sian; iT i POLI OTN 1 uM names eet A tac er | ih TE eM ee ee ee ee eae ee Te AMERICAN we Ye ® gouRNAL OF SCIENCE, WORE ESPECIALLY OF vay OTHER BRANCHES OF NATURAL HISTORY ; IroLupINe ALSO AGRACULTUBE ayo em TAL AS WELL AS USEFUL ARTS. Mg +N IG ——- — <% 4 ~ tf If CONDUCTED BY . a pers pet BENJAMIN SILLIMAN, PROFESSOR OF CHEMISTRY, MINERALOGY, ETC. IN YALE COLLEGE, AUTHOR OF TRAVELS IN ENGLAND, SCOTLAND AND HOLLAND, &TC. NEW-YORK ; PUBLISHED BY J. EASTBURN AND CO. LITERARY ROOMS, BROAD- WAY, AND BY HOWE AND SPALDING, NEW-HAVEN. Et T.G, WOODWARD, PRINTER. ceases Shan ss mes rete ADVERTISEMENT. 8 @e«-- In the following plan of this Work, we trust it will be understood, that the Editor does not pledge himself that all the subjects mentioned shall be touched upon in every number. ‘This is plainly impossible, unless every article should be very short and im- perfect. All that the public are entitled to expect, is, that in the progress of the Jour- nal, the various subjects mentioned may oc- cupy such an extent as our communica- tions and resources shall permit. We have been honoured by such a list of names of gentlemen who are willing to be considered as contributors to this Journal, iv ADVERTISEMENT: that the publication of it would afford us no ordinary gratification, did we not feel that it is more decorous to allow their names to appear with their communications, without laying them under a previous pledge to the public, which it might not be convenient, in every instance, to redeem. PLAN OF THE WORK. BBE Tuts Journal is intended to embrace the circle of tHe Puysican Sciences, with their application to rHe Arts, and to every useful purpose. It is designed as a deposit for orxginal American communications ; but will contain also occasional selections from Foreign Journals, and notices of the progress of science in other countries. Within its plan are embraced © Natorat Hisrory, in its three great depart- ments of Mineratoey, Borany, and Zoo.oey ; Cuemistry and Natrurat Pxivosopny, in their various branches: and Maruemarics, pure and mixed. - It will be a leading object to illustrate Amert- can Narurat History, and especially our Minr- RALOGY and GroLoey. The Appr.iications of these sciences are obvi- ously as numerous as physical arts, and physical wants; for no one of these arts or wants can be named which is not connected with them. While Science will be cherished for is own sake, and with a due respect for its own inherent dignity ; it will also be employed as the hand- maid to the Arts. Its numerous applications to Acricutture, the earliest and most important of them; to our Manuracrures, both mechanical vi PLAN OF THE WORK, and chemical; and to our Domestic Economy, will be éarefall ly sought out, and faithfully made. It is also. within the design of this Journal to -receive communications on Music, ScutptureE, Eneravine, Painting, and generally on the Bee and liberal, as well as ‘ese arts ; ON Military and Civil Eneuibedan, and the art of Navigation. Notices, Reviews, and Analyses of new sci- entific works, and of new Inventions, and Spe- cifications of Patents ; Biographical and Obituary Notices of scientific men ; essays on Comparative Anatomy and Puy- sioLoey, and generally on such other branches of medicine as depend on scientific principles ; Meteorological Registers, and reports of Agri- cultural ‘experiments : and we would leave room also for interesting miscellaneous things, not per- haps exactly included under either of the above heads. Communications are respectfully solicited from men of science, and from men versed in the practi- cal Arts. Learned Societies are invited to make this Journal, occasionally, the vehicle of their com- munications to the Public. The editor will not hold himself responsible for the sentiments and opinions advanced by his correspondents ; but he will consider it as an allowed liberty to make slight verbal alterations, where errors may be presumed to have arisen from inadvertency. a ee ee ee nl Oe FR ee ED eee Pr ae SR aS Fes Pea te a eg a SIE? a CONTENTS. Ivrropuctory Remarks Art. I. Essay on Musical Temperament, by wicteaase Alex. M. Fisher . . es MINERALOGY AND GEOLOGY. Art. II. Review of Cleaveland’s Mineralogy . . Art. II. New Locality of Fiuor Spar, &c. . . : Art. [V. Carbonat of auras &c. discovered by J. . Pierce, Esq. 3 ‘. Art. V. Native Copper. near New: Haven ee Art. VI. Petrified Wood from Antigua .. .. . Art. VII. American Porcelain Clays,&c. . . . . Art. VIII. Native Sulphur from Java . . . . . . Art. IX. Productions of Wier’s Cave, in Virginia Art. X. Mineralogy and Geology of part of Virginia it Tennessee, by Mr. J. H. Kain . Art. XI. Notice of ges: Mitchill’s edition of Ca- vier’s Geo . ° Art. XII. Notice of Katon’s lide’ to the Geclogy of the Northern States, &c. : Art. XIII. Notice of M, Brongnart on Organized Re- emains . . . ; . BOTANY. Art. XIV. Observations on a species of limosella, by Pro- wen a SVE a a ie Art. XV. Notice of Professor Bigelow’s Memoir on the Floral Calendar of the United States, &c. . - Art. XVI. Journal of the Progress of vee &ec. f C.8. Rafinesque, Esq. ee eS Vill CONTENTS. ZOOLOGY. Art. XVII. Description of a new species of Marten, by C. S. Rafinesque, Esq. . Art. XVIII. Natural ee. of the Copper: ‘Head Snake, , by thesame . ~~. . PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY. Art. XIX. On a Method of augmenting the Force of 7 rs Gunpowder, by Col. G. Gibbs "Art. XX. On the Connexion between ocean id Light, by the same . . Art. XXI. On a new means of Producing Heat acid Light, by J. L. Sullivan, Esq. . Art. XXII. On the. Effects of the Earthiquaies of 811, 1812, on the Wells in Columbia, South Caroli- : na, by Professor Edward D. Smith . . . . Art. XXIII. On ‘the Respiration of ee Gas in an Affection of the Thorax . . MISCELLANEOUS. Art. XXIV. On the Priority of Discovery of the Com- pound Blowpipe, and its effects Art. XXV. On the Northwest ae the North Pole, and the Greenland Ice . . 101 THE ANTRIRICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, §c. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS, Ti age in which we live is not less distinguished by a vigorous and successful cultivation of physical science, than by its numerous and impertant applications to the practical arts, and to the commen purposes of life. In every enlightened country, men illustrious for talent, worth, and knowledge, are ardently engaged in enlarging the boundaries of natural science; and the history of their labours and discoveries is communicated to the world, chiefly through the medium of Scientific Journals. The utility of such Journals has thus become generally evident: they are the heralds of science; they proclaim its toils and its achievements; they demonstrate its intimate connexion as well with the comfort, as with the intellectual and moral improvement of our species; and they often procure for it enviable honors and substantial™~ rewards. In England, the interests of science have been, for a series of years, greatly promoted by the excellent Journals of Til- loch and Nicholson; and for the loss of the latter, the scientific world has been = ee by Dr. Thomson’s Annals Vou. L...No. 3 Introductory Remarks. of Philosophy, and by the Journal of Science and the Arts, both published in London. In France, the Annales de Chimie et de Physique, the Jour- nal des Mines, the Journal de Physique, &c. have long enjoyed a high and deserved reputation. Indeed, there are few coun- tries in Europe which do not produce some similar publica- tion ; not to mention the transactions of learned societies and numerous medical journals. From these sources our country reaps, and will long con- tinue to reap, an abundant harvest of information: and if the light of science, as well as of day, spring from the east, we will welcome the rays of both ; nor should national pride induce us to reject so rich an offering. But can we do nothing in return? In a general diffusion of useful information through the various classes of society, in activity of intellect, and fertility of resource and invention, producing a highly intelligent population, we have no reason to shrink from a comparison with any country. But the de- voted cultivators of science, in the United States, are compar- atively few; they are, however, rapidly increasing in number. Among them are persons distinguished for their capacity and attainments, and, notwithstanding the local feelings nourished by our state sovereignties, and the rival claims of several of our larger cities, there is evidently a predisposition towards a — concentration of effort, from which we may hope for the hap- piest results, with regard to the advancement of both the sci- ence and reputation of our country. Is it not, therefore, desirable to furnish some rallying point, — some object sufficiently interesting to be nurtured by common — efforts, and thus to become the basis of an enduring, common — interest? To produce these efforts, and to excite this interest, nothing, perhaps, bids fairer, than a Screnriric JourNAL+ Hitherto nearly all our exertions of this kind, have been made — by medical gentlemen, and directed primarily to medical ob- jects. We are neither ignorant nor forgetful of the merits of | our various Mrepicar Journats, nor of the zeal with which, a3 far as consistent with their main object, they have fostered the — physical sciences. We are aware, also, that Journals have sliledl tiled
  • scales carinated on the back, which is coppered, with reddish brown rings cross-shaped ; belly variegated of brownish. — Description. Total length about three feet; body thicker than in the innocent snakes. Head large, broad, oval, obtuse, very distinct from the weck, nearly two inches long, flattened, coppered brown above, and covered with large, smooth scales; yellow underneath, as well as the neck, and with rhomboidal smooth scales. Mouth very large; fangs yellowish white. Back flattened anteriorly, a little angular in the middle, covered with small rhomboidal, obtuse, keeled scales; those of the sides larger and smooth, not keeled; centre of the back of a brownish copper colour; sides of a bright copper ; broad bands or rings, becoming forked on each side, and assuming nearly the shape of a St. Andrew’s cross; they are of a reddish brown: there is a round spot opposite to the sinusses, and the Scales of the sides are minutely dotted of brown. The abdo- minal plates are 150, beginning under .the head; the last, covering the vent, is very broad, double the other: they are of a shining, pale copper colour, with two longitudinal and lateral rows of great, irregular, brown spots, with some light brownish clouds between them, and each plate is marginated of whitish. The belly is very flat and broad, about 13 inch is diameter ; and the skin may be distended on the sides, when the animal is not fed. Tail short, tapering gradually, about four inches long, cyliadrical, brown, without spots, with 45 Plates underneath, and having at the end a small, obtuse, horn 86 Rafinesque on the Red Adder. claw, of an oblong, compressed, obtuse shape, and carinated oe underneath. This snake has many of the habits of the rattlesnake ; he is very slow in his motions, rather clumsy, owing to his thick shape and short tail. He retires in winter into caves, hollow rocks and trees, where he lies, in a torpid state, from Novem- ber to April; several have been found coiled up together, the head lying over the back: itis in the same situation he sleeps in the fields. When found in the torpid state, they may be carried without waking; but might wake in a warm room. They do not eat during all that time: their food consists of birds, frogs, mice, and even squirrels, which they catch by surprise, as they do not climb on trees. They kill their large prey by breathing a poisonous effluvia, crushing it in their folds, and they swallow it whole after covering it with their clammy saliva. They can remain a very long time withouta meal, and one meal is a long time digesting. — They are generally found in meadows, pastures, and the edge of weods. They creep slovenly through the grass, and if surprised by the sight of man, they assume an erect and threatening posture, darting their tongue and swelling theit — head ; but they do not attack men, unless alarmed and struck They are considered more dangerous than the rattlesnake, because they do not give notice of their vicinity, and lie con- cealed in the grass; but they are easily killed, when assuming the threatening posture, by a slight touch of a cane, spade, any other instrument. The effect of their bite is similar t0 that of the rattlesnake, and cured in the same way, by the prompt application of the Aristolochia serpentaria, Polygala senega, Prenanthes serpentaria, Macrotys serpentaria, &c. and — other plants, bearing in consequence the name of snakeroots- This snake is found in New-England, New-York, New- Jersey, Pennsylvania, &c., and perhaps all over the United States, Col. Gibbs on Gunpowder; 87 Anr. XIX. On a Method of Augmenting the Forte of Gun- powder. Extract of a Letter to the Editor, from Col. Gzorcr Ginrs. I EMPLOYED, the last year, a man in blowing rocks, and having seen an account of a method of substituting a portion of quick lime for a part of the gunpowder usually employed, I was induced to make a number of experiments upon it. I now send you the results, in the certificate of the person employed, whose statement might be relied on, even if I had not super- intended myself a number of the experiments. = “ Sunswick Farms, Oct. 19, 1817.—I certify that, having been employed by Colonel Gibbs in blasting: rocks on his farm, I, by his orders, made use of a composition of one part quick lime and two parts gunpowder, and uniformly found the same charge to answer equally well with a like quantity of gunpowder. I made upwards of fifty blasts in this manner, as well as several hundreds in the usual way, and can therefore depend upén the accuracy of this statement. I found, however, that when the powdered lime was mixed with the gunpowder the day before, the effect was diminished. It should be always used the day it is mixed, - (Signed) T. Pomzroy.” This preparation was made generally in the morning, put into a bottle and well corked, to prevent the access of the external ar. The rationale of the process was not explained in the Sriginal recommendation, but it soon occurred to me, that it en be owing to the desiccation of the gunpowder by the ime. The attraction of moisture by gunpowder, is known to be very great : according to Rees’s Cyclopedia, upwards ‘a “ Per cent. has been absorbed, and that the removal, simply, ss Col. Gibbs on Gunpowder. from near the fire to the corner of the room, produces a con: siderable change in its weight. I presume, therefore, that the lime, which in its caustic state has also a great affinity to water, attracts a portion of it from the powder, and leaves it in a state of dryness best fitted for inflammation. But if the lime should remain too long mixed with the powder, it would probably attack the water of crystallization of the saltpetre, and, according to Count Rumford’s idea, destroy a great part - of the power. If also left exposed, attraction of moisture would take place from the atmosphere, the gunpowder would remain surcharged with humidity as before, and the lime would be only an inert mass. The examination of this subject led me to consider the in- crease of the power of gunpowder in various situations, and of its use im the field. It is well known that after a few dis- charges a cannon becomes heated, and the range is much greater, as well as the recoil. The charge of powder is there- fore reduced about one quarter, to produce the original effect. As [have not heard or seen any explanation of this fact, I shall take this opportunity of mentioning, that it appears to arise from the same cause as the first explained, viz., the desicca- tion of the powder. No person will dispute the heat acquired by a cannon, or even a musket, after repeated discharges 5 40° this heat rhust volatize or destroy a great portion of the mois ture combined with the powder, assist its speedy inflammation, and perhaps add to its power, by causing a more perfect com: bustion of tle inflammable parts of the gunpowder. This would cause a much greater volume of gas to be produced, and the high temperature would also greatly augment its elas ticity ; and it is well known that the effects of gunpowder depend upon the rapid production and high degree of elasticity _ of agreat quantity of seriform fluids or gases. = ——— nai eerhlnanssivenapuan — os ee — Col. Gibbs on Magnetism. 89. Arr. XX. On the Connexion between Magnetism and Ligh: By Colonel Graas. Extract from a letter to the Editor: . warren, the last year, the mine of magnetic iron at -Succassunny, belonging to Governor Dickerson of New-J ersey. ‘The mine had not been worked for a year past, and I did not | descend it. The proprietor, a gentleman of distinguished sci- ee, informed ’me of a singular circumstance attending it, ___ Which was too important to be left unnoticed. The mine is Pe worked at the depth of 100 feet; direction of the bed, north- east and southwest ; inclination, nearly perpendicular. ‘The re in the upper part of the bed is magnetic, and has polarity ; _ Dutthat raised from the bottom has no magnetism at first, but acquires it after it has been sometime exposed to the influence of the atmosphere. This fact; of which there is no doubt, | Struck me as most singular. I could not recollect any similar observation; and it is only lately that I have found that Wer- ner had observed; that iron sand, raised from the depth of 100 leet, had no Magnetism. See Rees’ Cyclopedia, Art. Sand. T could only account for this circumstance by supposing that, magnetism existed not in the interior of the earth, as was sup- Posed, but only on the surface, and in such bodies as received this Principle from atmospheric, or celestial influence. The late discovery of the magnetic influence of the violet "ays of light, by M. Morechini, a notice of which has since reached us in = z me to believe that light is the great source of magnetism. | tries foreigner,* whose residence in this country has con- | am — much to its scientific improvement, has also informed | wage Substances than metallic have been found, by | _ Jon, to be magnetic. "is well known that the violet ray is the most refrangible. * y Mr. Correa de Serra, Minister of the King of Portugal. OL, L..No. re * ~ 98 Col. Gibbs on Magnetism. or has the most attraction to matter. But there are other rays, which Herschel, who some years since discovered them, calls invisible rays, which are still more refrangible, are next beyond the violet, when refracted, and partake of most of its properties, except that they are invisible. I have not yee seen any account of the experiments of M. Morechini, other than the notice in the journal ; but I trust I shall soon be able to determine whether those invisible rays do not possess the — magnetic power as well as the violet; or, perhaps, possess exclusively. , As the refraction of the atmosphere in the polar circles, is at least ten times greater than in the tropics, a greater quan- tity of the magnetic rays will there be separated. and combined than elsewhere; and of course arises excess of magnetism Hence the direction of magnetic bodies towards the northern and southern extreme regions. ‘Fhe great absorption and emission of light in the polar regions, by the ice and snow, may cause the extraordinary illumination of that country during the absence of. the sun, and the emission of the magnetic ray with electricity may, perhaps, give us the aurora borealis. e coincidence of the diurnal variation of the compass with the solar influence, deserves particular notice, and will have considerable weight on this subject. That there are many facts which cannot readily be explained by the theory of light, I shall not deny; but in the infancy F this system we may be allowed to hope that future observa tions may enable us to remove present difficulties. One thing must be admitted, that no theory has heretofore been published peawe ea hicee ces relating to magnetism, which has’ received, or seems entitled to much confidence. In your next number I hope to be able to furnish you with further remarks on this subject 5 but, F have no doubt that philosophy will finally determine that _ owe to the solar ray, light, heat, electricity, and magnetism. G. GIBBS. Sunswick, January, 1818. New Fire Apparatus for Heat and Light. 91 Art. XXI. Onanew Means of producing Heat and Light, with an Engraving, by J. L. Sullivan, Esq. of Boston. Bosron, May 7, 1818. a Yo Professor Silliman. sIR, F the following account of a method of using tar and steam as fuel, recently invented by Mr. Samuel Morey, should be found sufficiently interesting to occupy a place in the Journal of Science, I am sensible its usefulness will be much extended through that medium of information. : The inventor, not unskilled in chemistry, and aware of the attraction of oxygen for carbon, conceived it practicable to conyert the constituents of water into fuel, by means of this affinity. Whatever may be the fact, chemically considered, the ope- ration, in various experiments, promises to afford a conve- ment method of applying to use several of the most combusti- ble substances, not hitherto employed as fuel. By the process I shall briefly describe, all carbonaceous fluids may be conveni- ently burnt, and derive great force from their combination with the oxygen and hydrogen gases of water or steam, before or at the moment of ignition. A tight vessel, cylindrically shaped, was first employed, con- taining rosin, connected with a small boiler by a pipe which entered near the bottom, and extended nearly its length, having small apertures, over which were two inverted gutters, inclin- ng or sloping upwards over each other; the upper one longer than the other, intended to detain the steam in the rosin, in its Way to the surface. The rosin being heated, carburetted hydro- en gas would issue from the outlet, or pipe, inserted near the top of the vessel, and being ignited, afforded a small blaze, about as large as that of a candle; but, when the steam was allowed to flow, this blaze would instantly shoot out many hun- dred times its former bulk, to the distance of two or three feet, 4 92 New Fire Apparatus for Heat and Light. It is presumed the steam was decomposed, and carburetted hydrogen and carbonic oxide, or carbunic acid, produced as the steam passed, very near the hot bottom of the vessel. Another apparatus was constructed, consisting of two vessels, one within the other, having a cover common to both; inner one to contain far, (as a more convenient substance than rosin ;) the outer vessel to contain water, which surrounds the other, and Jies under its bottom; or, in other words, a vessel of tar set into a vessel of boiling water. The boiler has a lining of sheet copper, or tin, to promote the ebullition. he tar vessel being riveted to the cover, holes are made through its sides, near to the cover, to allow the steam to pass in, and act on its surface. The cover being secured on, a safe-_ ty valve is provided for the steam vessel; and two cocks, one over the tar, the other over the water, are fixed contiguously + the first has a tube, or is elongated to reach nearly to the bot- tom of the tar, which ascends, and is driven out by the pres- sure of the steam on its surface. Both cocks conduct toa pipe, wherein is placed a large wire, or metallic rod, which about fills the tube, and is perforated obliquely, or zig-zag, to increase the length of the passage, and to mingle the tar and steam more intimately. The gases, or vapours, issue “from a small orifice at the end of the pipe; and, being ignited by a little fire, into which it is directed, an intense and voluminous blaze is produced, and continues as long as the materials remain unexhausted. SRagepRARRNN or eee neaatteet arn = oo i aaa Geology of Deerfield, &c. 109: its summit. This ridge does not rise so high as the pudding- stone on the west of it, as may be seen in the view of strata with the map. It commences on the west bank of Connecticut river, about a mile north of the hill C, and increases in eleva- tion nearly to the spot where it disappears at the fall of the river in Gill. This rock does not appear to rest on sandstone, but to descend through it, where there is an opportunity for observation. Deerfield river has worn a passage through the sandstone and greenstone 150 feet deep, and the greenstone passes under its bed, and the sandstone, at a few rods distant lies on each side of the greenstone. A similar fact has been noticed at the fall in Connecticut river, in Gill. Yet I have coloured this greenstone secondary on the map; for it is cer- tain that Mount Tom rests on sandstone, and it is stated by Professor Silliman, that the same rock does in Connecticut. Could we penetrate deeper below the surface, it is probable the same would be found to be the case with this greenstone. As stated above, this rock disappears near the cataract in Gill, and it is succeeded by puddingstone. But four miles farther north, it again emerges in Bernardstone, though it rises but little above the surface. Here its character is changed. The hornblende is more crystalline, and the rock becomes decidedly primitive, as you approach a mountain of argillite and mica slate, into which it passes, and no greenstone as been observed north of this. It terminates not far from the line of Vermont. The red sandstone and conglomerate also terminate on the opposite side of the river in Northfield. T € greenstone, in the above described range, is of a finer texture than the same rock in Connecticut; and the feldspar, ii some Specimens, is scarcely discernible with a microscope. Indeed, in many instances, the eye would decide the rock to be basalt. Much of it is fissile, the lamine varying from half ’n inch to a foot in thickness. ‘This is most perceptible among the loose Masses ; but it exists also in that place. Whether this circumstance be accidental, I will not attempt to decide. arge proportion of the greenstone of our vicinity consti- tutes the base of amygdaloid. ‘The imbedded substances are calcareous Spar, quartz, chalcedony, analcime, prehnite, &c. 110 | Geology of Deerfield, &e. as will be more particularly mentioned hereafter. Globular concretions of greenstone are common in this amygdaloid, — several inches in diameter, and of greater specific gravity than the other parts of the rock. A great number of columns occur in the same range, having from three to six sides. Some of them are quite regular, and are well articulated, exhibiting at their joints considerable concavities and convexities. They are from one to thirty feet long, and, in their natural pssition, incline a few degrees to the east, as may be seen in the view of strata with the map. A few have been noticed that make lateral curves. One of these hexagonal columns measures at one end as follows :—Diagonals, 27, 29, and 293 inches ; sides, 163, 133, 113, 17, LI4, and 16% inches. The convexity of this column isa little more than an inch. The best instances of these prisms occur one mile east from the village of Deer- field. : Masses of greenstone are found at considerable distance from the range, among the puddingstone. One has been noticed weighing many tons, a hundred rods from the range of nstone, and on much higher ground. Some of these scattered fragments contain chalcedony. A specimen of pe- trosiliceous porphyry has been found among the same pud- dingstone, and also a mass of singular, though not well defined, amygdaloid, whose base is similar to wacke, and the im substances are calcareous spar, chlorite, and green earth. _ The elevation in the north part of Sunderland, called Toby, from 800 to 900 feet high, is chiefly conglomerate, red, brow? or greenish, which, in some parts, alternates with chlorite slate, secondary argillite, and a sandstone that seems to be passing into gray wacke slate. Some of the imbedded masses in this puddingstone are quite large, its cement is frequently calcareous, its aspect is singular, and it is very different from the puddingstone before described, on the opposite side of the river. At the foot of this mountain, in the bottom of Com- necticut river, distinct impressions of fish are found on @ schistose rock, like the one above mentioned as passing into gray wacke slate. This same species of slate occurs in Se¥® ral other places at the bottom of Connecticut river, as at the Geology of Deerfield, &c. ili fall in Gill. In this last place bituminous shale has been noticed. In Mount Toby, in Sunderland, is a cave nearly 150 feet above the bed of Connecticut river. It opens to the north and west, forming a quarter of a circle, is 130 feet in extent, 60 feet deep, and from 3 to 20 wide. A little to the south of it, is afissure in the puddingstone, formed by a separation of the rock, ten feet wide, and as deep as the cave. So perfect is this division, that it appears as if cloven down by the sword of some Titan. Perhaps this cave and fissure were formed by the washing of the waters of the lake we have mentioned on the sandstone and conglomerate beneath; thus causing the superincumbent rock to fall and separate. There is no appearance of any other convulsion. Imperfect calcareous stalactites are found in this cave. The falls in Connecticut river, at E, are not unworthy of notice. The river here is about 40 rods wide, and the height of the main cataract, raised considerably by an artificial dam, is 30 feet. The fall continues two miles. On the north bank you view the cataract from elevated ground, and can see the river nearly a mile above and below—above, perfectly smooth and calm,—below, forming a quarter of a circle, and tumbling among the broken rocks. On the opposite side of the river are a few buildings, the commencement of a canal, and, behind these, moderately elevated hills, covered with Woods, Two rocky islands near the middle of the descending sheet, and another thirty rods below, add much to the beauty of the view. Looking from the southeast shore, you havea Partial prospect of the falls, and a view of an amphitheatre of sreenstone hills, through which a small river empties. The Neasure derived from the view proceeds more from its wild- hess than its sublimity. The position of the hills, boundaries, and rivers, on the “ccompanying map, may not, in all cases, be precisely correct. The general outlines were enlarged by a pentegraph from Carleton’s map of Massachusetts, and the intermediate objects Were placed chiefly by the eye; their relative situations being determined by travelling over the ground, and viewing them 412 | Geology of Deerfield, &e. from different elevations. The boundaries of the several formations have not been so carefully noticed near the angles of the map as in the central parts. Of their correctness, gene- rally, however, I am confident. The latitude. and longitude of Deerfield, from which those on the map were marked, were obtained by taking a mean of the observations given by Gen. E. Hoyt, in the Transactions of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and of twelve lunar observations since made. The result is, Lat. 42° $2’ $2”. Long. 72° 39° from Greenwich. With the map is given a view of the strata of rocks from Hoosack mountain to eleven miles east of Connecticut river, on a line nearly east and west, passing through Deerfield. The horizontal distances are laid down from a scale; the ele- vations are assumed. The principal rocks only are coloured; for itis very difficult to determine the breadth of many, since they frequently alternate with one another. I have not ex- amined the country on the east side of Connecticut river with sufficient care to be able to extend the section on that side more than a few miles. It may not be amiss to mention, that Mount Holyoke, much celebrated for the delightful view from its top, has been found, with a sextant, to be 830 feet above Connecticut river Its height has been frequently overrated. : The mineralogy of this section of the country has been bat imperfectly explored. I shall mention those minerals only of which I have obtained specimens, and whose localities have not been noticed by mineralogists. Quartz—several varieties. 1. Rock Crystal—abundant. Some good specimens are found in Conway, on feldspar, with the usual hexagonal, pri matic crystals, and these crystals cross each othet in all directions. at 2, Trised Quartz—found in Leyden. 3. Granular Quartz—in Deerfield. 4, Radiated Quartz—in Whately and Shelburne. ' 5. Blue Quartz—in rolled masses on the banks of Deerfield river. Ol = Greasy Quartz—in same place. Geology of Deerfield, §c. 116 7. Pseudomorphous Quartz—in greenstone, Deerfield. 8. Lamellar Quartz—in same place. The lamine some- times penetrate crystals of common quartz. 9. Tubular or Pectinated Quartz—in same place: 10. Quartz Geodes—in same place. Prase—in the north part of Sunderland. (Not good speci- mens. ) Amethyst—in Greenstone, Deerfield: the colour is not deep, but delicate. Chalcedony—in same place—considerably aburidant, but _ generally in small masses. Carnelian—in same place, not plenty. The chalcedony, in some specimens, seems to be passing into cacholong, and the carnelian into sardonyx. ' Agate—in same place. It is made up of chalcedony, carne- lian; and quartz. They are generally small, but’ some are elegant: Jasper, red and yellow—found in rolled masses on the banks of Deerfield river and in Leyden. Some has been found imperfectly strived. It occurs frequently as it was form- ed by the aboriginals into barbs for pikes and arrows. Petrosiler—on the banks of Deerfield river—not good spe- cimens, z Feldspar—the red variety occurs im puddingstone, Déer- field. Itis not necessary to mention any other locality of a mineral so common. Hornblende—very abundant—mostly black in this vicinity. Mica—this is very abundant on the east side of Connecticut river. Some crystals of it have been found in Amherst. utesbury. ‘taltte—The localities of this are seen on the section. The aboriginals formed many articles from this mineral, as pots, pipes, &e. Chlorite—in Shutesbury : also in amygdaloid, Deerfield. In Deerfield academy there are some Indian pipes of this mineral, well wrought. Green Barth—in small quantities, in amygdaloid, Deerfield. Vou L...No, 2. te 4 114 Geology of Deerfield, Se. ‘Schorl—the black variety occurs in Pelham, Shutesbury, and Orange, Mass., and in Brattleborough, Vermont. Epidote—in Deerfield, Shutesbury, Leyden and Pelham, and in Athol, Worcester county. The specimens poor. Tremolite—in the west part of Leyden, near Green rivet. The rock in this region is chiefly mica slate, and the quantity of tremolite is very great. Tons of it might be easily collected. Cyanite, or Sappare—in Deerfield, in mica slate ; discover ed by Dr. S. W. Williams. Actynolite—rare, found in Shutesbury. Serpentine—found in Leyden in rolled masses. Some of the specimens adinit a fine polish, and the ground is band- somely variegated. It has not been noticed in sift. Asbestus—compact, in Pelham. Garnets—very plenty in Conway Deerfield, Shelburne, &- Good specimens of the melanite occur in Conway. Native Alum—in Leyden, in small quantities, efflorescing 0 argillaceous slate. Sulphur—in Conway, Shelburne, and Warwick, efflorescing on mica slate, Prehnite—in greenstone, Deerfield, incrusting the columns and in radiated masses, but rarely crystallized. The veils of it, when in place, are nearly perpendicular. : _ Zeolite—in same place, not abundant. Some good spe mens of the radiated variety are found. Chabasie—in same place, considerably abundant. ‘No cry® tals have yet been found whose sides exceed a quarter of at inch. It occurs in the veins of the greenstone, imgeote on balls of zeolite, on chalcedony, on lamellar quart oe Stilbite—in same place, not abundant. It is commonly ass” ciated with chabasie, and the crystals, though small, a well defined, Analcime—in same place, very abundant, and is associated with quartz and amethyst, which are sometimes enclose! by analcime. It generally occurs in cylindrical, renifor™ and radiated masses. A few perfect crystals only hav? been observed. Rs rn te ee I Ra le ee eal es iit Geology of Deerfield, §c. 11¢ Laminated Calcareous Spar—in the same place, not uncom- mon. Chalcedony, carnelian, ~agate, amethyst, prehnite, zeolite, chabasie, stilbite, and analcime, have been found nearly in the same place ; and it may not be amiss to observe, that this spot is distant from Deerfield Academy about one mile, and bears from the same, by a true meridian, KE. 2°, 15’ S. Jron Sand—found in considerable quantity near the falls in Connecticut river, on the Montague shore. Sulphate of Iron—in Conway, in small quantities, eflorescing on mica slate. Sulphuret of Iron—in Halifax, Vermont, in abundance ; also in Charlemont, Mass., Deerfield, &c. Magnetic Oxide of Iron—very common in the region west of Connecticut river. 1 have observed it in Athol, Worces- ter county. Specular Oxide of Tron—some veins of this ore occur im Hawley, Bernardstown, and Warwick, and have been Wrought to a small extent. Micaceous Oxide of Jron—in the iron mine in Hawley. Green Carbonate of Copper—in Greenstone, in Greenfield. This ore constitutes a vein on the bank of Connecticut river, passing into the hill on one side, and under the river on the other. It has never been wrought, nor, indeed, is its locality publicly known. opper Pyrites—in the same vein, not abundant, at the sur- face, Sulphate of Barytes—in the same place, constituting the immediate walls of the vein. Its breadth on the wall Varies from an inch to a fvot, and the breadth of the vein _ is six or eight feet. : Galena—in Whately. This is probably from a continuation of the vein of this ore that appears at Montgomery, South- ampton, and Hatfield. A single crystal has been found in the same range, in Greenfield, twelve miles north of Whately ; but it was not in place. 116 @. Atwater, Esq. on the Red Oxide of Titanium—in Leyden, crystallized on quartz and tremolite, chiefly on the latter; colour brownish red —specific gravity 4.232; scratches glass, handsomely geniculated, and sometimes several geniculations in the same specimen; in one, as many as six could be per- ceived. Eagle Stone, or Nodular argillaceous Oxide of Tron—one specimen on the banks of Deerfield river. Rose-red Quartz—a louse mass in alluvial soil, Deerfield. Red Oxide of Titanium—in Shelburne. I would acknowledge my peculiar obligations to Professor Silliman, of New-Haven, and to Dr. David Hunt, of North- ampton, Mass. for the very generous assistance they have given me in a commencement of the study of mineralogy, and for their liberal aid in this particular communication. Theis kindness, it is believed, will not soon he forgotten. To seve- ral others, also, I am indebted for communicating facts of im- Deerfield, October, 1817. eee Arr. II. On the Prairies and Barrens of the West, by Cavt® Atwater, Esa. in Letters to the Editor. CrncievitiE, Ohio, May 28, 1818: Dear Sir, I SEND you for publication in the Journal of Science, an Essay on the Prairies and Barrens found in this country- : Description of the Prairies. Prairie is a French word, signifying a meadow, but is ber? applied only to natural meadows. They are found in all th states and territories west of the Alleghany mountains, more oF Jess numerous, of greater or less extent. They are covered with a coarse kind of grass, which, before the country is settled tS; Prairies and Barrens of the West. 117 in their vicinity, grows to the height of six or seven feet. After these natural meadows are fed upon by domestic animals, the grass does not grow to a greater height than it does in common pastures. Sometimes this grass is intermixed with weeds and plum-bushes. Some of those prairies are dry, while others are moist. Pickaway Plains, in Pickaway county, in the State of Ohio, lying a small distance south of this place, are nearly seven miles in length, and about three miles in width, on ground considerably elevated above the Scioto river, almost per- fectly level, and, in their native state, were covered with a great quantity of grass, some weeds and plum-bushes; and in the most elevated places, there were afew trees. This was one great prairie. nit A Sandusky Plains, lying on the high ground between the head waters of the Whetstone branch of the Scioto river, and the Waters of streams running into Lake Erie, are still more exten- sive than those of Pickaway, covered with a coarse, tall grass, Intermixed with weeds, with here and there a tree, presenting to the eyea landscape of great extent. The moist prairies generally lie along some stream, or at the head of one, on level land, or on that which gently descends. The moist prairies are too wet for trees to grow on them; an whether moist or dry, the soil, for a greater or less depth, is always alluvial, resting on pebbles and sand, such as are found at the bottom of rivers, ponds, and lakes. In some instances, the Writer is credibl y informed, that the shells of muscles are found imbedded in the pebbles and sand. That these shells, Such as abound in our rivers, ponds, and lakes, should be found in low prairies along the banks of waters which fre- quently overflow them, excites no wonder, nor even surprise ; but that these shells should be found thus imbedded in pebbles and sand underneath several feet of alluvial soil, in situations more than one hundred feet above the waters of any stream “ow in existence, is calculated to perplex the mind of the “uperficial observer. These prairies are found in the western half of the State of Ohio, and north of the hills adjacent to the “Iver of that name, They are also found in every state and ‘erritory west of the Alleghanies, from the great northern lakes 118 C. Atwater, Esq. on the on the north, to the Mexican Gulf on the south; from the western foot of the Alleghany mountains, to the eastern one of the Rocky mountains, up the Missouri. In summer, the grass which spontaneously covers them, feeds immense herds of cattle ; in winter, the hay that is cut on them, with a little — Indian corn or maize, feeds and fattens the same herds. Some — of these prairies extend as far as the eye can reach 3 others contain only a few perches of ground. Description of the Barrens. ~ But beside these prairies, there are also extensive tracts of country in this part of the Union which deserve and shall receive our notice; they are called « Barrens.” From their appellation, “barrens,” the person unacquainted with them is not to suppose them thus called from their sterility, because most of them are quite the reverse. ‘These barrens are found ina level country, with here and there a gentle rise, only # few feet higher than the land around it. On these little rise’, for they are not hills, trees grow, and grass also; but grass and weeds are the only occupants of the soil where there is no rise of ground. The soil is alluvial to greater or less depth in these barrens, though on some of the highest rises there is little or none; the lower the ground the deeper the alluvion. On these gentle rises, where there is no alluvion, we find i blue clay, and no pebbles. Under the alluvial black soil, the lower grounds, we find pebbles similar to those in th prairies, owing to similar causes. On the little ridges, where- ever the land is not too moist, the oak or the hickory 6 taken possession, and there grows to a moderate height, clusters. It would seem, that whenever the land had becom? sufficiently dry for an acorn or a hickory nut to sprout, take root, and grow, it did so; and from one or more of these tree in time, others have grown around them in such clusters a8 ¥° now behold. Where the land is lower, the soil deeper, mor? moist, and more fertile, the grass was too thick, and the soil 10° wet, for such kind of trees to grow in as were found 16 immediate vicinity. Imagine, then, ‘natutal meadows) © vl Prairies and Barrens of the West. 119 tious dimensions, and of every figure which the imagination can conceive, with here and there a gentle rise of ground, decked with a few scattering trees, or a thick cluster of them, and bearing a tall coarse grass, which is thin on the rises, but on the lower grounds thick and luxuriant ; imagine, also, a rill of a reddish colour scarcely meandering through ground a little lower than the surrounding plain, and you will have a very correct idea of the appearance of these barrens. They are — generally (not always) found on what is called, in our west- ern dialect, second bottom, and not on a level with any streams of magnitude, but rather at their sources. To mention all the counties of this State, where these prairies and barrens are found, would be too tedious, and illy comport with the object which we have in view. We shall therefore content ourselves with describing those found in the north half of Fayette coun- ty, and the adjoining county of Madison, which may be said to be almost entirely one great barren, of more than forty miles extent from north to south, and generally half as much in breadth from east to west. ‘The great barren in Fayette, Mad- ‘son, and, we may- add, in. the counties still north of them, is on land elevated from fifty to one hundred feet above the level of the Scioto river, into which the streams that have their sour- es in this tract of country generally run. pe eas This.land lies so level, that the waters stand: on it too long for grain to thrive equally with grass, unless, indeed, the far- Mer. should dig along drain, which. is easily effected by the Plough, with a little assistance from. the hoe and: the spade. But as nature. seems. to have intended ,this tract of country for the raising of cattle instead of grain, the husbandman has lis- tened to the suggestion, and in this great barren are foundsome thousands of the finest cattle which the State affords. Here the » the ox, and swine; feed, thrive, and fatten, with little ex- Pense to-their owner; but sheep do not, and never will; thrive on prairie grass, or wet grounds. Fruit-trees, the peach, the apple, the plum, &c. do very well, when planted on the gently “sing grounds, where the hickory or the oak had! once stood. Fruit-trees, such as have been named, thrive very well, also, on the dry prairies. On the eastern side of the Alleghany 120 C. Atwater, Esq. on the mountains, there neither-is, nor was there ever, any thing like these prairies and barrens, if we except those found in the western part of New-York, inthe Genessee country, and in the vicinity of the lakes in that quarter. These, the writer of this saw nearly thirty years since, and before that country was much settled. Those prairies were similar, in appearance, — to ours in the west, and were, beyond doubt, formed by similar means. Speculations on the Origin of the Prairies and Barrens. What were the causes which contributed to form these natu: ral meadows? That water was the principal agent in their formation, we very little doubt; but this is not the comma opinion. According to that opinion, oug* prairies and barrens, and especially the latter; were occasioned entirely by the burn: ing of the woods by ihe Indians, in order to take the wild game. Let us try this opinion by the indubitable appearances exhibited by these prairies and barrens. They are invariably found in a level country, or in om which is nearly so; and the soil is, generally, if not always, more moist than that which is uneven and hilly. Would not the leaves, where the land is dry, burn over with as great facility, or even with greater facility, than the grass would where the land is wet? Would there not be more wild gamé where they could find their food in plenty, such as acorns hickory nuts, on which they feed in winter, than on land, where no food, except dry grass and weeds, was to be found? It is well known that these prairies and barrens could not be burnt over when the vegetable productions which cover them were growing. At the only season when it is possible burn them, that is in winter, to what kind of regions do the wild animals resort? Is it not to the thick woods? Evel hunter will answer in the affirmative. For the space of twet- ty-five years, the writer of this lived in the vicinity of Indians, and, from information on which he relies, as well as from his own actual observation, he confidently avers that the Indians neither are, nor ever were, in the habit of firing the wootlt -_ l_ Prairies and Barrens of the West. i2i im order to take game. Erroneous information first propagated such an opinion, and blind credulity has extended it down to us. Another opinion, equally groundless, prevails to a consi- derable extent; and that is, that these prairies have all been heretofore cultivated by the aborigines, and that the grass hav- ing overspread these plains, prevented the growth of trees on them. The Indians, it is to be presumed, never cultivated any other grain than maize, or Indian corn, and yet we see few or no corn-hills in any part of this country. In the west- ern part of New-York, before it was settled by its present inhabitants, thousands and thousands of acres were to be seen, where the trees were as large as any in the forest, and yet the rows of corn-hills were plainly discernible. I refer im a par- ticular manner to what is now called Cayuga county. here the growth of grass had not prevented the growth of trees, nor did it here. We know that some of these prairies were culti- vated by the Indians, but never to any very considerable — extent, This country never was thickly settled by Indians, like the shores of the Atlantic and the banks of the rivers run- ning into it. No, it was the ancestors of the Peruvians and the Mexicans who lived here in great numbers, before they migrated to South America. The question then recurs, by what powerful means were these prairies and barrens formed? : Py fat water was the principal agent, we infer from the fact, that the soil is always alluvial to greater or less depth ; the former we call prairie, the latter barren. But how could the country from the southern shore of Lake Erie to Chillicothe, 4 distance of more than one hundred and fifty miles from north to south, ever be covered with water long enough to form ial soil, in many places from four to six feetin depth? 1 answer, that the Niagara river, the present outlet of Lake Erie, has Worn away several hundred feet, and in that way the lake 's lowered in the same proportion. ‘The high land, composed ntirely of sand, originally extending from the Ohio northerly “pwards of forty miles, to Chillicothe, has been worn through by the Scioto river; and the waters which once for ages cov- *red the whole country north of the hills along the Ohio Vou. I....No, 2. 16 122 C. Atwater, Esq. on the river, have been drained off, and the dry land appears whers once stood the waters of lakes Erie and Michigan, then form- ing but one great lake. I am fully impressed with the belief, that were the bottom of Niagara river as high as it once was, the upper lakes would now, as formerly, empty themselves into the Ohio by the Scioto and Miami rivers, and into the Mississippi by the Illinois. I might proceed to examine every part of the country where prairies and barrens are found ; but they have all been formed by the same agent, and that is water. An objection to this opinion may be raised by some, that these prairies and barrens are frequently found in the counties of Delaware, Champaign, Madison, Fayette, &c. on ground con- siderably elevated. Are they higher than the hills near Chil- licothe? From a careful inspection, but without any instr: ments, I am convinced that they are none of them as high. There is no perpendicular fall of water, but merely a gra dual descent, from Columbus to the Ohio; nay, there is 0 fall from the very source ofthe Scioto toits mouth. Every oné acquainted with hydrostatics, knows, that water will run brisk- ly where the descent is only a few inches in a mile. The writer believes that the Scioto, from its source to the Ohio river, does not descend more than one hundred feet, and that the present surface of Lake Erie is about on a level with the Ohio in a freshet: that before the channel of Niagara rivet was deepened, as it evidently has been, by the attrition of that mighty stream ; and before the hills adjacent to the Ohio wet worn down by the waters of the Scioto, the whole country north of Chillicethe, where these hills commence, to Erie, inclusive, was covered with water, except the vey highest hills in the counties of Greene, &c. which were then islands. What tends to corroborate this opinion is, that these high grounds we find limestone and other rocks, and indications of gypsum ; but no alluvion, and none of those frag ments and ruins which are produced by water acting mecha nically upon a country fora long space of time. We might mention other parts of country where prairies and barrens abound, and which have been formed by water. Those along Greene river, in Kentucky, have evidently been covered by a i el ale arte —ee Prairies and Barrens of the West. 123 the waters of that river. The bed of that stream has been deepened by the constant flowing of the water along its chan- nel; the water is drained off, and the prairies and barrens now occupy the soil which the water had made and formerly covered. The prairies above the falls of Hockhocking, along that river, have evidently been formed in the same way, and owe their origin and appearances to similar causes. There is, near Lancaster, on the last-mentioned river, in the State of Ohio, and near the great road, a gentle rise of ground in the prairie, which has every appearance of having been an island, _ and is so called by the people of the vicinity. In fine, wherever prairies and barrens are found, there, for a long space of time, water once stood, but was gradually drained off. Else why alluvial soil to such a depth, in low Situations, and growing thinner as we ascend on ground more elevated? Else why do we find rocks in more elevated tracts of country, and not in prairies or barrens? Else why do we find no alluvion, no grass, but a thick growth of ancient forest- trees on the higher lands? Else why do we find, beneath the alluvion of the prairies, pebbles and shells, similar to those at the bottom of lakes and ponds ? Else why do the higher grounds to this moment present the appearances of so many islands P And all these indications where no stream now in existence could by possibility have reached them ? That the waters which once covered so great a part of this State (Ohio) were drawn off gradually, we infer from the fact, that there is not a single indication of the effects of an earth- quake or volcano, from the foot of the Alleghany to the banks of the Mississippi : in this region, not a stone nor a layer of earth has been misplaced, nor its position changed. But an interesting inquiry here presents itself. Were the S along the Ohio, before they were worn away by the irae which now empty themselves into that river, ever Pe enough to raise the water to the north of them to such a “gree that it would overspread the country where the prai- et and barrens are now found? Although the height of these , Shas not been ascertained by the proper instruments, yet "om appearances, not to be mistaken by any person who i124 © C. Atwater, Esq. on the Prairies, §c. examines them and the country towards Lake Erie, these hilis are much higher than any land between them and that lake. And from certain indications, (as already remarked,) had not the bed of the Niagara been deepened by the running of that mighty river, Lake Erie, as formerly, would empty itself into the Ohio by the Scioto and Miami; and the great northem lakes would once more discharge themselves into the Missis- sippi by the [llinois. Lake Ontario, from some cause, (possi- bly an earthquake, or the wearing away of its outlet, or both, is considerably lower than it was formerly; in that way the land along its banks, once covered by its waters, is drained, presenting appearances exactly similar to those seen in many of our prairies. Miscellaneous Remarks on the Prairies and Barrens relative t their Picturesque Features, and to Agriculture and Health, as affected by the peculiarities of these Tracts. To the traveller, who for several days traverses these prai- ries and barrens, their appearance is quite uninviting, and even disagreeable. He may travel from morning until night, and make good speed, but on looking around him, he fancies himself at the very spot whence he started. No pleasant variety of hill and dale, no rapidly running brook delights the eye, and no sound of woodland music strikes the ear ; but, in their stead, a dull uniformity of prospect “ spread out immense.” Excepting here and there a tree, or a slight elevation of ground, it is otherwise a dead level, covered with tall weeds and coarse grass. The sluggish rivulets, of a reddish colour, scarcelY move perceptibly, and their appearance is as uninviting to the eye, as their taste is disgusting to the palate. Such are the prairies and barrens of the west; but, in order to make ample amends for any deficiency, nature has made them exuberantly fertile. ‘The farmer who settles upon them, by raising cattle, becomes rich with little labour. He ditches those which af tvo moist for grain; he ploughs and fences them, and raises from seventy to one hundred bushels of maize, or Indian co™ to the acre, without ever hoeing it. The United States ows arte = ) Coal Mines of Virginia. 125 thousands and thousands of acres of such land in these west- ern States and Territories, which, for prompt payment, may be purchased for one dollar and sixty-two and a half cents an acre. Qne objection to these lands is, the want of timber for fuel and other purposes; and another is, that they are un- healthy; but in many places there is an abundance of peat in the wet prairies, and cultivation will every year render them more and more healthy, Some of them have been cultivated for fifteen or twenty years past with grain, and are as fertile as they ever were. As M. Volney says, “They are the Flanders of America,” Yours, &e. C. Ae Art. Ill. Account of the Coal Mines in the vicinity of Rich- mond, Virginia, ; communicated to the Editor, in a Letter from Mr. Joun Grammer, Jun. PerenrspurGH, Va. Jan. 28, 1818. Dear Sir, N compliance with your request, that I would send you some account of the Virginia coal pits, I paid a visit to them, soon after my return, in company with Mr. R. W. Withers, and I Will now proceed to give you the account proposed. The pits, which we made the particular object of our visit, are situated in the county of Chesterfield, about fourteen miles distant, in a direction W.$. W. from Richmond, and three niles south of James’ river. ‘The country rises gradually from Richmond to the pits; and, from its sandy appearance, is evi- dently an alluvial deposit, although its substratum is the gran- ite mentioned by Mr. M’Clure, as extending through this State 8.8. W. to N.N.E. The coal is found on the western °F Upper surface of the granite, coincident. with it, both in di- Fection and inclination; but whether they come immediately iD contact or not, has not. yet been ascertained. The bed of coal ‘is Supposed by the miners to be co-extensive with 126 Coal Mines of Virginia. the granite, and [ can discover no very good reason for disa- greeing with them in this particular; but, on the contrary, many circumstances concur to strengthen the opinion that itis really co-extensive with the granite. The coal is now pro- cured from at least 25 different pits, opened at convenient dis- tances through an extent of from 50 to 70 miles. It every where commences at the upper surface or termination of the body of granite. Some suppose that it is imposed on the gran- ite; and others, that a thin stratum of slate is interposed be- tween the coal and granite. It is always found covered by the slate. The granite is inclined to the horizon, at an angle of 45 degrees, and the coal has the same inclination. And since the coal, as far as it has been discovered, is found to accompany and correspond with the granite, why may we not suppose that it continues to accompany the granite, where it has not yet been discovered ? At Heth’s pits the coal is 50 feet thick, measured on 4 line perpendicular to the surfaces of the extreme strata. At some of the pits between Heth’s and James’ river, it is 30 feet thick; and at the river, not more than 25 feet. The thickness of the coal on the north side of James’ river, at the pits in Henrico and Hanover counties, is variable, but at no place greater than 2 feet; and to the south of Heth’s, in the pits extending to the Appomatox river, it is still less thick. These facts would i- duce the supposition, that the coal was deposited in a bed, neat the centre of which Heth’s pits were sunk. But on the other hand, the coal is distinctly stratified, and the number of strala increases as the coal proceeds from the surface of the earth; of course, therefore, the farther you proceed from the outer extrem ity of the coal, the thicker the body of it will be found ; and frm the inclination of the coal, the farther you are from its outer & tremity, the deeper it must be under the surface of the earth. Heth’s pits are 100 feet deeper than any that have yet been sunk ; and all the pits that I have seen appear to be nearer #0 the outer extremity of the coal. We may conclude, therefore, that if the others had been sunk as far from the outer extremit) they would have been as deep, and the coal would have beet found as thick in them as in Heth’s, Heth’s pits, now 80°" ® _ Coal Mines of Virginia. 127 were first opened about 30 years since, and worked to some considerable extent. Experiencing, however, much inconve- nience from the near approach of the works toa part of the coal which was on fire ; and finding, from their unskilful mode of mining, that the business was not profitable, they abandon- ed the works and filled up their shaft. Some few years after, Mr. Heth obtained possession of the land; and, having import- ed two Scotch miners, commenced working the coal again. He has now three shafts open, in a line with each other, in the di- rection of the vein. They are sunk near the brink of a steep hill, which rises about 180 feet from the western bank of a small brook. The depth of one of the shafts is 350 feet. ‘The other two are about 300 feet deep, each. A steam-engine, con- structed by Bolton & Watt, is erected at the middle and deep- est shaft. It is used exclusively for pumping out water; but I will not trouble you with an account of the modus operandi, as it would be only a repetition of your own description of the Sate operation at the Cornwall mines. The coal is raised in a box, called by the miners a cowe. These cowes contain about two bushels each, and two of them are alternately rising and descending in each shaft. They are raised by means of ropes, fastened to a simple wheel and crank, which is turned by mules, In sinking their shafts, they cut, in the first place, per- Pendicularly (i. e. to the surface of the earth) through the Coal, to its lower surface ; and then, turning westwardly, they Oper a ho izontal gallery through the inclination of the vein, to its Upper surface ; by this means, to use their own terms, "Saining a double cut on it.” Their principal gallery passes (in the direction of the vein,) by the mouth of each shaft. Its length ig 1350 feet, and it is terminated at each end by a hitch or dyke of hard sandstone. (The passage was stopped with in such a manner as to prevent me from seeing the Stone myself, and the gentleman who escorted me through the mines ig my authority for its being sandstone ; he might pos- sibly: : however, have been mistaken, as it is difficult to ascer- : a 4 stone is, in such a place, until it is broken.) When Re at the pits, they were preparing to blast through this * At right angles to the principal gallery, they have 128 Coal Mines of Virginia. opened, at convenient distances apart, shorter galleries, runi- ning westwardly, and these are again connected by passages parallel to the first or principal gallery. Pickaxes are the only tools used in working the coal, as it breaks very readily, in the direction of the strata. The roofs of some of the pas- sages are perfectly smooth; and in such, the light of the lamps, reflected from the great variety of colours in the coal, pre- sents a very brilliant sight. The gloomy blackness, however, of most of the galleries, and the strange dress and appearance of the black miners, would furnish sufficient data to the con- ception of a poet, for a description of Pluto’s kingdom. A strong sulphurous acid ran down the walls of many of the gal- leries ; and I observed one of the drains was filled with a yel- lowish gelatinous substance, which I ascertained, on a subse- quent examination, was a yellow, or rathtr a reddish, oxide of iron, mechanically suspended in water. I mentioned above that a part of the coal was on fire: I could not ascertain when this fact was first observed to exist ; and if is not impossible that the coal may have been burning a cel tury, or more. It is highly probable, however, that a comp® ratively small quantity of the coal is consumed, as the combus- tion must be greatly retarded by the absence of a sufficient portion of atmospheric air. A strong sulphurous fume issues from an irregular hole in the side of the hill of about 2 feet diameter. The hole appears to be only 4 or 5 feet deep, the smoke rises into it from cracks, partly filled with loos clay. The earth is very much cracked around the hole, to e distance of 12 or 15 feet; and these cracks are from i 4 inches wide. ‘The mouth of the hole is incrusted with act cular crystals of pure sulphur. Attempts were formerly made to extinguish the fire, by turning water into this hole ; and, after every attempt, there was a temporary disappearance the smoke for several weeks; but never longer than months. For several years, however, they have desisted from such vain attempts, and have taken advantage of the fact lity afforded, by the existence of this fire, for ventilating the mines, in the following manner:—They opened a passage | their present, to the old deserted, works; this they ca? ope? Coal Mines of Virginia. 129 or shut, by means of a close door. As the old works are very near the fire, the air in them becomes very much rarified by the heat; and probably a considerable portion of it is consum- ed, (as the principal pabulum for the combustion,) and a_par- tial vacuum is produced. When the air, in their present works, therefore, becomes impure, they open the door, and a strong current rushes into the old works ; its place is again supplied with fresh air through the shafts. Previous to the adoption of this mode of ventilation, they experienced great inconve- nience from carbonic acid gas; and some of the workmen had been killed by an explosion of carburetted hydrogen gas, Since this mode has been adopted, they have experienced no incon- Venience at all from noxious gases. On inquiry, I was told that the substances passed through, in getting to the coal, va- tied in the different pits. As far, however, as 1 could learn by inquiry, and an examination of the heaps of rubbish, the following substances, in the order in which they stand, have been found in Heth’s pits :—mould, clay, gravel, fuller’s earth, sandstone, (at first extremel y coarse and friable, but becoming more compact and hard, and having an appearance somewhat stratified as they descended,) gray and bluish clay slate, hard bluish sandstone, shale, or, as they term it, shiver, white mica- “sous sandstone, extremely hard; blue slate and shale inter- mixed, black slate, and then the coal. The depth of these stra- ‘adifered so much in different pits, that their individual thick- hess could not be ascertained. Vegetable impressions are very Common in the slate next the coal; and they have found the impression of a fish. Pieces of pure charcoal, in the form . sticks, or logs, are frequently found in or omthe coal. In Sinking one of the pits they met with a perpendicular column, 8 inches in diameter, extending through the slate into the coal ; m all about 50 feet. Its surface was distinctly serrated, and at 'ntervals of about two inches it appeared jointed, breaking ‘asily at the joints. For the want of a better name I myst call ta“ lusus haturee ;”” for it is neither clay-slate nor mica-slate, "or shale, nor sandstone, but appears to be composed of them * Masses of a black oxide of iron are sometimes found in the slate ; and from its weight and hardness the miners very 91. L...No, 2. 17 130 Coal Mines of Virginia. properly call it ironstone. Iron pyrites are very abundant: is the slate, and the heaps of rubbish are white with the sulphate of alumine; yellow ochre is found among the rubbish, but I could not ascertain its relative position with any precision. The side of the hill at the pits is covered with quartz pebbles ; some of which are as transparent and beautiful as I ever saw. The country, for several miles around the pits, (i. e. as far as I have seen,) appears to be entirely destitute of rocks or peb- bles, and is covered with a light sandy soil. Iam unable to inform you of the number of hands employed at, or of the quan- tity of coal annually furnished from, these pits, as a part of my notes has, by an accident, been rendered illegible. Thus, sir, I have endeavoured to comply with my promise of giving you an account of the coal pits.* In doing this, have only attempted to state facts as they existed ; although I have no doubt that my imperfect acquaintance with geology has occasioned many omissions which might have been inter- esting. To the same cause must be attributed the use of Jan- guage not always strictly scientific, and a method. less exact than might have been desired. With all its imperfections, _ however, if you can, from the mass of facts, cull any one which may be useful or interesting, I shall be fully compensated, by the pleasure of having furnished it, for any trouble I may have been at in doing so. And, if at any time I should be able t furnish you with any information relative to the mineralogy geology of this part of the country, I hope you will let me know it, * In using the word “ pit,’ instead of “ mine,” [ have accommodated thy language to the custom of the country. Oe Sooo Geology of Indiana, &c. iSi Ant. IV. Sketch of the Geology and Mineralogy of a part of the State of Indiana, communicated in a letter to the Editor, by Mr. W. B. Stinson. Lovisvittez, (Ken.) August 11, 1818. Dear Sir, HAVE employed a short period of leisure in passing over aportion of the state of Indiana. Among other objects, I was not wholly inattentive te the mineralogical and geological fea- tures of the country. I now, with diffidence, transmit to you the result of my inquiries. Sxetcu, &c. The secondary formation of the state of Indiana is abundantly evident. The surface of the soil is undulating, and marked with few elevations which deserve the name of mountains. The rocks are sandstone, limestone, and clay-slate; all ot Which are disposed in horizontal strata. ‘The sandstone pre- sents nothing remarkable in its appearance. Its colours are various shades of gray and brown. ‘The principal hills are of this formation. ‘The principal colours of the limestone are blue and gray, and their various mingled and intermediate Shades. Its secondary formation «is very manifest from its almost earthy appearance. In innumerable instances, the limestone rocks contain immense quantities of imbedded shells, of great similarity of form and appearance, and having consi- erable resemblance to the common escallop-shell of the ocean, Owing to the easy decomposition of these rocks, and the horizontal position of their strata, they afford many sub- *rranean passages for water. A considerable stream, called Lost River, runs into a caye in the side of a precipitous hill; and, after a passage of 6 or 7 miles under the earth, again makes its appearance, with a large accession to its waters. The traveller’s attention is continually excited by cavities in fhe earth, where the temporary rivulets, proceeding from, 132 Geology of Indiana, §e. rains, make a sudden exit through perpendicular perforations in the upper stratum of the rock. There are many such cavi- ties, which do not receive any water from the surface. Some of them are many yards in diameter, forming a regular circular concave, of considerable depth, towards the centre. They are vulgarly known among the inhabitants by the name of “ sink- holes.” ‘The localities of slate are few, and present nothing uncommon. =< : With regard . to the particular minerals. On Sand Creek, 60 miles from White River, is an interesting locality of that variety of silex, commonly called burrstone. It has been examined by several practical millers, who do not hesitate to pronounce the specimens which it affords, equal, if not superior, to the French burrs. ‘The locality is twenty acres in extent, and appears to be. inexhaustible. The mineral varies very much in its appearance; it is generally porous, and appears to have been puffed up by the escape of some gas, while it was in a state of fusion. A mass of well-raised bread gives n0 inadequate idea of its configuration. It produces most vivid sparks with steel. Some labourers are employed in procuring millstones from this place; and, such is the size of the sili- ceous rocks, that they are under no necessity of constructing them of detached masses. They form, of a single rock, mill- stones of five and a half feet in diameter, which are not de faced by any irregularity, or even earthy cavity. These mill- stones may be carried down the White, Wabash, Ohio, and ‘Mississippi rivers, to New-Orleans, with great facility. And if they should prove as excellent as it is expected they i this discovery will shed new lustre upon the accumulating evi- dence of the mineralogical resources of this republic. Many other varieties of silex are common: rock erystal, agate, and chalcedony, are often found in the beds of rivulets- T passed a considerable distance upon the banks of a small stream, called Leather-wood creek: the bottom of the creek Wa covered, the whole distance, with siliceous masses, shaped like oblate spheroids, and of every size, from that of a large melon downwards. On being broken, they presented beautiful geodes of crystallized quartz, amethyst, &c. The outside was ofte® pp cence PB ge Geology of indiana, §:c. 138 fine chalcedony, and sometimes the interior was the same sub- stance, in the form of balls; all these were sometimes com- bined, forming agates of great beauty. Carbonate of lime, crystallized, is sometimes found; and many of the caves afford fine stalactites. There is a large cave near Corydon, celebrated for the pro- duction of sulphate of magnesia, or Epsom salts. It has been explored for the distance of several miles. When it was first discovered, the bottom, in many places, was covered to the depth of several inches, with pure, brilliant, needle-shaped crystals of sulphate of magnesia. By some mysterious process of nature, or rather of Divine benevolence, the production of this useful salt is continually going on. This cave also produ- ces some other salts in small quantities: nitrate of lime, nitrate of magnesia, sulphate of lime, &c. oe ere the basis of the country is limestone, the waters always take up a great quantity of lime, and some of them pos- Sess great petrifying powers. I saw many specimens of petri- factions: a tuft of moss, the form perfectly preserved ; leaves, bark, and branches of trees; insects, and many others. Many of the springs are strongly impregnated with sulphur, and some of them are saturated with sulphuretted hydrogen. I found the opinion universally prevalent among the people of this state, that the first appearance of these sulphur springs Was immediately subsequent to the earthquakes of 1812. They say, that then new springs, impregnated with sulphur, broke out, and the waters of some old springs, for the first time, gave indications of this mineral. A sensible farmer, who has a large sulphur fountain, boiling up from the bottom of a river near tS bank, assured me, that there was no trace of this spring until after the period to which I have alluded. He could “ve no interest in deceiving me; and if he did deceive me, his conduct could originate only in that love of the marvellous Which is so characteristic of the human mind. He, moreover, orared me that the « water had been growing weaker, (to "8e his phrase) ever since its first appearance.” Ihave room only to mention, among the minerals of Indiana, many varieties clay, ochres, gypsum, alabaster, muriat of soda, (very com- mon,) iton ore, and antimony. 134 New localities of Agate, §c. Arr. V. New localities of Agate, Chalcedony, Chabasie, Sti- bite, Analcime, Titanium, Prehnle, &c. D EERFIELD, &c. In the account of the Mineralogy and Geology of Deerfield, by Mr. Hitchcock, in the present Nun- ber, it will be seen, that these interesting minerals (with the exception of titanium) exist in the secondary green- stone of that place. Wehave specimens, (through the kind- ness of Mr. Hitchcock,) and observe that the agates, chal- cedony, analcime, and prehnite, are imbedded in the trap; the agates are in some instances very delicate in the dispo- sition of their bands, and need nothing but polishing to make them beautiful; the same is true of the chalcedony. The chabasie and stilbite occupy cavities, and the chabasie is often distinctly crystallized in a rhomboid, so nearly approaching @ cube, in the quantity of its angles, that the mistake is easily committed of supposing them to be cubes; the crystals are sometimes transparent, and the largest a quarter of an inch in diameter. Titanium is found in Leyden ; it is the red oxide— very well characterized—in reddish brown crystals as large as acommon goose quill,* and, in some instances, perfectly geniculated. It is rare to see finer specimens. East-Haven.~ It will be obseryed, that the great ranges of secondary greenstone, which cut Connecticut and Massachit- setts in two, terminate at New-Haven, on the one hand, and some way above Deerfield on the other. By comparing the account of the termination at New-Haven (Bruce’s Journal, Vol. I. p. 139.) with that now published, of the termination a or near Deerfield, it will be seen that the geology and imbed- ded minerals are very similar. At East-Haven, (one of the branches of the greenstone of New-Haven, and within from three to four miles of the latter town,) chalcedony is often found, sometimes imbedded in the trap, (but perhaps mF frequently loose among the fallen stones,) which, although * Since the above article was written, we have received some as large ® a finger : . : . - q New Localities of Agate, &c. 135 small pieces, is as perfect in its characters as the chalcedony of the Feroe Islands. It is of a delicate gray, translucent, mamillary, botryoidal, stalactitical, or impressed by crystals of quartz, which have usually fallen out; sometimes these crystals incrust the chalcedony. Agates, also, are found in considerable numbers, both imbed- ded and loose. They usually consist of bands of chalcedony and quartz, and sometimes of the latter only, variously striped or spotted, or interlaced with jasper, carnelian, and cacho- long. The form of the imbedded agates at East-Haven is com- monly ovoidal, or. egg-shaped, and frequently it is conical. Some portions .of pure chalcedony occur, which are s like a long, slender carrot, or parsnip, and the situation of the latter in the ground would exactly represent that of the chal- cedony or agate in the rock. The imbedded masses are frequently altogether quartz, and then they are most commonly geodes or hollow balls lined with crystals, commonly very perfect and brilliant, although rare- ly large. These crystals are commonly transparent and co- lourless—but they exhibit also most of the varieties of co- lour which quartz, assumes—the amethyst—the smoky—yel- low, &c., and occasional y they are tipped and spotted with red Jasper, The spontaneous decay of these trap rocks causes many Specimens to be found among their ruins, and many more are imbedded in the solid rock; but the industry of successive classes from the neigbouring college, issuing from Col. Gibbs’s cabinet, has now made specimens more scarce. Woodbury. Twenty-four miles from New-Haven, N. W. In a geological sketch of parts of the counties of New- Haven and Litchfield, which may appear in a future Number, it will be Seen that prehnite, stilbite, and agate, are found at codbury, in the little basin of secondary greenstone which “xists there; the prehnite is abundant—it is not known Whether the agates are so, although it is asserted to be the _ fact: the stilbite was not observed to be abundant, although it Was well characterized. 136 Southampton Level. Ant. VI. Account of the Strata perforated by, and of the Minerals found in, the great adit to the Southampton Lead Mine. Communicated to the Editor by Mr. Amos Karey, Lecturer on Geology, Botany, §c. To Professor Silliman. Arrer a laborious geological excursion along Maclure’s Springfield section, for about one hundred. miles, I visited Dr. D. Hunt, at Northampton. He observed that you had expressed an opinion, that an attentive examination of all the strata constituting the walls of the artificial avenue or drift at the Southampton mines, would bring facts to knowledge, which might, in some degree, subserve the cause of geological science. I am now at the mouth of the drift, having just com pleted the labour which you had marked out. I employed two miners to commence with me, at the tel mination of the drift, which is now extended 800 feet into the hill. We broke off large specimens, at very short intervals throughout the whole extent of the drift. We arrived at its mouth with almost a boat load of specimens. I kept a memo randum of every thing which occurred, while under ground} and [have now arranged the specimens, before the mouth of the drift, in the same order in which they were situated the earth. Fatigued as I am, I will make my remarks here, in the field, lest something should hereafter escape me, which ® now fresh in my recollection. Beginning with the greatest distance to which the miners have penetrated, I will set dow? my remarks, in fact, in reversed order. eis 800 feet. The rock is fine-grained gray granite, traversed by veins, lined with quartz crystals, and mostly filled with calcareous spar, often beautifully crystallized. In the same veins blue and purple fluate of lime and copper pyrites fre- quently occur, Southampton Level. 197 790 feet. The same fine-grained granite is continued, oc- casionally traversed by veins lined with crystals of quartz; but containing no other minerals. 774 feet. A narrow vein of sulphuret of lead, with walls lined with crystals of quartz. The fairest cubic crystals are slightly attached to the points of the quartz crystals. Yellow- ish crystals of carbonate of lime are often interspersed among the lead. Sulphate of barytes occurs here also; sometimes in plates meeting at various angles, and forming chambers lined. with minute crystals of quartz. Minute crystals of copper py- rites, and a little fluate of lime, have been found here; also fine specimens of bitter spar. The walls are very compact fine-grained granite. 760 feet. Coarse, parti-coloured granite. The felspar is flesh-coloured and white; the quartz often bluish or greenish ; the mica silvery, greenish, or purplish. 625 feet. A stratum of gray-wacke slate. Texture less firm than that of the same rock at the west of Pittsfield. This stratum is very distinct, and about two feet thick. s 723 feet. A stratum of serpentine rock, containing very red quartz imbedded in various directions. It is very compact, and mostly green. Here it is but about three feet thick. About ten miles south of this place, on Maclure’s Springfield section, near the line between Westfield and Russell, and four miles west from Westfield Academy, I found this same stratum of very great breadth. I say the same stratum, because it is situated in the granitic hill, east of the highest ridge of granite, which is evidently a continuation of this range. Perhaps I may, hereafter, give you an account of "NY excursion along that section of Maclure, in which I may give you a more particular description of the Westfield ser- pentine, 720 feet. Coarse granite, with white and flesh-coloured fel- Spar, black and silvery mica. : aiess feet. A stratum of red mica slate, about four feet Von, L...No, We f i38 Southampton Level. 694 feet. Coarse, flesh-coloured granite. This is the handsomest granite in the whole drift. Here we find the most beautiful specimens of graphic granite, both flesh-coloured and gray. 680 feet. A stratum of Kirwan’s stell-stein. That is, an aggregate of fine-grained quartz. and mica, without any felspar. The quartz is mostly greenish, probably coloured by the nest stratum. 670 feet. Beautiful green soapstone. Very compact, but rather softer than that kind in common use for inkstands. 666 feet. Agreengranular aggregate. It seems to be made up of fine fragments of quartz, soapstone, and mica, rarely 3 little felspar, slightly compacted together. Remark. All the strata, from the inner termination of the drift to this place, a distance of one hundred and thirty-four feet, are nearly vertical, or a very little inclined. Here they begin to approach a horizontal position. The green aggregate continues as far as the air-well, a dis- tance of 66 feet, with some trifling variations in the size proportion of the aggregated tragments. 500 feet. A granulated schistose aggregate, chiefly a quartz and mica. Though the constituents and the form of the rock correspond very nearly with mica slate, it cannot be considered as the primitive mica slate rock. It is so slightly compacted that it can scarcely be kept from falling to piece Its position is nearly horizontal. 480 feet. A stratum of coal, half an inch thick. This stratum may be traced, at different intervals, one hundred and eighty feet along the drift towards its mouth. It lies betwee? the strata of the last described schistose aggregate. - 400 feet. An aggregate appears, alternating with the loose schistose rock, which resembles the red sandstone, but is of # Jess firm texture. From this place all the strata, east of the soapstone, 00% sionally appear, for the distance of about three hundred feet This is probably on account of their undulatory forms and horizontal position. Most of the way we find the lower part Peat. 139 of the walls to consist of a kind of semi-indurated pudding- stone. Sometimes a thin stratum of fine, loose sand occurs. At 300 feet, the coal stratum disappears, passing below the bottom of the drift. The last hundred feet is chiefly gravel, which is now sup- ported by timbers. Southampton, Aug. 26, 1818. Arr. VII. On the Peat of Dutchess County—read before the Lyceum of Natural History, in New-York, by the Rev. ‘AB C. Scuarrrer, of New-York, and by him communicated to the Editor. IK May, 1817, I brought specimens of marl and peat from Dutchess county, which were taken from a fen, or bog, occupy- gan area of some acres. These fens occur frequently in the towns of Rhinebeck, Northeast, Clinton, &c. in Dutchess county. During a part of the year they are covered with water. After clearing away the fresh sod and recent vegetable ; mould, there appeared, : j : = stratum or bed of peat, commonly called turf, varying —o depth from three to four feet. . aaa of peat and marl commingled; depth two t. wah, stratum of pure marl, from two to three feet. Below these there was an appearance of sand and blue clay. a first, or upper stratum, consists of compact peat. This and tance, when first taken up, is of a dark brown colour, soft, are rather viscid, Some vegetable fibres and vacuous seeds any conv ted throughout the mass. It may be moulded to *nvenient form, When perfectly dry, the texture of 140 Dr. Nugent on the Geology of Antigua. this variety, of which there is a specimen before you, acquires a high degree of solidity. Its fracture is earthy ; the colour is lighter. I should not have offered more on this subject than the labelled specimen, had I not made a most satisfactory experi- ment with this kind of fuel, which may be obtained in great abundance in our own State. It is easily kindled ; burns with a bright flame; yields a bluish smoke, and produces an odour similar to that which attends the combustion of gramineous substances. But this is momentary. When thoroughly kin- dled, it burns with less flame, yields a small proportion of blackish smoke, and sulphurous acid gas is evolved, though I cannot discover any pyrites. It burns for a long time, and emits a great body of heat. It leaves a very small proportion of light, ' grayish white ashes ; on which I have made as yet no experl- ments, having this day, for the first time, paid particular atten- tion to this substance, attracted by the unusual hardness which it has acquired since it came into my possession: and not many hours haye elapsed since I subjected it to combustion. The at- tempt succeeded so well, that I cannot refrain from express? my opinion, that this variety of peat will answer as an excellent substitute for the best Liverpool coal. ; ee not Art. VIII. Notices of Geology in the West-Indies. . REMARKS. i the former Number of this work, a notice was published respecting siliceous petrifactions of wood, from Antigua- ’ now publish a geological sketch of the Island, with notices some other parts of the West-Indies. This communication * made by a friend, with permission to publish it. It is a produc: tion of the pen of Dr. Nucenr, of St. Johns, Antigua, @ wil man of eminent scientific acquirements, who, it is h ’ eontinue his laudable and able efforts to illustrate the natutt history of the West-Indies. rr eS ee ee a rr Dr. Nugent on the Geology of Antigua. 141 Memorandum concerning the Geology of Antigua, §c. Tux southern and more mountainous part of the island con- sists of trap rocks; more particularly of trap breccia and wacké porphyry. On these beds rests a series of very pecul- ‘jar stratified conglomerate rocks. ‘These strata vary exceed- ingly in colour and thickness, but all dip, at a considerable an- gle, to the northwest. The more usual character of this rock, is that of a clayey basis, with minute particles of felspar, and small spots of gritnerde,* (or chlorite Baldogée.) ‘This latter is frequently diffused over the whole, and gives it a green tinge: the colour has been thought by some to proceed from the im- pregnation of copper, but I am rather of opinion that it is owing to manganese and iron. ‘The conglomerate character of this rock is derived from its having imbedded in it, or incorporated with it, numerous fragments, of ail sizes, of petrified wood, chert, with and without coralline impressions, agate, jasper, amygdaloid, greenstone, hornstone, porphyry, porphyry-slate, and other substances. this singular class of strata, reposes an extensive calca- reous formation, occupying the northern and eastern part of the Island, having subordinate to it, and at its lowest part, where itis in contact with the conglomerate, large beds and patches of chert, which contains also a vast variety of petrified woods, Several of which are of the palm tribe, with silicified shells, chiefly cerithea 3 though at the Chorch-hill, at St. Johns, formed of this chert, casts of bivalve and ramose madrepores, are like- wise found. The calcareous beds are principally of friable marl, with blocks and layers of limestone irregularly included. In this formation? are many fossil shells, both in the calcareous and siliceous state ; and there appear to be some beds, wherein 18 a mixture of shells of marine, and others of a fresh water, or at least a terrestrial origin. The coralline agates, found in nodules and patches therein, and which may readily be dis - *'The green earth of most mineralogists.+-Ecilor. t Formation—a geological phrase, of German origin. i42 Native Crystallized Carbonatc of Magnesia. tinguished from the coralline chert of the previous beds, are the most beautiful which have any where been yet noticed; and when well selected and polished, make very pleasing orna- ments. This Island, as well as Barbuda, thirty miles to the north- ward, the Grande Terre part of Guadaloupe, at a similar dis- tance to the southward and eastward, with several others of the West-India Islands, gives proof of an extensive formation, more recent than those to which naturalists have heretofore principally confined their attention ; and which is, perhaps, contemporaneous with, if not later than, the Paris Basin, s¢ well described by Cuvier and Brongniart. - April 10th, 1818. N.N. N.B. A few specimens are sent. Remarks. If the above paper be read attentively, in connexion with that in No. 1, on the petrified wood of Antigua, it will aff some very curious information to the geologist respecting these petrifactions, and must lead to interesting speculations 1 specting their origin, under circumstances so very peculiar, and to which we do not recollect to have heard of any parallel. Art. IX. Discovery of Native Crystallized Carbonate of Mag- nesia on Staten-Island, with a Notice of the Geology and Mineralogy of that Island, by James Prence, Esq. of Net York—in a Letter to the Editor. New-York, Oct. 19, 1818 Dear Sir, I FORWARD you a few mineral specimens, characteristic of Staten-Island, including native carbonate of magnesia, in a¢ cular crystals. I discovered this new form and locality of mas” ae Native Crystallized Curbonaie of Magnesia. 148 nesia in examining the strata exhibited in an excavation now making, under the delusive expectation of finding gold, about three miles from the Quarantine. In descending the shaft, sunk perpendicularly in steatite, magnesite, veins of talc, and green translucent asbestus were observed at depths from six to thirty-five feet. The magnesite was found to embrace veins and cavities containing native carbonate of magnesia, in very white acicular crystals, grouped in minute fibres radiating from the sides, but not always filling the veins and cavities. The crystals were, in some instances, suspended, assuming a sta- lactical form. This carbonate of magnesia dissolves entirely in diluted sulphuric acid, with considerable effervescence and chemical action, producing a bitter compound, from which salts of easy solution are formed by evaporation. ‘The magnesite in Which these crystals are found, appears to be composed of car- bonate of magnesia, steatite, and talc, disintegrating readily "pon exposure to air and moisture : it effervesces considerably in sulphuric acid, forming a very bitter fluid that soon exhi- bits crystals, indicating that magnesia enters in large propor- Hon into its constitution. Magnesite may perhaps be found at this place in quantity sufficient for a successful manufacture of Epsom salts, Small regular hexaedral crystals of mica, were Noticed in. steatite. Chromate of iron was sparingly diffused rough the different minerals raised from various depths. A few remarks and facts respecting the geology and minera- logy of Staten-Island, may, perhaps, give some additional in- terest to the Specimens presented. Staten-Island (which constitutes Richmond county) is situa- about seven miles south-west of the city of New-York, extends from north-east to south-west about fifteen miles, in a Straight line, with an average width of six. It exhibits a con- siderable diversity of surface. ‘The eastern part is composed Principally of elevated ground: a mountain chain is observed * © its rise in the vicinity of a narrow sound called the Kills, and Sweep, in a semicircular form, near the eastern shore; it then ranges south-west, parallel with, and distant trom Amboy Bay, about two miles, terminating near the centre of the island, and forming, with the exception of some passages, 2 144 ~—- Native Crystallized Carbonate of Magnesia. continued chain, which, on the eastern and southern sides, 13 very steep, but not precipitous ; it gradually declines to the west and north, and, in some places, it presents on its summit iable land of considerable extent. A prominent ridge crosses the island, connecting the elevated ground of the south, with the hills of the northern part. A species of steatite, contain- ing veins of common, indurated, and scaly talc, amianthus, and most of the varieties of asbestus, and some chromate of iron, constitutes the nucleus of the whole mountain range and elevated ground of the eastern division, stamping it as primi- dive. This steatite approaches, in most places, within a foot and a half of the surface, and appears in small angular loose blocks, wherever the soil has been removed. Its colour is4 greenish yellow; it is brittle, very adhesive to the tongue, put little unctuous, and probably contains more alumine and _ tess magnesia than steatites in general. Much of it decom- _ poses when exposed to air and moisture, and forms 28 mould, whenever the descent of ground permits an aceumula- tion of earth. It is not improbable, that in most places of the Staten-Island hills, when magnesia constitutes a considerable ingredient of the rock, it will be found saturated with carbonic acid, obviating the objection to common magnesian minerals if agriculture. The minerals observed on the surface of the north-east pat of this chain of hills are, secondary greenstone, asbestolt sandstone, granite, and gneiss, sparingly scattered in rollet masses. In addition to these rocks, in the middle and west: ern part of the chain, a mineral of uncommon appearance observed. Itis composed principally of quartz, rough, with numerous cells of various forms, in which small siliceous ¢tY* tals are generally found: the veins or plates of quartz that intersect each other, often embrace talc and oxide of iro, which, decomposing, gives some specimens the appearance volcanic origin. Associated with this cellular ferrugino’® quartz, brown heematite is often observed ; this valuable °° often yields eighty per cent. of iron of best quality; i assume a variety of shapes; they were observed at Island, straight and curved, radiating from a centre, 4B ait yong ren a aides Kaa 4 Native Crystallized Carbonate of Magnesia. 145 biting the stalactical, cylindrical, and botryoidal forms, often displaying a black polished surface and glistening lustre. Ferruginous minerals are abundant on the mountain for seve- ralmiles. A granular oxide, called by miners shot-ore,* from. its being principally composed of spherical grains of various sizes, was often noticed, and appears in some places in exten- sive beds : it is easily fused, and affords a large per centage of good iron for castings. - A heavy ore, with a smooth surface and some lustre, bearing a considerable resemblance to native iron; is sometimes seen. Banks of white sand, resembling the siliceous particles of the seashore, are noticed on the moun- in tops, containing masses of compact, heavy, ferruginous sandstone, similar to the rocks of our alluvial seaboard. Large beds of water-worn siliceous pebbles, in no way differing from those washed by the ocean, are seen on the height of the nudge, in which excavations have been made several feet, leaving the depth of the mass uncertain. On some of the eminences, for a considerable extent, vegetation is entirely excluded by an iron-bound soil. Iron ore, imbedded in an earth coloured by, and partly composed of, oxide of iron, occupies the surface ; and chalcedony and radiated quartz are, Sometimes observed on the primitive ridge. Prospects from many of these eminences are extensive and diversified, On one side, the ocean and a great extent of coast are in view ; on the other, a rich landscape of hills and plains, the eye rest- Ng on the highland-chain and the mountains bordering Penn- *°v Wania ; the harbour, at your feet, presents a busy, ever- varying scene, and the city of New-York appears to great ‘dvantage from this point of observation. The district between the mountain and the narrows, the thickly Settled and well-cultivated plain bordering Amboy bay, a much of the western division of the island, are decidedly luvial, Adjacent to Fort Tompkins, detached pieces of cop- Per ore have been found. I have observed petrifactions of PO shells in rocks excavated in that neighborhood, twenty rom the surface, and sixty above the ocean. V * Doubtless the pea ore of the Wernerians. Enpsror. OL, L.u.No, 2. 19 Ah 146 Dr. Brown on the Nitre, §¢. The western part of the island presents moderate eleva . tions ; the soil, a good medium of sand and clay, is in general fertile ; but a tract near the termination is sandy and barren. Some creeks penetrate to near the centre of the island, and are bordered by extensive salt meadows. Except the pri- mitive range, I have observed in no part of the island large beds of rocks that can be called in place ; but rolled masses of greenstone, sandstone, gneiss, granite, red jasper, and indu- rated clay, appear in general sparingly, but sometimes it abundance, on the surface. Lignite has been found in small quantities in the western part of the island. A chal ybeate spring, of no great strength, is the only mineral water met with in Richmond county. The ponds, wells, and streams contain a soft water, holding no lime in solution. REMARKS. We have already published (p. 54.) Mr. Pierce’s dis covery of the pulverulent carbonate of magnesia, and have pointed out its connexion with Dr. Bruce’s previous discovery of the hydrate of magnesia, or pure magnesia jmed with water only. Mr. Pierce has now added another important link to this chain, and future mineralogists may quote the vicinity of New-York as affording, 1. Pure magnesia, crystallized and combined with water onl 2, Carbonate of magnesia, pulverulent and white. 3. Carbonate of magnesia, in very delicate and perfectly white acicular crystals. We possess specimens of them all. 3 ——— Arr. X. On acurious substance which accompanies the nalivé Nitre of Kentucky and of Africa. Communicated in al to the Editor, from Samet. Browy, M.D. late of Kentuttt now of the Alabama Territory. REMARKS. Tre scientific public were several years 2g° laid unl obligations to Dr. Brawn, for a very interesting and instr? of Kentucky and /frica. 147 tive account of the nitre caverns, &c. of Kentucky, published in the Transactions of the Philosophical Society, in Philadel- phia, Vol. VI. and in Bruce’s Journal, Vol. I. p. 100. The following communication arose from a conversation on that subject, between Dr. Brown and the Editor. New-Haven, July 27, 1818. Dear Sir, Thave just found the passage I referred to the other day, relative to the existence of native or sandrock nitre in the interior of Southern Africa. It is in Barrow, and not in Vail- lant, as 1 thought when I had the pleasure of conversing with you concerning it. I am much obliged to you for recalling my attention to that curious subject, as it has brought to my recollection a fact, which I believe I omitted to mention in my memoir, (viz.) the existence of a black substance in the clay under the rocks, of a bituminous appearance and smell. This I remember to have seen in a rock-house, near the Ken- tucky river, where very considerable quantities of sandrock nitre had been obtained. This substance was found in masses of a few ounces weight, and in the crevices of the rocks near the basis of the side walls. The smell was not wholly bitu- ‘™inous, but resembled that of bitumen combined with musk. Tam quite unable to account for the formation of the nitre, or Production of this black substance, which sometimes accom- Panies it both in Africa and America. Had I seen Mr. Bar- row’s travels, when I noticed the bitumen, I should certainly have paid more attention to it. But perceiving no relation between the rock nitre and the masses of this substance, my xamination of it was much too superficial. I do not very Well understand what Mr. Barrow means by saying, that many Wagon loads of animal matter lay on the roof of the caverns in Africa, I saw no such matter on the roof of the rock- houses . Kentucky. Certainly the caverns have been the habita- tions of wild beasts, and great quantities of leaves; &c. have been mixed with the debris of the superincumbent rocks, but it does not seem-probable, that much animal matter could be filtrated through a roof of rock, perhaps forty or fifty feet 148 Dr. Brown on the Nitre, §c. in thickness. The subject, however, is very curious, and ' deserves much more attention than any of us have bestowed upon it. Extract from Barrow’s Southern Africa, p. 291. New-York é . dition. « About 12 miles to the eastward of the wells, (Hepatic wells,) in a kloof of the mountain, we found a considerable quantity of native nifre. It was in a cavern similar to those used by the Bosgesmans for their winter habitations, and in which they used to make the drawings above mentioned, The under surface of the projecting stratum of calcareous stone, and the sides that supported it, were incrusted with a coating of clear, white saltpetre, that came off in flakes, from @ quarter of an inch to an inch or more in thickness. The fracture resembled that of refined sugar, it burnt completely away without leaving any residuum ; and if dissolved in water, and thus evaporated, crystals of pure prismatic mire were obtained. This salt, in the same state, is to be met with under the sandstone strata of many of the mountains of Africa; but, perhaps, not in sufficient quantities to be employed as a article of export. There was also in the same cave, running down the sides of the rock, a black substance, that was apP* rently bituminous. The peasants called it the urine of the das. The dung of this gregarious animal was lying up?” 6! roof of the cavern to the amount of many wagon loads. + putrid animal matter, filtrating through the rock, contributed no doubt, to the formation of the nitre. The Hepatic wells and the native nitre rocks were in the division of Ags Sneuwberg, which joins the Tacka to the southwest.” Should I ever visit Kentucky again, I hope that I shall be able to give a better account of these caverns, which ce inly are highly deserving of the attention of naturalists. : In Philadelphia you may have an opportunity of sells some small specimens of the sandrock, containing nitre, noW in the cabinet of the Philosophical Society. 4 Sponges. 49 BOTANY. he Se Arr. XI. Descriptions of species of Sponges observed on the shores of Long-Island. By C.S. Rarinusque, Esq. Te sponges are one of the most singular productions of nature; and, even to this time, naturalists are divided in opinion respecting their real rank in the scale of organized be- ings. Some believe that they are animals, belonging to the class of polyps, next to the genus of aleyonium, while many contend that they are not animals, but plants, of the tribe of uci, or marine vegetables. Iam inclined to adopt this latter “pinion, since, in all those which I have seen, in Europe and America, no perceptible motion nor sensibility was to be dis- cerned in any stage of their existence ; and those who have acknowledged their animality, bring no stronger proof thereot than an occasional slight shrinking under the hand, and an ani- mal smell, which are common to some marine plants. Whatever be the truth on the subject, these doubtful opin- _ ions prove that they are of the many connecting links between animals and plants. his is not a proper place to decide this controversy ; I mean merely to make known new species of this tribe of beings, which I observed last year, on the shores of Long Island. Such a fragment will be, perhaps, the first at- tempt of the kind; when more species shall be known, the sub- Ject may be investigated with more certainty and accuracy. 1 Spongia Albescens, Raf. (Whitish sponge.) Effuse, “ompressed, irregular, perforated, somewhat branched, une- {ually lobed, whitish, smooth; lobes truncated; cells porose, very minute, nearly equal; small unequal cells inside. ound near Bath and Gravesend, in sandy bottoms. A "Ze species, sometimes over a foot broad, of quite an irregu- ‘= shape, rather flattened, about one inch thick; partly gib- 150 Sponges. bose; concave now and then, and with large, irregular opet- ings, as if large branches were anastomosed ; circumference branched or lobed, very jagged, sinus obtuse, lobes elongated obtuse, truncate or flat, unequally divided. The substance is entirely of a cinereous white, outside and inside, of a soft and brittle nature, rather friable ; covered outside with minute _ pores, of an oblong or round shape, and full of small unequal cells inside. 2. Sponga ostracina, Raf. (Oyster sponge.) Very branch- ed, erect, red, papillose ; branches unequal, often dichotome, obtuse; cells porose, oblong, nearly equal. It is often found on the common oyster. (Ostrea virginica.) It rises from four to six inches, the colour is a fine red, it bran- ches from the base; the branches are unequal, straight, cylia- drical, or compressed. Substance stupose. Surface cov with small papilla and small oblong unequal pores. 3. Spongia cespitosa, Raf. (Bushy sponge.) Branched, ces- pitose, yellowish, rough, papillose ; branches fasciculated, up- right, unequal, flexuose, compressed, slightly anastomosed, nearly dichotome upwards; cells porose, oblong, nearly eq margin lacerated. Found also on the oyster, but more seldom than the foreg” ing; the specimens which I saw, were found on the Bluepoint oysters, by Dr. Eddy. It becomes brown by drying: It rises from four to six inches, the magin of the cells or pores is torn into papillar, stiff processes, which produce a rough surface. Substance stripose. Internal cells oblong, very small, 4. Spongia cladonia. (Cladonian sponge.) Branched effuse, smooth, pale fulvous, stem procumbent, branches distichal, one sided, erect, simple or divided, obtuse ; cells porose, minute; some larger round. I have found this species at Bath, and at Sandy-Hook, 0 sandy bottoms. Length about six inches. Stem and branches cylindrical or compressed. Substance fibrose, anasto branches divaricate, ascendent, semi-dichotomose oF simple unequal, thicker towards the top. 5. Spongia virgata. (Slender spone.) Nearly branche smooth, fulyous, stem divided, slender, cylindrical, knobby me aman — 7 Xanthium. 151 branches erect, slender, nearly heads acute; pores unequal, irregular, small. A small species, three inches high, found at Oysterbay, on rocky bottoms, rare ; stem with few branches, and imper- fect ones, like knobs. Substance stupose. Branches round, alternate, small. Pores without any determinate shape. Arr. XIL. Memoir on the Xanthium maculatum, a New Species from the State of New-York, §c. by C.S. Rart- NESQUE, Esa. Pronrsn and Michaux mention only one species of American Xanthium, the X. strumarium, while there are three noticed in the catalogue of Dr. Muhlenberg, the above species, and the X orientale, and X. spinosum. ‘The first and the last are natives of Europe, and have been naturalized in the United States, with many other plants. The species called X. orientale by Dr. Muhlenberg, appears, however, to be a native ; but the X. orientale of Linneeus, is a native of Siberia, Japan, and the East Indies; and when plants are found to grow in such opposite quarters of the globe, a strong presumption arises that they are not identical species, which presumption has been con- firmed by experience in many instances, whenever the plants of both countries have been accurately examined. Decandolle, in the French Flora, (2d edition of 1815.) vol. 6. p. 356. describes, under the name of X. macrocarpon, a species found in France, and which he takes tobe the real X. orientale of Linnzeus, He has changed its name, because, he says, that it Snot certain that the X. orientale grows in Asia; or, if any Stows there, that it is identic with his species; which, how- ever, is really the X. orientale of Linueeus, Son, Lamark, and Gaertner. He adds, that he possesses in his herbarium, @ Species from Canada, different from his X. macrocarpon, which has been figured by Morison, on whose authority some authors have asserted that the X. orientale grew in Canada, mistaking his figure for that plant. 452 Xanthiusn. From the above statement, it appears that much obscurity and difficulty arises in botany, when errors creep into the dis- tinction of species: to detect those errors, and to ascertain the synonyme of obscure species, is not one of the least useful botanical labours. Having found, last year and this year, in the neighbourhood of New-York, a species of Xanthium differ- ent from any described by the authors, and intermediate be- tween the X. strumarium and X. orientale of Linneeus, I pre- sume that it may be the X. orientale of Muhlenberg, Leconte, and Morison, and the Xanthiwm of Canada, mentioned by Decandolle, Dumont, &c. I have given to it the name of X. maculatum, since the stem is spotted like the Conium mact- latum. None of those authors having described it, I suppose that its description will be acceptable, and will serve to fix this new species among the American botanists. Therefore it will appear, that the X. orientale, which had been considered as a native of Asia, Europe, and America, is composed of at least three species; the European species, which has been called X. macrocarpon by Decandolle, the American species, which I have called X. maculatum, and the Asiatic species, to which the name of X. orientale ought t remain; but which ought to be better described, and more fully distinguished from the X. macrocarpon by those who may chance to meet with it. I even suspect that many species grow in Asia, since that of Ceylon may be different from the Chinese and Siberian species. Xanthium Maculatum. Definition. Stem flexuous, round, rough, spotted with black; leaves long-petiolate, cuneate-reniform, nearly trilobe, sinuate- toothed, obtuse, rough, and thick ; fruits elliptic, obtuse mur cate; thorns rough. Description. The root is annual, thick, and white. Th* stem rises from one to two feet; it is upright, without thorns, very thick, and with few branches; it is covered with oblong black, and rough spots. The leaves are few, but !arg® with very long petiols ; they are nearly reniform, with am acute base, and have three nerves; the teeth are unequal oeatiectiead Nanthium. 155 large, and obtusé. The flowers and fruits are disposed as in X, strumarium ; but the fruits are generally solitary ; they are half an inch long, nearly cylindrical obtuse, with the two beaks scarcely perceptible arid bent in, covered with short, thick and rough-thorns, rather soft, and not uncinate. The whole plant has a peculiar smell, not unpleasant, somewhat between the camphorate and gravulent odour, but weaker than in Conysa@ camphorata, &c. History. ‘This plant grows of Long-Island, near the sea- shore and marshes. I have found it common near Bath, on the downs, and in New-J ersey, near Bergen and Powles-Hook, on the margin of marshy meadows. According to Dr. Muhlen- berg, it grows also in Pennsylvania; Messrs. Torrey and Le- conte found it on the Island of New-York; and by Morison and Decandolle’s account, it is found as far north as Canada. It blossoms in August and September, but the fruit remains on the plant till the severe frosts of December. Observations. ‘This species differs from the X. macrocarpon of Decandolle, by having smaller fruits, without horns, and Whose thorns are neither hooked nor hispid ; by not having an angular stem, but a round, spotted one, and by its leaves being broader, and not serrate, &c. Nearly all those differences exist between itand the X. orientale of Asia, which has not yet been isolated from the X. macrocarpon. The X, edrinatum differs from this by having oval fruits, with aggregated, echinate, and heoked thorns; and the X. strumarium, by having cordate hir- Sute leaves, the fruits aggregated, with hooked thorns and horn- ed tops. The X. spinosum, and X. frulicoswm, are so totally different that they need not be compared. Yor. LNo. 9: an 154 Entomology: ZOOLOGY. -e@e~- Ant. XIII. Description of the Pkalaena Devastator, (the In» sect that produces the Cut-worm,) communicated for the American Journal of Science, §c. by Mr. Joun P. Brack, of Litchfield, Conn. TE HIS moth, whose larva is one of our most destructive ene mies, belongs to the Linneean family noctua, in the genus pha- Jaena. Its specific characters are as follow: Wings incum- bent and horizontal, when at rest ; body long and thin; thorax thick, but nof crested ; head small; eyes prominent and black; antennes setaceous, gradually lessening towards extremities and slightly ciliated; palpi two, flat, broad in the middle, and very hairy; tongue rolled up between them, not very promi- nent; clypeus small, fegs long, small and hairy ; wings long a body; under wings shortest; colour a dark silvery gray; with transverse dotted bands of black on upper wings. The insect lays its eggs in the commencement of autumn, at the roots of trees and near the ground: they are hatched early in May- The habits of the cut-worm have been often and fully detailed. They eat almost all kinds of vegetables, preferring beans, cab- bages and corn. They continue in this state about four weeksi they then cast their skin and enter the pupa state, under ground. This is a crustaceous covering, fitted to the pars af the future insect. In this they continue for four weeks longer and come out in the fly or insect state, about the middle of Ju- ly. All those chrysalids that I exposed to the sun, died ; # all those that were kept cool under the earth, produced am in sect: hence I infer, that the heat of the sun will kill the chry* lids. If, then, the ground be ploughed about the first of July : many of those insects might be destroyed, and the destruction of the productions of the next year prevented ; for the pup“ never more than a few inches under ground. ee Lxoglossum. 153 ‘The phalaena devastator is never seen during the day; it conceals itself in the crevices of buildings, and beneath the bark of trees. About sun-dewn it leaves its hiding-place, is constantly on the wing, and very troublesome about the candles inhouses. It flies very rapidly, and is not easily taken. Such is the description of this formidable enemy to vegeta- tion. No efficacious method has yet been taken to prevent its ravages, but the one who could accomplish it, would do the cause of agriculture an essential service. Ant. XIV. Description of a New Genus of North Ameri- can Fresh-water Fish, Exoglossum, by C. S. Rarinesaue, Esa. iit Mn. LESUEUR has published, in the 5th Number of the Journal of the Academy of Sciences of Philadelphia, for Sep- tember, 1817, the description of a new fish, which he calls ‘Yprinus mazillingua : he considers it as a very singular and anomalous species, owing to the peculiar structure of its lobed. lower jaw and tongue, which is external, and situated as an ippendage to the former. It was discovered in Pipe-creek, Maryland, in June, 1816, by said author, who confesses that & does not consider it as properly belonging to the genus Cyprinus, and presumes that when other species shall be dis- a possessing the same character, they will constitute a “parate genus. Although this principle and presumption is “rect, it was wrong to delay the formation of such a distinct senus, because only a species was then known, since so many nera are composed of single species. However, Mr. Le- “ueur’s expectation was verified even before he wrote it, since + May, 1817, I had discovered in the Fishkill, state of New- ork, another species, evidently congenerous with the Cypri- ‘7 marillingua, having the same structure of the mouth, &c. 2 therefore venture to establish a separate genus for those two Pécies, having no doubt that many more will hereafter be added to it by accurate observers, and I give to it the name of 156 Exoglossum. Exoglossum, meaning outside tongue. It will belong to the same natural order and family of the genera Cyprinus, Catoslo- mus, &c. Exociossum. Generic Definition—Body oblong, thick, and scaly ; head without. scales, mouth without lips or teeth, upper jaw longer, entire; the lower trilobed, middle lob longer, performing the office of tongue ; dorsal fin opposite to the abdominal fins ; three rays to the branchial membrane. Remarks. Besides the above characters, the two species known at present have, in common, the lateral line ascending upwards at the base, tail forked, &c. 1. Species. Exroglossum vittatum, Raf. Cyprinus mazil- lingua, Lesueur. Specific Definition —Back brownish olive; sides blue, with a brownish band; a black spot at the base ol the caudal fin, lower parts silvery gray ; lateral line ascending upwards at the base ; dorsal and anal fins with nine rays} tail forked. Remarks. Length four inches; vulgar name little sucker. For further particulars, see Lesueur’s description, p- 85.cll™ ic. I have been obliged to change the specific name of mazil: lingua, since it has the same meaning as the generic name. “2, Species. Ezoglossum annulatum, Raf. Head black above, cheeks and gills olivaceous, back blackish olive, sides olivaceous, lower parts olive gray; a black ring at the base the tail ; lateral line ascending upwards at the base, tail forked, dorsal and anal fins with nine rays. Remarks. Length from three to six inches ; vulgar nate, Black chub. Head broad and flat above, iris large and gr ; fins olivaceous, abdominal distant and with nine rays, pector® with fifteen, caudal with twenty-four. | Steam-Engine—Physics. 137 PHYSICS, MECHANICS, AND CHEMISTRY. a BEG cce- Ant. XV. On the Revolving Steam-Engine, recently invented by Samust Money, and Patented to him on the 14th July, 1815. To Professor Silliman. ‘Sir, Tie successful employment of the steam-engine, in navi- gating the rivers and inland waters of the United States, and the probable extension of this mode of conveyance of persons and’ property, makes those improvements desirable which adapt the steam-engine to this purpose with less complication and expense, placing it more within reach of individual enter- prise, and rendering it even useful on our small rivers and canals, The steam-engine, though often seen in operation, is not readily understood by an observer, without an acquaintance with the facts in natural philosophy on which its power de- pends: and it may elucidate the subject of this communication to advert, for a moment, to the gradations by which this im- portant machine has attained its present perfection. It will be recollected that as early as 1663, the Marquis of Worcester published some obscure hints of a mechanical power derived from the elastic force of steam. In 1669, Savary, availing himself of the suggestion, and pur- pore the subject more scientifically, invented his engine, con- sisting of an apparatus to cause a vacuum by the condensation of steam, so that the water to be raised would thereupon, by the external weight of the atmosphere, rise into the chamber of the apparatus, which the steam had occupied. As caloric becomes latent in the steam which it forms at 212° of Fahrenheit, and the steam thus form pies 1800 times th hulk of the water composing it; and as it returns instantly to ALCS Cit 158 Steam-Engine—Physics, §c. a state of water on losing its heat, by contact with any thing cold, Savary easily produced his vacuum by the injection of a little cold water. He also used (though in a very disadvantageous manner) ihe expansive force of steam to drive the water out of the chamber, through a pipe different from that by which it atered. It is doubtful whether this kind of engine was ever erected on a scale of any magnitude; for, afew years later, Newco- men and Crawley invented the first engine with a cylinder and piston ; and Savary, abandoning his own, united with them in bringing their engine into use. As steam drives out air, the principle of this engine was to let steam into the cylinder beneath the piston, where, (the pis- ton haying risen to the top of the cylinder) a jet of cold water condensed the steam, produced a vacuum, and the piston, working air tight, descended by the pressure of the atmosphere upon it, this pressure being a weight of nearly fifteen pounds f0 each square inch; so that if the cylinder were two feet diame- ter, it would amount to a weight of three tons. This mode of operation prevailed for about fifty years, and though much used to pump water from mines, was found to have great inconveniences and defects ; till, in the year 1762, Mr. Watt, being employed to repair a working-model of i engine at the University of Glasgow, was led to direct his mind to the improvement of the machine ; and from his expe riments sprung the most essential change, viz. the condensa- tion of the steam in the cylinder, by opening a communication with a separate vessel, into which the injection of cold watet was made, thus allowing the cylinder to remain hot. On opening that communication, the steam instantly rushes to the cold, or rather is destroyed by the instant loss or reduc: tion of its heat, and the vacuum thus made allows the pis” to descend as before mentioned. * This jet of cold water being let into the cylinder itself, necessarily cooled it at every stroke; and then it was necessary to heat it again the boiling point, before the piston would reascend, and thus @ ¥ of heat occurred. Epzror, - ) ; Steam-Engine—Physics, §c- 159 Mr. Watt soon added the airpump to the condenser, to ex- tract the air extricated from the water in boiling, together with the water injected. The next step was to close the upper end of the cylinder, the piston-rod working through a tight packing to exclude the air, letting the steam in above, as well as below the piston, by an alternate communication, and then condensing it in both cases alternately, thus producing a double stroke: at the same time deriving some aid from the expansive force of the steam on the side of the piston opposite to the vacuum. This is essentially the form of all the engines in use at the present day. The minor parts devised by Mr. Watt, as the working of the valves, &c. were such as would readily occur toa scien- tific mechanician. : While he was bringing the engine to its present perfection, and furnishing it for the numerous mines, manufactories, and breweries in Great Britain, variations were devised by Cart- Wright, by Hornblower, Woolf, and others in England, and more recently by Evans and by Ogden in America, evincing much ingenuity, but (with the exception of Evans’s, which is a simple engine of high pressure) making the machine more complex. Watt and Bolton’s engines are more generally used, being Properly an atmospheric engine, or working with steam so low a8 merely to produce a vacuum in the cylinder, became of enor- Mous dimensions, when the power required was that of an hundred horses : a scale of estimate adapted to the comprehen- Sion of those who had before used the labour of that animal, and. Preferred to substitute the steam-engine. It had not, however, escaped the notice of Mr. Watt, that there existed in steam another source of power besides that of atmospheric pressure. The experiments of his learned friend, Dr. Black, of Glasgow, as well as those of the French chemists, and of Papin, in the instance of his digester, had ascertained the laws of its expansive force, and amongst other interesting lacts, those subservient to our present purpose; viz. That a" “r water has reached the boiling point, 212° of Fahrenheit, * caloric which enters it no longer becomes latent, but sen~ 160 Steam-Engine—Physies, yc. sible in the steam, which thereupon acquires expansive force to an unlimited degree: that this force increases geometrically; or, that every accession of about 30° of heat, nearly doubles its power at those stages of progression ; that when the pressure at 4 high temperature is taken off, or the steam allowed to flow, there is an instantaneous and rapid production of steam ; a fact which proves there can be no necessity of a large space for the steam to form in above the water, provided it be sufficient te prevent water from issuing with the’ steam, and, therefore, that boilers of a small cylindrical form are best. It may be a@ fair question, why Mr. Watt did not further employ this principle of expansive force? We may readily conceive of several motives to the contrary. Watt and Bolton’s engines were in great demand; they gave entire satisfaction, and the work they performed saved’ so much labour as to afford the purchase at a high price. The public had gained immensely by this better form of the engine, and Mr. Watt enjoyed the benefits of the patent he had obtained ; and, at a later period, this preference was increased by an accident which happened to Trevethick’s engine, though caused by gross mismanage ment, that would have been equally fatal to any other. From an investigation, by a committee of parliament, into the causes of the several fatal explosions of steam-engine boil- ers within a few years, published in Tillock’s Magazine, vol. 1. it appears that in every instance the accident was fairly attributable to neglect or mismanagement. Many competent persons were summoned to give their opinions; and throug? the contrariety of their testimony, the prevalent opinion 4)” pears to have been; that cast-iron boilers cannot be safes as many engines of high steam as of low are now used in Enz’ land, but that the high are much the most economical iD fuel and cost; that they are more safe, if properly constructed; it being argued by some, that boilers fer steam of 100 pounds sg the inch, are easily made of strength to sustain 500 poundss this excess being much greater than in those constructed for low steam, makes them comparatively the safest, as the salety valves are less liable to be accidentally prevented from 1 ing the steam. Steam-Engine—Physics, §¢. i161 In the United States, instances are not wanting of the suc- cessful operation of high steam; of which the engine at the mint is a conspicuous example. There can, indeed, be no good reason why this great power should not be employed to an extent within the limits of safety, if more economical and convenient. If boilers can bear (as they are usually made of iron) 500 pounds, there can be no danger in using them with fifty ; and this gives an increase of power, with a condenser, fourfold, or makes a ten horse power forty. The economy, therefore, of high steam, hardly admits of a question. It seems unphilosophical to neglect a power so great, merely be- cause it is so. Mr. Watt was desirous of an improvement by which to obtain a direct rotatory motion. His experiments, resembling those of Curtis, at New-York, were not found permanently practicable, It was probably perceived to be a great object to get rid of 4 reciprocating movement of large masses, on the well-known mechanical principle, that it consumes power to check mo- mentum, as well as to give it—to drag an inert mass into motion rapidly, in opposite directions. And in engines for navigation this is more disadvantageous than for land uses, as the foundation of the engine cannot be perfectly substantial. An engine, therefore, that possesses the cylinder and other members of Watt’s engine, working with or without a con- denser, at pleasure—having a rotatory movement—requiring no ponderous balance-wheel—adapted to high steam—attended by nO inconvenience from the rapidity of its stroke or move- ment—having no inert mass of machinery to move recipro- cally—more powerful, proportionately, from its using steam “Sstrong as that in the boiler—of a simple and durable con- Struction, and by a combination of two similar machines at- tached to the same common intermediate axis, operating so as ‘give nearly an equal power at every movement of its opera- tion, seems to combine every thing desirable in an engine for the purposes of navigation. Such appears to be the revolving “ngine invented by Mr. Morey. : x Be a1 OL. L....No, 162 Steam-Engine—Physics, §c. When those who are acquainted with the steam-engi atmospheric kind only, are told that Morey’s cylinder r their imaginations may suppose a moving mass as large as enormous cylinders they have been accustomed to see+ butit is not so; the elastic force of steam requires machinery but comparatively small dimensions. The revolving engine makes up in activity what in o gines is supplied by magnitude. iat We will take for example the engine working at the manufactory in this vicinity, the cylinder of which has: foot stroke and nine inches diameter, and is at leasta ten horse power, working with fifty pounds—or, the engine now buildin, for the Hartford boat. This engine will have two cylinders seventeen inches diameter and eighteen inch stroke; they will revolve fifty times a minute. The area of the piston i being 227 inches, steam at fifty pounds, will give an horse power. : . This boat is seventy-seven feet long, twenty-one feet ™ and measures one hundred and thirty-six tons. The en with its boilers, will occupy sixteen feet by twelve, or one-eighth only of the boat; the cylinders being hung on the timbers of the deck over the boilers. She is principally intended to vessels up the river to Hartford. a In towing, it is of importance that the engine adr it of any inferior velocity or power, till some momentum is had. An 3 engine working by atmospheric pressure does not admit of ah And as the boat herself, at the moment of commencing the oP? a conspicuous labours and enterprise in the estab steam-boats, the public duly honours. His active ! conceived of its utility; and he would have obtained @ had not the previous employment of steam in this way the award of arbitrators on the question been in my favo Steam-Engine—-Physics, &c. ; 163 which ich I mention merely in reference to the supposed utility - of this mode of operation, in connexion with Morey’s engine. -Morey’s engine should rather be denominated a revolving engine than a rotatory one, especially as it is essentially differ- ent from one so called invented by Mr. Curtis. Plate 1.* Fig. 5, represents the arrangement of a double en- 4 ine for a boat, with its cylinders in different positions. aaa, boilers; 6d, tar-vessel 3 ¢, valve-box ; d, cylinders in different positions; e, piston-rod ; f, pitman; A, centre-piece ; 7i, shaft; k, valve; J, steam-pipe ; mt, escape-pipe ; n, condensers ; ¢, wa- ter-wheel ; v, face of the valves; 2, tar-fire. The frame, hold- ing the cylinder (d) is, by its opposite sides, so hung as to re- Yolve. To the end of the axis of one side, extended over the cylinder, is fixed the centre-piece (/) resembling a crank, from which the bar or pitman (/) communicates to the cross-piece of the piston-rod. On this same axis, but outside the frame, are ced two circular pieces, one of brass, the other of iron, (k) which we may call the valves. One is fixed on the axis, the other moves, and accompanies the frame and cylinder in its revolution; from it, at opposite sides, pipes lead the steam to each end of the cylinder. It has a smooth face, which applies, and is kept by springs close to that of its counterpart fixed on = id axis, Steam-pipes lead from the boilers through the counterpart into the moving valve. On the opposite side of the fixed piece the eduction-pipe (0 0) leads to the condensers. The condensers (p) are upright vessels, two to each cylinder, connected at top by a sliding valve box, so that the steam enters them alternately. At bottom are two valves, kept closed by Weights, A stream of water is injected into the condensers, Which escapes by the bottom valves (p p) by which also the air 4 blown out, at every stroke, in the same manner the engine 'S cleared of air at first. re are also two cocks and cross-pipes seen, Plate III. 'S 4, to change the steam from one side to the other of the valve, to give a reversed motion of the engine. seri » Vol. IL.) with finished and beautiful drawings, (p. 176,) whose de- inthe” ‘Seen on p. 112—13, it appeared supe t ; ed jn econd edition of the second number, the skeiches which were insert- © frst edition. B.S. * 164 Steam-Engine—Physics, §¢. The power is communicated to its object from the side of the frame by the axis attached thereto, and on bearings. ‘This axis (i?) may be of any length ; minate in a crank or cog-wheel, or another cylinder (as here re- presented) may be attached thereto at right angles to the first, to co-operate and produce, at every moment, equal power. Plate Il. Fig. 6. Profile of the above. aa, = valve; deg, cylinder and frame ; f, valve; hh " 2, cog-wheels to move the pumps; kk, nme mo erings in; 0 0, gas- -fire flue. Fig. 1. a, steam-pipe; 6, escape-pipe ; ¢, fixed val moving valve; e, axis; f, a washer; g, section of fram washer; i, centre-piece; //, steam-pipe; / k, springs to! the valves together. Ba The canal-boat has her wheel in the stern. (See Pia’ The motion is given by a cog-wheel upon its axis (g) upon by wslother, upon a shaft, at right angles, to which the gine communicates motion. The wheel being i this shaft, and fur the support of its esd. ay oe Fi ig. 3, ee rice the — of the machinery oe? of others at such rate as may be proper on canals. boilers ; ¢, tar-vessel ; d, the cylinder; f, water-wheel- The supply of water to the boilers is either by a pumps usual form, .or by the supply-chamber of my invention, (7 {L. Fig. 2.) which consists simply of a pipe having two stip cocks, one end in a reservoir, the other opening into te ol er at top, sloping downward for a foot or two. ‘The cocks’ in the sloping point. The operation commences, DY °F ing the cock nearest the boiler, the steam drives the air of the pipe through the water into the reservoir shat © cock, and the water rises from the reservoir to fill t it is not necessary (as in the plate) to crowd the ens ea ait of the boat ; the dees may be placed forwar ver them, the eylinde The power is then communi stern-wheel by a long tai ee ‘ppo orted on, or immenee This ery nt gives room loading both behind and ers and engine, and ——e re bade This is the actual rm of the Merrimack boa Steam-Engine—Physics, §c. 165 he second cock, and open the first, the water discharges from the chamber into the boiler; repeated by a movement from the engine, when in motion, the supply continues with more certainty than by a pump, because it is difficult to pump hot water, on account of the elasticity of the steam arising from it, which obstructs the operation of the valves. And itis important not to have to pump against the pressure of high steam.* é Plate ILL. Fig. 4. The mode of changing the passage of the steam tothe opposite sides of the valves, in order to get a re- versed motion of the engine. aa, the fixed part, or valves; ed, the pipes; fg, the cross pipes; e e, the cocks, which are represented open, to pipes ¢ and d—turn them half round, they close ¢ and d, and open f and g. Fig. 1 shows the side- rudders, d, e, &c. To this engine is conveniently applied the gas-fire, in the fol- lowing manner : : ~The boilers being cylindrical, with an inside flue for fuel, two or three are placed close together, and set in the following manner: First, cross-bars of iron are laid on the timbers; a platform of sheet-iron is laid on these bars, coated over with clay mortar, or cemented, to keep out the air. Upon the sheet- iron, and over the bars below, are placed cast-iron blocks, in - shape to fit the curve of the boiler, so as to raise it three or four inches above the platform. ‘The sheet-iron is continued up the outsides of the outer boilers, so as to enclose them ; and at one end, between the boilers, there are small grates for coal or other fuel. The tar vessel or vessels, as the case may be, are lodged in the space between and upon the boilers, and a small fire may be made under them, if necessary. A pipe leads steam in at one end, two pipes at the other; one near the bottom, and one hear the top, lead out the tar and steam. These pipes unite low; the steam and tar, thus mingled in suitable proportions, flow to the main fire, or the flues of the boilers, as well as to : tt is found with very high steam, that the source of supply must be above the chamber, or a small quantity of cold water mtroduced to con- case the steam therein. 166. = Steam-Engine—Physics, §c. the coal-fire below, where the gas and tar are ignited. The fireman judges of the proportion of each, by the effect; the. object being to produce a nearly white flame, without appear- ance of tar. Thus flame is applied to the greatest possible surface, and the apparatus adds very little to the.cost of the engine. ‘There are also two improvements in the boiler, which 1 deem it important to mention. First, the lining or covering of the flue within, with sheet-iron or copper, perforated with small holes, reaching down its sides, nearly to the bottom. ’ Plate IIL. Fig. 2. athe boiler; 6 the flue; d the grate; cethe lining. This causes the water to circulate rapidly between them, to the top of the flue, and protects it from being run dry, oF heated red hot, when the water gets, by accident, tuo low. — The lining also, caxses the steam to form much faster, in con = sequence of this circulation. ee The other is the interior boiler. A vessel occupying the — back part of the flue. Plate II. Fig. 8. (d) communicating downwards with the water, and upwards with the steam of the main boiler. , The fire acts upon it very forcibly, surrounding it on all sides. * I have said there is no reciprocating movement in Mort $ engine. Should it be objected that the piston moves im the cylinder as usual, it must be apparent that it also moves Cif cularly ; it is in fact the cylinder that moves, carrying the pis- a ton with it, which gives and keeps up the motion, by drawing and pressing on the centre-piece, and communicating the re sistance thence to the guides of the cross-piece on the insides of the frame, which thus receives its motion. In fact, this form of the engine seems divested of all the usual drawbacks on its power, and leaves it to act freely wi any velocity, according to the strength of the steam in the boilers, . + Such it appears in principle, and such thus far in practicé: Ihave therefore preferred it for the purposes of navigation and have purchased the patent right. But, though interested to recommend it, I cannot expect it to be preferred by Y Sa Steam-Engine—Physics, §c. oe 167 intelligent, if there is not merit in the invention, and great economy in its use. It may be considered the most direct application of the power, and the most unexceptionable mode of using the expansive force of high steam. And from the nature of its movement the most applicable to boats and vessels. Your Journal being the intended medium of information to promote the useful arts, [ hope it may be consistent with this object to explain the manner in which these improvements may be made extensively useful. ; It being necessary to supply the engines at a reasonable rate, [ have established a manufactory for this kind only. The great expense of steam-boats hitherto, has confined their use too exclusively to the accommodation of passengers. There isa wide field opening for their use, in freighting, on all our waters ; and it is often of importance to a community, ‘when great Savings can be made, that large capitalists should be induced to engage, that such savings may be greater. Where companies are formed for an extensive operation, the legislature may, with propriety, grant an extension of the time for patents to run, that such persons may be duly remunerated for their enterprise, by the duration of the service. Our laws do not yet make a proper distinction between pat- ents of a large and expensive kind and those requiring little or ho capital to go into operation. ‘The period of fourteen years remunerates the inventor of those improvements only that re- quire no capital, and involve no risk. On this ground several of the State legislatures have, with g00d policy, given encouragement to this kind of enterprise. They suspend the free use of the invention a few years, rather lose its immediate operation on a large scale of public benefit. The constitutionality of the measure plainly appears by its not interfering with the laws of the United States. It is not an act exclusive of, or in opposition to, patents, but acknow- ng and confirming them. It is furthering and giving effect to the intentions of the general government, in the encouragement of useful inventions. For their own particular 168 Cautions, Sc. respecting Fulminating Powders. section of the union, a State legislature may thus providefor the protection of capital, engaged in enterprises of uncommon — m yisk, as well as of uncommon usefulness, without excluding other and better inventions, should they arise. ~ Ishall ask leave to communicate, for some future Number, the results of experiments, now making, with the gas fire applied to engines. Iam your most respectful humble servant, JOHN L. SULLIVAN. Arr. XVI. Cautions regarding Fulminating Powders. Fulminating Mercury. D URING a late lecture in the laboratory of Yale College'a quantity of fulminating mercury, probably about 100 or 190 grains, lay upon a paper, the paper lay on a small stool, which was made of pine plank, one inch and a half thick; a glass gas receiver, 5 or 6 quarts capacity, stood over the powder, as a guard, but without touching it, and stool and all stood on one of the shelves of the pneumatic cistern, SW rounded by tall tubes, and other glasses, several of which were within six or eight inches. A small quantity of the ful- minating powder, at the distance of a few feet, was merely flashed by a coal of fire, but without explosion. In @ manner “not easily understood, the whole quantity of powder under the large glass instantly exploded, with an astounding reports but the glass was not exploded—it was merely thrown Up ® little; in its fall it was shattered, and broke a glass whic it hit; but no fragment was projected, and none of the ot contiguous tubes and glasses were even oyverset, nor were any of a large audience, and some of them very neat: er scratched; but the plank, one and a half inch thick, on wht the powder lay, had a hole blown quite through, almost a8 large as the palm of one’s hand. This isa striking instance to prove that the initial force of this powder, when exploded, is very great, but that it extends but a very little way- If it | Cautions; &c. respecting Fulminating Powders. 169 strewed through a glass tube of three-fourths of an inch in di- ameter, and exploded by a coal of fire or hot iron, the tube may be held in the naked hand, and the powder only flashes without breaking the tube, and merely coats it over inside, and that very prettily, with the revived quicksilver. Fulminating Silver. Chemists are too well acquainted with the tremendous ener- sy of this preparation, to make any comments upon its powers necessary. Unhappily, however, it is now made a subject of amusement ; it is prepared for sale by those who know nothing of it, except as a nostrum, and it is bought by others who have hot even this degree of knowledge. It is true, it is put up in small quantities, in the little toys called torpedoes, and, if ex- ploded one by one, they will ordinarily do no harm; but as they fall into the hands of childrén, we can never be secure that they will be discreetly used. Avery severe accident, from the unexpected explosion of this substance, occurred some years since, in the laboratory of Yale College, (See Bruce’s Journal, Vol. I. p. 163.) And, notwithstanding that this occurrence was well known in New- ‘aven, the same accident, only under a severer form, has again. occurred in that town. A man who had bought the secret of making fulminating silver, had prepared as much as resulted from the solution of one ounce and a half. Apparently, in a great measure, un- aware of the nature of the preparation, he had placed it, un- mixed with any thing, on an earthern plate, which stood on @ ‘able; his wife and children being around, he sat down to dis- ute the powder upon several papers which he had prepared for the purpose; sand and shot are mixed with the powder im me pa pers, for the purpose of giving momentum, and of pro- ducing attrition when the torpedo is thrown, in order to en- ~— its explosion. Probably, also, the sand, looking not very unlike the powder, may be intended to screen it from view, and thus to Preserve the secret, should the papers be opened. The unhappy man no sooner touched the fulminating silver with a Vou. L....No. 2, ps) 179 Gelatine. + Inife, than it exploded with its usual violence ; the table was _ splitin two; blood issued copiously from every part of his face, not from wounds, for it does not appear that the fragments hit him, but, according to the opinion of a competent judge, the blood was actually forced through the pores of the skin by the power of the explosion, which very nearly destroyed his eyes. He suffered immensely, but now, at the end of eight months, sees partially with one eye, but the other is nearly, if not quite de- stroyed. Should not the tampering with such dangerous substances, by ignorant people, be prevented by law ? In a late lecture in the laboratory of Yale College, some fulminating silver, on the point of a knife, was in the act of be- ing put upon a copper-plate connected with one pole of a gal- vanic battery in active operation, the other pole was not touched by the experimenter; but it seems that the influence which was communicated through the floor of the room, was sufficient instantly to explode the powder, as soon as the knife touched the copper-plate; the knife:blade’ was broken in two, and one ‘half of it thrown toa distance among the audience. Recently, also, we are informed in one of the foreign jour- nals, that a man in England, who accidentally trod on a quanti- ty of fulminating silver, had his foot nearly destroyed by the explosion. } : USEFUL ARTS. , OG BH Arr. XTX. Account of an economical method of obtaining Gelatine from Bones, as practised in Paris. ; cated to the Editor by Mr. Isaae Doolittle. P : 16th May; 1818: My Dear Sir, Bg FEW days since I visited the very interesting establish ment of M. Robert, for the extraction of the gelatinous matte! from bones. EL TT Gelatine. i71 The bones used for this purpose, are those only which an- awered no useful purpose (except for the fabrication of phos- phorus or ammoniac) before this discovery, such as those of the head, the ribs, &c. &c., the legs of sheep and calves, &c. Those formerly used by foysmen (tabletiers) are still used for that purpose, after extracting so much of the gelatine as can be done by ebullition. When the heads of oxen are to be operated upon, they begin by extracting the teeth, (these are reserved for the fabrication of ammoniac, as affording a greater proportion of that alkali than any of the other bones,) they then break the skull, in such manner as to preserve all the compact parts in as regular forms as possible; these pieces present a surface of 20 to 30 square inches, and are put to soak in a mixture of Muriatic acid and water. The muriatic acid used bears about twenty-three degrees of the gzrometre, and is diluted by water to about six degrees—four parts of the liquor is used to one partof bones. They are left in this state, in open vessels, Until a complete solution of the phosphate of lime has taken place, and the gelatinous part of the bone remains in its ori- ginal shape and size, and is perfectly supple. When this ope- Tation is finished, which commonly lasts six or eight days, the gelatine is put into baskets, being first drained, and immersed 4 short time in boiling water, in order te extract any small remains of grease, which would deteriorate the gelatine, and - also to extract any of the acid which might be lodged in the Pores. It is then carefully wiped with clean linen, and afterwards washed in copious streams of cold water, to whiten it, and render it more transparent; it is then put to dry in the shade, Two ounces of this gelatine are said to be equal to three Pounds of beef in making soup—that is, three pounds of beef and two ounces of gelatine will make as much soup, and of 94 Seed quality, as six pounds of beef. It is constantly used on Some of the hospitals of the capital, particularly in the ly me? hospital. The ends of the bones, and such parts as from their Porosity might still retain a portion of the acid, are separated, and used for making glue of a very superior quality. i72 Sea-water. The inside of the bones of sheep’s legs furnish a sort of membranous glue, which supplies, with advantage, the place of isinglass in the fabrication of silk stuffs. I give you these particulars, not because I think they contain any thing new to you, in principle, but because I may have hit upon some details with which you were unacquainted. Ant. XX. Experiments made in France upon the Use of Dis- tilled Sea-water for Domestic Purposes, and its Effects on the Constitution, when taken as a Beverage.* Ix consequence of the great want of good fresh water ik many of the maritime parts of France, the government some time since ordered some experiments to be made, upon an ¢t tensive scale,in order to ascertain how far sea-water, when distilled, could be used with success. Little or no use had hitherto been made of water so prepared, except in long oY” ages, and chiefly then only as a matter of necessity. There are above two hundred leagues of sea-coast in France, where, to the breadth of many miles, the inhabitants are compelled t@ make use of bad and impure water, which, in many cases, 18 injurious to the health of themselves and their animals. In similar cases, it was the custom of the ancients to construct. cisterns; but these are not only expensive in themselves, bet their utility depends upon the quantity of rain that falls; while upon the shores of the most barren places, nature has sup plied a variety of vegetable matter, which, when dried, W not only serve as a fuel for the purposes of distillation, but from the ashes of which might be obtained a saline substance sufficient to repay the expense of collecting, drying and burt ing. Thus the fuel for the distillation of sea-water would, reality, cost nothing, while its preparation would employ many individuals, particularly women and children. Before, 6h *Taken from the Philosophical Magazine, and by that work from HF Annales de Chimie and de Physique, for January, 1818. Sea-water. 178 ever, erecting any apparatus for this purpose, it was necessa- ry to ascertain both the utility and salubrity of the water thus prepared. It is well known that Bougainville, Phipps, Homelin, &c. had employed this water with much success; but they, like most of the chemists of the last age, did not endeavour to imi- tate the process of nature in all iis simplicity, but mixed vari- ous substances with the sea-water, in order to take away or les- sen the effect of the empyreuma arising from the distillation, and which was so unpleasant to the smell and taste. And it is this which in general renders sailors so averse to it, and excites a prejudice very unfavourable to the salubrity of distilled sea- water. One of the great objects to be ascertained was, whether this disagreeable smell and taste was peculiar to sea-water, ov arose from the act of distillation. In the month of July, last year, the king ordered some ex- periments to be made, upon a large scale, at thé three ports of Brest, Rochefort, and Toulon. The instructions given, were as follows: That a sufficient quantity of sea-water should be distilled to prepare, for the space of a month, bread and other food for a certain number of criminals, who were employed on the works of these ports, and also to supply them with drink, keeping from them during that period every other liquid. Ten or twelve persons at each port voluntarily came forward and offered themselves for experiment. The persons employed by government first distilled a suffi- cient quantity of sea-water, without the admixture of any other substance. This produce dissolved soap, dressed vegetables, and Produced the same appearances, with the serometer, as that distilled from spring water. There was no difference between the one and the other. But the distilled sea-water had always that empyreumatic taste and smell, of which we have before Spoken ; and it was so strong, that the commission at Toulon called it odeur de marine, and odeur de marecage. But this is hot peculiar to sea-water, for the result of a distillation of fresh Water had always the same taste and smell. Neither of these ‘iquids immediately loses this by being filtered through char- 174 Sea-water. coal ; but by being exposed for some time to the air, the dis tilled sea-water loses this unpleasant quality, and then it does not differ from fresh water derived from the purest source; and both have equally stood every chemical test to which they have been exposed. The chemical properties of this water having thus been determined, itremains to give an account of the effects upon the individuals who underwent the experiment. These are the principal results: Brest. During the first days, those who drank the water, complained of a weight upon the stomach. This indisposition, which was the only one they experienced, scon decreased upon taking exercise, and totally went off by an additional ounce of biscuit added to their common ration. One of them, on 29th day, had a few symptoms, but which he himself attributed to an indigestion, from some bacon he had eaten. Eight i 4 viduals drank twenty-five pints a day, rather more than three pints each—(N. B. The French pint contains very near fifty- seven cubic inches of English measure, and is the regulation size for the claret or Bordeaux bottle; but in general the bot- tles are rather smaller. The French pint is therefore equal to rather more than nineteen-twentieths of an English quart, wine measure.) Toulon. The results obtained at the arsenal of this tow” were not less decisive or satisfactory. The six persons whe made the experiment acquired a greater degree of freshness in their appearance, and were much fatter. Their daily sumption of distilled water was nine pounds (poids de mart) for drink, and eleven pounds for cooking. This is nearly the same relative quantity as those at Brest. ; Rochefort. The experiments here have not been made with the same regularity; because the fifteen persons fixed upo had all agreed to say they were very ill. The two principal ones complained of violent cholics and diarrheeas; but i plot was discovered, and upon being put upon the sick list, (a la diette,) they were laughed at by their companions. ' one of them was really indisposed; on the contrary, many thought they experienced some good effect in regard 1 infirmities under which they had long laboured. Sea-waier. 175 ‘The above are not, however, the only experiments which have been made upon this beverage. Several persons, wishing to ascertain its effects by individual experience, have volunta- rily confined themselves to its use; and the members of the commission of inquiry are almost in the daily practice of taking it The captain of the Duclat has taken it every day at his theals, for twenty days, and has experienced not the smallest inconvenience from its use. M. M. Vasse and Chatelain, apo- thecaries to the marine at Brest, have occasionally kept the wa- ter in their mouths for four hours, by constantly renewing it, and have not found either the sharp taste, or other caustic qual- ities, which have been said to be peculiar to it. And here it may be proper to state, that the mouths of all the individuals who had taken the water fora length of time, were examined, without the detection of any thing in them either of a swollen * inflammatory appearance. Such are the reports of commis- sioners employed to investigate the effects of distilled sea-wa- ter, who, although separated at a great distance from each oth- er, and having no communication, all agree in the inference, that it may be employed, without any injury to the health, both as a beverage and in cookery, for the space of at least a month; and the fair presumption is, that it may be employed for a much t time; and that, in consequence, it must be considered %8 4 very happy resource in long voyages of discovery. 176. 4n Musical Temperameni. FINE ARTS. oe BBA Aart. XXL. Essay on Musical Temperament. By Professor Fisuenr, of Yale College. [Concluded from page 35.] Proposition V. To determine that position of any degree in the scale, which will vender all the concords terminated by.it, at a medium the most harmonious, supposing their relative frequency given, and all the other degrees fixed. r Tt HE best scheme of temperament for the changeable scale, on supposition that all the concords were of equally frequent occurrence, is investigated in Prop. III. But it is shown, It the last proposition, that some chords occur in practice, fat more frequently than others. Hence it becomes necessary {0 ascertain what changes in the scale above referred to, this dif- ferent frequency requires. Any given degree, as C, term nates six different concords; a Vth, I1Id, and 3d above, and fhe same intervals below it. Let the numbers denoting the frequency of these chords below C be denoted by 4 b, and & and their temperaments, before the position of C is cha by m, n,and p: and let the frequency of the chords above 0 be denoted by a’, 6’, and c’, and their temperaments by m', 24 and p’, respectively. If, now, we regard any two of these s chords, whose temperaments would be diminished by movil C opposite ways, and of which the sum of the temperaments consequently fixed, it is manifest that the more frequent ™ occurrence the less ought to be the temperament. Were e' guided only by the consideration of making the aggregate dissonance heard in them in a given time, the least possible we should make the one of most frequent occurrence pe and throw the whole of the temperament upon the other On Musical Temperament. 177 % he for example; a be greater than a’, and let x be any va- - riable distance to which C is moved, so as to diminish the temperament m, of the chord whose frequency is expressed ya. Then the temperament of a will become =m~z, an that of a'=m'+2. Hence, as the dissonance head in each, in a given time, is in the compound ratio of its frequency of oc« currence and its temperament, their aggregate dissonance will se be as am~x+a'm'+a3 a quantity which, as a is supposed greater than a’, evidently becomes a minimum when z=m, or the chord, whose frequency is a, is made perfect. But in this way we render the harmony of the chords very un- equal, which is ceteris paribus, a disadvantage. As these considerations are heterogeneous, it must be a matter of judgment, rather than of mathematical certainty, what pre- tise weight is to be given toeach. We will give so much Weight to the latter consideration, as to make the temperament each concord inversely as its frequency. We have then per 3 ae so iy : : ; which gives f= @:@23:m—* mito od But there are six concords to be accommodated, instead of \ two; and it is evident that all the pairs cannot have their _ temperament inversely as their frequency, since the num- bers a, b, &. and m, n, &c. have no constant ratio to each other. This, however, will be the case, at a medium, if z be made such, that the sem of the products of the numbers expressing the frequency of those chords whose temperaments are increased by 2, into their respective temperaments, shall be equal to the sum of the corresponding products belonging to those chords whose temperaments are diminished by 2 Applying this principle to the system of temperament in Prop. Ul. Which flattens all the concords, it is plain that raising any given degree by a, will increase the temperaments of the con- cords above that degree, and diminish those of the con- below it. Hence it ought to be raised’ till : m)at(n—2)b+(p—n)e=(m'+x)a+(n'+a)b + (P+x)e’: from which x is found = 2m —@'m + bn=bnit Poe ah ata’ +b+b'+e+e alg either of the temperaments be sharp, the sign of that ob LNo, 9. 23 | 178 On Musical Temperameni. term of the numerator, in which it occurs, must be changed; 4 “and should the total value of the expression be negative, « must be taken below C. Proposition VI. To determine that system of temperaments for the concords of ~ the changeable scale, which’ will render it, including every consideration, the most harmonious possible. We can scarcely expect to-find any direct analytical pro- cess, which will furnish us with a’ solution of this complicated problem, at asingle operation, We shall therefore content ourselves with a method which gradually approximates towan the desired results. The best position of any given degree, as C, supposing all the rest fixed, is determined by the last proposition. In the same manner it is evident that the con- stitution of the whole scale will be the best possible, when 1# degree in it can be elevated or depressed, without rendering the sums of the products there referred to, unequal. We ci? approximate to this state of the scale, by applying the theorem in Prop. V. to each of the degrees successively. It is not essential in what order the application is made}; but for the sake of uniformity, in the successive approximations, we will begin with that degree which has the greatest sum ata’) &c. belonging to it, and proceed regularly to that in W it is least. Making the equal temperament of Prop. IIL, (@ which the Vths, Illds, and Sds are flattened, 154, 77 and 1% respectively,) the standard from which to commence the altet- ations in the scale required by the unequal frequency of dif ferent chords, and beginning with D, the theorem gives 7=*"" Hence supposing the rest of the degrees in the scale unaltered, it will be in the most harmonious state, when D is raised sit of acomma. For by the last proposition, ‘the temperament the six concords affected by changing the place of D is distributed, and that of the other concords is not at all affected: We will now proceed to the second degree in the scale, 1 A; in which the application of the theorem gives rails. Is this application, however, as D was before raised 5, ™ temperament of the Vth below A, must be taken 154455 eee | eS ery eee ae ce ee DE) +19} 45) 41 Ab | =a | —7 | -2 —, : Di} +5! 42| 41 (G# | +17) +5}.0 _ SS a ears ee ee 0; 0 On Musical Temperameni. 178 ; ~ imal the succeeding operations, when the exterior termina- tion of any concord has been already altered, we must take its temperament, not what it was at first, but what it has become, by such previous alteration. In this. manner, the scale is becoming more harmonious at every step, till we have comple- ted the whole succession of degrees which it contains. Let us now revert to D, the place where we began. As each of the outer extremities of the chords which are termi- nated by D has been changed, a new application of the theo- rem will give a second correction for the place of D; although, as the numbers, a, a’, b, &c. continue the same, it will be less than before. Continue the process through the whole scale, and a second approximation to the most harmonious state will be obtained. In this manner let the theorem be applied, till the value of z is exhausted, for every degree; and it will then be in the most harmonious state possible. Three operations gave the following results : TABLE V. | Ist Ope- 2d. 3d. Bases. | Ist Ope- Od. 3d. ration, ration, Aa +i8} +5 | +41 |iBH | +18| 45] 0 Ir my | ace a7 UB +19 | +5 0 180 On Musical Temperament. The sign plus denotes that the degree to which it belongsis — 4 to be raised, and minus, that it is to be depressed. The correc- tions in each succeeding operation are to be added to those in the preceding. The errors, in the 3d approximation, are $0 trifling, that a 4th would be wholly useless. Bree Nore. The foregoing calculations will be rendered much more expeditious and sure, by reducing the theorem, in some sense, to a diagram, as in the first of the following figures; an by applying the successive corrections to the circumference of a circle divided into parts proportioned to the intervals of the enharmonic scale, as in the second. Prorosirion VII. together with the values of the diatonic and chromatic inter of a stride vals, and the lengths and vibrations per second | from the producing all the sounds, of the system resulting last proposition. The temperaments of all the concords are easily deduced from Table V. The Vth CG, for example, has its lowe extremity lowered 12, and its upper extremity 14. 7° it is flatter by 2 than at first, and corisequently its yar ment=156. The temperaments of all the concords, | To determine the temperaments and beats of all the concord’; | On Musical Temperament. 181 -ealculated, will be found in the 2d, 3d, and 4th columns of Table VIL. 7 Having ascertained the temperaments, the value of the diatonic and chromatic intervals may be found. The Vth CG being flattened 156, and the Vth FC 139, the major tone FG q mnust be diminished 1564139, or be =4820. By thus fixing pe the extent of one interval after another, from the temperaments 7 = of either of the different kinds of concords, as is most convenient, the intervals in question will be found to have the values ex- hibited in Table VI. a Let the numbers in this table be added successively, begin- ning at the bottom, to the log. of 240, the number of vibra- tions per second of the tenor C, (see Rees’s Cyc. Art. Concert Pitch,) and the numbers corresponding to these logarithms - will be the vibrations in a second, of a string sounding the | several degrees of the scale. They are shown in col. 6, | Table VII. . Since the length of a string ceteris paribus is inversely as its number of vibrations, the lengths in col. 5 may be deduced from the vibrations in col. 6; or more expeditiously, by sub- tracting the numertial distances from C of the several degrees in Table VI. from O, and taking the corresponding numbers, from the table of logarithms. These numbers, when used 4s logarithms, must be brought back to the decimal form, agreeable to Scholium 2. Prop. I. To find the number of beats made in a second by any con- cord, it is only necessary to take from col. 5 the numbers belonging to the degrees which terminate that concord, and to multiply them crosswise into the terms of its perfect ratio. The difference of the products will be the number of beats made inasecond. The $ last columns contain the beats made by each of the concords, in 10 seconds. . ' ' : | 182 On Musical Temperament, TABLE VI. Bb Dbi——_ ° 2998 |—_—— + 52: eay7e RB oo} nts | 1780 | 3033 | sb 4839 SRR 3030 1809 G PA sie 4820 i798 1824 2988 1777 4818 3028 1790 8018 4827 -—— 1809 a On Musical Temperament. 183 _ TABLE VIL Tempernmeveel the: [f: Lengths ‘Vibrations||Beats in Io §. of the Vths ) Ilds|y; sds | String. Vths. | Ilfds.| 3ds, 77 || 51481) 466,64 48,4 154 | 76 93 53574) 447,98|| 47,4{ 39,0] 57,8 147 | 35 | 97 || 55880} 429,49] 43,5] 17,7| 57,4) 156 78 || 57448) 417,77|| 45,1 46,2 153 | 71 1107 || 59852! 400,99] 42,5] 33,5] 59,4} 154 9 62467 $84,08|| 40,4} 4,0] — 151 | 76 | 75 | 64177/ 373,97] 39,1| 32,9) 39,2 132 | 39 | 97 || 66907! 358,71]| 32,9} 16,3| 48,1 101 || 68778) 348,95 48,5 . 56 69760} 544,03 21,9] F154 | 76 | 83 || 71685) $34,860} 36,0 29,9| 38,5 139 | 32 |130 || 74760] $21,03}| 30,9 11,9| 57,8 jn 78 || 76874) 312,20)| 33,2 33,5 149" 74 |110 || 80085} 299,68]| 30,8} 25,2) 45,5 “110 13 | 54 “83608! 287,05 21,7) 4,1 21,5} 154. 53 | 78 || 85868) 279,50 99,6| 17,0 30,0 144 61 1112 |} 89480] 268,21] 26,5) 18,5 ee 180 | 50 93342) 257,12 32,0| 14,8 156 | 78 | 82 || 95920) 250, 20}| 26,6 22,0 28,0 156 | 46 |143 }}100000! 240 |} 25,8! 12,8 ATS 184 - On Musical Temperament: Proposition Vill. To compare the harmoniousness of the foregoing system with that of several others which have been most known and approved. beg The aggregate of dissonance, heard in any tempered con cord, is as its temperanient (Prop. I.) when its frequency of oc- currence is given, and as its frequency of occurrence, when its temperament is given: hence, universally, it is as the pro- duct of both. “Fhe whole amount of dissonance heard in all the concords of the same name, must consequently be as the sum of the products of the numbers denoting their iemperamentseach: ~ jnto the number in Tab. IV. denoting its freqaency. ‘These pr ducts, for the scale of Huygens, which divides the octave into $1 equal parts, of which the tone is 5 and the semitone 3; for the system of mean tones, and for Dr. Smith’s system of equal harmony, compared with the scale of the last proposition, (cut: ting off the three right hand figures,) stand as follows: TABLE VIIL. : I eninge Systems. Huygeas’s. | Dr. Smiths. | Mean Tones New Seales | Disso- ( Vths 825 945 850 786 nance < [Ilds 121 $82 0 240 of the { 3ds 1049 629 944 683 Total i995 | 1956 | 1794 } 17091 Were we to adhere to Dr. Smith’s measure of equal bar- mony, the rows of products belonging to’ the Vths, [Ids, and 3ds, must be divided respectively, by 4, #5, and is (the Te ciprocals of half the products of the terms of their perf ratios,) before they could be properly added to express the whole amount of dissonance heard in all the cone but, according to Prop. I. the simple products ought to and the sums at the bottom of the table will expres ords 5 mee fi On Musical Temperament. 185 ratio of the aggregate dissonance of the systems under which they stand. The last has decidedly the advantage over the first, both in regard to the aggregate dissonance, and the equal- ity of its distribution among the different classes of concords, {thas nearly an equal advantage over the second in regard to the first of these considerations; although, in regard to the equality of distribution, the latter has slightly the advantage. Ithas, in a small degree, the advantage over the third, in re- gard to the aggregate dissonance; while, as it respects the equality of its distribution, it has the decided preference. It is tue that the temperaments of the concords of the same name, in the new scale, are not, as in the others, absolutely equal; but no one of them is so large as to give any offence “to the nicest ear. The largest in the whole scale exceeds the uniform ‘emperament of Dr. Smith’s Vths, by only ,'; of a comma. Scholium 1. The above system may be put in practice on the organ, by making the successive Vths, CG, GD, DE, &c. beat flat at the tate contained in Table VIL, desceniiing an octave, where necessary, and doubling the number of beats belonging to any degree in the table, when the Vth to be tuned has its base in the octave above the treble C. The tenor C must first be made to vibrate 240 in a second, the methods of doing which are detailed at length in various authors. Whenever a IIId Tesults from the Vths tuned, its beats ought to be compared with those required in the table, and the correctness of the Vihs thus proved. This system is as easy, in practice, as any €r; for no one can be tuned correctly except by counting beats, and rendering them conformable to what that sys- we pacaites The intervals of the first octave tuned ought Wh adjusted with the utmost accuracy, by a table of beats. ®n this is done, the labour of making perfect the other Fav of the same stop, and the unisons, octaves, Vihs, &e. mie other Stops, is the same in every system. This last, the ou. 8° Much the most laborious part of the tuning of 5 ban, that if'even much more labour were required than Vou. I..No. 2, 24 : 186 On Musical Temperament. actually is, in adjusting the intervals of the octave first tuned, st would occasion little difference in the whole. Scholium 2. ‘The harmony of the TfIds and 3ds in any of the foregoing systems for the changeable scale is so much finer than it cap possibly be in the common Douzeave, that it seems highly desirable that this scale should be introduced into general use. But the increased bulk and expense attendant on the intro- duction of so many new pipes or strings, together with the trouble occasioned to the performer, in rectifying the scale for music in the different keys, have hitherto prevented its becoming generally adopted. To multiply the number of finger keys would render execution on the instrument eX- tremely difficult; and the apparatus necessary for transferring the action of the same key from one string or set of pipes ® another, besides being complicated and expensive, requires such exactness that it must be continually liable to get out of order. This latter expedient, however, has been deemed the only practicable one, and has been carried into effect, under different forms, by Dr. Smith, Mr. Hawkes, M. Loesch- man, and others. But Dr. Smith’s plan (which is confined to stringed instruments) requires only one of the unisons ‘ be used at once; while those of the two latter nearly double the whole number of strings or pipes. It deserves an experi: ‘ment, among the makers of imperfect instruments, whether # ‘changeable scale cannot be rendered practicable, at least of the piano forte,* without increasing the number of strings A method of rendering changeable the sound of the same pipes in te ergan, which had occurred to the writer, but which was not inserted al : who has succeeded, by means of shaders capable of being brought before the mouths of his pipes by the action of pedals, in giving them we Supiect sounds each, varying by two commas. (See the ipti od his Enharmonic organ, in Rees’ Cyclopedia, or Tilloch’s Phil. Me#) eae scale embraces 59 intervals to the octave, and is intended to product perfect harmony in all the keys, But as it will require the use of pet petually, even on the same key, and a ready and perfect knowledge of sal On Musical Temperament. 187 and at the same time allowing both the unisons to be used together—either by an apparatus for slightly increasing the tension of the strings, or by one which shall intercept the vibrations of such a part of the string, at its extremity, as shall elevate its tone, by the diesis of the system of temperament adopted. Were only 4 degrees to the octave, furnishing the instrument with 5 sharps and 4 flats, thus rendered changeable, there is little music which could not be correctly executed Upon it. Scholium S. In the same general manner, may be found the best system of intervals, for a scale confined to a less number of degrees than that of the complete Enharmonic scale. In such an investigation, the numbers in Table IV. expressing the fre- quency of all such adjacent degrees as have but one sound in the given scale, must be united ; and the temperaments m, n, ¢. of the theorem, when belonging to concords whose ter- minating degrees are united to those adjacent, must be taken, not what they were in the complete scale, but what they become, considering them as terminated by the substituted adjacent degree. If, for example, the best temperaments were required for a scale of 15 degrees to the octave, such as is that of some European organs, or in other words, having no Enharmonic 1ntervals except D# Eb, and G# Ab,—the numbers in Table ly, belonging to C# and Db, EF and F, F# and Gb, &c. must € united, and their sums substituted when they occur, for % a’, b, &c. in the theorem; while the temperament, for €xample, of the [IId on C# must not be reckoned 77, as in the “omplete scale, but 1261—77 sharp, since its upper termina- ton has become F, instead of E#. With these variations let and would ¢ ance of 188 — On Musical Temperament. the same theorem be applied as before, till no value of x can be obtained, and the temperaments for that scale will be the best adjusted possible. 3 But as the scale which contains but 13 degrees, or 12 inter- vals, to the octave, is in much more general use than every other, we shall content ourselves with stating how the problem may be solved for scales containing any intermediate number of degrees, and proceed directly to the consideration of that which is so much the most practically important. Lema. No arrangement of the intervals in the common scale of 12 degrees, which renders none of the Vths or 3ds sharp, 4 none of the IlIds flat, can make any change in the aggre- gate temperaments of all the concords of the same name. We will conceive the 12 Vths of the Douzeave scale tobe arranged in succession, as CG, GD, DA. &c. embracing 7 octaves. Let them at first be all equal: they will each be flattened 49. I say that no change in these Vths which pre- serves the two extreme octaves perfect, and renders none them sharp, can alter the sum of their temperaments. ie a, b, c, &c. be any quantities, positive or negative, by which the points C, G, D, &c. may be conceived to be raised above Vths. Then as the mean temperament Vth= V—49- the first Vth in the supposed arrangement will be V-49-4@ The dis tance from C to D will be, in like manner, 2.V—49+ 45 and consequently the Vth GD will be V--49+0--a. In ™ same manner the third Vth DE will be V--49¢-- at. Hence the temperament of CG—--49+Manage® Danie. Drake, Cincinnati, Sept. 15th, 1818, | yy: e 4 4 ; 4 ‘ I Magnetism—New Lamp. 207 Caleb Atwater, Esq. of Circleville, Ohio, is engaged in wri- ting Notes on the State of Ohio, a work which is intended to embrace the most important features and interests of this new and rising State. To this laudable effort, and to that of the Western Museum Society, whose address is published above, we cordially wish success. From the zeal, talent, and industry of the gentlemen concerned, we have every reason to expect a happy result. We view, with much satisfaction, the efforts which have been already made, and are rapidly increasing, to bring to light the resources, and to develope the history, of the western _ States; and it will always give us. pleasure, if through the — medium of this Journal, or in any other manner, we can contri- bute to promote them. DR ee Ant, XXIV. Extract of a Letter from Colonel Gibbs to the Editor. Sunswics, June, 1818. Dear Sir, INCE T saw you, I have made only one experiment on magnetism. I determined the power of my magnet, as it had been shut up in the dark for a long time, and lying down. I: N exposed it to the rays of the sun, also lying down, and "emote from the iron support, and I found that it had gained Mae bavet in 40 mminutes, and 14 oz. power only in five urs, Art, XXV. 4 New Lamp, without Flame. F “om the Annals of Philosophy for March, 1818. Communicated by Mr. Tuomas GiLL. Pus lamp is one of the results of the new discoveries in “istry. It has been found, by Sir H. Davy, that a fine Wire, heated red hot, and held in the vapour of ether, 208 jeu Lamp. would continue ignited for some time; but, I believe, no prac? tical use has been made of this fact. If a cylindrical coil of thin platina wire be placed, part of it round the cotton wick of a spirit lamp, and part of it above the wick, and the lamp be lighted, so as to heat the wire to redness; on the flame being blown out, the vapour of the alcohol will keep the upper part of the wire red hot, for any length of time, accord- ing to the supply of alcohol, and with little expenditure thereof; so as to be in constant readiness to kindle German fungus, of _ paper prepared with nitre, and, by this means, to light a sulphur match at pleasure. This lamp affords sufficient lighit to show the hour of the night by a watch, and to perform many other useful services ; but does not hinder the repose of persons unaccus- tomed to keep a light burning in their bed room, fof does if require to be snuffed. é : The proper size of the’ platina wire is the ;foth part of an inch: a larger one will only yield a dull, red light, and a smaller one is difficult to use. About 12 turns of the wire will be suf- ficient, coiled around any cylindrical body suited to the size of the wick of the lamp; and four or five coils should be placed on the wick, and the remainder of the wire above it: and which will be the part ignited. A wick, composed of twelve threas of the ordinary sized lamp cotton yarn, with the platina wire coiled around it, will require about half an ounce of alcohol t0 keep it alight for eight hours. An agreeable and slightly acid smell arises from this lamp during its ignition. It is perfectly safe, as nothing can fall from it; and its novel appearance, in a wick’s keeping red hot such a length of time, is very surprising to persons unacqu with its nature. P. S.— When the wire has become oxided, it will be neces ry touncoil it, and rubit bright again with fine glass-paper’ which «vill cause it to act again with increased effect. REMARK. Such wire as is here described may, probably, be obtained it Philadelphia. 7 Leeiogic ue pr ae Sie CONTENTS. ro @@HOte- GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, &c. Page. Apr. I. Hints on some of the Outlines of Geological Arrange- ment, with particular Reference to the System of Werner, in a letter to the Editor, from William Maclure, Esq. dated Paris, 22d August, 1818. 209 Art. II. On the Geology, Mineralogy, Scenery, and Curios- ities of Parts of Virginia, Tennessee, and the Ala- bama and Mississippi Territories, &c. with Miscel- laneous Remarks, in a letter to the Editor. By '- the Rey. Elias Cornelius. - = - 21 Ar. Ul. Notice of the Scenery, Geology, shisersloess Botany, &c. of Belmont — — by Caleb Atwater, Esq. of Circleville. Art. IV, Remarks on the Structure of ihe Calton Hill, near Edinburgh, Scotland; and on the Aqueous Origin of Wacke; by J. W.- pees M. D. LP - 226 iim se 6.5 + | Arr. V, wae of Minerals. - - - - ae 1. Localities by the Rev. F. C. enacts, Ray ir - ibid 2. Minerals of Guadaloupe and Porto Rico. - - * 237 3. Molybdena in Shutesbary, Mass. - . - - 238 —————Pet tipaug, a sn Se 4. Rose Quartz in sa met Con i. oo i Limpid Quartz in West Canada Creek, N. y. sie ee q 5. Plumbago in Cornwall, Con. - nai _ 6. Coal at Zanesville, Ohio. ee ea eee ae abid —— in Muskingum, Ohio. <) a oe ene OO —— in Suffield, Southington, &c. tee - = - 239& 240 7. Mammoth’s Tooth, from St. Francis River. ee A 8. Shells south of Lake Erie. - eeu 9. Minerals of the Blue Ridge, ke. -' = * = - =i u CONTENTS. 10. Sulphate of Barytes, Southington, Con. - - - 11. Scintillating Limestone, from parent - - 12. Beryl, in Haddam, &e. - - - - a 13. Limpid Gypsum, near Cayuga L - 14. Amianthus in the anthracite of ais Island. sim 15. Red Pyroxene Augite,near Baltimore. - - = - sieges? BOTANY. Arr. VI. A list of Plants found in the neighborhood of Connasarga River, (Cherokee Country) where Springplace is situated; made by Mrs. wnesin at the request of the Rev. Elias Cornelius. - Art. VII. Description of a new species of Asclepias. spill Dr. Eli Ives, Professor, &c. in the Medical Insti- tution of Yale College. —- 45-998 252 Arr, Vit Description of a New Genus of American wie: _ Diplocea Barbata, by C. S. painesel ss ART. IX. Flural Calendar, &c..—- - ZOOLOGY. Arr. X. Notes on psd a ny Thomas Say, of Phila- ‘ ‘delphia. bade 266 PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY. Art. XI. Outline of a Theory of Meteors. By Wm. © Reynolds, M. D. Middletown Point, New-Jersey- 266 it. XII. Observations upon the prevailing Currents of Ait in the State of Ohio and:the Regions of the West, age by Caleb Atwater, Esq. of Circleville, Ohio; ia Letters addressed to his Excellency De Witt Clin- _ ton, LL. D. Governor of the State of New-York, and President: of the Literary and Philosophical ; Society. Art. XIII. Ona singel DisreStioi of the ee “apparent ly by Frost, in Letters from Edward Hitchcock, 96 A.M. late Principal of Deerfield Academy: =~ reeains nice issepomeramenc care IN CONTENTS. s ‘ P Art. XIV. On a New Form of the Electrical Battery, by J. F, Dana, M. D. Chemical Assistant in Harvard Uni- versity, and Lecturer on Chemistry and a ey in Dartmouth College. - Art. XV. Chemical Examination of the lee of the er ikee Cerifera, or Wax Myrtle, by J. F. Dana, M. D. Chemical Assistant in Harvard University, and ON on —— and Baie in Dart- uth College. Art. XVI. Analysis of "Wacke, by Dr. J. he Webster, of oston. - AGRICULTURE AND one : Art. XVII. On the Comparative Quantity of Nutritious Mat- ter which may be obtained from an Acre of Land when cultivated with Potatoes or Wheat, by Dr. Eli Ives, Professor of Materia Medica and Botany in Yale College. - - = MISCELLANEOUS. Art. XVIII. Biographical Notice of the late Archibald Bruce, M. D. Professor of Materia Medica and Mineralo- gy in the Medical Institution of the State of New York, and Queen’s College, New Jersey; and Member of various Learned Societies in America and Europe. - - - INTELLIGENCE. Art. XIX. 1. Dr. J. W. sen dh Lectures. = - - 2. Dr. Webster’s Cab - - 3. Supposed identity = a and Asien: se ahs - 4, The Necronite.—(A supposed new mineral. ) nes 5. Preservation of dead Bodies = 6. Matches kindling without ise. “5S eee ee 7. Cleaveland’s Mineralogy. - - - - ~-.. 297 299 CONTENTS. Page. 10. Red Rain. - - - - - - - - bid, il. Gonpieilicn. ne ee eee ere a 310 12. Augite. ae" - - = ibid. 13. A New Vogetbe Alkali. ee ee ibid. 14. Ne - - - - - bid. 15. New iat - - - - - - - ibid. 16. Pure Alumine. Sic:g aD Ae 17. Collections of American Minerals. | pee ets ibid. - - - - #8 19. Medical a of Ohio. oy Saale See ree ibid. 20. Notes on Ohio. - ibid. 21. Discovery of American Tengeled ana Tellurium. - $2 92. Mr. Sheldon’s application of Chesnut Wood to the arts of Tannin: Dyeing. 23, Additional note concerning the Danes and Tellurium. 316 AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SCIENCE, &c. SECOND EDITION. ; —— GEOLOGY, MINERALOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, e-. +o Art. I. Hints on some of the Outlines of Geological Arrangement, with particular Reference to the System of Werner, na lettter to the Editor, from Wasam Macture, Esq. dated Paris, 22d August, 1818. INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Some years since, during Mr. Maclure’s geological survey ot the United States, the editor had the pleasure of passing a few days, in company with that gentleman, in exploring the geol- ogy of the vicinity of New-Haven. . Near that town, junctions, on an extensive scale, between widely different formations, are to be observed. A radius of ten miles, with New-Haven for 4 centre, will describe a circle within which the geological stu- dent may find (with the exception of formations, unquestiona- bly volcanic) most of the important rocks of the globe, and a radius of even six or seven miles will include the greater num- ber of these. At, and near the terminations of the primitive Tanges, there are rocks which appear to have, ina high de- gree, the characters of the transition class. Among them is the beautiful green marble of the Milford Hills, seven miles from : New-Haven. Mr. Maclure visited that district and even sug- Vor. 1....No. 3. 1 210 Maclure on Geology. gested the first hint which afterwards led to the discovery of the marble. Doubts being entertained concerning some of the geological relations of those rocks, a letter was addressed to r. Maclure (then in Philadelphia) on the subject. His answer is subjoined. In giving it to the public, the editor takes a liberty which he hopes the respectable author will pardon, because_his pro- duction, although evidently never intended for the public eye, contains statements and opinions of no small importance to the young geologist, especially of this country. Geology, at the present day, means not a merely theoretical and usually a visionary and baseless speculation, concerning the origin of the globe; but, on the contrary, it is the result of actual examination into the nuture, structure, and arrangement of the ma- ——- of which it is composed. It is therefore obvious, that : opinions of those men, who, with competent talent and sci- — have, with a direct reference to this subject, aie ~~ countries, and visited different continents, are entitled minent respect. Saussure, by his scientific journeys among the s: (although a limited district) has given deserved cele- brity to his own name, and, if it were possible, has thrown a additional charm of attraction over those romantic and sublime regions. Dolomiew has made us familiar with the productions and phenomena of volcanoes, those awful and mysterious lab- oratories of subterranean fire. Humboldt has surveyed the ‘sub- limest peaks of both continents, and examined the structure of the globe amidst the valleys of Mexico and the snows of Chim borazo and Pinchinca; and Werner, with opportunities tach more limited, (confined indeed to his native country; Saxony but with astonishing sagacity and perseverance, deduced from he saw, a classification of the rocks of our globe, , which, although not perfect, has done immense service to the science of Geology. In this distinguished group (to which other impor- tant names might be added) Mr. Maclure has unquestioné bly@ right to be placed. Few men have seen so much of the st strac- ture of our globe, and few have done so much with such sina pretensions, His work on American Geology is noticed with © Maclure on Geology. Qi becoming respect even in Edinburgh,* that focus of geological science. His opinions on some of the more obscure and doubt- ful parts of the Wernerian geology are worthy of peculiar con- sideration ; for they are founded ‘on a course of observations vast- ly more extensive than Werner ever had it in his power to make. The name of Werner will always be venerated as long as ge- ological science shall be cultivated, for geology owes more to him than to any other man; but his pupils should not now de- mand that implicit and unqualified adoption of azn his opin- ions, which will allow no other question to be raised, than what Werner taught or believed. With these explanatory remarks, the horas extract of Mr. Maclure’s letter is now subjoined: DEAR SIR, _. Your letter of the 26th June came just as 1 was embark- ing. for Europe.. The information it requires concerning the Primitive trap and flint slate, the transition and secondary rocks, Ke, &e. is difficult to give without the aid of specimens, and frequently requires the examination of the relative position of the strata before any correct idea can be formed. I will, how- ever, endeavor to give you the little my experience | has bee : me acquainted with. _ following the nomenclature of Werner, I have given a ~ ~ of his rocks; but in describing them there are many names phiel I do not use ; because I never met with the 247 to which they refer. Primitive trap is one instance—I do not Us trap asa substantive, except in describing thet kind of trap which Werner calls the newest fleetz trap, the nearest to which iS your trap,t which covers the oldest red sandstone. The Primitive flint slate is in the same predicament. I have always found it on the borders of the transition, between Le psd the secondary. Primitive sypsum IT have not found. “Vide Edin. Review for Sept. 1818. p. 374. Referring to the Ridges of Greenstone near New-Haven. 312 Maclure on Geology. What Werner calls primitive trap may perhaps be compact hornblende, or perhaps the newest fleetz trap, when it happens to cover the primitive ; for, this species of trap, like the cur- rents of lava, covers indiscriminately all classes of rocks, and this is one reason why | consider it as the remains of ancient lava: Transition trap is a rock that I have not met with; it may perhaps be a part of the fleetz trap that happened to cover the transition, without any immediate connexion, but like a cur rent of lava, overlying all the classes of rocks it meets with. This misapplication of names naturally arises from the system of Neptunian origin, on which the nomenclature of Werner is founded. Greywake and greywake slate are aggregates of rounded pat- ticles of rocks, evidently the detritus of more ancient forma- tions, and differ from the aggregates of pudding and sandstone of the secondary class, in the following properties, viz. The aggregates of transition are harder and much more comr pact than the secondary; they are also cemented by argil, taking a slaty form. ment is in much greater quantity, in proportion is ce Bg a ES ae ee to the partic es cemented, and has the appearance as if the cement at the time of formation, had consistence sufficient to prevent the particles from touching each other. : _ They have in common with all the transition rocks, a regt lar and uniform dip from the horizon, from 10 to 40 degrees and sometimes more. This is perhaps the strongest mark of distinction which separates them from the secondary, which are horizontal, or follow the inequalities of the surface 0? which they were deposited. The transition are distinguished from the primitive in being aggregates of rounded particles, having little or no crystalliza- tion, and containing,-or alternating with strata which contalp s ganic matter. ; The oldest red sandstone, with all its accompanying strata, I should incline to put into the transition, as having mary of the properties of that class, and occupying the same relative situa tion in the stratification of the globe. It is’ at a constant dip _Maclure on Geology. 213 (although small) from the horizon; the cement is in greater quantities in proportion to the particles cemented than in any of the secondary aggregates, &c. &c. The character of the secondary is a horizontal position, that perhaps does not admit of the same facility of examining the relative situation of its stratification. The compact limestone is, probably with reason, considered as the lowest of the sec- ondary formation, and always under the coal formation, but it appears to me that the secondary is deposited in basins along- side of one another, and that each basin has a different order of ‘Superposition, according to the nature of the agents employed in the deposition; that it is a partial, and by no means a gen- eral deposition. The secondary aggregates of sandstone and Portion I am therefore inclined to think, that in geology the best mode for the greatest part of the secondary would be to give the rel- ative Position of the strata of each valley or basin: and I am tather of opinion that they would all differ from one another. The French and English basin having chalk for the lowest stratum, which has occupied the geologists of both countries for these 1Q or 15 years, is perhaps the best known; yet they do not know the relative position of the chalk and coals, because coals have not been found in the same basin with chalk: coals occupy basins filled with different kinds of rocks, and haye no resemblance to the rocks found covering the chalk. particles together, become rocks, and may alternate in all pro- rtions. 214 Geology, gc. of Tennessee, &c. Arr. II. On the Geology, Mineralogy, Scenery, and Curtosities of Parts of Virginia, Tennessee, and the Alabama and Missis- ‘sippi Territories, &c. with Miscellaneous Remarks, in a letter to the Editor. By the Rev. Exras Cornenivs. To Benjamin Silliman, Professor, &c. SIR, Havine $cbiitty returned from a tour of Conair ex- tent in the United States, I avail myself with pleasure of the first leisure moment, to communicate, agreeably to your request, some facts, relative to the Mineralogy and Geology of that rae oo ee which I passed. sy Sa "INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Before doing this, you will permit me to premise, that in com ~ y limited acquaintance with these branches of Natural Science, and. the still more limited time, which other and important concerns allowed me to devote to the subject, I can do little more than give a general description. What my eye could catch, as I travelled from one country and d wilderness : to another, preserving occasionally a few of the most interes- tiny? specimens, was all I could do. The specimens you ha shave more leisure and disposition for epicatatinn than myself. A description of a few natural and artificial curiosities which came under particular notice, will not, 1 trust, be though an im ie disgression. The whole is committed to your dispo- al; and if it shall add but one mite to the treasury of Amer: by E. Cornelius, “IS can Natural History, I shall be gratified, and rejoice to have made even this small remuneration for your unwearied efforts, to impart to one, formerly your pupil, a love for Natural Science. The Author's Route. My route was in a line. nearly direct from Boston to New- Orleans ; passing through the principal cities to Washington ; thence, diagonally, through Virginia, East ‘Tennessee, and the northwestern angle of Georgia; in a western course through the north division of the Territory of Alabama, to the northeastern ~ boundary of the State of Mississippi; and thence ina line near- lysouthwest to Natchez. From this last place I descended the. tiver Mississippi to New-Orleans. On my retarn I frequent! varied from this course, and had increased opportunities for sur- veying the country. Jn both instances I passed through the Countries belonging to the Cherokee, Chickesaw, and Choc- faw tribes of Indians, and travelled among them, in all, about one thousand miles. . Geology of Virginia. As others have described more minutely and accurately than lean, the country north of Virginia, I shall begin with a few remarks on the geological character of that state. It is there that the traveller, in passing from the Atlantic to the interior, Crosses successively the most important formations of the earth, from the most recent alluvial to the oldest primitive. Fora Considerable distance from the coast, the country is alluvial. It then assumes an older secondary formation*—and sandstone and Puddingstone are frequent. This is the character of the Dis- trict of Columbia, and indeed of a great part of the valley of the Potomac ' Sandstone of the Capitol, &c. ae {n this valley, and adjacent to the river, is found the sand- “tone of which the President’s house, and the Capitol are con- *Or, according to the Wernerian Geologists, Transition? Editor. ~ 216 Geology, Fc. of Tennessee, Gc. €tructed. It is composed of fine silicious grains, is easily wrought, and-from its color, has the appearance at a small distance of white marble. ‘ Beautiful Breccia. - jt is also in the valley of this river, and not far from its fa- mous passage through the Blue Ridge, that immense quarries of beautiful Breccia have been opened. This rock was first brought into use by Mr. Latrobe, for some years employed by the government as principal architect. It is composed of peb- bles, and fragments of silicious and calcareous stones of almost every size, froma grain, to several inches in diameter, strongly and perfectly cemented. Some are angular, others rouD ‘Their colors are very various, and often bright. Red, white, brown, gray, and green, are alternately conspicuous, with ev- ery intermediate shade. Owing to the silicious stones which are frequently imbedded through the mass, itis wrought with much difficulty; but when finished, shows a fine polish, and is unquestionably one of the most beautifully variegated marbles, that ever ornamented any place. It would be difficult to con ceive of any thing more grand than the hall of the representa tives, in. the Capitol, supported as it is by twenty or thirty pi 4 lars formed of the solid rock, and placed in an amphitheatrical range; each pillar about three feet in diameter, and twenty i height. Some idea of the labor wich is employed in working the marble may be formed from the fact, that the expense of each pillar is estimated at five thousand dollars. The spetr mens in your possession, are good examples of its gene y ture, but convey no adequate idea of its beauty. Petrifaction of Wood. It will be proper to notice in this place, @ petrifaction of wood which ie fouka ek the road from Washington 7 ricksburgh, 16 miles from the latter, and four miles north of the court-house in Stafford county. It is remarkable for its siz® rather than for any singularity in the composition. It was err ees by E, Cornelius. 217 found by digging away the earth on the sides of the road, and appears to haye been the trunk of a considerable tree. It is firmly fixed in the ground, and penetrates it obliquely; how far has not yet been ascertained. At the time I saw it about two feet had been exposed.. The diameter is about eight inches. Its color is white, sometimes resembling that of wood. The fibres are well preserved, and so is the general structure. It is mach to be desired, that some one would clear it from its bed, and give it entire to one of our mineralogical cabinets. Geological Features, Next to the alluvial and secondary Formations, a3. you paw tothe west and northwest, are to be found ranges o Te and schistose, and other primitive rocks ; taterapareed with these may be seen sandstone, clayslate, quartz, and limestone. Granite ranges were seen particularly in the neighborhood of Fredericksburgh, crossing the Rappahannock ; and in Or- ange and Albemarle counties, extending nearly to the Blue idge. Great quantities of quartz and quartz rock, sometimes covering with their fragments the sides of hills, are frequent. ler and more interesting rock in the same connexion, is found in Albermarle County. For some time I doubted to what | class to refer it; but from its resemblance to the rocks of the east and west mountains near New-Haven, | ventured to call it trap or greenstone. It becomes more. abundant as you ap- Proach the Blue Ridge, and the granite disappears. On the Sides and summit of the mountain, its appearance is more de- cidedly that of greenstone. In crossing the southwest moun- tain, the range to which Monticello belongs, and distant from the Blue Ridge about 25 miles, I observed the same rock. Whether this opinion is just, you will be able to decide from the *pecimens which have been forwarded. Blue Ridge. thave repeatedly named the Blue Ridge. It is the frét-af those aogte and — — of mountains, called the Alle- Vv Theale - 218 Geology, §c. of Tennessee, §c. ghany; and constitutes one” of the most prominent. features in the geology of the United States. Its height I cannot deter- mine with accuracy. Probably it would not average more than one thousand feet. “Its base may extend in diameter from one to two miles; and yet such is the influence it has on the cli- mate, that vegetation on the eastern, is usually two weeks ear- lier than on the western side ; and what is remarkable, is, that this difference obtains, on the former side at least, until you arrive within a few hundred yards of the summit. 1 crossed the mountain in two places, distant from each other one hundred miles, but observed nothing essentially different in their mine- ralogy. At one of them called the Rockfish-Gap, on the road from Charlotteville to Staunton, I spent a few hours, and brought away specimens of all the varieties of minerals which I could _ These have been submitted to your inspection. Among them, you will, I think, see greenstone, epidote, and slate more or less allied to the first. These are the most common rocks, and excepting the second, are usually stratified. The epidote is generally associated with quartz, and sometimes is imbedded in it. In some instances it has a porphyritic appearance, and is very beautiful. In others, it is coated with small filaments of a greenish asbestos. Other minerals were found, whose nature I could not so easily determine. I regret exceedingly, that I cannot furnish you with a more complete description of this interesting mountain. That itscharacter is peculiar, oF ferent from that of the country on either side of it, must be obvi- ous to the most superficial observer. Its principal rock does in- deed bear a resemblance to the trap or greenstone of Albe- marle county, and yet I think you will say it is not the same One fact of importance cannot be mistaken ; this mountain con- stitutes the great dividing line between the granite and lime- stone countries. For you no sooner reach its western base, than the greenstone and epidote disappear; and limestone, pe: vades the country for hundreds of miles in every direction. In all the distance from this mountain to New-Orleans, I did not find a single specimen of granite, or greenstone. This: may appear singular, since Mr. Maclure and Professor Cleaveland ae by LE. Cornelius. 219 have a granite range on their maps, immediately west of the Blue Ridge; and even that mountain is on those maps, in some parts of it, covered with the granitic tinge. This may be true. Ican answer for only two points of it, and for that part of the country beyond, lying near the main road to Tennessee. In this route 1 descended almost the whole length of the great val- ley included between the Blue Ridge on the east, and the north mountain on the west. But inno instance did I meet with spcei- mens of granite; nor west of the Blue Ridge with any prevail- ing rock but limestone. I know of no reason why the Blue Ridge should not be regarded as the first great dividing line be- tween the granite and limestone countries. The change in the geological formation is so sudden, and striking, that it would be dificult for the most careless traveller with his 4 observe it. The face of nature, he cannot but perceive, wears adifferent aspect; the air is more cool and lively; even the wa- ter which he drinks possesses new properties perceptible to his taste. The inhabitants no longer speak of their sandstone wa- ;” but every where he hears of “ limestone water.” Indeed - 800 miles in the direction which I travelled, he tastes no other. water.. Every spring and "€ every rivulet, is strongly im- Pregnated with carbonate of lime. The vessels in which it is epared for culinary use, soon become lined with a white calca- reous_ crust. Nor is its taste the only inconvenience experien- ced by the traveller unaccustomed to it. It often injures the health of a egal and covers the surface of the body with cu- fancous eruptio Limestone country in inclined strata. The geological observer has now entered upon a very inter- esting field. Its great extent, and its wonderful uniformity, give new facilities to investigation. ‘Two divisions of it seem to have made in nature. The firs is that which iucludes the limestone reat in INCL ED STRATA. This division extends from the Blue Ridge, to the Cumberland mountain in East Tennessee, a distance in the tection of my route of 500 miles. Of course it includes all 220 Geology, §¢. of Tennessee, §:c. the ranges, five in number, of the Alleghany mountains. The strata lie in a course northeast and southwest, the same as the general course of the mountains. The angle which they make with the horizon is very variable, from 25° to 45°. - The color of the rock varies from blue, and pale blue, to gray, or grayish white, frequently it presents a dull earthy appearance. ‘The fracture is more or less conchoidal. Sometimes the rock assumes _ a different character, and the fracture is uneven, and the texture firm. ‘This last is distinguished from the former, not only by the fracture, but by the color. It is usually spoken of by the inhab- itants as the gray limestone, the color of the other being usuaily of a bluish cast. It differs from that also by being less brittle, and possessing the quality denominated by stonecutters, * tough.” In consequence of this, and its enduring heat better, it is more frequently used in building than the other. This variety of limestone is not uncommon. Its color is not always gray, some- times it is a reddish brown, and sometimes white. Immense tities of it, possessing either a grayish or reddish brown color, are found in the vicinity of Knoxville, East Tennessee, as one range of it is crossed by every road, passing to the south and east of Knoxville. Its appearance is that of some variegated marbles; white veins penetrate it, and wind through it in every direction. Whether any part of it has a texture sufficiently fine d firm to be wrought to advantage, is yet to be determined. To the eye of a superficial observer, there are many indications that it has. A specimen of very fine white marble, resembling the Italian white, was shown me in Augusta county, Virginia, which was found 15 miles from Staunton, where there is said t be a considerable quantity of it. on Limestone country in Horizontal Strata. The second great division of the limestone country extends, on the route which I took, two hundred miles from the Cum- berland mountain, and others associated with it southwest, * far asthe Dividing Ridge, which separates the waters flowing into the Tennessee from those which proceed direct to the gulf of Mexico. The grand circumstance which distinguishes ee ae a : i : i ne ead ’ by E. Cornelius. me 221 the limestone of this division from that already described, is this, v5 srRATA ARE HORIZONTAL. Frequently immense piles may be seen forming bold precipices, but always in horizontal layers, differing in thickness, from a few inches to many feet. How far this arrangement extends to the west and north, I have not yet been able to learn. Travellers always speak of the limestone tocks in West Tennessee and Kentucky as flat, from which cir- cumstance I conclude that the Cumberland mountain forms for a considerable distance at least, the eastern boundary. I have ob- served but three other particulars in which the strata — the Ho- rizontal differ from those of the inclined limestone. ~T. Its color is not so strongly marked with the bluish tinge. © 2 Itis not so commonly penetrated with white veins of a semicrystallized carbonate of lime; peed — qt 7 asso- ciated with the uneven fractured species. — . 3. Petrifactions are oftener found in it. ” ~Twillhere take the liberty to suggest, whether in our maps of geology, some notice should not be taken of this very import- ant division in the limestone country. Such a division exists in feet; nature has made it; and if geology depends on nature for its only legitimate inductions, there can be no reason why a fea- ture re $0 prominent as this, should be overlooked. T shall not un- dertake to account for their difference; but would not” every Seological theorist consider them as distinct isin eo ae Cumberland eine eee sed gh 7 _ The Cumberland mountain, which forms a part of this di- viding line, is itself a singular formation. It belongs to ihe class cal alied “Table mountains.” Its width varies from a few "The modesty of the writer has prevented him from Meicthone to the forma- tions Which he has well describe d, the terms j, which ure canbe little doubt doin fact belong to them. His vatican > €ppear to belong to the transition class of Werner, and his fiat tao secondary. It may be observed in this setae a tes the specimens rl, yi the text (pas sim,) appear to be correctly described by Mr. Cor- to j his geological inferences as far as co eee seen ata roa from — native beds, can form a safe basis for genera t inductions. — dito; ui 222 Geology, §c. of Tennessee, §c. miles, to more than fifty. Its height is not perceptibly differ- ent from that of the Blue Ridge. It forms a circuit, in a shape somewhat resembling a half moon. Winding to the southwest, it keeps a course north of the Tennessee river, in some places nearly parallel with it; passes a few miles to the southeast of Huntsville in the Alabama Territory, and not long after termin- ates. At one part, over which I crossed, the mountain is eigh- teen miles wide. This is about 150 miles southwest of Knox- ville, a little north of the 35th degree of N. Lat. I had not ascended the mountain more than half way, before I found sand- stone begin to intermingle with limestone strata. As I drew near the summit, the limestone disappeared entirely, and sand- stone prevailed in abundance, with no other mineral associated until I reached the western descent, where I met bold precipi- ces of horizontal limestone, reaching from the base to the sum- mit. I examined several sandstone rocks while crossing the mountain, and found them usually imbedded in the earth, g peral- ly with flat surfaces, of a fine grain, and strong texture. The color is usuallya reddish brown, or grayish red. The specimen which you have received is a good example. I crossed this mountain in the vicinity of Huntsville, not less than one hun- dred miles southwest of the place above-mentioned, and found it not wider than mountains commonly are. Its height had also become less, and horizontal limestone in regular strata prevail- ed in every part. Although this mountain forms a part of the dividing line which has been mentioned, it does not do so exclusively : for the Rackoop mountain, which crosses the Tennessee river, at the place so well known by the name of “the Suck,” and the Look-Out mountain, which terminates abruptly about 6 miles to the left of " the Suck,” form an acute angle with the Cumberland, and are composed of horizontal strata of limestone. ‘Thus it would ap- pear that the line which divides the two kingdoms of this rock, runs nearly north and south, inclining perhaps a few poin's ‘ the east and west. by E. Cornelius. 223 ia Scenery. And here I cannot forbear pausing a moment to call your at- tention to the grand and picturesque scenery which opens to the view of the admiring spectator. The country is still possessed by the aborigines, and the hand of civilization has done but little tosoften the wild aspect of nature. The Tennessee River, hav- ing concentrated into one mass, the numerous streams it ceived in its course of three or four hundred miles, glides through am extended valley with a rapid and overwhelming current, half ‘mile in width. At this place,a group of mountains stand to dispute its progress. First, the “ Look-Out,” an independent range, commencing thirty miles below, presents, opposite to the River’s course, its bold and rocky termination of two thousand feet. Around its brow isa pallisade of naked rocks, from seven- 'y to oné hundred feet high. ‘The River flows upon its base, and instantly turns to the right. Passing on for six miles farther it turns again, and is met by the side of the Rackoon mountain.— Collecting its strength into a channel of seventy yards, it severs the mountain, and rushes tumultuously through the rocky defile, wafting the trembling navigator at the rate of a mile in two or three minutes, ‘This passage is called “ The Suck.” © The sum- nit of the Look-Ont mountain overlooks the whole country.— And to those who can be delighted with the view of an intermi- table forest, penetrated by the windings of a bold river, inter- ‘persed with hundreds of verdant prairies, and broken by many Tidges and mountains, furnishes in the month of May, a landscape, Which yields to few others in extent, variety or beauty. Even . ‘aborigines have not been insensible to its charms; for in the ‘ame which they have given to the Look-Out mountain we have a aconic, but very striking description of the scenery. This — in the Cherokee language, without the aspirated sounds, is & Néé-ton-tanna-ta-kunn4-éé ;” literally, “¢ mountains looking at each other.” : , bs ie already remarked that the limestone - this — 'es in horizontal strata ; one mile east from its base it is 224 Geology, $c. of Tennessee, &c. ~ inclined. Like the Cumberland, it contains immense rocks of sandstone, but of a coarser grain, verging occasionally into pudding stone. I was told by a white man, a professed mill- wright, that among these sandstone rocks he knew of many which were suitable for millstones. At the missionary establish- ment, called “Brainerd,” eight miles east of the mountain, ! saw one of them which was used for this purpose to much ad- tage. Itis composed of fine and large grains of silicious stones, nearly white, and resembling pebbles of white quartz ; the tex- . ture is firm. Silicious Minerals, &c. _ Lwill now notice an important fact, applicable to the whole extent of limestone country, which has come under my observa- tion. It is its association with a description of minerals, all of which appear to be silicious. To describe them minutely, would require several pages. From the time I entered the limestone country. till | left it, this association was observed. The minerals included. in it, differ much in their external character. Theit size varies from that of rocks to the smallest fragments. Usual- ly they lie loose upon the earth, in angular forms, having the appearance of a stone that has been broken in pieces by the ham- mer. Sometimes they cover the sides of hills and mountains in such abundance as to prevent or impede vegetation. When disintegration is minute, they are serviceable rather than other wise; and the farmer talks of his ‘good black,” or “ white gravel land.” It renders this service, I presume, not by decomposition, but by preventing the soil and its. manure from being wash away. Indeed the different varieties of it are generally scatter ever the surface, in pieces so small, that for convenience sake, the whole may be denominated a silicious gravel. Sometimes the mineral is imbedded in limestone, in the form of nodules, thus indicating their original connexion with if. by E.. Cornelius. 225 The varieties, so far as I have observed, are quartz, horn- stone, flint, jasper, and semi-opal; and several, which to me are non-descripts. Quartz is the most abundant. It is found of different colors; compact, and porous or cellular ; of every size ; simple and associated with other silicious stones ; massive and crystallized. In Augusta and Rockbridge counties in Vir- ginia, beautiful crystals of quartz, are found; they are six- sided prisms, with double acuminations, that is, with six-sided pyramids, mounted on the opposite ends of the prism. A Specimen of two such crystals united, you have received. It was found near Lexingion. A curious variety of the quartz gravel-stone occurs on both sides of Elk River, a few miles above its junction with the Tennessee, in the Alabama ter- tiiory. As you travel to the west from Huntsville, it appears first in the neighborhood of Fort Hampton, two miles east of Elk River, and may be seen for ten miles west of that river.— The mineral is remarkable for containing a curious petrifaction. 48 first appearance is that of a solid screw. On examination, however, you find it is not spiral; but consists of parallel con- _ Centric layers. Their diameter varies in different specimens, that of a pin to half an inch. They stand in the centre of a hollow cylinder, extending its whole length, and occupying about one-third of its dimensions. ‘The stone is sometimes per- fectly filled with these forms. The petrifaction I could not have famed, had you not pronounced it the “ Entrochite.” Hornstone, next to quartz, is the most abundant of the silicious minerals associated with limestone. It is very often seen im- bedded in rounded masses, both in the inclined and horizontal strata. Flint is more rare. Several fine specimens were observed on the western declivity of the Look-Out Mouftain, but in no in- in large masses or quantities. : Semi-Opal was found in one instance on the dividing ridge, ~~ constitutes the southwestern boundary of the limestone 8 OF the non-descripts you have several specimens. One varie- ‘ystrikes fire with steel, is of a milkwhite color, adheres slightly OL. I....No. 3. 3 926 Belmont County. to the tongtie, and has no degree of translucency on its édgés.— As Mr. Kain has furnished you with an interesting detail of par- ticular minerals found in East Tennessee and Western Virginia, I need not recapitulate what he has so well said. €To be continued.) 8 Arr.IIl. Notice of the Scenery, Geology, Mineralogy, Bot- any, §-c. of Belmont County, Ohio, by Cares ATWATER, Esq. of Circleville. Beton COUNTY is bounded on the north by Jeffersot and Harrison, on the west by Guernsey, and south by Monr county, and on the east by the Ohio river. It is 27 miles if length, and 21 in breadth, containing 535 square miles. Its name, ont, or beautiful mountain, indicates its situation, for it niger tains within its boundaries a fine body of land, rising gradually as you are fravelling from thé Ohio to the west, until you a tive at about the middle of it, where, from the elevation 0” which you stand, the eye in an eastern direction, beholds one of the most charming prospects in the state. Looking towards the east, ina pleasant morning, you behold a beautiful country of hill and dale spread out before you, divided into convenient a well-cultivated farms, intersected by glittering streams, mean ing through them towards the Ohio. You hear the lowing of numerous herds around you, the shrill matin of the song- sters of the forest, and the busy hum of the industrious busband- man ; you ‘See here and there a clump of trees interspersed among the cultivated parts of the country ; you see the comfor table dwelling-house, and the substantial barn, and hear the rumb- ling noise of the mill; and when you reflect that those who dwell here, are industrious and enterprising, virtuous, free and happy: you behold with pleasure, and listen with delight, while reflecting on the objects around you, Belmont County: 227 Geology and Mineralogy. ~ On the surface is seen a rich vegetabte mould, made by the decay and putrefaction of vegetable substances. Along the Ohio, awide intervale of the richest alluvion is found, which produ- ces as luxuriant a growth of vegetation as any in the world.— ‘On the banks of the creeks which pass through this country the alluvial soil is not so wide as that on the river, but equally tich and productive. On the hills (and there are many of them) there are two kinds of soil, the silicious and the argillaceous, the first is formed from the decomposition of the rocks whic once covered the surface, the latter from the slate which lay inder them. Where these rocks ‘are decomposed, and the coun- ity is hilly, it will readily be believed that the two kinds of soil are frequently blended together. In some places we see the best of clay for bricks: whilst in other places, and those in the vicin- ity of the former, we find the best of sand to mould them in when manufactured. Hard limestone of the very best quality is found in detached fragments in the sides of hills, and in strata, in abund- ance, along the beds of streams. The ruins of the sandstone formation are here seen scattered about in fragments, oF decomposed and intimately blended with those of other formations. ‘g Fossil coal is every where found under the hills, of the very best quality, and in sufficient quantity not only for the fue! of the Present, but many future generations, and jt is so easily obtained ‘hat the expense of fuel is a mere trifle. The oxide of iron, or iron ore variously combined, is recognized in many places, and water combined with muriate of soda, or common salt, is as com- Mon. Salines or licks are found in many places, where animals » both wild and domesticated, resort in great numbers to drink the waters. These are frequently near some little water-course. Several sulphur and chalybeate springs are known to exist in this — some which throw out considerable quantities of pe- Ina country where iron and fossil coal exist, it is no wonder ‘hat copperas should be found. There are places where cop- 228 Belmont County. peras exudes in a state sufficiently pure in quality, and in quan- tities sufficient for several families, who collect and use it in dye- ing. The same may be said of alum, which is collected in the same way for similar purposes. Botany. Though this country is very rich in the mineral, yet it is not less so in the vegetable kingdom, as may be seen by a reference to the subjoined catalogue, although numbers of trees, shrubs and plants, are purposely omitted, which are known to exist here. Family. Species. Classical name. Remarks, Oak, White, Quercus segs Abundant. Black, Nig De Meadow, avai ee the siege Maple, Sugar, Acer Acer Saccarino ae Se aernee: White, um, Poplar or Tulip, White, RS ey Abundant. : ellow, _ Walnut, Black, Juglans pre —_—— j eC, Shellbark Hickory, ee ovata. _—— Pignut, ' ————e_-- Minima. Bitternut, and pro- ly several other species. Beach, Two species, Fagus. - Chesnut, Americana. Ash, White, Fraxinus Alba. __ ue, ——— Purpurea. —_—. Black, a i ommend Swamp Baan OY © i 2 quities Elm, Two or three spe- Ulmus. Ze cies, Ruckeys, Common, Afsculus flava Lu- tea? Locust, Four species, Robinia Pseudo A- cacia, &e. Persimmon, Diospyros Virginica. ». ‘inn or Basg Tilia Europea, Belmont County. 229 ae ; Species. . Classical name. Remarks. Cucumber, Cucuminis Sylves- 2 tris. Wood, or Two species. American Box, camore, Two species. Platanus Occiden- talis, &c. Plum, Several species. Thorn, do. do. "The red bud; the pawpaw; grape-vines of several species, and growing to a great size ; sassafras; the black willow, con- fined to the streams; the box elder, the common elder, of two Species; the sumach, of two species; several species of goose- berries ; and a great many others too n rous to be men- tioned here. Among the herbaceous plants we must not omit the ginseng, the Virginia snakeroot, the columbo, and the puc- - Coon, two or three thousand pounds of the roots of which are annually carried by the inhabitants to our Atlantic cities. . Among the trees, those belonging to the oak family are the most nu-— merous, if not the most valuable. Split into rails, the farmer builds fences with them, and sawed into plank, boards, and Scantling, they furnish materials for houses and barns. The su- a maple is sufficiently abundant, so that brown sugar enough Smanufactured for domestic purposes. The sycamore is the largest tree along the river, and the poplar is the largest on the hills. The latter grows by the side of the maple and the ach, and is a most valuable wood for the housebuilder and the Cabinetmaker. This tree is frequently four and five feet diameter, and continues of nearly the same size as it ascends, 50, and sometimes even 60 feet. . Streams. The Ohio is the eastern boundary of this county, forming Wide intervales along its banks. Indian Wheeling is a fine mill : =. rising in Harrison county, and after crossing this, emp- into the Ohio, opposite the town of Wheeling, which stands ° the Virginia side. 230 Belmont County. Captina is another excellent mill stream, which after running about 17 or 18 miles in this county, puts into the Ohio 23 miles by water below Wheeling. These streams visit and fer- tilize a considerable part of Belmont. rom the view we have taken of this county, its geology, mineralogy, and botany, the reader will probably be prepared with us to conclude that no part of the union, of equal extent, contains within it greater natural resources, or can support & more dense population. The seat of justice is St. Clairsville, situated ten miles from the Ohio river, at Wheeling. It contains three houses for pub- lic worship, 15 stores, a printing-office, a bank, and 700 inhab- - itants. . Many of the inhabitants of this county are Quakers or Friends, who are charitable, humane, frugal, enterprising, in- ' dustrious, and strongly opposed to slavery. From such a pop- ulation, possessing such advantages, what may we not hope _ and expect from their exertions? Their fertile valleys will be turned into meadows, and their hills into pastures; the ox will fatten in the former, whilst the flocks of Andalusia will whi- ten the latter. : oT ca eee Arr. IV. Remarks on the Structure of Calton Hill, near Edin- burgh, Scotland ; and on the Aqueous origin of Wacke ; by J.W Wesster, M. D. of Boston. s Tur country around Edinburgh is extremely interesting the geologist, and presents numerous instances of the junction of rocks to which the advocates of the Neptunian system have ‘referred in support of their opinion as to the aqueous origif of greenstone, basalt, and wacke; while the same examples have been cited by the Volcanists, and by those who hold an intermediate opinion. The structure of a portion of Calton Webster on Calton Hill. 931 hill, where the most distinct alternations of substances (whose aqueous origin none can dispute,) with pure and well character- ized wacke are displayed, has not, as yet, I believe been partic- ularly described. inburgh is situated nearly in the centre of an extensive coal formation, where the usual sandstones and other coal measures are connected with the newer rocks of transition. From the coal field rise in many places beds of greenstone, in general forming smali conical and round backed hills. Other eminences are Composed of amygdaloid, claystone, and other porphyries; and basalt and trap tuff occar in an overlying position. Of these, itis not my intention to speak otherwise than as conveying a Seneral idea of the geological relation of the wacke above re- ferred to, : The structure of Calton bill has been exposed by the recent improvements, and in particular by a section made in the construc- tion of the new road to London. The rock occurring in greatest abundance, and which is probably the fundamental bed, is a por- Phyry, the basis of which in general is claystone, which in ma- ny places passes into felspar, in others becomes a distinct green- ‘tone. Numerous veins of calcareous spar traverse it in differ- eat directions, and I am lately informed, that very beautiful ex- 8 of veins of greenstone of contemporaneous formation with the rock itself, have been discovered in the greenstone. Upon the porphyry rests a bed of trap tuff, upon this other beds of the two rocks repose, that at the summit being porphyry. The back of the hill (as we pass from the city) is a spot of peculiar interest, Consisting of alternate thin beds of bituminous shale, Sandstone, wacke, and clay ironstone, disposed.in a manner which Vill be best understood by a rough outline taken on the spot. ~ MonumenttoNelson, = Jf EO @ NX RRES ETE 7 Ye. SENSE 41S 1647 ~ £34 8 F7TESPW UM List A Porphyry. 1 Bituminous shale. % Wacke, with cale. spar. B Trap taf 2 Wacke. 8 Bituminous shale. Cc ae sgt oF & . e 3 Sandstone. i acke. D Trap tuff. : 4 Bituminous shale, with 40 Bituminous shale passing E Porphyry. _ lay ironstone, on both sides into F Beds of wacke, &c. upper 5 Wacke. | 11 Wacke—and cale. met concealed by ve - 6 Bituminous shale. — 12 Bituminous shale. on. . : He: “es 4 =i \ 13 Wacke. 14 Bituminous shale. Ww acke, 1 16 Bituminous shale. 17 Sandstone. “ET woNDD UO 491892 AA Webster on Calton Hill. 233 re The wacke has a greenish grey color, which is pretty uniform. The fracture is nearly even and earthy, it is soft, yielding readi- ly to the nail, and has a feebly shining streak. A slight stroke with the hammer causes the mass to separate in fragments of various size, the surfaces of which are often smooth and shining, each bed being composed of large distinct concretions, having a tendency to the prismatic form. This wacke fuses with difficulty before Brooke’s blow-pipe. Specific gravity not determined, as it falls to pieces on being moistened. The sandstone is for the most part grey, in some parts spot- ted red and brown, forming, as the section represents, the last stratum seen ; the beds of sandstone are but a few inches in thickness, and the last (17) becomes less than an inch ; it is pro- ble, however, from the relative situation, from the dip and direction, that these strata are a continuation of others seen on the other side of the hill, where they are of sufficient thickness to have been quarried for the purposes of architecture. The beds of all rocks we know vary greatly in different parts, and it isnot unusual for them to be some feet at one extremity, grad- ually decreasing till less than an inch in thickness at the other, or they may even be lost entirely, and gradually regain their former size ; and it is not improbable that these beds of sand- stone will be found to continue on towards the adjoining hills of Salisbury Craig, and Arthur’s Seat, passing under the green- Stone and trap tuff. Ea The bituminous shale presents the usual characters; inter- mixed with it are numerous nodules of the common clay iron- stone, the color of which is a yellowish brown, these also fre- ‘iently present characters common to the three substances, and hout the beds, the passage from the one to the other is distinct, Whatever may be the opinions in regard to the origin of bituminous shale, there can be but one in regard to that of Sandstone ; and this has lately received no feeble support from the account given us by Dr. Paris, of a formation of this rock 9 the coast of Cornwall, where, says he, “¢ we actually detect ‘ature at work, and she does not refuse admittance into her Vou..1....No. 3. 4 234 Webster on Calton Hill. manufactory, nor conceal, with her accustomed reserve, the de- tails of the operations in which she is engaged.” ‘ From the appearances which have been thus briefly noticed, no impartial geologist, we should imagine, would infer the vol- - ganic origin of any portion of this formation ; and if the aqueous origin of sandstone cap be established, that of the wacke must be — From its intimate connexion with the preceding subject, De Webster subjoins the following : Extract from a Paper on a recent formation of Sandstone, oecur- : ing in various parts of the Northern coast of Cornwall ; by Jou Aysrow Panis, M. D. F. L.S., &c. &c. Published in the Trans- actions of the Geological Society of Cornwall, 1818. it % A VERY considerable portion of the northern coast of Corn- wall is covered with a calcareous sand, consisting of minute pat ticles of comminuted shells. That part which lies between St. Ives and Padstow is mote immediately the subject of the preset inquiry ; a tract which, with a few exceptions, is entirely cov" ered with this species of sand; and which, in some places; accumulated in quantities so great as to have formed hills of from forty to sixty feet in elevation. A considerable are for instance, in the parishes of Gwythian and Phillack has been thus and several churches have been inundated. In digs ing into these sand hills, or upon the occasional removal of some part of them by the winds, the remains of houses may be see? and jn some places, where the church yards have been over whelmed, a great number of human bones may be found. The sand is supposed to have been originally brought from the sea by hurricanes, probably at a remote period.’”,-———* The sand first appears in a slight but increasing state of aggregation ° seyeral parts of the shore in the bay of St. Ives; but 0° ap proaching the Gwythian river, it becomes more extensive and indurated. On the shore opposite to Godrevy Island, 3” at Webster on Calton Mill. 235 thense mass of it occurs, of more than an hundred feet in length, and from twelve to twenty feet in depth, containing entire shells and fragments of clay slate; it is singular that the whole mass assumes a striking appearance of stratification. In some places it appears that attempts have been made to separate it, proba- bly for the purpose of building ; for several old houses in Gwy- thian are built of it.” “It is around the promontory of New Kaye that the most extensive formation of sandstone takes place. Here it may be seen in different stages of induration ; from a state in which it is too friable to be detached from the fock upon which it reposes, to a bardness so considerable, that it requires a very violent blow from a sledge to break it.” “But it is on the western side of the promontory of New Kaye, in Fistril Bay, that the geologist will be most struck with the formation ; for here no other rock is insight. The cliffs, which are high, and extend for several miles, are entirely composed of it." The beach is covered with disjointed fragments, Which have been detached from the cliff above, many of which Weigh two or three tons.” There are three modes by which Dr. Paris conceives the lapidification of calcareous sand may be effected. Ist. “ By the Percolation of water through a hill of calcareous sand, by which itbecomes impregnated with carbonate of lime.” 2d. “The Percolation of water through strata containing pyritical substan- %s, by which it becomes impregnated with sulphuric salts.” “The. percolation of water through decomposing slate, or any ferruginous strata, by which it becomes impregnated with iron, alumina, and other mineral matter.” Localities of Minerals. Art. V.—Localities of Minerals. To the Editor of the American Journal of Science, $c. New-York, Dec. 21, 1818. Dear Sir, Ir is desirable that some mode should be adopted by which the public may become acquainted with all the Vew American Localities of Minerals, as they are discovered from time to time. With deference I would suggest, that in each number of yout Scientific Journal, new localities might be recorded in alpha betical order, for present information and future reference. The following localities, which have come under my obser- vation, and which are probably not noticed in any work, are a your service. : -S ad a — . oO . ‘Agate. Rolled mass: occurred near Powles Hook, New Jersey. Apatite. Truncated crystals of one inch, and amorphous; occurs in granite, chiefly in the felspar. “Corlaer’s Hook, vicinity of New York. 2 Brown Mammillary Hematite, covering quartz crystals. Perkiomen lead-mine. Montgomery county, Pennsyt vania. Carbonate of Magnesia. Structure earthy. Apparently a pure carbonate of magnesia. In mica slate, * granite; chiefly in the quartz. Roxborough, Phils: delphia county. Common Jasper. 'Traversed by veins of semi-opal. Saal! detached masses, frequently waterworn. Rhinebeck: Dutchess county, New-York. Compact Malachite. Perkiomen lead-mine. Localities of Minerals. 237 7. Fetid Carbonate of Lime. In ridges; and strata nearly vertical, sometimes containing petrifactions. Very fre- - quent in Dutchess county, particularly in, the neighbor- hood of Rhinebeck Flats, and near Hyde Park. 8, Fibrous Tale. In granite. Roxborough. 9. Graphic Granite. North River, near the city of New- York. 10. Graphite. In a calcareo-siliceous gangue. Corlear’s : Hook. , 11. Native pulverulent (or rather granular) Sulphur. In py- ritical teas Barren Hill, Montgomery county, Penn- sylvani ‘12, ‘Boies cas Corlaer’s Hook. 13. Semi-opal. In common Jasper—(which s see. Aig 14. Scaly Talc. In granite. Roxborough. 15. Stellated Quartz. Perkiomen lead-mine. 16. Sulphate of Barytes. In sulphuret of lead and silver. Liv- ingston’s lead-mine, Columbia county, New-York. 17. Sulphuret of Silver. With sulphuret of lead. Same local- y 18. Tourmalin. In masses of crystalline quartz. Rhinebeck. Very respectfully, F. C. SCHAEFFER. —— _ The following notices were prepared before the receipt of the above letter, Other Localities of Minerals and of anima Rematns, and acknow!l- edgments of Specimens received. Guada aloupe.—Native sulphur, obsidian, pitchstone, native alum, basaltic hornblende, alum covered with sulphur. ‘rte Rico.— Hexagonal crystals of mica. Specimens of the above minerals are in the cabinet of Mr. °hn P. Brace, at Litchfield, Connecticut. 238 Localities of Minerals. Molybdena is found in Shutesbury, Massachusetts, near North- ampton, east of Connecticut River, on the land of William Eaton, It is the common sulpburet, but remarkably beautiful and well characterized. Its color is nearly that of bright lead, very brilliant, smooth, and almost unctuous ;: soft, flexible, dis- tinctly foliated, and the folia are very thin, and easily separable, almost like mica. It gives the usual greenish trace on white pottery, while a line drawn parallel on the same basis, by a piece of plumbago or black-lead, is black; this being (as pointed out by Brongniart) the easiest criterion, by which to distinguish. be- tween molybdena and plumbago, or black-lead. We have many times applied it with entire success. his molybdena, from Shutesbury, is chiefly crystallized, and the crystals are, in some instances, very distinct; their form is that of a flat six-sided prism, or what is commonly called @ table. The rock, from which they were obtained, is a granitic aggre gate, (judging from the specimen sent, it may be a trae granite) and the forms of the crystals are very distinctly impressed in the stone, so that when removed they leave an exact copy or crystal mould. In a letter from the proprietor of the land, it is said (hat the molybdena is found in a ledge of rocks, six or seven feet above the surface of the earth, and about ten or twelve feet above the level of the water ; the direction of the rocks is from 8. to N. E. by N.; the metal is in a vein, running E., and was discovered in small pieces in the top of the ledge. After put ting in two blasts, some large pieces were obtained. From this account, and from the specimens, (some of “ath crystals being an inch or more in length) this must be one of the most interesting localities of molybdena hitberto observed it this country; and it is hoped Mr. Eaton will take some pains procure and furnish specimens. Rose Quartz.—From Southbury, Connecticut, not far from Woodbury, and from the Housatonuck River, two young men, of the name of Stiles, have brought us specimens of rose quart2s ll delicate and beautiful color.’ It is said to be abundant in @ ledge of thé same substance. =~ * Localities of Minerals. 239 Plumbago.—In Cornwall, Litchfield county, Connecticut, plum- bago is found, of a good quality, and in considerable masses, ina vein contained in a rock of gneiss, or mica-slate. It has been known a good while, and is said to have been exported anterior to the American revolutionary war. Coal, Sc. in Zanesville, Ohio. Through the kindness of the Rev. Dr. Bronson, Principal of the Cheshire Academy we have received the following information—In cutting a canal inthe above town, in the spring of 1817, through freestone ; trees, and fish, and other substances, both animal and vegeta- ble, were taken out, alike petrified to a freestone, excepting the bark of a beach tree, which was very perfect and beau- tiful coal—(as we have had an opportunity of ascertaining, from a1 examination of the specimens.) peared a erin Coal, in the county of Muskingum, Ohio. Common stone- coal, highly bituminous, (the slaty or black coal of Werner,) is found abundantly, ' South of Lake Erie, about 25 miles, in the bed of Rocky Riy- *, are found shells, and other animal remains, imbedded in ar- Sillaceous iron; the specimens were collected in 1817, by the Rey. R. Searle. Mammoth’s Tooth, from the River St. Francis, west of Mis- isippi, Return J. Meigs, Esq. has transmitted, through the Rey. E, Cornelius, a mammoth’s tooth, apparently not miner- alized. It appears to have belonged to a very old animal, as the Processes, (which, it is well known, are commonly very Prominent) are worn down smooth, and some of them are al- Most obliterated. Blue Ridge, Tennessee, and Mississippi Territory.—Through the kindness of the Rev. E. Cornelius, and of Mr. John H, Kain, we have received a considerable collection of specimens, illostrative of the mineralogy and geology, and Indian antiqui- ties of these regions ; they may be, on a future oceasion, the subject of more particular remarks. Coal, in Suffield, Connecticut, on the river of the same fame. -From Mr. Nathan Stedman, we have received speci-_ of coal, found in thin veins, in rocks of slate, and argil- laceons Sandstone, on the banks of the river. The veins are 9 240 Localities of Minerals. thin, but considerably numerous; the coal is very glossy and black; breaks with a smooth and almost conchoidal fracture, and very much resembles jet. It is very much intersected by thin veins—(not thicker than a knife-blade)—of white crystal- lized calcareous spar. This coal is bituminous, and burr pretty freely. It has not been explored, except superficially. Coal, in Southington, Connecticut. Beds of slate are found more or less bituminous; and, at the bottom of some of the wells, the slate begins to exhibit thin veins of coal, distributed in great numbers through the substance of the slate, which is the shale of the miners. The coal is from the thickness of @ knife-blade to that of a finger; it is highly bituminous, and burns with great freedom. Even the entire masses of the stone burn brilliantly, when ignited on a common fire ; and, after ex- haustion of the coaly matter, leave the slate of a grayish color. The locality from which the specimens were taken, is the land of Roswell Moore, Esq. about midway between Hart- ford and New-Haven. The spot was lately examined by Col. Gibbs, Eli Whitney, Esq. Professor Olmsted, and others; and arrangements are making to bore the strata, to the depth of several hundred feet, if necessary. These localites are in what may, with propriety, be called the coal formation of Connecticut. Coal has been found in several other places in that state; and the peculiar geological features of the region in which it is contained, are very interesting, and may hereafter be described in form. . Sulphate of Barytes, with coal, &c. Sulphate of barytes ists abundantly in Southington, on what is called the Clark copper pyrites, &c. The sulphate of barytes is more °F less crystallized, and principally in the form that is called co* comb spar. same vein, although it is the side of @ mountain, several hundred feet above the flat country adje- cent, and two or three miles from the coal strata above mot tioned, contains numerous spots and patches of coal, very muc resembling that at Suffield. It is of a most brilliant black, and Localities of Minerals. 241 contrasted with the white, stony matrix, (principally quartz and sulphate of barytes) in which it is enveloped, it forms elegant specimens. Scintillating Limestone.—In Vermont, a singular scintillating limestone is found, of which an account is given in the following extract of a letter from Mr. George Chase, dated Randolph, February 19, 1818. _ “The object of the present letter is to acquaint you with a circumstance relating to the limestone that abounds in this pri- mitive country, which to me is inexplicable. This carbonate of lime is of a pale sky-blue colour; effervesces strongly with nitric acid ; and, by burning, orediaan lime, so that there is no question as ‘i’ the identity of the mineral. But it likewise gives forth sparks with steel:—this I concluded at first, to be an ac- cidental circumstance ; but every specimen that I have tried, from various quarters of the country, uniformly gives fire with steel. The limestone is found in layers, in blocks, and masses, disseminated among the clay-slate that covers the greatest part of the townships in this vicinity. When first taken from the earth, and exposed to the air, it is covered with an incrustation of a dark reddish-brown color, that crumbles easily between ihe fingers, and is generally from one inch to a foot in thickness. This incrustation, however, hardens on a long exposure to the air. This led me to think that the incrustation was owing to the decomposition of the limestone, which was produced by the sulphuret .of iron, intimately disseminated through the rock, Which would also explain the singular circumstance of its strik- ing fire. But on dissolving a small quantity of the mineral in nitric acid, and adding a drop or two of the decoction of gallnut, 4 discolouring of the liquor was produced.” Limpid Quartz.—West Canada Creek, a northern branch of the: Mohawk, affords, in its sands, small crystals of quartz, lim- Pid, and terminated at both ends by pyramids of six sides ; we are indebted for specimens to Professor Fisher. ‘etid Primitive Limestone, &c.—From the vicinity of Wil- ee — through the kindness of Professor Dewey, we No. 3. 5 242 Localities of Minerals. have received specimens illustrative of the geology of that region. Among them is limestone from Stockbridge, crystallized in large plates and rhomboids, almost white, and still fetid on being rubbed, which is very different from most fetid limestones, which are dark colored, and even black, and do not belong to primitive formation. Molybdena.—In Pettipaug, Saybrook, Connecticut, molybdena occurs. It is mentioned in the Review of Cleaveland’s Mine- ralogy, and is here cited again for the purpose of pointing out its locality more exactly. It is found about half a mile to the E. of the Turnpike leading from Saybrook to Middletown, on the first road on the right hand above the Turnpike gate, near the house of the widow Pratt. It is not far from Pettipaug meeting-house, in a northern direction. Beryl.—tin egos Connecticut, are found many beryls, and une: n size; an account of one of the most remarka- ble localities i is donee. in the following memorandum from the Rev. Mr. Mather, to whom we are indebted for specimens. ' “The place in which the beryls are found is in the town of Chatham, about one mile and a half north from Middle-Haddam landing ; about half of a mile S. W. of a large hill, on which is the cobalt mine. The rock in which the beryls are contained is granite; the parts of which are very large, especially the fel- spar and the mica. Large masses of shor! are also found in thesé rocks. Beryls have also been found in other parts of Middle- Haddam, amongst rocks of the same description. The greatest diameter of the largest beryl is four inches; the least three inches. The beryls are numerous, and of different sizes though few are less than an inch, or two inches in diameter. The length of the longest beryl is five inches.” Clay.—Near Delhi, New-York, a few rods from the Dela- ware river, are found beds of clay, of which specimens have been transmitted by Mr. John P. Foote, of New York. We are of opinion that they are not porcelain clay. Localities of Minerals. 243 Gypsum—Cayuga Lake. We are informed by Dr. L. Foot, that the workmen who have excavated about 20 feet on the border of the lake, in gypsum, which is generally of a dark brown, or black colour, when they come to a transparent crys- tallized piece, call it isinglass, and reject it as worthless : the hint should be remembered by mineralogists, that the speci- mens may be saved for their cabinents. ASBESTOS IN ANTHRACITE. Extract of a letter from Dr. I. W. Webster. Boston, 27th Nov. 1818. Dear Sir, Iv examining some masses of the anthracite from Rhode Island, one piece attracted my attention, from the waved “ttucture of the lamelle into which it separated. The frag- ments of this were wedge-shaped, and I found the space be- tween some of the lamine filled up by a fibrous, silky sub- “lance, which induced me to break up other masses, in one of which I discovered an abundance of amianthus; the filaments ate of a light-green color in some parts of the mass-—in others presenting different shades of brown. With a micro- Scope, I found the fibres intermixed with the anthracite ; or forming thin layers, and these sometimes parallel to, at others “rossing, in different directions, the course of the lamine. How far the presence of this mineral may influence the igni- tion or combustion of the coal, is a question, perhaps, worth de- ining. Should my engagements permit, I shall make fur- ther €Xamination, and inform you. In the mean time, the no- tice of this fact may call the attention of some of your readers '0 the Subject. At any rate, this substance has, I believe, "ever before been noticed in connexion with anthracite, and * highly interesting in a geological point of view. 7 244 Localities of Minerals. REMARKS. ‘We have been familiar with the Rhode Island anthracite, and with the formation of rocks in which it is found; and, long since, observed the fact mentioned by Dr. Webster. The as- bestos is often in the form of the most delicate ren frequently blended also with the slate rocks, which form roof and pavement of this coal. A specimen now lies oes oe in which a complete vein of this amianthus with fibres, early two inches in length, connects and pervades a mass of i, supposed to be of the transition class. Similar facts are mentioned also by Dr. Meade, in his account of the Rhode Island coal. RED PYROXENE AUGITE. Extract of a letter to the Editor, from Dr. H. H. Hayden of Baltimore. ie very lately discovered a couple of small specimens of the transparent red pyroxene, resembling fine crystals 4] titanium, which I, at first, mistook it for. One of them is com tained in the middle of a large crystal, like the rubellite in the green tourmalin of Massachusetts, but it is not the same sub- tance. The pyroxene, which I have reference to, is ™ olive-coloured epidote of some, pistazite of others, but rese™ les, in this instance, the sahlite; the crystals being divisible longitudinally. Some of them are five inches long, a0d- an inch in diameter, ASO and double; that is two inl together, as described by Brochant in particular. Some other localities, of which we have received notice’ may be mentioned in a future number. Plants of the Cherokee Country. 245 BOTANY. Art. VI. A List of Plants fownd in the acighboekond of Con- nasarga River, (Cherokee Country,) where Springplace is situa- ted; made by Mrs. Gampotp, at the request of the Rev. Elias Cornelius.* : A. Acer rubrum and sacharinum Antirrhinum elatine. Aconitum uncinatum Apocynum cannabinum Actara r Aquilegia canadensis Adiantum ies Veneris Arabis ea £scults Aralia spinosa Ses gg Agave F pete caroliniana Agrimonia eupatoria Arethusa parviflor Aira pallens satan serpentari Aletris farinosa Arum sagittifolium sak pre Alisma Plantago Arundo a Allium, 2 sp. Asarum ae Amsonia latifolia : Asclepias purpurascens, variegata, Anchusa verticillata and others, tuberosa Andromeda arborea and other sp. m — alopecuroides and am- Asplenium Aster concolor, inaieen many hers Aoetoe hepatica, thalictroides, vir- others _ Siniana, and pennsylvanica Avena palustris and spicata tats lucida and other s sp. Azalea viscosa, and others. oS B. = canadensis Bignonia remaie and radicans alnus Bucknera ameri Bidens pusilla N. S, Muhlenb. ~ de . - - Clematis ochraleuca and virginiana C Clitoria mariana and virginiana ampanula perfoliata and divaricata Collinsonia virginiea Sia ee ee ae , rc el from Manuscripts of the late Dr. Muhlenberg, of Lancaster, yly Chelone glabra and pens — sbSianth a8 = anthel- um Sima virginicu Chironia canna id gees sp. Chrysogonum virginicu Cimicifuga palmata Cireza lutetiana Cissampelos smilacine iis Vine Delphinium exaltatum Echium vulgare Elephantopus ee Eleusine filiformi Epilobium = Erigeron pulchellum, and other sp. ium aquaticum, ovalifolium and m F. _— sere dentata, sylvatica, Festuca vines palustris and sylvatica Galactia mollis Galax aphylla Galega a gg and virginica Galium, several s; Erythronium dens canis Plants of the Cherokee Country. Co —" erecta, longifolia, virginica Convall ultiflora and racemosa Conyza Tinifotia ia Coreopsis auriculata, bidens, senifolia, tripteris, alternifolia and roe: lata Cornus florida Corylus americana ‘al 4 bE omy 5 is Crotalaria sagittalis Cucubalus behen Cuscuta americana n Cc chum Cynoglossum officinale and virginicum Cynosurus indicus and sparsu —_—_—_——— filiformis (Muhlenb.) — Cypripedium acaule, alba and calce- olus, Diospyros virginiana Dodecatheon meadia Dracocephalon virginianum a ewe celestinum, perfoliatum, urticefolium ba Euphorbia colorata, i poouaine — Pa virginicus Fragaria vesca Fumaria N.S. G. = afzelia, — lancifo- purpur tien rivale Gleditsia spinosa Plants of the Cherokee Country. 247 Gaura sp. Glycine apios and tomentosa, parabo- jana saponaria, and others lica (Muhlenb.) Geranium, 2 sp. Gnaphalium germanicum, and others. H. : Hedyotis sp. Hydrangea glauca sie is Hedysarum prostratum and others Hypericum fasciculatum, nudiflorum, Helianthus angustifolius, sp. nova prolificum, and others Heuchera Hypaoum sp. Hibiscus Hypoxis erecta. Houstonia cerulea, purpurea, and va- Tians. i & lex aquifolium sp. Tpomeea, sky blue, and other sp. noli tangere Iris, low, sweet-smelling, blossoms in Inula graminifolia and mariana spring, and other sp. J. Jatropha stimulosa Juglans nigra Juglans alba acuminata longa alba —— ———— ovata Juncus bicornis and tenuis = K. Kalmia latifolia Kyllingia triceps Laurus benzoin and sassafras Lonicera erecta and symphoricar- Lepidium sp. Ludwigia alternifolia, jussieoides Uiatris Sraminifolia, spicata and squar- Lupinus sp. “San POee Lycopodium apodum and rupestre -Elium martagon Lycopsis Limodorum tuberosum : Lycopus virginicus Linum Virginicum Lysimachia quadrifolia and punc- Liquidamba styraciflu tata taaidendrua tulipifera ERIET HS Ry priws lia cardinalis, inflata, kalmii, pu- Lythrum lineare and strictum- berula and syphilitica M. M : Mimosa horridula *rehantia polymorpha Mimulus ringens Menispermum carolinianum Mespilus several sp. ae LB eee PaKs rere x, Suis « Ophrys cernua ——$_—$—— sp. Panax ginseng aed earolinianum incarna' ne ere A seaegscscoccias canadensis Penthoru m sedoides Phlox ovals, paniculata and pilosa Phryma leptostachya Physalis pubescens, several sp. Quercus alba, 2 sp. SELE Mow mers, various sp. ilus bulbosus, and other sp. Rhexia mariana Rhus toxicodendron, and others Sagittaria sagittifolia Salix tristis and others hes R. Plants of the Cherokee Country. Mitchella repens 1? See Momordica sp. Ce Monarda punctata pa several sp. Morus Seas aie and others Orchis ciliaris, unifolia Orob anche uniflora Oxalis, 2 sp. pis ome a an Pinus, se sp. Plantago Hodes and virginica & $ “4 : 4 Psoralea me! Pyrola, 2 Pyrus ales coronarius Quercus prinus ———— phellos Queria canadensis scares oe hispidus and Redbeckia. falgida, hirta and purparet Ruellia Sisyrinchium Bermudianum Sisymbrium nasturtium Plants of the Cherokee Country. 249 Salvia lyrata and urticefolia Silphiunt’ N.S. Sambucus nigra ES ——_———. compositum Sanguinaria canadensis Sium sp. Sanicula marilandica Smilax cameo and other sp. Saururus cernuus ; Smyrnium aureu Solanum nigrum Schisandra — Sol: noveboracensis, aidan virga Schenus — aurea and others ‘Scirpus retrofr. Sonchus sp. Soe Saar rue Sopho' pu others Spigelia marilandica eeu, a low plant, fl. white Spirea aruncus, opulifolia, sg sp. osa os trifoliata Serratn) lta, scariosa and spicata Siaphylen — Sida thombifolia and spinos: 8 Silene an antirrhina, and aa sp. Styrax sp. — 7 1. tana latifolia Trichodium laxiflorum and procambens Rican canadense Trichostema Sistonene Thalictrum, various sp. Trifolium (Buffal Thlaspi bursa pastoris Trillium cernuum, Nadied sessile, and virginicus other sp. ia virginica Triosteum dante dandelion vw. ____ Uvalaria sessilifolia. # ¥,, m, several sp. Viburnum, several sp. cum lychnitis Viola, several sp. officinalis Viscum na sp. Vitis, several sp. ronica virginica : me Xanthium strumarium ’ Xanthoxylon tricarpon x. Yucea filamentosa 7a. t..No. 3. 250 Plants of the Cherokee Country. Acer rubrum.— The inner bark boiled to a sirup, made into pills, and then dissolved in water, is used in cases of sore eyes; the eyes washed therewith. Actea racemosa. —. * in spirits, these made use of in rheumatic pains. _ Adiantum Capillus Vener ag decoction of the whole plant, used as an emetic in cases of ague and fever. A very strong medicine. JEsculus Pavia.—The nuts pounded, are used in poultices. Agave.—The root is chewed in obstinate cases of diarrhea with wonderful success. It is, however, a very strong medicine. Allium.—The Indians are font ral culinary pulp Angelica.—The same. Annona.—Of the bark they ike very strong ropes. Aralia spinosa.—A decoction of the roots roasted and pound- ‘ed, (green, they are poisonous) is given as an emetic. A ay — one: “Fe Asarum virgi —The leaves dried and pounded, are wsed for saul; fresh, they are applied to wounds. strong) emetics. The seeds to poison wolves. Carduus—various species. The roots used in poulti Cercis canadensis.—Children. are nd of eating the b: Coreopsis auriculata.—The wh ¢ plant is much uv ing. It affords a red color. ee Cornus florida.—The bark of the root is used to hez and in poultices. a the wood, spoons are made. The berries? : via as chal ulba.—A kind of pills are prepared fron inner bark, and used as a cathartic. Lnquidambar styraciflua.—The gum is used for a drawing plas- ter. Of the inner bark a tea is made for nervous patients. Liriodendrum tulipifera.—Of the bark of the root a te@ “ made and given in fevers, It is also used in poultices. Plants of the Cherokee Country. 251 Melanthium.— The .root is a crow poison; and a sure, but severe cure for the itch. Pinus.—Boil the root, skim off the turpentine, spread it on Deer’s skin (tanned,) for a drawing plaster. Podophyllum peltatum.—A sirup is boiled of the root, and given for a purgative, two pills ata time. A drop of the juice of the fresh root in the ear, is a cure for deafness. (Sol have been told, I never witnessed it.) “Potentilla reptans.—A tea of it is given in fevers. Prunus cerasus virginiana.—Of the bark a tea is made, and drunk in feyers. Quercus alba.—The bark i used for an emetic. Quercus nigra and rubra.—A dye for leather. Ese Rosa.—The roots boiled, and drunk in cases of dysentary. Rubus fruticosus—T he root good to chew in coughs. eesecris canadensis.—The root is used for the red dye in basket mak a — cernuus. —The root roasted and mashed, aa for es. imum nigrum.—When young, made use of as the best re- worms. emt .— The whole plant a very good coction thereof, a pint is drunk antia virginica.—The leaves much relished greens table. filamentosa.—The roots pounded and boiled, are used of soap to wash blankets ; likewise to intoxicate fishes, Strewing them pounded on the water. The same is done “With Esculus, 252 Asclepias.—Diplocea Barbata. . Ant. VH. Description of a new species of Asclepias. By» Dr. Ext Ives, professor, Sc. in the Medical Institution of Age €ol- lege. (With a Plate.) Mic. pion which : of the following observa: ions; i bundantly on the sandy plains east of : It. is a associated with the When this species” of sons of the een lanceolata :—Stem ent, 4 aves opposite, lanc eolate, acute, suds irsute bbls lateral, solitary, sessile, nodding, sub 0 See the plate. of a New Gon of Ameri ’ \, by cS, RaFINESQUE, Eats — « HV Seinen Flowers pies» ce noical or polygam xterior glumes 1 membr valve, one to inagaeoece valves subequal, see ~ mutic. Anterior aap — unequal ; the aay ME notched, on of the Ground by Frost. Disrupti J. Danes Klectrical Battery. DE Diplocea Barbata, 253 notch aristated ; the smallest mutic, entire, bearded. Additional characters. Flowers when single, sessile with a lateral jutting peduncle; when double, one sessile and one pedunculated, when three, two are gigege = ag pa The her- maphrodite and male flowers are e, e female are near- ly clandestine, inferior. Stamens 3, “a 2. Seeds ovate oblong. cae Observations. This genus is intermediate between amphi- carpon, Raf. (Milium amphicarpon Pursh) and aira, L. It differs from this last by its polygamy, variable number of flowers, notched valsagy, &e. The generic name means double notch. Its type is the following species, which chad beam, ranged with the aint alter, and considered | Pursh. 3 Diplocea Barbaia. cific definition. Stems cespitose, articulations bearded ; Tough glaucous, neck ciliated; panicles few flowered, axillary ; largest valve trinervate, and ciliated as well wil. . definition. Caulibus cespitosis, geniculis barbatis, collo liis scabris glands, papicols paucifloris, fen rva, aristaque ciliata. rous: stems many, A ext assurgent, r ising one t , slender, brittle, weak, and The PE or - joints are bearded, the sheaths are le neck ciliated, the leaves short, stiff, rough . acute, obscurely striated. The panicles have fe particularly the female ones, which are sally, : l pond €: some hermaphrodite flowers are occasionally, seldom found among both. panicles; they are all similar, differ- ing only in the want of stamina or pistils. The valves of the *xterior glumes are nearly equal, oblong, notched, obtuse, matic Onenerved. ‘The valvules or valves of the glumul (corolla or interior glume) are unequal, the largest is ciliated, 254 | Floral Calendar of Plainfield, &c. trinerve, bifid, with a soft ciliated awl in the notch, as long as the valve: the small valve is ovate, acute, concave, very hairy on the back. The colour of the flower is reddish or - pee Observations. This plant is probably the aira purpurea of Walter, Pursh, Elliott, &c. but does not belong to that genus. It was found in Carolina, but I have found it on Long-Island, near Gravesend, Bath, Oyster-Bay, &c. on the sandy and gravel- ly sea-shore: it grows probably in the intermediate states. It blossoms in August and September, has no particular beauty, but avery singular appearance. The specific name of purpw- rea was improper, since the colour of the flowers is variable from whitish to red. Arr. IX. Floral Calendar, &c. To the Editor of the American Journal of Science, &e. Pratnrietp, October 17, 1918 Sir, SHouLp the following calendar be thought worth place in your Journal, you will please to insert it. very brief, it will show that vegetation is considerably the range of mountains, on which | is place is situa’ in the level parts of our country. Yours truly, “oo for a Sonn 1818. By J eg "March 13. Robins and bluebirds appear. April 25. Claytonia in flower. A considerable aac sabe ground is covered with snow, which, in many places, is 2 oF ; feet — Floral Calendar of Plainfield, 6-c. 255 April 27. Observed the claytonia, blue violet, strawberry, and a species of sedge in blossom at Worthington. May 1. Hepatica, roundleaved violet, and erythronium in May 10. Chrysospleni or golden saxifrage in flower. May 15. The farwe trilficen purple wakerobin in flower. May 18. Uvularia, or bellwort, and white violet in flower. May 19. A fall of snow, so that the ground at night was al- most covered with it. May 22. The beautiful coptis, or goldthread in flower. May 25. Ash and beech in flower. 26. Sugar-maple, viburnum, threeleayed aruth, blue violet, small panax, heart-leaved tiarella, fly honeysuckle, white berried gaultheria, and umbelled Solomon’s seal in flower. June 17. Absent, since my last date, on a tour to New York. Four other species of Solomon’s seal, trientalis, azalea, two species of crowfoot, blue-eyed grass, medeola, moosebush, and Several species of vaccinium in flower. The small trillium, or smiling mpertacphing sarsaparilla, and dentaria, blossomed during sence, 22. Small cenothera, 2 species of veronica, and the —— ecio in flower. 23. Mountain ath, ‘es ss hes potentilla, sanioll aed “a dre | and white clover in flower. ; flow: 30, Yellow seis in dower: 1. Climbing corydalis in flower. 4. The fimbriate orchis, and roundleaved pyrola in uly 5. Spiked epilobium, and roundleaved mallows in July 6. Mullen in flower. July 7. Small geranium in flower. uly 8. Another species of epilobium in flout. ‘lugust 18. Frost this morning. parts 256 _ Say on Herpetology. ZOOLOGY. --» @@O-—- Arr. X. Notes on Herpetology, by Tuomas Say, of Philadelphia. (Communicated by the Author.) Auruoven I have not devoted « particular study to this - department of the science of nature, yet I have been amused and ingtructed by casually observing many of the subjects of it, when I have been rambling in their native haunts, pursuing: ob- jects more particularly interesting to me. _ But when perusing, the other day, the account of the coppel- head of our country, by Mr. Rafinesque, I was impelled teal for information on the subject, through your useful publication, in which that account appeared, and to make, at the same eee afew miscellaneous remarks or notes. These are in part ur cluded in the present essay, and if they should have a tendency to incite attention to the reptilia of the United States, at preset” in a state of confusion and incertitude, some portion of oe will be rendered to the great cause of science. es ’ I think that a moderate degree of labor and observat gga 2 stowed upon the investigation of the species already desi” would prove the unity in nature of some species whi been considered as distinct by all the authors, would el oe many errors in observation, expose some deceptions prac” on credulity by the designing, and would enable us to fix, with some degree of accuracy, our knowledge of truth and of the species. * * ' J A work devoted particularly to this class, by some one ade- quate to the task, who could have in his view all the know? species, is indeed a desideratum. = Scytale cupreus, Copper-head, &c. of Mr. Rafinesque- 1 . always considered the Copper-head to be no other a Cenchris mockeson of authors, and Boa contortrix of Lann, ™ Say on Herpetology. 257 Latr. Lacep. Shaw, Daudin, &c. Agkistrodon mokasen Beau- _ ¥ois; which opinion is not a little corroborated by an actual comparison of one of these animals in Peale’s Museum, with the descriptions of the authors above mentioned. It may be object- ed to me, that the mockeson of those naturalists is a Cenchris, and not a Scytale, therefore generically distinguished from the Cop- per-head; but on the other hand, we know that the genus Cen- chris does not exist in nature, that the individual upon which it - was founded, was either a fortuitous variety, or that the illustri- ous naturalist was déceived by the desiccation of his specimen, giving to the basal caudal plates a bifid aspect. That the form- er was the case I analogically infer, from having seen, in the collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences, a Coluber hetero- nm, of which the fifth and sixth pairs of caudal scales were en- tire, and not as usual bifid. An additional corroboration of the truth of this inferencé is derived from the circumstance of the Scytale of Peale’s Museum having the ten or eleven apicial cau- dal plates bifid, precisely as in the genus Acanthophis, to which it seems closely affianced, and to which it would be referred if this character was a permanent one. In every other character is specimen coincides with the S. mockeson of authors, and in evel necessary respect with the S. cupreus of Mr. R. with the | le exception of the calcarate termination of the tail. This udal horn seems to approximate Mr. R’s animal to the S. pis- wus or true horn-snake, about which the credulous have so ns alarmed themselves, and which was arranged with the rotali by Lacepede, in consequence of having a horn on the We find sometimes a small indurated tip to tinal Scales; a larger one on that of the European viper, and m This large species I understand has been mistaken by a writer on Natural History * Boa constrictor: this is mentioned te show how remotely it iz ~ Possible to diverge from accuracy in this scienee. a You. 1....No. 3. 258 Say on Herpetology. the individual had not attained his full growth. If then this species (and some others) is subject to vary in the form of its caudal plates, from which the generic characters are in part estimated, may it not also vary in the armature of the tail, which at most can only be considered as specific. The Cop- per-belly is a very distinct species. If the S. cupreus is, not- withstanding the above observations, considered a distinct spe cies, it would gratify those who cultivate natural history, to have some good discriminative characters of it. : Much has been said and written about antidotes to the venomous bites of snakes, and Mr. Rafinesque enumerates over again séveral plants which have been said to be, and which he appears to believe to be specifics. If the case was my own,! should be very unwilling to rely upon either of the 20 or 30 me dicinal plants, dubiously mentioned by the late Professor Barton, a8 reputed antidotes for this poison. It would be more prudent to resort unhesitatingly to a more certain remedy, in the liga- ture, and immediate excision of the part, where such an ope ration was practicable, or to cauterization, if the part could not be removed by the knife. i ~ In conversation with Professor Cooper upon this subject, he informed me that in his domestic medical practice he ap, plied common chalk to the wounds occasioned by the stings of hymenopterous insects. That in consequence of this mode of treatment, the pain was immediately allayed, and the con- sequent inflammation and intumescence were prevented. “The ‘sup- experiment which led to this result was induced by the $ Py position that the venomous liquid might be an acid which op! ion was, in some degree, justified by the event.* Upon the : me neutralizing principle it must be supposed that any alkali would be beneficial. The learned Professor supposed, that venom of the poisonous reptilia may, in like manner, be a0 one secretion, and recommends this to be ascertained by experiment® upon the liquid itself. If this inference proves correct, the same alkaline remedy may be employed to neutralize, or so modified as to stimulate “I have been since informed by Mr. Lesueur, that to his taste the poiso® was bitter, on «is ale Say on Herpetology. 259 in case, as is supposed by some, the poison produces upon the system a typhoid action. An instance however is related in the Trans. Royal Soc. of Lond. of the unsuccessful administration of the vol. alkali in case of the bite of a rattle-snake; and an intelligent physician of Georgia informed me, that he had applied the same stimulant in vain for the cure of the bites of poisonous snakes, but that being once stung by a Scorpion, he was instantaneously relieved by the topical use of this liquid. He farther related to me a ture performed under his observation, by means of the singu- lar antidote, which has often been resorted to in case of snake bites, that of the application of a living domsetic fowl or other bird directly to the wound ; three fowls were applied in this instance, of which two died in a few minutes, it was sup osed, by the poison extracted from the wound. ‘This account, from an observant medical professor, (who may nevertheless have been deceived) acquires some additional title to consideration by asimilar event which lately occurred at Schooley’s Moun- tain, New-Jersey. We are informed from a respectable source, ta boy was there bitten by a Copper-head, (Scytale mocke- ton.)* The part was immediately painful, became swollen and inflamed, and the sufferer had every appearance of having teceived a dangerous wound. A portion of the breast of a fowl was denudated of feathers, and applied to the wound; ina few minutes the fowl died, without having experienced any ap- Parent Violence or injurious pressure, from the hand of the ap- licant, the breast exhibiting a livid appearance. Another living fowl was then laid open by the knife, and the interior of the body. placed upon the wound. The wound was subse- Wently scarified, and variously administered to. The boy how- ever recovered, and.his cure was generally attributed, at least Part, to the application of the birds. I am as far as any one m relying implicitly upon this mode of treatment, and would only resort to it when the part bitten could not be ext rpated, and when a cautery was not at hand. Yet it must be confessed, Pas terminal caudal plates of this individual were bifid, as in the one of - tale’s Museum. 260 Say on Herpetology. that from the numerous attestations to its efficacy we should be almost led to suppose a very strong any. to exist between the venom and the animal thus applied. That so numerous a catalogue of plants has gained credit with the uninformed as specifics, will not be surprising, when we know that the reservoir of the venom is very readily ex- hausted and slowly replenished. When this reservoir is vaca- ted the reptile is of course innoxious, and the most inert plant would then stand a good chance of gaining reputation with the credulous as a specific. For a similar reason we have so many cures for the bite of a rabid animal ; and it may be for a similar reason that the body of an animal has — repute as an antidote, against the venom of a serpen Coluber trivittata of Mr. R. p. 80, of this work. Judging from the descriptive name and the locality, it is the C. sirtalis of authors, or possibly the C. sawrita or C. ordinatus. These set pents have each the three vitte, though in the two former this trait is much more striking. I know of no other serpent ag our Bp Sieinity to desea the name can be characteristically ap ~The o as been called bipunctatus and ibibe by the Fr ench whoa: What is the difference between sirtalis and saurita? they must be very closely allied, if not _ Se getulus, Linn. This species attains to a more consi erable magnitude than authors have stated. I saw 4 speci- men on Cumberland Island, Georgia, at least five feet Tong: The ground color, by the direction of light in which I viewed him, was deep glaucous or livid, he was much more | than C. Constrictor.* He permitted my near approach, with out agitating his tail in the menacing manner of the Serpe 2 just mentioned, and of the crotali, or manifesting avy signs ‘ * This last is the animal, Sayers doubt, judging from the detailed de- scription and plate, which has lately been erected into a new genus, et? the name of Scoliophus.......-.cccccieecs. .. the identity is immediately inter any one acquainted with the specific characters of the above e-mentioned ai ber. And I presume it can be made apparent, to any one tolerably. versed in the science, should proof be thought necessary. Say on Herpetology. 261 fear. In my anxiety to secure him, he eluded my grasp, and by asudden and rapid exertion, disappeared, with all the rapid- ity of movement so remarkable in the constrictor. This last, from his celerity, is known in many districts by the name of er. - Coluber heterodon. This viperine species, of which Latreille has formed a genus under the name of Heterodon, varies con- siderably in its markings, and like most of our serpents, is not constant in the number of its plates and scales, (126, 48— 138, 42—141, 42, &c.) perhaps too much reliance has been Placed upon color, and upon the number of the plates and scales beneath the body, of the Ophidiew generally. In the form of the anterior termination of the head, the heterodon, is remarkable, and a good specific character may be obtained from the orbital scales, which are eleven or twelve in number ; the parabolic curve which passes through the eyes, and ter- ~ Minates at the maxillary angles, is also generally present. This same serpent was figured in Deterville’s ed. of Buffon, under the name of Colewore cannelee. The heterodon abounds in Many sandy situations, and near the sea shore. Several per- Sons pursuing a pathway, passed within a few inches of one of them without his betraying any emotion, but the moment he Perceived me advancing with my eye fixed upon him, he with @ sudden exertion assumed a defensive attitude, by elevating the anterior portion of his body, flattening his head, and 3 or 262 Say on ierpetology. haw. Sometimes the dots are wanting on the neck and near the cloaca; and in one aged individual, the intermediate line oc- curred double, and confluent on the throat. Coluber fulvius, this species is said by Daudin to be closely allied to his C. coccineus, notwithstanding the difference in plates and scales. But it is certainly very distinct by other charac- ters, and strikingly so in its perfectly annular black and red bands; the latter are margined with yellowish and spotted with black. A specimen has 224 plates and 32 scales, total length 21 inches, length of the tail 1,2; inch. The coccineus has the underpart of the body whitish, immaculate. The fulvius seems to belong to the genus vipera; it has the fangs, but not the orifice behind the nostril, which communicates with the reser voir of venom, so conspicuous in the erotali, &c. s ventralis. The tail of thissnake not only breaks in pieces when. struck with a weapon, but portions of it are thrown off at the will of the serpent. This singular fact I witness ed in Georgia. This is one of the many which are. called horn-snakes. A tip of the tail of one of them was once brought ae as having been taken from a recently ‘withered tree, _bearer assured me was destroyed by the insertion of this. Toraidable instrument, and it was not without consid: erable difficulty he was convinced of the innocence of the tail, and of having been the dupe of aknave. There seems to bea peculiar character in the mode of imbrication of the scales of this species, each one of these at the lateral edges, passes beneath the lateral scale on one side, and over the , edge of the opposite one. It has been “neta under five” different generic names, and four different specific on The Crotali do not gain a single joint only to os rattle iad nually, as is generally supposed. They gain more asad each year, the exact number being probably regulated = great measure by the quantity of nourishment the animal has received. Rattle-snakes in Peale’s Museum have bee? ob- served to produce 3 or 4 ina year, and to lose as many from the extremity during the same time. Hence it is obvi0U% that the growth of these curious appendages is irregular, and and that aa Ree ee Say on Herpetology. 263 the age of an individual cannot be determined from their number. Mr. Rubens Peale informed me, that a female of Crotalus horri- _ dus, Beauv. durissus, Daud. which lived in his Museum more than fourteen years, had eleven joiats to her rattle when first in his _ possession; that several joints were acquired and _ lost annually, _ and that at her death, which occurred last year, she had the same number as when brought to the Museum: she had, however, dur- ing that time received an accession of four inches to her length. Her death was occasioned by an abortion. The C. adamanteus, Beauvois. Rhombifer, Daud. is by much the largest of our North American serpents, and doubtless — Species which Catesby saw a specimen of, eight feet Crotalus miliarius varies in some characters from those laid down by authors. A specimen within my view has five dorsal _ Series, of alternate, irregular, orbicular black spots, those of the intermediate series are obsolete, and slightly connected across the back, those of the vertebral series have not red centres, and are edged with a white line; the ventral spots are disposed ad- Ventitiously, so as not to be traced into longitudinal series ; they Ae large, black, irregularly orbicular, and occupy about one half of the surface, which is white. Ventral plates 140 ; subcaudal, 38, of which the six terminal ones are bifid. Joints o ‘the rattle ped but one transverse contraction on the middle 0 each, be- ‘ides the terminal contraction. ‘Total length 1 foot 4} inches, tail two inches. It appears to be more vindictive than the two spe- cies before mentioned. ‘The individual here noticed we encoun- ‘ered in East Florida; he struck at Mr. W. Maclure and myself successively as we passed by him, without any previous intima- tion of his presence, owing to the inaudible smallness of his Tattle, and its having but three joints; he was killed by Mr. Peale, (whom we preceded) while preparing for another assault. This incident is noted as a contrast to the anecdote of the Co- uber heterodon. Salamandra alleganiensis, Daud. appears to be synonymous — ce S. gigantea of Dr. Barton. It was first described by Mr. atreille in Detery. Ed. of Buffon, tom. 11. The name allega- 264 Say on Herpetology. niensis, although defective, as it indicates no character, has how- ever, the unalienable right of priority. : Salamandra subviolacea, Barton. ‘This name has been rejected by Mr. Daudin, and substituted by that of venenosa, I do not know 2 for what reason, as none is assigned. oe Salamandra punctata, Gmel. ‘This appellation was originally given and restricted to the stelio of Catesby. tab. 10. (repre: sented in the bill of Ardea Herodias) and was adopted by ma- ny subsequent authors, but was finally rejected by Daudin, who considered the species the same as Barton’s sub iolacea. He concurred with Mr. Latreille in appropriating the name thus rejected to var. 8 of Lacerta, aquatica of Gmel. Notwithstand- — ing this high authority I cannot but coincide with Professor Bar- ton in this instance, in believing it altogether distinct. The sin- gle character of the subocellate spots, though not remarked by this author, is a sufficiently discriminative one ; these ocelle are always present, and in no one of the varieties I have seen has the approximation to the subviolacea been so considerable as to render aspecific discrepance equivocal. Catesby’s variety with the ; seems to be the least common; in gene! $ te ocelle, are exclusively confined to 2. line on each side of the back, about six in each, extending from the base of the head to the origin of the tail, though there are sometimes scattered smaller ones on each side of the body, and upon the vertex of the head, they are of a beautiful reddish color, enclosed by a definite black areola ; the upper part " _ the body is brownish, with numerous, distant black points, and @ slight vertebral, obtuse carina, the inferior surface of the 90% of a fine yellow or orange, with distant black points, the tail* compressed, ancipital, attenuated to an obtuse tip, longer | the body, and punctured with black in like manner. The YU" ger specimens vary considerably, in being, on many parts 7 body, destitute of black punctures, and in having the dorsal and *Dr. Bart eee we rar ; = Pye (cauda teres,) this Sp was not autoptical, but dictated most probably by the appearance of Cates figure. Inthe young animal the tail is less compressed than in the old ones i . of his observations, by examining for themselves. Say on Herpetology. 265 ventral color, of the same pale orange. It is decidedly aquatic. Several specimens are preserved in the collection of the Acad- emy of Natural Sciences, and from these it is evident that the reddish color of the subocellate spots is destroyed by the action of the antiseptic liquid; to this circumstance it is probably ow- ing that these spots have been hitherto described as white. After stating these differential traits, it may be proper to ob- serve, that the S. maculata of Shaw is synonymous with the above. But I think it most proper to restore Gmelin’s name, punctata, which will afford an opportunity to do justice to the memory of Laurenti, by reviving the original name by which he distinguished the Var. 8. of Lacerta, aquatica, Gmel., that of rist parisinus. ‘Bufo cornuta. This animal, which has been stigmatized as the most prodigiously deformed creature known to exist?! is gen- erally supposed to inhabit North America as well as Surinam. I do not think it has ever been found in North.America. Shaw, in Nodder’s Nat. Misc. says it is principally found in Virginia, but inhis general zoology, I think he says that Seba was in error when he represented its native country to be North America. Two other species of Bufo have been correctly stated to inhabit this country, viz. B. musicus, and Crapaud rougedtre, Daud. (B. rubidus) first noticed as distinct by Mr. William Bartram. I dis- covered a third species on the banks of St. John’s river, East lorida, which, as | am not at present prepared to describe, I shall not surreptitiously name. It is, | conceive, an incumbent duty on the describer of a nat- ural object, to deposit his specimen, or @ duplicate, when practi- cable, in some cabinet or museum, to which he should refer, in order that subsequent writers may be satisfied with the accuracy By such ref- erence, and by the re-examination of the same objects by others, the plethoric redundance of synonyma, that prolific source of accu- Mulating error, will be banished or elucidated, and naturalists Will most readily arrive at the’ knowledge of truth, which is, or ought to be, the grand leading object of their labors. Yon. 1....No. 3. g 266 Dr. Reynolds on Meteors. PHYSICS AND CHEMISTRY. Art. XI. Outline of a Theory of Meteors. By Wa. G. Reynotps, M. D, Middletown Point, Nelo Sour the progress of science, fora century to come, keep pace with its rapid advancement for the last fifty years, many appearances in the physical world, now enveloped in obscurity, will then admit of as easy solution as the combustion of inflamma- ble substances, or any familiar process in chemistry does at this day. Among the many subjects from which the veil of mystery would thus, be raised, we may include those luminous. appearan- ces, in the aerial regions, called meteors, which I am about, to consider in the following ¢ essay ; and which seem to constitute a ote class of bodies of considerable variety. -teor were regarded by the ancients as the sure prognos- ties of great and a awful: events in the moral and physical world; and were divided ‘by them into « ‘several Species, receiving 0% names characteristic of the various forms and appearances they a sumed ; but of their opinions, as to the physical cause of “these phenomina, the ancients have left us nothing solid or instructive: moderns more enlightened, have ceased to regard rq_ these bodies with the superstitious awe of former ages ; ; but in respect to the cause thereof, are perhaps but little in advance of their predecessors, having, 1 believe, produced nothing yet that will bear the test of philosophical investigation gden (Philosophical ‘Transactions, 1784,) consi iders electricity « as ‘the general cause of these phenomena 5. 3 Doctor Gregory, and others, think they depend upon. collections. of highly inflammable matter, as phosphorus, phosphorated 3 drogen, &c. being volatized and congregated in the upper, r Dr. Reynolds on Meteors. ae gions of the air. Doctor Halley ascribes them to a fortuitous concourse of atoms, which the earth meets in her annual track through the ecliptic; and Sir John Pringle seems to regard them as bodies of a celestial character, revolving round centres, and intended by the Creator for wise and beneficent purposes, perhaps to our atmosphere, to free it of noxious qualities, or sup- ply such as are salutary. Many other theories, as ingenious as fanciful, might be enumerated; but without commenting on their comparative merit, 1 must acknowledge that none of them have yet impressed my mind with a conviction of their trath. A se- ties of observations, however, has enabled the moderns to as- certain, with apparent accuracy, several particulars relative to ese stupendous bodies, which add much to our Agee of their general character :—their velocity, € ‘and even 40 miles in a second of time ; their altitude, Gan ne 100 miles: and their diameter, in some instances, more than a mile, are facts we derive from respectable authority, and may aid us, essentially, in forming just conceptions of their nature and properties. _ 1 believe meteoric stones to result from all meteoric explosions; limiting, however, the term meteor to those phenomena, in the higher regions of the air, denominated fire-balls, shooting-stars, &c. That these bodies move in a resisting medium, must be evident to every attentive observer ; and that this medium is our atmosphere, is pretty certain, ist. Because we know of no other resisting medium around the earth; 2dly. Because the same kind of resistance is apparent at every intermediate altitude, from their greatest to their least, which last we know to be far within our atmospheric bounds ; and 3dly. Calculation has, in no instance, *signed them an elevation beyond the probable height of the at- Mosphere. That meteors proceed from the earth, that they rise from “ertain combinations of its elements with heat, and that meteoric. stones are the necessary result of the decompositions of these ©ombinations, are opinions I will endeavor to = as - following considerations. . = Ist. The pro tj 1 hobitud a “dltons and combinations. me Pos j Sahel CPR. aw 9° 268 Dr. Reynolds on Meteors. Qdly. The situation of the earth’s surface in respect to the sun, the influence of his rays thereon, and the nature of the elements or compounds on which these rays act : And 3dly. The identity that exists between the component parts of meteoric stones, and the elements that enter abundantly into the composition of our globe ; and by several other facts and ar- ments. : Under my first general specification, I will select such princi- ples from the established doctrines of philosophy, as have an im- mediate bearing on the subject; without engaging in any of those subtle speculations in which certain recondite properties of mat- ter, or the identities of quality and body are affirmed or denied. "Thus, Ist. Heat is the universal cause of fluidity and volatil- ity in bodies ; hence no solid can assume the state of gas, until it absorbs, or unites with, a certain portion of caloric ; and the ubtilty and volatility of compounds thus formed, will be in a due ratio to the quantity of caloric they employ. oe: _ diy. The heat employed to maintain a body in the gaseous state, is said to be latent or fixed, and may be regarded as an ocean or atmosphere of fire, holding'the ultimate particles of the body in a state of extreme division, and wide separation, from which they can be driven only by some change in the affinities or condition of the compound. a Sdly. If the latent heat in a gaseous compound be suddenly abstracted, as in explosion, its escape is attended with the emis- sion of light and sensible heat, when the volatilized particles held in solution being no longer able to maintain the state of gas, suffer approximation in a due proportion to the quantity of calor- ic they have lost. eo | 4thly. Caloric, in reducing solids to the state of gas, lessens, but cannot in any case, as far as we know, totally destroy their gravitating force ; the diminution of this force, however, being in a direct proportion to the quantity of heat employed. mene? the following inferences may be fairy drawn, as they eem to be in unison with the relative dependence and iegniet ny existing between the material elements of this globe, and, | believe, are contradicted by no direct experiments 5 via. that Dr. Reynolds on Meteors. . 269 ihe expansion of volume, specific levity, and subtilty of arti- ficial gases, are in a direct proportion to the absolute quanti- ty of caloric they employ ; and the caloric is in the same pro- portion to the insolubility of the substance with which it unites. _ bthly. When the specific gravity of bodies on the surface of the earth, is reduced below that of the superincumbent at- mosphere, they ascend to media of their own density, in obe- dience to the laws of Aerostatics; thus we raise balloons by filling them with light air, and the carbon of pit coal and com- mon wood exposed to combustion, and water to the sun’s rays, will rise until they reach a medium of like specific gravity with themselves. - 6thly. Mechanical agitation and division assist the solution of solids, by bringing fresh portions of the menstruum into suc- cessive contact with their fragments, and thus exposing a lar- ger surface. : _ Under the second headI proceed to notice the situation of the earth’s surface in respect to the sun, Sc. he atmos- phere is a thin, elastic, gravitating fluid, that completely en- velopes the earth, to which it may be considered asa kind of appendage or external covering; its base resting on the earth’s surface, is of an uniform density, growing rare as it recedes therefrom, in a due ratio to the diminution of its gravitating force, until it is lost in empty space. The atmosphere is esti- Mated on certain data to be about 44 or 45 miles high, but we have good reasons to believe it fills a much wider circle, though too thin to reflect the rays of light above its reputed height. The earth presents one whole hemisphere to the sun in un- erring daily succession ;.and those parts of it which have the least protection against his rays, will, cxteris paribus, suffer the greatest intensity of their action. Within the tropics, the atmosphere opposes less resistance to the sun’s rays than in the temperate zones; and in both, large tracts of cultivated nd, the summits and sides of great ranges of mountains, mar- Bins of oceans, rivers, &c. present an almost naked surface to 270 Dr. Reynolds on Meteors. their influence.* The exterior strata of the earth, and espe- cially the more exposed parts thereof, envelope in their com- pounds, elements of an aeisike of character with those com- posing meteoric stones. ‘The atmosphere is the great recipient of all volatilized bo- Sian; it possesses but feebly the powers of a solvent, unaided by heat or moisture, but’ when these are adjuvants, no body in nature can totally resist their action for a long time. Now if the above principles are admitted, we have in their application a reasonable solution of most meteoric phenomena. Thus, the rays of the sun darting through the atmosphere reach the surface of the earth, where by accumulation, they produce sensible heat, which though not intense, is steady and uniform, for many hours every day; minute portions of the earthy and metallic compounds exposed to the sun’s influence, will be volatilized by the absorption of heat, and thereby assum: ing the state of elastic fluids, will ascend until they arrive at media of their own density. The atmosphere in contact, will have some of its particles blended in these compounds, = common occurrences of na - The utmost height to which these elastic fluids ascend; may be estimated at something more than one hundred miles; and they float at every intermediate distance between their great est elevation and the clouds, but rarely below the: latter, &© cept their course is directed towards the earth: in’their expl sions. They probably ascend at first in small daily detached portions of ‘gaseous clouds, and are diffused over wide regions: but having no sensible resistance opposed to their mutual at traction, they will by the laws of their affinities congre egate immense volumes of highly concentrated elastic fluids, which ‘Here we might properly enough notice the high-ways, streets, and pe" ments of cities, &e. on which the materials being minutely divided by, att cumstances of heat. Dr. Reynolds on Meteors. 271 is doubtless owing to the conflict sustained at the moment of ex- Plosion ; their difference in size depends on the difference of magnitude in the disploding volumes ; something. like regular ‘rangement is frequently perceived in the structure of these stones, because. in all productions of solid from fluid matter; the consolidating particles. possess a tendency. to arrange them- ‘elves in the order of their affinities. It is: thus the-various “rangements in saline crystallization, the freezing of water; and cooling of melted metals, may be accounted for.. There is 4 real, as well as-an apparent difference in the velocity: of mes teorie bodies; the first arising from their difference of magni-+ tude and‘the violence of the explosion, as wellias. from the né- sistance they meet ;- the latter, from. the different distances»at which they are seen. The gradation. of color, froma bright silvery hue toa dusky red; is owing, im a certain degree, to the state of the atmosphere. refracting different. colored rays, and also to the materials-in- the compound, similar to. the different hues in ‘artificial fireworks.. Reddish. and: white nebicula are “onletimes left in the. tracks of ‘meteors, which are» nothing but ‘Suited vapors, or the particles: brushed off the burning. body _the resisting atmosphere. The velocity-or motion and | dix "ection “of tMieteors, depend’ upon principles well known and daily practised by engineers, and:the constructors. of fireworks. The immediate cause of these explosions is a little obscure, = Merits a fuller detail than is compatible with my present le ‘8; their analogy to the electric phenomena in the closes 4Ves room to Suppose they are effected by certain modifica- € these that I have seen, was there any element descr 272 _ Dr. Reynolds on Meteors. tions of electricity. Clouds of opposite electricities will ap proach each other and explode, by the positive imparting as much electrical fire to the negative cloud as will make them equal, when just as much water as the imparted fire held in solution, will be set at liberty and descend to the earth. If, however, this solution be deemed inapplicable, perhaps the following may be admitted. Thus, when heat is urged upon incombustible* bodies with a force that overcomes the cohe- and as it is a universal property of heat to counteract the gra~ vitating force of bodies, these compounds must necessarily be- come volant, and ascend as above stated. It is only thermo- metrical or sensible heat, that destroys the attraction of cohe- sion existing between the particles of bodies, the repulsive power of latent heat’being barely able to counteract this pro- perty, when the elements under its dominion are removed be- yond a certain distance from each other; now the very redu- ced temperature in the high regions to which these gaseous clouds will ascend, may admit their earthy and metallic parti- cles within the sphere of cohesive or aggregative attraction, when the caloric will be expelled like water from @ sponges accompanied by all the phenomena above stated. _-'The third general head of my subject leads me to inquire into the constituent principles of meteoric stones: sundry paper on the analysis of these productions, have been furnished 45 by chemists of acknowledged reputation and ability, not been previously known. But should it hereafter be foun that air-stones contain matters not found on our globe, th will afford no absolute proof of the foreign origin o : stones, as we are successively discovering earthy and metallic principles of distinct characters from those already know?- *Perhaps there is no body in nature absolutely incombustible- but - a term here in common accepfation. Dr. Reynolds on Meteors. . 3 ~ A portion of one of these stones that fell in the town of Wes- ‘ton, (Connecticut) examined by the late Dr. Woodhouse, gave the following results in a hundred parts, viz. wick oe es 50 en 4 § Sulphur 7 Magnesia. . : ? ickel .... 1 inferred from chemical tests. ae oe 5 ieee 100 “The sulphur was seen by the naked eye distributed through the silex in round globules the size of a pin’s head, after dissol- ving the powdered stone in diluted nitric acid.” ee “All specimens of these stones do. not afford precisely similar results, but differ in their constituent elements and relative pro- Portions ; their component parts, however, are to be found abun- dantly in schist, schorl, pyrites, pebble, granite, &c. on which the sun must daily act. _ The following facts go to strengthen the above theory, viz. Meteors are most frequent and stupendous in tropical countries, where the heat of the sun is most intense ; and less frequent in our climate in the winter and spring, while, and after the earth has been covered withsnow for many weeks in succession ; and they are most frequent in the higher latitudes towards au- tumn, after a continuation of hot dry weather: out of the whole number (179) of shooting stars | have noted during the _ twelve years, 149 appeared between June and December, inclusive. Vor. L....No. ht oO 274 Dr. Reynolds on Meteors. ihe fire, the greater in a due ratio is the absolute quantity of heat required to reduce it to, and retain it in, the state of gas, the greater, in a corresponding degree, will be the dilata- tion of its particles and decrease of its specific gravity. Hence, if water reduced to vapor by heat, be capable of assuming an altitude of two miles, it follows that more refractory substances reduced to a similar state, will suffer expansion and fugacity in a due proportion to the quantity of caloric they employ, and will assume a corresponding elevation, as already inferred under my first head. Another objection may be that though high degrees of heat affect certaii solids as above stated, yet these cannot be sensi- bly acted on by such feeble agents as atmospheric air and the rays of the sun. I answer, if it be admitted that sensible heat acts on solids in an increasing ratio to its intensity, it follows that lower degrees, though acting in an inverse ratio to higher. must affect the same bodies in a conceivable degree at any tem- perature above their natural zero :* and though the heat of the sun beating on a plane surface for several hours is feeble; compared with that produced by a burning lens, or air furnace, yet if it be sufficient to detatch from one square foot of the earth’s surface the 104023 part of a grain in twenty-four hours; the quantity taken from 100 square miles, in the same time and proportion, would amount to ten pounds, which is abund- antly sufficient for all meteoric phenomena; and the loss to each square foot, supposing the process to be uninterrupted, would be no more than one grain in 284 years. When we ad- vert to the intense heat produced by concentrating 4 few of agk rays in a burning lens, the whole quantity daily sent el earth must strike us forcibly. If collected in @ lens © "It may be easily proved that water evaporates (though slowly) at tei perature many degrees below its freezing point; and these vapors are _ subtle and elastic than those formed at the boiling point of that fluid. emark.—tt is indeed proved that vapor is formed from water at the lowest temperatures, but is less elastie, the lower the temperature, as appears hes ® sustaining a continually decreasing column of mercury, the lower wae perature at which the vapor is formed. Vide Dalton’s and Gay Lussac’s © penments.— editor. Dr. Reynolds on Meteors. 276 sufficent magnitude, they might volatilize a space equal to the state of New-York in a moment of time! As all bodies pos- ses3 a limited capacity for heat, does it not follow that there must be some outlet to its perpetual accession to our globe, or the earth would soon become so highly ignited as to glow with the fulgor of a meteor? And may not this outlet be found in the above described compounds? which serve as conductors of the surplus of heat from the earth to the higher regions of the air, where on being freed by displosion, from the grosser matters incumbering it, it finds a rapid passage to its great archetype and parent, the sun. Thus his daily waste may be restored, and a0 equilibriam, by the retura of his owa emanated particles, pre- served, betweeen the sun and the earth, and sae all | wd planets of our system. The last consideration I shall offer in favor of the domes- tic or earthy origin of meteoric phenomena, is the oo that present to our granting them a foreign one. well aware of the respectability of the names which the theory of moonstones can summon to its support, yet I have always regarded it as unfounded and unphilosophical for the following reasons, viz. Ist. Whether the moon has an atmosphere or not, We will all admit that she has attraction, which must extend to many thousands of miles from her surface. No projectile force that we are acquainted with can throw a heavy body 100 miles, ¢ven though no atmospheric, or other resistance than Helown stavity, were present; hence the idea of that force extending {0 thousands of miles from the moon’s surface, is gratuitous and nugatory. 2dly. The products of volcanoes bear no si- milarity or origin, or kindred resemblance to meteoric stones ; se are lavas of different kinds, pumicestone, scoria, ashes, &c. these solid masses of matter, with some degree of regular- ity in the arrangement of their constituent particles. 3dly The descent of these stones has no coincidence in point of time with the position of the moon. She is as often in their nadir as their zenith. We also witness in all cases, explosion and light in our own atmosphere, at the time of the descent of these stones. This could not be the case if they proceeded from the moon, for obvious reasons. 4thly. The oon aes 276 Caleb Atwater on the Winds of the West. quate to such projectile force as would carry a body from the moon’s surface beyond the sphere of her attraction, would vola- tilize the matter of meteoric stones in a moment; hence they would not be projected from the Lunarian crater in solid masses, but in elastic vapor. ; In conclusiou, although the theory which I have endeavored to elucidate and establish, be subject to some difficulties and ob- jections which science may hereafter remove, it appears to me perfectly consonant with the relative dependance and harmony ~ of our system, and by no means at variance with the infinite wis- dom and power by which it was originated. palin aes ete ne OE nj Art. XII. Observations upon the prevailing Currents of Air in the state of Ohio and the regions of the West, by Caves Arwarea, Esq. of Circleville, Ohio ; in letters addressed to His Excellency De Witt Clinton, LL. Dd. Governor of the state of New-York, and President of the - Biterary and Philosophical Society. — = We (Communicated for the American Journal of Science, &c.) Circleville, Ohio, July 23, 1818- Dear Sir, es One Oe Wirn pleasure, | acknowledge the receipt of the circular letter bearing date the 5th instant, which you addressed to me, for which you will be pleased to accept my warmest acknowledg- ments for yourself personally, and the Philosophical Society of which you are president. To answer all the questions which are | epic aevte that letter, is not at present within my limited mean® either as it respects the leisure or the ability. [shall therefore, at this time, confine myself to “ observations upon the prevailing cur rents of airin the state of Ohio.* These ghacevelticha will be whor ly founded on personal experience, during the four years iD which I have traversed this state, from Lake Eri me ‘ oriver, whilst LU tit Ree = We have taken the liberty to give Mr. Atwater’s Memoir a more extensive itle, for reasons that will be obvious on a perusal of the piece. Caleb Atwater on the Winds of the West. 277 attending on the several courts, in all seasons and in all the chang- es of weather. : The prevailing currents of air, one of which generally ob- tains in Ohio, are three. 2 bo The first comes from the Mexican Guif, ascending the Mis- sissippi and its larger tributary branches quite to their very 8. ; The second proceeds from the back of mountains to the west, descends the Missouri to its mouth, and then spreads over a vast extent of country. The third comes down the great northern and northwes- tern lakes to the south end of Lake Michigan and the south- em shore of Lake Erie, where it spreads over the region of country lying to the south of them. of Ge AE That current of air which comes from the Mexican Gulf, iswarmer, and perhaps more moist, than any other which pre- vails here. After a few days prevalence, it uniformly brings rain along with it. That this current of air should be very warm may be readily conceived, when we reflect that it comes from a hot tropical region; and that it should be very moist excites no surprise, when it is considered, that in its passage upwards it passes wholly over water, and through the warm mists and fogs constantly ascending from the Mississippi and its tributaries. This current prevails much more along the Ohio river than it does at any considerable distance from it. One consequence is, that the climate in the immediate vicinity of the Ohio river is warmer, than it is either north or south of it, unless you goto the southward a considerable distance, Other causas may, and probably do, in a greater or less degree, Contribute to produce this result, and I will here state them : First, the Ohio runs on a surface less elevated above the - sea than the country, either north or south of it, but this dif- ference is trifling through the whole of the sandstone forma- tion. This formation prevails from the head. of the Ohio to n, which is opposite to Marysville in Kentucky, at least 'wo-thirds of the distance which that river washes the southern shore of this state. ‘The reason is obvious, because there are no falls in a sandstone formation. Lae in 278 Caleb Atwater on the Winds of the West. Another cause which contributes to produce a warmer cli- mate, especially in the winter season, in the valley of the Ohio, is, that several considerable streams which empty themselves into the Ohio, have their sources on the high lands, a great dis- - tance to the south of it; for instance, the Great and Little Sandy, and the Great and Little Kenhawa, which descending from a warm region of country, their waters contribute to keep the Ohio open in winter. © 3 But these causes are by no means sufficient to produce the one half of the comparative warmth of climate observable in the immediate vicinity of this invaluable river. To prove that the climate is much milder in the southern than in the northera part of this state, I will proceed to mention several facts, whieh have fallen under my own observation. In the latter part of last February I was at the towa of Del- aware, on the Whetstone Branch of the Scioto river, betwee eighty and ninety miles south of Lake Erie, and twenty five miles north of Columbus, the seat of government, which is near the centre of the state, where I saw a number of genile- men direct from Detroit, by the way of Lower Sandusky, who informed me that the snow at that time was eighteen inches in depth and upwards all along the lake shore, but gradually de- creased as they came south until they arrived at Delaware: At that place it was then about twelve inches deep in the ope? fields, and somewhat deeper in the woods. 1 descended the road along the Whetstone to Columbus, the snow decreasing in depth all the way as I proceeded. At Columbus it wholly dis- appeared in the fields, and only ice was found in the road, which also decreased until I came to the Big Walnut Creek, thirteen miles south of Columbus, where it disappeared and the road be- gan to be muddy. As still proceeded south, the mud increased in depth until l came to Chilicothe, about thirty two miles south of Big Walnut, where the frost was entirely out of the ground, and the reads were almost impassable. As I still descended south- ward, along the Scioto, I found that at Piketon, on the Scioto, nineteen miles south of Chilicothe, the road had considerably improved. I proceeded onwards to Portsmouth on the Ohie Caleb Atwater on the Winds of the West. 279 tiver, at the mouth of the Scioto, about twenty-six miles south of Piketon, where the ground was entirely settled, and the innkeeper where I lodged, was making his garden, sowing his sallad seed, and planting his peas. This journey was perfor- med in three days, and in travelling only one hundred and fif- teen miles from north to south, this extraordinary difference of climate was observed. A traveller may leave Portsmouth when the farmer is be- ginning to hoe his corn the first time, and travel with good speed to Delaware, and find the husbandman just beginning to plant. Instances which have fallen within my own personal obser- vation might be multiplied toa great extent, but a few may suffice, uctag. gs8t —empiieee giant Eres Generally speaking, there is a difference in the beginning and ending of the warm season of about two weeks between Portsmouth and Delaware, or of three weeks between the for- mer place and Lower Sandusky. In relation to the warmth of the climate, 1 will state two other facts, originating, as I believe, in the’prevalence of the Southern current of air from the Mexican Gulf along the Ohio river, First, In the summer months the paroquet ascends the Scio- ‘0 more than one hundred miles from its mouth, and until with- ina few years past, wintered at miller’s Bottom, and at other Places along the banks of the Ohio, near its great southern nd in latitude 38° north, in Gallia and Lawrence counties, in the'state of Ohio. I have seen them there in all. the win- ‘er months in considerable numbers, but few however now Winter there ; and probably if the cold north-western current of air from the great lakes becomes more and more prevalent in the winter months, these birds will migrate altogether to a ere southern clime. a Are these birds found as far to the north on the east side of the Alleghany by at. least three degrees? Monseiur Volney, Mir. Jefferson, and others, say not. It has been denied that is fact proves any thing more than that this bird frequented se parts in quest of its favorite food. This food is grass th th 280 Caleb Atwater on the Winds of the West. and other vegetable matter in summer, and the cockle burr, and the balls of button-wood, or, as bya perversion of language, il emiet in this country sycamore.* But this bird may find its ses snd trees alluded to, flourish as I have siecrect in forty- five degrees of north latitude, and 1 am credibly informed that they are abundant as far north as Quebec, and even around Hudson’s Bay. Wherever waters rup and trees grow on their banks, (if low and wet,) on the American continent, even as high as eighty degrees of north latitude, there the paroquet may find its food in abundance. Another fact tending to establish the same point is, that the reed cane, before this country was much settled, grew in @ higher latitude by several degrees on this than it did on the other side of the Alleghany mountains. It has indeed been ae that this cane was never found north of the Ohio, nor above the mouth of the Big Sandy River, which empties inte the Ohio, on the line which separates Virginia and Kentucky. This however is incorrect ; for within a few years it was grow- ing in abundance at Miller’s Bottom, twenty six miles it the mouth of Big Sandy. It grew at Lancaster, 0? the H hocking northward of the mouth of the Big Sandy, in a aif: line, at least one hundred and fifty miles, and it now grows 0 the Whetstone branch of the Scioto, more than two degrees ° latitude above the lowest bend of the Ohio, which is at the mouth of the Big Sandy. Before the white peoP ; there, I have every reason to believe, that the cane grew IP great plenty at Delaware, where there are more si 2 faloes than at any other place within my knowledge. been conjectured, that the seed of the cane was brow, ught do and scattered by the Big Sandy; but granting this, in what Way could that stream carry this seed up the Hockhocking and Scioto to their sources; to places several hundred feet abor? the highest freshets ever known in this country? With a know ledge of these facts, cast your eye at the map of Ohio. Proo™ x, . : ° ‘on- Genus, platanus—species, occidentalis, popular name, sycamore, OF butt ood. Caleb Atwater on the Winds of the West. 981 within my reach might be multiplied to a much greater extent, but they are probably unnecessary. But another current of air prevails here, especially in the cold months, coming from the mouth of the Missouri, which is a little to the south of west of this place. This current is colder than the preceding one, and though moist, yet not as much so as the one already described. It prevails generally in October and No- vember, before our warm weather is over, and produces frosts and a chilly dampness, and what I have observed nowhere else, especially on the east side of the Alleghanies, it produces a kind of faintness at the breast. : People of delicate habits, coming here from the northern and eastern states, uniformly complain of this faintness. It is not perhaps extraordinary that this current of air should be cold, proceeding as it does froma high northern latitude, along the great chain of rocky mountains in the northwest; that it should be moist, and perhaps also that it should affect the animal econ- omy unpleasantly, may possibly be atiributed to its passing such a length of way over the waters of the Missouri, and the wet prairies and barrens lying so extensively between us and the head waters of that stream. ‘The luxuriant vegetation which covers these prairies and barrens at that season of the year, be- gins to putrefy, and fills with unhealthy exhalations every gale of Wind which passes over them. ugg At the mouth of this river (Missouri,) which is in about lati- tudé 38° north, this current of air is extremely cold in the win- ter months. It diverges from this point, and produces extreme - old at a considerable distance to the south of it on the Missis- sippi river. Gen. Rector, the present surveyor general of the United States, who keeps his office at St. Louis, informs me, that ¢ has known the Mississippi at St. Genevieve, in latitude about 37°, so firmly covered with ice in one night, as to be able to bear horses and cattle the ensning day. This circumstance must have been owing to the sudden change of the current of air from South to the northwest, descending the Missouri river from. the Cold regions at its sources. ; Vou. 1....No. 3. 10 - 232 ° Caleb Atwater on the Winds of the West. From several gentlemen, residents for several years in lilinois and Missouri Territories, 1 have been informed, that changes of weather in that region of country are, especially in winter, very frequent and great; that one day the moist south wind from the Mexican gulf will prevail, and produce quite warm and mild weather for the season; on the very next, or frequently the latter part of the same, the current of air from the sources of the Mis- souri will prevail, and block up the streams with ice. There isa third current of air which prevails during our winter months, more and more, annually, as the country becomes cleared of its forests in the direction alluded to; it proceeds from the great lakes to the northwest of us, and even beyond them. Proceeding as it does from the north and northwest of lake Su- perior, and crossing the great expanse of water in this direction, it rushes down these great lakes to the south end of lake Michi- gan in latitude about 41° north, diverges from that point, and spreads over the immense regions lying to the south, where. the air is more rarefied by reason of its warmer climate. This cut- rent of air brings along with it intense cold, and extended last winter even to New-Orleans, where the snow fell to sucha depth, that sleighs were seen passing in every part of the city. The more the forests are cleared away between any place in this coun- try and the northern lakes, the more this cold current of ait will prevail. ‘This current also diverges from the southern shore of Lake Erie, but is not so strong as that part of it which diverges from the south end of Michigan, and of course does not extend a8 far to the south. When this part of this state was first settled, this current of air was hardly felt at this place, and then only for a short time in the winter months, and hardly ever reached the Obio river > but last winter it continued three weeks at one time, and produced good sleighing; and also 1 rk tisms, pleurisies, peripneumonies, &c. which proved mortal to some. In this place, which is in latitude about 39° 20’ north, the thermometer of Fahrenheit, hanging in an entry of a dwelling-house with closed doors, sunk to 24 degrees below zero. This extreme cold may Caleb Atwater on the Winds of the West. 983 be attributed to general rather than to local causes, and it may be said that the winters all over the world have been colder of late years than formerly. But on the very day, when it was thus cold, (if newspapers can be believed) a great num- er of vessels put to sea from Reedy Island in the Delaware below Philadelphia, and about thirty sail of vessels went to sea _ from New-York harbor. All our streams were at ihe same time bridged with ice of great firmness as well as thickness, and continued to be so for a considerable time afterward, until the warmer current of air from the south prevailed over the current from the lakes. It will be proper, and may be necessary, here to state, that the latitudes of several places in this country are very different from what you would be led to believe from examining an map or chart now or ever in existence. For instance, Lake Michigan extends farther south than Fort Wayne, which place by actual survey is in this state; St. Louis is not 38°, and the most southern point or bend of the Ohio river, is not more than latitude 38° north. I state merely what I am informed of by those who have ascertained these facts by actual observation andsurvey, The place opposite the mouth of the Big Sandy, is nearly as far south as Lexington in Kentucky. The south end of Michigan lake ought. to be laid down on the map 41° north. Prevailing currents of air (not every breath of air which moves over the surface) I have attempted to describe. It may be well enough, however, to mention some other cur- rents which sometimes prevail for a few days. And here I Will mention what our oldest settlers along the Ohio have ob- Served that is, that whenever ina dry time, there is a current of air proceeding down the river for three or four days in suc- cession, the current from the Gulf of Mexico is sure to drive it back with redoubled force, and after blowing a day or two, it is equally sure to bring rain with it. It is easy to assign a Cause for it; for meeting the trade winds in the Gulf, it is driven back with redoubled violence to the sources of the larger streams Which empty themselves into the Gull. When a thunder storm, proceeding in either a western or eastern direction, as the case may ‘be, happens to strike a large 284. Caleb Atwater on the Winds of the West. water course running either north or south, and when also there happens to be a large -branch emptying into the stream, within a few miles either above or below the point where the storm approaches it, I have uniformly observed the storm to cross the large stream at the point where the large branch unites with it, and ascend the branch. Where there are two large tributaries about equi-distant from the point of approach, the storm frequently diyides and follows each of them. The reason why it should be so, this is not the place to discuss; but the Wisdom and Goodness which so ordered it, are too ap- parent to every rational mind to be overlooked. It may be asked if the difference in latitude and elevation between the Ohio and lake regions of country, does not produce a great dif ference in the climates of those respective regions? These causes certainly produce some difference, but not all. It is my object | to establish facts, rather than any favorite theory. The difference of latitude between the Ohio river at the mouth oy the Scioto, and Lake Erie at the mouth of the Maume or andusky, i is nearly three degrees, and the difference of eleva- Pon the sea is trifling, if any. From the mouth of the Scioto. to Columbus, about 90 miles in a direct line, the water, where there is what is commonly called a ripple, runs briskly, and these ripples happen, perhaps, one to a mile; but they are - in asandstone region, and the fall of course is trifling. Let us suppose then, that the river Scioto descends one hundred feet from the mouth of the Whetstone, which empties into that river at Columbus, to the Ohio, and that the Whet stone which runs through a limestone formation, descends anoth- _ er hundred feet, which would make Upper Sandusky tw hundred feet higher than the Ohio river. From this highest ground between the Ohio and the lake, it is a well-known fact, that the land descends towards the north much more ina give? distance, than it does towards the south, and the distance is not half as far. The Manme and other streams putting into the lake, are full of rapids. Admitting for argument’s sake, that the Sandusky or Maume descends only 100 feet, then the su face of the lake is 100 feet highes than the Ohio river. W ould | Caleb Aiwater on the Winds of the West. 285 three degrees of latitude, and 100 feet greater elevation pro- duce three weeks difference in the seasons? Is there that dif- ference between Baltimore in Maryland, and Wilkesbarre in Pennsylvania? Is there that difference between New-York and Fort Edward on the Hudson? It is believed that there is not one half that difference. Ihave referred but little to thermometers, because they are kept in so many different situations by their owners, that I have known no less than 8 degrees of difference between sev- eral of them kept in one town, within almost a stone’s throw of each other, at one and the same moment of time. Every allowance being made for other causes, I am still of the opinion that the difference in the climates of the Ohio and regions of country, is to be attributed chiefly to the pre-— valence of different currents of air. ‘The southern current tarely, if ever, reaches the northern lakes, and the northern, until lately, never reached the Gulf of Mexico. But as the country is cleared of its native forests, we may reasonably con- elude this cold current of air will prevail mure and more, until we shall have snow enough for sleighs, at least two months in every winter; the summers will be shorter, the extremes of heat and cold wilt be greater than at present, and those clouds Which formerly obscured the sun almost continually during the summer months, will be chased away, and with them the pale cheek, the sallow hue, the oppression at the breast, and the difficulty of respiration, the headache, and the thousand ills which Many of the first emigrants have experienced in our climate. We shall probably then have fewer diseases, and more ‘cute ones. The storms will probably be fewer, more severe, and not Continue as long as at present. There are still other Views which might be taken on this subject, but they are left to tbler pens and future observations. ; Thus I haye endeavored to give my opinion on a subject = Some interest-to the present, as well as future generations ; " doing which, I have not sought for flowers which might have been gathered by stepping out of my path, but the fruit rather of my own observation and experience; | have not wandered ~- 286 Deerfield Disruption. © through the fields of imagination, invoking the poetic muse, but addressed myself chiefly, * To him who soars on golden wing, Guiding his fiery-wheeled throne, The cherub contemplation.” Art. XIII. On a singular Disruption -of the Ground, apparently by Frost, in Letters from Enwarv Hircucock, A. M. Principal of Deerfield Academy. (With a Plate.) To the Editor of the American Journal of Science, S¢. I HAVE lately examined a singular disruption in the earth, discovered a few days since in the northerly part of an exten- sive meadow in this town, about ten rods from Deerfield river- ~The ‘soil on the spot is alluvial, consisting of a dry, rich, vegetable mould, with a large intermixture of sand ; and the field, elevated 14 feet above the bed of the river, is annually mowed. A valley encircles the ruptured spot on the east, south, and west, only five feet lower, yet so marshy and soft, as to render déaining necessary to make it passable; and immediate- ly back of this valley, on the south, rises a hill 100 feet high, at whose foot are several springs. North of the rupture; also, between it and the river, is a gradual descent of three feet: indeed, the ground slopes from it on every side except the west A fissure one inch wide and fourteen deep, forming a0 almost perfect ellipsis, whose diameters are 9 and 5} rods, marks aad exterior limit of the convulsion. Within this curve are Sever al others nearly concentric to it, some forming a quarter, and some half an ellipsis, and near the longer axis are others, running in various directions. On this transverse diameter, which lies : Deerfield Disruption. 287 near the highest part of the swell above described, and in its longest direction, or parallel to the river, the greatest effect of the convulsion appears. The earth, to the depth it has frozen the past winter, 14 inches, is broken on a straight line above 6 rods, and the south edge of the fissure having been forced up, overlaps the other three feet. Where one edge does not- thus overreach, the tables of earth, which at a small distance re- semble masses of ice, are raised up so that their faces form an isosceles triangle, leaving a cavity beneath. Aboutthe extrem- ities of the transverse axis, is also an overlapping of two feet, which continues nearly two rods on the curve each way from the axis, and in most places is double, overreaching internally and externally, exhibiting likewise, some irregularity where the com- Pressing forces acted at right angles to each other. The edges of these elevated masses of earth, which are yet frozen, are quite smooth, and the angles but little fractured. I have dug in- to the earth about four feet underneath the longer axis of the ellipsis, and thrust down a bar in other places, but cannot perceive — that the soil has been moved below where it was frozen. It is, however, not the most favorable season for ascertaining this fact. Every appearance on the spot will justify this conclusion, that the frozen surface of the earth around, has pressed with great force from every direction to this ellipsis as a centre ; for, where every fissure in the ellipsis to be filled by replacing the earth, there must remain on its longer axis and at the extremities of this, a overplus of surface two feet wide. The month of February last was unusually cold. Its mean temperature in Deerfield, by Fahrenheit’s scales, is as follows. Th. a. M. 1kh. P.M. 10h. P. M. o Q4° |B ee The extremes were 25° below, and 49° above zero. On the last day but one of the month, the cold suddenly relaxed andon the 1st and 2nd of March, a heavy and warm rain suc- ceeded. 'This produced an uncommon rise in Deerfield river, oe as 288 Deerfield Disruption. and on the 3d of March, it had overflowed the ground where the above described phenomenon occurred, and did not recede from it for 24 hours. lis greatest depth there, was five feet. The snow was nearly one foot deep when the flood happened, and being: a nonconductor of heat, the temperature of the surface of the ground was not probably much changed from its state in February, until the water came in contact with it. It may not be ~ amiss to give the state of the thermometer on the last of Februa- ry and beginning of March. th.A.M. 13h.P.M. 10h. P.M. Wind, weather, &e. Feb. 27th, 15° below 0. 28° above 0. 32° above 0. South, clear. do. do. > 3l above 45 31 March Ist, 29 ——— 46 37 N. E. rain. BE 66. midiend AD imal. OR do. do: 3d,,30 ———_ 35 20 do. rain & clear. On the third of March, about sunset, some lads were sailing near the spot where the disruption appears, and saw the water it considerable agitation, with much bubbling, and at short intervals it was thrown up in several places to the height of 3 or 4 feet. ‘They saw no rupture in the earth, although they came within two or three rods of the spot, and state the water to have been two feet deep. About one o’clock in the morning of March 4th, Mr. Seth Sheldon and family, living one mile south from this spot, and being awake, were alarmed by a loud report from the north, by which their house and furniture were much shaken. They compared the sound, though louder by far than they had ever heard from this cause, to that of a cracking in the earth by frost in se- vere weather. Some others living rather nearer the spot, Wer? awakened by the same report. That the rupture in the earth ‘was made at that time is probable, though not certain. It may be proper to state, that during the flood, no ice, excep ; a few loose masses, was carried over, or near the spot wher’ the disruption appears. This, therefore, could not_have prod ced it. : . Fig. 1. isa transverse section, taken with a theodolite, from Deerfield river 28 rods south, crossing the longer axis of the Ongiavedls y ‘ Qo 19 ot Mm } Deerfield Disruption. - 289 disruption at right angles. The scale is 4 rods to an inch, al- though in laying off the heights and levels, the exact propor- tion was a little varied, to render the irregularities of surface more distinct. The letters of reference correspond to those on . fig. 2, and need no explanation. Fig. 2. is a bird’s-eye view of the disruption and the ad- joining region, very obligingly sketched by Mr. Derick Barnard of Troy, New-York. The sutrounding country is prs eetigeaes contracted to bring more of it into view. These are all the facts I am able at present to dlaees con- cerning this phenomenon. I have been particular as to the temperature of the air, and the situation of the adjacent coun- try, from an idea that frost was a principal mp koien producing it; and that, therefore, these circumstances would be impor- tant in fixing a theory. Iwill not, however, hazard any hy- pothesis on the subject; but if you deem the fact of sufficient importance, your opinion, Sir, is respectfully rere Your humble Serva DWARD SprOEOeEs Deerfield, Mass. March 26th, 1818. —24+o-— Deerfield, June 3d, 1818. Sir, SINCE I sent you a description of a singular disruption in the earth in this town, another has been observed in the same — meadows, about one mile from the former. This is less than the one of which I sent you an account, but its situation is al- Most exactly similar; it being on a small elevation, on the sides Of which, at a few rods distant, is low wet ground. Indeed, the general description which I sent you will answer for this Smaller disruption. ‘The diameters of this last, are only 7 and 8 paces, and the curve is not perfect. There appears to have been an expansion of the earth’s surface around both these spots, . disruptions, by which it was forced to give way at the ‘point where there was the least resistance, which, of course, would be on the highest ground. The more | observe of this phenomenon, the more I am — to ae it to the agency of frost. Von I 290 Deerfield Disruption. _ It may be proper to observe, that in neither of these disrup- tions. has the general mass of the hills sunk in the least. Had this, been the case, it might perhaps have accounted. for them. It is also certain, that the soil below where it was frozen. the past winter, has not been moved. I mentioned this fact in my communication, though with some suggested doubt. _ An opinion having been requested by Mr. Hitchcock on the above facts, it may be observed, that there appears in the state- ment sufficient evidence that the phenomenon (as the author has suggested) is attributable to frost. It is. afact, established equally by common experience and by numerous experiments, that water, in freezing, expands, It is.generally estimated that 8 cubic inches of water, become 9, by the act of congealing. The expansion is attributed, with sufficient evidence, to a crystalline arrangement arising from a kind of polarity inthe particles of water exerted when they are near congealing, by which they attract one another in certain points and not in others. Dr. Black, with his usual felicity, has illustrated this tendency, by supposing a great number of etized needles, thrust through corks, so that they will float parallel to the surface of water, to be thrown promiscu- ously into a vessel of that fluid. They will not remain in the situation in which they are thrown in, but, in consequence of their polarity, attractions and repulsions will be immediately €*- erted; they will rush together, with a force equal to the oyer> coming of a certain resistance ; they will arrange themselves in pairs and groups, and finally, in a connected assemblage- . The particles. of water attract each other, witha prodigious force, when, resistance is opposed; for it is well knowa that domestic utensils; trees, rocks, and .evem cannon, and bomb- psa pias with ee when water confined within There is force enough then exerted by.. the expansion of freezing water, to. produce all the mechanical violence, whose effects were so striking in the instance at Deerfield. . In the common cracking. of the ground by frost, 5° exten: sively observed in cold climates, the effect appears to result in Deerfield Disruption. 291 the following manner. ‘The water contained in the ground, (that is, in that part which is within the reach of a freezing temper- ature,) by congealing, expands and demands more space ; amove- ment must necessarily take place in the direction where there is the least resistance; this will evidently be upward, because the atmosphere, the only counteracting power in this direction, can- not resist the expansion of the freezing water as much as it is re- sisted by the earth below the freezing stratum. Consequently, the freezing earth is forced upward, but being of unequal strength in different places, it cracks at the weakest spot ; and the earth, for some distance on the sides of the fissure, is thrown into the position of two planes gently inclined, their relative position re- sembling that of a very flat roof, and the more they are lifted by frost, the more they will decline from one another, and the wider will be the fissure. - But why, in the instance which Mr. Hitchcock has related, did they overlap? The explanation appears to result from the circumstances of the case, as far as they can be understood with- out inspection of the ground. The elevated spot which cracked in-so remarkable a manner, being nearly surrounded by a belt of low wet ground, the con- gelation of the water in this ground by the intense cold, would of course produce avery great expansive effort towards the elevated ground. This, not only on account of its elevation, but from its containing less water, would not be able to exert an equal counteracting effort. The surface of the ground, there- fore, (without at all disturbing the unfrozen earth below,) was, by the expansive effort of the freezing water, pushed along towards the elevated spot. This spot being possessed of a certain pow- er of resistance derived from its gravity, and from the freezing of the water in it, would not immediately give way; but the whole surface, it is probable, gradually rose for some time, while the expansion was going on andincreasing. A cavity would thus be produced between that superficial layer of frozen ground Which was rising, and the unfrozen ground below. This cavity Would of course be filled with air derived from the atmosphere, and from the porousness of the ground below. When the place came to be overflowed, water would immediately rush in through 292 Dana on Electrical Battery. any fissure, and this hydraulic and hydrostatic effort would force the air out at any orifice, and thus blow the water up with it. This was probably the cause of the agitation of the water, and of the bubbling of air, and of the throwing up of the water at in- tervals observed by the boys on the 3dof March. The effect of the water covering the ground, would be to weaken its cohesion derived from frost, and as there were pro- bably hundreds of tons of pressure, the vaulted ground, when sufficiently weakened, gave way with a loud explosion anda violent concussion, as heard by Mr. Sheldon’s family, a few hours after the fact observed by the boys. The parts of the arch now fallen in, (so to speak) necessarily either overlap- ped, or rose in ridges, piece being pressed against piece, as de- scribed and figured by Mr. Hitchcock. We are indebted to this gentlemen for his delineation of this ‘The freezing of water, and its attendant expansion, are pro- ductive of multiplied and very diversified phenomena upon our globe, whether we contemplate them in the delicate spicule of it, in the six-rayed stars of snow, or in the stupendous glaciers. of the Alps, and the awful icebergs of Greenland. el ay ee Cambridge, January 25, 1819. Proressor Sripman. Dear Sir, IF the following observations are worthy of a place in your valuable Journal, please to insert them, and oblige- yours, with esteem. J. F. Dana. ArT. XIV. On a New Form of the Electrical Battery, by JF. Dana, M. D. Chemical Assistant in Harvard University, and Lecturer on Chemistry and Pharmacy in Dartmouth College. Tur Electrical Battery in its common form is an unmanage able and inconvenient apparatus. When the coated surface i Dana on Electrical Battery. 293 comparatively small, the instrument occupies a large space, and it cannot be readily removed, from place to place, without much trouble and risk ; the apparatus is, moreover, very expensive, and when one of the j jars is broken another of the same dimensions cannot readily be found to supp!y its place. It occurred to me, that a Battery might be constructed of plates of glass and sheets. of tinfoil, in which the same extent of coated surface should occupy a much smaller space, and conse- quently that the apparatus would be more convenient and more portable. I selected several panes of glass, the surfaces of which coincided closely with each other, and then arranged them with sheets of tinfoil in this order, viz. pane of glass, sheet of tinfoil, then another pain of glass, then a second sheet of tinfoil, and so” on; the sheet of foil being smaller than the plates of glass by tes inches all around; the glass being 10 by 12, and the foil 6 by 8. This apparatus contained six plates of tinfoil, and the lowest plate being numbered one, was connected with the ground, and by slips of tinfoil passing over the edges, with the third plate, and this, in like manner with the fifth. The second plate was connected with the fourth, and this with the sixth, which communicated with the conductor of the machine; in this manner each plate posi- tively electrified will be opposed by one negatively electrified, and vice versa; the 6th, 4th and 2d plates positive, and the 5th, 3d, and 1st, negative. Into this apparatus I could introduce a Powerful charge, but not possessing a battery of the common form, Could not make comparative experiments, The annexed figures Will explain the construction of this apparatus. : (See Plate.) Fig. 1. a1,a2, sie the tinfoil. Fig. 2, @, the intermediate slips pass- b b db, plates of glass. ing over the edges of the Le, the berets slips con- ines and connecting plates n the plates 6, 4, 1, 3, and 5. . 2. b, the slip which connects the d,the — —— 3,1, upper sheet of foil with soe and th 4th, &e. In a battery of the ordinary form, it is evident that a cia less Surface is coated than in one of the above construction ; 294 Dana on Waz. in a battery of the common form, two feet long, one foot wide, and ten inches high, and containing 18 coated jars, there will be no more than 3500 square inches of coated surface, while in a battery of the same dimensions on the proposed construction, - there will be no less than 8y00 square inches covered with tinfoil, allowing the sheet of glass and of foilto be } inch thick. When plate glass is employed for making this battery, the ring of glass exterior to the tinfoil may be covered with varnish, and then the next plate laid over it; the tinfoil will then be shut out for ever from the access of moisture, and the insulation will re- main perfect. This form of the Electrical Battery is very por table; it may be packed in a case with the machine, and indeed a powerful battery occupies no greater space than a quarto volume. It is cheap and easily constructed. Ant: XV. Chemical Examination of the Berries of the Myrica ~ Cerifera, or Wax Myrtle, by J. F. Dana, M. D. Chemical Assis- tant, in Harvard University, and Lecturer on Chemistry and Pharmacy in Dartmouth College. ~ “\ «(Communicated for this Journal.) Tar myrtle wax of commerce has been examined by Dr. Bos- tock and by M. Cadet; the entire berry not having been made the subject of analysis, I have been induced to examine it, with a view to ascertain the proportion of wax. I. Fifty grains of the most perfect berries were digested jn re- peated portions of warm alcohol, until the fluid appeared to eX ert no further action. The first portions of alcohol were tinged of agreen color, but the last portions remained colorless. I]. The alcoholic solutions were poured into a small re known weight; the alcohol was carefully distilled off, and the residuum dried; deducting the weight of the retort, there re- mained 18.5 grs. for the weight of the matter dissolved by the alcohol. : tort of Dana on Wae. eS 295 lil. ‘The substances which had been dissolved by the alco- hol consisted of two portions, viz. the wax, which was of an apple-green color, and a reddish brown substance ; this, sub- stance was supposed to be resinous, and the contents of the retort were therefore digested in acetic acid; the acid soon became of a reddish brown color, and dissolved nearly the whole of the matter in the retort, leaving the wax. The aci solution, together with a small portion of insoluble reddish mat- ler, were carefully separated from the wax. ‘The wax being dried and melted, weighed 16 grains. IV. The acetic acid solution was evaporated to dryness, anda dark brown matter was obtained; it was almost totally soluble in warm alcohol, from which it was precipitated by water; it was supposed therefore to consist chiefly of resin, with a small portion of extractive matter, and may be called resino-extractive ; it weighed 2.5 grains. -V. The matter insoluble in alcohol consisted of two parts, viz. the kernels anda fine-grained black powder, having very much the appearance of fine gunpowder: the powder was carefully separated from the kernels by a wire sieve, and Weighed 7.5 grains. The kernels were fonnd to weigh 23.75 Stains. From this analysis it appears that the entire berries con- sist: of Wires cc: : : 32.00 Resino-extractive ; 5.00 Black powder 15.00 Kernels : : 47.00 99.50 Loss. 50 . 100.00 The chemical properties of the wax and of the black pow- May be made the subject of another communication. 296 Analysis of Wacke. Earthy phosphate of iron has recently been found at Hop- kinton, Mass. It exists there in large quantities, and is em- ployed as a pigment. The gentlemen on whose grounds it was found sent me several pounds of it. g = E ie F. AF Arr. XVI. Analysis of Wacke, by Dr. J. W. WesstTer, of Bost on. On E hundred parts exposed to a red heat in a platina cruci- ble lost 18.5, acquired an umber brown color, and a degree of hardness sufficient to scratch glass. One hundred parts reduced to fine powder were mixed with four times the weight of soda, and exposed to heat, gradually increased for three quarters of an hour; at the expiration of which time the whole had acquired a pasty consistence. e crucible was now removed from the fire, and its outer surface carefully wiped. Muriatic acid was poured on till all efferves- nce ceased. The solution obtained was evaporated to dry- ness, gradually assuming an orange red color. Water was now poured upon the mass, after which it was filtered, and the remaining powder carefully dried; after ignition, and whi warm, it weighed 28 parts. This powder was insoluble inme riatic acid, and of a white color. To the filtered solution, reduced by evaporation, carbonale of potash was added, the precipitate was collected on a filter, washed and dried: it weighed 23. parts. ’ This powder was redissolved in sulphuric acid, sulphate of potash added, and crystals of alum finally obtained; hence this powder was alu- mine. To the liquor from which the silex and alumine had thus been separated, acetic acid was added; the whole evap- orated to dryness; the excess of acid being removed, a small quantity of water was poured on, and after strong ignition, the precipitate weighed 4.5. Into a very small tubulated retort I introduced a portion from the same mass, whence the piece submitted to analysis : Dr. Ives on Potatoes. 297 was broken, and obtained over mercury the carbonic acid in the usual manner. This was equal to 2.32; by deducting this from _ 18.5 the loss during exposure tored heat, we shallhave 16.17, the proportion of water. The oxide of iron was separated from the solution, after the addition of acetic acid by ammonia, and . weighed 26 parts. SHIGE ss in te kee Sale Alumin@. . +. .n-- soceee Tee a. es ae Carbonic acid... ..--...' 252 : Wael, vo fi sc a Bee Oxide of iron... 225.263 100. 4 AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMICS. —S4o— Ant. XVII. On the Comparative Quantity of Nutritious Matter _ which may be obtained from an Acre of Land when cultivated with Potatoes or Wheat, by Dr. Exa Ives, Professor of » Medica and Botany in Yale College. \ Ty & good season an acre of suitable land well cultivated will produce 400 bushels of potatoes. In Woodbridge a town adjoin- ing New-Haven, a crop of 600 bushels of potatoes has been obtain- edfrom a single acre. A bushel of potatoes weighs 56 pounds. Multiply 400, the number of bushels, by 56, the weight of asin- gle bushel, gives 22400, the number of pounds of potatoes pro- duced upon one acre. Thirty bushels of wheat are considered a good crop as the Product of one acre of land. About £ of wheat may be consid- ered as nutritious matter. According to the experiments of Dr. Pearson and Einhoff, about one-third of the. potato is nutritious matter. From the Vou. 1....No. 3. 2 298 Dr, Ives on Potatoes. analysis of Rinhofl, 7680 parts of: potatoes afforded 1153 parts of starch —fibrous matter analogous to starch 540 parts—albu- men 107 parts—mucilage 312 parts. The sum of these products amount to about one-third of the potatoes subjected to the ici iment, . Sir Humphrey pas observes, that oné-fourtle of the weight of potatoes at least may be considered nutritious matter. One-fourth of 22400, the product of an acre of ground, culti- vated with potatoes, is 5600. The whole weight of a crop of wheat calculated at 30 bushels to an acre, and at 60 pounds to the bushel gives, 1800. Deducting one-sixth from the wheat as mat- ter not nutritious, and the weight is reduced to 1500. The nutritious matter of the crop of potatoes to that of wheat is as 5600 to 1500, or as 56 to 15. The starch might be obtained by a very simple machine, re- commended by Parmentier; and in seasons when potatoes are abundant, the potatoes might be converted to starch, and the starch preserved for any length of time, and used as a substitute for wheaten flour. . ‘The machine alluded to is a cylinder of wood about three feet i and six inches in diameter, covered with sheet tin, punched outward so as to form a Bec aM and turned by a crank. This cylinder is placed in a Phage of pelea my vhose as the at is nal haga are EBL Es and the starch or fecula subsides to the bottom of the water. It is well known, that po tatoes are largely used in, England mixed with flour to form a Ve ry. good bread; the starch of the potato would of course answer much better. . Biographical. Notice of Dr. Bruce. 299 MISCELLANEOUS. =I Arr. XVIII. Biographical Notice of the Late Ancumacp’ ies, M.D. Professor of Materia Medica and Mineralogy: in the ~ Medical Institution of the State of New-York, and Queen’s Col- ~ lege, New-Jersey ; and Member ee various Learned aeahaias in | America and Europe. (Communicated.) Docror Archibald Bruce, (the subject of this Memoir). Was a native of the city of New-York, in North America. | He Was born in the month of February, in the year seventeen dred and seventy-seven.’ His father was, at that time, at the head of the medical department of the British army, stationed at New-York) to which he had been attached from his youth, having been many years previously resident at New- York, as make = to the artillery department; where he was about | year seventeen hundred and sixty- 4 hi yard, formerly of . vi e, Jeremiah Van Rens- ad another son, (who died anda daughter, who . died While a child. illiam Bruce, (the father above icieeitoial) and his isha ther rchibatd together with a sister, were natives of the town of Dumfries. in Scotland, where their father was many years resident as the parochial aie rom and much sh dies 2: and so ‘ontinued until his deceas Both sons applied Seda to the science of medicine and surgery. William, as above stated, became a physician in the British Army, and died in that station, of.the yellow fever, im the island of Barbadoes. | Archibald received a commission of ‘Surgeon in the British navyyi in which ies continued until t 300 Biographical Notice of Dr. Bruce. disqualified by old age, when he retired from business, and died. a few years since in London. For many years he acted as sur- geon to the several ships commanded by Sir Peter Parker, cap- tain, and afterwards admiral. : Doctor William Bruce, before his final separation from his family, on the occasion of his being ordered to the West-India station had always declared that his son Archibald should nev- er be educated for the medical profession; and finally enjoined such instruction upon his wife and friends, to whom the charge of the boy was committed. After his decease, the same injunction _ was repeated by the uncle, then in Europe, who was ever averse to his nephew’s making choice of this profession: much pains were therefore early exerted to divert him from such inclination. ~ . The momentous state of political affairs, induced his mother to'send bim to Halifix, under the care of William Almon, M. D. a particular friend of her husband, with whom, however, re- maining but a short time, he returned ‘to New-York; and was placed at a boarding-school at Flatbush, Long Island, under the direction of Peter Wilson, LL.D. who was in high standing a8 . a teacher of the languages. =} . In 1791, he was admitted a student of the arts in Columbia college. Nicholas Romayne, M.D. was at this time among the physicians of highest consideration in New-York, and was en- gaged in delivering lectures on different a GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, asm . eee? ae “A L°On the iSatteny: Mineralogy Se + ties of Parts of Virginia, ‘T ey al . Alabama and Mississippi variates, » ee with Miscellaneod’ Remarks, &c. _In a Letter to the Art. III. Sketch of the Mineralogy and Geology of the Vicinity of Williams College, Williamstown, Mass. By Professor Dewey, 4 Williams Col- lege, in a letter to the Edito - “Art. 1V.On the Tourmalines and pre “Minerals: found at Chesterfield and Goshen, Massachusetts, by : Col. George Gibbs. Art. V. Observations on the Minerals eanenaiadis the am Gneiss range of Litchfield county, by Mr. John -P. Brace, of Litchfield, Geile, 2. AAS. BOTANY. _ Art. VI, An Account of two North American Species of Rottbéllia, discovered on the Sea-coast in the State of ag as, ie Dr. William corti age of Philadelphia. Art. VIL. Floral Calendar kept at Deerseld, Nesecie setts, with Miscellaneous Remarks, by Dr. 108 - * <5 hen W. Williams, of Deerfield. Art, VIII. Description and Natural Classification of ‘e Genu . _ Editor. By the Rev. Elias Cornelius. Pn . ist. IL. On the Origin of Prairies. By Mr. R. \W. Wells. 346 351 355 s Floerkea, by C. 8. Rafinesque, Profes-_ the* sor Pol Botany and Natural History in Transylvania University, Lexington, Ken. - Vou. 1....No. 4. A ait Professor c. Zoophytes, ae Thomas . Art. XI. <— on some § of : : ells, &c. penal Fossil, ay... : ae ; PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, &c. Art. XIII. Observations, on Salt Storms, and the Influ- ence of Salt and Saline Air upon Animal and See Vegetable Life. Read before the Lyceum of tural’ History of New York, March 7, 1819 y John B. Beck,M. D. - - *3 Art. XIV. ee on enn seas Dust. By Profesor . 8. Rafinesque Art. XV. On the effect of —_ on Piatie: By Zz Fr, , Dana, Chemical Assistant in Harvard University, = and Lecturer on a and Pharmacy in ee Dartmouth College. - “Art. XVI. Analysis of the Hatrodsbiig Salts, by “Edward = “ae ob M . D. Professor of Chemistry and NV ry in the South Carolina College. Fs Art, XVI Additional Notice of the Tungsten and Telluri- 4 enti ‘oned i in our last Number. 405 ; - . ee vila A otatituls for Woulfe’s or Waeih a ype» ie ‘ a tus, by Robert Hare, M. D. Professor 6f Chem- istry in the Medical Department of the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania, and Member of vari- - ous Learned and Scientific. Societies, - — some - means o = Art. XX. An improved Method of obtaining the Fauialé KZ for the Sines and Cosines of the Sum anit. ference of two Arcs, by Professor ae of se ' Hamilton College, &c. - 424 + MISCELLANEOUS. _ Art, XXI. An Account of several Ancient Mounds, andof « "two Caves, in East Tennessee, by Yr. John : Henry Kain, of Knoxville. - - 428 4 es XXL Facts illustrative of the Powers aa Opera- : : tions of the Human Mind in a Diseased State. 431 =. < INTELLIGENCE. * _ Art. XXUI. 1, Discovery of American Cinnabar and Na- _ Lead. - - - - 433 se . Theoretical Views of Professor Hare of "Pill - - : 434 © . New Work onChemistry. - eM * ibid. % a 4. Botanical nee ene ce Saal — 5. Staurotide. eee ibid 6. Supplement to the ~ Remake on the Geol- + *- ogy and Mineralogy of a section of Massa-— ie chusetts, on Connecticut River, &c.” con-_ : tained in No. 2, Art. 1, of this Journal, by > BE. Hitchcock, A. M. - - 436 ee ‘ ‘ * ¥, ae ke = £ + —_ iy GEOLOGY, TOPOGRAPHY, AND MINERALOGY. . : ‘* SS 5 rece Sto = : Art. 1. On the Geology, Mineralogy, Scenery, sand" Curiveition of Parts of Virginia, Tennessee, and of the Alabama and Mis- : Sissippi Territories, §c. with Miscellaneous Remarks, &c. In a ee letter to the Editor. By the Rev. Exias Corneuivs. eS : (Concluded from page 226.) =F a I WILL conclude this part of the narrative with a brief no- . tice of a few curiosities occurring in the region which has Pe been described. * P . Caves. . 1. It is well known that it furnishes a great number of in- _ teresting caves. They are found alike in the inclined and hori- zontal strata. Some of them are several miles in extent, and — afford fine specimens of earthy and alkaline salts. ae : Wier’s cave in Virginia has been described by Mr. Kein. * ¥ Thave in my possession a map of its most important apart- Ments, including its whole length, copied from a survey made by Mr. J. Pack in Oct. 1806; also the notes of another sur- vey inade in May 1816, by the Rev. Conrad Speece of Augusta Vol. 1....No. 4 es we [ee 318 cect, sof Tennessee, $c. 3s county, aud Me. Robert, Grattan which, with an ofplanaijeng d tur e time m these surveys, it appears that, e whole extént of de e, hitherto aiakbectads. oes not ex A eight hundred yards. is was the length stated to me by the guide, when I visited © ‘it in August, 1817. i campot but think there is some mistake — in Mr. Kain’s r rk, that “it is a mile - half in extent.” . urs Wexeminice every accessible part, and by . permission of Mr. Heliry*Bifigham, the owner, sai a large collection of specimens, which were transmitted for the Cabi-” net of Yale pote ae ee * 7 © Te Natural B ridge. 9. My @iect in naming this celebrated curiosity, is not to givea new description of it, but merely to furnish a correct account of its dimensions. I visited it in company with the Rev. Mr. Huson, who had previously found its height by @ a to be two hundred and ten feet. We now found it by the quadrant, to be two hundred and eleven feet, and the arch through the centre ‘about forty feet. Some have attempted to account for this great curiosity; by supposing that a convulsion in nature may have rent the hill, in which it stands, asunder; thus forming the deep and narrow defile, over which the rocky strata were left, which constitute its magnificent arch. If so, the sides should have correspond- ing parts. At a distance from the base, no such correspondence is perceptible. At the base, the rocks are more or less craggy and irregular. This led me to take the courses and distances of each side. The lepine was the result. “Bastor si side preainigd angular points.|| Western side presents 3 angular points. 1. N.55° W.1 chain. 09 links. || 4, N. se W. 0 chain. 45 links W.1 65 = — WwW. — ea see 1 — 8.Ng7 Ww. oe: re : = a 4. N.80 = wi} Nn . “ See Number I, page 59. lied = ++ ae rz a or = be able to transmit ~ “% 6 lle Se * 4 '¢ ~ a Fass pe ge : os # : by E. Cornelius. *. 319° “= - < . . a ; oa a ‘The a used contained 50 links, ‘equal to 33 feet and 4. The distance between the abutments at the north end of their + bases, is 80 feet; at the south end, 66. As they asce .d, the distance is greater. These data give the following diagram. — * # 5 ee Bie: ti - es “a : : * * “i : vie i . r si * * B. * Although considerable resemblance appears at the base, yet asno such correspondence is visible 40 feet above it, and the sides for the whole remaining distance to fhe arch, one bun- dred and thirty feet, lose their craggy appearance entirely, and present the smooth, irregular surface of the oldest rocks, I am led to think that the natural bridge is coeval with a very remote period of time. Nor is there any difficulty even in sup- posing it to have proceeded from the hand of the Almighty, as it is; for great and marvellous are all his works ! The following anecdote will evince the effect which the sight of the natural bridge produced on a servant, who, without hav- ing received any definite or adequate ideas of what he was to see, attended his master to this spot. On the summit of the hill, or from the top of the Bridge, the view is not more awful than that which is seen from the brink of a hundred other precipices. The grand prospect is from below. ‘To reach it you must descend the hill by a blind Path, which winds through a thicket of trees, and terminates at the instant when the whole bridge with its broad sides and eee » a a ~ oes ei 3 - . Ea 3 ae lofty arch, all of solid® rock, appears perfectly in sight. Not ‘one in a thousand can forbear to make an involuntary pause : ut servant, who had hitherto followed his master, without meeting with any thing particularly to arrest his attention, had no sooner arrived at this point, and caught a glance of the ob- = ject which burst upon his vision, than he fell upon his knees, fixed in wonder and admiration. e Z A River flowing from a Cave. 3. I will next mention a singular cave, which I do not re- member ever to hay described. It is situated in the — Cherokee country, at. icojack, the north-west angle in the map of Georgia, and is known by the name of the Nicojack cave. It is 20 miles S. W. of the Look-Out mountain, and half a mile from the south bank of the Tennessee River. The Xackoon mountaiif’ in which it is situated, here fronts to the northeast. Immense layers of horizontal limestone form @ _ precipice of considerable hight. In this precipice the cave commences: not however with an opening of a few feet, as is common; but with a mouth fifty feet high, and one hundred and sixty wide. Its roof is formed by a solid and regular layer of | limestone, having no support but the sides of the cave, and as level as the floor of a house. The entrance is partly obstructed by piles of fallen rocks, which appear to have been dislodged “by some great convulsion. From its entrance, the cave com sists chiefly of one grand excavation through the rocks, pre- serving for a great distance the same dimensions as at its mouth. What is more remarkable than all, it forms for the whole distance it has yet been explored, a walled and vaulted passages for a stream of cool and limpid water, which, where it leaves the cave, is six feet deep and sixty feet wide. A few yea since, Col. James Ore of Tennessee, commencing early in the morning, followed the course of this creek in a canoe, for three miles. He then came toa fall of water, and was obliged to return, without making any further discovery. ’ Whether he _ penetrated three miles up the cave or not, it is a fact he did not return till the evening, having been busily engaged in his Ped . , be il Ps ee Fad ar * * : ¥ nah at % - 4 subterranean voyage for twelve” hours. * He stated that the course of the eave after proceeding some way to the southwest, _ became south ; and southeast by south, the remaining dist ce, 7. Natural Nitre. ¢ The sides of the principal excavation present a few a ments which are interesting, principally because they furn large quantities of the earth from which the nitrate of potash is obtained. This is a circumstance very common to the caves of the western country. In that at Nicojack, it abounds, and is found covering the surfaces of fallen rocks, but in more abundance beneath them. ‘There are inds, one is called the “clay dirt,” the other the “ black dirt ; ” the last is much more strongly impregnated than the first. For several years there has been a considerable manufacture of saltpetre from this earth. The process is by lixiviation alld crystallization, and is very simple. The earth is thrown into a hopper, and the fluid obtained, passed through another of ashes, the alkali of which decomposes the earthy nitrate, and uniting with its acid, which contains chiefly nitrate of lime, turns it into nitrate of potash. The precipitated lime gives the mass a whitish co- lor, and the consistence of curdled milk. By allowing it to stand in a large trough, the precipitate, which is principally lime, subsides, and the superincumbent fluid, now an alkaline, . ¥ instead of earthy nitrate, is carefully removed and boiled for some time in iron kettles, till it is ready to crystallize. It is then removed again to a large trough, in which it shoots into crystals, It is now called ‘rough shot-petre.” In this state it is sent to market, and sells usually for sixteen dollars per hundred weight. Sometimes it is disolved in water, reboiled and recrystallized, when it is called refined, and sells for twenty ollars per hundred. One bushel of the clay dirt yields from 3 to 5ibs. and the black dirt 7 to 10lbs. of the rough shot- Petre. The same dirt, if returned to the cave, and scattered on the rocks, or mingled with the new earth, becomes impreg~ nated with the nitrate again, and in a few months may be thrown into the hopper, and be subjected to anew process. a ee ee ne via Gg ty Condi aE * oe ae 3 e “ a a 3 iss x ee . ? 322 Geology, gc. of Tennessee, Gc. The causes which have produced the nitric salts of these caves, may not yet have been fully developed. But it is highly probable, they are to be ascribed to the decomposition of ani- mal substances. It is reasonable to suppose, that in an uncultivated country they would become the abodes of wild animals, and even of ; men. That they have been used by the natives as bu- ial places, is certain. In one which I entered, I counted a hundred human skulls, in the space of twenty feet square. All the lesser and more corruptible parts of each skeleton had mouldered to dust, and the whole lay in the greatest confusion. I have heard of many such caves, and to this day some of the Indians are known to deposit their dead in them. From the de- composition of such substances, it is well known the acid of the nitric salts arises, and it would of course unite with the lime wad where pregent, and form nitrate of lime. o: Mounds. A, I have but one more article of curiosity to mention under this division. It is one of those artificial mounds which occur so frequently in the western country. I have seen many © them, and read of more. But never of one of such dimen- sions as that which I am now to describe. It is situated in the interior of the Cherokee nation, 00 the north side of the Etowee, vulgarly called Hightower River, one of the branches of the Koosee. It stands upon 4 strip © alluvial land, called River Bottom. 1 visited it in company with eight Indian chiefs. The first object which exited attention was an excavation about twenty feet wide, and in some parts ten feet deep. Its course is nearly that of a semicircle; the extremities extending towards the river, which forms # small elbow. I had not time to examine it minutely. A? Indian said it extended each way to the river, and had several unex~ cavated parts, which served for passages to the area which it encloses. To my surprise, I found no embankment on either side ofit. But I did not long doubt to what place the earth had been removed; for I had scarcely proceeded two undret Lob canal a “ 2 re . s “* . 3 - z _ by. Cornelius. v2 323 » yards, when,» through the thick forest trees, a stupendous pile al the eye, whose dimensions were in full proportion to the ‘ptrenchment. I had at the time no means of taking an accu- vate admeasurement. To supply my deficiency, I cut a long vine, which was preserved until I had an opportunity of ascer- taining its exact length. In this manner [ found the distance from the margin of the summit to the base, to be one hundres and eleven feet. And judging from the degree of its declivity, the perpendicular height cannot be less than seventy-five feet. The circumference of the base, including the feet of three parapets, measured one thousand one hundred and fourteen feet. One of these parapets extends from the base to the sum- mit, and can be ascended, though with difficulty, on horseback. The other two after rising thirty or forty feet, terminate in a kind of triangular platform. Its top is level, and at the time I visited it, was so completely covered with weeds, bushes, and trees of most luxuriant growth, that I could not examine it as well as I wished. Its diameter, I judged, must be one hundred and fifty feet. On its sides and summit, are many large trees of the same description, and of equal dimensions with those around it. One beach-tree, near the top, measured ten feet nine inches in circumference. The earth on one side of the tree, was three and a half feet lower than on the opposite side. This fact will give a good idea of the degree of the mound’s declivity. An oak, which was lying down on one of the para- pets, measured at the distance of six feet from the butt, with- out the bark, twelve feet four inches in circumference. Ata short distance to the southeast is another mound, in ascending which I took thirty steps. Its top is encircled by a breast- Work three feet high, intersected through the middle with another elevation of a similar kind. A little farther is another mound, which I had not time to examine. On these great works of art, the Indians gazed with as much Curiosity as any white man. I inquired of the oldest chief, if the natives had any tradition respecting them; to which he answered in the negative. I then requested each to say what he supposed was their origin. Neither could tell: though: all agreed in saying; “they were never put up by our * : i* ea 8 “ all . 324 ~. Geology, $c. of Tennessee, $c. It seems probable they were erected by another race, who » once inhabited the country. That such a race existed, is now generally admitted. Who they were, and what were. the causes of their degeneracy, or of their extermination, no cir- cumstances have yet explained. But this isno reason why we should not, as in a hundred other instances, infer the existence of the cause from its effects, without any previous knowledge of its history. In regard to the objects which these mounds were designed — to answer, it is obvious they were not always the same. Some were intended as receptacles for the dead. These are small, and are distinguished by containing human bones. Some may have been designed as sites for public buildings, whether of a civil or religious kind; and others no doubt were constructed for the purposes of war. Of this last description, is the Etowee ‘mound. In proof of its suitableness for such a purpose, ! need only mention that the Cherokees in their late war with the Creeks, secured its summit by pickets, and occupied it as a place of protection for hundreds of their women and child- ren. ‘Gladly would I have spent a day in examining it more minutely ; but my companions, unable to appreciate my motives, grew impatient, and I was obliged to withdraw, and leave @ more perfect observation and description to some one else. Alluvial Formation. { will now call your attention to the last geological division which came under my observation. Itis the alluvial tract, extending from the Dividing Ridge already mentioned, to the Gulf of Mexico. This Ridge is the last range of high land which I crossed on the journey to New Orleans, and lies about six hundred miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. Its course a the place I crossed it, is a little south of west. It divides the waters of the Tennessee from those which proceed directly to the gulf. . Travellers always observe it. ‘They often mem tioned it to me as the southern boundary of the stony country. After crossing it, you see no more limestone ; and, which ex cites more joy in the traveller, no more of the silicious gravel +. dint Cornelius, : s&s = et ith which it is associated, and whieh is so» troublesome to the feet of horses. ;The soil consists of a soft clay, or light sand, on which you seldom meet with astone of any kind. The surface of the earth is undulating and hilly, but not mountain- ous. The materconrias do not move rapidly and tumultu- ously, as in the limestone country; but form in the soft earth, deep trenches, through which they glide smoothly and silently along. The smallest rivulet often has a trench ten feet deep; and the earth over which it passes, is continually tia to its gentle attrition. _. The only minerals which I observed, are sandstone, common and ferruginous ; silicious pebbles in beds of creeks, and oc- casionally on the uplands; earthy ores of iron, particularly red oxides, and petrifactions of shells, wood, &c. In addition to these, it may here be mentioned that galena has been found in small quantities at Gibson’s Port, and at Elis’s Cliffs, in the State of Mississippi: a crystal of amethyst, in the same state, by Mr. Blennerhassett; and a great variety of useful ochres, in many places on the banks of the Mississippi. In the geological map attached to Professor Cleaveland’s Min- eralogy, the alluvial country bordering on the Gulf of Mexico, is represented as terminating at Natchez. But why its termi- nation is placed here, 1 am unable to understand. The country above and below Natchez, so far as it. has come under my ob- Servyation, presents. no difference of appearance in its geology, or mineralogy. Iam. aware that at Natchez, when the water of the Mississippi is lowest, a soft rock is seen, from which lime has been obtained. But this rock is two hundred feet below the surface of the adjoining country; and admitting that itisa limestone rock, there is no difficulty in supposing it may constitute the basis of the alluvial deposit which rests upon it. That the incumbent earth is alluvial, can be doubted, I think, by no one who has had an opportunity of examining it. Dy Means of a road, which has been cut obliquely down the side of the bluff, distinct layers of clay, sand, and pebbles, haye been exposed for the whole distance from the summit to the base. ‘The same character is observed at a distance from the river, where the earth has been excavated by washing, °F dig- Vol. 1.... No. 4. 2 526 Geology, §c. of Tennessee, -§-c. ging. In the vicinity of the town, there is a curious exhibition » of the fact. A stream of water has worn away the earth to the depth of fifteen or twenty feet, and is continually length- ening the chasm, in the direction opposite to its own course. Thus, as the water flows from the town, the chasm approaches it. In examining the cause of this fact, I perceived it was owing chiefly to the difference of cohesion in the alluvial de- posits, of which the earth is formed. That at the surface, being a thick loam, wears away with more difficulty than the deposit below it, which consists of a loose sand. ‘The conse- quence is, that the water, which has once obtained a perpen- dicular passage of a few inches through the first, washes away the second with such rapidity, that it is constantly undermining it. ‘This occasions a perpetual caving in of the surface, ina direction opposite to the course of the stream. The same fact is observed in many parts.of the country fora great distance above Natchez. If there be wanting any other fact to prove that the earth on which the town of Natchez stands, is alluvial, it is found in the effect which the Mississippi has upon the base of the Natchez bluff. In consequence of a bend in the river, the whole force of its current is thrown against this base. if it consisted of solid rock, the river would probably have no effect upon it; but of such loose and friable materials is it com- posed, that the river is continually undermining it, and produ- cing effects not less to be dreaded than those of an earthquake. Several years ago, a great number of acres sunk fifty feet or more below the general surface of the hill: and in 1805, there was another caving of that part directly over the small village at the landing. Several houses were buried in consequence » features of the country. But I have two facts, of a geological kind, to mention, both of which go to confirm the opinion. — 4 1%. * “ p _ by E. Gandia 327 x 1. Be well was dg | in tle Choctaw nation, at the agency of the United, States, the year 1812 or 1813, under the direc- * tion of Silas Dinsmore, , Esq. the agent. The excavation was continued t6 the»dépth of one hundred and seyenty-two feet. No water was found. “At no great distance aos the surface, marine exuviz were found in abundance. The shells were small, and imbedded in a soft clay, similar to marine earth, This formation continued till the excavation ceased. Disper- sed through it, were found lumps of selenite, or foliated gyp- sum, some of which were half as large as a man’s fist. péci- mens of the earth, the exuvie, and the selenite, have been transmitted for your examination. ‘This excavation was made one hundred and twenty miles north northeast of Natchez. The Pearl River is four miles to the east of the place, and is the only considerable stream in this part of the country. 2. In the Chickasaw nation, one hundred and seventy miles north of the Choctaw agency, commence beds of oysten-shellgs which continue to be seen at intervals for twelve miles. Four miles from the first bed, you come to what is called “ Chicka- saw Old Town,” where they are observed in great abundance. They are imbedded in low ridges of a white marl. They ap- pear to be of two kinds. Specimens of each, and also of the marl, you have received. ‘Chickasaw Old Town,” is a name now appropriated to a prairie, ona -part of which there for- merly stood a small village of Chickasaws. The prairie is twenty miles long, and four wide. The shells occur in three Places as you cross it, and again, on two contiguous hills to the east of it, at the distance of four miles. They do not cover the surface merely. ‘They form a constituent part of the hills or plains in which they are found. Wherever the earth has been washed so as to produce deep gutters, they are seen in greatest abundance. Nor are they petrifactions, such as are found in rocks. ‘They have the same appearance as common oyster-shells, they lie loose in the earth, and thus indicate a comparatively recent origin. They occur three hundred miles northeast of Natchez, and but sixty miles south of the Dividing Ridge. : ae = a 72 : = Bch, ae ee cs ae 328 Geology; &c. of Tennessee, -§-c. * Rouge, one hundred and forty miles north of Net 3 I ene meet = first elevated land in ascending from the gulf. * The banks of the. ippi are higher than the interior, id would be annually overflowed by the river, but for a narrow embank- ment of earth about six feet high, called the Levee. By means of this, a narrow strip of land, from half a mile toa ile in width, is redeemed, and cultivated with cotton and the cane, to the great advantage of the planter. Generally, within one mile from the river, there is an impenetrable morass. ‘The country has every where the appearance of an origin comparatively recent. Not a rock on which you can stand, and no mountain to gladden the eye; you seem to have. left the older parts of the creation to witness ihe encroachments which the earth is continually making upon the empire of the seas “and on. arriving atthe mouth of the Mississippi, you find the grand instruments of nature in active operation, producing _- with slow, but certain gradations, the same results. 4 A destructive Insect. But I will not enlarge on a fact already familiar. I will ask your further indulgence only, while I communicate an authen- tic and curious fact for the information of the zoologist. ; In the Choctaw country, one ‘hundred and thirty miles northeast of Natchez, a part of the public road is rendered famous on account of the periodical return of a poisonous and destructive fly. Contrary to the custom of other insects, it at the same season of the year, without producing extensive “% +” Tos . * +: oe : Se by, B. Corneliuses "329 iges 3 es : - r of 1816, when it began to be gene- : ses of travellers: So far as I recollect, it three hours after encountering this litile insect. Or, if the animal were fortunate enough to live, a sickness followed, commonly attended with the sudden and entire shedding of hair, which rendered the brute unfit for use. Unwilling te believe that effects so dreadful could be produced by a cause apparently trifling, travellers began to suspect that the Indians, or others, of whom they obtained food for their horses, had, for some base and selfish end, mingled poison with it. The greatest precaution was observed. ‘They re- fused to stop at any house on the way, and carried, for the distance of forty or fifty miles, their own provision ; t after all suffered the same calamities. This excited a serious in- quiry into the true cause of their distress. The fly, which as been mentioned, was known to be a most singular insect, and peculiarly troublesome to horses. At length it was ad- mitted by all, that the cause of the evils complained of could be no other than this insect. Other precautions have since been observed, particularly that of riding over the road in- fested with it in the night; and now it happens that compara- tively few horses are destroyed. I am unable to describe it rom my own observation. I passed over the same road in April last, only two weeks after it disappeared, and was obliged to take the description from others. Its color is a dark brown; it has an elongated head, with a small and sharp pro- e bescis; and is in size between the gnat and musqueto. When it alights upon a horse, it darts through the hair, much like a gnat, and never quits its hold until removed by force. When a horse stops to drink, swarms fly about: the head, and crowd into the mouth, nostrils, and ears; hence it is supposed the poison is communicated inwardly. Whether this be: true or not, the most fatal consequences result. It is singular, a * ai ‘ % 330 Geology, $<. of Tennessee, Sc. by E. Cornelius. . that from the time of its first appearance, it has never ex- tended for a greater distance than forty m 3, in one direction, and usually, it is confined to fifteen miles. In no other part of the country it ever been seen. From. this fact, it would seem — the cause of its existence is local. But what it is, none can tell. After the warm weather commences, it disappears as effectually from human observation, as if it were annihilated. Towards the close of December it springs up all at once into being again, and resumes the work of de- struction. A fact, so singular, I could not have ventured to state, without the best evidence of its reality. All the circum- stances here related, are familiar to hundreds, and were in almost every man’s mouth, when I passed through the coun- try. In addition to this, they were confirmed by the account which I received from Col. John M’Kee, a gentleman of much intelligence and respectability, who is the present agent of the general government for the Choctaw nation. He has consented to obtain specimens of the insect for your examina- tion, when it returns again; and will, | hope accompany the transmission with a more perfect description than it has been possible for me to communicate. In concluding this narative of facts, I should be glad to take a comprehensive view of the whole. The bold features in the geology of the United States, as they are drawn by the Blue Ridge, the Cumberland with its associated mountaiDs, and the Dividing Ridge, deserve to be distinctly and strongly impressed upon the mind. Such is the order and regularity of their arrangement, that they can hardly fail to conduct the attentive observer to important results. What has now been said of them, is but an epitome of the whole. I trust the public will soon read, in the pages of your Journal, 4 detail more perfect and more interesting. And allow me to suggest, whether, under the auspices of our learned societies, some men of science might not be employed and supported jn ex- ploring the country, with the prospect of greatly enlarging the science of our country, and of enriching our Journals an Cabinets of Natural History. Tours of discovery have often been made for other objects, and with success. Our country A ee : — —_— * * *,'s ee ee. eS : we ** ss rs OR. Wi Wells on Prairies. « . ~~ 8h ia” yields to no other in the variety, or the value of its das _ productions. We owe itato “Ourselves and to the priori to . - search them out with diligence and without delay. — m= Somers, (NV. Y.) Oct. 1818. es ' ‘ Brae Art. II. On the Origin of Prairies. - on E * St. Louis, (Missouri Ter.) March 3, 1819. Sir, Tie probable cause of the origin and continuance of prai- ries has been the subject of much speculation among the learned and curious. The inquiry is interesting; and many theories have arisen; but although plausible and ingenious, they are, in my opinion, unfounded in fact. Ishould be glad to see the following remarks, which were called forth more particularly by the speculations of Cale Atwater, Esq. (See No. 2. p. 116. of this work) appear in your valuable Journal of Science; and they are, for that pur- pose, at your service. With high respect, I am, Sir, your’s : R. W. . Benjamin Silliman, Esq.

    ic eg Brace on the Minerals of Litchfield. 353 mica slate ridge, and undoubtedly had been formerly imbedded in the slate. Beautiful white talc, and small crystals of sul- phuret of iron, are disseminated in the mass. Specimens of this mass are in almost all the cabinets in America. Smaller masses have been found associated with feldspar. Small crys- tals of this mineral are very common in mica slate, with stau- rotide and garnet. ‘Two of these crystals are often arranged at right angles with each other. In Cornwall it is found in small crystals in the gneiss containing graphite. 7 iy Staurotide is very common and very beautiful. _ It is found principally in mica slate, and often exhibits the cross. It most generally is crystallized in four-sided prisms. Quartz, of course, is common, Cornwall particularly is dis- tinguished for the smoky variety.» Ferruginous quartz is found in rolled masses in the whole of this range. = - Petro-Silex, in rolled masses. with ferruginous quartz, con- taining veins of chalcedony and hornstone, aud geodes of quartz crystals, are common in Litchfield and Goshen. Sometimes these masses in the interior assume the appearance of Burr- Stone. Common opal has been found in Litchfield, though rarely, It was a part of a mass of ferruginous quartz, with indelible dendritic impressions. It is very hard, and its fracture,is, con- choidal. hid ie 3 cee gibszs Mica is very common. It is found green, white, and per- fectly black. It generally oceurs in blocks of granite. - Schorl,; in rounded crystals, is found in all the granite in this range ; -in radiating crystals on quartz; and in a acicular crys- tals on mica slate. The large crystals are so brittle, that few of them. can be obtained perfect. 1 once found it in Litch- field, near Plymouth, in prismatic crystals on earthy eraphite. Feldspar is very common and beautiful in all the towns, It is usually found in rhomboidal fragments, and has a fine lustre. It is blue, white, and red. Some of the granite of Torring- ford is very beautiful, being composed of white and. smoky quartz, red feldspar, and green mica, In the porphyritic gneiss, feldspar is in six-sided prism. One small crystal of aria, well defined, has been found by E. Wilkins, Esq. 354 Brace on the Minerals of Litchfield. l, both crystallized and massive, is often found in Litchfield in granites. Its colors are green, greenish yel- low, pale yellow, and brown. Its crystals are often very per- Garnets are common in all the towns of this range. _ Epidote. Very beautiful crystals of this mineral have been found in Washington, associated with feldspar. They are so rounded as to render it very difficult to discover their form. They have a very fine lustre, and are of an olive green; in Litchfield, in crystals with hornblende, and graphic granite, and in veins of sienite. ~ Perhaps no region can be found containing more beautiful tremolite. All its varieties occur; the fibrous of Litchfield and Bethlem is very much distinguished. In Canaan, it is found con- taining crystals of sulphuret of iron. 1 do not speak here of the tremolite found in the limestone range. ~ Common asbestus exists in Washington and New Milford. he white augite is a mineral found in this range; in Litchfield, in six sided prisms very much flattened, on quartz, and carbonate of lime with tremolite. The crystals sometimes occur several inches long. The lamellar and slaty varieties of common hornblende are very common. Radiated actynolite of beautiful bluish green in Litchfield; in Canton of a brownish green. Steatite is common, and js quarried in Litchfield. The va- rieties of tale are very common, connected with steatite, cya- nite, and chlorite. Chlorite in Litchfield, is found on quartz, with talc. Porcelain clay in Litchfield in small quantities, and in Wash- ington. Graphite is found in Cornwall in great quantities. Its gangue is gneiss and sienite. It is lamellar, and has a metallic lustre ; is easily obtained and might be made useful. Epidote and cy- anite are found with it. Ores are not common. Oxides of iron, and sulphuret of iron are scattered over the whole range. Near Mount Prospect in Litchfield, sulphuret of iron in mass is in great quantities; Baldwin on Rottbéllia. 355 and sulphate of iron on the surface of the ground near it. A stone containing a few grains of native copper was found in Litchfield. The red oxide of titanium occurs in Litchfield sparingly. A very handsome specimen of the reticulated oxide of titanium, was picked up. It was on mica, and the. mica mee an evident tendency towards the same form. BOTANY. 9 BOB 1 T. VI. An account of two North. American Species of Rott- béllia, discovered on the Sea-Coast in the e of Georgia, by Dr. Wi11am Barpwiy, of Philadelphia. Flowers in pairs, or two from each joint of the rachis, one neutral. The neutral, or imperfect flowers, pedicillate. Rottbéllia corrugata. f Coutmo erecto, compresso, sulcato, glabro, ramoso; foliis longis angustisque: spicis sub-compressis, nudis super uno latere, solitariis et terminalibus, supremis approximatis; caly- cis bivalvis, valva exteriori transversé corrugata et longitu- dinaliter rugosa : corolla trivalvis. Culm erect, compressed, sulcate, smooth, ramose: leaves long and narrow: spikes slightly compressed, naked on one side, solitary and terminal, approximating towards the summit: calyx 2-yalyed, the exterior valve transversely corrugate, and - longitudinally wrinkled; corolla 3-valved. Vid Nuttall’s North merican Genera, v. I. p. 84.* * * Mr. Nuttall will excuse me for retaining my own specific name. His knowledge of this plant was derived from my Herbarium, where he found it under the name of tripsacum cylindricum, Mich? Although it can hardly ‘2B. “ : 356 Baldwin on Rottbéllia. Culm two to three feet high, with a very solid exterior, but spongy within D, compressed, and deeply grooved on its inner angle the whole length between the joints. Leaves “a sod row, and acute, scabrous on the margin and midrib. S$ ye compressed, corresponding with the culm, shorter than t internodes, open, with membraneous margins. Peduncles short, clothed with a thin membraneous acute pointed sheath, which generally encloses also the base of the spike. _ Spikes two a three inches long. The flowers are arranged in alternate or- der, but occupy only one side of the rachis, as in the R. dimi- diata. The neutral florets, or clavate pedicels, are joined late- rally to the perfect flowers. Articulations of the rachis c# markably tumid, attenuated beneath, flat on the interior oo exteriorly convex, scabrous, and longitudinally striate.” e exterior valve of the calyx, in the perfect flowers, is ovate, ytuse, very thick, cartilaginous, the inner margin inflected, and deeply marked on its outer surface with from three to five corrugations, with longitudinal ridges between them; -the in- terior valve is smaller, of equal length, acute, ruled, coriace- ous, smooth, and with the inner margin also inflected. The valves of the corolla are membraneous, ovate, acute, white, shorter than the calyx, the exterjor one the longest. The neutral florets are somtimes male, but most commonly consist of nothing more than a 2-valved calyx, the valves equal, gaping, scabrous, and much smaller than those. of the perfect flower. Stamens 3, very short. Anthers twin, yellow. Styles 2, rather longer than the stamens. Stigmas small, plumose, dark purple. Discovered between St. Mary’s and Jefferson, in Camden county, Georgia, on the 13th of July, 1813. Inhabits flat, moist pine barren. I have not seen it “on the sea-coast © — ; 2 OBSERVATIONS. fers It will be perceived that my description of this plant di Ss materially from that of Mr. Nuttall. This has unavoidably be the plant of oo, bs was so considered by the late Dr. Muhlenberg; wren edtohim. Itremains under this name . in his herbarium, but is not included in his work on the grasses. He i for me to describe along with other new and doubtful plants from the south, /> : Baldwin on Rotibéllia. 357 arisen from my having attended to it in its living. state, and from his not availing himself of the information which it would have afforded me pleasure to have communicated, had he done me the favor to have requested it, or informed me of his wish to publish an account of plants thus obtained. He has called: the culm solid, leaves rather short, spikes cylindric, axillary, jihe flowers and rachis entirely smooth, pedicel of the neutral flower emarginate, outer valve of the hermaphrodite calyx acute, the valves of the corolla obtuse, and the styles very short. 1 have not been able to confirm the above characters, nor do I find them even in the dried specimens. Besides, he has omitted to inform us that the rachis is naked on one side. This is a most important and prominent specific character, the omission of which would necessarily lead to much doubt in identifying the species. What he means by stating that the “outer valve of the hermaphrodite flower is 3-valved,” I cannot imagine, nor do I comprehend what is intended by an “exterior auxiliary yalye, or neutral rudiment; nearly the length of the calyx.” Ihave. noticed ina single instance connected laterally with the corolla of the perfect flower, two very delicate, narrow, acute pointed bodies, the length of the outer valve, and of the same quality and appearance, but these I have considered as acci- dental, and cannot perceive any thing about them like neutral rudiments. Nor can-I consider the articulations of the rachis as “deeply excavated.” ‘They are, as already stated, flat on the inner side, and constitute from their flexuous form, position, and connexion with the pedicels of the neutral florets, an arch in which the perfect flowers are situated. Rottbéllia ciliata.* Culmo erecto, tereti, glabro, ramoso: foliis angustissimis, brevibus: spicis cylindricis super pedunculis teretibus longis, solitariis terminalibusque : calycis bivalvis, margine valva exteriori ciliata: corolla bivalvis. * "This is the specific name found in my Herbarium by Mr. Nuttall, under which it had been previously transmitted to Mr. Elliott. Vid. Muttall’s North merican. Genera, v. I. p. Vol. 1.... No. 4. 358 ° eg Baldwin on Rottbéllia. Culm erect, terete, smooth, ramose: leaves very narrow, short: spikes cylindrical upon long terete peduncles, solitary and terminal, calyx 2-valved, the margin of the exterior valve ciliate: corolla 2-valved. _ Root perennial. Culm two to four feet high, generally ra- mose, solid, and terete, except that between the joints where the branches originate, it is grooved on the inner side, and of- ten ciliate on its angles near the joints. The branches origi- nate towards the extremity, commonly from two to three in number each supporting a single terminal spike. Leaves very narrow, acute, sippitniticly short, those beneath much the wards the apex. Sheaths rather shorter than the internodes, open to the base, but closely embracing the culm. Spikes 3 to 5 inches long, the peduncles clothed with a very delicate acute pointed sheath, which embraces it so closely as almost to elude observation, varying much in length, but seldom extending to the base of the spike. Peduncles scabrous near the spike. Flowers alternate, the male or neutral florets situated on one side of the rachis. Rachis compressed, slender, flexuous, hairy on its exterior surface. Pedicel of the neutral florets also compressed, and haity on its exterior surface. Valves of the calyx nearly equal, lanceolate, acute, coriaceous, polished, the inner margin of each inflected. The exterior margin 0 the outer valve finely ciliate towards the apex. Valves of the corolla lanceolate, acute, membraneous, nearly the length of the calyx. The male or neutral, are rather smaller than the hermaphrodite flowers. Stainens 3, very short. Anthers twin, purple. Styles 2, exsert, plumose, dark brown. Discovered in flat pine barren on the north side of Satilla river, in Georgia, on the 21st of October, 1815. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS. These plants are unquestionably allied to Andropogon in their mode of flowering, but have nevertheless sufficient essen- tial characters to distinguish them. In habit, they appear but slightly similar. They differ principally from their congeners Dr. Williams’s Floral, Zoological, Ge. 359 in the pedicellate character of their neutral florets. 7) 3 are not axillary in either of them. The branches are axillary of which several sometimes originate from the same axil in the R. corrugata. Each spike, when fully evolved, is not only pedicellate, but the pedicel, or peduncle, is connected with a culm containing one, two, or more joints.* The culm is not compressed, nor the leaves long in the R. ciliata, as stated by r. Nuttall, who appears to have confounded the two species in these, and some other instances. The joints of the rachis in both are fragile, the joints of the culm in neither. Another species noticed by Michaux, and included in all our books as the R. dimidiata, L. has long been familiar to the south- ern botanists. Whether this be the dimidiata found also on the sandy shores of India, or the compressa of the same country as suggested by Mr. Elliott, or a species distinct from either, I am not prepared to determine. ButI have collected this plant in the Bermudian Isles, at Rio de Janeiro, and Bahia, on the Brazilian coast, and lastly on the island of Flores, near one hundred miles from the mouth of the Rio de la Plata, as well as on the main in the Banda Oriental. > Art. VII, Floral Calendar kept at Deerfield, Massachusetts, with Miscellaneous Remarks, by Dr. ——— W. Wituiams, of Pe Professor Silliman. Sir, Any thing which has a tendency to elicit facts with regard to the climate of a country must be interesting. I believe that observations upon the the time of the germination, foliation, florification, and fructification of plants, afford.a much more correct criterion respecting climate than thermometrical, or other meteorological journals. They should be made at the Mr, Nuttall was probably deceived from having examined the sptkes before they were fully evolved. 360 Dr. Williams’s Floral, Zoological, and same time in various parts of the country, and for several years in succession. I send you a Calendarium Flore, with miscellaneous remarks, made in Deerfield, Massachusetts, du- ring apart of the years 1811, 1812, and 1818, which, if you please, you may insert in your valuable Journal. Latitude of Deerfield, 42° 32’ 32”, longitude 72° 41’. 1811. March 1. Blackbirds arrived. 15. Black ducks arrived. Bees out of the hire. 20. Early garden pease, lettuce, and peppergrass sown. 28. The woods were swarming with pigeons. Wild geese passed over. The greater part of the month of March was warm and pleasant. The sugar-maple yielded its sap profusely for a days, but the nights were so warm that much less than the usual quantity of sugar was made this year. “pril 1. Frogs begin to be heard. Peas and oats sown- 8. Buds of the lilac, (Syringa vulgaris) the small red rose the elm, (Ulmus americana) the apple, and the peas ~ considerably swoln. 14. Dandelion (Leontodon taraxteum) in fall flower. 20. Indian corn planted; a few garden seeds sown. Martins and bank swallows arrived. Leaves of the currant and goosebery expanded. Weather for a few days past sultry and smoky. 21, Blue violet (Viola cucullata) in full flower. Shad-bush (Aronia Botryapium) in blossom. Flower-buds of the : lilac swoln; likewise the flower-buds of the cherry, pear, and apple. 23. Blood root (Sanguinaria canadensis) in full flower. 25. Asparagus fit for the table. 26. Chili strawberries in flower; this plant begins to blossom early, and continues to flower late in the season. English cherry, black heart (Prunus cerasus) in full owe: er. 27. Garden violet (V. tricolor) in full flower. Miscellaneous Calendar, +361 April 29. Flower buds of the peach expanded. Large white plum (Prunus domestica) in full flower. Winter pear (Pyrus communis) in flower. May 1. Red and white currants in flower. 2. Leaves of the Lombardy poplar (Populus dilatnte) ex- panded. English and field sitawberrieh in blossom. Butternut (Juglans cinerea) in blossom. ouse flies arrived. Apple-trees in full flower. Lilac in full flower. Red-headed woodpecker arrived. . Rye (Secale cereale) beginning to head. Pleasant es a“ cold nights. Hard frosts for a few nights past. _ - Honeysuckle (Azalea nudiflora) in full flower. Small red rose in flower. Choke cherry (Prunus serotina) in full flower. . Common red clover (Trifolium pratense) in full flower. Garden peas in full flower. Hummingbird arrived. . Night-hawks arrived. . Sugar-maple in flower. all wl tlt eS Sg — ek {2 90 SNES June 2. Locust-tree (Robinia pseudoacacia) in flower. 3. Field strawberries beginning to ripen. Piony in flower. 4. High blackberry (Rubus villosus) in full flower, Broad- leafed laurel (Kalmia latifolia) beginning to blossom. 7. Snow-ball, guelder-rose (Viburnum opulus) in full flower. Radishes fit for the table. 12. Our farmers begin to mow their first crop of grass in low land. Large white rose (Rosa alba) in full flower. 21. Red currants beginning to ripen in plenty. Blackberried elder (Sambucus canadensis) beginning to blossom. 27. Indian corn tasseling. Black raspberries beginning to ripen. Nodding lily (Lilium canadense) in flower, 29. Potato (Solanum tuberosum) in full flower. July 1. Red raspberry (Rubus strigosus) beginning to ripen. Poppy (Papaver somniferum) in flower. 362 Dr. Williams’s Floral, Zoological, and July 5. Chestnut-tree (Castanea americana) flowering 6. Large red cherry fully ripe. String beans fit for the able. : Perhaps we never experienced a greater degree of heat in this part of the country than has been felt for three days past. A number of hives of honey have melted during the heat. 4. Cucumbers fit for the table. 15. Rye fit for the sickle. 16. Black whortleberries (Vaccinium resinosum) ripening. 19. Early Potatoes fit for the table. Indian corn (Green) fit for the table. ' 20. Jenneting apples ripe. 21. Choke cherries (Prun. serotina) ripe. 26. Gooseberries ripening. - August 1. Martins departed. 5. Barn and bank swallows collecting in millions, upon our islands in the river, to depart. 12. Blackberries ripe. 20. Thorn apple (Datura stramonium) in full flower. Elderber- _ Ties fully ripe. September 1. Common pear fully ripe. Rare-ripe peaches fully ripe. 6. Bergamot pears fully ripe. oe 17. Great grapes (Vitis estivalis) fully ripe. Frost grapes (Vitis cordifolia) ripenin ng. | 21. Butternuts beginning to fall from the tree. 24. Our farmers busily engaged in harvesting their corn. ee Butternut defoliating. 28. 28. Elm beginning to defoliate. October 2. Chestout burrs opening. Tree defoliating. Sugar-maple and sycamore defoliating. = Blackbirds arrived again. Squirrels in plenty in our woods, though chesnuts and walnuts are scarce. Butternuts plen- ty. Cider and apples in great abundance. November 20, Wild seese returning to the southern regions. Miscellaneous Calendar: | 363 + #1812, March 21. Blackbirds, woodpeckers, and robins arrived. Wild geese passed over. 23, Bees out of the hive. April 3. Black ducks arrived. Large flocks of pigeons passed over. 9. Flower-buds of the elm considerably swoln. 11. Skylarks arrived. | 12. Frogs begin to be heard. 13. Leaf-buds of the soft maple (Acer rubrum) much swoln. 14, Leaf-buds of the oes ge © much swoln. 16. Early garden peas sown. 13. Dandelion (Leon. tarax.) in full flower. Blae or meadow violet (V. cucullata) in flower. Leaves of the lilac beginning to expand. Our farmers busily engaged in ploughing for sowing. - 23, Peas and oats sown, and Indian corn planted. 25. Swallows arrived and whippoorwills begin to sing. 27, Leaves of the gooseberry, and willow (Salix Muhlenbergii) beginning to expand. May 5. Martins arrived. 10. Asparagus fit for the table. Blood-root (Sing Canaden- sis) in full flower. 11. Chili garden strawberries beginning to blossom. Flower- buds of the lilac swoln. 2. Elm in full flower. Leaves of the meadow violet begin- ning to expand 13, Garden violet (V. tricolor) in flower. 14, Field strawberries in full flower. Shad-bush (Aronia bo- tryapium) in blossom. 15, English cherry beginuing to flower. 19. Winter pear beginning to blossom. 22. Hummingbirds arrived. Large white plum of ePvinil domes- tica) in fall flower. Butternut beginning to flower. 23. Flower buds‘of the peach (Amygdalus persica) beginning to expand. Gooseberry in flower. — 364 Dr. Williams’s Floral, Zoological, and _ May 27. Apple trees beginning to blossom. 99, Early garden lettuce (Lactuca sativa) fit for the table. 30. Apple-trees in full flower. 31. Night-hawks arrived. Vegetation has put forth apparently more in three days past than in all the spring before. Nature seems to revive from a state of torpidity, from the warm and invigorating rays of the sun. The month of May has been more backward than the month of April, 1811. The observation of elderly people, that the month of April, old style, was never known to termi- nate without producing apple-blossoms, has by no means been verified this year, they being now (June Ist.) in full flower. The snow upon the mountains, thirty or forty miles back, is at agreat depth; so deep, that on the warm day of the 29th ourriyver rose afoot from its melting. Diseases of the chro- nic kind have been peculiarly severe for three months past. ‘The gladsome return of the cheering warmth will probably renovate the enfeebled constitutions of many of. our aged ople. June 1. House flies arrived. 5. Choke cherry (Prun. serotin.) in full flower. | Honey- suckle apple (Azalea nudiflora) in full flower. 8. Piony in full flower. Snowball (Viburnum opulus) in full & flower. Flower-de-luce (Iris Versicolor) in blossom. 11. Early peas in blossom. Carraway (Carum carui) in ower. 15. ae (Robin. pseudoacac.) in fall flower. Field _ Strawberries beginning to ripen. 18. Common red clover in full flower. Cranesbill (Geranium maculatum) in blossom. Red raspberry in full flower. 23. Chili strawberries beginning to ripen. Garden sage Sais via officinalis) in full flower, 29. Our farmers busily engaged in haying. 30. Large red rose, large white rose, and damask rose (Rosa damascena) in flower. - Miscellaneous Calendar. 365 July 1. White pond lily (Nymphea odorata) in flower. 4. Black elder (Sambucus canadensis) in full flower. a. sand peas fit for the table. Red and white currants ripen- ing: 8. Nodding lily (Lilium canadense) in flower. ti, Garden beans (Phaseolus vulgaris) in fall seniet Chestnut in flower. Black raspberries ripening. 20. Early corn tasseled (Zea mays. Variety precoz.) Red rasp- berries fully ripe. zs 22. Whortleberries ripe (Vaccin. resinos.) 24. Cucumbers fit for the table 28. Early potatoes fit for the table. 29. Rye fit for the sickle. Early garden squashes (Cnc Melo-pepo) fit for the table. Biel eae - a August 2. Jenneting apples ripening. 5. Early corn fit for the table. 8. Wheat (Triticum hybernum) fit for the sickle. 28. Summer peas ripening. September 4. Watermelons and pene ripe: - Swallows departed. . Elderberries fully ripe. 11. Choke. cherries and wild cherries (Prunus virginiana) or Or ipo HApe. . 12. Yellow plum (Prunus chicasa) fully ripe. 15. Buiternut beginning to fall from the tree. # 16. Our farmers making their first cider. 22. Great grapes ripe. Chestnut October 2. Butternut and elm beginning to defoliate. urrs beginning to open. 5 9. Our farmers beginning to harvest their Indian corn. 1818. ae as Btachirds abrived” , robins, and blackbirds arrived. Bees out of ; ike hive. Vou 1.... No. 4. 7 * 366 Dr. Williams’s Floral, Zoological, and March 14. Broad leaved panic grass (Panicum. latifolium) be- ginning to sprout ona southern exposure, while there is sleighing in the street. A solitary spathe of skunk- cabbage (Pothos fwtida) beginning to show itself on the.same exposure. Leaves of the curled dock (Rumex crispa) appeared in the same place. Maple-trees tapped for sugar. 16. Pothos fetida in full flower. 25, Black ducks arrived. Catkins of the poplar-tree (Popu- lus tremuloides) expanded. Catkins of the speckled wil- low (Salix Muhlenbergiana) expanded. 30. Wild geese arrived. Phebe arrived. It began to rain hard on the first of March, and continued raining two days anda half, which nearly carried off an im- mense body of snow which enveloped the ground, Our which were more firmly locked with ice than they had been before known for many years to be, rose aboye their usual bounds, and swept the ice with such rapidity down their annels as to destroy most of the bridges on Connecticut _ Yiver, besides doing immense damage in other respects. Our meadows were nearly all under ice and water; and at that time a great explosion was heard in the north meadows, two miles from the street, similar to the noise of a cannon. It was occasioned by the throwing up of an immense quantity of frozen ground, which is a great curiosity. ‘The cause is not yet satisfactorily explained. The weather was very warm and pleasant from the 4th to the 22d. What snow the rain did not carry off was melted by the sun during the pleasant weniher. Vegetation had begun to put forth rapidly, and our birds of passare had arrived. A storm, which commenced on the 22d, as rapidly retarded the progress of vegetation as it was beriie accelerated, and the remainder © the month was gloomy and egiortable. Mud mid-leg deep in the streets. April 7. Flower-buds of the elm (Ulmus americana) beginning to swell. Miscellaneous Calendar. 367 April 8. na buds of the lilac (Syring. vulg-) bépttibing to & 10. habit of the soft or meadow maple (Acer rubrum) be- ginning to swell. Black alder (Alnus serrulata) in flower. American hazle (Corylus americana) in flower, and its catkins appearing. . Fair and pleasant, after along storm. It has rained six- teen days in succession. Frogs begin to be heard. Leaf- buds of the English cherry (Prunus ae a heart beginning to swell. Garden peas sow 12. Flies in myriads arrived in our streets. Catkiia of the butternut (Juglans cinerea) beginning to swell. Saxi- frage (Saxifraga virginiensis) in flower. : 13. Skylarks arrived. 14. Sweet fern (Comptonia asplenifolia) in flower. White birch (Betula populifolia) in flower. 16. Our farmers beginning to plough for spring wheat. 18. Bank swallows arrived. 19. Leaf-buds of the currant, the gooseberry, and the apple, considerably swoln. 20. Dandelion (Leon. tarar.) beginning to flower. Viola cu- cullata beginning to blossom. 22. Our farmers ploughing for peas and oats. The snow upon the hills 20 miles north and west from Deerfield is two feet and a half deep, and the winds from those quarters are so chilly as to retard the progress of vegetation. Icicles scarcely melted upon the south side of buildings in Halifax, Vermont; and it is too cold for making sugar. . Blood-root (Sanguinaria canadensis) in flower on a warm south side hill. Leaves of the English gooseberry be- ginning to expand. Venus’s pride (Houstonia coerulea) in flower. Early life-everlasting, (Gnaphalium planta- ginewm) crowfoot, (Ranunculus fascicularis) tooth-root, bm _ [32) ot (Dentaria laciniata) and meadow-rue ( Thalictrum ee tum) in full flower. . Trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) in full flower. Leaves of the barberry (Berberis vulgaris) beginning to ex- tS] for) 368 Dr. Williams’s Floral, Zoological, and pand. Five-finger, (Potentilla pumilla) adder’s tongue. (Erythronium dens-canis) liver-leaf, grees triloba) and wind-flower, (Anemone nemorosa) in flow fed af. tere potatoes and early corn planted. " Ele in full flow. 29. Water veraivieet (Ranunculus aabicsuieek and American cowslip (Caltha palustris) in full flower. 30. Daffodil (WVarcissus pseudo-narcissus) and rue-anemone (Anemone thalictroides) in flower. May 1. Soft maple (Acer rem in flower. 2. Martins arrived. 3. Leaves of the gooseberry beginning to expand. 4. Leaves of the currant and lilac beginning to expand. Pigeons arrived. 5. Wood. bulrush (Juncus sylvaticus) in flower. A great freshet in our meadows, from the melting of the snow upon the mountains, and from the great rain which has continued nearly a month. Beth. nodding trillion (Trillium rhomboideum) in flower i Flowers of the garden violet (V. tricolor) beginning to expand. 8. The young heads of asparagus breaking the ground. 9. Our farmers busily engaged in planting their Indian corm, though the weather is excessively cold. Sowed onions, arsnips, &c. 10. Bobylincolns (Bob of lincolns) arrived. Flower-buds of the lilac appearing. 11. Field strawberries (Fragaria virginiana) in full flower. Colt’s-foot ( Tussilaga JSarfara) in flower. 12. Whip-poor-wills begin to sing, : 13. Spice-bush (Laurus benzoin) in full flower. A freshet in the meadows. 2 14. Goldthread (Coptis trifolia) in full flower 15. Rattlesnake violet (Viola primulifolia) in full flower. 16. Chimney swallows arrived. 17. Leaves of the apple-tree expanding. Sugar maple co saccharinum) in full flower. Garden daisy (Bellis pe rennis) in full flower. Miscellaneous Calendar. 369 May 18. Asparagus fit for the table. ; 19. Smooth gooseberry (Ribes wva-crispa) in flower. 20; Shad-bush (Aron. Botryap.) in flower. 21. House wrens arrived. Moose-wood (Dirca palustris) in flower. 22. Garden currant (Ribes rubrum) beginning to flower. 24. Wake-robin (Trillium cernuum) and peas (Pyrus communis in flower. _. prt 25. Our mountain scenery diversified. Weather very warm. Garden potatoes and garden corn, planted on the 27th April, breaking the ground. Garden beans, cucumbers, squashes, watermelons, &c. planted. . Damson plum (Prunus domestica) and yellow or wild plum (Prunus chicasa) in flower. Elder (Sambucus canadensis) in flower. Carolina chatterer arrived. . Garden gooseberry (Ribes grossularia) and ave rivale) in blossom. Weather intensely warm. Ther- mometer at 86° at 2 o'clock, P. M. yesterday. . Apple-trees in full flower. Night-hawks arrived. 30. Choke cherries (Prun. Serotin.) in flower. 1, Lilac in full flower. © oO ns (Geum to ~I vo ive) i) The weather till the last week in May w rainy. Perhaps we have never. known more § than that of the first twenty days of the month. The last week in the month of May was unusually warm and fine. Veg- etation has put forth more within this week than it has in all the season before. ‘The blossoms on apple-trees are scanty, and there is but little prospect of fruit. Peach-trees in the Vicinity of this place were all killed by the extreme cold Winter, June 1, Hummingbirds arrived. 2. Honeysuckle apple (Azalea nudiflora) in fall flower. 3. Blue-eyed grass, (Sisyrinchium anceps) Krigia virgunica, and thorn-bush (Crategus coccinea) in flower. Garden seeds, planted on the 25th ult. have vegetated 3 or 4 in- ches high. Garden rhubarb (Rheum tataricum) in flower. * 370 Dr. Williams’s Floral, Zoological, aud June 4. Garden rocket (Hesperis pinnatifida) in flower. _ 6. Yellow water lily (Nuphar advena) in full flower. Folwer- de-luce (Iris virginica) in flower. Garden peas in full ~ flower. . The weather for twelve days past has been unusually warm and’ sultry. ‘The thermometer, much of the time in the mid- dle of the day, has stood at 84°, and vegetation has put forth with astonishing rapidity. = 8. House-flies arrived. 9. Horse-radish (Cochlearea armoracea) and peony in full eal ower. 10. Chives (Allium schenoprasum) in full flower. 11. Smooth stem lichnide (Phlox maculata) in full flower. ~ Our farmers busily engaged in hoeing their corn. 12. Fumitory (Fumaria officinalis) in full flower. _ 13. Field strawberries beginning to ripen. : 14. Locust-tree (Robinia pseudacacia) in full flower. 15. Locusts appearing in the south part of the town. The last time of their appearance here was in the year 1801. "Their periodical returns are once in seventeen years. Their appearance in the years 1733, 1759, 1767, 1784, and 1801, is recorded on the town book. They first attack the leaves of the black oak (Quercus nigra.) 16, Small red rose in flower. 17. Rosa caroliniensis in full flower. 18. Garden sage (Salvia officinalis) in flower. 19. Mock syringa (Phailadelphus coronarius) in flower. ; 20. Tulip-tree, commonly called cyprus or white-wood (Lirio- dendron tulipifera) in blossom. 21. Carnation pink (Dianthus caryophylus) in flower. 22. Our farmers commenced haying. An immense crop of grass on the ground. 23. Side-saddle flower (Saracenia purpurea) in flower. 24. Common St. John’s wort (Hypericum perforatum) in full Pe Cheat Miscellaneous Calendar. — 371 June 26. Garden radishes fit for the table. 27. Early garden peas fit for the table. Weather intensely warm. 28. American lime or linden-tree (Tilia Americana) in flower. 30. Flax (Linum perce in = flower. Thermometer in the shade at 2 F. Vegetation has put forth and increased with more asto- nishing rapidity this month than has ever been known. Not- withstanding the spring was very backward, the season now is forward. Our farmers commenced their first haying about a week earlier than they did last year. July 1. White water lily (Nymphea odorata) in flower. e 3. Red and white currants ripening. Yellow day li iF (Ue: ; merocallis flava) and Lilium canadense in full flower. 4, Cucumbers and watermelons in flower. Early summer corn. (Zea mays, variety precox) beginning to tassel, Garden rue (Ruta graveoleus) mustard (Sinapis nigra) motherwort, (Leonorus cardiaca)| and mullin (Verbas- cum thapsus) in full flower, Blue whortleberries (Vac- cinnium frondosum) beginning to ripen. Dewberry (Ru- bus trivialis) ripening. ; 5. Poppy (Papaver somniferum) in flower. - 6. Gardensquashes (Cucurbita Melo-pepo) in flower. 7. Red raspberry fully ripe, 10. Black raspberry fully ripe. 11. String beans fit for the table. 12. Unicorn plant (Martinia proboscidea) in full flower. 13. Thorn apple (Datura stramoniwm) and marygold (Tagetes erecta) in full flower. 15. Great water plantain (lisma plantago) and field clover : (Trifolium. arvense) in flower. 17. Mad dog weed (Scutellaria lateriflora) and. purple _yervain (Verbena hastata) in blossom. The weather for three weeks past has been excessively warm. The thermometer, for several days, has stood above 372 Dr. Williams’s Floral, Zoological, and 95°, part of the time at 98°. Our lands are now parching with drought. Our grass fields are completely embrowned. Our farmers beginning to reap their rye. July 19. Cucumbers fit for the table. Early corn (green) fit for the table. _ 21. Mother of thyme (Thymus vulgaris) in full flower. 22. Fig-wort (Scropularia marylandica) and loosestrife (Ly- stmachia stricta) in flower. 24, paring att (Convoloulus sepiums) and Orchis ciliaris in Il flower. 26. Wiksetlahecrtee (Vaccinium resinosum) ripe. Single-seeded cucumber (Sicyos angulata) in flower. 28. Garden lettuce and hop (Humulus lupulus) in full flower. 30, Our farmers reaping their wheat—a_ tolerable crop. _ Buckwheat (Polygonum fagopyrum) in flower. _ We had a great rain about the 20th, which restored the parched vegetation. The latter part of the month Was, how- ever warm, and ae August 1. Geatahoppers begin to sing. Crickets arrived. 2: Larkspur (Delphinium consolida) in flower. 3. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus) and pigweed Ceara album) in flower. 6. Broom-corn (Sorghum saccharatum) and lavender (Laven- dula spica) in flower. 7. Early jenneting apples ripe. Ambrosia trifida and Amer- icana senna (Cassia marylandica) in flower 11. Muskmelon ripe. Garden squashes and nile beans fit ~~ for the table 13. Seed-box Lsebeigia alternifolia) in flower. Garden goose- berries fully ripe. i4, Our farmers gathering their peas and oats—an indifferent crop. Weather warm and dry. 16. Martins departing. Bush clover (Lespedeza capitata) in flower. 18. Our farmers begin to mow their second crop of hay- Jerusalem oak (Chenopodium botrys) in flower. Ce om pe ye, i Rafinesque on the Genus Floerkea. 373. 20. Houseleek (Sempervivum tectorwm) in flower. 21. Herb clarry (Salvia sclaria) in blossom. 22. Swallows collecting in thousands to depart. Toothed coral (Cymibidium odontorizom) in flower. Saw bats for the first time this year. 24. Lopseed (Phryma leptostachia) and ladies’ tresses (Neottia pubescens) in flower. ; 27. Gay mallows (Lavatera thuringiaca) and Solanum nigrum 30. Burnet saxifrage (Sanguisorba canadensis) and water hore- hound (Lacopus europeus) in full flower. STEPHEN W. WILLIAMS. Deerfield, (Mass.) Jan. 25, 1818. Art. VIII. Description and Natural Classification of the Genus Floerkea, by C. S. Rarinesque. Tis genus was discovered in Pennsylvania, near Lancaster, by the Rey. Dr. Mulenberg, who communicated the same to Wildenow of Berlin. This celebrated botanist ascertained that it was a new genus, to which he gave the name of a German botanist, (Floerke) and published it in the third volume of the transactions. of the society des Curieux de la Nature of Berlin, for 1801, under the name of Floerkea proserpinacoides, which: long and uncouth specific name has been changed by every Subsequent author. Michaux has omitted it altogether, (with Many more American species) in his Flora Boreali Americana, published in 1803. Persoon calls it Floerkea lacustris, in Syn. plant. 1. p. 393. Muhlenberg Floerkea uliginosa, in Cat. pl. Amer. Sept. p. 36. and Pursh, in Flora Amer. Sept. 1. p. 299. unites it with the genus .Vectris, and calls it ectris pinnata, put- ting it therefore in the Hexandria digynia of Linnzus, while. all. the preceding authors had classed it in the Hexandria mono- gynia. I will show presently which among them appear to be Vol. 1....No. 4. 8 oa 374 Rafinesque on the Genus Floerkea. wrong; but I mnst notice before, that no botanist had I be- lieve endeavored to class it naturally, until Mr. Correa de Serra, who in his reduction of American genera to the natural families of Jussieu, attempted without having had an opportu- nity to see the plant, to place it in the family of Juncz, taking it therefore to be a monocotyle plant; being led into this er- ror by a mistaken idea, that all hexandrous plants must be monocotyle! But in the spring of 1816, 1 found this plant in the neighborhood of Philadelphia, near the falls of the Schuylkill) where it had escaped the attention of all the bo- tanists of that city, and in particular of Dr. William Barton, who has therefore omitted it in his Prodr. fl. Philad. and hay- ing communicated it to Mr. Correa, he acknowledged that it was dicotyle, of which fact I was aware, even before seeing the plant and dissecting its seed, by attending to its habit. The following exact description of this genus will enable the reader to ascertain how far I am correct in my presump- tions towards its natural arrangement. Floerkea. Perigone double persistent, sixpartite; the exte- rior calicinal 3 partile, sepals acute; the interior shorter, central and bifid style, two capitated stigmas. Fruit a bilobed atricule, tuberculated and bilocular dispermous, sometimes round, unilocular and monospermous by abortion of one lobe and cell. Seeds attached to the centre near the bottom, nearly lenticular, smooth albuminous, easily divided in two lobes. Habit. Small, delicate, annual, and glabrous plant, ‘with alter- nate polytome pinnated leaves, flowers axillar, solitary, P& dunculated. Floerkea uliginosa. Caule tenello flaccido erecto simplex, foliis 4 petiolatis imis ternatis, summis pinnato, quinatis, pinnu- lis lineari oblongis obtusis, integris floribus axillaris, solitaris pedunculis longis apice incrastatis. Stem delicate, soft, UP- right, and simple, leaves petiolated, the inferior ternated, the superior pinnated, quinate, pinnules linear-oblong obtuse, ~ Rafinesque on the Genus Floerkea. 375 | flowers axillar, solitary, and on long peduncles, swelled dnder the flower. Among the several specific names given to this plant I pre- fer Muhlenberg’s, as it expresses exactly the kind of situations where it grows, say in moist grounds, occasionally swampish or overflowed; those I found near Philadelphia, grew by thou- sands on the banks of a small brook in a wood below the et side of the falls of Schuylkill. Persoon’s name of lacustris, being wrong, as it would seem to imply that it grows in lakes only; and Wildenow’s name being too long and illusive, its similarity of habit with the genus Proserpinaca not being very striking. However, even the name of uliginosa is liable to some slight objection ; and did I think myself permitted to coin a new name, while so many have been proposed a ready, I should have called it either F. tenella, or F. flaccida, or F. oli- toria, being a very delicate and tender. plant, and very good to eat in salad, as I have tried it myself, its taste is sweet and pleasant, the whole plant may be eaten, (even the root) being all juicy and tender : it grows in such an abundance in some spots, that it might occasionally afford a most precious and de- lightful salad, and if cultivated for that purpose, it might be ound an agreeable addition to our culinary herbs. In addition to my above definition, it will be proper to state that the stem of this plant rises from 4 to 8 inches, it is cylin- drical, smooth, and yellowish, the middle leaves are the largest, the lower peduncles are longer than the leaves, and the upper ones shorter, the petals or interior sepals, and the stamens are yellow. It blossoms in May, and is annual, it even lasts only three months. It will be perceived that I do not agree with Mr. Pursh, in uniting this plant with the genus Nectris : he owns himself that it deviates a little from the generic character of Nectris, but these deviations appear to me very material ; they exist in the Pistils and fruits, the most essential parts of the flowers, since they agree in the perigone and stamens. The genus Nectris (or Calomba of Aublet) has two ovaries, two styles, and two po- lyspermous capsules, or achens! and belongs therefore to the second order Perimesia, (class Eltrogynia) eighth family Achen- ‘ ae sem 376 _ Rafinesque on the Genus vadeie 1 next to the genus Myriophylium : while the genus Flo- erkea which has a bilobed ovary, one central style, two stigmas, and one bilocular dispermous achen, must belong to the eleventh order of the same class; Isostimia, which is characterized by ;haying more than one stigma, the stamens in regular number. - «* not central ; it will form a connecting link between his der and the foregoing Polymesia, by its affinity with many ige- nera of the Euphorbia’s tribe, such as Callitriche, Tragia, Mer- eurialis, &¢. from which it differs merely by haying herma- phrodite flowers, and perispheric regular stamens. [ft will at Present stand nearly isolated in this order, where it may form sthe small family Galenidia, along with the genus Galenia, &c. and which shall have much affinity with the family Phytolucia; ibut this differs by haying a multilocular berry, while the Gale- -nia merely differs by having a 4 sided perigone, 8 stamens, and 2 styles. _ J admit, however, that there is a strong affinity between the Sark Floerkea and. Nectris, but stronger affinities often. exist ‘in plants of different classes. If, however, it should happen that Aublet* might have been mistaken in describing the ova- ‘and capsules of the Wectris as double, if they should prove ies to be simple but bilobed, then the Nectris would belong to the same family as the Floerkea; but yet standa peculiar genus no ig by having 2 styles, and the achens not monos- permou It was insinuated to me by Mr. Correa, that the Floerkea might have some affinity with the tribe of Ranunculacea, but I cannot discover any, since that tribe is widely different, by having many ovaries, stamens, and fruits, each ovary with 1 style or stigma, a deciduous perigone, the anthers adnate, &c. The analogy inthe structure of the seed and habit, is too slight to be taken in consideration. *Mr. Stephen Elliot has confirmed the description of Aublet, in his botany of Southern States. (Received January, 1818. Ea or.) : * = - aw Rafinesque on Cylactis, Nemopanthus, and Polanisia. 377 -- Arr. IX. Descriptions of Three New Genera of plants, fi hee State of New York. Cylactis, Nemopanthis, and Polanisia,— by C. S. Rarinesave. ’ 1. N. G. Cylactis. * Curyx campanulated 6 ‘to 10 fidus, sepals a little ‘unequal. * Petals 4 to 6 equal. Many perigynous stamens. Pistils 8 to 12, ovaries sessile ovate, styles elongated, stiginadcapitatad Berries few, distinct, one seeded. ‘This new genus belongs in the analytical and natural me- thod, (see Analysis of Nature) to the first natural class Eltro- gynia, first natural order Rhodanthia, second natural Sa: Senticosia, next to the genera Rubus, Oligacis, &c. It w range itself into the artificial class Icosandria of the EGbcen sexual system; but not properly into any of its orders, since the number of pistils is variable, and never above 12. Only one species belongs to it, which I have discovered in company with Mr. Knevels, on the Catskill mountains. The etymology of the name derives from two Greek words meaning radiated ‘culyx. It differs essentially from Rubus by the unequal many cleft calyx, variable petals, and few pistils. Cyluctis montana. Mountain cylactis—Stem herbaceous up- right, unarmed, pubescent ; leaves quinate, nearly s upper ones sessile, stipules oblong, folioles ovate acuminate, incised, serrated, ciliated, base acute, entire, the middle one petiofated : flowers few corymbose, peduncles erect elongated bracteolated ; calyx pubescent, sepals lanceolate acute, nerved, reflexed; petals cuneate-obovate, longer than the calyx. It is a small perennial plant, rising about half a foot; flowers white, blossoming in June. On the Catskill mountains near the great falls, &c. : eg Ps. eee eee 5 i wt od 2. WN. G. Nemopanthus. Dioical. M. flowers calyx 5 phylle, equal, deciduous. No corolla. Stamina 5 hypogynous, alternating with the calyx. ? -* € a 378. Rafinesque on Cylactis, Nemopanthus, and Polansia. Fem. fl. calyx deciduous 5 phylle? Ovary ovate, stigma sessile 4 lobed. Berry 4 celled 4 seeded. The name means flower with a filiform peduncle. A shrub forms this genus, which had perhaps been united with alex by Michaux, &c.; but it differs altogether from it by the want of corolla, hypogynous stamens, sessile style, &c. it does not ae even belong to the same family, but to the natural family * Rhamnidia, natural order Plynontia, and natural class Eltrogy- nia, next to the genus Frangula. In the sexual system it would belong to Dioecia pentandria, very far apart from Frangula. Nemopanthus fascicularis. Fascicled nemopanthus. Shrub- by leaves fasciculated, petiolate, oblong, mucronate, entire, rather undulate » membranaceous, smooth ; flowers axillary fasciculated, peduncles filiform, shorter than the leaves. It forms a small shrub from 5 to 8 feet high, covered with gray bark, and with slender upright branches ; the flowers are greenish, very small, the female flowers have shorter and thicker peduncles; they blossom in June. It grows on the Catskill mountains near the two lakes. It is, perhaps, the Ilex canadensis ? of Michaux and Pursh. And it has some ana- logy with the Frangula alnifolia. 3. N. G. Polanisia. Calyx 4 phylle, phylles coloured unequal, the upper one unguiculated spatulated. Corolla with 4 unequal petals, the two upper ones larger and unguiculated. A nectarium up- - wards glandular, broad, and truncated. Stamina 9 to 14, une- qual, erect, hypogynous. Ovary oblong on a short pedicel, one style, one truncated stigma. Fruit a follicular capsule, one celled, two valved, many seeded, seeds inserted on each side of each suture, nearly snail-shaped. The type of this genus is the Cleome dodecandra of Linneus, under which denomination many species were blended, which have no similitude with the real genus cleome, differing in the calyx, corolla, nectarium, stamina, and fruit. I shall describe here that of North America, where 2 or 3 species exist, besides those of the West Indies, Africa, and Asia, which are totally vat ey As pod x of rigs : BP Be gt i * Notice on Myosurus Shortii. 379 different. The etymology of the name which I have given to it, derives from many irregularities. It belongs in the analytical ‘method of botany, to the first natural class Eltrogymia, ninth nat- ural order Monostimia, natural family Capparidia. It can find ‘no place in the sexual system since .the number of tome va- rises from 9 to 14,unless it be forced into Dodecandria. Polanisia graveolens. Clammy polanisia—hairy and _ glutin- ous all over, stem upright, leaves alternate, petiolate, ternated, folioles sessile, the intermediate longest, oblong, obtuse, entire, hairy on the margin and nerves: flowers racemose erect, bracteas petiolate, ovate, obtuse, calyx hairy, petals emargin- ate, crenate, capsules divaricate glutinous. It is the Cleome dodecandra of Michaux and Pursh. It grows on the banks of rivers and lakes, on the Hudson near New- burgh, on the Susquehannah near Harrisburg, on Lake Erie, on the Ohio, and Mississippi, &c. It blossoms in July, and Au- gust, the stem rises about 1 foot, the petals are white, or slightly red. The whole plant has a strong graveolent smell, Similar to that of Erigeron graveolens. (Received January 1818. Editor.) Arr. X. Notice onthe Myosurus Shortit. I HAVE the pleasure to announce to the botanists, that the ~ genus Myosurus, hitherto thought an European genus, and composed of a single species, has been detected in the United States by Dr. Short of Kentucky, who has discovered it in the neighborhood of Hopkinsville, in Christian county, West Kentucky, and has communicated me specimens of it; by which, on comparing them with the European Myosurus, figured in Flora Danica, Lamarck’s Illustrations, &c. I have been enabled to ascertain, that the American plant must form a second species of that genus, which I have accordingly dedi-| cated it to the discoverer, by making it Myosurus Shortii. This adds another genus and another new species to our Flora. I add the comparative definitions of the two species, exhibiting their different characters and diagnosis. - 380 Myoswrus minimus. Lin. &e. Leaves linear-cuneate, broad- er near the top, and acute. Scapes as long as the leaves, thickened towards the upper part. Calyx 5 leaved, spurs consimilar: petals 5. Stamens 5 to 8. Carpophore as long as the scapes. : Philadelphia May 1, 1819. Ives on Gnaphalium. Myosurus Shortt. Rafi Leaves linear obtuse, hard- ly attenuated below. Scapes shorter than the leaves, and filiform. Calyx 3 to 5 leaved, spurs membraneou etals 3 C. S. RAFINESQUE. Ant. XI. Description of oF a Sa 9 Si a New Species of Gnaphalium, by Pro- fessor E. Ives, To B. Silliman, M. D., &c. Tur following description of a new species of Gnaphalium, accompanied. two years. If correct error, or solve doubts with a drawing, has been in my possession for the subsequent observations will be of use to which may have existed con- cerning some species of gnaphalium, they are at your sevice. This plant was first observed by me, in’ co €. Whitlow, in July, 1817, by the margin of t rods north of Mr. E. Whitney’s gun manufactory, Haven. It is also found on the margin of the H about thirty miles from Long Island sound, where it w served by Dr. Alfred Monson, of this plant were sent to Z. Collins, Esq. of Philadel E. IVES. mpany with Mr. he brook, a few near New ousatonick, as ob- Specimens the last summer. phia, for the purpose of comparing it with'the species of gnaphalium in Muhlenberg’s herbarium, more particularly wit h the /uteo- album and Pennsylvanicum, which I had not seen. to 5. Stamens 10 to 12. Car-_ pophore shorter than the scapes, — ral = ‘Ty id MOL (LECCPEDS . x A Qual: +2 = Say on Shells, §-c. 381 " 1 all'indebted to the politeness of Mr. Collins, for the facts on this subject relative to Muhlenberg’s herbarium. « He ob- serves, “your Gnaphalium is certainly not the luteo-album of Mahlenberg, which may not stricly be a native, but intro- duced. Y most appoaches G. polycephalum, Mx. Still, from | ent leaves and other differential marks, it : to be a new species. Muhlenberg’s collectiom As theeluteo-album is said to grow in New England, yet so far as my observation has extended it has not been found by any of the botanists, I am induced to believe that this opinion -has arisen from some erroneous description of the plant which is the subject of this paper. _ : As the decurrent leaves of this Gnaphalium distinguish it so obviously from all the other American species of Gnaphalium, I propose to give it the specific name of decurrens. yom Specific description of Gnaphalium Decurrens (large life everlasting.) Leaves lanceolate, broad at base, acute, decurrent, some- what scabrous above, tomentose beneath; stem leafy, branched, spreading about three feet high.—See the plate which repre- sents a section of the upper part of the plant. eee ee Tanna FOSSIL ZOOLOGY, &c. 4 ~~» 8 OE< a ; = : Art. XII. Observations on some Species of Zoophytes, Shells, &c. principally Fossil, by Tromas Say. : I; the following descriptions and notices of some of the animal productions of our country, chiefly fossil, and of which some are but little known, should be found of sufficient in- terest to occupy a place in the Journal of Science, they are very much at your service for that work. ; Vol. 1.... No. 4. 9 4 acs - + 382 Say on Shells, &. * The greater portion of them are extracted, with somélimodi- fication from an essay which I read about three years, ago, to the Academy of Natural Sciences, without any intention at the time of giving publicity to them. But the rapid diffusion of a _ taste for geological research, scems to require correspondi mains, inasmuch as geology, in order to be -emimet nished with every advantage that may tend to the ment of many important results, must be in part founded on a knowledge of the different genera and species of reliquie, which the various accessible strata of the earth present. The accessory value of this species of knowledge, is now duly esti- mated in Europe, as affording the most obvious»means of esti- mating, with the greatest approximation to truth the compara- tive antiquity of formations, and of strata, as well as of identi- fying those with each other which are in their nature similar. Certainly very little is yet known about the fossils of North America, and very little can be known accurately, until we shall have it in our power to compare them with approved _ detailed descriptions, plates or specimens of those of Europe ; which have been made known to the world by the indefatiga- ble ‘industry, and scientific research of Lamarck and other naturalists. America is rich in fossils. In many districts of the United States, vast beds of fossil shells, zoophytes, &c. are deposited, which for the most part, are concealed from the inquiring ey, offering superficially a mere confused mass of mutilated frag- ments, ‘These rich repositories must finally be exposed to view, by the onward pace of improvement, and the more inte- rior strata will be unveiled by some fortunate profound exca- vations, the result of enterprise in the pursuit of gain. The very surface of the country in many regions, is almost over- spread with the abundance of casts, or redintigrate fossils, many of which are apparently specifically anomalous, and some ge&- nerically so. ‘The correct, and only useful mode in which the investigation of our fossils can be conducted, is attended with some difficulty and labor. he oy* * Say on Shells, &c. 383 The task presumes the knowledge, not only of fossils in all their different states, from the apparently unchanged specimen, . to the fragment or section of a cast uninsulably imbedded in its rocky matrix, but it also requires an adequate acquaintance with recent specimens, or those of which the inhabitants are not yet struck from the list of animated beings, in other words those of the present, as well as those of the former world. Due advantage being taken of the many opportunities which are from time to time offered to us, of obtaining knowledge in this department, will probably be the means of producing a list of American animal reliquiz, coextensive with that of Europe at the present day. Inthe present state of the science, how- ever, the correct naturalist will fell ita duty which he owes to his collaborators to proceed with the utmost caution, that he may not add unnecessarily to the already numerous species. Genus Alveolites, Lam. Coral lapideous, covering extraneous bodies, or in asimple mass formed of concentric strata; strata composed each of a union of numerous alveoles, which are very short, contiguous, reticulate, and generally parallel. we Species. A. glomeratus., alveoles vertical, subequal, oval, or obsoletely hexagonal, much shorter than the diameter, parallel; paries simple; strata numerous, forming a rounded mass. (Cabinet of the Academy of Natural Sciences.) Found often on the coast of North America, cast up by the waves, the animals sometimes still living. Forms masses of various sizes and figures, generally more or less rounded or lobed, and composed of a great number of concentric layers. The number of these strata seems to be regulated in some de- gree by the quantity of surface they have to cover. Thus if the nucleus happens to be a small shell, such as the Natice Nasse, &c. of our coast, or even the oyster, (O- Virginica,) clam, (V. mercenaria,) &c. the strata are often very numerous ; * 384 Say on Shelis, dpe. but on the thoracic plate of Limulus polyphemus, having a con- - siderable. space over which to extend themselves, the strata are but few, not more than 2 or 3. I have seen the thoracic plate of this animal so entirely covered by the Alveolite, as to have the eyes and stemmata concealed so as to be perfectly blind. When composed of a single layer only, it much resem- bles a Flustra, or a Cellapore of which the convex surfaces have been removed by attrition. The animal I have not yet exa- mined. The alyeoles or cells of a layer, are arranged in lines of different degrees of curvature, obscurely radiating from dif~ ferent centres; these lines are placed side by side, the alve- oles alternating with each other throughout the layer in a quincunx manner; the thickness of the paries is somewhat equal to one half of the conjugate diameter of the alveole, the length of which, or thickness of the layer, is scarcely more considerable ; but these proportions vary. The species to which it seems allied are madreporacea and incrustans. The former is fossil, and differs in being subra- mose; the latter forms but a single expansion. 7 Genus Favosites, Lam. Coral lapideous, simple, of a variable form, composed of parallel prismatic and fasciculated tubes; tubes contiguous, pen- tagonal, or hexagonal, more or less angular, rarely articu- lated, Species. G. striata, more or less turbinate ; paries of the alveoles longitudinally. striated within, and fenestrate with minute 0- euli; alveoles with very numerous septe. (Cabinet Acad. Nat. Sciences ; and Peale’s Musewm—common.) Found fossil in various parts of the United States, at the falls.of the Ohio; Gennesee, New-York ; Pittsburgh and Wilks- barre, Pennsylvania; Missouri, &¢. &c. but not yet in the alluvial deposit of N ew-Jersey, : The tubes are generally, partially, or entirely filled with silicious. matter, sometimes so completely, as to resemble — Say on Shells, &. 385 in a basaltic columns; when the alveoles are free on the surface, these fossils are known by the name of pe wasp-nests, from the resemblance they bear to the nests = those insects. The silex is usually only infiltrated into the cavities, . . leaving the substance of the coral’ in its original calcareous state, but the specimens which are found amongst the roHed pebbles of the Delaware River, near Philadelphia, are com- pletely silicified. The size varies from one fourth of an ounce, to swo hun- dred pounds or more, and the tubes occur of every interme- diate diameter, from the fortieth to one fourth of an inch.’ It is not common to find any two specimens of like form, they are, however, ordinarily more or soi tarbinate, oe are some- times depressed or compressed, _ tubes excurved, and of various lengths. ‘The dilated summit is not -So much the effect of a gradual enlargement of the tubes, as of the frequent and adventitious interposition of young ones, which of course renders the openings of the tubes unequal. The tubes or alveoles, vary in the same coral, being 5 or 6, rarely seven sided, but the hexagonal form is most common ; the interior of a tube is divided into a great number of apart- ments or cells, by approximate transverse septe, each of the cells appears to be connected with the corresponding cells of the surrounding tubes, by lateral orifices in the dividing paries ; these orifices are minute, inequidistant, orbicular, their margins slightly promfaent; and forming from one to three longitudinal series on each side of the tube; each row is separated from the adjoining one by an impressed line. By means of these osculi it seems probable that all the animals inhabiting a com- mon coral, were connected together, or had free communica- tion with each other, but whether by means of a common or- gan as. in Pyrosoma, Stephanomia, &c. or simply by contact as in the aggregating Salpa, &c. we have no means of determining. The striata differs from Madrepora truncata, Esper. (F. al- yeolata, Lam.) in not being ‘extus transyersé sulcata.” It seems to be allied to Coralliwn Gothlandicum, Ameen, Acad. ¥.1. p. 106, and it is possible it may prove synonymous, or very similar to it, when that species hecomes better known ; 386 Say on Shells, &c. the latter has been taken for Basalt, and M. Lamarck when describing it, inquires “Est-ce un polypier?” | Madrepora fascicularis, of Volck. and Parkin. in common with F. striata and F. Gothlandicum, is distinguished by the transverse septa, a Character which induced me to refer the species here de- scribed to Favosite ; they seem therefore to be congeneric, as ‘analogy indicates a participation in the character of osculated paries. Amongst the great variety exhibited by this species, we have to remark more particularly the following, viz. : Ist. Alveoles perfectly free, that is, destitute of aciculi or lamella, the septa wanting, and sometimes the osculi ob- solete. 2d. Alveoles filled almost to the summit with the septa, and resembling those combs of the bee-hive which are filled with honey and covered over. 3d. Paries beset with very numerous, interrupted, alter- nating, transverse lamelle, which are denticulated at their tips, and project towards the centre with various degrees of prominence and irregularity. The first variety corresponds with the generic character, and the third approaches the genus Porites; yet so unequivo- cally identical are they, that I have seen them all united in € same mass and perforated throughout by the osculi. The identity is further obvious by the perfect gradation which renders them inseparable. With respect to the transverse septa, I think their presence may be accounted for by supposing that as the animal elongates its tube in consequence of an increase of growth, or in order to maintain an equal elevation with the adjacent tubes, (ren- dered necessary by the origin of young tubes in the interstices) it gradually vacates the basal portions of its tube, and sustains itself at the different elevations, by successively uniting the parietal lamelle so as to exclude the vacuity. ‘That this is pro- bable, we may infer from a similar procedure on the part of several species of testaceous mollusca. ‘Thus some Lin- nzan Serpula become camerated, and a familiar instance pre- sents itself in the Triton tritonis, the animal of which adds suc- Say on Shells, g:c. 387 cessive partitions to the interior of the spire, as that part be- comes too strait for the increasing volume of its body. If the above supposition proves correct, the organs of communication which pass through the osculi, can hardly be in common, but must rather connect the animals by simple contact only, other- wise these parts would be broken when the animal changes its place by vacating the inferior part of the tube. The third variety is then the state of that portion of the tube which is inhabited by the body of the animal, and not yet interrupted by the septe. From the above observations, it is evident that this species, and probably the entire genus Favosite under which I have placed it, will not arrange properly with the Tubipores, Mille- pores, &c. but must be transferred to the Polypiers Lamelliféres of Lamarck. And if the Madrepora reiepora of Solander and Ellis is a true Porites, as M. Lamarck supposes it to be from the appearance of its tubes, I should conclude this genus to be very proximately allied to Favosites, by that species and the F. Striata having in common the remarkable character of fenestrated paries. “But to this character I should conceive a generic importance ought to be attached, as indicating a differ- ential organization of the artificers. I have no doubt that on close inspection of a perfect specimen, the same character will be found to exist in F. Gothlandicum, and possibly also in F. truncata, if not in the latter only, it may be proper to se- parate the genus and to withdraw from Porites the foremen- tioned species, retaining to striata as specifically essential, the second member of the differential description. (To be continued.) 388 Beck on Salt Storms, &c. PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, &c. LF Any, XIU. Observations on Salt Storms, and the Influence of Salt and Saline Air upon Animal and Vi egetable Lafe. Read before the Lyceum of Natural History of New York, March 1, 1819, by Jomn B. Beck, M. D. (Communicated for this Journal.) Mlerrorotocy is a science of so much general concern, that it seems to be incumbent upon every member of society to aid in augmenting the stock of facts, which the labors of ingenious and scientific men have already accumulated on that subject. Under this impression 1 propose to devote the fol- lowing paper to some’ observations on salt winds or storms, as they have occurred in. this country and in Europe—@ subject, which although presenting many phenomena of a more than temporary interest, has as yet excited But little attention. Indeed, the opportunities for observation have occurred so rarely as readily to account for its having in a great measure escaped the philosophical.acumen of the present age. — It must haye been early observed that the atmosphere in the vicinity of the sea frequently becomes impregnated with saline materials; but the first. and only. account of a salt storm that I have met with, is to be found in the Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. The 8th volume of that work gives an interesting narration of the effects of a storm of this description, which occurred in England in January, 1803. was occasioned by an east wind, which blew for some days, and which in its passage over the ocean, had imbibed large quantities of salt water, which were afterward deposited upoP the land. In most cases these depositions proved fatal to the plants and vegetables which received them. S0 extensive - Beck on Salt Storms, 4-c. 389 were the effects of this singular storm, that they were felt in the vicinity of London, at a distance of about seventy miles from the ocean, and in all the intermediate country. In most instances, the leaves of the plants, which suffered from it, appeared as if they had been scorched, and in some places even the tops of the branches mortified. A storm of the same kind took place in England, in February, 1804: and the me- moir states, that Sir Joseph Banks had noticed another some years before in Lincolnshire.* A storm attended with similar effects occurred in this coun- try in 1815, and- vented its fury upon the eastern states. It commenced on the 23d of September, between eight and nine o’clock, A. M. with the wind from the east. In about two hours the wind shifted to southeast, and blew a perfect hur- ricane. The extended devastation which ensued, is still in the recollection of every person. The tides rose from nine to twelve feet higher than ordinary, and in many of the prin- cipal cities and towns along the coast of New England, churches, houses, bridges, wharves, and in some instances valuable citizens, were buried in one common ruin. In less than three hours the gale abated, and before sunset there was a perfect calm. Such were the more striking features of this tremendous gale—but other effects were observed more pecu- liarly interesting to the philosopher. At New-London, eM; and other places, both on the coast, and several miles in the interior, the air was found to be loaded with salt; and the leaves of many trees appeared, a few hours after the storm, as if they had been scorched. Besides this effect upon vegetables, there were additional evidences of the saline quality of the wind. At Salem and some other places an incrustation of salt was perceived on the windows, and the fruit in several gardens had a perceptible taste of salt on the surface. At New-London it was remarked that the air in the eddies was extremely hot and suffocating. % *L refer th i if jer for further par ticulars to * An.account of astorm of Salt, which fell in January, 1803. By Richard Salisbury, F.R.S, L.S.” in the Transactions of the Linnean Society of London. Vol. VIII. p. 207—-10. 701 1:.:. No. 4 10 a Beck on Salt Storms, &c. Other facts of a similar nature might be collected, but these it is presumed are sufficient to characterize the state of the atmosphere during that storm. - Several interesting inquiries arise from the consideration of the foregoing facts. - 4. In what way does the salt -exist in the atmosphere in these storms? On this point there are two different opinions. The most prevalent is, that it is merely the spray of the sea driven onward by the force of the wind. ‘This opinion has received the sanction of Sir Joseph Banks,* and also of Sir Humphry Davy, if we may judge from an incidental expres- sion in his Agricultural Chemistry-1 Another opinion is, that muriate of soda is continually rising into the atmosphere from the surface of the ocean, and thatthe air, in all maritime situations, is thus constantly more or less impregnated with salt. The most striking fact in support of this doctrine, (so opposite to the commonly received views on the subject of the evapo ration of sea water) is the actual existence of muriate of soda in the rain and snow which fall in the vicinity of the ocean.§ The experiments of Vogel and Bouillon Lagrange, on the distillation of sea water, are also in favor of the position, that salt may be carried into the air in the ordinary process of evaporation. On distilling salt water they found a considera- ble quantity of muriate of soda in the received 1257 2 Linnean Transactions. Vol. VIII. p. 280. 1 P. 839. Lond, ed. t Maintained by Dr. Mitchill. § My friend, Dr. John Torrey, has favored me with the following results of some experiments, which he made at my request upon the last snow whieh fell. “A pint and a balf of snow water was reduced by evaporation toa few drops: Gn testing this with vegetable blue infusions no alteration of color took place- ‘ te 7 a a a 1} - f +. of a solidre- pure pain water ipitate. Nitrate thick with oA ral o 5 Bi _ = or 7 2 pape! pad . 4 . siduum was obtained. This was redissolved in as lig ity aa: ¢ tact bp FBS Bey | ay - . . p 9 or any prec G piu } e of silver p hite précipitat p that the solution was it. 2 lect of soda produced no effect. The transparency of a soluti mufiate of barytes was not disturbed by it. These experiments prove, that a free acid does not existin snow water, but that the muriatic exists in it eomb in- ed with an alkali, which is most probably soda.” Free muria- || Mr. J. Murray, of London, considers this to be @ mistake. ; t.— Ele tie acid, and not muriate of soda, he says will be found in the recipien mints of Chemistry. Part I. p. 212. “Lond. ed. 1818. Beck on Salt Storms, ¢. | 391 Admitting the correctness of these experimenis, still it is not easy to conceive, how they will account satisfactorily for the large quantities of salt found in the air during the storms under consideration. Whichever of these solutions may be adopted, it is unques- tionably a fact that salt does, in some way Or other, exist in the atmosphere in the neighborhood of the sea. 2. The next object of inquiry is, the influence which this saline air has upon vegetable life. Independently of the facts already stated, there are many others which prove its dele- fruit trees do not thrive well, except ata distance of thirty miles from the sea, and even the sturdy oak does not extend its branches towards the ocean.* If I am correctly informed, it was with great difficulty, that the trees on our Battery were made to accommodate themselves to a situation so near the salt water. It is also well known, that when plants are taken to sea, they speedily perish, if exposed but a short time to a wind, which is sufficiently strong to turn over the tops of the waves into white caps, as they are called by the sailors. In order to ascertain positively, whether these effects were to be attributed to the operation of salt, I made a solution of muriate of soda in common rain water ; with this 1 watered for a couple of days the leaves of different plants. In a short time they began to dry up, and in a few days were completely dead. It appears from Volney, that the Egyptian air is strongly charged with salts. The evidences of it are to be found even at Cairo.t It is this property of the air, which this philoso- phical traveller considers, as one of the causes of the rapid vegetation in that country. He mentions, however, that exotic plants will not thrive there. It is found necessary to renew the seeds of them every year. May not this be occasioned t Volney’s Travels in Syria and Egypt. Vol. I. p.48. Perth ed. om 392 Beck on Salt Storms, &c. by the saline quality of the air? The native plants are doubtless accustomed to its action, and do not so sensibly feel its injurious effects. And if the Egyptian air is so very pene- trating from this very cause, as to produce ophthalmia, may we not rationally conclude, that its influence must be equally injurious to plants not accustomed to it. Another illustration of the influence of salt on vegetation is to be found in the Dead Sea or Lake Asphaltites. ‘In Lake Asphaltites,” says Volney, “there is neither animal nor vegetable life. o verdure is to be seen on its banks, nor fish. to be found. within its waters: but it is not true, that its exhalations are pestiferous, so as to destroy birds flying over it. It is not uncommon to see swallows skimming its surface, and dipping for the water necessary to build their nests. The trwe cause which deprives it of vegetables and animals is the extreme saltness of the water, which is vastly stronger than that of the sea, The soil around it, equally impregnated with this salt, produces no plants, and the air itself, which becomes loaded with it from evaporation, and which receives also the suiphureous and bituminous vapors, cannot be favorable to pgs spoon: hence the ey aspect which reigns around this lake. 3. In what way die the salt operate in producing its deleterious effects on the leaves of vegetables? It is by no means easy to answer this question. It cannot be by shutting up the pores of the leaf, and thus obstructing its perspiration. It is well known that when the surfaces of leaves are covered with oil, they will soon die.t But salt water is certainly not sufficiently viscid to actin a similar w way. ‘Nor can it be satisfactorily attributed to the difference of structure between maritime and land plants. There is some difference indeed between many of these, maritime plants being generally covered by a pubescence, of which most land plants are destitute. It is idle however to suppose that the object of this covering is to protect maritime plants * Volney’s Travels in Syria and pe Vol. 1, p. 217. + Darwin’s Botanie Garden, p. 256 . Beck on Salt Storms, &c. 393 from the action of the salt air, as there are many of them which do not possess it. Besides is it not rational to con- clude, from the large quantities of soda which are always found in sea ‘plants, that this saline-atmosphere is rather pro- pitious than otherwise to their growth, and that it proves inju- rious only to plants accustomed to the pada) wired air of the Jand. Again, I do not think that it can be explained by supposing, that the salt is absorbed into the plant, and thus acts as a poi- sonous substance. We know, that in land plants which are cultivated in the neighborhood of the sea, salt is absorbed through their roots.* It must of course circulate with the juices through the whole plant; and is in these cases the leaves are not destroyed by it. The most plausible method of cplabahige it sppéats to be this: that the salt, by its irritating or corrosive power, destroys the small vessels in the leaf which are neconents for the cit culation going on in it during health. Dr. Darwin has ingeniously shown the satooy between the functions of the leaves of plants andthe lungs of animals. If this be admitted, it will not be difficult to account for the action of salt upon leaves. This substance, when taken into the stomach, proves not merely innocuous, but wholesome ; but when accidentally introduced into the lungs, irritation, inflammation, and. death are thé consequences. So with plants—when admitted into them in combination with their juices, it may be harmless; but when applied to the lungs or leaves, death ensues, * To prove that salt is absorbed into land plants antes near the sea, the following facts, for which I am indebted to my friend, Dr. D. V. Knevels, are coriclusive, The fruit of those cocoa-nut trees which grow near the seashore in the West-Indies is generally found to have a saltish taste ; and even the milk in the nut is perceptibly impregnated with it. Those trees, on the contrary, ow in the ey beyond the influence of salt water, have their fruit sagt fresh and sw aunties ditt me, that in a plantation of his father’s, in a West- a casi’ on the seashore, a whole crop of the cane was Te unfit for the purpose of making sugar, in consequence of the great ty of salt which it had imbibed. 394 Beck on Salt Storms, &c. 4, [shall devote the remainder of this paper to a few con- cise observations on the effects of salt, and a saline atmos- phere, upon animal life. Upon the more imperfect animals, such as slugs, worms, toads, &c. it is well known that salt proves speedily destruc- tive of life. It is not my intention to attempt an explanation of this singular fact. But it is remarkable that it should not have been turned to better account in the treatment of those worms, which infest the human body. Although used for that purpose by the common people in Ireland as well as in this country, I believe it has not, until very lately, claimed the aitention of the profession, as an anthelmintic. A late English journal* contains a notice of some cases which satisfactorily prove its efficacy, when administered with this intention. This fact, in addition to numerous others, strikingly illus- trates the advantages which the healing art might derive from a careful observation of the phenomena daily developed by the collateral sciences. n cases of hemoptysis or hematemesis, common salt has been used with decided success, The public is indebted to Dr. Rush, for the introduction of this remedy into general practice. Dr. Hosack informs me, that he has found sea air extreme- ly salutary in remittent fever, cholera infantum, and dyspepsia. Among the deleterious effects caused by a saline atmosphere, may be mentioned the ophthalmia of Egypt. This disease is so common there; “that out of a handred persons,” says Volney, ‘I have met while walking the streets of Cairo, twenty have been quite blind, ten wanting an eye, and twenty others have had their eyes red, purulent, or blemished.”{+ Throughout the Delta, and at Cairo, this complaint is more prevalent than in any other part of Egypt. In Syria it is also common, al- though less so than in Egypt, but it is met with only on the sea-coast. ‘The reasoning of Volney on this subject, is decisive of the position, that the prevalence of this complaint, in these * Journal of Science and the Arts, No. X. t Volney’s Travels in Syria and in Egypt, Vol. I. p. 167. Beck on Salt Storms, &c. 395 regions, is owing to their proximity to the ocean. In confir- mation, he states that he has himself experienced the irritating effects of the air of the Delta upon the organ of vision.* In those cases of scurvy which occur in long voyages, the saline nature of the atmosphere co-operates very powerfully with salt provisions and bad water, in producing that general vitiation of the system which characterizes this disorder. all diseases, however, those of the lungs appear to be most affected by a saline air. I have ‘known a lady of this city who had been. afflicted for many years with asthma, to be essentially benefited by a voyage across the Atlantic. Another case has fallen under my observation, of a lady troubled with asthma, being much relieved by removing from the inte- rior to this city. What proves beyond a doubt that her relief is owing to the air she breathes, is, that whenever she takes a jaunt into the country, she is sure to suffer a paroxysm of her old complaint. 3 Pulmonary consumption certainly prevails more on the sea- coast, than in the interior. In all our sea-port towns, it is this disorder which so frightfully augments the catalogue of our bills of mortality. According to Dr. Rush, “in Salem, in the state of Massachusetts, which is situated near the sea, and ex- posed during many months of the year, to a moist east wind, there died in year 1799, 160 persons; fifty-three of whom died of the consumption.”t In Philadelphia, which is more remote from the sea, the deaths from consumption are much less numerous than in New York, or the other cities immedi- ately on the coast. In Great Britain which is exposed to the sea on all sides, it is calculated that about 55,000 die annually from this disease. * On the subject of the Egyptian ophthalmia, it may be asked ‘* why it does not appear in innumerable other situations, equally exposed to salt air, as Cape Cod, and the West India Islands?” To this it may be replied, that in _ pro- duction of any disease whatever, a predisposing state of the system is as ne- ; céssary as an exciting cause. This predisposition appears to one ina great degree among the Egyptians and depends upon the nature of their climate, rad habits, and mode of living, all of which have a tendency anf ping debility 0 the eyes, and thus render them more susceptible of the impression of causes which excite inflammation. t Rush’s Medical Observations and Inquiries, Vol. Il. p. 182. =. —— 396 Beck on Salt Storms, ¢:-c. Such are some of the facts on this subject; but the conclu- sion does not appear to be warranted, that these pulmonary affections arise from the irritating quality of the air. In Hol- land, the West Indies, as well as in other countries and islands, exposed to the sea air, consumption is of rare occurrence. - In Syria, Volney even states that the air of the coast is particu- larly favorable to those laboring under this malady. _Ac- cordingly they are in the habit of sending such patients from Aleppo to Latakia, or Saide, where they may enjoy the benefit of sea air.* Again, we know that many persons suffering from this affec- tion have been completely cured by a voyage, after all the resources of medicine had been exhausted upon them in vain. {tis evident then, that a pure sea air is not detrimental in cases of consumption. Dr. Rush, with his usual ingenuity, ex- plains the prevalence of this complaint in our sea ports, by at- tributing it to the mixture of land and sea air ; and in confir- mation observes, that “ those situations which are in the neigh- borhood of bays and rivers, where the fresh and salt waters mix their streams together, are more unfavorable to consump- . tive patients than the seashore, and therefore should be more carefully avoided by them in exchanging city for country air.”’| Independently, however. of these causes, I think the fre- quent and sudden vicissitudes of temperature, which we suffer on the coast, are alone sufficient to account for the prevalence of catarrhal and pneumonic affections, which most commonly are the precursors of consumption. — T trust the foregoing observations have not been considered too medical to comport with the objects of this Society. Na- tural history is useful only in its practical applications; and if it can be shown to throw any light upon an art, which contri- butes so much to the comfort and happiness of man, we have established one of the strongest considerations, which can Te- commend it to general patronage and investigation. Physicians ought in an especial manner to set a high value upon the "researches of naturalists. The aid they have already given * Volney’s Travels, Vol. I. p. 226 t Rush’s Observations and Inquiries, Vol, Li. py 133. * = Rafinesque on Atmospheric Dust. 397 ws is sufficient to entitle them to the lasting gratitude of our pro- fession. It was one of the merits of that illustrious physician of our own time and country, Dr. Rush, that he seized with avidity every fact, from whatever quarter it might be drawn, to elucidate his favorite science. If ever medicine shall attain to the elevation of a truly Philosophical science, it must be ac- complished, in part at least, by imitating his example, and by developing the infinite and diversified associations which exis between it and the other sciences. ss Art. XIV. Thoughts on Atmospheric Dust. By C. 8S. Ra- FINESQUE, Esq. “: lL. 3 W en we find the ruins of ancient cities buried under ground; when the plough uncovers the front of pa- laces and the summit of old temples, we are astonished: but we seldom reflect why they are hidden in the earth. A sort ef imperceptible dust falls at all times from the atmosphere, and it has covered them during ages.” 2. These are the words of the worthy and eloquent philo- sopher Viney, in his article Nature, Vol. XV. p. 373, of the French Dictionary of Natural History. Even before reading them I had observed the same phenomena, and I have since studied their effects in various places. I could quote a thousand instances of the extensive and multifarious operations of this meteoric dust: but I mean to give the results merely of those that falldaily under notice, and are yet totally neg- lected; wishing to draw on them the attention of chemists, philosophers, and geologists. 3. Whenever the sun shines in a dark room, its beams dis- play a crowd of lucid dusty molecules of various shapes, which were before invisible as the air in which they swim, but did exist nevertheless. These form the atmospheric dust existing every where in the lower strata of our atmos- phere. I have observed it on the top of the highest moun- Vol. 1...,.No. 4 , 398 - Rafinesque on Atmospheric Dust. tains, on Mount Etna, in Sicily, on the Alps, on the Alleghany and Cattskill mountains in America, &c. and on the ocean. 5. It deserves to be considered under many views: which are its invisibility, its shape and size, its formation and origin, its motion, its deposition and accumulation, its composition, its uses, and its properties. 5. This dust is invisible, owing to the tenuity of its parti- cles, but they become visible in the following instances ; when the sun shines on them, since they reflect the light when their size is increased, and when they are accumulated any where. 6. The size of the particles is very unequal, and their shape dissimilar; the greatest portion are exceedingly small, similar to a whitish or grayish spark, without any determina- ble or perceptible shape; the larger particles are commonly lamellar or flattened, but with an irregular margin, and the largest appear to be lengthened or filiform; the gray color prevails. Other shapes are now and then perceptible with the microscope. ; 7. Among the properties of atmospheric dust are those of ing soft, as light as atmospheric air, of reflecting the rays received directly from the sun, of possessing a kind of pecu- liar electricity, which gives it a tendency to accumulate on some bodies more readily than on some others, and of forming an earthy sediment, which does not become effervescent with acids. 8. This dust is either constantly or periodically formed, but chemically in the atmosphere like snow, hail, meteoric stones, honey-dew, earthy rains, &c. by the combination of gaseous and elementary particles dissolved in the air. lis analysis has never been attempted by chemists; but the earthy sedi- ment which is the result of its accumulated deposition, prove that it is a compound of earthy particles in a peculiar state of ation, and in which alumine appears to perponderate, rather than calcareous or siliceous earths or oxides. 9. Its motion in calm weather, or in a quiet room, is very slow ; the particles appear to float in the air in all directions, some rising, some falling, and many swimming horizontally, oF = Rafinesque on Atmospheric Dust. . $99 forming a variety of curved lines; what is most singular, is — that no two particles appear to have exactly the same direc- tion; yet after a while the greatest proportion fall down ob- calm day. When a current of air is created naturally or artificially in the open air or in a room, you perceive at once an increased velocity in their motion; they move with rapidity in all directions; but when a strong current or wind prevails, they are carried with it in a stream, preserving how- ever, as yet, their irregular up and down motion. 10. Its formation is sometimes very rapid, and its accumu- lation very thick in the lower strata of our atmosphere, but the intensity is variable. Whenever rain or snow falls, this dust is precipitated on the ground by it, whence arises the purity of the air after rain and snow; but asmall share is still left, or soon after formed. In common weather it deposits itself on the ground by slow degrees, and the same in closed rooms. It forms then the dust of our floors, the mould of our roofs, and ultimately the surface of our soil, unless driven by winds from one place to another. 11. I have measured its accumulation in a quiet room, and have found it variable from one fourth of an inch to one inch in the course of one year; but it was then in a pulverulent, fleecy state, and might be reduced by compression to one- third of its height, making the average of yearly deposit about one sixth of an inch. In the open air this quantity must be still more variable, owing to the quantities carried by the winds and waters to the plains, valleys, rivers, the sea, &c. or accumulated in closed places or against walls, houses, &e. I calculate, however, that upon an average, from six to twelve inches are accumulated over the ground in one hun- dred years, where it mixes with the soil and organic exuvie, to form the common mould. 12. The uses of this chronic meteor are many and obvious. It serves to create mould over rocks, to increase their de- composition, to add to our cultivable soil, to amalgamate we alluvial and organic deposits, to fertilize sandy and unfruitful tracts in the course of time, to administer to vegetable life, &c. 400 Rafinesque on Atmospheric Dust. - It does not appear that it has any bad influence on men and - animals breathing it along with air, unless it should be accu- mulated in avery intense degree. 13. At Segesta, in Sicily, are to be seen the ruins of an ancient temple; the steps, which surround it on all sides be- low the pillars, are built on a rock, on the top of a hill detached from any other higher ground. Yet now all the steps and the base of the pillars are under the ground, which has accumulated from this dust and the decay of plants (not trees) to which it has afforded food. There are from five to eight feet from the rock to the surface of this new soil, which has chemically combined in a variety of degrees of hardness. This soil has arisen there in about 2000 years, notwithstanding the washings of rain. I quote this as a remarkable instance of the increase of soil by aerial deposits, among many which have fallen under my personal examination. 14, It is commonly believed that the dust of our rooms is produced by the fragments of decomposed vestments, bed- ding, furniture, &c.; this cause increases it, and produces a different dust, which mixes with the atmospheric dust; but it is very far from producing it. 15. The dust of the open air is ascribed to that raised from roads and fields, by the pulverization of their surface; but this secondary and visible dust is only a consequence of the rst. From whence could arise the dust observed by the means of the sunbeams in a dark corner, in winter, when the ground is frozen, or when it is wet and muddy, or at sea, OF on the top of rocky mountains? 16. It is therefore a matter of fact, worth taking into con- sideration by geologists, that the air stil] deposits a quantity of dust, which must have been much greater in. former pe- riods; just as the sea deposits still a quantity of earthy and saline particles dissolved in it, and. which were. formed on its bottom. Water being more compact, deposits rocks. Ait, which is less dense, deposits a pulverulent matter! Dana on Flame. : 401 od Art. XV. On the Effect of Vapour on Flame. By J. F. Dana, Chemical Assistant in Harvard University, and Lec- turer on Chemistry and Pharmacy in Dartmouth College. ~ i *# Cambridge, Mass. February 5, 1819. To Professor Silliman. DEAR SIR, Apour a year since | made some experiments onthe effect of steam on ignited bodies, with a view to learn the theory of the action of the “ American water-burner.” ‘These experi- ments were published in an anonymous paper in the North American Review, and have been published in London, with- out an acknowledgment of their source. The effect of them concerning bodies is peculiar, and it probably admits of more extensive application to the arts than-— in the above named instrument alone. When a jet of steam, issuing from a small aperture, is thrown on burning charcoal, the brightness is increased, if the coal be held at the distance of four or five inches from the pipe through which the steam passes; but if the coal be held nearer it is extinguished, a circular black spot first appears where the steam is thrownon it. The steam in this case does not appear to be decomposed, and the increased brightness of the coal depends probably on a current of atmospheric air, occasioned by the steam. But when a jet of steam, instead of being thrown on a single coal, is made to pass into a charcoal fire, the vividness of the combustion is increased, and the low attenuated flame of coal is enlarged. When the wick of a common oil lamp is raised, so as to give off large columns of smoke, and a jet of steam is thrown into it, the brightness of the flame is increased, and no smoke is thrown off. When: oil of turpentine is made to burn on a wick, the light produced is dull and reddish, and a large quantity of thick smoke is given off; but when a jet of steam is thrown into 402 Dana on Flame. this flame, its brightness is much increased; and when the experiment is carefully performed, the smoke entirely dis- appears. When the vapour of spirits of turpentine is made to issue from a small orifice, and inflamed, it burns, and throws off large quantities of smoke; but when a jet of steam is made to unite with the vapour, the smoke entirely disappears. When- vapour of spirits of turpentine and of water are made to issue together from the same orifice, and inflamed, no smoke ap- pears. Hence its disappearing, in the above experiment, cannot be supposed to depend on a current of atmospheric air. When a jet of steam is thrown into the flame of a spirit of wine lamp, or into flames which evolve no smoke or carbona- ceous matter, the same effect is produced as by a current of S It appears, from these experiments, that in all flames which evolve smoke, steam produces an increased brightness, and a more perfect combustion. Now with a very simple apparatus, steam might be in-.- troduced into the flames of street lamps, and that kind of lamp which is used in butcher’s shops in London, and in all flames which evolve much smoke. The advantage of such an ar- rangement would be a more perfect combustion, and a greater quantity of light from the same materials. The flame of the lamps, to which steamis applied, might be made to keep the water boiling which supplies the steam. I hope the above may not be altogether uninteresting and useless to the readers of your Journal. Very repectfully, your obedient servant, J. F. DANA. Smith on the Harrodsburg Salts. 403 — Art. XVI. Analysis of the Harrodsburg Salis, by Enwarp D. Smita, M. D. Professor of Chemistry and Mineralogy in the South-Carolina College. More than a year since I received a quantity of a white earthy substance, which was said to be obtained by the evapo- ration of certain mineral waters at Harrodsburg, Kentucky, and to be there vended at a considerable price, under the name of Epsom salts. The respectable person who presented this powder to me, requested that I would make an analysis of it; but I had not sufficient leisure until lately, to pay the requisite attention to this subject. The results of my examinations are now submitted to the public eye. The external qualities of this substance are as follows: small white lumps, hard to the touch, but dry and easily yielding to pressure, somewhat gritty to the teeth, and imparting an earthy and saline taste to the tongue. 1. 120 grains of the powder were put into about a half ounce of alcohol, digested for six hours, then washed with more al- cohol, filtered and carefully dried. 2. On weighing the dry powder, the loss appeared to be but one grain, so that it contains very little of any substance which is soluble in alcohol. 3. 115 grains (four grains having been lost in the transfer from the filter) were collected and put into rather more than eight times their weight of cold distilled water, and digested for two hours. 4. This watery solution was then filtered, and on weighing, the residue appeared to be 48 grains, so that 67 grains must have been dissolved. , 5. 10 grains of the insoluble residue (4) ‘wers put into a flask, with 10 ounces of distilled water, and boiled for 1 nour. 6. A small portion of this solution, on being tested with ai trate of barytes, gave a copious white precipitate ; with oxalie acid, a white cloud; with ammonia, a slight white cloud i with muriatic acid, a slight bluish tinge. From these tests it was 404 Smith on the Harrodsburg Salts. inferred that sulphate of lime was present, with perhaps a slight trace of muriate of lime. 7. The remainder of this solution was filtered, and on weighing the dried residuum, the loss appeared to be 2 grains, so that sulphate of lime probably constitutes nearly of the crus residue (48 grains. 4.) . The watery solution, (4) which was supposed to contain a grains, was evaporated, and left a residue that weighed. but 34 grains, so that 33 grains must have disappeared in the process. 8. Some of this residue dissolved in distilled water, was tested with carbonate of soda, forming an immediate white cloud; with nitrate of barytes, the same; with ammonia, the same; but with oxalate of ammonia, it did not form any cloud until it had stood some time, and then it was slight. From these tests it was inferred that sulphate of magnesia was present. 10. A portion of the dried residuum (7) was treated with diluted muriatic acid, which dissolyed nearly the whole of it, with considerable effervescence. The new compound, on examination, proved to be muriate of lime; so that it may be concluded the residuum (7) was principally carbonate of lime. n considering the results of the preceding experiments, it will appear ‘that more than one half of the substances submit- ted to analysis, was easily soluble in water, and from the chemical tests used, that it was composed principally of sulphate of magnesia, (Epsom salt) with perhaps a small portion of mu- riate of lime or magnesia, that of the remainder, about } was sulphate of lime, and difficultly soluble in water; and that the: rest was perfectly insoluble in water, and consisted principally of carbonate of lime, : There can be no doubt then, that the Harrodsburg salt, in its present state, is very improperly prepared containing in its composition a large proportion of matter, that is not only inert, but which may produce considerable inconvenience and injury in the stomach and bowels, from its ponderous nature and ten- dency to form mechanical obstructions. Perhaps the occur- rence of such injury may not be frequent, from the circum- stance of a large portion of the salt being so insoluble; but, s «* 7 ‘ Tungsten and Tellurium. 405 admitting this to be the fact, there is a manifest impropriety in offering to the public, as a medicine, an article which cannot be used as such. Probably the proprietors of this manufactory are not aware of the real nature of the case, and of the facility with which, by a little additional trouble, they could separate the useful and valuable material, from that which is at least useless, and which might also be pernicious. : South Carolina College, March, 1819. Arr. XVII. Additional Notice of the Tungsten and Tellurium, mentioned in our last Number. Part. I. Description of the ore. Coror, dark brown, almost black; brittle; powder a lighter shade of brown than the mineral; hard, scratches glass, scintillates with steel, with a red spark; a degree of polish produced, where the steel strikes, and where it is impressed upon it. Structure compact, in some places slightly porous; lustre, generally dull, sometimes glimmering, and almost resinous. Crystals octahedral. Specific gravity of three massive pieces, 5.7,6. and 6.44; mean, 6.05 nearly; probably that of the crystals would be higher. Infusible by the blow-pipe even with borax, and does not by strong ignition impart any color to it or to potash; not magnetic, even in fine powder, nor after being heated red hot on charcoal, and in contact with burning grease. Many sz “ies decrepitate violently under the blow-pipe. When heated on coals in pieces of considerable size, they often explode with a smart report, and are thrown in fragments sometimes several yards from the fire. Gangue quartz; accompanying minerals in the same vein native bismuth, native silver, galena, iron and copper pyrites, much magnetic pyrites, blende, &c. WOE Ns; WO. 4, 12 406 Tungsten and Tellurium. "Geological relations. 'The country is primitive, and the im- mediate rock which forms the walls of the vein is said to be gneiss; (we have not seen it.) Locality, town of Monroe, county of Fairfield, 17 miles west from New Haven, Connecticut. Remark.—Native bismuth in small re has been for several years obtained from this mine, but the shaft has been sunk only about ten feet. ParntIl. A variety of the ore, ‘General characters as aboye, but on some parts, there is seen a whitish, or yellowish, or sometimes darkish metallic substance ; it is in thin plates, like the leaf metal, and some- times reticulated, and graphic in its disposition; it is soft and easily cut with the knife. In the specimens examined, it wa so much blended with the other ore, and so trifling in quantity, that it was not possible to separate it mechanically, so as to examine it separately. ant pl —aA. Ceoncal Trials. Muriatic se hot! Fee ead: produces no effect; hot nitro- muriatic dissolves the ore with energy, red fumes are evolved, and generally a red solution obtained, from which ammonia precipitates red oxyd of iron abundantly. 2. A heavy lemon-yellow powder remains, insoluble of course in acids, but easily and completely soluble in warm ammonia. 3. A dark powder, in diminished anttey again Ea poe more acid dissolves it in part, and again Yereale yellow powder, which ammonia again dissolves, and so on, till nothing Ceres but some portion of the gangue. . The ammoniacal solution, which contains the oxyd of ene is decomposed by acids, and by heat, and instantly deposits a white heavy powder, becoming yellowish by standing, and full yellow by heat. Tungsten and Tellurium. 407 5. This powder is infusible by the blow-pipe, but ignited with borax in a platinum crucible, it became of a superb blue, like smalt, or between that and Prussian blue. 6. The quantity obtained was too small to make it conve- nient to attempt its reduction to the metallic state; no doubt remained, however, that it was oxyd of tungsten, or as it is sometimes called, tungstic acid. 7. There were traces of manganese, and all the facts per- haps justify the conclusion, that the ore is very similar to the silt tungsten or wolfram. . The calcareous tungsten occurs in octahedral crystals, «4 we have not before heard of this form in the ferruginous species, which generally affects the Brinpatics! forms. B. REMARK. We had been for some time inclined to believe, that the above ore was’ferruginous tungsten, but although fortified by the opinion of Col. Gibbs, we were witheld from RE it, because the form of the crystals, the specific gravity, th color, and perhaps some other characters, were not viecteetty accordant with European descriptions, and with the specimens in our possession, which are from Saxony and Cornwall. During the necessary chemical trials (which have, we trust, established the correctness of the above opinion,) we very unexpectedly discovered in some of the ores of tungsten, proofs of the existence of tellurium. The conclusion was induced by the phenomena, for nothing was farther from our expecta- tions. Two fragments were pulverized by an assistant, and we therefore cannot say whether they had any external characters different from those of the other pieces; they came, however, from the same part of the vein, and their powder resembled that of the other pieces. 1. Digested in nitro-muriatic acid, a straw-yellow solution, slightly inclining to green, was. obtained, and a black paméer was left behind. 2. More acid digested on this powder, gave a deep red solu- tion of iron, and left the yellow oxyd of tungsten, which being + 408 Tungsten and Tellurium. dissolved in ammonia, the black powder again appeared, and ~ “so on, as under 3, Part. II. 3. The solution 1, diluted largely with water, deposited an abundant white precipitate, which was very heavy and rapidly subsided. 4. Alcohol and ammonia, respectively, produced the same effect, only more decidedly. 5. This precipitate, evidently an oxyd of a metal, being col- lected on a filter and dried, exhibited the following properties. 6. Heated by the blow-pipe on charcoal, it was instantly vo- latilized in part, and in part decomposed, with an almost ex- plosive effervescence; numerous ignited globules of metal appeared on the charcoal, and burned with an abundant flame of a delicate blue color, edged ionally with green. 7. In many trials, these results always occurred, and some- times a Aiea odor was perceived, at first thought to be owing to , but it was anegmpareuly feebler, and some- what aa that of radishes inc, iron, and tin, siunged into separate portions of the nitro-muriatic solution, precipitated abundantly a black floc- culent substance. : charcoal before the blow-pipe, this substance was very combustible, with a blue flame, and was completely dis- sipated in the form of white oxyd, with the above smell. - 10. Some of it was obtained on the charcoal in metallic globules; it was a brittle metal, white witha tinge of red, and foliated, but not so distinctly as bismuth and antimony. 11. The filters on which the white oxyd had been deposited, burned almost with explosion, nearly as rapidly as if they had been soaked with nitrate of potash, or of ammonia, and the characteristic blue flame appeared while the burning lasted. aT ihis ,} j ion, where, under the idea that possibly chrome might e cnet in the ores, they had Beets intensely heated in a forge along with pearl ashes. The mass, when lixiviated, gave only a green- ish solution, becoming colorless by nitric acid, and singe greenish by an alkali ; this was supposed to be owing to iron and manganese. No metal was obtained, except a few minute globules of attractable iron, at the laboratory was filled with white fumes, having the peculiar odor alluded Tungsten and Tellurium. 409 12. Other experiments were made upon the metal, (not the oxyd.) It gave to strong sulphuric acid, (simply by standing in it in the cold) an amethystine color, which disappeared as the acid grew weaker, by attracting water from the air. 13. With nitric acid it formed a colorless solution, not de- composed by water. 14. It did not dissolve in muriatic acid, till a few drops of nitric acid were added. 15. The white oxyd heated with charcoal in a small coated recurved glass tube, afforded brilliant metallic globules, which rose by distillation, collected in the bend of the tube, and re- sembled drops of quicksilver, except that they were solid. C. REMARK. The above facts having induced the conclusion that the metal, thus unexpectedly discovered in the ores of tungsten, was tellurium,* we were led to search for external characters by which to judge what specimens contained it. from Transylvania, (the only telluric ores with which we are acquainted,) bearing no analogy in appearance or composition to those before us, we were led to inquire whether the tellu- rium inthese latter ores was in combination with tungsten, or merely in mixture. The external characters detailed in part Il, tend perhaps to fortify the latter opinion. If we mistake not, we there founda proper ore of tellurium mixed with a proper ore of tungsten, but we have also by chemical means, found tellurium where similar external characters were not apparent. Before the appearance of our next Number, we hope to obtain purer and better specimens. In the mean time we add the following facts. 1. A crystal, and a massive piece of the kind described under part I, and specimens of two varieties of those described under part Il, were digested in nitro-muriatic acid. * Several of the facts, we are aware, accord with the properties of bismuth, between which and tellurium there are several strong points of resemblance, buta number of other facts appear irreconcileable with the properties of that metal, andof every other except tellurium. 410, Hare’s Substitute for 1, Both oxyd of tungsten, and oxyd of telluriam were ob- tained from all of them. 3. Many specimens have been examined which have afforded tungsten only, and no tellurium. At a convenient time, it is hoped that a more scant exa- mination of this subject may be presented to the public. In the mean time, we may submit to mineralogists and che- mists, whether if this is not a new mineral, itis not at least a new association of two minerals before known. It has not been forgotten that. gold and silver are frequently combined with tellurium: neither of them has, however, been disce- vered, (although sought after by proper tests) during the above trials. Yale College, March, 1819. S “Arr. KVILU. = Substitute for Woulfe’s or Nooth’s Apparatus, by Roserr Hare, M. D. Professsor of Chemistry in the Med- = ical Department of | ae: wovelahey. y of Pennsylvania, and Mem- Ber of | eee Societies. Witha Plate. igs agaras: F EW subjects have more Pipe ‘the attention of nsenhioks, than the means of impregnating fluids with gaseous substances. The contrivances of Woulfe and Nooth, especially the former, have been almost universally used; and have gained for the inventors merited celebrity. Various improvements in Woulfe’s bottles have been devised. Still believe an appara- tus replete with similar advantages, but less unwieldy, less liable to fracture: and having fewer junctures to make at each operation, has been agreat desideratum with every practical _ chemist. It has, however, ceased to be so with me, since I contrived the apparatus which I am about to describe. Fig. 1. represents 3 jars placed concentrically within each other, and so proportioned and situated, as to admit 2 open- necked concentric bell glasses alternately between them. The Woulfe’s or Nobth’s Apparatus. au neck of the exterior bell glass is introduced into the tubulure of the receiver above, and receives the neck of the interior bell glass. Into this is inserted a trumpet-shaped tube. The two interior jars are furnished with feet F,f. In order to put this apparatus into operation, remove (without taking them apart) the bell glasses, receiver, and tube from the jars. Pour into the latter the fiuid to be impregnated, till it reaches the height marked by the dots. The fannel mouth, m, of the re- ceiver being provided with’ a suitable cork soaked in wax, fas- ten into it firmly the beak of the retort, containing the gene- rating materials. The bell glasses are then to be replaced in the jars, and arranged asin the figure. It must be self-evident that the gas proceeding from the retort, (if the juncture at m be air tight) must press on the fluid in the innermost jar, * i. through the trumpet-shaped tube. If not imbibed with ade- . quate speed, it must soon press on the fluid at a, causing it to subside to the narrow part of the foot f, and thus to expose a much larger surface. If the absorption be still inadequate, a further subsidence must ensue, and the gas escaping round the brim of the interior bell glass will act on the fluid at 4, and en- large its surface by depressing it to the narrow part of the foot F. Should the increased pressure and more extended contact thus obtained, be still incompetent to effect a complete absorption, the excess of the gas may escape round the brim of the external. bell glass into the atmosphere. But'so effectually is this process in promoting impregnation, that I have obtained strong muriatic acid in the central jar, without producing any sensible acidity in the outside one. Absorption into the retort or receiver, is prevented by not al- lowing as much fluid to be above the mouth of the trumpet- shaped tube, as would be competent to fill the cavity between it, and ‘the termination of the open neck of the exterior bell glass at ¢. As this neck rises about 2 or 3 inches into the re- ceiver, it prevents any foul matter which may. condense or boil over, from getting into the jars. If practicable, it would be: better that. the bell glasses; and tube, and receiver, should be united together while hot, at the glass-house. If all could not be‘joined in’ this way, it would be still advantageous to unite. ~~ = 412, _ Hare's sulfite, gc. thus the receiver, and the exterior bell glass. The interior bell and tube might then be fastened together, by grinding or luting. As yet I have only used lutings of waxed cloth, or cork. It may be proper to point out, that 3 or more concen- tric bell glasses, and 4 or more jars, might be used. The union of the bell, receiver, and tube once effected, it is hardly more troublesome to use 3 than 2. When the fluid in the central jar is saturated, this may be emptied and replenished from the middle jar, the latter from the external one. ‘Then supplying the external jar anew, the process may be continued. The other figures are to explain an apparatus on the same principle, constructed of hollow, oblong paralellopipeds, dif- fering in length more than in breadth; so as_ to allow a ser- pentine tube to wind into the interior, and deliver gas under a vessel shaped like a T. * Fig. 2. represents a vertical section of the whole as when situated for use.* "Fig. 3. a vertical section of the lower vessels only. Fig. 4. a vertical section of the covers alone. Fig. 5. a horizontal section, or ground plan of the lower vessels. The upper vessels are so proportioned as to divide the distance between the lower ones equally. It may be well to mention, that this apparatus, from the fa- cility with which it may be cleaned and inspected internally, admits of being made of porcelain or stone ware.t I have had a cylindrical one constructed of the latter material, in which the covers are in one piece, with a tube in the centre for in- troducing gas. The apparatus may be made more efficacious} by drilling a series of small holes round the brims of the bell glasses or covers, so as to cause the gas, instead of passing round the brims.in large bubbles, to divide itself into very small ones. By this means it will be more thoroughly inter- mingled with fluid. * Excepting, that the covers ought to be so depressed, that their brims may be lower than the bottoms of the interior vessels over which they are pla- ced respectively. This is necessary to prevent the gas from escaping, ere it have access to the surface of the fluid beneath those bottoms. + The apparatus may also be made of glass bottles, duly proportioned, and cut (truncated) alternately near the shoulder and near the bottom. : Te ee, ee « : ; Hare’s Diorimotor: e Arr. XIX. A New Theory of Gulvanism, supported by some Ex- periments and Observations made by meansof the Calorimotor, anew Galvanic Instrument. Read before the Academy of Nat- ural Sciences, Philadelphia,* by Rosert Hane, M.D. Professor of Chemistry in the Medical Department of the University of Pennsylvania, and Member of several Learned Societies. (With an Engraving.) | HAVE for some time been of opinion that the principle extricated by the Voltaic pile is a compound of caloric and electricity, both being original and collateral products of Galvanic action. The grounds of this conviction and some recent experiments confirming it, are stated in the following paper. It is well known that the heat is liberated by the Voltaic appa- ratus, in a manner and degree which has not been imitated by means of mechanical electricity ; and that the latter, while it strikes at a greater distance, and pervades conductors with much greater speed, can with difficulty be made to effect the slightest decompositions. Wollaston, it is true, decomposed water by means of it; but the experiment was performed of necessity on a scale too minute to permit of his ascertaining, whether there were any divellent polar attractions exercised towards the atoms, as in the case of the pile. The result was probably caused by mechanical concussion, or that process by which the particles of matter are dispersed when a battery is discharged through them. The opinion of Dr. omson, that the fluid of the pile is in quantity greater, in intensity less than that evolved by the machine, is very inconsistent with the experiments of the chemist above mentioned, who, before he could effect the separation of the elements of water by mechanical electricity, was obliged to confine its emission * In whose Journal it was ordered to be printed, but, to prevent delay, it was published, by the Author, in a separate paper, and forwarded by him to the Editor of this Journal. Vou. I....No. 4. 13 . feet “414 Hare’s Mir incor? to a point imperceptible to the naked eye. If already so highly intense, wherefore the necessity of a further concen- tration? Besides, were the distinction made by Dr. Thomson correct, the more concentrated fluid generated by a galvanic apparatus of a great many small pairs, ought most to resemble that of the ordinary electricity; but the opposite is the case. The ignition produced by a few large Galvanic plates, where the intensity is of course low, is a result most analogous to the chemical effects of a common electrical battery. According to my view, caloric and electricity may be distinguished by the following characteristics. The former permeates all matter more or less, though with very different degrees of facility. It radiates through air, with immeasurable celerity, and distributing itself in the interior of bodies, communicates a reciprocally repellent power to atoms, but not to masses. Electricity does not radiate in or through any matter; and while it pervades some bodies, as metals, with almost infinite velocity ; by others, it is so far from being conducted, that it can only pass through them by a fracture or perforation. Distributing itself over the surfaces only, it causes repulsion be- tween masses, but not between the particles of the same mass. ‘The ‘disposition of the last-mentioned principle to get off by neighboring conductors, and of the other to combine with the adjoining matter, or’ to escape by radiation, would prevent them from being collected at the positive pole, if not in combination with each other. Were it not for a modifica- tion of their properties, consequent to some such union, they could not, in piles of thousands of pairs, be carried forward through the open air and moisture ; ; the one so well calculated to conduct away electricity, the other so favorable to the radia- tion of caloric. ; Pure electricity does not expand the. slips of gold-leaf, be- tween which it causes repnision, nor does caloric cause any repulsion in the ignited mases which it expands. But as the compound fluid extricated by Galvanic action, which I shall call electro caloric, distributes itself through the interior of bodies and is evidently productive of corpuscular repulsion it isin this respect more allied to caloric than to electricity.” * ss Hare's idoriseatee: 415 : & It is true, that when common electricity causes the deflagra- tion of metals, as by the discharge of a Leyden jar, it must be supposed to insinuate itself within them, and cause a reaction between their particles. But in this case, agreeably to my hypothesis, the electric fluid combines with the latent caloric previously existing there, and, adding to its repulsive agency, causes it to overpower cohesion.* ; Sir Humphry Davy wasso much at a loss to account for the continued ignition of wire at the poles of a Voltaic apparatus, that he considers it an objection to the materiality of heat; since the wire could not be imagined to contain sufficient caloric to keep up the emission of this principle for an un- limited time. But if we conceive an accumulation of heat to accompany that of electricity throughout the series, and to be propagated from one end to the other, the explanation of the phenomenon in question is attended by no difficulty. The effect of the Galvanic fluid on charcoal is very consist- ent with my views, since, next to metals, it is one of the best conductors of electricity, and the worst of heat, and would therefore arrest the last, and allow the other to pass oD. Though peculiarly liable to intense ignition, when exposed betwen the poles of the Voltaic apparatus, it seems to me it does not display this characteristic with common electricity. According to Sir Humphry Davy, when in connexion with the positive pole, and communicating by a platina wire with the negative pole, the latter is less heated than when, with re- spect to the poles, the situation of the wire and charcoal is The rationale is obvious: charcoal, being a bad prevents the greater part of when placed between it reversed. conductor, anda good radiator, the heat from reaching the platina, and the source whence the heat flows. Lhad observed that as the number of p had been extended, and their size and the energy of the inter- airs in Volta’s pile d causes decompositions when emitted from an im- * Possibly the electric flui i ollaston) because its repulsive agen- palpable point (as in the experiments of W cy is concentred between integral atoms, ferred to; a filament of water in the one case, the medium of discharge. 416, Hare’s Calorimoter. ‘posed agents lessened, the ratio of the electrical effects to ‘those of heat had increased ; till in De Luc’s column they had become completely predominant; and, on the other hand, when the pairs were made larger and fewer (as in Children’s apparatus) the calorific influence had gained the ascendancy. d was led to go farther in this way, and to examine whether one pair of plates of enormous size, or what might be equiv- ‘alent thereto, would not exhibit heat more purely, and demon- strate it, equally with the electric fluid, a primary product of ‘Galvanic combinations. The elementary battery “of Wollas- ‘ton, though productive of an evanescent ignition, was too mi- Mute to allow him to make the observations which I had in view. Twenty copper and twenty zinc plates, about nineteen inches square, were supported vertically in a frame, the dif- ferent metals alternating at one half inch distance from each — “other. 1 the plates of the same kind of metal were soldered to a common slip, so that each set of homogeneous plates _ formed one continuous metallic superficies. When the cop- per and zinc surfaces, thus formed, are united by an inter- ‘vening wire, and the whole immerged in an acid, or aceto- saline solution, in a vessel devoid of partitions, the wire be- comes intensely ignited; and when hydrogen is liberated it usually takes fire, producing a very beautiful undulating, or corruscating flame. I'am confident, that if Volta and the other investigators of Galvanism, instead of multiplying the pairs of Galvanic plates, had sought to increase the effect by enlarging one pair as i have done, (for I consider the copper and zine surfaces as ‘reduced to two by the connexion) the apparatus would have been considered as presentihg a new mode of evolving heat, as a primary effect independently of electrical influence. There ‘is no other indication of electricity when wires from the two surfaces touch the tongue, than a slight taste, such as is ex- cited by small pieces of zinc and silver laid on it and under it, and brought into contact with each other. It was with a view of examining the effects of the proximity and alternation in the heterogeneous plates that I had them * Hare’s Calorimotor. 417 cut into separate squares. By having them thus divided, I have been enabled to ascertain that when all of one kind of metal are ranged on one side of the frame, and all of the other kind on the other side of it, the effect is no greater than might be expected from one pair of plates. Volta, considering the changes consequent to his contriv- ance as the effect of a movement in the electric fluid, called the process electro-motion, and the plates producing it electro- motors. But the phenomena show that the plates, as I have arranged them, are calori-motors, or heat movers, and the effect calori-motion. That this is a new view of the subject, may be inferred from the following passage in Davy’s Elements. That great chemist observes,} “ When very small conducting surfaces are used for conveying very large quantities of electricity, they become ignited; and of the different conductors that have been compared, charcoal is most easily heated by electrical discharges,” next iron, platina, gold, then copper, and lastly, zinc. The phenomena of elec- trical ignition, whether taking place in gaseous, fluid, or solid bodies, always seem to be the result of a violent exertion of the electrical attractive and repellent powers, which may be connected with motions of the particles of the substances affected. That no subtile fluid, such as the matter of heat — has been imagined to be, can be discharged from these sub- stances, in consequence of the effect of the electricity, seems probable from the circumstance, that a wire of platina may be preserved in state of intense ignition in vacuo, by means of the Voltaic apparatus, for an unlimited time; and such a wire cannot be supposed to contain an inexbaustible quantity Po of subtile matter.” But I demand where are the repellent and attractive powers to which the ignition produced by the Calorimotor can be at- tributed? Besides, I would beg leave respectfully to inquire of this illustrious author, whence the necessity of considering the heat evolved under the circumstances alluded to as the effect of the electrical fluid; or why we may not as well sup- pose the latter to be excited by the heat? It is evident, as he * Th lusi drawn from t le by the electricity of the a Voltaic apparatus. + 418 Hare’s Calorimotor. observes, that a wire cannot be supposed to contain an inex- haustible supply of matter however subtile; but wherefore may not one kind of subtile matter be supplied to it from the apparatus as well as another ; especially, when to suppose such a supply is quite as inconsistent with the characteristics of pure electricity, as with those of pure caloric ? It is evident from Mr. Children’s paper in the Annals of Philosophy, on the subject of his large apparatus, that the ignition produced by it was ascribed to electrical excitement. For the purpose of ascertaining the necessity of the alter- nation and proximity of the copper and zinc plates, it has been mentioned that distinct square sheets were employed. The experiments have since been repeated and found to suc- ceed by Dr. Patterson and Mr. Lukens, by means of two con- tinuous sheets, one of zinc, the other of copper, wound into _ two concentric coils or spirals. This, though the circum- stance was not known to them, was the form I had myself proposed to adopt, and had suggested as convenient for a Gal- vanic apparatus to several friends at the beginning of the win- ter;* though the consideration above stated induced me to prefer for a first experiment a more manageable arrange- ment. , etic a Since writing the above, I find that when, in the apparatus of twenty copper and twenty zinc plates, ten copper plates on one side are connected with ten zinc on the other, and a communication made between the remaining twenty by @ piece of iron wire, about the eighth of an inch in diameter, the wire enters into a vivid state of combustion on the immersion of the plates. Platina wire equal to No. 18 (the largest I had at hand) is rapidly fused if substituted for the iron. This arrangement is equivalent to a battery of two large Galvanic pairs; excepting that there is no insulation, all the plates being plunged into one vessel. I have usually separated the pairs by a board, extending across the frame merely. Indeed, when the forty plates were successively associated in pairs, of copper and zinc, though suspended in a fluid he * Especially to Dr. T. P. Jones, and Mr. Rubens Peale, who remember the suggestions. Hare’s Calorimotor. * 419 ina common recipient without partitions; there was consider- able intensity of Galvanic action. This shows that, independ- ently of any power of conducting electricity, there is some movement in the solvent fluid avhich tends to carry forward the Galvanic principle from the copper to the zinc end of the series. I infer that electro-caloric is communicated in this case by circulation, and that in non-elastic fluids the same diffi- culty exists as to its retrocession from the positive to the ne- gative end of the series, as is found in the downward passage of caloric through them. It ought to be mentioned, that the connecting wire should be placed between the heterogeneous surfaces before their im- mersion, as the most intense ignition takes place immediately afterward. If the connexion be made after the plates are immersed, the effect is much less powerful; and sometimes after two or three immersions the apparatus loses its power, though the action of the solvent should become in the interim much more violent. Without any change in the latter, after the plates have been for some time suspended in the air, they regain their efficacy. I had observed ina Galvanic pile of three hundred pairs of two inches square, a like consequence resulting from a simultaneous immersion of the whole.* e bars holding the plates were balanced by weights, as window- sashes are,so that all the plates could be very quickly dipped. A platina wire, No. 18, was fused into a globule, while the evolution of potassium was demonstrated by a rose-colored flame arising from some potash which had been placed be- tween the poles. The heat however diminished in a few seconds, though the greater extrication of hydrogen from the plates indicated a more intense chemical action. Agreeably to an observation of Dr. Patterson, electrical ex- citement may be detected in the apparatus by the condensing electroscope ; but this is no more than what Volta observed to be the consequence of the contact of heterogeneous metals. The thinnest piece of charcoal intercepts the calorific agent, whatever it may be. In order to ascertain this, the inside of “Sec Plate: Fig. 3. ce : , Reta t 420 : ® Hare's Culorimotor. a hollow brass cylinder, having the internal diameter two inches, and the outside of another smaller cylinder of the same substance, were made conical and correspondent, so that the greater would contain the less, and leave an interstice about one-sixteenth of an inch between them. ‘This interstice was filled with wood, by plugging the larger cylinder with this ma- terial, and excavating the plug till it would permit the smaller brass cylinder to be driven in. The excavation and the fitting of the cylinders was performed accurately by means of a turn- ing lathe. ‘The wood in the interstice was then charred by ex- posing the whole covered by sand in a crucible to a red heat. ~The charcoal notwithstanding the shrinkage consequent to the fire, was brought into complete contact with the enclosing me- tallic surfaces by pressing the interior cylinder further into the exterior one. : -‘'Lbus prepared, the interior cylinder being made to touch one of the Galvanic surfaces, a wire brought from the other Gaivanic surface into contact with the outside cylinder, was not affected in the least, though the slightest touch of the interior one caused ignition. ‘The contact of the charcoal with the. containing metals probably took place throughout a superfi- cies of four square inches, and the wire was not much more than the hundredth part of an inch thick, so that unless it were to conduct electricity about forty thousand times better than the charcoal, it ought to have been heated; if the calorific influence of this apparatus result from electrical excitement. [am led finally to suppose, that the contact of dissimilar metals, when subjected to the action of solvents, causes @ movement in caloric as well as in the electric fluid, and that the phenomena of Galvanism, the unlimited evolution of beat by friction, the extrication of gaseous matter without the pro- duction of cold, might all be explained by supposing a combi- nation between the fluids of heat and electricity. We find scarcely any two kinds of ponderable maiter which do not ex- ercise more or less affinity towards each other. Moreover, imponderable particles are supposed highly attractive of pon- derable ones. Why then should we not infer the existence of similar affinities between imponderable particles reciprocally ? Hare’s Calorimotor. © ~ 421 That a peculiar combination between heat and light exists in the solar beams, is evident from their not imparting warmth to a lens through which they may pass, as do those of our culinary fires. ‘ : Under this view of the case, the action of the poles in Gal- vanic decomposition is one of complex affinity. The particles of compounds are attracted to the different wires agreeably to their susceptibilities to the positive and negative attraction, and the caloric leaving the electric fluid with which it had been combined, unites with them at the moment that their electric | state is neutralized. . As an exciting fluid, I have usually employed a solution of one part sulphuric acid, and two parts muriate of soda with seventy of water? but, to my surprise, I have produced nearly a white heat by an alkaline solution barely sensible to the taste. For the display of the heat effects, the addition of manganese, red lead, or the nitrates, is advantageous. The rationale is obvious. The oxygen of these substances prevents the liberation of the gaseous hydrogen, which would carry off the caloric. Adding to diluted muriatic acid, while acting on zinc, enough red lead to prevent effervescence, the temperature rose from 70° to 110° Fahrenheit. The power of the calorimotor is much increased by having the communication between the different sheets formed by very large strips or masses of metal. Observing this, I ren- dered the sheets of copper shorter by half an inch, for a distance of four inches of their edges, where the communica- tion was to be made between the zinc sheets; and, vice versa, the zinc was made in the same way shorter than the copper sheets where these were to communicate with each other. The edges of the shortened sheets being defended by strips of wood, tin was cast on the intermediate protruding edges of the longer ones, so as to embrace a portion of each equal to ore one quarter of an inch by four inches. On one side, the tin was made to run completely across, connecting at = same time ten copper and ten zinc sheets. On the other side there was an interstice of above a quarter of an inch left between the stratum of tin embracing the copper, and that embracing Vol. I.....No. 4, 14 422 » Hare’s Calorimotor. the zinc plates. On each of the approaching terminations of the connecting tin strata was soldered a kind of forceps, formed of a bent piece of sheet brass, furnished with a screw for pressing the jaws together. The distance between the different forceps was about two inches. The advantage of a yery close contact was made very evident by the action of screws; the relaxation or increase of pressure on the con- necting wire by turning them being productive of a corres- pondent change in the intensity of ignition. t now remains to state, that by means of iron ignited in "this apparatus, a fixed alkali may be decomposed extempo- raneously.* If aconnecting iron wire, while in combustion, ‘be touched by the hydrate of potash, the evolution of potas- sium is demonstrated by a rose-colored flame. he alkali may be applied to the wire in small pieces ina flat hook of sheet iron. But the best mode of application is by meaus of a tray made by doubling a slip of sheet iron at the ends, and leaving a receptacle in the centre, in which the potash may be placed covered with filings. ‘This tray being substituted for the connecting wire, as soon as the immersion of the apparatus causes the metal to burn, the rose-colored flame appears, and if the residuum left in the sheet iron be after- ward thrown into water, an effervescence sometimes ensues. I have ascertained that an iron heated to combustion, by @ blacksmith’s forged fire, will cause the decomposition of the hydrate of potash. ‘The dimensions of the Calorimotor may be much reduced without proportionally diminishing the effect. I have one of sixty plates within a cubic foot, which burns off No. 16, iron wire. A good workmen could get 120 plates of a foot square within a hollow cube of a size no larger. But the inflamma- tion of the hydrogen which give so much splendor to the bo el can only be exhibited advantageously on a large scale. * This evidently differs from the common mode of decomposing the fixed al- espe by galvanism: there the effect depends on electrical attractions and re- Pp here on the chemical agency of ignited iron produced extemporane- . ously in the galvanic cireuit: this mode of operating appears ie be new.—Ed. Hare’s Calorimotor. 423 — EXPLANATION OF THE PLATE. : F A a, Fig. 1st, two cubical vessels, 20 inches square, inside. bbb baframe of wood containing 20 sheets of copper, and 20 sheets of zinc, alternating with each other, and about half an inch apart. T Tt ¢ masses of tin cast over the protruding edges of the sheets which are to communicate with each other. Fig. 2, represents the mode in which the junction between the various sheets and tin masses is effected. Between the letters z z, the zinc only isin contact with the tin masses. Between cc, the copper alone touches. It may be observed, that, at the back of the frame, ten sheets of copper between cc, and ten sheets of zinc between zz, are made to commu- nicate, by a common mass of tin extending the whole length of the frame, between TT: but in front, asin fig. 1, there is an interstice between the mass of tin connecting the ten copper sheets, and that connecting the ten zinc sheets. The screw forceps, appertaining to each of the tin masses, may be seen on either side of the interstice; and likewise a wire for ignition held between them. The application of the rope, pulley, and weights is obvious. The swivel at S permits the frame to be swung round and lowered into water in the vessel a, to wash off the acid, which, after immersion in the other vessel, might continue to act on the sheets, encrusting them > with oxide. Between pp there is a wooden partition which is not necessary, though it may be beneficial. Fig. 3, represents an apparatus alluded to, page 419. It consists of a couronne des tasses, reduced to a form no less compact than that of the trough. Hollow parallelopipeds of glass are substituted for tumblers or cells. The plates are suspended to bars counterpoised like window-sashes. f The advantages are as follows. The material is one of the best non-conductors, is easily cleansed, and is the most imper- vious to solvents. The fracture of one of the cups is easily remedied by a supernumerary. They may be procured (as in the United States) where porcelain cannot be had. The shock from 300 pairs is such as few will take a second time. Some of the effects have already been stated.* At Fig. 4, one of the hollow glass parallelopipeds on an enlarged scale is represented. * The glasses may be had by applying to Edw. A. Pearson, No. 71 Cornhill, Boston. i Strong’s Problems. MATHEMATICS. « : — S208 Arr. XX. ; An improved Method of obtaining the Formule for the Sines and Cosines of the Sum and difference of two Arcs, by Proressor Srrone, of Hamilton College. Iv the circle ABCD let AB and BC denote any two ares contiguous to eachother. Draw B their limiting diameters Aa, U4 Cc; their sines Br, By; and join z,y. Then will xy=sine of (AB+BC): for if upon OB as a diameter we describe a circle, it will manifestly pass = through the points 2 and y, (since the angles OxB, OyB are right, see Euc. 31. 3.) there-_ rBy is a quadrilateral inscribed in a circle described on OB as a diameter, and the angle yOx at the circumference — stands upon an arc whose chord is xy. Again, if from a we draw ad perpendicular to Ce, it will be the sine of the are ac (=AB+BC.) If now we describe a circle on aO as diameter, it will pass through d,(see Euc. 31. 3.) therefore ad is the chord of anarc on which the angle aOc stands in the circle described onaQ. But in equal circles the chords of ares on which equal angles at the centres or circumferences stand are equal; (see Euc. 26. and 29. 3.) hence zy=ad=sin(AB+BC.) Now since OxBy is a quadrilateral inscribed in the circle described on OB as diameter, we shall have (Euc. D. 6.) OB-xy=Be- Oy+By-Ox=sinAB: cosCB+sinCB: cosAB. If OB be de- noted by r, we shall have xy, or sin (AB+BC)= sinAB- cosCB+sinCB- cosAB. r If AB=A, BC=B, and the radius r=1, sin(A-+B)=sin i A EN ee a ee Strong’s Problems. | 425 — 3 A: cosB+sinB. cosA ; which is the Siddin formula for ie “pd sine of the sum of two arcs, to the radius 1. -S Again, ifthrough O we draw the diameter DE perpendiet : lar to Aa, then will DC be the complement of (AB+BC.) Draw Cp, the sine of DC=cos (AB+ BC.) Through B draw diameter Bb; from 6, draw th@sines bz, br, of the arcs bc, bE respectively, and join z,r. Then by describing two cir- — cles, one on 4O as diameter, the other on OC, it may be prov- ed as before that the circle described on 6O passes through the points z and r, and that the circle described on CO pas- ses through p: and hence, by the same reasoning as before, zr=Cp=cos(AB+BC.) Now Obzr being a quadrilateral inscribed in the circle described on bO, we have (by the prop. before cited) bO- zr+-Or- bz=br. Oz; and hence 60: zr= br: Oz—Or- bz. But br= sine arc bE=sine arc BD; and since BD is the complement of AB, br=cosAB. In like manner Oz=cosBC, Or=sinAB, and 6z=sinBC; hence by substitution, bO- zr=cosAB: cosBC —sinAB: sinBC. By using the same notation as before, we have cos(A+B) _cosA. = sinB =(if r=1) cosA. cosB.—sinA. sin B, which is ikg known formula for the cosine of the sum of two ares. The same construction will answer for the two remaining cases: forif we suppose that bE and bc are two arcs, then will cE be their difference, and zr the sine of cE, as proved above; : br. Oz —Or. bz ; hence zr (=sin(OE —be))= b0 ~ But br=sin bE, and Or=its cosine; and bz=sine bc, and Oz=its cos. hence if bE be denoted by a, be by 6, and Ob as before, then sina. cosb—sinb, cosa r sinb: cosa. —... Again, AB++-BC is the complement of DC or cE; hence by the first part of the above investigation, xy=sin (AB+BC)=coscE: but zy or sin(A+B)=cos = = we A | ae abe + So ; and as sinA or AB will sin(a—b)= = (ifr=1) sina’ cosb — 426 : Strong’s Problems. BD=cosbE, Ox=cosA or AB=sinBD=sinbE, By. =sinbc, and Oy=Oz=cosbc, we shall have, by sub- See ~_.... Cosa. cosb--sina. sind stitution, cos(a—b= = a _ ==cos , =(if r=1)cosa. cosb-+ sina. sinb. . From what has been said itappears, that if A and B be any - two arcs, of which A is the greatest, then sinA‘cosBtsinB. cosA r Sin(AtB) = cosA‘cosBzsinA: sinB Cos(AtB)= i When the radius r is supposed=1, the denominators in these formulz disappear. In the latter, A and B are used for _ @and 6, for the sake of homogeneity. The propriety of this ~~ is manifest; for as. a and 6 denote two indefinite arcs, the same reasoning will apply to A and B, as to a and 8, the first be- ing supposed in each case the greatest. (cB The following Diophantine Problem was proposed for solu- tion some months ago in @ Periodical Journal, which has since been discontinued. ‘To those who are interested in speculations of this nature, we presume that the following solution, forwarded by Professor Srrone, of Hamilton College, will not be unacceptable. Prosiem. To find three positive rational Numbers, x, y, and z, such that x* —y, x* —z, y2 — x, and y? —z may all. be squares. Assume x —ay forthe root of thesquare x? —y: thena? -y a*?y+l =(x—ay)?, whence r= 4 = In like manner, by assum- : “— Qba—1 ing x —bz for the root of square #? —z, we find z=—yz—* a*y+1 2a a? 1 : But y? -2=y*— oe (since z= ) and as this 1s Strong’s Problems. 427 1 pee? ye aa i ) for its ro = to be made a square, assume y —-(S Z 2a-+c? es ag whence, by proceeding as before, we find y=7-7—Gaza- But a*y+1 ree: 06. So 2=——3 = (by substituting for y its value) 4ca—c?a*" : 2bz —1 Again z=- >; = (by substituting for x its value) a?+2c M(icr= eat) ~! : i A ; hence j re (= 2a+c? este) anc a0h (st a? +2c y+ b? Aca—c?a? 4ea—c?a? (by substituting for y and z their values 3) and as this also is to be made a square, assume for its root S Then we 2 2 shall have (=) = xb2—2b (a) +1=(be-1)? 5 from which, by reduction, e(4ca—c?a?)? —(a* +-9c)(4ca — c?a?) b=2X-—“i(icg- tap ate ys Hence the values of the required numbers are as follows : 2bx— 20 (in which the value of b is to be found from the +2 2a+c* last equation,) T=777 aq?’ and y=7-5 oa?" The numbers a, c, and e, are to be so assumed that 2, y, and z, may come out positive. Ifa=1, c=2, and c=2, then will z=, y=2, andz='; , which numbers. will be found upon trial to satisfy the tian. It may also be observed. that c and a being positive, ca must not exceed 4; but the form of the above expressions for x, ¥, 5 will be sufficient to direct us how a, ¢, and e, are to be assumed. 428 Kain on Caves. MISCELLANEOUS. —eae Art. XXI. An Account of several Ancient Mounds, and of two Caves in East Tennessee, by Mr. Jonn Henry Kain, of Knoz- ville. (Communicated for the American Journal of Science, &c.) Mounds. On the plantation of Mr. John Kain of Knox county, near the north bank of the Holston River, 5 miles above its junc- tion with the French Broad, is a curious collection of mounds of earth, evidently the work of art, but of an almost antedilu- vian antiquity, if we may form any conjecture of their age, _ from that of the forest which grows around and upon them. They are about half a dozen in number, and arise on about half an acre of level ground without any seeming regularity. They are pyramidal in their shape, or rather sections of pyra- mids, whose bases are from 10 to 30 paces in diameter. The largest one in this group rises about 10 feet above the level ground, and is remarkably regular in its figure. A perpendi- cular section of this mound was made about a year since, but no important discovery was made. It was found to consist of the surface thrown up, and contained a good deal of ashes and ' charcoal. This group of mounds is surrounded by a ditch, which can be distinctly traced on three sides, and enclosing besides the mounds, several acres of ground. It is like the mounds co- vered with trees, which grow in it and about it. At every angle of this ditch, it sweeps ont into a semicircle, and it ap- pears in many respects well calculated for defence. There are many other mounds of the same form in Tennes- see. At the junction of the French Broad with the Holston, there is one in which human bones are said to have been found. Kain on Caves. 409 Farther up French Broad, near Newport, isa very large mound. — It reposes on a very level and extensive plain, and is itself the largest I ever saw. It is thirty feet high, and its base covers half an acre of ground. As it ascends from its base, there is a slight inclination from a perpendicular on all sides, and the upper surface is as level as the rest is regular. From the great size of this mound, its commanding situation, and the mystery which veils its history, it is a most interesting spot of ground. There are many other mounds of this description in the State of Tennessee, but I have not visited them. Though not immediately connected with this subject, I take markable projection of the rock divides the back part into two stories. This grotto, whose walls are hung with ivy, and the bluff crowned with cedars, and surrounded by an ‘aged forest, on which’ the vine clambers most luxuriantly, viewed from the ds slowly around it, and reflects its image, is more than beautiful: it is even venerable. But what renders it most interesting to many visiters, is a number of rude paint- as tradition reports, left on it by the Che- rokee Indians. These Indians are known to have made this ‘cave a resting-place, as they passed up and down the River jntings are still distinct, though they have They consist of of birds, river which win representations of the fishes, &c. They are a respect, the paintings on Paint gs Much has been said of the objects of curiosity in the country north of us; and I took the liberty to describe some of them rt Vou. L...No. 4. 15 te & ‘ i = 430 Kain on Caves. in my preceding communication. Indeed we may say, without danger of exaggeration, that the range of Alleghany Mountains presents a variety of the most curious features, and many ob- jects of beauty and sublimity. I have noticed a few of the most Set but “the half is not told.” ~~ BOE«-- Extract of a Letter, &c. Knoxville, Nov. 24, 1818. _ 1 WAS on a visit to a frienda few days since, about 30 miles to the north of this, and was invited by him to visit an inter- esting curiosity in the neighborhood. We crossed the Clynch River where it is much confined by mountains, and banks as high as mountains, Our guide conducted us to the foot of a steep declivity, where we left our horses, and with some. difh- culty ascended about 70 yards. Here we came to the mouth of a_cave which had been stopped up by a stone wall. The wall was made of limestone and mortar, which is now harder than the stone itself. It is without a doubt, artificial, for be- sides the evidence afforded by. its. Structure, it contains bones and animal remains, What was this wall built for? There was a tradition among the inhabitants that it contained money, and they were much disappointed on opening it, not to find any. Like other caves, it contains a variety of calcareous concretions, and I obtained some fine specimens of brown spar, which I will take the first opportunity to send you. I remain your Friend, JOHN H. KAIN. N. B. This wall is 10 feet thick. Dwight’s Cases of Delirium. 431 For the American Journal of Science, &c. Bengamin Sriuiman, Esq. : ae Dear Sir, SHOULD you think the facts detailed in the following state- ment worthy of publication, you are at liberty to publish them. The knowledge of the first, I derived in the year 1802, from a gentleman and a lady, both inhabitants of the town where the person whose case is detailed, lived: and of the third in 1802, from the same lady; and of the second in 1802, from a lady, a near relative of Mrs.S. When the facts were communi- cated to me, I immediately committed them to writing, and to avoid mistakes, read what I had written to the persons commu- nicating them. 2 I am very respectfully, Your Friend, and obedient Servant. BENJAMIN W. DWIGHT... Arr. XXII. Facts illustrative of the Powers and Operations of the Human Mind in a Diseased State. i. Some years ago a farmer of fair character, who resided in an interior town in New England, sold his farm, with an in- tention of purchasing another in a different town. TFlis mind was naturally of a melancholy cast. — Shortly after the sale of his farm, he was induced to believe that he had sold it for less than its value. This persuasion brought on dissatisfaction, and eventually a considerable degree of melancholy. In this situa- tion, one of his neighbors engaged him to enclose a lot of land, with a post and rail fence, which he was to commence making the next day, At the time appointed he went into the field, and began with a beetle and wedges to split the timber, out of which the posts and rails were to be prepared. On finishing his day’s work, he put his beetle and wedges into a hollow tree, and went home. Two of his sons had been at work through the day ina distant part of the same field. On 432 Dwight’s Cases of Delirium. his return, he directed them to get up early the next morning, to assist him in making the fence. In the course of the evening are became delirious, and continued in this situation several years; when his mental powers were suddenly restored. The first question which he asked after the return of his reason, was, whether his sons had brought in the beetle and wedges. ‘He appeared to be wholly unconscious of the time that had elapsed from the commencement of his delirium. His sons, apprehensive that any explanations might induce a return of his disease, simply replied that they had been unable to find them. He immediately arose from his bed, went into the field where he had been at work a number of years before, and found the wedges, and the rings of the beetle, where he had left them, the beetle itself having mouldered away. During his delirium, his mind had not been occupied with those sub- jects with which it was conversant in health. 2. Mrs. S., an intelligent lady, belonging to a respectable family in the state of New York, some years ago undertook a piece of fine needlework. She devoted her time to it almost constantly for a number of days. Before she had completed it, she became suddenly delirious. In this state, without ex- periencing any material abatement of her disease, she continu- ed for about seven years; . when=her. eason was suddenly re- stored. One of the first questions which she asked after her reason returned, related to her needlework. It isa remark- able fact, that during the long continuance of her delirium she said nothing, so far as was recollected, about her needlework, nor concerning any such subjects as usually occupied her at- tention when in health. 3. A lady in New England, of a respectable family, was for a considerable period subject to paroxysms of delirium. These paroxysms Came on instantaneously, and after continuing an in- definite time, went off as suddenly ; leaving her mind perfectly rational. It often happened that when she was engaged in ra- tional and interesting conversation, she would stop short in the midst of it, become in a moment entirely delirious, and com- ‘ mence a conversation on some other subject, not having the remotest connexion with the previous one, nor would she ad- Scientific Intelligence. 433 vert to that during her delirium. When she became rational again, she would pursue the same conversation in which she had been engaged during the lucid interval, beginning where she had left off. To such a degree was this carried, that shell would complete an unfinished story or sentence, or even an : unfinished word. When her next delirious paroxysm came on, she would continue the conversation which she had been pur- suing in her preceding paroxysm; So that she appeared as a person might be supposed to do, who had two souls, each occa- sionally dormant, and occasionally active, and,utterly ignorant of what the other was doing. : . INTELLIGENCE. : -Se—- American Cinnabar and Native Ant. XXIII. 1. Discovery of Le ad. Extract of a letter from Dr. Comstock of Hariford, to the Editor. SiR, | answer to your inquiry concerning the discovery of sul- phuret-of-mércury and native lead in this country, I send you the following summary of a letter received from B. F. Stick- ney, Esq. Indian agent, dated Fort Wayne, Dec. 1, 1818. Mr. Stickney states, that the situation of Fort Wayne, and the country surrounding, is a high level, probably about 800 feet above the sea. From this place the water-courses divide and take different directions, on the one hand falling into the ay of St. Lawrence. Gulf of Mexico, and on the other into the B The whole country is of secondary formation, chiefly calca- reous and aluminous. ee Bitumen and sulphur are every where ‘to be usual, accompanied by the metals. aie In speaking of the cinnabar, his words are, “I have found a black and garnet-colored sand; in great abundance on the found, and as a 434 3 Scientific Intelligence. shores of the Lakes Erie and Michigan, this is a sulphuret of mercury, and yields about sixty per cent. It isso easy to be obtained, and in so convenient a form for diattiatins that it must become an important article of commerce.’ _ The native lead was found on the Anglaize River, ata con- siderable distance from the fort. Of this he says, “metallic lead is so interspersed with ga lena, as to prove incontestably the existence of native lead.” Respectfully, Your obedient Servant, J. L. COMSTOCK. see: Hartford, Conn, Feb. 17, 1819. Benjamin Silliman, M. D., &c 2. Theoretical views of Professor Hare of Philadelphia. We are authorized to mention, that Dr. Robert Hare has taught in his lectures during the last eighteen months, that acid properties never appearing in the absence of water, this fluid or its elements are most entitled to be considered as the acidi- fying principle : but that probably it does not exist in acids as water, but is decom mp when _added to them, the particles of hydrogen and oxygen by their different. polarities taking opposite sides of those composing the base. The extrication of hydrogen by the action of diluted sulphuric acid on iron or zinc, being the consequence of a previous, not simultaneous decomposition of water. Hence when sulphuric or nitric acids are so concentrated as to char. or ignite, they are not acide reall 3. New Work on Chemistry. Dr. John Gorham of Boston, Professor of Chemistry in Harvard University, &c. has published the first volume of his Elements of Chemical Science, The work will be comprised in two volumes, and its completion will be anticipated with in- - terest by the scientific public, Scientific Intelligence. 435 4. Botanical. Dr. Romer of Zurich, has begun, since 1815, to publish a new edition of the Systema Vegetabilium of Linneus; he proceeds in its publication; it will form several volumes. Robert Brown of London, is endeavoring to group the nat- ural orders of plants into natural classes, or rather into larger natural orders, with determinate characters: he has communi- cated some parts of his labor to the botanists of Paris. He has been the first to employ as a new character in the distine- tion of natural orders, the estivation of flowers, or the manner in which they are folded in the buds. C. S. Rafinesque, in his Analysis of Nature, has adopted a new practice, that of giving single substantive Latin names to the natural orders and families of plants. oa Mirbel has proposed a new nomenclature of fruits in his Elements of Botany. Decandolle, after publishing the principles of the science in his Theory of Botany, has begun to undertake a general spe- cies plantarum, according to the natural classification. : Three splended Floras of the south of Europe have been undertaken... 1 Flora Greca, by Sibthorp and Smith in England. 2.-Flora Lusitanica, by Link and Hoffmansegg in Germany. 3. Flora.Nepolitana, by Tenore in Naples. They are very €Xpensive works, and are not yet terminated. Received in January, 1819. 5. Staurotide. Extact of a letter to the Editor, from John Torrey, M. D., of New York. “Mr. Pierce and myself lately found staurotide on the ‘sland of New York. It occurs in considerable quantity in a rock of mica slute, on the banks of the Hudson, about three and a half miles from the city. The crystals very seldom form the perfect cross, though many were found, intersecting each other imperfectly at angles of 60°. Several single crystals were obtained exceedingly perfect. They were short 4-sided prisms, with the acute lateral edges truncated at each ex- 436 Scientific Intelligence. tremity on the two solid angles of the most obtuse lateral edges, forming diedral terminations at each ex- _.tremity of the prism. The faces of these termina- Prous were inclined to each other at an angle of 67° and a few minutes. The annexed figure shows the form of the crystal. 6. Supplement to the“ Remarks on the Geology and Mineralogy “of a Section of Massachusetts, on Connecticut River, &c. con- ‘tained in No. 2, Art. I, of this Journal, by E. Hrrcucocg, A. M. The following minerals, found in the region above named, were either omitted in the former list, or have been noticed since that was made out. Bog-iron Ore. In Greenfield and Warwick. Hornstone. Rare ; in Deerfield and Conway. Silicious Slate. In rolled pieces, on the banks of Deerfield riv- » ->° er; not abundant. - Barut, or Lydian Stone. Same locality. seis In an aggregate of greenstone, quariz, and calcareous > “Spar, in the greenstone range, Deerfield. Color black, “aii and th e crystals usually imperfect, or broken. Staurotide In mica slate; Northfield, | one mile east of the vil- lage, on the turnpike to Boston. The crystals observed were six-sided prisms. The same rock contains reddish garnets. THE LEVERETT RANGE OF GRANITE. This name is given to a granite range that emerges from the puddingstone near the centre of Amherst, and extends northerly, with some interruption, nearly thirty miles, through Leverett and Montague to Northfield. And, indeed, there is some reason to suppose that it again appears to the north of Northfield. The range is widest in Leverett, where its breadth is more than a mile, It is noticed in the “ Remarks,” No. 2, Art. I, of this Journal, and may be seen on the section ~ Scientific Intelhgence. 437 accompanying that communication. But on further examina- tion it has been found to be more extensive than was su posed. The texiure of the rock is coarse. Plates of mica, 3 or 4 inches across, are common in it; and one specimen of a beautiful blue feldspar, the fragment only of a crystal, mea- sured in one direction 8 inches. Two circumstances in this range give it an interest in the eye of a geologist. The one is its proximity to sandstone and puddingstone; and the other, its small elevation in compari- son with the surrounding rocks of later formations. In some places no other rock could be found lying between the granite and puddingstone; though the soil prevented my observing whether there is an actual contact. But,in general there is a stratum of mica slate a few rods wide between these rocks, and not unfrequently gneiss lies between the mica slate and and puddingstone, five or six hundred feet higher than the granite. On the east, a mile or two distant, a mountain of sienite gradually rises to a still greater height than the pud- dingstone ; and on the southwest, at nearly the same distance, you can see an alluvial formation. . In.general this granite does not rise so,high-as-the adjacent rocks, whether secondary or primitive. os ag VEINS OF ORE IN THIS GRANITE. 1. Of Galena in Leverett. This ore forms a narrow vein in the southwest part of the on land of Moses Smith, two miles from the Congre- The direction of the vein is nearly only a foot wide. The tewn, gational meeting-house. north and south, and where I saw it, gangue is sulphate of barytes. 9. Of Galena, Copper Pyrites, and Blende. This vein is a little more than @ mile north of the one above described, and it may be @ continuation of the same Vol. I.....No. 4. 16 438 Scientific Intelligence. a vein, The gangue is nearly an equal admixture ok sulphate of barytes and quartz; and galena and sulphuret of copper are disseminated through it in about the same, that is equal proportions. ‘The blende, which is of a yellowish aspect when the fractured crystal is beld in a certain position, ap- pears only occasionally. This vein is several feet wide, has been wrought to a small extent in two places, and its direc- tion is nearly north andsouth. It is on land of Mr. Field. Radiated quartz. In the above vein. A considerable ten- dency to crystallization appears at ihis place, not only in the quartz, but in the foliated structure ofthe barytes. Brownspar. Io the same place. But little of this mineral ‘Was noticed. It exfoliated before the blowpipe, turned black, and became magnetic. 3. Of Specular Oxide of Iron in Montague. _ Thisis found in a partially detached eminence, 100 feet high, near the north line of Montague, on land of Mr. Taft, a little southwest from the confluence of Miller’s river with the Connecticut. The whole hill, not less than 100 rods in cir- cumference at its base, is traversed by numerous veins of this ore; and scarcely a foot of the rock is to be seen that does not contain these, varying iwidthdrom a mere line to several inches. The principal vein appears on thé top “of the hill; and is as nearly as | could determine, not less than ten feet wide lying in a north and south direction. The ore seems tobe abundant, and generally pure. Masses that have been separated by blasting, and weighing from 100 to 200 pounds, lie on the surface. A small portion of sulphuret of iron was observed in some specimens. ‘The gangue is quartz, and the walls and hill granite. No opinion is here intended to be offered concerning the probable value of these ores, if worked. If they be useless to the present generation, they may not be so to some future one, when labour shall be cheaper; and therefore it was thought to be of some consequence to point out their localities. In the remarks, to which this paper is a supplement, blue quartz was inadvertently put down among the minerals found Scientific Intelligence. 439 in Deerfield. I presume it does not exist there. It is also probable that the variety of garnets found in Conway, is not -as formerly stated, the melanite, 7. New Process for Tanning. A process for effecting the tanning of leather ina neat, ex- peditious, and thorough manner, has been discovered, by a Mr. Steel, of Connecticut: some account of it may be given hereafter. ; , 8. Connexion between Chemistry and Medicine. This subject has been discussed in an able and interesting manner by Professor Cooper, of Philadelphia, in a public dis- course, which has now been some months before the public. 9. Brucite. A new Species in Mineralogy, discovered by the late Dr. Bruce. We hope to publish in the next Number a descrip- tion and analysis of it. 10. Lithography. We are promised for our next Number, a full account of this art, of which we have received a beautiful specimen, a Minerva, executed by Mr. Bates Otis, an ingenious and en- terprising artist of Philadelphia, who under the patronage of Dr. Samuel Brown, is preparing to disseminate the produc- tions of his skill, and to make this important art (executed with American materials,) extensively useful in this country. N. B. As this number has already much exceeded its proper size, we are obliged to suppress many articles of do- mestic, and all those of foreign intelligence. 440 CONCLUSION. In the prospectus of this work, the expectation was expressed that each Number would contain from 64 to 80 pages; that as many as four Numbers might be issued within the year, and engravings were promised for such subjects as might require them. The Numbers published, have actually contained from 104 to 132 pages, the four have been issued within a period of ten months, and twelve copper-plate engravings and several wood- cuts, illustrate the present volume. Of the subjects proposed in the plan of the work, our pages contain notices, more or less extensive, of Geology, Mineralogy, Botany, Zoology, Chemistry, Natural Philosophy, Mathematics, Useful Arts, Fine Arts, Inventions, Reviews, Biography, an Intelligence. How far then we have redeemed our pledge, we leave it for our readers to decide. In the commencement of an enterprise, for the first time attempted in this country, an enterprise arduous in its nature and uncertain in its issue, it will not be doubted that — able solicitude was eee ce furnishing a Journal to record thelr ceedings, will, in our view, not only have a direct influence in promoting the honor and prosperity of the nation as connected with its physical in- terests, but will also tend in no small degree to nourisa an enlarged patriotism, by winning the public mind from the odi- ous asperities of party. That entire success will attend our efforts, it would perhaps be presumptuous to expect, but we trust that the interesting previous question, whether such a work can be adequately sustained, by appropriate materials, may be considered as now decided. The support which we have received, and for which we are deeply grateful, has been far beyond our most sanguine hopes, and has caused us to dis- pense with no small portion of those less important efforts of our own, with which we were prepared to succor our infant undertaking. Conclusion. i 441 if we may be allowed to express a wish relative to the nature of future communications, it would be, that those of a scientific nature should not be diminished, while those relating to the arts, to agriculture, and to domestic economy, should be in- creased; we particularly solicit the communications of practi- cal men versed in the useful and ornamental arts, and they will be acceptable should they not even be clothed in a scientific dress. Arrangements have been made for the reception of an in- creased number of the best European Journals, both from the continent and from Britain; they have already begun to arrive, and we hope to give in future numbers, more full details of foreign scientific intelligence, although it is true that this spe- cies of information has hitherto been stinted, not from poverty of materials, but from the pressure of original American com- munications. —a— In justice to the publishers of this work, we add, that this publication is an expensive one; very heavy advances have been already made by them, while only a trivial. amount has been received in return. It is hoped, therefore, that subscribers will promptly remit, free from postage, the small stipulated sum, and also make the required advance for the succeeding volume. This last is not due till the first oumber of that volume has been issued, but it would save postage to remit both sums at once, and thus also it will be known what subscriptions are continued. In a subscription so widely dispersed over a large portion of the United States, an inattention to punctual payment, must soon put in hazard the existence of a work, having other- wise the fairest prospects of continuance, and we hope of use- fulness. Should this appeal be promptly answered, the first number of thenext volume (already in considerable forwardness,) will be published in the course of the summer; and should men of ability continue to furnish communications, and the public be 442 “ Postscript. willing to pay for the work, itis our wish to publish future num- bers with greater frequency, and to complete our volumes whenever we are prepared, without confining ourselves to par- ticular periods of time. New-Haven, Conn. May 17, 1819. —-@o- POSTSCRIPT. AMERICAN GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY. We have the pleasure to announce, that an American Geo- logical Society has been recently organized by an association of gentlemen, residing in various parts of the United States. An Act of Incorporation, conferring the necessary powers, has been granted by the Legislature of Connecticut, and farther accounts of the plan and progress of the Society may be ex- pected in future numbers of this work. INDEX. oe Accidents from oer aay 168. Acid, (sulphuric) lake ne rive Address to the people of. Se Wesiain country, 203. gates, 49, 134, 236 Alkali, , 309, 310. Alleghany mountains, 60. “alluvial formation, 324, Alveolites, se Alumine, p American Geslogieal Society, 442. Amia — Analei at Deerfiel Ant gua, pdlickons patitaeiiis of, 56—geology of, 141. Apatite, 236. Ap; arts, improvement on Woulfe’s, &c. 410. Asbestos, 237, 243. Asclepias lanceolata, 252. ae. (Caleb, Esq.) a oe 116—on Ohio, 207—on Belmont county. —on winds of the w Augite, 244, 310, ro) es 3 B. Baldwin, (Dr. William) on emai 355. ogy Bas Battery, (electra of Dr. ae 292. Beck, (Dr. John B.) on salt stor Belmont cou sl reine its sacle’: &e. 227. Bigelow, (Prof.) on climate » 76. Blende, 50 Blo Ht ge i es priority of discovery and use of, 97. Bouts, salle, ae mr 7; 8. Bones, extraction of Sdn ek. 170. Botany, American, 5. Brace, (Mr. John P.) on cut-worm, 154—on minerals of Litchfield county, iS; Breccia of the Sans seh — rest, orapemn Bridge, rival, "66, 3 Bro Sncalare on organized remains, 71—his address in Paris, 74. ite ‘ap Samuel) 147, 439. Dr.) 3, ba 255, 299, 439. Bufo cornuta, uria ground dof the oe 108. Burrstone of Indiana, ©. Cabinet = Col. Gibbs, 6—of B. D. Perkins and Dr. Bruce, alendar, floral, of United States, 76—near Philadelphia, nil a Plainfield, 255——of Deeriie ld, 359. 444 | Idex. Calorimotor of Prof. Hare, 413. Calton hill, its structure, 23 Carbonates, ha rd, of lime, 63—of magnesia, pulverulent, at Hoboken, 54— crystalized, . Cav ed e, Wier’s, 59, 64, 317—in Mount Toby, 111—at Corydon, with Epsom s salt, 133. Caves, in Tennessee, ia Chabasie, at Deerfield, 49, 134. Chalcedony i in con wood, 57, at Deerfield and East Haven, 134, Characters uf min — 45. Cinnabar n Michi ius n, 433, Clays, po Srcelaiie 57, 58, 242. pai (Prof.) Review of his mineralogy, 35—notice of, 308 ‘al mines of Vi — 125—of Tennessee, 63—of Ohio, 239— of Connecti- pata and eulters, (tet ai) of pins 311. Coluber trivittata, &c. 260—262. 433. Susie é (Dr Cooper (Prof. Thomas as) 439. Copal, gee plee. ee Saat 307. en a opper Cornelius, (Rev. Elias) 59, 214, 317. Crotal Suaabistani —— 221—223. Cut-worm, Cuvier’s ge are 68. Cylactis, &c., 377. Dz _— SS J. F.) on electrical battery, 292—on Myrica cerifera, 293—on ame, Deerfield, Floral Calendar of, 359. Delirium, intermisstOWe of; OE ey Dewey, (Prof. Chester) his sketch, &c., Diplocea barbata, 252. ret Disruption of the ground = Deerfield, 286. Distillation of ot Doolittle, (Mrv.T saa c) on eas, 170. ~ Drake, (Dr. Daniel) =? thers, 206. Dust, atmospherical, 3! Dwight, ia B. W. ) on tiadivlones 431. E. Earthquakes of 1811 and 1812, 93 1 Eaton, (3 (Mr. Amos) on New England geology, 69—on Southampton leve!, Elliott, (Stephen, get Engine, (Steam) its importa ee Mcgiicewn, (a freshwater fish). 155. Falls i tos river, 111. Favosi Fish, impression Fisher, (Prof.) his ae tei 9, 176. Flame, how affected by steam, &e., 401. Flint, 225. Floral calendar of the United States, 76—Plainfield, 254—Deerfield, 359. Index. 3 4A5 Floerkea, poe 373. Fluor Spar, 49, 52. we Galvanism, Dr. gn’ s discovery in Gambold, (Mrs.) on the Cherokee ae 245. Guadaloupe, minerals from Gelatin e, how obtai ned from bones in Paris, 170. Geology and Mineralogy of Vir irgini a, &e. 60, 317—New England, index of, 69—Deerfield and vicinity, 107—-Indiana, " Gin—aisigaes &e. 140—intro- duction to the study o ed cc oe Geor 8°) on gunpowder, 87—on light and magnetism, 89, -207—on ourmalines, Gill, (Mr. Thom as) go hew lamp, 207. Gnaphalium, new species uf, 380. Gneiss bomen. (Prof. John) elements of chemistry, 434. i Granite, 237, ammer, er, (Mr. John) on coal mines of Virginia, 125. Grindstone ae * 63. Hare, oe Rober) bi his Loe cif Stel ae Woulfe’s Te, 410—his Calo- } 408 w minerals, 244, 306. ae ooue g, 91. Herp Feds ea ng: Ed.) 0 a Daosseli &c. {05 —disruption, | 286—supplement, Ho $5kon, carbonate ¢ magnesia at, 54. Hematite, brown, ornstones, 62, 225. ; Ice, Greenland, Indiana, geolo 7 of, 1381. m Insect, destructive, 328. 5 . Tron ores, 2, 438. i Ives, (Prof. Eli) on limosella, 74—asclepias, 252—the potato, 297—gnaphali-- Ji ‘ Java, river and lake of sulphuric acid = 58, 59. Jameson, (Prof.) his additions to Cuvier, 68. er ae seh scientific, 1—3—of vegetation, 76, 71, 254, 359. Kain, (Mr. John H1.) on geology, &e. 60—mounds and caves, 428, 430. I ion (Ep hraim hee mine, 316. , without e, 207. Vie: oe 1. 17 * 446 Index. Lead ore, 53, 63—native, in Michigan, 434. Fight, connexion between, and magnetism, 89, 207—and heat, new mode of oducing, 91. gs me, augments the force of gunpowder, 8 imestone, with she lis, Set ee of, ae 131, 237, 241, 307, 341. Lit Lithography, ar Lockie, tienen = minerals, 49. I Maclure, (William Esq.) his geological survey, 37—map, 61—on geology, Magnesia, ce se oe — 49, 54, 236—of hydrates, 55. Magnetic te, tron min Ma ctism and light, aur connexion, 89. Me ite, compact, 236. Man, anes, 50. si Mart W species of, § “Matches kindling withing thre Mercury, oe casting oe 168. . sheet new, 3 e0rs, eee ot a, plumose 50 of Porto Rico, 237—of slate, 339. Mat stones, 62, 132 alogy, élem eandeiy works on, ; Minerals o' eo ae &e. Tit et ls Indiana, &c. 132—of Southampton level, 136—sili 4—locali lities, by Rev. Mr. Schaeffer, 237—American col- srs of, 310; Mind, hum Se stag od tions in a diseased state, 431. Mitchill, (Dr. 8. L) 8 37, 55.—his edition of Cuvier, 68. Morty, Garett nRe orey, (Samue s = Mounds, ancient, 392, 495) Peete Ol—steam engine, i Mountains, Alleghany, 60. tenia i Mustela vulpina, 82 osurus Shortii, 379. Myrica cerifera, analysis of, 294. N. ive copper near New H — — pdt oe 2% aven, 55—sulphur of Java, 58—237. Necronite — England, its geol ogy, 69. lime ~ of potash, 65. ure of mineral Sener De) on peetsany ier +» 56, 141. Ohio, notes on, ee medical Salles e, 31}. Opal, semi, 22 . aurus sala Organized remain siren, niart on, 71. Oxygen gas, shepication of 95. P; Paint, rock, 77. Paris, porcelain of, 56. Pane ay eA te ¢ » Paris, (Dr. John ent on sandstone, 234. Zz Fr ¥ in ie * ry we Index. 447 Perit, (Mr. Pelatiah) 85. Perkins, (Dr. Benjamin) 37. ———— 49. a ain tator, 154. Picture of Independence, 20 Pierce, (James, Esq.) 0 n magnesia, 54, 142—on Staten Island, 148, Aageet of Cherokee country, 2 Plumbago, 239. Pole, north, attempts to discover the, 101. omeroy, 1, ) his certificate, 87. Porcelain and porcelain clays, 57. orter, (Dr. J.) on a = ga at ‘Plainfield, 254, Potato, Prof. Ives on, 2 Po ett fulminating, 16 Prairies and barrens of rie west, 116, 331. Prehnite, 50, 135. Pyrites, magnetical, 49. Pyroxene, red, 244. ‘ Q. Quartz, 53, 237, 238, 241, 340, 345. R. y (solar) connexion with magnet Ratanague (C. 8., Esq.) on Tereeenens | mustela vulpina, 88—on per-head, 84—on sponges, 149—on Xanthium maculatum, 151—Exogos sum, 155—on Diplocea barbata, 253—on discoveries in the West, 311—o genus Floerkea, 373—on oct, &e., 377—on Myosurus shortii, $19_—ut- Rain, red, tat Refraction, (polar) effects on magnetism;-90-—~ Respira ation of oxyg' 5 95. R os Mineralogy, 35. Reynolds (Dr » on m a 266. ae (Blue) is geo ogy, 2 % ae n Java, i a cave, 320. Rock pai Roc ? prone Ek of East Tennessee, 61—Of Indiana, 131—Secondary, 215. Poatbillia, 355. we s. a old red, 212—of the Capitol, Washington, 215,—of Cornwall, En Fiat Soe effect 3 on a 389—391—on animals, 394. Salts of Sacoaber pub Mr. Tho — on Herpe etology, 256—on meg &e., 381. Schaeffer, (Rev. F. C.) = a 139—localities, 236, eldon (Wm.) on tanning, &c., Silver, mints ee fom 169. Sines and Cosines, formu [24. Slate, ar, gillaceous, 62, 67, 7 Smith (Professor E. D. ) on aheviel &c., 93. é ‘4 ’ ** % Mi F ad “i % cere = eee 448 Index. Soapston +e pee Sensei Geological) 442. Southampton pete i 137. ~ Seis Sponges, on oan Toland, 149. ings, ” saline, 49—miner. al, 66 Steam decomposed, 92—engine, '93—rotatory of S. Morey, 162. oe 134. . Stilson Abe phe B.) on Indiana. torms poets 55 (Pn ot) oe mathematical papers, 4 an, (John S. Esq.) on heat and tight an steam engines, 157. Sulphur’ dastive) '237—springs i in Indiana, 1 B, Tabular view, 46, 1 rous and sabes ing, by me ans of oak snut wood, 812—notice of . new mode of, 439. used to afford light, 92—to work steam engines, I Tenabiece, fas oe eolory, &e. * ‘.. Te ment ( ical) essay on, 9, Thorax, (ffetion of) of ) “perth Bis sees gas, 95. Torrey, (Dr. a on Staurotide, &c. Tourmaline, 237. 3 Te ines of Goshen, &e., Col. Gibbs on, 346. —— ie ie Vapor, effects of, on — Se al Vauquelin, a new alkali, 3 — Vegetables, effects of their ‘Gomnbuntion, 334, egetation de urnals of, 76, 77, 256, 359. View, ta Virginia, ‘gecbay and mineralogy of, &e. , 60. Wacké, of aqueous origin, 233—analysis of, 296. , 66. Warm springs Wat aerlamine: ¢ (Dr. Benjamin) 37 Webster (Dr. 1. W.) on Calton Hill, 230—letter from, 243—on wacke, 296— is lectures, 304—cabinet Wells =, 80. W.) on prairies, &e., 331—of Columbia, affected by earth- Mus Williams, (Dr. ‘Stephen W W. yhis calendar, &c., 359. Williamstown, its geology &c., 337. Ww d, petrifactions of, 5¢ 50—56—chesnut applied to tanning, 313, oulfee $ apparatus, substitute for, 410, Works (elementary) on mineralogy, 38. Xanthium maculatum, 151. Zoology, American, 5—fossil, 381. Zoophytes, &e, 381.