some systematics would be considered as referable to the newest floétz trap forma- tion, and by others would be regarded only as a variety of lava. It is a compact and highly indurated argillaceous rock of a grey colour, replete with large and perfect crystals of white felspar and black hornblende. Rocks of this de- scription generally pass in the West Indies by the vague denomination of fire-stone, from the useful property they possess of resisting the operation of intense heat. A con- siderable quantity of this stone is accordingly exported from Montserrat to the other islands which do not contain it, being essential in forming the masonry around the copper boilers in sugar-works, We continued our ride a consi- derable distance beyond the estate called “ Galloway’s,” (where we procured a guide,) till we came to the side of a very deep ravine which extends in a winding direction the * Trom the Transactions of the Geological Society, vol. i, M4 whole. 384 Account of “ The Sulphur,” or ‘ Souffriére,” whole way from one of the higher mountains to the sea, ‘A rugged horse-path was traced along the brink of the ra- vine, which we followed amidst the most beautiful and ro- mantic scenery. At the head of this ravine is a small am- phitheatre formed by lofty surrounding mountains, and here is situated what is termed ** The Sulphur.” Though the scene was extremely erand and well worthy of observation, yet [ confess | could not help feeling a good deal disap- pointed, as there was nothing like a crater to be seen, or any thing else that could lead me to suppose the place had any connexion with a voleano. On the north, east and west sides were lofty mountains wooded to the tops, composed apparently of the same kind of porphyry we had noticed all along the way. On the south, the same kind of rock of no great height, quite bare of vegetation, and in a very pe- culiar state of decomposition. And on the south-eastern side, our path and the outlet into the ravine. The whole area thus included, might be three or feur hundred yards in length, and balf that distance in breadth. The surface of the ground, not occupied by the ravine, was broken and strewed with fragments and masses of the porphyritic rock, for the most part so exceedingly decomposed as to he friable and to crumble on the smallest pressure. For some time I thought that this substance, which is perfectly white and in some instances exhibits an arrangement like crystals, was a peculiar mineral; but afterwards became convinced, that it was merely the porphyritic rock singularly altered, not by the action of the air or weather, but, as I conjecture, by a strong sulphureous or sulphuric acid vapour which is ge- nerated here, and which is probably driven more against one side by the eddy wind up the ravine, the breeze from apy other quarter being shut out by the surrounding hills*, * This peculiar decomposition of the surrounding rock has been frequently observed in similar situations, and under analogous cireumstances, and has 1 Gnd been accounted for by other persons in the same way: thus Dolomiey says, «La couleur blanche des pierres de I’ interieur de tous les craters in- fiammés est due a une veritable alteration de la lave produite par les vapeurs acido-sulfureuses qui les penetrent, et qui se combinent avec largile qui leur sect de base, y formant l’alun que lon retire des matiéres volcaniques.” Voy, aux Isles de Lipari, p. 18. And he afterwards adds, “ Cette alteration des laves par les vapeurs acido- sulfureuses, est une espéce d’analyse que Ja nature fait elle méme des matiéres voleaniques. Il y a des iaves sur Jesquelles les vapeurs n’ont pas encore eu assez de tems.d’agir pour I.s dénaturer enti’ rement, et alors on les voit dans différens etats de decomposition que l'on reconnoit par la couleur.” — * Alum is doubt!ess formed at this place, as well as elsewhere under similar circumstances: the petash necessary for the composition of this salt, being, as wellas the argil, derived from the surrounding rock. See Vauquelin’s AMemoire, Journ. des. Mines, vol. x. p. 441. Amidst of the Island of Montserrat. $85 Amidst the loose stones and fragments of decomposed rock are many fissures and crevices, whence very strong sulphureous exhalations arise, and which are diffused to a considerable distance: these exhalations are so powertul as to impede respiration, and near any of the fissures are quite intolerable and suffocating. The buttons of my coat, and some silver and keys in my pockets, were instantaneously discoloured. An intense degree of heat is at the same time evolved, which, added to the apprehension of the ground crumbling and giving way, renders it difficult and painful to walk near any of these fissures. The water of a rivulet which flows down the sides of the mountain and passes over this place, is made to boil with violence, and becomes loaded with sulphureous impregnations. Other branches of the same rivulet which do not pass immediately near these fis- sures, remain coo} and Iimpid; and thus you may with one hand touch one rill which is at the boiling point, and with the other hand touch another rill which ts of the usual tem- perature of water in that climate. The exhalations of sul- phur do not at all umes proceed from the same fissures, but new ones appear to be daily formed, others becoming, as it were, extinct. On the margins of these fissures, and indeed almost over the whole place, are to be seen most beautiful crystaliizations of sulphur, in many spots quite as fine and perfect as those from Vesuvius, or indeed as any other specimens I have ever met with. The whole mass of decomposed rock in the vicinity is, in like manner, quite penetrated by sulphur. The specimens which I collected of the crystallized sulphur, as well as of the decomposed and undecomposed porphyry, were left inadvertently on board the packet at Falmouth, which prevents my having the pleasure of exhibiting them to the Society. I did not per- ceive at this place any trace of pyrites, or any other metallic substance, except indeed two or three small fragments, of clay iron-stone at a little distance, bat did not discover even this substance any where in sifu. Tt is very probable that the bed of the glen or ravine might throw some light ou the internal structure of the place; but it was too deep, and its banks infinitely too precipitous, for me to venture down to it. T understood that there was a similar exhalation and depysition of sulphur on the side of a mountain not more than a mile distant in a straight line; and a subterranean communication is supposed to exist between the two places. Almost every island in the western Archipelago, parti- cularly those which have the highest land, has in like manner its “ Sulphur,” or, as the I'rench better express it, its 186 Description of the Patent reflecting Semicircle. its “ Souffriere.’ This is particularly the case with Nevis, St. Kitt’s, Guadaloupe, Dominica, Martinico, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent’s. Some islands have several such places, analogous I presume to this of Montserrat; but in others, as Guadaloupe, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent’s, there are de- cided and well characterized volcanos, which are occa- sionally active, and throw out ashes, scoriz and lava with flame. The volcano of St. Vincent’s is represented by Dr. Anderson, and others who have visited it, as extremely large and magnificent, and would bear a comparison with some of those of Europe. These circumstances appear to have been entirely overlooked by geologists in their speculations concerning the origin and formation of these islands, It has indeed occurred to most persons, on surveying the re- gular chain of islands extending from the southern Cape of Florida to the mouths of the Orinoco, as exhibited on the map, to conclude that it originally formed part of the American continent, and that the encroachments of the sea have left only the higher parts of the land, as insular points above its present level. But this hypothesis, however sim- ple and apparently satisfactory in itself, will be found to accord very partially with the geological structure of the different islands. Many of them are made up entirely of vast accretions of marine organized substances ; and others evidently owe their origin to a volcanic agency, which is either in some degree apparent at the present time, or else may be readily traced by vestiges comparatively recent. There is every reason to believe, however, that some of the islands are really of contemporaneous formation with the adjacent parts of the continent, from which they have been disjoined by the incursions of the sea, or by convulsions of nature, and it is probably in those islands which contain primitive rocks, that we are chiefly to look for a confirma tion of this supposition. XXXVI. Description of the Patent reflecting Semicircle, invented by Sir Howarv Douetas, Bart. Communi- cated ly Mr. Cary. ‘Aen objects of the reflecting circle or semicircle are to com- bine the measuring principle with a circular or semicircular protractor, in such a manner that, in measuring any angle, the index or limb of the instrument shal] pass over the whole of the measured angle. By this contrivance any angle taken in the field may be at Description of the Patent rejlecting Semicircle. 187 at once protracted in actual magnitude on the sketch, with- out the trouble of reading off. This is particularly useful in military survey, where the true situations of objects can at once be determined, and the sketch corrected-at the same time that it is taken. . The description of the instrument is as follows: To the radius or limb of a semicircular (or circular) pro- tractor ABC (Plate VI.) the index glass DE is fixed. The horizon glass FG is fixed to a har HI, which has a motion on the centre K. This bar slides upon a pin O attached to the limb or radius carrying the index glass, which pin is adjusted so that there shall be no apparent index error, and — exactly inthe same circle with the point K. The sliding bar will then move over half the real angle measured, and the principal limb protract the true angle. Thxs, the new reflecting circle or semicircle is divided into 180° or 360° instead of the double number as in the repeating circle, and the are on which the divisions are en- graven is equal to that of a sextant, whose radius is equal to the length of the sliding bar, that is, diameter of the circle. A vernier is applied to read off with accuracy. A 4-inch plotting or diagonal scale of a mile divided into yards, is engraven on the fixed limb of the instrument, by which addition all the cases of trigonometry can be solved by construction. To those who have used the common sextant, the use of the reflecting semicircle will be obvious. It should be held in the right band by the end of the fixed limb, and directed so that the lett or the direct object is seen through the un- silvered part of the horizon glass. Apply the thumb of the left hand to the end of the moveable limb, and move it till the other object is seen refiected in the lower part of the horizon glass, and the angle is measured, which can he protracted at once. The errors or mistakes arising from reading off in a hurry are thus avoided. There is no neces- sity for keeping a field-book on these rapid occasions. The operations of protracting the points and sketching the fea- tures of ground are combined; and the transfer of the sketch to the fair sheet is much sooner accomplished. The above instrument is made by Mr. Cary, optician, No. 182, Strand. XXXVII. De- [ 188 XXXVII. Description of an Ourang Outang: with Obser- vations on its intellectual Faculties. By M. FREDERICK CuviER*, r A female ourang outang which formed the subject of my observations belonged to the same species with the ourang outangs described by Tulpius, Edwards, Vosmaer, Allamand, and Buffon: it is the Simia Satyrus of Linneus. When erect in its natural position its height did not exceed from 26 to 30 inches: the length of the arms from the arm- pits to the tips of the fingers was 18 inches, and the lower extremities from the top of the thigh to the tarsus were only from eight to nine inches. The upper jaw had four sharp incisors, the two in the middle were double the breadth of the Jateral, two short canine teeth, similar to those of men, and three molaria on each side, with soft tubercles. The Jower jaw bad also four incisors, two canine teeth, and six molaria, but the incisors were of equal size. The number of the molaria was not complete. The germ of a tooth was seen on each side at the extremity of the upper and under jaws, and it is probable that others would be produced at subsequent periods. The form of these teeth was the same with that of the molaria of men and apes in general, The hands had five fingers precisely like those of men, only the thumb extended no further than the first joint of the fore finger. The feet also had five toes, but the great toe was placed much lowe; than that of a man, and in its or- dinary position, instead of being parallel to the other toes, it formed with them nearly aright angle. A!! the toes were similar in structure to the fingers and were very free in their motions, aud the whole of them without exception had nails. It had almost no calves to the legs, or buttocks. The head resembled that of a man, much more than that of any animal ; the forehead was high and salient, and the capacity of the cranium was great ; but the neck was very short. The tongue was soft’and similar to that of other apes; and al- though the lips were extremely thin and scarcely apparent, they possessed the power of extension in a considerable de- gree. The nose, which was completely flat and on a level with the face at its base, was slightly salient at its extremity, and the nostrils opened downwards. The eyes were like those of other apes, and the ears completely resembled those of men. / The vulva was very small, its labia scarcely perceptible, * Annales du Museum d@’ Hist. Nat. tome xvi. p. 46. and Description of an Ourang Outang. 189 and the clitoris entirely hid; but on each side of the vulva there was a flesh-coloured streak where the skin seemed to be softer than that of the other parts. Is this an indication of labia? Two mammez were placed on the breast like those of females.’ The belly was naturally very large. This animal had neither tail nor callosities. It was almost entirely covered with a reddish hair, more or less dark in colour, and of various thicknesses on the dif- ferent parts of the body. The colour of the skin was ge- nerally that of slate; but the ears, the eye-lids, the muzzle, the inside of the hands and feet, the mamme, and a longi- tudinal band on the right side of the belly, were of copper- coloured skin. The hair of the head, of the fore-arms and of the legs, was of a deeper red than that of the other parts; ° and on the head, the back, and the upper part of the arms it was thicker than any where else: the belly was but scan- tily supplied with it, and the face still less: the upper lip, the nose, the palms of the hands and the soles of the feet alone were bare. The nails were black, and the eyes brown, All the hair was woolly, that of the fore-arm grew upwards as did that of the arm downwards to the elbow. The hair of the head, which was barder in general than that of the other parts, grew forward. The skin, but chiefly that of the face, was coarse and rough, and that under the neck was so flabby that the animal seemed to have a goitre when lying on its side. The ourang outang in question was entirely formed for living among trees. When it wanted to ascend a tree, it laid hold of the trunk or branches with its hands and feet, making use of its arms only and not of its thighs as a man would do in similar circumstances. It could pass easily from one tree to another when the branches met, so that in a thick forest it would never be necessary for it to de- scend to the ground, on which it moves with considerable difficulty. In general, all its motions are slow, but they scem to be painful when it is made to walk from one place to another: at first it rests its two hands on the ground, | and brings its hinder parts slowly forward until its feet are between its hands or fore paws; afterwards, supporting it- self on its hind legs, it advances the upper part of its body, resis again on its hands as at first, and thus moves forward. It is only when we take it by one hand that it walks on its feet, and in this case it uses its other hand to support it. ] have scarcely ever seen it stand firmly on the sole of the ‘foot; most frequently it only rested on the outer edge, ap- parently desirous of preserving its toes from all friction on : the 390 Description of an Ourang Outang. the ground ; nevertheless it sometimes rested on the whole of the foot, but in this case it kept the two last phalanges bent inwards, except the great toe, which was stretched out. When resting, it sate on its buttocks with its legs folded under it in the manner of the inhabitants of the East. It lay indiscriminately on its back or on its side, drawing up its legs and crossing its hands over its breast; and it was fond of being covered, for it drew over it all the clothes it could reach. This animal used its hands in all the essential motions in which men employ theirs; and it is evident that it only requires experience to enable it to use them on almost every occasion. It generally carried its food to its mouth with its fingers; but sometimes also it seized it with its long lips; and it was by suction that it drank, like all other ani- mals which have lips capable of being lengthened. It made use of its sense of smelling in order to decide upon the na- ture of the aliments which were presented to it and which it was not acquainted with, and it seemed to consult this sense with great assiduity, It ate almost indiscriminately, fruits, pulse, eges, milk, and animal food: bread, coffee, and oranges were its most favourite aliments; and it once emptied an ink-bottle which came in its way without being incommoded. Jt had no particular times for going to meals, and ate at all seasons like an infant. Its sight and hearing were gcod. Music made no impression upon it. The mamimifere are not formed by nature to be sensible to its charms, none of their wants seem to require it, and even with mankind it is an artificial want; on savages it has no other effect than a noise would have. When defending itself, our ourang outang bit and struck with its hands; but it was only against children that it showed any roguery, and it was always caused by impa- tience rather than by anger. In general it was gentle and ° affectionate, and seemed to delight in society. It was fond of being caressed, gave real kisses, and seemed to experience a great deal of pleasure in sucking the fingers of those who approached it; but it did not suck its own fingers. Its cry was guttural and sharp, but it was only heard when it eagerly wanted any thing. All its signs were then very expressive : it darted its head forward in order to show its disapprobation, pouted when it was not obeyed, and when angry it cried very loudly, rolling itself on the ground. On these occasions its neck was prodigiously swelled. By the above description it will be seen that the ourang eytang in question had attained a size sufficiently great for its Description of an Ourang Outang. 191 its age, which was not more than 15 or 16 months: its teeth, limbs, and powers were almost perfect ; whence it may be inferred that it had nearly acquired its full growth, and that its life does not extend beyond 25 years. This ourang outang arrived at Paris in the beginning of March 1808. M. Decaen, an officer of the French navy and brother to the governor of the Isles of France and Bourbon, brought it from the former place and presented it to the Empress Josephine, whose taste for natural history 1s con- spicuous. When it arrived in the Isle of France from Borneo, where it was born, it was only three months old: it remained three months in the Isle of France, was three months on its voyage to Spain where it was landed, and having been two months in its journey to Paris, it must have been ten or eleven months old when it arrived in the winter of 1808. The fatigues of a long sea voyage, but above all, the cold which the animal experienced in crossing the Pyrenees amid the snows, reduced it to the last extre- mity ; and when it arrived at Paris several of its toes were frozen, and it laboured under a hectic fever brought on by obstructions in the spleen accompanied by a cough: it re- fused all sustenance and was almost motionless. In this state it came imto the possession of M. Godard, a friend of M. Decaen, who succeeded in partially restoring it to health. . I visited it almost every day while it lived; and Messrs. Godard and Decaen enabled me to add to the observations I made. The means which succeeded in restoring this animal to . some degree of health, were gocd victuals, a proper tempera- ture, and above all, cleanliness. At first the disease was combated with tonics: bark being itadmissible in the usual way was administered in baths and frictions; but these re- medies fatigued the animal more than they relieved it, and they were given up. The constipation of the bowels was nevertheless obstinate, and it was necessary to have frequent recourse to bathing, and this treatment was pursued till the animal’s death. ‘The desire for sucking which it evinced, suggested the idea of suckling it again, but it refused the breast of a woman who volunteered on this singular service. It also refused to suckle the teats of a goat. At first it seemed fond of milk, but it soon got tired of it, and of every other aliment, which was given it in succession, with the exception of oranges, which it seemed fond of to the last. In about five months the animal died; and on opening its body, 192 Description of an Ourang Outong. body; most of the viscera’ were found to be disorganized and full of obstructions. Such was the animal who formed the subject of my ob- servations; and, far different from those which have hitherto been described, it had never been subjected to any particular education, and was only influenced by the circumstances in which it happened to be placed: it owed nothing to habit, nothing mechanical entered into its actions, ail of them were the simple effects of volition, or at least of nature. Now that I have described the oréans of this animal and their uses, | ought to make known the phenomena which its intelligence presented: but before entering upon these details I ought to say a word on the influence which the intellect is liable to from the modifications of our senses. It appears to me, that some authors have made intelli- gence depend much more than was just on the greater or less perfection of the hands or fingers. Now although the hand of an ape and of an ourang outang differs very little from ours, and these animals could undoubiedly make the same use of them as we do, if they were actuated by the same ideas, yet an ourang outang would no more be a man with more perfect hands or fingers, than a man would be an ape because he was born without arms, The in- fluence of the senses on the mind has been particularly ex- aggerated: some authors have thought that upon the de- eree of perfection of these organs the degree of the perfec- tion of the understanding in a great measure depended. Nevertheless it must be admitted that several animals have senses conipletely similar to ours; and the description which we have given of the ourang outang shows that this animal, which certainly is not a man, has received senses equally numerous, and at least equally delicate with ours. Besides, if we consider the real influence exercised on the operations of the understanding by more or less delicate organs, we sce that it is limited to the multiplying of ideas in a greater or Jess ratio, without making any change in the manner of setting these elements at work, The most hum- ble artisan, who has exercised his sight least, and who can- not distinguish the most striking shades of colour, will not be less of the same species with the painter who has studied all the accidents of light, and who can recognise them in the slightest undulations of a drapery. Lastly, the under- standing may have ideas*without the aid of the senses: two thirds of the brute creation are moved by ideas which they do not owe to their sensations, but which flow immediately froma Description of an Ourang Outang. 193 from their brain. Instinct constitutes this order of phe- homena; it is composed of ideas truly innate, in which the senses have never had the smallest share. Every thing unites, therefore, in my opinion, to convince us that it is neither in the conformation of the limbs, nor in the greater or less perfection of the senses, that we must seek the prin- cipal cause of the intellectual qualities which distinguish us from the lower animals, and even the cause of those which perhaps distinguish the animals of certain classes. The operations, the phenomena of our intelligence which cha- racterize us, ought to proceed from higher and more potent causes ; faculties, even of the understanding, or of the or- gan in auhich these faculties reside, 2. e. the “brain. Conse- quently, we apply ourselves much more to appreciate the use which our ourang outang made of its sensations, the results which he knew how to draw from its ideas, than to analyse these sensations themselves, or to seek for the ele- ments and the nature of these ideas. All the facuities of animals concur to the same end,—the preservation of the species and of individuals. The indivi- dual is.preserved by defending himself against dangers, and by procuring what is necessary for his existence. The pre- servaiion of the species is effected by generation. It is, there- fore, to preserve his existence, and to propagate, that an animal employs al] his faculties and refers all his actions s and it is with respect to defending itself against danger, and procuring: necessaries for its existence, that the following observations more particularly apply. Our ourang outang was not old enough to have experienced the calls of nature in respect to generation, and to exhibit their effects. This plan simplifies the study of the intellectual faculties of brates. Hitherto the science which has had these faculties for its object, has consisted of isolated facts, the number of which might still increase indefinitely withouti increasing our knowledge, if we did not endeavour to subject them to fixed and proper rules, to regard them in their true point of view, and to appreciate their real value. We know that the fa- culties of the understanding are not developed until the organs are formed : we are at liberty to suppose, therefure, that if our ourang outang had arrived at an adult age, she would have exhibited phenomena still more curious than those which we have to detail: but if we reflect that this animal was scarcely 16 months old when it died, we shall find plenty of subjects of astonishment in the subaigatietin which it afforded, and of which we are about to give an ac- count. . Vol. 38. No. 161, Sept. 1811. N Of / 194 Description of an Ouratig Outang. Of the intellectual Phaenomena aalioh have for their Object to defend the Animal ¢ against Danger. Nature has given the ourang outang but few means of defence. Next to man, it is an animal perhaps which finds in its own resources the feeblest defence against dangers : but in recompense it has a great facility in ascending trees, and thus escaping the enemies which it cannot combat. These sole considerations would be sufficient for encourag- ing the presumption that nature has endowed the ourang- ‘outang with great circumspection. In fact, the prudence of this animal is conspicuous in all its actions, and chiefly in those which have for their object to save it from some dangers. Nevertheless its tranquil life, while under my ins spection, and the impossibility of subjecting it lo severe ex~- periments in the weak state in which it was, prevented mé from making many observations: but assisted by those which had been made by M. Déchbhi during the voyage from the Isle of France to Europe, my readers will obtain some idea of its intellectual faculties. During the first week after its embarkation this ourang outang evinced creat fears for its safety, and seemed greatly to. exagverate the dangers of the rolling of the vessel. It never ventured to walk, without firmly grasping in its hands the ropes or other parts of the vessel: it constantly refused to ascend the masts, however solicitons the crew were to induce it, and it was only prevailed on to do so from a sentiment, or a want, which nature seems to have carried ta a high degree of pertection in animals of this kind: this sentiment was that of affection, which our animal constantly evinced, and Ihave no doubt ‘that it would Jead the ourang outangs to live in society and to defend tiiemselves mutually, when certain dangers menaced them, like other animals which nature forms for herding together. However this may be, our ourang outang never had the courage to ascend the masts until M. Decaen did so himself: it followed him up for the first time; and having thus acquired some confi- dence in its own powers, it used frequently to repeat the experiment. | The means employed by the ourang outangs in defending themselves are in general ‘hose which are common to all timid animals,—artilice aud pradence: but the former have a streneth of judgemeut far superior to the latter, and which they employ occasionally to remove enemies from) them who. are stronger. This was proved to us in a very re= markable manner by thé animal in question, Living in a State Description of an Ourang Outang. 195 state of liberty, he was accustomed in fine weather to visit a garden, where he could take exercise in the open air by ascending and sitting among the trees. One day that it was perched ona tree, a person approached it as if with an intention to catch it; but the animal instantly laid hold of ‘ the adjoining branches and shook them with all its force, as if it was his intention to frighten the person who attempted to ascend, by suggesting the risk of his falling. This ex- periment was repeatedly made with the same results. In whatever way we regard the above action, it must be impossible for us to overlook the result of a combination of acute intelligence, or to deny to the animal the faculty of generalizing. Our ourang outang, by an experiment which the wantonness of the sailors be frequently made on it, perceived that the violent agitation of bodies, which sup- port men or animals, makes them lose their equilibrium, and fall; and it reflected that, when placed in analogous circum~ stances, others would experience what it had experienced itself, and that the fear of falling would hinder them from ascending. It extended, therefore, to beings who were strangers to it, an idea which was personal to itself: and from a particular circumstance it formed a general rule. It was frequently fatigued with the numerous visits which it received, and would hide itself under its coverlid ; but it never did this except when strangers were present. My observations on the intellectual means resorted to by ourang outangs for their defence, are confined to these facts alone; but they are sufficient, in my opinion, to prove that these animals are able to make up by the resources of intel-+ lect for their feeble corporeal organization. On the intellectual Phenomena which have for their Object to procure for the Animal such Things as are necessary for its Subsistence. The natural wants of the ourang outangs are so easily sa- tisfied, that these animals must find in their organization enough of resources, not to compel them to a great exertion of their intellectual faculties in this respect. Fruits are their principal food, and, as we have already seen, their limbs are peculiarly adapted for ascending trees. It is probable, therefore, that, in their state of nature, these animals em- ploy their intelligence much oftener to preserve themselves from harm than to procure food. But all their habits must change, the instant they are in the society or under the pros tection of men: their dangers must be diminished, and their wants increased, This is evinced by all the domestie N2 animals, 196 - Description of an Ourang Outang. animals, and @ fortiori by our ourang outang. In short, its intelligence was much more frequently called into action ta satisfy its wants than to avert danger. I ought to placein this first division a custom of this- animal, which appeared to be a phenomenon of instinct, the only one of the kind which it exhibited. While the season did not admit of its leaving the house, it practised a custom which appeared singular, and which was at first difficult to account for: this consisted in mounting upon an old desk to perform the functions of nature; but, as soon as the warmth of spring admitted of its going into the garden, this extraordinary custom was accounted for: it never failed to ascend a tree when it wanted to perform these functions, and this me- thod has even been resorted to, with snccess, as a remedy for its habitual constipation: when it did not ascend the iree of itself, it was placed upon it; and if its efforts pro- duced no evacuation, it was a proof that bathing was ne- cessary. Be We have already seen that one of the principal wants of our ourang outang was to live in society, and to attach itself” io persons who treated it with kindness. For M. Decaen it had a particular affection, of which it gave daily proofs. One morning it entered his apartment while he was still in bed, and threw itself upon him embracing him strongly, and applying .its lips to his breast, which it sucked as it used to do his fingers. On another occasion it gave bim a still stronger proof of its attachment. Tt was accustomed to come to him at meal times, which it knew very well, in expectation of victuals. With this view it leapt up behind his chair, and perched upon the back of it; when he gave it what he thought proper. On bis arrival in Spain, M. De-: caen went ashore, and another officer of the sbip supplied his place at table: the ourang outang placed itself on the back of the chair as usual; but as soon as it perceived a stranger in its master’s place it refused all food, threw itself on the floor, and rolied about in great distress, frequently striking its bead and moaning bitterly. [ have frequently seen it testify its impatience in this way: when any thing was refused it which it wanted, not being able or not daring to attack those who opposed its wishes, it would throw it- self on the floor, strike its head, and thereby endeavour to excite interest or pity ina more lively manner. This me- thod of expressing sorrow or anger is not observable in any ~ animal, man excepted, Was this ourang outang led to act in this manner from the same motives which actuate us in similar circumstances ?. 1 am inclined to answer this ques- ‘ tion Description of an Ourang Outang. 197: tion in the affirmative: for in its passion it would occa- sionally raise its head from the ground and suspend its cries, in order to see if it had produced any effect on the people around, and if they were disposed to yield to its entreaties : when it thought there was nothing favourable in their looks or gestures, it began crying again. This desire for marks of kindness generally led our ourang outang to search for persons whom it knew, and to.shun solitude, which seemed to displease it so much that one day it employed its intelligence in a-singular way to break loose from it. It was shut into a closet adjoining the room where the people of the house usually met: several times it ascended a chair iu order to openthe door, which it effected, as the chair usually stood near the door, which was Fastevncd with a latch. In order to prevent it from repeating this operation, the chair was removed some distance from the door; but scarcely was it shut when it again opened, and the ourang outang was seen descending from the chair, which it had pushed towards the door in order to enable it to reach the! latch: Can we refuse to ascribe this action tor the faculty of yeneralizing? It is certain that the animal had never been taught to make use of a chair for opening doors, and it had never even seen any person do so. All that it could learn from its own experience was, that by mounting upon a chair it could raise itself to a level with things that were higher than it; and it may have seen from the actions of others that dhaine might be ‘moved from one place to another, and that the door Sin question was moved by lifting the latch: but these very ideas are generalizations, -and it is only by comlaning them with each other that the animal could have been led to the action which we have related. J do not think that any other animal ever carried the force of reasoning further. To conclude:—men were not the only beings of a different species to which the ourang outang attached itself: it coticeived an affection for two cats which was sometimes attended with inconvenience: it generally kept one or other under its arm, and at other times it placed them on its head; bat asin these various movements the cats were afraid of falling, they seized with their claws the skin of the ourang outang, which patiently endured the pain which it exper rienced. Twice or thrice indeed it attentively examined their feet, and after disco- vering their nails, it attempted to remove them, but with its fingers only: not being able to accomplish is object, it seemed resigned to the | pain they gave it, rather than ter nounce the pleasure of toying with the animals, This de- 'N3 sire * 198 Description of an Ourang Outang. sire of placing the cats on its head was displayed on a great many other occasions, and I never was able to divine the cause of it. If some small pieces of paper fell into its hands, it raised them to its bead, and it did the same with ashes, earth, bones, &c. It has already been mentioned that it took its food with its hands or mouth: It was not very expert in handling our knives and forks, and in this respect it resembled some sa- vages whom we have heard of, but it made up for its awk- wardness by its ingenuity: when the meat which was on its plate did not lie conveniently for its spoon, it gave the spoon to the person next it, in order that he might fill it. It drank very well out of a glass, which it could hold in its two hands. One day, after havmg put down the glass, it saw that it was likely to fall, and it instantly placed its hand at the side to which the glass inclined, and thereby saved it. Several persons were witnesses to these circum- stances. Almost ail animals have occasion to protect themselves against the effects of cold, and it is probable that the ourang outangs are in this predicament in the rainy scason. IT am ignorant of the means resorted to by them in their state of nature, but our ourang outang almost continually kept it- seif covered. When on ship-board it laid hold of every thing that came in its way; and when a sailor had lost any of his clothes, he was sure to find them in the ourang eutang’s bed. The care which it took to keep itself covered furnished us with an excellent proof of its intelligence, and proved not only that it could generalize its ideas, but that it had the sentiment of future wats. Its coverlid was spread every day on a piece of grass in the garden in front of the dining room, and every day after dinner it went straight to the garden, took its coverlid upon its shoulders, and leaped upon the shoulders of a domestic that he might carry. it to bed. One day that the coverlid was not in its usual place it searched unti it found it, and then threw it -over its shoulders as usual, T have already remarked that this animal was by far too young to exhibit any of the phenomena connected with generation, &c. IT shall here terminate my observations, although | could add a great many more facts, but they would throw no additional light on the subject of eur in- quiries. What has been just stated, ought to show that it is not necessary to multiply our experiments in order to obtain general and precise ideas as to the intellectual faculties of the * 4 = Notes relating to Botany. 199 the mammifere, If we pick out one or two species m each genus, and examine them under the point of view which I have adopted, [am convinced that we might succeed in esta- blishing the laws to which this faculty is subject in the whole class, and in appreciating the successive degradations which it undergoes, its connexion with the senses, and the sup- plementary means which nature furnishes: ima word, we might lay the foundation of this interesting branch of na- tural history, which has been hitherto obscured by imagi- nary systems or obscure facts. For my part, Tam happy in having had an opportunity of studying the animal which approaches most closely to man, | regard this as a point of comparison to w hich I shall in future refer all the other species of the mammilere, if circumstances admit of my continuing the inquiries, which { long ago commenced, into the intellectual characters which disting guish these species from each other. XXXVIIT. Notes relating to Botany, collected from the Manuscripts of the late Perer Coctinso son, Esq., F.R.S. and communicated by AYLMER BourKE LAMBERT, a 3 F.R.S. and A.S., V.P.L.8.™ Bere lately on a visit to John Cator, Esq., of Becken- ham-place, and lovking one day over his library, amongst a collection of books left him by his uncle, who married the daughter of the celebrated Peter Collinson, I discovered se- veral which bad formerly belonged to that eminent natu- ralist. One of them was his own copy of Miller’s Gar- dener’s and Botanist’s Dictionary, the last edition pub- lished by the author, with the following note at the bottom of the title-page: “ The gift of my old friend the author to P. Collinson, F.R.S.” ‘This book contains a great ‘deal of his inanuscript notes relating to the plants cultivated in those days, both in his own gardens and in those of the most celebrated of his contemporaries ; with a complete catalogue of the plants he had cultivated in his garden at Mill- Hill, and a list of all those which he had himself introduced into this country from Russia, Siberia, America, and other parts of the world; also some original letters from Dillenius, Miller, Bartram, and others; and a short account of his own life, which appears not to have been known to his bio- graphers. Mr. Cator having obligimgly permitted me to * From Transactions of the Linnean Society, vol, x. part ii. p. 270. N4 take 200 «= Notes relating to Botany, collected from ‘take a copy of the whole, I now submit to the Linnean Society those parts which I think most worthy of their notice. A. B. L. T was born in the house against Church-alley, Clement’s Lane, Lombard-street, from whence my parents removed into Grace-church-street, where I have now lived many years. [July 18th, 1764.] Gardening and gardeners have wonderfully increased in my memory. Being sent at two years old to be brought up with my relations at Peckham in Surry, from them I received the first liking to gardens and plants. Their garden was remarkable for fine cut greens, the fashion of those times, and for curious flewers. 5 often | went with them to visit the few nursery gardens round Lon- don, to buy fruits, flowers, and clipt yews in the shapes of birds, dogs, men, ships, &c. For these Mr. Parkinson in Lambeth was very much noted ; and he had besides a few’ myrtles, oleanders, and other evergreens. This was about the year 1712. At that time Mr. Wrench, behind the earl of Peterborough’s at Parson’s Green near Chelsea, famous for tulip-trees, began the collecting of evergreens, arbutuses, phillyreas, &c.; and from him came the gold and silver hedgehog-holly, being accidental varieties from the hedge- hog variety of the common holly. He gave rewards to en- courage people to look out for accidental varieties from the common holly: and the saw-leaved holly was observed by these means, and a variegated holly goes by his name to this nay. He and Parkinson died about the year 1724. Con- temporary with them were Mr. Derby and Mr, Fairchild ; they had their gardens on each side the narrow alley lead- ing to Mr. George Whitmore’s, at the further end of Hox- ton. As their gardens were small, they were the only people for exotics, and had many stoves and green-houses for all sorts of aloes and succulent plants; with oranges, lemons, and other rare plants. At the other end of the town were two famous nurserymen, Furber and Gray, having jarge tracts of ground in that way, and vast stocks; for the taste of gardening increased annually, Doctor Compton, bishop . of London, was a great lover of rare plants ; as well such as came from the West Indies as from North America, and had the greatest collection then in England. After his death the see was filled by bishop Robinson, a man destitute - of any such taste; who allowed his gardener to sell what he pleased, and often spoiled what he could not otherwise dis-- pose of. . Many fine trees, come to great maturity, were cut down to make room for produce for the table. The the Manuscripts of the late Peter Collinson. 01°» The abovementioned gardeners Furber and Gray availed themselves of making purchases from this noble collection,’ and augmented their nurseries with many fine plants not’ otherwise to be procured. Brompton Park was another surprising nursery of all the varieties of evergreens, fruits, &c., with a numnber of others all round the town; for, as the taste increased, nursery gar- dens flourished. Mr. Hunt at Putney, and Mr. Gray, are now living, aged about 70. But more modern cultivators are the céle- brated James Gordon at Mile-end, whom for many years, from my extensive correspondence, I have assisted with plants and seeds, and who, with a sagacity peculiar to him+ self, has raised a vast variety of plants from all parts of the world’s 3 and the ingenious Mr. Lee of Hammersmith, who; had he the like assistance, would be little behind him. Mr. Miller of the Physic Gavaen; Chelsea, has made his «reat abilities well known by his works, as well as his skill in every part of gardening, and his success in raising seeds procured by a Targe correspondence. He has raised the re- putation of the Chelsea garden so much, that it excels all the gardens in Europe for its amazing variety of plants of all orders and classes, and from all climates, as I beheld with much delight this 19th of July, 1764. October 3d, 1759, after nine years absence from @eba! wood after thé death of my intimate friend the late duke of Richmond, I accompanied the present duchess there, and to my- acreeable surprise found the hardy exotic trees much - grown. There were two fine great magnolias about twenty feet high in the American grove that flowered annually. (My tree flowered this year, 1760, that I’ raised’ from seed about twenty years before.) Some of the larches measured near the ground seventcen inches round, the rest fourteeri inches anda half. TI saw-a larch of the: old duke’s plant- ing cut down, that in twentv-five years was above fifty feet high, and cut into planks above a foot in diameter; and above twenty fect long: but there were some larches 6f the same date seventy feet high. They grow wonderfully in chalky soil. October 30th, 1762, the -young lord Petre came of age. The late lord Petre, his father, died July 2d,.4749: he was’ my intimate friend, the ornament and delight of the age he lived in. He went from his house at Ingatestone i in Essex, to his seat at Thorndon-ball in the same county, to extend a large row of elms at the end of the park behipd the house: He remoyed in the spring of the year 1734, being the 22d-of : ; his £02 Notes relating to Botany, collected from his age, twenty-four full grown elms about sixty feet high and two feet diameter. All grew finely, and now are not known from the old trees they were planted to match. In the year 1738 he planted the great avenue of elms up the park from the house to the esplanade. The trees were large, perhaps fifteen or twenty years old, On each side the espla- nade, at the head or top of the park, he raised two mounts, and planted all with evergreens in April and May 1740. In the centre of each mount was a large cedar of Lebanon of twenty years growth, supported by four larches of eleven vears growth. On the same area on the mount were planted four smaller cedars of Lebanon aged twenty years each, sup- ported by four larches aged six years. On the sides Virgi- nian red cedars of three years growth, mixed with other evergreens, which now (anno 1760) make an amazingly fine appearance. In the years 1741 and 1742, from this very nursery, he planted out forty thousand trees of all kinds, to embellish the woods at the head of the park on each side of the avenue to the Jodze, and round the esplanade. It would occupy a large work to give a particular account of his building and planting. His stoves exceed in dimensions all otbers in Europe. He dying, his vast collection of rare exotic plants, and his extensive nursery, were soon dispersed, ¥ paid to John Clarke for a thousand cedars of Lebanon, June the 8th, 1761, seventy-nine pounds six shillings, in behalf of the duke of Richmond. These thousand cedars were planted at five years old, im my sixty-seventh year, in March and April, anno 1761. Tn September 1761 [ was at Goodwood, and saw these cedars in a thriving state. This dav, October 20th, 1762, I paid Mr. Clarke for an- other large parcel of cedars for the duke of Richmond. It is very remarkable that Mr. Clarke, a butcher at Barnes, eonceived an opinion that be could raise cedars of Lebanon from cones from the great tree at Hendon-place. He suc- ceeded perfectly ; and annually raised them in such quanti- ties, that he supplied the nurserymen, as well as abundance of noblemen and gentlemen, with cedars of Lebanon: and he succeeded not only in cedars, but be had a great knack in raising the small magnolia, Wamier’s Cape jessamine, and other exotic seeds. He built a large stove tor pine apples, &c, Any person who has curiosity enough may go to Good- wood in Sussex, and see the date and progress of those cedars, which were at planting five years old. The duke’s: father was a great planter; but the young duke much an ceeds: the Manuscripts of the late Peter Collinson. 208 ceeds him, for he intends to clothe all the lofty naked hills above him with evergreen woods. Great portions are al- ready planted, and he annually raises infinite numbers in his nurseries from seeds of pines, firs, cedars, and Jarches. _ In the duke of Areyle’s wood stands the largest New- England or Weymouth pine. This, and his largest cedars of Lebanon now standing, were all raised by him from seed ‘in the year 1725 at his seat at Whitton near Hounslow, This spring, 1762, all the duke of Argyle’s rare trees and shrubs were removed to the princess of Wales’s garden at Kew, which now excels all others, under the direction of lord Bute. Mr. Vernon, Turkey merchant at Aleppo, transplanted the weeping-willow from the river Euphrates, brought it with him to England, .and planted it at his seat at Twick+ enham-park, where I saw it growing anno 1748. This is the original of all the weeping-willows in our gardens *, October the 18th, 1765, | went to see Mr. Rogers’s vine- yard, all of Burgundy grapes, and seemingly all perfectly ripe. 1 did not see a green half-ripe grape in all this great quantity. He does not expect to make less than fourteen hogsheads of wine. The bunches aud fruit are remarkably large, and the vines very strong. He was formerly famous for ranunculuses.. October 18th, 1765, I visited Mrs. Gaskry, at Parson’s Green, near Fulham. This long, hot, dry summer has had a . remarkably good effect on all wall fruits. Apricots, peaches, and nectarines ripened much earlier than usual, and have been excellent: but the most remarkable was the plenty of pomegranates, near two dozen on each tree, of a remarkable size and fine ruddy complexion, of the size of middling oranges. One that was split showed thé redness and ripe- ness within. John Buxton, esq., of Shadwell near Thetford in Nor- folk, from the acorns of 1762, sowed or p'anted on forty- two acres of land 120 bushels, containing as near as can be computed 1,432,320 acorns; which is nearly 34,103 * This is the first authentic account we have had of its introduction : the story of its being raised from alive twir df a fruit-basket, received from Spain by Pope, being only on newspaper authority so late as Aucust 1801. See Miller's Dictionary by Martyn. -— A.B. L. Sir Thomas Vernon of London, Knight, and sometime member for that city, died in 1705, leaving two sons. Henry the eldest died uamiarried at Aleppo in Syriz, aged 31; hisymonumentr is in St. Stephen’s church, Cole- manestreet. Thomas Vernon, the second son, resided at ‘Twickenham-park, . Middlesex. The above communiagted to me by sir William A’Court, bart., nephew to Mr. Vernon.——-A, B. L. acorns 204 Notes relating to Botany, collected from acorns on each acre, For this Mr, Buxton had a present of a gold medal from the Society of Arts, &c. Years or ages hence it may be worth a journey to go and observe the pro= gress of vegetation in the dimensions and heights of this famous plantation, whose beginning is so certainly known, By a letter (November 28th, 1762,) from Thomas Knowl- ton, “gardener to the duke of Davanshive at his seat of Lon- desburgh near York, and director of bis grace’s new kitehen- garden, stoves, &e. .» at Chatsworth, [ am informed that the duke of Devonshire is now sowing seventy quarters of acorns, that is, 560 bushels; an immeise quantity: but this year there was the greatest crop of acorns ever remem- bered. Besides this vast sowing, some hundred thousands of young seedling oaks are planting out this winter: be- tween forty and fifty men are employed about this work. In the year 1761, as many oaks were transplanted from the nursery, of two, three, and four years old. 1761. Our last winter, if it may be called so, exceeded for mildness 1759. The autumnal flowers were not gone before spring began in December with aconites, snowdrops, polyanthuses, &c. and continued without any alloy of in= tervening sharp frosts, al] January, except two or three frosty nights and mornings: a more delightful season could not be enjoyed i in southern latitudes. In January and Fe- bruary my garden was covered with flowers. This summer, 1762, I was visiting Mr. Wood, of Lit- tleton, Middlesex. He showed me a curiosity whieh sur- prised me. On a little slender twig of a peach-tree about four inches Jong, that projected from the wall, grewa peach, and close to it, on the other side of the twig, a nectarine. This Mr. Miller-also assured me he had himself known, although not mentioned here (in his Dictionary) ; and an- other friend * assured me that he had a tree which ‘produced the like in his garden at Salisbury : but this I saw myself, and it mduces ine to think that the peach is the mother of the nectarines; the latter being a modern fruit, as there is no Greck or Latin name for it. Copied from my nephew Thomas Collinson’s Journal of his Travels, 1754.—‘dn the reign of Oueen Elizabeth, anno the first orange- and lemon-trees were introduced into England by two curious genilemen, oue of them sir * J well knew the gentleman here alluded to, Dr. Hanceck of Salisbury, who assured me of this fact; and a drawing showing both the fruits:on the - same branch is now in the possession of H. P. Wy ndha m, esq. of Salisbury. Dr. Hancock cold me that he had the tree takeg up to send to the earl of Harburgh, but it was kills by removing. ——A. B. i. ; Nicholas 7 “4 ; ; ; the Manuscripts of the late Peter Collinson. 205 ‘Nicholas Carew, at Bedington, near Croydon, in Surrey.” (The title is lately extinct, anno 1763.) These orange-trees were planted in the natural ground; but against every win- ter an artificial covering was raised for their protection. I . have seen them some years ago in great perfection. But this apparatus going to decay, without due consideration a green-house of brick-work was built all round them, and left on the top uncovered in the summer. I visited them a year or two after, in their new habitation, and to my great concern found some dying, andvall declining ; for, alihough there were windows on the south side, they did not thrive in their confinement ; but being kept damp with the rains, and wanting a free, airy, full sun all the growing months of summer, they languished, and at last all died. A better fate has hitherto attended the other fine parcel of orange-trees, &c., brought over at the same time by sir Robert Mansell, at Margam ; late lord Mansell’s, now Mr. Talbot's, called Kingsey-castle, in the road from Cowbridge to Swansey, in South Wales. My nephew counted eighty trees of citrons, limes, burgamots, Seville and China orange- trees, planted in great cases all ranged in a row before the green-house. This is the finest sight of its kind in England. He had the curiosity to measure some of them. A China orange measured in the extent of its branches fourteen feet. A Seville orange was fourteen feet high, the case included, and the stem twenty-one inches round. A China orange twenty-two inches and a half in girth. July 11th, 1777.. I visited the orangery at Margam in the year 1766, in company with Mr. Lewis Thomas, of Eglews Nynngt in that neighbourhood, a very sensible and attentive man, who told me that the orange-trees, &c. in that garden were intended as a present from the king of Spain to the king of Denmark; and that the vessel in which they were shipped being taken in the Channel, the trees were made a present of to sir R. Mansell. December 10th, 1765. A few days ago died my friend Mr. Bennet, who was very curious and industrious in pro- curing seeds and plants from abroad. He had a garden be- hind the Shadwell water- works near the spot where he lived, and built several very handsome stoves at a great expense, filling them with fine exotics of all kinds; but the erecting a fire-engine to raise the water so hurt his plants by the smoke, that he removed toa large garden of two or three acres, in the fields at the back of Whitechapel Jaystalls, Here he built a large house for pines and other rare exotics, which hesleft well stocked, In this garden he raised water melons 206 Notes relating to Botany, collected from | / melons to a great size and perfection ; I have told above forty lying ripe on the ground. They were raised in frames, and transplanted out under bell-glasses. A basket of these melons was sent to the’ king. Mr. Bennet had besides a great collection of hardy-groand plants. His garden and all his plants were sold by auction April 14, 1766. The seeds of the rhubarb with broad curled leaves were first raised by me. They were sent by Dr. Amman, pro- fessor of botany at Petersburg, whose father-in-law was Russian governor of the province near which the rhubarb grows, The seed of that with long narrow curled leaves was sent by the Jesuits in Chinato my friend Dr. Tanches, at Petersburg, by the Russian caravan, and-he sent it to me. Lord Rochefort, our ‘ambassador in Spain, in a letter dated Madrid, November 1765, says, ‘that in the parts where he had been, there are very few forest-trees worth no-, tice; but the ilexes about the Escurial are fine. One sort produces acorns of a monstrous size, which they eat in Spaia at their best tables, and they are as sweet as chesnuts. May 17th, 1761. [was invited by ir. Sharp, at South Lodge, on Enfield Chase, to dine, and see the Virginia dogwood (Cornus florida), The calyx of the flowers 1s as large as those figured by Catesby, and (what is remarkable) this is the only tree that bears these flowers amongst many hundreds that [ bave seen: 1t began to bear them in May, 1759. Anno 1747. Raised a new species of what appears to be a three-thorned acacia, from seeds from Persia, that came with Azad or Persian hornbeam, given me by Mr. Baker: it thrives well in my garden. I gave secd to Mr. Gordon, and he also raised tt. The eastern hornbeam (Miller’s Dictionary, edition 8th,) was raised from sced given to me, whicb came from Persia by the name of Azad. 1 gave it to Mr. Gordon, gardener at Mile-End, who was so fortunate as to have it come up anno 1747, and from him my garden and other gardens have been supplied. ‘There is a large tree in my field at Hendon, Middlesex. Mr. Miller is greatly mistaken m saying the Arundo No. 2, or Donax, dics down every year. In my garden the stalks have continued for some years making annually young green shoots from every joint, and bear a handsome tasscl of flowers. The first time I ever saw it in flower was - September 15th,- 1762. This very long hot dry season bas made many exotics flower. D onax the Manuscripts of the late Peter Collinson. 207 _ Donax seu Arundo flowered this year also (1762) at Mr. Gordon’s at Mile-End. October the 29d, 1746, I received the first double Spanish room that was in England, sent me by my friend Mr. Brewer at Nuremberg: it cost there a golden ducat; and, being planted in a pot nicely wickered all over, came from thence down the river Elbe to Hamburgh, from whence it was brought by the first ship to London. I inarched it on the single-flowered broom, and gave it to Gray and Gordon, gardeners, and from them all have been supplied. Anno 1756. Some roots of Siberian miartagon sent me by Mr. Demidoff,. proprietor of the Siberian iron mines, flowered for the first time, May 24, 1756. The flower is but little reflexed, and is, | think, the nearest to black of any flower that I know. In the year 1727, my intimate friend sir Charles Wager, first lord of the admiralty, brought plants from Gibraltar Hi!!, of the Linaria procumbens Hispanica flore flaves- cente pulchré striato, labiis nigro-purpureis, which I have yet in my garden, anno 1761; and at the same time he brought the broad-leaved Teucrium, and a species of peri- winkle, neither of which were in our gardens before; and Some roots of what is called Hyacinths of Peru. In the year 1756, the famous tulip-tree in Lord Peter= borough’s garden at Parson’s Gren, near Fulham, died. It was about seventy feet high, the tallest tree in the ground, and perhaps a hundred years old, being the first tree of the kind that was raised in England. It-had for many years the visitation of the curious to see its flowers, and admire its beauty, for it was as straight as an arrow, and died of age by a gentle decay. But it was remarkable, that the same year that this died, a tulip-tree which I had given to sir Charles Wager flowered for the first time in his garden, which was opposite lord Peterborough’s. This tulip-tree I raised from seed, and it was thirty years old when it flowered. April 8th, 1749. I removed from my house at Peckham, Surrey, and was for two years in transplanting my garden to my house at Mill-Hill, called Ridgeway-House, in the parish of Hendon, Middlesex. Anno 1751. I raised the China or paper mulberry frony seed gived me by Dr. Mortimer. XXXIX, Me- A prigoby] XXXIX, Mcabedtaan on the shyjbee" of the Earl of . Exoin’s Pursuits in Greece*. MEMORANDUM, &c. Ix the year 1799, when lord Elgin was appointed his ma- jesty’s ambassador extraordinary to the Oitoman Porte, he happened to be in habits of frequent intercourse with Mr. Harrison, an architect of great-eminence in the west of England, who had there given various very splendid proofs of his professional talents, especially in a public building of Grecian architecture at Chester. Mr. Harrison had besides studied many years, and to great purpose, at Rome. Lord Elgin consulted him, therefore, on the benefits that might possibly be derived to the arts in this country, in case an opportunity could be found for studying minutely the archi- tecture and sculpture of ancient Greece ; aud his opinion very decidedly was, that although we might possess exact measurements of the buildings at Athens, yet a young artist could never form to bimself an adequate conception of their minute details, combinations, and general eflect, without having before him some such sensible representation of them as might be conveyed by casts. This advice, which Jaid the groundwork of lord Elgin’s pursuits in Greece, led to the . further consideration, thai, since any knowledge which was possessed of these buildings had been obtained under the pe- _culiar disadvantages which the prejudices and jealousies of the Turks had ever thrown \in the way of such attempts, any favourable circumstances which lord Elgin’s embassy might offer should be improved fundamentally; aud not only modellers, but architects and draftsmen, might be employed, to rescue from oblivion, with the most accurate detail, whatever specimens of architecture and sculpture in Greece had still escaped the ravages of time, and the bar- barism of conquerors. On this suggestion, lord Elgin proposed to his majesty’s government, “that they should send out English artists of known eminence, capable of collecting this information in the most perfect manner; but the prospect appeared of too doubtful an issue for ministers to engage in the expense at- tending it. Lord Elgin then endeavoured to engage some of these artists at his own charge ; but the value of their time was far beyond his means. When, however, he reached Sicily, on the recommendation of sir William Hamilton, he was so fortunate as to prevail on don Tita Lusieri, one * London, printed for William Miller, Albemarle Street. of = The Earl of Elgin’s Pursuits in Greece, 209 - of the best general painters in Europe, of great knowledge in the arts, infinite taste, and most scrupulously exact in copying any subject he is to represent, to undertake the ex. ecution of this plan; and Mr. Hamilton, who was then ac- companying lord Elgin to Constantinople, immediately went with M. Lusierito Rome; where, in consequence of the late revolutions in Italy, they were enabled to engage two of the most eminent formatori to make the madreformi for the casts: signior Balestra, the first architect there, along with Ittar, a young man of great talent, to undertake the architectural part of the plan; and one Theodore, a Calmouk, who had distinguished himself during several years at Rome, in the capacity of figure-painter. After much difficulty, lord Elgin obtained permission from the Turkish government to establish these six artists at Athens ; where they prosecuted the business of their several departments during three years, acting on one general system, with the advantage of mutual control, and under the general superintendance of M. Lusieri. They at length completed lord Elgin’s plan in all its parts. Accordingly, every monument, of which there are any remains in Athens, has been thus most carefully and mi- nutely measured ; and, from the rough draughts of the ars chitects, (all of which are preserved,) finished drawings have been made of the plans, elevations, and details of the most remarkable objects ; in which the Calmouk has re- stored and inserted all the sculpture, with exquisite taste and ability. He has besides drawn, with astonishing accu- racy, ail the bas-reliefs on the several temples, in the pre- cise state of decay and mutilation in which they at present exist, Most of the das-reliefs, and nearly all the characteristic features of architecture, in the various monuments at Athens, have been moulded, and the moulds of them have been brought to London. , Besides the architecture and sculpture at Athens, all ree mains of them which could betraced through several other parts of Greece, have heen measured and delineated, with the most scrupulous exactness, by the second architect, Ittar, And picturesque views of Athens, of Constantinople, of various parts of Greece, and of the Islands of the Archipe- Jago, have been executed by don Tita Lusieri. In the prosecution of this undertaking, the artists had the se Ht of witnessing the very wilful devastation, to which all the sculpture, and even the architecture, were daily exposed, on the part of the Turks and'trayellers. The Vol. 38. No, 161, Sept, 1811, 0 Tonig 210 ---" Memorandum on the Subject of Tonic Temple, on the Ilyssus, which, in Stuart’s time, (about the vear 1759,) was in tolerable preservation, had so completely disappeared, that its foundation can no longer be ascertained. Another temple, near Olympia, had shared a similar fate, within the recollection of man. The Tem- ple of Minerva had ‘been converted into a powder muga- - zine, and been completely destroyed, from a shell failing upon it, during the bombardment of Athens by the Vene- tians towards the end of the seventeenth century ; and even this accident had not deterred the Turks from applying the beautiful Temple of Neptune and Erechtheus to the same - use, whereby itis constantly exposed to a similar fate. Many of the statues on the posticum of the Temple of Mi- - nerva, (Parthenon,) which had been thrown down by the’ explosion, had been absolutely pounded for mortar, because they furnished the whitest marble within reach ; and the parts of the modern fortification, and the miserable houses where this mortar was’ so applied, were discovered. Besides, it is well known that the Turks will frequently climb up the ruined walls, and amuse themselves in defacing any sculp- ture they can reach; or in breaking columns, statues, or other remains of antiquity, in the fond expectation of find- ing within them some hidden treasures. Under these circumstances, lord Elgin felt himself im- pelled, by a stronger motive than personal gratification, to endeavour to preserve any specimens of sculpture, he could, without injury, rescue from such impending ruin. He had, besides, another inducement, and an example before him, in the conduct of the last French embassy sent to Turkey before the revolution. French artists did then remove se- veral of the sculptured ornaments from several edifices in the Acropolis, and particularly from the Parthenon. In lowering one of the metopes, the tackle failed, and it was dashed to pieces ; but other objects from the same temple were conveyed to France, where they are held in the very highest estimation, and some of them occupy conspicuous places in the gallery of the Louvre*, And the same agents were remaining at Athens during lord Elgin’s embassy, waiting only the return of French influence at the Porte to renew their operations. Actuated by these inducements, lord Elgin made use of all his means, and ultimately with * Vide Diciionnaire des Beaux Arts, par A. L. Millin, 1806, article Par- thenon; and the Memoir, on the subject ofa fragment of the frize of that temple, brought by M, be Choiseul Gouffier from Athens, and constituted national property during the French revoluuon. ‘The Memoir is published in M, Millin’s Monumens Antiques inédits. k such the Earl of Elgin’s Pursuits in Greece. 21 Such success, that he has brought to England from the ruined temples at Athens, from the modern walls and forti- fications, in which many fragments had been used as so many blocks of stone, and from excavations made on purpose, a _ greater quantity of original Athenian sculpture, in statues, alti and bassi relievi, capitals, cornices, frizes, and columns, than exists in any other part of Europe. Lord Elgin is in possession of several of the original me topes from the Temple of Minerva. These represent the battles between the Centaurs and Lapitbe, at the nuptials of Pirithous. Each-metope contains two figures, grouped in various attitudes; sometimes the*Lapithe victorious, sometimes the Centaurs. The figure of one of the Lapithe, who is lying dead and trampled on by a Centaur, is one of the finest productions of the art; as well as the group adjoining to it, of Hippodamia, the bride, carried off by the Centaur Eurytion ; the furious style of whose galloping, in order to secure his prize, and his shrinking from the spear that has been hurled after him, are expressed with prodi- gious animation. They are all in such high relief, as to seem groupes of statues; and they are in general finished with as much attention behind as before. They were ori- ginally continued round the entablature of the Parthenon, and formed ninety-two groupes. The zeal of the early Christians, the barbarism of the Turks, and the explosions which took place when the temple was used as a gun-pow- der magazine, have demolished a very large portion of them; so that, with the exception of those preserved by lord Elgin, it is in general difficult to trace even the out- line of the original subject. , ; The frize, which was carried along the top of the walls of the cell, offered a continuation of sculptures in low re- lief, and of the most interesting kind. This frize, being unbroken by triglyphs, had presented much more unity of subject than the detached and insulated groupes on the me- topes of the peristyle. It represented the whole of the solemn procession to the Temple of Minerva during the Panathenaic festival: many of the figures are on horseback ; others are’ about to mount: some are in chariots; others on foot : oxen, and other victims, are leading to sacrifice: the nymphs called Canephore, Skiophore, &c. are carrying the sacred offerings in baskets and vases; priests, magistrates, war- riors, &c. &c. forming altogether a series of most interests ing figures, in great variety of costume, armour, and atti+ tude. Some antiquaries, who have examined this frize with minute attention, seem to think it contained por- O2 traits g12 Memorandum on the Subject of - traits of many of the Jeading characters at Athens, during the Peloponnesian war, particularly of Pericles, Phidias, Socrates, Alcibiades, &c. The whole frize, which origi- nally was six hundred feet in length, is, like the temple it- self, of Pentelic marble, from the quarries in the neigh- bourhood of Athens. The tympanum over each of the porticoes of the Parthe- non was adorned with statues. That over the grand en- trance of the temple from the west contained the mytholo- gical history of Minerva’s birth from the brain of Jove. In the centre of the groupe was seated Jupiter, in all the ma- jesty of the sovercign of the gods. On his left were the principal divinities of Olympus; among whom Vulcan came prominently forward, with the axe in his hand which had cleft a passage for the goddess. On the right was Victory, in loose floating robes, holding the horses of the chariot which introduced the new divinity to Olympus. One of the bombs fired by Morosini, the Venetian, from the oppo- site hill of the Museum, injured many of the figures in this tympanum; and the attempt of general Koenigsmark, in 1687, to take down the figure of Minerva, ruined the whole. By purchasing the house of one of the Turkish janizaries, built immediately under and against the columns of the portico, and by demolishing it in order to excavate, lord El- gin has had the satisfaction of recovering the greatest part of the statue of Victory, in a drapery which discovers the fine form of the figure with exquisite delicacy and taste. Lord Elgin also found there the torsi of Jupiter and Vulcan, the breast of the Minerva, together with other fragments. On the opposite tympanum had been represented the cons test between Minerva and Neptune for the honour of giving a name.to the city. One or two of the figures remained on this tympanum, and others were on the top of the wall, thrown back by the explosion which destroyed the temple, but the far greater part had fallen ; and a house being built immediately below the space they had occupied, lord Elgin, encouraged by the success of his former excavations, ob- tained leave, after much difficulty, to pull down this house also, and continue his researches. But no fragments were here discovered: and the Turk, who had been induced, though most reluctantly, to give up his house to be demo- lished, then exultingly pointed out the places in the modern ° fortification, and in his own buildings, where the cement employed had been formed from the very statues which lord Elgin had been in hopes of finding. And it was afterwards ascertained, on incontrovertible evidence, that these. states ha the Earl of Elgin’s Pursuits in Greece. 213 had been reduced to powder, and soused. Then, and then only, did lord Elgin employ means to rescue what still re- mained from a similar fate. Among these objects is a horse’s head, which far surpasses any thing of the kind, both in the truth and spirit of the execution. The nostrils are dis- tended, the ears erect; the veins swollen, one might al- must say throbbing: his mouth is open, and he seems to neigh with the conscious pride of belonging to the Ruler of the Waves. Besides this inimitable head, lord Elgin has procured, from the same pediment, two colossal groupes, each consisting of two female figures. They are formed of single massive blocks of Pentelic marble: their attitude’ are most graceful ; and the lightness and elegance of the dra- pery exquisite. From the same pediment has also been procured a male statue, in a reclining posture, supposed to represent Neptune; and, above all, the figure denomi- nated the Theseus, which is universally admitted to be su- perior to any piece of statuary ever brought into England. Each of these statues is worked with such care, and the finishing even carried so far, that every part, and the very plinth itself in which they rest, are equally polished on every side. From the opisthodomos of the Parthenon, lord Elgin also procured some valuable inscriptions, written in the manner called Kionedon or columnar, next in antiquity to the Boustrophedon. ‘The greastest care is taken to preserve an equal number of letters in each line; even monosyllables are separated occasionally into two parts, if the line has had its complement, and the next line then begins with the end of the broken word. The letters range perpendicularly, as well as horizontally, so as to render.it almost impossible to make any interpolation or erasure of the original text. The subjects of these monuments are public decrees of the peo- ple; accounts of the riches contained in the treasury, and delivered by the administrators to their successors in office ; enumerations of the statues; the silver, gold, and precious stones, deposited in the temples; estimates for the public works, &c. The Parthenon itself, independently of its decorative sculpture, is so chaste and perfect a model of Doric archi- tecture, that Jord Elgin conceived it to be of the highest importance to the arts, to secure original specimens of each member of that edifice. These consist of a capital ; assizes of the columns themselves, to show the exact form of the curve used in channelling; a triglyph, and motules from the cornice, and even some of the marble tiles with which ot ee the 214 The Earl of Elgin’s Pursuits in Greece. the ambulatory was roofed: so thal, not only the sculptor may be gratified by studying every specimen of his art, from the colossal statue to the basso-relievo’>, executed in the golden age of Pericles, by Phidias himself, or under his immediate direction ; but the practical architect may exa- mine into every detail of the building, even to the mode of uniting the tambours of the columns, without the aid of mortar, so as to give to the shafts the appearance of single blocks. Equal attention has been paid to the Temple of Theseus ; but as the walls, and columns, and sculpture of this monu- ment are in their original position, no part of the sculpture has been displaced, nor the minutest fragment of any kind separated from the building. The metopes in mezzo-re- lievo, containing a mixture of the Labours of Hercules and” Theseus, have been modelled and drawn, as well as the frize representing the battle between the Centaurs and La- pithe, some incidents of the battle of Marathon, and some mythological subjects. The temple itself is very inferior in size and decorative sculpture to the Parthenon; having been built by Cimon, the son of Miltiades, before Pericles had given to his countrymen a taste for such magnificence and expense, as he displayed on the edifices of the Acro- polis. The original approach to the Acropolis, from the plain of Athens, was by a long flight of steps, commencing near the foot of the Areopagus, and terminating at the Propylaa, The Propylaa was a hexastyle colonnade, with two wings, and surmounted by a pediment. Whether the metopes and tympanum were adorned with sculpture, cannot now be ascertained; as the pediment and entablature have been destroyed, and the intercolummniations built up with rubbish, in order to raise a battery of cannon on the top. Although the plan of this edifice contain some deviations from the pure taste that reigns in the other structures of the Acro- polis, yet each meimber is so pertect in the details of its execution, that lord Elgin was at great pains to obtain a Doric and an Tonic capital from its ruins. On the right band of the Propyl@a, was a temple dedicated to Victory without wings; an epithet to which many explanations have been given. This temple was built trom the sale of the spoils won in the glorious struggles for freedom at Marathon, Salamis, and Platzea. On its frize were sculp- tured many incidents of these memorable battles; in a style that has been thought by no means inferior to the metopes of the Parthenon. The only fragments of it that had tes A j the Report. of the National Vaccine Establishment: 215, the ravages of barbarians, were built into the wall of a gun-, powder mayazine near it, and the finest block was inserted , upside downwards. It required the whole of lord Elgin’s influence at the Porte, very great sacrifices, and much per- severance, to remove them; but he at length succeeded. They represent the Athenians in close combat with the Persians, and the sculptor has marked the different dresses and armour. of the various forces serving under the great king. The long garments and. zones of the Persians bad induced former travellers, from the hasty and imperfect view they had of them, to suppose the subject was the battle between Theseus and the Amazons, who invaded Attica, under the command of Antiope;.but the Persian tiaras, the Phrygian bonnets, and many other particulars, prove them to be mistaken. The spirit with which the groupes of combatants are pourtrayed, is wonderful ;—one remarks, in particular, the contest of four warriors to rescue the dead body of one of their comrades, which is expressed with un- common animation. These bas-reliefs, and some of the. most valuable sculpture, especially the representation of a marriage, taken from the parapet of the modern fortifica- tion, were embarked in the Mentor, a vessel belonging to lord Elgin, which was unfortunately wrecked off the island. of Cerigo: but Mr. Hamilton, who was at the time on board, and most providentially saved, immediately directed his whole energies to discover some means of rescuing so.” valuable a cargo; and, in the course of several months de- voted to that endeavour, he succeeded in procuring some. very expert divers from the islands of Syme and Calymno, near Rhodes; who were able, .with immense labour and perseverance, to extricate a few of the cases from the hold of the ship, while she lay in twelve fathoms water. « It was impossible to recover the remainder, before the storms of two winters had effectually destroyed the timbers of the: vessel, {To be continued. ] Z XL. Report of the National Vaccine Establishment. [Continued from p. 158.) I. Case of the Rev, Joshua Rowley. The rev. Joshua Rowley, brother to sir W. Rowley, when, an infant, was inoculated by the late Mr. Adair, 1770; the scar left by the inoculation is perfectly visible ; his mothery. O4 the “G16 Report of the National Vaccine Establishment. the dowager lady Rowley, remembers perfectly his having 4 tolerable sprinkling of small-pox, and says, he was after- wards repeatedly exposed to variolous infection in the nur- sery, when his three younger brothers were successively in- oculated, all of whom had some degree of eruption ; and since that time, frequently, in performing the clerical duties of his profession. . On Wednesday the 5th of June, he felt much indisposed, éomplained of pain in his head and back, attended with considerable restlessness and prostration of strength: on Friday the 7th, an eruption appeared chiefly on his face and breast ; he was attended by Mr. Woodman, of Bognor, only, till the Monday following, when Mr, Guy, surgeon, of Chi- chester was first consulted. On examining the eruption, Mr. Guy was immediately struck with its resemblance to the small-pox ; and on gently hinting his suspicion to Mr. Rowley, received the information above related. On the following day the progress of the eruption towards matura- tion, and thé swelling of the face, which is characteristic of the small-pox, left no doubt of the nature of the malady. The eruption was perfectly distinct ; it was very full all over the trunk and body, and there were about two hundred pus- tules on the face. Mr. Guy is of opinion, that this was a clearly marked case of small-pox. é' The history of the previous variolous inoculation in 1770 wds procured from the dowager lady Rowley by Mr. Dun- das, sergeant surgeon to his majesty; and the account of the present case was transinitted to the director of vaccina- tion of this establishment, on the application of the Board, by Mr. Guy, an eminent surgeon of Chichester. ' II. Case of Miss Sarah Booth, of Covent Garden Theatre, _ Dr. Bree was called to visit miss S. Booth, on Monday, June 25th. She was said to be ill with the small-pox ; and the following circumstances were reported by the mother and sisters. Miss Booth is_18 years of age; she had been inoculated for the small-pox at five years of age, and had been affected with the usual degree of fever; the arm had been violently inflamed, and an eruption of small-pox pustules had ap- ae round the inoculated part, from which matter had een taken by Mr. Kennedy, the surgeon who attended her. Mr. Kennedy expressed himself satisfied that miss S. Booth had passed regularly through the disease. | The usual scar of small-pox inoculation is perfectly evi- dent on the arm. : On Report of the National Vaccine Establishment. 917 On Thursday, June 20th, miss Booth was seized with fever, distinguished by vomiting, violent head-ache, pains in the back and loins, . The symptoms continued till Saturday, June 29d, in the evening of which day some pustules came out on the fore- head and scalp. Sunday, June 23d, a more complete eruption appeared on the face and neck, and she was relieved from the violence of the fever. The vomiting however continued, the throat became very sore, and a salivation began. Monday, June 24. The eruption extended itself on the body, the fever was still more abated, but the salivation, soreness of the throat, and vomiting, were urgent symptoms. Tuesday, June 25th, the fourth day of the eruption. The salivation and retching continued, with soreness of throat. Wednesday, June 26th, fifth day of the eruption. Pus- tules were noticed on the lower extremities, those on the face advance, and the eyes are swelled; the number of the pustules on the head and face is about two dozen. Thursday, June 27th, sixth day of the eruption. The pustules on the face begin to turn. She still suffers from sore throat and salivation. This evening, contrary to ad- vice, she went to her business at the theatre. Friday, June 28th, seventh day of the eruption. The pustules. on the face are turned, those on the lower ex- tremities are few in number, but well filled, and not yet changed. Saturday, June 29th, eighth day of the eruption. She only complains of sickness, After this day the pustules turned and dried on the lower extremities, and no complaint remained. This case appeared to have been a very mild case of di- stinct small-pox. Eouneniaue This case was visited by the greater number of memberg of the Board, and also by the director, and was attended by Mr. Hewson, of James-street, Covent Garden, who en-. tertains no doubt of this having been a ¢ase of distinct small- pox. III. Case of John Godwin. Mrs. Godwin, No, 6, Stratton-street, Piccadilly, states, that she was brought to bed of this son in October, 1800 ; that six weeks after he was born, the small-pox prevailed very much in her neighbourhood, and one child died of it in 218 Report of the Nutional Vaccine Establishment. in the house in which she lived. About this time her son was attacked with very violent fever, succeeded by a copious, eruption all over the face and body, which was declared by Mr. Smith, an apothecary. who attended him, to be the small-pox, and which was teu or twelve days before it com-. pletely scabbed and dried off. Some time after this, a brother of her husband, a medical man, who had not seen the child during its illness, inocu- lated him for the small-pox, in order to insure his complete security; a small pimple on the part was only formed, which soon disappeared, and no fever or eruption ensued. About six weeks ago, this boy, now eleven years old, was, attacked with fever, followed with an eruption, which broke out on the face, body, and limbs, exhibiting the ordinary appearance of small-pox, and which turned on the eighth, day. “Mr. Kerrison, of New Burlington-street, who attended ? BE Pe this boy, states, that the eruption exhibited the exact ap-, Y> ? P steers P pearance, aud passed through all the stages of distinct small-_ pox. He also from this boy inoculated a child who had fever at the usual time, followed by a slight variolous erup- tion. > The history of the former disease was procured from Mrs. Godwin, and the history of the second attack of small-pox from Mr. Kerrison, by Mr. Moore, director of vaccination at this establishment. ; IV. Case of Peter Sylvester, No. 10, Cross Street, Carnaby Market. This boy’s parents are both dead. He was born on June. 7th, 1798, and on the 2Ist of February following was ino- culated for the small pox by Mr. Ring, of New-street, sur- geon. Mr. Ring showed the director of vaccination at this establishment, his account book of that period, in which there is a charge regularly entered for inoculating this boy for the small-pox. The cicatrix on his arm is still. conspicuous, and six or, seven small-pox pits, occasioned by the former eruption, have marked bis face, On the 24th of June last, this boy was taken ill with fe-. ver; on the 27th an eruption on the skin took place. Mr. Moore, the director, saw him on the 30th: the spots on the skin were very numerous, but distinet, and the skin round their bases was inflamed; many. had formed within the, mouth and throat. July Ist, the eruption has now assumed the appearance. . of Report of the National Vaccine Establishment. 219 of genuine small-pox, the pustules are augmenting, and the face is beginning to swell, . 2d. The pustules are larger, and the face much swelled. 3d. The pustules on the face are at the height, and the eyes are nearly closed. 4th. The pustules on the face have all begun to turn; all fever is gone. This case is drawn up from the notes of Mr. Moore. The case was visited by several members of the Board, and by many other medical genilemen of the highest respectability. From the period at which the violent opposition to small- pox inoculation subsided, till the establishment of vaccina- tion, no reasonable parent has refused to allow his children the benefit of inoculation, although it bas been generally acknowledged that the inoculation of the small-pox some- times produces a fatal disease; and if at that time the in- stances in which the natural small-pox had occurred after inoculation, had been communicated to the public, every intelligent man would undoubtedly have still continued the same course, from a desire of affording his children the best chance of safety, although his confidence in the absolute security from natural small-pox must have been in some degree abated. : In the same manner, no effect injurious to vaccination ought to result from the knowledge of the above failures. Parents always had been apprised that there were occasional failures of vaccination, but they were always aware that none of their children would die of vaccine inoculation; and that when it failed, the succeeding small-pox was almost always much mitigated and disarmed of half its terrors. It was natural therefore, that they should choose vaccination as the less dangerous disorder, and the same reason still exists for their perseverance in that choice. If there be constitutions, which are twice susceptible of small-pox, a disorder which produces a violent action upon the human frame, and often destroys life, it is natural to expect that yaccination should not in every instance prevent the small- _ pox, and that the anomaly which occurs in the one disease should likewise take place in the other. It is ever to be kept in yiew, that the number of deaths from inoculated small-pox, exceeds the number of failures of vaccination. It appears from the present state of our information, that one person in three hundred dies from the inoculated small- pox, and that there is perhaps one failure in a thousand after vaccination. An individual, who; under such cir- cumstances, should prefer the inoculation of his children for the small-pox, to submitting them to vaccination, would be 950 Report of the National Vaccine Establishment. be guilty of an improvidence similar to that of a parent who should choose for his son a military service, in which there was one chance in three hundred of being killed, in preference to a station, where there was only one chance in a thousand of being slightly wounded, The Board are of opinion, that vaccination still rests upon the basis on which it was_ placed by the Reports of the se- veral Colleges of Physicians and Surgeons of the United Kiugdom, which were laid before Parliament in the year 1807. ‘That the general advantages of vaccination are not discredited by the instances of failure which have recently occurred, the proportion of failures still remaining less in number than the deaths which take place from the inocu- Jated small-pox. They are led by their information to be- lieve, that since this practice has been fully established, no death has in any instance occurred from small-pox after vaccination.—That in most of the cases jn which vaccina- tion has failed, the small-pox has been a disease remarka- bly mild, and of unusually short duration; and they are further of opinion, that the severity of the symptoms with which Mr. Grosvenor was affected, forms an exception to a general rule. That absolute security from the natural small-pox is not even to be attained by small-pox inoculation, is sufficiently evident from the annexed cases ; and the Board are enabled to state, that they have been made acquainted with instances of individuals who have twice undergone the natural small- Ox. - : Under all these circumstances, the Board feel justified in still recommending and promoting vaccination, and in de- élaring their unabated confidence in this practice. Since in some peculiar frames of constitution the repetition of small-pox is neither prevented by inoculation nor casual - jnfection, the Board are of opinion, that in such peculiar constitutions the occurrence of small-pox after vaccination may be reasonably expected, and perhaps in a greater pro- portion; but with this admission, they do not hesitate to ymaintain, that the proportionate advantages of vaccination to individuals and the public, are infinitely greater than those of small-pox inoculation. i, They are anxious, that the existence of certain peculiarities of the human frame, by which some individuals are ren- dered by nature more or less susceptible of eruptive fevers, and of the recurrence of such disorders, should be publicly known; for they feel confident, that a due consideration of these circumstancés, and a just feeling of the welfare of the *+ community, Observations on Fermentation. 204 community, will induce the public to prefer a mild disease like vaccination, which where it fails of superseding the. small-pox, yet mitigates its violence, and prevents its fatal consequences, to one whose effects are frequently violent; to one which often occasions deformity and blindness ; and, when it is contracted by casual infection, has been sup- posed to destroy one in six in all that it attacks. And it must not be forgotten, that in a public view this constitutes the great objection to inoculation of the small-pox, that by its contagion it disseminates death throughout the empire, whilst vaccination, whatever be the comparative security which it affords to individuals, occasions no subsequent disorder, and has never, by the most violent of its opposers, been charged with producing an epidemical sickness. By Order of the Board, July 18, 1811. Jas. Hervey, Register: XLI. Observations on the Article ‘* Fermentation,” con- tained in M. Cuaprat’s Nouveau Cours complet d’ Agri- culture. By M.Doronrat, M. D. Professor of Physic and Chemistry in the Academy of Montpellier, Gc.* r ie equilibrium in the composition of vegetable sub- stances is speedily destroyed when their life escapes from them. These substances very soon undergo a change in their appearance, the principles which compose them react- ing upon each other ; they are arranged in a new order, and in new proportions, whence result products very different from those substances which gave rise to their production. These products vary according to the nature of the sub- stances, and according to the various circumstances which accompany their change. Thus, vegetable substances which are decomposed in some peculiar circumstances, undergo a spontaneous alteration which is called fermentation, of which the product-is bread, an intoxicating liquor, or vine- gar, according to the matter subjected to fermentation ; while recent herbaceous plants, which putrefy, give rise to the formation of mould. These are the facts pointed out by M. Chaptal in the work I am now to analyse. Examining first the fermen- tation of vegetables of a fleshy and juicy texture, when collected into a large heap, he details the conditions, the phenomena, and the result of the process. He afterwards | considers the operation in each of the separate parts of ° © Annales de Chimie, 1810. i which 92 Observations on Fermentation. which vegetables consist ; he confines himself to the three kinds of fermentation, called the pannary, the vinous, and the acetous. We shall follow the author in his develop- ment, and make some observations on the most interesting of his facts. ist. Of the Pannary Fermentation. The making of bread, the food of almost all Europeans, is a domestic chemical operation, since in it those sub- stances which are the most essential to ‘the sustenance of man undergo a change in their nature. These substances are found united in the meal of the farinaceous seeds, es- pecially in those of wheat, which furnishes the best bread. M. Chaptal has found this latter farina to consist of starch, eluten, mucilage, and sugar. We may add to them the ferment, the vegetable albumen, calcareous phosphate, &c. which must be reckoned in the number of materials which compose it. What share has each of these principles in carrying on the pannary fermentation ? It is generally be- hieved that the farina being reduced into a paste, the mu- cous saccharine principle undergoes the vinous fermenta- tion, that the starch has a tendency to become acid, and that the gluten and albumen enter into putrefaction. I cannot entirely accord with this doctrine. It appears to me to be more correct, to suppose that the ferment, after having converted the sugar of the farina into carbonic acid gas, and into alcohol, changes this into acetic acid; that at the same time the gluten and the albumen are in part de- composed, acctic acid is again produced, some ammonia, and more carbonic acid gas, &c.; and that, the starch uniting with the undecomposed gluten, there results a compound, the further alteration of which is prevented by the action of fire, which-combines sull more intimately these principles. This theory of the pannary fermentation seems to me to be supported by the following facts. Ist. Those faring which are deprived of the fermenting principle, or those which scarcely coniain any of it, al- ways afford heavy bread, although the muco-saccharine principle forms a part of them ; for this substance not be- ing a fermentable principle, it cannot ferment of itself, although it does so by means of a ferment. Thus, it is customary to add to the dough a leaven, taken from bread already fermented, or the yeast of beer, as is the practice in Paris. - 2. Dough is always acid, notwithstanding that the bapa tile , ~ ‘Observations on Fermentation. 993 tile alkali formed in the operation neutralizes one part of othe acetic acid, as is proved by the ammoniacal odour of dough treated by potass. Bread itself always contains a little of this acid, which heightens the flavonr of it. _ 3. The starch, the undecomposed gluten, and the other materials of the dough, are so intimately united by the bak- ing, that itis no longer possible to separate them. Wecan discover by the distillation of bread an animal matter, for it forms ammoniacal acetate ; but a less quantity of this is obtained from it than of farina, according to the observa- tions of M. Vauquelin. 4. The formation of carbonic acid gas is rendtred evident by the volume which the dough acquires, and by the nume- rous cavities which are seen in it. This gas escaping while the bread is baking, dilates the mass still more, which causes the air to lodge in those cavities ; an important cir- cumstance,—whence results, say they, the remarkable white- ness of bread, full of little holes, so light, delicate and sapid, in comparison with the bread destitute of them, which is heavy, compact, and of a disagreeable taste. it is therefore more particularly the ferment which has the most active share in producing pannification. Added to dough in small quantity, the operation is slow and in- complete ; in too large proportion, the fermentation goes on so rapidly that it becomes necessary to check it. In this last case M. Chaptal proposes to knead some. carho- nate of potass with the dough, which will neutralise the excess of acetic acid. Our good housewives content them- selves with uncovering the dough, dividing it, and expos- ing it to the air, in order to diminish the temperature of the fermenting mass; and this management sometimes succeeds. 2. Of the Vinous Fermentation. This operation can only take place when sugar, water, and a ferment are mixed together. Sugar is the matter of fermentation ; the ferment is the agent of it; the presence of water is a necessary condition, as well as a certain de- gree of temperature. It is because these three substances exist in a state of union in the saccharine juices, that these are capable of the vinous fermentation. W hat are the chemical changes which substances snb- jected to the vinous fermentation undergo ? If one consi- ders the composition of these substances, and that of the products of the operation, it will be easy to conceive with M. Thenard, that in it the ferment takes away from the sugar 504 Observations on Fermentation. sugar a small quantity of oxygen, whereby it becomes & substance sui generis, whose principles not being able to remain in their present arrangement, react upon each other, combine in a new and different order, producing alcohol dissolved in water, and more carbonic acid gas; the fer- ment which caused these phenomena is itself altered in part, and precipitated ; while the water only serves to bring the molecules into contact, and to retain the alcohol. The methods in use for subjecting different substances to the vinous fermentation, may, according to M. Chaptal, be reduced to two; decoction and expression. The first is practised by means of water in the fermentation of the fa- rinaceous grains, in making beer ; the second is employed in fermentation of juices which afford the different sorts of wine. The details furnished by the author on the prepara- tion of beer being borrowed from Thomson, I shall not notice them, especially as I have a great number of facts to relate on the art of making wine, On the vinous Fermentation of the Juice of the Grape. The sugar and the ferment existing isolated in the grape, it becomes necessary to press this fruit to obtain from it the juice called must, in which these two vegetable principles are mixed together. This must speedily ferments at the temperature of 12° of Reaumur*. M. Chaptal says it is necessary to fijl the vat all at once, in order to avoid the suc- cessive fermentations that take place when the must is put in at various times, as this circumstance renders the wine of a bad quality. This may be the case indeed in countries to the north, where the grapes being very watery, and but little sweet, cannot support any derangement in the fermentation ; but in these southern climates this phenomenon seldom shows itself. It must necessarily require many days to fill a vat which contains 50 muids, and yet, however, the wine is very excellent which is made in this enormously large vessel. Before the must is put into the vat, this latter ought to be cleaned with the greatest care; then the liquor is to be lett to ferment in it. According to M. Chaptal, the vinous fermentation is influenced by a variety of circumstances, into which I am successively to inquire. 1. Of the Influence of Temperature on Vinous Fermentation, Twelve degrees of Reaumur’s thermometer appears to be *, About 60 of Fahrenheit. the Oliservations on Fermentation. 295 the most suitable temperature for the vinous fermentation. Below this degree it languishes; above it, it becomes tumul- tuous. But it is not the temperature of the place only, where the fermentation is going on, which influences it; the Abbé Rozier has proved that the temperature of the grapes, at the time of the vintage, has a considerable effect upon it, that the fermentation is always slow in proportion to the low temperature of the grapes when they are gathered. This phanomenon was observed last year at Montpellier. The vintage did not commence till the latter end of October, and the weather was cool; the must fermented badly in the vat, and the wine produced from it was not so strong; it appeared more tart than usual when it was tunned. This wine did not part with its bad qualities until it had under- gone a new fermentation in the vessel, which continued some months. One very singular circumstance, and which has been shown by M. Chaptal, is, the difficulty of-restoring the temperature of must, when it is very low, so as to make the: fermentation go on in aregular manner. ‘* I diluted,” says the author, ** some extract of the must of grapes, with wa- ter at four degrees above the freezing point. I added some yeast of beer to accelerate the fermentation. The fermen- tation took place in a short time, when the temperature was elevated to 16 degrees, but it very soon diminished. A like quantity of extract diluted, and heated to the tem- perature of 16 degrees, for two days before the yeast was added to it, underwent a very regular and complete fermen- tation.” 2. On the Influence of Air on the Vinous Fermentation. In order that fermentation may take place, and go through its stages in a steady and regular manner, it is ne- cessary that there be a free communication between the fermenting mass and the air. Should we not conclude from this fact, that the air enters as a principle into the product of this operation, or as an element of decomposi- tion ? The experiments of M. Chaptal contradict this con- clusion, for he has never seen the air absorbed in the vi- nous fermentation. Its influence is confined to the facilt- tating the disengagement of the carbonic acid gas produced, the presence of which would check and even stop the fer- mentation. The free contact of air, although so,useful in this respect, has, however, one disadvantage, that it occa- sions a cunsiderable loss of aroma and alcohol. Thus it is well known that wine fermented in vessels nearly close, is Vol. 38. No. 161. Sept. 1811. r often 226 Observations of the Appearance of the Comet. ofien the most generous and of the most agreéable flavour. It is to secure these advantages, without totally interrupting the communication with the air, that M. Chaptal advises to cover the vat with boards upon which is suspended a co- vering of old linen cloths ;—an excellent method, and easily put in practice, as the cost of it is so trifling. The loss of alcohol in the vinous fermentation is proved by the experiments of Dom Gentil, and by the happy ap- ' plication of them by M. Chaptal, in his manufactory of vinegar. It is also proved, probably, by the two following facts. Some white grapes found whole, by M. Coste, at the top of the vat in the time of tunning, tasted precisely like grapes preserved in brandy. I also saw some grapes, under similar circumstances, entirely coated with small crystals of acidulated tartrite of potass. Do not these two phenomena show that the grapes had absorbed a portion of the alcohol which escaped during fermentation, and were thereby deprived of a certain quantity of their water of vegetation? I have no hesitation in thinking so. [To becontinyed.] XLII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. THE COMET. Ol servations of the Appearance of the Comet. By W. CRANE, Esq. of Boston, Lincolnshire. Tue brilliant appearance which the comet now makes in the north, having excited the attention not only of the stu- dents in astronomy, but also that of the public at large, I hope it will direct many to the pursuit of that beautiful and interesting science ; for, in this country, it must be observed with regret that it has not been of late cultivated with the ardour its importance demands. The following observations on the comet have been taken, at eight o’clock in the evening, according to the dates be- low: From the circumstance of my being, at present, in a town where I cannot have access to astronomical instruments, I am under the necessity of using a quadrant of my own construction: it is made of well dried mahogany, and its radius is 143 inches, which gives nearly 3-10ths of an inch for a degree. I therefore flatter myself they are not very erroneous. Its situation respecting the right ascension and declination, being taken from Senex’s 18-inch Sg am : globe, Observations of the Appearance of the Comet. 227 globe, can only be regarded as an approximation; but as these have been done with great care, they will, itis hoped, be found sufficiently correct to delineate its apparent path im the heavens. Sept.7, 1811, eight o’clock in the evening, Boston, Lin- olnshire, lat. 53° 1’ N. long. 0° 5’ E. : From the star 6 in Ursa Major 14° 0’. Ditto star y 15° 15’. -Right ascension 160° 20’. Declination 42° 30’. Sept. 8,—From the star 6B 13° 30’. Ditto star y 15° 0’. Right ascension 161° 30’. Declination 49° 45’. Sept. 9.—From the star 6 13° 15’. Ditto star y 14° 30’. Right ascension 162° 0’.. Declination 42° 50’, On the Sth and 9th the star w was seen through the tail. Sept. 10.—From the star 8 13° 0’. Ditto star y 13° 15’. Right ascension 163° 30’. Declination 43° 15’. _ Sept. 11.—From the star y 12? 45’. Ditto star x in the same constellation 8° 0’. Right ascension 164° 50°. De- clination 43° 40’. A line drawn from Cor Caroli to the star a in the foot of Ursa Major passed through the comet; also one drawn from the star y, in the same constellation, to the star 9 in Draco, very nearly. Sept. 12.—A cloudy night. Sept. 13.—From the star y 12° 0’. Ditto star y 6° 0’. Right ascension 166°40°. Declination 43? 60’. A line drawn from Cor Caroli to w in Ursa Major, and one drawn from ¢ through ¥, in the same constellation, assed through the comet. From the above it appears that the comet will pass through- the neck of Asterion, about 5° below the star 7 in Ursa Major, which I have endeayoured to show in the diagram ; that it also passed the ecliptic about 25° of Cancer. In asmall table of comets which have been observed, I find this account of those which passed through Cancer in theit perihelion. Cancer. EO VR ete 6 bo Ghee Bo 9° oO” I9S@r G6 uae a aeRO. SO MGOVE. ots VG hs... 25 580 L7SG EE.» wlels oes ceiuwetkheesice LZ SB LAD ATER siete alate iste tee eid AQ ALAS WAGE Pe Be Ley .G. Ee at S7OZG yy, a. ul. (Le ie Ge BSED Pe2 URSA 228 Longitude and Latitude of the Comet. URSA MAJOR. t* 4* e* o* Oo, a™ es aj ; e. p* : Oe V% oe, %* = ¢ . e* QO ®P* a oes o oF - * . w - w* ° “ *o* a* tick : a* p* * These are taken by supposing a line to be drawn from the comet to a point directly under the star. ; To Mr. Tilloch.—Sir, You will find annexed (see Plate V.) asketch of the situation of the comet, as it appeared to the eve on the 14th of September 1811, at about 8 P. M. The comet’s place is laid down from the actual distances measured by an exceedingly good sextant made by Messrs. W. and S. Jones; the distances set down are the mean of three observations to each distance, and can be depended on to within a few seconds. They are as follows: viz. st of 7” mean time comet at Alioth = 18° 46’ 48” 8 3 22 do.........do, at Dubhe =! 191/91 40 . I am, &c. 6: (BLEEP. * London, Sept. 16, 18:1. ——f Longitude and Latitude of the Comet deduced from the Ob- servations made at the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. Sept.1811|Mean Time.|. Longitude. | Latitude. h 5 8» Oo | 4595° 3/10” 28° 36’ 39” 6 8 O | 4 25 36 12 | 29 23 26 7 <0 4.96/70! . 5. )-30%10" 713 8 8 .0.,|.4 9647 19.|. 30052 38 * 9 0°) oF o3..°7. | sits 10 8 0 |4 28 2 53 |.32 80 43 il 8 0 | 4 28 42 47 |.33 20 48 12 8 0 | 4 29 25 35 | 349 31 Sus (80S 10 21 |-34 57 2 14 8 Oteis 8? OF le 8 0} 5 tio -OO6 qn “i tS & iS?) is) iss) wo _— on 32 7 | 37 37 49 ACCOUNT Account of a new Volcanic Island. 229 ACCOUNT OF A NEW VOLCANIC ISLAND, Extract of'a Letter from a Gentleman on board His Majesty’s Ship Agincourt, | to his Friend in Arbroath, dated River Tagus, August 4, 1811. *¢ Not having it in my power to inform you of the pro- gress of the arts in this quarter of the globe, I embrace the present opportunity of giving you a circumstantial, and, I doubt not, authentic account of the proceedings of nature, which, I presume, you will find not less interesting. His majesty’s sloop Sabrina arrived here lately from a cruize off the Wesiern Isles or Azores, and brought us the follow- ing account. On the 16th of June they observed two co- lumns of white smoke arising from the sea, off the west end of the island of St. Michael’s, which for some time they supposed to be an engagement, and made all sail towards it; but were prevented, by the wind dying away. The smoke continued to ascend with sometimes large flames of fire, and they then concluded that it was a volcano. Next day they were close in with the island of St. Michael’s, and found the volcano situated about two miles west of that island, and still raging in the most awful manner. They learnt from the British consul at St. Michael’s that smoke was. first observed arising from that place on the 14th of June; pre- vious to which there had been several very severe shocks of an earthquake felt at St. Michael’s, so that the destruction of the whole tsland was much feared; but they ceased as soon as the volcano broke out. On the 18th the Sabrina Went as near the volcano as she could with safety, and found it still raging with unabated violence, throwing up from under the water large stones, cinders, ashes, &c. ac- companied with several severe shocks, About noon on the same day they observed the mouth of the crater just show- ing itself above the surface of the sea, where there were _ formerly 40 fathoms or 240 feet of water. They christened it *Sabrinalsland.’ At three p. M. same day, it was about 30 feet above the surface of the water, and about.a furlong © in length. On the 19th they were within five or six mites of the voleano, and found it about 50 feet in height, and two-thirds of a mile in length; still raging as before, and throwing up large quantities of stones, some of which fell a mile distant from the voleano. The smoke drew up se- veral water-spouts, which spreading im the air, fell in a heavy rain, accompanied with vast quantities of fine black sand, which completely covered the Sabrina’s decks at the distance of three or four miles from the volcano.” On the 20th they went ona cruize, leaving the volcano about 150 feet high, and a pile in length, still raging as formerly, and Ps continuing 230 | Antiquities. continuing to increase in size. On the 4th of July they again visited the volcano, and found it perfectly quiet. They. avent on shore on Sabrina Island (as it is now called), and found it very steep; its height nut less than from 200 to 300 feet. It was with difficulty they were able to reach the top of the island; which they at last effected, in a quar- ter where there was a gentle declivity; but the ground, or rather the ashes, composed of sulphureous matter, dross of iron, &c. was so very hot for their feet, that they were obliged soon to return. They, however, took possession of the island, in the name of his Britannic Majesty, and left an English union-jack flying on it. The circumference 1s now from two to three miles. In the middle is a Jarge basin full of boiling-hot water, from which a stream runs into the sea; and at the distance of 50 yards from the island, the water, although 30 fathoms deep, is too hot for one to hold his hand in. In short, the whole island is but a crater: the cliff on the outside appearing as walls, as steep within as they are without. The basin of boiling water is the mouth, from which the smoke, &c. issued. When the Sabrina left it, several parts of the cliff continued to smoke a little; and it was their opinion that it would soon break out agaia.—I presume you are informed of this strange phenomenon before now: however, as I had the foregoing account from a young gentleman belonging to the Sabrina, who was an eye-witness of what is related, I conceived it likely to contain some particulars of which you have hitherto been uninformed.” ANTIQUITIES. In page 208 of our present Number we have given some interesting particulars respecting lord Elgin’s discaveries in Greece, and the rich treasure of ancient sculptures with which his lordship has enriched this country. We have great pleasure in being able to add, that ac- counts have been received from Mr. C. R. Cockerell, at Athens, of a recent discovery in the island of Algina, highly interesting to the Arts. In excavating the earth to ascertain the Hyperthral in the ancient Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius, in the pursuit of his architectural inquiries, a great number of fragments of Parian marble of the most beautiful sculpture have been raised, the parts of which nearly complete 16 statues, between five and six feet in height, many of them in powerful action, and described as not inferior to the celebrated sculptures of the Elgin col- lection. It is remarkable, that of the travellers of all na- tions who have visited that ¢elebrated Temple for more than a thou- ——— = —— Herculaneum Manuscripts.—Aeérostation. 231 a thousand years past, no one preceding Mr. Cockerell should have dug three feet deep, the whole of the sculp- tures having been found so near the surface. It is confi- dently hoped, that the benefit of this extraordinary disco- very will be secured to this country, by their prompt con veyance on board one of his majesty’s ships of war to a British port.—Indeed we have reason to believe that orders to this effect have already been issued. We are happy to learn that the above is not the only op- portunity which will be afforded to the admirers of ancient architecture. A mission from the Dilettanti Society is on the eve of departing, under the sanction of Government, in a Turkish frigate destined for Smyrna, and commanded by capt. Gibraltar. The object of the mission is to make dili- gent search for antiquities and ancient relics in Asia Minor and the Jonian Isles. A young architect aad draftsman of very-superior talents has generously abandoned a Jucrative office, to aid by his talents the views and objects of this So- ciety. We have no doubt that the result of this mission will gratify every admirer of the arts, and every man of taste, curiosity, and letters. HERCULANEUM MANUSCRIPTS. The unrolling and explanation of the manuscripts found in Herculaneum are pursued with much industry by Messrs. Rosini, Scotti, and Pessette. They have, under the pa- tronage of the Neapolitan government, published lately some fragments of a Latin poem upon the war between Mark Antony and Augustus, and a considerable part of the second book of Epicurus upon Nature: the above gen- tlemen do not despair even yet of finding the whole trea- tise of this author. There has also been committed to the press a moral work of Pisistratus, the celebrated disciple of Epicurus ; likewise some fragments of Colote upon the Lycidas of Plato, and of Caniscus upon Friendship. The enure work of Philodemus upon Rhetoric is at this mo- ment in a state of forwardness. ASCENT OF MR. SADLER’S BALLOON AT HACKNEY. At about seventeen minutes before three, on Monday the 12th of August, Mr. Sadler and captain Paget having taken their seats, a barometer, thermometer, compass, two grap- pling-irons, a telescope, ballast amounting to about 130 Ibs. weight, and refreshment, baving been previously stowed in the car, Mr. Sadler, jun. desired all hands to let go; and immediately afierwards the machine began to ascend in a Pg majestic 232 Aérostation. majestic manner, almost in a perpendicular line, to a height of about 300 yards ; it’then took an easterly direction. At three o’clock, the balloon still continuing to ascend, the aérial travellers observed beneath them what appeared to be two large cisterns of water, but which subsequent ob- servation proved to them were the East India docks. The thermometer now ‘stood at 524, but from some accident which happened to the barometer, no observations on that could be made during the continuance of the voyage. The balloon being quite distended, it became necessary to let out some of the gas; and this was done at intervals till the bal- loon descended. Ballast, however, was thrown out: the ascent of the balloon now became very rapid, and the tra- vellers were soon at an immense height. At ten minutes past three they crossed the Thames at Galeons-reach, and the sound of a piece of ordnance from Woolwich was di- stinctly heard by Mr. Sadler and his companion: they ob- served the smoke, which apparently arose from the earth, Mr. Sadler upon this waved his flag, and another piece of ordnance was discharged, as if to return the compliment as they passed. «The city of London, the bridges, the Thames, and the German Ocean, were then distinguish- able to the aéronauts; and at this period captain Paget drew the cork of & bottle of Madeira, and the health of the prince regent was drunk in a bumper. The prospect, which at this period for the first time presented itself to cap- tain Paget, was beyond the power of description: the capital was at that time pronounced by him to be a small village; nor could he be persuaded to the contrary, till the four bridges, namely, London, Blackfriars, Westminster, and Battersea, which from their intercepting the river were ren- dered more conspicuous than other objects, were pointed out to him by Mr. Sadler. As the aéronauts continued their course down the river, they were saluted by the discharge of several more pieces of artillery ; and at half past three they drank the health of all their friends at Hackney. About this time Mr. Sadler, perceiving that the balloon was approaching the sea, felt it prudent to look out for a spot on which to effect a landing. They then descended till the ships in the river, from Woolwich to the Nore, became perfectly distin- guishable. : On crossing the river at St. Clement’s reach, the balloon descended so low, that the travellers distinctly heard persons conversing in- the Gravesend boats, which were passing down the river, some of whom cried oat—** Where are you going?” Mr. Paget threw out a loaf, which fel] to leeward of Aérostation. 233 of one of the boats: the people on board, however, saw the ‘action, and answered it by three cheers. At ten minutes before four Tilbury Fort came in sight, and they had a per- fect view of the town of Gravesend. Mr. Sadler, observing that the country round the fort was perfectly flat, remarked to his fellow voyager, that it would be desirable to land on that side the river; and measures were taken to accomplish that object. On their nearer approach to the earth, they saw several reapers at work in a wheat-field, and hailed them for assistance: an immediate chase commenced over hedges and ditches. The balloon, however, for some time took the lead. A brisk gale was now blowing, which rendered the descent extremely difficult: the grappling-irons were, how- ever, thrown out, and dragged along the ground. In their course they caught the clothes of alabourer, and he became so completely entangled that he could not extricate himself till his shirt was literally torn from his back. During this time the car frequently touched the ground, and rebounded again-for several yards. By one of these shocks Mr. Paget was thrown out of the car, but bad sufficient presence of mind to catch hold of its rim, which he persevered in hold- ing till assistance arrived, when his companion and himself were released from their perilous situation, and safely landed on terra firma. At this time it wanted five minutes to four o’clock, and the travellers were within 300 yards of Tilbury Fort, and about 150 from the river, the voyage having occu- pied a space of one hour and thirteen minutes. The balloon was soon secured; and, being placed in a boat, the aéro- -nauts passed over the river to Gravesend, where they dined, and immediately after proceeded in a post chaise-and-four to town, followed by a crowd of spectators, which increased to such a degree, that, long before their arrival in town, the chaise could only proceed at a walking pace. In this man- ner they proceeded to Hackney, at which place they arrived at ten minutes past nine o’clock, in perfect health and spi- rits. The only extraordinary sensation which captain Paget experienced was an extreme pain in the ear when the balioon was at its greatest height, which gradually went off as it descended, and left him perfectly free from any inconve- nience, MR. SADLER’S SECOND ASCENT. Mr. Sadler again ascended from Hackney in his balloon, on Thursday the 29th of August, at about 20 minutes before three p., M. accompanied by Mr. Beaufov, son of col. Beaufoy. The wind blew strongly from the south- west, @34 Aerostation. west, ard the balloon rose in a majestic manner. It cons tinued rapidly ascending, and the travellers finding them- selves much inconvenienced from the number of things with which the car was loaded, immediately began to make the necessary arrangements for their proposed experiments —in the course of which the flag which had been held by Mr. Beaufoy, and which he had placed behind him on the seat; unluckily fell over the side of the car, and was picked up in Church-fields, Mr. Beaufoy describes the scene which was now for the first time presented to his view, in the most glowing terms, and says it far exceeded any thing the most fervent imagination could have pictured and although the prospect was considerably circumscribed by a thick mist, he yet had a view of the Nore, and of all the country in that direction; but from the density of the atmosphere towards London, he was unable to get a sight of the metropolis. On their passing over Walthamstow, they distintly heard the report of several minute guns, which were discharged by Mr. Forster the banker, in consequence of previous concert. The concussion occasioned by this noise, however, had no effect upon the balloon, which pur-. sued its course in the most majestic style. At about half- past three, while over Chelmsford, it entered a cloud, which was so extremely dense, that the earth was soon completely hidden from the view of the aéronauts, who were now ex- posed to the effects of a severe storm, which very much agi- tated the balloon. While in this state they were visited by a hail storm, which rattled against their vehicle with great violence, and, from the subsequent melting of the stones, exposed them to all the inconveniences of the water, which trickled from the balloon. Notwithstanding these difficulties, Mr. Beau- foy expressed a desire to ascend stil] higher; but Mr. Sadler observing by the compass that they were taking a direction towards the sea, and apprehensive of falling in the water, thought it expedient to descend without delay, which they did by suffering a considerable quantity of gas to escape. They soon once more gained a view of the earth, towards which they rapidly approached. Throwing out a little bal- last, they again ascended: but shortly afterwards they de- termined to finish their course; and taking measures ac- cordingly, they threw out their grappling-irons, which becoming firmly fixed.in a meadow near East Thorpe, they got out of the car with perfect ease ; aud with the assistance of the multitude collected on the occasion, they emptied the r— ee eee EE EE aooeorerererrrl meee . 4 . Metereological Observations. 235 the balloon of the inflammable air, and having obtained a chaise from Kelvedon, and fixed their aérial vehicle thereon, proceeded to Hackney. Mr. Sadler states, that when the carrying pigeons which - he took up with him were emancipated from the bag in which they were confined, they took a circular flight, and immediately returned to the balloon, on which they perched as if unwilling to leave it. Six of them were, however, at length forced from the car, and they winged their course towards the region from whence they had come. ' The seventh, on which the greatest dependence had been placed for carrying intelligence to the friends of Mr. Beaufoy, instead of obeying the wishes of his master, flew to the top of the balloon, and there kept its station till the descent, when it flew into a tree, from whence it was driven by a boy sent up for the purpose. It did not reach home till the morning following. Metereological Observations made at Clapton in Hackney, Srom Aug. 29 to Sept. 23, \811. Aug. 29.—CLEAR warm morning, with strong southerly wind. A single parhelion, or mock sun, was seen at Wal- thamstow about seven o’clock. Soon after noon it clouded over ; and then hard showers came on. The evening was fair again, with flying clouds and very variable wind. The upper currents also blew in different directions, as appeared by Mr. Sadler’s balloon, which went up from Hackney, and by many small balloons. Aug. 30.—The cirrus prevailed through the day, ramify- ing about in a lofty region, while cwmuli floated along in a Jower current. At night the wind next the earth was north ; above it there was a current from the east 3 while beds of cirrocumulus, still higher, passed over from the south-west. Aug.31,—Misty morning; fine day, with various clouds and variable winds. Sept. 1.—Between three and four this morning Mr. T, F. Forster first saw the comet in the north-east. This day was calm, with large spreading cumuli. Sept. 2. —Clouded with intervals in the morning. In the eyening the passage of sheets of light flimsy confluent cirro- cumulus before the moon exhibited a corona coloured to- wards its edges with pale orange. Wind N. and N.E. Sept. 3—Wind easterly, and a clear day. The evening was clouded, and a breeze arose about eleven o’clock. Sept. 4 —Cool north-east wind, and generally cloudy. Sept. 5.—Early the wind was North, with much slond t 236 Meteorological Observations Tt afterwards blew strong from the east, and the sky became remarkably clear, and the air dry. Sept. 6.—Perfectly clear all day, with strong east wind. Sept. 7.—Avyain the sun rose and set without a cloud. The wind east and the air dry. In the evening the western horizon seemed of a bright golden colour. Sept. 8.—A thin stratus obscured the atmosphere early, followed by a few light clouds; but the afternoon became clear. By twilight a variety of tints ornamented the sky ; immediately above the set sun was a bright gleam of white light; above this a rich orange fading away ‘into pale lake- colour. There was also a fine crimson blush all around. Wind S. E. and S. Sept. 9.—A stratus followed by some evanescent cumuli, as the day cleared. Clear afternoon. Some light ci777 ap- peared in the evening. Small meteors, called falling stars, by night *. Wind easterly. Sept. 10.——A stratus followed by clear day, witha few cirri.. Small meteors by night. Wind variable. Sept.11.—Lower current of air from S. W. Very hot day. A stratus was followed by a sky full of large cirrz, generally pointing to the east. Cirrocumuti and other light clouds in the evening. Sept. 12..—Wind easterly. Linear cirri followed by cirro- cumulus, &e. Sept. 13.—Filiform and other cirri above, while cumuli float below. WindS.E. Afternoon and night very clear. Sept. 14.—-The multiform and rapid changes of the cirrus to-day exceed description. In some places long sheets of it first divided into lines; then, subdividing, became elegant rows of cirrocumulus. To the northward 1 it presented itself in light erect tufts, curved like the architectural cyma 5 - while in the zenith, long horizontal columns of it tapering towards the end, gave the idea of a crocodile’s tail. The formation of cirrpcteninles in different altitudes went on ra-= pidly. In the evening the clouds were confused and lofty, and refracted a rich crimson light. The night became clear. Wind easterly. Sept. 15.—Various appearance of the cirrus, and others, like yesterday. A few-small meteors at night. Sept. 16. — Clouded morning, followed by flying cw- muli. Sept. 17.—Early the eastern sky appeared very red. A * On the night of the 10th of August small meteors of a very peculiar kind prevailed. ‘They were of a whitish phosphoric light, and left long trains in the tract in which they passed. clear _ Ayteewrtes made at Clapton in Hackney. 237 clear morning, with a few evaporating cumuli, which passed rapidly over between eight and ten o’clock, followed by very clear day. J found by my rain gauge that about nine inches of rain had fallen since midsummer. Sept. 18.—Very clear, with a few light clouds. Fine golden sun-set: a crimson blush extended all round. Eva- poration of water very great to-day. Sept. 19.—Light cirrz, mixed with cirrocumulus, above, * little petroid cumuli floating under, During the day abun- -dance of cirrocumulus with cumulostratus prevailed. In the eyening, among numberless configurations of the clouds, Jong sheets of cirrosiratus seen horizontally, with pendent fringes, gave the idea of the great ant eater. Wind variable. Sept. 20.— Cumulostratus prevailed through day with misty air. In the evening it was cloudy, with drops of rain and flashes of lightning. Sept. 21.—A stratus was succeeded by lowering clouds, and a gentle rain, with distant thunder and lightning. Air getting more damp. Wind very variable. : Sept. 22.—Clouded morning, followed by fair day, and spreading cwmulostratus and cumulus. In the evening large cirri appeared. The horizon misty. Wind S. W. Sept. 23.—Small rain succeeded by hard showers, in the clear intervals of which various clouds in different stations , appeared. Some flashes of lightning at night. Much damper by the hygrometer than hitherto. Wind S. W. Yours, &c, Clapton, Sept. 24. 1811. THOMAS ForsTER. [In future this journal will be continued to the 23d of every month. } 2 ‘ LIST OF PATENTS FOR NEW INVENTIONS. To Ralph Sutton, of Birmingham, brass-founder, for his improved self-acting curtain or window-blind rack.— July 2, 1811. To Robert Dawson, of Rownham Place, in the parish of Clifton, in the county of Gloucester, mechanic, for his im- proved mode of applying any moving power to machinery, and of increasing such power, and of rendering machinery more easily susceptible of a multiplicity of such powers at the same or different times.—July 3. To Joseph Bagnall, of Walsall, in the co. “'¥ of Stafford, sadler and ironmonger, for bis unn~ ved mode of making Kridle bitts, snaffles, and bradon foto ee, ae pk gale hooks and rings, wh -. occurring in Lancashire. 277 amoss land, which lies principally to the west of Garstang, a part of which is annually reclaimed, and converted into round which produces good crops of corn *, Besides the common manures, a great part of this district has also the advantage of both marl and lime, and is hence capable of being put into the highest state of cultivation. The parts of the country bordering upon the Bay of More- combe have also two other kinds of local manures, viz. muscles and sand. The muscles are found in immense beds, which are accessible during the tide of ebb, and they are then carted away in great quantities for this purpose. They are, however, said to be a manure whose good effects are not more durable than a single year. The sand pro- cured upon this coast (from the nature of its component parts) has not only been found advantageous to the stiffer clay lands, but also to those of a lighter texture. Besides the flinty particles usually found in sand, a great pro- portion of what is got here consists of particles of shells minutely divided, and is hence of a calcareous nature: a portion of clay is also mixed with it, which with some sea- saltt, and the remains of decayed animal and vegetable matters, form altogether a substance very different from common sand, Some iron-stone is found in the shale. This district, however, is not productive of any ores which have been wrought{. The stone which occurs here is however ex- tremely valuable for a variety of purposes. That which is gotten in the neighbourhood of Lancaster, and in Whittle Hills, is of the most valuable kind of freestone ; and blocks of almost any size may be procured. From the great quan- tity of quartz or flinty particles which enter into its com- position, the durability will probably be nearly equal to that of granite, Millstenes of an excellent quality are gotten in Whittle Hills, and from Kellet Moor; and a fine kind of * By means of marl, which is generally found beneath the moss, and by paring and burning, which, although disapproved by lord Dundonald, is here the source of abundant fertility; there being no fear of exhausting the ve- getable matter by this process. A particular kind of clogs, called moss pat- tens, are affixed to the hinder feet of the horses employed in ploughing, which prevents them from sinking into the ground, which is frequently so soft as not to be accessible without such assistance. + When the tide retires, it leaves many miles of these sands dry; and in the summer season the evaporation being considerable, a white-crust or pel- Jicle of salt is formed on the surface, from which culinary salt was formerly obtained, by collecting the sand containing this pellicle, and, after dissolving the saline particles in sea water, evaporating the brine, thus made, in pans. t ‘There is some lead ore in Anglezark, belonging to sir F. Standish; and carbonate of barytes. $2 flags 278 On Smelting of Lead. _ flags and whetstones from Hutton-Roof, about six miles north-east from Lancaster. There is a thin seam of coals, which apparently originat- ing in a valuable but limited colliery near Ingieton in York- shire, extends by Hornby to within a few miles of Lancas- ter, when it Lassets, (in the language of miners,) ur runs out upon the common above the town. tis not found in a stratum of argillaceous stone, but (contrary to what oc- curs in this country, and in general in this kingdom) in a most compact quartzose or flinty one; the particles of which are so compact and hard, as not only to strike fire with steel, but to be almost inaccessible to the tool. L. On Smelting of Lead. By Mr.Joun SavLer*. DEAR SIR, Mosr of the lead of commerce is obtained from that species of ore which is by mineralogists called galena, potier’s ore, or sulpburet of lead. Indeed, it is the only species of lead ore which is found in sufficient quantities to be worth working. There are many other species of lead ore met with occa- sionally; but these, occurring hut seldom, are regarded as curiosities, and are generally carefully selected for the cabi- net of the mineralogist, or as ornaments for the mantle- Piece of the miner. The ore, as it is first raised from the mine, is mixed with a considerable proportion of the matrix or gangue of the vein, from which it must be in great measure freed before it is fit for the operation of smelting. For this purpose, the ore is delivered to the dressers, who either break it into small pieces with hand-hammers of a peculiar construction, which are called buckers, or it is passed between rollers worked by machinery, or under stampers. It then undergoes the operation of washing, to separate it from the lighter foreign matter, after which it is ready for the smelter. Construction of the Ore Hearth. The smelting of lead is performed differently in different districts. In most parts of the North, particularly in Cum- berland, Durham, and Northumberland, smelting 1s per= formed in the ore hearth by means of bellow? In some parts of Yorkshire, in Derbyshire, and in North Wales, lead * From Clennell’s New Agricultural and Commercial Magazine. 13 On Smelting of Lead. 279 is smelted in reverberating furnaces: this kind of smelting is distinguished from the other by the name of cupola smelt- ing: each of these methods has its advocates. The superiority of either depends much on local cireum- stances, and, perhaps, also on the skill of the workmen. Ore-hearth smeiting shall be first described.—To render the description intelligible, it will be necessary to commence with a description of the hearth. Fig. 1, (Plate VIL.) is a sketch of the hearth: it is con- structed principally of pieces of cast iron, which are called generally iron stones or metal stones; each different casting has a distinguishing name: they are the (a) pan, (J) back, {c) pipe-stone, (d) spark-stone, (e) bearers, (f) keys, (g) fore-stone, and the (4) work-stone. The hearth is erected under a spacious chimpey, and nearly in the centre; one side of it is called the water-side, being near the water wheel, which urges the bellows ; the opposite is called the land-side. Figs. 2and 3 are plans and sections of the ore hearth: the same letters in the different figures are placed to the same parts.—(?) the floor of the smelting-house, (&) the back of the chimney, (é) the front of the chimney, (m) the founda- tion on which the hearth is constructed: it is built of rough masonry, and levelled and run in at the top with thin mor- tar or grout; the pan or bottom of the hearth ts laid steadily in mortar on this bed: upon the posterior part of the pan is placed the back, its face being even with the inner edge of the pan, The work-stone is next arranged; its upper edge three or four inches from the anterior part of the pan, and parallel with the back; the bearers are placed on the sides of the pan, one end of each butting against the back, the other ends resting on the upper edge of the work-stone. Two thin pieces of stone, (about half an inch thick,) generally slaty sandstone, are laid on the back, and on these is placed the pipe-stone, the inner face of which overhangs the back near aninch. The keys are set on the bearers, their faces even with them ; two pieces of brick are set on edge on the bearers, next to the keys, and on these, a few inches from the keys, rests the fore-stone ; the spark-stone laid on the pipe-stone completes the hearth. Before laying the foundation, a large flat stone (7) called the cheek-stone is fixed firmly in the ground, and determines the extent of the land-side of the hearth; the spaces between the water-side, the back of the chimney, and the cheek- stone are filled up with pieces of sand-stone, bricks, or old wu S4 iron- 280 On Smelting of Lead. iron-stones, and the interstices levelled up with dust. The fore-stone is wedged tight by its ends, generally against two old keys. The space between the pan and the work-stone is filled with a mixture of bone and fern ashes well beaten in, and those between the keys and ihe ends of the fore-stone with stiff clay. Care is taken in constructing the hearth to lay the bearers square, or at right angles with the back, and also to direct the blast immediately through the centre. The hearth being completed, the operation of smelting commences with kindling the fire. The whole space be- tween the fore-stone and back is filled with peats or chop- wood: an igniied peat or live coal being placed in the midst, the bellows are set to work: as soon as the combustion is sufficiently advanced, or that the whole are well on fire, one of the smelters (there are two to each hearth) throws a few shovels of half-smelted ore, (the remains of the last opera- tion of smelting,) which is termed brouse, on the top of the fire, gradually adding more as the contents of the hearth settle ; he also adds a few small coals occasionally to keep up the combustion: when the whole of the brouse is thrown on the hearth, the other smelter watches out; that is, with a long pointed crow-bar, called a gavel or gable-hook, he stirs up the whole of the brouse, and brings forward a great part of it upon the work-stone: this is effected by intro- ducing the gable-hook into the hearth six different times, in the following order: he first forces it under the brouse a few inches on one side the centre, until the point touches the back ; he then forces as low down as he can the end he holds 1a his hand; this lizhtens up the contents of the hearth, and as the bar is withdrawn, a part of the hot brouse comes forward on the work-stone; the gable-honk is then entered below the brouse, about the saine distance from the centre, on the other side, where the same operation is performed ; it is next introduced close to the side of the hearth; here the workman forces the end of the gable-hook from him, at the same time he presses it down, so as to bring the point of the bar into the middle of the hearth; this brings part of thé brouse, which was next the side, into the middle, and what was in front, out onthe work-stone. The gable-hook is again introduced'in the same place, and the point raised close to the side, to remove any brcuse that may adhere to the bearer or key. The same operation is performed at the other side, to remove the brouse from thence also. Whilst the watcher is performing his part, the man who supplied rr LT , the ¥ On Smelting of Lead. 281 the hearth, and who is called the setter-on, thrusts his shovel down into the hearth, a little below the entrance of the blast, and forces the brouse sufficiently forward to allow him 1o place a peat or a handful of chopwood horizontally before ‘the orifice of the bellows: this he generally gets done nearly as soon as the other has finished watching, who changes his gable-hook for a shovel; the setter-on comes to the front with his shovel, and they together throw the whole of the brouse again into the hearth, over the fore-stone, with a small quantity of coal as they sce necessary, carefully se- parating the slags, which they throw into a corner, and breaking down the larger masses of brouse: when the whole is in the hearth, the setter-on goes again to the side, levels the top of the brouse, and covers it with fresh ore, laying this thickest against the spark-stone: the working of the hearth, after watching, is called setting-up. When a hearth is well set-up, and works properly, without an excess of coals or blast, and pretty free from slags, small reddish white flames issue from all parts of the breast, from below the fore-stone, nearly to the edge of the work-stone: these flames should not issue more than a few inches from ihe breast. The hearth does not continue long in this state; as the peat burns away, the blast is less equally distributed; it forces itself through more in some parts than in others; the covering at the top is perforated, or, perhaps, perfectly ig- nited, and the whole mass is condensed and settled in con- sequence of the evaporation of one part of the ore, and the separation of the metal; copious blueish flames issue from two or three parts of the hearth, as if occasioned by the combustion of some metal. The brouse must be again watched-out, a new peat put in, and more ore thrown on the top. The operations of watching and setting-up require to be repeated about every three minutes. After a few times setting-up, the metallic lead begins to flow down the chan- nel of the work-stone, into a pot, where it is kept hot until collected in sufficient quantity to cast a pig. It is necessary, for the easy management of the hearth, that a considerable quantity of fluid lead should remain Im the bottom for the brouse to float on. The watcher, after throwing up the brouse, allows the lead to flow freely down the gutter for a short time, and then prevents any more escaping, by lightly raising up the brouse against the gutter with the corner of his shovel. Two men will sinelt about six binge of good ore a day, and from these produce 24 pigs of lead, weighing 154]bs. each. Tt 282 Notice respecting Native Concrete Boracic Acid. It is advisable to draw the hearth at the end of every twelve hours, in order that it may cool; fora cool hearth works pleasanter, and makes better produce than one which has been suffered to heat. The hearth should be drawn about two watchings after throwing on the last of the six bings of ore. As soon as the heartb is watched-out the last time, the action of the bellows is stopped, and the smelters draw out the whole of the hot brouse with their shovels, and throw it on the floor to cool, picking out such slags as they may observe; they also remove whatever adheres to the sides or back. If the hearth has been properly attended, and a due pro- portion of fuel used, it will scarcely appear hotter in one part than another; and, if it has been working with a free ore, should not appear hotter than a very dull obscure red heat. With a free ore, the hearth, when fresh set-up, works as described page 280, the blast finding its way equally through all parts of the breast. The brouse, when watched-out, is dry, and mostly in small pieces, the slags firm, and easily distinguished by their cavernous appearance and bnghter colour, and the lead flows from the hearth scarcely red hot. Lead ore, which contains much silver or copper, or which has not been properly cleared from the gangue with which it is mixed in the vein, requires particular attention on the part of the smelter: instead of working dry and open, it be- comes soft and pasty; the slaz, instead of separating in firm pieces, is diffused through the whole like a halt-melted scoria, and the least inattention to the fire will set the whole contents of the hearth into a solid mass, or cause it to boil and flow down in a liquid state on the work-stone-—the lead flows very hot, and the hearth appears hot and foul. The addition of lime is necessary to correct this defect in the ore, which combining with the fluid scoria, solidifies, and thus assists its collecting in masses: care should be taken not to add more lime than is absolutely necessary for the purpose intended, as all extraneous matter thrown in with the ore lessens the produce of lead. * [ta be continued. ] LI. Nolice respecting Native Concrete Boracic Acid. Py Smirnson Tennant, Esq. F.R.S. &c. Communicated by L. Horner, Esq. Sec. of the Geological Society *. ‘bes boracic acid is not found, like the greater number of substances, in almost every country; but, as far as our present * From the Transactions of the Geological Society, vol.i. _ knowledge 7 Notice respecting Native Concrete Boracic Acid. 283 knowledge extends, appears confined to a few particular 2 » app places. On this account, as well as the great utility of borax in various arts, the discovery of its existence in any new situation may deserve to be recorded. Some months ago Mr. Horner was so obliging as to show me a collection of volcanic productions from: the Lipari Islands, presented to the Geological Society by Dr. Saunders. ‘They consisted chiefly of sulphur, and of saline sublimations onthe lava; but among these more common substances there were several pieces of a scaly shining appearance, re- sembling boracic acid. The largest of these had been cut of a rectangular shape, and was about seven or eight inches in length, and five or six in breadth, as if it had been taken from a considerable mass. On one side of most of the pieces was a crust of sulphur, and the scaly part itself was yellower than pure boracic acid. To ascertain if the scaly part was coloured by sulphur, f exposed it to heat ina glass tube ; and after the usual quantity of water had come over, there sublimed from it about a tenth of its weight of sul- phur, and the remainder was pure boracic acid. Mr. Horner afterwards informed me, that the late Dr. Menish, of Chelmsford, had presented to the Geological Society a specimen which he had received, with some other volcanic productions, from Sicily, but which had been col- lected in the Lipari Islands; the box containing them bein “marked “ Produxioni Walcuneehe Raccolte ticle Tsole Eole da Gius. Laxxari—Lipavi.” He found it to consist of boracic acid, and it perfectly resembled that I have just de- ‘scribed, having the same yellow colour from an admixture of sulphur, and a similar crast of this substance adhering to one side. Any future traveller visiting those countries would do well to examine them with a view to this particular object. The boracic acid may be a more extensive volcanic product than has hitherto been imagined ; for in the account given of its discovery some years ago by Messrs. Hoéfer and Mascagni, near Monte Rotondo, to the west of Sienna, we can have no doubt of its volcanic origin in those places, from the substances which are there described to accom- pany it. LIT. Sketeh [ 984 } : LIE. Sketch of the Geology of Madeira. By the Hon. Henry Grey Bennett; ina Letter addressed to G. B. GREENOUGH, President ‘of the Geological Society, and communicated by him to the Society*. Tus following notes were taken during a short stay I made Jast summer in the island of Madeira. As there appears to be but little known of the structure, or of the pheenomena which the strata in that island exhibit, the following ob- servations may not perhaps be wholly unacceptable. They nay be considered as furnishing directions to others, where to look for some of the most interesting objects ; and may afford to future travellers a small portion of the information which my guide, Dr. Shuter, so liberally communicated to me. That gentleman having long resided in the island, had repeatedly traversed it, and was thereby able to point out to me some of the circumstances which were most worthy of examination, particularly the nature of the various strata that are exposed to view in the deep and abrupt valleys which intersect the island in all directions. These valleys are no Jess picturesque to the eye of the common traveller than they are deserving of the attention of the geologist. They are in genera! narrow and deep, the summits of the hills that form their boundaries are broken. into peaks rugged and bare, while their sides are covered with the cedar and other trees peculiar to southern latitudes, and with a profuse va- riety of shrubs and plants, among which the erica arlorea is the most beautiful, and in the greatest quantity. The island of Madeira (though I believe it never has been surveyed) 1s said té be about 50 miles in length, and in its broadest part about 20, but the average breadth does not exceed 15 miles. It consists of a succession of lofty hills rising rapidly from the sea, particularly on the eastern and northern ex- tremiues. The summits of many of these ranges present the appearance of what has been called a table land; yet oc- casionally the forms are conical, and surmounted by a peak, which in some instances I found to be of columnar basalt. Deep rayines or valleys descend from the hills or serras to the sea, and in the hollow of most of them flows a small river, which in general is rapid and shallow. The soil of the island is clay on the surface, and large masses of it as hard as brick are found underneath. Though there are not at present any existing volcanoes in the island, yet the re- mains of two craters are to be seen, one on the eastern, the * Trom Transactions of the Geological Society, vol. i. other Sketch of the Geology of Madéira. 285" other on the western side, the largest being about a Portu- evese league, or four English miles, in circumference. Every thing around wears marks of having snffered the action of fire; yet I was unable to discover any deposit of sulphur, and was told that none had hitherto been found in the island. The varieties of strata, which I shall term generally lava, are not numerous. I myself saw but four, and T was in- formed there were no more to be met with. Three of them were invariably alternating in the same order. The first or Jowest lava is of a compact species, containing few, if any, extraneous substances, is of a blue colour, and of a re- markably fine grain. Upon that, the second, which is a red earthy friable lava, rests; sometimes separated by beds of clay mixed with pumice, and layers of black ash and pu- mice. This red Java contains minute pieces of olivine; sometimes it assumes a prismatic fonn, and in one place was of a moderate degree of hardness : the principal springs of water in the island issue from this stratum. On the top is the third, a grayish lava, generally compact, though at times near the surface very cellular, and containing much olivine. This lava takes principally the prismatic form of basalt. I have seen it in the most perfect prisms from 30 to 40 feet or more in height, the surface being covered with scoria, ash, and pumice. These masses of lava contain more or less of what I consider to be olivine, occasionally carbonate of lime and zeolite, which last assumes either a crystallized or globular form, or is diffused in a thin coating between the different layers. The fourth species of lava is of a coarse grain, is used for the making of walls, and the commonest and poorest houses are built of it, the blue and gray lavas being used for the copings, &c. It works easier than the two other kinds above mentioned, is more friable and soft, and its colour is a mixture of brown and red. I observed it in a stratum by itself, and it did not seem to have any connexion with the other three kinds. These are the principal stratified lavas that the island affords; but in the beds of the rivers, particularly in that which flows in the valley of the Corral, several varieties Oc- cur in isolated masses, containing olivine and zeolite in greater or less quantity, and exhibiting detached portions of strata, similar to those that are found in the Fossa Grande on the side of Vesuvius. In the deep and singular valley called the Corral, which I had an opportunity of examining for several miles, the red and gray lava alternated five or six times. The tops of some of 286 Sketch of the Geslogy of Madeira. of its barrier hills are formed of columnar basalt ; here and there rising to a peak, or broken into what might be termed a crystallized ridge, or tapering to a point like the granite needles in the Mer ide Glace. The columnar strata are found here in all directions. They dip usually to the sea, but occasionally are dislocated in the most abrupt manner, Dykes of lava, rising perpendicularly to the horizon, inter= ° sect the strata at right angles. I saw one 200 or 300 fect in height, which cut through several of the alternations of the red and gray lava. This valley of the Corral well merits the most atientive examination; yet the journey there ts one of some labour, and the walk down the river that flows in its bottom so difficult and toilsome, as almost to deter every one from the undertaking. We left the town of Fun- chal soon after day-break, and did not return till between eight and nine at night, having been, during the whole of that period, in astate of incessant exertion on horseback or on foot.» The bed of the valley itself cannot be descended on mules oren horseback. The walk is eight or nine miles in Jength, and you are compelled to clamber over rocks, as there 1s not even a track, or wade in the bed of the river, which is rapid, and full of large and pointed stones. Some of the highest hills of the island border on this valley. Several of them rise from the bed of the river in a perpen- dicular height of 1060 or 1500 feet, judging only by the eye, aud are what the French term ¢ail/é @ pie. Others are broken mito a succession of steep descents, and are covered with forests of wood and a profusion of plants. Down many there fal] smal] cataracts of water, and some are hol- lowed into deep recesses, whence issue from the lava nus merous little streams that contribute to swell the principak river in the valley. As you arrive on the brink of the Corral, after a ride of about ten miles from Funchal, you find yourself suddenly on the edge of a precipice, near to which a sort of traversing atair-case is cut, with a track winding to the bottom. On the right is a wall of Java nearly perpendicular from 400 to: 500 fect in depth, composed of the two species of the red and gray, alternating five or six times, and assuming in its dislocation the form of a bow, both the lavas following i in a regular bend the shape of "the curve. On the left of the stairs by which you are to descend, impumerable small columns of the gray lava project from, the side: they dip N.W. and their form i in general is qua- drangular ; ; but I found several of them in prisms of three, five, and six sides. ‘bhey are. remarkably small, and as they ae Sketch of the Geology of Maileira. 287 ‘they lie in this bed appear almost all to break off from each other at five or six inches in length, and I never found them exceed this size. They seem to form a dyke that cuts through the horizontal beds of lava, At the edge of the descent there is a projection or range of basaltic columns, rising like a wall, tapering to the top, and separating into large quadrangular prisms. We found no black ashes in the valley of the Corral, though towards the bottom there are considerable strata of pumice, great masses of scoria, and cellular Java, and lava in a state of semi-vitrification; the whole presenting evident marks of an eruption, anterior to that which had formed these various Strata of Java, which are visible from the summit of the hill to the bed of the river. The dip of the strata is in general towards the sea. Ba- saltic columns shoot from the side of the ordinary strata, which are intersected by various dykes; and one of these in particular swept across both sides of the valley. There are here also rocks of about 100 feet in height, composed of a species of breccia. We examined one near the church, at the extremity of the winding stair- case, forming the descent into the valley, which was composed of large and small pieces of lava, some of them of many yards in length and depth, the angles being rounded, and the whole agglutinated together by a hard black earthy substance, that resisted all the force we could use to break off a piece of it. There are other rocks where the red Java forms the base, and these are soft. On our road from Funchal to the Corral we saw a stra- tum of large nodules or balls of lava, composed of concen- tric layers similar to the coat of an onion, and lying one above another; the stratum exposed was 30 or 40 feet in depth, and appeared to go down to the bottom of the hill. We also examined the coast to the westward of the town of Funchal. From the beach before the town to IIIboo Castle, and beyond it to the land called the Punta de la Cruz, the general character of the coast is as follows: The red stone is the apparent base upon which rests a bed of gray prismatic lava, the stratum being sometimes from 40 to 100 feet in depth. At times this gray lava rests upon a deep bed of ashes and pumice, agglutinated tugether like the pe- perino and puxzxolano in the vicinity of Naples. The scoria at the surface is remarkably thick, and all the upper parts of the lava appear to be cellular. The general dip of the lava on the coast near Funchal is to the north, but near the fort 288 Sketch of the Geology of Madeira. fort of Illhoo it forms with a mass of pumice that is inter- sected with slight veins of carbonate of lime and zeolite, a rapid angle or curve of declination to the east. Fo the west- ward of the fort, the lava is not found for a little distance, and there is nothing but deep beds of pumice and the ag- glutinated mass above mentioned. ‘These beds of pumice are of various thickness, the deepest appearing to be about four feet, and alternating with that stratum which I have called peperino. In difierent cavities of the pumice bed, there are large deposits of black ashes. ‘Towards the ex- tremity of the strata the red stone appears on the surface in x more solid state, and hes in prismatic masses, the prisms being small, aud not exceeding a few inches in diameter. Their substance is brittle, and crumbles with ease. This stratum of red lava is of a short continuance. Passing a small brook, it dips rapidly to the westward, and in its place the gray lava is found in a confused though some- times prismatic form, and rises from the beach, while the red lava stili runs along the surface to the height of near . . o . . . 1060 feet, the top being covered with a thick scoria. There is also in the vicinity of Funchal, to the eastward of the town, a fall of water, which, independent of the ro- mantic beauty of the situation, merits being visited on ac- count of the exposure of the two strata of Java in their re- lative position. The hills are composed wholly of lava, sometimes of a confused, sometimes of a prismatic forma- tion, the red and gray lavas being visible on both sides of the valley. Near the head of it, a short distance from the cascade, the red stratum is at the bottom, and about 60 feet higher it re-appears, and again, about 200 feet higher, alter- nating with the gray lava. The upper red lava dips rapidly to the south, and the strata are disposed in the following manner: : Gray lava. Lower Red. The rock, down which the cascade falls, 1s also intersect- ed with ared stratum of about three feet wide, that traverses it, and dips to the westward, and is broken off by a broad dyke —_ On the Progress and present State of Vaccination. 289 dyke of gray lava. It appears about 30 feet higher, and- dips again to the westward. The substance of the red rock in this place i is hard, and it breaks into a columnar form, being by far the most compact of the red strata 1 met with in the island. I saw this red lava also in the island of Teneriffe, to the eastward of Santa Cruz, as well as in the neighbour- hood of Orotava. I have thus endeavoured to give youa slight sketch of that which appeared to me most deserving of attention in the island of Madeira. The short stay I was able to make there pre- vented a more accurate survey of the island; vet I saw enough to induce me to recommend a careful examination of the strata to those who m ay have more time than | had to spare, and more knowledge to estimate the value of that which was to be seen. To my mind, the most interesting geological facts are: Ist, The intersection of the lava by dy kes at right angles with the strata. 2dly, The rapid dips the strata “make, particularly the overlaying of that of the Brazen Head, to the eastward of Funchal, where the blue, gray, and red lavas are rolled up in one mass, and lie in a position as if they hadall slipped together from an upper stra- tum. 3dly, The columnar form of the lava itself reposing on, and being covered by, beds of scoriz, ashes, and pu- mice, which affords a strong argument for the volcanic origin of the columns themselves: and 4thly, The veins of carbonate of lime and zeolite, which are not found here in solitary pieces as in the vicinity of Atma and Vesuvius, but are amid the lavas and in the strata of pumice and tufa, and are diffused on the lava itself, and occasionally crystallized in its cavities. LIL. On the Progress and present State of the Practice of Vaccination. By T. Bateman, M.D. rth objects which the general adoption of vaccine ino- culation will accomplish for mankind, if time and experience shall confirm the promises of its benevolent discoverer, are so important, that every friend of humanity must have fol- lowed with anxious hope tbe progress of the practice, and rejoiced at the general result of the evidence in its favour. It is not easy, indeed, to calculate the sum of buman misery that will cease to exist, when the prospect which a tion holds out to us shall be realized. In its casual, natural occurrence, as it is termed, the small-pox is bk oUly Vol. 38. No. 162. Oct.1811. i the 290 On the Progress and present State of the most loathsome distemper that visits the human frame, but the most fatal pestilence; sweeping off multitudes, du- ring its prevalence, and destroying the sight, corrupting the habit, or otherwise inflicting disease on great numbers of those who escape its more destructive effects. The practice of inoculation had, it is true, already diminished those evils among the individuals who resorted to it; but it had un- fortunately augmented the evils among the people in ge- neral, by the perpetual infection which it disseminated, and the artificial epidemic which it constantly kept up. In London, for instance, during the first thirtv years of the eighteenth century, before inoculation could yet have had any effect, the proportionate number of deaths occasioned by small-pox, as stated in the bills of mortality, was about seventy-four out of every thousand: but during an equal number of years at the end of the century, the number amounted to nearly one-tenth of the whole mortality, or ninety-five out of every thousand. So that, as far as we are able to judge from hence, the practice of inoculation, which in itself might be esteemed one of the greatest im- provements ever introduced into the medical art, has ac- tually multiplied the ravages of the disease which it was in- tended to ameliorate, in the proportion of above five to four*. And the extent of the mischief inflicted on the survivors is manifest from a statement published by the Society for teaching the Indigent Blind, that nearly one-fourth of the persons admitted into that charity have been deprived of their sight by the small-pox; not to mention the various forms of scrofula and other diseases which it frequently excites. It is true, that the more intelligent classes of society, who have generally adopted the practice of inocuiation, have ina considerable degree avoided the worst of these consequences of small-pox: they have seldom been deprived of the bless- ing of sight; and they have only been destroyed by the dis- ease in the proportion of about one in three hundred. But the humane will shudder at the recollection, that this ex- emption has been obtained at the expense of so much ad- ditional misery inflicted on the people at large; and that they have but shifted a part of the evils from themselves, to be aggravated in the families of their less enlightened neigh- bours ; while they perpetuate a plague, which would other- wise have had its periods of absolute cessation. * Sce the Tables drawn up by Dr. Heberden, in his “ Observations on the Increase and Decrease of different Diseases, &c.” p. 36. Such the Practice of Vaccination. 291 Such is the condition in which the most improved state of the art of medicine had placed us, before the benefits of vaccination were discovered; and such is the condition to which some persons would advise us to return, in conse- quence of the alleged insecurity of this preventive, But it would seem to be only necessary to take a clear and dis- passionate view of the state of the facts, relative to the effi- cacy of the cow-pox, up to the present time, in order to bg convinced of its incalculable advantages, even were all the reported failures proved to have occurred ; nay, if they had actually occurred to double the extent that has been repre- sented. {tis the purport of this paper to detail, in as brief a manner as possible, the sum of the facts which have re- cently been brought to hght, and to point out the interence which seems to be justly ~deducible from them. The National Vaccine Establishment, supported by par fiament, has published two Reports during. the present year, containing the evidence which they have collected from various authentic sources. The Colleges of Physicans and Surgeons at Edinburgh, and the Faculty of Glasgow, have again given their decided testimony in favour of vaccination, They assert unanimously, that the practice of vaccination is generally approved of by the profession throughour Scot- land; that no bad effects can be ascribed to the practice; and that, since its introduction into Scotland, the mortality occasioned by small-pox has very greatly decreased. The Faculty of Physicians and Surgeons of Glasgow further state, that, simce the middle of May 1801, they have gras tuitously Vackittated in their Hall 14,500 persons; and that, as far as is known, the ‘ vaccination in all these has suc- ceeded *,” The accounts from several public institutions, in and near London, are equally favourablet. In the Roval Military Asylum for the children of soldiers, where between eleven and twelve hundred are now rec eived, vaccination has heen practised since its first establishment in the year 1803. From that period to the present time, but one instance of death * Report from the Vaccine Establishment, 1811. + 1811. It appears, that since the last Annual Report of the London Vaer citie Institution, there have been inoculated by Dr. Walker - - 2,490 From the commencement of the Institution in 1806 — = : 4 8,595 By the appointed inoculators in the metropolis last year A = 1,046 From the beginning - 4 x % S : : - = 6,109 By the appotnted mogeulators in the copntry e 7 = - 20,801 From the beginning - - - - - - 177,474 Jvast year, chargesof matter - es - 31,992 to ©,539 applicants, From the commencement of the Institution, — 93,080 to18,900 applicants, Te? - from 262 On the Progress and present State of from small-pox has occurred; and it is worthy of remark, that the individual had not been vaccinated, in consequence of a declaration of the mother, that he had passed through the small-pox in his infancy. Vaccination was introduced ynto the Found|i ing Hospital in the year 1801; and every infant, soon after its admission, has since that period been vaccinated. From the commencement of this practice to the present time, no death has occurred from small-pox ; and in no instance has the preventive power of vaccination been discredited, although .many children, ay a test of its efficacy, have teen repeatedly inoculated with the matter of small-pox, and exposed to the influence of its contagion. ‘A similar success has attended the practice of vaccination at the Lying-in Charity of Manchester, where, in the space of nine years, more than nine thousand persons have been effectually vaccinated, and secured from the small-pox. The officers of the priori Establishment. in London, through the medium of their correspondence with many simi- ar establishments in the country, have learned, that practi- tioners of the highest respectability are earnestly engaged in promoting the extension of the practice ; that, among the superior classes of the people, vaccination is every w vhere generally adopted; and that, although the prejudices of the tower orders, which have been excited by interested per- sons, still exist, they appear to be gradually yielding to a conviction of its benefits. This inference is likewise con- firmed by the fact, that 23,362 charges of vaccine matter have been distributed by the Establishment to various apphi- cants from all parts of the kingdom, which exceeds by nearly one-third the number distributed in the preceding year. Of the immense benefits resulting from the universal adoption of yaccination in other countries, the accounts from India have furnished the most interesting example. The number vaccinated in the island of Ceylon, from the year 1802 to Jan, 1810, amounts to no Jess than 128 Ay fee} persons ; and the small-pox has literally been exterminated from the island. From the mouth of February 1808 to the Jast-mentioned date, the disease bad not existed in any, part of the island, except in October 1809, when it was carried ihither by a boat from the Malabar coast : but, in this in- stance, the contagion spread to only six mdividuals, who had not been vaccinated, and was immediately arrested in its progress, and disappeared. The medical superintendant- general observes, that they have no apprehension that the swuall-pox will ever spread epidemically in Ceylon, while vaccination the Practice of Vaccination. 293 vaccination continues to be generally practised ; at the same time, that its occasional appearance there has the good effect of proving the preservative power of the vaccine “nock, and of rousing the natives from their apathy on the subject. Even the Bramins ‘ate now surmounting the prejudices of their education, and submitting to be vaccinated *, It appears from a Report of the Central Comimitiee of the Vaccine Institution at Paris, published on the tenth anni- versary of its establishment, that the benefits of vaccination,’ in augmenting the population of a country, have not escaped © the attention of the present ruler of France, who has sorsived depots of vaccine fluid if twenty-four of the principal cities,” communicating with the Central Committee at Paris. “Ju some of thé departments, it is said, the zeal of the prefects has heen such, that there remain none to vaccinate but the’ infants born in every year, and that the small-pox is already unknown. And the returns of the mortality im the city of Paris, for the year 1809, exhibit only 213 deaths by small- pox. ** This number,” say the reporters, ** though yet too ‘considerable, since the vaccine offered to these 213 victims a certain method of preservation, is yet extremely small in comparison of that of some years, when the epidemic small- pox has carried off, in the same city, more than 20,000 in- dividuals.” The Committee, consisting of sixteen of the principal physicians of Paris, express their conviction of the efhcacy af vaccination in these terms: ‘Ten years of labour and success have at Jeneth decided the important question, as to the vaccine possessing the power of preserv- ing all those, in whom it has regularly gone through its progress, from the small:pox. This has been carried to such a degree of certainty by the experiments of the Central Committee and its numerous correspondents, "as - well Frenchmen as strangers, that there is not at present any fact in niedicine better proved, or more certain, than that which establishes the truly anti-variolous power of the vac- cinet.” Such is the result of the progressive experience of profes- sional men, in regard to the efficacy and preventive powers of vaccination ; such is the confirmation, which the in- ferences, drawn from the early investigation of this subject, have received from subsequent and more extensive research ! Insomuch, that the conclusion of the College of Physicians upou the subject, in the year 1807, must now be ceemed * See the Report from the Vaccine Establishment. + A copy of this Report may be found in the Edinburgh Med. and Surg. Journal, for Jan, 1811,p. 117, T3 indisputable, 994 On the Progress and present State of indisputable, that * the truth seems to be established as firmly as the nature of such a question admits *.”” The opposition to the practice, which is still but too suc- cessfully kept up by a few clamorons individuals in the me- dical profession, rests principally upon a mistaken view of: the nature of the question. It rests upon the notion that the result of the practice should be uniform and invariable ; that the rule should be void of all exceptions. But there is no such regularity in the operations of the animal cecono- my: there is no disease without its anomalies ; and the di- versity of human constitutions is infinite. Several of these anomalies, or exceptions to the general rule, have doubtless occurred in the practice of vaccination; ‘* but,’ to use the words ofa judicious and experienced observer, §¢ certainly not so often as was expected by those who considered the subject from the first dispassionately, nor have they been in sufficient number to form any serious objection to the prac- tice founded on Dr. Jenner’s discoveryt.”” In truth, if this principle were received,—that no operation ought to be per- formed on the human body which was liable to o¢casional failure,—-what medicine would remain for us to!exhibit, or what surgical assistance for us to offer? Weer) But let us examine the nature of these exceptions, or “¢ failures,” as they have been emphatically calléd, which have occurred in the practice of vaccinationy’ The very sound of the word excites an alarm in the 1 many persons, as if failure were synonymous with death, or im- plied the certain occurrence of a desperate or mortal-small- pox. But this. isso far from being the ease, that upon a deliberate view of the facts, we do not hesitate, to affirm, that, if all the cases of alleged failure, which the opponents of vaccination have raked up, upon any sort of evidence, and often upon none, had really occurred, and that number had been doubled or tripled, its advantages over the inocu- Jation of small-pox would still be‘incalculable. | In the first place, it has been ascertained by the concurrin observations of almost all the practitioners who have attended to the subject, that(to use the words of theCollege of Physicians) ‘* in almost every case in which the small-pox has succeeded vaccination, whether by inoculation or by casual infection, the disease has varied much from its ordinary course; it has neither been the same in violence, nor in the duration of its symptoms; but has, with very few exceptions, been re- markubly mild, asif the small-pox had been deprived by the * See the Report of the Royal College of Physicians on Vaccination, July 1807, + See Dr. Willan’s Treatise on Vaccination, previous the Practice of Vaccination. . 295 previous vaccine disease of its usual malignity*.’? Dr. Willan states, that the feverishness which precedes the eruption in these cases is often considerable, but the pustules are small and hard, containing little or no matter, and begin to dry off on the sixth dayt. It must not be omitted, indeed, that in a very few instances the small-pox subsequent to vaccination has assumed the confluent form, and put on a dangerous aspect (as in the recent case of the son of earl Grosvenor); but even in these rare instances, the modifying influence of the previous vaccination has been manifest, the disease, when near its height, receiving a sudden check, and the recovery being unusually rapidt. One case of this sort occurred to the observation of the writer of this paper, in which, on the seventh day of confluent small-pox, the child became suddenly free from constitutional complaint, and ran about at play ; a circumstance, he believes, that is never known to occur in confluent small-pox where the previous influence of vaccination had not been exerted. In this statement, then, we have admitted the worst conse- quences that have ever accompanied the ‘¢ failures’’ of vac- cination, in any one instance. But, in the second place, let us attend to the proportion- ate number of these failures. ‘* It does not appear,”’ says Dr. Willan, who minuted the cases as they happened, ¢* that failures in the preventive effect of vaccine inoculation, in- cluding mistakes, negligences, and mis-statements, have oc- curred in a greater proportion than as one to eight hun- dred §.’" It is very improbable, then, that the actual failures amount to one in a thousand, or to any thing near that number. But let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that the failures amount to the proportion of one in five hundred ; that is to say, that one of every five hundred per- sons vaccinated remains liable to be infected by small-pox: and let us further imagine, that this subsequent small-pox is not mitigated im any case, and therefore,. that (as in the case of the ordinary natural small-pox) one in six of these will die. Then the worst result would be, that one out of every three thousand persons vaccinated would die. But we know, that one of three hundred persons, who receive the small-pox by inoculation, perishes of that disease |]. The conclusion is therefore obyious, that the worst result that could be calculated upon from yaccine failures, would leave * See the Report of the College. + See his Treatise, sect. iv. $ See the last Report of the National Vaccine Establishment, July, 1811. § See his Treatise, p. 23. || Dr. Willan states, that “ the inoculated small-pox still proves fatal in one case out of two hundred and fi{ty.—Ibid. TA the 296 On the Progress and present State of Vaccination. the balance in favour of vaccination, in the proportion of ten to one. But when we consider the actual state of the circumstances ;—that the number of deaths from inoculated small-pox really exceeds the number of * failures’” of vac~ eimation ;—that these * failures” are, in a yreat majority of instances, the means of insuriig a very mitigated and harm- less small-pox ;—and that they have, perhaps, in no im- stance, been followed by a fatal small-pox ;—the chances of fatality from a failure of the vaccination are so trivial as to elude calculation; and the only chance of injury that en- sues, is reduced to that of a temporary inconvenience. Lastly, let us reflect on the non-contagious nature of the vaccine disease, which, while it secures the individual from blindness, deformity, or fatuity, too often consequent on the small-pox, injuries no one, and spreads no epidemic around, and we shall be compelled to admit, that, ‘* with all its imperfections on its head,” with a frequency of failure that its opponents have never yet ascribed to it, vaccination would still prove a blessing, such as few individuals have had the happiness to confer upon mankind. We micht here have terminated our observations, but ° the leading circumstance, communicated in the late Report from the National Vaccine Establishment, demands some notice. It is singular, that at the time when the publie attention was attracted by the occurrence of small-pox after vaccination, in the sons of the earl of Grosvenor and sir Henry Martin, the second occurrence of smalj-pox in the rev. Joshua Rowley, miss Booth, and two other per- sons, should have happened. In three of these cases, the previous small-pox had been taken by inoculation, and in the fourth, in'the natural way. But the truth ts, that the small-pox itself, in whichsoever of these two ways it is produced, is liable to the same anomalies and exceptions as the cow-pock. ‘There are several examples of the fact on record; one of the most striking of which is the case of Mr. Langford, related in the 4th volume of the Memoirs of the Medical Society of London. This person was so §* re- markably pitted and seamed” by a former malignant small- pox, “as to attract the notice of all who saw him:” yet he died at the age of fifty, in an attack of confluent small-pox, in which he communicated the infection to five other in- dividuals of the family, one of whom also died. It will be unnecessary here to detail the various examples which au- thors have described. The writer will just notice an in- stance which occurred under his own observation not long ago, y phi, —— Decomposition of Sulphate of Iron by Animal Matter. 297 ago, the particulars of which will be detailed in the second volume of the ** Medico- Chirurgical Transactions” about to be published*. This cecurred in a woman of 95 years of age, who was considerably pitted by a former confluent small- -pox, which she bad suffered in her childhood. | She caught the second disease, which went through the usual variolous stages ina mild way, by nursing her infant under a confluent small-pox, which proved fatal to it. Itis res markable, that her two elder children, who had been vac- cinated a few years before, lived in the same apartment, during the progress of the smal]-pox in the infant and mo- ther, and escaped the infection ; the cow-pock in them hav- ing exerted a preventive power, which the previous small- pox had failed to effect in the mother. The poor woman had been prevented, by the terrors excited by the anti-vae- cinists, from vaccinating her youngest child: a fact which should induce these opponents of “the practice to reflect on the serious responsibility which they assume, in thus dis couraging the adoption of this important preventive, I am, &c. Bedford Row, August 19, 1811. ft BATEMAN, M.D. Liv. Nation respecting the Decomposition of Sulphate of Iron by Animal Matter. By W.H. Pepys, Esq. F.R.S. Treasurer of the Geological Society +. As the following circumstance, that took place in my la- boratory, appears to throw considerable light on the mode whereby organic remains become penetrated by pyrites, it may not perhaps_be foreign to the objects of the Geological Society, and as such, I have taken the liberty of offering it to their attention, I was engaged a few yeats ago in a course of experiments on hydrogen gas, which was procured in the usual method, by the solution of iron turnings in diluted sulphuric acid, The sulphate of iron hence resulting, to the amount of some quarts, was poured into a large earthen pitcher, and remained undisturbed and unnoticed for about a twelve- month. At-the end of this time, the vessel being wanted, 1 was about to throw away the liquor, when my attention was excited by an oily appearance on its surface, together with a yellowish powder, and a quantity of small hairs. The powder, on examination, proved to be sulphur; and * Several cases and many references will be there found, which are emitted here for the sake of brevity. + From the Transactions of the Geological Bpoeed vol. i. on 298 On the Staphyloma, Hydrophthalmia, on pouring off carefully the supernatant. liquor, there was discovered at the bottom of the vessel a sediment consisting of the bones of several mice, of smal] grains of pyrites, of sulphur, of crystallized green sulphate of iron, and of black muddy oxide of iron. These appearances may with much probability be attri- buted to the mutual action of the animal matter and the sulphate of iron, by which a portion of the metallic salt seems to have been entirely deoxygenated. LVI. On the Staphyloma, Hydrophthalmia, and Carcinoma _ of the Eye. By James Ware,,Esq., F.R.S. and Vice President of the Medical Society*. Aurnoven it be too often the melancholy province of medical men to witness disorders which cannot be removed, and in the treatment of which the utmost exertions of their art can only produce a mitigation of the symptoms,—surgery nevertheless, besides affording in this way considerable be- nefit to mankind, is often highly serviceable in various dis- eases, by preventing the occurrence of greater evils than those which have already taken place. This ebservation is strikingly exemplified in those disorders of the eye to which the atrention of the saciety is now requested ; for though all of them have irrecoverably destroyed vision, yet the staphy- loma and hydrophthalmia indispensably require an operation that shall cause the eve to sink in the orbit, in order to obviate constant pain and uneasiness; and the carcinoma of the eye is only capable of receiving a check, in its tendency to destroy life, by the complete extirpation of that organ. ” The term staphyloma is sometimes: used to designate the protrusion of a part of the iris through a wound or alcer of the cornea. This is perhaps its most correct meaning, the Greek word, from which it is derived, implying similitude to araisin or dried grape. But various authors have also used the term to denote a projecting opaque cornea; and in this sense 1 propose more particularly to employ it at this time. When the projection is very considerable, the dis- order is sometimes also called proptosis ; and in those cases where the projection is not confined to the cornea, but oc- cupies also a portion of the sclerotica, as sometimes bappens, this latter appellation is peculiarly appropriate. It has been disputed by authors, whether the projection of the opaque cornea, in the staphyloma, is occasioned by a * From the Transactions of the Medical Society of London, vol. i. part i. thickening ‘ and Carcinoma of the Eye. 299 thickening of this tunic, or by a morbid accumulation of aqueous humour behind it. I believe, in general, both these circumstances combine to produce the disorder; the cornea becoming not only opaque, but both softer and thicker than in its natural texture ; and in consequence of this, the aqueous humour behind the cornea pushes it for- ward, and thus enlarges the anterior chamber of this hu- mour. I have sometimes seen the whole cornea sloughed off during an acute purulent ophthalmy, and a white opaque substance gradually effused from the ulcerated surface, suf- ficient to form a cumplete cover to the iris ; after which this opaque body has gradually projected in a conical shape, until at length it has becomé'so prominent as to hinder the eyelids from closing over it. I have at otheritimes seen the projecting cornea partly opaque, ond partly transparent ; the pupil being distinctly visible through the transparent part, but the power of vision wholly destroyed. Sometimes the circumference of the opaque cornea projects, its central part appearing depressed, and resembling the bottom of a plate or dish; and sometimes, near to the centre of the opacity, in the case Jast mentioned, there is an irregular black appearance, which a cursory observer might mistake for a pupil. No part of this aperture, however, is percep- tible on a careful inspection, and the eye of course is de- prived of all useful vision *. ' So Jong as the projection of the opaque cornea can be covered by the eyelids without painfully stretching them, if it be not accompanied with an irregularity in the surface of the cornea, and the sight of the other eye continue perfect, * The cornea not unfrequently projects without losing its transparency, ‘ assuming a conical shape instead of that which is spherical ; in consequence of which change the eye at first becomes myopic; but when the projection is more advanced, it causes so unequal a refraction in the rays of light as to destroy correct vision. In cases of this description 1 have repeatedly dis- charged the aqueous humour, and endeavoured afterwards, by moderate pressure, to prevent the return of the projection; but on the reproduction of the aqueous humour the conical projection has always reappeared. If only one eye be thus affected, the sight of the other remaininy perfect, all the purposes of vision will be obtained from this alone; but, if the cornea of both eyes be conical, much advantage may be obtained from wearing spec- tacles the rings of which are filled with an opaque substance that has a small hole in its centre, not more than the tenth or twelfth part of an inch in dia- meter, the smallness of which aperture, by lessening the pencils of the rays of light, will prevent the confusion that must otherwise be occasioned by their unequal refraction. Persons who have a projecting cornea should be particularly careful to avoid blows on the eye; since the projection is usually accompanied with a preternatural thinness of this tunic, which renders it easily ruptured: when this happens, the iris is liable to be involved in the wound, and the sight to be more or Jess injured by the derangement that takes place in the figure and size of the pupil. the 300 On the Staphyloma, Hydrophthalmia, the only inconvenience the projection occasions is produced by the unseemly appearance it presents to observers. This may in some degree be prevented by wearing a pair of spec- tacles containing plain window glass in the ring opposite the sound eve, and class that: is ground in a slight’ degree opaque, or even similar plain window glass, in the ring op- posite the affected eye. In some instances, however, a consciousness of the appearance produced by a projecting opaque cornea has occasioned so much distress of mind, that I have been requested to sink the eye, solely for the purpose of getting rid of the deformity. I wish I could say that milder means have been found sufficient to accomplish the object. Various applications have been proposed for this purpose at’different times by different authors. | By some, strong caustics have been recommended for the ex- press purpose of producing an excoriation, and even an ul- ceration, on the surface of the projecting substance. Both Janin * and Richter + have said that they not only removed the projection of an opaque cornea, but even reproduced its transparency, by the application-of the butter of anti- mony. Janin has recommended this application, . for the purpose also of removing that other species of the staphy- loma, in which there 1s a protrusion of part of the iris through an ulcer of the cornea. But I beg leave to observe that caustic applications of every kind should be used with great caution in all diseases of the eye. I have known them occasion violent and long-continued inflammations ; and, so far from reproducing vision, they have very rarely re- duced the prominence of the staphyloma so as to preclude the need of other means to take away the deformity. Scar- pa, in his chapter on the staphyloma, expresses himself in a similar way; and has a addaced several cases of this disor- der in children, in whom an ulceration on. the surface of the cornea was kept up by escharotic applications several weeks, and yet uo diminution was obtained by it, either in the projection or opacity. If such be the result of the eX- periment on the eyes of children, it certainly is less likely to succeed on those of adults. “The other mode which has been proposed by authors, viz. that of compressing the tu- mor, and thus restraining it from interfering with the mo- tion of the eyelids, is so ‘dificult to be accomplished with the necessary accuracy, that | remember only one case in which it afforded any advantage. In this instance a poor man who had a staphyloma of one eye many years, and * Janin sur |’GPil, sect. 8, page 389 et sequent. + Richter, fasciculus 2, page 105 et sequent. could and Carcinoma of the Eye. 301 could not be prevailed on to submit to have the eye sunk, was kept easy by wearing a bandage round his head, not unlike to the spring truss that is used for an inguinal her- nia. The bolster of the instrument made a pressure on the outside of the eyelids, which kept them constantly closed, and hindered the eye from moving. In consequence of this, the projection gave no pain; and, by the aid of the other eye, the paiient was enabled to work at a common handicraft business without inconvenience. The more direct way of affording relief in the staphyloma is by removing the whole of the projecting substance; in consequence of which the humours of the eye are discharg~ ed, and the posterior part of its tunics collapse, so as to form a kind of button at the bottom of the orbit. On this button, when the wound is healed, an artificial enamelled “eye is capable of resting; by which the uniform appear- ance of the face may be restored. Authors are not agreed on the best mode of performing the operation. Heister, St. Yves, and others, have proposed to pass a double liga- ture through the middle of the tumor, and then to separate the threads, and tie the tumor on each side, so. that the compression made by the ligature may cause it to mortify and slough off. But this is so painful, and so indirect a mode of accomplishing the object, that I believe it has not been practised for many years. Scarpa, in more modern times, has recommended to us to remove a small portion only of the projecting cornea (agreeable to a mode first pro- posed by Celsus in his book De Medicina, lib. vii. cap. 7*), - and to force out the crystalline and vitreous humours through the opening ; after which, he says, the wound will close, and the tunics of the eye collapse to a small size, without occasioning any considerable degree either of pain or inflammation. This mode of performing the operation appears to me, however, to be liable to considerable objec- tions. If the opening in the cornea be not larger than the size of the crystalline humour (which not unfrequently, in cases of the staphyloma, is without disease), this humour, in passing through the aperture, is very hable to bruise the iris, and to bring on pain and inflammation, that are both violent and tedious; and if, on the contrary, the opening be so large as to allow the crystalline and vitreous humours * The words of Celsus are, « in summa parte ejus ad lenticule magnitudi- nem exscindere,” Scarpa proposes to inake an opening “ two, three, or four lines in diameter, according to the size of the staphyloma ;” but the largest of these dimensions being only one third of an inch, is barely sufficient to allow the crystalline to come through it, without forcibly compressing the iris. : to 302 On the Staphyloma, Hydrophthalnia, to be discharged, without doing violence to the iris, though the pain and inflammation consequent on the operation may not be considerable, yet the place of the evacuated humours will be supplied by a watery humour, which will speedily distend the tunics of the eye to their former size, will do away the possibility of inserting an artificial eye, and will hazard the return of all the old symptoms. Scarpa, aware of these circumstances, mentions expressly, that he has been obliged to irritate the wound three or four differ- ent times, after the operation, in order to bring on a suffi- cient degree of inflammation to cause the eye to collapse. Influenced by these considerations, I have never performed the operation according to this method; and having uni- formly succeeded in a considerable number of cases, during a practice of more than thirty years, by performing it in the following manner, I trust that I am justified in recom- mending my mode of operating to the attention of this Society. The operator will find it more convenient to stand behind the patient than before him; and the patient should be placed on a chair sufficiently low to allow the operator to carry his hand with ease over the patient’s head. A large crooked needle, armed with a strong thread, should then be passed throagh the opaque projecting cornea, and, after separating the needle from the thread, a knot should be tied in the latter, at a small distance from the eye, in order to hinder the thread from slipping. The operator having thus obtained by means of the thread a secure hold of the eye, a knife similar to that which is used to divide the cor- nea in extracting the cataract, or, if this be not at hand, a Jong sharp-pointed lancet, should be pushed through the sclerotic coat, about a quarter of an inch from its connec- tion with the cornea, and be carried quickly but accurately round the cornea, as nearly parallel to it as can be accom- plished. Sometimes, a3 soon as a puncture is made through the sclerotica, so large a portion of the vitreous humour escapes, as to cause the cornea to become flaccid 5; in-con- sequence of which the operator may find it difficult to com- plete the incision round this tunic with either the lancet or the knife; and in this case a curved blunt-pointed scissars will be found useful to finish the operation. The only ob- ‘ection to the use of the scissars is drawn from the addi- tional pain which it is supposed to give; but the duration of the operation is so short, that the difference between the pain produced by the instruments is scarcely worthy to be named. The hemorrhage that succeeds is seldom consi- derable; and Carcinoma of the Eye. ~ 303 derable ; and the less the eye is examined afterwards, the less danger will there be of pain and inflammation. A compress wet with a saturnine Jotion should be applied over the eye, and it should be moistened with this liquor, with- out being removed, as often asit becomes dry ; but no lint or any other application should be put within the lids, since this has been known to give great pain, and in one instance to occasion alarming symptoms. An anodyne should be given after the operation, of greater or less strength ac- cording to the age of the patient; but it is seldoin necessary to repeat this medicine, since the patient has usually more scund and quiet sleep after the operation than he had fora long time previous to its performance. At the end of about a fortnight, that part of the sclerotica which remained in the orbit will be found to have collapsed, and sometimes a small fungous substance will then protrude through the wound. This in the course of time would subside of itself; but, as the delay may be irksome, the fungus may be easily re~ moved, and with very little pain, by snipping it off with a pair of sharp scissars, The fungus 1s usually smaller in its neck where it joins the sclerotica than im its top; in conse- quence of which its removal is effected with very little diffi- culty; and though it sometimes reappears, it may be snipped off again and again, until at length the wound will com- pletely close, the inflammation cease, and the orbit become fit to receive an artificial eve. This, however, ought not to be introduced until the inflammation be perfectly removed ; and when such an eye is used, it is advisable to withdraw it every might aud replace it in the morning, which may be effected with ease by the patient himself, after a short ex- perience. In the choice of the artificial eye, it is not only important that the colour of the iris resemble accurately that of the sound eye, but the size of the eye should be well adapted to that of the orbit, and the dimensions of the cor- nea be rather smaller than that of the natural eye. If these rules be not regarded, the artificial eye will give an unsightly stare to the countenance; it will not move, as it ought to do, in unison with the sound eye; and it wil] be liable to occasion both pain aud inflammation. Itis of consequence also to know that an artificial eye is apt to irritate after it has been used about a year and a half or two years, and must then be either disused entirely, or its place be supplied by a new one: and it may not be improper to remark, that when an eye has been sunk, if an artificial eye be not intro- duced, the appearance of the countenance may be much improved by wearing a pair of spectacles with either plain window ‘304 Facts relating to the Nautical Almanac window glass in the circles, or glass that is tinged’ in a slight manner with agreen or blue colour. The reflection from the glass in the | spectacle frame will prevent the defi- ciency from being noticed, or will only give rise to the supposition of the ¢ eye being, weak, [To be continued.} LVI. Facts relating to the Nautical Wy he and the Connoissanke des Tems. I; is well known that the Nautical Almanac has contri- buted more essentially to the improvement of navigation and of practical astronomy in general, than any work of the kind ever published. [t was begun in the year 1767, and has been continued up to 1816 inclusive, making in the whole 50 volumes. This most important work was planned, and has been constantly conducted, by the Rev. Dr. Maskelyne, the late Astronomer Royal, w hose name must for ever stand high in the annals of science, both as a profound mathematician and a most accurate and able astronomer; and particu- larly as the founder of the Junar observations, by which the longitude at sea is now accurately .determined ; and for this great national purpose the Nautical Almanac was es- tablished. The astronomers of France have since modelled their Connozssance des Tems on the plan of this publication, and they have been suspected of copying many of its most valuable and laborious calculations, although they pretend that all their articles are from original computation. A recent discovery, however, seems to remove all doubt on the subject. The Nautical Almanac has been always con- ducted with such accuracy, that there is no instance of any error of ‘importance having been discovered in it. A tri- vial exception, however, has lately occurred. It has been observed that in the volume of the ensuing year, 1812, the obliquity of the ecliptic is assumed about 9 seconds too little, which has probably originated in making adouble cor- rection, in reducing the mean obliquity to the true; which inaccuracy pervades all the columns of the sun’s right ascen- sion and declination. This error was discovered by Dr. Kelly of Finsbury Square, who took an early opportunity of shewing it to Mr. Pond the Astronomer Royal ; and that gentleman, after examining the Almanac, and comparing it with ‘others, agreed as to the existence of the error and the propriety of having i it corrected. Dr. Kelly mengoned it to other sci- entific and the Connoissance des Tenis. 305 éntific persons, among whom was the Earl of Rosse: and this communication led to a correspondence between the Lords of the Admiralty and the Astronomer Royal; the re- . $ult of which is understood to be, that the Almanac is to be corrected in the second edition, which it is expected will be wanted in the course of the year. This delay will not be attended with any inconyenience to seamen, as the error is too delicate to affect their calculations. It is only per- ceptible to Astronomers at land, and especially in Observa- tories; and they may be supposed able to correct for them- selves. Dr. Kelly is now computing tables of the sun’s right as- cension and declination, for the use of hisown Observatory ; and he will probably publish them in the beginning of the year, if others are not brought out before that period. In this operation he avails himself of the improved Solar Tables in Mr. Vince’s third volume of Astronomy, which were not published when the Almanac of 1812 was printed ; but the effects of their superior accuracy may be observed in all the Almanacs that follow. : Tt is no way extraordinary that this mistake in the Nau- tical Almanac should have escaped the notice of our Com- puters and Examiners of the longitude, or of our other Astronomers, as their attention might not have been im- mediately directed to the subject. [t seems, however, a little curious that the American Astronomers, who have printed this volume with additions and pretended improvements, should have left the error in question with ali its con- sequences wholly uncorrected. But the most extraordinary circumstance relating to this mistake is, that the French have actually copied it into their Connotssance des Tems. They have, it is true, given the obliquity of the ecliptic correctly in their fifth page; but in the columns of right ascension and declination of about nine months, thev have inserted our inaccuracies (only making their usual allowance for the difference of meridians); and even at the solstitial points, where the mistake is most obvious, they have co- pied it exactly, and have thus made the sun’s greatest de- clination 9 seconds less than the obliquity of the ecliptic in the fifth page, though both should be the same. If any thing could add to the fame of Dr. Maskelyne, it is the entire confidence thus placed in his calculations by the great Astronomers of France. It is, besides, highly honourable to his memory, that in the Nautical Almanacs of half a century, only one error should be found, and even Vol. 38. No. 162. Oct, 1811. U this 306 Literary and Philosophical Society, Hackney. this too small to be felt in nautical practice. It is a curiosity in science! and it is likewise worthy of being recorded as a most gratifying instance of the powers and persevering energies of the human mind. LVII. Proceedings of Learned Societies. LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, HACKNEY. r Die first year’s Report of this Society has just reached us ; and it is but justice to the members to observe, that they have shown commendable zeal and assiduity in promoting the objects for which the Society was instituted. The Report, after stating the regulations of the Society, presents an account of its origin, establishment, and labours. At the meetings, (held the first Tuesday of every month,) besides routine business and conversations on objects con- nected with the pursuits of the Society, the following papers were read: On the Process of Tanning in England; and the Mode of Rearing Black Cattle in South America: by Mr. David Booth of Newbuigh, in Fifeshire, author of an Introduction to an Analytical Dictionary of the English Language. An Account of the Wahabees, a Sect of Mahomedans, generally accounted Deists under the Faith of the Arabian Prophet: translated from the French by Mr. John Ellis junior. On the Advantages of Mutual Tntercourse among Literary Institutions: by Mr. Clennell. A Literary Portraiture of France in the eigheenth Century: a Translation from the French by Mr, William Fox jun. A Translation of part of the Preliminary Discourse to the Account of ** Arts and Manufactures,” in the Encyclopédie Méthodique, by Mr. John Peters. Observations made in visiting a large Copperas Work in Northumberland: by ‘* A Friend to Science and the useful Arts:” together with some Account of Muriatic Acid, drawn up by Mr. John Sadler. On the Quadrature of the Circle: by Mr. James Clark of Newport, Isle of Wight. A Memoir of the Lite of the late Professor Beattie of Aberdeen ; drawn up for the Society by an intimate friend of the Professor; with some Introductory Observations by Mr. Clennell. Several of these papers have since been published in the New: Observations of the Appearance of the Comet. 307 New Agricultural and Commercial Magazine, conducted by Mr. Clennell, one of the Secretaries of the Society—a practice which we hope to see continued, at least till the Society may think it necessary to publish their papers in regular volumes, LVI]. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. THE COMET. On the Comet. By Mr. Finmincer, late Assistant Astro- nomer at.the Royal Observatory, Greenwich: in a Letter to the Editor. \ Sir, Hayine always considered the Philosophical Maga- zine one of the first channels of periodical scientific infor- mation, it has given me great pleasure in being able from time to time to add to its valuable contents, either by regis- tering im it such productions as were my own, or those of my friends, ‘of whom I had permission,) as appeared to me worthy of public attention. In the month of February last, I noticed, when giving an account of the position of the newly discovered planets Ceres, Pallas, Juno, and Vesta, the valuable observations made on Ceres at its ]ast opposition, (which happened about that time,) by Stephen Groombridge, esq. of Blackheath. The same gentleman has done me the honour of commu- nicating to me his equally valuable observations on the comet which now graces with splendour the concave vault of the starry hemisphere that surrounds us, and which has been for some time past an object of general interest and admiration. The observations with which I have been fa- voured, were not reduced, owing no doubt to the multipli- city of objects in which Mr. Groombridge is continually _ engaged. I have therefore, in uniformity with the valuable observations you lately published, added the latitude and longitude of each observation, these being the parts useful to astronomers, either for determining the elements of the comet’s orbit, or for comparing such elements, when ob- tained, with its actual situation. The elements which have been given by M. Burckhardt, and which are found to agree with subsequent observations, enable us to represent the position and motion of the comet as seen from the earth, in a very clear and interesting point of view. I have lately made for the use cf my pupils * a model, in which the vari- * Mr. Firminger gives private lessons in Astronomy, Geography, Ma- thematics, and the various branches of Natural Philosophy. U2 able 308 Observations of the Appearance of the Comet. able situation of thecomet, and the course it has moved over since its first appearance, are at ouce comprehended by persons almost wholly unacquainted with the most simple and popular principles of astronomical phenomena: adraw- ing and description of this cometarium, with the method of laying down the place of the comet upon its orbit, will be the subject of a future communication. As the perihelion distance of the comet isa little greater than the earth’s mean distance from the san, its motion at its perihelion is only about one and half time the earth’s mean motion in its orbit; on which account, notwithstanding the earth and comet are now moving in almost opposite directions, its disappearance will be very gradual, and it may be expected to adorn our hemisphere for six weeks or two months longer before it vanishes to the eye unassisted by the tele- scope. With the telescope it may probably be traced till nearly the end of January, when it will again be so near the sun as to be lost in his beams; and as its “descent below the plane of the earth’s orbit will take place about the beginning of April, just after its conjunction with the sun, and being at that time between three and four times the distance from us that it is at present, it will be too faint to be any longer visible ; so that we may conclude that its disappearance to the inhabitants of this carth will be about the middle of January 1812. OBSERVATIONS OF THE COMET. 1811. [Ar Tine. A.R, Decl. N. Lone, Lat. N. Sept. 8 |} 9h4n| 162939! 37’ roe 4526948" 59") 30°37! 41” 12:} 10 °.6,).167 U5, 4.) 142.5 ve 3S 207212541, 833,20'55 Oct. 2 | 10 34 | 204 6 20 | 49 31 6>"5 45 46 | 53 27 20 TOUT 24, ) 299°89 28°] 46°59 36 6°22 39 +2 4°61 19°43 15} 10 50 | 286 46 9 | 45 11-30 |} 7 83 45 59 |.62 19 1 17 |. 11 23 | 241 26 544 43.43 46 | 7 11 87 51 | 62 29 11 23 | 11 521 253 48 10 | 88 44 10! 8 3 34 48 | 60 43 27 ‘From the reduced geocentric latitudes it will appear that the comet made its nearest approach to the earth between -_ the 17th and 23d of October. On the 25th, about half- past six o'clock in the evening, the comet was so near to the star marked 7 67 Herculis, that this star appeared to the naked eye to be the nucleus of the comet : the phe- nomenon must have been highly interesting to gentlemen who happened to view it with a good telescope. To me it appeared that the star had actually suffered an occultation ; but being in a situation where I had no telescope at hand, I was unable to make any further observations upon it. Tuomas FIRMINGER. The Somers ‘Town, Oct. 26; 1811. Observations of the Appearance of the Comet. 309 The following observations on the comet were alia at - Gottingen, and published there on the 20th of September : «© The comet which is now visible on the horizon in the northern part of the heavens, is one of the most remark- able which has ever been observed. None has ever been so long visible, and, consequently, none has ever afforded such certain means of information with respect to its orbit. Accordingly, since the end of March last, when it was first perceived by M. Flauguergues in the south of France, its course has been regularly traced ; nor shall we lose sight of it til] the month of January 1812. Its train, which oc- cupies a space of 12 degrees, exhibits several curious pheno- mend. It is not immediately connected with tie comet, as if it were an emanation from it, but forms, at a distance trom the nucleus, a wide belt, the lower part of which girds without coming in contact with it, much in the same manner as the ring of Saturn ; and this belt extends itself in two long luminous fasces, one of which is usually rectilz- neal, while the other, at about the third of its Jength, shoots forth its rays with a slight curve like the branch of a palmtree ; nevertheless this ‘configuration is subject to change. It has been observed that ‘the space between the body of the comet and its train is occasionally filled, and of the two fasces, that which 1s generally rectilineal sometimes arches its rays, while those of the other assume the form of right lines. Finally, rays, or, as it were, plumes of ig- nited matter, have been seen to issue from the lower extre- mities of the fasces or flakes, and again unite. ‘© Such fluctuations and accidenis in that sort of Jumi- nous atmosphere which must occupy in the regions of space a scope of about eight millions of leagues, are immense, and may well impress the imagination with astonishment. The celebrated astronomer of Lilienthal, Mr. De Schreetter, remarked variations of the same kind in the tail of the Jast comet of 1807, and inserted, in the work he published with respect.to it, plates of the successive configurations. ** Professor Harding has also observed and delineated with care the present comet under its various aspects, and his design will appear in one of the succeeding numbers of the ‘Geographical and Astronomical Correspondence,’ edited at the observatory of Gotha by the chamberlain De Lindenau. “¢ They will show that when the comet first appeared, and was yet at a distance from the sun, the two flakes of its train were separated so as to form a right angle; but as U3 that 310 Observations of the Appearance of the Comet. that distance decreased, they approached each other till they became parallel.—This pheenomenon, however, may be nothing more than an optical illusion. “¢ As to the nucleus, or the comet itself, it has been found impossible, as yet, even with the aid of the best telescopes, to make observations on its disk, as on that of a sohd body and of determined circumference. We can only discern 4 vague circular mass, more luminous than the train, particu- larly towards the centre; but the verge of which is doubtful, furnishing to the eye no fixed line of demarcation. “This mass is without doubt composed of a very subtile substance, as is probably that of all comets. This hypo- thesis receives much support from the fact, that one of these stars, of very considerable magnitude, (the first comet in 1770,) passed and re- passed through the very middle of the satellites of Jupiter without occasioning amongst them the slightest disorder. There is every reason to believe, that the nucleus of the present comet is nothing more than a conglo- meration of vapours of very little density, so little perhaps as to be transparent, Whether this be the case or not, might be easily ascertained, if those who are in the habit of observing it would watch the moment of its ¢ransié athwart the disk of some star, the rays of which would have sufficient power to perforate it, if transparent. Such abody might very possibly be an incipient world, just past its gaseous state, and which was to derive solidity from the precipitation and condensation of the matter surrounding it. ‘The succes- sive observation of some comets, in which it may be pos- sible to distinguish the different stages of chaos and pro- gresswe formation, can alone furnish any knowledge with respect to this point.’”? Aoniteur, 4th October. To Mr. Tilloch. Glasogw Observatory, Oct. 7. Sir,—I hope the following facts relative to the comet will not be unacceptable to your readers : Since my communication to you of the 4th, relative to the comet, announcing the determination of the elements of its orbit made at this establishment, I am happy to per- ceive in the London papers which arrived to-day, the result of Burckhardt’s second approximation. The talents of this gentleman as a computer are well known, and highly ap- preciated by the learned world. Between his time of the perihelion passage and ours there is a difference of no more than three days, and the whole period of the comet’s revo- lution, I am satisfied, exceeds considerably 100 years. It is to be remarked too, tat Burckhardt never ventured to give to Olservations of the Appearance of the Comet. 311 to the public his first trials; and therefore, whatever dif- ferences exist between his numbers and ours may have been obtained at his second calculation. The inaccuracy of the first he expressly admits in his letter to the editor of the Moniteur, which begins in the following manner: ‘¢ Having been requested to correct my first determination,” &c, I wish it to be understood, however, that the appearance of his statement has not shaken, in the least degree, the con- fidence I humbly conceive due to our own results. The observations from which these are derived were performed with the instruments of Troughton; instruments unques- tionably superior to anyother in the world. But we have still more direct assurance of the accuracy of our observa- tions, by compasing them to the numbers which have been published from the highest authority (the astronomer royal) in the Philosophical Magazine of last month. | The longi- tudes of the comet, determined at Greenwich and Glasgow Observatories, coincide to the fraction of a minute. The time of the perihelion passage may be considered as pretty accurately fixed, either for Sept.12 or 9, or, as is more probable, at some intermediate period. From this we can fully explain some of the phenomena gencrally remarked. From the gth, as-stated in the Glasgow papers by a cor- respondent, the comet was observed to increase consider- ably both in brilliancy and in the apparent magnitude of the coma, but particularly of the tail, in the course of eight days. This verifies very happily the observation of Sir Isaac Newton, that it is not till immediately after the peri- helion passage, that comets acquire their maximum of lustre and of size. The enlargement therefore uniformly takes place at that time, whether the comet Is coming nearer us or moving in the opposite direction. The quantity of in- crease due to its approximation alone, in six or eight days, can be calculated, and we know that there is no instrument in Scotland capable of measuring the change of apparent magnitude produced by this cause, Whether the exquisite micrometer of Troughton, applied to our great Herschelian telescope, may show any difference, I shall be able to ascer- tain in a few days, as that instrument is lately dispatched from London for us. I must acknowledge, however, that I entertain very slen- der hopes of success in this kind of observation on a minute body surrounded with such a nebulosity, and at a distance from us much greater than that of the sun. . It has been said, that this comet was ascertained to be the same with that of 1661. The two are as different as can be 1magined U4 in 312 Observations of the Appearance of the Comet. in every respect. Hence we may see how much safer, in the event, scientific investigation is than vague conjectures. I subjoin the elements of the comet of 1661, and those now given by Burckhardt : COMET 1661. BURCKHARDT. Long. of node..... 82deg.30 min. 140 deg. 13 min. Inclination,....... 32deg.35 min. 72 deg.42 min. Place of perihelion, 115deg.58 min. 74 deg. 12 min. Perihelion dist. .... 42,600,000 miles. 96,000,000 miles. I am, sir, your obedient servant, ANDREW URE. Glasgow Observatory, Oct. 16. Srr,—In the Glasgow Courier of October 5, I had the honour of submitting to the public the results of the joint Jabours of Mr. Cross and myself, for the preceding month, on the comet, at the Glasgow Observatory. ~-In The Star newspaper of October 11, appeared for the first time the elements of the orbit, as determined by the celebrated Burck- hardt, member of the National Institute. Itis a duty which I owe to the skill and the unwearied exertions of my associate Mr. Cross, to this patriotic esta- blishment, and also to this country, hitherto considered by the French mathematicians and astronomers unequal to the primary solution of this difficult problem, to state the fol- Jowing facts :—-On October 8, at eight hours fifteen mi- nutes, by observations made here, with every precaution to insure the utmost accuracy, the comet had deviated 42 de- grees 18 minutes from the longitude which Burckhardt’s elements assign for that instant. On October 14, at two o’clock in the morning, the longitude, as deduced trom a most satisfactory transit, was 206 degrees 42 minutes. By the French computation it ought to have been 248 degrees. i minute, differing from nature by 41 degrees 19 minutes. By our elements, which have received a partial correction from my observations since the 5th, the coincidence on the 8th, at the same time, was within 15 minutes, and on the 14th, within 13 minutes. Our computed latitudes on the i3th agree to a minute with observation, while those of Burckhardt differ by 3 degrees or 180 times that quan- ‘tity. The examination of both has been made by the excellent tables of the parabola, constructed by Delambre, imperial observer at Paris. It is in the longitude of the perihelion that the chief discordance exists between the French ele- ments and ours, and this amounts to about 31 ae) the New Books. 313 ine former being, in our judgement, too small by this quantity. The comet has been continually approaching the earth for many weeks. From September 15th tll October 14th, its decrease of distance amounted to 25 millions of miles, vet its brilliancy and the magnitude of its tail have gone on diminishing, as Burckhardt properly remarked. Persons ignorant of astronomy would naturally infer from this di- minution the recedure of the comet from us, as, from its increase they conjectured its approach. Astronomers Jaugh at such idle dreams when applied to a demonstrative science, in which conjecture has found no place since the days of Newton. | Its first principles teach, that these phze- nomena arise from the comet’s varying distance from the sun. At the period of the perihelion passage these bodies are known uniformly to attain their maximum of size and brightness. If Glasgow has been justly ridiculed on the present occa- sion for the dexterous appropriation of every floating error about the comet, J trust this communication will, in some measure, redeem its former scientific character. It is to be hoped that some of our eminent philosophers will take the trouble of comparing Burckhardt’s elements with our observations, and that they will speedily give the result of their comparisons to the public. Nothing could have in- duced us to enter the lists against so able a competitor, but the conviction of the justice and importance of the cause which public duty assigned. I am your obedient servant, ANDREW URE, Mr. T. Leybourn, of the Royal Military College, editor of the Mathematical Repository, intends to publish, by sub- scription, A Collection of all the Mathematical Questions and their Answers, which have appeared in the Almanack called The Ladies’ Diary, from its commencement in 1704 to the present time. The editor of the Diary (Dr. Charles Hutton) published a similar work in 1773, but compre- hending both its mathematical and poetical parts down to tbat period. Mr. Leybourn’s publication will comprehend only the Mathematical Part; and, with Dr. Hutton’s per- ynission, will contain all the valuable Additions given in his Edition, as far as it extends. He also hopes to be able to vive other Additions by the assistance of some of the in- genious Mathematicians who have for a number of years past contributed to the Mathematical Repository. The work will be printed in 8vo, and will be published . in 314 . Antiquities—Remedy for Apoplexy. in half volumes,’ one of which’ will appear every three months. The Diagrams will be printed in the text from ficures cut in wood. It will be put to press as soon as such a number of subscribers can be obtained as shail give the editor a prospect of being indemnified for the expense which must attend tts publication. Mr. Parkinson’s Third Volume of the Organic Remains of a former World will be published in November. ANTIQUITIES. While the workmen were lately. opening some ruins in the venerable mansion of John Floyd, esq. near Redburn, Oxfordshire, they discovered below the foundation of an old wall a leaden box, measuring three feet in length by two feet and a half in breadth, in perfect condition, and perfectly secured by an antique kind of padlock, which was not forced but with great difficulty. When opened, it con- tamed 72 copper medals, each weighing three ounces and one quarter, all in a bigh state of preservation. The de- vices on them, which are throughout the same, are, on one side, the figure of a dying warrior supported in the arms of two men in complete armour, and several others —— weeping round. In the back-ground, a battle raging the motto ‘* Dulce et decorum est pro patrui mori” suti'e rounding the whole. On the reverse a Roman triumph, with no less than 115 figures. Along with the medals were four beautiful lamps, made of a composition chiefly silver; two small daggers, most curiously wrought ; five human figures in solid gold, supposed to represent the penates.— There was also a wooden box, contained in the leaden, 14 inches in length, apparently solid, which when exposed to the air ctumbled into dust. A mutilated scroll was dis- covered, but too much disfigured by time for any of its con- tents to be legible, save a few detached sentences which are of an amatory description. A REMEDY FOR APOPLEXY. M. Sage has lately stated in a meinoir read to the Na- tional Institute at Paris, the efficacy of flour volatile alkah in cases of severe apoplexy. ‘* For at least 40 years,”’ says _he, “ I have bad opportunities of witnessing the eflacacy of volatile alkali, taken internally, as an immediate remedy for the apoplexy, ifemployed on the first sppeamance of the dis- ease. Onc.of the keepers of my cabinet,a ged 72 years, robust, though thin and very sedate, was seized, while fasting, with an Lectures. —List of Patents for new Inventions. 315 an apoplexy. He fell down deprived of sense. When raised up, he had the rattles in his throat ; his eyes were closed; his face pallid, and his teeth fixt together. I drew out his under lip so as to answer the purpose of a spout, into which was poured a spoonful of water, containing 25 or 30 drops of flour volatile alkali. At the same time two slips of paper, the edges of which were wetted with volatile alkali, were introduced into his nostrils. The teeth were speedily separated, and the eyes opened. A second dose of alkali was instantly poured down the throat. The rattles ceased; speech and recollection returned. In the course of an hour the patient recovered sufficient to proceed without assistance about 300 paces to his own chamber. In an- other hour he got up, asked for something to eat, and has since experienced no return of the disorder.” He reports another instance in the person of one of his friends, who was a.great eater, and was struck with the apoplexy while at table. ‘¢ The volatile alkali excited a vomiting ; and after that had abated, the patient took 20 drops of volatile alkali in balf a glass of wine, His senses returned, and in two hours he was able to walk in his garden.” LECTURES ON MANUFACTURES. Mr. Clennell, of Homerton, F.S.A. Edinburgh and Perth, &e. &c. conductor of the New Agricultural and Commer- cial Magazine, or General Depository of Arts, Manufac- tures and Commerce, will deliver a Course of Six Lectures on Manufactures, at Mr. Cowland’s, the New Inn, Strat- ford. —The Lectures will commence at 7 o’clock on Fri- day Evening, the 1st of November, and be continued at the same hour on the Thursday Evenings of the five following weeks, LIST OF PATENTS FOR NEW INVENTIONS. To William Taylor, of Gomersal, in the county of York, merchant, for his machine or apparatus to he attached to the axle-tree and nave of wheel carriages, whereby their motion may be gradually checked and stopped, and also again loosened or unstopped at the pleasure of the driver or passengers, during the progress of the carriage.—August 7, 1811. To James Mallovy, of the state of New York, but now residing in the city of London, hatter, in consequence of a communication made to him by.a certain foreigner residing abroad, for a machine for cutting or shearing the nap or wool from all kinds of broad and narrow cloths,—August 7, To s 316 List of Patents for new Inventions. To William Davis, of Royal Oak Yard, Bermondsey Street, in the county of Surrey, engineer, for his machine for chopping meat for sausages and other like purposesent August 7. To Jobn Stubbs Jorden, of Birmingham, patent copper window frame manufacturer, for his new method of glaz- ing hot-houses, green-houses, and all horticultural build- ings.—August 20. To William Good, of Coleman Street, London, plumber, for his improvement in valves for various purposes.—Sep - tember 9. To Walter Rochfort, of Bishopsgate. Street, London, grocer and tea-dealer, for his improved method of preparing coffee.—September 9, To William Frederick Collard, of Tottenham Court Road, in the county of Middlesex, musical instrument maker, for certain improvements upon an upright piano forte.—September 9. To John Barton, of Tufton Street, Westminster, engi- neer, for a sawing machine upon an improved construction. —September 9. To William Walter Jenkins, of Birmingham, brass- founder, for his improvement in the method of manufac- turing drawer and other knobs of different shapes and forms, used with or affixed to cabinet and other furniture and things, whereby much labour and expense will be saved in the manufacturing of the same.—Sept. 9. To John Jones, of Beverton, in the county of Glamor- gan, gent., for a new method or methods of applying the expansive force or pressure of atmospheric air, condensed air, or steam, in or upon a wheel, so as to be the first mover of machinery.—Sept. 9. To Michael Logan, of Paradise Sera Rotherhithe, en- gineer, for an instrument for the generation of fire, and various purposes in chemical and experimental operations. —Sept. 9. Yo William Strachan, of Pool Cottage, in Poolton cum Seacombe, in the county of Chester, chemist, for a new method of preparing the ore of cobalt for the various pur- poses to which it is applicable in trade, manufacturing, and painting.—Sept. 9. To John Chancellor, of Sackville Street, Dublin, watch- and clock-maker, for his mechanical aiasical instrument, on a new construction, applicable to clocks and other kinds ‘of machinery.—Sept. 9. To Thomas Marsh, of King Street, in the parish rg re a Metercological Observations. 317 St. James’s, Clerkenwell, watch-maker, for his improve- ments in the construction of watches.—Sept. 9. To George Kitchen, of Sheffield, silver plater, for his method of making portable sconces or branches.—Sept. 14. To William Fothergill, of Greenficld, in the parish of Holyweil and county of Flint, copper forger, for his new method of making copper rollers for prinung.—Sept. 23. Metereological Olservations made at Clapton in Hackney, from Sept, 24 to Oct. 23, 1811. Sept. 24.—A clear morning was followed by abun- dance of cumuli floating along in the wind; this was the only cloud which prevailed through the day: in the even- ing large sheets of the cirrostratus obscured the setting sun, and were followed by strong west wind and frequent show- ers through the night, with a falling barometer. Sept. 25.—Wind and rain from the west all day. The mercury kept sinking till about four o’clock, when it began to mount again, and continued rising all night. Sept. 26.—Early the sky was clouded, with strong wind from the west; afterwards it cleared, when cirrostratus ap- peared in a lower region while cirri were abundant above: in the afternoon followed cumulostratus, the wind became calmer, and in the evening showers came on, Sept. 27.—Cloudy morning, rainy day, and clear even- ing with clouds at different altitudes: wind W. and N.W. Sept. 28.—A thick stratus, followed by gentle showers and fair evening. Sept. 29.—An overcast morning: soon several strata of clouds appeared : when the day cleared large petroid cumuti and cumulostrati were seen, among others small and floc- cose, while in a region more lofty, light flimsy clouds showed features of cirrus, cirrocumulus, and cirrostratus : large denser and wavy sheets passed over and threatened rain, but the night became fair. Sept. 30.—Early the linear cirrus ranged south-east and north west, and showed a tendency to cirrocumulus and cirrostratus ; presently cumuli curling inwards floated below and inosculated, and gentie showers were the consequence. Oct. 1.—Simall rain, then showers, in the intervals of which light flimsy clouds were in a high and calmer re- gion, while large cumuli, as yesterday, floated along in the west wind below. Oct. 2.—Thin stratus followed by clear morning, after- wards cumulostratus : about four o’clock drops of rain fell from 318 Meteorological Observations from a light nimbus : fine evening: about six o’clock cir= rostratus ranged N.W. and S.E, from which cirrose tufts pointed to S.W.; from which quarter I saw numerous little linear cirri ranging by moonlight. Oct. 3.—Thin stratus with strong dew: cirri passed over from N.W., and in a lower region long spreading beds of cirrostralus in some places becoming e2rrocumulus. Soon after noon rain set m with a south-east wind. In the even- ing, which was warm and muggy, I observed the clouds to pass over from W.S.W. Oct. 4.—Two strata of cloud produce showers at times ; wind south. Oct, 5.—Windy and showery, with frequent rainbow. In the clear intervals. fleecy cumali flew along at different heights, the lower ones moving fastest: in a region still higher, features of cirrus, cirrocumulus, and cirrostratus fre- quen'ly appeared ; while large petroid camulostratus rose in the horizon. Oct. 6.—Clouded morning with calmer west wind: in the evening abundance of cirrus followed by cirrostratus and cirrocumulus ranging from the south. Oct. 7.—Misty, with a breeze from south-west; then clouded, with showers : fair intervals by night. Oct. 8.—Light stratus early: abundance of cirrus pass over gently from the west, some of its tufts bent obliquely upwards at right angles: cirrocumudus and cirrostratus also formed, and cumuli sailed under; afterwards cumulostratus alone increased through the day: clear by night, with a few cirrostrati. Comet very bright. Oct. 9.—Calm clouded day, various clouds; the cirro- stratus prevails ; wind S.W, Oct. 10.—Calm and cloudy ;. features of all the modifica- tions followed by slight rain by night. S.W. Oct. 11.—Chiefly clouded; in the breaks several strata observed: fleecy cumuli flew rapidly along, though the wind below was gentle S.S.W. . / ot. 12.—Gentle showers from the union of two strata of clouds; towards evening the wind got up with hard showers, anda clear night: some small meteors left long trains. Oct. 13.—Clear strong wind from N.W. fleecy cumuli flew along in it; higher up various ci7i; in some places cirrose fibres transversely intersected by tufts became a beantiful reticular pleaws: about five in the evening a solar halo appeared, with spreading and low cirrostratus. ; Oct. 14.—Damp day with small rain; clear intervals by night; made at Clapton in Hackney. 319 night; a little brilliant meteor descended into a fleecy cu- mulus. WindS.W. Oct. 15.—Misty morning with cumuli, followed by clear and very warm day with a south-west wind, R Oct. 16.—Fair warm day, cirrus and cirrocumulus with some cumuli, followed by all the modifications variously mixed in different altitudes and interfused with mistiness 5 fine orange colour at sun-set; flashes of lightning by night. Oct. 17.—Misty and overcast morning ; afterwards fair with cirrus, cirrocumulus, and others; stratus by night. S.W. Oct..18.—Thick stratus followed by fair warm day with multiform cirrus, cirrocumulus, cumulus, cumulosiratus, and afterwards cirrostratus: rain occurred in the night. Wind gentle from S.S.W. Gct. 19.—A wet mist, followed by much cloud and mistiness: towards evening it was fair, when much cirrus was observed scattered about ahead of cumulus and cumu- lostratus which appeared lower. Thick stratus at night. Wind gentle from S.S.W. » Oct. 20.—A mist followed by damp and chiefly cloudy day, with some intervals of sunshine: stratus by night. Wind S.S.W. Oct. 21.—Cloudy morning followed by fair day with cir- rus and abundance of cirrocumulus * above large and low- ering fleecy cumuli flying beneath in the wind: very warm night, with a brisk gale from the south ; distant flashes of lightning. Oct. 22.—Fair morning with south wind, cirrus and cir- rocumulus above; large low and spreading cumulus and cu- mulostratus below: afterwards sky became clouded all over, rain followed, and the wind became west. Clear again by night. Oct. 23.—Filiform cirri range from N.W, to S.E. and become a fine veil; cumuli float below in W.S.W. wind: afterwards much spreading cloud and misty horrizon. To- wards evening breeze from N.W. with light showers; very clear by night, with some small meteors and cooler air. Five Houses, Clapton, THOMAS FORSTER. October 24th, 1811. y * Some cirrocumulus appeared whose nubecula were smaller than those ofa bed of cirrocumulus in a higher region ; which is an unusual inversion ef order, ; METEORO- 320 Days of Month. Sept. Oct. oon oawms O19 27 28 29 30! Thermometer. Ze} . | 3. | Height of 2's 5 {77-4 .|the Barom. 3S Zz " = Inches. «eo - | 46 | 50°| 48°} 29°15 45 | 60 | 50 “20 50 | 62 | 50 “50 50 | 63 | 55 65 55 | 62 | 52 4) 54 | 61 | 49 wie 44 | 56 | 59 “62 54 | 68 | 60 “50 5y | 66 | 56 ‘66 56 | 64 | 57 "89 57 | 67 | 58 °93 Fee Or | ao “99 56 | 64 | 57 | 30°05 57 | 64 | 60 ‘06 60 | 66 | 60 | 29°84 60 | 63 | 56 ‘67 57 | 60 | 58 "82 58 | 60 | 57 | »°83 60 | 70 | 63 *80 60 | 70 | 63 BOT 60 | 69 | 60 | 30°09 55 | 68 | 61 “18 60 | 64 | 54 *22 55 | 63 | 56 “OF 55 | 62 | 60 | 29°82 fio | 64 | 54 "54 52 | 59 | 52 *56 51 | 52 | 47 "48 “46 | 56 | 46 “34 45 | 51 | 47 | 28°69 Meieorology. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE, By. Mr. Carey, OF THE STRAND, For October 1811. 5 S Degreesof Dry ness by Leslie Hygrometer. Weather. Rain Shower Fair ‘ Showery Showery Fair Rain Fair Stormy Fair \Cloudy Fair Fair Fair Fair Cloudy Fair Small rain Fair Fair Fair Fair Cloudy Cloudy Fair Cloudy Fair Rain Fair Stormy N.B. The Barometer’s height is taken at one o'clock, f sai j LIX. The Reports of Mr. Wit11am Situ, and Mr. Epwarp Martin, to the Bristol and Taunton Canal Company, on the State of the Collieries at and near Nail- sea, in Somersetshire. r Dus Committee of Proprietors under an Act of Parliament passed last sessions, for the Bristol and Taunton Canal, in Somersetshire ; having resolved, in June last, to take the opinions of two eminent mineral surveyors, whether the coal- field around Nailsea, across which their line of canal is to pass, was likely to furnish such a supply of Coals,as by the tonnage on them, to pay interest to the proprietors for the expense of executing this part of their line, about eight miles in length from the river Avon at Morgan’s Pill, near Bristol, with a branch to the eastward of about two miles in lengthy to Nailsea collieries: I am happy in being able to present the Reports of these two gentlemen, conceiving that they will be read with interest by a considerable class of my subscri- bers: and I beg to solicit the communication of similar do- cuments, from time to time, respecting other coal and mi- ning districts. EDITOR. To the Committee of Management of the Bristol and Taun- ton Canal. Bristol, July 1, 1811. Gentlemen,—Agreeably to your order of the 13th of June, requesting my assistance to examine and report on the probability of a sufficient quantity of coal at Nailsea, and the neighbourhood, to induce the Company to proceed with the canal from Morgan’s Pill to Nailsea, immediately; Iam happy to state that my Survey of those works has been highly satisfactory; and, that a sufficient quantity of coal may thence be obtained, is more than probable. ‘This coal district is of much greater extent than is ge- nerally imayined, and, like the great coal-field at Newcastle+ upon-Tyne, becomes flatter in the deep than at the outcrops. From this favourable position of all the coal’ (which I have most clearly ascertained), and from the great difficulties which were likely to happen, with respect to water, being successfully encountered by the engines lately erected, there can be no doubt of the permanency of the works. From the extraordinary hardness of the roof, and the easy working of the coal, I have no doubt but the Nailsea Pits will nak Saw the quantity stated. In my Survey of the Backwell Common Works, I also found many favourable circumstances belonging to those Vol. 38. No. 163, Nov, 1811. X veins 322 Reports to the Bristol and Taunton Canal Company; veins of coal, which cannot fail to make the collieries esta~ blished on them, of long duration. The veins are of suffit cient thickness to produce a great quantity of coal, without going over much ground. ‘There are also a sufficient num- ber of veins lying oue beneath another, within a moderate depth from the surface, so as not to require the too frequent repetition of the great expense of new pits and machinery. The veins also he so moderately inclined, as to be for a long period of years within the reach, of such shafts as. may -be sunk, by the help of steam-engines, which, from the small quantity of water, in a great extent of. coal already working, have not yet been found necessary. As the sink- ings through the strata lying over these veins: of coal are all soft and mostly impervious to water, it may be reason- ably expected that the veins which lie under these will have still less water. . The surface of the land, to a great extent around these collieries, (at Blackwell Common) is a tenacious clay, quite unabsorbent, and altogether unlike the land at Nailsea; and although the veins are thinner, there are more of them, and the coal is of a harder and better quality. The disadvan- tages which these works have experienced, from the quan tity of timber required, will lessen with the depth to which the veins ‘are worked, and the expense of procuring such timber will be lessened by making the canal. Although these veins of coal have been worked for a long time, the works have been carried on in such asmall way, as not mate- rially to have reduced the quantity of coal, or to render the working of the deep coal anywise dangerous, from water contained in the old hollows. The whole of the water be- tween the pits and the outcrops is known, and daily ex- hausted, without the aid of pumps, and, in fact, all the coal that has ever been worked out of these veins, has been merely along the outcrops; and instead of exhausting the veins, or of rendering the deep works dangerous, they have most sa- tisfactorily proved the great extent to which such works’ may be carried. ; These veins Appear to underlay the Nailsea veins; and it. is highly probable that other veins between them remain: undiscovered. At these pits, (Mr. Walters’s and Mr. White’s) there are large stacks of good coals on hand: if these works in their present state are capable of thus over- stocking the sale, there can be no doubt of what they will produce, when all of them are in full working. Besides the pit which is now working at Nailsea, there is another nearly down to coal, and old ones are keptopen, which may be . on the State of the Collieries at and near Nailsea. 324 be very readily cleaned up, and brought into use, either by opening gangways from the bottoms of them to the deep coal, or by sinking them deeper, to work the under vein, ‘ which is quite unwrought, except by a few shallow pits along the outcrop, and which were drained by a level through Mr. Davis’s tan- yard. From the singularly advantageous position of the Nailsea coal, which T have clearly ascertained, and the quantity of water which can come to the pits, being also clearly known, either from the hollows of old workings, or the vast extent of coal which can be worked, and that quantity of water being kept down, and rapidly decreasing in all parts of such an extensive coal-field, by the power of the present engine, proves most clearly that such a colliery, worked to ‘its ut- most extent, can never be drowned. From duly considering all these circumstances, I am fully satisfied, of the great extent to which these collieries may be worked; and have uo hesitation in stating, that the Bristol and Taunton Canal Company may, with the greatest safety, proceed with the immediate execution of their canal to these collieries, with full confidence of thence obtaining tonnage sufficient, to pay a good interest on their expenditure. . 15, Buckingham Street, Wo. SMITH, Engineer, York Buildings, London, To the Committee of Management of the Bristol and Taunton Canal. Gentlemen,—In consequence of your application, re- questing my assistance in investigating the state of the col- lieries in and about Nailsea, in order to ascertain whether there was a’sufficient prospect of coals, to induce the com+ pany to cut the canal trom Morgan’s Pill to Nailsea imme- diately; I attended at Nailsea on the 22d and 23d instant, and proceeded to the investigation, and I now send you the following observations, delineations, and report, [Vide rough Sketch of Nailsea Colliery, in annexed Sec- tion No. 1, Plate IX. the thickness of the veins or seams being as follows ; viz. ' Ist vein...'... 42 feet Zd ditto. s.... 2 : 6 feet of voal, in all. From which it may be seen, that the position of the strata and veins of coal, which are near the north crop, as at (4. d.), rise out very rapidly, but which moderate materially X 2 in 394 Reports to the Bristol and Taunton Canal Compani/, in going down southward in the deep; for at the 50 fa- thoms Engine Pit, which is the deepest point this vein has ever been sunk to, and but very little coals have heen worked at that depth, the fall or dip of the strata is only from seven to eight inches in the progressive yard, or as near as may be, a dip of one in five; and I have no doubt but that the Strata and veins of coal dip less and less as they run south- ward, as down (Ld.), and soon afterwards rise gradually southward, as up (cc.).. Tam confirmed in this opinion from two corroborating circumstances. __ Ist. On examining the ground. from Nailsea Colliery, along the surface line (dd.) southward to Chelvy, Young- wood, &c. Iobserved in the Quarries, and other places where the rock was bare, that the strata rose southward ; and if the common strata do so, the veins of coal must do so too, for they are parallel beds. 2d. It has been observed in the neighbourhood of (e e.) that the water in some of the Wells has been drained off at times, when the water in the 50-fathom Engine Pit was guite out; and that when an accident happened to the en- gine, so as to occasion the water of the colliery to rise a considerable height in the pit, the wells were also filled again. This proves a subterraneous communication, and which is effected through the means of a very hard rock (intersected with chinks and chasms) which lies in a great thickness, immediately above the main vein of coal, through which the water is perpetually flowing in great abundance, to the large engine in the 50-fathoms pit. This thick hard rock, at the same. time that it forms a most substantial strong roof to the main vein of coal, certainly lets loose an immoderate quantity of water to the fire-engine, the pumps of which are 18 inches; but I do not wonder at this large flow of water, at the depth of about 50 fathoms; for I am well aware, that the surface water in coal countries, in ge- neral, is Jet in from gravel banks, or from some loose mat- ter connected with the surface, which often overpowers the means opposed to it, and which cannot be conquered but by additional machinery. This once done to a considera- le extent» as to depth, greater depths may with facility be sunk to and worked, without much risk of pricking water. The principal colliery at Whitehaven, the property of Lord Lonsdale, dipping directly to and under the sea, 18 drained close to the sea, at the depth of 80 fathoms; and the same vein is pursuéd to, and worked under the sea, to the depth of 150 fathoms, where so much water is not met with, as would suffice for the wetting of the underground tram-roads, which on the State of the Collieries at and near Nailsea. 325 which is the case in all other situations where collieries are worked to very great depths. I merely mention these cir- cumstances, on account of the above engine being heavily Jaden with water, at the depth of 50 fathoms only, and to show that it is no uncommon case. When other collieries are open on the same vein to the westward, viz. on Nailsea and Kenn Moors, they will partake of this colliery water, which seems to follow a particular stratum of very hard jointy rock. As to White’s Colliery, which lics to the north and north- east of Messrs. Grace’s Colliery, at Nailsea; the veins which are known liere, break out to the north of the Nailsea Col- liery, and naturally lay perpendiculariy under the same. The following are the number and thickness of the veins, with the depth to which they have been sunk down and worked. [Vide White’s Colliery,in annexed Section No. 2 ;] where the thicknesses are as follows, viz. ist, King’s-hill vein...... 2 feet Bes MMain. Vel o's.» miner ejay Oe 3d; Dungey vein .....-.0. 2 74 feet, in all. As to Backwell Colliery, [vide No. 3, in annexed Section, ] the property of Mr. Teague, partly his own estate, and partly that of the Marquis of Bath; the thicknesses are as follows, Viz. ist, Vein (of Smith’s coal) . 2% feet Bay Veith, 10 490012.. 9F PRIS F By pAME tO aud cyapsiers'a, «2 oe Sere 4 SPmto els 42 GaP? FS! SEN IAG. cciinid sae lawesree diel & 12 feet, in all. As to the veins of coal which lie parallel one under the other in a limestone basin, (which is the case with all the veins of coal in the coal countries that I am acquainted with*,) [vide annexed Section No. 4 ;.where G. W. and T. show the places of the supposed southern crops of Grace’s, White’s, and Teague’s veins, respectively.] * This gentleman, in the year 1806, communicated to the Royal Society a most interesting map and account of the great coal-field in South Wales, lying there in a limestone basin,’ which are printed in the Philosophical Transactions of that year: from what I have since read of Coalefields, in Williams’s “ Mineral Kingdom,” Westgarth Forster’s ‘ Treatise on a Section of Strata,” Farey’s “‘ Derbyshire Report,” vol. i. &c.1 am ifclined, however, to think, that some at Jeast of the coal-fields in the middle and north-eastern parts of the island,de st agree with those of the western side of it, to which Mr. Martin here alludes, in basseting on all sides from out of a limestone basin.— Epi Tor. X 3° This 326 Reports to the Bristol and Taunton Canal Company, This section shows the position in which the sundry veins of coals lie in the ground, and exactly in a parallel direction with the substratum, the limestone. I have already pointed out two proofs at Nailsea Colliery, of the veins and strata becoming flat in the deep, and afterwards rising southward ; and if the Nailsea veins really do so, there can be no manner of doubt of all the other veins of coal and strata, acting and laying in the same manner. There is also positive proof, that the limestone takes a dip from the north side, (where the same is observable at Belmont, Wraxall, and Clevedon- Court) to the southward; and from the south side to dip northward, observable at Backwell Village, at Chelvy, Mr. Piggott’s, &c.; which proves the uninterrupted continuity of the limestone all the way underneath. No. 5, is arough sketch Plan of the north and south limes stone, which contains tne veins of coal, in the range from Backwell collieries to Nailsea, Nailsea- Moor, Kenn-Moor, and the inclosed lands westward, from thence to the sea,— where aa. are Messrs. Grace’s veins of coal at Nailsea, dipping southward. ib. are the supposed crops of the same veins, dipping north- ward. : c. is the east end or crops of the same veins, dipping west- ward. dd. are the crops of White’s veins, dipping southward. ee. are the supposed south crops of the same veins, dip- ing northworth. f. is the supposed east crop of the same veins, dipping: westward. gg. are the Backwell veins, dipping southward. hh, are the supposed south crops of the same veins, dipping northward. 2. is the supposed east crop of the same veins, dipping westward, . And the centre or hollow of the supposed basin is along the dotted line ¢/Z/. The north, the south, and the east outcrops of these veins are here delineated; but the west crops cannot be ascer- tained, for the basin seems to widen very much going west- ward. It is not a mile wide on the surface at A. There is no doubt, I think, of each having a west outcrop, but it | may be at many milesdistance, under the sea, where the veins of coal may have increased in number as the basin hecame ynore extended; and as the level course of the veins and strata on the State of the Collieries at and near Nailsea. 327 strata run nearly west or down channel, they cannot take jand and be seen again in Glamorganshire, &e. Very large new collieries may be opened on Nailsea Moor, the property of Sir Hugh Smyth, Bart.; on Kenn- Moor, the estate of Lord Paulett: ander the inclosed-lands from Kenn-Moor to the sea; and under the lands of Sir Abraham Elton, Bart., near Clevedon church, where the Backwell veins, worked by Mr. Teague, must range. The proposed collieries on Kenn-Moor, which is abput the main line of Canal, will be two miles nearer to Morgan’s Pill than the Nailsea, for the canal branch to Nailsea appears to be about two miles in length. There are ten veins or seams, of coal already discovered within this: limestone basin; which added together make 26 feet of solid coal. These ten veins worked in the usual way, will yield 30,000 tons of coal per acre ; but as some of them are thin, being under two feet, I will only calculate upon 20,000 tons per acre, and on working 400 tons per day, and on 300 working days in the year. Consequently 400 tons x by 300 days, make 120,000 tons per annum. And again, I will only estimate upon 1,000 acres, con- _ taining upon an average the whole of the ten veins, though I have no doubt but there are 2 or 3,000 acres. T herefore 1,000 acres x by 20,000 tons per acre, give 20,000,000 of tons, and 20,000,000 divided by 120,000 tons per annum, give 166 years, whieh is the length of time the colliery would last, at 120,000 tons per annum. The distance from Morgan’s Pill to Nailsea Collieries I understand is ten miles, and the tonnage authorised to be received by the act for making the Canal is 2d. per ten per mile; so that every ton ia 20d. which on 400 tons per day, and on 300 days in the year, amounts to 10,000/. per an- num, being equal to 10 per cent. upon a ‘capital of one hundred thousand pounds. This is about the sum that the ‘estimate is made for; but from what I observed of the line of canal, it is all good ground and easy cutting (excepting the Tunnel), and I Think the whole ten miles should be com- pleted for, from 70,000/. to 80,0001. All the Nailsea Colliers are mach interested in promot~- ing the canal scheme ; that is to say, in getting the canal brought from Morgan’s Pill to the vicinity of their works; for till that is done, their sales of coals are so small, that the moneys arising from what is sold to the country, will hardly pay for carrying the works on, particularly ‘where heavy engines and machinery are required, X4 The 328 On the Cultivation and Manufacture of Woad. « The Committee of Management should require the Nail- sea colliers to put their works in such a state and condition, as to insure the working of 500 tons of coals per day at the least, as a sort of guarantee to the canal proprietors for the risk of laying out immediately about 100,000/, Messrs. Grace and Co.’s Colliery is heavily loaded with. water, and by pricking additional feeders it would be drowned out; another Engine should be put up, to place them on a tolerable certainty. White’s Colliery seems to be better off in regard to water, and a new engine of considerable power 1s erecting on the deep work. At Teague’s Colliery very little water has hitherto been met with, but in sinking deeper and in extending the work in every direction, feeders of water will surely be pricked, and that colliery cannot be considered out of danger till a fire engine 1s erected upon it. The proposed collieries on Kenn-Moor, on Nailsea-Moor, and also’ on the lands of Sir Abraham Elton, Bart., to the southward of Clevedon church, should be opened. As to the Prospect of Collieries from Clevedon Hill to Morgan’s Pill, A colliery was some years ago worked at Clapton, near the church, by virtue of a level which was brought up from the low grounds. The last pit upon the level head, was, I heard, nearly 40 fathoms deep, and the main vein when left was full six feet in thickness. Why it was abandoned, I know not; and coal strata appear all along from Clapton church to Portbury church, where sundry veins of coal I have no doubt exist. A canal once opened into that vici- nity, will certainly prompt persons to open those collieries, and with a fair prospect of success, after a canal is made ready to their hands. (Signed) EpwarpD Martin, Colliery Surveyor, Morriston, near Swansea, July 31, 1811. LX. On the Cultivation and Manufacture of Woad. In a Letter to the President of the Bath and West of Eng- land Agricultural Society. By Mr. Joun Parrisn*. Woap is a plant which, combined with indigo, gives ihe best and most permanent blue dye hitherto discovered. It is of great importance to our commerce, as well as. to agriculture, being in nature one of the best preparers of * From vol. xii. of the Society’s Letters and Papers. Jand On the Cultivation and Manufacture of Woad. 329 Jand for a corn crop that has hitherto been discovered; and, if the land is properly chosen for it, and well ma- nayed, will be found very profitable, more particularly at this time, when its price is advanced to almost an unpre=. cedented degree : therefore I conceive that in rendering its cultivation and preparation better known and understood, it may be greatly beneficial to the nation. I have the honour to be a member of the Bath and West of England Agricultural Society, where many noble and exalted characters unite their talents to promote the public benefit. And to one of its earliest and most respectable members I presume to address this information. T have been many years a considerable consumer of woad, and have also cultivated it with much success : and” though 1am well experienced in the usual method of its preparation, T was induced to depart from it In consequence of the great waste of its juices in the old method of grind- ing and balling. ButJ shall endeavour to give instructions for carrying on each process, and leave those who shall undertake it to proceed as they think best. This plant is cultivated in different parts of England for the use of the dyers, as well as in France, Germany, &e. Iti is best to sow the seeds in the month of March, or early in April, if the season invite, aud the soil be in condition to receive it; but it requires a deep loamy soil, and is bet. ter still with a clay bottom, such as 1s not subject to be- come dry too quickly. Tt must never be flooded, but ‘si- tuated so as to drain its surface, that it may not be poisoned’ by any water stagnant upon it. If (at any reasonable price) meadow land to break the tarf can be obtained, it will be doubly productive. This Jand is generally freest from weeds and putrid matter, though sometimes it abounds with botts, grubs, and snails. However, it.saves much expense in weeding ; and judi- cious management will get rid of these otherwise ‘deseridtive vermin. A season of warm showers, not too dry or too wet, gives the most regular crop, and produces the best woad. If woad is sown on corn-land, much expense generally attends hoeing and weeding : arta here it will require strong manure, thoush on leys it is seldom much necessary, yet Jand cannot be too rich for woad. On rich Jand dung should be avoided, particularly on levs, to avoid weeds, Some »ecople sow it as grain, and harrow it in, and afterwards hoe it.as turnips, leaving the plants at a distague in proportion to the strength of the Jand : others sow it in ranks by a drill- plough, 330 Qn the Cultivation and Manufacture of Woad. plough; and some dibble it in, (in quincunx form, by a stick with a peg crossways, about two or two and a half inches from the point, according to the land,) putting three or four seeds in a hole, and these holes to be from twenty inches to two feet apart, according to the richness of the land: for good land, if room be given, will produce very luxuriant plants in good seasons ; but if too nearly planted, so that air cannot circulate, they do not thrive so well: attention to this is necessary im every way of sowing it. I have been most successful in this last process. . Woad very often fails in its crop, from the land not being in condition, or from want of knowing how to destroy the botts, snails, wire-worms &c. that so often prey upon and destroy it, as well as from inattention to weeding, &c. Crops fail also from being sown on land that is naturally too dry, and in a dry season; but as the roots take a per- pendicular direction, and run deep, such land as I have described (with proper attention to my observations) will seldom fail of a crop: and if the season will admit sowing early enough to have the plants strong before the dry and hot weather comes on, there will be almost a certainty of a great produce. These plants are frequently destroyed in the germination by flies, or animalcule, and by grubs, snails, &c. as before observed ; and in order to preserve them, I have steeped the seeds with good success in lime and soot, until they began- to vegetate; first throwing half a load or more of flour lime * on the acre, and harrowing it in. Then plant the seeds as soon as they break the pod, taking care not to have more than one day’s seed ready ; for it 1s better to be too early, than to have their vegetation too strong before it is planted, lest they should receive injury; yet I have never observed any injury in mine from this, though I have often seen the shoot strong. Either harrows or rollers will close the holes. Ifthe ground be moist it will appear in a few days; but it will be safe, and a benefit to the jand, to throw more lime on the surface, when, if showers invite snails and grubs to eat it, they will be destroyed, which I[ have several times found; particularly once, when the leaves were two inches Jong, and in drills very thick and strong,. but the ground was dry, When a warm rain fell, in less than two hours I found the ranks on -one side attacked by these vermin, and eaten entirely off by a large black grub, thousands of which were on the leaves, and they “ if the seeds are not sown within a day after the time, it will lose much effect. : cleared On the Cultivation aud Manufacture of Woad. 331 eleared as they went, not going on until they had destroyed every leaf where they fixed. They had eaten six or seven ranks before I was called by one of my people to observe it. Having plenty of lime, I immediately ordered it in flour to be strewed along those ranks which were not begun. This destroyed them in vast numbers, and secured the remainder. Another time, having bad two succeeding crops on four acres of land, I considered it imprudent to venture another. However, as the Jand after this appeared so clean and rich, I again yentured, but soon found my error, On examining the roots (for after it had begun to vegetate strong, it was observed to decay and wither) I found thousands of the wire-worm at them, entwined in every root. I immediately strewed lime, (four loads, of six quar- ters each, on the four acres,) and harrowed it; when rain coming on soon after, washed it in, and destroyed them all, and gave me an extraordinary crop; but the first-sown side of the field, where they had begun, never quite recovered hike the rest. And I am fully satisfied, that when the grub is seen in wheat, &c. the same treatment (if the weather suited) would destroy them all, as well as change the nature of the land. [ need not enter on the wide and-extensive field of observations on the canses of weeds, grubs, &c. (which so often counteract the labours of the husbandman,) that occur so differently in different seasons, and after dif- ferent treatment and improper crops,—furiher than to ob- serve that when your land has not a proper change, then it is that these are experienced in a more destructive degree. Further, it is in vain to expect a good crop of woad, of a good quatity, from poor and shallow land. The difference of produce and its value is so great, that no one of any ex- perience will waste his labour and attention on such lands upon so uncertain a produce, Warm and moist seasons increase the quantity every where, but they can never give the principle which only good land affords. [In very wet seasons, woad from poor land is of very little value. J once had occasion to purchase at such a time, and found that there was no possibility of regulating my vats in their fermentation; and | was under the necessity of making every possible effort to obtain some that was the produce of a more congenial season. I succeeded at last; but T kept the other three aud four years, when I found it more steady in its fermentation ; but still it required a double quantity, and even then its effect was not like that from good woad., At this time several dycrs experienced much difficulty, and 332 On the Cultivation and Manufacture of Woad. and one of eminence in the blue-trade suffered so much by woad of his own growth, that he declared his resolution to decline the trade altogether. When I pointed out to him that it was the woad that oceasioned his bad blues, and that IT had from the same defect purchased such other woad as would do, and informed him where he could get it,—he succecded as usual. His own he disposed of to a drysalter, who sold it again somewhere in the country; and it occa- sioned such a cause of complaint, as J believe rendered the claim. of payment to be given up, or partly so: of this I am not certain, having it only from report. J mention this in order to give those who wish to become growers of woad, such information as may properly direct them. The leaves of woad on good land in a good season grow very large and long, and when they are ripe show near their end a brownish spot inclining to a purple towards its centre, while other parts of the leaves appear green, but just begin- ning to turn of a more yellowish shade; and then they must be gathered, or they will be injured. Woad is to be gathered from twice to fotr and even five times in the season, as I once experienced (it was an early and a late season), and for the next spring I saved an acre for seed, of which I hada fair crop. I picked the young seedling sprouts off the rest, and mixed with my first ga- thering of what was newly sown ; this was very good. Dn- ring one season J let these shoots grow too long; the con- sequence was, that the fibrous parts became like so many sticks, and afforded no saponaceous juices. When you de- sign to plant woad on the same land the second season, it should be as soon as your last: gathering (before winter is finished) be ploughed; that is, as soon as the weather will ‘permit, and in deep.furrows or ridges, to expose and ame- liorate it by the vegetative salts that exist in the atmosphere, and by frost and snow. This, in some seasons, has partly the effect of a change of produce ; but if intended for wheat, the last gathering should not be later than September. The land, after woad, is always clean, and the nature of the soil appears to be greatly changed im favour of the wheat crop; for I bave always experienced abundant increase of produce after woad, and observed that it held on for some time, if proper changes were attended to, and good hus- bandry. Keeping land clean from weeds, certainly ‘pro- . duces an increase of corn; but in the hoeing aud gathering woad (for hoeing and earthing up the plants often tenders them abundantly more prolific, even if there are no weeds), prany nests of animalculz are destroyed, as well as see ane oe oe On the Cultivation and Manufacture of Wead. 333 and insects, which are destructive to vegetation, All this is favourable to corn; but I am disposed to believe that woad in itself furnishes such a principle of change in favour of corn (and wheat in particular), as in a high degree to merit the attention of that Society who are so honourably united to promote and encourage the first interests of the British empire. Having said all I conceive necessary on the cultivation of woad, I now proceed to say something on its preparation for the use of the dyer. Woad, when gathered, is carried to the mill, and ground. I need not describe this mill, becanse they are to be-seen in open sheds in several parts of England, only that 1 conceive some improvement might be made in their construction, so as not so much to press out and waste the sap, which con- tains the very essence of the dyeing principle... These mills grind or cut the leaves small, and then they are cast into heaps, where they ferment, and gain an adhesive consist- ence*; they are then formed into halls, as compact as possible, and placed on hurdles lying horizontally in a shed one over the other, with room for air between, to receive from the atmospheric air a principle which is said to im- prove them as a dye, as well as to dry them to a degree pro- per for being fermented ; but in summer these balls are apt to crack in drying, and become fly-blown, whén thousands of a peculiar maggot generate, and eat or destroy all. that is useful to the dyer. Therefore they require attention as soon as any are observed to crack, to look them all over well, close them again, so as to render them as compact and solid as possible; and if the maggot or worm has already generated, some fine flour lime strewed over it will destroy them, and be of much service in the fermentation. These balls, if properly preserved, will be very heavy; but if worm- eaten, they will be very light, and of little value. They are then to be replaced on the hurdles, and turned, not being sufféred to touch each other, until a month or more after the whole that is intended for one fermenting couch is gathered in, ground, and balled, and often until the hot weather of sum- Ter is past, to render the offensive operation of turning it less disagreeable, and not so apt to overheat; and though temperature herein is necessary, yet a certain degree of heat must be attained, before it is in proper condition for the dyer’s use. This is easily distinguished by a change of * In a dry place, if these leaves remain a fortnight, being occasionally turned, they will become more adhesive, and have less juices to squeeze out in balling. The balls must be compact. smell— 334 On the Cultivation and Manufacture of Wodd: smell—from that which is most putrid and offensive, to oné which is more agreeable and sweet, (if I may be allowed the term,) for few people at first either can approve of the smell! of woad, or of a woad- vat; though, when in condition, they become quite agreeable to those whose business it 1s to attend them. Woad ts in this state of fermentation more or less time, according to the season and the degree of - heat it is suffered to attain, whether at an early period, or according to the opinion of those who attend the process ; but the best woad is produced from a heat temperately brought forward in the couch until at maturity, and turned, (on every occasion necessary,) which a proper degree of at- tention will scon discover. These balls, when dry, are very hard and compact, and require to be broken to pieces with a mallet, and put into @ heap, and watered to a due degree, only sufficient to pro- mote fermentation, but not by too much moisture, which would retard it; and here is a crisis necessary‘to be attended to. When the couch has attained its due point, it is opened, spread, and turned, until regularly cooled, and then it is considered in condition for sale: but the immediate use of woad new from the couch is not advised by dyers who are experienced ; for new woad is not so regular in its fermen- tation in the blue vat. This is the common process. Woad oftentimes 1s > spoiled herein, by people who know nothing oi the principles of its dye, following only their accustomed process of preparing its; and hence the difference in its quality is as often seen, as it isin the real richness or po- verty of the leaves, from the quality of the land. The pro- cess for preparing woad which I have followed, and which I consider beyond all comparison best, is as Fano we' : Gather the Jeaves, put them to dry, and turn them, so as not to let them heat, and so be reduced to a paste; which, in fine weather, children can do. In wet weather, my me- thod was to carry them to my stove, and when [ had gota quantity sufficiently dry, I proceeded to the couch, and there put them in a large heap; where, if not too dry, they would soon begin to ferment and heat. If too wet, they would rot, but not properly ferment, nor readily become in con- dition for the dyer. ‘These leaves not having been ground, nor placed in balls on the hurdles, their fermenting quality was more active, and required more attention ; and also the application of lime occasionally to regulate the process with the same kind of judgement as used in the blue dying woad vat. When the heat increases too bapicllys turning is in= dispensably necessary, and the application of yery fine nn ime — On the Cultivation and Manufacture of Woad. 335 lime regularly strewed over every laying of them; or, if the couch is getting too dry, lime-water instead of common water, applied by a gardener’s watering-pot, may have an equal effect*, without loading the woad with the gross mat- ter of the lime; though I conceive that the gross dry flour lime, and the oxygen in the air, will furnish more carbonic acid gas to the woad, and retain such principles as are es- sential, to a better effect. For I have experienced, that woad which requires the most lime to preserve a temperate degree of fermentation, and takes most time, is best, so that at length it comes to that heat which is indispensable to the production of good woad. In this couch it is always particularly necessary to secure the surface as soon as the leaves begin to be reduced to a paste, by rendering it as smooth as possible, and free from cracks: this prevents the escape of much carbonic acid’ gas, (which is furnished by the lime and the fermentation,) and also preserves it from the fly, maggots, and worms, which often are seen in those parts where the heat is not so great, or the lime in sufficient quantity to destroy them ; it is sur= prising to observe what a degree of heat they will bear. This attention to rendering the surface of the couch even and compact is equally necessary in either process, and to turning the woad exactly as a dung-heap, digging perpen- dicularly to the bottom. The couching-house should have an even floor, of stone or brick, and.the walls the same ; and every part of the couch of woad should be beaten with the shovel, and trodden, to render it as compact as possible. The grower of woad should erect a long shed in the cen- tre of his land, facing the south, the ground lying ona de scent, so as to admit the sun to the back part; and here the woad should be put down as gathered, and spread thin at one end, keeping children to turn it towards the other end. In the course of a week, every day’s gathering will be dry for the couch, which should be at the other end; therefore it will be necessary to calculate how long the shed should be; but this can be erected as you gather, and then it will soon be known. ; I never used the thermometer to discover or determine the heat which is necessary to produce that change of smell which finishes a couch of woad properly. for the dyerf, but i am convinced it cannot be regularly obtained but by tem- perance and time. 4 * There is in lime-water so little of its salt, that its effect is proportionably small, and water will take up but a certain quantity. + l suppose from 100 to 120 degrees. Good 336 Geological Remarks and Queries on Good woad, suchas the richest land produces, if pro= perly prepared, will be of a blackish green, and mouldy 5 and when small lumps are pulled asunder, the fracture and fibres are brown; and these fibres will draw apart like small threads, and the more stringy they are, and the darker the externa: appearance and on the green hue, the better the woad; but poor land produces it of a light-brownish green. The fibres only serve to show that it has not suffered by putrefaction. Considerable fortunes have been acquired by the culture of woad in the North of England, and those who have not in possession land sufficient of proper staple, will give an extra rent for leave to break pasturage; and such as is old, and its sod worn out and full of ant-hills from long feeding, is equally good, when lime is applied to destroy these and other insects, which here exist more than in such as is in full proof to bear grass; for here they generate and become destructive, so as often to render it very necessary to plough such land, corn it, and form a new turf; and though this is so often prohibited, yet it 1s often consistent with ‘the best principles of husbandry. Here woad is every thing, and corn after it to a certain degree, which experience will determine, according to the kind ofJand. Those who grow woad in large quantities, have moveable huts for their work- people; and also all their apparatus so easily put together, as to be of little expense except in carriage. A friend of mine in London took a large quantity of land whereon had been wood just grubbed up. He planted woad on it, and engaged a person trom the North to manage it; and the produce was so abundant as to afford immense profit. J believe he only woaded two years, and then let it. His tenant’s produce did not by any means equal his, be- cause the land began to want change. I know not how he succeeds in corn, but I presume he did well, as it is a fine preparative for it. LXI. Geological Remarks and Queries on Dr. CAMPBELL’S Map and Account of the Stratification of Lancashire, in our dast Number, p.268.. By Mr.Joun Farey, Senior,, Mineral Surveyor. To Mr. Tilloch. SiR, T was gratified, as I doubt not great part of your readers would be, at seeing a beginning made in your Phi- losophical and Geological Magazine, to sketch out the stra- tification _— a + Dr, Campleil’s Stratification of Lancashire. 337 tification of the different Counties in England, a work which is so much wanted, that I hope gentlemen in other counties will be induced to imitate the excellent example of Dr. . Campbell, whose statements are highly valuable contribu- tions towards the geology of the British islands, and I am mduced to hope, that that gentleman will take in good part, a few remarks which I am about to make on his paper, and be induced, as soon as opportunities will permit, to furnish the information further wanted, either through the medium of your useful work, or in a letter to me, as may be most agrecable-to himself, First, I would remark, that the most important of the four geological divisions of the county, (LV. page 270), coloured blue in the map, is omitted at page 278; I should hope, through an accidental separation of the manuscript sent to the Bath Society, and that Dr. Camp- bell has it in his power, without delay or material trouble to himself, to supply the account of this district, wherein abundance of coals, and sand-stone, and some red marl, gypsum, and salt springs*, and some lead-mines occur, as well as an interesting bed of limestone in the coal-measures near Ardwick, and thence towards Stockport. It would be extremely desirable to obtain sections, or accurate accounts of the sinkings of the pits or driving of long levels, at as many of the Lancashire Collieries as possible, noticing the direction and quantity of dip, and the large faults which have been proved, in the several Collieries, with an account, as particular as possible, of the situation and nature of the junction between the red marl and the coal-measures, and - whether a large fault effects this separation? as I suspect to be the case, (passing near Stockport, Manchester, New- ton, Prescot and Liverpool, perhaps,) or whether the coal- measures dip under the red marl, or vice versa? It is not less important to learn, the exact boundary line of the Coal- measures to the north, whether at a large fault? ranging from near Keighley in Yorkshire, near to Colne, S. of Clitheroe, N. of Blackburn, S. of Preston, and N. of Ormskirk, as I have conjectured, in a paper read before the Royal Society in March last (now lately published), or whether the shale and millstone grit, coloured brown in Dr. Campbell’s map, underlays the coal-measures, or vice versd ? Whether the limestone, coloured yellow, overlays, or covers, the shale and grit coloured brown, or vice versd ? Whether, as there is a thin coal seam ranging out of York- * See Mr. Henry Holland’s paper on the Salt-District of Cheshire and Lancashire, lately published, in the first volume of ‘The Geological Trans+ actions. Vol. 38. No, 163, Nov. 1811, y a shire 338 Remarks and Queries on the Stratification of Lancashirés shire near Ingleton, past Hornby to Lancaster Common, (p. 278), the Limestone Rock of Chipping and Clitheroe, is not a different one from that of Dalton (not Datton as engraved), Cattmel, Warton, &c.? having this coal seam, and perhaps nearly the whole of the shale and grit (brown) between them? or are they one rock and the connexion complete through Yorkshire and Westmoreland, having the brown upon it W., in a sort of trough or basin? Does not the Limestoné of Kendal, Cartmel, and Dalton lay upon the Slate, &c. (green) where these districts adjoin each other across Lancashire? and does not this Limestone Rock, af- ter crossing the Duddon River, proceed somewhere near. Ravenglass, Egremont, Cockermouth, &c. in Cumberland ? overlaying the Slate, &c. to its East? or does the slate in any part of this course, by approaching the coast, push the Limestone out to sea? does not the Coal-field of White- haven and Workington, &c. overlay this Limestone- Rock, to the East of these places ? and how far South and North, and through what villages, can this junction of Coal- measures on limestone be traced? and where does the Lime- stone Rock, by approaching the coast, push these Coal- measures out to sea? By consulting the lists at page 433 of your 35th volume, and page 188 of the Ist volume of my Derbyshire Report, the concise general view of the Derbyshire and Lancashire Coal-field, which is given at page 172 of that work, and my paper in the recent Philosophical Transactions above al- luded to, Dr. C. will be enabled to comprehend more fully the objects of my several inquiries, and which I trust will appear of such importance to him, and others among your readers, as soon to procure answers to them. The Maps and Sections, and other mineral documents in the possession of the late Duke of Bridgewater’s agents at Worsley, and those in possession of Francis Astley, Esq.*, of Duckingfield Lodge, Cheshire, are unusually extensive and complete, I believe; and I doubt not, but on proper ap- plication by Dr. C. or any other gentleman, who would kindly undertake the task of collecting and arranging these important materials, that the gentlemen alluded to, and the other Lancashire coal-owners and their leasees, would per- mit the necessary extracts and copies to be taken, with the same readiness which I have uniformly experienced, in all * Some of which were made by Mr. Thomas Bartley, mineral surveyor, (formerly an assistant to Mr. William Smith, the father of mineral surveying,) ef No, 104, Chancery Lane, London, as ! am informed, . my On the Staphyloma, &c. of the Eye. 339 thy extensive inquiries, among the coal-masters of the adja- cent counties to the south and east: and the services to science would be great indeed, as well as an important fa- vour conferred on Your obedient servant, 12, Upper Crown Street, Westminster, JoHN Farey, Senior. November 6, 1811. Mineral Surveyor. LXIT. On the Staphyloma, Hydrophthalmia, and Carcinoma of the Eye. By James Wars, Esq., F.R.S. and Vice President of the Medical Society. [Continued from p. 304.] T wexr proceed to consider the disorder called Hydro- phthalmia. By this term authors do not in general mean an accumulation merely of the aqueous humour, but so great an enlargement of the whole eye, produced by an increase of the vitreous humour as well as the aqueous, as to cause the eye to occupy an. undue portion of the orbit, and to occasion difficulty and pain when the eyelids are closed over it. Thus defined, it may perhaps with more propriety be denominated Exopbthalmia than Hydrophthalmia*. In describing this disorder, a greater discrimination is required than seemed necessary in the former part of this paper. In the staphyloma, for instance, the opake projecting cornea dbesrsaptou the nature of the disorder in so piain a manner, that it seems impossible to make a mistake with regard to its nature. But in the hydrophthalmia, which implies an universal enlargement of the eye, some examination is re- quisite in order to ascertain what occasions the enlargement : whether there be an equal enlargement of all the different parts of the eye; a morbid enlargement of one particular part only; the formation of an adventitious body within the eye; or a projection of the eye in consequence of a substance formed behind it. * Scarpa is of opinion thac an accumulation of water between the choroid coat and retina ts a common cause of the hydrophthalmia, and he minutely describes a case of this kind which occurred in a child three years and a half old, in which the eye was a third larger than its natural size, the cornea partaking of the increase, in the same proportion as the sclerotica. I have severa{ times observed, on dissecting the eye after death, that there has been an effused fluid between the choroid coat and retina, the vitreous humour being wholly absorbed, and the retina collapsed iuto a cylindrical, or rather a conical, chord-like substance, its apex arising from the optic nerve, and its basis surrounding the erystalline humour ; but, though this effusion had pro- duced 4 fixed dilatation of the pupil, an opacity of the crystalline, and some- tumes a viclent deep-seated pain in the eye, | have never known it to occasion an ealargement of this organ. ‘Y2 Infants 340 On the Staphyloma, Hydrophthalmia, Infants are sometimes born with eyes remarkably large and prominent. But if they do not give by their pressure, nor interfere with the free motion of the eyelids, and if at the same time the cornea be transparent and the sight per- fect, the mere circumstance of their prominence does not call for any particular attention. Sometimes, however, the eyes of infants, at the time of their birth, are not only remarkably prominent, but the cornea of one or both is universally opake, without any accompanying inflammation in the conjunctiva, or any, morbid discharge from the eyes. Of this I have seen several instances, three of which hap- pened in one tamily. These were more directly under the eare of Mr. Farrer, a surgeon, resident at that time at Dept- ford. He has described them with accuracy in the second volume of Medical Communications, page 463, published in London in 1790. -The opacity gradually diminished ; and in Jess than a year, intwo of them, it was quite removed. In the third the cornea did not resume its transparency until the end of the second year. The amendment in these in- stances cannot he attributed to any particular remedies, since none were used; but it was owing to the vis nature medi- catrix, which in infants, in this disorder, as it also is in many others, is.often effectual to restore a healthy state. Mr. Farrer does not mention any particular prominence in the eyes of these children; but, having seen two of them shortly after the time when Mr. Farrer drew up the ac- count of the cases, I find by a minute I then made, that the cornea appeared to me remarkably prominent; and that, though the children had recovered a distinct vision, ‘they were all short-sighted Another case of a similar kind came under my notice about three years ago, in the new- born infant of a respectable farmer in Essex. Both corneze were completely opake, and both were large and prominent. In this instance, as in those last mentioned, no applications were used with sufficient steadiness to allow me to attribute any considerable degree of efficacy to them; notwithstand- ing which, when about four months ago the child was again brought to me, I had the satisfaction to see the left cornea sufhciently clear to allow the perception of ali large objects; the opacity of the right cornea being also dimi- nished round its outer edge, though the greatest part of the pupil was still obscured. I was consulted in a fifth case of the same kind about a vear ago, It occurred in the infant of a gentleman im Portman-square. Here, as in the other instances, the cornee of both eyes, at the time of birth, were large and prominent, and they were at the same time completely and Carcinoma of the Eye. 341 completely opake ; the child, in other respects, being healthy, and suffering no pain from the state of the eyes. Sanctioned by the successful issue of the preceding cases, no particular remedies were employed; and at the time of my writin this paragraph, which is just a year from the birth ‘of the child, the comea of one eye is not only perfectly transpa- rent for a considerable space round its circumference, but the pupil can be seen through the diminished opacity that remains in its centre; and though the-cornea of the other eye has improved less in its appearance, the transparency of this also is evidently increased, and the iris is visible through it, for the space of a line at least round its rim. In all these instances, the enlargement of the eye was not sufficient to be of serious consequence independent of the opacity of the cornea; and, when this opacity was dis- sipated, the power of vision was restored. But when, on the contrary, the enlargement is not ecufined to the cornea, but extends to the sclerotica, and is so considerable that the eyelids cannot be closed without difficulty, the patient being not only blind, but unable to sleep without the aid of opiates; the prospect of restoring sight is wholly lost, aud the only question is, in what way ease may be obtained, and deformity obviated. It does not appear possible to do more than this; nor can even this be accomplished by any other mode than that of diminishing the size of the eye: and the best manuer of doing it I believe to be by means of the operation which has been recommended above in cases of the staphyloma. Before an operation of so much importance be performed, it is, however, essentially requisite to ascertain that the dis- ease consists solely in an enlargement of the different parts of the eve ;*and that it is not produced by the formation of purulent matter within the eye; by a morbid alteration in the structure of either its coats or humours; nor by the undue accumulation of adeps,, or of any other substance, behind this organ. When purulent matter is accumulated within the eye, the inflammation and pain, which both precede and accom- pany the enlargement, seem fully sufficient to distinguish the peculiar nature of the disorder; and they at the same time point out the necessity of procuring an adequate aper- ture in the tanies of the eye, through which the matter may be discharged. Jn a case of this kind, which I was desired to see at a small distance from London, in which a young lady, nine years of age, had suffered agonizing pain severa days, the sight of the eye having been lost many years, and Y3 : the 342 On the Staphyloma, Hydrophthalmia, the cornea being both opake and prominent, an aperture had taken place spontaneously on the side of the eye next the temple, just in that part where the cornea is joined ta the sclerotica, and through it a small portion of matter had escaped; but the tension of the eye continued, and the wound was only large enough to, admit the blunt end of a probe, The propriety of enlarging the aperture naturally suggested itself and as the eye had not been useful for a long time as an organ of vision, a small blunt-pointed bi- stoury was immediately introduced through the wound, to the depth of at least a quarter of aminch, and the incision was carried three quarters of an inch in a direction towards the temple, dividing ‘at the same time the sclerotica cho- roides and retina, aud making a large opening into the body of the vitreous humour. No part of this humour, how- over, nor any sort of fluid, issued through the wound at the time of the operation. The eyelids were immediately closed, without any pressure being made on the eye, ahd directions were given to apply an anodyne fermentation, in the same way in which it had been frequently before used. An anodyne draught was intended to be given; but within half an hour the patient fell into a sound sleep, which lasted several hours. She awoke much refreshed and perfectly easy. The wound discharged more or less of matter for a fortnight; the pain did not return; and the eye gradually diminished, so that in a short time it did not appear to be more than one half of its natural size. Purulent matter is sometimes also formed behind the eye in the adipose substance that supports this organ in the orbit. If the suppuration be quick in its progress, and be not situated deep, the fluctuation of the matter may be easily felt, and the propriety of discharging it be determined at once; but if, as I have occasionally found, the suppuration be slow, and the matter lie considerably below the surface, the eye will be protruded before auy fluctuation can be dis- covered ; and the existence of the matter will only be learned by paying attention to the accompanying symptoms, such as a quick pulse, white tongue, shiverings, &c. Ina case of this kind, which occurred in a child six years old, which was attended also by Mr. Hill in Bedford-row, I passed a Jancet, on the side of the eye next the nose, a little below the commissure of the eyclids, at least an inch into the orbit, before [ reached the matier. On withdrawing the instru- ment its point was evidently marked with pus. I therefore enlarged the aperture with a blunt-pointed bistoury, and discharged a considerable quantity, which was thick and putrid, ae SS and Carcinoma of the Eye. 343 putrid. Jt was necessary to preserve the opening by the insertion of a small dossil of lint; on the removal of which, a vent was given daily to new matter, for a fortnight. Its quantity gradually decreased, together with the prominence of the eye; and at length it wholly ceased, the wound healed, and the child became well. The motion of the affected eye, however, was not quite free toward the nose for several months afterwards. Encysted tumours are sometimes also found in the adi- pose substance that supports the eye. A melancholy in- stance of this kind came under my notice a short time ago. Yhe tumour was first perceived between the orbital process ef the os frontis and the globe of the eye, and it gradually increased in size. An attempt had been made to extirpate it; but the greater part was situated.so deep, that it was not possible wholly to remove it; and, after a short period, it reappeared, and in a few months completely pushed the eye out of the orbit; after which vision was destroyed, and the eye and the tumour became so blended, as to render it impossible to distinguish one from the other. The united mass increased continually in size, until, before the child’s death, it was literally Jarger than his head*. Another case ef this kind came under my care, about the same time, in a girl about five years of age, who was a patient of Mr. Drew m Gower-street. The tumour had been perceived several months, and, when { first saw it, projected under the upper and outer edge of the orbit, and began to push the eye out of its place. In this instance [ made an incision through the eyelid, parallel to the edge of the orbit, sufficiently deep to expse the whole of the fore part of the cyst. JI then separated the cyst from the orbit, and, embracing it with a hook, drew it forward, and, dissecting it from all its attach- ments, brought it away entire. The sides of the wound were afiewards kept together by the use of adhesive plaster, and the cure completed in a few days. In some instances, again, a projection of the eye appears to be occasioned solely by a morbid accumulation of the substance on which the eye rests in the orbit. The repeated application of leeches on the temple and forehead, has been found of great use in subduing this morbid tendency. In one case, that came under my own care, the projection was speedily diminished by opening the temporal artery ; and, * I presume that this may be considered a case of fungus hamatodés; though it originated in an eacysted tumour situfted between the bony orbit and globe of the eye, and did not affect the sight until the eye was thrust out ot the orbit. m Y4 after 344. On the Staphyloma, Hydrophthalmia, after the hemorrhage had ceased, by converting the orifice into an issue, the discharge from which became soon very considerable. In another case, in which the protrusion occasioned great pain, and nearly destroyed vision, a per- fect cure was accomplished by the application of a large caustic behind the ear. The discharge which it occasioned, when the eschar separated, was profuse; and it was kept up, nearly a month, by the insertion of a dozen peas daily. Another disorder of the eye, which gradually occasions its enlargement, has by some been called fungus hematodes ; and by others medullary sarcoma, spongoid inflamma- tion, and soft cancer. This differs so much, both in pro- gress aud appearance, from the hydrophthalmia, that it cannot easily be mistaken for it. It more nearly resem- bles the disorder which I proposed to consider last in this paper, the Carcinoma of the eye, having many symptoms in common with it. The fungus hematodes seldom attacks the eyes of adults, and is most commonly discovered at an early period of an infant’s life. The first symptom that is noticed is a white shining substance in the posterior part of the eye, visible through the pupil in some particular posi- tions of the head, but not in all. One eye is generally at- tacked some time before it appears in the other. As soon as the whiteness is perceived in the eye, the sight is im- paired, and in a short time itis wholly lost, At its com- mencement it bears a slight resemblance to a cataract ; but an attentive person will at once discover the difference be- tween the two disorders; the opacity in the cataract lying close behind the pupil, whilst in the fungus hematodes it is situated deep in the posterior part of the eye. In the ca- taract, the pupil wetains the power of dilating and contract- ing in different degrees of light ; but in the fungus hema- todes the pupil never varies its size, and is usually dilated. When the disorder has so much advanced as to destroy the figure of the eye, and to make it protrude beyond the rim of the orbit, it is more difficult to distinguish it from what has usually been called a carcinoma of this organ. There is still greater difficulty, when, after extracting an eye that contains a fungus hzmatodes, a fresh tumour arises from the bottom of the orbit, which fills this cavity, and con- tinues increasing, until it becomes, as has sometimes hap- pened, as large as the whole head. This difficulty of distin- guishing between the carcinoma of the eye and the fungus hematodes is, however, the less to be regretted, since the proper treatment of both disorders seems nearly alike; the only known mode of checking the progress, in both, ap- » pearing * r _and Carcinoma of the Eye. 345 pearing to be the complete extirpation of every part that is diseased. Before recourse be had to the operation, it is necessary to ascertain, as far as possible, that every such part is capable of being removed; since, in both disorders, if the smallest portion that has bed contaminated remain, whether it join the organ that is extirpated, or be at a di- stance from it, the diseased part will infallibly increase, and all the old symptoms be reproduced. The fungus he- matodes is not ala ‘ays confined to one eye, nor even to both, but sometimes occupies a large portion of the orbit exterior to the tunics of the eye. It 1s also accompanied not unfre- qnently with abscesses and tumours in different parts of the head; sometimes between the pericranium and cranium, and at other times between the cranium ‘and dura mater. These abscesses are not confined to the fore part of the head, having sometimes been found both on the outside and inside of the os occipitis. Distinct portions of matter, and sometimes hard tumours, have also been formed in the dura mater, and even in the substance of the cerebrum 3 and sometimes under the anterior lobes of the cerebrum, making a compression on the thalami nervorum opticorum. A disease of this kind is by no means new. It has occasion- ally come under my notice ever since I was a boy; and it has been described by many of our ancestors under the common name of. carcinoma, or cancer. It may be more correct, however, to distinguish it by the term fungns hematodes, or medullary s sarcoma, though it does not appear to me ta be always easy to ascertain the difference. between the two disorders. It has been said that carcinomatous affections are always preceded by a hard circumscribed tumcur, and that, after an ulceration bas been produced, if it be followed by a fangous excrescence, this is of a cauliflower fivure, and a hard firm texture; but such cannot be adinitted to be the universal progress of these affections, nor is it anlike to that which the fungus hematodes sometimes assumes. It may be said with oreater correctness, that the carcinoma of the eye is a disease to which persons are most subject in the iniddle or Jatter part of their lives, whereas the fungus hx- matodes appears in early life, and most commonly i in In- fanc The following is the progress of a disorder which T have also repeatedly Been in persons advanced in life, but do not remember in any who were young. By some it may bo called fungus hematodes, and by others carcinoma; but I shall content myself with deseribing it. The sight i is lost before 346 On the Staphyloma, Hydrophtkalmia, before any change takes place in the appearance of the eve: aficr this the pupil becomes dilated without any visible opa- city in theerystalline humour. This description designates a gutta serena; but the disorder does not stop here. After a little time the crystalline humour becomes opake; and soon afterwards shooting pains are experienced, which dart suddenly through the eye in different directions, rarely con- tinuing long at one time. At this period, if the sclerotica be carefully examined, a blueish, or rather a dusky leaden- coloured spot, of greater or smaller extent, will be disco- vered in it, cn one side of the cornea, and sometimes on both. These blueish- or leaden-coloured spots gradually spread; the eye enlarges either partially or generally; and in a short time it* pushes. forwards the eyelids, and fills the whole of the orbit. In some instances the blueish enlarge- ments appear as if they were affections of the outer surface of the sclerotica, and only covered by the tunica conjunc- tiva. In others they are evidently produced by a distention of ihe whole substance of the sclerotica, which is pushed out and thinned, where the projection appears by the ac- cumulation of a.morbid substance within the eyo. Alt hough it be a melancholy truti that the operation has too often failed, this does not ‘lead to the conclusion that its performance is always improper, since it certainly has not unfrequently succeeded ; and I have the satisfaction to say, though I have sometimes failed, 1 have several times performed it E with complete success. With regard to the mode of perferming the operation, I would advise it to be done in the foJlowing manner, The patient should be seated ina clear light, on a chair of a suitable height to bring his eye on a level with the breast of the operator 3 and the operator should either sit or stand before him, as is most easy to himself. The patient’s head should rest against the breast of an assistant, whose left band should support the upper eyelid by means of a double blunt-pointed hook. the points of which are seven-eighths of an inch distant from each other, and his right ‘hand should be at liberty to do any thing that may be desired hy the operator. The hands of the patient should be held by two assistants that sit one on cach side, and an assistant should be ready to give the operator instruments, sponges, &e. “show On Smelting of Lead. 371 show the necessity of some alteration in the table of the secular variation of the moon’s mean distance from her node, which (agreeably to the rule given by M. Laplace) is deduced immediately from the secular variation of her mean longitude. These remarks, however, are thrown out merely as hints to those who are more conversant with, and better informed on, the subject: and I regret that I have not’more time to pursue the inquiry further. Such an alteration, as is here suggested, would some- what vary the position of the route of the moon’s umbra, in all the eclipses which have been the subject of this paper ; but, in none of them would it alter the conclusions which have been drawn from them, except perhaps in the one (September 30th, 610 B.C.) which I have supposed to be that mentioned by Herodotus. In this particular case, the path of the moon’s umbra might, by such a correction, be thrown so much further north as to prevent the eclipse be- ing total in any part of Asia Minor. But still it would re- main the only one that can be at all, adapted to the account given by Herodotus; since there is no other that could possibly be central in, or near, any part of Asia Minor from the year 650 B. C. to 560 B. C.: a period which far ex-. ceeds the probable Jimits of time wherein this singular phe- nomenon must have taken place, so as to be reconcileableé to any received system of chronology. November 1810. F.B. LXVIT. An Account of the Smelting of Lead. By Mr. Joun SADLer. (Concluded from p. 282.) Tue substances which are found to render the ores of lead refractory, when mixed with them, are cawk, (sulphate of barytes,) black jack, (dlend or sulphuret of xinc,) sulphur, (iron pyrites,) and silver, or copper, when they are con- tained in the ore in larger proportions than usual. I have always considered that these substances render an ore refractory by the extra quantity of sulphur they bring with them. I do not think the earth or metals alone would produce any visible effect in the smelting ; and I am almost : confirmed in this opinion, by repeatedly observing the effect produced by roasting the ore previous to smelting 5 it works more pleasantly, requires less lime and fucl, and gives a better produce. The quality of the coals materially affects the working of Aaa the 372 On Smelting of Lead. the hearth and the produce of lead; those which are free from sulphur, and which leave but little residuum after com- bustion, are the best fitied for smelting. The lead, which is separated directly from the ore, is called ore lead, or common lead, to distinguish it from that which is the result of a subsequent process. ' Slag-hearth Smelting. The slags or scoria separated in the process of ore-hearth smelting, consist of the infusible part of the ore, the ashes of the coals, peats, &c. semi-vitrified and agglutinated by a quantity of oxide of lead produced by the action of the blast ; they contain also particles of metallic lead dispersed through their substance, and not unfrequently unreduced ore. These scoria, which are technically named gray slags, vary considerably in the quantity of lead they contain, but the poorest hold a sufficient quantity to pay the expense of smelting. As it is necessary to bring these slags to a perfect fusion to separate the lead, a furnace capable of producing a more intense heat than the ore-hearth is requisite. Plate X con- tains plans, sections, &c. of the slag hearth, in which the same letters are applied to the same parts in the different figures. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the hearth; Fig. 2 a plan; and Fig. 3 a perpendicular section; (a) a cast-iron plate, which forms the bottom of the hearth: an old work- stone is generally used for this purpose; what it wants in dimensions 1s supplied by other old castings, refuse of the ore-hearth ; the bottom is laid in fine dust which has been damped a little, and well rammed; on the bottom is placed the back (1) which ts formed of three or four old bearers laid on each other; on the centre of the back is placed the tuyre, or as it is generally called the ¢ue-tron. The pipe-stone (c) is bedded in tempered clay on the back; it is a block of free-stone about 15 or 18 inches square, and 30 Jong, hol- Jowed out on the underside to fit the tuyre. Two old bearers (d d) about 18 inches apart, and placed at right angles with the back, against which their ends butt, form the lower part of the sides: on these, two blocks of free-stone (ee), about 15 by 18, and in length equal to the height of the pipe- stone, are placed on end; the front is built entirely with old castings, the lower one resting on the ends of the side bearers. The spaces between the back of the chimney, the side and the cheek stove, are filled with old castings, bricks, or pieees of stone, and the joints filled up with dust or a the On Smeliing of Lead. ny Bese the space left between the bottom of the hearth and the lower front bearer is called the breast ;—(f) is the sump or pot to contain the lead, as it flows from the hearth; the space between the breast and the sump is paved with old castings imbedded in dust, and the joints filled with thin mortar grout ; near the sump is a mould for casting the lead into pigs. The hearth is prepared for working, by slightly ramming into the bottom a quantity of coal ashes; the sump Is also filled, and the space between it and the breast ; the dotted part (g gv) fig. 3, represenis the coal ashes: the fire is next lighted, and when the interior of the hearth has ac- quired a good red heat, the smelter throws on a few shovels full of gray slags (which have been previously broken to the size of au ege), and as the hearth settles, occasionally adds fuel or more slags as may be required: in a few minutes after charging with the slags a small perforation is made in the breast by passing a pointed iron rod through the ashes close to the bearer; the liquid scoria and lead flow through this opening down the inclined plane formed by the ashes ; as they become hot the lead filters through them, and finds its way into the sump; the scoria from its viscidity remain ing on the surface, from whence it is removed occasionally as it cools and becomes hard. The slag hearth is continued working for 12 or 14 hours, the smelter adding materials occasionally as required, and judging of the proportion of fuel by the heat and appearance of the fluid scoria. At the conclusion of the day’s work the hearth is suffered to burn down as Jow as possible; and when the scoria ceases to flow the bellows are stopped, the scoria on the bed of ashes removed, and the lead which has collected in the sump is cast into pigs. Cool ashes are next spread over the hot bed, and the hearth drawn and cleared from what re- mains in it, and when moderately cooled, prepared with a bottom of ashes for a succeeding day’s work. The principal art in working a slag hearth is to keep a proper moze, and to have the hearth light and open in front, otherwise the blast does not work well and diffuse itself equally through all parts, but forces itself up behind and very soon destroys the pipe-stone. The noze is a pretuberance which surrounds the orifice, through which the blast passes ; it is formed by the vitrified slags trickling down the pipe-stone, and cooled by the blast as it enters the hearth. With very fusible slags it is some- times difficult to get 9 proper noze to form, and with re- - Aa3 fractory 374 On Smelting of Lead, fractory slags to keep it of a moderate size. With too large a protuberance, the hearth works most at front ; with too small, chiefly at the back. In general a noze may be prevented growing too large, by laying the fuel principally near the pipe-stone, and oc- easionally forcing in a pricker through the tuyre. A noze may be enlarged by a contrary situation of the fuel, and throwing in close to the pipe-stone a few shovels of dust and ashes from the top of the hearth. The fuel used at the slag hearth is coke. The scoria, the refuse of the operation in the slag hearth, _ is called black slag; it contains a portion of metallic lead which is separated by stamping and washing. The lead obtained by the slag hearth is hard and sonorous; it is of an inferior quality, and unfit for many of the pur- poses to which common lead is applied. Cupola Smelting. The method of smelting lead by the cupola furnace as principally practised in Derbyshire, I have taken from Wat- son’s Chemical Essays; a more correct or interesting ac- count cannot be given. “ The furnace called a cupol, or cupola, in which ores are smelted by the flame of pit coal, is said to have been invented about the year 1698, by a physician named Wright; thongh Beecher may, perhaps, be thought to have a prior claim to its invention, or introduction into Germany. But whoever was the inventor of the cupola, it is now in general use, not ouly in Derbyshire and other countries, for the ~ smelting of the ores of lead, but both at home and abroad, where it is‘called the English furnace for smelting copper ores. This furnace is so contrived, that the ore is melted not by coming into immediate contact with the fuel, but by the reverberation of the flame upon it. The bottom of the furnace upon which the Jead ore is placed is somewhat concave, shelving from the sides towards the middle; its roof is low and arched, resembling the roof of a baker’s oven ; the fire is placed atone end of the furnace, upon an Iron grate, to the bottom of which the air has free access ; at the otherend, opposite to the fire-place, is a high perpen-_ dicular chimney; the direction of the flame, when all the apparatus in the sides of the furnace are closed up, is neces- sarily determined by the stream of air, which enters at the, grate, towards the chimney, and in tending thither it strikes | upon the roof of the furnace, and being reverberated .from thence upon the ore, it soon melts it. ; ce t On Smelting of Lead. 375 out Ttuicinat always an easy matter to meet with a current of water sufficient to move the bellows required in smelting on an hearth furnace; and to carry the ore from the mine where it is dug to a considerable distance to be smelted is attended with great expelse: this expense is saved by smelt- ing in the cupola furnace, which, not requiring the use of bellows, may be constructed any where ; wood is very scarce In every mining country in England, and the pit coals cost ten or twelve shillings a ton in Derbyshire, yet they can smelt a definite quantity of ore in the cupola at a far less expense, by means of pit coal than of wood. The flame which plays upon the surface of the ore, and smélts it ma cupola furnace, is not driven against it with much violence; by this means small. particles of ore called Leldand may be smelted in a cupola furnace with great convenience, which would be driver away if exposed to the fierce blast of a pair of bellows in a hearth furnace. These are some of the ad- vantages attending the use of a cupola in preference to 2 hearth furnace, and to these may be added, one superior to all the rest, the preservation of the workmen’s lives’: the noxious particles of the lead are carried up the chimney in a cupoia, whilst they are driven in the face of the hearth smelter at every blast of the bellows. *‘ They generally put into the cupola furnace a ton of ore, previously broken small, and properly dressed, at one time ; this they call a charge: if the ore is very poor in lead, they put in somewhat more; and they work off three charges of ore in every twenty-four hours. In about six hours from the time of charging, the ore becomes as fluid as milk. ** Before the ore becomes fluid, and even whilst it con tinues in a state of fusion, a considerable portion of its weight is carried off through the chimney; what remains in the furnace consists of two different substances, of the Jead, for the obtaining of which the process was com- menced, and of the slag or scoria. The proportion between these parts is not always the same, even in the same kind of ore : it depending much upon the management of the fire. The lead, being heavier than the slag, sinks through it as it is formed, and settles into the concavity of the bot- tom of the furnace. The pure slag, according to the idea here given, is that part of the ore of Jead which is neither driven off by the heat of the furnace, nor changed into lead. In order to obtain the lead free from the slag which swims over it, the smelters usually throw in about a bushel of lime ; not, as is usually supposed, in order to contribute towards the more perfect fusion of the ore, but to dry up the slag Aad which 376 Onthe Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. which floats on the surface of the lead, and which, being as liquid as lead, might otherwise flow out along with it. The slag being thus thickened by an admixture of lime, is raked up towards the sides of the furnace, and the lead is leftat the bottom. There is a hole in one of the sides of the furnace, which is properly stopped during the smelting of the ore ; when the slag is raked off, this hole is opened, and being situated lower than the lead in the furnace, the lead gushes through it into an iron pot placed contiguous to the side of the furnace ; from this pot it is laded into moulds, each con- taining what they calla pig of lead: the pigs, when cold, being ordinarily stamped with the maker’s name, are sold under the name of ore lead. After the Jead has all flowed out of the furnace, they stop up the tap-hole, and drawing down the slag and lime into the middle of the furnace, they raise the fire till the mixture of slag and lime, which they term simple slag, is rendered very liquid; upon this liquid mass they throw another quantity of lime, to dry it up, as in the former part of the process. This second mixture of slag and lime is then raked out of the furnace, and the small portion of lead separated from the fusion of the first generally to the amount of twenty or thirty pounds, being Yet out of the furnace, a new charge of ore is put in, and the operation recommenced.. In order to spare the lime and the expense of fuel attending the fluxing of the mixture of lime and slag, they bave in some furnaces lately contrived a hole, through which they suffer the main part of the liquid slag to flow out, before they tap the furnace for the lead ; upon the little remaining slag they throw a small portion of lime, and draw the mixture out of the furnace without smelting it. This kind of furnace they have nick-named a maccaroni.”” LXVI II. On the Evra discovered nivel Nautical Almanac, By Mr. Firmincer, late Assistant at the Royal Ob- servatory, Greenwich *, To Mr. Tilloch. Sir, Is your journal for the last month, your readers will doubtless notice, with much surprise, an account of an error in the Nautical Almanac for the year 1812, which is therein said to have been recently discovered by Dr. Kelly. To re- move, however, {rom the minds of such readers and others, whom this circumstance may bappen to interest, the mis- * Teacher of Astronomy, Mathematics, and the various branches of Natural Philosophy. ‘ take On the Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. 377 take into which that statement may tend to lead them, as well as the illiberal insinuation which it tends to throw upon the French astronomers and mathematicians, by challenging them with an unjust adoption of the results derived from the Nautical Almanac, into their Connoissance des Tems, under the mask of pretended originality, has given occasion to the production of this article; a circumstance which, from a long residence at the Royal Observatory, and of course a more familiar acquaintance with the habits of the date Dr. Maskelyne, [ may be conceived to be better able to answer than others less acquainted with that justly celebrated man. Dr. Maskelyne says, in bis preface to the Nautical Al- manac of the year above alluded to, that he has taken the mean obliquity of the ecliptic for the beginning of the year at 23° 27’ 43.8, which he reduces to the apparent obliquity by applying the equation arising from the precession of the equinoxes, combined with a diminution of half a second a year from a change of this quantity in the plane of the obli- quity itself, and an equation depending on the place of the moon’s node arising from her action on the spheroidal figure of the earth :—these two equations are, as Dr. Maskelyne states, contained in two tables which were published at the same time with the first volume of the Greenwich Obser- vations. The first equation amounts to —0”,5, and the second to —9”’,0; their sum is —9%,5 which applied to 23° 27’ 43”,3, the mean obliquity allove mentioned, gives the apparent obliquity of the ecliptic 23° 27’ 33,8 at the be- ginning of 1802. By comparing tbis deduction with that given opposite the first page of the Nautical Almanac, it will be found ex- actly the came. ; The obliquity of the ecliptic at the beginning of the pre- ceding year, viz. 1811, Dr. Maskelyne states in the preface of the Nautical Almanac to be 23° 27’ 519, and at the be- ginning of the year 1813 he takes it to he 23° 27’ 51”,3; so that the mean obliquity of the ecliptic at the beginning of 1812, it should appear from these two statements, ought to be 23° 27’ 51”,6, instead of 23° 27’ 433 as mentioned in the Almanac for that year. This apparent discrepancy mak- ing a difference of 8”,3, may seem to give sanction to, the account contained in the Philosophical Magazine of last month, that the difference in question might have probably originated in mistake. Dr. Maskelyne was however by far too careful a man to suffer such a circumstance to have escaped his notice; and the frequent use of the obliquity of the ecliptic in the calculations that were constantly carrying on 378 On the Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. on at the Royal Observatory, rendering tlie accuracy of that datum a circumstance of the greatest importance, was ameans which constantly drew the doctor’s attention to that sub- ject. He had been accustomed to settle the mean obliquity, as well as its secular variation, from observations made on the sun’s zenith distances taken for ten days before and af- ter the summer solstice, and reduced to the time of that solstice, instead of taking a mean of the reductions derived from the two solstices, This he did in consequence of the discrepancy in the results derived from each solstice ; and as he was unable to say what produced this difference, and knowing (at that time) of no cause but the uncertainty of refraction, he was induced to give a preference to the de- ductions derived from the.sun’s zenith distance at the sum- mer solstice. Here, however, another difficulty presented itself to-him :—By a comparison of the deductions thus ob- tained with the same derived from observations made during the life of Dr. bradley, the secular variation of the obli- quity of the ecliptic came gut much less than the secular variation derived from the late observations, or those in the time of ‘Dr. Bradley with more ancient ones, in which a much longer period had been embraced ; so that the variation of the obliquity of the ecliptic must from such determina- tion appear to be decreasing less than formerly, for which no cause could, be assigned. ‘This led Dr. Maskelyne to consider whether he was right in giving more weight to the deductions made from the observations at the summer solstice than those at the winter solstice; and finding the deductions from the latter agreeing better when compared with those made in the time of Dr. Bradley,’ in giving the secular variation nearer to what arises from either of those observations when compared with ancient observations, in- duced him at last to adopt them in preference to the deduc- tions derived from observations about the summer solstice. It will be recollected that I have already said that Dr, Maskelyne knew of no cause to give preference to either ; and it was a circumstance of anxiety to him to sce so great a difference between the results at the two solstices as the Greenwich quadrant gave, without being able to assign a reason. Knowing the care taken in making the Greenwich observations, aud their superior accuracy over those made on the continent prevented bim from relinquishing his de- ductions for an adoption of others which he could not bring his mind to believe were so much to be depended on, The suspense which this state of things induced, ‘was not however to be of long continuance. A series of obser- vations made by Mr. Pond, our. present astronomer royal, . on On the Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. 379 on the declinations of the principal fixed stars, taken with an excellent meridian circular instrument made by Mr. Troughton, and his comparison of those observations with a like series of observations made with the mural quadrant at Greenwich, pointed out to Dr, Maskelyne a circumstance of which till then he had never even admitted a conjecture, viz. that in the course of the number of years in which the mural quadrant at Greenwich had been suspended, it must have changed its igure. Dr. Maskelyne. viewed Mr. Pond’s observations at first with a very cautious eye ; but having sa- lisfied himself that they were taken with the greatest care and ability, he availed himself of the deductions drawn from them, and occasionally made use of their results, as corrections applied to observations made with the Green- wich quadrant. He brought back the obliquity of the ecliptic to nearly the same quantity he bad before adopted ; but whether he ever intended to give a correction to the Nautical Almanac of 1812, or not, [ am unable to say. Itis however likely he did not think the difference of sufficient importance to require any thing more than a note, merely Stating what the obliqnity of the ecliptic should be: indeed it is uncertain even to the last, whether Dr. Maskelyne was altogether satisfied on this point; for Mr. Groombridge told me a long time ago, that he mentioned this circumstance ta Dr. Maskelyne, who in reply said he should see by and by ;—that he was not sure it was wrong, but if it turned out so, he should correct it. It is worthy here of remark also, that Dr. Maskelyne never readily received notice of any inaccuracies in his deductions. Inaccuracies had been often pointed out to him by various persons, which, upon examination, were generally found to originale in.a want of knowledge on their part of the true principles upon which the calculations were founded. A seeming indifference there- fore in the conduct of Dr. Maskelyne was generally re-~ marked, and complained of by persons who gave him such information, in his attention to their statements. Having already observed that the mean obliquity of the cehptic at the beginning of the year 1812 was given’by Dr. Maskelyne 23° 27’ 43,3, and that the apparent obliquity was 23° 27’ 33,8, differing by 9,5 from the mean obliquity ; it appears from the statement in the Philosophical Magazine, that this-difference bas led to a conclusion, that the mean obliquity had been twice equated ; and it is curious enough that the quantity of mean obliquity as assigned by Dr. Maskelyne should haye been nearly this quantity different "from 380 On the Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. from the mean cbliquity given at the beginning of the pre- ceding year: but that it could not arise from that conjecture might have been easily concluded, without other evidence, from knowing that the mean obliquity of the ecliptic re- quires a correction to reduce it to the apparent for every day in the year. Had this mistake, therefore, originated in one instance, it could not have taken place in all the calculations throughout that year, and by each computer, as each com- puter would have to make all the reductions for himself; but, perhaps, the writer of the article above alluded to may not be aware of the necessity of this reduction, and has adopted the conclusion, that the apparent obliquity of the ecliptic is the same during the whole year. Dr. Maskelyne having altered his quantity of the mean obliquity of the ecliptic at the beginning of the year 1813, was obliged to return back to his deductions, derived from the observed zenith distances of the sun at the summer solstice, and again to his deduced secular variation: hence he was compelled to notice this variation, which he does in his pretace to the Nautical Almanac for the year 1813, where he says, “* By the summer solsticial zenith distances of the sun of late years (only adding one second to the zenith distances for the error of the mural quadrant, altering its figure according to Mr. Pond’s comparison of the declina- tions of the stars observed with circular instruments, by himself and other astronomers, by those given by myself at the end of the Greenwich Observations of 1802, and pub- lished in the Philosophical Transactions of 1806), and tak- mg the mean annual diminution of the obliquity of the ecliptic at present to be at the rate of 42,6 in 100 years, I have assumed the mean obliquity at the beginning of this year to be 23° 97’ 51”,3: these numbers were used in the computation of this ephemeris.” Dr. Maskelyne here plainly tells us, that he takes the obliquity of the ecliptic from the Greenwich observations ; and although he gives the secular variation only 42”,6, he assigns no reason for his having taken it-so much less than generally stated,—the French making it in their new Solar Tables, 52,1. It is but right, however, that I give in this account such documents as shall confirm the accuracy of the statements above adduced ; tor which purpose I shall state at full length the deduction of the observations of the sun’s zenith di- stances taken at the Royal Observatory, and the obliquity of the ecliptic thence arising fur the year 1802, which ob- servations _On the Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. 3 81 bi servations being published, any one may repeat or examine the calculations. * 1802, June 11 Dec. 12 15 16 18 20 21 } 24 28 © observed Z. D. corrected for re- fraction, 280 2A 23" JT =220 12,0 Oem woK OCrK ONT 0 = ; - © ye e he Mean solsticial Z. D. Latitude. ..... Reduction to Solstice. 23! 44,6 19,32 53 Mean... oc. s< Parallax’?, 70! Nutation .... Cor. collimat, Mean obl. ecliptic. . 74° 33’ 9,4 -- #5 IT'4 -. 8 toa 52 51,7 2255 4553 . 56 23,9 ‘55 38,6 48 10,3 23' 27",8 Mean. Seach Parallax . <.:.. Nutation... Cor. collim. 28 0 39,5 Solsticial Z. D. affected with Parallax. 26° 0! 38,7 sree a tt « 4250 Seat es Bata —4,0 +9,24 0,85 28 0 45,59 51 28 40 a eee 23 27 54,41 74° 56! 37",2 Pale PGS al 2 RUSTE IBA 2att.a8 8850 «ries SH ,7 ids ld 7s 86 39,5 ait eal ae mT TAT ee 74 56 23,3 51 28 40 23 27 43,3 By . . 382 Onthe Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. By an attention to these deductions, it will- be seen that the obliquity of the ecliptic at the summer solstice, for the - year 1802, comes out 11”,1 more than at the winter sol- stice; and that the obliquity at the winter solstice differs but little from that given by Dr. Maskelyne ii the preface of the Nautical Almanac for the year 1812, and-used in the calculation of the Almanac for that year. In a former communication to this journal, I took notice of the uncer- tainty, not only in the mean obliquity of the ecliptic, but in the quantity of secular variation, with a hope that astrono- mers would shortly be gratified in a knowledge of its actual state, both as to decrease and quantity, from a series of ob- servations to be made with an instrument invented and ex- ecuted by Mr. Troughton, whose skill as an artist is too well known and appreciated to require any commendation, Astronomers are much indebted to Mr. Pond for his excel- Jent observations, and his discovery of the existing error in -the mural quadrant at Greenwich, which, at the same time that they added to the accuracy of astronomical deductions, gave birth to the necessity of calling forth the inventive genius and superior excellence in the executing hand of Troughton. ; There can now be but little doubt that the mean obliquity of the ecliptic, as given by Dr. Maskelyne in the Nautical Almanac for 1812, and as deduced by him from the winter solstice, is considerably wide of the truth ; and that it 1s pro- bable the obliquity is not much different from what he has assumed in the subsequent Almanacs. It may, therefore, appear necessary in very nice observations to allow a cor- rection for this difference, though this perhaps will seldom occur*®: for the only part of the ephemeris affected by it of consequence, will be the sun’s declination and right ascen- sion: the Jatter, however, is too small to be of importance, " even in the nicest observations, as in astronomical ohserva- tions we only want'the daily difference of the sun’s right ascension, which will not be sensibly affected by so small a quantitya3 that under consideration. TI shall, however, give the investigation of a formula for making this correction, or any correction of a similar nature. For Declination. Let L= the sun’s longitude; O = the apparent obliquity * Tf the whole quantity of 8’.3 be allowed for as error, it makes an un- certainty of about one seventh of a mile in the latitude deduced from the sun’s-declination, and this only at the time of the solstices, viz. June 21st and . Dec. 21st, an uncertainty even in the extreme cases by far too small to be noticed in nautical practice, it being a doubt whether the best sextants are not liable t6 as great or greater uncertainty. ke = SO On the Error discovered in the Noutical Almanac. 383 of the ecliptic assumed by Dr. Maskelyne; p = the quan- tity to be corrected for; D = the declination of the sun, computed from O aud longitude L; d= the new declina- tion arising from O + p. Then R:5,L: +s, wt at Rigs, Basle O+p:s,d iy 04: 5,0 .cos. p' + cos. O. s,p 5,0. = 5,D' x fives =s5,D x ee =5,Dx(1 + 5; p.cot. O); therefore, s,D x 5, p. cot. O = the quantity to be applied to the declination contained in the Almanac, to correct it for the quantity p; but sine p X cot. O is constant.. Hence we have only to find the 3,D, and five places of decimals in the logarithms will be sufficiently correct, and the calculation made only for every fifth day, the rest may be filled up by proportion. For Right Ascension. Put A = right ascension in the Almanac; @ = the right ascension to be found: the rest as In the last case. Then, cot.L: R::cos.O: tang. A : cot. L: R::cos.O+ p: tang. a. Cc, On+ 6,0 .cp—s,O.s edi ane) e es SA iat at cs, O ; = t,A x (1+ 4,0. sin-p.) Hence the correction for the right ascension will be tang, A x tang. O + sine p, where the tangent O x 5,p is con- Stant, and as in thecase of the declination four or five places of decimalsin the logarithms will be sufficient, Here, how- ever, it will be hecessary to attend to the signs of the quan- tities, as the quantity found to he applied to the right as- cension given in the Almanac, will sometimes require to be added to, and at others to be subtracted from, those right ascensions, either of which is immediately determined by x #,A. “the sign of the quantity, that is, according as the tangent of A is positive or negative. : If the mean obliquity of the ecliptic for the beginning of the year be derdued at 23° 27” 51””.6, and the correction be taken = 83: then, log. sine 8”,3 = 9°6046527 log. cot, 23° 27" 51”,6 = 10°3624378, and log. s,p x cot. O = 5°9670905 : if to the constant log. 5*96709 we add the log. sine of the declination taken to the nearest minute, the sum will be the log. sine of correction in declination, And in the same manner may the correction in right ascension be found, taking the log. tangent of O instead of the log. % . cotangent, 384 On the Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. cotangent, and Jog. tangent of right ascension instead of Jog. sine of declination. As the right ascensions and declinations of the sun are calculated from his true longitude, and apparent obliquity of the ecliptic, we may derive these from the two equations above, viz. R:s,L::3,0: s, declination, Cot. I.: R:: cos. O : tang. right ascension. Where L = the sun’s true longitude, and O the apparent obliquity of the ecliptic; but the method above shown is much shorter in practice. With respect to that part of the statement contained in the Philosophical Magazine, which accuses the French of copying from the calculations of the Nautical Almanac in making up the ephemeris for the Connotssance des Tems,— it must be confessed that if they have declared that those parts were actually calculated by themselves, and not taken from the Nautical Almanac, they are deserving of censure; but I must own, I never saw or heard any one say that they ever did see such a declaration: on the contrary, it is well known, or at least was so to me and several other persons, many years ago, that the French had of late years adopted the calculations of the Nautical Almanac into their Con- noissance des Tems, by only allowing for the difference of meridians. But no one would surely accuse them of im- propriety for so doing: a mutual correspondence had always subsisted between Dr. Maskelyne and the French astrono- mers, and they may be said to have mutually contributed their aid to the improvement of this great national work ; and for any one to convince themselves of this fact, they need only read the preface to the Nautical Almanacs, where Dr. Maskelyne says he has, at different times, received di- rect communications net only from the French astronomers, but from their Board of Longitude. In the preface to the Nautical Almanac of 1812, he expresses himself thus: ** The French Board of Longitude having been pleased to send me a manuscript copy of new improved Lunar Tables by Mr. Burg, of Vienna,” &c. : and again, ‘* The French Board of Longitude having last year published M. De Lambre’s new tables of the sun, and Mr. Burg’s new tables of the moon, and favoured me with copies for the use of the computers of the Nautical Almanac, and myself, I have,” &c. From which it clearly appears, that the French Buard of Longitude did not send these copies merely in friendship to Dr. Maskelyne, but for the use of the Nautical a ee t ey On the Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. 385 They are well acquainted with the excellency of the plan upon which it is conducted, and the almost impossibility of its being inaccurate; they therefore, very wisely, evade the useless trouble of a recalculation of that which there can be no necessity but once to calculate; and after the care and liberality they have shown for its success, can it be fair to accuse them of making use of a work to which they have afforded their best he!ps? Let me ask what the Nautical Almanac would have been, had we not availed ourselves of: the deductions of the profound researches of the mathema- ticians of the continent? Had they withheld from us their discoveries,—discoveries- which Dr. Maskelyne acknow- ledges in all his prefaces to the Nautical Almanacs, and had published their Conmnoissance des Tems from their own manuscript tables founded on the elaborate theories of La- place, let me ask, In this state of things what would have been the comparison in point of excellence between the French Connoissance des Tems and the Nautical Almanac? It appears to me that the English astronomers in this case would have gladly availed themselves of their superior accuracy even in preference to the Nautical Almanac, and that the French may with propriety say, that their Con- noissance des Tems, as now copied, is from original matter. It would not perhaps be unjust, even to say that we are as much indebted tu the French mathematicians fer their liberal. communications to the improvement of the Nautical Al-. manac, as to Dr. Maskelyne for the excellence of the plan upon which it is conducted. The French have made no display of this communication to Dr. Maskelyne; it is to the doctor himself that we are indebted for the information, who was always ready to do justice to those persons from whom he had received such favours. The statement in . the Philosophical Magazine of last month seems to con- sider Dr. Maskelyne as entitled to great credit for the ac-. curacy of the calculations contained in the Nautical Alma- nac. But I apprehend Dr. Maskelyne’s fame, as connected. with this useful work, soars much higher,—it is the plan on which the Nautical Almanac is conducted that insures its accuracy,—and that Dr. Maskelyne’s fame rests more on his having furnished the most correct data as elements, and given general directions in the employment of them, than on the subordinate examination of sts contents after the cal- culations were completed, This examination is always cone ducted by a person called the comparer, and the correct- ness of the calculations of the Ephemeris depends in a Vol. 38. No. 163. Nov. 1811, Bb great . ‘ . 386 On the Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. great measure on the care with which he discharges his duty, The French Connotssance des Tems, whether modelled or not on the plan of the Nautical Almanac, will be allowed to contain a number of essays on scientific subjects, not ouly original, but of the highest importance to the mathema- ticlan and astronomer, who has hitherto alw ays regarded that work as a most valuable acquisition to his library*. LXIX. On the Error discovered in the Nautical Almanac. By S. GroomsBaincGe, Esq. To Mr. Tilloch. Srr, Ls your Magazine for the Jast month, you have no- ticed the error in the Nautical Almanac for the ensuing year, of the obliquity of the ecliptic, both mean and ap- parent; the quantity of which is 8g seconds. You further mention, that this error was first discovered by Dr. Kelly, of Finsbury Square. -Now, I must beg leave to assure you, that is not the fact; having in the early part of the sum- mer 1810 shown the sameto Dr. Maskalyne; who replied, that he would examine it, and notice it accordingly. The error is too trivial, to render it necessary to alter the right ascension and declination of the sun, for each day; which are the only two parts affected ; the whole of the columns which are used for nautical purposes being calculated inde- pendently of the obliquity of the ecliptic. When Mr. Pond, the present astronomer royal, came into office, I also pointed it out, on my first visit to him ; considering that where the error had originated, was the proper place from whence to announce the correction. The greatest equation that is required by the assumption * the obliquity of the ecliptic 82 seconds in error, is only als Of a second in time for the right ascension of the sun; pe the whole quantity at the solstices for the declination : the former is not worthy of notice ; ; and the latter may be corrected by a table of the sun’s declination, for each de- gree of Jongitude, with the variation for the differenit of 10 * Since the above was written, I have been informed that the French have stated, either in their Connuissance des Tems or in the New Solar and Lunar Tables lacely published, that they have availed themselves of the calculations contained in the Nautical jae having occasionally ealeu- laied two or three of the first months at the beginning of the year, to satisfy themselves of the degree of care with which the Nautical Almanac has been computed.—T. F. seconds On the different Theories of Arches, Vaults, %c. 387 seconds in the obliquity. Notwithstanding, should any gentleman require the above two parts of the Nautical Al- manag, for the use of his own observatory ; whither for the correction of the tables, or the convenience of setting his instruments; I should recommend him to avoid the labour of calculating the same froin the solar tables; where- by he might fall into a greater error, unless he should em- ploy several computers. In that case, he might safely de- pend on the sun’s longitude given in the Nautical Almanac, and, allowing for his difference of meridian from Greenwich, with the apparent obliquity of the ecliptic so corrected, find the true right ascension and declination of the sun. In- deed, were he to profess to have made the original calcula- tions, and these were to agree relatively with those of the Nautical Almanac, he would be suspected of having used the same plagiarism which is ascribed to the French and American astronomers in their publications. With respect to the Connoissance des Tems, the compilers acknowledge that they have depended on the calculations published in the Nautical Almanac; haying on former oc- casions found them correct. From the superior industry of the French mathematicians, the Solar and Lunar Tables have been constructed ; although the theories thereof have been principally confirmed by the numerous and accurate observations of the sun and moon, which have heen made at Greenwich, during a long series of years, with the greatest skill, and the best instruments that have been hitherto pro duced. , I am, sir, your obedient servant, Blackheath, Nov. 15, 1811. S. GROOMBRIDGE. LXX. Some Account of the different Theories of Arches or Vaults, and of Domes, and'of the Authors who have written on this most delicate and important Application of Mathematical Science. By a CORRESPONDENT. F roar the general history of the progress of the inquiries into the theories of the equilibration of vaults, it will be - seen, how important the subject has been considered by those who have not been architects, but have attained the highest eminence in mathematical and mechanical science. In reading this history of contrarious results, and in surveying and turning in the mind the vaults now subsisting, the productions of architects unacquainted with the present theories, much caution is necessary, lest the conclusion : Bbhea be 388 On the different Theories of Arches, Vaults, Ge. be drawn, that the question is merely curious, and the in- vestigation of it useless except as a mathematical exercise. The brief account which is bere given of the different theo- ries will be found sufficient, by extending the application, to exercise the mathematician in his school attainments, and to enable the architect to compare his knowledge, aris- ing from practice, with that derived from theory, and eventually to obtain that which may be permanently useful in his art. By way of preface, it will be proper to look at an arch in the state it appears in a wall or bridge, freed from many hypothetical properties which have been ascribed to it. n arch is composed of stones called vazssoirs, in the shape of truncated wedges, which resist each other, through their inclined sides, by. means of that weight whereby they would otherwise fall, and are suspended in the air without any support from below, where a concavity is formed, The vaussoirs are subject to forces which arise from their own weight, from external pressure, from friction, and the co- hesion of matter. All these forces compose a system which ought to be in equilibration; and moreover, that state of equilibration ought to have a consistence firm and durable. The respective actions of the vaussoirs must be very dif- ferent, according to their position in the vault: the yaussoir of the middle of the arch, which is vertical, and is called the key-stone, is sustained on each side by two vaussoirs precisely as by two inclined planes, and consequently the effort which it makes to fall is not equal to its weight, be- ing so much less as the planes are more inclined by which it Is sustained: if the planes were perpendicular to the ho- rizon, as well as the sides of the key-stone, it would fall by its whole weight, The second vaussoir, on the mght and left of the key-stone, is sustained by a third, which by vir- tue of the figure of an arch is more inclined j in respect to the second than the second is to the first. By a-parity of reasoning, all the vaussoirs, reckoning from the key of the vault, exert a decreasing portion of their whole weight, until the la- t, which lying horizontally does not exert any, or, which is the same thing, does not make any effort to fall, being wholly sustained by the base on which it rests. If it be desired that all the vaussoirs should be in equili- bration, it is manifest, that as each vaussoir, in proceeding from the key-stone, exerts only a part of its weight, the first for example exercising a half, the second a third, and the third a fourth, &c. it follows, to. equalize their different actions, , — > On the different Theories of Arches, Vaults, %c. 389 actions, that each must be augmented according to its po- sition; the second must be made more heavy than the first, the third than the second, and so on until the last, which must be infinitely heavy, because it does not make any effort to fall. To render this subject practically more intelligible, we have only to consider, that every vaussoir except the last, in Jetting another vaussoir fall, must itself rise, and that it re- sists this elevation to the extent of the weight which it it- self exerts to fall ;: and that only the last vaussoir on each side can let another fall, without itse!f rising, as it has only to slide along its horizontal bed: as a finite weight bas not any power of resistance to a horizontal motion, every thing being considered lubricous; we must conceive the last vaus- soir to be infinitely heavy, to made any lateral resistance. An arch * may stand immediately on the earth, which is its base, or be’ sustained by a wall or abutment pier: in both cases the joint effort of the parts is communicated to the base, which is its foundation, as if it were one and the same body continued. Curves used in arches are of three characters: 1st, Arcs of circles, wherein the height must always be equal, or less than half the width; in the first case the tangent at the springing will be vertical. The curtate cycloid is applica- ble in all the conditions of the circle, and the tangent at the springing may be vertical. 2d, The ares of ellipses, whose widths may bear any proportion to their heights, and the tangent at the springing may be vertical. ad, The catenaria, the parabola, the hyperbola, &c. whose spans may bear any proportions to their heights, but whose tan- gent at the springing cannot be vertical. The natural consequence from these data seems to be, that when the given height of an arch exceeds half the width, * The arch has been considered as a curve, infinitely thin, uniform throughout, and composed of an infinite number of joints ; and the inquiry has been to determine the weight which may be placed upon each joint, in a direction perpendicular to the horizon, so that it may fetain its position. In this way of considering the subject, the pleasing analogy between the chain and the arch, as applied in a popular experiment; together with the happy adaptation of the modern analysis to determine formula for universal practice, have, in the elegant display of the means, blinded the inquirers as to the end, and asto the absolute properties of the arch itself. It even'has appeared to men of other habits, that if such an. hypothesis. were. applica- ble, it must be subsequent to the determination of the arch, or the curve of infinite joints, which must at all events be determined on the principle’ of the wedge, or a collection of bodies butting on each other; the lower being an inclined plane to the superior ;.and.then-the weight, however supposed-to bear on the arch, must be determined in relation to this previous investi- Bb3 the _Eation. 390 On the different Theories.of Arches, Vaults, Fe. the circle is inapplicable; and that some other curve should be adopted; but the simplicity in the construction and ancient practice have decided otherwise, and the semicireu- lar arch has been generally sustained on vertical piers, where an arch of greater altitude might have been adopted. By the theory elicited from an examination of the arch, it would follow, that if the vaussoir at the springing, lying on a horizontal bed, must be infinite, in lke manner the pier on which it is sustained must be infinite also; because it can be considered only as another vaussoir, or an additional succession of vaussoirs: we may conceive the second vaus- soir of an arch to be an abutment to the first, as the third is to the second; the hance [query haunch] is as much an abutment to the crown as the pier isto it. The abutment or arch cannot be said to begin anywhere; it appears there- fore necessary, that the same theory should have cognisance over the whole, and that whatever theory may be applicable to the one, must also apply to the other: this mode of considering the subject, again confirms the propriety of adopting practically, what has appeared a natural conse- quence from the consideration of the properties of curves used in arcuation. It is manifest, that an arch may assume externally any appearance, and exhibit on its face a semi- circular arch and abutment piers, and yet have internally the properties and proportions of another curve, which may be enclosed in that form. Admitting this, the theory of abutment piers does not in any wise differ from that of arches; for if an arch of equilibration be enclosed in an arch of the same thickness at the vertex, and its abutment- pier, it necessarily follows that they must stand; if the additional filling up, to produce the desired effect, does not alter that equilibration : indeed, the angle at which friction retains stone on an inclined plane would determine that in all common cases; and though the direction of the joints. of the vaussoirs must be assumed, in the investigation, at right angles to the intrados of the enclosed arch, yet they need not be so in practice, but have that relation to the vi- sible arch. } This principle of interpreting an arch standing on a pier, into an arch of greater altitude, whatever theory of equilibration of arches may be adopted, seems to offer a mean of ascertaining the correctness of any different theory that may be adopted for the piers, when considered sepa- rate bodies, the enclosed arch being of the same curvature at the vertex, and nearest approaching to the given arch and pier, On the contrary, the theory of abutment piers ‘ has Notices respecting New Books. 391 has been considered by some in a point of view distinct from that of arches, and indicated by the suppositions, that the arch is most apt to split in the middle between the im- post and the key-stone; that the snperior vaussoirs above this point of fracture are bound together, forming one vaussoir or one wedge; and that the lower vaussoirs are so attached to the sewers pier, that they also form one stone, liable to revolve on the external lower angle of the pier, by the action of the upper part of the arch, involving the joint action of a wedge or inclined plane, and lever. The same principles are applicable, wherever the joint of splitting may be considered to be. [To be continued J LXXI. Notices respecting New Books. Extract from. a Paper entitled ‘*'The Result of Eleven Years Practice at the Original Vaccine Pock Institution, No. 44, Broad Street, Golden Square,” €&c. 8vo. pp. 46. Printed by Reynell, 1811. Sold at the Institution. Due public must feel much interested by this publication, containing the results of the practice of vaccination for a longer period distinctly than any other institution of a si- milar kind. Besides, the medical establishment being per- fectly independent of any pecuniary remuneration, but on the contrary supporting the Institution chiefly at their own expense; they are not likely to. be warped in their judge- ment, nor to be tempted to give unwarrantable or exagge- rated accounts to answer private views. It is well known too, that this Society bas been the first to make the public acquainted with the defects of vaccine inoculation, as well as with its advantages. After a brief but very condensed history of the new ino- culation, and a more particular account of their Establish- ment, in which mention is made of their own attempts to investigate the Jaws of agency of ‘vaccine matter, the au- thors relate the more remarkable results of their practice. _ They desire to be considered as merely giving evidence, and distinctly disclaim any interference ‘with the opinions or facts asserted by others. For many of these particulars, we refer to the pampblet itself; but certainly they feel re- sponsible for the facts asserted, "however great may be their discrepancy from those of other ince dass We shall notice a few of these facts. Matter taken early, 7. ¢. Ships the 9th day, is more effi- Bb4 cacious 392 Notices respecting New Books. cacious than at a later period ; but it is alleged that no other consequences arise ; the presence or absence of the areola fur~ nishes no rule independent of the period of the pock. The health does not alter the matter. The rule for taking mat- ter should be not according to the day after inoculation, but according to the state of the pock,—but wswally the most efficacious matter is before the 8th or 9th day :—no mis- chief has been observed from the matter of irregular or ano- malous pocks; but it is liable to fail in producing the due effect :—no such matter has been seen as that called spurious, i.e. which produces successively a disease mistaken for the cow-pock, but which does not give security against the small-pox :—no constitutional affection has been observed on the 5th day,as asserted on high authority, as well as at the well known period the gth after inoculation. Several in- sertions in the same arm do not excite more inflammation than a single puncture, but they have the advantage of af- fording greater security.—Constitutional affections from vaccine and variolous matter have not been observed to co- exist, so that there is no risque from vaccine inoculation when a patient has becn exposed to the contagion of the small-pox.—Not one has died at the Institution, but a few cases have been communicated of death, by inflammation of the arms, and one perhaps by convulsions. A Table is given of the proportional mortality by the small-pox during twelve years preceding vaccine inoculation in London ; and another during the twelve years of the practice of vaccina- tion, to judge of its influence in diminishing the mortality in society by the small-pox. It appears that about 420 persons per annum died fewer during the twelve years of the new inoculation, than during each of the twelve pre- ceding years before its introduction; vet the conclusion that the diminished mortality has been occasioned by the cow-pock is liable to error, although the probability is in favour of the influence of the new practice. With regard to the grand question which agitates so much the public mind, and which alarms so much particular families, viz. the security against the small-pox, it appears that out of 5000 registered patients who had all gone through the cow-pock in the most distinct manner, mine have subsequently taken the small-pox; and 40 more failures have been substan- tiated elsewhere, exclusive of the hon. Mr. Grosvenor’s case, and some others communicaced since this paper was read. The very curious new pathological fact is noticed of the failure in particular families, apparently from a congenital : unsus- Notices respecting New Books. 393 unsusceptibility, so that very often two or more out of sé- veral children in such families took the small-pox after the cow-pock. According to the severest tests, a very large proportion were found unsusceptible of small-pox after vac- cination, Those who took the small-pox naturally, in at least 19 cases out of 20, bad this disorder as mild as in the mildest inoculated small-pox: hence another new patholo- gical fact, and without analogy, that the human animal eeconomy, although not rendered incapable of the small- pox, may be rendered incapable of this disease severely, by undergoing the vaccine.—Lastly; except perhaps some slight eruptive complaints, no new disease has been introe duced by the cow-pock. In this publication particular directions are given for the mode of conducting vaccination. The rules also are spe=. cified to be observed by those who claim the compensation of five guineas on account of having been affected with the small-pox after having been certified to be secure by means of the cow-pock, by the medical officers of this Institution. Mr. Gillman, Surgeon, of Highgate, is about to present the Public with a Treatise on the Bite of a Rabid Animal, being the substance of an Essay which received a prize from the Royal College of Surgeons of London. The Second Part of the Philosophical Transactions has made its appearance. The following are its contents : 11. On the Causes which influence the Direction of the _ Growth of Roots. By T. A Knight, Esq. F.R.S. Ina Letter to the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. K.B.P.R.S. —12. On the Solar Eclipze which is said to have been pre- dicted by Thales. By Francis Baily, Esq. Communicated by H. Davy, Esy. Sec. R.S —13. An Account of the great Derbyshire Denudation. By Mr.J. Farey,Sen. In a Let- ter to the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks, Bart. K.B.P.R.S, —14. An Account of an Appendix to the small Intestines of Birds. By James Macartney, Esq. F.R.S.—15. An Ac- count of a vegetable Wax from Brazil. By William Thomas Brande, Esq. F.R.S.—16. Astronomical Obseryations re- Jating to the Construction of the Heavens, arranged for the Purpose of a critical Examination, the Result of which ap- pears to throw some new Light upon the Organization of the celestial Bodies. By William Herschel, LL.D.F.R.S. —17. Experiments to ascertain the State in which Spirit exists in fermented Liquors: with a Table exhibiting the relative Proportion of pure Alcohol contained in several Kinds 394 Royal Society. Kinds, of Wine and some other Liquors. By William Thomas Brande, Esq. F.R.S.—18. Account of a Litholo- gical Survey of Schehaliien, made in order to determine the specific Gravity of the Rocks which compose that Mountain, By John Playfair, Esq. F.R S.—19. Observations and Ex- periments on Vision. By William Charles Wells, M.D. F.R.S. LXXII. Proceedings of Learned Societies. ROYAL SOCIETY. - 6 Thursday, Nov. 7. Dts evening the Royal Society met after the long vacation, the right hon. President in the chair. A mathematical paper by Mr. Ivory was laid before the So- ciety, detecting some errors in Laplace’s Mécanique Céleste on spheroids. The introduction only of this paper was of a nature to be read, in which the author acknowledged the talents and learning of the French mathematician, and extenuated the mistake he was about to demonstrate by considering the immense extent of the work which con- tained it. Nov. 14. On this evening another paper on spheroids, by Mr. Ivory, was also laid before the Society, and a part of its contents read. In this the author proposed a new theory of spheroids, after having examined that of Newton and of Laplace ; the latter he refuted in the preceding paper, and the former he showed was founded on the assumed position that the earth was once an entire fluid mass: but had that been the case, its present appearance must have indicated that the fluid matter followed the laws of specific gravity ; which is not the fact. He then proceeded to show what must be the nature of a spheroid circumstanced as our globe is, and consisting of land and water. : Noy. 21. A part of a paper by Mr. Glenie, on the quadrature of the circle, was read, in which the author con- ceives that he has discovered a method of approximating to a solution of that long discussed problem with sufficient accuracy. The introduction to an experimental inquiry into the na- ture, formation, and constituent parts of the blood, by Mr. Brande, was read. The author began with noticing the difficulties and inaccuracy of all our methods of analysing animal matter; examined the process adopted by Fourcroy and Vauquelin ; and was hence led to detect many of thetr errors, and particularly their opinion, which has how be- come * Observations on the Comet. 305 come general, of the existence of iron in the blood ; which he appears to think wholly unfounded. He took a review of the process by which the living animal converts its food into chyle, and thence into blood; investigated the nature of scrum, and analysed this fluid with much greater minute- ness and scientific accuracy than have hitherto been used. a LXXIII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. - To Mr. Tilloch. Sir, Berne a student of astronomy, and possessing a very scanty astronomical apparatus, I feel much indebted to those gentlemen who have kindly communicated the various observations on the comet, that have appeared in your journal. The following elements of the orbit deduced from the observations of Sept. 5th, given in your work, combined with two of my own made with a sextant, Sept. 30th and Oct. 20th, will be found, I believe, to represent the whole series yet published with considerable accuracy. If I am not anticipated in the same results, you have my leave to publish them. Perihelion distance 1,03557. Passage of perihelion Sept. 12th at 7% 31™ Greenwich mean time. Long. of ascending node..... 140° 22" Inclination of the orbit...... 73 3 Long. of perthelion......... 74 57 Retrograde. I am, sir, ‘ Your most obedient servant, St. Andrews, Tas Zist Oct. 1811. P.S. I venture to suggest, what I have often wished, that the astronomer royal, or any other gentleman who makes observations under a well ascertained meridian, would sometimes favour us by communicating in the periodical journals, the observed times of occultations and solar eclipses. I am satisfied that it would lead to many observations of the same kind elsewhere; and thus both excite a spirit of astronomical observation, and improve the geography of the countries where our monthly publications circulate. RUSSEL 396 = Levtures.=List of Patents Sor new. Inventions, RUSSEL INSTITUTION. A Course of Lectures on Electricity, comprising the History and Practice of that Science, its Application to Meteorological Phenomena, and the Extension of Chemical Knowledge, will commence at this Establishment towards the close of December. They are to be delivered by Mr. George Singer. LIST OF PATENTS FOR NEW INVENTIONS. To Edward Silvester, of Rochester, in the county of Kent, millwright, for his new drag or skid, to be applied to the wheels of carriages of different descriptions.—Sept. 14, V8ll. To Johannes Ambrosius Maas, of Hammersmith, in the county of Middlesex, gent., for his improvement in the making of vinewar.—Sept. 23. To James Needham, of Islington Green, in the county of Middlesex, brewer and corn-dealer, for his portable ap- paratus for brewing beer and ale from malt and hops.— Sept. 23. ’ To William Strahan, of Poole Cottage, in the county of Chester, chemist, for his new method of making salt.— Oct. 1. To John Miers, of the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county of Middlesex, jeweller, for a new method of acs celerating the evaporation of liquid or fluid bodies, destroy- ing the noxious and offensive effluvia arising from spent soap lyes, or other liquid, fluid, or solid substances, and ge- nerating an increased degree of heat ‘without additional fuel.—Oct. 30, To. Frederick Koenig, of Castle-street, near Finsbury- square, printer, for further improvements on bis method of printing by means of machinery. —Oct. 30. To Richard Witty, of the town of Kingston-upon-Hull, gent. for his further improvements in his invention for the construction of steam engines, secured by letters patent bearing date the 14th day of February 1810.—Oct. 30. To Joseph C. Dyer, of Boston, State of Massachussets, one of the United States, now residing in Gray’s Inn, mer- chant, who, in consequence of a communication made to him by a certain Foreigner residing abroad, is become pos- sessed of certain machinery to be used and apphed in ma- nufacturing cards for carding wool, cotton, silk, flax, and tow, and other fibrous materials of the like description.— Oct. 30. To — List of Patents for new Inventions. 307 To Richard Lomax Martyn, of Tillington, in the county of Sussex, clerk, for an instrument for hoeing turnips, and for other farming purposes, which he denominated an *¢ Agricultural Hoe.”—Qcr. 30. To William Rudder, of Birmingham, in the county of Warwick, cock-founder and warming-pan maker, for cer= tain improvements in the construction of cocks used for the purpose of drawing ale, porter, beer, cyder, wine, water, and other liquids and fluids\—Oct. 30. To Thomas Dayies, of Brewer-street, in the county of Middlesex, goldsmith, for certain linprovements in the construction of buckles for various purposes.—Oct. 30. To John Curr, of Bellevue House, in the parish of Sheffield, in the county of York, gent. for certain methods of laying or making ropes, whereby the strands after being hardened are kept in more regular distention, and the ropes are more uniformly twisted than when laid by the sledge. —Oct. 30. To Thomas Pearsall, of Willsbridge, in the county of Gloucester, iron-master, for a new method of construct- ing iron work for certain parts of buildings.—Oct, 30. To Jobn Lowndes, of Hollen-street, Soho, in the county of Middlesex, modeller, for an improved method of warm- ing or heating baths.—Oct. 30. . To William Close, of Dalton, in the county palatine of Lancaster, apothecary, for his improvements in trumpets of different denominations, namely, the treble or common trumpet, the French-born or tenor trampet, and the bugle- horn.—Noy. 2. To Charles Broderip, of Great Portland Street, in .the county of Middlesex, gent. for certain improvements in the mode of constructing steam engines.—Noy. 2. To Charles Random De Berenger, formerly of Germany, but now residing in Pall Mall, in the county of Middlesex, gent, who, in consequence of information receiyed-trom a certain learned Foreigner residing in parts abroad; and from various researches and experiments made by himself, hath found out certain means of producing a valuable oil, and also soap and barilla, and a black colour or pigment.— Noy. 21. To Joseph Baker, of Butler’s Green, near Cuckfield, in the county of Sussex, navy contractor, for an improved method, by means of machinery, of kneading dough withe out manipulation.—Nov. 23. To James Adam, of Petkellony, in the county of Perth, esq. for a new method of drying malt, and all otber kinds ef grain and seed.—Noy. 26. METEORO? 398 Meteorological Observations. METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. To Mr. Tilloch. Srrx, Aw account having appeared in several of the daily newspapers, of a large meteor seen in the neighbourhood of London in the evening of Thursday the 7th instant, I proceed to communicate to you such particulars relating to it, as I have been able to collect from several persons who saw it at Hackney. According to their account it appeared about five minutes before nine o’clock in the north, and moved in a direction to the west: its motion was not re- gular in a straight line, nor in a uniform curve; but it leaped forward by successive jerks, describing a sort of undulated track ; and they represented it as being of considerable mag- nitude: after being visible for some seconds, it apparently entered a cloud and disappeared. The circumstance of its peculiar motion is, J think, worthy of record; and if any of your readers should have made observations on it, at any considerable distance from London, I should be obliged to them to communicate the same in the Philosophical Ma- gazine. ¥ In investigating the causes of these Juminous accensions, I think we may perhaps be assisted by observing and noting down accurately the peculiarities remarkable in the different kinds of them, which from time to time appear. The very large sort, which occasionally are seen, such for exam- ple as that memorable meteor which happened on the 18th of August 1783, or the large one recently observed at Ge- neva, are not numerous enough to admit of being arranged under any general description ; besides that there are pecu- liarities in afl of them, whereby each differs from every other. But the smaller kind which appear in common seem to me to be of three distinct varieties, and appear to derive their particular character from the kind of weather in which they happen. The most common sort are those very small meteors which are prevalent in clear frosty winter nights, and in- deed in summer also when there are dry easterly winds and very clear skies. They have very much of the appearance of the real stars, and have probably from this circumstance derived their vulgar name: they leave little or no train behind them, and shoot along in straight lines generally obliquely downward, but sometimes horizontally. The second kind are larger and more brilliant, and Bn . nerally . Ee Meteorslogical Observations. 399 nerally appear in warm summer evenings, particularly when cirrecumulus and thunder clouds abound: some of them are very beautiful, and give much light: they vary some- what in colour and size. The third sort are strikingly different from the two above mentioned: they are generally small, and of a beautiful blueish-whité colour; but their peculiar characteristic is that of leaving long white trains behind them, which remain visible for some seconds in the tract in which the meteors have gone. ‘These tails seem to be lost by dispersion ; they appear to fly off from all points, increasing in breadth as they become fainter, till at last they cease to be distinguish- | able. They are generally seen in the intervals of showery weather, and are most prevalent before the occurrence of high wind; of which they have been considered by Virgil as a certain prognostic*. These luminous tails have so much the appearance of the burning of some gas, that I have been induced to propose it as a question, Whether hy- drogen may not be so diffused in the atmosphere, that it may be lighted by the meteor as it passes through itt? From what I have been able to observe, these tails seem to result rather from some such diffused gas set on fire by the meteor in its passage, than from any of the luminous sub- stance of the meteor left behind it. It may be also remarked, that if the larger kind of meteors happen at the same time that these caudate meteors are prevalent, they always leave the tail behind them f. I shall not, at present, speculate further on the causes of igneous meteors in general, nor on the varieties in the state of the.atmosphere, by which their peculiarities may be ef- - fected, hoping that meteorologists will note them down ac- curately in their journals. I remain, sir, your humble servant, Clapton, Nov. 15, 1811. THOMAS Forster. * Georgic. lib. 1. + The separation of the gases of water has been noticed by M. B.P. Van Mons. } The train of light which the common meteors or falling stars appear to leave behind, and which lasts scarcely a moment, is probably only a halluci- nation of vision like the AcAsxorxsy vyxos sung By Homer, and quoted by Dr. Darwin, Zoun. sect, iti. 5. 3.—to which, as well as to his paper De Ocu- forum Spectris, I refer the reader. METEORO- 406 Meteorology. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE, By Mr. Cary, or THE STRAND, For November 1811. Thermometer. a Days of Height of a3 2 -v Ate the Barom. & et E Weather. Inches, | £2 & aes Agt Oct. 27 28°86 15 |Cloudy 38 *87 5 |Stormy 29 "89 6 |Stormy 30 “90 10 |Cloudy 3) 29°78 18 |Fair Noy. 1 12 o |Rain 2 °65 6 |Showery 3 ‘69 10. (|Fair 4 "84 0 |Showery 5 “90 o {Rain 6 “57 oO |Rain 1 "58 10. {Fair 8 "52 G {Rain 9 ‘70 12 {Fair 10 *35 o (Stormy el "32 g {Fair 12 “90 32 |Fair 13 *70 o |Rain “44 °72 0 |Showery 15 "52 26 «|Fair 16 °50 o /|Rain 17 30°05 30. {Fair 18 "95 0 |Small rain 19 °36 10 |Showery 20 *39 15 |Fair 21 "28 10 |Fair 22 nee 12 «‘|Fair 93 "19 0 |Foggy 24 29 io [Fair 25 "32 O {Small rain 26 *38 7 |Cloudy N.B. The Barometer’s height is taken atone o'clock, > —— ee ERRATA. Page 308, in the Observations of the Comet, Oct. 2. for 65 5° 45’ 46” Long. read 524° 14’ 37” Oct, 12. for 229° 39’ 28” A. R, read 229° 31’ 28”. { 401 J LXXIV. Some Speculations on the Analogy between Man and the Brute Creation. By AntHuR Mower, Esq. (No. IT] le endeavouring to prove that the lower animals. possess an intellectual principle, whose powers and faculties answer to the definition of the human soul ; { have, it is true, cited only one instance, and that of a domestic quadruped. I conceive, however, that if it is satisfactorily shown, that even one individual of the brute creation has displayed im its actions a power of perception, memory, intelligence,, and volition; and if at the same time it is. certain that these powers and faculties can be exerted only by’ some principle essentially the same, or analogous to the soul of man, then it must be a fact firmly established, that’ other. animals besides our own species possess some such same or analogous principle. ial It is not by simply attending to the more intricate actions of the lower animals, that we alone discover signs of an in- tellectual principle more independent in its operation than the law of instinct; we must ascend yet higher: let us re- flect on the passions and feelings which supply motives to such actions, and we shall then be sensibie of a closer ana- logy between men and the brutes, than the pride of many of the former, perhaps, will sufier them, to acknowledge. Observe a Newfoundland dog plunge into the water, and, seizing the hair of his drowning inasier, draw him in safety to the shore. Look at a terrier guarding for three months the remains of his benefactor, bis friend and companion, who perished on a‘mountain. Shali we say that these ani- mals acted merely from instinci? from no other cause than a certain blind impulse, and without any view to con- sequences? Shall. we assert that Providence had so or- ganized their frames, had so subjected them to the myste- rious uncoutrollable influence of a certain law, that they could not have acted otherwise? Wali the warmest advo- cate tor the superiority of his species deny, that in the first ‘ustance a dog felt as deeply, reasoned as acutely, and acied as wisely, as he himself could have done? When:the little terrier lost his masier, 1s 1t fanciful to suppose that his mind dwelt with gratitude on the remembrance ofa be- néfactor who had so often fed, so tenderly caressed bin ?— No :—he doubtiess recalled 10 bis recollection a thousand acts of kindness ; al the expiratiun of three months he was stil] watching bis remains :—and did not this creature di- Vol. 38. No, 164, Dec, 1811. Cec splay 402 Some Speculations on the Analogy between splay as much sensibility and real feeling as half our species would have done at the loss of such a friend? Was it chained to the spot by the mechanism of a clock-work principle? No, no: Jet us acknowledge that other animals ‘are sometimes as intelligent as ourselves ;—let us adore the Creator of the universe, who in giving to brutes an intel- lectual principle capable of memory, volition, and possess- ing in a limited degree the faculty of reasoning, has not only provided for their immediate wants, but graciously multiplied their means of happiness. It is natural to sup- pose that the lower animals enjoy from their cogitations a very high degree of pleasure. A beast, a bird of prey, reposing in the solitary gloom of a deep forest, when not actually sleeping, enjoy a positive happiness, from the re- collection of. their last meal; from the anticipation of an- other ; or in forming vague plans for surprising their next prey, when hunger shall impel them to pursue it. A little bird confined in a cage, and supplied with a sufficiency of food, is happy either in motion, or when sitting on its perch ; it observes the actions of others, or gives itself up to a succession of confused ideas, of which perhaps it is scarcely sensible, and which leave not a trace behind. If we will not allow that brutes ever think ; if we suppose them inca- hee: of a single idea, however simple ; it must certainly fol- ow, that they are mere automatons, moved by mechanism ; but if, as appears evident, they are capable of thought, it is equally clear that they must have a soul; for thought is an act of the mind, and mind (though as a substantive it is a word which sometimes expresses a power or faculty of the soul) in its largest sense is synonymous with soul. Let it not be thought that I wish to degrade men to. the rank of yahoos, and insinuate that they are inferior, beings to horses. Many people, I know, will think it almost im- pious to suppose a dog to have a soul, because, they will say, the human soul, though now degraded by sin, was originally as much an emanation from the Creator, as a ray of light is an emanation from the sun; and the word itself implies an immortal spirit. But these are objections which appear to be supported neither by reason nor com- mon sense. Man in his most perfect state was ‘* lower than the angels ;” the highest of archangels we must suppose infinitely below the Deity, as the lowest of the angels 1s be- jow that archangel. Rays of light, proceeding from the _ sun, may be more or less imperfect and obscure by passing through bodies of a different density ; light, as well as air, is capable of deterioration; but the Almighty is as perfect in Man and the Brute Creation. 403 in his nature as in his attributes; whatever is an emanation from his essence must be as perfect as that essence,—else must that essence itself be capable of imperfection. If the ray of divine light is not as pure and perfect as the source from whence it emanates, it is plain that a capability of imperfection must previously have existed in the whole of which it isa part. But this capability is incompatible with perfection, and we suppose God to be a perfect being. The soul of man, therefore, as well as those beings whom we call angels, must as necessarily have been created as the dust we tread upon. A created soul is as dependent for its existence on the Creator, as are any of the material objects by which we are surrounded, and can only become im- mortal by his permission ; as motion cannot continue but by a repetition of impulse, or the constant action of the law by which it first began. Set an ourang-outang, indeed, or the most sagacious brute, by the side of a D.D, an LL.D., or an F.R.S.; compare their respective powers, faculties, and qualities, and the difference will be certainly so great, that it will appear shocking to make any com- parison between them, and not easy to imagine that the one can have an intellectual principle analogous to that of the other. They were brought into the world for very dif- ferent purposes; the one te enlighten and improve mankind, and the other to fill up a gradation in the great scale of animated beings. To answer these different ends, their capacities were differently proportioned ; and the man is de- stined for immortal glory, while the brute must perish when he ceases to breathe. But Jet us not look only at the top of the scale, but contemplate human nature in its most sa- vage as well as in its most civilized state. The lowest of the human species are said to be the Andamans, a race in- habiting islands of that name on the eastern side of the bay of Bengal. Their mode of life is degrading to human nature; and, like brutes, their whole time is spent in search of food. In the morning they rub their skins with mud, and wallow in it like buffaloes, to prevent the annoyance of insects. Their dwellings are the most wretched hovels imaginable. An Andaman hut may be considered as the rudest and most imperfect attempt of the human race to procure shelter from the weather. Three or four sticks are planted in the ground, and fastened together at the top in the form of a cone, over which a kind of thatch is formed with the branches and leaves of trees. An opening is left on one side, just large enough to creep into, and the Cc2 ground 404. Some Specilations on the Analogy Vetween ground beneath is strewed with dried leaves, upon which they lie*, Consider also the many tribes of human beings on the coast of New Holland, whose lives, with little variation, are spent, like those of brutes, i in the pursuit of prey and im gratifying their appetites: with these, and not with mem-=: bers of learned societies, let us compare an eagle, a wolf, an ourang-outang, or a dog ;—observe their sntelleesadh powers displayed in their daily actions, their pursuits, their habits, their passions, their feelings ;—is it too degrading, to our nature, does it savour of impiety, to believe that these beings are in many respects equally rational, equally free agents? ' ~ Between an Andaman and a Sir Isaac Newton there ap- pears to me to exist as great a distance as between an An- daman and an ourang-outang: yet would it be too revolting to the pride of a Sir Isaac, to acknowledge, that though the savage was governed far more by instinct than by reason, yet it was possible that he might possess a soul as well as himself? If we reject with due abhorrence and contempt the revolting, silly idea, that God created this world and its inhabitants as ‘a display of power, and merely for bis own glory; and that be keeps the most uumerous part of animated beings under the control of instinct, to make that power and slory more conspicuous :—if, instead of this, we believe that the Almighty undertook the work of crea- tion for the diffusion of happiness,—the face of creation will wear a very different appearance. . Instead of this fair earth being creaied for a display of omnipotence, and. destined for the use of an antinal, certainly, not alwavs the most respectable of living creatures; instead of viewing a mul- titude of automatons moved by. clock-work, and made solely for the ase, of lordly man; we shall bebold myriads of beings called into existence for very different purposes indeed, but all to serve as means to one great end, the dif- fusion of happiness. Weshall behold the lower animals possessing a soul, or inielligent principle, analogous to that which animates the human species; as far as it reaches, as. rational, as free as independent; but more limited in its powers, and confined only to subjects of observation and experience. ‘These animatsthink, reason, will, and act; but they are spoken of in Scripture, as of ¢ beasts thal, perish, oe ‘Avnihilation, however, is io them no evil. The brutes in . this world are in general much happier than man. Our superior misery is as strong a proot of our immortality as * Asiatic Researches, iv. p. $90 and 391. Our Muan-and the Brute Creation. . 405 aur superior faculties. The phsnomena then which the. briites exhibit by their-actions, authorize us to conclude that they possess a soul, or intelligent principle, analogous in its essence to that of our own, but more limited in its powers and, capacity*, That natural-difference of intellect which we observe be- tween a dow and a dormouse, between a dunce and) a man ef genius, is undoubtedly owing to some difference in the Scatient or cogitative substance ; it cannot. be ascribed: to matter, for matter is continually changing; aud though. a man at thirty has not a particle of the same body which he had at ten years of ave, yet it is very phun that be may; be as greata blockhead. That such a disparity im nrental ea- pacity is owing to an entire diflerence im the essence of the soul, cannot be supposed; for altbouglnit is equally easy for Providence to endow the most opposite substances with sunilar intellectual powers, yet the sumplest hypothesis is always to be preferredas ihe most prubable’s tor mature al~ | waysacts by the simplest plan, and seldom, ifever, deviates from general laws to. accomphsh. particular phaenomena. That gradation, then, of intellectual capacity, which di- stinguishes from eagh other individuals of the buman -spe- cics, as well as of the brute creation, is to be ascribed, not to an entire difference in that substance called the seul, but tou a different modification of that substance. But it will be asked, What is that substance ? and how 1s it modified? The essence of the soul, which has been a subject for speculation to philosophers uf eyery age, has certainly given rise to many extraordinary theories ; and it would be thought folly to waste much time aud paper on a topic which no human capacity can ever satisfactorily explam. , * In thearticle Jnstinct, in the new Cyclopxdia, we read the following: “ When we see brutes thus using means tv obtain their ends, as well as our- selves, must we not conclude that they reason? When the cat watches fur hours in silent expectation of her prey; when the hound traverses a wide’ extent of country in the chase, they show as much persevering voluntarity as man can boast.” [f.J, kuow any thing: of the meaning of words, this 1s as much as to say that brutes do sometimes feason, and act from reason, and that they have a power of volition. But at the end of the same article we are thus given the sam of the arzument: “Thus we see that animals per- form certain operations which are neither ratigna/, habitual, nor mechanical ; and although it ‘cannot be doubted but some of,them reasun in several in- stances, still, even from the short details now given, we cannot allow that ehcir natural operationsaré performed with a view to consequences.”” But do brutes reason, or dothéey not?) If they do, thea some of their activas must be veliaal; if they donot, they act eatitely from the law of inptinety z law which they can‘neither alter nor control; and their actions are then as purely mechanical as is the movement of the minule hand on the dial- plate of a timepiece. |.) 9 4}! ; _ : \ - Ces Language ‘ 406 Some Speculations on the Analogy between Language being entirely relative to objeets with which we are surrounded, and which we call material, it is impossible to build any hypothesis on the natare or essence of the soul, without conveying to the reader an idea of a material sub- stance; and it appears to me of little consequence, whether we imagine the soul to be material or immaterial. What is meant by the word spirit? It will be answered, An im- material something in which thinking is inherent. But what reason have we for supposing that this something, this soul, may not be a portion of subtile matter ?—not a medullary substance like the brain, or a combination of particles similar to those which compose our bodies; such matter is divisible, undergoing changes every moment, and by its nature liable to corruption: but can we suppose no matter with extension, but indivisible and incorruptible? Is it impossible for such a substance to exist? It is indeed plain, that the idea of corporeal substance is as remote from our conception, as that of spiritual substance, or spirit. We conclude that the operations of the mind, thinking, reasoning, &c. cannot subsist of themselves, nor can we apprehend how they can belong to body, or be produced by it. We therefore think these the actions of some other substance, which we call spirit. Of matter we have no other idea or notion, but something wherein those many sensible qualities which affect our senses, to subsist, We have, therefore, as clear a notion of the substance of spirit, as we have of body; the one being supposed to be (without knowing what it is) the substratum to those sim- ple ideas we have from without, and the other (with a like ignorance of what it is) to be the substratum to those ope- rations which we experience in ourselves within*. Again, “‘ The immediate objects of sense, philosophers have agreed to term qualities, which they conceive as inhering in some- thing which is called their subject, or substratum. It is this substratum of sensible qualities, which in the language of philosophy is denominated matter: so that matter 1s not that which we immediately see and handle, but the concealed subject or suppart of visible tangible qualities t.” Spirit and matter, therefore, are merely an arbitrary union of certain Ietters, to signify two substratums, or two some- things, we know not what, on which to rest certain quah- ties :——But is it impossible to suppose a third substratum to exist, supporting a union of qualities drawn from the two former? Let us imagine a something, to which belong * Locke's Essay, + Ency. Brit. article Matter. all « il ail ee Cn he Man and the Brute Creation. 407 all the operations of the mind, with incorruptible parts and indivisibility; what shall we call this something, or _ this substratum which supports these qualities? It cannot strictly be called matter, for to matter belongs the quality of divisibility ; neither is it spirit, for spirit we allow to have neither parts nor extension. Whatever we agree to call it, it is not an improbable conjecture, that such a some- thing with such qualities may exist. That the soul of man is powerfully acted upon and influenced by matter ; that it is often held in subjection by the body, and strongly oppressed by physical causes, cannot be denied: but pure spirit is independent of matter. Were our souls purely spiritual and immaterial, our mental constitution would be totally different ; we should be divinities, instead of human beings. Englishmen would not then shoot themselves on a foggy day, nor lunatics grow worse when the moon changed. But at present surrounding objects act upon our material bodies, to which they have an affinity ; this action operates on the soul, through the medium of our nerves and fluids; and as no matter, as far as we have reason to suppose, can act on other substances than those to which it has some affinity, how could our nerves operate on the’ soul, or sentient principle, if that soul was purely spiritual, and had no affinity to matter? I will imagine a very subtile, invisible, ethereal substance, whose parts adhering together, by a strong principle of attraction, are indivisible by less power than that of Omnipotence; I will suppose this sub- stance to be placed in the brain. God has endowed it with an intelligent power; with thought, reason, and volition ; and ideas, which exercise these faculties, are conveyed to it from external objects, through the medium of the senses; ——how, or in what manner, | do not conjecture ;—but it is as €asy to suppose one something, we know not what, to think, as another something of which we are equally igno-~ rant. This substance, which is the soul, is in different ani- mals (both men and brutes) of a different degree of tenuity ; and this difference of tenuity is the cause of that gradation of intellect which regulates the scale of animated beings. Ideas conveyed to souls differently tenuous, produce a stronger or a fainter impression in exact proportion to the degree of tenuity; as rays of light passing through bodies more or less dense, will differently illumine the object on which they fall. Is there any thing improbable or revolting in this theory? Certainly not. If 1 suppose the soul to be ma- terial, I do not assert that a certain organization of matter will produce thought; or that thought is produced by mo Cc4 tion, 408 Analogy between Man and the Brute Creation. tion, and is the inevitable effect of a certain law. Mind can only be produced by the operation of a first cause, which cause 1s an all-powerful Deity: but it is surely as easy for him to impart certain powers and faculties to one substance as to another; and to make that substance indi- visible, incorruptible, and immortal. From the universal use of it also differs from the other varicties of wax, namely, the wax of the Myrica cerifera*, of Jact, and of white lac f. __.* Vide Dr, Bostock’s Experiments on the Wax of the Myrica cerifera, in Nicholson’s Journal for March 1803. + Vide Analytical Experiments and Observations on I.ac, by Charles Hat- ghett, Esq. F.R,S. in the Philosophical ‘Transaciions for 1804, } Vide Observations and Experiments on a Wax-like Substance from ‘Madras, by George Pearson, M.D. F.R.S. in the Phil. Trans. for 1794,” t Wol, 38, No. 164. Dec. 1811. Ee The 434 Theorems on Musical Temperament. The attempts which I have made to bleach the wax have been conducted on a small scate; but from the experiments related it appears that, after the colour has been changed by the action of very dilute nitric acid, it may be rendered nearly white by the usual means. I have not had sufficient time to ascertain whether the wax can be more effectually bleached by long continued exposure, nor have [ had an opportunity of submitting it to the processes employed by the bleachers of bees wax. ; Perhaps the most important part of the present inquiry is that which relates ty the combustion of the vegetable wax in the form of candles. The trials which have been made to ascertain its fitness for this purpose are extremely satisfactory ; and when the wick is properly proportioned to the size of the candle, the combustion is as perfect and uniform as that of common bees wax. The addition of from dne-eighth to one-tenth part of tallow is sufficient to obviate the brittleness of the wax in its pure state, without giving it any unpleasant smell, or materially impairing the brifliancy of its fame. A mixture of three parts of the vegetable wax with one part of bees =) wax also makes very excellent candles. LXXIX. Theorems for calculating the Temperaments of such regular Douxeaves as are commensuralle, or defined by a certain Number of equal Parts, into whick the Octave is divided. By Joun Farry, Sen. To Mr. Tilloch. Sir, Havine been applied to by a musical friend, to point out the method of calculating the Temperament of the Fifths, in any given commensurable system of Musical In- tervals, without reference to the Memoirs of the Academy of Sciences (a work which many have not the opportunity of consulting) as is done in the Ist, and several others of the Scholia to my Six Musical Theorems in your 36th volume, p.453 I beg the favour of you to give a place to the follow- ing Observations and Theorems on Commensurable Systems, It is weli known, that merely giving the number of equal parts into which the octave is to be divided, is not sufli- cient to define, in all cases, the regular douzeave that re- sults, or system wherein all the Fifths to a given extent are alike tempered; the common property of which is, as Dr. Smith i Theorems on Musical Temperament. 435 Smith has shown, in his truly excellent ‘* Harmonics,” Prop. IIL. and XVIII, that the sum of 5 of the mean Tones (T) and two of the major Limmas (L) are equal to the Octave, in all such systems. Thus in the system of M. Henfling (Schol. X. p. 50) wherein the Octave is divided into 50 equal parts, six different sets of T and L may be found to answer the above condition, viz. T L 5 x 10+ 2.x O= 50 SEX IB = iD xe Poe SO OFX 06) 2h enor) 50 5 x 4+ 2x 15 = 50 5x 2+2 x 20 = 50 5x O+-F 2 x 25 = 50 Which sets of answers may, in. general, be obtained by this rule, viz. From the given number of equal parts in the Octave (a), deduct successively the even numbers in the series 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, &c. until a remainder is found, divisible by 5, or which ends with 0 or 5, and let such even subtrahend be called J: sore nel b then will a be the greatest value of T, and — the least or corresponding value of L; and all the other corresponding values of T will decrease from this hy 2, and those of L increase by 5, in succession, as in the example above. It will however be unnecessary, to carry this process on any further, than till L becomes equal to T ; since in all prac- tical systems, the value of L cannot differ very greatly from the half of T, and thus the second line in the above ex- ample, is the only practical system that results froma divi~ sion of the Octave into 50 equal parts; and so of any other value of a. In practice therefore, the value of b (or 2L) will be re- stricted to some of those even subtrahends that produce practical systems, and which may be determined, in my new notation, by Theorem 7. —r = — x 61-421964E — 9-236229128, the flat temperament of the Fifths, in the system having a equal parts in the Octave. Or, in reciprocals of common logarithms, by Theor.8. —r = — x+0301029,99566—-0045267,3834, For example,in Mercator’s System, mentioned inSchol. 1, a= 53 and l = 8, and we have 8 x 61°421264 + 53 — 9236222 = — *03491121 the flat Temperament of the Ee? Fifth: 436 The Originality of Daniel’s Life-Preserver disputed. Fifth : and in the other Scholia, we have for the Commen- surable Systems mentioned, as follows, viz. Schol.2 a=112 b=8 —r= —2°828669> | 3 19 4 —3°694570 ° 5 43 8 —2°190990 6 12 2 — 17000655 8 67 12 —1:764601 9 74 14 —2°384017 10 50 10 —3°048031 12 31 6 —2°651765 13 55 10 —1'931981 Which results, it will be observed, are much more exact than those which I before gave, owing to too few places of decimals having been used, as my able friend, the Rev. C.J. Smyth, long ago pointed out to me, after recalculating and enlarging M. Sauveur’s Table of Commensurable Systems, and which it were much to be wished that he would publish. The Temperament of the Fifth or — r being thus ob- tained, for any Commensurable System, we have only to consider s as = 1, — ¢ = 0, and w = 1, and all the other ‘Temperaments and the Wolves of auy such system will readily be obtained from the Theorems ‘at page 41 of the 36th volume, or from the Corollaries that follow at page 371. If we select the 6th Scholium as an example of the use of Theorem 8, we have = ee = a and:0301029,9957 +-6 — '0045267,3834 = :0004904,2895 = — 1, the re- ciprocal logarithm of the flat temperament of the Isotonic System: from which if we take -G004901,0713 the recipro- cal logarithm of 2, we have 3°2112 (or +, of 38,5342 the reciprocal logarithm of m), or = + 23m, as the proper flat- tening of the Equal Temperament. Allow me here to correct two errata in the 5th Scholium, p- 46, of volume xxxvi. bottom Jine and line 6 from the bottom, for /lat read sharp. I am, sir, : Your obedient servant, Upper Crown Street, . Joun Farey, Sen. Dec. 4, 1811. To Mr. Tiiloch. Sir, Tur advantages that have accrued to the public, from the institution of the Society for the Encouragement of Arts and > The Originality of Daniel’s Life-Preserver disputed. 437 and Manufactures, are generally acknowledged: and that their exertions have been gratefully recognised and appre- ciated, is sufficiently obvious from the constant annual in- crease of subscribers, since its commencement in 1754. The standing rules and regulations of the Society have had two principal objects in view, equally necessary to the per= manent reputation of every scientific institution. Their laws are calculated to exclude no class of the community from the stimulus they offer to talent; all are admitted to fair and equal competition; to the wealthy, honorary distinc- tions are offered ‘as the reward of patriotism or ingenuity, while at the same time the skill of the indigent mechanic 1s excited to industrious activity, by the certainty of meeting with pecuniary recompense, proportioned to the utility of his invention.» Tf, then, care has been taken to found the institution on the broad basis of generally utility, they have endeavoured to draw the line between liberality becoming a public body, and the undue appropriation of the funds to objects unw forthy their patronage. The peculiar advantages which a public society possesses over'a private body of as- sociated individuals is, that in conferring an honour, or in bestowing a pecuniary reward, all idea of personal obligation is done away. It admits of a more unconstrained exami- nation of the relative merits of the candidates; all is sub- mitted to general discussion ; and while it preclades any un- due preference to a favoured individual, the members are at liberty to reject or approve, without fear “of violating per- sonal ‘feelings. From an earnest wish then for the reputa- tion of asociety at once liberal and politic, it was not without considerable pain that | saw recorded in their Trans- actions a circumstance, which, if frequently repeated, would not fail to deprive their premiums of that value which they ‘ought to possess. The approbation of the society has hi- therto been considered a very important acquisition, which cannot be better exem plified than by the anxiety shown by Mr. F.C. Daniel, of Wapping, to wrest from the society that approbation which to me appears unmerited. I pre- sume that in voting to Mr. Danie!, in the year 1807, the gold medal of the society for his “* apparatus to secure per- sons from sinking in water, or, to act as a life- -preservet - when shipwrecked ;” it was under the impression that it was as new as im portant, as original as ingenious. It is unnecessary to refer the reader to Vegetius, orto Folard, to prove that the idea had neither originality nor novelty to recommend it, while there isa book extant in our own Jan- guage published near two centuries and a half ago, contain- "Ee3 rae Ing, 438 Remarkable Disease of the Lungs and Kidneys. ing, with the exception of the straps, the identical Daniel’s life-preserver now under consideration. In referring the reader to the plate*, we shall merely add the following ex- tract from the book in question, entitled * Certaine waies for the orderyng of Souldiers in Battel-ray, &c. &c. gather’d and set foorthe by Peter Whitehorne, Student of Graies Inne, London, 1562. ‘ How to make a Girdell for Souldiers or Fishers, where- by they may goe in the water and passe over a river with- oute eyther Bridge or Bote. ‘ This girdel ought to be made accordinge to the fation of the figure nexte following, and of such Tether that must be dressed in lyke sorte as the same is wherwith foote-bals are made, wherunto a pype must be fasten’d lyke unto a beggepype, so that the girdell when it is girte about a soul- dier upon his armur may be blowen full of wvnde, by helpe whereof he may then safely passe over a river goinge throngh the same how depe soever it be, wher he shall not sinke mm the water forther than from the girdell stede dounewards, which for men of warre is very commodious, and a moste necessary thing,’ After perusing the above passage, copied verbatim Frain the original black letter, 1 deem it unnecessary to offer any apology to the readers of your very interesting Magazine, for questioning the justice of this gentleman’s claims on the society as the inventor of the life preserver. In admit- ting, then, that Mr. Daniel has conterved an important obli- gation on mankind, in having rescued from unmerited ob- ecurity a most valuable machine for the preservation of bis fellow -creatures, 1 think he 1s placed precisely at that point in the scale of merit to which his services entitle him. A Memner of the Society for the Encourages ment of Arts, Manufactures, &c. London, Feb. 18, 1811. LXXXI. Remarkable Disease of the Lungs and Kidneys By Joun Taunton, Esq. Surgeon to tle Cit y and Fins- bury Dispensaries, and to the City Truss Society, Lecturer on Anatomy, Surgery, Physiology, Se. Dan Lewis, aged 49, was taken ill in June last with great pain in the tight lumbar region, which was suececded by a discharge of blood and pus with the urine. These sym- * Fig. 4- Plate X. ‘ , ptoms Remarkable Disease of the Lungs and Kidneys. 439 ptoms continued with little variation till about the middle of September. A strengihening plaster was then applied to the part, and opium given by the direction of Dr. Han- cock (the man having obtained a letter for the Finsbury Dispensary). These succeeded in removing the pain; but in about a week after the plaster was applied, a small swell- jing appeared in the loins over the right kidney. The urine was now more healthy. It was concluded that an abscess was forming in the kidney. The swelling continued to enlarge and become more painful. His appetite and strength being impaired, cordial medicines were given ; but the only relief which he expe- rienced was by increasing the dose of opium. At the beginning of November his debility had increased: the pulse was weak, the tongue was foul, the respiration was difficult, with a bad cough; he did not pass the faces with- out an aperient medicine, or a glyster. The tumour had now become nearly as large as a cocoa nut, but the integu- ments were not inflamed. Cordial medicines combined with opium were given. Nov. 2d. The tumour burst by a. small opening, from which about a pint of rather thin matter, of a whitish co- lour, with a sky-blue tint, was discharged ; he made water freely, and felt much easier; the skin was hot and dry; the stools were not passed without glysters. Nov. gth. The discharge has been considerable, his health is worse, the pulse weaker, and cough has been very trou- blesome: fomientations and poultices have been applied to the part: the anodyne medicines have been continued, but the only temporary relief which has been obtained has been by increasing the dose of opium. Nov. 14th. Much worse: the bad symptoms have all in- creased; the respiration ts hurried and laborious ; the pulse small, thready, but not quick; the countenance. appears dejected ; the voice is indistinct; the abscess remains much the same. 2ist. The pulse intermits; the stools are frequent, thin and watery: he rests more easily. Give the misture crete cum tinctura kino. Dec. 6th. He is weaker: the only rest obtained is from opium. He died on the evening of the 11th, without any material change in the symptoms. 13th. The body was examined in the presence of Dr. Hancock, Mr. Priest, and Mr. Burn. The left /ung was entirely destroyed by abscesses : the right lung adhered to the ke4 pleura 440 | Remarkable Disease of the Lungs and Kidneys. pleura costalis in many parts, and contained a great numbet of tubercles; the pericardium and heart were natural. The liver was rather pale and mottled on its surface, but its internal structure was natural. The gall-bladder’ was partially filled with bile: the bile-ducts and blood-vessels of the liver were healthy: the spleen, pancreas, omentum, stomach, small and large intestines, were in a healthy state. The descending colon ‘was contracted, and the rectum much dilated, so as to occupy almost the whole cavity of the pelvis; this dilated intestine was filled with feces of a soft adhesive nature, almost of the consistence of bird-lime. The internal coat of the bladder was thickened, irregular, ulcerated, and much inflamed, with two calculi lodged in its coats; yet there had not been any symptoms of disease in this organ for several inonths past. The canalin each vas deferens was completely obliterated, that on the right side by acalculus; and the vesicule seminales were unusually small; the prostate gland was also very small. The left kidney was perfectly healthy; the right kidney was rather large, having a whitish surface: the emulgent’ vessels were obliterated at their entrance into the kidney in an inflamed mass: the coats of the ureter near to the kid- ney were thickened, and its canal filled with pus, ' but nearer to the bladder it was obstructed: the posterior sur- face of the kidney formed the boundary on that side to the sac of the abscess, which had burst in the loins: this communicated with a small abscess in the pelves of the kid- ney, in which some calcareous substance was formed. The whole cortical part of the gland was formed into separate abscesses, which had not burst externally, nor did they ap- ear to communicate with each other, If the adhesive inflammation had not taken. place in the emulgent vessels, the pus must have been conveyed by them into the circulation, and have destroyed life much sooner. In this patient, respiration was carried on by the right lung only, which was in a diseased state, and the urine was secreted entirely by the left kidney. The preparations are preserved in my collection, and may be seen by any’person who is desirous of making further inquiries into’ this in- teresting case, . On making application to my friend and colleague Dr. Hancock, under whose care this man had been placed be- fore I saw him, I was favoured with the following parti+ ‘culars. Daniel Lewis had been free from any remarkable disease for ; Experiments on the Spirit in fermented Liquors. 44% for the last two years, but early in life he had debilitated his constitution by excess in venery, so that, trom the age of thirty to the time of his decease, nunquam erat emissio seminis in coitu, though his animal propensities were strong. He was employed in a brewery, and had frequent access to malt liquor. About two years ago he was confined some weeks with pain in the region of the right kidney, and had a discharge of a whitish, thick,-and sometimes bloody urine, which indicated that suppuration had taken place ei- ther in the kidney or coats of the bladder. At intervals from that period the urine assumed this morbid: appearance. Is it not highly probable, that when the communication be- tween the kidney and the bladder was cut off by the in- fHammation and obliteration of the canal of the ureter, the formation of the tumour commenced in the loins to form an outlet for the matter from the kidney? Is it not also pro- -bable that the ulceration in the bladder was subsequent to the suppuration in the kidney? and:that the ureter, which was diseased in its whole course, was the medium of morbid communication ? Git I was not aware of any impediment having existed in the discharge of the serninal fluid, till some days after the ex- amination, or I should have paid particular attention tothe State. of the testes and vasa deferentia through their whole course; the latter tubes were completely obstructed for two inches before their termination. The vesicula seminales were very small, hardly so large as' the termination of ‘the vasa deferentia. ‘There was not any fluid contained. in- deed the cells of the vesicule appeared to be nearly obli- terated. : Joun Taunton, 21, Greville-street, Hatton-garden, Dec. 17, 1811. LXXXIT. Experiments to ascertuin the State in which Spirrt exists in fermented Liquors: with a Table exhibit- ing the relative Proportion of pure Alcohol contained in several Kinds of Wine and some other Liquors. By Witiram Tuomas Branpsg, Esg. F.R.S.* Section 1, Is has been a commonly received opinion, that the alcohol obtained by the distillation of wine does not exist ready formed in the liquor, but that it is principally a product of the operation arising out of a new arrangement of its ulti- maate elements. % From the Philosophical Transactions for 1811, part ii, The 442 Experiments to ascertain the State of The proofs which have been brought forward in support of this theory, are chiefly founded on the researches of Pa- bromi*, who attempted to separate alcohol by saturating the wine with dry subearbonate of potash, but did not suc- ceed, aithough by the same means he could detect very mi- nute portions of alcohol which had been purposely added. To obtain satisfactory results from many of the following experiments, it became necessary to employ wines to which little or no spirit had been added; for a very considerable addition of brandy is made to most of the common wines, even before they are imported into this country. I there- fore occasionally used Burgundy, Hermitage, Cote Roti, Champagne, Frontignac, and some other French wines, to which, when of the best quality, no spirit can be added, as even the smallest proportion impairs the delicacy of their flavour, and is consequently readily detected by those who are accustomed to taste them. For these, and for the op- portunity of examining many of the scarce wines enume- rated in the table annexed: to this paper, I am indebted to the liberality of the Right Hon. Sir Joseph Banks. Dr. Bailhe, who took considerable interest in this inves- tigation, was also kind enough to procure for me some Port wine, sent from Portugal for the express purpose of ascer- taining how long it would remain sound, without any ad- dition whatever of spirit having been made to it. Lastly, 1 employed raisin wine which had been fermented without the addition of spirit. Ata very early period of the present inquiry, I ascertained by the following experiments, that the separation of the alcohol by means of subcarbonate of potash was interfered with, and often wholly prevented, by some of the other in- gredients of the wine. A pint of Port wine was put intoa retort placed in a sand heat, and eight fiuid ounces were distilled over, which by saturation with dry subcarhonate of potash afforded about three fluid ounces of tolerably pure spirit floating on the surface. I repeated this distillation precisely under the same cir- cumstances, and mixed the distilled liquor with the resi- duum in the retort, conceiving that, if the spirit were a pro- duct, 1 now should have no difficulty in separating it from the wine by the addition of subcarbonate of potash: but although every precaution was taken, no spirit separated : a portion of the subcarbonate, in combination with some * Annales de Chimje, tome xxxi. p. $03. of * ga Spirit in fermented Liquors. 443 -of the ingredients of the wine, formed a gelatinous com- pound, and thus prevented the appearance of the alcohol. It has been remarked by Fabroni, in the memoir above quoted, that one hundredih part of alcohol purposely added to wine may be separated by subcarbonate of potash, but several repetitions of the experiment have not enabled me to verify this results; when however a considerable addition of alcohol has been made to the wine, a part of it may be again obtained by saturation with the subcarbonate. The necessary addition of spirit to Port wine, for this purpose, wil] be seen by the following experiments. Four ounces of dry and warm subcarbonate of potash were added to eight fluid ounces of Port wine, which was previously ascertained to afford by distillization 20 per cent. of alcohol (by measure), of the specific gravity of 0°825 at 60°. In twenty-four hours the mixture had separated into two distinct portions; at the bottom of the vessel was a stron solution of the subcarbonate, upon which floated a gela- tinous substance, of such consistency as to prevent the escape of the liquor beneath when the vessel was inverted, and which appeared to contain the alcohol of the wine, ‘with the principal part of the extract, tan, and colouring matter, some of the subcarbonate, and a‘portion of water: but as these experiments relate chiefly to the spirit con- tained in wine, the other ingredients were not minutely ex- amined, To seven fluid ounces of the same wine I added one fluid ounce of alcohol (specific gravity 0°825), and the same quantity of the subcarbonate of potash as in the last ex- periment: but after twenty-four hours had elapsed, no di- stinet separation of alcohol had taken place. When two fluid ounces of aleohol were added to six fluid ounces of the wine, and the mixture allowed to remain un- disturbed for the same length of time as in the former ex-~ periments, a stratum of impure alcohol, of about a quarter of an inch in thickness, separaied on the surface. The addition of three fluid ounces of the alcohol to five fluid ounces of the wine, formed a mixture from which. a quantity of spirit readily separated on the surface, when the subcarbonate was added, and ihe gelatinous compound sunk nearly to the bottom of the vessel, there being below it a strong solution of the subcarbonate. When in these experiments Madeira and Sherry were em- ployed instead of Port wine, the results were nearly similar. Tt was suggested to me by Dr. Wollaston, that if the wine 444 Experiments to ascertain the State of wine were previously deprived of its acid, the subsequent separation of the alcohol, by means of potash, might be less interfered with. I therefore added to eight fluid ounces of Port wine a sufficient quantity of carbonate of lime to sa- turate the acid, and separated the insoluble compounds pro- duced, by means of a filter. The addition of potash ren- dered the filtered liquor tutbid, some soluble salt of lime, probably the malate, having passed through the paper; but the separation of alcohol was as indistinct as in the experi- ments just related. It is commonly stated, that the addition of lime water to wine, not only forms insoluble compounds with the acids, but also with the colouring matter, and that these ingre- dients may be thas separated without heat ; but on repeating these experiments, thev did not succeed, nor could | devise any mode of perfectly separating the acids, and the extrac- tive and colouring matter (excepting by distillation), which did not interfere with the alcohol. If the spirit afforded by the distillation of wine were a voduct and not an educt, I conceived that by performing the distillation at different temperatures, different propor- tions of spirit should be obtained. The following are the experiments made to ascertain this point. Four ounces of dried muriate of lime were dissolved in eight fluid ounces of the Port wine employed in the former experiments: by, this addition, the boiling point of the wine, which was 190° Fahrenheit, was raised to 200°. The solution was put into a retort placed in a sand beat, and was kept boiling until four fluid ounces had passed over into the receiver, the specific gravity of which was 0°96316 at 60° Fahrenheit *. The experiment was repeated with eight fluid ounces of the wine without any addition, and the same quantity was distilled over, as in the Jast experiment: its specific gra- vity at. 60° Fahrenheit was 0°96311. Eight fluid ounces of the wine were-distilled in a water bath ; when four fluid ounces bad passed over, the heat was withdrawn. The specific gravity of the liquor in the receiver was 0°96320 at 60° Fahrenheit. The same quantity of the wine as in the last experiment was distilled at atemperature not exceeding 160° Fabrenheit. * It was supposed that in this experiment a small portion of muriate of lime might have passed over into the receiver; but the distilled liquor did pot afford the slightest traces of it, to the tests of oxalate of ammonia aud Ritrate of silver. ; Ea ; This Spirit.in fermented Liquors. 445 This temperature was kept up from four to five hours, for five successive days, at the end of which period, four ounces having passed into the receiver, its specific gravity at 60° was ascertained to be 0:96314. -- Tt may be concluded, from these results, that the propor- tion of alcohol is not influenced by the temperature at which Wine is distilled, the variation of the specific gravities in the above experiments being even less than might have been expected, when the delicacy of the operation by which they are asceriained is considered. , I have repeatedly endeavoured to separate the spirit from wine, by subjecting it to low temperatures, with a view to freeze the aqueous part ; but when the temperature is suf- ficiently reduced, the whole of the wine forms a spongy cake of ice. In a mixture of one fluid ounce of alcohol with three of water, I dissolved the residuary matter afforded by evapo- rating four fluid ounces of Port wine, and attempted to se- parate the alcolol from this artificial mixture by freezing ; but a spongy cake of ice was produced as in the last experi- ment. When the temperature is more gradually reduced, and when large quantities of wine are operated upon, the sepa- ration of alcohol succeeds to a certain extent, and the por- tion which first freezes is principally if not entirely water: hence in some countries this method is employed to render wine strong. Section IT, Having ascertained that alcohol exists in wine ready formed, and that it is not produced during distillation, [ employed that process to discover the relative proportion of alcohol contained in different wines. In the following experiments, the wine was distilled “in glass retorts, and the escape of any uncondensed vapour was prevented by employing sufficiently capacious receivers, well luted, and kept cold during the experiment. By a proper management of the heat towards the end of the process, I conld distil over nearly the whole of the wine without burning the residuary matter: thus, from a pint of Port wine, of Madeira, of Sherry, &c. I distilled off from fifteen fluid ounces to fifteen fluid ounces anda half; and from the same quantity of Malaga and other wines containing much saccharine matter, I could readily distil. from fourteen to fifteen fluid ounces. In 446 Experiments on the Spirit in fermented Liquors. Tn order to ascertain the proportion of alcohol with pre cision, pure water was added to the distilled wine, so as nearly to make up the original measure of the wine, a very small allowance being made for the space occupied by the solid ingredients of the wine, and for the inevitable loss during the experiments: thus, five fluid drachims and a half of distilled water were added to fifteen fluid ounces and a quarter of the liquor procured by the distillation of a pint ~ of Port wine, and in other cases nearly the same proportions were observed. This mixture of the distilled wine and wa- ter was immediately transterred into a well stopped phial, and having been thoroughly agitated, was allowed to remain at rest for some hours ; its specific gravity (at the temper- ature of 60° Fahrenheit) was then very carefully ascertained, by weighing it in a bottle holding exactly one thousand grains of distilled water at the above temperature, and the proportion of alcohol per cent. by measure, was estimated by a reference to Mr. Gilpin’s tables *, the specific gravity of the standard alcohol being 0°82500 at 60°. As.the most convenient mode of exhibiting the results of these numerous experiments, I have thrown them into the form of a table: in the first column the wine is speci- fied; the second contains its specific gravity after distilla- tion, as above described ; and the third exhibits the propor- tion of the pure spirit, which every hundred: parts of the wine contain. I have also inserted porter, ale, cydert, brandy, and some other spirituous liquours, for the con- venience of comparing their strength with that of the wines. * Phil. Trans. 1794. ‘+ The proportion of spirit. which may be obtained from these three li- quors, is subject to considerable variation in different samples: the number given for each, in the table, is therefore the mean of several experiments, a% st did not seem necessary to specify them separately. Wine. Chemical Analysis of the Green Shell of the Walnut. 447. . Se ts ss as (2's a ee BP S508) Nolan z= ste] es [ecg Wine. cS 28 Wine. S32 Sis =a pte a ee |ses fe |Sae Ge (a 8 SS (c& Port = - |0-97616! 21-40 || White Hermitage |e-97990| 17-48 Ditto - > 097532) 22-30 || Red Hermitage |0-98495| 12-32 Ditto - - {0°-97430| 23-39 || Hock - — = {0-98290} 14:37 Ditto - 97400} 23-71 || Ditto - -- {0:98873] 8-88 Ditto - (0-97346| 24-20 || Vin de Grave - |0-98450| 12-80 Ditto - ~~ -_-{0:97200] 25-83 || Frontignac —--—*(0-98459| 12-79 Madeira - - 0.97810] 19-34 || Cote Roti- - |0-98495| 12-32 Ditto - - |0-97616] 21-40 || Rousillon - - (0-98005| 17-26 Diito - - 0-97380)| 25-93 || Cape Madeira - |0-97924| 18-11 Ditto - + + {0-97338}| 24-42 || Cape Muéschat - /0-97913} 18-25 Sherry - - |0-97913| 18-25 || Constantia - |0-97770| 19-75 Ditto - - |0-97862) 18-79 || Tent - .- |0-983¢9} 13-80 Ditto - - 10-97765| 19-81 |! Sheraaz - - 1098176, 15-52 Ditto - - 97700) 19-83.|| Syracuse - = |0:98200| 15-28 Claret - - -98440 12-91 | Nice - - |0-98263| 14-63 Ditto - - |0-98390) 14:08 || Tokay — - - |0:28760| 9-88 Ditto - = |0-98092} 16-32 | Raisin Wine =’ 10°97205) 95-77 Calcavella §.- {0-97920] 18-10 |] Grape Wine = | 1097925) 18-14 Lisbon - -. 10,97846| 18-54 |} Currant Wine - Io 97696| 20-58 Mala - - |C-98000| 17-26 || Gooseberry Wine |9:98550)| 11-84 Bucella - = -97890| 18-49 || Elder Wine - {0-98760| 9-87 Red Madeira - | (0-97899 is | Cyder = = = |9-98760) 9-87 Malmsey Madeira 0-98090|-16-40 || Perry - - |0-98760) 9-87 Marsala - - 10-97196| 25-87 | Brown Stout - |0-99116] 6-80 Ditto - - |0-98006} 17-26) Ale - - j0-98873] 8-88 Red Champagne |0-98608| 11-30|| Brandy <= |o-93544| 53-99 White Champagne|0-98450; 12-80 || Rum : - |0-93494| 53-68. Burgundy - {0-98500! 14-53 )| Hellands -. = {0-93855] 51-60 Ditto - - 0-$8540," 11-95 LXXXIII. Chemical Analysis of the Green Shell of the Walnut. By M. Wenrt Braconnor, Professor of Na- tural History, Director of the Garden of Plants, and Member of the Academic Society of Nancy *, t : Daz shell of the walnut is, as every person knows, white in its interior when recent, but very speedily becomes co- loured, and is at length of a very deep brown, which must be entirely owing to the contact of air; for, when plunged in boiling water it may be preserved some time without un- dergoing the least alteration, If it be exposed to the atmo- spheric air under a bell-ylass, the oxygens speedily converted, almost entirely, into carbonic acid; the shel! becomes of a © Annales de Chimie, 1811, black 448 Chemical Analysis of the Green Shell of the Walnut. black colour; there is also without doubt water produced; so that altogether the phenomena of a real slow combustion take place. The oxygenated muriatic acid appears to have a different kind of action upon it, for instead of blackening, it causes it to take a yellow colour the same etlect is pro- duced by the nitric acid. In order to proceed to the analysis of the matters con- tained in the shell, I bruised a certain quantity of it ina marble mortar ; the expressed juice was passed through a linen cloth and filtered ; there remained upon the filter a green fecula, which soon passed into a deep brown by the contact of air; this matter, washed and dried, was put into some alcohol, which extracted from it the green resin com- mon to most vegetables: the residue, insoluble in alco- hol, was still coloured, and soft to the teuch; a portion of it was mixed with deel nitric, acid, which conuetiel it into a thick viscid substance, soluble in water; alcohol pro- duced from this solution a white flocculent precipitate. The _ same coloured residue, mixed with water, containing a sinalf quantity of potass, produced an abundant quantity of a very light substance, of a deep red colour, similar to the crassa- mentum of the blood : lastly, anotber portion. of the same residue was treated by boiling water, and formed starch jelly ; whence it results, that the substance contained in such large quantity’in the walnut shell is starch, contaminated by the colouring matter. The juice of the walnut rind recently filtered is of an amber colour, of an acrid and acid taste, mixed with some bitterness ; the acrid principle appears to be readily destruc tible, for the recent juice when left to stand some days, in changing its yellow colour for a blackish brown, where it has been in contact with the air, loses also its acrid taste, and becomes decidedly acid; at the same time there are formed on its surface black ‘pellicles, which are soon re- newed after they have been removed: these pellicles, care- fully collected and well washed, afford by drying, a black brittle substance, of a shining vitreous fracture, and very like asphaltum or Jews pitch, but burning without flame, and therefore resembling charcoal. This coaly matter is soluble in potass, and is precipitated in flakes by an acid, It may be ‘obtained more easily by evaporating, ata gentle heat, the recent juice, and diluting the residue with water; the supernatant liquor is of an ag reeable acid ta ste; whence it results, that the acrid and bitter principle as entirely de- stroyed, aud appears to be converted into the black matter nearly in the state of coal. No acetic vapours are disen- gaged Chemical Analysis of the Green Shell of the Walnut. 449 gaged from this same extract by the addition of sulphuric acid, even when assisted by heat; it does not therefore con- tain any acetic acid. From what has been said, it appears, that in the rind of the walnut, as well as in many other herbaceous plants, there exists a matter held in solution in their fluids, the ra- dical of which is hydro-carbon, more or less easily decom- posable by the simple contact of air, which thus favours the production of water in rendering the carbon predominant. Tt will readily be conceived, that it 1s impossible to havea very exact notion of a matter so little permanent. Neverthe- less, we perceive that it is scarcely coloured in the vessels of the plant, and that the action of air or caloric changes it greatly, causing it to pass by degrees into the state of ex- tractive; another principle but badly defined, unstable in its clements, appearing rather to be the result of a decom- position, than a trae product of living nature*, The juice of the walnut shell, analysed by different re- agents, afforded the following results. i it strongly reddened the infusion of tutnsole. A solution of gelatin produced from it a slight precipitate, which must’ be owing to the tannin it contains. The sulphate of iron strikes so deep a green colour with this juice, that the le quor appears black ; it afforded no precipitate, even by time, on aceount of the uncombined acid in-the mixture, which is capable of giving a fine gray colour to wool and silk.: Oxalate of ammonia indicated the presence of lime in this juice. Nitrate of barytes did not produce any sulphate. "The nitrate of silver acts upon the juice, so as to detect the’ presence of the hydro-carbon radical, for 1t produced from it an abundant precipitate which speedily became coloured,’ and put on a metallic brilliant appearance by the reaction | of the vegetable matter upon ihe oxygen of the oxide of sil- ver: this precipitate was only partly soluble in the nitric acid, and left a coaly residue. Alkalies colour the walnut * Having occasion to examine aome extract of the Rhus toxicodendron pre= pared a few years ago, [ made the following experiment.. lapplied some of , it upon the skin ef an anima!, and caused him to swallow some large doses of it, without his experiencing any untoward effects; while.asdrop of juice from the stalk of the plaut-cecasioned a violent inflammation upon the skin, terminating in an uleer.. The principles of plants therefore approaching to the state of extract, undergo an ateration which continually increases with time, and which must considerably vary their action upon the animal econo- my. Apothecaries might to a certain degree prevent this alteration, by in~ closing the extracts in a state of perfect dryness in well-stopped veasels ; for the humidity which they contain, or teud,to absorb, contributes no less than the contact of air to destroy the weak equilibrium of some of their elements.- Vol, 38. No. 164, Deg. 18}1. je juice ‘450 Chemical Analysis of the Green Shell of the Walnut. uice of a deep red, and produce precipitates which contain Tic. If at the end of a certain time an acid is poured upon, the liquor, another flocculent precipitate takes place, which when dried becomes black, vitreous in its fracture, and ap- pears of asimilar nature with the pellicles which are formed on the surface of the juice exposed to the air. Acetate of lead produced from the juice a flocculent precipitate of a whitish colour, and very abundant, entirely soluble in distilled vi- negar. This precipitate, decomposed by sulphuretted hy- drogen, afforded a coloured liquor of a very strong acid taste, combined with austereness ; a sediment was produced in it by gelatin, and with acetate of lead it gave a precipi- tate soluble in vinegar. This acid of walnut, submitted to a gentle heat, afforded some small imperfect crystals swimming in an uncrystallizable liquor: the whole was mixed with carbonate of lime, and after having heated the mixture, which contained an excess of acid,-it was filtered. T obtained by evaporation a thick coloured mass formed hy the union of a number of small acicular crystals; this salt, treated with cold water, was partly dissoived by it; the solu- tion, evaporated to dryness, left a brown residue like varnish, with the same habitudes as malate of lime, holding some tannin, which precipitated iron of a blackish-blue colour. That portion of the calcareous salt which was not dissolved in the cold water, was treated by weak sulphuric acid, which separated from it some citric acid still contaminated by malic acid. The juice of the walnut shell thus freed from a part of the substances it held in solution was stil] coloured; the superacetate of lead produced another precipitate from it, and rendered the supernatant liquor nearly colourless: this precipitate furnished by analysis the same products obtained above, viz. malic acid, colouring matter and tannin, which had escaped the first precipitation on account of the pre- sence of the acetic acid which was predominant in the lis quor. The feces remaining after the expression of the juice were infused in alcohol, which extracted from them a green resinous matter; they were then boiled in water to free them from the starch and colouring matter which were contained jn them: thus prepared, they were digested in weak nitric acid, which separated phosphate and oxalate of lime: these were precipitated from the acid liquor by ammonia. The method I employ to obtain separately these two earthy salts, so often combined in vegetables, is founded upon the pro- 4 perty : Error discovered by Dr. Kelly in the Nautical Almanac. 451 perty possessed by distilled vinegar, when diluted with wa- ter, of dissolving the phosphate of lime without sensibly at- tacking the oxalate with the same base. Although the walnut shell has a particular odour, it offers nothing remarkable by distillation in a water bath; there is only obtained an insipid liquor, which is of a brownish co- lour: on the surface of this liquor may be perceived small variegated crystals, which are at length deposited in the form of a sediment at the bottom of the fluid. The inci- neration of the shell gave for its product potass, carbonate of lime, phosphate of lime, and oxide of iron. From this analysis it appears that the green fleshy shell of the walnut contains, 1. Starch. 2. An acrid and bitter substance extremely destractible, and which is converted into a carbonaceous state by the coutact of air. 3. Malic acid. 4. Tanuin. 5. Citric acid. 6. Phosphate of lime. 7. Oxalate of lime. 8. Potass. LXXXIV. Additional Facts relating to the Error discovered by Dr. Ketty in the Nautical Almanac. To Mr. Tilloch. Sir, Tue statement of facts respecting the Nautical Al- manac and Connotssance des Tems, which I sent you, and which was honoured with insertion in your Journal of October last, has been, I understand, read with very general interest ; and considered as a plain, honest, and unassuming statement that required neither voucher nor signature. It was not inserted through any motive of vanity, but through the necessity of a very disagreeable and very singular case, which a further necessity now compels me to explain.— Neither'was the statement dictated in terms likely to give offence, and yet it has called forth two letters of animad- version in your last Number, which are not of the most gentle tone or texture, and which | must therefore consi- der a kind of partnership production. But notwithstand- ing their manifest disposition, such is the force of truth, that all the leading facts in the statement remain nncontro- verted, and indeed wholly untouched. They allow that an error has beén committed in the Nautical Almanac, that the French and American astronomers have copied it; and that 4 have discovered it: but these. writers must contradict Oe something, 7 452 Additional Facts relating to the Error discovered something, or what is the use or even the pretence of their letters? They therefore volunteer the French. cause, aud deny at considerable length that their astronomers pretend to original computation in the Connoissance des Tems, al- though the contrary is thus stated m the preface to that work, page 3: “¢ Les calculs ont été faits comme al ordinaire sous U inspection du Bureau des Longitudes, par MM. Marion, Lalande,” &c. Here, sir, even the names of the computers are specified : but so bard pressed are these writers for subjects of contro- versy, that the second letter is, indeed, a coniplete refutation of an assertion that never was made. The quotation is as follows: “You [Mr. Editor} further mention, that this error was Jirst discovered by Dr. Kelly of Fimsbury-square. Now, I must beg leave to assure you that is not the fact, having in the early part of the summer of 1810 shown the same to Dr. Maskelyne.” Here the writer does not deny my having discovered the error; neither does he pretend to it himself; he only disputes my priority, though the word Jirst is not to be found in the whole statement. No pru- dent man can positively say he is the first in any discovery ; but he who detects an error and first announces it, and thus causes it to be corrected, will be considered as the legiti- mate claimant, and will therefore receive from the public whatever credit may be due to such a discovery. But pers haps [ may. have dwelt too long on this. interpolation, which { am willing to believe was accidental; nor shonld I have noticed it, nor indeed any part of their letters, but for an assertion which follows in the same, page, where the writer states that ‘‘ he pointed out the error in question to Mr. Pond, when he first came into office as Astronomer Royal; which was in the beginning of the present year. Now, sir, I can affirm with perfect truth and confidence, that in ihe monih of September last Mr. Pond professed himself to me wholly unacquainted with any such error. It remains therefore between these two gentlemen to settle this mysterious and delicate question. On my part, it may be proper to be more minute and circumstantial; for, if one assertion be ever set up against another, the truth can be distinguished only by the evidence of circumstances. When I first observed this error, I made numerous calculations to asceriain its extent; and here I may be permitted to say, that from my profes- sional avocations, 1 was perhaps more likely to teegtes suc —<— iy Dr. Kelly in the Nautical Almanac. 453 such a mistake than astronomers of higher pretensions. I have been for many years in the constant practice of teach= ing mathematical students to compute the columns of the Nautical Almanac; and I believe that my work on Spherics and Nautical Astronomy is the only publication where such calculations are particularly exemplified. It was not there- fore surprising, that in the course of such practice an inac- curacy should be discovered which had escaped the notice of the principal astronomers of Europe. As soon as I had as« certained the extent of theerror, I showed it to a few astro- nomical friends, who considered it till then unobserved, and advised that it should be immediately submitted io the Board of Longitude; which I resolved to do. But I first took care to consult the Astronomer Royal, lest the mistake might have been already known, and thus [ should make myself ridiculous in announcing that as new, which was not so, and which IL might therefore have had from hearsay. I accordingly waited on Mr. Pond on the 10th of September last; and, as I before stated, he pro- fessed himself wholly unacquainted with any such mistake. He indeed said that he thought he had heard something about an error in the Almanac of 1815 or 1816, (he believed,) but that he never looked for it; “for you know,’ said he pleasantly, © that to search for an error in the Nautical Almanac, would be like looking for a needle in a bundle of hay.” > After I had satised him of the. mistake by comparing different almanacs, I informed him that [I should write to Sir Joseph Banks on the subject; which he approved of, and’ added—« The Almanac must be corrected, and I shall state in the preface who it was that discovered the error.” Tt may not be improper to notice, that on my way to the Observatory I called on the Rev. Dr. Burney, and informed him of the purpose of my visit; and immediately on my return, I stated to him the substance of the above conver- sation. j Being now convinced that the error had not been previ- ously known at the Royal Observatory, where it was chiefly interesting, I concluded that I might safely communicate it to the Commissioners of Longitude. I accordingly wrote to Sir Joseph Banks and to Professor Vince ; and the latter gentleman in his answer observes, ** The Board of Lon- gitude must consider themselyes much obliged to you for the discovery of the error in the Nautical Almanac ;” by which it appears that even this great Astronomer, who was Ff 3 Dr. 454 Error discovered by Dr. Kelly in the Nautical Almanac. Dr. Maskelyne’s confidential friend, had not been aware of any such mistake, Among the other scientific persons to whom the com- munication was made was the Earl of Rosse; which led to an official correspondence on the subject, between the Board of Admiralty and the Astronomer Royal. I now, sir, considered the question as settled, so far as it regarded me, and therefore I dismissed it from my mind ; but you may judge of my surprise soon after, on being unexpectedly shown an official copy of Mr. Pond’s letter to the Admiralty, dated the 25th of September, and beginning thus: “ The mistake in the Nautical Almanac, 1812, alluded to by Dr. Kelly, I have been acquainted with ever since my appointment to my present situation*.”’ From this extraordinary preamble it might or might not be inferred, that the writer himself was the detector of the mistake ; but the direct inference was, that my pretensions. were wholly unfounded, having only adluded to a well- known subject ; and to aggravate the insinuation, that I had made a Nobleman of the first consequence the medium of such delusive and frivolous communication. In order therefore to undeceive such persons as might have seen this correspondence, the statement of facts was in- serted in your journal; and it was drawn up with all possible delicacy, so as not at all to allude to Mr. Pond’s letter: it only noticed Mr. Pond’s having compared the almanacs of different years, by which it might be supposed that he was not acquainted with the error. And thus, sir, the question might have remained at rest, bad not his mistaken friends (whether with or without-his concurrence it is hard to say) thus imprudently interfered, and forced me to a further explanation, which I make with extreme reluctance, but which I am compelled to do in justice to myself. The question has indeed taken a most unfortunate turn ; itis no longer a dispute about the credit of discovery, but the dis- credit of misstatement. I could, sir, in corroboration of the foregoing circum- stances, have accompanied this article with letters trom some * The remainder of this official letter was a recommendation to the Board of Admiralty, to postpone the correction of the error until the whole edi- tion should be sold off ;—a very uncertain period, and, if late in the year, a very ridiculous one. It is, however, important to observe, that as soon as: the statement cf facts appeared in the Philesophical Magazine, an order was given for computing asl printing a new and accurate impression of the Nautical Almanac. of Notices respecting New Books. 455 of the first characters ; but it seems quite unnecessary. The tacts speak for themselves. J want neither auxiliaries nor substitutes ; nor shall I hereafter reply to any. Tam, sir, your obliged and faithful servant, Finsbury Square, P. Kevey, Dec. 28, 1811. LXXXV.. Notices respecting New Books. Hortus Elginensis 3 or _4 Catalogue of Plants, indigenous and exotic, pons Seneca in the Elgin Botanic Garden, in the vicinity of ihe City of New York. Established in 1801 by David Hossack, M.D. F.L.S. Professor of Botany and Materia Me dics in Columbia College, Member of A American Philosophical Society, &c. ad Edition enlarged, pp. 76, 8vo. New York, 1811, with a well executed View of the Garden. A Statemeni of Facts relative to the Establishment and Pro- gress of the Elgin Botanic Garden, and the subsequent Disposal of the same-to the State of New York. By D. Hossack, M.D. tc. pp. 58, 8vo. New York, 1811. Tx the ciSrauetiont of Facts,” Dr. Hossack details the difficulties, illiberal reflections, legal caution of the com- missioners, and al] the various obstacles which he had to encounter in selling his Botanic Garden to the State of New York. These are so numerous and so vexatious, that many years must elapse before any other person will ven- ture to dispose of his property to the State. Commissioners — were appointed by an act of the New York Legislature. These men nominated appraisers, who estimated the - ground, consisting of twenty acres, and plants in the author’s gar- den at 103, 137 dollars: but the commissioners, after much delay and hesitation, thought proper to pay Dr. H. with only 74,2883. dollars: this sum, independent of all bis per- sonal labour and attention during ten years, is more than 28,000 dollars less than he would have received for the mo- ney he disbursed, at simple interest. To the legislators he respectfully appeals for indemnity ; andif his very temperate and just remenstrance does not meet due attention from the Jegislature of New York, the consequences will be more injurious to the progress of science in America, and more disgraceful to the State, than the ignorant and sordid citizens at present expect. The commissioners appear to have esti- mated their own merit by the extent of the sum they could F fa withhold 456 Notices respecting New Books. withhold from this ingenious botanist and zealous lover of science. All the botanist s, philosophers, and enlightened men in the State bear testimony to the merits of Dr. H. and bis botanic garden. The Catalogue of Plants, although in alphabetic order, will be found very convenient to students in botany who are but imperfectly acquainted with the English synonyms of vegetables, their habitats, and whether they are annual, bienmal, perennial, shrub, tree, hardy, or belong to tbe green- or hot-house,. Sines Dr. H. was appointed Professor of Botany and Materia Medica in Columbia College, be wished to extend his botanical researches, particularly in collecting domestie plants. ‘In his garden he has brought a conservatory and two spacious hot-houses, exhibiting a front of 180 feet, to great perfection. These he has en- riched by presents from all the principal botanists in Europe, with whom he keeps up an extensive correspondence, and to whom he thus publicly expresses his obligations. Dr. H. also declares his “ intention immediately to commence the publication of * American Botany, or A Flora of the United States.’ In this work it is his design to give a de- scription of the plant, noticing its essential characters, sy- nonyms, and place of growth; with observations on the uses ‘to which it is applied 1 in-‘medicine, agriculture, or the arts ;7 illustrated with coloured engravings like Dr. Smith’s Eng- lish Botany. From the well known talents and industry of the author, European. botanists: will naturally await the ap- pearance of such a work with much anxiety. An Experimental Examination of the last Edition of the Pharmacopoeia Londinensis ; with Remarks on Dr. Powell’s Granslution and Annotations. By Richard eee pp- 158, 8vo. W. Philllips and T. Underwood, 1811 In our 26th vol. Mr. Phillips published an aécount of his analyses of Bath waters, and the ingenuity and mathe- matical accuracy of those experiments have ranked him among the most correct analysts of the day. Had the offi- ciating members of the College of Physicians possessed any knowledge of chemistry, or even much chemical reading, sucha chemist, as well from his practical as his theoretical knowledge, must have been one of the first persons whom they would have addressed on ihe subject of a new Phar- macopeeia. This, bowever, it must be confessed, would have been more just than politic, as disease not health ts the interest of physicians, aud genuine science is by no means Notices respecting New Books. 457 means very propitious to the right worshipful art of man- slaying. The worthy collegians are too much men of busi- ness to overlook or neglect this obvious truth; and their improved Pharmacopceeia will be a memorable example of their zeal for extensive trade in. their own way. Formerly those intrusted with licenses ‘to kill,” were obliged to wear either red coats, or a three-tailed wig with a black gown. Now, perhaps, less exterior ceremony may be neces- sary, and those authorized by law to ‘ emancipate souls” may wear ‘* black, brown, blue, or white,’’ provided they operate secundum artem. This plan has at least ceconomy te recommend it, and it may at the same time contribute to allay the gloomy apprehensions of Mr. Malthus and his _ disciples. Had Mr. Phillips considered the subject in this enlightened philosophical view, however he might have indulged himself occasionally in twitching their worships anonymously, he would most assuredly never have thus openly and decidedly endeavoured to obstruct such a glori- ous and patriotic purpose by an exposure of the ignorance and incapacity of the Royal College of Physicians. Poor aman! his mind appears so wholly engrossed with chemical and medical science, as well as the Jove of truth, that he has forgotten the importance and superiority of self-interest. Hie is likewise misied by some old-fashioned honesty, by showing *¢ that almost every change which can be’ consi- dered as an improvement, as well as some alterations which are the reverse, have been copied from, or at least suggested by, the Dublin and Edinburgh Pharmacopeeias, or by Dr. Duncan’s Dispensatory.” For the honour of our northern and western brethren, we hope that there are some things, either in the original Pharmacopeia or Dr. Powell’s Trans- ation, which are novel and perfectly original. Leaving, however, our author and Dr. Powell to settle this matter, and also the Doctor’s confounding-sulphuric with nitric acid and vice versd, as well as the innumerable mistakes he has committed relative to muriatic, acetic, benzoic, and nitric acids, and solutions of ammonia, we have more pleasure in transcribing the following scientific description of sulphat of potash, for which Mr. P. candidly acknowledges the aid of that ingenious and able crystaliographer Count de Bour- non. : ‘© The primitive crystal of sulphat of potash is a pyra- midal dodecahedron with isosceles-triangular faces, meeting at the summit in an angle of 66° 15’, and at the base in i13° 45’. This form is considerably modified, both by the eccurrence of additional faces, and the partial or total dis- ; appearance - : A568 Notices respecting New Books. appearance of the primitive ones. The edges formed by the union of the pyramids are very often replaced by narrow planes, forming a short prism: but the crystals more usually become prismatic by the elongation of two opposite faces on each pyramid, rendering the dodecahedron cunei- form; and the crystal then appears to bé a long rhomboidal tetrahedral prism of about 66° and 114°, with tetrahedral pyramids, the prism being formed by the four elongated trapezoidal faces, and each of the pyramids by four of the faces of the dodecahedron which remain triangular. Some- times two of the edges of the prism are replaced each by a plane, and it then becomes hexahedral; and. when the same occurrence takes place with the four edges, it 1s ren- dered octohedral; frequently also two edges of the pyramid are replaced each by a piane, giving them six instead of four planes. These are not the only forms which this salt assumes ; but it would be difficult to give an intelligible description of the rest without fignres. ‘¢ The quantity of sulphat of barytes which 100 grains of this salt yield omthe addition of muriat of barytes, 1s er- roneously stated by Dr. Thomson to he 128 grains. T ob- tained a precipitate which, dried by a red heat, weighed 136°7 grs. being only 1°45 grain more than the proportion mentioned by Kirwan ; indicating about 32°8 of sulphuric acid, if with Dr. Thomson we allow 100 parts of sulphat of barytes to contain 24 of sulphuric acid. This salt then consists of 32°8 sulphuric acid with 67+2 potash and water, instead of 81 sulphuric acid with 69 potash and water, as stated by Dr. Thomson.” The College has introduced the supersulphat of potash into their materia medica; but their directions for preparing it are as usual very defective, and Mr. P. naturally supposes that ** neither the College nor its Committee have ever ex- amined the true supersulphat of potash.” The author re- ceived “some extremely well defined crystals of this salt from Messrs. Howard, of Stratford; their. form was di- stinctly rhomboidal ; but as quartz sometimes occurs of this figure, although, as well as sulphat of potash, it is more usually dodecahedral, he supposed 1t possible that the rhom- boid might in this case he derived from the dodecahedron, and consequently that these crystals might be common sul- phat of potash.” Count de Bournon however examined their crystalline form ; and on comparing it with that of the sulphat above described, it appeared that ‘* the rhomboid differed so materially from that which would be derived from the dodecahedron of sulphat of potash, that re salts = =~ Notices respecting New Books. 459 salts must differ totally from each other, either in the na- ture or proportion of their constituent parts. The primitive crystal of supersulphat of potash is an acute rhomboid of 74° and 106°, the summits of which are sometimes re- placed by planes perpendicular to the axis of the crystal; and when this occurs at the smal! diagonal of the crystal, it assumes the appearance of an octohedron.” Mr. Phillips then procured some supersulphat of potash from Apothe-+ earies’ Hall, which he found tasted at first sour, and red- dened blue vegetable colours ; but the acid taste was soon succeeded by a bitter one, and the salt evidently consisted of a prismatic variety of common sulphat of potash, mixed with a considerable quantity of slender prismatic crystals, which proved to be common nitre, As a proof of this, 100 grs. of true supersulphat saturdted 25 grs. of dried sub- carbonat of soda; 100 grs. of sulpbat mixed with excess of acid saturated only half a grain, and a similar quantity of the reputed supersulphat, trom the Apothecaries’ Hall, saturated about one grain. Hence Mr. P. ascertained that 100 grs. of the salt prepared and sold under collegial au- thority for supersulphat of potash, consists of ‘* 58 sul- phat of potash and 42 nitrat of potash. When, theres fore, two drachms of this compound are exhibited, instead of the like quantity of supersulphat of potash, two anda half scruples of nitre are given, exceeding by a whole scru- ple the largest dose mentioned by Dr. Powell.”? This, no doubt, is wonderfully accurate and scientific ! The College chemists, and their translator, annotator, or illustrator, must be considered as public benefactors in exalting the character of their country for profound, science and accuracy. The confounding of two salts, however, which differ both in the quantity and the quality of their constituent parts, even should it cost a few score of lives, or augment the number of patients a few thousands annually, can only be consi- dered a frivolous circumstance, as perhaps not every third member of the Colleve ever cast an eye on these salts, or could tell what they were if laid before them on a page of their Pharmacopoeia. If colleges be doomed: either to sleep or wake only to blunder, it is some consolation that the present errors have given occasion to very accurate crystallographical descrip- tions of several chemical products, which have hitherto been but imperfectly depicted. The ‘*-form of the primi- tive crystal of supertartrat of potash is a rectangular octo- hedron, having two of its faces more inclined than the other two; the former meeting at the summit in an angle of 469 Notices respecting New Books. ef about 60°, and at the base in about 120°; and the Yatter at the summit in 50°, and at the base in 130°. When the superabundant acid has been saturated so as to produce tartrat of potash,-the primitive form ts altogether different ; itis a rectangular tetrahedral prism, of which the height heing one, the sides of the terminal faces will be to each other as four to five ; ; Most commonly the summit is dibe- dral, from the replacement of one of the solid angles of the primitive crystal by a plane (7. e. dihedral in conse- quence of one of the solid angles being replaced or rather superseded by a plane), which makes the terminal face an angle of 162° 38’: frequently the triangular faces of the pyramid become very narrow trapezoidal faces, by the icrease of two opposite planes: and this is one of the more usual varieties of thi§ salt. 36 parts of supertartrat of potash require 15°7 parts of subcarbonat of potash for their saturation, instead of 12 parts as directed by the College.” The soda tartarizata of the College, or more properly tartras sode@ et poltasse, is vaguely described by Dr. Powell as its crystals being prisms of eight or ten unequal sides; but its “ primitive crystal is a right rhombic prism of 80° and 100°, the edges of the prism are differently.re- placed so as to render it sometimes hexahedral, or octohe- dral, but more frequently decahedral or dodecahedral.” «The primitive crystal of sulphat of soda appears to be a right rhombic prisin of. about 72° and 108°. It is fre- quently difficult to distinguish the planes of the prism, on account of their being deeply channeled. The terminal faces of these crystals are often replaced by a dihedral sum- mit with triangular faces, ocrruing on the edges of }72°5 and this variety “has probably given rise to the opinion, that the primitive form of this salt is a cuneiform octohedron : but as the planes of the summit. make with the edges of 72° an angle of about 137°, they meet each other at 86°, whereas in the supposed crystal it would be 108°. The pyramid also frequently becomes hexahedral, by the occur- rence of four additional faces upon the ederes of the ter- minal faces, with which they form an angle of about 125°.” There are many more important facts and observations in this volume, but the above are sufficient ta convince our readers that it is very well worthy their perusal. With the exception of two or three i inaccurate expressions, and a few manipulations in which dispatch has superseded ceconomy, it evinces such talents, chemical knowledge, and great ac- curacy, as would do honour to any chemical philosopher. Information =U Notices respecting New Books. 461 Information requested respecting the Writers of the Ma- thematical Questions, and their Answers, in The Ladies’ Diary. The annual publication called The Ladies? Diary, or Wo- man’s Almanac, has every year for upwards of a century coniained a certain number of mathematical problems, to be answered in the Diary of the following year, The pub- lication of these bas answered several valuable purposes ; in particular it has awakened the attention of many to the study of the mathematical sciences, who would not otherwise have thought of them. The questions have served to. exercise the ingenuity and call forth the exertions of young mathe- Maticians, some of whom have in time arrived at great eminence, as cultivators of mathematical learning ; and, 3 lastly, the work has served as-a repository for the preserva- tion of many curious mathematical] disquisitions, which, but for this mode of publication, would never have been known to the world, The beneficial influence which The Ladies? Diary has ex- erted upon the state of mathematical science in this country, has heen long felt and acknowledged, and has been parti- cularly noticed by the writer of the very valuable analysis of the Mécanique Céleste, given in the Edinburgh Review. Speaking of the comparative state of mathematical know- ledge in England and on the continent, he says: ‘A cer- tain degree of mathematical science, and indeed no mcon- siderable degree, is perhaps more widely diffused in Eng- Jand than in any other country in the world. The Ladies? Diary, with several other periodical and -popular publica- tions of the same kind, are the best proofs of this assertion. In these, many curious problems, not of the highest order indeed, but still having a considerable degree of difficulty, and far beyond the mere elements of science, are often to be met with: and the great number of ingenious*men who take a share in proposing and answering these questions, whom one has never heard of any where else, is not-a little surprising. Nothing of the same kind, we believe, is to be found in any other country. The geometrical part has al- ways been conducted in a superior stylé; the problems proe. posed have tended to awaken curiosity, and. the solutions to convey instruction, in a much better manner than is al- ways to be found in more splendid publications,’’—(See. Edin, Rev. vol, xi. p. 282.) A collection of all the mathematical questions as well as other parts of the Diary, from. its beginning to the year 1772, was published about that period by its present in- genious 462 Notices respecting New Books. genious and learned editor Dr. C. Hutton, late of the Royal Academy, Woolwich. That work however being now out of print, and the stock of questions considerably increased, Mr. T. Leybourn, editor of the Mathematical Repository, has issued proposals for publishing, by subscription, all the mathematical questions and their answers, from the com- mencement ¢f the Diary to the present time. Besides the valuable notes given in Dr. Hutton’s edition, the present editor intends to give others, and in particular he means to give, as far as he can, brief notices of any circumstances he may be able to Jearn respecting such authors of the an- swers to the questions as are dead, and even of such as are ‘alive when it can be done with propriety. But as many of the authors have now been ‘dead for a number of years, and have not been known beyond the particular circle of their friends, he is aware that this part of the work can only be rendered tolerably complete by the assistance of such friends to his undertaking as may be ca- pable of giving the information here specitied. He ven- tures, therefore, through the medium of The Philosophical Magazine, to solicit communications respecting the authors of the mathematical parts of the Diary. These may be ad- dressed to him at the Royal Military College, Great Mar- low, Bucks. Original Vaccine Pock Institution. The following Resolutions must be interesting to our readers, being’ ai extract from a very recent publication of the Original Vaccine Pock Institution, in Broad-street, Golden-square, containing the results of cleven years prac- tice, which has the candour to publish the defects as well as the advantages of vaccination. 1. That it does appear in the practice of this Institution that the small-pox has occurred subsequently to vaccination in the most distinct manner, in the proportion of about one of 550 in 5000 patients. © 2. That in these cases of failure the small-pox was in none very severe, but, on the contrary, in most of then milder than usual in even the inoculated small-pox. 3. That there have not occurred any alagming vaccine cases, excepting in a very small proportion from inflamed and sore arms. . 4, That in many hundreds subjected to the counterproof of re-inoculation with yariolous matter, not one has taken the small-pox. ; 5. That Notices respecting New Books. 463 5. That many hundreds: have been re-inoculated with vaccine matter without being able to reproduce the cow- pock. 6. That according to considerable experience of this In- stitution, persons are alike unsusceptible or susceptible of the smal]-pox and cow-pock after variolation or vaccination. 7. That re-inoculation with vaccine is preferable to va- riolous matter, because it is desirable to avoid the risk of infecting others Ly disseminating small-pox infection; and because the vaccina is rarely attended with danger or with severe symptoms, 8. That the cow-pock matter and variolous matter are distinctly different species of mattér, in the just sense of the term species or kind. 9. That there is now good evidence, that in the cases of failure the constitution bad generally been rendered less susceptible of violent action from the agency of the small- pox matter. 10. That it does not appear that any new disorder is liable to be occasioned after vaccination, excepting probably cer- tain eruptive complaints, which, however irritating, have in no instance produced any serious injury; and it appears that certain diseased states which come on after the cow- pock do not supervene so frequently as after the small- pox. 11, That although it does appear from the London bills of mortality, that 420 fewer deaths per annum, on an aves rage, have occurred during the twelve years. of vaccination than during the twelve preceding years, yet the conclusion that the diminished mortality has been occasioned by vac- cination is liable to error, but the probability is im fayour of the new practice. _ Mr. Richard Walker, of Oxford, whose valuable coms munications on various branches of science have frequently appeared in The Philosophical Magazine, is about to publish ‘« An Epitome of the Practice of Physic and Surgery, ex= hibited in a Systematic Arrangement of Diseases and Re- medies, upon a Plan entirely new 3 in which are pointed out those Diseases which are curable, and those which admit of Palliation only ; and the most appropriate Means of effect- ing each of these Intentions; with Observations and various suggested Inproyements.” _Mr. Walker has been upwards of 20 years Apothecary to the Radcliffe Infirmary. The results of his extensive practice and long experieuce must, therefore, excite consi- derable interest in the medical world, Mr, \ 464 Royal Society. Mr. Syer, Surgeon, City Terrace, City Road, has just published a very useful medical work, entitled ‘* A Treatise on the Management of Infants; containing the General Principles of their Domestic Treatment, with the History and Method of Cure of some of their most prevalent and formidable. Diseases.” The above work is calculated to interest not only the junior branches of the medical profession, but those also who are principally employed in the management of chil- dren; and, we have no doubt, will prove a most valuable addition to our present stock of books on domestic medicine. LXXXVI.. Proceedings of Learned Societies. ROYAL SOCIETY. Ox Nov. 28, and Dee. 5, the conclusion of Mr. Brande’s Researches on the Blood was read. ‘The result of the au- thor’s experiments is, that very little iron exists iv the blood, that the quantity is so very small as to render it improper to attribute the colour of blood to the iron it contains, and that its influence must be much less than has been generally supposed. ‘Dec. 12. A paper by Mr. Home on the Structure of the Ear of the Whalebone Whale (Balena Mysticeta) was read, in which that anatomist described the nature of this organ in whaies, the situation and dimensions of the tympanum, and adjoining parts. Dec. 19. The first part of a paper by Dr. Herschel on the Comet was read. This astronomer, in the course of his observations on the comet, noticed something like a di- stinct luminous body abont the centre of its head, or what some astronomers would call its nucleus. He observed this luminous part change its relative position in the head, some- « times appearing nearer, at others further from the side next the sun; at the same time he discovered considerable dif- ference in its brilliancy. Hence he was Jed to infer that_ the comet enveloped a real planetary body; and after a series of observations, on the 16th of October, when the comet was 114 millions of miles from the Earth, he ascertained that this body was 428 miles in diameter, and surrounded with a cometic atmosphere. For this purpose he viewed it with seven, ten, and twenty feet telescopes, containing mag- nifiers of various powers, from forty to those which magni- fied 600 times. The reading of the remainder of this cu- rious paper was deferred till a future meeting, and the So- ciety adjourned till Thursday, January 9, 1812. * J LXXXVII. Intel- a [ 465 ] LXXXVII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. A. presu eruption has taken place from Mount Aitna, which is thus related in the French Journals :—** On the 27th of October, several movths opened on the eastern side of the mountain; these openings, situate almost in the same line, and at equal distances, presented to the eye a spectacle the most imposing—torrents of burning matter, discharged with the greatest force from the interior of the volcano, iJluminated the horizon to a great distance. One of these apertures was a considerable distance from all the others. The former was about 300 toises beneath the crater, and about one mile from the point called Gamel Laco: five others were situate ina line in the direction of the Valley of Oxen (del Bove). The eruption of these last five lasted the whole night; an immense quantity of matter was dis- charged from them, which was driven to a considerable di- stance. They however ceased the following day to cast forth any lava. The first aperture continued sull, on the 15th of November, to emit torrents of fire; and even at the time when this mouth had the appearance of being stopped, there suddenly issued from it clouds of ashes, which de- scended in the form of rain upon the city of Catana and its environs, and upon the fields situate at a very great distance. The current of the Java was still very slow, imasmuch as in the space of nine days it had scarcely passed over three miles, and had only reached the rock called della Capra (the Goats). A roaring resembling that of the sea in the midst of a tempest was heard in the interior of the mount- ain. This sound, accompained from time to ume with dreadful explosions resembling thunder, reechoed through- out the valleys, and spread terror on every side. Such was the state and situation of Mount A®tna on the 18th ult. The eruption still continued, and caused a dread of the most terrible disasters.” NEW COMET. “ Imperial Observatory, Paris, Dec. 9, 1811. “© A new comet has just been seen in the constellation of Eridanus—it was seen by M. Pons at Marseilles on the 16th ult. The thick weather did not permit its being seen at Paris before the 5th instant; on that day, at 11 hours 1 mi- nute of mean time, its right ascension was 64, 23, and the declination 13. 34.8. The apparent motion of the comet in right ascension is retrograde and very slow, and the mo- tion in declination carries it towards the northern hemi- Vol. 38, No. 164, Dec. 1811. Gg sphere, 466 New Comet. sphere. It is not visible by the naked eye; with very good glasses, its nucleus, the light of which is vivid, is seen sur- rounded with a light cloud, but not the slightest trace ofa tail is to be seen. «© Jt was announced that, on the 4th of November, at 7 P.M. there was seen at Berne, in the direction of E.N.E. a comet above the horizon ; and it was added, that the tait was turned directly on the side of the horizon. It will not be unnecessary to remark¢that these indications cannot in any measure relate to the comet discovered by M. Pons, first, because on the 4th of November this comet was still below the horizon at eight at night, and next, beeause it rises in the S.E. and has no tail. It is probable that the astronomer of Berne mistook the nebulus of Andromeda for a comet.” This additional sublime stranger was seen on the evenings of the 22d and 23d of December at the Glasgow Observa- tory. Its position has varied considerably in declination from that given by the French astronomers for the 5th of December. Jt is now very near the equator. Its appear- ance, when viewed in the ten feet Herschelian, with a power of 250, is extremely beautiful. The nebulous co- metary mass is condensed, appears bright, notwithstanding the vicinity of the moon. ‘There is at present a fine double star a little to the south-west of it. ‘Fhe rapidity of ‘its motion is evident, even in the common telescope, in the in- terval of one day. Its situation has been carefully deter- mined on both evenings by a series of azimuths and altitudes with the great astronomical circle constructed by Mr. Troughton. It is still in the extended constellation Eridanus. M. Vauquelin has constructed tables, by the inspeetion of which, the proportion of concentrated sulphuric acid contained in any mixture of that acid and water, indicated by the diferent degrees of the areometer, may be correctly ascertained. This is sometimes of considerable importance to the manufacturer of soda, and. to other consumers of this acid, since diluted acid is often more advantageously employed, and the quantity of concentrated acid is not ex- actly in proportion to the degree of the areometer, on ac- count of the mutual penetration which takes place at the moment of combination of the acid with water; a circum- stance which occasions such manufacturer to pay a greater price for the weaker acids than is proportioned to the quan- tity of real acid they contain, This table is the result of many a 7 ee Concentrated Sulphuric Acid.—Vitriform Substances. 467 many experiments made for the purpose. The concen- trated acid is taken at 66° of the areometer. 1. Acid at 60°. 7. Acid at 30°. Sulphuric acid .,.. 84,22 | Sulphuric acid .... 36,52 Wrater oi'va 2. 2. 15,7804 Water nes 0). 2s 63546 2. Acid at 55°. 8. Acid at 25°. Sulphuric acid .... 74,32 | Sulphuric acid .... 30,12 Watery. ssi... 25,68") Water. J2isNo. es 69,88 3. Acid at 50°. g. Acid at 20°. Sulphuric acid .... 66,45 | Sulphuric acid .... 24,01 Water sf07ea fo. a. 83jae ) Water. STI 08. 15799 - 4, Acid at 45°. 10. Acid at 15°. Sulphuric acid .... 58,02 | Sulphuric acid .... 17,39 Water wires eo. i pera tgoeay Waters sae Jes. B26? 5. Acid at 40°. 11. Acid at 10°. Sulphuric acid .... 50,41 | Sulphuric acid .... 11,73 Waters. 2290 49, 590 Water 208 ee eo SB IeF 6. Acid at 35°. 12. Acid at 5°. . Sulphuric acid .... 43,21 | Sulphuric acid .... 6,600 Wy ater, PY FSU OM 5G, 70 ft Waters 2 98; 400 Specific gravities of the above mixtures corresponding to the different degrees of the areometer : ; Sp. Grav. Sp. Grav. Acid at 5 degrees . 1,023 | Acid at 40 degrees . 1,375 yhopitee fa Fi BREST WAPI: OT Us pops elena BR 0 BO. ie de ee ss go 4: BOT yr tie. 1 tOe RRA Pe a a 2 ink ale a Daa i a CO lee Taree 80% bilge i «1260 » Gis ike ange Eeeae I) eae uta! Neest (2s This last table is useful to those who have not an areo- meter at hand, since, the specific gravity of any given acid being ascertained, the proportion of concentrated acid con- tained therein is shown by turning to the corresponding degree of the areometer in the former tablé. The strength of the acid at any intermediate degree may easily be found by the rule of three. M. Lesauvage bas published at Paris an Inaugural Dis- sertation, entitled, Recherches sur les Effets du Verre et des Substances vitriformes portées a Vintérieur des Organes di- gestifs ; in which he has proposed the following question : ** Whether glass and yitriform substances, more or less, Gee coarsely _ 468 eClures . \ coarsely powdered, or even in small fragments, are able . during their passage through the alimentary canal, to pro- duce irritation, erosion, laceration, or any mechanical al- , teration upon the parts with which they come in contact ? He endeavours to refute the opinion of those who think that any injury can arise from taking fragments of glass or vitreoas substances into the stomach, and relates a number of experiments made upon himself, by frequently swallow- ing sharp pieces of broken glass, both on an empty stomach and after meals. From these experiments he infers, that glass, and analogous substances, produce no chemical ac- tion on the digestive organs of living animals ; nor are they acted upon by the fluids or gases contained in these organs 5 that the mechanicai effects, said by authors to have been produced by irregular fragments of glass on the intestinal tube, have been merely imagined and never really seen, and that stili less can any such effects arise from glass in pow- der, whether coarse or fine. That experiments purposely made upon living animals prove beyond doubt, not only that those substances are incapable of mechanically injuring the alimentary canal, but that they do not produce the slightest irritation in it ; and that any one may easily satisfy himself by trying the experiment, that they do not produce the least uneasy sensation. He concludes, therefore, that it is erroneous to retain in the.class of poisons, already too numerous, a particular order of mechanical poisons, acting by irritating and Jacerating the organs to which they are ap- plied, since it is proved such an order has no existence in nature. LECTURES. : Theatre of Anatomy. Lectures on Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, and Sur- gery, by Mr. John Taunton, F.A.S. Member of the Royal College of Surgeons of London, Surgeon to the City and Finsbury Dispensaries, City of London Truss Society, &e. In this Course of Lectures it is proposed to take a com=- prehensive viéw of the structure and ceconomy of the living body, and to consider the causes, symptoms, nature, and treatment of surgical diseases, with the mode of performing the different surgical operations ; forming a complete course of anatomical and physiological instruction for the medical or surgical student, the artist, the professional or private ‘gentleman. Anample field for professional edification will be afforded by the opportunity which pupils may have of we se clinical Se eth ee ial Lectures.—Metereological Observations. 469 clinical and other practice of both the City and Finsbury Dispensaries, The Winter Course will commence on Saturday, January the 25th, 1812, at Eight o’Ciock in the Evening precisely, and be continued every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, at the same hour. Demonstrations regularly in the forenoon by Mr. Wm. Dunning. Particulars may be had, on applying to Mr. Taunton, Greville Street, Hatton Garden. Dr. Clutterbuck will begin his Spring Courses of Lec- tures on the Theory and Practice of Physic, Materia Me- dica, and Chemistry, on Monday the 20th of January, at Ten o’clock in the Morning, at his house, No. 1,1n the Crescent, New Bridge-street. The different Lectures are given on alternate days: viz. Practice of Physic, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays ; Materia Medica and Chemistry, on Tuesdays, Thursdays, ’ and Saturdays, at the same hour. Metereological Olservations made at Clapton in Hackney, from Oct. 24 to Dec. 19, :811. Oct. 24,.—Overcast morning followed by small rain and a fair evening, air misty, and wind gentle trom the south, Oct. 25.—Much dew on the grass; and a clear day with a few fleecy cumuli. The mercury in the barometer de- scended rapidly towards evening, followed by gales of wind and showers from S. W. Oct. 26.—Barometer unusually low; gentle showers in the morning; fair by day with clouds in various stations ; hard showers of rain and hail at night: wind southerly. Oct. 27.—Gentle showers early, then fair day with pes troid cumuli and cumulostrati, cirriand cirrostrati. Showers again at night, from S. E. Oct. 28.—Clear morning and N. W. wind; cirri above cirrostrati ; — towards evening cywmulostratus beneath a thick veil of cirrostratus produced partial nimbificalion and showers, which became hard at night, with squalls from Ss. W. Oct. 29.—Showers with fair intervals: fair night with light cirrocumulative clouds; also a sheet of the cirrostratus appeared extending N. W. and S. E. Wind S.W. Oct. 30.—Much rain with south-east'wind, followed by showers from south-west ; in the fair intervals of which ap- Gg3 " peared 470 Meteorological Olservations peared confused flimsy c?rri with cirrostratus, cumulostratus, and fleecy cumulus in successively lower regions. A bright meteor appeared about half past ten P. M. Oct. 31.—Clear morning, with a line of cirrostratus east and west, followed by much cloud showing features of cirrus and cirrocumulus with cumulus below, and hazy air. The temperature increased at night, with wind and rain from Ss. W. . Nov. 1.—Wind and rain from S.W. very warm. Nov. 2.—Long and gentle showers from S.W. various clouds in the intervals; high wind by night, which blew over large masses of fleecy cumulus. . Nov. 3.—A strong wind from S.W. in the morning blew over large masses of cumulus and cumulostratus; threugh the breaks czrrus appeared in a lofty station ; asthe day ad- vanced the wind fell, the quantum of cloud decreased, and a sort of irregular confluent cirrocumulus became most pre- valent; in passing to this cloud the cérrus presented various appearances. Some brilliant meteors at night. Nov. 4.*—Showers before light; fair day; a shower about three in the afternoon, petroid cwmuli intersected by cirrostratus and others. * Nov. 5.—Wind and rain from S.W. all the morning ; about three o’clock it became fair and calmer, and the night was clear with some light confluent cirrocumulative clouds. . ; ) Nov. 6.—Calm misty morning followed by much rain ; it held up for several hours during the day, but returned at night with light gales from S.W. Nov, 7.—Fine day and cooler than hitherto; cirrus spread about in loose masses; also in some places in tufts: fea- tures of cirrocumulus appeared; and also cumulus. A lit- tle before nine a large meteor was seen by several persons in the neighbourhood: its motion was irregular. Wind W, Nov. 8.—Rain more or iess all day, with calm air. * In the progress of nimbification the following phenomena may be fre- quently observed: The cirrus losing its cirritorm figure becomes a confused and dense veil swelling downwards to meet cumulus below, which rises ir- regularly upwards ; but the change to cumulostratus precedes visible inos+ culation: after the nimlus bas formed, a crown of cirrose structure may be seen extending upwards as if conducting electricity from an upper region, while the shower is nourished from below by fleecy cumuli, which float un- der and become lost in-it. I have observed that when cumuli pass to cumulostrati, they move much slower though in the same wind: ls this to be attributed to their increase of density in proportion to the surface they present to the wind? ' Nov. made at Clapton in Hackney. 474 Nov. 9.—Thick yellow stratus followed by fair but misty afternoon: the fane indicated S. but it was quite calm. Nov. 10.—Much rain in the morning, afterwards fair. Wind westerly. at Nov. 11.—Clear morning: light cirrus spead aloft while . cumuli appeared below, afterwards cwmulostratus aud very slight showers: the wind got up about two o’clock S. and N.W. Nov. 19.—Fair day, with various clouds. Wind N.W. Nov. 13.—Showers early, clouds in two strata, with gentle showers again: clear cool night. Nov. 14.—Mist, followed by much rain; afterwards cz- mulostratus at different heights; dark flocks of cumulus called scud below. Clear night with a few little meteors. Nov. 15.—Fair day, with cool breeze, cirrus and cumulus. Clear cold windy night: a few shooting’stars. Wind W. Nov. 16.—Rain early, then cirrus and cirrocumulus: clear, cold and windy night, with a few falling stars. N.W. Nov. 17.—Sky veiled nearly all day, with thick ¢zrrostra- tus, features of cirrus and cirrocumulus: the temperature increased in the evening, which was dark and cloudy, with some rain. Wind gentle from N.W. Nov. 18.—Calm misty day with small rain. Wind W. Nov. 19.—Loose cirrus and cirrocumulus and cumulus after a forry moming. Wind S.W. Nov. 20.—Clear morning and variable wind. Linear cirri stretched along in different directions, with some fea- tures of cymoid cirrostratus. Clear frosty night with some falling stars. Nov. 21.—Clear white frost with various features of cirrus and cirrocumulus followed by yellow fog ; a reddish colour appeared al] around by twilight: dark mgbt. Wind W. Nov. 22.—Masses of cumulus by day, clear frosty mght, and North wind. Nov. 23.—Clear frosty day, and wind northerly. Nov. 24.— Cirrus spread about aloft, cirrostratus and flocky cumuli in successively lower regions: the same order of clouds continued till after sunset, but the night became clear: wind northerly. ; Nov. 25.—Still day, confused and lofty cumuli followed -by cloudy afternoon, with some drops of smal] rain. N. Nov. 26.—Cloudy and damp; wind below N.W. above which was an upper current from north, as appeared by a small rarified air balloon sent up at about ninein the morning. Nov. 27.—Overcast day with gentle wind from W, Nov, 28,—Cloudy and hazy day : wind S.W. pe 472 Meteorological Olservations. Nov. 29.—Very calm morning with a white stratus, in which a small rarified air-balloon launched at nine o’clock was soon lost; it indicated a wind from N.W. Afterwards it cleared, when a loose kind of cirrocumulus was discerned, followed by increased warmth of the air, which this cloud generally forebodes. Nov, 30.—Foggy morning and cloudy day. By night lofty, thin, and confused clouds caused a lunar corona, About midnight a very little white meteor leaped horizon- tally across the moon, Dec. 1.— Overcast and misty with small rain before noon: the wind increased towards night and became high from S.W. Dec. 2.—Hard shower early, afterwards strewed cirrus, Wind S.E. and N. Dec. 3.—Hazy and cloudy: windy night. S.W. Dec, 4.—Fair and windy ; snow fell in the night. S.W. Dec. 5.—Fair; snow on the ground. Wind N, Dec. 6.-—-Cloudy for the most part. Wind N, Dec. 7.—-Misty and cloudy. S.W. Dec, 8.—Hazy and cloudy; rain at night. S. Dec. 9.—Much rain with strong wind trom S.W. Dec. 10.—Wind with some rain; fair by night. S.W. Dec. 11.—The lower current of wind N.E., above it a current blew from E. as appeared by a small balloon Jaunch- ed from Clapton. Cloudy evening. Dec. 12.—Yellow stratus followed by clouds and wind, with some rain. W. Dec. 13.—Cloudy and hazy, afterwards wind and small rain. Dec. 14.—Clear morning; some rain at night. N.N.W, Dec. 15.—Cloudy and hazy, followed by rain in the evening. Dec. 16.—Fair wind, light (particularly at night), from the W. ; Dec. 17.—Cool morning ; cirrocumulus was followed by warmer evening, with some smail rain, Dec. 18.—Cloudy and misty. Dec. 19.—Karly appeared linear and plumose cirri, with hazy atmosphere ; cloudy day followed with S.W, wind. Clapton, Dec. 19, 1811. THOMAS FORSTER. METEORO- —_—— Meteorology. METEOROLOGICAL TABLE, 473 By Mr. Cary, OF THE STRAND, For December 1811. Thermometer. 2-0 : eto] . |S .| deightof | 23 2 Doe Be 8 as the Barbee eng . S| Zor] Inches. | 2-2 & a “ ar ss Ba = Aah Noy. 27| 43 | 45°} 43°| 30°40 |° 9 28| 43 | 47 | 40 "35 io 29] 42 | 46 | 45 “28 12 30} 46 | 51 } 44 °25 16 Dec. 1] 44 | 54 | 50 ‘08 oO 2| 53 | 46 | 38 | 29°52 Oo 3; 43 | 49 | 40 aa 6 4| 42 | 50 | 33 "30 16 5| 32 | 30 | 24 70 16 6| 24 | 36 | 37 95 6 7| 48 | 50 | 50 68 G 8} 54 | 54 | 43 "43 O 9| 43 | 48 | 42 “02 0 10} 42 | 42 | 40 18 ” 11] 39 | 42 | 33 “70 12 12) 33 | 42 | 50 “86 6 13} 51 | 55 | 54 "67 6 14| 38 | 43 | 35 “82 10 15) 36 | 46 | 46 “86 9 16; 35 | 40 | 40 "29 10 17| 40 | 42 | 36 “50 8 18} 33 | 46.| 46 °75 6 19} 51 | 53 | 50 66 10 20| 50 | 52 | 50 "70 ry 21| 50 | 46 | 33 “SO 0 22) 28 | 33 | 29 | 30-19 12 23) 43 | 48 | 43 “Ol 7 24; 43 | 43 | 32 10 Oo 25! 29 | 33 | 28 *20 6 26) 28 | 33 | 25 | 29:70 18) Weather. Small rain Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Small rain Stormy Cloudy Fair Fair Fair Rain Small rain Stormy Fair Fair Cloudy Cloudy Fair Cloud Fair 4 Fair Cloudy Fair Small rain Small rain Fair Fair Small rain Fair Sleet N. 8B. The Barometer’s height is taken at one o’clock, eet * © In our Jast Number, in the article on the different Theories of Arches er Vaults, p. 287—391, for vaussoir read uniformly yousseir, INDEX { 474 J INDEX ro VOL. XXXVI. ACETIC Acid. Analysis of, 65 Acetous fermentation. Of the, 249 Acid, acetic and oxalic, analysed, 655 on native concrete boracic, 282; concentrated sulphuric, 466 Aérolites, 79, 262 Aéronauts, 931, 233 Air, influence of, on fermentation, 225, 250 Alcwyhol. On formation of, 249—On poisonous action of, * 86 Allan's Dividing Instrument 57 Almanac, Nautical, error in, 305,376, 386,451; Indian, specimen of, 427 Analysis of zeolite, 80; on vegetable and animal, 60; of oxalic acid, of acetic acid, 65; of resin, of olive oil, of sugar, of ash wood, 66; of fibrine, of caseous matter, 675 of a meteoric stone, 263; of green walnut shell, 447 Andamans. Rude state of, 403 Animal matter found in vegetables, 100 Animal substances. On preserving; 70, 109 Antiquities. 79, 208, 230, 254, 314 Apoplecy. Remedy for, 314 Arches, Theories of, $87, 409 Ash wood. Analysis of, 66 Asphalium of Trinidad, 163 Athens, details respecting, 253 Atmosphere. Influence of, in diseases, 68 Baily on solar eclipse of Thales 357 Balloon. Sadler’s ascents, 231, 233 Barton's Indian almanac, 427 Bateman on vaccination, 289 Bennett on geology of Madeira, 284 Bitumen of Trinidad, 165 Books. New 313, 391,455 Botany 199, 455 Braconnot’s analysis of green walnut shell, ; 447 Brande onstate of spiritsin fermented liquors, 441 Bread. Fermentation of, 222 Brewing of northern naked barley $54 Brodie on vegetable poisons, 85, 171 Briutes. On instinct of, 251, 350, 407 Buchanan on heating buildings by steam, 7@ Camplell on Lancashire strata, 265 ; remarks on, 3386 Carbonic acid resists putrefaction, 109, ; lt Cary’s meteorological tables, 80,240, 320, 400, 473 Cart, loaded, to raise, when the horse falls, LIVE Caseous matter. Analyzis of, 66 Chaptal on fermentation, 221, 246 Cockereil’s discovery in /Egina, 230 Coilieries, reports on, $21 Collinson’s Notes on Botany, 199 Combustion. Instances of, 17 Comet, New, 465 Connoissance des Tems, Error in, 305, 376, $86, 451 Crane on the comet, 296 Cuner on the ourangoutang, 188 Daniel’s life-preserver not new, 436 Davy on oxymuriatic gas and oxygea gas, Density of the earth. Hutton on, 112 Dessaignes on phosphorescence, 3 Diabetic bivod contains no sugar, 18 Dividing mstrument. Allan’s, Lif Domes. ‘Theories of, $87, 409 Doyki’s trachometer, 42 Douglas's reflecting semicircle, 186 Duportal on fermentation, 221, 246 Dyeing. Hints to improve, 104 ‘Earth. On density of the, 112 Echipse, solar, of Thales. On the, 357 Eleciricity restores phosphorescence, 7; of minerals, 81 Elgin (Lord), his Greek marbles, 208, , : 264 Eruption of Mount Etna, 465 Eye. On diseases of the, 298, 339 Farey on strataof Lancashire, $36 Farey’s musical theorems, 434 Fermentation. On, 221, 246 Fermented liquors, On state of spirits in, 441 Filyiney SEs — sO es INDEX. 475 Filrine, analysis of, 66 Filtering stones improved, 116 Firminger on the comet, 307; on error in Nautical Almanac, 376 Flower on northern naked barley, 354 Fluids taken into the stomach, on cir- culation of, 37 Forster on influence of atmosphere in diseases, 68 Forster’s meteorological observations, 235, 259, 398, 469 Fortresses. Defence of, 78 Fourcroy on vegeto-animal matter, 100 Gas. Davy on combination of oxy- muriatic and oxygen, 13; detonates, 14; oxymuriatic gas contains no oxygen, 17; action of gases on meat, 70, 109 Gay-Lussac on vegetable and animal analysis, 60 Glass, and vitriform substances, ques- tion on, 467 Grapes, On fermentation of juice of, 224 Groombridge on the comet, 307; on Nautical Almanac, 386 Hackney. Phil. soc. of, 306 Haiiy on electricity of minerals, $1 Herculaneum MSS, 231 Iiggins's analysis of an aérolite, 262 Hildebrand on the actions of gases upon flesh, 70, 109 Home on the circulation of fluidstaken into the stomach, 37 Horner on native boracic acid, 282 Hortus Elginensis 455 Horses’ power on rail roads, 52 Hospitals, to ventilate, 120 Hossack on the Elgin botanic garden, 455 Hutton on calculating the mean den- sity of the earth, 112 Hydrogen preserves flesh, 78, 111 Ink, to discharge, 34; to restore, 35 Instinct. On the nature of, 251, 350, 401 Juice of leaves of aconite, experiment with, 90 Kelly’s discovery of an error in Nau- tical Almanac, 904, 376, $86, 451 Knight on the direction and growth of roots, 420 Ladies’ Diary. Queries respecting, 461 Lancashire, on strata in, 268, 336 Lead. On smelting of, 278, S71 Learned Socielies, 77, 306, 394, 464 Lectures, 158, 315, 396, 468 Lefroy’s process for decomposing sea salt, 27 Lesawvaze on glass and vitriform sub- stances 467 Life-preserver not new, 436 Lveschmdn’s piano forte 47 London Pharmacopeia. Phillips on,456 Machinery, to ascertain velocity of, 42 Maceira. Geology of, 284 Maltin g of northern naked barley, 354 Marcet en diabetic blood, 24 Martin's Reports on Nailsea collieries, : S2t Meuling of barley, 354 Medicine for apoplexy, 314 Meteorie stones, 79, 262 Meteorology, 80, 235, 239, 240, 250, 317, 398, 400, 469, 473 Micrometer. Walker’s improved, 127 Minerals, electricity of, 8t Mines, to ventilate, - 120 Montserrat, sulphur of, described, 183 Moult’s filtering stones 116 1 Mower on instinct, 251, S50, 40 Muriate of soda,todecompose, 27 Musical theorems, 434 Must. Principles of, 246 Nautieal Almanac, error in, 304, 376, $86, 452 Nervous affections. New eure for, 105 New Books, 455 Nitrous gas resists putrefaction, 74, 118 Nomenclature of the New Pharmaco= peta. On the absurditjes of the, 245 Nugent on the pitch lake of Trinidad, 161; on “ The sulphur of Mont- serrat,” 183 Oil of bitter almonds, a poison, 89, 172 Olive oil, analysis of, 66 Ourang outang. On the, 188 Oxalic acid, analysis of, 65 Parish on culture and manufacture of woad, 328 Parry on nervous affections, 105 Patents, 160, 237, 315, 396 Pharmacopeia. Remarks on Nomen- clature of the New, 241 Phosphorescence. Dessaignes on, 33 restored by electricity, q Rail roads, on, 51 Reflecting semicircle, sir H, Douglas's, 186 Resin, analysis of, 66 Roots. 476 Roots. On the direction and growth of, : 420 Royal Society, 77, 394, 464 Sadler on- smelting of lead, 278, 371 Sadle;’s aérial voyages, 231, 283 Sculptures, Greek, 208, 230 254 Smith's method of raising a loaded eart when the horse has fallen, 117 Smith's reports on Nailsea collieries, $21 Smithson on zeolite, 80 Societies, Learned, 77, 306, 394, 464 Soda, to obtain from muriate of, 27 Solar eclipse of Thales. Onthe, 357 Steam, on heating buildings by, 76 Sulphate of iron, decomposition of, by animal matter, 297 Sulphur of Montserrat, account of, 183 Tannin combined with aninaal matter in vegetables, 100 INDEX Tobacco, experiment with infusion of, 915 empyreumatic oil of, 171 Trinidad, pitch lake in, 161 Upas poison. Oa, 174 Ure on the comet, 310 Vaccination. On origin of, 462 Vaults. ‘Theories of, 387, 409 Vauquelin on vegeto-animal matter, 100; on concentrated sulphuric acid, 466 Vegetatle poisons. On, 85 Vegetable wax. Brande on, 420 Ventilation of mines, &c. 120° Velocity of machinery, to ascertain, 42 Pinous fermentation. Of the, 223, 246 Volcanic island, A new, 229 Walker's ityproved micrometer, 127 Walnut shell, green. Analysis of, 447 Ture on diseases of the eye, 298, 339" Fax, vezetable. Brande on, 429 White lead. Fatal effects of, 94° Tanning. Oak leaves answer for, 79+ /Voad, on cultivation and manufac- 34 120 Farry on writing-ink, Taylor on ventilation, Thenard on vegetable and animal ana- 60 lysis, tureof, 328 Tio llaston on diabetic blood, 18 Woorara. . Poison for arrows, 170 Zeolite, Smithson on, 8@ END OF THE THIRTY-EIGHTH VOLUME, Provited by Richard Taylor and Co., Shoe Lane, London Lil. Mag Vol EXT PLA. M Donkin: lachometer. | | | | | | ' ! : SW ilietE We | | : | | i | My | ————— in heal ————— EEO —$—SSSSSSZ= ‘Witt Bialf a Ria Sialic a, S WA SS _ == = | I il x » © eee Ss — aA. —_—__—__————— TOTTI rr LSS SS ———————S—— SS —— - ~ g ‘ oak E | Ps | | ut eS || Xe 4 r= i a All | | q Phil. Mag. Vol SSXVOLPUAL GGZS =o Z Vy Ss : GG 7 Fig. 2 section AN 1p. 2. i Case | cale of Inches, Porter seulp. Phil. Mag, Vol, XSXVULPLIV. i MM Moutlts Filtering Apparatus . lhe lomet 101. Fhil Mag .Vo S forter scalp. Lhil. Mag. Vol. XXXVUL 0.1. tut yi eA i i mM ii y) My WS i a iil = Na i Ui Ky) ] S Wi /// Gy S — SG SN YS = SS ~ KES SS - Y —NY —==SSSS SSS SS —————— = —Sa=aaasaSS= Sa | | | a a's Lhit. Mag. Vol XXXVI. L1..7. LANCASHIRE Divided into Districts according to the nature of the fhock which torms the Basis of each by D? Campbell of Kendal Téay caGreen S chistes Whinstone a) ) or Blue Rag. 5 ry Yellow Limestone. cp ee dergh ~BBEOWN Shale kMilleone Gre Argillaceous Stone mostly containing Coals. mRed The course of the Canals: = Blue Macclestield . A Seale ov Miles ota a ee eee eee ee a », ca vb Payrt “¢ ee "A oS as — _———— GILEREth |B RY Mm ff Lot AWe tlhe theca Lhil. Mag. Vol XXXVI L1. 8. \\ Be < hy — s » \ ’ 7 5 Lalratiin, Sak Soe ye tre Me is eas \ Four rough Sections and a Plan of the Nailsea loal field, in Somersetshire, NOL. Mess™ Grace & C% Nailsea Colliery, a4 Mi Edw! Martin, Colliery Surveyor. --- aoa ~ Wavaae OFC Orome ge ‘ ‘ e VC £19. These 3 Veins, dip regularly under the be 2 Nailsea Veins, as shewnin N°? 4. ; N° 3. Leagues Backwell Colkery. | Lhese-5 Veins, dip under the- 3 Whites Veins, as shewnin N? 4. N° 4. @ transverse Section, shewing how the above 10 Veins of Coal tie parallel under one another. Teagues Veins Graces Veans N°5. @ rough Plan of the N.and S Limestone and the Nailsea Coal-bason between them. Easton sig a Kix) wee ST fl ser a MW ¥ eS o BaD nn meee soo ree ae ey Ste | Phil, Mag. Vol. XXXVIL PU. 10. Lhil Mag. Vok AXXVIUTLLM. ae, Jonymic, Uys: Crystal op a: ~A Quar! Viavev' Ss Pane ov Thund cK Theory of Crystallization - 4 tWAN? 'S new A. nemometer; engraved by. Pourer Bavy’s Crystallography; engraved b » AALLEN and Prrys’s new Expe to} Portrr.—A Plate’ to illustrate M, Hav ilustr ‘ating the the Construction. of Mr, CLEG Another Plate on the sam er Storms. —A o er | —A Quarto P e heads. feito oF . ate M, ae s ity uit iva b : ee ae by T isaac Mn eee Plate ‘lier tating M, q eens Goniometer: D He : } 4 and; al Diagram. to ills rate ass: ate to illustrate. “Hat in apie arses ake Pra Siete vs ch onee for Decomy dosing > M. piece s Paper ¢ on th AP o nh Vo, 38. rhaews cid eee Aucust 1811. | ‘CONTENTS OF NuMBER 160. SS Page. ON XIX. On the Electricity of Minerals. By M.Havy + 81 8% XX. Experiments and Observations on the different Modes “49 in which Death is produced by certain vegetable Poisons. By SS\\ B. C. Brovit, Esq. FLR.S.) Communicated by the Socicty as \ for promoting the Knowledge of Animal Chemistry - 85¢€ XXI. History of fatal: Effects from the accidental Use of White Lead; ina Letter to the President of the Medical Society &@ of London, By Jonny Deerinc, Surgeon, F.M.S.; with ad- \\ ditional Remarks by Witiiam SHearman, M.D. B. M.S, oy XXL. Memoir on the Existence of a Combination of Tan- ‘ Ez nin and a vegetable Matter ju some Vegetables. By Messrs. mut) wee; Fourcaoy and Vavavuetin . < - 100 fire, MXIT. On a Case of nervous Affection cured by Pressure fai}of the Caratids; with some physiological Remarks. FY is tligs iW Pagry, M.D.F-RS, - - - 105 FA i XXIV. Memoir on the Action of Elastic Fluids eon: Meat. i. ) aaa By M. Hi roesrann - - 109 NUS \ oXXV. Letter from Dr. Hurrow on the Calculations for > si) ascertaining the Mean Density of the Earth -. - 112 3 a) 3 XMXVIL Description of a new Methad of applying the Fil- \exy tering Stone for puritying Water, By Mr. Wittiam Movutt ). XXMVII. Method of raising a loaded Cart when the Horse in the Shafts has failen. By Mr. Benyamtn Smit - “XXVIII. Method of Ventilating Mines or Hospitals, by extracting the foul Air from them. By Mr, Joun Tayxor, of Hol-vell House, near Pavistock XXMIX. Description of an improved Micrometer, By aly B. Wake a, Esq. 5 a é 2 ne XXX. Observations on some of the Strata in the Neigh- . hourhood of Ioendon; and on the Fossil Remains containcd in SS thent. By James Parkinson, Esq. Member of the Geological Society - - - . - am XXXI. Report of the National Vaccine Establishment 153 4 ‘}. XXXII. Intelligence and ete Articles = 58h re R. TAYLOR AND co. PEinTERs, SHOR Awa FLEST STREET, LONDON. THE SMALLEST i eI ATE LOY FERRY EVER KNOWN. 13,500 Tickets. SCHEME. 8 - of - £15,000 - are - £45,000 S- - =) - 56,000 - -/- 15,000 Ba i a I egos OO Bes SS ANNO oi vee 8000 12°-. - - -- $00 -'' «, -' =| 6,000 EAMES GTO" MU Ng 0 24- - - -: 50- - - - 1,200 60- - - - @5- - - - 1,500 2,625- - - - 20- - - 52,500 TO BE ALL DRAWN - TUESDAY, 22d of OCTOBER, 1811, { TICKETS and SHARES, | CONSIDERABLY CHEAPER THAN FOR MANY YEARS, ARE SELLING BY hI S i, 4, Cornhill, & 9, Charing-Cross, WHERE Fiufty-Nine Capital Prizes (Including Sryen of £20,000) ' Were Suarep and Sotpd in the Last EIGHTEEN Monrus. *, * Persons in the: Country may be supplied by sending good "Bills, or Post-Office Orders, by the Post or Coachmen, to BISH’s OFFICES, 4, Cornhill, or 9, Charing-Cross, London. “a al Magazi e. SEPTEMBER 181 RE AEN DRS Nn A DS OS 7 seisie 1 PPA BO ANE Page nee Fae CEN SP REIL any Ra ConTENTS oF Numser 161. ~ | Page. 3 R XXXIII. Account. of the Pitch Lake of the Island of . ms Trinidad. By Nicvouas, Nucent, M.D. Honorary Mem- S\ ber of the Geclogical Society wa - a XXXIV. Experiments’ and Observations on the different Modes in which Death is produced by certain vegetable Poi- Bt | a 808. By B. C. Bropte, Esq. PRS. | Communicated by 3: a Naty the Society for promoting the Knowledge of Animal Chemistry 171 ‘ XXXV. An-Account of “ The Sulphur,” or ¢¢ Souffriére,”” iy of the Island of Montserrat. By Nicnoxas Nucewrt, M.D. “@¢ Honorary Member of the Geological Society + =, 164 : XXXVI. Description of the Patent Reflecting Semicircle, \S4 invented by Sir Howanr’y Doucras, Bart, Communicated AN by Mr. Cangy - - - - XXXVIL. Deseription of an Ourang Outang: with Ob- Bi Servations on jts intellectual Faculties. By M. Frepericx ys, CUVITR - - . -- - SLA XKXVHL Notes relating to Botany, collected from the a Manuscripts of the late Pever Couzixson, Esq., F.R.S., and ig COMMmunicated by AvuMER Bourke Lampert, Esq., F.R.S, Pi 3 and A.S., V.P.L.S.~ From the Transactions of the Linnean ch sk Society ¥ 2 ¥ Sui SAY gag Ce SON XXXIX. Memorandym'on the Subject of the Earl of Ex- go. Gin’s Pursuits in Greece ~ ah * = 208 eet a ‘ J : ; ime ed XL. Report of the National Vaccine Establishment 215 ¥h} Me Bs WOR SOS tained in M. Cusaptar’s Nouveau Cours complet d’Agriculture, Bad BAS By M. Duronrat. M.D. Professor of Physic and Chemistry te = jin the Academy of Montpeliier « — - - . Sees XLII. Intelfigence and Miscellaneous Articles : QObserva- Re Nat tions of tg, Appearance of the Comet, with its Longitude and se Antiquities — Herculaneum -Manugscripts—Aérostation-—Me- ais va iat teotological Observations and Tables - - 226-240 3% # kha ERY #.* Communieations for this Work, addressed to the Editor, at Avy No, 2, Carey-street, Lincoln's Inn, will meet with every attenon. i She A ets SES Tt Lp = ae ss eh KR. TAYLOR ABD €O. PRINTERS, SHOR Ly Se aes ee ae fas ene"g at, > ENGRAVINGS, Vol. XXXIV. ‘Two Plates to iHustrate M. Hauy's Crystallography.— Apparatus to illustrate Mr. Davy’s Bakerian Lecture—A Quarto and an Octavo Piate descriptive of Mr. Trovex ron’s new Dividing Instrument.— A Plate to illustrate Mr. Var.ey’s Paper on Thunder Storms.—Another Plate to illustrate Hauy’s Theory of Crystallization.—A Quarto Plate to illustrate Mr. Kinwawn’s new Anemometer; engraved by Porter.—An Octavo Plate to illustrate M. Havy’s Crystallography; engraved by Lowry. - —A Plate to illustrate Messrs. ALLEN and Perys’s new Experiments on Respiration. Engraved by PortreR.—A Flate to illustrate M. Havy’s Crystallography.—A Plate illustrating the Construction of Mr. CrrecGe’s Rotative Steam Engine.— Another Plate on the same Subject.—A Plate of Crystals to illustrate M. Havy’s System. Vol. XXXV. A Head of M. Havy, engraved by T, Wootnore from an original Drawing by F. Massarp.—A Plate illustrating M. Hauy's Crystallography.— Dr. Woptaston’s Goniomeer: Dr. Heaty’s New Cupping Instrument: and a Diagram to illustrate Mr. Waixer’s Theory ef Vision.—A Plate to illustrate Havy’s Crystallography—Mr. Cayen- pisH’s dividing Instrument.—New Electrical Apparatus.—A Plate to illus- trate M. Hauy’s System of Crystallography.—Mr. Accum’s Hydro-pneu-+ matic Table.—A Plate to illustrate M. Havy’s Crystallography.—Captain Pastey’s Telegraph, and Mr. Jouns’s Apparatus for Decomposing Potash and Soda.— Diagrams to illustrate M. Monce’s Paper on the Composition and Decomposition of Forces.—A Plate to illustrate Hauy’s Crystallo- graphy.—T wo Pilates of Apparatus employed by Mr. Dayy in the Electro- chemical Experiments detailed in his Bakerian Lecture. ; Vol. XXXVI. Design for a Cast-Iron Tunnel to cross the Thames, ' by Col. Lennon.—Two Plates to illustrate Havy’s Crystallography.— A. Head of Bucnanan, from an original Portrait by Titian: engraved by Wootnorn.—A Plate to illustrate the Paper on Musical Intervals, —A Plate to illustrate: Mr. Satmon’s Paper on Building in Pis?, and his Ma- chine for securing Depredators without injuring them.—A Plate toilluctrate a Memoir by M. Hassenrratz on the Alterations which the Light of the Stin undergoes in passing through the Atmosphere.—Mr. Spencer’s / Camp ‘Velegraph, —Section of Timahoe Bog in Ireland. —A Transverse Section of Lullymore Bog,—part of the Great Bog of Allen.—Berthullet’s Manometer. Vol. XXXVII. Plates 1 and 2, Represents ions of Luminaus Animals, to illustrate Mr. Macartney’s Paper on that Subject.—Quarto Plate of the Orbits of the newly discovered Flanets—A Quarto Plate to illustrate M. Peyrarn’s Paper on Burning Mirrors.—A Plave to illustrate Mr. Donovan's Paper on Hlectro-chemical Agency.—Mr. Accum’s New Mineralogical Apparatus, —Mr. Ler’s Vhrashing Machine-—Mr. Coox’s Apparatus for making Gas and other Products from Pit-Ccal; and Mre Way’s Method of procuring . Turpentine from Fir-Trees, —A Piate to illustrate Dr. Buswsrer’s Paper on the Power of the Lever. Vol. XXXVIIL. Mr. Donxrn’sTachometer.—Mr. AL LAN’s Mathemat'cal Dividing Engine.—A 4to Plate of Mr. Logscuman’s Patent Piano-Foite, » and Mr. Lisrow’s Patent Enbarmonic Organ.—A Plate to illustrate Mr. - Havy’s Paper on the Electricity of Minerals.—Mr. Warxen’s improved © Micrometer.—Mr. Movutr’s liltering Apparatus. —Mr, Smita’s Method of relieving a Horse fallen in the Shafts of a loaded Cart.—Mr, Taytor’s Air-Exhauster for Mines. —A Representation of the Comet now visible in Ursa Major.—Sir Howanp DouGtas’s Patent Reflecting Semicirc'e. phot 38. he patie nAgeacay OcTOBER 181 ConTEents oF NuMBER 162. Page. x EN NY XLIH. On the new Nomenclature adopted by the Royal ay) #; College of Physicians in the new Edition of the London Phare uN ie macopceia - - - Owe XLIV. Observations on the Article Fermentation’ con-* <\\ tained in M. Cuarrat’s Nouveau Cours complet d’Agricul- } ture. By M. Durortar, M.D. Professor of Physic and Che. — ‘4 istry in the Academy of Montpellier, &c. - i’ XLV. Some Speculations on the Nature of Instinct. By Anrtuur Mower, Esq. 25 T AN) oN XLVI. Usmorsnlens on the Subject af the Earl be Eu- ; \ Ru SQ AS EY a Ny Gin’s Pureuits in Greece’ = 254 Se nd XLVIL. An Attempt to sein certain Tiiatent Phases = ah) Ail iz mena observed about the Sun and Moon. By THOMAS fom i Mies Forster, Esq. 259 Aires XLVI. Description faa Analysis oe a Wetantie Stone % S\ which fell in the County of Tipperary, in Ireland, in the Month y of August 18 to. By Witiiam Hicerns, E q. - XLIX, Remarks upon the inferior Strata of the Earth oc- Vcurring in Lancashire: with some Observations arising from the Subject. By Dr. Camepert, Kendal - - L. On Smelting of Lead. By Mr. Joun Santer = LI. Notice respecting Native Concrete Boracic Acid. By _ SmitHson Tenn ANT, Ksq. F.R.S. &e. Communicated by ‘y La Horner, Esq; Sec, of the Geological Society © LIT. Sketch of the Geology of Madeira, By the Hein Oy Q S\ Henny Grey Bennerr; in a Letter addressed to G.B: .) | GreEwouc H, President of the Geological BUCIEATS and com- RY municated hy him to the Society - - f LIT. On the Progress and present State of the Praciiee ob = Vaccination, By ‘I’. Bateman, M.D. LIV. Notice respecting the Deconiideases of Sulphate of. Tron by, Anitnal Matter. By W. H. Pepys, sac F.R.S. . Treasurer of the Geological Society. - s oS) LV. On the Staphyloma, Hydrophthalmia,. ae Carcinoma Le of the Hye. By James Ware, Ese. RR. S. and Vice Pre= ASS sident of the Medical Society of London “\ - AS LVI, Facts relating to the Nautteal Almanac ane the Pi \) Connoissance des Tems ~ “ - Sth : an it LVit. bisa met of Learned Societies _ : 3 A Rarnsinireainde for: aia Werk, sates to the Editor, at a ‘ oY No. "isCarey- =street, eee will meetiwith Fee atteiition, KR. TAYLOR AND CO) PRINTERS, SHOE LAWBy FLEET STREET, LONDON. pe ae) ta ae i : y ¥ ek atk f ve 4 ¢ a ene bE Ra ae gies My ,)