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Satin A: 


- 


MEMOIRS 


of the 


LITERARY 


and 


PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 


of 


Manchester. 


PPL LD IL 


VOLUME V. PART I, 


LLL LL TL 


PRINTED FOR 
CADELL AND DAVIES, LONDON, 


George Nicholson, Manchester, 
MDCCXCVITI. 


a : e 
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. 


LAW S. 


i tT ik the Ordinary Members only shall be invested 
with the privilege of voting and electing Members ; and 
that the whole expences of the Society shall devolve upon 
them, 


II. That Gentlemen residing at a distance from Man- 
chester shall be eligible into this Society, under the 
title of Honorary Members ; provided no one be recom- 
mended who has not distinguished himself by his literary 
or philosophical publications. 


III, That Gentlemen at a distance, who have favoured 
the Society with important communications, or from whom 
such contributions may be expected, shall be eligible, un- 
der the title of Corresponding Members, 


IV. That every Candidate for admission into the Socie- 
ty, whether as an Ordinary, Honorary, or Corresponding 
Member, shall be proposed by at least three Ordinary 
Members, who shall sign a certificate of his being, from 
their knowledge of him, of his character, or of his writings, 
a fit person to be admitted into it ; which certificate shall 
be read at not fewer than two successive meetings of the 
Society, previous to the evening of election, 


V. That no election shall be made, either of Ordinary, 
Honorary, or Corresponding Members, except at the Quar- 


a LAWS. 


terly Meetings; and that notice shall be given to each 
Member, whenever a Candidate is nominated, 


VI. That every election shall be conducted by ballot, 
and that the majority of votes shall decide; and that the 
President shall have the determining voice, if the number 
of votes be equal. } 


VII. That when an Ordinary Member removes to a 
greater distance than twenty miles from Manchester, he 
may beentitled to the continuance of the privileges of the 


Society, by paying five guineas to the Treasurer, in lieu of 
his annual subscription, 


VIII. That a President, four Vice-Presidents, two Se- 
cretaries, a Treasurer, and a Librarian be elected annually 
by the majority of Members present, on the last Friday 


inthe month of April. The election to be determined by - 
ballot. 


IX, That a Committee of Papers shall be appointed by 
ballot, at the same time, which shall consist of the Presi- 
dent, Vice-Presidents, Secretaries, Treasurer, and Libra- 
rian, together with six other Members of the Society ; and 
that this Committee skall decide by ballot concerning the 
publication of any paper which shali have been read before 
the Society ; and shall select, with the consent of the Au- 
thor, detached parts of any paper, the whole of which 
may not be deemed proper for publication ; but that the 
presence of seven Members of the Committee shall be ne- 
' cessary for such discussion or decision, 


_.X, That Visitors may be introduced by any Member to 


the Meetings of the Society, with the permission of ‘the 
Chairman. 


XI, That every Member who shall favour the Society 


LAW S. Vv 


with communications, shall send them to one of the Secre- 


. taries, the Monday before the meeting of the Society. 


XII. That the Secretary to whom the paper shall be 
delivered, shall, with the approbation of the President, 
or two Vice-Presidents, have the power of suspending the 
reading of it until it be referred toa meeting of the Com- 
mittee of Papers, whose decision shall be final, 


XIII. That all papers judged admissible shall be read 
by one of the Secretaries, or by the author, in their order. 


XIV. That no more than half an hour shall be allowed 
for the reading of any paper; and if the whole cannot be 
read within that time, the remainder (except the Society 
determine otherwise) shall be deferred till the succeeding 
evening. No paper however shall engage more than two 
evenings, without the consent of the Society, expressed. 
by ballot, if required. 


XV. That every Ordinary Member who produces a 
paper, shall therewith deliver a summary of its leading 
contents, which shall be read, paragraph by paragraph, af- 
ter the paper to regulate its discussion, 


XVI. That the Speakers shall direct to the Chair any 
observations they may make; and, if it be difficult to 
command immediate attention, it is desirable that they 
should stand up when they address the President. 


XVII. That authors be requested to furnish the Society 
with an epitome of their papers, which may be read at the 
meeting succeeding the reading of each paper, and the 
discussion renewed, 


XVIII. That’ each Ordinary Member shall pay one 


guinea annually, by half yearly payments, into the hands 


vi LAWS, 


of the Treasurer, to defray incidental expences, and to 
establish a fund for the benefit of the Society. Each Mem- 
ber on his election to pay his subscription for the current 
half year, together with two guineas as an admission fee. 


XIX. That each of the Vice-Presidents, in rotation, 
undertake his office, for one month; during which term 
he shall take the chair, in the absence of the President, at 
seven o’clock precisely: it is hoped that he will furnish 
articles of intelligence; and when no paper is before the 
Society, it is expected that he provide a subject for dis-, 
cussion, 


XX, That no laws shall be enacted, rescinded, or al- 
tered, but at the quarterly meetings, on the last Fridays in 
the months of January, April, and October; and that no- 
tice shall be given, at least, fourteen days previous to those 
meetings. 


XXI. That the Society shall publish ‘a volume of mis- 
cellaneous papers, at least, every two years. And that, at 
stated times, the Committee shall select from the. papers 
which have been read to the Society, such as shall appear 
to be most worthy of publication, but that no paper shall 
be published without the consent of the author. That 
every paper, voted for publication by the Committee 
of Papers, shall be sent to the press without delay; that 
notice of the printing shall be given to the author, and that 
he be entitled to thirty separate copies, on paying the ex- 
traordinary expence attending them. 


XXII. That a Library be formed for the use of the 
Members of this Society, and that the Librarian be autho- 
rized to purchase such books as shall be ordered at the 
guarterly mectings of the Society: but that no book shall 


LAW S§S., vii 


be taken out of the library, without leave of the Librarian, 
and that the time of keeping it be limited to seven days. 


XXIII. That the resolution to establish a library be an- 
nounced to the Honorary and Corresponding Members of 
the Society ; and that it be intimated to them by the Se- 
cretaries, that donations of their past and future publica- 
tions will be highly acceptable, 


XXIV. That a corp mepAt shall be given to the au- 
thor of the most valuable experimental paper, containing 
some important discovery relative to the arts and manufac- 
tures of Manchester, which shall have been delivered to 
the Secretaries, and read at the ordinary meeting of the 
Society, before the last Friday in March, 1798. 


XXV. That the adjudication of this premium be refer- 
red to the Committee of Papers; that their decision shall 
be made by ballot ; andthat the medal shall be delivered by 
the President to the person to whom it shall have been ad- 
judged, or to his representative, at the first meeting of the 
Society in October, 1798. 


XXVI. That two sttver meDALS shall be given an- 
nually, one to the author of the best Essay ona Literary, and 
another to the best on a Philosophical Subject, which shall 
have been read at the Society during the course of the 
season ; to be determined by the Committee of Papers, 


A 


LIST OF THE MEMBERS. 


00 O|SD|Oeoe=—— 


* Thomas Percival, M.D. F.R.S. and 


S.A. London; F.R.S. Edinburgh; 

Member of the American Academy \ p..ig 

of Arts and Sciences, of the Phi- cata 59 
losophical Society of Philadelphia, 

&e, &e. 

Charles White, Esq. F.R. S. Corres- 

ponding Member of the Royal an-| 

tiquarian Society of Scotland. 


* Mr. Thomas Henry, F. R. S. Member . } mh 
" of the Philosophical Society of Phi- ¢ Vice-Presidents, 


ladelphia. 


* S.A, Bardsley, M. D. 

* Edward Holme, M. D. | 

* Mr, William Henry. \ Secretaries. 
* John Hull, M.D. 

* Mr. Joseph Collier, Librarian. 

* Nathaniel Heywood, Esq. Treasurer. 


Mr. Robert Ashworth. 
Mr. John Atkinson. 
Rev.\Thomas Barnes, D. D. Member of the Philosophical 


Society of Philadelphia. 


Mr. Charles Barret. 


LIST OF MEMBERS, 


* Mr. Thomas Barritt, 

Thomas Butterworth Bayley, Esq. F. R.S. 
Michael Bentley, Esq. 

Mr, John Bill. 

Mr, J. J. Boutflower. 

Mr. Charles Frederic Brandt, 

Mr, John Clarke. 

Mr. Ashworth Clegs, 

Mr, John Close. 

* Mr. John Dalton, 

Mr. John Charlton Dawson, 

Peter Drinkwater, Esq. 

Mr. George Duckworth. 

Mr, Peter Ewart. 

Mr. Thomas Fosbrooke, 

Mr. Edward Green. 

Mr. Samuel Greg, 

Mr, Gavin Hamilton, 

Mr. Joseph Hanson. 

Mr. William Harrison. 

Rev. William Hawkes, 

Benjamin Arthur Heywood, Esq. 
Mr. Thomas Hoghton, 
* Mr. Thomas Hoyle, 
Mr. John Jackson. 
Mr, William Lamb. 
Mr. John Lawrence, 
Mr. George Lee. 
George Lloyd, Esq. 
John Lloyd, Esq. 

Mr, Charles Macniven, 
_ Mr. Samuel Marsland, 
Mr. John Mather. 
Mr. Richard Meadowcroft. 


VOL. Vv. b 


ix 


x LIST OF MEMBERS, 


John Mitchell, M. D. 

Mr. William Mitchell. 

Mr. Richard Moulson. 

* Mr. J. D. Moxon, 

Mr. John Nash, 

Mr. Thomas Nicholson, 
Mr. Thomas Ollier. 

Mr. Robert Owen. 

Mr. George Philips, 

Mr. John Philips. 

Mr. Robert Philips. 

Thomas Richardson, Esq. 
Mr, Thomas Robinson, 
Mr, Thomas Ross, 

* Mr. Theophilus Lewis aspen 
Mr. Richard Rushforth. 

* Mr, John Sharpe. 

Mr, James Watkins, 

Mr, John Bradshaw White. 
Joseph Yates, Esq. 


Those marked thus * are of the Committee of Papers. 


CORRESPONDING MEMBERS, 


William Alexander, M. D. Halifax. 
Dr. Astbury, Newcastle-under-Lines 
George Bew, M. D. Kendal. 

D. Campbell, M. D. Lancaster, 

Mr, John Dawson, Sedbergh, 


LIST OF MEMBERS. xt 


Mr, Thomas Falconer, A.M. C. C. C, Oxford. 

Thomas Garnett, M. D. Anderson’s Professor, Glasgow. 
Mr. George Smith Gibbes, A.B. Fellow of Magdalen 

College, Oxford, 

Dr, Gibelin, of Aix. 

Mr, John Gough, Kendal. 

James Greene, Esq. M. P. 

Mr. Thos, Henry, junr. Philadelphia. 

Mr. Frederic Hoffman, Berlin. 
William Lambe, A. M. Physician, Warwick, 

John Lyon, M. D. Liverpool. 
_James Milnes, Esq. 

Mr, Francis Nichols, 

Dr. Peadlé, of Aix. 

Rev. Thomas Basnett Percival, L, L. B. St. Petersburg, 
Mr. Helenus Scott, Bombay, 

Rev. Robert Uvedale, A. B. Trin, Coll, Cambridge, 

Dr, Waterhouse, of Cambridge, New-England, 

Mr, Thomas Willis, London. 


HONORARY MEMBERS, 


John Aikin, M.D. 

James Anderson, L. L, D. F.R.S. & A.S. Edin, 
Sir George Baker, Bart. F. R, S. Medic. Reg, 
Sir Joseph Banks, P.R.S. &c, &c. 

M. Berthollet, Paris. 

Patrick Brydone, Esq. F.R,S, 

Sir Richard Clayton, Bart, 


xii LIST OF MEMBERS. 


Edwood Chorley, M. D. 

James Currie, M. D. F.R. 5. 

Erasmus Darwin, M. D. F.R.S. 

J. R. Deiman, M. D. Amsterdam. 

Edward Hussey Delaval, Esq. F. R. S. Reg. S.S, Gotting, 
& Upsal. & Instit. Bologn. Soc. 

The Hon. Sir John Talbot Dillon, Knight, and Baron of 
the Holy Roman Empire, 

Captain John Drinkwater. 

Rev. William Magee, B.D. Fellow of Trinity College, 
Dublin. 

Francis Maseres, Esq. F, R.S. 

William Falconer, M.D. F.R.S. 

Anthony Fothergill, M, D. F.R.S. 

M. Frossard, Paris. 

Christopher Girtanner, M.D. F.R.S, Edin; &e, 

Rev. Thomas Gisborne, A. M. 

Rev. George Gregory, D. D. Prebendary of Chiswick in 
the Cathedral of St. Paul, and Domestic Chaplain te 
the Lord Bishop of Landaff, 

William Hawes, M.D. 

John Haygarth, M. B. F.R.S. Lond. & Edin. &c. 

‘Mr. William Hey, F.R. S. 

Mr. George Hibbert. 

Alexander Hunter, M.D. F.R.S. 

James Johnstone, M.D. 

Richard Kirwan, Esq. F. R. S. &c. 

Right Rev. Richard, Lord Bishop of Landaff, F, R,S, &c- 

Right Rev. Beilby, Lord Bishop of London. 

John Coakley Lettsom, M. D. F. R.S, and S, A. 

Mr, Patrick Mac Morland, 

Henry Moyes, M. D. 

George Pearson, M. D. F.R, S. 

M. Roland Platiere, 

M, Pointevin, 


LIST OF MEMBERS, xiii 


Rev. Joseph Priestley, L.L. D. F.R.S. 

Mr, William Rathbone. 

Rev. John Radeliffe, A, M. Brazen-nose-College, Oxford. 

Mr, William Roscoe. 

‘Benjamin Rush, M. D. Professor of the Theory and Prac- 

tice of Physic at Philadelphia, &c. 

Samuel Foart Simmons, M.D. F.R.S. 

Sig. Alexander Volta, Professor of Experimental Philoso- 
phy at Como, &c. 

Rev. Gilbert Wakefield, B. A. 

Rev. John Whittaker, B. D. F,S. A. 

Arthur Young, Esq. F,R.S. 


HONORARY MEMBERS, 


OMITTED IN THE ABOVE LIST. 


Charles Hatchett, Esq. 
The Rev. William Turner, Newcastle upon Tyne. 


The bookbinder is requested to paste the above at the end of the list 
of Members, page xiii. 


| 
CON.T.EN TS 
wetted Magee hag a heater heme 


Cursory Remarks, Moral and Political, on 
Party-Prejudice. By Samuel Argent Bardsley, 
ot Rn RENMEI eh dee were cy) Me page 1 


Extraordinary Facts relating to the Vision of 
Colours: with Observations. By Mr. John 


fee DEES eee: Tees ORB) 


An Enquiry into the Name of the Founder of 
Huln Abbey, Northumberland, the first in Eng- 
land of the Order of Carmelites: with Remarks 
on Dr. Ferriar’s Account of the Monument in 
the Church of that Monastery. By Robert 
Uvedale, B.A. of Trinity College, Cambridge ; 
Corresponding Member of the Literary and 
Philosophical Socrety of Manchester.—Addressed 
MERE PCT GUGM este areata nsenweenceiths can p. 46 


On the Variety of Voices. By Mr. John 
Gough.—Communicated by Dr. Holme........ p. 58 


On the Benefits and Duties resulting from the 
Lastitution of Societies for the Advancement of 
Literature and Philosophy. By the Reverend 


CONTENTS, ee 


Thomas Gisborne, M. A.—Communicated by 
Re? PTCA VGA Lice nak acd ong bin an cnn geo MAUD. Leta p- 70 


On an Universal Character; in a Letter 
from James Anderson, L. L. D. F. R.S. 
F.A.S.S, &c. &c. to Edward Holme, M. D. p. 89 


The Inverse Method of Central Forces.—Com- 
municated by Dr. HOlMe..--.-++sc--c-scseseeeesees p- 102 


Observations on Iron and Steel. By Joseph 
DT ERRORS Saeed Ret Rae p. 109 


Remarks on Dr. Priestley’s Experiments and 
Observations relating to the Analysis of Atmos- 
pherical Arr, and his Considerations on the Doc- 
tine of Phlogiston and the Decomposition of Wa- 
ter. By Theophilus Lewis Rupp .......-.... p- 123 


An Account of three Different Kinds of Tim~ _ 
ber Trees, which are likely to prove a great Ac- 
quisition to this Kingdom, both in Point of Profit 
and as Trees for Ornament and Shade. By 
‘Charles White, Esq. F. R, S. -----c--eessner-one p- 163 


An Analysis of the Waters of two Mineral 
Springs at Lemington Priors, near Warwick ; 
including Experiments tending to elucidate the Ori- 
gin of the Muriatic Acid. By William Lambe, 
M.A. late Fellow of St. Fohn’s College Cam- 
bridge-—Communicaicd by Dr. Holme «++... P- 174 


xvi CONTENTS. 


Some Account of the Persian Cotton Tree. 
By Matthew Guthrie, M.D. F.R.S. &c. &c. 
—Communicated by Dri Percival......----+-+-. p. 214 


Experiments and Observations on the Prepa- 
ration and some remarkable Properties of the 
Oxygenaied Muriat of Potash. By Thomas 
Hoyle, jun. BP. ese erat Sie a iE RA p. 221 


Experiments and Observations on Fermenta- 
tion and the Distillation ue Ardent Spirit. By 
Joseph Collier ere cee ce ie esnceegaemvecaposens p-. 243 


Hints on the Establishment of an Universal 
wriiien Character. In a Letter to the Rev. 
Dr. John Kemp. By William Brown, M. D. 
—Communicaied by Dr. Holme...+.2.seeneeee- P- 275 


On the Process of Bleaching with the oxyge- - 
nated muriatic Acid; and a Description of a 
new Apparatus for Bleaching Cloths with that 
Acid dissolved in Water, without the Addition 
of Alkali. By Theophilus Lewis Rupp. ---- p. 298 


Account of a remarkable Change of Colour in 
a Negro. By Miers Fisher.—Exiract of a 
Letter from Mr. James Pemberton to Mr. 
Thomas Wilkinson.—Communicated by Dr. 
I Fenn rnncench die iah na eR nceseneyeeneae p. 314 


a: 


aii RRRARRANSS———— 


MEMOIRS 


of the 
LITERARY & PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 
of 
SAanchester; 
—>?Ose— e 
« 


CURSORY REMARKS, MORAL AND POLITICAL, 
on 
Party-Prejudice. 

BY SAMUEL ARGENT BARDSLEY, M.D. 


READ APRIL 19TH, 1794. 


sos . . . a 

Cuivis enim patet consuescere homines, eos, qui suarum partium 
sunt, immodicis efferre laudibus qui autem contrarii sunt, infra meri- 
tum deprimere. Bacon. 


Among the variety of prejudices which have 
tyrannized over mankind, no one has ruled with 
more uncontrouled sway, than the prejudice of 
Party. Prejudices founded on ignorance may be 
removed, by solely enlightening the mind. But 
party-prejudice, commonly associated with invete- 
rate habits, and strengthened by the influence of pas- 
sion and interest, is with difficulty conquered, even 

VOL, V. ea 


2 On Party-Prejudice. 


uh 
with the assistance of knowledge, reason, and truth. 
The learned therefore, as well as the ignorant, are 
subject to its influence. For the mind engaged in 
political subjects, connected with interest, passion, 
or habit, exercises its faculties with partiality ; draws 
erroneous conclusions; and thus blinds, confounds, 
and leads the judgment captive to its perverse in- 
clinations. If ignorance* be the parent, passion 
and self-love may be considered as the nurses of 
prejudice. 

Nor does virtue protect her votary from its at- 
tacks. It is, certainly, a plant of quick growth in 
‘a vicious and ignorant bosom; but, too frequently, 
takes deep root, and flourishes in the breasts of the 
wise and virtuous. Then, indeed, it becomes the 
source of great moral and political evil. For when 
in matters even of small importance to the welfare 
of a state, the character's, stamped by public opinion 
as great and good, swerve, from the line of recti- 
tude, and yield to the voice of interest, or the clam- 
ours of faction, our ideas of right and wrong are 
confounded, and public virtue receives a dangerous 
wound: and their guilt acquires an importance, in 


* The influence of prejudice, operating on honest but 
ignorant minds, is curiously exemplified in the following 
form of an old presentment by an inquest. ‘* We say,”* 
observe the jury, “ that I. Stevens is a man we cannot tell 
what to make of him; andvhe hath books we cannot un- 


derstand them,” Hakewell, Mod, Tenend, Parl, page 172, 
& 


On Party-Prejudice. 3 


proportion as the influence of example is extend- 
ed to others: Plusque exemplo, quam peccato no-~ 
cent. 

The evil of party-prejudice is not confined to 
the state. It imvades the peacegof individuals, 
friends, and neighbours. The tender charities of 
blood and kindred are frequently dissolved. De- 
traction is the bitter, but detested foe of human hap- 
piness. Party-malice, however, acting under the 
mask of patriotism, instead of exciting detestation 
of its malignity, too often meets with the applause of 
the zealous ‘partizan. , Characters are thus blasted 
with impunity; and the atrocity of the crime is con- 
cealed by the influence of prejudice. 

There appears a natural bias in the human mind 
towards prejudice. * It often arises,” according to 
the observation of an eloquent French writer,* 
‘¢ from that unhappy tendency in the human mind 
towards .a perplexity in the employment of its 
powers, which plunges it into error, in spite of op- 
position: for the human mind, so far from resem- 
bling a faithful mirror (whose equal surface admits 
and reflects the rays of light with unaltered fidelity) 
may rather be considered as a kind of magical glass, 
which presents only disfigured and monstrous ob- 
jects.” If the soil be so rank, no wonder that the 


4 


* D’Alembert: Encyclopédie, 


oo 


4 On Party-Prejudice. 


weeds of party-spirit and detraction spring up to 
luxuriance, when watered and cultivated by the pa- 
rent’s or tutor’s care. Example and authority often 
conspire to chain down the mind to illiberal and ridi- 
culous prejudices. The pupil-is early impressed by 
some appellation, descriptive of a party or sect. This 
term genérally embraces a complex idea. But the 
tender mind is suffered to entertain only the single 
idea of contempt, or disgrace, affixed to the obnox- 
ious party. Thus the real grounds on which such 
a party-distinction is built, are concealed from the 
view: perhaps they are little understood by those, 
whose duty it is to unfold their nature and designs. 
For to analyse the various interests of contending 
parties in a free government, requires a considerable 
attention to its history; and sucha degree of reflec- 
tion, as seldom falls to the share of a party-bigot. 
Youth are thus led to form unjust associations of 
ideas; which are frequently never eradicated dur- 
ing a life of study and information; even when as- 
sisted by the most brilliant talents. 


Locke observes, in his chapter on association, 
that some independent ideas of no alliance to 
one another, are by education, custom, and the 
constant din of party, so coupled in the mind 
that they always appear there together; and can 
no more be separated in thought, than if they 
were but one idea; and they operate as if they were 
SO. 


On Party-Prejudice. 5 


The history of many great characters in free 
states affords numerous examples, to prove the 
danger and folly of communicating and cherishing 
party-prejudice. Its tenacious hold on the most 
powerful intellects is truly astonishing! Is there a 
breast so stceled by party-spirit, as not to. lament 
for human infirmity, when the political bigotry of a 
Milton and a Johnson appear to-view? Milton, 
who strenuously opposed the re-establishment* ef 
limited monarchy, and became the champion of re- 
publicanism, sunk so deeply under the power of 
prejudice, as to glory in being united both in praiset 


* See Milton’s ** Ready and easy Way to establisha 
Commonwealth.” An. 1659. 

+ Tu mihi sic perge maledicere, ut Cromuello pejor tide 
sim, qua nulla majore me laude afficere potuisti.” 

“* Cum presertim non reipublice solum, sed & mej 
quoque intersit, ut, qui eadem infamia tam prope sim con- 
junctus quam optimum eum (viz. Cromwell) atque omni 
laude dignissimum, gentibus, quoad possum, omnibus atque 
czeculis, demonstrarem.”? Milton, Défensio eda, pag.go & 
108, Ed. Toland, Amstelodam, 

It may, indeed, justly be conceded to the apologists of 
Milton, that his general conduct was influenced by the 
purest motives of patriotism; and that his sincerity ought 
‘not to be questioned, when, in a solemn appeal to the 
Deity, he affirms, that a sense of duty, justice, and sin- 
cere regard to the best interests of his country, solely 
guided the pen in all his political writings. 

‘6 Testor itidem Deum, me nihil istiusmodi scyipsisse, 
quod non rectum, & verum, deoque gratum esse & per- 


6 On Party-Prejudice. 


and dispraise, in danger and in triumph, with the 
fanatical usurper Cromwell. Johnson was educa- 
ted a party-bigot. His father who excited his re- 


- suaserim tum mihi etiamnum persuasus sim, idque nulla 
ambitione, lucro aut gloria ductus; sed officii, sed honesti, 

sed pietatis in patriam ratione sola.” Denfens, 2da, 
pag. 88. But that the mist of prejudice had concealed 

from him the ambitious and traitorous designs of Crom- 
well, cannot, in truth, be denied by his warmest panegyr- 
ists. Indeed, it requires a large portion of enthusiastic 
admiration of his character and talents, not to treat with 
indignation, his flagrant pay to Cromwell. What 
incense has Milton offered up to him in his ‘* Second De-' 
fence,” for not assuming the title of King, but modestly 
contenting himself with the less pompous and less invidi- 
ous appellation of Lord-Protectors; or, as Milton terms it, 

** Pater Patria !”” Fatherof his Country! This panegyrical 

address to Cromwell, although seasoned with the most elo- 
quent and spirited advice, recommending moderation and 

the establishment of a well-ordered commonwealth, was 

written at the time when the author was Latin-Secretary 
to the Tyrant, who had, in person, ignominiously expel- 

led one parliament, by whose authority he had acquired 

power, and soon after dissolved another, packed by him- 
self; but which he considered as not sufficiently devoted 
to his interest. Indeed, such was Milton’s over-heated 

zeal and prejudice, as to lead him to bestow extravagant 

praise on the Usurper, who had dismissed a parliament 

with indecent violence, and of his own authority; and 

yet to condemn, with unrelenting asperity, the similar 

arbitrary, but, certainly, far less atrocious conduct, in the 

deceased—ill-fated monarch ! 


— es 


On Party-Prejudice.  - 


verence, and his mother whose indulgence won his 
affections, inculcated a set of opinions, which 
« orew with his growth, and strengthened with 
his strength.” He was not satisfied with taking co- 
pious draughts of the spirit of party, but drank up 
the very dregs and lees of national and personal 
prejudice ! 

It forms, then, a most important part of educa- 
tion, to keep the mind free from injurious party- 
prejudice; and to prevent those early associations, 
which, by imparting an, obliquity to the moral fa- 
culty, impress on the mind, ever afterwards, a 
kind of necessity to deviate from the line of recti- 
tude.* This ought to be the parent’s peculiar care; 
for, as Montesquieu‘ finely remarks, ‘¢ The parent - 
is generally capable of communicating his know- 
ledge to his offspring: he is still more able to im- 
press them with his passions.” 


* & Tet any man, who hath been deeply engaged in the 
contests and views of party, ask himself, on cool reflec- 
tion, whether prejudices concerning men and things have 
not grown up andustrengthened with him; and obtained an 
uncontroulable influence over his conduct? We dare ap- 
peal to the sentiments of every such person.” 

Bolingbroke’s Remarks on the History 
of England: Letter 23d. 


+ ** Onest ordinarement le maitre de’donner 4 ses enfans ‘ 
ses connoissances: on I’ est encore plus de leur donner 
ses passions,” 


L’ Esprit des Loix, chap. 5+ p- 55» 


: On Party-Prejudice. 


If the question be asked: whether it be not the 
indispensable duty of those, who have the charge of 
education, in free states which partake of a mixed 
form, to impress the minds of youth not only with 
general views of the fundamental principles of the 
constitution, and to inspire them with a rational 
zeal for the preservation of its liberties and_bles- 
sings; but also to make them acquainted with the 
history and transactions of its party divisions? 
There can be no hesitation in making a reply in the 
affirmative. 

For the necessity of imparting this information, 
upon just and liberal views of the subject, arises 
from a sacred obligation due to their country, as well 
as from a bounden duty to promote the happiness of 
their children and posterity. Yet, in performing 
this necessary task, great caution and judgment must 
be used. Let them beware of chaining down their 
minds to the opinions of party, instead of binding 
their attachments to the principles of the constitution. 
To magnify the patriotism, virtue, and talents of 
one party ; and to exaggerate the faults and depress 
the merits of their opponents, would be to corrupt 
the candour of young and ingenuous minds. In- 
deed, to fix their attention chzefly upon the transac- 
tions of parties, would be to lead them from the pure 
streams of constitutional information, to drink of the 
muddy and bitter waters of rancour and party-strife. 

It cannot be denied, that diversities of opinion - 


™ La 
4 


On Party-Prejudice. 9 


will arise among the members of free states ; and those 
too of such a nature, as may involve questions of the 
highest importance to the welfare of the community. 
But amidst this clashing of opinions and principles, 
we should never lose sight of the just prerogatives, 
privileges, and rights of the different branches of 
the government. To preserve and defend these 
with zeal and firmness, ought to be our sole aim and 
endeavour. To maintain an equilibrium between 
the power and interests of the distinct orders of a 
mixed government, has been the ostensible motive 
for the formation of all parties; and, when founded 
upon this pure and rational principle, they deserve 
our zeal and affection. For, if we consult the in- 
structive pages of Grecian and Roman history, we 
shall find, that the preservation of the liberties, and 
even the existence of the state, frequently depend- 
ed on the exertion of parties, composed of virtuous 
and brave citizens. But on this, as well as on most 
other occasions of human life, we must beware of 
deviating from the path of moderation. For this 
spirit of party admits of certain definite limita- 
tions. — quos ultra citraque nequit consistere 
rectum, 

A want of attention to the boundaries of attach- 
ment, has not only led to the destruction of many 
parties, founded on just grounds, but also proved 
fatal to the liberties and happiness of the state. 
Men of the most splendid talents in the ancient re- 

VOL. Vv. B 


10 On Party-Prejudice. 


publics, have been so powerfully influenced by am- 
bition, party-zeal, and prejudice, as to become the 
leaders of a guilty faction. Prompted by these 
motives, they have sacrificed on the altar of their 
mistaken zeal, interest, or revenge, the dearest rights 
and happiness of their fellow citizens. Hence arose 
proscriptions, massacres, anarchy, and all the train 
of evils which lawless usurpers introduced into 
countries divided by party-feuds. 

Unfortunately, in times of political dissention, 
moderation becomes branded with the name of 
cowardice or treachery; and-none but violent mea- 
sures and counsels meet with approbation. Perhaps 
the surest test @f the rectitude and pure intentions 
of any party formed in a state, is the conduct of its 
leaders towards the moderate and peaceable class of 
citizens. For if these contending parties have de- 
generated into factions, actuated by ambition or 
false zeal, they will alike mark with detestation the 
moderate men of the community, who may have 
refused to inlist under their respective banners. 
Amidst the horrors and confusion of a revolution 
or a sedition, the voice of moderation and humani- 
ty will have little chance of being heard. In those 
turbulent periods, the most settled habitudes and 
affections undergo a total transformation. The ad- 
mirable description, by Thucydides, of the sedition 
at Corcyra, affords a melancholy but instructive 
lesson of the change wrought in men’s minds by 


On Party-Prejudice. 11 


the spirit of party:— Even words,” says the his- 
torian, “ now lost their former significance ; since to 
palliate actions they were quite distorted. | For tru- 
ly, what was before a brutal courage, began to be 
esteemed that fortitude which becomes a human and 
sociable creature; prudent consideration, to be spe- 
cious cowardice ; modesty, the disguise of effemina- 
cy; and being wise in every thine, to be good for 
nothing. The hot and fiery temper was adjudged 
‘to be the exertion of true manly valour ; -cautious 
and calm deliberation, to be a plausible pretext for 
intended knavery. He, who boiled with indigna- 
tion, was undoubtedly trusty; who presumed to 
contradict, was ever suspected. He who succeed- 
ed in a dishonest scheme, was wise; and he, who 
suspected such practices in others, was still a more 
able genius. But was he provident enough, so as 
never to be in need of such base expedients, he 
was one that would not stand to his engagements, 
and most shamefully awed by his foes. In short, 
he who could step before another in executing vil- 
lany, or could persuade a well designing person to 
it, was sure to be applauded.*” 

“¢ Yet, all this while, the moderate members of 
such communities (either hated because they would 
not meddle, or envied for such obnoxious conduct) 
fell victims to both parties. 


* Thucydides, Ed. Duk, lib, iii, sect. 82, p. 217. 
+ Sect, 82, page 219. 


12 On Party-Prejudice, 


If these mischiefs arising from party-prejudice 
and bigotted zeal, have beén invariably connected 
with the operation of the passions and prejudices of 
mankind, when directed to political objects, we 
may as justly infer the continuance of similar ef- 
fects from correspondent causes, as, that any of 
what are called the laws of nature, will remain in- 
violate. Both ancient and modern history afford 
too many proofs of the truth of this remark. In 
Greece and Rome, political intrigues, cabals, and 
dissentions incessantly succeeded each other; and, 
as an elegant writer observes, “ the spirit of li- 
berty fled away from a people, devoted to party-pre- 
judices and faction.” 

If we enquire more particularly into the general 
causes of the evils afflicting these states, we shall 
find that they derived their origin from the avarice, 
profligacy, and ambition of the heads of different 
parties ; assisted by the blind admiration, or supine 
inattention of their respective partizans. 

An inordinate Just of power, joined to great ta- 
lents, when possessed by any individual, render him 
a just object of suspicion, both to the government 
and the people. If he should fail in subverting the 
principles of the constitution, he may yet involve his 
country in misery, by splitting it into parties and 
factions. The admiration of his talents, and that as- 
cendency which strong minds ever possess over the 
weak and ignorant, will strengthen the prejudices of 


On Party-Prejudice. 13 


his party. Ifhe add craft and a command of tem- 
per to his other qualities, the danger is moré to be 
dreaded. . 

Cesar was daringly and artfully ambitious. 
Sprung from an illustrious line of ancestors, and 
endowed with extraordinary talents, he became a 
candidate for popular favour. He was eminently 
successful. His eloquence was employed in the 
impeachment of the guilty; and his compassion ex- 
erted in defending the innocent and oppressed. He 
riveted the affections of the people in pronouncing 
(contrary toan express law) a funeral oration, on the 
loss of his young wife. Plutarch remarks: “ They 
sympathized with him as a man of great good na- 
ture, and one who had the social duties at heart.” 
He was munificent in his bounty to distressed. citi- 
zens; and the manner of bestowing greatly enhanc- 
ed the value of the gift: Caesar dando, sublevando, 
gloriam adeptus est.* 

These fascinating qualities served but as a cloak 
to conceal his dangerous ambition. His apparent 
moderation, talents, and great military skill attracted 
a powerful support from the virtuous and well-mean- 
ing patriots. Their prejudices blinded their judg- 
ment. In vain did Cato declare his suspicions of 
the purity of Czsar’s motives. Cicero also failed 
in tearing away the mask. But the union of Cesar 
and Pompey, at last, too plainly discovered to the 
deluded but honest patriots, that a pretended shew 


* Sallust,. 


14 On Party~Prejudice. 


of patriotism was the stalking horse, which had 
concealed his destructive machinations against the 
safety of the republic. The discovery was made at 
too late a period; as he finally triumphed over their 
credulity, and the liberties of his country. 

Catiline was ambitious like Cesar: yet he failed 
in his attempts to subvert the constitution. To 
ambition, he joined avarice, profligacy, and unblush- 
ing villany. He endeavoured to involve, in one 
extended scene of ruin, all that were illustrious in 
Rome for talents, virtue, and patriotism. _ He soon 
became the chief of a party; but this party was 


composed of the needy, the profligate, and the. 


guilty: Postremo omnes, quos flagitiwm, egestas 
conscius animus exagitabat, Catiline proximt famili- 
aresque erant.* This detestable conspiracy was 
detected by the superior vigilance and sagacity of 
Cicero; and finally overwhelmed, by the united ef- 
forts of the brave and virtuous defenders of the 
commonwealth. 

Catiline and Cesar both aimed at the destruction 
of the liberties of their country; but they differed 
materially in the means to accomplish that end. 
Catiline, by availing himself of the ready assistance 

_ of the wicked and necessitous, openly attempted 
the subversion of the government. He was oppos- 
ed and defeated. Cesar allured to his party the 


* Sallust. Bell, Catilinar. 


On Party-Prejudice. 15 


most virtuous, eloquent, and patriotic citizens. 
Rendered powerful by their confidence and his 
own military atchievements, he, at length, became 
the destroyer of that cause, under the banners of 
which he had pretended to fight. 

The Gracchi were born plebeians, though en- 
nobled by their fathers’ honours, and their mothers’ 
illustrious descent. Bold, eloquent, and ambitious, 
Tiberius Gracchus was well qualified to engage the 
affections of the people. Ardent in the cause of 
liberty, he beheld, in the unbridled luxury of the 
rich and the encroaching arrogance of the nobles, 
sufficient reasons to attempt the increase of demo- 
cratic influence. With this view, he endeavoured 
to revive the agrarian law, for the division of con- 
quered and bequeathed lands among the people. 
Inflamed by the spirit of party and the desire of 
humbling their superiors, the people listened greedi- 
ly to the flattering proposal. The rich and the 
patricians as strongly resented the measure. The 
contention of parties became truly alarming. At 
this period, Tiberius Gracchus solicited the office 
of the Tribuneship. He was elected along with 
Octavius. His passions and ambition now arose 
to a dangerous height. Hurried on by the spirit of 
party and a sanguine disposition, he violated a fun- 
damental principle of the constitution, by degrading, 
his colleague Octavius; who opposed his measures, 
as destructive innovations on the long established 


16 On Party-Prejudice. 


forms of the state. By turns he alarmed, soothed, 
and inflamed his party. Rome, now, became di- 
‘vided into factions; and none but violent measures 
were adopted on any side. Tiberius offered a se- 
cond time for the tribuneship. This daring innova- 
tion on the laws of his country, in attempting to es- 
tablish a perpetuity of the tribunitian power in one 
person, excited the utmost indignation of the vio- 
lent,—alarmed the moderate,—and brought conten- 
tion to a dreadful crisis! —The senate opposing force 
to force, the contest terminated in the destruction 
of Tiberius and his adherents. After this disgrace- 
ful violation of the laws of the state by both parties, 
tranquillity was for a time restored. 

Caius Gracchus, not long alter, renewed this 
scene of anarchy and injustice. Impelled by that 
ardent zeal for liberty, and aided by the same po- 
pular talents which distinguished his brother; and, 
perhaps, further instigated by a spirit of revenge, he 
trod in the same unhappy path which had led to the 
destruction of Tiberius. He aspired to the tribune- 
ship, and was elected. Then grown giddy by the | 
applause, and relying with fatal security on the pro- 
tection of the people, he became a candidate, a se- 
cond time, for tribunitian honours. He was opposed 
by the nobles; and, the people abandoning his cause, 
he miserably perished in the attempt. 

If we trace the history of parties in free states, 
from the earliest periods of regular government, 


"eS ae 


On Party-Prejudice. 17 


down to modern times, we shall find,—that, so far 
as those parties were governed by the superior as- 
cendency of any distinguished individual; and from 
that cause, proved fatal to the tranquillity and liber- 
ties of a state, the examples just recited, will ex- 
hibit the leading features which have characterized. 
all party-chiefs, and their followers. An important 
lesson may, hence, be taught to the adherents of par- 
ty, in all free states. The danger arising, from a 
prejudiced and blind attachment to these s* Gods of 
their idolatry,” ought to be forcibly impressed on 
their minds. That state must be sunk to the lowest 
ebb of profligacy, in which a Catiline and his asso- 
ciates, should succeed in their attempts against its 
liberties. Fear and dismay are capable of producing 
a temporary dereliction of the support of order and 
freedom, in a government composed, for the most 
part, of able and virtuous citizens; but (as happen- 
ed at Rome) they will, at length, rally around the 
constitution of their country, and annihilate the 
daring disturbers of public tranquillity. The exam- 
ple of an open and criminal attack against the con- 
stitution of any government, by a party notoriously 
infamous; and whose avowed purpose is the destruc- 
tion of social order, and of respected and establish- 
ed forms, requires only to be held up to view to be 
detested. But when dissentions among the separate ° 
orders of a mixed state are founded upon principle, 
and supported by leaders of character and abilities, 
VOL. Vv. a 


18 On Party-Prejudice, 

then the danger arising from party-prejudice be- 
comes truly alarming. It is probable, that Tiberius 
Gracchus was, at first, influenced by a patriotic de- 
sire of maintaining an equipoise between the demo- 
cratical and aristocratical branches of the state. 
Actuated by the same motive, many moderate mem- 
bers of the aristocracy joined his party. Legal and 
constitutional means of redress were for a while 
adopted. But these were too slow for the heated 
passions and encreasing ambition of Tiberius. He 
displayed the genuine character of an ambitious, 
popular, party-chief—Spurning at a moderate de- 
gree of success, and neglecting the salutary lessons of 
experience, he attempted to overleap, at one bound, 
the interval which separated him from the attainment 
of his object; and thus, by adopting summary and 
violent, instead of slow and moderate means, he risked 
the success of his enterprise. Happy would it have 
been for his country had the evil stopped here! 
But the demon of discord once let loose, the abet- 
tors of the rights of the people and their opponents 
equally assisted in staining their cause with crimes 
and factious outrage. For a recourse to party- 
violence for redress, upon a violation of the laws of 
justice and the constitution, having once been és- 
tablished, contributed to corrupt the morals of the’ 
people, and destroy that relish for rational liber- 
ty, which had ever distinguished the republic. It 
is easy to plunge into faction; but difficult to ré- 


7 


On Party-Prejudice> 19 


store order and tranquillity. Had it not been for 

party-prejudice, there can be little doubt, but such 
regulations of the agrarian law would have taken 
place, as to have raised to a due degree the demo- 
cratical influence. By these means, the preponde- 
rating scale of patrician power would have been 
properly balanced, and the. constitution brought 
back to those irs principles, which had given it 
stability and splendour. The Gracchi then, in- 
stead of meriting the appellation of factious and 
ambitious demagogues, would have deserved the 
glorious title of defenders of the liberties of their 
country. It is the remark of Plutarch: “ With 
such citizens as the Gracchi, Marius, Cinna, dc. it 
was difficult to preserve a republic; but with such 
as Cesar or Pompey impossible.” This observa 

tion will not apply to the most flourishing periods of 
the perfection and republican grandeur of the Ro- 
man commonwealth. The liberties of a people un- 
‘der such circumstances, are more in danger from the 
party-zeal and ambition of a Tiberius Gracchus, 
than from the splendid atchievements and artful ad- 
dress of a Cesar. For, in all mixed’ governments, 
while the people possess sufficient patriotism, to be 
more anxious in preserving the fundamental princi- 
ples of the constitution, than attending to the nar- 
row and selfish views of party, they will reject bribes. 
with indignation; look upon victories with jealousy ; 
and carefully.watch over the conduct of an aspirs 


20 On Party-Prejudice. 


ing and exalted character. In order to secure their 
countenance and support, it will be necessary to as- 
sume the appearance of a patriotic zeal, in support- 
ing the privileges of, and regulating the balance of 
power between the separate orders of the state. Self. 
denial, and austerity in conduct and manners, must 
be practised to lull suspicion. By these arts Tiber- 
ius Gracchus exalted the power of one branch of 
the state upon the ruins of the other; and thus in- 
troduced anarchy, party-virulence, and a habit of in- 
surrection. The foundations of the republic, by 
these means, were secretly undermined; and the 
whole edifice, soon after, tumbled into pieces, when 
assaulted by the vigorous and well-timed attack of 
Cesar. Tiberius Gracchus, Marius, Cinna, and 
other factious leaders, may be considered merely as 
caterers for Cesar. Like the jackal, they hunted 
down the prey, to be devoured by the lion! 

If we direct our attention to the Grecian demo- 
cracies, we shall find ample matter for reflection 
in the evils introduced by party-prejudice. The 
same causes, which corrupted the integrity of the 
citizens and destroyed the liberties of Rome, pro- 
duced similar fatal effects among the Grecian states. 
Ambition, avarice, and party-malice reigned every 
where triumphant. 

These are the causes which Thucydides* assigns 


* Thucydid, p. 218, Ed, Duk. 


On Party-Prejudice. 24 


for all the dreadful factions that ravaged Greece 
during the Peloponesian war. ‘ The source of 
all these evils,” he remarks, “ is a thirst of power,’ 
in consequence of either rapacious or ambitious 
passions. The mind, when thus actuated, is ready 
to engage in party-feuds. For the men of large in- 
fluence in Communities, avowing on both sides a 
specious cause ;—some standing up for the just 
equality of the popular;—others for the fair de. 
corum of the aristocratical government ;—by artful 
sounds embarrassed those communities for their 
own private ends.” 

In proportion, however, to the pure democracy,* 
which prevailed in any state, did the spirit of party 
arise to a dangerous height. Lycurgus had given 
to Sparta a mixed form of government. Its tran- 
quillity therefore was better preserved, and its du- 
ration extended to a longer period than that of any 
of the pure democratical states. It is the observa- 
tion of Aristotle, t that in mixed governments, 
like Sparta, party prevailed less (i. e. in comparison 
with the other Grecian states), though the power of 
the state was divided into separate branches. For 


* * Dans les états extrémement libres, ils trahissent la 
liberté 4 cause de leur liberté méme, qui produissent tou- 
jours des divisions ;—chacun deviendroit aussi esclave des 
préjugés de sa faction, qu’il le seroit d’un despote,”— 

MonrTeEsQuiev. 

+ Aristot, Polit. lib. v. cap. 9. 


22 On Party-Prejudice. 


Theopompus acted with great moderation, as, among 
many other regulations, he instituted the Ephori ; 
“and thus, by depriving the royal authority of some 
of its weight, added to its stability. Instead of 
lessening, he exalted himself. It is reported, that, 
when his wife asked, *if he did not blush to be- 
queath to his children an authority more-crippled 
than that he had received from his ancestor?’ he re- 
plied ‘no: for I leave it greater, because more du-. 
rable.’ 

In despotic governments, where the will of the 
prince is the supreme law, party-prejudices on po- 
litical subjects seldom arise. The people may re- 
volt against the cruelties of an unfeeling tyrant; or 
they may be induced by a factious chief to depose 
the despot, and raise their leader to his throne. 
But, though their ruler be changed, their prin- 
ciples remain, They hug willingly the chains im- 
posed by themselves; and, if they should prove 
highly galling, they may be again induced to break 
them, but will not fail to call in the aid of another 
tyrant to rivet them faster than ever! 

A monarchical government, among a highly ci- 
vilized people, may admit of some diversities of 
opinion, but party-prejudice can have little influ- 
ence in destroying private or public tranquillity. 
Remove a minister—kindle an external war—pro- 
mote a taste for frivolous amusements, and the pet- 
ty murmurs of opposition are generally silenced. 


On Party-Prejudice. 23 


Indeed if the monarchy be feebly ruled, parties may 
arise threatening, in appearance, the subversion of 
the state; but as they depend, for the most part, 
on the contemptible struggles for places and profit 
among their respective leaders; they become ridi- 
culous in the eyes of the people, and terminate in 
disgrace and ruin. In the civil war of France, 
nicknamed the Fronde,* during the minority of 
Louis x1v, the ladies are well known to have di- 
rected the political intrigues and conduct of the 
different parties. | 

The frequent union of religious with political 


* See “]’ Histoire de Fronde,” and the ** Memoirs de 

Cardinai Retz,” passim. 
- The French seem to have been forced inta sedition 
through the mere effect of caprice and sport. The wo- 
men ruled every faction. Love formed as well as destroyed 
cabals, The Dutchess of Longueville prevailed on Tu- 
renne (who had just been created a mareschal) to endea- 
vour to corrupt the army he commanded for the king. 
But he quitted as a fugztive the army he had commanded 
as a general, to please-a capricious woman, who made a jest 
of his passion. 

Even the philosophic Rochefoucault acknowledged no 
other leader but the god of love (or rather of gallantry), as 
his senseless (although celebrated) verses, addressed to the 
Dutchess of Longueville (written immediately after hav- 
ing nearly lost his sight by a musquet ball, during the war 
of the Fronde) sufficiently prove.— ; 

‘¢ Pour mériter son cceur, pour plaire a ses beaux yeux, 
J'ai faite la guerre aux roix, je l’aurois faite aux dicux.” 


24 On Party-Prejudice. 


prejudice, among the members of free states, and 
the mischiefs resulting therefrom are much to be 
deplored. Religious bigotry may so far inflame 
the passions of subjects, even of despotical and 
monarchical governments, as to establish’ parties, 
filled with the most rancourous prejudices against 
each other; and also induce them to depose the law- 
ful monarch from the throne. * 

If we consult the pages of Davila, and other 
writers on the war of the League (a war carried on 
for the avowed purpose of extirpating liberty of con- 
science, and establishing a bigotted and persecuting 
system of religion throughout France), we shall find 
as many instances of party-prejudices destroying 
the happiness of individuals, and distracting the 
state with factions, as ever disgraced the annals of 
the most licentious democracies. Indeed when we 
contemplate the fanatical bigotry, refined malice, 
and blood-thirsty dispositions of the priests who ap- 
plauded, and the prince who executed the mas- 


* The fate of Henry the 4th of France, and the tran- 
sactions of religious parties during the civil war, previous 
to his being crowned, are sufficiently known. Sully, in 
his memoirs, relates an anecdote of his aunt, Madame de 
Mastin, which strongly exemplifies the power of religious 
Prejudice. The reason she gave for disinheriting her ne- 
phew, was—“ because he neither believed in God nor his 
saints, but worshiped the Devil.’”? This was the notion 
she had received of protestants from her confessor. 


On Party-Prejudice. 25 


sacres and assassinations of a St. Bartholomew’s day, 
we are compelled to cry out with the poet— 
** Tantum religio potuit suadere malorum !” 

If religious bigotry do not rage so fiercely in free 
states, where toleration is established, yet religious 
and political prejudices are frequently united. 
When this union takes place, political prejudice ac- 
quires a tenfold malignancy. A spirit of rancour 
and persecuting zeal will infallibly widen the breach, 
which ambition or interest has created. Toleration 
does not, indeed, permit one sect to cram down 
the throats of another, with the point of the sword, 
its religious faith and discipline! Nor does it think 
fit, that orthodox zeal should attempt to illuminate 
the minds of heretics, by fires kindled with the bodies 
of their brethren! Such methods have been tried; 
but the experiment often proved dangerous and un- 
successful. ‘There is scarcely a bigot of the present 
day, in Spain or Portugal, that would not detest 
the barbarous absurdity of such practices. Yet 
such is the weakness of the human mind, and the 
‘strength of prejudice, that, notwithstanding its own 
full enjoyment of freedom of opinion and the bless- 
ings of liberty, it will often survey, with mingled 
scorn and hatred, the followers of another faith. 
And from hence it follows, that calumny, acrimo-. 
nious controversies, and odious names, descriptive 
of a sect, have been productive of greater mischief 
to the people and government of tolerant and free 

VOL. Vv. D 


26 On Party-Prejudice, 


states, than ever was accomplished by a display of 
auto-da-fés, dragooning, or any other mode of 
persecution practised by arbitrary and intolerant 
governments! The latter evils occur only at dis- 
tant intervals; but the former never cease to exist. 

If a contrariety of conduct were necessarily con- 
nected with a difference in theological tenets, the 
malice and uncharitableness of the followers of dif. 
ferent sects might readily be explained; «« but,” as 
a celebrated writer* observes, % where the diffe- 
rence of opinion is not accompanied with a contra- 
riety of action, each being allowed to follow his own 
way, as happens in religious controversy, what 
madness to create divisions!” ; 

Religious prejudices ought carefully to be guard- 
ed against in the education of youth. For, if they 
have been suffered to spring up in alliance with po- 
litical party-prejudice, it is with the utmost difficul- 
ty they can be weeded out of the mind. If these 
associations be not destroyed, the purest benevo- 
lence of disposition will be likely to degenerate 
into a hatred of man, as a mistaken zeal for the 
honour of the Deity + will be joined to a concern 


* Hume’s “ Essay on Parties in general,’ 

+t Montesquieu relates the following instance of a mis- 
taken and blasphemous idea of avenging the Deity, as 
having happened in France during the 16th century: “a 
Jew, accused of blasphemy against the holy Virgin, was 
condemned to be flayed: several Gentlemen armed with 


On Party-Prejudice. 27 


for the interests of a party. In a moral point of 
view, the cherishing of such unworthy sentiments is 
highly pernicious. Detraction and calumny are 
the sure product of religious bigotry; and, as a 
keen observer * of human nature has remarked, 
* a disposition to calumny is too bad a thing to be 
the only thing that is bad in us. It is too splen- 
did a vice not to be accompanied with a large train 
of attendants.” Ina political view, religious pre- 
judices are very injurious; they tend to keep alive 
a spirit of faction; and the evils arising from dis- 
union among the members of a free state, are suf- 
ficiently proclaimed by history. 

Lord Shaftesbury has observed, “ that a public 
spirit can only come from a social feeling, or sense of 
partnership with human kind.” If this assertion be 
well founded, it proves the necessity of being 

‘guarded against religious prejudices. For to sour 
the “ milk of human kindness”— to break a pow- 
erful link in the chain of social feeling, which 
binds man to man; and to sow distrust, hatred, and 
all uncharitableness among human beings, is the 
peculiar operation of religious bigotry and preju- 
dice! 


knivesanounted the scaffold, and drove away the execu- 
tioner, in order that they might themselves avenge the 
honour of the blessed Virgin! 1”? 

* Dr. Ogden, 


28 


EXTRAORDINARY FACTS 


relating to the 


Vision of Colours: 
WITH OBSERVATIONS. 


BY MR. JOHN DALTON. 


READ OCT, 31ST, 1704. 


I has been observed, that our ideas of colours, 
sounds, tastes, &c. excited by the same object may 
be very different in themselves, without our being 
aware of it; and that we may nevertheless converse 
intelligibly concerning such objects, as if we were 
certain the impressions made by them on our minds 
were exactly similar. All, indeed, that is required 
for this purpose, is, that the same object should 
uniformly make the same impression on each mind ; 
and that objects which appear different to one should 
be equally so to others. It will, however, scarcely 
be supposed, that any two objects, which are every 
day before us, should appear hardly distinguishable 
to one person, and very different to another, with- 
out the circumstance immediately suggesting a diffe- 
rence in their faculties of vision; yet such is the fact, 
not only with regard to myself, but to many others 
also, as will appear in the following account. 

I was always of opinion, though I might not of- 


On the Vision of Colours. 29 


ten mention it, that several colours were injudici- 
ously named. The term pink, in reference to the 
flower of that name, seemed proper enough; but 
when the term red was substituted for pink, I 
thought it highly improper; it should have been 
blue, in my apprehension, as pink and blue appear 
to me very nearly allied; whilst pink and red have 
scarcely any relation. 

In the course of my application to the sciences, that 
~ of optics necessarily claimed attention; and I became 
pretty well acquainted with the theory of light and co- 
lours before I was apprized of any peculiarity in my 
vision. I had not, however, attended much to the 
practical discrimination of colours, owing, in some 
degree, to what I conceived to be a perplexity in 
their nomenclature. Since the year 1790, the occa- 
sional study of botany obliged me to attend more to 
colours than before. With respect to colours that 
were white, yellow, or green, I readily assented to the 
appropriate term. Blue, purple, pink, and crimson 
appeared rather less distinguishable; being, accord- 
ing to my idea, all referable to blue. I have often 
seriously asked a person whether a flower was blue 
or pink, but was generally considered to be in jest. 
Notwithstanding this, I was never convinced of a 
peculiarity in my vision, till I accidentally observed 
the colour of the flower of the Geranium zonale by 
candle-light, in the Autumn of 1792. The flower 
was pink, but it appeared to me almost an exact 


30 On the Vision of Colours. 


sky-blue by day; in candle-light, however, it was 
astonishingly changed, not having then any blue in 
it, but being what I called red, a colour which forms 
a striking contrast to blue. Not then doubting but 
that the change of colour would be equal to all, I 
requested some of my friends to observe the phe- 
nomenon; when I was surprised to find they all 
agreed, that the colour was not materially different 
from what it was by day-light, except my brother 
who saw it in the same light as myself. This ob- 
servation clearly proved, that my vision was not 
like that of other persons;—and, at the same time, 
that the difference’ between day-light and candle- 
light, on some colours, was indefinitely more per- 
ceptible to me than to others. It was nearly two 
years after that time, when I entered upon an inves- 
tigation of the subject, having procured the assist- 
ance of a friend, who, to his acquaintance with the 
theory of colours, joins a practical knowledge of 
their names and constitutions. I shall now proceed 
to state the facts ascertained under the three follow- 
ing heads: 

J. An account of my own vision. 

II. An account of others whose vision has been 
' found similar to mine. 

III. Observations on the probable cause of our 
anomalous vision. 


I. OF MY OWN VISION. 
It may be proper to observe, that I am short- 


On the Vision of Colours. 34 


sighted. Concave glasses of about five inches focus 
suit me best. I can see distin€tly at a proper dis- 
tance; and am seldom hurt by too much or too lit- 
tle light ; nor yet with long application. 

My observations began with the solar spectrum, 
or coloured image of the sun, exhibited ina dark 
- room by means of a glass prism. I found that per- 
sons in general distinguish six kinds of colour in 
the solar image; namely, red, orange, yellow, green, 
blue, and purple. Newton, indeed, divides the pur- 
ple into indigo and violet; but the difference be- 
tween him and others is merely nominal. To me 
it is quite otherwise:—I see only ¢wo or at most 
three distinctions. These I should call yellow and 
blue; or yellow, blue, and purple. My yellow com- 
prehends the red, orange, yellow, and green of others ; 
and my blue and purple coincide with theirs. That 
part of the image which others call red, appears to 
me little more than a shade, or defect of light ; after 
that the orange, yellow, and green seem one colour, 
which descends pretty uniformly from an intense to 
a rare yellow, making what I should call different 
shades of yellow. , The difference between the green 
part and the yeH#sw part is very striking to my eye: 
they seem to be strongly contrasted. That between 
the blue and purple is much less so. The purple 
appears to be blue much darkened and condensed.’ 
In viewing the flame of a candle by night through 
the prism, the appearances are pretty much the same, 


32 On the Vision of Colours. 


except that the red extremity of the image appears 
more vivid than that of the solar image. 

I now proceed to state the results of my observa- 
tions on the colours of bodies in general, whether 
natural or artificial, both by day-light and candle- 
‘ light. I mostly used ribbands for the artificial 

colours. 

RED, 
(By day-light.) 

Under this head I include crimson, scarlet, red, - 
and gink. - All crimsons appear to me to consist 
chiefly of dark blue; but many of them seem to 
have a strong tinge of dark brown. _I have seen 
‘specimens of crimson, claret, and mud, which 
were very nearly alike. Crimson has a grave ap- 
pearance, being the reverse of every shewy and 
splendid colour. Woollen yarn dyed crimson or 
dark blue is the same tome. Pink seems to be 
composed. of nine parts of light blue, and one of 
red, or some colour which has no other effect 
than to make the light blue appear dull and faded a 
little. Pink and light blue therefore compared to- 
gether, are to be distinguished no otherwise than as 
a splendid colour from one that tias-lost a little of 
its splendour. Besides the pinks, roses, &c. of the 
gardens, the following British flora appear to me 
blue; namely, Statice Armeria, Trifolium pratense, 
Lychnis Flos-cuculi, Lychnis dioica, and many of the 
Gerania. The colour of a florid complexion ap- 


On the Vision of Colours. 33 


pears to me that of a dull, opake, blackish blue, upon 
a white ground. A solution of-sulphate of iron in 
the tincture of galls (that is, dilute black ink) upon 
white paper, gives a colour much resembling that 
of a florid complexion. It has no resemblance of 
the colour of blood. Red and scarlet form a genus 
with me totally different from pink. My idea of 
red I obtain from vermilion, minium, sealing wax, 
wafers, a soldier’s uniform, &c. These seem to 
have no blue whatever inthem. Scarlet has a more 
splendid appearance than red. Blood appears to 
me red; but it differs much from the articles men- 
tioned above. It is much more dull, and to me is 
not unlike that colour called bottle-green. Stock- 
ings spotted with blood or with dirt would scarcely 
be distinguishable. 


(By candle-light.) 


Red and scarlet appear much more vivid than 
by day. Crimson loses its blue and becomes yel- 
lowish red. Pink is by far the most changed; in- 
deed it forms an excellent contrast to what it is by 
day. No blue now appears; yellow has taken its 
place. Pink by candle-light seems to be three parts 
yellow and one red, ora reddish yellow. The blue, 
however, is less mixed by day than the yellow by 
night. Red, and particularly scarlet, is a superb 
colour by candle-light; but by day some reds are 

VOL. Vv, E 


34 On the Vision of Colours. 


the least shewy imaginable: I should call them dark 
drabs. 
ORANGE & YELLOW, 
( By day-light and candle-light.) 


I do not find that I differ materially from other 
persons in regard to these colours. I have some- 
times seen persons hesitate whether a thing was white 
or yellow by candle-light, when to me there was no 
doubt at all. 

GREEN. | 
(By day-light.) 

I take my standard idea from grass. This ap- 
apears to’ me very little different from red. The 
face of alaurel-leaf ( Prunus Lauro-cerasus ) isa good 
match to a stick of red sealing-wax; and the back 
of the leaf answers to the lighter red of wafers. 
Hence it will be immediately concluded, that I see 
either red or green, or both, different from. other 
people. The fact is, I believe that they both ap- 
pear different to me from what they do to others. 
Green and orange have much affinity also. Apple 
green is the most pleasing kind to me; and any 
other that has a tinge of yellow appears to advan- 
tage. I can distinguish the different vegetable 
greens one from another as well as most people; 
and those which are nearly alike or very unlike to 
others are so to me. A decoction of bohea tee. 
a solution of liver of sulphur, ale, &c. &c. which’ 


On the Vision of Colours, 35 


others call brown, appear to me green. Green 
woollen cloth, such as is used to cover tables, ap- 
pears to me a dull, dark, brownish red colour. A 
mixture of two parts mud and one red would come 
near it. It resembles a red soil just turned up by 
the plough. When this kind of cloth loses its co- 
lour, as other people say, and turns yellow, then it 
appears to mea pleasant green. Very light green 
paper, silk, &c, is white to me, 


GREEN. 
( By candle-light.) 

I agree with others, that it is difficult to distin- 
guish greens from blues by candle-light; but, with 
me, the greens only are altered and made to ap- 
proach the blues, It is the real greens only that are 
altered in my eye; and not such as I confound with 
them by day-light, as the brown liquids abovemen- 
' tioned, which are not at all tinged with blue by 
candle-light, but are the same as by day, except that 
they are paler. 

BLUE, | 
( By day-light and candle-light. ) 
_ IL apprehend this colour appears very nearly the 
same to. me as to other people, both by day-light 
and candle-light. 
PURPLE, 
(By day-light and candle-light. ) 
This seems to me a slight modification of blue, 


36 On the Vision of Colours. 


I seldom fail to distinguish purple from blue; but 
should hardly suspect purple to be a compound of 
blue and red. The difference between- day-light 
and candle-light is not material. 


MISCELLANEOUS OBSERVATIONS, 

Colours appear to me much the same by moon- 
light, as they do by candle-light. * 

Colours viewed by lightning appear the same as 
by day-light; but whether exactly so, I have not as- 
certained. | 

Colours seen by electric light appear to me the 
same as by day-light. That is, pink appears blue, 
&e. 

Colours viewed through a transparent sky-blue 
liquid, by candle-light, appear to me as well as to 
others the same as by day-light. 

Most of the colours called drabs appear. to me 
the same by day-light and candle-light. 

A light drab woollen cloth seems to me to re- 
semble a light green by day. These colours are, 
however, easily distinguished by candle-light, as the 
latter becomes tinged with blue, which the former 
does not. I have frequently seen colours of the drab 
kind, said to be nearly alike, which appeared to me 
very different. wedi . 


* Mr. Boyle observed colours by moon-light to differ 
from those by day-light, Priestley on Vision, p. 145. 


a ot 


On the Vision of Colours. 37 


My idea of brown I obtain from a piece of white 
paper heated almost to ignition. This colour by 
day-light seems to have a great affinity to green, as 
may be imagined from what I have said of greens. 
Browns seem to me very diversified; some I should 
call red:—dark brown woollen cloth I should call 
black. 

The light of the rising or setting sun has no par- 
ticular. effect; neither has a strong or weak light. 
Pink appears rather duller, all other circumstances 
alike, in a cloudy day. ° 

All common combustible substances exhibit co- 
lours to mein the same light; namely, ¢allow, oil, 
wax, pit-coal. 

_ My vision has always been.as it is now. 


IJ], AN ACCOUNT OF OTHERS WHOSE VISION 
HAS BEEN FOUND SIMILAR TO MINE, 


It has been already observed that my brother per- 
ceived the change in the colour of the geranium such 
as myself. Since that time having made a great 
number of observations on colours, by comparing 
their similarities, &c. by day-light and candle-light, 
in conjunction with him, I find that we see as near- 
ly alike as any other persons do. He is shorter 
sighted than myself. 

As soon as these facts were ascertained, I con- 
ceived the design of laying our case of vision before 


38. On the Vision of Colours, 


the public, apprehending it to be a singular one, ~ I 
remembered, indeed, to have read in the Philosophi- 
cal Transactions for 1777, an account of Mr, 
Harris of Maryport in Cumberland,* who, it was 
said, ** could not distinguish colours;” but his casé 
appeared to be different from ours. Considering, 
however, that one anomaly in vision may tend to 
illustrate another, I reperused the account; when it 
appeared extremely probable that if his vision had 
been fully investigated, and a relation of it given in 
the first person, he would have agreed with me, 
There were four brothers in the same predica- 
ment, one of whom is now living. Having an ac- 
quaintance in Maryport, I solicited him to pro- 
pose a few queries to the survivor, which he 
readily did (in conjunction with another brother, 
whose vision has nothing peculiar), and from the 
answers transmitted to me, I could no. longer 
doubt of the similarity of our cases. To render it 
still more circumstantial, I sent about twenty speci- 
mens of different coloured ribbands, with direc- 
tions to make observations upon them by day-light 
and candle-light: the result was exactly conformable 
to my expectation. 

It then appeared to me probable, that a consider- 
able number of individuals might be found whose 


.°* A translation of this account, to whichis annexed 
the extraordinary case of M. Colardeau, is inserted in 
Rozier: Observations sur la Physique, Sc. p. 87. E.H, 


On the Vision of Colours. 39 


vision differed from that of the generality, but at 
the same time agreed with my own. Accordingly 
I have since taken every opportunity to explain the 
circumstances amongst my acquaintance, and have 
found several in the same predicament. Only one or 
two I have heard of who differ from the generality 
and from us also. It is remarkable that, out of 
twenty-five pupils I once had, to whom I ex- 
plained this subject, two were found to agree with 
me; and, on another similar occasion, one. Like 
myself, they could see no material difference betwixt 
pink and light blue by day, but a striking contrast 
by candle-light. And, on a fuller investigation, I 
could not perceive they differed from me materially 
in other colours. They, like all the rest of us, were 
not aware of their actually seeing colours different 
from other people; but imagined there was great 
perplexity in the names ascribed to particular co- 
lours. I think I have been informed already of near- 
ly twenty persons whose vision is like mine. The 
family at Maryport consisted of six sons and one 
daughter; four of the sons were in the predicament 
in question. Our family consisted of three sons 
and one daughter who arrived at maturity ; of whom 
two sons are circumstanced as I have described. The 
others are mostly individuals in families, some of: 
which are numerous. I do not find that the pa- 
rents or children in any of the instances have been 
so, unless in one case. Nor have I been able to 
discover any physical cause whatever for it. Our 


40 On ihe Vision of Colours. 


vision, except as to colours, is as clear and distinct 
as that of other persons. Only two or three are 
short sighted. It is remarkable that I have not 
heard of one female subject to this peculiarity. 

From a great variety of observations made with 
many of the abovementioned persons, it does not 
appear to me that we differ more from one another 
than persons in general do. We certainly agree in 
the principal facts which characterize our vision, and 
which I have attempted to point out below. It is 
but justice to observe here, that several of the re- 
semblances and comparisons mentioned in the pre- 
ceding part of this paper were first suggested to me 
by one or other of the parties, and found to accord 
with my own ideas.. 


CHARACTERISTIC FACTS OF OUR VISION, 

i. In the solar spectrum three colours appear, 
yellow, blue, and purple. The two former make a 
contrast; the two latter seem to differ more in de- 
gree than in kind. 

2. Pink appears, by day-light, to be sky-blue 
a little faded; by candle-light it assumes an orange 
or yellowish appearance, which forms a strong con- 
trast to blue. , 
_ 3. Crimson appears a muddy blue by day; and 
crimson woollen yarn is much the same as dark 
blue. 

4. Red and Scarlet have a more vivid and fla- 
ming appearance by candle-light than by day-ligh 


in = fl RB. . 


On the Vision of Colours. At 


5. There is not much difference in colour be- 
tween a stick of red sealing wax and grass, by day. 

6. Dark green woollen cloth seems a muddy red, 
much darker than grass, and of a very different 
colour. 

7. The colour of a florid complexion is dusky 
blue. 

8. Coats, gowns, écc. appear to us frequently to 
be badly matched with linings, when others say they 
are not. On the other hand, we should match 
crimsons with claret or mud; pinks with light blues; 
browns with reds; and drabs with greens. 

g: In all points where we differ from other per- 
sons, the difference is much less by candle-light than 


by day-light. 


III. OBSERVATIONS TENDING TO POINT 
OUT THE CAUSE OF OUR ANOMALOUS VI- 
SION. 

The first time I was enabled to form a plausible 
idea of the cause of our vision, was after observing 
that a sky-blue transparent liquid modified the light 
of a candle so as to make it similar to day-light; 
and, of course, restored to pink its proper colour 
by day, namely, light blue. This was an impor- 
tant observation. At the same time that it exhibit- ° 
ed the effect of a transparent coloured medium in 
the modification of colours, it seemed to indicate 

VOL. V. F 


42 On the Vision of Colours, 


the analogy of solar light to that resulting from com- 
bustion; and that the former is modified by the 
transparent blue atmosphere, as the latter is by the 
transparent blue liquid. Now the effect of a trans- 
parent coloured medium, as Mr. Delaval has prov- 
ed, is to transmit more, and consequently imbibe 
fewer of the rays of its own colour, than of those of 
other colours. Reflecting upon these facts, I was 
led to conjecture that one of the humours of my 
eye must be a transparent, but coloured, medium, 
so constituted as to absorb red and green rays prin- 
cipally, because I obtain no proper ideas of these in 
the solar spectrum; and to transmit blue and other 
colours more perfectly. What seemed to make 
against this opinion however was, that I thought red 
bodies, such as vermilion, should appear black to 
me, which was contrary to fact. How this difficulty 
was obviated will be understood from what follows. 
Newton has sufficiently ascertained, that opake 
bodies are of a particular colour from their reflect- 
ing the rays of light of that colour more copiously 
than those of the other colours; the unreflected rays 
being absorbed by the bodies. Adopting this fact, 
we are insensibly led to conclude, that the more rays 
of any one colour a body reflects, and the fewer of 
every other colour, the more perfect will be the 
-colour. This conclusion, however, is certainly er- 
roneous. Splendid coloured bodies reflect light of 
every colour copiously ; but that of their own most 


— 


On the Vision of Colours. 43 


so. Accordingly we find, that bodies of all colours, 
when placed in homogeneal light of any colour, ap- 
pear of that particular colour. Hence a body that 
is red may appear of any other colour to an eye that 
does not transmit red, according as those other co- 
lours are more copiously reflected from the body, 
or transmitted through the humours of the eye. 

It appears therefore almost beyond a doubt, that 
one of the humours of my eye, and of the eyes of my 
fellows, is a coloured medium, probably some modi- 
fication of blue. I suppose it must be the vitreous 
humour; otherwise I apprehend it might be disco- 
vered by inspection, which has not been done. It 
is the province of physiologists to explain in what 
manner the humours of the eye may be coloured, 
and to them I shall leave it; and proceed to shew 
that the hypothesis will explain the facts stated in the 
conclusion of the second part. 

1. This needs no further illustration. 

2. Pink is known to bea mixture of red and 
blue; that is, these two colours are reflected in ex- 
cess. Our eyes only transmit the blue excess, which 
causes it to appear blue; a few red rays pervading 
the eye may serve to give the colour that faded ap- 
pearance. In candle-light, red and orange, or some 
other of the higher colours, are known to abound 
more proportionably than in day-light. The orange 
light reflected may therefore exceed the blue, and 
the compound colour consist of red and orange, 


44 On the Vision of Colours. 


Now, the red being most copiously reflected, the 
colour will be recognized by a common eye un- 
der this smal! modification; but the red not appear- 
_ ing to us, we see chiefly the orange excess: it is 
consequently to us not a modification but a new 
colour. 

3. By a similar method of reasoning, crzmson, 
being compounded of red and dark blue, must as- 
sume the appearances I have described. 

4. Bodies that are red and scarlet probably re- 
flect orange and yellow in greatest plenty, next af- 
ter red. The orange and yellow, mixed with a few 
red rays, will give us our idea of red, which is 
heightened by candle-light, because the orange is 
then more abundant. 

5. Grass-green is probably compounded of green, 
yellow, and orange, with more or less blue. Our 
idea of it will then be obtained piincipally from the 
yellow and orange mixed with a few green rays. 
It appears, therefore, that red and green to us will 
be nearly alike. I do not, however, understand, 
why the greens should assume a bluish appearance 
to us and to every body else, by candle-light, when 
it should seem that candle-light is deficient in blue. 

6. The green rays not being perceived by us, the 
remaining rays may, for aught that is known, com- 
pound a muddy red. 

_ 4. The observations upon the phenomena of 
pink and crimson, will explain this fact. 


On the Vision of Colours. 45 


8. Suppose a body to reflect red rays as the num- 
ber 8, orange rays as the number 6, and blue as 5; 
and another body red 8, orange 6, and blue 6: then 
it is evident that a common eye, attending principal- 
ly to the red, would see little difference in those co- 
lours; but we, who form our ideas of the colours 
from the orange and blue, should perceive the latter 
to be bluer than the former. . 

g- From the whole of this paper it is evident, 
that our eyes admit blue rays in greater proportion 
than those of other people; therefore when any kind 
of light is less abundant in blue, as is the case with 
candle-light compared to day-light, our eyes serve 
in some degree to temper that light, so as to reduce 
it nearly to the common standard. This seems to 
be the reason why colours appear to us by candle- 
light, almost as they do to others by day-light. 

I shall conclude this paper by observing, that it 
appears to me extremely probable, that the sun’s 
light and candle-light, or that which we commonly 
obtain from combustion, are originally constituted 
alike; and that the earth’s atmosphere is properly: 
a blue fluid, and modifies the sun’s light so as to 
occasion the commonly perceived difference. 


46 


An Enouiry into the Name of the Foun- 
der of HULN ABBEY, Northumberland, 
the first in England of the Order of Carme- 
lites: with Remarks on Dr. Ferriar’s Ac- 


count of the Monument zn the Church of | 


that Monastery. By Rospert UVveEDALE, 
B. A. of Trinity College, Cambridge, Cor- 
responding Member of the Literary and Phi- 
losophical Socuety, M anchester. 
Addressed to Dr, PERcIVAL. 
READ APRIL 10TH, 1795» 
Sir, 

I have taken the liberty to send you some 
observations on Dr. Ferriar’s account of the monu- 
ment in Huln Abbey, published in vol. 111 of the 
Memoirs of the society over which you preside; re- 
_lying on you to communicate them to the society, if 
"they should be thought in any degree to merit such 
honour. Not doubting Dr. Ferriar’s impartiality, 
I hope he will not be displeased at any thing which 
may seem to militate against him, 

Dr. Ferriar informs us, that an ancient monu- 
ment has been discovered in the church of Huln 
Abbey, which, he supposes, was intended to com- 


On the Founder of Huln Abbey, €c. 47 


memorate the founder of that monastery; and far- 
ther observes, that, “ in the old plan of the abbey, 
first published by Mr. Grose, it is marked as the 
founder's tomb.” He gives a circumstantial ac- 
count of the founding of the abbey; and appre- 
hends, that the title of founder could only belong to 
William de Vescy. 

Nevertheless, as it seems yet undecided ft was 
the founder (a point on which some of the best an- 
tiquaries disagree) this memoir will be, not improper- 
ly, divided into two parts: the r1Rsv containing 


AN ENQUIRY INTO THE NAME OF THE FOUN. 
; DER OF HULN ABBEY. 


Huln in Northumberland is generally supposed 
to have been the first monastery in this kingdom of 
the Carmelites:* an order of mendicant friars, deriv- 
ing their name and origin from Mount Carmel in 
Syria. 

Camden is of opinion, that John, Lord Vescy, 
founded Huln Abbey: Foannes autem Vescy, e bello 
sacro rediens, Carmelitas secum primus in Anglam 
adduxit ; zllisque hic, im Holne solitudine non dissi- 
mult Carmelo Monti in Syria, conventum extruxit.t 


* Leland de Script, Britan. p, 293. Stevens, 11. 1575 
158. ; 
+ Britannia, p. 669, edit. 1607. According to Sir Wil- 
liam Dugdale (Warwickshire, p. 117), John de Vescy, of 
Alnwick, brought the Carmelites into England ; and built 


48 An Enqury into the Name of 


On which Bishop Gibson observes, that there never 
was any convent or monastery founded at Alnwick 
or near it by John Vescy; and that the first convent 
-of Carmelites was founded at Huln, near Alnwick, 
by. Ralph Fresburn*. The editor of the last edition 
of the Britannia seems likewise to think, that Huln 
Abbey was founded by Fresburn. T 

You will readily allow, sir, that in endeavouring 
to illustrate obscure remains of antiquity, every cir- 
cumstance should be minutely as well as deliberately 
examined; and that reason and truth ought, as much 
as possible, to predominate over partiality and pre- 
judice. Had this been altogether the case in the in- 
stance before us, Fresburn would never have been 


for them the Monastery at Huln, on his return from the 
Holy Land, 1250, 34 Hen. 111, Here it is observable, that 
Dugdale differs from Leland and most other authors, who 
assign 1240 as the year in which that abbey was founded. 
Dugdale refers to Matt. Westm. who, I find, only says, 
** Ordines multiplicabantur in Anglia, prater ordines pra- 
dicatorum et minorum, videlicet fratres de Monte Car- 
meli,” p. 348, in an. 1250. By which we are not to un- 
derstand, that the Carmelites came into England in the 
year 1250; for M. Westm. mentions also the Augustines 
et multt alii, And that the Augustines, with many other 
orders of friars, all came into this country A.D. 1250, is 
not very credible, even if such a supposition had not been 
contradictory to the best historical information, 

* Gibson’s Camden, 11, 1094. 2d edit. 

+ Gough’s Camden, 111, 258. 


— ee ee 


the Founder of Huln Abbey. 49 


esteemed the founder of Huln Abbey; or, at least, 
the learned antiquaries, who assert that he was the 
founder, would have expressed their doubts as to the 
circumstance. ; 

With all proper deference then towards those 
who differ from me in opinion, I shall venture to 
affirm, that Fresburn has no just claim to the appel- 
lation of founder of Huln monastery. 

First: Because Bishop Gibson and others have 
asserted Fresburn to have been the founder merely 
on the authority of John Bale. 

Secondly: Because, from Leland and Camden 
and other authorities, it, would appear that John de 
_Vescy was the founder. 

I, The account of the founding of Huln abbey 
in Gibson, Fuller, &c. and a considerable part of 
Mr. Grose’s account, are wholly built on the au- 
thority of John Bale. Mr. Grose adds, that Fres- 
burn erected the buildings himself :* a circumstance 
of which Bale, &c. makes not the least mention. 
But errors will multiply if suffered to take root. 

Let us hear what Bale himself says. In his fourth 
century he tells us, that Fresburn laid the first foun- 
dation in this kingdom of the order of Carmelites, 
A. D. 1240; and that he died 1254.t In support 


* Antiq. vol. 111, 

+ Gibson, Grose, &c. say 1274$ but Leland. De obitu 
ejus recte computare non possum, 

VOL. V. Cc 


50 An Enquiry into the Name of 


of this account, he cites Mantuanus.* But it seems 
Bale has, in great measure, “huddled up the cen- 
turies of English writers from Leland; and, with 
most prodigious slanders, has defiled the truth of 
chronology, and of sie histories received from 
that diligent antiquary.”+ 

Leland’s account is in many respects different: 
he expressly says, that John Vescy founded ‘Huln 
Abbey ;{ and he mentions Fresburn merely because 
Scripsit non contemnenda, ut fama est, opuscula.|} 
Fresburn and some other Englishmen lived at Mount 
Carmel; and John Vescy and Richard Grey find- 
ing them there presidem loci enixissime rogabant, 
ut liceret tllos abducere; tandemque exorabant, sed 
non alto nomine, quam ut fundamenta tam clare reli= 
Etonrs in Angha jacerent.§ 

Amongst the Englishmen thus brought over into 
England, Fresburn was placed at the head of the 
society at Huln, and Radulph Ivo at the head of 
Grey’s foundation at Ailsford: but neither Fres- 
burn nor Ivo were the founders of those monas- 


teries. 


* Bapt. Mantuanus wrote 1498. He is quoted ey Le- 
land, 

+ Stevens, 11. 158. 

t Collect. 1. p. 103. 

|| Com. de Script. Brit. p. 292, 

§ Com. &c, p. 292. 


the Founder of Huln Abbey, €e. ra 


_II. 4. With respect to John de Vescy, the tes- 
timony of Camden and of Leland has been given 
before: that he was in early times considered as the 
founder is, I think, clear from Pat. 4, Ed. 2, p. 1, 
m. 3, pro confirmatione donationum Foannis de 
Vescz et aliorum. And Bishop Tanner refers us to 
mss. Bibl. Bodl. Oxon. Dodsworth, vol. x1v, 
f. 15, excerpta e Cartulario Carmelitarum de Aln- 
wyke.* 

2. But Dr. Ferriar is of opinion, that “ the nee 
of founder could only belong to William de Vescy.” 
I apprehend Dr. Ferriar asserts this on the autho- 
rity of Mr. Grose. ; . 

William de Vescy certainly lived at - the time 
| Huln Monastery was founded; but still he has no 
_ just claim to the title of founder. By the charter 
of John Lord Vescy we find, that the said John 
did grant to the White Friars, all the buildings, 
é&c. which William de Vescy his father permitted 
them to inhabit. Hence, it should seem, that John 
de Vescy brought those friars from the Holy Land; 
that, at his intercession, they were permitted to in- 
habit Huln Abbey ; and that he afterwards granted, 
é&c. And therefore, to Fohn de Vescy the appel- 
lation of founder properly belongs. 

The same disposition which induced John de 
Vescy to bring the Carmelites into England, and to ° 


* Not. Monast. p, 398. 


52 An Enquiry into the Name of 


build them a monastery, is observable in other in- 
stances; he being known to have brought over a 
great number of Gascoignes to serve King Edward 
in his Welsh wars,* and to have given to the monks 
of Rufford, Nottinghamshire, the whole lordship 
of Roderham, &c.t He seems to have made 
two pilgrimages to the Holy Land—one, about the 
year 1240; the other, after he had been taken pri- 
soner at the battle of Evesham; and had been, by 
Dictum de Kenilworth, admitted to composition. 


~I now proceed, sir, to the seconp part of 
this memoir, which will consist of 


REMARKS ON \DR. FERRIAR’S ACCOUNT 
OF THE MONUMENT IN THE CHURCH OF 
HULN ABBEY. 


There are, it seems, armorial bearings about the 
monument; viz. a bend; a chevron, &c. Dr. Fer- 
riat infers, that the bend is the ancient arms of 
Vescy ; but in regard to the chevron, he says, “« To 
whom the shield, charged with a chevron on the 
left, ere I have attempted in vain to deter- 
mine.’ . 

I. As to the bend, Mr. Grose’s supposition seems 


* Dugdale’s Baronage, vol. 1. p. 94. 
+ Dugd. loc. cit. & Monast. Anglic. 1, 849. 
+ H, Knyghton, 2438, n. 30. Fa 


the Founder of Huln Abbey, ec. 53 


the most probable: namely, that it is the arms of 
Tyson, proprietor of Alnwick castle in the Saxon. 
times.* For a shield charged with a bend is placed, 
first, among the armorial bearings sculptured on the 
towers of Alnwick; and, immediately after, is placed 
the shield of Vescy. 

That the original arms of the Vescy family were 
quarterly, or and gules, admits not of a doubt; for, 
in Pine’s plate of King John’s Great Charter, are 
the arms of the twenty-five barons (who were to de- 
cide any dispute between the king and his subjects), 
as preserved in Coll. Armor. and among them, 
quarterly, or and gules, Eustace de Vescy. But 
these arms were changed by William, son of Eustace, 
into gules, a cross argent, as Camden hath observed. 
—Evstachit ex Beatrice filius Gulielmus, e materno 
utero caesus, Vescy nomen sibi assumpsit, et insignia, 
videlicet crucem argenteam in rubeo scuto.+ And 
the William de Vescy, who was famous for his ex- 
ploits in Ireland, again changed the arms of the fa- 
mily, in auream parmam, cum nigra cruce.t 

II. With respect to another device upon the 
monument, something like a catharine wheel, Dr. 
Ferriar supposes it may allude to Vescy’s travels; 
and quotes Gerard Leigh to shew that the wheel 


* Antiq. vol. 113. 
+ Britannia, p. 588. edit, 1607. 
t Britannia, doc, cit, 


54 An Enquiry into the Name of 


‘¢ is proper to the most honourable persons only.” 
But that author says nothing farther, than that some 
kings having had the catharine wheel for arms, there- 
fore “ the bearer honoureth the thing that is borne.”* 

Perhaps what Dr. Ferriar thinks a catharine 
wheel, is merely an arbitrary embellishment; such as 
is the device upon the chanfrin fig. 7 and 8, pl. xxiv, 
of Grose’s Ancient Armour. 

III. Having shewn that the bend was never the 
arms of the family of Vescy, I shall endeavour to 
determine to whom the chevron probably belongs. 

It may not be unnecessary to premise, that, from 
the manner in which the monument is executed, it 
can by no means be reasonably supposed of much 
higher antiquity than the reign of Henry the third. 

Though the arms about the monument did never 
appertain to the Vescy family, it is probable that the 
person to whom the chevron belonged was posses- 
sor of Alnwick castle; and that the bend was either 
intended to allude to the castle, of which Tyson was 
the first possessor; or to express that the deceased 
held it on forfeiture of the descendants of Tyson. + 


* Accedens of Armorye, fol, 102. 

.t In Mr, Foxlow’s Horn, the coat of Ferrers is impaled 
with that of Lancaster: ‘“ because (says Mr. Pegge), it sig- 
nifies and expresses to us the title by which the house of 
Lancaster, proprietors of the honour of Tutbury, came by 
that honour, namely, by the forfeiture of Robert de Fer- 
rers, Earl of Derby, temp, Henry 111, on which occasion 


’ 


—hogemaeseyeee 
= " 


the Founder of Huln Abbey, €c. 55 


The sword on the monument seems to indicate, 
that the person interred was of the degree of a 
knight ;* and as to the horn, may it not denote the 
barony or honour of Alnwick?—possibly many of 
the lands within the honour of Alnwick were held 
by cornage; for, by that service, lands were fre- 
quently holden on the borders of England; or, 
possibly the horn may have a relation to the Fitz- 
nigels, of which family the Lords of Alnwick inhe- 
rited all the privileges, &c.T 

Now, Dugdale in his Baronage thus speaks of 
William de Vescy, the son of Eustace ;—* Which 
William being in the tuition of the earl of Salis- 
bury, with purpose that he should marry Isabel his 
daughter, as he did, in 10 Hen. 111. obtained li- 
very of all his lands (the earl of Salisbury being then 


the king gave the earl’s estate to his second son Edmund.” 
Archzologia, vol. 111, p. 7. Ferrers preceeds the coat of 
Lancaster; and they are in two separate escutcheons in the 
church window of Merevale, Warwickshire. Dugd. 
Warw. p. 783. , 

* Compare it with the sword on the tomb-stone of 
Urian de St. Pere, Archzologia, vol. v, sh 2, Gent, Mag, 
vol, xxxv, p. 73, and plate there. 

+ Dugdale’s Baronage, vol. 1, p. 91. 

Nigel, in the reign of King Edward the eakiaess held 
the custody of the Forest of Bernwood, fer unum cornu, , 
quod est charta pradicte forest ; and his successors, by the 
name of Fitznigel, did bear for arms, argent, a fess gules 
between two crescents, and a horn vert, 


56 An Enquiry into the Name of 


deceased), So likewise “of his castle at Alnwick, 
which then was in the hands of Everard de Tyes.’* 
The arms of Tyes are, argent, a chevron gules.t 
Whence, all circumstances considered, I think it 
extremely probable that the monument in question 
was intended to commemorate Everard de Tyes. 
I find no other mention of Everard de Tyes; 
nor any traces of the connexion of his family with 
the Vescys of Alnwick, except that in goth Hen. 11, 
Adam de Carduis rendered an account to the Ex- 
chequer, of the land or honour of William de Ves- 
cy; viz. of the ferms of the manors belonging to the 
honour, of the pleas and perquisites of it, &c. and 
a fine made by Randolph de Tezs.|| 


I am, sir, 
with great respect, 
your most obedient humble servant, 
ROBERT UVEDALE, 


LANCTON, near SPiLsBy, 
Feb. 24, 1795. 


* Baronage, 4, p. 93. 

+ Glover’s ordinary of arms in Edmondson’s Heraldry, 
p. 96. 

t Query.— Whether of the same family with Henry de 
Tyes, who, 4 and 7 Edw. 11, was summoned to be at'New- 
castle upon Tyne, with horse and arms, to restrain the hos- 
tilities of the Scots; and who, having been summoned to 
parliament among the barons, from 28 Edw.1 till 14 Edw. 
11, at length suffered death for engaging in an insurrec- 


the Founder of Huln Abbey, Se. 57 


THE PEDIGREE OF THE VESCY FAMILY, 
here annexed, may, it is apprehended, contribute to render 
some passages in the foregoing dissertation more perfectly 
understood. 


Eustace, a Norman. William Tyson, Lord of Alnwick, 


; 
John Monoculus. Ivo de Vescy, a Norman__Alda. 


J 
Agnes, sister and heiress __Eustace Fitzjohn, died a. p. 1157__Beatrice. 
of William Fitznigel. 
William de Vescy, d. 1185. 


Eustace de Vescy, d. 1216. 
William de es 1253: 


a= en a Oe oe | 
John, Lord de Vescy, summoned to parliament William. 
among the barons, 4. p. 1264; died 1289. 


‘ 


tion? The name of that family is very variously written 
—de Tieés (Camden), Tyeys (H. Knyghton), Teyes (Sand- 
ford), le Tyes (Dugdale), Tyes, Tyeis, de Tyeys, de Tyesy- 
&c. (Summons to Parliament). 

| Mag. Rot. go Hen, 11, Rot, 11,b, Madox’s Baronia 
Anglica, p. 74. 

VOL. Ve BR 


On the Variety of Voices. 


BY MR. JOHN GOUGH. 
Communicated by Dr. HotmeE, 


READ JAN. 8, 1796. 


Te variety of voices is perhaps as great as the 
variety of features: and, like the countenance, it 
serves as a personal distinction, to which all men 
have recourse under certain circumstances; and 
those that are deprived of sight, by cultivating a 
more delicate sense of the modification of sound 
under consideration, acquire a facility in discrimi- 
nating between man and man, in their intercourse 
with the world. This wonderful diversity* does 
not stand in need of a formal proof of its existence 
to be admitted as true; for no one who can hear is 


* The property of voice, which is the subject of the 
present paper, does not include the hoarse croaking me- 
thod of articulating, that occurs not unfrequently. This 
may be referred, in certain cases, to a natural or accidental 
imperfection in the larynx ; but the defect appears to arise 
more commonly from an ungraceful habit of speaking, 
which is acquired by imitation, and confirmed by negli- 
gence. This being premised, it will be easily understood, 
that the tone heard in the smooth uninterrupted tenor of 
the voice will constitute the subject of the present en- 
bs Ma 


On the Variety of Voices. 59 


ignorant of its effects and extent. But the cause 
of the great difference in the tone of the vocal or- 
gans, is but badly understood; or, to speak more 
properly, has perhaps never been examined in a phi- 
losophical manner:. and, as it is the intention of this 
essay to enquire into the subject with more care and 
strictness, it will not be improper to begin by re- 
viewing the commonly received notion of the nature 
of sound. Sound is defined* to be a sensation excit- 
ed in the ear bya quick succession of aerial pulses 
corresponding to the vibrations of an elastic sub- 
stance; for a body of this kind, upon receiving a 
tremulous motion, immediately communicates it to 
the portion of air in contact with itself; and it is, in 
like manner, successively propagated through the 
whole of the air extending from the vibrating surface 
to the auditory organs, by which means men acquire 
a notion of sound, together with the whole class of 
ideas depending on the sense of hearing. 

The preceding definition is sufficient to account for 
all the phenomena of the musical scale, but it may be 
easily proved to be too simple to explain the present 
difficulty; for, were the sensations produced in the ear 
only modified by the cause assigned above, it is evi- 
dent that the variety of voices could consist in no- 
thing besides comparative loudness and acuteness ; 
because the effect produced on this organ by a ° 


* Smith’s Harmonics, sect, fT. 


60 On the Variety of Voices. 


single vibrating body being determined by the force 
of the pulses of air, and the celerity with which they 
follow each other, the only modifications that can 
be inferred from any conjunction of these proper- 
ties are the two specified above. But every man’s 
experience will convince him how inadequate such 
a combination is to elucidate the subject of the pre- 
sent essay; for an acquaintance is easily recognized 
by his speech, whether he speak vehemently or softly, 
in a high or low key; and the voice of two singers 
may be made to sound in unison, though they be in 
other respects very dissimilar; on which account it 
is certain that some circumstances, not comprised in 
the definition of sound, enables men to identify per- 
sons by the ear, without the assistance of the eye. 
The diversity of sound so remarkable in the human 
voice and vocal organs of animals, prevails also in 
sonorous bodies of almost every description; for a 
musician can single out, from a number of instru- 
ments of the same kind, one that is familiar to him 
merely by hearing them separately; and a flute will 
play in concert with a violin, yet their notes, consi- 
dered apart, are as distinct to sense as any two things 
can be. The effect appearing (from the preceding 
appeals to common sense) to be general, must be re- 
ferred to a general cause; and, as it has been already 
proved that the diversity in question is not produc- 
ed by any modification of a simple sound, it follows 
that some combination of sounds must constitute 


On the Variety of Voices. 61 


the cause of that indefinite variety observable in the 
voices of men and the tones of sonorous bodies. 
The sounds which are constantly striking our ears, 
and with which we are alone acquainted, being prov- 
ed to be’ compounded of simple or elementary 
sounds, it may be safely concluded, that the vast 
variety of tones which prevails in the world, is solely 
occasioned by an union of simple sounds differing 
among themselves in acuteness, which, according to 
what has been shewn before, is the only distinguish- 
ing character they can possess, excepting loudness. 
It is evident from the preceding consideration, that 
every natural or ordinary tone consists of what is 
called in harmonics, an interval of sound; which is de- 
fined,* by writers on the science, to be a quantity ofa 
certain kind, terminated by a graver and an acuter 
sound, For, if tones be supposed to consist invari- 
ably of perfect simple unisons, the effect of any one 
aggregate on the ear would vary from that of any 
other in loudness and acuteness only, which being 
the characteristic of elementary sounds, it is clear 
that men are indebted to some other combination of 
these elements for their idea of the diversity in ques- 
tion. On the other hand, it is equally manifest that 
these intervals are not great; for, on the supposition 
of their being considerable, we should find no more 
difficulty in perceiving the terminating sounds pro. 


* Smith’s Harmonics, sect 1, art. 9. 


62 On the Variety of Voices. 


duced by the vocal organs, than we do in distin- 
guishing the same in the concords and discords of a 
piece of composite music. The contrary is therefore 
‘true, viz. the intervals that enter into the composi- 
tion of the human voice, and the tones of sonorous 
bodies, are too small to have their terminating sounds 
accurately discriminated by the ear, but sufficiently 
large* to affect it with distinct sensations corres- 
ponding to their relative affections. The certainty 
of the last conclusion can hardly be supected when 
the grounds on which it stands are properly attend- 
edto. The common idea of tone has been consi- 
dered in conjunction with the received definition of 
sound; a definition which easily explains the phe- 
nomenon abstractedly taken, but is incapable of ac- 
counting for its various modifications. But, as 
sound can only be modified t by sound, the three 


* The truth of this assumption rests on the supposition 
that sounds cease to be distinct to sense before they are in 
perfect unison ; an opinion that will be proved in the se- 
quel of the essay. After which it must appear evident, 
that the required effect will take place in intervals, the 
ratios of whose terminating sounds do not exceed a given 
Tatio, 

+ That sound can be modified by nothing but sound must 
be admitted as an axiom in phonics; for, if the contrary be © 
maintained, an absurd consequence will ensue; viz. that 
sonorous bodies can produce in the ear sensible impres- 
sions, arising from their specific or chemical qualities, But 
this is a doctrine repugnant to the common theory, which 


On the Variety of Votces. 63 


cases which alone can be supposed adequate to the 
effect, have been separately examined, viz. a com- 
bination of perfect unisons, and of great and small 
intervals. The two first of these being rejected on 
sufficient reasons, the last is admitted of necessity to 
be the true cause of the subject under examination. 

The principles of the theory being now established, 
it is proper to say something, in the next place, on 
that part of the mechanism of sonorous bodies, by 
which the combination of elementary sounds is form- 
ed. It would be superfluous to treat this branch of 
the enquiry in a diffuse manner, a concise statement 
of the cause appearing sufficient to prove the coinci- 
dence of facts and the preceding conclusions. 

The mechanism in question which is capable of 
producing effects so diversified to sense, though so 
slightly discriminated in nature, depends on a prin- 
ciple that is easily understood. It is purely this: if a 
vibratory motion be imparted to any one of a sys- 
tem of elastic bodies that are connected together, the 
same is immediately communicated in a less degree 
‘to every body of the system, whose time of vibrating 


ascribes the whole effect to the force and celerity of the 
pulses of air striking the auditory organs, no regard being 
paid to the qualities in question; excepting that a greater 
degree of elasticity renders a body capable of sounding for. 
a longer time than one possessed of a less degree: hence a 
vessel of brass is more sonorous than one of wood both in 
in point of loudness and duration, 


64 On the Variety of Voices. 


agrees nearly with that of the body first put in mo- 
tion. For instance, let two equal strings be stretch- 
ed on a frame, with degrees of tension that are near- 
ly equal but not perfectly so; then, if either of them 
be made to vibrate, the other will accompany it in 
so distinct a manner, that their joint tone is easily 
known from the sound of either of them taken 
singly. This plain experiment reconciles the theory 
to common observation, as it points out the method 
followed by nature in compounding ordinary- tones 
from elementary sounds; for not only all musical in- 
struments, but also the vocal organs of men and 
animals are complex machines, consisting of one par- 
ticular part intended for the production of sound, 
which is connected with many others necessary to 
render the whole perfect. Now, it is evident that 
such of these secondary members as are nearly in 
unison with the principal, must participate of all its 
motions, forming in conjunction with it a number of 
simple sounds, all of them contained in a narrow in- 
terval,* which is terminated by one of the number 


* A circumstance that must be known to the most super- 
ficial observer may be brought forward to corroborate what 
is here advanced. We frequently find ourselves at a loss 
to identify a voice at a distance, which is in other respects 
familiar. The reason of this difficulty appears to be, that 
the feebler sounds that enter into its composition are per= 
ceived by a person standing near the speaker, but being lost 
to the distant ear, the tone becomes simpler, and the hear= 
er’s judgment is perplexed, 


On the Variety of Voices. 65 


that is graver, and one that is acuter than the rest. 
The relative affections of these combinations, or the 
mutual ratios of their constituent imperfect unisons, 
may be varied indefinitely even in instruments or 
vocal organs of the same description, from the 
numberless slight variations that take place of ne- 
cessity in the elasticity and tension of their respec- 
tive similar parts; the obvious consequence of which 
is, that the cycles of their joint beats or pulses will 
be diversified in a manner equally unlimited. Now 
it is very well known, that the different sensations 
produced by several musical intervals, arise from 
the comparative properties of their respective cycles: 
but what is proved of larger intervals will hold good 
in respect to smaller; and is equally applicable to 
their effects on the ear, which are therefore shewn 
to be susceptible of unlimited modifications in the 
common course of things. The conclusions that 
have already appeared in this paper, may incline the 
reader to imagine, that cither the theory is false, or 
music isa very imperfect art; because, according 
to the preceding scheme, our ideas of symphony 
and harmony result from sensations excited by the 
use of small intervals, constantly substituted in the 
room of elementary sounds, of which our only 
knowledge seems to be that they exist, but are never 
perceived alone, or uncombined with others of the ° 
same kind. To this plausible objection, the following 
answer (grounded on observation and experience) 
VOL, V. I 


66 On the Variety of Voices. 


may be given. The ear, though it judges with 
wonderful exactness, falls short of mathematical ac- 
curacy in its discriminations: a defect to which it is 
liable in common with the other senses. The truth 
of this proposition may be exemplified by an in- 
stance familiar to every scientific musician.* 

The smoothness or agreeableness of a musical 
consonance depends on its simplicity, those conso- 
nances being called the simplest in which the sum 
of the lowest terms expressing the ratio of the single 
vibrations of the terminating sounds, is least; or, 


in case several such sums are the same, that conso- 


nance is said to be simpler than the rest, in which 


* The proof here exhibited of the ear’s inability to dis- 
tinguish sounds, that are nearly the same or equal among 
themselves, is the best I am able to advance, after consult- 
ing various authors, 

The accounts given by experimental philosophers rela- 
tive to the least sensible interval are very discordant: Dr. 
Keill observes in his Anatomy (edition gd, page 167) thata 
good ear can perceive the disagreement of two strings, 
differing only by the ;+, part of a note. M., Muschen- 
broek says, that a good ear can distinguish no more than 


forty-three tones in an octave. Mr. Atwood has recorded 
an experiment (at page 99 of his Treatise on Rectilinear 
Motion) wherein two strings appeared to be in unison 
with a fixed sound; the tones of which I have found, bya 
calculation drawn from his data, to disagree by seven 
tenths of acomma. Suchcontradictory statements proves 
indeed, the existence of the interval in question ; but 
shew, at the same time, its magnitude to be undetermined, 


wk, 


> 


On the Varicty of Voices. 67 


ihe least term is smallest. Whence it follows, that 
the smoothness of a consonance arises from the sim- 
plicity of its cycle; because the terms of the ratio 
of the single vibrations of the terminating sounds 
are proportionate to the numbers of their times of 
vibrating in the course of one cycle. This is the 
reason why the fifth major makes the best concord 
in the diatonic scale below the octave. But the fifth 
in the tempered scale being diminished by a quarter 
of a comma, the terms of the preceding ratio are 
one and the fourth root of five; consequently it has 
no cycle, as the ratio of incommensurable magni- 
tudes is not that of number to number. Neverthe- 
less this concord is used with advantage, though it 
would be inadmissible in music, on the supposition 
of the ear discriminating with mathematical preci- 
sion. The truth is, an interval so tempered, con- 
sists of an infinite succession of periods, so like the 
simple cycles of the diatonic fifth as to supply its 
place, without doing much violence to the nicest 
sense. The various concords and discords may, 
for the same reason, be produced on a musical ring 
of bells, which can never be made perfect in the 
strict sense of the word; for if any one bell, in the 


best set, be struck separately, its note will be heard 


to undulate or tremble, being manifestly disturbed 
by cycles, which result from a slight inequality in. 
the times of vibrations in different sections of the 
vessel parallel to its mouth. 


68 On the Variety of Voices. 


A good approximation towards perfection being 
shewn sufficient in the present, as well as in all other 
cases of a similar kind, to satisfy our limited powers 
of perception, it will not be difficult to prove the 
small intervals of natural tones to be fit for all the 
purposes of music, being calculated to afford the most 
correct ideas of which the sense of hearing is suscepti- 
ble. For the mperfect unisons, that unite to produce 
the human voice or the sound of a musical instru- 
ment, preserve the same ratio among the times of 
their respective vibrations, in various degrees of 
acuteness, ‘This is manifest, because the identity 
of a given voice or instrument is discoverable by 
the sameness of its tone at any point of the scale to 
which it can arrive with ease, consequently the con- 
sonances that enter into the composition of such 
sounds are similar at all degrees of acuteness; or, 
in other words, the ratios of the imperfect unisons 
composing a tone, which is capable of being raised 
or depressed, are consonant among themselves un- 
der every possible variation.* The last considera- 
tion makes it clear, that what has been inferred from 
a ring of bells (namely, that their notes, though ma- 
nifestly compounded, serve all the purposes of mu- 
sic) applies with equal, if not greater, force and cer- 
tainty to those minute intervals, the cycles of which 
are not so easily perceived. 


* Smith’s Harmonics, sec, 111, art. 3. 


On the Variety of Votces. 69 


The subject having been already considered, 
perhaps too circumstantially, this essay may be 
properly concluded by observing, that the ear of a 
muscian receives the compound tones of his art for 
elementary sounds, in the same manner that the eye 
of a geometer contemplates his schemes as perfect, 
though points and lines are represented in them 
by dots and strokes of ink. The existence of an 
error is certain in both cases; but the deviation 
from truth is too small to be estimated by the senses ; 
on which account the practical parts of both sciences 
are sufficiently exact for our limited capacities. 


7° 


On the Benefits and Duties resulting from 
the Institution of Societies for the Advance- 
ment of LirERATURE and PHILOsopuy. 
By the Rev. Tuomas GisBorne, A.M. 


Communicated by Dr, Percivat, 


READ FEBRUARY 19TH, 1796, 


Every situation and circumstance of life brings 
its attendant duties. This position was recognized, 
and apparently in its full extent, by some of the mo- 
-ralists of antiquity. Cicero says expressly: Nulla 
vite pars, neque publicis, neque privatis, neque foren- 
sibus, neque domesticzs in rebus, neque si tecum agas 
quid, neque sz. cum altero contrahas, vacare officio po- 
test. Revelation teaches the same lesson: illustrat- 
ing with new light the momentous truth; and en- 
forcing it partly by motives unknown to the heathen 
world, and partly by others which, though previous- 
ly discovered and avowed in a greater or a less de- 
gree, had failed of their due effect on human con- 
duct, in consequence of neither being grounded on 
sufficient authority, mor supported by adequate 
sanctions. 

If the unceasing and universal recurrence of duty 
be a truth clear and obvious to the understanding, 
resting on immoveable foundations, and involving 


On the Institution of Socreties, €8c. 71 


consequences of the highest importance; it is a truth 
of which we ought never to lose sight. If it be a 
truth at all, it is a truth to be applied by every man, 
and under all circumstances. It is to be applied 
not only as affecting our behaviour in points imme- 
diately connected with our station and profession, 
and with the relative obligations which result from 
the ties of kindred and of friendship; but as equally 
extending to our conduct in any special undertak- 
ing in which we engage, singly or collectively, for 
the purpose of promoting a particular object. 

It may therefore be neither unseasonable nor 
wholly unprofitable to enquire, what are the gene- 
ral duties incumbent on individuals in consequence 
of their associating themselves for the encourage- 
ment of Literature and Philosophy. 

To consider distinctly the advantages which may 
be expected from such an association, and also the 
disadvantages by which its beneficial effect may be 
liable to be more or less impaired, will, perhaps, be 
the most perspicuous method of prosecuting the en- 
quiry. For in the improvement of those advan- 
tages, and the counteraction of those disadvantages, 
the duties to which an individual subjects himself by 
entering into the society may be stated to consist. 

It is manifest that the advantages in question, . 
whatever they may be, cannot be attained, unless 
the situation where the society is established be such 
as to afford the aids necessary for the growth and 


72 On the Institution of Literary 


welfare of the institution. The society cannot 
flourish, unless the place of its establishment, and 
the vicinity of that place, shall together furnish such 
a number of persons respectable for their talents, 
~and attached to literary and scientific pursuits, as is 
of itself sufficient to uphold the institution in vigour 
and activity; or, at least, such a number of persons 
of this description as may be likely, by the effect of 
their characters and of their exertions, speedily to 
kindle in the breasts of others that love of learning 
and philosophy which animates themselves. Of all 
situations the metropolis is unquestionably the most 
favourable. It comprehends within its precincts a 
far greater assemblage of abilities and of knowledge 
than is to be found collected in any other part of 
the kingdom; and it supplies to abilities and know- 
ledge those means of facilitating research, and of 
perfecting discoveries, which it would be in vain to 
seek for elsewhere. There the literary man, whe- 
ther he devotes himself to the investigations depend- 
ing on profound erudition, or to the elegant pur- 
suits of ingenuity and taste, is all times within the 
reach of libraries stored with the information, an- 
cient or modern, of which he stands in need; and 
in the neighbourhood of eminent_ persons engaged 
in kindred enquiries, and ready by communication 
of knowledge and by friendly discussion: to throw 
light on the subject on which he is employed. The 
philosopher enjoys similar advantages both with re- 


yar 


a RATT tel gems 


» fs 


and Philosophical Soczetzes. 73 


spect to books, and to the assistance of-others. He 
stands at the conflux of scientific intelligence pour- 
ing in from every quarter of the globe. He is rous- 
ed to'exertion by the accounts continually reaching 
his ears from foreign countries, and by witnessing 
the successes of his coadjutors at home. And he 
is surrounded by artificers equally prepared by 
quickness of invention to contrive instruments, by 
the aid of which he may complete new and difficult 
experiments; and by skilfulness of workmanship to 
execute mechanism which he may have planned. 
himself. Next to the metropolis, those situations 
which bear the nearest resemblance to it in the cir- 
cumstances recently stated are most congenial to the 
Institutions of which we are speaking. Such, for 
example, are cities abounding with persons whose 
minds a liberal education has polished and enlarged: 
opulent provincial towns, in which the prosperous 
state of manufactures evinces the benefits of mecha- 
nical and chemical knowledge, and thus disposes men 
to science and observation: and even smaller towns 
which are fortunate enough to contain some inhabi- 
tants of distinguished talents and acquisitions; or 
which may serve as a central point of union to able 
men scattered in their neighbourhood, yet not so 
widely dispersed as to be in danger of failing in that 
regular intercourse, which is essential to the utility and ° 
to the permanence of the association. When the pro- 
priety of establishing such an association at any parti- 
cular place is agitated, the view ought to be extended 
VOL. V. K 


74 On the Institution of Literary 


beyond the existing moment. The prospect of the 
durability and energy of the establishment is a mat- 
ter which ought to be carefully and impartially con- 
sidered. For more is involved in the event than 
the success of the individual undertaking. If the 
society, once instituted, should fall into speedy de- 
cay; or be doomed with laborious efforts to strug- 
gle for a lingering and unprofitable existence; the 
injudicious attempt will throw discredit on all simi- 
lar institutions; and may ultimately prevent the 
foundation of societies in other places, where they 
might have flourished, not merely with honour to 
themselves, but with advantage to the community. 
The benefits which may be expected to result 
from the establishment of a society for the promo- 
tion of Literature and Philosophy, when the situa- 
tion where it is fixed is selected with discernment, 
are by no means small. ‘They include, on the one 
hand, the light which may be reflected on general 
learning, on the fine arts, and on the different 
branches of natural and experimental philosophy, by 
the united efforts of the members of the society; 
and on the other, the various happy effects that ac- 
crue from the institution to the individual members, 
and directly or indirectly through the medium of 
those members extend their influence to others. 
These benefits, though in strictness of speech be- 
longing to two separate classes, are yet so nearly al- 
lied and so firmly connected together, that it may 


‘and Philosophical Societies. a5 


scarcely be practicable to speak of those pertaining 
to one class without, at the same time, touching on 
observations, referring immediately to those of the 
other. Perspicuity however seems to require that 
the benefits of the latter class should be stated in the 
first place. And if that circumstance were insuffi- 
cient to turn the balance, I know not whether the 
weight of the claim arising from superiority in point 
of importance might not also be thrown into the 
same scale. ; 
Writers, who have discussed the merits of the 
several parts of the British constitution, have not 
scrupled, when describing the advantages which the 
existence and the powers of the two houses of 
parliament diffuse over the community, to rank the 
following very high among the number: namely, 
that by the admission of men respectively eminent 
in different lines and professions into each of these 
branches of the legislature, and by the importance, 
the animation, and the publicity of the parliamen- 
tary debates, a useful and manly direction is given 
to the public mind; the attention of the higher and 
middle ranks of society is continually invited to ra- 
tional and interesting objects; and topics connected 
with political science and the general welfare are 
rendered familiar and attractive to multitudes, who | 
have no prospect or expectation of ever being raised 
to the dignity of peerage, or enrolled among the po- 
pular representatives, Reasoning similar to this in 


76 On the Institution of Literary 


principle, though differing from it as to the particu- 
lars to which it relates, may be alleged respecting 
societies of the description now under consideration. 
They bring literature and philosophy from the col- 
lege and the closet into public view, into the walks 
of common life, into scenes which would otherwise 
have been merely the haunts of business or of dissi- 
pation; and subject numbers to the influence and 
enrich them with the treasures of learning and 
“science, to whom little was previously known of 
either but the name. When once such an institu- 
tion is planted in a soil congenial to its growth, the 
studious member, whatever be his line of research, 
has an additional security. against the danger of em- 
ploying himself in a barren or indiscriminate perusal 
of bulky volumes: he feels himself admonished to 
be judicious in the selection of the authors and of 
the topics on which he bestows his time and atten- 
tion; to direct his thoughts into some regular and 
promising train, to point them to some predetermin- 
ed and beneficial end; and, perhaps, to read less 
than formerly, that he may weigh, digest, and re- 
flect the more. He is excited to a perseyering ex- 
ercise of his talents.by the laudable example of his 
associates ; and by the desire (a desire far from re- 
_ prehensible when kept under the control of proper 
motives) to be qualified to bear his part in the dis- 
cussion of the various subjects which will be sub- 
mitted to the society at its periodical meetings, and 


eer rere. Vn rr ra 


and Philosophical Societies. 77 


to contribute his due proportion to the general stock 
of instruction. Similar wishes, in the mean time, 
are gradually felt and cherished by many who do 
not belong to the society: by some, who are al- 
ready no strangers to learning and science; by 
others, to whom study of any kind has hitherto con- 
veyed no impression but that of irksomeness. The 
former are affected by the institution in a manner 
resembling that recently stated. The latter have 
before their eyes an association consisting princi- 
pally of neighbours of their own, and, possibly, com- 
prehending nearly all those of their neighbours who 
have given strong proofs of abilities and attainments ; 
and are struck by the respectability and weight of 
such an assemblage of talents and _ intelligence. 
They perceive in that association some of their 
own daily companions in the intercourse and oc- 
cupations of common life, who appear raised above 
them by the only honourable distinction, that of 
merit, and moving in another sphere. They are 
conscious of a secret regret at finding themselves 
apparently sunk below their former level. And 
though they perhaps do not yet look to be admitted 
into that body in which their friends and acquain- 
tances are stationed; they are at least anxious not 
to be under the necessity of either remaining silent 
in their presence, or of speaking but to expose” 
themselves, if at incidental meetings in a private 
circle some topic connected with literature or science 


78 On the Institution of Literary 


should chance to become the subject of discourse. 
They imagine, in short, that a broad line is now 
drawn between ignorance and knowledge; and they 
perceive themselves on the wrong side. Hence 
they insensibly view things with other eyes. In pro- 
portion as the value of mental improvement ad- 
vances in their estimation, their repugnance to 
books and reflection diminishes. | Persuaded of the 
worth of the object, they no longer refuse to em- 
ploy the means necessary for its accomplishment, 
They begin to discern that to- be proficients in the 
science of dress, to be connoisseurs in the dainties 
of the table, to run the never-ceasing round of fri- 
volous amusements, to vie in habits of luxury and 
in the ostentatious display of wealth, do not render 
a man quite so respectable as they formerly believ- 
ed: and discover ere long, at first with some sur 
prise, but with a surprise of short continuance, that 
such characteristics render him deservedly con- 
temptible. This change of sentiments is followed 
by its natural effects. Information, taste, a love of 
literature, of liberal arts, of philosophical enquiry, 
are qualifications which grow more and more allur- 
ing; and are counted among the most desirable in- 
gredients in contracting intimacies and friendships. 
Some of the individuals, in whom the establishment 
of the society has wrought so fortunate an alteration, 
become, in process of time, both members and or- 
naments of the institution itself, And those who in 


and Philosophical Societics. 79 


consequence of a limit prescribed to its number, or 
through other circumstances, do not happen to be 
received within its pale, regard it with grateful es- 
teem, as the source of those habits and attainments 
in themselves to, which, next to the conscientious 
discharge of duty, they owe many of the happiest 
hours of their life. 

The degree in which these advantages may be 
expected to result from the rise of literary and phi- 
losophical associations, will be in some measure re- 
gulated in each instance by incidental causes. But 
to a greater or less extent they are always likely to 
ensue. And to the beneficial consequences which 
have been already mentioned others of a similar na- 
ture are yet to be added. When the society is nu- 
merous, and respectable in the public eye, the tone of 
general conversation throughout the place and its vi- 
cinity, whether in domestic intercourse or in mixed 
company, becomes manifestly raised, He, who is 
accustomed to allot a due portion of his retirement to 
instructive reading and improving thought, will na-, 
turally have his discourse tinctured, when evening 
draws the family circle round him, with the subjects 
to which the studies of the morning were devoted. 
He, to whose mind the productions of literature and 
science are familiar, will be prone to enliven the te- 
dious langour, and to enrich the vapid talkativeness ° 
of the afternoon visit by the easy and well-timed in- 
troduction of facts or observations derived from lite- 


80 On the Institution of Literary 


rature, philosophy, or the fine arts, such as are 
adapted to the occasion, and interesting without be- 
ing abstruse: and will frequently be seen, perhaps 
unconsciously, to fix attention and communicate 
pleasure, while the neglected card-table stands va- 
cant or is pushed aside. Even the noisy and the dis- 
sipated, when in company with such men, will gra- 
dually be led, partly by a sense of shame, partly by 
a desire of rendering themselves agreeable, partly by 
the influence of example, to adopt habits and senti- 
ments better than their own. They will cease to’ 
confine their discourse to the tale of scandal of the 
hour, the adventures of a fox-chase, the history of a 
dinner, the determination of a gaming-bet; and to 
publish their own shame and their own guilt by de- 
tailing their feats of riot and intemperance. Folly 
will learn some degree of caution, and silence will 
appear the only refuge of vice. 

Such are the advantages derived to individuals 
from the institutions which form the subject of the 
present enquiry. Other benefits which flow from 
them relate to the general interests of literature and 
science. That benefits of the latter description may 
reasonably be expected to follow, is a truth which the 
observations already made will unavoidably have 
suggested. For when a number of persons, ante- 
cedently addicted to literary or philosophical inves- 
tigations, are stimulated, by the accession of some 
new motive, to additional industry in their several 


and Philosophical Societies. 81 


pursuits, and invited to direct their talents to some 
specific and important ends; and when perhaps an 
equal or larger number of men previously unac- 
customed or disinclined to such investigations be- 
come habituated and attached to them; is it proba- 
ble, is it possible, that literature and science can fail 
to profit by these events? The field, on which so 
much labour of cultivation could be employed with- 
out producing any fruit, must have been doomed to 
more than common sterility. From the encreased 
stock of zealous and persevering exertion, it may 
unquestionably be hoped that much light will be 
thrown on some of the various departments of lite- 
rature, especially on its more popular and elegant 
branches. And science has perhaps reason to look 
forward to still greater assistance from the same cause. 
New mines of philosophical treasure will be opened ; 
new discoveries will be made; new analogies traced; 
erroneous hypotheses exploded; rational theories 
corroborated; and conclusions, hitherto resting on 
speculative conjecture or dubious experiments, will 
be established on the basis of fact and demonstration. 
The laws of nature and the properties of bodies will 
be developed more and more; new processes appli- 
cable to the polite arts will be made known; and 
new inventions disclosed to facilitate the labours of 
the practical mechanic, and improve the workman- . 
ship of the manufacturer. By its publications, the 
society will preserve and spread abroad much im- 
VOL. v. L 


82 On the Institution of Literary 


portant knowledge, which otherwise would never 
have been committed to writing. By honorary 
premiums, if they are comprised within its plan, or 
by the more honourable reward of admission among 
its members, it will add vigour to exertion and cre- 
dit to success. 

From the wise purpose of Providence (that every 
period of life and every plan which we undertake 
shall form a part of the grand scheme of moral pro- 
bation) it results, that every good, attainable on the 
present stage of being, is liable to be accompanied 
by evil. Hence every human institution, from the 
political arrangement framed for the government of 
an empire to the humblest local association, of what- 
ever benefits it may be productive, will also bring a 
train of attendant disadvantages. And however in- 
ferior in magnitude the latter may be to the former, 
they will yet be such as to render conscientious vi- 
gilance to obviate them, a strict and important duty. 
It is therefore material to enquire, what are the dis- 
advantages not unlikely to be annexed to the valu- 
able institutions now before us. I do not speak of 
disadvantages which may be nearly or altogether 
precluded by the fundamental rules of the society 
properly executed. If political contention and the 
spirit of ministerial or antiministerial attachment be 
suffered to embroil the periodical meeting; if local 
disputes and private animosities, instead of being 
mitigated by the concurrence of all the adverse par- 


and Philosophical Societies. 83 


ties in literary and philosophical pursuits, make use 
of the evening dedicated to those pursuits as an op- 
portunity to vent their bitterness; if the hours as- 
signed to rational enquiry and debate be trifled away 
in discourse foreign to the avowed object of the as-. 
sociation; if the discussion of subjects correspond- 
ing to its design be disgraced by acrimony and 
taunts, by scurrility and invective; these are not 
evils attached to the nature of the institution. They 
result from some defect in its code of internal regu- 
lations; or from the want of care and honest steadi- 
ness in the members to enforce the observance of the 
existing laws. If men of depraved morals and pro- 
fligate conduct be admitted into the society; the 
fault rests wholly with those who, from a respect to 
abilities and attainments, are led to receive among 
them persons destitute of qualifications infinitely 
more respectable. On evils so prominent, and so 
easy to be remedied, it is unnecessary toenlarge. The 
subsequent remarks are meant to be appropriated 
to such as seem occasionally to spring from sources, 
from which some of the benefits of the institution 
flow ; to those failings, namely, which are sometimes 
found to be produced or aggravated in an indivi- 
dual, by the very circumstance of his being admit- 
ted into the society, 

Self-conceit will commonly be observed to pre- 
vail the most in those minds, which are not distin- 
guished by soundness of judgment, or deeply im- 


84 On the Institution of Literary 


bued with learning and science. But the most pow- 
erful understanding and the highest attainments af- 
ford no security against its influence. When once 
a member of the society is seized by this malady, he 
speedily shews symptoms of its attack; and if it be 
not vigorously checked in the outset, continues 
from time to time to manifest encreasing marks of 
its progress. He conceives himself an object of ge- 
neral attention ; and is ever on the watch to strength- 
en the opinion of*his talents and importance. His 
manner becomes studied, his tone dogmatical, his 
praises qualified, his censures peremptory. Ac- 
cordingly as he aims at the character of erudition, 
or of taste, his conversation is pedantic, or affected. 
He talks that he may be admired: he reads for the 
purpose of display. His compositions are loaded 
with technical terms; or glitter with false and super- 
abundant ornament. Whatever be the subject 
which he treats, his desire to shine is equally appa- 
rent and prejudicial. It pervades the researches of 
learning; it even infects the simplicity of philoso- 
phical demonstration. He proves himself ambiti- 
ous to evince the knowledge which he possesses ra- 
ther than earnest to acquire more. The information 
which he has accumulated, the discoveries which he 
makes, are degraded by the cumbrous and tawdry 
garb in which they are enveloped. The interests of 
literature have more to fear from his defects than to 
hope from his labours,’ The great stream of science 


and Philosophical Societies. 85 


rolls on beside him, and scarce accounts his turbid 
and frothy effusions among the number of its tribu- 
tary rills. In the mean time he grows more and 
more proud of what he knows, more and more for- 
getful of the extent of his ignorance. He 1s athirst 
for compliment and applause; and seeks to magni- 
fy the credit of the society to which he belongs, in 
proportion as his own reputation init is recognized. 
And if at length he approaches the top of the de- 
tached eminence on which he is stationed, he seems 
to fancy himself arrived at the pinnacle of know- 
ledge; unobservant of the distant hills which rise 
higher and higher around him, and lead on to moun- 
tains concealing their summits in the clouds. 

When vanity has thus taken possession of the 
head, it usually happens that darker passions become 
inmates of the heart. He who is puffed up with 
overweening ideas of his own merit easily proceeds, 
if it can indeed be called an additional step, to think 
contemptuously of others. The natural conse- 
quences of these dispositions are partiality, jealousy, 
envy, impatience of contradiction, unkind senti- 
ments towards the person differing in opinion, and 
a secret desire to detract from the credit of success- 
ful fellow-labourers in the field of literature and 
philosophy. ; 

The vanity by which, proportionally to the de- 
gree in which it exists, these most criminal tempers 
of the mind are fomented, is to be extinguished on- 


4 f * 


86 On the Institution of Literary 


ly by the active prevalence of those motives (very 
different from a passion for human praise) which 
Christianity prescribes for the regulation of the heart 
and conduct in every station and circumstance of 
life. | 

There yet remains one subject, on which (in 
treating of disadvantages not unlikely to be annexed 
to Literary and Philosophical institutions) it would 
be improper to be wholly silent. I allude to the 
charge not unfrequently alleged against philosophy ; 
and against the institutions in question as encourag- 
ing philosophy:—namely, that the philosopher is 
sometimes found to advance in the road to infideli- 
ty in proportion as he devotes himself to scientific 
researches. This charge is, I trust, an imputation, 
which has derived an unmerited degree of credit in 
consequence of being unhappily supported by some- 
particular examples, to enlarge on which would be 
unsuitable to the present occasion. With respect 
therefore to those examples I shall only observe, 
that if the effect of \philosophical pursuits on faith in 
Christianity were to be estimated by the authority 
of the names of believing and unbelieving philoso- 
phers; the venerable Newton would be found sta- , 
uoned at the head of a phalanx, whose intellectual pe- 
netration and scientific attainments would in vain, 
I apprehend, be sought on the adverse side. No 
supposition however can be more unreasonable than 
to imagine ‘that a sedulous enquiry into the works 


and Philosophical Societies. 87 


of God, when conducted with that frame of mind, 
the fitness of which in such enquiries will not be 
disputed; an honest desire to discover truth; an im- 
partial investigation of evidence ; humility suited to 
the shortsightedness of man; a willingness to re- 
nounce erroneous preconceptions; and a reverence 
and love for the glorious Creator, can tend to sub- 
vert the belief of a revelation, which, in order to be 
received, requires only to be studied with those dis- 
positions. But if men are precipitate in judgment, 
self-sufficient, and presumptuous; if they investigate, 
not with a solicitude to establish truth, but to sub- 
stantiate their own previous decisions; if, after 
gleaning together some facts and conjectures in na- 
tural knowledge, they deem themselves competent 
to pronounce on the mysteries of the universe, and 
I had almost said, on the duties of its Governor; if 
they construct high-sounding theories, and instead 
of trying the truth of revelation on its proper evi- 
dence, estimate it by its agreement or disagreement 
with those theories; if the object of their researches 
be to glorify not God, but themselves ;—such men 
may easily be unbelievers, but let them not usurp 
the name of philosophers. If to be a philosopher, 
is to be lover of wisdom; he alone may hope to de- 
serve the appellation, who cherishes the dispositions 
which wisdom enjoins. If to be a philosopher, is 
to be a lover of wisdom, he is the true philosopher, 
who loves the wisdom revealed from above, 


88 On Literary and Philosophical Societies. 


The important point to be borne in mind is this: 
That the institution of a society for the advance- 
ment of literature and science brings with it, like 
every other human institution, its peculiar moral 
obligations: that each member of such a society has, 
in that capacity, as in every other; talents to employ 
for the glory of God and the benefit of man: that 
he has in that capacity, as in every other, duties to 
discharge and temptations to withstand: and that 
the degree in which he performs or disregards those 
duties, and encourages or resists those temptations, 
will compose one of the subjects of the great ac- 
count to be given hereafter; and will be attended 
with consequences to be experienced in another 


stage of existence. 
T. GISBORNE, 


Yoxatt Lopcer, 


| January 28th, 1796. 


. 
| 
| 
| 
| 
i . 


89 


On an UNIVERSAL CHARACTER: 
in a Letter from JAMES ANDERSON, L.L.D- 
-F.R.S. F.A.S.S. &C. &c. to EDWARD HOLME, 


M.D. 
READ NOVEMBER 4TH, 1796. 


Corriexp, near Leith, Feb. 2oth, 1795+ 
Dear Sir, 
Since I had last the pleasure of see- 
ing you in Manchester, I have had more leisure to 
turn my attention towards literary investigations 
than for some years past. My time indeed has 
been chiefly employed in facilitating the communi- 
cation between different places within land, by means 
of roads and canals: in regard to both which great 
undertakings, I find we are as yet not a great deal 
farther advanced. than children beginning to walk. 
AQUEDUCT BRIDGES, which are at present erect- 
ed at so enormous an expence, as materially 
to obstruct the extension of canals, may cer- 
tainly be constructed in such a way as to cost less 
than the bare carriage of the materials will in many 
cases amount to. But, without explanations, these 
assertions must appear mere impossibilities suggest- 
ed at random: and, as explanations would require 
more time and room than can be spared, I shall 
pass from this to another subject, that is more in the 
line of your pursuits. 

VOL. Vv. M 


go On an Universal Character. 


Every literary person knows the difficulties to 
which he is subjected by reason of the multiplicity 
of languages, that prevail over the globe. The 
time that is lost, in the acquisition of these languages, 
will not, I think, be over rated, if it be stated at one 
half of the whole time that literary men can apply 
to study, taking the chance of deaths at an early 
period; and, after all, very few persons can acquire 
the perfect knowledge of more than three or four 
languages; and every other person is stopped in’ 
his enquiries the moment he extends his views in 
the smallest degree beyond the limits of his native 
tongue. 
~ Thave at last hit upon a device by which this 
difficulty can be totally removed ; which is so per- 
fectly simple, that it is inconceivable why it should 
not have been adopted many ages ago. This may 
be called a new ari of writing. It is of such a na- 
ture, that two persons instructed in this art, though 
they use each a language that is totally unknown to 
the other, may correspond with each other with 
much more facility than I can correspond with you; 
and though each uses his own language in writing 
the other reads it in his own language. In short, 
the same writing, were it shewed to a multitude who 


used: five hundred different languages totally un- - 


known to each other, would be equally intelligible 
to the whole; and every individual would read it, 
and express it readily in his own native tongue, pro- 


a 
P 
, 


ouetewe’™ 


On an Universal Character. gi 


vided he had been previously acquainted with this art. 
Nor would it be a matter of greater difficulty to 
learn this, than it is at present to learn to read and 
write one’s native language. 

This, you will say is a great discovery; and I 
shall not be surprised if you should think it a 
great gasconade at the same time: yet it is perhaps 
neither the one nor the other in the strict meaning 
of the words. It can lay no claim to the name of 
a discovery, if it be only the application of a princi- 
ple that has been long known, to some very obvious 
particulars that have been hitherto disregarded. 
Nor will it be deemed a gasconade, if I can shew 
that every literary man is in the practice of doing 
this very thing every day without paying attention 
to it.—For example : 

Supposing a stone were to fall from the clouds, 
with the characters 1795 delineated upon it; and 
that stone were to be exhibited to a convention of 
people, consisting of one of each of the nations 
of Europe, they would all read it with equal ease, 
and understand it perfectly. If you asked an Eng- 
lishman what it was, he would answer, one thousand 
seven hundred and ninety-five, and that, it denoted 
the present year of the Christian era. Aska French- 
man, he wouldas readily answer, mil-sept-cent-quatre- 
wingt-quinze. A Spaniatd—a German—a Russ, . 
&c. would each read it in the same manner in his 
own language. Here then is all that I propose ta 


92 On an Universal Character. 


do:—it is merely to extend to words in general, what 
we now apply only to those words that denote 
numbers. 

That this may be done, is obvious from the ex- 
ample just given. That it actually has been done 
for upwards of three thousand years past, by the 
Chinese nation, admits of the clearest proof. And 
that the powerful nations of Japan, Siam, and 
Tonquin (all of which use languages very diffe- 
rent from each other and from the Chinese) read 
the writings of each other*—in short, make use of 
the same written characters in all respects, is like- 
wise an undeniable fact. The discovery then is re- 


* Thus it is remarked by Sir George Staunton, that a 
missionary, who was of his party, could not, in any de- 
gree, understand the conversation of the inhabitants of 
Condore; * but when the words were written, they in- 
stantly became intelligible to him, Though their collo- 
quial language was altogether different from what is 
spoken in China, yet the characters were all Chinese: and 
the fact was clearly ascertained on this occasion, that those 

' characters have an equal advantage with Arabic numbers, 
of which the figures convey the same meaning wherever 
known ; whereas the letters of other languages denote not 
things but elementary sounds, which, combined variously 
together, form words or more complicated sounds, convey- 
ing different ideas in different languages, though the form 
of their alphabet be the same.’? Authentic Account of an 
Embassy to the Emperor of China, vol, 1, page 312. 

E, H. 


Stet PSS oe = == 
ee ee EO Se ag eee ee ee 


ed 


— 


On an Universal Character. 93 


duced to no discovery at all; and is only the effect 
of a very moderate stretch of reasoning. 

This fact, respecting the Chinese language, has 
been long known in Europe; but as mankind al- 
ways depreciate the acquirements of others who ex- 
ceed them in knowledge, so our European philoso- 
phers have been liberal in their abuse of the Chinese 
mode of writing; representing it as an unwieldy 
chaos of crude materials, which the life of a manis — 
not sufficient to unravel. I have found only one 
European (M. de Guignes) who had made himself 
perfectly master of the Chinese writing, in Europe; 
and another (M. Freret), who had made very con-. 
siderable progress in it before he died; but, so far 
were these men from complaining of the defects al- 
leged against that mode of writing, that they admir- © 
ed it exceedingly. 

Still, however, when I contemplated the subject 
at a distance, it appeared to be environed with dread- 
ful difficulties. The number of characters that would 
be wanted seemed to be so great, that there would be 
difficulty in forming them so distinct from each 
other, as to be in no danger of being confounded; 
—and to retain all these in the mind so as to use 
them readily, appeared to be a still more difficult task. 
But provided these two difficulties were surmounted, 
how would it be possible to reduce such characters 
to the form of a dictionary of easy reference? or 
how could printers acquire a facility in using such 


94 On an Universal Character. 


a variety of types as seemed to be indispensibly 
necessary? I own these appeared to be absolute 
impossibilities; and these considerations had well 
nigh stopped me from going farther, as I presume 
has been the case with many others. 

It chanced, however, that I was not quite dis- 
heartened. Upon a little investigation I fownd, 
that, on account of derivatives and compounds, the 
number of characters would be procigiously dimin- 
ished. Diminutives, augmentatives, opposites, inflec- 
tions, &c. would furnish the means of an infinitely 
ereater reduction in that respect; so that the first 
objection vanished in a moment. 

As to the second :—Is it not as easy to recollect 
the meaning of an obvious distinct mark placed be- 
fore the eye, as to recollect the meaning of a dis- 
tinct sound pronounced, by means of the ear? Yet 
it is well known that this must be done, by every one 
who learns a foreign language, with regard to every 
word in that language; so that, if the signs were as 
much multiplicd as the words are, they must be as 
easily recollected. And it is well known that it does 
not exceed the human powers to acquire ten or 
twelve languages. 

_ As to the difficulty of devising signs, this was so 
very easy, that at the very first trial I made, I found, 
that taking a perpendicular straight stroke as the 
basis, thus |, it might be easily so varied, by slight 
but distinct marks, without a-probability of one being 


On an Universal Character. 95 


mistaken for another in any case, as would give a 
greater number of characters than all the words in 
the English language; and perhaps, a hundred times 
more than can be wanted for our purpose: that 
there could, in fact, beno difficulty in forming a hun- 
dred millions of distinct characters, no two of which 
could be mistaken for each other, were it neces- 
sary: but there will not be wanted perhaps above 
five hundred characters for all the purposes of lan- 
guage. . 

These characters too can be formed in such an 
analytical way, as to be of even more easy reference 
in a dictionary than the alphabetical arrangement now 
in use; and printing might be practised with half the 
number of types that are now required. I was 
perfectly astonished at the facility with which 
all these things could be done; and not less pleas- 
ed on contemplating the benefits that would result 
from this mode of writing, were it introduced into 
general practice. 

The first advantage would be the opening of a 
free literary intercourse among all nations; as the 
_ writings and books of every nation would be equal- 
ly intelligible to all other nations as to those to whom 
they originally belonged. 

The second would be facilitating the art of writ. 
ing—for any man could then write as fast as another 
can speak; and the discourse would be taken down, 
not as it now is (by those who write it in short-hand} 


96 On an Universal Character. 


by half words and mutilated sentences, liable to 
be mistaken; but completely and entirely, with as 
much accuracy as if the orator had written it word 
for word with his own hand. 
_- A third advantage would be a diminution of space 
in writing, and a still greater diminution in printing; 
so that a single page might be made to contain near- 
ly half a volume. This would greatly diminish the 
price of books, and consequently augment their cir- 
culation. 

To these advantages I may add, that it would give 
a precision and accuracy of expression to written 
language that it never yet has attained, without ne- 
cessarily affecting the spoken language of any coun- 
try. But I am sensible that till it can be shewn 
how all this can be done, it is like putting down 
a parcel of enigmas to state them, though they 
will be perfectly obvious when explained. What 
would our forefathers, before the knowledge of the 
Arabic numerals, have thought of a man who should 
have said: that, by means of ten trifling characters, 
he could perform the different operations in arith- 
metic, which we know can be done with the utmost 
ease? He would have been nearly as much cre- 
dited if he had said: that, by means of ten little 
sticks, he could make a ladder on ‘which he could 
ascend to the moon. 

I speak now with some degree of certainty on 
subject; for, after having committed a few thoughts 


ce es oe eee 


On an Universal Character. 97 


to paper respecting it, I put this essay into the 
hands of a gentleman, who I know to be much 
more capable of such investigations than I am, and 
desired him to turn his attention to it in a particu- 
lar manner, which I assured him he would find to 
be much less difficult than he would at first sight 
apprehend, and left it with him, without giving any 
explanation of the mode of notation that had occur- 
red to myself. When I next met with him, about 
a fortnight afterwards, I found that he had entered 
into the subject with great ardour, and had made a 
progress in it much greater than I believed to be 
possible. He had devised a mode of notation to- 
tally different from mine ; and, I believe, equally 
comprehensive and simple. He had formed the 
outlines nearly of a complete grammar, arrang- 
ed with the most beautiful simplicity, and with 
such peculiarities as give this written language 
such precision above all spoken languages as must 
tend greatly to improve, without deranging, the 
spoken language of all who shall use it. I have 
requested him to proceed till he completes the 
whole: for, as he advances, he finds that the signs 
may not only be more simplified than he first thought _ 
of; but also that, by this simplification, the zdeas may 
be rendered more distinct and precise. He thinks 
at present, that about five hundred characters are all 
that can be wanted for any purpose inlanguage. These 


are to be varied by moveable signs denoting genc- 
Vy Oo L. V. N 


98 On an Universal Character. 


fal ideas, which become particular when connected 
with individual signs. z 

In order to give you a slight notion of what is 
meant, and the manner in which it may be done, I 
send you inclosed a small schedule containing the 
personal pronouns only, and the manner in which 
they might be denoted, according to the mode of 
notation I had thought of.* In these you will ob- 
serve, that this mark *, always denotes the mascu- 
line,—this mark ’, the feminine,—and no mark at 
all, the neuter gender ;—-that a point above the cha- 
racter, denotes the plural;—that this mark’ at the 
right hand side denotes the definitive, commonly 
called the genitive or possessive case ;—-and that the 
same mark with the cross in the middle (which is the 
sign of the accusative case)\ denotes the possessive, 
properly so called. 

You will now see somewhat of what is meant by 
the accuracy of ideas that would be thus conveyed, 
in comparison of what can be done by spoken lan- 
guage. For instance, the plural of he, she, and 2é, are 
all equally they; but it is certain that in language, to 
speak with precision, there is as much want of a 
plural for the different genders as of a singular, 
A writer then, when he had occasion to discriminate 
these ideas would do it; and when ¢hey denoted 
males, he would write it thus -{j; when the same 


* See the annexed Scheme, page tot. 


On an Universal Chinacidd: 99 


word denoted females, it would be jj; and when 
neuters, simply +], without gender. A reader who 
saw these characters would understand them perfect- 
ly, though in the English language he must read 
them all alike they; and the same in regard to all 
its derivatives, them, their, and therrs. In like 
manner, the words that are in italics in the schedule 
(all of which are deficient in our language, and must 
have their place supplied by other words forced 
from their natural meaning, by means of the dis- 
criminative characters) have their precise meaning 
ascertained with the most perfect accuracy, though 
we are compelled to express ourselves in the same 
inaccurate manner as formerly in speaking. In this 
way of proceeding, it is inconceivable what a num- 
ber of inaccuracies would be discovered and cor- 
rected in every language. For, if the work be car- 
ried on in the manner it is begun, all this will be 
done, not only without difficulty, but the characters 
will be formed even with greater ease than if these 
anomalies were not to be at all corrected. Thus 
will the character become universal, so that no lan- 
guage will ever miss its own excellencies in it, 
though those who use it must put up with its defi- 
ciences, and supply them in the best way they can 
“in reading. 
I shall give another example.—The Greek and | 
some other modern languages have a definite plural 
of two, called the dual number; I see no reason why 


100 On an Universal Character. 


we might not havea plural of three, oreven more. To 
denote that dual plural, instead of the usual plural {, 
let it be put] ; and if a plural of three were wanted, 
‘j. Wherever a writer wishes to discriminate this 
idea he has it in his power; and, though I cannot 
put it into English, it can be just as well under- 
stood as if I were reading the Greek dual number. 

I have carried the distinctions of gender above 
no farther than the English language admits of; but 
the character needs by no means to be so restricted, 
as there would be no difficulty in making as many 
discriminations in that respect, as I have marked in 
the Essay on Pronouns, in the 11th vol. of the Brg. 
But I have already, I fear, tired you, with this partly 
unintelligible letter; and shall not proceed farther 
than barely to assure you, that I am convinced, if 
the gentleman who has begun this investigation can 
be induced to continue it till he completes a gram- 
mar and a dictionary (which I am persuaded he will 
do, if he meet with proper encouragement) this will 
prove to be, if not one of the greatest discoveries, at 
jeast one of the most useful literary zmprovements of 
the present age. I thought you would be well 
pleased to hear of the first beginnings of an under. 
taking that may prove so extensively useful to 
society ; and remain, with much esteem, 

sir, 
your most humble servant, 
GAMES ANDERSON. 


s41y7 fr SLL sazay) fb suru 4 sua) EE stn Ee “OAIsSassog 
41ay? Lb 721 avy fF urn ff a1ayy fe say {F *aTaTUyacy 
way) Ee a - . wayy H vay way) win B ‘sanesnooy 
fay [kau [FS fay? [k ans TF ayy ul an [F ‘daneurmoNn 
Ca aii 2p oe» ee a ed | 
*JOININ “QUIUTWD J *OUITNISeIY 


y : “uosaod pany a1 jJO 


sunox Panini & ~ suno aniwA — “aatssossog 

unox | anid uno Gg awd *DATIIUYOC 

nox Ff sana Ff sa H aw ‘sanesnoy 

‘ ax J nona J am {] 1 Qf © ‘aatyeurutoN 
*uosiod puodas oY} JO ‘uosiad ys1ly OI JO 


‘SHAILVAIVAG WAHL HLIM ‘SNNONOUd 'TVNOSUAd 


102 


The Inverse Method of Central Forces. 


Communicated by Dr. Hoime, 


The following Scholium and Proposition are here 
introduced by way of Addenda to the paper on the 
Inverse Method of Central Forces, given vol. iv. page 
369, of these Memorrs, with which they have an 
intimate connection; as the proposition leads, in a 
different manner, to a conclusion given in the gth 
section of the Principia, and as both may yield 
some amusement to those who are versed in these 
abstract enquiries. 


SCHOLIUM TO PROP. III. 

If the force which varies as the q power of the 
distance reciprocally, act from the centre; or, which 
is the same thing, ¢ be negative, then p°= 

m P* y*-* 


” 5a Aes 22 


y’'. At the distance y from the centre, the two 


ie CTE as . 
forces become —, and — which being made e- 
'g j 


qual to each qther, the value of y will be determin- 
ed, where the curve will have a point of contrary 


a a ee 


DO ete eo gt ORS 


The Inverse Method of Central Forces. 103 


1 1 
flexure, viz. y = —3— x y= x 1; which will 
Cry 

be greater or less than r, according as ” is greater 
or less than g; ¢ being less than unity. Substitute 
this value of y in the above equation, and, at the 
same time, suppose y = #; then the point of con- 
trary flexure will be at an apse: therefore a simi- 
lar and equal curve will be described on the other 
side the apse that was described before : but this 
is impossible, as the curve is now convex towards 
the centre of force; wherefore the body, upon this 
supposition, can never arrive at an apse, but will 
continually approach nearer and nearer to a circle 
described at the distance y determined above; 
which circle wil] therefore be an asymptote to the 
orbit, or spiral described. By substitution 


Ls ped 


jess Mm b ier I” a—t1 
¢f-* xX Van — my 
n—1 <2uS 
ir eeeg perpen: ~ ot Kor tak 
ltt 
M—iakc. Pyar 
m P? oo 
,or= 
Sai sa | Soo 
(»— i+cx if ete! 
q74 qg—1 
Hele 
m P* c-* 


Sel g ba eM ha a 
(mmate. =) x Bi 


quart 


104 The Inverse Method of Central Forces. 


siXn— 1-1-6; whence, by substitution and reduc- 
2 
fiver m—1 1—q 
2rxX {c—- X 1—Cy te 
: —1' q—1 
aon, $* = CS ee ee eee 


at = 
ge 4", ee cee (2 cr Pr x c=") 

Hence the velocity is determined with which a 
body must be projected, so as never to arrive at an 
apse, nor ascend beyond, or descend to a circle, 


described at the distance c*" x y from the centre 
of force. 
If n= 2,9 =—1,and P=r, thens?= 


z 
=< 


2+c—363 


atc—3ct 


— 


yoac X 1 Gt tex ape Xie 

Wherefore, if the velocity were known with which 
a body (as the moon) would move in a circle round 
another (as the earth) at the distance 7 of the lower 
apse, with the compound force 1 — ¢; then the 
velocity is determined with which it must be pro- 
jected from that apse, to move in the manner de- 
scribed in this Scholium 3 or in such a manner as, 


never to arrive at another in any finite number of 
revolutions. 


Hence it will easily appear, that a very small ya- 
riation in the value of s, will occasion a very large 
one in the excentricity of the orbit, and in the mo- 
tion of the apsides: it is therefore evident that the 
two last will increase or decrease at the same time. 


The Inverse Method of Central Forces. 105 


PROP. V. 


‘If a body revolve round a centre, and be acted 
upon by a force tending to that centre which varies 
as the nth power of the distance inversely, and whose 
quantity at an apse, the distance of which apse be- 
ing 7, is= 1: likewise; if another body, besides 
being subject to this force, be acted upon by an ad- 
ditional one, which varies inversely as the gth power 
of the distance, its value being ¢ at the same distance 
r; it is required to investigate a general expression 
‘for the ratio of the angular velocities of the two 
bodies when at the same distance from the common 
centre of force. 

Let the required ratio be that of Fi G. Put y 
== common distance, # = perpendicular upon the 
tangent to the orbit described by the single’ force, 


and » = perpendicular upon the tangent to the 
other orbit, drawn from the common centre. 
It is evident by Prop. 1st, that F* } G* +t 
. ‘ z t 

pe 58 + p ; J f 4+ p : + ce ee 

Tay oe en ; ++ c P RY 
sag jb aNeiede tow 

™m x r , a 


But (by Prop. ist and 3d) ¢* = = : 


VOL. Ve re) 


106. The Inverse Method of Central Forces. 
Mage ss. ‘ 


i= 
yn oe Cc x ae lag n) ; " 
gq 
—————————— , writing M here instead of 


and pr = 


m in Prop. 3d. Hence, by substitution and reduc- 
‘ il Mm 

tion, Fe i Gc ce ree aT ET 
mM—1+y—mr Liye ye 


Fe ili 
M — 1 — 6+ xy? +o + er yt 
q—1 q—1 
ee ae, Oh n—1 a ata Ar 
Py" — mr. But m = x sand M = 
2 


Mw—iti + Cc 
2 
therefore F? ¢ G? $+ 


+ S* (writing S, for s, in Prop. gd), 


Se 
(n—1+5°—2) X p—n—1+ SP +a yr 
+ i+c+ S 
; Gite n—1 
2 2 
re RAL eer ene, | cag y+ 
i——i q 
2C* bY ial rte SR Pr— Nl —141 4-64 


we 
, which is general, whatever be the values of x 


We xy? 
and g, s and S. 
Cor. 1. Ifg= 3, then P+ G33 
Ga 


MU—-1+s*—2 £9 ae Base ace + Ryo) gi 


The Inverse Method of Central Forces. 107 


4 1toc+ S? 
ee ee 
'SS— Se ——— 
(mw — 1*1t+c+S—2—C¢ *n—1)" — 
pee Ne aie a fe 


(rpc Sern — 3) Oar 
where it is evident that if we make »—1+1-+¢+ 


See ni an — 18°, then. the denomina- 
tors will be equal, and therefore F*+ G* 33 s°¢ 
1. + c+ S*, which is a constant ratio; and. there 
fore when g = 3, or when the additional force va- 
ries as the cube of the distance reciprocally, the an- 
gles, which lines drawn from the bodies to the centre 
of force, make with the line passing through the 
apse, are in a constant ratio to each other, whatever 
be their common distance (the condition mentioned 
being observed). 

Cor. 2. Becausen—1+1-+0+S*?—con—1= 
ae SoC 
n—1 * s*, therefore sSlae Let R = rad. of curva- 
ture and v = velocity at the apse in the orbit describ- 
ed by one force; then the centripetal force at the dis- 


2 2 
tance n=l = 0» therefore a ‘R: ane ts: = 
a ne 
Ste R+re RR’, R+7-¢ 
ai ete hence F? ¢ G* $$ —+} Roa 8 
it+c yrrite Y UP 


Git 5 a 
{ee tt ees 
rT ' 


C= 


op) 


a. x R= additional force at the apse. But 
Y 2 


because = 3,9? 3 7? 33 


108 The Inverse Method of Central Forces. 


» 


Ge ee, R a = additional force at the dis- 


2 


tance y, and the force in the first orbit at the same 
distance = —_, therefore the whole compound force 


-n ? FF? R z 
1 uk G? — ys Soe 
Kas EF Ei 

Cor, 9. If instead of ( 1), be supposed=force 


in the first orbit at the distance 1, it will easily ap- 
pear that the compound force in the other orbit, at 


La —F yet’ 
J) I 


F ‘ 
the same expression that is found after a very diffe- 
rent manner, Princip. book 1st, sect. gth. 


the distance y, will = “: 


109 


. 


Observations on Fron and Steel. 
BY JOSEPH COLLIER, 


READ NOVEMBER 18TH, 1796. 


After examining the works of different authors, 
who ‘have written on the subject of making iron 
and steel, I am persuaded that the accounts given 
by them of the necessary processes and operations 
are extremely imperfect. Chemists have examin- 
ed and described the various compound minerals 
containing iron with great accuracy, but have been 
less attentive to their reduction. This observation 
more particularly applies to steel, of the making-of 
which I have not seen any correct account. 

It is singular to observe, how very imperfectly 
the cementation of iron has been described by men 
of great eminence in the science of chemistry. Cit. 
Fourcroy states the length of time necessary for the 
cementation of iron to be about twelve hours; but 
it is difficult to discover whether he alludes to cast 
or to bar steel : for he says, that short bars of iron are 
‘to be put into an earthen ‘box with a cement, and 
closed up. Now steel is made from bars of iron 
of the usual length and thickness; but cast steel is 
made according to the process described. by Cit. 
Fourcroy, with this essential difference: the opera- 
tion is begun upon bar steel and not bar iron, 


/ 


110 Observations on Iron and Steel. 


Mr. Nicholson is equally unfortunate in the ac- 
count given in his Chemical Dictionary. He says, 
that the usual time required for the cementation of 
iron is from six to ten hours, and cautions us against 
continuing the cementation too long; whereas the 
operation, from the beginning to the end, requires 
sixteen days at least. In other parts of the opera- 
tion he is equally defective, confounding the making 
of bar with that of cast steel, and not fully describ- 
ing either. In speaking of the uses of steel, or ra- 
ther of what constitutes its superiority, Mr. Nicholson 
is also deficient. He observes, that “ its most use- 
ful and advantageous property is that of becoming 
extremely hard when plunged into water.” He has 
here forgotten every thing respecting the temper, 
and tempering of steel instruments, of which how- 
ever he takes some notice in the same page. 
«s Plunging into water” requires a little explanation: 
for if very hot steel be immersed in cold water with- 
out great caution, it will crack, nay, sometimes break 
to pieces. It is however necessary to be done, in 
order to prevent the steel from growing soft, and 
returning to the state of malleable iron; for, were it 
permitted to cool in the open air, the carbon which 
it holds in combination would be dissipated.* 


- * It is the opinion of some metallurgists, that a partial 
abstraction of oxygen takes place, by plunging hot metal 
into cold water, 


—<« oe a 


Observations on Iron and Steel. 1it 


I shall, at present, confine my remarks to the ope- 
rations performed on ironin Sheffield and its neigh- 
bourhood: from whence various communications 
have been transmitted to me by resident friends, 
and where I have myself seen the operations re- 
peatedly performed. 

The iron made in that part of Yorkshire is pro- 
cured from ores found in the neighbourhood, which 
are of the argillaceous kind, but intermixed with a 
large proportion of foreign matter. These however 
are frequently combined with richer ores from 
Cumberland and other places. The ore is first 
roasted with cinders for three days in the open air, 
in order to expel the sulphureous or arsenical parts, 
and afterwards taken to the furnaces: some of which 
are constructed so that their internal cavity has 
the form of two four-sided pyramids joined base to 
base; but those most commonly used are of a coni- 
cal form, from forty to fifty feet high. The fur- 
nace is charged at the top with equal parts of coal- 
cinder and lime-stone. The lime-stone acts asa 
flux, at the same time that it supplies a sufficient 
quantity of earthy matter to be converted into 
scoria, which are necessary to defend the reduced 
metal from calcination, when it comes near the low- 
er part of the furnace. The fire is lighted at the 
bottom ; and the heat is excited by means of two pair 
of large bellows blowing alternately. The quantity 
of air generally thrown into the furnace is from a 


112 | / Observations on Fron and Steel. 


thousand to twelve hundred square feet in a minute. 
The air passes through a pipe, the diameter of which 
is from two inches and a quarter, to two and three 
quarters, wide. The compression of air which is 
necessary is equal to a column of water four feet 
and half high. The ore melts as it passes through 
the fire and is collected at the bottom, where it is 
maintained in a liquid state. The slagg, which falls 
down with the fused metal, is let off, by means of an 
opening in the side of the furnace, at the discretion 
of the workmen.” 

When a sufficient quantity of regulus, or imper- 
fectly reduced metal, is accumulated at the bottom 
of the furnace (which usually happens every eight 
hour's), it is let off into moulds; to form it for the 
“purposes intended, such as cannon or pig iron. 

Crude iron is distinguished into white, black, and 
grey. The white is the least reduced, and more 
brittle than the other two. The black is that with’ 
which a large quantity of fuel has been used; and 

_the grey is that which has been reduced with a suffi- 
cient quantity of fuel, of which it contains a part in 
. solution. ; 

The operation of refining crude iron consists in. 
burning the combustible matter which it holds in so- 
lution; at the same time that the remaining iron’ is 
more perfectly reduced, and acquires a fibrous tex- 
ture. For this purpose, the pigs of cast iron are 
taken to the forge; where they are first put into what 


‘ 


Observations on Iron and Steel. 113 


is called the refinery: which is an open charcoal- 
fire, urged by a pair of bellows, worked by water 
or a steam engine; but the compression of air, in 
the refinery, ought to be less than that in the blast 
furnace. After the metal is melted, it is let out of 
the fire by the workmen, to discharge the scorie; and 
then returned and subjected to the blast as before. 
This operation is sometimes repeated two or three 
times before any appearance of malleability (or what- 
the workmen call coming into nature) takes place; 
this they know by the metal’s first assuming a 
granular appearance, the particles appearing to re- 
pel each other, or at least to have no signs of attrac- 
tion. Soon afterwards they begin to adhere, the at- 
traction increases very rapidly, and it is with great 
difficulty that the whole is prevented from running 
into one mass, which it is desirable to avoid, it be- 
ing more convenient to stamp small pieces into thin 
cakes: this is done by putting the iron immediately 
under the forge hammer and beating it into pieces 
about an inch thick, which easily break from the rest 
during the operation. These small pieces are then 
collected and piled upon circular stones, which are 
‘an inch thick, nine inches in diameter, and about 
ten inches high. ‘They are afterwards put into a 
furnace, in which the fire is reverberated upon them . 
until they are in a semi-fluid state. The workmen 
then take one out of the furnace and draw it into a 
bar under the hammer ; which being finished, they 
VOL. V. P 


114 Observations on Iron and Steel. 


apply the bar to another of the piles of semi-fluid 
metal, to which it quickly cements, is taken again to 
the hammer, the bar first draw serving as a handle, 
and drawn down as before. The imperfections in 
the bars are remedied by putting them into another 
fire called the chafery, and again subjecting them 
to the a€tion of the forge hammer. 

~The above method is now most in use, and is 
called flourishing; but the iron made by this pro- 
cess is in no respect superior to that which I am 
going to describe. ‘It is, however, not so expensive, 
and requires less labour. 

The process for refining crude iron, which was 
most common previously to the introduction of 
flourishing, is as follows. 

The pigs of cast iron are put into the refinery, as 
above, where they remain until they have acquired 
a consistence resembling paste, which happens in 
about two hours anda half. The iron is then taken 
out of the refinery and laid upon a cast iron plate on 
the floor, and beaten by the workmen with hand 
hammers, to knock off the cinders and other extra- 
neous matters which adhere to the metal. It is af- 
terwards taken to the forge hammer and beaten, first 
gently, till it has obtained a little tenacity; then the 
middle part of the piece is drawn into a bar, about 
half an inch thick, three inches broad, and four feet 
long; leaving at each end.a thick square lump of im- 
perfect iron. It this foym itis called ancony. Itis 


* - ga 


Observations on Iron and Steel. 115 


now taken to the fire called the chafery, made of 
common coal; after which the two ends are drawn 
out into the form of the middle, and the operation is 
finished. 

There is also a third method of rendering crude 
iron malleable, which, I think, promises to be abun- 
dantly more advantageous than either @f,the two 
former, as it will dispense both with the refinery..and 
chafery ; and nothing more will be necessary than a> 
reverberating furnace, and a furnace to give the me- 
tal a malleable heat, about the middle of the opera- 
tion. The large forge hammer will also fall into 
disrepute, but in its place must be substituted metal 
rollers of different capacities, which, like the forge 
hammer, must be worked either by a water wheel 
or a steam engine. 

It is by the operation of the forge hammer or 
metal rollers, that the iron is deprived of the re- 
maining portion of impurity, and acquires a fibrous 
texture. 

The iron made by the three foregoing processes 
is equally valuable, for by any of them the metal 
is rendered pure; but after those different opera- 
tions are finished, it is the opinion of many of the 
most judicious workers in iron, that laying it in a 
damp place, for some time, improves its quality ; 


and to this alone, some attribute the superiority of 


foreign iron, more time elapsing between making 
and using the metal, To the latter part of this opi- 


116 Observations on Iron and Steel. 


nion I can by no means accede, as it is well 
known. that the Swedish* ores contain much less 
heterogeneous matter than ours, and are generally 
much richer, as they usually yicld about seventy 
per quintal of pure iron, whereas the average of 
ours is not more than thirty or forty :+ add to this, 
that the Swedish ores are smelted in wood fires, 
which gives the iron an additional superiority. 

Iron instruments are case-hardened by heating 
them in a cinder or charcoal fire; but if the first be 
used, a quantity of old leather, br bones, must be 
burnt in the fire to supply the metal with carbon. 
The fire must be urged by a pair of bellows to a 
sufficient degree of heat; and the whole operation 
is usually,completed in an hour. 

The process for case-hardening iron, is in fact 
the same as for converting iron into steel, but not 
continued so long, as the surface only of the article 
is to be impregnated with carbon. 

Some attempts have been made to give cast iron, by 
case hardening, the texture and ductility of steel, but 
they have not been very successful. Table and pen- 
knife blades have been made of it, and, when ground, 


* Steel is commonly made of Swedish iron. 
_ + The iron made from the ore found in the neighbour- 
hood of Sheffield, contains a great deal of phosphate of 
iron, or siderite, which renders the metal brittle when 
cold. 


PONTO an 


Observations on Iron and Steel. 417 


have had a pretty good appearance; but the edges 
are not firm, and they soon lose their polish. Com- 
mon table knives are frequently made of this metal. 

The cementation of iron converts it into steel :-— 
a substance intermediate between crude and malle- 
able iron. . 

The furnaces for making steel are conical build- 
ings; about the middle of which are two troughs of 
brick or fire-stone, which will hold about four tons of 
iron in the bar. At the bottom is a long grate for fire. 
The steel furnace, however, is not well adapted for 
description. I shall therefore avail myself of an 
accurate drawing, which was communicated to me 
by a gentleman conversant with the manufacture, 
and which is copied in plate I, page 122. 

A layer of charcoal-dust is put upon the bottom 
of the trough; and, upon that, a layer of bar iron, and 
so on alternately until the trough is full. It is then 
covered over with clay to keep out the air; which, if 
admitted, would effectually prevent the cementation. 
When the fire is put into the grate, the heat pas- 
ses round by means of flues, made at intervals, by 
the sides of the trough. The fire is continued until 
the conversion is complete, which generally happens 
in about eight or ten days. There is a hole in the 
side by which the workmen draw out a bar occasion- | 
ally, to see how far the transmutation has proceeded. 
This they determine by the blisters upon the surface 
of the bars. Ifthey be not sufficiently changed, the 


hole is again closed carefully to exclude the air ; but 


118 ‘ Observations on Iron and Steel. 


a] 


if, on the contrary, the change be complete, the fire 
is extinguished, and the steel is left to cool for about 
eight days more, when:the process for making blis- 
tered steel. is finished. 

For small wares, the bars are drawn under the 
tilt hammer, to about half an inch broad and three 
sixteenths of an inch thick. 

The change wrought on blistered steel by the 
tilt hammer, is nearly similar to that effected on 
iron from the refinery by the forge hammer. It is 
made of a more firm texture, and drawn into con- 
venient forms for use. 

German steel is made by breaking the bars of 
blistered steel into small pieces, and then putting a 
number of them into a furnace; after which they 
are welded together and drawn to about eighteen 
inches long; then doubled and welded again, and 

‘finally drawn to the size and shape required for use. 
This is also called shear steel, and is superior in 
quality to the common tilted steel. 

Cast steel is also made from the common blistered 
steel. The bars are broken and put into large cru- 
cibles with a flux. ‘The crucible is then closed up 

with a lid of the same ware, and placed in a wind 
furnace. By the introduction of a greater or smal- 
Jer quantity of. flux, the metal is made harder or 
softer.. When the fusion is complete, the metal is 
Cast into ingots, and then called ingot steel; and 
that which afterwards undergoes the- operation of 
tilting, is called tilted cast-steel.. a 


, Observations on Iron and Steel. 119 


The cast steel is the most valuable, as its texture 
is the most compact and it admits of the finest po- 
lish. 

Sir T. Frankland has communicated a process, 
in the Transactions of the Royal Society,* for weld- 
ing cast steel and malleable iron together; which, 
he says, is done, by giving the iron a malleable, and 
the steel a white heat; but, from the experiments 
which have been made at my request, it appears, 
that it is only soft cast steel, little better than com- 
mon steel, that will weld to iron: pure steel will 
not; for, at the heat described by Sir T. the best 
cast steel either melts or will not bear the hammer. 

It may here be observed, as was mentioned be- 
fore, that steel is an intermediate state between crude 
and malleable iron, except in the circumstance of 
its reduction being complete; for, according to the 
experiments of Reaumur and Bergman, steel con- 
tains more hydrogen gas than cast iron, but less than 
malleable iron ;—less plumbago than the first, but 
more than the latter;—an equal portion of manganese 
with each;—less siliceous earth than either —more 
iron than the first, but less than the second. Its 
fusibility is likewise intermediate, between the bar 
iron and the crude. When steel has been gradual- 
ly cooled from a state of ignition, it is malleable and ° 
soft, like bar iron; but when ignited and plunged into 


* Phil, Trans, 1795. 


120 Observations on Iron and Steel. 


‘cold water, it has the hardness and brittleness’ of 
crude iron. 

From ‘the foregoing facts, we are justified in 
drawing the same conclusions with Reaumur and 
Bergman, but which have been more perfectly ex- 
plained by Vandermonde, Berthollet, and Monge, 
that crude iron is a regulus, the reduction of which 
is not complete; and which consequently will differ 
according as it approaches more or less to the 
metallic state. Forged iron, when previously well 
refined, is the purest metal; for it is then the most 
malleable and the most ductile, its power of weld- 
ing is the greatest, and it acquires the magnetic qua- 
lity soonest. © Steel ‘consists of iron perfectly re- 
duced and combined with charcoal; and the various 
differences in blistered steel, made of the same me- 
tal, consist in the greater or less proportion of char- 
coal imbibed. 

Iron gains, by being converted into steel, about 
the hundred and eightieth part of its weight. 

In order to harden steel, it must be put into a 
clean charcoal, coal, or cinder-fire, blown to a suf- 
ficient degree of heat by bellows. The workmen 
say, that neither iron nor steel will harden properly 
without a blast. When the fire is sufficiently hot, 
the instrument intended to be hardened must be put 
in, and a gradual blast from the bellows continued 
until the metal has acquired a regular red heat; it 
is then to be carefully quenched in cold water. If 


Observations on Tron and Steel. 121 


the steel be too hot when immersed in water, the 
grain will be of a rough and coarse texture; but 
if of a proper degree of heat, it will be perfectly 
fine. Saws and some other articles are quenched 
in oil. | 

Steel is tempered by again subjecting it to the 
action of the fire. _ The instrument to be tempered 
we will suppose to be a razor made of cast steel. 
First rub it upon a grit stone until it is bright; then 
put the back upon the fire, and in a short time the 
edge will become of a light straw colour, whilst the 
back is blue.‘ The straw colour denotes a proper 
temper either for a razor, graver, or penknife, 
Spring knives require a dark brown; Scissars, a 
light brown, or straw, colour 3 forks or table knives, 
a blue. The blue colour marks the proper temper 
for swords, watch-springs, or any thing requiring 
elasticity. The springs for penknives are covered 
over with oil before they are exposed to the fire to 
temper, 3 


VOL, Vv. 2 


Diy 
eke 
=u 


122 B : 2 bit sa" Bi. x eS he 
EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. 


) Fig. 1 ig a plan of the: furnace, and od is a section 
of it taken at the line A.B.» The plan. is sen.at, the line 
CD, _ The same parts fib fie are ma rked. w 
same lettérs in the plan ar the section, 
pots or troughs into which the bars of iron are 
converted, F is the firéiplaée 5 P, ‘the’ fire bars. 3 and R, 
the ash-pit. GG, &e. are the flues, .H H isan arch, the 
inside of the bottom,of, which, corresponds. with the line 
IIKI » fg 1, a the, top. of it ‘is made it in the form. of a 
dome, having a hole in the centreat K, fe >, LL, &c.are 
six chimneys, MM ei similar to that of a glass-h Ouse, 
€oveting the Whole) At’ N’ there is an arched opening, at 
which the materials aretaken in and out of the furnace, and 
ai which i is closely. built up when the furnace is charged, 
At OO there a holes in each pot, through which the ends 
of three or four of the bars are made to project quite out 
of the furnace, These are called tasting bars, one of them 
being drawn out occasionally to see if the iron be suffi- 


ciently converted. 
. The pots are made of fire-tiles, or fire-stone. The bot- . 
toms of them are made of two courses, each course being 
hicknéss « of the single course which forms the 
f the pots. The insides of the pots are of one 
course, about double the thickness of the outside. The 
partitions of the, flues are made of ea which‘are of 
different thicknesses, as represented in the plan, and by 
dotted lines in the bottom of the pots, These are for sup- 
porting the sides of the pots, and for directing the flame 
- €qually round them, The great object is to communi- 
~-eate to the whole an equal degree of heat in every part. 
‘The fuel : put in at each end of the furnace, and the fire 
is made the whole length of the potsand kept up as equal- 
ly “Te : a 


ee , 
fe 


i 
aa 
. 
4 
: 
4 
<a - 
- 
ar 
’ 
‘ 
§ 
. 


123 


Remarks on Dr. PriEstTLey’s Experi- 
ments and Observations relating to the Ana- 
lysis of Atmospherical Arr, and his Consider- 
ations on the Doctrine of Phlogiston and the 
_ Decomposition of Water. By TuEoruitus 
Lewis Rupp. 


BE high rank of Dr. Priestley in the philoso- 
phical world entitles his writings to the greatest atten- 
tion; and, it is with much diffidence I venture to lay 
before this society a few observations on a late pub- 
lication of this gentleman, entitled “ Experiments 
and Observations relating to the Analysis of At- 
mospherical Air; and Considerations on the Doc- 
trine of Phlogiston and the Decomposition of Wa- 
ter.” 

The general arguments in support of the new 
chemical theory, and against the doctrine of phlo- 
giston are so well known; and (to judge by their 
effect) so well understood, as to require neither re- 
petition nor elucidation. I shall therefore confine 
myself to the consideration of the particular argu- 
ments contained in that publication. 

The intention of the first part of it is to shew, that ° 
in every case of the diminution of atmospherical 
air, which the antiphlogistians ascribe to simple ab- 


124 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


sorption, there is emitted some substance; and that 
this substance is the same which has been called 
phlogiston. 

That a mixture of iron-filings and sulphur with a 
little water (if it be continued in the air after the 
diminution has advanced to its maximum) occasions 
an increase of the quantity, by an addition of in- 
flammable air, is easily accounted for. In this 
instance, as in many others of the same nature,* 
the attraction of the iron to sulphuric acid in- 
creases the attraction of the sulphur to oxygen. 
That of the atmospherical air, which surrounds the 
mixture, is absorbed; and when this is effected, the 
attraction of the sulphur and iron still continuing, 
the water contained in the mixture is decomposed; 
its oxygen combines with the sulphur and iron; and 
its hydrogen is set at liberty. Hence che increase 
of bulk after the diminution has advanced to its 
maximum. When this mixture is confined with 


pure oxygenous gas, the whole of this is absorbed, - 


and no azote presents itself after the operation. But 
if something were emitted, which has the property 
of phlogisticating + pure air, there should be found, 


* To these belong the production of alum from the 
schistus aluminaris, of. sulphate of iron from martial py- 
rites, of nitrate of lime from lime mixed with substances 
containing the basis of nitrous acid, &c, 

+ I ought to make an apology for the confusion of terms 
which occur in this paper; but I was not able to avoid 
making use of the terms of my antagonist, without pro- 
ducing greater confusion, 


of Atmospherical Air, Ge. 125 


at the end of the process, azotic gas or phlogisti- 
cated air, exceeding in quantity the pure air, in as 
much as the substance emitted amounted to. 

The mode in which the martial sulphuret operates 
on pure air, is illustrated by the operation of the 
calcareous and alkaline sulphurets. These also have 
a very strong smell, and the property of absorbing 
pure air. But when the diminution has arrived at 
its maximum, no increase of the bulk of the air en- 
sues.* But if the diminution were effected by the 
emission of some substance from the sulphuret, that 
emission would probably go on after the dimimu- 
tion: at least there is as much ground for this sup- 
position as there is for Dr. Priestley’s, namely, 
that it is probable that something is emitted from 
the martial sulphuret during the diminution of the 
air, because something is emitted afterwards. In all 
these’ cases, the air is diminished both in volume and 


_ in weight; and it is surely absurd to say, that this is 


caused by an addition of something. But the re- 
sult of the following experiment will remove every 
doubt on this subject. I kept a mixture of iron- 


* I know that thecontrary has been asserted by Dr.Priest- 
ley and some others; but I am convinced by my own experi- 
ments, that no increase of air takes place after the alkaline 
or calcareous sulphurets have absorbed the oxygen of air + 
exposed to the action of either of them. I constantly 
make use of liquid sulphuret of pot-ash as a test, but I have 
never found the least increase of air after‘the greatest di- 
minution of it had taken place. 


126 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


filings sulphur and water, in a large glass bell, con- 
taining atmospherical air confined. by water. The 
mixture and the glass vessel which contained it 
(which was purposely chosen large and with a long 
narrow neck, to prevent the moisture from evapo- 
rating), weighed, together, 1324 grains, troy. When 
the air was diminished thirty cubic inches, the vessel 
containing the mixture was taken away, made per- 
fectly dry and weighed again. It now weighed 
1333% grains, consequently nine and one fourth 
grains more than before the operation, which cor- 
responds exactly enough with the weight of the 
air which was absorbed. 

Dr. Priestley admits (p. 6), that “ iron-filings and 
sulphur, as well as phosphorus, and most of the 
other substances which have been generally used 
for the purpose of phlogisticating atmospherical air, 
do likewise imbibe the dephlogisticated air con- 
tained in it, and thereby gain as much weight as the 
air has lost.” This ‘cannot be reconciled with his 
notion, that something is emitted from the iron- 
filings and sulphur, which has the property of phlo- 
gisticating pure air, unless we take for granted 
that atmospherical air contains more oxygen than 
what, by synthesis, we know that it contains; and 
even then the difficulty will recur, that pure oxyge- 
nous gas exposed to this mixture is wholly absorbed, 
without any residuum of azotic gas. 

Dr. Priestley says, that flowers, and especially 


of Atmospherical Air, Se. 127 


those which have the strongest smell, phlogisticate 
air. But it is well known on the other hand, that 
aromatic plants, in particular, afford very pure oxy- 
genous gas in great quantity. When vegetables vi- 
tiate air, it is probably owing to a beginning of pu- 
trefaction. This was the case in an experiment 
which Dr. Priestley relates in his third vol. of Ex- 
periments on Air, p. 278. A sprig of mint was in- 
troduced into a jar of dephlogisticated air, sometime 
in April. It was examined the 12th May. “ The 
dephlogisticated air,” says he, *¢ was injured, which 
I attributed to the rotting of some of the leaves of 
the plant.” I recollect only one experiment which 
has been made to ascertain the effect of flowers on 
atmospherical air. It is described in Dr. Priestley’s 
2d vol. of Experiments, p. 247. The air was consi- 
derably injured by a rose confined init. It would 
have thrown light on the subject, if notice had been 
taken, whether or not the volume of the air in that 
experiment was diminished. At all events it is cer- 
tain, that the effect was not produced by the smell 
or aroma of the flower, since cloves and musk, 
which I kept confined for a fortnight in atmosphe- 
rical air over mercury, neither diminished nor viti- 
ated it in the least. 

It is flattering to the antiphlogistians, that their , 
Opponents, in the very act of opposition, are oblig- 
ed to have recourse to their theory in explanation 
of certain phenomena, Dr, Priestley observing 


128 Remarks on Priesiley's Analysis 


that vitriolic-acid-air has, according to his mode of 
expression, the power of diminishing and phlogisti- 
cating air, says: ‘ that it is owing, no dowbé, in 
part, to its imbibing the dephlogisticated part of it, 
and with it forming vitriolic acid ;* but at the same 
time part of its phlogiston may unite with another 
part of the dephlogisticated air, and with it form 
phlogisticated air.” However, when this vitriolic- 
acid-air is mixed with pure oxygenous gas in due 
proportion, the whole is absorbed and no azotic 
gas is produced. No phlogistication, therefore, takes 
place in this process. 

I shall now consider the experiments which Dr. 
Priestley has made with black bones and steel 
needles. In the former, he heated, by means of a 
burning lens, 140.5 grains of black bones in 23.75 
ounce-measures of air, which thereby were reduced 
to 20 ounce measures. In the other experiment, 
he heated 200 grains of polished steel needles in 24 
ounce measures of air, which were reduced to 19.5 
ounce measures. In these experiments the operator 
avoided to apply a great heat, and a copious pre- 
cipitation took place, or a thick crust was formed, 
when they were made over lime water. The bones 
gained no weight, but rather lost some. The needles 
and iron gained a little weight, though very incon- 


* Vitriolic acid, according to the doctrine of Phlogiston, 
is sulphur deprived of its phlogiston, 


of Atmospherical Air, Se. 129 


siderable. By these experiments it is intended to 
prove, not only that something was emitted from 
the bones and the needles, but also, and particularly 
that during the calcination of metals, and in com- 
bustion, no oxygen is absorbed or imbibed. 

«¢ What is most important in these experiments,” 
says Dr. Priestley, * is that, since the diminution of 


the air was effected by heating those substances, and 


they did not gazn any weight in the process, the 
phlogistication of air is not the absorption of any 
part of it bythe substance which produces that effect, 
as the antiphlogistic theory supposes.” 

Before I attempt to explain the result of these ex- 
periments, I must request the society to attend a 
little to their nature, and to the manner in which 
they were made. It is not only very objectionable 
that atmospherical air, or a mixture of different 
gases, was employed in experiments, the result of 
which was to shew the mutual action of the bones 
and needles on only one of them, namely, the oxy- 
genous gas; while it would have been easy to have 
made use of this gas in its greatest purity; but we 
are not even informed of the degree of purity of 
the air previous to the operation. This information 
should not have been withheld, because the purity 
of atmospherical air vaties in different places and 
circumstances. —T hese experiments were made over 
water: a method which always leaves some doubt of 


the exactness of the result, not only on account of 
VOL. v. ane 


130 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


the attraction, which the substances under operation 
haye to moisture, with which they may combine, or 
which they may decompose, and thereby produce 
-etrors; but also on account of the air which water 
contains, and which may be expelled by the-heat of 
the operation, or attracted by the bodies under ex- 
amination:—It is known that iron in that first de- 
gree of oxidation, formerly called martial ethiops, 
is capable of, combining with so much oxygen, 
as to.increase in weight from 30 to 35 per cent. 
Why. then were there employed 24 ounce-measures 
only of atmospherical air with 200 grains of needles, 
though twenty times as. much is necessary to satu- 
rate the iron and produce a decisive effect ?—Bones 
are not a proper substance for experiments of this 
nature, because they contain ammoniac and conse- — 
quently azote.—There should have been ‘an ac- 
count kept of the carbonic acid gas which was 
produced.—In a well made experiment nothing 1s 
either lost or gained: whenever, therefore, the weight 
of the product and of the residuum does not cor- 
respond with the weight of ‘the substances from 
which they came, there must be an error, This is 
the case with these few experiments. They can 
then surely not be put in competition with the many 
experiments on which the new theory rests, and which 
have been made with the most’ scrupulous exact- 
ness, with substances of the greatest purity, and in 
circumstances which leave no room for any reason- 


of Atmospherical Air, Bc. 131 


able doubt.—But I proceed to the explanation of 
the Doctor’s experiments. 

Since the constituent principles of carbonic acid 
are demonstrated, both by analysis and synthesis, 
to be oxygen and pure charcoal, we cannot doubt, 
that the diminution of the air was occasioned by its 
oxygen combining with the carbon of the black 
bones, and forming the carbonic .acid which pre- 
cipitated the lime. These bones therefore could 
gain no weight, but would on the contrary lose 
some little: but, 12.0288 parts of carbon saturate 
56.687 parts of oxygen,* the loss of weight must 
have been trifling. This seems to have been the 
case ; for we are informed, that the bones rather 
lost something. . This experiment with calcined 
bones is, in reality, little else than a combustion of 
charcoal, the result of which is not to be sought for 
in the residuum of the bones, but in the carbonic 
acid which was produced: of which however Dr. 
Priestley takes no notice. 

The excess of azote in the residuum of the air, 
I ascribe to a “decomposition of the ammoniac con- 
tained in the bones; and this is rendered more pro- 
bable by the result of the experiments with iron and 
necdles, in which much less azotic gas remained, 
A portion of oxygen may also have combined with 
the bones. Through our ignorance of the origi- 
nal degree of purity of the air and of ‘the quantity 


* Chaptal, vol, 1, p. 220, 


132 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


of carbonic acid which was produced, we can un- 
fortunately do little more than guess. 

In the experiments with needles and iron, carbo- 
nic acid was likewise formed; which appears by the 
crust on the lime-water. Iron, and particularly steel, 
is known to contain carbonaceous matter ;* which, 
combining with some of the oxygen of the air, made 
the carbonic acid. The iron, by losing carbon, must 
have lost weight; but, as the production of car- 
bonic acid seems to have been but small, it is pro- 
bable, that only part of the oxygen, lost in the ope- 
ration, was saturated with carbon; and that the re- 
mainder, combining with the iron, repaired the loss 
of weight of the iron, occasioned by the loss of its 

‘carbonaceous matter, and farther caused the small 
addition to its original weight. t—But I am aware, 
that in following these experiments, which have not 
been made and described with the Doctor’s usual 
care and exactness, I am but groping in the dark ; 
and I hasten to engage the attention of the Society 
to the following experiments on the same subject, 
made by the same able philosopher, and recorded 
in the gd vol. of his Experiments on Air, page 480. 
They are unexceptionable and decisive; and I beg 
leave to recal them to your remembrance, by tran- 
scribing every thing material in them. 


* Plumbago. 

+ There would probably have been nothing equivocal 
in the result of this experiment, if more air or a smaller 
quantity of needles had been employed in it. 


of Atmospherical Arr, &c. | 133 


Dr. Priestley introduced into a glass vessel, con- 
taining seven ounce-measures of pretty pure dephlo- 
gisticated air, a quantity of iron turnings ; having pre- 
viously made them, the air, and the mercury by which 
it was confined, as dry as possible. Also, to pre- 
vent the air from imbibing any moisture, he receiv- 
edit immediately in the vessel in which the expe- 
riment was made, by the process for obtaining it 
from red precipitate, so that it had never been in 
contact with any water. “ I then,” says he, ‘ fired 
the iron by means of a burning lens, and presently 
reduced the 7 ounce-measures of air to 0.65 of a 
measure. Examining the residuum of the air, I 
found one fifth of it to be fixed air; and when I 
tried the purity of that which remained, by the test 
of nitrous air, it did not appear that any phlogisticated 
air had been produced in the process: for, though it 
was more impure than I suppose the air with which 
I began the experiment must have been, it was not 
more so than the phlogisticated air of the 7 ounce- 
measures, which had not been affected by the pro- 
cess, and which must have been contained in the re- 
siduum, would necessarily make it. In this case, 
one ounce-measure of the residuum and two of 
nitrous air occupied the space of 0.32 of a mea- 
sure. In another experiment of this kind, ten 
ounce-measures of dephlogisticated air were reduc- 
ed to 0.8 of a measure; and, by washing in lime- 
water, to 0.38.” Sensible that such a quantity of 
air must have been imbibed by something, to which 


134 Remarks on Prtestley's Analysis 


it must have given a very perceivable addition of 
weight, he weighed the calx to which the iron had 
been reduced, and “I presently found,” says he, 
“ that the dephlogisticated air had actually been ims 
bibed by the iron. In the first instance, about 
twelve ounce-measures of dephlogisticated ait had 
disappeared, and the iron had gained six grains in 
weight. Repeating the experiment very frequently, 
I always found that other quantities of iron, treated 
in the same manner, gained similar additions of 
weight, which was always very nearly that of the 
air which disappeared. This calciform substance I 
found by various experiments, to be the same thing 
with the scales that fly from iron, whenit is made red- 
hot, or the substance into which it runs: in a very 
intense heat in an open fire.” And, in a note, he in- 
forms us, that this calx is the same with finery- 
cinder. 

_ Here then we have experiments of the same na- 
ture as those recited in the pamphlet under ex ami- 
nation, but simplified as they ought to be, and made 
with’ care and exactness, and in circumstances and 
by means, which leave littke or no room for error. 
But no azote made its appearance more than was 
contained in the air before the operation. The iron 
emitted nothing, but increased in weight as much, 
or nearly as much, as the oxygenous gas amounted 
to. About twelve ounce-measures of it disappéar- 
ed, and the iron increased in weight six grains; 


of Atmospherical Air, &c. 195 


which is nearly the weight of the gas consumed. 
And if a proper allowance were made for the oxygen 
contained in the fixed air, and the previous loss of 
weight of the iron by the combustion of its carbona- 
ceous matter, the increase of weight of the iron 
would still more nearly correspond with the weight 
of the oxygenous gas consumed. 

_ The conclusion from these experiments, or (more 
properly speaking) the fact, that the oxygen combined 
with the iton, was too obvious to escape the Doctor’s 
observation, as we see by his own declaration: but he 
soon changed his mind and reverted to his theory: 
for, in a note to the same article, he declares, that 
it was not dephlogisticated air that was imbibed by 
the iron, but only the water, which, he says, is by 
far the greatest part of it.* But, if that were the 
case, what, it may be asked, is become of the air? 
Or, if six grains of water were absorbed in this pro- 
cess, where is the inflammable air that must have 
been produced? ‘There should have been formed 
20 ounce-measures of it at least. For Dr. Priest- 
ley says, that in passing steam over red-hot iron, the 
iron imbibes the water and emits its phlogiston in 
the shape of inflammable air; and though this is his 
doctrine and not mine, I may avail myself of the 
argument. Moreover it has been shewn by M. de 


* I shall hereafter have occasion to consider the experi- 
ments on which the opinion rests, that water enters into 
the constitution of gases, 


136 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


Saussure, that a cubic foot of atmospherical air can 
contain only 12 grains of water in solution: and 
supposing that it is only the respirable part of it that 
can dissolve water (which is however too great a 
concession) the 12 ounce measures of oxygenous 
gas consumed could not contain one half grain of 
water, even if they had been purposely impregnated 
with as much water as they could take up; though 
the reverse was the case here. 

I ought, in this place also, to refer the Society to 
Dr. Priestley’s experiments in his 3d vol. p. 210. 
He suspended pieces of lead and tin in atmospheri- 
cal air, and heated them by means of a burning mir- 
ror or Jens. The air was diminished 25 per cent. 
And, in p. 212, he informs us, that, by throwing the 
focus of a burning lens on iron, the air was dimi- 
nished and made noxious to as great a degree as in 
the calcination of lead or tin. And when he heat- 
ed iron in atmospherical air, till his lens could make 
no farther impression on it, he always found that 
the iron gained weight upwards of go per cent. 
(Ibid, p. 483). 

The degree of heat, on which Dr. Priestley seems 
to lay some stress, makes no difference in the result 
of the experiment. Every one may convince him- 
self of this by the following simple process. Take 
100 grains of fine harpsichord-wire cut in small 
pieces, or clean iron filings; put them into a tobacco- 
pipe; and expose it to a red heat in a common fire- 


of Atmospherical Air, Se. 137 


place for several hours: and the iron shall acquire 
weight from 25 to 30 grains, though not made to 
fuse. The cup of the pipe should be slightly cover- 
ed to prevent loss; but room should be left for the 
escape of the air, which is continually circulating 
through the tube. Those who have a furnace with 
a muffle may make this experiment in the most sa- 
tisfactory manner. 

Dr. Priestley next says, that the phlogistication 
of nitric-acid is owing, in some cases, to its imbib- 
ing something; and not always to its parting with - 
something, which the antiphlogistians maintain, 
He dissents from them, because nitrous air being, 
as he terms it, imbibed by nitric acid, the latter be. 
comes phlogisticated.—To this we may reply, that 
part of the oxygen of the nitric acid combines with 
the nitrous air, and forms nitrous acid with it. The 
nitric acid, being thus deprived of a portion of its 
oxygen, thereby becomes nitrous acid, or what has 
been called phlogisticated nitrous acid. The dif. 
ference between the nitric and nitrous acids, consists 
in the proportion between their common basis and 
the principle of acidity. Hence itis plain, that they 
may be transformed into one another; that is to 
say, the proportion of their parts may be altered, 
either by subtraction of the principle of acidity, or 
by addition of the basis, and wice versa. The Doc- 
tor’s objection is therefore merely a dispute about 
words, 

+ VOLLV. S 


138 Remarks on Priesiley’s Analysis 


This philosopher thinks he has discovered, that 
atmospherical air contains much more’ pure air, 
than has hitherto been found. He makes the pro- 
portion of it amount to 46.6 parts in a hundred,: 
instead of 27 parts. He has found, that equal mea- 
sures of nitrous and atmospherical air mixed toge- 
ther (though, at first, they occupy a space of 1.01 
measures) will, in the course of a month, occupy 
only 0.6 of a measure.—That this fact does not 
warrant the conclusion he draws from it, will appear 
by what the same chemist relates in the 1st vol. of 
his Experiments, p. 361. “ Having mixed,” says 
he, a “ quantity of air, which I knew to be thorough- 
ly phlogisticated by the putrefaction of fishes, with 
an equal quantity of nitrous air; I transferred the 
mixture into my graduated tube, when, instead of 
occupying two whole measures (as I had expected) 
they only occupied 1.95 measures. I poured the 
air back again into a wide jar; and, transferring it 
once more into a graduated tube, found it to be on- 
ly 1.8 measures; and pouring it about ten times 
backwards and forwards, without any unnecessary 
agitation, it was reduced to 1.6 measures. Having 
stood in water all night, 1 measured it again the 
next morning, when J found zt to be 1.5; and by 
measuring three times more, it was,reduced to 1.4.” 
To whatever, therefore, the farther diminution of 
a mixture of these two gases, by standing over water 
for a long time, may be owing, it is certain that it is 


of Atmospherical Air, Be. 139 


not owing to the presence of pure air; since it takes 
place when air, thoroughly phlogisticated, is kept 
with nitrous air in the same circumstances. | This 
isa strong proof, that the nitrous test cannot be de- 
pended upon. By all other eudiometers it appears, 
that atmospherical air contains about one fourth of 
its bulk of oxygenous gas. And when this and pure 
azotic gas are mixed in such proportion, they form 
a fluid exactly similar to that of the atmosphere. 
Dr. Priestley’s experiments on the composition 
of azotic gas are certainly very curious and interest- 
ing, and deserve great attention.—I therefore regret 
much, that I have not been able to succeed in any 
attempts to repeat them. I speak only of those in 
which he confined rusted iron and inflammable air 
in glass vessels by mercury or water. Those in which 
he kept the oxygenous and hydrogenous gases in 
a wet bladder are not admissible: the azote is, in this 
case, formed by the decomposition of the bladder; 
and is produced though no inflammable air is pre- 
sent.* J kept the red oxyd of iron, which I put into 
a phial with hydrogenous gas, in a glass jar over 
water for several weeks; but no diminution took 
place. A large piece of rusted iron was then suspend- 
ed in a jar with inflammable air confined by water. 
No diminution took place; and when, in six weeks 
afterwards, the gas was examined, it appeared as in- 


* Priestley’s Experiments, vol. 1, p. 179---181. 


140 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


flammable as ever. Not being able to succeed, { 
had recourse to the ingenuity of my friend Mr. 
William Henry. We repeated the experiment 
over mercury with no better success. I also kept 
the black oxyd of manganese, and the red oxyd of 
mercury in hydrogenous gas; expecting, that as the 
oxygen has a weaker attraction to these metals than 
to iron, it would more easily combine with the hy- 
drogen; but I was again disappointed. There 
cannot however be the least doubt of the truth of 
the facts mentioned by Dr. Priestley ; and I mean 
to make fresh attempts, and to acquaint the Society 
with their result if successful. In the mean time, 
is it not probable that the oxygen of the rust * 
combining with the hydrogen, formed water; and 
that, at the same time, a portion of azote, of which 
all metallic oxyds contain more or less (particularly 
those which have been exposed to the atmosphere) 
was disengaged? This conjecture is so much the more 
plausible, as it rests on well known phenomena. If 
it should be discovered that azote is not a simple 
substance, I cannot see what the doctrine of phlo- 
giston would gain by it. The phenomena of com- 
bustion and calcination in pure oxygenous gas, 
where no azote is produced, will still be inexplicable 
on that theory. 


of Atmospherical Air, Ge. 141 


I come now to the consideration of the last part 
of the publication in question, entitled, «« Conside- 
rations on the Doctrine of Phlogiston and the De- 
composition of Water.”—This part is merely argu- 
mentative. I shall pass over several objections to 
the new theory that have been made and answered 
before, and confine myself to what appears to me 
to be new. 

After stating that mercury, by exposure to the at- 
mosphere in a certain degree of heat, is converted in- 
to the calx, called precipitate per se; which becomes 
running mercury again by exposure to a greater de- 
gree of heat (on which experiment the antiphlogis- 
tians have built their new theory), Dr. Priestley 
says, ‘¢ that all that can be inferred from it is, that, 


in this particular case, the mercury in becoming that 


¢alx imbibed air, without parting with any or very 
little of its phlogiston.” In support of this, he 
mentions, that the calx which remains, after expos- 
ing Turpeth mineral to a red heat, cannot be reviv 
ed completely by any degree of heat; but may be 
revived by substances supposed to contain phlo 
giston. ’ 

It will be recollected that Turpeth mineral is made 
by heating mercury in an equal quantity of sulphuric 
acid till the mixture becomes dry. This sulphate of | 


_ mercury is then washed in warm water, by which 


means a yellow precipitate is obtained, which is the 
Turpeth mineral. When this is again heated, it be~ 


142 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


comes of a red colour ; and is then the calx mention- 
ed above. It is probable therefore (and it is allow- 
ed) that this calx still contains sulphate of mercury ; 
which can hardly be expected to be decomposed but 
by adding substances which have a greater, affinity 
to the sulphuric acid than mercury, or else a greater 
attraction to the oxygen of the sulphuric acid than 
the sulphur. However, Dr. Gren, professor at 
Halle, who, in matters of fact, may be depended 
on, informs us (in his Treatise on Chemistry, §. 
2262) that this calx may be reduced to its metallic 
state by mere heat, without any addition whatever ; 
‘and that, during the process, oxygenous gas and vi- 
triolic-acid-air are produced. 

In farther support of his assertion (that mercury, in 
becoming precipitate fer se, parts with none or little 
of its phlogiston) Dr. Priestley says, “ if we judge 
by the air expelled from the calces of metals and 
other circumstances, there are few, if any, of them 
but contain more or less of phlogiston.”—I ima- 
gine he alludes here to the azote, which is mixed 
with the oxygenous gas obtained from the oxyds of 
metals. If this be occasioned by a portion of phlo- 
giston retained by the calx, how does it happen that 
the purest oxygenous gas that can be procured from 
metallic oxyds, is obtained from precipitate per se, 
though, according to Dr. Priestley, it retains all or 
nearly all its phlogiston?—This argument, more- 
over, involves a contradiction to the doctrine of 


of Atmospherical Air, ec. 143 


phlogiston; according to which, .a calx is reduced 
to its metallic state by acquiring phlogiston: but 
here it is said to be reduced by tie with phlo- 
giston. 

When mercury is dissolved in the nitric acid, ni- 
trous air is produced; which the phlogistians ascribe 
to the phlogiston of the metal. If therefore it were 
true, that precipitate per se retains all or nearly all 
‘the phlogiston of the metal from which it comes, it 
would likewise produce nitrous air during its solu- 
tion in the nitric acid. But this is not the case. 
As mercury in dissolving in nitric acid produces 
nitrous air, .it cannot be denied that the red oxyd, 
obtained by these means, has parted with its phlo- 
giston; and yet it is reduced to its metallic state by 
mere heat, without any addition whatever. To ob- 
viate this objection, he asserts, that it loses only part 
of its phlogiston; and that it has a deficiency of 
phlogiston when reduced by mere heat: but that, 
on the contrary, the metal obtained by reducing 
precipitate per se in inflammable air has a redun- 
dancy of phlogiston. This assertion leads him to 
another of equal probability: viz. that mercury, 
whether it have a deficiency or a redundancy of 
phlogiston, will, in all chemical processes, exhibit 
the same phenomena! 

It is surprising into what absurdities and contra- 
dictions this erroneous theory misleads its ablest 
advocates. ‘They set out by declaring, that a me- 


144 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


tal is a compound substance, consisting of a calx 
and phlogiston (p. 39); that a metal becomes a calx 
by losing its phlogiston (p. 43);* and that a calx is 
reduced by acquiring phlogiston. They afterwards 
tell us, that a metal may become a calx, and at the 
same time retain its phlogiston (p. 40); and that a 


calx, in becoming a metal, may part with phlogis- 


ton ;f and when a metal, in becoming a calx, is al- 
lowed to have lost phlogiston, they contend, that 
that phlogiston was not necessary to the constitution 
of the metal, provided the calx can be revived by 
mere heat (p. 41 and 42); and, finally, that a metal 
has the same properties whether it have a deficiency 
or an excess of phlogiston! (p. 42). 

It must, however, be confessed, that these gra~ 
tuitous assertions, so fatal to the cause they are in- 
tended to defend, are peculiar to Dr. Priestley; at 
least I have not seen them in the writings of other 
chemists. It is on the contrary generally allowed, 
that the red oxyds of mercury, whether obtained by 


* “ Precipitate per se (says Dr. Priestley) is much more 
easily procured in dephlogisticated than in common air, and 
probably not at all in phlogisticated air; this air not being 
capable of taking any phlogiston from mercury, without 
which the calx cannot be formed.’”? Experiments on Air, 
vol. 11, p. 185. 

‘+ The azotic gas, which is mixed with the oxygenous 
gas, obtained from precipitate per se, is ascribed by Dr. 
Priestley (p. 41) to phlogiston retained by the calx, with 
which it parts when it becomes a metal. 


of Atmospherical Air, Bc. 145 


calcination, or by means of the nitric and sulphuric 
acids (provided they are free from the acids) are es- 
sentially the “same. It must also be allowed by 
those who maintain that mercury contains phlogis- 
ton, that it has lost the whole of it in becoming the 
red oxyd, as it now shews no longer any properties 
attributed, to phlogiston, and is not capable of far- 
ther dephlogistication. 

But not only all the oxyds of mercury, but the 
oxyds of silver and gold also are reduced to their 
metallic state by mere heat. When silver is pre- 
cipitated from its solution in nitric acid, it is in the 
state of an oxyd of a dark brown colour, which 
weighs 12 per cent. more than the silver which was 
employed.* Gold, when precipitated from its solu- 
tion in nitro-muriatic acid, is an oxyd of a dark red 
colour, and weighs 10 per cent. more than the me- 
tal employed.t Both these oxyds are reduced to 
their metallic state by mere heat, without addition of 
any substance supposed to contain phlogiston; yet 
they must have lost their phlogiston, since nitrous 
air is produced during their solution in the acids, 


The hydrogenous gas, which is produced in dis- 
solving some metals in some of the acids, is attri- 


* Bergman, Dissertation on Metallic Precipitates, 
+ Ibid, 


VOL. V. T 


146 Remarks on Priestley's Analysis 


buted, by the old chemists, to the phlogiston of the 
metals; but as the antiphlogistians maintain, that it 
is owing to a decomposition of water, they are de- 
sired by Dr. Priestley to shew, what is become of 
the other constituent part of water, the oxygen.— 
He had undoubtedly forgotten, that iron, as well as 
all other metals, are in the state of oxyds when 
combined with acids; and that they are precipitated 
from them in that state with a considerable addition 
of weight. In dissolving iron, therefore, in diluted 
sulphuric acid, the oxygen of the water combines 
with the metal, and it is by this means that the 
hydrogen is set at liberty; which, combining with 
caloric, is exhibited as hydrogenous gas. And this 
process is analogous to the decomposition of water 
by red-hot iron; the product of which is the same 
gas and the black oxyd of iron, which is called 
finery cinder. But Dr. Priestley thinks that this is 
impossible ; because, says he, finery cinder is not 
soluble in vitriolic acid. This, however, is a mis- 
take. I decomposed water by red-hot iron wire. 
To avoid all mistakes, I made use of the scales only 
which fell from this wire by bending it, so that I 
Was sure that no iron, in its metallic state, was pre- 
sent. These scales I put into a phial with some 
diluted sulphuric acid, and kept it in a heat which 
sometimes made it boil. After several hours, the 
whole was dissolved without effervescence. It is 
rather extraordinary that the Doctor should have 


‘of Atmospherical Air, €c. 147 


fallen into this error, since he informs us, in the 
_gd vol. of his Experiments, p. 505, that putting 
60 grains of finery cinder, finely pulverized, into 
each of the three acids, and leaving them two or 
‘three days to digest, he found, that of that which 
had been in the vitriolic acid, and also of that which 
had been in the marine acid, there remained 15 
grains undissolved: 45 grains out of 60, there- 
fore, were dissolved. ‘That 15 grains remained 
undissolved was, perhaps, owing to a deficiency of 
acid, or want of time; or, what is more probable, to 
carbonaceous or vitreous matter and other impurities, 
which the common finery cinder for sale contains. 
And of this he seems to have made use; for, of 
a homogeneous mass, either the whole or none can 
be dissolved by anacid.* This is confirmed by the 
circumstance, that the same residuum was found 
in the muriatic acid, which Dr. Priestley admits to 
be capable of dissolving that oxyd. 

That the solution of this finery cinder, in the di- 
luted sulphuric acid, is not so rapid as the solution 
of iron in the same acid, cannot be surprising, if it 
be considered, that iron is more oxydated by the 
decomposition of water, in a red heat, than by a so- 
lution of it in diluted sulphuric acid ; since much 
less hydrogenous gas is produced from the same, 
quantity of iron by the last method, than by the for- 


* Bergman. 


148 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


mer:* consequently less water is decomposed, and 
therefore less oxygen combines with the iron, And 
it is well known, that the attraction of the sulphuric 
acid to the oxyd of iron is so much weakened, by 
an addition of oxygen to the latter, that it is preci- 
pitated from its solution: as is the case, when the 
sulphate of iron is dissolved in water and exposed to 
the atmosphere. The rust of iron also, which is of 
a higher degree of oxydation than the black oxyd of 
iron, cannot be dissolved in sulphuric acid but with 
much difficulty. 

It is next said, that finery cinder contains no 
oxygen, “because, when it is dissolved in the ma- 
rine acid, it does not dephlogisticate it as minium 
and other substances containing oxygen do.”——But 
Dr. Priestley allows, p. 12, and 47, that the red 
oxyd of iron, or rust of iron, contains oxygen; and 
yet it does no¢ oxygenate the muriatic acid. The 
truth is, that every substance containing oxygen has 
not that effect; which can only be produced when 
the mutiatic acid has a greater attraction to oxygen 
than the substance which contains it; or when.a 
substance, e.g. a metallic oxyd, is combined with 
more oxygen than it can contain, when dissolved in 


* Two ounces of iron, when dissolved in acids, will 
yield about 800 ounce-measures of air; but by passing 
steam over it, when red-hot, they yield 1054 ounce-mea- 
sures. See Priestley’s Experiments, vol. 1, p. 294. 


‘ of Atmospherical Arr, Sc. 149 


that acid; in which case, the superfluous oxygen 
combines with and oxygenates the muriatic acid. 

« Iron,” continues our author, “ which has real- 
ly imbibed air, or the common rust of iron, has a 
very different appearance from finery cinder, being 

-yed and not black.”—-Aware that the answer to this . 
is, that these two substances are oxydated in different 
degrees, he adds, “that if finery cinder were iron 
partially oxygenated, it would go on to attract more 
oxygen, and in time become a proper rust of iron.” 
—And so it really does. Iron filings exposed to 
a long continued heat with access of air, under 
the muffle of an assaying furnace, become first an 
oxyd of a blackish colour, and afterwards the red 
oxyd, which was formerly called crocus martis ad- 
stringens, which has the same properties as rust of 
iron. In this process, the iron is first converted - 
into finery cinder (as is uniformly the case, when it 
is heated in the presence of atmospherical air) which 
is afterwards converted into rust, by a continuance 
of oxydation. Moreover the black oxyd of iron 
(which is obtained by the method discovered by Le- 
mery, viz. by keeping iron-filings under water for 
some time; during which process the iron acquires 
weight, and hydrogen gas is produced, according to 
the observations of Lavoisier and Rinmann) will . 
become the red oxyd of iron, not only by heat- 
ing it with access of air, but also in the habitual 


150 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis ° 


temperature of the atmosphere. ( Gren, § 2764 
and seq.) 
He says, that finery cinder and massicot are si- 


~ milar substances.—I admit the analogy. They are ~ 


both oxyds of an inferior degree of oxydation; per- 
haps of the same degree. As massicot, therefore, 
has the property of receiving a higher degree of oxy- 
dation,* he cannot deny this property to finery 
cinder. The rust of iron is also converted into 
finery cinder by the abstraction of a portion of its 
oxygen: which may be accomplished by heating it in 
close vessels, either alone,t or (more easily) with sub- 
stances which have a greater affinity with oxygen than 
the iron has. 


* In the preparation of minium, the lead is first con- 
verted into massicot, by exposing it toa red heat with 
access of air. It is afterwards washed, in order to separate 
any metallic particles it may contain; and the pure massi- 
cot when dry is spread on iron plates, and roasted in a 
moderate heat, till it has acquired the proper colour for 
minium. 

+ It may appear extraordinary, since part of the oxygen 
of some metallic oxyds (such as the red oxyds of iron and 
lead and the black oxyd of manganese), can be expelled 
by a certain degree of heat, that the whole of it cannot be 
expelled by the same means. It is evident that oxygen 
has a greater attraction to iron, lead, and manganese, than 
to caloric, since it leaves this and combines with those 
metals, When, therefore, the reverse takes place, the de- 
composition of these metallic oxyds can only be partial: 
the same as the decomposition of some sulphates by the 


of Atmospherical Air, Se. 151 


The rusting of iron in the habitual temperature 
of the atmosphere, seems likewise to be owing to a 
decomposition of water, since no rust can take 
place without moisture. Iron confined in dry oxy- 
genous gas will never rust: From this fact, we 
learn, why finery cinder, which has been made in a 
high temperature, will not rust in the ordinary tem- 
perature of the atmosphere. Being already com- 
bined with a large portion of oxygen, its remaining 
attraction for it is too feeble to decompose water. 

But in order to prove that the addition of weight 
to the iron (in the decomposition of water by red-hot 
iron).is really caused by oxygen, we are called upon 
to exhibit it in the form of dephlogisticated air, or of 
some other substance into which oxygen is allowed 
to enter.—I confess that, as far as I know, this has 
not yet been done; but, though we have not hitherto 


nitric acid. If, for instance, the sulphate of potash, or of 
soda, be dissolved in-equal parts of strong nitric acid ina 
sufficient heat, nitrate of soda, or of potash, is found in the 
mixture when itis become cold. But Scheele has observ- 
ed, that only one third of the sulphate is decomposed in this 
way. That the weaker substance should thus displace the 
more powerful one, is a paradox in the doctrine of affini- 
ties, and cannot be satisfactorily explained. Probably the 
excess in quantity makes up for the defect of the power of 
attraction, Thus Margraaf decomposed completely the ni- 
trate of soda by muriatic acid, when he distilled one part 
the former with eight parts of the latter. This process is 
analogous to the entire decomposition of the red oxyd of 
mercury by caloric, 


152 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


found the means of analysing this substance, we are 
able to shew its composition by synthesis ; and this 
method is at least as decisive as the analytical. Sup- 
' posing we were unacquainted with the means of de- 
composing any neutral salt, for example, Glauber’s 
salt, there would be hardly any one so incorrigibly a 
sceptic, as to doubt that it is composed of sulphuric 
acid and soda, if by combining these substances we 
produced that salt. This is exactly the case with 
finery cinder. We have seen (by the fine experi- 
ments made by Dr. Priestley, with iron heated in 
oxygenous gas, of which I gave an abstract in the 
former part of this paper) that the oxygen combined 
with the iron, and produced a calciform substance ; 
which he found, by various experiments, to be the 
same thing with finery cinder. The conclusion is 
obvious: finery cinder is iron combined with oxy- 
gen. But as Dr. Priestley believes, that it is only 
water that has combined with the iron; because wa- 
ter, as he maintains, is by far the greatest part of 
oxygenous gas, it will be proper to examine into the 
truth of this opinion, particularly as his whole theory 
must stand or fall with it—The experiments on 
which this opinion rests, are to be found in his 1st 
vol. of Experiments on Air, p. 130—132.* Not 
being able to expel the carbonic acid from éerra 


* I know of no other experiments.on which this philo- 
sopher grounds this opinion, 


of Aimospherical Air, Se. 153 


ponderosa aérata by mere heat;* but procuring large 
quantities from it by means of steam, at the expence 
of some water (about one half of the weight of the 
gas), he thinks it impossible to conclude otherwise, 
than that the water has combined with the carbonic 
acid gas and makes one half of its weight. M. 
‘Berthollet has already noticed the insufficiency -of 
this experiment.t Dr. Priestley should certainly 
have shewn the presence of the water in the fixed 
air; or, at least, that it was not combined with, or im- 
bibed by, the barytes, or otherwise lost. In con- 
firmation of the above, he relates the following ex- 
periment. Forty-eight grains of terra ponderosa 
aérata were dissolved in spirit of salt, and yielded 
7.2 grains of fixed air. The solution was then eva- 
porated to dryness, and the salt exposed to a red 
heat, in which it lost 4 grains: consequently the 
weight of the air and of the residuum exceeded the 
original weight of the aérated barytes by 3.2 grains; 
and, as he believes that all the muriatic acid was ex- 
pelled from the earth, he concludes that this ex- 


. * Since this paper was written, I have been informed, that 
Dr. Hopeof Edinburgh has succeeded in freeing the aérated 
barytes completely from its carbonic acid, by mere heat, 
without the aid of water. This perfectly pure barytes has 
the remarkable property of being soluble in a very small 
quantity of water. 


+ Dr, Priestley did not even weigh the residuum of the 
barytes. ; 


VOL. V. U 


154 Remarks on Priestley's Analysis 


cess of weight consisted in water, which the fixed 
air carried off from the menstruum.—But a red 
heat cannot expel the acid from the muriat of ba- 
rytes.* I exposed some of this salt to a very 
strong red heat for two hours; and, examining it af- 
terwards, I found that it had a saline taste, not 
caustic as pure barytes; it precipitated a muriat of 
silver, from the solution of this metal in nitric acid; 
and when concentrated sulphuric acid was poured 
on it, it emitted clouds of muriatic acid vapour. I 
cannot, therefore, admit, that he has demonstrated, 
as he is pleased to say, that one half of the weight 
of fixed air is water; and the following experiments 
will prove, that water enters not into its composition. 
EXPERIMENT I. 

I dissolved 100 grains of aérated barytes in di- 
luted muriatic acid, consisting of one part acid and 
three parts distilled water... The whole being weigh- 
ed before and after the solution, it appeared, that 
18.44 grains of carbonic acid had escaped. The 
barytes was then precipitated from its solution by 
the sulphuric acid. The precipitate, after being 
carefully edulcorated and dried, weighed 121.95 
grains. One hundred parts of this artificial spa- 
chum ponderosum contain, according to Mr. Kirwan, 
67 parts of earth and 33 of acid and water; hence, 


* Gren, Handbuch der Chemie, § 975- 


, of Atmospherical Air, Sc. 155 


the above 121.95 grains contain of pure barytes 

; 81.70 grains, 
which when the above...-...----+-+.s:02---+ 18. 44 grains 
of carbonic acid are added, reproduce 100.14 grains 
of aérated barytes. I should observe, that I added 
one grain to the weight of the ponderous spar, as an 
allowance for some loss, which I had reason to think 
took place ; but I really believe I over-rated it. 

EXPERIMENT II. 

One hundred grains of chalk (which had been 
kept for upwards of half an hour in a strong red 
heat, in order to expel any moisture it might con- 
tain) were dissolved in diluted muriatic acid: 40 
grains of carbonic acid gas were disengaged, so 
that the pure lime amounted to 60 grains. Having 
precipitated the lime by means of the oxalic acid, 
and carefully filtered, washed, and dried the pro- 
duct, it weighed 1333 grains. The oxalate of lime 
consists, according to’ Bergman,* of 48 parts acid, 
6 parts of water, and 46 parts of pure lime. The 
above 1333 grains, therefore, contained 61.52 grains 
of pure lime, which corresponds very nearly with 
the chalk employed when the carbonic acid is de- 
ducted from it. 

Not being able to account for the excess of 1.52 
grains, it occurred to me that it might be owing to 
insufficient drying of the oxalate: which I found was 
actually the case. But I choose to give the result as 


* Dissertation on the Acid of Sugar. 


156 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis 


I found it at first. These little inequalities of ex- 
siccation can hardly be avoided. 
EXPERIMENT III. 

I dissolved 100-grains of calcined chalk in dilut- 
ed muriatic acid, with the loss of 41 grain sof car- 
bonic acid. The lime was then precipitated by sul- 
phuric acid; and the residuum in the filtre, being 
properly washed and dried, weighed........ 97 grains. 
But, as a portion of this selenite is solu- ; 
ble in water, it was necessary to evapo- 
rate the lixivium, which farther produced 43 


140 grains. 
As this artificial gypsum, when well dried, contains, 
according to Kirwan, 42 grains of earth, 39 of acid, 
and 19 of water in the hundred, the above 140 
grains contain 58.8 grains of pure lime, and the 
carbonic acid being 41 grains: hence, 58.8 + 41 =. 
99-8 grains; which very nearly corresponds with 
the weight of the chalk. To assure myself that I 
had hit on the right degree of exsiccation, I calcined 
some of the sulphate of lime, which thereby lost its 
water, amounting to 183 per cent. : 

EXPERIMENT IV. 

I dissolved 100 grains of well dried chalk in ace- 
tous acid; 47 grains of carbonic acid gas were dis- 
engaged. The acetate of lime, which was formed, 
was carefully collected and calcined in a crucible, 
with a sufficient heat to destroy the acetous acid ; 
and to expel the carbonic acid, which is formed 


of Atmospherical Air, Ge. 157 


by the combustion of the former. The earth 
weighed nearly 53 grains, which agrees exactly with 
the weight of the chalk when the carbonic acid is 
deducted from it. i 
EXPERIMENT V. 

One hundred grains of the chalk, of which I 
made use in Experiment rv. and which were found 
to contain 47 per cent. carbonic acid, were calcin- 
ed in the fire of a smith’s forge. It lost all 
its carbonic acid, and the residuum weighed 53 
grains. . 

Now, if it were true, that carbonic acid, when in the 
state of gas, contains water to the amount of half 
its weight, the barytes in Experiment 1. would have 
weighed g grains more than it’did; and the lime 
in Experiments 11. 111. would have weighed 402 
grains more than it really did weigh; and the 
earth of Exp. rv. v. would have weighed 47 grains 
more; or, if the gas contained water in any other 
proportion, the earths must have weighed as much 
more as this water amounted to. But as the weight 
of the pure earths, and the carbonic acid gas toge- 
ther, corresponded with the original weight of the 
carbonats from which they came, it follows that 
nothing extraneous entered into the composition of 
that gas, except the caloric, which is necessary to 
its gaseous state. The inference also, which Dr. 
Priestley has drawn from his experiments on this 
subject, viz, that the greatest part of other gases -is 


158 Remarks on Priestley’s. Analysis 


water, must fall to the ground; and my own experi- 
ments confirm, as far as analogy goes (what indeed 
hardly admitted of a doubt), that water does not en- 
ter into the constitution of any gas. 

The calx, therefore, which was produced by heat- 
ing iron in oxygenous gas, is a combination of oxy- 
gen and iron; and being one and the same thing 
with finery cinder, this also must be composed of 
oxygen and iron. 

«¢ However,” continues the Doctor, “ neither this 
finery cinder, nor any other calx of iron, can be 
revived unless it be heated in inflammable air, which 
it eagerly imbibes, or in contact with some other 
substance, which has been supposed to contain phlo- 
giston.”——This proves nothing, but that oxygen has 
a greater affinity to iron than to caloric, and that, 
therefore, it cannot be expelled by mere heat. But 
when a substance is present, to which the oxygen 
has a greater attraction than to iron, it will, of 
course, leave this and combine with the other. 
Does the iron, in this process, combine with phlo- 
giston? Let us see what happens when finery cin- 
der is heated in inflammable air. Dr. Priestley, in 
his 3d vol. of Experiments, p. 487, ‘relates the fol- 
lowing beautiful experiment. He put finery cin- 
der into a glass vessel, containing inflammable air 
confined by mercury; and both the vessel and mer- 
cury had previously been made as dry as possible. 
“I had no sooner” says he, “« begun to heat the slag in 


: 
! 


of Atmospherical Air, &c. 159 


these circumstances, than I perceived the air to di- 
minish, and, at the same time, the inside of the ves- 
sel to grow very cloudy with particles of dew, that 
covered almost the whole of it; and, by degrees, ga- 
thered into drops and ran down the sides of the ves- 
sel, &c. Thus, at one time, I made a piece of 
this slag imbibe 5.5 ounce-measures of inflammable 
air, while it lost as much as the weight of about 
three ounce-measures of dephlogisticated air; and 
the water collected (by means of bibulous paper) 
weighed two grains.* Another time, a piece of 
slag lost 1.5 grains, and the water produced, was 1.7 
grains.” Nothing can be more plain and decisive. 
The iron, which had become a calx by combining 
with oxygen, was reduced to its metallic state, not 
by imbibing any thing, but by being deprived of its 
oxygen, which uniting with the hydrogen of the in- 
flammable air, formed water, equal in weight to both 
the hydrogen and oxygen as nearly as possible : parti- 
cularly when it is considered, that some loss must 
have taken place by the manner in which the water 
was collected. Chemistry is grcatly indebted to Dr. 
Priestley for his experiments on iron heated in oxy- 
genous gas, and the reduction of the oxyd by in- 
flammable air. Nothing can be more beautiful and 
simple; and if there were no other experiments on 
the subject, these alone would be sufficient to esta- 


* This is above a quarter of agrain more than the iron lost. 


160 Remarks on P'riesiley’s Analysis 


blish the new theory of calcination, and the compo- 
sition of water. 

It does not seem, that Dr. Priestley has given the 
attention it deserves to the experiment:in which wa- 
ter is decomposed by charcoal, producing inflam- 
mable and carbonic acid gas.* The constitution of 
the carbonic acid being ascertained beyond dispute, 
by the ingenious experiment of Mr. Tennant, we 
cannot be deceived in our conclusion, that water is 
composed of oxygen and hydrogen. 

This certainty of the constituent principles of car- 
bonic acid gas, renders it superfluous to make any 
remark on the appearance of it, when red lead, or 
precipitate per se, are reduced by heating them in 
inflammable air; and its production in respiration. 
The cause of it cannot be mistaken. 

« No inflammable air,” continues our author, 
« can be procured in the process with steam, but by 
means of some substance which has been supposed 
to contain phlogiston.’—But may not this objec- 
tion be retorted with propriety upon the phlogistians, 
by reminding them, that no inflammable air can be 
procured, but when water, or substances contain- 
ing it, is present; and shall we not then have the 
advantage over them, that our argument rests on a 
fact, while theirs is supported only by a supposition? 

Nothing new is offered against the recomposition 


*Traité élémentaire de Chimie, par Lavoisier, chap. vi1te 


of Aimospherical Air, Se. 161 


of water. The public are in possession of all the 
experiments, and will judge for themselves: they 
are conclusive and little can be added to them. [ 
shall concude this paper with some remarks on the 
‘appearance of nitrous acid in the explosion of hy- 
drogenous with oxygenous gas:.—The facts are 
briefly these. When the quantity of hydrogenous 
gas is in due proportion to saturate the oxygen, or 
when there is an excess of it, water is produced, 
When, on the contrary, there is an excess of oxy 
genous gas, nitrous gas is produced.—Since it is 
proved that the basis of this acid is azote, its pre- 
sence cannot be denied wherever the acid is formed. 
All that can, therefore, be inferred from the above 
stated fact is, 

I. That oxygen and azote, in the temperature 
which is produced by a rapid combustion, or an 
explosion of hydrogenous gas with oxygenous gas, 
haye a greater affinity to each other than they have 
to caloric; they, therefore, abandon the caloric 
which kept them in a gaseous state, and, combining 
together, form nitrous acid. 

II. That oxygen has a greater affinity to hydroe 
gen than to azote. Hence, in a rapid combustion, 
or explosion, the oxygen cannot unite with azote, 
if there be present a sufficient quantity of hydrogen , 
to saturate it; but, if there be a deficiency of hydro 
gen, the oxygen and azote will combine. In the 

VOL. V. w 


262 Remarks on Priestley’s Analysis, Sc. 


former case, pure water is produced; and in the lat- 
ter, water and nitrous acid, 

By applying these laws, it will appear, that ers 
explosions are made with the same bulk of oxyge- 
nous gas, of whatever degree of purity it may be, 
mixed with a given quantity of hydrogenous gas, 
the production of nitrous acid will be more certain, 
the more the oxygenous gas approaches to purity ; 
because the proportion of oxygen will thereby be 
increased, so that at last the hydrogen will be insuf-- 
ficient to saturate it, and the remaining oxygen -will 
then combine with the azote which the mixture con- 
tains. This is the reason why Dr. Priestley obtain- 
ed nitrous acid when he employed pretty pure oxy- 
genous gas; and why the azotic gas, which he pur- 
posely mixed with it, was not affected, except when 
the quantity of hydrogenous gas was lessened. 

Thus have I attempted to defend the new chemi- 
cal theory against the objections of the ablest advo- 
cate for the doctrine of phlogiston. I ought to 
apologize to the Society and to Dr. Priestley, for 
my presumption. I hope I have said nothing that 
is, or may seem to be, disrespectful to this great 
man, whom J sincerely esteem and admire both as 
a man and as a philosopher. 


| 163 


An Account of three different Kinds of 
TIMBER TREES, which are likely to prove 
a great Acquisition to this Kingdom, both 
in point of Profit and as Trees for Ornament 
and Shade. By Cuaries Wuire, Esq. 


F.R.S. 
READ APRIL 21, 1707» 


iF; making a collection of such hardy trees and 
shrubs as would grow, and even flourish, in the 
open air at Sale in the County of Chester, I soon 
-obsérved that there were three forest trees, of diffe- 
rent genera, which grew much faster than the others 
in the same soil and situation, viz. the Black Ameri- 
can Birch with broad leaves, the Athenian Poplar, 
and the Iron Oak with prickly cups. 
Tue Broap Leavep AMERICAN BLACK 

Bircu, BeETuLA nicRA, Linn. Spec. plant. 1394, 
is described by Mr. Aiton in his Hortus Kewensis : 
B.folizs rhombeo-ovatis, duplicato-serratis, acutis, sub- 
tus pubescentibus, basi imtegris; strobslorum squamis 
villosis; lacinizs Linearibus, equalibus. It is a na- 
tive of Virginia and Canada, and was first intro- 
duced into England (where it grows in the greatest 
luxuriancy and perfects its seeds) by Peter Collinson, ‘ 
Esq. in the year 1736. There is no doubt, there- 
fore, that it will soon become very plentiful and — 


164 An Account of Timber Trees likely 


cheap. It is very desirable in pleasure grounds, 
as it is the first forest tree in the spring which pre- 
sents us with its leaves: these are of a light and 
lively green. Its bark, which is white, makes, at 
all times, a beautiful variety when intermixed with 
other trees. It is said to be the most useful timber 
tree in North America, for building both of houses 
and boats, and will grow fast in any soil or situation, 
whether wet or dry. 

Miller, speaking of trees of this description, says, 
«they may be propagated by seeds, in the same man- 
ner as the common birch tree, and are equally hardy. 
Some of the trees now begin to produce their catkins 
in England, so that we may hope to have plenty of 
their seeds of our own growth, for at present we 
are supplied with them from America. As these grow 
more vigorously than the common sort, and thrive 
on the most barren ground, they may be cultivated to 
great advantage in England, for their wood is much 
esteemed in Canada, where the trees grow to a large 
size; and they are, by no means, an unsightly tree in 
parks, for their stems are straight, the bark smooth, 
and their leaves are much larger than those of the 
common birch, so may be planted in such places 
where few other trees will thrive.” 

Mr. Hanbury says, “ the black Virginian Birch, 
being of foreign growth, is propagated for wilder- 
ness and ornamental plantations; but, as it begins 
now to become pretty common, it is to be hoped it 


to prove an Acquisition to this Kingdom. 165 


will soon make a figure among our forest trees, it 
being equally hardy with our common birch, and 
will arrive at a much greater magnitude. This spe- 
cies will grow to be upwards of sixty feet in height. 
The branches are spotted, and more sparingly set 
on the trees than the common sorts. The leaves 
are broader, grow on long foot stalks, and add a 
dignity to the appearance of the tree; and as it is 
naturally of upright and swift growth, and arrives 
at so great a magnitude in a few years, prudence 
will direct us to let it have a share among our forest 
trees, to plant them for standards in open places, as 
well as to let them join with other trees of their own 
growth, in plantations more immediately designed 
for relaxation and pleasure.” I planted one of these 
trees nineteen years ago, and it is now forty-five 
feet six inches in height, and three feet seven inches 
in the girth. 

Tue ATHENIAN Poprar Tree, Populus 
(Graca) foliis cordaiis, glabris, bast glandulosis, re- 
mote crenatis ; petiolis compressis ; ramus teretibus. 

The Athenian Poplar is a native of the Islands 
of the Archipelago, and was first cultivated in Eng- 
land by Hugh Duke of Northumberland, in the year 
1779. Perhaps, there is no deciduous tree so beau- 
uful, or so proper for pleasure grounds, intended 
for ornament and shade, as this poplar; having 
a fine upright stem; the branches well disposed ; 
the bark smooth, and of a silvery hue, resembling 


166 An Account of Timber Trees likely 


satin wood. The leaves, which are of a light green, 
are produced very early im the spring, and are re- 
tained on the tree longer than on any deciduous tree 
in this country, not falling off till late in the au- 
tumn; they are never blighted nor infested with in- 
sects, nor does it lose a leaf during the whole sum- 
mer. Though the poplar is generally termed an 
aquatic, this will grow in any soil or situation, and 
is of quicker growth in dry upland, than any tree 
we are acquainted with in this climate, though not 
quite of such quick growth as the Huntingdonshire 
Willow in rich moist meadow-land. In such a si- 
tuation, I have fallen a Huntingdonshire Willow,* 
from which I made a staircase when it was only of 
nineteen years growth from a cutting. The Athe- 
nian Poplar is propagated with the greatest advan- 
tage by suckers and layers; but is with great difficul- 
ty raised from cuttings or truncheons. The com- 
mon way of raising them, amongst the nursery-men, 
is by engrafting them on some other poplar; but the 
trees thus raisedare of little value, being very slow in 
their growth; and it is owing to this circumstance, 
perhaps, that their real worth has not before been 
discovered. About twelve years ago I purchased 
two plants of this poplar, from two different nursery- 


* I cannot find that this species of willow has been de- 
scribed by any, botanical writer; but it is well known 
among the nursery-men by this name, 


to prove an Acquisition to this Kingdom. 167 


men in London, at one guinea each; one of them 
was grafted upon a different kind of poplar, the 
other was upon its own roots. I placed them near 
together, in a dry situation, in a light soil, under- 
neath which was a stratum of gravel. The grafted 
one made very little progress; I therefore converted 
it into a stool, and raised several plants from it. 
The other, which is upon its own roots, has made a 
rapid progress, being, at least, fifty-one feet high, 
and two feet nine inches in the girth. It produces 
annually a great number of suckers, with which I 
have supplied many of my friends.* 

The third is Tue Inon, Watnscoat, or Tur- 
KEY Oak; so called by Mr. Luccomb. I have 
long been in doubt what species of oak this really 
was; but one of mine having borne some acorns 
this year, has ascertained it to be a variety of the 
Quercus Cerris; and it appears to me to be either a 
nondescript; or what Mr. Aiton, in his Hortus Kew- 
vensis, calls, frondosa: foliis ovato-oblongis, leviter 
sinuatis, planiusculis: common Turkey Oak Tree. 
Tt is what Mr. Luccomb generally grafts his Luc- 
comb Oaks upon; and the plants certainly grow 
faster, when grafted upon this oak, than upon any 


* There is another poplar, of very swift growth, which 
makes a very handsome tree, and will flourish in any si- 
tuation or soil. It is the Populus cordifolia canadensis, or 
Berry-bearing Poplar, as it is commonly called, This tree 
will grow freely from cuttings, 


168 An Account of Timber Trees likely 


other. About twenty years ago, in making a col- 
lection of oaks, I received several from Mr. Luc- 
comb both of the Iron and of the Luccomb Oak; 
but I soon found that the Iron Oak overgrew all 
the others, and was equally ornamental as the 
English Oak. From a branch which I have sawed 
off, the wood appears to be as hard and as ponde- 
rous as the English Oak. 

The following is an account of the size and age 
of some Iron, Luccomb, and English Oaks, grow- 


ing in my collection at Sale. 
Height. Girth. 


: ‘_ ‘Feet. Inch. Feet. In. 
An Iron Oak 20 years old..-...--..--36 O— 3 3 
Another of the same age....-.--.-+.-+- 37 O— 3 0 
A Luccomb Oak, the same age, 


grafted on an English Oak........ g2 2—2 5 
An English Oak of the same age 28 0 —2 6 
Another 40 years Old «..-:-+-++-+5 39 O— 210 
Another 56 years old «.--.--.-10:-+- 54 O— 83 4 


The following is the copy of a letter from Mr. 
Luccomb to Mr. Babington, dated Newbridge, 
Exeter, September 17, 1795. 

« All I can say of them (the Iron Oaks) is, that 
my father had a few of them, as a present from 
William Ball, Esq. of Manhead-house (now Lord 
Lesburne’s, near Chudleigh, Devonshire), about 
fifty years since, by the name of the Iron or Wains- 
coat Oak, which Mr. Ball received from Turkey 


do prove an Acquisction to this Kingdom. 169 


by one of his own ships trading there. They are 
the same sort which you have noticed at Hillersdon, 
as my father sold some of them to Mr. Creroy 
about forty years since, They have, as you ob- 
serve, a very jagged leaf, and the cup of the acora 
is rough, likea bur. They are not évergreen.” 

The following is a letter I received from my 
worthy friend the Rev. Thomas Gisborne, author 
of several useful publications. 


“Yoxatt Longe, Oct. 20, 1795. 
“© Dear Sir, 

I have this evening received a letter 
ae my brother-in-law, Mr. Babington, respecting 
the measurements of the Iron Oaks, at Hillersdon,, 
near Cullompton, where he now is; I subjoin what 
he says on the subject, and have pleasure in finding 
the result so honourable to the tree which you re- 
commend. 

I am, Sir, &c. 
THOMAS GISBORNE. 


** To day I have measured some of the oaks 
about three feet and a half from the ground; and 
give you the result, which I thought would be fair 
and satisfactory, in the following way.— 


VOL. V. ms 


176 An Account of Timber Trees likely 


® No. of English Oaks. Circumference. 
Feet. Inches. 
Oo. cdgjeanateagee pedis intesanbns g1 1 
Q crerrecteeeecneteneeeeenennarens 30 1 
OY iste neds tanita as 32 8 
26 26)93 10 


Average circumference 3 72% 


«¢ No. of Jron Oaks. Circumference, 
Feet. Inches, 
SES ie SD rae ws 31 
TN ae TLS OU ewe NO 32 10 
Mo no ee ete ee 31 9 
18 18)96 1 


Average circumference 5 4 


“ As circles are as the squares of their circumfe- 
rences, pieces of the buts, at this height a foot 
long, would be to each other about as 1877 : 4096. 
Now, supposing the Iron Oaks to carry their buts 
as much higher than the others, as their substance 
below would lead us to expect (and they seem, in 
fact, to do this or more), there must be four or five 
times as much wood in them as there is in the Eng- 
Jish Oaks. An old labourer here informs me, that 
all were planted at the same time, between forty and 
fifty years since. They stand in rows, ten feet 


i i i i a 


to prove an Acquisition tothis Kingdom. 171 


asunder, and the trees are twenty feet from each 
other in each row. I measured such trees as first 
presented. themselves, with the exception of one or 
two which seemed unhealthy. They are on a steep 
bank, and a gravelly soil. The trunks of the Iron 
Oaks are covered with a lighter moss on the whole 
than fixes itself on the English Oak; but make a 
fine appearance. I measured many outside trees, 
and observed, that the Iron Oak seemed to have as 
great a superiority over the other, in this situation, 
as it has when surrounded by neighbours. As to 
height, the Iron Oaks very generally out-top the 
- others, and are the master trees; but, you know, 
that, in a plantation, a slender tree will often be 
nearly as tall as its sturdy neighbour. 

«© PS. On looking over the oaks‘again, I think 
the Iron Oaks carry up the thickness of their buts 
a good deal better, ceteris paribus, than the others; 
and, therefore, they have five or six times the quan- 
tity of wood in them. 

« There are but two beeches, and they are both 
outside trees, and therefore, larger than they other- 
wise would be. The circumference of the two was 
12 feet 4 inches; average 6 feet 2 inches. 


Spanish 


172 An Account of Timber Trees likely 


*¢ Spanish Chestnuts, No. Circumference. 
Feet. Inches. 


Gi. coe ee 2 31 3 
Sheik ice beet Ngan nig 
A, sinwisanasenn intone svn 24 3 
18 18) 89 9 


Average circumference 4 112 nearly.” 


N. B. Mr. Babington says, “ that there are gates 
and pales on the premises at Hillersdon, which have 
been made of the Iron Oak; and that, as far as he 
can judge, the wood appears as hard and as tough 
as that of the common oak.” 

It has always been considered that when men have 
planted oak, they have not planted for themselves 
or for their children, but for distant posterity, and 
even they could never be repaid where land bore 
any annual value: and to the planter himself, little 
pleasure could arise from trees of such very slow 
growth. But the same person who plants the Iron 
Oak may possibly live to reap some little profit as 
well as pleasure; and it is not at all uureasonable to 
suppose, his immediate successor may see it arrive 
to some degree of perfection. From what I have 
seen of the wood of this oak, and from the account 
given by Mr. Babington of the gates and pales made 
with it, there is great reason to suppose it will be 


——* 


éo prove an Acquistizon to this Kingdom. 173 


equally useful as the English Oak for ay purpose 
whatever. 

The general decrease of timber in this island,— 
the many waste lands unemployed,—and the bill 
now proposed to be brought into parliament, by 
that great friend to Agriculture Sir John Sinclair, 
will be my apology for troubling the Society with 
this paper; for the planter ought certainly to be 
furnished with every advantage, and every possible 
inducement should be held out to him, for promot- 
ing so useful and so national a work. 


EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE, 


A.A, a a Leaf, acorn, and prickly cup of the Iron, 
Wainscoat, or Turkey Oak. 
B. B. 6.6. Leaf, acorn, and prickly cup of the Quercus 


Cerris of Linneus—fol. oblongis, lyrato-pinnatifidis; lacinis 


transversis, acutts, subtus subtomentosis ; calyce hispido; 
glande minore, Small-aeorned Spanish Oak with prickly 
cups, 


174 


An ANALYSIS of the WATERS of twe 
MINERAL SpRiNnGs at Lemington Priors, 
near Warwick ; including Experiments tend- 
ing to elucidate the Origin of the Muriatic 
Acid. By Wiii1am Lanse, om. a. late 
Fellow of St. Fohn's College, Cambridge. 


Communicated by Dr, Houme. 


READ OcT. 6, & oct. 23, 1797. 


ur many analyses of waters have been recently 
presented to the public, many of them distinguish- 
ed by the skill and accuracy with which they have 
been conducted, that some apology may be deemed 
necessary for offering these papers to the notice of 
the Society of Manchester. It will appear that 
many facts occurred in the course of the ensuing 
investigation, which cannot be explained upon any 
of the chemical principles with which I am acquaint- 
ed; and that some attention was requisite to avoid 
deception from imperfect resemblances. This 
made it necessary to elucidate the subject by some 
experiments particularly adapted to the purpose; and 
these have led to consequences which I apprehend 
to be important, and some of them of very exten- 
sive application. I have thought, therefore, that an 
attempt, however imperfect, to improve this useful 


An Analysis of two Mineral Springs. 175 


and difficult part of chemistry would not be unac- 
ceptable to a society, which cannot but be interest- 
ed in a subject of so much consequence to the che- 
mist and the physician, and, therefore, so closely 
related to the general interests of humanity. It is 
a branch which, in our days, has made a progress 
proportioned to the general improvement of the 
science; and owes its rapid advancement, in a 
great measure, to the order, perspicuity, and con- 
summate skill, with which it has been treated 
by the illustrieus Bergman. But since the ele- 
ments {or what are to us the elements) of nature 
are very numerous, and their combinations indefi- 
nitely varied, it can hardly be supposed, that per- 
fection is attained in an art, the objects of whichare 
-at once so extensive and so complicated. We can 
only hope to approach to this end by the study of 
nature in her own school; by patient and attentive 
experiment, Science must guide, industry must 
execute, and genius must combine. _ However, the 
labours of many eminent philosophers have greatly 
facilitated the progress of their successors in the 
same field; in consequence of which, there are 
many parts of science, in which a common hand 
may fill up the plan traced out by the pencil of a 
master: imitation may finish what invention has 
begun. ‘The progression of knowledge is, from its 
nature, proportioned to the condition of its present 
improvement; at Jeast in those branches, in which 


176 An Analysis of two. Mineral 


the ultimate degree of perfection is indefinite: for 
the ascertainment of a single fact often throws light 
upon a vast variety of appearances, which were pre- 
viously detached, solitary, and inexplicable; so true 
is the remark of a profound writer,* that “ our 
knowledge increases, not as new objects increase, 
but in a much higher proportion.” 


Lemington Priors is a village two miles east of 
the town of Warwick, which receives its name from 
the Lem, a small stream which passes near it. The 
salt spring, which rises near the church-yard, has 
been long known, and used by the country people 
of the neighbourhood. It has been noticed by 
most of the older writers on the mineral waters of 
this country. Another spring rises in the bed of 
the river, near the bridge; and is frequently over- 
flown by the water of the river. But the two 
springs, which are the subject of the following ana- 
lysis, have been recently discovered; and they are 
now considerably resorted to, being used internally 
and for the purpose of bathing. In consequence of 
this, they first engaged my attention in a medical 
view: but I propose, in this paper, to confine my- 
self to the consideration of their chemical proper- 
ties. As they both rise a great many feet below 
the surface of the earth; and as their source is un- 
known, it scems needless to enter into any particu- 


* Maclaurin, 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 177 


lars concerning the nature of the surface, or the 
qualities of the soil of the circumjacent district. I 
hasten, therefore, to the objects of my enquiry. 


ON THE WATER OF THE NEW BATHS. 

The spring of this water was discovered in the 
year 1790, and the year following, a very ele- 
gant building was erected; which contains two cold 
baths, two warm baths, and a small warm bath 
for children. The spring was discovered at the 
depth of forty-two feet from the surface of the 
ground. A well is sunk about twenty-four feet 
deep. In the course of this depth, there is a rock 
the thickness of, eight or ten feet; afterwards there 
is a bed of marl; after penetrating which, another 
rock, much harder than the former, is found- 
Through this second rock a bore is made eighteen 
feet deep, where there is a small cleft in the rock. 
There are many little springs found in this course ; 
but from this cleft the water rises with violence to 
the level of four feet above the surface of the 
ground; and it affords a constant and copious sup- 


ply of fresh water. 


I, ON THE GASEOUS FLUIDS. 
The water, when fresh drawn, smells of suiphurat- 
ed hydrogen or hepatic* gas; but it quickly becomes ° 


* I must take leave to retain this name in the following 
pages, preferring it (if for no better reason, at least for its 


shortness) to the compound term, 
VOL. V. Aig 


& 


178 An Analysis of two Mineral 


inodorous by exposure to the atmosphere. I have 
obtained no more than four cubic inches of gaseous 
fluids from a wine-gallon of the water. OF these 
hardly half a cubic inch is absorbed by water; and, 
1. Nitric acid dropped into this solution causes a 
minute precipitate of sulphur; hence, some hepatic 
gas has been expelled by the boiling. 2. I put 
some of the water, which had not been boiled, into a 
bottle, leaving a part of the bottle empty: I then 
filled the bottle entirely with lime-water, and stop- 
pedit. A white precipitate fell, which, with the ad- 
dition of distilled vinegar, effervesced sensibly, 
but not strongly. The half cubic inch is, there- 
fore, mostly carbonic acid. 3. Into the portion 
of the air which was not absorbed by water, I 
plunged a lighted candle; it was instantly extin- 
guished. This portion is, therefore, azotic gas. 


Il. THE SPONTANEOUS PRECIPITATE. 

~ A sediment falls to the bottom, and adheres to 
the sides of the bath. It is of a yellow colour, and 
acquires additional brightness from exposure to the 
atmosphere. A similar sediment may be separated 
by boiling the fresh water. From a gallon of water, 
-75 Of a grain is procured. This dissolves readily 
in acids; and shews all the common and well known 
appearances of oxyd of iron. It must have been 
united with the carbonic acid, which has been al- 
ready detected, (1 2.). 


~ 


i 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 179 


III. SOME ANOMALOUS APPEARANGES WITH 
PRECIPITANTS. 

1. After the spontaneous precipitate has been 
separated, a little oxygenated muriat of mercury 
was dissolved in a glassful of the water. A white 
matter separated during the solution, and, in some 
hours collected in considerable quantity. 

2. A piece of sulphate of argill was dropped 
into a jar of the same water; presently a stratum 
of white matter was formed at the bottom of the 
jar: but this appearance is transitory; for, in the 
course of an hour or two, the precipitate is redis- 
solved and the water resumes its transparency. 
This is an appearance which I have not found no- 
ticed by writers on the subject, though I have rea- 
son to think it not uncommon. The waters of 
Astrop, near Banbury, contain carbonat_ of lime, 
dissolved by carbonic acid: and, when the carbonat 
has been separated, by boiling the water, the same 
appearance is produced by sulphate of argill. Its 
origin, and that of the decomposition of the mercu- 
rial salt, will be shewn in the sequel. t 


IV. THE METALLIC SALTS. 
Several phenomena demonstrate the existence of 
‘some metallic substance in this water, besides the 
precipitate already described (11.): butit is so pecu- 
liarly combined, or otherwise modified, as to clude, 


180 An Analysis of two Mineral 


in a great measure, the action of the ordinary re- 
agents. When the water is boiled in contact with 
some of the metals, it becomes turbid; and the me- 
tal is partly oxydated, and partly dissolved. ‘The 
iron, which has been used in the construction of the 
baths, is almost destroyed: the tin, which lined a 
vessel used as a warm bath for children, has suffer- 
ed in like manner. _ If the water be only boiled and 
poured into a wine glass with a bright key in it, the 
liquor becomes turbid before it is cold. Copper 
seems to resist its action better; but this is only in 
a low temperature: for, if the water be boiled in a 
copper vessel, similar effects are produced ; a preci- 
pitate is formed and some copper is dissolved in the 
water. 1. This is readily proved by putting a 
bright piece of iron into the liquor, which, in a few 
hours, acquires a coppery coating.* Lead also I 
have found to be acted upon. 

I examined, with some minuteness, the precipi- 
tates formed by iron and by copper. 2. The first 
is of a yellow colour; and, though it is not mag- 
netic, it may be made so by the flame ofa blow- 


* This remark evinces the strong necessity of a chemi- 
cal examination of all the substances used as medicines. It 
is very common to warm the water with a view of quick- 
ening its laxative power. It is evident with what caution 
vessels, in which copper is an ingredient, should be used 
for this. purpose; or, rather, with what care they should be 
utterly avoided. . 


> 


Ere Yo 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 1814 


pipe upon charcoal. It consists, therefore, of oxyd 
of iron, either totally or in part; but whether it is 
derived from the liquor, or from the iron which was 
used to procure it, cannot be determined by this 
experiment. But the following observation de- 
monstrates, that iron is contained in the water its- 
self. 3. The water was boiled in a copper vessel, 
and the precipitate formed was collected. This is 
also of a yellow colour: and, exposed to the flame 
of a blowpipe on charcoal, (like the former precipi- 
tate) it became magnetic. It seems also to contain 
copper; for, precipitating its solution in muriatic 
acid by ammoniac, the liquor became blue; the co- 
lour, however, was by no means strong. 

When the salts of the water have been con- 
centrated by evaporation, copper is acted upon 
more powerfully; insomuch, that if a silver spoon 
be used for the evaporation, it is much tarnished, 
and the salts acquire a cupreous taste and a yellow 
tinge, though they are colourless if the evaporation 
be made in glass. These vestiges of copper must 
be attributed to the alloy of the spoon. 

The appearances I have described surprised me » 
the more, as, from the use of some of the common 
re-agents, I had formed opposite conclusions. 4. 
Prussiat of potash, before the water has been boiled, _ 
forms a green cloud; but ina quantity hardly suffi- 
cient to precipitate. After boiling, there is no de- 
composition; nor is there any if the liquor be eva- 


182 An Analysis of two Mineral 


porated to half its original bulk. 5. Tincture of 
galls strikes a purple colour before the water is 
boiled; after boiling, there is a precipitate likewise, - 
but of a dull lemon-colour; after a partial evapora- 
tion, the colour approaches to whiteness. In each 
of the two last cases, the liquor gradually acquires a 
deep yellow tinge.—In these experiments, we have 
none of the ordinary signs of iron, except of the 
carbonat (11.), though its existence in the water has 
been proved beyond question (3.). 


V. MANGANESE IS DISSOLVED IN THIS 
WATER. 

As zinc is known to have a stronger affinity to 
acids than the other metals have, I hoped by its 
mean to obtain some information on the cause of 
the facts I have described. 1. I boiled, therefore, 
some of the water in a glazed vessel, in contact 
with some pieces of zinc: a small precipitate was 
formed, but enough to be collected for examination 
with the blowpipe. This was fused with borax; 
and a globule was formed of a rich red colour, pre- 
cisely that communicated by manganese.* Continu- 
ing the fusion the colour vanished; nor could I 
make it re-appear by the yellow flame of the blast: 
probably, because the manganese was mixed with 
another metal. The globule was removed to a sil- 


* For the properties of this mineral, see Scheele’s Essay 
on Manganese; or Bergman on the white Ores of Iron, 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 183 


ver spoon; and, then, by fusion, it regained the red 
colour. Toavoid the possibility oferror, alittle man- 
ganese, fused with borax in the same manner,was plac- 
ed beside the red globule ; and no difference could 
be perceived in the colour of the two globules, ex- 
cept a slight variety in the intensity.* 2. The Jemon- 
coloured precipitate, formed by the tincture of galls 
(iv. §-), yields the same result. By using a large 
quantity of water, I collected sufficient for exami- 
nation. This I put over a fire on an iron plate: 
the vegetable part took fire and burnt away: the 
powder became of an ochry yellow, and was mag- 
netic :—fused with borax, by the blowpipe, it ac- 
quired the redness which manganese imparts. 

3- The same fact may be proved by a single ex- 
periment. It is known, that tartrite of potash 
decomposes salts of manganese by a double affini- 
ty; in consequence of which, tartrite of manga- 
nese, which is a substance insoluble in water, pre- 
cipitates.t I poured, therefore, a solution of tar- 
trite of potash into the water; and there fell a co- 
pious crystalline precipitate. Much iron fell down 


* I am aware of the observation of Bergman, that zinc 


‘does not precipitate solutions of manganese, See his Es- 


Says, vol. iii. p. 414. But, besides that I describe only 
what I have seen, it will appear that the salt in question is 
of so peculiar a nature, that it cannot be expected to obey 
the usual analogies of the other solutions, 

t See Scheele, as above, 


184 An Analysis of two Mineral 


with the manganese, as might be expected from the 
affinity between the oxyds of these metals: for, by 
fusing the precipitate with nitre, green spots were 
formed on the sides of tie crucible. 

Tartrite of potash decomposes likewise salts of 
lime, as is well known; but the tartrite of lime is 
precipitated in the form of a white powder which is 
not sensibly crystalline. But, as there is a great 
abundance of lime in this water, (xiv.) it seems 
probable that it had entered into the composition of 
these crystals. 

Manganese has been but rarely noticed as enter- 
ing into the composition of mineral waters, The 
reason, perhaps, is, that it has been seldom looked 
for, rather than that it seldom exists; since it is now 
known to be a substance very abundantly diffused 
through the earth. The waters of Astrop, which I 
have mentioned above (111. 2.), decompose tar- 
trite of potash and form a crystalline precipitate, 
when its carbonat of lime has been thrown down by 
boiling. This water, in ese circumstances, hardly 
affects either tincture of galls or prussiat of potash. 
Every chalybeate spring may be suspected to con- 
tain some manganese likewise; and should, there- 
fore, be examined accordingly. 


VI. TESTS OF MANGANESE AND IRON, 
As I shall have frequent occasion to mention 
this mixture of the oxyds of manganese and iron, I 


Pip wy 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 185 


will enumerate the tests I have used, to avoid use- 
less repetitions. These are, 1. the magnet: to 
this the smallest particle of iron may be rendered 
obedient, by exposing it to a due heat, on charcoal, 
by the blowpipe. 2. The tinge communicated by 
the same process to a globule of borax: this from 
iron is green or yellow; from manganese it is hya- 
cynthine; or, when the globule is more loaded 
with the metal, a.fine rich red. This colour disap- 
pears by the blue conical flame; and may be re- 
produced by the gentler yellow flame which sur- 
rounds the cone. g. Fusion. with nitre or with 
carbonat of soda: manganese imparts to them a fine 
blue’colour; but if it be mixed with the oxyd of 
iron, the colour is green, | 


Vil. AN HYPOTHESIS TO EXPLAIN THE 
CAUSE OF THE PHA NOMENA, 


The first hypothesis which I framed, to account 
for the facts in question, was deduced from the well 
known property which manganese possesses of oxy- 
genating the muriatic acid. My reasoning was as 
follows.—Since, during the solution of the black 
oxyd of manganese in the muriatic acid, a portion 
of the acid becomes oxygenated, it must follow: 
that, if this portion should meet and combine with 
a metallic oxyd, the salt, formed by such an union, 
must be super-oxygenated. But in this state of oxy- 
dation, doubtless, is a great part of the iron which is 

VOL. V, a 


186 An Analysis of two Mineral 


so abundantly diffused through the earth. Are then 
the appearances in question the result of these cir- 
cumstances? In short, are the salts muriat of man- 
ganese and oxygenated muriat of iron? In pursu- 
ance of this idea, I formed some oxygenated mu- 
riat of iron, by mixing some yellow oxyd of iron 
(the rubigo ferri of the shops) with water, and ex- 
posing it, by a proper apparatus, to the oxygenated 
muriatic acid gas. The gas readily dissolves a part 
of the exyd, a few bubbles (perhaps of carbonic 
acid) escaping during the solution. 1. The salt 
which is formed is deliquescent; colourless; of a 
pure bitter taste, without any of the sweet astrin- 
gency of the common salts of iron.* | Alkalis pre- 
cipitate a white oxyd. The mineral acids, also, de- 
compose the salt; and, at the same time, a white 
matter, of a crystalline form, precipitates, but an 
excess of acid re-dissolves the precipitate.t 2. If 
some metallic iron be digested in a solution of this 


- 


* By far the best method of making this salt, is to,put 
the rust in a saucer, and to put the mixture of manganese 
and muriatic acid, diluted to avoid a strong effervescence, 
in a cup on the same saucer; then to cover the cup with 
an inverted glass: thus the oxygenated vapour will be con- 
fined as itis slowly extricated. If distillation is used, the 
salt can be hardly made free from an astringent taste. 

+ The sulphuric acid does not re-dissolve the precipi- 
tate; the othersdo. Some further remarks on this subject 
will be found (x1v, 6.) - 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 187 


salt, an ochre precipitates copiously, which is very 
soluble in acids. Copper also decomposes the salt, 
but the matter precipitated is in small quantity and 
hardly soluble in acids. 3. Prussiat of potash is 
totally unaffected by this salt: so, likewise, is tinc- 
ture of galls, when the salt is quite perfect ;* but af- 
ter iron has been digested with it, galls communicate 
a yellow tinge, or even precipitate a brownish mat- 
ter: still the prussiat of potash has no effect. These 
properties of the salt bear so strong a resemblance 
to the appearances which I have remarked in the 
water, particularly in the effects of the metals (iv. 
2 & 3.) and the failure of the re-agents (1v. 4 & 
5+), that it strongly confirmed me in the hypothesis 
I had adopted. On pursuing the experiment, how- 
ever, the analogy failed. I added, to the salt of 
iron, very minute quantities of muriat of manga- 
nese; but how small so ever was the quantity used, 
and however much it was diluted, the manganese 
was instantly detected by prussiat of potash. I was 
therefore forced to conclude, that, if oxygenated 
muriat of iron is really an ingredient of this water, 
it must be formed by a process different from that 
which I had imagined, 


* I once saw the galls forma white precipitate; but I 
suspect the oxygenated, was contaminated with some com- 
mon muriatic acid, formed by its decomposition during the 
digestion, 


188 An Analysis of two Mineral 


VIII. THE APPEARANCES IN QUESTION 
ARE PRODUCED BY THE ACTION OF HE. 
PATIC GAS ON IRON AND MANGANESE. 

_- An observation of Bergman, though in_ part er- 
roneous, has conducted me, as J think, to the true 
cause of these appearances; and J am greatly mistak- 
en, if its consequences, when fully pursued, are not of 
considerable importance to chemical science. Berg- 
man has asserted, that hepatised water, in which iron 
filings have been kept for some days, in a well closed 
vessel, grows purple with tincture of galls: if the 
iron be dissolved by an acid, the colour approaches 
more to violet. He moreover adds, that the solu- 
tion of iron in hepatised water 7s not at all rendered 
turbid by prussiat of potash.* This latter fact ‘pro- 
mised to throw some light on the subject of my en- 
quiry, particularly when it was joined to the fact of 
the hepatic smell, which the water has when recently 
drawn (1.). I was the more strongly induced to pay 
attention to this combination, from the contradictory 
assertion of another very eminent chemist. Mr. 
Kirwan has denied that hepatic gas can dissolve iron 
or any other metal.t To ascertain this point, I have 
made numerous experiments with the greatest cau- 
tion and accuracy that I have been able to apply. 
The hepatic gas which I have used was obtained 


* Bergman’s Essays, Dissertation vii, 4, L, 
t Philosophical Transactions for 1786, 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 189 


from sulphuret of iron, formed by fusing equal parts 
of iron and flowers of sulphur; and (except in some 
instances, which will be particularly noticed as they 
occur) was extricated by diluted sulphuric acid. 
The gas was collected under water: which method 
was preferred; to purify it, if possible, from extra- 
neous acid. 1. I digested iron-filings, previously 
purified by repeated washings with distilled water, 
in a-solution of hepatic gas in distilled water: the 
bottle was filled with the solution, and corked. 
The iron was presently acted upon; numerous bub- 
bles arose, which drove the cork out of the bottle; 
they were strongly inflammable, and probably, 
therefore, pure hydrogen gas: the liquor gradually 
lost its hepatic odour; and, at the end of some days, 
it had a smell a good deal resembling that of stag- 
nant rain water; as the bubbles ceased to be pro- 
duced, it recovered its transparency. The liquor 
was then examined by reagents. Infusion of galls 
struck a yellow tinge; prussiat of potash gave a lit- 
tle whitish cloud; nitrat of silver and muriat of ba- 
rytes, each very minute precipitates; pure potash a 
yellow precipitate, but not till the liquor had stood 
an hour or two. The liquor does not deposit any 
thing, either by exposure to the atmosphere or by a 
boiling heat: but, by this last process, something 
(perhaps a little gas which has escaped the action of 
the iron) flies off; since the precipitate with nitrat of 
silver was white after the boiling, which had previous 


‘ 


190 An Analysis of two Mineral 


to it been black. Very little can be deduced with 
certainty from these trials, except the presence of a 
little sulphuric acid. It seemed of consequence to 
determine, whether this is generated in the process ; 
or is accidental, from the sulphuric acid which was 
used to extricate the gas. 

2. To determine this point, I repeated the expe- 
riment, using the muriatic acid to generate the gas, 
instead of the sulphuric. In this case, the liquor (as 
Bergman has said) is not at all rendered turbid by 
ptussiat of potash; neither does the muriat of barytes 
precipitate any thing; the precipitate by pure potash 
is now white, but as minute as before; nitrat of sil- 
ver makes a yellow cloud both before and after boil- 
ing; infusion of galls strikes a yellow tinge. Hence 
it is clear, that hepatic gas, when produced by sul- 
phuric acid, carries with it a little of the acid which 
cannot be separated by passing it through water. It 
seems probable also, that a little muriatic acid is car- 
ried up in like manner, when this is used to extricate 
the hepatic gas. We may farther conclude that though 
the remark of Bergman (on the effect of the prussiat 
of potash) is true; the remark which accompanies it 
(on the colour produced by infusion of galls) is er- 
roneous. A purple colour is always, I believe, oc- 
casioned by extraneous acid; in which case, the. 
prussiat of potash is also precipitated. From the 
same facts, we are enabled to detect another error 
also, into which the same great man has been be- 


Springs at Lemington Priors, 191 


trayed. In his analysis of the acidulous waters of 
Medvi in Ostro-Gothland,* he has noticed a resi- 
duum of 4% grains of iron, dissolved partly by he- 
patic gas, partly by carbonic acid. Now, we have 
seen, that there is no decomposition of these liquors 
by boiling; nor does any oxyd precipitate how long 
soever the evaporation be continued.’ The hepatic 
gas seems to be totally decomposed: nitric acid 
dropped into these liquors precipitates nothing. 
Are we then to conclude with Mr. Kirwan, that 
hepatic gas does not dissolve iron or any other me- 
tal? As the gas itself is decomposed, this, in strict 
propriety of language, must be allowed to be true; 
but, that some solution is effected during ‘the de- 
composition, the following remarks evince. 3. A 
piece of clean and bright iron was put into some of 
the hepatised solution (if I may be allowed so to 
call it, while its true composition is unknown); it 
soon became turbid; a copious ochry precipitate 
fell down; and, in twenty-four hours, the whole 
surface of the iron was covered with rust. 4. Let 
the solution be boiled in a copper vessel, a precipi- 
tate also separates of an ochry colour; but it is 
smaller in quantity than in the former experiment. 
5. Digest a piece of clean iron in the solution after 
it has been. boiled in a copper vessel; much ochry 
matter still separates; but there is no vestige of me- 


* Bergman’s Essays, Dissertation y111, 6, 


192 An Analysis of two Mineral 


tallic copper on the iron plate. 6. Digest copper 
filings in the liquor in which iron filings have been 
previously digested; separate the copper filings, and 
now let a piece of bright iron be put into the liquor; 
in this case, copper is deposited on the surface of 
the iron in its metallic state. 7. Put a small piece 
of sulphat of argill into a glass of the solution, after 
fresh iron filings have been digested with it ; a white 
stratum forms at the bottom of the glass, but, after 
some time, it is re-dissolved and the liquor resumes 
its transparency. 8. Put a little oxygenated muriat 
of mercury into a glass of the hepatised solution; 
as it dissolves, a white matter collects on the sides, 
and falls to the bottom, of the glass. g. Infusion 
of galls, after the fresh iron has been digested with 
the solution, precipitates the iron of a dark colour; 
still the prussiat of potash does not become turbid.— 
From al] these facts it is clear, that, as the iron com- 
bines with the sulphur of the hepatic gas, a peculiar 
substance is formed and dissolved in the water, which 
has hitherto been unnoticed by chemical writers, as 
far as has fallen within my information. That this 
substance is contained in the waters of the spring un- 
der our present examination seems fully established, 
by the concurrent €évidence of so many phenomena 
in which they completely coincide. Compare 111. 
LOG,2.1Vs 15 25 .Bo\hy OG: 


Springs at Lemingion Priors. 193 


IX. MANGANESE EXPOSED TO HEPATIC 
GAS. 


To complete the demonstration, it is necessary to 
examine the action of hepatic gas upon manganese. 

1. I digested some black oxyd of manganese in 
hepatised water: it had been previously purified, by 
being boiled repeatedly in distilled water.* The 
hepatic smell of the gas is quickly impaired; and, 
in twenty-four hours, if enough of the oxyd has 
been used, it is perfectly destroyed; still the liquor 
has a peculiar smell, which can hardly be called of- 
fensive: no gas is extricated in this process. The 
liquor, after filtration, was examined by the same 
reagents as the hepatised solution of iron (viit. 1.) 
with nearly a similar result; a minute quantity of 
sulphuric acid was detected ; prussiat of potash gave 
a small white cloud, tincture of galls a slight yellow 
tinge. Repeating the experiment with gas extricat- 
ed by muriatic acid, there was, in this case, no trace 
of sulphuric acid, and the liquor was not at all ren- 
dered turbid by prussiat of potash. From both 
these solutions pure potash separates a very minute 
white precipitate. 2. But, in one respect, these so- 
lutions differed from the solutions of iron; for, by 


* The readiest method of purifying this substance is, to 
boil it first in a very large quantity of rain water; after 
which, a single boiling in distilled water will be sufficient 


to extract every soluble impurity. 
VOL. V. AA 


194 An Analysis of two Mineral 


these nitrat of silver is instantaneously decomposed, 
and a copious precipitate separates; it is of a dark 
brown or yellow colour, as if from a combination 
of sulphur. Oxygenated muriat of mercury let fall 
a white matter much more plentifully than from the 
solutions of iron. Tartrite of potash is decompos- 
ed, and a fine crystalline substance is separated, 
which is the tartrite of manganese. 

g. This solution is affected by metals in a man- 
ner similar to thé solution of iron. <A piece of 
clean iron becomes quickly covered with rust, and 
an ochry matter separates. If the liquor be boiled 
in a copper vessel, some matter also separates of 
the same colour, and the surface of the vessel is 
- evidently acted upon. Thus the analogy between 
these hepatised solutions and the water of this spring 
appears to me completely established; and it may 
be concluded that this water contains a triple com- 
pound, the basis of which is iron and manganese, 
and the solution of which is effected by hepatic gas. 


X. ORIGIN OF THE MURIATIC ACID. 

The coincidence between the artificial products 
and the natural waters of the spring is sufficiently 
proved: another coincidence remains to be consi- 
dered, much more interesting and rhore unexpected, 
—the coincidence between the hepatised solution of 
iron and the oxygenated muriat of iron. I had al- 
most concluded, from the resemblance between the 


Springs at Lemingion Priors. 195 
» 


properties of this salt and the phenomena of the 
water, that the water contains this very salt: now, I 
conclude, that they contain a matter, be it what it 
may, produced by the action of hepatic gas on 
iron. But they are the very same facts which form 
the basis upon which each separate inference is built: 
—does it not then follow as'a necessary conse- 
quence that the hepatised solution itself contains a 
muriat of iron highly oxygenated, and that there-_ 
fore in this process muriatic acid is generated? This 
conclusion seemed authorized by reason, and expe- 
riment has confirmed it. 1. I evaporated a small 
quantity of the solution (v111. 1.) in a watch-glass 
to dryness: a bitter deliquescent salt is left behind: 
on this salt a little strong sulphuric acid was drop- 
‘ped, and paper moistened with ammoniac was held 
over the glass; white vapours were immediately 
formed over the glass: some volatile acid is, there- 
fore, separated by the sulphuric acid. 2. I evapo- 
rated about eight ounce-measures of the same liquors 
and, as before, dropped a little sulphuric acid on 
the residuum; in this case a strong effervescence 
was excited, very pungent acid fumes arose, which, 
from their smell, were readily known to be muri- 
atic. The same truth was established beyond a doubt 
by holding a bit of paper moistened with simple 
water, which made the vapours visible in the form . 
of a grey smoke—a distinguishing characteristic of 


196 An Analysis of two Mineral 


the muriatic acid.* The evaporation had been per- 
formed in a copper vessel, except at its close; and < 
though it was carried on very rapidly, the deliques: 
cent matter had acquired a strong cupreous taste: 
3. The hepatised solution of manganese (1x. 1.) 
evaporated to dryness leaves a deliquescent salt of 
a peculiar mawkish taste ; and it shews the same signs 
of muriatic acid as the solution of iron, when treated 
with sulphuric acid in the same way. I have expos- 
ed black oxyd of manganese to oxygenated muri- 
atic acid, and find that a deliquescent salt is formed 
which is affected neither by prussiat of potash nor 
tincture of galls ;—alkalies separate from it (what I 
did not expect) white precipitates ; tartrite of potash, _ 
a crystalline insoluble salt : all properties resembling 
the hepatised solution of manganese. 4. Common 
iron rust, purified by boiling in distilled water, was . 
digested in hepatised water. In a day or two the 
hepatic odour is destroyed, and the liquor has pro- 
perties similar to that which was formed with the 
iron filings. The same kind of deliquescent salt is* 
left by evaporation, shewing the same appearances 
of muriatic acid. However, this liquor resembles 
the solution of manganese in precipitating nitrat 
of silver readily, and of a brown colour (1x. 2.) 
5- I treated mereury in the same way: no gas 
escapes in this experiment, as it does with the iron; 


* Bergman’s Essays, Dissertation 11, 11, B. 2. 
3 J 


fours 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 197 


a black substance is formed ; but the hepatic odour 
was not destroyed, though the hepatic gas was kept 
in contact with the mercury many weeks. After fil- 
trating the liquor, I boiled it to expel the super- 
fluous hepatic gas. A small portion of the liquor 
was suffered to evaporate spontaneously: a crystal- 
line matter was left behind of an acrid taste. Ano- 
ther portion was evaporated, with intention to col- 
lect more of these crystals ; but, by accident it was 
left exposed to heat too long, by which it became 
perfectly dry, and the residuum became quite black. 
A little sulphuric acid was dropped on this black 
matter, by which it effervesced strongly, and very 
pungent fumes arose which Sos all the properties of 
muriatic acid. 


XI.’ FURTHER PROPERTIES OF THE OXYGE- 
NATED MURIAT OF IRON, 

The facts I have related are unquestionable: it 
was in the latter end of the year 1795 that I first 
made the observation on the effect of hepatised wa- 
ter upon iron; since this time I have verified it re- 
peatedly, and particularly in the month of Decem- 
ber, 1796, with some very pure iron, and in the 
presence of two gentlemen, very competent judges, 
one of whom assisted at every part of the process. 
Still it has been asked, how is it possible that this 
solution can contain muriatic acid, seeing that ni- 
trat of silver, that most delicate test of this acid, is 


198 An Analysis of two Mineral 


hardly affected by it? To this it might, perhaps, 
be a sufficient reply, that it is unreasonable to op- 
pose a mere analogy to the direct evidence of the 
senses ; particularly in a new case, where we have 
found some of the analogies best established in che_ 
mistry actually to fail—But let us recur once more 
to experiment. 

I formed again some oxygenated muriat of iron. 
I suffered the acid to remain on the oxyd about 
twenty-four hours; then poured off the liquor, and 
evaporated the salt to dryness to expel the superfluous 
acid: the salt, which deliquesces instantly on cool- 
ing, was re-dissolved in a little distilled water. 1. I 
tried the solution with the acetite of lead: not the 
smallest cloud was produced. 2. The solution was 
then tried with nitrat of silver: a little white curdy 
matter was formed. 9. A tea-spoonful of the solu-: 
tion was diffused through two or three ounces of 
distilled water, and then tried with nitrat of silver: 
a very slight cloud was formed and a minute purple 
precipitate fell, but not till after some hours. The 
appearance was not so strong, nor the precipitate so 
copious, as when nitrat of silver is dropped into or- 
dinary rain water.—These experiments evince that 
this salt either does not decompose the salts of lead 
and silver, or that the new compounds are soluble 
in water. The first is absolutely conclusive: as to 
the small appearance of decomposition in experi- 
ment 2 and 3, be it considered how difficult it is to 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 199 


prevent a minute quantity of common acid from 
passing over in the distillation of the oxygenated 
acid; and how readily this acid is itself decomposed: 
add to this the imperfect oxydation, perhaps, of the 
iron. If these circumstances are duly weighed, it 
seems probable, that this salt, when quite pure, 
would not at all sensibly decompose nitrat of silver. 
A slight impurity cannot be detected by acetite of 
lead, as a small quantity of muriat of lead is soluble 
in water. 


XII, FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS ON THE 
HEPATISED SOLUTIONS. 


Besides the oxygenated salts, I think it probable, 
that these solutions retain some sulphur; but, under 
what form, or in what combination, it is not easy to 
say. The residuum, after evaporation, has a pecu- 
liar smell, whereas the pure salts are inodorous. 
The stain left upon silver by the residuum ought, 
perhaps, to be attributed to this cause. Also the 
white matter, formed by the decomposition of oxy- 
genated muriat of mercury, seems to be a combina- 
tion of sulphur and mercury. In proof of this, it 
may be remarked, that the precipitate of this salt 
dissolved in simple hepatised water is white. Fur- 
ther, it is doubless true, that if hepatised water have. 
a small quantity of acid mixed with it, the solution 
of iron strikes a purple colour with galls. To point 
out the origin of this colour, mix iron filings and 


200° An Analysis of two Mineral 


sulphur not washed, and form them into a paste 
with a little water, and let them remain together 
some hours: put the paste into water and filtrate : 


_this water now strikes a purple colour with galls. 


Now, common sulphur is always contaminated with 
a little sulphuric acid; and (as neither hepatic gas 
nor oxygenated salt are here concerned) the effect 
must be attributed to the acid and the sulphur. If 
this water be evaporated, it leaves a matter which 
does not deliquesce; but which emits the same smell 
as the residuum of the hepatised solutions. To shew 
that the acid is necessary to the production of the 
purple colour, let the sulphur be well washed with 
distilled water before it is mixed with the iron; and 
it will be found, that no such colour can be now 
produced. The following fact seems to prove, that 
sulphur may be retained in water in the form neither 
of sulphur nor of hepatic gas: it is an additional 
proof, how essentially the oxygenated differs from’ 
all the common salts of iron. I saturated a diluted 
solution of oxygenated muriat of iron, which scarce- 
ly affected nitrat of silver, with hepatic gas. A 
white precipitate fell, but so minute that it was im- 
possible to collect it, nor did it destroy the tran- 
sparency of the water: hence, I think it probable, 
that, if the salt were quite perfect, it would not be. 
sensibly affected by hepatic gas. I now boiled the 
liquor, to expel the gas, till it wholly lost its hepatic 
smell. The liquor was again tried with nittat of 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 204 


silver; and there was a copious deposition, but 
of a dark brownish colour. It seems certain then, 
that some sulphur is retained by the solution, which 
cannot be expelled by boiling. 


XII. THE NEUTRAL SALTS OF THE WA- 
TER: MURIAT OF MAGNESIA, MURIAT OF 
SODA, SULPHAT OF SODA, 


A igalion of the water was evaporated to dry- 
ness; the deliquescent salts were-separated from the 
non-deliquescent; and each of the salts which were 
thus obtained were carefully examined. Thus, by 
processes s which are sufficiently known, it was found, 
that the gallon of water contains of muriat of mag- 
nesia 114.5 grains nearly ; muriat of ne 430 grains; 
sulphat, of soda 152 grains. 

The triple compound, of which I have treated, 
is mixed with the deliquescent salt of magnesia, but 
not wholly ; for it may be discovered with the non- 
deliquescent salts, though these have been separated 
carefully by spirit of wine. . The tartrite of potash 
indicates it in both. Oxalic acid does the same 
thing, separating a white powder with some crystal- 
line grains which are the oxalat of manganese.* 


XIV. THE RESIDUUM OF DIFFICULT 
SOLUTION. 


After these salts had been separated, there re- 


* Bergman, Dissertation, v111, 24. 
VOL, V. BSB 


202 An Analysis of two:-Mineral 


mained a large residuum which was not solublesex- 
cept in a great quantity of water. This has a ery- 
stalline form like sulphat of lime ;, and the usual re- 
agents shewed it, in fact, to contain both lime and 
sulphuric acid. But the weight of this residuum, 
from a gallon of water, was no less than 112 grains : 
a larger quantity than could be dissolved in a gallon 
of water, if it were pure sulphat of lime. If it be 
considered, that the water requires some evapora- 
tion’ before these crystals begin to separate, the pro- 
portion is still more increased: There must. be, 
therefore, something peculiar in the composition of 
the salt, or in the soluble powers of the water. 
Other experiments shew the same thing. 1. Sul- 
phuric acid dropped into the water precipitates co- 
piously sulphat of lime. This cannot be effected 
by the decomposition of muriat of lime; since we 
have already seen that no such salt is to be found 
(xrir.). Indeed, it cannot exist in the same solu- 
tion with sulphat of soda, as these salts decompose 
each other.* 2. Sometimes a more unexpected 


* It is astonishing that this fact should have been ne- 
glected, and that in recent publications. Mr. Schmeisser, 
in his Analysis of the Waters of Kilburn Wells (publish- 
ed in the Philosophical Transactions for 1792), has joined 
together sulphat of soda, sulphat of magnesia, and muriat 
of lime, as being contained in those waters, Dr, Garnett 
has also put into the composition of the sulphur-well at 
Harrogate sulphat of magnesia and muriat of lime; an er- 


Springs at Lemingion Priors. 203 


appearance than this takes place. It is, that a pre- 
cipitate, seemingly like the former, has been made 
by the addition. of muriatic acid: but by the addi- 
tion of more acid the precipitate is re-dissolved. 
Sometimes, indeed most commonly, I have not 
been able to effect thisappearance. - 

It was natural to expect the solution of any fur- 
ther uncommon observation in the same matter which 
had already explained so much. 3. I accordingly 
digested sulphat of lime in the hepatised solutions 
of iron and manganese; and I found that the latter 
had a very strong-solvent power. After the liquor 
had been filtered, sulphat of lime was plentifully pre- 
cipitated by sulphuric acid. The solution of iron 
seems to have something of a similar property; but 
as it is very small, and as iron has almost always a 
little manganese united with it, it is, at least, uncer- 
tain whether the whole effect ought not to be attri- 
buted to manganese. 

‘It remains to compare this remark with the effects 
of the artificial oxygenated salts; and thus to confirm, 
if any confirmation were needed, the analogy which 
I have laboured so much to establish. 4. Sulphat 
of lime was digested with the oxygenated muriat of 
manganese and distilled water by a gentle heat: af- 
ter twenty-four hours the clear liquor was separated: . 


ror the more unaccountable, as Bergman has expressly re- 
marked this decomposition in his Dissertation on the Ana-« 
lysis of Waters, See Dissertation 11. 7. M, 


204 An Analysis of two Mineral 


into this I dropped a little sulphuric acid; by de- 
grees a large quantity of sulphat of lime was sepa- 
rated. Muriatic acid was dropped into the same 
liquor, but it did not separate any thing. ‘The oxy- 
genated muriat of iron possessed the same property, 
but in so small a degree, that here again I am -in- 
clined to attribute this power to a little manganese | 
attached to the iron. It follows from these facts, 
that the large quantity of sulphat of lime is kept in 
solution by the salt of manganese. And a fur- 
ther examination of the residuum itself shews that it 
contains the triple.salt of manganese and iron. © 5. 
Some of the residuum was perfectly edulcorated and 
sulphuric acid was dropped upon it: the vapours of 
muriatic acid arose, and were rendered evident by 
paper moistened with ammoniac or with simple 
water. . To the sulphuric acid, which was used in 
this experiment, was added some distilled water and 
the liquor was filtrated: it was then saturated with an 
alkali;-a small precipitate fell, which was proved 
(by the usual methods) to contain both manganese 
and iron. | . ) yints 
6. Ihave noticed a variation (2.) in the effect| of 
muriatic acid when added to the water. I have ob- 
_ served a similar variety in the residuum itself; which 
is, that sometimes it has been found soluble in the 
muriatic acid: when this happens, the addition of an 
alkali precipitates the residuum in its original cry- 
stalline form, and this it does before the acid is sa- 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 205 


turated. But most. commonly the muriatic acid 
does not dissolve it at all. Further, it has’ been 
said above (vit. 1.) that the acids precipitate a cry- 
stalline substance from oxygenated muriat of iron. 
This substance I have found.to contain manganese. 
But what belongs to this place to observe is, that it 
is not always, indeed it is but rarely that this effect 
can be produced in any great degree; in a very 
small degree it may be always observed, but when I 
first remarked it, the precipitate was very copious, 
so that enough was readily collected for examina- 
tion by the blowpipe. The salt of manganese does 
not shew this appearance in the smallest degree. It 
depends, therefore, on some peculiarity of the iron 
rust, but precisely on what I cannot undertake to 
determine. 

As the Sesto tk salts unite with all the other 
salts of the water, and consequently cannot be sepa- 
rated by spirit of wine, I have found it impossible 
to determine the quantity of them. 

I had myself concluded from the experiment (1.) 
that this water contained muriat of lime; and the 
following remark confirmed me in my error: I 
mention it, as*I think it probable that others have 
_ been led into mistakes from the same cause. I re- 
duced some of the water, by evaporation, to about, 
two ounce-measures; taking for granted that, by 
this process, nearly the whole of the sulphat of lime 
was separated. By adding sulphuric acid to this li- 


206 An Analysis of two Mineral 


quor, 20 grains of sulphat of lime were precipitated. 
I concluded, therefore, that this must have proceed- 
ed from the decomposition of muriat of lime: in 
truth, this sulphat was dissolved in the two ounce- 
measures of water, and was separated by the decom- 
position of the oxygenated salt. 


ON THE WATER OF THE OLD 
BATHS. 


The spring which supplies these baths was dis- 
covered in the year 1786, in which year two baths, 
a'cold and a warm bath, were made. Upon sink- 
ing the well, a rock was found at the depth of eight- 
teen feet; and the water rises from about the depth 
of three feet within the rock. 


XV. THE GASEOUS FLUIDS, 

I could obtain very little gas from this water, not 
more than three cubic inches from a gallon. This 
gas was azotic. An hepatic smell is perceptible, 
when the water is fresh. To the hepatic gas, doubt- 
less, it is owing, that no oxygen is found in this 
water or in that of the other spring. Dr. Garnett 
has so well explained the cause of this circumstance, 
that it is needless for me to enter into it.* 


* Garnett on the Mineral Waters of Harrogate, p. 74, &c. 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 207 


XVI, THE SPONTANEOUS PRECIPITATE. 


This water is pellucid when it first rises from the 
spring; in small quantities it does not lose its tran- 
sparency; a very small sediment is deposited by 
boiling, so small indeed that sufficient cannot be 
collected in this way for examination. However, 
when the bath has been newly filled, in some hours 
the transparency of this large body of water is de- 
stroyed by exposure to the atmosphere, and it con- 
tracts a whitish colour. I collected a large quantity 
of this precipitate from the bottom of the bath; 
where it by degrees accumulates, having been depo- 
sited from a large body of water, which is very fre- 
quently renewed. 1. I first attempted the analysis of 
this powder by acids, but was disappointed. It is 
hardly soluble in any of the mineral acids: they all 
take up a little of it, make a brisk effervescence, and 
excite heat when first applied; but neither by a long 
digestion, nor by boiling, could I saturate the acids ; 
nor, by putting a very small quantity of the powder 
into a large quantity of acid, could I completely dis- 
solve the powder. 

2. But, by the use of the blowpipe, it readily ap- 
peared, that this sediment is no other than the oxyds 
of the two metals so frequently mentioned, iron 
and manganese. It may be made magnetic; it gives 
the hyacinthine colour to borax, the colour is de- 
stroyed by continuing the fusion, and may be re- 


208 An Analysis of two Mineral 


newed by removing the globule to a silver spoon: 
fused with soda and nitre it makes a blue or a green 
globule.. As the sediment may be procured in 
‘sufficient quantity, Irepeated the last. experiment 
ona larger scale: some nitre being mixed. with it, the 
mass was pulverized and fused in a crucible ;. when 
taken out of the fire it was green, and. dissolved! in 
water, to which also it imparted a fine green colour: 
inva day or twoa yellow ochre was deposited, when 
the solution became, blue ;; from this liquor a pow- 
der subsided by exposure to the air;, which was 
manganese. * ) 

o. Pursuing the observations of the elect of the 
mineral acids confirms this conclusion. I mixed 
some of the sediment, with powdered charcoal, and 
exposed the mixture to a strong red. heat: it became 
of a light brown. colour, and now, proved to. be 
readily soluble in all the mineral acids.t | With the 
muriatic and nitric it formed a gelatinous com- 
pound. The sulphuric acid diluted was soon satu- 
rated; the liquor was evaporated, and deposited 
white crystals, the form of which is rhomboidal. 
This is a triple salt, the base of which is iron and 
manganese. — If there be a small excess of acid the 
taste of this salt is very like that of sulphat of argill. 
The same salt may be obtained by boiling the sulphuric 


* See Scheele’s Essay on Manganese, xxxvi. Be 
+ Ibid, xxxviri, A, 


= 


ee Ber ty 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 209 


acid with the sediment itself, and continuing the 
boiling till the mass is become dry: the salt may 
then be procured by lixiviating the dry mass, and 
crystallizing the solution. 


XVII. 


Neither sulphat of argill nor oxygenated muriat 
of mercury are at all decomposed by this water. 


XVIII, THE METALLIC SALTS, 

All the appearances which demonstrate the exist- 
ence of peculiar metallic salts in the waters of the 
new baths are also to be found in this, as the oxy- 
dation and solution of metals and a copious preci- 
pitate by galls, while the prussiat of potash is not 
affected: (1v.) and the same experiments were re- 
peated to shew the presence of the oxygenated salts of 
iron and manganese (v. vi1. &c.) with the same re- 
sult, and authorize the same conclusions. Still, I be- 
lieve, there is some difference in regard to these salts 
between the two waters. 1. I have already observed 
(xv11.) two points of distinction; and, as the second 
of those experiments is probably an indication of 
sulphur, this water seems to be without it. This is 
confirmed by evaporating the water ina silver vessel 
to which it communicates no stain. However, . 
2. its action on copper is very strong, so that, if it 
be boiled in a copper vessel for a long time, a blue 
oxyd of copper is separated from the vessel. But 

VOL. Vv. cc 


210 An Analysis of two Mineral. 


here, again, there is a difference between this and 
the former water; for though copper is dissolv- 
ed in it, none can be precipitated on iron in its 
metallic form, as we have seen (1v. 1.). The iron 
in this water does not seem to be in that high degree 
of oxygenation that it is in the other. This I 
infer because, 3. the precipitate formed by tincture 
_of galls is of a much darker colour, even when the 
water has been much evaporated; sometimes, when 
the water has been reduced to half its original bulk, 
‘I have remarked even a very slight green tinge com- 
municated by prussiat of potash, but not till it has 
been added to it many hours. 

- As the oxygenated salts are formed by the action 
of hepatic gas on the metals, it cannot be doubted 
that they are very common. Bergman observes, 
« that cold martial waters, when fresh, almost always 
have an hepatic smell:’* it seems very probable then 
that this salt of iron may be found in almost all such 
waters. .I doubt not that it has been frequently 
mistaken for muriat of lime, to which in its proper- 
ties it approaches very nearly. 

Though I have purposely avoided all medical 
discussions in this essay, I cannot abstain from be- 
stowing a moment’s consideration on one very ob- 
vious question. _What, it will be asked, are the 
medical properties of manganese? Is it useful? 


.* Bergman, Dissertation v11, 6, 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 244 


Is it innocent? Is it noxious? That it isinnoxious, 
I certainly know. Dr. John Johnstone (Essay on 
Mineral Poisons, p. 134.) has shewn that it may be 
taken in large doses without injury; and he has in- 
formed me, that he has since confirmed the same 
fact frequently. I wish I could as well answer the 
first question ; but what the medical virtues of this 
substance may be, is a subject which still remains in 
a great measure unexplored. It is certainly well 
worth the attention of men of science. To those 
who are inclined to labour in this field I take leave 
to suggest, that they should use either the carbonat 
or some other salt of manganese: the black oxyd, 
I apprehend, must be hardly soluble in the human 
fluids. . 


XIX. THE NEUTRAL SALTS. 

These are the same as of the other water, but 
in different quantities. The gallon contains ‘of 
muriat of magnesia 58;—muriat of soda 330;— 
sulphat of soda 62 grains. ; 


XX. THE RESIDUUM. 

A still larger residuum is obtained, after the sepa- 
ration of the neutral salts, from this than from the 
other water. The gallon leaves 146 grains. Its 
properties are the same as of that already described 
(xtiv.). 

It is to be observed, that both these springs are 


212 An Analysis of two Mineral 


affected by rainy weather; and that, consequently, 
their contents vary considerably according to the 
seasons. 


SYNOPTICAL TABLE OF SUBSTANCES CON- 
TAINED IN THE TWO SPRINGS. 


Gaseous fluids contained-in a wine-gallon in cubic inches. 


WATER OF THE WATER OF THE ~ 


NEW BATH. OLD BATH, 
Hepatic gas ......|too small to be mea-|too small to be mea- 
sured, sured, 
Azotic gas «+00. | 35 | 3 
Carbonic acid gas | “5 


Solid contents of a wine-gallon in grains. 


WATER OF THE 
OLD BATH, 


WATER OF THE 
NEW BATH, 

Carbonat of iron ..| 75 

Oxyds of tron and 


too small to be weigh- 


manganese «.-- ed, 
Oxygenated muriat\unknown, but very|unknown, but very 
of tron & manganese small small, 
Sulphur ..-..2-- unknown, but very 
small, 

Muriat of magnesia} 11.5 | 58 
Muriat of soda. .. .| 430 | 330 
Sulphat of soda. ... | 152 | 62 


Sulphat of lume. ...| 112 aes 146 


Springs at Lemington Priors. 213 


Extract of a letter to Dr. Hoime, dated Septem- 
ber 25th, 1797. 


In the analysis of the waters of the new baths, I have 
conjectured, that the decomposition of oxygenated muriat 
of mercury is occasioned by a minute portion of sulphur, 
attached to some of the substances dissolved in the water 
({111.). Since writing that paper, I have attempted to 
verify this conjecture; and not without success, Wish- 
ing to collect some quantity of the precipitate, I evapo- 
rated a gallon of the water to half its bulk ; but found, that 
now the salt of mercury was dissolved without decomposi- 
tion. I added, therefore, the salt to the water without 
boiling; and suffered the precipitate to subside. By this 
process, I could collect no more than a grain froma gallon 
of water. I threw this uponalkali heated toredness; but 
the whole instantly evaporated with a dense smoke, I 
mixed, therefore, another portion (procured in the same 
manner) with alkali; and heated them in a crucible: still 
I failed to collect any sulphur from the alkali (as I had 
hoped); but I now perceived that, as the crucible became 
hot, the matter burnt away with a blue flame, as sulphur 

‘does. 

Sulphat of argill is not decomposed by this water when 
it has been reduced by evaporation: however, it gradually 
separates some of the abundant sulphat of lime: which is 
probably caused by its attracting the water which held it 
in solution, 

I think it right here to observe, that I have recently met 
with this water in such a condition, that it caused a per- | 
manent decomposition of sulphat of argill, This precipi- 
tate is extremely minute: I have not as yet determined the 
cause of it, but I suspect it to be carbonat of magnesia. 


WILLIAM LAMBE, 


214 


‘Some Account of the PERSIAN COT- 
TON TREE. By Matruew Gururiz, 
M.D. F.R.S. Cc. Ge. 


Communicated by Dr. Percivat. 
READ OCT. 4, 1793. . 


Cotton is a plant of both the old and the new world. 
At least it is found wild in both; but I have my 
doubts whether it was a native of America before 
the Europeans carried it over; and shall assign rea- 
sons for my incredulity when I come to treat of the 
Persian Coiton; which is the very species that is aoe 
to be American. 

Five species of the cotton tree are enumerated by 
Linneus; and there is reason to suspect the existence 
of a sixth, if what we are told of the extreme fineness 
and silky nature of a particular kind, reared in some 
of the Antilles, be literally true. This curious va- 
riety is called Siam Cotton; because the reed was 
originally obtained from Siam. 

The first species of cotton is the Gossyrium 
‘ARBOREUM, Or InpDraA-CoTTON-IREE; which 
has been cultivated and manufactured in the East 
Indies, from the remotest period of the authentic 
history of that country; or between three and four 
thousand years. It delights in a sandy soil, 


On the Persian Cotton Tree. 215 


The second species is the Gossyp1UM RELICI- 
osum; which is, likewise, a native of India; and a 
tree, or, at least, a high shrub; but why Linnzus 
dignified it with, so singular a specific name, I shall 
leave the learned Asiatic Society in Bengal to de- 
termine; as they must know if it be used for any 
religious purpose by the Bramins. This species of 
cotton is said to be that which is cultivated by the 
French in Martinico. 

The third is the G, BARBADENSE, a species of 

biennial cotton shrub, cultivated in our British 
island of Barbadoes; from which it obtains its spe- 
cific name. I believe it is likewise the same species 
which is cultivated in Jamaica. 
__ The fourth is the G. nirnsurum; an American 
perennial cotton shrub in the warmer provinces, 
but annual in the colder; as is sometimes the case 
with plants in climates where their roots lose their 
vegetating power by winter frost. 

The fifth and last species is the G. HERBA- 
ceEUM, or G. ANNUUM; an annual cotton plant; 
which rises to the height of three or four feet, and 
is sown and reaped, like corn, twice a-year in hot 
countries, and once a-year in colder climates, It 
bears a large yellow flower with a purple centre, and 
fruit about the size of a walnut containing the 
cotton. 

This is the famous Pers1an Corton, properly 
the subject of the paper; although a slight mention 


216 On the Persian Cotton Tree. 


of other species was necessary to give a more com- 
plete view of the subject. Linnzus calls it a native 
of America, and there is no doubt but that it is be- 
come so; although there is much more reason to sup- 
pose America naturalized a Persian plant, than that 
Persia got it from the new world: especially if we 
are to credit a paper lately presented, by a British 
merchant, to the Economical Society at Petersburg, 
in which it is positively asserted, that several of the 
European nations furnished their American colonies 
with Persian Cotton-seed, procured at Smyrna. 
Now this fact (if sufficiently authentic, which I do 
not doubt from my knowledge of the veracity of 
the author) will easily account for the G. herba- 
ceum being found wild in America: when we re- 
collect the wonderful provision of nature for the 
wide dispersion of seeds; and Linneus’s assertion, 
that the Erigeron canadense was dispersed from the 
botanic garden of Paris, by the winds, over a great 
part of Europe, and several other plants,* from the 
botanic garden of Upsal, over a whole province. 
My reason for suggesting these doubts, relative 
to the native country of this species of cotton, 
are, that all vegetables of this genus are suppos- 
ed to have been indigenous in Persia exclu- 
sively; and that even the East Indies derived 


* The Antirrhinum minus, the Datura stramonium, 
the Gnaphalium americanum, &c, 


On the Persian Cotton Tree. 217 


the cotton plants from thence: a conjecture which 
seems to have acquired some degree of credit from 
the late discovery of Sir William Jones: viz. that 
the Hindoos, or inhabitants of India, were original- 
ly a colony of the ancient Iran or Persia, which 
seems to have been the cradle of the human species, 
since its ancient language appears to have been the 
mother of all those now existing (with the exception 
of the Arabic and Tartarian), of which, neverthe- 
less, it contained many words. 

Now, it is very possible, that the first colony car- 
ried the cotton plant with them to India; and that 
it was afterwards dispersed from Hindostan to the 
adjacent countries and islands. ~The cotton plant 
is widely dispersed likewise throughout Europe and 
some parts of Africa; particularly the annual or 
herbaceous species (the very plant treated of -here) 
reared in the north of Persia, and which is also 
cultivated in Malta,* Sicily, Chio, Lemnos, and 
other islands of the Archipelago, although possibly 
the cotton of these islands may be varieties of the 
species, from difference of soil, climate, &c. 

The best of the European cotton is brought from 
Cyprus; but Smyrna, Aleppo, Damascus, Jerusa- 


* There is a kind of cotton cultivated in Malta, of a 
nankeen colour, which exceeds in fineness all other cotton 
and is much superior even to that from the Antilles, 

VOL. V. DD 


218 On the Persian Cotton Tree. 


lem, &c. furnish likewise a quantity of cotton, at 


least, equal to the European. 


CULTIVATION OF COTTON IN PERSIA, 

The annual cotton, or this last species of which 
we have treated more amply, is much cultivated in 
the northern or colder provinces of Persia, border- 
ing on the Caspian Sea (as the perennial is in the 


southern) and it is from thence that the seeds now 


sent to Portugal have been obtained through the 
Bucharian Tartar merchants, and are the production 
of the Gossypium herbaceum of Linneus, the 


Gossypium annuum of Pallas. It is sown in Per- 


sia from the end of March to the end of April, and 
reaped in September. This species requires a rich 
soil mixed with sand ; and, therefore, where the land 
is not rich enough, they manure it with cow or sheep 
dung: although we are told, that when the plants are 
once raised above the ground any species of soil 
will answer. The ground is worked in the spring, 
and the seeds are planted at the distance of eight or 
ten inches from one another, whilst care is taken to 
weed it to give air to the young plants. Dry sum- 
mers give the best crop, as rain is more particularly 
hurtful when it falls in great quantities during the 
flowering and ripening of the cotton. It is gather- 
ed, as said above, in September, care being always 
taken to collect a sufficient quantity of seed for 


’ 


On the Persian Cotton Tree. 219 


the next year. Lastly, watering the young plants 
with a mixture of wood-ashes and water, in cer- 
tain situations, is sometimes necessary to guard them 
from destructive worms. 

The Russians have cultivated the same species of 
Persian Cotton in the government of Caucasus, and 
rear enough of it to serve their own national manu- 
factures, which are not as yet either numerous or 
considerable; but on the Terck, at the foot of the 
Caucasus, where it is reared, they do not sow till the 
middle of May, lest a late spring-frost, which is 
sometimes felt in those parts, should destroy the 
hopes of the planter.—With that one exception, 
the Russians strictly observe the Persian mode of 
cultivation. 

There is a species of silky cotton much cultivat- 
ed at present in Germany, which possibly may me- 
rit the attention of Portugal for their plantations in 
America. It is the Alclepias syriaca of Linneus, 
and affords so fine a species of cotton (if I may so 
name it) that fabrics have been erected in Saxony 
where stuffs are made of it, which rival in lustre, &c. 
the true animal silk. But this new vegetable silk has 
circumstances attending it that seem to recommend 
its cultivation in some of the American colonies 
and islands, First, because it is originally the na- 
tive of a hot climate, as Linnzus’s specific name in- 
dicates ; and, of course, itis likely to be in its greatest » 


220 On the Persian Cotton Tree. 


beauty and excellence in climates which approach 
nearest to that of its native country. Secondly, 
because its stalks afford a coarse sort of cloth well’ 


calculated to clothe negroes, whilst from the pith of 
them paper is made, 


22% 


Experiments and Observations on the Pre- 
paration and some remarkable Properties of 
the OXYGENATED MURIAT of POT- 
ASH. By Mr. Tuomas Hovte, Jun. 


READ NOV, 10, 1797 


Having an opportunity in preparing the oxy- 
genated muriatic acid for the purpose of bleaching, 
by a small extension of the apparatus, to prepare 
likewise the oxygenated muriat of potash, and to 
make experiments on that substance, I have been 
induced to digest the most material facts and obser- 
vations which occurred, and to lay them before the 
society: especially as I do not find. much on the 
subject in the writings of others, and as many 
have probably been deterred from the investigation 
by the exorbitant price of the article, and by some 
apprehensions. of danger attending it. 

A few experiments, which are not new, have 
been introduced, in order to bring under one point 
of view the principal chemical facts which relate 
to this salt. I have given, in most cases, an exact 
account of the quantities of the different ingredients - 
composing the mixtures; and as persons not much 
accustomed to such experiments may be inclined ta 


222 Experiments on the Oxygenated 


repeat some of them, I would caution them noé ¢o 
use greaier quantities than are here specified, parti- 
cularly where the terms ‘violent detonation, eis 
_ sion, é&c. are employed. 

I would not by any means wish it to be under- 
stood, that I have exhausted the subject: many 
_ more experiments, and much labour and assiduity, 
are required before the nature and uses of so ac- 
tive a substance can be fully ascertained, 

I find it has been introduced into medicine with 
success ; and I hope its good effects in that respect 
will not be frustrated by, the high price of the arti- 
cle, as it may be procured at a much cheaper rate 
than it is commonly charged. 


I. ON THE PREPARATION OF THE SALT 
AND ITS SOLUTION IN WATER AND THE 
ACIDS. 


Finding that a quantity of gas sila occasion- 
ally from our apparatus for making the new bleach- 
ing liquor, more especially when the fire was not 
properly managed, or when, by any other means, a 
greater quantity of gas was produced than the liquor 
could absorb; I thought it would be useful to adapt 
to the large apparatus a smaller one, in which this su-- 
perfluous gas might be condensed; as the escape of 
it was sometimes disagreeable to the workmen. This 
I did by filling an earthen-ware bottle with a strong 
solution of potash in water, (consisting of about three 


aoe SE 


Muriat of Potash, 223 


pounds of alkali to the gallon) which I found en- 
tirely relieved us from the disagreeable smell we 
frequently experienced before; and, at the same 
time, yielded a considerable quantity of the oxy- 
genated muriat. ‘Though the production of the 
oxygenated muriat in this way be somewhat pre- 
carious, depending upon the management of the 
person who conducts the process; (it being the 
bleacher’s interest to condense the whole of the gas 
in the liquor he wants for his business) yet I think, 
ifthe portion which commonly. escapes were thus 
disposed of a considerable quantity of this salt 
might be made by bleachers with little addition- 
al expence, except what is incurred by the pur- | 
chase of the alkali, and some more labour and at- 
tention. At some of my first trials, about two 
years ago, I found the gas which escaped from the 
materials of one distillation sufficient to saturate 
two gallons of the alkaline solution, from which I 
procured about six ounces, and sometimes more, of 
the salt, after being purified by several chrystalliza- 
tions. But, having made some alteration in the 
apparatus, I now find, that the same quantity of al- 
kali may remain for three or four distillations, be- 
fore sufficient gas be furnished to form the salt; 
except the person employed be remarkably inatten- 
tive to his duty. I consider this as a valuable’im- 
provement, the making of the salt being only a 


224 Experiments on the Oxygenaied 


secondary object. The salt was chiefly formed 
during the distillation. "The alkali became warm to- 
wards the latter end of the process, especially if the 
absorption of gas was very rapid, a quantity of ca- 
loric being disengaged. In this case, a considerable 
part’of the salt soon crystallized on the lixivium 
being set’ in a cool place, and a great deal of gas 
appeared to escape, which on one occasion I col- 
lected, and found that it precipitated lime from its 
solution in water, and extinguished flame: and, 
therefore, though it had a slight smell of the oxyge- 
nated muriatic acid gas, I believe that it consisted 
chiefly of carbonic acid, as the former occasions no 
precipitation of lime water, which the latter uni- 
formly does. A glass jar, containing 32 ounce- 
measures of this gas, being left over water one 
night, was reduced to about one fourth its bulk. 
The gas that remained seemed to contain more oxy- 
gene than the air of the room; two measures of it, 
with one of nitrous gas, gave 1.53, whilst an equal 
quantity of common air, gave 1.9. 

Before any of the salt appeared to be formed in 
the alkaline solution, I have constantly observed a. 
quantity of earthy matter to be precipitated. This 
_ was carefully separated from the salt, and, after being 
washed repeatedly in boiling water, was suffered to 
dry; but not having examined it with sufficient min- 
uteness to say what it is, I shall content myself at 


Muriat of Potash. 225 


with stating some of its properties. It did not de 
tonate with sulphur, and was totally or nearly inso- 
luble in water. The sulphuric acid dissolved it, 
and gave evident signs of muriatic acid, which 
appeared to be slightly oxygenated. After being 
exposed to a red heat for half an hour the above 
properties still appeared the same, except with the 
sulphuric acid. I thought the gas that was disen- 
gaged had more of the smell of simple muriatic 
acid gas, though along with it a little of the oxyge- 
nated gas might be perceived. The muriatic acid 
did not appear to dissolve any of this substance 
either before or after its calcination. With the 
nitrous acid, a strong smell of the oxygenated mu- 
Tlatic gas was produced. From a dram of this 
substance, in an earthen retort exposed to a strong 
heat, about six ounce-measures of gas were pro- 


- duced, consisting of a mixture of carbonic and 


azotic gas, the latter of which was in the greatest 
quantity, forming, by estimate, about three fourths 
of the whole. 

The form of the crystals that first appeared in - 
the solution of alkali were quadrangular plates : 
what were afterwards formed, when the lixivium 
became. cool, were needle-like, as were those that 
were produced by spontaneously evaporating the 
remainder of the ley: they appear to have the 
same property of detonating as the first. These 
different forms of crystals appeared on dissolving 

VOL. V. EE 


226 Experiments on the Oxygenated 


the salt in hot water, and, when cold, seperating 
the salt and suffering the water to evaporate spon- 
taneously. | 

I frequently observed, that unless the alkali be- 
gan to part with a considerable portion of gas, 
without the admission of any from the apparatus, that 
little or none of the oxygenated muriat was procur- 
ed; and that as this gas (which I have before observ- 
ed to be chiefly the carbonic acid) escaped, the cry- 
stallization took place, and increased or diminished’ 
according to the evolution of that gas. This I 
found uniformly the case whether mild or caustic 
alkali was employed. A given quantity of the 
strong solution of potash appeared to produce more 
of this salt than the same quantity of a solution of 
pearl-ash of the same specific gravity. 

_ The remaining lixivium, on evaporation, did not 
yield this salt, though a muriat of potash was form- 
ed that appeared to be considerably oxygenated: 
since, with the addition of the sulphuric or muriatic 
acid, it became a very powerful destroyer of vege- 
table colours; it would not detonate with sulphur 
or inflame combustible substances with acids; it 
was very soluble in water, much more so than the 
muriat first formed from the same alkali. 

I may here remark, that I think the French 
chemists were right in calling the first salt the hy; 
peroxygenated muriat, as the salt last mentioned is 
certainly oxygenated in some degree ; however, in 


Muriat of Potash. 227 


the following experiments I shall use the term ox- 
ygenated muriat, when speaking of the salt formed 
during the distillation, and on cooling the lixivium 
after being saturated with the gas. 


EXPERIMENT I. 

One part of the oxygenated muriat of potash 
required about seventeen parts of water, at the tem- 
perature of 60°, to dissolve it; whilst five parts of 
boiling water dissolved. two of the salt. Repeat- 
ed solutions did not appear to injure but rather 
to increase its detonating property. The crystals 
became much whiter ; and a quantity of the earthy 
matter, before mentioned, was separated at every 
fresh crystallization. 


EXPERIMENT II, 

A quantity of this sal was put into a bottle and 
placed in a situation much exposed to the light: after 
being kept there more than twelve months, it did 
not appear to have lost any part of its detonating 
property. This fact is contrary to Chaptal’s asser- 
tion, that the mere impression of light is sufficient to 
decompose it.* 


EXPERIMENT III. 
Water saturated with this salt was exposed to the 


light, for several months, without appearing to be 


* Elements of Chemistry, I. 250." 


228 Experiments on the Oxygenated 


at all changed. It was put into a bottle with a ground 
stopper and tube, to which an apparatus was ad- 
apted to receive any gas that might come over; but 
no gas whatever was disengaged. 


EXPERIMENT IV. 

Sixty grains of the salt were fused, by the heat 
of a lamp, in a bottle with a ground stopper and 
tube. After having been kept in a fluid state for 
about half. an hour, I found that it had lost two 
grains in’ weight, and that a small quantity of air 
was given out, which proved to be oxygenous, by 
the test of nitrous gas. The salt which had been 
melted would still detonate with sulphur, &c. The 
loss of weight was, I am inclined to think, chiefly 
owing to the escape of the water of crystallization; 
for the salt, when cool, had lost its transparency. 


EXPERIMENT V. 

From forty grains of the salt in an earthen retort, 
I procured, by the application of heat, about thirty- 
six cubic inches of oxygenous gas; the evolution 
of which was very rapid and commenced as soon as 
the retort became slightly red. Forty grains, ex- 
posed in a crucible to a strong red heat, appeared, 
from the mean of two experiments, to have lost 
about seventeen grains in weight: the remaining 
muriat, being afterwards thrown into the sulphuric 
acid, produced a very strong smell of oxygenated 


EROS x At 


Swe Peis 


Muriat of Potash. 229 


muriatic acid; from which I inferred that the whole 
of the oxygen had not been expelled by the heat; 
whence the oxygenated muriat of potash may, I 
think, be stated to contain about half its weight of 
oxygen, ina concrete state. 


EXPERIMENT VI. 

Strong nitrous acid disengaged the oxygenated 
muriatic acid from this salt. During the solution of 
two or three grains of the oxygenated muriat in this 
acid, a grain or two of phosphorus was dropped in- 
to the glass containing the mixture, when a num- 
ber of vivid flashes appeared in the liquor, darting 
forth at intervals, for a considerable time, This is 
one of the most striking experiments I ever saw; 


‘but a little caution is necessary in performing it, 


7 


the phosphorus being sometimes thrown out of the 
mixture.* 
EXPERIMENT VII. 

The muriatic acid dissolved this salt, a great deal 
of the oxygenated acid being given out. A few 
grains of the salt added to an ounce of the acid ren- 
dered it a very powerful destroyer of vegetable | 
colours. This mixture may probably be used with 
advantage in taking stains of ink, dc. out of linen 
or cotton. 


Phosphorus added to this acid along with the : 


* This curious experiment was first noticed by J. Col- 


lier, and was communicated by him to the Society, some 
time ago, 


230 Experiments on the Oxygenated 


salt did not produce the same effect as with the. 
nitrous acid; no light appearing as in the last ex- 


periment. ' : 
EXPERIMENT VIII. 


On putting a little of the salt into the sulphuric 
acid, a violent crackling, or a great number of 
small explosions took place, and a very strong smell 
of nitrous gas was produced, the mixture at the 
same time assuming an orange colour, which dis- 
appeared after it had stood a short time. A very 
small piece of phosphorus having been dropped on 
about two grains of the salt (previously thrown in- 
to the acid) an explosion immediately took place, 
which blew out a great part of the mixture upon 
my hand; an accident that might have proved serious 
if I had not had water near me. | 


EXPERIMENT IX. 

Finding a great quantity of gas to be disengaged 
from this salt by the sulphuric acid, which had a 
very strong smell of nitrous gas, I put forty grains 
of the salt into a glass retort and poured upon it 
nearly an equal weight of sulphuric acid diluted with 
water. With the heat of a lamp the gas began to 
come over very rapidly, and was received in a glass 
jar placed ina bason of water. A considerable 
portion of it appeared to be absorbed by the water, 
which acquired a. yellowish colour. This colour 
disappeared on standing a few days, and a brown 


Sid {Be EES 


oe eee 


Muriat of Potash. 231 


matter was deposited, which being carefully collect- 
ed and dried, weighed one grain, and appeared to be 
manganese; for, a little of it being put into the mu- 
riatic acid, so far oxygenated it, that it would de- 
stroy the blue colour of a diluted solution of indigo 
in the sulphuric acid. The precipitate before men- 
tioned, that was first produced in the alkali employ- 
ed, did not appear to have this effect. The quanti- 
ty of this sediment that I had an opportunity of col- 
lecting was so small that I could not try many 
other experiments with it; indeed, I did not always 
succeed in procuring it, for I found that unless the 
disengagement of the gas was very rapid, but little 
of it could be obtained. . 


EXPERIMENT X. 

On two drams of the salt in a glass retort, I 
poured an equal weight of sulphuric acid diluted 
with a little water, and adapted the retort to Woulfe’s 
apparatus, The heat of a lamp was applied, and pre- 
sently the gas began to escape, and was absorbed by 
the water in a considerable quantity; to which it 
communicated a yellowish colour, and a liquid 
began to trickle down the neck of the retort into 
the receiver. This had continued but a short time 
before a violent explosion took place, which broke 
the retort and two of the receivers to pieces, toge- 
ther with several other glasses which were on the ta- 
ble. This was several times repeated, but with 


232 Experiments in the Oxygenated 


more caution than before; and I always found that 
when the mixture acquired a certain degree of heat, 
an explosion certainly took place, except the retort 
had a pretty wide neck, and the neck was simply in- 
troduced into a receiver with a considerable opening 
in it without any lute; or, put into water, as in the 
last experiment : and, even in this case, I would not 
advise so much of the salt to be used at one time 
as is here mentioned. The small quantity of acid I 
was able to collect in this way, by adapting a loose 
receiver, appeared to be a weak muriatic acid slightly 
oxygenated; it was of a dilute purple colour, which 
disappeared on its being exposed a short time to the 
light; a small piece of iron dropped into it, caused 
it to become transparent immediately. 

It was a matter of much surprise to me to find 
so strong a smell of nitrous gas produced, on de- 
composing this salt with sulphuric acid. Now as 
nitrous gas consists of azot and oxygen, sup- 
posing this to be nitrous gas (for I do not assert 
it to be so, though I should think the smell in this 
instance an almost sufficient criterion) whence comes 
the azot? At first; I thought it might come from 
a decomposition of the alkaline base of the salt; as 
some chemists have imagined the vegetable alkali to 
be composed of lime and azot; in that case, I ex- 
pected the residuum would have been the sulphat 
of lime, but I found it to be chiefly sulphat of pot- 
ash, with a little of the oxygenated muriat that re- 


Muriat of Potash. 233 


mained undecomposed along with it. At present 
I shall not hazard any opinion respecting the origin 


_of this nitrous smell; but hope some experiments I 


am at present engaged with, will, if F can find time 
to prosecute. them, throw some light upon this 
subject. 


Il. ON THE DETONATION AND INFLAM- 
MATION OF COMBUSTIBLE SUBSTANCES 
WITH THE SALT, PRODUCED BY FRICTION 
AND THE ACIDS. 


The detonating properties of this salt were tried 
with various substances in the following experi- 
ments; the different mixtures were intimately com- 
bined by gently rubbing them in a stone-ware mor- 
tar; after this was done, one smart stroke across 
the mixtures would cause the whole of some of 
them to explode at once, and others successively by 
repeating the friction. The sulphuric acid inflam- 
ed most of these mixtures of the salt with combusti- 
ble substances, the nitrous acid also had the same 
effect with some of them, 


EXPERIMENT I. WITH PHOSPHORUS. 


Half a grain of this substance rubbed with the 

same weight of the salt produced violent explosion 

with flame. I apprehend it would be dangerous 

to use much greater quantities, as the phosphorus is 
VOL. V. FE 


234 Experiments on the Oxygenated 


frequently thrown out with violence before it is con- _ 
sumed. The su!phuric acid inflamed this mixture 


as I have before stated. ; 


EXPERIMENT Il, WITH CHARCOAL, 
Two grains of salt with one of charcoal intimate- 
ly mixed, and perfectly dry, produced by a smart 
stroke a strong flame without much report. The 
sulphuric and nitrous acids inflamed this mixture, 
the latter with most rapidity. 


EXPERIMENT III. WITH PIT-COAL., 

A grain of dry pit-coal, rubbed with the same 
quantity of the salt, produced sparks and some small 
reports.. With half the quantity of coal, the reports 
were much louder. 

The sulphuric acid added to about twenty grains 
of the salt with ten of the coal, produced a bright 
red flame rising up to a considerable height. 


EXPERIMENT IV. WITH SULPHUR. 

A grain of the salt rubbed with half a grain of 
sulphur produced a very loud report, attended with 
flame and a strong smell of sulphureous acid. When 
the sulphur was reduced to a quarter of a grain, the 
explosion was not made at once as before, but suc- 
cessively. When the proportion of sulphur was 


increased to three fourths of a grain it produced a 


very loud report, much the same as the first; and 


en ee 


re 


Muriat of Potash. 235 


the whole appeared to explode at once. Equal 
parts of sulphur and the salt did not cause so strong 
reports as when a less quantity of sulphur was em- 
ployed: this mixture exploded successively. The 
sulphuric and nitrous acids inflamed it. 


EXPERIMENT V. WITH SULPHURET OF 
POTASH. 

One grain of the salt rubbed with the same weight 
of this substance produced a very loud explosion 
with flame. With half a grain of the sulphuret, I 
thought the report fully as violent. A little of these 
mixtures, melted over the fire, had not the effect of 
the fulminating powder made with nitre. It only 
emitted a flash without any report, nor was I able 
to produce a fulminating mixture by varying the 
proportions of the salt, alkali, and sulphur. The 
sulphuric or nitrous acids, dropped on this mixture, 
gave a very strong bright flame. 


EXPERIMENT VI. WITH SULPHURET OF 
MERCURY. (Cinabar.) 

Equal parts of this substance and of the salt deto- 
nated successively, by friction, a grain of each being 
used. A change of proportion appeared to weaken 
the detonating property of the mixture. The sul- 
phuric acid inflamed this mixture, but not so rapid- 
ly as in the last experiment. The nitrous acid did 
not inflame it, 


236 Experiments on the Oxygenated 


EXPERIMENT VII. WITH SULPHURET OF 
ARSENIC, (Orpiment.) 

A grain or two of the salt rubbed with an equal 
weight of this substance produced little more than a 
flash; but a grain of the salt with half a grain of the 
sulphuret gave a strong report, though very little 
friction was used. Reducing the quantity of sul- 
phuret to a quarter of a grain, the explosions were 
weak and successive. A larger quantity of this 
mixture, than is mentioned above, makes a report 
which is very unpleasant, with considerable flame, 
I was greatly surprised the first time I made the ex- 
periment with two or three grains of the salt and a 
portion of the sulphuret, by their exploding in a 
most violent manner, though a very slight friction 
had been used. The sulphuric or nitrous acids 
gave a very strong flame the moment they were 
dropped upon this mixture. 


EXPERIMENT VIII. WITH COTTON-WOOL. 

A small quantity of very dry cotton-wool was 
rubbed with a little of the salt; no detonation took 
place. The wool was afterwards dropped into the 
sulphuric acid and took fire immediately ; but the 
nitrous acid would not inflame it, 


EXPERIMENT 1X, WITH LOAF-SUGAR, 
One grain of this substance rubbed with two of 


Murtat of Potash. 237 


the salt gave a number of successive reports. The 
sulphuric or nitrous acids, dropped on this mixture, 
instantly produced a. strong flame ascending to a 
considerable height. 


EXPERIMENT X. WITH FIXED AND 
ESSENTIAL OILS. 


A few drops of spermaceti oil rubbed with a grain 
or two of the salt produced a number of loud re- 
ports. The sulphuric acid inflamed this mixture; 
the nitrous acid did not. 

Olive oil, the essential oils of rosemary, juni- 
per, cloves, carroway, aniseed, cinnamon, nutmeg, 
amber, mint, and essence of lemon were rubbed 
with the salt: all of them detonated successively, and 
such of the mixtures as were tried took fire with 
the sulphuric acid. 


EXPERIMENT XI. WITH SPIRIT OF 
TURPENTINE, 

A few drops of spirit of turpentine rubbed with 
a little of the salt detonated in much the same 
manner as the substances used in the last experi- 
ment. The sulphuric acid, dropped on this mix- 
ture produced a strong flame with a cloud of very 
black smoke, 


EXPERIMENT XII. WITH CAMPHOR. 
A little of this substance, on being rubbed with 


238 Experiments on the Oxygenated 


a grain of the salt, produced a number of successive 
denotations. The sulphuric acid produced flame 
with some explosions. 


EXPERIMENT XIII. WITH ROSIN. 
One part of this substance with two parts of the 
salt detonated successively when well rubbed toge- 
ther. The sulphuric acid inflamed this mixture, 
but the nitrous acid did not. 


EXPERIMENT XIV. WITH GUM ARABIC, 

- The detonations were very slight. It was mixed 
with twice its weight of the salt. .The sulphuric 
acid set fire to the mixture, but the nitrous acid 
would not. 


EXPERIMENT XV. WITH PRUSSIAN BLUE. 

No detonations whatever were produced by fric- 
tion, nor did the acids inflame a mixture of this 
substance with the salt.* 


EXPERIMENT XVI. WITH INDIGO. 


Half a grain of fine Spanish Indigo, rubbed with 
a grain of the salt, detonated successively, like the 


* Chaptal, (Elements of Chemistry, vol. ii. page 377) 
says, ‘“ Prussian blue takes fire more easily than sulphur, 
and detonates strongly with the oxygenated muriat of pot- 
ash, (Quere, did he not make use of indigo here ?) 


Muriat of Potash. 239 


mixture with rosin or gum. The sulphuric acid 
inflamed this mixture, but the nitrous acid did not. 


EXPERIMENT XVII.’ WITH ETHER, 

A few drops of ether on about two grains of the 
salt rubbed to a very fine powder, produced no de- 
tonation by friction. The sulphuric or nitrous 
- acids poured suddenly upon it produced flame. 


EXPERIMENT XVIII. WITH IRON-FILINGS. 

These alone rubbed with the salt produced no 
detonation by simple friction; but two grains of 
the salt, one grain of iron-filings, and half a grain of 
sulphur, being well rubbed together, about a quarter 
of a grain of this mixture exploded violently with 
friction. The sulphuric acid added, caused a few 
sparks to appear; but the nitrous acid did not pro- 
duce any. Varying the above proportions did not 
appear to improve the detonating gag of the 
mixture. 


EXPERIMENT XIX. WITH AURUM MUSIVUM. 

Equal parts of this substance and of the salt deto- 
nated strongly with flame, on being rubbed toge- 
ther in an iron mortar; a very slight friction was ne- 
cessary. The sulphuric acid gave a small flame, 
but with the nitrous I could not procure any. 


From the foregoing experiments, I think, we may 
venture to conclude, that the oxygenated muriat 


240 Experiments on the Oxygenated 


of potash is equally harmless as common nitre; 
except it be brought into an intimate union with 
‘something that has a greater affinity with one of its 
constituent parts, than exists between those parts 
when combined in the salt, and that some combusti- 
ble substance be present: but .its oxygen being so 
easily disengaged, renders a little caution necessary; . 
and, as the sulphuric or nitrous acids seem so readi- 
ly to inflame many of the mixtures, I would not 
advise any person to make more of them than is 
necessary for immediate experiment. This pre- 
caution may prevent any unpleasant circumstance 
from accidental mixture with the acids, which ap- 
pear to disengage a great part of the oxygen al: 
most instantaneously. 

I shall not say much about the theory of these 
detonations, none of the foregoing experiments hav- 
ing been so carefully conducted as to determine 
accurately what changes took place; yet, I think, 
we may attempt to explain some of them in the fol- 
lowing manner. With phosphorus, the oxygen 
seems to combine, and form phosphoreous acid gas, 
or phosphoric acid: with sulphur, the sulphureous 
acid gas, or sulphuric acid, according to the rapidi- 
ty of the combustion: with charcoal and other ve- 
getable substances, the carbonic acid: with sulphu- 
ret of arsenic there may be sulphureous acid gas, 
and arsenic acid produced. 

The sudden production of gas striking the sur- 


Muriat of Potash. 241 


rounding air is, most probably, the cause of the 
loud reports produced by friction, &c. agreeably 
to the conclusions cf Berthollet; and the muriatic 
acid may remain combined with the potash, and a 
portion of the combustible substance employed :_ 
but when the sulphuric or nitrous acids are used, 
the muriatic acid is certainly disengaged. 

Since the above experiments were made, I have 
found that a paper has been read before the Na- 
tional Institute at Paris, on detonation by concus- 
sion, by citizens Fourcroy and Vauquelin.* They 
there mention some of the mixtures I have describ- 
ed, and their inflammation with the sulphuric acid. 
They likewise notice, that very loud reports and 
sparks were produced ona very small quantity of 
different mixtures being struck with a hammer on an 
anvil. This, on trial, I found to be the case; and 
a little cotton-wool well impregnated with the salt, 
being struck in that way, immediately took fire. 
But to get this to succeed, the salt and cotton should 
be perfectly dry: this is a necessary precaution in 
all experiments on the detonating property of this 
salt by friction, &c. Inthe paper above alluded to. 
it is stated, that sugar, the gums, fixed and volatile 
oils, alcohol and ether, do not detonate or take fire 
by simple trituration; but the experiments I made 


* Annales de Chimie, tom, xxi. Pp 295. © 
Nicholson’s Chemical Journal, I, p. 169. 
VOL. V. ; GCG 


242 Onthe Oxygenated Muriat of Potash. 


seeem not to agree with this assertion: for all the 
above substances that I tried, except ether, deto- 
nated either more or less on rubbing them briskly 
in a stone-ware mortar; some of them required to 
be intimately mixed, as sugar and gum; but others 
produced very loud reports, as when fixed and es- 
sential oils were used, 


243 


Experiments and Observations on FER- 
MENTATION and the DISTILLATION 
of ARDENT SPIRIT. By Josrru Cot- 


LIER. 


READ FEB, 10 & NOV. 17, 17976 


W.- may lay it down as an incontestible 
axiom, says Lavoisier, that in all the operations 
of art or nature nothing is created; an equal quan- 
tity of matter exists both before and after the expe- 
riment ; the quality and quantity of the elements re- 
main precisely the same; and nothing takes place 
beyond changes and modifications in the combi- 
nations of those elements. Upon this principle the 
whole art of performing chemical experiments de- 
pends. We must always suppose an exact equality 
between the elements of the body examined and 
those of the products of its analysis.* 

The subject of fermentation, but more particu- 
larly the fermenting infusion of malt, has been 
very little attended to as an object of chemical en- 
quiry. Diodorus Siculus, Herodotus, and Taci- 
tus mention a method of making wine from malt ; 
yet the modern world had made very little progress — 


* Elements of Chemistry. 


244 On the Fermentation and 


either in improving the process or ascertaining its 
products, until Dr. Priestley and the Duke of 
Chaulnes made their interesting experiments on the 
carbonic acid gas disengaged during the operation 
of fermentation. Soon after these important dis- 
coveries were communicated to the public, the ac- 
curate philosopher, whom _I first quoted, instituted 
a set of most valuable experiments on this subject ; 
and from their results established a firm base for 
farther enquiry. Before this period, all was unde- 
fined, and the chemist had nothing to direct his at- 
tention but scattered facts, many of which rather 
tended to confound than properly to conduct his 
investigation. 

The distillation of ardent spirits has met a similar 
fate to that of fermentation. The Egyptians, at a 
very early period, discovered the art of drawing spirit 
from wine. Modern chemists have left it in the 
rude hands of the ill-informed, and accident hasbeen 
the chief:contributor to its improvement. It is true 
that some of the proof spirits of commerce are pure 
and good, but this arises more from the nature of 


the wines from which they are drawn than from the 


superior skill of the distiller. ‘The sugar-cane ‘and 
the grape are easily attenuated by fermentation, and 
contain less fetid oil than malt; neither are they 
so liable to contract an‘empyreuma in the still. I 
was induced to begin this enquiry from a firm per- 
suasion, that it was possible, by means of known 


ss 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 245 


chemical agents, to produce malt spirit equally pure 
with that which is obtained from any other modifica- 
tion of saccharine matter ; and most of the following 
facts are confined to malt liquor. Many other par- 
ticulars have occurred in the course of my experi- 
ments which I thought worthy of notice, and which 
I shall transcribe from my notes.—But I shall first 
make a few observations on fermentation in general. 

Fermentation is an intestine motion in the solu- 
tion of saccharine matter, whereby a new arrange- 
ment of its constituent elements takes place, and 
alcohol is produced, without the intervention of any 
other agent of any denomination whatever. 

From the above definition it will appear that I 
mean to exclude all other operations from the de- 
nomination of fermentation, excepting that in which 
Wine is produced, and, consequently, alcohol. Bel- 
lini says, that all things are full of ferments; and 
Helmont affirms, that fermentation is the sole cause 
of almost every transmutation; but the excellent 
Boerhaave was aware of the confusion which was like- 


~ ly to arise from general terms, and, therefore, limited 


the word fermentation to three distinct operations: 
the formation of alcohol, the making of vinegar, 
and the production of ammoniac; since which, a 
vinous, an acetous, and a putrid fermentation has 
been generally acknowledged,—the second as a 
consequence of the first, and the third as a conse- 
quence of the two former, 


246 On the Fermentation and 


My present object is neither to enter fully into the 
investigation of acetous acid nor of the cause of pu- 
trefaction; but I shall make a few remarks upon each. 


To produce vinegar (which is chiefly obtained 


from fermented liquor) the presence of an acid is 
necessary, such as the taréareous acidula; but it may 
be obtained by other vegetable acids, as well as from 
gums and amylaceous foecula dissolved in water. A 
heat of from seventy to ninety degrees of Fahrenheit’s 
thermometer, is also necessary to the production of 
vinegar; and fermented liquors will become acid 
under this temperature by the solution of the tartar 
only; yet a perfect vinegar cannot be formed in a 
close vessel. A free access of vital air is absolutely 
necessary to the production of acetous acid, but is 
highly injurious to the spirituous fermentation: add 
to this, that insipid mucilages or gums dissolved-in 
water become acid without having been discernibly 
spirituous. Why then should the making of vine- 
gar be called fermentation? 

The production of ammoniac, which is called 
the putrid fermentation, arises from the texture of 
the solids being destroyed, and the nature of the 
fluids being altered; and it is a well-known fact, 
that many vegetable and other substances never un- 
dergo any sensible vinous fermentation, or are form- 
ed into vinegar previously to putrefaction. In some 
of my experiments on the fermenting infusion of 
malt, I have observed a beginning putrefaction with~ 


; 
’ 


: ete 


ASS Se 


Tees dd: 


Sears: ede ce 
eR o 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 247 


out any previous acidity, which I attribute to an 
entire completion of the spirituous fermentation, 
whilst the air was excluded and the heat never suffi- 
cient to dissolve the tartar. It has been before 
observed that a heat of from seventy to ninety is 
required to form the acetous acid, but putrefaction 
will take place in a temperature of forty-five. The 
putrefaction of vegetables volatilizes and reduces 
them to an earthy state; but, to mark the pheno- 
mena of vegetable putrefaction, and to distinguish 
it from the putrefaction of animal matter, will 
form the subject of another essay, in which I shall 
endeavour to prove, that the production of nitre 
and the formation of vegetable mould, might with 
equal propriety be called fermentation as the pro- 
duction of ammoniac, both being products of pu- 
trefaction. 

Fermentation must, therefore, be either consi- 
dered as a general term, and supposed, according 
to the opinion of Helmont, to be the sole cause 
of almost every transmutation, or it must be limited 
to express some definite process by which one or 


more specific products are obtained. In the latter _ | 


case, the most common application will certainly be 
deemed the most proper, viz. the production of alco- 
hol, by an intestine motion, in the solution of sac- 
charine matter, without the intervention of any 
other agent whatever. 

Some chemists are of opinion, that insipid or 


248 On the Fermentation and 


gummy mucilages, barley, &c. pass by a sort of fer- 
mentation into saccharine matter; but of this I shall 
speak more at large when treating on the subject 
of malting. 

No other but saccharine matter is susceptible of 
fermentation, and it is necessary to observe a pro- 
per proportion betwixt the density of the liquor and 
the quantity of yest; for, although artificial fer- 
ment is not absolutely necessary to produce fermen- 
tation, yet it has a tendency (as is well known) to 
accelerate its progress. 

The heat of the liquor must also be regulated ac- 
cording to the density, as a greater or smaller de- 
gree of heat is excited during fermentation, accord- 
ing to the quantity of fermentible matter which it 
contains. | 

The phenomena which accompany fermentation, 
together with many other interesting particulars, may 
be found in an ingenious essay inserted in the second 
volume of the Memoirs of this society.* I shall, 
therefore, proceed to a description of the instru- 
ment by which I regulated the gravity of my worts. 

The scale of my saccharometer corresponds to 
that of Blake’s, but the form is materially different. 
It is so constructed, that a plate above the ball is 
sufficiently large to containa scale of the intermediate 


* Experiments and Observations on Ferments and Fer- 
mentation, by T. Henry, F.R.S. 


eager 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 249 


gravities, including the strongest and weakest worts 
with which the experiments were made. It begins 
with o, and proceeds by equal divisions to 80°; a 
density which cannot be properly attenuated with- 
out repeated fermentations with large quantities of 
yest. In the middle of the plate stands a ther- 
mometer, graduated from © to 100°; the use of 
which will be explained by and by. The divisions 
in the scale were made ona supposition that malt 
was about two pounds the quarter, whereby every 
varying degree that should be found in two worts, 
where equal quantities had been drawn from two 
different kinds of malt, would indicate a difference 
in value of so many sixpences. 

The saccharometer ought to be accompanied by 
an assay vessel, which is nothing more than a cylin- 
drical jar of tin. 

When it is to be used, fill the assay jar with wort, 
and reduce it to sixty degrees of heat. Then leave 
the instrument at full liberty in the jar of wort, and 
it will rest at the proper degree of density, which 
will be found upon the scale.* 


* I believe this saccharometer will be found pretty ac- 
curate; yet, “there are other principles in fluids besides 
their‘ gravity, by which they resist the admission of a de. 
scending body, and the first of these is that of attraction; 
which operating powerfully on bodies composed of he- 
terogencous particles, must have considerable influence 
in such a fluid as wort. A tendency to coagulate in the 
higher temperatures, and an approach to congelation in the 

VOL. V. HH 


250 . On the Fermentation and 


If the liquor be not cooled to sixty degrees, one 
degree of density should be allowed for every addi- 
tional five degrees of heat. 

When the above regulations are attended to, the — 
following will be found to be nearly the densities or 
gravities of some of the most celebrated malt li- 
quors, both before and after fermentation. 

Porter has sixty-six degrees of density before fer- 
mentation, but is reduced, by a proper fermentation, 
to twenty-six degrees of density. 

Ringwood ale, seventy-four before fermentation, 
but is reduced to thirty after. 

Dorchester ale, eighty-four before, and forty-five 
after. 

Table-beer has forty degrees of density before 
fermentation, but only twenty-two after. 3 

From the foregoing observations, the use of the 
saccharometer is sufficiently manifest, as it not only 
serves as a guide to the quantity of liquor to be 
drawn from malts of different qualities, but also to 
‘determine whether those liquors are properly atte- 
nuated by fermentation. 


The first part of the experiments are arranged in 
the following order. | 
I. On the production of artificial ferments, 


lower, are certainly co-operating principles in all gelatine 
eus liquors, 


; See the Appendix to Richardson’s 
Statical Estimates, 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 254 
with a view to ascertain their relative values.* 


* Boerhaave arranges, what he calls principal ferments, 
in the following order. 1. Allthose things which of their 
own nature are greatly disposed to ferment, so as imme- 
diately to begin this operation without any other ferment; 
such as the juices of ripe summer-fruits, which are so 
strongly disposed to ferment as scarcely to be kept quiet 
without the help of things that prevent fermentation, So 
likewise a paste made of flour and water, and laid in a 
warm place cannot then be hindered from fermenting. 
Hence, we need not be solicitous about a first ferment, be- 
cause nature spontaneously affords it every where, 2. The 
recent flowers, thrown to the top of beer, in the act of fer- 
mentation; for, if this rarified frothy matter be mixed 
with other fermentable liquors it greatly promotes their fer- 
mentation, 3. The same matter now become heavier and 
sunk to the bottom, provided it be not too stale, still re- 
tains the same ‘virtue, though ina less degree than the 
former, In this state it is called lees; and being by mo- 
tion mixed with its own wine, it often occasions a new 
fermentation, and will excite it in other subjects, 4. Cas- 
sia, honey, manna, sugar, and the like inspissated juices. 5, 
And paste of flour fermented, or baker’s leaven: for, though 
meal may be preserved, for years, fresh and sweet, in a dry 
place, and kept from i insects; yet, if wrought with water into 
a soft, sweet, and close paste, and lightly covered ina warm 
place, it will, in an hour’s time, begin to heave, swell, ra- 
rify, become all-over full of cavities, change its smell, 
taste, and tenacity, prove acid both to the taste and smell, 
and thus becomes that proper ferment, which gave the 
original name of this whole operation; because, when 
thus prepared, if a part of it be mixed with other fresh 
paste, not yet fermented, it now causes it to ferment much 
sooner and stronger, 6, The remains of former ferment- 


252 On the Fermentation and 


II. Whether the fermentation ought to be carried 
on in open or close vessels. 

III. The effects of different factitious airs on fer- 
menting liquors. 


‘ 


I. From a considerable number of experiments 
on artificial ferments I shall select the six following. 

1. I took four ounces of wheat flour and a pint 
of water. The water, when mixed with the flour, 
was about eighty degrees of heat, and the mixture 
was placed in a temperature varying from sixty-five 
to seventy-five, for five days. 

2. To a mixture similar to the above, and of 
the same degree of heat, I added an ounce of mu- 
riat of soda, (common salt) which was also left in a 
temperature varying from sixty-five to seventy-five, _ 
for five days. 

3. The same proportions of water and flour were 
mixed as in the first and second experiments, and 
put into Nooth’s apparatus, and subjected (as in T. 
Henry’s Experiments) to the action of the carbonic 
acid gas for five days. 

4.' A quart of strong infusion of malt * was plac- 


ing matters, sticking to the sides of casks, every way pene- 
trated by the subtilty of the wines they before contained, 
become extremely apt for raising a quick and violent fer- 
mentation in fresh liquors put intothem, 7. The white 
of eggs beat up toa froth, &c. 
See the Practice of Chemisiry. p. 108. 
* The method proposed by W. Mason, (which is in- 
serted in the Transactions of the Society for the Encou- 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 253 


ed in the same temperature for an equal length of 


time. 

5- To another quart, of malt liquor was added 
three ounces of a strong infusion of hop, and treat- 
ed as before. 

6. An equal quantity of the infusion of malt was 
put into the middle part of Nooth’s apparatus, and 
subjected (like the flour and water) to the action of 
the carbonic acid gas, for five days. 

All the foregoing compounds began to ferment 
about the same time (four days after the mix- 
ture was made); but in order more fully to assertain 
their real value, I took six vessels, into each of which 


ragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce) is as 
follows. 

** Procure three vessels, of different sizes or apertures ; 
one capable of holding two quarts,'the other three or four, 
and the third five or six. Boil a quarter of a peck of malt 
for about eight or ten minutes, in three pints of water; 
and when a quart is poured off from the grains let it stand 
in a cool place, till not quite cold, but retaining the degree 
of heat which the brewers usually find to be proper when 
they begin to work the liquor. Then remove the vessel 
into some situation near the fire, where Fahrenheit’s ther- 
mometer stands between seventy and eighty, and there let it 
remain till the fermentation begins ; which will be in about 
thirty hours ; add then two quarts more of a like decoc- 
tion of malt, when cool ; and stir it well in the larger sized © 
vessel ; then proceed as before; after which, add an equal 
quantity more and mix all in the largest vessel, and it will 
produce yest enough for a brewing of forty gallons,” 


254 On the Fermentation and 


I put three gallons of wort, of forty-five degrees of 
density. One of the above ferments was put into 
each vessel of liquor, and they. were all placed to- 
gether in a temperature of fifty-one degrees, for 
eight days; at the end of which time, each parcel was 
separately distilled, but the quantity of spirit obtain- 
ed was so nearly similar in all, that I have kept ‘no 
account of their respective products. It must, how- 
ever, be observed, that the quantity of spirit formed 
-was much less than might have been produced by 
the assistance of a little yest; at the same time it is 
obvious, that fermentation may be effected by sub- 
jecting solutions of saccharine matter to a proper 
temperature without the addition of an artificial fer- 
ment. This is a farther proof of Dr. Pennington’s 
opinion, that worts would ferment without yest, 
though a much greater length of time is necessary, 
and after all the operation is not so perfect. 

With respect to the Doctor’s opinion on the 
raising of bread, I think it is by no means conclu. 
sive. He takes a quantity of dough, and subjects it 
to the action of yest for three quarters of an hour, 
and then commits it to distillation;—he obtained 
some water but no spirit; from which he concludes 
that bread is not raised by fermentation. Had the 
Doctor said that a complete fermentation was not 
necessary to raise bread, I should have had no ob- 
jection to his hypothesis. An operation is certainly 
begun, which in nine or sixteen hours, according to 


a yeah ger 


’ 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit.  O5e 


his own experiments, forms a spirit. This observa- 
tion was suggested on my first reading Dr. Penning- 


ton’s Inaugural Dissertation; but, in order more 


fully to satisfy myself, I took a gallon of wort, to 
which I added, at a proper temperature, two ounces 
of yest. The mixture was made in a glass jar, and I 
observed all the signs of .a beginning fermentation, 
such as a motion excited in the liquor, the bulk of 
which was increased and rendered turbid by the ap- 
pearance of opake filaments, together with an in- 
crease of heat. After it had stood three quarters 
of an hour, I distilled it, but not a drop of spirit 
came over, It may be urged, that this is but a ne- 
gative fact; but (when we observe that a similar 
change is effected in the dough to that in the fer- 
menting malt liquor, in an equal length of time, 
when we see the products of each turn out exactly 
alike, and when we consider that dough of itself 
ferments in a few days, without the addition of yest) 
we have, at least, presumptive evidence that the 
raising of bread is a beginning of fermentation. 

I have made some additional experiments to pro- 
duce artificial ferments from molasses, sugar, honey, 
and the expressed juice of ripe fruits; but as I found 
them all much inferior to the flowers of wine, or 
common yest, my subsequent experiments were all 
assisted by the latter. 

When I mention the quantity of yest used, I 


256 ° On the Fermentation and 


mean to be understood, one part of dry * yest (dri- 
ed upon canvas) and seven parts of water. 


II. I shall now proceed to the second enquiry. 
Is a greater quantity of spirit obtained by a free ad- 
mission or a total exclusion of the atmospherical 
air? 

Boerhaave mentions a free admission and emis- 
sion of the common air as one of the things neces- 
sary to promote fermentation, and his opinion has 
prevailed to the present day: for Mr. Chaptal ob- 
serves, that in order to develope this fermentation 
there is required, first, the access of air. Now if 
these assertions were true, my account of the ope- 
ration of fermentation would be essentially wrong; 
but the following facts will prove, that so far from 
a free access of common air being necessary to the 
spirituous fermentation it is highly injurious. 

I took a bushel of malt and infused it in a sufh- 
cient quantity of water of 180° of heat, for an hour, 
and then drew off six gallons. 

With water of 200° of heat I again infused the 
same malt another hour, and drew off an equal 
quantity. 

With water of 212° of heat, infused for an hour 
longer, I drew off six gallons more. 

Hydrogen .2900716 

* 9,4608507 lbs. of dry yest, J Oxygen 1.6437457 | 


consist of -+=----- Carbon - .7876519 
Azot - - .0393815 


Lavoisier. 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 257 


When the liquor was reduced to sixty degrees 
of heat, the gravity of each, by my hydrometer, was 
as follows. 

The first infusion had fifty-four degrees of den- 
sity, the second forty-five, and the third twenty- 
five. 

The six gallons of each infusion were divided 
into two equal parts, the one for close the other for 
open fermentation. These were pitched with four 
ounces of yest respectively: the first two parcels at 
66° of heat, the second at 60°, and the third at 55°. 

The reason of operating on liquors of different 
densities, and pitching them at different degrees of 
heat, will be explained hereafter. They are now to 
be considered as six different wo betiate do in sup- 
port of one fact. 

The vessels used for the open fermentation were 
jars equally wide, or rather wider, at the top than the 
bottom. Of those for close fermentation I have 
given two drawings in plate IV. fig. 1 & 2. I pre- 
fer having the ends of the tubes immersed in water, 
as I think it answers the purpose better than com- 
mon valves, If the vessel be closed round the tube 
it is equally air-tight, and the resistance of the wa- 
ter will not be too great for the elasticity of the car- 
bonic acid gas and other fluids which are raised 
during the intestine motion; nor is there any fear of 
the elasticity of the air in the vessel being overcome 

VOL. Vv. is . 


258 On the Fermentation and 


by the pressure of the atmospherical air on the 
surface of the water. 

The fermentation was continued till all signs of 
fermentation had subsided; the contents of each 
vessel were then carefully distilled, and their pro< 
ducts were as follow. 


TABLE OF THE QUANTITY AND STRENGTH 
OF THE SPIRIT OBTAINED BY THE FOREGO- 
ING PROCESSES. 


Degrees below proof. 


Gallons of |Density in} Heat at |Ounces of 
wort. each expe-|which the |spirit pro- 
g riment. yest was |duced. Inthe clos- | In the open 
added, ed vessel. vessel. 


I, Six gallons divided into two parts. 


Ser ee Poet BO ee 


II. Six gallons divided into two equal parts, 


Seo [S ah 66" AOR ae | Fee 


III. Six gallons divided into two equal parts. 
oe oe oO 


N.B. The gravity of the spirit was ascertained by Dicas’s 
hydrometer, and the density of the worts by my own 
saccharometer. 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 259 


I have frequently repeated the above experi- 
ments, varying the density and heat of the liquors, 
as well as the quantity and quality of the ferments ; 
and the spirit produced was always equally in favour 
of close in preference to open fermentation. This 
was also the case whatever modification of fer- 
mentable matter I used, whether molasses, sugar, or 
potatoes. 

I may here observe on the subject of potatoes, 
that they never answered the expectation which I 
had formed from the account given by Dr. Ander- 
son. To procure five quarts of spirit from seventy 
pounds of potatoes appeared very extragrdinary ; 
but, from repeated experiments, I am thoroughly” 
satisfied, that it is not possible either by the plan 
proposed by Dr. Anderson, or any other with 
which we are acquainted. The farina obtained 
from seventy pounds of potatoes does not exceed 
fourteen pounds, (a fact which I have proved by 
carefully collecting it) and good molasses, by a 
well regulated fermentation, will not form more 
than its bulk of spirit; from which it will appear 
very improbable that ten pints of spirit can be pro- 
duced from the above quantity of farina.* 

In the course of these experiments, I was asto- 
nished to find so great.a disproportion in the quan- 

* This fact shews us how erroneous the common opi- 


nion is, of mixing potatoes with bread as an object of 
economy, 


260 -Onthe Fermentation and 


tity of my liquors after fermentation. On reflec- 
tion it would readily occur, that there would be a 
diminution of bulk in that which was fermented in 
the open vessel; but it was so great, that I at first 
suspected an error had been committed in dividing 
the liquors: however, from repeated observation, 
the difference was so evident, that I made the two 
following experiments more accurately to determine 
the fact. 

I took eleven quarts, three ounces, and a half of 
wort, to which I added four ounces of yest, and 
fermented it in the close vessel for twelve days, at 
the end of which time it had lost eight ounces by 
measure. 

An equal quantity of wort and yest was ferment- 
ed in an open, vessel for the same length of time, 
and exactly in the same temperature. On measur- 
ing the second, I found a diminution of forty ounces. 

To determine with certainty whether the liquors 
remaining in each vessel were equally good, I sepa- 
rately distilled the two, leaving out thirty-two ounces 
of the latter, (which was the difference in quantity) 
and the spirit produced from each was exactly alike. 

From the two foregoing facts our information is 
still more complete, as we not only observe the 
great saving in the liquor by close fermentation, but 
we also see that a diminution of eight ounces had 
taken place in the close vessel, and we have good 
grounds for supposing that it is an actual diminution 


; Disiillation of Ardent Spirit. 261 


of the whole of the fermenting mass; from the con- 
sideration of which we shall not be surprised that 
Chaptal made vinegar from the fluids thrown off 
by fermentation.* 

This part of the subject appeared too jnterdsiing 
to be left without a little farther investigation, as 
some chemical writers of eminence have stated, that 
it was pure unadulterated carbonic acid gas which 
was thrown off by fermentation; others, that it was 
carbonic acid gas combined with pure alcohol ; while 
many have supposed to be an union of gas, alcohol, 
and water;t but none, whose opinion I have seen, 
have stated it to-be what it is:—all the elementary 


* M.I. A. Chaptal communicated to the Academy at 
Paris (1786) an observation of some curiosity respecting 
the formation of vinegar. He placed some distilled wa- 
ter above the vinous fluid in fermentation, to impregnate 
it with carbonic acid. The water, thus impregnated, 
afforded vinegar; and, at the end of some months, a depo- 
sition was made of a substance in flocks, which was ana- 
logous to the fibrous matter of vegetables. 

+ Lavoisier says, “* when this gas is carefully gathered, 
it is found to be carbonic acid perfectly pure, and free 
from admixture with any other species of air or gas;” 
but his translator observes, * that the perfect purity 
must be taken with some allowance; for it almost always 
(I believe constantly) contains some alcohol, besides a con-, 
siderable quantity of aqueous gas or water, in solution, 
The latter does not affect its purity, the former does in 


some degree.” 
| 


262 On the Fermentation and 


principles of the fermenting liquor highly surcharged 
with carbonic acid gas. 

To determine this more fully, I made the follow- 
ing experiments. 

Toa fermenting tun, holding about ninety gallons 
_ of liquor, I connected two casks with bent tubes, 
in the manner of Woulfe’s apparatus. The first cask 
was sufficiently large to hold all the yest and liquor 
which ran over the top of the tun, and was left 
empty to receive it. The second held a quantity 
of pure water, into which one end of the connecting 
tube was immersed. The apparatus was adjusted 
about six hours after the liquor had begun to fer- 
ment; and the water was subjected to the action of 
the fluids, which came over in a gaseous state for 
sixty hours. 

The liquor was divided into three parts, the first 
of which was immediately distilled and yielded a 
small quantity of spirit. 

To the second I added, at a proper temperature, 
a little yest, and a new fermentation was excited; 
by means of which the spirit produced was nearly 
double. 

The third was placed in a proper degree of heat 
to make vinegar, and it is already acidulous. 


II. THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT FACTI- 
TIOUS AIRS ON FERMENTING LIQUORS, 


It has been before observed, that nothing but sa- 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 263 


charine matter can be fermented, and the indefati- 
gable Lavoisier has proved, “that sugar is a true 
vegetable oxyd with two bases, composed of hydro- 
gen and carbon, brought to the state of an oxyd by 
means of a certain portion of oxygen. Fermentation 
is the mere separation of its elements into two por- 
tions, in which one part is oxygenated at the ex- 
pence of the other so as to form carbonic acid; 
whilst the other part is disoxygenated in favour of 
the former, and is converted into the combustible 
substance called alcohol.” 

It was from a consideration of these circum- 
stances, that I was induced to try what effect an at- 
mosphere of some factitious airs would have on 
fermentation. « 

My experiments on this part of the subject have 
been confined to hydrogen, oxygen, and a mixture 
of the two. The hydrogen gas was made by de- 
composing water on iron-filings by heat, not by 
the sulphuric acid; and the oxygen gas was obtained 
from the oxyd of manganese. The processes 
were conducted in the following manner. I took 
three bottles similar to that represented in PI. [V, 
fig. 1. into each of which was put thirteen quarts 
of ‘wort of forty-five degrees of density, To 
each bottle was added four ounces of yest. “Af. 
ter the fermentation had begun I fixed a bag, 
containing one of the gases, in the stopper of 
each vessel, by means of a stop-cock and screw, 


264 On the Fermentation and 


The respective gases were occasionally forced into 
the bottles, and mixed with the elastic fluids already 
produced. These operations were continued for 
eight days, and the bags were replenished with fresh 
gas every twenty-four hours. 

The particular phenomena attending the fermen- 
tation of the liquor in each vessel were in no respect 
important, excepting that the flowers on the surface 
were not equal to what might have been expected if 
no gas had been forced in, and that into. which the 
hydrogen gas was thrown was much inferior to the 
the other two. 

From observation I was, at first, scarcely able to 
determine, whether that supplied with a mixture of 
one part oxygen and two of hydrogen, or that which 
was supplied with pure oxygen gas, had the better 
head; but, from close and repeated. inspection, it 
appeared in favour of the latter. 


On distillation, the spirit produced from each was 
as follows. 


By pure Oxygen gas .--.-+-s+--++ 30 0Z. 110° = 
By pure hydrogen gas .......- + 30 eRe ie: 
By a mixture of oxygen and 3 

hydrogen gas seersesseeereeeeees 30 106° 8 


Most that we have learned from the three last 
experiments is, that they are none of them worth 
repeating as objects of profit; but they serve to. 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 265 


confirm our opinion against the admission of air to 
fermenting liquors. It is true that none of the 
above gases were similar to atmospherical air, as it 
is a mixture of oxygen, azot, and a little carbon.* 
I did not think it necessary to add any experiments 
with a mixture of oxygen and azot; for, as there 
is a column of air constantly rising from ferment- 
ing substances, the weight of which is much greater 
than that of atmospherical air, we cannot suppose 
that the latter is ever freely admitted, or even ad- 
mitted at all, by any of the common processes of 
fermentation. 


My observations on malting, mashing, ferment- 
ing, distilling, and rectifying, will be as brief as 
the nature of the different processes will admit. 

Martine, which consists in developing the sac- 
charine matter by germination, has been denominat- 
ed, by some, the saccharine fermentation; but I see 
no more propriety in the term, than if it were adopt- 
ed to express that progress in vegetation which 


‘ 


changes mucilage into foecula. 


* One hundred parts of atmospherical air usually con- 
sist of twenty-seven parts of oxygen and seventy-three 
of azotic gas; but the pure airis diminished, and carbonic 
acid formed, according to the number of persons breathing, 
or the quantity or quality of fuel burning, in an atmosphere 
formed as above, 

VOL. V. KK 


266 On the Fermentation and 


Margraaf extracted sugar from most vegetables, 
but it is more completely formed in some plants than 
in others, such as the arundo saccharifera, and the 
acer saccharinum. Manna is obtained from the 
leaves of fir, oak, juniper, and the maple-tree. The 
ash, which is very plenteous in Calabria and Sicily, 
affords that which is commonly sold both in flakes 
and in tears. It affords, by distillation, the same 
products as sugar. The analogy between saccharine 
matter, mucilages, and gums, is deducible from their 
containing the radical principle, which, in combina- 
tion with oxygen, constitutes the oxalic acid; and 
amylaceous fecula is only a slight alteration of mu- 
cilage, which may be converted into saccharine 
matter by germination. Saccharine matter must, 
therefore, be considered as one of the immediate 
principles of vegetables, formed by the natural pro- 
gress of vegetation. 

In order to prepare barley for germination, it 
must be fully saturated with water, which generally 
requires it to be completely covered for sixty hours, 
After it is fully saturated, it must be removed; not 
only for fear of injuring the texture of the grain, 
but to prevent the water from robbing the barley of 
its most valuable quality: an occurrence which in 
some degree takes place by an ordinary and proper 
steeping. ‘This is a fact not generally understood, 
however, it may be easily proved by subjecting the 
cold infusion of barley to fermentation, whereby 


a te 


eigtege 2 a Ter 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 267 


it will produce beer from which alcohol. may be 
distilled. 

When the barley is taken out of the water, it 
must be laid in a heap twenty-four hours; for, if it 
were immediately spread thin, it would become dry, 
no heat would be generated, nor wouldany vegetation 
ensue. The grain must be afterwards spread on a 
cool floor (if rather moist it would be better), 
sprinkled with water, and turned two or three times 
a day, to give the whole an equal temperature and 
keep it sufficiently moist. The appearance of the 
aqua-spire at the end of the corns is the usual cri- 
terion for taking the malt to the kiln; but I should 
advise its being urged a little farther, that is to say, 
I would have the agua-spire longer before the grain 
is removed from the floor. 

In drying, or what is generally called curing 
malt, the heat should only be continued until all the 
moisture is dissipated; for the spirit evaporates du- 
ring the whole process. This fact may be ascer- 
tained by drying malt in a retort, to which a re- 
ceiver is luted containing water; for the water will 
be found impregnated with spirit in proportion to 
the malt dried and the degree of heat which has 
been employed. 

The method lately adopted of crushing malt be- 
tween metal rollers, is certainly preferable to the ° 
common process of grinding. 


268 On the Fermentation and 


Soft water ought to be invariably used for MasH- 
1nG; and the heat should, in some degree, be varied 
according to the different qualities of the malt. But 
I shall suppose the malt to be good, and then lay 
down rules for extracting the saccharine matter. 

If the water be of too great a degree of heat at 
the first mashing, it will have a tendency to coagu- 
late the malt, or unite the whole into a pasty mass. 
On the contrary, if the heat be too low, the liquor 
will not become transparent until some degree of 
acidity takes place. I would,. therefore, recom- 
mend the following method as the best calculated to 
preserve transparency, and to obtain all the ferment- 
able matter. 

Infuse the malt in a sufficient quantity of water, 
of 160° of heat, for an hour; and then draw off the 
wort, which will be found very smooth, soft, and 
sweet. 

With water of 180° of heat, infuse the same 
malt another hour, and draw off the liquor as before, 
Some sweetness will still remain in the malt, for the 
obtaining of which it must be again infused in boil- 
ing water for another hour. When these three in- 


fusions are mixed and reduced to a proper heat, the 


artificial ferment (yest) may be added, 

J have devoied so much of the first part of this essay 
to the subject of rERMENTATION, and the applica- 
tion of the saccharometer, that it is not necessary tg 


eT 


ee ee eee ee 


NES 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 269 


enter at large upon them here. The great object is 
to regulate the heat according to the density of the 
liquor, before the yest is added; to keep the fer- 
menting mass in a proper temperature; and pay 
strict attention to the construction of the vessels, all 
of which may be deduced from the former experi- 
ments. The close vessels, to which tubes are adjust- 
ed and immersed in water, have some additional ad- 
vantages besides those already enumerated. They 
prevent, in some degree, the temperature of the sur- 
rounding atmosphere from affecting the fermenta- 
tion; and most effectually prevent any acidity from 
taking place however long the operation is con- 
tinued. 

It is of considerable importance to have the li- 
quor clear and freed from all heterogeneous matter ; 
and, if this has not been done by previous manage- 
ment, the usual method of refining ale or porter 
ought to be adopted before the liquor is commit- 
ted to distillation. A quantity of isinglass dis- 
solved in water, to which a little sour beer must be 
added, has the best and quickest effect. 

There is another necessary precaution to be ob- 
served. Care should be taken that the sediment be 


not disturbed in removing the liquor, from the ves- 


sel in which it has been fermented, to the still. 
This may be done either by a tap at a small distance 
from the bottom of the vessel, or by the introduc- 
tion of a syphon, 


270 On the Fermeniation and 


The pist1LLation of the spirit is equally,if not 
more, important than any of the previous processes : 
for, however good the malt may be, or whatever 
care may have been taken in the mashing and fer- 
menting, if the distillation be not well conducted, 
the quantity of spirit will be small and its quality 
bad. 

To obtain spirit from fermented liquor is the bu- 
siness of the distiller, but to refine and purify it be- 
longs to the rectifier. The second operation is so 
dependent on the first, that unless the distillation 
be carefully conducted, the rectification will be 
rendered both tedious and difficult. 

The art of distilling malt spirit may be reduced 
to the following principles. 1. To obtain the spirit 
free from the oil of malt. 2. To raise the vapours 
in the most ceconomical manner. 3. To condense 
them as speedily as possible. And 4. to prevent 
empyreuma. 

The first may be done by mixing a small quanti- 
ty of sulphuric acid with the wash ; and the remain- 
ing three by a proper construction of the still and 
the necessary care in distillation. 

The still should be so constructed as to be capa- 
ble of containing a column of fermentable matter 
considerably broader than high, to prevent the li- 
quor at the bottom from being burnt before the up- 
per part is heated. The top should be as wide as 
the bottom to give the vapours free and complete 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 271 


. liberty to escape. By the common construction 
of stills they are incessantly returned into the boiler, 
especially at the commencement of the process. 
The still recommended by Chaptal is well cal- 
culated for the distillation of ardent spirit. The 
bottom is concave, in order that the fire may be 
nearly at an equal distance from all the points of its 
surface; the sides are elevated perpendicularly, in 
such a manner, that the body exhibits the form of 
a portion of a cylinder; and this body is covered 
with a vast capital, surrounded by its refrigeratory. 
This capital has a groove or channel projecting two 
inches at its lower part within: the sides have an in- 
clination of sixty-five degrees. The beak of the 
capital is as high and as wide as the capital itself, 
and insensibly diminishes till it comes to the worm- 
pipe. The refrigeratory accompanies the beak or 
neck, and has a cock at its further end which suffers 
the water to run out, while it is replaced by other 
cold water, which incessantly flows in from above. 


When the water of the refrigeratory begins to be 
warm a cock is opened, that it may escape in pro- 
portion as it is more plentifully supplied from above. 

The distillation of the wash may be kept up un- 
til the quantity limited by act of parliament is ob- 
tained; or until the product is no longer inflam- 
mable. 

Various contrivances have been adopted by the 


272 On the Fermentation and 


distillers to prevent the wash from burning in the 
still. A bundle of clean sticks is sometimes thrown 
loose into the liquor to agitate the same during the 
ebullition. This is more effectually done by a cy- 
linder, fixed in such a manner that it will turn by 
the action of the steam, and continue a more regular 
agitation by means of chains of wood or metal con- 
nected with the cylinder; but these precautions are 
scarcely necessary if the wash has been rendered 
sufficiently limpid. 


RECTIFICATION is simpleand easy, provided the 
previous operations have been well managed; but if 
an empyreuma has been contracted in the still, or the 
foetid oil has been combined with the spirit, then it 
becomes more difficult. On the contrary, if these 
have been avoided, nothing more is necessary than 
to mix ‘the spirit with an equal quantity of pure 
water and recommit it to distillation, when it will 
come over pure. 

When the liquor has been burnt in the still, it 
ought to be kept, for some weeks, in charred vessels ; 
and a quantity of charcoal should be mixed with 
the spirit and water, previously to the distillation. 
This will, generally, be found a sufficient reme- 
dy for empyreuma, but will not correct the dis- 
agreeable flavour communicated by the admixture 
of the fcetid oil. Many substances have been used 
for this purpose, none of which, I think, are fully 


Distillation of Ardent Spirit. 273 


adequate to the end proposed. Filtration has 
been recommended, but the oil is so intimately 
mixed with the spirit that a considerable quantity 
will pass through the filter. The operation is also 
tedious, and some of the spirit evaporates during 
the process. Alkaline salts are frequently mixed 
with the spirit, previously to rectification, such as 
the carbonat of potash, but more frequently the 
carbonat of soda. They, however, are both liable 
to considerable objections, when unassisted by any 
other substance; for, although they combine with 
the oil, and, in some degree, prevent its rising in 
vapours, yet they communicate an urinaus flavour 
to the spirit which is highly injurious. Neutral 
salts, quick-lime, calcined bones, and chalk are 
equally liable to objection, as they do not effectually 
deprive the spirit of the oil which it holds in solu- 
tion, and an improper flavour is also contracted 
from them. 

The method which I have adopted, and which is 
generally attended with the most favourable result, 
is the following : 

The body of the still is constructed like the 
former, but the capital is so formed as to admit of a 
bent tube into the boiler, or rather into a vessel con- 
nected with the beak, and fixed in the boiler in 
such a manner as to ferm<a balneum, to be heated 
by the liquor in the stil From the top of this 
yessel an additional beak is continued, similar to 

VOL. V. hea 


Site A i ye 


274 On Fermentation, Sc. 


that described in the still for the distillation of the 
wash, and like ict the worm in the 
tub. s : 
The liquor intended iii mapst be put. . 
into the:still, with a proportionab 
bonat of soda, and inte 
tity of d diluted sulphur 
tals a luted, the fi re 


A fier the two 2. 
hted and 9 the va- 


ich they will regular] with the heat c commu- 

ated by the boiling lic uthe still. By this 
means the oil will remain Pombitied with the alkali, 
with which it will form a soap, whilst the bad flavour 
contracted. by the alkali will be totally destroyed, 
nor will the sulphuric acid be raised in sufficient 
quantity to injure the taste or quality of the spirit. 
This will be found equally valuable by inverting 
the order of the process, that is, by mixing the sul- 
phuric acid with the liquor in the still (about two 
drams to a gallon) and putting a strong solution of 
carbonat of soda into the vessel in the still. 7 

Perfectly pure alcohol may be obtained from the 
spirit made by the foregoing rules ;sbut as the dis- 
tillation of alcohol has engaged attention. of 
many eminent chemists,.I s all t ouble the 
Society either with the nefifed of di tilling it or its 
affinities. ooh 


UN E 
Ny | 


Mant 
UI 


Ul 


— 
—— 
=— 
— 
=— 
i) 


—— 
a Na 


275 


Hints on the Establishment of an UNI- 
VERSAL WRITTEN CHARACTER. 
In a Letter to the Rev. Dr. Joun Kemp. 
By Witi1am Br OWN, M. D. 


Communicated by Dr. Hoxme. 


READ JAN. 26, 1798. ES | 


me, 


My dear Sir, 
About three years ago, my much 


esteemed friend Dr. James Anderson, threw out 
in conversation some things concerning a charac- 
ter, by means of which men of all nations might 
have intellectual intercourse, though their lan- 
guages were unknown to each other. Since that 
time, I have occasionally turned my thoughts to 
this subject, and now take the liberty of communi- 
cating to you the his which my reflections have 
suggested, 

The intention of those gentlemen, who have em- 
selves in devising means for universal 
i = among men, seems rather to have 
been to introduce a new system of language, than 
to invent a plan for representing the already exist- . 
ing tongues, in such a manner, as to be intelligible 
to men of all nations. . But unless this be accom- 
plished, we gain little; because if a new language 


» 


276 Onan Universal written Character. 


is to be learned, it would be as easy to induce the 
world to agree in the use of any of the constituted 
tongues, as to persuade them to employ any other, 
however philosophical. The idea suggested by 
Dr. Anderson, is to invent a mode of notation which 
can be rendered by every one into his own lan- 
guage, with as much ease and perspicuity as we are 

~ now accustomed to do in the case of numbers by 
means of the Indian cyphers. As the figures 1797 
are rendered by all the nations, where the meaning 
of these signs is understood, into their respective 
tongues ; so in an universal character, a man should 
find the same facility in rendering a book, written 
by aperson whose language he does not under- 
stand, and who does not understand his speech, in- 
to his mother tongue, or into any other which he 
may happen to know. 

The possibility of effecting this seems to be evi- 
dent, from the consideration of the sameness of the 
human intellect, and the sameness of the objects 
about which this intellect isemployed. It is further 
confirmed by the use of the Indian numerals, and 
of the musical, and algebraic methods of notation. 

~ It is almost unnecessary to point out the advan- 
tages that would arise from the invention of which 
I speak. They would obviously be very great to 
the commercial, literary, and religious interests of 
mankind. 

In considering the way in which such a character 


On an Universal written Character. 277 


as I have mentioned, may be contrived, it appeared 
to me best to attend to the method which men have 
employed for expressing their thoughts by oral signs. 
It seems pretty certain, that if the things denoted 
by articulate sounds, can be denoted by visible 
marks, these marks will be equally well understood. 
This is what, in some measure, we do every day 
by the use of letters. In this instance, it is true, 
we only represent the sounds denoting things; but 
can we not also transcribe the import of these 
sounds into visible marks? All language consists 
of a certain number of arbitrary vocal marks or 
sounds, to which mankind have appropriated de- 
terminate meanings, or perceptions of the mind. 
These sounds are different in different nations, but 
are used to signify the same perceptions: if visible 
signs were invented to denote these perceptions, 
would they not be rendered into audible language 
according to the custom of the individual who so 
renders them? 

What has been said will convey some general 
notion of the principle on which an universal char- 
acter might be made, But, in order to explain it 
more fully, let us endeavour to point out some par- 
ticulars in the structure of language. 

Every language seems to be composed of two’ 
sorts of signs merely arbitrary. The number of 
these signs is small, in comparison of the number 
of words of which language consists. One kind 


278 Onan Universal written Character. 

of these arbitrary signs, is employed solely in de- 
noting simple ideas.* Thus davocy SOMNUS, SOM, 
schlaf, SLEEP, sommetl: Dayw, EDO, yem, Ich esse, 


IT eat, Fe mange: CALOR, jar,t hitze HEAT, cha- 


. deur: epac, AMOR, liubov, liebe, Love, amour. 


I do not say that the examples above stated are 
absolutely arbitrary signs in all the languages from 
which these words are taken. Perhaps some of 
them may be compounds, but they must be ulti- 
mately: traced to signs merely arbitrary ; and that is 
sufficient to establish my assertion concerning the 
structure of language, as far as relates to this class’ 
of signs. 

As the names of things alone cannot afford sub- 
ject of discourse, which is entirely occupied in telling 
to others, the relations which one thing bears to an- 
other, it became necessary to invent signs which 
denote these relations. Farther, as the extent of 
human knowledge increased, new objects of dis- 
course were discovered, which necessarily came to — 
be denoted by distinctive marks. Some of these 
last have, I doubt not, been represented in some 
languages by new arbitrary signs: but, for the most 
part, mankind, by a very simple device, have ob- 
viated the necessity of multiplying signs, which it 


* If I do not speak with metaphysical precision, I hope 
I shall be excused ; because I daresay my meaning will be 


understood, 
+ Pronounced like the French J in Jour. 


On an Universal written Character. 279 


must have been equally inconvenient to invent and 
to remember. 

This device is twofold. Words are used figu- 
ratively ;—thus the word express is used to denote 
the manner in which one person conveys his 
thoughts by language to another, though properly 
the word has no such meaning. But this is not the 
part of the device I mean to speak of. I wish you 
to attend to the second class of arbitrary signs, 
which I have said forma constituent part of language: 
This class is intirely different from the one I have 
already mentioned: its signs convey no meaning 
when they stand alone, and serve only to modify 
the meaning of those of the other class. As all 
things denoted by the first class of signs may be 
placed in various relations, and be in some measure 


modified; the application of this class is as exten— 


sive as are the situations and degrees in which things 
denoted by the other class can be placed or modified, 
This class consists of prepositions and terminations, 
Before exemplifying the use and application of 
the two classes of constituent signs of oral Jan- 
guage, suffer me to make an observation concern- 
ing our English compounds. It has been the 
practice of those who have endeavoured to en- 
rich .our tongue, to borrow compounds from 
other languages, without having previously intro- 
duced the simple words of which such compounds 
are formed, In so doing, they have not only dis- 


280 Onan Universal written Character. 


figured the English tongue, but have rendered it in 
many cases obscure, and in some absolutely unin- 
_telligible to by far the greatest number of those who 
use it. To give compound words their beauty and 
significancy, it is necessary that their constituent 
parts be known. If otherwise, the new word is not 
a sign, which, from its structure, conveys its own 
meaning: it is nothing more than a new arbitrary. 
mark, which must be explained in a dictionary or 
elsewhere, before the thing it is meant to represent 
can be known. ‘Thus to the mere English reader, 
the words omniscient, omnipotent, predestinatzon, tdo- 
latry, arbitrary, and many others less generally un- 
derstood, do not convey the ideas which in their ori- 
ginal languages they: are well fitted to represent: nay 
we have even the word superstitzon, which, as far as 
I see, the Romans themselves did not understand. 
The Russians use a word to denote. what we call 
superstition, which is easily intelligible. Their 
word is sweverie ,* from sue, vain; and verie, belief. 
And in English we have words universally under- 
stood to denote what is meant by the foreign com- 
pounds above noticed:—thus we know what is 
meant by all-wise, all-mighty, fore-appointment, 
idol-service, free-willful——But to return. 

If visible signs are made to represent the consti- 
tuent vocal signs of language, and if those are ap- 


* Pronounce every letter, asin Latin, 


On an Universal written Character. 281 


applied in the same way, in which mankind have 
been accustomed to use their oral signs, will not the 
same effects follow ? 

To enable us to answer this question in the af- 
firmative, it will be necessary to shew, that all lan- 
guages are perfectly similar in their structure, and 
differ only in the form of the signs employed. 

I have paid some attention to the Latin, Russ, 
and English languages ; and I have also looked into 
the Greek, German, and French. By examples 
from these six tongues, I shall endeavour to shew 
that the structure of all is alike; and I hope I 
shall be likewise able to render it very probable, 
that the number of constituent signs is nearly equal 
in all. 

What has been said concerning the first class of 
constituent signs is, I imagine, enough to point 
them out. It is, however, to be observed, that I 
am not to affirm, that the number of these, in every 
language, is precisely the same. Nor is it neces- 
sary for our purpose-that this should be the case. 

One people may have used compound signs for 
denoting certain ideas, which another may have 
done by arbitrary marks. Thus we say mute, when 
the Russians say dessglassnoz, (bess, without ; glassnoz, 
of, or belonging to voice). We say blind, where | 
the Latins say oculis captus, and the Greeks ao, 
adaoc. This, however, does not contradict my 
general position; because, if enquired into, we shall 

VOL. Vv. M M 


282 Onan Universal written Character. 


find, that the compound word is formed from an 
arbitrary sign denoting a simple idea, bearing some 
relation to the idea now to be represented, modified 
by one of the second class of arbitrary marks. 

I have only farther to observe concerning this 
class of signs, that I consider every word, the mean- 
_ ing of which is not indicated by its structure, as an 

arbitrary mark, whether it has been so originally or 
not. If we have lost the signification of its consti- 
tuent parts, we can only get a knowledge of its 
| meaning by being told that it means so and so; and 
this knowledge is preserved by memory alone. 
Thus neobhodimos¢ is merely an arbitrary mark for 
necessity to a person who does not understand the 
Russian tongue, as necesst/y is for unavoidableness to 
a person who does not know the derivation of the 
word necessity. Buta Russian would be at no loss 
to know the meaning of neobhodimost, though he 
had seen it for the first tame. He knows the signi- 
fication of the various signs of which it is compos- 
ed, viz. ne, negative ; ob, preposition, expressive of 
circuity; hodit, verb to walk; and ost, the termina- 
tional sign, denoting quality abstractly substantiat- 
ed. Farther, he would observe that the verb hodié 
is modified by the terminational my, expressing that 
the substantive with which verbs modified by this 
sign is joined, possess the capacity of undergoing 
the action of the verb so modified: thus, hodimy 
signifies. that can be walked, or gone, walkable, or go- 


On an Universal writien Characier. 283 


able. Hence the Russian sees that neobhodimosét 
conveys the clear idea of necessity, or of something 
that cannot be shunned or avoided by going round 
it, or out of its way. To translate it into English, 
some such word as unwalkaboutableness would be 
produced. It is evident, that to the mere English 
reader the words catalogue, philosophy, philology, 
biography, astronomy, preposition, expedition, and 
many others, are as much arbitrary signs as neob- 
hodimost would be, were any person to take it into 
his head to introduce it into our tongue. There is 
this exception, however, that the terminational sign 
added to the foreign words I have mentioned, being 
in some of them purely English, the class to which 
the idea denoted by them belongs is understood, 
though the meaning of the word is not. We can 
only perceive that these words express some general 
idea, defined by the meaning of the constituent 
parts of which the compounds are formed. nf 
The other class of arbitrary signs of oral lan- 
guage are, we have said, of a very different nature 
from those which denote simple ideas only. This 
Class is not so numerous as the other, and may of 
course be more easily represented by visible marks. 
The great advantages that arise from this simple 
contrivance of rude men, if we believe language a 
human invention (which, indeed, the apparent ne 
cessity of a thorough knowledge of the nature and 
relation of things, to the first inventors of this beau~ 


284 Onan Universal writien Characier. 


tiful device, renders very doubtful) is worthy of ad- 
miration. By it the neéd of a new sign for every 
new perception of the human mind is superseded, 
and language made copious, without fatiguing the ° 
memory. There are two divisions of this class of 

signs. The one contains those which are perma- 

nently fixed to, and constitute part of words; the 

others are occasionally employed in denoting the 

relation words bear to each other, as in the declen- 

sion of nouns, &c. I shall take no notice of this 

division of modifying signs here: it is evident they 

could be easily provided for in visible language. 

The permanent modifying signs may be divided 
into prepositional and terminational. If we com- 
pare the prepositions of one language with those of 
another we shall find, that if the simple arbitrary 
signs are not equal in number, yet there are, in 
¢very tongue, either simple or compounded ones to 
express all the possible circumstances which can be 
denoted by this kind of sign. 

It must be allowed that every preposition has 
net always the same determinate meaning in every 
compound word into which it enters. This cannot, 
however, be admitted as an argument against this 
scheme of an universal character, because the mean. 
ing of a preposition is oral, and in characteristic 
language must be determined by the same means. 
The absolute meaning of a word is determined. by 
the precise signification of the parts of which it is 


Onan Universal written Character. 285 


composed ; but its application, in a particular case, 
does not depend on its absolute meaning alone: 
we take into account its place in a sentence, its re- 
 Jation to. other words, and the nature of the subject 
about which the speaker is employed. Thus we say, 
io undo a knot, when we mean to untye it: but we 
also say, to undo a man, when we mean to ruin him, 
The Russians speak of a man’s vuzgovor, when they 
speak of his pronounciation; but they also say, 
delate komou vuigovor, to give aman a rebuke. 
Now as mankind find no inconveniency in this in- 
determinate meaning of words in their own tongue, 
it appears to me, that they will find no great diffi- 
culty in perceiving the meaning of the application 
of prepositions by a writer in a strange language. 
But should any inconveniency arise from this cause, 
I think I may venture to say it would scarcely ex- 
tend beyond the present generation, because an uni- 
form mode of writing would soon introduce an 
uniformity of idiom, or naturalize all foreign 
idioms. : 

It seems unnecessary to enumerate the prepo- 
sitions of the six languages I have mentioned, and 
shew that each of them can be translated into every 
other ;—this I think is obvious ;—I shall only give 
some examples of their use in composition ; ‘and 
thereby, I-hope, I shall establish a point very ne- 
cessary to be ascertained, viz. though compound 
words, used to denote certain things, may be com- 


286 On an Universal written Character. 


posed of different simple words, and of different 
prepositions, by people of different nations; yet 
they all serve to denote with perspicuity the mean- 
ing to be conveyed, and are readily understood by 
all. Thus to express the idea we annex to the 
word pronounce, the Greeks use exQavew 3 the La- 
tins, pronuncio; the Russians, vurgovorivat ; (vur, 
out; govorit, to speak) the Germans, aussprechen ; 
the English and French have adopted the Latin 
word. To denote the idea denoted by the Eng- 
lish word foretell; we have in Greek zpodeya, 
in Latin, predico; in Russ, predskazat; (pred, 
before ; skazat, to tell) in German, vorhersagen; in 
French, prédzre. 

In these examples there is a considerable degree 
of sameness in the mode of composition, though 
the different words used have not absolutely the 
same meaning. ‘The compounds, however, all ex 
press distinctly the same thing. But other words 
are used in these tongues to express the ideas indi- 
cated by the above examples, which convey very 
different meanings if taken poszizvely ; and yet, when 
used figuratively, are easily understood. Thus to 
express what we mean by pronounce, the Latins 
sometimes use proferre; the Russians, proisnocit ; 
(pro, through, is out off; nocit, to carry.) I see 
that arayyeddw is translated pronuncio. ‘To ex, 
press the meaning of foredell, we find also that va- 


On an Universal written Character. 287 


tious words are*used, thus zpoxalayyeAAw, xp0- 
cya, premonsiro, prenuncic, predyavlyayott, 
(pred, before ; yavlyayou, I make manifest); pred- 
vestchayou (vestchayou, 1 inform). In English al- 
so we use predict, foreshew. 

We may remark that the meaning of these words 
is much modified by the subject to which they are 
applied: thus we say indifferently to pronounce a 
word, to pronounce judgment, to pronounce a man 
innocent, &c. The Latins, by no means, confine the 
use of the words I have taken notice of to denote 
what we call pronunciation. The Russians say, 
dat mne reich vuigovorit, (let me finish or speak out 
my speech). This figurative use of words gives 
additional facility to the construction of an universal 
character, as it shews that it is customary among all 
men to use words ina sense different from their po- 
sitive meaning. ‘This is a circumstance of very 
great utility in beautifying language, and fitting it 
for a wonderful variety of expression. 

As prepositions are signs denoting some circum- 
stances immutably connected with the nature of 
things, they must exist in every language, under 
some form or other. It appears to me, that a com- 
mon sign for each of these would recal to the mind 
the circumstance denoted by it; and, at the same 
‘time, the way in which it is expressed in the oral 
language of the reader of an universal character. 

I hope these hints will be sufficient to shew that 


288 Onan Universal written Character. 


the constituent part of language, which may be cal- 
led prepositional, is probably the same in all lan- 
guages, and that it would be easily represented in 
characteristic writing.—I shall now beg leave to 
cal] your attention to those signs of oral language, 
which I term permanently terminational. Here, I 
think, we see the same simplicity of contrivance, 
and efficacy of operation, which is conspicuous in 
the prepositions. 

A small change in the ending of any of the first 
class of signs, is made to denote an idea perfectly 
distinct from that intimated by the original sign, and 
yet inseparably connected with it. As many ter- 
minationals have been contrived, as there have been 
perceived kinds of these distinct yet inseparable ideas. 

The number and efficacy of this sort of signs 
seem to be the same in all languages. It is need- 
less to exemplify the whole here ; their number is 
not great, but their operation is extensive. 

Terminationals modify the meaning both of verbs 
and nouns: they transform nouns into verbs, and 
verbs into nouns. A very few examples will ex- 
plain their use ; and at the same time, point out 
how easily this part of the structure of language can 
be imitated in characteristic writing. 

One sect of them change a substantive noun into 
an adjective, expressive of the quality of the noun 
from which it is formed, thus;— 


In Greek, gina, aiwatadus:s cwWue, THUATWOdUC, 


c 


.* 


On an Universal written Character. 289 


In Latin, sanguis, sanguineus ; corpus, corporeus. 
Russ, krov, krovavot ; telo, telesnoz. 
German, Jélut, blutig; leib, lerblich. 
English, blood, bloody ; body, bodily, 
French, sang, sanglant. 


You will remark that, in all these examples, so 
much of the original sign is retained as to enable us 
to perceive it. The change produced on it is only to 
fit it to join with the terminational mark, in a man- 
ner that does not occasion a disagreeable sound. 

The meaning of the noun thus modified is 
uniform and determinate. ‘The mode, however, of 
modification is not uniform, I believe, in any lan- 
guage. Several terminations are used to ,express 
the same thing, and are used according as they are 
best fitted to produce an agreeable sound. Séveral 
adjectives appear to me to be synonymous; thus, 
beauteous and beautiful, bownteous and bountiful. It is 
with much hesitation that I differ from my much 
valued friend Dr. Anderson in this respect.* But 
however this be, it would be easy in characteristic 
writing to invent signs even for the terminations 
which may be deemed perfectly synonymous. _Ir- 
regularities in the formation of this class of adjec- 
tives produce no confusion in oral language; the 
idea, though expressed in a different way, is still © 
the same. If in an universal character a sign is 


* Sce Bee, vol. vii. page 275. 
VOL. Vv. ‘NN 


290 On an Universal written Character. 


made to represent a general idea, that idea will be 
recalled to the mind whenever its sign is seen, and 
will be expressed in the manner usual in the lan- 
guage into which it 1s translated. 

It is farther to be remarked, that every language 
has not adjectives derived from the same words. 
This defect is supplied by constructing with the 
genitive case. But as both these ways of construc- 
tion, viz. with an adjective and genitive case, are 
proper to all languages, as far as I know, though 
not in the same individual words, I think. the diffe- 

rence of idiom, in this case, can produce no con- 
fusion. © Thus, in English, we say equally, the soud’s 
powers, or the powers of the soul. In Russ, they 
use hatchestva dushi, &F kaichestva dusheunij; viz. 
qualrfications of the soul, ox the soul’s qualifications. 
In Latin we can only say vires animi, that lan- 
guage not possessing an adjective derived from 
animus. It is evident, however, were a Roman to 
see soul’s powers, or dushevnz) sili, written in charac- 
ters, he would be at no loss to know the meaning, 
and express it in Latin words. 

It. is not my intention, at present, to exemplify 

the mode of formation, or to define the import of 
‘the various classes of adjectives which are found in 
language; I shall only hint that an appropriate 
termination will be found predominant in each 
class. To define the meaning of adjectives, and 
reduce them to determinate classes, is a work of 


Pe Thi eS 


On an Universal written Character. 291 


great importance; but, from some little enquiry into 
this subject, I am apt to think, it would not be so 
difficult as it may appear to be at first sight, and 
would therefore present no insurmountable obstacle 
to the formation of an universal character. 

Another terminational sign conyerts an adjec- 
tive, however formed, into a word expressive of 
the quality denoted by such adjective, abs/ractly 
substantiated; thus— 

InGreek, ayaboc, ayaborus: mpaoc, mpeortus: 
aytos, atyLorns. 

Latin, Bonus, bonitas; lenis, lenitas; sanctus, 

sanctitas. 

Russ, blagoi, blagost ; smeernoi, smeernost ; 

sevyatot, sevyatost. 


German, giitig, gitigheit ; gelind, gelindigheit s 


heilig, helighett. 

English, good, goodness; meek, meekness ; holy, 
holiness. 

French, bon, bonté; —- — saint, sainteié. 


As in the formation of adjectives, so in this case 
also, there are in all languages more ways of form- 
ing this class of words than that which I have ex- 
emplified. There is in every tongue, I believe, 
a predominant mode; and I believe the examples 
I have given are instances of this mode in the, 
tongues from which they are taken. In Latin, we 
have many terminations in ‘udo and tza: thus, for- 


292 Onan Universal written Character. 


tidudo, solitudo, prudentia, constantia, Sc. In Russ, 
there are many examples in stvo, as pos toyanstvd, 
(constancy) sweerepstvo, (cruelty) ubivstvo, (mur- 
der; from uézt, to kill). In English also most of 
our foreign compounds retain nearly their former 
terminations in preference to our own in ness; thus, 
constancy, vartety, fortilude, solitude, tranquillity, Bc. 
It appears to me that this variety of termination in 
the constituted languages would produce no con- 
fusion in characteristic writing. The marks denot- 
ing this class of ideas would be translated into oral 
- language, according to the custom of readers ; thus, 
if joined to prudent, it would not be rendered into 
English, prudentness, but prudence: if to fortis, the 
Latins would read forteiudo, and not foriitas ; and 
so of others. 

Another terminational sign, which may be cel- 
led adverbial, is to be found, I believe, in every 
language. Its operation is well known, and ex- 
amples easily found: thus, dixziws, juste, pravedno, 
justly, justement. 

Terminations are also found to modify verbs; 
thus, by changing the termination of the verb, the 
person who performs the action indicated by it is 
denoted. 


In Greek, EPYAW, EOyaTYS : anew, anOUcYS. 
Latin, facto, factor ; lego, lector ; audio, auditor. 


On an Universal written Character. 293 


In Russ, delayou, delatel ; ichetayou, ichetatel ; 
slushayou, slushatel, 
German, Ich mahce, macher; Ich lese, leser ; 
Ich hore, zuhorer. 
English, J make, maker ; I read, reader; I hear, 
hearer. 
French, Faire, faiseur ; lire, liseur. 


Verb seems to indicate that a person is employ- 
ed about something—it asserts that something is 
done or suffered. Language has a sign to denote 
the thing about which the verb asserts its nomi- 
native is employed. It seems probable, that this 
sign was invented before the verb itself, which ap- 
pears to me only a noun so modified, as to denote 
that a person is employed about it. We find of 
consequence that many verbs are formed by adding 
a terminational sign to the mark, denoting the name 
of the action or passion its nominative is engaged 
in; thus, we have from amor, amare; labor, laborare; 
Liubov, liubit ; trude, trudit. Love, to love ; work, 
zowork, Liebe, lieben; arbeit, arbetten, 

There is a verbal termination which seems to in- 
dicate the name of the action of the verb, in a way © 
that supposes this action is still going on. This ter- 
mination is easily discovered in all languages, and 
is very much in use: thus— 

In Greek, capaiven, ropaivecie! TUYTYPEW, TUY= 


TUPYTIG: OsoLnEw, Ososuyose. 


294 Onan Universal written Characier. 


In Latin, admoneo, admontizo ; conservo, conservatio; 
admiror, admiratio; gubernd, gubernaino. 

Russ, uveschevayou, uveschanie; sochranyayou, 
sochranenie ; udzvlyayous, aioli ; 
upravlyayou, upravlenze. 

German, Ich erinnere, erinnerung ; Ich erhalte, 
erbaliung 3 Ich verwundere mich, ver-= 
wunderung ; Ich regiere, regierung. 

English oh The words are nearly the same as 

French. the Latin. mile 


It is easily seen, that in common language these 
words are often perverted from their strict mean- 
ing; thus, we use admoniiton, for advice; cautzon, 
for care, and even carefulness, 8c. we do not, how- 
ever, find any inconveniency from this incorrect 
way of speaking. We are, in fact, so accustomed 
to speak figuratively, that we do not perceive any 
impropriety in it. The existence of this class of 
words shew us, how mankind, even in their rude. 
state, discovered the need of inventing signs to 'de- 
note their ideas with_accuracy. In marking such, 
ideas, the simple artifice of a small change in the 
original sign is still employed. In my opinion, in 
characteristic writing, the course pointed out by the. 
original inventors of language must be followed. 
We shall find their mode of operation the most sim-, 
ple and the most effectual. 

Besides substantive nouns derived from verbs, 


On an Universal written Character. 295 


we have adjectives from the same source. I do 
not mean participles, which have been considered 
as a part of this class of words. 

__ There seems to be two kinds of verbal adjectives; 
one may be called active, and the other passive. 

The active verbal adjective denotes, that the 
substantive noun with which it is joined, is capable 
of exerting the action indicated by the verb from 
which it is derived. It differs from the present par- 
ticiple in this, that the participle asserts, the substan- 
tive with which it is joined to be actually perform- 
ing the action denoted by the verb: the verbal ad- 
jective only points out its capacity of doing so, 
In English, this class of verbals terminate in ive: 
some of them may have been perverted from their 
original meaning ; but if any person will consider 
the import of this ending, I make no doubt he will 
readily allow that their true signification is that which 
I have given. 

Terminations of this kind, I believe, are not fre- 
quent among the Latins. They seem to have ex. 
pressed this idea by a relative and verb, or by 
‘the gerund in the genitive case: thus, the phrase 
percepirve faculty, they translate facultas que per- 
cipit, or facultas percipiendi. There are, however, 
some examples of this class of words in Latin, ad. 
‘hesivus, passivus, indicativus, c. The Russian 
Janguage is very rich in this class : thus, pobeditelnor, 
capable of overcoming, from pobedit, to overcome; 


296 On an Universal written Character. 


vinitelnoi, from vinzt to accuse ; mstilelnoi, vindic- 
tive; vziritelnoi, intuitive ; kreprtelnoz, from krepit, 
to strengthen, &c, : 
The other verbal adjective I mentioned is forme . 
ed, in English, by the terminational sign able and 
ible. It denotes, that the substantive, with which it 
is joined, is capable of undergoing the action of the 
verb from which such adjective is formed. This 
termination occurs often in Latin, Russ, English, 
and French, and, I doubt not, exists in other 


tongues. Examples. 


In Latin, vistbzlis, amabilis, mutabilis, sanabilis. 
Russ, vidimiy, liubimzj, menaimiy, letcharmz. 
English, viszble, amiable, changeable, curable. 
French, wsible, armable, changeable. 


I have thus given a few examples of the use of 
the two kinds of signs which I think constitute lan- 
guage. If the mechanism of speech be such as I 
have represented, I hope the partial enquiry I now 
present to you, will afford some hints that may con- 
tribute to render the formation of an universal 
character more easy, by establishing a principle, on 
which persons who may be induced to prosecute 
this important object, may proceed with a certainty 
of success. A project of such magnitude cannot 
be executed without much labour ; and if executed, 
its practical application ‘could not be easily estab- 
lished. Yet there is reason to hope that this wil] 


On an Universal written Character. 207 


one day be accomplished. The invention and use 
of letters, I make no doubt, at one period of so- 
ciety, would have appeared as chimerical and im- 
practicable, as the invention and introduction of 
an universal character may appear to many at thiS 
day. Yet letters have been adopted almost uni- 
versally among mankind; and their use has been: 
found so important, that to introduce them, where 
they are not known, may be reckoned one of the 
greatest blessings that can be bestowed by an en- 
lightened nation. May we not hope then that an 
invention, still more universally useful than letters, 
will at last meet with the countenance, and engage 
the attention of every true friend to mankind? 

In addressing these hints to you, I hope, I shall 
in some measure contribute to your amusement, 
and entitle them to some attention; but I contri- 
bute still more to my own satisfaction, in having 
an opportunity of declaring how much [ have pro- 
fited by social intercourse with you, and how much 
Jam honoured by your friendship. 1 am, 

with the warmest sentiments of 
love and esteem, 
your much obliged and 
most humble servant, 


WILLIAM BROWN, 
Edinburgh, Ramsay Garden, 


August 9, 1797. 


VOL. Vs 9 60 


298 


On the Process of BLEACHING with 
the oxygenated muriatic Acid; and a De- 
scription of anew Apparatus for Bleaching 
Cloths with that Acid dissolved in Water, with- 
out the Addition of Alkali. By THEOPHILUS 
Lewis Rupp. 


READ FEB, 9, 1798. 


‘Lae arts, which supply the luxuries, convenien- 
cies, and necessaries of life, have derived but little 
advantage from philosophers. A view of the history 
of arts will evince the justice of this observation. 
In mechanics, for instance, we find that the most 
important inventions and improvements have been 
made, not through the reasonings of ‘philoso- 
phers, but through the ingenuity of artists, and 
not unfrequently by common workmen. The che- 
mist, in particular, if we except the pharmacecu- 
tical laboratory, has but little claim on the arts: on 
the contrary, he is indebted to them for the greatest 
discoveries and a prodigious number of facts, which 
form the basis of his science. In the discovery 
of the art of making bread, of,the vinous and 
acetous fermentations, of tanning, of working 
ores and metals, of making glass and soap, 
of the action and ‘application of manures, and in 
numberless other discoveries of the highest import- 
ance, though they are all chemical processes, the 
chemist has no share, But no branch of the useful 


a» 


re 


On the Process of Bleaching. 299 


arts is less indebted to him than that of changing 
the colours of substances. The art of dyeing has 
attained a high degree of perfection without 
the aid of the chemist, who is totally ignorant 
of the rationale of many of its processes, and the 
little he knows of this subject is of a late date. 
The process of dyeing the turkey-red has been 
known and practised from time immemorial, by the 
most uncultivated nations, but its theory is not yet 
understood by philosophers. ‘The manufacture of 
indigo and its application have been long known to 
the planter and the dyer; but it is not more than 
ten years since a true theory of them has been form- 
ed. The art of printing, or topical dyeing, is of 
the greatest antiquity; but the theory of this pro- 
cess, and of adjective colours in plain dyeing, was 
unknown, till Mr. Henry developed it in the 
Memoirs of this Society.* He was the first who 
thought and wrote philosophically on this sub- 


ject. The bleaching or whitening of vegetable 


substances has been long practised ; but the know- 
ledge of its theory could not be antecedent to the 
gra of pneumatic chemistry, We might, even at 
this moment, have been unacquainted with the cause 
of the destruction of the colouring matter of ve- 
getable substances, if the discovery of the oxyge- 
nated muriatic acid, and its effects on colouring 
matter, had not pointed it out to us. For this dis. 
coyery and its inestimable advantages, the arts aye 


* Manchester Memoirs, vol, iii, 


300 = On the Process of Bleaching with 


indebted to the justly celebrated Scheele ; and I am 
happy to pay this tribute to chemistry after the 
mortifying truths, which I have stated above. 

M. Berthollet lost no time in applying the pro- 
perties of this curious and highly interesting sub- 
stance to the most important practical uses.. His 
experiments on bleaching with the oxygenated mu- 
riatic acid proved cqmpletely successful, and he 
did not delay to communicate his valuable la- 
bours to the public. The new method of bleach- 
ing was quickly and successfully introduced in- 
to the manufactures of Manchester, Glasgow, 
Rouen, Valenciennes, and Courtray; and it has since 
been generally adopted in Great Britain, Ireland, 
France, and Germany. The advantages which re- 
sult from this method, which accelerates the process 
of whiteying cottons, linens, paper, &c. to a really 
surprising degree, in every season of the year, can 
be justly appreciated by commercial people only, 
_ Who experience its beneficial effects in many ways, 
‘but particularly in the quick circulation of their 
capitals, 

Great difficulties, for a time, impeded its pro- 
gress, arising chiefly from prejudice and the ignorance 
of bleachers in chemical processes, These obsta- 
cles were, however, soon removed, by Mr. Watt at 
Glasgow, and by Mr. Henry and Mr. Cooper at 
' Manchester, Another difficulty presented itself,which 
had nearly proved fatal to the success of the opera- 


Pet 


the oxygenated muriatic Acid. 2014 


tion. This was the want of a proper apparatus, not 
for making the acid and combining it with water, 
for this had been supplied in a very ingenious 
manner by Mr. Watt and M. Berthollet ;* but for 
the purpose of immersing and bleaching goods in 
the liquor. The volatility of this acid and its suf- . 
focating vapours prevented its application in the 
way commonly used in dye-houses. Large cisterns 
were therefore constructed, in which pieces of stuff 


* M, Berthollet’s apparatus, however, is too complex 
for the use of a manufactory; Mr, Watt’s is better; but 
a range of four, five, or six hogsheads, or rum-puncheons, 
connected with one another, in the manner of Woulfe’s 
distilling apparatus, is preferable to either of them, Agi- 
tators, on M. Berthollet’s principle, may be applied. The 
retort or matrass should be of lead, standing in a water- 
bath ; its neck should be of sufficient length to condense 
the common muriatic acid, which always comes over, and 
it should form an inclination towards the body of the re- 
tort, so that the condensed acid may return into it. Ibeg 
leave to observe here, that I always found the liquor to 
be strongest when the distillation was carried on very slow- 
ly, I have also found, that the strength of the liquor is 
much increased by diluting the vitriolic acid more than 
is usually done. The following proportions afforded the 


strongest liquor. 
Three parts manganese. 


Eight parts common salt, | 
Six parts oil of vitriol. 
Twelve parts water. 


The proportion of manganese is subject to variation ace 
cording to its quality. , 


go2z On ihe Process of Bleaching with 


were stratified; and the liquor being poured om 
them, the cisterns were closed with lids. But this 
method was soon found to be defective, as the li- 
-quor could not be equally diffused ; the pieces were, 
therefore, only partially bleached, being white in 
some parts and more or less. coloured in others. 
Various other contrivances were tried without suc- 
cess, till it was discovered that an addition of al- - 
kali to the liquor deprived it of its suffocating ef- 
fects, without destroying its bleaching powers. The 
process began then to be carried on in open vessels, 
and has been continued in this manner to the present 
period. The bleacher is now able to work his pieces 
‘in the liquor, and to expose every part of them to 
its action, without inconvenience. This advantage 
is unquestionably great ; but it is diminished by the 
heavy expence of the alkali, which is entirely lost, 
It is moreover to be feared, that the alkali which is 
added to the liquor, though it does not destroy its 
power of bleaching, may diminish it; because a so- 
Jution of the oxygenated muriat of potash, which 
differs from the alkaline bleaching liquor, in nothing 
but in the proportion of alkali, will not bleach at 
all. This is a well known fact, from which we 
might infer, that the oxygenated muriatic acid will 
lose its power of destroying the colouring mat- 
ter of vegetable substances, in proportion as it be- 
comes neutralized by an alkali. But as we should 
‘not content ourselves with inferences however play. 


the oxygenated muriatic Acid. 303 


sible, when the truth may be established by experi- 
ment; and as I thought the matter of sufficient im- 
portance, I made the following experiments on the 
subject. 

I beg leave to premise, that in all these experi- 
ments, I made use of one and the same acid, which 
was kept ina bottle with a ground-glass stopper, 
and secured from the influence of light. The 
manner in which I made the experiments was sim- 
ply this. I weighed, first of all, a bottle filled with 
the colouring substance which I meant to employ : 
I then weighed, in a large and perfectly colourless 
bottle, half an ounce of the acid, to which I imme- 
diately, but very gradually, added of the colouring 
substance contained in the former bottle, till the 
acid ceased to destroy any more of its colour. The 
bottle with the colouring substance was then weigh- 
ed again, and the difference between its present and 
original weight was noted. ‘The same method was 
observed in all the experiments. 


'-EXPERIMENT I. 


To half an ounce of oxygenated muriatic acid, I 
added a solution of indigo in acetous acid,* drop by 


’ * It has been usual to estimate the strength of the oxy-: 
genated muriatic acid by a solution of indigo in sulphuric 

acid. This method was inadmissible in these experiments _ 
on the comparative strength of the bleaching liquor, with 
and without alkali; because the sulphuric acid would have 
decomposed the muriat of potash, and thercby produced 


304  Onthe Process of Bleaching with 


drop, till the oxygenated acid ceased to destroy 
any more colour. It destroyed the colour of 160 
grains of the acetite of indigo. 


EXPERIMENT II. 


A repetition of Experiment 1. The colour of 
165 grains of acetite of indigo was destroyed in 
this experiment. 


EXPERIMENT III. 


A repetition of Experiments 1. & 11. The 
colour of 160 grains of the acetite was destroyed. 


EXPERIMENT IV. 


To half an ounce of the oxygenated muriatic 
acid, were added 8 drops of pure potash ina liquid 
state. This quantity of alkali was about sufficient 
to deprive the acid of its noxious odour. This 
mixture destroyed the colour of 150 grains of the 
acetite of indigo. . 


EXPERIMENT V. 


A repetition of Experiment 1v. The colour of 
146 grains of the acetite was destroyed. 


errors, I therefore added to a solution of indigo in sul- 
phuric acid, after it had been diluted with water, acetite of 
lead, till the sulphuric acid was precipitated with the lead, 
The indigo remained dissolved inthe acetous acid, 


~ 


the oxygenated muriatic Acid. 305 


EXPERIMENT VI. 

To half an ounce of the oxygenated muriatic acid, 
10 drops of the same alkali were added. It de- 
stroyed the colour of 125 grains of the acetite of 
indigo. 

EXPERIMENT VII. 

A mixture of half.an ounce of the oxygenated 
acid, and 15 drops of the alkali, destroyed the co- 
lour of 120 grains of the acetite of indigo. 

Though I had taken the precaution of avoiding 
the sulphuric acid, for the reason stated in the fore- 
going note, I was not quite satisfied with these ex- 
periments, on account of errors which might have 
taken place through a double affinity. I therefore 
‘made the following experiments, in which I em- 
ployed a decoction of cochineal in water, instead of 
the acetite of indigo. 


EXPERIMENT VIII. 


To half an ounce of the oxygenated muriatic 
acid, a decoction of cochineal was added till the 
acid ceased to act on its colour. It destroyed the 
colour of 390 grains of the decoction, 


EXPERIMENT IX, 


A repetition of Experiment vis. The colour 
of 385 grains of the decoction was destroyed in this 
experiment, 

VOL. Ys PP 


906 8 =6Onthe Process of igs with 


EXPERIMENT ae 


To half an ounce of the acid, 6 drops of the li- 
quid. alkali were. added. This mixture destroyed 
the colour of 315 grains of the decoction. 


EXPERIMENT XI. 


Eight drops of the alkali were mixed with half 
an ounce of the acid. This mixture destroyed the 
colour of 305 grains of the decoction. 


Ona comparative view of the results of these 
experiments, it will appear, that an addition of pot- 
ash to the bleaching liquor impairs its strength con- 
siderably. This diminution of power, and the 
expence of potash, are a serious loss in an extensive 
manufacture. It would, therefore, be desirable to 
have an apparatus for the use of the pure oxygenat- 
ed muriatic acid simply dissolved in water, which 
is at once the cheapest and best vehicle for it. This 
apparatus must be simple in its construction, and 
obtainable at ‘a moderate expence ; it must confine 
the liquor in such a manner as to prevent the escape 
of the oxygenated muriatic acid gas, which is not 
only a loss of power, but also an inconvenience to 

‘the workmen and dangerous to their health; and it 
Must, at the same time, be so contrived, that every 
part of the stuff whichis confined in it, shall cer 
tainly and necessarily be exposed to the action of 


the oxygenated muriatic Acid. 307 


the liquor in regular succession. Having invented 
an apparatus capable of fulfilling all these conditions, 
I have the pleasure of submitting a description of it 
to the Society, by means of the annexed drawing. 


308  Onihe Process of Bleaching with 


athe: aoe EON P* THE PLATE. 


: ‘tn 2a sat 
Ya Fig. 1 1, is a section of the a 


oe deal ciste r 


the cistern, This rib is piviaed with halls, ger F 

ch two perpendicular % axes are to turn he lid, A i 
rim, G G, which sinks and fits into ehaeictern: Two 
;, H H, are fixed into the lid, their centres being per- 
Peneillas!y over the cenitres of the sockets, FF, when 
the idi is upon the cistern, — At I, isa tube by which the 
liquor is introduced into the apparatus. Asi it is necessary 
thac e space within the rim, GG, be air-tight, its joints 
lid, and the joints of the tubes, must be ney Floss ‘ 


nena the axis ah w ‘Two plain. Dillics, pes 


* 


a: 


~~ are fixed to the: axes, in order to prevent the cloth from 


slipping down. The shafts are turned by a moveable 
handle, P, Q,a eable pulley, 1 round which passes the 
cord, R, This cord, which is fastened on the opposite 
side of the lid (see fig. 2), and passes over the small pul- 
ley S, produces friction by means of the weight T. By 


the spigot and fausset V, the liquor is let off, when ex- 


hausted. 
a Fig. 2. A plan of the apparatus, with the lid taken off, 


Vot.5 PlaleW:Page. 308. 


| 
Fig. | 


the oxygenated muriatic Acid. 309 


THE MANNER OF USING THE 
APPARATUS. 


The dimensions of this apparatus are calculated 
for the purpose of bleaching twelve or fifteen pieces 
of + calicoes, or any other stuffs of equal breadth 
and substance. When the goods are ready for 
bleaching, the axis, L, is placed on a frame in a 
horizontal position, and one of the pieces, N, be- 
ing fastened to the canvas, M, by means of wooden 
Skewers, in the manner represented in fig. 1, it is 

rolled upon the axis by turning it with the handle, 
P. This operation must be performed by two per- 
sons ; “the one turning th a is and the other direct- 
ing ine piece, which m t be rolled on very tight 
and very even. When the first piece is on the axis, 
the next piece is fastened to the end of it by skewers, 
‘and wound on in the same manner as the first. The 
same method is pursued till all the pieces are wound 
upon the axis. The end of the last piece is then 
fastened to the canvas of the axis K. Both axes 
are afterwards placed into the cistern, with their 
ends in the sockets F F, and the lid is put on the 
’ cistern by passing the axes through the tubes H H: 
' The handle P is put upon the empty axis, and the 
pulley Q upon the axis on which the cloth is rolled, 
and the cord R, with the weight T, is put round it 


310- Onthe Process of Bleaching with 


and over the pulley S: The use of the friction, 
produced by this weight, is to make the cloth wind 
tight upon the other axis. But as the effect of the 
weight will increase as one cylinder increases and 
the other lessens, I recommend that three or four 
weights, be suspended on the cord, which may be 
taken off gradually, as the person who works the 
machine may find it convenient. As the weights 
hang in open hooks, which are fastened to the 
cord, it will be little or no trouble to put them on 
and to remove them. 

_ Things being thus disposed, the bleaching 
liquor is to be transferred from the vessels in 
which it has been prepared into the apparatus, 
by a moveable tube passing through the tube 
I, and descending to the bottom of the cistern. 
This tube being connected with the vessels, by 
means of leaden or wooden pipes provided with 
cocks, hardly any vapours will escape in the trans-- 
fer. When the apparatus is filled up to the line a, 
the moveable tube is to be withdrawn, and the tube I 
closed. As the liquor rises above the edge of the 
rim G, and above the tubes H H, it is evident that 
no evaporation. can take place, except where the 
rim does not apply closely to the sides of the box : 
which will, however, form a very trifling surface if 
the carpenter’s work be decently done. The cloth 
is now to be wound from the axis L upon the axis 
K, by turning this; and when this is accomplished, 
the handle P and pulley Q are to be changed, and 


the oxygenated muriatic Acid. 314 


the cloth is to be wound back upon the axis L. 
This operation is, of course, to be repeated as of- 
ten as necessary. It is plain, that by this process 
of winding the cloth from one axis upon’the other, 
every part of it is exposed, in the most complete 
manner, to the action of the liquor in which it is 
immersed. It will be necessary to turn, at first, 
very briskly, not only because the liquor is then 
the strongest, but also because it requires a number 
of revolutions, when the axis is bare, to move a 
certain length of cloth in a given time, though this 
may be performed by a single revolution when the 
axis is filled. Experience must teach how long the 
goods are to be worked ;'nor can any rule be given 
respecting the quantity and strength of the liquor, in 
- order to bleach a certain number of pieces. An in- 
telligent workman will soon attain a sufficient know- 
ledge of these points. It is hardly necessary to ob- 
serve, that, if the liquor should retain any strength 
after a set of pieces are bleached with it, it may 
again be employed for another set. 

With a few alterations, this apparatus might be 
made applicable to the bleaching of yarn. If, for 
instance, the pulley O were removed from the end 
of the axis K, and fixed immediately under the 
tube H ;—if it were perforated in all directions, and 
tapes or strings passed through the holes, skains of 
yarn might be tied to these tapes underneath the 
pulley, so as to hang down towards the bottom of 


312 On the Process of Bleaching with 


the box. The apparatus being afterwards filled 
with bleaching liquor and the axis turned, the mo- 
tion would cause every thread to be acted upon by 
the liquor. Several axes might thus be turned in the 
same box, and being connected with each other by 
pullies, they might all be worked by one person at 
the same time ;’ and as all would turn the same way 
and with the same speed, the skains could not pos- 
sibly entangle each other. 

In order to shew the usefulness of this apparatus 
still more clearly, I request the Society to attend to 
the following statement of the expence of a given 
quantity of bleaching liquor, with and without al- 
- kali, but of equal strength. 


WITH ALKALI* 


a ie 

80 Ib. of salt, at 12d. per lb. -.. + 10 0 
6o Ib. of oil of vitriol, at 62 per lb. .--- 1 12 6 
30 lb. of manganese «.-. ---. see. eee oe 26 
20 Ib. of pearlashes, at 6 d. per Ib...-- .--- 10 0 
£2150 


But it appears by the foregoing experi- 
ments, that the liquor loses strength by an 
addition of alkali. The value of this loss, 
which on an average amounts to 15 per 


cent. must be added to the expence .... ---- 8 93 
| £3 318 


* I make no mention of the expence attending the pre. 
Paration of the liquor, it being the same in both cases, 


the oxygenated muriatic Acid. 312. 


WITHOUT ALKALI. 


Le\ hs. D 
a Salts... Soe. ena lt ae “100 
Dalb-vor Of) of Winakor e ta 48 6 
BG Mun aanehen ia eas. cr ea 26 


It appears from this calculation, that a certain 
quantity of the liquor, for the use of my apparatus, 
costs only 21. 5s. but that the same quantity of 
-the alkaline liquor costs 31. 3s. 3d. which is 40 per 
cent. more’ than the other. The aggregate of so 
considerable a saving must form a large sum in the 
-extensive manufactures of this country. 


VOL. v. QQ 


314 


Account of a remarkable Change of Colour 
ina NEGRO. By Miers FisHer.—Ex- 
tract of a Letter from Mr. James Pem- 
berton to Mr. Thomas Wilkinson. 


Communicated by Dr. Home, 
READ DECEMBER 15TH, 1797« 
Puirapetruia, September, 13th, 1796. 


hss day Henry Moss, of African descent, vi- 
sited me ; and produced a certificate, of which the 
following is a copy; 

«¢ I do hereby certify, that I have been well ac- 
quainted with Henry Moss, who is the bearer 
hereof, upwards of thirty years, during the whole of 
which time he supported an honest character. In 
the late war he enlisted with me in the continental 
army as a soldier, and behaved well as such. From 
the first of my acquaintance with him, till within 
two or three years past, he was of as dark a com- 
plexion as any African, which has changed without 
any known cause to what it is at present. He was 
free-born, and served his time with Major Brent, 
late of Charlotte county. 

** Given under my hand the 2d day of Sep- 
tember, 1794, 7 i | 
i Joseru Hott, Bedford County. 


Account of Change of Colour ina Negro. 315 


Henry Moss has all the features common to the 
African race, though not strongly impressed. He 
is forty-two years of age, and five feet six inches 
high. The borders of his face, at the roots of the 
hair on the sinciput and descending by the right 
ear, are, for nearly an inch in breadth, of a perfect 
European complexion. This stripe, somewhat en- 
larged in its dimensions, is continued under the chin, 
and rises on the left cheek to within two inches of 
the ear, where it is intercepted by an irregular 
blotch of negro skin, about an inch broad, which 
detaches it from a corresponding stripe on the left 
side of his face. It passes down the neck of the 
left side about three inches, and is there two inches 
wide. Its margin is irregularly indented, resem- 
bling islands and peninsulas as represented on the 
chart of a sea-coast. The back of the neck, the 
breast, arms, and legs (as far as these could be ex- 
posed with decency in a mixed company) are of a 
clear complexion, interspersed with small specks of 
African colour, not unlike the freckles which ap- 
pear on the skin of a fair woman in summer. The 
African complexion is completely discharged from 
the upper eyelids. There is a small white streak 
under the right eye; and a larger one, nearly half 
an inch broad, with a margin irregularly defined. 
under the left. A white list passes round the 
mouth, shaded by one of his native hue reaching 
nearly to the chin, below which he has a very fair 


316 Account of a remarkable Change 


complexion. The back and palm of the hands are 
perfectly fair; yet stripes of his former colour pass 
from the wrist along the sides of his hands to the 
ends of his fingers: and appear on the outsides of 
all his fingers. But in general on his limbs, where 
they are covered by clothing, or where skin meets 
skin, the transmutation is complete. The whole 
area of negro skin would not, I am persuaded, if 
properly measured, exceed a square foot. His hair 
is undergoing a correspondent change; and when- 
ever a white spot can be discovered, it appears soft 
like that of an European, and may be drawn out with 
ease to a length of several inches: where the skin 
retains its pristine hue, it is crisp like wool. On 
pressing his skin with my finger, the part which I 
pressed appeared white ; and, on removing my fin- 
ger, it was suffused with red, as happens in Euro- 
peans. I examined the borders of the black and 
white skin, with a glass which magnified consider- 
ably, and which is known in Ireland by the name of 
a linen-teller. It was evident that the change was 
not external, or occasioned by the casting off of 
the epidermis; but that it was owing to an affection 
of the corpus mucosum. No fissures were discern- 
ible, but I perceived that there was a small and 
gradual elevation where the white and black portions 
met, without any discontinuity on the external sur- 
face. 

He gave me the following account of his gene- 


ee Se 


of Colour in a Negro. 317 


alogy. His paternal grandfather was born in Af. 
rica, and married a native Indian of this country, 
His father married a Mulatto, born of an African 
father and an Irish mother, His maternal grand- 
father was born in Africa. 

He was first sensible of a change of colour in 
his skin in February 1792. It commenced at the 
roots of his finger nails, extended to the first joints, 
and went no further at the time. Two months af- 
terwards the back of his neck underwent the same 
change, which proceeded along the body, and gra- 
dually descended to most parts usually covered by 
his clothes. The progress was slow in the first, but 
more rapid in the ensuing years. The alteration 
was made chiefly in summer or warm weather ; 
and could not be seen to make any progress in the 
cold months. He says, he came to this city on the 
26th of July: and that the remains of African 
complexion on his face and hands has sensibly dimi- 
nished since his arrival, This account is confirmed 
by Stephen Paschal and others, who saw him twice, 
at an interval of thirteen days, in which time the dif- 
ference was abundantly manifest. He was this 
morning shaved by a barber; and says, that he 
felt no obstruction to the razor, when it passed over 
the white to the black part of his face, or on its re. 
turn, which must have been experienced if these 
had been separated by any discontinuity of the skin. 

Since the change of complexion took place, he 


318 Remarkable Change of Colour ina Negro. 


has been more sensible of variations in the tempera~ 


ture of the air; and has had blisters and freckles in 
every part of his body, which was exposed to the 
sun by holes in his clothes. 

I put many questions t» him concerning his 
dict and mode of life, the state of his health, the 
diseases to which he had been subject, and the re- 
medies employed for their removal ; but nothing 
could be extracted from his replies, which had the 
least tendency to solve this curious phenomenon. 

November 22d, Henry Moss visited me again. I 
examined his face, hands, breast, legs, and thighs. 
The black parts are considerably diminished since 
I saw him last. Hence I entertain no doubt that the 
change is gradually proceeding; and, should he live 
another summer or two, that it will be complete. 


MIERS FISHER, 


ne a 


MEMOIRS 


oan 
LITERARY 

and | 
PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 


of 


Manchester, 


PLL LLP LP 


VOLUME V. PART II. 


PLIES LD LH 


PRINTED FOR 


CADELL AND ee LONDON, 
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, SUV NUR NRW 


MEMBERS 
ADMITTED SINCE LAST PUBLICATION, 


Mr. Thomas Ainsworth. 
Mr, William Bayley. 
Mr. Garside Bentley. 
Mr. Edward Clayton. 
Mr. John Clayton. 

Mr. John Douglas. 

Mr. Henry Entwisle. 
*Mr. Benjamin Gibson. 
Rev. William Grindrod. 
Mr. Edward Hanson. 
Mr. John Hutchinson, 
Mr. John Jenkinson. 
Mr. Samuel Kay. 
William Monsell; Esq. 
Mr. Robert Peel, jun. 
Mr. Waller Phillips. 
Mr. Charles Pye. 

Mr. Robert Robinson. 
Mr. John Rothwell. 
*Rev. George Walker, F, R. S. 
Mr. Charles Wood. 
Mr. Thomas. Yates, 


Those marked * are of the Committee of Papers, 


iv LIST OF MEMBERS, a 


CORRESPONDING MEMBERS. 


James Mackitrick Adair, M. D. 

Mr. A. Deriabin, Russia. 

Mr. Fontana, Surgeon, Member of the Asiatic Society. 

Mr. Edward Greene. 

John Haworth, M. D. 

Lieut. Henry, 14th. Foot. 

James Mease, M. D. of Philadelphia. 

Alexander N. Scherer, M. D. of Weimar. &: 

Richard Taunton, Esq. ; 

Mr. Charles Taylor, Secretary to the Society for the Encou- 
ragement of Arts, &c. 

Mr. James Thomson. 

Charles Wilkinson, M. A. 


PLA LL SL 


HONORARY MEMBERS. 


Benjamin, Count Rumford. 

Thomas Marsham, Esq. Treasurer of the Linnean Society. 

Sir George Onesiphorus Paul, Bart. 

James Edward Smith, M. D. F. R. S. &ce. &c. 

John Robison, A. M. Professor of Natural Philosophy, 
Edinburgh. 

Smithson Tennant, Esq. F. R. S. &c. &c. 

William Wright, M. D. F. R. S. Lon, and Edin, 


CONTENTS. 


emer ia ities 1 wiih Wad et ed 


On Tragedy and the Interest in Tragical 
Representations: An Essay. By the Rev. 
George Walker, F. R. S. and Professor of 
Theology in the New College, Manchester. page 319 


Experiments and Observations to determine 
whether the quantity of Rain and Dew is equa} 
to the quantity of Water carried off by the 
Rivers and raised by Evaporation; with an 
Enquiry into the Origin of Springs. By Mr. 
ON LEAR ae ace alee cent apr p. 346 


Experiments and Observations on the power 
of Fluids to conduct Heat ; with reference to 
Count Rumford’s Seventh Essay on the same 
subject. By Mr. John Dalton .........-.0.-++ Pp. 373 


Experiments on the Velocity of Aur issuing 
out of a Vesselin different circumstances ; with 
the Description of an Instrument to measure 
the Force of the Blast in Bellows, Sc. By 
Mr. Banks, Lecturer in Natural Philosophy. 
—Communicated by Mr. Dalton --++s--.--+--00 p- 398 


vi CONTENTS. 

Essay on the Beautiful in the Human Form ; 
and Enquiry whether the Grecian Statues pre- 
sent the most perfect Beauty of Form, that we 
at present have any Acquaintance with.—Com- 
municated to the Society from a Correspon- 
dent, through the Rev. George Walker. p. 407 


A Defence of Learning and the Arts, against 
some charges of Rousseau. Intwo Essays. By 
the Rev. George Walker, F.R, S.. -ves+ p- 438 


Observations on the Nervous Systems of dif- 
ferent Animals; on Original Defects in the 
Nervous System of the Human Species and 
their Influence on Sensation and Voluntary 
Motion. By John Hull, M. D. ....+-+- p. 475 


Experiments and Observations on the Heat 
and Cold produced by the Mechanical conden- 
sation and rarefaction of Air. By Mr. John 
Dal tam, <cxi-stewojidas thn nlatteecs Onc mdtgansbiddnda Pp: 515 


Account of some Antiques lately found in the 
River Ribble. By Mr. Thomas Barritt. p. 527 


Experimental Essays, on the Constitution of 
mixed Gases; on the Force of Steam or Va- 
pour from Water and other Liquids in different 
temperatures, both an a Torriceliian Vacuum 


CONTENTS. Vil 


and in Air; on Evaporation; and on the 
Expansion of Gases by Heat. By Mr. John 
Dalton ...--.- Pere itawth ame tutes ie Ia LAE eS Ma, Y P> 535 


A Review of some Experiments, which have 
been supposed to disprove the Materiahty of 
Heat. By Mr. William LENIY, <inercn- sensuous p. 603 


An Investigation of the Method whereby Men 
judge, by the Ear, of the Position of Sonorous 
Bodies relative to their own Persons. By 
Mr. John Gough.—Communicated 4 Dr. 
0S | ea ae OO ee eS AS ld p- 622 


hi the Theory of Compound Sounds. By 


- John Gough.—Communicated by Dr. 
ice panmannasene pap sianiine soatene eee A Teo ee p. 653 


Meteorological Observations, made at Man- 
chester. By Mr. JORDI AMION: | nncscncnnecns: p- 666 


Arrennix. I. Explanation of a Roman 
Inscription, found in Castle-field, Manchester. 
By Mr. Thomas Barritt: with a Note on the 
Same subject by Dr, HOMME wv+-ssesecesscesn ones p- 675 


II. Note to Mr. W. — ae on 
Heat ». smeanannenscanspenennenutorasszarsonn vetssarsenrsanies Dy 679 - 


Littl 


ERRATA, 


‘31, line 24, for yellow read blue. 

38, add to the note, Cahier de Feorier, 1779. 
355, line 2, for 600 read 6000. 
357, line 3, for 150 read 154—for 192 read 189, 
600, line 5 of Note, for on, read as, 
607, for amse, read same. 


a ~~ ee 


CPg FED 609 S2 FFX O° 0a _FPPn Boe 
en eI Ne IS: —————_—_—__——— 


MEMOIRS. 
of thie 
EITERARY & PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY 
: of 


SAanchester, 


> O<— 


ON TRAGEDY & THE INTEREST IN TRAGICAL 
REPRESENTATIONS, 


AN ESSAY: 
BY THE REVEREND GEO. WALKER, F. R. Si 


And Professor of Theology inthe New College, Manchester. 


Tag 


The propensity which human natute has, in 
every age and nation, discovered for spectacles 
and representations of a tragic kind, though it 
be universally confessed, that the sensations 
and passions excited thereby are in their 
nature painful, and often exquisitely so, is at 
first view so singular and contradictory a pheno-~— 
menon, as could not fail to draw the attention of 
moralists and philosophers; and challenge all 
their ingenuity to reconcile so irregular a trait 
VOL, V. A 


320 On Tragical Representations. 


of the human character, with the most approved 
likeness of the human mind. There are, indeed, 
some examples of this propensity so rude, unci- 
vilized, and inhuman, as mock all efforts of in- 


genuity to reduce them to a consistent and. 


agreeable system. Such were the exhibitions of 
gladiators, among the Romans; the tournaments 
and justs of gothic chivalry; such are the bull- 
fights of the Spaniards; the combats with the 
broad sword; the bull-baitings, cock-fights, and 
Shrove-tide amusements of our own nation; to- 
gether with the horrid jollity of the North 
American tribes, exulting over the tortures of 
their ill-fated_prisoners. . 

Most or all of these national reproaches are, 
in a greater or less degree, the offspring of a 
rude military genius, and savage heroism; which, 
by an early familiarity with the excesses and 
cruelties of war, let loose in all its wildness, have 
triumphed over nature, over the kinder dictates 
ofa general humanity. In'these, the pleasure of 
the spectators, unnatural as it is, is pure and un- 
mixed; by whatever means they have subdued 
their minds to the capacity of this pleasure, when 
once the relish is acquired, their continued pro- 
pensity to such scenes is perfectly ‘natural, as it 
is not combated by any feeling of sympathetic 
pain during the exhibition. ‘This is clearly at- 
tested of the Roman people, by the uniform ac- 
counts of their own historians: foreign nations 


es 


On Tragical Representations, 321 


ascribed their hardiness in war to this familiarity 
with blood and death in the amphitheatre ; and 
a Syrian monarch, ambitious, at any rate, to 
rival the Roman grandeur, hoped to render his 
effeminate Asiatics equally intrepid and unap- 
palled amidst the horrors of battle, by introduc- 
‘ing the same sanguinary entertainments in peace. 
It is a proof that humanity had little interest in 
the fatal consequences of the Gothic tournaments, 
and bull-fights of the Spaniards, when that sex, 
whom.compassion and an abhorrence from spec- 
tacles of blood may be supposed the last to for- 
sake, was admitted to the most conspicuous seats ; 
as if to gratify them were the chief object of the 
entertainment. All is mad mirth, and drunken 
joy, with an American village, while their cap- 
tive is wasting under their protracted tortures ; 
compassion, or even indifference, would vitiate 
the festival. Humanity may have repelled from, 
but never invited a single guest to the cruel en- 
tertainments of our own nation. It is to that 
polished humanity, which a cultivated philosophy 
anda purer religion have introduced amongst us, 
that we owe the disrepute into which these vulgar 
jollities have at length happily fallen. 

Such representations are, therefore, utterly 
dissimilar, in their effects upon the heart, to the 
representations of tragedy and romance. Hu- 
manity renounces the one, but welcomes the 
other, In those a brutal joy reigns triumphant ; 


322 On Tragical Representations. 


in these—if there be a joy, it is of a singular 
kind : it wears all the dress of sorrow; and the 
heart feels that there is a pain more than pro- 
portioned to the joy. It is surely, therefore, 
unphilosophical, to reduce, under one class, 
propensities which are of so different a cast and 
influence ; nor can that ingenious French critic, 
the Abbé du Bos, be justified, in deriving them, 
without distinction, from one common source in 
the human mind, 

But whence then is derived, and how are we 
to account for, this strange intermixture of pain 
and a something like joy, excited, in the same 
instant, by the same object, each apparently de- 
pendant on each other, and yet not blended to- 
gether in one undistinguished mass.—Before I 
attempt the solution of this singular, but univer- 
sal character of man, it may not be amiss to take 
a brief view of some of the most celebrated 
theories on this subject, and the rather, as the 
examination of these mav lead to the true so- 
lution. 

The French critic just mentioned, the Abbé 
du Bos, whose reflections on poetry, painting, 
and music, form a very entertaining work, refers 
the solution of this difficulty to that aversion 
which we have to indolence ; and in consequence 
to the delight we feel in having our most active 
and lively passions roused. 

This account: is striking and bold, as it de= 


On Tragical Representations. 323 


xives a great deal from one simple and uniform 
principle. If, indeed, there be such a principle 
in human nature, exactly .as he represents it, 
original and independant ; and if it be adequate 
to the effect which he ascribes to it; and if the 
mind be sensible of such a reference in the in- 
stant of its most interesting emotions; and if the 
inclination to be thus moved, be proportioned to 
the force of this supposed principle; we could 
not wish for a more satisfactory solution, for one 
which more happily applied itself to the whole 
subject in question. * . 

Another ingenious Frenchman, Monsieur 
Fontenelle, so well known to the literary world 
by his Dialogues, History of Oracles, and Plu- 
rality of Worlds, in some reflections on the sub- 
ject of poetry, has hazarded the following fine- 
spun. theory :—Pleasure and pain, says he, like 
many other extremes, approach, and, at a certain 
point, pass into each other. Pleasure, pushed 
too far, becomes pain; and the movement of 
‘pain, a little moderated, becomes pleasure.— 
He is obliged to adopt into his system the funda- 
mental principle of Du Bos; for the heart, he 
says, loves to be moved, and therefore objects, 
which are melancholy, and even disastrous and 
sorrowful, are adapted'to it; provided that they © 
are softened by some circumstance. ‘This soft- 
ning circumstance, according tohim, is the com- 
fortable ‘reflection, that the whole is but a fiction; 


324 On Tragical Representations, 


without which, the spectacle would be painful 
beyond the degree, in which it is capable of 
passing into pleasure, 

This is the spirit of Fontenelle’s theory; 2 
theory so exceedingly refined, that we hardly 
know how to lay hold of it. It does not present 
us with any thing analogous to the real feelings 


of the heart; andis, indeed,contradictory to the 


very nature of things. Pleasure and pain, as sim- 
ple sensations, have no intercourse with each 
other ; though the transitions from the one to the 
other may be exceedingly quick, and may have 
their origin from the same external objects. For 
as objects are of a mixed character, the sensations 
may be mixed also; and in some, the painful 
circumstance, after a certain interval, may dis- 
appear, and vice versa. But where the characters 
of the painful and the pleasant continue undi- 
minished, the sensations which correspond, to 
them will continue also; and each, as the causes 
of them are alternately contemplated, be) sepa- 
rately excited; or that, which is the balance of 
the separate sensations will remain, 


If, as Fontenelle asserts, pain can of itself ; 


pass into pleasure, and without any additional 
cause, and it be in the moment of the transition 
that the pleasureable; sensation presents itself, it 
will be exceedingly difficult to determjne, accord- 
ing to this theory, what the predominant sensa- 
tign will be. If the. painful sensation .be then 


On Tragical Representations. 325 


evanescent, the pleasureable' one ought to be 
nearly unmixed ; ‘if the painful’ one be then at 
its height,’ the sensatron .of pleasure must be 
hardly perceivable,* and cannot, methinks, ac- 
count for the interest which we have in the re- 
presentation. For the feelings, during a tragical 
representation, are not of this dubious and: inde- 
terminate character; the pain’ and’'the pleasure, 
if we must give the denomination of pleasure to 
the interest which we have in the spectacle, ‘are 
distinct, and at'the same moment are each ‘highly 
exquisite. There is, m truth, no passing of the 
one into the other. . 

It is a farther objection to the theory of 
Fontenelle, that he has assigned no proper source 
of pleasure, which can give its complexion to the 
pain ; the circumstance which he has noticed is 
merely an alleviation, and can only account for 
a diminution of the pain. This circumstance of 
the whole being but a fiction, has exceedingly 
little, if any, influence in softening and alleviat- 
ing our painful sensation ; though it be true, that 
if it were a spectacle of real misery, we should 
be repelled from approaching it at all. But it is 
also true, that the more the fiction is kept out of 
view, the more perfect is the art of the poet, and 
the more perfect the effect of the imitation upon 
the mind of the spectator ; whose interest rises to 
its greatest height, when, by a kind of divine 
power, he is carried entirely out of the consider- 


326 On Tragical Representations. 


ation of self, and contemplates nothing but the 


misery, as if it were real, and enters into it with. 


all the glow of natural feeling. The solution, 
therefore, must be sought. for in some other 
principle than the whimsical conceit of a middle 
something, between pleasure and pain, founded 
on the cold reflection, that the whole is a de- 
lusion. It may. account, in some degree, for 
the phlegmatic dialogues of a French. tragedy 
maker; and for the dubious.sensation, the mid- 
die something between. pleasure and pain, which 
they excite; but will never unfold the feelings 
which the magic genius of Shakespeare stirs up 
in the soul. 

The selfish system in morals, which extracts 
a joy out of a painful scene, from the groveling 
consideration, that, whatever sufferings are ex- 
hibited to our view, we are ourselves in a state 
of perfect security, is so grossly false, that a 
moment’s consideration shakes it off with indig- 
nation, and leaves it to the sordid soul, which 
first conceived the idea. This would suppose 
that suffering and distress were in themselves a 
grateful spectacle, if they affect not ourselves ; 
that there was a real malignity in the human 
heart, and that it recurred to them as to a feast. 
This is a horrid untruth ; such spectacles are, in 
their nature, painful ; and all that the consider_ 
ation of our own security can effect, will be 
enly to render them less painful; but of itself 


the. = 


On Tragical Representations. 327 


can give us no interest in them, nor render them 
at all attracting to us. 

The celebrated David Hume has offered a 
more plausible theory ; or rather, has added to 
the systems of Du Bos and Fontenelle; by re- 
ferring the greatest part of that pleasure, which 
springs out of the bosom of uneasiness, and yet 
retains all the features and symptoms of distress 
and sorrow, to the bewitching power of that 
eloquence, with which the melancholy scene is 
represented. The effect, he says, is like to the 
composition of two forces, which, combining to-= 
gether, produce a new direction, a direction not 
contrary to that of either, but partaking of 
both. 

Of these four illustrations of the question, the 
first and the last, viz. of Du Bos and Hume, 
require a particular discussion, in the progress 
of which, the truth will probably unfold its 
self. ; 

‘It isa misfortune, in moral as in natural phi- 
losophy, that the theory, which is to account 
for important phenomena, is often the creature~ 
of a bold and lively imagination, and not the 
modest result of* careful observation and expe- 
riment. As a theory, which is built on this 
solid ground of observation and experiment, ° 


will always follow us downwards to the explana-~ 


tion of facts ; so every fanciful system is found 
VOL. V B 


328 On Tragical Representations, 


to decline this test; and, if compelled thereto, 
confesses its insufficiency to account for the phe- 


nomena of nature. 

It is, therefore, a general objection to both 
these systems, in the first view of them, that the 
principles, to whose operation they ascribe such 
singular effects, are either not at all present to the 
mind, while.their influence is supposed to be 
exerted and felt; or make a very dubious ap- 
pearance, and utterly vanish at that critical mo- 
ment, when the effect of the tragic imitation is 
' the greatest ; viz. when their presence ought to 
be most conspicuous and manifest to the very 
sense. Who in the moment, when the heart is 
rent and agonized with a tragic scene, can say to 
himself: that he converts the exquisitely painful 
feelings of that moment, into the character of 
pleasure; or so as to be attracted by, and be 
passionately interested in the scene ; because his 
soul abhors the languor of indolence, and de- 
lights to be violently moved? Or who, with 
Mr. Hume, is ruminating on the ingenuity and 
eloquence of the artist, which can give to a 
fictitious scene all the glowing colours of nature ? 
Who, under the possession of sympathetic sor- 
row, has his eye fixed upon an object of intel- 
lectual taste, and feasts in proportion to the 
opinion which he has of the poet’s skill ? 

If the system of Du Bos be true, our attrac- 


— ee 


On Tragical Representations. 829 


tion to spectacles of a tragic character, and the 
interest which we feel in the representation of 
them, ought to be proportioned to the pertur- 
bation of the mind, and to the violence of the 
emotions which are excited. But the most vio- 
lent emotions shall be attempted to be raiseds 
while we are only disgusted with the scene; ‘be- 
cause the whole is destitute of that single requi- 
site, which alone has power to attach us to mi- 
sery. The play of the Libertine abounds with 
scenes, which address themselves to our terror 
and indignation; but we abhor the scenes, be- 
cause they exhibit no field for a benevolent com- 
passion; they are not the tragedy of a man, but 
of a fiend; it is not human nature, but hell, 
which is exhibited, There is enough of violent 
action, enough of terror and distress, to rouse 
and agitate; but being out of the field of man, 
we cannot sympathise ; or our horror and indig- 
nation are stronger than our sympathy, and we 
detest a picture, which awakens not those divine 
feelings, to which the soul of man delights to 
commit itself, 

Otway, the eldest son of Shakespeare, has 
greatly offended in this view, and greatly lessen- 
ed the impression of his genius, by the immor- 
ality and profligacy of his principal characters. 
We cannot feel for them-as we wish, and our 
interest in their sufferings is diminished, as they 


33° On Tragical Representations, 


appear to deserve them. Some touching pictures 
of innocent and virtuous distress, to which a 
pure and benevolent sympathy attaches itself, 
have rescued bim perhaps from our utter disgust, 
The innocent, the gentle Monimia, and the more 
dignified virtue of Belvidera, relieve the horror 
of the villains with whom ‘they are unhappily 
associated, and support in us an interest through 
the whole drama. 

The tragedy of the Robbers, and other pro- 
ductions of the German drama, have the vice of 
Otway, but with more extravagance and scorn 
of nature, and therefore are more repulsive of 
the heart. With them to create ,what,God never 
designed, and what human wickedness never me- 
ditated, is Genius; .and to terrify is Sublime, 
If the system of Du Bos, therefore, be true, 
these are the perfection of the drama; but, in 
defiance of his principle, they do not attracts 
they repel; and their admirers mistake astonish- 
ment for an impression of the grand; and a 
horror and revulsion from scenes of dreadful suf- 
fering, for an impression of the pathetic. 

But on this system, the interest in. the repre- 
sentation ought to be proportioned, not only to 
the bustling of theascene, but to the bustling 
disposition of the spectators. © This must be al- 
lowed, if the abhorrence of indolent repose, and 
the delight in being stirred, be the secret cause 


On Tragical Representations. 331 


which attracts us to misery; and derives to usa 
pleasure in spectacles, which in their nature are 
painful. But this is utterly contrary to fact ; 
and the attention to fact, in this instance, as in 
what I have already noticed, will demonstrate 
the incompetence of Du Bos’ theory; and dis- 
cover the true source of the phenomenon. Men 
of the most active turn, who with hardly any 
other motive than to follow the violent impulse 
of their own turbulent spirits, can throw society 
into convulsions, and feast as it. were on those 
continually renewed scenes of distress and terror 
which mark their ferocious path, are not the 
persons on whom you would expect the repre- 
sentations of tragedy to produce their natural and 
most powerful effect; but the gentle, the flexible, 
_ the compassionate, and benevolent, The former 
resemble the characters which, in the introduc- 
tion to this essay, I have noticed among the 
Romans, Goths, Spaniards, Indians, and bull- 
baiting Englishmen, But the man of composed 
and tempered manners, in whose breast com- 
passion, mercy, and benevolence sovereignly 
reign, is shocked at such characters; nor could 
possibly encounter their rude and brutal enter- 
tainments ; yet his heart is the theatre whereon 
tragedy acts all her glorious wonders. 

The same objection bears with almost equal 
force against the system of Hume. It is not the 


332 On Tragical Representations. 


man of letters, who may be supposed to be the 
best judge of composition and eloquence; nor 
yet the man of a lively imagination, to whom the 
effect of tragical representations is peculiarly ap- 
propriate. Though if a heart mellowed to pity 
be joined to these advantages, the interest in 
such spectacles will perhaps receive an increase 
from this superadded source; but tragedy ex- 
ercises her utmost power on even the unlearned 
and untutored, if there be found a feeling and 
benevolent heart. ' 
‘The same judgment is farther illustrated from 
the powerful effect on an audience of a story 
happily adapted to the purpose, though the com- 
position be materially faulty. It shall awake all 
the passions in which tragedy rejoices, more than 
all the faultless productions of the Greek and 
French drama. Banks and Southern are poets 
of but a middle fame ; yet the Earl of Essex and 
Oronooko will dissolve an audience in tears, so 
long as the human heart, and the inclinations 
which it has received from its maker shall en- 
dure. If tragedy owe her attractions to the 
eloquence of the poet; it is to the eloquence’ of 
nature, not of art. An untutored genius, hav- 
ing strong conceptions, a heart that can enter 
into the feelings ofa fellow heart, quick in catch- 
ing the most striking features of distress, judg- 
ment to select a happy tale of virtuous suffering, 


On Tragical Representations. 333 


and simplicity to follow nature in her plain 
walk, will in the fabrication of tragedy reach its 
highest excellence. Such was Shakespeare, and 
such, in a less degree, were a few of his neg- 
lected cotemporaries; it was to their exquisite 
sensibility, to their ignorance of art and fastidious 
‘refinement, which might have diverted them from 
the resistless eloquence of nature, that they owe 
their superiority over the lettered sons of every 
age andnation. But, whatever be the skill of the 
poet, whether that of nature, or art, or of both; 
this skill is not critically examined into during 
the representation ; it is felt ; it no more requires 
the critic’s acumen to Capacitate us for this effect; 
than the philosopher’s penetration; into: nature to 
feel the lightning. It is not wisdom, but the 
affectation of it, which in so interesting on hour, 
is attentive to all the finesses, delicacies, and in- 
genuity of the poet. The ingenuous simplicity 
of a plain feeling heart is better employed; it is 
worth a thousand such wise ones; it is the spec- 
tator and judge, whom tragedy more delights in, 
from*whom she will receive a more abiding sen- 
‘tence. 

Mr. Hume very justly observes, that the 
force of imagination, the energy of. expression, 
and the power of numbers, are all of themselves: 
naturally pleasing to the mind. But the con- 
nection between this position and the following 


234 On Tragical Representations. 


conclusion, is ‘wide-as heaven and earth, when 
he adds: that if the object lays hold of some 
affection, the pleasure still rises upon us, by the 
_ conversion of this subordinate moment into that 
which is predominant. The predominant emo- 
tion he assumes to be the pleasure excited by 
the eloquence of the artist ;~ the affection laid 
hold upon is the painful sensation of the spec- 
tacle. Which of these two emotions is most 
likely to be predominant has been just now dis« 
cussed ; but that a pleasurable emotion of one 
kind should lay hold ofa painful emotion arising 
from a very different source, and derive aug 
mentation to itself from this combination, is an 
extraordinary: position ; and as contrary to the 
laws of naturecin the moral as in the material 
world. Whenever contraries act upon each 
other, diminution and not augmentation is the 
result.. The pain continues to be pain so long 
as the character of the representation is pre- 
served, and undergoes no conversion at all.— 
Eloquence, on whatever subject, is pleasing, _ 
but what then? If there were not some ‘other 
circumstance, some powerful law of our nature 
which attached us to, and gave us an interest in a 
subject highly painful; the pleasure merely arising 
from the display of talents would be less plea- 
sant, because counteracted every moment by 
what is painful; it must inasmuch as the pain 


On Tragical Representations: 335 


amounts to be diminished, and if the pain greatly 
over-balanced the pleasure; it might be entirely 
obliterated, ' . 

He reasons thus himself, when he converts 
the proposition; observing, that if the pleasure 
arising from the capduct of the representation 
were not predominant; the effect would be de- 
Stroyed, and sorrow would absorb the mind. 
Before the pain had no effect upon the pleasure 
to destroy any part of it; but as if it were of the 
same family, very obligingly ministered to its 
increase. Mr. Hume has endeavoured to avail 
himself of an allusion to the well-known Jaws of 
motion ; but to answer his purpose he has as- 
sumed, that they resemble two forces thoving in 
different, but hot opposite ditéctions, But theit 
resemblance is to two forces moving in absolutely 
contrary directions ; the effect of which is, that 
the greater force ¢ontinues indeed to thove on- 
ward in its proper direction, but with a diminu- 
tion of force, equal to that of the lesser. 

_ It is farther to be observed, on the theory of 
Hume, and indeed of both the French philoso 
phers, that the one principle which satisfactorily 
accounts for the whole phenometion, must. be 
supposed to be admitted. If not; what is meant 
by the concession of each; that the objects re= - 
presented are in their naturé painful to ihé 


ininds of the spectators? And why painful; 
VOL. v. @ 


336 On Tragical Representations: 


but from the power of that sympathy, which 
enters into fellow suffering? There is no other 
principle in man adequate to the effect. If this 
be not allowed as an overpowering law of human 
nature, no account ¢an be given, why a being; 
interested in himself, and averse to pain, should 
transplant into his own breast the pain of ano- 
ther, and court a partnership with affliction. Mr. 
Hume may be supposed, though perhaps invo- 
luntarily, and while nature, not theory, was 
speaking, to have conceded something more than 
this; when he observes that the pleasure, not- 
withstanding the supposed conversion, wears the 
features and outward symptoms of sorrow an@ 
distress. 

Again, if to the eloquence of the poet, as to 
its proper cause, be ascribed the pleasure, or to 
speak more properly, the interest which we take 
in tragedy; why will not eloquence, employed 
on other subjects, equally interest and captivate 
us? Why will not pictures of other objects, 
equally just’ and. animated, equally engage our 
affections ? If it be said, that the objects must 
be in themselves interesting, then the effect is 
not derived wholly nor principally from the elo- 
quence and manner of the artist, but from some 
other consideration, which previously interests 
us in the objects that are represented. 

Mr. Hume has very artfully managed his il- 


On Tragical Representations. 337 


justration from facts, nor is it to be denied that 
the principles, to which he ascribes the whole, 
have their influence... But with less- attachment 
to.a pre-conceived, theory, it is, methinks, im- 
possible to avoid the discovery of the great master 
principle, evenin the very facts which he himself 
adduces, 

The notion of conversion, which he borrows 
from Fontenelle, is an arbitrary assumption ; 
and may be classed with the Cartesian notion of 
nature’s abhorrence of a yacuum. But if, by 
the delight of being moved be understood, that 
every passion of the soul delights in its proper 
exercise ; it is true that the mind of man will, 
under the impulse of any affection, be moved 
towards the object that is united to the affection. 
And it is also true, that rich imagery, strong 
expression, the harmony of numbers, and the 
charms of imitation, are all grateful. to the mind, 
independant of any end to which they are di- 
rected. It is to these that certain productions 
owe all their interest; but they are light auxi- 
liaries in the grander productions of tragedy, 
unless so far as they are necessary to the perfec- 
tion of the imitation ; without which there is no 
representation adapted to nature, and therefore 
nothing fitted to lay hold of the heart, 

What Mr. Hume intends by his reference to 
the deserted parent, is difficult to say ; when he 


338 On Tragical Representations. 


42 


asks the question, Who would ever think of it 
as a good expedient for comforting an afflicted 
parent, to exaggerate, with all the force of ora- 
tory, the irreparable loss, which he has met with 
by the death of a favourite child? Certainly it 
were a ridiculous part to think of comforting the 
parent by any such means; but the idea of com- 
forting by such a procedure, or the idea of com- 
forting in the thing to be illustrated by this allu- 
sion, if any thing be meant to illustrate, are quite 
out of the question. No one ever conceived 
the intention of the tragic poet to be, to comfort 
his audience ; he meansto distress them; he exs 
erts the utmost force of his genius'to distress thems 
to give them as touching a feeling of the sorrow 
which he paints, as mere sympathy is capable of 
receiving. So is it with the deserted parent: 
He who would ingratiate himself with him can- 
not take a more’ effectual means than to catch 
him in his tenderest moments, and with all the 
eloquence of words, expatiate on the virtues, 
the shining qualities, the promising hopes of his 
child. Such a conduct would be unkind; it 
would be cruel; but it would be effectual. He 
would win the heart of the parent, in the very 
moment, and by the very act, which was rending 
itin pieces. It is through the gate of sympathy 
that he gains this access to his heart; the pa- 
rent embraces the man, in whom he acknow- 


On Tragical Representations. 339 


ledges a fellow heart, one who appears to feel 
up to the very’ height of that sense, whieh he 
has himself of his loss. 

I have bestowed,’ perhaps, ‘more attention on 
these systems than they may be thought to merit ; 
as whatever ingenuity they may lay claim to, 
they have little ground of experiment in human 
nature to stand upon. But the examination of 
them has answered the principal purpose. The 
analysis of their defects discovers in every step 
the real source of the whole phenomenon; and 
what is of more importance, it discovers the wise 
provision'of the great author of all for conduct- 
ing the ceconomy of the moral as the material 
world. But the simplicity of nature offends 
some ; to discover only what every one may dis- 
cover, and what nature forces upon the notice 
of all, argues no superiority of genius; they 
suppose, they invent, they create, and in defiance 
of nature they erect vain monuments of their 
own wit and ingenuity. . 

In every view of the human mind, during 
‘the exhibition of tragic imitations, compassion, 
or sympathy in a more extended sense, presents 
itself as the operating principle, the immediate 
sense to which such scenes address themselves. 
This is the only principle within us, which is . 
sufficient to attach us to misery; to connect a 
peing who is interested for himself, and is in the 


340 On Tragical Representations. 


constant pursuit of his own proper happiness, to 
connect such a being with the unhappy, and.as 
by an irresistible impulse introduce bim to a 
partnership in their afflictions, 

The contradiction, therefore, which this pro- 
pensity, at the first view, carries with it to a 
leading principle of our own natures, vanishes 
when we consider it in this, important light ; 
we appear to act in-perfect consistence with an 
acknowledged, and powerful, and highly valu- 
able principle of our natures. While our other 
senses are continually opening themselves to 
their proper objects, it would be strange, indeed, 
if this internal sense, whose aim is directed to 
the noblest character of man, were reluctant to 
its proper exercise, and averse to those objects 
and to those scenes, which immediately address 
themselves to it. This would argue indeed a 
defect in his constitution, such as could not 
easily be reconciled to our ideas of that designing 
wisdom, which intended him to be one beautiful 
and harmonious whole. 

If, indeed, the end of compassion, as a prin- 
ciple of human nature, were directed only to 
particular exigencies in human life, as an instant 
stimulus to acts of kind protection, and humane 
alleviation of fellow misery ; it might be thought 
sufficient if it were reserved for such interesting 
occasions ; and the mind were not led by a far- 


feign” 


On Tragical Representations. 34t 


ther impulse to the participation of distress, 
when no immediate object of our benevolent 
interposition is before us. But compassion was 
implanted in us with more extensive views, not 
merely that it. might come in aid of our good 
will on pressing occasions, which may justify 
the pain it gives us; but that, by a more regular 
and uniform exercise, it might minister to the” 
sublimest virtue of man, and dispose us, on every 
occasion, to wish and do well to the creature like 
ourselves. 

There is a striking difference in the exercise 
of this sense, as referred to the real distresses of 
human life, and to the fictitious ones of tragedy , 
and this difference is wisely adapted to their re- 
spective uses. When we are summoned to im- 
mediate action, the sympathetic feeling is pain 
unmixed, in order to give power and velocity 
to the benevolent stimulus, “We have no pro- 
pensity, therefore, to such scenes; we do not 
wish them to exist, in order that our compassion 
and benevolence may have a field to action; 
though he who orders, or rather permits them, 
has wisely provided that the calamities of human 
beings shall operate to the moral improvement 
and perfection of their minds. But where the 
distress is merely fictitious, or the representation: 
of what is past; and no kind humane interposi- 
tion is expected from us, but only the cherish- 


342 On Tragical Representations: . 


ing an uniformly benevolent temper may be 
supposed to be in view; then the pain is mixed 
and tempered with something that we know not 
to givé a name to; something that must attend on 
every mind in the exercise of its best affections, 
a complacence such as a superior spirit may be 
supposed to feel, if he were viewing the infirmi- 
ties and distresses of some inferior system. To 
such scenes, which imply no augmentation of 
the real calamities of our fellow creatures, but 
may minister to the augmentation of our good 
will towards them, we are moved by an internal 
impulse ; by an impulse which we approve of 
in reflection; and which thosé who are little 
accustomed to reflection do however obey. 

In speaking of the affection of the mind to 
tragic representations, I have adopted the lan- 
guage of the writers I have opposed, while I 
- Was discussing their theories ; and 1 may myself; 
in contemplating the impulse to tragical represen- 
tations, and the complacence in those benevolent 
affections which are excited, and distinguishing 
these from the impressions on the heart which 
the spectacle of pain excites, have used the term 
pleasure, yet with a visible dubiousness and re- 
luctance, because language immediately suggest= 
ed no other term ; though it by no means corres= 
ponded to my idea, nor to the real truth of the 
sensation, When the mind is but moderately 


On Tragical Representations. 243 


interested in any tragic scene, and has leisure to 
attend to no other circumstances than what are 
appropriate to sympathy, it may be sensible to 
feelings which are in their nature pleasant, but 
chiefly, if not entirely, springing out of these 
collateral circumstances. But when the increas- 
ing distress of the scene entire. possesses the 
mind, all semblance of pleasure vanishes, and 
the feelings are those of pure compassion; but 
not unless in some particular instances, painful 
up to the degree of aversion. It is not strictly 
just, therefore, to say, that the feelings at such 
an instant are in any degree pleasant; as it would 
be grossly false to say, that we are instigated to 
this participation of distress by the view of plea- 
sure; unless all the sympathetic feelings be re- 
ferred to the class of the agreeable ones. We 
are carried, indeed, by a virtuous impulse to 
converse with distress; the certainty that we 
shall not be spectators of any real suffering, 
withdraws all aversion to this impulse; but un- 
der this assurance we surrender ourselves up 
entirely to the poet; we enter into his views ; 
we are carried out of ourselves into his fictitious 
scenes, as if they were real. We often feel 
from them an exquisite pain, which oppresses 
our minds for a considerable time after the re- 
presentation is over, and sinks too deeply into 


those of a delicate and susceptible make. Yet 
VOL. V D 


344 On Tragical Representations. 


we return to such scenes; not that pain is de~ 
sirable, not to seek for pleasure in the field of 
pain; but the better inclination of our natures 
determines our conduct ; and the distressing sen- 
sations, to which we are exposing ourselvess 
appear with that softened aspect, that grace, 
which a virtuous and benevolent melancholy 
always wears. 

This investigation of the effect of tragedy 
on the mind, will account, in a great measure, 
for the superiority of the best productions of 
the moderns above those of the ancients, and 
of the English tragedy above that of the French. 
The pictures are more exquisitely finished ; the 
characters of the sufferers are more interesting ; 
and more powerfully lay hold on our affections, 
and plead for our compassion. Domestic life 
and domestic manners were more gross and un- 
dressed among the antients; the social passions 
were but half awakened among them ; and, there- 
fore, the pictures of domestic happiness are not 
near so interesting, nor can, to-our improved 
taste, present such rich subjects of compassion. 
The French tragedies are in this respect also 
far inferior to the English; wit, gallantry, and 
philosophic declamation, are more displayed than 
touching scenes of pure and ingenuous distress. 
Tragedy, in order to be perfect, ought to be 
throughout an animated picture; enlivened, en- 


On Tragical Representations. 345 


riched by grandeur of sentiment, by every ex- 
hibition of mind which is fitted to interest a 
fellow mind ;. but still it must be a picture. When 
this is conducted by a masterly artist ; it is then 
that all yield to the genius of tragedy; we feel 
that there is an eloquence in the exhibition of 
virtuous distress, suffering from the incidents of 
our natures, from the pardonable errors of hu- 
man judgment, from the follies or vices of others, 
or under the iron hand of oppression and cru- 
elty, which mocks all the power of wisdom to 
equal; which the lettered and the polished can 
no more resist than the most uncultivated child 
of nature. And this eloquence is the instrument 
of a wise providence, whereby he forms and 
fashions our hearts according to what’ he designs 
and approves, and calls forth those benevolent 
affections which move not at the voice of reason 
and calm philosophy. 


46 


Experiments and Observations to deter- 
mine whether the Quantity of RAIN and 
DEW 5 equal to the Quantity of WATER 
carried off by the Rivers and ratsed by 
Evaporation ; with an Enquiry into the 
ORIGIN of SPRINGS. 


BY JOHN DALTON. 


READ MARCH 1, 1799. 


It is scarcely possible to contemplate without 
admiration the beautiful system of nature by 
which the surface of the earth is continually 
supplied with water, and that unceasing circula- 
tion of a fluid so essentially necessary to the very 
being of the animal and vegetable kingdoms 
takes place. Naturalists, however, are not una- 
nimous in their opinions whether the rain that 
falls is sufficient to supply the demands of springs 
and rivers, and to afford the earth besides such 
a large portion for evaporation as it is well 
known is raised daily. To ascertain this point 
is an object of importance to the science of 
agriculture, and to every concern in which the 
procuration and management of water makes 
a part, whether for domestic purposes or for 
the arts and manufactures. 

For the sake of perspicuity I have distributed 
the subject under four heads ; 


On Rain, Evaporation, &ec. 347 


i. Of the Quantity of Rain and Dew. 

2. Of the Quantity of Water that flows into the 
Sea. 

3. OF the Quantity of Water raised by Evapor- 
ation. 


4. Of the Origin of Springs. 


SECTION I. 


An Estimate of the Quantity of Rain and Dew that 
falls in England and Wales in a year. 


Rain-gages have been fixed of late years in 
almost every part of the kingdom ; by means of 
them we are enabled to determine, with con- 
siderable exactness, the depth of water that the 
rain yields in any given place. Inland counties 
have less rain than maritime ones, especially 
those which border on the western seas. But 
a still greater difference seems to take place be- 
tween a mountainous country anda champaigne, 
or flat country: In the former there often falls 
double or triple the quantity of rain in a year, 
that there does in the latter, and never less than 
an equal quantity. It may be observed, that 
several years account of the rain at any place 
is required before a medium yearly quantity can 
be obtained with sufficient accuracy. The fol- 
lowing is perhaps the largest collection of ac- 
counts of rain fallen in different places in Eng- 


348 On Rain, Evaporation, ec. 


land that has hitherto appeared: ‘They are 
mostly taken from the Transactions of the Royal 
and other Societies. 


Counties (maritime). Places. ven ee 
Cumserzanp .... Keswick, 7 years ...----- 67-5 
Carlisle, 1 year ...-...--- 20. 2 
Westmor.ann..... Kendal, 11 years....------ 59. 8 
Fell-foot, 3 years .....- ae | 


Waith Sutton, 5 years .... 46 
LANCASHIRE ...-.- Lancaster, 10 years...---.= 40 
Liverpool, 18 years....--.- 34. 4 
Manchester, 9 years .---0- 33 
YTownley ...ssceun vances « 4] 


Crawshawbooth, near Hasling- 
den, 9 years «...es0/-e22- 60 


GuoucesTeRsHiReE Bristol, 3 years -....----- 29 2 


SomERSETSHIRE .. Bridgewater, 3 years ..-... 29. 3 
Cornwatt ...... Ludguan, near Mount’s Bay, 
DEVEATS Vetoes icine Gmina pe 
Another place, 1 year .... 29 9 
DevonsHIRE «--- Plymouth, 2 years ...... .- 46.5 
HAMPSHIRE .ane-- Selbourne, 9 years ......-- 37. 2 
Byfield, ‘Gyears, ...35 -.% 5-0 25..:9 
TROT ate ie cia a sis pLIOMES eh VEOES ns ge ed asia LY i 
BIS GS GO pas cas m2 een MAI ISUEY ns ned m eo 19. 
Norrork ....-..» Norwich, 13 years .......- 25% 
YORKSHIRE ..-.+.. Barrowby, near Leeds,6 years 27. 
Garsdale, near Sedbergh, 3 y. 52. 
NorTHUMBERLAND Widdrington, 1 year ...... 2!. 


Counties (inland). Places. Means. 


“Mipptesex ....+.- London, TiVEATS x wpm ens o ZR 
SUREEY. aascessse, SQUID Lambeth, 9 ys >... 2anu 


bt © Ge Or OY me 


r) 
: 
, 
: 


On Rain, Evaporation, €¢. 349 


Hertrorpsuire .. Near Ware, 5 years ...... 25 
HuntineponsHire Kimbolton, 7 years ..2..4 25 
DERBYSHIRE «a... Chatsworth, 15 years .... 927, 8 
Rutranpsuire. .. Lyndon, 21 years ........ 24. 3 
NortuampPtonsniRe Near Oundle, 14 years... 23 
General Mean .... 35 2 
ee 


This general mean of 935. 2 inchés is, J ap- 
prehend, a little above the medium for England 
and Wales, as the greater number of places are 
those where much rain falls. If we take a 
mean for each of the above-mentioned counties 
(where more than one place in a county is given) 
and then a general mean from the counties, the 
result is a reduced mean of 31. 3. Even then it 
may be objected that the greater part of the 
counties are maritime; but it must be observed, 
that there is no account of rain in Wales ; and 
we may safely conclude, that the rain in Wales 
would exceed the last-mentioned mean as much 
as the inland counties of England, not in the 
above list, would fall short; because Wales is 
both a mountainous country, and exposed to 
the sea. 

We will, therefore, conclude, that the mean an- 
nual depth of rain in Englandand Wales, deduced 
from these 20 counties, is 31 inches: A quantity ° 
which subsequent obseryations, I am confident, 


350 On Rain, Evaporation, Se. 


will not diminish, and probably not increase 
much.* 

It remains to estimate the quantity of dew 
that falls in'a year.—Some have doubted whether 
dew is derived from the air or the earth; but a 
proper attention to the phenomena will satisfy 
us, that it is a deposition of water, evaporated 
during the heat of the day, With respect to the 
quantity that falls in a year, we are much at a 
loss, as no daily observations have been made for 
a series of time that I know of: indeed, it would 
be difficult to prescribe a mode of observation. 
Dr. Halest relates some experiments made to 
determine the quantity of dew that falls upon 
moist earth, from which he estimates the annual 
dew at 3. 28 inches. But it is probable that the 
dew which is deposited on grass is much more 
copious than what falls on moist earth, because 
grass exposes much more surface in a given 
acre of ground. If we take the dew at 5 inches 
annually, it will probably not be much over- 
rated: supposing it should be over-rated, the 


* The editors of the Encyclopedia, under the article 
Weather, from 16 places of observation, make the an- 
nual mean for Great Britain 32. 53 inches ; and M. Cotte, 
in the Journal de Physique for 1791, gives a mean de- 
rived from 147 places in different parts of the world 
equal to 34. 7 inches, 


+ Veg. Statics. Vol. 1. Page 52, 


On Rain, Evaporation, ec. . 351 


excess may stand against the rain that is lost by 
evaporation from the surface of the rain-gage each 
time it rains.* Wherefore, upon the whole, we 


* Since writing the above paragraph on dew, I have 
had occasion to make several experiments on the subject 
of aqueous vapour, as it exists in the atmosphere, the re- 
sult of which will, I am persuaded, materially illustrate 
this important question in physics.—At present I shall 
only observe, that the following conclusions seem de- 
ducible from the experiments above referred to. 

1. That aqueous vapour is an elastic fluid suz generis, 
diffusible in the atmosphere, but forming no chemical 
combination with it. 

2. That temperature alone limits the maximum of va- 
“284 in the atmosphere. 

. That there exists at all times, and in all places, a 
ee, of aqueous vapour in the atmosphere, variable 
according to circumstances, 

4, That whatever quantity of aqueous vapour may 
exist in the atmosphere at any time, a certain temperature 
may be found, below which a portion of that vapour 
would unavoidably fall or be deposited in the form of 
rain or dew, but above which no such diminution could 
take place, chemical agency apart. This point may be 
called the extreme temperature of vapour of that density. 

5. And that whenever any body colder than the ex- 
treme temperature of the existing vapour is situated in the. 
atmosphere, dew is deposited upon it, the quantity of 
which varies as the surface of the body and the degree 
of cold be!ow the extreme temperature. 

N.B. The extreme temperature of vapour in the atmos- + 
phere varies all the way from the actual temperature of 
the atmosphere to 10, 15, 20 or more degrees below it.— 
The point may generally be found in the hottest months 

E 


352 On Rain, Evaporation, 8c. 


shall have 36 inches of water at a medium an- 
nually on the surface of the earth in England and 
Wales, reckoning 31 for rain and 5 for dew 
Accordingto Guthrie, the area of England and 
Wales is 46.450 square miles. This reduced to 
square feet, gives 1.378.586.880.000: which, 
multiplied by 9 feet the annual depth of rain 
and dew, gives 4.-135-760.690.000. cubic feet 
of water==153.176.320.000 cubic yards, or 28 
cubic miles—115 thousand millions of tons in 
weight, nearly.—We must now consider how 
this enormous quantity of water is disposed of. 
There are two principal ways by which the 
water derived from rain is carried off again : 
One part of it runs off immediately into rivulets, 
~ or sinks into the earth a small way, breaks out 
again in lower ground in the form of springs, 
thence makes its way to some river, by which 
it is conveyed into the sea—another part is_ 
raised: into the atmosphere by evaporation, We 
take no notice here of the decomposition of water 
by vegetables; because it is presumed that in 
the course of nature the principles. are combined 
and water formed again. 


| 


by pouring cold spring water into a dry and clean glass, 
and marking what degree of cold is sufficient to produce 
a dew onthe outside of the glass; at other times frigorifie 
saline solutions may be used, 


On Rain, Evaporation, Sc. 352 


§ 2. 


An Estimate of the Quantity of Water that flows into 
the Sea from England and Wales in a Year. 


To calculate the quantity of water that flows 
down any one river into the sea in a given 
time, seems at first view a question of great 
difficulty. The necessary data, however, may 
be obtained with considerable exactness, by 
proper observations, and then it becomes an 
easy case of mensuration. Dr. Hutton, in his 
Philos. and-Mathemat. Dictionary, article River, 
proposes a very good method to determine by 
experiment the velocity of a river:—A cylin- 
drical piece of light wood, its length somewhat 
less than the depth of the waters, is to be taken, 
and a few small weights attached to one end in . 
order to make it swim upright. To the other - 
end a small rod is fixed in the centre in direction 
of the axis.—This being suffered to float down 
the stream will move with the’ velocity of the 
water; and if the rod be observed to incline 
towards the river upward or downward, it shews 
the current to be more rapid at the bottom or 
surface respectively. ! 

This experiment being made in iii middle 
and near the sides of a river, a medium velocity. 
may be obtained. Then the medium, breadth, 
depth, and space run over in a certain time 


354 On Rain, Evaporation, Se. 


being multiplied together, will give the quan- 
tity of water that flows down in that time. 

Dr. Halley, in order to estimate the quantity 
of water that flows into the Mediterranean Sea 
by means of rivers, makes a comparison of the 
great rivers of Italy, &c. with that of the 
Thames. (Philos. Transact. Abridg. Vol. 2. 
Page 110). He assumes the breadth of the 
Thames at Kingston Bridge to be 100 yards, 
its depth 3 yards, and velocity 2 miles per hour. 
He professedly overrates the dimensions, in order 
to allow more than a sufficiency for the streams 
_ received below Kingston. This assumption 
gives the area of a transverse section of the 
river==300 square yards, and the quantity of 
water flowing down= 20.300 Ooo tons in a day. 
This must be overrated by at least, I think, one 
third :—If the breadth be assumed 100 yards, 
the depth 3, and velocity 2 miles per hour, it 
will then give 3 of the result above mentioned ; 
or it will amount to the same thing if we take 
< part from all the three data assumed by Dr. 
Halley, the result being 3 of that above; 
amounting in the year to 166.624.128.000 
cubic feet, which is a little more than #5 part 
of all the rain and dew in England and Wales 
ina year, as above deduced, 

By an inspection of the annexed map of the 
rivers of this country, as well as by a fair calcue 


On Rain, Evaporation, &e. 855 


jation, it appears, that the water of the Thames 
is drawn from an extent of country of about 600 
square miles, or 3 of the area of the whole, 
nearly. The Severn, including the Wye, 
spreads over an equal or greater extent of 
country: And that collection of rivers which 
constitutes the Humber is superior to either of the 
other two in this respect. As far as my own obser- 
vation goes, the Severn and Wye must disem- 
bogue as. much or more water than the Thames ; 
the. Humber. I have not seen collectedly, but 
have noticed most of the branches constituting 
it, andshould apprehend it can not be inferior 
to the Thames: All other circumstances being 
the same, the quantity of water carried down by 
any river should be as the area of the ground 
from which the water is derived, and on this 
account the Humber ought to exceed the 
Thames.* 

The Severn, which is partly derived from 
the mountainous country of Wales, is certainly 
the most rapid of the three rivers, and probably 
carries down the most water: As the Thames, 
- however, is generally considered to take the 
lead, we will suppose, upon the whole, that 
these three rivers are equal in this respect. 

The counties of Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, 


* A more perfect theorem will be given afterwards, 
for finding the quantity of water carried down by any 
river, 


356 On Rain, Evaporation, Se. 


Dorsetshire, Devonshire, Cornwall, and Somer- 
setshire, from the Medway to the lower Avon 
inclusively, in an extent of 11.000 square miles, 
do not present us with many large rivers. From 
their number and magnitude, we cannot form a 
high estimate of their produce. The quantity of 
rain for those counties is indeed near the aver- 
age for the kingdom, as far as the preceding 
observations determine; but the milder tem- 
perature of their winters and greater heat of their 
springs and summers, will cause a greater eva- 
poration thah in some other parts: It is pro- 
bable the rivers in these counties may amount, 
when taken together, to 14 times the magnitude 
of the Thames. The rivers that disembogue 
their waters on the coast of Lincolnshire, Nore 
folk, Suffolk and Essex, from the Humber to 
the Thames, though drawn ftom a country of 
7000 square miles, manifestly fall far short of the 
Thames, The two places in this district, for 
which we have accounts of the rain, Norwich 
and Upminster, give a mean of only 22+ inches 
annually. . This, with the flatness of the country, 
which prevents the water from. running off in 
some degree, makes the rivers much less than 


what might otherwise be expected from the ex- 


tent of ground. ‘Thete are but 3 or 4 of any 
consequence. Probably all the rivers may 
amount to half the size of the Thames, There 


a ae 


Vol. I PLM. Wage 356. 
SKETCH ofthe RIVERS 
tnt Cnyland anid Wales’ 


divided into districts 


Tweed 


rr 


, 
, 
é A 
\ ¥ 
R ‘ 
. 
i 
; ’ 
P : 
. 
‘ 
z Fe ‘ 
“an 
. 
2 


On Rain, Evaporation, &c. 987 


remains above 6000 square miles in Wales, from 
the Wye to the Dee, inclusive of the last, and 
the northern counties of Lancaster, Westmor- 
land, Cumberland, Northumberland, and Dur- 
ham, with part of Cheshire and a small part of 
Yorkshire, from the Mersey round by the 
Tweed to the Tees, amounting to 7 or 8000 
square miles, to be estimated. 

These two divisions, though not larger than 
some others, abound in rivers, many of which 
are considerable in magnitude and of great ra- 
pidity. The rains at an average, it is probable, 
are double what they areinthe S. E. counties of 
the kingdom. The rivers in these two districts 
cannot fairly be estimated, I think, at less than 
four times the Thames.—lIt appears, then, that 
by this estimation, the water carried off by all 
the rivers in England. and Wales, may amount 
to. nine times that carried off by the Thames 
13, inches of rain. There remains still sixteen 
times the water of the Thames, or 29 inches of 
rain to account for, before we have disposed of 
all the rain and dew. 


§ 3. 
An; Estimate of the Quantity of Water raised by 
Evaporation. 


Upon looking over the surface of any 
country, three principal varieties of surface pre- 


358 On Rain, Evaporation, E96. 


sent themselves to view, as far as respects €va- 
poration, namely, waler, ground covered with 
grass and other vegetables, and bare soil. The dif- 
ficulties that occur in attempts to find the 
quantity of water evaporated in those three 
cases, are perhaps the principal reason why our 
knowledge on this head is so imperfect. 

As far as experiments hitherto made autho- 
rise us to draw conclusions, it should seem that 
the evaporation from water is greatest ; that from 
green ground is probably next, and that from 
bare soil the least: though we may presume, 
that the copious dews upon the grass more than 
supply the excess of evaporation above -what 
takes place from a moist uncovered soil. 

The most satisfactory experiments I have 
seen an account of, relating to the evaporation 
from a surface of water, are those of Dr. 
Dobson, made at Liverpool, in the years 1772, 
73, 74 and 75. (Vid. Philos. Transac. Vol. 67) 
—He took a cylindrical vessel of 12 inches 
diameter, and having nearly filled it with water, 
exposed it besides his rain-gage of the same 
aperture, and by adding water to it, or taking 
it away occasionally, he kept the surface nearly 
of the same height, and carefully registered the 
quantities added or taken away, by a compa. 
rison of which with the rain, the amount of the 
evaporation was ascertained, ‘The mean monthly 


On Rain, Evaporation, €c. 359 


€vaporation for 4 years was—January 1.50 
inches.—February 1.77.—March 2.64.—April 
3-30-—May 4.34.—June 4.41.—July. 5.11. 
—August 5.01.—September _ 3.18.—October 
2.51—November 1.51.—December 1.49.— 
In all 36.78 inches. The mean rain for the 
same time was 37.48 inches.—In the year 1793 
I found the evaporation from water in a similar 
way at Kendal for- 82 days in March, April, 
May and June to be 5.414 inches, The greatest 
quantity evaporated on one of the hottest and 
driest days in Summer was a little above ,2 of 
an inch in depth, 

The experiments to determine how much is 
évaporated from green ground and from moist 
earth, are very few that have come to my know- 
ledge. Dr. Hales, from a few experiments, 
calculates that’ moist earth only throws off 62 
inches annually.—This calculation must be far 
below the truth. Dr. Watson, Bishop of Llan- 
daff, found that in a dry season there evaporated 
from a grass plat that had been mowed clese, 
about i600 gallons in an acre per day, which 
amounts nearly to ,o7 of aninch in depth; and that 
after rain the evaporation was considerably more. 
Now supposing ,07 to be the medium daily eva- 
poration for May, June; July and August, and 
that as much is raised in these 4 months as in 
all the rest of the year, the annual evaporation 

F 


360 On Rain, Evaporation, &c. 


in such circumstances will be 17 or 18 inches, 
which is but half that observed from water at 
Liverpool, and 6 inches less than the reserve of 
rain stated above. 

In order to ascertain this point more fully, 
and to investigate the origin of springs, my 
friend Thomas Hoyle, jun. and self practised 
an -expedient as follows, beginning in the au- 
tumn of 1795. Having got a cylindrical vessel 
of tinned iron, 10 inches in diameter and 93 
feet deep, there were inserted into it two pipes 
turned downwards for the water to run off into 
bottles: The one pipe was near the bottom of 
the vessel; the other was an inch from the 
top. The vessel was filled up for a few inches 
with gravel and sand, and all the rest with good 
fresh soil. It was then put into a hole in the 
ground and the space around filled up with 
earth, except on one side, for the convenience of 
putting bottles to the two pipes; then some water 
was poured on to sadden the earth, and as much 
of it as would was suffered to run through with- 
out notice, by which the earth might be con- 
sidered as saturated with water. For some weeks 
the soil was kept above the level of the upper 
pipe, but latterly it was constantly a little below 
it, which precluded any water running off 
through it. Moreover, for the first year the 
soil at top was bare; but for the two last years 


On Rain, Evaporation, Ge, 361 


it was covered with grass thé same as any green 
field. Things being thus circumstanced, a re- 
gular register has been kept of the quantity of ~ 
rain water that ran off from the surface of the 
earth through the upper pipe (whilst that took 
place) and also of the quantity of that which 
sunk down through the 9 feet of earth, and ran 
out through the lower pipe. A rain-gage of 
the same diameter was kept close by to find the 
quantity of rain for any corresponding time. 


The following Tables shew the Result. 


‘Water through the two Pipes; | Mean, Mean |Mean 
Rain, |Evap. 


Inch. Inch. _Anch. | inch, Sone Nceoh, 


1796- 1797-1798." 
Jan. .1.897—  ,680— 1.774-+ 16450+] 2,458] 1.008 
Feb, 1-778 ,918-— 1,122 1.273 | 1.801] 5528 
March 5431— 3070— 335 | 279 | ,go2| ,623] - 
April ,220— 295— ,180 | ,999 1.717| 1-485} - 
May 2.027— 2443-4 010 [1.49344] 4.177] 2.684 
Jind” 581 -—», 726 299 | 2-483] 2.184 
July 2158 2925 —— 1,059 | 4.154| 4.095 
Aug, —— 25° 3168 | 3.554] 3-386 
Sept. =~ = 976 =—— _| 305 | 3.2791 2.954 
ct. pee 2680 era 9227 2.899 2.672 
Nov. —— 1.044 1-594 | 879 | 2.934] 2.055 
“Dees 5200 3.077 1.8784 1.718-+] 3.202) 1.484 


6.877— 10.934— 7:379 |8.402 1|33.560ler.158 
Raiti g0-629— 98.791—31,259 50/7945 
Evap.23.725-—- 27-857—29-862 


ooo 
on 


i 


362, On Rain, Evaporation, Se. 


The following observations were made when 
the water passed through both pipes: that is» 
when the vessel was filled up with earth above 
the level of the upper pipe. 


Top pipe Bottom pipe. 


’ Inch. Inch. 
$796, Jan. 25—— ,190—— ,280 
30-—— ,o80—— 4114 
Feb, 2—— ,100-—— 5254 


8—— 3196-—— 214Q 
May 1—— ,163——~ ,000 


10—— ,060—— ,400 
12—— ,312——— 4175 
15—— ,190—— 200 
June 3—— 120 3040 


ee ee 


Total 1.411 


ee 


1.603 


The column of mean evaporation is derived 
by taking the difference of the two columns pre- 
ceding it; but it should be observed that though 
this method is sufficiently exact in taking the 
year together, it is not so in taking the 
months severally, because it presumes that the 
earth in the vessel contains the same quantity of 
water at the end of each month, or is saturated 
with it; whereas in the Summer months it is 
frequently short of saturation. The consequence 
is, that the evaporation appears from this table 
to be something less than it really is in the Sum; 


On Rain, Evaporation, &ec. 363 


mer months, and something more in the au- 
tumnal.* 

From these experiments it seems we may 
conclude—ist, That the quantity of water eva- 
porated, zn the circumstances above related, amounts 
to 25 inches of rain annually ; to which if we add 
5 inches for the dew, it will give 30 inches of 
water raised annually. 

2d. That the quantity of evaporation in- 
creases with the rain, but not proportionally. 
Thus, 1797 gave the most rain and the greatest 
evaporation, &c. 

ad. That it does not appear there is much 
difference betwixt the evaporation from bare 
earth, when there is sufficient depth of soil, and 
that from ground covered with vegetating grass, 
The account in 1796 is much what might have 
been expected, if the earth had been covered with 
grass. — 


As this account of evaporation, amounting 
to 30 inches, exceeds the medium reserve of 
rain of 29 inches, it demands an enquiry whether 
the rain is adequate, or whether the earth de- 
rives a supply of water from some subterranean 
reservoir, according to the opinion of some phi- 
losophers, 


* N.B. The earth in the vessel always appeared as 
well supplied with moisture as the ground around it, in 
the driest weather, 


364 On Rain, Evaporation, Se 


With respect to the deficiency of 7 inches,. 
there are three causes to be assigned for it, which 


appear to me fully sufficient, without having re- 
course to any source but that of rain for the 


supply of the earth in general. 
ast, In the account of the rain that passed 
through the earth in our evaporating vessel, 
there are a few monthly. products marked,+ 
those were occasioned by the bottle that re- 
ceived the water through the pipe being found 
with the water running over ; this loss was placed 
to the account of evaporation; it could not be 
much, as the water was taken several times in a 
month, but possibly might amount to one inch 
in the year. 

ad. The rain at Manchester, being 334 inches 
annually, exceeds the medium of g1 inches ; and 
consequently, according to the preceding obser~ 
vations, the evaporation ought to exceed the 
medium. 

gd. But the principal cause of the excess 
in our account of evaporation, I conceive to be 
the prevention of the water running off from the 
surface of the earth at the top, by having the 
earth below the level of the upper pipe: It has 
been seen, that when the earth was above that 
level, a great part of the water came off that way, 
by which the surface was sooner dried: whereas 
by forcing all the water to sink through the 


On Raia, Evaporation, Ge. 365 


earth or stand on its surface, a greater degree 
of moisture perpetually existed at the surface, 
and consequently afforded a greater scope for 
evaporation, than the surface of the earth in ge. 
neral would do. 

Upon the whole then I think we may fairly 
conclude—that the rain and dew of this country 
are equivalent to the quantity of water carried off 
by evaporation and by the rivers. And as na- 
ture acts upon general laws, we ought to infer, 
that it must be the case in every other country, 
till the.contrary is proved. 

This conclusion being admitted, we are en- 
abled to deduce a general theorem for the quan- 
tity of water carried down into the sea by any 
river in any country (on the supposition that all 
rivers are ramified alike) provided we have 
certain data: these data are the length of the 
river, and the excess of the rain above the eva- 
poration in the country from which the water of 
the river is drawn: Also, it should be known by 
observation; how much water some one given 
river carries down. 

For, from the principles of geometry, the 
area of country from which any river is sup- 
plied, will be as the square of the length of the 
river; and the quantity of water carried off, 
will be in the compound ratio of the area of the. 
country, and the excess of the rain and dew 
above the evaporation, 


366 On Rain, Evaporation, &e. 


Thus, let L=the length of any river, E=2 
the excess of rain and dew above the evaporation, 
and O=the quantity of water disembogued ir 
any given time by that river; l—the length of 
any other river, e=the excess, &c. and q=the 
quantity of water; then we shall have q— 
Ole 
LE 

Ex. gr. Suppose the length of the Thames 
=200 miles, and the excess—5 inches, estima- 
ting the rain and dew at 30 inches and evapor- 
ation at 25; and suppose the river Kent, in 
Westmorland, to be 20 miles in length, and the 
excess 35 inches, the rain and dew being sup- 
posed 65, and evaporation g0 inches. 

BO: a ee want Sa 


Then, 


200° X 5 100 
or O=143q ; which result, I believe, will be 
found to accord nearly with the measurement of 
the two rivers on the principle before men= 
tioned. 


On Rain, Evaporation, Ge. 367. 


; 4. 
On the Origin of Springs. 
The Origin of Springs has always been justly 


considered as a question of natural history wor- 
thy, of investigation.—In the infancy of science 
hypotheses are formed to account for pheno- 
mena; but when facts are discovered totally in- 
consistent with an hypothesis, it ought to be dis- 
carded, This does not seem to have been the 
case in the subject before us; for various opinions 
are still held by some, which it is impossible to 
support by facts. The object of, the following 
remarks and experiments is to ascertain the dis- 
puted point if possible. | 

There are three opinions respecting the origin 
of springs which it may be proper to notice. 

ist. That they are supplied entirely by rain 
and dew, 

2d. That they are "principally supplied by 
* large subterranean reservoirs of water. 

gd. That they derive their water originally 
from the sea, on the principle of filtration, 
» Itisobvious, that before we pay any attention 
to the two latter opinions, the causes assigned 
in the first ought to be proved insufficient by 
direct experiment, M. de ia Hire is the only 


one who has attempted to do this, as far as my 
G 


368 On Rain, Evaporation, &ec. 


information extends, in the Parisian Memoirs 
for 1703. He procured a leaden vessel 8 feet 
deep, having a pipe at the bottom; this he 
buried in the earth, and filled with soil of sand 
and loam, exposing the surface to receive all the 
rain that fell, After15 years trial, he found 
that no water had run through the pipe at the 
bottom. 

Again, he took another vessel, 8 inches deep, 
which he filled with earth and exposed in like 
manner, No rain penetrated so as to run out 
at the bottom from June to February ; but after 
that time it yielded a quantity after most rains. 
Another vessel of twice the depth, or 16 inches, 
gave a result much like that of 8 inches. Far- 
ther, M. de la Hire found, that when herbs were 
planted in’ the soil of the last mentioned vessel, 
and grown up, no rain penetrated through the 
soil, but instead thereof it was not sufficient to 
sustain the vegetation; for the plants would re- 
quire to be sprinkled occasionally, or else they 
began to droop and wither. : 

With respect to the first mentioned fact, we ” 
need not wonder that no water penetrated 
through 8 feet of earth at Paris, where the an- 
nual rain is but 20 inches, when only 8 or g 
inches penetrated through g feet of earth here, 
where the rain is 33 or 34 inches annually. But 
it does not follow that rain may not descend 


On Rain, Evaporation, &e. 369 


down declivities of the ground into vallies or 
lower parts, at Paris as well as here, and being 
accumulated may penetrate into the earth to a 
considerable depth; especially if it meet with 
channels or chasms of any kind, or declining 
Strata of earth that are impenetrable by water. 
Paris, I believe, however, is not very liberally 
supplied with springs, as might be expected. As 
to the experiment upon vegetation, it only proves 
that the rain in spring and summer is sometimes 
not sufficient to support vegetable life, a fact 
which may readily be granted; but then in his 
experiment the plants were precluded from a 
supply of moisture from the earth beneath the 
vessel, which is a reserve of the utmost conse- 
quence in dry seasons, 

This circumstance of water ascending again 
in the earth, on whatever principle it is effected, 
cannot be denied.—There were 43 inches of rain 
here in July last, none of which passed through 
the earth in the evaporating vessel ; this earth, 
however, at the end of the month, was far from 
that degree of dryness which is unfit for the 
support of vegetation.—During the first four 
days of August there fell about 3 inches of rain, 
and only 3 an inch penetrated through the earth 
‘in the evaporating vessel, Consequently 3 feet 
in depth of earth that was moderately moist im-' 
bibed nearly 3 inches of rain before it was satur- 


370 On Rain, Evaporation, Se 


ated ;| whence we may conclude that 9 inches 
nearly had ascended and been evaporated. This 
evidently shews, that earth ts capable of holding 
ai.very great proportion of water, that in sum- 
mer the water ascends, to supply the exigences 
at the surface, and that earth far under tie point 
of saturation, with moisture is still fit to support 
vegetation. 7 

This observation suggested the following 
question—How much water is there in a given 
depth of earth when the soil is at the point of 
saturation, or in that state when it begins to 
yield water from the lower pipe of the evapora. 
ting gage? 

To determine this I took a quantity of gar- 
den soil that had been soaked with rain a day 
before, and pressed it into a crucible; in this 
state 2 found’ its specific gravity to that of 
water as § to 3+ It was then exposed to a mo- 
derate heat till it appeared, as near as I could 
judge, of the same moisture as garden soil two 
inches deep in dry summer weather ; afterwards 
it was exposed almost to a red heat till it be- 
came a perfectly dry powder; in the former case 
it Jost» of its weight, and in the latter £— 
When it had lost 4, it did not appear too dry 
tO support vegetation. When it had lost 4, 
it appeared like the top soil in summer.— 
Hence it follows, that every foot of earth 


On Rain, Evaporation, &c. 971 


in depth, ‘so ‘saturated, contains ‘7 inches’ of 
water, and that it may part with one quarter of 
its water, or even one half, and not be too dry 
for supporting vegetation. 

Clay, just dug out for the purpose of watts 
bricks, was tried in the same manner: It gave 
the same specific gravity as the earth, and yielded 
not much less water, 

These experiments and observations prove, 
that M. dela Hire’s conclusions, drawn fbi 
the vegetation of plants in a given quantity of 
soil, precluded from any communication with 
the earth at large, are erroneous, or at least un- 
warranted: As it does not thence appear that the 
evaporation for the whole year exceeds the rain 
in the year, whatever it ai ‘do for a month or 
two in summer. -* 

The origin of springs may still therefore be 
attributed to rain, till some more decisive ex- 
periments appear to the contrary; and it be- 
comes unnecessary to controvert the other two 
opinions respecting this subject. 

Upon the whole it should seem, that at the 
commencement of spring, the ground is nearly 
saturated with water for 5 or 6 feet in depth, as 
the rains and dews in autumn and winter far ex- 
ceed the evaporation: There are then 5 or 6 
inches of water at least tobe raised up again to ° 
the surface in case of exigence in the spring and 


372 On Rain, Evaporation, &c. 


summer: If this happen to be so, then it is at 
the expence of springs ; for we find the gene- 
rality of springs become languid, or entirely 
cease to flow at the end of a long drought. As 
to the few springs that seem to be little affected 
by dry or wet seasons, they form exceptions 
which it would not be difficult to account for. 


ee 


373 


EXPERIMENTS and OBSERVA- 
TIONS on the Power of Fluids to conduct 
HEAT ; wth Reference to Count Rum- 

ford’s Seventh Essay on the same Subject. 


BY JOHN DALTON, 


READ APRIL 12TH, 1799. 


if be nature and properties of fire or heat are 
subjects which present themselves to our con- 
sideration in almost every department of physics : 
It is no wonder therefore that new experiments, 
which point out and define the modes of opera- 
_ tion of fire, before unobserved, or at least too 
much overlooked, should attract the attention of 
philosophers.—These observations were suggest- 
ed upon reading Count Rumford’s very inge- 
nious experiments, in his essay abovementioned, 
which exhibit a fact in a more striking point of 
view than it has appeared before—namely, that 
the quickness of the circulation and diffusion of heat 
in fluids, 2s occasioned principally by the internal 
motion arising from a change of specific gravity 
effected by the heat.—But the conclusion he has 
drawn from them—that fluids are perfect non- 


374 On the Power of Fluads io conduct Heat. 


conductors of heat, in the way in which solids 
conduct ii, appears to me totally unwarranted 
from. the experiments, and erroneous in itself, 
And as it may be an error of practical conse- 
quence, if adopted, the exposition of it seemed: 
desirable—which,is the object of the following 
remarks. and experiments. 

My first attempt was to ascertain the prectse 
degree of cold \at\ which water ‘ceases to be 
further condensed—and likewise. how much 
expands in cooling below that degree to the 
temperature of freezing, or 32°. For this pur- 
pose I took a thermometer tube, such as would 
have given a scale of 10 inches with mercury 
from 32° to 212°, and filled it with pure water. 
I then graduated it by an accurate mercurial 
thermometer, putting them together into a bason 
filled with water of various degrees of heat, and 
stirring it occasionally : As it is well known, that 
water does not expand in proportion to its heat, 
it does not therefore afford a thermometric scale 
of equal parts, like quicksilver. 

‘From repeated trials agreeing in the result, 
1 find, that the water thermometer is at’ the 
lowest point of the scale it is capable of, that is) 
water is of the greatest density at 42° of the 
mercurial thermometer. From 419% to 44? in- 
clusively the variation is so small as to be just 
perceptible on the scale; but above or below 


On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 978 


those degrees, the expansion has an increasing 
ratio, and at 32° it amounts to 4th of an inch, 
or about zisth part of the whole expansion’ from 
42° to 212° or boiling heat.—During the in- 
vestigation of this subject, my attention was ar= 
rested by the circumstance, that the expansion of 
water was the same for any number of degrees 
from the point of greatest condensation, no mat- 
ter whether above or below it: thus, I found 
that 32, which are 1004 below the point of 
greatest density, agreed exactly with 530, which 
are 10° above the said point; and so did all the 
intermediate degrees on both sides, Conse- 
quently when the water thermometer stood af 
53°, it was impossible to say, without a know- 
ledge of other circumstances, whether its tem- 
perature was really 53°, or 32°. Recollecting some 
experiments of Dr, Blagden in the Philosophical 
Transactions, from which it appears that water was 
cooled down to 21° or 22° without freezing, I 
was Curious to see how far this law of expansion 
would continue below the freezing point, pre- 
viously to the congelation of the water, and 
therefore ventured to put the water thermometer 
into a mixture of snow and salt, about 25° below 
the freezing point, expecting the bulb to be burst 
when the sudden congelation took place. After 
taking it out of a mixture of snow and water, 
where it stood at 32° (that is 53° per scale) I 
i 


976 On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 


immersed it into the cold mixture, when it rose, 
at first slowly, but increasing in velocity, it passed 
60°, 70°, and was going up towards 80°, when 
I took it out to see if there was any ice in the 
bulb, but it remained perfectly transparent: I 
immersed it again and raised it to 75° per scales 
when in an instant it darted up to 128°, and that 
moment taking it out, the bulb appeared 
white and opake, the water within being frozen: 
Fortunately it was not burst; and the liquid 
which was raised thus to the top of the scale was 
not thrown out, though the tube was unsealed. 
Upon applying the hand, the ice was melted and 
the liquid resumed its station. This experiment 
was repeated and varied, at the expence of several 
thermometer bulbs, and it appeared that water 
may be cooled down in such circumstances, not 
only to 21°, but to 5° or 6°, without freezing, 
and that the law of expansion abovementioned 
obtains in every part of the scale from 42° to 
10° or below ; so that the density of water at 10* 
is equal to the density at 75°. But as the dis 
covery of this curious, and I believe hitherto un- 
noticed property, has little to do with the object 
before us, I shall say no more of it at present. 
Count Rumford’s principal experiments are 
those in which a cake of ice was confined on the 
bottom of a cylindrical glass jar, of 4.7 inches 
in diameter, and 14 high, and water poured upon 


On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 377 


it of different temperatures suffering it to stand, 
without agitation. He found that about 61b. of 
boiling hot water melted little more ice than as 
much water of 41°; and that by making such 
allowances as the experiments seemed to warrant 
for deductions when hot water was used, water of 
41°, or g° above the freezing point, melted quite 
as much, and often more, than the~hot water: 
From which he infers, that water, and by analogy 
all other fluids, do not transmit heat in the man- 
ner that solids do, but circulate it sae by the 
internal motion of their particles. 

The existence of this internal motion he has 
proved decidedly; that water of a certain tem- 
perature being of the greatest density, will always” 
take the Jowest place, and water either warmer or 
colder than that degree will ascend. This 
degree of greatest condensation he takes on the 
authority of others at 40°; it appears however 
from the experiment related above, to be still 
more favourable to his position, namely 42°: : 
-And that water of 32° must ascend till it comes 
to water of 53°, if it be not cooled in its pro- 
gress, which circumstance he admits. 

- Upon considering the facts related in his 
experiments therefore, there are three causes 
which suggest themselves as conspiring to cir- 
culate and diffuse the heat, by which the ice is 
melted, 


378 Onthe Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 


ist. The internal motion of the liquid, by 

- which water of 32°, incumbent upon the ice, is 

perpetually ascending into a warmer region of 

53°, and watmer water of 42°: descending to take 
its place, 

od. The proper conducting power of the 
liquid independent of internal motion, 

gd. The conducting power of the glass 
jar. But as glass is known to be a very bad con- 
ductor of heat, it can produce no material 
effect in these experiments: For which reason 
Count Rumford does not appreciate the third 
cause. 

With respect to the operation of the first 
cause, it will generally be supposed that cold water 
rising into warmer and remaining with it, the 
heat is impaired, and the two reduced to a com-~ 
mon temperature. But Count Rumford does not 
admit of this communication; he maintains, that 
the two still retain there proper share of heat, 
notwithstanding they are mixed together. This 
hypothesis of his is of no peculiar consequence 
as far as respects the effect of the internal. 
motion: For the temperature indicated by a 
thermometer immersed in an equal mixture of 
water at 32° and 53°, would be the same.as if the 
water was uniformly of the temperature 42°. 
But it has material consequences in other re- 
spects; for, if it be admitted, it annihilates the © 


On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 379 


second cause abovementioned, and it would follow 
that warm water being put upon cold water above 
the temperature of 42°, the heat could not in 
any degree be propagated downwards, unless. by 
agitation, and even then, upon subsiding, the 
warm part ought to rise to the top, and the cold 
fall to the bottom. 

These positions are so manifestly contradic- 
tory to common-opinion, that they can not be 
received without proof. But Count Rumford has 
not given us a single experiment to prove them. 
It seemed necessary therefore, to clear up this 
point by direct experiments. 


2 


Experiment 1. 


Took a large tumbler glass, 9: inches di- 
ameter, and 5 inches deep, and filled it half way 
with water of 54°, then gently filled up the rest 
by means of a small syphon, with water of 88°; 
a thermometer, with its bulb.and stem detached 
from the frame, being previously immersed, to 
the bottom. ‘The temperatures at the top~ and 
middle were had by gently immersing the bulb 
of another thermometer into the water. 


380 On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 


- Time 1 TEMPERATURE 
elapsed. °° ~ attop. inthe middle. at bottom. 
i , 88° £ pi ta 51° 
5 min; Me, ——: 54 
te-«: 83 age 56 
£6?°.? “80 72-4 58 
30 76 —. 60 
40 2193 —_—— 61 
50 0 70 —_— 6x 
60° 69 — 61> 


(Air in the room 50°.) . 
Experiment 2. 


The same as before ; only a circular piece 
of wood floated upon the surface of the water, 
on the centre of which the stream of the syphon 
was directed to prevent the current downwards. 


(Air in the room 55%) 


: TEMPERATURE 
Time. at top. at bottom. 
Before the water was poured on .....- 56° 
rs e2°4:06° 56+. 
10 min. 105 56 
20 ie g2 57 — 
3° Bas cate 
40 80 572 
5° 77 58+ 


‘ 
; 


On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 381 


TEMPERATURE 

Time. at top. at bottom. 
2h. 10min. 72°5 58°r 

— 20 70 59— 

— g0 67 58x 

— 40 65 58+ 
mae 63 58 
Bh eae 62 58 — 

— 15 61 571 

= 90 - 592 57 
a. 572 56 (Air 52°) 
tisha 53 53 Do. 


A similar result was obtained in a different 
way by the following. 


Experiment 3. 


Took an ale glass of a conical figure, 22 
inches in diameter and 3 inches deep; filled it 
with water that had been standing in the room, 
and consequently of the temperature of the air 
nearly—Put the bulb of a thermometer to the 
bottom of the glass, the scale being out of the 
water: Then, having marked the temperature, 
I put the red hot tip of a poker, half an inch deep 
into the water, holding it there steadily about 
half a minute ; and as soon as it was withdrawn, 
I dipt the bulb of a sensible thermometer into 


382 On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 


the water about I inch, when it rose ina few 
seconds to 180°. 


_ TEMPERATURE 
Time. at top. middle. bottom. 
Before the poker was immersed ......---+e0++-= 47° 
— 180° 47° 
5 min. 100 60° A7t 
\ £0 70 60 49 
1h.— 55 _— 52 


These experiments all evidently agree in 
proving water to have a proper conducting 
power, independent of any internal motion.— 
It surely will not be said that any slight motion 
unavoidably made at the beginning of an ex- 
periment, could continue with a powerful effect 
‘for upwards of an hour.—However, to determine 
this matter, I made the two following experi- 
ments, 


Experiment 4. 


Took the glass tumbler of the first experiment, 
and filled it half way with rain water, deeply 
tinged with archil; then filled it up with clear 
warm water, as related in the 2d experiment.— 
The upper half was but just perceptibly tinged 
by the process and uniformly so; it remained 
for an hour not visibly altered in this respect, 
though by frequently putting the bulb of a ther- 


On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 382 


mometer down to the middle, the colour at last 
rose in a small degree. 


(Air 45°) 
TEMPERATURE 
at top. middle. bottom. 
Before the warm water was poured on . . 44° 
Time 105° — ae 
7min, = 97 = 47+ 
17 86 — 48 
27 79 Mee eae 49. 
37 75 68 _§0 
47 qo 66 50+ 
57 66 62 51t 
1h. 7 60 62 Rin. 
Fal 604 59 bit 
— 27 59 a 51z 
Experiment 5. 


A glass tube near an inch in diameter, and 
36 inches long, was half filled with a coloured 
solution ‘of common salt in water, warm; a small 
thermometer was wholly immersed in it, and 
cold clear water carefully poured upon the whole 
so as'to fill the tube; the colour ascended very 
little, and continued invariable after the process 
of filling.—The warm solution was of course 
made of greater specific gravity than the cold 


water, 
I 


384 On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 


(Air 45°) 
TEMPERATURE 
at top. bottom. 
Time. 45° 85° 
5 min. i588 . 79 
10 53 14 
21 52 69 
31 51 |) 6B 
45 50% 64 
58 50 61 
rh.gt , rf MS 55% 
3 130 ch Greate 5% 
mets , 47 5° 
A 15 — 49 
Oh ge aes. Rena 48 


To determine whether hot and cold water 
being suddenly mixed, and agitated, the hot 
would afterwards rise to the top, was the ob- 
ject of ; pgs 


Experiment 6. 


Air in the room 50°.—About 4) pint’ of 
water of 130° was poured into a cold tumbler 
glass, and immediately after as much water of 
50°; the mixture was agitated for half a minute 
by a deal rod; after which an immersed thermo- 
meter stood at 85°, both at top and bottom; it 


On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 385 


was ‘then set by in a still place for examina- 
tions | 


TEMPERATURE 


Time. at top. bottom. 
15 min, WJ a a7 
go 73 723 
45 68 673 
rth, — 64.8 64.6 


From all these experiments it is evident, 
_ that water has a proper. conducting power: In 
the last experiment, if the particles of water 
during the agitation had not actually communi- 
cated their heat, the hot ones ought to have 
Tisen to the top, and the cold ones subsided so 
as to have made a material difference in the 
temperature.—It is, however, equally evident, 
that water is a bad conductor of heat, probably as 
it is of electricity ; the descent of the heat in the 
second experiment is wonderfully slow ; a slight 
agitation for one second would do as much to 
induce the equilibrium as standing still one our. 
In repeating the third experiment, in a wine 
glass, I have several times known, water 3 an 
inch deeper to differ 50° in temperature from the 
‘Incumbent water. 

We must conclude, therefore, that the quick 
circulation of heat in water over.a fire, &c. is 
owing principally to the internal motion excited 


386 Onthe Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 


by an alteration of specific gravity ; but not 
solely to that cause as Count Rumford has in- 
ferred. 

If it be proved that water conducts heat, it 
will scarcely be necessary to prove, that other 
fluids conduct it, and that they communicate it 
one to another :—The two following experiments 
shew that mercury conducts it, and that water 
and mercury reciprocally communicate it. 


Experiment 7. 


Took a cylindrical glass tube, of 1 inch in- 
ternal diameter, and put 13 inches in depth of 
mercury into it, and immersed the bulb and 
stem of a thermometer to the bottom, the scale 
as usual being above the liquid; then put 24 
inches of warm water upon it by a syphon, and 
let it stand without agitation, 


TEMPERATURE. TEMPERATURE. 
Merc. Waiter. Time. Merc. Water, 
Time. 56° 122 14M, 74°F 92° 
3m. 70 118 19 73 87 
6 73 110 27 71 78 
11 75 190 


Experiment 8. 


Into a tumbler glass, 2} inches in diameter, — 
poured an inch in depth of mercury, and heated 


On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 387 


it to 110°; upon which was poured an inch of 
water at 50°, and then kept still. 


TEMPERATURE. 
Mere. Water. 
Time. 110° 50° 
4 min, 74, 79 
8 7 70% 
Io 79x 7° 


Finding that water was so bad a conductor 
of heat, I was desirous to learn how ice would 
- conduct it, and tried it as follows, ° 


Experiment g. 


Feb. oth. Out of a mass of ice, by means of 
a hot iron, I shaped a cylindrical piece, 3 inches 
in diameter, and 53 inches long, clean and pure ; 
its weight 17 ounces. Made a small round hole 
at one end, one inch deep, and the size of a 
thermometer bulb, which was inclosed in it.— 
The other end of the piece was put into a bason 
of snow and salt, to the depth of from 3 to IZ 
inches, the temperature of which was kept below 
10° for 1} hours. Air 37°. 


Therm. inthe © Therminthe 
Time elapsed, liquid, ice. 
5 32° 


3 ‘ e 
1Zh. atamedium 7 gk 


88 On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 


-N.B. This descent of half a degree was 
graudal, but did not commence till long after the 
beginning of the experiment.—After this the 
piece of ice was inclined to one side, by which 
nearly one half of it was immersed in the cooling 
liquid, and theinclosed bulb of the thermometer 
was now not more than an inch from the cold 
mixture. » 


Therm.inthe Term. in the 


H. M. liquid. - “30e, 

1 50r 14° 28° 

2 20 19 28 

2 5O 22° Ice along with the 


therm. slipped down 
into the cold liquid. 


The ice now weighed 123 ounces: the rest 
had been liquified by the operation of the saline 
liquor. 

This experiment, I think, decidedly proves 
that ice is a worse conductor of heat than 
water :—Indeed this is not wonderful ; for it is 
said, that ice at a low temperature becomes an 
electric. 

It is certainly a remarkable circumstance, 
but not at all inconsistent with the known laws 
of heat, that in a mixture of hot and cold 


+ From the beginning of the experiment. 


On the Power of Fluds to conduct Héat. 389 


liquids, the uniform temperature should be ‘so 
soon induced by agitaticn and°so’ slowly, by'rest = 
But when we consider, that in the former case, 
hot and cold particles are brought together, and 
that in the latter there is a series of particles one 
upon another, gradually rising in temperature, 
but differing by- insensible degrees, we shall 
not wonder at the facts. When any one par- 
ticle of water, or any ‘other body, has one above 
it, warmer by an insensible degree, and another 
below it, colder ‘by an insensible degree,’ its 
power to transmit heat must be very small,— 
These considerations gave rise to the two fol- 
roping, experiments, 


Experiment 10. 


A mercurial. thermometer was taken, its 
bulb ¥ inch in diameter, and hanging clear of 
the scale: It was heated by the;flame of a 
candle to 600°, and then laid upon a table with 
the bulb projecting over the edge, and was thus 
left to cool by the mere operation of the air in 
the room, which was 52°.—The following is the 
medium result of two experiments, hi thas how- 
ever, agreed with each other almost in every 
observation, 9 


390 On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 


Time. Lemp. | Time. Temp. 
° 1, 600° 18 half m. 66° 
thalfm. 450 19 64 
2 350 20 | 62 
3 280 dag Sr 60 
4 wae aS ote 
5 195 23 58 
i aoe 168 24 57 
7 145 25 56 
8 128 26 55 

het 115 Rs oe 54 
10. 104 28 ou. 
11 95 a9 53 
18 88 30 53 
13 81 gt 53 
14. 77 32 52+ 
15 73 33 5% 
16 69+. Air in the room §2 
17 68 


Experiment 11. 


Another thermometer, having a similar bulb, 
but a scale with much larger degrees, was heated 
and cooled in the same manner. 


Time. Temp. Time. Temp. 


85° Shalfm, 61°2 
halfm, 792 © 9 ; 60 


wan bow» | 
Oy 
co 
| 
~ 
tw 
nn 
eo 


On thé Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 391 


Time. Temp. Time. Temp. 
16 56°.3 24 55°33 
17 563 25 55-25 
18. 56 26 55-2— 
19 55-9 27 55-1 
20 557+ | 28 551— 
21 55-6+ 29 55+ 
22 55:5 39 55 
23 55-4 


In these experiments we may consider mer- 
cury and air mixed together of unequal tem- 
peratures, with a thin partition of glass—and 
from the last we may conclude, that the thermo 
meter imparted to the air 40 times more heat in 
half a minute, when its temperature was 30° 
above the air, than when it was only 1° 
above it. 

We shall now advert a littleto CountRumford’s 
experiments.—It will easily appear, that arguing 
fairly upon his own hypothesis he can never ac- 
count for the phenomena observed: For, hot 
water being poured upon ice, an internal motion 
would take place near the surface of the ice, by 
which a stratum of water of a certain thickness 
would be reduced to ge2°, and then all further 
reduction of the ice must cease; because all the 
superincumbent water being above 53° would be 
lighter and could not descend to, the ice. But’ - 
this is quite contrary to what took, place. .The 

VOL, Y. K 


392 On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 


facts, however, will. admit of a satisfactory ex- 
planation upon established principles. . 
By experiments 10 and 13, it appears, that 
the quantity of heat given out by a body, 
during any small given portion of time, is nearly 
as the excess of the temperature of the body 
above the cooling medium. Hence, then, we 
may conclude, that the effect of hot water upon 
ice arising from the proper conducting power of 
water, will be nearly as the heat of the water. 
What effect the other cause may produce, it will 
be difficult to determine from theory: Experience 
will be the best guide, One thing, however, 
appears pretty certain, that its effect must be 
a maximum, when the temperature of the water at 
large is 42°; because then there can never want 
a determination of the particles downward to 
supply the place of the lighter water of 32° as. 
cending. If the temperature ofthe water exceed 
42°3, then the effect of the internal motion will 
be less, diminishing by some unknown ratio. As 
far as I can judge from Count R.’s experiments, 
the joint effects of those two causes should be 
nearly the same with water of 42° and water of 
190°. Taking this, therefore, for granted, we 
shall be enabled to sketch a table of the values 
_ of these two causes for every 10° of temperature, 
The numbéts expressing the effect of the proper 
conducting power, are derived from the 1oth 


On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat, 393 


experiment, and consequently are not purely 
hypothetical: those expressing the other effect, 
except 42° and 192°, are put down hypotheti- 
cally, aa the law of ma Sie has not been 
ascertained. 

It is to be supposed, that a given quantity 
of water, of the several temperatures mentioned, 
is carefully poured upon a cake of ice at the 
bottom of a cylindrical glass jar, and stands 
Without agitation for a given time, as half an 
hour; then the proportionate quantity of ice 
supposed to be melted by the two causes se- 
parately are stated in numbers, and then the 
sums are taken to express the joint effects. 


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On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 395 


After what has been said, I need not caution 
my readers not to consider this table as accurate. 
The principle of it, however, cannot I conceive be 
disproved: that the operation of the conducting 
power must be proportionate to a series of num- 
bers beginning from o at 32°, and gradually in- 
creasing in some ratio with the temperature 
above 32°, cannot, I think, be controverted; 
and that the operation of the internal motion 
must begin from o at 32°, and increase till it 
arrives at its maximum at 42°3, and then decrease 
again ever after, is also, I apprehend, unquestion- 
able; thus, when the jar had water of 42°, in 
Count R.’s experiments, this internal motion 
must have had a range of 8 inches in depth; 
whereas, when hot water alone was used, it had 
not more than 3 of aninch to range from the 
temperature of 32 to that of 59°. 

The following table exhibits a concise view 
of all the materiai varieties of Count Rumford’s 
experiments, with their result, 


LYL 
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On the Power of Fluids to conduct Heat. 397 


Count Rumford attempts to explain why 

there was less ice melted in such experiments as 
the 4sth than in those like the 39th, and attri- 
butes the diminution of the effect to the de- 
scending currents, occasioned by the cold mix- 
ture surrounding the warm one, which he thinks 
would obstruct the opposite ones ascending from 
the ice. But the effect in the 51st, compared 
with the 53d, being just opposite, he passes 
over without explanation.—I have no doubt my- 
self, but that the true cause of the differences in 
both cases, is to be found in the column expres- 
sing the mean temperature of the water, and noi 
in that expressing its situation, which I consider 
as having nothing to doin the business, but as 
it affects the general temperature. The maximum 
effect with cold water will be when it is of the 
‘temperature of about 48° or 50°, and the mz- 
mum above it probably about 100° or 120°; 
and in proportion as the mean temperatures, 
in any experiment, deviate from those points, 
the effects vary accordingly, let other circum-. 
stances be what they may. 

Thus I have attempted to explain the ra- 
tionale of these very curious and interesting ex- 
periments, in a manner different to what their 
ingenious author has done. And must now leave 
it to the reader to form his opinion, 


398 


EXPERIMENTS on the VELOCITY of 
AIR zssuing out of a Vessel in different 
circumstances; with the Description of an 
instrument to measure the force of the Blast 
in Bellows, 8c. By Mr. BANKS, Lecturer 
in Natural Philosophy. Communicated. by 
Mr. DALTon. 


READ, MAY 30, 1800. 


Tue object of this enquiry may be announced 
in the following proposition. If an elastic fluid 
‘is generated in a given vessel, orany way contained 
in it, andat liberty to issue out of the said vessel 
through a given aperture, to determine the resist 
ance which the vessel meets with from its action, or 
the power which it has of communicating motion 
to the vessel, asin a sky rocket, Saddler’s steam~ 
engine, &c. 

Before we proceed to relate the experiments it may 
be proper to premise certain principles deduced 
from Theory. Ifa tube be filled with any kind 
of fluid, as air, water, mercury, &c., and placed in 
a vacuum, every fluid -will flow out with the same 
velocity. For though the pressure of a column of 
mercury of a given altitude, be much greater than 


On the Velocity of Air. 399 


an equal column of water, yet the weight of the 
particles to be projected is greater in the same 
ratio. Onthe other hand, if air is lighter than 
water, the particles projected are also lighter in 
proportion. Ifa tube 16 feet high be filled 
with air of any density, that air, like water, would 
flow into a vacuum with a velocity of 32 feet per 
second, no corrections being made for resistance.* 

And if we take the gravity of air to water as 
1 to 840, then a column of one foot of water, 
compressing air, will produce as great a velocity 
in that air asa column of air 840 feet high, sup- 
posing it was of uniform density. 

If we take the whole pressure of the atmosphere 
equal to 33 feet of water, or its height (supposing 
it to be equally dense, which in this case will make 
no difference) equal to 33 multiplied by 840, or 
27720 feet. Then as the square root of 16, is to 
32, the velocity at that depth ; so is the square root 
of 27720, to 1332 feet per second, the initial 
velocity of the atmosphere into a vacuum. 


* In the supposition of a perpendicular tube open at 
the top, filled with air or any elastic fluid, the author 
takes the density of the column at the bottom or where 
the aperture is made, to arise solely from the weight of 
the elastic column ; and the altitude to be that which 
would be if the whole column were reduced to the 
density of that at the bottom. 

VOL. V. L 


400 _ On the Velocity of Air. 


To prove whether air gompressed by 39 feet 
of water would be impelled into the atmosphere 
with the above velocity, I have made, amongst 
many more, the following experiments. 

A is a vessel of a known capacity, into the top 
of which is screwed an aperture of a known area. 
The tube Td recurve at d is soldered or screwed 
into the top of the said vessel, The hole ais 
stopped, and water poured into the tube at T 
till it is full, at which time a quantity of water 
will have passed out of the tube at d, and con- 
densed the air in the vessel, more or less as the 
tube T d is longer or shorter. 

At this time a person who has closed the aper- 
ture at d with a finoer of one hand, and held a 
half second pendulum in the other, removes both 
at the same time, while at the same moment 
an assistant opens a cock over the tube 7, which 
‘supplies it with water as fast as it can descend 
into d. The moment that the water appears at 
a, the time piece is stopped, and the time of 
expelling the air is noted, from which, by know- 
ing the capacity of the vessel, the velocity may 
be obtained, 

If the tube Td should be continued near the 
bottom of the vessel A, while it was filling with 
water, the length of the compressing column 


On the Velocity of Aur. 404 


would be gradually diminishing, and of conse- 
quence the pressure would be constantly chang- 
ing, hence the open end of the tubeis as near 
the top of the vessel as is consistent with a free 
passage for the water, 


Experiments. 


The vessel 4 contained 15\b. 6 oz. of water, 
from which we find its capacity is 425.088 cubic 
inches. 

The area of the aperture a, through which 
the air is expelled is ,o046 inches, 3 


Exper. 1st. The altitude of T above the vessel 
is 30 inches. Time of expelling the 
air by several trials is 33 seconds. 


Exper. 2d. Thealtitude of Tis 6 feet. The 
time of filling by several trials is 21.3 
seconds, 


In the first experiment, 425.088, the solidity 
of the vessel, divided by ,0046, the area of the 
hole a, gives 92410.4 inches for the length of 
the stream of air driven out in 93 seconds; 
divide that length by 33, and we shall have 293.3 
feet, the velocity per second, communicated by 
30 inches of water, 


402 On the Velocity of Air. 


The second experiment by the same process 
gives 361.6 feet per second. If we would com- 
pare these together, we may say, as the square 
root of 30, the head, is to 233.3 the velocity ; so 
is the square root of 72, the second head, ta 
361.8 feet the velocity per second. 

Again:—As the square root of 6 feet, 1s to 
 361,6; so isthe square root of 33 feet, to 845.2 
feet per second, the velocity produced by that 
head; or the initial velocity with which the 
atmosphere would enter a vacuum, This velocity 
found by experiment is 487 feet per second less 
than has been assigned by theory, 

It appears however that the results as deter- 
mined by theory and experiment do not differ 
more than in the case of effluent water. For, if 
we would reduce the velocity of effluent water, 
found by theory to that which experience gives, 
we must multiply it by ,634. Accordingly, if 
we muluply 1932 feet, the velocity of the atmos- 
phere entering a vacuum, as calculated above by 
3634, the product is 844.5 per second, differing 
but zo of a foot from that just found by 
experiment. 

I have also made experiments by sinking vessels 
in water, till their tops were even with its sur- 
face, and opening the aperture that the rising 
water might expel the air, by which I obtained 


On the Velocity of Air. 403 


the same velocities as above; but the method of 
computing is much more intricate, for which 
reason I shall not insert them. 

From the above, it appears that a pressure 
equal to 93 feet of water, will expel air out 
of bellows into the atmosphere with a velocity 
of 845 feet per second, that one foot of water 
in-depth will produce a velocity of 1474 feet, 
and one inch a velocity of 42 feet per second, 
or 20 miles an hour. . 

Hence we may construct a table shewing 
the velocity communicated to air by any head 
of water. For, as the square root of 6 feet, is 
to the velocity produced by that head; so is 
the square root of any other depth, to the velocity 
produced by that depth. 

We may also, from the above, construct an 
instrument which will shew the velocity with 
which air flows out of any kind of bellows, 
with as much accuracy as the experiments have 
been made, on which its construction depends. 


404 On the Velocity of Air. 


Description of the Instrument, ec. 


ee RE 


The metal box or tube B, may be about the 
size of the figure; the top must be made air 
tight by the cover L; into the bottom is fixed 
the small tube. AC, and into the piece D is 
cemented the glass tube ED; the instrument 
is then inverted, and some water poured through 
the tube AC, till when in its proper position it 
is visible at D. It is now ready for use, and the 
end A may be fixedin a hole 1 nade in the upper 
board of the bellows, and the water will rise in 
the glass tube, in smiths’ bellows generally from 
9 to 12 inches, furnace bellows generally 4 feet or 
more. But where the fa Boe is great, 
quicksilver may be use d instead of water, only in 
this case’ the instrupen ts ould be made of iron, 
causes the screws of brass to break. 
a uicksil ver, the tube ED may be 
length of 12 or 
i be eno igh for any blast. The glass 

st be more than one eighth or one 


as quicksilve 
Rint Ree 
Or, instead o 


enth of an inch in diameter. 
- ieee ris eae ia ee : : j 
Whatever compression there may be in the 


bellows there will be the same in the upper part 


ol, 5. Pl. ViFage, 404. 


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On the Velocity of Air. 405 


of the tube B, which will force the water into the 
glass tube DE, and, make the air in its upper part 
of the same density, deducting from the com- 
pressing force, the altitude of the water raised 
above D, which however will be of little or no 
importance ; if the gauge is placed in a horizontal 
position, with the glass tube downward, there will 
be no difference of density. 

The computation for the force in the case 
where a tube hermetically sealed at the top is 
adopted in the instrument, will be effected by 
considering that the space occupied by any 
elastic fluid is inversely as its force.—Thus, let 
the tube be 12 inches long, and suppose the 
water to be raised 1 inch; then it will be 11: 12:2 
the force of the atmosphere : the force of the. 
air in the tube:: 1 : 1¢;——Hence a scale may be 
adapted to the instrument, to express the force 
of condensation over and above the common 
atmospheric pressure; which force is signified 
in the instance above by the fraction s:, unity 
being the atmospheric pressure. If we de- 
note the atmospheric pressure by go inches of 
mercury, or 32 feet of water, then the force 7%, 
in the above example will be expressed by 2,727 
inches of mercury, or 2.91 feet of water; and 
the like for any other instance, 


406 On the Velocity of Air. 


If a mercurial instrument of the above con- 
struction be preferred, it becomes necessary to 
add the height of the mercurial column to the 
force found as above: thus, if the condensation 
of air be from 12 into g inches, then the addition 
to the force of the internal air in the tube is equal 
4,0r 10 inches of mercury, to which must be 
added the 9 inches raised in the tube, and the 
whole force will be 13 inches of mercury, ex- 
clusive of that of the atmosphere. 

This sort of instrument or guage serves equally 
well for finding the expansive force of any kind of 
elastic fluid, as for measuring the velocities with 
which they issue out of the place of their confine- 
ment. It may be applied to all kinds of bellows, 
to condensed steam, and to the air pump. 


407 


ESSAY on the BEAUTIFUL in the 
Human Form; and Enquiry whether the 
Grecian Statues present the most perfect 
BEAUTY of FORM, that we at present 
have any Acquaintance with. 


Communicated to the Society from a CorReEsPonpeEnt, 


through the Rev. Georce WALKER, 


READ, Oct. 3, 1800, 


Ik order to judge whether the Grecian imi- 
tations, or any other imitations, of the Human 
Form be the most beautiful, it appears necessary 
that some standard, some general law or rule 
should be admitted, in conformity to, or in 
deviation from which, the sentence of beauty or 
deformity may be safely passed. That this 
‘standard has an existence in nature can hard] 

be doubted ; for, if man be the work of a design— 
ing artist, he must have been formed according 
to some model ; and this model in the contem- 

Vex. M 


508 On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 


plation of the artist must be the standard of what 
is the most perfect of the species, and as far as 
the form is concerned, of what is the most 
beautiful in the form. The mind of the artist 
may then be investigated im his work, and it might 
seem to be no very difficult thing to collect a 
tolerably accurate idea of what answers to the 
_more perfect idea of the artist, by omitting what is 
incidental and peculiar to every individual of the 
species, and retaining what is universal, And 
perhaps by a standard thus collected, though 
insensibly, and without any deliberate purpose, 
“every one does judge of what he deems to be 
beautiful in the form of his own kind, and in 
every form whatever. We find therefore that, 
in the estimation of the beautiful in the human 
form, there is 4 general agreement as to the 
contour or outline of the whole and of the parts, 
the comparative magnitude of each part, the pro- 
portion that each bears to each other and tothe 
whole, and the order and degree in which each 
swells and falls. Whatever is remarkably exces» 
sive or defective, whatever strikingly offends 
against the general character and proportion of 
the parts, whatever beyond the general rule is 
abrupt and extravagant in the swell or fall, is 
almost universally rejected as not beautiful; 


On the Beautiful im the Grecian Siatues. 409 


because not answering to that medium standard 
which every one has erected in his own mind» 
and which he has collected from the exhibition 
of his species. There is therefore in the imagi~ 
nation of every one a standard, collected from 
observation, but insensibly and without design, 
to which he refers every form, that attracts his 
attention, and agreeably to which he pronounces 
that it is beautiful or otherwise, and in what degree 
it pleases or offends. it is an ideal figure, which 
the eye of the mind can contemplate, and does 
contemplate and does refer to, though the rational 
mind cannot describe this figure; because the 
figure has been imperceptibly formed, corrected, 
improved through life, in which the senses, and 
not reason, have been altogether employed. The 
ultimate figure, as a picture of the imagination, 
is the abstract of all the impressions which have 
been received from a multitude of original forms 
preserving what is characteristic of all, and 
rejecting whatever is incidental, excessive or de- 
fective, superinduced by violence or art, or in 
any respect offending against the general character 
of the form. 

This perhaps is the secret foundation of what 
we call taste, or the perception of the beautiful, 
whether as referred to the human or to any other 
form whatever. I do not say, that this is the 


Aio On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues, 


only foundation, and that there is no other rule 
or principle, by which our estimation of the 
beautiful is influenced ; but I think it to be the 
principal foundation : and the remarkable con- 
sentaneity of taste and decision of the beautiful, 

especially of the human figure, proves that our 
rule is derived from nature, from our constant ob- 
servation of the originals, as they have issued from 
the forming hand of the great artist ; and that thus 
acquiring an abstract idea of the whole, we enter 
as it were, whether intending it or no, into the 
mind of the artist himself, and erect a standard of 
what he designed as the most perfect, and there- 
fore the most beautiful, in the form which he has 
. given to man. 

In this investigation of the standard of taste 
and the decision of the beautiful, although a 
general consent be acknowledged, yet itis mani- 
fest that the rule or standard will be more or less 
perfect, as the field of observation has Been more 
or less extensive, and as successive comparisons 
with the standard already attained, and the intro- 
duction to more perfect forms, with fewer devi- 
ations from the medium character, have chastened 
in the imagination the picture of the beautiful. 
Every step in the progress towards this perfect 
image is the selection of a few from the general 


aed 


On the Beautiful inthe Grecian Statues, 4114 


mass ; from continued observation rejecting some 
from this few; admitting others; till the field of 
observation is exhausted, and we rest in the image 
which is the result of the whole. 

But as the originals which are the subject of 
observation will in some respects vary from the 
influence which climate, occupation, manners, and 
even the cultivation of mind, have on the human 
form, it will follow that a variation in the idea 
of the beautiful is to be expected, and that differ- 
ent circumstances may be so favourable to some, 
as to render their conception of the beautiful more 
approximate to the faultless truth and standard of 
nature. 

_ This secret and imperceptible progress towards 
an ideal standard of beauty may be illustrated by 
the supposition of an experiment, easily to be 
conceived, though not easily to be carried into 
execution. Ifimpressions from the faces of all 
the women in this kingdom at the age of twenty, 
were taken on any plastic substance, as suppose 
plaster of Paris; excluding however those who 
come into the world with obvious excess or defect, 
who have been maimed by injury, or blemished by 
any superinduced cause, as excess of labour or 
rest, intemperance, deficiency of sustenance, orany 


excess or defect of the passions of the mind ; andan 


atlist were to form a face that was the mean of all 


412 On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 


these ; it would surely. be admitted that this face 
would be the perfect model of our national 
beauty.. If the same experiment were made in 
other nations; excluding those in whom the ex- 
tremes of climate necessarily induce a depravation 
of the form, the model of beauty in the female 
face would be equally obtained in these nations as 
their appropriate standard. And if from these 
several national standards the mean of them 
should also be taken, this last image must be 
admitted to be as perfect a representative of the 
beauty of face, of the whole female race, as is 
possible to be obtained. 

This judgment is founded on the supposition 
that the design of the Creator is eyidenced in his 
productions, and. that the mean character of his 
productions of any species must approach the 
nearest to the perfect model contemplated in the 
Creator’s mind, Our sense of beauty; our de- 
light therein, can find its object only in the pro- 
duction of the Creator, our taste conforms itself 
to what is done, and the mean character must be 
the highest standard, the utmost conception of 
beauty that we can form. Either our ideal 
standard or image of beauty is born with us, or 
it is thus acquired; the former would be a mere 
arbitrary supposition, the latter accords with ex, 
perience, is confirmed by reflection on our daily 


On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 413 


éxperience, it is the necessary consequence of 
every moment’s impression from the objects pres 
sented to our view; and if our minds were not 
insensibly led to this result by being committed 
to the field around us, yet, as the means to the 
énd, it might in this very way be accomplished 
by our deliberate act, by experiments similar to 
what I have supposed, in collecting the standard 
of national female beauty at the age of twenty 
one. 

It might be expected therefore, that the standard 
6f beauty would be one and the same to all; and 
s0 it is, as far as one and the same rule and judg~ 
ment on any subject can be expected in the vast 
range and diversity of human beings. It has 
already been observed that the greater is the 
variety and number of the objects that have been 
viewed, and attentively viewed by any individual, 
the nearer will the standard of beauty in his mind 
conform to the mean character of the species, 
which has been submitted to his view, and 
probably therefore to the truth of nature. 

To a perfect uniformity in the judgment of 
beauty it is requisite that the field of observation 
be equal to every one, that the mind of each 
observer be equally directed and equally attens 
tive to the subject, that the circumstances which 


414 Onthe Beautiful inthe Grecian Statues. 


are favourable or unfavourable to beauty should 

be equal in the objects observed. But this 
equality has no existence, and therefore smaller 
variations in the estimation of beauty are certainly 
found ; but withal, there is so much of con- 
sentaneity in the’ opinion of all mankind, as 
proves that the standard in every mind is derived 
from a common source, and has much of a 
common character. I can have no doubt thata 
Grecian Beauty among the Greeks, a Circassian 
Beauty honoured by the admiration of the Asiatics, 
would be acknowledged as a beauty of high dis- 
tinction by the western European, and that the 
European female whom the European taste has 
selected would be in no small degree applauded 
by the Greek and Asiatic. Perhaps, even a first 
rate African in the estimation of her fellow Afri- 
cans would be allowed by the European, the 
Greek and Asiatic, excepting colour, to possess 
the essential characters of beauty. 

It is probable therefore that the idea of beauty, 
though acquired by observation only of the ex- 
amples presented to-our view, goes beyond the 
limit of the materials from which it is derived, 
and is more perfect than the mean character of 
the cbjects observed. In acquiring the idea of 
this mean character we reject all obvious excess 


7! 


On the Beautiful im the Grecian Statues. 415 


or defect; we obtain thereby an abstract idea of ex- 
cess or defect; we admit this as stillin some degree 
adhering even to the most perfect originals that we 
have seen ; we conceive that still more faultless 
examples. may be found in the vast field of human 
life ; and our imagination creates to itself a more 
perfect idea than our experience has presented. 
The result of the whole is this, every one has 
within him a standard of beauty, and this standard 
is acquired by every one from the same source, 
and is in all of a common character ; but will be 
more perfect, that is, more conformable to the 
truth of nature, as the field of observation has 
been more varied and extensive, as the attention 
has been more excited and directed to the inves- 
tigation of beauty, and as the objects of observa- 
tion have been in those circumstances, which are 
most favourable to the preservation and perfection 
of the human form, and wherein the original 
stamp and design of nature may be, either not at 
ali, or in the least degree, counteracted and in- 
jured by adventitious causes,” I pretend not to 
judge, whether in this investigation of the standard 
of beauty there be any thing of novelty or in- 
genuity ; it will be sufficient to my purpose, if it 
be agreeable to truth, and be pertinent to the 
second object of this essay ; and support the 
claim, which I assert for the Greeks, that in their 
VOL. V. N 


416 Onthe Beautiful in the Grecian Statues, 


states are found the most perfect imitations of 
the beautiful in the human form, that have been 
introduced to our knowledge. If no proper 
standard of beauty can be acquired in any other 
way ; if the Greeks perfected their conception of 
the beautiful by a nice and delicate attention to 
this rule ; if they had more favoured originals to 
collect from, and had a freer access to these rich 
origirials ; if the Greek statuarists were men of 
the first consideration, and besides their special 
art, had their minds raised and chastened by all 
the advantages, which learning, science and cul- 
tivated taste can confer ; then it is a well-founded 
presumption, that their statues as imitations of 
the beautiful, are of the first form, and have pro- 
bably not been equalled by the similar produc- 
tions of any other nation, if to the statuaries of 
no other nation the same means and advantages 
have been extended. 

’ This standard of beauty thus station: and the 
only standard common to all men, may be called 
the Sentimental standard; as its primary deriva 
tion is from the immediate sense or impression of 
the human form upon the mind of the observer, 
and its ultimate result is the mean of all the 
agreeable sensations which the beautiful of human 
form have made upon the mind. 


On the Beautiful in the Grecian Staiues. 47 


But there is also a Rational standard, which 
more contemplative and reflecting-minds derive 
from a consideration of the uses to’ which: the 
human form subserves. Beauty, though in itself 
an object of regard distinct from every other 
consideration, must, in the productions of every 
wise artist, be subordinate © to utility; and 
therefore in those works, which we refer to the 
Great Artist, we expect that beauty shall be re- 
conciled with utility. Nor are we disappointed ; 
all that is beautiful in the human form, which we 
contemplate with so much delight, is,as a mean, in 
perfect harmony with the numerousand diversified 
uses for which the human form was designed ed 
its Creator. . 

Beauty could not be a primary object in the 
mind of the original artist, nor are we autho! 
rized perhaps to say that in our sense of beauty 
it was any object at all. ‘When this artist designed 
man, that must to him have appeared to be the 
best form, which was the best fitted to the field 
of action in which man was intended to move, 
and in which it was intended that he should reap 
the conveniences and utilities of his being. If 
man had been designed to be an animal of speed, 
a form similar to that of: the hare, of the grey- 
hound or the antelope might have been asstgned - 
to him; or if not precisely a similar form, yet 


418 On the Beauteful in the Grecian Statues. 


in the limbs adapted to motion, a lightness of 
bone, and firmness of muscle similar to what 
characterises these animals. And by parity of 
reason, the qualities of the ox or elephant, if 
slowness of motion united with great capacity of 
burthen had been designed to be his predominant 
character; or if a temperament of speed with 
burthen, then ..a ‘tempered union of the forms 
which distinguish the hare and the ox, as in the 
horse, might have been the character of the human 
form. But as each of these uses ina very limited 
degree, and subservient to many other higher uses; 
such as quickness of movement towards every 
part; the as sublimé to contemplate heaven as 
well as earth, and each with the greatest range ; 
exquisite sensibility, particularly in the hands, 
which are the instruments of mechanic operations ; 
and in fine, the unnumbered and varied uses, 
which the inventive and creating mind of man 
can meditate, were intended to constitute the 
character of man, we find therefore that a: form 
is assigned to him, which is adapted to all these 
uses, and to each in that degree in which it 
contributes to the concentered and harmonious 
utility of his whole being. But I mention not 
this, with any of the views of the naturalist or 
divine, but merely to shew that man can in some 
degree enter into the mind of his Creator, and, 


On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 419 


pleased with his form, pronounce also that it is 
good; and believe that it is beautiful, because it 
is eminently usefal ; and as, without any consi- 
deration of utility, he pronounces that to be’ 
the most beautiful of all the varieties of the human 
form, which is the mean of themall, so infer the 
same conclusion, when he estimates the mean of 
all utilities, regard being had to the respective 
worth and dignity of these utilities. 

It is therefore more than probable, that whether 
we estimate beauty by the mean of utility, or 
simply by the mean of form, we shall arrive at 
the same, or nearly the same conclusion; we 
shall attain the same standard. But the investi- 
gation of these utilities in all their comprehension 
and reference to their best result is*more difficult, 
and except in obvious and familiar instances, 
-does not excite attention in common observers. 
This common sense of man however in the most 
familiar instances is an evidence of vast import, 
the mind expects and is reconciled to the more 
delicate judgments of more attentive observers ; 
and a persuasion is induced, that if man were com- 
petent to the complete analysis of himself, he 
would find that the mean of his whole form is 
admirably adapted to the mean of allhis utilities. 

It is surely agreeable that the standard of beauty 
derived from two very different sources should 


\ 


420 On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues, 


be found tobe one and the same. In receiving 
that as beautiful whichis, we defer to the divine 
wisdom; inthe appeal to the reason of man, the 
mind and act of, Deity is justified to the mind 
of man. 
But there is alsova use in referring the judgment 
of beauty to these two tests, as they mutually 
serve to obviate some difficulties, to reply to 
some objections, and to correct some erroneous 
judgments to which we might be liable, if we had 
only one test to appeal to, The expectation of 
the beautiful, according to the sentimental stand- 
ard, inall of the human kind, is repelled when 
we take into our view the varieties of human life, 
and admit that these varieties require a confor- 
mation nicely adapted to the usefui in all. Whe- 
ther ir be that difference of climate, of situation, 
of employment bodily or mental, and of age, in- 
duce, as the mere effect of a cause, such smaller 
variations of the human form ; or that man gene- 
rally issues from the hand of his Maker with such 
variations of form as may furnish all the diversified 
agents fitted to bear.their several parts in the vast 
community of men, makes no difference in the 
conclusion.. »Wherever the diversities of the 
useful require a deviation from the absolute 
standard of sentimental beauty, we submit our 
judgment thereto,:and acknowledge a specific 


On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 421 


beauty; and with delight acknowledge, where 
adaptation to strength, to toil, to hardihood, to 
boldness, to enterprise, to speed, to versatility or 
any other peculiar end, is the predominating 
character of the form. In the distribution of 
men therefore into classes according to their 
situations and subservience in life, the rational 
standard admits a beauty, peculiar and appro- 
priate to each; which if not found would be 
deemed to be a defect, though the degree in 
which this specific character is required would 
not be admitted either in the rational or senti- 
mental standard of the mean perfect beauty 
of the whole human kind. Thus a length of 
arm, and lightness of leg are well adapted to the 
maneuvres of the sailor, but would be unsuited 
to the pedestrian, in whom is required a strong 
and muscular leg with as little super-incumbent 
weight of body as is consistent with general 
vigour. And thus in the different occupations 
of men, the estimated beauty of form in each 
class will be adapted to the part which each has 
to sustain in life. A general, when he looks 
with pride on the manly figure of his soldiers, 
has a different standard of beauty in his eye from 
that by which he would judge of the graceful 
and elegant in an assembly of the higher ranks 
of life, We observe a similar rule in the judg. ° 


‘ 


422 On the Beautiful in the Greccan Statues. 


ment we form of the different classes of animals. 
The beautiful in the lion, the tyger, the elephant, 
the bull, the horse, and the dog, is referred to a 
different standard in each, and even in those 
species, which come more under the observation 
and use of man, as they are subdivided into 
different kinds, they have each their appropriate 
destination and appropriate character, and the 
mean form in each subordinate kind is allowed 
to be the standard of beauty in that kind, though 
varying from the standard of beauty in each 
other kind, and varying from the standard of the 
beautiful in the whole genus, where an aptitude - 
to a particular destination is not contemplated. 
The dray, the road, the race, the field of chace 
and the field of war have each their proper 
beautiful of form, while each partakes of those 
qualities, which enter into the mean beautiful of 
them all. And the same is observed of the sub- 
divisions of the canine race; the shepherd’s dog, 
the terrier, the spaniel, the fox-hound, the grey- 
hound, the bull-dog and the mastiff, to which we 
may add the favioutties of the ladies, are all 
estimated by very different standards of beautiful 
form, and yet are all referable to a form which is 
the mean of them all, and is conceived to be 
the most perfect idea of beauty in the genus, 


On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues, 423 


This attention’ to the useful, and a fitness for 
the part which each is intended to act in the plan 
of their Creator, is strikingly witnessed in the idea 
which every one entertains of what is beautiful 
in the form of each of the two sexes of the human 
race. No one conceives the beautiful in the 
man to be exactly transferable to the beautiful 
in the woman, and if the most perfect beauty of 
the female were found in a male, the eye would 
be disgusted ; that male would be the object of 
scorn or ridicule, not of approbation. 

Perhaps the mere abstract idea of beautiful 
form, independant of every other consideration, 
would pronounce the gentler undulations of the 
masculine outline to be more conformed to its 
standard, than the richer swell and deeper falls 
of the female figure. Yet in despite of this - 
abstract judgment, the most perfect masculine 
figure, if contemplated in a female, would not 
be considered as beautiful. 

The same submission to the useful, or to what 
we presume to be useful, because it is according 
to the order of nature, is observed in the estima- 
tion of beauty, as it is referred to the different 
periods of human life. There is a different 


beauty in infancy, in boy-hood, in youth; in 


manhood, and in age. The child in the arms 
of the Madonna, and John attracting the notice 
of his infant cousin by his playful admiration, 
VOLG*, fe) 


424 On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 


though the difference of their age be but very. 
inconsiderable, yet would each, independant of 
all regard to the part which each is designed to 
sustain in riper years, be expected to exhibit a 
difference of form and aspect. In the. full- 
blown rose of Lucretia, and the opening bud of 

_ Virginia, which equally enflamed the passions 
of Tarquin and the Decemvir, and led them to the 
perpetration of the most daring and dangerous 
crimes, though in each we imagine something that 
answers to our perfect idea of female beauty, yet 
in each we look for a delicate discrimination of 
exterior, something appropriate of form and 
feature, expressive of their respective age and 
situation. 

In the domestic groupe of mother, wife, child- 
ren and attendants, which issued from Rome to 
avert the vengeance of Coriolanus from his 
country; if imagination give a beautiful figure 
to each, it will be a beauty proper to the age of 
each, and proper also to the relation which each 
bears to the avenging hero, and to the shades of 
affection and interest with which each must be 

“impressed from all the circumstances of the 
interview; while in Coriolanus himself, that 
which we should acknowledge as beautiful and 
proper in his figure would very materially differ 
from that of all the preceding. 

_ There is therefore indubitably, as is generally 


On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues: 42% 


allowed, a peculiar beauty of form and feature 
adapted to each of the passions; but here also, 
in order ‘to the perfect, the mean must be ob- 
served; and this perfect form, as expressive of 
the passions, rejects the predominance of any 
one feature, which usurps over the others, which 
subdues the whole form and countenance to one 
characteristic and’ generally disagreeable expres- 
sion. This must enter in no small degree into 
all our judgment of the human figure; the sense 
both of the beautiful-and the proper must asso- 
ciate with our conceptions of the mind, which the 
configuration of the form in all its parts, and in 
all the acting of mind thereon, is fitted to express. 
In every human figure, which on any: ‘account 
attracts our attention, the immediate impulse is 
to read the mind in the face. Animals read it; 
itis an universal character, and designed to be 
read in some degree by all who have an interest 
in its information; for it is the hand-writing of 
the Almighty, and inasmuch as mind is superior 
to body, that form is pronounced to be more 
beautiful, which in every expression presents a 
beautiful mind, and at the same time is conformed 
to the interesting affections which are proper to 
the varied situation and circumstance of mind. 
Perfect beauty therefore supposes perfect beauty 
of mind, and deformity in both ‘is the violation 
of the mean, Perfect mind admits’ of no 'pre- 


426 On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 


dominant passion but benevolence, but even 
benevolence itself would be tame and insipid, 
if it excluded every other passion. It would 
not be suited to the field of human action and 
human sympathy, and could not invite our sym~ 
pathy in return. The only influence, of passion 
that can be delineated with an attention to perfect 
beauty is that which admits the expression of 
every passion; butof each according toits worth 
and dignity, and the power which each inits place 
and rank ought to have over the form and coun- 
tenance; and that face which bears the expres-, 
sion of this temperament and proportion will be, 
so far as respects the influence of mind, the most: 
beautiful, wovonl 

But even in the expression of the passions, the 
male and female standard will differ, nor-can 
the temperament required in the one, be expected 
in the other, That mildness and placidness of 
countenance, which is the lovely picture ofa gentle 
female mind, would not give the promise of a 
masculine mind, nor answer to our standard of 
masculine beauty; and though the morality of 
mind will not submit her rule to any examples 
of human Jife,. and will without hesitation pro- 
nounce that countenance and figure to be de- 
formed, on which the violent and intemperate 
passions have stamped their character; yet in 
the imitations of man as he is, the very imitation 


On thé Beautiful in the Grecian Statues, 427 


will soften the deformity, and render: that not 
only acceptable, but approved,'and as a beauty 
in the art, which we should fly from with ree 
and horror in the real object. 

So far then we have proceeded in the examin- 
ation of the beautiful, not merely as a prelude to 
our deciding on the excellence of the Grecian 
Statues, though even as! a prelude ‘this ‘appeared 
necessary; for without some: rule founded in 
nature,. all decision on the beautiful in the imita~ 
tive arts of the Greeks, might be considered as 
mere opinion. If we have not erred then in this 
previous analysis, it has appeared that, in the sub- 
ject of the human form, the sentimental and 
the rational judgment of beauty are not discord- 
ant, but that the beautiful as a matter of feeling 
harmonizes with the useful as the end; and as 
an influence from. this, that the perfection of 
beauty as an absolute standard must be looked. 
for in the middle form of the whole. collected 
human race, excluding all whom accident, vio- 
lence, monstrous births, or the extremes of cli- 
mate, food and labour may have disfigured; and 
also in the middle form between the extremes 
of age, in which the subject has not attained to 
or declined from the point of perfection, because 
all the varieties of the human form seem to re- 
spect this medium both of number and age. It 
has also appeared, that in the distribution of 


428. Onthe Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 


occupation and character, and in the expression 
of the’ passions, that interesting language of the 
human form and feature, there are separate stand~ 
ards, which have each a specific ‘beauty as their 
appropriate character, though subordinate to the 
more universal standard, and acknowledging it 
as their genus. Not greatly deviating fiom this 
higher standard, each of these distributions must 
be distinguished ‘by their characteristic form, or 
ar would not be beautiful in their place. 

».,Having therefore to the best of my: sheik laid 
this foundation; I shall proceed. mg 

II... To enquire whether those statues which 
have been preserved to us as monuments. of 
Grecian art and taste do correspond, and in what 
degtee, to those high conceptions of beauty in 
the human form, whith both: from, sentiment and 
reason we are led) to.éntertain., ) 

Appeal then to the sentimental standard, that is, 
to thé most abstract idea of simple beauty, with- 
out any consideration of utility, or destination to 
particular purposes and offices in the distribution 
of human action. Submit to the eye the best of the 
Grecian Statues of this ; character, submit them 
to the severest examination, place them before 
the ideal standard in the mind, and say whether 
imagination can figure to itself more exquisitely 
finished models of perfect human form. Can 
the most fastidious critic say that this part is too 


On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 429 


large, that too small, that the wave of the contour 
might be more happily exhibited. That timidity 
wherewith nature fears to exceed, when she de- 
lights to present to us the perfect of beauty, is 
delicately charactered; every thing is in that 
happy medium, that mild temperament and pro- 
portion which perfect beauty requires; no mus- 
cle harshly obtrudes itself to break the charming 
roundness of the form; the minutest parts, the 
joints, the fingers, the toes, thecvery dimple, 
as impressed by the’ playful fingér of love, is 
touched in the truth of nature; in fine, the eye 
of the delighted spectator may look for hours 
and days, and not dare to say, not be inclined 
to say, in what respect they could be altered, so 
as to be rendered more gratefultohim. The eye 
is not satiated with viewing them, they strike not 
at first with their full impression, but every re+ 
turn to them makes a deeper impression, unfolds 
new beauties, discovers the grace of nature in her 
most finished works, and this perhaps is the most 
decisive proof of their superior excellence. If 
any thing be wanting, it is colour and the expres- 
sion of the eye, but of these stone and marble 
are incapable; the artist has done his part, he 
has effected a!l that the material was susceptible 
of. Perhaps it is owing to this, the impossi- 
bility of communicating to stone the soul which : 
speaks in the countenance, that the face of the 


430 On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 


Venus de Medici answers not to our expectation, 
that it appears to be not so beautiful as the whole 
and every other part of the form. But the 
artist has given to the whole attitude the ex- 
pression of apprehensive modesty, and of the 
will to move, you expect the statue to step from 
the pedestal. In the Apollo Belvidere is pre- 
sented every thing that elegance and grace with 
a chastened severity and dignity can require in 
a perfect masculine form, The beauty of An- 
tinous, the Catamite of Hadrian, is feminine, 
but the form of Apollo is such as mind giving 
its character to form and countenance would 
prepare you to expect. He is not Jupiter, nor 
Mars, nor Bacchus; there is. blended in his 
figure the excelience of each, but with no ex- 
treme; he is such as you would look for in 
the ruler of the day, the president of the muses, 
in the handsomest and the wisest of the gods. 
This delight, which the Grecian antiques ex- 
cite, and as a matter of feeling, without any 
philosophical enquiry, has been witnessed by all, 
in various ages and nations. The Greeks copied 
from nature, her most perfect forms were their 
standard ; succeeding artists have received their 
productions as a standard, and looked for re- 
putation as they approximated to the perfection 
of their works. The antient Romans in the 
highest pride of their empire deemed nothing 


‘On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 494 


excellent in the art of statuary but what was of 
Greck fabrication. Their admiration knew no 
bounds ; and though of the statues preserved to 
us, many are of an age’ posterior to the earlier 
Ceesars, it is probable that they were all the work~ 
manship of Grecian genius. The school, ‘de- 
nominated the Roman, though the Roman em# 
pire had been long extinct, was formed on the 
basis of Greek art ; it aspired to no higher honor 
than to be the imitator of the antient Greek; 
yet inimical as imitation is supposed to be to 
great exertion, this school is allowed to have sur- 
passed all other moderns in the beauty and 
character of its figures. While other subsequent 
schools of statuary, which have wrought from 
their own ideas, and been laborious enough in 
the éxecution, have each exhibited less beauty, 
less ‘correctness, less conformity: to what every 
one feels to be to x#Aoy in the original. This 
‘concurrent testimony may almost be allowed to 
be decisive. Among the artists of Italy, and 
‘SiC edit gto them; in other countries, there are 
WHO appear to “have devoted ‘their whole lives to 
the'study ‘of ‘Whatever’ is’ most’ beautiful in nature 
Or‘in art; aifa°if their unqualified ‘deference to 
the Greek be'not adinitted, I wonder from whom, 
With ‘a ‘more 'réfined’ and better futistied mind, 
we Mayexpect a juster sentenice! 
VOL. Vv. P 


432 On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 


The artists. of later days ascend no. higher in 
the pursuit of the beautiful than the models which 
Greece.has transmitted to us. Have any of 
them-retraced the steps of the Greek artist in the 
formation of one celebrated statue ? Have they 
selected from individuals of approved form, 
whatever is most beautiful in each, and thus 
composed a more perfect whole. Until this be 
done, it is mere presumption to suppose that they 
will surpass the Greek, that with all the aid of 
the antients they will produce a more perfect 
model of beauty, that this second extract of the 
beautiful would more answer to our most perfect 
idea from nature. , 

There is reason to believe that the Grecian 
artists did select the most beautiful originals, and 
from what appeared to be most perfect in each, 
formed their mean. figure of the beautiful. It 
was, inasmuch as art.could execute, the summary 
of what nature had: dispersed in a variety of the 
best chosen subjects. . 

It is farther to be observed, and, if true, sary 
important to the purpose, that.no. climate, no state 
of society, no modes of life and; manners, were 
ever more happily adapted to thepreservation. of 
beauty, to the, production of the most beautiful 
and most perfect designs of nature. A happy 
temperament of elements, inviting to enjoy- 
ment, and also to exercise, activity and sportive- 


On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 433 


ness, simplicity of diet and simplicity of mane 
Ners, were eminently favourable to the primary 
production, and to the preservation of beautiful 
form. The concurrence of these advantages is 
so powerful as to resist the barbarism and op- 
pression of the Turkish government, and even 
to this day preserve to the native Greek race their 
pre-eminence of beauty. 

The Grecian games invited the most perfect of 
the species, in varied character and exhibition, 
_ with all the advantage of exposure, and with all 
the action proper either to strength or grace; 
which must have furnished to the Grecian artist 
models of perfection in nature, and of the truth 
of nature in her best specimens, such as modern 
artists can have no access to. Our modern man- 
ners admit not of such exhibitions, and if ina 
moral view we have gained thereby, the loss to 
the imitative arts of sculpture and painting is 
incalculable. Nor, if it were ‘otherwise, is it 
probable that in our climates and with our modes 
of life, any such specimens of the beautiful work- 
ing of nature can befurnished- It will be allowed 
at least, that the hirelings, which are exhibited in 
our modern academies, are no substitute for the 
ampler and richer display of form and character, 
from which the Grecian sculptor and_ painter 
copied their admired productions, 

The freedom of the Grecian mind: must also 


434 On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 


have had a considerable influence on the feature 
and form. The influence of the mind»on»the 
feature, where the soul speaks in all its energies 
and character and dominant affections, is acknow- 
tedged by all; but it is not equally considered te 
what degree the mind, cherished from infancy in 
all that generous freedom, whith is the gift of its 
author, may determine the form, and rear itup 
in the grace’ and -elegance and: beauty which 
answers to the best intention of nature. The 
easy, flowing dress of the Greeks corresponded 
with this freedom of mind; whatever nature 
designed, she freely operated ; no restraint forced 
her into awkward, ill-proportioned and ungrace+ 
ful deviations; and what freedom of mind, ease 
of dress, salubrity of climate, and simplicity of 
diet and manners, left unfinished, their gymnastic 
exercises compleated, In medern Europe every 
thing almost is adverse to the production and 
-preservation of beautiful form ; mind is not so 
pure and unadulterated; modes of life are not so 
equal, nor so conformed to simple elegance; the 
form of the great mass of the community is as | 
much injured by excess of labour, depression of 
mind, and exposure to unequal climate, with 
scantiness of food, or irregular supplies of it, 
and not of a simple and salabrious kind, as the 
form of the higher ranks is impaired by excess 
of food, equaliy insalubrious; exclusion from air 


On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 435 


and exercise.;.manners that awake no mental 
energies, invite to.,no. pleasant, healthful, spor- 
tiveness ; intemperance in the hours of rest; and, 
what.alone is sufficient to- every. Aepradahice of 
form and beauty, confinement in the, poisoned 
vapour of crowded...and heated) rooms. The 
inference, is, obvious... The, modern Europeaa 
cannot rival the. artist of antient Greece. ~He 
has. not the same originals.. Nature presented 
herself unviolated to the Greek ; injured and per= 
verted, she can exhibit to the E edad only: her 
weaker productions. 

‘To these considerations may re added, has 
j have already alluded,.to, that the Greek artists 
were men of the first form, weil educated, and of 
high, consideration: , Superior instruction, and 
admission to the highest honours, elevate the 
mind, excite grander conceptions, and exalt the 
taste ; especially in an age and country, where 
the passion for fame was the stimulant to all great 
exertions, and furnished to every one the most 
generous gratification, The philosophic Socrates, 
that, wondrous man among the Greeks, was him- 
self.a statuary, and is said to have sculptured 
three very; beautiful figures of the Graces, 
Without intending any thing unhandsome to 
latex artists, the same elevation of mind can. 
not be equally affirmed of them. The motive 
of gain, always sordid and depressing, and 


(436 On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 


equally accessible to the lowest minds, has 
too much usurped over the more generous 
one of fame. 

I shall conclude this essay, whith perhaps is 
already too long, with another very powerful . 
argument in favour of Grecian art ; which may 
be inferred from the great length of time that 
it flourished, and the innumerable productions 
which it furnished. This argued a degree of 
fame attached to it, and an encouragement to 
rivalship, of which we have no example. We 
may judge of this from the immense number of 
works which escaped the repeated plunder of the 
Romans ; and from the valuable remnant, which 
to our day has survived the destruction’ of ages, 
of successive revolutions, and the rudest barbarism. 
Memmius, /Emilius Verres, and Proconsuls, 
and Pretors and Generals, and Romans of rank 
and taste, beyond all calculable amount, might 
have been thought to have exhausted Greece of 
her rich treasures of art; but succeeding to them 
Tiberius Nero carried off a valuable plunder from 
the Acropolis, Delphi and Olympia, and yet in 
these very places not fewer than three thousand 
statues were remaining in the time of Pliny, Can 
any thing in modern times compare to this? 
Can modern artists recur to so grand a feast of 
the senses, so glorious a school for instruction in 
their art? Does the patronage of later times 


On the Beautiful in the Grecian Statues. 497 


present any thing like such a provocative to 
genius and tivalship, as we may presume to 
have been the character of Greek and Roman 
antiquity ? 


A Defence of LEARNING and the ARTS, 
against some Charges of Rousszav. In-two 
Essays. By the Rev. G. Waker, F. Raa 


ESSAY, I. 


(READ Nov. 15, 1799.) 


That learning is not the parent of politeness, nor 
chargeable with the duplicity fraud and vice, which 
he supposes to be Mer attendants. 


I: isa failing, and not of common minds alone, 
who surrender themselves to the impression of 
the moment, but also of men, from whom a more 
just appreciation of the past and the present 
might be expected, to indulge to a spirit of discon- 
tent whenever they speak of their own times; 
and with a kind of holy veneration to fix their 
eye on those days of old, wherein, as they sup_ 
pose, ingenuous virtue and sincere enjoyment 
were alone tobe found. This failing, for a fail- 
ing assuredly it is, has its origin in human nature, 
and even in the best dispositions of human na- 
ture. Candour forgets the bad, but piously 
remembers the good, of what is gone. The 
failings of the dead are buried with them, while | 


On Learning and the Arts, 439 


their virtues, whatever was attractive and enga- 
ing, are rescued from the grave; and acquire 
new splendour by being separated from every 
thing that offends. ‘But, while offence lives, it 
arrests our principal attention; it irritates our 
tempers; it crosses our pursuits ; it provokes 
our moral indignation; and therefore the vice 
of the day is the subject of everlasting complaint. 
But in all this ‘proceeding ineithér:ttuth nor 
justice is observed, and’ without ill-intentions 
we often defeat every good purpose. The good 
and the bad.of every day:ought tobe fairly stated,, 
and neither candour nor’ prejudice ought tojbe 
heard at the bar-of impartial justice. By ex~ 
aggerated ‘praise or exaggerated blame we give'a 
sanction to folly, to error and vice, while we 
throw discouragement on the ingenvous, pursuit. 
of wisdom, truth and virtue.. t byes 

In Rousseau we find a striking example.of in- 
temperate censure and intemperate praise... The 
preference’ of the past to the present, )of bar- 
barity to refinement, of ignorance to knowledge, 
is his favourite theme: it directly or obliquely 
insinuates itself into all his writings. . Barbarity 
with him is simplicity; it is nature in her pure 
ingenuous walk; while refinement;. taste and 
elegance are only the gilding of duplicity, fraud 
and vice. To know more than simple nature 
obtrudes upon us, is only to know the instruments 

VOL V. Q 


440 On Learning and the Arts. 


of mischief; it is to awake a temptation, and 
capacitate man to be the enemy of himself and 
his fellow man. With a splenetic turn of mind 
hie finds’ more to offend than please in the whole 
view around’ him; "with a passion for fame he 
courts reputation. by the singularity of his doc- 
trine, by the boldest contradiction to*the com- 
mon sense of mankind’; and with abilities won- 
derfully:fitted to give a-grace and a charm even 
to the°grossest absurdities, he ventures on an 
open hostility. to every thing which man conceives 
to be his highest ornament and praise. 

- Pohave‘observed that:this humour of deprecia- 
ting the présent state of man, and overrating that 
of the past, tinctures most of the writings of 
Rousseati ; but it is the:professed object of the 
celebrated essay to which the academy of Dijon 
adjudged the prize. He maintains that the pro- 
gress ‘of. ‘society ahd its boasted improvements 
have beetionly to make’ man progressively ac- 
quainted . with ‘misery.’ He ‘charges, this crime 
patticularly on the sciences and the arts. » “ An- 
tient days, le says, were more virtuous than our 
own, and the degeneracy of our own days owes 
its' origin to our knowledge.” In fine, know- 
ledge or sciénce appears to him to be Pandora’s 
box, replete with every evil. A poor prisoner 
in a house of lunatics, being asked the cause 


of his'confinement, replied, that he thought the | 


On Learning and the Arts. 44L 


whole world to be mad, while the world thought 
him to be mad, but unhappily the world cut- 
voted him. Roussseau must have thought, if he 
thought as he wrote, that a mania had possessed 
man from a very early period, and that in his 
day this mania had risen to its greatest height. 
It was well that the question did not come to 
issue between him and the world, for the world 
would assuredly have out-voted him, Rousseau 
is however entitled to a philosophic and argu- 
mentative reply. 
In the first part of that discourse Rousseau 
objects to knowledge, that it is the parent of that 
external civility and politeness, by which the 
foundation of candor and plain dealing are un- 
dermined, and fellow-intercourse becomes con- 
Strained and disguised. Before art, says he, had 
fashioned our manners, imposed concealment on 
our passions, and taught us to speak a borrowed 
language, our behaviour though rustic, was 
natural, He admits that human nature, at the 
‘bottom, might not perhaps be better ; but he as- 

serts, that men derived security from being able to 
read each other’s thoughts, and that this advan- 
tage, of which we now know not the value, 
preserved them from many vices. To this part 
of his charge the present essay is confined. 

“In answer to this charge it is asserted, that 
external civility and politeness are not the off- 


442 On Learning and the Arts. 


spring of learning or knowledge, but claim otlier 
parents; that disguise, borrowed looks and lan= 
guage, and false exhibitions of the heart are not 
peculiar to any periodor state of man; that sincerity 
and honesty are not irreconcileable with politeness; 
and that whatever of evil can be charged to the 
account of politeness, is amply compensated by 
the real good which it produces. 

Politeness may certainly associate with learn- 
ing, and may be separate from it; but ther first 
origin is in the good-will and sympathy of man, 
in the desire of being agreeable in the form as 
well as in the substance of our fellow-intercourse. 

This is so obvious, that it is impossible to 
discover any special connection of cause and 
effect between a learned mind, and a polite mind. 
A learned man, without a kind and sympathetic 
heart, without a desire to please, may be as blunt 
a rustic as) Rousseau can contemplate in his 
golden age of simplicity. Learning is very far 
from being the character of the polite world, and 
politeness in a still less degree is the character of 
the learned world. Fhe weakest persons, to 
whom literature has not opened her very door, 
may lead in the dance of fashionable politeness. 
They are perfectly innocent, poor creatures! of 
the horrid crime of learning; but they are the 
arraigned before Rousseau’s tribunal, they are 
the convicts of unmeaning profession, of prosti- 


On Learning and the Arts. 443 


tuted language, and of all the idle waste of words. 
Observe the learned man! He may possibly be 
polite ; he may be courteous in his address, in 
his speech, in all his manners; but he has not 
learnt this from his books; he has acquired it 
from an habitual commerce with the dressed and 
fashionable world. Such a union of attainments 
is however a rare spectacle; for, learning abstracted 
from other circumstances has a contrary tendency, 
and the world is so persuaded of this, that it 
expresses something like astonishment, if in the 
acknowledged scholar or philosopher ,it find 
the polite man, The love of retirement and 
even of solitude, as conducive to the pursuits 
of learned men; the little attraction which they 
feel for the lighter amusements of life, the straws 
in their estimation which float upon its surface; 
the little attention which they have bestowed in - 
order to acquit themselves with propriety and 
grace; the disgust which is excited in them by 
the trifling conversation and important nothings 
of men of the world, render what is called good 
company as unfit for a_ philosopher asa philoso- 
pher is for good company. Whata figure does 
he often exhibit in a gay and brilliant circle, 
with his solemn air, his stiffened attitudes, his 
unmanaged limbs, his absorbed mind, his inat- 
tentions, his constrained recollections, his studied 
expressions, his deep and sensatious discourse! 


444 On Learning and the Aris. 


He is an object of ridicule to the circle around 
him; but he knows to estimate himself, and he 
returns the contempt with which he is received. 
He feels that he is net on his proper ground ; 
no common sympathy attaches him to his .com- 
pany, nor his company to him; each are under 
restraint, but a modesty yet unsubdued in him 
subjects him to truly painful feelings, while a 
happy confidence which the polish of the world 
often confers, administers to the company the 
enjoyment of a secret triumph. He retires from 
the scene without regret, and his absence excites 
no regret in those whom he has quitted. <A few 
reflections on the strange interview for a while 
occupy the thoughts of either party. The one 
laments the littlenesses and follies of which he 
has been a witness; the others laugh at the 
awkward mortal for his oddities and unaccommo- 
dating wisdom. While the fruit of these reflec- 
tions differs in each as much as the reflections 
themselves. The one are strengthened in the per- 
Suasion that the accomplishments of politeness 
are the finishing of the human character, and 
with more self satisfaction go on in a course, 
which as a whole is but a waste of time, of talents 
and of character. ‘The other owes it perhaps to 
his keen disgust that he is not swallowed up in 
the gulph of dissipation, that trifling and uns 
important attentions are not over-rated by hims 


On Learning and-the Arts. 445 


do not debauch his mind, nor lead him to the 
borders, if not into the open field of vice. There 
is certainly an extreme.in the judgment of each, 
but with which extreme the just estimate of 
character and dignified enjoymentis most likely 
to be found, isleft to the Genevan philosopher to 
calculate. 

In fine, learning and politeness may be cotem- 
poraneous cyents,in the history of man, and they 
may each be deriyed from their proper source ; 
but they are neither of them the parent of the 
other, nor do they kindly mix in any relationship 
or aflinity. . To derive politeness from learning, 
and charge to her account the vices of the tice 
whatever these vices be, merely because learning 
and politeness may be co-existent, is one of those 
sophims, which logicians class under the name of 
mon causa pro cdusd. Ifthe error proceed from 
design, it is criminal; if it proceed from igno- 
rance, and a confused understanding, it is con- 
temptible in one, who pretends to the character 
of a philosopher, and a censor of the follies of 
his day. 

Learning and civility appear both to be derived 
from the same circumstances in the condition of 
man ; but if civility be a vice, learning is not to 
be accused on this account. The field produces 
the grain and the weed. Is the salutary plant 
accused, because the useless or even the noxious 


446 On Learning and the Arts. 


"plant vegetates by its side ? As man betters his 
external condition, multiplies the conveniences 
of life, his views enlarge, he connects himself 
more closely with fellow man, he widens his 
connections and dependencies, and to accomplish | 
this his intellect and ingenuity are provoked ; his 
manners also become more insinuating ; he courts 
his fellow by courtesy as well as by kindness ; 
and thus science, the arts, urbanity and the 
agreeable in form, address and intercourse, ad- 
vance with a step proportionate to the growing 
interests, utilities and conveniences of life. 

This appears to me to be the true origin of 
learning and civility, considered in a general 
view,.and to account for their co-temporancous 
existence in every instance, whenever they have 
been found to enter into the human character. 
But learning and civility, though issuing from 
the same source, and always in some degree ac 
companying each other in their progress, may 
vary in their respective character from other cir- 
cumstances; and therefore it may require the 
aid of some other cause to account for the pe- 
culiar politeness of later Europe, which is the 
very object of Rousseau’s invective. To dis- 
criminate the urbanity of Greece and Rome 
from the politeness of the present century, and. 
to account for whatéver is peculiar to and 
characteristic of the latter, may not therefore be 


On Learning and the Arts: 447 


impertinent to the object, of the present essay ; 
especially if it shall ‘appear that learning is as 
innocent of the guilt, which may be imputed to 
modern, as to antient manners. 

Accurately to define the characters of antient 
urbanity and modern politeness, may be no easy 
task, nor is this difficulty peculiar to the present 
subject, as there are many instances, in which 
we cannot define, what we strongly feel. Cicero 
has given a definition of urbanity, which may 
apply to the civility of any day, as it is a mere 
definition of the abstract principle. Had he 
illustrated it. with a familiar instance in the man- 
ner of his day, we should have been better able 
to estimate the standard of Roman urbanity. We 
have not a history of the private life of the 
Romans, but from some incidental facts which 
are recorded, we may decide that their manners 
were not so dressed and elegant and delicately 
finished as those of modern Europe, Yet we 
must allow to Greece and Rome all that polish 
which answers to their high condition of pros. 
perity and cultivation. The wants of nature 
are common to all, but a richer possession of the 
external conveniences and accommodations of 
life cannot fail to awaken an artificial taste, the 
idea of a grace which may be superadded to 
every enjoyment. All of the polite and elegant 
which the collision of man with man can be:ex. 

VOL, ¥. R 


448 On Learning and the Arts. 


pected to accomplish, may be ascribed to the 
higher personages of these antient days, but the 
iufluence of woman on manners could not be 
experienced by them, because woman held not 
the same rank in society as in these later times ; 
and therefore this must constitute one charac- 
teristic feature in which the politeness of the most 
accomplished periods of Greece and Rome could 
bear no resemblance to that of modern days, 
Commerce, wealth, science, arts, and urbanity 
have made a rapid progress in Western Europe, 
and independant of any other cause must have 
produced their effects; but the state of woman, 
which is absolutely novel in the history of man, 
has given an appropriate character to our man- 
ners ; it preceded every other cause ; it operated 
in our rudest and most ignorant periods; it was 
the originating source, it has been the cradle, it 
is the highest aspiring of our politeness, and from 
this is derived whatever is peculiar in the manners 
of the masculine sex. 

It is certain that woman had little estimation in 
antient times, unless as subservient to a purpose 
which it becomes me not to name before this: 
assembly ; or, as necessary to posterity ; or, as 
the superior oeconomists of domestic supply and 
order, They were passed as a property from. 
the ‘parent to the husband; they were not 
introduced on the public stage of life; they were 


\ 


On Learning and the Arts. 449 


even secreted from the open face of day; they 
were not admitted to the councils of man, to an 
equal participation of the hopes and fears, the 
joys and sorrows of the lordly male. This, 
whether it were to the honour or reproach, whe- 
ther it were the blessing or misfortune, of antient 
days, was assuredly the character of antient na- 
tions, though with some difference of degree ; ‘it 
was that of the Asiatics, of the Greeks and 
Romans, and continues at this day to be the 
unvaried character of the eastern world., To 
the rough inhabitants of northern Europe, bar= 
barians as history affects to call them, but who 
‘were our progenitors, the female sex are primarily 
indebted for their vindication to the equal dignity 
and privileges of human nature. To this singular 
character of these northern nations, long un- 
known to the rest of the world, Czsarand’Tacitus 
have born testimony, while they were confined 
to their native land. The romantic gallantry of 
the days of chivalry, and the romanzas_ of ‘the 
succeeding period, in which it is.difficult to de- 
cide whether superstition, heroic,.courage, or 
idolatry of the sex, be the predominant feature, 
and the gradual passing of the old romance into 
the modern novel, all demonstrate. that this 
character has never been parted-with, but been — 
mellowed into the more rational and, tempered 
gallantry of the present day, such as we their 


450 On Learning and the Aris. 


posterity, the inhabitants of modern Europe, un- 

reluctantly bow to. If man have imposed chains 

upon himself, he feels not the weight of them: 

he is happier in the participation of power and 

influence with the female, than when he held her 
under his absolute dominion, when she was the 

slave of his will, or the passive instrument of his 

selfish pleasures. 

This generous sympathy of our northern pro- 
genitors with the partners whom nature and God 
designed for them, happily co-incided with the 
equal and liberal spirit of Christianity ; and to 
these|two powerful agents, which were nearly co- 
temporary, we owe that wonderful revolution of 
social and moral sentiment, which constitutes the 
distinction. of later Europe. Woman_ has 
now been permitted to resume her proper rank 
in society, and to her we are greatly indebted for 
the present polish of ruder man; for that ease, 
propriety, grace, attention and desire to please in 
the manner of every intercourse, which offends 
the cynic eye of Rousseau. To every thing that 
is human‘some accusation may be brought, whe- 
ther in consequence of defect, excess, or associ- 
_ ation,-and: therefore it is not wonderful if polite. 
ness committed to the management of men should 
be subjected to censure; but.‘be her errors and 
excesses what they will, 


Look on her face, and you'll forgive them all! 


On Learning and the Aris. 451 


To her this generous acknowledgment is due, that 
she smooths the asperities of life, veils the de- 
formities of selfish vice, and gives to ingenuous 
virtue and goodness its highest lustre. 

I donot mean however in this part of my essay 
to be the advocate of politeness, but to prove, 
that learning is perfectly innocent of its birth, in 
modern as well as antient times, and let its pre- 
sent character be what it will, tofix the filiation 
upon its proper parents, Ifit be true, that the po. 
liteness of modern Europe derives itself from the 
restoration of woman to her proper rank in 
society, and that woman is the legislator of po- 
liteness; there is a circumstance in the character 
of woman, which demonstratively proves the 
folly of Rousseau in ascribing to learning either 
the blessings or'the curses of politeness, In no 
day, not even in the present day, has woman been 
eminently distinguished for learning ; and there- 
fore the empire of politeness, sovereign as 
Rousseau supposes it to be, neither derives itself 
from, nor is maintained by learning. 

I return to the direct subject of the essay. 
Having rescued learning from the imputation of 
politeness; I wish also to rescue politeness from 
the more odious charge of insincerity and dissi- 
mulation, as if they were her necessary and ap- | 
propriate character. Dissimulation and artifice 
may and often do assume the attractive form of 


452 On Learning and the Arts. 


politeness, but they are not her natural offspring ; 

they have their origin in those interested passions, 

which are common to man in every age and 

nation, and which pure and spotless innocence, 

if it have ever existed on this earth, is alone_ 
exempt from. The savage, the rustic and illiterate 

know to decieve under a fair exterior, whenever a 
selfish end awakes the desire, and deccive as art- 
fully and as successfully as any of the polished 

and lettered sons of modern Europe. Instructed 

by mere interest, they can adopt even a seducive 

address, and in the very form of their natural 

simplicity and bluntness they can still more 
successfully deceive. 

Uncultivated society has its virtues, it has its 
vices also, of which none hold a more distin- 
guished rank than art, deceit, deliberate fraud 
and imposture. The history of the Arabians, 
Tartars, North-Americans and Chinese, who are 
at best only managed and disciplined savages, is 
much more the history of lying and imposture 
than of plain truth and honesty. They can 
practise insinuating address, they can mislead with 
deep designs, and deceive with fatal success. In 
their national treaties they can shroud their in- 
tentions with as artful concealment as the most 
lessoned adept of our diplomatic schools. With 
war in their hearts, they can send an embassador 
of peace, out of whose breast not the shrewdest 


On Learning and the Arts. 453 


politician of Europe can dig the secret. In war, 
they are treacherous more than brave; stratagem 
and ambuscade constitute their military tactics, 
and they measure their triumphs, not by the 
manly resistance which as men they have over- 
come, but by the insidious violation of faith, by 
springing upon their destined prey in all the con- 
fidence of security, by their merciless use of an 
inglorious victory, and the undistinguishing mas- 
sacre of age and sex. 

In this representation I may be supposed to 
exhibit the portrait only of the North-American 
tribes; but the history of every rude and un- 
civilized nation presents the same features ; and 
in this very century the Chinese, whom I have 
not excepted from the class of barbarians, have 
exhibited a dreadful specimen of this insidious, 
unmanly, and savage character. The late 
emperor of China, jealous of a numerous and 
powerful Tartar horde, and, if I remember 
aright, one of the very tribe from which him- 
self was descended, allured them by faithless 
promises, till he had drawn around them a‘cordon 
of his numerous hosts. Then in the true spirit 
of a savage, he issued the word, and appeased 
his fears by putting them all to the sword, He 
exterminated nearly three millions of human 
beings at a blow. 

Such are the representatives of the native 


ee 


454 On Learming and the Aris. 


simplicity and innocence of undressed man; such 

are the patterns of frankness, sincerity and man- 
liness, to whom Rousseau offers the incence of 
an almost ideot praise, in comparison to whom 
the European character is one uniform blot. He 
rivals the Papal power in its greatest plenitude ; 
he blackens an angel, and whitens a devil. 

But if contrary to fact, and what the history 
of man in the progress of society reports to the 
plain enquirer after truth, it should be allowed 
that politeness derives itself immediately from 
learning, yet learning is not therefore to be 
charged with that duplicity and dissimulation, 
which in the practice of politeness has excited 
the indignation of Rousseau, Politeness in 
its primary designation presents a fair and 
amiable character, but like every blessing to 
man, vice may seize the blessing, and as far as 
vice can operate, may convert the blessing to a 
curse. Has learning taught to vice this lesson? 
If this be a truth, it presents a novel idea of 
learning, contrary to every idea which has been 
entertained of her genius and spirit ; for before 
the Genevan philosopher was pleased to unde- 
ceive man, she was supposed to be favourable to 
truth, to the discovery. and to the ingenuous 
“communication of truth, 

What gave to the openings of science that 
charm, which roused man from the indolence 


On Learning and the Arts. 455 


» and torpor of savage life, but that it ministered 
to this native love of truth in the mind of man, 
to that ardour of a rational mind, which, when 
awakened, pursues with avidity and with unsated 
gratification the disceveries which nature unfolds 
to the diligent enquirer. This is the spirit and 
genius of learning, and most unlikely to have 
inspired the wily arts of polished life. 

The question is not therefore, whether polite- 
_ness, and even learning, may not be seized by 
vicious men, and perverted to vicious purposes, 
but whether it be of their genius and character 
to favour this abuse. The question is, whether 
politeness be not of a virtuous origin; whether 
it be not this very circumstance which recom- 
mends her to vice; whether science, whose 
object is truth, and the communication of truth, 
can intend disguise, deceit and perfidy. Vice 
exists. Granted. Let the crimination be carried 
to the baser passions, which originate vice of 
whatever form, but not to those laudable passions 
of man, which contemplate truth and kindness. 

How many other blessings does vice pervert 
and abuse? From the Creator of man is 
derived the very capacity of learning, the im- 
pulse to, the delight therein, and all that 
is the genuine offspring of learning, If learn- 
ing is to be accused, because vice may 


prostitute learning itself, and whatever is the 
VOL. y. s 


456 On Learning and the Arts. 


progeny of learning, to uses which the generous 
spirit of learning abhors; then @ /ortior?, ‘the 
Creator is to be accused, who has inspired in man 
the desire and the capacity of learning; nor‘is 
there one gift, nor one blessing for which we 
may not with equal justice reproach our maker, 
as there is not one gift nor one blessing which 
vice may not, and unfortunately does not, equally 
-misapply. It is not of the genius of learning 
and wisdom to favour vice in any of its forms ; 
science and virtue are naturally allied, ‘and to 
the sons of learning the world is indebted for the 
most animated and ‘persuasive pleas in the cause 
of virtue; that the wisdom of her ways has been 
illustrated ; and that vice has been proved to be 
as foolish, as it is detestable. To learning this 
is an easy, a pleasant and a natural office ; while 
all attempts to press her into the service of vice, 
have reflected disgrace ‘and infamy on the per- 
‘petrators of so rude a violation. “However 
individual men may pervert the plan of their 
Maker, science and virtue are united in the ser- 
vice of man, as wisdom and holiness in the 
conduct of the divine being. I make no apology 
for this momentary use of the 'stile of the theo- 
logist; it becomes me as a philosopher, who 
demands for theology a place in the great’ phi- 
losophy of nature. He’who designed man, 
designéd science'and wisdom to be of the highest 


On Learning and the Aris. 457 


attributes of his being, and to traduce them, is 
to traduce both man a God. 

But to the innocence of learning as not 
answerable for the duplicity and fraud and dis- 
honesty, which Rousseau charges upon polite. 
ness, it may be farther added to its praise, 
that if any thing can guard a man against the 
impositions of dissembling address and language, 
it is to. the cultivation of the intellect that he 
must be specially indebted for this guard. Learn- 
ing places a man upon a higher ground; it 
confers upon him the advantages of superior 
intelligence ; and when directed to the judgment 
of character, and assisted by an acquaintance 
with men, their objects, their modes, and varied 
import of language, it acquires a kind of inten- 
tion into the very heart. A scientific man is so 
accustomed to yield conviction only to evidence, 
that, he is rescued from that precipitate decision 
which is the pit of fools; he is possessed of more 
nice discernment, more accuracy in weighing 
every thing in the scale of sober judgment, more 
facility in resolving, combining, comparing, 
deciding; so that if imposture must haunt the 
best walks of life, no man can pass these walks 
with more security than the well-educated and 
well-informed man. I do not ascribe this praise 
to the verbal critic, the mere mathematician, Or | 
the simple sciolist of any form; but to him, who 


458 On Learning and the Arts. 


has studied man as well as books, which alone’ 
deserves the name of true science. And it is to 
this science that Rousseau’s accusation can alone 
apply; for the learned only, who mix with men, 
can give to imposture those advantages, which 
he supposes learning to furnish. It is but in a 
small degree that learning and politeness can aid 
the dishonest and the knave; but it isin a very 
high degree that learning and a polished acquaint- 
ance with men can protect against the knave. I 
might illustrate the truth of this observation by 
an appeal to very striking facts, facts of the 
greatest magnitude and importance. Since the 
study of literature and the study of man haveunited 
to enlighten the mind, to give to it more intui-_ 
tion and vigour, false taste, false philosophy, 
false religion, and, I may add, false politics, 
have lost their power of fascination. True 
science, like Ithuriel’s spear, when applied to 
satan in the guise of an angel, has compelled 
them to unveil, and stand forth to view in their 
naked deformity. 

Having rescued learning from the imputation 
of politeness, it is an act of justice to rescue 
politeness from the imputation of insincerity and 
dishonesty, which Rousseau supposes to be her 
necessary attendants, 

_; Every virtue and excellence of man invites a 


On Learning and the Aris. 459 


counterfeit, which assumes an: honoured name, 
and tricks herself out in a respected garb and 
form, but has. nothing within. of the loveliness 
and worth of the original. -Itis thus that fora 
while, and for ever with the ignorant and the 
credulous, supersition, may be mistaken for re- 
ligion, the traitor’ for the patriot, the sycophant 
for the friend, the seducer for the lover, and the 
hypocrite for the honest man.. But the fraud 
is discovered, and while the imposture sinks into 
irredeemable contempt and infamy, the solid 
Virtue remains unimpeached, and acquires re- 
newed splendour from the odious contrast. 
Thus it is with politeness; her origin is honour- 
able; her foundation is firm; her seat is in the 
heart ; her range, of action is the whole inter- 
course of man ; but her favoured residence is the 
breast of woman; woman, who with 

Love in her eye, and grace in all her walk, 

was designed to allure, to attract, to scatter roses 
on all the paths of life, 

Such as is woman in her best character, such 
is politeness. She visits undressed uncultivated 
man; in her whole intention, in her whole man- 
ner she is kind. The ruggedness of manners is 
smoothed under her steps, her smiles calm the 
turbulence of passion, and man is not allowed to 
approach man but in the form and language of 
kindness, The ingenuously honest and good 


460 On Learning and the Arts. 


embrace her in sincerity; the designing and bad 
have no access but in her name, and their hy7 
pocrisy is so ‘far from being to her dishonour, 
that itis the homage which even. vice finds itself 
obliged to render to her excellence and worth,— 
But to quit the poetic stile, which is not natural 
to me, the truth assuredly is, that politeness has 
not in her contemplation to furnish a language 
for the insincere and dishonest ; her intention is 
in the less important and ordinary intercourses 
of human beings, which singly seem of small 
worth, but altogether make up the sum and mass 
of social enjoyment, to intermix those little 
sweet courtesies, which give a grace, a charm, an 
acceptableness to every thing. She is therefore 
of the family of good-will and benevolence, and 
he who cannot separate her genuine character 
and spirit, from the abuses which have attached 
themselves to her, deserves not the name of a 
philosopher, and hardly the name of a man. These 
abuses however, like most incidental evils, have 
provided their own correction, The ordinary 
forms and language of politeness have their ap- 
preciated value; they pass for no more than they 
are worth; while the higher value of the heart, 
of which politeness was designed to be the agrees 
able expression, is estimated by more accurate 
and certain tests. 

I may add to what I have already observed in 


On Learning and the Arts, 461 


‘Opposition to the magnified evil of a ‘polished 
language, that there is something in ingenuous 
truth and honesty, ‘which cannot ‘be counter- 
feited, and whichno artful language can convey. 
In a ‘greater degree than ‘is imagined does the 
mouth speak from the heart, and therefore along 
with what is common to ‘truth and to imposture, 
to simplicity and to art, there is something ‘which 
discriminates the one from the other; there ‘is'a 
reserve, 'a modesty, ‘a delicacy in the one; ‘a 
‘prurience, a boldness anda grossness in the other, 
which constitute a marked distinction of charac- 
ter, and tell the truth to a discerning world. 
Sure there’ must be‘an angel of detection, which 
follows the dissembler in his path, and compels 
the dishonest and designing to reveal the precious 
secret which they would hide, ‘It is certainly the 
interest of the impostor to appear to be the per- 
fect character which he assumes, but not all his 
practice in the art, not ali the cool deliberation 
of his plan, not all his knowledge of the world, 
aided by genius and by learning, can enable him 
perfectly to act the part, which it is his interest 
to personate. ‘Truth cannot betray itself, for 
having nothing to conceal, it has nothing to 
betray ; but Art has, and therefore cannot guard 
every avenue of detection; in the very texture 
of its art it cannot present any thing like the ° 
simple and beautiful work of nature. Innocence 


462 On Léarning and thé Arts. 


and guilt are essentially different in their nature, 
and so in a great degree is their'appearance, in 
_spite of a general conformity of exterior, The 
artful courtezan cannot personate the inimitable 
simplicity, ease and grace of the untainted female. 
In fine, vice must be allowed to exist in the 
polished and the learned world, and perhaps in 
more multiplied forms than in ruder and ignorant 
periods, though with less deformity and horror. 
But conceding this, it is still a truth, that what- 
ever be the moral reproach of any day, spi 
and politeness are not the cause, | | they 
are still a real blessing to the nation “which 
possesses them. I may sum up their praise ina 
few words; they add to the acceptableness of real 
worth and goodness, they lessen the deformity of 
vice, and on the whole contribute larly to the 
melioration of society, to the general ~ stock of 
human comfort and happiness. . 


Der 
: 


5 2 Te i a fs 

ads — aL ‘ ae ea ee. - 

Ta gre manners ‘are nat 
Latte , 


pay ea in i 
EE me Th chee = a which the * 
‘ rage of sre SS Ses 
P. sie the py ok ere ee |. 
t ee ther id introduction | 
; ee corruption of manners. . 
t Wao’ ‘8 ple! to charge upon him the: 


cat ‘ai illogical understanding as in * 


-acclisa ». If he .find it a co~ = 
e of two facts, e hastily 
e is the Cause other. 
; No yas an argument i eemed to be » which 


concludes too much,” so. a rule” assigning a 
ig ‘special se to an effect Ought to: be considered 
\@ * as bad, infers too much. He might, ‘if hé 
~ had pleased, and he ought, whethe r he had pleased 
i or no, to hav erveda nee de of other cha- 
2 ak ee with Fdtry such as 
law, GC, Phulgs hy natural and 
moral, i deism, mas and for. 
ght that I can observe o connection: of =. 
* Bi. and effect in what he has assigned, he 
might by the same rule and with equal propriety, 
have referred toy any i all of, these con- 
Joney, the introduction luxury and. that 


& 
~ VOLe, all 


: 


Raat “hee +. - & P 
P iy  o cr 1) eh x Fis . 


tes caeraitiu dee hae Ss, “which #8 oppe ed to sintie &, 


oy i ie cuNewtén has in ph sics estat” at 
> 


re ie mae 


a 


“oe | hoe 
gOe 


e of judging ‘cause an Fo tele » 


= qemcnonion e invariably foun 
€ co-€XIs nt, and »here 


‘ 
‘the a. “¥, 4 
ne 


é 


of the one. oe tly atter ded” ith the dis- 


| ‘ 
"with the A, il nce” 1€ r - , and so ~ D 
‘ ooh aid tk wee’ 
- uniformly in every inst ce; we r : safely ie 
tates conclude that there is ascontection of cause and 
effect between these. phenémena, But this rule : 
. of jndaig is only meant t be applied, a 
the a erandi and t odus oper re 
‘conceal rom our view. Now no. can 
pretend, il plearning xg erate Juxury, - the Pie 
very act e whole operation, be cons 
‘cealed from ‘Our observation asi in Mics oh of. ae 
| » natural causes. It is incumbent therefore on . 
‘any one, who criminates learning as the operating _ ‘ 
catise of | ury, to state in’ clear terms and," 
agreeably to obvious expel e, the will, the 6; 
act, and the his ry. in the rede of luxury 
» by learning. Rousseau has failed to do, ; 
. and this every one will fail to do, who shall, be om 
(hardy enough to make the attempt. 
But admitting that the rule of Sir Isaac New- 


ton is equally a licable to “the discovery of 24 
moral as of natural causes, which perhaps itis, _ ff 


i a *» a ‘ aad a we 
. ‘er ‘ " 


* ve, 
and tears. F 65” 


ite eon be unneces ys ye Rouse 
eau would derive no advantage fr ; 
‘cession, -for his conclusion would fail if Mets 3 
. ay the es rich the ne mind of this 
; ected his rule. 
The-gi ty are not 
age a vi nl usly united, 
is the diss arance of learning always Lipa, 
3 by'the »d peal OF duxury — Let the court 
> "of “Caligulay: of © sage eliogabulus, the » 
Asiati rchie many other striking 
ha modern history make the 
ply ?,The- trath ji is, there. is, nothing i in the 
ci of learning, which ‘inclines her to 


and averse to’ it. The Antonines’ “were learned 
~ "princes, particularly’ Aurelius, and they were 
” eo inent for temperance and moderation, 
for sober and chaste manners. A learned man 
ay indeed, be: luxurious, but instances of this 
2 See character are singular; 3 for learning does 
. not smi pon lus ury, nor is ray propitious 
£0 learning. des re 
Luxury is a general term, avid answers to very 
different standards in different minds, and in. 
different circumstances. What a cynic would — 
eall luxury, a more correct judge of manners 
would denominate taste and elegance, But it is 
to the praise of learning that taste and elegance 


Phy 
ue 


cu 


t there is much that is unfavourable ; 


1 Sa 


s 
4° 


We 


Fa vicki in the 
ast | ee that he has embelished™ 
creation wi such, a Pokuishe? bee be 
m0 aici ‘and exhibited o us th 
Yhodels, which accor ietia 
a man.— e Genev i 
Juxtry and corr bt mann ; 
rie ant with a more. disceri 
: would 
: mits, in rude 


: nf ' d the 
with al ormor defor- * 
t iy ic > ie ns - 
of a Kamschadale | or a - von 2 a wh : 


a‘bear or an. otter, is m3 and proper, axury, + 
and marked: “with as intempe tev indulgeneey, as 

| the rich and varied board of Lucull ot 
cius. The initidis 0 same character in, both ; Fl 
they differ only if e ternal circumstances, ahd 
condition being changed, but ‘the mind unaltered, 
Apicius would have been the a The © 


corrupt manners of the Otaheita ot bee 
surpassed, nor perhaps equalled , by mS of gh 
learned nations, to whom cba unfii het ye of 


Rousseau is directed. Minds ‘more su mdered 
to effeminate luxurious — ease ‘and veverys Just % 

:* % 
have not been exhibited in the page of historyg 
and yet these are an unlettered people, and strane 
gers to the arts, which have vitiated modern ‘Eu~ % 
rope. They know not this wicked thing, called | a 
learning, which hs brought in luxury and all 


# 


i ai , On Learn thet Av it: “467 

‘prostitute man dik a | flood» upon wus; ade 

those arts, “ shave been. the’ a aa pf this ” aie 
c 


a "Gan and ption, 


ousseau seems t feel thesdifficulty.o of fixing m 
Scimene ately upon Ik rning. the crime of luxury fen 
4 are. 1 


wrrapt attenc ants; but he is more at home ©. 
# whed he refers them directly to the arts, whi richvhe ‘= ’ 
: ose: Aa” the offspring of learning. Rete os 

Pins in ti first hasty) view of ad 
connection between un i 
een ae arts and learn= _ 
ing.» Butt ea, view of a eritcts ua ok aisle 


in the , ieee instance, the. fies inaccuracy, the 


' Is! + sameconfused esa the same unfounded 


_presumptions, the same gal conclusion. 8 8 
% ; _* That Jaixury ‘an corrupt: manners, may 
‘existywithout the arts has already appeared'from - « 
=. what has’ oo in some of thewrudest and 
Most | uncivilized. nations, to whom may bey added * — 
7%, Turks and the Moguls, examples of notoriety 
and magnitude, who from the commencément of 
ie». “their empires to the present day have been singu-. 
on hostile to science and the arts, but not me 
ile to luxury and e corrupt mannersywhich are 


ustly supposed to bein her train. A mation igno~ 
rant of and unexperienced in the 7 


8 


: will and 


must, in proportion a as it isepossess ed means, 
be Ramusnious Ana ae Indo se finds 
: Ys »*“ 
*. » % hd ‘ ” f 


lusts, to wh ‘In such a state he is so p eg .% f 
» which i in suc state are almot nc to’sups 


& 


%& 


° 


| 468 On Learningand the therArtss * ; P « 
the mind vacant to laxury,and lust; this is i 
the constitution of human nature, nd is een a 
in the constant history of nationaliand anes " 
man. A field of active exeption is therefore p " 

- vided for man as his refuge ; it, a better” ' 


direction to his mind ; it arouses hi ‘from that » 
listless repose, in which he has nothing tovbrood od wf 
upon but the indulgence of his Te a » * 


port the burthenof existence. Hunting and war 
alone can rouse the savage to action, and poe 
is more temperate and abstemious than the phi 
sopher or the hermit. The inexhausted allure- fh 
ments of scientific pursuit or the activity of the . 
arts provide a more constant and salutary refuge 
to a civilized and wealthy nation a sae! 
devouring passions and lusts, . 

Science ‘and the arts are therefore ue prow 
~ perly the moral friend and guardian of man ; they 
may minister ‘to some of the productions whith a 
_Tuxurious and corrupt mind seizes upon, but they 
are innocent of the misuse, they neither suggest 4 
nor favour the misuse. The earth itself produces : 
avery considerable part of the food of laxurys 
Is the earth to be accused as the criminahminister 
of luxury 2» The earth and science and the arts 
are all liberal in their gifts to man ; these gifts 
are in tages directed to utility and to 


: . a 
. % - . ra e 


VW % 
“se 


~ Y . 


y b ‘ ms 
Bs ae ae 
part cee? bering nd. the Art. 469 
g Re lessing 5 they are ii the Feaéh of ze virtuous 


| and. the vicious; virtue enjoys them in their 
% _ proper “charactet ; vice Converts them into a 


Fim cutse. go maintain the theory. ‘of Rousseau, 
i - - the earth and. science’ and. the atts should be 


being vicious. The, €a th and the arts resemble 


in oe, directing n 


produce, 
— nt 


es . use, excess, intemperance, “Taxury, or licen~ 
ous, corrupt and, pro fe manners, — 4 


fs. connection between the ox luxury or vice. 
ec “» The productions of the arts aré illustrious 
: & monuments, of human ingenuity, andyin no small 
£ degree imitative of the superior productions of 

the great Artists they are in their nature innocent 
a ofall criminal construction and temgency ; ; they 
| are‘much more applicable to. virtue and to hap- 
x os than to viee.and misery ; luxury and core 


re . 


tion may exist without them, and therefore it 

to other parents and to other caus that we 
must refer their existence and progress. © 

uxury do eh i a herself from the arts, 


% - of: Le 


n 7 


_. more sparing in their gifts, and “all the virtue 
a # which his bgbeory aspires to is the impossibility of 


; 
ia each ng in the variety»and richness of their © 
oH 


swering for 
ich their productions shall be ap= __ 


os pa pte science are. annexed mind and — Vv 
and to the deliberate mind) and will ‘of . 


* % Fad ‘séience cannot be charged one approbation. of 


; There is therefore. no. natural, “no necessary a 


«% 


y 


and Seats re arts do n "Be 
derive ¢ the es from learning a 
‘and in their progress derive a very inconsic 


' able "part gehey we improvement the te 


470 : - tip} and t Avis. 
however ste rts ‘may be Hiolently forced in int: 

her ‘servi ce ade acquitted of» the ‘Ghar ey 
though t evarts sho dt be"allowed to be the pros 
“geny of learning. at Fot: learning) no more than 
God, is’ to be ihterdicted and’ accused in her 


“most -fionouttable walk, ‘of contributing to the 


-ornament, ‘utility and happiness of man, Because 
vice pay eeice upon’ and misuse h her’ gifts, But 


~ the argument of Rousseau iggven'r more’ found. 
arning *- 
fatal 


ed in the. sed connection mene 


s i 


“ from. ~~ ae bad 4 
The ele sitet the arts, and many of the m ; 


vatuatsle, discoveries on which the practice of the. a 
arts ‘depends, are derived from unlearried es or Pe 


are traced. up to unlearned and, what at this d 


we call, barbatous periods. Who éaniname the 


learned days. i in which! the lever, ‘the. moveable © , 


pully, the wheel, the inclined plane, and | thescrew 
have been’: troduced to the knowledge to 
the use’o men ? The arch, ‘the pillar, the roof, 
and much ‘pérbiaps of the stibility, proportion 

and ornament-of architecture, are probably ‘in 

debted for their fitet conception to unlearned > 
and unscientific men. _ The Greeks do not ap- 


pear to have considered the Persians as a lettered. © 


v rot 
. a . 
At m 


a 


2 ji, 
oi 
4 


ye Z 


%, 


¥ 


oa 


i 


%, 


On Learning and the Arts. 471 


and scientific vison, and. though the vanity of 
_ the Greeks may render them very justly suspected 
in their estimate of foreign merit, yet it is pro- 
bable that in this instance they erred not much 
from the truth. But the ruins of Persepolis present 
‘the idea of a structure, which might have rival- 
ed the proudest monument of Grecian architec- 
ture. "They are at this day the admiration of 
Europ artists, to whose judgments and taste 
the hi e: defference is paid. To rude an- 
‘cestors we owe the first idea of a ship, and no 
inconsiderable progress to that “complex and won- 
ul state in which it now exists. To the 
“Greeks and Romans in their more rude and un- 
learned state we are indebted, if a debt it may 


. 1 nl deemed, for the discipline, the order, the com- 


Binations, the evolutions and the general tactics 
of war; nor, unless perhaps i in the application of 
gunpowder has all the science and ingenuity of 
Aig moderns much surpassed them | in this dan- 
gerous arts The practlfe:9 oF astronomy, though 
without a sufficient knowledge of its theory, yet 
founded on principles derived from an obser= 
vance of the motian of the planetary bodies, is 
of very remote antiquity, and. has been applied 
th considerable accuracy by nations of no 
tc character, and but in a moderate de- 
“‘gree) removed from | barbarism. If a simple - 


elementary language, wherein from a-few cha- 
WOLe Vi we 


472 On Learning and the Arts. 


tacters infinite combinations are formed, be 4 
necessary instrument to the progress of science, 
the Chinese can have no pietensions to the 
character of a learned nation, although for no 
other reasons this attribute should be refused to 
them. For as language is the vehicle of ideas, 
how slow must be the progress of literary im- 
provement, where only to know the language 
itself requires the application of a whole life. 
Yet onthe first visit of the Europeans the Chinese 
were found to be possessed of the elements of 
almost all the arts, those very elements, which 
under the culture of the more ardent European 
have so exalted him amongst men. The same 
may be observed of the Mexicans and Peruvians, 
who had no form of written language whatever. 
The date of their empires was indeed compa- 
ratively of yesterday, but at the period of their 
highest improvement they could support no 
claim to the character of learned nations. Yet 
many of their productions of art, magnificence 
and taste were objects of admiration to the more 
improved European. The practical principles 
of chemistry have been known, and successively 
acted on, by many of the rudest and most ig- 
norant nations of the earth, and the communica- 
tion of some of their processes would be a valuable 
acquisition to the European artist of the present 
day. Indeed without disparagement to the present 


On Learning and the Arts. 473 


state of scientific improvement it must be ac- 
knowledged that the valuable arts of mechanics 
and chemistry have been indebted for discoveries 
of high estimation to rude and unlettered prac- 
titioners, who had eluded all the penetration of 
the theoretic artist. The fact appears to be, that 
mere accidental observation, excited by the con- 
tinually working hand of nature, and agreeably to 
those eternal laws which govern her operations, 
has revealed to man, in every state and condition, 
the fundamental principles of all the arts; that 
they are thus brought home to his very feeling, 
and that, the discovery being made, the neces- 
sities and interests of man seize the discovery, 
and apply it to his use. Man, in a state of liter. 
ary culture, digests these experimental discoveries, 
compares them, reasons upon them, and reduces 
them into an orderly and harmonious system, 
which is without doubt of great assistance, in 
applying the practice of the arts to progressive 
improvement and utility. Sensible of this truth, 
the ingenious theorist will acknowledge that the 
arts, in the whole extent of their subservience to 
the use of man, have derived their richest treasures 
from the discoveries and operations of rude and 
unlearned men. 
Rousseau therefore fails in every view in which 
it can be attempted to fix the odium of luxury | 
and its concomitant vices upon learning. There 


474 On Learning and the Aris. 


is NO necessary connection between the arts and 
luxury, and the arts, in what degree they may be 
required to minister to luxury, ask little, very 
little, aid from learning. 

Perhaps Rousseau had no view to honest truth 
in this celebrated essay, but by a bold singularity 
to raise himself into general notice. Had truth 
been his object, he could not have avoided to 
observe, what must strike the common mind, that 
the appetites and tastes of men are the parents 
of Juxury, and that wealth, ora supply of what 
wealth purchases, is the nurse of luxury. Where- 
ever or whenever these two are found to be co- 
existent, luxury in a greater or less degree will 
be found to exist also. These may be co-existent, 
and to any extent, and have os existed, without 
any thing of what answers to the scientific arts of 
modern Europe, — 


475 


OzsservATions on the Nervous Sys- 
TEMS Of “DIFFERENT ANIMALS; on 
Oricinau Derecrs in the Nervous 
System of the HumAN Specizs and 
their INFLUENCE on SENSATION and 

_ VoLuntrary Motion. 


BY JOHN HULL, M.D, 


READ NOVEMBER 28th, 1800.* 


“ Le mécanisme des sensations, le Tapport des nerfs avec le sujet 
senti 4 la surface du corps & avec le centre, ou se réunit le senti- 
ment, sont aussi obscurs, qu’ ils l’ ont toujours été, malgré tous les 
faits, qu’ ona recueillis depuis plusieurs siecles,’? Fourcroy Syst, 
des Conn. Chim, T, 1X. p. 348; 


I, another publication I have enumerated some 
of the most remarkable deviations from the natural 
form, that have been observed in human fetuses 
on the side of excess, both in the number and. 
proportion of their parts. Astonishing as these 
may appear, the deviations on the side of defect 
are not less so and the latter are perhaps more 
particularly interesting to the anatomist and phy- 
siologist, as serving to point out the compara- 
tive necessity of the different parts, concerned 
in the performance of the various functions of 


* ‘Some additions have been made to this paper, since 
it was read to the society, 


476 On the Nervous Systems of 


the animal economy. Numerous instances might 
be adduced, wherein one, or more of the most 
important organs of the human body have been 
found wanting in the fetal state. But, passing 
over the defects, which occasionally take place 
-in the organs of respiration, circulation, diges- 
tion, generation, &c, I shall in this paper con- 
fine myself to the consideration of the defects, 
observable in the nervous system of man, and 
their influence on the important faculties of 
sensation and voluntary motion ; premising some 
general observations on the diversity of parts, 
structure, substance, texture, proportion, laws, 
&c, of the nervous system of man and the inferior 
animals in their natural, or perfect state, 


§ 1. 
On the Nervous System in the different classes of 
Animals. 


By acelebrated modern writer on Comparative 
Anatomy, M. Cuvier, animals are referred to 
two grand divisions: The first comprehending 
all those, which havea dorsal spine, or vertebre: 
The second comprehending all those, which are 
destitute of vertebre. 

To the former division are referred the first 
four Linnean classes of animals, namely, Mam- 
malia, Aves, Amphibia, and Pisces. To the latter 
belong the two remaining classes of Jnsecta and 


Different Animals, €&e. 477 


Vermes. As there is a general resemblance in 
the nervous systems of the animals, referred to 
each of these great divisions, particularly the 
former, I find it convenient to adopt them here. 

1. The nervous system of man and other 
animals, included in the first division, is more 
extensive and complicated than in insects and 
worms. Viewed with respect to its situation, 
it consists of three primary parts, namely, the 
Encephalon, Spinal Marrow and Nerves. The two 
former have been considered as constituting the 
common trunk, the Jast as the branches of the 
system. 

The ENCEPHAEON, which is so named from 
being seated in the head, is subdivided by an- 
atomists into three principal parts, the cerebrum, 
or brain strictly so-called, the cerebellum and 
medulla oblongata: But for brevity and to avoid 
the unnecessary use of technical terms I shall, 
in general, speak of these three parts collectively 
under the title of drain, taking care to guard 
against ambiguity, when- it becomes necessary 
to mention any of the three parts distinctly from 
the others. It may not be improper to state 
here, that in those animals, which have no skull, 
and therefore, strictly speaking, no encephalon, 
that portion of the nervous system, which is the 
most bulky and occupies the highest, or fore- 
most place, will be named brain, since this 


478 = On the Nervcus Systeins-of 


term is adopted by writers on comparative arta 
atomy. 

The spinat MARRow is so tamed from its 
occupying the canal, formed by the vertebra, 
or bones of the spine, and is generally con- 
sidered as a continuation, or production of the 
brain.*—In animals, which have no vertebra, 
that part of the nervous system, which is con- 
tinued from the brain and is connected with the 
nerves, is also named spinal marrow, though not 
very properly. 

The nerves are cordlike bodies, rising in 
pairs from the brain and spinal marrow and 
ramifying in order to be distributed to the dif 
ferent parts, that are influenced by them.—That 


# By somie writers the spinal marrow is considered a¢ 
the largest nerve of the body, but improperly according to 
Soemmerring: “Nota enimejusab omnium nervorumnotis 
sunt diverse, cerebri vero notis respondent.Etenim 1. Non 
ca est medullé spinz structura filata, qua omnibus qui- | 
dem nervis, 2. Molliof est nervo. 3. Intrinsecus, ut aliz 
guedam cerebri partes, portionem cineream continet. 
4. Eodem modo ex ea nervi oriuntur, ut v- g. ex cerebro 
tertius & sextus nervus, nequaquam vero ea ratione, 
qua nervi ex truncis, qui dividuntur, vel ex gangliis 
oriuntur. §. Bestiis maxima pars est massa cerebri, 
6, Homini,ratione cerebri habita, minor est, quam ulli alii 
animali. 7, Stimuli metallorum per spinz medullam 
spasmos non excitant, ut per nervos.” DeCorp, Hum, 


Fab, T. 1V, p. 81. 


Different Animals, €¢. 479 


éxtremity of a nerve, which is attached to the 
brain, or spinal marrow, is usually named its 
origin® ; whilst that, which is distributed to 
the-organs of sense, muscles ‘&c, &c, is named 
simply its termination and by some writers its 
sentient extremity, when so disposed as to re- 
ceive impressions from external bodies, Of the: 
ganglions and plexuses of nerves it is not neces- 
sary to take notice in this place. 

The nervous system is composed of two prin- 
cipal swhstances,t named the cineritious, or cor- 
tical, and medullary; which differ considerably 
from each other in their colour, consistence, and 
other properties: The former being of a red- 
ish ash colour, semitransparent, softer, without 
distinct fibres, and possessing little, if any, sen- 
sibility: The latter being white or yellowish, 
opake, firmer, consisting .of very fine fibres vari- 
ously disposed and evidently possessing sensi- 


* Dr. Monro thinks this extremity is improperly so 
named and assigns a good reason, which will be noticed 
hereafter. 

_ + Besides these, there are two other substances noticed » 
by anatomists, namely, 1. The portio intermedia, which is 
whitish or yellowish, and is found in the cineritious 


substance of the posterior lobes of the cerebrum, 2. The 


portio nigra,which is found in the crura of the cerebrum. 
These substances are only found in the brain and are 


inconsiderable, Sce Soemmerring, T. IV. p. 47» 
VOlsave™ x 


480 - On the Nervous Systems of 


bility. Both these substances are, very evident 
in the brain and spinal marrow: But the cine- 
ritious matter is not so easily observed in the 
nerves, being in a very small proportion to the 
medullary. Dr: Monro, however, informs us, 
that he has by an attentive examination found 
it in most of the nerves.t The relative posi- 
tion of the cineritious and medullary substances 
differs in different parts of the nervous system. 
The conszstence of the brain is softer in cold~ 


blooded animals and in some fishes is almost 
fluid. . 


+ * Although the nerves have been universally con- 
sidered as a continuation of the pure medullary substance of 
the brain and cerebellum; yet I find, on accurately ex- 
amining them, that with a few exceptions, particularly of 
the optic nerves and portio mollis of the auditory, they 
are all of a browner colour than the medullary substance, 
their pia mater. seeming to furnish a quantity of cine- 
ritious matter.”’—* The optic nerves and portio mollis of 
the auditory seem, indeed from their bright white colour, 
to receive from their pia mater little or no cineritious mat- 
ter in their progress to the eye and ear: but, as soon as 
they enter these organs to form the retina and to be 
spread out on the membrane of the cochlea and semi- 
circular canals, instead of . remaining white and opake, 
they become cineritious. The cause of which is, that, 
contrary to what has been alleged by all authors, they 
carry with them their pia mater, and from that mem- 
brane every fibre of the nerve receives Cineritious mat- 
ter.’ Observations on the Structure, Gc. of the Nervous 
System, p. 32- 


Different Animals, ce. 481 


The structure of the nerves and spinal marrow 
is very simple, compared with that of the brain. 
The last possesses a complicated and beautiful 
Organization, which we shall perhaps never un- 
derstand. In viewing the structure of the heart, 
we easily comprehend, in what manner each of 
its parts contributes to the peculiar function of 
this organ, the circulation of the blood: But 
we do not perceive how any one of the cavities, 
processes, dec, &c, of the brain contributes to 
sensation, volition, or the intellectual functions. 
Tt will not therefore be necessary for my present 
purpose to enter particularly into the consider- 
ation of the structure of the brain in man and 
still less so in the other animals, referred to this 
division. It may be proper, however, just to 
remark, that in each of the higher classes of 
animals, the brain has its peculiar characters, 
arising from the presence, or absence of certain 
parts, or-from the position’ &c°of these, and 
that M, Cuvier has specified these peculiarities.* 
The spinal marrow and fierves are of a fibrous 
structure, and the fibres of the latter, except at 
their remote extremities, are included in both 
a proper and a common coat, or sheath. 

The proportion of the brain, compared with’ 
the rest of the nervous system, varies in different 


* Anatomie Comparée. T, Il. p. 172175, 


482 On the Nervous Systems. of 


animals, In the higher orders, the brain is larger 
in proportion to) the spinal marrow, and the 
spinal marrow is also larger in proportion to the 
nerves connected with it... The human brain is 
by. mich the largest in proportion to the rest of 
the nervous ‘system: Itcommonly weighs from 
two» to three pounds, ‘or }upwards; but very 
‘rarely reaches four pounds. In other. warm- 
blooded animals the brain diminishes #@m volume, 
in proportion as the spinal. marrow enlarges, 
and in some fishes the bulk of the two other 
parts of the brain scarcely surpasses that of the 
médulla oblongata, and this scarcely exceeds the 
spinal marrow. The intellectual powers of ani= 
mals.seém to correspond in’ extent with the pro- 
portion of the brain to the test .of the nervous. 
system, and: thé: perfection of its organization; 
Whilst. the acuteness of sensation and the force 
and) rapidity of voluntary motion appear to de-. 
pend upon the proportion of nerve, distributed. 
to the organs of sense and voluntary motion 
rather than on the proportion of brain. All 
animals, which are as large as man, have larger 
nerves,.and greater strength. The smaller ani- 
mals have much larger nerves in proportion to 
their limbs, . Fishes, which have very small 
brains, have very acute feeling and move with 
great rapidity and force. _ Many animals have 
more acute senses and greater. powers of motion 


SO i a OE Page fel a LT" 
7 at wy 


Different Animals, Sec. 483 


than man; although all are infinitely inferior to 
him in intellectual powers. 

All the animals, which have vertebre, have 
the same number of senses as man. ° ; 

2. The animals, which are destitute of}ver- 
tebra, when viewed-with respect to their ner- 
vous systems, may be properly subdivided into 
three orders. : 

The first comprehending the ‘insects and 
some worms; which have a brain, spinal mar- 
row, and nerves, or three parts corresponding to 
these at Jeast. The drain in. these animals: ‘is 
placed above the alimentary canal and sends off 


~ two branches, or legs, which inclose the cesopha- 


gus hke a collar.—The continuation of this, or 
the spinal marrow, 1s situated under’ the alimen- 
tary canal and contained in the same cavity with’ 
the other viscera, It is double, the two legs 
remaining distinct: throughout a great’ part of 


_ their length and being only united, at different 


points, by means of the knots or protuberances, 
from whence the nerves arise, and which are 
nearly as large as the brain. Mr. Cuvier observes, 
that “the gieat sympathetic nerve, which is 
constantly found in all animals with red blood, 
does not exist in any white-blooded animal, 
unless we consider as such the two nervous 
threads, which unite all the ganglions and which ° 
are named moelle épuniere in the crustaceous ani- 


484 On the Nervous Systems of 


mals, insects and worms: In which case these, 
animals would have no spinal marrow, and the 
absence. of this medullary production would: be 
the common character of all the animals with 
white blood.’’* 

The second includes some Mollusca, which have 
a brain and nerves passing off. from it in @ 
radiated manner, but no elongation of the brainy 
analogous to the spinal marrow.of the fortner 
order. There are however scattered ganglions, 
almost as large as the brain itself,t in various 
parts of the body. 

The third comprehends those animals, which: 
are of a gelatinous texture and have no evident 
nervous system as many Zoophytes, or Polypes. 
In these nothing corresponding. to brain, spinab 
Marrow, or nerves, can be discovered; nor cam 
vessels or muscular fibres even be detected. t 

Thus we find, as we descend in the scale of 
animal creation, the common trunk of the ner~ 
vous system gradually lessening and the medullary 


* Anatomie Comparée T. II. p. 124. 

+ Ibid. p. 9. ’ 

+ “ La faculté de sentir & celle de se contracter, qui 
dans la plupart des animaux sont exclusivement propres, 
Yune 4 la substance nerveuse & |’ autre a la fibre charnue, 
paroissent étre également répandues dans toutes les parties 
de certains animaux gélatineux, dans lesquels on n’ ap- 
percoit ni fibres ni nerfs.” Cuvier Anat. Comp, T. I, pr 27« 


Different Animals, Gc. 485 


substance less and less concentrated, till it be- 
comes at length imperceptible and equally dis- 
tributed amongst all the parts of the most simple 
animals. 

The number of senses in this division is less 
than in the animals, that have vertebre. Sight 
is wanting in some of them; hearing in a greater 
number: But the remaining senses, especially 
feeling, appear to be never wanting.t Have 
these animals any sense, which is not possessed 
by those of the former division ? Some inge- 
nious physiologists think this probable. 

I shall in the next place mention a few of the 
pheenomena, or, as they are usually termed, Jaws 
of the nervous system, relative to sensation and 
voluntary motion in different animals. 

1. a. In man and other animals, belonging to 
the higher classes, when naturally formed, no 
sensation is excited by an impression, made upon 
any part of the body, if the nerves, distributed 
to that particular part, be divided, tied, or ~ 
so strong y compressed in any part of their course 
as to destroy the communication betwixt it and 
the brain, or spinal marrow. Henceit is proved, 
that neither the termination of the nerve, nor 
any part of it below its connection with the 
brain, or spinal marrow, is the seat of sensation. , 


+ Cuvier Anat, Comp. T. I. p. 37. 


486 On the Nervous Systems of 


b. Neither is sensation cxcited by an impression 
made upon a part, the nerves of which are con 
nected with the spinal marrow, if the -spinak 
marrow be divided, or strongly compressed, 
above the point, where these nerves are joined 
to it. Hence it is equally proved, that the 
spinal marrow below its junction with the brain 
is not the seat of sensation. 

c. If the whole of the nerves of a limb, or any 
part, be divided, or so strongly compressed, as 
to intercept all communication betwixt the limb 
or part, and the brain, no motion can be excited in 
the former by volition: Consequently the power 
of beginning voluntary motion is not in the nerves. 

d. If the spinal marrow be divided, or strongly 
compressed, in the neck or any lower point, none 
of the parts, supplied with nerves from the spinal 
marrow below the injured part, can be excited to 
action by the will. Hence it is proved, that the 
power of beginning voluntary motion is not resi- 
dent in the spinal marrow. 

e. When the spinal marrow is injured in the 
manner just mentioned,, the mental faculties are 

not necessarily impaired, and. sensation may be 
excited and voluntary motion produced in those 
parts, which are supplied with nerves from .the 
_ brain, or from the spinal marrow, above the in 
-jured part. Hence it is demonstrated, that the 
brain, or the junction of this with the spinal mar- 


Different Animals, €ec. 487 


tow and nerves, is the exclusive seat of sensa- 
tion, of the power of beginning voluntary motion 
and of the intéllectual powers in man (and other 
animals), whose nervous system is naturally 
formed and not affected by any gradual disease, 
A further proof of thisis derived from hence, that 
a suddeh and violent compression of the brain 
destroys all sensation, voluntary motion and 
intellec'ual powers, 

Upon this matter physiologists are generally 
agreed ; but they differ very considerably as to 
the part* of the brain, which is the immediate 


#6 Sedes animi auctore Cartesio est in hypophysi, 
Bontekoe; Lancisio 8 La Peyronie auctoribus in corpore 
calloso, Digby auctore in septo cerebri medio, Vieusseno 
in maximo medullz orbe, aliis in colliculis nervorum opti- 
corum, alits in nodo cerebri, Arantio in ventriculo 
cerebri tertio, Willisio in corporibus striatis, Drelincurtig 
in cerebello, Miegio in Spinz medulla.” 

* Verum tamen hypophysis ab Hallero, Virideto, & a 
me sine ingenii labe lxsa est inventa; Corpus callosum 
Heuermann, Zinn, Lorry & Laghi sine animi labe lzsum 
invenerunt, verum tamen hec experimenta, super bestiis 
capta, parum certi super labe ingenii produnt, la Peyronie | 
vero observationes in hominibus instituit, Septum cerebri 
medium non raro sine animi labe ex cerebri hydrope 
laborat—Corpora bigemina Viridet lesa invenit—Cere. 
bellum plures viderunt vitiatum—Corpora striata la 
Peyronie lesa vidit—Spine medullam ¢go sepius sine 
ingenii labe in ominibus lsum inveni,” Soemmerring de 
Corp. Hum. Fabrica T. IV. P- 100. 

Soemmerring seems inclined to consider the liquor of 

VOL. v. my 


488 On the Nervous Systems of 


seat of sensation, volition and reason, which 
directly influences and is influenced by the im- 
material part of man, and which is by many 
writers named the Sensorium Commune, Seat of 
the Soul, and lately by Fourcroy Sensibilité Cen 
trale. There are few, if any parts of the ence- 
phalon, which have not upon: some occasion 
been injured or diseased without any remarkable 
diminution of the vital and mental powers. If 
any one part can with propriety be fixed upon, 
as entitled to this distinction, it should be a part, 
which cannot be injured without affecting sensa- 
tion, volition, &c, and which is found in all 
animals, that have a visible nervous system, 
The most constant part of the encephalon, ac- 
cording to M. Cuvier,* is the cerebellum. 
Haller thinks it not improbable,that the seat of the 
soulisin the beginning of every nerve and that 
the conjoined first origins of all the nerves con- 
Stitute the true sensorium commune. — “ Et 
denique per conjecturam non absurdam, ubj 
initium est nervi cujuscungue, ut omnium ner- 


the ventricles as the seat of the sensorium commune. 
He says ** Peculiare organum sensorii communis si ponere 
fas sit, vel si propria sedes sensorio communi in cerebro 
est, haud sine veri quadam specie hoc in humore queri 
debet.” Ibid p. 69, See also his Dissertation on the 
Organ of the Soul, Berol. 1796. 4. 


* Anat. Comparée Tome II, p, 109. & p. 1216 


’ 


Different Animals, ec} 489 


worum juncte prime origines efficiant yerum 
sensorium commune,’’* 

The following case, whilst it, in common with 
many others, shews the excessive injury, nay 
almost complete destruction, which the human 
brain may sustain, consistently with sensation 
and voluntary motion, provided this be gra- 
dually produced, makes strongly in favour of 
the conjecture of Haller. « — was 
born with a very large head, but seemed well in 
health, increased in strength and grew fat. The 
head soon became so unnaturally large and the 
features were so much altered, as to leave no 
doubt concerning the’ nature of the disease; the 
child however increased in size, grew strong in 
his limbs and took food: he could both hear 
and see well and so continued, until he was 18 
months old; he then died suddenly, without any 
convulsive attack, On opening the cranium, 
more than five quarts of very limpid water were 
found within’ it, there was not the smallest trace 
of membrane, or brain, except opposite the 
orbits and meatus auditorios, where something 
like medulla still remained.” This case was 
communicated to Dr. Quin by an eminent sur- 
geon in Dublin ;+ It is to be wished, that it had 


* Prime Linex Physiologiz § 972. 


t See Quin’s Treatise on the Dropsy of the Brain 
Page 104. 


490 On the Nervous Systems of 


been still more circumstantially detailed, but it 
appears to me allowable to infer from what is 
actually stated, that those extremities of the 
nerves, usually named their origins, were in this 
Case at least the seat of sensation, &c. 

2. In some animals, as the turtle and frog for 
example, the brain does not appear to be exclu- 
sively the seat of sensation and volition, or the 
power of producing voluntary motion. For, 
if the brain be removed, these animals on the 
application of a stimulus to their limbs, continue 
to shew indisputably by their movements, that 
they are possessed of sensation and volition. 
Here then the spinal marrow, if not the nerves, 
evidently participate the above powers with the 
brain and can exert them independently. of it,* 

3. Some insects and worms, when cut into 
two, or more pieces, become two or more dis- 
tinct and perfect individuals, each possessing 
sensation and voluntary motion. In polypuses 
the nervous substance is not formed into distinct 
visible. fibres, but distributed. equally in every. 
part of the body; and these animals may be 
diyided into an almost infinite number of pieces, - 
each of which becomes a distinct individual, evi- 
dently possessing sensation and voluntary moe 
tion.t For they perceive the agitation of the 
water, in which they are placed: They appear 


* Cuvier Anat. Comp, T. Il. p.94. t+ Ibid p.o5— - 


‘ 
i 
A} 
* 
i 


o~, 


Different Ammals, Sc, 4of 


sensible to heat and light and are excited to action 
dy these stimuli.* Here then every part of the 
system has an equal claim to being the seat of 
sensation and volition. 

It is only in the more complicated, or perfect 
animals, as M. Cuvier very justly observes, that 


_ the assemblage of the different parts of the ner- 


yous system and especially the presence of its 
central parts are absolutely necessary for the 
exercise of the functions of this system.t When 
we consider what takes place in polypuses, we 
may be led to conceive, adds this author, ‘“ that 
at the bottom all the parts of the nervous system 
are homogeneous and susceptible of a certain 
number of similar functions, nearly as the frag~ 
ments of a large magnet, when broken, become 
each a small magnet, having its poles and cur- 
rent, and that it is accessory circumstances only 
and the complication of functions, which these 
parts have to discharge in the higher orders of 
animals, that render their concurrence neces- 
sary and occasion each to have a_ particular 
destination.” 


a iia ab Oy expansion des actinies correspond parfaitement 
ala sérénité de l’ air, le polype a bras s’ appercoit tres- 
bien de la présence de lalumiére ; il 1’ aime & il se dirige 
gonstamment vers elle. Ibid. p. 362. 


| Anatom. Comparée, T. II, p. 94 
Ibid, ps 95. ‘ 


492 On the Nervous Systems of 


The wisdom and power of the Creator are, 
perhaps, no where more strikingly evinced than 
in the wonderfully diversified structure of the 
animal kingdom. We find an almost infinite 
variety in the organs, subservient to each of 
the numerous functions of the animal body, and 
yet each function performed in the manner, best 
adapted to the particular economy of every diss 
tinct species, . 


§ IL. 


On original Defects in the Nervous System of the 
. Human Species. 


Having pointed out generally in the preceding 
part of this paper the preeminence of man with 
respect to the proportion, organization, and 
functions of his nervous system, I shall now 
proceed to shew, that, great as the proportion of 
this system is, beautiful and complex as its organi- 
zation is, and wonderful as its functions are ina 
perfect human being, his offspring, in conse- 
quence of mal-conformation, is upon some occa« 
sions unfortunately reduced to’ a level, with the 
lowest animalsin the simplicity, proportion, &c, 
of the system under consideration. 

The original defects in the nervous system of — 
human fetuses differ considerably in their des 


Pa er 


Different Animals, &c. 493 


gréés ; all of which I shall enumerate, beginning 
with the smaller ones and proceeding to the 
greatest. 

1. Fetuses have been born, in which only a 
part of the brain, of greater or less extent, was 
wanting. In these instances the upper, or vaulted 
part of the skull, or at least a considerable portion 
of the bones, composing it, has been also found 
wanting: The brain is also\ sometimes very 
different from.the natural state, in form, colour 
and consistence as well as in bulk: Dr. Monro, 
in one case, found the substance, occupying the 
place of the brain, not more bulky than a small 
nut and of a red colour throughout, resembling 
a clot of blood. The proper integuments of 
the skull are for the most part wanting, the 
degenerate portion of brain being only protected 
by athin pale or reddish membrane: In one fetus, 
however, of this kind, of which a description © 
and figure are given by Professor Sandifort, the 
covering of the brain approached more nearly 
to the nature of the scalp and was thinly covered 
with hairs. 

This kind of monster, which is generally, 
though not very properly, styled acephalous, since 
the base of the skull and face are not wanting, 
is by no means an uncommon occurrence. Most 
accoucheurs in extensive practice have met with. 
one or more, I have brought one into the 


404 On the Neroous Systenis of 


qworld which was a twin of rather small size; and 
it is worthy of remark, that a considerable pro- 
portion of these defective fetuses has beer 
twins.t As far as F could determine from an 
exterior view it was not entirely destitute of 
brain, nor did it present any other deformity or 
defect ; but I had not an opportunity of ex= 
amining it by dissection. Many of these mon- 
sters, however, have “exhibited other kinds of 
deformity.’ A tumor, containing a thin watery 
fluid, has im several instances been found attached 
to the base of the skull at its fore, or back part— 
A hare-lip, sometimes with, at other times without 
a division of the upper jaw and palate, has been 
observed—The affection of the spine and spinal 
matrow, termed spina bifida or hydrorachitis, 
has been occasionally met with—An umbilical 
hernia of very large size has also been found— 
Examples of all these complicated deformities’ 
may be seen described and admirably delineated 
in Sandifort’s Museum Anatomicum Tab, 122, 
223, 124, 126. 

_ A fetus was lately born in Manchester, in’ 
which the brain was not only defective, but 


_ +t The very curious acephalous monster, described by 
Curtius, was a twin. See Sandifort’s Thesaur. Dissert. 
&c. Tom.2. The monsters, described by Drs, Monro 
~and Clarke, to be mentioned more particularly hereafter, 
were also twins, 


Different Animals, Ee, 495 


thisplaced. The’ parietal bones and the upper 
part of the frontal bone were not wanting, as is 
generally the’ case “in acephalous ‘fetuses ; but 
they were very small and pressed down flat upon 
the base of the skull, so that there was no room 
for the brain. The superior portion of the 
Occipital bone was wanting and the canal -of the 
spine was incomplete, being open behind from 
the top of the neck down to thé os sacrum. 
The'spinous processes of ‘the vértebre were not 
wanting, but’ appeared as if divided and turned 
down on each side, so that 4 kind of spoon-like 
cavity was formed, which was deepest at the 
upper part, owing to the bodies of the cervical 
vertebra projecting forwards. In the upper part 
of this cavity the cerebellum was'lodged and the 
cerebrum extended down to the os sacrum. The 
“optic nerves arose from the base ‘of the brain 
pretty low down; they were consequently much 
elongated ; they were also much slenderer than 
usual, though the retina was as large: and pulpy _ 
as is natural. The spinal marrow was divided 
into two slender cords, which were disposed one 
‘on each side’ of the encephalon and. gave off 
their nerves as they descended. The nerves of 
the extremities were of the natural magnitude. 
The brain and spinal marrow had only a mem-., 
branous covering posteriorly, «This fetus was 


born dead, but not putrid; though born at thé 
VOL. Vv. rs 


ao6 On thé Nervous Systems of 


full time, it was considerably smaller than. the — 
ordinary size. It had a club foot and three of 
the ribs were united on the right side. The 
mother had perceived the motions of this fetus 
inthe womb. Mr, Gibson dissected this singu-: 
lar fetus and is in possession of the skeleton. 

2. The brain has been found entirely wanting; 
the. spinal marrow being in a perfectly natural. 
state: A remarkable case of this kind is related 
by. Dr. Heysham, an ingenious physician at 
Carlisle, in his account of the Bills of Mortality: 
of that city forthe year 1788, and sees 
by some valuable remarks. 

I shall give the whole of the case in his owm 
words. 

«* At eight o’clock on Monday morning, May 
26, 1788, Mary, Clarke, aged 26 years and the 
mother. of ;six...children, some of whom are 
bealthy and others,-unhealthy, was delivered of a 
living female chiid, at tht expence of thé Carlisle 
Dispensary. The midwife, shocked at the strange 
and unusual appearance of the child’s head, sent 
for me immediately. 1 got there about an hour 
after. the delivery and at first sight it appeared 
evident, that the bones, which form the upper 
part of the skull, were wanting and that the brain 
was only covered by its proper membranes, the 
pia and dura mater, and resembled a large ex- 
crescence, which projected a little over. the 


Different Animals, Ge. 497 


common integuments, especially towards the 
forehead, where it extended over the root of the 
nose. The colour of this substance was a dark 
reddish brown, and upon examining it more par- 
ticularly I thought I could perceive the division 
of the two hemispheres of the brain and likewise 
the division of the cerebrum from the cerebellum. 
T gently raised with my fingers a part of it, which 
projected over the integuments, which made the child 
cry and produced a considerable starting, semilar to 
what is occasioned by an electric shock. The child 
was full grown and seemed in perfect health, her 
limbs were plump, firm and well proportioned, 
and she moved them with apparent agility. The 
external organs of sense were also perfect. She 
swallowed well and took a sufficient quantity of 
nourishment for several days, but sometimes during 
the action of swallowing started a little. She lived 
till five o’clock on Sunday morning, June the 
ist, when she expired. Some time before her 
‘death, she was affected with slight convulsions. 
During the three or four days, preceding her 
death, there was a constant discharge of a thin 
watery fluid, somewhat tinged with blood, from 
the excrescence, which greatly diminished its 
bulk, for at her death it was only about half the 
‘size of what it had been, when she was born, and _ 
the surface was in some places beginning to put 
09 an appearance of mortification,” 


498 On the Nervous Systems of 


« A few hours after her death, Dr. Blamire and 
Mr. Charles. Farish accompanied. me to the 
house, where Dr. Blamire very cautiously dis. 
sected away from the bones the whole of the 
substance; when we found the greatest part of 
the frontal, the temporal and the occ pital, and 
the whole of the parietal bones wanting. The 
substance removed was then carefully examined, 
and what.was our astonishment to find it entirely 
to consist of membranes, blood-vessels, but 
principally of several bags, one of which was as 
large as a nutmeg, the rest of different sizes, 
but much smaller. They were all filled with a 
brownish coloured fluid; which, when the cysts 
were punctured, gushed out with some violence, 
There was not the least appearance of cerebrum, 
cerebellum, or any medullary substance whatever. 
The spinal marrow had a natural appearance, but 
did not seem to have been connected with the 
parts above described.’’ 

“ Having accurately related the facts, as they 
appeared to Dr, Blamire and myself, which for 
their singularity deserve to be recorded, I think 
the few following obvious inferences may be 
drawn from them. 1. That the fluid, discharged 
from the excrescence during the life of the 
infant, and which produced the greatest diminu- 
tion of its bulk, was occasioned by the rupture, 
or erosion of cysts, similar to those, which re- 


Different Animals, €$¢« 499 


mained sound and full. of water after death. 
2. That the living principle, the nérves of the trunk 
and extremities, sensation and moiton may. exist 
independent of the brain and that the natural, vital 
and animal functions may be performed without the 
brain. And, as the external organs of sense, 
viz. the eyes, the nose, the tongue and the ears, 
all seemed perfect, may we not therefore sup- 
pose, that the optic, the olfactory, the gustatory 
and the auditory nerves may exist independent of 
and unconnected with either the brain, or the 
spinal marrow?’ P. 8—11. . 
_ Dr. Heysham has favoured me with an account 
of the following additional circumstances, relative 
to this accephalous infant—The eyes were as 
full and as lively as in any other child of the 
same age. The iris evidently contracted on the 
application of light and from other observations, 
which he then made, he had no doubt, that her 
vision was perfect. The child voided both feces 
and urine in a regular and natural manner and, 
for the first three or four days after her birth, 
seemed in perfect health. No stimulants were 
applied to her nostrils and he does not know 
whether she sneezed naturally or not. As the 
absolute want of brain was not known, till after 
the child’s death, he was less attentive to minute 
circumstances, than he would otherwise have 


been. 


500 On the Nervous Systems of 


3. The brain. and upper part of the spinal 
marrow have ‘been wanting, where the lower 
portion of the latter was entire and nearly of the 
natural size and conformation; as in the case of 
the human male monster, of which Dr. Monro 
has given an interesting account, illustrated with 
engtavings in the Trans. of the Royal Soc. of 
Edinburgh, Vol. III. p. 216 &c—This child was 
a twin and born at the full time. It had no head, . 
or neck; it wanted also about one half of the 
ribs; the larynx, trachea and lungs; the heart ; 
the pharynx, cesophagus and. stomach with all 
the small intestines, except the end. of the ilium ; 
the anus; the liver, spleen, pancreas and omenta}3 
the renal glands; terminations of the ureters ; the 
middle part of the urethra; the right testicle; 
both arms; both patella; with several of the. 
bones of the feet and toes” ‘s The spinal 
marrow was of aconical shape with the top, or 
small part of the cone at its upper end, and at 
its lower end it formed a cauda equina. From 
its two ends and sides it sent off 18 pairs of 
nerves; which at their origin and in their pro~ 
gress were nearly as large as they are in a perfect 
fetus, or where the brain and cerebellum are 
connected with the spinal marrow,” 

The Dr. makes the following remarks on the 
nervous system of this monster. 1. As the 
spinal marrow and pairs of nerves, sent off from 


Different Animals, Gc. 5OL 


2 


it, had nearly the usual size and structure, 
although the brain, cerebellum and \medulla> 
oblongata were entirely wanting, ‘we find reason 
for calling in question the common doctrine of 
authors, which teaches that the spinal marrow 
and nerves derive their origin from the brain and 
cerebellum and are dependent upon it, as much 
as the ducts of glands are upon the glands, which 
send liquors into them, | 2. Further, as the 
several parts of this monster were furnished with 
nerves, and as we have found, that its arteries 
and veins, by a well-regulated, varied and com- 
plicated action, circulated the blood, we must 
suppose, that their muscular fibres were actuated 
by those nerves. We therefore find in this 
monster, not only the existence and common; 
appearance of the spinal marrow and nerves con- 
nected with it, although the brain and cerebellum 
were wanting ; but we have proof, that. these, 
independent of the brain and cerebellum, may 
actuate the muscular fibres in the vessels of an 
animal, or that nervous energy, or fluid, as it is 
commonly called, is not derived from the brain 
and cerebellum solely ; that is, we conclude, 
that the nerves, as well as the brain and cerebellum, 
are capable of furnishing nervous energy ; and that 
there is no more reason for believing, that the nerves , 
are derived from the brain, than that the brain 7s 
derived from the nerves; or ali the parts and 


p02 On the Nervous Systems of 


branches of the nervous system appear to” possess the 
general power, or office of furnishing nervous 
energy.’ Dr. Monto had previously attempted 
to-establish these points in his Observations on the 
Structure and Functions of the Nervous System: 
He says, ‘‘ for the reasons given in last section, I 
have long thought and endeavoured to prove, that 
our nerves, independent of the encephalon, pos- 
sess an energy, or principle of life, which they 
derive from their proper pia mater and its 
vessels.”” p. 35. 

4. A fetus has been found on dissection to be 
destitute of brain, spinal marrow, and optic 
nerves. This fetus was brought into the world 
by Mr. Barlow of Bolton, and an account of 
the case! is’ given in’ the Medical and Physical 
Journal for September 1860, ‘pages 189—191 $ 
from which I shall beg’ leave ‘to present the 
following abstract, 

The mother positively asserted that ‘she went 
two months over her time, and “ was not sen- 
sible, duting pregnancy, of any difference from 
what she had been formerly accustomed to, 
either in her own feelings, or in che motion of the 
child, and she had had many children, The 
birth was marked by no particular occurrence.” 
But this fetus was still born, which the relater 
of the case supposes “ has always been the case, 


Different Animals, €8c. 503 


when the brain was wanting.’’*—* In this child,” 
says he, ‘‘the upper part of the cranium is entirely 
wanting ; and there remains only a thin plate of 
bone, covered with a doubling of membrane, in 
place of the cervical and the greater part of the 
dorsal vertebre. This fold contained no me- 
dulla, though it exhibited, on being slit open, 
some slender fibrils, which might be construed 
into nerves. I should compare it to the proper 
coverings of the medulla spinalis, of a thinner 
texture, Lower down a displaced portion of 
vertebrez is shewn; which was hollow, but con- 
tained no medulla: the rest of the spine consisted 
of a solid column of bone, without any spinous 
processes, The child had besides a.slight in- 
version of the feet and a hare-lip on the right 
side, in other respects it was full grown and the 
colour of the skin was natural. There did not 
appear to be any deviation from the common 
Structure and arrangement in the viscera of the 
thorax and abdomen.”—* Though the eyes were 
outwardly well formed, I could not find by 
dissection any optic nerve, The nerves in the 
upper and lower extremities were, nevertheless, 
perfect.” 

# * Infantes in lucem eduntut omni fere cerebro atque 
spine medulla destituti, qui haud plantarum ratione tan- 
tummodo aluntur atque pinguescunt; sed etiam voci- 
Ferantur atque sugunt,” Soemmerring. T. 1V. p. 158, 

VOL. Vv. AA 


504 On the Nervous Systems of 


The conclusions, which this writer draws front 
the case just related, are diametrically opposite 
to those of Prof. Monro and Dr. Heysham. 
They are, moreover, so curious as to deserve 
being noticed here. He says, “ In comparing 
the defective structure of this child with the 
ascertained uses in others of those parts, of 
which it was deprived, I have been led to con- 
clude that nervous influence is not at all necessary 
to the growth of the fetus in wlero”—And again, 
« Assuming then that the nerves serve merely to 
convey the influence of the brain and medulla 
spinalis, it is obvious, that when deprived of 
these sources, they can impart none. Thus it is 
evident, that, although chis fetus had attained the 

full size and its motions were not perceptibly different 
from another, yet, having no sensorium, it could 
possess no sensation.””™ . 


* This writer also endeavours to prove, that the perfect 
fetus in its uterine state does not possess sensation, by stat 
ing that sensibility is not only unnecessary during the 
fetal state, but would expose the fetus to hazards, and 
by intimating, that sensation is coeval with respiration 
I have ina former work satisfactorily shewn, that the 
fetus in utero most assuredly does possess both the powe 
ers of sensation and voluntary motion, 

I shall, therefore, confine myself here to the following 
observations. d 

1. The proportional bulk of the nervous system is 
as gteat and its organization as complete in the fetus, as 
in the new-born infant, 


Different Animals, €c. 5O5 


5. A fetus has occurred, in which not only the 
brain and spinal marrow were wanting, but in 
which there was no evident appearance of nerves. 
A case of monstrosity of this kind is:related by 
Dr. Clarke in. the Philosophical: Transactions 
for 1793. P. II. p. 154 &c, and accompanied 
by two engravings. This monster was included 
‘in a distinct set of membranes and had a placenta 
belonging to it, the side of which was attached to 
the placenta of the perfect twin. It was covered 
with the common integuments; was of an oval 


2. .The communication betwixt the different parts of 
the nervous system is as free in the fetusin utero as after 
birth; the brain, spinal marrow and nerves being neither 
under the influence of pressure; nor of the action of ‘any 
narcotic or other power, which can diminish the nervous 
energy, 

g- The fetus in utero gives every indication of its 
Possessing sensation and voluntary motion, which a 
being, so situated, could possibly be expected to give. 

4- In whatever manner the respiration of the infant 
contributes to its power of sensation after birth, in the 
same manner does the respiration of the mother contri- 
bute to the sensibility of the living fetus in utero. . 
5+ If we grant, that the fetus, born at Bolton, from 
having no sensorium could have no sensation, no argu- 
ment can be drawn from thence against the power of 
sensation in a perfect fetus in utero; because a perfect 
fetus does possess sensation after birth and, agreeably to 
the above assumption, this defective fetus must, had it 
been born alive, have remained for ever destitute of sen- 
ation, 


506 On the Nervous Systems of 


figure, about four inches in length and three 
inches in breadth, One edge of it was rather 
more concave than the other and near its centre 
there was a slender funis umbilicalis, about 
1% inch Jong, which had one artery and one 
vein.. There were two imperfect feet and a 
small projection having the appearance of a 
finger; Internally this monster was composed of 
soft and bony matter; the former ‘ appeared 
of a homogeneous fleshy texture, but without any 
regular or distinct arrangement of musculat 
fibres and was very vascular throughout; the 
bones, which were surrounded by this fleshy 
substance, were the os innominatum,the os femorisy 
the tibia, the fibula.”—The os innominatum and 
os femoris were both perfect and as large as those 
of a fetus at the full period of utero-gestation. 
“ There was not the smallest appearance of head, 
or vertebra, or ribs. There was neither brain, 
spinal. marrow, nor nerves, It had no ‘heart, 
nor lungs.”? It contained none of the viscera 
subservient to digestion, except a little portion 
of small intestine, which had a peritoneal cover- 
ing and was very vascular, It had no organs of 
digestion, nor any glandular substance whatever 
‘Amongst other remarks, Dr. Clarke observes 
“that the deficiency. of nerves renders it ex- 
tremely probable, that their use is very small, if 
_any to the embryo.”’ 


Different Animals, Ge. 507 


6. Dr. Clarke informs us in the same paper, 
** that in orher cases, where the brain has been 
perfect, the spinal marrow has been deficient in 
a great part of its extent and sometimes through- 
out” p. 159: But I do not recollect an instance 
of this kind and Soemmerring says:—‘ Non 
raro spine medulla est sine cerebro, numquam 
vero cerebrum sine spine medulla est visum, 
deficiente enim spine medulla, cerebrum simul 
abfuit.’’* 


§ II. 


On the influence of original defects in the nervous 
system of man on sensation and voluntary motion. 


From considering merely the laws of sensation 
and voluntary motion, mentioned above, as 
obtaining in a perfectly formed human being, a 
person might be led to conclude a priori, that a 
fetus, having no brain, or neither brain nor 
spinal marrow, must necessarily be destitute of 
sensibility and incapable of throwing into action 
any of the muscles subservient to voluntary 
motion. 

However, when he considers, that the human 


* De Corporis Humani Fabrica T. IV. p. 89: where © 
he refers to Huser de Medulla Spinali, Go6tting. 1789. 
P+ 45 


‘ 


508 On the Nervous Systems of 


brain has in various instances been very exten- 
sively injured and diseased, that it has been near~ 
ly,.perbaps wholly, ,destroyed,.as in the very 
extraordinary.case, copied above from Dr, Quin’s 
Treatise on. the Dropsy of the Brain,t without 
destroying sensation or voluntary motion, some 
; doubts must, I think, arise in his mind as to the. 
justness of such an inference, because he will 
perceive, that the neryous system of man in its 
entire and diseased states is governed by different 
laws. 

Again, when he reflects upon the amazing 
diversity of structure, proportion, disposition 
&c, observed in the nervous systems of different 
‘orders of animals, from man to a zoophyte, and 
attends carefully to the various tenures, on 
which sensation and voluntary motion are held by 
the animal creation ; he will find further reason 
for questioning the propriety of the ground, on 
which the possession of these two important 
faculties is denied to a human fetus, unfortunately 
labouring under the privation specified above; 
For he will be led to suppose, that its nervous 
system may be governed by the same laws as that 
of the inferior animals, which it more nearly 
xesembles than the nervous system of its own 
species in the natural state, 


+ Sce page 489. 


Different Animals, €9c. 509 


When he finds a mother, describing the motions 
of a fetus in utero, which happens to be still- 
born and is, after its birth, proved by dissection 
to have neither brain, nor spinal marrow, as 
exactly similar to those of her former perfect 
children, he surely can entertain no doubt, that 
this fetus, when alive, possessed the same power of 
Voluntary motion; And, as this faculty, as well 
as sensation, is derived from the nervous system, 
he will see a strong reason for believing, that this 
same fetus also possessed sensibility. 

Further, when he finds one of these defective 
beings ushered into the world alive and exhibit- 
ing, as far as can be determined, the same powers, 
which a perfect child of the same age displays, 
crying when touched rudely, moving its limbs 
with agility and swallowing food, living more than 
five days, and then dying with an incipient mor- 
tification of the head, he cannot, I apprehend, 
reasonably withhold his assent to this child’s 
possessing the faculty of sensation as well as that 
of voluntary motion —Who will contend, that 
this child could not feel, because it had no sen- 
sorium commune? Who does not perceive, that 
the encephalon and sensorium commune are not 
exactly‘synonymous terms and consequently not 
always to be used indiscriminately in speaking of 
the animal faculties? : 

In one of these two cases I have no doubt, 


$10 On the Nervous Sysiems of 


that the powers of sensation and voluntary mo- 
tion were derived from the nerves independently 
of the brain, and in the other case, independently 
both of the brain and spinal marrow, 

But what shall we say of the monster, described 
by Dr. Clarke in the Philosophical Transactions ? 
The Dr. is a good anatomist and appears to have 
dissected this rude mass with great care and at- 
tention, yet he could not discover a single nerve, 
By a nerve, strictly speaking, is understeod a 
continuation of the substances of the brain, or 
spinal marrow, wrapped in its proper membrane. 
By nervous matter I understand the substances 
of the brain, spinal marrow, or nerves, separate 
from their proper membranes. Now, shall we 
suppose that in this being no nerves, or nervous 
Matter existed? Or, shall we suppose, that 
there were nerves, or nervous matter, but dis- 
tributed in such a manner as to elude Dr. Clarke’s 
| observation, and that the limited powers, pos- 
sessed by this rude animal production during its 
life, were ascribable to nervous influence? 

I am inclined to adopt the latter opinion, for 
the following reasons. 

1. Nervous and muscular fibrils may be de- 
: tected by magnifying glasses in parts, where they 
can not otherwise be perceived, and it does not 
appear, that Dr. Clarke availed himself of any 
“Instrument of this kind in his search for nerves, 


a oe 


SSI 


Different Animals, &e, BIR 


2. The cineritious and medullary substances 
are the essential parts of the nervous system, the 
coats or membranes of the encephalon, spinal 
marrow and nerves being given them merely for 
protection and not contributing directly either to 
sensation, or motion. * 

3. Nervous matter is distributed to many 
points, where we cannot demonstrate its pre- 
sence to the eye and wheré we can only infer its 
existence from their sensibility. We cannot 
prick the skin with the smallest instrument, with. 
out exciting pain; whence it is evident, that there 
is nervous matter in every point of the skin, 
though we have no other means of proving it. 

4- The blood vessels had evidently possessed 
the power of circulating the blood in this mon. 
Strous fetus and, though it was much inferior in 
size to its fellow-twin, its growth had proceeded 
to a certain extent, and bone, skin, cellular mem 
brane, ligament, cartilage, intestine; &e had been 
formed: Now I do not admit any power as 
capable of giving energy to the muscular fibres of 
the arteries and veins, except the vis nerved, Or 
nervous power. 

Tam of opinion, that no such power exists in 
muscular fibres as a vis insi/a, or inherent power, 
distinct from, or independent of, a nervous pow- 
er, The experiments and arguments, adduced by 

VOL, Vv. BB 


§i2 On the Nervous Systems of 


Dr. Monro,* seem to prove fully that the coti- 
traction of a muscle, which has been attributed to 
this supposed vis insita, may be equally well ac- 
counted for from the nervous power alone, and 
that the former would be a superfluous power 
in the animal economy, the supposed vis insita 
being excited, or destroyed by the same meansas_ 
the nervous power. When the brain or spinal 
marrow is irritated, the muscles or muscular . 
fibres contract, tremble, or are convulsed; when 
the point of a needle or other sharp body, is 
pushed into a nerve, distributed to a particular 
muscle, a contraction of that muscle ensues; in 
which cases the muscular fibres act confessedly 
by virtue of their nervous power. When a 
needle is pushed into the fibres of the muscle 
itself, a contraction also takes place, and in this 
case it has been supposed by the celebrated 
Haller and others, that the fibres contract by 
virtue of their vis insita: But the only differs 
ence appears to consist in this; that in the for- 
mer experiments the stimulus acts upon the 
brain, spinal marrow or the trunk, or an evident 
branch, of a nerve,whilst in the latter it acts upon 
one, or more of those nervous filaments, or por- 
tions of nervous matter, which, though not always 
demonstrable to the sight, we have every reason 


* Observations on the Nervous System, p, 91—94- 


Different Animals, &c. 519 


to believe are constantly and invariably distri- 
buted to every muscular fibre. —It has been 
urged, as an argument in favour of a vis insita, 
that muscles, or muscular fibres, will contract for 
a considerable time, after their separation from 
the body, on the application of a stimulus.* But 
this fact may be perfectly explained by the ad- 
mission of a nervous power only; for why can- 
not the nerves, which evidently possess an energy 
independently of the brain, retain this energy 
after the removal of muscles from the body, as 
long as the muscular fibres can retain their sup- 
posed vis insita? 

From what has been stated in the preceding 
part of this paper, the following conclusions 
amongst others may, I conceive, be very fairly 
drawn. 

1. That every perfect animal, from man_to 
the polypus, possesses the powers of sensation 
and voluntary motion, 

2. That infants, though born destitute of 
brain, or even of brain and spinal marrow, pos- 
sess these two important faculties. 

g. That the fetus in utero is neither destitute 
of sensation, nor voluntary motion, 


* In warm-blooded animals this takes place for an 
hour or more; in cold-blooded ones more than a day 
pfterwards, 


514 On the Nervous Systems of, Bc 


4+ That the power of action in the arteries 
and veins, by which the circulation of the blood 
and. the formation of the different parts are 
effected in the most defective human monsters, 
is derived from a nervous energy, independently 
of brain, spinal marrow, or eyen evident and 
distinct nerves. 


515 


Experiments and Observations on the 
HEAT and COLD produced by the 
MECHANICAL CONDENSATION 
and RAREFACTION of AIR. 


BY JOHN DALTON, 


READ JUNE 27, 1800, 


I; a thermometer be inclosed in a receiver and 
the air suddenly condensed, the thermometer 
rises a few degrees above the temperature of the 
atmosphere ; and if the air be exhausted from a 
receiver inclosing a thermometer, the mercury 
sinks a few degrees immediately 3; but in both 
cases after some time it resumes its former stax 
tion. These facts are well known to philoso. 
phers of the present age, but they do not all 
agree in the explanation of them. Thinking the 
subject worthy of elucidation, I was induced to 
institute a series of experiments for the purpose; _ 
which I apprehend have led to a clear demon= 
Stration of the cause of the phenomena, and 
moreover make the facts themselves appear in a 
somewhat different point of view from what they 
re seen in at the first moment, 


B16 On Heat S Cold produced by Mechanical 


One circumstance is very remarkable, that 
whether the mercury rises or falls in these in- 
stances, it is done very rapidly; whereas in the 
‘Oper air, if a thermometer be only two or three 
degrees above or below the temperature, it 
moves very slowly, This seems to have sug- 
gested to every one the idea that the elasticity 
of the glass bulb of the thermometer has a prin- 
cipal share in producing the effect, by causing 
the bulb to yield a little to the pressure of the 
air. It has however been found upon trial that 
the same effects take place whether the ther- 
mometer is sealed or not. My experiments 
accord with this, having made a thermometer 
and left it unsealed for the express purpose ; in 
all the experiments with condensed and rarefied 
air, there was no sensible difference observed to | 
arise from the inequality of pressure on the ex- 
ternal and internal surfaces of the ‘bulbs, the 
sealed and open thermometers-varying the same 
_in kind and also in degree, except from circum- 
stances to be noticed hereafter. 

It being. certain then that a real change of 
temperature takes place, it remained to determine 
the quantity and manner of that change. Hav- 
ing chosen a small and consequently sensible 
thermometer, with a scale of degrees sufficiently 
large to admit. of distinguishing one tenth of a 


) 


Condensation & Rarefaction of Air. By 


degree, I proceeded to ascertain several facts 
experimentally. 


EXPERIMENT 1. 


. Took a receiver, the capacity of which was 
about 120 cubic inches, and suspended the ther- 
mometer with its clear bulb in the central part 
of it; then letting the whole acquire the tem.- 
perature of the room, which was without a fire, 
I exhausted the air and afterwards restored it, 
marking the effects upon the thermometer. The 
medium of several trials nearly agreeing with 
each other was as under: 


The Thermometer 


in the air of the room stood at..-.36°.8 
sunk upon exhaustion tO -s.----+---- 34 +7 
rose when the air was restored to.-38 .g 


The suddenness of the fall and rise puzzled me 
most: after reflecting upon it for some time, 
I conjectured that the real change of tempera- 
ture of the air or medium was much greater than 
the thermometer indicated, but that the ine- 
quality existed only for a few seconds of time, 
because the receiver, &c. immediately impart 
heat to ‘or abstract it from so small a quantity 
of air as 120 cubic inches, which are only equal — 
to 40 erains in weight,—The phenomena of the 


518 On Heat & Cold produced by Mechanical 


thermometer seemed very well to accord with 
the supposition of great heat or cold acting upon 
it for a few seconds only. 


EXPERIMENT 2, 


Pursuing this idea I imagined that if two 
thermometers whose bulbs were very unequal in 
magnitude were inclosed together, the smaller 
bulb ought to give the greater variation: ac- 
cordingly I inclosed two, the diameters of their 
bulbs being .35 and .65 of an inch respectively ; 
and having exhausted the air and restored it | 
again repeatedly in succession, and found a 
mean of the variations, that of the small bulb 
was 2°, 8, and that of the large, 2° 2. 


EXPERIMENT 3. 


Repeated the exhaustion with the small ther- 
mometer inclosed in three different circum- 
Stances successively; ast with. the bulb in the 
centre of the receiver; ed with the bulb resting 
on the wet leather of the plate; and 3d with the 
bulb resting against the side of the receiver. 


ist Case—Reduced by exhaustion .........+. 2°.45 
OE) Cast cacctstaccuniotenies pant nan endsunes sauuuncusyaehiwas 2.15 
BEL Rea cc sh nai sakuteleatned canna nng eae 1.2 

ist Case—Raised by restoring the air .--..... 4 .O5 
Ee ARC ree desccaned, PME taal oes. Ea aD 2.25 


gd Case— «21 avanvssnassnuanens nnsventarns aensaanssnessareD, 4O 


Condensation & Rarefaction of Air. 5l9 


EXPERIMENT 4. 


Inclosed a wine glass with about a cubic inch 
of water in it, containing the bulb of a thermo- 
meter, in a receiver ; and, exhausting the air, the 
thermometer sunk half a degree suddenly, and 
then continued stationary ; upon restoring the 
_ air it suddenly rose half a degree, 

All these experiments confirmed my conjec. 
ture of a much greater degree of heat and cold 
being produced in these cases than the thermo- 
meter points out, but that its continuance is so 
short as not to effect a material change in the 
temperature of the mercury. The following 
experiments were made to ascertain what may be 
the real degree of heat and cold generated in 
those operations, 


EXPERIMENT 5, 


The samereceiver & small thermometer as above 
being used, I found the exhaustion was effect 
ed by working the pump one minue. The ther. 
mometer sunk nearly 2°in the first half minute, 
and the remainder, a few tenths of a degree, in 
the latter half minute. The operation being 
Stopped, and things remaining in the same 
State, it required some minutes of time 
before the thermometer recovered one degree 

VOL. v. cc 


520 On Heat € Cold produced by Mechanical 


of the heat lost. Upon opening the cock, the. 
receiver filled with air in five seconds, and the 
greatest volocity of the rising mercury was about 
the end of that time. The rising continued 
for 30 or 40 seconds from its commencement, 
but ¢ of the effect were produced in the first 
10 seconds. The greatest velocity of the rising 
mercury is 1°in 37 seconds. After the thermos 
meter had attained its utmost height, it be- 
gan to fall again at the rate of vo of a degreé 
in a minute, 


EXPERIMENT 6. 


Took the same thermometer and heated it fe 
50° above the temperature of the air, then let 
it be cooled by the medium of air, and it be. 
gan to fall at the rate of 1° in 3 seconds. 


The two last experiments séem to prove’ that 
when air is let in to the receiver in the ordinary 
way, an increase of temperature of 50° 1s produced 
in the medium within the receiver for 3: seconds. 

. This high temperature is reduced in a@ few seconds 
by the receiver and surrounding bodies, to their 
own temperature, 


. Condensation & Rarefaction of Air, 521 


EXPERIMENT 7. 
On condensed Air. 


Took a large spherical glass receiver, the capa- 
city of which was something more than twice 
that of the former (above one gallon), and sus- 
pended a thermometer in the centre of it, of a 
larger bulb than that before used; the receiver 
had a brass cap and stop-cock adapted to it: 
Then doubled the density of the air within it 
by a condenser. The thermometer rose 2° or 
more. Let out the air suddenly and the ther- 
mometer immediately sunk each time from 3° 
to 3°. 5; at the same time an exceedingly dense 
mist was produced in the receiver, which soon 
subsided. 

Suspecting that aqueous vapour, which always 
- exists in the atmosphere, and is liable to assume 
the liquid or aérial form according to circum- 
stances, might be the principal agent in the pro- 
duction of heat and cold by condensation and 
rarefaction, I thought that an increase of it might 
produce a greater effect, and that cold air, which 
contains less vapour, might have a less effect. 
The reverse however was the fact, as appears by . 
the following, 


522 On Heat & Cold produced by Mechanical 


EXPERIMENTS 8 & g. 


In a cold morning last winter when the air 
was clear and the thermometer without stood at 
zo’, I took the receiver and condenser into the 
open air, and let them stand for 15 minutes to ac- 
quire its temperature ; then repeatedly condens- 
ed the air to a double density, and suddenly hibe- 
rated it again. On a medium of 5 trials the 
mercury fell 3°.3 on opening the cock. —The 
vapour precipitated was whiter than usual and 
not nearly so dense. 


Again, took the receiver and condenser into. 


a dyer’s stove where the temperature was about 
100°, and the air abounded with vapour in a 
transparent state: after some time, condensed the 
air and liberated it as before, when on a me- 
dium of 5 trials the mercury sunk only 3°, and 
a very copious mist was precipitated, so dense 
that one could but just distinguish the degree of 
the thermometer through it, 

These experiments shew that the greater the 
quantity of vapour condensed the less is the 
change of temperature; and that consequently, 
if air was entirely free from vapour, the change 
of temperature would be a maximum. Indeed 
this is clearly consistent with the known law, 
that when vapour is condensed, heat is given 


Condensation & Rarefaction of Aire 523 :- 


out. Any process to cool the air must be re- 
tarded by the condensation of part of the vapour 
it contains. Suppose for instance that a portion 
of the atmosphere contained 5 of its weight of 
aqueous vapour, and that 2 of this vapour were 
condensed by 50°of cold ; that is, .1_ of the whole 
elastic mass was converted into water; then the heat 
given out would be sufficient to raise the tempera- 
ture of the remaining mass of air and vapour 6 or 
8°, which sufficiently accounts for the small 
difference observed in the results upon warm 
vapoury air and cold dry air. Hence vapour, 
far from producing the change of temperature 
in question, tends to diminish the effect. 

If any doubt remained with me respecting 
the veal change of temperature that takes place 
in the operations related above, it was com- 
pletely removed by the results of the two fol- 
lowing experiments. 


- 


EXPERIMENT 10. 


Inclosed a small graduated glass tube of 4 of an » 
inch internal diameter, & 10 inches long, witha 
short column of mercury init, in the large receiv- 
er; the tube was sealed at one end and open at 
the other, so that a portion of air of given ca-. 
pacity was confined by the mercurial column, 


524 On Heat & Cold produced by Mechanical 


which was near the open end of the tube, and 
subject to rise or fall by any variation of elas~ 
ticity of the air on either side, being a proper 
manometer: then doubled the density of the 
air in the receiver, and opening the stop-cock, 
the mercurial column soon ran up to its former 
station, but instantly turning the cock again, the 
mercurial column returned or fell down gra- 
dually for 5 or 10 seconds, to the amount of 
neatly , of the whole aérial column, and 
then became stationary. Again opening the 
cock, a quantity of air rushed out, and the mer- 


cury resumed its original station. These effects 


were always the same, on a repetition of the 
experiment. 


EXPERIMENT 11. 


Let the mercurial column of the manometer 
down by a wire tot of the length of the tube 
from the sealed end; then exhausted 3 of the 
_air from the receiver, which was seen by the 


mercury rising to the top of the tube; and upon’ 


opening the cock the mercury fell to its former 
station, but then suddenly turning the cock, the 
mercury gradually rose for the space of 5 or 10 
seconds to more than 4, of its original height 
above the stationary point, and remained there 
till the cock was opened; after which it resum- 


ed its proper station, 


: 
: 
y 


Condénsation  Rarefaction of Air. 52% 


The phenomena in the two last experi- 
ments can be explained only on the fol- 
lowing principle: The air in the receiver and 
in the manometer is subject to a like degree 
of rarefaction and condensation in those ex. 
periments, or very nearly so, When the equi- 
librium of heat in the air is disturbed by the 
operations of condensation and rarefaction, it is 
restored in the manometer instantly, by reason of 
the contiguity of the glass to the air; but in the 
large receiver it requires a sensible time of 10 
seconds or more to restore the equilibrium 
throughout the whole internal capacity. It is 
this restoration that increases or diminishes the 
elasticity of the air confined in the receiver, and 
thereby causes the retrogradation of the mercurial 
column. Now I have found by former experi= 
ments that.a change of 50° in temperature effects 
a change of 1. nearly, in the capacity or bulk 
of air. It follows therefore that in the case 
of restoring the equilibrium in condensed air, 
about 50° of cold is produced; and in letting 
in air to an exhausted receiver something more 
than 50° of heat is produced. The small differ. 
-ence seems to arise from this, that the conden- 
sation of vapour in the former: case diminishes 
the effect, and in the latter, if any there be, 
increases the effect, that would arise from Ope-: 
rating upon purely dry air. 


526 On Heal €? Cold produced by Mechanical, ec. 


‘The experiments and observations hitherto 
related go principally to ascertain facts with- 
out any reference to the theory of them: This 
however may be given in a few words, and 1g 
the same that is ascribed to Mr. Lambert by 
Messrs. Saussure and Pictet and by them adopt- 
ed. He conceives that a vacuum has its proper 
capacity for heat, the.same as air, or any other 
substance; and that the capacity of a vacuum 
for heat is Jess than that of an equal volume 
of atmospherical air; also that the denser air is, 
the Jess is its capacity for heat: upon: these 
principles the phenomena are easily referable 
to that class of chemical facts where heat and 
cold are generated by the mixture of two dif 
ferent bodies.—If this theory be right, and I 
think there is little doubt of it, we may hence 
be led into a train of experiments, by which the 
‘absolute capacity of a vacuum for heat may be — 
determined; and likewise the capacities of the 
different gases for heat, by a method wholly 
new :—but this must be left to future inves- 
tigation. 


527 


ACCOUNT 


of some 


ANTIQUES, 


' LATELY FOUND IN THE RIVER RIBBLE, &e. 
BY MR. THOMAS BARRIT. 


READ SEPTEMBER 26, 1800. 


By he articles here exhibited for the amusement 
of the society are principally a few different 
specimens of antiques, generally denominated 
Celts, lately found in the river Ribble in this 
county. 

As the particular uses of these celts have been 
very learnedly discussed and still left undeter- 
mined, little more can be advanced upon the 
subject than to quote the remarks our best an- 
tiquaries have made, Mr. Pegge (Archzologia, 
page 85, vol. 9,) says, these brazen instruments 
seem at present undetermined, it not being yet 
ascertained, whether they were for military pur- 
poses, or for civil and domestic employments ;' 
and, after all that has been advanced by writers 
upon the subject, it remains an undecided point, 
I shall not therefore attempt to resume the con- 
sideration of this question, but may venture to 

VOL VY, Dd D 


528 Account of some Antiques, ec. 


embrace the opportunity of making a few ob- 
servations concerning them. 

These.celts are always of brass, let their form 
be ever so various, always with a thick crust of 
aerugo upon them. They have been found in 
many different places in England, Wales and 
Ireland ; at Herculaneum and other places upon 
the Continent ; and are supposed to have belong- 
ed to the Celtz, or first inhabitants of this island» 
from whom the name is given by antiquaries to 
these instruments; in France they are called 
Gallic hatchets. — 

They have been supposed older than the 
invention of iron, which perhaps may be the 
case from whence they came, and in Britain 
where they were brought; but a conclusion from 
this cannot be drawn that iron was unknown in 
other places. 

Mr. Lort, in his observations upon celts, says 
they were too awkward to have been invented 
- and fashioned by the Romans, and at the same 
time that they were too correct and shapely to 
have been the work of the Britons before the 
invasion of Julius Cesar. All authors however 
have agreed to allow them to be of high anti- 
quity : as to my opinion I am inclined to think 
them ihe greatest antiquties this island can boast 
of, and that they’surpass all others in point of 
age. Their resemblance is not found upon any 


SE EI 


FES 


Account of some Antiques, Fe. 529 


Greek or Roman coin; neither are they to be 
found amongst those models of armour and 
Weapons upon the Trajan or Antonine pillars 
at Rome; nor do any of the writers upon the 
Roman military art mention or describe any 
offensive weapons of this sort; and therefore 
when any have been found in undoubted Ro- 
man stations, and accompanied even with Ro- 
man coins, &c. we are obliged to suppose either 
that they came thither by chance as the spoils of 
some British or Celtic enemy, or that they were 
the arms or tools of barbarian auxiliaries, Sir 
James Ware observes, «It is past controversy the 
arms of the ancient Irish were made of brass, 
and likewise those of the ancient Greeks, Ger- 
mans and Britains.” Some again have thought, 
and with great probability, that they were intro- 
duced into this island by the Phoenician mer- 
chants of Tyre and Sidon, who had in return 
British tin, Whoever were the people that used 
them, I am inclined to believe that some of the 
tribes of the Indians in’ North America were 
their descendants, from the agreement observable 
between the ancient Celt and the modern Toma- 
hawk, both in size and shape; and this last is 
used both fora weapon and for domestic pur- 
poses. © ; 

Nearly all these celts have or have had loops 
at the sides, beyond all doubt to tie them to 4 


530 Account of some Antiques, Se. 


handle, yet 1 do not find that any writer upon 
the subject has had any idea of the handles 
being other than straight ones; which leads one 
to conclude the common name of battle ax to be 
very improperly applied, and that of pike, pilum 
or javelin to be more consistent. One of these, 
No. 6, I make no doubt was of this kind, 
although now without a considesable portion of 
its length. No. 2 is in the form of an ax, and 
with Nos. 1, 3, 4, 9, whose edges have the ap- 
pearance of chizels, may all. have been used as 
axes with very great propriety, by being fitted 
with handles bent at the end, and thereby would 
become formidable weapons either against man 
or beast ; or being mounted upon a straight shaft, 
might be used for pushing forward or piercing 
the earth, as an hoeing tool, and so capable of 
serving the two-fold purpose of peace or war; 
and with the loops at the sides might be suspended 
by a thong over the shoulder or round the waist 
when not wanted; and, upon occasion, it was an 
easy matter for inhabitants of the woods, as the 
ancient Britons were, to break from a tree a 
bough with an acute angle, and immediately to 
accommodate himself with a utensil for his pre- 
sent purpose. 

It seems a little strange and what I have often 
wondered at, that these celts are so often called 
battle axes, and none of our antiquaries have 


Account of some Antiques, ec. 632 


mentioned the idea of a crooked handle which 
certainly gives them a much greater importance 
as military weapons. It is not at all unlikely 
but that a certain sort of these celts might have 
been used by the Druids of this country, for 
cutting down the mizeltoe from trees, and chop- 
ping it to pieces for their mystical purposes. 
Medea (in one of Seneca’s plays) is repre- 
_ sented cutting roots and herbs for her inchanted 
chaldron with a brazen knife. Pliny says, the 
mizeltoe was cut down with a golden sickle, 
which words I apprehend being taken too literally, 
have been the means of leading more than one 
learned antiquary some years back into a mis- 
take, causing them to introduce into engravings 
the representation of a Druid with a sickle in his 
hand, of the shape used by the farmers of the 
present day ; but as the Druid’s sickle or bill 
has never been described, and no weapon of the 
form of our present sickle, fabricated of the metal 
now denominated gold, has ever yet been found, 
we have reason to suspect the truth of the relation 
as to the metal, and ought rather to credit the celt to 
have been the sickle of the Druid, which was 
made of brass or copper, and perhaps from the 
high price, scarcity and colour, might have 
been esteemed precious and valuable as gold. 
_ No, 10 was found in the summer of 1799, near 
Leigh in this county, and is evidently the head 


532 Account of some Antiques, Se. 


of a spear. The loops on each side would 
almost lead one to suppose it was of celtic origin 3 
but I am inclined to think it was the head of a 
Roman standard, to which the silken or linen 
labarum was affixed, which was suspended from 
the top of a spear by means of a small yard, like 
the sail of a ship. This conjecture will be 
strongly corroborated by attending to Roman 
coins of the later Emperors, whereon is seen 
a standard of the above description, as on some 
of the coins of Constantines, Valens and 
other Emperors; these standards or colours 
were introduced after the metal eagle, the boar, 
the hand, the head of the Emperor, é&c. were 
Jaid aside. 

No. 11 is alump of sal ammoniac found at the 
entrance of Gaythorn Row, the top of Deans- 
gate, near Castleficld, Manchester, in the year 
1788, with a Roman coin of Tetricus, who ruled 
in Britain under the Emperor Aurelian.* | What 
this salt might have been used for by the ancients, 
ifit had any use,or indeed whether it may not bea 
natural production, is uncertain ; many fragments 
of unglazed pots, and one in tolerable preserva- 
tion with two handles, were turned up at the same 
time. Perhaps upon or very near this place 
was the pottery to the Roman station near 
adjoining: Verstigan in his ‘Restitution of 


* About the year 274. 


PE ST ia Se IR ES ee 


Account of some Antiques, Ec. 533 


decayed Intelligence in Antiquities,” when men+ 
tioning the different fossils, shells, bones, &c, 
found in Britain says: ‘‘ Moreover potters in 
“ working their clay, which is gotten in some 
* espetial places, do fynd in it certain things 
*¢ which are as hard as stone, and of the very 
“ forme and shape of the toungs of some sortes 
© of fishes, each with the root unto it, to make 
** it the very markable and right proportion of 
* such a kynd of toung in all respects, some 
* being more than two inches long, and some 
* lesse than one inche, and they that thus find 
‘© them do not otherwise call them but the toungs 
of fishes, which being so, and turned into very 
* hard stone is a strange thing in nature.” 
Whether this same article be of the sort Versti- 
gan alludes to, cannot at this day be determined ; 
however, from the shape and its being found in 
the scite of an ancient pottery, it may be supposed 
to be one of those he describes. 

No, 12 isa ring of brass found in Castlefield 
in 1796, with a bluish sort of a bead of pot ware 
upon it and ribbed, each rib terminating at the 
hole through which the ring passes; another of 
the same sort, supposed to belong to the other, 
was so broken as notto be worth gathering. I am 
inclined to think this ring was the bracelet of a 
British or Roman lady, and the beads upon it the 
amulet or charm to protect the wearer from mis- 


534 . Account of some Antiques, Ge. 


t 
t st 
Wilitte 


fortunes or injuries, and to proc 
_fovers and superiors. This ‘ic 
Be ° sat i ai 


‘ Need, a 
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STATENS Nee fetta, \ 
Ny \ \ * 


© On ak) we. ayes 


a i 
AC 


— Mnlayutlies 
ne the [pigeon oS SET Barrett 7 WMandhetter, 
dawn half the MHz f “Mhe cris . 


Might of Chase Orlls wore found ti lhe 
hitver Little 1800. 


Divan ly V Barnlt Nor. 1801, 


Vol. PL VW Wage 534 


8 


NL ee 


ifiton of MT Barrett of Mindester 
ofthe vaiginaks 


wud tu the 


¢ Aenan Insenplion 
fon Cafe field Manchester 
whidfrien f C White Bag” ELS 


he size 15 In" by I found 1796 
TVarwtt Nor 1001 
Keak A 


. ¢ he progress off al 


535 


EXPERIMENTAL ESSAYS 


On “the Constitution of mixed Gases ; 
on the Force of Steam or Vapour from 
Water and other Liquids in different tem- 
peratures, both in a@ Torricellian Vacuum 
and in Air; on EVAPORATION ; ; and on 
the Ba of Gases by Heat. 


BY JOHN DALTON. 


READ oct. 2, 16 anv 30, 1801. 
wee ft 


hilosophical knowledge is 
advanced by the discovery of new and important 
facts; but much more when those facts lead to the 
establishment of general laws. It is of impor- 


_ tance to understand that the descent of falling 


bodies is the same every where on the surface of 

the earth; but from that and some other parti- 

cular facts to infer the law of gravitation,, or 

that all matter attracts with a force decreasing as 

the square of the distance, is a much higher 

attainment in science... In the train, of experi- 
VOL, V. Fite a, 


B36 On the Constitution of mixed Gases, Se. 


ments lately engaging my attention some new 
facts have been ascertained, which with others, 
seem to authorise the deduction of general laws, 
and such as will have influence in various 
departments of natural philosophy and chemistry. 

As the detail of experiments will be best un- 
derstood and their application seen, if the laws 
of principles alluded to be kept in view, it may 
be proper here to state them; though it must not 
be understood that they were proceeded upon 
hypothetically in the direction of those experi- 
ments- On the contrary, the first law, which is 
as a mirror in which all the experiments are best 
viewed, was Jast detected, and after all the par- 
ticular facts had been previously ascertained. 

1. When two elastic fluids, denoted by 4 
and B, are mixed ‘together, there is no mutual 
repulsion: amongst their particles; that is, the 
particles of .4 do not repel those of B, as they 
‘do one another. Consequently, the pressure 
or whole weight upon any one particle arises 
solely from those of its own kind. 

2, The force of steam from all liquids is the 
same, at equal distances above or below the seve- 
‘ral temperatures at which they boil in the open 
air: and that force is the same under any pres- 
sure of an other elastic fluid as it is in vacuo, 
“Thus, the’ force of aqueous vapour of 912° is 
equal to go inches of mercury; at 30° below, or 


On the Constitution of mixed Gases, Sc. 537 


182°, it is of half that force; and at 40° above, 
or 252°, itis of double the force;, so likewise 
the vapour from sulphuric ether which boils at 
102°, then supporting 30 inches of mercury, at 
30° below that temperature it has half the force, 
and at 40° above it, double the force: and so in 
other liquids. Moreover, the force of aqueous 
vapour of 60° is nearly equal to inch of mer- 
cury, when admitted into a torricellian vacuum ; 
and water of the same temperature, confined 
with perfectly dry air, increases the elasticity 
to just the same amount, 

3. The quantity of any liquid evaporated in 
the open air is directly as the force of steam from 
such liquid at its temperature, all other circum- 
stances being the same. 

4. All-elastic fluids expand the same quan- 
tity by heat: and this expansion is very nearly in 
the same equable way as that of mercury; at 
least from 32° to 212°.—It seems probable the 
expansion of each particle of the same fluid, or its 
- sphere of influence, is directly as the quan- 
tity of heat combined with it; and consequently 
the expansion of the fluid as the cube of the 
temperature, reckoned from the point of sta 
privation. 

Having now stated the chief principles which 
seem to be established from the following series 


538 On the Constitution of mixed Gases, Sc. 


of facts and observations, I shall proceed to treat 
of them under the several heads. 


ESSAY I. 


On the Constitution of mixed Gases: and particularly 
of the Aimosphere. 


Ever since the discovery of the atmosphere 
consisting of two distinguishable elastic fluids of 
different specific gravities, it has been a subject 
of insurmountable difficulty to explain clearly 
the mode of their combination. Two opinions 
have been given respecting it: the one supposes 
that the two fluids are merely mixed together, 
without any chemical combination; but assigns 
no reason why they do not separate and the hea- 
viest take the lowest place. The other supposes 
a true chemical union to exist between the two, 
and thus obviates the difficulty arising from the 
consideration of specific gravity; but this pro- 
duces others of no less magnitude. Why does 
no change of bulk, of temperature, or of any of 
their distinct properties take place, which is usual 
on all other chemical combinations? ~ Why do 
not oxygenous and azotic gases taken in due pro- 
portion, and mixed, constitute nitric acid gas, 
anothey elastic fluid, totally distinct in its pro- 


On the Constitution of mixed Gases, 8c. 539 


perties from either of the ingredients? To these 
questions, and many others that might be pro- 
posed, no satisfactory answer has ever been 
given, Indeed this hypothesis is much the most 
untenable of the two; the notion of chemical affi- 
nity connecting elastic particles mutually re- 
pelling each other is plainly an absurdity ; 
and if we suppose the particles to have no 
repulsion to each other, but instead of it to 
coalesce, then it is impossible to conceive why 
they do not.form nitric acid gas, and why a 
change of bulk, or temperature, or both does 
not occur. All! these difficulties are entirely 
removed by the subsequent theory, for the 
understanding of which it will»be neédful to 
premise certain propositions. 

Prop. 1. The density of elastic fluids is 
exactly as the compressing force, all other cir- 
cumstances alike. 

This is a physical proposition and depends 
_upon experiment for proof. All experiments 
agree that if a quantity of air be pressed with 
two, three, &c. times the force of the atmos- 
phere, it will occupy 4, 4, &c. of the space oc- 
cupied before; and when the pressure of the 
atmosphere is taken off it expands accordingly. 
This I find is not séricély true with regard to , 
atmospheric air ; which, when condensed with 2 
double force, occupies a space something /ess than 


540 On the Constitution of mixed Gases, Gc. 


what the above ratio assigns; because aqueous 
vapour, one of the elements of atmospheric air, 
loses its form, or becomes partly converted into 
water by pressure. If air confined by sulphuric 
acid be tried, it accords very exactly with the 
abeve law. If air confined by water be tried, 
the condensed air is always something /ess and 
the rarefied air something more than what the 
theory assigns, which is entirely owing to the 
destruction or formation of a quantity of aque- 
ous vapour. My method of experimenting is 
very simple ; it consists in condensing or rarefy- 
ing the air by a column of mercury in a long 
straight tube, divided into. equal portions; the 
tube must be +z or #5 of an inch internal diameter, 
and then it may be inverted without losing its 
contents, if the mercurial column be less than 
39 inches, when the rarefaction of air is the 
object. | 

Prop. 2. Homogeneous elastic fluids are 
constituted of particles that repel one another 
with a force decreasing directly as the distance of 
their centres from each other. 

This proposition is a mathematical one, and 
its demonstration founded upon the fact of the 
density being as the pressure. The proof 
may be seen in the Principia, B. 2. Prop. 25. 
It follows too that the distances of the centres of 
the particles, or which is the same thing, the - 


On the Constitution of mixed Gases, 8c. 541 


diameters of the spheres of influence of each 
particle, are inversely as the cube root of the den- 
sity of the fluid. 

' The proposition applies to homogeneous elastic 
fluids only; how far it may apply to mixed fluids 
remains to be considered.—With regard to the 
constitution of such there may be several hypo- 
theses; some of which we shall now consider, 


1. The particles of one elastic fluid may repel 
those of another with the same force ce as they repel 
those of their own kind. 


In this case, if m measures of A were mixed 
with 7 measures of B, in the pneumatic appara- 
tus, and under the atmospheric. pressure of 30 
inches of mercury, the two would occupy m-+i 
measures of space. If they were of the same 
specific gravity, they would remain in the situ- 
ation they were left, of intimate mixture or of 
separation, as ithappened. If they were of dif- 
ferent specific gravities, the lightest would rise 
to the top of the vessel :—The pressure on each 
particle of the mixture would be equal to g0 
inches of mercury. 

Now with regard to the application of these 
principles; as we know of no two elastic fluids,’ 
which when mixed, obey the laws of their spe- 


542 Onthe Constitution of mixed Gases, €9c. 


cific gravities ; this hypothesis is inconsistent with 


‘the phenomena. 


2. Particles of one elastic fluid may repel those 
of another with forces greater or less than what is 
exert upon ky own kind. 


Here again m measures of A, with 2 measures 
of B would occupy m+n measures, and the pres- 
sure on each particle of the mixture be the same, 


and equal to 30 inches of mercury. But the - 


fluids in this case could not remain mixed or 
diffused intimately through each other; that fluid 
of the greatest specific gravity must take the 
lowest place.—This therefore is equally incon- 
sistent with the known phenomena, and must. be 


rejected also, 


3. The particles of one elastic. fluid may have 
a chemical affinity or attraction-for those of another. 


Here if m measures of 4 and m measures of 
B were mixed, a union of particles ensues, and 
the new compound may assume the solid, liquid 
or aériform state according to its nature. If 
the compound be of the solid or liquid form, 
the two elastic fluids may wholly disappear ; if it 


’ 


/ 


On the Constitution of mixed Gases, 3c. 549 
be aériform, then a diminution of bulk, an in. 
crease of temperature and of specific gravity may | 
be expected—Several facts in chemistry accord _ 
with this hypothesis-When muriatic acid gas 
and ammoniacal gas are mixed together in due 
Proportion, a solid substance, muriate of am- 
monia, is formed, ant the gases wholly disap- 
pear. When ammoniacal gas and aqueous 
vapour are mixed, the two unite and a portion 
of the compound becomes liquid. When nitrous 
Bas and oxygenous gas are mixed in due propor- 
tion, the two unite and form a new elastic com. 
pound of greater specific gravity and conses 
quently of less bulk, nitric acid gas.—But there 
are other cases of mixtures of elastic fluids, some 
of which have been mentioned, where no signs 
of chemical affinity are discoverable ; in regard 
to such this hypothesis fails equally with the 
other two, We must therefore have recourse to 
another. 


(4. The particles of one elastic fluid may Possess 
no repulsive or attractive power, or be perfectly in- 
elastic with regard to the particles of another: and 
consequently the mutual action of the fluids be subject 
to the laws of inelastic bodies, 


According to this hypothesis if m measures 
of A be mixed with » measures of B, the two 
VOL, V, FF 


544 On the Constitution of mixed Gases; ee 


will occupy m-+n measures of space. The par- 
ticles of A meeting with no repulsion from those 
of B further than that repulsion which as .ob- 
stacles in the way they may exert, wou!d instant- 
ly recede. from each other as far.as possibléin 
their circumstances, and consequently arrange 
themselves just the same as in a void space; 
their density, considered abstractedly, becoming 


a , (that of the compound being supposed 
m+n 


unity). In like manner the particles of B must 
recede from each other, till they become of the 


n 
density pL thus the two gases become ‘rare- 
7 ; 


fied to such degree that their united forces only 
amount to the pressure of the atmosphere.—Here 
the particles of one fluid not pressing at.all upon 
those of the other, the consideration of specific 
gravity does not enter. That part of the atmos- 


pheric pressure which the fluid A sustains, will be 
m 
wea and the remainder, 


ephek 
aces the part that 
the fluid B sustains, _The weight or pressure 
upon any one particle of any fluid mixture of 
this sort will arise solely from the particles of its 
own kind. 

It is scarcely necessary, I think, to insist upon 
the application of this hypothesis to the solution 
of ‘ali our difficulties respecting the constitution 
of. mixed gases where no chemical union ensues. 


On the Constitution of mixed Gases, Sc. 545 


That moment we admit it every difficulty va- 
nishes, and every fact appears a simple and 
immediate consequence of it. The’ atmosphere, 
or to speak more properly the compound of 
atmospheres, may exist together in the most 
intimate mixture, without any regard to their 
specific gravities, and without any pressure upon 
one another. Oxygenous gas, azotic gas, hy- 
drogenous gas, carbonic acid gas, aqueous vapour» 
and probably several other elastic fluids may 
exist in company under any pressure and in any 
temperature, whilst each of them, however para- 
doxical it may appear, occupies the whole space 
allotted for them all. For, the space with them 
all-in it, is little more comparatively than a 
vacuum ; such is the great tcnuity of all clastic 
fluids, 

I shall now proceed to make a few observa- 
tions on that collected mas of elastic fluids con- 
stituting our atmosphere, the principal of which 
are the azotic atmosphere, the oxygenous atmos- 
phere, the aqueous vapour atmosphere, the car- 
bonic’ acid atmosphere and the hydrogencus at- 
mosphere. 

‘Before the modern discoveries in chemistry, 
the atmosphere was considered as one simple 
elastic fluid, sui generis, containing in it, by some 
meéaus or other, certain foreign substances not 
essentially but accidentally mixed with it. La- 


546 On the Constitution of mixed Gases, Bc. 


Voisier taught us there were two essentially 
distinguishable fluids to be found in it, and 
certain other substances accidentally or chemi- 
cally combined with them; it now appears there 
are at least four distinct elastic fluids found in 
every portion of atmospheric air subject to exa- 
mination. And these, for aught that appears, 
are totally independent one of another; so 
much that if anyone of them was wholly with. 
drawn from the surface of the earth, the rest 
would not at all be affected by the circumstance, 
either in their density or situation; or if an 
atmosphere of another kind were added to them, 
they would still retain their respectiye stations 
and densities, provided that added had no che- 
mical affinity for any one of them in the com. 
mon temperature. 

The azotic atmosphere is by far the largest 
and densest of them all: it supports the mercury 
in the barometer at a medium nearly 21. 2 
inches: it is the same in quantity all over the 
surface of the earth; because not condensible 
into a liquid form at any temperature found 
there. 

The oxygenous atmosphere is the next in quan- : 
tity; its pressure on the surface of the earth 
amounts to about 7, 8 inches at a medium; it 
is the same nearly in quantity every where, be- 


On the Constitution of mixed Gases, Sc. 547 


cause it preserves its elasticity in all observable 
temperatures. 

The aqueous vapour atmosphere is variable in 
quantity according to temperature; in the torrid 
zone its pressure on the surface of the earth is 
equal to the force of ,6 and from that to one 
inch of mercury. In these parts it rarely 
amounts to a pressuse of ,6, but I have fre. 
quently observed it above half an inch in sum. 
mer; in winter it is sometimes so low as to be 
of no more force than ,1 of an inch of mercury, 
or even half a tenth, in this latitude, and conse- 
quently niuch less where the cold is more se- 
vere.* This want of equilibrium in the aqueous 
vapour atmosphere is a principal cause of that 
constant inundation of it into the temperate and - 
frigid zones, where it be comes in part condensed 
in its progress by the cold, like the vapour of 
distillation in the worm of a refrigeratory, and 
supplies the earth with rain and dew. 

The carbonic acid atmosphere has not perhaps 
been accurately ascertained in quantity; it is 
found every where in a small proportion, not 
- being condensible into a liquid by the usual de- 
gree of cold; its pressure may probably amount 
to half an inch of mercury. 


* The means of ascertaining its quantity or pressure 
will be given hereafter, 


548 On the Constitution of mixed Gases, Fe. 


The hydrogenovs atmosphere is so small in 
quantity as scarcely to be at all appreciable ; yet, 
as various processes on the surface of the earth 
disengage this gas, and as it ‘mixes with all ‘the 
other gases constituting the atmosphere without 
combining with any, or rising above them, we 
ought to find a proper hydrogenous atmosphere. 
Perhaps we have got no tests for ascertaining 
very small quantities of it.. 

Lavoisier: describes the’ atmosphere to be 
* a compound of all the fluids which.are sus- 
** ceptible of the vaporous or permanently elas- 
tic state in the usual temperature, and wnder 
** the common pressure.” This last limitation 
should be omitted; he seems moreover to con- 
ceive that atmospheric pressure is the cause why 
water retains its liquid form at the common tem- 
perature: this notion is certainly wrong; were 
every atmosphere, except that of aqueous vapour, 
instantly annihilated, little addition would ‘be 
made to the aqueous atmosphere, because it al- 
ready exists in every place, almost entirely up 
to what the temperature will admit; the eva- 
poration of water would be essentially'the same 
in that case!as it is at present; only the full 
effect would take place in less time. In short 
this notion of pressure preventing the evapora- 
tion of liquids, which seems to have been taken 


$e 


On the Constitution of mixed Gases, Sc. 549 


as an axiom by modern philosophers, has been 
the cause of more error and perplexity perhaps 
than any other ungrounded opinion. 

Lavoisier thought that; in the higher regions 
of the atmosphere a stratum of inflammable fluid 
exists in which the aurora borealis and other 
fiery appearances are produced; this opinion is 
plausible enough; but that fluid cannot be hy- 
drogenous gas, because its particles are not repul- 
sive of those of the other atmospheric gases, as 
appears by its intimate and almost instantaneous 
diffusion amongst them. 

There may be gases in the higher regions of 
which we have not the principles below, the 
whole stock of matter being spent in their for- 
mation; and being constituted of particles repul- 
sive of those of the atmosphere, according .to 
the first or second hypothesis, and of less specific 
gravity than the other gases, they. must float 
upon the surface of the common .atmosphere, 
and consequently for ever elude the investigation 
of philosophy. He.observes that even metallic 
substances may be found within the regions of 
the atmosphere: I have myself shewn,.. in 
my Meteorological Essays, page 180, that a 
fluid possessing magnetic properties constantly 
holds a place in the higher regions of the atmos- 
phere, and which therefore we cannot help con- 


540 Onthe Constitution of mixed Gases, Bec. 


sidering of a ferruginous quality; but it will 
probably ever be beyond the reach of philoso= 
phical research to ascertain the nature of so 
subtile and distant a fluid. 


ESSAY II. 


- 


On the Force of Steam or Vapour from Water 
and various other Liquids, both in a Vacuum and 
an Air. 

SECTION Ie 


On Vapour in Vacuo. 


The term steam or vapour is equally applied to 
those elastic fluids which, by cold and pressure 
of certain known degrees, are reduced wholly 
or in part into a liquid state. Such are the elastic 
fluids arising from water, alkohol, ether, am- 
monia, mercury, &c. Other elastic fluids that 
cannot be reduced, or rather that have not yet 
been reduced, into a liquid state by the united 
agency of those two powers, are commonly 
denominated gases. There can scarcely be a 
doubt entertained respecting the reducibility of 
of all elastic fluids of whatever kind into liquids; 
and we ought not to despair of effecting it in 
low temperatures and by strong pressure exerted 


On the “Force of Steam or Vapour, €3¢. 55k 


Upon the unmixed gases. However unessential 
the distinction between the gases and vapours 
may be in a chemical sense, their mechanical 
action is very different. By increasing the quan-~ 
tity of any gas in a given space the force of it is 
Proportionally inereased; but increasing ‘the 
quantity of any liquid in a giyen space does not 
at all affect the force of the vapour arising from 
it, On the other hand, by increasing the tem- 
perature of any gas a proportionate increase of 
elasticity ensues; but when the temperature of 
a liquid is increased, the force of vapour from 
it is increased with amazing rapidity, the incre. 
ments of elasticity forming a kind of geometrical 
Progression, to the arithmetical increments of 
heat.—Thus, the ratio of the elastic force of 
_ atmospheric air of 32°to that at 212°, is nearly 
as 5: 73 but the ratio of the force of aqueous 
vapour proceeding from water of 32° and 212°, 
is as 1: 150 nearly, 

The object of the present essay is to determine 
the utmost force that certain vapours, as that 
from water, can exert at different temperatures. 
_ The importance hitherto attached to this enquiry 
has arisen chiefly from the consideration of steam 
asa mechanical agent; and this has directed the 
attention more especially to high temperatures. 
But it will appear from what follows that the 

VOL. y, GG 


552 On the Force of Steam or Vapcur 


progress of philosophy is more immediately in 
terested in accurate observations on the force of 
steam in low temperatures. Different authors 
have published accounts of their experiments 
on the force of steam: I have ona former occa- 
sion (Meteorological Essays, page 134) given a 
table of forces for every 10° from 80° to 212% 
The author of the article ‘* Steam” in the’ En- 
cyclopedia Britannica, has: done the-same from 
32° to 280°: and M. Betancourt, in the ‘* Me- 
moirs des jscavans etrangeres” for 1790, (see 
Hutton’s Math, Diction. page 755) has’ given 
tables on’ the subject, both for’ vapour from 
water and spirit of wine, also from 32° to 280°. 
But these two authors, having assumed the force 
of vapour from water of 32° to be nothing, are 
essentially wrong at that point and in all the lower 
parts of the scale; and in the higher part, or that 
above 212°, they determine the force too much ; 
owing as I apprehend to a quantity of air, which 
being disengaged from the water by heat and 
mixing withthe steam, increases the elasticity.—In 
a question of such moment it seemed therefore 
' desirable to obtain greater accuracy. 

My method is this: I take a barometer tube 
perfectly dry, and fill it with mercury just boiled, 
marking the place where it is stationary ; then 
having graduated the tube into inches and tenths 
by means of a file, I pour a little water (or any 


from Water and other Liquids, Sc. 53 


other liquid the subject. of experiment) into it, 
so as to moisten the whole inside; after this I 
again pour in mercury, and, carefully inverting 
the tube, exclude all air: the barometer by 
Standing. some time exhibits a portion of water, 
&c, of or of an inch upon the top of the 
mercurial column; because being lighter it as- 
cends by the side of the tube; which may now 
be inclined and the mercury will rise to the top 
manifesting a perfect vacuum from air. I next 
take a cylindrical glass tube open at both ends, 
of 2 inches diameter and 14 inches in length; to 
each end of which a cork is adapted, perforated 
in the middle so as to admit the barometer tube 
to be pushed through and to be heid fast by them; 
the upper cork is fixed two or three inches below 
the top of the tube and is 2 cut away soas to 
admit water, &c. to pass by; its service being 
merely to keep the tube steady, ‘Things being 
thus circumstanced, water of any temperature 
may be poured into the wide tube, and thus 
made to surround the upper part or vacuum of 
the barometer, and the effect of temperature in 
the production of vapour within can be observed 
from the depression of the mercurial column. 
In this way I have had water as high as 155° 
surrounding. the vacuum: butas the higher tem- 
peratures might endanger a glass apparatus; 
jnstead of it I used the following :— 


554 On the Force of Steam or Vapour 


Having procured a tin tube of 4 inches in di- 
ameter and 2 feet long, with a circular plate of 
the same soldered to one end having a round 
hole in the centre, like the tube of a reflecting 
telescope, I got another smaller tube of the 
same length soldered into the larger, so as to be 
in the axis or centfe of it: the small tube was 
open at both ends, and on this construction water 
could be poured into the large vessel to fill it, 
whilst the central tube was exposed to its tem- 
perature. Into this central tube I could insert 
the upper half of a syphon barometer, and fix it 
by a cork, the top of the narrow tube also being 
corked: thus the effect of any temperature un- 
der 212° could be ascertained, the depression of 
the mercurial column being known by the ascent 
in the exterior leg of the syphon. 

The force of vapour from water, between 86 
and 212° may also be determined by means of 
an air-pump ; and the results exactly agree with 
those determined as above, Take a Florence 
flask half filled with hot water, into which in- 
sert the bulb of a thermometer; then cover the 
whole with a receiver on one of the pump plates, 
and place a barometer gage on the other; the 
air being slowly exhausted, mark both the thers 
mometer and barometer at the moment ebullition 
commences, and the height of the barometer 
gage will denote the force of vapour from 


i ne 


Srom Water and other Liquids, Sc. 555 - 


water of the observed temperature. This me- 
thod may also be used for other liquids. {[t 
may be proper to observe the various thermo- 
meters used in these experiments were duly ad. 
justed to a good standard one. 

After repeated experiments by all these me- 
thods, and a careful comparison of the results, 
I was enabled to digest the following table of 
the force of steam from water in all the temper- 
atures from 32° to 212°, 

Two important enquiries still remained: the 
first, to determine the force of steam from water 
above 212° and below 32°; the second, to deter- 
mine the comparative forces of vapour from 
other liquids, These enquiries seemed indepen- 
dent of each other; notwithstanding which I 
found them in reality connected. 

Upon examination of the numbers in the table 
within the limits just mentioned, there appears 
something like a geometrical progression in the 
forces of vapour; the ratio however, instead of 
being constant, is a gradually diminishing one: 


thus, the force at 32°= —,200 inch. 
17. 50 
at iz2°== 3. 500 Ratios 
8. 57 


212°= 30, 000 


556 On the Force of Steam or Vapour 
If we divide these ratios, according to obser. 
vation, they will stand thus: * 
Force’ at *32°= ,200 inch. 


4-° $50 
77= siygto 
3. 846 
422°= 3. 500 Ratios 
3. 214 
167° = 11, 250 
2. 666) 


212° = 30. 000 
If we divide these again, they become ; 


Forceat 32° = 5200 inch. 


ee 
542 = 2435 
2, 09 
SW Roa 29190 
2. 00 
99% = 1. 820 
1. 92 
122° = 3. 500 \- Ratios 
1, 84 
144% = 6. 450 
- 1. 75 
167° = 11. 250 
Mer Neg 
189°: — 18. 800 
1. 59. 


212° = 30. 000 


By another division we obtain the ratios for 


from Water and other Liquids, Se. | 587 


every 11°: of pcs indica from 32° to 212° as 
under: 


Force at 32° = —_,200 inch. 
£7485) 

435 = 9297 

1. 465 
64; = 2435 

1. 45 
653 = 3630 — 

1. 44 
i (a 3910 

14:43 
883 — 1. 290 [ 

Dated t 
997 == 1. 820 | : : 

12°40 
1 Qgez, 24540 cho: 

1. 38 
122. ==. 3. 500 Ratios 

.136 
133%== 4- 760 

Age 
1441-—— 6. 450 

I. 33 | 
1553—= 8. 550 

1.32 
167 6234 Le BGaot a 

1. 30 
178: == 14. 600 

1, 29 
189? = 18. 800 

1, 27 
200% == 24. 000 

1.25 | 


21424 80, 000 


558 On the Force of Steam or Vapour 


Thus it appears that a ratio having a uniform 
decrease nearly takes place; and we may there- 
fore extend the table of forces at both extremes, 
without the aid of experiment, to a considerable 
distance. Thus, assuming the ratios for each 
interval of 11°F below 32° to be, 1. 500, 1. 515, 
I. 530, 1. 545, &c. and foreach interval above 
212° to be 1.235, 4. 220, 1. 205, 1. 1905 
1.175, 1.160, 1.145, 1.130, &c. we can 
extend the table many intervals of temperature, 
and determine all the intermediate degrees by 
interpolation. This method may be relied upon 
as a near approximation; however it does not 
supersede the expediency of determination by 
experiment; though that is much more difficult 
above 212°, and below 32°, than in the inter- 
mediate degrees: because it is dfficult to procure 
a steady heat above 212°; and below 32° the 
variation of force becomes so small as to elude 
_ minute discrimination. It will appear from what 
follows that the extension of the table by this 
method above 212° is in all probability accurate, 
or very nearly so, for 100° or more, 


_ from Water and other Liquids, Sc. 559 


TABLE 


Of the Force of Vapour from Water in every temperature 


from that of the congelation of Mercury, or 40° below zero 
of Fahrenheit, to 325°. 


PE Ea OER roi Ups at Te tanes BE 
« Mercury. F Mercury. F Mercury. 

EAD ee | ONS IES, . eee) LOSHEGA: «noes 
BGO. gpa lie.' a SON Omg, sagas 
0+ a, NORDIN, et SRR ees 39D 
SID pose, GASINUS ye i LOD 7 SP 
(9a hk ene.) OAS 

Wie | O6ANOO POSH. bag 
Rete” OGG see 1 19S RG. 968 
mee eee. Gane Soo Meili ay (MUR | long 
ars. oregano Yeates | ot Sage 
A gt OFAN OA eee SOA. — |) 08 
BO facta it PGI laa | / TEENA ee 8. Oe 
6 ———._ 0791126 ———.. ,162||45, ————_ ,316 
Pi ORONO a VES AG eee SEB 
Bir s pes NOR) alae | ge 
eee et og aT eGags |” ae 
Bt) 2a OREO ane 1 BCU ig: >, 9a 
SS? OTe aS) Ps; a 
12) 2 (096 - 51 ——— ,388 
Rate. a Tao 20052 ———— _,401 
14 ——- ,104/133 ——— ,207/|53 ——— .4ld 

VOL... Ve Hi 


560 On the Force of Steam or Vapour 


TABLE CONTINUED. 


pe ag a at | mer eae tee | ier oie 

Mercury. Mercury Mercury. -* 
54. ,429 |] 82. F-07180 aaa ae 
55, ase ,443|| 93 1, 10,11 12 onl 
56° ———__,458]| 84 ——_]. 14 || 112 ———. 2. 68 
5ST — 6474 |) 85. ———1.. 17 11 113 ——— 2. 76° 
58 =-——— ,490|| §6 ———1. 921 || 114 ———— 2. 84 
59 ——— = ,507|/ 87 ———1. 24 || 115 ———- 2. 92 
60 ——— ,524|/ 88 ———1, 28 || 116 ——— 3, 00 
61 — = 542] g9:\ 1, 92. |] 117 +g, 8 
62 —— ,560|| 90'———1. 36 || 118 ——— 3. 16 
63 —— ,578|| 91 ———-I. 40 || 119 ——— 3. 25 
64 —— ,597|| 92 ———1. 44 || 120 ——— 3. 33 
65 ———— ,G616|| 93 ~—--].. 4g || 121 ————. 3. 42 
66 ——— ,635|| 94 ———1. 53 || 122 ——— 53. 50 
67 —— ,655|] 95 ~——1, 58 |} 123 ———_.- 3. 59 
68 ————. ‘e76| 96 ———1. 63 || 124 ———— 3. 69 
69 ——— ,698|] 97 1. 6g || 125 ———- 3. 79 
70 “———+  ,721|| 9g ——1, 74 || 126 ——— 3. 89 
PAS 7b gg. oe Sa fey ip 
72° ————=_" 5,770] 100 ——---1, 86°] 128° ——_==>_ 4, Tl 
73. ——— °,796! 10] ————-1. 92 || 129 ——-—- 4, 22 
7k ——— — ,823/] 199, ——-—1. 98 || 1390 ——— 4. 34 
15 ————" 85141 103 8. 4 131" ae 
TE” -aeenmeee 880 1 104 eg, 1 1° || 192 — ago 
OF + —atenie 5910) 105 9, 18° 133 2/4, 7s 
78 -———— " ,940|| 106 ————2, 25 |1134 ——— 4, _86 
79 ——— ,971'/107 9, $2 1135 ———~. 5. 00 
80 LOO") 168) Ss: 39 || 136 —— 5. 14 
81 ———1. 04 |] 109 2) 46 || 137 ——— 5, 29 


SEV eee . 


From Water and other Liquids, ce. 561 


TABLE CONTINUED. 


Tempere Force of Vap: 
ature. in inches of 
; c Mercury, 
138 5. 44 
W992 == 5.59 
tpi 5.74 
141 ——— 5. 90 
ido — 6, 05 
Fag.00 G9} 
[440 G.'5 
145 ——— 6. 53 
146 ——= 6. 70 
147-6: 87 
p36 nr ps 
149 2 7:25 
So ——-7.°49 
4502! 7, Gj 
LT Reema ab 
ne 8 Ol 
154 ———. 8, 20 
155 8. 40 
16 —— 8.60 
isp SS g's] 
158° 9. 09 
59'S 904 
160.——— 9,46 
is). | Lge 
162 ———. 9. 91 
163 10, 15 
164 10, 41 
165 10. 68 


BUREN nsec aril,” uke; in (ache tt 
Mercury. Mercury, 

166 10. 96|| 194 20, 77 
167 ———11. 25||195 21, 22 
168 ———11. 54]|196 21. 68 
169 ———11. 83]|197 29, 13 
170 ———12. 13||198 22, 69 
171 —-—12, 43||199 23. 16 
172 ———12, 73||200 23, 64 
173 ——-13. 02||201 24, 12 
174 13. 32||202 ———24. 61 
175 13. 621/203 25. 10 
176 13. 92]/204 25. 61 
177 14, 22||205 ———26. 13 
178 ———14, 52/1206 96, 66 
179 ———14. 83||207 ———~97. 26 
180 15. 15|)208' ——-~97. 74 
181 ———~i5. 50|!209 —_——28. 29 
182 ———15, 86]|210 ———9s, 84 
193 16. 23]]211 29, 4] 
184° -=16,'61,] 912 ====30. 09 
185 ———=17. 00 |) cs 

186 17. 40|213 ———30. 60 
187 17. 60/214 ———=31. 21 
188 is, 90215 ———=31. 83 
189 ———18. 60||216 32. 46 
190 ——-—-19, 00/|217 ———33. 09 
191 19. 42||218 33. 72 
192 ———19, 86||219 34. 35 
193 m0, 34, 99 


562 
Tp Pe 
Mercury, 

Gaineee—35:,63 
992 ————36.. 25 
293 ——-—26. 88! 
994 ———37. 53 
225 ———38.. 20 
296 ————38.. 89 
297 39. 59 
298 40. 30 
99 aA 9 
230 eA 05 
231 42, 49 
232 ———43.. 24 
233 ———44. 00 
234 4b, 78 
235 A5. 58 
236 46. 39 
237 47. 20 
238 48. 02 
239 ———18. 84 
240 49. 67 
241 50. 50 
249 51. 34 
243 59. 18 
O44 53, 03 
CY ise eimelS TY 
246 ———54. 68 
247 55. 54 
248 ———56. 49 


On the Force of Steam or Vapour © 


TABLE CONTINUED. 


Temper- 
ature, 


Force of Vap. 
in inches of 


Mercury, 


1 EE 2 
Baie 5S, 
251 ———59. 
G52) a ——-60, 
253 61. 
254-61, 
255 ———62,. 
256 63. 
257 ———G64. 
258 65. 
259 ————-66; 
260 ———67. 
261 — 68. 
262 ———69. 
263 70. 
264 rhe 
265 72 
266) 47 8 
367 ———74; 
268° 755 
269 ———76, 
270 ———77. 
71 ———78. 
272 ———79. 
273 80. 
O74 82, 
O75 wee 833 
O96 eee Bhi, 


31 
21 
12 
05 
00 
99 
85 
76 
82 
78 
75 
73 
72 
72 


94 


| Temper- 
ature, 


Force of Vap, 
in inches of 


16 . 


Mercury. 
277-——— 85. 47 
|278-——_ 86. 50 
279 87. 63 
|280———. 88.75 
281. 89. 8T 
982 90, 99 
989-—- = 99041 
284. 93. 23 
285——— 94, 95 
286-95. 48 
287———_ 96, 64 
968... 97. 80 
289-_—. 98, 96 
290-100. 12 
'291—101.. 28 

||, 292-102, 45 
293-103, 63 
294. 104, 80 
295-1105.) 97 
296 107. 14 
297 108, 31 
|298 109, 48 
299 110, 64 
300 Lif e8 
201 pa — 119 ek 
1302 114, 
303 115, 32 
304 116, 50 


from Water and other Liquids, &c. 563 


TABLE CONTINUED, 


Sead Yio Tented GREED! Ge MERGE cee 7) RGESELE: 
Mercury. Mercury? a Mercury. 
305- 117. 68 |[312- 125. 851) 319- 133. 86 
306 118. 861313 127, 00] 320-135. 00 
307 120, 03 ||314 128. 15] 321 ———-136. 14 
208— 121. 201/915-1129, 29] 329 137, 28 
309 122, 37 11316 ——-—130, 43] 323-138. 42 
310 123. 53 1|317 131. 574| 324-139. 56 
Sil 124. 69 ||318——_——-132, 72{| 325-140, 70 


On Vapour from Ether, &c. 


We come now to the consideration of vapour 
from other liquids. Some liquids are known to 
_ be more evaporable than water; as, liquid am-~ 
monia, ether; spirit of wine, &c. others less ; 
as, quicksilver, sulphuric acid, liquid muriate of 
lime, solution of potash, &c. and it appears that 
the force of vapour from each in a vacuum is 
proportionate to its evaporability: M. Betan- 
court maintains that the force of vapour from 
spirit of wine is in a constant ratio to that from 
water at all temperatures; namely, as 7 to3 
neatly. My first experiments with spirits of 
wine led me to adopt this conclusion, and natu- 
rally suggested that the force of vapour from 
any other liquid would bear a constant ratio to’ 


564 On the Force of Steam or Vapour 


that of water. The principle however is not 
true, either with regard to spirit of wine or any 
other liquid. Experiments made upon six diffe- 
rent liquids agree in establishing this as a ge- 
neral law ; namely, that the variation of the force 
of vapour from all liquids is the same for the same 
wariation of temperature, reckoning from vapour 
of any given force: thus, assuming a force equal 
to 30 inches of mercury as the standard, it being 
the force of vapour from any liquid boiling in the 
open air, we find aqueous vapour loses half its 
force by a diminution of 30° of temperature ; so 
does the vapour of any other Jiquid lose half its 
force by diminishing its temperature 30° below 
that in which it boils; and the like for any other 
increment or decrement of heat. This being 
the case, it becomes unnecessary to give distinct 
tables of the force of vapour from different 
liquids, as one and the same table is sufficient for 
all_—But it will be proper to relate the experi. 
ments on which this conclusion rests, | 


Experiments on Sulphuric Ether. 

The ether I used boiled in the open air at 
102°.—I filled a barometer tube with mercury, 
moistened by agitation in ether. After a few 
minutes a portion of ether rose to the top of the 
mercurial column, and the height of the column _ 
became stationary, When the whole had acquired 


From Water and other Liquids, ce. 565 


ihe temperature of the air in the room, 62°, the 
mercury stood at 17. 00 inches, the barometer 
at the same time being 29. 75. Hence the force 
of vapour from ether at 62°is equal to 12. 15 
inches of mercury, which accords with the force 
of aqueous vapour at 172°, temperatures which 
are 40° from the respective boiling points of the 
liquids. By subsequent observations I found the 
forces of the vapour from ether in all the diffe. 
rent temperatures from 32° to 102° exactly cor- 
responded with the forces of aqueous vapour of 
the like range, namely from 142° to 212°: the 
vapour from ether depresses the mercury about 
6 inches in the temperature of g2°. 

Finding that ether below the point of ebullition 
agreed with water below the said point, I naturally 
concluded that ether above the point would give 
the same force of vapour as water above it; and 
in this I was not disappointed ; for, upon trial 
it appeared that what I had inferred only from 
analogical reasoning respecting the force of aque- 
ous vapour above the boiling poinr, actually 
happened with that from ether above the said 
point. And ether isa much better subject for 
experiment in this case than water, because it 
does not require so high a temperature.’ 

I took a barometer tube of 45 inches in length, 
and having sealed it hermetically at one end, 
bent it into a syphon shape, making the legs pa- 


566 Onthe Force of Stcam or Vapour 


rallel, the one that was close being g inches long, 


and the other 96. Then conveyed two or three 


drops of ether to the end of the closed leg, and 
filled the rest-of the tube with mercury, except 
about 10 inches at the openend. This done, I 
immersed the whole of the short leg containing 
the ether into a tall glass containing hot water ; 
the ether thus exposed to a heat above the tem- 
perature at which it boils, produced a vapour 
more powerful than the atmosphere, so as to 
overcome its pressure and raise a column of mer- 


cury besides, of greater or less length accerding © 


to the temperature of the water. When the 
water was at 147° the vapour raised a column of 
35 inches of mercury, when the atmospheric 
pressure was 29. 75: so that vapour from ether 
of 147° is equivalent to a pressure of 64. 75 
inches of mercury; agreeing with the force of 
aqueous vapour of 257°, according to the pre- 
ceding estimation: in both cases the temperatures 
are 45° above the respective points of ebullition? 
In all the temperatures betwixt 102 and 147° 
the forces of ethereal vapour corresponded with 
those of aqueous vapour, as per table, betwixt 
212° and 257%. I could not reasonably doubt 
of the equality continuing in higher temper- 
atures; bnt the force increases so fast with the 
increase of heat, that one cannot extend the exe 
periments much farther without tubes of very 


,? 


from Water and other Liquids, Sc. 567 


inconvenient lengths. Being destrous however 
to determine the force of the ethereal vapour 
experimentally up as high as 212°, I contrived 
to effect it as follows:—Took a syphon tube such 
as described above, only not quite so long, and 
filled it in the manner above mentioned, with 
ether and mercury, leaving about ten inches.at 
the top of the tube vacant; then having gradu- 
ated that part into equal portions of capacity, and 
dried it from ether, I drew out the end of the tube 
to acapillary bore, cooled it again so as to suffer 
the internal atmospheric air tobe of the proper 
density, and suddenly sealed the tube hermeti- 
cally, thus inclosing air of a known force in the 
graduated portion of the tube, Then, putting 
that part of the tube containing ether into 
boiling water, vapour was formed which forced 
the mercurial column upwards and condensed 
the confined air, till at length an equilibrium 
took place. In this way I found 8. 25 parts of 
atmospheric air of the force 29. 5 were con- 
densed into 2. 00, at the same time a perpendi- 
cular column of 16 inches of mercury in addition 
pressed upon the vapour... Now the force of 
elastic fluids being inversely as the space, we 
have 2. 00 : 29. 5 :: 8. 25 : 121. 67 inches = 
the force of the air within; to which adding 16 
inches, we obtain 137. 67 = the whole force 
VOL. Vv. It 


568  Onthe Force of Steam or Vapour 


sustained by the vapour, measured in inches of 
mercury. The force of aqueous vapour, at the 
same distance beyond the boiling point, or 322°, 
is equal to 137. 28, per table. Thus it appears 
_ that in every part of the scale on which experi- 
“ments have been made, the same iaw of force is 
observable with the vapour of ether as of water. 


Experiments on Spirit of Wine. 

By boiling a small portion of the spirit I used 
(about one cubic inch) in a phial, the thermo~ 
meter stood at 179° at the commencement; but 
by continuing the ebullition it acquired a greater 
heat. The reason is, the most evaporable part 
of the spirit flies off during the process of heat- 
ing, and the rest being a weaker compound, 
requires a stronger heat. The true point of 
ebullition, I believe, was nearly 175°—The 
force of the vapour from this spirit at the tem- 
perature of 212°, I found both by an open sy- 
phon tube and one hermetically sealed with 
atmospheric air upon the mercurial column, as 
with ether, to be equal to 585 inches of mercury, 
This rather exceeds the force of aqueous vapour 
at an equal distance from the boiling point ; but 
it is no more than may be attributed to unavoid- 
able little errors in such experiments. In a ba- 
rometer tube the spirituous vapour at 60°, ever 
the mercury, depresses the column about 1. 4 
or 1.5 inches, which is something less than the 


JSrom Water and other Liquids, &c. 569 


due proportion; one cause of this may be the 
evaporability of spirits, which in operating on 
small quantities, quickly dissipates part of their 
strength, 


Experiments on Liquid Ammonia. 


Liquid ammonia or volatile alkali, the specific 
gravity of which was .9474, boiled near 140°; 
in the barometer a small quantity depressed the 
mercury 4. 3 inches in the temperature of 60°. 
In higher temperatures it did not produce a 
proportional depression ; because the most vola- » 
tile part of the compound, expanding in the va- 
cuum of the barometer, leaves the rest more 
watery, and consequently its vapour must be 
weaker; especially when the portion used is con- 
fined toa drop or two. 


Muriate of Lime. 


Put a portion of liquid muriate of lime over 
the column of mercury in a barometer. The 
boiling point of the muriate was found by ex- 
periment to be 230°, At 55° the depression 
was ,22 of an inch: 

at 65°—.30 
a, A 
ore Oey 7. QD 
all which nearly agree with the forces of aqueous 
vapour 18° below the respective temperatures. 


570  — On the Force of Steam or Vapour 


Mercury and Sulphuric Acid. 


Metcury boils by my thermometer at 660", 
and sulphuric acid of the specific gravity #. 83, 
boils at 590°. It is very difficult to determine 
the precise force of vapour from these liquids 
in any temperature under 212°; because at such 
great distance from the boiling point the vapour 
is so weak as to be in effect almost imperceptible. 
Following the general law, the vapours of these 
fluids ought to be of the force .1, mercury at 
460°, and sulphuric acid at 390°.—Col. Roi - 
makes the expansion of 30 inches mercury by 
180" of heat = .5969 or .5651; and in a baro- 
meter the expansion in the same circumstances 
is .5117; the differences are .0852 and .0534 
which should measure the effective force of mer- 
curial vapour of 212°, nearly, This is in all 
probability too much; as it is next to impos- 
sible to free any liquid entirely from air; and if 
any air enter the vacuum, it unites its force to 
that of the mercurial vapour, 

That the force of vapour from sulphuric acid, 
in low temperatures, is exceedingly small, will 
appear from the ensuing section, 


Jrom Water and other Liquids, &c. 574 


SECTION Il. 


On Vapour in Air. 


The experiments under this head were made 
with manometers, or straight tubes of different 
lengths, hermetically sealed at one end, of +5 
inch internal diameter, and their capacities di- 
vided into equal portions. A drop or two of 
the liquid, the subject of experiment, was con- 
veyed to the bottom or sealed end of the tube; 
the internal surface was then dried by a wire and 
thread, and atmospheric, (or any other air) was 
admitted into the tube, upon which a column 
of mercury was suspended of <4 of an inch, or 
of go inches, less or more, according to the 
nature of the experiment. By immersing the 
end of the manometer, containing the air thus 
circumstanced, into a tall glass vessel containing 
water of any temperature, the effect of the 
vapour in expanding the air could be perceived. 
It was first indeed necessary to determine the in- 
crease air unaffected by any liquid (except mer. 
cury) would obtain by increase of temperature: 
that was done, as will be particularly shewn in 
the next essay. The expansion of all elastic . 
fluids, it seems probable, is alike or nearly so, 


572 On the Force of Sicam or Vapour 


in like circumstances; 1000 parts of any elastic 
fluid expands nearly in a uniform manner into 
1370 or 1380 parts by 180° of heat, 

It will be unnecessary to repeat in detail the 
numerous experiments made on the various 
liquids in all temperatures from 32° to 212°; as 
the results of all agree in one general rule or 
principle, which is this: let » represent the space 
occupied by any kind of air of a given temper- 
ature and free from moisture; p= the given 
pressure upon it, in inches of mercury ; ¥ =the 
force of vapour from any liquid in that temper- 
ature, in vacuo; then, the liquid being admitted 
to the air, an expansion ensues, and the space 
occupied by the air becomes immediately, or 


in a short time — 1+ 2 Fi or which is the same 


+5 p 
thing, — pay 
Thus in water for instance : 
Let p = 30 inches, 
ff = 15 inches, to the given temp. 180°, 
Then, os eo Coe The space ; or 
eel aeaane wes Spee : 
the air becomes of twice the bulk, 
-If the temperature be 203°, f = 25, and the 
space becomes 6 times as large as at first. 
If p = 60 inches 
f = go inches to the given temperature 


Jrom Water and cther Liquids, e. 573 


212°; then the space — ee —= 23 or water 
o—30 

under the pressure of 60 inches of mercury, and 

at the temperature of 212°, produces vapour 

which just doubles the se ie of air. 

If ether be the instance: let the temperature 
be equal 70°; then f — 15; and suppose 
f = 30; in this case the colume of air is doubled ; 
that is, ether of 70° being admitted to any por- 
tion of air, dcubles its bulk. 

The expansion of hydrogenous gas and atmos- 
pheric air by the vapour of water is the same 
for every temperature. 

Sulphuric acid does not expand atmospheric 
air to any sensible amount by the heat of boiling 
water. 

The theory of these facts is evident upon the 
Principles laid down in the former essay: for 
instance ; let it be required to explain the expe. 
riment with water of 212° under a pressure of 
60 inches. Here the air was condensed into the 
space 1 by the pressure of 60 inches; but being 
exposed to water of 212° a vapour arose from it 
equal in force ta go inches; the air therefore ex- 
panded tll its force also became = to 30 inches, 
which was effected by doubling its volume: then 
the vapour pressing with 30 inches force and the 
air also with 30 inches force, the two together 
support the pressure of 60 inches and the equi- 


. 


574 On the Force of Steam or Vapour 


librium continues.—In short, in all cases the 
vapour arises to a certain force, according to 
temperature, and the air adjusts the equilibrium, 
by expanding or contracting as may be required. 

The notion of a chemical affinity subsisting be- 
tween the gases and vapours of different kinds, 
cannot at all be reconciled to these phenomena. 
To suppose that all the different gases have the 
same affinity for water might indeed be admitted 
if we could not explain the phenomena without 
it; but to go further, and suppose that water 
combines with every gas’ to the same amount 
as its vapour in vacuo; or in other words, that 
the elasticity of the compound should be exactly 
the same as if the two were separate, is certainly 
going far to serve an hypothesis. 

Besides, we must on this ground suppose that 
all the gases have the same force of affinity 
for any given vapour; a supposition that 
cannot be admitted as having any analogy to 
other established Jaws of chemical affinity. 


ESSA¥ , ILI. 


On Evaporation. 
When a liquid is exposed to the air, it be- 
comes gradually dissipated in it: the process 


by which this effect is produced, we call evapo-< 
ration. 


On Evaporation. 575 
Many philosophers concur in the theory of 


. chemical solution: atmospheric air, it is said, 


has an affinity for water; it is a menstruum 
in which water is soluble to a certain degree, 
It is allowed notwithstanding by all, that each 
liquid is convertible into an elastic vapour in 
vacuo, which can subsist independently in’ any 
temperature; but as the utmost forces of these 
vapours are inferior to.the pressure of the at~ 
mosphere in ordinary temperatures, they are 
supposed to be incapable of existing in it in the 


~ same way as they do in a. torricellian. vacuum : 


hence the notion of \affinity is induced.—Ac- 
cording to this theory of evaporation, atmos- 
pheric air (and every other species of air for 
aught that appears) dissolves water, alkohol, 
ether, acids, and even metals. Water below 
212° is chemically combined with the gases; 
above 212° it assumes a new form, and becomes 
a distinct elastic fluid, called steam: .whether 
water first chemically combined with air, and 
then heated above 212°, is detached from the 
air Or remains with it, the advocates of the the- 
ory have not determined.—This theory has al- 
ways been considered as complex and attended 
with difficulties; so much that M.  Pictet 
VOL, Vv. KK 


576 On Evaporations 


and others have rejected it, and adopted that: 


which admits of distinct elastic vapours in the 
atmosphere at all temperatures, uncombined with 
either of the principal constituent gases 5» as 
being much more simple and easy'of explication 
than the other; though they do not remove the 
grand: objection to it, arising from atmospheric 
pressure. It has however’ been made to appear 
in these essays, I presume, that the objection 
to it from pressure, is itself founded upon an 
ungrounded hypothesis. 

Leaving the theory of evaporation for the 
present, we shall proceed to the experiments. 

The following positions have been established 
by others, and need therefore only to be men- 
- tioned here. 

4. Some fluids evaporate much more quickly 
than others, 

2, ‘The quantity evaporated is in direct pro- 
portion to the surface exposed, all other circum- 
stances‘alike. 

3. An increase of temperature in the liquid 
is attended with an increase of evaporation, not 
directly proportionable. 

4. Evaporation is greater where there is 
a stream of air than where'the air is stagnant. 

5. Evaporation from water is greater the less 


es i a eee 


a 


_- 2°. 


sO 


-On Evaporation. 577 


the humidity previously existing in the atmos- 


phere, all other circumstances the same. 


The objects in view in this essay, are, 

1. To determine the precise effect that a 
variation of temperature has upon the quantity 
evaporated, 

2. To determine the ratio of evaporability 
ef different fluids, 

3. To find a rule by which the quantity and 
effect of previous humidity in the air may be © 
ascertained, 

4. From these and other facts to obtain a 
true theory of evaporation. 


On the Evaporation of Water at 212°, 


I took a small cylindrical vessel of tin, its 
diameter 3i and depth 2} inches; and having 
fixed three pieces of wire to equidistant points 
of the circumference, they were fastened together 
at the top and the extremities bent into a hook, 
by which the vessel might be suspended from 
the end of a balance, &c. This done, the vessel 
was nearly filled with water, which was then 
made to boil over a‘small red fire in different 
circumstances: it was held in the hand and 
yemoved nearer to or further from the fire, so as ta 


578 On Evaporation. 


be kept just at the point 6f ebullition. In this 
state the vessel and water were weighed true to 
a grain, and the instant of time noted by a watch ; 
then kept as above at 212° for ten minutes.or 
more and again weighed: and the loss of water 
by evaporation, per minute, was thus ascertained. 
The experiments were repeated several. times 
in the same as well as in different circumstances ; 
and the results in no instance differed materially 
when obtained in the same circumstances. 

The least evaporation per minute was 30 
grains: this was when the fire, or lamp, was in 
the middle of a room, the doors and windows 
shut, and the air calm, 

The next degree was 35 grains per minute or 
thereabouts: this was when the evaporating 
vessel was over a small fire in the usual fire. 
place; there being a moderate draught of air, 
and the room close. 

A brisker fire, causing a stronger current of 
air up the chimney, gave from 35 to 40 grains 
per minute. 

When the windows of the room were open, 
and a strong wind prevailed, the draught over 
the fire was proportionally increased, and the 
evaporation was from 40 to 45 grains per 
minute. 


> AE 62 RES ty ote sees 


On Evaporation. 579 


The extremes that have thus been noticed are 
go and 45 grains per minute: but were the ex. 
periment tried in the open air in high winds, I 
am inclined to believe from a comparison of the 
observations, that an evaporation of 50, 55 or 
even 60 grains per minute might be observed, 


~ On the Evaporation of Water below 212°. 


I have frequently tried the evaporation at all 
the temperatures below 212°: it would be tedi- 
ous to, enter into detail of all the experiments, 
but shall give the results at some remarkable 
points. In all the high temperatures I used the 
vessel above mentioned, keeping a thermometer 
in it, by which I could secure a constant heat, 
or at least keep it oscillating within narrow 
limits. 

‘The evaporation from water of 180° was from 
18 to 22 grains per minute, according to circum- 
stances; or about 4 of that at 212°, 

At 164° it was about 4 of the quantity at the 
boiling temperature ; or from 10 to 16 grains per 
Minute, . 

At 152° it was only ; of that at boiling; or 
from 8 to 12 grains, according to circumstances, ~ 


580 On Evaporation. 


_ The temperature of 144° afford + of the effect 
at boiling ; 138° gave 2 bs GCE 
Having previously to these experiments de- 
termined the force of aqueous vapour at all the 
temperatures under 212°, I was naturally led 
to examine whether the quantity of water eva~ 
porated in a given time bore any proportion to 
the force of vapour of the same temperature, 
and was agreeably surprised to find that they 
exactly corresponded in every part of the ther- 
mometric scale: thus the forces of vapour at 
212°, 180°, 164°, 152°, 144° and 138° are equal to 
30, 15, 10, ya eit and 4 inches of 
mercury respectively, and the grains of water 
evaporated per minute in those temperatures 
were 30, 15, 10, 7%, 6 and 5 also; or numbers 
proportional to these. Indeed it should ‘be so 
from the established Jaw of mechanics, that all 
effects are proportional to the causes producing 
them, . The atmosphere, it ‘should seem, ob 
structs the diffusion of vapour, which would 
otherwise be almost instantaneous, as in vacuo s 
but this obstruction is overcome in. proportion 
to the force of the vapour. The obstruction 
however cannot arise from the weight of the 
atmosphere, as has till now been supposed ; for 
then it would effectually prevent any vapour 


a 


a. ee 


On Evaporation. 5 ot 


from arising under 212°: but it is caused by the 
vis inertice- of the particles of air; and is similar 
to that which a stream of water mects with in 
descending amongst pebbles. 

The theory of evaporation being thus mani- 
fested from experiments in high temperatures, 
I found that -if it was to be verified. by experi- 
ménts in low temperatures, regard must be had 
to the force of vapour actually,existing .in the 
atmosphere at the ime. For instance, if water 
of 59° were the subject, the force of vapour of 
that temperature is ¢s of the force at 212°, and 
one might expect the quantity of evaporation 
4 also; but if it should happen, as it sometimes 
does in summer, that an aqueous atmosphere to 
that amount does already exist, the evaperation, 
instead of being <> of that from boiling. water, 
would be nothing at all: On the other hand, if the 
aqueous.atmosphere were less than that, suppose 
1 of it, corresponding to 39° of heat, then the. 
effective evaporating force would be zs of that 
from boiling water; in short, the - evaporating 
force must be universally equal to that-of the 
temperature of the water, diminished by that 
already existing in the atmosphere. In order 
to find the force of the aqueous atmosphere I 
usually take a tall cylindrical glass jar, dry on . 


582 On Evaporation. 


the outside, and fill it with cold spring water 
fresh from the well; if dew be immediately 
formed on the outside, I pour the water out, 
let it stand a while to increase in heat, dry the 
outside of the glass well with a linen cloth, and 
then pour the water in again; this operation is 
to be continued till dew ceases to be formed, 
and then the temperature of the water must be 
observed; and opposite to it in the table (page 
559) will be found the force of vapour in the 
atmosphere. ‘This must be done in the opem 
air, or at a window; because the air within is 
generally more humid than that without. Spring 
water is generally about 50°, and will mostly 
answer the purpose the three hottest months in 
the year: in other seasons an artificial cold 
mixture is required.—The accuracy of the re- 
sult obtained this way I think scarcely needs to 
be insisted upon. Glass, and all other hard, 
smooth substances I have tried, when cooled to 
a degree below what the surrounding aqueous 
vapour can support, cause it to, be condensed 
on their surfaces into water. The degree of cold 
is usually from 1 to 10 below the mean heat of 
the 24 hours; in summer I have often observed 
the point as high as 58° or 59°, corresponding 
te $an inch of mercury in force, and once or 


On Evaporation. 583 


twice have seen it at 62°: in changeable and 
windy weather it is liable to considerable fluc- 
tuation; but this is not the place to enlarge 
upon it. 

For the purpose of observing the evaporation 
in atmospheric temperatures I got two light tin 
vessels, the one 6 inches in diameter and 3 inch 
deep, the other 8 inches diameter and 3 inch 
deep ; and made to be suspended from a balance, 
like the former one. When any experiment 
designed as a test of the theory was made, a 
quantity of water was put into one of these 
(generally the 6 inch one, which I preferred) 
the whole was weighed to a grain; then it was 
placed in an open window or other exposed 
situation for 10 or 15 minutes, and again weigh- 
ed to ascertain the loss by evaporation; at the 
same time the temperature of the water was 
observed, the force of the aqueous atmosphere 
ascertained as above, and the strength of the 
current of air noticed. From a great variety of 
experiments made beth in the winter and sum- 
mer, and when the evaporating force was strong 
and weak, I have found the results entirely con- 
formable with the above theory. The same 
quantity is evaporated with the same evaporating 
force thus determined, whatever be the temper- 
ature of the air, as near as can be judged; but’ 

VOL. V. Lk 


584 On Evaporation. 


with the same evaporating force, a strong wind 
will double the effect produced in a still atmos- 
phere. Thus, if the aqueous atmosphere be 
correspondent to 40° of temperature and the 
air be 60°, the evaporation is the same as if the 
aqueous atmosphere were at 60° of temperature 
and the air 72°; and in a calm air the evapora- 
tion froma vessel of 6 inches in diameter in 
such circumstances would be about .g of a grain 
per minute, and about 1. 8 grains per minute 
in avery strong wind ; the different intermediate 
quantities being regulated solely by the force of 
the wind. 

The following table exhibits the ratios and 
quantity of water evaporated in each temper- 
ature, derived from’ the preceding theory, and 
confirmed by experiments, as far as they have 
been extended. The first column expresses the 
temperature; the second, the corresponding 
force of vapour taken from the preceding table; 
the other three columns give the number of grains 
of water that would be evaporated from a surface 
of 6 inches in diameter in the respective tem- 
peratures, on the supposition of there being 
previously no aqueous vapour in the atmos- 
phere. These columns present the extremes and 
the mean of evaporation, likely to be noticed, 
or nearly such: for, the first is calculated upon 


—<————<_ ee 


On Evaporation. 585 


the supposition of 35 grains loss per minute 
from the vessel of 33 inches in diameter ; 
the second, 45 and the third 55 grains per 


Minute, 


TABLE 


Shewing the force of vapour, and the full evaporating 
force of every degree. of temperature from 20° to 85°, ex- 
pressed in grains of water that would be raised per minute 
from a vessel of six inches in diameter, supposing there 


were no vapour already in the atmosphere.. 


Seeapeapear: |) Force. of Yap. Evaporating Force in Grains. 
ai2° aoe 120 }54 189 
20° BD 02 .67 82 
21 134 oD Ae 69 «53 
22 139 56 i ae ee 
23 144 58 73 91 
24 »150 -60 77 O4 
25 156 62 79 297 
26 162° -65 .82 1, 02 
27 “£168 .67 186 1, 05 
28 ly 70 30 1. 10 
29 ~.180 7 i93 1.83 
$0 «186 74 95 Pag 7 
31 193 77 99 1}. 21 
32 «200 80 1. 03 1. 26 
33 +207 83 1. O7 i oe 


586 On Evaporation: 


TABLE CONTINUED. 


Temperature. Force of Vap. Evaporating Force in Grains. 
212° - 90 120 154 189 
Reba Cod 1 SS ie hh 
34° 214 86 rete 1, 35 
35 221 .80 1. 14 1. 39 
36 229 92 1, 18 1, 45 
37 £237 95 1, 22 1, 49 
38 2245 .98 1. 26 1. 54 
89 254 1. 02 1. 31 1. 60 
40 . .263 1. 05 1. 35 1. 65 
At 407% 1. 09 1, 40 Lil. 
42 283 Las 1, 45 1.-%3 
43 * 294 1248 1. 51 1, 85 
A4. 305 1,'22 fe SF 1, 92 
45 316 1. 26 1 ,..62 1, 99 
46 327 beat 1. 68 ‘2.08 
47 339 1. 36 1. 75 2.13 
48 ee | 1. 40 1. 80 2.20 
49 -363 1. 45 1. 86 2. 28 
50 0375 1. 50 1, 92 2. 36 
$1 .38S 1. 55 1. 99 2, 44 
ie) 401 1. 60 2. 06 2.51 
oS ALS 1. 66 25°13 2.61 
54 -429 1. 71 2, 20 2. 69 | 
55 443 1. 77 2, 28 2. 78 
SG. fon” AGS 1, 83 2. 35 2. 88 
357 AT4 1. 90 2. 43 2. 98 
58 .490 1. 96 D052 3. 08 
59 507 2. 03 2. 61 3. 19 
60 524 10 2. 70 3. 30 
61 542 217 2 


. 79 3. 41 


On Evaporation. 


TABLE CONTINUED, 


587 


Temperature. 


212° 


62° 
63 
64 
65 
66 
67 
68 
69 
70 
71 


79 


83 


Force of Vap. || 
30 120 
1560 2. 24 
.578 2. 31 
597 2. 39 
616 2. 46 
.635 2. 54 
655 2. 62 
.676 2. 70 
.698 2. 79 
721 2. 88 
TAS 2. 98 
.770 3. 08 
.796 3. 18 
823 3. 29 
851 3. 40 
.880 3. 52 
910 3. 65 
.940 3. 76 
971 3. 88 
1, 00 4, 00 
1. 04 4. 16 
1. 07 4, 28 
1. 10 4, 40 
1. 14 4. 56 
L 17 4, 68 


150 


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ao 
ron 


Evaporating Force in Grains. 


182 


OE ~ w 


Pees eee 


588 On Evaporation. 


_ The use of this table will appear from the 
following problems : 


PROBLEM I. 


Having given the temperature at which the 
aqueous atmosphere begins to be condensed into 
water, and the temperature of the air, to find 
the quantity of water that would be evaporated 
in a minute from a vessel of 6 inches diameter. 

Solution. Subtract the grains opposite to 
the lower temperature from those opposite to 
the higher one, in the first, second or third 
column of grains, according to the strength 
of the wind, and the remainder will be the 
quantity evaporated in a minute, under those 
circumstances, nearly, 

Example. Let the point of condensation be 
52°, the temperature of the air 65°, with a mo- 
derate breeze, 

The number opposite 52°in the second column 
of grains is 2. 06, and that opposite 65° is 3. 16; 
the difference, 1, 1 grain, is the evaporation 
per minute. 


PROBLEM Ii. 


Having given the quantity evaporated in a 
minute, found by experiment, and the temper- 
ature of the air, to find the force of the aqueous 
atmosphere, and the point of condensation. 


~ 


ee 


ae ve 


“aye? © 


SS ee Pee 


ee a 


On Evaporation. — 589 


Solution. Subtract the observed evaporation 
from that opposite the given temperature in the 
table; and look above for the number nearest 
to the remainder in the same column of evapor- 
ation, opposite to which will be found the force 
of the aqueous atmosphere, and the point at 


’ which it begins to be condensed. , 


Example. Finding the evaporation from a 
vessel of 6 inches in diameter to be 1. 7 grain 
per minute with a brisk wind, air 62°; what is 
the weight of the aqueous atmosphere, and the 


‘temperature at which it begins to be condensed 


into water ? ; 

The number opposite 62° in the third column 
of grains is 3. 52, being the whole evaporating 
force at that temperature in a perfectly dry at- 
mosphere; from which take 1.7 grains, the 
real evaporating force observed, and the remain- 
der, 1. 82, corresponds, as per table, to the 
force .294 inches of mercury, the weight of 
vapour, and to 43° of temperature*, 


* It may be proper to remind the reader that all the 
experiments on evaporation are understood to be madé 
in the open air, or ina window with a current inward 5 
also it may be observed the evaporation in a close room 
is much less and is besides irregular, being greater pro- 
portionably from a less surface, evidently from the stag- 


~ nation of the air, 


§90 On Evaporation. 


_ Evaporation of Spirits, Ether, &c. 


If the law of evaporation abave given apply 
to water in every part of the scale of heat, no 
reasonable doubt can be entertained respecting 
its application to other liquids. I have not- 
withstanding made several experiments on others, 
the results of which are conformable to the same 
law. Some of them follow :— 

1. Spirit of wine.—Evaporated from a sur- 
face of 4 inches in diameter, 54 grains in 25 
Minutes: air 53°; aqueous atmosphere at 49°, 
and beginning to rain with a moderate breeze. 
It would proportionally have been 121 grains 
from a vessel of 6 inches in diameter. This gives 
nearly 5 grains per minute. The same spirit 
boiled at or near 180°. 

Now from the data, water of 83° is equivalent 
in force to spirits of 59°: and it may be seen 
that the evaporating force of water of 83° is 
nearly 5 in the first and second columns of grains 
of the table. It seems probable that the 
aqueous atmosphere does not diminish the evapo-~ 
ration of spirits as it does that of water. 

2. Ether. 1. Puta phial containing ether, 
and a small tin vessel of 13 inch diameter into a 
scale and balanced them exactly: then poured 
the ether into the evaporating vessel and put 


On Evaporation. 5gt 


the phial into the scale again; took out 40 grains 
from the opposite scale, and waited till the equi- 
librium was restored: this was in 8 minutes 6 
seconds. The air was 50°, and the ether at 
first 50°; but it rapidly sunk, as was found by 
dipping a very small bulbed thermometer into 
it, to. 28°. In a window with a_ moderate 
breeze. 


2and 3. Repeated the experiment, in the 
same circumstances, except the evaporating ves- 
sel, which was now porcelain, and 23 inches 
diameter. Lost 40 grains in 3 minutes.. Ther. 
mometer sunk from 50 to 30°... The two experi. 
ments made this way did not differ above one or 
two grains. 
_ These results reduced toa vessel. of 3? inches 
in diameter give 
1st. Experiment, loss 17 grains. per - minute; 
2&3 — 222 
. The reason why the result in the. first-experi- 
ment was something less than in the other two, 
was evidently owing to the circumstance of its 
longer duration, by which the ether was the 
greater part of the time in a low temperature, 
and consequently evaporated less\—The ether 


used boiled at 102°. At 50° it was therefore in the 

capacity of water at 160°, But water at 160°, at most 

loses only 17 or 18 grains per minute, and less 
VOL, V. M M 


§92 On Evaporation. : 


20° below that temperature. At first view theres 
fore it should seem that ether evaporates quicker 
than the general law assigns.—But it must be 
allowed that the temperature of the air has some 
effect upon evaporation, though it has certainly 
very little. Now ether in the above experi- 
ments is acted upon by a current of air of an 
equal or higher temperature than itself; but 
water of 160° is usually acted upon by air 100” 
lower than itself, which is every moment pre- 
cipitating the vapour formed, and thus ob- 
structing its circulation. This appears to be 
a sufficient cause for the small difference ob- 
served. 

With respect to mercury, sulphuric acid, 
muriate of lime, &c. there can be no doubt 
but they experience a real evaporation like those 
above; but it must be very small in proportion 
as their boiling points are high. And it would 
be difficult to make experiments upon ‘such of 
these as have an affinity for aqueous vapour ; 
because their acquisition from the aqueous at- 
mosphere would far exceed their loss by eva~ 


poration. 
\ 


Since writing the above essay, opportunities 
have occurred to ascertain whether the evapor- 
ation from ice is conformable to the same law 
as that from water. Every one, who has tried 
the experiment, admits the fact that ice is eva- 


On Evaporation. . 3893 


porable.—I have lately made several observa- 
tions on this subject, the results of which, as far 
as they go, support the conclusion that the ge- 
neral law of evaporation continues the same 
below the point of congelation as above it. All 
the experiments were made in the tin vessel 
above described of 6 inches in diameter; a 
quantity of water was suffered to freeze in it, so 
as to form a circular cake of ice; the vessel 
and ice were then weighed together, and exposed 
in the open air fora certain time, after which 
being again weighed, the loss was found; the 
force of the aqueous atmosphere was sometimes 
determined during the experiment by a mixture 
“of pounded ice and salt, in the manner already 
described, 


Crs. H. Gre, Wind. Air. 
Nov. 5.In the night lost 110 in 9 ; or, .20 perm. N.E. brisk. 28° to 31° 
—— atl0 A.M. — 25in 12;o0r,.33 —— N.E. mod. 32° 
—29.at 1 P.M. — 24in 14; or, .23 —— calm. 31° 
P.M. — 84in 92; or, .15 —— 30° 
——30. in the night —- 94in 9 ; or,.17 —— N.E.mod. 31° 
Dec.19. P.M. — 75in 8 ;0r,.16 —— N.E.caim, 26o-—28° 
Inthe night— 33in11 ;o0r,.05 —— calm, 4 Q9° 
—20. A.M.— 21in 2 ;o0r,.175 —— W. mod, Sie 


Some of these being made in the night, and 
of long duration, neither the temperature of the 
air, nor the force of the aqueous atmosphere 
could be fairly determined: the second experi~ 
ment was made under every favourable circum. 


594 On Evaporation. 


stance, and the aqueous atmosphere found at 
22°. By problem 2, at page 588 it would have 
-been determined at 214°, using the second column 
of grains inthe table.* . 


* On the subject of evaporation it may be considered 
as unpardonable not to advert to De Saussure’s valuable 
Essays on Hygrometry. 

That excellent philosopher determined, by a well 
conceived experiment, that dry air of the temperature of 
64° or 66°, imbibed aqueous vapour so as to increase its 
elasticity =4; of the atmospheric pressure; and that a 
cubic foot of such air required 11 or 12 grains of water 
to produce the effect. By the table above at page 560 
‘it appears the force of vapour at 61° = .54 = zy of 
29 .5 inches, nearly. It is probable this difference is 
occasioned in part at least by the want of perfect dry- 
ness in the air he operated upon, which caused the 
increase of elasticity to be less than otherwise,—It was, 
I think, unfortunate that he attached so much impor~ 
tance to and confidence in his hygrometer; and that he 
adopted the theory of chymical solution of water in air, 
contrary to the facts he discovered, which seemed more 
reconcileable to the notion of aqueous vapour being a 
distinct elastic fluid. Indeed he is forced to acknow- 
ledge in the 1st. chap. of his Essay on the Theory of 
Evaporation, that in the ordinary temperature of the 
atmosphere, aqueous vapour is formed in the first ins 
stance a distant elastic fluid, and after zt has been con- 
verted into an elastic fluid, it is dissolved by the air; 
** Je crois quil ne la dissout que lorsque V’action du 
* feu l’a convertie en vapeur elastique.”- Now if it 
can for a moment exist independently under the pressure 


On the Expansion of Elastic Fluids by Heat. 595 


ESSAY IV. 
On the Expansion of Elastic Fluids by Heat. 


The principal occasion of this essay is another 
on the same subject by Messrs. de Morveau 
and du Vernois in the first vol. of the Annales 
de Chimie. It appearing to them that the 
results of the experiments of De Luc, Col. 
Roi, de Saussure, Priestley, Vandermonde, Ber- 


of the atmosphere, why may it not continue to exist in 
that state? ” 

His table of the weight of aqueous vapour in a cubic 
foot of air at different degrees of the thermometer, 
being derived from experiments with his hygrometer, 
except the standard one of 66. (15° Reaumur), is far 
from accurate ; and the inaccuracy increases with the 
distance from the standard, which, as has been observed, 
appears to be nearly correct: in the higher. temper. 
atures he makes the water dissolved too little, and in 
the lower temperatures too much,—He says (§ 93) that 
the lowest he has seen the hygrometer in the open air, 
is 40; and that it indicated a reduction of temperature 
in the air amounting to 34° .7 (78° of Fahr.) was neces- 
sary in order to deposit dew, This observation alone 
is sufficient to render his hygrometer suspected; for, 
few who have attended to the formation of dew will 
admit the probability of so large a reduction being ne- 
‘cessary in any climate or season: I believe it rarely 
‘requires 40° reduction in temperature in any part of the . 
world to produce the effect, 


596 On the Expansion of Elastic Fluids by Heat. 


thollet and Monge did not sufficiently accord 
with each other; and that it would be of impor- 
tance to determine not only the whole expan. 
sion of each gas from two distant points, such 
as the freezing and boiling, but likewise whether 
. that expansion be uniform in every part of the 
scale, they instituted a set of experiments exs 
pressly for those purposes. The result of which 
was, that betwixt the temperatures of 32° and 
212°, the whole expansion of one gas differs 
much from that of another, it being in one 
instance about +s of the original, and in others 
more than 12 times that expansion; and that 
the expansion is much more for a given num- 
ber of degrees in the higher than in the lower 
part of the scale. These conclusions were so ex- 
tremely discordant with and even contradictory 
to those of others, that I could not but suspect 
some great fallacy in them, and found it in re- 
ality to be the fact: I, have no doubt it arose 
from the want of due care to keep the apparatus 
and materials free from moisture. 

My method of experimenting on this subject 
is simple, and therefore less liable to error. A 
straight manometer tube, such as has been men- 
tioned, is duly divided into equal portions of 
capacity; it is then dried by a wire and thread, 
and the open end inserted through a cork into 
a phial containing sulphuric acid, in order that 


On the Expansion of Elastic Fluids by Heat. 597 


the aqueous vapour may be drawn out of the 
tube; this is essential if we operate in temper- 
atures lower than that of the atmosphere, other- 
wise not. For want of this: attention, Col. 
Roi, in his valuable paper in the Philos. Trans. 
vol. 67, has been led into some erroneous con-. 
clusions.—A small column, of dry mercury is 
then let down toa proper point in the mano- 
meter, and it is ready for experiment with 
common air, 

It requires some address to fill the manometer 
with any other gas,—I succeeded best as follows : 
filled the tube with dry mercury; then pushed 
down a wire with thread,. so that when the wire 
was got to the end of the tube, a thick covering 
of thread just entered the open end, and held 
the mercury like a cork, so that the tube could 
be inverted without losing the contents; then 
having a glass funnel with a perforated cork 
over the water apparatus, containing the gas, 
I slipped the manometer through the hole in the 
cork, and putting my hand into the water under 
the funnel, drew the wire out of the manometer, 
and with it the mercury; upon which the gas 
entered the manometer. For carbonic acid gas, 
I opened the sealed end of the manometer, 
drew it out to a capillary bore, and forced a 
stream of the gas through the tube; then putting 
my finger on the other end, sealed it again bya 


598 On the Expansion of Elastic Fluids by’ Heat. 


blow-pipe, and let down a small column of mer- 
cury to the proper point. 

When'the manometer was to be exposed’ to 
a heat of 212°, I used a Florence flask, with a 
long glass tube corked into it, in such sort that 
as much of the manometer as was necessary to 
be exposed ta the temperature might be in the 
tube; then water at the bottom of the flask was 
made to boil violently, so that a constant stream 
of vapour issued out of the top of the glass tube, 
which was found to raise the thermometer to 
212%. Small specks of white paint were put 
upon the divisions of the manometer together 
_with numbers which were discernible through 
the containing tube. For lower temperatures 
a deep tin vessel containing hot water was used, 
in which the manometer was immersed, the water 
being well agitated previously to each obser - 
vation. ag 

From a great many experiments made in 
this way on common air, and likewise upon 
hydrogenous gas, oxygenous and nitrous gases, 
and carbonic acid gas, I can assert that the con- 
clusions of De Luc, Roi, Saussure, Berthollet, 
&c. are nearly accurate throughout, and that 
those of de Morveau and du Vernois are ex- 
tremely inaccurate in the higher temperatures. 

I have repeatedly found that 1000 parts of 
common air of the temperature 55° and common 


On the Expansion of Elastic Fluids by Heat. £99 


pressure, expand to 1321 parts in the manometer’ . 
to which adding \4 parts for the corresponding 
expansion of ‘glass, ‘we ‘have 325 ‘parts increase 
Upon 1000 from’ 55° to’ 212°3! or for 157° of 
the thermometrie-@eale, As °for the expansion 
in the intermediate’ degrees, which’ Col. Rdi’s 
experiments shew to’bea Slowly diminishing one 
above the temperature of 57°, but ‘which de 
Morveau’s ‘on the-contrary shew tobe a rapidly 
increasing one in the ‘higher part of the scales -E 
am obliged ‘to. allow that ‘Col. ‘Roi is right, 
though it makes in some degree against an hy 
pothesis I have formed rélative to ‘the subject 3 
he ‘has certainly however made ‘the dimihution 
too great from 72° downwards, owing to ‘his 
not perceiving that he actually ‘destroyed a 
portion of the elastic fluid \he “was” operating 
upon (aqueous! Vapour) in reducing ‘its temper 
ature so low: if his air‘had been previously 
dried by sulphuric acid, &c. he would not have 
found so remarkable jdiminution below 72°. My. 
experiments ‘give for 772° above 55°, 167 parts 4 
forthe next 772° only 158 parts and the ex: 
pansion in every part of the scale seems to bea 
gradually diminishing one in ascending. 

The results of several experiments‘made upon 
hydrogenous gas, oxygenous gas, carbonic acid 
gas and nitrous gas, which were all the kinds J 

VOL. V. NN 


600 On the Expansion of Elastic Fluids by Heats 


tried, agreed with those an common air not 
only in the: total expansion, but in the gradual 
diminution of it in, ascending: the small differs 
€nces observed. never. exceeded 6 or 8 parts on 
the whole $253 and differences to this amount 
will take place in common air, when not freed 
from aqueous vapour, which was the situation 
of all my factitious gases. 

Upon the whole therefore I see no sufficient 
reason why we may not conclude, that all elastié 
Sluids under ‘the same spressure expand equaily by 
heat—and. that. for any given expansion of mer- 
cury, the corresponding expansion of air is pro-~ 
portionally, something . less, the higher the temper- 
ature. 

This remarkable fact that all elastic fluids 
expand the. same quantity.in the same. circum. 
stances, plainly shews that the expansion depends 
solely upon heat: whereas the expansion in solid 
and. liquid; bodies seems to depend. upon an 
adjustment. .of the, two opposite forces of heat 
and chemical. affinity, the one a constant force 
in. the same temperature, the other a variable’ 
one, according to the nature of the body; hence 
the unequal expansion of such bodies. It seems 
therefore that general laws respecting the absolute 
quantity and the nature of heat, are more likely 
to be derived from elastic fluids than from other 
substances, 


On the Expansion of Elastic Fluids by Heat. 601 


In order to explain the manner in whothy 
elastic fluids expand by heat, let us assume an; 
hypothesis that- the repulsive force of each par- 
ticle is exactly proportional to the whole quan- 
tity of heat combined with it, or in other words 
to its temperature reckoned from the point of 
total privation: then, since the diameter of 
each particle’s sphere of influence is as the cube 
‘root of the space occupied by the mass we shall 


3 3 

have V 1000: ¥1325 (10: 11, nearly) :: the 
absolute quantity of heat in air of 55°: the 
absolute quantity in air of 212°. This gives 
the point of total privation of heat, or absolute 
cold, at 1547° below the point at which water 
freezes. Dr. Crawford (Qn Animal Heat, &c. 
page 267) deduces the said point by a method 
wholly different to be 1532°.—So near a coin- 
cidence is certainly more than fortuitous. 

The only objection I see to this hypothesis 
js, that it necessarily requires the augmentation 
of elastic fluids for a given quantity of heat to 
be greater in the higher temperatures, than in the 
lower, because the cubes of a series of numbers 
in arithmetical progression differ more the larger 
the numbers or roots: but it has just been shewn 
that in fact an augmentation of a contrary kind 
is observed. This refers us to the consideration 
whether the mercurial thermometer is an accurate 


602 On the: Expansion of Elastic Fluids by Heat. 


measure of the increments of heat; if it: be, 
the hypothesis fails; but if equal increments 
of heat cause a greater expansion in mercury 
in the higher than in the lower epabe 
and that in a small degree, the fact noticed 
above instead’ of being an objection will a 
roborate’ the hypothesis.—Dr. Crawford deters 
mines thé expansions’ of mercury to! be very 
nearly‘in proportion to the increments of heat; 
M. De Luc. makes oe to be less for a given 
quantity of heat in the lower than in the higher 
part. of the scale; and in a ratio that agree 
with this hypothesis, Now as every other liquid 
we are acquainted with is found to_expand more 
in the higher than im the lower, temperatures ; 
analogy is in favour of the conclusions of De 
Luc,. that. mereury dogs the same. ye ‘ 
Q Q © » > o 


EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE 
3 + - A. % ~ ry : O° *”) 
_ The annexed plate is intended to illustrate the author "9 
ecnception of. the €onstitution of the atmosphere’ ii 
different marks or characters of the’ iparticles’ of the ga 


are merely arbitrary, and intended for distinctions, = 


i 
| 
: 
} 
| 


simple atmospheres are given nearly on'their real densities, 
and the particles are arranged at equal distances from eac 

other. to the compound atmosphere the same arrangemen 
is madd of each kind of particles as. in the simple ; Bae the 
particlés of differént kinds do not arrange, at réguibt 
distances from each others because: it is supposed they 
do not repel eachother," 


SIMPLE A. 


wt, YOCOUS PA~lOUE CLYOWOUS — GtbdS 


COMPOUND . 
Oy Var) 


SIMPLE ATMO 8 PA RS Vihd HB. Mage G09 
lyneows vapuer Coygemns ges + Gyolto guts Aasbonie avd. yes 


. . . . . 


| x | > 0) > | | a a 


Be mo | 


o Oley ga a 


COMPOUND ATMOSPHERE 


. . * ae Cr Seay a ** ° 7 ¥* —-~z ~ ee Ca | 
z 9 % o ° 9 an | 


“° 
> 
2 
° 
° 


$03 


~A REVIEW: of some' EXPERIMENTS, 
which have been supposed to DISPROVE 
the MATERIALITY of HEAT. ° 


BY WILLIAM HENRY; 


READ JUNE 5, 1801, 


The following remarks, on the subject of heat, 
were written soon after the publication of Count 
Rumford’s Inquiry concerning the Source of the 
Heat evolved by Friction ; and of the interesting 
essays of Mr. Davy, which appeared in Dr. Bed- 
does’s West Country Contributions. They 
were transmitted to Dr. Beddoes, for publica- 
tion, about the close of the year 1799; but 
circumstances, with which I am unacquainted, 
have, I believe, induced the Doctor to decline 
the continuation of his periodical work. These 
circumstances, I deem it necessary to state ; 

because, fad -the essay been written nearer the 
period of its publication, it would probably 
have assumed a very different form. At present, 
Fhave not ‘leisure to review the subject, or to 
attempt any material alteration; and still less, 
3 r 


604 On the Materiality of Caloric. 


to examine, whether J have been anticipated by 
any of the authors, whose essays have been 
published, during the two last years, 


A Review of some Experiments, which have. been 
supposed to disprove the Materiality of Heat. 


It has long been a question among philoso- © 
phers, whether the sensation of heat, and the 
class of phenomena arising from the same cause, 
be produced by a peculiar kind of matter, or 
by motion of the particles of bodies in general. 
The former of these opinions, though far’ from 
being universally admitted, is now most generally 
received ; and the peculiar body, to. which the 
phenomena of heat are referred, has been deno- 
minated by M. Lavoisier, caloric, Against 
the doctrine of the French school, some forcible 
arguments have lately been advanced by Count 
Rumford and by Mr. Davy, both of whom have 
adopted that theory respecting heat, which as- 
signs, as its cause, a motion among the particles 
of bodies. 

The method of reasoning, employed by Mr. 
Davy, in proving the immateriality of the cause 
of heat, is the reductio ad absurdum, i. e. the 
oppugned theory is assumed. as true, together 
with its applications; and facts are, adduced, 
directly coatradictory of the assumed principles, 


On the Materiality of Caloric. 605 


i shall take the liberty. of offering a statement of 
the argument, rather different from that of Mr. 
Davy ; though I trust without misrepresentation, 
or any material omission, 

Let heat be considered.as matter ;, and let it 
be granted, that the temperature of bodies de- 
pends on the presence of uncombined caloric. 
Now, if the temperature of a body be, increased, 
the free caloric, occasioning that elevation, must 
proceed from one of two sources; either istly. 
it may be communicated by surrounding sub- 
stances; or 2dly. it may proceed from an inter- 
nal source, i.e. from a disengagement of what 
before existed in the body, Jatent. or combined. 
But the temperature of) bodies. is uniformly 
increased by friction-and percussion, and, neces- 
sarily, in one of the foregoing modes, 

I. Mr. Davy found, by experiment, that a thin 
metallic plate was heated, by friction in the 
exhausted receiver of an air pump, even when 
the apparatus was insulated, from _ bodies 
capable of supplying caloric, by being placed 
on ice. This experiment he considers as de- 
monstrating, that, the evolved caloric could 
not be communicated by surrounding bodies, 

To the inference deduced from this experi- 
ment, it may be objected, that the mode of 
insulation was. by no means perfect, Admitting . 
the vacuum, produced by the air pump, to: have 


606 On ‘the Materiality of Calorze. 


been complete, still the supply of ‘caloric could 
not thus be’ entirely cut off; simce’ it “hasbeen 
shewn ‘by ‘Count ‘Rumford, that “caloric: passes 
even through a torricellian vacuum: ’ Tf, there- 
fore; ‘friction’ produce ‘in 'bédies*some | ehange, 
which enables them’ to ‘attract caloric from/sur- 
rounding ‘substances, « this attraction may be 
equally efficient “in anvexhausted’ receiver,” as 
inone' containing’ an' atmosphere of mean‘den- 
sity. It would ‘be an’ interésting subject’ of 
experiment, ‘to ‘determine the ‘influence (of ‘at+ 
mospheres of ‘various densitiés,.as conductors ‘of 
caloric; for, since effects are proportionate to 
their causes; and it is ascertained that common 
air conducts caloric, better than it is conveyed 
through a vacuum, as 1000 is to 702, it may 
be expected that the ratio will hold in all inter- 
mediate degrees. 

In ‘Count Rumford’s masterly experiment, 
the metal, submitted to friction, was encom- 
passed by water; and air was’ carefully excluded 
from \the surfaces in motion. “Yet! the «water 
became hot, and -was' kept ‘boiling a consider- 
able time. In this-case, the only obvious'source 
of caloric, from without, was-through the’borer, 
employedin producing'the friction ; if it be-true, 
as the-Count has observed, that the water eculd 
mot, at the same instant, ‘be in the act ‘of ‘giving 
out and receiving heat. The same objection 


On the Materiality of Caloric. 607 


to the communication of heat, from an external 
source, €xists, also, in thus explaining Mr. 
Davy’s‘ experiment: but I cannot admit that 
the argument is demonstrative, in proving the 
evolved caloric not to be derived from external 
substances; for no absurdity is implied in sup- 
posing, that a body may be receiving caloric in 
One state, and giving it out im another. We 
have an examplé of the simultaneous admission 
and extrication of a subtile fluid, the materiality 
of which is admitted by Mr. Davy, in an excited 
electric, which, at the very same instant, receives 
the electric fluid from without, and transfers it 
to the neighbouring conductors. In an ignited 
body, also, the two processes of absorption and 
irradiation of light, are, perhaps, taking place at 
the amse moment. 

II. Another cause of the increase of tem- 
perature in bodies, is the liberation of their 
combined caloric; and, if this be a source of 
temperature, the absolute quantity of caloric in 
a body must be diminished by friction. That 
no such diminution really takes placé, we Have 
the evidence of two experiments+thé one of 
Mr. Davy, the other of Count Rumford. Mr, 
Davy, by tubbing together two pieces of ice 
converted them into water. Now water, ex hy- 
. pothesi, contains more caloric, than the ice, from ° 
VOL. Vv, oie) 


608 On the Materiality of Caloric. 


which it was formed; and, on the same hypo- 
thesis, the absolute quantity of caloric in ice is 
diminished by friction and liquefaction, which 
is absurd: Count Rumford, also, ascertained 
that the specific heat of iron was not diminished, 
when converted by a borer into turnings, and 
consequently when it had been the source of 
much temperature. In explanation of these 
facts, we may be allowed to assume the com- 
munication of caloric from surrounding bodies, 
till this communication has been demonstrated to 
be impossible. But even were the impossibility 
established, it would yet remain to be proved, 
that the evolved caloric does not proceed from 
an internal source; and this can only be done, 
by an accurate comparison of the quantity of 
‘caloric in bodies, before and after friction. 
Now, in instituting this comparison, it is implied, 
that we possess means of determining the abso- 
lute quantity of caloric in bodies, and that we 
can compare quantities of caloric, with as much 
Certainty, as we can obtain from an appreciation 
by weight or by measure. Such perfection, how- 
ever, does not, I apprehend, belong to the 
present state of our knowledge respecting heat; 
for I. have always been distrustful of that part 
of the doctrine, which assigns the ratio of heat 
latent in bodies. The grounds of this distrust 
I shall state pretty fully—for, if it can be proved 


, 


On the Materiality of Caloric. 609 


that we have no accurate conceptions of quantity, 
as appertaining to heat, all arguments against 
its materiality, derived from supposed determi- 
nations of its quantity, must be inconclusive. 

The only clear conceptions, which the mind 
has of quantity, are derived either from a com- 
parison of the magnitude, or of the gravity, of 
bodies. In the instance of caloric, both these 
modes of mensuration fail us. We cannot 
estimate the bulk of a substance, which eludes 
-our grasp and our vision; nor have we yet suc- 
ceeded in comparing its gravity, with that of 
the grosser kinds of matter, which it surpasses 
in tenuity, beyond all comparison. Our no- 
tions of the quantity of caloric are derived, not 
from such simple judgments, but from compli- 
cated processes of reasoning, in the steps of 
which, errors, fatal to the whole, may, pase a 
sometime appear. 

Whatever be the nature of caloric—whether 
it be a body suc generis, or a quality of other 
bodies,—its effects are peculiar and appropriate ; - 
and, like all other effects, bear a proportion to 
the energy of their cause. Expansion, for ex- 
ample, it is proved by experiment, keeps pace 
with the actual increments of heat; and on this 
principle is founded the thermometer, the great 
agent in the acquirement of all our ideas res- - 
pecting heat, both absolute and relative, The 


610 On the Materiality of Caloric. 


competency of this instrument, however, to afford 
information of the quantity of caloric, is limited 
by the following circumstances. 

1. The mercury of the thermometer indicates 

only the quantity of heat, which it has itself 
acquired, and by no means that contained in 
‘surrounding bodies. gdly. The scale of ex- 
pansion is wholly arbitrary, commencing far 
from the absolute privation of heat, and falling 
far short of its maximum. gdly. The: caloric, 
latent in bodies, or chemically combined. with 
them, has no effect on the thermometer. 4thly. 
The experiments of Dr. Crawford, though suffi- 
cient to shew that the expansion of the mercury 
of the thermometer bears a ratio to the actual 
increments of heat, in any temperature between 
the boiling and freezing points of water, by no 
means prove that this proportion holds univer. 
sally. 
Equal weights of heterogeneous bodies, it is 
presumed, contain unequal quantities of caloric ; 
and the ratio of these quantities, is approx- 
imated, in the following manner, 

Equal weights of the same body, at different 
temperatures, giye, on admixture, the arithme- 
tical mean: but equal weights of different bodies, 
at different temperatures, afford a temperature, 
which varies considerably fromthe mean. Thus 
a pound of water at 100 degrees, and a poundat 


On the Materiality of Caloric. 614 


200°, giye the temperature of 150°; but a pound 
of water at 200° and a pound of mercury at 
100° afford, not the mean, but a temperature 
considerably higher. Hence it follows that a 
pound of mercury has not the power of fixing 
and retaining so much caloric, as a pound of 
water: and the fixation of more heat, by the 
water than by the mercury, is ascribed to the 
superior energy of a power, inherent in both, 
and termed capacity for caloric. 

From an extensive series of experiments Dr. 
Crawford infers, that the capacities of bodies 
are permanent, so long as they retain their form. 
Thus, the capacity of water has to that of mer- 
cury the ratio of 28 to 1, at any temperature 
between 32° and 212°. The difference of capa- 
cities of bodies, it is inferred, therefore, would 
continue the same, down to the absolute priva- 
tion of temperature.—Imagine, then, two bodies, 
at this point of privation: they may still contain 
unequal quantities of combined caloric; for, 
when chemically combined, caloric does not 
produce temperature. On Dr. Crawford’s hy- 
pothesis, these comparative quantities of com- 
bined caloric, in the two bodies, may be learned, 
by observing the ratio of temperature, produced, 
by the addition to each, of similar quantities of 
heat. This supposition, however, is manifestly - 
gratuitous; and the contrary might be main- 


612 On the Materiality of Caloric. 


tained, with equal or greater probability: for, 
it may be supposed, that at this assumed nega- 
tion of temperature, one body renders latent 
more caloric than another, because it actually 
contains less; as certain dry salts attract more 
water from the atmosphere, than others contain- 
ing much water of crystallization. The com- 
monly employed mode of ascertaining the spe- 
cific caloric of bodies, is founded, therefore, 
on an assumption, which is deficient in the 
character of a datum, and which itself requires 
proof, , 

If these objections be valid, they will apply 
also to shew the fallacy of the theorem, for 
finding the absolute zero of bodies. By this 
term some philosophers appear to understand 
the point of absolute privation of caloric, both 
free and combined. J apprehend, however, that 
in strict propriety it can only be used to signify 
the negation of wncombined caloric, or, as Dr. 
Crawford expresses himself, the point of abso- 
lute cold. As applied, however, to water, it 
is evident that the whole quantity of heat is 
understood.—lIn ascertaining the zero, say these 
calculators, the capacity of ice to that of water 
isas gto 10. It is plain, therefore, that when 
water freezes, it must give out zoth. of its whole 
heat, and this 10th. part is found to answer to 
146° of Faht, Consequently its whole heat is 


On the Materiality of Caloric. 613 


10 times 146, or 1460°; and hence the natural 
zero is 1460 — 32 or 1428°. Now of this 
estimate it is a datum, that the capacities of ice 
and water have precisely the above ratio. But 
if the general formula, for ascertaining the spe- 
cific caloric of bodies, be founded on erroneous 
principles, it cannot serve as the groundwork 
of any solid conclusions. 

The materiality of caloric may, I apprehend, 
be maintained, without admitting that we have 
made any steps towards determining its quantity 
in bodies; and the arguments of Count Rum- 
ford and Mr. Davy are not demonstrative, be- 
Cause they assume, that this part of the doctrine 
of caloric cannot be relinquished, without aban- 
doning it im toto. I may be permitted, there- 
fore, to state my reasons for believing caloric to 
be matter; which would have been unnecessary, 
had the contrary been proved, with all the force 
of mathematical demonstration. 

Avoiding all metaphysical reasoning on the 
nature of matter, and assuming the generally 
received definition, as sufficiently characterizing 
it, I shall examine how far this general cha- 
racter of matter applies to the individual—calo- 
ric. Caloric occupies space or is extended, 
because it enlarges the dimensions of other 
bodies; and, for the same reason, it is impene-~ 


614 On the Materiality of Caloric. 


trable, since if it could exist, at the same time, 
in the same place, with other bodies, their vo- 
lume would never be enlarged by the addition 
of heat. Of form or figure, as only a mode of 
extension, it is unnecessary to prove that caloric 
is possessed ; and indeed there is perhaps only 
one general quality of matter, that will not be 
allowed it, viz. attraction. That caloric is in~ 
fluenced by the attraction of gravitation, or by 
cohesive attraction, has never yet been proved. 
Yet the various experiments of Buffon, White- 
hurst, Fordyce, Pictet, &c. cannot be alleged 
as proofs, that it is actually devoid of this pro- 
perty; since they only decide, that the small 
quantities, which can be artificially collected, 
aré not to be set in the ballance against the 
grosser kinds of matter. One kind of attraction, 
that which has lately been termed chemical affiv 
nity, may, I think, after a full survey of pheno- 
mena, be fairly predicated of caloric—and if its 
possession of this quality be rendered probable, 
we shall thence derive a powerful argument, in 
favour of its materiality. 

That chemical affinity has a considerable share 
ii producing thé phenomena of heat, appears 
probable from the following considerations. 

i. All the characters, distinguishing caloric 
when separate, ceasé to be apparent, when it 
has contributed to a change of form in other 


EE 


On the Materiality of Caloric. 615 


bodies; andthe properties of the substances so 
changed are also materially altered. Now this 
is the only unequivocal mark of chemical union, 
that we can apply in any instance ; and chemical 
union implies the existence and efficiency of 
chemical affinity. 

2. The relation of caloric to different sub- 
Stances appears to observe that peculiar law, 
which, in other instances, is termed elective 
affinity, If a compound of two or more prin- 
ciples, a metallic oxyd for instance, be exposed 
in a high temperature, the caloric forms a per- 
“manent union with the one, but not with the 
other. In certain instances, caloric is evolved, 
when two substances, attracting each other more 
powerfully than they attract caloric, produce on 
admixture, an elevation of temperature. In 
other instances, caloric is absorbed, when it is - 
attracted by the new compound, more strongly 
than by the separate components. Such facts 
warrant the deduction, that caloric is subject to 
the laws of chemical affinity.—But the precise 
order of its affinities remain to be decided, by 
future experiments. 

g. Caloric seems, also, on some occasions, 
to bear a part in the operation of double elective 
affinities. In this way, it produces decompo- 
sitions, which, by single affinity, it is ais aut? 

VOL, Vv. PP 


616 On. the Maiteriality of Caloric. 


of effecting.Thus a most intense fire does not 
expel, entirely, the carbonic acid from alkalis. 
But when the affinity ofan acid for an alkali 
concurs with that of carbonic acid for caloric, 
a decomposition ensues.——Again— Water may.be 
submitted to the highest temperature, without 
imparting a gaseous form to the hydrogen which 
it contains; but the conspiring affinity of a metal 
for oxygen occasions the production of hydro- 
genous gas... On.this principle, many chemical 
facts are resolved into the law of double affinity, 
which. are, at present, explained by that of sin- 
gle elective attraction. 524 

4. Caloric acts, sometimes, as an intere 
medium in .combining. bodies, which, without 
its aid, are not susceptible of combination. 
Thus carbon and oxygen do. not evince’ any 
tendency to combination, at the ordinary tem- 
perature of the atmosphere; but caloric brings 
them into union, and constitutes, itself, part of 
the resulting compound, This, and a variety 
of other instances, have a striking resemblance 
to what is called intermediate affinity. 

In the theory of Dr. Crawford, no influence 
- is allowed to chemical affinity over the pheno- 
mena of heat;~ and indeed. hat. philosopher 
expresses a decided opinion, that elementary 
heat is not capable of uniting chemically with 
bodies. Hence it appears, that the difference - 


On the Materiality of Caloric. 617 


between’ the terms’ affinity and capacity is not’ 
merely a verbal one; but that they are actually: 
expressive ‘of different’ powers or catises: and 
the question, therefore, which ‘of> these terms 
shall be adopted, in the description: of facts, is 
one involving the determination of catises. 

The term capacity for heat ‘is employed, by 
Dr. Crawford and others, to denote, in the 
abstract, that power, by which different kinds 
of matter acquire different quantities of caloric. 
But in the various applications, that are made of 
this theory, a more precise Meaning is often 
affixed to it; and the term is applied, in much 
the same sense, which it has in common lan- 
guage. When thus understood, a difference of 
Capacity necessarily implies a difference in the 
extent .of the spaces, ‘between the minute par- 
ticles of bodies; and that these differences occa- 
sion the varieties, observed in the acquirement 
of heat. by -different bodies. On ‘this theory, 
there is no active principle or power inherent 
in bodies, and: more’ active in» some’ than. in 
others,—no tendency in the matter: of heat to 
attach itself, in preference, ta any one .sub- 
stance. The assigned cause. of the phenomena 
of heat is not, I apprehend, adequate to pra. 
duce the effects as d to it, | 

On the theory capacities, a change of 
form is, in certain instances, antecedent to the | 


618 On the Materiality of Caloric. 


absorption of caloric. Thus, when ether is 
converted into gas, on removing the pressure 
of the atmosphere, according to this hypothesis, 
the capacity of the ether is increased by its vola- 
tilization; and the change of form is prior to, 
and the cause of, the absorption of caloric. 
The order of events, then, in the volatilization 
of ether, is first an alteration of form; next a 
change of capacity; and lastly an absorption of 
caloric. On this hypothesis, ether may exist 
in the state of gas, without containing a greater 
absolute quantity of caloric, than in a liquid 
form. But such an interpretation of pheno- 
mena is directly contradictory to an established 
principle, admitted, even by those who prefer 
the doctrine of capacities, viz. that all bodies, 
during their conversion froma fluid to a vapo- 
rous state, absorb caloric. It is at variance, 
also, with observed facts: for if a thermometer 
be immersed in a portion of ether, confined 
under the receiver of an air pump, the temper. 
ature of the ether will be found to sink gra. 
dually, during the exhaustion of the air; and 
the evaporation becomes proportionally slower, 
till, at last, it is scarcely perceptible. We may, 
therefore, infer, that at a certain point of dimi- 
nished temperature, the volatilization of ether 
would entirely cease, if the supply of caloric, 
from surrounding bodies, could be completely 


Oniche Materialily of Caloric. 619 


intercepted. But on the theory of capacities, 
the evaporation should proceed as rapidly at 
the close, as at the commencement, of the pros 
cess—or, in other words, evaporation should be 
wholly independent of temperature, which every 
one knows is contrary to fact. 

It may be considered, therefore, as extremely 
probable, that the tendency of ether to assume 
a gaseous form depends on its chemical affinity 
for caloric. But, (it may be asked) how is this 
affinity counteracted by an increased pressure, 
and augmented by a diminished one ? 

A circumstance, absolutely essential to the 
formation of gasses, is, that free space shall be 
allowed for their expansion.—Mechanical pres- 
sure acts as a counteracting force to this expan- 
sion; and either prevents it completely, or 
partially, according to the degree of its appli- 
cation. But from this fact, no argument can 
be drawn against the existence of chemical 
affinity, as an attribute of caloric. Two oppo- 
site forces in physics may be so balanced, that 
neither shall produce its appropriate. effect. 
Thus a body, impelled in contrary directions, 
may remain at rest, yet the operation of the 
opposing forces, in this case, cannot be denied, 
Even in chemistry, we have unequivocal ex- 
amples, in which the action of the affinities 
is suppressed by more powerful causes. Thus 


620 On the Materiality of Caloric. 


bodies, that have a strong chemical affinity, 
are. kept perfectly distinct, even when placed 
in contact, by the affinity of aggregation. 
The only inference, then, that can fairly be 
deduced from the effects of pressure, in pre- 
~venting the formation of gasses, is, that it is a 
power, sometimes superior, in energy, to that 
of chemical affinity. 

Since, therefore, caloric is characterized 7 
all the properties, except gravity, that enter 
into the definition of matter, we may venture 
to consider it as a distinct and peculiar body. 
Nor is its deficiency of gravity sufficient to 
exclude it from the class of material substances. 
Such nicety of arrangement might, with equal 
propriety, lead us to deny the materiality of 
light, the gravity of which has never yet been 
proved: for, besides the experiments. of Mr. 
Michell, which: failed in ascertaining this pro- 
perty of light, we have several chemical facts 
tending to the same conclusion. Thus Mr. 
Cavendish, after firing a mixture of hydroge- 
nous and oxygenous gases, in a close vessel, 
a process during which much light is always 
emitted, found not the smallest diminution of 
weight. 

To have completed this defence of the mate- 


rial nature of heat, it would have been proper to — 


have pointed out the circumstances, in which the 


— ye ee ae 


On the Materiality of Caloric. 621 


phenomena of heat differ from the known and 
acknowledged phenomena of motion. At pre- 
sent, however, I have not leisure to pursue 
the subject at much length; and, though several 
points of disagreement would doubtless be 
found, I shall mention only one of the most 
marked and decisive. ae 
Motion is an attribute of matter, indepen- 
dently of which it cannot possibly subsist. If 
therefore, the phenomena of-heat can be shewn 
to take place, where matter is not present, we 
shall derive, from the fact, a conclusive argu- 
ment against that theory! of heat, which assigns 
motion as its cause. Now, in the experiment 
of Count Rumford, before alluded to, héat 
passed through a torricellian vacuum, in which, 
it need hardly be observed, nothing could be 
present to transport or. propagate motion. 
This experiment, in my opinion, decidedly 
proves, that heat can subsist independently 
of other matter, and consequently of motion— 
in other words that heat is a distinct and peculiar 


body. 


622 


An INVESTIGATION of the METHOD 
, whereby Men judge, by the Ear, of the 
POSITION of SONOROUS BODIES 
relative to their own Persons, 


BY MR. JOHN GOUGH. 
COMMUNICATED BY DR. HOLME. 


READ NOVEMBER 27, 1801. 


The power of the ear to distinguish very slight 
variations of tone, has been observed long ago ; 
and some experiments have been made to ascer- 
tain the degree of discrimination, which a good 
ear possesses in this respect. But there is ano- 
ther faculty of the auditory organs, which, as 
far as I know, has never been explained,—I 
mean the power of ascertaining, with some 
degree of precision, the bearings or relative 
positions of sonorous bodies. Every man is 
sensible, by constant experience and observation, 
of the existence of the faculty in question; for 
every person who can hear, knows, without the 
use of his eyes, from what quarter any particular 
sound proceeds; or, to speak in more definite 


On the Method of judging by the Ear, Sc. 629 


terms, perceives, whether it comes from before 
‘or behind him, from his right hand or his left. 
His powers of discrimination in this respect 
are not confined to the general limits or points, 
which I have here mentioned by way of illus. 
tration; for, he can in most instances divide 
these principal angles, not indeed into degrees 
and> minutes, but with so much accuracy as to 
know whether the sounding object lies ina line 
making a less angle with that imaginary right 
line, which may be supposed to join his ears; 
or with. another right line, which, passing from 
the front to the back part of his head, bisects 
the former at right angles. This sort of per- 
ception is not confined to what passes upon the 
horizon; for, place the same person on a tower, 
or other steep eminence, and he will perceive 
whether a certain sound comes from a part 
below or above him: besides which, he imme- 
diately combines this sensation with the preced- 
ing, so as to form a judgment respecting 
the true situation of the sounding body, which 


is of great practical use in the common affairs’ 


of life. 
The nature of the present essay seems to 
require, that the reader should -conceive the 
human head to be divided by two fixed mathe- 
VOL, V. 29 


~~ 


Vis 


624 On the Method of judging by the Ear 


matical planes, with a view to assist his imagina« 
tion while he peruses the sequel. 

The first of these planes lies parallel to the 
horizon, when the hearer stands in an erect 
posture ; and contains in it the imaginary right 
line that joins the ears, which in future will be 
called, the axis of hearing. This plane, there- 
fore, divides the head into two dissimilar solids, 
the one superior, and the other inferior in 
respect to itself, The other plane must be 
conceived to stand perpendicular to the last, 
and to bisect the axis of hearing at right angles. 
On these accounts, it evidently passes from the 
front to the back part of the head, dividing it 
vertically into two portions; which are so nearly 
alike in most men, that they may be considered, 
without danger of error, as two equal and 
similar geometrical solids. The preceding de- 
scription, which bears the face of a mathematical 
construction, may perhaps assist my readers in 
conceiving what was meant above, when I spoke 
of combining the perception produced by the 
comparative elevation or depression of a sound- 
ing body, with the sensation which arises from 
its place on the horizon, relative to the axis of 
hearing: for every man judges, with some 
degree of accuracy, of the angles which are 
made with the two planes described above, as. 
well as their common section, by the right line 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies: 62 5 


that joins his head and the place from which 
any particular sound proceeds. 

Though the fact I have been describing is 
established by universal experience, the cause of 
it, I believe, has never been investigated ; and 
indeed the question, when we first attend to it, 
seems to put on a very puzzling appearance. 
We know that when sound finds a free passage 
through the air, it takes the shortest path, lead- 
ing from its source to the person who attends 
to it; and that the sensation of hearing is occa- 
sioned by a succession of waves or pulses of 
air, which fall upon the auditory organs, in the 
direction of a right line drawn from the sounding 
body to the head of the hearer. But after the 
enquirer has arrived at this point in his exami. 
nation of the problem, his progress is hindered 
by the difficulty under consideration. The per- 
plexity here alluded to arises from the obscurity 
of the principle, whereby men compute the 
angles, which a right line, drawn from the place 
of a sound to the head of a hearer, makes with 
the two planes described above, as wellas their 
common section.—It is in vain to endeavour at 
an explanation of the phenomenon, by analogies 
borrowed from vision.—The spectator judges 
of the relative positions of visible objects, by 
knowing the situation which their images have 
on the retina, in respect to the axis of his eye; 


626 On the Method of judging by the Ear 


but the person, who judges by the ear, has not 
the same advantage in measuring angles: for 
whatever may be the direction of a sound in 
the open air, as soon as it enters the auditory 
passage, it is compelled to follow the course of 
that duct, until it reaches the apparatus in 
which the sense of hearing resides.—In conse~ 
quence of this restriction, all sounds what- 
ever fall on the seat of sensation in the same 
direction; viz. in the ultimate direction of the 
auditory passage. The foregoing circumstance 
must, it should seem, unfit the ear for judging 
of the comparative positions. of sounding bo- 
dies; because, if like effects follow like causes, 
we must conclude, that the ear is incapable. of 
perceiving any angular variation, arising from 
the situations of sounding bodies in respect 
to itself: seeing the pulses, proceeding from 
any number of such bodies any how. disposed, 
are forced, by the construction of theauditory, 
organ, to strike the sensorium under a given 
angle; for, ultimately they all move parallel to 
a given right line.-—The impossibility of ex. 
plaining this problem by analogy, shews the 
necessity of examining the nature of hearing 
itself, in order to discover a proper way of 
investigating the difficulty. 

The great sensibility of the ear is, in my 
judgment, the real cause of the phenomenon, 


. of the Position of Sonorous Bodies, 624 


which constitutes the topic of the present essay. 
But it will be proper to say something, in the 
first place, respecting the accuracy of this organ 
in distinguishing the difference of two sounds 
that are known to be nearly equal in force; 
because the truth of my opinion rests on this 
fundamental fact.—The want of a sure method 
of measuring the momentum of the air when 
agitated by a vibrating body, with the same 
certainty that the angles between rays of light 
are measured, appears to be the reason why 
the accuracy in question is so generally over- 
looked. But though it seems very difficult to 
give a general rule for measuring magnitudes 
of this description, the following experiment 
proves, in a very satisfactory manner, what a 
delicate faculty the sense of hearing is.—A bolt, 
driven by a spring against a fixed piece of metal, 
may be made to produce a succession of strokes 
of equal force; consequently the concussions 
given to the air, by any two of these strokes, 
will also be equal; and will therefore occasion 
like effects on the same ear, placed at equal 
distances from the spring, the state of the wind. 
and weather being the same in both cases.— 
I caused an instrument of the preceding de- 
scription to be struck repeatedly at the dis 
tance of 40 feet from my ear, care being taken , 
to place it in the axis of hearing produced ; after 


628 On the Method of judging by the Ear 


which, it was moved in the same right line 
sometimes two feet further from me, at other 
times two feet nearer to my person; and I could 
always distinguish distances thus varied, The 
range of the sound, or the distance at which it 
ceased to be audible, was 240 feet, or six times 
the interval made use of in the experiment. 
The sound which I employed was therefore of 
a moderate force, and perhaps the interval was 
a suitable one, being neither too great nor too 
little a part of the whole range. It appears 
then, that a good ear will discover a percep- 
tible difference in the forces of two equal 
sounds; the one of which moves through one 
sixth part of its whole range, and the other 
through a space which differs from the distance 
of the former only the 120th. part of the range 
common to them both.—The foregoing instance 
affords a remarkable proof of the ear’s accuracy 
in comparing, slight variations in the momenta 
of sounds; and I have reason to believe that 
the delicacy of my organs, in this respect, sur- 
passes the medium of sensibility ; for, some ears 
which were tried in the same manney, did not 
perceive the effect in question, until the instru- 
ment had been moved four feet, or the 6oth. 
part of my range. But either instance furnishes 
@ proof sufficient for the present purpose, and 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies, 629 


shews the human ear to be a very delicate judge 
of comparative loudness, 

The nice faculty of discriminating sounds, 
nearly equal in force amongst themselves, being 
established by the preceding experiment, it is 
to be applied in the next place to explain the 
phznomenon we are treating of. When we 
find that successive parts of the same sound 
preserve their force or loudness unaltered, 
we are taught by experience to conclude, that 
the sounding body also preserves its distance 
from us unchanged: on the “contrary, when 
successive parts of the same sound grow stronger 
or weaker, we know with equal certainty, that 
the space interposed between our ears and the 
vibrating object is, for the most part, shortened 
and lengthened accordingly, by changing the 
place of the hearer or of the sounding bedy. Ex- 
perience also teaches mento use the same nicety 
of perception, in ascertaining the positions of so- 
norous objects with respect to their own persons. 
In order to illustrate this question, it will be 
proper to begin with a simple example. Suppose 
then a sounding body, situated towards the 
front of the hearer, to lie in the horizontal 
plane, mentioned in the beginning of this essay, 
and to be placed on one side of the right line, 
which bisects the axis of hearing at right angles :— 
for instance, let it be to the right hand of it. 


630 Onthe Method of judging by the Ear 


Moreover, we will take for granted, what 
will be afterwards proved; namely, that the 
pulses of air, proceeding from the vibrating 
surface, will strike the right ear, which is turned 
towards it, more forcibly than the left. Under 
these circumstances, two cotemporary currents 
of the same sound will strike the opposite 
sides of his head, at the same time, with unequal 
momenta: he is therefore left to form a judg- 
ment of the incidents; and the sensibility in 
question enables him to determine with certainty, 
which of his ears is most affected. A thousand 
similar cases have occurred in the course of 
his life, in which he has been convinced by 
the testimony of his eyes and hands, that the 
strongest impression is constantly made on that 
ear which is turned towards the sounding 
body; he therefore draws the same conclusion 
in those cases where he is not assisted by the 
evidence of sight and touch. In this manner 
every man acquires a practical rule, which, like 
all practical rules formed in infancy, becomes 
a mechanical action, and is therefore exercised . 
by every body, while very few understand the 
nature of it. Some of my readers may suspect, 
that on the present theory, too much influence 
is ascribed to experience. But such a suspi- 
cion would in my opinion be ill founded ; for, 
all the senses have their practical maxims, which 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies. 691 


they borrow mutually one from another, Op-« 
ticians have demonstrated, that vision would 
prove but of little use, were not its natural im- 
pérfections corrected by touch: hearing also 
forms its judgment in one class of phenomena, 
from a kind of secondary knowledge afforded 
by the hands and eyes. Two sounds moving 
through unequal spaces may be equal in force, 
nay the remoter may prove the more powerful 
of the two: Joudness, therefore, is not a sure 
indication of proximity; but every man has re- 
marked, at an age when his memory was too 
weak to record incidents, that sounds lose more 
and more of their asperities the farther they 
move: every man, therefore, in his riper years, 
considers roughness to be a proof of proximity, 
and smoothness to be the criterion of remote- 
ness. _ That this faculty is acquired, appears 
‘evident from the errors into which it leads 
the judgment under certain circumstances. I 
have known a person mistake the mellow tone, 
which is produced by rubbing the brim of a 
glass vessel with a wet finger, for the blast of 
a distant horn, though there was but the breadth 
of a table between him and the piace of the 
sound, and almost every one falls into a similar 
deception the first time he hears the soft notes 
of an olian harp. If then the ear correct its 
VOL. Vy RR 


632 On.the Method of judging by the Ear 


imperfections in one instance, by means of ins 
formation derived from the other senses, it will 
not fail to make use of the same aids as often 
as it can do so with advantage; it will therefore 
have recourse to this secondary species of know- 
ledge, provided the ‘pulses of air, proceeding 
from a sounding body placed not directly be- 
fore or behind the hearer, can be proved to fall 
with a greater force on one of his ears than on 
the other. 1 am apprized that this supposition 
is not countenanced by the prevailing theory 
of the propagation of sounds: according to 
which, the pulses of air diverge from every point 


in the circumference of an obstacle towards all 


parts beyond that impediment. But this theory 
appears to be a mathematical conception rather 
than a fact; it is therefore better fitted to ex- 
plain the outlines of hydrostatics, than to assist 


in the minuter parts of a physical enquiry. The’ 


laws and properties of a perfectly elastic fluid 
do not apply to the atmosphere without excep- 
tion; ‘and an occurrence, which is not unfre- 
quent, seems to prove decisively, that the’ pulses 
of air which move parallel to the axis of hear 
ing strike only one ear with effect, I mean that 
which opposes itself to their progress. If you 
happen to address yourself in an open area to a 
person who has the misfortune of being deaf on 
one side, having your mouth directed to his 


~ 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies. 693 


defective ear, he will perceive nothing, or at most 
but a very confused noise, This circumstance 
shews, that the pulses which pass immediately 
before and behind him, continue in their course 
without being deflected to the sound ear, which 
it screened by the interposition of the temples 
and face, from the action of those that-strike the 
contrary side of the head... But the case would 
be otherwise, provided. sounds diverged from all 
points: indifferently ; because on this supposition 
the ear could not be protected from their in- 
fluence by its situation, Any person has. it in 
his power, to make the same experiment on him- 
self; for let any one standing in’ the open air 
close one of his ears with, moist paper, and ‘ 
cover the same side of his head with a folded 
napkin or cushion; if then a watch be held in 
the axis of hearing, at the distance of two or 
three inches from the napkin or cushion, he 
will not be made sensible of its presence by 
sound, Should the same experiment afterwards 
be repeated in a confined apartment, the person 
who makes it will perceive the clicking of the 
watch in the direction of his open ear, because 
the beats are reflected in their natural succession 
from the side of the room which is opposite to 
that ear, Opportunities sometime occur, that 
enable us to contemplate the. same phenomenon 
on a larger scale. If a-lofty and extensive 


634 On the Method af judging by the Ear 


building happen to intervene between a person 
in motion, and the place from which a loud noise 
“proceeds, he no longer hears the sound in its 
proper direction, provided he passes very near 
the edifice, though at the same time he is con- 
vinced that the noise still continues, by hearing 
it reflected from another quarter. Let him, in 
the next place, advance in a right line perpen- 
dicular to the side of the building, and he will 
ina short time lose the echo, and recognize the 
original sound. Perhaps it may be imagined, 
that this change will not be observable before 
a right line, drawn from the head of the hearer 
to the sounding body, barely touches the top 
of the edifice: but this supposition, which is 
true when applied to the phenomena of sha- 
dows, cannot be relied on in the present instance, 
For as often as a sound meets with interruption, 
those pulses which pass nearest the obstructing 
body propagate themselves afresh into the air 
lying on the contrary side of the impediment, 
by means of the lateral communication of mo- 
tion; on which account, an intercepted sound 
recurs at a less distance from the obstacle, than 
that which a geometrician would assign to the 
event, by drawing the right line specified above, 
By the way, we may observe, that the principle 
which Signor Venturi has lately denominated 
the Jateral communication of motion to fluids, 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies, 69 


has so considerable a share in the various 
phenomena of sound, as to render geometrical 
speculations on the subject in a great measure 
useless. For instance, if a lofty obstacle inter- 
pose itself between a sounding body placed at 
the foot of it and a person standing at any 
distance on the opposite side, according to geo- 
metry, he will not be able to perceive any sound 
from it, because the pulses which should strike 
his ear with effect, will be intercepted in their 
progress by that obstacle; ‘on the contrary, we 
are convinced by experience, that he will hear 
it, not indeed in the true direction, but as if it 
proceeded from some place elevated above the 
impediment. Sound, therefore, is propagated in 
a manner which neither coincides with the com- 
monly received theory relative to the subject, 
nor with the phenomena of shadows; on the 
other hand, it seems to follow a law, that may 
be said to form a medium between the two. 
The consequences of interrupting the pulses 

of sound, as well as the lateral communication 
of motion being now explained, the topic of the 
essay may be resumed. The annexed diagram 
will be found of use in explaining the phzno- 
mena which arise from the pulses of sound being 
obstructed by the hearers head, as they move in 
the horizontal plane passing through his ears, - 
which case ought to be treated separately from 


636 Onthe Method of judging by thé Ear 


the more, complex one that comprizes the angle 
of elevation, along with: the horizontal distance 
from the axis of hearing. When the sonorous 
object.stands directly in front of the hearer, the 
semicircle ACB may be supposed ‘to \ repre« 
sent the horizontal section of his head, passing 
through the places of the ears, E and F, and 
the axis. of hearing EF; also let G be the 
place of the sounding body, ‘which, according © 
to the conditions of the case, lies. in the: plane 
ACB produced, | and. - likewise' in ‘the right 
line GS, which bisects, EF at right angles: 
seeing. then EF. is bisected by the perpen- 
dicular, SG, the arch ECF is also. bisected 
by the same in the point C,. Draw LG, GK, 
to touch the. circle in T. and P, then will. the 
arcs TEC, and CFP be equal.  Now- all 
the pulses which do not move in right lines, 
contained in the angles TGS and SGP fly 
off without. touching the circle; conséquent- 
ly they add nothing to the sound impressed’on 
the ears by the body placed at G, whether the 
places. E and F be supposed: to lie in the arcs 
TC and CP, or without them. But the 
same number of pulses equal in force will fall 
in a given time, and in similar directions, on 
the arcs TEC and CFP as well as on 
the ears situated at E and F; and it is equally 
manifest, that the same reasoning will apply to 


a. f* £ 


Pea tet oe 


aaah f . 


wee 


Wore 


Te ee ee 


of 


ah ey e 


Vit 5. Plale.9. Fuge O30. 


ig 1. 


W 


Hig 5, 
Lage 659, & 


“of the Position of Sonorous Bodies, 634 


two equal and similar solids, constructed upon 
the equal and similar:: planes,, ECS and FE 
CS. . Now sound, though it be formed in the 
ears, is very much increased by the vibrations 
excited in the contiguous parts of the head by 
the pulses which fall :upon them, as I-shall.en- 
deavour to prove hereafter: therefore, as oftenas . 
the two portions of the*head, which are sepa- 
rated by the vertical plane perpendicular to the 
axis of hearing, are equally agitated by the pulses 
of the same sound, the ears are‘also equally affected 
from the same cause; which never happens, as we 
learn from the testimony of the other senses, 
unless the sounding body be placed somewhere 
in the right liné that bisects the axis of hearing 
at right angles, In this manner men are taught 
by experience to draw a general inference from 
a general observation; they therefore conclude 
a body to be situated directly before or behind 
their persons, as often as the sound of it strikes 
both their ears with equal forces. The preced- 
ing demonstration elucidates the case of direct 
hearing, as far as this can be done by the assistance 
of a diagram; but the perception which deter- 
mines the place of a sounding body to be in front 
of the hearer or behind him, requires a separate 
investigation ; and] shall endeavour in the next 
place to ascertain the cause of it, by the follow- 
ing observations, 


638  Onthe Method of judging by the Ear 

The head isa sensitive solid, and it perceives the 
impulses made on it by sounds much more exqui« 
sitely than men generally imagine. This sensibili- 
ty is strongest in the auditory passages, and next to 
them in theparts immediately adjacent to the ears 5 
nevertheless it diffuses itself more or less perfectly 
over the face, forehead, and temples, as well as 
all the external teguments of the skull. The 
sensation in question being of but little use in- 
dependent of its connection with hearing, we 
for the most part mistake its true situation, and 
refer it to the organs of this sense, unless some 
circumstance, resembling the succeeding ex- 
periment, should happen to discover the nature 
of it to us. If any one will take the pains to 
close the orifices of his ears with wet paper, 
and will hold two slender rods of wood to his 
forehead or to one of his temples, taking care to 
keep the ends which are in contract with the skin 
separated by a small interval:and let another person 
at the same time touch the opposite ends of the rods 
with two watehes, one of which does not move: the 
beats of the active watch will immediately pass 
along the stick, and make a sensible impression 
on the spot where its other extremity rests; 
which proves, that the bones of the head do not 
simply conduct sounds to the auditory nerves, 
but that the external tegaments of this ‘member 
also assist in discovering the directions of sounds 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies. 639 


by their sensibility. The same apparatus may 
be used to shew, that all parts of the head are 
not equally alive to the impulses of sounds: for 


a stick, which is of a proper length to impress) 


the beats of a watch very faintly on the ear and 
‘parts adjacent, will prove too long to produce 
the same effect on the forehead, which is never= 
theless much more exquisite in its feelings than 
the back part of the head. 

_ The phenomena of oblique hearing remain 
to be explained; which case occurs as often as 
the sounding body is situated in the horizontal 
plane, but not in the right line that bisects the 
axis of hearing at right angles. Let M be the 
place of the sounding body, and draw MO to 
the centre of the circle: also let OC bisect 
the arc ECF, and take OG in it equal to 
OM: also draw WM, MR, PG, GI tan- 
gents to the circle. Now suppose a sound 
equal to that at M, to proceed from G,.then 
the latter would haye the same effect on the 
arc TCP that the former has on WDR, be- 
cause the arcs are manifestly equal, and alike 
situated relative to the points M and G. But 
the sound proceeding from G is a case of di- 
_rect hearing, consequently the ears placed at E 
and F receive equal impressions from it, which 
is not the case with the pulses that flow from M, 

VOL, V. Ss 


‘ 


640 On the Method of judging by the Ear 

For though the forces imparted to the two 
arcs, TCP, WDR are equal, they do not fall 
equally on the circle in respect to the points E 
and F, which represent the ears; the sound 
therefore coming from M strikes these organs 
with unequal forces, as ag be easily inferred 
from the figure. 

What I have just now demonstrated by help 
of a semicircle may be said with equal justice of 
any solid, such as the human head, that can be 
divided vertically into two equal and similar 
portions by the plane, to which the axis of hear- 
ing is perpendicular. This assertion is too evi~ 
dent to need a laboured demonstration. It was 
observed in a former part of this paper, that if 
a person stop one of his ears, and hold a watch 
near it in a close room, he will hear the sound 
of it in the direction of the open ear by reflec- 
tion, which circumstance may be sufficient to 
establish the truth of the preceding theory : but, 
in order to diversify the proof, the following 
experiment was tried. I took a wooden fork 
made of a stick of ash, which was split more 
than two-thirds of its length for the purpose ; 
the points of thé two branches turned inwards, 
and were placed at a proper distance to receive 
the head between them; a watch was then sus- 
pended upon the haft, or undivided part of the 
fork, after which the ends of the branches were 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies. 644 


brought inte contact with two plugs of wet 
paper that closed my ears; in consequence of 
which I made the following conclusive remarks. 
When both points pressed with equal forces on’ 
the plugs of paper, I judged the watch to be 
directly before me from its beating: but as often 
as the pressure of one of the points was aug- 
mented, the sound seemed to quit its station in 
front of me, and to incline towards that side 
where the greater force was applied; lastly, I 
discovered, by using only one branch of the fork, 
that an increase of the pressure increased the 
effect of the same sound. The two cases of 
horizontal hearing being by this time pretty 
fully considered, it is necessary to change the 
subject, that the method whereby we judge. of 
elevation by the ear may be examined in its turn. 

For this purpose, suppose a right line to join 
the sonorous object, and the centre of the axis 
of hearing; also conceive a plane to pass through 
the same centre, to which the same right line is 
perpendicular. ‘Then it is evident that all the 
pulses, which are impressed by the sonorous 
object on the head, must fall on that part of it 
which lies between the plane and the place of 
the sound; consequently that portion of the head 
is the seat of the sensation excited by the sonorous 
object; because the head is a sensitive solid, and 
capable of topical irritation arising from the ime 


642 On the Method of judging by the Ear 


pulses of sounds. Seeing now we are convinced, 
by a delicate sort of touch, what part of the head 
is affected by the strokes of the sonorous object, 
and are at the same time well acquainted with 
‘the form of this member of the human body, we 
judge accurately what is the situation of the 
excited portion of it, relative to the centre of 
the axis of hearing: in consequence of this judg- 
ment, we also determine the position of the plane 
last mentioned, which forms the base of the por- 
tion under consideration, by dividing it from the 
rest of the head, 

But the right line which joins the middle point 
of the axis of hearing and the sonorous body, 
points out the direction of the sound, which line 
is perpendicular to the given plane in a given 
point; for which reason it is given in position : 
or, in other words, the direction of the sound in 
respect of fixed points in the hearer’s head is 
determined: and this is done with a degree of 
accuracy, which I believe very few people are 
aware of. In order to satisfy my own curiosity. 
on the subject, I tried an experiment, with a view 
to discover what is the least sensible variation of 
a given sound from the. perpendicular to the axis 
of hearing, supposing the deviation to be measured 
by an arc of the horizon; and I found the angle 
comprehended by this perpendicular, and: the 
sound’s path, did not exceed ejght degrees, 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies. 643 


The experiment was tried in an open plain, to 
prevent the intrusion of reflected sounds as much 
as possible. The instrument made use of was 
that which has been already described, as consist~ 
ing of a bolt driven by a spring against a metal 
button ; and the distance from my person to this 
sounding body was kept equal to forty feet, in 
the different parts of the experiment. I also 
discovered, by the assistance of the same appa- 
ratus, that the least sensible angle of elevation 
above the horizontal plane, was not more than 
ten degrees at the last mentioned, distance; the 
sounding body being placed in the vertical plane, 
to which the axis of hearing is perpendicular. 
But the foregoing observations are not to be 
adopted and used as fixed rules, for much 
depends on the comparative sensibility of the 
auditory organ in different persons; and an alter- 
ation in the force of a sound will, without doubt, 
make a considerable change in the result of the 
experiment on elevation : because I have ob- 
served, that the feeble sound of a distant watch 
though sufficient to shew whether it came from 
my right or left hand, was too weak to point 
gut its situation, relative to the horizontal plane 
passing through my head. This imperfection in 
the sense of hearing, if it may be called one, is 
in all probability owing to the want of sensibility 
in the upper part of the head and lower part of 


644 On theMethod of judging by the Ear 


the face, which defect renders them incapable of 
perceiving the impulses of feeble sounds. . 
The faculty of hearing which I have been ine 
vestigating, betrays men under certain circum- 
stances into errors, that appear the more surpriz- 
ing, because the judgment relies on the admo- 
nition of the ears with the greatest confidence, 
The theory. of these deceptions will therefore 
form a proper supplement to this essay, Men- 
tion has been already made of the sudden change 
that takes place in the sensible direction of a 
sound, as soon as the direct communication with 
the sounding body happens to be broken by the in- 
tervention of a lofty obstaele, provided the sound 
in question be loud enough to produce an echo 
from anather quarter. .Any person who has had 
occasion to walk along a valley obstructed with 
buildings, at the time that a peal of bells was 
ringing in it, will assent to the truth of the cir~ 
cumstance here alluded to. For the sound of 
the bells instead of arriving constantly, at the ears 
“of a person so situated, in its true direction, is 
frequently reflected in a short time from two or 
three different places. These deceptions are in 
many cases so much diversified by the successive 
interpositions of fresh objects, that the steeple 
appears, in the hearer’s judgment, to perform the 
part of an expert venirifoguist on a theatre, the 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies. 645 


extent of which is adapted to its own powers, 
and not to those of the human voice. 

The phenomenon has often attracted my 
attention ; and the similarity of effect which 
connects it with ventriloquism, convinces me 
every time I hear it, that what we know to 
be the cause in one instance is also the cause in 
the other: I mean that the echo reaches the ear, 
while the ‘original sound is intercepted by ‘acci- 
dent in the case of the bells, but by aré in the 
case of the ventriloquist. In order that the 
cause which gives rise to the amusing tricks of 
this uncommon talent may be pointed out with 
the greater clearness, it will be proper to describe 
certain circumstances that take! place in the act 
of speaking, because the skill of the ventrilo- 
quist seems to consist in a peculiar management 
of them. Articulation is the art of modifying 
the sound of the larynx, by the assistance of the 
cavity of the mouth, the tongue, teeth, and lips. 
The different vibrations, which are excited by 
the joint operation of the several organs in 
action, pass along the bones and cartilages, 
from the parts in motion to the external tegu- 
ments of the head, face, neck, and chest; from 
which, a succession of similar vibrations is im- 
parted to the contiguous air, thereby converting 
the superior moiety of the speaker’s body into an | 
extensive seat of sound, contrary to general 
opinion, which supposes the passage of the voice 


646 On thé Method of judging by the Ear 

to be confined to the opening of the lips; 
There are but few persons, I imagine; who have 
‘not some time or other witnessed an incident, 
which shews the vulgar notion  to'be erronéous in 
this particular. For if a man standing in a close 
apartment should happen to apply his face to a 
loop-hole, or narrow window, in order to speak 
to some person in the open air, a by-stander in 
the room with him will hear his voice, not indeed 
in its natural tone, but as if it were smothered by 
being forced to issue from a hollow case; but 
the circumstance of his words being heard dis- 
tinctly, by one who cannot receive them from 
his mouth, proves the vibrations requisite for 
their production to be conveyed through the 
solid parts of the speaker’s body, agreeably to 
the preceding assertion, The reason why we 
generally conclude the voice to be. confined to 
the opening of the mouth, appears to be this. 
Those pulses which escape from the aperture are 
the strongest, they therefore surpass the weaker 
vibrations of the contiguous parts ; for when a 
number of sounds moving in different directions 
strikes the ear at the same instant, the hearer does 
not notice their several places, but refers all of 
them to the quarter in which the most powerful 
is perceived. For instance, when a man stands 
at a sufficient distance from an extensive obstacle, 
his words are answered by an echo; but let him 
make a loud uninterrupted noise, neither he ‘ugr 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies. 647 


any body near him hears two voices whilst his 
continues, but as soon as the noise ceases the 
echo is perceived. This does not happen because 
the one begins the moment the other ends; but 
the reflected sound being the weaker of the two, 
it is smothered by that which precedes it. 

We have seen in what manner secondary or 
teflected sounds are smothered by their princi- 
pals; but though the places of such sounds ares 
not recognized by the ear, their effects do not 
die away unnoticed: for the reverberated pulses 
mingle with those which come immediately from 
the sounding body, and thereby alter the sensa-~ 
tion, which, without their interference, would be 
less compounded. This is the reason why the 
same musical instrument has one tone in a close 
chamber, where its notes undergo a multi- 
plicity of reverberations, and another in the 
open air, where the reflections are few in com- 
Parison. ; 

But it is time to apply the preceding facts to 
the subject in hand; and it will be proper to begin 
with a familiar example. When an orator ad- 
dresses an audience in a lofty and spacious room, 
his voice is reflected from every point of the 
apartment, of which all present are made sen- 
sible by the confused noise that fills up every 
pause in his discourse; nevertheless every one 

VOL. V.. aa 


648 On the Method of judging by the Ear 


knows the true place of the speaker, because his 
voice is the prevailing sound at the time. But 
were it possible to prevent his words from reach- 
ing any one of the audience directly, what then 
would follow? Undoubtedly a complete ease of 
ventriloquism would be the consequence, and 
the person so circumstanced would transport the 
orator, in his own mind, to the place of the prin- 
cipal echo, which would perform the part of the 
prevailing sound at the instant. This he would 
be obliged to do, because the human judgment 
is bound, by the dictates of experience, to regard 
the person as inseparable from the voice; and 
the deception in question would be unavoidable, 
heing produced by the same concurrence of causes 
which makes a peal of bells, situated in a valley, 
seem to change place in the opinion of a traveller. 
Tt is the business of a ventriloquist to amuse his 
admirers with tricks resembling the foregoing 
delusion; and it will be readily granted, that he 
has a subtle sense, highly corrected by experience, 
to manage, on which account the judgment must 
be cheated as well as the ear. | This can only be 
accomplished by making the pulses, constituting 
his words, strike the heads of his hearers, not in 
the right lines that join their persons and his, 
He must therefore know how to disguise the true 
direction of his-voice, because the artifice will 
give him an opportunity to substitute almost any 


of the Position of Sonerous Bodies. 649 


echo he chuses in the place of it. But the su- 
perior part of the human body has been already 
proved to form an extensive seat of sound, from 
every point of which the two pulses are repelled, 
as if they diverged from acommon centre. This 
is the reason why people, who speak in the usual 
way, cannot conceal the direction of their voices, 
which in reality fly off towards all points at the 
same instant. The ventriloquist therefore, by 
some means or other, acquires the difficult habit 
of contracting the field of sound within the com- 
pass of his lips, which enables him to confine 
the reab path of his voice to narrow limits. For 
he, who is master of the art, has nothing to do 
but to place his mouth obliquely to the company; 
and to dart his words, if I may use the expres- 
sion, against an opposing object, whence they 
will be reflected immediately, so as to strike the 
ears of the audience from an unexpected quarter, 
in consequence of which the reflector will ap- 
pear to be the speaker. Nature seems to fix no 
bounds to this kind of deceptions, only care must 
be taken not to let the path of the direct pulses 
pass too near the head of the person who is to be 
played upon; for, if a line joining the exhibitor’s 
mouth and the reflecting body approach one of 
his ears too nearly, the divergency of the pulses 
will make him perceive the voice itself instead 
of the reverberated sound. 


650 On the Method of judging by the Ear 


The only ventriloquist I ever attended, acted — 
in strict conformity to the preceding theory of 
this curious paradox in the science of acoustics. 
His audience was arranged in two opposite lines, 
corresponding to the two sides of a long narrow 
room. The benches on which they were seated 
reached from one end of the place to the middle 
of it, the other part remaining unoccupied. The 
feats exhibited by him were the three following. 
First: he made his voice come from behind his 
audience, but it never seemed to proceed from 
any part of the-wall, near the heads of the people 
present; on the contrary, it was always heard 
resembling the voice of a child, who seemed to 
be under the benches. He stood during the time 
of speaking in. a stooping posture, having his 
mouth turned towards the place from which the 
sound issued ; so that the line joining his lips and 
the reflecting object, did not approach the ears 
of the company. Second: advancing into the 
vacant part of the room, and turning his back to 
the audience, he made a variety of noises, that 
seemed to proceed from an open cupboard which 
stood directly before him, at the distance of two 
or three yards. Third: he placed an inverted 
glass cup on the hands of his hearers, and then 
imitated the cries of a child confined in it. His 
method of doing it was this; the upper part of 
the hearer’s arm laid close along his side; then 


of the Position of Sonorous Bodies. 55t 


the part below the elbow was kept in an horizontal 
Position with the hand turned downwards, which 
was done by the operator himself. After taking 
these preparatory steps, the man bent his body 
forwards in a situation which presented the 
profile of his face nearly to the front of his 
hearer, whilst his mouth pointed to the cup; in 
which posture he copied the voice of a confined 
child so completely, that three positions of the 
glass were easily distinguished by as many diffe- 
rent tones, viz. when he pressed the mouth of the 
cup close against the palm, when one edge of it 
was elevated, and when the vessel was held near 
the hand but did not touch it. The second and 
third instances of ventriloquism afford strong 
proofs, that this delusive talent is nothing more 
than the art of substituting an echo for the pri- 
mary sound; for, besides the change perceivable 
in the direction of the voice, it was found to 
be blended with a variety of secondary sounds; 
such as we know by experience are produced as 
often as a noise of any kind issues from a cavity. 
J have already made some remarks on this spe- 
cies of knowledge; but it would be improper to 
dismiss the subject without noticing the accu- 
racy, with which the ear recognizes the finer 
modifications of sounds, and their causes, I 
have frequently observed, that a certain waterfall 
makes a flatter and duller noise when the ground 


652 On the Method of judging by the Ear, Se. 


is covered with snow, than that which it affords 
at other seasons. The human voice also under 
goes a similar change within doors, by striking a 
multiplicity of soft bodies, such as a number of 
piles of wool, or a crowded congregation in a 
church. 

The method of preventing the vibration of the 
vocal organs from reaching the external tegu- 
ments, is still wanting to complete this theory of 
ventriloguism; and I presume it can only be 
supplied by an adept in the art. I must therefore 
dismiss the subject unfinished, because I have no 
pretension to that character. 


653 
The THEORY of COMPOUND SOUNDS. 


BY MR. JOHN GOUGH. 


_COMMUNICATED BY DR, HOLME, _ 


Dr. Smith, author of the work on Harmo- 
nics, takes for granted in his theory of com- 
pound sounds, that the pulses which proceed at 
the same time from a number of sounding bodies, 
do not clash, or obstruct one another, in their 
passage through the air. According to this hy- 
pothesis, each set, of any number of cotempo- 
rary sets of pulses, strikes the ear without being 
confounded with the rest; in’ consequence of 
which, any number of sounds may be distinctly 
perceived at the same time. On this supposition, 


a compound sound is a sensation rendered vari- 


able by the irregular manner in which the pulses 
of the constituent sounds succeed to one another. 
For, if the intervals of time between two succes- 
sive pulses of one of the constituent sounds be 
not equal to the same intervals belonging to the 
sound or sounds which accompany it, the secon- 
dary intervals, or small parts of time separating the 
pulses which fall in succession on the ear, will 
vary in magnitude ; in the same manner that the 
distances between the figures upon the face of a 


ri 


654 Theory of Compound Sounds. 


barometer and its nonius vary, none on the slider 
coinciding with those on the fixed plate excepting 
the highest and lowest. I have chosen this fa« 
miliar instrument to illustrate Dr. Smith’s me- 
thod of explaining the physical cause of com- 
pound sounds, because it affords a visible exam- 
ple of a cycle of pulses, according to his notion 
of the subject. 

The sketch which I have exhibited of Dr. 
Smith’s hypothesis shews, that he allowed that 
a number of simple sounds might exist in con- 
cert, and strike the ear in a distinct manner, with- 
out suffering any interruption in their motions 
from the interference of their pulses. Buta late 
writer on sound rejects this axiom in Harmonies 
as a mathematical inconsistency ; and substitutes 
the following theory of compound sounds in the 
room of it. If two musical strings, differing in. 
their times of vibration, happen to vibrate in 
concert, they do not occasion two distinct sounds 
in the opinion of this gentleman, because the 
strings agitate the air in conjunction; conse. 
quently the pulses, which one of them would 
actually form in an undisturbed atmosphere, must 
unavoidably clash with those which the other 
string would produce in similar circumstances. 
Hence the waves of air belonging to both strings 
are interrupted in their natural progress, and are 
compelled by their mutual interference to coa- 


Theory of Compound Sounds, 655 
lesce, thereby producing a new succession of 
pulses; constituting a single sound in the place of 
two. This sound is of a peculiar kind; for, the 
pulses of which it consists; are separated by un- 
equal intervals of time, and disposed in cycles. 

The merit of the preceding theory, when com. 
pared with Dr.Smith’s hypothesis, must be ascer- 
tained by contrasting it with a variety of facts, 
which are furnished by the phenomena of com- 
pound sounds, and make a part of every man’s 
experience. For, if it be found upon examina- 
tion to be repugnant to these facts, it will prove 
inconsistent with nature, and cannot fail of dis- 
appointing the inventor’s expectations. 

Were it’ possible for a number of sounds to 
coalesce, and form but one, the compound would 
acquire sensible properties peculiar to itself, and 
at the same time lose the distinguishing characters 
of its elements, some of which are incompatible 
with the qualities of an individual, On this 
supposition, the presence of the constituent 
sounds could not be detected by the ear in this 
newly created being: on the contrary, an expe- 
rimental process would be required to analyse 
every compound sound the first time it. attracted 
a man’s attention, for the same reason that a 
chemist finds it necessary to analyse a substance 
with which he is unacquainted, The abstract 

VOL. ¥. Uv 


! 


656 Theory of Compound Sounds. 


term coalescence is used, in a physical sense; to sigs 
nify any intimate union of bodies or the powers 
of bodies ; and the introduction of the term into 
language proves the existence of the principle in 
nature, or more properly in the human mind. 
For, when a number of agents act in conjunc- 
tion upon one of the senses, we have two ways 
of conceiving their mode of operation. - If the 
sensible effects of each agent be distinctly per- 
ceived, we attribute a separate action to every 
member of the assemblage, and call the aggre- 
gate a mixture: this is the conclusion of a per- 
son who tastes an infusion of pepper in vinegar. 
On the other hand, when we know that certain 
agents are present without being able to recog~ 
nize their distinguishing powers, in the room of 
which we find qualities of a different description, 
we pronounce the aggregate to be ina state of 
coalescence. This is the situation of the che- 
mist, who tastes common salt, but cannot perceive 
the presence of soda and the muriatic acid. It 
is my business then to prove compound sounds 
to be mixtures, not aggregates by coalescence. 
This I shall endeavour to do, by shewing that 
they have properties which belong not to indi- 
viduals, such as a number of tones, a variety of 
directions, and several sets of pulses. 

First, the tones of a flute and violin are as dis- 
tinct to sense as any two things can be when they 


4 
' Theory of Compound Sounds. 657 


are sounded separately ; and I appeal to common 
experience to determine, if they are not equally 
distinct when heard in concert. Taking it for 
granted that the answer will be in the affirmative, 
I pronounce the aggregate to be a mixture of 
sounds in one case. Secondly, if a violin sound 
in front of the hearer, and a flute be heard at 
the same time in an oblique situation, the person 
thus circumstanced is able to determine the re- 
lative positions of the two instruments, which 
shews the aggregate to have two cotemporary 
directions, It is therefore a mixture of sounds, 
not a single sound, Thirdly, I have found by 
making the experiment, that any number of mu- 
sical strings may be made to vibrate by a com- 
pound sound acting upon them, provided this 
compound be occasioned by an equal number of 
strings with the former, having one in the latter 
Set in unison with each one in the preceding set: 
This is an experimental proof that there are as 
Many sets of pulses in an aggregate of sounds 
as that aggregate contains elements, because no 
string whatever is in unison with a concord or 
discord. Lastly, if it were possible for sounds 
to coalesce, men would never hear any thing 
more than one noise at one time: The general 
hum would have varied perpetually from the ex- 
tinction of existing sounds, and the! intrusion of 
fresh ones; but the human mind»would have 


658 Theory of Compound Sounds. 


had no conception of two cotemporary sounds ; 
because the ear being in that case incapable of 
conveying the complex sensation, the idea of 


such an existence would have transgressed the 


sphere of human knowledge. The preceding 
arguments are drawn, for the most part, from 


common experience; and they shew, that the © 


free passage of cotemporary sounds through the 
air may be safely admitted as an axiom in har- 
monies. I shall therefore proceed to prove th 
_ same proposition to be consistent with the doc- 
trine of forces. | 

The propagation of sound through the atmos- 
phere, and the nature of aéreal pulses are com- 
monly explained in elementary books of natural 
philosophy ; I shall, for this reason, enumerate 
only a few particulars, the recollection of which 
will be found useful. 

Prorosir1on I, Two contiguous particles of 
air which are agitated by a vibrating body, either 
directly or by the intervention of an elastic me- 
dium, receive two motions from each impulse ; 
forst, an absolute motion carries them to a greater 
distance from the sounding body, and afterwards 
brings them towards it again, both the progress 
and regress being performed in the time of a 
Single.‘vibration: . second, a relative motion re- 
sulting:from the former, compels the two parti- 
cles to approach ‘and recede alternately, which 


Theory of Compound Sounds. 659 


double motion is also accomplished in the time 
of a single vibration. 

Proposition II. Both the absolute and re- 
lative motions are greatest amongst those parti- 
cles which are nearest the sounding body, and 
they diminish as the distance from that body in- 
creases; but, in all cases, the change of place is 
too small to be perceived by the ear, on which 
account every particle preserves a fixed position 
in respect of this organ and its connections, 

For each corpuscle is confined within the cir- 
cumference ofa physical right line, the diameter of 
which is determined by its own absolute motion, 

Proposition III. If two sounding bodies, 

_ affording different notes, act in conjunction upon 
the same particle, through the media of two right 
lines of similar particles connecting them with it, 
this particle will be urged at the same instant in 
the direction of these lines, by two forces having 
an inconstant ratio. 

For, let the particle A be urged, by the acuter 
sound, in the line SA, and by the graver, in the 
the line TA; (vede fig. 2, plate 9, page 636.); 
then the contiguous particle V, placed in SA, 
will approach to, and recede from A more fre~ 
quently than W, similarly placed in TA, by 
Prop. I.: consequently the force of V upon 
A will vary in a quicker manner than the force 
ef W upon-A; but this variation of ratio is 


660 Theory of Compound Sounds. 


limited in time; because it evidently begins 
and ends with the cycle of the vibrations of the 
sounding bodies. 

Prorosttion 1V. The coalescence of two 
sounds is impossible on mechanical principles. 

For, suppose the thing possible ; then the coa- 
lescence of two sounds requires, that a particle 
of air should possess a motion, compounded of 
the motions which the two sounding bodies 
would impart to it separately ; and that this com- 
pound motion should act ina given right line, for, 
an assignable part of time, otherwise it could not 
excite a similar motion in the elastic particles 
occupying that given right line. Let A be 
such a particle, and let the construction used 
in the last proposition, be retained; conse- 
quently (Principia, Prop. 23, Lib. 2.) VA and 
AW are in the ratio of the forces that act 
at any moment in the right lines TA and SA. 
Make AK as AW, and draw KL parallel to 
AW, and make it as AV; also join AL; then 
will the particle A be urged in the direction 
LA at that instant. But the ratio of AK to 
KL varies perpetually, by Prop. III. ; there- 
fore the species of the triangle AKL is equally 
inconstant; consequently the compound force 
does not act ina given direction for an assignable 
part of time. Now the production and propa. 
gation of motion in a given right line requires 


Theory of Compound Sounds. 661 


force to be combined with time, which combi+ 
nation is wanting in the present instance; where~ 
fore the coalescence of sounds is impossible. 

ProrosiTion W. It may be demonstrated 
from mechanical principles, that a number of 
distinct cotemporary sounds cannot do other- 
wise than produce distinct sensations. 

In order to make the necessary diagram as 
simple as possible, let the directions of two co- 
temporary sets of pulses be represented by thé 
right lines SM and TN, lying in the same hori- 
zontal plane, and intersecting in the point A; 
also, let BCD be the horizontal section of the 
hearer’s head, made by the same plane; and sup- 
_ pose the centre of the axis of hearing to be at 
O; draw OM, ON perpendicular to SM, TN. 
Now I have shewn in the preceding paper, that 
if a set of pulses move im either of the right 
lines SM, TN, it will excite a sensation in that 
part of the head which is cut off by a vertical 
plane, passing through one of the perpendicu- 
lars OM, ON. It also appears from the last 
proposition, that the impulses of the vibrating 
bodies, acting in the lines SA, TA, do not com- 
pel the particle A to move in any given interme- 
diate direction, as LA. But, according to the 
second proposition, the position of the particle 
A, is fixed in respect of the planes MO, NO; 
that is, though the corpuscle actually changes 


662 Theory of Compound Sounds. 


place, in respect of the geometrical point A, it is 
always found in the intersection of the physical 
right lines SM, TN. Now the two vibrating 
bodies continue to act in the directions of these 
right lines, consequently the particle A is con- 
stantly urged in these lines by two forces, whichy 
though variable in magnitude, are combined with — 
time; which circumstance enables the corpuscle 
to transmit the impulses of one body to M, and 
those of the other to N. What has been demon- 
strated of the particle A, may be affirmed of any 
other particle, which is the intersection of two 
right lines parallel to SM, TN ; in other words, it 
may be affirmed of two sets of pulses; and the same 
demonstration may be extended to three sets, &c, 

Corollary 1. The substance of this and the 
preceding proposition will apply to all elastic 
mediums; hence it happens, that a plate of glass 
&c. in a state of vibration, will conduct a foreign 
sound, whilst it produces one of its own; for 
the same reason, if light be considered as a vi- 
brating medium, one particle of the luminous 
fluid may assist in transmitting two sensations. 

Corollary 2. When the inclination of the 
planes MO, NO, is less than a given angle, the 
ear cannot distinguish the relative positions of 
the sounding bodies; it therefore refers them to 
the same place, 


Theory, of Compound Sounds. 663° 


The first time I perused Dr. Smith’s Har- 
monics, Dr. Young’s objection occurred to me; 
but the preceding train of arguments removed 
the scruple, without discovering, the author’s rea-. 
sons for treating this article of his work with so 
much brevity.. Perhaps the demonstration, which 
cost me an effort of study, was an intuitive con- 
clusion in his comprehensive mind. As soon as 
the proposition was established, I assented to his. 
definition of an interval of sound, allowing it to 
be a quantity of a certain kind, terminated by a. 
graver and an acuter sound, The demonstration 
of Prop. V. convinced me, that intervals of this 
sort may be subdivided by the interposition 
of one or more intermediate sounds, which con- 
cession formed the basis of my analysis of the 
hhuman voice.* Speculative men may differ in. 
opinion about the origin of the small intervals 
which form the tones of various voices; but they 
must exist, whether we ascribe them to an un- 
dulating motion like that of a stretched cord, or 
to the cotemporary vibrations of a system of elas- 
tic bodies. It does not appear, that Dr. Young 
was acquainted with my paper at the time, he 
composed his own; but he found it necessary to 
allow the tone of the larynx to receive various 
‘modifications from the vibrations of the adjacent 

VOL. V. x X 


* Page 58, 


664 Theory of Compound\Sounds.- 


parts. His theory therefore differs from mine in 
this particular only : he pronounces the voice to 
be a compound by coalescence ; I deny the pos- 
sibility of such a compound, and call it a mixture 
of imperfect unisons, This mixture appears to 
be‘a single, sound, because it has but one direc- 
tion; for the proximity of the various parts con- 


tributing to the formation of it, disqualifies the’ 


ear, so that it cannot perceive their relative posi- 
tions, and compels it to refer them all to one 
place, by Corollary 2 to proposition V. 

A certain class of sounds, which, for the sake 
of brevity, were not noticed in my paper on the 
voice, deserve a place in the present communi- 
cation. If a finely-toothed file pass slowly over 
a smooth elastic substance, such as a piece of 
horn, it makes a grating noise; but if the velo- 
city of the instrument be sufficiently increased, a 
continued sound is produced, which becomes 
more or less acute, by giving a quicker or slower 
motion to the file. The grating noise is oc- 
casioned by a succession of short interrupted 
sounds, resulting from the united vibrations of 
the file and the body it scratches ; but the quick 
succession of these sounds, caused by an increase 
of velocity, gives rise to a secondary sound re- 
sembling the harmonical notes, being produced 
by alike cause. Now this sound becomes a pri- 
mary object with the-ear, in all probability be- 


‘ 


Theory of Compound Sounds, ‘665 


cause the pitch of it may be varied. for the first 
sounds proceeding from the action of the file, 
evidently supply nothing but the tone, Many 
instances of the kind occur in art and nature: 
the notes of all reed-instruments are of this de- 
scription, and the voice must be referred to the 
same class, because the larynx resembles a reed- 
instrument in structure, 


666 
‘METEOROLOGICAL OBSERVATIONS. 
BY JOHN DALTON. | 


Observations on the Barometer, made at Manchester, 
_ for 1801. 


Mean. Highest. Lowest, 


Jan. 29.59 30.05 28.98 | 
Feb. 29-56 30.02 28.87 
Mar. 29.61 30.20 | 2868 
April | 29.86 30.20. | 29.10 
May -| 29.65 30.00 29-20 
June 29.88 30.11 29-53 
July 29.65 30.10 | 29.13 
Aug. 29.88 30.15 | 29.42 
Sept. 29-73 30.12 29.11 
Oct. 29.62 | 30.15 28.73 
Nov. 29.55 30.07 | 28.68 
Dec. 29.29 39.00 28.54 


29.66 | Mean for the year, 


The observations were made three times a 
day. | 
It is now well known that the fluctuations of 
the barometer are not local, but extend over a 
considerable portion of the earth: the extremes, 
whether high or low, usually take place on the 
same day in Great Britain, France, Germany, 
and Russia, and seldom differ more than one day. 
If a number of barometers were stationed at 


Meteorological Observations, 667 


equal distances over the surface of the globe, and 
cotemporary observations made on them for a 
year or more, we should then probably be in 
possession of facts from which a rational theory 
of the variation of the barometer might be de- 
rived: Observations made in different parts of 
the same province or country seem not now of 
much importance in this respect, 


Observations on the Thermometer, made at Man- 
chester, for 1801. 


Mean. { Highest. } Lowest, 


Jan. | °39°-3 | 52° | 23° 
Heb: 39-4] 52 28 
Mar. } 42 57 27 
\ April | 46.5 | 68 28 
May | 51.9] 67 38 
June | 56.3] 73 | 40 
pay | 8") 
Aug. | 62.1 | 80 53 
Sept. | 56 67 AT 
Oct. 49.2} 60 35 
Nov. | 39.6 | 54 26 
Dec. | 34.6] 45 20 


Mean | 48 


_ 


The observations were made three times a 
day ; namely about 8 A. M. and 1 and 11 P. M. 
The mean obtained from them is probably be- 
low the true mean temperature, 


* The observations in July were interrupted, 


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Meteorological Observations. 669 


There were 160 days in the year at an average, 
on which rain more: or less fell. 

I kept a rain-gage on the top of St. John’s 
steeple, Manchester, from midsummer 1797 to 
the end of 1798; and another on the ground in 
the vicinity, about 50 yards perpendicularly be- 
low... In- summer. the ratio- of the- raim below 
to that above was 3: 2\nearly ; in winter it was 
= 21 yearly. F” 

Rainat Kendal, 1793—52- 74; A ae O4's 
179556. 25; -1796-—45-.-733 1797-596. 835 
—1798—54. 63; 1799-56: 933; 1800—48. 205 
1801—50. 612 ;, uniting these observations with 
those for the five.preceding years (see my Meteor. 
Essays) we obtain 58.1 inches.the mean annual 
rain at Kendal for 14 years. 


Observations on the Winds for 1801. 


North, 44: North East, 277: East,.11: South ’ 
East; 19: South, 22: South West, 412: West, 
153: North West, 12. Total goo. 

The South West and the North East winds, 
as usual, have been the most prevalent; they 
are in fact winds that properly belong to the 
northern temperate zone, arising from the two 
general currents of air tending fom and towards 
the equator, (See my Meteorological Essays, 


page gt). 


679 Meteorological Observations. 


Account of the Evaporation Srom Water, in a Cylin= 
adrical Vessel of 10 inches diameter, kept nearly 
full, at Manchester. 


1799. 1800. 1801. || Mean Evap. 

Inch. Inch. Inch. Inch. 
Jan. ——| 1.5 * 
Feb. ——|2,0* 
Mar,| t. 082 | 3. 700| —-———| 3. 5 * 
April} §. 398 | 4. 760) ———| 4. 5 * 
May | 5. 050 | 5. 228] 4. 600] 4. 959 
June] 7. 702 .| 5. 207.| 6. 551 | 6: 487 
July | 5. 157 |. 5. 679| 6. 048] 5. 628 
Aug.| 6. 000 || 6. 376| 5. 798| 6. 058 
Sept.| 4. 340 | 3. 986| 3. 368] 3. 898 
Oct.| 3. 337 | 1. 998] 1. 718] 2. 951 
Noy.| 2. 428 | 1. 600] 2. 098 | 2. 042 
Decsiia.' 384 —| i. 5 * 


| eer 


44. 4Ann,Ev. 


N. B. Those means marked * are conjec- 
tural; the frost in the winter season usually 
damaged the gage. 

The mean annual evaporation from soil co- 
vered with grass, or from green ground, exclu- 
‘sive of dew, was at an average for the three years 
above, 233 inches, (See page 361 for the three 
years preceding. ) 


Meteorological Observations. 671 
Observations relating to Hygromeiry. 


One important attainment in meteorology ig 
the knowledge of the quantity of aqueous vapour 
existing in the atmosphere at any time, From 
this, and the observed temperature of the ais, we 
can easily ascertain its disposition for the eva- 
poration or precipitation of water; or in other 
words for fair or rainy weather. Various instru- 
ments have been used to determine the quantity 
of vapour in the air. The hygrometer of De 
Saussure seems to gainthe most credit ; but Ihave 
in a former essay assigned a reason for disallow- 
ing it. It is acknowledged that am hygrometer 
ought to indicate that degree of cold which is 
necessary to make the air begin to part with va- 
pour, or to form dew upon the surfaces of bodies; 
now as this is at all times capable of being effect- 
ed by a simple experiment, (see ‘page 581) it al- 
most totally supersedes the. necessity of a du- 
bious, very delicate, and consequently easily 


injured instrument. 
In my journal for a year and a half past, I 


have had acolumn entitled, vapour point, in lieu 
of thehygrometer column. By vapour point I 
mean that degree of the thermometer at which 
dew begins to be formed at the time, The 


* VOL. V. Y¥ x 4, 


672 Meteorological Observations. 


higher this point is, the greater is the quantity 

and force of vapour in the atmosphere, as is 

shewn by the table at page 559; and the lower 
it is with respect to the actual temperature’ of 
the atmosphere, the greater is the force of eva- 

poration. . 
1800. July. Mean vapour point for 21 days 

=53°; highest 62°; lowest 4o°.: 
Aug. Mean for 11 days =56°; but too high 
for the monthly mean: highest 60°. 
Sept. Wapour point above 50° for 6 days; 
highest 60°. 

~ Octo. Vapour point mostly below52°; high- 
est 59’. 

1801. May. Vapour point above 50° for 4 
days; highest 55°. 
Fune. Mean for 10 days, 493°; highest, 571°; 

* lowest, 30%. 

- Fuly. Mean for 8 days, 53°; highest, 56°. 
Aug. Mean for 22 days, 541°; highest, 61°. 
Sept. Mean for 14 days, 54°; highest, 60° 

’ Octo. Vapour point for 5 days, map 50°s 

highest, 57°. 
Nov. Highest, 54°; lowest, 22°: 
Dec. Highest, 44°; lowest, 18°. 


* On the 13th. great damage done to potatoes, &c. by 
the cold which accompanied this remarkably low state 
of vapour for the season. It was 46° on the 12th. and 
40° on the 14th, 


Meteorological Observations. 673 


The mean monthly vapour point may also be 
inferred from the monthly evaporation and mean 
monthly temperature, according to the theory in 
the Essay, page 574.—Let August be taken for 
an instance: the evaporation was 5,798 inches= 
1312 grains from my small gage, which is nearly 
6 inches in diameter: but 1312 + 1440 (= min. 
in 24 hours) =.91 gr. per minute, the mean 
rate of evaporation, The mean temperature 
(taken from the mean noon and evening obser- 
vations) was 63°, with which entering table at 
page 587, we obtain 3. 63 grains, the evaporat- 
ing force at that temperature (taken from the 
third column, because the evaporating gage is in 
a very open situation). Subtracting .g1, there 
remains 2. 72 grains, corresponding in the said 
table to 54° 3, the mean vapour point. The 
mean derived from actual observation is stated 
above to be 541°. 


o 
AUROR® BOREALESS? 


Observed since 1793*. 


1794. January, 7and 22. March, 8 and 29, 
December, 8 and 1g. —Total, 6. 

1795. September, 8 and 14.—Total, 2. 

1796. None observed. 


* For those observed by me preceding that lee see 
my Meteorol. Obs. page 54. 


* 674 Meteorological Observations: 


1797. January, 22. Feb. 1, 18, 27 and 28, 
March 2and10. April, 24. Nov. 18, 24, 
22 and 23. Dec. 20.—Total, 13+ 

1798. None observed, | 

1799. September, 3. Octo. 25.—Total, 2. 

1800. March, 18, Nov. 2and 7. Dec. 10.—+ 
Toral, 4. 

1801. January, 43nd 25. Feb. 22. Aug. 182 

Octo. 6.—Total, 5. 

In all, 32. ud: 

The Aurore have been much less frequent in 
the above period than for the same number of 
years before. 

1 observed 53 of them in 1788. 

All the phenomena corroborated the notion 
maintained in my Essays abovementioned; namely, 
that the luminous beams of the Aurore are cy- 
lindrical, magnetic, parallel to each other and 
to the dipping needle. The centre of each 
Aurora uniformly appeared to be in the magnetic 
north, 


675 
APPENDIX 
ue 
Explanation of a Roman Inscription by Mr. THO- 
MAS BARRITT: with a Note on the same 
~ subject by Dr. HOLME. 4 


The stone (see plate VIT:) found in the year 1795 in 
the Castle-field Manchester, (the Mancunium of the 
Romans) from what appears of the inscription, seems to 
have been a votive one, dedicated to Jupiter, by the first 
Frisian Cohort stationed there, in the 24th year after 
their arrival. 

Camden mentions two inscriptions at Manchester, 
found in the old Mancunium; one he says he saw him- 
self, and another was copied for him by the famous 
mathematician, Dr, Dee, warden of Manchester College, 
They were placed there in memory of two Centurions, 
who in their turn had commanded the Frisians, under the 
Roman government, for 23 years. 

The Frisian Cohort at Mancunium is supposed to 
have been part of, and to have belonged to the sixth Ro+ 
man legion which was stationed at York, and stiled 
Victrix ; but it may admit of a doubt whether this cohort 
. did not belong to the goth legion, stationed at Chester, 
and likewise stiled Victrix. 

In Archzologia, vol. 3, page 236, the late learned and 
Rey. John Watson, rector of Stockport, exhibited a 
drawing and description of a stone similar in size, shape, 
and grit to this of Mr. White’s; it was discovered at 
Melandra Castle, a little way from Mottram Longendale ; 
the ornaments and two first lines correspond very much 
with Mr. White’s; but upon viewing the stone I found 
the two last lines very imperfect: yet it must be con- 
fessed the superior judgment of Mr, Watson was alone 


676 Appendix. Explanation of a Roman Inscription. 


of sufficient authority to establish the interpretation. 
He read it 

Cohortis prima Frisianorum Centurio ValeriusVitalis. — 
- This Valerius perhaps might not only belong to the 
first Frisian Cohort, but be the first centurion, or com~ 
mander of an hundred men, placed there at the erec- 

‘tion of the castle, and the stone fixed up in memory 
thereof at his own request. 

It appears likely the stone was fixed over the centre 

of the arched gateway of the castle, it being found in the 
ground where the principal entrance into the fortress was 
situated; and Mr. Watson’s stone was discovered in the 
gateway at Melandra Castle, This at Manchester was 
probably thus placed when the gate was erected, or at 
least when it might undergo a repair in the time of Trajan 
or Hadrian, coins of both emperors being found at the 
place where the gate stood. 
. This castle was in a ruinous state about the year goo: 
history says that Edward the elder, king of the West 
Saxons and afterwards of the Mercians, sent an army 
of the latter into Northumberland, which then hada 
king of its own, to repair the castle at Manchester, and 
put a garrison intoit, asa defence against the Danes, whe 
were ravaging the kingdom with fire and sword, 


Appendix, Explanation of a Roman Inscription, 677 


Note by Dr. Hore, 


The following is, I apprehend, a more correct tran- 
script of the inscription, than that exhibited in plate VII, 
page 534. The characters I have ventured to supply in 
italics, are obscure in the original. Inthe engraved copy 
an O is substituted for the Q in the fourth line; and there 
is a member redundant in the complication that fol- 
lows it. . 

CHOR. I. 

FRISIAVO 

N. Q. VI. MVNI. 

M. P. XXIII 

Probably : 

Cohortis prema Frisiavonum que viam munivit millizm 
Passuum viginti quatuor : which may refer to the con- 
struction of the military road between Mancunium and 
Conpate ; as the distance between these stations, fixed 
by Richard of Cirencester in his tenth Iter at twenty- 
three miles, measures, according to Mr, Whitaker, twenty- 
two English, which are nearly equivalent to twenty- 
three Roman miles and three quarters.* 

The relic before us is of importance, as it enables us to 
restore the proper appellation of the cohort that garris- 
oned Mancunium: concerning which antiquarians have 
been misled by an ambiguous contraction in the in- 
scription at Melandra Castle, and probably in that tran- 
scribed for Camden by Dr. Dee. It is farther valuable, 
as it may serve to vindicate the authority of Pliny and 
the purity of his text, in regard to a subject on which 
they have been questioned, in a work of great erudition 


* Hist. of Manchester, I, 102. 


678 Appendix. Explanation of a Roman Inscription. 


published by an eminent scholar of the seventeenth cen- 
tury*. ’ ( ‘ 

The Fristasones, or adopting the reading of Har- 
duin’s MSS. FrisitaAvones, are twice mentioned by 
the elder Pliny; first as inhabitants of an island situated 
at the mouth of the Rhine, between the Maese and 
the Zuyder Zee; and secondly asa nation of Belgic 
Gault. The former are supposed by Harduin to have 
- been a body of emigrants from the latter. The name is 
likewise preserved in an inscription found at Rome, of 
which I insert a copy from Gruter§. . Tea 


T. FL, VERINO. 
NAT. FRISZVONE. 
VIX. AN. XX. M. VII. . 
T. FL. VICTOR. ad 
EQ. SING. AVG. FRATRI, 
DVLCISSIMO. 
Fy Cy 
Whether the Mancunian cohort was the same with 
the Cohors I. Frixagorum of the Notitia, stationed in 
the decline of the empire at Vindobala, is a question 
that must be decided by future discoveries; as no in- 
scriptions occur at Rutchester, which is supposed by 
Mr, Horsley to coincide with that station. Ei 


‘ E. H. 
February 24, 1802. 
* Vid, Cluverii German. Antiq, 561. 


"+ Hist. Nat. Lib. IV. capp. 29. 31. 
§ Inscript. Antiq. DXXXIL. 7. 


679 


APPENDIX. 


ir 


Note to Mn. W. Henry’s Paper on Heat. 


The argument, at page 611, which is the basis of my 
objections to the commonly employed mode of ascertain- 
ing specific caloric, I fear is not so fully and clearly stated, 
as the abstruse nature of the subject requires, 

Assuming two bodies, A and B, to beat the point of 
privation of temperature, or to possess no free caloric 
whatsoever, the quantity of combined caloric in each, 
according to Dr, Crawford’s theory, is directly propor- 
tional to the quantities of heat, necessary to produce 
equal elevations of temperature in the two bodies. Thus, 
if to attain a given temperature, A require caloric as 20, 
and B only as 10, the combined caloric of A, before this 
addition, is inferred to have borne to that of B, the ratio 
of 2tol. But it might, with equal or perhaps greater 
probability, have been assumed, that the combined caloric 
of A and B is znversely proportional to the quantities of 
heat, required to produce a given temperature ;—that A, 
for example, to attain a certain temperature, has absorbed 
more caloric than B, because in A less caloric existed, 
previously, in a state of chemical union, 


VOL. V, ZZ 


re Yon ceo oo? 


LIST OF BOOKS, &c. 


PRESENTED TO 


THE SOCIETY. 


>> O<— 


William Alexander, M. D. Dissertatio inauguralis de 
partibus corporis animalis qu 
viribus opii parent. . Edin- 
burgh: 1790. 8°. 

American Philosophical Society. Transactions of the Ameri- 
can Philosophical Society, held 
at Philadelphia, for promoting 
useful Knowledge. Vol. IV. 
Philadelphia: 1799. 4°. 

James Anderson, L. LE. D. Recreations in Agriculture, 

F.R. and A. SS. rate Natural History, Arts and 
Miscellaneous Literature. Lon- 
don: 1799—1S00. 8°. 

Society of Antiquaries of Lon- Archzologia. Vol. XII. & 

don. XIII. Lond. 1796—1800. 4°. 
Some account of the Cathe- 

dral Church of Exeter: illus- * 

trative of the Plans, Elevations 

and Sections of that Building. 

With Plates. 1797. i 


er ete 


682 List of Books, Sc. 


Mr. John Banks. 


A Treatise on Mills, in four 
parts. Ist. on Circular Mo- 
tion; 2d. on the Maximum of 
Moving Bodies, Machihes, 
Engines, &c. 3d. on the Ve- 
locity of Effluent-water; 4th. 
Experiments on Cireular Mo- 


_tion, Water-wheels, &e. Lon- 


don: 1795. 8°. . 


Samuel Argent Bardsley, M.D. Critical Remarks on Pizarro, 


George Birkbeck, M. D. 
Robert Blake, M. D. 


Sir Richard Clayton, Bart. 


a Tragedy taken from the 
German Drama of Kotzebue, 
and adapted to the English 
Stage, by Richard Brinsley 
Sheridan, with incidental ob- 
servations on the subject of the 
Drama. Lond. 1800. 8% 

Tentamen chemico-physi- 
cum inaugurale de sanguine. 
Auctore G. Birkbeck. Edin- 
burgi: 1799. 8°. 

Dissertatio inauguralis de 
Dentium formatione in Ho- 
mine & in variis animalibus. 
Edin. 1798. 8°. ' 

Memoirs of the House of 
Medici, from its origin to the 
death of Francesco, the second 
Grand-Duke of Tuscany, and 
of the great men who flourished 
in Tuscany within that period. 
From the French of M. Ten- 
hove, with notes and observa- 
tions, 2 Vols. Bath: 4°, 


List of Books, §c. 683 


Mr. John Dalton. 


Elements of English Gram- 
mar: Or a new System of ° 
Grammatical Instruction; for 
the use of Schools and Acade- 
mies. Lond. 1801. 12°. 


John Talbot Dillon, Esq. Foreign Agriculture: Or 


M.R. 1. A. &. 


Capt. John Drinkwater. 


Royal Society of Edinburgh. 


Thomas Falconer, 4. M. 


an Essay on the comparative 
advantages of Oxen for Tillage 
in competition with Horses: 
being the result of practical 
husbandry, by the Chevalier de 
Monray, &c. Selected from 
communications in the French 
language, withadditional notes. 
Lond. 1796. 8°. 
Alphonso and Eleonora: Or 
‘the Triumphs of Valour and 
Virtue. Illustrated by Histo- 
rical Facts. 2 Vols. Lond, 
1800. 12°. 

A Narrative of the Proceed- 
ings of the British Fleet, com- 
manded by Admiral Sir John 
Jervis, K. B. on the late ac- 
tion with the Spanish Fleet, on 
the 14th. Feb. 1797, off Cape 
St. Vincent: Illustrated with 
eight plans, &c. Lond. 1797, 
4°. 

Transactions of the Royal 
Society of Edinburgh. Vol. 
Ill. Edinburgh: 4°. 

The Voyage of Hanno 
translated and accompanied 
with the Greek text; explain- 


684 


List of Books, Sc: 


ed from the accounts of md- 
dern travellers, &c. illustrated 
by maps. London: 1797. 8°. 


The Rev. Gerald Fitz-Gerald, An Essay on the Originality 


D. D. 


and Permanency of the Biblia+ 

cal Hebrew; with an applica- 

tion to the leading Principle of 
a Modern Unbeliever; who 

denies the existence of any. 
written Word of God. Dub. 

1796. 8°. 


A. Fothergill, M.D. F. R.S. An Essay on tHe Preserva- 


‘ &c. 


Bfrs. Fulhame. 


tion of Shipwrecked Mariners ; 
in answer to the Prize-Ques- 
tions proposed by the Royal 
Humane Society, &c. Lond. 
1799. 8°. 

An Essay on Combustion, 
witha view to a new art of 
Dying and Painting: wherein 
the phlogistic and antiphlogis- 
tic hypotheses are proved erro- 
neous. Lond. 1794. 8°. 


Rev. Thomas Gisborne, A. M. The Principles of Moral 


Philosophy investigated and 
applied to the constitution of 
civil society; with an appen- 
dix of remarks on the late de- 
cision of the House of Com- 
mons respecting the abolition 
of the Slave-trade.—The third 


- and fourth Edition, London; 


17951798. 8°. 


List of Books, &c. 


685 


Rev. Thomas Gisborne, A.M, Walks in a Forest: or, Po; 


Robert Harrington, M, D. 


ems descriptive of scenery and 
incidents characteristic of a 
Forest, at different seasons of 
the year. Lond. 1796, 9°. 

Poems, sacred and moral. 
Lond. 1798, 12°, 

An Enquiry into the Duties 
of Men in the higher and mid- 
dle classes of ‘society in Great 
Britain, resulting from their 
respective stations, professions 
and employments. 2 Vols, 
Lond. 1797. 8°, 

An Enquiry into the Duties 
of the Female-Sex. Lond, 


1798. °. 


A familiar Survey of the 
Christian Religion, and of the 
History as connected with the 
Introduction of Christianity 
and with its progress to the 
present-time. Lond. 1799-785, 

Chemical Essays: being a 
continuation of my reflections 
on fixed Fire, with observa~ 
tions and ‘strictures-upon Drs, 
Priestley’s, Fordyce’s, Pear- 
son’s and Beddoes’s late pa- 
pers in the Philosophical Trans« 
actions: and an answer to the 
Reviewers, Lond, 

A New System of Fire and 
Planetary Life ; shewing that 
the Sun and Planets are inha- 


686 . _ bist of Books, §c. 


, netism. 


Robert Harringtons M, D, 


bited, and that they enjoy the 
same temperamentas ourEarth; 
also, an elucidation of the Phe- 
nomena of Electricity and Mag- 
With an appendix. 
Lond. 1796, 8°, 

Some new Experiments with 
Observations upon Heat, clear- 
ly shewing the erroneous Prin- 
ciples of the French Theory, 


_ Also, a Letter to Henry Ca- 


a een nad 


vendish, Esq. &c. &c. Lond. 
1798. 8°. 

Experiments and Observa- 
tions on Sig, Volta’s Electri- 
cal Pile. Lond, 1801, 8°. 


Charles Hatchett, Esq. F. R.S. Observations on Bitumenous 


Se. 


» 
ee te a 


Substances, with a description 
of the varieties of the elastic 
Bitumen. From the Linnean 
Transactions. Vol. ITV. Lond. 
1798. 4°, 

Experiments and Observa- 
tions on Shell and Bone. From 
the Philosophical Trans. Lon- 
don: 1799, 4°. 


— Chemical Experiments on 


Fe 


Mr. William Henry. 


Zoophytes, with some Expe- 
riments on the component parts 
of Membrane. From the Philos, 
Trans. Lond. 1800. 4°. 
Experiments on carbonated 
hydrogenous Gas; witha view 
to determine whether Carbon, 


List. of Books, $c. 687 


Mr. William Henry. 


be a Simple or 2 Compound 
Substance. From the Philos. 
Transac. for 1797. 

Account of a Series of Exe 
periments undertaken with the 
view of decomposing the Mu- 
riatic Acid. From the Philos. 
Transact. for 1800, 


——-. An Epitome of Chemistry ; 


J. M. Huet, M. D. 


John Hull, M. D. 


in three parts. Lond. 1801. 
12%. 
Les Lois de la Nature les 
causes materielles de I’ attrac- 
tion dévoilees. Lond. 1801. 
ee 

Dissertatio. medica inaugura- 
lis de catharticis. Lugd. Bat. 
1792. 4°, 


ns «A Defence of the Cesarean 


Operation, with observations 
on Embryulcia and the Section 
of the Symphysis Pubis; with 
seven Engravings. Manches- 
ter: 1798. 6 


—_———————-——— Observations on Mr. Sime 


VOL. Vv. 


mons’s Detection, &c. &c, 
with a Defence of the Cesa- 
rean Operation derived from 
Authorities, &c. &c. A De- 
scription of the Female Pelvis, 
an Examination of Dr.’ Os- 
born’s Opinions relative to Em- 
bryulcia, and an Account of the 
AAA 


688 List of Books, §c. 


John Hull, M.D. 


A. Hunter, M. D. FLR.S. 


. 


Method of Delivery by Embry- 
otomy.—lIllustrated by nume- 
rous Engravings. Manchester: 
1799. 8°. 

The British Flora; or a 
Linnean Arrangement of Bri- 
tish Plants, with their Generic 
and Specific Characters, select 
Synonyms, English Names, 
Places of Growth, Duration, 
Times of Flowering, and Re- 
ferences .to Figures. In two 
Parts. Manchester: 1799. 8°. 

Elements of Botany. Ilus- 
trated by sixteen Engravings. 
2 Vols. Manchester : 1800. 8°. 

An Essay on Phlegmatia 
Dolens, including an account 
of Peritonitis Puerperalis -& 
Conjunctiva. | Manchester : 
1800. 8°. 

Two Memoirs on the Cesa- 
rean Operation, By M. Bau- 
delocque, sen. Professor of 
Midwifery in the School of 
Medicine at Paris, &c. &c. 
Translated from the French ; 
with a Preface, Notes, an Ap- 
pendix, and six Engravings. 
Manchester: 1801, 8°. 

Outlines of Agriculture, ad- 
dressed to Sir John Sinclair, 
Bart. President of the Board of 
Agriculture. York: 1797. 8°. 


List of Books, §cee 689 


Royal Irish Academy. 


The Transactions of the 
Royal Irish Academy. 7 Vols. 
Dublin: 1787—1800. 4°. 


John Coakley Lettsom, M.D. A Journal of a Voyage to 


F, R. and A. SS. 


Linnean Society. 


Rev. William Magee, D. D. 


the South Seas in his Majesty’s 


- Ship the Endeavour: faithfully 
: transcribed from the papers of 
the late Sydney Parkinson, &c. 


with 29 engraved views—to 
which are added Remarks on 
the Preface by the late John 
Fothergill, M.D. F. R. S. 


‘&c. and an Appendix. se 


1784. 4°. 

Transactions of the Linnean 
Society. 5 Vols. Lond. 1791 
SS00 3 a ee 

A Sermon acta in the 
Chapel of ‘Trinity -Cellege, 
Dublin, on Thursday the 16th, 
of February, 1797, being the 
day appointed for a National 
Thanksgiving on account ~of 
the Providential Deliverance of 
this Kingdom from the late 
threatened Invasion, &c. Dub- 


lin: 1797. 8°. 


Discourses on the Scriptural 
Doctrines of Atonement and 
Sacrifice.- Lond. 1801. 8°. 


Blancs Pilea M.D. F.R.S. A double barrelled Table 


and §. A. &c. &c. 


. Airepump, and Apparatus.) 


690 List of Books, §c. 


‘Mr. John Ring. » ; A Treatise on the Cow-pox3; 

lela > heo containing the History of the 
Vaccine Inoculation, and an 

o} cay 30 ! Account of the various Publica- 
tions which have appeared on 
that subject in Great Britain 
and other parts of the World. 
Part I. Lond. 1801. 8°. 


Mr. John Sharpe. . Ceuvres d’ Horace en Latin 


et en Frangois, avec des re- 
marques critiques et histori- 


2 AE. “ques, Par M. Dacier. 10 


! 


Tom. a Hambourg. 1733. 12°, 
‘James Edward Smith M.D. Syllabus of aCourse of Lece 
F. RLS. &c- &e. tures on Botany. Lond. 1795, 

8°. 


sielaneoniaeil Flora Britannica. 2 Vols, 
alt a Lond. 1800, 8° 

—— Compendium Flore Britany 
Ua + nice. Lond. 1800. 8°. 

- Richard Taunton, Esq, | A Collection of Cornish 


Minerals, 

A new Dictionary of Natu- 
ral History; or complete uni- 
versal display of Animated Na- 
ture. Withaccurate represen- 


tations of the most curious and 
beautiful. Animals, elegantly 
coloured. By W. Frederic 
Martyn, Esq. In 2 Vols, fo- 
lio. Lond. 1785. 


Charles White, Esq. F. R. S. An Account of the regular 


Gradation in Man, and in dif- 
ferent Animals and Vegetables ; 
and from the former to the 


List of Books, §c. 691 


C. H. Wilkinson, A. M. 


latter. Illustrated with En- 
gravings adapted to the subject, 
Lond. 1799. 4°. 

An Essay on the Leyden 
Phial, with a view of explain- 
ing this remarkable Phenome- 


non on pure Mechanical Prin- 


ciples—to which is added an 
Essay on Medical Electricity 
with Cases, Lond. 1798. s°, 


‘ 
. ot ° 
2 -. Oi =e 
Lawfay r 
lapel: h A 
, 
4 n Pah 
POY oie alias a i , : 
is “ J 
Py As 
‘ 
oot at x * 
> an » # 
U29c8 ¥ 
aeh 
> 
| > i 
' 
¥ ae 
‘ 
* ‘ 
J 
‘ ' 
: 
/ 
- 
‘\ 
\ 
. 


INDE X. 


=e 


A 


Air, on the velocity of, issuing out of vessels in vari- 
Ous circumstances, 398—admitted into an exhausted 
receiver acquires an increase of 50° in temperature, 
520.—condensation of’ it to a double density increases 
its temperature 50°, and liberating it again diminishes 


its temperature 50°, - - - - - 
Analysis, of two mineral springs near Warwick, - 
Anperson, Dr. on an universal character, - 
Antiques, account of some lately found in the river 
Ribble, 2 - - = As 


Atmosphere, supposed to be constituted of several 
elastic fluids, co-existing, but independent of each other, 
545—LavotsiEeR’s description of it too limited, 548 
—aqueous, force of it determinable from its condensa- 


tion on a glass containing a cold liquid, - - 

Aurore boreales, observed at Manchester from 1793 

to 1802, = = i, = 
B 

Banxs, Mr. on the velocity of air issuing out of 

vessels, &c. - - - - - 

Barps.ey, Dr. on party-prejudice, - - 


Barritt’s, Mr. account of some antiques, - 


PAGE, 


525 
174 
89 


527 


581 


694 INDEX. 


Barometer, observations on it at Manchester, - 


*~ Beautiful, in the human form, essay on, 407—our' 47 


idea of it derived from contemplating a medium form, 
Bellows, an instrument to measure the force of their 


blast, - - - - - = 
Benefits, and duties of Literary and Philosophical 
Societies, essay on, - ee é: 
Betula nigra, or Birch, black” American, recom- 
mended for quick growth, &c. ko a - 
Bleaching, a new method of, - - 
Brown, Dr. on an universal written character, - 
Cc 
Caloric, materiality of it supported, 609, et seq.— 
seems subject to the laws of chemical affinity, - 
Celts, account of some, lately found in the river’ 
Ribble, - - - - 
Cold (absolute) or the point of total privation of 
heat, new method of inferring it, g : 
Cox.ier, Mr. on iron and steel, 109—on fermen- 
tation, and distillation of ardent spirit, - - 
Colour, of a Negro, remarkable change in, - 
Colours, instances of extraordinary vision of, - 
Complexion, florid, appears to some people, blue, 
Cotton-trec, (Persian) an account of, - - 
D 


Darton, Mr. on extraordinary vision of colours, 
28—on the quantity of rain, compared with evapora- 
tion, &c. 346—on the origin of springs, 367—on the 
power of fluids to conduct heat, 373—-on the heat and 
cold produced by the mechanical condensation and 


rarefaction of air, 515—on the constitution of mixed — 


gases, 538—on the force of steam in vacuo, 550—on 


INDEX. 


the force of steam in air, 571—on evaporation, 574— 
on the expansion of elastic fluids by heat, —- 2 
" Detonation of oxygenated muriate of potash and 
combustible substances, - = é 

‘Dew, estimate of the annual quantity of, 350—on 
glass, &c. a criterion of the force and quantity of aque- 
ous vapour in the atmosphere, ~~ : L ¥ 

Distillation of ardent spirit, on the, - ig 


E 

_ Ether (sulphuric), vapour from it subject to the same 
Jaw of force as that from water, 365—force of its 
vapour at 212° of temperature, 567—evaporation of it 
in the open air, - - - - - 
Evaporation, mean monthly from water, at Liver- 
pool, 359—mean monthly from green ground, at Man- 
chester, 361—from water in every temperature is 
directly proportional to the force of steam of the same 
temperature, 58¢—table for determining it in atmos- 
pheric temperatures, 585—from spirits, ether, &c. 
follows the same law as-from water, 590—from ice, 
also is subject to the same law, 593—from water, at 
Manchesier, for 3 years, - - - a 
Expansion of elastic fluids by heat, 595—is the 
same for all elastic fluids, contrary to the experiments 
of du_Vernois, 600—amounts to 325 parts from 1000 
from 55° to 212°, ibid.—increments of it decrease in as- 
gending, compared with equal increments of mercury, 


; 


Fermentation, experiments and observations on, = =” 


‘Fetus (acephalous), account of one, 498—another, 
Forces (central), ‘inverse method of, Ne a 


, 


FO. Ve -« BBE 


695 


PAGE, 
595 


233 


582 
243 


590 


670 


599 


696 INDEX. 


G 
Gases (mixed), on their constitution, 535-—not re- 
sulting from chemical affinity, - - - 
GisBorne, Rev. Thomas, on the benefits and duties 
of literary.and philosophical societies - - 
Govucu, Mr. on the variety of voices, 58—on the 
method of determining by the ear the direction of 
sonorous bodies, 622—on the theory of compound 


sounds, - = = s Bs 

Grass, colour of, nearly the same as that of red 

sealing-wax, to some eyes, 2 : o 

Gururie, Dr. on the Persian cotton-tree, - 
H 


Heat, the power of fluids to conduct it independent 
of internal motion maintained, 373—materiality of it 


PAGE. 
539 


70 


653 


41 
214 


supported, : - . 609, et seq, 


Henry, Mr. on certain experiments supposed to 
disprove the materiality of heat, - - - 
Hints, on the establishment of an universal written 
character, - - - - ~ 
Ho.me’s, Dr. explanation of a Roman inscription, 
Hoyte, Mr. on the oxygenated muriate of potash, 
“Huu, Dr. on the nervous systems of different ani- 
mals, and original defects in them, Ny fie - 
Huln Abbey, Northumberland, enquiry into the 
name of its founder, - - - . 
Hygrometer of de Saussure, remarks on it, - 
Hygrometry, observations relating to, ’ - 


I 
Ice, a bad conductor of heat, 388—is evaporable, 
like water, - 2 = % 
Iron and Steel, observations on, - > > 
Inscription, (Roman) found near Manchester, ex- 
planation of, = 2 . e . 


603 
275 
677 
221 
475 

46 


595 
67} 


593 
109 


673 


INDEX; 697 
L 
Pace. 
Lampe, Dr. on the analysis of two mineral waters, 174 
LavoisteR’s description of the atmosphere too 
limited, : ai - - - - 548 
Learning, and the arts, defence of, against some 
charges of raves 438—not the parent of polite- 
ness, - a0 - -. ibid. et seq. 
LeMINGTON-Priors, analysis of two mineral 
springs at, -~ - - ay OTA: 
Luxury, and corrupt manners, not the progeny of 
science and the arts, - - - 463 et seq: 
M 
Matériality of heat supported, in aoe to ex- 
periments supposed to disprove it, - - 603! 
Meteorological observations, - - 666° 
Muriate of Lime: (liquid), vapour from it conform- . 
able to the same law of force as aqueous vapour, = 579 
N Blas 
Negro, remarkable change of colour in one, - 314 
Nervous Systems. of different animals, observations. ee 
on, 475, et seg.—on original defects in the nervous 
system of the human species, 492—their influenceon . . ; 
sensation and voluntary motion, <) dh ML oer G07 
, oO 
Oak (Iron or Turkey), a profitable and ornamental 
tree, - - ~ - - 167 
Oxygenated muriate of potash, experiments on, © - 221 
Oxygenated muriatic acid, new method of bleaching . |.) 
with, r - “ - Fy 29S 
, P 
Party-prejudice, cursory remarks on, - - 1 


Coal ed INDEX: 
PAGE, 
_Pink (colour), ope to some people the same as 
shay shite: sony iim : 0 =. $2 
Politeness, the offspring, of woman, not of learning 
and the-arts, 451—not. justly parler wae insince- , 
rity and dishonesty, . - 4 = 458 
Poplar, Athenian, recommended for Senabji and 
quick growth, ah, - - - 165 
Priestiey’s, Dr. analysis of atmospheric air,-re- 9 
marks x 4 a ARES = 123. 
R 


“Rain, mean annual quantity of, in several parts of i 
England, 348—general mean for England and Wales, 
349—raim and dew equal to the evaporation, arid te’ 


the supply of springs and rivers, 365—-mean quantity. = 
of at he ga for 8 ini 668—at Kendal for. 14). 
years, -~miotnuos - - io 669 


Repulsion ¢ of the particles of elastic fluids ete deolde 
from experiments to be directly as their temperature, 
reckoned from the point of total privation ofheat, - 601 

' Ring, antique, found near Castle-field, Manchester, 


account of; - - - - "533 
Rivers of England and Wales, estimate of the quan- 
tity of water that: ‘flows down them annually, a3 


‘Rupr, Mr. on Dr. Priespiry’s analysis of atmos- 
pheric air,, 123—on a new method of bleaching with 


the oxygenated muriatic acid, tks - = 298 
8 

»Smrrn’s,, Dr. bie of compound sounds de- 

fended, + - - ~ . \ + 653 et seq. 


© Séunding bodies, home we judge of their directions, 622 


Sounds (compound), theory of, = - 653 
Spirits (ardent), on the distillation of, © - 243 


INDEX.) 69 

: PAGE, 

Springs, origin of, 367—are supplied ‘by rain, - 371 
Statues, Grecian, present the mtost perfect beauty 


of form, — - - 2 ~ 428 et seq. 
Steam, see Vapour. 
Steel and Iron, observations on, v - too 


Thermometer mercurial, supposed not to be an ac- 
curate measure of- heat, 602—observations on it at 


Manchester, - - - 667 

Timber trees, ov three kinds, useful and ornamental, 163 

’ Tragedy and tragical representations, essayon, - 319 
U 

Universal character (in writing, &c.) on an, - 89 


Uvepate’s, Mr. enquiry into the name of the 
founder of Hutw AsBey, 46—remarks on Dr. Fer- 
RIAR’s account of the monument in the church of 
Hutn AsBBeEy, & - - ae eis 


Vv 

Vapour, from water in vacuo, table of its force deter- 
mined experimentally from 32° to 212°, and thence 
inferred from—40° to $25°, 559—from ether of any 
temperature the same force as that from water of 110° 
higher temperature, 566 e¢ seg.—from other liquids 
follows the same law of force as the aqueous, 568, et 
seq.—from liquids, is of the same force in air of any 
density as in vacuo, in the same temperature, 572— 


hence is inferred to be a distinct elastic fluid, “are 
Ventriloquism, attempt to explain it, - 6358 et seq. 
Vescy (family), pedigree of, - = (ST 
Voices, on the variety of, - - - 58 
Ww . 


Waker, Mr. on tragedy and the interest in tra- 
gical representations, 319—his defence of learning and 


“s) ff ‘ i 


700 see INDEX. 
94.0 pe 


PAGKe 

the arts against some charges of Rousseau, « 438 
Water, its density greatest at 424°, 374—expands 7 

from that point equally with heat or cold, 375 et seq. 

—may be cooled down to 5 or 6° of Fahrenheit with- 

out being frozen, if inclosed in the bulb of a thermo- 

meter tube, 376—in a glass may differ 50° in temper- 


ature at half an inch in depth, a - 385 
Waters mineral, analysis of two, - - 174 
Wuirte, Mr. on three kinds of timber-trees, usé- 

ful and ornamental - cahiite - - 163 
Winds, observations on them at Manchester, - 669 

So Se - 


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