wera i ah tt eyes . Leg sles ae . PRET ants Maen erane 2th Peres ae peaks ae. : a F : pe 8 eee Pa : : , 1 ip pe katt 3 pl E : va : ty aa f Y ee TG Vth em we Keaeest i BAP RTE BOE Gy FE er Ay) PACHA epee Pe bare F Y ‘ ks Vas \ neo irae » me et teh oe ZR OT ei Brice o ie te ea a if ony aN £2 th foes ‘are 5) ty EE il Sf (Orie ares agi Nye pcciz Seas Py ae tl eerie a * r eee F fA a - REY eeOing BS S Oe: =i at iy a6, u. = fs! INC ge hay wie? | | i | | MI En way: iy aN: eee eS Onda <2 ~~ rates oF a —— CONTENTS OF VOL. I. aes SS eee) Lis Parr I. J. ADISSERTATION on the supposed Change in the Temper. ature of Winter. By Noan WEBSTER, jun. Esq. - - ft. 1} Il. 4 Dissertation on the Production of Vapor. By Exizur Wriént, Esq. -- = - - - - 2 = 2 = = - - 69 Ill. 4x Account of the Whitten Plaster. By the Hon. Joun C. Smipi, Pisq. 105-0 sie eh aie ee eel) SE 1V. Sketch of the Mineralogy of the Town of New-Haven. By BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, Esq. - - + - = - - - + 83 V. Number of Deaths in the Episcopal Church in New-York, in each month for ten years. Communicated by N. WEz- STER, jun Esq. - - = = - = = + 2 - = = 9 VI. An Aécount of the American Cantharis, or Meloe Americe By Dr. NatHanieL Dwicut. - - - - - - - + 9 VII. A Calculation of the Orbit of the Comet which appeared in 1807. By Col. Janrp MAnsFieLp. - - - - - 103 VIII. Of the Figure of the Earth. By Col. Janep MAnsFiELp. 11h TX. Odservations on the Dufilication of the Cube, and the Trisec- tion of an Angle. By Col. JaneD MansFieLp. - - 119 X. A Statement of the Quantity of Rain which falls, on different days of the Moon. By JéremrAn Day, Professor of Mathematics in Yale College. - - - - - - - - 125 XI. Description of an Air-Pump, invented by Exxzvr Wricut, Goan, re ee ele mimo Pi ale iattn laa bee MII. A Brief Account of a Trial at Law, in which the influence of a Mill-Dam on the health of the inhabitants of the neigh- borhood, was considered, By the Hon. Davin Daccetr, Bisqes 20 se se ye a Ses - F - - - I3t XIII. On che Decomposition of White Lead Part By Noa WessTeR, jun. Esq. - - - = = - - - 135 XIV. An Observation of the Auroral Viphearonae at Deion. Aug. 1, 1783. By the late Rev. Etrzur Goopricn, D. D. 137 XV. An Account of the Meteor, which burst over Weston, in Connecticut, in December, 1807. By Professors SILLIMAN and KINGSLEY. - - = - - 4 - = - = - = 4b XVI. A View of the Theories which have been eshoce to explain the Origin of Meteoric Stones. By Professor Day. - - 163 XVII. Origin of Mythology. By Noan WexstER, jun. Esq. - 175 Ries Parr I. XVII. 4 Dissertetion on Chronic Debility of the Stomach. By BensamMin Wooisey Dwight. - - - - - - = 219 Part III. XIX. 4 Dissertation on the Origin of Springs. By SERENO E: Dwient, Esq. - # 2 - = = # «© «a = Sil XX. Experiments on the fusion of various refractory Bedies. By Professor SILLIMAN. = - - = = + - = - = = - 329 XXI. Observations on the Comet of 1811. By Professor Day. - 341 XXII. Calculation of the Longitude of Yale College. By Professors Day and Kinestey,- + = + + + - - + - + 2355 MEMOIRS OF THE CONNECTICUT ACADEMY OF Mts and Sciences. VOL. I.—PART I. NEW-HAVEN, ‘PRINTED BY OLIVER STEELE AND Co, eoaeureesocenoescercs i n i aay ie Hin a 14) Apa PREFACE. Tue design of forming a Society, which might combine the efforts of literary men in Connecticut, for the promotion of useful knowledge, was suggested early in the year 1799. A few gentle- men in New-Haven attended a mecting at an invitation given; and a sketch of the principal objects of such an Association was commu- nicated, together with the outline of the proposed Society, which was named “ The Cennecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences.” At a meeting on the fourth of March, the Gentlemen, who had associated, adopted a number of regulations, as bye-laws for their government ; and elected a number of gentlemen in. various parts of the State to be Members. Atasubsequent meeting, certain fun- damental articles were adopted as the Constitution of the Academy, by which were prescribed the terms of admission to membership. In October following, the Academy, on petition, obtained from the Legislature the Act of Incorporation, which is subjoined. The Academy meets annually on the fourth Tuesday of Octo- ber, for the choice of its Officers, and holds stated meetings on the fourth Tuesday of December, February, April, June, and August. The Cficers are a President, Vice-Presidents, five Counsellors, a Secretary, Treasurer, Keeper of the Cabinet, a Committee of Pub- lication, and Corresponding Secretaries. . | One considerable object proposed by this Association, was to col- lect for publication a Statistical Account of the State of Connecticut ; and to the accomplishment of this object they have directed their at- tention and exertions. On the first of January 1800, they addressed a circular letter to every town in the ‘State, containing the subjects of inquiry arranged under thirty-two distinct heads, and requesting answers to their inquiries. ‘This letter was printed and distributed. In a subsequent address, the Academy urged an attention to the “subject of those inquiries, and suggested a plan, by which they supe — iv. PREFACE. posed-the labor of furnishing correct answers might be greatly fa- cilitated. This business is stillin progress ; and nearly thirty papers - containing answers to the above-mentioned letter, have been re- ceived. But this object is necessarily temporary and local. The main design of the Institution is more widely-extended. At its com- mencement, a scheme was drawn up, reported, and approved, in which the attention of its members was invited to every method of improving the science, arts, and happiness of their country, so far as the general state ofits concerns, and their own leisure, would per- mit. Knowledge, bath speculative and practical, was here, in all its parts, recommended to their attention, as the great field, in which they are requested to labor for the common benefit. No limit is prescribed to the excursions of the mind, or to the employment of observation. The elegant pursuits of literature and art, are left. equally open to investigation with those, which are more seyere. In a word, it was intended to allure the ingenious, attentive, and Jearned, to every public effort, which might be beneficial to their fellow men. In compliance with this design, several papers on phi- losophical subjects have been presented to the Academy. Among them the following have been selected for publication. They con- stitute only part of an intended volume ; and are sent out in boards, that they may be conveniently preserved without injury, until the volume shall be completed. AN ACT To incorporate the Connecticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. WV HEREAS literary Societies have been found to promote, dif- fuse and preserve the knowledge of those Arts and Sciences,’ which are the support of Agriculture, Manufactures and Commerce, and to advance the dignity, virtue and happiness of a people : There- fore, Be it enacted by the Governor and Council, and House of Repre- sentatives, in General Court assembled, That Timothy Dwight, James Dana, Zephaniah Swift, John Allen, David Daggett, Jesse Root, John C.Smith, {Isaac Beers, Nathaniel Smith, Elijah Munson, Josiah Meigs, Enoch Perkins, Jeremiah Atwater, 4th. John Barker, Elias Shipman, Noah Webster, jun. Simeon Baldwin, Elizur Goodrich, Obadiah Hotchkiss, jun. Timothy Pitkin, jun. Theodore Dwight, Abraham Bishop, Ashur Miller, Stephen Titus Hosmer, James Hillhouse, Jeremiah Wadsworth, Pierpont Edwards, Isaac Mills, Eli Whitney, John Davenport, John Bowden, Bela Hubbard, Jonathan O. Moseley, Jonathan Sturgiss, Elizur Wright, Jeremiah Townsend, jun. Jared Mansfield, John Marsh, Nathan Perkins, Levi Hart, John Treadwell, Oliver Ellsworth, Jonathan Trumbull, and Eneas Munson, and their associates, be, and they hereby are formed into, constituted and made a body politic and corporate, by the name of “ The Connecticut Acad- emy of Arts and Sciences,” and by that name, they and their succes- sors shall and may have perpetual succession; shall be capable of suing and being sued, pleading and being impleaded, in all suits, of what nature soever; may have aCommon Seal, and may alter the same at pleasure ; and may also purchase, receive, hold and convey any estate, real or personal ; provided that the annual income of such estate shall not exceed one thousand dollars. 2d. And be zt further enacted, That the said Academy may, from time to time, elect a President and a Keeper of Records, which Keep- er of Records shall be sworn to a faithful discharge of his trust ; and such other officers as they may find necessary or convenient; may elect additional members, provided the whole number of members Vi. ACT OF INCORPORATION. resident in this state shall never exceed two hundred, nor ever be less than forty. And the said Academy may make bye-laws respect- ing the number, qualifications and duties of their Officers ; the mode of election and admission of members; the time, place and manne? of holding their meetings ; and the number necessary to make a quo- rum, and all other bye-laws which they may deem necessary for the due regulation of said Society, not repugnant to the laws of the state. or of the United States ; and may annex reasonable pecuniary fines and penalties, for the breach of such bye-laws, not exceeding ten dollars for one offence. 3d. And be it further enacted, That the first meeting of said Acad- emy be held at the State House in New-Haven, on the fourth Tues- day of instant October. Ath. And be tt further enacted, That this Act or any part thereof, if found inadequate or inconvenient, may be altered, amended, or rex pealed. A LIST OF THE MEMBERS OF THE ACADEMY. M — ®Y FIS Excellency Jonathan Trum- Mr. Jeremiah Day, bull, Esq. LL.D. Mr. Henry Davis, His Excellency John Treadwell, Esq. *Mr. Ebenezer Grant Marsh, Rev. Timothy Dwight, DD. Charles Denison, Esq. Rev. James Dana, DD. . Benjamin Silliman, Esq. Right Rev. Abraham Jarvis, DD. Rev. Bancroft Fowler, Hon. Charles Chauncey, Esq. Stephen Twining, Esq. Hon. Zephaniah Swift, Esq. Maj. Decius Wadsworth, Hon. john Allen, Esq. Rev. David Ely, D.D. Hon. David Daggett, Esq. Hon. Oliver Wolcott, LL.D. Hon. Jesse Reot, Esq. *Mr. Oliver Ellsworth, jun. Hon. John C. Smith, Esq. Mr. James L. Kingsley, Hon. Nathaniel Smith, Esq. Col. William Lyon, Dr. Eneas Monson, Rey. Joseph Strong, D.D. Mr. Isaac Beers, ‘James Morris, Esq. Dr. Elijah Monson, *Rey. Andrew Eliot, Josiah Meigs, Esq. Rey. Andrew Lee, D.D. Enoch Perkins, Esq. Rev. Elijah Waterman, Rev. Jeremiah Atwater, Asa Bacon, Esq. Dr. John Barker, Rev. Philo Shelton, Mr. Elias Shipman, Samuel Burr Sherwood, Esq. Noah Webster, jun. Esq. Rev. Nathan Strong, D.D. Hon. Simeon Baldwin, Esq. Hon. jonathan Brace,i Esq. Hon. Elizur Goodrich, Esq. Hon. David Humphreys, LL.D. Dr. Obadiah Hotchkiss, Hon. John Trumbull, Esq. , Hon. Timothy Pitkin, Esq. George Hoadley, Esq. Hon. Theodore Dwight, Esq. Rey. Abel Flint, Hon. Ashur Miller, Esq. Hon. Jeremiah G. Brainard, Esq. Hon. James Hillhouse, Esq. Rev. Joseph Washburn, *Hon. Jeremiah Wadsworth, Esq. Rey. Asahel Hooker, Hon. Pierpont Edwards, Esq. James Stedman, Esq. Tsaac Mills, Esq. Mr. Noyes Darling, Eli Whitney, Esq. Mr. John Hall, Hon. John Davenport, Esq. Mr. David Austin Sherman, Rey. John Bowdoin, DD. Nathaniel Rosseter, Esq. Rey. Bela Hubbard, DD. Rev. Samuel Merwin, Hon. Jonathan Ogden Moseley, Esq. Dr. Eli Ives, Hon. Jonathan Sturgis, Esq. Seth Perkins Staples, Esq. Elizur Wright, Esq. John Adam, Esq. *Mr. Jeremiah Townsend, jua. Hon. William Edmond, Esq. Col. Jared Mansfield, Barzillai Slosson, Esq. Rey. John Marsh, DD. Thomas Day, Esq. Rev. Nathan Perkins, D.D. Daniel Wadsworth, Esq. Rev. Levi Hart, D.D. Dr. Benjamin W. Dwight, *Hon. Oliver Ellsworth, LL.D. Amos Cooke, Esq. Hon. Stephen Titus Hosmer, Esq. Rev. Chauncey Lee, Hon. Chauncey Goodrich, Esq. Hon. Jonathan Ingersoll, Esq. Hon. Samuel W. Dana, Esq. *Rey. Jenathan Edwards, D.D. ‘Hon. Calvin Goddard, Esq. Gen. Jedidiah Huntington, Roger Minot Sherman, Esq. Dr. Mason F. Cogswell, Richard Alsop, Esq. Samuel Wyliys, Esq. Hon. Eas Perkins, Esq. Lyman Law, Esq. Rev. Tillotson Bronson, Dr. Samuel Rockwell, Moses Hatch, Esq. Rev. Amos Bassett, Mr. Sereno Edwards Dwight, Thomas S. Williams, Esq. Jeremiah Evarts, Esq. Rey. Ebenezer Porter, Mr. William W. Woolsey, Jonathan Walter Edwards, Esg. Those with an asterisk prefined are deceased, * CONTENTS OF PART I. I. 4 DISSERTATION on the sufifiosed Change in the Temper- ature of Winter. By Noan Wesster, jun. Esq. - jt. t Il. 4 Dissertation on the Production of Vapor. By Exizur . Werienut, Esq. = - 4 =< 9- << a3 sos eee Ill. An Account of the Whitten Plaster. By the Hon. Joun C. Smitu, Esq. - - - - - - = + = - = - - $i IV. Sketch of the Mineralogy of the Town of New-Haven. By BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, Esq. - - - - = = = = 83 V. Number of Deaths in the Episcopal Church in New-York, in each month for ten years. Communicated by N. Werz- STER, jun. Dsqe (=) =e hue ore eee VI. An Account of the American Cantharis, or Meloe America. By Dr. NatwanteL;Dwient. - - - = .- = = = 99 VIL. 4 Calculation of the Orbit of the Comet which afifieared in * 1807. By Col. Janrp MansFiELp. - - - - = = 103 VIII. Of the Figure of the Earth. By Col. JaRED Mansriexp. 111 IX. Observations on the Duplication of the Cube, and the Trisec- tion of an Angle. By Col. Janep MansFinLtp. - - 119 X. 4 Siatement of the Quaniity of Rain which falls, on different days of the Moon. By Jerremtan Day, Professor of Mathematics in Yale College. - - - = = - - 125 XI. Descripiiion of an Atr-Pump, invented by Revhuee WRIGRT, Esq. a2 se, tiie et aie Cee) aa ee XIL. 4 Brief Account of a Trial at Law, in which the influence of a Mili-Dam on the health of the inhabitants of the neigh- borhood, was considered. By the Hon. Davip DacextT, Esq.) 44) che ls mie = ahha) ee XIII. On the Decomposition of White Lead Paint. By Noan Wesster, jun. Esq. - - - - - - - - = = 135 XIV. An Observation of the Auroral Appearance at Durham, Aug. 1,1783. By the late Rev. Exizur Goopricn, D.D. 137 XV. An Account of the Meteor, which burst ever Weston, im Connecticut, in December, 1807. By Professors SiLL1- MAN and KINGSLEY. - - - - = = - = = = JAk XVI. 4 View of the Theories which have been proposed, to ex- plain the Origin of Meteoric Stones. By Professor Day. 163 XVIL. Origin of Mythology. By Noan WEBSTER, jun. Esq. 175 No. T. A DISSERTATION On the supposed Change in the T emperature of Winter ; READ BEFORE THE CONNECTICUT ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES....1799. BY N. WEBSTER, JUN. ESQ. T is a popular opinion that the temperature of the winter season, in, northern latitudes, has suffered a material change, and become warmer in modern, than it Was in ancient times. This opinion has been adopted and maintained by many writers of reputation; as the Abbé du Bos, Buffon, Hume, Gibbon, Jefferson, Hol- yoke, Williams; indeed I know not whether any per- son, in this age, has ever questioned the fact.* The arguments to prove that the winters, in ancient times, were far colder than at present, are the follow- ing. First, in regard to Palestine or Judea. It is said that several passages in the scriptures, writ- ten as early as the days of Moses and David, speak of snow, hail, ice, and hoar frost, as common in those ages, where no such thing is now known. ‘ He giveth snow * Hume’s Essays, vol. i. 457. Ess. xi—Gibbon’s Hist. vol. i. ch. ix.—Williams’s Hist. of Vermont, p. 63. first ed. and appendix, No. 2.—Jefferson’s Notes, query 7.—Memoirs of Amer. Acad. vol. il. part 1. 70.—Pelloutier’s Hist. des Celtes, liv. xli—Cyclopedia by Rees: Art. CLimarTs. B ee On the supposed Change like wool ; he scattereth the hoar frost like ashes.. He casteth forth his ice like morsels ; who can stand before his cold ? The face of the deep was.frozen,” &c.. The passages in Job which mention snow, hail, ice and frost, are numerous. Dr. Williams supposes, with many others, that the book of Job was written by Moses; and that the descriptions refer to the land of Midian or Palestine, about the latitude of 30.or 31° north. He supposes also, that.to produce solid ice on rivers, to an- swer to the descriptions, a degree of cold is necessary, corresponding with 25° by Farenheit. ‘his he con- cludes to have been the extremity of cold, in the land of Midian, in the age of Moses. The writings of David mention ice in the form of “< morsels,”’ or crystals, which Dr. Williams has obsery- ed to be congealed in a temperature of about 31° by Fa- renheit. On the strength of this single circumstance, he concludes that the climate, in about 400 years, between Moses and David, had become warmer by six degrees. I am really surprised to observe on what a slight foundation, a divine and philosopher has erected this theory. In the first place, we have no evidence that Moses wrote the book of Job; on the contrary, there is strong evidence that he was not the author. Critics are not all agreed whether that bock describes a series. of facts, or 1s a species of dramatic composition, intended to represent the vicissitudes of life, and the hu- man passions. Respectable and pious men are found on both sides of this question. But it isnot very material as to: the present argument. It is sufficient for my purpese, that the scene of that book is expressly laid in the land of Uz, near Chaldea, which #8. ir that part of Arabia, called the Desert, extending from Syria and Judea, to Chaldea onthe east, and the Euphrates on the north.* Now, we have strong evi- dence that Moses was never in that country. He was born in Egypt; he afterwards fled to Midian, then re- turned to Egypt to deliver his countrymen from their * Sir William Jones has remarked, that the book of Job, from the faneuase, must have been written by a man of Arabian extract.-— Asiatic Researches. Beochait, from Hieronymus, observes that Job must have been well versed in Arabic —Geog. Sac. cap. xy. in the Temperature of Winter. 3 bondage ; but was not permitted to go-farther north than mount Nebo, in the land of Moab, over against Jericho, gust upon the borders of Judea, and-this but a short time before his death. It is very evident that Moses had never ‘before seen that country, because he was directed to ascend the mount, and take .a view of the lands-destined to be the residence of the Israelites—a circumstance that plainly imdicates his former ignorance of the country, which could not.have been the case, had he ever dwelt in Uz, to the north and east of Judea.; for in that.case he must have passed through this country. Nor is it at.all probable that the writer of that ‘book would lay the scene of it in a country of which he was ignorant. very circumstance tends to prove that the writer knew the country, its climate and productions; and the frequent mention of snow, ice and frost in Job is the highest evidence that the author had lived ina re- sion where these substances were common and well known. If we suppose the writer to have lived in Ju-- dea, or in the northern parts of Arabia Deserta, the situ- ation of Uz, he must have seen snow and ice every win- ter; but Moses probably had little or no knowledge of them. In Midian and Egypt, where he had spent his days, they rarely occurred ; and in the five books, sup- posed to be of his writing, there are scarcely two or three references to snow or frost. In the 31st chapter of Ge- nesis, Jacob is represented as.complaining to Laban that he had served him twenty years, enduring drouth by day and frost by night; but this was in Padan-haran, to the northward of Jerusalem. In Exodus xvi. 14, the manna in the wilderness is compared to hoar-frost; and in the 6th chapter, a leprous hand is compared to snow. But in all the acknowledged writings of Moses, there is not the least evidence that ice was ever seen in Egypt, except in the time of the ten plagues, and in the form of hail. ‘The silence of those early records, on this point, is no small argument, that the climate of Egypt was then as warm as it is at this day. Hail has been sometimes seen in that country, as it is in many other parts of the 4 On the supposed Change world where there is no weather cold enough to congeal water on the earth.* Instead therefore of proving that snow and ice were formerly common in Midian and Palestine, the frequent mention of these substances in Job, is almost conclusive evidence that Moses was not the author. : That book, which is an excellent description of human nature, was - unquestionably written by some person, either in Uz, or the northern parts of Judea, where ice, frost and snow were then, and are now, annually seen on the mountains. << Tf I wash myself in snow water, and make my hands never so clean,’’ says Job, chapter 9th; which is a de- scription that would not answer for Egypt or Midian,t but answers well to the greatest part of Judea. ‘‘ The sweet influences of Pleiades,’? mentioned in the 38th chapter, allude doubtless to the sprmg rains, which fell in Judea about the rising of that constellation, which, in Pliny’s time, happened near the vernal equinox, but which, fifteen hundred years earlier, must, by the pre- cession of the equinox, have happened about the first of March. This circumstance answers well to the climate of Syria, but not at all to that of Egypt, where the rising of that constellation was the most sickly and disagreea- ble time in the year. The former and latter rain, men- tioned also in that book, indicate that it was descriptive of the climate of Syria and Judea; for the success of ag- riculture did then, as it does now, depend entirely on the autumnal and spring rains. This division of rainy seasons however did not exist in Egypt; it was used on- ly in Syria and Italy, and perhaps in Greece. Every circumstance that occurs to my view, in regard to the book of Job, tends to prove that Moses could not have been the author; and most of the Jewish Rabbins have been of this opinion. Certain it is, from internal evi- dence, that the scene of it was laid in a country much colder than Midian, or the champaign country of Pales- *See an account ofa hail-storm in Africa—Hirtius Pansa de Bello Afric. 42. + I speak of the Midian, near the Arabic Gulf, where Moses liv- ed, with his father in law; not of Midian on the borders of Judea. in the Temperature of Winter. 5 tine ; for Herodotus, in Eterpe, expressly declares that ° no ice was seen in Egypt; and, in another passage, that the climate is subject to no variations. Let us then attend to the process by which Dr. Wil- liams attempts to prove a change of climate in Palestine. He presumes Moses wrote the book of Job—that the descriptions of ice and snow refer to the land of Midian and Palestine, and therefore that the winter, in those ear- ly ages, must have been severe enough to freeze solid ice, which, he says, requires a temperature of about 25° by Farenheit. He has no meteorological observations for Palestine, but presumes the climate to be nearly the same, as to heat, with that of Egypt. Mr. Niebuhr’s observations in Grand Cairo in 1761 and 2, make the mean heat of January 57, and of February 63—+the cold- est weather therefore he supposes to be about 49° by Farenheit. Hence, if Palestine and Egypt have nearly a similar climate, he draws the conclusion that, in mod- ern days, ‘‘ no ice or snow is ever seen in Palestine.”’ This inference is drawn from a very inaccurate view of the subject. The facts with regard to Palestine at this day, are these. The whole country comprehended between Aleppo on the north, the Mediterranean on the west, and the barren plains of Arabia on the south and east, is divided into high hills, mountains and plains. Palestine on the south, is a level plain, anda very warm country. The thermometer in winter is seldom seen below 50°. If snow ever falls, it is speedily dissolved. In this mild climate, which extends along the Mediterranean shore, the orange, date, banana, and other delicate trees flour- ish, without injury from the winter’s cold. Little fire is necessary for the inhabitants; instead of fire, which is sometimes wanted during the cool rains of winter, the poor people shut up their cattle under the same roof with themselves, in a different apartment, and receive heat enough from their bodies to make themselves comforta- ble. Such is the present climate of the plains. But a great part of Syria and Judea consists of moun- tains, which are every winter covered with snow; and often the earth is covered, for months, to the depth of 6 On the supposed Change several feet. "The mountains from Aleppo to Jerusalem, are covered with snow every winter; and when the snow melts, the Jordan overflows its banks. ‘This happens in March; but on some of the highest hiils, as mount Leb- anon and Akkar, the snow is seen, till the middle of summer. This was the fact in 1784, when Volney vis- ited that country. See his Travels, from which these facts are extracted. This author further cbserves, that on the east of the mountains, the cold is more rigorous than on the sea coast; and at Aleppo, Antioch and Da- mascus, are several weeks of frost and snow every win- ter. The inhabitants of the mountains leave their hab- itations, which are buried in snow, in winter, and pass the season at Tripoli, on the sea coast.* The principal part of Judea, or the Holy Land, hes on the east side of the mountains, and experiences snow, frost and ice every winter. What shall we say then to the assertion of Dr. Williams, that in Palestine, ‘‘ snow and ice are never seen’’ in modern days. In Syria and Palestine, wheat and barley are sown in autumn, about the last week in October; the time of the autumnal rains. Harvest, in the plains, is in April and May. On the mountains, itis in June and July. Spring crops are planted in March and April. Common winters therefore in Judea are mild in the plains, but cold onthe hills. ‘That country however is subject, like others, to severe winters, which prove de- structive to men and vegetables. The poverty of the: great body of the people, and the mildness of ordinary * ¢ Willa man leave the szow of Lebanon’’....Jer. xvill. 14. Shaw, in his Travels, p. 362, says, mount Libanus, in winter, is covered with snow—and p. 363, that snow at Jerusalem in February, causes great rejoicings. He mentions that snow fell at Cairo, Jan. 10, 1639. + If the dyssus of the ancient Egyptians was realiy cotton, as the commentators on Herodotus assert, then cotton must have been the preduce ef Egypt, from the earliest times, as the bandages in which mummies were wrapped, consisted of that article....Bcloe. Herod. Euterfie. 86. Note. When Ezra returned from the captivity, and set about reforming the abuses of marriage among the Jews, he assembled the men of Judah and Benjamin, on the 20th day of the 9th month, and it wasa time of great rein. This was about the 10th or 12th of Dec....£z.x.9. in the Temperature af Winter. 7 winters, prevent the same preparations to defend against ‘aie which are made in more northern latitudes. In 1741—2, the winter im Syria was very severe; and that of 1756—7 sunk the mercury into the bulb, at Alep- po; multitudes of vines were killed, as were olives that had stood fifty years. Many of the poorer people per- ished with cold. In winters like that, I presume, ice is formed in the mildest regions of Palestine....See Lond. Mag. \764. ‘That ordinary winters were far less severe, is obvious- ly inferable from Exod. xxxv. 3. ‘‘ Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the Sabbath Day’? —an injunction which had reference to all seasons of the year ; and which could not have been given in a climate where fire was indispensable to the health and comfort of the inhabitants. But the most positive evidence which can possibly ex- ist to prove that the climate of Palestine has not suffered any increase of heat, for more than 3000 years, is the production of certain fruits in the days of David, which will not thrive in any but mild, warm countries ; as pom- _ granates, clives and figs. The trees producing these fruits are so often mentioned in Scripture, that it would be idle to name the instances. ‘They were in Judea in the time of Moses m the greatest abundance; for the spies sent to explore the country, returned with pcom- granates and figs.....Vumd. xill. 23. We know precisely the degree of heat necessary to bring these fruits to perfection: That is, a climate as mild as South-Carolina and Georgia. Figs and olives grow well in Virginia, says Mr. J efferson, but are liable to be killed by frost. We thenascertain ‘beyond all con- troversy, that Palestine, in the days of Moses, was as warm a country as South Carolina and Georgia are in this age. The palm-tree furnishes, also, a most clear and in- contestible proof of the same fact. This tree will grow and bear fruit, says:Pliny, in the maritime parts of Spain, but the dates have not the fine flavor of those which are produced in Judea. In Europe, for instance in Italy, they are barren. In Africa they come to perfection, but s On the supposed Change soon perish. ‘‘Judea vero inclyta est vel magis palmis,” says that author. ‘Judea is particularly renowned for palm-trees or dates.”’.... Lab. xiii. Ca. 4. These trees were not introduced and cultivated first in Judea by the Jews. The Israelites, when they mi- grated from Egypt, found palm-trees in the neighbor- hood of Jericho, and in the plains of Moab, im all their glory. Jericho is called the city of palm-trees—Deut. xxxiv 3. and the word itself, in the Ethiopic, signifies a palm-tree....Ludolf’s Lesxicon, col. 37. No man will be sceptical enough to deny a uniformity in the laws of the vegetable economy. We have then certain proof that Palestine, more than 3000 years ago, was a milder climate than Italy, milder than the south of France, as mild as the coast of Africa, at that time, and milder than South Carolina at this day. Another remarkable fact is decisive of this question. The Jewish month x7 4676, was named from the ripe- ness of barley in Palestine and Egypt, at that season; the word signifying fullness or ripeness from the swelling form of the grain. .4ib answers to the latter part of March and the beginning of April, which was the time of harvest in the earliest ages. Now this is the precise time of harvest in modern days.* The facts above enumerated solve all questions as to the ancient climate of Judea and Egypt. Frost, snow, and ice were annually seen on the hills and mountains of Palestine, and were perfectly well known to writers among the Jews; hence the justness of the descriptions in Job and other parts of the Old Testament. In hard winters, these phenomena must have been extended over , the plains, along the banks of Jordan; and perhaps on the sea coast. But the plains in common years must have been very mild and warm. All thisis precisely the state of the climate in Palestine, in the present age. Confirmatory and decisive of this inference is the fact, that from the earliest records of history, the inhabitants of Judea constructed their houses with flat roofs, as they do at this day, on which they not only amused themselves * See Shaw’s Travels, p. 364, folio, and p. 430.—-Niebuhr’s Tray. Sect. xxvul. ch. 3,.—Park. Lex. under ax. ine in the Temperature of Winter. 9 during the day, but erected altars, offered incense, and performed other pagan rites to the deities of the country ; and we have the express authority of the Scriptures to prove that as early as the days of Samuel, it was custom- ary to sleep on the tops of the houses, as it is at this day. See Deut. xxii. 8—Josh. 1. 6—Judges xvi. 27—Jer. xix. 13—Zeph. i. 5—Dan. iv. 29—1 Sam. ix. 25, 26. In winter, it was not unusual to kindle fires in Judea. Thus we find Jehoiakim sat by a fire in the ninth month, Chisleu, which answers to a part of our November and December....Jer. xxxvi. 22—and Dr. Russel informs us that at Aleppo, they begin to kindle fires about the end of November.....Nat. Hist. of Aleppo, p. 14. Parkhurst, 330, under bps. Dr. Williams proceeds to prove that the winters in It- aly have, in about eighteen centuries, become warmer by seventeen degrees on Farenheit’s scale. His proofs are, that Virgil in many places of his Georgics, has giv- en directions for securing cattle and sheep from the ef- fects of snow and cold—that Virgil, Pliny, Juvenal and fflian speak of ice, snow, and the freezing of rivers, as events common and annual. But he observes, that in 1782 and 3, the mean temperature at Rome in January was 46°, and the mean of the greatest cold 42°, which is 17 degrees less cold than what is necessary for the freezing of rivers. The Abbé du Bos, Hume, and others alledge, in proof of the same doctrine, the following facts: In the year of Rome 480, the winter was so severe as to kill the trees— the Tiber was frozen, and the ground was covered with snow for forty days. Juvenal describes a superstitious ‘woman as breaking the ice of the Tiber to perform her ablutions. «“ Hybernam fracta elacie descendet in amnem, Ter matutino Tiberi mergetur.”....Saz. vi. 521. Horace also, says the Abbé, speaks of the streets of Rome as full of ice andsnow. These authors, it is al- ledged, speak of these as common events. But, says the Abbé, ‘‘at present the Tiber no more freezes at Rome, than the Nile at Cairo.’’* * I cite this from Hume. Ess. xi. 20 On the supposed Change Dr.. Holyoke mentions the description of the severe winter A. U. C. 536, in the second Punic war, when the siege of a town.in Spain, near the present Barcelona, was obstructed by snow which lay for thirty days to:the depth of four feet....See Memoirs of Am. Academy, vol. ii. 70. From these representations, it is concluded that Italy has now a much more temperate climate than at and be- fore the Christian era. Let us examine this poimt. Dr. Holyoke gives us the mean of the greatest cold at Rome, deduced from several years’ observations, with- in the last half century ; which is 33° 46, a little above freezing point. The greatest cold is stated at 31°. If we admit this statement to be correct, then Dr.. Williams has stated the extreme of cold in Rome almost nine de- grees too high; of course we must deduct mime degrees from his seventeen degrees of alteration, in eighteen centuries, which is a very material difference. This we must do, and more. For Brydone in the win- ter of 1769—70,. found the greatest cold at Rome in Jan- uary to be 27°,.a degree capable of covering large rivers with a thin coat of ice. ‘That winter was perhaps cold- er than usual; but by no means of the severest kind.— At Naples, says Brydone, we had rainy weather; at Rome, it was clear and oy ‘That winter then would at Rome produce all the phenomena of ice, frost, and snow, to answer the description of the Latin writers of the Augustan age.. If the mean temperature of the winter’s cold at Rome is now about 33°, it is not more than eight degrees mild- . er weather than in New England; for Dr. Holyoke found, by seven years’ observations, that the mean winter tem- perature at Salem, in Massachusetts, 1s 25° 74. . I know not the ‘position of the thermometer by which the observations at Rome were made. But I would re- mark that, if those observations were mace im the city, they do not represent the general temperature of Ttaly. I found by numerous observations in New-York, that ice as thick as glass in our windows, was uniformly made at a mile’s distance from the city, when an accu- rate thermometer in the coldest positions zz the city stood at 40°. Such is the difference between the real tempe- im the Temperature of W inter. li rature of an‘open country, and the artificial one of a city. The sanie drference will not run through the observa- tions of the whole year, but it will amount to two or three degrees. -I am inclined to believe this to be the source of great errors, in comparizig meteorological ob- servations in different countries. if the ordinary winter temperature at Rome‘is near the freezing point, we are at no loss to account for the snow and ice of Italy in ancient times. In all countries, and in every latitude, hills and mountains are cooler than plains. ‘This difference is accordmg to the difference-of altitude’; ‘but’ between Rome, in a ‘plain, near the sea, and the Appenines, it cannot be less than:from six-to ten . degrees. ‘Thus while at Rome and in Campania gene- rally, the weather is mild, and exhibits little or no ice, the whole ridge of mountains between ‘Tuscany and Na- ples, that region of Italy which furnished the pasturage, cand for which the directions in Virgil’s Georgics were intended, is covered with snow, and experiences severe frosts. This was not only the fact in Virgil’s time, but is soat this-day. Mr. Arthur Young, a distinguished agriculturist, travelled in italy in November and De- cember 1789. In passing the Appenines, between Flor- ence and Bologna, the first days of December, he found the hills almost covered with snow ; and the roads, on some declivities, asheet of ice. On the 26th of No- vember, the weather was'so severe as to freeze Cyprus wine, and milk burst the vessels that contained it. In Lombardy, he found the peasantry at night, sitting in a passage between their cattle, in the stables, to keep themselves warm; a practice resembling that in Pales- tine, already mentioned.* It is well known also that the higher regions of mount Etna in Sicily, a far milder climate than that of Italy, are perpetually covered with snow. ‘That the descriptions of ice and snow, in the Augus- tan age, allude principally to the hilly country, is very obvious from the writings of Virgil, Horace, and Pliny. ™ Young’s Tour, Vol. i. p.516. Dub. 1793. 12 On the supposed Change - Virgil, in his first Georgic, speaks of the Zephyrs dissolving the earth, and bringing moisture from the whitened hills. : Horace, in his ninth Ode, mentions deep snow on mount Soracte, in Etruria, about twenty-six miles north of Rome. Pliny, in the nineteenth book of his Natural History, is more explicit on this subject. Speaking of the luxu-. ry of his days, he says, ‘‘ Hi nives, illi glaciem potant ; penasque montium in voluptatem gule vertunt.”’.... << Some drink snow, others ice ; and the evil or scourge of the mountains is converted into a gratification of the — palate.” This passage leaves no room to question, that the ice and snow used in Rome were ordinarily brought from the mountains; where they were considered as a calamity; and the expression ‘ peenasque montium,” clearly indicate that they were almost peculiar to the mountains. Virgil directs the husbandman to plow in the first months in the year, and to pray for moist summers, and serene winters; for, says the author, the winter’s dust increases the crop. This passage is no inconsiderable proof that the earth in some parts of Italy was not usual- ly covered with snow in winter. The winters described by Livy, when the Tiber was covered with solid ice; when the snow lay in the streets of Rome for forty days; and in Spain, was four feet deep for thirty days; when men, cattle and trees perished, were singularly severe, like our modern winters of 1642, 1709, 1741, 1780, which happen but two or three times inacentury. Any man will be convinced of this, who attends to the description of them in the original - authors. I find they happen in modern days, as 4fre- quently as at any former period. Scarcely three or four such winters are described in the whole history of Rome, down to the age of Julius Cesar; though many others © happened, as may be collected from circumstances. The severe winter of the year of Rome 354, is ex- pressly declared by Livy to be a remarkable event. ‘* Jn- signis annus hieme gelida ac nivosa fuit; adeo ut vice — clause, Tiberis mnavigabilis fuerit’’....Lib. 5.13. He in the Temperature of Winter. 43 calls it also “‘ tristem hiemem ;”’ and it was followed by terrible pestilence. Nothing can be more clear, than that such a winter was an extraordinary occurrence. Without considering it in this light, the word “ insig- nis” has no meaning ; and instead of proving the usual temperature of winter at Rome to have been severe, it is the strongest evidence to prove that the winters were generally mild, and the Tiber navigable in the ‘winter months. Had this been a common winter, or any thing like it, it would not have been singled out by the histo- rian as a subject of remark. ‘This explanation is ap- plicable to all the instances of cold winters, described by historians. Even the passage in Juvenal, if it proves any thing, confirms the opinion that the frost, in his days, was not ordinarily very severe. The circum- stance of a woman’s breaking the ice in the morning to bathe in the Tiber, indicates that the ice was usually thin and easily, broken; and by no means admits the supposition of ice a foot thick, like that which covers our rivers. It supposesa thickness of ice which is often seen on the Tiber at this day, frozen in the night, and dissolved the next day. All the Roman writers speak of severe winters by way of distinction. Virgil says, ‘‘ sin duram metues hiemem’’—if you apprehend a hard winter. And Hor- ace attempts to dissuade Augustus from his design of resigning the empire, by describing the severe cold, snow and hail of the winter, which he represents as pro- digies, and evidences of the resentment of the gods. The winter to which he refers was probably of unusual severity. I apprehend the great source of error on this subject has been, that the moderns have taken for rep- resentations of ordinary winters, those which were intend- ed for a few rare occurrences. Certain it is that the common winters of Italy were not severe, but mild. This I will demonstrate by a series of evidence, drawn from the phenomena of the natural world, which cannot deceive us in regard to climate. Pliny, in his Natural History, lib. 2. 47. has given us an account of the winds in Italy. Among other things he informs us directly that the ‘‘ spring opens the naviga- 4). On the supposed Change tion of the seas, in the beginning of which, Favonius, the west wind, mitigates the severity of winter, about the time when the sun enters the 25th degree of Aquarius. That time is the 6th day before the ides of February.” This was the 8th day of the month, and this was ac- counted the beginning of spring. Virgil, in his 3d Georgic, confirms this declaration of Pliny, and speaks of the commencement of the rainy season, that is, the spring rains, avout the last of January. eed ce BREA Suet Saar, Senne “ Cum frigidus olim Jam cadit, extremoque irrotat Aquarius anno”— when cold Aquarius now sets and sprinkles his dews, at the close of the year. This refers to the old Roman year which ended the last of February, the month when Aquarius set. ‘The name of this sign mdicates that the season was rainy ; and the testimony of both these au- thors concurs, in proof that the winter was considered at an end, the beginning of February. Aquilo, the northeast wind, began to blow, about the setting of Pleiades or the seven stars, which was near the 3d of the Ides of November, answering to the 10th day of the month....Pliny. lib. 2. 47.* This was the introduction of cool weather. ‘The Septentrio, or north wind from the Alps, was the coldest wind, and blew mostly in December and January. Severe winter weather set in about the last week in December. ‘The halcyon days were seven days before and as many after, the winter solstice, when the king- fisher was said to tranquilize the sea. This period of mild or calm weather seems to have resembled our “ In- dian Summer,” a period of fine weather that often hap- pens just before winter. The fable of the halcyon days is no inconsiderable proof, that the winter did not set in with rigor till after the winter solstice. * By the precession of the Equinoxes, that constellation now sets about three weeks later, or the first week in December. But our modern Calendar corresponds nearly with the Julian Calendar - in Pliny’s time. The name 4quarius, given by the Romans to the sign which the Sun passes in the midst of winter, demonstrates that fain and not snow, predominated as the characteristic of that month. in the Temperature of Winter. 15 But the best evidence of the true temperature of the climate of Italy, and the course of the seasons, is that which arises from the time of vegetation. This is infal- lible evidence. Pliny relates, Nat. Hist. lib. 16. ca. 25. that spring began with the blowing of Favonius. This time is.ex- pressly fixed to have been the 8th of February. Pliny -¢alls it the “‘ genial breath of the world.’”? This author informs us that some vegetables germinated on the first blowing of this wind. ‘“‘ Primo favoaio germinat Cor- nus, proximus laurus, pauloque ante A°quinoctium tilia, acer.”” ‘The cornelian cherry germinates on the first blowing of the west wind ; afterwards the laurel, anda little before the equinox, the lime tree and the maple. Tn the fifth chapter of the 18th book, he says, ‘‘ some persons prefer planting gourds about the first of March, and cucumbers about the nones,’? or middle of the month. In the 34th chapter of the same book, he says “‘ Favonius begins the spring ; it opens the earth, being moderately cool and salubrious. It directs the husband- man to prune his vines, to take care of his corn, to plant trees, to graft apples, and tend his olives.” Spring radishes, says the same author, are to be sown after the ides of February ; but this plant, he adds, is so fond of cold weather, that in Germany it grows to the size of a /itt/e boy. Gardens are to be plowed, ac- cording to the same author, about the ides, the 13th of February. Horace, Ode 4th of Book I. expressly says, that spring begins by the favor of Favonius, when the cattle no longer seek their stalls, the husbandman his fire side, nor are the meadows any longer whitened with frost. These facts indicate a moderate climate, like that of the Carolinas and Georgia in America ; and they could’ not be true of a climate where common winters were long and severe. The real temperature of Italy is ascertained precisely by the olive and other plants, that we know will not bear severe frost, and will not thrive and come to perfection, but in warm climates. 16 On the supposed Change The olive tree has been known in Greece from time immemorial. See Theophrast’s history of plants, Lib. iv. and v. and notes. At what time it was introduced into Italy, is not recorded. Fenestella, says Pliny, re- lates that in the age of Tarquinius Priscus, the olive was not known in Italy, Spain or Africa. It was how- ever cultivated in all parts of Italy, m Spain and Gaul, long before the christian era....Plin. Nat. Fiist. lib. xv. CBS, We have then the data to ascertain the ancient climate of Italy with great precision. In our country, olives will grow well in Virginia, but frosts are too frequent and severe to permit their cultivation, to any valuable purpose. In South Carolina, they are cultivated to ad- vantage. Italy then has had, from very early ages, a climate as mild as that of South Carolina. The fig seems to have been a native of Italy. Plu- tarch, in his life of Romulus, tells us, that Romulus and Remus were found under a fig tree, where they were nourished by a Wolf. Whether this was true or not, it is certain that the Romans paid a particular veneration to a fig-tree that was in the forum, ‘“‘ ob memoriam ejus, quz nutrix fuit Romuli et Remi conditoris appellata,” says Pliny. Lib. xv. xviil. If the fig tree is a native of Italy, the climate could never have been colder than the Carolinas in America. ‘This evidence is incontestible, and it totally overthrows the modern hypothesis of the severity of the winters in ancient Italy. It is needless to swell this argument by mentioning many other fruits, as dates, pomgranates and others, that will not thrive in cold climates. The same plants grew and produced abundantly i in Thessaly and Macedonia ; ; although the ancients repre- sented the latter as a cold country. It was doubtless colder than Greece, perhaps colder than Italy ; but cer- tainly could not be much colder than the Carolinas in America.* The time of sowmg corn in Italy is a confirmation of what is here advanced. Virgil directs the husbandman * Herodotus, in Thalia, speaks of the seasons in Greece as “ aoreeable and temperate.’’....Sect. 106. in the Temperature of Winter. 17 to sow barley between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. Wheat was not to be sown till the last of October, and those who sowed earlier were disap- pomted of a good harvest....Georgic i. ~ These facts all correspond with each other, and demonstrate that the climate of Italy was then mild, and nearly as mild as it. is at present. The time of sowing wheat, it will be ob- served, was the same asin Palestine. Severe winters often occur now, as they did 2000 years ago. Several winters are on record within a few centuries, in which vines and trees perished with cold. ‘The winter of 1709 killed trees in Italy ; as did that of 1757 in Syria. I can name a number of such winters within three or four hundred years. No longer ago than 1788-—29, the winter was so severe in Europe, that the rivers in Estremadura in Spain, and in Alantajo in Portugal, two southern provinces, and of the mildest climate, were covered with ice ; and the mountains of Asturia, Leon and Biscay were covered with deep snow, as late as the 6th of March. See the Gazettes of the year 1789. It should be remarked that Barcelona, near which the Romans found snow four feet _ deep, as already related, is in the northern part of Spain. - Dr. Williams, as a further evidence of a mitigation of the cold in modern winters, mentions the present state of the climate round Constantinople and the Enxine Sea, compared with Ovid’s description of it in his days. Ovid was banished to Tomos, near the Euxine, in lat. AA, about the 7th year of the Christian Era, and died there in the 15th year, or perhaps the 16th. He men- tions that the Euxine was covered with ice, which was a highway for man and beast, and that wine was offered to him in a state of congelation. All this might be true at the time he was at ‘Tomos, and even frequently true, without supposing the climate essentially difterent from What it is at present. But when Ovid asserts that the snow, in some places, was not dissolved during the sum- mer, we must understand him to refer to snow on the high mountains; for all history testifies that the country about the Euxine, and far north, was, in Ovid’s time, i D 18 On the supposed Change and long before, a fine grazing and corn country.. Botir Ovid and Virgil, when they speak of the Scythian coun- try, as being always clothed with snow,. must have in- tended the mountains; and we have the authority of Lady Montague, who travelled through the country along the Danube in 1717, that Mount Hzemus and Rodope are, in modern times, always covered with snow....Liet- ter xxv.* These mountains are a degree and a half south of Tomos. Surely then we have no reason to think the climate has suffered any considerable alte- ration.- Dr. Williams mentions the year 401, when the Eux- ine was covered with ice for 20 days, as an evidence that the climate was formerly colder than at present ; and notices the remark of Dr..Smith, in Phil.. Trans. No. 152, that the Turks were greatly astonished at the appearance of ice at Constantinople in 1669; [ Dr.. Wil- hiams by mistake has 1667] and he then adds, “ In all the adjacent country, instead of frozen sea, frozen wine, and perpetual snow, they have now a fine moderate warm climate.” Here again Dr. Williams has run into the error before mentioned, of taking the accounts of a few severe win- ters as descriptions of the ordinary winters. The win- ter of 401, in the reign of Honorius, was during the approach of a comet, and was noted for its severity, as an unusual occurrence. Any person may observe this, who will consult the original histories. ‘Three hundred and sixty years later, viz. in 762—3, a still more severe winter covered the Euxine with ice and snow of 30 cu- bits thickness, which ice at the breaking up of winter, was impelled against the walls of Constantinople and beat down considerable portions of it.t| This does not indicate any mitigation of the climate. A similar event happened in the reign of Achmet I. about the year 1613 or 14, which marked a severe winter and no miti- gation of the climate. ‘The wmter of 1669, when the Turks were astonished at tce in the Bosphorus, was al-. * See Horace, Book i Ode. xxv. xxvi. Ovid. Metam. Lib. i. CEX RIL. + Paul. Diac. lib. 22. Buronius. vol. ix. 272. Hoveden. 231. o im the Temperature of Winter. 19 -go severe. ‘These seasons are recorded as rare occur- vences, and this was the fact in the fourth century, as well as inthe 17th. Historians have taken no notice of ordinary seasons, either m ancient or modern times; but we are not to estimate the temperature of climates by a few cold winters. ‘Winters of severe‘cold still occur in‘Greéce, fully an- swering to the descriptions of the winters of antiquity. Wheeler, in his travels, says, he was .prevented from visiting. meunt Hymettus, two miles from Athens, by the snows in February; and found woollen garments hardly sufficient to defend him from the cold of the val- leys. ‘The rivers of Thrace also were covered with ice. Another proof of the decrease of cold, mentioned by Dr. Williams, is that in ancient times, the Alps were _almost impassadle in winter, on account of the snow and ‘ice; whereas in modern days, they are crossed without uncommon sufferings. ‘This statement is a most unfor- tunate. one for the argument. It.is but three years since the French troops suffered incredible hardships in cros- sing mount Cenis into Italy, from most-violent storms of snow; and the commander boasted in his;dispatches to the government, that the republican troops :had_ sur- smounted obstacles that appeared too great for human efforts. ‘The Alps are now, as in Hannibal’s time, sub- ject annually to severe cold, and violent snow storms ; altho the -roads-are doubtless better, and render a pas- sage less difficult. ‘Lam however surprized that the difficulties which Hannibal experienced from snow in crossing the Alps, should be mentioned in proof of the severity of the an- cient winters; when it is expressly related by Livy, that no sooner had the army reached the foot of the moun- tains on the Italian side, than the horses and mules were turned. out to graze, ina fine country and mild weather.* “ Inferiora valles.et.apricos quosdam colles habent, ri- vosque prope silvas et jam humano cultu digniora loca. Ibi Jumenta in pabulum missa.”’.... Ziv. Lab. xxi. XXXVil. * The mountains were covered with snow, but the rivers of Italy were not covered withice. The Po, the Ticins and the Trebia were crossed by. bridges. 20. On the supposed Change This was in November. Let us sec then whether the climate of the Alps is mitigated. In 1789, Arthur Young met with a snow storm and freezing weather in the plains of Sardinia on the 13th of December. The next day, the frost was severe, the snow deep, and ice five inches thick, near Alexandria. On the 21st he crossed mount Cenis, on snow ten feet deep. On the 25th he reached Chamberry, and there was a thaw....See his Tour in France, vol. i. 516, 527, 530, 537. There is not a shadow of reason to suppose the least melioration of that climate within 2000 years. The next series of facts to prove a great mitigation of the cold in winter, consists of what authors have record- ed of ancient Gaul and Germany. Diodorus Siculus, lib. 4, relates that ‘‘ Gaul is infest- ed with cold to an extreme degree. In cloudy weather, instead of rain, great snows fall; and in clear weather, it freezes so excessively, that the rivers are covered with bridges of their own substance, over which large armies pass with their baggage and loaded waggons. And there being many rivers in Gaul, the Rhone, the Rhine, &c. almost all of them are frozen over; and it 1s usual, in order to prevent falling, to cover the ice with chaff and straw.”’ ‘* North of the Cevennes,”’ says Strabo, ‘‘ Gaul pro- duces not figs and olives; and vines which have been planted, bear not grapes that will aipen’- Lib. 4. ‘“‘ Colder than a Gallic winter,’”’ was used by Petro- nius as a proverbial expression, says Hume....Vol. i. 459. Essays. - “ The Rhine and the Danube,” says Gibbon, ‘“ were frequently frozen, and capable of sustaining the most _ enormous weights. ‘The barbarians often chose the win- ter to transport their armies and cavalry over a vast and solid bridge of ice. Modern ages have not presented an | instance of alike phenomenon”....Vol. 1. ch. 9. The last assertion of Gibbon is contrary to all histori- cal evidence, and even to facts which took place during _ that author’s life. : In opposition to Gibbon’s assertion, I affirm then, that both the Rhine and the Danube have, within three cen- i in the Temperature of Winter. Se turies, been frequently covered with ice sufficient to sus- tain the largest armies that ever issued from the north. Dr. Williams has copied these remarks of Gibbon; and it is a most unfortunate circumstance for the author and the transcriber, that the very winter after Dr. Wil- liams published his History of Vermont, the French troops crossed the Rhine into Holland on the ice. The rivers and canals were all converted into bridges in Jan- uary 1795....See the speech of citizen Paulus to the Pro- visional Convention, January 26—State Papers, vol. iii. The cold was unusually severe; the event was an un- common one; but it is one that happens in hard winters, a few of which occur every century.* It appears by interrogatories made by the Stadtholder on the 18th of January 1795, to his naval officers, that the Prince could not escape from Holland by any of the rivers of that country—the eastern and western Ems, the Elbe and the Weser, being obstructed by ice.... State Papers, vol. ii. With respect to the other part of Gibbon’s assertion, that the barbarians chose the winter season to make in- roads into southern countries, because they could pass on the ice, I can readily believe this might have happened many times. From his acquaintance with the original historians, he was certainly well qualified to make the as- sertion. Some instances of this fact are recorded. I find in Cesar’s History of the Gallic War no instance of this sort; but many instances of Roman armies and bar- barians crossing the great rivers on bridges. Cesar was obliged to build bridges, at two or three different times, to throw his troops over the Rhine. Had the freezing of that river been an annual event, he would have taken the advantage of a bridge of ice. That the Rhine did not freeze every winter, we have positive evidence, in the 4th book of the Gallic War. During the winter of the year 55 before the Christian era, two German nations attempted to invade Gaul, but were * This event happened so opportunely for the purposes of the French, that even atheists were disposed to admit the existence of a God, for the purpose of arranging this event among the interposi- ticns of heaven in their favor. eo On the supposed Change ‘prevented by the want of boats. They employed a strat- -agem, and took possession of the boats belonging to the people or nation that inhabited the banks of “that river, and by this means passed over, and subsisted for the re- maining part of the winter, on the provisions they found on the other side. If the freezing-of that river was a ve- - ry common event, it is singular that Cesar, in all his wars in the adjacent countries, had not one occasion to ‘mention the circumstance. Cesar, in his 7th book of the Gallic War, mentions a winter campaign ke made to quell an insurrection in the south of France. He was obliged to cross mount Ce- benna, now Cevennes, in Languedoc, . cutting a way through snow six feet deep. From this description of the snow, a superficial reader would draw the conclusion © that the climate was intensely cold. Yet this was not the fact; for the river Loire, in the neighborhood, was not frozen so as to sustain troops; and in the siege of the town of Avaricus, Cesar relates, that the town was pro- tected by a river and a morass. The truth 1S, the mountain where the snow was then six feet deep, is high, and is annually covered with deep snow in this age; ‘while the plains below enjoy a fine ‘warm climate, that brings figs and olives to perfection. For these facts, I have the authority of Busching.... Abridg. vol. 5. and Arthur Young. Pinkerton de- -scribes the snows of these mountains in the following — ‘terms. ‘These mountains are in-winter exposed to dreadful snowy hurricanes, called acirs, which, in a few ‘hours, obliterate the ravins and even the precipices, and sdescending to the paths and streets, confine the mhabit- ants to their dwellings, till a communication can be open- ved with their neighbors, sometimes in the form of an. -arch under the vast mass of snow.” ‘This surely proves no moderation of the winters in France. But let us attend to the vegetables which in the Au-. -eustan age flourished in Gaul. These, after all, are our ssafest guides. in the Temperature of Winter. 23 Strabo says, Gaul produces not figs and olives north of the Cevennes ; and grapes do not come to maturity.* Diodorus Siculus goes further, and asserts that Gaul produces neither figs nor olives....£7). 5. Strabo is correct, as to figs and olives; for they will not come to perfection, at this day, north of the Ceven- nes. Diodorus Siculus is an author of less credit, and in the instance before us, we have proof of his inaccuracy. Pliny, whose authority in this case must be indisputa- ble, expressly mentions the wine made in Auvergne, Languedoc, Dauphiny, Burgundy, and French ‘Compte. “ Jam inventa vitis per se in vino picem resipiens Vin- nensem agrum nobilitans, Arverno, Sequanoque, et Hel- vico generibus non pridem ulustrata’’.....£7b. xiv. ca. 1. This species of vine, he observes, was unknown ninety years before, in the age of Virgil; and consequently was not known to Diodorus Siculus, who was cotemporary with Virgil. Strabo lived somewhat later, and had more correct information. ‘This wine constituted the glory of that part of France formerly inhabited by the Allobroges, now called Dauphiny and Viennois, extending on the east side of the Rhone, from the Lemanic lake to its mouth, and was highly valued at Rome. Pliny expressly mentions a species of the olive which thrived in Gaul beyond the Alps. ‘‘ Que nunc provenit trans Alpes, quoque, et in Gallias, Hispaniasque me- Migs./7:... 220. xv. il. Strabo says the olive will not produce fruit, to the north of the Cevennes. It is remarkable that the limits of the olive region, here designated, are precisely those to which that tree is now confined. ‘The line, beyond which olives will not pro- * Tt is well known that there are many varieties of grapes, and. some far less hardy than others. The Romans might attempt to propagate, in the north of France, some varieties which thrived well in the south, and in Italy, but which would not come to maturity in _ acclimate eight or ten degrees farther north ; and from some instan- ces of failure, might conclude that no vines would come to perfec- tion in that country. I believe there are many varieties now culti- vated in Italy and Greece, which would not come to perfection in the north of France. 24. On the supposed Change duce fruit, as marked by Arthur Young, begins at the foot of the Pyrenees, in Rousillon, im the 42d degree of latitude, thence runs north-east, through Languedoc, to the southward of the Cevennes, crossés the Rhone at Montelimart, and pursues its direction, near Grenoble, towards Savoy, where it terminates. ‘lhis district then includes part of Rousillon, part of Languedoc, most of Dauphiny, and all Provence. Olives grow and mature there precisely within the limits, marked by Strabo and Pliny, and as far as we can judge, not a league further north than they did eighteen hundred years ago. Iam willing to rest t the whole argument on this fact. It is possible that the clearing and cultivation of particu- lar places, by removing moisture, may enable the mod- erns to raise particular plants, as the vine, for example, in those places, where the ancients could not. But I do not find, in history, any evidence that a change of cli- mate generally has carried any of the delicate fruits into latitudes where they did not thrive in the earliest ages. If any climate has become warmer by seventeen de- grees, it would admit plants to be removed northward about ten degrees of latitude. For instance, the mean temperature of South Carolina is 66° by Farenheit ; that in Connecticut, is about 49°, precisely the difference sup- posed by Dr. Willams to have taken place in the cli- mate of Italy. The difference between the latitudes of Carolina and Connecticut is about 10 degrees. ‘Ten de- erees of latitude then give 17 degrees difference of tem- _ perature. If then olives grew in the south of France, — eighteen centuries ago, ana the climate has become warmer by 17 degrees, olives may have the same tem- perature now in 53° of latitude, that they formerly had in 43°. Of course they would thrive in Westphalia, | Saxony and Prussia. Instead of which that tree is limited to Dauphiny and Languedoc, as it was at the Christian era. ~The Roman writers speak of Gaul as a cold country. It certainly was colder than Italy, Greece, Africa, and Syria, the countries which were visited by the: Romans, before they crossed the Alps. Accustomed to those | mild climates, they were surprized at the rigorous Win- | in the Temperature of Winter. 25 ters of Gaul and Germany. They described the moun- tains of Thrace also, as covered with eternal snow ; yet Thrace was a fine country, and vines flourished on the borders of the Hellespont. The mountains were cold in winter, in Italy, Gaul, and Thrace ; but the growth of certain delicate plants, in those countries, is a better criterion of the real temperature of the climates, than the descriptions of poets and historians. The winters in Gaul were colder than in England, ac- cording to the express testimony of Cesar....Zib. v.. ‘So they are at this day. If the general temperature of Eu- rope has moderated in 1800 years, Britain, though an island, must have shared in the mitigation of cold. Yet we cannot admit any considerable change on that island ; for Tacitus, Life of Agricola 12, expressly declares that it enjoyed a moderate climate in his days. ‘‘ Asperitas frigoris abest.”” The mean temperature of England now is about 48°. Ifthe cold has moderated within 18 cen- turies, as much as Dr. Williams supposes it has in other European countries, the climate formerly must have been intolerably cold, contrary to the testimony of Tacitus. Another argument in favor of a great mitigation of cold in Europe, used by Buffon, and copied by Gibbon and Dr. Williams, is the retirement of the Rane* (deer) from the south of Europe, the Pyrenees and the forests of Germany, into the colder regions of Norway and Russia. Buffon asserts that this animal will not multi- ply and cannot subsist, south of the Baltic. I consider this argument as very fallacious. The Rane seeks the forest, and flies before the ax of the cul- tivator, like the bear, the common deer, and the Indian of America. How can the deer subsist in open fields ? We might as well expect a fish to live in air, as the rane in a country destitute of woods, and frequented by man. The Hyrcanian forest no longer exists; the husband- man has deprived that animal of his shelter, his food, his ~ element. He does not like the company of man, and he This is the true name of this animal, by an egregious corrup- ition called Rein-Deer. E, 26 | On the supposed Change has abandoned the cultivated parts of Europe. It is just so with the common deer of North America, the bear,. and other wild animals. The deer used to be found along our sea coast, and on the neighboring islands; but for fifty miles from the shore, at this day, not a deer is to be found ;* and in a century, not a bear nor a deer will be seen on the south of the lakes. But will any man ascribe this desertion of the country to their love of cold? Not at all... It is their love of the wild forest, and not of cold, which impels them to recede before the arts of cul- tivation. . How could the rane subsist in an open, culti- vated country, when. it is well known that his favorite food is.a species of lichen [rangiferinus] which grows only or chiefly om heaths and uncultivated hilly grounds ? Instead of proving a change of climate, the retirement of the rane ‘seems to have been the natural consequence of of cultivation.+ But Gibbon’s assertion that the Rhine and the Dan-. ube,:m modern ages, have not. been covered with ice, strong enough to sustain leaded carriages, must not pass uncontradicted... I know not what ages precisely, that author intended to include in the description of modern ; but both the rivers mentioned have often sustained men and carriages on the ice within the two dast centuries, as well as in preceding ages. In 821 and 994, history ex- pressly mentions this to have been the fact. In 1233,. the rivers in Italy sustained the heaviest loads on the ice ; of course the Rhine and Danube must have done the same. ‘The fact is also recorded of the year 1306; and. in'1363 the Rhine was covered with solid ice for ten weeks. In 1402 the Baltic was passable on the ice for sixiweeks; and we may well suppose the Rhine and Danube were not open. I have no particular account of the effects of the rigorous cold of 1608, 1610, 1664, 1684, 1698; 1709, ‘1716, 1740, 1763, 1776, on those * These animals found Ge er in the immense barren plain on, Long-Island ; ; and are not yet driven from that spot by the hunters. ne Alfred, i in relating the story of Octher, who seems to have been a native of Sweden or Lapland, mentions 600 ranes asa part of | his wealth, and speaks of the animal as if he had never before heard | af it.....4/f. Oras. 4b. 1. . in the Temperature of Winter. 27 particular rivers; but the general accounts describe these and many other winters, during the two last centuries, as converting a// rivers into highways for carriages, even as far south as Italy and Spain. But I have better proof of the fact. It is weil known that the winters in England are much milder than in the same latitude on the Con- tment. This is always the case, and an undeniable fact. Now I have accounts that the Thames at London has been covered with solid ice, equal to the support of the heaviest loads, not only in most of the years mention- ed, but m many others, during the two last centuries. From ten to fifteen or twenty rigorous winters occur, in oO 5) every century, which convert most of the symal/ rivers of Germany, France and England into highways; and sev- eral winters, in every century, produce ‘the same effect in all the /arge rivers. No longer ago than 1717, when Lady Montague trav- elled from Vienna to Constantinople, in the midst of winter, the navigation of the Danube was interrupted by the ice. In a letter dated at Belgrade Feb. 12, O. S. 1717, that lady says, ‘“‘ The weather is colder than I be- heve it ever was any where but in Greenland: We have a very large stove constantly kept hot, and yet the win- dows of the room are frozen en the imside.”” Between the date of that letter and the first of April, O. S. she pursued her journey to Adrianople, during which time, that is in March, she expressly says, ‘‘’ The Danube was now frozen over”....See her Letter of April 1. This was not a winter of the greatest severity, though im England something colder than ordinary....See Short on Air, vol. 1. 20. ‘The preceding winter had convert- ed all rivers into bridges, even in Italy. What shall we then say to the assertions of such celebrated men as Gib- bon? -and what shall we think of the modern philosophy, erected on the authority of a few superficial inquiries ? The climate at Constantinople is milder than on the Danube; and in January 1718, Lady Montague sat with her window open, enjoying a fine warm sun....Letter 38. ‘But this was an uncommen occurrence. In 1751, the people of Constantinople predicted the plague which ra- ged terribly that year, from the great snows of the prece- 28 On the supposed Change ding winter....Chenier’s Morocco, vol. it. 275. Indeed one single fact will demonstrate that the air at Constan- tinople is usually in winter below freezing point ; which is, that winter always puts an end to the ravages of the plague—an event that rarely, if ever, takes place there without frost. But Constantinople is subject also to se- vere frosts, in hard winters, like all other northern coun- tries; although the weather there, from the vicinity of the city to large bodies of water, is much less severe than in Hungary, Austria and Germany. Men are led into numberless errors by drawing gene- ral conclusions from particular facts. ‘‘ Lady Monta- gue sat with her window open in January 1718, and therefore there is little or no winter in Constantinople,” _ is very bad logic. ‘The farmers on Connecticut river plowed their lands, as I saw, in February 1779; and the peaches blossomed in Pennsylvania. What then? Are _ the winters all mild in America? Not at all; in the very | next year, not only our rivers, but our bays, and the | ocean itself, on our coast, were fast bound with ice. | In 1592 the drouth was so severe that the Thames | was fordable at London. In 1388, the Rhine was forda- | ble at Cologne; and in 1473, the Danube was fordable | in Hungary. Suppose in some future age, these facts | should be alledged, as evidence of a wonderful increase of rains and moist weather, within the two last centuries; _ would such conclusions be just? Yet this is the reason- © ing which has principally supported the hypothesis of a modern diminution of cold in winter. Authors have mentioned and described the severe winters; while or- dinary seasons have passed unnoticed; and this is the | source of a great error in philosophy. || But scanty as our materials are for a history of the | seasons in antiquity, we have a direct authority that mild | winters occurred in the latitude of Constantinople, more / than 2000 years ago. : ih Hippocrates, during the plague in Athens, B. C. 430, | resided on the island of Thasus, which is in the /igean | Sea, near the coast of Thrace, a cool country, and near | the latitude 41°. This author has left a minute descrip- | tion of the seasons for four years, with the current disea- | } in the Temperature of Winter. 29 ses. The first of these winters was mild like spring, with southerly winds. ‘The second winter northerly winds prevailed, and great rains, attended with snow. This seems to have been a common season. The third winter, the weather was northerly, the cold severe, and the snow deep. ‘This seems to have been a hard winter, and if I am not deceived in the chronology of events, this was within a few months of the appearance of a comet, and the great eruption of Etna mentioned by Thucydides. - The fourth winter was mild, with southerly wind, ex- cept a period of severe cold about the equinox, in March. : This authority is indisputable, that the winters in an- cient times, were, as they are now, irregular and vari- ous ; and instead of being uniformly rigorous, some were mild as spring. In later periods, I find occasional mention of mild winters, although little notice has been taken of seasons, except when extraordinary for cold. The winter of 802 was southerly, mild weather, followed by the plauge. Mild winters are also mentioned in 1186, 1248, 1281, 1284, 1428, insome of which people wore summer clothes the whole winter, and in one instance harvest, in northern latitudes -was in May, in consequence of the warm weather in the winter preceding. These winters were antecedent to any great improvements in agriculture in Europe. It may not be improper here to introduce a fact rela- ted by Theophrast, of a change of temperature in Thes- -saly. | The river Peneus winds through a charming valley in Thessaly, and between the mountains Olympus and Ossa, finds a passage to the /igean sea. This passage, the ancients alledged, was opened by an earthquake ; before which the valley was covered with stagnant wa- ter. The draining of this valley is said to have rendered the country more healthy, but at the same time, the air became colder. In proof of this, authors alledge that olives, which before had flourished, about Larissa, would not endure the severity of the winters, after the valley 36 On the supposed Change was drained, and vines were often froze, which before was never known to happen....See Anacharsis, vol. m1. SAl. Whatever foundation may exist for this opinion, it seems the inhabitants had an idea that their climate had become colder, instead of warmer ; and it is well known that places surrounded by water have a milder climate, than others remote from water. ‘This, by the way, is the principal reason why Greece and Italy are more tem- perate than other countries under the same parellels of Jatitude. Let us now attend to the evidence of a mitigation of the cold of American winters. The first proof adduced by Dr. Williams, is what Kalm says, that on the first settlement of Philadelphia, the Delaware was commonly covered with ice about the middle of November, old style, corresponding with the last week of the month, in new style. But, says our author, ‘it isnot now com- monly covered with ice till the first week in January”’.... fist. Vermont, p. 58. Unfortunately for the argument, that river has been covered with ice for three years last past, not only by the middle of November, o/d style, but in one or two of the years, by the middle of that month, in new style. Dr. Williams quotes Smith’s history of New-York to prove his doctrine; the page 1s not mentioned, but I suppose the passage to be a note in the margin of page 82, where the author says ‘‘ The climate of late is much altered, and this day, Feb. 14, 1756, three hundred re- cruits sailed from New-York for the army at Albany, and last year a sloop went up the river a month earlier.” It is thus men are misled by founding general opin- ions on particular facts. ‘The truth I find to be, that at the period mentioned, there were two or three winters in succession the most mild that were recollected by the oldest men; and all the world cried out, what a change © of climate! A few years however changed the common opinion, and a few such winters as 1780, 1784, 1796— 97—98 and 1804, will leave very little room to believe in a change of climate. | in the Temperature of Winter. 31 Smith however, when he wrote the foregoing note, was writing in the text of his history, that Governor Fletcher sailed from New-York for Albany on Feb. 13th or 14th, in 1693. ‘This certainly was a rare event, but it should have made him doubtful at least of a change of climate. Another fact cited by Dr. Williams, is, that Baron Lahontau put to sea from Quebec in 1690, on the 20th of November, new stile, the like of which had never been known in that place before. The St. Law- rence had been covered with ice on the 14th of Novem- ber, but was cleared by a sudden thaw. Yet what con- clusion can be drawn from the fact ? Simply this, that the seasons then were sometimes very variable, as they arenow. But Dr. Williams infers from this passage of history, that the St. Lawrence was, in former times, usually closed with ice by the middle of November ; ' whereas in modern days, he says, it is not frozen over till the latter end of December or beginning of January. But this inference is probably drawn from some mild winters. In one fourth of our winters, the Hudson, Delaware and Connecticut are closed with ice in the A2d and 43d degree of latitude, as early as the last week in November, or first week in December ; and ‘it 1s against all probability that the St. Lawrence, in the A6th degree, continues open a month later. 3 In proof of his opinion, Dr. Williams cites a passage from Wood’s Prospect, a work written in the early set- tlement of this country, which says, that the winters then began in December, and continued to February 21 (new stile,) when the rivers and bays were unlocked by warm weather; the duration of winter then was two months or ten weeks. ‘This is mentioned to have been a very regular occurrence for ten or twelve years. From this passage the author concludes the bays about Boston, on the first settlement of New-England, must have been “ annually covered with ice,”’ and that this bridge lasted through the winter months: Where- as in these days, this is not a regular event, nor when froze, does the ice continue so long. From data which. he supposes sufficiently correct, he concludes that our 32 On the supposed Change climate has suffered amelioration in winter of ten or _ twelve degrees. But we have here another instance of the fallacy of such general conclusions. In the first place Wood does not say that during the ten weeks of winter, the ice was never broken up by thaws, as it is in modern times ; on the other hand, his expressions fairly intimate that such thaws were common; for he observes that about the 21st of February, the rivers and bays are unlocked, and “ are never again frozen the same year.” This expression doubtless alludes to the well known and common occur- rence, that rivers, cleared of ice at an earlier period, — were covered with ice again, in the same winter. But that such thaws occurred, at that period, I have direct proof from Winthrop’s Journal. In 1634, De- cember 4th, old stile, a violent snow storm was followed by a severe frost that covered Boston bay with ice in two days, but ‘it was free again before night.” In the middle of January, a pinnace came to Boston from Port _ Royal; and about the end of the month, a boat coming from Deer’s Island was detained at Bird’s Island ; and also others were detained at an Island in the harbor by the ice, which was not sufficient to beara man. After that the ice was firm for two or three weeks. This was © no uncommon occurrence; a “ January thaw”? is a pro- verb handed down to us from our ancestors. That — was a hard winter, yet many persons fell through the ice and were drowned. But our ancestors had also mild winters, which made little or no ice in rivers or bays. Such was the winter of | 1633—4, next preceding that last mentioned. Win- throp says expressly ‘this winter was mild, little wind | and most S. and S. W.” The last of February, fella | deep snow, but the winter was atanend. ‘This isde- | cisive evidence that the winters have been from the first _ | settlement of America, variable, now mild, now severe, _ just as they are in the present age. | In 1635, Connecticut river was closed with ice No- | vember 15, old stile [26] at Hartford, but at Saybrook, — not till December 10th [21]. This was a severe winter. — ! in the Temperature of Winter. 33 A ship from Bristol entered Boston Bay in January 1637, and by stress of weather was driven into Plym- outh harbor. In 1638, on the 13th of January old stile, [the 24th] Boston harbor was open ; for thirty men went down to Spectacle Island to cut wood. A snow storm arose, in the following night, after that the wind was at N. W. for two days, and then, says Governor Winthrop, “ it froze so hard, as the bay was all frozen up, except a little channel.” By this opening twelve of the men got to the Governor’s garden ; others escaped on the ice. Of this winter the Governor writes, ‘“‘ ‘This was a very ard winter. ‘The snow lay from November 4, [15th] to March 23d [April 3d] one and an half yard deep about the Massachusetts,” &c....See pages 146, 154, Let it be observed, that in this ‘‘ very hard winter,” Bos- ton harbor was open till the 24th of January. Nofe....In page 154, it is said this was in 1637. But it is immaterial. The winter of 1641—2 was one of the most rigorous kind, like that of 1709, 1741 and 1780. It froze the bay at Boston as far out at sea as the eye could reach; loaded sleds passed from Muddy River to Boston. All the rivers in Virginia, and even Chesopeak Bay, were covered with ice. These things are recorded by Gov- ernor Winthrop as extraordinary oceurrences, such as passing on the ice from Pullen’s Point and Muddy River to Boston—a proof that the several frosts supposed by Dr. Williams were not annual events. And the Indians declared that a like winter had not happened in forty years preceding. The next winter was milder than usual, and the win- ter following there was “little rain and no snow till March 37’.... Winthrop, p. 240, 269, 324. In an account of the Natives of New- England, written by Governor Winslow, and annexed to Dr. Belknap’s 2d vol. of American Biography, we have the following description of the climate of New-England, in 1624:— “« For the temperature of the air, in almost three years experience, I can scarce distinguish New-England from ge On the supposed Change Old England, in respect to heat and cold, frost, snow, | rain and wind.’—‘“ Experience teaches us, that if the | heat does exceed England, it is so little as must require better judgments to discern it. As for the winter, 1 | rather think, 2f there be a difference, it is both sharper | and longer in New-England, than Old; yet the want of | those comforts in one, which I have enjoyed inthe other, | may deceive my judgment also.”” ‘ The seed-time be- | ginneth in the midst of April, and continueth good till | the midst of May.” This was written at Plymouth, a | place whose heat in summer, and cold in winter, is mod- | erated by the air from the sea. But the description does | not warrant the idea of excessively cold winters. Seed- | time was as early then as it is now.. In an account of the climate, soil and produce of New- England, written by the Rev. Mr. Higgeson,. of Salem, | in 1629, we have the following description, of the sea- | sons. ‘In the summer time, in the midst of July and | August, it is a good deal hotter than in Old England ; | and in winter, January and February are much colder, | as they say; but the spring and autumn are of a middle | temper. In the winter season, for éwo months space, the | earth is commonly covered with snow, which is. accom- | than in Old England, and therefore we are forced to make great fires”....istorical Collections, vol.1. 117. This description answers well for the ordinary seasons | in New-England at the close of the 18th century. ‘Yhe | summers are hotter; the winters colder than in Eng- | land. A winter of eight weeks or two months frost, may | be considered as a medium winter, between our very mild and very severe winters. Irom the same narrative, it appears that maiz thrived as well then, as it does now, in the plantations about Sa- lem,, and produced the most abundant crops. In a tract written in 1642, called ‘‘ New-England’s | First Fruits,’ the climate is thus represented, in answer to some objections that had been made to the project of | settling the country.. ‘ True, itis sometimes cold, when the wind blows strong at northwest ; but 7¢ holds nat long | an the Temperature of Winter. 35 together, and then it useth to be very moderate”’....Hist. Col. vol. 1. 249. The writer mentions the purity and wholesomeness of the air, and the bright, clear, fair weather, which are preferable to the moist, foggy, cold air of Holland and England. ‘This account of the seasons answers well to the state of the weather m-our days. But [ have.a further remark to make on the passage sited from Wood’s Prospect. This writer does not say nat Boston Bay and Charles River were annually froze or eight or ten weeks. His words, if rightly quoted, wre, ‘‘ For ten ora dozen years, the weather hath held 1imself to his day, unlocking his icy bays and rivers, which are never frozen again the same year.”” These words do not authorize Dr. Williams to suppose the writer meant Boston Bay and Charles River at Boston. He might have had in view more inland bays and rivers; und indeed he must have had; for it is proved by Win- hrop’s Journal, an unexceptionable authority, that Bos- on harbor was not always nor generally froze in the midst of winter. If Wosd then meant inland rivers and arms of the sea, his description is exactly true, at this lay. I can aver, from thirty years observation, that Connecticut River at Hartford is a bridge of ice, on an erage, eight or ten weeks in a winter; rather more han less; that is, from the beginning or middle of De- ember to the 20th of February. ‘This is the precise ime mentioned by Wood; and the passage, instead of favoring Dr. Williams’s opinion, is direct evidence that there has been no sensible diminution of cold in Ameri- ca, since its settlement. In Winthrop’s Journal I find a confirmation of this ppinion. In page 23, there is a remark like that of W ood before cited, that “‘ ever since the bay has been planted by the English, viz. seven years, it hath been ob- served, that at this day [February 10th, old stile, 1631] the frost hath broken up every year.” Fortunately we have in this Journal full proof that the remark was not intended to represent the breaking up of a bridge of ice over the bay of Boston or Charles River. ae) On the supposed Change _ On the 22d day of December, O. 8. Governor Win- throp writes thus: “ Till this time there was for the most part, fair open weather, with gentle frosts in the night; but this day the wind came N. W. very strong, and some snow withal, but so cold as some had their fingers frozen—three of the Governor’s servants coming in a shallop from Mistick, were driven by the wind upon — Noddle’s Island”’....p. 21. At this time then, the 3d of _ January, new stile, there was no ice in Charles River. On the 26th, the Governor writes, ‘“‘ The rivers are | frozen up, and they of Charlestown could not come to | the sermon at Boston, till the afternoon at high water.” _ By this we are to understand, that Charles River at the | ferry was full of ice, which was removed by the flood | tide, so that the river was passable in boats. This was on the 6th of January. Onthe 28th of December, O.S. the 8th of January, seven persons, says the Governor, set sail in a shallop, from Boston for Plymouth, and | were cast away on Cape Cod. Boston harbor and bay | must then have been open.....See p. 21 and 22. On the 5th of February, O.S. [the 16th] arrived the ship Lyon, at Nantasket. On the 8th [the 19th] the Governor went aboard the Lyon, then lying by Long-. Island. On the 9th [20th] the Lyon came to anchor | before Boston. On the 10th, O. S. [21st] says Gover- | nor Winthrop, ‘‘ the frost broke up, and after that, tho | we had many storms and sharp frost, yet they continued not, neither were the waters frozen up as before.””. The | | Govern then remarks, that for seven years before, the frost had broken up, on the same day of the month... | See p. 23. 4 This evidence is decisive to prove, that the breaking | up of the ice was not said of the ice in Boston harbor; | for the Governor went down to the ship Lyon, at Long | : Island, which is almost five miles from the town, and the ship came to anchor before Boston, before the ice broke up. et it be noted also, that the severe frost, m | that year, set in about Christmas, and broke up on the 21st of February ; ot course, it lasted about eight weeks, i as in modern times. a] It is obvious therefore that Gov. Winthrop and Mr. | Wood, in the passages noted, speak of the breaking up | in the Temperature of Winter. 37 of the rivers and frost in the country generally; and not of the ice in Boston harbor: And it is remarkable that the time mentioned is the same as that in which the win- ter of New-England, in ordinary seasons, now breaks up, viz. about the 20th of February. I will only observe further on this point, that in Win- throp’s Journal, which comprehends the events of four- teen years, from the first settlement of Boston, from 1630 to 1644, we have positive evidence that Boston harbor was usually open, and that vessels entered and departed in the midst of winter. ‘The freezing of the bay, in the extremely severe winter of 1642, and the passing of loads on the ice, are described as rare oecurrences ; and what is more explicit, Governor Winthrop declares, « The frost was so great and continual this winter, that all the bay was frozen over so much and so long, as the like, by the Indian relation, had not been these forty years.” Yet this frost lasted only from the 18th of Ja- nuary to the 21st of February, old stile, about five weeks....See ~. 240. This evidence is decisive of the question, and utterly disproves the opinion of a change —of climate. On the 18th of January, O. S. 1644, Bos- _ ton harbor was open....See p. 321. If Dr. Williams is unfortunate in his facts, he is still more so in his reasonings and deductions. The follow- ing is a specimen. In 1782, the river between Boston and Charlestown was frozen, so that horses and sleys passed over, for five or six days. The ice was permanent from February 2d.to the 10th. During that time the lowest point of cold by Farenheit was 9°; the highest 28°, and the - meanof the temperature 13°. From this statement, the Doctor concludes, that the freezing of the bays mention- ed by Wood. about the year 1630, could not take place i in a less degree of cold than 13°. He found from seven years observations, that the mean temperature of De- cember was, in these years [from 1780 to 1788] 29° 4; that of January, 22° 5; and that of February, 23° 9. Hence he concludes, that the change of temperature at Boston since the year 1630 must have been from ‘“ ten to twelve degrees.” 38 On the supposed Change I confess myself surprized that so intelligent a man should not have observed the fallacy of this reasoning. He takes the mean of seven or eight severe cold days in 1782, which covered Charles River with ice, for the standard by which to estimate the cold of 1630, and the mean of the whole winter, as the standard of cold in modern days, by which to compare it. This mode.of reasoning is all fallacious. In the first place, it is not true that a mean degree of cold, answering to 13° by Farenheit, is necessary to keep Charles River covered with ice. The effect would be produced with a much less degree of cold. ‘Let the mercury sink to 10° for five days, and a bridge of ice would be formed. Then let the cold relax, and the mercury rise to 30° for five days. ‘The mean temperature of the whole ten days would be 20°. Yet in this case probably, the ice would remain a solid bridge through the whole time, notwith- standing the rapid tides in that river. And in fresh wa- ter, where there is no current, the bridge would remain a much longer time, and in much milder weather. In- deed, I can prove that a river or pond of water may be covered with twelve inches of solid ice, when the mean temperature is not below freezing point. ButI will not rest the argument on calculations; I appeal to facts. In November, 1797, commenced a series of severe cold, altho the beginning of the month was as mild as usual. ‘Towards the close of the month, the Hudson, Delaware and Connecticut were covered*with solid ice; yet the mean temperature of the whole month, at the exchange at New-York, was 38° 87 by Farenheit, al- most seven degrees above the freezing point. ‘This fact exhibits the fallacy of the Doctor’s conclusions....See p. 59, of his History of Vermont. | In page 383, Appendix, Dr. Williams states that in | America, where the rivers are froze to a firmness suffi- cient to sustain heavy loads, the ‘‘ mean heat of the win- ters is from 15 to 20 degrees.” This is a most egre- gious mistake, and contradicts his own observations of the weather between 1780 and 1788, as before stated. ‘The mean temperature of those seven winters was, by his own statement, 25° 2—and this corresponds nearly in the Temperature of Winter. 39 with the results of Dr. Holyoke’s seven years observa- tions at Salem, which make the mean temperature of the three winter months 25° 76. With this degree of cold, fresh water rivers are annually covered, and held bound with solid ice. To cover with ice salt streams, bays and arms of the sea, a greater degree of cold is requisite, and this degree occurs many times every century. If then a mean temperature of 25 or 26 degrees by Farenheit will keep the American rivers covered with ice for many weeks, we have further evidence that the Rhine and Danube, fresh water rivers, must be frequent- ly froze in modern times. Dr. Williams states the mean degree of cold at several places in Europe, as follows: At Vienna, in 1779 and 1780, January, 27° 5 February, 33 23 At Ratisbon, in 1781 and 2, January, 30 52 _ February, 30 76 At Manheim, in178land2, January, 35 08 February, 35 08 From these means he deduces the general mean of 31° 8 for January, and 33° 6, for February, which, he says, will accurately express the temperature of a Ger- man winter on those rivers. Admit this conclusion, and what follows? The undeniable consequence that a Ger- man winter is almost as cold as a New-England winter; for the mean temperature of January in Vienna was 27° 5—the mean temperature of an American winter is 25° 76. The difference is only one degree and twenty-nine hundredths. ‘Vhe difference between the general mean. of January above stated, 31° 8, and the general mean of America, of 25° 76, is only 5° 32. If the vibrations of heat and cold are as great on the Rhine and Danube as in America, which is understcod to be the fact, those rivers must be froze every winter, although perhaps not sufficiently in a common winter, to sustain loaded car- riages. Certain it is that the cold at Manheim and Ra- tisbon is nearly equal to any thing experienced in New- England. In the Memoirs of the American Academy, part 1 of yol. 2, page 88, Dr. Holyoke has stated the “ AO On the supposed Change | greatest cold at Ratisbon, by a series of observations, to be 13° 45 below cipher by Farenheit, and the mean of the greatest colds, 2° 42 below cipher. At Manheim, the greatest cold was 8° 95 below 0, and the greatest mean of cold 1° 2 above 0. From all which it is obvi- ous that no diminution of cold, equal to 16 degrees, can have taken place, since the Goths and Vandals invaded the Roman empire, as Dr. Williams supposes; for the cold which reduces the mercury by Farenheit’s scale to 8 or 10 degrees above cipher, if continued only two or three days, must cover the Rhine and Danube with so- lid ice. Before I conclude this subject, it is proper to notice what Mr. Jefferson has written on the climate of Vir- ginia....JVotes, Query 7. ‘‘ A change in our climate,” says this author, ‘is taking place very sensibly. Both heats and colds are become much more moderate, with- in the memory even of the middle aged. Snows are less frequent and less deep. They do not often hie be- low the mountains more than one, two or three days, and very rarely a week. The elderly inform me, the earth used to be covered with snow about three months in every year. The rivers which then seldom failed to freeze over in the course of the winter, scarcely ever do so now. ‘This change has produced an unfortunate fluc- tuation between heat and cold in the spring of the year, which is fatal to fruits.” What evidence there is of a diminution of heat in summer, I do not know; but I find abundant evidence that no such diminution has taken place. And that no very definite proof of the fact has appeared, is very ob- vious from the difference cf opinion on the subject. Mr. Jefferson supposes a diminution of the heat of summer. Dr. Williams supposes a general increase of heat in our climate; and I leave them to adjust the difference between themselves. Mr. Jefferson seems to have no authority for his opin- ions but the observations of elderly and middle-aged people. But what shall we say to the following facts? Mr. Jefferson informs that in Virginia, the snow used to cover the earth about three months in every year. How in the Temperature of Winter. 4} shall we reconcile this account with the representation of the climate by Lord Delaware and Sir Thomas Gates, a few years after Virginia was first planted, A. D. 1611 or 12? In that account it is expressly stated, that “the soil is ‘favorable for the cultivation of vines, sugar-canes, oran- ges, lemons, almonds and rice—the winters are so mild that the cattle can get their food abroad, and swine can be fatted on wild fruits....See Purchas, vol. v. 1758: Belknap’s Biography, vol. ii. 39. If this description of the climate is just, the seasons in Virginia were then just what they are now. In ordina- ry winters, cattle and swine will get their living in the woods; but in severe winters, they are liable to perish. Perhaps Mr. Jeflerson’s observations refer to the inte- rior and mountainous parts of the State, where by the clearing of the lands, the winters may have become less steady, and the snows less durable ; but this is no proof of a general diminution of cold in the winter; it proves only more variable weather. ‘The description given by the first settlers about 190 years ago, is decisive evi- dence that the general temperature of the climate was then the same as it is now; and that in its rude state, Virginia produced the delicate tropical fruits, as far north as they can be cultivated at this day. Had there been a general increase of heat in our climate, the culti- vation of the fig and the olive would have advanced northward to Pennsylvania or New-England; but in- stead of this, not a plant has advanced a single league since the first settlement of the country. To the testimony of Lord Delaware and Sir Thomas Gates, may be added that of Beverly, who in his history of Virginia, written at the beginning of the last century, says, ‘“‘ The rivers and creeks were, in many places, cov- ‘ered with fowl during the winter’’—which precludes the fact that they were covered with ice....p. 134.‘ That elks, buffaloes, deer and other game,”’ were hunted by the natives “‘ in winter, when the leaves were fallen and so dry, they would burn ;” the Indians driving them into a crowd, by circular fires..... 136. In page 252, he al- ludes to the practice of letting cattle feed in the woods in winter, and charges his countrymen with ill husband- ry, in not providing sufficiently for them all winter. In 42 On the supposed Change page 268 he says, the winters in Virginia are very short, continuing not above three or four months, of which thir- ty days are seldom unpleasant weather ; all the rest be- ing blest with a clear air anda bright sun. However, sometimes the frost is very hard, but it rarely lasts more than three or four days, before the wind changes. The rains, except in the depth of winter, are extremely re- freshing and agreeable.... Lond. Edit. 1722. It appears to me extremely unphilosophical to suppose | any considerable change in the annual heat or cold of a particular country. We have no reason to suppose that the inclination of the earth’s axis to the plane of its orbit has ever been varied ; but strong evidence to the contra- ry. If this inclination has always been the same, it fol- lows-that the quantity of the solar rays, falling annually | on a particular country, must have always been the same. _ Should these data be admitted, we are led to conclude that the general temperature of every climate, from the ereation to this day, has been the same, subject only to | small annual variations, from the positions of the planets in regard to the earth, or the operations ef the element of | fire in the globe and its atmosphere. The real truth seems-to be, that when a country is cov- | ered with forest, the vibrations in the temperature of the | air and of the earth near the surface, are less numerous and less considerable, than inanopen country. Dr. Wil- liams himself has furnished the data by which to deter- | mine this pomt. In 1791 he found an open field froze | to the depth of three feet five inches; at the same time, in a forest, he found the temperature of the earth, to be 39° by Farenheit, seven degrees above frost. This fact | solves the question here discussed. While a country is covered with trees, the face of the earth is never swept by violent winds; the temperature | of the air is more uniform, than in an open country ; the | earth is never froze in winter, nor scorched with heat in | summer ; and snow that falls in November usually lies | till March or April, altho the earth below is not froze, but | gradually melts the snow and absorbs the water. On the other hand, an open country 1s exposed to violent winds and frequent great changes of weather. The earth in| winter is usually froze into a solid mass from one to three in the Temperature of Winter. A feet thick; great snows alternate with heavy rains; the earth which is covered with snow to-day, is to-morrow left bare ; and an iron surface of this week, is, the next, converted into soft mud. Hence probably as much snow falls in an open country as in a forest; or if the clearing of a country converts more of the vapor into the water, yet it is liable also to more extreme cold, which preserves a balance in the temperature. ‘That these are facts eve- ry man knows, who has observed the difference between the open country and the forest, in our old settlements ; and Dr. Williams himself has given the results of meteo- rological observations which confirm them, and disprove the common theory of a moderation of cold. In page 50 of his history, he states the difference between the heat of the earth in an open field, and im the woods, during the summer ; by which experiments, it is demonstrated, that from the latter part of May to the close of August, the open country sustains about ten degrees of heat, be- yond that of the forest ; the thermometer being sunk ten inches below the surface of the earth. At another time, he found the winter temperature of the earth in the forest to be 39°, while, in open field, the earth was froze. The vibrations therefore in the temperature of the earth, when cleared, are found to be much greater than when cover- ed with wood. ‘The diierences, according to Dr. Wil- liams, are as follows : | Winter temperature of the earthin the woods in Vermont, - 4 39° of the open field at frost, a2? Summer Temperature of the Earth. In an open field. Inthe forest. Difference. Mdatp 23. 2 46° 28, We A8 9 0 an 64 51 13 275 62 51 ll July 16, 62 51 ll WETOR 65,13 551-2. 10 August 15, 68 58 10 a aul ine is 55 4 1-2 SehtnieL5, 59 1-2 ‘ae 41-2 October 1, 59.42 55 4 1-2 AA On the supposed Change From these observations, it results that in winter the earth of the forest is seven degrees warmer than the open field; and in summer, itis, on an average, from May 23 to August 31, 91-4 degrees colder—and on an average, from May 23 to October 1, 8 1-4 degrees colder. That is, the vibrations in the forest temperature of the earth are between 39° and 58°—only 19 degrees of difference | between winter and summer—while the vibrations in the _ temperature of the open country, are between 32, or frost, and 68—making a difference of 36° between win- ter and summer. The vibrations of the temperature of the air, are more considerable ; but it is an unquestionable fact that they _ are much greater in an open country, than in a forest; _ and so far is it from truth, that the clearing and cultiva- tion of our country, has moderated the rigor of our cold | weather, that the cold of our winters, tho less steady, has _ been most sensibly increased. ‘There is not a greater amount of cold during the winter, but the cold at times _ is more severe than before our counrry was cleared. The difference is so sensible, as to be a subject of popu- lar remark among aged people. Another effect of clearing the country is to distribute _ the cold of the year more unequally : hence fruits are more exposed to spring frosts. This is a most serious in- | convenience in Europe, and is becoming so in America. | The reason of variable and late springs is obvious. While | the earth is covered with wood, it is never froze, but as | soon as the snow is dissolved in spring, vegetation begins. In an open country, after the snow is melted, the earth isto | be thawed ; and the heat of the air for two or three weeks, is incessantly absorbed by the earth and water, while the frost is dissolving. Hence the heat of a warm day in Spring is speedily absorbed, and cold succeeds. ‘This alternation must continue, till the earth is warmed. If the winter temperature of the earth ina forest 1s 39° and that of the open country 32, we may easily conceive what an immense quantity of heat it must require to raise the temperature of the open field to that of the forest. It must demand nearly all the heat excited by the solar rays | in April, so that in our open country, the earth is proba- | Sg ena na - a in the Temperature of Winter. A5 bly not warmer on the last of that month, than it was, when a forest, on the first of the month. It will be remarked that in discussing this question, I have admitted the fact assumed by my opposers, that there has been a clearing and cultivation of Palestine, since the settlement of the Jews in that country ; and of Italy, since the days of Julius Cesar. But I must not quit the subject, without contradicting the fact assumed. ‘The reverse is the truth. When Joshua led the Israelites towards Palestine, that country was very populous, inhabited by various tribes of people, and containing large cities, whose enor- mous walls terrified the Israelites. Never has that coun- try been so populous as in the few first centuries, after the Israelites took possession of it. ‘The country there- fore could not have been covered with wood, but every foot of cultivable land was occupied by husbandmen. Equally true is it, that the countries on the north of Syria were as populous in the days of Darius, as at any subsequent period. It was the case also in Italy, which was more populous at the Cliristian era, than it has been for the last fifteen centuries. In all these countries there- fore, no clearing of the lands can have taken place, to in- fluence the climates, within the period in which a mode- ration of cold is supposed. Germany, on the north of Italy, has been, in a degree, cleared; but the Rhetian Alps intervene between Italy and Germany; and the cold winds which affect Italy in winter, blow from those highlands, where the air is colder than in the less hilly country on the north. In every point therefore, the hy- pothesis of a moderation of climate appears to be unsup- ported. . I would only further observe, that if the cold has aba- ted ten or twelve degrees in our climate, within a centu- ry and a half, it must have been intolerable before that period. The mean temperature of Vermont now is about 43°. If we deduct 10° only for abatement of cold, the. water in deep wells in Vermont, two hundred years ago, must have been of 33° of temperature, or nearly at the freezing point; in Canada it must have been at 32°, or the state of congelation. If we suppose the winter only 46 On the supposed Change to have changed, and deduct one half the supposed abate- ment, still the result forbids us to believe the hypothesis. If we suppose the heat of summer to have lessened in the same proportion, as just philosophy requires us to do, the summers formerly must have been intolerable; no animal could have subsisted under ten degrees of heat beyond our present summer temperature. On which- ever side we turn our eyes, we meet with insurmounta- ble difficulties. From all I can discover, in regard to the seasons, in ancient and modern times, I see no reason to conclude with Dr. Williams, that the heat of the earth is increas- ing. It appears that all the alterations in a country, in consequence of clearing and cultivation, result only in making a different distribution of heat and cold, mois- ture and dry weather, among the several seasons. ‘The clearing of lands opens them to the sun, their moisture is exhaled, they are more heated in summer, but more cold in winter near the surface; the temperature be- comes unsteady, and the seasons irregular. ‘This is the fact. A smaller degree of cold, if steady, will longer ‘preserve snow and ice, than a greater degree, under fre- quent changes. Hence we solve the phenomenon, of more constant ice and snow in the early ages; which I believe to have been the case. It was not the degree, — but the steadiness of the cold which produced this effect. Every forest in America exhibits this phenomenon. We have, in the cultivated districts, deep snow to-day, and none to-morrow; but the same quantity of snow falling in the woods, lies there till spring. The same fact on a larger scale, is observed in the ice of our rivers. This will explain all the appearances of the seasons, in ancient and modern times, without resorting to the unphilosoph- ical hypothesis of a general increase of heat. SUPPLEMENTARY REMARKS, ¢ On the supposed Alteration of the Temperature of Winter : WRITTEN AND READ BEFORE THE ACADEMY IN 1806. WHEN the preceding Dissertation was written, I had devoted very little time to an examination of the subject, and had read very few of the authorities cited to prove a moderation of cold in winter in modern times. Since that time, I have noted such passages in ancient authors, as have occurred to me, in the course of read- ing, with a view to ascertain, if possible, the real fact, whether the industry and improvements of men, by de- stroying forests and cultivating the earth, have occasion- ed a material alteration of climate. Strabo, in the first book of his geography, cites from Homer, whom he calls the father of geography, a pas- sage which describes the climate of the western part of Europe, where the poet places Elysium....See Odyssey, book 4. ‘This country, says the poet, experiences “ no violent storms of snow, and little winter, but is perpetu- ally refreshed by gentle zephyrs ftom the ocean.”” This description Strabo applies to Iberia, or Spain, and alleges that the Fortunate Isles received their name from their vicinity to this happy climate. The description proves at least the opinion of the ancients respecting the climate of Spain and Portugal, and it corresponds with the pres- ent state of the climate. AS On the supposed Change Polybius, apeaiee of an invasion of Peloponnese by Philip of Macedonia, about the year before Christ 218, mentions the hardships which his army encountered, in passing Ligyrtus, a mountain of Arcadia, on his march to the siege of Psophis, by reason of deep snow which covered the mountain. But that the cold was not great, we have evidence in the same book, as the army, a few days afterwards, passed over the river Erymanth, on a bridge, for it was not fordable.*....Polyb. Megalop. List. hb. iv. In an account of the invasion of Sparta by Epimanon- das, in the Travels of Anacharsis, the author remarks that the Theban general was making dispositions to pass the Eurotas, then swelled by the melting of snow, chap. 1. where is cited as authority....Plutarch’s Life of Age- silaus. From these passages, we conclude that snow fell in winter in Lacedemon, especially on the mountains, but — was soon dissolved ; and hence Polybius observes of a river on the west of Psophis, that it was seldom fordable in winter. But I find no evidence in history that frost of any severity was ever experienced in Lacedemon or At- tica. On the other hand, it is related from Plutarch, that when E;pimanondas was in Arcadia with an army, in winter, he was invited by deputies from a neighbor- ing city to take up his quarters in the city; but he decli- ned; assigning as a reason that if the Lacedemonians should see him and his men by the fire, they would take them to be ordinary men. He therefore chose to con- tinue in camp, notwithstanding the rigor of the season, and continue their wrestling matches and military exer- " cises....narch. chap. v. ‘This anecdote indicates cool uncomfortable weather in that country in winter, but not severe cold, like that which freezes large rivers in Ame-— rica. The author of Anacharsis relates from Columella, that the winter, in every part of Beotia, is very cold, and at ‘Thebes almost insupportable ; and that snow, wind and * Strabo, lib. viii. informs us that Arcadia is a mountainous re- — gion; some of the mountains being fifteen stadiums in altitude. ‘ in the Temperature of IV inter. Ag want of wood, render that part of Greece an unpleasing residence in winter....See ch. xxxiv. With what cau- tion we ought to receive such general accounts of cli- mate, may be understood from the fact, that in Thessa- ly, far north of Beotia, and in a mountainous country vines and olives came to perfection, according to the testimony of the same writer, in the same chapter. Cold and heat are comparative ; and the degrees of them ar not to be known from general assertions. Homer speak of the wild fig-tree before the walls of Troy, a degree and a.half of latitude north of Beotia....cJéad, B. 6. v. 433, And other ancient authors speak of the fig-tree, vines and olives growing in Macedonia, two degrees still further north....dnarch. ch. lxv. Pliny informs us that figs were produced at Mount Ida, near the site of Troy.... Nat. fist. ib. 15. ea. xviii. Theophrast informs us that figs grew in great abundance in Pontus, on the south shore of the Kuxine.... Mist. Plané. ib. iv. 6. And Xen- ophon found, on his retreat with the ten thousand, figs and vines in abundance at Calpe, on the same shore, about 870 stadiums from Byzantium.... See his account, b. vi. Pliny, in the book just cited, gives an account of a method of raising figs in Meesia, the modern Bulgaria, in the 44th degree of north latitude, which was effected by covering small trees in winter with compost. These facts, and numberless others, which I have found in au- thors, furnish the most accurate test of the real state of the climate in Greece, Asia Minor, and the neighboring countries. Joseph, in the fifth book of his Antiquities, ch. v. re- lates that in the battle between the Canaanites and the Israelites, under Barak and Deborah, the Canaanites were exceedingly annoyed by a storm of rain and hail, which blew in their faces, and rendered their bows and ‘slings almost useless; while the cold benumbed their fingers, so that they could not use their swords. This fact would seem to confirm the common opinion that, an- ciently, Palestine was far colder than at present. But ‘we must not be misled by single facts. In the very next ‘chapter, the historian, in relating the sufferings of his ‘ 50 On the supposed Change countrymen, from the Midianites, informs us that their enemies invaded the country in time of harvest, and car- ried away or destroyed their corn for three years in suc- cession: but permitted the Israelites te plow their land in winter, that they might furnish fruits of the earth for their plunderers. The latter fact entirely overthrows the opinion that anciently the winters were more rigorous. , ‘than at present; for we see that it was customary to pre- “pare the land for seed in winter, as it is at this day. A OF form of hail or snow might happen occasionally in wine ter, as it does now in South-Carolina and Georgia, but the frost of ordinary years was not sufficient to impede the agricultural operations of winter. Appian relates that at the siege of Numantia in Spain,. many Roman soldiers perished by cold and frequent hail. storms, about 145 years before the christian era. But Numantia was situated in the center and mountainous: part of Spain, near the source of the Duro, where the laws of nature require us to suppose a considerable de- gree of coldin winter. Yet an anecdote related by Quin- tilian, book 6, shows that in Tarracona,, the country where Barcelona is now situated, the climate must have been as mild as at present. The people of Tarracona inform- ed Augustus, that a palm tree was growing from his al-_ tar. ‘‘ From that Ican judge,” replied the Prince, ‘‘ how often you use fire upon it.”” This story implies that palm trees grew in the north of Spain,. and in the very latitude of Numantia, on the eastern coast, which 1s. washed by the Mediterranean.. In the first chapter of the second book of Mateaca) | the Jews of Jerusalem recommend to their brethren in Egypt to keep the feast of tabernacles in the month Cas- leu, which answers to a part of November and Decem- ber. This circumstance among others led Prideaux to pronounce the epistles of the Jews in this chapter to be spurious; for, says that learned author, the Jews could not, in the middle of winter, make such booths, as m the feast of tabernacles ; they could neither find green boughs enough, nor could they lie abroad in such booths Connec. Part ii. b. 3. This argument is undoubtedly founded on mistake; for in a country where the plowing; an the Temperature of Vinter. 51 “and sowing of land was constantly carried on in winter, and where the palm tree flourished in perfection, ordinary winters would not render the temporary lodging in booths very uncomfortable; nor could such a country be neces- sarily destitute of green boughs. Lict it be added also, that in the second chapter of the Song of Solomon, we find the winter was a season of rain, and not of snow. “¢ ‘The winter is past; the rain is over and gone.” In opposition to Prideaux’s opinion, and to the gene- ral hypothesis of the rigorous winters of antiquity, it may be remarked that in Greece, six degrees of latitude north of Judea, the theaters were not covered, but-plays were _acted in the open air... See Anarch. ch. \xx. where Vitru. vius, Lib. v. cap. 9, is cited as an authority. The Roman theaters and amphitheaters were also without roofs. In- deed for centuries after theatrical representations were introduced at Rome, the theaters were temporary struct- ures of wood, without seats, the spectators standing dur- ing the exhibition... Tacit. An. xiv. 20. It is evident al- so from a passage in Quintilian, lib. 10. ch. iii. that the courts of justice were held in apartments without roofs; and so was the Areopagus in Athens..../Acts xvii. | _ Authors inform us that in the later ages of refinement at Athens, the stage, and a part of the theater occupied by the ladies, were covered; but the spectators in gen- eral had no covering but their clothes. Plays were in- deed acted in Greece in the day time; but as they were acted at all seasons of the year, the open theaters forbid us to suppose the winters more rigorous and tempestuous formerly than in modern days. The thin dress of the Romans and Greeks is another proof of the mildness of their climate. The Romans wore no garments answering to the modern breeches and stockings; their principal garments being the Tunica, or close coat worn at home, and the Loga, or loose gown without sleeves, worn in public; to which may be added the Trabea, Paludamentum, Chlamys and Leena, robes vorn by men of distinction and military officers... Ken- et. Antig. Rom. ii. 5.7. Hence the close garments vhich invested the lower limbs of the Celtic and Teuton- ‘Cnations, were objects of notice among the Romans 52 On the supposed Change who travelled north of Italy. Ovid, among the curios- ities of Thrace, the place of his exile, describes the skins and close breeches of the inhabitants. i ‘s Pellibus et sutis arcent male frigora bracchis”....De Trist. lé6,1i1.10.* And it is perfectly well known that this customary dress of the Gauls, gave rise toa distinctive appellation of the | south-western part of their country, which was called by the Romans Gallia braccata. ‘The customary light dress of the Romans, which continued down to the ages of wealth and luxury, and therefore cannot be supposed to have been the effect of necessity, as it is among savage nations, furnishes strong evidence of the uniform mild temperature of ordinary winters in Italy. Velleius Paterculus, lib. xt. ca. 105. mentions that the Roman troops, in the reign of ‘Tiberius, kept their sum- mer quarters, till December, in Germany, at the head of the Lippe, near the modern Paderborn, in Westpha- | lia, and in the 52d degree of north latitude.—This was favorable to the operations of the campaign, as the author | remarks ; and indicates a climate as temperate as in mod- | ern days. ‘Yet at that time, the historian informs us, the | Alps were almost impassable by reason of snow. || Xenophon, in his Anabasis or Expedition of Cyrus, | has described the sufferings of the troops in their retreat : through Armenia, four centur ies before the christian era, from great quantities of snow and severe frost. The snow in one place, he says, was a fathom indepth: and many horses and slaves, and some soldiers died—others | lost their limbs by the frost....Gook 4. Three days be- | fore the snow fell, the troops forded the Euphrates, with | the water to their navel, 1 The troops of Lucullus experienced inconveniences | from the same cause, in the same country, during a war against 1 Mithridates. Plutarch informs us, in his | weather grew tempestuous and great quantities of a fell; that the soldiers, mar ching i in the woods, were wet| by snow which fell from the trees—but at the same time, * This line is repeated, lib. 5. vii. with the change of suits to lami mI loose breeches, or trowsers. a wn the £emperature of Winter. 53 he says, they were obliged to encamp at night in wet and miry places—so that it was.not cold enou oh to freeze wa- ter. But we must not conclude from these facts that the climate of that country is altered; for Chardin and Tour- nefort, in the 17th and 18th centuries, found the tem- perature of the winter precisely as described by Xeno- phon and Plutarch. Chardin informs us, that when he passed Caucasus, the snow was, in some places, ten feet deep—his euides wore snow shoes, and in some places, shovelled for him a path. At Tefflis, on the river Kur, it snowed all day, when he first arrived; and he repeat- edly mentions that the mountains of Armenia and Geor- gia, which are in the 40th, 41st and 42d degr ees of north es are never destitute of snow...! See pages 166, 171, 241, 242, 247,413. Lond. Sol. 1686. i Gurnefort eed at Erzeron, at the foot of a moun- tain near the head of the Euphrates, in the 40th degree of latitude, on the 15th of June, and found the neigh- boring hills covered with snow. ‘The nights were so cold that ie fingers were too numb to write, until an hour after sunrise. ‘The wheat harvest was in September..... See his Travels, vol. i. p. 75, 81, 82, 94, 102, 107, &e. Lond. 8v0. 1741. At Erivan, in the 41st degree of latitude, says Char- din, the winter lasts long, so that it sometimes snows in April; the country produces wine in abundance, but the people are obliged to cover the vines in winter... 247. From these authorities we may infer that the win- ter temperature of Armenia and Georgia has not abated. within 2000 years.* It has been already remarked that snow formerly fell occasionally in Greece, even in the Peloponnese; and | the most credible testimonies agree that mount Ida, in * Herodotus, book i. relates that at Babylon, which was in a mild climate, far south of Armenia, the ancient inhabitants did not culti- vate the vine, olive and fig ; but he insinuates that this neglect was owing tothe peculiar fitness of the soil for corn. That it could not be on account of the climate, iscertain; for the same author relates that the palm tree was cultivated with success ; and caprification was then practiced as in modern times. Herodotus also says, that palm wine was an artidle of merchandize, transported from Armenia down the Euphrates, in boats made of willows covered with skins. 5A - On the supposed Change Crete, was always clothed with snow....Plin. Nat. Hist. “ib. 16. ca. 33. Theophrast. Hist. Plant. lib. 4. ca. 1. Tournefort visited this isle in his voyage to the Levant, and testifies that the inhabitants of Canea fetch their snow, in summer, from the neighboring mountains; and he confirms the assertion of Theophrast and Pliny, that the cyprus grows there among the snow. ‘At the foot of these mountains grow figs, olives and other delicate fruits, as they did in the earliest ages.—Tournefort, Let. 1. In Milo, says the same traveller, Leé. 4. it never free- zes and very rarely snows; when it does, the snow melts in a quarter of an hour; the cold is not prejudicial to the olive trees, as it is in Provence and Languedoc, where the contexture of the bark is torn by the dilatation of the water which freezes in the pores. When Tournefort visited Samos in February, he found the cold severe on the mountains, and on the 23d of the month, some snow and a great deal of hail....Vol. PU cia 9 On mount Olympus, in Asia Minor, says the same * author, nothing is to be seen but old snow in a very ereat quantity.. ‘This was in November. He also says, that a river which runs by Tocat, does much mmjury when swelled by ram, or the melting of snow....Letter 9. The river Meles, says Chandler in his travels, ch. xx, which washes Smyrna, swells into a torrent, after heavy rains on the mountains, or the melting of snow. The houses in Smyrna, except those erected by Europeans, seldom have chimneys ; but in cold weather, a pan of charcoals, under a table covered with a carpet, serves to warm the family.—The same author mentions snow upon the summits of mountains, as he passed from Smyrna to Ephesus, Miletus, and Laodicea, as late as March and April....Sce his Travels, 4to. Oxford, 1775. pages 71, 80, 105, 164, 221, 224. The same author, vol. 2. p. 79. speaks of snow on the mountains of Attica. ‘The Hlissus, he says, in sum- mer is quite dry ; and while he resided at Athens, he several times visited the river, after snow#had fallen on the mountains, in hopes to see it fill its banks. He ob- in the Temperature of Winter. Ks serves also that the Cephissus is a small stream, and ab- sorbed before it reaches the sea, except after the mel- ting of snow, ora heavy rain. In describing the. dress of the modern Greeks, he mentions in addition to their ordinary garments, a long vest, which they hang on their shoulders, lined with wool or fur for cold weather.... Vol. 2. p. 110, 119. ‘This author further states that when the mountains in Attica are covered with snow, the woodcocks descend into the plain ;~and if the ground continues froze and the weather severe, they enter the gardens, and are so tame as sometimes to be taken. by the hand....p. 127. See also p. 163. On his journey to Delphi,. in the be- ginning of July, he found the summits of the mountains white with snow; and Parnassus is covered with peren- nial snow....p. 260, 270. This confirms the account which Homer gives of the climate of Dodona, which he ealls very cold....Zfiad. 11. v. 750. : All these authorities prove beyond a question that the climate of Greece and Asia Minor, in modern days, cor- responds well with the representations given of it in an- ecient history.* There is a passage in Pliny, at. Hist. &b- ii. 50, which, after assigning reasons why there is no thunder i cold countries in winter,} expressly declares that the climate of Italy is always mild. ‘ Mobilior aer mitiore hyeme, et estate nimbosa, semper quodam modo vernat vel autumnat,”—always exhibiting the verdure of spring or the mildnessof autumn. Hesays, chapter 47th of the same book, that the swallows appear by the 24th of February. This account corresponds with what has been * There is a passage of Herodotus, in Euterpe, which indicates. that snow sometimes fell in his native country, Halicarnassus ; for he asserts that a fall of snow must be followed, in five days, by rain- This remark represents the climate of that country nearly as it is at present. + Herodotus, in Melpomene, mentions the same fact, in descri- bing Scythia. This is known tobe correct at this day. In northern climates, there is no thunder in winter—but in Italy and Greece, thunder is known only in winter or spring. This fact, correspond- ‘ing with the statements of Herodotus and Pliny, proves the climates of Italy and Greece to be the same as in their days. 56 _ On the supposed Change before remarked, respecting the germination of plants in the same month. There is a passage in Joseph (Jewish War. b. 3. ch. 10,} which describes the climate near the lake of Gen- nesareth, as remarkably mild and pleasant ; and after ie oan its fruitfulness in palm-trees, olives and figs, it is said that grapes and figs are supplied from the trees for ten months in the year. How incompatible is this description with the supposed rigor of the ancient win- ters in Judea! Tacitus informs us, Hist. lib. 3. 59. that Vespasian’s army, in passing the Appenine to quell a revolt in win- ter, suffered severe distresses from cold and snow. But we must recollect that the Frencharmy, but a few years past, suffered equally from the same causes, in the same country, on their march through the Neapolitan territo- rics. Pelloutier, in his history of the Celts, book i. ch. 12, as- serts that in the time of the first Roman Emperors, ‘* On ne recueiloit encore dans les Gaules, ni vin, mi huile, ni dautres fruits, et cela 4 cause de la rigueur du climat, et du froid excessif qui y regnoit.” He admits indeed that in Germany were some cultivated fields, but _ not one fruit tree, as such could not sustain the rigor of | ' the cold. The boidness and positiveness of this writer, led me to recur to his authorities and examine them with _ care. : Strabo, a most diligent investigator, and accurate | geographer, in the very passage cited by Pelloutier, | overthrows the assertion of the latter author. ‘ Narbon- | ensian Gaul,”’ says Strabo, “* produces the same fruits as_| Italy. Proceeding to the north and the Cevennes, the country produces the same fruits, the fig and olive only | excepted.”’— Book iv. § 2. This account corresponds | with that of Pliny, as Ihave in my former dissertation | stated at large ; where it is proved that figs and olives | grew, in the times of the first Emperors, in ‘the province | of Narbonne, which comprehended the more modern | Provence and Dauphiné, and that north of that region § they will not now thrive, nor are they cultivated. | But all parts of Gaul, says Strabo, will produce the fruits | in the Fanner ature of IV inter. 57 which grow in Italy, except the fig and the olive. Italy, | it is agreed, produced figs, olives, and various kinds of wine. ‘ Latium,” says Strabo, 4b. 5. “ enjoysa mild chmate and. produces all kinds of fruits [ sxmPoeos] ex- cepting the marshy lands on the sea coast, and some mountainous tracts ; but even these produce abundant pasturage, many kinds of fruits, and even one excellent kind of wine.” Strabo, in his second book, makes very correct and judicious remarks on climate; statmg that mountainous regions are colder than valleys and low plains. He men- tions Bagadania, an elevated plain between mount Tau- rus and Argea, which produced scarcely any fruit trees, altho situated 3000 stadiums south of the Euxine, where, at Sinope, the country produced olives. “This circum- stance has not been sufficiently considered in estimating the descriptions of climates and seasons, in ancient au- thors. Strabo then observes, that upon the Boristhenes, now the Neiper, and in that part of Celtica which is con- tiguous to the ocean, the vine either will not grow or not produce fruit. Celtica was that part of Gaul which is comprehended between the Garonne and the Seine.... Cesar. Com. hi. 1. Now let it be remarked, that the vine is cultivated at this day, in the maritime part of France, toa very little distance north of the Loire, in the AS8th degree of latitude, altho, in the interior country, it is cultivated with success to the 50th degree. Strabo’s assertion therefore, with regard to Gaul, is 3 almos st lite- rally verified by modern facts. Strabo then mentions the climate on the north Sh the Fuxine, and the fact that, at the mouth of the Palus Macotis, a general of Mithridates, with a body of horse, defeated the barbarians upon the ice, on the very spot, where in summer he defeated them in a naval engage- ment. _A‘fact of this sort is of no effect in settling the ques- tion respecting a change of climate, because we know * See Young’s Tour in France, vol. ii. ch. 3. and his map of the climate. Pausanias informs us that olives grew in Tithorea on mount Parnassus, which is in the 39th degree of latitude.....Phocies. ca, 32 y 58 On the supposed Change not whether the water in the strait of the sea of Azof annually congeals in winter into firm and solid ice, or whether the fact mentioned, was owing to an unusual occurrence, and related for that very reason. The cir- cumstances naturally lead us to conclude that the ice in that year was stronger than usual, and that the winter was uncommonly severe. Strabo then proceeds to state from Eratosthenes, the story of a brazen cup or vessel which had been burst by the freezing of water, and as an evidence of the fact, was preserved in the temple of Esculapius at Panticape, a town on the Cimmerian Bosphorus. He cites the in- scription on the vessel of which the following is a trans- Jation. ‘‘ Ifany man disbelieves what events have ta- ken place among us, let him view this vessel and learn the truth—This vessel has been deposited here by Stra- tius, the priest, not as a gift to the gods, but as an evi- dence of a very rigorous winter.” [xemons neyers.| The translator has rendered these words by immensz_frigoris, which would describe severe cold in general. But such mistakes of the meaning of original writers are the sources of many false theories. The Greek xem will | not justify this translation—lIt signifies winter, and in | connection with great, evidently denotes, in this place, an unusual winter. Strabo indeed speaks of the freezing | ef the Cimmerian Bosphorus, in general terms, and of | large fishs? being dug out of ice, where they had been | caught in nets ; and if this should on inquiry be found | to be the fact now, we ought not to be surprised, as that strait is in the latitude of Quebec. Severe as the cold | was, the Greeks opened a communication with the na- | tions on the north of the Euxine, and built cities on the coast, among which were Panticape, on the strait, and Olbia, on the Boristhenes near the mouth of the Hypa- | nis, or Bog. From what circumstance, this town re- ceived its name, I know not; but it signifies happy or | the pleasant residence.....Strabo, lib. 7. D’Anville Anc. Geog. 1X. That Germany would not produce fruit trees, at the christian era, must not be believed; for vines were cul- tivated in Gaul, as far north as the territory of the Se- | in the Temperature of Winter. 59 quani, since called Burgundy and Frenche Compté. And Strabo informs us, that a celebrated prince of the Gete, after subduing some nations in Thrace and Panno- nia, persuaded them to cut up their vines and live with- out wine....Lib. 7. Yet Thrace as well as Germany is represented by the Roman and Greek writers, as oppres- sed with intolerable cold. That there is much inaccuracy and some exaggeration in the descriptions which ancient writers have given of the winters north of the Alps and the Danube, may be clearly proved by a comparison of these accounts one with another. Tacitus, a writer of great credit, says of Germany, ‘‘ Terra, etsi aliquanto specie differt, in univer- sum tamen aut silvis horrida, aut paludibus foeda.’’.... De Mor Germ. 5. ‘The country is al/ deformed with . woods and morasses. He observes that the soil is “ sa- tis ferax,” sufficiently fruitful ; but “ frugiferarum ar- borum impatiens,” not fitted to produce fruit-bearing trees ; yet ina subsequent section, he informs us that the inhabitants eat “‘ agrestia poma,’’ wild or unculti- vated apples; and those who lived near the Rhine, pur- chased wine—‘“‘ Proximi ripz et vinum mercantur.”’ If neither Gaul nor Germany produced wine, where did the dwellers on the Rhine procure it ? Tacitus informs us further, that the Germans cultiva- ted land, chiefly indeed by their servants, old men and women, as the men preferred war to labor. But they raised barley and other grain, not only for food, but for drink ; for their chief liquor was a species of beer or ale, made from fermented barley and other corn. ‘The lands were cultivated by slaves, who lived upon the land, like - tenants, and paid to their masters a certain part of the produce. How incompatible are these facts with the assertion that the country was all covered with forest and morasses! Nor is this account more compatible with the state of pasturage in Germany, which, as all authors agree, supported vast herds of cattle. But to close all, Tacitus himself assigns reasons why | Germany was not well cultivated, without resorting to ' the asperity of its climate. After stating that the inhab- itants parcelled out the fields among themselves, aecord- 60 On the supposed Change img to the rank of each individual, [a fact m which we see the germ of the feudal system] and that the fields lay fallow every other year, the author says, ‘‘ nec enim cum ubertate et amplitudine soli labore contendunt, ut pomaria conserant, et prata separent, et hortos rigent sola terre seges imperatur.”—So that after charging the defect of fruit trees in Germany to the severity of the winters, this grave writer informs us that it is to be as- cribed to the want of labor. Vhe people were warlike, impatient of labor, and not having known the pleasures of luxury, they wanted only corn for subsistence. Here we have the whole truth. But the passages in Ovid and Virgil, describing a Thracian winter, which I have before mentioned, re- quire some consideration....Ovid de Tristibus, hb. 3. EL. 10. Virgil. Georg. lib. 3. v. 355. Ovid employs the whole of the 10th Elegy of his third book in describing the phenomena of a Scythian winter, as it appeared at ‘Tomos, a town built by the Greeks, near the south bank of the Danube, on the Euxine. The passage is too long to be here transcribed ; but the principal phenomena of the winter were, violent storms, deep snow, and frost so severe as to freeze wine in jars, and the Danube covered with solidice, sufficient to sus- tain horses and cattle with waggons, or whatever might be the vehicles called plaustra. Virgil’s description cor- responds in general with Ovid’s ; and he adds that snow accumulated to the depth of seven [ulnos] cubits, about ten or eleven feet—that cattle perished with cold— _ | and that deer, pluaged in snow almost to the top of their horns, were killed with knives, not being able to escape. On these descriptions, I would offer the following ob- servations : ‘ 1. Some allowance must be made for the license of the poet. Exaggeration is admitted into verse for the purpose of exhibiting strong images to the mind; and when Virgil speaks of snow ten feet deep, it will be ob-- vious that he must have had in view snow-drifts which often accumulate to that highth, in the middle latitudes | of the earth, taking, asa poet naturally would, the most remarkable phenomenon as the subject of representa- | ut the Temperature of Winter. 6] tion; or he must have intended to describe the piles of everlasting snow upon the mountains ; or he must have described some very extraordinary snows in severe win- ters. Every man will at once perceive that no country would be habitable in winter, where the common depth of the snow should be ten feet upon a level. That the country of Thrace and Scythia, to the Tanais or Don, was inhabited by numerous tribes of men, who subsisted by hunting and pasturage, from the earliest times, is an indisputable fact ; and the numerous flocks of cattle and * horses kept by the Nomadic Scythians, long before the time of Virgil, is a powerful argument against the sup- posed severity of the winters in their climate ; for they did not cultivate the earth to any considerable degree; and if the winters were of six or eight months duration, as an- cient authors pretend, how was it possible for them to subsist their cattle ? The “‘semper hyems, semper spirantes frigora cauri’’ of Virgil, must therefore be intended for Mount Rhodope, which is still covered with snow the whole year, or it must be a poetical fiction.* In the same light must we | view the representation Virgil gives of the mode of spend- ing the winter in Scythia ; where, he says, the inhabit- ants dug caves for their residence, and warmed them by rolling whole oaks and elms upon their fires. This and other parts of the description are evidently too high col- ored. ut most of the phenomena described by Virgil and Ovid, are such as we observe in the northern parts of this country ; and such as occur in New-England, in winters of uncommon severity. If these were the ordi- nary phenomena of the cold in the countries along the Danube, now comprehended in Bulgaria, Wallachia, Bessarabia and Hungary ; and if such phenomena do not now occur in ordmary years, there must have been a change of climate. Withregard to modern winters in * Virgil begins his description with the country about Rhodope, but a part of it must refer to the polar regions, or be a poetical fic- tion. Indeed the ancients had but little knowledge of the country north of the Danube, and confounded various climates in general de- . scriptions. Herodotus however informs us, that the land along the _ Boristhenes was very fruitfulin corn. He also speaks of the plowing | Scythians.,..See his Melpomene, 52, 53. 62 On the supposed Change that region, I have very little information. _ It is certain, however, that the Danube still freezes ; altho my infor- mation does not enable me to say to what degree. 2. My second observation is, that the freezing of wine does not imply great severity of cold. Madeira congeals at 10° above cypher by Farenheit; and the lighter wines of Italy, Greece and Asia |] Minor, would. undoubtedly freeze witha less degree of cold. 3. The accounts which historians give, as well as Ovid, of the irruptions of the barbarians into ‘Thrace and Tta- ly, in winter, by means of a bridge of ice, and the draw- ing of their plaustra upon the ice and snow, demonstrate that the snow was not of a depth beyond what is usual in New-England. 4, But we have, in Ovid’s 12th elegy, more certain data to judge of the wintersin Thrace. The poet, after indulging his fancy in describing the gloomy scenes of a Thracian winter, assumes a more cheerful air, and paints the beauties of the following spring. ‘“‘ Frigora jam zephyri minuunt,” says Ovid, at the equinox. He then observes that the year past, the winter of Maeotis seemed longer than former winters. Whether he means longer than former winters in the same country, or whe- ther, that being the first winter after his exile, the winter appeared longer to him than it had done in Italy, is not quite certain. If the former, the winter was unusually long, and probably unusually cold; and therefore not to be considered as a standard of the general temperature of ancient winters. If we are to understand the passage in the latter sense, the remark is rather trifling; for who — could question that a winter in Thrace, would not appear - longer to any man than a winter in Italy ; and especiaily _ to a wretched exile, forced from his family, his country, and all his former enjoyments ? But we must not pass unobserved the facts mentioned by the poet at this tme—the spring equinox. Now the merry youth, says Ovid, gather violets, which the uncultivated earth produces ; the meads are decorated with blossoms of various hue, and the woods resound with the melody of birds. To this he adds that _ the swallows appeared and built nests sub trabibus. if | : | in the Temperature of Iinter. 63 swallows appeared in Thrace, immediately after the equi- nox, the spring must then have been three or four weeks earlier than in New-England ; for they do not appear here till late in April. ‘The same fact is indicated by the blossoming of plants. ‘These representations of the po- et appear to be important in settling this question. Several passages in the most respectable ancient au- thors, leave us no room to question, that not only the Cimmerian Bosphorus, the Don and Boristhenes, but that the Danube and Rhine were, in winter, covered with ice sufficient to bear the heaviest loads, and that ar- mies often crossed them on the ice. ‘These factsare di- riectly asserted in the following passages.... Herodotus in Melpomene, 28—Xiphilin’s Epit. of Dion. Cassius, M. Ant.—Herodian, lib. 6—Pausanias, lib. 8, cap. xxviii.— Jornandes De Rebus Geticis. 55—Ammianus Marcell-. mus. (10. 31. 6a. X. Herodotus speaks of the Euxine Sea and the Cimme- rian Bosphorus. Ovid asserts the like fact of the Dan- ube, and probably intended that part of the river which is near itsmouth. Pausanias mentions the Hypanis, now the Bog, the Boristhenes, now the Neiper, the Ister, or Danube and the Rhine. The other authors speak of the Danube and Rhine near their sources in the south of Germany and Helvetia. ‘These writers represent the freezing of these rivers as common events—at least they make no discrimination between winters ; and Herodi- an, in the passage cited, says of the Rhine and Danube, Pues wer Oy Tov worauan avty—- This is the nature of those rivers. He speaks of these rivers as they were in the country, which now comprehends the dominions of Austria, Ba- yaria and Swabia; for it was in those countries, where the barbarians usually crossed the rivers to invade the Roman empire. _ The ice however was not always sufficiently strong to ‘sustain armies; for about the year before Christ 175, a body of Bastarnians, returning from an irruption into, _Dardania, attempted to cross the Danube on the ice and were almost all drowned....Baker’s Livy, book 41. How frequently the Rhine and Danube, in the same ‘countries, are coyered with ice of similar strength in 64 On the supposed Change modern days, I know not—for unfortunately modern travellers furnish little information on the subject. Pel- — loutier, who has cited most of the authorities of antiqui- ty on this subject, says, the freezing of the Rhine, the Danube, the Elbe, the Weser, and “the Oder, in poet a manner as to sustain armies, is now an extraordinary event, which happens scarcely once in ten years—‘“ La chose arrivera a peine une fois dans dix ans.”’.... Hist. des Celts. lib. 1. ch. 12. But Cluver says, ‘“‘ Danubius in Germania glaciem fert.”....Lib. i. 12. The Danube in Germany bears or is covered with ice. Let it be remarked that at the battle of Austerlitz, Dec. 2, the Russian troops were said to have crossed a lake on the ice. Bonaparte, in his acceunt of the action, represented that most of them fell through the ice and were drowned ; but by the official Russian account, it appears that the troops passed over in safety. Let it be further remarked that Cesar, in his history © of his seven campaigns in Gaul, during which his troops were often disturbed in winter by insurrections of the inhabitants, which obliged them to leave their winter quarters, and march gr eat distances, tho he often men- tions the extreme har dships suffered by his troops in these marches, and. particularly the difficulty of trans- porting baggage, has not mentioned the word snow {nivis ] ina single i instance, if my memory does not de- ceive me, except when speaking of the march over the Ceyvennes; var onthese mountains, snow falls in modern dafys to a depth equal to that mentioned by Cesar.... See Pinkerton Geog. Lrance. | But whatever may be the fact with respect to the clin mate of Germany, there is positive evidence that the rivers in Greece and Italy did not freeze to any conside- _ rable degree at the christian era. Pausanias, after men-— h tioning the freezing of the Danube and other northern © rivers, describes the water of the rivers in Arcadia as fits | for bathing even in winter....Z7b. viii. 28. Hemdend | j speaking of the discontents (on account of the climate,) — which prevailed among the troops of Commodus, who | performed service on the Danube, and who complained ] that they had frozen water to drink, speaks of the riv , | in the Temperature of inter. 65 of Italy, by way of contrast, as cool flowing streams... Lib. 1. But our best authority is Ovid, who, after re- lating the fact that the ‘ Sarmatic cattle draw carriages upon the Danube,” declares, “ Vix equidem credar’? —‘ I shall hardly be believed ;”’ yet he adds, ‘“‘ whena witness has no motive to misrepresent facts, credit is due to his testimony.”” Now if the freezing of rivers to such a degree as to sustain carriages and cattle appeared incredible to the inhabitants of Italy, to one of whom Ovid was writing, it amounts to full proof that the Ital- ians had never seen such a phenomenon, in their own country. ‘This disproves utterly the degree of cold in ancient Italy, which modern writers have supposed, and. confirms what I have before suggested, that the instance of the freezing of the Tiber mentioned by Livy, was an extraordinary event, which excited general surprise, like our winter of 1780. Indeed, all the descriptions of the rigorous winters in Thrace, Germany and Gaul, being given by historians and poets who were accustomed to the mild climates of Greece and Italy, wear the features of exaggeration, which must have been impressed upon them by the astonishment of the writers. ‘These facts seem to decide the question, that the winters in Greece and Italy were, 2000 years ago, as mild as they are in this age—and that if any change has ever taken place in | those countries, it must have been anterior to the age of the writers mentioned. Indeed Columella, De Re Rus- tica, lib. i. 61. mentions the opinion of an author, that such a change had taken place—and cites as a proof of it, the fact that vines and olives would thrive in countries where the cold, in preceding ages, had prevented their cultivation. lam satisfied, however, that although the draining and drying of land is often necessary to the cul- tivation of particular fruits, yet most of what has been ‘charged to cold, ought to be ascribed to the zndolence or military spirit of savage men, who preferred war and hunting to agriculture. Tn addition to what I have said, on the subject of the winters in America, I have a few remarks to cite from two writers of undoubted credit, J 65 On the supposed Change John Megapolensis, a. Dutch clergyman, who resided at Albany,. and wrote an account of the Mohawks, in 164A, a translation of which is in. Hazard’s Collection, vol..1. 517, says, of the climate, ‘‘ the summers. are pretty hot, and the winters very cold. “The summer continues till All Saints’ Day, (Nov. 1,) but then the winter sets in, in the same manner as it commonly does in December,. and freezes so much in one night that. the ice will beara man. The freezing commonly continues three months—sometimes there comes a warm and. pleas- ant day, yet the thaw does not continue ;. but it freezes again till March, and then commonly the river begins to open, seldom in February.” According to this account, the winters have not moderated; for the Hudson, at Al- bany, usually freezes early in December, and continues closed till March. A common winter is of three months duration.. Professor Kalm, who came to America in 1748, was very particular in his inquiries on this subject ; and. te the best information he could obtain, he added his own observations. He relates, vol. i. p. 21. Lond. 1772. that at Newcastle, the Delaware seldom froze in winter so as to obstruct navigation ; but at Philadelphia, that river was,. almost every winter, covered with i ice, so as to in- terrupt navigation for some weeks together. In page 36, he says, the climate of Philadelphia was then tempe- rate; the winter was not over severe, and its duration short—September and October were like August in Sweden, and the first days in February frequently as pleasant as the end of April and beginning of May im the middle of Sweden. In page 38 he says,. the only disadvantage which the trade of Philadelphia suffers, is, the freezing of the river almost every winter for a month or more. In page 83 | he states, that the winters he spent in the country were none of the coldest, but common ones, and that durmg his stay, the Delaware was not covered with ice strong, enough to bear a carriage. _ In the next page, he adds, that me winters, tho severe, did not contmue above two months, and at Philadelphia, sometimes less. Cherries were ripe about the 25th of May—(probably old style.) —— ne i the Temperature of Winter. 67 dn page 197, the author, speaking of New-York, states ‘that the harbor is good, and never froze except in extra- ordinary cold weather; but he says, page 208, the winters at New-York are much more severe than in Pennsylva- nia. He says afterwards, that the ice stands on the Hud- son several months, by which he must mean the ice on that river in the interior country. January 21, 1749, people walked over the Delaware at Philadelphia on the ice; but no one ventured to ride over on horseback. Bui in page 362, the author informs us, that the river was covered with ice soon after new year, and the ice became so streng that people rode over on horseback— the ice continued to the 8th of February, when the river avas cleared. — The old men, of whom Kalm made inquiries respect- ing a change in the seasons, all agreed in the fact, that when the country was first settled, the weather was more uniform than it was in their time. Most of them were of opinion, that more snow fell when they were young; that the winters began earlier ; and that the springs were also earlier. It was a saying among the old Swedes, that they had always grass at Faster, whether early or late. Mr. Norris, one of the first settlers of Philadelphia, and a merchant, related, that in his younger years, the Delaware was usually covered with ice by the middle of _ November, old style. One old Swede, who remembered the very severe winter of 1697-8, was of opinion, there had been little change in the winters—that there were as great storms and as cold winters in his old age as in his childhood. Kalm, however, in his second volume, page 43, insti- tutes a comparison between Old and New Sweden, as he terms the two countries, in which he mentions, among the disadvantages of New Sweden, or Delaware and Pennsylvania, that the nights are darker than in Old ‘Sweden, where they are in part illuminated by snow and the lumen boreale. In this paragraph he says expressly, that the winters bring no permanent snow in Pennsylva- ‘nia, to make the nights clear and travelling safe. The cold, he says, is often intense as in Old Sweden; but 68 On the supposed Change, Se. _ the snow which falls lies only a few days, and always: goes off with a great deal of wet. From a careful comparison of these facts, it appears that the weather, in modern winters, is more inconstant, than when the earth was covered with wood, at the fe settlement of Europeans in the country ; that the warm weather of autumn extends farther into the winter months, and the cold weather of winter and spring en- croaches upon the summer; that the wind being more variable, snow is less permanent, and perhaps the same remark may be applicable to the ice of the rivers. These effects seem to result’ necessarily from the greater quan- tity of heat accumulated in the earth in summer, since the ground has been cleared of wood, and exposed to the rays of the sun; and to the greater depth of frost in the earth in winter, by the exposure of its uncovered surface to the cold atmosphere. But we can hardly infer, from the facts that have yet been collected, that there is, in modern times, an actual diminution of the ageregate amount of cold in winter, on either continent. ab 4 No. £1. A DISSERTATION ON THE PRODUCTION OF VAPOR; In which it is attempted to explain some curious pheno- mena that attend its ascent. BY ELIZUR WRIGHT, ESQ. ATER has, till lately, been considered by phi- losophers as an uncompounded substance ; and _ has accordingly been classed among the elements. Some _ of the phenomena of water, on this principle, have been of inexplicable solution. How it could come to pass, that so ponderous a body as water should be raised and -sustamed in the lighter air in the form of vapor, was long viewed as amystery. The fruitful imagination of philosophers has, however, invented several hypotheses to account for this wonderful process of nature. It has been considered, that the gravity of bodies diminishes, Ceteris paribus, in proportion as the cubes of their diam- eters, that is, as their solid content; but their resistance in a fluid, or their capacity of being supported by it, di- minishes only as the squares of their diameters, that is, as their surfaces. Hence, since the gravity decreases in a higher ratio than the resistance, by diminishing the bulk of any heavy body, it may be made to swim ina 70> On the Production of Vapor. fluid of any given rarity—for instance, water, or even air. ‘Thus gold, and other heavy metals, when sufh- ciently comminuted, are observed to be suspended and swim in water; and if the difference between the solid content and the surface of the pieces is sufficiently in- creased, they may be sustained and made to float even in air. Others have imagined, that vapor arises upon the principles of the capillary tube. They suppose that the particles of the atmosphere are so disposed as to form an indefinite number of tubular interstices, which act in the nature of a filter; and raise up, by the attraction of cohesion, the minute columns of water that compose clouds. They have compared this phenomenon to tal- low that rises m the wicks of candles; and to tubes of sand or ashes, that will raise water to the height of seve- ral feet. Others again have maintained, that vapor consists of bubbles of water, filled with rarefied air. These bal- loons of nature’s workmanship, they conceive to ascend and sail along in the atmosphere, until by some accident they burst, and fall down in rain. Each of these hypotheses are liable to objections, that cannot easily be removed; and appear to be insuflicient to explain the phenomena. Water has been found to be a compound substance, consisting of 85 parts of oxygen, and 15 parts of hydro- een. Its natural state is ice: by its combination with caloric, it 1s rendered fluid. Both by natural and arti- ficial methods, water may be converted into air, and air into water. One of the nutritive principles of vegetables, and, as has been proved by experiment, the only one in some, is water. By the digestive power of the plant, the water that is absorbed by it, is decomposed. While the hydrogen, modified by the organic system peculiar to the plant, is retained to nourish and form a part of it; the oxygen transpires through the parenchymous part of the leaves, and forms vital air. ‘Thus water is con- verted to air by anatural process. Vegetable fermenta- tion, and animal putrefaction, produce hydrogen gas; and whenever it is extricated, it mmediately combines On the Production of Vapor. 71 with vital air, and generates water. But, from the cir- cumstances under which hydrogen gas is produced, it ean by no means be supposed to exist in so large quan- tities, as to generate the abundant vapor that exists. - Large quantities of vapor daily ascend from the surface of rivers, ponds, lakes, and seas. Doct. Halley found, that in the summer season, there arises in vapor at a medium, daily, from every square foot of the surface of water half a pint, from every square mile 6914 tons, and from the Mediterranean sea 5,280,000,000 tons. This prodigious quantity of water is not changed into air. Nature affords no re-agent to decompose it. The con- version of water into air, and air into water, appears therefore not to be the grand process of nature, by which clouds are formed, and precipitated in rain. Though by the elimination of hydrogen gas, and its combination with pure air, a small quantity of vapor may be generat- ed, we are to look somewhere else for the principal cause of the production of vapor. To make water ascend in vapor, it seems necessary | that some alteration in its texture should take place, that _ should render it so porous as to be specifically lighter than air. The alteration in the texture of bodies, is ei- _ ther under such circumstances, that their very consiitu- tion and nature is changed ; in which case the attraction | between the two bodies that unite, is strong, and they | undergo a chymical combination; or the body, whose | texture is altered, retains all its former properties; and _pretty readily quits the substance it is united with. The | attraction here is weak, and the process is termed by | chymists solution. Solution is the disappearance of @ ) solid in a liquid; or it is the change of a solid to a liquid, or to gas, without any alteration in the nature of the body | dissolved. Water and fire are the great solvents or men- | strua that nature furnishes. Corpuscular attraction, or | what the chymists term affinity, is commonly said to | take place between the integrant parts of bodies, when. in contact only; but this is not strictly true. ‘The con- | stituent particles of bodies attract each other, when at a small distance ; though that distance may be so small }.as to be insensible. ‘Vhe nearer the integrant parts ot a 72 On the Production of Vapor. | body approach each other, the stronger will be their af- finity. Every thing that tends to remove these integrant parts from each other, diminishes their affinity. Fire produces this effect upon most known bodies. And it not only diminishes their affinity, but being itself the ~ lightest of all substances, and rendering the bodies it unites with more porous, it greatly inereases their levity. By the agency of fire, metals and ice are changed from their natural solid state to that of a liquid. The power of attraction is balanced by the opposite force of heat; the liquid state appears to be the point of the equilibrium between these two forces. By increasing the heat, most bodies are reduced to a state of gas. If we attend to the method that nature pursues, we shall find, that water is reduced to a state of vapor, and its texture is so altered as to become specifically lighter than air, by the agency of fire. Evaporation is, therefore, a dissolution of water by fire. ‘The various substances that compose the uni- verse are, therefore, subjected to a general law on the one hand, that tends to bring them together; and toa powerful agent on the other hand, which tends to remove them from each other. It is upon the respective energy of these two forces, that the consistence of all bodies de- pends. Whether heat or caloric is truly possessed of a repulsive principle, or whether it produces this effect only by its endeavor to combine with bodies, forcing the constituent particles to separate and recede from each other, and diminishing their force of aggregation, I shall not undertake to determine. A certain degree of affinity exists between most substances and caloric, but this de- gree in different substances is very various. It is there- fore unequally dispersed in bodies, some absorbing and retaining it in greater, and some in less quantities. By contemplating the circumstances that attend its combi- nation, we are led to conclude, that the component par- — ticles of bodies are surrounded with a caloric atmosphere — or investiture, more or less extensive, according to their respective attraction. The parts of this atmosphere — more distant from the particle thus invested, being but weakly attracted, will easily abandon it to restore an _ equilibrium of heat, and will then become free or ther- * % o2 On the Production of Vapor. 75 mometrical heat. But the parts that are nearer will be _ obstinately retained, and will not quit it; they have be- come chymically united with it; the heat will not be perceptible, and is called /atent heat. Hence arises an “easy solution of the difficulty some have started against the doctrine, that vapor is a solution of water by fire. They say, if it be allowed that fire rarefies water to such a degree as to render it specifically lighter than air, upon its ascending, the fire will abandon the water, to restore an equilibrium to the cooler air; and the water-will re- turn to its former gravity, and be precipitated; there- fore, say they, water cannot be made to ascend in vapor upon this principle. But it must be considered, that a greater degree of affinity exists between water and calo- ric, than there does between air and caloric. Hence, though a part of the caloric may quit the particle of va- por to restore an equilibrium to the cooler air; yetalarge portion of it being chymically united to the water, and, in respect to the air, becoming latent heat, a safficient quantity will be retained to render it specifically lighter than air; therefore the particle of vapor will ascend. ‘A curious phenomenon attending the generation of va- por, is the production of cold. Whenever heat is in- creased and accumulated in one place, it is diminished, and withdrawn from the parts adjacent. Water, in pas- sing from a solid or icy, to a liquid state, and from a li- quid state to vapor, attracts the caloric from the contig- uous substances. In combustion, the matter of heat is either extricated from its fixed state in the combustible substance, or, as it sometimes happens, it is attracted from the adjacent parts, which are consequently made cooler by the process. ‘This principle has been applied to many useful and economical purposes. ‘The Hungarians, when they travel through the hot deserts, dig a pit about two feet in depth, and bury their bottles of wine in it, cover- ing them over again very close: then they burn straw or reeds over the place, and when the fire is out, they dig up their wine as cool as if it had been put into the cool- est water. This fact is related in the Philos. Trans. of the Royal Society, No. 452. The inhabitants of China, India, Persia and Egypt, cool their liquors, used for drink, K 74 On the Production of Vapor. by evaporation.. The water intended to be cooled is put into very porous vessels, and exposed to the sun, or toa current of warm air. In experiments made by Mr. | Richmanz in 1747, and inserted in the first volume of the Transactions of the Imperial Academy of Petersburg, a thermometer taken out of water and exposed to air of equal temperature, descended and remained below the height indicated by the water, until the bulb became dry, when it regained its former height. If the ball of a ther- mometer be wrapped in fine linen, and kept moist by sprinkling with ether, and the evaporation be facilitated by agitation in the air, the thermometer will descend to 0. Doct. Franklin has proved, that when the body per- spires copiously, it is less heated than surrounding bod- ies ; and that perspiration alway produces a certain de- gree of coldness. A surprizing degree of cold.is produ- ced by a solution of the crystallized salts. By using a saline mixture composed of eleven parts of dry pulveri- zed Sal Ammoniac, ten parts of dry pulverized Nitre, sixteen parts of Glauber’s Salts, and thirty-two parts of water, Mr. Walker has brought the thermometer to eight degrees below 0. i Another remarkable phenomenon attending the form- ation and ascent of vapor is, that the less the gravity of the air is, the more copiously is the vapor exhaled, and the greater its specific gravity. Chaptal observes, that evap- oration is more speedy m proportion as the pressure of the air is less upon the surface of the fluid. “The Abbé Rochon has applied this principle to distillation with sin- gular advantage. It was found by the Abbe Mongez and Mr. Lamanow, that ether evaporated with prodigious facility upon the peak of Teneriffe. ‘The same fact was observed by Mr. Saussure on the mountains of Switzer- land. Whilst Doct. Halley was making his observations for a catalogue of the Southern stars, on the tops of the mountains in the island of St. Helena, suchan uncommon _ quantity of vapor fell there in dew, as very much impe- — ded his business, by covering his glasses over in six or seven mmutes. In the account of an uncommon dark- ness on May 19th, 1780, contained in the first volume of © the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sei- — ) v ‘On the Production of Vapor. a ~- “ences, there is mentioned a very curious observation on the ascent and situation cf the vapor, which arose at that time, made by a gentleman at Pepperell. ‘‘ About nine -o’clock (says he) in the morning, after a shower, the va- ors arose from the sprmes in the low lands in great abundance. I took notice of one Jarge column, that as- -cended with great rapidity to a-considerable height above the highest hills, and soon spread into a large.cloud; then moved off a little tothe Westward. A second cloud was formed in the same manner from the same springs, but «did not ascend so high as the first: anda third was form- ed in the same places in less than a quarter of an hour after the second.’’ One of the gentlemen who observed here, mentions a circumstance of somewhat a singular nature. —‘‘ Whilst the darkness continued, (says he) the «louds were in quick motion, interrupted, skirted one over another ; so as apparently, and I suppose really, to form a considerable number of strata.” As to the state of the atmosphere, Professor Williams, who gave the ac- count, observes, “that its gravity was gradually decreas- ing the bigger part of the day.”” At Bradford, about thirty miles North of Cambridge, and nearly under the same meridian, the mercury in the Barometer stood at 6 o’clock, A. M. at 29 inches 82; at 10h. 20m. it was at 29 inches 68; and at 10h. 45m. it stood at 29 inches 67 ; at 12h. 15m. the mercury had fallen to 29 inches 65.— Farenheit’s thermometer at Bradford, at 6 o’clock, A. M. ~was at 39°. At 12 oclock it stood at 51°. At Cam- bridge, at 12 o’clock, it was 51° 1-2. These phenomena are the more noticeable, because they seem to take place contrary to the received law in hydrostatics, that the tendency ef a body to ascend or de- scend, ina fluid, is proportional to the difference between the specific gravity of the body, -and that of the fluid.— Therefore the denser a fluid is, the greater will be the fa- -cility with which a-given body swvill ascend in it. We ‘should be led to conclude from this, that the evaporation would be the most abundant, when the gravity of the at- mosphere is the greatest. But the reverse of this hap- pens. What cause can be assigned that can produce so unexpected an effect? If it should be said that wher 76 On the Production of Vapor. the gravity of the atmosphere is increased, it prevents the rise of vapor by its pressure upon the water, it might be replied, 1st. That the pressure is not such as to pre- vent even a small force from agitating the surface of the water, and if it is incompressible, and alway of the same density, no reason can be given, why an equal force should not dislodge as many aqueous corpuscles at one time as another, 2d. In water, a body will ascend with the same facility at the depth of an hundred fect, as at one; and if an increased pressure alters not the tendency of a body to ascend in water, it cannot in air. The difference in the heights of the several strata of clouds observed by the gentleman at Pepperell, cannot easily be accounted for, on known principles. For as the gravity, and consequently the pressure of the atmos- phere that morning was gradually decreasing, the vapors, which arose at the several times observed, as far as that cause had influence, would all gradually and equally ex- pand; and would eventually ascend to an equal height. And as the heat was continually increasing, we should conclude that the column of vapor which arose last, would be more rarefied, and take the highest station, contrary to what was observed. To account for these phenomena, it seems necessary to unfold some other principle ; and from the several ap- pearances that attend the formation and ascent of vapor, it is probably this; that water is in a small degree com- pressible. ‘The contrary doctrine has been held by phi- losophers. But the experiments of Canton have proved, that the commonly received opinion is erroneous. He inclosed water in spherical glass vessels, from which a “narrow neck proceeded, like that of a thermometer, the water was found to occupy a larger space when the pres- sure of the atmosphere was removed by the air-pump,and a less space when a greater pressure was added by the condenser. If water is compressible, it follows, that like the atmosphere, it has a variable density, decreasing more or less, according to the degree of compressibility, from the interior towards the exterior parts. In the at-_ mosphere the density gradually decreases as we ascend from the earth. But in water the density is nearly uni- On the Production of Vapor. 77 form, till we come to the surface ; where there appears to exist a stratum of water of a small insensible depth, ‘So rare as to be nearly in a state of vapor. The arguments and inductions from phenomena that conspire to prove the existence of this cause, are the fol- lowing: 1st. Water is of an elastic compressible nature ; therefore at the surface, where the attraction and pres- sure are the least, it will be more rare than at any assign- able depth below, where the attraction and pressure are stronger, and consequently the water more dense. 2d. The affinity that exists between the particles of water among themselves, and also between the particles of wa- ter and caloric, is very strong ; and vastly stronger than that between the particles of air, or that between air and. caloric. Ifthere were not a powerful attraction between the particles of water, when a strong heat is applied, the whole body of it would undergo a simultaneous expan- sion like air, and be dissipated in vapor at once. And if caloric did not possess a stronger attraction for water than for air, it would abandon the particles of vapor to unite with the air; hence the position is evident. 3d. The force of attraction between the particles of water is such, that when the whole cause is applied, the contrary force of heat is but just sufficient to balance it; this is apparent from the small degree in which water is capable of being compressed. 4th. Hence it will follow asacon- sequence, that water will soon attain to nearly a uniform density. For a particle is attracted not only by the one next toit, but by several adjacent ones. Butat the sur- face, on account of the absenee of the particles above, they will be less attracted, and consequently will range themselves at a greater distance ; there will therefore be a stratum at the surface, much more rarefied than water in its common state. This rarefaction will be surpriz- ingly increased by the investiture of caloric, which the particles of water are then in a situation to assume. At any sensible depth the affinity of aggregation is so strong, that it squeezes out and excludes the caloric ; which will nevertheless, for the reasons before mentioned, be retained at the surface. This also accounts for the cool- ing process in evaporation. As fast as the matter of heat 78 On the Production of Vapor. as thrown off in yapor, more is drawn from the neigh- boring parts, and propelled to the surface by the endeav- — or of the particles of water to come into union. And J suspect that like other fluids, having formed a current, it continues the same for a while after an equilibrium is restored. “Chere are some phenomena of nature, that seem to indicate this; and cannot well be explamed with- out the supposition. Unless it be admitted that there exists a stratum of rarefied water at the surface, it can- not well be conceived how any evaporation can take place. We cannot say how those small portions of water, that constitute particles of vapor, can be torn off and detach- ed from the body of water; unless by the agency of heat the integrant parts are first separated to a greater distance from each other, and the affinity of aggregation thereby weakened. A small force, such as the agitation occa- sioned by the motion of the air, the action of the solar rays, or ebullition, will then be sufficient to throw off the water in minute particles; but if it should remain in its common state of density, the particles would be so strong- ly held down by attraction, as not to be dislodged by these causes. But the whole body of water is not thus rarefied; there must, therefore, exist a rarefied stratum at the surface, as a foundation for the formation of parti- cles of vapor. The depth and rarity of this vaporific stratum, varies with the state of the atmosphere. When the air has a greater specific gravity, it so compresses as to render it less rare, and of less depth, than when the air possesses less gravity. This superficial stratum is of a variable density, increasmg from the exterior toward the interior parts; this is evident, and results from the elasticity of the fluid. A particle of vapor is an assem- - blage of the exceedingly minute particles of water, rare- fied by heat to such a degree as to be lighter than air, and ~ imcreasing in density from the surface toward the central parts. When such a particle is detached from the body — | of water, it parts with a portion of its caloric, which be- fore was retained by the attraction of the water. It hence arises that the gravity of vapor is,ceeteris paribus,propor-— tional to the magnitude of its particles. Since thisrare- | fied stratum at the surface of water is necessary to the On the Production of Vapor. vhs: avulsion and detachment of the particles of vapor, the more it is rarefied; and the greater its depth, the more copious will be the exhalation. But this takes place, when the atmosphere has the greatest levity. Hence the phenomenon that evaporation is the most abundant, when the specific gravity of the atmosphere is the least. When the depth of the vaporific stratum is small, the lower par- ticles will be strongly drawn down and held by cor- puscular attraction, so that the causes which produce a separation will not be able to dislodge and generate par- ticles of the larger size ; but when it has a greater thick- ness, the attraction is so small as to be overcome at a greater depth, and particles of vapor of a larger bulk will be formed. ‘he magnitude therefore of the particles, will be in proportion to the depth of the stratum. To ac- count for the different heights that the columns of vapor, observed by the gentleman at Pepperell, assumed, it may be considered that when the first column arose, the air was dense, and the vaporific stratum consequently of small depth ; the particles of vapor would therefore be small, and as their levity is in proportion to their small- ness, they would mount up to a greater height. The gravity of the atmosphere was considerably diminished when the second column arose, and the consequent in- crease in the depth of the vaporific stratum admitted the formation of larger particles of vapor; but as the specif- ic gravity of vapor is proportional to the magnitude of its particles, it must, on account of its gravity, take a Re lower station agreeable to observation. bay No. L147. AN ACCOUNT OF THE WHITTEN PLASTER. SHARON, 7th Jan. 1800. SIR, I HEREWITH submit to the examination of the Academy a sample of stone, called by our farmers Whitten Plaster, from the name of the discoverer, one Thomas Whitten, of Kent. Searching for iron ore up- on his own farm, he, about two years since, came across an inexhaustible quarry of this stone. It is found to be an excellent manure; and though manifestly not a gyp- seous earth, yet it is not inferior to the Plaster of Paris in its effects upon indian corn, and in certain soils, upon clover. It is less friable than the Plaster, but the propri- etor has erected a mill of curious construction, near the quarry, in which it is easily pulverized; and such is the increasing demand for it, that he anticipates much prof- it from the discovery. Possessing no chemical appara- tus, it has not been in my power to make by any means, a complete analysis of this stone. From the slight at- tempis I have made to decompose it, I am satisfied it is composed of the sulphuric acid in no small proportion, plumbago, and siliceous earth. *Plumbago, in a simple state, is frequently found in the interstices of the quarry. If 1 have rightly conjectured its composition, this stone ‘possesses nothing in common with gypsum, excepting * A small quantity of this is also forwarded. 82 An Account of the Whitten Plaster. the vitriolic acid. But as its fertilizing effects are the same, or nearly so, it goes far to demonstrate the cor- rectness of an opinion I have long entertained, that the vitriolic acid, by some considered hostile to vegetation, is in truth the only operative ingredient in gypsum. This: acid, chemists inform us, will attract six times its weight of water from the atmosphere, before it will be satura- ted. Now the Plaster of Paris, which is said to contain thirty parts in one hundred, of this acid, produces no effect but on sandy or gravelly soils. It should seem that as fast as the acid attracts the moisture, the thirsty soil receives it, and in this way the plaster becomes a faithful and excellent conductor of humidity to the plant. Whatever may be the cause, it is certain that a small quantity of pulverized gypsum, exposed upon a dry stone to the open air, ina warm and clear day, will presently by the attraction of water from the air, become a mere paste. It is difficult to account for its astonishing effects upon vegetation in many parts of our country, on any other hypothesis. My principal object in making this communication, is, to obtain a more perfect analysis of this newly discover- _ ed manure, in hopes it may be employed to advantage upon the sea-coast, where, Iam informed, gypsum pro- duces no visible effect. The paper No. 2, contains stones of a singular form and appearance, sent me by a gentleman in Winchester, to be communicated. He informs me they are found in considerable quantities in that town, sometimes in large masses, which, when struck with a sledge, will fly into pieces of different sizes, retaining uniformly the hexag- onal figure. rom their assuming universally the form of hexagonal prisms, and from their transparency and hardness, I conclude they must be, if not the rock crys~— tal, at least a very pure species of silex. But of what- ever substance they are composed, it is possible in the hands of a skilful lapidary, they may be turned to a good. account. Tam, Sir, respectfully, | Your obedient servant, JOHN C. SMITH. 5S. Batpwin, Esq. Rec. Sec. Ac. Ar. Sci. a f . Nox EK. Retain SKETCH Of the Mineralogy of the Town of New-Haven, 2N ANSWER TO THE FIFTH QUESTION OF THE CONNECTICUT ACAD EMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. T will be advantageous to consider this subject un- der two divisions, which naturally arise out of the diversity of surface by which the territory belonging to the town of New-Haven is strongly marked. J. OF THE PLAIN COUNTRY. II. Or THE MOUNTAINOUS AND HILLY COUNTRY. And I. Or THE PLAIN COUNTRY. The city of New-Haven stands on the southern part of an extensive plain, bounded on all sides, excepting the south and south-west, by a circular range of eleva- ted ground, rising, in most places, into high hills, and, in two instances, into mountains of considerable altitude. The mean diameter of this plain, which forms an irreg- ular amphitheatre, has not been ascertained by correct measurement, but it probably does not exceed two and a half, or, at the most, three miles. “Two rivulets wash the boundaries of the plain, and the bottom of the hills; the one on the east, and the other on the west, and ter- minate in arms of the sea, or salt water creeks, flowing 84 Sketch of the Mineralogy into the harbor. On the north and north-east, the con- nection of the plain country with the heights is uninter- rupted by water, except that the morass,called the Beaver Ponds, breaks the continuity of the plain, about half a mile from the high ground on the north-west. The plain country, of which I have now givenasketch, presents very little which is interesting to a mineralogist. It is not quite uniformly level, but slopes somewhat to- wards the harbor, and towards the rivers; and there are a few depressions which may be denominated vallies.— ‘The inequalities of its surface are, however, no where so great, as to militate seriously against the idea, that it is principally an aldwial country. ‘The conclusion is un- | doubtedly a correct one, that plain countries have gene- rally been formed, or at least greatly extended, by the demolition of hills and mountains, caused by the long continued operation of frost and wind, rain, heat, and other similar causes, usually described under the com- prehensive, although indefinite appellation of the e/e- ments. It is, however, only in Alpine countries, where the mountains rise to a stupendous height, and are ex- posed to the full fury of the storms, that one can expect to see the truth of this idea confirmed before his eyes, by the deep channels which a tempest of a few hours con- tinuance will produce, sand the great accumulation of stones, gravel and earth which are suddenly precipitated to the plains, and spread out over their surface. But, it is nevertheless true, that even in a country like that which we inhabit, the same causes are at work, and have been, since the creation. Their operation is less obvi- ous, but not less certain, and there can be no doubt that the hills of New-Haven, as well as the Alps, the Appen- nines, the Pyrennees and the Andes, are wearing away by the friction of time. By the disintegration even of their firmest materials, they are suffering a real and in- creasing degradation, and in the same degree, do the plains and vallies below, acquire successive strata by the accumulation of their spoils. Indeed, we are not entire- ly without evidence on this point in the particular case now before us. After torrents of rain, we can, in many — instances, perceive masses of gravel and earth, which — of the Town of 'New-Haven. 85 have been washed down from the hills, and it is not dif- ficult to mark a gradation of stones of considerable size ; -of coarse gravel; fine gravel, and sand; and lastly, of parts so comminuted that they have become blended with the soil. It may be thought that the east and west rivers would ia great measure prevent the alluvial increase of the plain of New-Haven, since, whatever is washed from the hills at whose feet those rivers run, must be arrested by them, and be either carried down by their currents, or deposited on their banks, or in their channels. It is believed however that they have’ materially con- tributed to the extension of this plain, and its encroach- ment upon the harbor, both by the increase of their own banks, and the gradual change of their beds, and by ac- cumulating such masses of matter, as, in the progress of time, have extended the land farther into the harbor, and elevated that into dry ground which was once be- neath the water. An effect of this kind has been manifestly produced, within the observation of people now living in this town, by the two small streams, one of which runs through the city, and the other passes between Meadow-Street, and Sodom Hill. Itis well known that the harbor, con- tiguous to the mouths of those streams, has filled up with remarkable rapidity, and that salt grass is now be- ginning to grow, in many places, where a few years ago, vessels of 50 or 60 tons might float at high water. Thus, it would not be surprizing, if, in the progress of a cen- tury, the greater part of that portion of our harbor which now exposes a bed of mud at low water, should become dry ground. When these things are duly considered, perhaps the conjecture will not appear extravagant that no small por- tion of our plain has been formed by adluvion, in the long progress of 6000 years, and that the very place which we now stand upon, was formerly overflowed by salt water. It would be easy to fortify this conclusion by many parallel facts, and to show that similar changes are going forward in most countries; but facts of this nature are sufficiently well known, and it remains only 86 Sketch of the Mineralogy to ascertain how far these speculations derive confirma- tion from the nature of the soil, and of the materials found beneath it. | The soil of this plain seems to have been originally, viz. before it was improved by European cultivation, lit- tle more than a stratum of reddish sand, mixed with a small quantity of vegetable mould, arising from the spon- taneous decomposition of such vegetables as it was able to produce ; and, even to this day, we find it marked by the same character, in those places, where it has not been improved by art. I need only refer, for the proof of this fact, toa space of considerable extent which lies at the foot of Pine Rock, and extends to the Beaver Ponds. We find the surface there composed principal- ly of reddish siliceous sand, generally in masses of per- ceptible magnitude, but variously comminuted from the size of a pebbleas large as a hen’s egg, to that of a grain of sand. Now this stratum appears to be the fair effect of the alluvion of the neighboring hills, and there seems no ground for making any other distinction between it, and the rest of the surface of the plain, than what has arisen from manuring and cultivation. From these caus- es ithas happened, that a rich vegetable mould is now found on a considerable part of our plain, and that no small degree of fertility has, in many places, succeed- ed to primeval barrenness. If we penetrate into the ground, we find reason for extending these conclusions to the strata beneath the surface. The digging of ditches, canals, cellars and wells, has afforded some opportunity to observe the structure of the more superficial strata. So far as the writer is inform- ed, no quarries or masses of rock have been found, nor any other indications of a primitive country. The. mass of materials is all stratified, and the strata differ from each other only in the size of the individual masses which compose the different gravelly beds. At the Beaver Ponds, where a canal has recently been dug to drain the morass, a stratum of fine sand has been thrown up, and mixed with it are masses of white quartz of four or five inches in diameter, which have evidently’ . of the Town of New-Haven. 87 been rounded and smoothed by the friction of other stones and water. The Beaver Ponds are said to con- tain peat. On the whole, it seems probable that our plain has: ~ been greatly raised and extended, if it was not originally formed, by e//uvion, and in the same proportion as it has acquired successive strata, the surrounding hills have been lowered to furnish the materials; in the same man- ner, it is probable that all eminences are undergoing a constant degradation, and the plains and vallies by the same means are rising continually, and extending their limits also, where circumstances will admit of such ex- tension. Il. Ofthe mountainous and hilly country. When we come to examine the heights which encir- cle the plain of New-Haven, we find a state of things very different from what has been described. Indica- tions every where occur of a very ancient, if not of a pri- mitive country, and in some parts at least, we must con- clude that for many ages, if not from the creation, things have remained substantially as they now are. On the East, at the edge of the plain, rises a perpen- pendicular front of rock about 450 feet high, at the foot of which runs one of the rivers formerly alluded to in de- scribing the plain. The East Rock, as this eminence is called, presents to the eye a range of rude and irregular columns, whose surfaces have been evidently exposed to successive frac- tures, which have observed something like regularity, being generally found parallel to the preceding fractures. In this manner it happens, that prismatic figures of con- siderable regularity, may be observed onthe front of the rock, and, on examining the stones which have fallen in the progress of time, or which have been broken off by the stone diggers, they are generally found to have some- thing of a regular form, in some instances very striking and complete. The most common figures observed here are the triangular, the five and six sided prism, the parallelopipedon and the rhomboidal prism. A disposi- tion to assume regular forms is one characteristic of 88 : Si-etch of the Mineralogy this species of rock, which there can be no hesitation, in pronouncing to be what is called whin stone in Scot- | land, trap in Sweden, and basalt in some countries. The Giant’s Causeway in Ireland, and the Cave of Fin- gal in the island of Staffa, on the western coast of Scot- land, are famous, all the world over, for an exhibition of basaltic pillars of astonishing size, number and regu- larity. The southern side of the mountain called Arthur’s Seat, at Edinburgh, exhibits regular six-sided prisms, and our rocks here show a similar tendency so strongly, that one would, from this circumstance alone, be induced to suspect their identity. But the matter is placed beyond all doubt by a mi- nute ecular comparison of specimens from the two coun- tries. The writer is in possession of specimens of the different basaltic rocks which are found in the vicinity of Edinburgh, and, on comparing a piece of our East Rock, with apiece of Salisbury Craig, a basaltic mountain near that city, one would be ready to say that they were bro- ken from the same mass. Salisbury Craig is, m appear- ance, strikingly similar to the East Rock. It has the same rude perpendicular columns, the same curvilmear form, and nearly the same extent: It has a similar slo- ping mass of ruins accumulated at its foot; it fronts the same way ; it slopes off with the same easy declivity in the rear: Like the East Rock, it reposes on a bed of red sand stone; and finally, on fracture, the stone pre- — sents the same appearance. So far as it has been exam- ined, its chemical characters appear to be the same. It melts in the heat of a smith’s forge, and, \on cooling rapidly, presents the same vitreous slag, which the Scotch whin is known to produce. Hornblende and a white substance softer than quartz, probably feldspar, are the principal ingredients of both. The stone is reckoned among the argillaceous class, by some mineralogists, and — by ethers, among the siliceous. The predominant in- gredient is certainly silex, or the flinty earth, although when breathed upon, it emits the smell of clay, which would induce one to refer it to the argillaceous family. of the Town of New-Haven. $9 Dr. Kennedy, of Edinburgh, analyzed several speci- mens of Scotch Whin. He found the Basalt of Stafia composed of 48 silex 16 argil or pure clay 16 oxid of iron 9 lime 5 moisture and other volatile | matter. 94 i By subsequent experiments he ascertained that there existed also in this stone four parts of soda, and one of muriatic acid. ‘he whin stone of Salisbury Craig, which is most similar to that of the East Rock, gave in every 100 parts. vot _A6 silex n 19 argil | 17 oxid of iron : 8 lime | A moisture and other vol. matter Linevery100 parts. 3,5 soda or about that quantity | 7 muriatic acid | 98,5 , i ‘The same distinguished analyist (Dr. Kennedy) exam- ined several other varieties of whin, and found them composed of nearly the same ingredients. He analyzed also specimens of lava from Mount Etna, particularly that of Catania, and Sta. Venere Piedmonte, (vid. Edinb. Trans. Vol. v. part I. page 92) and found the most surprizing coincidence in the nature and _pro- portion of their ingredients. It is not proper to demand so much of the time of the Academy as would be requi- site in order to enter into the theories of the earth which at the present day profess to account for the origin of whin stone, as well as of the other masses of our globe : yet, it cannot be well omitted, that Europe is now divi- ded between two systems of geology, at the head of one of which was the late Dr. Hutton, of Edinburgh; and of the other, the celebrated mineralogist Verner, of Fri- M 90 Steich of the Mineralogy bourg, in Germany. Thence the two systems are call- ed the /Zuttonian and the Wernerian, or, because the former employs fire, and the latter water, as the great agent, they are frequently denominated the Plutonic and the Neptunian systems. According to Dr. Hutton, the whin stone is a product of subterranean heat. He sup- poses it to have been once in a semifuid state, and in that condition to have been forced from below upward among the superior strata by subterranean fire, where, by slow cooling, he imagines it assumed the stony cha- racter, and crystaline texture; for, it must not be for- gotten, that when whin stone is melted by our com- mon furnaces, and suffered to cool rapidly, it becomes mere glass, and, as the lavas are not viterous, but pos- sess the stony and crystaline character, this was suppo- sed by the opponents of the Huttonian theory, to prove that lava and whin stone could not have had the same igreous Origin, since, if that were the case, the melted whin Ought, on cooling, to assume the appearance of stone, and the crystalized form usually observed in the lavas, instead of the vitreous character which alone, af- ter fusion, it had hitherto exhibited. But this objection has been removed by the experiments of Sir James Hall, of Edinburgh, who has found that when melted whin stone is cooled very slowly, and with a regulated tempe- rature, it resumes completely the stony and crystaline character ; moreover, that lava itself, if cooled rapidly, — becomes a mere vitreous slag; if slowly, it exhibits © again the proper appearance of lava, and that the same specimen of whin stone or of lava may, in this manner, -be converted at pleasure into glass or stone, and this as often as the experimenter chooses; nay, that even © common bottle glass may, by slow cooling, be convert- ed into a perfect stone, and then by melting anew and rapid cooling, it may be restored to the state of glass . again. It has happened to the writer to see most of the original specimens upon which these conclusions wer founded. . | In the opinion of the Huttonian geologists, they justi- _ fy the conclusion that lava and whin are both of igneous — origin; the former actually erupted mto day light, and _ of the Town of New- Haven. 91 cooling without any other pressure upon it, than that of the atmosphere ;. the latter actually melted in the bowels of the earth, and injected among the superior strata, by the force of subterraneous fire, but never erupted like lava, cooling under the pressure of the superincumbent strata ; and therefore for which reason it assumes a more compact appearance, free from those cells so common in lavas. To account for the appearance of the numerous mas- ses of whin stone which we now see above the surface, ‘they suppose that the materials which lay above, have been worn and washed away in the progress of time by the weather, and have left the harder and less destructi- ble masses of whin stone exposed to view. On the other hand, the Neptunian or Wernerian ge- ologists suppose, that whin stone is a crystaline deposit from an actual state of solution in water. These ideas, both of the Huttonians and Wernerians, are considered by their respective advocates, as equally applicable to granite, porphyry, and the other varieties ~of rocks, whose texture is crystaline. Perhaps it would be more correct to apologize for having digressed at all into theories of the earth, where we usually find so much that is visionary, hypothetical or false, than to persist farther in speculations which must at last end where they began, in doubt and painful uncertainty. It will therefore be more expedient to pass on to matters of fact, where we are in less danger of being misled by imagination. South-east of the rock which we have been consider- ing, are two eminences, lying in the same chain or ridge with the East Rock itself. The first of these is com- pact whin stone, and the faces of the stone are remark- ably regular in their fracture, presenting frequently the rhomboidal prism. On the front of the other eminence, about two thirds of the way from its base to the top, and on that part which inclines towards the East Rock, we discover a bed of sand stone, having large and distinct masses of quartz imbedded in it. The strata are mclin- ed a little to the east, and apparently sustain the bed of granitic whin, which forms the mass of the eminence it- self. The materials which compose this eminence, are 92 Sketch of the Mineralogy considerably different from those of the adjacent moun- tain. , | They present very distinct crystals of feldspar, and — quartz in abundance, but the mica, the other ingredient ~ of granite, is wanting, and we find little or no hornblende so common in the contiguous whin stone mountain. ‘These are however some masses of compact, fine grained black basalt lying upon the hill; and upon the whole, we must pronounce it granitic, although it is not granite, and inclining to whin, although it is not whin stone. It must be regarded as one of those masses which form a connecting link between whin stone and granite, for it must be remembered that granite, whin stone and por- phyry graduate insensibly into each other. Leaving the East Mountain, and its dependencies, we come next to that chain of high ground, which passes immediately west of, and parallel to, the Hartford turn- pike road, and terminates near the new burying ground, Here we shall not be detained long. The basis of the hill appears to be a very coarse grained and friable red sand stone. Upon its surface lie here and there, frag- ments of granite, in many of which the feldspar is under- going decomposition, and becoming porcelain clay. It is, probably, from the decomposition of the feldspar of granite, that the porcelain clay is principally formed. Most of that used in England is obtained from Corn- wall, where extensive hills or ridges of granite are now undergoing decomposition. On the hill under conside- ration, is found abundance of quartz, white, brown, and red; and masses of flint are not unfrequently met with. Proceeding in our survey, we arrive next at the Pine Rock, lying north-west of the Beaver Ponds, and east of the West Rock. Pine Rock isa mass of | Wun Stone, scarcely distinguishable in fracture, grain and colour, from that of the Kast Mountain. It contains however, veins of pArenite in radiated crystals, — and tremolite crystalized in diverging lines, grouped to- gether ike radi of a circle. It is somewhat gratifying to find these crystalized substances, so common in the whin of the o/d world, associated also with that of the of the Town of New-Haven. 93 new, and thus confirming the correctness of our conclu- sions concerning itsnature. Upon many of the masses of the Pine Rock, and particularly upon a large part of that projecting brow, which forms what is called the Judge’s Cave, may be observed a white saline efflorescence which, from its taste, appears to be sulphat of iron, more com- monly known by the name of green vitriol, or copperas. Should this impression prove correct, it would not be dificult to account for the formation of the substance in question, since the sulphur which exists in these rocks in the form of pyrites, might be acidified by the oxigen of the atmosphere or of water, and the sulphu- ric acid thus produced, attacking the iron, either of the pyrites, or of the whin itself, would necessarily form copperas ; the water would disolve and car ry it over the surface of the stones, and evaporation would at last leave it in the dry powdery state in which we find it. ‘The mountain called the West Rocx, which occurs next on our circuit, is a grand basaltic ridge, where the © columns are more lofty, the prismatic form is more dis- tinct, and the mass of ruins at the foot of the perpendicu- lar cliffs is more considerable than at the East Rock. There is however very little in its mineralogical histo- ry which has not been already anticipated. It is said to be incumbent upon a bed of sand stone; this however was not ascertained by actual examination.* ‘That the Pine Rock has such a basis, is evident to the eye, for the strata are distinctly visible at one end of the emi- nence, where they have been laid bare by the rains. It will be well to remember that the whin rocks about Ed- inburgh have the same basis, and we have already found the same fact at the Kast Rock as well as here. If there be any difference in the appearance of the whin of the West and of the East Rock, it may perlraps be said, that the former contains more hornblende, and is more inclined to break into the rhomboidal prism. The tendency of whin stone to assume these regular forms contributes very much to the utility of this scout which thus presents fair faces for walls, and is easily made to tally with contiguous stones. * Note.—-I have since ascertained this to be the fact. o4 Sketch of the Mineralogy We cannot leave the whin stone mountains, without adverting to the enormous accumulation of the frag- ments of their columns, which is found at the foot of all of them, which the writer has seen, either here, or in Scotland. These fragments, which have every possible size, from a few grains weight, up to 100 tons, Mis na- turally result from the innumerable seams which divide even the firmest whin stone rocks, into what may be considered as a collection of columns, standing side by side, and so contiguous, as, on the whole, to form one solid mass. Other fractures run at right angles to these, in such a manner as to cut off the perpendicular columns into blocks of various lengths. It happens therefore, that whenever the tops of these columns become expo- sed to the atmosphere, in consequence of the washing away of the less consolidated matters which cover them, they become peculiarly liable to break off by the action of the weather. This occurs particularly from frost. The water insinuates itself into the crevices, and when it freez- es, it happens, in consequence of the well known expan- sion of water, during its congelation, that the columns be- come strained, and have a tendency to separate, when- ever the cohesive force of the ice is diminished; there- fore, especially in the spring, when the ice thaws, not only small masses, but even large columns, break off by their own weight, and fall to the bottom. At the West Rock particularly, one may see enormous masses which have fallen in this way; and such is the accumulation — which time has produced there, that a sloping mass of ruins now extends more than half way up the mountain, affording strong confirmation of what was advanced in the early part of this essay, concerning the gradual de- molition of hills and mountains by the action of the ele- ments. The subject of the whin stone mountains (already ex- tended perhaps too far) shall now be dismissed, with the single remark, that the columns so often alluded to, are not always perpendicular; sometimes they are greatly inclined; a remarkable instance of which occurs at the junction of the Hartford and Cheshire turnpike roads, near Mr. Whitney’s, where the columns do not form of the Town of New-Haven. 95 an angle if more than 8° or 10° with the horizon, and rest upon a stratum of sand stone, having the same in- clination in degree and in direction, which is south- west. From the West Rock, we bend our course westward and southward, along the brow of the hiils, which now assume only a very moderate elevation. Frequent masses of granite, whin stone, quartz and sand stone accompa- ny us along through Westfield, till we arrive within a quarter of a mile of the Derby turnpike, when a new species of stone presents itself, and very soon becomes the predominate stone of the country. Its color is blu- ish, inclining to white, its fracture hackly, its hardness is such that it may be scratched even by the nail. Its structure is schistose, the laminz are often variously contorted, and frequently striated, with laminz of quartz, and.sometimes of mica, so that in many places it may be called micaceous schistus, and from its soapy feel it may ‘generally be denominated magnesian schistus. d’here are considerable varieties in its appearance ; sometimes it inclines towards argillaceous schistus, or slate, but is distinguished from it, by its soapy feel, and, other times it approaches the character of serpentine. Here and there in this quarter, may be seen detached masses of porphyry, which seems capable of receiving a handsome polish, but no bed of it was observed, al- though it is more than probable it exists in the adjacent hills in considerable quantity. Nothing occurs to detain us in passing over the hills which lie between the Derby turnpike, and those heights which overlook West-Haven, about midway between the Sratford road, and the Sound. Insulated blocks of granite, whin stone, porphyry and quartz are scattered every where along, but the magnesian schistus is pre- dominant, and from the heights just now mentioned, to where they terminate in the flat ground, adjacent to the shore, we find nothing but immense strata of this mag- nesian schistus, rising every where to view, and discov- ering, whenever the road, a water channel, or a side- hill gives a view of the strata, an unvarying inclination 96 Sketch of the Mineralogy, &e. to the west and north, forming an angle of perhaps 35° with the horizon. | In somo *nstances this schistus is sprinkled with beau- tiful spangles of golden coloured mica, which are very brilliant in the sun. We have now made the complete circuit of the hills of New-Haven, and the Academy are in possession of the result of an investigation, which, from its being probably the first of the kind attempted in this State, may perhaps have some right to claim, as it will un- doubtedly need, an indulgent reception. Nothing has been: asserted which has not been ascer- tained by actual exammation ; and if there are errors, they are not the result of indolent and remiss inquiry, but of deficient information, or erroneous judgment.. If however, this imperfect investigation should prompt to similar exertions throughout our state, the effort will not have been lost, and may lead to such discoveries as will certainly be subservient to science, and may not Im- probably open new sources of domestic wealth, and ma- terials for architectural and manufacturing industry. B. SILLIMAN. Yare Cottece, Sept. 1, 1806. t NUMBER OF DEATHS, In the Episcopal Church in New-York, in each month for _ ten years—from January 1, 1786, to Dec. 31, 1795. TAKEN FROM THE SEXTON’S BOOKS, AND COMMUNICATED BY N. WEBSTER, ESQ. Ss gimzeks ce F ozs Ages. Soe se a ofa oe Se Ss = ao Total, 2 years and A Q 2 under, - 66 43 48 58 51 70 173 360 261 139 78 93—~1446 eee i wey 5 It Ss 2h te 28 25 1 ize 2and 5, 5 and 10, 813 8 414 7 11 14 15 17 5 16— 2138 10 and 20, RS) Oana ak Vi ke ON aa Nes ES. Geen LOM 20 and 30, Sy LOn Kon NG Ze UG) 2On 25 26 20 21— 274 30 and 40, 14 24 12 16 25 18 29 28 36 24 24— 286 40 and 50, AO 35 21 32 45 26 3 33 53 38 38— 448 53 36 57 5O.and 60, 11 23 17 16,25 23 18 28 22 23 20 11— 237 Rd Ch 5 Uday) 2.09 15 12. 8.10. LIAL 7133 Pee GN Sa atO, 4 A Ne eG) 9 9 es aon hE A cGy 718 SW PBR BB As Peimanoo) FO! Hobe so} 2 SO) yr a vO) (oS 16 EO: “De GunGhendy On uOldy Oy) Or) Or, OF - Omni) 2 Pe OO) Ot Be OOOO) OO. 0 One A ome ees 3373 It appears that in the four months of July, August, September and October, being one third of the year, N 93 _ Number of Deaths, Se. there died 933 children of two years old and under ial most two thirds of the whole number of deaths. The influence of summer heat upon young children is apparent from the increased mortality in the month of July—an equal increase not taking place so early among: the adults. Of one hundred persons that die in New-York, accor- ding to this bill of mortality for ten years, there die of Two years old and under, : A3 | Between 2 and5,. - 2 - 5. Jeno! 5 and AO; e- - - 3 6-10 10 and 20, - - = < 3) 1210 20 and 30, 4 4- - - 8 1-10 BO eng AON Gr ue a 8 5-10 AQ and 50, - - - 13 3-10 50 and 60,_- - - % 60 and 70, - - - 3 9-10 70 and 80, “ - - 2 De, 80 and 90, - - 1 3-10 One to 211 dies benneen 90 and 100. One to 1686 dies above 100. In this account, children who had completed two years of age are included in the first number, contrary, I be- heve, to usual practice. Itis proper to remark the great proportion of deaths between the ages of 40 and. 50. This proportion is far greater than it is in country towns. This period of ten years, from 1786 to 1795, inclu- sive of both, was marked by several epidemic diseases, the measles and whooping cough and scarlatina Angino- sa, which increased the mortality among children in | 1789, 1792 and 1793—and the yellow fever increased the mortality among the adults in 1795. Taking the | five healthy years of the period, viz. 1786, 1787 and 1788, 1790 and 1791, and the proportion of children of two years and under, is nearly 46 out of a hundred, not including premature births. No. VI. AN ACCOUNT ‘Of the American Cantharis, or Meloe Americ 5 COMMUNICATED BY DOCT. NATHANIEL DWIGHT, NOW OF NEW-LONDON. 4 N the Medical Repository, No. IZ. vol. II. page 174, is the: following account. ‘‘ Two or three years ago, William Smith, an intelligent person in my neigh- bourhood, informed me that one day as he was at work, he accidently mashed an insect’on his shoulder, which, in a short time, produced a complete vesication ; and it appearing to be the insect here described, I was deter- mined to gather some of them, and give them a trial in | my practice; which, however I neglected to do-until last summer. ‘« ‘This insect has a very near resemblance, in outward |form, to the Meloe (vesicatorius) alatus, viridissimus | nitens, antennis nigris, (Linn.) or Spanish flies, as they are commonly called; but is rather smaller than even | those brought from Spain, and of a very different color; the head is of a very light red, with black antennz ; the Jelytra, or wing cases, are black, margined with pale yel- low, anda stripe of the same color extends along the |middle of each of them; the tarsi have five articulations ; 100 = An Account of the American Cantharis. the mouth is armed with jaws, and furnished with pal- pi, 99 &c. After reading the above account, together with the successful experiments made by Dr. C hapman, its au- thor, I began, early in the summer of A. D. 1800, to search potatoe patches in Farmington, to see if I could discover the insect; but my endeavors were fruitless, till some time in August. I had, indeed, seen a few which were gathered i im the city of Har tford, early in the month of July, which answered to Dr. Chapman’ s de- scription, in every particular. Had this proved the case in my subsequent endeavors, I should have rested con- tented with his account ; but since it was far otherwise, Ihave taken the liberty to communicate the result of my enquiries on the subject. In the latter part of August, I was applied to by a man in Bristol to visit his daughter ; and when riding to his house, he commenced a conversation about the Span- ish flies, which induced me to suggest the sum of Dr. Chapman’s account (above referred to) to him. He re- plied, ‘‘I believe I can show you enough of them on my — potatoes; for they have been almost destroyed by a bug this year; and some of my neighbors’ are much worse than mine.” ..I was glad to embrace the opportunity ; and after visiting the child, we took a walk together mto | his garden, where, to my great astonishment, and no lit- tle mortification, I saw the potatoes almost covered with an insect entirely black. On examination, however, I perceived that they answered perfectly to the above de- — scription by Dr. C. except im color. Looking a hittle. farther, I found a few which came still nearer to his ac- count; and still these varied very materially. They — had their elytra margined with a narrow stripe of a light — dirty brown. In every other respect they were like the others. is | This suggested to me the probability that they were _ subject to change their color as the season advanced ; | but it 1s only a probability still, since I have not had any — opportunity to determine it by ‘fact. This probability is strengthened by analogy. rea | t il An Account of the American Cantharis. 101 In pursuance of my mvestigation, I perceived that those with the margined elytra, and the black ones, co- pulated promiscuously, and that there appeared to be males and females of both kinds. Some days after this, as Dr. Todd and myself were riding together, I mentioned to him what I had disco- vered, and, soon after, coming up to a potatoe patch, I ‘discovered one of the black kind, and caught it. Dr. Todd rubbed it, for perhaps three seconds, upon his wrist, without mashing it, and called on me to notice the place. In riding one mile he complained of an itching, mingled with a burning sensation on .the spot; which, on examination, was perceived to bea little red. In about one hour we caught some more, and found them of both the kinds above mentioned, but none which an- swered Dr. C.’s description. Dr.'Fodd then applied a second, of the black kind, in the same place, and in the same manner ; when he mentioned to me, that the pain was excessively severe, and in a few minutes, on exami- nation, we perceived a vesication had begun. I did not see Dr. Todd, until two or three days after this time ; when he showed me his arm, and there had been a com- plete vesication, as large as the utmost bounds of the ap- plication of the insect, and larger than either of us had supposed he rubbed it on the skin. Dr. Todd informed, that he was at Southington a day or two before, and on mentioning the above fact to Dr. Wadsworth, he, with his son and Dr. Todd, went into a plot of potatoes, and found the flies in plenty ;—that Mr. Wadsworth applied one to his fiesh, (I do not now re- member where, ) and that it became red in a few minutes. I have not learned the final result of it. If they are other where no more plenty than where I first saw them, I presume that a child of ten years old, furnished with a convenient apparatus for confining them after they were taken, might gather a pound, at least, per day. hose that I saw, flew but little, nor did they make any other attempt to escape being taken, only to fall from one leaf to another ; and, if pursued, they would contract their legs, antenne, &e. and f ull, apparently, lifeless to the sround. Some, I saw, running into little 102 Jin Account of the American Cantharis. perforations in the earth, of which there were many un- der those potatoe hills where the insects fed. But f could not satisfactorily determine whether the insects made them, or whether being otherwise made, the in- sects casually fled into them as a place of safety. I had some gathered by the father of the child, of both kinds, separately; but as they did not readily die, by the method which 1 recommended, (viz. to put them ito a covered glass, and that into a vessel containing boiling water,) he poured some water, as he said, almost scald- ing hot, ito the glass. On mentioning the fact to me the next day, he observed, that there arose such a fume from the glass, as almost stopped his breath. I asked him if it was equally the case with both kinds? He re- plied, that he saw no difference. It remains yet to be proved, whether those kulied in this manner, will produce the vesicative effect. This experrment I shall not fail to try, and will endeavor to communicate the result to the Academy. As I think the experiments published in the account above refered to, by Doctor‘Chapman, abundantly prove the vesicative quality of this species of the cantharis, I should not have transmitted this statement to the Acad- emy, had his description been perfect. But, as some of the distinguishing marks which he has there given, de not at all exist on by far the greatest part of those which i saw; and as none of them answered perfectly to his account, I have thought it proper to communicate these facts, with a view to obviating mistakes which might ensue, were people guided solely by his description in» gathering them ; and also to render their history as per- Zect as may be. Farmincton, Sept. 9, 1800. No. VII. A CALCULATION OF THE ORBIT OF THE COMET, Which lately appeared ; together with some general Ob- servations on Comeés. BY COL. JARED MANSFIELD, SURVEYOR-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES. BOOT the latter part of September, some persons living in the vicinity of this place, gave notice, that they had seen, for several successive evenings, an un- - common kind of Star, which, from their description, I concluded must be a Comet. On the first of October, through intervals of clouds, which were fying, I hada momentary view of the object, which, from its situa- tion in the heavens and crinited appearance, obviously could not be one of the fixed stars, or planets. By the observations of a few evenings after the Ist of October, the general direction of its motion, as seen from the earth, was readily discovered, and it was evident that this comet, or wanderer, was retiring from its visit to the sun, or that it had passed the Perihelion, and ascend- ing node of its orbit, and was receding from the regions of the planets. These circumstances were unfavorable to the views I had entertained of observing its motions, in such situations of its orbit, and during such long inter- 104 =A Calculation of the Orbit of the Comet. vals of time, as would be requisite for an exact deter- mination of what astronomers call the elements of zs orbit. Nevertheless, I endeavored, for this purpose, to improve such advantages and opportunities as were presented ; and the common distance from some known fixed star was taken every night when the sky was clear, from the Ist of October, to the time of its becom- ing invisible. The only instrument which could be used for this purpose, was a well divided Sextant be- longing to the United States. From the nature of the inst rument, and the unfavorable state of the atmosphere during a considerable portion of the time, when the ob- servations were made, I am far from thinking, that they will bear a comparison with such as may be made at European observatories. In my opinion, however, they will be sufficient for determining the orbit of this Comet, with as much or more accuracy, than some of those of the preceding centuries, on which Dr. Halley and other astronomers have grounded their calculations of a num- ber of comets. With a view of investigating the elements of the orbit of this comet, I selected three observations made at equal intervals of time, viz. those of October 3d and 19th, and of November 4th. Others might have béen used for this purpose, but these superseded the necessi- ty of interpolation, or of using the differential method of Newton. The geocentric longitudes and latitudes of the comet for those times, were calculated, and its ve- locity, and the apparent direction of its motion in respect to-the earth, were thereby found. ‘The direction of the plane of its orbit, and its distance from the sun, at one of these times, were found nearly, by a comparison of the absolute quantity and rate of its velocity ma para- bolic orbit, with its apparent angular motion as seen from the earth, during the intervals of time between the _ observations. /. calculation was then made, of different orbits varying in excess or defect of distance from that assumed, and an orbit was found by proportion, which | gave the comet’s place very nearly as observed. These calculations being very tedious, and there be- ing great danger of incurrmg mistakes, I have not been A Calculation of the Orbit of the Comet. 105 able to pursue them, to the extent which might be desir- able. ‘Those who have more leisure, may at any time enter on a more minute and precise investigation. It is probable however, that the errors of the observations will exceed those of the calculation I have made, in their effects on some of the deductions. The following are the results of that calculation. Place of the ascending node, 8s, 27° 08’ Place of perihelion, 8 28 48 Inclination of its orbit to ecliptic, @) 63: 02 Perihelion distance, that of the earth from the sun being 1 A S14, Time of being in perihelion, Sept. 18th, 12h. 40m. p.m. Time of its being in ascending node, Sept.17th, 3h.P.™. Motion of the comet, direct. Remarxs. This comet approached the sun from the regions of the south, and first became visible to an inhabitant of the earth, about the 25th of July last. From that time, it might have been seen by those who live in places of considerable south latitude; but on account of the great inclination of its orbit to the ecliptic, and its little elongation in longitude, during all the time of its approaching to, and part of that of its receding from the sun, it could not be seen by the inhabitants of Europe, or of the United States, till towards the end of Septem- ber. After this, its elongation, in north latitude, was in- creased, so as to give it an elevation above the horizon, which caused it to be visible after sun-setting. It dis- appeared to the naked eye, about the beginning of No- vember, but was discernible with a telescope towards the end of that month. i From a comparison of the elements as above stated, with those of 78 comets observed by European astrono- mers, during the two or three last centuries, it does not appear, that this comet is one of that number. ‘That of 1684, calculated by Dr. Halley, agrees nearest with this, in all the elements, except that of perihelion distance ; but this alone, if the numbers, as deduced by that great astronomer, be correctly stated in the books to which I have had access, is a decisive evidence, that they are not O 106 A Calculation of the Orbit of the Comet. one and the same comet. For however appearances in other respects may be, the eccentricity, or that which is ‘nearly commensurate with it, (perihelicn distance,) is ‘the most material element by ‘which the identity of their orbits could be ascertained. Though this comet may have made one or more revolutions shout the sun, since astronomers have begun to watch the motions and ap- pearances of comets, there is reason to believe, that it has hitherto escaped their observations ; for, in most situations of the earth in its orbit, the comet could not have much elevation above the horizon of places of any considerable latitude im the northern hemisphere, so as to be seen out of the effulgence of the sun’s rays, till it had so far passed the perihelion, as to be scarcely distin- guished from other celestial bodies, by its minenis or crinited appearance. Compared with some comets, whose tails have ex- tended from 70 to 120 degrees-over the horizon, that of this comet was by no means remarkable. The extent, at most, was not more than 8 or 10 degrees, when first observed, though the comet, at that time, had passed its per ihelion, and its situation was such as to cause a great extension of its coma, or the atmosphere of its head. ‘This coma appeared to be very thick about the nucleus, and its opacity much diminished the light of the star, which much resembled the dimness of Saturn. The z ap- parent diameter of the comet’s head was much greater than could be expected in one of so httle splendor, and at so great a distance from the earth. 1’ ree Thad no means of measuring it, Tam confident, that it exceeded in this, many great comets, such as those of 1680, 1759, and 1769; for these, though remarkable for the length and splendor of their tails, were by no means so, on ac- count of the size or magnitude of their heads. “There were no other phenomena, peculiar to this comet, which came under my observation. Since the discovery of those principles of motion, and eravitation, which regulate the heavenly bodies in their revolutions, the es of comets have been calculated with much precision, as it respects that part of them, which lies near the sun’and earth. The principal deside- “At Calculation of the Orbit of the Comet. ee, raium in cometography, and I may say in astronomy, is that of the periodicai times of the comets. At first view, it may appear surprising, since the other elements are attaimable to a great degree of accuracy, that this should yet be unknown. ‘The same process, by which other elements of a pianet’s orbit are determined, will also de- termine that of their pericdical times; and why, it may be asked, does this not result from a similar process.for investigating the orbit of a comet? In answer to this, I would observe, that the orbits of planets vary little from circles, and consequently their periodical times may be found nearly, by a comparison of their velocities with that of any body moving ina circle about the center of their orbits. The variation of their velocities, arising from the deviation of their orbits from circles, may also be determined; as that deviation, in its incipient state, or while the planet’s orbit is an ellipsis, differme. little from a circle, is very great; compared with its effect in respect to the periodical time, and is therefore suscep- table of determination, either from observations of the planet’s distance from the sun, or of its velocity. But the orbit of a comet, is a very eccentric ellipsis, whereof the deviation of curvature from that of a circle has arriv- ed nearly to its limit; and the variation of curvature among ellipses of this sort, on which the proportion of their axes, or of their periodical times depends, is so mi- nute, as scarcely to be perceptible near the extremity of their longer axes, or in the comet’s orbits near the sun and earth, where only they become visible to an observ- er on the earth. For this reasen, a parabolic orbit has been assumed by astronomers, as sufficiently accurate for the calculation of every phenomenon, incident to a comet’s motion within the sphere of the planets. The periodical time ina parabola, or an ellipsis, the ratio of whose axes is infinite, if I may use the expression, is infinite; yet the curvature near the extremity of the axes of such a figure, differs little from that of an ellip- sis, whose axes are in a ratio of no great finite magnitude. Thus, in an ellipsis, whereof the ratio of the axes is as 10 to 1, the difference of its parameter from that’ of a ‘parabola, the distance from the vertex being the same, 108 A Calculation of the Orbit of the Comet. is only as .0004, and a centripetal force commensurate with this, would change such an orbit from finite to in- finite. Hence itis evident, that the periods of those comets, which run into very eccentric orbits, cannot be calculated, a priori, from any observations of their mo- tions made from the earth. ‘Those mathematicians, who have attempted to derive the elliptical orbits of comets jn this way, have failed to produce results, in any degree corresponding with phenomena. ‘The periodical times of the comets must, therefore, remain unknown, till a sufficient time has elapsed for finding them by observa- tions of their returns. . It will readily be conceived, that many ages must pass away, before such observations on all the comets can be obtained. But supposing this to have been accomplished, there would still remain an un- certainty in respect to their future periods. One, or more revolutions being completed in a certain time, will by no means justify the inference, that this will be the case in other revolutions; on the contrary, it would be consistent with physical principles, if the period of the same comet be at one time, twice or thrice, more or less, than at another, and even that it be infinitely greater, or e mever return. Modern astronomers have found, that — agreeably to the principles of gravity, the planets, by their actions one on another, are considerably disturbed in their motions about the sun, and that the form and position of the orbits in which they move, are thereby not a little affected. ‘The same causes operating to the increase or diminution of centripetal force, or of the ve- locity of bodies moving in very eccentric orbits, will, as it respects the figure and dimensions of their orbits, pro- duce effects vastly great, compared with those of the planets on one another ; and the periodical times will be in proportion to those effects. If for example, the ratio of the axes of an ellipsis be as 10 to 1, which by no ~ means is equal in eccentricity to the orbits of some — comets, and the velocity of the body moving in its cir- cumference, be increased by one five hundredth part of that with which it moves, the body would no longer move in the ellipsis, but in a parabola, in which it could make no return; and if the ratio of the axes of the ellip- | A Calculation of the Orbit ef the Comet. 109 sis be as 100 to 1, an addition of one fifty thousandth part of its velocity would produce the same effect.* It is evident, therefore, that the returns of comets to the sun, are not only liable to great variations in respect to time, in consequence of the actions of the planets, but that these actions may be so considerable, especially on comets of very eccentric orbits, as to cause them never to return. Some astronomers have ventured to predict the re- turns of comets on the principle of their uniformity, as to the times of their revolutions, with as much certainty, and attention to minute accuracy, as are due to deduc- tions founded on the strictest principles of the mathe- matics: But the only instance of such predictions being verified in any degree by events, is that of Dr. Halley, in respect tothe comet of 75 years. This comet having appeared, several times, at nearly equal intervals, indu- ced this astronomer to hazard a conjecture, that it would again return in the year 1758. The comet did indeed appear, at a time not differing more than 12 or 14. months from that predicted; but this variation of time, in re- spect to different revolutions of this comet, whose orbit has so little eccentricity, is a fact corroborating the state- ment I have made, of the effects which might be pro- duced by the attractions of the planets on comets whose orbits are very eccentric, such as those of 1680, 1769, and many others, which have been observed during the two last centuries. The identity of the comets of 1532, 1661, has been considered as certain; and its return in 1789 or 1790, at an interval of 129 years, was predicted to the minute- ness of hours and minutes, by a celebrated astronomer, now living. ‘The comet, however, did not at that time appear, nor has it been observed since. Iam far from thinking that this, or any of the comets, have been known to make more than one revolution about the sun, * See Prop. 16, and Corollaries, of Book I. of Newton’s Principia, where it is demonstrated, that the velocities requisite for bodies moving in different conic sections, the focal distance of the vertex being the same, is in the sub-duplicate ratio of their principal para- meters. 110 3= A Caleitlation of the Orbit of the Comet. except that of 75 years, whose returns appear to have been observed by astronomers, several times in succes- sion; yet admitting those of 1532 and 1661 to be one and the same edinet, it is evident, that its periodical time must have varied from that of its preceding revo- lution; and if this be the case, it furnishes another faet illustrative of the theory which I have advanced. Dr. Halicy, in his cometography, prompted, undoubt- edly, by that enthusiasm which he felt for scientific im- provement, says, that ‘time will reveal to posterity all the mysteries of comets,” or in words to this effect. But when the causes, which retard the progress of this branch > of science, are duly considered, few will hesitate to adopt the contrary opinion, that ages will pass away before © mankind can attain to much more knowledge of the co- mets, and that the periods of many will ever remain a problem, above human research and investigation. Cincinnati, Jan. 24, 1808. SPU So ee a No. VIIE, OF THE FIGURE OF THE EARTH. BY COL. JARED MANSFIELD, SURVEYOR-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATEM HE celebrated question concerning the true figure of the earth, so much agitated by rival philoso- phers of the last century, 1s one of the many In astrono- my and physics, the solution of which is almost wholly dependent on the mathematics. It is true mdeed, that physical considerations of the nature of gravity, and the rotary motion of the earth, first suggested to Newton the idea that its figure must necessar “ly diver from that of a perfect sphere or globe. This sagacious phileso- pher and mathematician was likewise enabled, by the use of his own sublime geometry, to determine a priori, whatever is required in this problem, with a wonderfub degree of precision. But the physical principles cf Newton had not yet been verified by a suiicient number of experiments and observations ; and the method of Zn- duction on which they were founded, must ever be infe- rior in evidence, to the pure results of the mathematics. In order, therefore, to a complete and satisfactory so- lution of this problem, as well as for an investigation of _ the principles and conclusions of Newton, it was neces- sary to have recourse to an actual mensuration of the earth, both in respect to magnitude and figure. ‘The 112, 2 Of thesfiisure of the Earth: first of these, viz. the magnitude of the earth, on the supposition of its entire sphericity, or globular figure, is easily determined. It is only requisite that the whole, or some given part of one of its great circles, be ascer-: tained according to known measures. With this view, the arch of the meridian has been selected, as best adapt- ed to celestial observations. This work, for nautical and astronomical purposes, has been performed long since by Picard, Norwood, and others. The more general question of the earth’s figure, which necessarily involves that of its magnitude, is of a different nature ; and though not difficult to those who are well versed in the higher geometry, is considerably remote from ordinary inves- tigations. Its analysis affords an illustrious instance of the utility of those abstract mathematical speculations, which we have partly derived from the Greeks ; but for which we are chiefly indebted to the moderns, viz. Des Cartes, Huygens, Clairaut, the Bernouillis, D’Alem- bert, Euler and Newton. The question may be propounded in general terms, thus: Yo determine in any curve, but more particularly in the conic sections, the dimensions of that curve; or the principal lines which regulate it, the diameter of the Os- culatory citcle, intwoor more points of the curve being ven. | The Osculatory circle, or circle of curvature of any curye, is that which not only touches the curve in a point, but so nearly coincides with it, that no other circle can be drawn between them. ‘The curvature of the curve, and circle, in that point, is therefore considered as the same. As this curvature, however, in all curves, the the circle only excepted, is perpetually varying; it can be considered the same no where but in the very point of Osculation, or very near it. ‘The measure then of a small portion of the curve at or near this point, may be obtained from the corresponding portion of the circle, and vice versa, that of the circle from a portion of the curve. . The osculatory circle of any two pomts of the meridi- an of the earth, be the curve of any kind whatever, may be found by the mensuration of a small portion of it, at those two points corresponding to any small arc, or am- Of the Figure of the Hares © 113 plitude; or by the distance of lines perpendicular to the tangents in those points, whose intersection constitutes asmall knownangle, suppose of one degree. A degree of this circle being known, the circle itself is known; and if this be known in two or more points of the curve, the dimensions of the figure, viz. the ratios of the axes, ordinates, parameters, &c. may be found. With a view to the foregoing process, mathematicans, in order to determme the figure of the earth, directed the measurement of a degree to be made in two or more distant parts of the meridian; where, supposing the fig- ure elliptical, the curvature must necessarily have a per- ceptible difference. If these requisites could be obtain- _ ed accurately; the conclusions respecting the form of the earth were considered as incontrovertible as any prop- ositions of Euclid; and as ultimately decisive of the dis- pute which had been, for a long time, maintained on this subject. For Cassini and his followers had opposed the deductions of Newton, wholly on the ground that the measure of a degree of the meridian near the pole, would be found less than that of one near the equator; which opinion he was led into from a comparison of the lengths of the arches, which had been imperfectly measured by . Snellius, Picard, Musschenbroek, and others. The aionems, on the other ane maintained that these measures were not sufficiently accurate, or prop- erly adapted to the determination of this question; but if an exact mensuration could be made of the length of a degree of the meridian near the pole, and also at or near the equator, that all physical arguments, which in themselves are merely probable or hypothetical, must yield to the certain and demonstrable conclusions of the mathematics. For, if the measure of a degree at or near the pole, should be found less than one at or near the equator, the axis of the earth must necessarily be longer than a diameter of the equator; and on the con- trary, if the length of a degree at or near the pole should | be greater than one at or near the equator, the equatori- al diameter of the earth must necessarily be more ex- tended than its axis. These deductions, though not ob- : P 114 Of the Figure of the Earth. vious, are not less certain than any other mathematical truths, and were never, I believe, called in question till lately ; when some philosophers apparently ignorant of the mathematics, from a very partial and superficial view of this subject, have attempted to derive conclusions di- rectly contrary to the foregoing. They have undoubt- edly fallen into this mistake from the analogy which sub- sists between the problem which relates to the figure of the earth, and that of its magnitude, on the supposition of a globular form. For as in two globes, that which has a degree of a great circle the largest, is of the great- est diameter or radius; so likewise they imagine, in a body bounded by any curvilmear superficies, that the degree of the curve is the largest, where the superficies. is most remote from the center of the body. It is easy to demonstrate that nothing can be more erroneous than this assumption, and that in attributing false conclusions to mathematicians, they have overlooked the futility of their own premises, which, in fact, have no relation to the subject, nor any foundation on the principles of sci- ence. | They take for granted, that the measure of a degree, on the superficies of the earth, is the measure of the | same portion of a circle, whose center coincides with | the center of the earth, even while they suppose its _ form to be spheroidical. From which it would appear, that they had not extended their ideas of the nature, and — properties of curve lines, beyond their first and most obvious principles. ; | In a circle, the measure of a degree of the circumfe- rence, is the same as that portion of it, which is inter- cepted by lines forming an angle of a degree at the cen- ter of the circle ; and this is the very essential property _ of a circle, that its circumference be the equable mea- | sure of angles at its center. In the ellipsis, and other |: curves returning mto themselves, the measure of a de- | sree of their circumference, or of the osculatory circle, | m no instance ts the same, as that portion of it which is | cletermined by the measure of a degree from the center |. of the figure. In proportion as the radius of curva- | ture approaches to the position, and length of a line }, drawn from the center of the figure, to a point in the cir- | Of the Figure of the Earth. 115 cumference, the curve approximates to a circle, and be- comes one when those lines coincide. The portions of the circumference of any figure, cor- responding to measures of angles at its center, the circle only excepted, are, and ever must remain unknown till its nature and limitations are determined from other principles. e. g. In the ellipsis* PEpe, the measure of adegree at P, is not the measure of a degree of a circle, whose center is at O, the center of the ellipsis ; but it is the measure of a degree of the circle of curvature, whose center is some where beyond at C ; and in hke manner, the mea- sure of a degree at E, is not the measure of a degree of a circle, whose center is at O, but the measure of a de- gree of the circle of curvature, whose center is some- where at d, nearer the point E. What the lengths of those portions of the periphery may be, which correspond to given angles at the center of the figure, is impossible to determine, in the case of the earth’s mensuration, as we cannot go to its center, nor make observations on its surface, which supposing the earth’s figure and magnitude unknown, can afford the necessary data for the determination of this point. It is evident, thesefore, that it isnot as in ordinary calcula- tions, from the measures of angles at the center of the figure, that we can obtain a solution of the problem of the figure of the earth. If this could be obtained by no other methods, it is certain that it would for ever remain a secret. But by the aid of that sublime geometry, which in modern times has been so happily employed in abstruse and difficult inquiries of this nature, the problem will admit of a complete solution, from very simple duta. Nothing more is requisite, than what was supposed above, viz. the measure of a degree at P and __E, or at the polar and equatorial diamaters, if the figure be an ellipsis; for then the diamater of the circle of curvature will be exactly equal to the parameters of the diameters at those points, which being known, the ellip- sis itself will be known. The same data for any two other points of the meri- dian, is also sufficient, provided those two points be not _*® See Fig. 5, plate 1. 116 Of the Figure of the Earth. taken too near each other. It will be necessary, how- ever, to have recourse to an analytical process, when the measures of a degree are not at E and P, in order to in- vestigate the relation of the principal lines mvolved im the general expression, given by mathematicians for the radius of carvature. Fer it is to be observed, that as in’ a given ellipsis, the radius of curvature, or the diameter of the osculatory circle, is determined from the principal lines, viz. diameters, ordinates, &c. ; so also, when the radius of curvature is given, the principal lines, which regulate the figure, may be ascertained: this will be ex- emplified in the following PROBLEM. The measure of a degree, in two known latitudes of the meridian, being given, to determine from thence, the Figure of the earth. - | From physical and other principles, it is known that the earth, if not a sphere, must be a solid generated by the revolution of an ellipsis about one or other of its axes. Let therefore the ellipsis* PEPE, be a meridian of the earth, without knowing which axis is the longest. A one latitude and B another, where the measures of a degree are known, AD, BF, perpendiculars to the tan- gents, at the points A and B, and cutting the diameter £E, in Dand F. GD, IF subnormals to the same. A degree being known at the points A and B, the ra- dius of curvature is likewise known, for each respective- ly, which let be represented by R, and 7, and put the ra- tio of CP to CE, that of p tog. From the nature of the ellipsis, we have AD a Vv 9g’? —CG*+? CG*; AG?= q? = g’—CG*, and ep = CG*; also BF == Tie ea ewet alg ae ee | vee + £2 Cb, Brat PoC, and IF? CT _ But the radius of curvature at A, according to the deter-- z. ie mination of mathematicians, is R= 57 G4 CG? 2 3. and in like manner, at B, it is la g?’—CI? + 7 Os P : tf we put the sine of the angle ADG, or of the lati- * Sec Fig. 4, plate 1. Of the Figure of the Earth. 117 éude at A=S, the sine of the angle BFI, or of the lati- tude at B=s, radius being supposed Unity, we shall have eG f ‘ sf Pe, g°—CG* +5 CG*=y = g*—CG? ; and 2 MM Wilaia spat vearle cf yin van gee Cl + - CP =v 2 g@—CE; whence CG? = | q Cast g? : Qiao g* {ga 87 B% and CI? = 1—s? + s? p25 also the radius q* gq? of curvature will become R = 1—s? + 3 prs and r= q* gp? , Toa From which we obtain this equation R ~ 2 q? ’. 4 pes i [ONS | ° e e Le a prs =7rx 1—s? + s? p?\> ; from which it is G> evident, that the radius of curvature, or the measure of a degree, which is always ina given ratio to it, 1s.recip- rocally proportional to the quantity 1—s? + s? p?|3 ; now g* pr: i . when = is less than Unity, or the equatorial exceeds : ‘ eens au Lee : the polar diameter, the terms-—s? + ail ,» are negative, and the whole expression diminishes in value, as s, or the sine of the latitude increases; that is, when the equa- torial exceeds the polar diameter, a degree of the me- ridian increases, in a ratio depending on the sine of the latitude, as determined in the foregoing expression, and VICE VEFSA. When pq, or the equatorial and polar diameters are equal, then R=r, or the radius of curvature, or the degree of the meridian, is every where the same. ‘As to the actual proportion of these diameters, ac- cording to the measures of a degree, in any two latitudes, 118 Of the Figure of the Earth. it must be determined from the resolution of the value iy aa of p, and g, in the equation R x I—s*42 Fb rx ete 3, which I leave to the analyst. My 4 object has been principally to show, by a mathematical process, similar to what mathematicians have instituted for the solution ef this problem, the necessary connec- - tion, and dependence, between the measures of degrees, in different latitudes of the earth, and the proportion of its axis, and equatorial diameter. Many other ferences might be deduced from the foregoing algebraic equa- tion, involving these relations; but I have already done enough, to prove, that mathematicians have been correct in their ideas respecting the species of figure which must result from the inequality of the degrees of the meridian, near the equator and pole; and that those philosophers, who have embraced contrary notions, have been led into them, from specious resemblances, in the properties of mathematical figures, and a want of that comprehension of the more profound principles, which is essential in the investigation of truth, in difkcult and abstruse inquiries of geometry. No. IX. OBSERVATIONS On the Duplication of the Cube, and the Trisection of an Angle. BY COL. JARED MANSFIELD, SURVBYOR-GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES. N the memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Vol. II. are two papers (No. 1 and 2) by James Winthrop, Esq. which from the importance of their subjects, cannot fail to excite the attention of the mathematical reader. In the first of those papers, the author proposes to solve the ancient and difficult pro- blem of the duplication of the cube, or of finding, geome- trically, two mean proportionals between any two ex- tremes of a geometric series. This problem, in arith- metic, amounts only to the extraction of the cube root, and may very easily be solved by numbers, or loga- rithms. A solution, however, by the strict principles of geometry, is not so easily effected, and by no means do I apprehend that any propositions of Ezuclid, or of a right line and circle, are sufficient for this purpose. Newton and others, who have used.a circle, have either produ- eed a mechanical solution of this problem, or have intro- duced principles of the higher geometry. Mr. Win- throp appears to be the only person who has ever attempt- 120 On the Duplication of the Cube. edits solution by right lines, or merely by the principles of common geometry. His construction is as follows. * «Let ACE, ECD, and DCB be equal angles of any magnitude, and let AC and BC be the ex- tremes given. Draw ABa right line crossing EC and DC in the points EK and D; then will AEC EDC+ DCE, and for the same reason CBD—CDE—DCE. Wherefore make BDF—DCE and AEG= DCE, and. we shall have three similar triangles FCD, DCE and ECG, and their sides are necessarily proportional ; and the lines CF, CD, CE and CG forma series of four con- tinued proportionals ; ; for CD is the hypothenuse « of the first triangle, and the base of the second ; and is- there- fore a mean between CF and CE. In like manner CE is a mean between CD and CG. But the extremes CF and CG are shorter than CB and CA. Having there- fore by this process ascertained the method of finding easily four continued proportionals by beginning with the mean terms; if we invert the process, and begin with the extremes, and make the angles EAI and DBK each equal to DCE, we shall have BK parallel to FD, and AI parallel to EG, and therefore KI parallel to DE. Therefore, the tr iangles CBK, CKI, and CIA are simi- lar to CDE; ; and by. reason of position, CK and Cl]-are the mean proportionals sought.”? ‘Thus far it appeared. necessary to transcribe Mr. Winthr rop’s solution of this - problem. ‘The demonstration appears faultless until we come to the words, and therefore KI parallel to DE. From what premises this inference is drawn, 1s not easily conceived. It certainly cannot be justified by any principles antecedently expressed ; for the parallel- ism of BK to FD, and of Al to EG contains no relation, . whereby the parallelism of KI to DE may be inferred, and unless some other principles were taken into con-. sideration, it is evident, that the author has fallen into a paralogismn. But that KI is not parallel to DE, except when the antecedents and consequents of the proportionals, or the two extremes are equal, may be easily proved ; for which purpose make the angle EGH=—FDB, and from H draw HK, then will HK be parallel to ED, and the * See Fig. 1, plate I. fig, ty M i : ‘ ye eee On the Duplication of the Cube. 121 point H will not coincide with I; forCF : CE: : CD:CG by similar triangles, also CD: CG:: CB: CH, and by Savision CE: CE: : FB: EH: but CF: FB: : CD: DE by construction ; and consequently CD: DE:: CE: EH; whence by (Euc. 2. 6.) KH 1s parallel to DE. Draw Gh, making the angle EXGh equal to the angle GEH, then wiil the triangle EGh, be similar and equal to the triangle GIXH, and the line Hheg passing through the point h, will be parallel to EG; (Euc. 39. 1.) whence + series of paraliels to FD, DE, EG, commencing at B, will terminate at the point g. Now if, according to the conditions of the problem, the terms of the propor- tionals be in a ratio, minorts aut majoris inequalitatis, or any otherwise to each other, than in a ratio of equality, the point g will not coincide with A, the extremity of the given line CA. For when CG is greater than CE, then the angle CEG is greater than the angle CGE, and GEH (Gh) the supplement of CEG is less than AGE, the supplement of CGE, by the angle AGh; also Eh is less than E.A by the line Ah subtending the angle AGh: but Fh: EA::Gg:GA:: EH: EI, and therefore Ge is less than GA, and EH is less than EJ. In the same manner, it may be proved that when CG is less than “CE, Gg and EH are respectively greater than GA and -EI; as therefore in no condition of the problem, does the point Fi coincide with the point | (for we consider its conditions to vanish, when the extreme proportionals are equal) and as KH has been proved to be parallel to ED, it is manifest that IK cannot be parallel to ED, and that the four proportionals made by similar triangles com- mencing with CB, are BC, CK, CH, andCg. This last term not being equal to CA the given extreme, it is evi- dent that this process by similar triangles fails to produce | a just solution of the problem. " he same conclusions might have been deduced from Other principles, which in their application, would have Ulustrated something of that relation and harmony be- tween algebraic and geometrical quantities, which con- stitute one of the most beautiful theories of the mathe- matics, and from which the laws of geometrical con- Structions are derived; but this would lead to an cxten- | 122 On the Duplication of the Cube. sive field of speculative science, not much frequented even by mathematicians. J would only observe, that geometricians have, long since, demonstrated, generally, the impossibility of solving geometrical px roblems of the second degvee, or order, by any lines of the first order, since these cannot be so combined, as to involve the more complicated conditions and relations, necessarily aimpled in such problems. | The other problem, which is the subject of Mr. Win- throp’s second paper, is that of the trisection of an an- — gle, to which though equally capable of a solution by right © hes as that of the duplication of the cube, a dissimilar one has been given fom the consideration of lines of a — superior order, in a manner consonant to the strict prin- | ciples of geometrical constructions, and which appears | to be not less novel than ingenious. ‘The author, how- | ever, has omitted to investigate the nature and specific | properties of the curve, called by him, the érisecting curve ; but it is easily shown, that it is no other than the © common hyperbola: For, using his scheme, suppose | VC,* the curve, AB the dir oe ix, V the vertex, P) any point in the curve; from P, draw Pd perpendicular | toFV; and VA, PI perpendicular to the directrix AB; draw the line FP from the focus F to the point P; put VA=a, Vd=x, then Pl=a+ X, FP=2a+2x, and Fd=2 a—x; let Pd=y. Now in the right-angled tri- angle PdF, Pd? (y2) =F P?—Fd? (2a + 2 x*—2 a—x")=§/ Wax+3x’*; ory=V/1l2ax+3x*. This equation is” that of the common hyperbola, whose axes have a given ratio commensurable in power, and therefore is very) / easily constructed in the followmg manner. | From a given point C, ina right line CD, draw two — right lines Pod CL, indefinitely on each side, making © with CD an angle of 60°, or with one another, an angle of 120°: Set off from C, the distance CV=2 a; ther nD between the two assy mptotes CK, CL, and through the’ | vertex V, construct an hyperbola, and this will be thal | curv e required, or what is called by Mr. oe thal} trisecting curve. q #* See Fig. 2, Plate 1. On the Duplication of the Cube. 123 For from V, erect the perpendiculars VG, VH; then the angles HCV, VCG, being each equal to 60°; HC, or CG, will be equal to 2 CV=4a, and HV*=16a?— 4a” =12a*; but by conics, CV* (4.47): HV? (12a’):: 2CV+Vdx Vd (4a+xxx): dP?; putting therefore dP, the ordinate of the curve, as usual, equal to y, we shall have y>=12ax+3 x” for the equation ‘showing the relation of the ordinates and abscissas.of this curve, which is the same as that above determined for the ¢7i- secting curve; consequently, this is an hyperbola, whose assymptotes are inclined in an angle of 120 degrees, and whose axes are 4a, 4a 4/3, respectively. October 2, 1809. A STATEMENT Of the Quantity of Rain which falls, on different Days of the Moon. BY JEREMIAH DAY, PROFESSOR OF MATHEMATICS AND NATURAL PHILOSOPHY IN YALE-COLLEGE. HE influence of the Moon upon the various bodies on the earth, is a subject of general observation. The swelling of the ocean has long been ascribed to this cause. ‘There is also a very prevalent, though vague apprehension, that there is a connection between the vi- cissitudes of the moon, and the growth of vegetables, the progress of diseases, the changes of the atmosphere, and other important phenomena. It is desirable that so cur- rent an opinion should be brought to the test of accurate observation. Should it prove to be well founded, it might aid us in predicting some of those changes in the atmosphere, and in the bodies around us, with which our daily concerns are intimately connected. ‘To do justice to this subject, in all its extent, would require very nu- merous and diversified courses of experiments. For the purpose of ascertaining a single point, a calculation has been made on a series of observations, during the years 1804, 5, 6 and 7, on the quantity of rain which fell in New-Haven, in different periods of the moon. The rain has been caught in a cylindrical vessel, ten inches m diameter, and about twenty inches deep. | It is placed ten or twelve feet from the surface cf the ground. The water, directly after it has fallen, is poured out, and measured in a tube one inch in diameter. In this way, as the area of the large cylinder is an hundred times as great as that of the small one, the depth of the water may be determined, to the thousandth part of an inch. | The snow is first melted, and then measured in the 126 Of the Quantity of Rain which fails, sare manner as the rain. ‘This method is tolerably ac- curate, except in some few cases of violent wind. In these instances, the best expedient seems to be, to form an estimate of the average depth of snow on the ground. The quantity of water collected, whether from rain or snow; is entered in a column against the day of the month: and in an adjoming column, is noted the age of the moon. The following table gives a view of the whole quantities collected, on different days of the moon, during forty-eight lunations ; a period a little short. of four years. jj 1804 {| 1805 | 1800 | 1807 fj 4years. flzaches [ans] an. eae 7th day before the new Mocn || .94] 1.92 | 22] 4.94 | 8.02 6th | .61 | 3.88 | 3.80] 1.11 ff 7.40 5th fl .42| 2.70[ .85] 1.17 f] 5-14 Ath 1...) 1.23). .154. Web dere Sd fj iso] .61] 94] Qf] 2.85 ad W670 [48 |) a Se eG Lst ee ee on ars |e! NeW MOON. {| OF 210 1274 ae Aas ist afier the new Moon {| OF oS eo eo. Alas ae 2d f) 1.384 1.10} 1.084 .44f] 4.00 sd : . f] -46] -25 | 2.41 | .65 |) 3.47 400 05 f 1524.72] 1.174] 3.46 5ih {| .86] -82] .78 | .22]] 2.68 6th | ) 68 | 2.24] 8.48 | ! i | i { | | | | ' Zth ; i} 1.63] 1.731) 1.39} 4.06]] 8.81 7th before the full fj 5.48 | 2.14 .72 | 1.08 fl 9.42 6th {OF Baa 1S Moz ges 5th er ee ey ry a ee Ath {| 1-05 | 2.59 | 2.36], 1.72 f] 7.72 Sd H 2.44) .55] .60] .43f] 4.02 2d || 3.45] .96| 1.24] 1.09 f] 6.74 1st || 1.631 97 | 201) esoqiam ae FULL MOON. (Sel Ron weal Of] 6.52 | lst afier the full i) 66 | 58 | dk | Se 2d i) 3.16] 1.l4, 2441 oq 7.33 Sd || i.1o! 1.58] 1.86] 73.02] 7.66) Ath {| -33] .91) 1.741 2.06 ff) 504 5th ii 1 6th {| 3 7th i 3 15 { 1.58] 2.07 | .88]] 5.68 391 94] 2.51! 1.61 f] 8.45 On seat Of 4.37 {| 1.72 on different Days of the Moon. 1G From this table it appears, that, if a comparison be made between the quantity of water collected at the New Moon, the Full, and the Quarters, the least por- tion has fallen at the New Moon ; ; and the greatest at the Quarters. ‘The exact proportion will vary a little, ac- cording as the comparison is made between one, two, three, or more days, at each of these periods. If, in each lunation, only one day be taken at the New Moon, one at the Full, and one at the Quarters, the numbers will be 4.83, 6.52, 7.02. But if the average of several days be taken, they will stand as in the following table. Average Average | Average | eae 2 gave: | afi si dayoul of soa New Moon LO ACS SMO oreo: shi « RSM fe SRO Four Pee sora Sar S| esr ae. lege QUARTERS ZOU | OS KOZ Me OG To derive any established principle from results of this kind, it is necessary that the observations should be con- tinued for a great length of time. Till there is opportu- nity for this to be done, the above may possibly serve as hints towards a more thorough investigation of the subject. With this view they are submitted. ate as eration No. XI. DESCRIPTION OF AN AIR-PUMP. Invented by Exizur Wricut, Esg. Feb. 1803. IS the pump plate. JV the pump barrel, which lies in a horizontal position, underneath the pump plate, and nearly in contact with it. .4, and B, two ducts lead- ing from the pump plate into the barrel. WM, a solid piston, without a valve, moving air tight in the leathern collar O. 77, a stirrup, designed to keep the piston rod steady. JVH, is a short piston, made like the former, and acted upon by the spring D, which is firmly fixed to the piston rod, and by the springs #, F, through which the rod passes, and is made to slide backward and forward. Gy, a slide, which serves the triple purpose of straining the springs D, E, F, by the screw Z, that they may act in the first instance with a considerable force on the short piston VV; secondly, of keeping the piston rod steady ; and thirdly, of preventing the piston from moving too far in the barrel, by means of its being met by the “polthead Hi, at the end of the rod. G the arch which turns on a pin in the bar #S, lying under- neath the barrel, and works the pump by means of a chain. The manner in which the pump is worked is this. Suppose the short piston to be in the situation V, so as to cut off a communication between the barrel and ex- ternal air, and the piston WM, in contact with it. It now moves back towards 7; till it has passed the duct R | 130 7 Description of an Air-Pumjp. A, when it is stopped by the shoulder X. In its progress, a vacuum is formed in the barrel, until it arrives at .4,. and opens a communication between the barrel and re- ceiver, when the air, by its elastic foree, rushes into the barrel and fills it. All the back space between the collar O and the piston MW, both in its advance and recess, is to be considered as making a part of the capacity of the receiver. But to speak more accurately, it is only the space O4 which is a real addition to the capacity of the receiver ; the space 41, between the duct and the pis- ton, whilst it moves forward towards B, being only a temporary dilatation of the capacity and the small vacuity between the collar and the piston, after it has passed the duct 4 in moving backward, being a temporary contrac- tion of it: In both cases it is restored to its original ex- tent, on the return of the piston. Having attained to its limit in moving back, the piston now proceeds forward, and after it has passed by the duct .4, intercepts the ecormmunication between the receiver and barrel, and drives. before it the air-contained in the barrel, together with the short piston JV, until it is stopped by the shoul- der K, at the end of the bar AS, at the instant that it ar- rives against the middle of the duct B, at which the air is all forced out. ‘The two pistons now form one air- tight stopper, that completely closes the orifice B, and prevents any communication of the receiver and barrel _ with the external air. Now the piston WM, is drawn back towards 7, and the short piston VV, by the force of the springs D, /, J’, follows in close contact with it, and thus continues to interpose a barrier between the barrel and external air, until it is stopped by the meeting of the bolthead H with the slide G, after having passed the duct 3, and having arrived at the situation N, where the description began. When the pump is intended to exhaust, the receiver must be placed over the duct .4, leaving the duct B open tothe external air; but when it is designed to condense, nothing more is necessary than to shift the situation of the receiver on the plate, placing it over the duct B, and leaving the duct .4 open to the external air. Vo < XL L. Fo a Se eT er rT a | A BRIEF ACCOUNT Of a Trial at Law, in which the influence of Water, raised by a Mill-Dam, on the health of the inhabitants in the neighborhood, was considered. BY THE HON. DAVID DAGGETT, ESQ. yD EFORE the Superior Court, held at Litchfield, on the fourth Tuesday of January, 1800, was tried an action of trespass, instituted by Joseph Ruggles, of New-Milford, against Elijah Boardman, and others, in- habitants of New-Milford. The claim on the part of the plaintiff was, that the de- fendants, in January, 1799, destroyed a part of his mill- dam, erected across the Housatonic river, and nearly opposite the most compact part of the town. The de- fendants acknowledged that they had injured the dam in manner as alledged, and justified, on the ground, that the dam was a public nuisance, in that it was the cause of a distressing sickness, which had for several years visited New-Milford. It was agreed, that a dam had stood at or near the piace of the present dam, for about sixty years past; and that the dam complained of, had been by the plaintiff, in Luly and August, 1796, raised about ten inches. It was also agreed, that a bilious remitting fever, and the fever and ague, had raged with great viru- dence, in the vicinity of this dam, in the years 1796--7-- 1382 =A Brief Account of a Trial at Law, &c. 8and 9. The great question therefore, 1 in the case, Was, whether the raising of the dam in 1796 was the sine qua non of the disease? A variety of testimony was pro- duced by the parties, tending to convince the court and jury of the truth of the affirmative and negative of this question. It was proved, that in each of the years above mentioned, an unusual sickness had prevailed ;—that the whole number afflicted with the bilious fever was about 300 ;—that this fever commonly began in July, and ceased i October ;—that the fever and ague had also been prevalent in the period aforesaid, but was not confined to place or season. It was also proved, that there were upwards of fifty acres of low marshy ground, on the west side of the river, opposite the town ;—that there was, in July and August, much stagnant water in and about those marshes; and it was contended, (though the fact was doubtful,) that the waters m and about those sunken places, were materially affected by the raising of the dam. ‘To prove that this state of the water, &c. might, and probably would produce the fever, the opin- ion of physicians, and the existence of similar facts in other places, were resorted to. It was generally agreed by the medical gentlemen, that the bilious remitting fever, and fever and ague, of our country, are produced by marsh effluvia ;—that this effluvia is caused by animal and vegetable putrefaction ;— that the action of the sun on vegetables or animals, upon the receding of waters from them, frequently causes this | putrefaction ; and that the months of July and August, are seasons peculiarly favorable for the production of this | effuvia, and its operation upon the human constitution. | It was also agreed, that water, though stagnant, does not become dangerous, till it 1s so fetid as to offend the senses; and. that while vegetables and animals are co- | vered with running water, they are innoxious, Of the. physicians who had viewed this dam, and the mill-pond | made thereby, with the circumstances and situation of | the town, some were of the opinion that it was the cause _ of the sickness, while others doubted or disbelieved it. | it was proved, that the raising of the waters by mill- | dams, in Salisbury, Colebrook, Roxbury, and in various | places in the states of Massachusetts, Vermont, New- | A Brief Account ofa Trial at Law, ce. 133 York, and Pennsylvania, had been followed with fevers of the same type with that at New-Milford. It was tes- tified by a respectable physician, that he had visited a family in Kent, living on one of the highest hills, and that several persons in the house were severely afflicted with a bilious fever ;—that on examination, he discover- eda small pond, nearly dry, i which there was a great quantity of dead fish, producing a very loathsome stench ;—that the pond was speedily covered with fresh earth, and health was restored. It was contended by the plaintiff, that raising the dam would not be injurious, unless thereby more gr round was overflowed from which effuvia would arise ; and this was denied, since the water was now kept within the well de- fined ie of the river ;—that the situation of the town was favorable to disease, being circumscribed by high hills, and consequently subjected to a bad state of air; and that there were causes sufficient, without resorting to the dam to account for the fever. It was proved, that in the year 1796, as early as the 20th of July, there were many cases of the bilious fever, strongly marked; and that, at that time, the dam was not raised or altered from its usual height;—that the same fever had existed in many preceding years, from 1782;—that in 1799, after the destruction of the dam complained of, and while it stood with the water at its ancient level, the same fever raged, though with less malignancy, and in situations more remote > from the mill:pond. ‘These were urged as sufficient to encounter the presumption arising from the facts previously stated. It was also proved, that in 1757, a malignant fever, (as it was then denominated,) raged, to the destruction ° of about forty inhabitants ;—that in 1777, the dysentery prevailed, said to have been brought from the army, and that the fever and ague had always been a disease of New-Milford ;—that the towns through which the Hou- Satonic river runs, have been frequently visited with bilious fevers, and that too where no mill- dams could be resorted to as the causes, The physicians concurred in opinion, that persons are seldom attacked with this fever more than once during an epidemic, but that the fever and ague frequently visits 334. = A Brief Account of « Trial at Law, &e. the patient in the spring or summer following. They also agreed, unanimously, that from 1793 or 4, fevers have been more frequent and malignant than in any pre- ceding years, excepting that in the last season there ap- peared an abatement in the number of cases and violence of the disease. It was proved, that the same disease with the one un- der consideration, had prevailed in many places, in this and the states of New-York and Massachusetts, within the last five years, where no mill-dams or ponds could have operated—on the most elevated hills, and im situa- tions heretofore deemed the most healthy ;—that in Great-Barrington, and West-Stockbridge, the disease appeared remote from the ponds, while the people in the vicinity of them enjoyed usual health. A respectable physician, from Shefield, gave an account of a very dis- tressing fever, which had prevailed there since 1795.— That a mill-dam was erected in 1787, to which it was by many ascribed; yet he declared, that from 1787 to 1795, great health prevailed, though the dam, during that period, was as high as it had been since. He also said, that during the spring of 1799, the dam was lower- ed, and that the disease, the summer following, was. much more mild. It was admitted, that the exposing of vegetables or’ animals, or other substances capable of being reduced to sudden putrefaction, to the sun, by drawing off water, - draining ponds, or clearing up low grounds, tended to produce disease: but certainty, or even connection, as to particular instances in which this consequence had . - followed, seemed scarcely attainable. ¢ It was obvious to all the hearers of this trial, that the more proof, the more doubt, and that the question grew perplexed by investigation. And so fully were the court and jury impressed with this idea, that they decided in favor of the owner of the dam, and gave damages accord-. ingly ; saying that they could not find it proved a nui- sance. New-Haven, March 12, 1800. — No. XITI. ON THE DECOMPOSITION OF WHITE LEAD PAINT. Zo Mr. Benjamin Strutiman, Secretary of the Con- necticut Academy of Arts and Sciences. SIR, T is well known, that a white paint, formed by mix- ing oil, and usually vegetable oil, with the white oxyd of lead, is very expensive, and not very durable. Within a few years after this paint is laid upon a build- ing, it is observed that the oil has been separated from the lead, and the latter may be rubbed off with the hand, being reduced to a state in which it is easily pulverized. It is observable also, that the like paint on inside work, not exposed to water, is not liable to the same change. From these facts, it is probable that the oil, when expos. ed to water, undergoes a slow decomposition. Oil is proved, by chemical analysis, to be composed of carbon, or pure charcoal, and hydrogene, or the base of inflammable air, in the proportion of nearly four parts of the former, with one of the latter. Now carbon has a very strong affinity for oxygene, one of the constituent - elements of water. Is it not probable that the decompo- _ sition of the oil of paints is owing to that afinity—the 136 On the Decomposition of White Lead Paint. earbon of the oil combining with the oxygene of water, and the hydrogene of the oil, being set free, escaping in the form of gas? If so, the art of rendering the paint durable will consist in fixing the oil, or preventing this decomposition. ‘This is undoubtedly a great desidera- tura in the arts. In the course of my scanty reading on subjects of this kind, I have found nothing satisfactory. The experiments of M. de Moryeau, as related ina pa- per communicated to the Academy of Dijon, of which an extract is found in the Encyclopedia, were evidently made before the date of the new Chemistry. It is be- lieved that the causes of the changes which paints un- dergo, and which he ascribes to phlogistic vapors, are now better understood than when he wrote; and it is desirable that the attention of the chemist, as well as the artist, may be invited to the subject. If the funds of the Academy would permit, it might be well to offer a premium for the discovery of a sub- stance which should fix the oil in white paints, without changing their color. Iam, Sir, respectfully, your obedient servant, N. WEBSTER, JUN. New-fHaven, Oct. 30, 1804. : a No. XIV. AN OBSERVATION Of the Auroral Appearance in the Evening of the first day of August 1783, at Durham. BY THE LATE REV. ELIZUR GOODRICH, D.D. ¥ FIRST observed this appearance at viii. 56. at which time a zone of auroral light extended almost from the western to the eastern horizon. I was observing the heavens not ten minutes before, and then saw no- thing of it. Iam informed it arose suddenly from the north-western part of the heavens, and with a swift mo- tion coruscated to the eastern. When I first observed it, it pointed to the western part of the horizon, at about N. W. by W. and to the eastern at a little south of east, though it was not clearly to be discerned on either hori- zon. In the western quarter, there was a beautiful pro- fusion of clear and bright light, almost sufficient to con- ceal the stars under those of the second magnitude ; this rose almost to the meridian, where the light grew fainter, and went on decreasing toward the east. In the western part, the light was so great and strong, and so entirely covering the heavens, that particular streaks or corusca- tions could be distinguished only in the outer borders of S 138 An Observation of the the zone: In the eastern, they might be discerned dis tinctly through the whole breadth. The zone did not appear in the arch of either a great or parallel circle in the heavens, but irregular between both, its height being out of the proportion of either, and its casps toward the horizon on both sides, especially the western, declines much more northerly than regularity would admit; be- sides several breaks seemed to appear in the zone at times, which nevertheless were immediately filled up. The breadth of the zone was various in different parts of it, and in its successive motion southward, which at first was more rapid, till it become stationary, and then moy- ed northward, till the whole appearance evanished. The following observations were made during the ap- pearance. ? viii. 56.—Zone of auroral light extended almost across. the heavens; rising from about N. W. by W. and de- scending about E. by S.—The southernmost or last bright star in the tail of asa major, in the northern limb of the zone, where its breadth was equal to a third part of the distance between that star and the bright star of the crown.—Lyra, in the middle of the zone, where the breadth of the zone was equal to the third part of the distance between Lyra and Aquila.—The whole zone north of the stars in Draco, vulgarly called the diamond.— Brightest light in the western part; more faint in the eastern. ix. 6.—Zone of auroral light partly evanishing in the east.—The whole zone south of Lyra—wester n part very bright—its southern mb touches the northern stars of the crown—its breadth nearly as above. . ix. 10.—Bright star of the crown in the middle of the zone, where the 2 appearance is very bright and luminous, but decreaseth toward the mer idian; eastward of which the whole appearance is evanished. ix. 15.—The appearance stationary im the crown— bright westward of it, and extending about half way to the horizon—breadth not so great as at first—from Ly- ra half way of the crown almost wholly evanished. ix. 16.—Western bright appearance contimues sta- tionary.—A new coruscation or stream of faint auroral Auroral Appearance at Durham. 139 fight, of an equal breadth of about one degree, passing through the middle of the crown, a little north of Arctu- rus, and its northern limb just touching the diamond in Draco, extended to the eastern horizon, descending con- siderably south -of east. ix. 25.—Appearance, for some time stationary, is now moved about cne degree north of the diamond, and its southern border near the northernmost stars in the crown. ix. 28.—Bright appearance in the west evanishing.— Small coruscation evanishing in the middle; continued in the east and west. ix. 30.—Whole appearance continues to evanish in the west. a ; ix. 33.—Bright light near gone.—The smaller corus- cation distinctly renewed instantaneously, and nearly in a great circle from the eastern to the western horizon, passing north of the northernmost stars of the crown— north of Arcturus—south of Lyra—north of Draco. ix. 34.—-vanishing at the eastern horizon. ix. 35.—Evanished to Draco. pevOGe— o-//) i= 1 Lyra. Pao see. it ke athe @rown: ix. 38.—Wholly evanished. ix. 40.—Small coruscations in the east. ix. 45.—Faint coruscations in the west, through the tail of the Great Bear up to the Galaxy. ix. 57.—Auroral light very faint. x.—No auroral light to be discerned. A faint bank of auroral light in the north during the whole, which sometimes ascended to about 30 degrees. s No. XV. AN ACCOUNT OF THE METEOR, Which burst over Weston in Connecticut, in December 1807, and of the falling of Stones on that occasion. By PROFESSORS SILLIMAN anv KINGSLEY. WITH A CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF THE STONES, By PROFESSOR SILLIMAN.* N the 14th of December, 1807, about half past 6 o’clock, A. M. a meteor was seen moving through the atmosphere, with very great velocity, and was heard to explode over the town of Weston, in Connecticut, * Norte....The following account of the facts which attended the falling of stones from the atmosphere, was first published, 27 swd- stance, in the Connecticut Herald, and, subsequently, in many news- papers, and in several literary and philosophical Journals. A revis- ed account, together with the details of the analysis, was afterwards communicated to the Philosophical Society of Philadelphia, and has been published in their transactions. No communication was made to the Connecticut Academy, because they did not then contemplate publishing any thing immediately, and the public curlosity was so much alive on a subject which, in this country, was altogether nov- el, that there was no room for delay. But, in consequence of the strong local interest which is felt i in Connecticut, as the scene of the extraordinary event alluded to, the Academy have thought proper to direct the republication of these papers, that they may be preserved and diffused in Connecticut ; disclaiming at the same time any right to them as original commu- nications. 142 An Account of a Meteor. about 25 miles west of New-Haven. Nathan Wheeler, Esq. of Weston, one of the justices of the court of com- mon pleas for the county of Fairfield, a gentleman of: great respectability, and of undoubted veracity, who seems to have been entirely uninfluenced by fear or im- agination, was passing at the time through an enclosure adjoining his house, and had an opportunity of witnessing the whole phenomenon. From him the account of the appearance, progress, and explosion of the meteor, is principally derived. ‘The morning was somewhat cloudy. The clouds were dispersed in unequal masses, being in some places thick and opaque, and in others fleecy and partially transparent. Numerous spots of unelouded sky were visible, and along the northern part of the ho- rizon a space of ten or fifteen degrees was perfectly clear. The attention of Judge Wheeler was first drawn by a sudden flash of light, which illuminated every object. Looking up he discovered in the north a globe of fire, just then passing behind the cloud, which obscured, . though it did not entirely hide the meteor. In this situ- ation its appearance was distinct, and well defined, like that of the sun seen through a mist. It rose from the north, and proceeded in a direction nearly perpendicular to the horizon, but inclining, by a very small angle, to the west, and deviating a little from the plane of a great circle, but in pretty large curves, sometimes on one side of the plane, and sometimes on the other, but never ma- king an angle with it of more than 4 or 5 degrees. Its apparent diameter was about one half or two thirds the apparent diameter of the full moon. Its progress was not so rapid as that of common meteors and shooting stars. When it passed behind the thinner clouds, it ap- peared brighter than before; and, when it passed the spots of clear sky, it fashed with a vivid light, yet not so intense as the lightning in a thunder-storm, but rather hike what is commonly called heat lightning. | Where it was not too much obscured by thick clouds,” a waving conical train of paler light was seen to attend” it, in length about 10 or 12 diameters of the body. In the clear sky a brisk scintillation was observed about IADR | An Account of a Meteor. 143 the body of the meteor, like that of a burning firebrand carried against the wind. It disappeared about 15 degrees short of the zenith, and about the same number of degrees west of the me- ridian. It did not not vanish instantaneously, but grew, pretty rapidly, fainter and fainter, as a red hot cannon ball would do, if cooling in the dark, only with much more rapidity. There was no peculiar smell in the atmosphere, nor were any luminous masses seen to separate from the body. ‘The whole period between its first appearance and total extinction, was estimated at about 30 seconds. About 30 or 40 seconds after this, three loud and dis- tinct reports, like those of a four-pounder, near at hand, were heard. ‘They succeeded each other with as much rapidity as was consistent with distinctness, and, alto- gether, did not occupy three seconds. Then followed a rapid succession of reports less loud, and running into each other, so as to produce a continued rumbling, like that of a cannon ball rolling over a floor, sometimes loud- er, and at other times fainter: some compared it to the noise of a waggon, running rapidly down a long and stony hill; or, to a volley of musketry, protracted into what is called, in military language, a running fire.---- This noise continued about as long as the body was in rising, and died away nppencHthye in the direction from which the meteor came. ‘The accounts of others corresponded substantially with this. Time was differently estimated by different people. Some augmented the number of loud reports, and tere ror and imagination seem, in various instances, to have magnified every circumstance of the phenomenon. | The only thing which seemed of any importance be- yond this statement, was derived from Mr. Elihu Staples, who said, that when the meteor disappeared, there were apparently three successive efforts or leaps of the fireball, which grew more dim at every throe, and disappeared ‘with the last. The meteor was seen as far south as New-York ; and ithe explosion was heard, and a tremulous motion of the searth perceived, between forty and fifty miles north of 144 An Account of a Meteor. Weston. From the various accounts which we have re- ceived of the appearance of this body at different places, we are inclined to believe, that the time between the dis- appearance and report, as estimated by Judge Wheel- er, is too little, and that a minute is the least time which could have intervened. ‘Taking this, therefore, for the time, and the apparent diameter of the body as only half that of the full moon, its real diameter could not be much less than 300 feet.* We now proceed to detail the consequences which followed the explosion and apparent extinction of this luminary. We allude to the fall of a number of masses of stone in several places, principally within the town of Weston. The places which had been well ascertained at the peri- od of our investigation, were six. The most remote were about 9 or 10 miles distant from each other, m a line differing little from the course of the meteor. It is therefore probable that the successive masses fell in this order, the most northerly first, and the most southerly last. We think we are able to point out three principal places where stones have fallen, corresponding with the three loud cannon-like reports, and with the three leaps. of the meteor, observed by Mr. Staples. ‘There were some circumstances common to all the cases. There was in every instance, immediately after! the explosions had ceased, a loud whizzing or roaring noise in the air, * NoTe....From subsequent information it appears, that this meteor was seen in the eastern part of Connecticut, in New-Jersey, in the interior of the state of New-York, and as high up, at least, as Rutland, in Vermont. és It was stated by Professor Day, ina discourse before the Connect- icut Academy, that a gentleman who was riding in Colchester in Connecticut, which is about 50 miles east of Weston, saw this me- teor distinctly ; it was passing within 15 or 20 degrees of the moon, and appeared to him to be about one half as large as that luminary. It was justly remarked by Mr. Day that, if at this distance, it had this apparent diameter, its real diameter must have been 12 or 1300 feet, or, about a quarter of a mile; but, as the apparent diameter was not taken with an instrument, but by estimation, it was not sup- posed that this conclusion was perfectly exact. It is evident, at least, that the meteor must have been much higher, when it exploded, than. was at first supposed. eet ~ An Account of a Meteor. 145 observed at all the places, and so far as was ascer- tained, at the moment of the fall. It excited in some the idea of a tornado ; in others, of a large cannon shot in rapid motion, and it filled all with astonishment and apprehension of some impending catastrophe. Jn every instance, immediately after this, was heard a sudden and abrupt noise, like that of a ponderous body striking the ground in its fall. Excepting one, the stones were more or less broken. ‘The most important circumstances of the particular cases were as follows : ~I. The most northerly fall was within the limits of Huntington, on the border of Weston, about 40 or 50 rods east of the great road from Bridgeport to Newtown, in a cross road, and contiguous to the house of Mr. Mer- win Burr. Mr. Burr was standing in the road, in front of his house, when the stone fell. ‘The noise produced by its collision with a rock of granite, was very loud. Mr. Burr was within 50 feet, and immediately searched for the body, but, it being still dark, he did not find it till half an hour after. By the fall, some of it was redu- ced to powder, and the rest of it was broken into very small fragments, which were thrown around to the dis- tance of 20 or 30 feet. ‘The rock was stained at the place of contact with a deep lead colour. ‘The largest fragment which remained did not exceed the size of a goose egg, and this Mr. Burr found to be still warm to his hand. ‘There was reason to conclude from all the circumstances, that this stone must have weighed about twenty or twenty-five pounds. Mr. Burr had a strong impression that another stone fell in an adjoining field, and it was confidently believed that a large mass had fallen into a neighboring swamp, _ but neither of these had been found. It is probable that the stone, whose fall has now been described, together with any other masses, which may have fallen at the same time, was thrown from the meteor at the first ex- plosion. II. The masses, projected at the second explosion, seem to have fallen principally at and in the vicinity of Mr. William Prince’s in Weston, distant about five miles, in a southerly direction, from Mr. Burr’s. Mr. f46 An Account of a Meteor. Prince and family were still in bed, when they heard & noise like the fall of avery heavy body, immediately after the explosions. ‘Chey formed various unsatisfactory con- jectures concerning the cause—nor did even a fresh hole made through the turf in the door-yard, about 25 feet from the house, lead to any conception of the real cause. They had indeed formed a vague conjecture that the hole might have been made by lightning, but would pro- bably have paid no farther attention to the circumstance, had they not heard, in the course of the day, that stones had fallen that morning in other parts of the town. This. induced them, towards evening, to search the hole in the yard, where they found a stone buried in the loose earth which had fallen in upon it. It was two feet from the surface—the hole was about twelve inches in diameter, and as the earth was soft and nearly free from stones, the mass had sustained little injury, only a few smalk fragments having been detached by the shock. The — weight of this stone was about thirty-five pounds. From the descriptions, which we have heard, it must have been a noble specimen, and men of science will not cease to deplore that so rare a treasure should have been im- mediately broken in pieces. All that remained unbro- ken of this mass, was a piece of twelve pounds weight, since purchased by Isaac Bronson, Esq. of Greenfield, with the liberal view of presenting it to some public in- stitution. Six days after, another mass was discovered, half a mile north-west from Mr. Prince’s. ‘The search was induced by the confident persuasion of the neighbours that they heard it fall near the spot, where it was actually found buried in the earth, weighing from seven to ten pounds. It was found by Gideon Hall and Isaac Fair- child. It was in small fragments, having fallen on a globular detached mass of gneiss rock, which it split in two, and by which it was itself shivered to pieces. The same men informed us, that they suspected ano- ther stone had fallen in the vicinity, as the report had been distinctly heard, and could be referred to a particu- lar region somewhat to the east. Returning to the place after an excursion of a few hours to another part of the town, we were gratified to find the conjecture verified, An Account of a Meteor. 147 ‘by the actual discovery of a mass of thirteen pounds weight, which had fallen half a mile to the north-east of Mr. Prince’s. Having fallen in a ploughed field, with- out coming into contact with a rock, it was br oken only into two principal pieces, one of which, possessing’ all the characters of the stone.m a remarkable degree, we purchased; for.it had now become an article of sale. Two miles sovth-east from Mr. Prince’s, at the foot of “‘Tashowa Hill, a fifth mass fell. Its fall was distinctly heard by Mr. Ephraim Porter and his family, who live within forty rods of the place, and in full view. They saw a smoke rise from the spot, as they did also from the hill, where they are positive that another stone struck, as they heard it distinctly. At the time of the fall, having never heard of any such thing, they suppo- sed that lightning had struck the ground, but, after three or four days, hearing of the stones which had been found in their vicinity, they were induced to search, and the result was the discovery of a mass of stone in the road, at the place where they supposed the lightning had struck. It penetrated the ground to the depth of two ‘feet in the deepest place; the hole was about twenty in- ches in diameter, and its margin was coloured blue from the powder of the stone, struck off in its fall. It was broken into fragments of moderate size, and from the best calculations might have weighed 20 or 25 pounds. The hole exhibited marks of much violence, the turf being very much torn, and thrown about to some dis- -tance. We searched several hours for the stone, which was heard to fall on the hill, but without success. Since that time, however, it has been discovered. It is unbroken, and exactly corresponds in appearance with the other specimens. It weighs 363 pounds.* It is probable that the five stones last described were all projected at the second explosion. *Tt has been purchased ‘by Mr. Gibbs, of Newport, Rhode-Jsland, who has thus enriched his splendid collection of minerals with the finest meteoric stone which is probably extant. This specimen abounds. so much with iron, that it might almost he denominated an iron ore; some of the pieces of iron visible on the surface, ane _ More than an ineh long. 148 An Account of a Meteor. HI. At the third explosion a mass of stone far ex- ceeding the united weight of all we have hitherto descri- bed, fell in a field belonging to Mr. Elyah Seeley, and within thirty rods of his house.. Mr. Seeley’s is at the distance of about four miles from Mr. Prince’s. Mr. Elihu Staples lives on the hill, at the bottom of which this body fell, and carefully observed the whole pheno- menon. After the last explosion, he says, a rending noise hike that of a whirlwind passed along to the east of his house and immediately over his orchard, which is on the decli- vity of the hill. At the same instant a streak of light passed over the orchard in a large curve, and seemed to pierce the ground. A shock-was felt, and a report heard like that of a heavy body falling to the earth; but no conception being entertained of the real cause, (for no ‘one in this vicinity, with whom we conversed, appeared to have ever heard of the fall of stones from the skies) it was supposed that lightning had struck the ground. ‘Three or four hours after the event, Mr. Seely went into his field to look after his cattle. He found that some of them had leaped into the adjoining enclosure, and all exhibited strong indications of terror. Passing on, he was struck with surprize at seeing a spot of ground which he knew to have been recently turfed over, all torn up, and the earth looking fresh, as if from recent violence. Coming to the place, he found a great mass of fragments of a strange looking stone, and immediately called for his wife, who was second on the ground. Here were exhibited the most striking proofs of vio- lent collision.. A ridge of micaceous schistus lying near- ly even with the ground, and somewhat inclining like the hill to the south-east, was shivered to pieces, to a cer- tain extent, by the impulse of the stone, which thus re- ceived a still more oblique direction, and forced itself into the earth to the depth of three feet, tearing a hole of five feet in length and four and a half feet in breadth, and throwing large masses of turf and fragments of stone and earth to the distance of 50 and 100 feet. Had there been no meteor, no explosions, and no witnesses of the - | light and shock, it would have been impossible for any person contemplating the scene to doubt, that a large * An Account of a Meteor. 149 and heavy body had really fallen from the skies with tre- mendous momentum. ‘From the best information which we could obtain of the quantity of fragments of this last stone, compared with its specific gravity, we concluded that its weight could not have fallen much short of 200 pounds. All the stones, when first found, were friable, being easily broken between the fingers ; this was especially the case, where they had been buried in the moist earth ; but by exposure to the air, they gradually hardened. ‘This stone was all in fragments, none of which ex- ceeded the size of a man’s fist, and was rapidly dispers- ed by numerous visitors, who carried it away at pleas- ure. Indeed we found it difficult to obtain a sufficient supply of specimens of the various stones, an object, which was at length accomplished, principally by impor- tunity and purchase. The specimens obtained from the different places are perfectly similar. ‘The most superficial observer would instantly pronounce them portions of a common mass. Few of the specimens weigh one pound, most of them less than half a pound, and from that to the fraction of an ounce. The piece lately found on Tashowa Hillis the largest with which we are acquainted. Mr. Bronson’s is the next in size. The largest specimen in our possession weighs six pounds, and is very perfect in its characteristic marks. Of smaller pieces we havea good collection. ‘They pos- sess every variety of form, which might be supposed to arise from fracture with violent force. Onmany of them, and chiefly on the large specimens, may be distinctly per- ceived portions of the external part of the meteor. It ig every where covered with a thin black crust, destitute of splendor, and bounded by portions of the large irreg- ular curve, which seems to have inclosed the meteoric mass. Thiscurve is far from being uniform. It is some- times depressed with concavities, such as might be pro- duced by pressing a soft and yielding substance. The surface of the crust feels harsh, like the prepared fish | skin, or shagreen. It gives sparks with the steel. There are certain portions of the stone covered with the black erust, which appear not to have formed a part of the out- 450 dn Account of a Meteor. side of the meteor, but to have received this coating in the interior parts, in consequence of fissures or cracks, produced probably by the intense heat, to which the body seems to have been subjected. ‘These portions are very uneven, being full of little protuberances. ‘The specific gravity of the stone is 3.6, water being 1. The specif- ic gravity of different pieces varies a little; this is the ynean of three. The colour of the mass of the stone is mainly a dark ash, or, more properly, a leaden colour. It is imter- spersed with distinct masses, from the size of a pin’s head to the diameter of one or two inches, which are al- most white, resembling, in many instances, the crystals of feldt-spar in some varieties of granite. ‘The texture of the stone is granular and coarse, resembling some pieces of grit stone.‘ It cannot be broken by the fingers, but gives a rough and irregular fracture with the hammer, te which it readily yields. On inspecting the mass, five distinct kinds of matter may be perceived by the eye. 1. The stone is thickly interspersed with black or grey globular masses, most of them spherical, but some are oblong. Some of them are of the size of a pigeon shot, and even of a pea, but generally they are much smaller. They can be detached by any pointed iron instrument, and leave aconcavity mthe stone. ‘They are not attract- able by the magnet, and can be broken by the hammer. If any of them appear to be aflected by the magnet, it will be found to be owing to the adherence of a portion of metallic iron. 2. Masses of yellow pyrites may be observed. Some of them are of a brilliant,golden’colour, and are readily dlistinguishable by the eye. Some are reddish and some whitish. ‘The pyrites appear most abundant in the light colored spots, where they exhibit very numerous and brilliant points, which are very conspicuous through a lens. 3. The whole stone is interspersed with malleable iron, alloyed with nickel. These masses of malleable iron are very various in size, from mere points to the diame- ter of half an inch. They may be made very conspic- uous by drawing a file across the stone. j A, "The lead-coloured mass has been described already; in Account of a Meteor. 15k and. constitutes by far the greater part of the stone. Af- ter being wet and exposed tothe air, the stone becomes. covered with numerous reddish spots, which do not ap- pear in a fresh fracture, and arise manifestly from the rusting of the iron. 5. There are a few instances of matter dispersed ir- ¥egularly through the stone, which are considered as in- termediate between pyrites and malleable iron. They are sometimes in masses apparently crystalline, but us- ually regular. They are black, and commonly destitute of splendor, but exposed by a recent fracture, they ap- pear like a glossy superficial coating. They are some- times attractable by the magnet, and sometimes not. —=2] = CHEMICAL EXAMINATION of the Stones which fell at Weston, ( Connecticut,) Dec. 14, 1807. By B.Si1rtiman, Professor of Chemistry in Yale College. THE. public are already in possession of ample de- tails concerning the fall of these bodies, and the pheno- mena which preceded the event.—I have made an at- tempt to ascertain their nature, by a series of experi- ments, the result of which is now communicated to the public. It will be necessary to make some observations, and. to detail some experiments, upon each of the con- - stituent parts of the stone. I. Of the stone at large. II. Of the pyrites. III. Of the malleable iron. IV. Of the black irregular masses. V. Of the crust. VI. Of the globular bodies. I. Of the stone at large. 1.—100 grains of the stone, taken without any parti. cular reference to the various bodies, and, containing promiscuously, portions of all of them, were pulverized ma porphyry mortar. The malleable iron resisted the pestle, so that the mass could be reduced only to a coarse powder. It was then digested for 11 hours, with a mo- 152 An Account of a Meteor. derate lamp heat, in strong nitric acid, in a capsule of- porcelain. Nitrous gas was disengaged with the usual red fumes, and, a light whitish matter appeared, dispers- ed through the solution, resembling gelatinous silex. 2.—The clear fluid was decanted from the insoluble residuum, all of which, except a small portion of. the white floculent matter, had subsided ; to separate this, the fiuid was filtered, and exhibited a decidedly greenish color. 3.—The solid residuum was heated over an Argand’s lamp, till it was quite dry, and then triturated for an hour, in mortars of porphyry and jasper. As the malleable iron had now been removed by the acid, the residuum was easily reduced to a fine powder, which had a brick red color, and was digested again, for an hour, with a mixture of nitric and muriatic acids, somewhat diluted, and then boiled for some time in the same fluid. This was decanted and filtered, and the residuum was washed with water till 1t came off tasteless ; these washings were all filtered and added to the two solutions Nos. 2 and 3. The entire fluid had now a light yellow color, owing to the nitro muriatic acid present in excess. 4.—The solid residuum, together with the solid mat- ter arrested by the filters, being ignited im a platinum crucible, became nearly white, and weighed 51,5 grains. It was fused with potash ima silver crucible, and the crucible, with its contents, was immersed. in water con- tained ina silver bason; the resulting fluid was decom- posed by muriatic acid and evaporation, and, the precip- liate, after ignition in a platinum crucible, was white. ‘There could now be no hesitation in pronouncing it to be silex, and the conclusion seemed suficiently estab- lished, that more than half the stone consisted of this earth.* 5.—The entire solution was next examined, to dis- cover what was the soluble part of the stone. — After the superfluous acid was saturated by ammonia, a very voluminous red precipitate appeared, which was * Were it not for the infant state of chemistry in this country, it would be unnecessary to remark, that all the most important tests and re-agents employed in these experiments, were absolutely pure ; for, very few of them can be obtained fre from the shops; the sil- ver vessels were also perfectly pure, as were those of platinum. An Account of a Meteor. 153 oxid of iron. The fluid was filtered, and heated ona sand bath, to expel the excess of ammonia, and to pre- cipitate any additional portion of oxid of iron which it might have suspended, but none was obtained. 6.—The precipitate bemg washed, collected, dried and ignited strongly, in a platinum crucible, hada dark brown colour, inclining to red, and weighed 38 grains. Six grains of this weight were allowed for what adhered. to the filter, which was accurately weighed before it was used, and after it had been thoroughly dried on a heated slab of Portland stone, andthe difference of weight was 6 grains. The oxid of iron thus obtained was not in the highest state of oxidizement; for, it was completely, although not very powerfully attractable by the magnet, by which the whole of it was actually transferred from a plate of glass to a wine-glass. It ought to have been oxidized to a maximum, considering the process by which it was obtained ;—possibly some adhering ammonia, and a por- tion of charcoal, which accidentally got into the crucible, might have abstracted a part of its oxigen, with the aid of heat, and indeed heat alone would have expelled a portion of oxigen. 7.—The fluid from which the oxid of iron had been - separated, had now a greenish colour, precisely similar to what it had in No. 2. Carbonat of potash produced no precipitate, but, caustic potash threw down a pretty voluminous fleecy white precipitate. Being separated by the filter, dried, collected, and moderately heated, it became almost black ; but, on being heated strongly in. a platinum crucible, covered by an inverted crucible of the same metal, it became white. It weighed 13 grains. It dissolved rapidly in sulphuric acid, and afforded, by evaporation, prismatic crystals, which had an acidulous, bitter taste; the former arising from a redundancy of the sulphuric acid;—-it afforded a white precipitate, with caustic potash—suffered the aqueous fusion, and became a dry mass, on a live coal. From all these considera- tions, it was concluded, that the 13 grains were magnesia. These crystals of sulphat of magnesia had a very slight 154 An Account of a Meteor. tinge of green, a circumstance which was, doubtless}. connected with the dark appearance of the magnesia, when first heated. It shall be resumed presently.—lt should be observed, that in some of the experiments with sulphuric acid on this supposed magnesia, a white matter, in small quantity, remained undissolved at the bottom of the vessel.—It could hardly be silex, and pre- liminary experiments led me to conclude that no lime was present.—_Was.it accidental, or, was there a small portion of alumine? ‘This white matter, when heated with sulphuric acid and sulphat of potash, did not afford crystals of alum, on evaporation. I have not yet had leisure fully to decide this point, but intend to resume it. The stone has a very slight argillaceous smell, when breathed upon. 8.—The remaining solution still retained its greenish colour. Previous trials had decided, that neither copper nor iron was present in the selution. Nickel was there- fore sought for, and the observations of Howard and Vauquelin, in their analyses of the stone of Benares, led me to expect it in triple combination with the ammoni- acal nitrat and muriat, which had been formed in the liquor by a previous step of the process. According to the experience of Howard, I found the hidro sulphuret, and the prussiat of ammonia, the only agents among those which I tried, that would precipitate the nickel. The prussiat of ammonia gave a white precipitate, in- elining to purple; the hidro sulphuret of ammonia, a ¢ volunmnous black precipitate. The hidro sulphuret was — used, and the precipitate was separated by the filter; the filter was dried, and it was with great difficulty that about three fourths of a grain were collected; the portion ad- hering to the filter was estimated at a grain; that which had been collected was ignited in a platinum crucible, and became green; it was, without doubt, the oxid of. | nickel, and with every allowance for loss and other cir- eumstances, the whole cannot be estimated at more than 1,5 grain. In this estimate is included a portion of nickel which adhered to the magnesia, when it was precipitat- ed; which caused it to turn black, when first heated— which gave the sulphat of magnesia formed from it a Ain Account of a Meteor. 15S slightly greenish tinge ; and whose existence is still far- ther proved, by the black colour which was produced, when a solution of this sait was mixed with the hidre sulphuret of ammonia. 9.—The fluid from which the uiclicl had been preci- pitated, was now of a yellow colour, unmixed with green. its present colour was derived from the hidro sulphuret of ammonia, and nothing could now be detected.in the solution, except what had proceeded from the various re- agents employed There was, however, one other constituent of the stone, of whose existence the eye furnished decisive.evi- -dence, of which no account has hitherto been given, namely, the sulphur. As to the quantity of this, I can give only an estimation. Of the grounds of that esti- mation, as well as.of the fruitless attempts, which were made to.collect the sulphur, I will speak ‘presently; but for the sake of concluding this head, ‘TL will now add, that the sulphur was estimated at 1 . If this analysis be cor- rect then, the 100 grains which were examined afforded, Silex, : “ : Sl Oxid of iron, | : aut: BE BBB: Magnesia, — - - - syn 13, Oxid of nickel, 2 2 1,5 Sulphur, ANY de - - 1, 105, “The excess, instead of the usual loss, proceeds, mani- festly, from the oxidizement of the iron, m a consider- able, but unknown proportion. J must add, that the proportions of these ingredients vary in different parts of the stone, as is manifest to the eye, and will be imme- diately more fully evinced. Inthe analyses of others, should there be found some difference of proportion, it will not therefore necessarily indicate a contradiction. The great point of the similarity of these stones to those which have fallen in other countries, and which have been analysed by Howard, Vauquelin, Klaproth, and Fourcroy, who have been my guides in this investiga- tion, will now, in all probability, be considered as sufi- f ciently: established. Had the daily avocations of a course of public lectures allowed the necessary time, I should 156 An Account of a Meteor. . have attempted something like a complete analysis of each of the constituent parts of the stone. If circum- stances permit, this may still be done ; but, in the mean time, a few observations of perhaps some utility may be offered. Il. Of the Pyrites. In the stones in our possession, very few masses of pyrites of any considerable size are to be found; and they are generally so friable, that it was only with great difficulty, and patience, that 20 grains could be collected from 200 or 300 pieces. ‘Their powder is blackish. I digested these 20 grains for 12 hours, in muriatic acid, somewhat diluted, hoping to separate the sulphur, so as to collect it as Mr. Howard had done. But, in this I was disappointed. Only a very few minute portions of sulphur appeared ; they did not, as with Mr. Howard, float, but subsided among the earthy sediment; and only enough of them was collected to decide the existence of sulphur, by their burning with the peculiar smell of that substance. During the solution, the smell of sulphuret- ted hidrogen gas was emitted. As the stone, or, at least, some parts of it, emits the smell of sulphur, when heated, I attempted to procure the sulphur by sublimation. A portion of the powdered stone was placed in a. coated glass tube, the upper part of which was kept cold, while the coated part was ignited for an hour, but no sulphur was obtained. I caused the gas which arose from the solution of the metallic part of the stone in the sulphuric and muriatic acids, to pass into a solution of caustic potash—only a small portion of it was absorbed; the potash became slightly hidro sulphuretted, since it precipitated the acetat of lead, black, and deposited a little sulphur upon the addition of sulphuric acid. Ais I had already robbed the specimens of almost eve- ry tangible mass of pyrites, and injured them consider- ably, by the extraction, I was compelled to relinquish the idea of obtaining the exact proportion of the sulphur. Mr. Howard, in the analysis of the stone of Benares, states the sulphur at 2 parts in 14 of the pyrites, or, An Account of a Meteor. © 157 about 15 per cent. If we may suppose these pyrites to be of the same composition, (and their physical proper- ties correspond with Count Bournon’s description,) we might deduce the proportion of sulphur from the pro- portion of pyrites in the stone, for, there is every reason to believe that the sulphur exists in no other part of the stone, except the pyrites, and those masses which have proceeded from their decomposition. It is impossible, however, to separate the pyrites from the other parts of the stone, so as to estimate their proportion exactly; but, they evidently do not exceed .one fifteenth of the whole stone. If therefore the sulphur be estimated at 1, it is probable the estimate will not be very erroneous. The muriatic solution of the pyrites had a greenish colour; ammonia threw down the iron in a black pre- cipitate, becoming rapidly red, when exposed to the air. The filtered fiuid gave no traces of magnesia, when ex- amined with caustic potash; but, hidro sulphuret of ammonia gave an abundant precipitate of nickel. Hence these pyrites are composed of iron nickel and sulphur. Having saved the precipitates, I still hope to obtain the proportions of the two former. Ill. The malleable Iron. When the stone is pulverized, the magnet takes up, usually, more than 40. I have taken up even 50, but once only 23. This is, however, far from being all iron; there is much adhering earthy matter—some adhering pyrites, and, in short, all the principles of the stone ad- here. A separate analysis of the attractable part, gives us nothing different from the results already stated, ex- cept an increase in the proportion of metallic matter, and a diminution in that of the earthy principles. ‘The mal- leable iron contains nickel equally with that in the py- rites. On the other hand, a separate analvsis of the un- attractable part, presents no other diversity than a dimi- nution of the metallic, and an increase of the earthy prin- ciples. I have separated a piece of malleable iron, so large, that by alternately heating and hammering, it was extended into a bar six tenths of an inch long, and one tenth thick; another mass was hammered into a plate more than half an inch in diameter. The attractable ~ 158 An Account of a Meteor. part of the stone dissolves rapidly in the strong acids; the muriatic and the sulphuric, diduted, give abundance of hidrogen gas, partially sulphuretted, and, nitric acid gives copious fumes of nitrous gas. In the same masses are found malleable iron—pyrites—and matter in an intermediate condition, intimately blended and adhering to each other.* IV. The irregular black masses. Some of these appear somewhat regular, like crystals of schorl, but most of them are irregular. While exa- . mining them, I found in some, appearances of pyrites in a state of decomposition. ‘This led to a suspicion, that these masses were merely pyrites, which, by the force of heat, had been decomposed more or less completely. Accordingly, on separating a good many portions of these bodies, some were found readily---others feebly--- and others not at all attractable by the magnet. But, the latter, by being heated for a few minutes, with the blow- pipe, became decidedly attractable. As a standard of comparison, some golden coloured pyrites from Peru, were heated by the blow-pipe, to expel the sulphur, and were made to pass through all the shacles of colour, and | degrees of magnetic attractability, corresponding with the various conditions of the black irregular masses. Little doubt could now remain, that the conjecture con- cerning their nature was well founded. The glossy in- terior coating, mentioned in the mineralogical descrip- tion, appeared to be of the same nature, and to approach _ nearly tothe state of malleable iron. : * Itisacurious fact, that the two famous masses of native iron, found in Siberia and Peru, (as well as the native iron of Bohemia and Sen- egal,) contain nickel; no ore of iron contains nickel----the popular tradition in some of the countries mentioned, is, that the zron fell Jrom heaven----the masses are large and heavy, and were found at a distance from any possible source of iron----they are cellular and ca- vernous, as if some earthy cement had been decomposed and wash- ed out by time ; and still, a stony matter, resembling crysolite, and extremely like the hardest parts of the meteoric stones, remains ad- hering to the iron. No such iron is found in iron mines, and there can now be little doubt that zese masses of native iron are really of meteoric origin ; were the large stone from Weston, in the possession - of Col. Gibbs, to be exposed to the weather till the earthy cement was worn away, it would resemble the Siberian and Peruvian iron: in Account of a Meteor. 159 V. The Crust. The black external crust adheres so closely to the earthy matter within, that it is not easy to separate it. Indeed, it appeared scarcely worth while to subject it to a. separate analysis, since the blow-pipe sufficiently indi-— cates the difference between it and the rest of the stone. For, on heating any small portion of the stone with the most intense flame that the blow-pipe can give, it be- comes covered with a black crust similar to that of the stone. ‘lhe only point then in which the crust differs from the rest of the stone is, that it has been changed " strong ignition, having sutflered a sort of vitrificatio and its metallic parts a ) partial oxidizement ; I say, hy tial, for when detached, it is attractable by the magnet, and the file discovers points of malleable iron. VI. The globular bodies. These appear to be merely portions of the stone, em- bracing probably all its principles, which have been melted by intense heat, and, being surrounded by solid matter, have become more or less globular, like the glo- bules of metal which appear dispersed through a flux, in a crucible, after an operation with a very high degree of heat, upon a very refractory metal. The elobular bodies in this stone, although not at- tractable by the magnet, readily become so by being heated with the blow-pipe. Is the iron in them too highly oxidized to admit of attraction, and, are they partially reduced by ignition on charcoal ?---Finally, is there not reason to conclude, that these meteoric stones originally presented nothing dis- PE Ha by the eye, except pyrites, and the envelop- earthy matrix---that, by the operation of heat, the iil black masses have been produced, bya partial decomposition of the pyrites---that, by a still more in- tense heat in certain parts, the pyrites have been altoge- ther decomposed, and malleable iron produced---that the crust is produced by.a mere oxigenizement and vi- trification---that the diiference of colour in the earthy part is owing to the unequal operation of heat, the py- rites being left, in some places, especially in the white bd 160 An Account of a Meteor. ¢ spots, almost wholly undecomposed, and that the globu- lar bodies have been formed by a complete fusion of cer- tain portions, by intense ignition. Yale College, January 14, 1808. POSTSCRIPT.--- February 22, 1808. IN Nicholson’s Journal for October, 1806, (No. 61, p- 147,) is an abstract of a memoir by M. Laugier, tak-, en from the 58th volume of the Annals of Chemistry, in which the author asserts the existence of a new principle i meteoric stones, viz. chrome. Before adverting to this subject, it will be well to point out another assertion in M. Laugier’s memoir, which appears to have been incorrectly expressed.---After remarking, that all che- mists who have examined meteoric stones, ‘‘have ob- tained similar results,’’? he enumerates the principles which have been discovered in them, «and says they are silex, iron, manganese, sulphur, nickel, with a few acci- dental traces of lime and alumine. It seems plain, that manganese has here been carelessly written instead of » magnesia; for, neither Mr. Howard, nor any of the able chemists who succeeded him in the examination of me- teoric stones, before M. Laugier, ever found manganese, but constantly magnesia ; and as magnesia is not men- tioned at all by this latter chemist, I think it is plain that magnesia 1s intended by him, when he writes manganese. Dismissing this for an inadvertency, we will therefore return to chrome. I have carefully repeated, and somewhat varied and extended the experiments of Laugier, on the discovery of chrome in meteoric stones. 1. A strong solution of caustic potash was boiled for an hour on a portion of the stone in powder---the fluid was filtered---it had a slightly yellowish colour. 2. Nitric acid was added, somewhat in excess, in or- der that the potash might ali be saturated. — S. Nitrat of mercury, recently formed, without heat, was added, but there was no precipitate whatever ;---at this stage of the process, Laugier ‘threw down a-red orange coloured precipitate, or chromate of mercury.” An Account of a Meteor. 161 4, A small portion of the stone was now fused with pure potash, in a silver crucible, and maintained, for some time, in a red heat ;---every thing soluble was then taken up by water---the fluid was filtered, and had a green colour. _ 5. Nitric actd was added, a little in excess, and then ~nitrat of mercury as before, but no precipitate ensued ; P these experiments were several times repeated, and with . the same success. 6. Other portions of the fluid resulting from the boil- ing of potash upon the stone, and from its fusion upon it, and subsequent ‘solution, were now mixed with the nitrat of mercury, without the previous addition of ni- tric acid. A copious yellow precipitate was thrown down---this was heated. to ignition in a platimum cruci- ble---the oxid of mercury was decomposed, and its ele- ments expelled, and a small portion of a green oxid re- mained in the crucible. In several repetitions of the process, this invariably occurred.---1 had been led to suppose that this was the oxid of nickel, because the alkaline solution from which it had been obtained, gave a black precipitate with the hidro sulphuret of ammonia. Accordingly, on fusing a portion of this oxid with borax, under the blow-pipe, it produced a glass of a hyacinth red; the same fact took place with a portion of a substance known to be the oxid of nickel, which was fused with borax for the sake of comparison. On fusing a portion of the chromat of lead, or Sibe- rian lead ore, with borax, and afterwards with vitreous phosphoric acid, glasses, of an emerald green colour, were produced. Hence it was concluded, that the meteoric stones of ‘Weston do not contain chrome, but that the green oxid obtained was the oxid of nickel. « v mah atl ily perience i oe b sa i te tron ere sg seh ie tole No. XVIT. ORIGIN OF MYTHOLOGY. BY NOAH WEBSTER, JUN. ESQ. N° subject of antiquity has more seriously engaged the attention, or confounded the ingenuity of mo- dern historians and antiquaries, than the origin of heathen mythology. It is a field of inquiry in which conjecture has long rambled without control, imagination supplying what authentic history cannot furnish, and the toils of la- borious erudition producing but a scanty harvest of truth. Yet the student who finds, in every page of the Greek and Roman classics, some deity intermeddling with hu- man affairs, or presiding over the elements and the opera. tions of nature; the traveller who examines the stupen- . dous temples erected to Jupiter and Mars, to Juno and Venus, or walks over the majestic ruins of Balbec and Palmyra; and the philosopher who traces the progress of man, his customs, institutions and religious ceremonies, is solicitous to pry into the origin of that multifarious ma- chinery of gods and goddesses, whose worship exhausted the wealth, and controlled the passions of the pagan world, In attempting to unravel this intricate subject, we find, in history, no safe clue to guide us; for the origin of the mythological deities was in ages long anterior to: the in- vention of letters and the art of writing. To increase the perplexity, we meet with an immense mass of fictions 176 Origin of Mythology. and traditionary tales, introduced by fancy and conjec- ture, which has been accumulating for almost four thou- sand years. ‘The present age has furnished two learned treatises on this subject ; the « Analysis of Ancient Mythology,” by Mr. Bryant, and a ‘“‘ Dissertation on the Mysteries of the Cabiri,” by Mr. Faber. ‘These authors, both men of er- udition and celebrity, are entitled to the praise of throw- ing light ona very obscure subject. But not having re- sorte d, in many instances, to the true sources of correct information, they have probably fallen into numerous mistakes.* Bryant supposes that the war of the Titans relates to the overthrow of Nimrod and his adherents, in the attempt to build Babel. Faber, on the contrary, endeavors to prove that that contest relates to the events of the deluge, and that to the same events are to be re- ferred the mysteries of the Cabiri, or great deities of Greece, as well as the mysteries of Isis, Ceres, Mithras, Bacchus, Rhea and Adonis. He maintains that the char- acters in Grecian and Indian mythology, under the names of Deucalion, Ogyges, Saturn, Janus, Uranus, Cronus, Atias, Dagon, Inachus, Phoroneus, Argus, Menu and Minyas, Taut or Thoth, Hermes, Mercury, Budha, Fo- hi, Woden, Bacchus, Osiris, Adonis, Hercules, Pluto, Vulcan, Brahma, Vishnou, and Seeva, all represent No- ah, venerated as a prince, or worshipped with the sun as a deity. * These gentlemen have assumed, as the basis of their etymolo- gies, certain primitive or elementary words, feund in the oriental lan- guages, most of which they have correctly explained, but the radical sense of several of them, they have evidently mistaken. Both of them, however, have, in my opinion, misapplied a number of these elements. Faber in particular, has, if ] mistake not, fallen into. nu- merous errors. In many instances he has even made the te:mina- ting sylable of Greek and Latin words, which is almost always the article, os, us, &c.a radical noun. An inattention to this fact has been a iruitful source of mistakes on this subject. Thus the river Cyrus, is the oriental Aur, with the article os, us, added by the Grecks and — Romans ; Euphr ates, isthe oriental Morat, or Phrat ; Indus, is Ind or Sind ; Ganges, is Ganga, or Gonga. The same is the fact with most words which we receive through Greek and Roman channels, whether native words of Greece and italy, or fereign wards which their writers had occasion to use. Origin of Mytholozy. 177 Bryant, on the authority of Virgil, Macrobius, Seryi- us, Athenagoras, Pausanias and other writers, ventures to aiirm that most or all the Greek and Roman deities were in fact one, or that they referred primarily to the sun. That the Greeks and Romans confounded their charac- ters, is certain; but that Saturn, Jupiter, Dionusus, Apol- lo, Hermes, Pan, Pluto, Ceres, and most of the other de- ities, all originated in the worship of the sun, or had pri- marily the same character and functions, is extremely im- probable. * Gebelin, on the other hand, has endeavored ‘to prove that the deities worshipped by the ancients, represented ‘the heavenly orbs, and constellations which governed or influenced the seasons; or the seasons and physical events by which agriculture was regulated, and on which the primary ocupations of men depended for success. His explication of the offices of the deities is extremely ingen- ious, and in my opinion far more satisfactory, than those of any writer whose works I have seen. Yet I think his opinions susceptible of correction and material improve- ment; indeed, his explanation of the names of the dei- ties, is generally erroneous. In the course of my philological researches, but with- out any particular design to investigate the Pagan my- thology, I have probably discovered the true origin of some of the supposed deities of antiquity. And from the facts discovered, it appears probable, that the principal, if not the only safe guide to direct us to the real origin of a * See Bryant’s Analysis, vol. i. et passim.—Faber, vol. i. Cluver, citing the authority of Macrobius, in his Saturnalia, lib. i. ca. 17, as- sents to his opinion, that all the names of the gods referred to the - sun, and those of the goddesses, to the moon; and adds that all of: them “ ad unum, verum, aeternumque Deum esse referenda.”---Lib. 1.26. All history is full of testimonies to the extensive worship of the sun. Not only was this luminary the object of worship among the Persians, under the name of JMithras, and among the Sabeans in Chaldea and Arabia, but among the Scythian nations, the Celts and Teutones. The Massagetz, says Herodotus, lib. i. 216, sacrificed horses to the sun, ¢heir only deity. But this does not prove that all the names of deities had reference to the sun. +t See his Allegories Orientales, in his Monde Primitif. vol. i. and *: - - i, ° . ° “his Histoire du Calendrier, in vol. iv.’ x 178 Origin of Mythology. pagan deity,71 is, the signification of his name, in the first or primitive language 1 in which it was used. Whenever the original sense of the name comeides with the primi- tive office or most prominent features of the character, we may safely conclude that we have arrived at the origin of the deity, or the circumstance which gave him birth. The first or oldest of the Pagan deities is said to have been Saturn or Cronus. .He is represented by the ancient writers as the son of Coelus and Terra, or of Uranus and Terra, the heaven and the earth. . Faber considers Saturn and Janus as.the same deity, and the same as Cronus or Noah, and the sun. Bryant supposes the name compos- ed of sait-our, the Olive of Orus, a deity; and Janus, he derives from ov, adove. Bochart thinks it clear that Saturn was Noah.* Gebelin supposes Cronus or Saturn to be an allegori- cal personage, representing not only ¢ime, but the opera- tions of agriculture. ‘The Greek name, «eos, he alledges to be formed from the primitive name of a horn, keren, cornu, and figuratively representing power, force, gran- deur. Saturn, he deduces from ~v, a sower, the author of production. In this he is probably correct, but he leaves the last syllable unexplaied. t ! But there is no difficulty in tracing the origin of this deity. Cronus, a Greek word signifying a year or time in general, is a Celtic word signifying round, circular, in Welch Arun, im Irish and Gaelic, cruin ; a word which is most probably a compound of », a circuit, and on, the sun, the circular orb. ‘The Irish grian, the sun, is prob- ably of like origin, or the saine word varied by dialect. Cronus then is the sun, or the annual reVolution of that orb; a great circle; the measure of a year; hence a year, or time in general. This ety mology coincides with the opinion of Macro- * Faber, vol. ii. 31.--Boch. Geog. Sac. lib. 1. 1——Bryant, vol. ii—— Hesiod’s Theog.-—Virg. En. viii. 319. + History of Saturn, Mende Prim. vol. i. p. 38. 40. Cronus, and keren, corni, a horn, ave children of a common pant ae named from their rotwndiiy, but they have no other relation to each other. me have the same word in corona, crown, from its figure. Origin of Mythology. 179 ‘bius, who informs his readers that Cronus is the sun, and the author of time, or the seasons.* On, the oriental name of the sun, signifies also, a cir- CIC; and probably from the same source as the Celtic ean, ain, a circle, the Hebrew ry, the Ethiopic om, an eye, from its roundness; also, a fountain, and inthe Am- hiric, a grape. f On, the ‘sun, was worshipped in Syria and Egypt. Fience we read in scripture of Potiphera, a priest of On, thatis, ofthe sun; of Amon, or Hammon, a title of the sun, or deity of Thebes—cham or fam, ay and.on, the circular orb of the sun.f Hence thé name used in Genesis xiv. 18, wey, Olion, rendered the Most High. Melchi- zedek is called iy 28> m9 priest to the most high God. In a fragment of Sanchoniathon, as translated by Philo, and preserved by Eusebius, this word is explained in the same manner. Kare terous yiverat tic EAlovy xxAovueves Y¥IZTOD. Then lived a certain Elion, called the Most High. This word is composed of °y high, and 1» ean, ain, on, a circle or orb; and originally was -applied to the sun; and we observe this root on, incorporated into many words expressing the idea of a circular figure ; as in the Hebrew wy English bind, bond, bound, round, Celtic cruin, Latin rotundus. From the same root, om, ain, a circle, the Latins form- ed annus, a year, and annulus, a ring, that is, a little cir- cle. The same word is the basis of Janus, the Roman deity, which was represented by a figure with two faces, emblematical of the past and coming year. His name » * Saturnus ipsé, qui auctor est temporum, et ideo a Gracis im- mutata litera Kpoves, quasi, ypoves vocatur, quid aliud nisi sol intel- . Tigendus est !”....Suturnalia, “6.1. ca. 22. I copy this passage from “Faber, vol. ii. p. 31, not having the original to consult. + Parkhburst’s Lex.—Focaloir. Gaoidhilge-Sax.Bhearla.--Ludolf’s ‘Lex. Eth. 461. Amhar. 73. Gen. xii. 45, ‘§ See Gen. xiv. 18, 19,20, and x]. 17.-—-Deut. xxviii. 1 —Gebelin’s Alles. Orient. Hist. de Sat. vol. 1.p. 5. 180 Origin of Mythology. was originally wr itten Lanus, which was the Celtic ean, a circle, with the Greek article o. * From this deity , it has been conjectured, janua, a gate, and January, tue first month, received their names. But Janua is from the common roct of the Irish gion, the mouth, and the English yawn; while January, in Irish, Celtic gionbhar, is a compound of gion, mouth, opening, and var, a day, a revolution, a circle, still sub- sisting in Hindoostanee, and corresponding with éar, the root of many words in European languages. It forms the termination of September, October, November and December. Saturn, the Latin name which corresponds to the Greek — ueoves, 1S probably a compound of saz, sed, wv, Sator, father, Creator, Lord, the root of the modern Arabic seid or seyd, a title given to the descendants of Mahommed, and of urn, the root of turn. The latter root is seen in diutur- nus, aeternus, diurnus, hodiurnus ; it is in the Icelandic — language, denoting duration ; and is evidently the Cop- ) tic ornos, heaven. The radical sense of this word, therefore, is a circle ; and we obserye the Latin fornia, an arch, with a different prefix to urn, and fornax, furnus, — a furnace, an oven, formed in the same root, from their circular figure. Saturn then signifies, the father tame, OF time the author of production. Possibly, however, the’ first syllable may be from the Celtic seather, strong, a title given to the deity by the Irish. Saturn is called the oldest of the gods ; and from the destructive eflects of time, he is very significantly repre- sented as armed with a sythe, the emblem of destruction | and mortality. Hence the fable that Saturn devours his _ own children, seems to be derived from his name andl f | f ier * Faber on the Cabiri, vol.i. 77. from Macrobius Saturn. lib. i. call | 9. In Greek, his name was Iw, precisely the Celtic can, the root | ofboth the Latin and Greek names ; zaip lave aporarap Cev a@bize. See Hymn to Proclus. Pausanias, iil. 272. tvanslation. Lgt it be res | marked once for all, that the termination of Greek names, os, 4, o || which the Romans changed to us, a, um, ave the Greek article a ded to names and attributes for the purpose of distinguish ing von and case, and must always be removed in order to discever the racic cal word. of ~ of } ¢ Vallancey, Orient. Collections, vol. ii. 115. . if Origin of Mythology, — 18] character, as sator, the sower, the parent of productions, which ultimately fall before his all-devouring sythe.* That the syllable u7z, im Saturn, signifies round, we have this further evidence, that in Irish Celtic, Saturday is called Dia Sathruin. Here ruin, is the Celtic cruin, round. Uranus, the same as Coelus, says Lempriere, is from the same root as Cronus, ean, ain, a circle ; but probably with the oriental, wr, fire, the root of uro, to burn, and of ave, and fire, prefixed. Ur, isthe root of Orus, or Ho- rus, an Egyptian deity and cee: of Osiris and isis, and the same as Apollo, the sun.j Hence Uranus signifies, ac- cording to its radical terms, the fiery orb, or circular fire, and signified originally the sun, as Urania did the moon ; and oe the heavens, the illuminated concave, the Coe- lus.t ; From these etymologies, which I believe to be indis- putable, we infer the true origin of Cronus or Saturn.--- This deity is nothing more than time or duration personi- fied. The primitive nations gave to time or duration the names of the circle, circles, or revolutions of orbs, by which time is divided into regular portions or periods.--- Hence Cronus is represented in fable as the son of Coe- lus and Terra ; the offspring of the heaven and the earth ; or the effect of the revolutions of the great orbs which compose the system. After the original of thesé names. was lost or obscured, the fancy cf men, unrestrained by correct historical or astronomical knowledge, gradually formed them into superior beings possessing iife and in- telligence. * Hesicd. Theog. 137. Virg. En. vill. $19.—»w-is frequently used in the Hebrew Scriptures, and in union with a/ or a@lezm, is translated God Almighty. In-Schmidt’s Latin Version, these words are ren- dered, Deus Fulminutor. + Herod. Uterpe. 144. Ur is the Hebrew x light, or mmto burn, to heat. ¢ In the Cantabrian dialects, we observe that the name of heaven is the very root of cronus, viz. c?rena, or carena, from the Celtic crun, round.—Chamberlayne’s Oratio Doininica, p. 44. The Coptic name of heaven, orzos, seems to be from the root of turn, furnus. In Ar- abic, curana, in Chaldaic, cren, or caran, is acircle. Itis the Celtic crun, {82 Orivin of Mythology. Coclus, or heaven, that is, without the termination or article, Coel, is the Celtic Irish Ceal, heaven, the Greek xis, concave, hollow, from a root whose signification is bending, hollow, Hebrew » to scoop out, English hole, follow. ‘This nanie of heaven, then, is given to the vault over our heads, from its apparent concavity. Hence im in Hindoo, Cada is time, probably from the apparent rev- olution of the heavenly orbs. And it deserves notice that the Teutonic hime/, heaven, is formed from Cam, ham, crooked, bending,. arched; and hence it signifies not only heaven, but a canopy. Terra, the earth, is formed from the Celtic zz, earth. In the creation, Hesiod makes chaos to precede the formation of the earth, but he makes the earth, the first constructed body, the parent of Coelus ; or Ovpars, made as a canopy for the earth and the seat of the gods. ‘The earth in conjunction with heaven produced the Ocean, Thea, Rhea, Japet, and several other deities, with the Cyclops and giants.* | Titan is represented as bemg the son of Coelus and Terra, and the brother of Saturn. ‘‘ The most ancient mythologists,” says Lempriere, ‘make no mention of Titan. The name is applied to Saturn by Orpheus and Lucian ; to the sun by Virgil and Ovid, and to Prome- theus by Juvenal.”’} * See Hesiod’s Theog. v. 116—and Ovid’s Metam. lib. i. Ante mare et tullus, et, quod tegit omnia, Coclum, Unus erat toto nature vultus in orbe, Quem dixere chaos; rudis indigestaque moles. + In nemus ire parant, ubi primos crastinus ortus, Extulerit 7izan, radiisque retexerit orbem. Virg. Zin. iv. 118. Nullus adhuc mundo praebebat lumina 77taz. Ovid. Metam. i. 10. Et meliore luto finxit praecordia Titan. . Juven. Sat. xiv. 35. That Titan and Prometheus were used as different names of the same object, is evident from the fact, that the ancients considered them as the immediate agents in creating man, cr infusing into him his intellectual principle, the etherial fire. Sce Prometheus in the sequel. IN 1 Origin of Mythology. 183 ‘Titan is certainly a denomination of the sun, and prob- ably of Celtic origin. It is the Irish Tethin, sun, formed from teith, heat, with on, or from di, ti, light, the root of deus,. day, dies, with the Celtic fan, teine, fire, written in other dialects zan, tzan, sun. ‘he syllable # or di, the root of dies, dius, vs, signifies in Chinese, high, elevated. The radical idea may be high, or light ; for the early na- tions of the world used the same word to express very different ideas, when bearing some analogy to each other, as we still use great, high, illustrious and splendid. (find on tracing words to their primitive roots, that the same words are used to express high, head, chief, great, illus- trious, prince, and other similar ideas.* Jupiter, says Bochart, is Ham or Cham, the son of Noah. Faber observes that although under the name of Jupiter or Hammon, the Egyptians worshipped their an- cestor Ham, yet this deity seems not unfrequently to be Noah himself. He then proceeds to retail the ancient fa- bles respecting his birth and offices, as if he had been a real being.t | ; Jupiter is usually supposed to be compounded of Jove and pater, father Jove. Vallancey supposes the last syl- lables of the name to be the Irish pezter, a thunderbolt. Jupiter is indeed a compound word of which Jove, Jah, the Jehovah of the Jews, is certainly the basis. The origin of this name exhibits, in a striking manner, the process of forming language. In most languages, as far as my in- formation extends, the terms used to signify spirit, or the intellectual principle, are primarily the names of breath, air, wind ; as anima and animus, #9, spiritus, mevem—--- Now the Hebrew word m» Jheue or Jove, from the verb ma heue, or eue, to exist, that is, to breathe, is a mere onomatope ; an imitation of a strong expiration, or for- * Gebelin. Monde Prim. vol. 1.51, and ii. 63. It is worthy of re- mark that the Teutonic nations form their word day, from tz, di, or dis, light; while the Slavonic nations use our werd sux for the same purpose, calling day, dzen, or dzien....Cluver. Germ. Antiq. lib.i.26. + Bochart, lib. i. ca. 8.—Faber, vol. ii. 292. ¢ Orient. Coll. ii. 102-7. Has this name any connection with the Yapet or Jefet of the Hindoos? Jyapeti is Lord ofthe earth. Asiat. Res, Ui al. 184 Origin of Mythology. — cible emission of breath, intended to express an idea of breath or life, and of course spirit. In its primary sense, then, Jove is breath or air ; hence the character of Jupiter among the Pagan nations, who uniformly considered him as the deity that presided over the atmosphere. As breath or air among most nations is made to repre- sent the immaterial principle, soul, spirit, the Jews at first used, and Christians at present, use the word Jehovah to signify the universal, eternal and infinite spirit, or Su- preme being. From the same aspiration, variously mod- ified, have sprung many words signifying bemg or Life ; as to be, Welch; buy, to live; Greek Bus, Latin vivo, Greek «.* ! | Apollo, itis universally agreed, isthe sun. ‘The name, in Celtic, abellio, is formed from ad el, the father sun, or more probably from ball, bol, a round body, from its fig- ure. It is the be/, belus, of the orientals. Phoebus, %s\60s, from ze, to shine, another name of the sun, scarcely requires an explanation. The worship of this luminary, the sun, was not confin- ed to the east; it was common among the Celtic and Teutonic nations, and under the same name Bel, or Beal. This fact is proved by a word which remains in the Irish language to this day. In ancient times, it was custom- ry in Ireland for the druids, on May day, to make large fires on the summits of hills, and drive cattle through them, to secure them against contagious distempers ; us- ing, at the same time, certain ceremonies for the expia- tion of the sins of the people. On that day, all the inha- bitants extinguished their fires, and lighted them from the sacred fires of the druids. This practice gave name to the month of May, which is still called the month of Beal-tine—the month of Bel’s fire.t _ There is another fact equally evincive of the preva- lence of Sabianism in Germany. ‘Tacitus, in his An- * Hebricians inform us that the radical sense of min is to seét/e or subside ; a singular explanation of existence / ! + Focaloir, p. 44.—Cesar informs us, in a passage to be hereafter cited, that the Gauls considered Apoilo, the sup, as the power that preserved them against diseases. | 2 Origin of Mythology. 185 nals, informs us, that Germanicus, when making war upon the Marsz, within the modern diocese of Munster, destroyed a temple called Tanfane, which was held in the highest veneration by the inhabitants. Tan/fane, tan or teine, fire, the sun, and fanum, a temple, signifies the Temple of the Sun. ‘This is a remarkable fact ; for we read of no other temple of the kind, among the pri- mitive Celts or Teutones of Europe ; and the Druids of Britain had no covered temples. ‘The fact however seems to warrant an opinion, that as those nations ad- vanced in improvement, they began to imitate the prac- tice which prevailed in the east and south, of erecting durable edifices for worship—a practice which was per- haps mterrupted first by the Roman conquests, and after- wards by the introduction of Christianity.* Of the origin of Mars, Afavors, the god of war, there are various opinions. ‘The name is generally supposed to be formed from the Greek 2p, iron, as iron is the principal mstrument of war; and the use of MJarizal, in the old chemisiry, to express what belongs to iron, seems to favor this opinion. The word may equally well be deduced from the Greek «s, contention, rixa, according to the opinion of Cluver, who informs us that this deity was called by the ancient Celts, Net, a word, which, in the old Egyptian, as in some modern dialects of Germa- ny, signifies covtention.t In some paris of Germany, dies Maries: or Tuesday, is called Erich-tag, Erick’s day; and Hrich was a common name of princes and oth- * Tacit. Ann. lib. i. 51—Murphy’s Note on the passage, vol. i. 473.--Cluver. Germ. Antiq. lib.i. ca. 26. The latter author gives a ludicrous explanation of the word Yanfane—-Th’anfang the begin- ning. The word fanuwm seems to be formed from the Celtic maen or vaen, astone—and the first places of worship seem to have been inclosures of stones. } The word in Irish is WVeith, battle, fight; and Cluyer informs that this was the Egyptian orthography..../b. 1. ca. 28. He cites passages from Plato in Timaeo, and from Macrobius, who expressly mention this Egyptian deity. The existence of this word /Ve7tA, in the Egyptian and Celtic languages, in Spain, Ireland and Germany, is a fact worthy ofnotice. It is probably the root of the Latin nitor. In Swedish, mit is zeal. | 186 Origin of Mythology. er distinguished characters, among the Teutonic nations. It is doubtless the word found in the composition of ma- ny Greek names of heroes, or princes; some of them said to exist in the fabulous ages, as Erechtheus, and Erich- thonius, the latter of whom was supposed by the Greeks not to have been a mortal, but the son of Vulcan and the earth.* We have the simple word in Eryx, a fabulous hero, who wrestled with Hercules.t And indeed the word is no other than the Latin rixa, contention, strug- gle, exertion. Of the origin of Mars, and the connection of his name with iron, the following appears to be a satisfactory ex- planation. In the primitive languages, the word 7s on, oir, ur, signifies light or fire ; [Hebrew 7 light, Hiberno- Celtic ur, fire, whence 7, and jr e; or, gold, from its shining color, whence aurum; oir, golden, and the Celtic oir- thear, eastern, from the light of the rising sun. Hence the Latin orior, oriens, from the same cue ae ian From 1s the Hebrews formed ™s» mart, a light, a lu- minary....Genesis 1. 14, 16—and =», wrim, brilliants, set in the breast plate of the high priest....Exodus 28. Hence the English ore, and the Greek «s, polished iron, from their shining appearance. Another root of equally extensive use, if indeed it was _ not originally from the same stock, is 1. der or bar, to be clear, 3 berhe, bright, which with 5s, to shine or elisten, forms the French i iller whence we have brilliant. With this root corresponds the Arabic verb 3 behr, to shine or be splendid, and the Hebrew vn Geir, bright, resplen- dent. From the same stock, spr ang the Ethiopic berhe, bright, lucid, resplendent, which is precisely the Hebrew m2. Hence the Ethiopic verb barhe, he shone; and the nouns barhe, refulgence, beron, light, PEE Soe berar, silver, and br at, or bari, brass. Tn the Ambaric, the DIESCRE prevailing, but demon- strably the oldest dialect of Et thiopia, ber is silver, the - Ethiopic derar ; bar, a verb, he shone, luxit, splenduit ; - berhe, lucid, refuigent; beron, ight, splendor; meéart, | * Paus; Lb. 1. Ca. 2: + Paus. lib. lli.ca. 16. Crigin of Mythology. 187 alight, or that which shines; beron, parchment, the root of membrana, from its clearness, a word whose origin I have never secn explained; and it is the same in both dialects of Ethiopia. Now it is remarkable that in this dialect, dart or bert, signifies iron, and berto, is fortis, brave; the verb Gert, is to acquire strength, and erte?, is force, strength, hardness, fortitude. Who does not see in these words the Latin virt-us, fort-is, fortit-udo; the Italian forza, force ; and the French and English, brave, im berhe, or barhe, bright ? Tt will perhaps be suggested that vires, virtus, fortis, originated in vr, a man, and this, in the Hebrew 1, ge- ber, to be strong: but I am satisfied that these words conveying the idea of strength or courage, are ali from the radical sense of ~. bright, to be shining, splendor. Men, in their primitive state, had no words to express abstract ideas. ‘“Dhey first gave names to veseble objects, qualities and actions; and te express abstract ideas or moral qualities, used some word expressing an idea of a sensible object or quality, which, in their opinion, had some analogy or similitude to the abstract idea. Now what terms so naturally express strength and bravery, as those which signify that striking visible quality, bright- ness, splendor? We observe the same connection of ideas still in use among our common people, who char- acterize a person of unusual powers of mind or body, by the epithet dr7ghi—he is a bright fellow, or a bright genius. : wet Tt is a fact confirmatory of this opinion, that among all the Celtic nations, the Latin vir, or the equivalent term, was pronounced aro, or bero, precisely the Ethiopic and Amharic barhe, or berhe, bright.* In the authors of the middle ages, the word is written daro, varo, varro, bera, bir, paro, and viro or viron. See Spelman’s Glossary, * « Concurritur ad Cassium defendendum ; semper enim derones, ‘eompluresque evocatos cum telis secum habere consueverat.”? Hirt. |\Pansz de Bel. Alex. 42. These dcrones, barons, were the retainers or body guards of the German chiefs, young men of distinguished bravery, mentioned by Tacitus. “ Principum, cui plurimi et acer- - Timi comites, hec dignitas, he vires, magno semper electorum ju- venum, globo circumdari, in pace decus, in bello presidium’’,...De (Mor. Germ. 14, 188 Origin of Mythology. under baro. This is the modern éaron, a man of brave- ry, a soldier, im its peculiar application, during the mar- tial and feudal ages. In conformity to the same ideas, our Saxon ancestors, used the word bright, as an afix to the names of princes, as in Ethelbert ; the Saxon orthography derht corres- ponding exactly with the Ethiopic, bert, berto. In the Celtic languages, mar, bright, corresponds with the oriental root 1, by the change of 6 into m—a change so frequent in the ancient languages, as to occasion nei- ther surprize nor embarrassment. Hence the Latin Mars, Martis, correspondmg with the Hebrew ms, mart, a luminary, is brightness, or bravery personified, and constituted the god of war. And hence we see the reason why the names of iron, silver, gold and brass, in various languages, have a common origin with Mars.* It may be remarked further, that the English word brand, a sword, received its appellation from the same idea of brightness ; being merely the participle of the Saxon brennen, or rather the Swedish branna, to burn, to shine. We still retain the use of the word, but apply it to a different object. The latin Mavors seems to be formed from the same radical word as Mars; perhaps by corrupting mars, or vir, into.vors, and prefixing the oriental ma, great. The English word war, which is of Celtic origin, in French guerre, seems allied to the root of Mars, and fer- rum, as Gebelin has observed; but the fact may not be unquestionable; for guerre bears a strong resemblance to the ancient gerrha, an oblong shield, used. by the Per- sians ; andif this word is the root of guerre, the radical sense of war is to shield, to protect, ordefend. And itis to be observed that war and guard, guerre and garantir, may be easily deduced from one radical sense. * See Parkhurst, under the radical words mentioned, and Ludolf’s Lex. Eth. Column. 23!. and Amharic. Col. 40, 41. + Dopowvres yop palxpoe Doporrice nak emlmnxestepa omra uate Tovs Kertinov’s buocous, 4 Toe yeppa Tx Ileprwy. Bearing small spears and more oblong shields, like the Celtic Thu- reoi, or the gerra of the Persians....Pausanias, Arcadics. ch. 50. The same author, in his Phocics, describes this shield as made of small twigs, or wicker work. Origin of Mythology. 189 Faber supposes J/crs to be the solar orb, from the He- “brew >, cheres, used in Job 1x. 7; otherwise the Baby- lonian Belus ; and under this name, he supposes Noah was anciently worshipped.* I would only remark further, that the Berith and Baal- Serith of the Scriptures, is unquestionably this same de- ity, Mars. Parkhurstis correct indeducing ma: from 73 : but mistakes the meaning of the word. Berith, is the Ethiopic barto, bright, brave, fortis, the god of war.---- See Judges vi. 33, and ix. 46. flercules, says Faber, was Arech-El, the solar god of the Ark, or Noah. Bryant supposes the Herculeans to have been Cushites of great enterprize, who rambled over the earth, building cities, establishing the worship of the sun, and performing great achievments. Capt. Wilford, of the Asiatic Society, supposes Hercules to be the same character as the Heracula of India, representing the race of Heri or Jupiter.t Gebelin considers Hercules as the representative or protector of agricultural improvements, the culture of the earth, or in general, the labors of men united in civil so- ciety. He supposes Saturn, Cronus, or Osiris to repre- sent the zzvention of agriculture, and Hercules, the cul- tivation of the earth—and hence he is called the General _ of Osiris. To discover the real origin of this fabulous deity, we are to find the meaning of hisname. Thisis easily found in his principal characteristic, /abor ; for amidst all the confusion which ignorance and fiction have engendered on this subject, the /abors of Hercules are proverbially attached to his history. This characteristic leads us di- rectly to the origin of his name, which is formed of the root of work, érk, m German and Dutch wer/-, whence the Greeks formed «rye and. spyeComas, with acs, fame, praise, * Faber on the Cabiri, vol. i. 175. + Bryant’s Analysis, vol. ii.—F aber, 1. 125, 240,—Asiat. Res. vol. iii. 408, and v. 270. The Indian her, is probably the Irish arr, Latin Aerws, Lord ; and the Indian Bel, or ole, is undoubtedly the Hebrew-and Ethiopic Bol or Baal, Lord. These words correspond in sense with Hercules, but had no primitive connection. t Alleg. Orient. Hist, d’Hercule. Monde Prim, vol. i. p. 173. 190 Grigin of Mythology. Hercules, then, isa common name of any famous worker ; any person of distinguished /abors, or achievments ; and wacient authors alleds se that there were many persons of this name.* | Hercules, then, was a name originally given to any bold, enterprizing hero or adventurer ; any distinguished. warrior, hunter, or robber, who, at the head of a tribe or - band, performed extraordinary feats of valor. The ap- plication of this name to the sun, or to the zodiac, the twelve labors of Hercules representing the twelve signs or months, if it is not altogether a fiction, must have been long posterior to the origin of the name, and its applica- tion to individuals of enter prize.t This inference is na- turally drawn from the statues and coe of Hercules, which represent him as covered with the skin of a lion, and armed with a knotted club. ‘These circumstances prove his origin to have been in the most rude and say- age state of man, when his clothing consisted of skins, and his arms of arude, unshapen chib, the first instrument of deathamong men, before the knowledge oruseof metals; _ and indeed as Hercules bears nota bow a arrows, wemay conclude that his character was formed before the inven- tion of those Ree Flercules, then, originated in the very earliest ages of man, and represents a savage walri- or or hunter, clothed W ith a skin, and armed with aclub. His character being formed and attached to this name, the name was, in st ubsequ ent periods of society, applied to any bold, enterprizing chief of a warring or migrating horde, whose Zabors or achievments became the subject of songs, and were handed down by tradition, perverted by fancy or ignorance, and embellished by fiction. ‘These fables were afterwards committed to writing, and now form the basis of the pagan mythology, and even of the | Greek and Roman poems and history. | * Quamquam, quem potissimim Heicvlem colarnus, scire sane velim ; plures enim tradunt nobis ii, qui interiores scrutantur et re- conditas literas....Cicero De Nat. Deor. #b.\ii. 16. "Vhis author enu- merates six of this name, and mentions that one of Bes a native of India, was called Belus. HocewAet Oo: BG TOAALYS FE wee HOLAEMOUG Terecctev abrovs. Hercules per- forms many and difficult labors....Paus. lb, vill. 32. 4 See Gebelin’s History of Hercules. Origin of Mythology. 19% In the obscurity which these fables have thrown on the history of the pagan deities, we have little certain. light, except what is derived from the radical sense of their names, and from the drapery and appendages of their statues. ‘The former have retained their primitive sig- nification, and the latter their form—and the club of Hercules, like the Latin pugno, to fight, from pugnus, the fist, bears along the stream of time an umper ishable memorial of the manner of fighting in the age when the character and name of Hercules originated.* Bacchus, says Bryant, was Cush, the grand-son of Noah. Bochart forms his name arn bar- minke the son of Cush, and supposes him to have been the celebrated Nimrod. ¥aber maintains that Bacchus was Noah him- self, and the revels of this deity have been fancied to bear some allusion to the intoxication of the diluvian patri- arch. Wilford has SUS supposed that Bacchus is a title corrupted from the Indian Bhagavat, or preserving power. Gebelin, on the oe , alledges and attempts to prove, that Bacchus was the same as the sun; that at first he was an allegorical being, representing the influ- ences of the sun in’ producing and ripening corn and the vine ; and afterwards he was considered as an illustrious personage, the author of these productions. t But in truth Bacchus is an imaginary being, whose name was formed from the Celtic bach, drunk, by the ad- dition of the Greek article. In Trish, bach is drunk, bacchaire a drunkard, and dachia is the root of the Latin poculum,a cup. Bacchus, then, is neither more nor less than hard drinking or intoxication personified, and in progress of time, exalted into a deity. He was also called Dion- ysus, or Dionysius, and Cicero informs us that ‘‘ Dion ysos multos habemus,” we have many Bacchuses. The number, it is believed, has not been diminished by time. Bacchus is represented by the figure of an effeminate: * See Hered. Euterpe, 44, 45. + Bryant’s Analysis, i. 257. 4°.—-Bochart. Geog. Sac. lib.1. ca. 1. —Faber, vol. i.155.—Gebelin, vol. iv. 541.—Asiat. Res. iil. $52, 395. ¢ Cicero De Nat. Deor. lib. tii. 23. Back radically signifies a hollow, a cup, or bowl; so that Sa¢chus is literally the personili ca- tion of acup or bowl. my 192 Origin of Mythology. boy, some times holding a thyrsus, and a cluster of grapes with a horn, and crowned with vine and ivy leaves. He also sits upon a globe, bespangled with stars ; and often appears naked, riding upon the shoulders of Pan. The last circumstance may perhaps be an emblem of the effects . of wine in giving courage, and of the bacchanalian’ s con- tempt of fear. Mercury, according to Bryant, was the sun. Faber believes him to have been the solar Noah. Bochart sup- poses him to have been Canaan, because he presided over commerce ; while Cluver aS to prove that Thoth or Taut, the Egyptian Mercury, was really the true God, who was worshipped in ancient Germany, under the ti- tle of Tuisto. From this deity; he supposes the Germans received their common appellation of Teutons. Faber forms the name from Jf erech-ur, the great burning di- . wmity of the ark !! Gebelin alledges this name to be Celtic, and compound- ed of mere-ure....(mark and vir) a man of marks, letters, or signs, as he was the deity of speech, and interpreter of the gods. The usual derivation of his name is from the Latin merz, trade. But Gebelin supposes the Hebrew amo, (whence merx) signifying exchange, sale, or wares sold, to be formed from the primitive merc, a mark, from the practice of marking goods for barter or sale.* The Mercury of the Romans was evidently the same character as the Egyptian Thoth, Thot or Taut and the Grecian Epus, rlermes; although authors mention seve- ral personages under the same name. Gebelin alledges the Egyptian name Thot, aut, to signify a sign or mark 5 and hence his character as the deity of letters. In the Celtic dialects, we find a word equally expressive of his _ character, from which this name HES) have originated ; in Welch, nn in Armoric, ¢eaut, the tongue. The first etymology makes this personage the god of /e¢ters ; the lasi, the god of speech. Thoth, then, is letters or speech personified and deified. Hence his principal offices were to instruct men in the knowledge of letters and useful * Bochart. Geog. Sac. lib.i. ca. 2, and De Pheen. lib. 42—-Bry- sayin 338—F Hive ud! 283——Cluver. Germ. Antiq. lib. i. ca. 9, 22, 23, 26—-Gebelin, vol. i. Alleg. Orient. p. 43-and vol. iv. 57. Origin of Mythology. 193 arts, and to act as the interpreter of the gods. His Greek name Hermes, from Px, a word, speech, gives the same result.* Hence we observe Mercury is the god of speech, of let- ters, and of commerce ; or an imaginary being represent- ing speech, trade, and mutual intercourse, by the use of language and letters.t As in the Celtic language, marc or merc was a horse, it is not impossible that some of the ancients might mis- take the origin of the name of Mercury, supposing the first syllabie to signify a Aorse, and hence assign to this personage the character of a horseman, a messenger ; and represent him as presiding over travellers. Cesar, in a passage hereafter cited, gives countenance to the opinion that this was the real origin of his name. Dragon, draco, Bryant supposes to be an imaginary being, formed by mistaking Zarchon, a watch-tower, with lights, and writing it ¢rachon. Faber says that the dra- gon of ancient mythology was merely a large serpent, and not an imaginary being. Gebelin cites, from a fragment of Sanchoniathon, that Mercury taught that dragons ‘‘ abondoient plus en esprits que tous les autres reptiles ; qu’ils étoient d’une nature ignée ; qu’ils se mouvoient avec la plus grand vitesse, quoique privés des organes communs.a tous les autres animaux.’’----Dragons abound with spirits, more than other reptiles—they are of a fiery nature; they move with the greatest celerity, although not furnished with the organs common to all other animals. * See Gebelin ut supra—Lhuyd. Arch. Brit. p. 80. Cicero, speak- ing of Mercury, and enumerating several of the name, says---“ Quin- tus, quem colunt Pheneatae, qui et Argum dicitur interemisse, ob eamque causam, gyptum profugisse, atque Aegyptiis literas et le- ges tradidisse. unc Agyptii Zhozh appellant”....De Nat. Deor.iii.22. + The people of Lystra called Barnabas, Jupiter, and Paul, Mercu- ry, because he was the chief sfeaker.... Acts xiv. 12. See Bochart. Phoen. lib. i. 42, and the authors cited. Philo Byblius, from San- choniathon, says Zaaut originated axe Micwp, from Misor or Egypt ; and Plato in Philaebo, says Zhoth invented a multitude of words.... See also a passage from the Abbe Caperan in the Oriental Collec- tions, vol. ii. 404, Z, 194 Origin of Mytholog Oi) The real origin of the name is the Celtic drag, fire, and from the descriptions of these beings, it is evident that cdi ‘agons were fiery meteors, cr shooting stars, which, dart- ing “and flaming along the sky, were imagined tobe fiery serpents, which frightene d the rude nations of antiquity. ‘The name was afterwards applied perhaps to real ser- pents.* Parkhurst arranges the Hebrew word =r} dragons, under the root», to shrick or wail.. What sort of drag- ons or serpents are these which shriek or wail? And what resemblance is there between wazling and hissing ? ‘The Hebrew word is undoubtedly a plural. of the Celtic tan, fire ; the root of the Chaldaic word tanin, smoke, and this etymology coincides with that of dragon. ‘There are many Hebrew words remaining, whose Toots are not found in the Hebrew language, but which are stil a part of the northern and western languages of Europe.t} Lares, household gods, is merely the Celtic name Jar, a floor, originally the ground or level earth, as this consti- tuted the floor of all rude nations : Irish lar, Welch dhaur, whence we have floor; Cantabrian lurra, ground, the earth—This word answers nearly tothe Teraphim of the Scriptures, the root of which is the Celtic teref; a house. Penates, in like manner,. is formed on penus, an inner room, a word mentioned by Festus. { Pan, Lord Bacon supposed to be the Greek word *w, Omne, intended as-a personification of the universe ; and with him agrees Cluver. Faber suggests, that Par is an abbreviation of Phanes, from ph-ain-es, the solar fountain of fire, or Noah worshipped in the form of the san. Bryant maintains that Pan, like the other Roman deities, represented the sun. Gebelin, from Macrobius, * Gebelin, vol. i. 103—-Paber, 1. 208-—Focaloir=-Lhuyd. under 7g- ais——Vallancey’s Essay on the Celtic Language, Gram. p. 5. Shakspeare evidently alludes to fiery meteors, when he says, “ Swift, swift, ye dragons of the night.” The Celtic drag, fire, is probably a compound of the root of ignis, in Hindoo, ag, in Gipsey, zag ; and the root of traho, draw, dr ads, a fiery tr ee precise description of a fiery metcor. ‘ ° ’ alee : é f Ovient. Coll. 1. 306.—Park. Lex. ¢ Ainsworth’s Vocab. of obsolete werds. fs Origin of Mythilogy. 195 afedoes that Pan and Jraun, are the same divinity, and ‘both: ‘represent the sun, the soul of the world, and of ali nature. Bochart supposes Pan and Faun to be the same ; but he assigns a different, and in my cpinion, the true etymology of the word. The ancients considered Pan as the god of shepherds, a monster in appearance, with horns on his head, ‘havit ng a flat nose, and his lower limbs like those of a goat. His residence was in forests and on rugged mountains. -In these descriptions, we discover the origin of this pre- tended deity, HORE characteristic was to excite sudden terror. We retain the evidence of his origin‘in the word pane, not from Pan, a captain of Bacchus, who, with a Yew men, routed an army, by means of echoes in a val- ley, as Polyznus alledges; nor from the: terror, with which Pan struck the hears of the giants, in the wars of the Titans; but from the “Celtic von ee or obhan, which signifies fear, terror. Bochart observes that Pan is found in Psalm Ixxxviil. 15. amps pox onsen. =“ While I suffer thy terrors, I am distracted,” or, I suffer thy terrors, so as to be astonished or confounded. ‘‘ Portavi terrores tuos, ita ut obstu- pescam,” as Schmidt has rendered the words.—The word here rendered distracted, is evidently from the same root as the Celtic ovan, v and fp being convertible, and frequently changed, the one into the other. Pan therefore is merely fear, or terror; and in-process of time, the meaning of the name being lost among the reals and Romans, this name was ace ken for that ot areal being, and deified. —If we consider the defenceless state of savage men, condemned to roam in the forest in quest of food, perpetually exposed to the attacks of wild Deasts, we Shall be at no loss to account for the origin of the god of terror, nor for his residence in woods and on rugged mountains, nor for the frightful - figures under ‘which he was represented.* * Asiat. Res. i. 267.—Cluver, lib. i. 26.—F aber, i. 160.—Gebelin, iy. 418.—Bochart. Geog. Sac. Canaan, lib. 1.ca. 18, Pausanias, lib. x. ca. 23, informs us that terror, produced without apparent cause, -is sent by Pan. Let it be remarked, that the Celtic 44, in Irish, are pronounced as v. QOdhan in Irish, is precisely the Welch ovan ; and _V, P and #; are perpetually interchanged in the ancient languages. N Age 196 Origin of Mythology. Neptune, says Bochart, was Japhet; for Japhet pos- sessed the isles of the Gentiles, and the maritime coun- tries. Faber thinks the word composed of Wu-hiph-tanin, which, according to him, signify the Aippian-Lish-God, or Noah, in allusion to the ark and deluge. Vallancey supposes this word to be compounded of the Celtic neomh, a saint or deity, and ton, tun,a cistern, which would make Neptune very justly the god of the deep. But Neptune derives his name from a primitive word, signifying water, whose derivatives are numerous in Eu- rope, Asia and Africa; and even in America. It is seen in the Greek Ni*7#, to wash or lave; in the Arabic nap, to drink or satiate with drink ; in the Hebrew », to gush forth, as a spring; in the Arabic nebet, to gush or spring forth, as water; in the names of a multitude of rivers, as m "Nieper, Enipeus, Neva, in Europe; in Nu- ba, Zi tke in Africa; in Meva and Niepa, m Siberia; and in nebbi, nepee, or nepei, the common name of water in the dialects of the American Algonkins, Knisteneaux, and Chipeways. ‘The ancient name of the Ladoga, a lake in Russia, was Vebo; anda river in Spain was for- merly called Nabius, or Navio. Neptune, the god of the ocean, is then a mere imagin- ary being, whose name is taken from the clement over which he presided ; that is, Neptune is the ocean per- sonified. Gebelin supposes the last syliable of this name, to be the Celtic tun or dun, profound. Neptun, the pro- found water. This is probable ; but of the first sylla- ble, the basis of the word, there can be no doubt.* | | The .Vereids are creatures of fancy, whose name is. composed of 3 nehr, a river, aname still retained in Ori- | ental countries, and cides, form, species. They were the | daughters of Vereus, the ocean, or son of the ocean, whose name had the same origin. ‘The same word still exists in the Indian zara, water, and nere, a wave.t | * For authorities under this head, see Bochart, lib. i. 1-—-Faber, i, | 125——Gebelin, vol. 1. Hist. de Sat. p. 71—-Parkhurst, under the werds | mentioned-—Strabo, lib. viii. 3. 32-—Plin. lib. iv. 8, and vi. 7-—Pausa- | nias, lib. ix.—D’Anville, p. 610——Ludolf’s Lex. col. 304——Carver’s | ‘Travels, p. 403. Dublin, 1779~-Mackenzie’s Voyage, p. 105——Me- | Ja. Wi. nen ooke’s View of the Russian Empire, vol. i. 224, 226— | - Vallancey’s Essay on the Celtic Language, p. 22. + Hesiod’s Theog. 233, 240-—Asiat. Res. vol. vi. p. 530, Origin of Mythology. 197 The Sirens, sea nymphs, whose melodious and fasci- nating strains arrested seamen, and made them forget their employment, were also beings of fiction, deriving their name from ‘wv, or -v, to sing. The dryads, or nymphs of the woods, reccive their name from a primitive appellation of a tree, and 4s, form, species. The root of this word is common to the Celtic, ‘Teutonic, and Slavonian families of men—in Welch, deru; irish, darach; in Greek, 9%; in Slavonic, drevu ; 1 Saxon, treow or treo, whence we have free. The Greeks appropriated the word to the oak, but pri- marily and generally, the word isan appellative of tree. * Nymphs, another name of Imaginary deities, which presided over rivers and fountains, is formed from a pri- mitive word signifying water ; the root of J/Vemea, a riv- er near Corinth, and of Niemen in Poland. The radical word, nam, or naum, water, still exists in several dialects of the Burman empire.t There were also nymphs of the mountains, called or- eades, from °fs,a mountain. ‘These were the compan- ions of Diana, in hunting. Others, called apae, from Names, vern, a grove or declivity, presided over hills and dales. The Naiads, from »#«, to flow, or the root of this word, presided over springs and rivers. The sea nymphs were called Oceanides, from oceanus and «css, species, form.} Orpheus, the celebrated musician, who is said to have softened, by the melody of his notes, the ferocity of wild beasts, and arrested the current of rivers, is represented to have been the son of Apollo, and to have received a lyre from his father, or from Mercury. But the name of this imaginary being is formed of two Celtic words, oir, gold, and fead, a whistle—the golden whistle. In the same language, Oirfid is music, and Oirfideach, the gene- * See Lempriere, and the Lexicons of the several languages, and Hesychius under dpus. The name, in some languages, seems to have been applied to the oak, by way of distinction. ¢ Asiat. Res. vol. v. 228. } Hesiod’s Theog.----Ovid. Met. xiv. 328----Virg. Georg iv.341--= #in, i. 500----Homer’s Odyssey, lib. y. 5485et seq. ¥98 | Grigin of Mythology. ral namie of a musician. Orpheus is merely a personiii- cation of music.* rae ‘Osiris, a celebrated king and deity of Egypt, is a per- son that makes a great figure in history, as well as in fa- bie. Faber ailedges that 2 readity, Osiris was the same as Cronus or Noah; and to prove the point, he adduces an etymology from the Hiberno-Celtic,.on the authority of Vallancey, who informs us, that in that language, Lzss- Aire, signify the commander of a ship. Osiris is represented as having civHized his own sub- jects, giving them salutary laws and teaching them agri- culture. Afterwards he resolved.to visit other parts of the earth, to spread civilization, and actually accomplish- ed his purpose. On his return, he found his brether ‘Yyphon had raised scditions in his kingdom. In this story we have perhaps a representation of the revolution of the sun, in his diurnal course, visiting all parts of the earth; and perhaps its visit to Ethiopia may allude to the - winter season. ‘The disorders raised by Zyphon, or the god of darkness, may represent the evils of night or of avinter.t (hai :Osiris was undoubtedly a primitive title of the sun, the “object of worship among most ancient nations. . The word, Parkhurst supposes, to be formed from the He- brew wy, to enrich. But, in this, as ma multitude of wether cases, Hebricians have inverted the order of deri- vation; for in Hebrew, as well as in Arabic and Ethio- pic, this verb is formed from the same word, signifying gen, and the verb signifies to give tenths, and thus to en- wich. nthe sense of ‘ten, this word is probably formed on the root -, to measure, or regulate, from the peculiar properties of that number. ; The real origin of the name is in 7, to regulate, rule, cdirect, as the sun‘is the regulator of time. Or, more -probably, in». brightness, splendor, to shine ; whence -our English sear. This werd is also the root of Strius, ‘* See the Lexicons of the Irish Celtic, Lhuyd’s Archaeologia, and Focaloir, before cited. + Faber, vol.1.151, and vol. il. 77. A } See Herod. Euterpe. 144----and the.authorities cited by Lem- yprlere, under Oszrzs. Grigin of Mythology. 199 tiie dog-star, as well as of the Indian Surya, which pri- marily denoted the sun; and of the Welch Seren, a star.. The wife of Osiris was Isis, and Sir William Jones supposes these characters te-represent the powers of na- ture, considered as male and-female. Now Jsis.is a Cop- tic word signifying the earth, still recognized in the word. ist. As the sun, acting upon the earth,.is the immediate parent of vegetable productions, it is not improbable that this circumstance gave rise to the fabled connection of Osiris and Isis..* ) Pallas,.was a name giver: to a giant, a son. of Tartarus and ‘Verra, who was killed by Minerva. ‘The goddess covered herself with his skzm,. whence, as some suppose, she received: her name, (adlas, pellis. ‘This Pallas, the same as Minerva, was the daughter of Jupiter, and god- dess of wisdom. ‘here was also a Pallas, a son of Cri- us, who married the nymph Styx, by whom he had vic- tory and valor. From these characteristics, as well as. from the similitude of names, there can be little doubt that Pallas is a word formed from pedis, pal, pell, a skin, as shields were originally made of hides. Hence Padla- the name given to the famous statue of Minerva, which protected Troy. The Gallansim Africa still make their shields of skins. Ogyges, is represented. as the first monarch of Greece, in whose days Attica was laid waste by adeluge. He was the son of ‘Terra or of Neptune. ‘The root of this word is a primitive name of water—in Hiberno- Celtic, oige Or oice ; mn Chaldaic, owg ; in Ethiopic, houg ; m the Li- vish, or Livonic, a dialect of Russia, yoge; in Latin, agua ; in Spanish, agua; in Portuguese, agoa ; in He- brew, =», the root of ocean. Hence the names of many rivers, as oka, okka, and others in the Russian dominions. To this word the Greeks added gyges, the name of one _* See Park. under the words mentioned, and Ludolf’s Lexicon, Coll. 442—Asiat. Res. 1. 253. Cluver, lib. i. ca. 27, cites the opin- sane ee ns Saturn. i. 21. ““ Nec in occulto est, neque aliud sse Osirim, quam solem, nec Isin aliud esse quam terram.” It is ebvious that Osiris is nothing else than the sun, and Isis the earth... See Chamberlayne’s Oratio Dominica, p. 50. + Sce Lempriere under Pallas, Palladium, and Minerva; and Lu- dolf’s History of Ethtopia, b. i ch. 56. 200 Origin of Mythology. of the Titans, mentioned by Hesiod; but it is probably _ from the Arabic gog, to expand, and signifies great.— There was a lake in Lydia named gygaeus, and there was a deity in Caria, called Ogoa, under whose temple the sea was said to pass. Hence it is obvious, that Ogyges is a fabulous character, representing the deluge; or his history may have originated i in traditions respecting the deluge, and the diluvian patriarch. In Ethiopic, ag or ya is a deluge.* Morpheus, the god of sleep, fa his origin in a word still found in the Ethiopic orf; to rest, morf, a place of quiet—probably from the same root as the Hebrew >», and ayo, the evening, or time of rest.t Cadmus, who is said to have introduced letters into Greece, is supposed to have received his name from the Hebrew word ©, the east, as letters came from the east into Greece. This is doubtless a mere conjecture, and the history of Cadmus, a fable, formed from the significa- tion of the werd. ‘The word is oriental, and still retained in the Persian, Aadeem, which signifies language. ‘The root is seen in the Teutonic verb which we retain in guoth, that is, guod or quot, from the Saxon ewethan ; in guote, from the Freach, and in the Latin cito. And from the same root the Irish branch of the Celtic has ceadach, alkative, and ceadal, a story or narration. ‘The Welch, from the same root have gueyd, and the Irish guth, a voice or word.{ There may have been a person, who, for his knowledge in languages, was denominated Cadem, whence the Greeks and Romans formed Cadmus ; 5) DUE it is not very proba- ble. Argus, derives his name from the reot of arch, which signifies to curve, bend, or wind. Hence we have arch, * Lemptriere under Gyges, Ogyges, Gygaeus, and Ogoa—Orient. Coll. ii. 13—Lhuya’s Archaeologia, under agua.—Paus,. lib. ix. 5— Tocke’s Russia, vol. i. 234, 270, 405. : t Ludolf’s Lex. col. 446, 447——-Parkhurst, under the word ayy. } Orient. Coll. i. 385——Focaloir, under Ceadach. From this root, Cead, speech, the Celtic Irish formed their name of Wednesday, or Woden’s day, dies Mercuriz, which they call Dia Ceaduin, or Dia Ceaduaoine, the day of the speaker, or of the god of speech....Foca- loir under Dia. Origin of Mythology. 201 both in the sense of a part of a circle, and in that of cum- ning, subtle, sly. ‘This root is retained in the German, Dutch and Swedish arg, signifying cunning, arch, craf- ty, wicked, mischievous. It is a curious fact, that many words in our modern languages conveying the idea of eraft, had their origin in the radical sense of bending, curving, winding—a sense well expressed by insinuation. Of this I shail give ample proofs in my Dictionary, should I live to execute the work. From arg, by trans- position of letters, we have the English word rogue ; and on this root the Celtic nations formed the Welch drug, the Irish droch, evil. ‘Vhe ancients, whose fancy embel- lished every cbject, gave to Argus a hundred eyes—a happy emblem of cunning. Hence we see that Argus is a mere personification of craft, or vigilance. —Cicero in- forms us that Argus was slain by Thoth; that is, craft was overcome by intelligence, or learning.* Prometheus, a son of Japetus by Clymene, surpassed all men in fraud and cunning, and deceived Jupiter him- self According to Apoilodarus, he made the first man and woman on earth, with clay, which he animated by means of fire, which he stole from heaven; and he erect- ed the first altar to the gods. Bryant thinks him the same as Osiris or Dionusus, Noah, the great husbandman, the planter of the vine and inventor of the plow. Faber al- ledges Prometheus to be Atlas, or the helio-arkite No- ah, from Phra-ma-iheus, the great solar deity ! } But Prometheus is acompound of two primitive words, brum, or broum, who was; fabled to be one of the Cen- taurs, and aith, ait, Chaldaic ox. Hebrew es, fire, whence the Greek «#, and the English ashes and heat. Brum, is. the root of the Latin primus, and the Gothic frum, Jruma, Saxon frum, first, beginning, origin; the Indian Brumma, and Bramin. ‘The literal sense of the word is the jirst fire. Wence Juvenal uses the word Titan, the sun, as synonymous with Prometheus. Hence he is said to have animated the first man and woman, as heat is the principle of life; and hence, with great propricty, he * Cicero. De Nat. Deor. lib. iii. 22....Qvid’s Met. lib. i v. 720. Aa 202 Origin of Mythology. was supposed to have erected the first altar to the giods.* . ) Vulcan, is said by.Faber to haye been Noah, adored in conjunction with the sun. Bociart, and other authors, have supposed him to be the “Fubal-Cain, mentioned in Gen. iv. 22. Bryant supposes him to be the sun, and his name to be formed from Saat-cahen, Baal the sacred. But Vulcan is a word forméd on the Celtic mole, fire, the Moloch of the Scriptures, which may indeed have had its origin in Bal, bel, the sun. ‘The last syllable may be the Hebrew. ps, labor,. and if so, we have the exact in-. terpretation of his name—a worker in fire. Bryant sug- gests, that the fable of Vulcan’s ejection from heaven by Juno, rélates to the overthrow of Babel, and the destruc- tion of fire-worship. Cicero’s orthography of this word, Volcanus, corresponds best with its etymology.> Themis, a daughter of Coelus and Terra, was consult- ed as an oracle, in Attica, in the age of Deucalion. She was the mother of Dice, (%, justice) of Irene, («pon, peace) of Eunomia, («2s, good laws) and of the Parce, or destinies. She is represented as holdmg a sword in one hand, and a pair of scales in the other, the emblems. of justice still retained in use. ‘This goddess derives her name from the Hebrew >r, integrity, justice, of which she is a personification. Anubis was an Egyptian deity, represented under the body of a man, with the head ofa dog. He is supposed by some to be Mercury. ‘This name in Ethiopic signifies a lion, and not improbably the resemblance between the animals may have led the ancient Greeks and Romans. to mistake the Egyptian figure foradog. His name is perhaps given to him for his growling sound; or if not, it bears such a resemblance to the oriental 2, neb, to ut- * Bryant, vol. il. 273, 4°.—Vaber, i. 114.--Hesiod. Theoe.—Paus. ib. ii. 14, and i. 30.—Virg. Ecl. v. 42. Ovid represents the son of Japetus as the creator of man....J@etam. v. 82.—Bromus, according to Ovid, was killed by Caenus..... Met. xii/459. _ + Faber, i. 157.—Bryant, vol. iii. 47.—Bochart.. Geog. Sac. De Phoen. lib. i. 12.--Phaleg. lib. ili. 12.--Cicero. de Nat. Deor. lib. Hil. 27. ¥ Ovid’s Met. 1. 321. | Origin of Mythology 203 ster, that the ancients were led to suppose he was intended. as a figure of Mercury.* Dedalus, is a mere personification of daring confi- dence, from the Irish Celtic deadla, bold ; deadlas, bold- ness. ; In an attempt to develope the origin of the fabled de- aties of antiquity, it would be unjust | to omit the god- ‘desses, who make a conspicuous figure in mythology. idinerva, is probably derived from the same radical word as Adinos, Mentor, waris, um, mens, as @ pr edominant characteristic of the goddess is wisdom. The latter part -of this compound is found in the Irish earba, labor ; Ger- aman, arbeit, Dutch, arbeid, Swedish, ie labor, work, employment. Hence Adinerva is the skilful laborer, the goddess of manufactures. Vesta, the goddess of fire, is. derived from the oriental radical, ast, .asta, esta,- Betcew ex, fire, from which the “Greeks had their «ite, to burn, and «7«, a hearth; the Latins their-asso, to roast ; and the English their ashes. From the supposed purifying effects of fire, this goddess became the patroness of the sacred fire, and of vestal Wiketns. ‘The Hindoo deity Agni, whose name is from .. the same source as the aa ignis, fire, has also the character of the purifier.t Juno, the Hindoo Yoni, derived her name from the same root as the-Greek their y, woman, and she repre- sents the generative powers of the species. : Diana, the goddess of hunting, is named from the Celtic word dian, which, in Irish, signifies swift, vehe- ment. She is merely the representative of ardent bold- ness and celerity in the chase; qualities in high estima- tion among savage nations, who subsist chiefly upon the flesh of wild beasts. Hence the goddess is- painted with a bow in her hand. Pausanias informs us that the Athen- ‘ans had altars erected to shame, fame, and zmpetuosity.§ * Ovid’s Met. ix. 689.—Virge. An. viii. 698. The word 2ed, we retain in 726, nif. From this root the Ethiopic has nebed, or Neha, speech, and nedia, a prophet. Thé word radically signifies the mouth, and is found in the Celtic as well as the oriental languages. + Park. p. 43, 44.—Asiat. Res. 1. 263. 4 Asiat. Res. iii. 364, § Pausan, lib. i. 17. 204 Origin of Mythology. Venus, the goddess of love and beauty, 3 iS merely wo- man deified. Her name isa dialectical variation of Celtic bean, woman ; a word used in various languages ; in Hebrew »2, beni; in Persian, banou, as Ked Beorithl ‘ mistress of the house ; in Welsh, benyn, or mennyu ; 1 Hindoostanee, bhavana ; in I: Fish; ben, or bean; in Cor- ‘nish, danen ; in the old language of Beotia, according to Hesychius, bana ; in Burma, pooen, or paeyen; im an- cient Thrace, bendis, which seems to be a compound of Bean and dis, or, dia, goddess. ‘The Irish word fora goddess is baindia, bean dea, a woman deity.* As Venus was the representative of the female part of our specics, we need not be surprized at the number of — her temples, and the extensiveness of her worship. And perhaps the moderns, who deride the absurdities of an- cient mythology, may make some apology for the wor- ship of this goddess; for if, in the present age, we do not see the ladies actually deified, and temples erected — to their honor, we not unfrequently hear them addressed — as angels; and if the lover’s s professions are to be credit- ed, they are sometimes adored. OF the Teutonic deities, Dis, or Tis, Thor, and Wo- den, make the most conspicuous figure. Dis, Dia, hee Theos, Deus, is the sun or Jupiter. It is certain that the - Latin dies ; the English day ; the Irish dia, God, andl dia, die, day ; Welsh dydh ; Hindoostanee dewus, day, had their origin in the name of the sun or light; for m_ the oriental languages, di is bright, splendid. It is found, — with various orthography, in most languages, and must therefore have been of most ancient use. Cluver sup-— poses this to be the Thoth, or Taut, of the Egyptians, of which I have not satisfactory evidence. But the word seems to be the basis of the name of the German deity Tuisto, or Tuisco, and of the name which the northern * See the Lexicons of the Hebrew and “eltic languages—Mallet. North. Antig. vol. i. 92—Asiat. Res. i. 2543; ii, 387, 388. Bhavana seems to be a compound of Ahava, (Biw,) life, and vana, Venusine vol. v. 228. ‘This name of Venus, den, bean, has been supposed to be the Cele tic bun, white. I believe the word to have had a different origin 5 | but the Grecks may have had such an opinion; and from this opin- i jon may have sprung the fable of the birth of Venus from pos, froth, whence her Greek name Agpodivy. And hence perhaps the Latin Venustas, beauty. ; : | Origin of Mythology. 205 nations bore, Teutons ; as it certainly : is of the word Tues- day, in Danish Tusday, or Tysdar y ; in Swedish Tisdag. It is no small confirmation of this opinion of the origin of dia, or dis, that the Germans call Tuesday, dienstag,, using fien, tan, which signifies fire or the sun, in the place of dis or dia. ‘They use also dingsdag, as do the _ Dutch, which is evidently a corruption of the same word. * 6 a Pais deity the Gauls claimed as their common father, as we are informed by Cesar. “Galli se omnes ab Dite patre prognatos preedicant; idque ab ee ee _ tum dicunt.”’ But Woden, whose name in Danish is Odin, was claimed by the ancient Gothic tribes as the great leader who conducted them from Asia, and to him they paid _ particular honors. He answers to the Hermes of the Greeks, and the Mercury of the Romans, and his name is the basis of dies Mercuri, ednesday y, Wodnesday, in all the Teutonic dialects. Faber supposes Woden to be Noah That Woden is the same character which the Orientals venerate under the name of Budha, Bod, Buddo, Budso, seems to be ge- nerally agreed; and Budha, Bryant maintains, is the symbol of the Ark. Sir William Jones suspects him to have been the great Sesac, or Shishak.{ Whether this personage was Noah, or any other real person, we may never be able to determine with certain- ty, as no historical records which can be deemed au- thentic, now exist, of a date sufficiently ancient, to dis- sipate the: obscurity which hangs over this subject. The Cashmirians boast of his descent in their country; and Sir William Jones has attempted to show, from the Hin.. doo books, that this deity and his worship were intro- duced into India from the west, about ten or eleven cen- turies before the Christian era. To throw some light on the history a this character, we may observe that in Hindoostanee, as well as in the languages derived from the Sanscrit, Budha signifies * Cluver, lib, i. 26.——Mallet’s North. Antiq. ch, 4 and 5. + Faber. i. 287, 299. and ii. 95. hella vol. iii. 353.-—Asiat. Res. 1. 425—yj. 257—yol. i. p. 8. n 206 ee of Mythology. wise, wisdom, oY a wise man, a sage, OF philosopher. Tn this fact all the gentlemen who have written on the his- tory and antiquities of India, coincide. ‘The word is found in the Malay an and Cingalese languages, as well as in Sanscrit.* _ This explanation of the name may help to elucidate the history of Budhaand Woden. Inthe Welsh language, guybod, is to know or understand. Yn the Anglo-Saxon, the word is written gebodian, or bodian, to predict, to bode; and every person acquainted with the latter lan- guage, knows that a multitude cf words were written Sen or without this prefix ge. In the Irish language, from the Celtic stock, the same word appears in fodh, knowledge, skill; in fodach, \ wise; in faidh, a prophet, from which the lintins formed their vates. ‘This ortho- graphy fodh, comes nearest to the Chinese /’o or Johz, whose character resembles that of Budha. We know that nothing is more common than this convertibility of the letters B, F, Vand W for the ‘Latin flo and the English Biden! are the same word, in diferent dialects— wicus is wick—Bioz, 1s vivo, and the Irish fodh, know- dedge, and the English wot, are radically one word. Hence /¥oden, im the Teutonic dialects, like wef, would be the natural orthography of fodh, faidh, vates. We then conclude, with a degree of probability, that Woden and Budha sprung from the same parent, and represent- ed some man of distinguished wisdom, who was first admired and afterwards deified. + Dr. Buchanan, who has written a treatise on the religion and literature of the Burman empire, inserted in the Asiat- . ac Researches vol. vi. makes no question that Budha, is the Bod of the Arabians, the Pout of the Siamese, the -Boutta of Clemens Alexandrinus, and the same as the Godama of the Burmans. The Arabians formerly had an idol named Wudd, and not improbably the Persian lawgiver Mahabad, may have * Asiat. Res. ii. 9—vol. iti. 40——vol. iv. 221—vol. vi. 257, 260—— wol. vil. 33, 34, 397. + In Welsh, dyd ; in Irish, dudh, bozth ; in Cornish, dyt ; in Armo- ric, dct is the world: but tho some nations have called the universe ror heaven, the deity, this does not seem to be the origin of Budha, wwhich signifies a sage. Origin of Mythology: 207 had his name from maha, great, and bad, Bode, Budha. As LBudha was not the primitive deity of India, and as no such deity was worshipped by the Celts, we may perhaps. infer that the primitive inhabitants of India, and the Celis of Europe, separated prior to the origin of this character: and his worship. It will follow, then, that the Veutonic tribes and the later Hindoos, who worshipped Woden and Budha, were later branches: of the great family, who mi- grated from one central spot, a few centuries later than. the Celts and aboriginal Hindoos. ‘The Celtic nations used the word fedh, or bodh, in its primitive sense of wise or wisdom, which sense it retains; but the character, who, for his distinction, was called the wise, might not have arisen, until the Celtic tribes had migrated from the east. It is not impossible, however, that the nations in the east and west may have had diferent persons, who, for their eminence, acquired this title, after they had sep- arated from each other; for among most nations have similar characters arisen, like Zoroaster, Solon, and Ly- eurgus, who distmguished themselves by their superior wisdom. Lhor, the thunderer of the Teutonic tribes, Parkhurst supposes, derived his name from the Hebrew verb +, to go round, whence 1, a turn or round ; and that the rad- ical sense is the heavens in circulation. Tf this is the root of the word, the name was assigned to heaven on account of its vaulted appearance. ‘The word may equally well be derived from the Celtic tor, force, elevation, grandeur, the Hebrew ~», illustrious. Whatever may be the rad- ical word or idea, it is certain that this is the root of the Celtic taran, thunder, from which, by corruption, the Greeks are supposed to have formed their x, which, as a noun, signifies pruority, prece- dence, and asa verb, to go before, to precede. By an easy analogy, it signifies also the East, the place of the rising sun. The same word, in like senses, is, in the Ethiopie language, Aadem, to go before, to be first—alsc priority, beginning.t From this word, I presume, the oriental nations receiv- . * Asiat. Res. il. 32—Grellman on the Gipseys, p. 173. + Tooke’s Russian Empire, vol. i. 409. #4 Ludolf’s Lex. col, 214, 215. tholowy. Oe & 1) ed the title of their the Burman empire. It should be added that the name Goda was used in the north of Europe, as the name of distinguished per- sonages, when the Danes invaded England in the tenth eentury. Inthe Saxon Chronicle, a Danish Thane, of this name, is mentioned under the year 988. The only doubt respecting this origin of the word God, arises from the common orthography of the Teu- tonic words, good and God; for in Saxon, the orthogra- phy is the same—god; and in Gothic, goda is good. The English word good, is generally supposed to be the Greek «yas, without the terminating article «ye; and Lye, in his Dictionary, remarks, that as the same word signifies God and good, so in Saxon, the same word sig- nifies man and evil. Equally remarkable is it that the word dog, which, in the Slavonian languages is the name of the Deity, in ‘the Amharic dialect of Ethiopia, signi- fies good.* The word good is very naturally deducible from the Hebrew rv- Oden, or Eden, signifying pleasure, delight, the Greek #0; for it was not untisual for the Orientals to pronounce the first letter of this word with g, goden ; and this orthography corresponds with that of the word before cited, Gottinhus, the house of Goden. These are the principal facts and authorities which I have found respecting the origin and history of the name under which Christians worship the Supreme Being. Names are of little importance, if the ideas communi- cated by them are correctly understood. Yet it may be suggested, that in the translation of the Scriptures from the Hebrew, it might have been expedient to retain, in the version, the original word, Jenovan. This word, which is from the ‘Hebrew verb, to be, to exist, oan _which imports self-existence, or, by way of eminence, the Being, the universal existence, is the most express- Goda, who is the deity of * See Lye’s Sax. and Goth. Dict. under man. Ludolf’s Amh. Col. 43. Cluver’s Germ. Antiq. i. 25. The dog of the Russians, and 60¢0 or éago, of the Ethiopians, seems to be the root of Bogud, a prince who assisted Cassius in the war in Spain. “ Paucis diebus, litteris Cassii acceptis, rex Bogud, cum copiis venit.’’.., -Hirt. Pansz De Bel. Alex. 49. | eons 216 Origin of Mythology. ive term that can be found in any language, to describe the nature and character of the incomprehensible Cre- ator, and Governor of the Universe. Jehovah Aleim, the Hebrew words which frequently occur in the sacred writ- ings, denote the ALL-COMPREHENSIVE, SELF-EXIST- EnT Beinc, the soverEIcn Lorp of the UNIVERSE. They convey the most sublime ideas which the- human: mind can conceive, of transcendant essence, power and majesty; and no pious man can pronounce them, with- out feeling a sentiment of the deepest humility and reye- | rence. ERRATUM. IN page 64, line 26, for #7vis, read nix. a fF 2 & ey ? 3 ’, ed we ofr fF O MEMOIRS Mees OF THE CONNECTICUT ACADEMY OF Arts and Sciences. rye: VOL. I.—PART II. NEW-HAVEN, PRINTED BY OLIVER STEELE AND CQ. A igide or at No. XV IML. A DISSERTATION On Chronic Debility of the Stomach. BY BENJAMIN WOLSEY DWIGHT. THE following observations were read before the Academy, as far as the close of the remarks on Acidity of the Stomach, at their meet- ing, June 26, 1810; and the remainder at their next meeting, on the 23d of the succeeding month. The author, having been engaged but a little period, in medical pursuits, is not extensively acquainted with what may have been writ- ten by others, on the same subject. He has no where seen it dis- cussed in a manner, which appeared to him satisfactory. As he has suffered severely from the disease, during the last eleven years of his life, he was induced for his own satisfaction, and from a wish to ben- efit others, to commit to writing, the result of his experience and ob- servation. As many of those, who may read this work, may be pre- sumed to be to a great extent unacquainted with subjects of this na- ture, it was proper, in his opinion, to make several explanations,which would have been unnecessary, had they been addressed toa Medical Society. Some things also, have been cursorily noticed, or wholly omitted, which would have appeared, had they been intended for a work professedly medical. He has been led to be more minute in many parts of the discussion, also, from the fact, that the disease is becoming yearly more frequent. Among our ancestors it was but little known. They all, except a very small number in a few towns, 220 On Chronic Debility were accustomed to much bodily exertion. There were few or no pleasure carriages in most parts of the country. Both men and wo- men almost universally rode on horseback. Professional men as universally had farms. The mechanics, whose employments were of a sedentary nature, busied themselves about agriculture, also, to a considerable extent. Now, the disease is spreading extensively. Multitudes of clergymen, of mechanics, of students at colleges, and of women, are losing their heaith from this cause. Clergymen have no farms; Mechanics, from the increasing division of labor, are in the same predicament. A large proportion of both these classes of persons, and many others, have in a great measure ceased riding on horseback. At the outset it is less fatiguing to ride in a carriage. When exercise must be taken, the inquiry seems to be, What kind will excite the least weariness? not, What will most promote health? It is laughable as well as melancholy, to hear the sons of farmers, as soon almost as they have entered on a studious course,and mechanics, by nature sturdy, complaining piteously of the hardships of any em- ployment which requires certain bodily exertions, to which they are unaccustomed. Females, to a great extent, are becoming dyspeptic from dress, from diet, and from want of exercise. The effects will be more evident and distressing in the next and succeeding genera- tions, = HE stomachs of all animals, though they may dif- fer in many respects in the different species, agree in this, that they are concerned to an important ex- tent, in the process of digestion. Some animals live wholly on animal food; others wholly on vegetable ; while man is fitted to live on either kind, but more hap- pily on a due mixture of both. The digestive powers of different men, are often exceedingly different, in various respects, and even of the same individual, at different pe- riods of his life, so that what is healthful at one period, is noxiousat another. Thus, a person debilitated by a fever cannot bear the food, which, in health, is wholly mild and grateful. On a sound state of the stomach, no small part of our comfort, and energy of body and mind, depend. — If the digestion is vigorous, the animal motions are usu- ally pleasant, the secretions and exeeretions regular, the spirits cheerful, the body attains its utmost strength, and of the Stomach. 22) the mental powers are capable of being exerted to the highest advantage. ‘There are persons constitutionally dull, stupid and phlegmatic, who possess great vigour of body, andarapid digestion. ‘To these, the above observ- ations are not strictly applicable. So, important an in- fluence has a sound digestion upon the whole state of the body and mind, that many Physiologists have very prop- erly styled the stomach the laboratory of the system. The immediate cause or instrument of digestion is the same in all those animals with whose structure and econ- omy we are thoroughly acquainted, though the steps pre- paratory to this process are in many instances exceeding- ly different. ‘Thus in the Gallinaceous Class of Birds the latter process is the result solely of maceration and muscular action ; while in man and many other animals it is performed by the action of the teeth, aided by the ope- ration of the saliva. But*the digestive process so far as it takes place in the stomach, is accomplished chiefly by the gastric liquor. Some aid is, however, rendered by the muscular action, and heat of the stomach; and the process is completed in the duodenum, by means of the solvent and saponaceous powers of the pancreatic liquor, and bile. x The Gastric Liquor possesses some very singular and very important properties. Its solvent or corrosive pow- er is totally unlike that of any other fluid, with which we are acquainted. It not only dissolves every species of food suited to the sustenance of man, but also the stone i the bladder, and some other substances of an equal or sreater density ; while it produces no corrosive effect up- on several kinds of worms, which not only often live, but grow rapidly, in the stomachs of men, and many other an- imals. Neither does it produce any corrosive effect up- the stomach which secreted it, while the living principle remains; but, when the living principle has become ex- tinct, especially if the person was previously in health, its corrosive effects are im some instances so powerful, as to eat through allthe coats inafew hours. It possesses, al- sO, powers eminently antiseptic, or opposed to putrefac- tion. Were it destitute of this property, the food taken into the stomachs of the sick and debilitated would, in many instances, become putrid, and destroy life. The same degree of heat, which is ever found in the stomach 9922 On Chronic Debility in health, aided by the same quantity of air and moisture, out of the stomach, will occasion all the substances which we use for food, to putrefy in a few hours. The time requisite for the due performance of the di- gestive process is very different in different animals.— Some substances, also, require a longer time than others to undergo this process; and individuals of our species differ not a little in the strength and activity of their di- gestive powers. Some animals can live with little or no: apparent inconvenience, a considerable period, without fresh supplies of food. Bears are said to remain, in ma- ny instances, through a large part of the winter, in this situation; and I have been informed of a Wood Hatch, which continued more than two months im a torpid state, in the winter season ; but on being brought into a warm room, became after a little period, active and sprightly, and continued perfectly healthy. Some species of in-” sects and reptiles are known to live many months, and probably years, in a similar situation. To our species, it seems to be almost universally indispensable to the en- yoyment of good health, to take food, once or oftener, ev- ery day. Digestion i is, also, not a little influenced by va- rious extrinsic or adventitious causes, such as the quali- ty of the food; a redundant or deficient quantity ; the good or ill preparation of it by coockery ; and a due de- gree of mastication, or the want of it. On these subjects, though they furnish room for copious and interesting re- marks, I cannot in this place dwell. Some observations concerning them, I shall make in the sequel. ‘These and other causes may vary the time requisite for the due per- formance of the digestive process, in different persons, and in the same person, at different times ; but, in most healthy people, it is completed at some period between three and six hours, from the reception of the food into the stomach. To a person in high health, or possessing what is term- ed @ good stomach, no directions are generally necessary. The appetite is here usually the directress. But to one, who has the misfortune to possess a stomach permanent- ly debilitated, a train of evils commonly ensue, suflicient- ly distressing to make any information on the subject in- teresting. of the Stomach. 238 On this disease, viz. Permanent or Chronic Debility of the Stomach and Intestines, I propose to offer some observations. The Stomach I believe to be, originally, the seat of the disease ; but from the intimate connection between it and the Intestines, by means of nerves, blood vessels, continuation of membrane, and similarity of structure and offices, they appear to be drawn in, in a greater or less degree, for their share of suffermg. That the Oesophagus is affected in a similar manner, I have seen no proof. ig Few diseases to which the human body is liable, and which do not immediately endanger life, are so distres- sing to the patient, or give rise to so great mistakes in his mind, and in the minds of ignorant physicians, as to their nature and probable consequences, as that which is proposed for consideration. Toallsuch physicians there is, by the common consent of mankind, an admirable re- treat provided, in which they may happily intrench them- selves; aretreat, to which physicians of a superior char- acter are often accused of resorting, viz. calling all those diseases, of the nature and causes of which they are igno- rant, by the magical name nervous. Bestowing thisname upon a disease, often removes many fears from the mind of the patient, and has no small effect in satisfying him, when little or nothing is done towards removing his suf- ferings : for it seems to be admitted, by common con- sent, that it is unreasonable to require of a physician that he should be able to cure, or even that he should under- stand any thing relative to the nature of, a nervous dis- ease. Persons laboring under a Chronic Debility of the Stomach, though their sufferings may be very severe, and long continued, are generally believed by those around them, to possess crazed imaginations, and to be diseased in mind merely ; and all, almost, are ready to join in the laugh at their whims, and to become impatient of their complaints. The wise and the foolish, the learned and the ignorant, the old and the young, men and women, all unite in de- ciding peremptorily on a subject which they have never investigated. ‘They experience no such troubles them- selves, and therefore they conclude that they are not ex- Q24 On Chronie Debility perienced by others. They hesitate not to determine, that the great bulk of dyspeptic persons are a poor, spir- itless, moping race of beings, the subjects of unceasing mistakes, nearly bereft of their reason, and fitter for bed- lam than for the company of persons so cheerful, know- ing, and elevated above whims, and fears, and prejudi- dices as themselves. It is easy to say, ‘‘ We are the people, and wisdom shall die with us”—and equally easy when pressed in an argument to shout aloud, ‘1 have gained the victory ;” but it ig a very difficult thing, when no proof is presented, to convince those who have thor- oughly investigated any subject under discussion, of the truth of these assertions. An ignorant and prejudi- ced man will often rest inmoveably satisfied that he needs no additional light to discover any truth. Ifa person is laid prostrate with the Yellow Fever, or the Pleurisy, it will be readily admitted that he is really sick; but he who labors under Chronic Debility of the Stomach, will meet ‘with no compassion. It is by no means my intention to say every thing that might be said, relative to the disease under considera- tion. For this purpose a volume would be necessary. I propose only to mention such things as have fallen within my own experience and observation, and such re-_ flections as have grown out of them. The cases, which will be cited in proof of various opinions to be brought forward in the sequel, are partly such as occurred to me during about twenty months, while I was employed as a medical practitioner, viz. from July 1803 to March 1805. Some of them have fallen under my observation since that time. ‘ I mention this as an apology, for the want of particularity, which may be observed in the descriptions of some of them. The facts are all stated from recollec- tion, none of them having been committed to writing at the time. I shall mention nothing, however, of which I have not a distinct remembrance. A Tue Sear of the disease has by some persons been | confined to the nerves of the stomach, and by others to the musculur fibres. It appears to me that both are not | a little affected, and also that the blood vessels, and their | appendages, viz. the vessels which secrete the mucus of the Stomach. 225 that defends the inner coat of the stomach, and those which secrete the gastric liquor, together with the mem- branous and villous coats, ‘all come in for their share. That the nerves in this disease have experienced a loss of tone, is evident from many considerations, par- ticularly from the many remarkable morbid sympathetic actions, to which it frequently gives rise, in many other parts of the body. Onthe existence and variety of these morbid sympathies, I shalkhave occasion to enlarge here- after. Admitting their reality for the present, I observe, that the nerves appear to be necessary to the existence of sympathetic action. Destroy one of the large nerves, and that part of the body which receives its nervous in- fluence from it, will immediately become destitute of sense and motion. Facts in support of this assertion, have been often stated by others. It may not be amiss, however, to state the following case. In the summer of the year 1804, I was called from a distance to visit a lad, aged about 14 years, who had fal- len a few weeks before from a tree, thirty-six feet, upon a pile of stones. On my arrival I found him lying in a bed, and unable to move his legs or his body. A more minute examination exhibited a very large wound, direct- ly over the spine, a little below the lower part of the neck. The precise state of the injury, owing to the tumefaction, and soreness, and the extreme pain which a change of posture occasioned, it was difficult to ascertain. I be- came however soon convinced of what I before could hardly doubt, that irreparable injury had been done to the Medulla Spinalis. After making such an examina- tion of his state and circumstances as seemed necessary, a pin was repeatedly thrust about a quarter of an inch in- to various parts of his legs, without his making the least complaint, or even suspecting what had been done. A lighted candle was also held to his feet a sufficient length of time to have occasioned, in a healthy person, severe pain. Of this, too, he took no notice; yet the wound was exquisitely sensible. His mind, also, was active ; he was able to converse without difficulty, and to eat his food with tolerable ease. He had no command over the 926 On Chronic Debility Sphincter Ani, and Sphincter Vesicz muscles, but his feces and urine passed without his knowledge. The ‘spine was doubtless fractured, and such a degree of pres- sure had been made on the Medulla Spinalis, as wholly to destroy sensation and voluntary motion in all those parts of the body, which derived their whole supply of nerves from that part of it below the wound. That the morbid sympathetic actions in question, are the result of nervous influence, is further evident from the fact, that certain violent stimuli taken imto the stom- ach, greatly derange or destroy voluntary motion, before they can have entered the blood. ‘Toad Stools taken in- to the stomach produce, in many instances, the most alarming and deleterious efiects, without producing any inflammation in its coats, as 1s usual from arsenic, and other metallic poisons. Neither is there any reason to believe that the blood undergoes any change; yet the head, and the whole muscular system are sometimes oreatly affected, to such a degree as to produce death. If the Toad Stools, after having | begun to disorder the pa- — tient, are thrown off from the stomach by vomiting, a speedy and perfect recovery usually ensues. The same truth might be further evinced from the op- eration of opium, upon the whole system, when taken in- to the stomach, or injected per anum. ‘The effects of severe study, or close application of the mind upon the debilitated stomach, can be accounted for on no other principle. That the muscular coat of the stomach is, ley in part the seat of the debility in question, appears highly prob- able, if not certain, from the following considerations. In frequent instances at the commencement of the dis- ease, and for a considerable period afterwards, and at times throughout its whole continuance, till it terminates in death, or till health is restored, especially in delicate young ladies, the stomach becomes so extremely irita- ble, as daily to reject by vomiting, a very large portion of the food which it has received, and such as was former- ly, when in health, whoily easy and pleasant. The contractions of the muscular fibres are here irreg- ular, unnatural, and inclining towards or becoming spas- of the Stomach. 227 wmodic, and of course the fibres themselves are debilita- ted. In other instances, a powerful torpor of the stomach takes place, and the contractions of the muscular fibres are so feeble, that the alimentary mass, even-when in a state of rapid fermentation, and already highly offensive and sickening, remains as a dead weight, incapable for a time of being thrown off. There is so little excitability left, that even this unnatural and offensive stimulus will not occasion vomiting. ‘This state of the stomach Ihave often witnessed, and in sueh persons, when the stomach is free from this fermenting mass, powerful emetics will have little more effect, as I know from repeated trial. Neither is there in such cases s, suficient strength remain- ing in the muscular fibres, to foree the alimentary mass thr ough the pylorus, except in a very siow and imperfect - manner. I have frequently 1 known it to remain many hours and even days upon, the stomach, after it should have been thrown off. | That the other coats are simuarly aflected appears probable, from the fact that such an intimate connection subsists between them, that we caa hardly conceive of the one being disordered, without producing the like ef- fect upon the other. Analogy lends some aid in support ot this suggestion. Thus when one eye is ailicted with pain, or inflammation, or permanent debility, the other is often in a little time affected in a similar manner, and ap- parently from no other cause, than the intimate connex- ion or sympathy which exists between thetwo. Is it not reasonable to believe that the connexion subsisting be- tween the coats of the stomach is far more intimate than between the eyes? Shouldit be said that it is dificult to conceive how a membranous coat should become the sub- ject of debility, I answer, that itis equally difficult, pre- vious to experience, to:conceive how .a membrane, which is usually apparently insensible, should be capable of in- flammation, and when inflamed should be sensible to a very exquisite degree. ‘That this often occurs, no one will deny. | That the blood vessels, and their appendages the Se- ereting vessels, partake of the debility under considera- 238 On Chronic Debility tion, appears probable from the altered nature ef the se- cretions. On this subject I cannot now enlarge, without anticipating what I have to say elsewhere. In vesselsso small as the arterial and secreting vessels of the stomach, and removed at some distance in consequence of their minute ramifications, from the propelling power of the heart, is it not reasonable to suppose, that the force of the circulation depends considerably on the contractile power of the arteries, and that as the coats are debilitated, the contractile power of the arteries will be lessened? An in- creased local action in the blood vessels, and an increas- ed circulation of blood takes place in every phlegmon. Why may not the contrary phenomenon occur ? To all these arguments, analogy lends some aid. That a local nervous debility takes place in some instances in other parts of the body, without affecting the rest of the system, unless by sympathy, will not, I suppose, be dis- puted. That a similar muscular debility also takes place, will probably be admitted. That a languid circulation of the blood may take place locally, while the general circulation is regular, seems to be admitted, with respect to the liver ; why may they not all take place in the stom- ach 2 Several respectable physicians, with whom I have con. versed, have believed that the disease, commonly passing under the names Dyspepsia and. Hypocondriasis, has its seat in the liver; or, in other words, that a morbid state of that viscus is the cause of it. ‘This opinion appears to have been admitted without sufficient evidence, and chiefiy, or solely, as I suppose, on the authority of some great names. In hot climates a schirrous liver is said to be a frequent complaint, as is also an acute and chronic inflammation of the same viscus; and in temperate cli- mates very luxurious living sometimes occasions a mor- bid state of the liver.... But these causes do not operate, except in a small degree, in this part of the United States. Among almost all the cases of Chronic Debility of the Stomach which I have se¢n, and they have been pretty numerous, there has not appeared. to me any reason to be- lieve that the liver was affected at all, except in conse- quence of the morbid state of the stomach, and from sym- of the Stomach. 229 pathy with that organ. In all such cases it is probable that the circulation ‘of the bloed in the liver is languid, the blood itself thin and watery, and the bile which is se- creted less stimulating and pungent, than is requisite to excite a due degree of action in the intestines. ‘That the stomach is primarily and the liver secondarily affected, in most cases, seems probable from the fact, that the morbid sympathies to which this disease gives rise, in other parts of the body, are all owing to the state of the stomach, and none, so far as I have observed, to the state of the liver. I would remark further, that in those cases of the disease, which I have had an opportunity of _ex- amining at their commencement, and where in progress of time some reason appeared to apprehend a morbid state of the liver, the stomach uniformly appeared to me to be first diseased. Tue Causes of Chronic Debility of the Stomach are of two kinds, viz. those which operate immediately upon the organ itself; and those which act indirectly, by de- bilitating the body universally, or certain parts of it. Those which operate immediately upon the stomach are, Ist. Pecan: Diet. Under this head may be wees luxurious living, or the habitual use of highly delicious food ; a very abund- ant use of sweetmeats and spices ; an habitual and free use of tea and cofiee, drunk too strong or too hot; ardent spirits ; low living, or a diet not sufficiently nourishing ; in the latter way I have known one person, possessing originally a fine constitution, and alway having every ad- vantage for good living, who brought on the disease, to a severe degree. Strong Tea and Coffee are causes of no small eficacy, inthis country. Very luxurious liv- ing, though less general in this part of it, is a cause of some magnitude; but far the most powerful of all, is the immoderate use of ardent spirits. 2. Gluttony, or cating an 1mmoderate quantity of food} ii4 The stomach becomes in consequence of this indul- gence unduly extended, and the gastric liquor is not fur- nished in sufficient quantity to dissolve it. 230 On Chronic Debiity The muscular coat and the secreting vessels thus be- come weakened ; the food remains too long in the stom- ach, or is forced in a crude state into the iatecuee. 3. ‘Tobacco, and other narcotics. ‘Tobacco, whether smoked or chewed, operates in two ways; by its narcotic effect, in lessening the tone of the stomach; and by the waste of saliva. Opium produces very powerful narcotic effects, and together with Tobac- - co, is a frequent cause of distressing and long continued dyspepsia. The worst case of the disease I] ever met with, was produced either wholly or chiefly, by the abundant and daily use of Opium. 4, An immoderate use of sugar, acids, and various crude substances. 5. A very frequent use of certain medicines. Some persons are ready on all occasions when indis- posed, however slightly, to resort to medicines for relief, and generally to those of a very active kind. I know a sturdy mechanic, who, in consequence of costiveness, in- duced by a too sedentary life, resorted to Lee’s Pills,* (a drastic cathartic) for relief. “Their operation was cer- tain, and it was cheaper at the outset than to apply to a sensible physician ; hence they were continued, till after taking about eyghty boxes of them, the stomach and in- testines became so torpid, that an evacuation could not usually be obtained without similar aid. 6. A cause intimately allied to this is the improper medical treatment of acute, and also of certain chronic diseases. | A gentleman some years ago was seized in the month of August with a low fever. ‘Two physicians, under whose care he was placed, seemed to suppose, that most diseases were owing to “avast mass of morbid matter as black as tar, aecumulated in the intestines.” “Vhey ac- cordingly drenched him for several weeks, with power- ful doses of Calomel and J alap, Scammony, Gamboge, &c. In this manner they thoroughly abraded his intes- tines, and so far destroyed their tone, that for many months he was afflicted w ith the most distressing costive- ness, a loss of appetite, and general debility. “The In- * A patent medicine sold in great quantities in Connecticut. of the Stomach. 233 testinum Rectum he was unable for a long time to re- tain, but it slipt down on the least exercise, and after every stool; his mind also became greatly enfecbled. In this state I saw him. After two or three years he recovered. A very celebrated quack whom I knew, was accustom- ed in certain chronic diseases, to administer one hun- dred and fifty or two hundred Emetics, to a patient ina single year. That death was the consequence in many instances, I have no doubt. _ The causes which operate mdirectly in producing Chronic Debility of the Stomach, are all such as tend to weaken the body universally. Under this head may be placed, 1. A severe attack of some acute disease. The ef- fect of such an attack, it is weil known, isnot unfrequent- ly to debilitate the whole body greatly, and the stomach peculiarly. I have known several persons, who, in con- sequence of severe attacks of the yellow fever, had their stomachs weakened to such a degvee, that a long period of time elapsed before they were restored to their usual state of health. ‘The debility of the stomach however, in these cases was, I acknowledge in my own opinion, owing in part, to a direct action upon it. To explain my meaning | would state, that the yellow fever is in my opinion a stomach disease, owing to morbid miasmata received into it, by means of admixture with the Saliva; and that to this cause is owing the excessive and very peculiar irritability of that organ, so often witnessed in that disease. ‘The stomach appears to be the primary and principal seat of the disease, and to draw other parts of the system by sympathy, into a state of morbid action. In this way, only, could I account for the extreme debili- ty of the stomach, which I have witnessed in some of the survivors. In other cases, as in severe inflamations of the lungs and liver, the part primarily affected often never regains its former strength. Other diseases, which do not act peculiarly on the stomach, often occasion in it distressing debility, by the effect produced on other parts of the body. I could ea- sily cite instances, were it necessary, to prove the asser- tion. 939 On Chronic Debity 2. A-sedentary life. With this cause, several others are often united, which not a little enhance the eyil; such as great Indolence, certain mechanical employ- ments, and daily exposure to an impure atmosphere.— Women, who take little exercise, often suffer greatly from this cause; and many, whose daily employments induce great weariness of the legs, scarcely exercise at all, out of doors. Clergymen, Lawyers and Students, gen- erally, suffer from the same cause. Among the mechan. ical employments injurious to health, or in other wofds inducing nervous debility, are those of Goldsmiths, ‘Tai- lors, and Shoemakers. ‘The two latter classes are usual- ly confined during the winter, in warm rooms, heated by close stoves, and all, when at work, commonly sit in a bent posture. Shopkeepers and Clerks, from long con- finement to their shops and writing desks, often become dyspeptic and sickly. ‘There are are other mechanical employments which are common in some countries, and far more prejudicial, than those which have been men- tioned, but which, being scarcely known here, I have not thought it necessary to mention particularly ; such are all those, which require a frequent exposure to metallic fumes, and several of those which are carried on m large manufactorics. 3. The excessive gratification of venereal desires. 4. Intense study, or application of mind. / 5. The indulgence of evil passions, such as jealousy, envy, hatred, &c. Grief and fear, and excessive Joy, are also highly debilitating, and particularly to the stomach. Ihave known some persons, possessed of ‘great strength of body, and rigid fibres, who have inj ured themselves, not a little, by the indulgence of evil passions. Their stomachs at times, become thus debilitated, to a consid- erable degree, and permanently, and during a paroxyism of passion, suddenly filled with wind and acid. We come next to consider THE symptoms by which Chronic Debility of the Stomach may be distinguished. By the term symptoms, we are to understand, the various discernible eifects, which the disease occasions in the stomach and in other parts of the body.- The symptoms of this disease are of two kinds, those which affect the stomach and intestines, and which may of the Stomach. 238 be termed primary; and those which effect other parts of the body, from sympathy with the stomach, “As the sympathetic actions of the system have ap- peared to me, when present at the prescriptions of phy- sicians, to be usually, not sufficiently brought up to view, in forming opinions of the nature of diseases; and as ma- ny of the observations yet to be made will, ‘unless such sympathies exist, be irrelevant, I shall, before I particu- larize the symptoms, make some brief remarks, relative to that subject. These remarks are intended to illus- trate two points, viz. that a general sympathy exists be- tween all parts of the body ; and that a peculiar sympa- thy exists between the stomach and other parts. That a general sympathy pervades the body is evi- dent, from the following considerations. 1. Obstinate bleedings at the nose, and many other hemorrhages, may be often almost immediately stopped, by the application of cold water, to the surface of the body. A gentleman, who had bled to a ver y alarming degree, from the lungs, so as to endanger his life, unless speedy relief was afforded, was wrapt in a sheet, which han been dipped in cold vinegar, and the bleeding soon ceased. 2. The phenomena, which occur in the production of ague and fever, can be accounted for in no other manner. Every attentive practitioner, conversant with this disease, must have often witnessed the following facts which I have repeatedly seen, relative to that subject. Persons possessing sound health, and never subject to chronic diseases of any .kind, on being exposed to cold and damp air so long as to be severely chilled, are often affected as follows. In consequence of the chill, or torpid state of the vessels on the surface of the body, induced by it, a universal paleness of the skin takes place. To this succeeds nausea, which is attended frequently with much acid and wind in the stomach; the heart and arteries cease to act with their wonted vigour; the pulse be- comes small and feeble, and sometimes slower, but gen- erally more frequent; universal languor and listlessness ensue, i a a with frequent yawning. Pains in 6 234 On Chronie Debility the limbs, back, head and balls of the eyes follow, is many instances; the urine becomes pale and limpid, and is secreted in large quantities. Accompanying or succeeding these, we often find a severe ague. After some time the stomach, becoming more and more disor- dered, is at length relieved by vomiting. Soon an in- creased action takes place in the heart and arteries; heat’ in the skin follows; a copious sweat breaks out; and the patient is for a time free from his complaint. This fever sometimes consists of one paroxysm, and consti- tutes the ephemeral, or simplest kind of fever. If it returns after an interval of one, two, or three days, it con- stitutes intermitting fever. In either case, the symp- toms are all a chain of sympathies. The primary dis- ease is a disease of the skin merely. Hence it is so much more easily cured than other fevers. _ Should morbid sympathies to a great extent similar, be occasioned by noxious miasmata, operating directly upon the stomach, by mixing with the saliva, the fever would become remitting, or typhus, perhaps of a ma- lignant grade, would continue much longer, and be cu- red with much moze difficulty. Here the stomach is pri- marily affected, and the disease is a disease of that vis- cus, or what I have ventured to call a stomach fever. When the fever commences in the manner first speci- fied, in a person having a disordered liver, several new sympathies take place. ‘The disease is much more ob- stinate, and frequently cannot be cured, without a ular attention to the disordered liver. We come next to shew, that a peculiar sympathy ex- ists between the stomach and other parts of the body. This may be evinced in two ways, viz. Ist. from the effects produced by morbid action, in the stomach, upon other parts of the body; and 2dly, by the etfects of mor- bid action, in other parts of the body, upon the healthy stomach. Pee ‘Sympathetic actions produced by disease in the Stomach are very various, differing greatly in differ- ent persons, end in the same person, at different times. I-will state a few only of such as I have often seen. 1. An Emetic taken mto the stomach soon. excites nausea. Inconsequence of the nausea a paleness of the of the Stomach. 235 skin is induced, and a decreased energy in the action of the heart and arteries, the saliva, and the mucus from the bronchial vessels are secreted in much greater quan- tities than in health, or when the stomach is composed. As the stomach is excited into more violent action, vom- iting is Induced, and an increased action takes place i in the heart and arteries. This produces a prickly sensation over the whole surface of the body, and usually an uni- versal sweat ensues. 2. When the stomach of a person considerably Hebi. itated becomes very empty, so as to excite severe hun- ger, a universal paleness spreads over the whole surface of the body. ‘The pulse beats feebly and frequently, vertigo affects the head, the hands are in a continual tremor, and a great increase takes place in the secretion of the saliva. : 3. Persons subject to tremors of the hands find tem- porary relief, from strong tinctures of the Peruvian Bark, or Colombo, or from a little good wine or brandy. 4. Syncope or fainting, occasioned by acrimony in the stomach, or ‘by agitation of mind, or by inhaling an at- mosphere vitiated by the respiration of a multitude of persons in a-close room, may be usually relieved by a little brandy ‘and water, taken into the stomach, or by dashing cold water on the face, or by volatile alkali held to the nose. 5. A small quantity of opium taken into the stomach occasions sleep, before there is a possibility of its mix- ing with the blood. An increased dose produces many symptoms of apoplexy. 6. A glass of very pungent small beer, or cyder, ta- ken into the stomach after brisk exercise, in a hot day, occasions a prickly sensation throughout the surface of the whole body, in a few setonds,) and often almost as soon excites an universal sweat. 7. When a person is much heated, and the circulation of the blood is greatly quickened by exercise, in a hot day, a large quantity of cold water taken into the stom- ach, will in many instances, suddenly induce severe spasm, and tetanus, and the most powerful stimulants, as laudanum and brandy, taker into the stomach, are the remedies most relied upon for relief. ‘ 936 On Chronic Debility 8. Acidity and wind in the prima via of children pro- duce convulsions. 9. Foul air being mixed with the saliva, and thus taken into the stomach, has produced a total, cessation of all the animal functions, and apparent death. Il. The effects of morbid action, in other parts of the body, upon the healthy stomach, evince the existence of the sympathy contended for, as will appear from the fol- lowing considerations. 1, Compression upon the brain, or a severe concus- sion of the head, usually produces nausea and vomiting. 2. Obstructed perspiration in the head sometimes oc- casions nausea, acidity, and wind in the stomach. I know a gentleman, who, whenever he puts pomatum and pow- der upon his head, experiences all these unpleasant symptoms, unless they are prevented by brisk exercise, and they continue till the pomatum and powder are combed out.* 3. Teething in children, which is wholly a local dis- - ease, often induces vomitings, acidity in the stomach, gri- ping in the bowels, choler, cough, convulsions, and fe- ver. Cutting the swollen gums alone, frequently gives great relief, and the cutting ‘through of the teeth as usu- ally perhaps, puts an entire stop to all the morbid symp- toms. A, Immediate vomiting may in many instances be ex- cited, by tickling the throat and fauces with a feather. 5. Severe vomiting, owing to great irritability of the stomach, may be frequently relieved, when other means | are ineffectual, by cloths dipped in laudanum, and. appl ed to the Epis astric Region. 6. A blow upon the epigastric region, or pit of the stomach, will sometimes produce instantaneous death. 7. Dashing cold water upon tke feet, will in some in- stances, procure an evacuation from the bowels, of a per- son obstinately costive. I know a gentleman who, when- ever he wets his feet in the winter season, and suffers’ ‘them to continue wet a sufficient length of time to pro- duce slight chilliness, experiences a copious evacuation from the bowels. 1B several instances from walking a See Note A. of the Stomach. 23% moderate distance in snow, partially melted, till his boots became thoroughly water soaked, much larger evacua- tions have been produced, than would have resulted from a heavy dose of calomel and jalap. It does not howevy- er usually occasion an equal degree of debility, with that which he customarily suffers from a cathartic ; and almost immediately after the evacuation has ceased, his stomach and intestines will, by heating his feet, become tolerably composed. Another gentleman, whenever he undresses to bathe in river or sea water, experiences in consequence of the exposure of his naked body to the cool air, a free and almost immediate evacuation from his bowels. A sympathy equally remarkable exists between the mind and stomach. ‘This truth I will briefly illustrate. 1. Hard study or intense application of the mind pro- duces wind, and acidity in the stomach, and costiveness, and general debility. Fools are observed to be proverb- ial for eating excessive quantities of food with sound di- gestion, while students are apt to suifer from loss of ap- petite and indigestion. . The indulgence of certain passions and emotions Doi gmilar effects. A paroxysm of anger has oc- casioned, by its sedative effects on the stomach, sudden death. 3. Persons laboring under severe disease are some- times completely and instantaneously cured by intelli- gence, which calls forth very sudden and strong emotions of the mind.* Should the cause of this wonderful sympathy between the stomach and other parts of the body and the mind be asked, no hesitation can exist in attributing it to the distribution of the Par Vagum, or second branch of the eighth pair of nerves, and to its wonderful connexion with other nerves, particularly the great sympathetic. The Par Vagum, besides supplying the stomach, sends branches to the larynx, pharynx, trachea, oesophagus, vessels of the neck and heart, to the lungs, &c. ; and by its connexion with the great sympathetic, a sympathy is established between the stomach and all the abdominal * See Note B. 238 , On Chronic Debility viscera, (viz. the liver, pancreas, spleen, intestines, kid- neys, &c.) and the uterus, bladder, &c. This sympathy was made by our Creator, for very wise -and benevolent reasons. I will mention two only, which have presented themselves to my mind. 1, It appears to be a law of our nature, nearly abso- lute, that the body is not liable te two general diseases at the same time. If exceptions to this rule exist, they are rare, so far at least as my information extends. It also appears to be usually, perhaps almost uniformly the fact, that one local disease, or morbid action,’ arising in one part of the system, lessens or destroys a local disease or morbid action, which may have previously existed in an- other. I will briefly illustrate this subject. A person cannot at the same time, have the yellow fever and the measles. ‘The operation of every blister in local inflam- mations or debilities, illustrates the latter assertion. Thus when from great irritability of the stomach obsti- nate vomitings take place, a blister upon the epigastric region, will afford great and often absolute relief. Hence when morbid sympathies arise from diseased action in the stomach, that viscus receives less permanent injury, than if no such sympathies existed. A transfer of a part of the morbid action is made from the stomach, to the sym- pathetic parts ; and in some degree in proportion to the number or variety, and to the severity of the sympathet- ic actions, so that the stomach suffers only a part of the evil. Without this relief death would in many mstances ensue, in consequence of the accumulation of morbid action in an organ so exceedingly tender and delicate. 2. We are thus warned of many things injurious to our health. In contemplating this subject we may, with the most evident propriety, say with the King of Israel, that “we are fearfully and wonderfully made.” me | A physician accustomed to make accurate observa- tions, might greatly benefit himself by noting, from time to time, such instances of sympathetic action as he met with in his practise. THE SYMPTOMS Or MORBID EFFECTS Of Chronic De- bility of the Stomach are, | 1. Those which exist in the stomach and _ intestines. These are acidity ; wind ; a rancid state of the aliment- — \ BS a ee bi of the Stomach... 239 ary matter ; heat in the stomach; a gnawing sensation ; a sensation of great emptiness ; swelling of the stomach; an oppressive weight of that viscus after eating ; disten- tion of the intestines ; depraved appetite ; loss of appe- tite ; unusual craving of food ; spasms in the intestines ; cholic; obstinate costiveness; or alternations of costive- ness and diarrhea ; or continued diarrhea, a great part of the food passing from the bowels unaltered ; borboryg- mi; phlegm in the stomach ; acid eructations ; eructa- tions of a thin, watery, and insipid fluid ; frequent vom- itings. | . 2. Those which exist in other parts of the body, and are owing to sympathy with the diseased stomach. These are vertigo, or swimming in the head; dimness of sight ; pain in the balls of the eyes, with a continual tendency to inflammation ; head ache; singing in the ears ; a partial or total loss of voice; an early and rapid decay of the teeth ; the constant formation of tartar upon the teeth ; frequent teeth-ache ; a sallow complexion ; catarrh ; cough; pul; monary consumption ; pain in the back, attended with heat ; wandering pains; tremor of the hands; pain in that part of the leg where the Gastrocnemius and Soleus muscles unite to form the Tendo Achillis, this 1s a dull pain, exactly resembling that which is induced by walk- ing in tight bocts in a hot day, till considerable fatigue is brought on; cramps; tetanus; small cutaneous pus- tular eruptions, especially about the wrists and thighs ; hot flushes affecting the body generally, or a part of it ; shiverings; syncope or fainting; palpitations of the heart ; frequent yawnings and sighings ; a pulse irregu- lar, intermitting, quick, small and feeble ; sometimes no visible perspiration from exercise, and sometimes cop1- ous and debilitating sweats; sudden weariness of the body or mind induced by ordinary exertions ; liability to be greatly affected by changes of the weather, and to take cold easily ; great irritability of body ; great drow- siness, irregular sleep ; sudden startings in sleep ; labo- rious sleep, and sometimes constant watchfulness. 3. Those which affect the mind. These are great ir- ritability ; habitual discouragement, or what is often called low spirits; timidity ; anxiety ; irresolution ; 240 On Chronie Debility 4 fickleness ; fretfulness; tacitur nity; sadness ; 5 impert fect memory ; strange whims ; proneness to reverie ; a fixed persuasion that the disease is incurable, and that itis ofa totally different nature from what it really is; great 1m- patience at being thought less sick than the patient had thought himself; frequent and strange dreams; night- mare; and sometimes settled melancholy. ‘These are all the symptoms which I recolleet to have seen. ‘That others may have occurred, I have no doubt; but I believe none of much importance have been omit- ted. It is by no means to be supposed that all of these ever occur in one case, for no two cases are exactly or even very nearly alike. A general similarity runs through the whole, and so many of the symptoms are present in every severe case, as to leave no doubt about the nature of the disease. Onseveral of these it will be necessary to enlarge, with some particularity. Previously to doing this, I shall point out the differences between the disease under consideration, and certain others, having symptoms _ in some degree similar. These diseases are, 1. Aschirrous or other tumor of the stomach. Of this it may be observed, that it is very rare ; that when- ever it is so far advanced as to excite serious trouble, it occasions, according to accounts given of it, continual, severe, fixed pains ; that the usual remedies for dyspep- sia afford no relief; and that a tolerably correct opinion may be formed from the manner of its commencement ane progress. . An arthritic humor in the blood. With respect to ike existence of such a humor, although much has been written by ingenious men on the subject, nota shadow of proof has been exhibited, so far as my knowledge extends. When it shall be exhibited it will be time enough to con- sider it; till then it may be fairly ranked with other in- genious whims, which have served to amuse their au- thors and mislead mankind. That there is in some in- : stances what is usually termed a retrocedent gout, there can be no question ; or, in other words, there is a trans- lation of the morbid action ; or, in other words still, the several morbid actions which constitute a regular case of of the Stomach. 244 gout, sometimes suddenly leave the feet chiefly or whol- ly, and several distressing and occasionally alarming symptoms as suddenly appear in the stomach. A simi- lar translation of morbid excitement takes place in many other diseases. } knew a patient wasting rapidly with the pulmonary consumption; who, at a certain time during the progress of this complaint was seized with mania. Immediately on the commencement of the latter complaint, the hectic fever, the night sweats, the expectoration, the cough, and in short every symptom of the former one vanished. After the lapse of several days his mind became rational and composed, and then, and not till then, his former disease returned, and with re- doubled violence. We might therefore; with the same propriety, talk of a maniacal humor, a pulmonic consump- tive humor, or any other humor that happens to please our imagination. ah 3. ‘The hysteric disease. With respect to this sub- ject I can say nothing which has not been said by others, and shall only observe, that there is usually no difficulty in determining the nature of the complaimt; and that many of its most distressing symptoms are connected with, or occasioned by debility of the stomach. A, There is a morbid irritability of stomach sometimes met with, which is constitutional and peculiar ; in conse- quence of which great distress is oceasioned by certain kinds of food, which to most persons not only produce no inconvenience, but prove mild and nutritive. Thus, some persons are unable to eat strawberries, others cheese, and others other kinds of food, without great inconven- ience. Certam anomalous symptoms usually attending such cases, the previous state of health, and the phy- sician’s own sagacity, will ordinarily leave no doubt as to the nature of the evil. Having endeavored to clear the way of all obstructions, I shall next consider, some of THE EFFECTS of Chro- nic Debility of the Stomach. , I mentioned them all briefly together, that they might be seen at one view. I. Tue Propuction or Acipity In THE Srom- AcH. ‘This is the first and most distressing effect, and D 942: On Chronic Debility the parent of many ethers. As I have no where seen any discussion of this subject, ; as. it appears to me to. be of no small importance; and,.as the ideas, which I shall advance relative to its nature and effects, may not be read-: Hy admitted by others; I shall examine it with some mi-. nuteness. It appears to be the general opinion of phy- sicians, so far as my informaion extends, that the acid. found.in the Prime Vie, is derived from a fermentation of the alimentary matter. ‘hat such an opinion should. have universally prevailed, is not to be wondered at. It is not long since the medical world attributed the process. of digestion chiefly or solely to this cause. . That the acid, which is sometimes found in healthy stomachs, is produced in this way,,T have no doubt; and that the acid found in debilitated stomachs is, in many instances, ow- ing to the same cause, I also admit ;:especially where the disease consists of what may be termed a paroxysm, that is, an attack which lasts from cne to four days, commen- cing suddenly, and leaving the stomach free from the evil, by means of a spontancous diarrhea, or some other cause. Such paroxysms I have often known.. ‘The dis- order in this case is brought on usually by eating acid fruits, or beans, or peas, or other vegetables, which are tough and old,.or pastry, or by drinking wine or porter in a slight degree sour, or by eating to excess food gen- erally healthful.. ‘The acid in this case evidently proceeds. from fermentation, and. the great quantity of gas or wind extricated, together with.other circumstances unnecessa- ry to be mentioned, prove it.. But there is an acid state of the stomach differing widely from all®this, often con- tinuing many weeks, and months, and sometimes years, without material abatement, and this in spite of all regu- lations of diet ;, often lessening the appetite greatly dur-. ing its continuance, producing obstinate costiyeness, and excessive torpor of the stomach and intestines, without: ordinarily occasioning wind in those viscera, at least to a greater degree than is usual to those who enjoy sound. digestion; producing also headache of many months. continuance, or daily periodical headache and universal debility, and. sometimes, perhaps usually, connected with an acid state of the saliva. This also admits of aggrava- of the Stomach. 243 tions or ‘:paroxysms, induced by various causes. ‘The acidity in such cases | suppose to be owing to a morbid secretion of the gastric liquor. 1 began to be of this opin- ion in the month of August 1803, or rather Iwas led at that time to attribute it either to this cause or to a decom- position of that fluid, after it was secreted. At the peri- od specified, the stomachs of some persons at Catskill, who had the yellow fever, generated such enormous quantities of a most corrosive.acid, without having taken such food as would be likely to produce it, and almost without any food at all, that it seemed to me inexplica- ‘ble in any other manner. Cullen has suggested the pos- sibility af such a derivation, in some cases, but considers imbecility of the muscular fibres, as a/mast-the sole.cause.* Some of the arguments, which haye led to this conclusion in my own mind, I will proceed to state. 1. The existence of a very sharp corrosive acid, wath- out being accompanied by gasor wind. Probably every person severely affected with permanent debility of the stomach, may Rave experienced something of this na- ture. J have often experienced it, and in-some instances for three months, without any intermission, and should probably continue to experience it, till it-ended m the de- struction of life, did I not throw it off, by brisk and long continued exercise. Dubing its contimuance, I am every day affected with a greater or less degree of headache, and constantly lose flesh and strength, while it is still un- attended with wind in the stomach and intestines, or with a greater quantity than is usual to persons in. good health. Neither is it accompanied by what is commonly termed a foul stomach. ‘The stomach becomes exceedingly tor- pid, and requires a very large dose of some powerful emetic to excite vomiting, mel when it is induced, no- thing is brought up but an acid mucus, unless, by violent straining, bile should be forced from the duodenum inte the stomach. The acid is often extremely corrosive, so as some instances, to excoriate the fauces. "The vom- iting however is’. no service. It greatly weakens the stomach for a time, and im twenty-four hours the acid is as abundant as.ever. Now if it was produced by a fer- eee Norerk:. 244, On Chronic Debilty mentation of the alimentary matter in the stomach, there would be a constant extrication of gas, and this would bear some proportion to the quantity of acid. I have al- so almost uniformly found, that where the disease con- sisted of a paroxysm, produced by acid fruits, or other food, occasioning a rapid fermentation of the alimentary mass, vomiting was easily excited, and gave complete re- lief; and, in the course of twelve or twenty-four hours, the stomach became composed; or a spontaneous diarrhea came on, and produced a similar effect, The acid, at times, without the aid of any fermenting mass in the stomach, comes on with great violence, and in spite of all efforts short of brisk and repeated riding on horseback, or much hard labor, lays prostrate the whole energy of the system. In spite of my utmost endeavours to overcome it, lam sometimes compelled to give way to it for short periods, and even to betake myself to my bed. When the paroxysm is less severe, it is often the case that one half of the strength of the muscular and neryous systems is destroyed, during its continuance, At such times I am able to walk but short distances, without great weariness, languor, faintness, and sometimes manifest disadvantage ; and any degree of walking which I can then accomplish, will not occasion sweating. The following brief recital may further illustrate this subject. Inthe month of July of the last year, during some very hot weather, I imprudently laid aside the use of a flannel shirt, No immediate ill effects apparently resulted from the want of it; but in six or eight days my stomach became highly acid, and at the end of the first fortnight I was seized with a severe attack of cholic. ‘The acidity was now.become intense, and the saliva disagree- ably sour. No flatulence accompanied or preceded the paroxysm, By putting om a thick flannel shirt, which excited much irritation on the skin for a short time, I speedily obtained relief. 2. The effects of severe study, or application of the mind, upon the debilitated stomach. This uniformly produces a great influx of acid into that viscus, an acid of a very corrosive nature, and producing by sympathy, great debility throughout the system. So great effects — oy tie oOtomach. ZA cannot be owing, it appears to me, to fermentation. The cause assigned does not appear adequate to the produc- tion of evils, so suddenly induced, and attended with such distressing consequences. 3. Strong passions of the mind often produce an influx and SOs ea eee of acid in the stomach, in a very short time; much sooner than we are authorized from ac- knowledged facts, to attribute to fermentation. A person, who has not been attentive to this subject, would be ereatly surprized to witness the effects, which sometimes result from this cause. Any unusual agitation of mind produces a similar effect. A lady, who suffered a sudden and violent fright, perceived an immediate and copious influx of acidinto her stomach, She was previously free from this evil, 4, This opinion derives no small support from the ef- fects which are insome instances produced on the stom- ach, by a blow on the head, or a concussion of the brain, or a general concussion of the body, occasioned by falling from a height. One of the effects of such violence done to the sy stem is, often, the sudden production of nausea and vomiting. The matter ejected by vomiting is frequent- acid to a high degree, and this too in stomachs, where acid before was rarely or not at all experienced, in per- sons of very robust habits, persons accustomed to eat all sorts of food with impunity, hard labouring men, such as would ridicule the idea of acidity or debility of the stom- ach as applied to themselves. How shall this be ac- counted for? In my own opinion, only in the following manner: The stomach becomes either primarily, or sym- pathetically, or in both ways, immediately disordered, and to such a degree as to occasion great alterations in the secretion of its fluids, both in their nature and quan- tity. Every one who has been conversant with subjects of this nature, must have noticed that, im cases where the violence done to the system is considerable, the pulse immediately ceases to beat, and a universal torpor and coldness, like the coldness of death, comes on as sudden- ly, over the whole surface of the body. ‘This state of things greatly increases the disorder of the stomach, and the acid flows forth from all its secreting vessels. The | 246 ‘On Chronic Debility acidity of the stomach, in slight cases of this sort, is not evident to a cursory observer in some instances until a considerable period has elapsed ; in others acid is vom- ited up, in large quantities, in fifteen minutes, im oth- ers in ten minutes, in others in five, and even sooner. Does a morbid secretion begin and advance to this extent so speedily ? I have no hesitation in asserting my belief that it does. In severe cases, and in debilitated stomachs, it commences perhaps imme- diately after the injury is done. I wellremember that in two instances, where1 suddenly fainted away from extreme pain occasioned by violence done to a particular part of the body ; I found on reviving, great coldness on the sur- face of the body, and much acid in the stomach, where before there was little appearance of that evil. The par- oxysm, in either case, did not exceed four or five minutes. Is it not reasonable to conclude that, the secreting vessels commence awrong action at their mouths, as soon as they are disordered, from the concussion, or from the derange- ment of the brain, or from the torpor and chilliness of the cutaneous vessels; and that this wrong action is pro- pagated throughout the secreting vessels almost instanta- neously. The following case may serve as an illustration of the foregoing assertions: About a year ago, one evening on my return from ajourney to New-York in the stage, alady, who had appeared through the day to be in perfect health, was suddenly rendered unwell in the following manner : In consequence of the destruction of several bridges, and other injury done to the turnpike road by repeated and copious rains, it was necessary in a certain part of the ‘route to pass over several miles of an uneven and stony bye-road. In a particular part of this road lay a small bridge, the descent from which was between one and two feet. We passed over this bridge rapidly. The fall of the carriage was sudden and violent. The passengers were all much jolted, and the lady abovementioned imme- diately fainted. On her account we rode the remainder of the distance slowly to the stage house. It was between twenty and thirty minutes before we arrived. During the whole of this period she continued totally bereft’ of of the Stomach. QAE sensation and voluntary motion. It became necessary for me to support her in my arms. I perceived within five minutes that her stomach was considerably acid. Im- mediately on stopping, by the aid of brandy applied to. _ her nose and face, she voraited freely and became speed- ily well. Her skin throughout was cold like that of a dead person, and no warmth was restored till the vom- iting took place. From various circumstances, I am sat- isfied that her stomach was entirely composed previous to the occurrence, and that the acid was formed after- wards, and in consequence of the shock abovementioned.. ‘5. Sudden changes of the weather, or standing in the open air with wet feet, in cold and damp weather, till a general and considerable chilliness is experienced, has a similar effect, on the stomachs of many dyspeptics. In proof of this assertion, I would alledge the following case. A gentleman who had been for ten years troubled at intervals, with severe debility of the stomach, and much acid in that viscus,. being in good health, one day in the month. of April last, instead of wearing his boots as he had uniformly done for six months preceding, wore shoes. Though he was out of doors but a short time, yet he ex- perienced in two or three hours chilliness, and acid in the stomach. A severe headache ensued, and though he put on his boots very soon after the commencement of his ill feelings, and kept on an abundance of clothing, yet they rapidly increased; so that he found it necessary to so to bed in the beginning of the evening. Within fif- teen minutes he had several smart agues. ‘These were succeeded by very severe cholic, and extreme acidity in the stomach, and in a little time violent vomiting was in- duced. cna | ‘Fhere was very little appearance of wind in the stom- ach or intestines, nor any bile vomited up. During the vomiting, a copious sweat broke out, which by the addi- tion of bed clothes, was kept up through the night. The next morning the patient was nearly as wellas usual. Af- ter an attentive examination of this case, I could not hes- itate to attribute the head ache, the agues, and the cholic, to the acidity of the stomach, and this to a morbid secre- tion, broughtonfrom sympathy between the secreting ves- QA48 On Chronic Debility sels, and the feet, rendered torpid by unusual exposure te cold. I have often experienced similar effects, from similar causes, but much more suddenly following them. 6. This opinion is rendered probable from the state of the saliva, in some dyspeptics. In those severe cases of the disease where the stomach is affected with mere acid, the saliva is acid also. This fact I have experienced many hundred times, and for months together, without any mitigation. ‘lhe kind, and degree of sourness, it is dithcult for me to describe definitely. If the acid in the stomach is occasioned by fermentation, how shall this phenomenon be explained? In those paroxysms of acid- ity, unquestionably occasioned by a fermentation of the alimentary mass, I have not known an acid state of the saliva. But if we admit that there may be a morbid se- cretion, or a decomposition of the gastric liquor, the difh- culty will be removed, since the former fluid is employed in preparing the aliment for the action of the latter, since it possesses corrosive and antiseptic properties, and has a far greater affinity to the gastric liquor than any other an- imal fiuid, except the pancreatic. 7. The following case affords additional evidence in favour of the opinions which I have endeavoured to ouy port. In the summer of 1804, I was called to visit Mrs.—, ala- dy aged about 30, of an exceedingly delicate and irritable habit. She inherited a feeble constitution, had been mar- ried very early, and went through her first labour when she «was a little more than sixteen years old. She was short- ly after attacked with puerperal fever. From this disease she with difficulty escaped, and continued in a low state, a long period of time. When I saw her she was the subject of great general debility, and of singular weak- ness of the stomach. She was also greatly distressed by : a continual and copious influx of acid, into that viscus. The paroxysm had been on about twenty-four hours. | During that period, and for some time previous, she had _ taken‘no sustenance, and was unable to retain any thing © upon her stomach, but was afflicted with very frequent and painful vomitings. She brought up nothing, how- . ever, but thin mucus, and this was discharged m great of the Stomach. 249 é quantities, and of a very deep green colour. The colour was of aboutthe same intenseness, as the leaves of the hemlock tree, and Was owing as T suppose, wholly to acidity. The mucus was so extremely acid as to excite great distress, whether it remained in the stomach, or passed the fauces by vomiting. It occasioned, repeated- ly, severe spasms, and could not be materially checked, by such measures as were made use of, under twenty- four hours more. About that time the disorder ceased, the writated organ became composed, and she soon regained her usual health. ‘This paroxysm. was occasioned as I suppose, by the debilitating elects of extremely hot ae and some irregularities of diet and exercise, op- rating upon a system universally predisposed to disor- flee and upon a stomach intensely irritable, always pre- pared to engender acid, and to sympathize with every morbid affection of the ‘body or mind. Could the phe- nomena here recited, have been occasioned by a fermen- tation of the alimentary matter? Should the answer be given in the afirmative, I would ask what there was in her stomach, to undergo the process, besides mucus, and the gastric iquor? Should fin my turn be asked, how such an enormous secretion, of so depraved a fluid, can take place from the vessels of the stomach, I answer, that from some cause or other, which man perhaps cannot explain, a determination of the fluids of the body is in- duced towards, or in, its secreting vessels, so that in the case specified, the quantity secreted was ten, perhaps twenty times as ereat, as in an equal space of time, in health ; and the < secreting vessels, in consequence of be- ing surcharged with fluids, were thrown suddenly into a state of violent morbid excitement. Phenomena in many respects similar to this, occur daily, m the production of diarrhea, and dysentery. I will ithistrate my meaning, by a brief recital of the fol- ee ease. A gentleman some years ago, having oc- pasion to perform a short journey, left home in the eve- ~~ and rode a considerable distance in an open car- riage. The day had been very hot, and being in high health, he had not provided that additional clothing which F, 259 On Chronic Debility is usually necessary, on such occasions, even ia a hot night. After riding several hours, he became ‘severely chilled. He continued his journey till some time after midnight, and when he stopped went immediately to bed, without taking food, or cven warming himself. Hehad not been long in bed before he was forced to rise, from severe pain in the bowels, and in a few minutes he dis- charged more than four quarts of fluid feecal matter, chief- ly mucus. ‘This was doubtless owing to the torpor, in- duced on the whole surface of the body, by means of the chill, and the consequent retreat of the mass of fluids to- wards the intestines. Is not the latter event in all res- pects, except its frequency, as extraordinary as, the for- mer? Let it be further remembered, that the feecal matter which is discharged in many cases of diarrhea, and dysentery, induced in a manner similar to that in the case specified, is highly acrid, so as often to ,excoriate the intestines ; may I not say so as in some instances to * occasion death ? Whence does this acrimony arise 2— Surely not from a fermentation of the alimentary matter ? Vhe next subject of enquiry is, whether the acid tm gues- tion, may not be occasioned by a decomposition of the gastric liquor? Fora considerable period I remained at a loss to determine, whether we must look to this cause, for the source of the evil, or.to a morbid secretion of that liquor. Having not long ago investigated the subject more minutely, [ have become satisfied, that it is owing to the latter cause ; and im no instance.to the for- mer, where the fluid is secreted in a healthy state, that is, possessed of its usual properties, and no other. In all oth- er cases the acid is occasioned by a fermentation of the — alimentary matter. ‘The reasons which have led to this conclusion, I will proceed to state. 1. In several cases which have been stated. and: in oth-— x ers which might be, there appears to be no cause ade- quate to the preduction of a decomposition of the gastric. liquor ; if we admit that that fluid was secreted ina healthy ‘state. There is no unnatural heat in the stomach, nor any known chemical agent, introduced by the mouth. - The effect, also, is often too sudden, and étoo considera- | . of the Stomach. 95) ble, to be produced by decomposition, without the aid of Shemical agents. 2. The nature of the gastric liquor is such, as to ren- der it highly improbable, that it should undereo such a change, unless it was first secreted in a morbid state.— T hough IT have not been able to obtain any chemical analysis of it, on which much reliance can be placed, I can state the following interesting fact, which proves what is generally admitted, but by some respectable writers denied, that this find possesses singular ‘antisep- tic powers. W Some years ago, Alineas Monson, M. D. late President of the Medical Society of Connecticut, ob- tained about a quart of gastric liquor, from the stomach ofanox. ‘The animal, previcus to its being killed, had been fasting an unusual length cf time. Notwithstand- ing this advantage, the butcher who collected it, did not obtain it so’ pure and free from admixture with other sub- stances, as was expected. In consequence of this fact it was put into a junk bottle, tightly corked, and placed by a ser- vantin the cellar, on the top of the wall, by the window, with an intention of letting it stand a few days, tosettle. When it was called for, the servant was unable to find it. It re- maimed in this situation between one and two years, be- fore it was discovered. On opening it, it was found to be perfectly sweet, and to smell very exactly like the breath of a healthy cow. This occurred during the hot- test weather of the summer. ‘The liquor was “carefully poured off into another bottle, which was well co: ee and set aside in a proper place, where it remained a year longer. It was then opened, and the liquor had appar- ently undergone no SEE BS but was perfectly sweet.— x Now when Wig remembered that this liquor was obtain- ed, not from the stomach of 2n omnivorous animal, as man, but from that of a herbivorous one, and that the gastric liquor of the former, as is admitted by various physiologist S, 1S less disposed to ferment, than that of the latter; that it remained for sucha length of time, expos- ed to great alterations of heat and cold, and to the influ- ence of light; it may with the utmost propriety be asked, is it credible that a liquor possessing such properties, should ae On Chronie Debility undergo decomposition, in the stomach, in two or three hours ? 3. The argument derived from analogy lends its whole force, to SupEer the same conclusion. Many of the other fluids of the body are, at times, ina 4 geld state. This is true of the wax in the ear, the milk, the urime, the pus of ulcers, the sweat, and the saliva: might Inet say of the bile also ? 1 have in another place mentioned the existence of acid saliva. Iknowa Sage who, some years ago, suffered much from general debility, and very uncommon weakness of the stomach ard intestines. During the hot weather, light exercise would throw him into a profuse sweat, so that numerous dr ops would stand upon his forehead. This was, as I often observed, of a very strongly acid smell, immediately after it appear- ed, or, in other words, before it could have undergone any decomposition. Should it be supposed, however, that it was owing to decomposition, I would enquire why we do not find the sweat of healthy men, becoming acid in the same manner? ‘The milk of the female undergoes changes more remarkable, and in very frequent instan- ces. It is well known that the milk of the cow is often disagreeably favoured, with the food she eats, or by vio- lent exercise. It is equally well known that infants at the br east, are often disordered, by irregularities m the diet of the mother, or nurse. Acid, gripings, and wind in the stomach and intestines, cramps and convulsions, and even death itself are sometimes the consequence. ‘The milk is asserted, by respectable authority, to have been salt and bilious. Experiments have been made which prove, — that it is sometimes essentially altered, in its properties, by a change of dict. ‘Thus it appears that certain animals, confined wholly toa vegetable diet, secrete a milk aces- cent, and easily coagulating, which when fed wholly on animal food, secrete a milk all kalescent, and not none neously coagulating. ‘There is also, in some instances, a deficiency in the quantity secreted, and in others, a re- dundancy. The bile eee under goes changes, from sudden and violent passions of the mind, and from other eauses. ‘The urime differs wondertully, in different per- sons, and in the same person at differcnt times, when hi ? ¥ by) 4 ee ae ne ler tinenreerreinetn EK ARE oan» weer RR of the Stomach. 253 health, and much more in disease. Ihave seen urine of | a deep ¢ ereen colour. ‘The secretion of the mucus mat- ter from the schneiderian membrane, is greatly altered, by what is py termed a cold in the head. Whenev. er I take cold, the whole force of the disorder is, in most instances, gee upon the stomach and intestines. Why should not the gastric liquor be affected by it ? Nothing perhaps will serve better to illustrate this subject, than the changes, which frequently take place, in the matter discharged from ulcers. ‘The simple purulent ulcer is a disease, it is well known, entirely local, yet it is capa- ble of undergoing great changes, from affections of the system. In healthy persons the matter secreted on its surface, 1s a mild bland liquor, called by singcoms laudi- ble pus. In persons greatly debilitated and highly irrita- ble, it not unfrequently possesses considerable acrimony andfector. A healthy patient, who has undergone an am- putation of a mb, will usually, when the wound becomes an ulcer, or when the secretion of matter takes place on its surface, experience considerable mitigation of pain ; the discharge will, with proper treatment, be a daudible oa and the patient will speedily recover: but if, when the inflammation in the wound subsides, and the pus is se- creted, the patient, instead of being kept on nourishing diet, should be confined to that of a contrary nature, and should receive few.or no stimulant or tonic medicines, the matter secreted would soon change its ¢ colour, become thin, acrid, and fetid, and excite great irritation in the patient ; but if, in this situation, he is furnished with a due quantity of bark and porter, or good wine, and nour- - ishing diet, all the unpleasant eypontoms will im twenty- four hours, be greatly mitigated, and if this course is pur- sued a little aes be w holly removed. I suppose no cne will contend that, in such a case, the pus is decomposed. It will probably be admitted by all, that it is secreted ina morbid state. Is there not a morbid secretion in every phagedenic ulcer 2. Who ever heard of ear wax decom- posed in the ear, or milk in the breast of a female? Es- pecially can it be supposed that these things will take place, if the several fluids are secreted in.a healthy state ? One fact further relative to this subject, and I have done. 254 On Chronic Detility A gentleman having suffered the sebaceous matter which is secreted under the prepuce, to remain till it had ac- quired some acrimony, was affected as follows. A very great increase took place inthe secretion, evento more than twenty times the usual quantity, and instead of its ordina- ry mildness and consistency, it became highly acrid, thin and of a pale colour. In spite of the utmost attention, it continued many weeks, and was with great difficulty re- moved, by the aid of very powerful stimulants. Now I would ask, is there any greater dificulty im admitting a morbid secretion of the gastric liquor, than there is in admitting the existence of the facts abovementioned? It may be remarked further, that when secreting vessels have taken on wrong action, it is, in many instances, dif- ficult to restore them, and that when relieved, they are apt from very slight causes, to be disordered again. I have dwelt the longer on this subject, because all the phy- sicians with whom I have conversed, excepting one or two, have been wholly unwilling to admit, even if the gastric liquor were supposed to undergo any changes, that it could de secreted in a morbid state ; but have sup- posed that such changes must be owing to decomposi- tion. Ifit is secreted in a morbid state, I cannot say that it does, or does not undergo further changes in the stomach. I have no facts in my possession, which will warrant me to form a decisive opinion on this subject. What the nature of this acid is, Jdonot know. Dr. Eli Ives, of this city, supposes it to be the phosphoric ; from its strong resemblance to that in taste. No chem: ical analysis of it has been made, within my knowledge. Phosphoric acid has been discovered in the gastric juice of the sheep, the calf, and the bullock, and from these circumstances it is not impossible, that the conjecture is right. , The effects which the acidity in question produces, are, many of those which have been already mentioned, as symptoms of Chronic Debility of the Stomach. 1 say that these are produced by acidity, because I have often experienced many of them in my own case, and seen them in other cases, taking place immediately on the com- mencement of a paroxysm of acidity, and subsiding, and | Sct ae of the Stomach. 255 ceasing, as that paroxysm abated, and went out. These are a gnawing sensation in the stomach, a sensation of emptiness, severe hunger shortly after eating, irregular appetite, unusual craving of food, cholic, spasms of the intestines, tetanus, costiveness, diarrhea, acid eructations, vertigo, headache, decay of teeth, tremor of the hands, pains in the legs, cutaneous eruptions, cough, catarrh, pulmonary consumptions, and low spirits, and all the other morbid affections of the mind. All symptoms are great- ly aggravated by an acid state of the stomach. All the above morbid eflects in dyspeptic persons are occasioned by acidity exclusively, except cholic, spasms of the in- testines, tetanus, costiveness, diarrhea, vertigo, head- ache, cutaneous cruptions, cough, catarrh, and pulmona- ry consumptions. I know not that cholic in adults is usu- ally attributed to acidity, but have met with several marked cases of it. ‘The only case of tetanus occasion- ed by it which I have seen, or heard of, is the following. Mrs. —, the lady before mentioned, who was so remark- ably troubled with acidity in the stomach, being extreme- ly afflicted with her old complaint, and her mind being uritable and fickle, was carried out one morning in the month of March, some years ago, about four miles from home, to spend the day at the house of a friend. Some hours before evening she became anxious about her chil- dren, and in spite of all remonstrances, she refused to wait for her carriage, and returned on foot. The weath- er was raw and damp, and she was dressed with the clothes of summer. Early in the evening she complain- ed of being unwell, but as she was frequently indispos- ed, no particular attention was paid to her, till about mid- night, when I was sent for. Her husband was absent, and there was no member of the family present who was qualified to direct, or to judge discreetly about her case. Some neighbours had been called in, and from them I learned what has been already related, and became satis- fied that her complaints were owing to excessive disor- der of the stomach, induced by unusual fatigue and chil- liness. She was affected with tetanus to a very severe degree, so that her head, neck, limbs, and every part of her body were perfectly rigid. A case apparently more 956 On Chronic Detility threatening, I believe to be rarely met with. Though her eyes were open, she appeared wholly insensible, and her pulse was threadlike, fluttering, and apparently on the point of retiring finally. 1 had not long to deliberate. She had lost several teeth. I atte smpted to pour some- thing through the passage down her throat, but the mus- cles of the fauces and cheeks, and the tongue, partook of the disease to such a degree, that ever ye atte mpt was fruit- less. The hquid immediately ran out at the sides of her mouth, and not a drop was swallowed. It occurred to me that I might possibly attain my object, by pourmg a drop or tivo of volatile spirits of ammonia into one of her nostrils. Having a small quantity of it near at hand, which was highly pungent, i went for it, and after I re- turned, in attempting to accomplish my object, some of the bystanders being curious to see what I was about, hit my elbow. In consequence of this, about a teaspoontul was forced into her nose, and as her head was at this time bent greatly backward by spasm, it all reached her throat. In a moment her whole body became relaxed; she was seized with the most violent coughing which I ever wit- nessed ; but soon recovered so far as to speak, and ap- peared to be greatly distressed. The coughing was so extremely severe, and continued so long without abate- ment, and the appearances of strangulation were so threat- ening, that the bystanders were terrified, and I was ata loss tor a few minutes,concerning the consequences. In a little time, however, she became so far composed, that she was able to swallow sixty drops of laudanum. In ten minutes from this time, her tetanus returned with as much violence as before. I resorted to the same meas- ures to restore her, as in the former instance, except that a few drops only of the spirits of ammonia were adminis- tered. This had the desired. effect, without producing a very distressing cough. As that subsided, I gave her sixty drops of landanum the second time. As" often as she appeared relapsing into her former state, the volatile alkali was used, and before two o’clock in the morning, I had given her three hundred drops of laudanum. As she then appeared in a great measure composed, Idesist- ed. The ensuing day‘she was pretty well. Acidity m of the Stomach. 257 the stomach alone, would not, I suppose, have produ- ced so great an effect, without the aid of other causes. The other causes, surely, would not have produced them, without the acidity. ‘Vhe acidity was the causa sine qua non. If. Winp tn tHe Sromacu anv INTESTINES.— This evil is produced by a fermentation of the alimenta- ry matter. In healthy stomachs sucha fermentation usu- ally exists, in a very small degree only ; but on some occasions from over-eating, or froma very free use of acid fruits, or from fatigue, or from such an exposure to cold and wet as to induce torpor im the extremities, or over the surface of the body generally, aided by the other causes, it is excited in a considerable degree even in them, for a short time ; but in such instances the excess of acid which ever accompanies it, usually occasions a free diarrhea, and the patient in a few days enjoys-his customary state of health. In dyspeptics, on the contra- ry, the fermentation is occasioned by a very slow and im- perfect digestion, which is owing to the morbid state of the gastric liquor, and tothe debility of the muscular coat of the stomach. This debility of the muscular coat will occasion on the one hand, a relaxation of the plaits or folds about the pylorus; and thus a protrusion of some parts of the alimentary matter into the intestines will take place, before it has undergone any considerable change; and on the other hand, the muscular contractions will be so fee- ble as not to force ali the alimentary matter through, in due time. The heat and morbid juices of the stomach, and the liquids which were taken in with the food, will occa- sion it in many instances, to undergo a very rapid fer-_ mentation. The quantity of wind extricated will'some- times be enormously great. I knew a person, who, from eating moderately of various kinds ot food which to healthy people are always mild and inoffensive, was on some occasions afflicted with this evil to such a degree, that eructations of wind were induced, which continued tor two hours, with scarce a moment’s intermission. Tur morerp Errects which wind produces, are, dis- tension and spasms in the intestines, harboryemi, cholic, FE 258 On Chronic Debisty eructations, vertigo, wandering pains, palpitations of the heart, yawnings, sighings, regular sleep, drowsiness, strange and frequent dreams, whims, low spirits, and many indescribable sensations, as some personstermthem. It also aggravates most of the other symptoms of the prima- ry disease. ‘That these are the genuine effects of wind in the alimentary canal, is evident from the fact, that when it is expelled by carminatives, they frequently cease. They come on as the wind is produced, and disappear as that disappears. Woemen-are much more afflicted with this evil than men. The causes of this fact are, a too seden- tary life ; thin dress in cold weather, in consequence of which the body becomes chilled; thin shoes, by which the feet often become very cold and. wet ; and lastly, eat- ing too freely many improper sorts of food. UT. Rancipiryvin rHeSromacu. Thiscomplaint is occasioned by a too free use of oily food, such as gravy, melted butter, fat meats, particularly such as are smoak- ed, rich pastry, and by old and dried beans and peas.— That the oily food which I have specified 1 is prone to be- come rancid in the debilitated stomach is evident from the following considerations. Butter imperfectly freed from the buttermilk becomes, in warm weather, from no other causes than exposure to heat and the surrounding air, speedily rancid. How much more ought it to be ex- pected, that such an admixture of oils with fermented and unfermented’acids, with pastry imperfectly baked, with hot drinks, distilled spirits, and all that mass of vegetable and animal matter, which make up the diet of many per- sons, should, when aided | by the heat of the sto: mach, and the Bee ey going on there, produce this effect ! An- imal oils are probably used to a greater extent, as food, in this country, than in most others. In travelling sev- eral thousand miles, in the states of New-England, New- York, New-Jersey, and Pennsylvania, | have every where met with great excesses of this sort.. As the people of the United States are, to a great extent, from the manner in which it has been s settled, a and from their enterprizing character, accustomed to travel, it may be fairly conelu- ded, that such food is served up at the inns, as is gene- rally agreeable. Here we often find fat meats, bi ought of the Stomach. 259 on to the table, swimming in gravy. or melted butter; a very general use of toasted bread, soaked and resoaked im the latter article. In many parts of the country west- ward and southward of New-England, the meats of all sorts are, to a great extent, fried im fat ; and in the north- ern parts of New-England far more gravy, and melted butter, and fat meats are used than are healthful, except for very robust and hard labouring people. This: state of the stomach, connected with Chrenic Debility of that viscus, is the most distressing that I have ever seen. All the evils resulting from acidity, are here to be looked for, in their worst forms. Obstinate habitual headaches are frequently, and wholly removed, merely by the dis- re Hs eravies and fat meats. . Costiveness. This is a very common, and sar Sine aot efiect, of the disease under considera- tion. It is usually oreatly ageravatad by acidity, and in its turn not a little increases that complaint. It is indu- ced in part also, by weak muscular action of the stomach and intestines, and by deficiency in the quantity and qual- ity of the bile. It often exists for a great length of time, and to a very distressing degree. No person can con- tinue to feel well, who is habitually costive. V. Diarruea. This complaint, m dyspeptit per- sons, 1s of two kinds, that which consists of short parox- ysms, succeeded by long intervals of costiveness; and that which is habitual, continuing many months, and sometimes years. ‘The first is owing to an extremely ir- ritable state of the stomach and intestines, thrown into violent and irregular excitement, by acid fruits, and pas- try, and various other indigestible species of food: the second to an excessive torpidity of. the same viscera, in consequence of which the food passes through the intes- tines, nearlyan the same state, in which it was received into the stomach. This com plaint is often extremely debilitating, and troublesome.* VI. Pain ann WEAKNESS OF THE KXvEs. These are sometimes extremely troublesome, and not uneom- mon effects of the same disease. When they are produ- eed by this cause it may be usually known, from the time \ * See Note D. 260 On Chronic Debility and manner of their commencement, from their increase or abatement, as the acid, wind and costiveness are jes- sened, or increased. | ‘These complaints, when they are not at first brought on by debility of the stomach, but have existed previously to that disease, are greatly ag- gravated by it; and it is in many instances very difficult, perhaps impossible, to cure them, till a material change is produced in the state of the stomach. | Similar remarks might with propriety be made, respecting the long con- tinued and periodical headaches of dyspeptic persons. VII. Catarru. This complaint has had, in almost all cases to which I have been particularly attentive, a much more intimate connection with the state of the stomach, than is generally supposed; and is often ex- tremely troublesome. It sometimes exists to such a de- gree, that no small dificulty is experienced in reading aloud, in singing, and even in conversing, and it excites in some instances a hacking cough, as it is colloquially and not unaptly termed, which is almost incessant. Ca- tarrh is often greatly aggravated, in persons having de- bilitated stomachs, by living near the sea shore, and by breathing a mixture of sea ‘and land air ; yet that ought not to be considered as its chief cause. Though such persons usually experience great relief in this complaint, by a voyage to sea, or by residing at a distance of one hundred miles or more from the shore, where the air is neither so variable nor so stimulating to the lungs; and though, on approaching the shore, the complaint returns with increased strength; yet, when their digestion is vig- orous, they perhaps as often experience little or no im convenience from such a residence. In the year 1800 I began to be afilicted with sie com- plaint, to a very uncomfortable degree. Aboutthesame _ time my stomach had become the seat of distressing de- bility. The catarrh lasted without material abatement, three years and a half. I then went to reside at Catskill. In a little time after, it almost wholly left me. Taitribu- ted the relief to the free use of snuff. After some months had elapsed, I returned to New-Haven on a visit, and during four days which I spent me, experienced more of the complaint, than I had dene during the preceding of the Stomach. 261 two months. iter some time I ceased from taking snuff; the catarrh did not return, but in several instances on my visiting the shore [ had short and severe parox- ysms of it, which ceased immediately on my going back. Since my return finally to this place in the year 1805, to the : present time, I have suffered but little from this source except in moist, cloudy weather,and during a par- oxysm of acidity in the ‘stomach, when the catarrh is nearly as severe as ever. Ifiat sucha time, [ride in an easy chaise, directly along the sea shore, for two or three hours, with the wind blowing from the ocean on to the land, it induces sucha degree “of hor rseness, that I can- not speak a loud word. Brisk exercise, or a better at- mosphere, will soon give relief. When in good health, i exper ience these evils, under similar circumstances, only in a small degree. VIII. Coven, hae OF. Vores, &eor Phere «is 7a cough attending this disease, aside from catarrh, and ve- ry properly termed by people in general, stomach cough ; often rendered considerably troublesome by the preva- lence of acidity, with no expectoration, or a very small and difficult-one: The same cause also, sometimes oc- casions a partial or total loss of voice. Hundreds of times J have known the voice, so far weakened by a par- oxysm of acidity in the stomach, as to render it inconven- ient and painful, for one or more days at a time, to read loud half an hour. And |] have met with one or two ca- ses, where persons were unable to speak out of a whis- per, for a long period of time, which I attributed to sym- pathy with a debilitated stomach, ‘and which I could ac- count for, in no other manner. IX. Consumption. This disease, when occasioned by the cause now alledged, is chiefly confined to delicate. young ladies, between fourteen and twenty-one years of age. ‘There is usually in such cases, an hereditary de- bility. ‘To this, great accessions are made, by the most delicate and ridiculous nursing in childhood; by the avoidance of exercise afterwards; by a diet of slops; by confinement at home ; by fashionable dress, cramping and compressing some parts of the body, and leaving others naked; and a universal round of ab- 262 — * On Chronic Debihty surd management. Such a course of life will assuredly induce universal debility, a sickly appetite, and extreme weakness of the stomach and intestines. Consequent up- on this, comes on daily vomiting after every meal ; ase- ries of morbid sympathies take place between the stom- ach and uterus; and unless vigorous measures are now taken, a quick consumption will, in many instances, speed- ily ensue. The colourless, half for med, inanimate being will, like a tender plant reared ina hot-house, at the sting of the first imsect, wither and dic. X. Pain in tur LumBar Recion.. Of this [have known but one instance. The pain was in the left lum- bar region, attended with heat, not constant, but always present and troublesome when the stomach was conside- rably acid, and the heat always produced by the same cause. ‘This pain was not absolutely confined to the same place, but was sometimes in the anterior, some- times in the posterior, sometimes in the superior, and at other times in the inferior, but generally about the cen- tral parts of the lumbar region. It was sometimes at- tended with soreness or tenderness of the integuments. It is now about two years since it began. It increased for a time, and is now gradually diminishing, without any other apparent cause, than that the digestion of the patient isimproving. A distinguished literary gentleman who was present when this was read to the Academy, has since informed me, that he was some years ago af- flicted with severe Chronic Debility of the Stomach, for about two years, when his health began to improve, and continued mending till he entirely recovered ; that dur- ing the prevalence of this disease, he had a complaint in the left lumbar region, almost exactly similar to the fore- going, and that he now recollected that it came on and went off, with the disease in his stomach, though it had never before occurred to him, that 1t was owing to that cause. XI. An Irrecurar Purst, &c. Liban nevenienniten. a good pulse, in a person severely afflicted with the dis- ease under consideration. It is usually more frequent, feebler, and smaller than im heaith. It is often irregu- lar both as to force and time, sometimes beating three or of the Stomach. 263 four strokes with regularity, then a feebler and imper- fect stroke ; and sometimes after several regular pulsa- tions, two or three hurried ones; sometimes intermitting - once in six, eight, or ten pulsations; but with no regu- larity in any of these respects. I have often observed all these irregularities to be considerably increased, in one person, whenever acidity abounded in his stomach. XH. Liasinitry To gE AFFECTED BY CHANGES IN THE Wearuer. A person uniformly enjoying high health, can hardly form an idea of what is intended, un- der this head. He might almost as well conceive of the objects of a sixth sense. A gentleman who had been troubled with severe debility of the stomach, about a year and a half, went in the month of October, to reside in a large city, during the remainder of the autumn, and the ensuing winter. In consequence of various causes, his health rapidly improved. In the latter part of No- vember, during several days of. warm, foggy, relaxing weather, being engaged in close study, he became dull and spiritless, and his stomach was full of acidity. Find- ing himself too much indisposed to pursue his usual em- ployments, he walked out one evening, very slowly, with his eyes fixed upon the ground, and his mind totally in- attentive to the surrounding objects. After walking lit- tle more than a hundred rods, all his unpleasant feelings, which had been of three or four days continuance, were greatly mitigated, and soon totally ceased. On looking about for the cause, he found what he had not before ob- served, that the wind had changed to the north-west, and that the fog and clouds were dissipating, and the sky be- coming clear. The same person, during the latter part of December ensuing, was confined to his room, by ill health, about ten days. During five or six of the last days, the weath- er was extremely warm, damp, and relaxing, and the sky continually cloudy. This brought on a great degree of debility and languor. One evening at the close of this period, about nine o’clock, he felt surprizingly better, and instead of going to bed, as his ill feelings had prompt- ed him to do, he sat up studying, till near midnight. He was utterly unable to account for his change of feelings, 264 On Chronic Debility till, on withdrawing the window curtain, and opening his window, he found the wind had shifted to the north-west, and the sky had become clear. There had been no oth- — er apparent cause in either case, to produce the effects specified. I have often experienced similar changes in my own feelings, from the same cause. Whenever the weather is cloudy, warm, and damp, I experience some deeree of general debility. This is sometimes inconsiderable, at other times severe. In the latter case, my joints become relaxed ; tremor affects my hands; the whole muscular, and nervous systems lose their customary tone; anda great excess of acidity takes place in the stomach. This is sometimes accompanied with wind, and various morbid, sympathies, and sometimes not; and the ill feelings are occasionally so severe, as to unfit me for reading, and for any sedentary employment. They all also usually in- crease, till the weather changes. A change of wind to the north-west, will in most instances, dissipate the evil inafew hours. The languor and debility, the acidity of the stomach, the headache, the tremor of the hands, the hot flushes, the yawnings, the general irritability of body, and irresolution of mind which it occasions, speedily dis- appear. ‘The weather most likely to produce these evils is that, which is so warm as to occasion a continued sweat from very gentle exercise, and so damp as to prevent the sweat from evaporating. A south-east wind, more fre- quently than any other, produces this kind of weather. After it, east, south, and north-east winds. A north-east wind is usually, cool and chilly, and far less unpleasant. than a south east. I uniformly feel better after it begins torain, than before. ‘This kind of weather is very apt to occasion teethache, in dyspeptics. How can the rise and disappearance of acid in the stomach, from this cause, be accounted for, unles we admit that it is a secretion ? All. Hazitvat DiscouracemMentT. This is an almost universal consequence of Chronic Debility of the Stomach. I do not intend, that persons labouring under that disease, are at all times the subjects of such discour- agement ; but that almost all persons affected with it, are often, for considerable periods, ina greater or less degree, of the Stomach. 265 thus discouraged. This most unpleasant state of mind is greatly increased, and perhaps wholly caused, by acidi- ty inthe stomach. I have often observed persons of this stamp, regularly elated and depressed, as the paroxysms of acidity arose and disappeared, and have known but a very small number of persons, subject to severe and long continued attacks of that disease, who were of a resolute, decisive character. It is very difficult also, if not im- possible, for a person who is called to encounter so many sufferings, as dyspeptic persons often are, to be habitual- ly cheerful. Gravity, and some degree of sorrowfulness, seem to be the natural consequences of the disease. The stomach is a viscus exquisitely sensible, and has a singu- larly intimate connexion with other parts of the body. Of course, when its functions are deranged, many pecul- iar morbid sympathies are to be expected. For these, most persons are utterly unable to account. The state of the feelings is so strange, and so different from that which is experienced in good health ; the actual distress is often so severe ; so much indisposition is frequently brought on by slight causes, or by causes unobserved, and unthought of, by the subject of them; the complaints _also, are of such long continuance, and so little relief is afforded, by the remedies customarily made use of ; the sufferings of the patient are so universally treated with ridicule, or so often declared by others to be imaginary, while he knows them to be serious realities ; the loss of strength and flesh, and the apparently hopeless situation in which he finds himself, are circumstances sufficiently disagreeable and alarming, to break down for a time, at least, the resolution of most men. In some instances, persons of high health, and sanguine constitutions, such as are very impatient of the complaints of dyspeptics, be- come from some of the causes beforementioned, them- selves the subjects of this disease ; and then, all that har- dihood of mind, that decisive, resolute character, on which they prided themselves so much, and which they were fond of attributing to superiority of understanding, van- ishes at once. Such persons, it appears to me, more than any others, are apt in this case to be extremely de- 266 On Chronic ‘dina pressed in spirits, and difficult to cure. ~ Such persons, more than any others, } believe, become finally deranged: m mind, or the subjects of settled melancholy. There are other persons, of a widely different charac- ter, who sometimes become dyspeptic, viz. such as are constitutionally phlegmatic, or made so by close and long continued attention to some one kind of business, and that of a nature which requires but little exercise of body, and furnishes little variety, relaxation, or amusement to the mind; who have never accustomed themselves to reading, or improving conversation, or to reflections’on subjects which enliven the imagination, or improve the understanding. The minds.and the bodies of such per- sons, are in a sense, usually in a state of stagnation.— When a person of this cast becomes the subject of se- vere Chronic Debility of the Stomach, the discourage- ment is so great, the torpor of the mind so entire, and. the influence of the mind upon the body so commanding, that the chance of recovery issmall. ‘The patient dies as a candle goes out, because there is no more aliment to support the flame. The mind, it is hardly necessary to observe, has great influence in prolonging er shortening life. Such a person, cannot without much difficulty, be roused from his lethar ey, he cannot be persuaded to make efforts for his own preservation, or if he makes any, he is — utterly unwilling to persevere. He cannot find amuse- ment in new employments, or if he can, he is wholly un- fitted by his nature, or his habits, to make the experiment. Firm fibres, and strong contractions of the muscles from the exercise of the will, seem to be almost indis- pensably necessary to great decision; yet ] have known — avery small number of men of very relaxed fibres, who possessed unusual energy of character. Health, andsome- times even life itself, in such persons, may be consider- ed.as a forced state, and as kept in being by the activity of the mind. Were such minds permitted to inhabit bod- ies of a different cast, bodies‘which, instead of continu- ally retarding the mental eners ey, uniformly co-operated with it, a very commanding character would doubtless be the result. “A person suffering from habitual debility of the Stomach. 267 ef the stomach, will, of course, have relaxed fibres throughout, and: feel muscular contractions ; and can- not possibly make the same advances in science, or ac- quire as great a mass of information, as one who does not labour under these evils, and yet possesses no more dis- crimination, or-celerity of cogrect thought. The differ- nce between the two men in these respects, after the lapse of twenty years, will be great, if both have made the most of their advantages. XIV. Reverre. ‘This state of mind, all persons dais bouring under this disease will, to. a greater or less de- gree, slide into. Few causes so much increase acidity inthe stomach, with its attendant consequences, as sys- tematic thought. For ten years past, during most of the hot weather, one hour’s attentive reading would, almost at any time, induce such am excess of acidityin my own stomach, with such an uneasy, gnawing sensation in that viscus, from the action of the acid upon the. fibres, to- gether with severe headache, and pain.in the eyes, as to compel me to desist. Many hundred times has the ef- fort been repeated, and almost as often relinquished. An hour is usually, and. half an hour very often, the utmost extent of time to which the experiment can be pushed, during a day. The first sensation is considerable heat in the stomach, then the gnawing sensation above descri- bed, then flushes of heat, succeeded by darting pains in the head, fixed pain in the fore part of the head, pains in the balls of the eyes, thentremor of the hands, and uni- versal debility. “This, continues through the day, and sometimes through two days, in very hot weather, unless thrown off by brisk exercise. But in cold and. dry weather, I find myself often able to read. two or three hours in a day; without much inconvenience, That such sufferings should discourage study, or the renewal of the cause of them, and draw.the mind insensibly, and almost irresistibly, into a state of reverie, is not to be wondered at. Some persons of this stamp spend a great part. of their waking thoughts, when they are not» engaged in some active business, in humming tunes, or repeating a few lines of poetry... Several hours.in.a day, are-not,un- 268 On Chronic Debility frequently passed in this manner. ‘Though variety is 50 - congenial to the feelings of man, yet here a dull uniform- ity, resembling a continued indistinct sound, is sought after, and the mind is satisfied, if it can escape the labour of systematic thought, to waste its hours on trifles. Se- vere suffering first leads to it, and in part continues it, and habit renders it agreeable. | There are other complaints, which, if they are not caus- ed by Chronic Debility of the Stomach, or acidity of that — viscus, are yet so intimately connected with the latter, in some instances, as to require the mitigation or removal of © that, before any relief can be given to the principal dis- — order. Thus I have known one case of Chronic Rheu- | matism, and another of Gout in the feet, which did not | yield to the ordinary treatment at all. T hey were both — attended with excessive acidity of the stomach. This — led to a suspicion, that they were so far connected with © acidity, that they could not readily be relieved, but by re- | moving that complaint. Vigorous and successful meas- | ures being taken for this purpose, the patients began al- most immediately to mend. | After having mentioned the various evils, arising from the disease which has been the subject of the foregoing | remarks, it will be proper to add, that one advantage usu- ' ally results to those who are the subjects of it, viz. that they are less liable to attacks of inflammatory diseases. | Wecomein the last place to consider the TREATMENT. | The prospect of a radical cure depends on a variety of | circumstances, such as the age and habit of the patient, | the causes of the disease, the length of time which: has elapsed since its commencement, and the habitual séver- ity of the symptoms. A radical cure 1s; in many instan-_ ces, rather to’be hoped, than expected. Onthis account, _ the disease ought not to be styled} as it often is, the Op- probrium Medicorum. Many other diseases, originated © | by causes of no greater efficacy, are often equally obsti- | nate. How many persons have brought on incurable weakness of the eyes, by an imprudent use of them, for a little time? How often has incurable madness been induced by severe study, or the indulgence of evil pas-_ sions? Were a fifty-six pound weight appended to each of the Stomach. 269 foot, of a person sitting on a stool, he might without se- rious inconvenience, raise them from the floor for a few moments, but were he obliged to keep them thus eleva- ted, beyond a given time, the muscles which were forced into this unnatural and violent exertion, would, become debilitated to such a degree, that they would never again recover their strength; so if the causes which debilitate the stomach operate a long time, or with great sever- ity, the fibres will not in some instances, ever recover their tone. Those cases of the disease least likely to be radically cured, are found in persons in whom it is brought on in early life, and to a severe degree, and who possess an ori- ginally delicate and feeble habit, who are always strong- ly inclined to general debility ; or in other words, per- sons in whom there is an original deficiency of vital en- ergy. When Chronic Dibility of the Stomach occurs in ear- ly life, from the attack of some acute disease, or perhaps from almost any cause, where the constitution is origin- ally good, other things being equal, there isa fairer pros- pect of a radical cure, than in middle life, or old age. Those on whom it has been induced by the abundant use of opium, or spiritous liquors, are less likely to re- cover, than many others, because after these habits have been long persisted in, it is dificult to persuade to a re- linquishment of them; and because the system having been long accustomed to an unnatural and powerful stimulus, suffers great debility, and a sudden and alarm- ing loss of vital energy, by the omission of it. When it has been brought on by the excessive use of tobacco, though in many instances it is severe, and often. continues a corsiderable time, yet so far as I have ob- served, it may more readily be cured, than im any of the cases hitherto mentioned. A speedy and total relinquish- ment of this habit, even after it has been continued for several years, I have not known to be injurious, but in various instances highly useful. Where it has been induced by a too sedentary life, or by certain mechanical employments, merely, and with- 270 On Chronic Debility out the co-operation of other causes, nothing more is usu- ally requisite, except some immediate attention to the most troublesome symptoms, than a change to an active, healthy employment, provided early efforts: are made of this nature. Where it has been induced by severe study, if the pa- tient is possessed of a constitution originally vigorous, and the study is for atime omitted, the cure is usually not very dificult. But the misfortune is, in this country at least, that of the young men originally destined to re- ceive a liberal education, no small proportion are consti- tutionally feeble, and this is the very reason why they become students. It appears to be an opinion, preva- lent to a great extent, among parents, that their feeble sons, if nothing else can be made of them, may be con- verted into choles and thus fitted to ares into one of the learned professions. Noideacan be more erroneous. It requires far more strength of body to study effectually and thoroughly, than to labour on a farm, and not asmall number of these very students, after drageing out seve- ral years of pain, disease, and discouragement, are com- pelled to enter upon some very different and more active business. With respect to the length of time which has elapsed since the commencement of the disease, it can be hardly necessary to observe, that the longer it continues, the prospect of a cure usually becomes less With respect to the severity of the symptoms, it may be observed, that if the acidity and wind in the stomach are habitually severe, the prospeet of a radical cure will be diminished, in some measure, in proportion. If the mind is greatly affected, and despondency, irresolution, and discouragement have taken possession of it, the pros- pect of recovery will be smaller, than with those persons, who are usually cheerful, and possessed of more mental energy. In attempting a cure, we must, - shoes the things which have been mentioned constantly inview, Ist. Avoid all the exciting causes. It must be evident to every one, that so long as s these causes continue to operate, the disease will continue to Se ene of the Stomach. 7k stow worse; yet nothing is commonly more difficult, than to persuade patients of the importance of attending to this direction. Against some of the causes they will without much reluctance guard, but to others, they will expose themselves with no small obstinacy. Study is usually so irksome, that most cease to pursue it with eagerness. A sedentary life is not unfrequently avoided, and great active efforts entered upon, but not a small number become so far discouraged, as to sit still more, and exercise less. "Those, who habitually use opium, and ardent spirits’ to-excess, very rarely. reform. To- bacco chéwers rélinguish the use of this nauseous plant, with less reluctance!” /'I'he indulgence of evil passions, instead of being repressed, as it ought sedulously to be, is often greatly encouraged, and thus brings with it a double present punishment. I cannot but think this cause to’ be more operative, than is generally supposed. II. We are to mitigate or remove such symptoms as are especially troublesome. In cases where a radical cure 1s not speedily or at all expected, much may often be done, by faithful and persevering efforts to palliate the most painful symptoms. | The first and most troublesome symptom, and the one always demanding our attention, as being the cause of many of the rest, is acidity im the stomach and intestines. In endeavouring to remove or mitigate this evil, the ob- jects to be kept in view are, twofold, viz. ‘To remove the various causes which aggravate or induce it; and to rid the stomach of the acid, when it abounds to such a degree as to be troublesome. | | 1. The causes which induce a paroxysm of acidity, or increase the tendency in the debilitated stomach to gen- erate it, are of two kinds, viz. primary and sympathetic. ‘The primary are those, which operate immediately upon the stomach ; of these, it will be proper to treat first. Under this head, every thing relative to diet will be in- cluded. It will be proper to begin with that species of diet, which is most likely to produce acidity , and to clase with that which is least apt to have this effect; or which, in other words, is most suitable for dyspeptic persons. 972 On Chronic Debilty Though acidity has, I fiatter myself, been shewn to be, in many instances, a morbid secretion, yet without great attention to dict, this complaint will frequently be great- ly aggravated. ‘The alimentary matter will readily, un- dergoa fermentation. For whenever the stomach is de- bilitated to such a degree, as to secrete an acid fluid, the process of digestion will be so slow and imperfect, as to admit of a fermentation of many sorts of food, usually friendly to persons in good health ; and perhaps also, the secreting vessels may have their tendency to morbid ac- tion increased, by every thing offensive to the stomach. Where the acid is occasioned wholly by fermentation, no one will contend, that very careful attention to diet is un- necessary. The kind of food in general use in our country, which is most apt to ferment in the stomach and intestines of dyspeptic persons, and to occasion great quantities of acidity and wind in those viscera, is the acid summer fruits. Several of these fruits most dyspeptic persons can at times, eat sparingly, without much mconvenience.— Many such persons can, however, eat them but rarely, and then only in smail quantities. Some persons are un- able to eat them for years, and afterwards experience lit- tle inconvenience from a moderate use of them. ‘The food which is at one period of life healthful, and much covet- ed, is, in some instances, neither agreeable, nor useful, to the same person at different periods, though his health may be good at both periods. ‘This is much oftener true . when the health is impaired. All the acid summer fruits are apt to ferment in the debilitated stomach, and to generate much wind and acidity. Of those which grow in this country, and are least apt to occasion these evils, the St. Michael’s pear, perhaps, stands at the head. Next tothis may be placed several other species of pears, having a very soluble pulp, and a sweet, delicious juice, with the names of which I am unacquainted. Next to these are a few kinds of peaches, including those only, which are very sweet, so- luble-and juicy. ‘Tothese, succeed a few sorts of apples, bearing the same general character. The purple rasp- berry takes the next place. Other kinds of raspberries of the Stomach. 278 succeed. Gooseberries, strawberries, currants, whortle- berries, peaches of a middling or inferior quality, apples ofthe same character, cherries, plumbs, blackberries, and native grapes, being very apt to ferment in the de- bilitated stomach, should be used sparingly, if at all; and none of them, nor any of the other fruits can be safely in- dulged in, when the debility of the stomach is severe.— Every judicious person, however, can best determine for himself, on making a few trials, which are easiest of di- gestion, and whether his digestion is sufficiently vigo- rous, to render any of them safe. It ought to be added, that difierent persons do not, in all instances, find the same frujts easiest of digestion. It ought further to be observ- ed, that in some instances, certain vegetable acids great- ly relieve acidity. ‘Thus I have known finely flavoured and pungent hottied cider, have this effect. A distinguished medical gentleman has informed me, since writing the above, that, having somewhere seen a free use of ripe oranges strongly recommended for the relief of this complaint, he was induced in one case where all the usual remedies had failed, to give them a trial, and that his patient, a delicate lady, experienced great relief from this source. he fruit was not of the customary quality, picked green and ripened by decay, but uncommonly sweet and finely flavored. Did the vegetable acid so stimulate the secreting vessels as to excite a more healthy action? It surely could not have produced this eifect by retarding, or preventing the fermentation of the ali- mentary mass. | Many kinds of apples and pears are rendered much more digestible, by baking or roasting. Fruits preserv- ed in sugar, are less easy of digestion, than in the natural state. Of preserved fruits, several kinds of pears which may be kept through the winter, in their natural state, and prepared for use as they are wanted, and what is pe- cullarly important, may be made highly palatable with a small quantity of sugar, are perhaps the safest. Of the garden vegetables, consisting of pulse, sallads, pot herbs, and roots, which are generally cultivated in this country, asparagus is, so far as my knowledge ex- 274, On Chraiite Debility tends, decidedly the best. his observation would doubt- less be thought a very strange one, by many of the inhab- itants of the city of New- Ve ork, and of other places. The reason is this. Ail or almost all the asparagus sold in the markets of that, and several other towns, is cut in such a manner astoruinit. ‘That part only, or chiefly, is cut, which is below the surface of the ground, and this is always tough and bitter. That part only, which is above the surface, is fit to be eaten. ‘This, when the weather is not very cool, and the growth of the plant therefore very slow, is always tender, if the root is of suf- ficient age. It should be cut just at the surface, when the plant is six inches high. It is surprising that so. healthy, palatable, and productive a vegetable, should be so little cultivated, throughout our country, ‘especially when we consider that it comes at a time when few oth- er vegetables can be had. Summer beets and turnips, and summer and winter squashes, are usually casy of digestion. Of the last ve- eetable, the varictics being very numerous, and the qual- ities very different, pains should be taken to procure the best. Very good potatoes are usually sufficiently digest- ible, while those of a contrary character, often turn sour. The magic onion having the least of the peculiar odour, of that class of vegetables, and being very tender, often | gives no trouble, when it is eaten without butter, or any other dressing, except salt and pepper. It is far superi- or to any other species of onion, with which I am ac- quainted; and has not Beer cultivated, I believe, till -ve- ry lately, in any part of New-England, east of New-Ha- ven, or at least to a very small extent only. ‘Tender bean ey or what are usually termed stringed beans, are rémarkably easy of digestion, and rarely give trouble to dyspeptics, except in severe cases. Shelled beans and peas are much less safe, and usually are made far more difficult of digestion ‘than is necessary, by being eaten when old and tough, and with much melted but- ter. Maize boiled, or roa ae when it is young, tender, and succulent, is usually ot only highly palatable, but safe and pleasant to hee tomach; but when old and -tough, it becomes highly, if not absolutely indigestible. of the Stomach. 275 ‘Fhroughout the pout it isto a very great. extent, eaten when old and tough, and hence has arisen the com- mon opinion, that it induces at times, diarrheas and dys- enteries. By planting it at ten or twelve different peri- ods, it may be had throughout the season, from the lat- ter part of July, till the wees of October, and always tender, nourishing, and safe, for most persons. ‘There is usually but one : planting, as the use of it in this man- ner, is but a secondary object with people in general, and as but a small number of persons in this country pay that attention to gardening, which a regard to health, economy, innocent gratifications and pleasures so loudly demand. ‘There isa vast difference between having at all times, an abundant supply of fine vegetables, and be- ‘ing confined to a few, and those poor, tough, and unpal- atable. At boarding houses in our large towns, I rare- ly see any vegetables except potatoes, ‘which are tolera- ble, and these are Alien water soaked. I have hence ceased to wonder, that so many healthy persons are pre- judiced against the free use of vegetables, and content fhe ec lyee to live on animal Bed? to so creat a degree. From one planting of maize, a fortnight i iS perhaps, the utmost limit, to which the use of it may be extended, in a common season, even where you have the advant tage of taking it from a large field, and where of course, it will not be all equally advanced. If eaten after this time, the gastric liquor makes no impression on it, and it pas- ses the intestines absolutely unaltered. ‘Tender parsnips are usually suflicientiy digestibic to be eaten with safety. Carrots are less so.* 5 Spinage, beet tops, and other greens, though often highly useful to persons in health, occasion too much flatulence, to be ventured on, by persons having weak stomachs. Boiled cabbage ought to be absolutely avoid. ed, no vegetable within my knowledge, being so trouble- some, in this respect. Lettuce, raw cabbage, celery, cu- cumbers, radishes, and niclons, are all unsafe, and al- most always prove troublesome to debilitated stomachs. To all this it is proper to add, that persons labouring under the disease in question, cannot in many instances, * See Note E. 276 On Chronic Debihty with safety eat scarcely any of the foregoing vegetables, at certain times, and that some persons cannot for con- siderable periods; but this is only when the disease is particularly severe. : Nuts of every kind, and mushrooms, shouid be whol- ly avoided. Of farinaceous food, good wheat bread is decidedly the best, for all persons having debilitated stomachs.— The flour should be of the best quality, and the bread well fermented, and thoroughly baked ; and then it fur- nishes an article of diet, usually as safe, as it is palata- ble. But if all foreign substances are not separated from the wheat before it is ground, or if the bread is not well fermented, or if it is imperfectly baked, or toosmuch fer- mented, it will occasion acidity, or considerably aggra- vate it. Ifthe bread is in a slight degree sour, whether from too long a fermentation, or from bemg made of sour flour, it will occasion distressing acidity. I have © repeatedly known well fermented, and thoroughly baked bread, which was made out of sour flour, occasion exces- » sive acidity, and severe costiveness, in a person previ- — ously enjoying very tolerable health, or in other words, — having a pretty regular digestion, and open bowels ; though possessing a stomach alway inclined to the pro- — duction of acidity. In such cases the acid will not of | course, subside on the cause being removed, but will in © same instances, continue in the stomach, a considerable — period; a little leaven leavening daily the whole alimenta- _ ry mass, till relief is afforded, by an emetic, cathartic, or spontaneous diarrhea, Hot bread will almost uniformly — occasion, and aggravate the same complaints, i the per- sons under consideration, and sometimes cause habitual headaches, where it is used daily. A gentleman of my ac- quaintance, who was dyspeptic, and troubled with very frequent sick headache, found entire relief from the lat- ter complaint, by the disuse of hot bread, to which he had before daily accustomed himself. Persons having — weak stomachs, ought never to eat bread, tillit has been baked at least twenty-four hours. New bread is more elutinous and insoluble. The bread customarily made _ inthis country, is by no means sufficiently baked. With | of the Stomach. 277 all these precautions, and these are usually indispensable, they will sometimes find acidity increased by wheat bread. in that case, what are termed crackers, or hard biscuits, will usually give no trouble. Where these cannct be ob- tained, bread made in the common way, rolled thin, and twisted like certain kinds of cake, and baked dry, will furnish a good substitute. Bread prepared altogether in the common way, throughout the whole process, and, when two or three days old, broken up, or cut into slices, and then dried thoroughly, in an oven moderately hot, furnishes another substitute, and when pounded may be eaten in chocolate, or milk and water, or any other way which is agreeable, with great advantage. The next kind of farinaceous food which is least like- iy to ferment in the stomach, is boiled rice. I have not known costiveness, or injury to the eyes, as has been al- ledged by some, to be occasioned by it. It is highly nourishing, and easy upon the stomach, and far less apt to induce acidity, than wheat bread which is not of a ve- ry good quality. Rye bread being alway disposed to ferment, and become sour, cannot be eaten with safety, by such persons as have debilitated stomachs. It often occasions when used at a single time, a severe paroxysm of acidity, and obstinate costiveness. For this assertion I may not perhaps, be believed. The celebrated Cullen has hurled an anathema against this opinion, by saying that he ‘ will not believe on the authority of Hippocrates himself, that any of the Cerealia bind the belly.” His belief, or his prejudices, make no alteration with respect to the fact. I can state, and state truly, that for ten years past, I have in no instance, within my recollection, eaten. a meal of rye bread, without being made so costive as to need a cathartic after it, yet in various places where I have stopped, during journeys, I have at times been ne- cessitated to eat it, or to go without food ; so that [have made an abundant trial. Every preparation of ripe maize, which I have met with, produces similar effects. ‘The truth is, whatever occasions acidity in my own stomach, unless it also occa- sions brisk diarrhea, which is rarely the case, produces eostiveness. Accordingly, as I have found from con- 278 On Chronic Debility, siderable experience, Lisbon wine, or any of the lighter wines, uniformly cause or increase costiveness in myself, while a few glasses of very good old Madeira usually re- lieve that troublesome complaint. The former becomes acid ; the latter usually relieves acidity. It ought per- haps to be added, that rye bread, and the various prepara- _ tions of maize, are commonly ioe, to persons whose digestion is unimpaired. ‘The only preparations of buckwheat, with which lam acquainted, are pancakes, which are fried in fat, and boil- ed puddings. No food can be much worse than the for- mer, for debilitated stomachs; as it so quickly ferments, and turns sour, occasioning flatulence, costiveness, head- ache, &c. None of the other Cerealia are used as food in this country, within my knowledge. Of other preparations of the several species of this class are, puddings, pies, and cakes. Of puddings, none but those which are very simple, should be venturéd on.— Those only which I would recommend, are boiled rice, and boiled bread, previously dried and pounded. Flour puddings are too glutinous, and insoluble, and occasion, as do all the richer puddings also, in dyspeptics, the same disagreeable consequences. Every species of pie, and every kind of cake, except that which is very simple, are unsafe. It can scarcely be necessary to observe, that of the sauces customarily used with food of this sort, none except those of the simplest kind, are proper. Of the effects of milk as an article of diet, I shall only remark, that so far as my observation has extended, it has uniformly proved mischievous to dyspeptic persons. It is too fluid, becomes highly acid, and occasions cos- tiveness, headache, &c. Old pungent cheese often pro- motes digestion, while that of a contrary character, usu- ally has a pernicious effect. | Eggs boiled to the consistence of thick cream, are usu- ally safe and considerably nourishing, and very easy upon | the stomach. Fish are more nourishing, and more casy of digestion, than vegetables, and less so than flesh. | Some kinds are much less digestible, than others. Broiled or boiled fish, are far preferable to those which are fried. Dried salted of the Stomach. 279 codfish, of a good quality, are usually friendly to weak stomachs. ‘The shell fish are all, perhaps, difficult of digestion. Ofthose in common use, if I might judce from my own experience, the lobster is the least, and the clam the most so; but the experience of others does not in this instance correspond with mine. Few kinds of food are more troublesome to some dyspeptic persons, than the round clam: others find little difficulty from it. Lobsters should never be eaten warm. In this situation they often give trouble, when they weuld give none if cold. ! Of domestic birds, the dunghill fowl, when young, is easiest of digestion, and the turkey the hardest. ‘The latter is altogether unfit for weak stomachs; and indeed every kind of poultry should be sparingly used, by per- sons labouring under that evil. Of animal food, and of all the food generally used in this country, good beef is usually easiest of digestion.— The reason why flesh is easiest of digestion, is very obvi- ous. It is well known to every one, that that part of the alimentary mass which yields nourishment, must first be- come fluid, before it can have this effect. ‘The fluid parts of animal food are already assimilated to our own, or in other words animalized; vegetable food must undergo this process, before it can be received into the mass of our fluids. ‘The best beef is that which is. as much as seven years old, and thorougly fatted, It should, when > be roasted or broiled, in preference to being boil- ed. It ought always to be eaten rare, and never dried through. No gravy except the juices of the meat, or what is termed red gravy, is admissible. A very small quantity of fat is the utmost which 1s safe, fat in masses being always difficult of digestion, to debilitated stom- achs. All these directions should be particularly attend- ed to, when the disease issevere. Boiled beef moderate- ly impregnated ‘with salt, and beef smoke-dried for shav- ing, are as healthy as palatable. After beef, mutton and veal are casiest of digestion. Fresh pork is altogether inadmissible. Salted pork, though not mentioned in this manner, within my knowl- edge, is usually when thoroughly impregnated with salt, nag 280 On Chronic Debility whether broiled, or boiled, very easy of digestion, and of- ten remarkably grateful. ‘That which is not of the best quality, which is imperfectly pickled, or packed, and rendered rusty, will be nearly as offensive to the stomach, as it is disgusting to the palate. ‘The lean part of pork hams, when properly cured, is usually grateful and healthy, to those having debilitated stomachs. Broths, though very nourishing food, are improper in dyspepsia. They soon pass off into the intestines. ‘The debilitated stomach needs the constant stimulus of food, . the stimulus in quality, and the stimulus of distension to a moderate degree; otherwise the acid acts with somuch force upon its naked coats, as to produce constant unea- siness. Broths also occasion in such persons, costive- ness. | Drinks it is proper next to consider. Most of those in which a vegetable acid abounds, are hurtful to a weak stomach. All inferior wines, low beer, common cider, and strong undiluted porter, occasion much acidity and flatulence. Pungent hop beer, made bitter with hops, and stimulating with ginger, and. replete with carbonic acid. gas, is a healthy drink for very hot weather, when the per- spiration is abundant; but in cool weather, it 1s less safe. Very pungent botiled cider is often highly serviceable, and safe, when most kinds of wine are otherwise, but. not invariably so. Very sound old Madeira wine, drunk in moderate quantities, is in many instances, highly use- ful. It should be always laid aside, however, when it is not needed, as by constant use it loses a part of its effica- cy; and all that efficacy will be wanted, whenever the debility becomes severe. When none of the foregoing drinks can be used without occasioning unpleasant con- sequences, pure French brandy, properly diluted with water, may be advantageously resorted to. As every man habitually using ardent spirits of any kind, is in dan- eer of contracting an unsafe attachment, it will always be prudent for every person, to restrict himself within narrow bounds, and on no ordinary account, to exceed two or three table spoonfuls a day. Very pure old spir- its may be used as a substitute. Al! other distilled spir- its are hurtful; and whenever the stomach will bear oth- of the Stomach. 281 er drinks, let these be immediately laid aside. The cus- tomary drinks in the morning and evening are, in this country, tea, coffee, and chocolate. Of these, tea of a moderate strength, mixed with a considerable quantity of milk and sugar, is perhaps usually the least apt to give trouble. Souchong tea is far less hurtful than the green teas. Coffee I have found, after repeated and abundant trials, uniformly to become highly acid in my own stom- ach. Chocolate made out of the cocoa merely, or with the addition of aromatics and sugar only, furnishes a very healthy and palatable drink. Most of the chocolate man- ufactured in this country, is very impure, and when pre- pared for drinking, is covered with oil, and wholly unfit for a debilitated stomach. Bryan Edwards, in his His- tory of the West-Indies, observes—‘“ The cakes which are generally used under this name in England, appear to me to be composed of not more than one half genuine co- coa; the remainder I take tobe flour, and Castile soap.” Whether that generally used in this country, is prepared of the same materials, I know not; but it is a very sus- picious circumstance, that the chocolate made here, is usually sold considerably cheaper, than the cocoa, out of which it is msde. Some adulteration or improper mix- ture must be the cause of it. The Spanish chocolate, and that which may be prepared in private families, out of the cocoa, may be had free from these evils. Condiments, common salt, pepper, mustard, and horse radish may be used in moderate quantities, with advan- tage. Pickles, ketchup, and other sauces, and all ex- pressed vegetable and melted animal oils should be whol- ly laid aside. I know of no food so injurious toa debil- itated stomach, as melted animal oils. It would have been easy to have treated this part of the subject, in a more scientific way; but I have purposely avoided, as far as seemed proper, all technical terms, wishing to make the subject intelligible to such persons, as have not turn- ed their attention to medical studies. : To the foregoing observations, it will be proper to add several other general ones, relative to the same subject. All persons suffering from Chronic Debility of the Stomach, should be particularly attentive to masticate af. 382 On Chrone Debihty their food thoroughly. It has been ascertained by re- peated and decisive experiments, that the gastric liquor much more speedily dissolves substances out of the stom- ach, when thoroughly comminuted. ‘There is thus a much greater surface exposed to be acted upon. We may fairly and certainly infer the same, of the same flu- id, when in the stomach. Much more nourishment is also derived from the same quantity of food: when thor- oughly masticated, than when not; and costiveness is much less likely to take place. He also, who masticates . his food sufficiently, will seldom over-eat; while he, who. swallows it without chewing, will, if his appetite 1s good, almost invariably eat more than his stomach can thor- oughly digest. This will, if continued, infallibly weak- en its coats, and induce costiveness. With respect to the quantity of food, it may be observ- ed,. that the stomach should never be overloaded. To avoid this evil, he who has a debilitated stomach, should never suffer himself to fast, or go long without food, so as to become very hungry. ‘To all such, late dinners are particularly injurious. The temptation to over-eat then, usually becomes so strong, that few persons will sufficiently command their appetites. The coats of the stomach become unduly distended, and thus the whole viscus becomes weakened; and the alimentary canal frequently filled with acidity and wind. Late and hearty dinners induce a feverish state, as 1s evident from the flushed face, the languor, the heaviness, and the quickened pulse, which take place immediately after-_ wards. Dinners should be furnished at an early hour. The food should be nourishing, and easy of digestion. Care should be daily taken, never to eat to satiety, but always to leave the table with a good appetite. Where dinner cannot be had at an early hour, 1 would recom- mend eating about twelve o’clock, or earlier, a crust of bread, or a cracker or two, witha little smoke-dried beef, or cold ham, or cold roasted beef, with a glass of Madei- ra wine. A very pernicious custom is extending itself, among fashionable people, in some parts of this country, viz. of dining at a vey late hour, and eating three fourths of the whole food of the day, at dinner. It is reasonable | of the Stomach. 283 *o conclude, aside from all experience on the subject, that as the fatigues of the day, among such people, are chiefly before dinner, considerable food, and that of a nourishing kind, should be taken at breakfast; instead of the breakfast usually taken, viz. several cups of very strong coffee, with a little toast, or bread and butter.— Toall dyspeptics particularly, I would recommend a far different course. Instead of eating immoderately at din- ner, and taking a profusion of spices, and sauces, and drinking large quantities of porter, brandy, and wine, and thus unfitting themselves for thought, or business, the remainder of the day, let them make a more equal dis- tribution of their food, at their diferent meals. Letthem eat meat at breakfast; let them dine early; and then they will be inclined to eat moderately at dinner. In this way the stomach will usually fail of being filled with acidity and flatulence, and of being overloaded. ‘The customary employments may then be pursued after din- ner, as wellas before. It will doubtless be supposed, that this course iis not precisely suited to those, who lie in bed half of the forenoon. Only one kind of fresh meat should generally be eaten at atime. Salt pork, or ham, with fresh meat, I have not found hurtful. It is a good rule, however, to eat of but few dishes at once. Varie- ty from day to day, may be useful, but not on the same day. Hearty suppers are always improper for weak stomachs: a few mouthfuls of cold meat, and a crust of bread just before going to bed, will often be of service. It prevents the acid from corroding the coats of the stom- ach, lessens or removes that unpleasant wakefulness which sometimes takes place in consequence of it, and relieves the sickness and faintness, which is by some per- sons experienced, on first getting up in the morning.— Where this complaint is troublesome, food should be ta- ken immediately after getting up, or a little before. _ Hot food or drinks are hurtful to the teeth, and weaken the stomach. Drinking large quantities of watery drinks, is always prejudicial to weak stomachs, and of stimu- ating drinks, dangerous. The quantity of drinks should be small, and little or nothing drunk between meals, unless in very hot weather. A large quantity of vatery drinks may, perhaps, among other i efiects, di- 284 On Chrome Debilty lute the food to such a degree, in some instances, as to occasion it to pass off too soon into the intestines. The persons for whom I am particularly writing, are very apt to drink more than is necessary or useful. 2. The sympathetic causes, which aggravate or gene- rateacidity in the alimentary canal, are, cold and wet feet, such a degree of cold applied to the surface of the body eenerally, as will produce chilliness, a warm and damp air, the exposure of the eyes to the reflection of snow in a bright day, variable weather, an obstructed perspiration of the head from wearing pomatum and powder, inhaling an impure air, or rather swallowing it when mixed with the saliva, perfumes, wearing tight boots, ligatures, too much study or engagement of the mind, the indulgence of strong passions, and in a minor degree almost any thing which disorders the surface of the body, or any of the viscera. All these are to be guarded against. Cold and wet feet have a powerful influence in producing acidity and flatulence, in the debilitated stomach, where the ali- mentary mass is of such a nature as to ferment rapidly. Care therefore should be taken, to keep them uniformly dry and warm. Yor this purpose, boots with a treble sole should be worn, and within the boot a cork sole, covered with flannel; orasole of an ox’s bladder between the inner and the middle one. With this security, any one may walk six or eight miles in the rain, or in wet | snow, without endangering his health, To remove this | morbid 5 ympathy between the stomach and feet, I would © recommend washing the latter, every day, in cold water. This practice should be adopted gradually, first using te- pid water, and proceeding by little and little, to that _ which ws cooler, It should be begun inthe summer, and | may by most persons be safely continued thro’ the win- | ter. He whe wiil give it a fair trial, will find himself far less likely to take cold from wet feet, than before. Those persons who are troubled with cold feet, during the night in the winter, will find relief from holding their feet to | the fire, fifteen minutes before gomg to bed. Frictions | will also be useful. ‘The exposure of the eyes to strong light often occasions much more disorder in the stomach, _ than an inattentive observer would imagine. I have re- | of the Stomach. 285 peatedly known much acidity and wind produced in that viscus, by the strong reflection of light from the snow in a bright winter day. Hence in walking, or riding, un- der such circumstances, the eyes should be in some measure defended. As variable weather, and a damp atmosphere are prejudicial, it will be advisable to fix up- on a place for a stated residence, where these evils pre- vail in the smallest degree. A dry, sandy soil, and an elevated situation at a distance from the sea shore, is usu- ally to be preferred. Some dyspeptic persons, howev- er, appear to be benefitted by residing near the shore. — This is especially the case with some females, who usu- ally reside in the interior country ; and who spend no small part of their lives in a rocking-chair, or about some employment which scarcely furnishes any amusement, or exercise. ‘To such persons, I have repeatedly known a a journey, and short residence by the shore, highly use- ful. But the benefit here, though usually attributed to the friendly influence of sea air, ought undoubtedly to be attributed chiefly, and perhaps solely, to the exercise of the journey, to the novelty, variety, and amusement de- rived from an unceasing change of country, and that of- ten a very beautiful one, to the conversation and kind of- fices of near friends, to the cessation of the usual domes- tic cares and anxieties, to an increased appetite, to a more } Cw e % No. XIX, — SSS A DISSERTATION ON THE ORIGIN or SPRINGS. By SERENO DWIGHT, Esa. SSS Gea Sere _——————— ey HILOSOPHY has long been defirous of inveftigat. Pp ing the Cau/fes of things; but has ufually made flow progrefs, where the modus operandi, or the con- necting link between caufe and effect, could neither be feen nor felt. To explain the phenomena of Thunder and Lightning, fhe firft created a Jupiter, and then forged his thunderbolts. For the caufe of Tempefts, ihe reforted to the influence of the Stars. And Hero- DOTUs very gravely tells us, that the return of the Sun from the fouth, after the winter folftice, is owing to the prevalence of a violent South Wind in Egypt. The Origin of Springs is a fubject of this invifible and impalpable nature ; and, as might have been expected, has long agitated the Republic of Letters. ARtsTo- TLE informs us, that the air, which is inclofed in the vaults and caverns of the Earth, is condenfed into wa- ter near the furface ; and thence flows out in {fprings. In the prefent ftate of fcience, probably, no one will think, that this fcheme needs a refutation. Many au- 312° A Differtation on the thors, however, who have treated it with an unbecom- ing ridicule, would have fpared their wit, had they known, that their own hypothefes, devifed more than two thoufand years afterwards, were deitined to a fim- jlar fate with that of the Grecian Philofopher. The Modern Theories may be reduced to three clafles, They all find the refources of Springs In the Ocean ; In an Abyfs, in the bowels of the Earth ; or In Vapour. Thofe, who draw the water of Springs from the Ocean, have been puzzled to convey it to their orifi- ces in the ftate in which we actually find it. Springs are ufually frefh : the Ocean is falt. Moft Springs are higher, and fome many thoufand feet higher, than the _ level of the Ocean. ‘To raife their fupplies requires, therefore, a force fuflicient to counteract the force of Gravity. | Thefe difficulties, attending the firft clafs of theories, have coft its advocates no {mall expence of labour and ingenuity. Dzs Carrss, to avoid them, kindled a fire in the bowels of the Earth, by which he converted the water of the Ocean into Vapour. This Vapour, he collected in hollow fubterranean caverns, and thefe condenfed it into water. Some of his followers, difpenf- ing with thefe caverns, raifed their vapour thus form- ed through the interftices of the ground, until it was condenfed by cold near the furface. Had Des Car- tes and his difciples adopted the rule, which after- wards directed the refearches of Newron ; Never to afcribe a phenomenon to any caufe, until the ex- tence of that caufe is proved ; their fubterranean fire would never have been-kindled. Perhaps, alfo, they would have found the remote caufe of fprings in the heat of a very different fire ; kindled, not merely in the imagination,—and by the hand of One, all whofe theories are only practical. w The exiftence of this fubterranean fire is a mere hy- pothefis,—wholly unfupported by proof. So far as the Origin of Springs. 813 interior of the Earth has been explored, its tempera- ture below 1000 feet has been found, in all latitudes, to be about 50° of Fahrenheit : a temperature, which will appear wholly inconfiftent with the ‘exiftence of fuch a fire, if we attend to the following faés— The Rivers now running have probably flowed ever fince the Deluge; and the quantity of water, which they now difcharge, has doubtlefs been their average fupply. Vapour is found to lofe 1000° of heat, when condenfed to water : and water abforbs the fame quan- tity, when reconvertedinto vapour. According to the theory, the vapour muft rife, before it is condenfed, at leaft as high as the Springs which it fupplies. What an incalculable quantity of heat muft then have been difcharged near the furface of the Earth, in order to fupply the rivers with water fince they firft began to flow. This heat muft have been conftantly accumulat- ing near the furface, during fo longa period. Why, then, is it no where difcovered ? Others have attempted to avoid thefe objections, by calling in the aid of capillary attraction. As water is known to afcend in glafs tubes of a very {mall bore, it is concluded that it may alfo afcend through duéts in the Earth of a fimilar fize. Hence the exiftence of fuch ducts, and the afcent of water through them, are tak- en for granted. The Springs, which feed the Ama- zon, are feveral thoufand miles from the Ocean ; and many of them iffue from two to four miles above its. level. He, who can believe, that the interior of the — Farth is thus furnifhed with an apparatus of natural ca- pillary aqueduéts running horizontally thoufands of miles, till they meet a mountain fit to harbour a fpring, and then afcending perpendicularly to an orifice ; has faith enough and to {pare. But if thefe ducts actually exifted, they would not explain the phenomena of Springs——To whatever caufe the rife of water in capillary tubes is owing ; whether to the attraction of the whole interior furface of the tube ; or to the attraction of the ring of glafs contiguous to the 314 A Differtation on the upper furface ; Reafon demonftrates, that fuch a tube cannot raife more water than it can /wfain ; fince the nearer the fluidis, the ftronger is the attractive force. Experiment confirms this conclufion ; for a capillary tube, however fhort, cannot be made to run over.— The force of capillary attraction, alfo, will raife water but toa very moderate height. The propofition found in moft Treatifes on Hydroflatics—That the height to which fluids rife in capillary tubes, is inverfely as the diam- eter of their bores—has led many to the erroneous con- clufion, that if the bore is indefinitely fmall, the fluid will afcend to an indefinite height. But the fact is otherwife. Dr. Hooke, after many experiments with what he calls cobweb tubes, was unable to raife water in them more than 21 inches.-Should we, therefore, fuppofe fuch duéts to exift in the earth of the requifite’ length and pofition, capillary attraction would not raife water in any of them to a greater height than 21 inch- es; nor, even in thofe of a lefs length, would it caufe the fluid to run over. Others allege, that if a fmall heap of afhes or fand is put into a bafon of water, the water will rife through it, above its own level, to the top of the heap. They compare the Dry Land to the heap of afhes ; and the Ocean to the water of the bafon ; and infift that the water of Springs rifes in the fame manner through hills and mountains.—I am not informed, that any experi- ments have been tried to afcertain the height, to which water will thus afcend through afhes, or through fand. The caufe of its afcent, however, is well known to be a mutual attraction fubfitting between the particles of afhes or fand, and thofe of water. Whether this at- traction be chemical or mechanical, it is to me felf evi-. dent, that no attraction can raife more water than it can /uftain.—If it is chemical, it will continue to raife the fluid until the heap is thoroughly /aturated, and no longer. Should the other particles of the fluid attempt — to fupplant thofe which were firft combined, thefe would effectually refift the attempt by the right of e- _ Origin of Springs. 314 cupancy. Vf the attraction is merely mechanical, its force is well known to diminith, as the /quare of the dif- tance increafes. ‘Yhe heap, therefore, being fuppofed to have raifed as much water as it can fuftain ; it is obvi- ous, that the particles of water actually raifed will be in immediate contact with the afhes or fand; while all. the other particles will be at a greater diftance from it. The water rai/ed will thus be more ftrongly attracted, than the water not raifed. Of courfe, the afhes or fand will continue to fuftain the particles firft raifed: and will not be compelled, by a weaker force, to let them go, and thus make room for others. In other words, a feebler attraction can not overcome one that is more powerful. But it is faid, that if we conceive of angular pipes or ducts in the Earth, having the form, pofition, and properties, of a /yphon ; the water of the Ocean may afcend and be difcharged through them, by the fame laws which regulate that inftrument. We will admit, for the argument, that it is ftri€tly philofophical to con- ceive of ducts or pipes in the Earth hermetically tight, and of a fuflicient extent to anfwer the purpofe. This hypothefis will, neverthelefs, be attended with an in- fuperable difficulty. It is well known, that the dif- charging orifice of the fyphon mutt be horizontally low- er than the furface of the refervoir. In the cafe fuppo- fed, the Oceanis the refervoir. Of courfe, no {pring, that is not fomewhat below the level of the Ocean, can be fupplied by a natural fyphon. With the few fprings fo fituated, we will not embarrafs our enquiries : fatif- fied, that that wispom, which operates by general laws ; and, by the fimpleft means, produces the moft magni- ficent refults ; when it had filled the * Upper Springs, could find no difficulty in fupplying the “* nether.” The Wet Rag, like the Syphon, has been called in to relieve the:perplexities of Philofophy. It is well known, that if fucha rag is thrown partly over the fide of a veflel of water, the water will deop from the exterior end of the rag, until the whole is thus drawn off. The 316 A Differtation on the Wet Rag in this cafe is a fort of clumfy natural fyphon. But, like the more regular inftruments of art, it is faithfully true to its principles of action. Urnlefs the furface of the fluid is above the horizontal level of the exterior end of the Rag, it is found, that not a drop _of water will fall. None of thefe various fchemes, therefore, if they would explain the afcent of water to the orifices of fprings, will account for its running over. ra Nor will either of them furnifh the reafon, why the water of {prings is frefh. The water, when it begins to afcend, is mere brine; and is fuppofed to lofe its falt in the paflage. If it were true, that brine would thus become frefh, it would follow, that the loweft ftratum of earth, or that neareft the Ocean, would be immediately, and the fuperior {trata gradually, fat- urated with falt ; and both would of courfe decline re- ceiving any more from the brine, as it pafled them on its way upward to the fountains. ‘The brine would thus frefhen lefs and lefs in its paffage ; and in the end would continue wholly falt. The lower ftrata, ‘alfo, would foon be faturated with folid falt ; that either the tubes, or the interftices, or the fyphons, would become ~ completely clogged, and incapable of any farther tranf- miflion of brine. | wae ad But it is not true, that fea-water is made frefh, by filtering through dry fand or dry earth. Experiment has proved, again and again, that, if brine is filtered through dry earth any number of times, its faltnefs is not perceptibly diminifhed. The quantity of fluid is indeed leffened ; but that, which remains at the end of the procefs, is found to retain its original proportion of falt ; and that, which is retained by the fand, ad- heres to it in the fhape of brine, and not of /olid falt. Thefe confiderations have fatisfied me, that we muft — look to fome other fource than the Ocean, for the wa- ter of Springs. — og The fecond clafs of Theories comprifes thofe, which attribute the Origin of Springs to a vaft Abyfs in the bowels of the Earth. : Origin of Springs. ag When Philofophy difcovered this Abyfs, her motives were praife-worthy, whatever we may think of her Lo- gick. Infidelity had often attacked the Scriptural ac- count of the Deluge, on the ground, that all the wa- ‘ter on the globe was not fuflicient to cover its furface to the depth reprefented by Moses. ‘This objection, if the fact it aflerts were true, would reft on the unfound- ed principle, that the CREATOR of all things is de- pendent on the things that are made for the accomplifh- ment of his purpofes. Some well meaning friends of the Penteatuch, alarmed for the credit of Moszs, devi- fed this Abyfs as the receptacle, in which the waters of the Deluge were gathered, that they might no more over- fiow the face of the Earth. Several philofophers, who had been put to great difficulty to account for the Ori- gin of Springs, finding, in their fubterranean refearch- es, {0 copious a refervoir prepared to their hands ; im- mediately feized upon it as the fource, whence they were fupplied with water. The beft account I have feen of this Abyfs, and of the manner in which fountains are fed by it, is found in Catcott’s Treatife on the Deluge: a work declared by Jones and Apams, two diftinguifhed philofophers of Great Brithin, one of the laft, the other of the pre- fent century, to be “ the moit critical and fatisfactory difcourfe extant on the origin of Springs and Rivers.” Mr. Carcorr explains his own view of the internal _ ftructure of the Earth, as it has exifted fince the De- luge, by an engraving, reprefenting the plane of one of its Great Circles. ‘* At the centre we find,” to ufe his own language, “a folid ball, or Nucleus, of terreftrial matter, formed from what the water of the Deluge, in its defcent from the furface and paflage through the ftrata of the Earth, tore off, and carried down with it into the Abyfs, and repofited at the loweit place. A- round this Nucleus is the great Aby/s of water, with which all feas, lakes and rivers communicate. This A- byfs contains fo large a quantity of water, that only a {mall part of it was ufed at the Deluge. Laftly, we B $18 4 _Differtation on the find the Cru? of the Earth furrounding the Abyfs, and broken into innumerable apertures and_ fiflures ; the Jargeft of which are the beds of Lakes, Seas and Oceans; _ the next lefs are the canals for the waters of Springs ; and the leaft, the cracks, through which the vapours of the Abyis afcend into the Atmofphere.” To render this account more intelligible the Author compares the Earth to an Egg : its Cru to the Shell ; the Aby/s, to the White ; and the Nucleus, to the Yo/k. He then en- ters into an elaborate argument to prove the exiftence of this Abyfs of waters; an attempt, in which he is pronounced fuccefstul by Jones and ADAms. _ Three methods are pointed out by Mr. Catcort, in which the waters of the Abyfs may be conveyed to the orifices of Fountains : By the afcent of Vapour through the Cracks in the Crutt ; By Upward Filtration ; and By the Preflure of the Ocean. The Vapour, mentioned in the firft method, is fup- pofed to be occafioned by a frre, exifting fomewhere in the bowels of the Earth. To avoid repeating what has already been faid refpecting an internal fire ; I will barely remark, that fuch a fire can not eXift in the Nu- cleus ; for there can be no regular fupply of air to fup- port it: nor in the Aby/s ; for, had it once been kind- led there, the water muft immediately have extinguith- edit : and that if fuppofed to exift in the Crwu/, it could have no effect on the waters beneath. Were we, however, to allow the exiftence of fuch a fire in the Nucleus, operating on the bottom of the Abyfs, like our common culinary fires on the bottom of a kittle : fill, the Vapour thus occafioned would be condenfed, in its afcent through many miles of cold water, long before it reached the under furface of the Cruft. The only alternative is to imagine the Aby{s to be, and to have always been, an immenfe fubterranean ocean of hot water—In this way, if we fuppofe 1ft. That there -Isfuch an abyfs; 2dly. That it isa mere mais of hot Origin of Springs. 319 water; Sdly. That the Cruft of the Earth has the re. quifite number of cracks and fiflures ; and 4thly. That, near the furface, the vapour finds the proper caverns cr refrigeratories to condenfe in: we fhall have made but two more fuppofitions than the Indian, who put is Earth on an Elephant, and the Elephant on a Tor- toile. If Vapour is thus continually rifing from the Abyfs, why do we never fee it making its way above the fur- face in a vifible fhape? To this queftion, Mr. Car- coTT replies, ““ As to the afcent of Vapour through the fifflures of the Earth, this is a fact, the reality of which any one may be convinced of, who will give himfelf the trouble of looking into the infide of the Earth.” Of the Earth, moft of us, probably, are merely fuper- ficial obfervers. For myfelf, unfortunately, I never had an opportunity of examining its infide except while exploring a cave about 70 feet deep. ~ In that, and in moft other caverns and mines, water is feen dropping from the roof, and trickling down the fides, of thofe fubterranean recefles ; and the atmofphere, thus conti- nually moiftened, has no chance of being dried by the heat of the Sun. Miners, however, and moft other vifiters of caverns, guided by common fenfe, have been led to attribute the moifture to thefe caufes, and not to fubterranean exhalations. The fecond method devifed for the afcent of the wa- ters of the Abyis is Upward Filtration. I flatter my- felf, that it has been already evinced—that water can- not, thus, afcend to a fuflicient height :—That, if it could, it would not run over; and that, fuppofing it would run over, yet, if originally falt, it could not be made frefh. With regard to the quality of the water of the A- byfs, Mr. Carcorr obferves, that “* we cannot have any abfolute proof that it is falt ; and I could give {e- veral reafons to fhow that it may not be fo ; at leat, not equally falt with the fea.” ‘What thefe reafons are he does not inform us. Perhaps it is owing to this o- 320 A Differtation on the miffion, that feveral reafons of a contrary efficacy have fatisfied me, that the Abyfs, even if it were originally frefh, muft now confift of falt water. The Deluge prevailed on the Earth one hundred and fifty days. ‘The waters of the Abyfs, according to Mr. C. were employ- ed, as fubfidiary to thofe of the Ocean, in drowning the dry land; and then were returned fo their appointed bed. Great indeed muft have been the care, taken dur- ing that long period, to prevent the brine of the Ocean from inter mixing with the frefh water of the Abyfs. The Ocean, Allo, according to Mr C. communicates directly with the waters of the Abyfs; or in other words, is a part or continuation of it. If this be the cafe, the waters of the Abyfs mutt be at leaft as falt as thofe of the Ocean ; for falt water is heavier than frefh, and will fink in it until there is produced an equilibri- um of fpecific gravity. If the Qcean is not a part of the Abyfs, but refts upon a fubftratum of earth, which in its turn refts up- on the furface of the Abyfs; then, no reafon can be afligned why a due proportion of the cracks and fiflures in the cruft fhould not be afligned to the bed of the Ocean. Only one fifth of the furface of the globe is dry land. The remaining four fifths are covered by the Sea. The Dry Land, according to the hypothefis, © has as many fuch fiflures as it has Springs. And fin- — gular indeed muft have been the care neceflary after the Deluge, in fettling the Wreck of Elements, to dif- tribute these fiffures in fuch a manner, that fo many fhould be found in the Land, and not one in the bot- tom of the Ocean. If thefe cracks and fiffures are impartially diftributed » over the Cruft of the Earth; it is clear, that the wa- ters beneath muft be as falt as thofe above. Let us fup- ae that, during the Deluge, the waters of the Abyts, yy a ftrange coynefs, were preferved from contamina- tion ; and that, after their briny ordeal, they returned pure to their native bed. Still they could only have re- turned to meet dangers infurmountable. The brine of Origin of Springs. $21 the Ocean, being fpecifically heavier, muft immediate. ly have begun to defcend through fome of the cracks, and the water of the Abyfs to afcend through others, Nor could the procefs have ceafed, until it had produ- ced an equilibrium of preflure. If this rotation in the waters of our Great Globe is not yet over, it will ac- count, in amanner which Hauuey never dreamed of, for whirlpools, edies, and water{pouts. The third mode contrived for the afcent of the wa- ter of the Abyfs is the preflure of the Ocean. This Preflure is thus explained.—A crack or fiffure paffes -downward, from the orifice ef every {pring, through the Cruft, to the furface of the Aby{s, which is fuppo- fed to be frefh. If water is poured into onearm of a bended tube, and oil into the other; the level of the oul, as being the lighter fluid, will remain higher than that of the water. The whole cavity of the Ocean may be confidered as one arm of fuchatube ; a given erack or fiflure, the other ; and the Abyfs, the con- nection between them. ‘The brine of the Ocean, pref- fing upon the lighter fluid of the Abyfs, will force it up through the fiflure, to a greater height than its own level, and thus will form a fpring. On this fcheme, the Ocean mutt be connected with the Abyfs ; for, if itis mof, it cannot prefs upon it. If it is connected with it, then I think it has been prov- ed, that the waters of the latter muft be falc. If they are falt, the preflure of the Ocean cannot raife them above its own level ; for, if water alone is poured into a bended tube, one arm of which is a hundred or a thoufand times as large as the other, ftill the furface of the fluid in both will have the fame horizontal level. But if this preflure would raife the waters of the A. byfs to a fufficient: height; ftill, it would not make them frefh. The cracks or fiflures are mere tubes of a palpable diameter ; and to frefhen brine, merely by pafiing it through a tube, is a harder problem than a difcreet Chemift would attempt to folve. The manner in which {prings iffue from the ground, 529 A Differiation on the alfo, completely difproves the theory. Springs make their way nearly to the tops of the Andes. If the pref- fure of the Ocean is fuflicient to force the water of the Abyfs to fuch a height ; but little of its force can have been fpent in fuch fprings as iflue on plains. In thefe, therefore, the water, inftead of merely gurgling upwards, as they actually do, fhould rife in sets ; and contiue rifing, until the impulfe communicated by this preflure was overcome by the refiftance of the air, and the Force of Gravity. As to the length of the cracks or fiflures connecting Springs with the Abyfs, it fhould be remarked that the Cruft or Shell of the Earth cannot, on any reafonable fuppofition, be confidered as lefs than feveral miles in thicknefs. In a Globe of 8000 miles diameter, with a centrifugal force at its equator fo powerful as that of the Earth ; it will be readily felt by every man, that unlef the Cruft were folid and fubftantial, there would be conftant and imminent hazard of fomething worle . than a mere ffure. Springs, alfo, are often two or three miles above the level of the Ocean. Each Spring muft have its own fiflure commencing at the furface of the Aby{s, and reaching through the Cruft to the ori- fice. The man, who can believe that the Supreme Be- inc could devife no eafier and better mode of watering the Earth, muft Ithink, be in great danger of thinking him, {fo far as his wifdom is concerned, wig Sich fuch an one as himfelf. Leaving, then, our fubterranean refearches, we will examine the Theory, which difcovers the Origin of — Springs in Vapour. Vapour, as here ufed, is a ecluptcleatine term, in- ” cluding all the water, that rifes from the furface of the Earth by evaporation ; and all, that defcends on it in the form of dew, fog, mift, rain, {now, and hail. This Theory may be thus explained. The Ccean is conftantly lofing vaft quantities of water by evaporation. Electrified bodies attract light fubftances floating near them. The Land is more highly electrified than the ~ Origin of Springs. 323 Ocean. Mott of the vapour thus raifed is drawn from the fea to the land. As mountains are more highly e- lectrified than plains, they attract the great body of the vapour which retains the form of mift ; while of that, which defcends in a more folid form, much more falls on the former than on the latter. The mift on moun- tains condenfes, and is precipitated in water. This uni- ted with the water of rain and fnow, penetrates the firata of fand and the lighter earth, till it is ftopped in its courfe by more impervious fubftances ; particularly firata of clay. In thefe, it forms a bafon or refervoir ; from which, gradually working a paflage, it iffues out of the fide of the hill, inthe form of a Spring. Dr. Haney was the inventor of this Theory. His attention was directed to the fubject by the following fact. While bufied in making fome celeftial obferva- tions, on a hill in the ifland of St. Helena, he found, even when the fky was perfectly clear, that the quan- tity of vapour collected on his lenfes, every few min- utes, was fo great, as wholly to impede his vifion. The following well-known facts may be adduced in its fupport. Water, in the form of Vapour, is conftantly rifing from the Sea, in very large quantities, and in a ftate of frefhnefs. Rains are far more frequent and copious on moun- tains, than on plains ; and in mountainous countries, than thofe that are level. The earth on mountains is always moift ; even dur- ing a drought. Almoft all fprings fue out of the fides of hills or mountains, or from lands adjoining thein. The loftief{t{ mountains yield the moft numerous riv- ers ; and the largeft, alfo, where they are far enough from the fea. Brooks are uncommon in champagne countries ; and in countries, which have a ftiff clay on the furface. Brooks and Rivers may univerfally be traced to hills Or mountains. 294 : A Differtation on the Streams, wells, and fountains are fulleft in the Spring. In the Autum, many of them are abfolutely dried up. Thefe facts collectively prove, that the quantity of water depgied on mountains is very great 5 - that they are well qualified to retain it for the fuppl ye of Springs ; and that {prings and rivers are all of them in part, and many of them wholly, fupplied from this fource. Various objections are urged againf{ this theory. The firft is that water will not foak far enough into the ground. M. De La Hire, a French Philofopher,to prove this, tried the following experiment. He dug a hole in the lower terrace of the Obfervatory at Paris ; and placed therein, eigh: feet under ground, a large leaden bafon, inclined a little towards one of its an- gles. ‘To this was foldered a pipe, 12 feet long ; which, after a confiderable defcent, reached into an adjoining cellar. He then filled up the hole with a mixture of fand and loam. After having kept the bafon, im this fituation, 15 years, (the ground being conftantly ex- pofed to al] the rains and fnows that fell,) he could never obferve that a fingle drop of water had pafled through the pipe into the bafon. On this fubject, I will maketwo remarks. Ist. Was ter will certainly filter down, as eafily as it will filter wp ; The attraction between the fand and the water is in each cafe the fame; and in filtering down, it has the very fe- rious affiftance of Gravity. If then, it "will filter upwards many miles, it will certainly filter downwards eight feet. @dly. Our own eyes teach us, that deep wells frequently failin dry weather ; and that wells which are 30 or 40 feet deep are often very obvioutly raifed by — the hard rain of a fingle night. Hence I amled to con- clude, either that the pipe employed in the experiment became clogged ; or that Providence knows how to arrange earth, for the paflage of water through it, bet- ter than M. De La Hire. It is likewife objected that ioe often rife on plains, and fometimes on the fummits of hills. Such occur- rences are uncommon. Of the few Springs which 1 Origin of Springs. 825 have heard of as rifing on the tops of hills, almoft all have been found, on examination, to iflue many feet be- low the real apex. Were the fact otherwife, it would not be inconfiftent with the Theory.—In ftiff clayed grounds water may work its way a very confiderable diftance, before it finds an outlet. Springs, in wet lands, fhould be expected often to iffue feveral miles from the refer- voir. “And,” in the language of Hutton, “if there happen to be a valley, between a mountain on whofe top is a {pring and the mountain which is to furnifh it with water; the Spring muft be confidered as water conducted from a refervoir of a certain height, through a fubterranean channel, to make a jet of an almoft equal height.” It is alfo faid, that fome fprings are not at all affected by drought. This may be owing to the capacity of the reservoir ; and to the number of ducts which fupply it, and to the fimallnefs of the drain. But the principal objection is the infufficiency of va- pour to fupply the demands of {prings and rivers. Dr. Hauvey tried the following experiment, to de- , termine the actual evaporation from the Mediterranean, so far as it is occafioned by heat. He filled a bafon with brine, as falt as that of the Ocean ; and heated it, over a pan of coals, to the temperature of the air in fum- mer. By acareful examination he found, that the quantity loft by evaporation was a tenth of an inch in 12 hours. He fuppofes the Mediterranean to be 409 long, and 4° broad ; making a furface of 160 {quare de- grees. According tothe experiment, therefore, it will lofe 5,280,600,000 tons of water ina day. ‘The Medit- erranean receives the waters of the following confidera- ble rivers ; the Ebro, the Rhone, the Tyber, the Po, the Danube, the Neifter, the Neiper, the Don, and the Nile. Dr. Hatiey fuppofed, that, on an average, each of thefe yields ten times as much water as the Thames ; whereby he allowed for fmaller rivers which fall into the fame fea. From an ingenious menfuration, he conclu- ded, that the Thames difcharges daily 20,300,000 tons. C 4 326 . A Differtation on the Fhe nine rivers, therefore, difcharge into the Mediter: ranean 1,827,000,000 tons of water in a day ; which is but little more than a third of what is raifed from its surface in the fame time, by evaporation. ‘The above eftimate of the water of the Thames is protefledly overrated, and has fince been found, by Mr. Darron the Philofopher of Manchefter, to be about one third two large. Reducing the nine rivers in this. pro- portion, we thall find that their daily difcharge is only 1,218,000,000 tons. This is rather lefs than 1-—4th of the quantity evaporated from that sea; and leaves 4,06 2,000,000 tons, or 3—4ths of the whole, to meet the evaporation from that immenfe region, by which thefe rivers and their branchies are fuppli ed. From a feries of obfervations refpecting the annual fupply of rain, made at 31 different {tations in England, — during different periods of from 1 to 21 years, Mr. Datton finds the average quantity for the whole of England and Wales to be 31 inches. To this he adds 5 inches for dew; making a total of 36 inches or three feet. After a minute examination of the rivers of thofe’ two countries, he eftimates their whole annual dis- charge to be nine times that of the Thames. Allowing: this calculation to be corr ect, the rivers will exhauft on- ly 13 inches of rain; leaving 23 inches to evaporate’ from the land :.a refiduum, which he finds, by a num- ber of experiments, to be amply fufficient. The quantity of rain, which falls in our own country, | is believed to be confiderably greater than that in any country of Europe. ‘The exact amount however can- not, at prefent, be fated with precifion ; as few gentle men have hitherto made the requifite obfervations. [I~ can only obferve, that I have feen various regifters of rain kept at different places for confiderable periods : and the average refults of a ftill larger number. From thefe 1 am led to conclude, that the quantity of water, which annually falls in rain fnow and hail, will average 45 inches. To this fhould be added 5 hee at leaf, for dew ; making the whole 50 inches. The United Origin of Springs. 397 States comprife a million of {quare miles. Thirty five cubic feet of rain water weigh aton. A mafs of water, covering 1,000,000 fquare miles to the depth of 4 feet 2 inches, contains 116,160,000,000,000 cubic feet ; amounting to 3 3,318,860, v00,COO tons. By an examination of the Map of the United States it will appear, that, on its borders and within it, there are 26 great primary rivers, Or rivers communicating dire@ily with the Ocean. ‘Thefe are the St. Lawrence, Penobfcot, Kennebec, Ameriscoggin, Saco, Merrimac, Connecticut, Hudion, Delaware, eine Sufquehannah, in the North; andthe Potowmac, Rappahanoc, York, James, Roanoke, Pamlico, Neufe, Cape Fear, Pedee, Santee, Savannah, Ogeechee, Altamaha, Apalachicola, Mobille, and Mifiiffippi in the South. The St. Law- rence receives half of its water from the Canadas ; and more than three fourths of the fupplies of the Mifliffip- pi are furnifhed by Louifiana. Of this the proof is di- rect. ‘The Ohio, the only very large tributary from the eaft, is fmaller than the Arkansas ; andthe Ilinois, the only remaining eaftern branch worthy of notice, is much lefs than the S¢. Francis.. Onthe Weft, however there are alfo the Miffouri, which is larger than the Mil- fiffippi itfelf before the junction, added to all the bran- ches from the eaft; and Red River, which is much lar- ger than the Ohio. - Of the remaining primary rivers, the Amerifcoggin, Saco, Merrimac, Rappahannoc, York, Pamlico, Neufe, and Cape Fear, are about as large as ‘he Thames ; and the Penobfcot, Kennebec, Ogeechee, and Altamaha, are not much larger. Taking thefe facts into confideration, T am fatisfied, that, ifwe admit each of the 26 primary rivers to yield ten times as much water as the Thames, we fhall allow a fufficient overplus to fupply all the pri- mary ftreamlets. On this suppofition the annual dif- charge of water from all the rivers of the, Union will amount to 1,281,660,000,000 tons : leaving a refiduum of 2,037,200, 600 5000 tons to fupply the “demands of evaporation from the land. 328 A Differtation, &5c. I am aware, that fuch calculations, in their own na- ture, do not admit of that certainty which is demanded in demonftration. Stillthey are fufficiently accurate to leave the mind fatisfied. Iam alfo aware, that their want of certainty comes with an ill grace from the mouth of the objector. As the advocates of the theory prove, in the outfet, that many {prings are wholly fup- plied in this manner ; the cafe with refpect to the others, is prima facie with them. As the objector takes the if fue, the burden of proof refts upon his fhoulders. Un- til it is actually furnifhed I believe we {hall all admit, that Springs owe their origin only to Vapour. No. XX. Ree. Gee EES, ee] = ——————— | EXPERIMENTS On the Fusion of various refractory Bodies, by the COMPOUND BLOW-PIPE or Mz. HARE, Br BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, Pror. Cuem. anp Min. In YALE-CoLuEGeE. A sEcTION OF THE PNEUMATIC CISTERN or Yaz CoLLecGeE witH THE COMPOUND BLOW PIPE or Mr. Hare FOR BURNING HIDROGEN, MINGLED WITH OX- IGEN GAS. : E 2 ft Fume f res 0H ‘sh j SNaNG Rea EN ae a | ae OUTER eaL aeccacccecescvcves cht 2 —s—<—sS BU @ 0840 888 0ese00c920sconeuuanes: agli & 4 B J@@poce0gD POS9ONGOCGCURA 74990800088 9000"8000980090 si 2 is ponesoceeso00a02 . & Co SOLA LL LALLA EAL EA LALA AEE ELETS ELPA LUTE ULLEDULL TELE Ella Pete leeches oT 2 Feet. REFERENCES TO THE Fycurr. AAAA.—The pneumatic cistern, filled with water; for a plate, and full description, see the Boston Edition of Henry’s Chemistry. | B.—A Gas Reservoir, of the capacity of twelve gallons, filled with oxigen gas, either by the action of the hydrosta- tic bellows at O, or, by a recurved tube, passing from above, through the water, and hooked under B: parallel, and conti- guous to B, on the cther side of the cistern, is another gas reservoir, of the same capacity, which may be connected with B, or not, at pleasure. 830 Experiments on the Fufion C.—The same, in every respect, only C is filled with hi- drogen, by hydrostatic bellows at OO, or by a recurved tube, as above. 1).—Copper Tubes, half an inch in diameter, furnished with stop cocks at, and inserted into the gas reservoirs B. C. E.—Recurved tubes of flexible metal, furnished with dou- ble screws at ¥’, which connect them with a pair of brass blow pipes, cut off at G, and soldered to two strong cast silver tubes, which screw, air tight, into H, an inverted pyramidal _ piece of platinum, in which, two converging ducts as large as a pin are perforated, forming a continuation of the tubes, and uniting in a common passage, somewhat larger, just before their exit, at the common. orifice below. The subject to be operated upon is sustained by charcoal, or forceps, and held by the hand, just below the orifice in the piece H. The gasses at B. C. are under hydrostatic pressure, which is easily recruited, as the gasses run out, either by throwing common air with the bellows, into one of the spare reservoirs, or, by introducing more of either of the gasses into the appro- priate reservoir, and, peculiarly of hidrogen, both, on ac- count of the facility with which it is obtained, and because, twice as much of it, in bulk, is wanted, as of oxigen. _ ‘The rapidity of efflux of the gasses, and their due propor- tion, is easily regulated, by turning, more or less, the keys of the stop cocks at f, and the effects of either gas alone, may be observed, by shutting the stop cock leading to the other. When the compound flame is des‘red, the hidrogen is first let cut, and fired ; the blaze should be somewhat larger than that of a candle; the oxigen is then let into the hidrogen till the effect is the greatest, which alittle habit will soon ascer- tain. The flame of the hidrogen is very much narrowed, by the introduction of oxigen, and there is no appearance of peculiar splendor or heat, till some body, capable of reflecting the light and heat, is placed in the focus, which is usually about one fourth of an inch below the orifice. All the apparatus below F F is easily detached, by turning the double screws ;—the strong silver tubes are intended to prevent fusion of this part of the apparatus, and to admit of connexion with the platinum piece by means of a screw cut on the silver tubes ; this obviates the necessity of using a solder, which would be very liable to melt, and, the platinum piece is, for a similar reason, substituted for the silver cylinder ori- ginally used by Mr. Hare, as experience has shewn that these are liable to fusion. No flux or addition of any kind was employed in the fol: flowing experiments. / . EXPERIMENTS ON THE FUSION OF VARIOUS REFRACTORY BODIES BY VTE COMPOUND BLOW-PIPE OF MR. HARE. THE philofophical world behold with pleafure and astonifhment, the effects produced on the fufion and combuition of bodies, by a stream of oxygen gas, di- rected upon burning charcoal. The fplendor of these experiments arrefted univerfal attention, and Lavois- ier, with his gazometer, was enabled, in this manner, to produce a degree of heat, furpafling that of the moft powerful furnaces, and even of the folar focus. Bodies which no degree of heat, previously applied, had been able to foften, now became fluid, and philofophy ap- peared to have attained the limit of its power in exci- ting heat ; indeed, it feemed to have advanced, very far, towards realizing the opinion, that folidity and fluidity are accidental attributes of bodies, dependant folely on the quantity of caloric which they contain, and that therefore, they may be fuppofed capable of éxifting in either of thefe conditions: Still however, there were, in fact, many important exceptions. Of the primitive earths, Lavoisier had been enabled to fufe only alumine—while the reft re- mained refractory, and feemed fully entitled to the character of infufibility, ufually attributed to this clafs of bodies: many native minerals and efpecially thofe which are moft diftinguifhed for hardnefs, beauty, and fimplicity of compofition, maimtained the fame charac- ter, and fome of them refufed to melt even when heat- ed with powerful fluxes. The beautiful invention of Mr Robert Hare of Phil- adelphia, by which he fucceeded in burning, with fafe- ty and convenience, the united ftream of oxygen and hidrogen gases, greatly extended our dominion over. refractory bodies, and prefented new and very intereft- ing refults. Mr. Hare’s memoir, originally communica- ted to the Chemical Society of Philadelphia, has been 532 Experiments on the Fufion fome years, before the public, and has been republifh- ed and handfomely noticed, both in France and Eng- — land. Still however, his refults have not found their way into the Systematical books on Chemiftry, (with the exception of Mr. Murrays system,’ notwithftanding that fome of the European Profeffors have availed them- felves of Mr. Hare’s invention, fo far as to exhibit his moft fplendid and ftriking experiments to their clafles. The writer of this article, although fully ssa any share in Mr. Hare’s invention, was early aflociate with him in his experiments; they excited in his mind a degree of intereft, which led him to hope that they would be repeated and extended by others, but, as no- thing of this kind has appeared in this country, perhaps the following experiments may not be altogether unin- terefting, especially as they were performed with an apparatus, of a conftru€tion f{omewhat more fimple than the original. ~ It will be neceflary to recollect that Mr. Hare not on- ly melted alumine, which Lavoifier had done before, but alfo silex and barytes, and, by fubfequent experiments, he added strontites, to the lift of fufible bodies: he was inclined to believe that he had volatilized gold and fil- ver, a conclusion which was rendered highly propable by-his having afterwards evidently volatilized platinum. The experiments of Mr. Hare, as will appear below, have been repeated by the writer of this paper with fuc- eefs, and many other bodies among the moft refractory in nature, have been melted. For the fake of fhewing | how far the experiments now to be recited have affect- ed our knowledge of the dominion of heat, quotations, — for comparifon, will occafionally be made, from one of the lateft and moft refpectable chemical authorities. (Murray’s System 2d Ed.) Bopies SUBMITTED TO THE HEAT OF THE COMPOUND BLOW- Pipe or Mr. Harr. Primrrive HKartas. SILEX—being in a fine powder, it was blown away by the current of gas, but when moiftened with water, ~ of various refractory Bodies. 338 it became agglutinated by the heat, and was then perfectly fufed into a colourlefs glafs. Axtumine—perfectly fufed, into a milk white enamel. Barytes—tufed immediately, with intumescence, ow- ing to water, as obferved by Lavoifier; it then be- caine folid and dry, but foon melted again into a per- — fect globule, a greyifh white enamel. STRontTiTes—the same. Guucine - perfectly fufed into a white enamel. Zircon—the fame. Lime-in {mall pieces, it was immediately blown off from the charcoal; to prevent this, as well as to obviate _ the suspicion, that any foreign matter had contributed to its fufion, the following expedient was reforted to. A pieceof lime, fromthe Carrara marble, was firongly ignited, in a covered platinum crucible ; one angle of it was then fhaped into a {mall cylinder, about one fourth of an inch high, and fomewhat _ thicker than a great pin: the cylinder remained in connection with the piece of lime: this was held by a pair of forceps, and thus the {mall cylinder of lime was brought into contact with the heat, without danger of being blown away, and without a poflibili- _ ty of contamination ; there was this farther advan- tage, (as the experiment was delicate and the deter- mination of the refult might be difficult, that, as the cylinder was held in a perpendicular pofition, if the _ lime did really melt, the column mutt fink and be- come, at leaft to a degree, blended with the fuppor- ting mafs of lime. When the compound flame fell upon the lime, the fplendor of the light was perfectly infupportable, by the naked eye, and when viewed through deep coloured glafles (as indeed all thefe experiments ought to be,) the lime was seen to be- come rounded at the angles, and gradually to sink, "till, in the courfe of a few feconds, only a {mall glo- bular protuberance remained, and the mafs of fup- porting lime was alfo fuperficially fufed at the bafe of the column, through a {pace of halfan inch in diam- D 354 Experiment on the Fufion eter. The protuberance, as well as the contiguous portion of lime, was converted into a perfectly white and glistening enamel; a magnifying glafs difcovered a few minute pores, but not the flighteft earthy ap- pearance. This experiment was repeated feveral times, and with uniform fuccefs ; may not lime there- fore be added to the lift of fufible bodies ? Macnesia.—The fame circumftances that rendered the operating upon lime difficult, exifted, in a {till great- er degree, with refpect to magnefia; its lightnefs and pulverulent form rendered it impoflible to confine it for a moment upon the charcoal, and as it has very little cohefion, it could not be fhaped by the knife as the lime had been. After being calcined, at full ig- nition, in a covered platinum crucible, it was knead- ed with water, ’till it became of the confiftence of douga. It was then fhaped into a rude cone as.acute as might be, but ftill very blunt ; the cone was three fourths of an inch long, and was supported upon a coiled wire. The magnefia, thus prepared, was expofed to the compound flame: the efcape of the water caufed the vertex of the cone to fly off in repeated flakes, and the top of the fruftrum, that thus remained gave nearly as powerful a reflection of light as the lime had done ;. from the bulk of the piece (it being now one fourth of an inch in diameter at the part where the flame was applied) no perceptible finking could be expected. After a few feconds, the piece being ex- amined, with a magnifying glafs, no roughnefles or earthy particles could be perceived on the fpot, but a number of glafly, fmooth protuberances, whofe furface was a perfectly white enamel; this experi- ment was repeated with the fame fuccefs. May not magnefia, then, be alfo added to the table of fufible ~ bodies? : Ytrria—was the only remaining primitive earth, but no fpecimen of it could be obtained. : of various refractory Bodies. 35 Pethaps then we fhall be juftified in faying, in fu- ture, that the primitive earths are fufible bodies, al- though not fufible in furnaces, in the folar focus, nor, (withthe,exception of alumine, and poffibly, barytes, ) even by a ftream of gryern 8 gas directed upon burn- ~ Ing charcoal. PLATINUM—was not only melted but volatized with . ftrong ebullition. Various MINERALS. Rock Crystat,—tranfparent and colourlefs. This mi- neral was initantly melted into a beautiful white giafs. “It not only does not melt in the focus of the mof powerful burning mirror, but, it remains without fufion, at leaft when in the ftate of Rock Cryftal, in the {till more intenfe heat, excited by a ftream of oxigen gas directed on burning charcoal.” (Murray II. 261. ) It is even imperfe aly foftened by the intenfe heat, excited by a ftream of oxigen gas, directed on the flame.” (of the blow pipe lamp.) . —(Ibid IT. 513.) © Common Quartz—fufed immediately into a vitreous globule. Gun Fuint-melted with equal rapidity ; it firft ene: white, andthe fufion was attended with ebullition and a feparation of numerous {mall ignited globules which feemed to burn away as they rolled out of the current of flame; the produé of this fufion was a beautiful fplendid enamel.—“ It is infufible before the blow pipe but lofes its colour.”—(Ibid. 518.) CHALCEDONY—melted rapidly, and gave a beautiful bluifh white enamel refembling opal. “Tt is infuf- blebefore the blow pipe.”—Ibid. 516.) ORIENTAL CAaRNELIAN—fufed with ebullition, and pro- duced a femitransparent white globule with a fine lut- tre. Rep JaspeR—from the Grampians, was slowly fufed with a fluggifh effervefence, it gave a greyifh black flag, with “white fpots, 336 Experiments on the Fufion * It is infufible before the blow pipe, even when the flame is excited by a ftream of oxygen gas.” (Ibid. 519.) Smoky Quartz—or fmoky topaz melted into a col- ourlefs globule. Beryi—melted inftantly, into a perfect globule, and continued ina violent ebullition, as long as the flame was applied, and when, after the globule became cold, it was heated again, the ebullition was equally renewed ; the globule was a glafs of a beautiful blue- ifh milky white. | «© The beryl is melted with difficulty before the blow- pipe alone, but eafily when borax is added.” EMERALD of PERU. (Ibid 511.) The fame, only the globule was green, and perfectly tran{parent. : | Oxivin—fufed into a dark brown globule, almoft black. “Tt can fcarcely be melted by the blow pipe without addition.” (Ibid 534.) Vesuvian—inttantly melted into a beautiful green glafs. ‘It melts before the blow pipe into a yellowifh glafs.” (Ibid 534.) | Leucite—inftantly fufed into a perfectly tranfparent white glafs ; the fufion was attended with ftrong eb- ullition, and many ignited globules darted from it and burnt in the air, or rolled out upon the charcoal and then burned. ‘Were they not potaflium? This ftone contains full 20 per cent of potafh : this hint will be refumed below. « Itis not fufed before the blow pipe.” (Murray III. 534.) CrrysoBERYL—(Cymophane of Hauy) was immedi- ately fufed into a greyifh white globule. “It is not melted by the blow pipe,” (Ibid 499.) A CHRYSTALIZED MINERAL. From Haddam, Connecticut, according to the Abbe Hauy it is Chrysoberyl, according to Col. Gibbs, Co- rundum: it fufed with ebullition, and {cintillations, and produced a very dark globule almoit black. of various refractory Bodies. 337 Topaz—of Saxony, melted with ftrong ebullition, and became a white enamel. “ It is infufible before the blow pipe, but melts when borax is added.” (Ibid 498.) Sappar or Kyanite—perfedtly and inftantly fufed, with ebullition, into a white enamel. ** It remains perfectly unaltered before the flame of the blow pipe even when excited by oxygen gas.” » (ibid 499.) Corunpum—of the Eaft Indies, was immediately and perfectly fufed, into a grey globule. Corunpum—of China, the fame with active ebullition. Corundum “ is not fufed by the flame of the blow- pipe on charcoal even when foda or borax is added to it.” (Ibid 495.) Zircon—of Ceylon melted, with ebullition, into a white enamel. ‘It is not melted alone before the flame of the blow pipe, but if borax is added it forms a trans- parent glafs.” (Murray III. 539.) HyacintH—of Expailly fufed into a white enamel. “Tt lofes its colour before the flame of the blow- pipe, but it is not fufed; it melts with borax into a transparent glafs.” (Ibid 540.) CINNAMON sToNE—inftantly fufed into a black globule with violent ebullition. SPINELLE Rusy—fufed immediately into an elliptical red globule. “It does not melt before the blow pipe but is fufed by the aid of borax. [Ibid 497. ] STEATITE—melted with flrong ebullition into agreyifh flag.—‘‘ It does not melt before the blow pipe, but becomes white and very hard.” [Ibid 482. | Porcelain, common pottery, fragments of Heflian cruci- bles, Wedgwood’s ware, various natural clays, as pipe and porcelain clay, fire and common brick, and com- pound rocks, &c. were fufed with equal eaie. During the action of the compound flame upon the alkaline earths, provided they were fupported by char- coal, diftinét globules often rolled and darted out from the ignited mafs, and burnt, fometimes vividly, and with peculiarly coloured flame. From the nature of the 338 Experiments on the Fufion experiments, it will not be eafy to prove, that thefe globules were the bafis of the earths, and yet there is the ftrongeft reafon to believe it; circumftances could fcarce- ly be devifed, more favourable to the fimultaneous fu- fion and decompofition of thefe bodies; charcoal highly ignited fora fupport, and an atmofphere of hydrogen al- fo in vivid and intenfe ignition; that the oxygen fhould be, under thefe circumftances, detached, is not furpri- fing, but the high degree of heat, and the prefence of ox- igen neceflarily burn up the metalloids almoft as foon as produced. If means could be devifed to obviate this difficulty, the blow pipe of Mr. Hare might become an important inftrument of analitical refearch. We can fcarcely tail to attribute fome of the appear- ances, during the fufion of the Leucite, to the decom- pofition of the potafh it contains. This impreflion was much ftrenghtened by sxpalist potafh and Soda to the compound flame, with a fup- port of charcoal; they were evidently decompofed : numerous diftinct globules rolled out from them, and burnt with the peculiar vivid, white light, and flath, which these melalloids exhibit, when produced and ig- nited in the galvanic circuit. It is hoped that thefe hints may induce a farther investigation of this fubject. — The experiments which have now been related in connection with the original ones of Mr. Hare, fuffi- ciently fhew that f{cience ‘is not a little indebted to that gentleman for his ingenious and beautiful invention.— it was certainly a happy thought, and the refult of ve- ry philofophical views of combuftion, to fuppofe that a highly combuftible ga/eous body, by intimate mixture with oxygen gas, muift, when kindled, produce intenfe heat : and it is, no doubt, to this capability of perfect- ly intimate mixture, eevee these two bodies, that the effects of the compound blow pipe, are, in a great meafure, to be afcribed. This communication has already been extended far- ther than was contemplated, but on concluding it, it may be allowable to remark, that there is now, in all of various refractory Bodies. _ $39 probability no body, except fome of the combuftible ones, which is exempt from the law of fufion by heat. If the primitive earths, and fuch minerals, as several of thofe which have been mentioned, above, are fufible, no doubt can be entertained that all other mixtures and combinations of earths are fufible alfo: for, fuch mix- tures and combinations are known to be more fufible than the primitive earths ; the metals are more fufible than the earths, and the diamond along with carbon in its other pureft forms, appears to be really the only exception; and it is probable that this is only a /eem- ing one, for, it is scarcely poflible to expofe thee bo- dies to the heat of the compound blow pipe, without at the fame time burning them up: could the heat be applied without expofing them to the contact of oxi- gen is it not probable that they alfo would be added to the lift of fufible bodies ? Yale College, May 7, 1812, ee ipa Rent en i Bre ual TS sees ee OBSERVATIONS On the Comet of 1811. By JEREMIAH DAY, Pror. or Maru. ann Nat. Puito. 1N Yate CoLbece. ON the 9th of September laft, I began a courfe of obfervations, on the Comet which has lately withdrawn from our view. ‘They were continued, with confider- able intervals of interruption, till the 13th of January. Though I was poffeffed of no inftrument, which would give the place of the Comet, with the utmoft precifion; - yet the obfervations were fuffliciently correct, for a de- termination of the elements of its orbit, with a near approach to exactnefs. Few Comets have prefented themfelves to our view, under circumftances more favourable, for obferving their motions. Many have appeared for a few days, and then, fuddenly retired. But this was vifible, for fev- erable months, even to the naked eye. During this period, it traverfed afpace, of more than 130 degrees, in the heavens. A general idea of the direction of its motion may be obtained, by conceiving a great circle to be drawn through the ftar «, in the extremity of the tail of the Great Bear; and the bright ftar in the Eagle. It was near the firft of thefe, on the 2d of Oc- tober ; and very near the latter, on the i1ft of Decem- ber, as Mr. Bowditch had predicted, two months be- fore. It pafled acrofs the conftellation of the Great Bear, the head of Afterion, the right arm of Bootes, the northern part of Hercules, the Eagle, and the bow of Antinous ; and when I faw it laft, on the 13th of January, it was a little fouth of the head of Equuleus. Clouds intercepted the view of it, one or two of the following evenings; then fucceededa period of moon- light; and, when the moon had pafled the full, the | iD $42 Observations on comet had advanced too near the fun, to be longer vifible. I had found its place, from time to time, by taking its diftance from fome of the principal fixed fiars, with a fextant, graduated to every ten feconds. The time was given, by a well regulated clock. To diminifh the errours of obfervation, each of the dis- tances was generally meafured ten or twelve times in fucceflion, and a mean taken from the whole. ‘The re- quifite corrections, for the refraction of the atmofphere, were afterwards applied.. The following are fome of the obferved diftances. Two or three of the firft are not probably very correct, as they were taken, when the comet was fo near the horizon, as to render the view of it obfcure, and the refraction uncertain. a Apparent time. Dist. from Arct. Fr.y Orse. Maj. _ hem: ROE i F wane, Sept. 9th, 8° 9 45 38 26 15 18 1o 13 oS 42 46 30 il 59 40 16 SF 40 26 8 10 O 34 17 S17 39 44 26 9 26 38 18 8 28 38 57 iO 8 50 28 From « Lyre. B Urse Min. Oct. 11 8 47 BU L254 27 33 54 Ly 8 52 242010 82 (29739 18 US: 25 47 12 33 24 24 a Aguile oe, 8 4 13 56 30 41 6 12 28 8 10 18 6 54 39) 27 38 Nov. 3 TAG.» (idk Sah 30 19 4 4A 7 50 1217/48 28 S512 12 7 18 18 14 7 18 38 4 14 7 49 20 1 43 16 18 49 15 Wane 20 54 54 15 14 5 22 6 52 26 43 17 8 16 34 24: ies 28 17 14 6 30 4 Dec. 8 6 8 37 28 24 3 57 48 10 Wa08 38 34 20 21 5) PEC LZO 12 7 36 39 89 82 6 25 40 16 6 53 41 39 8 8 41 25 290 640 483043 1048 5 the Comet of 1811. 344 - This comet came to us, from the regions of the fouth. it crofled the ecliptic on the 11th of July, and advanc- 2d fo far to the north, that on the 28th of September, tt was within the circle of perpetual apparition of this atitude, and, of courfe, continued above the horizon, she whole 24 hours. In two or three days from this, t reached its greateft northern declination, about 50 legrees ; and then began to return towards the equa- or. But it did not attain its higheft geoveutric lati- tude, till the middle of October. Its apparent place was then, within 28 degrees of the pole of the ecliptic. tsmotion as {een from the earth, was, during the months of September and Odtober, nearly in the arc of a great circle. But the latter part of the time, in which it was vifible, it fenfibly deviated to the eaft of its form- er direction; though, on account of its moderate an- rular velocity, its elongation from the fun was then rapidly diminifhing. The rate of its apparent motion nas been lefs, than that of many other comets. One feen in 1472 moved 40 degrees, and another in 1770, 15° in 24 hours. But the progrefs of the late comet iever exceeded two degrees in 24 hours: and during he latter part of the time, it did not amount to half 4 degree. This is a general view, of the apparent motion of che comet, to a {fpectator onthe earth. But its rea/ mo- ion will be found to be widely different: fo much fo, that, while the apparent motion was, moft of the time, towards the eaft; its real motion in longitude was welt- ward, or contrary to the order of the figns. ‘To de- termine the direction and rate of this motion, it was neceflary to refer it to the sun, asa centre, and to cal- culate the e/ements of the comet’s orbit. Thefe are the perihelion diftance, the time of pafling the perihelion, the /ongitude of the perihelion, the longitude of the node, and the inclination of the orbit to the ecliptic. Yo obtain a firft approximation, to the time and diitance of the perihelion, fome of the early obfervations were made ufe of. But for the final corrections, it was ne- 344 Obfervations on ceflary to take fuch, as had a greater interval of time betweenthem. The obfervations, of the 17th of Sep- tember, the 17th of October, and the 14th of Decem- ber were accordingly feleéted: and the elements were corrected by the method of La Place, as given, in Sir - Henry Englefield’s treatife on the “ Determination of the orbits of Comets.” To fucceed with this method, it was neceflary that the elements fhould be very care- fully prepared. For the convenience of calculation, the three obfervations were reduced to 8 o’clock, mean time at Yale College, by applying to the obferved dif- tances, a proportional part of the diurnal variation. The right afcenfion and declination of the ftars, from which the diftances of the comet had been taken, were found, by comparing the catalogues of Dr. Bradley, De La Caille, Piazzi, Zach, Wollafton and Pond, in Vince’s Aftronomy, Hutton’s Dictionary, Rees’ Cy- clopedia, and Mendoza’s Tables. Thefe generally a- greed, within a very few feconds, with refpect to the ftars in queftion. ‘The corrections, for precifion, aber- ration, and nutation were applied; and from the right afcenfions and declinations, the latitude and longitude of the ftars, were calculated to feconds; as were alfo the geocentric latitudes and longitudes of the comet. The latter were farther corrected, by applying the equations, for the aberrations of light. The three la- titudes and longitudes thus obtained, were, G ocen. Lon. Latitude. September 17, 153° 84" 36” 88° 39! 56) October 17, 221 54 28 62 27 43 November 14, 2386 9 15 41 50-53 Taking thefe, and the approximate perihelion dif tance and time, as the bafis of the fucceeding calculation I proceeded to derive from the comet’s obferved longi- tudes and latitudes, the arc which it defcribed, between the firft and fecond obfervation ; and alfo between the fecond and third ; for the purpofe of comparing them. with the correfponding arcs, obtained by taking the difference of the three anomalies. If thefe had been the Comet of 1811. 345 found to agree; no other correction of the elements would have been requifite, to adapt them to the three obfervations. But this was not to be expected, on the firft trial. ‘There was a difference of feveral degrees. It was neceflary therefore to make a fecond, and a third hypothefis, in one of which, the perihelion diftance was changed, and, in the other, the time of perihelion. Fromthe errours of the three, the equations were form- ed, for determining the correCtions to be applied to the aflumed elements. After two fets of hypothefes, a perihelion diftance, and time of perihelion were obtain- ed, which gave the arc defcribed by the comet, be- tweed the 17th of September and the 14th of Novem- ber, and meafured by an angle at the fun, within lefs than half a minute of that deduced from the obferv- ed longitudes and latitudes : The one being SSO 2B E14 The other 58 25 52 Difference Oo? @ 22" As this difference is within the limits of the unavoid- able errours of obfervation, I did not attempt to carry the approximation any farther. Some flight variations would probably have been made, by procefles depend- ing on a comparifon of al/ the obfervations. But as they would be of little amount ; and as perfect accura- cy would not be attainable after all; 1 proceeded to cal- culate the remaining elements, from the two already found. The whole together were as follow: Perihelion diftance 1.0329 ; the mean diftance of the fun from the earth being 1. Time of perihelion Sept. 12th, 1 o’clock, P. M. mean time at Greenwich. S. Longitude of the afcending node, 4 20° 22: Inclination of the orbit to the ie ecliptic, TS). 4 Longitude of the perihelion, counted on the orbit, Diftance of the perihelion from the node, 2 SS 8 Motion retrograde. DAVE? 14! 346 Obfervations on The following diftances of the comet from the earth, and the fun were alfo calculated : Diftances from the earth. in senudiam. of the earth’s orbit. In miles. July 10th, 2.411 229,045,000 September 17th, 1.512 143,670,000 October 17th, 1.224 116,290,000 November 14th, 17591 151,145,000 December 16th, 2.359 224,070,000 Diftances from the Sun. Semidium. of earth's orbit. Miles. Sept. 12th 1.0329 98,125,500 sept. 7thand 17th, 1.0367 98,490,C00 Sept. 2d and 22d, 1.0470 99,470,000 Aug. 23 and Oct 1, +1.081 103,000,000 Aug. 8 and Od. 17, 1.189 113,000,000 July 23 and Nov.1, 1.323 126,000,000 July 11 and Nov. 14, 1.463 139,000,000 June 23 and Dec. 1, 1.655 157,000,000 June 9 and Dec. 16, 1.831 174,000,000 May 23, 1811, and ere one ‘ 2.022 192,000,000 mere a ‘ e | ‘ 2,385 227 000,000 In addition to the elements given above, one thing farther is neceflary to complete the theory of the com- et’s motion—the period of its revolution. ‘This is an article on which much labour has heretofore been bes- towed, with very little fuccefs. “Two methods are ob- vioully fuggefted,for determining the time of a comet’s return. ‘he moft direct of thefe, is to derive, by calcu- lation, the figure and dimenfions of the wole orbit, from that {mall part of it, which is defcribed, while the comet is vifible. It refults from the well known laws of erav- itation, that any body, moving round the fun, and influ- enced by the attraction of no other body, mutt move in one of the three conic fections, the elliplis, the parabola, the Comet of 1811. 347 or the hyperbola. Ifit is ever to return, in a regular orbit, it muft revolve in an ellipfis. If its motion is in either of the two other figures, after having once pafled the perihelion, it will continually recede from the fun, and will return no more; unlefs its direction fhould be changed, by the attraction of fome other body. In each of thefe cafes, however, if a portion of the pathofa com- et could be obtained by obfervation, with perfect exact- nefs ; from this might be deduced, the remaining parts of the orbit, on the fuppofition, that its figure fhould remain unaltered. But here two infuperable diflicul- ties occur, one from the errours of obfervation, the oth. er from the liability of the comet, to be diverted from its courfe, by the attraction of the planets, and perhaps of the fixed ftars. The ground of thefe difliculties, lies not in the procefses for calculating the orbit ; but in ta- king the obfervations, and in the change of the orbit it- felf. Errours too minute to be avoided, even by the niceft inftruments hitherto in ufe, might be fuflicient, in certain cafes, efpecially where the orbit is very eccen- tric, to make a variation of many years, in the periodi- cal time. The moft able computers, have accordingly differed whole centuries, in the periods, which they have refpectively aflizned to the fame comet. ‘The only ca- fes to which calculation can be applied, with any hope of fuccefs, are thofe in which the time of revolution is very fhort. The comet of 1770, has been fuppofed to be one of this clafs. Lexell, Pingre, and Burckhart all agree in giving it a period of about five years and an half. There is reafon to believe, that this is the orbit, which really correfponds with that part of its motion, which was obferved. But notwithiftanding this, the comet has never been feen fince; though it ought to have re- turned fix or eight times, in the intervening forty years. If its orbit was truly afligned, it feems it muft have been fince altered, by the attraction of the planets or of fome other body, whofe influence may be fuflicient, not only to vary materially the time of revolution ; but $48 Objervations on even to change the comet’s path, from an ellipfis, toa parabola or hyperbola, fo that it fhall never return. __ The fecond method, which has been adopted, for af- certaining the periodical time of a comet ; and, on which confiderable reliance has been placed, is, to compare the elements which are commonly computed, with thofe of all the other comets, on which calculations have been made. If feveral of them are found to have the fame elements ; it is concluded they muft be one and the fame comet. For it isfearcely credible that in the end- lefs variety which is found to prevail, in the directions and rate of their motions, there fhould be any two, which fhould have precifely the fame perihelion diftance, the fame longitude of their nodes, the fame place of peri- helion,and the fame angle of inclination to the ecliptic : and, in addition to all this, that they fhould appear at intervals of time fo regular, as to correfpond with the — fucceffive returns of the fame comet. On this ground, it has been fuppofed, that the comet of 1759 has a pe- riod of about 75 years, becaufe one with fimilar elements was feen in the years 14.56, 1531, 1607, and 1682. But no fuch correfpondence is found, in the cafe of the late comet. From acomparifon of its elements with others — whofe motions have been heretofore obferved and cal- culated ; it will be feen that this is one, which is not in- — cluded in the lift. In perthelion diftance, it nearly agrees with one, which appeared in 1718; but differs from it, more than 40 degrees, in the inclination of the orbit. In the longitude of the node, it is within lefs than a degree of that in 1759; but varies materially from it, in the longitude and diftance of the perihelion. In the inclination of the orbit, it differs but little from — one in 1097 and another in 1763 ; but has no agreement with them, in the other elements. Sothat this method of determining the periodical time fails, in its applica-_ tion to the prefent cafe. And even, if the elements of this comet, had been found to agree, with thofe of any preceding one; it would have ferved rather to thew, in what interval of time it 4as returned, than to give us — the Comet of 1811. 349 affurance, that it wi// return, at the fame interval, here- after. The reafons of this, have already been ftated to the Academy, by Col. Mansfield, in his ingenious re- marks, on the comet of 1807. The motion of the late comet, as feen from the fun, was nearly north and fouth; inclining however, about 17 degrees, towards the northweft and foutheaft. It pafled northward, through the conftellations of the Lion, the Great Bear, and the Camelopard. On the 19th of September, to a fpectator in the fun, it was within three degrees of that part of the heavens, to which the axis of the earth is directed. It reached its greateit northern heltocentric latitude 73 degrees, on th 1ft of October ; and then returned, through Ce. pheus, the left wing of the Swan, Equuleus and Aqua- rius. It will proceed through the Microfcope, the In- dian, and the Octant ; till, at its greateft diftance from the earth, it will be between the Chameleon and the Flying-fifh, within 17 degrees of the fouth pole of the ecliptic. Should it vifit us again, it will return through the Ship, the Air pump, Hydra and the Sextant. _ This comet has not approached fo near to the fun, as moit of thofe, whofe elements have been calculated. Its Jeaft diftance, is 98 millions of miles; a little greater than that of the earth from the fun. Its path lies be- tween the orbits of the earth and Mars. It is the opin- ion of Newton, that no comet is ever feen by us, when farther diftant than Jupiter. Of about one hundred, whofe elements have been calculated, all, except four, have come nearer to the fun than Mars. Thefe four fell between Mars and Jupiter. About 20 came between Mars and the éarth; 15 between the earth and Venus $ nearly 30 between Venus and Mercury ; and about the fame number, within the orbit of Mercury. ‘The re- markable one of 1680, came much nearer to the fun, than any other: fo near, as to be heated, according to Newton, 2000 times hotter than red hot iron. Its leaft diflance, from the furface of the fun, was not equal to a fifth part of his diameter. E 450) Obfervations ot There is no danger, that the late comet will ever firike the earth ; unlefs its orbit fhould, hereafter, be materially changed. Its leaft diftance, in the prefent inftance was more than an hundred million miles. ‘This was about the middle ef October. Its neareft approach to the orbit of the earth, was on the 11th of July, about 40 million miles. It can never come much nearer than this, without a change in the pofition or figure of its orbit. Its rate of motion, when neareft the fun, was 95,000 miles in an hour. ‘This is a velocity, 120 times greater than that of found, or a cannon ball. For the purpofe of determining, if practicable, the size of the comet, I viewed it feveral times, through a three feet reflecting telefcope, with a magnifying pow- er of 140. But I was unable to perceive any nucleus, with a difk. fufficiently defined, to admit of meafur- ing itsdiameter. ‘This will not appear furprifing, when it is confidered, that out of 15 or 20 comets, which Dr. Herfchel has had an opportunity of obferving, there were only two or three, on which he was able to difco- ver any regular difk, even with the very powerful telefcopes in his pofleflion. For want of a proper re-— gard to the diftinction between the different parts of a comet ; 20 great dependence is to be placed, upon the accounts given us, of the fize of thofe, which were formerly feen. ‘They have been frequently reprefent- ed, as larger than any of the planets; and, in fome inflances, as appearing nearly equal to the fun and moon. Thefe ftatements may be true, if they are meant torefer to the whole of the luminous {pot, or body of light, which is perceived, by the naked eye. But this, in many cafes at leaft, confifts of three parts —the nucleus, the head, and the coma. The nucleus. appears to be a compact {pherical body, with a circum- ference regularly defined, like a planet.. The head, is - a body of denfe light, which, like an atmofphere, fur- rounds the nucleus. The coma, is a {pace occupied by a fainter light, extending confiderably farther round, than the head. All thefe may be fo blended, to the ~ view of the naked eye, as to appear to conftitute but — the Comet of 1811. 35) one body of light; fo that the diameter of the coma may be taken, for the diameter of the comet itfelf. A telefcope, by expanding the head, often makes it ap- pear lefs bright, and lefs diftinct. It fpreads it out, in- to a kind of nebula, which has no well defined boun- dary ; but which may, notwithftanding, be miftaken for the nucleus. he latter is generally too fmall, to be diftin@ly perceived, by ordinary telefcopes; and in many inftances, cannot be difcovered, by thofe of the greateft magnifying power. ‘That of 1807, according to Dr. Herschel, fubtended an angle of only one or two feconds ; while the diameter of the coma was two or three hundred times as great La Place and others have even advanced the opinion, that the whole body of the comet is fometimes a mere collection of aeri- form fluids, moft condenfed near the centre, but con- taining no fubftance fufficiently compact, to obftruct en- _ tirely the paflage of light. In the prefent inftance, I obferved nothing, which could either invalidate or con- firm, fuch an hypothefis. ‘The head appeared, like an obfcure cloud or mift. ‘The coma was nearly of the fame brightnefs with the tail. A darker fpace, or a zone of weak light, very perceptibly fainter than either the head, or the coma, intervened between the two. The tail of this comet, was more fplendid, than is common: though fome others have exceeded it, both in brightnefs and extent. That of 1680, wastwo or three degrees in breadth, and about 70, in length. ’ That of 1759 was, according to Pingre, 90° long. One in 1618 is faid to have extended more than a hundred degrees. The length cannot be meafured, with exactnefs. For the extremity does not terminate at once ; but gradu- ally diminifhes in brightnefs, till it is loft, in the itll fain- ter light ofthe fky. The dimenfions will vary, accord- ing to the ftate of the atmofphere. ‘They will even ap- pear different, to different.eyes, at the fame time. A- bout the middle of Oétober, Ljudged the tail of this co- met to be nearly or quite 15 degreeslong. It could not be lefS than twelve. If it be taken at 12° on the 17th ; 352 Observations on ° and the breadth at half adegree; it willbe found, by calculation, that the length in miles, was 40,000,000 ; and the breadth 1,000,000: the whole occupying a fpace, which would not be filled by 60 million fuch globes as our earth. : Stars were frequently to be feen through the tail ; though they were confiderably obfcured. ‘That fide of it, which was turned towards the part of the heavens, to which the comet was moving, was a little convex, as ufual, and brighter than the oppofite fide. I re- peatedly obferved a dark line, like a fhadow, extend- ing from one end of its tail, to the other; and pafling nearly through the middle, but a little further from the advancing fide, than from the other. The whole ap- pearance was fuch, as to correfpond very well with the fuppofition, that the tail was hollow. The light was denfeft on each fide, and gradually diminifhed, towards the middle, where was a narrow fpace, almoft as dark as the neighbouring parts of the fky. This peculiarity — has not been mentioned, in the accounts of other comets, except in a few inftances. THevelius ftates, that one which he faw in 1665, caft a fhadow through the mid- dle of the tail. A fimilar appearance was obferved in the comet of 1744; and alfo by Caflini, in that of 1680. I have not entered into any {peculations on the nature and w/e, of this wonderful train of light, which is as un- accountable, to the aftronomer, as to the vulgar obfer- ver. Some extravagance of conception is certainly ex- cufable, in attempting to explain the conftitution of a luminous object, which occupies a greater fpace, than all the other bodies in the folar fyftem. But the fchemes which have hitherto been propofed, for this purpofe, are rather to be confidered as difplays of the power of ima- gination ; than fpecimens of the exercife of found and fober reafon. Thofe who have a tafte for thefe vifiona- ry hypothefes, may eafily contrive them for themfelves ; or may find, in the common aftronomical works, a very convenient aflortment of them, adapted to the fancy, of almoft every defcription of readers. Yale-College, March 20th, 1812. No. XXII. eer SS Gwenroun erect) pe SS CALCULATION Of the Longitude of Yale-College, from the Solar Eclipfe of September 17th, 1811. , By JEREMIAH DAY ann JAMES L. KINGSLEY, ProFrssors in YALE-COLLEGE. a ee IT is important, that the Latitude and Longitude of places, especially of thofe in which aftronomical obfer- vations are to be made, fhould be fettled, with as much accuracy, as the nature of the cafe will admit. The Latitude is eafily obtained, from the meridian altitudes of the fun, and the fixed ftars. But fome more complicated procefs is neceflary, for determin- ing the Longitude. Moft of the methods in ufe, for this purpofe, depend on the motion of the moon in her orbit. Several of them, however, cannot be relied on, to give the longitude, with any great de- gree of accuracy ‘That founded on the obfervation of folar eclipfes, has an advantage in this refpect, over moft of the others. As we had feen no circumftantial ac- count of any attempt, to afcertain the longitude of Yale- College ; we made preparations, to avail ourfelves of the opportunity furnifhed, by the eclipfe of the fun, of Sept. 17th 1811. The going of the clock, from which the time was to be taken, was carefully attended to, for feveral months preceding. Its rate was found, by obferving the paflage of the fun and fixed ftars, acrofs the meridian. A tranfit inftrument, with a telefcope of about twenty inches focus, had been fixed, under the cupola of the Lyceum, nearly two years before. Care had been taken, during this period, by repeated obfervations of the pole ftar, to obtain an accurate ad- juftment of the telefcope in the plane of the meridian. “S54 Longitude of Yale-College. When the meridian was fatisfactorily determined, an object was placed in view, nearly two miles diftant, by which the inftrument might afterwards be eafily adjus- ted at pleafure. The day of the eclipfe was remarkably fine. Scarce a cloud was to be feen, the whole time the fun was above the horizon. ‘There was little or no wind, to difturb our obfervations. One of us was ftationed at the clock ; while the ather was looking at the fun, through a three feet reflecting telefcope. ‘The eclipfe was perceived, al- moft,. if not quite, at the inftant of its commencement. The time of the end was obferved, with no lefs exact- nefs. The rate of the clock was determined, by obferva- tions on the meridian tranfits, of the fun, and of the fixed flars, on that and the preceding and following days. It was found to lofe eight feconds, in twenty- four hours. The paflage of the fun, acrofs the meri- dian, on the day of the eclipfe, was very carefully ob- ferved with the tranfit inftrument. The time, by the clock, was 11h —54’—9.5” The following were the obfervations of the beginning and end of the eclipfe. ene ise Beginning, by the clock, - - - = SOUS 22 Clock slower than the sun, - - - 0 5 50.5 Allowance tor the rate of the clock, = i) Ye) gO) HO esON2 Apparent time of beginning, - - - O 44 12.7 Time of end, by the clock, - - - $8 460.55 Clock Slower than the sun, - - - 55065 Allowance for the rate of the clock, - iO ie On ad ap Apparent time of end, - - 3 51, 50ue To find the latitude of the pices the meridian alti- tude of the fun, was repeatedly taken, with an Equa- torial Inftrument, containing a telefcope of 18 inches focus. The mean of twelve obfervations, was very nearly 41°—18’. he latitude is taken at this, in the following calculations ; and the reductions of parallax Longitude of Yale-College. 355 dnd latitude are made, according to that eftimate of the figure of the earth, which gives the proportion of the polar to the equatorial diameter, as 300 to 301. From thefe data, the longitude might be calculated, if the folar and lunar tables could be relied on, as per- fectly correct. But it is well known that they are lia- ble to an errour, which might materially affect the re- falt. It is neceflary, therefore, that the tables fhould be corrected, or that the time of true conjunction fhould be obtained, from obfervations, at fome place or places, whofe longitude is already known. For this, we are indebted to a very obliging communication from Na- thaniel Bowditch Efq. of Salem ; on whofe accuracy in calculation, full reliance may be placed: and who had undertaken to collect the obfervations, which were made on the eclipfe, in different parts of the United States. He finds the time of true conjunction to be at 6h. 57’. 05.8” apparent time at Greenwich ; the longi- tude of the fun and moon, at that time, 173° 56’ 32.4 ; and the moon's Latitude 36’ 40.2” North. The Fol- lowing are the calculations for the longitude at Yale College. For the parallaxes, ‘Fc. at the beginning of the Eclip/e. Re Te’ Sa Apparent time of beginning at Yale-College, O 44 12.7 Assumed difference of Longitude, - 451 50 Apparent time at Greenwich, - - Jo Oy Oee Sun’s Right Ascension in time, - 11 37 34 Sun past meridian, - - - - O 44 12.7 Correction for the sun’s advance, - - + 0.7 R. ascension of mid-heaven, in time, : 12 21 47.4 Do. - - in degrees, =i, wl 85° 2G obit Distance of monde from Capricorn, - 84 335 09 home *8. Apparent time of beginning - aut, (8 SO O24 Do. of conjunction, “(from Mr. Bowditch) - 6 57 05.8 Time from beginning to conjunction, . 1,20: 03.8 “Moon’s Lon. at conjunction, - - 173° 56! 32".4 356 Motion in 1 hour, (by Hite s cables, Do. in 21m. 3.1s. Moon’s Lon. at the beginning e Moon’s Lat. at conjunction, - - - 36 40.2N Motion in 1 hour » - - - - 2 43.22 Do. in 21m. 3.1s. S é “ is = 57.28 Laat. at the beginning, - - - - 32 59.7 Dist. merid. from Cap. 84° 33'09'' Cos. 8.9774:201 Co. Lat. reduced, - 48 53 20 ‘Tan. 10.0591364 Arc I - = 6 12 30 Tan. 9.0365563 Dist. of the isle - 23 27 42 Arc Ii. - - - 17 15 12 Sin.A.C. 0. 5278330 Arc I - - 6 12 30 Sin. 9.0340022 Dist. of merid. fon Cap. 84 33 09 Tan. 11.0206140 Dist. of the nonagesimal vx 00 34 Tan 10.5824499 from es Add - Lon. of nonagesimal, 165 20 34 Lon. of the moon 173 16 36.8 Dist. ofthemoon E. fr.non. 7 56 02.8 . Dist. of the non’. fr. Cancer 75 20 34 Cos. 9.4031818 Arc Il. 17 15 12Tan.F10 19.4921624 Alt. of nonagesimal 50 49 44 "Tan. 10.0889806 Moon’s equa. joes F ee 53! 59.9 =z 3239".9 Reduc. for Lat. 41° 18’ — 4.7 , Moon’s reduced hor. par. 3235.2 Sun’s horizontal parallax - 8.7 Hor. par. of moon from sun, 3226.5 Log. 3.5087317 Altitude of the nonages. 50 49 44 Sin. 9.8894491 Moon’s Lat - - O 32 59.7 Cos.A.C. 0.0000200 Log., 3.3982008 Dist. of the moon from non. 7 56 02.8 Sin. 9.1899868 Longitude of Yale-College. - 0° 29/32". v4 - 10 22.9 ~ 173,16, 2608 Longitude of Yi ale College. 857 Approximate par. in Lon. 5' 45.3" Logs 2.5381876 Se 3.3982008 Dist. of moon from } 8 148.1 Sin. 9.1491717 non.-{.par. in lon. ae Correct par. in lon, 349.5" = 5 49.5 Log. 2.543372F Hor. par. of moon from sun, 3226.5" Log. 3.5087317 Alt. of the non. = 50 49 44 Cos. 9.8004686 ist Part of par. in lat. 2038" = 33 58 Log. 3.309200 2d Part 3 - = 2 0.7 Correct par. in Lat. - Cena Moon’s true Lat: = 32 59.7 N: Moon’s apparent lat. - O 59 Ss Miooon’s hor. semid. 14’ 44.27" Inflexion, 2 aa Q 14, 42.27 Augment. for 50° alt. , 10.73 ee Moon’s cor. semid. 1453 = 893” Sun’s semid. DS og 2 Frradiation, —— 3.5 ‘Sun’s cor. semid. 1553.7 = 953.7 “Sun and moon’s semidiameters 1846.7 ‘Moon’s appar. Lat. - - 59 Puma) Seve Lis 1905.7 Log. 3.2800543 Difference, : > > 1787.7 Log. 3.2522946 2)6.5323491 ~ Appar. Lon. of moenfrom sun, 1845.76 Log. 3.2661745 Par. in lon. - - - rE 349.5 -True lon. of moon from sun, 2195.26 Moon’s hourly mo. in lon. 29’ 32.7" Sun’s do, - “ 2 26.55 FE 358 Longitude of Yale. College. Hourly mo. fr. sun 27' 06.15"= 1626.15" Log. A.C.6.7888394 One hour, - =e 3600 Log. 3.5563025 Lon. of moon from sun, - 2195.26 Log. 3.3414860 ip Time from beginn. ) 2. m. s- to conjunction, ff 1 20 59.9=4859.9 Log. 3.6866279 "l'ime of begining, 0 44 12.7 "Fime of conj. at Y.C. 2 05 12.6 For the Parallaxes, f°. at the end: he Me. S- Apparent time of end, Sot 50cm Assumed differ. of lon. 4 51 50 Apparent time at Greenwich, 8 43 46.8 Sun’s Right-ascen.m time, 11 38 02 Sun past meridian, 3.51 56.8 *Cor. for the sun’s advance, +f 3.4 R. Ascen. of mid heaven 15 30 02.2 Do. in degrees, 232930 33” Dist. of merid. from cap. 37 29 27 hb. m. Se Appa: time of end, 8 43 468 * Nore. This correction, which depends on thé difference in the equation of time, on two fucceflive days, is generally omitted, in the rules which are giv- en, for finding the right afcenfion of midheaven ; prob- ably becaufe it is.of {mall account. But, in ftrict pro- priety, it ought to beincluded. In-the prefent inftancé, ‘it will make a difference, of more than a minute, in- ‘the longitude of the nonagefimal. The equation of time is 21 feconds greater, on the 18th of Sept, than on the 17th. The fun therefore, in twenty four hours, not only makes a complete revolution ; but, in addi-, tion to this, falls to the weft of the meridian, fuch a diftance, as correfponds to 21 feconds of time. A pro- portional part of this, fhould be allowed, for the time between 12 o’clock, and the end of the ¢clipfe. Longitude of Yale College. . $59 Bo. of conjunction, 6 57 05.8 Time from conjunc. toend 1 46 41 Moon’s lon. at conjunc. 173° 56' 32.4" Motion in one hoyr, 29 33.2 Do. in 46m. 41s. 22 59.6 Moon’s long. at the end, 174 49 05,2 Moon’s lat. at conjunc, 36 40.2 N, Motion in one hour, - 2 43 Do. in 46m. 41s. 2 06.8 Moon’s lat. at the end, 41 30 Dist. merid. fromcap. 37°29! 27" Cos. 9.8995200 Co. lat. reduced, 48 53 20 Tan. 10.0591364 Arc. I. - 42 16 37 Tan. 9.9586564 Dist. of the poles, 23 27 42 Arc. II. 18 48 55 Sin. A. C. 0.4914459 Dist. of merid. fram cap. 37 29 27. Tan. 9.8848366 Dist. non. from cap. 57 59 39 Tan. 10.2041135 ‘Subtract this from 270 Lon. nonages. 212 0 21 Lon. of the moon, 174 49 O5 Moon frem non. 37 11 16 ae Non. from cap. 57 59 39 Cos. 9.724 2805 Arc. IT. 18 48 55 Tan.+-10.19,5324044 Alt. of non. 32 4409 ‘Tan. 9.8081239 Hor. par. ofmoon fr. sun. 3227.2" Log. — 3.5088124 Alt. of nonages. 32 44 09 = Sin. 9.7330098 Moon’s lat. © 41 30 Cos. A. €. 0.0000316. | Log. 3.2418538 Moon from non. 37 11 16 Sin. 9.7813454 Approx. par. in long. 17 35 = Log. 3,0231992 Log. 3.2418538 \Mo. fromnon. # par. 3728 51 Sin. 9,7842577 360 Longitude of Yale College. Cor. par. inlong. 1062" = 17.42" — Log. Hor. par. mo. from sun 3227.2 Log. Alt. of the non, 32 44 O09 Cos. 1st part of par. in lat. 45 14.54 Log. 2d part of do. 16 Cor. par. in lat. AS 14.7 Moon’s true lat. 41 30 Moon’s appar. lat. 224.7 = 8 Ads 7S. M’s. semid.-inflex. 14 42.5 Aug. for 25° 30' alt. 6.1 Mo’s. cor. semid. 14 48.6 Sun’s do. 15 53.7 Sun and mo’s. sem. 30 42.3 == 1842.3” Mo’s. app. lat. 224.7 Sum 2067. Log. Difference, 1617.6 Log. Appar. long. of moon from sun } Par. in Lon. True long. of moon from sun, Mo’s. hourly mot. 29 53.15 Sun’s do. — 2 26.55 M’s. hourly — mot. from sun, One hour, Long. of m. fr. sun Time fr. conj.toend 1 App. ume of end @. A Se F) - we S$. 46 374263974 Log. 1 56.8 1828.55 Log. 1062. oe es 2890.55 3600 ae 2890.55 Log. $.02611415 3.5088124 9.9248852 3.4336976 3.3153408 3.2088711 2)6.5242116 32621058 3. 5568025 ree 4609808 rcs 5.8060022 Longitude of Yale College. 36} App. time of conj. 2 05 19.4 Do. cal. from begin. 2 05 12.6 Mean, 2 05 16 Conj. at Greenwich 6 57 05.8 ae ee os h m s fe) 2 0 Dif. of long. 4 51 49.8=72 57 27. It would have been defirable, to obtain a correction of the tables, from obfervations, made at the firft me- ridian at Greenwich ; that our calculation might not be affected, by the {mall errours, to which the longitudes of all places in the United States are liable. But. as this eclipfe was not vifible in Europe, we have had re- courfe to obfervations made here, to determine the latitude and longitude of the moon, and the true time of conjunction. Yale College, Nov. 24, 1812. tv po t} OBSERVATIONS ON LANGUAGE. By tne Rev. TIMOTHY DWIGHT, S.7. P. LE. D. Iv is a primary principle in all researches concerning language, that nations will uniformly have such words, as express those ideas, which they wish to communicate. _ Equally true is it, that they will, for no length of time, retain any other. Other words may be retained in books ; but they will be lost out of the customary speech. What is true, in this respect, of nations, is equally true of smaller classes of mankind. ‘Thus lawyers, chemists, mariners, miners, &c. have a peculiar lan- guage of their own; made up of many words, unused, ~ and ordinarily unknown, by other persons, belonging to the same nations. This partial, local language de- scends, also, from generation to generation in these classes of men, severally, as those of nations to their posterity. _ This scheme admits of no exception; but is an abso- Jute, as well as universal, law of language. From it many truths may be learned, which are of great impor- tance in the philosophy of man; and may be learned. with more ease, and more certainty, than in any other manner. For example; the character of a nation may with absolute certainty be extensively known from this source. ‘Phe Latin language contains many terms, em- ployed about war ; that of the Greeks, many terms, ex- pressive of the several ideas pertaining to art, and sci- ence ; that of the Hebrews, many, denoting things, be- longing to morality and religion ; and that of the French, S | ee many, expressive of the various modes, and cireumstan- i ces, of polite intercourse. Were we absolutely destitute of any history of these nations, and yet possessed of © vocabularies, containing such words, as have been here © alluded to; and were we assured, that the several class- _ es of words had been in customary use among them, re- ‘ spectively ; we should know with indubitable certainty, ~ that the Romans were a military ; the Greexs, a learned, © and. philosophical; the Hebrews, a religious; and the © French, a polished people. | Equally evidential are the words, found m any lan- guage, of the pursuits, and other circumstances, of the people, by which it was used. After what has been © said, little needs to be added on this part of the subject. © If we know, that a man is a seaman, because he cus- © tomarily uses nautical phraseology ; we as certainly © know, that a nation, whose language contains many com- — mercial terms, is a commercial nation. ‘The English — language abounds in words, expressive of the rights, privileges,. and duties, of freemen. ‘his fact is a com- — plete proof, independently of all history, that they have been much occupied in enjoying, and maintaining, these rights and privileges; and in performing these duties: — in other words, that they have been a nation of freemen. — It follows, irresistibly, from this principle, that im all — cases, where nations no longer wish to communicate certain ideas, which they have been accustomed to make, in some degree, subjects of their conversation, the words, — which dencte such ideas, will be dropped out of their — speech. This 1s one of the great sources of what is. called the flux of languages. ‘The reason, why a mul- ~ titude of words, formerly belonging to the English tongue, are not now lost, except so far as they are pre-_ served in ancient books, is, that they have prolonged their existence in glossaries. ue Nor is-it less evident, that, whenever nations imbibe — new ideas, which they wish to communicate, they will regularly originate such words, as are necessary to ex- press them. A multitude of such words are continual- — ly introduced into the English language, at the present — time. The flux of languages is extensively derived, al- ‘Observations on Language. I, ture furnishes a strong example of a numerous, and sys- “tematical, addition, suddenly made in this manner to the principal languages of Europe. _ From the observations, already made, we derive an “obvious reason for the remarkable fact, that one dan- guage contains words, to which there are no correspond- ig words in another. A nation under a monarchical government has occasion to communicate few ideas con- cerning subjects, involved ina state of freedom. Ina free State such words form a large vocabulary. When the people of /rance formed themselves into a republic, they were obliged to transfer many words, expressive of such ideas, out of the Znglish into the /rench language. The modern nations of Hurope, also, have for the same reason derived most of their technical terms from the Greek language. In the names ef simple ideas, al languages, it is be- lieved, extensively agree; because most ideas of this sort are necessarily subjects of communication in every country. Complex ideas are partly acquired from objeets, pre- sented to us in nature, or created in their existing forms by the power of Gon; or they are formed in the mind, in the three processes of Composition, Abstraction, and Comparison. The names of the former class will be extensively found in most languages ; because the ob- jects, whence they are derived, are found in most coun- tries; and because they are, toa great extent, substan- tially alike, wherever they are found. Thus hills and mountains, valleys and plains, rivers, lakes, and_ the ocean, are the same things throughout the world. This is extensively true, also, of animals, vegetables, and minerals; and almost absolutely true of the appearances in the heavens. With respect to this:class of objects, all languages must, in a great measure, necessarily agree. The diversity in languages 1s chiefly confined to the names of Complex ideas, formed by the mind. By en- lightened nations these invariably have been multiplied, exactly in proportion to their improvement in the prog- ress of Society. By savages they are scarcely formed iat all, . « Bs : Observations on Language. SOF ‘All ideas, of this class, are prompted by the exigencies — of human life; by the demands of necessity, comfort, con- — venience, and pleasure. ‘To a savage few demands of — this nature occur. His comforts, conveniences, aad pleasures, lie within a very narrow circle. By necessi- ty, almost alone, is he, therefore, led to form such ideas: and the demands of necessity are always few. Among civilized nations, (where necessaries are easi- ly furnished,) comfort, convenience, and pleasure, mul- tiply their calls without number. Hence the mind, ever intent upon answering them, is perpetually busied in forming those ideas, to which they conduct us. Hence men compound, abstract, and compare, endlessly : and the ideas, thus created, are increased ad hbitum. In a general proportion, the words, which denote them, are increased, for the reason given above. Savages, as truly as civilized men, have all the words, which express such ideas, as they have occasion to com- municate : and a nation, or colony, falling back towards a state of savageness, although it will lose a great part of its former language, will still retain every such word, From these observations it will be seen, that the zntel- ligence of any nation may be exactly estimated from its Vocabulary; or from a dictionary, containing all its words. If the words, contained in sucha book, are nu- merous; and yet denote, severally, different edeas ; such a nation has, at some time, been extensively enlighten- ed. If they are few; it is, and has been, proportionally unenlightened. The English language contains more such words than any other ; and this fact proves with absolute certainty, that the nation, speaking it, possesses more ideas, which are communicated, than any other nation. ‘The language of Arabia is said to be very co- pious. There are two ways, in which a language may become copious. One is that, already specified; in which words, denoting different ideas, are numerous. The other is the multiplication of synonimous terms. In the latter sense, the Arabic language may be copious. In the former sense, this is morally impossible ; because the Arabians are, comparatively, an ignorant and uncivil- ized people. ‘There was a period, when they were more Observations on Language. bs ‘3 enlightened. At this period they multiplied CEN: noting different ideas: and these may be found in the remaining books of that age. But the terms, now in customary use, are certainly, and necessarily, few. The multiplication of synonimous words is a proof, not of national improvement, but of addiction to pleasure and amusement. Lhe state of human languages has long been a subject of philosophical enquiry. ‘‘How,’? it is asked, “came the languages of mankind to be what they are: so nu- merous; so diverse in their words; and so unlike in their form, and construction 2”’ When we enter upon this inquiry, the first considera- tion of importance, that presents itself, is the Confusion of languages at the tower of Babel. Who were the people, affected by this remarkable dis- pensation of Providence? To this question, f answer, 4 part of the sons of Ham, joined together with others, who descended from Shem, and Japheth. Nimrod, who \ed this enterprize; associated with him, first, his brethren and other near connexions; and then, all within his reach, who, with the true spirit of modern Jacobinism, were impatient of the government both of Gon and man. ‘These people, having busily employed them- selves, for a season, in hunting wild beasts under the conduct of Wimrod, began to turn their weapons against their fellow-men. For this purpose they found the con- tinuance of their Union indispensable. ‘They had be- come a numerous and formidable body, when Gop commanded them, together with the rest of mankind, to disperse in different colonies, for the purpose of peopling the world. ‘This command they determined to disobey. Accordingly, they proposed to build a very lofty tower, and surround it with a city ; and to make these the prin- cipal seat of their empire. In their company were pro- bably numbered all the restless, violent, unprincipled, spirits of the age; and these must, to some degree at least, have been found among the descendants of Ja- pheth, and Shem ; for they have ever since been found in every Society, however peaceable, under heaven. That all the descendants of Ham were not included, 36 Observations on Language. DY sly know; because we find Abraham, a descendant of Shem, a long time afterward understanding, and conver- sing easily, with the inhabitants of Canaan, and of Egypt, whi were descendants of Ham. Antecedently to the building of Babel, ‘‘the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech.” ‘The Confusion of languages, in whatever manner, and in other respects to whatever degree, it was accomplished, extended so far, as we are directly informed, that they did not understand one another’s speech, and were there- fore obliged to desist from their favourite purpose of building ‘the city and tower, which they had begun. Beyond this extent, the Scriptures give us no informa- tion concerning the subject. If a person of intelligence should take a page of any work; and, as he read it, should insert two, or three, im- portant words, or in many cases even one, In each sen- tence, frem a language, which he did not understand ; he would readily perceive, that the whole must be unin- éelligible to those, in whose language the composition o was written. As Gon does nothing more than that, which is necessary for the accomplishment of his pur- poses; we should naturally conclude, that, if the disper- sion of these builders had been the only object, intend- ed by this dispensation, a change, amounting to little, or nothing, more than I have specified, was all, that was ‘ef fectuated at this time. But, as this event was the begin- ning, and was intended to be the ae of the divi- sions of language, which have since taken place, the de- erce of this change cannot, without further evidence, be warrantably confined within the limits, here mentioned. Should a project, said to have been originated in Rus- sia, of forming an universal nomenciature of human lan- guages, ever be completed ; materials would be furnish- ed for determining, exactly, the number and. variety 5 ; and of course the "degree, and the manner, in which changes in them have taken place. Until this shall have been done, the subject must remain in much ob- scurity. aliases The Second cause of change in language is the invol- antary tendency of man to vary his Pronunciation. This is done from inadvertency, forgetfulness, and a general Observations on Language. —t Be, mdisposition to exactness, either of attention, or Bee tice. From all these causes many persons pronounce many werds of their own language imperfectly. Of this fact we are almost every day witnesses. Where any considerable body of people are insulated; or have little intercourse with the rest of a nation ; an imperfect man- ner of pronouncing becomes ultimately diffused through that body ; and terminates in a distinct dialect of the lan- guage. Inthis manner, it is believed, were originated the dialects among the Greeks ; and in the same manner were formed the Yorkshire and West-country dialects in England. Similar instances exist in france, Spain, and Germany. : It has often happened, that those, who have origina- ted such dialectic pronunciation, are, for a long period, * almost absolutely separated from the parent stock. In every such case the dialectic pronunciation becomes un- intelligible to the nation at large, in such a degree, as really to constitute a new, spoken language; aithough the words may still be written in the original manner. The Koreans, and Japanese, were colonists from China ; and easily correspond with the Chinese in their written language ; but cannot be understood by them, when they speak. The Tunguinese, and Cochin- Chinese, colo- nies also of the same nation, are said, to a great extent, to speak a diferent language ; and this, it would seem, chiefly, or wholly, from a diversity of pronunciation : the Chinese language being still the substance of those, spoken in all these countries. In the progress’ of this change of pronunciation it has often happened, that nations, as well as tribes, have lost, finally, the sounds of several letters, and adopted those of several others. Among these none are more remarka- ble than the Greck ©, and X. The Romans could not pronounce the 0, and therefore rendered Ocos Deus. This is equally true of the Mrench, the Dutch, and ma- ny other nations. ‘The English retain the pronunciation of this letter. X seems to be found among most, or all, nations, who distinguish their pronunciation by a peculiarly strong emphasis. Thus it is used by the frish, Scctch, the Germans, and other descendants of the Teutonic tribes. It is also used by the /roguois, and 32 Observations on Language. ae ome other Vorth-American tribes. But it is lost out of the Englsh, French, Latin, &c. In the srish it is ex- pressed by gh; in the Scotch, by ch; as Lough, Loch. The syllables, which terminate in English, in gh, were originally pronounced in the same manner. But the gi is now either guzescent, or converted ito the sound of Ss as daughter. laughter. The french wu is perhaps peculiar to that nation. If this be true; the words, in which it is found, when transferred to another language, will always assume a new pronunciation. The same may be said of their nasal m, and 7. A perfect alphabet, if we exclude the French nasal m, and mn, contains 44 letters; if we include them, 46. These, distributed, in a natural order, are the following. Rough. Middle. Smooth. Be. Pe. eth. eth. nt el. Loud. Hae he Low. Loud. re i Low. be oH Je. Che. ej French. esh. Wwe. eng. R. Smooth. R. Rough Aspirates. H. he. Vowels. , X. chi. Greek. a in face, in bat, in barn. ein fleece, bet, berm.. in fine, : Consonants. fit, Rough 8 ir. Middle ) a o in bone, ~~ §moot 6 home, Aspirates bott, —— born. 24 oo in boot, Vowels 20 bush. ye un Bruce, A4 but, burn. u French. u Indescribable.. : Observations 01: Language. BS I7v. Of these, all are found in the pronunciation of the English language, except the two last w’s, and the Greek X, or the rough aspirate. The #rench 7 is sounded in vision, and other similar words. The alphabet, said to have been brought by Cadmus into Greece, consisted of 16 letters. From a comparison of these alphabets it will be seen, that, although that of Cadmus may, by making one let- ter the representative of more sounds than one, have been considerably enlarged in its actual effect, yet it must have been comparatively limited. The pronun- ciation of all languages, and dialects, is of course re- stricted to the number of letters, actually in use. ‘These, compared with a perfect alphabet, are, perhaps always, defective in the number of their sounds; and most of them to a considerable degree. Wherever this is the case; a nation will be unable to pronounce those sounds in other languages, with respect to which its own language is defective. As many alphabets are se- riously defective; this fact will produce, in the end, a great diversity of pronunciation. In one nation several sounds will be used, which are omitted by another ; and several will be omitted, which are used by that other. The Commutation of letters is another source of chan- ges. The Germans use d where the English use ¢; and 6, where the English use p; and vice versa. ‘Thus they say dumplers where the English say tumblers. Commutations of this nature, as actually existing in the several nations of mankind, are considerably numerous ; and have a considerable influence in varying pronuncia- tion. The Romans, in transferring words from the Greek language into their own, changed B into P, e.g. Booxuw into Pasco, - Bpeua into remo, and V, Téos into Gilvus. They also inverted this order of mutation. The Greeks, in making the same transferrence, chan- ged the Roman C into T: e.g. Caius into Tous. The Romans themselves anciently wrote C for G: e.g. Acnom for Agnuin, and Pucno for Pugno, T “pa. Observations on Language. Via In a similar manner they changed , D ixto T'; and vice versa. | Anciently, D was written for LZ, as Sedda for Sella,. and dingua for lingua. Tt was also written for ©, as. Ador tor Afzp. The Latin # was changed into-all the other vowels. F was anciently written by the Romans for H, as Por- deum tor Hordeum. G was changed into C, and into Z; and I into U, as optumus. into optimus; and also into Z, and vice versa. J, was sometimes. changed into NV, and sometimes in- to D. The mutual commutations of Jf and WV are too welk known to be insisted on here.. It is also well. known, that WV was sometimes changed into Z, and’ sometimes in- to i. O and U were frequently written for each other.. P was changed into /and V, T’ and A. V was changed into B and P ; U into all the vowels ; and Tonie. Z into G, as oAdov for odvyov. Doric. Gevo. for yevo.. rom these changes, which might be pursued to a sreater extent, and of which many more examples might be given, it is evident, that language may, and in many instances must,, have been so greatly altered, from this. source alone, as to become unintelligible to those, by whom the changes had not been made. This, however, was not the whole amount of these al-. terations. Words were often written, and by the Greeks generally, 7 such a@ manner, as to make them accordant with the genius of the language, into which they were transferred. ‘Thus Ormuzd, Mithr, and Ahriman, the names of the Persian Triad, were written by the Greeks Oromasdes, Mithras, and Arimanios ; Khosrau, or Caz- khosrau, Kvpos, and by us Cyrus ; Cambakhsh, Camby- ses; and Shiruyi, or perhaps Shirshah, Xerxes. Let ‘Observations on Language. E35. J. this change of mere writing be carried through a lan- ‘guage; and it will become a new one at once. _ It would be a curious, and not uninstructive, employ- ment, ¢o trace the progress of words through the various deflections, produced by chanzes in the mode of writin merely; and that in cases, where the original is all alone ing this kind of research far. “he few following instan- ces, may not, however, be without their use. Examples-of the different modes, inwhich the following words in the Hebrew language were written in kin- ‘dred dialects. Dialects. Father. Heaven. Earth. Bread. ‘Hebrew, Ab. ‘Schamaim. Arez. Lechem. Rabinical, Av. lem) eae tz. Idem. ‘Chaldaic, Abba. Schmaja. Ara. Lahkma. Samaritan, Ab. Schamaim. Aveta. Lechem. Syriac, Aboh. = Schmajo. Arho. Lachmo. Arabic, Aba. ‘Ssemavati. Ardhi. Vulgar Arabic, Abu. Ssamvat. Ardh. Malay, t Ba - Bengalee, . LA Ethiopic, Abi. ‘Samat. Myrdrni. Amharic, Aba. Ssamal. Myrdrm. Shilhic, Baba. - Rhatic, Bap, Pap. ‘Sardic. Babbu. ‘Charaibic, ‘Baba. Examples of such words, derived from the Greek and | ‘Latin. Father. Heaven. Earth. Bread. Greek, Iatyo. Latin, ‘Pater. Celum. Terra. Panis. French, Pere. Ciel. Terre. Pain. Ttalian, Padre, ‘Cielo. Terra. Pane. Sardian, Pare. ‘Quelo. Id. Pa. Spanish, Padre, Cielo. “Tierra. Pan. Catalonian, Pare. Cel. Terra. Pa. Portuguese, i ae ‘Ceo. Terra. Pao. Scotch, Father. British, Dhayar. English, Father. Welsh, Izer. Pene, Runiec, Fader. t . perfectly known.- I have no sufficient means of extend- eh ) Observations on Language. Dialects. Father. Assis Wik Fh Anglo-Saxon, Feder, Fader. eer Fater, Fatter. German, Bater, Batter. Belgian, Vader. Dutch, Vader. Orkney, Favor. From the Teutonic. ; Heaven. Earth. Bread. Gothic, Himina. Airthai. - Hlaif. Runic, Himium. Jurdaune. Brodh. Anglo-Saxon, Hofenum, ee: } Heofnas, Scat \ Hlaf. Heofunum ¢ ere . Heortho. J Franc, Himili. Erdu. Zuthi. Allemanic, Himile. Erdo. ee } rot, German, Se Erd, Brodt, | Feil § Earda. Braud, i Brod. Belgic, Emelrike, Erdrike, Broet, Hemel. Aerd. ; Broot. k Frisian, Hymil. Urtricke, Brae. Hiemmel. Jorde. Breea. Icelandic, Himne. Jorde. Braud. Danish, Himmel. Jorde. Brod. Swedish and ? : Brod, Norwegian, § ay ee Brouta. ‘ English, Heaven. Earth. Bread. From the Sclavonian. Father. Heaven. Earth. Bread. Sclavonian, Ottse. Nebu. Zemlyi. Kruka. Russian, Otshe. Nebesi. Zemli. Kleb. Bohemian, Oitse. Nebi. Zemi. Hleb. Dalmatian, Otse. Nebu. Zemlyi. Kruh. Croatian, Otse. Nibeszih. Zemli. Hlib. Vandalian, Wotz, Nebui, Semi, Chlieb, Woschui. Nebu. i Zemi. ; Kleb. Bulgarian, Oiskye. Nebu. Zemli. Kruh. Nova-Zemblian, Otcse. Nebezi. Zemli. — Klyb. Servian, Otse. Nabeszih. Zemli. Hlib. Carniolic, Otze. Nebeszih. Zemlyi. Krah. Lusatian, Voshe. Nebie, Zemie, Khb. — Livonian, Tabes. Debbes. Summes. Mayse. Polish, Oycze. Niebe. Ziemi. Chleb. Observations on Language. sw A Names. ie James. John. Hebrew, Yakob. Hebrew, Johanan. Greek, Taxwboc. Greek, loaves. Latin, Jacobus. Latin, Johannes. French, Jacques. French, Jean. English, James. » English, John. Italian, Giacomo. Dutch, W Spanish, Tago. vulgar, cars Abyssinian, Yagoube. Italian, Giovanni. Spanish, Juan. A fourth cause of changes in Language, is found in the State of Society. It must, I think, be admitted, that, if a nation, or per- haps as a better example, a tribe, were to continue for many ages in the same spot, where the same natural ob-. jects were presented to every succeeding generation ; in the same state of manners, laws, and religion; and, uni- versally, were to be possessed of the same ideas, and the same occasions to communicate them ; they would keep their language unaltered. But, with every change in society, an alteration in their language will take place. This part of the subject has been, to some extent, illus- trated in laying down the scheme, at the commencement of these observations. I will attempt further to illus- trate it in the following manner. ‘Suppose a ship, from a country in a state of complete civilization, containing a numerous body of passengers ; men, women, and children; to be wrecked on an unin- habited shore; and these people enabled to find sufii- cient subsistence, and to inhabit the country, through an indefinite series of generations. What effects would these events produce on their language? A satisfactory answer to these enquiries will be found in the following observations. Ist. Yhey would in a short time lose a great part of their language. It has been observed above, that men have those Words in their customary speech, which express such ideas, as they have occasion to communicate; and no other. ‘These people, being without books, and metals, 488 Observations on Language. L7G would soon lose their knowledge, arts, and civilization ; and with them the great mass of their ideas. In other words, they would become, in a moderate number of years, absolute savages. With these ideas, they would of course lose the words, by which they ‘were denoted. Particularly, they would lose the names of all the parts, and of all the furniture, of a house, except such as were retained in a weekwam; of all the utensils, and of all the parts of dress, except such as are used by Indians ; and of all employments, beside such, as /ndians pursue. Out of their language would vanish the terms, which belong to agricultural, mechanical, and manufacturing, business ; to navigation, and commerce; to the serence, and business, of government; and to the liberal arts, and sciences; the greater part of those words, which pertain to religion, and morals; and to decency, and re- finement of manners. Universally, they would lose al- most all those words, which denote ideas, formed by composition, abstraction, and comparison. But these various sorts of werds constitute almost the whole lan- guage of a civilized people. They would also lose the names of those natural ob- jects, presented to them in the country, whence the colony emigrated, and not found in their present resi- cience. odly. At the same time, they would form new words, to express such natural objects, as were different from those, which they had known before, and such employ- ments. as were new to them; and, universally, for such aew ideas, as they had occasion to commumeate. ‘These, however, would be few. | Vhus their language would by this cause become greatly changed. Most of it would vanish: a part would be retained; and a part would be new. age Among the words, which they retained, would im all probability be found the names of near, and important, — natural relations ; as father, mother, brother, sister, &c.; the personal pronouns; the names of the most common natural objects, and of the most fumiliar, and important, actions. “Che Mohekaneews have the same personal pro- nouns with these of the Hebrew language ; and in ail Observations on Language. acs probability derived them, at some period or other in the history of man, from that language: sucha fact being hardly attributable to chance. | What would be true concerning persons, thus ship- wrecked, must be equally true concerning a body of people, separated from a civilized stock, and wandering into a wilderness so far, as to lose their intercourse with that stock. All the effects produced on the state of so- ciety in the case, which I have supposed, would be ef- fected here. Sucha colony would lose, ordinarily, the the knowledge of the metals, and of course the employ- ments, and ideas, to which they gave birth. Of civil- ized men they would speedily become savages; and would sink their pastoral, agricultural, and commercial employments, in hunting, fishing, and war. Of course, their language would change in the very manner, which is here supposed. The colonies, which emigrated from the family of No- ah, were some of them very differently situated from others, with respect to the principal subject of this dis- course. Some of these carried with them all their arts and civilization; and of course their language; that is, chiefly. Others speedily became mere savages, and hunters; and were the first among mankind, who sus- tained this character : there being no reason to suspect,. that such a state of society, as is usually denominated the hunting, or savage, state, existed among the antedi- luvians. ‘Lhe language of these colonies underwent the very changes, which have been mentioned above, in the case of the supposed shipwreck. Other colonies, still, in various degrees lost more of their civilization than the former, and less than the latter, of the classes, already specified. These retained their language in different degrees. As these several colonies settled in very dif- ferent countries, and climates, where different sets of objects were presented to their view ; as in these coun- tries they pursued very different employments, and had occasion to communicate very different ideas; the parts of their languages, which were new, must have been very different. In some instances they must have been almost wholly unlike ; in others very similar. Ae Observations on Language. ISO Should we now suppose the descendants of this ment | : wrecked company, or of one of these colonies, which — had fallen into a state of barbarism, to emerge again in- to a state of civilization, and science : Their language, thus changed, and thus barren, would in an inverse or- der undergo another change, equally great; as their ideas, particularly those derived from composition, ab- straction, and comparison, would be greatly multiplied ; those, I mean, which they would wish to communicate : and for all these, words would be devised. Should they — derive their improvements from the books of another nation; these words would extensively be taken from — the language of that nation: and this seems to have © been ee only course of mankind, in their progress out of the savage and civilized states. In this view of the subject it is perfectly evident, that, 2 consequence of these two great revolutions, their language would become in a great measure new. A fifth cause of changes in language is found in th 4 tercourse with other rabies Pasonen who have much intercourse with each other, always become acquainted — in some measure with each other’s language. Of these, a few, comparatively, will learn the respective langua-_ ges well, and will keep them distinct. ‘The many will _ acquire them imperfectly ; pronounce them badly; and | mingle them together. The words of one language, | however, will in all such cases be transferred to the _ other. springing from such intercourse, of which I have heard, is the lingua Iyanca. ‘This, as I understand, is a med- ley of various languages, spoken by no nation in the world; understood by ne nation; and accordant with | no grammatical analogy, or legitimate pronunciation. — Yet it is spoken, and naderstood) on the borders of the | Mediterranean, by such inhabitants of different coun- tries, as live in trading towns on the shore, and have im-_ tercourse with its several nations. A more striking _ _ proof cannot be wished, that mankind will always con- _ form their speech to the exigencies of life. | Tt ought to be observed, that, when words are from. The most remarkable example of a mixed language, | | ' H { } ‘ Observations on Language. 381 this cause transferred from one language to another, they are generally made to follow the analogy of the language, in which they are interwoven; yet not so ab- solutely, as to prevent them, if considerably numerous, from increasing its anomalies. The sixth and last cause of such changes, which I shall mention, is Conquest. Mankind have been almost ever at war; and conquests have been made in every spot on the globe. Where- ever the conquerors have continued ior a length of time, and established their domininion, they have intro- duced a material change into the language of the con- quered. The Homans spread their language over their whole empire; and made it the written language of all their western, northern, and of nearly all their southern, provinces. The Saxons in a great measure extermina- ted the language, spoken in England before their arri- val; and made their own tongue the principal source of the present English. Canute introduced a number of Danish words. William, the Norman, sprinkled the lan- guage with French words: and thus have other con- querors affected the languages of the countries, which they subdued. | . In conquered countries, the laws, and legal processes, being uttered, and directed, by the conquerors, will usu- ally be in their language. ‘The knowledge, and use, of this language, must in a considerable degree, therefore, be indispensable to the comfort, and even to the safety, of the conquered. Hence it will be extensively learned by them. Multitudes will also acquire it from fashion ; from a desire to resemble their rulers; from the hope of being employed in departments of the government ; from the prospect of obtaining lucrative business; and from various other motives. When conquerors have ruled, for a great length of time; the changes, wrought in language by their influence, become permanent ; and the language will never return to its original state. The _ Shanscrit is now a learned language in LZindoostan; and even the Bengalee, which seems to have followed it in the country of Bengal, sustains this character in a con- siderable degree. In the Low/ands of Scotland, the U 382 Observations on Language. English, introduced by conquest, has chiefly supplanted: the Gaélic; and has retained its place, in a dialectic form, down to the present time. ! There is one subject, of considerable importance in this investigation, which has scarcely been touched in the course of these remarks. This 1s the diversity of the manner, in which languages are constructed. ‘The things, in which, so far as my knowledge extends, this diversity has been most conspicuous, are the variations of meaning by prefixes, and suffixes ; and the expression of relations, on the one hand, by terminations of nouns, and, on the other, by prepositions ; and the conveyance of diversities of Action, in some languages by the various endings of verbs, and in others by auxiliaries. Of the first of these it will be unnecessary, here, to say any more, than that it existed, not only in the Hebrew, but in the language of the Mohekaneews, that of the Araz- canians, and, if I mistake not, a number of others.. With respect to the diversity in the last cases mention-. ed, it is well known, that the Greek and Roman langua-. ges depended, to a great extent, for the expression: of relations, on the terminations of their nouns, and of the shades of action on those of their verbs; and that the modern languages of Europe denote, chiefly, the former by prepositions, and the latter by auxiliaries. Concerning this subject, I observe in the first place, that the use of auxiliaries seems chiefly to have been a modern invention. The Greeks used the substantive verb, in a very small degree, as an auxiliary. The [o- mans adopted this form of phraseology more extensive- ly: but neither of these nations had any other auxilia- ry; and in the use of this, both were comparatively con- fined. Inthe English language there are no less than eight auxiliary verbs ; and these are combined in a pro- digious variety of forms. But neither of the languages, from which the English is derived, was constructed in this manner. The Roman, and toa considerable degree the Saacon, depended on terminations to express the re- _ lations, and variations, of thought. We have not, therefore, followed the analogy of either of the parent languages; but have created a new one, and that, inde- BE Ie ORS NR acc eg ES apes .' 4 PI Observations on Language. 383 pendently of the anomalies, with which our language hhas been disturbed by the confluence, and mixture, of many streams. Most of the modern languages of £u- rope have followed the same course. ‘The effect, there- fore, seems to have flowed from a cause, common to all the nations, by which these are spoken. Secondly. Jt is admitted on all hands, that the second of these modes is the most favourable to Perspicuity ; and the firet, to Impression. Vhe Romans, and Greeks, were unquestionably far more solicitous than we are to make deep impressions on those, to whom they wrote, or spoke; and far less, to communicate clear and dis- tinct ideas. For the former of these purposes their languages were more fitted, and for the latter much less, than ours. The English Verb, particularly, is by its auxiliaries moulded into a wonderful variety of forms : all of them adopted, to express real varieties of exist- ence, and action; and all of them actually expressing these varieties. The English Active Verb, in the first person, and indicative mode, is varied through fourteen Jorms : all of them expressing different shades of tho. cht. The Latin Verb, in the same circumstances, has v.'y Sive forms ; and the Greek, eight: three of them super- filuous, and useless, or very nearly so. The English Potential Mode is probably a peculiarity, and the great- est ornament, of our language ; expressing shades of thought, of vast importance to minds of superior intelli- gence, and incapable of being expressed, even in cir- cumlocutory phraseology, by either the Latin, or the Greek. Much less were they expressible by the varia- tions of the Verb in these languages, It is hardly ne- cessary to observe. that neither of these languages-had a potential mode. ‘The Greeks had an Optative ; but it was of very little significance, and very little use. The potential mode in the English is indispensable to exact and superior ratiocination. ‘The forms of the verb in this mode amount to no less than 32. The forms in the Sudjunctive, every one of which has its use, are equal in number to those in both the prece- ding modes: viz. 46. This example shews, in the strongest possible man- ner, the unrivalled attention, paid by the Ang lish nation /, yh / es 384 Observations on Language. to exactness of thought, and to perspicuity, and preci- sion, of language. The number of Prepositions in our language i is much greater than that, in both the Latin and Greek tongues. 1 do net know His number exactly; but it is not far from jifty. As the whole use of prepositions is to ex- press with exactness the relations between olsjects ; this multiplication of them is another remarkable proof of the same attention, on the part of those, by whom it is spoken. Both the Greeks and Romans were sensible of the im- perfection, with which relations were expressed by the terminations of their Nouns; and therefore adopted a considerable number of prepositions, to aid themselves in expressing these relations more perfectly. But this imperfection is much more strongly visible ina single example. By the ablative case in the Latin language were customarily denoted the several relations, which we express by the prepositions af, by, from, in, on, with. What a degree of ambiguity is involved in this single fact: especially when we remember, that it is applica- ble to every noun: and how perfectly is this ambiguity precluded by the use of these prepositions? [know ~ there are men, who, either from taste or the affectation: of it, or from the preference of impression’ to truth, would willingly decline the advantages, accruing from this and other similar sources to the intellect; and rest satished with the superiour neatness of a language, rest- ing its meaning on terminations. With these men I - Shall not enter into a controversy ; but shall content my- self with merely saying, that, in my own view, reason is more valuable than passion and imagination; clear- ness of thought, than impression 3; and perspicuity and precision of style, than beauty. The vast multiplication of Conjunctions im our lan- guage, for the purpose of expressing with exactness the connections, and dependencies, of thought, is another proof, that the same object was strongly in view; and a part of the same design. These, if I mistake not, are more numerous in our language than in both of the others. © For these reasons it seems probable, that this change Observations on Language. 385 of Construction was derived from design; not indeed a design, systematically examined, and adopted, but forced upon the mind by its circumstances $ peculiarly by the necessity, which was generally felt, of communi- cating truth, and of devising the modes, by which it might be exacily distinguished. Having now, in some measure, shewn how languages are varied, both as to their terms, and their construc- tion; it only remains to enquire how many languages, radically distinct, there are in the world. ‘Vhis enquiry is not intended to elicit any other than a loose, indefinite answer; which is plainly the only one, capable of being given. Yet this, perhaps, may be so given, as to in- duce a belief, that the whole number is incomparably less than has been generally thought. In Lurope there seem originally to have been but three distinct languages: the Celtic, the Teutonic, and the Sc/avonian. The Greek and Latin languages ap- pear, evidently, to be mixed, and not original. The Greek contains many Celéie words: and the original in- habitants of Greece were, I think, very evidently of the Celtic family. ‘Their language was first mixed by the arrival of strangers from Egypt, and Phenicia: chiefly, as I believe, Cushite shepherds. ‘The Latin was partly Celtic ; this being the language, spoken by the first in- habitants of Ztaly ; and partly a corrupted Greek, deri- ved from the colonies of that nation, which settied in Magna Grecia. In Asia there were originally the Hebrew, and its dia- lects; the Arabic, the Syriac, and the Cha/dee ; the ori- ginal Persian ; the same, according to the evidence, ex- hibited by Sir William Jones, with the Shanserit ; the Malayan ; the Tatar ; at first probably the same through- out all the countries in the north of Asia; and perhars the Chinese ; not improbably derived from the Tatar, and mixed. The J/alayan seems to be the radical lan- guage of most of the Islands. The original languages of Egypt and Abyssinia were, I think, evidently dialects of the Hebrew; or, perhaps more properly, the Hebrew itself, and all its kindred tongues, were dialects of the one Original tongue, spoken by Noah, and his family. 336 Observations on Language. The Janguages of Barbary have in them nothing origi- nal. Those, spoken in the African ceuntries, south ee Barbary, are so little known, that nothing can be assert- ed concerning them. From analogy, I suspect, it will be found, that they are not very numerous. In North-America, that of the /roguois, that of the Mohekaneews, that of the Chectaws, and the three or four languages of Mexico, seem to be pretty well dis- tinguished. In South-America, the Peruvian, the Arau- eanian, some languages in Lrezi/, that of the Charaibes, and perhaps one or more in /erra irma, and one or more in Pafagonia, are probably not far from the whole number. So far as. this representation may be admitted as. just, it will be seen, that the number of languages is mot very great. ‘There are, undoubtedly, more than these: some, spoken in New-Aolland ; some, in Ama- zonia, &c. Yet, after all aliowances, the number, it is Believed, will be comparatively small. Travellers, and other persons, have, # seems to me, been accustomed to multiply the languages of mankind wpon slender evidence. Itis not long since, that many languages were supposed to be spoken in Wew England. It is now ascertained, that there was but one: that of the Mohekaneews. This, as it appears, was the lan- guage of all the tribes, the Zroguozs excepted, between the Atlantic and the Misszsippz, the Potomae and the St. Lawrence. It is also proved to be spoken by various tribes beyond the Missisippi; and by one within 400 miles. of the Paczfie Ocean. I shall now leave it to the judgment of the reader to determine whether the causes, which have been here assigned, will not, to a considerable extent, account for the variety of languages, both in terms, and construc- tion, so far as their state has been hitherto known. No. XXIV, ON LIGHT. Yo the Secretary of the Connecticut Jeademy of Arts and Sciences. SER, u » ir is known to most of the gentlemen, who usually as- semble at our meetings, that my eyes have long been weak. In some respects, the disease, with which they are affected, is perhaps peculiar. At least I have never seen some of the effects, which it produces, described’ in any publication. As they seem to me to elucidate, ina degree, the nature of light; I beg leave, through yonr good ofkces, to communicate this paper to the Academy. The disease, whatever else may be its nature, appears to consist, partly, in an uncommon irritability of the op- tic nerve, and a consequent, uncommon susceptibility of impressions from light; and partly, of a relaxation, and enlargement, of the lymphatic vessels. Whether my views of the disease are just, or not, I am not desirous to determine: with regard to its effects, I cannot mis- take. Among them this is one; that at all times, when it is dark, whether my eyes be closed or not, /i, At, dis- tributed into innumerable little stars, or sparks, is seen floating cver the field of vision in a great variety of di- rections. In the appearance of these luminous points there is little regularity. ‘They become visible, and dis-' appear, in many instances, almost in the same spot. In many others, they move over a considerable distance, before they vanish. The most general, and that, which approaches nearest to a regular, motion, is from the up- per, towards the lower, limit of vision. These stars $88 On Light. appear in succession, whenever I am surrounded by darkness, whether in a dark room in the day time, or in the darkness of the night. Their existence I attribute to the vascular circulation. ‘This, if I conjecture right, occasions in my eyes an unnatural, and excessive, pres- sure upon the optic nerve. Whenever my eyes feel crowded, (a sensation, per- fectly distinguishable, particularly from the frequent rep- etition of it at intervals. in some degree regular; ) around the centre of vision flashes of light, distantly resembling — what is called a glory, but with little regularity of form, take the place of these luminous points; and succeed each other with a considerable degree of rapidity. When I am in bed, and lie upon my back ; they become intense, and vivid. If I turn upon my side, the brill- iancy begins immediately to lessen, and after some time fades chiefly away. These appearances I attribute to an increased pressure, in both cases, upon the optic nerve. This pressure [ suppose to be greatest, when I lie upon my back, and to produce the peculiar splendour of the flashes, at that time. When I lie upon my side, — and my eyes are in a horizontal position ; | suppose the pressure to be less, and the splendour for this reason te _ be diminished. In many instances also, when my eyes are less crowd- ed, /uminous clouds ; (phraseology, which better accords with the appearances, than any other, that I can think of;) commencing near the exteriour limit of vision, and irregular in their form, but filling up almost the whole field, contract themselves with considerable rapidity to- ward the centre, and there vanish. Their colour, to- wards the exteriour limit, is very frequently a reddish brown. As they advance inward, it becomes a strong Saxon blue ; and in the end @ green, which is often vivid. Of these clouds, floating inward, lessening, and vanish- ing, there is. in such cases, an uninterrupted succession. Their luminous appearance I attribute to an unnatural degree of pressure. Of their figure, and motion, Iam unable to assign the causes. Sey Whenever it is dark; if I turn my eyes suddenly to the right, and left; on the side of each, opposite to that, 4 q ? 4 y Ra SR eli nai towards which I turn them, there is formed @ sudden, — On Light. 389 and brilliant, cirelet of light ; somewhat irregular, and a little yellower than that of the sun. This fact { attribute to the zncreased pressure on this part of both eyes. All persons, who look at the sun, will perceive a bright image of this luminary, remaining in their eyes after they are turned away; more vivid, when the eyelids are shut ; less, and less, when they are open. Persons, who have weak eyes, will derive this image from objects, which are in a moderate degree luminous ; and will perceive it much longer, than those, whose eyes are not impaired. On my own such an image is impressed by every thing, which has any lustre; and, when they are most diseased, by every thing, which is of a light colour. When the image is vivid; it continues several minutes: but be- comes gradually fainter, until it disappears. If, during © the progress of its decay, I close my eyelids so, as to press them somewhat hardly ; the image always becomes somewhat brighter, than it was immediately before. When this pressure is removed ; it immediately becomes fainter. : From the uneasiness, which this disease very often oc- casions, I have not unfrequently been induced to press my eyes with my fingers. When the pressure reaches to a certain degree; the whole field of vision becomes in- stantaneously luminous. and bright ; resembling in appear- ance a circular, polished plate of silver ; covered with small drops of water, glittering with its lustre. Vf these drops should be supposed suddenly to rise from behind the plate, and to move on its surface with rapidity, and without much regularity, the resemblance will, I think, be nearly complete. Sometimes I have increased the pressure beyond this degree. In this case, the drops of light have immediately disappeared; and the field of vis- ion has assumed exactly the aspect of the sun; circular in its figure; uniform in its appearance; equally bright ; and the light exactly of the same hue. In some of these instances I have brought my finger suddenly, and carelessly, against the ball of the eye. In consequence of the pressure, produced in these cases, @ flood of light has instantaneously overspread the field of vision ; exhibiting all the colours of the rainbow, not Ww 390 On Light. less distinct, nor less vivid, than those of tlie prismatic: emage. At times, the disease, which has been so alee refer-. red to, is attended with peculiar affections, arising from an unnatural accumulation of lymph, or some other fluid, either above, or on the left side, of my left eye. Among these affections are the following. At times, @ bright spot, irregular in its figure, and like — the sun in its lustre, and hue, appears in the field of vis- — ion; brilliant even in the day time for a considerable pe- riod, in each instance ;_wniform in its aspect ; and lasting © from a quarter of an hour to two hours.. In many in- © ‘stances these spots have, during a part of the process, lost their lustre, and suddenly become black. ‘he lus- tre of the spots I attribute to an unnatural pressure on a — part of the optic nerve; the blackness, to an increase of © that pressure, so great, as to interrupt for a season the — sensibility of the nerve in that place. | When the disease in this form has reached the utmost _ height, which I have experienced ; the field of vision has been crowded with lucid appearances, sometimes fixed, and sometimes moving. ‘hey have also been of different — forms. Those, which were fixed, have resembled a con- fused collection of pieces of white glass, or rock crystal, cut in the form of parallelopipedons, bevilled on both sides, and at both ends; and then held up to a sky light. In several instances I have almost lost my sight, when this affection has become intense; and supposed myself on the verge of an apoplectic fit. But, in every case, vigorous exercise has in a short time dispersed these un- pleasant symptoms. ‘This effect I attribute to the mere — increase of the circulation. The facts, already mentioned, may be sufficient to warrant the following conclusions. Ist. All the appearances, denoted by the word, visiBLE, are inherent in the nature of the Optic nerve ; and not in the nature of light ; nor in the nature of the objects, by which 17 18 TRANSMITTED TO THE EYE. We are prone, if I mistake not, to suppose, that there is a lustre in the element of light; that it is coloured with seven distinct hues; and that it diffuses over the face of nature — On Light. S91 ‘the fine tints, which in an infinite variety adorn the uni- verse around us. This, at least, has been the current of my Own apprehensions. But from the facts, which have ‘been recited, it is certain, that the splendour, and the colours, which we attribute to light, are the result of mere pressure. But there are neither colours, nor splen- dour, in pressure ; nor inthe finger, from which it pro. ceeds. ‘hese extraordinary, and delightful, phenomena thave their seat in the optic nerve 3 and exist in all their diversities, only as effects of the variations of pressure. Light itself has no more brilliancy than the finger. Its whole power is merely that of gentle, and imperceptible, pressure, or impact, upon the optic nerve: and this pres- sure, like that of the disease, and like that of the finger, awakens in the nerve the sensation of luminousness. 2dly. Light is matter, and not a Quality.of matter. ‘No degree, or kind, of impuise, whether such as we call pressure, or any other, can possibly be the effect of any mere quality. Both weight, and motion, are indispensa- ‘ble to its existence. Motion and weight, therefore, are certainly attributes of light. 3dly. Lhe Colours of light are the result of nothing, ‘but different degrees of pressure, and impulse. The col- ours, mentioned as seen in the case, specified above, were exactly the same with those of the prismatic image; equally bright; and, of course, sensibly brighter than those of the rainbow... In this case they were certainly derived from different degrees of pressure. There is not the least reason for attributing the effect to any thing else, when these colours are seen in the prism, or the rainbow. As the three strongest colours are less easy, and, when viewed for some time, more painful, than the other four; it is probable, that they are produced by a stronger impulse, or greater pressure. . Athly. This difference of impulse can be derived from nothing, but-the weight, or in other words the mass of matter, and the velocity, or both, of the particles of light. As they come to us from the sun, perfectly, or almost perfectly, blended; (there being, for some reason or oth- er, a small predominance of the yellow ;) it seems proba- ble, that their velocity is the same. Otherwise, it will 392 On Light. be difficult to explain why every pencil of rays is not in — some degree particoloured; at least momentarily. I should, therefore, incline to the opinion, that the rays, which produce the different impressions of colour, dif-_ fer in their weight. If I mistake not, the facts, which I have mentioned above, all lend their influence, with some diversity in- deed, to the support of these positions. Tam, Sir, yours, &c. T. DWIGHT. No. XXV., DEMONSTRATIONS or STEWART’s PROPERTIES OF THE CIRCLE. By THEODORE STRONG, Professor of Mathematics and Natural Philosophy in Hamilton College. THE following propositions are to be found in Dr. Rees’® Cyclope- dia, under the article “Circle.” They were proposed to me for solu- tion. Having examined and found them to be very curious, and con- nected by one general principle, I have, with a view of contributing my mite to the advancement of science, thought proper to communi- cate the following demonstrations of them to the Academy. TI have succeeded in demonstrating them in three ways, which are different from the one here exhibited ; one of which, being founded upon the principle of finding the sum of any powers of the chords and versed sines of arches of the Circle increasing arithmetically ; together with many curious inferences deducible from the following demonstrations ; I may hereafter take the liberty of communicating to the Academy. My only object, in the present communication, has been to demon- strate the propositions, as they were proposed in the aforesaid work. THEODORE STRONG. Hamilton College, Sept. 20th, 1814. Lemma I. TF the circumference of any circle be divided into any number of equal parts, and any point be faken in it; and if the several arches intercepted between the assumed point, and the points of division, reckoned 394. Demonstrations of Stewart's around the circle in-the same direction, be multiphed | by any whole number, less than the number of the parts into which the circumference is divided ; then, the ex- tremities of these multiple arches will divide the cireum- ference into equal parts. DEMONSTRATION. arene Let O (Plate Hil. Fig. 1.) be any circle, the iecutedpeats of 3 which. is-divided into any number of equal parts, at the points a, 6, c, &c.; and let any point, at A, be taken in the circumfer- ence, thus divided. Let P denote the circumference, and 2, — the number of the parts into which it 1s divided: then =_ = n any one of the parts. Since Aq is such a part of iy as may be expressed by some frac- n r . . ° ig tion, let ag denote that fraction in its lowest terms: then Aa = ape te - be denoted by Q: then, the arch Aa = q; the on n arch Aab = SP, the arch Agbe = bs led &c. 3 since the N arches increase by the addition of Pp Let the arches Q, n n TU tt, &c. be multiplied by any number m, less than : then will they be represented by —* = ae mQ+ 2m ; n RC. Case 1. Let the numbers m and n, have no common mea- sure. Set off from A, towards 6, the arch AaB, equal to mQ.. -and n from B, divide the circumference into as many equal parts as it was divided into at first. Now, since the arch AaB, or its equal me belongs to all the arches * eas iTS &els it he taken away 4 na nv me ili. from wie of them, the remainders, 0, will express the distances at which the aforesaid arehes will respee- tively terminate, from B. Whence the first arch: terminates at Properties of the Circle. 39S B; and they will all terminate in the points at which the cir- cumference was last equally divided; since m, 2m, &c. are all whole numbers ; and P = one of the parts, into which the cir- 2 cumference was last divided. Since m, and n, are prime te each: other, and the. several: numbers 1, 2, 3, &c., until we come to n, are each less than n; ° m 2m 3m . ie it fullows that —, “", °°, &c., until we come te “’, cannot Wig Br n ether of them be a whole number. Therefore, no one of the mP 2mP' nine arches —_, =, &c., until we come to ——, can terminate at m R 2 the peint B. It follows also, that these arches all terminate in different points; for in order that more than one of them should terminate at the same point, some one of them must have ter- minated at 6. when the remaining arches would go on to ter- minate in the same points, at which those already taken had. terminated respectively : (since they increase from 8B, by the mP a mP : common difference —.) Therefore, siace the arches 0, —,. 2 n 9 : ; C a &c., and ue i Sahel pee Bite &d¢., the former se-- n n n ries reckoned from B, and the latter from A, do respectively terminate in the same points; and since the arches of the for- mer series do respectively terminate at different points until we come to the arch BE ; and since they each terminate in some n one of the points B, C, D, &c.; and since there are as many arches as points; it follows, that they divide the circumference mto as many, and the same parts, as the points B, C, Dy be. divide it. But these points divide it by construction into n equal parts; therefore each series of arches, divides the circumference into 2 equal parts. Case If. Let m and n have some common measure, and let ; m t denote their greatest common measure ; let — be reduced to n Q A i its lowest terms, by dividing m and n by ¢; and let ” denote ao ~» the fraction thus reduced. Then will the arches mQ % m+ mP sce ala &c., be equal respectively to kQ KQ+KP vw EQ+ 2kP &e. co s n 8 & ¥ 396 Demonstrations of Stewart's Now, since the fraction — is in its lowest terms, & and g are & | of course prime to each other. Therefore; taking the arch AaB = hQ and suppesing the circumference to be divided from B, - 9° J 4 into @ equal parts; it may be shewn, as in Case I, that the arch- _ es bQ 6 aged eer? &c. will divide the circumfer- & & sw siuacne ence at the supposed points, into as many equal parts as there are units in g 5; when we have taken as many of them as there are units in g: and then the remaining arches will go on to terminate in the same points respectively, as those already ta- ken, until as many are taken, in all, as there are units in 2g; then the remainder will go on as before, until the number taken is equal to 3g; and so on, until the number becomes equal to tg,orn. QE. D. Cor. It appears from the demonstration, that when the numbers m and are prime to each other, the multiple arches divide the circumference into as many equal parts as there are units in 2: and that, when m and n are not prime to each other, if the fraction “, reduced to its lowest terms, be denominated n by ua) then the multiple arches divide the circumference into ao 6 ° . as many equal parts as there are units in g. And if ¢ denote the greatest common measure of the terms of the fraction ”, n the number of arches which terminate in each point of division, will be equal to ¢. Lemma Ii. ' IF, in the circumference of any circle, there be taken three arches, which have equal differences; it will be, As the diameter, is to the supplementary chord of their common difference ; so is the chord of the mean arch, to half the sum of the chords of the extreme arches. DEMONSTRATION. Let O (Plate II. Fig. 2.) be any circle ; and in its circumfer- ence let there be taken any three equidifferent arches, as DK, EH, and FG, so situated that DE = KH, and EF=HG. Draw the chords DK, EH, and FG. Wrom E draw the diameter EN. Properties of the Circle. 397 ‘Connect the points D and F, by the right line DF; K and G ‘by KG; and H and N, hy HN. From the point re where the diameter bisects DF’, draw LM, parallel to KH or DK, or FG. From M, the point where LM intersects KG, draw MR, paral- lelto HN. Through'F’, draw FP, parallel to EN ; and through P, the point where FP meets the circumference, draw PQ parallel to FD. _ Since DK and FG are parallel, and DL: = LF, and LM is is drawn parallel to DK and FG, it follows that KM = MG; whence LM a It is-manifest also, from the construc- tion, that the arch DEF is the common difference of the as- sumed arches, and that the line FP, parallel to EN, cuts off the arch FP equal to its supplement, since the angle DFP is a right angle. It is obvious also, that PQ, parallel to FD, meets the diameter EN, in the same point R, in which MR, parallel to HN, meets:it. For, from the centre O, draw OT, perpendicu- Jar to LM. Since m the triangle LMR, OT is drawn parallel to one of its sides, LT: TM:: LO: OR. But LT=TM; therefore LO = OR; of course, EL= NR. But LL = NQ; wherefore NR = NQ. Then in the similar triangles LMR, EHN, it will be, EN : ‘LR or) FP :: EH: (LM or) DRO ‘Q. E. D. a Corouttary I. Henee the chord FG = Sees ~ DK = 2FP-EH—DICEN In like manner, pK —2PP EH—FG@EN : EN EN Therefore, if the chord of the mean of three equidifferent arch- es, be multiplied by twice the supplementary chord of their common difference ; and from their product, there be taken the product of the diameter and the chord of one of the extreme arches; and the difference be divided by the diameter; the quo- tient will express the chord of the other extreme arch. Cor. II. Hence the chord of any multiple of an arch may be expressed, in terms of the chord of the arch ; its supplemen- tary chord; and ihe diameter. Let the points D and K be supposed to coincide; and then Jet A denote the arch EDH. Then will the arch FDG = 2A. Whence the chord of 2A —— which is the expression for the chord of the arch FDKG, when the arch DK =o. In like manner, considering A, 24, 3A, as the arches, the x 596 Demonstrations of Stewart's pak ear 2 3FP-EH—EH-EN chord of 3A ra nen eT, In like manner also, the ) fai ig 2 chord of 4A = sia betetieotatinar | | In general, the chord of mA, will be equal to. _—__m— es ___-m=3 BN peel ie mAs 4 | OFP: EH 72x 2FP > EEN 4" x2FP > EH-EN— iE en Tm rTM Ln yc mA m-5 m-6 oe F f aetic . Tg eg KARE Eee hich, if ee noted by a; EH, by 0; and EN, by d, will become, bx __m=1 2 —m-3 m-3 m4 —m-5 m4 m-5 m6 —M-7 Qa —"— x 2a: dt — eS K 20 dt = Ks ie eee CR Was LT Ps a qdim-t -+ &e. . . . . | “"; and this series will terminate when the numerator of | of one of the facters in the co-efficient of the power of 2a has _ become m—m. | Lemma ITT. IF there be any regular figure circumscribed about a circle; and from any point within the figure, perpendi- culars be drawn to all the sides of the figure; the sum — of all the perpendiculars will be equal to the multiple of the radius of the circle, by the number of the sides of the figure. DEMONSTRATION. Let O (Plate ILI. Fig. 3) be any circle, and A, B, C, &e. any © regular figure circumscribed about it. Let H be any point within the figure, and draw HI, HK, HP, &c. perpendicular to | all the sides of the figure; and also draw the right les HE, — HI, HC, HB, &c. to all the angular points of the figure. From _ O, the centre of the circle, draw OG, ON, &c. to all the points | of contact, between the sides of the figure, and the circumfer- ence ; and also, OE, OD, OA, &c. to all the angular points of the figure. Now, the area of the triangle EHF =: aa ; and the area ‘of FHC Sas ; and so of all the other triangles, whose — vertices are at H. But because the figure is regular, the bases ‘Properties of the Circle. 399 EF, CF, &c. are all equal. Therefore, the sum of the areas of all the triangles EHF, FHC, &c. will be equal to = x HI+ AK + &c. = area of the whole figure. In like manner, the sum of all the triangles EOD, DOA, &c. whose vertices are at the centre O, is equal to = x OG+ON+ “; since OG, ON, &c. are respectively perpendicular to the sides ED, DA, &c. But since OG, ON, &c. are all radii of the circle; their sum is equal to the radius, multiplied by the num- ber of the sides of the figure. Therefore, the sum of all the triangles EOD, DOA, &c. = x Radius of the circle, x num- ber of sides of the figure, = Area of the whole figure. But it was before shown, that ee x sum of all the perpendiculars from : DE EF H = Area of the whole figure. Therefore, (since are ») the sum of all the perpendiculars from H = Radius of the cir- cle, multiplied into the number of the sides of the figure. Q. E. D ‘Note. In denote the number of the sides of the figure ; and R, the radius of the circle; then will the sum of the per- pendiculars be equal to nn. Lemma IV. IF the circumference of any circle be divided into any number of equal parts ; and if from any point in the cir- cumference, right lines be drawn to all the points of di- vision; the sum of the squares of all these lines will be equal to twice the square of the radius of the circle, multiplied by the number of the parts, into which the circumference is divided. Thus, if 2 denote the num- ber of the parts; and R, the radius of the circle; the sum of the squares of the aforesaid lines, will be equal to 2nR’. DEMONSTRATION. . Let O (Plate III. Fig. 4) be any circle, the circumference of which is divided into any number of equal parts, at the points AOO: Demonstrations of Stewaré’s E,.D, &c. Take A, any point in the circumference, and:draw AE, AD, &c. to all the points of division. Draw the diameter AB; and from all the points E, D; &c. draw EM, DQ, &e. per- pendicular to AB. At the points KE, D, &c. draw also tangents. to the circle ; and from A, draw AS, AP, &c. perpendicular to | all the tangents. Since the angles at S and M are both right angles; and the | ZAES=/ AEM; and AE is opposite the angles at S and M; _ therefore AS=AM. In like manner, AP=AQ, And in gen- © eral, the perpendicular from A, to any tangent, is equal to the part of AB, intercepted between A, and the point where the — perpendicular, let fall from the point of contact of the tangent, — intersects AB. Now AE2=AB:AM; and AD? =AB:AQ;; and:so of all the- lines drawn from. A to the points of division. ‘Therefore,, But (Lemma 3d.) AS+AP+ &c.= nf; since, if the tangents be extended, they will meet, and form a regular figure, circum=- scribed about the circle, in all cases, except when the circum- ference is. divided into only two equal parts; in which case,, the tangents being parallel, the sum of the perpendiculars will be manifestly equal to »R. Therefore, since AB=2R; AB-AS 4+ AP} &e.=AE+AD+&c.=2nR. QE.D. Cor. Hence, if the arches AE, AED, &c. be multiplied by: any number mZ_n; the sum of the squares of all the lines drawn from A, to the points where the multiple arches divide the cir- 2 2 2 cumference, will be equal to AE+AD+ &c. = 2nR. For, (Lemmia Ist.) the multiple arches, mAE, mAED, &c. divide the circumference into equal parts ; the number of which, if m and n are prime to each other,.is equal to the number of the parts into which the circumference was at first divided. But if m and n be not prime to each other, let the fraction ™ | when reduced. n to its lowest terms, by dividing m and n by 7, its greatest com- — mon measure, be derioted by —. Then.(Lemma:Ist.) the arch- es mAE, mAED, &c. divide the circumference into as many equal parts, as there are units in g ; and as many arches termi+ — nate in each, point of division, as there are units in ¢. Therefore, when m and n are prime to each other, the sum of the squares of all the lines drawn from A, to the points — where the arches mAE, mAED, &c. terminate, will be equal: to 2nR?. Properties of ihe Cirele. AOL . And when m and n are not prime to each other, the sum of the squares of these lines will be equal to 2¢R?. But each one of these lines is to be taken as many times as there are units in t; therefore the sum of the squares of the lines belonging to all the arches, will be equal to 2¢¢h* =2nR?. Proposition I. LET there be any regular figure inscribed in a circle ; and from all the angles of the figure, let there be drawn right lines to any point in the circumference of the cir- cle: the sum of the fourth powers of the chords will be equal to six times the multiple of the fourth power of the radius of the circle, by the number of the sides of the figure. Thus, if 2 denote the number of the sides of the fig- ure, and R, the radius of the circle; the sum of the fourth powers of the chords will be equal to 6”R* DEMONSTRATION. Let O (Plate HI. Fig. 5) be any circle, and A, B, C, &c. the angular points of any regular figure, incribed within it. Let P be any point in the circumference; and let there be drawn to it, the right lines PC, PB, &c. from all the angular points of the figure. lt is evident, that the angular points of the figure, divide the circumference into equal parts, the number of which is equal to the number of the sides of the figure. Let now, the arches PC, PCB, &;c. be multiplied by the number 2. Then (Lemma Ist.) the arches 2PC, 2PCB, &c. will divide the circumference into equal parts. And if right lines be drawn from P, to all the points where the multiple arches terminate; then (Coroll. Lem- ma 4.) the sum of the squares of the ehords, belonging to all the arches, will be equal to 2nR?. Draw through P, the diameter PQ; and from the points C, B, &c. draw CQ, BQ, &c. Then (Cor. Lemma 2d.) the chord of 2PC will be equal to as etal But 2QC =2VPQ?— PC? ; and PQ=2R ; and let the chord of the arch 2PC be denoted. AOQ2 Demonstrations of Stewart's 2 pee 2, 2 200 VER RCT) Honce a] 2 eee bi aR Reis And #?R? =4R?2-PC?2—PC*4; or PC*=4R?2 PC? —2?R?. In like manner, if y denote the chord of the arch 2PCB, it may be shewn that PB*=4R?-PB?—y?R?. And so of all the rest. Therefore, PC*+PB*+ &c. = 4R?'PC?4+4R? -PB2+ &c. — 2° R?+y?R? +§c. = 4R?- PC? + PB? + §ec. — R?. 7? +y2+ Ge. But (Lemma 4th.) PC?+PB?4+ &c. = 2nR?; and (as was shown above) z7+y?+ &c. = 2nR?. Therefore PC*+PB4+ &c. = 4R?:2nR? —R?2nR2 = 8nR*—2nR* = 6nk4. Q, E. D. Cor. Hence, if any regular figure of a greater number of sides than three, be inscribed in a circle ; and the same con- struction remain; the sum of the sixth powers of the chords PC, PB, &c. will be equal to 20nR°. For, let the arches PC, PCB, &c. be multiplied by the num- ber 3; and let the chords of the arches 3PC, 3PCB, &c. he de- noted by d, e, &c. respectively. ‘Then (by Cor. 2d. Lemma 2d.) bya. Then c= the chord of the arch 3PC=d= 2QC° a PQ. Substi- tuting for 2QC , and PQ?, their respective values, 16R?—4PC?, and 4R?; it becomes, d= 16R?* PC — 4PC*— 4R* PC _ AR? 12R2 PC —4PC? te hath 144R*PC?—96R2PC44 pecs AR? 16h* and 16d?R4 =144R4-PC?— 96R?-PC4+16PC®; or 9R*4 PC 6R2-PC4++PC* =d?R? ; whence PC® =d?R*—9R*4 “PC? + 6R?:PC?+. In like manner, it may be shewn that PB* =e? R*—9R*:PB? -6R?-PB4. And so of the chords of all the other arches. Therefore, PC®+PB* + g&c. = R4-d? +e? + &e. — 9R* PC2+PB? + &c.+6R?: PC4+ PB44 &e. But (Cor. Lemma Ath.) d?+e?4 &c. = In’ ; and PC?2+PB?2+ &c. = 2nR?: and (by the Proposition) PC*+PB*+ &c. = 6nR*. Therefore PC®4PBS+ &c.=2nR°— 18nR°+36nR°=20nR°. By the same process of reasoning, when the inscribed figure has more than four sides, it may be ‘shown, that the sum of the eighth powers of the chords PC, PB, &c. is equal to 70nR*. wire - ioe all No os REE Ss. ---”- ~~ - oe Sa Properties of the Circle. 403 In general, let m be any number less than n; then will the sum of the 2mth powers of the chords PC, PB, &c. be equal to eof 2m — 1 ee KO -R” ; where the numbers 1,3 1:2°3-4***"* m tae ak oe ee 2, 7, §c. are to be continued until the last equals 2m—1; and the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., until the last equals m. Proposition ITI. LET there be any regular figure inscribed in a circle ; and from all the angles of the figure and the centre of the circle, let there be drawn right lines to any point: the sum of the fourth powers of the lines drawn from the angles of the figure, will be equal to the multiple, by the number of the sides of the figure, of the fourth power of the radius of the circle; together with four times the multiple by the same number, of the fourth power of the line whose square is equal to the rectangle contained by the radius, and the line drawn from the centre ; to- gether with the multiple by the same number, of the fourth power of the line drawn from the centre. DEMONSTRATION ® Let O (Plate III. Fig. 6) be any circie, and A, B, C, &c. the angular points of any regular figure inscribed init. Take any point, as P; and through P, and the centre, draw the diameter POQ, produced if necessary. Draw also PC, PB, &c. from all the angular points; and from C, B, &c. draw CG, BH, &c. per- pendicular to the diameter. When P is taken without the circle, let it be denoted by P’; and when within, by P”. Now, because the angle CPP’ is always obtuse, therefore: CPp?=P'P?4+PC?+2P’P-PG. And because the angle CPP" is always acute, therefore CP’"?=P"P?+PC?—2P"P'PG. But ‘Pp. N2 PG eOR*. Therefore CP’? =P’P? + PC? meee . And PQ PQ ® Note. The case where the point falls in the circumference of the circle, was considered in Proposition I., and therefore is here omitted. AOL Demonstrations of Stewart's CP’? = P’P? + PC? — atl ld le By reduction, CP’? = P’P?-PQ4+PC?:PQ+2P’P:PC?_ P'P?:-2P04 PC*: 2P'O _ ee UP a ine a Gori P'P?;-PO+PC’ PO. P’'P?-PO+PC’ P’O PO PO P’'P=P'O—PO, and P’P=PO—P’O. Therefore, CP? = (P’0-PO)-PO+PC* PO. ,¢ CP2= (PO-P"O)?-PO+PC?,P"0 PO PO Wherefore CP“ _(P'O—PO)* PO?-+2(P' O0— POP: POPC POPC ae. PO? and CP’* _ (PO—P'O)*-PO*+2(PO—P"0 PO PC*-P"0+PC*- Pp Air PO? By the same mode of reasoning, it may be shewn, that BP’4 = (P’0 —PO)*: PG?+2(P’O— PO): PO: PR: POE: PO? and BP’*= (PO—P’0)*:PO?+2(PO—P"0)2: PO-PB? -P’0+4 PB! P’0® PH) Py PoLad AER ED SRA) ARIE eno Oe TT ear AndCP 222500 (ie ae eee and so of all the other lines drawn from the angular points to Por BY Let n denote the number of the sides of the figure; and R, the radius, or PO. Then CP/4+ BP'*4 6c. = — H(FO-W)H(PO-HTS He + 2(PO RY BO tk Ria But, (P’O—R)* +(P’O—R)* + Sc. =n(P’O—R)*, And (Lemma 4th.) PC?+ PB? + &c.= 2nR®. And (Prop. I.) PC*+PB* + &c. =6nR4. Hence, UP"+5P%+ &c.= _ nR? (P'O—R)4 + 4nR2 (P'O — R)?-P'O-R + 6nR*- Perr — ie Ss a. eh Teme as — n-(P'O —R)* + 4(P'O — R)?- PO: BR + 6R?- PO? = n- P’O*— 4P/0*-R + 6GP’O?: R?—4P'0 -R8ER* + 4P'O?-R — ! SP'O?- R?--4P'O-R3+6P'O2-R? = n- P'O!--4P'0? R24 RA = aRt+ 4nR2: P'O?+ n° P'O*. Properties of the Circle. 405 In like manner, CP’*+BP"4+ &c. = nR4+4nR?:P’024 fee, OF QED. Cor. Let m be any number less than 7; the sum of the 2mth powers of the lines will be nR2”"-+nv?A2R2"4n24+B? R24 +nx*C?R?"°+ &c. in which x denotes the line drawn from the assumed point to the centre of the circle, A the co-efficient of the second term of a binomial raised to the mth power, B of the third term, C of the fourth, &c. Proposition TIT. LET there be any regular figure, of a greater num- ber of sides than three, circumscribed about a circle ; and from any point in the circumference of the circle, let there be drawn perpendiculars to all the sides of the figure; twice the sum of the cubes of the perpendicu- lars, will be equal to five times the multiple of the cube of the radius of the circle, by the number of the sides of the figure. Thus, if m denote the number of the sides of the fig- ure ; and R, the radius of the circle; twice the sum of the cubes of the perpendiculars, will be equal to. 5”R*. DEMONSTRATION. Let O (Plate III. Fig. 7) be any circle, and A, B, C, D, &e. the points of contact of the sides of any regular figure, of more than three sides, circumscribed about it. Let P be any point in the circumference ; and draw PM, PN, &c. perpendicular to SI, IK, &c. the sides of the figure. Draw the diameter PQ, and also PC, PB, &c. to all the points of contact. And from all the points of contact, draw CG, BH, &c. perpendicular to the diameter PQ. It may be shewn, (as in Lemma 4th.) that PM = PG; and PN=PH;; and so of all the other perpendiculars. But by the 2 nature of the circle, Pues a Hence PM? = PC* In like manner, PN* oe And so of all the other 2 S§R?° ¥ perpendiculars. Hence, by addition, PM* + PN* + &c. = ae But (Cor. Prop. J.) PO* + PB* + &e. = 8: Y 406 _ Demonstrations of Stewart's “epee ye) Uplaye -+- &ec. rae =5nR?. Q. E. 2 Proposition IV. 3 Sep rin gp ager aS LET there be any regular figure, of a greater num- — ber of sides than four, circumscribed about a circle ; — and from any point in the circumference of the circle, — let there be drawn perpendiculars to the sides of the fig- — ure 3 eight times the sum of the fourth powers of, the © “perpendiculars, will be equal to thirty-five times the mul- ‘tiple, by the number of the sides of the figure, of the fourth power of the radius of the circle. Thus, if 2 denote the number of the sides of the fig- — -ure; and R, the radius of the circle; eight times the ~ sum of the fourth powers of the perpendiculars, will be — equal to 357 K*. DEMONSTRATION. Let O (Plate IL. Fig. 7) be any circle, and A, B,C, D, E, — &ic. the“points of contact of the sides of any regular figure, of — more than four sides, circumscribed about its; and let the same- construction be made, as in Proposition II. By a process of reasoning, similar to:that in Prop. I11., it may be shewn: that puso and pne— PB And so of all 16R‘4 16hR* “the other perpendiculars. Therefore, PM+ + PN4+ &c. = pale ene But, (Cor. Prop. I.) PC? +PB*+ &c. = _70nR*® 70nR*%. Therefore, PM*4+PN4+6c:=——— Or, by mul- 16R* __560nR? 4 tiplication,. 3°PM4+PN44 &c. Ane = 360R 410 1 /Q. Bae. ; Cor. In general, let there be any regular figure circumseri- bed about a circle; let n denote the number of its sides; and let m be any number less than n:, let R denote the radius of the circle; and from any point in the circumference, let there be drawn perpendiculars to the sides of the figure : the sum — of the mth powers of the perpendiculars will be equal te — Sep tjreortte 4: Ea a eS Res gs Ne eet Properties of the Circle. 407 bes 5°¢** On — ] aa oe aia > where the numbers 1, 3, 5, 7, &c. ‘are to be continued until the Jast be equal te 2n—13; and the numbers 1, 2, 3. 4, &c., until the last equal m. "Por, let the figure in the Proposition be supposed to have n sides. Then, reasoning as before, PM” + PN™+ &c. = . 2m 2m 7 Ae ae pa Sc. But, (Cor. Prop. L) PC?"4-PB™* + &e.= nx poet ?m—1 om BR Whence PM" 4+ PN +.&c.= Proposition V. LET there be any regular figure circumscribed about ‘a-circle, of a greater number of sides than three ; and from any point within the figure, let there be drawn per- pendiculars to the sides of the figure; and likewise let there be drawn a right line to the centre of the circle : twice the sum of the cubes of the perpendicalars will be equal to twice the multiple of the cube of the radius of the circle, by the number of the sides of the figure ; together with thrice the multiple, by the same number, of the solid, whose base is the square of the line drawn to the centre, and altitude, the radius of the circle. Thus, if 2 denote the number of the sides of the figure; R, the radius of the circle ; and d, the line drawn from within the figure, to the centre of the circle; twice the sum of the cubes of the perpendiculars will be equal to 2nR* + 3nd? R. DEMONSTRATION Let O (Plate III. Fig. 8) be any circle, and F, A, B, C, &c. the points of contact of the sides of any regular figure, of more than three sides, circumscribed about it. Case J. Let V be any pcint within the circle; and draw VH, VS, &c. perpendicular to KG, GM, &c., the sides of the _ ® Mote. The case where the point falls in the circumference of the circle, was considered in Proposition IiL., and therefore is here emitted, t 408 Demonstrations of Stewart's figure. Through V, draw the diameter PQ. With the centre O, and distance OV, describe a circle. Draw OA, OF, &c. to all the points of contact, from the centre. From V, draw VA, Vs, &c. perpendicular to OA, OF, &e. respectively. From the points a, f, &c., where the lines OA, OF, &c. cut the circumfer- ence of the smaller circle, draw ap, fg, &c. perpendicular to the diameter PQ. Since OA is perpendicular to KG, it is parallel to VH; and because VA is perpendicular to OA, it is parallel to KG. There- fore, VHAA is a parallelogram; and VH=Ah. And because the perpendiculars VA, and ap, are drawn from the opposite ends of the same arch Va, to the radii, OA and OP, passing through the extremities of the same arch; therefore Pp=Ah=VH. In like manner, Py=VS; and so of all the other perpendiculars. Now it is manifest, that the radii OA, OF, &c. divide the cir- cumference of the smaller circle, at the points a, f, &c. into as many equal parts, as they do that of the greater ; and moreo- ver, that the lmes Vp, Vq, &c. are respectively equal to perpen- diculars drawn from V, to the sides of a regular figure circum- scribed about the smaller circle, by drawing tangents to it at the points a, f, &c.; as was shewn in the demonstration of Lem- ma 4th. Now Pp=PV+Vp=PO—VO+4Vp=R—d+Vp. Hence, Pp’ =(R—d+Vp)*=(R—d)? +3(R—d)? -Vp+3(R—d) Vp? +Vp%. In like manner, Pg? =(R—d)?+ 3(R—d)*:Vqg+ 3(R—d)*Vq?+Vq°: and so of all the rest. Hence, Pp°+Pq°+4c.=(R—d)*+(R—d)3+hc.4+3(R—d)? But (R—d)’ + (R—d)* + &c,=n(R—d)* ; and (Lemma 3d.) Vp+Vq+c.=nd, (where d denotes the radius of the smaller circle ;) and (Cor. Prop. IV.) Vp? +Vq?+6c. =Snd?, (m, in the general expression, being in this case 2;) and (Prop. III). Vn* +Vqs +§e.=2 nas, Therefore, Pp°+Pq*+&c.=n(R—d)*+3nd(R—d)? + snd? (Rd) +2nd® =n’ R®—3R*d43Rd? —d* + 3R°d—6Rd? -p mr Leas an 303+ Ra? 9494 2d? an R34 2aR, d ive = ae n +3 ——— and? Rh. Properties of the Circle, 409 Case Il. (Fig. 9.) Let the point V be taken without the cir- eumference of the circle; and let the same construction be made as before. It may be shewn, as in Case Ist., that Pp = VH; and rg = VS; and so of all the other perpendiculars. Now ea Yhap VO FO) Vek.) Hence Pp? =(Vp—d—R) =Vp*—3Vp? : (d-R)+3Vp-(d-R)?— (d-R);. Th like manner, Pq, =Vq?—3Vq": (d-R)+3Vq° (d-R)?—(d-R);. And so of all the rest. Hence, Pp* + Pq + &c. = Vp? + Vg + &c. — 3(d—R) ° Vp Vor PWe.+- 3(0-RY Vp 9 +e. ~ (ERY (ER) Fe But, (as in Case Ist.) Vp'+ Vq?+ &e.= 2 nd? ; and Vp? + Vg? +e. = nd? and Vp+Vq+&e. = nd; and (d—R)3 + (d—R)*+&c. = n(d—R)$. Therefore, Pp’ + Pg? + &c.= 3 nd? _- - nd? (d—R) + 3nd (d—R)?—n(d—R)=n One at d?R + 3d°—6d?R + 3d? — d?-- odgR— 3d? +R = n- R45 d?R. Snd?R. QE. D. Proposition VI. LET there be any regular figure of a greater number of sides than four, circumscribed about a circle; and from any point, let there be drawn perpendiculars to the sides of the figure; and likewise a right line to the cen- tre of the circle: eight times the sum of the fourth pow- ers of the perpendiculars, will be equal to eight times the multiple by the number of the sides of the figure, of the fourth power of the radius of the circle; together with twenty-four times the multiple by the same number of the fourth power of the line whose square is equal to the rectangle contained by the radius and the line drawn to the centre; together with three times the multiple of the fourth power of the line drawn to the centre of the circle, by the number of the sides of the figure. ie Demonstrations of Stewaré’s Thus, if 2 denote the number of the sides of ‘the fiz- are; d, the line drawn from the assumed point to the centre of the circle; and R, the radius of the circle; cight times the sum of the fourth powers of the perpen- diculars, will be equal to 87R*+24nd?R?’+ 3nd". DEMONSTRATION * Case I. (Fig. 10.) Let the point be taken any where, within the figure ; and when without the circle, let it be denoted by V ; and when within, by V’.. Let the same construction be made, as in Proposition V. (excepting that the figure shall have more than four sides ;) and let the intersections of the hnes drawn perpen- dicular to PQ, from all the points f, a, 6, c,d, &c., when the point is taken within the circle, be denoted by q’, p’, &e. . It may be shewn, (as in Case Ist. of Proposition V.) that V'H =Pp'=R—d+V'p'; and V'S=P¢=R—d+V'q'. And, (as in Case 2d. of the same Proposition,) that VA=Pp=Vp— (d—R); and VS=Pq= Vq—(d—R) ; and so of all the rest in either case. | Hence, Pp*=(V’p'+R-d)4=V'p*+4V "p's -(R-d) +6V p™ (R-d)*+4V'p':(R-d)?+ (R-d)*; and Pq'* =V!q 44A4V'q'** (R—d)+6V%q **(R—d)*+ 4V'q" (R—d)*+(h—d)*; and so of the rest. Nise In like manner, Ppt=(Vp—d—R)* =Vp*—4Vp*: (d—R) + 6Vp?*(d—R)*—4Vp:(d—R)* + (d—R)*; and Pg*=Vq*— AW g5* (d—R)+6Vq?* (d—R)?—4Vq°(d—R)°+(d—R)*; and so of the rest. Hence, Pp'*+Pq'*+ &c. = V'p' *4-V'q' 4+ &c.44(R—d): Vip tVq +&e.4+(R—dj*4(R—d)*4 Gc. And Pp‘ + Pq*+ &c. = Vp1+ Vq‘+ &c. —-4(d—R): Vp +Vq+&e.+(d—R)44+(d—R)14&c. Now, for the reasons assigned in Case Ist. of Proposition V., (by Prop. [V.) V'p'*+V'q'*+ &c. = nd* and (Prop. III} Vip +V'q" $§e.= ind 5; and (Coroll. Prop. TV.) W’p'” Ng &c. == nd? ; and, (Lemma 3d.) V'p'+ V'q’ +&e.=nd § and (R—d)*+(R —d)*+&c.=n(R—d)*. ene ee “* Nofe. The case where the point falls in the circumference of the circle, was considered in Proposition IV.; and therefore is here omitted: Properties of the Circle. ALY - Therefore, Pp'44-Pq'* +&c. = ad *+10nd° (R—d)4+8nd% (R—d)?+4nd{(R—d)*+4+n(R—d)*. In like manner, Pp#+Pqt+ eee nd*—10nd*(d—R) +9 ad? (d—R)?—And (d—R)$S +n Natty Or, Pp'*+Pq' 4+. — =n ds 4+10d?R—10d4+9d2 R2—18d? R4+9d4 +4dR3— 12d? R24 12d? R—dd*+ Rt —4d R3+ 6d? R?2—dd *R4d4 = n- Ri 43d 2k? 4 = Ghee REE EE aa And Ppt+-Pq'+ 6c. =n 2d4—-10d4410d°R49d4-18d°R+ Q4nd 2 R2+ 3nd +. Case Il. (Fig. tt.) Let the point V be taken without the figure ; and the same construction be made as before. It may be shewn as before, that VA=Pp, and VS=Pg, and so of all the rest. It is manifest also, that when the sides of the figure produced, fall between the assumed point and the figure, the lines Pp, Py, &c. will fall between P and V; but, that otherwise, they will fall on the other side of P. Hence, VH=Pp=VP oVp=Vp » (d—R); and VS=Pq= VP Vq=V¢q @ (d—R) ; and so of all the other perpendicu- lars. Then, Ppt=(Vp » d—R)‘=Vp'—4Vp*: (d—R) + 6Vp?- (d—R)?—4Vp: (d—R)’ + (d—R)*;\ and Pq*=Vqi—AVq’: (d—R)+6Vq?: (d—R)?—4Vq° (d—R)* + (d—R)*; and so of all the rest. Hence, Pp + Pqt + &c. =Vp‘+ Vq*+ &c.—4 (d—R)° Vp+V@+ &e. +6 (d—R).- Vp? +Vg? + §c.—4(d—R)*> Vpt+Vq + Sc. + (€—R)'+ (d—R).+ Se. AZ Demonstrations, &e. But, as in the first case, Vp4+ Vq*+ &c. ntl (by Prop. IV.) | and (Prop. HII.) Veit Vg += nd3; and, (Cor. Prop. IV.) 1 Vp +Ve+ SoS nd; and, (Lemma 3d.) Vp+Vq + &c. 1 -s=nd; and, (d—R‘)+ (d—R}+ &c. =n (d—R)*. Therefore, Pp*+Pq‘+ &c. = ond 4_10nd3 (d—R) + 9nd (d—=RY—And (d—R)3-n (d-R)'=n-d*— 10d" + 10R + $F-A18PR OPAPP R— 120 + dR BPR AdRE + Rtn, Re BR a Qin2R2+3nd4. QE. D. Cor. In general, let there be any regular figure circumscri- bed about a circle ; and let x denote the number of its sides: let m be any number less than n; and R the radius of the cir- cle ; and from any point, (within the figure, if m be an odd num- ber; but if even, from any point, either within or ‘without,) let there be drawn perpendiculars, to the sides of the figure ; and likewise a right line to the centre of the circle ; and let v denote the line drawn to the centre ; and let a be the co-efficient of the third term of a binomial, raised to the mth power ; 6, the co-efi- cient of the fifth term; c, the co-efficient of the seventh term, and so on: the sum of the mth powers of the perpendiculars will be equal to nR”+nAvh" + nButR" 4+ nCveR™4+ &e.3 substituting A for ax 2; B, for 6x a C, for tae and so on. Which expression may be shewn to be true, by reasoning for the 5th, 6th, gc. powers of the perpendiculars, in the same manner as in the two preceding propositions. Norte. The odd powers of the perpendiculars are confined to the figure, because, otherwise, in summing up, (as in Case 2d} of this Prop.) part of the odd powers of the lines Vp, Vq, &c. will be affirmative, and part negative ; that is, part to be added, and part subtracted ; and their sum cannot be found. IN, Tocelen sx, NH. we? ~ r hn “by 4 Be “6, H i u ? O | ? iI i of ih UH i tine Le HT se Hl U } ii i le | : un Hy | iB ne) by Ae sno es OD uo a. ! it | cal (@) Fs ans | WS, E-INe, (rrvaiee ae i € Speed fas eo Pes pase z S ASE, it RE, iB 4 Si 458 iG Sh Head s eee Ais Vliihied| tof SMITHSONIAN ii iiine Pee: si Be: vias shed SB $09, t Ketel aitetigs eS ag Wea ea eM hd Aare , Peet iy ‘ : : vA . : wee i i ne i ats a bs ek i 7 pe n . ‘ ' Woe han tesbed coud Van Poe ope ‘ etd digabrnns geeks ora , ein ean : fe ks wok Wi 5 Pou yan e woh 4 ‘ . ‘ ‘ Fws y eae oh ¢ as ‘ wi See ak os eriares ‘ : ieee tsk SAS aA Hod ; tat a ick yo es Rae ed teed. yg nN ‘ * ed Wis fy ece Lweaig